Guyanatimes 8 february 2018

Republic Bank hands over Panorama sponsorship cheque P14

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

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Issue No. 3475

PRICE

Appointment of Chancellor, CJ

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Opposition Leader rejects President’s nominees

Page 3

– green-lights persons for integrity commission Guyana-Venezuela border controversy

“Everything is at stake for Guyana” – Sir Shridath Ramphal Page 9

Policeman charged for slapping P8 woman Main P17 witness testifies in $550M cocaine bust

...urges Guyanese not to fall prey to contradictory opinions

Grandfather jailed for 40 years for rape

Page 9

Porter killed in Linden-Soesdyke accident Page 5

GIPEX 2018 opening

PSC urges transparency, good governance in oil sector Page 16

11 entries confirmed for Mash 2018 float parade P17 GRA launches long-awaited eServices P2

P5 Govt establishes Guyana Youth Service

– President a no-show, Trotman fills in Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman; Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; and ExxonMobil Country Manager Rod Henson, along with other Government Ministers and high-level delegates of GIPEX 2018, viewing the replica of an offshore oil rig exploring the Liza Phase Two project dubbed “Liza Destiny” at the exhibition site in the compound of Marriott Hotel, Georgetown on Wednesday

As crime spirals

Gas station, 2 pensioners robbed of over $8M in separate incidents See stories on pages 5, 7 and 17

– merges key youth programmes, organisations

Teen miner P7 granted $50,000 bail for Mazaruni robberies

2 news Guyoil increases kero, diesel prices GRA launches longthursDAY, February 8, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

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awaited eServices

s the price for gasoline has been incrementally increasing over the past few days, the Guyana Oil Company Limited (Guyoil), which is Guyana’s leading petroleum company, has also increased the prices for both kerosene and diesel fuel.

These prices were adjusted based on the world stock market and will af-

A vehicle being refuelled by a Guyoil pump attendant

fect not only the other sectors but consumers nationwide.

Kerosene, which was priced at $130, is now $137 per litre; while diesel, which was $188, has now raised to $204 per litre.

Gasoline, which has been on the increase in the past months, is now priced at $204 per litre. However, at other privately owned service stations, the prices are said to be higher.

In September 2017, world market prices for fuel were already increased due to the hurricane conditions in the southern hemisphere, which resulted in Guyoil adjusting the prices in gasoline, diesel and kerosene to a higher cost.

Gasoline, a common commodity, was increased by $14 per litre.

T

A traditional Income Tax Return form

axpayers and companies can finally be able to sit in the comfort of their homes/offices and submit tax returns with the click of a button, as the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has launched its long-awaited eServices.

Following the amendment of sections of the Income Tax Act, the GRA is now authorised to use electronic technology when offering its services.

As such, all taxpayers can now submit their Employers Returns Forms, to be submitted before the February 28 online.

After signing up on the eServices website, users would be able to also monthly and yearly submit their PAYE, Individual Income Tax, Corporation Tax,

Individual Company and Property taxes and Valued Added Tax returns.

The GRA is encouraging those persons with multiple sources of income, as well as those who have been approved for Mortgage Interest Relief who file their own returns, to utilise the eServices in order to file with ease and convenience.

The Revenue Authority will also be partnering with the E-Governance Unit to provide assistance to various taxpayers at Information Communication Technology (ICT) hubs across Guyana.

However, taxpayers are being reminded that all personal information submitted on the website should be true and correct.

The website is eservices. gra.gov.gy.

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thursDAY, February 8, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

Appointment of Chancellor, CJ

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, February 8 – 11:30h-13:00h and Friday, February 9 – 12:30h-14:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, February 8 – 10:30h-12:00h and Friday, February 9 – 12:00h-13:30h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

Opposition Leader rejects President’s nominees – green-lights persons for Integrity Commission

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

along with Attorney General Basil Williams and Minister of State Joseph Harmon seated at a table staring at three empty chairs across the table.

The Opposition Leader said, “This odd photograph bears the caption: ‘No Show’.

It is accompanied by a brief statement explaining that the Leader of the Opposition did not show up at a meeting with the President which was scheduled a month ago, to take place today.”

However, Jagdeo said having received no information confirming the meeting

WEATHER TODAY

Partly cloudy skies with sunny intervals can be expected in the morning, followed by light cloudy conditions in the afternoon. Partly cloudy skies are expected to return in the evening, with overall temperatures ranging between 21 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly to North-easterly between 3.12 metres and 6.70 metres.

High Tide: 10:18h and 22:56h reaching maximum heights of 2.22 metres and 2.12 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 03:47h and 16:24h reaching minimum heights of 1.02 metres and 1.01 metres respectively.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

President David Granger

Justice Kenneth Benjamin

Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards

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

By Samuel Sukhnandan

O

pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has rejected the appointment of Justice Kenneth Benjamin as Chancellor of the Judiciary and Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards as Chief Justice following their nomination by President David Granger.

In a letter dispatched to the media late Wednesday evening and addressed to the President, Jagdeo said, “I have duly considered the two nominees for whom you seek my agreement for appointment as Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice, respectively, in accordance with Article 127 (1) of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.”

However, he noted that his decision was made following due diligence done on the candidates. “As promised, I have done the requisite due diligence. It is with deep regret that I inform you that I am unable to offer my agreement to the appointment of Mr Justice Kenneth Andrew Charles Benjamin, as Chancellor of the Judiciary and Madam Justice Yonette Decina Cummings-Edwards, OR, as Chief Justice”.

When contacted for a comment on the reason for his decision, the Opposition Leader told Guyana Times that he will discuss this matter at length today during a scheduled press conference.

Jagdeo also defended a report that was published

by the Department of Public Information (DPI) with the headline: “Opposition Leader a no show at scheduled meeting with President Granger.”

Accompanying the article is a picture with the President,

for Wednesday, which he said is a usual practice; he dispatched three letters which contain his response to issues raised at the last meeting.

Minister Harmon was later contacted about the letters and stated that he remains ready and willing to meet with the President at a mutually convenient time.

The last meeting held in January was held in keeping with Article 127 (1) of the Constitution which speaks to the appointment of the Chancellor and Chief Justice. turn to page 7

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guyanatimesgy.com

thursDAY, February 8, 2018

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

Sugar action plan

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here is need for a comprehensive national plan of action to be developed and implemented that would address some of the immediate social and economic consequences of Government’s decision to close several sugar estates and dismiss thousands of ordinary and hardworking Guyanese.

Such a plan could be drafted, even at this stage, with the help of a multi-stakeholder Committee that has representatives from the Guyana Agriculture and General Workers Union, the National Association of Agricultural and Industrial Employees, the Government of Guyana, Civil Society, the Guyana Private Sector Commission, the Guyana Bankers Association and the National Insurance Scheme.

The Committee could be tasked with visiting some of the areas where sugar estates have been ordered closed and assessing the impact of these closures with a view of making recommendations to cushion the impact while easing the burden on families of those 3, 647 dismissed workers. It could also explore organizing community meetings with workers to get feedback on the challenges they are facing since being made redundant or losing their jobs.

The Committee’s terms of reference could include exploring the pros and cons of providing dismissed workers with a monthly stipend on which they can survive for a six-month period as they make attempts to retrain and re-qualify themselves to enter new fields in the world of work. This stipend could be useful too as workers seek out other opportunities and financial programmes in order to establish their own businesses and private ventures.

Outside of the work that the Committee would undertake, the plan of action must also include providing workers with some form of subsidized water and electricity until they can manage to get back on their two feet. Special consideration should also be given to the school-aged children of dismissed workers and therefore a proposal could be made to provide them with free transportation to and from school over a defined period. Mental Health and Counselling services should be offered routinely to these families as they go through this period of hardship.

If Government is seriously concerned about the welfare of these dismissed workers, then it must be willing to accept from the onset that it has not treated the workers with fairness and respect. It should also be willing to admit that it took the wrong approach by not conducting an impact assessment of consequences of downsizing the industry and closing three estates would have on the rural economies of these communities and the country as a whole.

Finally, the Government has to demonstrate political maturity by ending the blame game. It has to recognize that it has serious work to do in all of these communities that have been and will continue to be devastated by the sudden shift in the organization and structure of the sugar industry.

It can also regain the trust and respect of the workers by personally establishing the Committee and implementing its recommendations while simultaneously implementing core aspects of the findings of the Commission of Inquiry Report and along with the key proposals from the State Paper presented by Agriculture Minister Noel Holder on the future of the Sugar Industry.

At this point, the Government needs to soften its tone.

Sugar workers are suffering and hurt because they believe that they were collateral damage. It has to instruct its members to choose their language carefully as they engage workers being cognizant of the sensitivities surrounding the issue. The Government must appear more compassionate and genuine or it runs the risk of appearing spiteful, indifferent and unmoved by the circumstances that the former workers will now face.

The immediate establishment of the Committee and a general shift in the Government’s approach to the restructuring of the industry should also mark the end of the piecemeal implementation of confusing policies aimed at responding to the crisis now facing thousands of dismissed workers.

Delegates at the inaugural Guyana International Petroleum Exhibition and Summit (GIPEX) 2018 listening to speakers during the opening. More than 300 delegates and 100 companies are participating in the summit (Carl Croker photo)

Wales workers are entitled to their due severance

Dear Editor, My attention was drawn to a Guyana Times article of February 7, 2018, captioned “GuySuCo snubs Wales cane cutters – says workers not entitled to severance pay”. The article stated, inter alia, that approximately 400 cane cutters who were attached to the now closed Wales Estate may never receive a severance according to the acting CEO, Paul Bhim.

The CEO declared that they are not entitled since they are at “risk of self-termination because of their refusal to take up the offer” of working at Uitvlugt Estate.

I gather the CEO meant the workers would have voluntarily terminated their services. Further, the CEO “argued” that his position is being supported by the collective labour agreement that exists between GuySuCo and the sugar union –the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU).

The CEO stated that 120 Wales’ cane cutters have tak-

en up the offer to work at Uitvlugt Estate in similar capacity. It would appear that since these workers have taken up the company’s offer, the others were, and are, obligated to do likewise, and their refusal therefore constitute the voluntary termination of their service.

I would think the company would have been properly edified on the provisions of the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act (TESPA) that states under Section 21, clause 4 (b) that the payment of a severance will not apply where the employee “unreasonably refuses in case of redundancy to accept an offer of re-employment by the employer at the same place of employment or within a radius of 10 miles therefrom under no less favourable condition than those such employee enjoyed immediately prior to the termination”.

Editor, even if the collective agreement makes provision for the transfer of em-

ployees within estates, such transfers were in the context that the estates were all operating estates. In the case at point, Wales is closed. The extant law, therefore, supersedes the provisions in the agreement, because workers’ jobs at Wales have been made redundant.

There are a few fundamental points in the aforementioned clause of the TESPA. First it speaks of “re-employment” and “immediately prior to the termination”, which clearly means that the service of the employee has to be terminated and then be re-employed, if re-employment meets the full requirements of this clause. It is obvious therefore that a severance allowance will have to be paid for the services at the point of termination, before re-employment takes its course.

Secondly, re-employment must be within a radius of 10 miles therefrom (therefrom means the original place of employment). Uitvlugt is reportedly 20 miles away from

Wales Estate (the original place of employment). The law, therefore, protects the 400-odd workers from being compelled to work at Uitvlugt Estate. Their refusal, therefore, cannot be considered that they have voluntarily terminated their service.

It matters not if sufficient amount of productive work is available at Uitvlugt. It is for the company to convince the workers, in all forms and inducements, to accept the offer to work at Uitvlugt. It cannot impose upon them to work at Uitvlugt.

In all fairness and in sincere application of the law, the 400 workers at Wales are entitled to their due severance. The sugar company should not, and cannot, deny these workers on the absurd claim that their refusal to work at Uitvlugt means that they have voluntarily terminated their service.

Yours faithfully, Selwyn Narinedatt

Holding the Georgetown City Council to standards Dear Editor, From talking to persons from all walks of life, there seems to be one significant concern shared by many, which is the alarm as to why Central Government seems not prepared to hold the Georgetown City Council to standards, values and ethics which it holds itself to.

It is confusing as to why the Central Government – which ensures in most cases that their Ministries, public corporations and other Government departments submit themselves to the rules and guidelines of the National Procurement and Tender Administration – just

casually turns a blind eye to the Georgetown municipality which ignores all the rules of tendering and procurement; instead giving contracts to friends and relatives willy nilly, of procuring goods from single sources at overinflated prices etc.

Then we have the confutation where the Central Government has a clear green agenda for the country, and the Communities Minister, writing on his own behalf and on behalf of the Cabinet, to the Mayor laying out the procedures that the M&CC must follow in respect of green spaces in Georgetown and alarmingly the response

was a telling off even accusing him of meddling while the Council continued in a brutal way the ecological destruction of the green spaces in the city, including the Bel Air Park Playground and the possibility of similar actions on the Farnum Playground.

Shouldn’t persons at City Hall not be brought to book?

Since the coalition Government came to power in 2015, a policy has been established where public officers are required to take the leave due to them.

It is felt that this would encourage the development of a good career system in which the subordinates are allowed

to act.

At City Hall however the Town Clerk and some of his cohorts are allowed to sit on years of stockpiled leave refusing to proceed on it because they know that all hell can break loose if they go on leave and an investigation is launched into the maladministration, the nepotism, cronyism, the wasteful spending etc. How could the Council be allowed to veer so far from the Government policy on public officers being required to take their leave.

Sincerely, Magagula Jackson

thursDAY, february 8, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

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News

Porter killed in Govt establishes Guyana Youth Service – merges key youth programmes, organisations Linden-Soesdyke P accident

By Kizzy Coleman

A

Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara (EBD) family was on Tuesday night thrown into mourning after ap was struck and killed on the Soesdyke/Linden Public Road.

Dead is 44-year-old Dexter Conway of Old Road, Land of Canaan, and a father of five. According to reports, the fatal accident occurred at around 23:00h on the Kuru Kururu roadway.

Guyana Times understands that Conway was a passenger in motor lorry GVV 427 which experience mechanical issue forcing the driver of the vehicle, Samuel Jaisingh to stop.

Jaisingh and Conway reportedly exited the vehicle and were making inspections when they were both struck by motorcar PRR 378 which was proceeding in the same direction.

According to Conway’s wife, her late husband’s employer’s wife visited her home and broke the sad news to her. The woman explained that her husband left home to go to Kwakwani, Berbice, for work and while on his way, he called her. At the time of the call, Conway and Jaisingh had stopped at a gas station.

“He say that he deh by the gas station taking gas and from the gas station he say that they will mek one drive and go straight.

So I called and spoke to my mother and told her that he just left to go in the backdam (Kwakwani) and just a little while after that, the boss man’s wife come and tell me that some car hit he on the highway,” the distraught woman cried.

She added that it was explained to her that they could not stop directly in the corner of the road so when they saw the car approaching, the attempted to squeeze unto the truck.

“They say that the car got some airlock and they come out to see what going on with the truck and based on what they tell me is that they (Jaisingh and Conway) pull into the truck to squeeze in and I don’t know how the car pick he up,” she relayed.

Dexter Conway

The motorcar which struck the men was being driven by a 28-year-old of Kuru Kururu resident who told Police that he was attempting to overtake the lorry when he was blinded by lights of another vehicle that was proceeding in the opposite direction.

He reported that he felt an impact and after stopping saw Conway laying on the road and Jaisingh sitting. As such, he quickly picked up Conway and rushed him to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

According to the dead man’s wife, she rushed over to the hospital. “I saw him and when I saw him, he was bleeding through his ears and nose and at the back of his head blood was running down and that was it,” she cried.

A breathalyser test conducted on the motorcar driver showed no trace of alcohol. The Police are investigating the incident.

Police are investigating.

resident David Granger on Wednesday convened a ministerial meeting to discuss the establishment of the Guyana Youth Service (GYS) which will now be responsible for consolidating all of the youth programmes and organisations to offer a standardised education and training curriculum and is expected to significantly improve youths’ marketability and prospects for gainful employment.

The Ministers who attended the meeting at State House were Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock; Social Protection Minister Amna Ally; Education Minister Nicolette Henry; Minister within the Communities with the responsibility for public affairs, Dawn Hastings-Williams; and Social Cohesion Minister, Dr George Norton, under

President David Granger meeting with his Ministers at State House to discuss the establishment of the Guyana Youth Service

whose responsibility the GYS will fall.

President Granger said at the end of the training offered by the GYS, a graduate must be able to employ him or herself as well as be qualified to find employment in any organisation.

He noted too that while the GYS will fall under the purview of the Social Cohesion Ministry, there will be formal and informal liaisons

with Ministries that are currently involved in implementing youth programmes.

Some of youth programmes to be consolidated include the Hinterland Employment and Youth Services (HEYS), the Youth Entrepreneurship and Skills Training Programme (YEST), the President's Youth Choice initiative (PYCI), the President's Youth Award Republic

of Guyana (PYARG), the Youth Apprenticeship and Entrepreneurial Programme (YAEP), the Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) Initiative, the Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE) and the Guyana Youth and Social Entrepreneurship Programme (GYSEP).

Bandits beat, rob Angoy's Avenue businessman …pensioner manages to apprehend, tie up accomplice

BY Andrew Carmichael

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andits on Wednesday morning broke into the home of an elderly businessman and carted off a quantity of jewellery and cash. However, the pensioner was able to hold onto one of the bandits and tie him up before the Police arrived.

Reports are that three men entered the Lot 3 Ovolton Dam, Mount Sinai premises at around 02:00h.

The men broke open a window next to the stairway to

gain entry. Two remained outside while one entered the building.

First, he went to an unoccupied room and ransacked it. After finding nothing of value, the man – who disguised himself with dark shades and a hooded jacket – then picked the lock on the door leading to the bedroom which 63-year-old Rukomine Hannamon was in. He subsequently removed $350,000 in cash and a quantity of jewellery from her room.

The woman put up a fight

Businessman Kamalodeen Mohabir, also called “Tarzan”

after he went back into the bedroom and in the process, she pulled off his hoodie and dark glasses.

Meanwhile, 77-year-old Kamalodeen Mohabir, also called “Tarzan”, who operates a grocery shop, heard the loud sound on the upper flat and ran to his wife’s rescue. He told this publication that he noticed that his son and the bandit were in a scuffle and his son was injured. At the time, the bandit was carrying a knife.

Turn to page 17

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guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation

– 5 areas you can focus on to ensure that the digital tools transforming education serve your learning objectives

By Monica Burns

I

t’s wild to think about how new technologies are changing the way we think about teaching and learning.

The digital tools many students have access to both inside and outside the classroom require us all to take a hard look at the way we use these tools in the context of learning experiences.

It’s easy to get caught up with the shiniest, brightest, or most attention-grabbing digital device or website, but it is possible to pause, reflect, and prioritise tasks over digital tools in the classroom. Are we putting the learning first?

Designing rigorous learning experiences in a tech-rich classroom requires us to take a step back and think about the ways technology can elevate and energize students. Prioritising learning experiences means identifying our objectives and pausing to explore how digital tools can help students dive into these learning experiences like never before.

Digital tools let students collaborate in new ways, question the world around them, connect their work with the world, create products that demonstrate their understanding, and wonder about new topics they encounter. These strategies can help you integrate technology into a lesson as you design learning activities.

Collaborating

Although digital tools have changed the way we think about creating in the classroom, collaboration means more than accessing the same document from different devices. Students can work together as they dive into new content and apply what they’ve learned in the

classroom.

You might ask students to log in to a shared presentation outside of school hours to combine their research efforts in one place. Remote collaboration on a shared document is powerful and gives students a new way to provide feedback to one another. Designing learning activities that leverage the collaborative nature of digital tools allows students to explore a topic while sitting in different classrooms or time zones.

And when students share a screen – leaning over to discuss, record, and dive into media together – they also build transferable skills. This sharedscreen collaboration gives students an opportunity to compromise, work toward a common goal, and t h i n k critically as they dive into course content with their peers.

Questioning

Typing a question into a search bar won’t always give students the full answer. We can leverage the power of digital tools to help students explore the world and answer questions that haven’t been asked yet or don’t have one correct answer.

These deep-dive questions require educators to model their own searches and strategies for evaluating websites and online resources.

Modelling how to evaluate sources to find the answer to deep-dive questions is important for students to develop in any subject area, for any learning objective. As students navigate the internet from a personal or school device, we can create

experiences for them to pose questions, share their findings, and build an appreciation of lifelong learning online.

Connecting

An authentic audience breathes life into both tech-rich and low-tech tasks. What makes the use of technology especially powerful is how digital tools can connect students with readers, listeners, and viewers of their work.

Using online spaces to share student work with the world helps students connect their learning with an audience.

Students can tweet a video t h e y ’ v e created to share their opinion about a novel, or share the steps to solve a maths problem on a classroom blog.

Creating

Open-ended creation tools give students a space to demonstrate their understanding.

They can capture their voice, record video, and tell the story of their learning. A tool like Spark Video might be perfect for students to narrate images they’ve collected during a community walk as they create a public service announcement to share with their school board.

Helping students determine the product for that will showcase their learning can take many forms.

Students who are going to share their new knowledge about a topic might use an audio tool like Soundtrap to

create a podcast, and ones who will gather a handful of videos they recorded during a science experiment might use Book Creator to share their learning. Focusing on the features students need in order to share their learning with the world can help us place tasks before apps.

…redefining and re-energising youthful purpose is an important part of growing up

Wondering

Providing a safe space to ask questions gives purpose to learning activities inside the classroom. Students have interests they can explore in the context of your learning goals. They might wonder why some animals are endangered and others are not, or they might wonder why an author chose to write about a topic.

Digital tools can help students discover new things, explore topics that pique their curiosity, and empower them as content consumers and creators. As they wonder about the world around them, students have access to online resources to help them harness their curiosity.

As you work to prioritise learning experiences over technology this school year, pause to ask: At the end of this learning experience, what should students understand?

How will I know for sure if students understand?

What would I like students to accomplish?

In my new book, Tasks Before Apps: Designing Rigorous Learning in a TechRich Classroom, I share more strategies for placing learning goals front and centre and dive into creation, collaboration, and curiosity in the classroom. (edutopia.

org)

By Carl E Pickhardt, PhD

S

tart by appreciating the power of an adolescent having an anchoring and motivating sense of positive purpose in life.

Such sense of purpose can provide interest (“This calls to me”), meaning (“This matters to me”), direction (“This takes me where I want to go”), and challenge (“This makes demands on me to grow.”)

Without sense of purpose, young life can feel empty or boring or lonely or even depressing. “I have nothing to fill my life”; “I don’t know what to do with myself”; “I have no good way to connect to myself or other people or the world”; “I don’t know the point of living.”

Protracted lack of purpose can cause desperation, and desperation can lead some young people into degrees of risky escape – for example, into diverting Internet entertainment, into social mischief, into substance use to quell the pain.

The need to repurpose

Yet, in most cases one cannot accomplish the journey of adolescence without experiencing a loss of purpose, when the task then becomes: “How am I going to repurpose (redefine and re-energise) my life now?”

Typically, a young person repurposes along two dimensions of growth – detaching from childhood and parents to create a functional independence, and differentiating from childhood and parents to actualise a more individually fitting identity. In both ways, normal repurposing from childhood into adolescence is accomplished.

Consider two major re-

purposing points during adolescence – at the beginning and at the end. At the beginning, separating from childhood, one has to give up some childish ways in order to grow up. And at the end, moving more independently of parents, one has to let go to take the lead for the journey through adulthood.

Just as the young adolescent has to find a new sense of purpose (“I no longer want to be defined and treated as just a child anymore!”) ,the older adolescent must grab the reins of self-management and begin to chart a way into the future (“I have to lead my life from here on!”)

So, at both the outset and end of adolescence, interest, meaning, direction, and challenge may need to be altered to redefine and reinvigorate sense of purpose for the next leg of the journey through life. Thus you might see a high school student decide to try playing a musical instrument in band, and a college age student sign up for a summer internship to test out an occupational interest.

Of course, there are a few young people who have to repurpose very little during adolescence because some childhood fascination or passion continues to hold the girl or boy’s dedication all the way through growing up.

“My life was always about making music and it always will be”; “As far back as I can remember, playing doctor and wanting to become one was what I intended to do”,etc . However, I believe these young people are the exception to the general adolescent rule: young people must learn to repurpose as they grow. (psychologytoday.com)

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thursDAY, February 8, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mazaruni robberies Blankenburg gas Teen granted $50,000 bail station robbed $1.2M J

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olice in D Division (West Bank Demerara-East Bank Essequibo) have detained one suspect in connection with a brazen daylight robbery at the Fuel Care Gas Station in Blankenburg, West Coast Demerara that occurred on Wednesday afternoon. This was confirmed

by Divisional Commander Leslie James who indicated that the details were still being ironed out.

While investigations into the matter are continuing, Guyana Times was able to ascertain that the incident occurred around 14:00h when four unmasked men entered the business place and startled the female at-

tendant at the service station’s store.

Reports are that the proprietor was tied up and did not resist the bandits as they demanded cash and valuables. Thereafter, the men reportedly made off with her mobile phone, phone cards and jewellery.

It was stated that over $1.2 million in losses was incurred while a source indicated that the attack could have brought on by a person

or persons known to the proprietor.

This newspaper was told that ranks from the nearby Den Amstel Police Station were prompt on the scene which led to the arrest of one suspect who is currently in custody. While it is not yet clear as to what kind of weapons were used during the ordeal, Guyana Times understands that a description of at least one of the men was provided to Police.

Opposition Leader rejects President...

from page 3

It states that both the Chancellor and Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President, acting after obtaining the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition. The provision was a key aspect of the 2001 amendment to the instrument.

President Granger had announced at his first press conference in two years, in December last year, that he has accepted a proposal from a committee that had been set up to review and interview applicants interested in the top judicial post after it advertised locally, regionally and internationally.

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

Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader in another missive to the President noted his approval of the appointment of members of the Integrity Commission.

“I offer no objection to the four persons whom you have identified for appointment to the Integrity Commission, in accordance with Section 3 (4) of the Integrity Commission Act Cap 19:12, Laws of Guyana.

“I consider the totality of our engagement on this issue to be in satisfaction of the requirements of “consultation” as contemplated by the letter and spirit of section 3 (4)…”

Under the Integrity Commission Act, the President is to appoint a chairperson and other Commissioners. Although the number of nominees has been identified, the names were never disclosed.

ohnson Charlie, 19, of Jawalla Village, Upper Mazaruni was granted $50,000 bail for two robbery charges when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday. Police brought the charges against Charlie when a stolen cellphone belonging to one of the Virtual Complainants was found in his possession.

According to the facts presented before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, between December 6 and December 7, 2017, at Imbaibadi, Upper Mazaruni, Charlie allegedly broke and entered Sheldon Williams’ shop.

He allegedly stole eight packs of Bristol cigarettes, three boxes of

Johnson Charlie

chicken and chips snacks, small bottles of vodka and $100,000 cash which totalled $110,000.

Police further alleged that between November 25 and 26,

2017, Charlie broke and entered the dwelling place of Camilla Hunter at Jawalla Village and stole her Samsung phone and a memory card, which were valued $47,500. The 19-yearold man who told the Chief Magistrate that he works as a miner was said to have been jailed for three months in 2015 for a similar matter. He was placed on $25,000 bail on each charge after he denied the accusations. He was also placed on a bond to keep good behaivour pending the outcome of the trial. The matters were adjourned to March 19 and transferred to the Kamarang Magistrate’s Court where Charlie will make his next appearance.

8 news

thursDAY, February 8, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

IN THE COURTS Policeman charged for slapping woman What’s going

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Policeman who slapped a woman while in a minibus was on Wednesday fined $10,000 when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Police Constable Robert Hendricks was charged for slapping the woman on

January 26, 2017, while at High Street Georgetown.

The court was told that the Constable, who is stationed at Brickdam Police Station, assaulted Shonnette Smith after she objected to him touching her in the minibus.

The prosecution informed the court that the Policeman was seated in the

conductor’s seat next to the Virtual Complainant (VC) when he placed his hands around the woman and she pushed them away.

However, Hendricks placed his hand again around her and Smith brushed them away a second time.

The court was further told that the officer became

angry and placed his hands around the woman’s waist and told her if she moved his hands again: “I guh put a box in you.”

Smith subsequently removed his hands and was dealt several slaps to her face.

Failure to pay the fine will result in the cop serving three weeks in prison.

4 more Venezuelans deported from Guyana

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nother group of Venezuelans was on Wednesday deported by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Four Venezuelans were also fined $30,000 each after they admitted to entering Guyana illegally.

Appearing at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts were Maria Tores, Edis Herrera, Sihai Herrera and Yisneidi Sidram.

The four admitted that on February 2, 2018, via the Cuyuni River, County of Essequibo; they entered Guyana and failed to produce themselves to an immigration officer.

The prosecution’s case stated that on February 6, Police on patrol at Two Mile Potaro, Bartica, saw the four persons and requested that they produce travel documents. They failed

to produce the documents and as such were all arrested and escorted to the CID headquarters where further investigations were carried out and revealed that they entered Guyana illegally four days prior.

Only recently there were reports that boat loads of Venezuelans were entering the country at night without going through proper immigration process.

Minister of State Joseph Harmon at a recent media briefing pointed out that with the country’s porous borders; it makes it difficult to effectively man the borders.

Nevertheless, he noted that steps are being taken to boost law enforcement presence at these locations.

Only recently, a Venezuelan man drowned while trying to swim across the border in search of food.

Man on $40,000 bail for slapping mother of his child

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gowa Wellington was hauled before Magistrate Fabayo

Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday on an assault

with intent to cause actual bodily harm charge.

The 47-year-old of Lot 110 North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, pleaded not guilty to the offence which stated on January 21, 2018, at about 17:00h an argument broke out between himself and the Virtual Complaint, Tamika Kennedy, who is the mother of his children.

It is alleged that the duo had an exchange of words over Wellington purchasing

pampers for their child, after which, the visibly pregnant woman was dealt several slaps to the face.

Kennedy made a report to the Cummings Lodge Police station and Wellington was subsequently arrested. Wellington was granted $15,000 bail on the verbal assault charge and $25,000 bail for causing bodily harm.

He is also scheduled to appear in Court Nine on February 22.

Unemployed mother slapped with larceny charge

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26-year-old mother of four was slapped with a larceny charge and appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

It is alleged that Sandra Griffith between the period November 15, 2017 to December 12, 2017, she stole one gold chain valued $500,000, a pair of gold earrings valued $40,000 and one yellow and white gold ring valued $250,000, all property of Keon Howard.

The unemployed mother of four young children pleaded not guilty to the charge read to her. She was released on $75,000 bail.

down…

Y

…with the Lombard squatters? our Eyewitness is quite puzzled with what’s going down with the Lombard Street squatters. Looks like they’re being kicked (as the old folks say) “from pillar to post” by the authorities. Tsk! Tsk! Poor squatters. Here it was, they followed tradition when they moved into unoccupied buildings at the street that earned quite some notoriety back in the day as our “red light district”.

And in case you’ve lived a very sheltered life, dear readers a “red light district”, Wiki informs us is: “part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theatres are found.” Now this might very well be the reason why the building was abandoned in the first place – since we’re not as broadminded as say, Amsterdam in Holland!

Anyhow, back to our squatters. They occupied the quarters for decades but of course, making no repairs or paint jobs, lo and behold, the place soon descended into a real dump. Some folks call it a ‘slum”…but from your Eyewitness’ info, in slums the dwellings are rented to the poor by “slumlords” who exploit the poor slobs forced to live there. Here, the squatters (40 adults and 80 children) paid no rent but allowed the real estate to literally go to the dogs. They then constructed shacks from the material scavenged!

Fast forwards to late 2016 when the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) visits Guyana to examine the interrelated issues of poverty and human rights and are taken to the Lombard St shacks by Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence, who’d campaigned there. Of course they’re shocked and ask that something be done.

The Government jumps into action and the CH&PA announces the Lombarders not only be relocated to lands at Mocha, EBD, but 72 homes be constructed for them at the cost of $1.2M each. Your Eyewitness never figured out why 40 families needed 72 homes… but maybe some of these families fissioned? Sadly, the people of Mocha protested about the “social implications” of the Lombard Streeters moving into their neighbourhood!!! Imagine that!! Your Eyewitness couldn’t figure why? Was it the old stigma about “Lombard St working girls”??

Anyhow, after a seeming retreat following pressure from the authorities, the Mocha folks seem to have had the last say. The Lombarders are now to get their free houses at Cummings Lodge. Hope THEY don’t make a fuss!

With the Govt taking such an interest in poverty, your Eyewitness hopes they’ll take the IAHCR to the rural communities where 5700 sugar workers were fired.

After all, even before the firings, the deepest poverty was always rural, wasn’t it? …at the Oil Summit?

Another head scratcher for your peripatetic Eyewitness, was the flap over restricting reporters covering the Petroleum Business Summit. Somebody blew this one.

At every Summit your Eyewitness attended – and he’s attended so many, he’s quite summited out!! – the organisers always BOASTED about how many reporters would be in attendance!! In fact, with the one ExxonMobil organised last year at La Jolla in California, they even PAID airfare and hotel for Guyanese journalists!!

After all, apart from the networking etc, what do most businesses opening up new markets want? Publicity! That’s what! When you restrict reporters, you restrict publicity… which, is worth a lot of money! So again your Eyewitness asks the question that immediately pops into mind with such restrictions…what’s going down?

Your Eyewitness KNOWS that no business marketing team made the decision – short-lived as it was – to curb reporters’ access. He’s convinced it’s the Natural Resources Minister who’s been so pilloried by the press over his ‘renegotiation” of the ExxonMobil contract.

He just can’t take the heat…but won’t get out of the kitchen!! So he blinked!! …with PSC hiring fired sugar workers?

The Chronic trumpeted the Administration’s claim that the PSC hired 800 fired workers from Wales at their job fair.

With 1700 workers affected; 357 not going to Uitvlugt, the PSC hired 800 of the remaining 1343?

Something stinks!!

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

News

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thursDAY, February 8, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Grandfather jailed for 40 years for rape

Guyana-Venezuela border controversy

“Everything is at stake for Guyana” – Sir Shridath Ramphal F ...urges Guyanese not to fall prey to contradictory opinions

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s Guyana prepares to head to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a final settlement of the border controversy with Venezuela, the country’s legal adviser, Sir Shridath Ramphal said on Wednesday that Guyana must make all the necessary preparations and equip itself so as to get the best outcome possible, since everything is now at stake.

Speaking on the sidelines of the GIPEX Summit, the renowned Guyanese diplomat told the local press that the matter is of significant importance to Guyana, as it has been discussed at lengths for several decades.

Asked whether the legal expense could be an encumbering factor towards having this issue resolved, he said, “If you go to court there must be some legal expenses but what is at stake for Guyana is everything. Legal expenses are miniscule compared to everything to that’s at stake.”

Sir Ramphal said whether Venezuela decides to go to the ICJ or not, Guyana will be moving forward with the mater. He also noted that the controversy would not be heard by the ICJ in an advisory capacity.

“It is not going to be in an advisory capacity.

Unfortunately, some pretty wild things have been said in Guyana which are far from legally accurate and this is totally different from the advisory position that is possible under the Charter.

Don’t be misguided by these wild opinions. This is not a time for Guyana to argue these issues in Guyana and with Guyana,” he added.

Former Commonwealth Secretary General and Guyana’s Legal Adviser for the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy, Sir Shridath Ramphal

Legal team

The former Foreign Minister of Guyana and former Commonwealth Secretary General also revealed that the legal team that represented Guyana in the matter involving the boundary dispute with neighbouring Suriname could be retained for the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy.

Sir Ramphal said because of the success of this team, it may be worth “reassembling” them to ensure that Guyana gets the best possible result.

“What I think we are likely to do is to reassemble the team that was so successful with Suriname. This is not the moment to discuss those details, but they will be released in due course,” he stated.

The team which was headed by Paul Reichler, a partner in the Washington office of law firm Foley Hoag LLP, was successful in that matter which was eventually settled by the International Tribunal for

the Law of the Sea in 2007.

Asked to give his opinion of the time frame in which this matter could be resolved at the ICJ, he said, “It is a very difficult question because it can depend on what Venezuela ultimately does that can determine the length of time, the character of the proceedings. It could be shorter if they persist they are not involved and if they change their minds, and it’s a full-fledged hearing, it could be longer. But you are talking about a matter of years.”

He further explained that the ICJ would hear the case under the United Nations Charter and the Geneva Agreement of 1966 that had provided for, among other means, mediation and judicial settlement.

The coalition Government had said that it has plans to use a signing bonus of US$18 million received from ExxonMobil to stand the expense of a legal team. The money was however kept in a secret account at the Central Bank. This

information was exposed by private media companies, including this newspaper.

After years of mediation, the United Nations (UN) last week announced its decision to finally send the ongoing border controversy between Guyana and neighbouring Venezuela to the ICJ. According to the UN’s Spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, the decision came after careful analysis of the good offices process.

Dujarric explained in a statement that enough progress was not made towards a solution on the controversy.

As a result, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres referred the matter to the ICJ. This is in accordance with the framework left by his predecessor, Ban Kimoon.

However, Guterres did not rule out the continuation of the good offices process of the UN to complement court proceedings. In addition, the Secretary General also committed to accompanying both Guyana and Venezuela in their bid to settle their differences.

President David Granger has since welcomed the Secretary General’s decision to refer the matter to the world court. According to Granger, “Guyana remains confident in the correctness of its case (and) looks forward to the reaffirmation of the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award before the (ICJ).”

The Head of State reminded that Guyana’s position has always been that the basis of the controversy is a legal question and as such, should be resolved peacefully and conclusively through a legal process.

orty-one-year-old Julius Branker will likely spend the rest of his active life behind bars after he was on Wednesday sentenced to 40 years imprisonment by Sexual Offences Court Judge Simone MorrisRamall who deemed him unremorseful, after a panel of 12 jurists unanimously found him guilty of rape.

The heinous act occurred on February 15, 2014, in the county of Demerara by Branker who is a grandfather. The evidence detailed that armed with a knife, he broke and entered the victim’s house while she was lying in bed with her 18-mothold toddler and committed the act in the child’s presence.

The jury considered the evidence presented over the last few days by State Prosecutors Shawnette Austin and Seeta Bisundial.

The panel returned their decision after two hours of deliberations after Justice Ramlall had summed up the case in the afternoon session.

Upon hearing the verdict, Branker fell to his seat in the prisoner’s box and appeared as though he was crying.

After he composed himself, he maintained his innocence, saying “I am not guilty of this case,” adding that his mother and other relatives could have vouched for his whereabouts.

Defence counsel Maxwell McKay meanwhile simply said that his client supports his grandchild and three children. McKay also stated that his client was a model prisoner and has firm religious beliefs. Prosecutor Austin however indicated that Branker was on remand for break and enter and larceny.

The victim’s address to the court was presented by Red Thread Support Officer Halima Khan who emotionally related that the woman continues to deal with the trauma she suffered from the harrowing attack.

“Honestly, I forgive him but you can’t be hurting

Jailed: Julius Branker

women so. I get nightmares, I am always shaking. I remember what happened to me and it is a shame. I don’t know how to have relationships,” the mother observed.

“I feel nasty and I cannot get over it. He needs help and he should turn his life over to Christ,” the victim further related.

As the High Court Judge considered her sentence, there was cutting silence in the courtroom which was broken by a light cough that was heard throughout the room. In handing down her sentence, Justice Ramlall said she considered the nature of the fence and that he violated the woman whereby he broke into her home in the wee morning hours and held a knife to her side and threatened her life. The judge further pointed out that the child ended up “under the act” even though it was not clear how the child got there.

Justice Ramlall opined that Branker who had “no remorse” also showed disrespect for the jury’s verdict and did not ask the court for mercy or advise his counsel in this regard. She encouraged him to change his life and sentenced him to the serve 40 years in prison but stressed that he will only be eligible for parole after serving 35 years of his sentence.

10 news

thursDAY, february 8, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Wales severance cries

Education of children under threat – father of 3 fears

Former sugar worker Michael Chootoo

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fter being retrenched by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) since 2016, former Wales Sugar Estate cane harvester Michael Chootoo has outlined the many challenges that have affected his ability to provide for himself and his family. The worker, who showcased signs of being at his wit’s end over the non-payment of his severance, indicated to Guyana Times in a recent interview that the education of his three children is being hindered as he “barely” has enough money to send them to school.

“It affecting my fami-

ly a lot and meh pickney dem could barely get to go school. If I did get my severance, I coulda tek meh money turn over and do a lil business and get a lil profit,” Chotoo decried.

The former worker further observed the difficulties of not affording to pay for the many assignments that his children have to complete and he also noted the unfavourable conditions under which he has to send them to school. He noted that the ages of his children are 16, 14 and nine.

“Right now my children’s boots aint got nothing underneath, they just going with the top. One of them crying because

to carry in today – me can’t afford that, me an got nothing at all. Right now I take some trust from some people and I can’t afford to pay,” the man noted.

He called on the sugar company to pay the Wales workers their termination benefits, claiming that the few hundred workers attached to the former West Bank Demerara entity are being bullied.

“I really need my severance and is bullying with GuySuCo because they come and tell me bout meh severance and I agree to take me severance and not to go to Uitvlugt. They bullying us,” Chootoo stressed.

In a show of much annoyance, the retrenched worker related that he deserves his severance after devoting almost 30 years of service with the sugar company.

“Right now I frustrated with GuySuCo. I waiting on severance since 2016. I work with the estate for 28 years and it hard now from since then to now. Other estates come behind and closed down and done get their severance and I an get nothing yet. The people at Wales angry over their

“Nuff time my wife make attempt to leff me because is three children that got to go to school and it hard” – sugar worker she say she will stop go to school because she got to get $600 to do assignment

Several fired cane harvesters holding up placards during the peaceful picketing exercise held outside the Ministry of the Presidency

treatment... is months and a year finish and we can’t get nothing,” Chootoo expressed.

As with his colleague Stanley Felix, the dismissed worker observed the strain on family life which was brought on by the closure of the Estate.

“Nuff time my wife make attempt to leff me because is three children that got to go to school and it hard.

Every day, they coming home with assignment an I got to find money for them to go to the Internet [café] because I can’t afford to put Wi-Fi in my house and now the lil money when I work

a fine job and save, I got to take out and it ah finish,” he pointed out.

“Right now I cleaning people drains and doing other people yard just to upkeep me. It very hard, hard, hard right now,” Chootoo stressed.

The father of three is hopeful that the High Court can call up the severance matter, some 10 months after the case was filed.

On December 31, 2016, the Wales Estate was closed. GuySuco has since snubbed the Wales workers when it announced on Tuesday that they are not entitled to severance pay-

ment.

Acting GuySuCo Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Paul Bhim, has declared that these workers were not entitled to those benefits.

Bhim maintains that GuySuCo has honoured all its obligations regarding the payment of severance at the Wales Estate.

He told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that cane cutters were offered jobs at the Uitvlugt Estate and they were at risk of self-termination because of their refusal to take up this offer.

However, the workers argued that they were being pressured by GuySuCo when they were aware that the Uitvlugt Estate was located more than 20 miles from Wales. They still contend that this move is contrary to the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act. By refusing to adhere to the “Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act” GuySuCo is treating the Wales cane cutters like indentured servants.

Of the approximate 4800 workers dismissed in the latest firings, only 1600 fired sugar workers who are eligible to receive $500,000 or less in severance pay have been paid in full, while the others would be paid 50 per cent of the amounts due to them.

thursday, february 8, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Y

ou meant to say, “thank you”, but instead you said, “I’m falling for you!” When you send Valentine’s Day flowers, you’re honouring a tried and tested t ra d i t i o n .

H o w e v e r, sending roses of certain colours may say more than you think. Make sure that the colour of the roses matches your true feelings.

Red roses are the traditional way to say “I love you” and are, therefore, the most popular flower sent on Valentine’s Day. However, think beyond red this year.

Valentine’s Day is when we celebrate love, of course, but in the people we love, there is often much more to celebrate.

Luckily, for most every feeling and sentiment, there is a colour of rose.

What the flowers convey: Red: “I love you” Nothing says “I love you”

want to honour on Valentine’s Day, pink roses show appreciation, grace, perfect happiness, admiration,

like red roses. Red symbolises love, beauty, courage, respect, romantic love, and even congratulations.

White: “I am the one for you” While many send red roses on Valentine’s Day, surprise your Valentine this year with white roses that symbolise true love, purity, innocence, reverence, humility, youthfulness, and charm.

Pink: “Thank you” Perfect for a friend that you

gratefulness, a n d gentleness.

Yellow: “We’re friends and I care about you” A n o t h e r way to honour your friendship, yellow stands for joy, gladness, friendship, delight, new beginnings, welcome back, and remembrance.

Yellow with red tip: “I’m falling in love with you” The beautiful sunset roses let that new person in your life know that you want more than friendship – they symbolise falling in love.

Orange/Coral: “I want you in my life” Orange lets the receiver know that you are passionate about them. The colour means

desire, enthusiasm, a n d fascination.

Red and White together: “We are a great match” Send a mixed bouquet of red and white roses to your Valentine to signify unity.

Peach: “Let’s make this a memorable Valentine’s Day”

If you are ready to say, “Let’s get together”, peach roses are the ones to choose as the rose colour symbolises intimacy.

If there’s not a rose colour that says precisely what you feel, Nesha’s offers a variety of arrangements with colourful flowers such as tulips and lilies that will be sure to brighten

anyone’s Valentine’s Day. If you really want to go above and beyond, couple our flowers with one of these perfect Valentine’s Day gifts for her.

So, this Valentine’s Day, make sure you are sending your special someone the right signals with the right Valentine’s Day flowers from Nesha’s Flowerland.

12

thursDAY, february 8, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

I

f you are in a relationship or not, you probably noticed that Valentine’s Day is approaching fast. And whether you are a fan of the holiday or not, you probably thought about what you should do or buy for your significant o t h e r.

But is it really important to celebrate

Valentine’s Day and give a Valentine’s Day gift to your loved one?

What’s love got to do with it?

While Valentine’s Day has its origins in Romanian culture, it has now become a consumer holiday, with $17.4 billion spent on a single day. On average, men spend twice as much as women on their Valentine’s Day gifts. Now, fun facts put aside, is it important for you to get your loved one a gift for Valentine’s Day or not?

Some would say no because money doesn’t buy love. Which is absolutely true. But there is much more about gifting than we a r e aware of. And scientists have actually proven this. Anthropologists have found local out that gift giving is actually humanity’s universal family-owned behaviour. As a form of reciprocity or exchange, gift jewellery establishment, giving is one of the processes that integrate society. renowned for its quality The point of gift giving is actually hidden behind handcrafted jewellery, its shallow surface of exchanging gifts.

A

personalised service, and trusted prices. Since 1935, this establishment has offered a splendid array of jewellery, from the exquisitely unique to contemporary selections, meticulously crafted from gold and diamonds. The cornerstone of Guyanese jewellery is centrally located in the centennial heritage site of Stabroek Market, under the clock. With its rich history and bold architecture, this is where the true Guyanese spirit dwells amid the colourful bustle of genuine bargains and everyday low prices.

Get genuine diamond pieces designed just for her from L Seepersaud Maraj and Sons. “And remember, as it was written, to love another person is to see the face of God.” – Les Miserables

The science behind gift giving

A well-known anthropologist, Bronis?aw Malinowski stated that reciprocity was an implicit part of gifting. The gift giving is everything else than a manifestation of modern consumerism. It’s actually a manifestation of being sociable.

Sociability that is tied to establishing and re-establishing the relationships between individuals and also between groups of individuals. And those relationships are key to individuals and also for the society. The act of gift giving is actually an act of establishing a relationship where there was none before or re-establishing an existing relationship. What really circles in the act of gift giving is the relationships, not the gift itself.

Gifts are the means not the goal of gift giving.

But what’s also important is that the value of the gift does not lay in its economic value, but in its symbolic value. You don’t give money – you give attention, devotion, love. So you don’t actually have to buy a gift. You can

bake it, cook it, knit it or create it differently. Or you can just write a nice personal message on a blank piece of paper. Gifts don’t necessarily cost money. You don’t have to be rich to be socially rich.

It’s not that hard to choose a Valentine’s Gift

Now that you know why gift giving is important, not just for Valentine’s Day, but in general, you might feel a bit under pressure.

But don’t worry. It’s actually not that hard to buy the gift. Especially for your significant other.

Considering the fact that the person you are buying a gift for is one of the closest people to you, you won’t have too much of a problem figuring out what would be a great gift. Remember, there is no such thing as the perfect gift.

There are great gifts and good enough gifts. And the difference is that with a great gift you show how much you know and appreciate your partner, and with the good enough gift, you still show your love and attention. So, basically you can’t go wrong.

Now relax and place the task of finding a gift into your mind.

Don’t try to figure it out right away.

Let it float there while you live your normal life. Once in a while ask yourself: Did my significant other mention anything he/she would really like to do? Maybe try a new hobby, a new restaurant,

new shirt? Did she/he say she really wants something, but can’t find it anywhere?

Did she mention what she would like for us to do together? If nothing pops up, think broader. What kind of a person is he/she? What does he/she really like to do? Is there something in his/her life that you could help him/her improve with a

certain product or activity?

The secret of finding the perfect gift is to pay attention. And we guarantee you that you’ll find it in few days or even hours if you focus.

13

THURsDAY, february 8, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

14 news

thursDAY, february 8, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

$300M infrastructural works for La Parfaite Harmonie – Project Director lots in that scheme. We do welcome our young professional to apply for house lots in that scheme and hope to consolidate the infrastructure work in that scheme,” Saul informed.

CH&PA’s Director of Operations, Denise King-

Tudor explained that the prices of house lots are set at $4 million, $4.5 million, $5 million and $7 million. She added that there are also bigger lots available for interested person and that the cost would be calculated per square foot.

The plot sizes range from 6000 to 8000 square feet and King-Tudor explained that of the 538 lots, 127 have been allocated so far.

She is urging interested persons to visit the CH&PA’s office on Brickdam and make an application.

A section of Providence Gardens, East Bank Demerara

T

he Central Housing and Planning Authority’s (CH&PA) Project Director, Omar Narine, has said the Housing Authority has over $300 million of planned infrastructural development works for the La Parfaite Harmonie Housing Scheme.

Narine made the comments on Tuesday during a tour of the newly developed sections of the La Parfaite Harmonie Housing Scheme on the West Bank of Demerara.

“In December, we completed $40 million in infrastructure upgrading projects where we have upgraded various deteriorating roads in Parfaite. We are aggressively engaging the NDC to take over those roads so that they can do the necessary maintenance programmes on the roads and for this year we a potential $300 million in infrastructural works ongoing in Parfaite,” he noted.

He noted that they are currently executing infrastructural works at Lust-enRust and Retch-Door-Zee.

Additionally, Narine informed reporters that work on over 200 lots at Lust-enRust would be completed in 2018. He noted that the project had to be terminated in 2017 due to non-compliance of the contractor.

He further related that the Lust-en-Rust area would be soon outfitted with water, electricity and paved roads.

“All the roads are up to loam level and the final base material is the crusher run and installation of electricity.

Waterlines are in the ground and the pressure testing has been completed already and the works are expected to be completed by February month end,” Narine added.

Re-migrant Scheme

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer Lelon Saul said they have recommenced allocation of house lots in the re-migrant scheme, more popularly known as Providence Gardens at Providence, East Bank of Demerara. He also indicated that they are inviting young professionals to apply for

land in the luxurious residential community.

“We have recommenced the allocation of house lots there. Basically Guyanese living overseas and desirous of owning their own homes in Guyana can acquire house

Road works currently ongoing at Lust-en-Rust

Republic Bank hands over Panorama sponsorship cheque

T

he Republic Bank M a s h r a m a n i P a n o r a m a Competition will once again light up local theatres as representatives of Republic Bank Guyana on Wednesday handed over the sponsorship cheque, which will facilitate the annual steel band competition. The cheque amounting to $2.8 million was received

by Social Cohesion Ministry Permanent Secretary Melissa Tucker.

The Panorama competition first began in 2009 with three bands and has grown over the past 10 years into a major Mashramani event.

Speaking about the initiative, Republic Bank representative Celine Davis

noted that the company believed that facilitating the competition was its corporate responsibility. She further stated that the company could be depended upon to sponsor the competition for many years to come.

This year’s competition will see participation from 13 school bands, three large bands and an undisclosed number of youth bands.

The competition is divided into five categories namely: school and youth band, large bands, junior and senior solo, pan jazz, and pan duet.

Republic Bank public relations representative Jonelle Dummet highlighted the company’s fostering of steel bands outside

of the Panorama competition. Dummet explained that the Republic Bank Ltd “Right Start Music Literacy Programme”, which is held over the August holidays teaches and furthers steel pan skills in students. The programme curriculum includes the history of steel pan, theory and practice.

Some 1000 persons are said to have passed through the programme, most of those students are usually a part of the Panorama competition.

Aside from Republic Bank’s involvement, the Government is also seeking to strengthen steel bands in Guyana. Coordinator Tyndall explained that over a five-year period, 15 new

steel bands would be introduced within the school system “and that is supported by the School Steel Bands development programme which is dispatching instructors to these schools to promote training for children in that area”.

The first leg of the Panorama competition will be held at the Theatre Guild on February 15, 2018. This segment will see the junior and senior solo, pan jazz and pan duet categories. The larger segment will be held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall and will see the school and youth band and large band segments of the competition. This will begin on February 18, 2018.

thursDAY, february 8, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

S

atiesh Sheriff is riding the winds of change, thriving in the wide open world of online freelancing, the newest frontier in the world of work that promises work-life balance and financial freedom – if you get it right.

So how did the 31-yearold, whose goal is to work with passionate and amazing people and help them achieve their goals, do it? How did he move from working 9-5 to spending as much time as he does with his mischievous 18-month-old daughter and wonderful wife of five years while making money working from home through Content+, his online copywriting and content marketing firm…?

“I started on a freelancing website called Elance.com (now Upwork.com), that was in 2012,” the Enterprise, East Coast Demerara resident explained, as he laughingly condensed what he called a “long story”. “I previously helped my wife get started with the site and she got a steady income from it and thought why not do the same for me.

I got a few odd jobs here and there, but wasn't spending a lot of time on it because I had a fulltime job. But when we got pregnant in 2015, I realised that I wanted something more, I wanted to earn more and I wanted more control over my time. That's when I decided to focus on how I can

turn this side gig into something more meaningful. This was the ending of 2015 and is when everything changed.

“I focused more on my business. The great thing is, I already knew what I wanted to do, what my core service would be – copywriting. So, now I had to figure out how to build a business around that skill.

“I started reading many books (on entrepreneurship, online marketing, business, mindset, etc); listened to a bunch of podcasts (“Entrepreneur On Fire”, “Rise To The Top”, Lewis Howes, Tim Ferris, Miergy); watched a bunch of videos (on running an online business, success with freelancing websites, educational videos) and started following the right people (got on the email lists of ‘dream mentor’ Ramit Sethi, Ryan Lee, Noah Kagan, Lewis Howes, Tim Ferris, and many more).

“During that time I came across Rosh Khan on “Rise To The Top” and then on “Entrepreneur On Fire” podcast. And, that really pushed me more because there was this young Guyanese who is basically doing the same thing I am doing, making serious money, and who is on a first-name basis with the guys who I admire, my mentors from afar. So, I messaged him, went to his masterclass in 2016 and since then he has been instrumental in

Market statistics

Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Cambio Rates

Calculated at 94% purity, Feb 7, 2018

Bank of Guyana Cur

Buying

my success. He gives me advice, strategies, tactics that he used to close clients. I use those every day.”

Sheriff, who also cited his family and his wife – “the wisest and most generous person I have ever known” – among his influences, said the response has been “phenomenal”. His company, which was registered in 2016, has helped many small businesses and entrepreneurs around the world to get more customers. “… we help them write content for their websites, blog posts, and articles; we help sales emails, marketing emails, sales letters, brochures, social media and anything else that requires them to convince people to do business with them,” Sheriff explained. “For 2018 I've rolled out a new lead generation service, where I help web designers get appointments with potential clients. I work primarily with international businesses, because they are aware of what I do, the importance of it, and I don't have to spend time educating clients about the importance of what I do.”

Sheriff has learnt many valuable lessons along the way – like having systems for everything, never relying on one method to get clients, never undervaluing yourself, being okay with rejections, and surrounding himself with people who are making

Selling

USD

$1324.65

GBP

$285.68

$289.29

Gross

$259,469

CAN

$164.52

$166.43

Net

$241,306

USD

$205.98

$208.44

$ 254.18

$257.42

Indicators as on January 31, 2018

EURO

Indicators

US$ per barrel

Crude Oil

$66.86

Price

USD

Change %

-1.14 Change %

Rough Rice

$274.73/ton

-0.34

London Sugar

$357.60/ton

-1.00

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1341.70

$1342.70

Low/High

$1311.30

$1332.80

Change

-0.70

-0.05%

Business Concept – Economics The theories, principles, and models that deal with how the market process works. It attempts to explain how wealth is created and distributed in communities, how people allocate resources that are scarce and have many alternative uses, and other such matters that arise in dealing with human wants and their satisfaction. (Business Dictionary)

an impact in the world – but he believes the most important lesson for Guyanese who are looking to start a service-based online business is embracing who you are.

“In the online world, competition is stiff and it is difficult to stand out. I mean you are not competing with a few hundred people like in Guyana, you are competing with millions. Two things I found that will set you apart, 1) results and 2) personality. You must know your craft well, how you can demonstrate that as a portfolio and case studies. And, people like people who embrace who they are.… I always tell potential clients that I am from Guyana, if they don't know where that is, I tell them we've just struck oil, you will hear about us soon. Or I am a movie fan, so I will inject my own brand of humour or pop

culture references in our conversations.

They think this guy seems nice to work with and even if it doesn't result in a gig, they still remember me,” the engaging young copywriter said.

He further advised that persons change their mindset – realise that there are opportunities out there for your skills, then find your skills, pick an audience that your skills can help and you enjoy helping, get a portfolio up, find your audience and pitch them, ethically and with value first. “Send them an email or a message, the idea is to start a conversation and not for them to give you a job.”

For the former Annandale Secondary student, it sometimes feels a little surreal. “So far I've worked with a world-renowned coach, a few speakers, a number of

15

marketing strategists, and game-changing entrepreneurs and startups in countries like Switzerland, the UK, Australia, the US, and Canada. Having conversations with CEOs, advising them on strategies, and realising mid-conversation that you are a Guyanese from a little country of 750,000 people, literally worlds apart, and they are agreeing, taking down notes and asking if you can help. That there is a good feeling.”

Contact: satieshsheriff@gmail.com For more ideas on how to get started working online, check out the Digital Wealth Creation Summit (www.eventbrite. com/e/digital-wealth-creation-summit-2018-tickets-40847660452) on Saturday, February 10 at the Marriott.

Investor’s Guide

Wall Street fades in choppy trade after week’s wild start

U

S stocks ran out of steam on Wednesday after an early surge, in a sign that investors are still spooked by the market’s recent retreat and wary more fallout is to come.

In an up-and-down session, the benchmark S&P 500 faded at the close after trading higher for much of the afternoon, following two days of big moves, including its largest single-day percentage loss in more than six years on Monday.

“Obviously there’s a lot of concerned and nervous people. You might have had day traders trying to get out at the end of the day.

Who knows what tomorrow brings,” said Stephen Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco.

While Wednesday’s trading lacked the wild swings of the prior two sessions, the Dow industrials moved in a roughly 500-point range, more than three times the average daily swing over the past year.

“There are going to be people that are going to be selling into any kind of strength and then you are going to have some value-conscious investors taking advantage of these multiple 100-point drops,” said Alan Lancz, President of

Alan B Lancz & Associates, an investment advisory firm in Toledo, Ohio.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 19.42 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 24,893.35, the S&P 500 lost 13.48 points, or 0.50 per cent, to end up at 2681.66 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 63.90 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 7051.98.

Technology shares fell 1.4 per cent, with Apple down 2.1 per cent, while energy dropped 1.7 percent as oil prices slumped. Gains for the industrials and financials sectors supported the market.

After regular cash trading on Wednesday, S&P e-mini futures fell one per cent, suggesting the negative tone would continue today.

The S&P 500 had rebounded 1.7 per cent on Tuesday, a day after its biggest drop since August 2011.

Investors were weighing whether the sharp swings were the start of a deeper move down or just clearing the way before a resumption of the aging bull market, which would turn nine on March 9.

The market’s pullback came with concerns about rising bond yields and higher inflation, reinforced by Friday’s January US jobs

report that prompted worries the Federal Reserve will raise benchmark interest rates at a faster pace than expected this year.

“Although there are a couple of things in the way of perfect scenarios, that being interest rates and bond yields and what not, people are still looking at equities as a good investment and they still believe that there is going to be continued upside,” said Peter Costa, President of trading firm Empire Executions in New York.

On Wednesday, the US Senate reached a two-year bipartisan budget deal worth around US$300 billion in an attempt to end the kind of squabbling over fiscal issues that has plagued Washington for years.

Benchmark Treasury yields rose after the Treasury Department sold new 10-year notes to soft demand and the US Senate reached the budget deal, possibly adding to pressure on stocks.

The Cboe Volatility Index, known as the VIX, fell 2.3 points to 27.73, but that was still more than twice levels generally seen in the past few months.

(Reuters)

16 news

thursDAY, february 8, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

GIPEX 2018 opening

Oil contract could be amended

PSC urges transparency, good governance in oil sector

– says presidential adviser on petroleum …while criticising low royalty and large concession …not invited to Guyana’s first oil and gas summit

– President a no-show, Trotman fills in

By Lakhram Bhagirat

ties. “GIPEX provides a forum through which the emerging oil and gas sector can be carefully explored, with a view to determining the various economic opportunities along the value chain, which are ripe for investment.”

No-show

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman delivering the keynote address at GIPEX 2018 held at the Marriott Hotel, Georgetown

A

s the first-ever oil summit and exhibition was launched on Wednesday, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) spared no effort in reminding Government of the need to be transparent in its work especially, as it relates to the oil and gas industry as it called for the establishment of a good governance system to oversee the sector.

In delivering his address, PSC Chairman Eddie Boyer urged that the Government ensure there were a well-managed Sovereign Wealth Fund and a transparent Petroleum Commission. Boyer said that the PSC has been paying keen attention to the sector and would play a large part in its development.

The PSC Head said his organisation would like to see stability of Guyana as a democracy “and our interest in the oil and gas sector maintained with clear frameworks of sector development, strong local content policy and a well-managed Sovereign Wealth Fund”.

Boyer declared, “The Guyanese business community, though inexperienced, is not sleeping. We are aware of the developments and we are edu-

Office for Investment (GOInvest) Chairperson Patricia Bacchus urged investors to cultivate strong business relations with the view of tapping into the oil and gas industry.

“This forum is also critical to the development of meaningful sector and cross-sector relationships, as it provides the opportunity for networking among those involved in oil and gas, and those involved in the provision of related products and services,” she explained.

Similarly, for participants, especially Guyanese participants interested in operating in this new sector, Bacchus said they would benefit from relevant expert presentations through which insight into the sector’s best practices could be gained and then subsequently manifested in the way business is done here.

While noting that Guyana has recorded stable macro-economic growth over the last eight years, she also pointed out that there has always been a dire need to diversify the economic base.

“The advent of the oil and gas sector is, therefore, regarded as a significant step in the country’s economic diversifica-

Guyana’s first-ever oil summit and exhibition, GIPEX 2018, was launched on Wednesday at the Georgetown Marriott by Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman in the presence of his ministerial colleagues and other officials

cating and informing ourselves about this new sector to grasp every opportunity. We will continue to expand on that in the coming months.”

He also used the opportunity to encourage the several hundred delegates attending the conference, to see Guyana as an investment opportunity not only in oil and gas but in other critical sectors.

In her remarks, Guyana

tion efforts, and we hope that it is the springboard through which wider economic diversification can be facilitated,” she added.

The GO-Invest Chair said though Guyana, with its young economy, provided immense opportunities for investors, and she urged all the participants to view the gaps in the economic activities not as shortcomings but as opportuni-

Meanwhile, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman delivered the keynote address although President David Granger was listed to deliver the address. Prior to that Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge gave brief remarks. While a few Cabinet Ministers were present, the President was notably absent.

No reason or explanation was given for the President’s absence at such an important national event, which was heavily promoted by the Government.

Trotman told the opening that while Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is relatively low, he also believes in the predictions made by leading global economists that there will be growth of 2000 per cent within two decades.

“At this juncture in our national development, being at a place where we will travel on a fast and furious trajectory, we don’t want simply to be known as an oil-producing nation, but rather as a country that took its resources and revenues – and used them to fashion and carve a nation that is geographically and strategically positioned to produce the food required for the 48 million people who are projected to live in the Caribbean by 2050 – just over 30 years from now. And that’s just the projected context.”

Trotman said the wave of investment in all kinds of sectors had already begun and the evidence was everywhere. “In boardrooms across the world, Guyana is the talking point as the place to be.

“My humble word of advice to local entrepreneurs is to be prepared for a level of investment and hive of business activity that is unprecedented.

Upgrade your skills and knowledge, improve the standards of your business, form alliances and partnerships, get ready to compete with the best for they are already here on your doorstep.”

The inaugural Guyana International Petroleum Exhibition and Summit (GIPEX) has attracted local and international business executives and operators in the oil and gas and ancillary services sectors. These groups and individuals will have the chance not only to network and form alliances, but also to build capacity through the sharing of expertise and experiences as the country gears for oil production.

The 300-plus delegates and more than 100 companies have much to expect from the activities on the agenda for the balance of the summit. About 57 per cent of the companies that supported GIPEX 2018 are young Guyanese companies.

A

contract is an agreement between two parties and when one is dissatisfied then the terms of that agreement could be reviewed and amended, according to the Presidential Adviser on Petroleum, Dr Jan Mangal.

Dr Mangal made the statement while speaking to reporters following a discussion on the Government’s vision for the oil and gas sector at the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen Campus on Wednesday.

“A contract is an agreement between two people and both parties need to be comfortable.

If one party becomes really uncomfortable it will be changed.

Guyana is a sovereign country, the evidence out there from around the world is that when situations change, like look at the price for natural gas people sign contracts for natural gas at very high price long-term contracts, the price for natural gas has dropped drastically, people are renegotiating those contracts,” he stated.

He added that if a contract is amended then the oil companies would contend that Government is discouraging investments but noted that investments ought to be weighed compared to the level of comfort with the contract.

He explained that if Guyana decided to amend its contract with ExxonMobil then there will be the perception that it does not know what it wants but noted that he believes otherwise.

Some of the students at the discussion

He further explained that if Government needs to get to a point where Guyanese are comfortable and trust them when it comes to the oil and gas industry.

“It is part of my remit to push for transparency so don’t want to be in a situation where information is withheld from citizens and then they develop mistrust or further mistrust of the industry. We need Guyana and Guyanese to be comfortable with what they have and the direction they take. So, the way to do that is by putting information out there and not withholding information,” he noted.

Dr Mangal informed that following the release of the contract in December of 2017, he is now in the process of organising a team of experts to review the contract for the Government to decide a way forward.

“I am pushing to get experts… to get support from the IDB, IMF, etc to go and do thorough review of the contract.

Some of them already have reviewed the contract so it’s the case of doing more of that and getting results and then for

Dr Jan Mangal and Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith “We have to be careful not to simplify too much. It is not black and white, there could be a whole lot of grey area in the middle,” the petroleum expert noted.

Dr Mangal has a Doctorate in Offshore Geotechnical Engineering from Oxford University and a Bachelor in Civil Engineering from the University of Edinburg. He worked in the marine and oil and gas industries for over 18 years, where he spent 13 of those with US oil giant, Chevron, working on major projects in the USA, West Africa and Asia.

When asked about whether he thinks the contract should be renegotiated, Dr Mangal stated that while he has his views he is not ready to pronounce on that publicly but did say it is a topic of discussion with the Government.

“Last year the focus was getting the contract out so Guyana could get a comfort level of what the contract was about. The process has just started; it will probably take some time for the people to do analyses and Guyanese as a whole to decide what they want to do… sticking with things how they are or looking for another solution,” he explained.

Government to look at the results and decide what to do,” he related.

When asked if those reports should be made public, the oil and gas expert said it is his belief that all things should be made public so as to encourage transparency.

Low royalty

Under the renegotiated agreement, Guyana receives two per cent royalty on earnings from ExxonMobil’s oil sales while the US oil giant would not be required to pay taxes on its share of the profits and according to the President’s Petroleum Adviser that is low compared to global standards. He also raised concerns about the system used to negotiate that agreement and also the expertise of the persons doing the negotiating.

“What we can do is look at what are the international norms. Royalty, when you look around, is more between 10 and 20 per cent, not two per cent.

Tax is usually 20-30 per cent in some places, the production split of 50-50 is not too bad,” Dr Mangal noted while responding to a student’s question about whether the Government negotiated a fair contract.

“If a process was followed then we would know who was involved, knew their competencies, expertise and that they went there to bat for Guyana.

A lot of people in Guyana right now are questioning that,” he added.

The presidential advisor said generally oil companies are very powerful and experts in everything they do and they know how to influence governments to a “T” but would buckle under public pressure and as such he encouraged Guyanese to engage in “intelligent debates” on the future of its oil and gas sector.

Large concession

Based on the 1999 agreement and the new 2017 deal, ExxonMobil is controlling the entire Stabroek Block of about 600 blocks or 10 times more than what Guyana’s laws allow. That was raised by a law student of the university who sought to get clarification and Dr Mangal’s opinion on the control of such a large concession.

“It is not good for one company owning too much of your acreage. Exxon already owns over 50 per cent of the acreage in Guyana. That’s not good for Guyana,” he said.

“The other thing to consider in Guyana that this is a first project. Guyana is trying to attract international investment, however, Guyana needs to also remember that the Stabroek Block is a huge block and that contract promises the whole block. It could be that all of Guyana’s oil is in the Stabroek block… So if this was a small block then it would be okay to say oh well let’s leave it to the next block we will get a better deal but the block is a huge block so Guyanese need to weight the tradeoff with that situation of the blocks and trying to attract foreign investments,” Dr Mangal added.

He noted that in some countries, they mandate competition and control who the blocks are allocated to while recommending that a review of the block allocation be done.

GIPEX Summit

The University of Guyana hosted the discussion on the day the inaugural Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit (GEPEX) opened and his absence from the event was notable.

When asked about that, he told reporters that he was never invited to the event despite his boss, President David Granger, being listed as one of the speakers.

“I was not invited to go so that’s the main reason. If you looked at the website, you will see President Granger picture was there. I would assume he was invited,” he said.

However, the President was a no show at the event.

news

17

thursDAY, february 8, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Main witness testifies in $550M cocaine bust

From left: Sherwayne DeAbreu, Stephen Vieira, Nazim Gaffor and Tazim Gafoor

Wanted man: Naraine Lall

T

he lengthy testimony of the key witness in the $550 million cocaine bust of May 2017 at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) on Tuesday began before Magistrate Rochelle Liverpool at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court.

The key witness, Hakeem Mohammed, gave his testimony to the court against the five accused – Tazim and Nazim Gafoor; Sherwin DeAbreu; bike racer, Stephen Vieira; and wanted man, Naraine Lall – as to his involvement in the trafficking of some 84.9 kilograms of cocaine discovered

by Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) ranks in a shipment of wood in front of his Lot 227 Zeelugt, EBE premises.

Leading the witness, CANU’s Prosecutor Konyo Sandiford questioned him in the presence of Attorneys for the accused, Glenn Hanoman, Latchmie Rahamat, and Dexter Todd.

However, in his attempt to halt Mohammed’s testimony, Hanoman turned to his knowledge of the Evidence Act Section 59, disclosing to the witness that anyone called to give evidence that will expose him to criminal charges could refuse to do so.

This did not deter

Mohammed from revealing what he knew of the drug trafficking group. He gave his account of events which led to the day of the discovery of the drugs by the CANU ranks.

Mohammed testified that he was hired by Naraine Lall to work at his sawmill in Parika, EBE, to assist with electrical issues and cleaning machinery.

While there, he testified to seeing various men including DeAbreu, John Corby, one called “Rasta” bringing cocaine, which were hidden in garbage bags and which were shown to him by Tazim Gafoor, at

his brother drove the truck which contained the wood with the cocaine while he drove another truck with five bundles of wood to the Guyana National Shipping Corp (GNIC) dock.

The truck being driven by his brother however broke down on its way.

Mohammed revealed that it was later that he was told

by Tazim Gafoor and Vieira that they had document issues and the truck had to turn back.

He noted that on that said day, that is May 12, 2017, the reported broken down shipment of wood was taken to his residence to

The stashed cocaine that was discovered

the sawmill. Tazim Gafoor, he was told by Lall, was his partner.

He revealed that Vieira who they (employees at the sawmill) called “white boy” would visit the sawmill to inspect the cocaine operation. According to Mohammed, he saw him at least four times.

The cocaine was stashed in a special room at the sawmill and later transferred into the consignment of wood which he (Mohammed) used a machine to dig out.

He testified to assisting Tazim Gafoor and “Rasta” in stashing the cocaine inside the wood. After being properly concealed, the wood was left to be shipped.

However, on the day of the bust, he explained that

be kept when CANU ranks showed up and made the discovery.

Following his testimony on Tuesday, the accused was crossed examined by Attorneys Latchmie Rahamat and Nigel Hughes.

Rahamat and Hughes in their questioning suggested that the story Mohammed told to the court was made up.

The matter will continue on February 10.

The five accused were all charged and remanded to prison in May of 2017 with aiding Hakeem Mohamed between March 1 and May 12, 2017, in trafficking 84.9 kilograms of cocaine at Narine Lall’s Sawmill at Lookout, Parika.

They were all later granted bail.

Labourer who stole tyre rims fined

A

labourer was on Wednesday fined $50,000 or four weeks imprisonment after he appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to a simple larceny charge.

Forty-six-year-old Ho?e Hamilton of Lot M 41 North

Sophia, Greater Georgetown, on January 18, 2018, stole four 18-inch chrome tyre rims valued $100,000; property of Dale De Mendonca.

Hamilton pleaded guilty with explanation to the charges that were read to him.

He told the court that he usually does cleaning of

drains and yards around the Sheriff Street area when he came across the chrome rims and thought that they were thrown away.

The man said he took the rims and was shortly after apprehended by the Police who placed him in custody.

He subsequently returned one of the rims to the owner.

Pensioner attacked, robbed of over $6M by masked bandits

M

asked bandits in the wee hours of Wednesday morning attacked and robbed a 71-year-old pensioner while she was asleep in her Rosa Drive, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown home.

The incident occurred sometime between 02:30h to 04:00h. The victim has since been identified as Joy Proctor who occupies the upper flat of her two-storey wooden and concrete home.

According to reports, the two suspects gained entry into the woman’s home by removing several louvre window panes from the back of the house.

Proctor recalled that she was asleep when she was awakened by the feeling of being choked. She recalled seeing two masked men, one of whom had his hands wrapped around her neck.

He then began to threaten her, demanding that she hand over her money and jewellery.

Two bandits then proceeded to ransack the house in search of valuables. After about 15 minutes in Proctor’s home, the bandits made good their escape with the woman’s silver-grey Dualis motorcar, bearing registration number PWW 2862, in an unknown direction.

They also escaped with a

Sony flat screen television, one laptop, three tablets, two Samsung cellphones, a quantity of gold jewellery valued t $500,000 and $22,000 in cash. In all, the elderly woman estimated that over $6 million in items were stolen.

The Police were summoned and detectives have processed the scene.

However, no arrest has been made thus far.

11 entries confirmed for Mash 2018 float parade

A

s the clock winds down to the annual Mashramani float parade, the Social Cohesion Ministry is confident about receiving a high number of entries for the competition.

Mashramani Committee Coordinator Andrew Tyndall on Wednesday expressed hope that the number of Mash bands will be high despite the low number of entries received so far.

“We would have received 11 registration forms; also there are a number of agencies and private companies who would have been calling in for information of how they could be a part of the

process,” he stated.

When questioned about the small number of entries, Tyndall explained that this amount was common around this time of the Mash season. “Around this time this is what registration normally looks like, probably next week heading up to the 16th, a lot of companies will bring in their registration forms,” he explained.

To date, the calendar of Mashramani activities is said to be “running smoothly”, with a number of major events such as the Soca Monarch, Calypso, Chutney, Panorama and the Children’s Mashramani

competitions still to be completed. These events are all a prelude to the grand Mashramani float parade that will be held on February 23.

This year, the float parade will have a new route, which will see revellers beginning on Thomas Lands, west of Albert Street, then proceeding on to the first judging point at the National Park, then the parade will proceed east along Thomas Lands, south into Vlissengen Road, then into D’Urban Park using the Vlissengen and Hadfield Streets entrance.

Bandits beat, rob Angoy's...

from page 5

The window the bandit broke to gain entry

During the scuffle, the man’s son, Jimmie Mohabir, 43, sustained wounds to his head and feet and had to receive medical attention at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Meanwhile, Hannamon received bites to both of her legs after removing the bandit’s disguise. She was also treated at the New Amsterdam Hospital and sent away.

The businessman told this publication that he put up a scuffle with the bandit

and was injured in the process. He showed wounds to his chest, face, finger, forearm, both feet and one leg.

Meanwhile, neighbours also responded, causing the two other bandits who remained on the step to flee.

Inside the woman’s bedroom, the bandit broke a window and attempted to flee but Kamalodeen Mohabir held onto him and pulled him back into the room.

Two children, ages 14 and six, who were in the

house, were told by the intruder to go under the bed.

While under their grandmother’s bed, the six-yearold who took out her cellphone and recorded all that was being said.

In a part of the conversation, she recorded the captured man calling the names of two persons he alleged to be his accomplice and also claimed that he had handed the valuables which he removed from the bedroom.

“Yea buddy is Allan and Ryan carry away all the gold and the money…”

Neighbours say the man who has been arrested and the suspects all live in the community. This is the fifth time bandits attacked the businessman. On the initial three occasions, the matter was reported to the Police.

“On the fourth time that they come in, I aint report it to the Police because the Police aint doing anything every time you report,” he said. The Police are continuing their investigations.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

thursDAY, February 8, 2018

ARCHIE

Don’t get anxious when ARIES something doesn’t add up.

(March 21- Gather the facts, ask quesApril 19) tions and take a stand against something you feel is unfair.

Don’t wait for someone else to make a difference.

Channel your energy wiseTAURUS ly. Don’t lose sight of your in(April 20- tentions if someone interferes.

May 20) Choose your words with care and your actions and responses thoughtfully. Love and peace will conquer hate and chaos.

dilbert

Channel your energy into GEMINI (May 21- your one-on-one relationJune 20) ships. Set time aside to spend with the people who need you the most. Don’t give up on someone going through a tough time.

Money issues are apparent. If someone shortchanges (June 21- you, speak up as soon as you July 22) notice. The longer you prolong what needs to be done, the less likely you are to find a resolution.

CANCER

Peanuts

Get out with friends.

LEO Socialize or get involved in (July 23- physical activities that will Aug. 22) challenge you. A passionate approach to life and love will result in a romantic encounter.

Emotional manipulaVIRGO tion or ulterior motives will (Aug. 23lead to deception and disSept. 22) cord. Honesty and integrity will be necessary for both you and those you deal with if you want to keep the peace.

Calvin and Hobbes

Draw on your experience LIBRA (Sept. 23- to help you gain perspective Oct. 23) on what to do next. If you put your energy into using your skills diversely, you will succeed.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

TODAY’S WORD — RESTING (RESTING: REST-ting: Ceasing motion, work or activity.)

Average mark 38 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 53 or more words in RESTING? The list will be published tomorrow.

YESTERDAY’S WORD — MIRAGES magi mare maser mesa mire miser image rage ramie rase ream rime rise aegis

ageism ager aimer amir arise armies arms game gamer gamier gear germ gram grim

grime egis emir sage sager same sari seam sear semi sigma sire smear

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Problems with loved ones, SCORPIO health issues or domestic (Oct. 24matters will surface. Refuse Nov. 22) to let your emotions take the reins. Avoid excessive behaviour and people who tend to be abusive.

Health issues should not SAGITTARIUS be left unattended. Taking (Nov. 23care of your interests first Dec. 21) will be necessary if you want to avoid physical, financial or legal setbacks.

solution for LAST PUBLISHED Puzzle

Emotions will mount, and CAPRICORN financial problems will esca(Dec. 22- late if you have joint holdings Jan. 19) with a friend or family member. Keep the peace and look for suitable solutions that will be beneficial to everyone involved.

Care more and worry less.

AQUARIUS Forgo lavish pastimes and (Jan. 20look for something that reFeb. 19) quires little from you monetarily, but plenty of time and energy. Offer to help those less fortunate than yourself.

PISCES Take better care of your (Feb. 20- health, wealth and emotionMarch 20) al well-being. Don’t give in to temptation or follow someone who makes poor choices. Live smartly, not excessively.

thursDAY, february 8, 2018

19

Khan signs with Sussex for T20 Blast R

ashid Khan's whirlwind career will blow him into Hove for the T20 Blast.

Rashid, the Afghan legspinner who has become one of the hottest properties in T20 cricket and lifted the stature of Afghanistan cricket in the process, will play for Sussex for the first half of the tournament.

Rashid will join Sussex with confidence because he teams up again with Jason Gillespie, the county's new head coach, who was in charge of Adelaide Strikers when they won this season's Big Bash.

Rashid was one of the Strikers' chief assets, finishing joint top Rashid Khan has the lowest average in the history of international T20 cricket

of the wicket-taking charts with 18 wickets in 11 innings at a startling economy rate of 5.65 runs per over the most meagre in the tournament.

He missed the final because of international duties, but Adelaide survived without him, comfortably beating Hobart Hurricanes.

A stint in the IPL will dominate his thinking before he arrives on the south coast of England. At the recent IPL auction, Sunrisers Hyderabad paid US$1.4m for his services, leading him to be dubbed by some as "the million-dollar baby".

At 19, his brief career has also taken him to the Caribbean Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League as the advance of T20 - not the discussions of international administrators in sparking-water filled committee rooms - promises to be-

Nadal returns to Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club

come the main driver for global opportunity.

Gillespie needed a lift after losing both Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan to the IPL, so deflating Sussex's promotion challenge from Division Two of the Specsavers Championship before it has begun. But the prospect of Rashid and Archer, a key performer in Hobart's BBL campaign, teaming up in T20 will give Sussex one of the most talked-about bowling attacks in the competition.

"We are delighted that Rash has agreed to join us at Sussex," Gillespie said. "His form for Afghanistan and the T20 teams he has played for over the last couple of years has been phenomenal. I have worked closely with Rash at the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL and have been incredibly impressed with his attitude, work ethic

and team-first mentality.

"We look forward to welcoming him to the Sharks where I'm sure he will quickly become a fan favourite."

Amongst bowlers who have bowled at least 500 deliveries, Rashid has the lowest average (13.82) in the history of international T20 cricket. His economy rate of 5.86 runs per over is the second lowest of all time.

Sussex's relatively small boundaries will offer up a new challenge, especially the tight boundaries square of the wicket Sussex's director of cricket, Keith Greenfield, expressed his delight at the signing. "Rashid is the most sought-after spin talent in the world," he said. "He has made a significant impact in all the teams he has played for to date, so to make this move happen is fantastic." (ESPN Cricinfo)

Sanchez accepts deal for

TAX FRAUD M

W

orld number one Rafael Nadal will play in the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club in June - 10 years after winning the event as part of a summer treble.

Nadal, who has withdrawn from the past two tournaments at the London venue, won the French Open and Wimbledon either side of his 2008 Queen’s title. “It was an unforgettable year. I am very excited to be playing Queen’s again,” the 31-year-old Spaniard said.

Five-time champion Andy Murray also intends to return for the tournament.

The British number one, 30, had hip surgery in last month after pulling out of the year’s first major, the Australian Open, and has targeted a comeback

Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win at Queen’s Club in 2008

for the grass-court season.

Nadal was forced to retire in the fifth set of his quarterfinal against Marin Cilic in Melbourne, only the second time in 264 Grand Slam matches that he had done so.

Twice a Wimbledon champion, Nadal reached the final at SW19 five times in six years from 2006 and appeared in the preceding event at Queen’s Club in each of those years.

His 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic in 2008 is regarded as one of the great matches at the west London venue and when he beat Roger Federer in five sets at Wimbledon later that summer he became the first man to win the three coveted championships in the same

year since Bjorn Borg in 1980.

Nadal is expected to compete again in Mexico this month as he attempts to keep Federer from the world number one spot and will be targeting an 11th French Open title at Roland Garros in May. Queen’s Club tournament director Stephen Farrow said: “We are delighted that Rafa is planning to return to the Queen’s Club.

“His run 10 years ago will never be forgotten and to see him back at the top of the world rankings a decade later is a testament to his greatness and desire to achieve even more.”

The Aegon Championships will be live on BBC television, radio and online from 18-24 June. (BBC Sport)

anchester United striker Alexis Sanchez has accepted a 16-month suspended jail sentence for tax fraud in return for avoiding a trial.

The ex-Barcelona player faced going to trial in Spain over unpaid taxes amounting to around 1m euro (£886,000).

The unpaid taxes derive from image rights deals in 2012 and 2013.

When Sanchez, 29, was first accused in 2016, his agent said the Chile forward had “fully obeyed” laws and his image rights income “has been declared”.

Sanchez, who joined United from Arsenal last month, is rumoured to be the highest paid player in the Premier League following the transfer, earning £14m a year after tax.

He is one of a number of high-profile players to have fallen foul of the tax laws in Spain.

Last month, Real Madrid’s Croatia midfielder Luka Modric paid Spanish fiscal authorities close to 1m euro to settle his own image rights tax case.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo have also faced tax charges in recent years. (BBC) Manchester United striker Alexis Sanchez

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

thursDAY, february 8, 2018

Kohli, spinners trample South Africa again upon review.

The India skipper got off the mark by finding the ropes three balls later and was fortunate an inside edge did not crash into his stumps on 21, while Duminy narrowly missed an opportunity to run

bringing up his fifty with a shot through deep square before the former slammed Imran Tahir (1-52) down the ground having followed suit.

While Dhawan fell to Duminy (2-60) at midwicket, Kohli remained composed and

SCOREBOARD

Yuzvendra Chahal collected four wickets © BCCI

I

ndia took a 3-0 lead in the six-game series against South Africa, who struggled against spin after Virat Kohli’s 34th ODI century.

Kohli produced a virtuoso hundred as India comfortably triumphed by 124 runs in the third one-day international against South Africa at Newlands.

India skipper Kohli scored an unbeaten 160 off 159 balls for his 34th ODI ton – leaving him just 15 shy of matching Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record – as the visitors took a 3-0 lead in the six-game series.

The 29-year-old displayed magnificent placement as he racked up 14 boundaries, including two maximums, in fine fashion as India posted a

Dawid Malan set England’s tempo with an attacking innings ©

A

commanding total of 303-6.

South Africa have struggled against spin in this series and that theme continued as Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal claimed four wickets apiece.

The Proteas never looked in contention after the removal of JP Duminy (51) and lost their last five wickets for 29 runs as they were skittled for 179, meaning they must win in Johannesburg in to keep hopes of sharing the series alive.

Rohit Sharma was quickly unsettled by Kagiso Rabada’s pace and fell to his sixth delivery for a duck by sending an inside edge back to debutant Heinrich Klaasen, while Kohli was given out lbw on zero before being saved

India innings R Sharma c Klaasen b Rabada 0 S Dhawan c Markram b Duminy 76 V Kohli not out 160 A Rahane c Phehlukwayo b Duminy 11 H Pandya c Klaasen b Morris 14 M Dhoni c Ngidi b Tahir 10 K Jadhav c Klaasen b Phehlukwayo 1 B Kumar not out 16 Extras: (0b 3lb 0nb 0pen 12w) 15 Total:(50 overs) 303-6 Fall of Wickets : 1-0 Sharma, 2-140 Dhawan, 3-160 Rahane, 4-188 Pandya, 5-228 Dhoni, 6-236 Jadhav Did Not Bat: K Yadav, J Bumrah, Y Chahal Bowling: Rabada 10-1-54-1, Ngidi 6-0-47-0, Morris 9-0-451, Phehlukwayo 6-0-42-1, Tahir 9-0-52-1, Duminy 10-0-60-2

him out in the 12th over.

But Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan (76) soon settled into a formidable union, the latter

South Africa innings (target 304 from 50 overs) H Amla lbw J Bumrah 1 A Markram st Dhoni b K Yadav 32 JP Duminy lbw Chahal 51 H Klaasen lbw Chahal 6 D Miller c Dhoni b Bumrah 25 K Zondo c (Sub) b Chahal 17 C Morris lbw K Yadav 14 A Phehlukwayo c Kohli b K Yadav 3 K Rabada not out 12 I Tahir c Kohli b Chahal 8 L Ngidi lbw K Yadav 6 Extras: (0b 2lb 0nb 0pen 2w) 4 Total: (40 overs) 179 all out Fall of Wickets : 1-1 Amla, 2-79 Markram, 3-88 Klaasen, 4-95 Duminy, 5-129 Miller, 6-150 Morris, 7-150 Zondo, 8-158 Phehlukwayo, 9-167 Tahir, 10-179 Ngidi Bowling: B Kumar 7-0-410, Bumrah 7-0-32-2, Pandya 8-0-35-0, Chahal 9-0-464, K Yadav 9-1-23-4

picked his shots sublimely and clinched yet another ODI ton with a pair of runs after flicking Duminy to short fine leg.

Virat Kohli soared to another hundred © BCCI

MS Dhoni (10) and Kedar Jadhav (1) went cheaply but the India skipper launched a late surge and a diving David Miller was unable to deny him a first maximum as his momentum took him over the ropes, with another two boundaries to finish taking the tourists beyond 300 and capping a phenomenal innings.

South Africa suffered an early blow when Jasprit Bumrah (2-32) claimed the scalp of Hashim Amla (1) with his first ball, and although Duminy and Aiden Markram

made starts, only the former was able to convert it into a half-century.

Proteas skipper Markram was stumped by Dhoni on 32 after misjudging the turn generated by Kuldeep (4-23), while Chahal (4-64) trapped Klaasen (6) leg before to leave the hosts at 88-3.

Chahal repeated the trick to dismiss Duminy, who used his team’s final review unsuccessfully, and South Africa crumbled in the aftermath to fall to a chastening loss. (Sportsmax)

Maxwell’s big show powers Australia home

ustralia recorded a five-wicket Twenty20 international win over England thanks to Glenn M ax we l l ’s exploits with the Getty Images bat and ball in Hobart.

Maxwell starred with the ball and then benefited from both a drop and a contentious umpiring decision to lead Australia’s successful run chase with a century in a fivewicket Twenty20 international victory over England on Wednesday.

Batting first in their opening match of the tri-nations series, which also features New Zealand, England suffered a middle-order collapse before rallying to reach 1559 in Hobart, where Maxwell (310) led Australia’s attack.

T h e all-rounder then anchored his team’s response, receiving a life on 42 when Alex Hales put him down off Tom Curran (039) at deep square leg.

A more controversial reprieve arrived on 59, when Jason Roy at long off claimed a catch off Adil Rashid (1-30), only for the umpires to consult television replays and decide the ball had been briefly grounded, Maxwell going on to make a match-winning 103.

His second ton in T20Is, the typically swashbuckling knock featured 10 fours and four sixes, including successive maximums in

the seventh over at the expense of Rashid.

Australia’s run chase had got off to bad start as David Willey (3-28) removed dangermen David Warner (4) and Chris Lynn (0) in the first over, the stand-in captain picking out Hales at deep square leg.

Willey bowled Lynn straight through the gate with a perfect line and length delivery, but there was little joy in the field after that for the visitors.

Supported by surviving opener D’Arcy Short, Maxwell led the charge, as Chris Jordan (0-34) and then Rashid conceded 15 runs off consecutive overs.

Short fell for 30 caught and bowled to Rashid, leaving Maxwell without a reliable partner, as Marcus Stoinis (6) and Travis Head (6) came and went, but Alex Carey (5 not out) stuck around long enough for the man nicknamed ‘Big Show’ to fittingly get

SCOREBOARD England innings J Roy c Tye b Richardson 9 A Hales c&b Agar 22 D Malan c Tye b Maxwell 50 E Morgan c Warner b Maxwell 22 J Buttler c Maxwell b Stoinis 5 S Billings c&b Ashton Agar 10 D Willey st Carey b Maxwell 3 C Jordan not out 16 A Rashid c Stoinis b Stanlake 1 T Curran c Warner b Tye 6 M Wood not out 5 Extras 0b 2lb 0nb 0pen 4w 6 Total (20.0 overs) 155-9 Fall of Wickets : 1-16 Roy, 2-60 Hales, 3-94 Morgan, 4-109 Buttler, 5-122 Billings, 6-126 Malan, 7-126 Willey, 8-127 Rashid, 9-137 Curran Bowling: Stanlake 4-0-431, Richardson 4- 0-27-1, Tye

4-0-28-1, Stoinis 2-0-161, Agar 3-0-15-2, Head 1-014-0, Maxwell 2- 0-10-3 Australia innings (target 156 from 20 overs) D Warner c Hales b Willey 4 D Short c&b Rashid 30 C Lynn b Willey 0 G Maxwell not out 103 M Stoinis c Billings b Wood 6 T Head b Willey 6 A Carey not out 5 Extras (0b 4lb 0nb 0pen 3w) 7 Total (18.3 overs) 161-5 Fall of Wickets : 1-4 Warner, 2-4 Lynn, 3-82 Short, 4-98 Stoinis, 5-127 Head Did Not Bat: A Agar, A Tye, K Richardson, B Stanlake Bowling: Willey 3-0-28-3, Wood 3.3-0-26-1, Jordan 4-034-0, Curran 4-0-39-0, Rashid 4-0-30-1

his team across the line with a six off Mark Wood (1-26), bringing up his century and securing the victory.

Earlier, Dawid Malan top scored for his team with 50 as England made a solid start, ably supported by Hales (22) and captain Eoin Morgan (22).

Ashton Agar (2-15) reacted quickly to remove Hales caught and bowled despite having his view blocked by Malan at the non-striker’s end in the seventh over, and Morgan fell top-edging Maxwell to Warner at midoff three overs later.

That proved the trigger for England to slump badly, as Australia took 6-43 and threatened to skittle the tourists.

Malan was later caught by Andrew Tye off Maxwell, who also afforded Alex Carey a first stumping in what was his second T20I as wicketkeeper, with Willey the victim.

Jordan (16 not out), Curran (6) and Wood (5 not out) counterattacked to contribute partnerships of 10 and 18 for the eighth and ninth wickets, but their efforts did not offer enough protection against Maxwell’s decisive intervention. (Sportsmax)

Glenn Maxwell brought up his hundred with a six that also sealed victory © Getty Images

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sports

McKinnon, Qualander produce top shots R

yan McKinnon (Box Production) and Mohamed Qualander in the Standard Pistol Division emerged as the overall champions following intense competition in the Guyana National Rifle Association (GuyanaNRA)/ Smallbore Section/IPSC Level 2, Six-Stage Shoot held at the Timehri Rifle Ranges on Sunday.

International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) Regional Director for Guyana Harold ‘Top Gun’ Hopkinson carried out the mandate of bringing off this Level 2 competition which was a big step from the Level 1 Shoots held in the previous years.

Over 2000 rounds were expended at the competition as the day was punctuated by constant reverberating gun fire from the 9mm’s, Glocks, CZ Shadow 2s and the lone Shay Akai Custom, STI 2011, Edge in 40 calibers.

Limited modifications

Mohamed Qualander at the Ranges

were allowed in the two categories. In winning the Production category, Ryan McKinnon secured a 100% with his Shadow 2 and was

followed by Rajiv Latchana 78.8816 (Glock 17), Terry Milling 67.2490 (Shadow 2), Dr. Johan DaSilva 56.7680 (Shadow 2) and Leslie Lewis 33.9382 (Glock 17).

Similarly, in the Standard Division, Mohamed Qualander also garnered a 100% score with his Glock 35 and was followed by Harold Hopkinson 81.6220 (Akai STI 2011), Azaad Hassan 75.7796 (Glock 17), Surujbali Persaud 67.5275 (Glock 17) and Vidushi PersaudMcKinnon 65.9857 (Glock 17) the lone female on show.

Of the 22 shooters who registered online, 18 completed the grueling shoot.

The organisers are expressing thanks to the following sponsors for making the event a success; Queensway Group of Companies, Osric Hacker, Regional Director Harold Hopkinson and Secure Innovations and Concepts Inc.

21

Ryan McKinnon recieves his award from Vice Captain Gordon Richards

Marshall Hope’s hundred helps Pride crush hapless eyes Marooners CPL spot A F

ormer West Indies allrounder Xavier Marshall is hoping to earn a spot in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL) draft with eyecatching performances in the Regional Super50.

The 31-year-old, who represented the regional team in seven Test matches, 24 ODIs and 6 T20 internationals, currently represents the United States in the tournament. Despite a rocky start to the competition for the stars and stripes, Marshall has more than held his own after scoring 40 against the Leeward Islands and 51 against Guyana. The all-rounder had less success against his native Jamaica on Tuesday, however, making just one run.

Having moved to the United States in 2014 the player insists he is grateful for a second chance to have a career in the cricket, after being discarded by the regional team several years ago.

“I represent the USA with pride. It means a lot to me. It’s the US, man. It might not be big in cricket but it’s a great country,” Marshall told Espcricinfo.

“The main goal to is to get a couple hundreds and get into the CPL. That’s the main goal, to get into the CPL and take it from there, step by step. This is a great opportunity for the world to see me again. I might be playing for the US but it’s the same Caribbean league. It’s a great opportunity for me playing back in the West Indies again in a first-class competition,” he added. (Sportsmax)

Xavier Marshall

Shai Hope century led the way in a one-sided affair for the defending champions Barbados Pride in their Cricket West Indies Regional Super50 game against the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) Marooners on Wednesday at the Windward Cricket Club.

The Marooners, winning the toss, chose to send the Pride into bat and could have been reasonably happy with restricting the defending champions to 254-6, but then were skittled out for 71 in 32.2 overs.

The Pride were led to their total

by Hope’s 102 from 135 deliveries, the Windies middle-order batsman getting support from Roston Chase, who slammed a breezy 72 from 66 balls.

Carlos Brathwaite, 20 not out, and Ashley Nurse, unbeaten on 14, helped to push the score to something competitive.

There were wickets in the offering for Jermaine Levy, 1-37, Ojay Shields, 1-49, Kheshan Ottley, 1-54, and Jameel Stuart, 1-32. The best of the Marooners’ bowlers though was the veteran, Ryan Hinds, who had 2-22.

Hinds would return to score 32 during an innings that was largely forgettable, as the Pride didn’t need very many of their 254 runs to enjoy a successful defence.

Outside of Hinds, only skipper, Kyle Corbin, with 11 managed double figures as the Marooners watched their last four wickets fall for just 13 runs, the last three for just five.

The Marooners were up against a bowling attack that was largely successful, with everybody getting among the wickets.

Kemar Roach opened with 1-6 from five overs, while Jason Holder had 1-13 from seven.

Carlos Brathwaite also had figures of 1-13, his coming from six overs, while Ashley Nurse was brilliant, bagging 2 - 7 fro m five.

Sulieman Benn cleaned up the tail to end with

A

figures of 2-0 from 2.2 overs.

The best bowler, in terms of wickets though, was Chemar Holder, who took 3-31 from seven overs.

The victory gave the Pride their fourth win of the tournament, pushing them to the top of Group ahead of the Tr i n i d a d To b a g o Force.

a n d R e d T h e Marooners, even with the loss, are still third with Hampshire close behind. The Windward Islands Volcanoes still haven’t picked up a victory and are at the bottom of the five-team group. (Sportsmax)

Shai Hope

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

thursDAY, february 8, 2018

CWI Super50 Cup 2018

Surging Jaguars battle struggling Scorpions U

Can Devendra Bishoo use his experience and quell a possible “Gayle Storm”

nbeaten Guyana Jaguars will start as favourites when they face Jamaica Scorpions today in their fourth match of Cricket West Indies (CWI) 2018 Super50 Cup at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua from 14:00 hrs.

Jaguars lead the fiveteam Group ‘B’ with 13 points while Scorpions are in the penultimate position with just five points due to two losses which makes them desperately needing a win in today’s day/night contest.

After their thrilling 16-run win over Leeward Hurricanes, Jaguars will be high on confidence knowing a victory today increases their chances of reaching the semi-finals.

The dashing Shimron Hetmyer leads their batting tally with 169 runs while captain Leon Johnson who fell for an agonizing 99 against Hurricanes follows with 149. Again much will be expected from the duo and all eyes will be on young Chandrapaul Hemraj who

showed in the four-day format he has all the shots in the book but has not fired yet in the tournament.

With the departure of all-rounder Raymon Reifer for Windies ‘A’ team duties, the toss-up will be either brining replacement Christopher Barnwell straight into the playing eleven or giving young Clinton Pestano another opportunity; there is still Ricardo Adams and Ramaal Lewis who have not featured.

The fire-power at the bottom seems to be well-cover with Anthony Bramble firing at strike rate over 145 and young Sherfane Rutherford showing he has the ability to finish innings on a high.

Their most standout area has been with the ball which is led by the ever dependable Veerasammy Permaul and rising star Keemo Paul who both have seven wickets. Closely following is Windies leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo with five. The two spinners will be under the spotlight since the come against Scorpions’ trump card with the bat, Christopher Gayle but the big Jamaica has only mustered 47 runs in his two matches.

The left-handed batsman is widely known for feasting on bowlers who spin the ball back into him and should he start today, the spin twins could have their hands full.

Scorpions’ batting has surprisingly been in-different given the experienced players they have in the wing as Andre

Andre MacCarthy has been the Scorpions' leading batsman

McCarthy with 130 runs is the only batsman to tally over the triple figure mark. Jermaine Blackwood also leaves the squad for ‘A’ Team duties which further dents their top-order but there is still the power of Andre Russell and Ravmon Powell.

Russell, Christopher Lamont and Captain Nikita Miller have managed to do the bulk of the wicket-taking with eleven scalps between the trio.

All signs points towards a tight battle between two of the region’s powerhouses but Scorpions certainly have the bulk of the improving to do today.

Guyana Jaguars Squad: Leon

GFF/Pele Alumni Frank Watson U15-League – EBFA

Lambert hammers 5 into Diamond United

A

gricola Red Triangle has maintained their unblemished record when they posted their third win in as many matches, a 7-0 whipping of Diamond United when the East Bank Football Association (EBFA) leg of the GFF/Pele Alumini Frank Watson U15 Intra Association League continued on Sunday.

Playing at the Grove Playfield, Agricola subjected Diamond United to their second loss in as many matches. Grove Hi Tech was held to a 2-2 draw by Mocha Champs, the second draw in as many days for the Grove boys which resulted in them being overtaken by rivals, Agricola which has played one match less.

Sunday’s matches saw two upsets with new comers Samatta Point Kaneville needling Soesdyke while Diamond Upsetters edged Herstelling

Uitvlugt win Hamilton Green football title

U

This Agricola Red Triangle player headed the ball away in their clash with Diamond United

Raiders 2-1, the latter was without their and the tournament’s leading marksman, Shoran James.

Agricola’s Brian Lambert was the man on fire on the day as he hit in five (5) of Agricola’s goals in the 3rd, 8th, 36th, 52nd and 56th minute, he has now taken his tally in the league to 7. Floyd Boyce supported with a goal of his own in the 16th minute while Jamal Fiffe tucked in the other in the 30th minute.

Grove Hi Tech, coming off a draw on Saturday with Samatta Point/Kaneville was hoping to nail full points against Mocha Champs but the Mocha lads fought back admirably twice to earn an equal share of the points.

Grove’s Captain, Devon Padmore scored both their goals in

Mocha Champs and Grove Hi Tech battling each other on Sunday at the Grove Playfield

the 17th and 27th minute, Mocha got their goals off the boot of Jermaine Harry in the 16th and Shemel Allen in the 20th minute.

Diamond Upsetters were in no mood to give Herstelling Raiders a smooth day at the office; they recorded their first points of the league after suffering two defeats.

Mario Richards handed Diamond Upsetters the lead on 14 minutes but Damien Persaud responded in like manner for Herstelling in the 39th minute for an even first half.

But with the game 43 minutes old, Upsetters regained the lead through Abdullah Amin’s goal which turned out to be the winning strike, Hamid was one of Upsetters’ leading players in the just concluded Ralph Green sponsored Under-11 League.

Samatta Point/Kaneville, riding high from their 1-1 draw with Grove on Saturday built on that high with a 1-0 win over Soesdyke Falcons; it was the latter’s third loss in as many games.

Netting the golden goal was Matthew Austin in the 22nd minute. Matches will continue this weekend at the same venue.

Johnson (cpt), Ricardo Adams, Christopher Barnwell, Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Bramble, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Ramaal Lewis, Keemo Paul, Veerasammy Permaul, Clinton Pestano, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd Jamaica Scorpions: Nikita Miller (capt), Brandon King, Chris Gayle, Christopher Lamont, Andre McCarthy, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Peat Salmon, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas, Gavin Wallace, Chadwick Walton, Alwyn Williams.

itvlugt Football Club captured the Hamilton Green birth anniversary 9-a-side Inter-Ward Football title, beating Crane thanks to some spot-on penalty kicks.

Sunday’s action at the Den Amstel Community Centre ground saw the Uitvlugt 9 making the most of their penalty shots following a deadlock score of 1-1 when time elapsed.

In the end, it finished 2-1 in favor of Uitvlugt who deserved their spoils following their disposal of Pouderoyen on sudden death penalty kicks, following a 1-1 score-line at the end of regulation time. Crane meanwhile advanced after beating off the Tigerbay unit, 1-0.

Quarterfinal action saw Uitvlugt and Crane beating Sara Lodge and Soesdyke, 1-0 respectively, while Pouderoyen beat Plaisance 1-0. Tigerbay got the better of Crane Rovers winning 2-1 on sudden death penalty kicks, after a score-less 90 minutes.

In the exhibition Brian Tiwari tournament, Zeelugt defeated Den Amstel 1-0 by virtue of sudden death penalty kicks, following a 1-1 score-line at the final whistle.

Zeelugt claimed the $20,000 prize for their win.

In the semi-final matches, Zeelugt defeated Wales 1-0, while Den Amstel beat Bagotville 1-0 on sudden death penalty.

Uitvlugt, for their skills bagged the top prize of $70,000 and a trophy, while Crane copped $30,000 and a trophy. Esan Nelson of Crane copped Highest Goal Scorer award for six conversions and will receive a table set compliments of China Trading.

Meanwhile, top player Trayon Bobb of Uitvlugt was the second highest scorer in the event with two goals, and is set to receive one ‘Lazy boy Chair’ from A.H. & L. Kissoon. All trophies were donated

by Trophy Stall.

thursDAY, february 8, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

Western Tigers on the hunt for Elite League glory

By Akeem Greene

W

ith four new acquisitions and two inactive players set to turn the switch, Western Tigers Football Club are setting their sights on winning the third season of the Guyana Football Federation Elite League. At the January Transfer window they roped-in the talented quartet of Daniel Wilson, Quason McAulay, Anthony Sancho and Rafael Edwards.

More so, star players Hubert Pedro and Devon Millington are set to resume duties after their absence for the first two matches and add to the likes of Collin Nelson, Cleon Forrester, Linden Picket, Randolph Wagner and Andrew Murray Jnr.

Now with a fountain of some of the country’s best players, Head Coach Calvin Allen firmly believes the only thing to measure their success is on winning the league in their first year.

“We are aiming to win the tournament; I know it’s our first year but there is nothing wrong with ambitions, we are looking pass the top two and we are looking to come out as champions. We have a very strong squad from the inception and we proved that in the [Georgetown Football] Association Leagues and tournaments; with the addition of these players I don’t think we have any excuse but to go for it”, he revealed to Guyana Times Sport on Tuesday at their adopted

training area in Rasville.

The West Ruimveldt unit, currently sit fifth on the 10-team points table with four points from two matches and with nerves now settled, Allen believes the players must show the desire to do well from the “get go”.

“Judging from our first match against Guyana Defence Force we were a bit timid in the first 25 minutes but after that we flowed well. From that aspect it is just to get the guys going from the get go and the match against Milerock we saw some improvements”.

Reflecting on his signings, Allen felt they are top quality but still missed on signing other key players but for now he will focus on

LGC joins forces with Torginol Paints

Daniel Wilson (red top) is expected to add great attacking flair to Western Tigers

building the team chemistry.

Regarding having to train next to busy the Mandela Avenue with the balls constantly rolling into the bustling traffic’s path, the coach vented it was far from ideal given they cannot get to do training with field goals but said it has to suffice since their ground is in dire need of rehabilitation, an issue which the club’s Executives are trying to address.

T

he Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) and Continental Group of Companies under their Torginol Paints Brand continued their long-time partnership by officially announcing the 2018 Torginol Paints Open set for June 2.

Attended by numerous executives of both entities, most notably; LGC President Aleem Hussain and Vice-President Payton George, Torginol Paints Production Manager Fenton Persaud and Continental Group of Companies Secretary M.S Ally; the brief ceremony highlighted the entities drive to r e - devel- o p

the sport.

Torginol Paints Production Manager Persaud who handed over the sponsorship check to LGC President Aleem Hussain, said that they were happy to be onboard the event as they two have been in good spirits over the years.

Persaud added that the aim was not only to revamp golf on the course but rather the company had pledged to help in the LGC restoration project.

Mr. Ally, who was brief in his remarks, said that the entire concept was brilliant as both parties are in support of the sport’s expansion.

Meanwhile, Hussain said that he will ensure

the competition is a big as the sponsor’s name, adding that the support golf has received recently will continue to help the sport in in growth.

LGC Public Relations Officer Guy Griffith also called out for more persons to be involved in golf. He disputed notions that the sport is for the upper echelons as he encouraged persons to come and have free hands on training at the course.

Griffith closed by saying golf is a mental sport and one that should be played with a relaxed mind and as such should not be restricted or classed to a certain faction of society.

Getting the job done

Wilson, a Golden Jaguars International and former Alpha United player explained he was as happy to return from Suriname club Nishan FC and use his exploits to help Tigers achieve championship glory. Can they achieve their coach’s aspirations? According to 24 year-old, they certainly can.

“We have what it takes, the players have all it that it takes but we have to come

out and show it and not just talk it. I wanted to play some football back home and bring glory to Western Tigers; I’m here to listen and execute”.

With a 1-1 score line against Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and then a 2-1 victory over Linden’s Milerock, Tigers are scheduled to play their third match against the star-studded Fruta Conquerors on February 16 at GDF Ground, Camp Ayanganna.

Magnum ‘Mash Cup’ futsal

Top teams continue to dominate

S

Fenton Persaud (left) hands the sponsorship cheque to LGC Vice President Payton George in the company of executives and LGC President Aleem Hussain (second from left)

23

The Back Circle and MBK All-Stars match only had one goal but, it was non-stop action between the two sides at the National Gymnasium on Tuesday evening

everal of the country’s futsal teams continued to make their mark in the inaugural Magnum ‘Mash Cup’ Futsal tournament being held at the National Gymnasium.

Tuesday’s second night of action saw the usual suspects etch their names on the score sheet paving the way for some battling victories.

Linden unit Swag Entertainment dished out a 5-1 route on Albouystown ‘A’ led by Shane Luckie’s hattrick via gaols in the 4th, 5th and 17th; support came from Romel Matthews (12th) and Colwyn Drakes (16th) while Malachi Nelson (19th) was the lone marksman for the opposition.

Showstoppers edged Sophia in a seven goal thriller. Trayon Bobb’s brace was more impacting than Sophia’s Akeem Jaikissoon double. Bobb netted in the 6th and 10th while Jaikissoon converted in the 12th and 19th but West Demerara Showstoppers had support from Dexroy Adams (2nd) and Delon Lanferman (11th) which made the difference since only Dwayne Lowe offered any other sparks of glory for Sophia with a 7th minute conversion.

Meanwhile, the match of

the night between Linden’s NK Ballers and Leopold Street was too tight to decide a winner, ending 2-2. Ballers early surge was led by veteran Rawle ‘Boney Man’ Gittens with goals in the 4th and 5th.

His efforts were undone by equalisers from Okeene Fraser (10th) and Omallo Williams (15th).

In another closely fought match, Stephon McLean 14th minute goal made the difference for Back Circle in their clash with MBK All-stars while Albouystown ‘B’ got the better of Broad Street winning 2-0; Sean Turney (1st) and Sherwin Fordyce (4th) were on the mark.

Ol Skool Ballers edged New Market Street 2-1 due to strikes from Ronell Roberts(10th) and Fabian Crawford (18th); Orlando Ricketts (3rd) scored for the losers.

North East La Penitence and Alexander Village could not get ahead of each other ending 1-1.

Shem Porter scored for the village unit in the 10th while Alwyn Porter equalized in the 17th.

Kingston and Buxton Diamond also played to 2-2 score since Delon Wright’s double (1st & 11th) was levelled by Simon Emmanuel (6th) and Nigel Denny (14th).

Future Stars won via walkover from Champion Boys.

Over $800,000 in prize monies and trophies are up for grabs in the tournament which is being held in collaboration with Legacy Entertainment.

The winning team will receive $400,000 while first runnerup will collect $200,000, the third place finisher will pocket $100,000 and fourth place $50,000.

Action continues this evening from 19:00 hrs with Ol Skool Ballers playing Rugby Team followed by Albouystown ‘B’ and MBK All-stars. Silver Bullets then clash Buxton Diamond and Tiger Bay against Alexander Village followed

by Swag Entertainment and YMCA All-stars.

North East will come up against Hustlers while Nk Ballers battle Mocha after which Channel 9 Warriors will be engaged with Champion Boys. Future Stars then face ANSA McAL All-stars and Sparta Boss in action with Kingston.

The final four matches pit Back Circle with Broad Street, Gold Is Money against New Market Street followed

by Leopold Street and California Square and the final encounter being Bent Street versus Albouystown ‘A’.

thursDAY, february 8, 2018

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

guyanatimesgy.com

CWI Super50 Cup 2018

Surging Jaguars battle struggling Scorpions Pg 22

Guyana Jaguars have looked the team to beat in the tournament thus far and will look to keep Jamaica Scorpions at bay today

Chris Gayle showed signs he is hunting for a big total

Western Tigers on the hunt for Elite League glory Pg 23

Rafael Edwards (centre); Andre Murray Jr and another teammate engaged in intense drills at Tuesday’s training session

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