October 18, 2016

Archives for June 10, 2016

Madewini man stabbed to death in bed

12 inch knife, pink mobile phone found at murder scene

Dead: Puranand Baljit

Dead: Puranand Baljit

Although the Police announced a 16 per cent reduction in serious crimes, another murder has been recorded, this time a young man was stabbed to death in his bed at Madewini, East Bank Demerara.

Dead is Puranand Andrew Baljit, 25, also called Andrew of Lot 57 Madewini, EBD. He was reportedly stabbed seven times to the body while lying on his bed at about 22:00h on Thursday. The man was pronounced dead on arrival at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, EBD.

According to reports, the perpetrator might have got access to the young man’s bedroom through a glass window that was left open.

At the time of the stabbing, the young man’s father and stepmother were at home and heard a moaning sound coming from his room. Upon investigating they realised that the man was stabbed.

When Guyana Times visited the scene on Friday morning, relatives of the dead man were washing away the blood stains. His stepmother, Simone Baljit explained that she and her husband along with their baby retired to bed at about 21:00h but soon after, they heard a scream emanating from the young man’s bedroom.

“In meh sleep I hear one holler, only one holler with all he strength, I know something wrong… he father jump and I jump up… he rushed to the window then to the door… he collect a cutlass and tell me not to open the door yet until he go check see if anybody deh in de house,” the stepmother said.

She noted that they finally opened their bedroom door and went to the young man’s bedroom. His bedroom door was locked and although they attempted to “kick it open”, they were unsuccessful.

“He went back into our bedroom and jumped through we bedroom window and went towards his son room… Andrew bedroom window de open and when he look inside was blood all over”, the woman noted.

She went on to say her husband gained entry to the bedroom by jumping through the window and eventually opened the door. She noted that the young man’s body was covered in blood.

In panic, she screamed for neighbours but no one came to their assistance. They eventually called a taxi and took the injured man to the Diagnostic Centre. There, she recalled seeing several stab wounds in the vicinity of his chest and abdomen.

She was ordered out of the room by doctors because she kept fainting away.

The distressed father, too distraught told Guyana Times that when he eventually got access to his son’s room, the young man took two deep breaths and at that point he realised his son was dead but did not tell his wife. He telephoned for a taxi and rushed his lifeless son to the hospital.

While the son was described as a quiet individual, his stepmother explained that he spent a night out of the house during the week and upon returning, stayed at home for three days which is highly abnormal.

“He didn’t go out with he friends and so for three days… and I thought something happen but he never tell anybody what does bother he… I would argue with him but he doesn’t argue back”, the woman cried.

Meanwhile, at the scene on Friday morning, detectives stumbled on a muddied track leading to the house from a bushy area. They have also retrieved a 12-inch knife on the ledge of the window and a pink mobile phone at the murder scene. Neighbours pointed out that they did not hear any unusual sound nor screams for help from the young man’s stepmother.

One neighbour explained that during the time the murder reportedly occurred, loud music was banging through the speakers of a neighbour’s music system. This, she noted might have been the reason for them not hearing anything.

Friend and family of the young man are still in a state of shock upon learning of the unfortunate incident. (Bhisham Mohamed)

10-year-old mysteriously collapses, dies at school

An Industry, East Coast Demerara (ECD) family is mourning the death of a 10-year-old boy who mysteriously

Dead: Yogindra “Shawn” Persaud

Dead: Yogindra “Shawn” Persaud

collapsed in school on Wednesday and died.

The dead young man has been identified as Yogindra Persaud, called “Shawn”, a Grade Four student of Grahams Hall Primary School, in Cummings Lodge, ECD.

According to information reaching Guyana Times, the lad was in his classroom eating a snack when he collapsed. Teachers rushed to his side and upon examination, found no pulse. He was picked up and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

When Guyana Times visited the child’s Lot 19 First Street, Industry, home on Thursday, his mother, Sharon Reid, related that her son left home for school in good health on Wednesday morning.

The woman noted that she was at work when her daughter called and informed her that something was wrong with her son.

“Like about 10:30-11:00h, my daughter called me and said something is wrong with Shawn because he is not breathing at school. So I left work to go to the school but they called and tell me that they took him to the hospital and when I reach there, the doctor called and told me that your son has died,” the distraught woman recalled.

Reid noted that the doctor could not say what happened to the child since he was already dead when he arrived at the medical facility. She added that they have been getting various reports from school officials, parents and even students about what transpired.

According to what she was told, Reid said her son urinated himself in class before he collapse. He was picked up and placed on a bench but fell off. It was at this time that one of the teachers checked and found that he had no pulse.

“That is all the teacher told me; that is all I hear. Is different, different things you hearing from people,” she stated.

The aggrieved mother noted that while her son did not suffer from any ailments, she is not holding anyone accountable for his death and is awaiting the results of the post-mortem examination which will be conducted today, to find out why her youngest of three children and only son died.

At the time this newspaper was at the home of the dead child, officials from the Education Ministry were visiting to offer their condolences to the grieving family.

Young Persaud leaves to mourn his parents, two older sisters and other relatives and friends.

 

Motion to be moved to adopt recommendations

Rodney CoI Report

By Devina Samaroo

A motion will be moved in the National Assembly by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Chief Whip Gail Teixeira for the recommendations made in the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (CoI) Report to be adopted.

During a news conference on Thursday, Teixeira said it is imperative that the National Assembly have a debate on the report with the aim of arriving at a consensus to take the necessary steps, based on the recommendations, to ensure that such events do not happen ever again in Guyana’s history.

The Rodney Report was handed over to the Speaker of the House, Dr Barton Scotland on May 11, 2016 – some months after it was submitted to the government, after close to two years of public hearings on the matter.

The report compiled the findings of the CoI, which was established by former President Donald Ramotar to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of renowned Guyanese Historian and Leader of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr Walter Rodney who died when a bomb exploded in his lap in his car on June 13, 1980, during a time of intense political activism in the country.

Government officials, including President David Granger and Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams have both discredited the findings of the report, indicating that there was some agenda to target the People’s National Congress (PNC).

A great debate has since erupted on what purpose these revelations really serve, with many contending that millions of taxpayers’ dollars were wasted to uncovered a truth all Guyanese already knew.

Others, however, argued that the contents of the reports equates to justice finally being served.

Meanwhile, the Rodney Report had recommended that every effort be made to have a well-trained and highly professional Police Force and Army, loyal only to the interests of the country.

Consequently, the report recommended there be considerable investments in training at every level of the Force on an ongoing basis, with particular focus on the importance of values and etiquettes.

“It was conceded by the Police in the course of the Inquiry that a thorough investigation was not done into Rodney’s death. In fact, the evidence is that the Police did not act with professionalism, thoroughness or speed. The recommendation is that the department in the Police Force tasked with the responsibility to investigate crimes like murder, should, at all times, strive to do so with thoroughness and urgency…” a section of the report stated.

Additionally, given that important documents could not have been found to be presented during the Inquiry, a recommendation was made for there to be a thorough review of the systems in place to store records of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.

Other recommendations were based on the need for ethnic harmony and for the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to be an individual of integrity.

 

10 days later, no response from Venezuela

Border shooting

… situation unacceptable but will not escalate – President Granger

Ten days have gone by and the Guyana Government is still awaiting an official explanation from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in response to the shooting incident which occurred at Eteringbang, in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) on May 30, 2016.

President Brigadier David Granger has since labelled the situation as unacceptable; however, he also expressed confidence that it will not escalate into an international conflict.

He also indicated that Government, once requested, might consider providing assistance to the Spanish-speaking nation during its time of economic crisis.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry had dispatched a Note Verbale to the Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministry conveying its gravest concern over the incident and calling on the Venezuelan Government to desist from such provocative and dangerous actions on Guyana’s border.

During an interview on the ‘Public Interest’, the Head of State explained that while the situation is unfortunate, it should not be a considered a clash between the two States.

“It is localised… It was a local incident and we are not saying that there is no fault but my information is that the rain was falling very heavily and there might have been some misunderstanding with the boat that was taking the officials…,” he stated.

Nonetheless, Granger said that matter is still unacceptable. “It is unacceptable in the relation between two States, on a river owned by Guyana for shots to be fired in a hostile manner,” he expressed.

Three mining officers of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) came under fire from the National Bolivarian Armed Forces while travelling in a boat in the Cuyuni River.

g officers, nor the captain of the boat were injured in the shooting incident.

The officers were carrying out inspections and monitoring gold mining camps in the Cuyuni area when the Venezuelan soldiers opened fire on them. They were forced to seek cover by lying flat in the boat as the captain sought to get the attention of the Venezuelan troops with whom he is said to be familiar with.

After recognising the captain, the Venezuelan troops ceased fire and asked the GGCM official to identify themselves before they were allowed to proceed.

According to reports however, the Venezuelan soldiers opened fire at the vessel because they suspected it was carrying smuggled fuel and other contraband.

This is not the first time there has been tension at the Guyana/Venezuela border.

In September last year, the Venezuelan military dispatched heavily armed troops as well as a gunboat and other heavy artillery to the Cuyuni area. Then in December, a Venezuelan helicopter landed at the Kaikan Airstrip, in Region Seven.

Relations between Guyana and Venezuela have been tense over the past few months after the Bolivarian Republic continues to lay claim over two thirds of Guyana’s territory, even though an 1899 Arbitration panel awarded the disputed Essequibo region to Guyana.

In February 1966, just before Guyana was granted Independence, in Geneva, Switzerland, the Governments of British Guiana, the United Kingdom and Venezuela signed an agreement to resolve its contentions, but Venezuela has sporadically raised the controversy it created.

The controversy was reignited by Venezuela when the Government of Guyana granted access to the US-based oil exploration company ExxonMobil, allowing it to drill for oil in the Stabroek block offshore Essequibo.

The Venezuelan Government was peeved at this move and made direct contact with the oil company, urging it to discontinue its attempt to carry out drilling activities in the area. Saying it had no part in the territorial issue, the oil company went ahead with its drilling activity.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro later issued a decree on May 26, 2015, which purported to ratify maritime sovereignty over waters within 200 miles including the entire Atlantic Ocean off the Essequibo Coast as well as part of Suriname’s maritime territory and an area which is under dispute with Colombia.

Guyana has been seeking the United Nations’ (UN) help in resolving the issue and has sought a juridical settlement if the UN process fails.

Meanwhile, when prompted on Government’s posture towards helping Venezuela during its troubling times, the President conceded that he has not contemplated the possibility.

However, he said if a request was made, his Administration will give it consideration. “Venezuela has not made a request to us and I am sure if they needed assistance and they asked for our help, we would consider it. But we must not exaggerate, we don’t know the exact situation in that country. We know about newspaper reports, there are some shortages but the Venezuelan economy is not on the point of collapse.

There are some shortages because of the inability to buy goods on the world market, particularly household goods, food stuff and so on. But the country is not on the brink of collapse you know,” he stated.

 

Tourism Ministry needs dedicated, standalone Minister – THAG

Following an announcement that Business Minister Dominic Gaskin will now be responsible for the tourism industry and that Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes will relinquish her responsibility of the tourism sector, the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) has voiced their opinion that this decision was taken without much consideration.

According to reports, the rationale behind this move is based on the need for greater focus on public telecommunications, even after Minister Hughes managed both sectors effectively. Minister Hughes had amassed a vast knowledge of the telecommunications sector, having graduated from University of the West Indies, with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Mass Communications in addition to her 20 years of on-field knowledge. Minister Hughes will serve as Tourism Minister until the end of June, as Gaskin will take over effective July 1, 2016. Hughes has also previously served as Director of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana.

The Tourism and Hospitality Association expressed their disappointment with the change, stating that at the commencement of the new Government’s term in office, the Association welcomed the identification of Hughes as a standalone Tourism Minister. However, the Association stated that over the course of the last 12 months, this portfolio has been drastically diluted to the proposed move being presented.

“If the current Minister of Public Communication, with a strong background in and understanding of the industry, is too busy to address the needs of the industry, how could an equally demanding portfolio of the Minister of Business be able to devote attention to the Tourism Sector?” a release from the Association stated.

The Association posited that it is critical to the industry’s development to have a Minister who has the time to focus on the sector’s development, understands the needs of the industry and auxiliary sectors; such as transportation, agriculture, culture, arts and craft, and with the depth of knowledge of the key stakeholders’ ability to effect change.

The tourism body further stated that 2015 was a productive year for the sector, as the Minister in charge understood the needs and the concerns of the sector and was able to make representation on their behalf, both at the regional and international level, which they said was very well received. As such, they stated that they are hopeful that the decision to have Hughes relinquish responsibility of the sector is given further consideration.

The Association also pointed out that they have noted the commitment to foster sector growth in the Government’s manifesto; however; with two budgets presented in the past, this commitment remains largely undelivered. The body further stated that they are of the opinion that the steps taken by Government in the last year in the administration of the sector are regressive and disadvantageous to tourism development.

“THAG now believes that the steps taken by Government in the last year in the administration of the sector are regressive and disadvantageous to our development. The tourism sector is keenly focused on answering President Granger’s call for a green economy and believes that tourism is one of the few sustainable pillars in our country’s economy.

The Government of Guyana identified that tourism contributes nine per cent of revenue per annum to the [Gross Domestic Product] GDP and the recently produced report from the Tax Advisory Board stated that because the capital and labour ratio is low, tourism is one of the sectors with the greatest job creation potential; however, no allowances have been made to build the industry. Imagine what the industry could achieve with our own dedicated Minister of Tourism,” the Association stated.

 

Open letter to GRA Commissioner General

Dear Editor,

We have renewed our applications for Mortgage Interest Relief for 2015 until such time that the GRA thinks we should renew again, paid the necessary fees to the commercial banks and did everything that would be required to get our refunds from MIR.

Calls to the GRA MIR office are always met with the usual unprofessional and rude answer, “We don’t know when this would be ready.”

So, since they don’t know, it is only fair to ask you, the big boss responsible for the Guyana Revenue Authority, when would we, the poor people of Guyana, expect our MIR to be processed for July-December2015?

Mr President, this delayed MIR to the Guyanese people that is outstanding for the period July-December 2015, would your office be kind enough to expedite this process?

Regards,

Michael Singh

 

A tribute to Dale Andrews

Dear Editor,

I write to applaud your paper for expressing condolences on the passing of media man Dale Andrews (GT, June 6). The fact that he was news editor from another newspaper that has not been friendly to Guyana Times, and, in fact, has been in an attack mode against Times and its owner has not prevented the paper from expressing emotional solidarity with his colleagues and sympathy with his family.

This is an illustration of media maturity and professionalism that have rarely been shown by other media houses. Guyana Times’ professionalism, support and respect for the media fraternity are to be admired and emulated. Few in the media demonstrate the kind of maturity your editorial board exhibits.

I spoke with Dale occasionally to complain about biased reporting and my Op Ed commentaries not being published. His defence often was he did not see them or he was not editing every day. He would ask me to resend letters directly to him, and I did and some were published.

Last January, I called again to query why my letters were not being published from around December, he said to check with Freddie Kissoon who, Dale stated, replaced him as letters editor. Freddie stated he would not carry my letters apparently because he does not like when I critique him and when I write (wrote) facts of what happened in Guyana.

The 45-year-old Dale did not have my (nearly 40) years of experience in the media. Although he showed some flaws in editing and bias in reporting, he was a professional last December unlike Freddie. Dale allowed a relative free press in the letters section until it was handed to the petty editorial dictator Freddie Kissoon. Whenever I complained, Dale heeded critique and tried to accommodate my letters.

But he was powerless to rein in dictator Freddie, who is not qualified to be in the media, to carry my dozens of letters. Freddie does not tolerate critiques of his writings which are replete with inaccuracies and bias. Freddie creates enemies and he personally attacks those who critique his writings. He also attacks the PPP and Indians for supporting the PPP.

He would not attack Africans for supporting the PNC. Unlike Freddie, Dale was trained as a journalist. Dale did not attack people and he was accommodating to critics whereas Freddie is not. Dale had noted to me Freddie’s lack of professionalism, his perennial bias against the PPP, his misreporting, his censorship, and his hatred for people at Times. Freddie does not allow different perspectives especially from those he views as academic competitors. Freddie engages in opinion mongering whereas Dale was a real reporter who was not into editorialising news. Unlike Dale, Freddie fears critics.

Freddie’s editing has led to lower readership of that media he is associated with while Times readership has increased for its openness to views from across the political spectrum. Times comes across as truly professional in its reporting and editing and in the way it treats colleagues from other media outlets especially towards those who demonstrate an element of relative professionalism such as Dale Andrews. I thank Dale for allowing some of my letters. Dale’s work at the rival paper will be sorely missed. My sympathy goes out to his family and his colleagues.

Yours truly,

Vishnu Bisram

 

Amazon Warriors training camp commences on June 20

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2016

By Akeem Greene

The Guyana Amazon Warriors pre-tournament training camp for this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will commence on June 20 with the international and regional signings are expected to be in attendance. This is according to Manager Omar Khan who made the disclosure while speaking to members of the media at the new ticketing office at Camp and Quamina Streets.

Pakistani all-rounder Sohail Tanvir , Australian Chris Lynn, West Indies T20 star Dwayne Smith are some of the high profiles to grace the preparatory camp.

International stars Martin Guptill and Adam Zampa are the only two players who will miss the camp due to pre-tournament commitments.

The New Zealander Guptill, who succeeded Denesh Ramdin as the Warriors’ Captain, is in England participating in the NatWest T20 Blast for county side Lancashire.

The dashing right-handed opener who has been in sublime for in past months will play six group games for the county side after which he will leave after the team’s final home match on June 24 to join the Amazon Warriors.

On the other hand, the unavailability of the Australian leg-spinner Zampa, is due to his commitments for country in the ongoing Ballr Cup Tri-Nation Series involving the West Indies and South Africa; the series is slated to finish on June 26 in Barbados.

During the camp, practice matches against a local representative team will be played and the Manager also revealed that West Indies Under-19 players Keemo Paul, Tevin Imlach along with Akshaya Persaud will be a part of the training regime in keeping with the Warriors developmental programme.

In April, the management Warriors began preparations in earnest with an interactive session comprising of all the locally based players.

The session was geared to have the local based players interact with each other, field questions and seek clarifications ahead of CPL 2016.

After the indoor session, the players took to the National Stadium for their first physical workout ahead of the impending season.

The Warriors will be in search of their first title win this year after coming up short in two finals, one against the Jamaica Tallawahs in the first edition and then against the Barbados Tridents in the second year.

Last year they had a spirited run, reaching the play-offs which they lost to Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel (now Trinbago Knight Riders) by six wickets.

The first home match for the Warriors will be on July 7 against the Jamaica Tallawahs, followed by a match against the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots on July 9.

They will then battle the Trinbago Knight Riders on June 10 followed by a clash against St. Lucia Zouks on July 12.

However, the Warriors will in action before playing on home turf as they open their campaign on June 30 at Warner Park, St. Kitts against the Patriots from 20:00hrs.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors squad reads: Dwayne Smith, Rayad Emrit, Veerasammy Permaul, Orlando Peters, Assad Fudadin, Anthony Bramble, Paul Wintz, Steven Jacobs, Steven Katwaroo, Ali Khan, Jason Mohammed, Christopher Barnwell, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Lynn, Sohail Tanvir, Martin Guptill and Adam Zampa. ([email protected])

 

Attorney General displays ‘shocking lack of understanding’ for matters under his remit

Dear Editor,

The issue of the admission of LLB graduates of the University of Guyana to the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) has once again raised its head in the public domain. The matter has been obfuscated by a plethora of statements emanating from Attorney General Basil Williams, who has not only misrepresented the facts but refuses to accept any responsibility; and shifts blame from himself to me, the previous administration and to the Council of Legal Education (CLE).

As a result, I feel compelled to respond in order to set the record straight.

In 2013-2014, I along with the then Head of the Department of Law, University of Guyana, Sheldon McDonald, successfully negotiated, on behalf of the Government of Guyana, the terms of a new agreement with officials of the University of the West Indies and the Council of Legal Education of the West Indies, for the continued automatic admissions of graduates of the UG Law Programme into the Hugh Wooding Law School. This became necessary because the previous agreement entered into by my predecessor had come to an end through effluxion of time.

For the record, this entire initiative was a PPP/C Government one which was started in 1996. Two previous such agreements had expired. The responsibility became mine to negotiate and conclude the third. At the commencement of the negotiations, several members of CLE/UWI team had argued against non- renewal of the agreement. We defeated this argument. They next argued for a reduction of the quota of 25. We again defeated this argument. In the end not only did we succeed in retaining the quota of 25 for Guyanese national graduates but were able to secure an additional 10 places for non-Guyanese National graduates of the said Law programme.

This agreement was to be signed before September 2015 to regulate the admission of students for the year 2015-2016 to the Law School. I left office in May 2015. Upon my departure, I briefed Basil Williams. I explained to him that the hard work is finished and that all he needs to do is to ensure that the agreement which was being drafted by UG and UWI be signed and taken to the CLE for their signature because it is a tripartite agreement.

One year after, I am reading in the press that Williams has disclosed that this agreement has not yet been signed. What is worse, rather than remain silent or accept his responsibility to get it signed, he blames the previous government and the CLE for this predicament.

To further befuddle this simple issue, he throws a red herring into the equation about building a local School. Even if that’s a feasible option, it will take years to materialise. What will happen to students in the meantime? Why after one year, the negotiated agreement has not been signed?

Williams blames a decision of the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration to discontinue contributions to the HWLS as the reason for the dilemma facing Guyanese law students:

“I could tell you that they all (HWLS) feel that because we don’t pay and contribute, it is unfair for us to have our students taking up places at the school… It is a question of the discontinuance of paying any contribution whatsoever, and we inherited that situation and are trying to address it…” Williams said (see Guyana Times: 8/6/2016@p 9)

These statements constitute another demonstration of the shocking lack of understanding of, or the gross misunderstanding by the Attorney General of matters for which he holds responsibility. It is clear he does not understand the nature and purpose of the contributions to which he refers.

Had he done so, he ought to appreciate that it has no causal connection whatsoever to the admission of our UG LLB graduates into the Hugh Wooding Law School.

Historically, each member territory of the Council of Legal Education of the West Indies made an annual financial contribution to the Council, depending upon the number of seats allocated to each territory, for their students to be admitted to the Regional Law Schools. In this regard, Guyana’s quota has always been 25.

The financial contribution which each territory makes is in turn used to subsidize the tuition fees which these students are required to pay at the Law School. Guyana stopped this contribution nearly 15 years ago. It never affected the admission of our students into the Law School all these years. All that it meant was that the Guyanese students no longer benefitted from a subsidised tuition fee and therefore, have been paying the full tuition fee since.

In fact, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago are the only two countries in the Caribbean that are not indebted to the Council of Legal Education in relation to this contribution. Millions of US dollars are owed by the other territories.

This is reflected in the Annual Financial Statements of the Council of Legal Education, a copy of which is sent to every Attorney General of the region, who are all ex-officio executive members of the Council. It is obvious that Williams never read his.

Ironically, during all of the negotiations which I have had with the Council for the admission of UG Law graduates, my most potent argument has been that apart from Trinidad and Tobago, the largest influx of revenue into Hugh Wooding Law School comes from the Guyanese students who pay their full tuition fees and it is this revenue that carries the bulk of the other students whose governments fail to pay the subsidies for their students. Therefore, I used Guyana’s non-contribution as an asset.

It is my sincere hope that the grandstanding ceases and that this government finds a speedy solution to this matter which will inure to the best interest of the students.

Yours faithfully,

Mohabir Anil

Nandlall, MP

Attorney

 

CPL ticket sales off to marvellous start

Hero Caribbean Premier League, 2016

By Akeem Greene

The rush is on for tickets to the “Biggest Party in Sport” which heads to Providence for four matches beginning

Some of the merchandise on sale at the ticketing office

Some of the merchandise on sale at the ticketing office

July 7 with an evening clash between the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Jamaica Tallawahs.

The sale of tickets for the Guyana Amazon Warriors home matches in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) commenced on Thursday at the spanking new ticket office at Camp and Quamina Streets, Georgetown (the former TVG building) with several fans gathering to grab their tickets early.

Manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors Omar Khan in speaking to media operatives explained that patrons can expect an improved ticketing process due to the new features of the new location that will allow crowd control. The customer friendly location is also designed to eliminate the issue of flooding which inconvenienced fans in the previous years.

“Ticket sales have started this morning [Thursday], we have had a steady flow of patrons coming to get their tickets which is a good sign; people are asking calling and asking about tickets, all systems are in place from now until the start of the games”, the manager said.

Khan also revealed that as the time draws closer to the matches, there will be other ticket locations namely at the Guyana National Stadium. Moreover, system are being put in place to have ticket offices in Berbice and on the Essequibo Coast.

Ticket prices are $4,000. for the Red and Green stands; $ 3,000. for Orange Stand and $2,000. for the Grass Mound; fans are reminded that a maximum of ten tickets may be purchased by one per match and the choice of specific seating will depend on availability.

The ticketing office, also houses the merchandise store which has a variety of Amazon Warriors replica uniforms, cricket gears and many memorabilia. The clothing line include track suits, polo jerseys, round neck jerseys, v-neck jerseys, tank tops, training shirts, practice shirts, match shirts and long and short trousers are available in various sizes and colours. Amazon Warriors acrylic coins, caps and hats, umbrellas, flags, tea cups, i-phone cases, key rings and haversacks are also available.

The office is open from 09:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs Monday to Friday while on Saturdays it functions from 09:00hrs to 14:00 hrs; as match days come nearer, Sundays are expected to be made available for the purchasing of tickets.

Match at high noon

What may be bewildering to some fans is the day match against the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots which begins at 12:00 hrs on Saturday July 9, since the usually custom is to have the matches being played in late afternoon period into the night as is the case with the other three home fixtures.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors manager addressed the issue, stating that the prescribed time is to accommodate viewership by a larger than usual television audience especially in Europe and the Indian Sub-continent. Khan explained, “this game is being beamed throughout India, throughout Europe and other parts of Asia because the IPL [Indian Premier League] owners specifically requested that this game be held at this time so they can get a viewing audience in India; so it is an opportunity to sell Guyana and expose Guyana to the world.”

The Trinbago Knight Riders tem is currently owned by Kolkata Knight Riders franchise team owner, Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan while Barbados Tridents have ties with Royal Challenger Bangalore and Dr. Vidya Mallya.

Guyana Amazon Warriors will play four home matches beginning on 7 July against the Jamaica Tallawahs from 19:00 Hrs then, 9 July against the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.

The popular “grudge match” between Guyana and Trinidad will occur on July 10 when they tackle the Trinbago Knight Riders from 19:00 Hrs and the final match on home turf is on July 12 against the St. Lucia Zouks from 19:00 Hrs.

The fourth edition of the tournament opens on June 29 when Trinbago Knight Riders host the St. Lucia Zouks at the Queen’s Park Oval from 21:00 Hrs.

The Amazon Warriors open their 2016 campaign on the road to the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Warner Park on Thursday June 30 at 20:00 Hrs. ([email protected])