Guyana Times Daily

9

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Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyana-times.com

Issue No. 2858

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

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10-year-old killed by drunken Police Constable

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

“Granger leapfrogged into futuristic talk of national unity” P2 – Rohee

…says cohesion cannot foster under present conditions

Page 9

WCB man killed by speeding car Page 7

Berbice man shot during attempted execution

P7 Still no date for Byelections in deadlocked municipality, NDCs – GECOM

Page 10

Professor’s murder

D'Urban Park Project

90% completed days away from Independence Day Page 11

P11 DPP recommends murder charge for 5 teens

– to appear in court today

With nine more days to Guyana’s 50th Independence celebrations, the D'Urban Park Project is 90 per cent completed. The venue is earmarked for the hosting of the Independence Day celebratory activities, including the flag raising ceremony

Conflict of interest

Broomes insists: “I did nothing wrong” – observers maintain conflict of interest exists

Page 3

Closure of Wales Estate

106 workers demanding severance payment Page 17

Over 150 improvised weapons found in P7 Camp Street Prison Mon Repos Market was closed for “cleaning only” not repairs – Communities P12 Ministry

2 news

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

“Granger leapfrogged GTU teachers’ harassment report Region 3 REDO shoots down claims into futuristic talk of national unity” – Rohee …says cohesion cannot be fostered under present conditions

By Devina Samaroo

T

rapped in an atmosphere riddled with perceptions of political and racial discrimination and victimisation, People’s Progressive Party General Secretary Clement Rohee foresees Guyana making no advancement towards national unity and social cohesion.

Rohee started off his weekly press conference by starkly criticising President David Granger’s address to the Parliament, comparing its effect to that of a damp squib.

“Heavy emphasis was placed on high-sounding and lofty ideals such as social cohesion and national unity,” the General Secretary denounced, positing that the speech was more suited for an audience comprising A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) supporters.

Rohee contended that the type of national unity that the Government speaks of cannot be achieved under current conditions, given ongoing discrimination and victimisation.

“The terms and conditions he is setting for his variation of national unity is not acceptable to us, especially in the present conditions under which we are living, having regard to what they are doing in relation to the witchhunting, racial and political discrimination and victimi-

PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee

sation,” Rohee asserted.

“The man has totally ignored all of that and has leapfrogged into a very futuristic talk about national unity and social cohesion.

National unity cannot happen under these conditions and Mr Granger is totally oblivious to that,” he noted.

Prompted to disclose what he believed was necessary to foster unity and cohesion, Rohee said there must be an end to the witch-hunting, and the allegations and accusations of corruption against former Governments.

“The ball is in the Government’s court,” Rohee stated. The current Administration, upon assumption to office, has given much lip service to the need for building a united nation.

The Social Cohesion Ministry, headed by Amna Ally, was established to aid in this process. On multiple occasions alike, Government

Ministers have spoken vigorously about a massive movement taking place to foster national unity and social cohesion.

The PPP/C parliamentary Opposition was also invited to partake in national unity talks.

In November 2015; however, Rohee had wholly rejected those calls, pointing out that the current political atmosphere was not conducive to engaging the Administration on such a highly sensitive matter.

The PPP had generally contended that the purported promotion of “national unity” was nothing but a huge façade and windowdressing exercise.

Disaster of national proportions

Coming back to the President’s address, Rohee labelled it as a disaster of national proportions.

He pointed out that to claim that the absence of national unity has led to political and economic fatigue was “not only disingenuous; it is a reflection of a yawning gap between political rhetoric and the socio-economic realities obtaining in Guyana today”.

He also expressed that the President, in his address, “pretended to be above the fray and totally oblivious to what his underlings are doing on a daily basis to create social dislocation and disintegration as well as economic deprivation.”

I

n light of the recent allegations made against the Regional Education Officer (REDO) of Region Three (Essequibo Islands/ West Demerara) by the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) accusing her of neglecting teachers’ rights and ill-treating them, the REDO has shot down the accusations.

The union had made reports subsequent to a meeting with teachers across the country where the issue had been highlighted and appeals were made for immediate action to be taken by the Education Ministry.

The initial report had highlighted that the REDOs of Regions Three and Ten (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) had been harassing teachers over a number of issues relating to the school system.

However, when contacted by Guyana Times for a comment on the allegation, REDO of Region Three, Penelope Mackintosh, refuted the claims, stating that she has not been in receipt of any reports of this na-

ture, even though the comment was directed at her.

Mackintosh informed that she is not aware of the issue by any education official or the ministry, and is completely oblivious of the information surrounding the accusation, and what directly is bothering teachers.

“I am not aware of this, none of the region’s officials have been fingered in that issue,” she affirmed.

Meanwhile, attempts to contact Education Minister Rupert Roopnaraine and Chief Education Officer Olato Sam were futile.

Last week following a meeting with teachers across the country, the GTU had reported that the main complaint was the manner in which they are being addressed by the REDOs who have authority over the affairs of the school system in that specific region.

As a result of the harassment, the teachers had reportedly made it clear that they are under immense pressure as the issue would inevitably hinder their overall productivity. Among the

issues raised by teachers were the manner he teachers are being spoken to by the REDOs, in addition to the lack of communication which hindersfull progression of the public school system in that region.

On that list also, the matters regarding transferral to other departments and schools was highlighted, in addition to the difficulty in acquiring leave when due.

These issues pointed to the inefficiency of the regional administration, where it had reached the point of intervention by the ministry.

In a recent interview with this publication, the union had described the treatment being meted out to teachers as “worst than slavery.”

It was reported that a letter had been set to the ministry alluding to the condition in the stated regions.

The teachers are appealing for urgent intervention and necessary actions to be taken in the situation. In this way, the union believes, that classroom teaching would not be affected.

news

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tuesDAY, may 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, May 17 – 14:30h-16:00h and Wednesday, May 18– 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, May 17 – 13:40h-15:10h and Wednesday, May 18– 14:20h-15:50h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Light to heavy rain showers accompanied by thunder can be expected throughout the day. Light rain showers are also expected in the evening.

Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly to East North-easterly between 3.12 metres per second and 5.81 metres per second.

High Tide: 13:15h reaching a maximum height of 2.30 metres.

Low Tide: 07:25h and 19:43h reaching minimum heights of 0.92 metre and 0.88 metre respectively.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

LOTTERY NUMBERS M 06 07 11 12 19 20 01 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

Monday, May 16, 2016 Daily Millions

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

Conflict of interest

Broomes insists: “I did nothing wrong” A

s accusations of conflict of interest continued to be levelled against Junior Minister of Natural Resources Simona Broomes over her mining interests and current oversight of the mining sector, the minister came out to defend her integrity and declared that she did nothing wrong by transferring her mining interests to her two children.

Broomes’ mining interest came under scrutiny over the weekend after information surfaced suggesting she was granted another Mining Permit H43/MP/000 by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.

However, the Minister during a news conference at her Brickdam office on Monday morning, claimed that what is being pedalled in the media is part of a “deliberate attempt to besmirch” her character and that of her children.

“Why would one want to drag my children through the mud, my children have committed no crime,” she declared and clarified that no new mining permit was granted but rather it was a transfer of her dredge to her son, and daughter whose name is also Simona Broomes.

“All I have done is transfer a dredge that was in existence for decades. It has nothing to do with a permit… I have done nothing wrong,” the minister declared, adding that she was not responding to any individual attack on her, but rather was just giving clarity to the Guyanese people.

“I think that what is circulating out there at this time it is deliberate attempt to besmirch me,” said Broomes.

The minister who spent some 28 years as a miner said that while her children continue to operate in the mining sector, there is no preferential treatment, rather, her children are “towing the line.”

Junior Minister of Natural Resources Simona Broomes

She noted that should a situation arise which could be deemed a conflict of interest, it will not be handled by her, but will be passed to senior Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman.

Broomes boasted that prior to becoming a minister, she maintained a spotless character and it is her intention to continue to maintain that character and leave a legacy of transparency and accountability.

“It is not an easy task but I have committed. I am one of the female ministers that will stand tall and I will not buckle,” she said.

But, while the minister is maintaining there is no conflict of interest since her mining interest are now being handled by her children, many still believe that the fact she is a government minister and more so responsible for the mining sector, it is already a factor that could influence decision in her children’s favour as they remain in the industry.

Some transparency and accountability advocates are maintaining that the minister’s decision to transfer her mining interests to her children does not remove the cloud of conflict of inter-

est, since they are in essence managing her business.

Many say that Broomes seems to be in breach of the government’s highlytouted Code of Conduct for Ministers, Parliamentarians and other public officials, even before its implementation.

The Draft Code of Conduct says that, “a conflict of interest situation arises when the private interests of the public office holder compete or conflict with the interests of the State.”

“Private interests” mean both the financial and personal interests of the official and staff or those of their connections including, family and other relations; personal friends; other companies or business interests which they hold or own (both in part or in whole); other clubs and societies to which they belong; and any person to whom they owe a favour or are obligated in any way.

On Sunday, political commentator Dr Henry Jeffery contended that the only way those concerns can be eliminated is by completely removing the Minister from the Natural Resources Ministry.

“I don’t think Minister Broomes understands clearly what conflict of interest means. I can understand her dilemma being in mining all this time and you know it’s a family business and she is now in the Ministry involved with mining. What she should be asking is for government to remove her from there and put her somewhere else. She could

be in another ministry,” Dr Jeffrey stated.

Meanwhile, another political commentator and economist Ramon Gaskin reasoned that Broomes’ decision to transfer her mining operations to her children does not put to rest conflict of interest concerns.

“That doesn’t solve the problem because when the children go into Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to do business, they know that the children’s mother is the minister, so that really don’t solve the problem,” he explained.

Gaskin suggested that the best way to settle the conflict of interest concerns is to set up a blind trust: “You don’t hear from them and they don’t hear from you.

They just running it for you and you have nothing to do with it. That’s how you deal with those kinds of situations. Not by giving it to your children and all that nonsense, that doesn’t solve the problem.”

A blind trust protects an investor from charges of conflict of interest and other improprieties because its specific assets and trading practices are unknown to the investor.

In modern societies, corporate employees and public officials often use blind trusts to avoid charges of insider trading and corruption, respectively.

Despite these allegations against the minister, there has been no official statement from government regarding this issue.

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tuesdAY, may 17, 2016

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707

Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

Independent identity

A

t Independence, it was said with some regret, “We inherited a state but not a nation” yet our national motto declared: “One Nation, One People, One Destiny”. Even if it was merely aspirational, it confirmed the colonial assumption that an independent country was not just a territorial expression but one containing a populace with a common identity that made them into a “nation”.

The organisation formed after WWII to accommodate the expected decolonisation wave, after all, was called the “United Nations”.

The State System that evolved in Europe after the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 when the Holy Roman Empire dissolved, introduced the principle of “cuiusregio, eiusreligio” – the religion of the king is the religion of the people. In effect, with the pervasiveness of religion in the lives of the people in the individual states, but with the abandonment of a common language, Latin, each country evolved separate and distinct “cultures”. During the colonial era from the 17th to 20th Century, the inhabitants of European colonies were expected to imbibe and practise the cultures of the “mother country”.

To become “one nation” at Independence, it was expected that all the people of Guyana would practise one culture – British culture. In fact, before Independence, an anthropologist, RT Smith explained our ability to live together, even though we were “the land of six races”, was because everyone had a “white bias” in our world view. Our early leaders Dr Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham rejected much of the “white bias” as a “colonial mentality”, but their Marxist-based ideology still assumed the ideal of “one people”. Their “class bias” articulated the aspiration as “the small man is the real man”.

It was quite ironic even though these early leaders wanted a “unity” in the people, in order to secure political power they used whatever means at their disposal. One of those “means” was while all citizens might have had a “white bias” and used the language and premises of the “whites” to evaluate each other, they yet saw themselves as different because of their insertion into the country at different times and the different cultural repertoires they arrived with. In recognition of this reality, another anthropologist, MG Smith defined us as a “plural society”: the peoples of Guyana may live in one country, but expressed themselves through institutions that were significantly different because of religion and culture. In other words, we were ethnically different.

And it was along these ethnic cleavages the politicians mobilised before and after Independence. However, they introduced a schizophrenic element into the self-definition of Guyanese by publicly avowing our “unity” and “one nation, one people” while in private courting voters along ethnic lines.

Evidently reacting to this schizophrenic labelling of “identity” that has long fractured the country’s developmental efforts, the new APNU/AFC Government articulated as one of its major goals, the achievement of greater “social cohesion” in the society. It created a Ministry within the Ministry of the Presidency to achieve this state of affairs and on May 11 launched the first “National Social Cohesion Day”.

Delivering the feature address with much of his Cabinet and the diplomatic corps present, President David Granger declared: “Social cohesion recognises that our nation is now and always will be multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural. Miscegenation is forever and I have recently seen the results of my DNA test so I’m forever mixed. Our diversity is an asset not a liability; we are proud to belong to a society of many faiths. We are proud of the tapestry of our ethnicity.”

It would appear that the President is clearly articulating a more nuanced vision of what our nation can be – a hyphenated rather than a claustrophobic, arbitrary “unitary” one. His comment about “miscegenation”, however, needs explication. Our Nobel Prize winning poet Dereck Walcott said, “Miscegenation means there’s something wrong genetically. Miscegenation is not an idea that we would have in the Caribbean.”

This Berbice Secondary School student smiles brightly as he receives his bicycle from First Lady Sandra Granger

We can never become big by cutting down others Dear Editor, Kindly permit this letter in relation to Eusi Kwayana’s in another section of the media on May 11, 2016.

On October 28, 2015, he sent me an email in which he alluded to the accusations made against him. I confessed to not understanding the contents of the mail in my response to him especially as there was no attachment as indicated, and asked for some clarification. I did not hear back from him. Now we have an open letter which makes matters clear.

There are people in our society who have unlimited access to the media who feel it is their birthright to accuse, malign, denigrate and defame those with whom they have a disagreement. These are not the regular bloggers, but they

are men with extraordinary pretensions to learning. They are at liberty to denigrate not only individuals, but a whole people, and with absolute impunity.

I cannot claim to know Eusi Kwayana as intimately as others with whom he has had a much longer relationship. But since I have come to know him, I have always found him to be a man of great moral integrity and probity from which I have never known him to deviate. In this, even his foes will readily agree.

I have personally learnt a lot from him, especially from his lifestyle and example. I have always tried to understand people not only by what they say but also by how they live, and found in him an effortless and happy conver-

gence of speech and action.

This is what gives his pronouncements much moral power.

Unlike a current WPA member who has recently written that he refrained from full disclosures to the Rodney Commission, because he did not want to give “ammunitions to the PPP” in an election year; Kwayana would be constrained by no such concern or guile.

No one is perfect, as he reminds us, but the charges made against him are so contrary to the character of the individual, that one is left to wonder about the intentions of their authors. Is it wanton irresponsibility in the name of journalism and freedom of expression, or is it the sheer joy of tearing down others with whom we have disagree-

ments? Or what?

They say when you want to discredit the character of a person, you strike at his strongest point. Eusi Kwayana has shown by his life of deliberate simplicity that it is possible for one in public life to insulate oneself against the lure of money and the seduction of power. It is exactly here where the assault on his character took place.

I am convinced that if a man is pure not all the mud in all the oceans thrown at him can sully his character. When a torch is lit, though it is held down, the flame still leaps up.

No matter how hard we try, we can never become big by cutting down others.

Sincerely, Swami Aksharananda

International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia Dear Editor, Today, May 17, 2016, marks the celebration of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, and the European Union and the British High Commission join Guyana and the rest of the world in commemorating this significant day. Today, we reiterate our strong and unwavering commitment to the equality and dignity of all human beings irrespective of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The EU and the British High Commission wish to pay homage to the resolute and courageous advocacy efforts carried out by individuals and civil society organisations in Guyana and around the world in addressing the discrimination faced by LGBTI persons.

Their work has been crucial

every step of the way in putting these issues on the table, documenting abuses and advocating for the effective protection of fundamental human rights. The EU and the British High Commission have been proud to provide support to Guyanese activists, such as the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), in their struggle to obtain protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Guyana is a democracy based on respect for the rule of law, and indeed is one of the few countries to have an anti-discrimination framework that is very close to comprehensive. The missing element is, of course, that Guyana does not protect individuals from discrimination on the basis of

sexual orientation and gender identity. The right to equality and the protection of all persons against discrimination are fundamental norms of international human rights law.

The European Union and the British Government are committed to the principles of equality and non-discrimination. The member States contain very different peoples, we speak different languages, and we have different cultures.

But we are united in our commitment to democracy and the rule of law. Of course, democracy does not mean that the will of the majority must always prevail. Democracy means accepting people who are different, respecting their right to be different and not discriminating against them because they are different. We are united in our commitment

to respect the dignity of one another.

On this the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, we encourage Guyana to act on the main recommendations delivered in the framework of its second United Nations Universal Periodic Review held in January 2015, in particular regarding decriminalisation of consensual same-sex intimacy between adult men, and cross-dressing.

Sincerely, Ambassador Jernej Videtič European Union Delegation High Commissioner Greg Quinn British High Commission

5 Change in attitude needed to battle GTT urging public to report corruption – Minister Hughes vandalism of equipment P C news

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

u b l i c Telecommunications Minister Catherine Hughes stated that dealing with the issue of corruption is never an easy task for any government, and eliminating corruption is one of the major challenges faced since the coalition government took office.

The Minister noted that in order to effectively deal with corruption, there needs to be a serious change in people’s attitude. “What I am trying to say is that (with) so many of our issues we have a spectrum of individuals that have to be part of the change and unless we are able to change the very, very bottom in terms of attitudes and also the very, very top, we are not going to be successful,” the Minister explained.

Just as there were challenges, there were successes achieved by the coalition government over the past year.

“I am excited that we have been able to look at the institutions of government and to make them stronger,” the Minister stated.

The Minister pointed to the fact that there is little or no flooding in areas known to be under water when it rains. “When we talk about the successes, I want to talk about the infrastructure that has been improved, I want to talk about the areas that we have cleaned, we have maintained, and that we are guaranteeing ordinary people don’t face the challenges of too much water in their homes.”

Minister Hughes also made note of the once bushy

areas that have been turned into play parks for Guyanese children. The Minister reflected on the positive feedback government has been receiving for its hard work.

“I had a mother the other day that came up to me and said ‘thank you’. I was at the market and, I said for what? She said for this, and she pointed to the Merman’s Mall and all the play areas and said to me, I don’t have to pay for my child to play,” Minister Hughes recollected.

In addition, she noted that in November 2015, Guyana was listed as one of 12 places in the world to visit in 2016 in the Business Insider UK magazine.

According to the Minister, Guyana has received more visitors since that announcement was made.

Brand-name hair products hit local market

T

The Chi Biosilk hair products launched in Guyana

he popular Chi Biosilk line of hair products was on Monday officially launched in Guyana, with Caribbean Premier Distributors being the sole distributors.

The launching took place at a simple ceremony at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street, Georgetown. The hair products come in different forms suited for all hair types and are guaranteed to leave your hair feeling strong and healthy. Also, the products are available at affordable prices from as low as $1800.

According to the Chi Biosilk website, the hair care products are infused with silk to moisturise and add a glossy shine to your locks and offer flat irons, hair dryers and seven luxurious hair care collections to help style

and finish your look.

Fashion icon Sonia Noel, during the launching ceremony, endorsed the product, noting that it indeed does wonders for your hair.

Persons who are desir-

ous of making purchases or becoming sub distributors of the products are encouraged to contact Robetta Sami on 231-4130 or 616-0390 or visit their location at the Kaylan Mall, Lamaha Street.

hief Executive Officer of GTT Justin Nedd has issued a call to the public, urging them to report instances of vandalism of the company’s equipment Nedd in an exclusive interview with Guyana Times related that in most instances, persons who witness vandalism and sabotage fail to report it to the telephone company and the police. He explained that there are frequent incidents where telephones lines are cut and the cables are stolen.

As such, the company has to bear the cost of repairs and customers’ services are often disrupted for lengthy periods. He therefore issued the call to the public to file all reports with the relevant authorities when they witness the destruction of GTT’s equipment.

“It’s sad to say that the society that we live in continues to allow this. In many instances, there’s sabotage and people that live right there don’t report it. So I would really encourage persons to dial our call centre, dial the Police and report the instances of vandalism because not only is it a cost to us but there’s also a loss to the customers,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the CEO also revealed that there are a number of plans underway in terms of upgrades and expansions to ensure customers receive improved services.

He explained that GTT has been making its broadband internet service available countrywide for customers, and is continuously looking for ways to improve the service.

“We’re right across the Coast, we are in Region Two all along the coast to Region

CEO of GTT Justin Nedd

Six, and then we go all the way into Linden which is Region Ten. We’re always looking at ways to increase the speed which is always good for the Country,” he stated.

He continued to explain that GTT recently launched its 4G internet service which has seen customers browsing the internet at a faster speed, with the company already setting its sight on increasing the speed to 5G and above: “Last year we slashed prices by 50 per cent, increased speed five folds, and that’s something we intend to constantly introduce… increase speeds, reduce prices and adding value. The future is bright for our customers,” Nedd declared.

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Foundation Sleep Strategies for New Moms Can sleep training (Continued from Monday)

Part 2

fort for the baby.” Because newborns do not yet have full control of their limbs, swaddling also helps eliminate inadvertent wakings.

Swaddling your baby and creating white noise, “specifically the 'shhhhh' sound baby hears in the womb, literally brings the 'comforts of home' to a newborn,” Stern says.

By Lynette Arceneaux

Nurse frequently during the day

“Sometimes babies will want to nurse more frequently at night if they aren't getting enough nursing during the day," says Mama Seeds' Michelle Bennett. Of course, some babies who are used to eating several times during the night may continue to wake up purely out of habit — particularly if they're past the four- to six-month mark, when most babies are able to get enough calories during the day to sustain them for a five- or six-hour stretch at night. If you suspect your

“We recommend bedtime consistency.”

Researchers in Japan reached similar conclusions during a 2007 study, finding that the late bedtime and frequent night waking of the infants in their study may reflect delayed development of the babies' circadian rhythms.

baby is waking because she might not be eating enough during the day, make an effort to carefully watch for hunger cues and try nursing in a place without distractions.

Set a reasonable bedtime

Put your baby to bed at a decent hour, says Denise Stern, President of Let Mommy Sleep. Keeping your baby awake later at night does not mean baby will sleep later in the morning. “This fights against baby's natural rhythm and may lead to true exhaustion and meltdown,” she says.

Use white noise and swaddling techniques

“Swaddling — that is, wrapping baby snugly so that his arms are secured at his sides – and white noise go hand in hand,” says Let Mommy Sleep's Denise Stern. “They both simulate conditions in the womb, creating security and com-

Have baby nurse one last time right before mom goes to bed herself, says Michelle Bennett, founder of Mama Seeds. “Most babies will 'sleep-nurse' and not fully

Catch some zzzs when you can

“Moms should make sure to catch a nap – or two or three – during the days,” says parenting coach Chelsea P Gladden. Sure, it's a piece of advice included in just about every list of sleep strategies for new

Fit in daytime snuggle-time

Little ones have an enormous need for closeness and comfort. “Babies who are missing physical closeness with their mothers during the day will sometimes try to get that closeness at night,” says Michelle Bennett, founder of Mama Seeds.

While this can be especially challenging for mothers who work outside the home, it may be necessary to increase physical contact with baby during the daytime through activities like holding and soothing.

Do one last feeding before bed

moms, but there's a reason for that: A new mom has to fit in some shut-eye wherever and whenever she can.

“Moms need their rest,” says Gladden, “and it's better for everyone if they get it.” It's better for baby, too. A 2013 study showed that mothers who napped more frequently had richer and more positive interactions with their babies than those who napped less or not at all.

rouse,” she says, “and sometimes this last 'toppingoff' for the night will buy several hours of consecutive sleep for mom.” Denise Stern, President of Let Mommy Sleep, wholeheartedly agrees, saying, “We at Let Mommy Sleep like to

teach the 'dream feed' — a term coined by 'The Baby Whisperer,' Tracey Hogg” — which is simply bringing breast or bottle to baby's lips and allowing her to instinctively take what she needs while continuing to sleep.

(Excerpt from livestrong.com)

be harmful?

(Conclusion)

By Elizabeth Hurchalla

What are my alternatives?

One option is to just sleep with your baby. Cosleeping babies rarely cry out at night, and when they do, they settle down four times faster than solo sleepers. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends room-sharing — but not bed-sharing, to reduce the risk of SIDS — other experts, such as paediatrician Dr William Sears and Dr James McKenna, director of the Mother-Baby Behavioural Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame, claim co-sleeping promotes parent-child bonding and actually decreases the risk of SIDS. However, some parents find it tough to get much sleep with their baby in their bed, and others simply prefer to have their child in a crib in a separate room. If that’s your preference, start by setting a positive, consistent bedtime routine and schedule with quiet activities your child enjoys. Some lucky parents find that’s all it takes.

If that doesn’t do the trick, you may want to try the camping-out method of sitting with your child while he cries until he falls asleep and moving your chair further away from the crib every night until you’re out of the room.

Some consider it a middle ground between the controlled-crying and no-cry methods, and Mindell often

recommends it.

Or you may prefer to try Pantley’s approach: The key to the no-cry method, says Pantley, is to “tune in to your child, learn their sleepy signals, identify their sleep needs and set up a routine that supports their natural biology. First, find out why your child is waking up, and then see if you can solve that problem to help your child sleep better.” To that end, Pantley advises creating a sleep log for a couple of days: “Chart when baby falls asleep, how long it takes him to fall asleep and how he does it. (Is he being fed or rocked?) Jot down nap times and bedtime along with any night wakings.

Review the log to identify patterns that may need to be changed.”

If you do decide to pursue a no-cry approach, however, keep in mind that it is likely to take longer than controlled-crying sleep training. Though some children do respond quickly, no-cry alternatives can sometimes “take so long to accomplish that many parents are too exhausted to hold the course”, says Spivack. “And worst of all, babies still cry, but instead of crying for four days, they may cry for months.”

But some feel more comfortable always answering those cries. As Pantley writes, “The irrefutable truth is that we cannot change a comfortable, loving-to-sleep (but waking-up-all-night) history to a go-to-sleep-andstay-asleep-on-your-own routine without one of two things: crying or time.

Personally, I choose time.”

Whichever method you choose, it’s important to be consistent. As Waldburger and Spivack write, “You need to feel comfortable with the method you use to help your child sleep, or the method won’t work.

If it feels better for you to hug your child or stay in the room, follow your instincts. Just know that no matter what you do, you can never completely erase your child’s frustration as she learns to sleep; unfortunately, she will protest no matter what you do.”

(livestrong.com)

news

7

tuesday, may 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

WCB man killed Lodge stabbing incident Murder suspect still at large by speeding car A A s the road carnage continues on Guyana’s roadways, a logger met his demise on Sunday evening after an allegedly drunk driver lost control of his vehicle and slammed into him along the Tempe Public Road, West Coast Berbice (WCB).

Dead is 21-year-old Inshain Jameer Jr, also called “Sugga” of Lot 214 Tempe Village, WCB. According to information received, the now dead man was sitting on his parked motorcycle and speaking to his uncle when he was struck by the speeding car, which reportedly swerved from hitting a minibus that was heading in the opposite direction.

Jameer was reportedly tossed into the air and landed on the roadway. He was picked up by his uncle and rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital.

As a result of his extensive injuries, he was transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he succumbed while receiving medical attention.

Dead: Inshain Jameer

The driver involved was taken into Police custody to assist with the investigation. The dead man’s father, Inshain Jameer Sr when contacted told Guyana Times that his son who played an integral role in the family, left home to visit his uncle for whom he worked.

He noted that he was at home when he received the dreadful news and rushed to the scene only to find out that his son had been taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital. He noted that he then travelled to that hospital where he saw his son still

alive, but he could not speak.

The grieving father noted that from reports received, the driver of the car, who is the engineer to the Region Five Chairman, was seen drinking with his friends at a Chinese restaurant at Bath Settlement and left there in a drunken state.

“From what I hear is that the driver start to sway on the roadway and he nearly crashed into a minibus, but he swerved out and is swerve he swerve and come into the corner where my son was sitting on his bike and hit him,” the father added.

He further stated that after hitting his son, the driver crashed into a tree near the roadway and sustained injuries. The father vented his anger about the large number of drunk drivers who utilise the roadways on a daily basis, adding that the Police needed to be stricter in their enforcement of traffic rules.

Jameer Jr, Guyana Times, was told worked with several people, including his father, to rear poultry. He leaves to mourn his parents and one sister.

ubrey Clarke of Lodge Housing Scheme, Georgetown, who is accused of stabbing his cousin, Lennox Norton, to death on Saturday evening over an old grievance has reportedly gone into hiding.

The suspect and the now dead man were engaged in a heated argument during which Norton was stabbed several times.

Norton of Lot 418 Samaroo Street, B Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

One of the eyewitnesses where the stabbing occurred told Guyana Times Monday that on the night of the stabbing, the two men were drinking and an argument led to a fight.

The suspect, he added, pulled out a “long” knife and allegedly stabbed Norton to his back. The knife reportedly passed “through and through” the man’s body.

He noted that he heard Norton screaming and eventually saw him collapse. As he collapsed, the suspect dealt him several blows to the abdomen. The man, who requested anonymity, told Guyana Times that a few years ago, the suspect had blamed the now dead man for his sister’s death.

Meanwhile, at the house of the deceased, his niece related that she was at home when she received the news that her uncle was stabbed by a cousin. She noted that at about 08:15h on Sunday she received another call relating that her uncle had died.

This prompted her to visit the scene only to see blood stains in the yard and in the shop that is not in operation. She was told the two men had a scuffle and the suspect pulled out

Over 150 improvised weapons found in Camp Street Prison

alight one of the cell blocks that resulted in the deaths of 17 prisoners.

Below is a list of the prohibited items found during the search.

The prohibited items found during the raid

T

wo months after the Camp Street Prison mayhem that left 17 inmates dead, the Joint Services over the weekend carried out an exercise called “Operation Restore Order”, which resulted in the seizure of 44 mobile phones, over 150 improvised weapons, scissors, a quantity of marijuana and tattoo machines among other items.

The exercise started in all the main prison cell blocks about 05:00h which saw prisoners being taken out of their cells so that the search could be conducted.

The Fire Service was on standby in case of any possible disturbance. Prior to the operation, the inmates were addressed by the Director of Prisons (ag), Carl Grahame, DSM, who urged them to cooperate with all instructions given during and after the operation.

During the operation, 13 prisoners were also transferred to different prison locations.

Back in March, it was a similar exercise which prompted inmates to set

ITEMS FOUND

Lighters Cellphones Batteries Earpieces Cigarettes Razor blades SIM cards Leaves, seeds & stems Leaves, seeds & stems (Ziplocks) Wires Metal spoons Ropes Files Tattoo machines Kitchen knives Memory cards Flash drives Scissors Hacksaw blades Bamboo wrap Improvised weapons Pepper Hooks Belts Coconut grater Radio speakers Screwdrivers Mirrors Wirebrush Padlock Needles (syringe)

Tattoo Ink Nail clips Chargers/accessories

AMOUNT 149 44 30 19 19 packs+ 4 singles 124 10 A quantity 358 A quantity 09 A quantity 03 05 02 03 01 11 01 01 Pack 173 1 Bottle 01 01 03 04 03 03 01 01 11 01 small bottle 03 60

Dead: Lennox Norton

a knife and stabbed her uncle to the back.

She noted that the suspect is always armed with a knife and she often told her uncle not to be around that cousin. She noted that the argument stemmed from an old grievance involving another cousin now deceased.

The woman described her uncle as a helpful person who took care of the culprit’s blind mother. “He would normally go and clean and so for his aunt since her children hardly pay attention to her… it was at her house, he went and met his death”, she noted.

The niece added that Norton returned from the interior about two years ago but was due to return soon. The man leaves to mourn five children and siblings.

8 news

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Patricia Sanasie execution

Accused to stand trial in High Court A

fter the conclusion of the Preliminary Inquiry into the death of Patricia Sanasie, who was shot dead January last, Richard Stanton, the murder accused, was committed to stand trial in the High Court.

He appeared at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Zamilla Ally.

Stanton was informed by Magistrate Ally that a prima facie case was made out against him to establish the offence of murder and, as such, he was to face a judge and jury at the next sitting of the Demerara Assizes in July.

Stanton is facing charges, which state that on January 12, 2015 at 129 Atlantic Gardens, East Coast

Accused: Richard Stanton

Demerara, he murdered Sanasie, a 43-year-old businesswoman.

It is alleged that on the night in question, the woman, along with her daughter, returned home from church and she got out of her ve-

hicle to open her gate when she was confronted by a lone gunman, who opened fire on her.

Eyewitnesses told investigators that a “big built” man exited a silver Raum and discharged four rounds at the woman.

According to reports, she was shot to her chest, abdomen, neck and groin. She was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Sanasie was the former Director of Studies of the Academy of Professional Studies.

A similar attempt was made on her husband’s (Deonarine Sanasie’s) life just one year prior to her death, and she, along with her brother, Vishnu Persaud,

Murdered: Patricia Sanasie

was implicated.

The daughter of the now deceased woman who was in the car and witnessed the shooting positively identified Stanton as the shooter; as such, he was arrested and charged.

Police pursuing 2 suspects P Police in Mazaruni discovered the two firearms and quantity of ammunition at an abandoned mining camp at Blackwater, Cuyuni, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni). A Police report stated that Police conducted a search of the abandoned mining camp and found two 9mm pistols along with 27 matching live rounds.

In recent months, there has been an upsurge in illegal weapons being found in pos-

session of persons, particularly miners in the Region Seven area, for which a number of persons have been arrested.

On February 4, 2016, three men were arrested at Turtle Creek, Mazaruni, after they were found with an illegal .32 pistol with three matching rounds and a .38 revolver with three matching rounds. Then on February 11, a miner was arrested when an illegal firearm was found in a mining

Bottom of the barrel...

I

Gun, ammo bust

olice are now in pursuit of two suspects in connection to the guns and ammunition found at an abandoned mining camp on Saturday.

This is according to Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, who indicated that the Police are tracking two individuals based on information they received. Blanhum related that these two suspects were named as the occupants of the said mining camp.

Eyew tness

camp he was occupying. Also in February at Honey Camp, Issano, Police found an unlicensed shotgun along with two cartridges.

In March, a man was arrested and charged after he was found with an unlicensed 9mm pistol and seven matching rounds at Itaballi Checkpoint, Mazaruni. All of these persons have been placed before the courts for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

...for sugar

f there was any doubt this Government has absolutely no intention of “saving” the sugar industry, the appointment of Tony Vieira as “Director of Field Operations” should clear that up! Here’s a man who’s been out of sugar since 1976 – exactly 40 years ago – going to lead the most challenged industry today in 2016, to the promised land of profitability? He’ll part the sea of red ink that’s drowning sugar and turn it into black?

What the heck’s going on here? First of all, Tony Vieira only got a job in sugar at Versailles because his father and family owned the estate. The Chronic reported that Vieira got a “diploma in plant anatomy and physiology” from UWI and UG in 1965. Really? At that time UG was still “Jagan’s Night School” meeting in QC classrooms.

They were certainly NOT doing Botany at night. And why didn’t Vieira complete his degree at UWI? This Eyewitness will tell you why: he just couldn’t hack it through the thickets of Agricultural Science! But even if Vieira was Norman Borlaug – father of the green revolution – knowledge gleaned 51 years ago in 1965 – is pretty passé by now. At the time when Vieira was in the cane fields, all the cane varieties being used were different from today’s. Then, also, labour was abundant and cultivation was labour intensive. It’s a whole new ball game today. Even the climate has changed! Has the Govt given the man a test to find out if he knows “sugar cane” from “wild cane”? Even if Vieira COULD remember anything...remember he’d quit sugar for TV where he also failed.

It has to be clear to anyone who’s been following the travails of the sugar industry, Vieira’s the Trojan Horse being injected inside the walls of GuySuCo to land the coup de grace on the wounded corporation. This Eyewitness can just see Vieira coming up with all sorts of cockamamie ideas just to show “he knows” cane. And to frustrate those in the management structure who honestly believe the company can be turned around.

If the Government wants to close the industry down, it should have the guts to tell it like it is. Its Vieira gambit to accomplish that goal will just drag out the closure into a slow and painful death because of his incompetence.

And bleed the treasury unnecessarily.

One thing it could do is to return Vieira to the place where he started – Versailles. If he knows so much about sugar in general, then he would know the most about sugar in particular at Versailles.

Let him save Versailles, a pillar of the old Vieira empire.

...on spending

With every review of the APNU/AFC first year panning their performance, you’d think they’d hire some PR folks to bail them out. Problem is, the revelations are coming so fast and furious and from so many directions they probably need someone to cover them with Teflon so the muck doesn’t stick till 2020.

Take the news they’re “abusing” the Contingencies Fund. Not fulfilling their promises might be one thing – there’s always a possibility of a slip between the cup and the lip! And they could always say the big, bad perfidious PPP sabotaged their plans. But the Contingencies Fund is supposed to be just that – to meet “contingent” expenses that are “urgent, unavoidable and unforeseen”. $799M worth of “contingent” goods and services were “urgently” needed between September 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015??? This is gross abuse of the process.

Didn’t the present Min of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan threaten Ashni Singh with “sanctions” for similar alleged abuse?

Why doesn’t he haul Jordan to Camp St?

...incarceration

But nowadays...who’s afraid of 12 Camp St? With inmates pretty much running things after Ramjattan caved in to their demands – not those inside! And they, in any case, might just be OUTSIDE after Ramjattan recommends their release.

Like he did with the Port Mourant recidivist.

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

news

9

tuesday, may 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Still no date for by-elections 10-year-old killed by drunken in deadlocked municipality, Police Constable NDCs – GECOM A

T

he Guyana Elections C o m m i s s i o n (GECOM) says it is still to receive notification from officials of the Mabaruma Municipality and five Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) where there is an quantity of seats held by the ruling A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) following the recently-held Local Government Elections (LGE), leading to a deadlock in the election of Mayor and Chairpersons of those Local Authorities.

The contentious municipality is Mabaruma, Region One (Barima/Waini), while the five NDCs are Malgre Tout/Meer Zorgen (8 seats each), Industry/Plaisance (9 each), Woodlands/Farm (8), Woodlands/Bel Air (4) Gilbralter/Fyrish (9) and Macedonia/Joppa (6 seats each) In the case Mabaruma, the APNU/AFC and the PPP/C each received 6 seats on the 12-member Town Council, this leading to a deadlock for the election of Mayor.

In this instance officials are expected to refer to Section 13(6) of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01, which states that, “the Town Clerk shall appoint a date not later than December 28 in the same year for the election of the Mayor from the tied Candidates by the voters whose names appear on the register of voters, for the time being in force, for the city.”

“To date, the Guyana Elections Commission has not received any notification, as required by law, from the Clerk of the Municipality of Mabaruma, or from any other source, written or otherwise, that a date has

been fixed for the conduct of an election in compliance with Section 13(6) of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Cap. 28:01,” the electoral body’s statement said.

Regarding the five NDCs where a similar situation exist, Section 28(6) of the Local Government Act, Chapter 28:02 provides that, if there is no election of Chairman on account of an equality of votes cast by the councillors present, “the overseer shall immediately fix a day within the last 10 days of the year for the election” by the registered voters, for the election of a Chairman from the councillors receiving the equal votes. This election must be held in the same manner provided for the election of village councillors.”

In this instance, GECOM said again it is still to receive any formal notification from the respective Overseers, or from any other source, for the conduct of these elections.

“Recognising this legal deficiency, the Commission took the unanimous decision to bring it to the attention of the powers that be through the Ministry of Legal Affairs towards having appropriate enabling legislation enacted in order to conduct the required by-election,” GECOM stated.

The electoral commission noted that it remains prepared to hold any of the outstanding elections at any time once they are within the realm of the relevant legal authority.

Meanwhile, the commission clarified that in the case

of Constituency 7, Rose Hall, Corentyne, Berbice, where there is a tie between two candidates, no vacancy exists for that constituency “Notably, there is no legal provision for the conduct of a by-election where there is an equality of votes for two or more Candidates for any Constituency elecAccordingly, the tion.

Commission is of the position that, since no one could be issued a Certificate of Election due to the equality of votes, no councillor could be appointed in respect of constituency No. 7 for the Municipality of Rose Hall.

Therefore, the issue of the existence of a vacancy does not arise,” GECOM stated.

It highlighted that the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01, as amended by Section 53A. (1) of the Local Authorities (Elections) (Amendment) Act outlined how a bi-election should be held with regards to Constituency Candidates “Where a vacancy for a councillor in respect of the first-past-the-post number of councillors in a local authority area occurs as a result of death, resignation or any other cause, the Clerk of the Council shall, after compliance with the provisions of Section 43 (1) of the Municipal and District Councils Act, inform the Elections Commission, which shall instruct the Chief Election Officer to hold a Bi-election and the Chief Election Officer shall carry out the instructions thereof,” it said.

10-year-old child was on Sunday evening killed after a Police Constable, who was reportedly under the influence of alcohol, slammed into a parked car and then into the child, who was riding along the Sisters Village Public Road, West Bank Demerara.

Devin Sealey, of Lot 904 Sisters Village, was reportedly struck by the car driven by the Policeman in the vicinity of the Sisters Village Post Office while on his way to collect money from his father.

The car that was driven by the Police Constable

Devin Sealey The car into which the Police Officer slammed before hitting the lad

According to reports received, the driver of the car lost control while negotiating a turn and slammed into a parked car after which he

struck the lad and ended up crashing into a utility pole in the area.

He also sustained injuries and was presently hospitalised at the West Demerara

Regional Hospital.

At the home of the dead lad on Monday, his father, Deon Sealey explained that he left his son home on Sunday evening and went to meet his bro ther at his mother’s house.

Turn to page 11

10

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016

News

Berbice man shot during attempted execution

P

olice in Berbice are investigating the shooting of a salesman on Sunday evening at his Portuguese Quarters, Port Mourant, Corentyne, home.

The injured man has been identified as Safraz Bacchus, 31.

Reports are that at about 20:00h at least two men attempted to open a trap door leading to Bacchus’ home but were unsuccessful.

After not being able to gain access, a shot was fired in his direction.

At the time, Bacchus was preparing his children’s clothes for school.

Reports are that the man initially thought it was the pressing iron that had exploded but soon after noticed a hand holding a firearm through a space in the trap door.

Two other shots were

The house where the shooting took place

fired, one of which struck Bacchus on his leg.

This newspaper was told that Bacchus pushed his children to safety and shouted for help and the men made their escape by jumping a backyard fence.

Bacchus is currently a patient at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

An eyewitness told this newspaper that the incident was an attack on the man’s life and not an attempted robbery.

It was explained that the man is a witness in a murder case gaining attention of the courts.

According to the informer Bacchus was threatened that he will not live to testify and as a result he stayed indoors all day Saturday but was shot on Sunday.

Despite the threats made to Bacchus he did not report it to the Police.

Divisional Commander Assistant Commissioner Ian Amsterdam said the

police are investigating the shooting and confirmed that Bacchus is a witness for the state in a court matter.

However, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum when contacted told Guyana Times that Police are trying to ascertain the motive for the shooting but they are not ruling out a possible attempted robbery.

He noted that from what he was informed, the man was in his home when he heard some noise emanating from a section of the house. As he looked in the direction, he saw someone attempting to remove a sheet of plywood that was used to block the doorway.

Upon seeing this, he shouted for “thief” but in retaliation, the perpetrator discharged a round hitting him to his leg.

Guyana has, in some ways, come a long and lone way since Independence

C

ontrary to the potpourri of pessimistic views spewing in the local dailies recently, Guyana has made some significant strides since Independence amid politics of donkeyism instead of democracy, politics of personality instead of policy, politics of antagonism instead of achievement, politics of stagnation instead of progress as well as politics Dr Lomarsh Roopnarine of decadence, dissatisfaction and disintegration instead of determination.

That said, Guyana is one of those countries in the developing world that emancipated itself from colonial rule, and this achievement is no laughing matter. Just imagine if colonialism had continued where we would have been today. Certainly not celebrating independence but struggling to convince the colonial overlords that their time in British Guiana is up.

Colonialism and neo-colonialism are the worst acts of humanity against humanity. They are unrepairable and unforgivable international sins.

We are, as a nation, still trying to recover from the ravages of colonialism. We have been dented by colonialism. If you think colonialism is gone, look around and think again. The style may be gone but the substance of colonialism is still around.

Who controls Guyana’s natural resources? Who tells Guyana how to conduct general elections? Who gives Guyana money to combat drugs and crime? Who and where does Guyana get its loans from? Do you think the above things come free? There is no such thing as a free lunch, my friend.

Despite that Guyana has been unable to relinquish itself from the yaws of international financial lending institutions, multinational corporations, and developed countries, domestically and unlike most Caribbean countries, Guyana has managed for the most of the past two decades to achieve economic growth rates, at least 3 per cent per year. This achievement is counterbalanced, however, by the fact that growth rates have not translated into human development, namely in education. Guyana has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the Caribbean. By any estimation, more than half of Guyana’s population has some form of psychological problem, including some in the current regime.

What is needed now is the vision to produce desirable outcomes, preferably a more educated mass of Guyanese with a better standard of life. Can our politicians deliver or do future generations fifty years from now would be asking the same question I am asking? I hope not. We cannot afford to be in learning curve or in name blaming or in finger pointing games anymore and any longer. We have no other choice but to learn from our mistakes and deliver.

To return to where I began, if you are someone who believes that airports give the first impression of a country, then Guyana has made some strides here. I have travelled to many countries around the world and I can say honestly Guyana’s airport is up there, if not better, with any other airport. It never used to be this way. In the 1980s, Guyana’s airport was a hellhole but it has come a long way since then and just ask those who are arriving right now to celebrate 50 years of independence how does it feel like to pass through the airport.

While you ask that question, I will like to ask the current regime a few questions concerning the 50 years jubilee celebrations. Why are you so bent in having such a big bash when most of Guyana is in dire straits? Who are funders of the celebrations? What is the financial contribution from the government/tax payers? How much money was given to the Diaspora in Brooklyn to celebrate the jubilee?

I understand the sympathy and solidarity for a small celebration or even commemoration but not what is going on. This big celebration is a wasted opportunity.

To the average Guyanese, this regime has faltered and fumbled badly since assuming leadership and one would think that fifty years of Independence would have been an opportunity to correct the regime’s bizarre behaviour, including ministerial salary raises. Instead of big celebrations give the civil service a pay raise; put more money into crime fighting rather than relying on outside sources; provide some financial help to venders; bring some relief to the agricultural sector; and let people celebrate if they want.

This move, among others, would have demonstrated that the regime is not into wild but careful spending for the people.

Say out LOUD that celebration is fine but the multiple needs of people come first. This move would have certainly extended the political shelf life of this regime beyond 2020.

news

11

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Camp Street Search

Durban Park Project

90% completed days away from Independence Day

Inmates will find ways to introduce contraband J – Prison Service attorney

By Shemuel Fanfair

C

ounsel representing the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) and Guyana Police Force (GPF) Selwyn Pieters has suggested that prisoners at the Camp Street facility will continue to find “creative ways” to acquire contraband items. These comments came on the heels of Operation Restore Order on Saturday which unearthed a barrage of banned items at the jail, including mobile phones, marijuana and improvised weapons.

In a media release, Pieters noted that the operation was “relatively successful” in terms of the extraction of the inmates who were identified as “ringleaders” or for reasons of the “institutional security” that needed to be transferred to other prisons.

In the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Camp Street Prison riot, it was revealed that “ring leaders” when extracted are not returned to the division in which they were housed.

Pieters also noted that there was some “active resistance and threats” from inmates Treon Douglas and Carl Browne. “Those threats were neutralised very quickly and with minimal use of force.”

“It is clear that the prison had to be sanitised of illegal weapons that are in the possession of inmate. It is also clear that the cellphones to the extent that it is possible had to be seized. The nature, scope and variety of… improvised weapons located are a serious cause for concern and adds currency to the concerns that the officers related post March 03,

GPS counsel Selwyn Pieters

2016 in respect to the fear for their lives in the yard,” his statement added.

As legal counsel representing the prison and police officials, Pieters noted that one of his roles was to ensure the law and Standard Operating Procedures were followed in joint services officers conducting the search.

In responding to concerns over the length of time that elapsed between this search and the one in March that contributed the prison riots, Pieters observed that all along the plan was to preserve and protect the lives of officers, inmates and the public.

The attorney stressed that the wooden structures of the Georgetown Prison make it “exceedingly difficult” for joint services officers to search.

“On March 4, 2016, the inner cordon of the Georgetown Prison was completely taken over by inmates. A lot of weapons, knives, scissors etc may have been obtained on March 04,

2016. Alternatively some may have been missed during the search,” Pieters pointed out.

On the sideline of the prison CoI on April 20, Deputy Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels had revealed that contraband was a multimillion-dollar business at the Camp Street prisons.

Samuels noted the loss of resale value from seized contraband items from the Camp Street prisons was responsible for the disdain which inmates harbour against him. He had explained that “for the last two years” when he held the post of Officer in Charge, pounds of narcotics had been removed which caused inmates to incur significant losses from the trade.

“The record is there to show that I would have removed pounds of marijuana during raids and thousands of packs of cigarettes were found… if you do the mathematics based the resale value in prison, those prisoners would have lost significant amount of cash and all those are reasons why they would not like a person like me around,” the deputy director had expressed. Samuels also pointed out that many inmates manage to “maintain families” and conduct business from behind prison walls.

However, inmates in their testimonies maintained that it was Samuels who on March 3 gave the order to lock the prison door at the time of the Camp Street fire. The deputy director had rejected those claims.

During the riots of March 3, 17 inmates perished by a fire caused by lit mattresses.

10-year-old killed by drunken...

He noted that while there, his reputed wife informed him that she was sending the child to collect some money to give to someone.

He noted that as he waited on the child, he heard the screeching tyres of the car coming around the turn followed by a loud impact. He said from all indications, the car crashed into a parked car, so he went to check on the driver.

As he rushed to the scene, he saw his son lying on the roadway. He panicked and rushed home to his reputed wife and told her that their son was struck down. He was then accompanied by the woman back to the site, but the lad from all appearances was already dead. He was picked up by a church member who took him to the hospital.

“He hand break up, he foot break up and so… he de already dead… I can’t see a

Police Officer drinking and driving so reckless…and to know meh son just come out the Post Office Street and this car slammed into he,” the father said in anguish.

He noted that his son was pronounced dead on arrival at the West Demerara Regional Hospital. The grieving father said when he visited the police station, he was told to return on Monday, but when he went back, he was told that owing to the injuries the Police rank sustained, his colleagues were unable to take a statement.

Sealey is hoping that the Policeman responsible for his son’s death faces the full brunt of the law. The mother of the child, who sat on the stairway of the home, was in tears and was being consoled by relatives. She recounted that her son was a loving child who was always willing to help.

She noted that she was at

from page 10

home when she saw her reputed husband running towards her breathlessly and thought that something was amiss. As he neared her, he screamed that Devin was struck down. Without hesitation, she rushed to the scene only to see her son’s lifeless body on the roadway.

She, too, is hoping that the Police carry out a thorough investigation and institute charges against the driver who is supposed to know the law. “A Policeman should know that drinking and driving is an offence… he shouldn’t even go to court… just put he in jail,” she added.

The lad leaves to mourn his parents and five siblings.

However, the Police have confirmed that the Police rank was tested and it was proven that he was over the legal alcohol limit. The Police are continuing their investigations.

ust mere days away from the Independence Day activities, the Durban Park Project is yet to be completed.

The venue is earmarked for the hosting of the Independence Day celebratory activities, including the flag raising ceremony.

During an interview with Guyana Times on Monday, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson disclosed

that the project is now approximately 90 per cent completed.

Upon the direction of the President David Granger which followed reports of substandard works being executed, the Public Infrastructure Ministry recently took up the responsibility to oversee the construction of the arena.

The Project was previously being administered by a National Commemoration Commission (NCC) comprised

of private individuals.

Meanwhile, though just 90 per cent completed, Patterson explained that everything will be finalised in time for the grand jubilee celebrations on May 26.

He noted that the inclement weather conditions contributed to the delay in the completion of the project.

Initially, the deadline for the completion of the project was set for May 12.

Professor’s murder

DPP recommends murder charge for 5 teens

– to appear in court today

J

ust four days after Guyanese-born American Professor Perry Mars was found dead in his Prashad Nagar, Georgetown home, gagged and tied to a chair, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack has advised that murder charges be instituted against five of the teenagers, who were arrested for the murder.

This is according to Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, who informed Guyana Times that the sixth teenager, who was arrested would not be charged for murder as he only received some of the stolen items that were taken during the incident. The five suspects will be placed before the courts today.

Professor Mars, 75, of Lot 395 Bissessar Avenue, Prashad Nagar, was discovered by his wife in a room about 19:00h on Thursday. The house was ransacked and several articles and cash were missing.

A post-mortem performed on the body of the Professor revealed that he died as a result of manual strangulation compounded by multiple trauma to the face and head.

The six youngsters, none older than 18, were subsequently arrested in the Campbellville and Sophia areas and were positively identified by eyewitnesses who saw them on Thursday evening removing suitcases from the now dead man’s home and placing them in a car.

From reports, the now dead man would normally help the same group of teenagers. They would visit the home and take on jobs of cleaning the yard and assisting the Professor in washing his vehicles. He also assisted them with food items sometimes.

The Crime Chief had earlier told Guyana Times that five of the teenagers, including a female, gave Police statements that detailed the actual robbery and murder. Based on reports, the mastermind of the episode is a 17-year-old girl, who frequented the man’s house and lived nearby.

On the day of the incident, she reportedly phoned her boyfriend and informed him that the Professor would be at home alone and that it was an opportune time to commit the rob-

Murdered, Professor Perry Mars

bery.

The boyfriend, according to their statement, agreed and picked up a few friends and went to Prashad Nagar. While there, they met with the mastermind and planned the robbery. The girl then walked to the man’s house and upon seeing her, he opened the door and let her in. As she entered, she left the door ajar.

The others then entered Mars’ home and attacked him. First, they reportedly duct taped his hands and feet and tied him to a chair after which one of them strangled him, since he would have seen their faces. The suspects then collected a sum of cash and other valuables and left the premises.

12 news

tuesDay, may 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Mon Repos Market closed for “cleaning only” not repairs – Communities Ministry

M

on Repos Market vendors are complaining that one week after the facility was shut down to facilitate repairs, there were no visible signs of any restoration done.

However, Guyana Times was informed by the Communities Ministry that the Market was closed only to facilitate cleaning and sanitation of the premises and not repairs.

It was reported that the Mon Repos Market was shut down for one week to allow repairs to be done and merchants were asked to remove themselves from the retail section. While some persons relocated across the Market, independently, to continue their vending, others waited for the restoration to be completed.

However, when this publication visited the Mon Repos Market on Wednesday last, to view the repairs done, there was no discernible improvement.

According to vendors, upon resuming their vending on Saturday, the employees of the Market Office were unable to answer questions that were posed to them as to why there was no significant change within the Market after so many days.

Numerous vendors voiced that losses were incurred during the one

The Mon Repos Market fence

week that they were not allowed to vend in their normal area. They highlighted that they were awaiting a response about the Market being shut down for ‘’insignificant reasons.’’ ‘’Look, you see anything in this market change? Is the same shabby conditions. Why they shut down the market last week? I suffer a huge loss last week ,man. Over the road barely gat space for couple people so the rest ah we had to sit and wait. You know how much customers I lose already because of this? Them locking down the market for some real stupid, stupid and insignificant reasons,’’ one angry merchant said.

Another vendor said

that after persons began questioning the actual reason for the Market being inactive for a week, the supervisor of the Market Office highlighted to them that they were given that time to sanitise and mend within their stalls. The merchant indicated that this was ‘’news’’ to them, since no one had so informed them. ‘’So after we start asking the supervisor why the Market shut down if they didn’t intend to do anything to it, she turn and said that the Market was shut down, so we could go in and clean and repair we stalls. This was news to all ah we ‘cause they never told us that.

They said that we got to remove from the Market for a

week cause they got to do repairs. And is not me alone hear that, is majority ah the Market.’’

Meanwhile, when this publication met with an employee of the Mon Repos Market Office, she indicated that she was not allowed to speak to the media and refused to give any comment on the matter. The supervisor of this office is said to be on ‘’medical’’ leave.

On Monday, it was highlighted by the Assistant of Minister of Communities, Raphael Hazel who spoke on behalf of the Minister, Ronald Bulkan, that according to the Works Committee Chairman of the Mon Repos Neighbourhood Democratic Council, Raghoo, the market was shut down to only facilitate cleaning.

Hazel said that Raghoo relayed that no repairs were intended to be done at the Market during that time.

He added that complaints were made by Raghoo that some vendors who had relocated across the road, refused to comply; hence, parts of the drains were not cleaned.

“I spoke to the Works Committee Chairman of the NDC, Raghoo, and he said that it was a project undertaken by them from the 8th May to the 13th and it was just to clean the market.

His exact words were “it was stink”. So they basically asked the vendors to be away from that Sunday to Friday just to clean it, wash it out and so,” the Business Minister’s Assistant said.

Unfinished Sophia roads

Issues with contractors cited as reasons for delay, new deadline imminent – Patterson

W

“

e need the government to intervene into this situation, it is like we are being forgotten,” was the call expressed by residents of A Field, Sophia, Georgetown, who are demanding that government intervene in their plight and address the poor state of the roads as well as install streetlights and provide active police patrol on a daily basis.

These appeals follow several others made to the current regime to commence work since residents are enduring “hardships” as a result of the delay.

The residents accused government of “pussyfooting” when it comes to addressing issues affecting the community. Even though work was done on the A Field road recently, this was never completed and the road is now in a worse state than before.

According to them, the contractors had started to level the road and things were “shaping up” but for an undisclosed reason, the work had been halted.

“They grade down the road and leave it like that.

The only good thing they did was construct a culvert but we still can’t use that yet because it is not completed,” one resident related.

The May/June rainy season has compounded the deplorable state of the road since water continues to

erode the structure, contributing to evolving potholes.

Noting this condition, the residents reported having it difficult to acquire transportation since many minibus and taxis are reluctant to enter the area.

When Guyana Times spoke with residents, they were mostly objecting to the manner in which the issues bothering them were being addressed by government.

Resident Samantha James, residing in the area for ten years, said she has never seen the road in such a bad state where it has become isolated due to the reluctance of many to traverse the area.

She said the condition has even caused route buses to stop operating in the A Field area due to fear of damaging their buses.

“Years ago buses could have passed through here easy but now, nobody wants to come and we are forced to catch B Field buses by walking over the long piece, even in the rain. We need the government to come in and see what we are going through because it’s not easy. I can’t even get a car to drop me sometimes.”

Owen James, another resident reported that the project was going better than he had expected but work just suddenly ceased, much to the residents’ disappointment. continued on page 13

Regional budgets need proper prep time – Region 10 Chairman

I

t is the belief of the chairman of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice) that a “minimum standard” should be set for schools’ washrooms across the Region, in an effort to resolve numerous issues regarding them, which were recently highlighted by the council.

Morian has expressed some level of disappointment and dissatisfaction, stating that repairs and upgrade for schools’ washrooms were not a part of the Region’s most recent budget. He said visits to some schools in Linden revealed the dire need for improvement in the state of the facilities, including sanitary upkeep.

“We have to come up with a minimum standard for washrooms for all the schools in Region 10… We don’t have a minimum standard.

So every school has its own standard. It simply means that these things didn’t enter the budget of Education.

Now the Regional Executive Officer (REO) and staff have a big job - where to find these monies,” he stressed.

He added this means that the council and the administration, more time needs to be spent within communities to decide on their necessities before preparing the budget.

“The budget must speak to something. Hence when you go to the schools now, we’re faced with the challenge of, ‘how do we fix all these washrooms,” he stressed.

The Regional Chairman went on to state that there is need for a better look at the physical condition of schools in the Region, as he blasted the council’s Education Committee and Department of Education for not fulfilling this task.

He added that schools should be checked at least one week prior to opening, instead of the first day of re-opening, adding that the matter is one of emergency.

Making reference to a recently constructed sanitary block at Muritaro, Morian said due to substandard work by contractors, the facility is already falling apart. He instructed the Education Committee and

Department of Education to look within its budget to facilitate a washroom in that school, noting that a “pit toilet” is being utilised.

The Regional Chairman further urged members of the Education Committee to make workable recommendations as he called for a report on the status of schools’ lavatories in the Region.

Additionally, issues regarding regular cleaning of school’s water tanks and roof gutters were also raised

by Regional Councillors, who voiced concerns over the quality of water delivered through tanks.

Morian who noted he is tasked with conducting regular checks on roof gutters and the quality of lighting, noted some disappointment at the Amelia’s Ward Primary s School. He explained that although a contractor was hired to clean the school’s tank it was evidently cleaned internally but not externally. Some Councillors have made calls for such negligent contractors to be penalised accordingly.

NEWS

13

tuesDay, may 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Linden Town Week 2016 officially opens – Miss LTW Pageant notably absent from calendar

L

inden Mayor Carwyn Holland on Sunday declared the 20th year of the Linden Town Week (LTW) celebrations officially opened, signalling the commencement of 10 days of culture, sport and fete.

This year, the annual event which celebrates the birth of the town is being hosted

by Vybz Entertainment Inc once again, under the theme “Reflection, resilience, rediscover Linden. Celebrating who we are.” A church service followed by a march pass along Republic Avenue, Linden, were a prelude to the official opening held at the Linden-Georgetown minibus park.

A number of melodic performances by local artistes as well as dance and an award segment set the stage for the 10 days of celebrations.

In his presentation before a packed audience, Holland underscored the importance of Linden as a town, promising that it “will be made great again”. This year, Linden is also celebrating 46 years as a town and 100 years of bauxite mining.

“As we launch this year’s Linden Town Week celebration, I look forward to rich, cultural presentations that remind us of our heritage and inspire our youths to become involved in the

A section of the gathering at LTW opening

arts. This year’s celebration must be more than just an opportunity to frolic. It should represent the heart and the mind of the people of Linden. It should showcase the wealth of our resources we possess and entice investors to invest,” the Mayor said.

He added that Linden Town Week is an ideal time to demonstrate the human and natural resources of the town because the season for accelerated income generation in the resources rich town is now.

“Linden Town Week,

when come and gone, should leave a trail of development.

Something must be seen as evidence of success, of this sports, culture and entertainment tourism package... If this is not seen afterwards, then I encourage a re-think and a remodel of Town Week to achieve same”, Holland said.

Chairman of Vybz Entertainment Inc Devin Sears said the LTW event has grown and underwent many changes over the years, developing from the idea of Linden Town Day, which was first craft-

ed by Lindener Norvel Fredericks 20 years ago. He said Fredericks had a dream then, of showcasing everything that Linden has to offer.

Noting that this is the second year Vybz Entertainment has the LTW franchise, Sears noted that there are numerous challenges, however it is a time for reflecting on how far the event has come and where it is headed. Young people, he said, are one of the primary focuses this year, as he outlined numerous activities planned to ensure their par-

ticipation.

“Linden Town Week is an opportunity for us to showcase what we have to offer, primarily through tourism...

Linden Town Week 2016 offers a lot to our young people. Vybz Entertainment along with other promoters, have collaborated to bring you the Skip to My Lou competition... debating competition, we have Spelling B. A new feature has been added - the high school singing competition hosted by Code Red Records, has seen nine finalists...The future of Linden lies in our young

people. We have to ensure that the talent they have is nurtured”.

Senior citizens will not be left out this year, noted Sears who said the annual senior citizens receptions will be held. The event will also see karaoke competitions as well as the usual concept parties. Due to lack of sponsorship however, Sears said for the first time, there will be no Miss LTW pageant as is customary, however, the organisers will look at the possibility of hosting the event sometime later this year. The ‘Miss Big and Bold’ pageant will be hosted, nevertheless.

“We’ve decided to shift it, in ensuring that quality of the Miss Linden Town Week remains, we had to shift it, but it will be coming before the end of this year so that Linden can enjoy, once again, having a queen that will reign for one year,” he assured.

Sears said plans for next year’s activity will commence soon after the hosting of this year’s event, as organisers seek to promote Linden as a tourist destination.

The 10 days of activities will also be marked by local exhibitions, village day showcases, and numerous entertainment activities.

Lions Club erects bus shed in Diamond Linden youths to benefit from – Patterson pledges accompanying street lights

work readiness programme

Y

ouths in the mining town of Linden, more specifically those who recently completed the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations are soon expected to benefit from a work readiness training programme, organised through the Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice) Democratic Council (RDC).

Regional Chairman Renis Morian on Friday related that youths should take advantage of the opportunity.

He is inviting youths between the ages of 17 and 18 years old to take their applications to the RDC office in Linden.

“We’re looking to have the first batch of young people assigned to the

various work areas in Region 10,” he stated.

According to Morian, the youths will be trained in numerous areas, including education and health, and will receive firsthand training following attachment to various agencies.

“We’re trying to place them within their communities so as to avoid transportation costs,” the Regional Chairman stated.

The first batch of successful applicants, according to Morian, will commence training by month-end. There is reportedly a high level of unemployment in the Region, and as such, it is hoped that the programme will assist out-of-school youths in this regard.

Issues with contractors cited...

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, Members of the Lions Club, teachers and students under the newlyconstructed bus shed

T

he Diamond-Grove Lions Club recently commissioned the new bus shed that was erected in front of the Diamond-Grove Primary School, in Diamond, East Bank Demerara.

In a small ceremony attended

by Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson and students of the School, the Lions Club’s Committee did the honours.

According to the President of the Committee, Eric Benjamin, the decision to have the first bus shed situated at this location was made to guarantee the self-re-

spect of the children, as it serves to provide shelter and security for every student who would use the facility.

He said that through the combined resources of the Committee, two sheds adjacent to each other were designed, adding that border lines in the form of posts were added as an extra safety guide measure for vehicle operators.

Benjamin further highlighted that the Committee planned to have other bus sheds erected in the First and Sixth Avenues area in Diamond.

In his congratulatory speech to the members of the Lions Club, Minister Patterson noted that the number of road fatalities has increased annually, with the recorded number for last year being 118.

He used the opportunity to emphasise that there was a need for children to be knowledgeable about crossing roads.

Patterson also said that there has been a tender placed for the construction of street lights along the carriageway to guarantee proper illumination for the bus sheds and nearby areas.

He said since the road has deteriorated there is a higher crime rate since taxis and buses are no longer regular transporters: “It might not seem like it but the fault of this road is increasing the crime rate and we need something to be done. I have my family here and when I am at work in the night, they are home alone. I need to know that they are secured so we are begging the government to have the contracting company restart the work here.”

Others residents who offered comments shared the same sentiments, alluding to the belief that they are being forgotten, and their plights ignored.

The topic of streetlights also resurfaced with residents emphasising on its impact on the increased crime rates in the community.

Pleas were also made for police

from page 12

to patrol area especially during the night when “criminals strike” more frequently.

After the passing of the National Budget, work had commenced on the A Field road but this was never completed. When the rains started the structure further deteriorated and has since been a main complaint by residents.

Meanwhile, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson when contacted by this publication, said work on the road has not ceased but rather there was an issue with the contracting companies after the road was graded.

However, the minister assured that work will be completed according to a dateline to be set. He informed that a letter will be sent to the companies indicating the deadline, which they will be required to fulfil.

14

guyana-times.com

tuesday, may 17, 2016

Regional

Brazil's new leader Venezuela says better oil quells concerns about loans deal reached with China; scuttles referendum Prosecutor General

V

enezuela has reached a deal with its main financier China to improve the conditions of an oil-for-loans deal, giving the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member's crisis-hit economy "oxygen" ahead of heavy debt payments, Venezuela's top economic official said on Monday.

Economy Vice-President Miguel Perez told Reuters "all" conditions, including loan time frames, investment amounts and non-financial aspects, had been improved.

China has lent some us$50 billion to Venezuela under the arrangement, and investors are watching closely to see if Beijing

will help President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government as it struggles with recession, shortages and reduced oil revenue.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's Vice President Aristobulo Isturiz has ruled out the possibility of a recall referendum being held against President Nicolás Maduro.

"Maduro won't be ousted by a referendum because there will be no referendum," Mr Isturiz said.

Two weeks ago, Opposition politicians began the process by handing in a petition signed by 1.85 million people.

But Isturiz said the Opposition had "acted too late, had done it wrong and had committed fraud".

B

Venezuela's Economy and Productivity Vice President Miguel Perez gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters in Caracas, Venezuela, May 16, 2016

The Opposition have previously warned the referendum may be hard to push through, as they alleged

that the National Electoral Council (CNE) is staffed by Government loyalists. (Reuters

and BBC News)

Son of former Honduran President pleads guilty to US drug charge

T

he son of former Honduras President Porfirio Lobo pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, a year after his arrest in Haiti as part of a US Drug Enforcement Administration probe.

Fabio Lobo, 44, faces a mandatory 10-year minimum prison term when he is sentenced on September 15, and could get up to life

behind bars following his plea to a single count of conspiring to import cocaine.

At a hearing in federal court in Manhattan, Lobo admitted to participating in a drug trafficking scheme that a federal prosecutor said also involved Honduran Police Officers.

"I knew that it was illegal," Lobo said.

Lobo's father was elected President of Honduras in late 2009 after a military

coup ousted then-President Manuel Zelaya. Porfirio Lobo left office in January 2014, when Juan Orlando Hernandez assumed the presidency.

At the time of his son's arrest, Porfirio Lobo said he hoped his son was innocent, "but if he is guilty, he should take responsibility for his actions".

In court, Assistant US Attorney Emil Bove said evidence showed that be-

ginning in late 2013, Lobo began discussing drug trafficking activities with confidential DEA sources posing as drug traffickers.

The goal, he said, was to profit from facilitating drug-running through Honduras. The notoriously violent Central American country has long served as a major transshipment point for US-bound cocaine smuggled out of South America. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Colombia seizes record cocaine haul in Turbo

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olice in Colombia say they have seized their largest ever domestic haul of illegal drugs – nearly eight tonnes of cocaine.

The drug had been hidden on a banana plantation near the north-western coastal town of Turbo.

President Juan Manuel Santos congratulated officers on Twitter, saying: "Operation in Turbo seized the greatest amount in our history."

Police say the drug belonged to Clan Usuga, a criminal gang.

Three suspects were ar-

rested and another three escaped, a statement read.

Nearly 1.5 tonnes of the drug had been wrapped and were "ready to go out to the export market", Defence Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said.

It was the largest seizure of cocaine on Colombian territory although there may have been slightly larger cocaine seizures at sea, he added.

Clan Usuga is mainly engaged in drug trafficking, but has also been accused of extortion, illegal mining, forced disappearances and

Police put the haul on display in Turbo, capital of the Uraba region of Antioquia

murder,

correspondents

say.

Colombian Police estimate the gang has about 2000 active members.

Over the past five years, the security forces have captured 6700 members of the group.

Earlier this month, the Colombian Government said it would launch air raids against gangs involved in drug trafficking and illegal mining.

The new strategy specifically targets three gangs – Clan Usuga, Los Pelusos and Los Puntilleros.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Investors express interest in Jamaica’s renewable energy sector M inister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr Andrew Wheatley, says several international investors have indicated interest in buying into Jamaica’s renewable energy sector.

He said this was evident based on discussions at the United States Caribbean Central American Energy Summit meeting in Washington, DC, which he recently attended with Prime Minister Andrew

Holness.

“We are encouraged by that, as we are seeing more investments coming into Jamaica as it relates to using renewable energy. That is the take-away from the Summit – the level of interest that we saw, that a lot of investors are looking to come and invest in our energy sector here in Jamaica,” he told JIS News, following a groundbreaking ceremony for the Caribbean’s first Net Zero Energy Building

at the University of West Indies (UWI), Mona last week.

The Minister said the Summit was a successful one, and noted that Jamaica was hailed by US Vice President, Joe Biden, and Secretary of State, John Kerry, for the initiatives taken in the country to advance the use of renewables to generate energy.

He noted that the country has in the past ben-

efitted from significant investments from international partners, for which the Government is grateful.

The Summit, which pulled together Caribbean and Central American Heads of Government and Energy Ministers, multilateral development banks, the Private Sector, and other international partners, caps off the work of the US-Caribbean-Central American Energy Security Task Force. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

razil's interim President, Michel Temer, on Monday said he would continue a tradition of nominating a Prosecutor General who comes recommended by peers, allaying concerns about judicial independence.

Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes, sworn in last week as part of Temer's new Government, told the Folha de S Paulo newspaper in an interview published on Monday that the Prosecutor General of Brazil could be selected at will by the President.

That would reverse a tradition of Brazilian Presidents nominating the candidate who received the most votes in an internal election conducted by federal prosecutors themselves.

Temer, however, told Globo TV through a press officer that he would maintain the tradition of nominating the candidate chosen by the corps of prosecutors, who have driven several highprofile graft investigations in recent years.

The Justice Ministry said in an emailed statement that

Moraes was only noting that Brazil's Constitution gives the Government full autonomy to choose the Prosecutor General.

The term of Brazil's current Public Prosecutor, Rodrigo Janot, does not end until September 2017. He has aggressively pursued a massive investigation into a kickback scheme at Staterun oil company Petrobras.

The scandal has ensnared several top politicians from both the Workers Party of suspended President Dilma Rousseff, who is facing impeachment proceedings for breaking budgetary laws, as well as Temer's Brazilian Democratic Movement Party.

Janot recently requested that the Supreme Court allow him to investigate Rousseff for allegedly obstructing the Petrobras investigation. She denies any wrongdoing.

The federal prosecutors' association said in a statement Temer has maintained an open dialogue and has always spoken in favour of their independence. (Excerpt from

Reuters)

Peru presidential candidate to question alleged money laundering probe

P

eruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori will ask the US Drug Enforcement Administration about a local report that the agency is investigating a senior figure in her party over money laundering, she said on Monday.

A report broadcast on America Television on Sunday night featured comments from a man identified as a DEA informant who said the agency was investigating audio he recorded in 2013.

In the audio, he said, the Secretary General of Fujimori's Fuerza Popular party, Joaquin Ramirez, stated he had laundered US$15 million for the presidential candidate during previous political campaigns.

Ramirez and Fujimori have both denied the allegations.

"I categorically reject having handled or handed over money to ... Ramirez," Fujimori told local TV in Cusco, where she was campaigning ahead of the June 5 vote.

"Of course, we will formally ask the DEA's opinion, if there really is such an investigation," she said, adding that the request would be presented to the US Embassy within hours.

Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori of Fuerza Popular (Popular Force) gives a speech during a meeting with local leaders in San Juan de Lurigancho in Lima, Peru, May 10, 2016

The allegations threaten to damage Fujimori's campaign. Most recent polls indicate that the daughter of disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori and her rival, centrist technocrat Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, are running neck and neck.

Although Fujimori easily won the first round of the election in April, she faces stiff opposition from Peruvians who say she is too closely associated with her father.

Alberto Fujimori is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses and corruption committed during his 1990-2000 Government. (Excerpt from Reuters)

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016

guyana-times.com

15

Around the World

Libya: World powers Cameron stands by his criticism of Trump over Muslims ready to arm unity Government B

W

orld powers have said they were ready to lift an arms embargo on Libya and equip the unity Government in its fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and other groups.

The joint decision, announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday, followed a meeting in Vienna which was attended by diplomats from more than 20 countries.

The US, four other permanent United Nations Security Council members and the more than 15 other nations participating in talks on Libya said they were "ready to respond to the Libyan Government's requests for training and equipping" its forces.

"The Government of National Accord has voiced its intention to submit appropriate arms embargo ex-

Libya descended into civil war in 2014 when two rival Administrations began fighting for control [Reuters]

emption requests to the UN Libya Sanctions Committee to procure necessary lethal arms and materiel to counter UN-designated terrorist groups and to combat (ISIL) throughout the country," Kerry said.

"We will fully support these efforts while continuing to reinforce the UN arms embargo."

The conference was co-

chaired by Kerry and his Italian counterpart, Paolo Gentiloni.

While the statement spoke of intentions, the fact that all five permanent Security Council members back the plan to arm the internationally backed Government means that it was unlikely to face significant opposition from any quarter. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Scientists clone Zika for vaccine race

U

S scientists have cloned the Zika Virus – an important step towards fast-tracking a vaccine against the disease.

The man-made copy is a replica of the strain that is spreading across the Americas and has been linked to brain deformities in newborn babies.

In tests at the University of Texas, the clone could infect mosquitoes – the carrier of Zika – and cause disease in laboratory mice.

Experts say they can use this in experiments to design a good vaccine.

It is hoped a candidate will be ready for testing in the coming months.

But it could be many years before there is a safe and effective jab that can be offered to the general public.

Zika can cause serious harm to unborn babies, but it often has no visible symptoms in the mother.

Experts say a vaccine to protect expectant women, and others at high risk of infection, is one of the most effective ways we have of beating it.

Many different research groups around the world are

working to make such a vaccine.

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases hopes to start human clinical trials on its vaccine candidate by September.

What's needed is a "safe" version of Zika that will be enough to make the body ward off the infection without actually causing disease.

The University of Texas team say their cloned virus should help with achieving this. They have published their findings in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

China: Cultural Revolution’s 50th anniversary unmarked by State media

ritish Prime Minister David Cameron has refused to retract comments describing US presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban as "divisive, stupid and wrong".

Cameron is, however, "committed to maintaining the special relationship" with the United States no matter who wins the presidential election, his spokesman, Dan York-Smith, said on Monday.

"He has been clear that he will work with whoever is President of the United States," York-Smith said.

Cameron's latest comment came in response to

Trump's interview with ITV's "Good Morning Britain", broadcast on Monday.

"It looks like we are not going to have a very good relationship," Trump said in the interview conducted in New York.

"Who knows, I hope to have a good relationship with him (Cameron), but he's not willing to address the problem either."

In the interview conducted on Saturday, Trump also described London's new Mayor, Sadiq Khan, as "rude" for calling him ignorant.

The real estate tycoon said he would "remember"

the Mayor's hostile reaction to the idea that Khan, a Muslim, would be given an exception to the temporary ban.

"He doesn't know me, hasn't met me, doesn't know what I'm all about. I think they were very rude statements and, frankly, tell him I will remember those statements," Trump said. "They are very nasty statements."

Trump denied he was "at war" with Khan.

"I just think it's very rude of him. In fact, it's the opposite," he said. "I wished him well when I heard he won, he's a Muslim, I think it's ignorant for him to say that." (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

India to divert rivers to tackle drought I ndia is set to divert water from its rivers to deal with a severe drought, a senior minister has told the BBC. Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said transferring water, including from major rivers like the Brahmaputra and the Ganges, to drought-prone areas is now her Government's top priority.

At least 330 million people are affected by drought in India.

The drought is taking place as a heat wave extends across much of India, with temperatures in excess of 40 Celsius.

The Inter Linking of Rivers (ILR) has 30 links planned for water-transfer, 14 of them fed by Himalayan glaciers in the north of the country and 16 in peninsular India.

Environmentalists have opposed the project, arguing it will invite ecological disaster, but the Supreme Court has ordered its implementa-

India is heavily dependent on monsoon rains which have been poor for the past two years

tion.

"Interlinking of rivers is our prime agenda, and we have got the people's support and I am determined to do it on the fast track," Bharti said.

"We are going ahead with five links [of the rivers] now and the first one, the Ken-Betwa link [in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh] is going to start any time now.

"And then we will have

the Damnaganga-Pinjal interlink which will sort out the Mumbai drinking water facility."

Bharti said the riverlinking project would be the first in Indian history since independence in 1947.

There were also other projects aimed at supplying water for irrigation and drinking in the next few years and the ILR was a long-term scheme, she added. (Excerpt from BBC News)

April breaks global temperature record

A

T

Social media users in China pointed out the lack of coverage

he 50th anniversary of the start of the Cultural Revolution, which plunged China into a decade of chaos, has been met with silence in State media.

On May 16, 1966, Communist leader Mao Zedong began a campaign to eliminate his rivals. At the same time he called on Chinese youth to "purge" society.

Years of bloodshed and

turmoil ensued, ending with Mao's death in 1976.

How to handle the era's contentious legacy has remained a challenge to China's Communist rulers to this day.

On Monday, the main State media outlets made virtually no mention of the anniversary, focusing on coverage of the South China Sea and other domestic issues. No official events were planned by the authorities to

mark the 50-year milestone.

Yet this is not a blanket censorship policy like with, say, any discussion of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

On China's Twitter-like Weibo the Chinese words for "cultural revolution" have not been blocked.

Only Hong Kong media, which enjoy greater freedoms than their counterparts on their mainland, gave coverage to the anniversary. (Excerpt

from BBC News)

pril was the seventh month in a row that broke global temperature records, NASA figures show.

Last month smashed the previous record for April by the largest margin ever, the data show.

That makes it three months in a row that the monthly record was broken by the largest margin ever.

But in terms of its departure from the 19511980 temperature average used by NASA, April was equal with January 2016.

February and March this year showed greater departures from the norm.

The new record for April trounced the previous one, set in 2010, by 0.24C. "The very unfortunate circumstance we have now is the overlap of a very in-

April was the seventh month in a row that broke global temperature records

tense El Niño that has been magnified by climate change," said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

"All of these recordbreaking temperatures and attendant implications

that we have had, such as record breaking fires for example, and droughts in India are all reminders that we cannot afford to do anything except to accelerate the solution agenda –we absolutely have no other option but to accelerate."

(Excerpt from BBC News)

16 news

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

GCCI calls for amendment of Prevention of Discrimination Act

A

t an event held to commemorate the 33rd International AIDS Candlelight Memorial at the Catholic Life Centre, Brickdam, Georgetown on Sunday evening, Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Vishnu Doerga called on the Government to amend the 1997 Prevention of Discrimination Act. He urged that sexual orientation, gender identity and health status be included so that this would result in non-discrimination in employment.

Doerga told the seventh national Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Candlelight Memorial Vigil, which was hosted by the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), “We must seek to empower people living with HIV to stand up for their right to live a life free of stigma and discrimination. In this regard, it is important for us to ensure that our organisations are free from stigma and discrimination through workplace programmes for our staff.”

Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Vishnu Doerga

He noted the value of engaging people, communities, governments, donors and the Private Sector in eliminating the scourge and supporting those living with HIV. The objective of the vigil was to bring together affected communities, policymakers, health professionals, religious leaders and members of the public to show solidarity and support for persons infected and affected by HIV, and to encourage people to continue

to act together to end stigma and discrimination.

It was highlighted by Doerga that to engage, educate, and embolden people living with HIV as well as marginalised populations would serve as a vital enabler towards achieving Guyana’s human rights goals, and enhanced equity for our people.

The GCCI President believes that the Private Sector has the capacity to play an essential role in this

and limiting the spread of HIV. “We have a responsibility to educate the current and next generation about HIV prevention, treatment and care, and how it affects our lives. Employers have a moral responsibility to ensure that employees are educated and have access to relevant information and resources,” he said.

The GCCI President cited the barriers to accessing services for key populations as stigma and discrimination, noting the urgent need to end this since it affected persons living with HIV including sexual and gender minorities, sex workers and young people.

Doerga indicated that the Private Sector, a key stakeholder, must take control and contribute to workplace education programmes in order to continuously address HIV in Guyana.“As the HIV response moves to long-term sustainability in Guyana, Private Sector involvement is crucial. I pledge the support of GCCI to join hands with all of you here in national efforts to bring an end to AIDS in Guyana.”

Rohee says no decision yet on holding of PPP Congress …can be postponed without reasons given

D

elivering disappointing news for some, People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) General Secretary Clement Rohee disclosed that no decision has yet been made on the holding of the Party’s General Congress.

According to the Party’s Constitution, a General Congress is to be held this year during which party members will be afforded the opportunity to discuss a number of issues as well as nominate and elect new leaders.

Even after dismissing these suggestions, reports continue to insinuate that the gathering will be postponed owing to the alleged internal conflicts within the Party, particularly between Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and Rohee.

However, during a press conference on Monday, Rohee explained that there is a process that needs to be followed with regards to the holding of the Party’s congress.

“The Executive Committee considers the matter but the final decision and members at the Executive Committee level are free to ventilate their views, we have a lot of passionate discussions and

views, to extent that people misinterpret, outside of the PPP, to believe that the PPP was cracking up,” he stated referring to the media reports.

He then explained that the decision goes to the Central Committee where it is further discussed and then determined.

Rohee, a member of the Central Committee, said he does not want to prejudge the decision taken by the Committee.

Nonetheless, he explained that the Constitution of the Party stipulates that only the Central Committee can postpone the Congress.

“It doesn’t have to give any specific reasons why they are postponing the con-

gress…The members themselves would discuss among and determine wither they would hold it this year or not,” he stated.

Rohee clarified, “It’s nothing to do with Rohee and Jagdeo, we are part of that body and we will also express our views.”

Just last week, the General Secretary was forced to reject rumours of an immense power struggle within the party.

He was at the time responding to an article which stated that there was a rift among senior executive members over who should be the presidential candidate for the General and Regional Election and the information was accredit-

ed to a “source”; with some members rooting for former Housing Minister Irfaan Ali while others are backing former Culture Youth and Sports Minister Dr Frank Anthony.

The article also pointed out that former President and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has his mind set on serving a third term as president after former Chief Justice Ian Chang (AG) ruled that the two-term presidential termlimit is unconstitutional.

It is also rumoured that Rohee has presidential aspirations however when previously prompted on this, the General Secretary refused to comment.

NFMU calls for greater investment in ICT sector – as world celebrates Telecoms & Society Day

A

s Guyana joins in the celebration of World Telecommunications and Information Society Day on May 17, the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) in observance of the Day is calling for more investments and growth in the Telecommunications, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sectors.

According to the NFMU, the ICT sector is amongst the most profitable and successful in the world. With the theme for this year being “ICT entrepreneurship for social impact,” the unit noted through its Managing Director Valmikki Singh that “notwithstanding the risks and challenges, entrepreneurship is an endeavour that grows economies, both in the developed and developing world. With globalisation and the setback in the traditional productive sectors of our economy, more and more Guyanese entrepreneurs are emerging.”

It is therefore very appropriate said Singh, that ICTs could be harnessed, through entrepreneurship, for social development. This cuts across many of the 17 sustainable development goals of the United Nations, established in 2015 to be achieved within the next 15 years.

Singh highlighted that, for maximum impact, the environment needs to be conducive for investment and entrepreneurship. In this respect, he said the Telecommunications Bill will be brought by Government to the National Assembly soon, with the purpose of creating an entrance in the telecommunication/ ICT sector to full competition and implementing clear rules and guidelines for the regulation of the sector.

Earlier in the month, Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes pointed out that the Bill had been placed for legal vetting and she hoped to have it brought to Parliament before the ending of May. The Telecommunications Bill invites the creation of a combative regime within the telecommunications sector as it facilitates an open, liberal and competitive sector which will be considered attractive to new market entrants and investors, while preserving activities of the current participants.

Additionally, it is required that the situations be favourable for investment and entrepreneurship to produce a maximum impact, hence the need to support existing operators in investing continually in order to create a pavement for other smaller players to become involved in the Telecom /ICT

Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes

sector, said Singh.

With progressing countries similar to Guyana being more consumer centric, it is advised by NFMU that as a nation, we need to strive to be more innovative and creative, since this is expected to have the greatest positive economic and social impact on Guyanese.

For this reason, the NFMU has commenced formulating ideas to foster originality in the ICT sector, in line with the government’s policy of boosting the resourceful and innovative abilities of students.

According to Singh one of the ICT sector’s most popular invention is the mobile phone. “It has evolved to a smart phone and is ubiquitous in many countries.

With the recent commercial launch (by our two mobile operators) of mobile broadband services to most of our population, smart phones are expected to be more and better utilised.

This means that in addition to more mobile applications (apps) being used, the demand for more apps will also rise. Herein lies a great opportunity for our Guyanese creators and innovators. Guyanese can also potentially market their mobile apps to the estimated three billion mobile broadband users worldwide.”

One classic example of a Guyanese-based mobile application is Directory.GY, which was identified as the official app of our Jubilee celebrations. The launching of this app was done last week by Intellect Storm, a group of young talented Guyanese innovators and entrepreneurs.

Generally, apps can range from simple social interactions and location services to providing counselling to persons in need or match demand with supply of goods/services, etc.

The possibilities of ICT entrepreneurship and the social impact that they can have are limitless and the NFMU encourages belief, saying “Once we believe, we can achieve.”

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news

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Closure of Wales Estate

106 workers demanding severance payment

By Shemuel Fanfair

E

ven as the interim injunction that has barred the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) from dismissing or redeploying sugar workers attached to the Wales Sugar Estate at Wales, West Bank Demerara, remains in effect, some 106 sugar workers insist they should be paid their severance packages.

On Monday, some 40 disgruntled workers met with operatives of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) to address their concerns.

Speaking with this publication after the meeting, workers related they were told that they would have been receiving severance packages on May 6.

Now that nearly two weeks have passed, workers expressed concerns that the sugar corporation has not been giving them employment, which has rendered many jobless for the past month.

Following their meeting with GAWU Monday, it was explained that the High Court injunction issued on May 6 does not bar GuySuCo from paying severance.

“When we went on Friday they (GuySuCo) told us that the union has filed an injunction blocking the payment for us but when we look at de injunction that file, it did not block payment for severance pay, it block de GuySuCo for the negligence of not [involving] the unions,” stated Cyril Joseph, a father of three who has 35 years of service with the sugar corporation, stressed that many workers have mortgages and bills to pay and need the money.

Shafiq Khan, working in Mech Till Gang for 24 years, told this publication that his department was told since early February that estate would no longer require their services and that they would be paid off.

Following a series of meetings, the Mech Till workers finalised their severance agreements with the sugar entity: “They stop we from work over bout monthand-a-half now… we aint know what to do; we aint know who ah telling lie and who ah telling right.

We come to GAWU to figure out [this] thing. [GAWU President] Komal Chand ah telling we that dem nah stop

“GAWU President Komal Chand”

nothing and dem going to try to leh we get pay as early as possible. I know that Mr Granger [the President] is a good man and [he] can look into this matter.”

Meanwhile, a visibly frustrated father, Wilbert Damon, who had earlier told this newspaper that his transferring to Uitvlugt would be unsafe for his family, said on Monday that after so many years, workers should be treated with “dignity”.

“Someone in GuySuCo [should] come out and treat us with dignity – if somebody served for 30 years, you [should be] glad to honour them. Give them something good that they could feel good at the end of the day,” Damon explained in reference to him receiving his severance.

Guyana Times was told that on Friday last workers were ready to protest at Wales Estate after GuySuCo was late in the payment of salaries and non-payment of severance packages.

Meanwhile, the union is still deciding on its next steps of protesting the closure of Wales Estate. GAWU President Komal Chand told Guyana Times on Monday that sugar workers received letters from GuySuCo stating that they would in fact receive their severance payment.

“They got a letter from GuySuCo stating that they would receive severance pay, having received one month’s notice,” Chand said. He also confirmed that “nothing in the injunction” bars the sugar corporation from paying severance.

It was on May 6 that GAWU and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) through their attorneys stopped GuySuCo from proceeding to implement their decision to sever the em-

ployment of workers of the Wales Estate, rendering them redundant unless and until they hold consultations in accordance with section 12 of the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act Chapter 99:08.

One legal luminary had explained that the corporation is “legally bound” to hold all negotiations relating to workers and their welfare, with their recognised unions, which in this case would be GAWU and NAACIE. If it is agreed that severance is the best option then negotiations on the severance package, calculations will commence after discussions with GuySuCo and the two unions, the legal expert explained.

The closure of the estate by yearend will affect some 1700 workers directly and thousands of persons in the Wales and surrounding communities indirectly. While many business owners are likely to face the brunt of incoming economic challenges, many members of the community have opined that crime will increase at Wales.

Govt moving to repossess unoccupied house lots – CH&PA ...operations to commence soon

T

he Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) will soon be commencing the repossession of unoccupied house lots that have been issued to persons but have remained vacant.

This is according to Chairman of the CH&PA Hamilton Green, who said that the repossession of the lands will commence immediately after the completion of an analysis of the situation.

The CH&PA has finalised the list of defaulters and has commenced sending out letters to landowners, informing them of Government’s intention to repossess the house lots and encouraging them to occupy their land. It has been disclosed that thousands of persons are to be affected by this move given that only 60 per cent of all the land allocated has been occupied.

Green explained that the analysis is necessary as there are some several inconsistencies in the paperwork possessed by the Housing Authority in terms of lands that have been issued.

“The records at Housing seem to be very incomplete so in the analysis we will have persons go on the ground to see what is happening, because I found that what is in the office may not necessarily reflect what is on the ground,” he related.

Green went on to say that the Housing Authority would “not tolerate defaulters” within the housing sector, especially those who

CH&PA Chairman Hamilton Green

have been in possession of the Government issued lands for a number of years, but are yet to begin construction on them. “If you gave a house lot to an individual and it’s been there and he is not using it for a number of years without good reason… let somebody else get it,” he stated.

He further related that those persons who no longer wish to have these plots of land or build on them can return the land to the CH&PA and they would be reimbursed for it. “We already have some people who have come into us and said ‘look, we no longer want to build and we have returned their money…we have reimbursed them,” he stated.

“Those who haven’t come into us will have to explain why they haven’t built because we don’t want ... lands idle.”

Green revealed that those persons who were un-

able to begin construction owing to serious financial constraints would be given some amount of leniency, and consideration would be made for them. Reference was made to those persons who were in possession of a house lot, but continued squatting on Government reserves. “All they need to do is come in and talk to us and once we accept that they are genuine cases of hardships, we will make the appropriate considerations.

This Administration is not out to punish anybody or dispossess poor people, but at the same time we need to have some sort of order and discipline in these areas,” he stated.

The Chairman posited that failure by landowners to occupy their house lots often times caused inconvenience to those persons that occupy theirs.

He explained that if several persons failed to occupy and maintain their lots in a street, the unoccupied land would provide a safe haven for vandals as well as a breeding place for insects and reptiles.

Earlier in March, CH&PA Director of Operations, Denise King-Tudor had announced that landowners would be given an opportunity to make some progress in building their homes, but if they failed to comply, then harsh measures must be taken. King-Tudor had stated that persons who were issued land years ago and failed to occupy them would have their allocations rescinded without hesitation.

“Colossal failures, lies & half-truths” – Rohee debunks Govt’s “1-year” achievement

P

eople’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Clement Rohee has completely disregarded the achievements that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration claimed to have realised in its one year in office.

To mark its first year in executive office, the Administration released an advertisement highlighting 50 measures it has achieved.

Among those were: increased salaries for public servants, fighting corruption, press freedom restored, new townships, lower crime rates, better streets and roads, Local Government Elections held after 22 years, and a clean Georgetown,.

However, according to Rohee, almost 80 per cent of the claimed achievements are downright lies and half-truths.

On the matter of salary increases, the General Secretary pointed out that if this were the case, the workers unions at their May Day Rally would never have demanded Government delink the completion of the Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service from the overdue increases.

He also challenged the claim that press freedom was restored.

“If this is the case, the Government needs to explain why the US State Department’s 2015 Report hammered the APNU/AFC Government on the lack of press freedom in Guyana?” he posited.

On the hosting of Local Government

Elections after 22 years, Rohee argued that this was a blatant distortion of the truth.

“The facts are that the PNC utilised every effort to prevent the holding of the Local Government Elections following successive General and Regional Elections since 2006. They frustrated the work of the Task Force set up to review the laws and as a consequence, had no alternative but to support Motion after Motion laid in the National Assembly calling for the postponement of Local Government Elections,” he emphasised.

Regarding the crime situation, Rohee lambasted the Government for failing miserably to develop a strategic plan to deal with the issue.

“The security experts ensconced at the Ministry of the Presidency have all failed. They are tripping over each other trying to prove who knows best. There is no anti-crime plan; “Operation Dragnet” is a colossal failure. Citizens do not feel safe on the streets nor at work or in their own homes. Public safety and security has turned out to be a total disaster,” he stressed.

Rohee went on to discredit a number of other claimed achievements, dubbing the advertisement as nothing but sheer propaganda.

In this regard, he called on the general populace to not be misled or fooled by the “shenanigans” of the current Government.

18

guyana-timesgy.com

tuesday, may 17, 2016

ARCHIE

ARIES

A change in your finan-

(March 21- cial situation looks promisApril 19) ing. Don’t let anyone speak or

negotiate on your behalf. You will represent what you have to offer better than anyone.

Avoid arguments if you TAURUS (April 20- want to accomplish your May 20) goals. Staying focused and being open to new things will result in firm progress.

dilbert

Look closely at a proposGEMINI (May 21- al that offers the impossible.

June 20) You are better off doing your own thing and taking responsibility for the outcome. Don’t get tangled up in an iffy venture.

If you offer to help someCANCER one from your past, you will (June 21- establish a better, more promJuly 22) ising relationship. Make adjustments to your timetable that give you greater freedom to do things you enjoy.

Peanuts

Don’t waste time criticisLEO ing others or complaining (July 23Aug. 22) about the way they do things.

Step up your game and take charge to ensure that you get the results you want.

Calvin and Hobbes

Open up about the way VIRGO you feel and how you want (Aug. 23to see projects and situations Sept. 22) develop. Taking care of children, loved ones or your personal needs should be your aim.

Don’t be afraid to share LIBRA (Sept. 23- your emotions. The only way Oct. 23) to resolve a festering situation is to communicate honestly. Find out where you stand, and act accordingly.

SUDOKU TODAY’S WORD – ADVERBS (ADVERBS: AD-verbs: Words that modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.)

Average mark 21 words Time limit 35 minutes Can you find 29 or more words in ADVERBS? The list will be published tomorrow.

Keep your communicaSAGITTARIUS tions honest and factual. If (Nov. 23- you choose to embellish inDec. 21) stead of sticking to facts, you’ll end up paying for your indiscretions. Make personal improvements that encourage health and fitness.

YESTERDAY’S WORD – PLATYPUS

palsy past pasty plat platy play plus pulp

pulpy pupa pupal last lust lusty apply aptly

talus taps salt salty sappy slap slat slaty

slay spat spay splat splay stay supply

A personal relationship SCORPIO will develop into something (Oct. 24special.

Make plans to share Nov. 22) interesting experiences.

Discuss alternate living arrangements or an unorthodox path. Romance is featured.

solution for Last Published Puzzle

Consider how you curCAPRICORN (Dec. 22- rently live and how you want Jan. 19) to live in the future. Cut corners, downsize or look for investments that will allow you more freedom. Do things differently.

You are best off disreAQUARIUS garding criticism or com(Jan. 20plaints.

Strive to make perFeb. 19) sonal changes and work to get ahead professionally. Invest in your health, skills and personal assets.

You may need to step outPISCES (Feb. 20- side your comfort zone if it March 20) will help find a solution to a problem. Don’t be afraid to speak up and offer your services for a price.

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016

19

Gayle comes good as RCB breeze to win R

oyal Challengers Bangalore’s batting might came to the fore once again as they chased down 184 to defeat the Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets at the Eden Gardens. Chris Gayle set the platform for the chase with a brisk score, before Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers collaborated, once again, to take their team past the line. Needing to score 9.20 from the start of the innings - amidst threat of showers, RCB were provided the launchpad by Gayle and Kohli. Gayle ended his eightinnings streak of single-digit scores by smashing a 31-ball 49. The Jamaican was slow to begin with; he scored just one run of the first seven balls he faced before exploding. He hit Morne Morkel for

consecutive boundaries in the third over before picking his fellow-Jamaican Andre Russell for successive sixes in the fourth over. Sunil Narine was in the firing line in the fifth over when the left-hander hit him for boundaries off successive boundaries. Gayle hit Narine into the stands of the first ball of the eighth over, before the bowler outfoxed him with a seam-up delivery and trapped him in front of the stumps. Gayle made 49 from 31 balls and the opening partnership was worth 71 runs. AB de Villiers joined his captain Kohli in the middle, and it was business as usual for the pair.

Barring the eleventh and twelfth over – which yielded five runs each, the duo picked up at least one bound-

SCOREBOARD Kolkata Knight Riders innings (20 overs maximum) RV Uthappa c & b Iqbal Abdulla 2 G Gambhir* run out (Watson/Iqbal Abdulla) 51 MK Pandey c de Villiers b Aravind 50 YK Pathan st †Rahul b Chahal 6 AD Russell not out 39 SA Yadav c Iqbal Abdulla b Aravind 5 Shakib Al Hasan not out 18 Extras: (lb-6, w-6) 12 Total: (5 wickets; 20 overs) 183 Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Uthappa, 2.2 ov), 2-90 (Gambhir, 10.3 ov), 3-113 (Pandey, 13.4 ov), 4-118 (Pathan, 14.1 ov), 5-125 (Yadav, 15.2 ov) Bowling: STR Binny 1-0-8-0, S

Aravind 4-0-41-2, Iqbal Abdulla 4-0-22-1 (w-1), SR Watson 4-046-0 (w-1), YS Chahal 4-0-38-1 (w-2), CJ Jordan 3-0-22-0 (w-1) Royal Challengers Bangalore innings (target: 184 runs from 20 overs) CH Gayle lbw b Narine 49 V Kohli *not out 75 AB de Villiers not out 59 Extras: (lb-1, w-1, nb-1) 3 Total: (1 wicket; 18.4 overs) 186 Fall of wickets :171 (Gayle, 7.3 ov) Bowling : AD Russell 2.3- 0-32-0, M Morkel 2-0-200, SP Narine 4-0-34-1, PP Chawla 3.1-0- 32-0, AS Rajpoot 3-0-28-0 (nb-1), Shakib Al Hasan 4-0-39-0

ary in the remaining overs.

The duo not only pummeled the bowlers and picked up boundaries regularly, but one also got to see hare-like running between the wickets to pick up twos. The 115-run unbeaten partnership between Kohli and de Villiers – which came in 11.1 overs – was an exhibition in batting and a lesson in how to chase targets. When they got together, RCB still needed 113 runs from 75 balls.

Yet, never once did the duo panic or show signs of feeling the pressure of the required run rate. They were always in control of proceedings and knew exactly what had to be done to complete the task in front of them.

Kohli remained unbeaten on 75 (51 balls, 5 fours, 3 sixes), while de Villiers raced to a 29-ball 50 and remained unbeaten on 59. What made Virat’s knock extra special was that he batted with an injury right through – a split webbing on the right hand which was treated with a temporary fix - yet was always focused on the task in front of him. KKR will rue the catch their captain Gautam Gambhir put down mid-way through the chase; Virat Kohli was on 32, and RCB still needed 91 from 67 balls, when Gambhir put down a sharp chance at point. The RCB captain made his opposite number pay for the lapse, leading his team to a convincing win. RCB got over the line in 18.4 overs. Earlier in the evening, after being put in to bat, KKR posted 183-5 riding on the back of

Chris Gayle and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli partnered for a brisk 71 runs opening stand that saw their team home against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2016

half-centuries by Gambhir and Manish Pandey and a cameo from Andre Russell at the end. The hosts lost Robin Uthappa in the third over but recovered through a partnership between Gambhir and Pandey. Both men were aggressive early on when the field restrictions were in force; Gambhir hit five boundaries while Pandey picked up four boundaries in eleven balls before the field restrictions were relaxed. Gambhir brought up his half-century – his fifth of the season - in the tenth over, needing 32 balls to get to the milestone.

The second wicket pair had

added 76 runs before a mixup in the running resulted in Gambhir’s dismissal; for the second time in the innings, both batsmen were stranded mid-pitch, when Iqbal Abdulla whipped off the bails at the non-striker’s end. Gambhir made 51 from 34 balls, aided with four boundaries. Pandey, who mixed timing and power in equal measure, was dismissed for a round 50, made from 35 balls and studded with five boundaries and two sixes. Andre Russell and Shakib-al-Hasan then added 58 runs in 4.4 overs and ensured their team had the momentum going into the

break. Russell plundered 39 of 19 balls (2 fours and 3 sixes), while Shakib hit a boundary and a six in his 11-ball 19. Iqbal Abdulla, who found the leading edge of Uthappa’s bat and held on to the return catch, was the most effective RCB bowler; he bowled his four overs for 22 runs. Sreenath Arvind was the most successful, picking up two wickets in his four overs. Yuzvendra Chahal returned figures of 1-38 from his four overs.

Shane Watson, who conceded 16 runs in the seven balls he bowled to Russell, finished with figures of 4-0-460.

Raptors advance to NBA conference finals after defeating the Heat 116-89

T

ORONTO – The Toronto Raptors have made history.

And now they head into uncharted territory — the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 21 years.

Raptors’ all-star Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combined for 63 points in a thorough 116-89 dismantling of the Miami Heat in Sunday’s thrilling do-ordie Game 7 of their conference semifinals. Lowry had 35 points while DeRozan chipped in with 28, playing with the heart and hustle Raptors fans had seen so many times in Toronto’s 56-win regular season. And they got plenty of help, as Bismack Biyombo had 16 rebounds to go with 17 points, DeMarre Carroll chipped in with 14 points, and Patrick Patterson had 11 points and

11 boards. Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic scored 16 points apiece for Miami. In a fierce back-and-forth series that saw three overtime games, and a slew of injuries, Sunday’s thrilling finale saw the Raptors lead most of the way. They battled hard on both ends of the floor with a ferocity they hadn’t shown in this series, and opened up a 17-point lead in a solid third quarter. They went into the fourth ahead 86-78, and when Biyombo muscled his way in for a monstrous dunk — and Usain Bolt celebration — then Carroll drilled a three and the delirious Air Canada Centre crowd went nuts. Things got heated when Biyombo and Josh McRoberts had to be separated, Biyombo furious after being clotheslined by the Heat forward.

McRoberts was assessed a flagrant foul, and the incident only served to further fire up Toronto and its crowd.

Toronto could do little wrong down the stretch. By the time Patterson followed up a basket with a pair of free throws, the Raptors led by 20, and anxious Toronto fans could finally take a collective deep breath. Lowry drilled a three with 3:23 to play that followed up a basket by DeRozan, and the Raptors went up by a whopping 25 points. When the Raptors’ all-stars left the game with two-and-a-half minutes to play, the crowd ushered them off the court with a standing ovation. A chant of “We want Cleveland!” broke out in the dying seconds. Now the Raptors face the well-rested Cleveland Cavaliers in a be-careful-

Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan, right, scored 28 points despite a sprained thumb in a Game 7 win

what-you-wish-for scenario. The Cavs host Toronto

in Game 1 on Tuesday after a nine-day break, while

Toronto has played eight games in 15 days. (nba.com)

20

guyana-times.com

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016

Spanish Grand Prix

Verstappen youngest winner as Hamilton and Rosberg crash R

ed Bull’s Max Verstappen became the youngest winner in F1 history as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crashed out of the Spanish GP. Hamilton and Rosberg came together on lap one as the world champion tried to pass his teammate, leaving Red Bull and Ferrari to dispute the race.

Verstappen, 18, held off Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen after team-mate Daniel Ricciardo took a three-stop strategy.

He made his two-stop strategy work to seal a thrilling race near Barcelona.

Mercedes... what a mess It was a stunning end to a remarkable race, which started with the unthinkable. Hamilton, who had taken a superb pole position on Saturday, made a decent start but Rosberg’s was very slightly better and the German was able to draft him down the straight and and pass around the outside into Turn One. A determined Hamilton was much faster through the fast

Turn Three, as a result of Rosberg being in the wrong engine mode, and was closing quickly. Hamilton dived for the inside on the exit of the corner as Rosberg came right across the track to defend his position. Hamilton did not lift, went onto the grass and lost control, collecting Rosberg’s car as he spun back on to the track and taking both out.

Now what happens?

The race stewards looked into the incident after the race, but decided to take no further action.

However, the fallout will continue within the Mercedes team. Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda called the incident “stupid” and blamed Hamilton for being “too aggressive”. But Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said: “It is a very difficult situation, a very difficult incident to analyse. “It is definitely not clear-cut so I wouldn’t want to blame any of them at that stage. “Lewis had much more speed, Nico closed the

Verstappen has beaten the previous youngest winner record - held by Sebastian Vettel - by three years

door, Lewis was too wide on the inside and lost the car. It is definitely not a 100% pro one and zero the other.”

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the incident, the result of it plays into Rosberg’s hands. He retains a 43-point lead over Hamilton but the Briton now has one fewer race - 16 to close it down.

A dream debut The son of ex-F1 driver Jos, Verstappen

- only 18 - had Raikkonen within a second of him for the last 22 laps but did not put a wheel wrong to take his first win on his debut for Red Bull, following his promotion from junior team Toro Rosso before this race.

“To win in the first race is such an amazing feeling,” Verstappen said. “My dad helped me a lot to achieve this, this is amazing.”

But Ricciardo may feel

hard done by after he led the first 28 laps of the race from Verstappen only for Red Bull to pull him in on lap 38 and put him on a threestop strategy, which was calculated to be the slower one before the race. That put Verstappen into the lead and demoted Ricciardo to third behind Verstappen and Raikkonen. That became fourth within a few laps because Ferrari fol-

lowed suit with Sebastian Vettel on the next lap and then made the German’s final stop before Red Bull to get him ahead of Ricciardo.

Ricciardo made his final stop on lap 43 - six laps after Vettel - and caught him with 10 laps to go.

The Australian made an aggressive but ultimately fruitless dive down the inside of Turn One on lap 59 with seven laps to go. The move incurred Vettel’s wrath as he had to take avoiding action before Ricciardo slid wide and off the track, allowing Vettel to edge back ahead. “If I don’t avoid him he goes straight into my car,” Vettel screamed over the radio. “What are we doing, racing or ping-pong?”

Ricciardo kept trying, but Vettel was able to hold him off until with two laps to go Ricciardo suddenly lost pace with a left rear puncture and dropped back.

But he had enough time to make a pit stop for fresh tyres and retain fourth ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas. (BBC Sport)

Gayle, Bravo to debut JCA set to choose committee members on Indian comedy show T T

he recently elected board of directors of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) is scheduled to meet on Wednesday.

Outside of an introductory meeting held last month, Wednesday’s gathering will be the first for the board since the election of officers in March. Among other things, it is expected to decide on the composition of committees that will serve the new administration.

A source close to the association told the Jamaica Observer that the board is to sign off on committees such as marketing, cricket development, national selection as well as the chairman for each. In finalising the selection committees, immediate priority is to be given to the women’s team, Under-19s, Under-17s and Under-15s — all of whom are in preparation phase for regional competitions. The board is

Wilford Heaven, President of the Jamaica Cricket Association

expected to decide on individuals to serve on the board of Sabina Park Holdings, the entity responsible for the running and upkeep of facilities at Sabina Park.

Also on Wednesday, Major Neil Lewis, who directed the 2016 JCA elections, is to make presentations on how to smooth electoral kinks.

Plans to review the widely regarded outdated JCA constitution are on the cards.

Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven, who

was returned as JCA president in March, has frequently called for amendments to the constitution to reflect modern management of cricket. At the polls, Heaven defeated former honorary secretary Fritz Harris 5247 to keep the president job.

Heaven’s executive team includes first vice-president Dr Donovan Bennett; second vice-president Mark Neita; honorary secretary Diann Campbell; honorary assistant secretary Clinton Clarke; honorary treasurer Hopeton Morrison; honorary assistant treasurer Kerry Scott. The elected directors are Keith Campbell, Major Brian Lundy, Wayne Sutherland, Michael Atterbury, Dr Akshai Mansingh, Dalton Myers, Inspector Leston Pinnock, Baron Watson, Herbert Garriques, Keith Walford, Chester Anderson, and Pauline White-Anderson.

(Jamaica Observer)

he popularity of Chris Gayle and fellow West Indian Dwayne Bravo in India has taken a twist, with the two scheduled to appear on The Kapil Sharma Show.

Kapil Sharma is one of the foremost comedians in India and is following up his countrywide hit, Comedy Nights with Kapil with the The Kapil Sharma Show.

The show began in April of this year and is in episode eight of a projected 26.

Gayle is expected to be accompanied by Jacqueline Fernandez, a B-town star, while Bravo will share the screen with Raveena Tandon.

It is uncertain when the episode involving Gayle and Bravo will be aired, but reports indicate that it could be as early as next week Saturday.

Gayle, a superstar in India, is unmatched as a

Leicester boss is manager of the year

L

eicester boss Claudio Ranieri has been named manager of the year by the League Managers' Association.

The 64-year-old Italian was honoured after leading the Foxes to their maiden top-flight title in his first season with the club.

Ranieri also received the Premier League accolade, with Brighton's Chris Hughton taking the Championship award.

Wigan's Gary Caldwell and Northampton's Chris Wilder took the League One and League Two honours respectively.

Ranieri is only the second non-Brit-

ish or Irish manager to win the prestigious accolade after Arsenal's Arsene Wenger, who won it in both 2002 and 2004.

The Leicester boss had already picked up three manager of the month awards in the course of his side's remarkable campaign, and was named Italian manager of the year in his homeland last month.

Hughton is the only manager to receive an award whose side did not win their division.

Brighton finished third in the second tier and were knocked out of the play-offs in the semi-finals on Monday

by Sheffield Wednesday.

Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo are meg-stars in India on and off the cricket field

West Indian superstar in the Indian Premier League (IPL), save for Bravo, who recently launched his latest song Champion, in the coun-

Andy Murray in 'best position' for France - Miles Maclagan

A

Ranieri had never won a league title in his career ahead of 2015-16

try.

Gayle plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, while Bravo plies his trade for the Gujarat Lions.

ndy Murray is "probably in the best position he has ever been going into the French Open", according to his former coach Miles Maclagan.

Britain's world number two beat top-ranked Novak Djokovic in Sunday's Italian Open final, having lost to the Serb in last week's Madrid Open final.

Maclagan said: "This

(Italian Open) was his first win over Novak on clay, so he has a deep reservoir of confidence.

"The other players will look at him as a challenger and that counts as well."

The French Open begins on 22 May and Murray reached the semi-finals last year, when the Scot was beaten by Djokovic over five sets.

YELLOW PAGES tuesDAY, may 17, 2016 | www.guyana-times.com

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flowers Available: Fresh long-stemmed roses, fresh dried and silk floral arrangements, gift items, bridal boutiques and wreaths. Nesha’s Flowerland. 78 Church Street (opposite St George’s Cathedral).

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21

sports

Test hopefuls assemble for High Performance camp B RIDGETOWN, Barbados – West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons has assembled a group of 14 players in a one-week high performance camp focusing on batting and spin bowling. The players, some of whom have played at the international level, have been invited to attend as West Indies look ahead to the upcoming Test match schedule.

The training sessions, which started last weekend, are being conducted under the guidance of the Head Coach, at the West Indies High Performance Centre at the 3Ws Oval.

Simmons said: “The camp is specifically for batsmen and spin bowlers. At this stage, we want the batsmen to focus on getting better against the slow bowlers.

We want bowlers to look at ways to improve their art of spin bowling. In the coming months we will have Test matches against India and Pakistan – two higher ranked teams – so we know we will face a lot of spin and we will play against players who are good players of spin.

So this camp is planned with those factors in mind.”

Simmons added: “The list of players for this camp does not mean that they have already been selected to play the Test matches. The squads for the India and Pakistan matches will be named at a later date. We

Vishaul Singh

have chosen players to work on certain specific areas and to have a closer look at their techniques and skill sets, as we look to prepare for what is ahead of us.”

West Indies are due to play four Tests against India in July and August in the Caribbean and three Tests away to Pakistan in September and October.

Another camp, for the West Indies squad for the Tri Nation 50-over series will be held later this month. The players for that camp will be named in the coming days.

The Guyana Jaguars players in the training squad are opener Rajendra Chandrika who played three test matches, Leon Johnson who played four test matches as well as middle order batsman Vishaul Singh and Gudakesh Motie.

Guyana Jaguars captain,

Johnson scored the most runs in the recently concluded WICB Professional Cricket League (PCL) Regional Four Day (R4D) Tournament 2015/16 amassing 807 runs at an average of 57.64 with two centuries while Jaguars vice-captain Vishaul Singh scored three centuries in totalling 712 runs at an average of 50.85 was the third highest runs getter behind Johnson and Devon Smith (719).

In his maiden first-class season, Jaguars left-arm spinner, Gudakesh Motie was the most successful bowler with 40 wickets same amount as Veerasammy Permaul who played eight matches, one more than Motie. The top five bowlers in the PCL R4D are Nikita Miller with 65 wickets, Rakheem Cornwall with 48 wickets, Imran Khan 44 and Motie and Permaul with 40 wickets each.

LIST OF PLAYERS: Kraigg Brathwaite Rajendra Chandrika Shai Hope Jermaine Blackwood Shane Dowrich Leon Johnson Vishal Singh Roston Chase Shamarh Brooks John Campbell Imran Khan Gudekesh Moti-Kanhai Damion Jacobs Jomel Warrican

Australia cricket team warned about Zika virus risks ahead of Caribbean tour

A

ustralia captain Steven Smith and his team have been warned about risks associated with the Zika virus ahead of their tour of the West Indies next month.

Australia will play West Indies and South Africa in a triangular one-day international tournament in St Kitts & Nevis, Barbados and Guyana from June 5.

A handful of cases of Zika - a mosquito-borne virus known to cause the birth defect microcephaly - have been recorded in Guyana, on South America's north coast.

Cricket Australia chief medical officer John Orchard said the players had been briefed on how to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes and reminded of 'safe-sex practices'.

Zika is spread primarily by mosquitoes but can also be transmitted sexually, prompting the Australian Olympic Committee to provide 'Zika-proof' condoms to athletes heading to the Rio de Janeiro Games in August.

An outbreak of the disease in Puerto Rico caused two Major League Baseball games to be relocated from the Caribbean island to Miami later this month.

Preparations for the Rio Olympics have been overshadowed by a major Zika outbreak in Brazil, prompting some athletes to elect to skip the Games. (Daily Mail)

MATCH SCHEDULE

June Friday 3: West Indies vs South Africa – Guyana

National Stadium Sunday 5: West Indies vs Australia – Guyana National Stadium Tuesday 7: Australia vs South Africa – Guyana National Stadium Saturday 11: South Africa vs Australia – Warner Park Monday 13: West Indies vs Australia – Warner Park Wednesday 15: West Indies vs South Africa – Warner Park Sunday 19: Australia vs South Africa – Kensington Oval Tuesday 21: West Indies vs Australia – Kensington Oval Friday 24: West Indies vs South Africa – Kensington Oval Sunday 26: The Final – Kensington Oval

22

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016

“Dizzy Cricket” launches for Mohamed young fans at CPL this summer prevails at “King of Dragz” T

G

Part of the action in the Motor bike segment (Marceano Narine Photo)

uyanese Azurdin Mohamed stole the show in his Nissan Skyline GTR at the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) International “King of Dragz” Meet on Sunday at the South Dakota Circuit.

As the sunlight faded, the top cars came out to treat the race car loving fans that tuned out at South Dakota and certainly Mohamed brighten the day’s proceedings with some dashing sprints in his “beastly” GTR, which was simply unstoppable on the day.

Mohamed recorded the fastest time of the day, dipping below the nine-second barrier in the A-class unlimited category, in the event that utilized the Time Bracket Elimination sys-

tem.

In the B-class (9 seconds), Surinamese Ryan Chakwi was the most outstanding, while the C-Class (10 seconds) saw another Surinamese Ashian Cajaran being the top driver.

For the D-class (11 seconds), Raymond John of Suriname stood out but local boy Sachin Ramotor broke the Dutch dominance with top performance in the E-class category (12 seconds).

Parmand Ramcharan of Suriname was deemed the was top driver in the F –Class (13 seconds) while the Guyanese duo of Steve Rayanauth and Issac Ramchaita finished above the rest in the G-class (14 seconds) and H-class (15 seconds) respectively.

In the motor cycle category, Surianame sped-off with bragging rights in both divisions, as Giovanny Slayveer (600 cc) and Toin Gumperts (1000 cc) were the top riders.

The focus of some Guyanese drivers will be the fine tuning preparations for participation at the first leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) this year, which be held at JAMWEST, Jamaica on May 22 with the final leg set for November in at the South Dakota Circuit in Guyana.

A large number of spectators who turned out were treated to a full day of pulsating action and left very satisfied in the early evening after another successfully executed event by the GMR&SC.

he Biggest Party in Sport is about to become even more fun for young fans and families as the HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) launches “Dizzy Cricket”, a new cricket challenge that will take place at selected CPL matches in the Caribbean and USA this summer from 29 June to 7 August.

At these fixtures, three young fans (who must be under the age of 16) wearing their team’s colours will be chosen from the crowd to take part in the CPL “Dizzy Cricket” Challenge during the innings break.

The competitors will need to spin around a cricket bat 10 times before attempting to strike a cricket ball from a tee while in a state of unsteadiness. In each CPL host country, the person who achieves the longest distance in the challenge will win a trip for two (which must include either a parent/guardian) to the CPL Finals.

Jamaica Tallawahs opener Chadwick Walton and some of his local club teammates were on hand to help

Young fans will participate in the “Dizzy Cricket Challenge” for a chance to watch the HCPL finals this year

demonstrate how the challenge works, with the normally prolific Walton failing to strike the ball on three attempts!

Commenting at the launch of the CPL “Dizzy Cricket” Challenge, James Wynne, Head of Marketing at CPLsaid: “We are always looking for ways we can make the CPL experience even more fun and engaging for fans and families and this is just one of a number of initiatives we’ll be rolling out to enhance the spectator experience at CPL games.

“We have the best T20 cricketers in the world performing in the fourth staging of CPL, which will no doubt be an inspiration to the next generation of cricketers. While the star players will bring the inspiration, CPL wants to make sure we bring the fun!”

Matches have so far been confirmed for St Kitts and Nevis, Fort Lauderdale, Florida and St Lucia.

More information on fan promotions, ticket information and fixtures can be found at www.cplt20.com.

Region Six Independence Jubilee

B Division Police clubs dominate ‘cavalcade of sports’

Ramdhani wins Trophy S Stall Independence Badminton Tournament

BY ANDREW CARMICHAEL

T

Participants of the Trophy Stall Independence Badminton Tournament

he Trophy Stall Independence Open and Age Group Badminton tournament concluded on May 14 with Open Men Singles Sunburst Champion Narayan Ramdhani defeating Jonathan Mangra in a three setter 21-5, 19-21, 21-9 to be crowned Champion. The Tournament which was played at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall commenced on Wednesday May 11 matches in different age categories.

Third place went to Marlon Chung who defeated Avinash Odit also in a three setter 24-22, 15-21, 15-21.

Tyrese Jeffrey won the Boys Under – 17 Singles with Akili Haynes placing second and Tyreese Richards third and the same category for the Girls was won by Priyanna Ramdhani

followed by Priyanka Shivnauth and Gabriela Pertab.

Andrew Debidin defeated Omar Samad 22-20 in the Boys Under -13 finals with

Open Champion Narayan Ramdhani poses with trophy

third Place going to Ronald Hamilton who defeated Verun Challu 21-11, the Girls Under -17 was won by Wonita Yang after defeating Reba Ramlall 21-6 and third Place went to Reanna Persaud who defeated Jayde DaSilva 21-7.

Jason Wang won the Boys under – 11 by beating Abeva Jones 21-16 with third place going to George Ramlall who overcame the challenge of Jonathan Debidin 21-18.

In Under-11 Girls Finals, Gabriella Pertab defeated Emily Choo-A-Fat 21-13 with Kyla Jordon placing third.

The Guyana Badminton Association extended gratitude to the Trophy Stall for making it possible for Badminton to have a tournament for Guyana’s 50th Golden Jubilee celebrations.

ports clubs from both Region five (Mahaica/ Berbice) and Region six (East Berbice/Corentyne) and those attached to Police “B” Divison police, ‘cavalcade of sports’ on Sunday at the Albion Sports Complex.

The event was organised by the Region Six Independence Jubilee Committee and the Department of Culture.

The Police Sports Club of Tain, Lesbeholden Strikers, Mibicuri Strikers, Police Sports Club of Whim, Johanna Sports Club, Shining Star, Fyrish Strikers, Hopetown Sports Club and Bloomfield joined forced to make an almost clean sweep of the several sporting disciplines which formed the cavalcade of sports.

GuySuCo Port Mourant Training Centre (PMTC) made a good show of themselves and dominated the Volleyball. The honors were shared equally between the two groups in the athletics field while other small groups were credited for their participation.

Shining Star and Hopetown were declared joint winners of the circle tennis competition. In semifinal action, Shining Star got pass Jets 82 – 45 and Hopetown brushed aside PMTC 74 – 66.

In Volleyball, PMTC fielded four teams and came out as winners in both the male and female categories. PMTC (1) were the overall winners with PMTC U-19 finishing as the runners-up. On the distaff side, PMTC females were the winners after beating Orealla 15-8, 15-9, 15-10.

Teams in the volleyball competition were in celebratory mode

In chess; Mibicuri Strikers out-played PMTC seven and a half to half point.

Hopetown Sports Club won all but one of the athletic events as Jamal Butts of PMTC won the men 100m the female 100m was won by

Alicia Smith (right) won the women’s 100 meters event and was rewarded with a trophy

Alicia Grant. Hopetown took full control and won all of the relay races.

The football competition was won by Fyrish Strikers.

In cricket, Albion were the winners after defeating Hard Knocks in the final. Earlier Albion defeated Number 38 in the first round then restricted Back Lash to 39 off five overs and replied with 42 before meeting with Shining Star in the semifinal. Batting first Shining Star made 13 and Alboin replied with 14-2.

On their journey to the final, Hard Knocks chased

down 54 made by Courtland to move into the second round where they drew a bye. In their semifinal match, Hard Knocks chalked up 32 and then restricted Edingburg Sports Club to 29.

The cavalcade of sports also saw table tennis and darts being played.

Regional Sports Officer, in commending participant noted that it was the first time clubs from all 16 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) three towns, several Community Development Committees (CDCs) in Region Six along with groups from Region Five participated in a day of sports. “This is the first time that so many athletes, sportsmen and women have come together for one day in this region to have fun and celebrate an anniversary of this country, I must thank all of the volunteers and everyone who participated in today’s activity. The Department of Culture truly appreciates the spirit in which all of the games were played. We have had players from as far as Orealla to the East Bank of Berbice; without you today proceedings would not have been a success.”

Trophies were given out to the winners.

guyana-times.com

tuesDAY, may 17, 2016

23

Shabazz backs Silver Bullets trounce Guyana in CFU despite South Stars 4-0 loss to Canada Linden’s Guinness Greatest of the Streets…

I

n a press conference held after the conclusion of the Guyana and Canada game, head coach of the Guyana Golden Jaguars, Jamaal Shabazz says that he is confident his squad will not be troubled by the Canada defeat with CFU games looming against Curacao on June 1st and the US Virgin Islands on June 7th as Guyana is seeking to qualify for its first-ever CONCACAF Gold Cup. Shabazz stated that with all the young players on the field, everyone witnessed the future of both Guyanese and Canadian football. Shabazz had high praises for his young players after giving it their best and sees this defeat as a valuable lesson to learn from.

Shabazz said that the match was intended to give some of the younger players a chance to play since they could one day be Guyana’s main starters in the years to come.

“I am not worried; we are going to learn from this.

This game was a chance to give some of the younger players some playing time and to engage themselves

Head coach of the Guyana Golden Jaguars; Jamaal Shabazz

with our senior players and I think they took that opportunity. Several of our regular starters didn’t play tonight (Sunday, May 15th) such as Gregory Richardson among others. The young players who were to benefit from this game, I think they played well tonight, I think they would certainly benefit from it.”

Shabazz further stated that Guyana has a long way to go in catching up with the high caliber teams in CONCACAF but he believes that his batch of players have what it takes; through hard work and dedi-

cation which can one day see Guyana as a dominant force within CONCACAF. Colin Nelson, who captained the Guyanese side against Canada, also gave his reactions from the encounter.

“We will look at the positives from this game and go back to the drawing broad to see where we can improve ourselves. We don’t want to be down on ourselves, Canada is a very strong opponent; this was a learning experience for us.”

Guyana’s star player during the Canada game was undoubtedly Trayon Bobb, who created numerous chances in front of goal for the Guyanese side, however, Guyana failed to convert those chances. Guyana’s coach said he is delighted with Bobb’s performance during the game and stated that “Bobb is beginning to look like that player we knew he could be when we first gave him the opportunity.”

Guyana will look to turn things around in their next International date set for June 1st against Curacao in the CFU qualifiers.

Ming speeds to podium finish in F1600 series

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Some of the action in during the evening’s proceedings (file photo)

ilver Bullets defeated South Stars 4-0 on Friday at the McKenzie Market Tarmac, to move on to the round of 16 in the Guinness Greatness of the Streets Street football in Linden.

It was a hat-trick by Robin Adams that powered the Silver Bullets to victory. Adams scored in the 10th 12th and 19th minutes respectively while Rawle Gittens scored the fourth in 24th minute.

Defending champions Amelia’s Ward Russians also scripted a win when they defeated Ripping Bullets 1-0 with Terrence Aaron netting in the 14th minute.

Team Magics was another victorious team as they won 3-1 against Attackers.

Joel McKinnon gave Magics the lead in the second minute but Avengers levelled

the score three minutes later with a Reyon Venture shot on target. Magic took the lead once more when Mckinnon doubled his goals with shot in the 7th minute; Kester Randolph then sealed the outcome in the 17th minute.

Wisroc edged High Life Crew 1-0 by virtue of goal by Mark McLean in the fourth minute.

In the other matches, Retrieve Unknowns defeated Goal Getters 3-0. Carlon Mc Almont, Akeem Singh and Shaquille Alexander scored in the fifth, seventh and 18th minutes respectively.

Trevon Phillips recorded a double in the third and 13th minutes to help FC Deportees win against Rough and Rugged 5-0.

Jason Swaving, Sherlock Phillips and Roger Houston

scored in the 16th, 17th and 19th minutes respectively to add the other 3 goals.

Hard-Knocks cruised to a 3-1 win over Avengers, as Randy Small recorded a double in the fourth and 13th minutes, which was supported by Trenton Lashley in the fifth minute while Earl Samuels in the 12th minute scored in a losing cause.

Team 25 made light work of Cutting Clear by winning 5-1 due to a double by Ryan Gravesande (5th and 7th minutes), which was followed by Collie Hercules, Kwesi Johnson and Kennard Simon, who notched goals in the sixth, 13th and 17th minutes respectively.

The competition is down to the business end and will be trimmed to eight teams after tonight’s games at the McKenzie Market Tarmac in Linden.

Independence cycle meet a success – Jones

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Calvin Ming (centre) celebrates his win at Watkins Glen

n snowy conditions, Guyana’s Calvin Ming produced yet another stellar performance on the race track as he stormed to first place at the F1600 race at Watkins Glen, United States on Sunday.

Ming, who was part of Team Pelfrey Mygale, led the final two laps of the event to cop the chequered flag ahead of Neil Verhagen and Phillippe Denes.

The young driver started the final race in the fourth position on the grid but due

to an incident on the first lap was spun around and relegated him to the second to last position. However, he still kept focused and was able to finish in P3, while posting the fastest lap of the race and the weekend Ming in speaking of his accomplishments said "I was just trying to keep my head down, keep my marks, and minimize my mistakes," He added, "In the end it worked out. It was definitely a good battle. I would like to thank Team Pelfrey on a

great car this weekend."

Ming and his Team Pelfrey team mate, Phillippe Denes, worked together to open a gap back to Steve Bamford and Verhagen, who ran third and fourth, respectively, in the opening laps.

That lead was brought down to zero, however, when the safety car was deployed for a full-course caution for an incident involving Mike Scanlan, Dan Pyanowski and Ryan Bjerke.

irector of sports Christopher Jones was very satisfied at the successful hosting of the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sports and Guyana Cycling Federation 34th Annual Independence 3 stage Cycle meet.

The Event which was won

by Orville Hinds, covered approximately 170 miles of Guyana’s road commenced in Corriverton, Berbice on May 14 and concluded at Homestretch Avenue, Durban Park on May 15 was a calendar event as part of Guyana Golden Jubilee of Independence celebration and was financed by the Government of Guyana.

Jones lauded the contribution of the Traffic department of the Guyana Police Force for their tremendous support in ensuring an incident free event. He mentioned that he wish to see an increase in the participation of cyclists especially from overseas teams. He also revealed that they are discussions to have a velodrome set up that would facilitate indoor cycling and should

Director of Sports Christopher Jones poses with Lindener and Team Evolution Cyclist Orville Hinds

this be a reality it would also serve as the home for cycling in Guyana. In his view this would increase participation in cycling and improve on the quality of cycling in Guyana which would lead to better representation at Regional and international events. Jones also said that everyone can look forward to a much improved event next year since the National

Sports Commission would be playing a more meaningful role in the coordination of the event.

At the presentation ceremony that followed the annual road race, Minister within the Ministry of Education Nicolette Henry thanked the cyclists, organizers and everyone who played a role that ensured the event was a success.

tuesdAY, May 17, 2016

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

Mohamed prevails at “King of Dragz”

Pg 22 Beast of a car! Mohamed’s two Nissan GTRs

Test hopefuls Shabazz backs assemble for High Guyana in CFU despite Performance camp loss to Canada

Pg 21 Guyana Jaguars players Rajendra Chandrika (left), Vishaul Singh (centre) and Gudakesh Motie are among other prospective West Indies Test cricketers in Barbados

Pg 23 Clive Nobrega fending off Canadian Jordan Hamilton

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