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Sexual education campaign launched in schools P16

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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Skeldon Sugar Estate to be sold Issue No. 3205

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Page 9

PRICE

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Police say serious crime down by 4% …fatal accidents down by 19%

P2

...Govt to close Rose Hall, Enmore operations

… thousands more jobless

Bowing to political pressure?

Page 3

Shallow grave murder

Man gets 65 years for killing brotherP2 in-law

… Justice Holder recuses self from Carvil Duncan trial Blocked, broken kokers blamed for city’s flooding P13

School concert stabbing

Democracy questioned as restrictions imposed on protestors Page 7 Protestors representing three separate causes on Monday took to the streets to protest: the state of sugar in Guyana, the imposition of VAT on education and the ban on used tyres as parliamentarians met in the National Assembly

Rice farmers protest Govt’s attempts to cripple agriculture sector Pages 12&16

...as Minister says charges not exorbitant, burdensome

Covent Garden youths slapped with murder P8 charge

Lindeners stress difficulties in accessing healthcare, medical supplies P11 Benjai’s assault

Wanted bulletin issued for Maverick DeAbreu P10

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news

tuesDAY, may 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Police say serious Man gets 65 years for crime down by 4% killing brother-in-law …fatal accidents down by 19% Shallow grave murder

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akeraj Fredericks, of La Grange, West Bank Demerara, who was found guilty of murdering his brother-inlaw, Clifton Bonus, in June 2011, will spend the next 65 years behind bars. Bonus’s body was found buried in a two-and-a-half foot shallow grave at Old England Backdam, Linden with two gunshot wounds to the head.

Moments before Fredericks was sentenced on Monday, he begged the court for mercy, but State Prosecutor Siand Dhurjon asked that the full extent of the law be imposed, with the aim of sending a strong message that persons could not get away with murdering people, especially over marijuana seeds.

High Court Judge, Justice Navindra Singh said the convict showed no remorse, adding that he continued to deny the accusations despite overwhelming evidence showing guilt.

As such, the Judge started the sentence at 60 years and added five years for the

Jailed: Lakeraj Fredericks

use of a firearm. The Prison Service was ordered to deduct the years Fredericks spent awaiting trial.

The 12-member jury made their unanimous decision after two hours of deliberations at the Demerara High Court last week. More than 12 witnesses had testified during the trial.

Fredericks, who strongly denied committing the crime, said Police forced him to sign a confession statement that he could not

read. The prosecution, however, contended that the defendant had called his mother just two days after carrying out the crime and confessed that Bonus was shot before hanging up the phone.

He was jointly charged with a then 16-year-old accomplice, who allegedly helped him to bury the body, but the teenager was released after a no-case submission was upheld in the Magistrate’s Court. It was the said teen, Harley Tyson, who had led Police through the forest to find the murdered man.

Later in June 2011 that Fredericks confessed to Police investigators that he was involved, but claimed that he only shot the deceased once and another accomplice finished the job after the gun was passed to him. This version of events, however, proved “untrue”.

Bonus, who was 21 at the time of his demise, was about to become a father.

The accused was represented by defence counsel Madan Kissoon.

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he Guyana Police Force on Monday disclosed a four per cent decrease in serious crime up to the end of April 2017 when compared to the same period last year.

The Police in a release stated that a total of 35 murders was recorded up to the end of April compared to 53 during the same period in 2016 – a 34 per cent decrease.

Of the 35 murders, 20 were as a result of disorderly behaviour; four as a result of domestic disputes; five, robberies under arms and three, execution-style killings. The Police are yet to determine the circumstances of the remaining three murders.

Fourteen of the murders were committed in A Division (GeorgetownEast Bank) followed by 10 in F Division (Interior Locations); six in B Division (Berbice) and four in D Division (West Demerara).

One of the heinous crimes was committed in C Division (East Coast).

The Police further stated that there was a five per cent decrease in robberies where no instruments were used; a one per cent reduc-

tion of robbery under arms and a one per cent decrease in rape.

In addition, the Police recorded a four per cent decrease in burglary as well as an 18 per cent decrease in break and enter a n d larceny, b u t

months, the Police have seized 45 illegal firearms, 22 more than for the corresponding period last year.

Twenty-two were pistols; six, revolvers; nine, shotguns and eight, rifles.

Of the 45 guns seized, 32 were found in A and F Divisions, six in C Division, four in B Division and three in D Division.

Traffic

there was a whopping 63 per cent increase in larceny from the person and a 22 per cent increase in robbery with aggravation.

There has been a 95 per cent increase in robbery with violence and a five per cent increase in robbery under arms where instruments other than firearms were used.

Over the past four

Meanwhile, with respect to traffic, the Police have recorded a 19 per cent decrease in fatal accidents. Thirtyeight fatalities were recorded at the end of April, compared to 44 for the same period in 2016.

A total of 22,896 cases was made against errant drivers between January 1 and April 30, 2017. Speeding and breaches of conditions of road service licence/music accounted for 6982 of that total.

The Police are contending that the reduction in serious crimes and fatal and other categories of accidents is certainly a result of the many strategies employed by the Force.

news

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Tuesday, May 9 – a night retraction at 04:00h and a day retraction between 14:30h-16:00h and Wednesday, May 10 – a night retraction at 05:00h and a day retraction between 14:30h-16:00h

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Bowing to political pressure?

…Justice Holder recuses self from Carvil Duncan trial

Tuesday, May 9 – 15:35h-17:05h and Wednesday, May 10 – 16:15h-17:45h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Weather: Thundery showers can be expected in the morning hours with heavy rain showers in the afternoon, while lightly cloudy skies are expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging from Easterly to East North-easterly between 3.12 metres and 4.91 metres.

High Tide: 15:50h reaching a maximum height of 2.56 metres.

Low Tide: 09:26h and 21:38h reaching minimum heights of 0.60 metre and 0.65 metre respectively.

SATURDAY, May 6, 2017

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25 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017

DAILY MILLIONS 08 16 18 22

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LUCKY 3 8 7 5

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

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Former AG Anil Nandlall

he Carvil Duncan case will continue at the High Court, but in the hands of another judge as Justice Franklin Holder on Monday recused himself from the matter, indicating that his court is not the place for politics.

The recusal comes days after Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo pushed for him to do so. However, Justice Holder insisted on Monday that he made his decision in the interest of the administration of justice.

“I find that it will be prudent, judicious, and in the interest of the administration of justice that I recuse myself from this case.

The decision to recuse myself is not recent and is not informed by any skewed, illogical and improper reasoning expressed by some in the press, but is one deeply rooted in my recognition and appreciation of what is required in the circumstances and in the interest of administration of justice,” the Judge stated.

Embattled trade unionist Duncan had moved to the courts to challenge the tribunal set up to determine if he should be removed from several constitutional posts in light of charges, which were laid

against him. However, the High Court proceedings were left at a standstill, on account of the Judge leaving the courtroom without adjourning the matter, following statements made by the prosecuting counsel, Attorney General Basil Williams.

Addressing the court on Monday, Justice Holder stressed that it was unfortunate that AG Williams was not present in court, moments after State Counsel Judy Stuart announced that there was “no appearance” by the

AG Basil Williams was missing in action from Monday’s court proceedings

Attorney General. Stuart appeared on behalf of the respondent, along with Attorney Coleen Liverpool.

Other involved parties – including Duncan; his attorney, former AG Anil Nandlall and other lawyers – were all present at Monday’s proceedings.

In his official statement, Justice Holder reiterated that the AG’s behaviour was “egregious and disrespectful”, adding that all things considered, Williams’s statements on the face of it constitute “contemptuous behaviour on his part”.

Notably, the Judge,

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

while not citing Williams for contempt, expressed that under Section 12 (1) of the Contempt of Court Act, the AG could still be summoned to justify why he should not be held in contempt. Detailing why the case was not recalled in the weeks that passed, the Judge told the court that he allowed time for the AG to reflect on his conduct, but Williams “systematically” altered the narrative of the case, thereby politicising the matter. “…time was allowed to afford Mr Williams a further opportunity to do what was fitting and proper in the circumstances as a Senior Counsel and leader of the Bar. Instead, wearing another hat, he was moved during the weeks to systematically flip the script and to spin this in a manner, to the extent that it has now – in my respect-

ful opinion – become politicised and irretrievably infected with the perception of bias,” Justice Holder noted on Monday.

The Judge then cleared up the AG’s statement – “all morning Nandlall [was] disrespecting you and you have not done anything about it”, saying that this was not truly reflective of the proceedings at the time.

On March 23, AG Williams, in questioning whether or not the Judge had accurately recorded the evidence of witness

Carvil Duncan

Diana Persaud, told him that “the last person who told [him] what [he] should not say was a magistrate and he is dead”.

“I could say what I want to say and when I want to say it, I have always been like that,” the AG further added. turn to page 13

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guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, may 9, 2017

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

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

Disrespect for authority endemic in society

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eports of schoolchildren being hurt by fellow students or school drop-outs who attend school fund-raising activities are increasing in number. Many times bullies are left alone by authority figures, and depart the scenes of their attacks unharmed because there are no visible wounds on their victims. But what about the emotional and psychological scars those victims will have to cope with?

Some children are lucky, in the sense that they have sensible and enlightened adults in their lives who can guide them safely through the murky waters of traumas. However, there are the parents and caregivers who find it difficult to cope with all the intricacies of the physical, social, emotional, and psychological traumas being endured by the child.

There are many more victims of violence being perpetrated by young people all across the country – actually, all across the world – and it is recognised that this global phenomenon needs to be addressed holistically, with world leaders eschewing their petty squabbles to take their young people, who are the future human capital of any nation's developmental paradigm, and channel their energies into constructive mechanisms for personal and national development and growth. But it needs to begin with the family, and a restoration of the value systems and moral compass of years past.

The peoples of Guyana, although their ancestors spanned racial and cultural divides, shared one common tradition: absolute respect for one’s elders, who were integral to the survival and sustenance of the individual family and the community in general.

The village elder system of jurisprudence prevailed within British Guiana village enclaves over the system as prescribed by the British Constitution; and, until now, the ‘Panchaayat’ system holds sway over rural communities in India and Africa before the more formalised court system of justice is sought.

Within homes and families, the elders were the one who guided the family in their daily pursuits, and they had the final say in decisions involving the family. That respect the younger members of a family and community had for their elders has been gradually eroding, until it has almost dissipated – although not absolutely, because there are yet some families who adhere stringently to old traditions.

Unless and until governments, through their educational systems; communities, through their church bodies and other social constructs; and families can come together and formulate a holistic plan to address this ever-widening chasm -- which is separating the youths of today from the value systems of the societal framework that inculcated ethical values and moral compasses as guides to behavioural patterns that outline and dictate the way they should interact with authority figures, their peers, and elders within their communities -the degradation of value systems within the younger generation will soon cross irredeemable boundaries, and the consequences to society would be too frightening to contemplate.

Now is the time to re-evaluate the statistical data and societal paradigms that have created such a deceleration of traditional value systems; before there is an irretrievable moral standardisation that infests the young generation with decay that festers in the minds to the extent that they lose all sense of the humane and their own groundings in humanity.

Russian Army planes rehearse before the World War II anniversary parade in Moscow (Reuters/Tatyana Makeyeva)

“Cat out of the bag”! (Part 1)

Dear Editor, The PPPC Administration, using the provisions of the Amerindian Act of 2006 and the Amerindian Land Policy which preceded it, addressed a large number of Amerindian land issues for new communities, and extension issues of communities that already held land titles/absolute grants.

As at 2015, there were 103 Amerindian communities awarded absolute grants of community titles, of which 83 were in the process of being demarcated.

Fifteen (15) applications for extensions were pending, and 6 were awaiting title.

Guyana continues to be internationally recognised for increasing the amount of land owned by Amerindian (Indigenous) communities -- from 6.5% to 14% in less than a decade. Up to recently, Guyana was second to none in the hemisphere when it came to addressing Amerindian land rights and, indeed, Amerindian rights in general. That is why the recent appointment -- by His Excellency President David Granger -- of a commission of inquiry into lands, supposedly to address Amerindian and freed African and other lands, is as ill -advised as it is troubling.

I am astonished at this action by the Government for more reasons than one.

This decision smacks of gross disrespect and disregard for the history and recent developments of Amerindian/Indigenous land rights in Guyana, and indeed around the world. It demonstrates a lack of understanding of the distinct nature of Amerindian lands, which is based on collective ownership and, more im-

portantly, the relationship between Amerindians and land and the environment.

Incidentally, the sanctity of our borders with Brazil was decided by the fact that Amerindians consistently lived there over hundreds of years. They have been not only the protectors of our forests and environment, but also the de facto protectors of our country’s borders.

The raison d’ etre of the commission of inquiry ignores these historical facts.

Most noteworthy is the disregard of the specific inclusion in Guyana's Constitution regarding Amerindian/indigenous land rights (see Preamble “Value the special place in our nation of the indigenous people, and recognise their right as citizens to land and security and to the promulgation of policies for their communities”; and Article 142, which provides the state with the power to take away land and provide it for the benefit of Amerindian communities, as well as Articles 149 and 212S) and several international instruments, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Guyana endorsed.

Most importantly, it disregards the Amerindian Act of 2006, which clearly sets out a process of addressing Amerindian lands and which, as mentioned before, has been used to do just that. It consequently overrides the authority of the minister responsible for Amerindian/Indigenous Affairs, as stipulated in the Amerindian Act; in particular section VI, which details a process for addressing Amerindian land claims, both for communities without any legally recognized

lands and those seeking extensions.

To add insult to injury, and indeed in spectacular form, the regime established this commission without any consultation with the elected representatives of the Amerindian villages in Guyana; and then, through various operatives, sought to justify why Indigenous peoples’ land issues should be comingled with other land issues.

It might serve the public well to look at the recent history of addressing Amerindian land claims in Guyana. The PPP, even before taking office in 1992, had promised to address Amerindian land matters. A policy was devised and put in place early in the 1990s.

The lessons from the application of this policy were both positive and negative.

By 2001, the PPPC Administration had approved a process of widespread consultation on a new Amerindian Act, to be led by the then Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues. The Amerindian land issue was one of the primary matters to be addressed in the new legislation.

Following more than three years of consultation across the length and breadth of Guyana, it was time to draft a new Act. By this time, the Administration had garnered immense experience on the ground through the application of the land policy, which magnified the depth of the problem to be addressed.

In addition to the experiences garnered through the application of the Amerindian Land Policy, the recommendations that

were made during the consultations for the new Act, and a review of the 1969 Amerindian Lands Commission Report, made it clear that a process for addressing Amerindian lands had to be elevated from policy to law. This was the only way that Amerindian communities would be able to have their land rights addressed and protected through a process that is transparent and fair. They clearly recognised that policies, unlike law, can be changed at the whims and fancies of the Government -- as we are witnessing now with the APNU+AFC Coalition Government!

With a mandate from the Cabinet, the Minister of Amerindian Affairs and the legal team defined the eligibility criteria, and a process for addressing Amerindian land claims.

This also was placed under scrutiny by consultation with Amerindian communities, civil society and state agencies. The Bill was then submitted to Parliament, and sent to a Parliamentary Special Select Committee, where it was again examined in further detail, inclusive of hearings with civil society.

The Amerindian Act was unanimously approved, in October 2006, with the inclusion of a provision that is considered to be the most advanced for addressing Amerindian land claims in the hemisphere.

Noteworthy is that Mr Vincent Alexander, former PNC MP, and Dr George Norton, MP, among other PNC opposition members, were on the afore-mentioned Parliamentary Special Select Committee. continues on page 5

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

A ‘teaching God, please help the poor in Guyana moment’ was lost Dear Editor, In my role as an ‘Apostle to the Gentiles’, I am involved in issues that trouble the “least among us”. I work with ex-offenders, recovering addicts, and the street people; and if there is one thing I find severely lacking in Guyana, it is the availability of mentors.

If our chronic and precipitous brain drain has done anything, it has robbed Guyana of a pool of role models and mentors, increasingly among men and boys.

Therefore, whenever an occasion arises, and purely by evolutionary default, those in need of guidance look to their leaders. They look to pastors, priests, imams, doctors, lawyers and, yes, politicians.

Every year (in Guyana alone), some 400,000 citizens show up at the polls to vote for the same politicians. And whenever those politicians show up at schools, churches, and other private and public places, it is observed that they receive the finest and most cordial of treatment. So, in the recesses of the minds of those seeking for role models, there must be some exemplary qualities resident in the political fraternity.

I respected Mr Burnham.

I liked to listen to him speak.

I admired how he behaved as if the wealth of Guyana belonged to Guyanese. But I never liked him. I lived on Laing Avenue, and I could remember as a little boy how on Sundays he would ride his big white horse as his helpers handed out cassava sticks, pigeon peas seeds, cutlasses, forks and the like.

Those used to be grand occasions for us little ghetto children.

However, one of the reasons I never liked him was because of how I saw him treat women. He was loose in his interactions with them.

He spoke to them in sexually explicit ways, and even touched them improperly. In my little mind, he behaved disrespectfully.

And after all these years, I am unable to shake that negative image of him. Of course there are others things that I encountered with him that have also helped to shape a less than favourable image of him in my mind.

I loved President Desmond Hoyte. I was fortunate to work a brief stint for him during the 1997 campaign. I was stationed at the Congress Place at Sophia, and worked in the public relations department. Mr Hoyte conducted himself pro-

fessionally at all times. And after all these years, I am unable to shake that positive image of him.

And that brings me back to the fray of the saga between Justice Franklin Holder and Attorney General Basil Williams. Many children at the primary and high school levels are listening and looking at how this story has descended into a blame game between two grown public figures. Parents and teachers are talking about it and taking sides. Relatives and friends are defining the battle lines, and the children are watching and listening.

Mr Williams continues to say that he did nothing wrong nor unusual in that courtroom. The Judge is maintaining that he (the Judge) was disrespected. However, the Judge did not do what most Judges do when they feel disrespected in their courtrooms. He refused, and still continues to refuse, to hold the AG in contempt of court.

Therefore, the least the goodly Attorney General could have done, as an overture, was to apologise. Such an apology would have been used by teachers and parents, family and friends to show that civility exists, even at the highest levels of our judicial and governmental systems.

The AG would have moved up a notch in the estimation of some of his detractors. The Judge would have accepted the apology, and might have even had occasion to favour him.

Now the moment has been lost. The AG has stonewalled and refused to apologise. The Judge has recused himself.

A wonderful opportunity to be magnanimous has slipped by. A ‘teaching moment’ on public display has been lost; and a rare opportunity to be some young child’s role model has been squandered.

Maybe some public figures do not understand the weight of their office; not only professionally but socially. So let’s hope that the new Judge does not come to this case haunted by the memories of some void of a role model.

Let’s also hope that the new judge is not perturbed by the realities of this case. For if either of those possibilities informs the emotions of the new Justice, the AG might well find that he would have lost corn and husk.

Sincerely, Pastor W P Jeffrey Practical Christianity Ministries

Dear Editor, I turned up at a Post Office on the East Bank on Monday morning (May 8), at about 07:00h, to encash an NIS voucher. As I entered the building through an open door, a member of staff said to me in a tone of voice that bordered arrogance, “We en open yet!”

I said to her, “Would it be okay for me to sit on your bench here and wait?”

To this moment as you read this, she did not give me a response. So I sat down on the bench to wait, with my voucher and identification

card in my hand visible for all to see at the ready.

As I sat there, four other persons joined me as the clock ticked. At 7:30h, a woman went to the counter and enquired, “Morning. Can you say how much longer we have to wait?” The clerk replied, “I doan know.” (More arrogance).

The woman asked, “Why?” Another clerk shouted, “ We ain’t gat no money!”

All this time, the Post Mistress is sitting there.

Now, a few thoughts crossed in my mind: 1. Why are GPOC staff?

not trained in the methods of communication?

2. Why couldn’t someone say to us from the beginning that cash was not available, and perhaps would be available later or not at all; so that we, who were waiting, could have made a decision to wait or leave?

3. It’s distressing, to say the least, that elderly people are made to sit/ stand in a line and wait for attention that no public servant seems willing to give, even during official working hours;

while those public servants merrily chatter.

If the PM is going to sit idly while all of this happen, then there is no hope for a change occurring in the near future.

Having spent most of my working years in the private sector, and mostly as a frontline employee, such an experience really disgusts and deflates me, as well as leaves me feeling a profound sense of neglect by those paid to serve the elderly public.

Dear Editor, News items in the print and electronic media have revealed the following in the latest saga of the Attorney General and those threatening remarks’ case. Events are that Justice Franklin Holder is now required to recuse himself from the matter before him. This directive came from the second highest official of this country the Prime Minister himself.

And to add insult to injury, the very same contemptuous Williams, against whom the contempt matter has been drawn up, is the one directed to deliver the message to Justice Holder.

Lawlessness has reached epic proportions in this two-year-old coalition Government; and, from all indications, the worst is yet to come. To think of it: when someone who is supposed to be the ‘guardian and protector of the law’ could, with such ease, threaten a judge and be let off the hook like that, it tells you the depths to which the State has sunk.

Williams, in the final analy-

sis, was just given a slap on the wrist, like we commonly say, “Naughty boy!” as if nothing happened.

I am still dumbfounded at this latest development.

And lest I forget: the Attorney General has been further equipped with five paid advisors, four of whom are judges. This is what you call crass backwardness and flagrant disregard for (according to them) our scarce resources. If this is not what it is, then what is?

Frankly speaking, the message this coalition Government is promoting is: “We can do “practically anything illegal”, and nothing can be done about it. They, in their belligerent, spiteful authoritarian self, are shouting this fact from the rooftops.

So where are the so-called voices of reason, like the ABC countries? What is their take on these latest developments? Are they stunned into silence, so that no dissenting voice is heard? I remember that, at the height of their propaganda campaign to get the PPP/C out of office,

the US-led forces brought on the LEAD programme, to dictate to the PPP/C the rudiments of “good governance”.

So I ask the question: Where are they now? Have they lost their sense of reason? I rest my case.

Guyana is being governed by a bunch of lawless dictators, and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong.

Sincerely, David Mortley

Guyana is governed by ‘lawless dictators’ Respectfully, Neil Adams

“Cat out of...

They supported the provisions that dealt with addressing Amerindian land claims. In fact, at no point did they call for the establishment of a commission of inquiry or a lands commission, which their party advocated during the lead-up to the 2015 general and regional elections.

The first indication that Amerindian land rights would be questioned came from Presidential Adviser Eric Phillips in March and April 2016, in a series of letters to the media.

The comment by the same Mr Alexander, Ministerial Adviser, on April 4, 2017 at the UG/

FROM PAGE 4

Carter Center forum on constitutional reform, in response to Toshao Shuman’s comment on the commission of inquiry, is instructive. He responded thus: “There can be no discussion on Amerindian lands that is not an integrated discussion on land, as we are all Guyanese. And why must there be a separate treatment of Amerindian lands?”

He had let the proverbial cat out of the bag! There you have the Government’s justification for the commission of inquiry!

Yours sincerely, Gail Teixeira, MP, PPP/C Chief Whip

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Foundation How to bolster the experience of creative flow

More proof that breastfeeding benefits babies’ brains

– breast milk fortifies white matter tracts in preemies’ cerebrum and cerebellum

By Christopher Bergland

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pioneering new study on preemies by researchers from the Children's National Health System has discovered that breast milk optimises white matter microstructural organisation throughout the entire brain – including both hemispheres of the cerebrum and cerebellum –more effectively than formula. This cutting-edge research adds to a growing body of empirical evidence showing that breastfeeding and breast milk improve infants’ overall brain health and functional connectivity.

These findings were presented by Katherine M Ottolini, Nickie Andescavage, Kushal Kapse, and Catherine Limperopoulos in a lecture, "Impact of Breastmilk on Brain Microstructural Development in VLBW (Very Low Birth Weight) Infants," on May 7 during the 2017 annual meeting (May 6-9) of the Pediatric Academic Societies in San Francisco.

The premature infants examined during this study were born under 1500 grams birth weight prior to 32 weeks and had been admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) within the first 48 hours of life. The CDC estimates that approximately one in 10 infants are born prematurely in the United States each year.

Senior author Catherine Limperopoulos and colleagues were able to examine regional

guyanatimesgy.com

cerebellar and cerebral white matter microstructures using state-of-the-art neuroimaging to identify differences between preterm infants at term-equivalent age and healthy term-born control neonates who had consumed breast milk or a manufactured formula specifically designed to meet the nutritional needs of premature infants.

(Cerebellar is the sister word to cerebral and means “relating to or located in the cerebellum.")

White matter is com-

posed of bundles of myelinated axons which act as communication lines between various grey matter areas throughout the entire brain.

Robust white matter microstructural organisation within the cerebrum and cerebellum is correlated with better neurologic outcomes in both preterm and full-term infants. The scaffolding for critical white matter architecture begins to form in the womb and is augmented for the rest of a person's life when, for instance, he or she attempts to master a new skill.

As an example, in 2009, a landmark study, “Training Induces Changes in WhiteMatter Architecture” by Jan Scholz and colleagues at Oxford University used DTI to demonstrate changes in white matter microstructures as a result of learning a new fine-tuned motor task (eg juggling). This first-of-its-kind study was trailblazing in that it identified a link between motor learning and changes in white matter microstructural brain architecture.

As a public health advocate, I keep my antennae up for the latest research on practical ways that people can optimise grey matter volume and white matter functional connectivity between the cerebrum and cerebellum across the human lifespan.

According to Ottolini and Limperopoulos:

"The neurodevelopmental benefits of breast milk in term infants have been well established, with both shortand long-term benefits, including improved cognitive and behavioural outcomes and overall child health. MRI studies in term infants also have shown increased brain growth in infants fed breast milk and improved white matter microstructural development in breastmilk-fed term infants at toddler-age.

Notably, compared with term infants, preterm infants are

at significantly increased risk for white matter injury, and therefore may have the potential to attain even greater benefits from breast milk feeds and protection of the vulnerable preterm brain."

"Infants born prematurely miss out on the significant nutrient transfer from the placenta that normally occurs during the third trimester. Moreover, the brain undergoes a very rapid period of development in the third trimester of pregnancy and postnatally….” We believe this research highlights the importance of nutrition as a modifiable risk factor for supporting brain development in the preterm infant. This research also emphasises the beneficial effects of feeding mother's own breast milk, and highlights the importance of supporting mothers of preterm infants in breast-feeding during the often stressful time surrounding a preterm birth and a prolonged neonatal intensive care unit stay."

Statistically, preemies experience a high incidence rate of neurocognitive dysfunction even if they don't appear to have structural brain injury. The latest findings suggest that providing them with breast milk early in life holds the potential to lessen these neurodevelopmental risks.

Limperopoulos emphasises that additional studies are needed in a larger group of patients as well as longer term follow-up studies. Stay tuned for more on this topic. (Excerpt from

psychologytoday.com)

Continued from Monday

By Wilma Koutstaal, PhD

R

esearchers asked 88 undergraduate participants to perform what is known as the creative mental synthesis task.

Participants were given small sets of simple geometric shapes and alphabetical or numerical shapes – for example, a triangle, the letter J, and the number 8 – and were asked to create a new picture of a recognisable object or scene that included these shapes while also following specific rules (constraints).

For instance, the rules allowed them to change the size of the shapes, to flip, rotate, or embed the shapes, but not to repeat or distort them. Each participant was given a workbook with 40 such shape-sets, with no pressure to finish the workbook.

They were told that they could skip sets or return to sets as they wished and were encouraged to be creative and to enjoy the task.

A key twist to the experimental procedure was how participants were asked to arrive at their final pictures for each shapeset.

Some participants – those in the mental imagery group – were required to perform all of their thinking and mental syntheses of the shapes in their mind's eye. For each shape-set they were instructed not to sketch anything until they had first written down a verbal description of their idea. After verbally describing their idea they were allowed to draw the image they had imagined only once, and could not change it afterwards.

In contrast, participants in the sketching group were given extra workbook space and were allowed to sketch freely and continually as they generated ideas. However, once they had written a description, they also had to commit to one idea or drawing.

The drawings from both groups were scored for the number of complete valid drawings that were produced (a measure of their creative fluency). A second score was calculated based on the number of changes that were made to the shapes in each set. This was a count of the number of rotations, size changes, and the number of overlaps or embeddings of the shapes in each drawing, and provided a measure of "transformational complexity."

The findings showed that the mental imagery versus sketching groups did not differ in the level of transformational complexity of their images. However, the mental imagery group produced more (not fewer!) valid images than the sketching condition. This difference was especially pronounced in a subset of participants who were given only three (rather than five) shapes in each shape-set.

But this isn't the whole story...

Asked at the end of the session to rate how difficult they had found the creative synthesis task, the mental imagery group retrospectively rated the task as significantly more difficult than did the sketching group.

Participants asked to rely on their mental imagery also retrospectively reported a significantly lower degree of "flow" during the task. On a brief questionnaire given at the end of the session assessing nine different aspects of the flow experience – such as total attentional focus on the task, a sense of control, of skill-challenge balance, intrinsic motivation, and a merging of action and awareness – those in the sketching group reported significantly higher flow-related experiences than did those in the mental imagery group.

Further analyses showed that these group differences in flow-related experience were largely accounted for by the differences in how subjectively difficult the two groups found the task.

That is, sketching during the creative process appeared to increase the feeling of flow by decreasing how effortful the task seemed to be.

Sketching enhanced the flow experience (mostly by making the task seem easier to the creator), but neither the quality nor the quantity of the generated ideas was better when sketching was permitted than when it was forbidden.

What to make of this?

This study used a task that required little expertise, and indeed, the participants were undergraduate students with no particular experience related to the creativity task. Yet these findings are in many ways similar to those reported in an earlier "think-aloud" study by an Australian research group that asked three highly experienced architects to respond to architectural design briefs while imagining the design (blindfolded) and then producing a final sketch versus while being allowed to look and sketch freely throughout.

Paralleling the findings with undergraduates, the final designs produced by the architects were equally creative regardless of whether they were only imagining the design or being able to sketch throughout. As the researchers concluded, "For the participant architects, sketching was functional, conventional, and habitual but not the only way to efficiently design."

Despite the similarity of their design outcomes when sketching throughout versus first imagining, all three architects said they much preferred to sketch during their creative idea search.

(Excerpt from psychologytoday.com)

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tuesDAY, may 9, 2017| guyanatimesgy.com

Democracy questioned as restrictions imposed on protestors

P

rotestors representing three separate causes are now questioning the true meaning of democracy – as are some Parliamentarians – after the Police imposed restrictions on their picketing exercise on Monday.

Stakeholders against the

I think something is really wrong with our democracy,” he declared.

Positing that the people have a right to have their voices heard, Dr Anthony has sympathised with the people for the way they have been treated.

He was one of a num-

Yearwood said the protesters received a phone call from the police on Monday, notifying that the planned protest had not been given police permission.

“Since when do we need Police permission to protest in front of Parliament on the day the Parliament is taking

Some of the protestors forced past the barricades and joined several parliamentarians in a peaceful picketing outside of the Parliament

closure of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) estates, those against the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on private education, and those against the ban on used tyres, turned up to stage a peaceful picketing exercise directly outside of Parliament Building – in clear view of the sitting Members of Parliament – but were prohibited from so doing. Instead, they were made to remain behind the barricades erected at the

ber of Opposition MPs who came out from Parliament Buildings to join the protestors.

Motivated, some bold protestors forced their way through the barricades and joined their representatives, to walk in circles outside of Parliament. And in an attempt to control the situation, police succeeded in pushing only three protestors back behind the barricades.

place? They said we are free to protest any other day, but not on the day Parliament is taking place. How stupid is that?”

“Why would we come and protest an empty building, when nobody is inside there?

We need to protest when the Parliament is going on, when the Parliamentarians are here, so they could come and see what we are protesting about. This is absolutely ridiculous from our Government, who is saying that they are going to be free and fair and that everybody is supposed to have a good life. Well, this is certainly not it,” the protestor said.

Security

Police leading some protestors back behind the barricades

eastern and western ends of the Parliament Square, even though they were not noisy. Consequently, in their bid to get the attention of Government ministers to their concerns, they had to resort to waving the placards they were carrying.

Dr Frank Anthony, a Member of Parliament (MP) for over ten years, said he had never previously witnessed a situation in which disgruntled taxpayers were banned from protesting outside of Parliament Building.

“It is the first time that I am seeing that people are not allowed to come out and do a peaceful picketing… These people are here to get the Government’s attention, and they are being prevented from doing peaceful protests to bring this to the Government’s attention.

Jonathan Yearwood – a student protesting the education tax – could not believe his eyes, as he also questioned whether or not he was living in a democratic nation.

“We, the people who would like to protest things happening in our country, have not been allowed to come directly in front of Parliament. We’ve been banished to the western end of Parliament, where we can’t see any of the Parliamentarians driving in. They are ‘winded’ up in their tinted glass vehicles; they pretend not to see you, you can’t get close to them.

Is this the kind of democracy we asked for? We should be able to be in touch with our Parliamentarians whenever there is Parliament,” he vented.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) closed a number of roads and relocated several bus parks to facilitate the sitting of the National Assembly today. More than 10 main roads – including sections of Regent Street, Hadfield Street, Durban Street, Water Street and Smyth Street – were closed off to vehicular traffic. The route 32 minibus park was moved to High Street, while the route 42 minibus park was moved to Water Street, Georgetown.

Police Public Relations Officer Jairam Ramlakhan told Guyana Times this would be a permanent arrangement for every parliamentary session, in order to ensure there is no threat to security.

This arrangement has, however, caused major inconvenience to the travelling public, stemming from heavy traffic jams.

Protests

Persons have vented their frustrations at decisions made by this Government seemingly without any consultations with the industry players. As was ventilated previously, stakeholders in the used tyre industry want Government to re-

verse its decision to ban the used product. Industry player Mustaak Mohammed explained that it would cost roughly $18M to import a barrel of new tyres, whereas it would cost only $7M for the same quantity of used tyres.

He argued that a significant portion of the populace would not be able to afford the prices of new tyres, nor would businesses survive, as they would not make a profitable return.

Sugar workers and other concerned stakeholders have protested Government’s de-

Some of the protestors who remained behind the barricades by the Magistrates' Courts

cisions regarding this industry, particularly its decision to close the various estates.

And although represented

by a few persons, stakeholders have again called for the removal of VAT on private education.

8 news

tuesdAY, may 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

IN THE COURTS School concert stabbing

Covent Garden youths charged with murder of teen

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wo prime suspects in the fatal stabbing of Covent Garden teen Brian Charles Yearwood were on Monday morning hauled before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on a joint charge of murder.

The charge stated that Shannon Cox, 20, and Andy Damel Peters, 17, unlawfully murdered the 16-year -old on April 29, 2017 at Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Dead: Brian Yearwood

Shannon Cox

Guyana Times had previously reported that Yearwood was fatally stabbed in the chest, in the compound of the Covent Garden Nursery School during a concert hosted by the school.

His grieving mother related that at the time of the incident, her son was sitting on a bench with a few others when a group of older boys started to tease them. She said the boys with whom

Brian was sitting subsequently got up and moved away, but he remained.

The perpetrators upon seeing him alone approached him and began mocking him and allegedly attacking him with bottles, after which the teen ran seeking protection in the direction of some teachers. Yearwood was followed and stabbed in the presence of the teachers. One of the suspects reportedly plunging the knife into his chest and pulling it out. The injured boy began to run, and collapsed only a short distance away.

Initial Police reports had disclosed that a policeman in the area immediately responded to the incident, and with the assistance of other persons, rushed Yearwood to the Diamond hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Investigators later arrested the two suspects, and the murder weapon was reportedly recovered at the

Andy Damel Peters

home of one of the individuals. Yearwood was a former Central High School student, who only transferred to the Covent Garden Secondary September last.

The unrepresented pair were not required to plead to the indictable charge and were ordered to undergo counselling by a Probation Officer. They are expected to make their next court appearance on May 22, 2017 and will remain incarcerated until then.

62-year-old guard slapped with rape charge

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62-year-old security guard, who allegedly lured a teenaged schoolgirl into a house at D’Urban Backlands, Georgetown under the pretext of taking her shopping, was on Monday slapped with a carnal knowledge charge.

On Monday afternoon, Khemraj Jaikaran was taken before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The case was heard in-camera owing to the nature of the offence.

Jaikaran, of Hardenveldt, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, was charged

with the sexual penetration of a minor, allegedly occurring on February 16, 2017 at D’Urban Backlands, Georgetown.

The prosecution is contending that Jaikaran took advantage of a ‘friendly’ relationship by pretending he would accompany the girl to purchase a school bag, but instead he took her to the premises, falsely imprisoned her in a room, and committed the act.

The mother of the schoolgirl, upon checking with the school, realised that her daughter was not there, and the teen later related the details of the

incident when questioned.

However, contradicting the prosecution’s case was defence Attorney Jerome Khan, who claimed that the allegation was concocted by the child’s mother.

Khan argued that the woman had left her phone to charge at the alleged crime scene and had sent the young girl to pick up same.

When Jaikaran related that the phone had already been collected by someone else, the woman demanded some $5000 from him (to replace the phone), but he refused to pay her the stipulated sum.

According to the law-

yer, the woman further attempted to solicit $300,000 from the man by fabricating a tale of sexual assault against her daughter.

In a bail application, Khan stated that his client was not a flight risk, with no pending or prior convictions. He added that Jaikaran was married, with several children and grandchildren, and thereby requested bail in a reasonable sum in these circumstances.

Bail was refused by the Chief Magistrate, and the accused was remanded to prison. The case will continue on May 22.

A brave new world…

A

…in France? lot of folks on the liberal left are breathing a sigh of relief after the votes in France came in with Macron defeating Le Pen by such a huge margin: 66% to her 34%. But your Eyewitness isn’t so sure they have much to celebrate.

Forget all the headlines claiming that Le Pen’s “populist” wings were clipped. First of all, the people she and her father represent are nothing more than racists and fascists in the classic European mould. And what Marine Le Pen’s done is practically double the votes her father received back in 2002 – when everyone thought French liberal values were crumbling! Her garnering more than one-third of the votes in the country that brought us “Liberty! Equality! and Fraternity!!” is a direct repudiation of those values when we consider the French presidential elections.

Here, all the parties – including the two “traditional” Liberal and Socialist ones – field candidates, and in the end it came down to Emmanuel Macron being the one to take on Le Pen. It means that Macron’s going to be President with the very soft support that only came together under his 1-year-old tent in a bid to stop Le Pen. The latter therefore remains the most coherent and united force in France today, and Macron was smart enough to acknowledge that after the elections.

The real test will come in the years ahead. For many analysts, the situation in France is eerily reminiscent of Hitler’s rise to the top in Germany after 1932, when Hindenburg was elected President after the second runoff and Hitler was defeated; but not for long. In successive Federal elections, the Nazis picked up votes and Hitler had to be made Chancellor a year later.

The manoeuvrings of Britain to cut ties with the EU in their Brexit gambit will provide Le Pen with a lot of ammunition in the next two years.

In the meantime, while the French haven’t made an issue of their new President, Macron having a wife who was his high school music teacher will certainly loom its head higher in those two years. The British tabloids are certainly agog!! The point they make is that, if a male teacher – say, the one in the US who ran away with a 15-year-old girl – is dubbed a “paedophile”, what’s so different about the 40-year-old married teacher Brigette having a relationship with the then 15-year-old Macron??

Was it a case of “grooming”?? Even in the “sexually free” French society, Le Pen will make hay of this gift.

During a campaign debate, she pointedly told Macron not to lecture her like a pupil!! …on taxation??

Bisram’s a fella who obviously likes to get under the Government’s skin. The ethnic question is his forte to reveal discrimination and such like against Indians. Now he’s decided to broaden his scope, and suggested in a missive that Government should cut spending rather than increasing taxes on the longsuffering Guyanese people!!

Cut taxation?? Damned heresy!! Bisram obviously hasn’t the slightest clue of how PNC economics operates!! In their “Iron Law of Taxation”, enunciated by then Finance Minister Carl Greenidge back in the eighties – when Jordan was a lowly clerk in Finance – it was clearly stated: “Spending shall be automatically increased on Jobs for the Boys to match ever-increasing taxes”.

Jordan just boasted of the $5 billion extra TAXES extracted over last year; and of course he has ensured the second part of the equation is balanced – Jobs for the Boys!

Did you notice the 5 high-paid legal geezers hired to help the hapless AG?? On top of all the hundreds of military advisers to the Government?? …in drug shortages The Chairman of the Board of GHPC just came up with a new excuse for the drug shortages: folks are going around to the various health centres, collecting drugs and HOARDING THEM!!

Why?? Why ask?? Just blame the people!!

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

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tuesDAY, may 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Skeldon Sugar East Ruimveldt man Estate to be sold on trial for dredge ...Govt to close Rose Hall, Enmore operations

owner’s murder

overnment has announced plans to close two sugar estates, reduce the annual production of sugar, and take on the responsibility of managing the drainage and irrigation services offered by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) as part of a new policy for the sugar industry.

This announcement was made by Agriculture Minister Noel Holder on Monday when he presented a white paper on the future of the industry to Parliament. Holder told the National Assembly that by the end of 2017, the Corporation would have three

ravis McDougal who was accused of killing 43-year-old dredge owner Ashok Raghu outside the Botanical Gardens on Vlissengen Road, Georgetown in August 2014, is standing trial at the High Court in Georgetown.

In July 2015, McDougal was committed to stand trial for murder, along with pork-knocker Jermaine Otto, who was one of the prisoners that perished in the deadly Camp Street Prison fire, following riots in March 2016.

McDougal, of East Ruimveldt Housing

G

available for diversification purposes. The Enmore factory will be closed at the end of 2017 when all cane would be harvested. The East Coast Estates would be earmarked for diversification,” Holder added.

Shifting his attention to the Skeldon Estate, Holder said plans were in place to have the Estate sold. The funds generated from this would go towards reducing the Corporation’s debt and supporting its capital programmes for both sugar and the diversification initiatives.

The Minister believes that these adjustments mean that

The Skeldon Estate

estates and three sugar factories.

These estates are: Blairmont on the West Bank of Berbice, Albion-Rose Hall in East Berbice and the Uitvlugt-Wales Estate in West Demerara. The three estates will be complete with factories and will have cane supplied from all locations, according to the Minister.

The Agriculture Minister claimed that this process would result in improving the relationship with some cane cutters, estate staff and about 1710 private cane farmers, adding that GuySuCo’s sugar operations will be limited to the Albion-Rose Hall, Blairmont and UitvlugtWales Estates.

“Albion and Rose Hall Estates’ cultivation will be amalgamated. This will result in the closure of the Rose Hall factory at the end of 2017.

Some lands will be made

GuySuCo would be scaled down into an entity that focuses on producing sugar to satisfy the domestic and foreign markets that provide preferential access to local sugar. This entails taking advantage of the opportunity to merge what he described as “better performing lands to operate factories more efficiently”.

Reduced production

Holder also revealed plans to cut sugar production to approximately 147,000 tonnes per annum. This, according to him, will satisfy the demand in the local market (25,000 tonnes per annum); Caricom and other regional markets (50,000-60,000 tonnes per annum); the United States (12,500 tonnes per annum) and the world market (50,000 tonnes per annum).

“Focus would be on pro-

costs from the Government.

GuySuCo currently operates a number of health centres and dispensaries in the Berbice and Demerara areas.

Employment of labour

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder

ducing for direct consumption value-added sugars and providing electricity to the national grid (co-generation),” he added.

Apart from restructuring the estates and factories, GuySuCo also plans to change the State charges for the drainage and irrigation and health services that it provides to the communities.

“Recovery of drainage and irrigation charges will be made from the Government of Guyana. GuySuCo, from the inception, has been assisting with the drainage and irrigation of surrounding communities. This has allowed for approximately 40 per cent of GuySuCo’s annual drainage and irrigation costs,” he stated.

As part of these changes, Government will allow the Corporation the option to make transferrals to the Government or recovery of

Meanwhile, in addressing the fears of many people working within the industry, Holder affirmed that GuySuCo would retain as many workers as needed for all operations on the merged estates and factories.

“Employees are to be leased land by GuySuCo to engage in crops (crop types to be decided by GuySuCo and the Ministry of Agriculture)…

GuySuCo also proposes to surrender land for lease to employees for them to engage in agricultural production. The resources that exist under the “Green Economy” and “Regional Food SelfSufficiency” drive would support their efforts.”

A decision was taken last year to close Wales Factory, on the West Bank of Demerara. The operations have since partially been integrated with Uitvlugt Estate’s.

However, workers attached to the now defunct estate are still awaiting full payment of severance benefits.

A Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into GuySuCo had recommended that the Corporation be privatised within three years. It also recommended that a serious evaluation of all diversification options be conducted to avoid total reliance on sugar for GuySuCo’s revenues.

Sugar has remained one of the biggest foreign currency earners, along with rice and gold, in Guyana.

T

Deceased accused: Jermaine Otto

Scheme, Georgetown, and his accomplice were both accused of killing Raghu on August 18, 2014, during the furtherance of a robbery of $4 million, committed on the now deceased man and his wife, Shyrazadi.

On Monday, a 12-member jury was empanelled to hear the case in which 17

Accused: Travis McDougal

witnesses are expected to testify. McDougal, who has pleaded not guilty to the charge, is being represented by defence counsel Nigel Hughes.

It was contended that on the day in question, the couple were in their car, PGG 8291, and stopped at the traffic light at the Vlissengen and Regent Roads junction. McDougal and an accomplice allegedly pulled up on a CG motorcycle alongside the driver’s side of the vehicle and shot Raghu to his chest.

It had been further alleged that one of the men grabbed a haversack containing $4 million, but Raghu’s wife held on to the haversack and was shot in the thigh. Raghu was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The State’s case is being led by Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy. The trial begins before Justice Navindra Singh this morning.

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guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, may 9, 2017

News Tuschen accident

Family of 4-year-old to seek audience with Opposition Leader

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he grandmother of fouryear-old Ramkarran Mohan who was almost two months ago killed by an errant driver has announced that she, along with his parents and other family members, will be seeking an audience with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

According to the woman, Bibi Nazoom Khan, in an effort to get justice for Mohan, the family will appeal to the Opposition Leader to look into the issue as “it has been too long now”. Khan told Guyana Times that her family would be meeting with the Commander of D Division (West Demerara), Leslie James on Tuesday and following that meeting, would make their next move.

“No one contacted us for months now; we are not hearing anything and I need someone to look into this matter. I don’t care how far I have to go to get justice,” Khan related.

Currently, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)

Four-year-old Ramkarran Mohan

has ordered a further inquest into the matter to determine whether the female driver should be held liable.

However, Khan said that this was frustrating her family members, especially the parents of Mohan, since they were told by their lawyer that nothing could be done until the DPP made a decision.

The grandmother also re-

vealed that information reaching her family indicated that the aunt of the driver who struck the lad was allegedly a Magistrate.

As such, she stated: “These people have position, so we have to look for other alternatives to get justice for our baby.”

It was also disclosed to this publication that presently, the husband of the female driver has allegedly been sending threats to the family.

They also claimed that the driver was back on the road, adding that she now drove a new tinted vehicle.

Khan disclosed that they would be launching protest actions based on the response they received from the Commander, to seek an audience with the Opposition Leader. Mohan, called “Ram”, of Lot 1088 Tuschen New Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), died at the West Demerara Regional Hospital after he was struck

and dragged under a moving car, a short distance from his house.

On the day of the accident, the child was walking with his uncle and brother after purchasing a ball when he was struck.

Reports are that the driver continued driving after hitting the child, and it was only after the teenaged uncle of the boy ran in front of her vehicle did she stop.

The child was picked up and rushed to the Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. A post-mortem examination conducted on his body revealed that his death was as a result of a fractured skull and brain damage. Following his demise, the female driver, whose father is reportedly a presidential guard, was released on selfbail, and she has since been seen in the area.

The family had launched a protest calling for justice to be served for Mohan, but is still awaiting such.

Benjai’s assault

Wanted bulletin issued for Maverick DeAbreu

T

he Guyana Police Force on Monday issued a wanted bulletin for Maverick DeAbreu for questioning in relation to an attack on Trinidadian Soca sensation Rodney LeBlanc, also

called Benjai, and Tiffany and Jamele Hubbard, which occurred outside a popular Main Street night spot on April 16, 2017.

DeAbreu is also accused of discharging a loaded firearm

at Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

The 27-year-old man is accused of hitting LeBlanc to the face with a glass bottle, causing him to suffer severe injuries during an argument moments after the Soca artiste

Maverick DeAbreu

wrapped up a concert.

While information remains sketchy about the circumstances surrounding the incident, Guyana Times understands there was indeed a heated argument between the Soca artiste, who was allegedly heavily intoxicated, and a taxi driver. It was reported that three of the six ladies who were with Benjai were leaning on the taxi driver’s car and although he asked them to desist from doing so, they continued.

It was at this time, the artiste reportedly started to hit the back of the car with the bottle he had in his hand.

Reports are the driver came out of his car and Benjai reportedly advanced towards him. However, after seeing the commotion outside, DeAbreu allegedly rushed out and dealt the singer one blow to his face with a bottle.

It was reported that earlier in the night, Benjai had misbehaved with DeAbreu’s girlfriend. Meanwhile, the Police are asking anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of DeAbreu to contact them on telephone numbers 225-6411, 226-1389, or 911, or at the nearest police station.

All information will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Two years later: The PNC-led coalition is in dire straits

M

y position in writing a weekly column is not to defend this regime; that is the role of the tabloids and the state-run media.

I believe, however, in the engagement of constructive criticism with the intention of moving Guyana forward. In this regard, I criticize this regime for not listening attentively to what the average person is saying about its unscuttled and dismal performance since it slipped into power two years ago with a razor-thin majority.

I advise that there should be no slow march to the aforesaid concern, but there should be swift and immediate action.

I am not alone in this observation. Large sections of Guyana’s population, including the extremists and propagandists who have helped to put the regime in power, are unhappy with the current sad state of affairs, and are concerned about their future. They hear continuous unfulfilled promises and schmoozing. They recognize concealed schisms within the coalition. They see and feel a steady decline in agriculture, in trade and in commerce. They see markets for rice and logs Dr Lomarsh Roopnarine have dried up, while taxes have increased. They are waiting to vote the regime out of power in 2020. But they are nervously concerned about rigging of the election, another beast of burden creeping furtively on the Guyanese psyche. They have become emotionally bankrupted.

Last year, in this same space, I analyzed the regime’s first year in office and said this: “I believe the 100 days manifesto from the current regime is the wickedest propaganda pamphlet dished out to Guyanese in the history of Guyana. No other government in Guyana and the English-speaking Caribbean has ever lied so blatantly and flippantly to the people in the first year in power than the current coalition regime. If the coalition can meet 15 per cent of what is written in the manifesto in 1000, not 100 days, I would be floored”. My position has not changed. Actually, and like so many others, I am still waiting for the promised “good life” to happen; with the hope that politicians rinse themselves from, and rise above, this national embarrassment and mental embezzlement; come clean, and deliver.

There is a growing consensus among households -- and even to distant observers -- that the current regime is incompetent, self-centred, intellectually lazy, visionless, corrupt, and party paramountcy-influenced. This is not the time to laugh and giggle, but to think seriously about what image this regime skirts to the public. Have you ever listened to the President’s weekly “Press” meeting, The Public Interest? Apart from the President appearing and operating on calm, cool and collective ethos, you would think -- after listening to the press meeting -- that Guyana is the greatest country in the region. The reporters are mainly from the coalition supporters, and they have scripted questions.

The peddled thought that this regime is doing well is a misrepresentation, because its actions, on close scrutiny, reveal that it continues to under-perform. There has not been any meaningful investment other than the reliance on oil finds; and according to public information, details on what, when and who would benefit from oil revenues are still shrouded in secrecy. Apart from occasional splashy public announcements, the regime has not offered any concrete plan and program to instill confidence in the Guyanese people on how oil revenues would make Guyana a better country.

Sound political interventions, coupled with will and capacity that are so needed to transform society, are seriously missing.

What is noticeable instead is corruption, which has become a daily staple in the news.

One does not have to be politically or psychologically savvy to understand why this regime and country is trapped in a cesspool of problems. I do not have the time to single out the sociopaths within this regime, but declare that a majority of the current leaders in Government were moulded under one of the most notorious dictatorships in the Caribbean. Their so-called largerthan-life political personality, according to some, was nourished and nurtured during the period when Guyana sure felt like Hell on Earth. Even those in the then opposition -- now undisputed heroes within the coalition regime -- have displayed sociopathic logical behaviours, having once so much hate for the PNC (my generation was caught in this) to now displaying unswerving love for the PNC. Obviously, any normal individual would prefer love over loathe, but when these politically-led individuals show that vital missing seventh sense – conscience -- then we are naturally and nationally concerned what their next move would be. We have already seen a lack of conscience towards agriculture, taxes, and so on. How to transform guiltless, non-violent political behaviour is beyond the scope of this column, but the high incidences of sociopathy from the regime are simply unbearable. I would say more than 50 percent of the Guyanese public is clinically traumatized by the regime’s tyrannical policies.

Arguably, the current crop of politicians is guided not by the duties of leadership, but by the rights of leadership, in which political office is used for personal gain. Examples of such rights to leadership are ubiquitous: massive increase of salary; awarding of Government scholarships, and so forth.

What is most troubling is that, after two years in office, the regime is in dire straits, struggling to meet promises and goals in regard to growth and development for the next three years. I expect in the next year more political episodes that will march us towards more decadence, more despair and more disappointment.

The regime’s game plan now is to embarrass, malign, discredit and silence the opposition through witch-hunting and punitive machinations, while distracting the Guyanese public from its internal squabbling, hypochondriac reactions and ineptitude to deliver. Moreover, I do not dismiss the regime’s secret plan on how to rig the 2020 election. I do hope I am wrong. (lomarsh.roopnarine@jsums.edu).

tuesDAY, may 9, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

11

News

Lindeners stress difficulties in accessing health care, medical drugs

L

indeners have expressed concern over a number of healthcare issues affecting them.

Those range from little or no access to pertinent pharmaceutical drugs to inaccessibility to specialised healthcare in the community, to lack of an elderly-care facility.

These concerns were raised by residents of the Constabulary Compound and Industrial Area in the presence of Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Karen Cummings, during a recent ministerial outreach to Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Residents are particularly concerned that, despite declarations that the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) is well-equipped, their loved ones are often referred to Georgetown to access specialised care. As one resident pointed out, people travel from as far as Kwakwani, Mahdia, Ituni and other interior locations to seek health care in Linden, but they, too, are forwarded to the Georgetown hospital (GPHC).

“As of recent – and I can personally relate to this – I (began to) think the Linden Hospital Complex is becoming a referral hospital,” the resident stressed, as he went on to share an experience in which his son had been admitted to the health institution but had to be transferred to the Georgetown Hospital.

“It was at great expense to me…We have the space, we have the facilities, why is it that we can’t be able to handle drugs?” As a result, the hospital’s ambulance would usually make several trips to Georgetown,” the resident explained.

Responding, the minister acknowledged that the resident had made a very good point. She promised to engage the Director of Regional Health Services in this regard, and highlighted the need for more specialists to be placed at regional hospitals. She also acknowledged that “some of the best” are at the Georgetown Hospital. “…because what we’re trying to do is put specialist doctors at the various regional hospitals… It’s a work in progress. We need more specialists, so what we’re doing (is) training some doctors in the residency programmes. So after they’ve finished training, they’ll come back and work full-time,” she posited.

Pensioner Richard Hooper also pointed out that he has difficulty with receiving eye medications at the Linden Hospital.

“When you go to the hospital, you don’t get the medication that the doctor rec-

Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Karen Cummings

ommended. 95 percent of the time you got to go on the road and buy the medicine; and I am a pensioner, I can’t afford it. I have problems with my eyes and I have to buy eye drops…they don’t have it at the hospital,” he lamented.

The minister pointed to the need for the community television station to be up and running, so that patients can be educated on when drugs are available.

“When drugs come, we want you to go and get the drugs. So we can tell you when it leave MMU (Materials Management Unit) to come here, so you can trace it, and hold these people accountable,” she explained.

Another resident also pointed to her struggle with accessing her prescription drug, Daflon. Showing her swollen feet, she noted that she depends on the drug and is required to take it

twice daily.

“When it (drug) come to the hospital, you don’t get it, but (if you should) go to another pharmacy, you would find that same drug (there). When that come, you don’t hear, much less see, it. I can’t afford to buy one for one hundred dollars,” she stressed.

Although she said this appears to be the case countrywide, the minister promised to look into the situation of drugs being available at the hospitals.

Other residents complained that when they go to the hospital, they’re told that drugs are unavailable.

However, upon returning when drugs are available, they are given drugs which are close to being expired.

The minister said it is her hope that pharmacists know how to perform their job well, since quality care is priority. She also said there is need to monitor and support the supervision of pharmacy assistants.

“What you find happening is that we just train them and put them there, and nobody is there to supervise them…you must give them support and supervision, so that they can learn as well on the job,” she asserted.

Resident Shirley Fordyce said the need for a place to house the elderly in the community is a burning issue for her. “Those persons from Linden that don’t have relatives, and we have to take them to the Palms, I’m actually begging if we can get a part of the old hospital or any other place…I’m

Linden Hospital Complex

going twice a week to see a lady in the Palms. I don’t work, I’m a widow and an

accident victim and I does got to go,” she lamented as she suggested that a part of

the former LHC building be utilised as a home for the elderly. (Utamu Belle)

12 news

tuesDAY, may 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Rice farmers protest Govt’s attempts to cripple agriculture sector

H

erman Ramjit is just one of the many farmers who fell prey to the empty promise of being paid $9000 per bag of paddy, made when the APNU/AFC Coalition Administration was on the campaign trail.

with the sweet words they come and put forward to abbi. And when time come now, they can’t even come see what we doing. And me organise people to join the party,” he expressed. “Me had so much of confidence in our Prime Minister, Mr

and you get less, then foreign exchange dries up and then that has a spin-off to affect every single section of our economy. Once the rate of foreign exchange starts to move, then cost of living starts to go up,” he explained.

is also disappointed over its implementation of draconian policies which are already hurting the agriculture sector.

Ramjit was among several other rice farmers who were protesting outside of the Ministry of

Herman Ramjit

Rice farmers picketing the Ministry of the Presidency and the Agriculture Ministry

The AFC component, which had significant support in traditional farming communities, was the main advocate of this promise.

Today a bag of paddy costs some $2600, and Ramjit, also an AFC member, is highly disappointed in the APNU/AFC Administration.

“I had so much confidence in these people them,

Moses Nagamootoo, with all them sweet promises he come and tell we; and when time come now, nothing at all! He nah even come visit abbi. He nah even come tell the people, ‘Thank you all fuh voting meh’. Never!”

This rice farmer is not only disappointed in the Government’s failure to keep its promises regarding the price of paddy, but

the Presidency and the Agriculture Ministry on Monday. Their grouse is the increase in land rental rates imposed by the Mahaica/Mahaicony Abary/ Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) earlier this year.

Head of the Rice Producers Association, Dharamkumar Seeraj, has challenged the

Government to rationalise why farmers should pay more for a service that is not improving.

“Overall, it’s a backward move by the Government to bring about these increases; bearing in mind (that) when farmers lose due to flood or due to drought, the Government don’t compensate them. Bearing in mind also (that Government hasn’t) done anything to improve the conditions of the lands,” he emphasised.

He also posited that a significant number of farmers were struggling to pay the previous fees, thus imposing higher rates would only cripple the agriculture sector.

Seeraj, a parliamentarian, also lamented the added burdens which are prevailing as a result of the 14 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on agricultural products.

“It is a backward move to tax agriculture, to tax your exports. If exports dry up

heeds their cries.

Among the changes they find objectionable are the new ones for drainage and irrigation for lands located from Profit village to Rosignol village. Those rates have moved from $2500 per year to $8000 per year. This represents a $5500 increase on charges. And farm lands that fall within the MMA Rice Development Scheme will now cost farmers $7000 per year, whereas they used to pay $1241 less during last year.

Those who pay monthly for the lands will now have to fork out $666, whereas they used to pay $583 up

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

Seeraj also disclosed that a significant number of farmers were struggling to pay the previous fees, and he said imposing higher rates would only cripple the agriculture sector.

“The RPA has had a discussion with the Board of the MMA/ADA…and they said that, even at the previous rates, farmers were unable to pay it. That is why… the arrears of the MMA/ ADA (are) somewhere in the vicinity of more than $4 million,” he posited.

Rice farmers have, for months, been protesting, and have pledged to continue so doing until Government

Dharamkumar Seeraj

until end of 2016.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder has defended these increases by insisting that he does not want to create another “GuySuCo situation”, wherein taxpayers continue to subsidise the sugar company. (Devina Samaroo)

Linden woman remanded for cocaine possession

M

arsha Reese of Victory Valley, Linden in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraUpper Berbice) found herself before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Monday morning to answer to a charge of cocaine trafficking.

The 35-year-old woman pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on

May 4, she had in her possession 197.6 grams of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

According to the prosecution, Police Officers acting on information raided the woman’s premises and she attempted to flee with a black bag in her hand. She was intercepted, and the bag was found to contain a substance suspected to be

cocaine.

It is further alleged that the woman confessed to “selling” the illicit drug in a caution statement.

Reese was represented

by Attorney-at-Law Adrian Thompson. Bail was refused and she was remanded to prison pending the outcome of her trial. She is set to return to court on May 17, 2017.

Pawnshop owner remanded for unlicensed gun, ammo

F

reeman Fordyce, proprietor of Brothers Pawn Shop, was arraigned on Monday before City Magistrate Judy Latchman on a charge alleging that he had in his possession one Smith & Wesson 9 mm pistol along with 15 live rounds of matching ammunition on May 5, 2017 at George and Princess Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, when he was not the holder of a firearm licence.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge, and his le-

gal counsel, Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes, related that since his arrest, Fordyce had denied ownership of the weapon and ammunition which were found on the premises of the said pawnshop.

In petitioning for bail, Hughes told the court that his client is a businessman of 25 years’ standing; is not a flight risk; and there is no likelihood of his interfering with the ongoing investigations.

The prosecutor, however,

objected to bail being granted the accused on grounds of the seriousness and gravity of the offence, and the penalty attached to the felony. He said that police facts differ from those detailed by the defence, in that the weapon and ammunition were found in the pants crotch of the accused when police swooped down on the premises and carried out a search on the property.

The accused was refused bail, and was remanded to prison until May 22, 2017.

news

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tuesDAY, May 9, 2017| guyanatimesgy.com

Blocked, broken kokers UG students make donations blamed for city’s flooding to Dharm Shala in Berbice A

broken koker door is to be blamed for the flash flooding that occurred in Albouystown, Georgetown on Saturday last, resulting in the streets in the ward being under some six inches of water.

City Councillor Malcolm Ferreira, who has responsibility for the wards of Albouystown and Charlestown, detailed his experience to his fellow councillors at Monday’s statutory meeting of the Council as follows: “On Saturday night into Sunday morning, I saw the level of water started to come up in Albouystown; but in Charlestown it remained how it was. I went to the koker and, unfortunately, I was told by the attendant that the door wasn’t closed properly; and this was like around 2:30 in the morning, and you could see the water bubbling, and the place started to become flooded even though there was no heavy rainfall.”

Ferreira was seeking clarity from City Engineer Colvern Venture, who related that he had been aware of the situation but did not know it had resulted in flooding.

“That (the situation with the door not closing properly) was reported to me by the foreman, and he reported that the door was not closing; and I did indicate to him to monitor the situation and report if the water affects persons; and he did not report back to me, so I assumed the water was contained to the drain,” Venture explained.

Expressing her dissatisfaction at the incident, Mayor Patricia Chase-Green explained that she became aware that two pumps in the city were not functioning after an inspection had been carried out on May 1.

She said that upon her inspection she discovered that the Kingston Pump had not been working for a number of weeks, and another pump at Princess Street, Albouystown

Mayor Patricia Chase Green

Councillor Malcolm Ferreira

was also not functioning.

She added that she informed Town Clerk Royston King and City Engineer Colvern Venture of what she had discovered, and the City Engineer indicated to her that he was not receiving the support of his officers.

“After I would have visited the pumps and kokers, things that could not have been done in weeks (were) done within 48 hours… But what I am saying (is) that it should not have been brought to this level after weeks -that these officers are given tasks to ensure that this work was done,” she said.

“I would like to ask that this matter be deferred to the Human Resource Management Committee, where some disciplinary action should be taken. Why should we wait for someone senior to visit these pumps for action to be taken to have them working? It is unfortunate, and the persons (who) suffer are the citizens,” Chase-Green added.

City Engineer Venture, however, informed the Council that all the pumps and sluices are now fully functional. “The forestry (Kingston) pump: there were some issues with the batteries, and that was corrected; the Princess Street pump: that pump was out of opera-

tion since the 26th of January, 2017 because a piece of wood went into the propeller and it caused severe damages to several components of the pump. And we were able to receive those components in April, and since then we were working to have that pump working,” he related.

“In addition to that, there was an issue with the Cowan Street (Kingston) sluice. That sluice was out of operation for a few weeks, and that was fixed on May 6, and all the sluices and pumps are in operation,” Venture informed.

Town Clerk Royston King, explaining that he was aware of the issue of officers not executing their duties, said he had brought the matter to the attention of the Human Resources Manager, and that disciplinary action would be taken.

“I have already instructed the Human Resources Manager, and I have fixed a special HR meeting for the following Tuesday (May 23), to have those officers placed before that committee to answer charges of negligence,” he said. Sometime in March, Mayor ChaseGreen had warned the City Engineer (Venture) to take control of his department, or the Council would be forced to take action.

Bowing to political...

FROM PAGE 3

Justice Holder, in what he described as a report and not a complaint to the Judiciary, said he walked out of the courtroom without adjourning the matter as a result of Williams’s behaviour, but the AG said numerous times that there was no need for an apology to be issued. In a letter dated May 4, 2017, which was addressed to the Attorney General, Prime Minister Nagamootoo raised concerns about having a fair trial in light of the incident.

“I am a Respondent in the matter at caption and I am writing you in your capacity as my Attorney-at-Law herein. Due to an alleged inci-

dent between yourself and Justice Franklyn Holder in his Honour’s court on March 23, 2017 in the above-mentioned suit and His Honour's subsequent petition to the Honourable Chancellor against the Attorney General on the issue of the alleged incident, I am of the opinion that neither the State, nor l, will receive fair hearing in the matter…,” the Prime Minister had stated.

“In view of the foregoing, therefore, I authorise you to request that the Honourable Mr Justice Holder recuse himself from further hearing the matter,” he continued in the letter, which was forwarded to both the Chancellor

of the Judiciary (ag) and Chief Justice (ag), as well as President David Granger.

One day prior to that, Defence Attorney Nandlall had accused the Prime Minister and AG Williams of engaging in “juvenile antics”, saying that the letter of request to the Judge was a “plot” that in effect “undermines” the tenets of democracy.

Nandlall had further highlighted that the principle of separation of powers may be under threat.

Justice Holder has deferred the Carvil Duncan case to the Chief Justice (ag) and the Chancellor (ag).

UG students handing over donations to occupants of the Dharm Shala home

S

tudents of the University of Guyana, Tain Campus, on Monday donated an array of household articles to occupants of the male ward of the Dharm Shala home in Canje, Berbice.

The group consisted of a total of 11 students attached to the Faculty of Education who are presently in their final year.

Among the items donated were curtains, bed sheets, pillow cases, floral arrangements, wall paintings and detergent for the enhancement and upkeep of the ward which the men occupy.

This initiative is part of a creative arts project, with the objective being to improve the lives of these persons who have been neglected by their relatives, and counts towards the

completion of the students’ Art 3212 course.

The UG students pointed out that they selected the Dharm Shala home in Canje so as to assist the occupants who are of various age groups and are living with different disabilities or other personal challenges.

Furthermore, it was a way of showing appreciation for the contributions made by the residents during their time of service to society. This is particularly significant given that some of the occupants were once teachers, Police Officers, cane harvesters, businessmen and businesswomen. One adolescent also resides at the home.

The students were delighted for the opportunity to give back to these individuals, with one student saying, “Our creative art

will aid in comforting these persons and also provide various cognitive and aesthetic benefits.” The student went on to say, “We need more compassionate, giving, and creative persons in our society.”

Guyana Times understands that the students made a visit to the home and asked questions related to the needs of the persons residing there. It was after the enquiries that they discovered that the Dharm Shala could benefit from the art project, given that residents of the charitable institution were in need of the contributions.

The class of arts and education majors expressed gratitude to their professor, Philbert Gajadhar, for affording them the opportunity to donate their final-year art project to the Dharm Shala home.

14

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesdAY, may 9, 2017

Regional

Venezuelan Opposition boycotts meeting St Kitts-Nevis Opposition seeks PM’s resignation on Maduro assembly, clashes rage amid brewing scandal

V

enezuela's Opposition boycotted a meeting on Monday to discuss President Nicolás Maduro's plan for a new popular assembly, preferring to protest in the streets where they were again blocked by security forces firing tear gas.

In familiar scenes from five weeks of unrest, youths with gas masks and makeshift shields faced off with Police and National Guard troops in Caracas, after hundreds of demonstrators were stopped from reaching Government offices.

In Venezuela's second city, Maracaibo, a crowd of about 300 protesters shouting "Maduro Out!" and "No to Dictatorship!" was dispersed with multiple volleys of tear gas.

Decrying Maduro as an autocrat who has wrecked the nation's economy, Venezuela's Opposition is demanding elections to resolve the grave political crisis.

T

Opposition supporters clash with riot Police during a rally against President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, May 8, 2017

The 54-year-old successor to Hugo Chávez says his foes are seeking a coup with US support. He is setting up a "constituent assembly" super body with power to rewrite the Constitution and shake up public powers.

But no representatives of the Opposition Democratic Unity coalition went to the

Caribbean scientists working to limit climate impact on marine environment

In the Turks and Caicos, the Government is searching for new ways to manage the conch and lobster populations (Photo Credit: Zadie

C

Neufville/IPS)

aribbean scientists say fishermen are already seeing the effects of climate change, so for a dozen or so years they’ve been designing systems and strategies to reduce the impacts on the industry.

While some work on reef gardens and strategies to repopulate over fished areas, others crunch the data and develop tools designed to prepare the Region, raise awareness of climate change issues and provide the information to help leaders make decisions.

In December 2017, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Secretariat, with funding from the United Kingdom Government, announced a Climate Report Card to help formulate strategies to lessen the impact of climate change on regional fisheries.

“The CRFM is trying to ensure that the issue of climate change as it relates to the fisheries sector comes to the fore… because the Caricom Heads of Government have put fish and fishery products among the priority commodities for Caricom. It means that things that affect that development are important to us and so climate change is of primary importance,” said Peter Murray, the CRFM’s Programme Manager for Fisheries and Development.

The grouping of small, developing states are ‘fortifying’ the sectors that rely on the marine environment, or the Blue Economy, to withstand the expected ravages of climate change which scientists say will increase the intensity of hurricanes, droughts, coastal sea level rise and coral bleaching. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Miraflores presidential palace on Monday despite an invitation from Education Minister Elias Jaua, who is leading the constituent assembly process.

"It's a trick to keep themselves in power," said Julio Borges, leader of the National Assembly legislature where the opposition

won a majority in 2015.

"The only way to resolve this crisis is with a free vote."

The unrest has killed at least 37 people since early April, including protesters, Government sympathisers, bystanders, and security forces. Hundreds have also been hurt and arrested.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

he Government of St Kitts and Nevis had not responded on Saturday to a call by the Leader of the Opposition, Dr Denzil Douglas, for the resignation of Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris, or other allegations levelled by Douglas in relation to a Chinese economic citizen resident in the federation who is wanted in China on financial charges.

In a statement issued on Friday, Douglas accused the Prime Minister of rebuffing calls for cooperation with Interpol and China.

He said, "Despite formal requests by China, as well as Interpol, to secure the return of Mr Ren Biao from St Kitts-Nevis to face prosecution in China, the current St Kitts-Nevis Government is refusing to cooperate."

He added that while the Government has said there was no formal request from China, he was reliably in-

formed that there had indeed been several requests to the Government from a Caribbean Head of State whose country has diplomatic relations with China.

Harris has not heeded the urgings of his fellow Caribbean Heads of Government to cooperate with the Government of China and with Interpol, Douglas said.

He accused the Prime Minister of exposing the country to severe and multifaceted consequences and of stoutly refusing to provide a full account of the matter or to revoke Biao’s passport and do all that is necessary to stem this international scandal.

He concluded, "I, therefore, on behalf of the Opposition call upon the Prime Minister to tender his resignation and to allow our great country to move beyond the quagmire in which he has placed it." (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

PAHO says more needs to be done to address traffic speed in Caribbean T

he Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) says more needs to be done in the Americas, including the Caribbean, to address traffic management as this is the key to saving lives and making cities more livable.

PAHO noted that 17 countries in the Americas have already set maximum speed limits of less than 50 km/h in urban areas, “which conform to best practices”, add-

ing that three countries have given local authorities leeway to reduce the limits further.

“Control at the local level is important, so lower speed limits can be set in populated or vulnerable areas such as those near schools or health facilities,” PAHO said. “However, laws on speed limits must be accompanied by strict compliance, so that they are effective and thus save lives.”

Only one country in the Americas describes its compliance with these laws as “good”, according to a PAHO report on Road Safety in the Region of the Americas.

“The Region of the Americas has made progress in adopting standards that limit speed in urban areas, but it needs to further strengthen the application of these standards to reduce deaths and injuries due to traffic,” said Eugenia

Rodriguez, PAHO's regional adviser on road safety.

He said speed management measures include building or modifying roads to include features that slow traffic, such as roundabouts and speed bumps; establishing speed limits appropriate to the function of each road; and enforcing speed limits through the use of manual and automated controls.

(Excerpt from CMC)

Commonwealth election observers in The Bahamas

C

ommonwealth election observers in The Bahamas "will act impartially and independently”, the group’s chair, Hanna Tetteh, a former Foreign Minister of Ghana, said in a statement issued on behalf of the Commonwealth observer group. The team arrived on May 3 to observe the advance polls and will be observing the country’s general election on May 10.

It is the first time the Commonwealth has observed elections to the Bahamian Parliament.

“Our task as the Commonwealth observer group is to consider all the factors, to our knowledge, that would impact the credibility of the electoral process as a whole,” the former Foreign Minister said.

“We will consider, among other things, the

Chairperson of Commonwealth Observer Group, Hanna Tetteh

general preparedness of the country’s electoral systems and processes – including whether there is a level playing field that allows all political parties and all

candidates to take their campaigns to the Bahamian people, whether the voter register was compiled in such a way that all eligible voters who chose to regis-

ter the vote had the ability to do so, and whether sufficiently robust mechanisms exist to ensure the integrity of the register.”

“Additionally, we will consider whether the State apparatus and public media are impartial; whether freedom of expression is provided for; whether voters are free to express their will; and whether the results process is transparent and timely.”

Tetteh added that she was “greatly honoured” to have been asked to lead the observer group, which includes independent experts from Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, and Guyana.

The observers are expected to issue an interim statement of their preliminary findings shortly after the elections. (Excerpt from Caribbean

News Now)

tuesDAY, may 9, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

15

Around the World

Polls open in South China human rights lawyer Xie Korea presidential Yang ‘admits being brainwashed’ election A Chinese court says a prominent human rights lawyer, Xie Yang, has admitted being "brainwashed" overseas at his trial for inciting subversion. It released transcripts in which he says he was trained in Hong Kong and South Korea to "develop Western constitutionalism

in China".

In a video, he denies being maltreated since his arrest in July 2015.

The lawyer's wife and human rights activists have both said that Xie was tortured in custody.

His trial appears to have been held without advance public warning, the BBC's

John Sudworth reports from Beijing, and there was no way foreign journalists could verify the court transcripts which, like the video, were released on Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter.

He is one of a number of prominent lawyers put on trial recently who have mostly represented land

grab victims and campaigners for democratic reform.

Such cases are considered highly sensitive by the authorities.

President Xi Jinping has overseen increasing restrictions on civil society while warning that Western ideals present a threat to national security. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Huge blast rocks downtown Mogadishu Voters are choosing between 13 candidates

P

olls have opened in South Korea's presidential election, called early after a corruption scandal that brought down President Park Geun-hye.

Left-leaning Moon Jaein is the clear front-runner with centrist Ahn Cheol-soo his nearest challenger.

The election is being closely watched at a time of heightened tensions with North Korea.

Moon wants to increase contact with the North – in contrast to Park who cut almost all ties to Pyongyang.

BBC Korea correspondent Stephen Evans says this could lead to tensions with Washington.

On the final day of campaigning, Moon called for an "overwhelming victory", saying it would help to heal a national divide caused by the downfall and impeachment of conservative Park.

Ahn, campaigning in swing states, said he was still confident he could win the election.

In March, Park became the first South Korean

President to be removed from power by impeachment and is due to stand trial on charges of bribery and abuse of power. She has denied any wrongdoing.

Moon narrowly lost to Park in the last presidential election in 2012.

He has been critical of the two previous conservative administrations for failing to stop North Korea's weapons development.

He says he favours a twotrack approach to encourage change, using increased dialogue alongside sanctions.

If US President Donald Trump pursues a hard line against the North – especially if it stages another nuclear test – Moon's approach could cause greater tension between Seoul and Washington.

As well as North Korea, domestic issues are high on the agenda for voters. All the candidates are promising to protect the fragile recovery in South Korea's economy and to bring down youth unemployment, which remains stubbornly high. (BBC News)

A

car-bomb blast hit the heart of Somalia's capital on Monday, killing at least five people and wounding 20 others, Police said. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility in a statement on its website.

Mostaf Abdi Abshir, a journalist with Radio Shabelle, told Al Jazeera the vehicle laden with explosives detonated near a coffee shop opposite of the immigration directorate.

"I heard a huge explosion on Maka al-Mukarama street and saw at least seven injured people," Abshir said.

Police Officer Hussein Nor Mohamed told Al Jazeera the death toll currently was five.

Major Aden Ibrahim, a police official, told Reuters news agency the attack was carried out by a suicide

A car burns in the Somali capital after exploding on Monday in the city centre [Abdirisak Mohamud Tuuryare/Al Jazeera]

bomber.

Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of AMIN ambulances, said his organisation had removed eight bod-

ies from the scene and taken more than two dozen wounded to hospital.

"The death toll may rise," he said.

Indian Air Force takes “7000 bodies buried” aim at gender norms beneath Mississippi the sky, the country's air force has taken aim at gender stereotypes.

A new video challenges the idea that women should be at home and not alongside their male counterparts in the air force.

It has been viewed more than 23,000 times on one YouTube channel alone.

In June 2016, the Indian Air Force inducted its first three female fighter pilots.

At the time, women made up just 2.5 per cent of India's armed forces, working in mainly non-combat roles. (BBC

university

Tough task ahead after Macron’s victory in France L E Syrian peace talks to T reconvene in Geneva Reach for the skies – says the Indian Air Force's new recruitment advert

mmanuel Macron took his first steps as France's Presidentelect on Monday, but faces a tough task establishing a team that can govern effectively.

His party has announced it is changing name from En Marche to La Republique En Marche (Republic on the Move).

It must pick candidates quickly ahead of parliamentary elections on June11 and 18. It wants to be the biggest party, but at the moment has no seats at all.

Macron beat the far right's Marine Le Pen by 66.1 per cent to 33.9 per cent on Sunday.

But a low turnout and a record number of spoiled or

blank votes showed disillusionment among many, particularly on the far left, at the choice they were given.

Le Pen has also signalled there will be a change to her National Front party. There are suggestions from its officials, too, that it will change its name. But she has vowed to lead the "new force" into the parliamentary elections.

Macron inherits one of the most powerful positions in Europe, and all the symbolism that comes with it.

He now becomes France's youngest leader since Napoleon Bonaparte, whose battles are commemorated at the Arc de Triomphe.

The new president will hope that his own fights are less bloody.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Senior security officials were among the casualties, al-Shabab said.

Al-Shabab was forced out of the capital and other major urban areas in Somalia by national and African Union multinational forces, but it continues to carry out deadly bombings and attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere. Targets have included hotels, military checkpoints, and the presidential palace. Earlier on Monday, three Somali soldiers on an ordnance-clearing mission were killed after a roadside bomb planted by the insurgents exploded 90 kilometres north of the capital. Somalia has been mired in conflict since 1991, when clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre and then turned on each other. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

ess than a year after India's first female fighter pilots took to

News)

on May 16 – UN

U

nited Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura said on Monday that he was reconvening peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition in Geneva on May 16.

In a statement, de Mistura voiced hope that the agreement reached last week in Astana among Russia, Iran and Turkey to set up "de-escalation" zones in Syria would be implemented in full, "thus bring-

ing about a significant de-escalation in violence and helping shape an environment conducive to the political intra-Syrian talks in Geneva".

Syria's Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moualem said earlier on Monday that Damascus would abide by Russia's plan for such zones if rebels also observed it, adding that the insurgents should help drive Islamist militants from opposition-controlled areas. (Reuters)

Officials discovered the first coffins while building a road in 2013

he remains of at least 7000 people may be buried beneath the University of Mississippi, officials estimate.

The bodies from the State's first mental institution – called the Insane Asylum – stretch across 20 acres of campus where administrators want to build.

Officials predict that it may cost up to US$21 million to exhume and rebury each body – more than US$3000 for each.

The campus medical centre, where the bodies have been discovered, is looking at cheaper alternatives.

The university hopes to bring the total cost down by handling the exhuma-

tions in-house, the ClarionLedger newspaper reports.

They predict that it can be done for US$400,000 per year over the next eight years.

They also hope to create a memorial and laboratory where students can study the patients' remains, as well as remnants of clothes and wood unearthed in the process.

A group of academics have formed a consortium dedicated to studying the remains.

"We have inherited these patients," said Ralph Didlake, who oversees the campus Centre for Bioethics and Medical Humanities.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

16 news

tuesDAY, may 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Sexual education campaign Minister says charges neither launched in schools MMA/ADA rent increase

exorbitant nor burdensome …Govt urged to remove rent, other charges applicable to rice farmers

P

urportedly in the best interest of the nation, the parliamentary Opposition has moved a motion in the National Assembly calling on Government to reverse the new increased fees for land, drainage and other services imposed on rice farmers in the Mahaica/Mahaicony/ Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) Scheme.

In moving the motion, Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) Member of Parliament (MP) Dharamkumar Seeraj said the rice industry has been under severe pressure over the past year, and the imposition of these new fees would only add to the hardships already being experienced by farmers.

Incidentally head of the

ing difficulty in 2015 and witnessed a decline in prices, the Opposition had recommended that payments of land leases and drainage and irrigation charges be suspended.

Shortly after the motion was moved, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder made his contribution to the debate; and in addressing the issue of land rental charges, said that under no circumstance could the new charges be considered “exorbitant” or presenting “a burden on stakeholders.”

“The total of drainage and irrigation (D&I) and land rental charges per acre in the MMA area range from $15,000 per annum ($1,250 per month) to $12,000 per annum ($1,000 per month) for rice lands; and between

practice might be quite common in the area, at a rental of $8,000 per acre per crop, or $16,000 per annum.

The increase in the fees to $15,000 per annum will severely compromise the illegal returns from this practice, according to the Agriculture Minister. “It does, however, indicate that bona fide farmers are quite content in paying D&I rates and land rental in excess of those instituted,” he emphasised.

In providing a breakdown of the new drainage and irrigation charges, Holder said those could not be considered onerous.

“Some people might consider such monthly charges for one acre of land – the equivalent of 8 full house lots or 16 half-lots, as obtains in our

Guyana Rice Producers' Association (GRPA), Seeraj revealed that rice farmers in the MMA/ADA Scheme will now have to pay $15,000 per acre of land, whereas in 2016 they paid $3,500 for land rental and drainage and irrigation charges.

He argued that the decision taken by Government is unconscionable and not meant to assist farmers to extricate themselves from the plight they currently face. Instead, he believes, the new charges would place greater burdens on many rice farmers.

“We brought this motion, sir, so all of us in this National Assembly and outside could debate on this matter and reverse the increase imposed by the Minister of Agriculture. It is very unpopular among the farming community across the divide. It does not make economic sense to increase taxation on a sector that is going through a hard time,” Seeraj lamented.

The GRPA head also criticized Government for the position it has taken.

He explained that when the rice sector began experienc-

$9,400 per annum ($783 per month) and $6,400 per annum ($583 per month) for pasturage,” he explained.

With the cost of land rental and D&I charges being less than 10 percent of average income per acre per annum, he explained, the fees could not possibly be burdensome on any farmer.

“But perhaps, Mr. Speaker, the main concern regarding the increase in D&I and land rental charges might be due to the lobbying of those who are involved in the illegal practice of sub-letting of leased lands in the MMA area,” he told the National Assembly.

Citing the State Lands Act Chapter 62:01 in accordance with the MMA/ADA Act No 27 of 1977, Holder reminded: “The lessee shall not sub-let, assign, or give possession of the land hereby leased, or any other part thereof, without the previous written consent of the lessor.”

He said the situation on the ground is different, because while the authority has on record only one instance of authorized sub-letting, the incidence of this

capital city of Georgetown -- as ridiculously low.” The new D&I charges for land in the Abary/Berbice area – which receives flood control, primary drainage and irrigation; secondary drainage and irrigation; and primary and secondary access services -- range from $8,000 per annum ($666 per month) to $1,000 per annum ($83 per month) based on the location, Holder explained. Land in the Mahaicony/Abary Block – which receives flood control, dual purpose D&I services and primary and secondary access services -- range between $7,000 annually ($583 per month) and $2,500 per annum ($208 per month) based on location.

Land in the Mahaica/ Mahaicony area – which receive from the Authority flood control, dual purpose D&I, and primary and secondary access services -- attract D&I charges of $5,000 per annum ($416 per month), he detailed.

Following a lengthy heated debate inthe National Assembly Government used its one seat majority to defete the PPP/C’s motion.

– spearheaded by Social Protection Ministry

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he Social Protection M i n i s t r y ’ s Department of Probation and Social Services has embarked on a sexual education campaign in secondary schools across Georgetown.

This initiative is aimed at raising awareness of issues surrounding teenagers being sexually active via the screening of relevant films, with special attention being placed on the possible effects such may have on their education.

The short film selected by the Ministry, “Hush” depicted the consequences of poor choices as well as the negative effects of schoolage sexual encounters. It chronicled the life of a teenage girl from a single-parent household, who turned to the illusion of love and high life. She was later slapped with the harsh reality currently faced by many after she became pregnant at a crucial time in her academic pursuits.

The production served as the perfect conduit to relay the message of abstinence as well as advocate for safer sexual practices. More importantly, it worked as a warning for students who may already be sexually active. Other educational messages addressing morals and ethics were also highlighted.

Benefiting from the initiative thus far were students of the North Georgetown Secondary, who were receptive to the interactive sessions presented by the Ministry. When asked what they have learnt at the end of the session, one student responded: “Miss, I learnt that you shouldn’t have a boyfriend at an early age.” Another student added, “You should abstain

Students of North Georgetown Primary during the screening of the short film “Hush”

from sex and never lie to your parents.”

Speaking at the session hosted at the North Georgetown Secondary was Senior Probation and Social Services Officer Debra Joseph,, who told the children, “We want to help you make better choices; there is a time and a place for everything.” She encouraged them to be patient, stating that “education helps to alleviate poverty; stay focused and when the right time comes, everything will fall into place”.

Headmistress Willa Batson thanked the Ministry for the efforts taken to address this issue, which posed a serious threat to the success of students throughout Guyana. Batson pointed out, “In dealing with the issue of school-aged children being involved in sexual activity, what you find is that even if you are able to control it in the school environment; it has evolved to social media such as WhatsApp and Facebook where the children are exchanging sexual content and making plans.”

She also addressed the issue of cyber bullying, “Their access to the Internet and

the lack of supervision at home is another facet of the problem; it is a multi-faceted issue and we need the help of the parents in dealing with it.”

Moreover, the Headmistress stated that the school currently benefited from the services of the Welfare Department of the Education Ministry in dealing with issues affecting the students by offering a support system through counselling on a professional basis. Batson indicated it was her desire for there to be a more permanent social worker on school grounds to immediately deal with such matters.

The Department of Probation and Social Services said it intended to continue the airing of the short film and interactive sessions at secondary schools within the area to further raise awareness on the issue of school-aged sexual activity and teenage pregnancy in an effort to reduce these. This campaign is also in response to the series of pornographic videos featuring students that had surfaced on social media earlier in the year.

First Aid training for Caregivers for the Elderly programme commences

A

s the world observes World Red Cross Day, First Lady Sandra Granger declared open another training workshop in First Aid, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and the use of the Automated External Defibrillator (AED), at the Guyana Red Cross Society (GRCS), in Kingston, Georgetown for the recent graduates of the Caregivers for the Elderly programme.

In her address, the First Lady said it was important for each participant to be fully equipped and grasp all they can as they accept the responsibility of caring for the elderly, who need more careful attention as they advance in age.

“This [training] is a vital component of your training to care for our seniors… For you to be recognised as professionals in this field, people need

to know that you have received adequate training. I

learnt,” Granger was quoted as saying in a statement

First Lady Sandra Granger is pictured here (third from left) with GRCS General Secretary Dorothy Fraser, Yvonne Smith, facilitators and participants of the First Aid training workshop

know you will really gain a lot from this training and apply what you would have

from the Ministry of the Presidency.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

news

Ex-cop among 5 remanded – gang nabbed with unlicensed gun, wig, crowbar

Trevon McKenzie

Michael Embrac

group of five alleged bandits, one of whom is an ex-police officer, were on Monday remanded to prison when they appeared at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court to each answer to three separate

to plead to the three indictable charges when they were read to them.

The court heard that the men were charged with the possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of live ammunition and having in

Mickey Henry

Sean Browne

charges.

Trevon McKenzie, a 29-year-old ex-Police Officer of Glasgow Housing Scheme; Michael Embrac, 33, of Fort Ordinance Housing Scheme, Canje; Mickey Henry, 27,

their possession a crowbar, screw driver and wig without a valid reason.

On May 8, 2017, around 01:30h, while patrolling an area along the East Bank of Berbice Public Road, Police noticed a white motor car

A

The items that were found

of Timmers Dam, Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam; Jomo Archer, 26, of Pilot Street, New Amsterdam; and Sean Browne, 22, of Dazzle Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara were jointly charged and were not allowed

being driven slowly on the Glasgow Public Road. Acting on instinct, the ranks stopped and searched the vehicle, which led to the discovery of a firearm, crowbar, screw driver, wig, and ammunition.

Attorney-at-Law

Charandas Persaud, representing the five accused, in a petition for bail, argued that the car was a rental car and the gun might have been in the car before the accused collected it. He said the owner should have been charged.

The Attorney noted that the Police were alleging that the five men were carrying one gun and the Police had failed to establish who was in possession of the gun.

Magistrate Alex Moore responded that the car might have been the container in which the gun was.

Police Prosecutor, Corporal Leon Robertson asked the court not to grant the accused bail owing to the nature and gravity of the offence and the fact all five were known to the Police for being involved in criminal activity.

McKenzie, he told the

Jomo Archer

court, is a former police officer who was indicted, along with others, for accepting a $6 million bribe. He was expected to make a court appearance today on that matter. Embrac is currently on bail for robbery under arms charges.

Henry is also on bail for a similar charge, while Archer is currently before the courts on a break and enter and larceny matter along with a robbery under arms charge.

Browne is also before the courts on a break and enter and larceny charge.

However, Charandas noted that they have all been attending court. He argued that there has been no ballistic test to prove that the instrument found was indeed a firearm.

The lawyer added that the Police also had no evidence that the men were sizing up a house or had stopped in front of a house when they were apprehended.

The Magistrate remanded the five and ordered that they return to court on June 2, by which time the Police should have received results from the ballistics analysis.

An order was made for the Police to scrutinise the car and release it to the owner.

17

tuesDAY, may 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Bethany residents lament poor quality work by ‘outside’ contractors – say they must be consulted on projects in their community

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Residents at the meeting at Bethany Primary School

he increased incidents of poor quality work being done in their community by ‘outside’ contractors is a major concern for the residents of Bethany, an Indigenous community located in the Supenaam riverine community of Region Two (Essequibo Coast).

Residents are therefore asking to be consulted at both the planning and execution stages of projects to be undertaken in their community.

This issue was raised over the weekend, when Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, accompanied by Regional Executive Officer (REO) Rupert Hopkinson and Regional Member of Parliament (MP) Hemraj Rajkumar, held a ministerial outreach in Region Two. Bethany resident James Thomas said residents wanted to be consulted on community projects being executed by local and central government, since the community understands its own challenges and would be in a position to make pertinent recommendations.

Romona Thomas, a midwife, said contractors and engineers would frequent the community and start projects without consulting the residents. According to a GINA release, she noted that no work had been done on the health centre’s landing since the project commenced one year ago.

Concerns were also raised regarding a leaking roof and inadequate furniture at the primary school;

the lack of electrification and absence of cupboards at the health centre, and the teachers’ quarters not having furniture.

Minister Allicock told residents that while Government would like to consult with them more regularly, it is not possible. “I don’t know if you know that there are 115 Indigenous villages across the country, and we have to engage all of them…you are easier to access, you are at the centre, and so you are at an advantage where you can get everything that can help you move forward.

“Imagine those communities way back there, like Masakenari…

While we work with you, we have the Community Development Officers and the Regional Administration who are easily accessible,” Minister Allicock told the residents. He suggested that community leaders be more proactive and consult more with villagers, since toshaos are privy to the projects being undertaken in the villages. He also noted that the issue of contractors entering communities without consulting the Village Chief is a common one around the country, but the situation needs to be corrected.

Bethany has a population of close to 1000 persons, most of who are involved in trading in lumber. Minister Allicock encouraged the Village Council to use the royalties from the lumber project to execute small projects. He told them the community could even bid for petty contracts, like furnish-

ing the teachers quarters and making furniture for the school.

Region 2 Executive Officer Rupert Hopkinson assured that steps would be taken at the regional level to address residents’ concerns and ensure residents are more involved in projects at all levels.

He told residents they have a duty to oversee any project being undertaken in their community, and if they observe that something is not being done to a high standard, or not in keeping with the Bill of Quantities, they have a right to object.

The residents are also asking for a secondary school to be constructed within the community, or that a secondary department be established. Felicia Thomas, a single parent, said her child would be attending secondary school on the coast in September, and she cannot afford to pay transportation to and from school every day. Hopkinson explained that having a secondary school within the area may not be feasible, since there are only approximately 20 secondary-age students in the area. He said, however, a proposal can be made for a secondary department to be established at the primary school.

Regional Member of Parliament (MP) Hemraj Rajkumar reminded the residents of Government’s commitment to their development. He told them that development is a process, but he said that process has started.

First Aid training for Caregivers...

FROM PAGE 16

General Secretary of the Society, Dorothy Fraser encouraged the participants to be actively engaged in all aspects of the course.

“One of the things that you would learn is that elderly people must be treated with respect, dignity, and to know that they can still do things and want to do things for themselves. Your firstaid training is just another step for you to learn all the things that you need to. Pay attention and learn well…

We really want to make sure [that you] learn the First Aid well so that you are able to implement it as you care for the elderly,” Fraser said.

The General Secretary also expressed appreciation for the fact that the Office of the First Lady has continued this initiative through the GRCS. “It is really exciting to be working with the Office of the First Lady in order to be able to carry out this fiveday training in First Aid…

The relationships with the Office of the First Lady has been a very positive one, and President Granger as Head of State is the Patron of the organisation and he has supported us extremely well in this position,” Fraser said.

The workshop is a collaborative effort between the Office of the First Lady, the Ministry of Social Protection and the GRCS, and will conclude on Friday, at which point each participant will be certified.

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guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, may 9, 2017

ARCHIE

When dealing with personal relationships, don’t hold (March 21- back. Share your feelings and April 19) be open about what you want to see happen. A serious lifestyle change is in order.

ARIES

Learn through hands-on TAURUS experience. The more you do, (April 20- the better you will feel about May 20) taking on bigger and better opportunities. Strive to improve things instead of just maintaining them.

dilbert

Personal progress is encourGEMINI aged. Don’t trust what others (May 21- say or do. Make physical and June 20) personal alterations that you

feel are the right way to go.

Romance will improve your relationship with someone special.

Approach your responsibilities with pride. Make an ap(June 21- pointment or lunch date with July 22) someone who can offer you a diverse way to use your skills.

A youngster will offer innocent insight.

CANCER

Peanuts

An unorthodox investLEO ment will grab your attention.

(July 23- Before you jump in, consider Aug. 22) the consequences. It isn’t likely to pan out well for you due to someone’s misrepresentation of the product.

Calvin and Hobbes

Deal with partnership conVIRGO cerns.

Don’t look for an obvi(Aug. 23Sept. 22) ous solution. Try something new that will capture the attention of the person you are trying to persuade to see things your way.

Consider the recent cirLIBRA cumstances that have unfold(Sept. 23ed.

Having a good understandOct. 23) ing of what has transpired will make it easier to find a workable solution when dealing with colleagues and family.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

Taking a creative approach to SCORPIO life, love and the search for hap(Oct. 24- piness is encouraged. Making Nov. 22) changes that better suit your current situation should be considered. Don’t feel trapped when you should be taking action.

Helping someone in need is SAGITTARIUS a nice gesture, but don’t take (Nov. 23- control. Your honest opinion Dec. 21) and suggestions will be sufficient. Leave time to explore your interests and implement personal improvements.

solution for Last Published Puzzle

An emotional situation CAPRICORN will leave you feeling uncer(Dec. 22- tain and confused. Take a Jan. 19) step back and go over all the details of what’s transpired before you make a move.

Time is on your side.

Don’t make an impulAQUARIUS sive expenditure or invest in (Jan. 20something prematurely. An Feb. 19) emotional issue concerning a loved one will lead to an unusual request or unexpected gift or promise.

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Take care of pending fiPISCES nancial, medical or legal is(Feb. 20sues so that you can get on March 20) with projects you want to pursue. An agreement will encourage you to take on more responsibilities.

tuesDAY, May 9, 2017

19

ICC Women’s World Cup…

4th Islamic Solidarity Games…

Guyana to be well represented in Azerbaijan

4 uncapped players in Windies Women’s squad

‒ coaches confident of strong showing by athletes

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resident of the Guyana O l y m p i c Association (GOA), Kalam JumanYassim, along with coaches in the various disciplines along with their athletes have all declared that they have high hopes as the Guyanese contingent travels today to the fourth Islamic Solidarity Games President of the GOA, KA Juman-Yassin (far left) with coaches and some of being held in Baku,the athletes at the Association’s headquarters on High Street Azerbaijan. week Winston (George) ran his six-member squad comSpeaking at a press con- a 20.78s 200m and was a prising of Christopher ference on Monday, Mark part of the male 4x100m at Franklin, Nigel Bryan, Joel Scott who is the coach of a the Penn Relays, while Alita Alleyne, Chelsea Edghill, four-member athletics squad Moore, who is our only local Trenace Lowe and Natalie told media operatives that athlete, is fit and ready”.

Cummings, a chance to be the GOA has given timely Clifton Moore, who is the world ranked. assistance that was required coach of boxing, noted that Swimming will be repto help the team. He opined his boxers, Joel Williamson resented by Andrew Fowler that because of the fact that and Desmond Amsterdam, and Earlando McRae most of the athletes are cur- recently attended a two- while Judokas are Joshua rently training abroad, they week training stint in Buchanan and Earskine should be able to cart off Trinidad and Tobago, fund- Trotman; Adrian Spellen, medals. ed by the GOA and have who is an overseas based Emmanuel Archibald gone through “vast improve- athlete, is Guyana’s lone repand Natrena Hooper who ments” in the two-month resentative in Taekwando. ran at the recent Penn lead up to the games.

The overseas based perRelays in the US are part Likewise, Table Tennis sons will join the continof the athletics quartet. He Coach Idi Lewis noted that gent ahead of the May 12 pointed out that “just last the Islamic games will give -22 Games.

Mexico claim 3rd straight title against formidable US side

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exico earned its third straight CONCACAF Under-17 Championship title by outlasting the United States 5-4 on penalty kicks after their 2017 final ended in a 1-1 draw on Sunday at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez.

Andrew Carleton gave the Americans a 1-0 lead, while Carlos Robles leveled for Mexico late in dramatic fashion.

Once the final whistle blew, the match went directly to penalty kicks, where both sides converted their first two attempts. Akil Watts missed on the USA’s third and Mexico went on to net three straight, with Roberto de la Rosa getting the clincher.

Thanks to U.S. goalkeeper Justin Garces, who made several outstanding saves, it appeared that Mexico’s remarkable CU17 run was going to end by being shutout for the first time in 20 competition matches.

Then, in the second minute of stoppage time, everything changed.

Mexico’s Daniel Lopez fought off Josh Sargent to gain control of Jairo Torres’ diagonal pass and dribble deftly towards the left-goal

Having dominated the Twenty 20 last year, the West Indies women will want to give a good account of themselves

T

he Selection Panel of the West Indies Cricket Board has named a 15-member squad for the ICC Women’s World Cup from June 24 to July 23 in England which features four uncapped players.

Making their maiden trip with the squad are: Boyce, a 19-year-old wicketkeeper/ batsman from regional champions Trinidad & Tobago; Joseph, a 16-year-old fast bowler from St. Lucia; Peters, a 23-year-old left-handed all-rounder from Grenada; and Walters, a 25-year-old opening batsman and parttime spin bowler, also from T&T. Speaking on the composition of the squad, Chairman of the Selection Panel Courtney Browne stated via a release that“ the team is composed of a mixture of youth and experience; Performances in

this year’s Women’s Regional Super50 Tournament along with the form of incumbent players over the last few international tours were taken into consideration”.

He added, “the panel felt that we have enough experience in the side and that all four players bring a specific skill-set to the team. It should also be noted that all four players are products of our last training camp for emerging women’s players held last year.

More so, “We feel at this time that these players, although not as experienced, have shown improvement and can add value to our squad. We would encourage those that missed out to continue working and improving their skills, so that they can be considered for future tours”. Browne also confirmed that all-rounder

Shaquana Quintyne was not considered for selection, due to injury.

SQUAD: Stafanie Taylor (Captain), Merissa Aguilleira, Reniece Boyce, Shamilia Connell, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Quiana Joseph, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Akeira Peters, Shakera Selman, Felicia Walters Team Management Unit: Vasbert Drakes (Head Coach), Ann Browne-John (Team Operations Manager), Ezra Moseley (Assistant Coach), Stuart Williams (Assistant Coach), Oba Gulston (Physiotherapist), Hector Martinez-Charles (Fitness Coordinator), Donald La Guerre (Performance Specialist), Trent Sargeant (Video Data Analyst)

Mexico three-peat as CONCACAF Under-17 Champions

line. While Sargent lunged desperately to block the eventual cross, Lopez lifted the ball to the edge of the six-yard box. Robles was there to snap a header into the right side of the net.

Just two minutes earlier, an attempt by Chris Goslin, which would have given the Americans a 2-0 advantage, crashed off the woodwork.

The U.S. took a 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute on an awkward miscue by Mexico goalkeeper Cesar Lopez and a touch of brilliance by the excellent Carelton. Lopez’s attempt to kick a back pass from the edge of the six-yard box barely went 20 yards in the air as USA substitute Tim

Weah outjumped Luis Olivas to win the header. The ball fell to an unmarked Carleton, who turned quickly to first time a shot from 19-yards out beyond the reach of the right-diving Lopez.

Mexico had solid opportunities to get on the scoreboard earlier, only for Garces to thwart de la Rosa (26’) and Jesus Perez (35’) in the first half and de la Rosa (73’) again after break. Daniel Lopez had a goal disallowed for what appeared to be a handball in the 52nd minute.

Six minutes later, a Torres free kick ricocheted off the post.

It is the Tricolor’s recordextending seventh CU17 crown. (Sportsmax)

Guyana Jaguars Head Coach Esuan Crandon (right) and his wife Listra were assisted by (from left) the youngest Jaguars player Bhaskar Yadram and journalists Sean Devers and John Ramsingh in the distribution of goodies to the children of Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara.

The Crandons hosted a Thanks Giving Ceremony to give back to society after Esuan took the Guyana Jaguars to their third consecutive Headley/Weekes Trophy, the symbol of Regional Four Day supremacy

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

tuesDAY, may 9, 2017

Springer touts Hero CPL benefits to young players

T

ridents Pride of Barbados all-rounder Shamar Springer welcomes the inclusion of young West Indies players to the franchise set up in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

At 19, Springer is the youngest player on the Tridents 17-man roster for the 2017 competition.

Last year, Springer competed in his first season of the Hero CPL after being drafted by the Tridents.

An experience the teenager called “a fantastic one.”

He saw limited action on the field but the well-spoken Springer still has fond memories and lessons from the experience.

“I was able to have a taste of cricket in one of the most competitive leagues in the world,” Springer said.

Springer burst onto the international scene in 2016, as an integral member of the West Indies team that claimed the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup crown.

His performances at the World Cup win led to a selection by the Tridents for the lanky fast bowler and technically sound right-handed batsman.

Springer joined a high-powered camp that featured global T20 stars AB De Villiers of South Africa, Shoaib Malik of Pakistan and Kieron Pollard of the West Indies in the Tridents set up.

“The environment was great for any young cricketer because of the abundance of the great players and each of them are very experienced and very knowledgeable,” Springer added.

The young all-rounder made a name for himself at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup

“All you had to do was ask a question and they always had an answer for any topic in discussion.”

Springer has been once again selected to join the 2014 tournament champions as they prepare for the annual competition, which starts for the Tridents in Central Broward Stadium, Lauderhill Florida on the weekend of August 5-6 against reigning champions the Jamaica Tallawahs.

On the Tridents chances in the 2017 tournament, Springer said: “I think we have some world class players that are joining us and I am confident that they will help to give our team a great chance of winning the title.”

We look forward to seeing Springer deliver on his potential in 2017. (CPL)

Anti-doping authority drops appeal on length of Russell ban

J

amaica’s anti-doping authority has withdrawn its appeal over the one-year ban received by West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell for breaches of the whereabouts rule, according to court documents seen by Reuters.

Russell was given a one-year ban on Jan. 31 after he failed to file the nec-

essary paperwork on his availability for drug testing three times in 2015, which constituted a failed test according to World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) rules.

The Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) appealed against the one-year ban and were seeking a twoyear suspension at a hearing scheduled to begin on May 8 in Kingston.

According to the documents seen by Reuters the anti-doping body has withdrawn their appeal.

Russell’s lawyers, headed by Patrick Foster, had also launched a cross-appeal to overturn the ban, but that action was also withdrawn the documents showed.

Neither Foster, nor JADCO’s attorneys were immediately available for comment.

JADCO, however, have called a media conference for Monday. (Reuters)

There will be no time added to the all-rounder's 1-year ban

Chelsea close in on Premier League title C

helsea moved within three points of clinching the Premier League title with a 3-0 victory that condemned Middlesbrough to relegation on Monday after goals from Spaniards Diego Costa and Marcos Alonso plus a tap-in

by Nemanja Matic.

A win at West Bromwich Albion on Friday will secure the title in coach Antonio Conte’s first season at Chelsea.

Costa got his 20th league goal this season in the 23rd minute, controlling a ball lofted into the area by compatriot Cesc Fabregas and neatly nutmegging keeper Brad Guzan.

Two Spaniards were involved in Chelsea’s second goal in the 34th minute, Cesar Azpilicueta lifting the ball to Alonso on the left, who squeezed it under Guzan, with the ball hitting the stranded keeper’s legs on the way into the net.

Nemanja Matic got the

third goal in the 65th from another neat Fabregas chip to pile the misery on Boro, who will join north-east

Tottenham,” said Conte.

“This is a big step because there are three games and we need to take three

Chelsea’s Diego Costa celebrates scoring their first goal with Pedro Rodriguez

neighbours Sunderland in the second tier next season.

“This game was very important for us after Tottenham’s defeat (at West Ham on Friday) and the possibility to take three points and go seven points clear of

points to win the title. We need another win and then to celebrate another fantastic target for us.”

Chelsea have 84 points from 35 games followed by Tottenham Hotspur on 77 points also with three games

remaining.

Chelsea were without their injured France international N’Golo Kante, who won this season’s PFA and football writers’ Player of the Year awards, but Spaniard Cesc Fabregas controlled the midfield with almost languid confidence in his absence.

By the second half Conte’s team were buzzing and an increasingly beleaguered Middlesbrough side rarely managed to move out of their own half as they headed for the trap door.

Despite his side’s total control of the game, the ever feverish Conte prowled the touchline as usual, gesticulating wildly and yelling commands to his players.

Chants of “Antonio, Antonio” reverberated around the ground as the whistle went and the Italian hugged his assistants before applauding and shaking hands with the despondent Boro players. (Reuters)

Sport View

by Neil Kumar

T C

Hetmyer is a future West Indies captain

he super performances of our athletes at the 2017 CARIFTA Games held in Willemstad, Curacao, have made all Guyanese extremely proud. The Athletes have made a mark on the international circuit and are deserving of every accolade and ricket, commendation glorious bestowed, hard cricket!for Thetheir cricketing work,world is glued commitment, to their individual and and transistors collective television efforts. they challenged as the As exciting Indian and fought for supremacy Premier League is gaining in various categories, many momentum.

The world on the team displayed the most prestigious Twenty/20 potential andbrings preparation to tournament together overwhelm competing some of thetheir most exciting paramours;with character, players around the globe. grit and determination by However, it cannot be spectacularly refusing to be denied that India is giving outdone. some of their very young Compton the Neil Kumar players an Caesar opportunity champion athlete from the to rub shoulders and play Mining Town Linden, led the way with a magnificent alongside some of the best players in the world. Whilewin we in the males 100some M sprint.

Caesar won Gold withalong a magical are witnessing magnificent stroke-play with time of 10.46 seconds as he Barbados’s some world-class bowling, we held are also seeing Jaquone majestic Hoyte in second position (10.47 seconds); and the world fielding. sprint Jamaica’sweJelani in thirdawaiting with a time In country the Caribbean are Walker desperately the of 10.61 seconds.

It was indeed a momentous Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament. Alloccasion eyes will for on Guyana. be the prestigious Franchise teams. As for Guyanese, after winning metersbe event wentbehind on to our Caesar cricket-pride people,the will100 certainly rallying win team. a bronze medal in the 200 will M event.

Chantoba our However, Guyanese be hoping that Bright in this won gold theteam Long will Jump in the triple jump.

2017 battleinour notand be bronze cheated.

Claudrice McKoy captured Gold in the 3000M event and Guyana Jaguars won the just concluded four-day went ontitle. to win in the 1500 event.

Natricia Regional Andbronze the Caribbean peopleMare terribly upset Hooper won Indies Gold test in the triple while Anfernee with the West team as thejump visiting Pakistan team won in the team.

1500 M event. isHeadecker humiliating thesilver Caribbean In Caribbean our appreciation offorced the to welcoming results, The people are endure sloppy and recognition of the efforts the Athletic Association of wayward bowling. As for the fielding, the spectators are Guyanafun (AAG), andabout other butter-fingers. key stakeholders including the having talking Sixty-four extras Guyana Olympic as well as Corporate are certainly notAssociation acceptable.

Bowlers must besupport, able to must abegood highlighted.Let us also notitforget the significance bowl line and length; while is imperative that our and the focus visionon oftheir the batting.

PPP/C Government the batsmen However, thetowards West Indies establishment of critical infrastructure to help in the selectors must stop with their insularity. Shai Hope played development and preparation of ourinnings, athletes.

Relevant in in eight Test matches, bat in fifteen scored a mere this test regard is the State-of-the-art Synthetic Athletic Trackis 231 runs, highest score 41 and his batting average at Leonora forthe ourlast Athletes 15.40 prior to Test. to have access to and benefit from world class facilities to in train fully prepared Devendra Bishoo played 22 and Testbe matches, bat 37 for winning at International events. times and he was not out eleven times. Bishoo’s highest Further, is theis PPP/C boughtaverage a ‘brand’ new score in Test itcricket 45 andthat his batting is 17.48. thirty-seater supportHis the process, that is now in Bishoo has 79bus Testtowickets. best bowling performance hands of this to facilitate athlete’s isthe eight wickets forGovernment 49 runs. Bishoo also hasour a ten-wicket development.

It is most encouraging to know that ‘haul’ in a Test match. Yet this man Bishoo is struggling to even the ‘dorms’ facilities that were built at National be in the team because of insularity.

Gymnasium also fully utilized for the development of As we areare writing the homemade bread, Hope played sport in our athlete’s coming his best Testcountry. innings Our on the fourthdreams day of are thenow second Test as Kensington a consequence critical establishments the at Oval,ofinthe Barbados.

Young Shimronwhen Hetmyer PPP/C was in Government. and Vishaul Singh are two young players from Guyana who It cannottobe denied theIndies powerful are selected play for thethat West in theinternational first Two test athletics administrators who failed were invited to deliver matches.

Both young players to get among thepure runs and heavily motivated lectures our innings Sport Administrators, in the first match.

Again in thetofirst of the second Coaches Athletes at cheaply. the Guyana Sport Resource match theyand were dismissed Centre are beginning to bear fruits.

Thesome likes runs of Jamaican However, Hetmyer managed to get but not Olympian, now Senior Sport Administrator Grace Jackson enough to command his place in the team. Both of these and Trinidad andgiven Tobago Gold to Medalist Ato players must be a fewOlympian Test matches consolidate Bolton along withWest several imminent Sport personalities, themselves in the Indies test team.

Hetmyer is a future did deliver highly lectures to West Indiessome captain whomotivated can take and Westinspiring Indies team to the our Guyanese stake-holders.

Guyanese Sport personalities helm of world cricket. The West Indies team desperately must make sure that Centre needs a captain whothe canSport leadResource the team from develops in front. into a National Institute.

Hetmyer alreadySport proved himself by leading the West Indies Now that are beginning to seeWorld the Cup. fruits of Under-19 team we to victory in the Under-19 our While investment in sport we must that it is the West Indies team recognized is struggling against imperative that we stop all the talking and walk the walk Pakistan, expectations are high that they can mature and with our athletes.

Guyana we second have the talent, alltook we come good.

West In Indies in the test match needstrike to doand is to cajolea challenging and nurture312 them andYoung our Golden first scored runs.

Roston Youthsscored will bring us Gold medals.

Chase a solid century.

Pakistan in their first innings call batting on the display AthleticasAssociation of 393runs.

Guyana put Let on me a good they scored (AAG), Guyana Olympic Association and the Government Batting a second time in the match West Indies scored 268 alongShai with all with othertwo stake including our on pride runs.

Hope firstholders class double centuries the spectators most to unite same wicketand was ablevaluable to scoreSponsors 90 valuable runs.and He work along together the immediate and further development with Kraiggfor Brathwaite and Singh focus on their batting and of sportsthe in West Guyana.

Lettousscore worka together to 268 realize and enabled Indies challenging runs on maximize synergies, for we can produce the next Usain a difficult wicket.

Bolt.Pakistan in their second innings was bowled out for a Forward with the was AAGalmost developmental paltry 81 runs.

Batting impossibleprogramme as Shannon for the captured next Olympic Games.for Our sportseleven developmental Gabriel five wickets a mere runs from programme at a higher level-‘The eleven overs,must whilerepeat the skipper took three wicketsInspire for 23 Sportand Management uswickets have the likes of runs young AlzarriWorkshop.’

Joseph tookLet two for 42 runs.

Grace Jackson, Ato Boldon, and Cathy Rattray along with While Yasir Shah was the destroyer of the West Indies the American Kristi Castlin wentthe on West to win a Gold team with seven wickets forwho 95 runs, Indies leg medal at the Olympic Brazil to repeat spinner Devendra BishooGames did notinbowl a single ball inthat the training llecturers.

The PPP/C indeed setisthe a Pakistan second innings.

The test series nowcountry level aton 1-1. path to world fame.

An interesting third and final Test will be played in Dominica starting on Wednesday.

21

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NOTICE APPLICATION FOR MONEY LENDER’S CERTIFICATE, PURSUANT TO SECTION 4 OF THE MONEY LENDERS ACT. I, CEDRIC JOEL WEEKS OF LOT 8 DEN AMSTEL, WEST COAST DEMERARA, GUYANA IS HEREBY GIVEN NOTICE THAT I HAVE APPLIED TO THE MAGISTRATE OF THE GEORGETOWN MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT FOR A CERTIFICATE UNDER THE MONEY LENDERS ACT, AUTHORIZING THE GRANT TO ME OF A MONEY LENDER’S LICENCE TO CARRY ON THE BUSINESS OF A MONEY LENDER UNDER THE TITLE OF CEDRIC’S PAWNSHOP AT LOT Y PUBLIC ROAD, BLANKENBURG, WEST COAST DEMERARA, GUYANA. NOTICE OF ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE APPLICATION SHOULD BE SENT FORTHWITH TO THE CLERK OF COURT GEORGETOWN MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT AND A COPY OF SUCH NOTICE SHOULD BE SENT TO THE SUBSCRIBER. CEDRIC JOEL WEEKS (APPLICANT). DATED AT GEORGETOWN, DEMERARA, THIS DAY MAY 4, 2017.

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44 Fifth Avenue, Subryanville, Georgetown. $45m or best offer.

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GUYANATIMESgy.COM

tuesdAY, may 9, 2017

GCB launches Cricketer Magazine T

he

Guyana

Cricket B o a r d (GCB) on Monday afplayers as ternoon unwell as the Academy veiled the Players, all train fourth edition of its Cricketer Magazine at the board’s Regent Street office.

The 74page, full colour magazine features statistics, news articles, features and a pictorial review of the Board’s annual The Guyana Cricket Board Magazine awards ceremony for 2016.

There a is Foreword from Whycliffe four days per week, in a system year to as‘Dave’ Cameron, President Cricket West sist in the development of their individual Indies, where he begins by postulating that and team needs. the Guyana Cricket Board continues to play The magazine also showcases an apa significant role in the development and preciative message from the Minister of growth of the sport in the region.

Business with responsibility for Tourism, The GCB continues to examine ways in Hon. Dominic Gaskin. providing the Guyanese cricketers with the According to a release by the GCB, “ necessary structures that will aid in the this message, gives the GCB most pleasure, players professional career. The Guyana since it is an indication of the government’s Professional Cricket League contracted willingness to commit to the promotion of

cricket, not just as a sport, but as a marketing tool for Guyana’s tourism market – a positive step for the imagine of cricket in Guyana”.

Further, the magazine captures the Hon. Nicolette Henry’s message on behalf the Ministry Of Education. The GCB notes, that the Ministry Of Education has been one of its integral stakeholders, and is highly grateful for their continuous support and cooperation.

Apart from the President and Secretary reports, the annual publication also in-

cludes a feature on the National Sports Commission’s (NSC) awards ceremony for 2015; Building the ideal cricket pitch; Jaguars Franchise League Three-day competition; The Fabulous Five; Guyana’s top performers for 2016; National competition and WICB tournament reports for 2016; and fixtures for 2017.

The magazine is available free of cost from the GCB Head Office on Regent Street, and it expected to be distributed to territorial board across the region.

Pan-American Road Cycling…

De Nobrega, Niles fail to medal in Elite race

GTTA labels Wong as Youth Olympic prospect W

ith the 3rd Youth Olympic Games scheduled for Buenos Aries, Argentina in the summer of 2018, the Junior international calendar of events for eligible players will be become heighten with much activity as players from around the world seek qualification in the various continental championships and Junior circuit events.

One such championships for players in this region, is the Latin America continental scheduled for May 12-14 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

As such, the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) named marque National player Miguel Wong as its prospect for possible qualification to the Games by submitting his name to the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA).

The GOA will send Wong’s name to the International Olympic Committee for consideration as a possible candidate/ prospect for Universality Allocated Place/Position.

Wong is a talented and discipline athlete whom the association feels has a long term future in the sport and the potential to reach higher levels if given the correct nurturing, support and exposure.

His participation is this

The Guyana Cycling team in Dominican Republic: from right, Hamza Eastman, Andre Hicks, Paul De Nobrega, Romello Crawford, Junior Niles and Jamal John

G

Miguel Wong

event while offering the opportunity to qualify also enhances his chances of gaining an universality place given the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) position on Universality allocated provisions (where preference for Universality Places is given to countries/ athletes attending the many qualification events and Junior circuit events under the ITTF umbrella).

It also gives possible selection to the ITTF “With the Future in Mind” Road to Buenos Aires program

which offers enhanced and rigorous training regime.

Further, the 17 yearold will also be attending the South American Youth games scheduled for September 2017 and the Pan American Junior and cadet games qualifier which will help his international ranking. The GOA has pledge its support to send Wong to this key event The GTTA had another prospect in Nickolas Romain, however, they were only allowed to make one nomination.

uyana’s duo of Paul De Nobrega and Junior Niles ended participation at the 32nd Pan-American Road Cycling Championships Elite Race in the 44th and 69th positions of the Elite Race which took place at the Mirador Sur Park, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Sunday.

The gruelling 170km contest on the 10km circuit presented perhaps the highest level of competition for the local duo and they did their best coming against the best riders from the continent.

The winner of the contest was Columbia’s Andres Martinez in 3:18.47 followed

by Mexico’s Alfredo Infante, Sebastian Benavides (Columbia), Francisco Chamorro (Argentina) and Ignacio Maldonado of Uruguay. Barbadian Phillip Clarke ended 13thwith Cuban, Felix Fernandez 14th.

On Saturday, the Under-23 riders took center stage in the 140km race which saw Hamza Eastman ending 20th and Jamal John 36th. Andrew Hicks

who after looking good and was challenging for a podium position suffered cramping and had to settle for the 69th place of 71 starters.

On the local scene, riders are not accustomed to such long races which made the exposure important for the Guyanese riders and beg of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) and other organisers of races here to ensure that longer races are done for the development and competitive development of the talented riders.

Some 240 riders from

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

27 nations including Cuba, France, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Haiti, USA, Brazil and Honduras. There was also a female segment of the race whilst Time Trials were also held.

The participation of the Guyana team in Santo Domingo would have been due in part to the contributions of Hadi’s World, Marics and Farfan & Mendes. President of the International Cycling Union (UCI), Brian Cookson attended the championship.

Medal Board Final

Nation Chile USA Colombia Brazil Costa Rica Argentina Mexico Cuba Guatemala

Gold Silver Bronze 3 1 0 2 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1

Total 4 6 4 3 1 2 2 1 1

23

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, may 9, 2017

Canal 6 top Sash Sawh

GFF/Stag Elite League…

GDF, Fruta Conquerors memorial domino tournament maintain grasp C on top spots T

he Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Stag Elite League continued on Sunday night at the Tucville Ground, with leaders Guyana Defence Force and Fruta Conquerors continuing their winning spree.

GDF continued their dominance when they disciplined Top XX 4-1 in a spirited all-round display. Delroy

Orion Lovell also added their names to the score sheet in the 63rd and 75th minutes respectively while for the Linden Unit, their lone strike came from Travis Waterton in the 70th Minute.

In the second game of the night, the Fruta Conquerors defense kept a clean sheet in their 2-0 win over Buxton United in an effort to keep

vict o ry. Schultz netted with a superb strike in the 43rd minute while Abrams scored in the 56th.

GDF’s latest victory means that they stay top of the table on 27 points while Conquerors are second with

Part of the action between Fruta Conquerors and Buxton United at the Tucville Ground on Sunday

Ferdinand put them in the lead via 26th minute goal after which the league’s leading scorer, Sherwyn Caesar netted in the 50th minute.

Kevin Sullivan and Leo-

the pressure on league leaders.

Pernell Schultz and Antony “Awo” Abrams scored on either side of half-time to give the Conquerors a 2-0

Mahadeo finishes 2nd at Island Fit Games K nown for his strength and durability on the local turf, Dillon Mahadeo gave yet another good account of himself when he finished in second place at the Barbados Island Fit Games over the weekend.

It is understood that Mahadeo was leading on the completion of the

year

when Ma ha d eo finished third overall.

Mahadeo’s Crossfit 592 teammates, Jamie McDonald and Christian McRae, finished 18th and 19th overall respectively. McDonald injured his shoulder in the first event of the weekend and never recovered, but managed to

Guyana’s Dillon Mahadeo (red shirt) on the podium in Barbados on Sunday afternoon

first four events, only to be pipped on final event

by Trinidad and Tobago’s Mattheaus Othero. Othero was also champion at the Crossfit 12-12-12 in Trinidad and Tobago last

finish the opening day.

The other member of Guyana’s contingent at the event was Angelina DeAbreu, who served as Manager.

22 points. The league continues on Wednesday when Monedderlust FC clash with Buxton United at the aforementioned venue from 18:30 hrs.

anal 6 emerged winners of the 11th annual Satyadeow ‘Sash’ Sawh memorial dominoes tournament, played last Friday (Arrival Day) at Ernest Shop, Canal Number One, West Bank Demerara.

The tournament, organised and sponsored by Sash Secretariat, saw the eventual champions mark 79 games to win easily from International Six with 70 and the hosts who trailed on 62.

Apart from the first sitting when Canal 6 trailed International Six by three games, they took command and were only really challenged in the fifth which ended with both teams on 63 games.

However, the eventual winners tallied 16 games in a brilliant final sitting which saw International Six managing a mere seven while Sash Secretariat were never in contention.

Skipper Avinash Persaud led from the front for Canal 6 with the maximum 18 games and received admirable support from Ramroop Sukhai (16), Basdeo Persaud (14) and Surin Sukhai (13).

Cluade Stuart was International Six top player with 14 games while

Indra Persaud (right) hands over the winning trophy to Avinash Persaud of Canal 6 in the presence of other team members

Intikhab Alli, who played through, marked 13 in his first three sittings and 12 in the other three.

Govil Persaud was outstanding for Sash Secretariat with 15 games but saw two of his teammates, Kunal Persaud and Ameer Kham go down lover’s lane.

The winning and first runner-up trophies plus prizes for the three top players in each team were sponsored by Sash Secretariat while the Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy was add, compliments of Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall.

The three top players were Avinash Persaud of Canal 6, Claude Stuart of International 6 and Govil Persaud of Sash Secretariat.

Avinash also copped the MVP prize.

Sawh, a former Minister of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock, died under tragic circumstances on April 22, 2006 and a minute’s silence was observed for his passing prior to the commencement of the tournament.

Among those responsible for the staging of the tournament are United Statesbased Guyanese Mark Dookhan who served as driver to the late Minister, Sahadeo Mahabali, Vishnu Persaud and Indra Jagmohan. The organisers expressed sincere gratitude to the proprietor of Ernest Shop for allowing the venue to host the tournament over the years.

Police stand out at Boyce and Jefford Relay Festival T

he Police Sports Club (PSC) were for the most parts unstoppable on Sunday at Eve Leary as they ran away with the majority of races at the second Boyce and Jefford Relay Festival.

Davin Fraser anchored Police to a blow away win in the Men’s 4×100 metres in a team which team was also made of national athletes Linton Mentis, Kevin Abbensettes and Stephon Boodie.

Police Women mirrored their Male counterparts with a dominating run in the 4×100 metres as well. Super Upcoming Runners (SUR) brought second in both the Male and Female 4×100 metres, while Mercury Fast Laners was third in the Male 4×100 metres and Police ‘B’ third in the Female version of the event.

Police also had the female distance medley, the 4x200m mixed, and the male and female sprint medley relay wins. The men’s sprint medley in particular had the packed crowd thrilled as Police dug deep and climbed from third to emerge victorious.

The Distance Medley was much of the same with Police winning both the Male and Female versions of the events.

Police also won the 4×200 metres Mixed Event with the Police ‘B’ team finishing third and SUR separating the two for second.

However, the only event Police did not win w a s the 4×400 metres Mixed with SUR taking t o p honours; Police ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams took second and third respectively The event also featured cycling, softb a l l

cricket, five-a-side soccer and dominoes.

Indra Persaud (right) hands over the winning trophy to Avinash Persaud of Canal 6 in the presence of other team members

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

TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

4th Islamic Solidarity Games…

Pg 19

Guyana to be well represented in Azerbaijan ‒ coaches confident of strong showing by athletes

Winston George

Chelsea Edghill

Alita Moore

Pg 22

GCB launches 4th Cricketer Magazine GCB officials display copies of the magazine at the launch

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