A 76-year-old retired parish council worker from Trelawny, on Tuesday took home a cheque for $117 million for winning a share of the June 16 Super Lotto.

The pensioner, identified only as W Gordon from Granville near Falmouth, was masked in a red, green and gold tam with hanging locks covering his face.

Despite his sporting locks, however, Gordon confessed that he is a devout Methodist who attends church in Falmouth and believes that God had a hand in his luck.

“I believe in God and he supplies my needs. I am thankful. I don’t plan on moving or doing anything different. I will maintain my Christian fortitude,” he told the Supreme Ventures team.

Gordon told the Jamaica Observer at the handover event Tuesday at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, that he retired from working in 1998, after being employed by parish councils, now municipal corporations, in his hometown of Falmouth, as well as in St James and Hanover.

He was not sure what he would do with his new wealth, but noted that he had bought another ticket already, in the meantime. He had said that he wanted to reach home in time that Tuesday to purchase a second ticket for that night’s draw, as he would not stop playing the game.

Gordon, who has been playing the local Lotto and the regional Super Lotto for more than 10 years, almost threw away the lucky ticket after being given the wrong results for the June 16 draw by a neighbour.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/76-year-old-christian-wins-117-m-super-lotto-jackpot_103278?profile=1373

There will be more room for Wray & Nephew Contender fans in the final three fights of the seventh season, as organisers of the event have shifted the location for the semi-final and final matches to the grounds of The Mico University College.

Mark Kenny, executive producer, Wray & Nephew Contender, noted that his team and sponsors, Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum, are excited about the new location at 1A Marescaux Road in Kingston, because they believe the outdoor venue will allow them to better serve Contender fans.

“We’ve seen an increase this season in the numbers of persons who want to view the fights live on a weekly basis. We have projected an increase in demand for tickets and that led us to shift the venue for the semi-finals and final fights from the Chinese Benevolent Association to The Mico University College,” Kenny said in an interview recently.

He continued to emphasise, “It’s been a very successful series. We have outgrown our capacity there and we haven’t taken the Wray & Nephew Contender outdoors since year one, when the finals for season 1 was held at the Constant Spring Football Field.”

Kenny added that testing of outdoor venues for Contender fights was conducted prior to the start of this season in March, with four Road to Contender fights held in St Thomas, Ocho Rios, St Elizabeth and Kingston. These, he said, were all successful and well supported by fans.

Semi-finalists Tsetsi Davis and Sakima Mullings, who last fought against each other in the 2014 Wray & Nephew Contender final, will face off on Wednesday, July 5, while Richard ‘Frog’ Holmes will be up against Canadian Phil Rose on Wednesday, July 12. Winners from both semi-finals will fight for the 2017 title in the final on Wednesday, July 26.

Pietro Gramegna, Marketing manager, J Wray & Nephew Limited, expressed elation about the change in venue as this season of the Wray & Nephew Contender climaxes: “It’s been an exciting season, filled with overwhelming support from fans at the Chinese Benevolent Association in the last three months. Over the years, Wray & Nephew Contender has become a fixture on Wednesday evenings for many Jamaicans who either tune in via Television Jamaica or watch the fights live. Wray & Nephew Contender has embodied the unmistakable competitiveness of our Jamaican spirit. We are pleased that the semi-final and final fights will be held at a larger outdoor venue. This is a major step which will allow more boxing fans to be able to witness the fights live and feel more engaged in the event.”

Tickets for the upcoming fights cost $800 for general admission and $1,800 for VIP. A special season pass for all three fights costs $4,000. These can be purchased at Western Sports, Twin Gates Plaza; Total Dunrobin; and Jus Call Couriers.

The three remaining fights will be broadcast live on Television Jamaica at 9:30 pm.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/contender-series-semis-finals-set-for-mico-university_103275?profile=1511

With the crime monster claiming more than 60 lives since the start of the year in Clarendon, it would not be strange if this was cited as the biggest impediment to economic growth in the parish, but not so say some residents of Longville Park.

They say that the greatest impediment to economic growth in Jamaica is corruption and that much of this stems from unnecessary bureaucracy.

Kemeila Ewers was part of a group of residents who participated in The Gleaner‘s ‘On the Corner’ series with co-chairman of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) Keith Duncan last Wednesday, and she was adamant that corruption is a clear and present danger.

TRY AGAIN

“We face too many barriers to get fundamental things done in our own country, and it frustrates you to the point where you just give somebody a money,” declared the educator, pointing to the illicit process in which persons make back-door payments in order to acquire a driver’s licence.

 

“The authorities keep telling you to try again, come back in a week or a month. So, while some of them aren’t outright telling you to pay, in essence, that is the aim. So, naturally, if persons know someone who’s willing to accommodate that, they will oblige to speed up the process.

ADDRESS FROM THE TOP

Ewers said, “However, a country like the United States, if you want to get an ID for whatever purpose, you have to go through the regular route. There’s no back door but the bureaucracy is minimal. The turnaround time is short.”

She argued that the issue of corruption is one which has to be addressed from the top down as those of a higher social strata continually use their power to manipulate those at the lower level.

“It’s the higher level that breathes corruption, and then it flows down to the little man or those who are marginalised. It shouldn’t be a case where you’ve graduated, there’s a job opening and you don’t stand a chance equal to that of someone who knows the boss or the member of parliament.

“Why place a vacancy in the paper, to have somebody apply for the post when you know you’ve already selected someone and the person won’t be successful? Its corruption, and if we don’t rid the country of it, there’s no way we can succeed economically because those who are worthy and deserving have to know someone to get somewhere,” charged Ewers.

The educator argues that there is a need for the various oversight bodies to be more aggressive in their duties to ensure transparency and accountability, a sentiment shared by Duncan.

“Corruption comes up on all of the indicators and pain points for investors who want to invest in Jamaica. It’s prevalent in our society. We see it in our processes daily, and we have to address it in a structural way down to the root so that the ease of doing business and the people’s level of comfort in doing business in Jamaica will be improved.

“The oversight bodies have to be fearless in executing their responsibilities from the top down. They have to hold all members of government, private sector, and anyone who engage, with both, to account around following the rules and guidelines of our society,” said Duncan.

syranno.baines@gleanerjm.com

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20170626/corner-curb-corruption-longville-park-residents-point-greatest-threat

FOLLOWING their monthly meeting in June, the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) is reporting that Jamaica has met all structural benchmarks under the Precautionary Standby Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund based on their review of results available up to the end of May.

Structural benchmarks are reform measures that are critical to achieving programme goals and are intended as markers to assess programme implementation during a review.

According to EPOC, the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) has also met the seven structural benchmarks for public sector transformation, public bodies and public service reform through end May 2017.

Revenue performance continues to be strong with figures showing tax revenue intake of $33.2 billion in April 2017. According to their June Communique, EPOC expects that similar drivers of over- performance experienced last fiscal year will result in improved compliance levels in this fiscal year.

EPOC noted that recurrent expenditure for the first month of the fiscal year fell marginally below budget by $1 billion while capital expenditure exceeded budget by $4.4 million.

“We note the positive start to capital expenditure, and, given its importance as one of the main drivers of economic growth, encourage the Government to continue this pace throughout the fiscal year. An important quantitative performance criteria is the primary surplus which stood at $6.61 billion at end April ahead of the GOJ target of $5.79 billion by $820 million,” the committee stated in its June report.

According to committee co-chair Keith Duncan, the adverse weather which resulted in a 2.5 per cent decline in the agricultural sector up to March 2017 is an area of concern.

“The lack of growth raised concerns around future growth, especially as it was compounded by flood rains which caused significant damage to an ageing infrastructure,” Duncan stated.

On the other hand, Duncan believes the reopening of the Alpart Plant in St Elizabeth will have a positive impact on the growth numbers going forward.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/jamaica-meets-structural-benchmarks-under-imf-agreement_103144?profile=1373

Sakima Mullings has said that he is not worried about what threat Tsetsi Davis may pose to him in their upcoming Contender Series semifinal bout on July 5.

The two boxers have last faced each other in the 2014 final, when Mullings won by technical knockout (TKO) but Mullings told STAR Sports that he expects a different fight this time around as a lot of time has passed since then.

After Davis’ split decision win over Canada’s Ryan Young on Wednesday, Davis said that he was in better condition now, than he was in his first match this season. This sentiment was shared by many spectators, who said they believed Davis had fought his best fight in many years. Mullings however said that that does not bother him and he will work out a plan for Davis as he continues to scout him.

“We watched the fight and it was a very good fight by Tsetsi Davis,” Mullings told STAR Sports.

“We just have to come up with our game plan to beat him. We’ll watch the tape of the fight again and see if there’s anything that we can pick up from it. But I don’t think there’s much that we can learn from that tape, because that’s Tsetsi Davis fighting an opponent that’s very tall and very rangey. That’s not me. I know that when I fight Tsetsi Davis, it won’t be the same fight because he won’t come with a similar game plan because I’m not that tall of a fighter.”

Davis had recently told STAR Sports that he was motivated to do better in his last fight because he was booed by the crowd during his first.

Mullings, on the other hand, said that though the crowd supports him strongly, he does not pay any attention to what happens outside the ring during his fights.

“I could fight in front of one person or I could fight in front of a million. I listen to one voice, that’s my trainer’s voice, I block out everything else from the crowd. But it’s definitely an advantage having the crowd in your favour because the noise that they make and the reactions they give can sway the judges.”

Source: http://jamaica-star.com/article/sports/20170624/tsetsi-no-threat-mullings

Veteran Team Jamaica boxer and number three seed, Tsetsi “Lights Out” Davis stunned Team Canada’s number two seed Ryan Young with an imperious split decision victory to move into the semi-final stages of the Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum “Best of the Best” 2017 Contender Boxing Series at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium on Wednesday night.

The first leg of the semi-final moves to the Mico College Auditorium on Wednesday, July 5.

The “Best of the Best” Series clash between Jamaican and Canadian boxers will see the winner of Jamaica’s Ultimate Junior Middleweight Contender title pocketing the major share of $3,000,000.

After five pulsating rounds between which gave the audience and boxers alike little time for breathing easy, ring announcer Oliver Hardie sent the near capacity crowd at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium into wild and thunderous rapture with the news that Davis was the winner. This was not surprising.

Judge Lindell Allen scored the bout 50-45, judge Clifford Brown 49-46 for Davis, while judge David Dunbar saw it 48-47 in favour of Young.

It was a victory that was more important from a Jamaican standpoint, by the fact that it ensured Team Jamaica secured the final spot to give them a three-to-one semi-final placing advantage in the series. The Canadian invaders led their Jamaican counterparts five three on placings entering the quarter-final stages of the contest, having their three seeded boxers making it through along with two others.

Judging from the displays by Young and Davis in their opening matches, it would have taken a smart performance as that given by Davis on the night to get past Young, who earlier blasted his way into the quarters with a messy technical knockout result against Ramel Lewis.

On the other hand, Davis escaped with a disputed split decision win against Team Canada’s Dave Leblond. So unconvincing was Davis’ performance on his opening night his opponent, who fought only once before and won, thought that he licked Davis and requested an inquiry from the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control, who promptly turned down the suggestion.

Taking a hint from his under-par showing, Davis and his English trainer Wayne Sharpe went on a rehabilitation training camp and returned in an unbeatable shape.

Davis looked in supreme physical condition and fought likewise, to take out the best of the Canadian warriors from the contest to give Team Jamaica a stranglehold on retaining the Contender title which slipped through the cracks to the USA with DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley who defeated Richard “Boxer” Holmes in last year’s final.

Truth be told, Davis’ performance was by far the best displayed by any Jamaican Contender entrant for the seventh staging.

“I went into the fight with an open mind to fight and let the judges decide. Their decision could be in my favour; it also could be in Ryan Young’s favour. We have different portfolios. Mine is to fight the best I can. Their duty is to judge. Ryan Young is a good fighter, but I did my homework and I got the decision. I am in this for the long haul. Tonight is now behind me. There are still two more sets of fights to go — the semi-final and the final — so it is not over until it’s over,” said Davis.

“Preparation is a key part of boxing and that I will continue to do, to give of my best and let us see where it takes me,” he added in a post-fight interview.

 

Young was not dismayed by his loss. “I had an off night and to add to this, I was affected severely by the heat. However, take nothing from Davis. It was his night and he made the best of it. It happens to all of us in this business of boxing,” Young added.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/davis-puts-out-young-8217-s-light-in-contender-series_102766?profile=1511

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Georgetown, 21 June 2017

#CPL17

Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT) is now the signature sponsor of the Guyana Amazon Warriors for the fifth edition of the gala Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

This was disclosed by GTT’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Justin Nedd on Tuesday June 20, 2017 while speaking at a festive ceremony held at the Presidential Suite of the National Stadium, Providence.

“Our sponsorship of the Amazon Warriors is an expression of GTT’s understanding of the Guyanese heart and passion for sport, especially cricket,” the CEO stated.

“GTT and the Guyana Amazon Warriors will blaze the stands and the grass mound on match days in full party mode. We want everyone to embrace what it means to be an Amazon Warrior,” Nedd added.

In a Carnival-like atmosphere much like what CPL has become famous for, Amazon Warriors Marketing and Media Officer and Assistant Operations Manager, John Ramsingh revealed that the partnership with GTT, whose slogan is to “Do More” would provide more hype to the already exciting cricket tournament. “Our partnership with GTT is aimed at providing more information, more hype, more opportunities to get a chance to see these matches live, and even a chance to interact in person with the International, regional and your own local players.”

Guyana’s Director of Sport, Christopher Jones was enthused about the proceedings since it exemplifies his contention that “government and government alone cannot undertake the development of sport since corporate support is needed.”

Jones congratulated GTT on the venture assuring that there is willingness to lend whatever support is needed to make the Amazon Warriors successful.

The Guyanese telecommunications company also unveiled, the “Amazon Warriors Song,” which is a collaboration between two local music stars, Calvin Burnett and Drew Thoven.

The fifth edition of the Hero CPL will run from August 4 to September 9 and the Warriors will have four home games during the period ofAugust 17 to 22 at the Providence stadium. The Warriors have been one of the most consistent teams in the league reaching three of the four finals to date.

The Guyana-based franchise have welcomed six newcomers in their squad with Afghanistan leg-spinning sensation Rashid Khan heading the list that includes destructive Jamaican wicket-keeper/batsman Chadwick Walton who played for Jamaica Tallawahs in the last four seasons, big-hitting ICC Americas and Jamaica Scorpions List A opener Steven Taylor, Barbados born Trinidad and Tobago Red Force all-rounder Roshon Primus and the Guyanese pair, batsman Gajanand Singh and fast bowler Keon Joseph.

The retained players are Pakistani all-rounder Sohail Tanvir, New Zealand opener Martin Guptill, Australian top-order batsman Chris Lynn, Trinidad and Tobago all-rounder Rayad Emrit, Trinidad and Tobago batsman Jason Mohammed, Guyanese trio Veerasammy Permaul, Assad Fudadin and Steven Jacobs and Trinidad and Tobago wicketkeeper/batsman Steven Katwaroo.

The finals week of the tournament will take place at the new Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago from September 5 to 9.

About GTT

The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) is a fixed Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) based in Guyana, South America. It is the largest provider of telecommunication services in Guyana with a subscriber base exceeding three hundred thousand in a country with an average population of seven hundred thousand. Its parent company is the Atlantic Tele-Network.

GTT provides local, long distance and international voice services; they also offer prepaid cards for use with land lines. International voice traffic is carried for GTT by Verizon; international collect calling is provided through agreements with AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Call Home Telecom, Bell Canada, Telus and British Telecom. The Earth Station in Thomas Lands, Georgetown receives and relays international voice and data traffic.

GT&T provides wireless TDMA and GSM services; a prepaid service is also available with the ‘Freedom Phone’ and its prepaid cards. Their data provision is through the GTT Frame Relay Network, hosted with Nortel Solutions. DSL service is available for business and residential customers through their Guyana Online (GOL) service; internet traffic for GTT is handled by UUNET Technologies.

In July 2010, GTT completed Guyana’s first submarine fiber optic cable which was launched under the brand name “emagine”.

ABOUT THE HERO CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE:

 

Since its inception in 2013, the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is a franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament that combines two of the most compelling aspects of Caribbean life – dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival atmosphere. Over 149 million fans watched the 2016 season, combining broadcast and digital viewership, to make it one of the fastest growing leagues in world cricket. Jamaica Tallawahs are the current Hero CPL champions and the other competing teams are Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots, St. Lucia Stars and Trinbago Knight Riders. The 2017 tournament will run from 4 August – 9 September 2017. For further information visit www.cplt20.com.

 

 

-ENDS-

 

For further information please contact:

 

Peter Miller

Mobile: +447769119636

Email: pmiller@cplt20.com

Head of PR and Communications

Hero Caribbean Premier League 

“TSETSI! TSETSI! Tsetsi!” was the constant cry at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium on Hope Road on Wednesday night, as veteran, 39-year-old Jamaican boxer Tsetsi ‘Lights Out’ Davis scored one of his most thrilling victories locally, when he outpunched 32-year-old Canadian Ryan Young over five rounds.

The win by a split decision earned the Jamaica a place in the semi-finals of the 2017 Wray and Nephew Contender boxing series. Judges Lindell Allen 50-45 and Clifford Brown 49-46 voted for him, while Canadian judge Dave Dunbar scored the fight 48-47 for Young. The other semi-finalists are Jamaicans Sakima Mullings and Richard Holmes and Canadian Phil Rose. Davis now has a 18-5 record, while Davis falls to 11-3.

The atmosphere was electric, and fans were on their feet cheering wildly throughout the heart-stopping encounter. For Davis, it was redemption, as in his first fight in the series on April 19, he also won by split decision, but many of the spectators disagreed with that decision.

Even though the scorecards showed another split decision on Wednesday, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind this time around, that Davis was the winner.

Young himself conceded afterwards that “Davis was the man tonight. He had it and I did not. He won and I respect him for the way he fought. We gave the crowd a good show, and made them happy. I enjoyed it, even though I lost.”

Young made it through the preliminary round to the quarter-finals with a win inside the distance over hard-hitting Ramel Lewis, but faltered in the quarter-finals as Davis unleashed a steady barrage of punches that overwhelmed him. Davis was cool under pressure, and was unusually subdued. He and his entourage usually put on a show before his fights, but on Wednesday it was all business. Davis showed very little emotion either before or after the fight, and said that the key to victory this time around was his preparation.

“I deliberately did not talk too much. I wanted this victory to prove a point to all those who criticised me in the first fight. I told you all that I was coming back. I am back now and ready to shoot for the final and the top prize of $2 million,” he said.

He started his march to victory with an aggressive first round, but Young matched him punch for punch and had the edge on the scorecards.

In the second round, Davis exploded. He came in behind the jab, and his hooks to body and head, and the occasionally uppercut, forced Young to defend himself so as to stay in the fray, and the crowd loved every minute of the excellent exchanges. It got more exciting round after round as both men challenged each other, and the cool and methodical Davis kept soaring to a grand crescendo and a well-deserved victory that the crowd enjoyed immensely, and told him so with their cheers.

For Tsetsi, it was a night to remember.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170623/lights-out-davis-defeats-canadas-young-contender-thriller