Guyana Times Daily - October 27, 2015

Guyana remains on FATF blacklist

Crabwood Creek businessman shot in home

Guyana Defence Force troops during the final phase of Exercise Greenheart, in Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Region Seven

tuesday, october 27, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

Criminal gang busted at La Penitence –

gun and ammunition recovered

Acriminal gang suspected to have committed several highprofile robberies including that of an electronic store recently was busted by Police ranks on Sunday in Middle Road, La Penitence.

According to information received, Police ranks of A Division (Georgetown-East Bank), acting on intelligence received, swooped down on a house at Middle Road and conducted a search. During the search, they discovered an unlicensed .32 revolver, three rounds of 1x.32 and 2x .38 high-power ammunition. In addition, several mobile

phones were retrieved from the house.

At the time of the operation, six men who were in the house were arrested. From all reports, the men are known characters to the Police who were implicated in several criminal activities. Moments after being taken into custody, the men claimed ownership of the recovered gun and ammunition.

In light of the discovery, the Police are of the opinion that they will be able to crack some of the unsolved crimes following an analysis of the phone recovered and

the ballistic test on the firearm.

The six men are expected to be charged shortly.

However, Guyana Times understands that at least two of the men arrested were previously charged for armed robberies. This raid comes weeks after the gun amnesty programme during which at least 186 illegal guns and more than 1800 rounds of ammunition were handed over to the Police mainly from interior locations. None of the guns handed in, when tested, were involved in serious crimes.

PPP/C joins in UN’s 70th anniversary – calls on UN to remain engaged in border controversy

The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has joined with the international community in celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, and shared that it would continue to look to the UN for support on two main fronts.

Over the 70 years since its establishment in 1945, the 193-member UN and its bodies have faced several challenges as they worked indefatigably to implement their respective mandates.

Peace-keeping missions have been one of the most challenging areas for the UN since the death of Dag Hammarskjold, the second UN Secretary General, who was killed in a suspicious plane crash while on a Mission of Peace to the Congo in 1961.

The PPP/C noted that it has had long before Guyana’s independence recognised the UN as the premier multilateral and diplomatic theatre in the world and was asking that it remained fully and actively engaged as regards the territorial controversy raised by Venezuela within the meaning of the Geneva Agreement with a view of choosing a means of finding a peaceful settlement.

Secondly, the Opposition party noted that it would continue to look to the world body to remain engaged, as it was committed to, by way of a resolution – A/ RES/69/2002 of December 18, 2014, to promote a New Global Human Order which is “intended to prompt a reexamination of international cooperation and partnership and to explore the prospects of a viable consensus on people-centred development as a central pillar of the work of the UN in development in the 21st Century”.

It is for this reason that world leaders, Foreign Ministers and high-level Government representatives

such as their Permanent Representatives gather on a regular basis to utilise the UN as a forum for bilateral and multilateral meetings and negotiations to resolve and reach understandings and agreements with each other, the Party added.

“During its 70 years of existence, the UN has weathered many a storm. Attempts at constructing a post-Cold War structure for international peace and security, as well as re-constructing a system of international relations that offers stability, cooperation and progress has had their day at the UN,” the Opposition Party said in a statement on Monday.

It noted that calls for reform of the world body as well as enlargement of the membership of the Security Council, coming to grips with a financial crisis, addressing allegations of misuse and abuse of its resources; being blamed for indecisiveness and above all, engaging in advocacy in defence of marginalised and defenceless Member States, pushing programmes to fight poverty and underdevelopment were, interalia, some of the challenges the UN faced during its 70 years.

The Opposition Party added that it was interesting to note that over these years, the overwhelming majority of problems the UN

has tackled have been Third World related.

“Today (Tuesday), as we celebrate 70 years of its existence, the UN must continue to be the main voice for the weak and powerless among the community of nations,” PPP/C emphasised, “These are the Member States of the UN who seek the support of the world body as they struggle to grapple with the impact and effects of globalisation and marginalisation as well as persistent threats to their territorial integrity and national sovereignty.”

In this regard, the Party stated that every effort must be made by the UN to lift these countries and their peoples out of the marginal levels of existence and provide them with the all-round protection of their national patrimony.

The call for a New Global Human Order is expected to come up for debate in 2016 during the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

As Guyana joined with the nations of the world to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the UN, the PPP/C said it would continue to support the efforts of the world body to ensure that the principles established in the Charter are upheld and pursued in a world whose peoples aspire to live in peace and enjoy the fruits of progress and prosperity.

Over the 70 years since its establishment in 1945, the 193-member UN has had many challenges and successes

tuesday, october 27, 2015 |

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Tuesday, October 27 – 14:30h-16:00h and Wednesday, October 28 – 05:00h-06:30h

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Tuesday, October 27 – 15:55h-17:25h and Wednesday, October 28 – 16:35h-18:05h

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Weather: Heavy to light showers with sunny intervals can be expected throughout the day. Partly cloudy skies are expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees and 30 degrees Celsius.

Wind: North-easterly between 1.34 metres and 3.12 metres per second.

High Tide: 16:19h reaching a maximum height of 2.95 metres.

Low Tide: 09:53h and 22:19h reaching minimum heights of 0.37 metre and 0.24 metre respectively.

Despite US assurances

Guyana remains on FATF blacklist

Blundering once again, as Government hurriedly forced the passage of its own version of the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Bill 2015, Guyana still remains on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist despite premature assurances from Attorney General Basil Williams and US Chargé d’Affaires Bryan Hunt suggesting otherwise.

According to a recently published FATF report, Guyana still remains noncompliant with its recommendations.

“Since June 2015, Guyana has taken steps towards improving its AML/CFT regime… However, the FATF has determined that certain strategic deficiencies remain,” an excerpt from the report stated.

From the inception, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has been contending that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) version of the Bill did not meet the requirements set out by the international body. Even whilst in Opposition and despite evidence presented to them, the APNU and AFC stubbornly refused to accept that their version of the Bill was noncompliant and reverted to using their majority in the National Assembly to block the passage of the PPP/C-proposed AML/ CFT Bill.

After the Bill was finally passed in Parliament and became law this year, the PPP/C still asserted that it did not meet the FATF’s requirements, but the Attorney General insisted that it did. He had issued a press release stating that “Guyana is now fully compliant with the FATF’s requirements”.

The US Chargé d’Affaires also sought to assure the Guyanese populace that the Bill was fully compliant with FATF’s recommendations.

“If the Bill were to be passed in its current form, Guyana would then be fully compliant with the recommendations that have been put forward,” Hunt had posited.

But, despite Government’s argument, the FATF report confirmed the PPP/C’s position. It also noted that Guyana should continue to implement its action plan by ensuring and implementing an adequate legal framework for identifying, tracing and freezing terrorist assets; ensuring

a fully operational and effectively Functioning Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU); establishing effective measures for customer due diligence and enhancing financial transparency; and implementing an adequate supervisory framework.

The Compliant Version Contacted for a comment on the matter, former Attorney General Anil Nandlall said the situation was “very disappointing”.

In explaining the chain of events leading up to the current situation, he stated that specific directions were given and his Government precisely followed those directions and crafted the relevant amendments and regulations to the law.

“We did that and we forwarded that up to the examining bodies and consultants both at Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and American Regions Review Group (AARG) and at both levels we were told that our amendments were compliant and that our regulations were compliant,” Nandlall related.

Unfortunately, he noted, the new Government while in Opposition had put forward certain amendments which would have rendered Guyana noncompliant and which would have put Guyana through further scrutiny owing to the implications of those

amendments. Nandlall explained that APNU/AFC’s version then saw the possibility of certain aspects of Guyana’s law that was already compliant becoming noncompliant. Also, he said, some aspects of the proposed amendments conflicted with the recommendations Guyana was specifically asked to implement.

“We drew that to their attention whilst we were in Government but they used

their majority in the Select Committee to frustrate our efforts in passing the compliant version,” Nandlall stated.

Nonetheless, the former Attorney General related that his Government submitted APNU/AFC’s version to the CFATF, but even it pointed out that the document was noncompliant with the recommendations.

“They pointed out that those weren’t the directions given and that those amendments being proposed put the country in further problems…CFATF said that to us in writing. We submitted that letter to the Select Committee and the majority of the Select Committee was still not persuaded, even by CFATF to that effect. So they maintained their position stubbornly and when they became the Government, they passed it through the Parliament in one sitting,

they forced the amendment through in the absence of an opposition,” Nandlall related.

US interference

Nandlall also noted that it was extremely strange that the US Chargé d’Affaires would put out a statement saying that the AML/CFT Bill 2015 was compliant especially since the US continued to impose sanctions against Guyana for not being compliant.

“Strangely, they (Government) managed to get the American Embassy to put out a statement to say these amendments were compliant… Ironically, America is one of the countries, though they say we are compliant, they continue to impose sanctions against Guyana,” he posited.

“I don’t know how the American Embassy could have determined that (Guyana was compliant) when America themselves are subjected to the same requirements we are subjected to – but they issued a statement.”

Nandlall also alluded to the fact that the new Attorney General sought to mislead the public by issuing a press statement to the effect that Guyana became compliant when the Bill was not yet submitted to FATF at the time.

Attorney General Basil Williams

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall

US Chargé d’Affaires Bryan Hunt

Editor(ag): Michael Younge

Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

The UN at 70

The United Nations is 70 years old this year and as such should be congratulated for surviving long past the 26 years (1920-1946) that its predecessor – the League of Nations – lasted. Like the League of Nations, the UN was formed, in 1946, after a “Great War”, with the explicit goal of preventing future wars among nations. WWII was, of course, proof positive that the League had failed.

On the other hand, while we have had one “Cold War” and several “local” wars that in total took more lives than either WWI or WWII, none have escalated to the point of the major nations hurling their armaments at each other. With the nuclear bombs that ended WWII in Japan now made to look like firecrackers, such a war would certainly end in the destruction of civilisation. From this perspective, by providing a mechanism to allow nations to meet and at a minimum “discuss” their disagreements, the UN has to be evaluated as a “success story”.

It is a trite observation that the difference between intrastate politics and international politics is that in the former all the competitors for power operate on rules under which they are governed and through which they can be sanctioned if the rules are transgressed. The international political realm today is one where only the UN stands between a modicum of order and the law of the jungle, through the tacit acceptance of its legitimacy to apply its “dispute settlement rules” enshrined in Article 33 of its Charter:

“The parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, shall, first of all, seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice.”

The UN has, of course, also stood tall in placing human rights on the agenda of every country as it sought to establish a minimum common agenda on which all nations could agree in terms of the treatment of their own citizens. Even as it adhered to the original commitment that it would not interfere in the internal affairs of its member states, by facilitating processes that encourage those members to sign on to binding agreements, it is gradually creating a corpus of common international norms.

In fact, of recent, the “Right to Protect” (R2P) has been a gradually evolving doctrine that allows the Security Council to authorise actions to intervene in countries under some extreme conditions such as genocide. There is no question, however, that the UN is still dominated inordinately by the power structure that emerged from WWII and that as the equilibrium shifts, the UN’s power structure must also shift. But while some may rail against the slow pace of change, that in itself may have a positive impact since sudden power shifts can be disruptive in a global system.

Apart from Guyana being assisted by many of the various organs of the UN such as PAHO and the UNDP, the threat to our nation’s security at the moment – the Venezuela Border controversy – has been placed in one of those organs – the Good Officer Process of the UN Secretary General – for the past quarter century. That process has obviously not provided the peaceful relations between the two countries that was envisaged since Venezuela has, on several occasions during that time, made aggressive moves towards this country in attempting to impose its position on this country.

Just before the last elections, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government informed the UN Secretary General that it wished to suggest another mechanism in Article 33’s menu – judicial settlement. The new A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition government has supported this option and today, as this country joins with the UN in celebrating its 70th anniversary, it hopes the UN would remove the threat of war by persuading Venezuela to accept recourse to the World Court.

Increase in Ministers’ salaries must be contextualised and not taken lightly

Dear Editor,

The increase in Ministers’ salaries could have been placed in the public domain with different support for such actions, to include undisputable parameters associated with increased workload. The fundamental rudiments associated with the diverse workloads could have been presented for each Ministry for public debate if needed as well for public consumption.

Even without the increased workload public presentation, this new Government of Guyana (GoG) is faced with a humungous task to correct the multiplicity of existing manmade designed anomalies, of which many may be irreparable, and simultaneously create sustained developmental strategies that would facilitate in time, increased participation in the decision-making process that would affect the livelihood of all citizens of Guyana in an improved manner. The 50 per cent increase in salaries for each Minister of the GoG is not catastrophic, and very reasonable, as direct function of their respective work-loads.

Ministers of the current GoG, work at a minimum 16 hours each day for seven days a week, on call each day, and it does not stop there; the nature of their responsibilities are extreme and cognitively dense. These heavily weighted responsibilities are attached to the general management of individual sectors of the service and productive sectors of the COUNTRY. Such undertakings should not be taken lightly, but very careful analysis of these responsibilities, of which each has a core basis, relative to the design and analysis of public domain policies, must receive prior and meticulous interrogation.

The analysis of the Ministers’ salaries must capture the internal what, why and how mechanisms or machinery within administrative law upon which NATIONAL DECISIONS are made, and such an evaluation requires in-depth understanding of the design and analysis of pub-

lic domain policies of which labour is an intrinsic component.

The multiplicity of sometimes immeasurable performance oriented stresses sustained in the ministerial portfolio, to provide visionary, applicable, unique and easyto-understand policy structures, considering multilevel factorial with several tiers of sub-structures considerations and possible interactions associated with main inputs such as technical, globalised, managerial, specification based, legal, availability, conformance, economic, crossed by myriads of block variable features for utility by the end-user (citizen) to facilitate measurable outcomes, must be primary considerations.

These abovementioned comprehensive quality policy considerations provide for the legitimate, diverse, bottom-up, moral with built-in flexibilities, to generate multiplicities of alternative, definitive cost-effective solutions to whatever policy-oriented mechanism under consideration. These are the meticulous deliberations that must be laid out for operationalisation with quantitative measurements in order to improve the standard of living of all Guyanese, and, therefore, may be considered each Minister’s primary core responsibility.

This approach to analyse existing public domain policies as well as the formulation of new policies is no easy cut-and-dried task, since it requires considerable multidepth deliberations within open as well as closed doors. These abovementioned considerations form the envelope which encloses the what, why and how Ministers generate public domain policies to affect the citizens’ well-being, and especially those areas that facilitate improvement of the standard of living of all Guyanese.

We need to have a clear understanding associated with the complexity of the nature of, and the tremendous effort that is required to create

those logical frameworks with robust carrying capacities for sustainability, from which the citizens’ standard of living could be improved, within the Ideology of INCLUSIONARY DEMOCRACY (ID), as required by the preamble and Article 13 of the Constitution of Guyana. Recall it is the first time in the Guyana Space (GS) any political culture adapted ID for unity among Guyanese and that is very commendable, but this new ID approach to foster sustained unity among Guyanese hopefully is envisaged as what Ministers are currently addressing.

Many mistakes will be made to create the appropriate policies that may be able to transverse along this obstacle-laden journey for unity among all races in the GS, utilizing ID, but the said mistakes can surely be minimised in magnitude and frequency of their occurrence. The task before us is not an easy one to implement the principles and practices of ID, which have previously been articulated on 30 separate television programmes and a single workshop in each of Regions Two and Three combined; Four; Five and Six combined and 10 during early 2015.

Further, this tumultuous task of operationalisation of ID, and especially in those areas that are intimately attached to the industrialisation of the mind-boggling multiplicity of marketable natural resources of Guyana, would require not only visionary, quality, conscious leadership and an ignition with tremendous sacrifice, but, also a demonstration of a new brand of leadership with a keen eye at all times to balance risk against objectives, within a schedule of quality operations.

The leadership productive quality attributes the Ministers must possess to execute the new requirements associated with ID are competence, imagination, character, courage, honesty, integrity, resilience, energy and the ability to communicate any

applicable cost/benefit analysis associated with the matter at hand.

The period for the Ministers to bring to the citizens of Guyana master-plans for each service or productivity sector within the five-year tenure, would have its challenges associated with the eradication of seemingly a cultural impediment in the scale of corruption, as well as the confidence in the implementation strategies that would require unique innovative manoeuvrability, given the limitations of non-natural resources. It must be pointed out it is the sustained and derived streams of revenues from these multiple business ventures of different operational configurations, to include public/private hybrid relationships, which will provide those necessary financial resources to capitalise proposed unique and indigenous programmes geared towards the improvement of the downstream standard of living (livelihood) of the current population of Guyana, as well as for our future generations.

In other words, I submit that the planners (Ministers) have to develop realistic and flexible policy-oriented strategies within ID to secure the necessary and almost reliable streams of revenues to finance the diversity of programmes across economic development which is responsible for debt, growth, income, job creation and spending; environment; industrialisation; foreign affairs; institutional development; integration; and physical infrastructure. Other areas that will place competitive demands of same revenues are security; social services to include culture, education, health services, housing, labour and social welfare services; legislature; commissions and the judiciary, in an effort to satisfy the outlined requirements for the desired improvements.

Charles L Griffith,

A fishing day in Georgetown: This man was seen outside Camp Ayangana casting his net in hopes of catching some fish

Guyana-Venezuela border controversy

Guyana needs to keep options in quiver – Jagdeo

…Opposition should be engaged formally in process

Before embarking on a very significant trip to Essequibo following a Venezuelan diplomatic blitzkrieg through Caricom in an economicdirected move to gain support for its position on the border controversy with this country it had precipitated 50-odd years ago, former President and now Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo reiterated his Party’s support of the Government’s rejection of the Venezuelan revanchist claims, but emphasised that support should be formalised in the Border Committee President David Granger had proposed when the two met over a month ago.

He also strongly cautioned that Guyana must explore all options that did not involve relinquishing any land even while it pursued a juridical option for a full and final settlement on Venezuela’s claim that the “full and final” 1899 Arbitral Award was “null and void”.

At a press conference at the People’s Progressive Party’s headquarters on Robb Street, the former President said, “We thought we would move forward in a structured way. I have made it quite clear in the first meeting (between myself and President Granger), we would be a participant, an active participant of the Border Committee. We would like that Committee to be put in place so that a lot of these issues can be ventilated in those circles or in the Committee itself. So, I want to urge the President to put the Border Committee in place, to operationalise it.”

The former President, with 12 years’ experience under his belt at the helm of the country, proceeded in a “Socratic question and answer” manner to suggest the framework within which the country should analyse its options. Unfortunately, neither the

reports emanating from the press conference nor the gloss given by one commentator supplied the answers to the questions that would have made the discourse intelligible.

Jagdeo began by asking, “We have declared that we want a juridical settlement. Is that part of the menu available to the Secretary General under the [United Nations] Charter?” The answer was “yes” since Jagdeo, of course, knew that this was one of the options in Article 33 of the UN Charter that

the Geneva Convention mandates as the mechanism for settling the controversy.

Anticipating that answer, the President continued: “Will the UN be prepared to recommend that to Venezuela as part of the settlement?” The answer to this question is subtle for it assumes the listener understands that while the UN Secretary General can “recommend” an option to go forward, both parties to the controversy have to agree. Up to now, Venezuela has been adamant in rejecting the juridical route and based on experience in diplomatic intermediation, it was unlikely that the Secretary General would want the matter to reach a deadend impasse. More likely he would want to keep the process “in play”.

Within this context, Jagdeo’s next question suggests the dilemma Guyana faces if the Secretary General is given no room for diplomatic manoeuvre: “If it is not part of the menu available to the Secretary General under the Charter(via Venezuela’s veto) , does this mean we will have to go it alone and lose UN’s involvement in the process?”

And Guyanese are led to facing the stark consequences of Guyana going it alone against Venezuela without the UN’s wider perspective of protect-

ing smaller states against the depredations of larger states. The “depredations” are not confined to military force, but include economic and diplomatic initiatives as illustrated by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s sweep from Suriname to St Lucia.

On this crucial issue, Jagdeo concluded, “So these are some issues that we could have raised privately, but as I said before, we have not been able to do so in the absence of the Border Committee.”

Options

Illustrating what he meant by having “options that do not involve Guyana giving up any land” while offering Venezuela something it may want, Jagdeo elaborated that the PPP/ Civic while in office had internally explored as one of five options, the possibility of giving Venezuela access to the Atlantic Ocean offshore Guyana, without giving up any of the land territory or compromising the 1899 Tribunal Award, as part of a deal to settle the long-running border controversy. However, these options were never presented to the Venezuelans.

“There were other options that involved a negotiated settlement which did not see any land concession, that the 1899 Award would remain intact, that there was one view that you could probably on the maritime area give Venezuela a channel out to sea so you make a slight concession on the maritime area but make sure that you do not concede any territory that is land-based because the maritime boundaries still are yet to be determined,” he said.

Jagdeo emphasised that since Guyana was still in the process of demarcating its maritime borders and the channel to the Atlantic would in any case be from the mouth of its Orinoco, the result would be inconsequential to us but significant to the Venezuelans.

As has been pointed out by President Granger in his report on the border controversy to Parliament, President Carlos Andres Perez had once proposed a settlement based on such a passage to the Atlantic (salida al Atlantico).

Furthermore, as reported in June by PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee, Forbes Burnham had actually made an offer to the

Venezuelans: “Rashleigh Jackson had one time suggested to his Venezuelan counterpart Zambrano Velasco that Guyana might be disposed to provide Venezuela with an ‘outlet to the Atlantic’, but he was rebuffed:”The idea of granting the passage of Venezuelan transport vessels… is not a proposal that might interest Venezuela. Venezuela aspires to an

outlet to the Atlantic free from all foreign control and over which Venezuela exercises full sovereignty.” was Zambrano’s reply.”

Again, the point that the former President was making is that in diplomacy a country must always be prepared to have several options in its quiver that would still allow the country’s interests to be protected.

President David Granger

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Page Foundation

How can I bring peace to the “witching hours”?

Late afternoons are always the hardest part of my day, as I struggle to get dinner on the table and deal with the needs, whines, and tantrums of my three kids. Any advice for how to cope with these so-called “witching hours”? – Kira

Those few hours before dinnertime can be anything but fun. Children are often overtired, hyper, and cranky. You’re exhausted. And everybody’s hungry. It’s natural for tempers to flare and parents to lose their patience.

It often helps to establish a late-afternoon routine. Whether your children are just home from school or childcare, or have spent the day with you, offer them a healthy snack if dinnertime is far off. Then, give them time for active play to help channel some of that extra energy. Suggest playing outside or put on some music and let them jump and dance and move around.

If you’ve spent most of the day away from your children, they’re probably craving some quality “mommy” time. In that case, set aside some time to spend with your children. Doing prep work for dinner earlier in the day (or the night before) might make this easier to do. Ask your child to choose an activity that you can do together, whether it’s reading aloud, playing a game, or just talking. Giving children your full attention now will make it easier on you in the long run. They’ll be less demanding of your time when you have to devote

your energy to cooking a meal.

After the children have released some of that energy, try to have them wind down before dinner. Active play can be followed by quiet time, which may include reading, doing homework, or play-

table and fold napkins, while older children can measure ingredients, pour beverages, or wash produce.

Children need supervision when they’re in the kitchen.

Preschoolers must learn not to touch whirring electric beaters,

ing nicely with siblings or alone. You might also suggest they help out with dinner. Children who are included in mealtime preparation are more likely to eat (and enjoy!) their meals. Enlist younger children to help set the

hot pans, and stovetops.

Here are some safety tips: Give frequent reminders about what’s OK to touch and which items can hurt them.

Talk about which kitchen tasks are for grown-ups and which are

for children.

Establish kitchen rules, such as washing hands and not touching stove knobs or knives.

Even older children will need safety reminders, especially if they’re working with appliances and knives, or at the stove.

Children cannot be counted on to be neat in the kitchen. Even adults have trouble with that. To make your experience together more enjoyable, allow for some extra mess and try to be patient. To prevent cooking disasters, be sure your child isn’t measuring ingredients over the bowl — risking a big oops. Instead, you might measure them separately and put them in small bowls, like they do on TV cooking shows.

Even if everything doesn’t go perfectly, try to keep the mood light. If the egg gets more smashed than cracked, offer some guidance and let your child try again. Little by little, children will gain these skills — and feel great once they’re mastered.

Last, but not least, be sure to compliment your assistant chefs on a job well done. Offer them first taste of whatever you cooked together — and ask what you should make together next time.

If you’ve tried these options and your children are still leaving you frazzled before dinnertime, consider hiring a mother’s helper for an hour or two. Maybe you can ask your neighbours if they’d like to alternate afternoons on a regular basis. (Excerpt from kidshealth)

Attachment: battleground in the parenting wars? (Conclusion)

They do say the devil is in the details, and this seems to be true when it comes to battles over parenting styles. Can your children be well-adjusted and successful even if they don’t make flawless grades because you’ve allowed playdates, sleepovers and participation in school plays? Of course they can, says Diana Holquist. In her memoir titled Battle Hymn of the Tiger Daughter , she presents an entertaining response to Chua’s approach, insisting that her own highachieving children managed to succeed without having been yelled at, belittled, pushed and micromanaged. And what is success anyway, Holquist asks? She hints that there is more to it than “‘elite’ awards and honours,” pointing out that both of her children made straight As in school while excelling at extracurricular activities and entrepreneurial ventures, despite the fact that she “loved to coddle”. In Western society, she notes, “controlling, exploitive, intolerant, and violent behaviour toward the powerless is frowned upon. This is why what tiger mothers call discipline, Western mothers recognise as potentially harmful neurosis.”

There seems to be an underlying theme: even Chua’s relationship with her daughter improved when she began to attune, empathise and allow at least some room for autonomy. Clearly any parenting philosophy that advocates empathy and attunement along with clear boundaries –allowing room for children to grow in decision-making, self-regulation, social development and other important core skills –is going to be in the right ballpark whether the details include slings, French food or striped jungle animals. What kind of mom or dad do you see yourself as? (After all, fathers parent too.) Insist on virtuoso progeny if you must, but whatever you do, don’t neglect the important work of attuning, responding and connecting to your children. Smile, frown and laugh with them, hug them when they cry. Empathise with them, love them and guide them. Emotional distance is not the pathway to independence and selfsufficiency. Rather, children need a secure emotional base from which to explore and master their world. Creating this base is the fundamental point of any effective parenting style. (www.vision.org)

Sugar industry shutdown GuySuCo needs to engage in collective bargaining – GAWU – strike action illegal – Sugar Corporation

BY KRISTEN MACKLINGAM

As the sugar industry continues to be shut down due to on-going strike action by its workers across the sugar belt since Sunday, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is recording massive losses in production and revenues.

On Monday, the Guyana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) explained that the reason for this drastic course of action by its members is that the sugar corporation continues to postpone discussions with the Union on the wages increase issue for 2015.

Guyana Times was told that GAWU’s wage claim was submitted to GuySuCo since March 8, 2015 and that the corporation was urged by the Union over the months to begin negotiations.

“At a meeting on September 16, 2015, the corporation fixed October 07, 2015 to begin to address the Union’s claims for wages and adjustment to certain fringe benefits. This date was set to follow the conclusion of the work of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the sugar industry, which was expected to be concluded on September 30, 2015. However, the Corporation by letter dated October 06, 2015 to the Union requested a further deferment,” GAWU said in a statement on Monday.

According to the sugar workers’ Union, the letter made reference to the expected recommendations from the COI, stating that now will not be the opportune time for GuySuCo and GAWU to commence negotiations on salary increases, when such an important report is awaited.

“The workers exercised restraint and goodwill. The COI report was presented to the Agriculture Ministry on October 19, 2015 yet the Union has been unable to get

the Corporation to sit at the bargaining table for wages discussions,” GAWU said, adding that GuySuCo’s position is in breach of Section 23 (1) of the Trade Union Recognition Act (TURA).

Section 23 (1) of TURA states that where a trade union obtains a certification of recognition for workers comprised in a bargaining unit in according with this Part, the employer shall recognise the Union, and the Union and the employer shall bargain in good faith and enter into negotiations with each other for the purpose of “collective bargaining.”

This newspaper was further informed that at the meeting of the Union’s General Council of October 24, discussions were held based on the prevailing situation with respect to the non-commencement of the negotiations. It was there that the unanimous agreement was taken to engage in protest action as a result of the corporation’s breach of Section 23 (1) of TURA.

“The Union is now being told that we need to await consideration of the COI report by the Government. We also wish to note that since the restoration of Collective Bargaining in the sugar industry in 1989, at the insistence of international financial institutions, the commencement of wage negotiations for the past25 years never delayed as late as October,” GAWU added.

Respect the law

According to GAWU, under the previous Administration by this time each year, whether or not GuySuCo’s performance was good or not, the Corporation and the Union would have already discussed the issue of wages with such negotiation being resolved or the parties being close to an agreement.

As such, the Union is calling on the corpora-

tion to respect the law and the Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) and to allow the “unusually positive sugar production momentum” to hold.

“The excellent harvesting result should be a strong motivation to GuySuCo

workers who are also eligible to benefit from wage increases are not being given a chance for such negotiations.

However, on Monday GuySuCo lashed out at the course of action taken by GAWU and sugar workers, saying such a move is not only harmful to the industry but it is illegal. According to the sugar corporation, the strike is considered illegal since it was called without compliance with the established procedure.

The sugar corporation explained that when the strike action commenced on Sunday, a letter was written to the General Secretary of GAWU Seepaul Narine, notifying him as such.

“The 1976 extant ‘Recognition and the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes’ Agreement between the corporation and Union (GAWU) informs un-

der General Questions (industry level) clause 5. (2) (ii) … ‘the Union’s General Secretary may within seven (7) days give to the association’s (Corporation)

Industrial Relations Officer in writing 72 hours’ notice of the Union’s intention to strike. We therefore consider this strike illegal having not received such notice. We need not remind you of the severe harm that this strike will inflict on our people, industry, and nation at a time when we are working assiduously to ensure our survival,” the corporation’s release stated.

As such, GuySuCo is reiterating its call to the Union and the estates’ representatives for a cessation of the strike action, a speedy return to normalcy and dialogue, in the interest of the employees, the industry, and the nation as a whole.

at this time to engage the workers’ Union in Collective Bargaining to address the wages negotiations.”

The GAWU General Council also noted that other public sector employees have already been granted wage/ salary increases since the passage of the 2015 Budget. However, seemingly sugar

Political motivation Meanwhile, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Clement Rohee on Monday debunked claims that the strike action had been politically motivated. He told reporters the ongoing industrial action at GuySuCo has no political motivation and this is clearly a case where workers are protesting through strike action for what they believe they deserve.

He posited that sugar workers have a right to demand an increase in their wages given that the APNU+AFC Government have recently awarded itself massive pay hikes for top officials.

Rohee noted that all workers who engage in such forms of industrial action must feel peeved by recent actions taken by the APNU+AFC administration.

“When workers feel peeved, the only weapon that they have to resort to make their voice heard is strike action. As I see it, I think it is clearly and unequivocally an industrial action,” he stated.

On Sunday, thousands of sugar workers across the country downed tools in an effort to push for higher wages. Operations at all sugar factories were adversely affected and will cost GuySuCo millions of dollars as a consequence of the workers’ decision to strike. (kristenm@ guyanatimesgy.com)

GAWU President Komal Chand

Trailer loads of cane at the Wales Estate, West Bank Demerara

tuesday, october 27, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

Businessman remanded on illegal gun, ammunition charges

AWilliam Street, Campbellville, Georgetown busi nessman was on Monday remanded to prison when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with illegal possession of guns and am munition.

Orandoi McKoy, 34, a shop owner of Lot 16 William Street, Campbellville, pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared be fore Magistrate Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

It is alleged that on October 23, 2015 at William Street, he had in his pos session a 9mm pistol and 15 live matching rounds of ammunition without having a license.

According to the facts

man, who owns and operates two shops, one at his residence and another

at Orange Walk, Bourda,

Jeffers stated that on the day in question, Police attached to the narcotics unit went to the home of the accused to conduct a search. Before commencing the search, one of the ranks asked McKoy whether he was the only person present in the building, and the only person with access to the premises. McKoy responded in the positive. The Prosecutor revealed that a search was conducted in presence of the accused and the firearm and ammunition found concealed in a cupboard in the

The accused’s Attorney Peter Hugh argued that the search which resulted in the discovery of the fire-

arm and matching ammunition was found in an area where others occupied. He alleged that the accused had in his employment several persons and as such, they have access to the shop and cupboard.

He requested reasonable bail, stating that the alleged gun and ammunition were neither found on his client’s person or in his possession.

Prosecutor Jeffers objected to bail, stating that the Prosecution’s facts differ from the accused’s story and cited the prevalence of the offence.

The Magistrate refused bail, stating that there were no special reasons provided for bail.

The case will continue on November 16.

Albouystown resident remanded

on stabbing charge

An Albouystown resident was on Monday remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged for unlawful and malicious wounding.

Patrick Smith was not required to plead to the

indictable charge which stated that on October 23 at Independence Boulevard (Punt Trench), Albouystown, Georgetown, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded Michael Ridley, the Virtual Complainant (VC).

The 20-year-old denied the charge. Police

Prosecutor, Sergeant Neville Jeffers told the court that the VC and the defendant were known to each other. He revealed that prior to the incident, the VC’s son and the defendant had an altercation.

According to the Prosecutor, on October 23, Smith reportedly ap-

proached the VC with two knives in his hand and dealt him several stab wounds. Jeffers related that the investigation file is incomplete as there were outstanding statements on the matter. As such, Magistrate McLennan refused bail. The case will continue on November 16.

Labourer remanded for armed robbery

Alabourer charged for armed robbery was on Monday remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Aubrey Bobb, 24, of 519 East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was not required to plead to the indictable charge which stated that on July 14, 2015 at Ruimveldt Public Road while in the company of another and armed with a dangerous weapon, he robbed the Virtual Complainant (VC), Demetri Samad of three United States of America identification cards, one

Guyana identification card, three discount cards, one Republic Bank ATM card a Blackberry Z10 smartphone valued at $80,000 and $32,000 cash.

The accused told the court he has known the Virtual Complaint for the past 24 years and they have never had any altercations. He further told the court he is confused as to why the VC would make false accusations against him.

While Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers did not reveal the particulars of the offence, he objected to bail based on the seriousness of the of-

fence, the prevalence of it and the fact that a gun was allegedly used during the robbery.

He also pointed out that the accused provided the Court a different address from that which was provided to the Police. He further revealed that while the accused was not placed on an identification parade, he was positively identified by the VC.

The Magistrate refused bail and remanded the accused.

The case will continue on November 2.

Conductor charged for stealing cell phones

Aminibus conductor was on Monday brought before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with larceny.

Renold Hercules, 21, of 58 Front Road, West Ruimveldt was not require to plead to the charge, which alleged that on October 14 at West Ruimveldt, he stole from Keon Tappin one Iphone valued $65,000, one Blackberry valued $45,000 and a Samsung Galaxy valued 45,000, all to

a total of $155,000. According to the particulars presented by Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers, on the day of the incident the VC left the defendant at his house and upon return he discovered the items missing. He confronted the defendant about the missing items. The Prosecutor told the court that the defendant returned two of the phones but withheld the iPhone. The matter was reported and the defendant arrested

and charged.

During the the court proceeding, the defendant stated that he saw the cellular phones and took them for his own benefit.

The VC then revealed to the court that he does not wish to proceed with the charges as he had come to a settlement with the defendant.

The Magistrate ordered the defendant to compensate the VC in the sum of $40,000 by October 30 or face an alternative of four months in prison.

Eyew tness Quality people…

…for LGE

It would seem that at long last – after 21 years – enough time for a newborn to become an adult!! – Guyana’s going to have Local Government Elections (LGE). After 21 years – this Eyewitness doesn’t give a hoot what anyone says – very few citizens know what that means, except maybe our local Rip Van Winkles who’d been sleeping for those 21 years!

But even more exciting than the elections themselves will be the foreplay between the members of the APNU/ AFC coalition. Are we going to have a new “Cummingsburg Accord?” Inquiring minds want to know! The threshold issue would be whether to go into those elections separately or together or with local non-political folks or not. Decisions… decisions …decisions!

Right now, with Salary-gate refusing to go away – it might be more of a case of if they don’t hang together , they’ll all hang separately! And there are those who believe they’ll all be swinging in the wind even if together. If “all politics is local”, then LGE are as granular as you can get.

LGE aren’t just about bridges across rivers where the leaders can BS for years about “financial models”. LGE are about drains that are clogged with sewage and if those elected don’t get them cleaned – and now! – then the people know whose house they can throw rocks at!

The coalition’s used up all the “trust” they’d been given on May 11. In fact, nowadays people are talking about 5/11 in the same tones Americans use when they mention 9/11 – a disaster on an epic scale. And it was because of this attitude that there was that collective snort by the entire country when Trotman begged, “Trust us”!! Wasn’t thunder!l

But there’s another problem with LGE: can Guyana afford this additional level of bureaucracy that demands “quality people” for thousands and thousands of jobs. Their incentive wouldn’t necessarily be from the massive 50 per cent salary increases the Executive bestowed on itself. Naaaah…that’s peanuts compared to the 100 per cent given to the Regional Executive Officers (REOs).

And that’s only considering salaries. We can’t forget the duty-free car that all regional officials would be demanding to see their “constituents” – like their hero the PM. And then also, if the said PM Nagamootoo couldn’t stand having Basil Williams the AG – getting more money than he, does anyone really think the Regional Chairmen will accept less than the REOs?

Not in this life, baby! And there can be no turning back in this new movement to only hire “quality people”.

And we know if these “quality people” don’t get paid like quality people, they’d be “thiefing” right, left and centre! And we can’t have that, can we?

…and quality tactics

While democracy might be just a couple of hundreds of years old, the art of governance is probably the second oldest profession in the world. So the modern ruler has lots of examples and models he (or she?) can fall back on in a pinch. Or in a spot of bother!

Burnham had his hero, Machiavelli and it’s said he carried around the latter’s “The Prince” wherever he went. Wheeling, dealing, betrayal and treachery as he looked out for number one were his guiding principles (if we can use that word!!) While this Government’s stacked with followers of the Kabaka, it seems they’ve gone further back for their model.

What we have today is the “bread and circus” of the Romans – but with an important twist. APNU/AFC has done away with the bread and is only holding circuses.

No salary raise (bread) beyond five per cent – but a “celebration” every day and all year round. Inauguration, Independence...Balls, BBQ, whatever.

Life’s a circus, baby!

…in sugar

Seems that sugar workers want to show they’re “quality people” too. And like their Prime Minister, want to get paid accordingly. So they’re out on strike.

But they should know that all workers aren’t the same to this Government – and they might be digging their own graves.

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

IICA celebrates 40 years of service to Guyana

– Agriculture Ministry pledges commitment to continuous partnership

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) on Monday celebrated 40 years of service to Guyana’s agriculture sector, and Agriculture Minister Noel Holder pledged his continued commitment to the organisation.

IICA has been operational in Guyana since 1975, providing technical assistance in agriculture through a multitude of projects in the areas of fruit production, improved livestock husbandry and animal health, rural development and agro-processing.

Several of the organisations’ strategic partners in-

clude Caricom, the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), and the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA).

Some of its major achievements from 1975 to 2015 include supporting Guyana’s dairy development, promoting food safety and agricultural health, disease surveillance, tertiary education support, rural development support, strengthening rural communities and the further development of human capital.

Addressing the celebration, Minister Holder stated that the work of IICA in Guyana was indeed an initiative to celebrate, as he has seen the commitment of the staff of the agricultur-

Guyana remains...

“And then the other thing is, Mr Williams issued a statement through AG Chambers when the Bill was passed, he made a very strange public announcement that the Bill was compliant with FATF requirements when the Gill was not even seen or submitted to FATF as yet…It was only submitted to the Americas Review Group… But Mr Williams misled the nation by prematurely announcing that we are compliant,” he said.

AML/CFT Bill 2015

Among the amendments proposed by the Government is removing the power of the Attorney General and investing it in the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit. According to the PPP/C, the Government proposed an amendment to Section 2(2) of the AML/CFT Act 2009 by deleting the words ‘Attorney General’ wherever they appear and replacing them with the word ‘Director’.

“It should be noted that the primary function of the FIU as stated in the first criterion of FATF Recommendation 26 of the Third Round is to serve as a national centre for receiving, analysing and disseminating disclosures of suspicious transaction reports and other relevant information concerning suspected money laundering or financing terrorism activities.

“Countries should consider whether the Director of the FIU given his main function is the appropriate official

from page 3

with respect to resources and qualifications to ensure that entities are listed, evidence presented to judges in connection with listing and orders by judges in relation to listing are reviewed. This function is closely linked to the application for court orders to seize and freeze criminal proceeds of the listed entities, a function that is carried out usually by the Attorney General in his/her role as legal adviser to the Government to fulfil a country’s international legal obligations. Additionally, the Attorney General in his/her role as legal adviser to the State helps to establish the legality of listing and the actions to be done in accordance with it.”

The other contentious amendments are the establishment of an AML/CFT Authority whose members will be appointed by the National Assembly, and the removal of the powers of the Finance Minister to appoint the Director and the power of the President to dismiss the Director and placing these powers in the Authority. The Authority will also be responsible for overseeing the operations of the FIU.

The PPP/C is contending that the above amendment as stated appears to undermine the autonomy of the FIU. “As stipulated in the criteria of FATF Recommendation 26, the FIU should have sufficient operational independence and autonomy to ensure that it is free from undue influence or interference. The assigning of the

al organisation in attaining their objectives and results.

“I pledge the continued support of my Ministry to your cause, as agriculture continues to be a pillar in Guyana’s development,” Minister Holder shared, “we have each played our part and continue to play a lead role in this advancement.”

The Agriculture Minister explained, however, that unfortunately while there were many successes that many can attest to, there were major areas that still needed to be improved.

He posited that the Government’s vision for agriculture is a holistic approach to not only ensure food and nutrition security,

responsibility of oversight of the operations of the FIU to the AML/CFT Authority effectively eliminates the operational independence and autonomy and does not comply with the requirement of Recommendation 26.”

The third issue which has raised the ire of the PPP/C is the amendment to Section 37 by extending the powers of a Police Officer or Customs Officer to seize $10 million in cash or more anywhere in Guyana upon suspicion that such cash is derived from a serious offence, will be used to commit a serious offence, is involved in money laundering or where a false declaration was made, and also giving these same powers to the FIU. “The above amendment is not a specific requirement of the FATF standards. It is noted that no deficiency with respect to this obligation was noted in Guyana’s Mutual Evaluation Report for the Third Round. Similar provisions are in place in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines with safeguards which include limiting the initial period of seizure to hours and requiring judicial approval for any extension of the period.”

Moving forward

Moving forward, Guyana will now have to await further directions from FATF in terms of where it is still deficient. Guyana will then have to make attempts to fulfil the outstanding deficiencies and report again to the reviewing bodies.

but to also create jobs by developing more lands for agricultural pursuits, especially in the intermediate savannahs which are also

the country’s second frontier for agricultural development.

The Minister noted that the Ministry pledged its continued partnership in working closely and continuously to address the sector’s needs and realise the benefits of its relationship.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder and local IICA Representative Wilmot Garnett

PPP/C slams Government’s township proposal as a ‘sham’

Opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) is asserting that Government’s move to transform Bartica, Region Seven; Mabaruma, Region One; Mahdia, Region Eight and Lethem, Region Nine into townships is just another attempt by the Government gain control of the regions by replacing current PPP/C Regional Chairmen with pro-government Mayors and Town Clerks.

On Monday, the Party said the “so called consultations” with residents on the issue of townships is a “sham and a mere window-dressing exercise.”

Speaking at the Party’s weekly media conference, General Secretary Clement Rohee said the Government is hoping that by transforming these locations into municipalities it will regain control “through attempts at fear, intimidation and social bribes.”

Rohee highlighted that there are no plans in place to guarantee the improvement of the lives of residents of the four proposed townships, contending that by simply bestowing upon these villages the “township status” will not greatly influence the transformation of these locations.

“The PPP wishes to point

out that no amount of visits to hospitals, tree planting exercises or social bribes such as distribution of shoes and sport gears at Lethem, Mabaruma and other communities will convince residents that the services provided by the extant Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) will qualitatively improve by moving from an RDC to a municipally,” he pointed out.

Therefore, Rohee firmly insisted that the transformation of these villages into towns is all a part of a plan for the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change

(APNU/AFC) coalition to emerge as winners of the impending Local Government Elections (LGE).

Moreover, Rohee highlighted that there are a lot of issues which still needs to be settled before the LG Elections are held, including the legal and administrative measures required to transform Bartica, Mabaruma, Madhia and Lethem into townships.

Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan has already presented to the National Assembly the Bill to have these four locations transformed into towns. The Bill is yet to be debated and approved by the House.

Meanwhile, Government has already announced that Local Government Elections are likely to be held in March 2016 but the PPP/C has raised some concerns about this date.

“Local Government Elections is likely to be held in the second quarter of next year and in the midst of Nationwide celebrations marking Guyana’s 50th Anniversary of Independence,” Rohee posited.

He pointed out that it is ironic that the Nation had to await a meeting between the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) and representatives of the ABC coun-

tries to learn that LGE will be held in 2016.

“It was not until the said meeting with the western countries’ diplomats that the Government sprung into action through Raphael Trotman… so it was the Minister responsible for Governance and not Bulkan, the subject Minister who announced who is to name the date when Local Government elections will be held,” Rohee further asserted.

While on the topic of Local Government Elections, Rohee reiterated the Party’s demands to Gecom. The Party is requesting that Gecom ensure each elector is placed in the specific constituency and/ or NDC where they are residing and is on the appropriate list of electors specific to that constituency and/ or NDC; the boundaries for each NDC and constituency are settled to the complete satisfaction of the PPP with the names and addresses of each elector situated within the relevant boundary where the elector is a resident; the Claims and Objections period be held in conformity with the lists of elections agreed upon and accepted by the political parties; mount an aggressive and user-friendly public relations campaign targeted to specific issues of concern to the elector and the proportional representation and constituency electoral process; launch an aggressive public relations campaign encouraging electors to take advantage of transfers to allow them to vote at the elections; and ensure there is public vetting of polling staff already in the pool save their placement at specific polling stations.

US$11.9M Flood Risk Management Project implemented

Over 300,000 citizens in flood prone regions of East Demerara is expected to benefit from the US$11.9 million Flood Risk Management Project (FRMP) which is being executed under the Agriculture Sector Development Unit of the Agriculture Ministry.

The project, which emanated from the pre-feasibility studies done under the Conservancy Adaptation Project, will see three new pump stations constructed at Buxton/Friendship, Lusignan, and Hope/Enmore areas on the East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Additionally, the project will see the rehabilitation of sections of the East Demerara Water Conversancy (EDWC) dams.

In general, the project seeks to upgrade critical sections of the EDWC dams and canals and aims to significantly improve the drainage capacity in priority areas and increase institutional capacity by implementation of dam safety measures and practices, including installation of instruments to monitor the hydrometeorological data.

The project also caters for the acquisition of heavy equipment to facilitate the upgrading and increased pumping

Timehri Police Station rape allegation

capacity of the critical drainage areas. This initiative is expected to last for 4½ years.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder met with Project Coordinator Dhaneshwar James along with stakeholders of the Project Coordination Committee on Monday to highlight the way forward for the initiative, regarding the strategies to be put into place to improve the flood-defence systems to cope with heavy rainfall in Guyana. The Committee was established to provide necessary advice and guidance on issues relative to the undertaking, assist with resolving strategic level issues and risks, and to influence the project in achieving its goals as well as a positive outcome. This project is a collaborative effort between the Guyana Government and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group.

Following the great flood of 2005, the Guyana Government has been working closely with the World Bank, among other international organisations and donor agencies to further develop a comprehensive flood risk reduction strategy.

Victim suffered from haemorrhoids – Police source

The Timehri resident who accused a senior Police rank at Timehri Police Station of sexually molesting him is reportedly suffering from haemorrhoids — an ailment he had for some months.

This is according to a Police source who on Monday told Guyana Times that the alleged victim of rape was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) where doctors confirmed that he was suffering from the ailment.

According to the source, the doctor confirmed it was would have been near impossible to have anal sex with the man, adding that his condition was serious. This would have been the reason for his discomfort during his detention at the Police station.

However, the source stated that following the allegation, senior Police ranks and members of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) travelled to the area to conduct investigations.

The cellmates of the alleged victim reportedly claimed the man had fabricated the story. “The area where he told police that the act was committed

was in the corridor which has the inquiries office… I don’t think a Police rank would be so crazy to commit such an act, knowing that people can come out of the offices at any time”, the Police source stated.

This newspaper was told the man’s neighbours reportedly told Police that he has been suffering from the ailment for quite a while and would solicit financial assistance from neighbours to visit the hospital on a regular basis.

The OPR is expected to wrap-up its investigations, with a report forwarded to top cop Seelall Persaud.

After the news broke about the incident, Persaud had instructed the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to launch an investigation into the allegation

According to reports, the 36-year-old man claimed he was forced to have unprotected sex with a Police officer in exchange for a case against him being dropped.

It was reported that the victim who lives alone, attended a barbecue on Saturday evening and as he was heading home, he was held up by a neighbour who accused him of

stealing.

A scuffle reportedly ensured and the man threatened to make a report to the Police. On his way, he was accosted by Police ranks and taken to the Timehri Police Station. There he was told of a report made against him in connection with a break and enter and larceny offence. He was however incarcerated for three days and had to depend on food and water from fellow inmates. On the night of the incident, he told a media operative, the detective who was handling the case went to him requesting additional information after which he promised to let him go.

The rank reportedly forced the inmate to have sex with him and promised to drop the matter but to his surprise, he was charged and sent to court. This incident came close to two years after Colwyn Harding had accused a Police rank of sodomising him with a baton while in custody at the Timehri Police Station. The matter was first made public after the mother of the young man had approached the media.

PPP/C General Secretary Clement Rohee

US$11.9M

Pensioners beaten, robbed

An elderly East Coast Berbice (ECB) couple has been left traumatised after they were beaten and robbed during a home invasion.

According to reports, on Sunday at about 22:00h five bandits stormed the Lot 257 Number Two Village, East Coast Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) home of 62-year-old Patrick Mangra and Revina Seeberchan and robbed them of a quantity of cash, jewellery and electronics, among other items.

Speaking with this newspaper, Mangra said he and his wife took their usual nightly visit to a nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner, and upon return home the masked bandits pounced on them.

“We went in and sit down under the house, not ready to go upstairs as yet and I see three men run-

ning coming from the back with their face tied up,” Mangra related, adding that the men overpowered him despite attempts to fight them off.

He related that the bandits choked him as they dragged him to the back of the house. “They tear off the vest I was wearing and tied my hands. I fight with

them and one of them say hit him… After two hours I wake up and I see my foot tie and everything in the house gone,” the distressed man related.

He revealed that he did not see if any of the robbers were armed with a gun and that he was unsure what the weapon used to hit him was. He related that while this was going on, two other masked men overpowered his wife and forced her into the house while demanding that she cooperate. The robbers relieved the couple of both local and foreign currency.

The intruders also escaped with the couple’s passports, three cellular phones, three gold chains and a bracelet, as well as an 82-inch television set, among other items.

Seeberchan was also beaten and bound as the entire house was being ransacked and items

US grants permission for Dynamic Airways’ agri cargo service

The airline recently announced its intention to introduce the direct cargo service which will provide the capacity to boost agricultural exports

Dynamic International Airways’ plan to introduce a direct agricultural cargo service to New York from Guyana has already gotten permission from the United States authorities and is currently awaiting approval from Guyana.

In addition to increasing the frequency of flights to Georgetown, the airline recently announced its intention to introduce the direct cargo service which will provide the capacity to boost agricultural exports.

Local representative of Dynamic Airways, Captain Gerry Gouveia stated that the Boeing 767 aircraft is spacious and has the capacity to store and transport 10 tonnes of fresh fish, vegetables, fruits, ground provisions and other raw produce. He also noted that the business community can utilise the cargo service for approved imports. He said that this initiative will augur well for the local farmers who have had tremendous challenges in exporting their products. Gouveia had also explained

the products will have to go through tight scrutiny and discussions are underway with Government to have the necessary scanning equipment in place.

During a meeting with representatives of Dynamic Airways, Tourism Minister Catherine Hughes gave her commitment to collaborate at the Government level to

facilitate this development. Meanwhile, Guyanese in the Diaspora who intend on returning to Guyana to participate in the upcoming 50th independence anniversary celebrations are being advised to secure their travel bookings as early as possible with their chosen air service.

fetched out.

According to the couple, the robbers stayed in the house for close to two hours.

Mangra related that this was the first time the couple has undergone such an ordeal since they returned from neighbouring Suriname in May to resettle in Guyana.

Following the incident Mangra has been admitted at the New Amsterdam Hospital while Seeberchan was treated at the same institution and sent away. Police are currently investigating the matter.

Sign artist killed in three-vehicle accident

Asign artist of Chateau Margot, East Coast Demerara, was killed following a three-vehicle accident at Montrose, ECD early Sunday morning.

Dead is Ramesh Persaud, father of one.

Reports are that at about 01:00h Persaud, reportedly under the influence of alcohol, was driving at a fast rate west along the Montrose Public Road when he lost control of the vehicle and collided head-on with another car traveling in the opposite direction.

Persaud’s car, a green Honda Civic then slammed into a parked Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).

Persaud not wearing his seat belt was “thrown out” the vehicle upon impact. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

A relative of the dead man related that Persaud’s vehicle recently came out the workshop after a crash some time ago.

He said the man was out drinking earlier and despite being cautioned against driving under the influence, still left on his own.

Several other persons received minor injuries in the accident.

Police investigations are continuing.

Injured Patrick Mangra

tuesday, october 27, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

Cane cutter beaten, robbed

– hand broken during robbery

Acane cutter at-

tached to the Albion Sugar Estate is now a patient at the New Amsterdam Hospital nursing a broken arm after being attacked by two bicycle robbers at Rose Hall Town.

The injured man was identified as Seenarine Kalimuldon of Chesney, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Speaking with this publication about the incident, the 53-year-old man related that he had taken his children shopping in Rose Hall about 18:45h when he was attacked and robbed.

According to Kalimuldon, he went into a shop to purchase phone credit and as he was leaving the entity, he noticed that he was being followed by two teenagers on bicycles.

“I start to ride fast but they catching me up so I decide to turn through one of them fine streets to meet up with me children fast-

er, but they (the robbers) ride straight behind me. I don’t know where they get a piece of wood so fast and clap one lash on me and break me hand two places,” the cane cutter related.

He said that he fell to the ground and one of the teens emptied his pocket of $20,000 along with a cellular phone worth $7000.

Kalimuldon said he attempted to fight back, but they continued lashing him with the piece of wood. The teens also escaped with his $30,000 bicycle.

He said he subsequently reported the incident to the Rose Hall Police Outpost.

“They told me that they will make contact with me.

I am surprised that up to now [Monday midday] the Police have not come back to take a statement from me. I told them that I could identify the two boys,” the injured man related from his hospital bed.

Meanwhile, a source at the Rose Hall Police

Outpost confirmed that the incident was reported, but said it was expected that officers from Central Police Station in New Amsterdam were going to

follow up by taking statements. The source noted that no one has been arrested in relation to the matter. However, the incident is being investigated.

Crabwood Creek businessman shot in home

– two in custody while Police hunt three more suspects

Police are on the hunt for three persons as investigations into the fatal shooting of a Corentyne businessman intensifies.

Investigations revealed that Shameer Ally, also called ‘Kazac’, 36, was shot and killed. An autopsy performed by Government Pathologist Dr Vivekananda Bridgmohan on Monday revealed that he died as a result of haemorrhage and multiple internal injuries due to a gunshot wound. Ally’s body was dis-

covered by Police lying in a pool of blood at his Grant 1805 Weld Tank Damn, Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Region Six home.

Reports are that Police were investigation a report of threatening language and damage to property and had gone to Ally’s home. After calling for some time the Police officers ventured into the yard and made the discovery.

Earlier a man with whom Ally had a long-

standing dispute reported to Police that Ally had gone to his home at Lot 15, Grant 1805 and damaged several windows.

As Police continue to investigate the murder, two men were taken into custody and are assisting with investigation. Police have not released the identity of those in custody but have stated that they are searching for three other persons in relation to the murder.

Initial investigations suggest that no one heard

No arrest in Bourda Market execution style killing

Stanley “Steve” Lovell

As investigations continue into the execution style killing of Stanley Lovell, the Police are yet to make any arrest.

Lovell, 30, also called “Steve” of 64 Premniranjan Place, Prashad Nagar, Georgetown, was gunned down in the vicinity of Bourda Market on Saturday morning.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Guyana Times investigators are working on several leads and intend to thoroughly investigate the matter before any arrest can be made. He added that several persons, including family members, were questioned in connection with the case.

the gunshot although two security guards are stationed at a nearby sawmill.

Relatives who live nearby also claimed not to have heard anything. Residents say there was a barbeque a few houses away and the music was loud. They also claim persons were lighting small explosives (squibs) which made loud explosive sounds earlier in the evening.

Ally leaves to mourn relatives including his seven-year-old daughter.

Guyana Times understands that the now dead man had told his mother he was fearful for his life. This fear stemmed from several threatening calls made to his mobile phone from unknown numbers. When Guyana Times visited the dead man’s home, a relative indicated that his immediate family were not at home, and further they do not wish to speak with the media.

This newspaper understands that prior to the shooting Lovell was reportedly in the company of a group of men when a bitter argument ensued.

During the argument, one of the men reportedly whipped out a .9mm pistol and pumped 13 bullets into the man’s body. 14 spent shells were subsequently retrieved from the crime scene.

Another man, Anthony Lall, 21, a cleaner of Bent Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown, also received a gunshot injury to one leg. He have intimated that he was in the vicinity when he saw a “known” man walk up to Lovell and discharge a loaded firearm in Steve’s direction.

It was reported that Lovell had just left the Rio Sports Bar in the company of friends and went to a stall at Bourda Market to purchase breakfast.

He reportedly was sitting on the trunk when he was riddled with bullets. Lovell, who was no stranger to the law, was charged for the murder of second-year University of Guyana student Dennis Edghill in February of this year. He was freed in June following lack of Police evidence.

In 2012, he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. The matter was heard and dismissed after the victim refused to give evidence.

Injured, Seenarine Kalimuldon

Shamer Ally

NOC Administrator padlocks gate

– employees locked out, allege favouritism

Several employees of the New Opportunity Corps (NOC), Onderneeming Village, Essequibo Coast, Region Two were on Monday locked out and barred from entering the compound although they were dressed for work.

The order to lock out the employees this newspaper understands was given by Administrator Mark Dower to security at the gate.

According to one locked out employee, she arrived to work at 08:30h on Monday and was greeted by a huge padlock on the gate. The employee said when she enquired from the security as to why the gate was locked

she was told it was an order from the Administrator not to allow any staff member to enter the compound after 08:00h.

Another employee also locked out said she was shocked to learn about the new development and questioned why a memo was not circulated informing staff members about the changes.

She said other staff parked in their vehicle in front the institution waiting for the gate to open. It was at 09:00h that employees decided to go home after no one seemed inclined to open the gate.

Another staff related that often the Administrator

would threaten that he would lock the gate. He said he believe that a warning letter should have been issued to all staff informing them about the new action. They also alleged that the Administrator usually “throw insult and slang whenever he does not get what he wants.” Staff said the Administrator often uses favouritism especially with junior staff.

They are therefore calling on the Education Ministry, under which purview the NOC now lies, to investigate the matter, nothing that many things are being done wrong under Dower’s stewardship.

The employees are calling on the Ministry to also consider that they work until 18:00h each day, and are also required to supervise inmates at the institution on weekends.

This newspaper made several calls to the Administrator of NOC for a comment but those efforts were futile.

Region 2 plagued with teenage pregnancy, truancy

– parents struggling to finance children’s education

Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) is currently facing several social issues, inclusive of teenage pregnancy and truancy, which are in dire need of being addressed by Government.

The concerns were raised by People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Councillor and social worker Beatrice Mittelholzer. According to the social worker, it is imperative that the Region Two Department of Education step up truancy campaigns, especially in Amerindian communities, in both Lower and Upper Pomeroon River. Mittelholzer expressed these concerns during the Regional Democratic Council meeting for October.

She explained that there is presently an increase of teenage pregnancy in the Upper and Lower Pomeroon River areas. Mittelholzer stated that she is aware of two cases where two girls, ages 13 and 14, are pregnant within the Pomeroon area.

The Councillor stated that the situation is very heartrending as the girls are now robbed of an opportunity of having an education as well as an independent future.

She revealed that if

one should traverse the Pomeroon River, one would see children loitering and involving in illicit activities. The Councillor opined that there should be stricter truancy campaigns and on a regular basis within the region to ensure that children attending school on a regular basis.

She also expressed dissatisfaction with the $10,000 school voucher coming to an end, adding that often times parents cannot afford to send their children to school. “In the Pomeroon River, a mother sometimes has 5 to 8 children each, sometimes it is very hard to support them especially when there is not much employment,” the Councillor

187 children to benefit, as Baramita gets $4M to build kitchen

Some 187 students attending the Baramita Primary School, Region One, will soon benefit from hot meals, as Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock handed over a $4 million cheque to Toshao Trevor Matheson for the construction of a kitchen.

noted.

She further related that many parents within the Pomeroon district are calling on President David Granger to continue the $10,000 cash grant provided under the PPP/C Administration. She revealed that parents have bitterly complained of not being able to send their children to school due to financial constraints.

The Councillor called on Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine to take the issue into consideration and assist parents, especially in the isolated areas. The cash grant was used by parents in financing the needs of their children in terms of school clothes, stationery and transportation.

The Co-Chair of the Regional Democratic Council, Nandranie Coonjah, also conceded with Mittelholzer’s statements. She reiterated the call for the continuation of the $10,000 cash grant. She revealed that during several outreaches held parents, particularly in the Amerindian communities, have been requesting assistance to send their children to school.

Attempts to contact the Education Minister as well as Chief Education Officer Olato Sam for a comment on the issue were futile.

Of the 187 students, 20 are in the nursery department, 34 in secondary and the remainder in primary. All these students will benefit from a hot meal when this kitchen is completed.

The handing over was done during a visit by Minister Allicock who

headed a delegation comprising Ministers within the Communities Ministry, Dawn Hastings-Williams, and Social Protection, Simona Broomes.

This visit, according to the Government Information Agency (GINA) was a follow-up of a previous visit that was done two months ago, where residents expressed concerns about children not attending school because of not having a meal and uniforms. The Council had started the construction of the kitchen with funds donated by miners working in the community but materials accumulated

for the building went missing; resulting in it being stalled for two years.

The Council said the current structure will be condemned, and the $4M will be used to construct a new concrete building. Meanwhile, the school also received sport equipment including footballs and volleyballs, nets, tennis racquets and cricket bats. This is to ensure that youths are fully involved in recreational activities. The teachers also received school bags and other school supplies for distribution among the children, while the parents received food items.

Beatrice Mittelholzer

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock handing over the cheque to Baramita’sToshao, Trevor Matheson

The New Opportunity Corps, Onderneeming Village, Essequibo Coast

Ex-comedian Morales claims victory in Guatemalan polls

ormer comedian

FJimmy Morales has claimed victory in the Guatemalan presidential election, as partial results showed him taking a commanding lead over his rival, the former First Lady Sandra Torres.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported on Sunday that with nearly 70 per cent of polling stations reporting, Morales had about 72 per cent of the votes, compared with 28 per cent for Torres, according to Associated Press.

“With this election you have made me President, I received a mandate and that mandate is to fight the corruption that has consumed us,” Morales told AFP news agency.

The runoff was held a month and a half after President Otto Perez Molina resigned and was jailed in connection with a corruption scandal.

Morales and Torres were

the top two vote-getters in the first round on September 6, when presumed frontrunner Manuel Baldizon finished a surprising third – a result considered to be a rejection of Guatemala’s political establishment in the wake of the corruption scandal.

His surge has capped a tumultuous campaign rocked by President Perez’s resignation and arrest on corruption charges on September 3, three days before the first round of voting.

An estimated 7.5 million people were eligible to vote in the second round.

The headquarters of Morales’ National Convergence Front (FCN) party erupted in a celebration with live music and dozens of early revellers, Reuters reported.

“We are tired of the same faces. Jimmy Morales doesn’t really convince me, I was not even going to vote. But he is the only option,” Ana Fuentes, 36, a street seller, told Reuters. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

LIAT launches online check-in service

LIAT has launched its online check-in service, giving customers the option to complete their check-in formalities on the Internet, at their own convenience, while avoiding queues at the airport check in counters.

Starting October 26, online check-in can be done on www.liat.com 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the customer’s flight and up to two hours prior to departure. The new service

is available to LIAT customers in possession of a valid revenue ticket, who are travelling with hand baggage only.

The service is currently available to customers travelling from Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico, St Kitts, St Lucia, S. Maarten and Trinidad. Further destinations will be added in due course.

After having completed

the online check-in formalities, customers can print their boarding pass and proceed through immigration and security and they can go straight to the departure gate.

Customers with baggage to be checked in should arrange to be present at the airport check-in counter at least two hours before their scheduled flight departure time. Online check-in is not available to customers requiring special assistance or booked on a stand-by basis.

(St Lucia News Online)

Hospital expands capacity for premature babies after newborn deaths in Jamaica

The Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) is expanding its capacity to accommodate additional premature babies following the recent deaths of several newborns from a bacterial infection.

Cornwall is one of two hospitals where outbreaks of klebsiella and serratia bacteria occurred. The other was the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

A total of 42 babies fell ill since the first outbreak in June, with 18 of them dying.

Following a report on the matter, it was decided that steps would be taken to further expand the nursery at CRH to accommodate more premature babies.

In addition, the institution will be hiring more registered nurses and Patient Care Assistants to increase the hospital’s nurse to patient ratio.

“The hospital will also look at acquiring additional critical equipment for

the nursery as we continue to await developments in the Programme for the Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality (PROMAC) project, which is geared towards the provision of high dependency neonatal units at the CRH,” a statement from the hospital said, noting that there have been no new infections at Cornwall Regional since October 14.

It added that the Health Ministry’s Epidemiology team,

assisted by the Pan American Health Organisation, continues to provide technical support and monitoring to the management of the CRH and the Western Regional Health Authority.

The hospital management acknowledged that the hospital, which has a capacity of only 400 beds, is overburdened. Between January and August, this year, it received 11,559 admissions.

(Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Presidential run-off looms in Argentina

Argentina will face a run-off election next month after neither presidential candidate gained enough votes to win the poll outright.

Centre-left candidate Daniel Scioli led exit polls, and just edged centreright Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri with most votes counted.

Many had expected Scioli to lead by a greater margin.

The run-off on November 22 will be the first time an Argentine election will be decided by a second round.

With 96 per cent of the votes counted, r Scioli was marginally ahead with 36.7

per cent of the vote, while Macri had 34.5 per cent.

To win outright in the first round, a candidate needed 45 per cent of the vote or a minimum of 40 per cent as well as a 10-point lead over the nearest rival.

“What happened today will change politics in this country,” Macri, the Mayor of Buenos Aires, told supporters.

Sergio Massa, a former ally turned rival of outgoing President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, came a distant third with 21.3 per cent of the vote and admitted defeat.

Massa has not said who will get his backing in the second round next month.

With Macri and Scioli neck-and-neck, Massa’s support could prove crucial. Scioli was handpicked as candidate by President Fernandez, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.

The governor of Buenos Aires province, he is a former world powerboating champion who lost his right arm in a race in 1989.

Late on Sunday, he spoke before thousands of his supporters, saying: “United together we will triumph. I call upon the undecided and independent voters to join this cause.” (Excerpt from

No violence as Haiti holds elections

Turnout was high, but most Haitians waited patiently for their turn to cast their votes

General elections in Haiti have gone ahead without major incidents, less than three months after parliamentary polls that were marred by violence.

Some 15,000 Policemen and United Nations peacekeeping force members were deployed to prevent any incidents.

Haitians were choosing from more than 50 candidates to succeed President Michel Martelly.

They were also electing members of the Congress, which was dissolved in January amid a political crisis.

Results are not expected to be known until next

month.

Turnout was high across Haiti, despite the failure of the August 9 vote.

Only a few candidates were officially elected then. New polls had to be held in a number of constituencies.

“On August 9, I had left home to go vote, but I saw people pushing each other around, people causing mayhem and throwing things,” 26-year-old voter Franzty Jeudi told the AFP news agency in the capital, Portau-Prince.

“Today, it’s going really well. I came to vote with my parents and we are at ease,” he said earlier on Sunday.

President Michel Martelly is not allowed to

seek re-election.

But his chosen candidate, Jovenel Moise, is among the favourites.

Moise, who owns a banana exporting business, is expected to face Jude Celestin, a Swiss-educated mechanical engineer, in a run-off vote on December 27.

Whoever wins will face a daunting task when taking over from Martelly in February.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Americas. Since it was devastated by an earthquake in 2010, it has relied largely on international donations and foreign aid from the United States and other countries.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

St Kitts PM invites Asian investors to explore opportunities in country

Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris has invited Asian investors to explore opportunities to live, work, and do business in St Kitts and Nevis.

In his keynote address at the inaugural Asia Citizenship by Investment and International Residence Summit at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, he called on the Asian community to learn more about St Kitts and Nevis and to explore its investment opportunities and visitor lifestyle.

He told the gathering of distinguished personalities, including several Caribbean Prime Ministers

and high-ranking officials from multilateral agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that the Citizenship-byInvestment Programme (CIP) is undergoing necessary reformation.

“Since February this year, our focus has been on the future. We recognised the importance of a reset and, therefore, my Government has been engaged in reinforcing the management architecture of the CIP to ensure sustainability, integrity and quality,” Harris told potential clients, industry agents, lawyers and media representatives at the October

26-27 summit. According to Prime Minister Harris, some of these changes include the establishment of an electronic case management system (CAMS) which provide 24/7 access to the Unit’s electronic resources. This new system is unique to St Kitts and Nevis and has resulted in a dramatic reduction in outstanding applications.

The Prime Minister also announced that as part of improved management and oversight, the Government has adopted regulations for the review and management of escrow accounts.

(Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Comedian Jimmy Morales

Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH)

Around the world

Massive earthquake shakes South Asia

Apowerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake has struck in northern Afghanistan and has been felt in a large area from northern India to Pakistan with scores of people killed across the region.

The US Geological Survey put the epicentre of Monday’s quake near Jarm in Afghanistan’s northeast, 250 kilometres from the capital Kabul and at a depth of 213km.

The total death toll stood at 249 with at least 185 people killed in Pakistan and at least 64 more in Afghanistan, according to official reports from the two countries.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif cut short his visit to the United Kingdom to fly home to deal with the emergency.

Hikmat Fasi, a resident of Parwan Province in northern Afghanistan, said the quake caused a lot of damage in the area.

Processed meats do cause cancer – WHO

Processed meats – such as bacon, sausages and ham – do cause cancer, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Its report said 50 grams of processed meat a day –less than two slices of bacon – increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18 per cent.

Meanwhile, it said red meats were “probably carcinogenic” but there was limited evidence.

The WHO did stress that meat also had health benefits.

beef jerky and ham as well as canned meat and meatbased sauces.

It is the chemicals involved in the processing which could be increasing the risk of cancer. High temperature cooking, such as on a barbeque, can also create carcinogenic chemicals.

In the UK, around six out of every 100 people get bowel cancer at some point in their lives.

According to the InterService public relations office, all military hospitals and helicopters were put on standby and high alert.

“We are safe, but I saw a lot of buildings collapse,” Fasi said. “It [earthquake] caused severe damage to our area. We are just praying.”

Strong tremors were also felt in New Delhi and Islamabad, residents said, as authorities in India and Pakistan issued warnings for strong aftershocks.

poured out of office buildings in a panic.

Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said walls in the Pakistani capital swayed back and forth as people

Five Britons dead after Canadian whale-watching boat sinks

Five Britons were killed when a whale-watching boat sank off the coast of western Canada, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said.

The boat carrying 27 people sank near Tofino, a popular tourist area on Vancouver Island, on Sunday afternoon, killing a woman and four men.

Officials said 21 people had been rescued and one was still missing.

The cause of the accident remains unknown but sea conditions at the time of the incident were said to be calm.

Barbara McLintock from the British Columbia coroner’s office, said the victims ranged in age from 18 to 76. Three were tourists on holiday from the UK, while two were British nationals living in Canada – one woman from British Columbia and a man from Ontario.

At least 38 people died in northwest Pakistan, officials told Al Jazeera, as reports of damage or casualties were trickling in from across the country. At least another 100 were injured, initial reports said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Cancer Research UK said this was a reason to cut down rather than give up red and processed meats.

And added that an occasional bacon sandwich would do little harm.

Processed meat includes bacon, sausages, hot dogs, salami, corned beef,

If they were all to have an extra 50g of bacon a day for the rest of their lives then the risk would increase by 18 per cent to around seven in 100 people getting bowel cancer.

“So that’s one extra case of bowel cancer in all those 100 lifetime baconeaters,” argued Sir David Spiegelhalter, a risk professor from the University of Cambridge. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Mute Indian ‘mystery girl’ returns home from Pakistan

Ayoung deaf and mute Indian woman who strayed into Pakistan more than 12 years ago flew to Delhi to be reunited with the people she believes are her family, the charity caring for her said, in a case famed by Bollywood.

Known only as Geeta, she was unable to identify herself or say where she came from when she wandered over one of the world’s most militarised borders from neighbouring India.

Now believed to be in her early 20s, she has remained

in Pakistan under the care of the country’s largest welfare organisation, the Edhi Foundation, living in a shelter in the port city of Karachi.

“We are happy that finally she is going home,” Faisal Edhi, son of the foundation’s founder Abdul Sattar Edhi, told media outside the charity’s office in downtown Karachi.

Even the name “Geeta” was given to her by Edhi staff.

After repeated false leads in the effort to find

her family, Geeta’s story received a publicity boost in August when a Bollywood film with a similar plot became a smash hit.

“Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, featuring Indian superstars Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor, told the story of a young Pakistani woman trapped in India.

The Indian government vowed to bring her home, and authorities turned up many families saying that Geeta could be their daughter.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

The boat, Leviathan II, made a mayday call before sinking about eight miles (12 kilometres) west of Tofino. A dive team from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are searching for the final missing person while Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has begun an investigation in Tofino.

scene. Other boats in the area also responded to the call for help.

Hong Kong ferry incident leaves scores injured

Within 30 minutes of the mayday call, a rescue helicopter and boat were on the

Lieutenant Paul Trenholm, from the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in British Columbia, said people from the nearby indigenous First Nation villages had been first on the scene. (Excerpt from BBC News)

European leaders commit to more shelter for refugees

European Union and Balkan leaders have agreed a 17-point plan to cooperate on managing arrival of refugees through the Balkan peninsula, the European Commission has said.

Among measures agreed at the meeting in Brussels on Sunday evening were that 100,000 places in reception centres should be made avail-

able along the route from Greece toward Germany. The UN refugee agency would help establish them.

Some 50,000 places will be created in Greece and another 50,000 on the route through Balkans countries such as Macedonia and Serbia, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said after the mini-summit of 11 nations.

“Refugees need to be treated in a humane manner along the length of the Western Balkans route to avoid a humanitarian tragedy in Europe,” Juncker said.

The agreement comes in the wake of differences among member nations on how to tackle the continent’s greatest refugee crisis since World War II. (Excerpt from Reuters)

At least 124 people were injured when a high-speed ferry travelling to Hong Kong from Macau hit an object in the water, say officials.

The ferry, with 174 passengers and crew on board, lost power close to Lantau island, at about 18:00 local time (10:00GMT) and began taking on water.

Marine police boats were sent to rescue the passengers, with local media saying many had injuries to limbs and faces.

Some passengers waited on board to be rescued for several hours.

“The lights suddenly went out. It was chaotic at first but then the passengers managed to calm down soon,” one passenger told the South China Morning Post.

Emergency boats were sent out to rescue passengers from the drifting vessel

The RTHK news site said five people were still in critical condition on Monday morning.

Hong Kong has one of the busiest waterways in the world, with the Macau route one of the most popular.

Safety standards are high, but there have been several serious accidents in

recent years

Dozens of people were injured in November 2013 in a similar incident with a ferry hitting an object in the water.

In October 2012, 39 people died in a crash between the Lamma IV pleasure boat and a passenger ferry. The ferry captain was convicted of manslaughter. (BBC News)

Patients who were shifted outdoors at the Government Medical College Hospital after a strong tremor was felt in Jammu, India [Channi Anand/The Associated Press]

The boat, Leviathan II, made a mayday call before sinking about eight miles (12 kilometres) from the shore

tuesday, october 27, 2015| guyanatimesgy.com

UN to vote in favour of lifting Cuban blockade

Local LGBT activist dies under mysterious circumstances

By Kristen MacKlingaM

The issue of lifting the economic embargo against Cuba will once more be brought to the attention of all Member States of the United Nations at the 70th Session of the General Assembly today.

Guyana Times understands that for the 24th consecutive time, the draft resolution A/70/L.2 “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” will be discussed and voted on.

People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) General Secretary Clement Rohee on Monday during a media briefing stated that it was widely expected that this year, unlike previous years, the majority of the 193 Members will vote in favour of lifting the blockade.

“In other words, those countries that either voted against or abstained will, on this occasion, vote in favour of the Cuban-sponsored resolution… The blockade has since proven to be an anachronism and in today’s modern world serve no useful purpose. Moreover, it has brought about untold human suffering on the entire Cuban population,” Rohee said.

He explained that his Party has always, in or outside of the UN, supported the lifting of this blockade and while the PPP/C was in Government it voted in favour of the Cuban-sponsored resolution at each session of the UN General Assembly.

As such, on this occasion, the PPP/C reaffirms its support for the Cuban Government and people who have, over the years,

since 1959 endured the USimposed economic commercial and financial blockade, the PPP/C General Secretary noted.

“The blockade is morally unacceptable and is counter-productive to the economic, trade and commercial interests of the United States. It is a small wonder, why millions of American citizens and their Congressmen, Senators and Non- Governmental Organisations have come out against the blockade and have demonstrated effectively how the blockade is stifling unnecessarily American business and trading interests. It is, therefore, with a sense of pride and satisfaction that the PPP/C recalls the modest contribution it has made over the years to the international campaign for solidarity with the Cuban people and Government,” Rohee posited.

Guyana Times was told that the efforts by the Cuban Government and its people to demonstrate in tangible terms what they in turn can offer to many countries, and

indeed, to the world at large, should neither be underestimated nor undervalued.

“Cuba’s unstinted support and solidarity extended to the peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, whether in the areas of public health, education, training and capacity building, medicine, disaster relief and preparedness, military in the specific case of Angola and as well as infrastructure development such as airport and housing are living examples of how the Cuban people and Government can and have promoted peace, international friendship and cooperation among peoples and nations while at the same time enduring the longest and most inhuman blockade in history against a people and country. The PPP/C values highly its relations with Cuba. This relationship goes way back to the early 1960s when the Premier Cheddi Jagan, in the then British Guiana, established trade and economic cooperation with Cuba for the benefit of the Guyanese people,” the PPP/C General Secretary explained.

Guyana Times was further told that as country representatives throughout the world gather at the UN to cast their votes in favour of the Cuban-sponsored resolution today , the PPP/C , in anticipation of an “overwhelming, if not unanimous, and historic vote” congratulates warmly the Cuban Government and its people for this great achievement after years of struggle and hard work.

Meanwhile, Cuban Ambassador to Guyana, Julio César González Marchante, in a statement

to Guyana Times, explained that the new draft resolution takes into account the current bilateral circumstances between Cuba and the US by welcoming the restoration of diplomatic relations and recognising the will expressed by the US President to work towards lifting the blockade.

“These modifications respond to the expectations of the international community regarding this text. The blockade against Cuba must stop. It is the most unjust, severe and prolonged system of unilateral sanctions that has ever been applied against any country,” the Cuban Ambassador stated.

He told this newspaper that the mobilising role of the international community to lift the blockade imposed on Cuba was essential and that the solidarity and international support received by the island during these long, hard years have played a major role in the change of the US policy towards Cuba.

“Cuba reiterates its appreciation for the continued support of Guyana to the demand of the Cuban people to put an end to this illegal, genocidal and extraterritorial policy, which will never prevent the Cuban people from defending their sovereignty and their right to freely choose their future. The majority support in the votes in favour of the Cuban Resolution on October 27th, which has been overwhelmingly supported each year, will represent for the Cuban people another resounding victory against the outdated and inhuman monster that is the blockade,” he added. (kristenm@guyanatimesgy.com)

Social Protection Ministry plans Awareness Walk on breast cancer

The Social Protection Ministry has joined local efforts to raise awareness about breast cancer with the aim of preventing it and increasing early detection.

The Ministry has planned number of information, education, and communication sessions with key groups across the country and on Thursday, October 29, will host a grand walk and candle light vigil to promote awareness and remember persons who have lost the battle to the most common cancer in Guyana.

October is designated Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Ministry, in collaboration with Ministry of Health, and other nongovernmental organizations has planned the walk and candle light vigil,

which begins at St George’s Cathedral at 17:00h and ends at Public Buildings compound. The public is invited to participate in both the walk and vigil. The Ministry is also hosting an awareness session for its staff and other persons on Wednesday.

According to a profile on cancers done by the Ministry of Health between

2003 and 2012, breast cancer was the most common recorded for the decade with 1090 reported cases.

This accounts for 16.7 per cent of all cancer cases during that period.

Even though the number was small, there were men affected by breast cancer for that period in Guyana.

There were 6518 new cases of cancers between

2003 and 2012, 60 per cent of which were detected in women.

The Ministry is hoping to educate women about signs and symptoms of breast cancer, including conducting effective self-examinations; encourage early detection; and motivate women who are living with breast cancer to seek treatment, since the number of persons seeking treatment is particularly low.

Information suggests that about one in eight women (12 per cent) will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer in their lifetime.

It has therefore become imperative that efforts be made to continue the sensitization process, provide counselling and identifying the symptoms and other preventive techniques.

– US Embassy and SASOD express condolences

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) on Monday expressed shock and sadness by the news of the death of one of the group’s leading activists and former board member, Zenita Nicholson.

Nicholson joined SASOD in May 2011 as a Coordinator of the “Human Rights Education for the Protection of Sexual and Gender Minorities in Guyana” Project.

The society in a release stated: “Zenita was passionate about human rights and a fearless defender of the rights of vulnerable people. She applied this drive and commitment to her work, delivering exceptional results at SASOD to raise awareness and strengthen advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people”.

Due to her dedication and hard work, Nicholson became Secretary on SASOD Board of Trustees in September 2012 – a volunteer position which she held for two years, until September 2014. She remained a member of SASOD and represented the organisation at the 45th Regular Session of the Organisation of American States General Assembly as recently as June of this year in Washington, DC.

Nicholson was recognised for her outstanding leadership and courage by the United States Embassy in Georgetown in March 2014 when Charge d’ Affaires Bryan Hunt presented her with their first International Woman of Courage Award.

SASOD continued that at the time of her death, Nicholson had been working as Country Coordinator of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC) and the Centre of Integral Orientation and Investigation (COIN) under the PANCAP Global Fund

Round 9 “Vulnerablized” Groups Project.

The release from the group further stated that the 37-year-old’s death is an irreplaceable loss to the Guyanese and global human rights movement.

She leaves to mourn her two children, Dmitri and Daria Nicholson, mother, Kamanie Singh, brother, Andrew Temall, and countless relatives, colleagues and friends whose lives she touched.

SASOD extends sincerest condolences to her family, friends and the local, regional and global human rights movement in Guyana, across the Caribbean and worldwide.

Additionally, on their official Facebook page, the United States Embassy (Guyana), shared that they were very saddened to learn about the passing of their “dear friend”. The embassy mentioned that they had awarded the now deceased activist with the first ever International Woman of Courage Award in recognition of her exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women’s rights and empowerment and raising awareness to protect the human rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered persons.

The US Embassy also shared: “Zenita’s unwavering commitment to justice and equality has given hope to many, both in Guyana and throughout the Caribbean.

The US body further conveyed sincerest condolences to Nicholson’s family and friends, noting that “she will be sadly missed”.

Reports state that Nicholson died early Monday morning after ingesting several carbon tablets, which are used to kill rats.

This was according to a Police report that did not further state whether the ingestion was voluntarily, or she was forced to consume them.

Cuba’s Ambassador to Guyana, Julio César González Marchante

Zenita Temall Nicholson

Guyana-Venezuela border controversy Guyana has nothing to fear – President Granger

...hails “Exercise Greenheart” as a success

By Alexis Rodney

With Guyana seeing mounting pressure from its Spanishspeaking oil-rich neighbour Venezuela which is challenging its sovereignty, President David Granger on Monday expressed confidence that this country had nothing to fear as it was nestled safely in the capable hands of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

The Head of State was delivering the feature address at the “passing out” ceremony for hundreds of officers who participated in the rigorous “Exercise Greenheart”, a thorough physical training activity aimed at testing the preparedness of troops to operate in close country environment.

Isolated in the expanse of the forested CuyuniMazaruni region, the soldiers were fit – both mentally and physically – completing one week of radical preparedness training.

Members of the media were privileged to observe at least two practice sessions, and were constantly dazed at the scenarios which seemed real. The exercise commenced last Tuesday, with troops crossing the starting line. They advanced for some three days covering many kilometres before going into defensive and harbour positions. While in the harbour position, they conducted several routine operations including jungle patrol and decoration of the defensive position.

On Monday, President

President Granger taking the salute from soldiers who participated

addressing them at the Community Centre Ground

David Granger, in the company of Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan and Army Chiefof-Staff (CoS) Brigadier Mark Phillips observed the final exercise over open land a few feet away from the airstrip in Bartica.

The Head of State seemed pleased with the strategic performance and later commended the officers for their bravery and resilience, saying it was a demonstration of Guyana’s resolve not to have its territory taken.

Effectiveness

Speaking a few moments later at the Community Centre in Bartica, President Granger said that “Exercise Greenheart” has been able to “demonstrate the effectiveness of our defence forces in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni

Region”.

“The Constitution of our country requires the GDF to defend our national independence and preserve the country’s sovereignty and integrity: to provide for the security of citizens against any kind of aggression.”

The Head of State was once again driving home the point that every effort was being made to reinforce to Venezuela that it would not be allowed to push its claims over this country’s territory. He highlighted that Guyanese had an obligation to hand over to our children the country that we inherited from our parents and grandparents

“As far as Venezuela is concerned what they are claiming is that the (1899) award, which gave them 15,000 sq kilometres of land

is invalid. But if it is invalid, give us back the 15,000 sq kilometres. But if they want to hold on to the land which was defined in 1899, we will hold on to lands which were defined to us in 1899,” the Head of State told the soldiers and Barticians.

He encouraged the troops to “stay strong”, noting that “we will always be behind you”.

Striving for peace

“We will always deploy our diplomats and diplomacy to ensure that peace is maintained. I will continue to meet with the UN Secretary General, and any agency that is committed to the peaceful resolution of this controversy, including the OAS, Caricom, UNASUR, and Commonwealth, because at all costs Guyana’s

territorial integrity must be preserved,” he told the servicemen.

He stressed that the exercise was not an offensive operation, but a defensive one. “Greenheart is about defending your territory. We are defensive, not aggressive. We are protective, not offensive. We are positive, not negative…. We want peace, and this is the best demonstration of our desire for peace. It’s a demonstration of our resolve and determination and the fact that we will not allow our territory to be taken.”

Granger told the large gathering that Guyana was able to witness a display of national defence. That defence, he said, was based on four pillars. These include the soldiers’ ability to master the environment.

“Today, the GDF has proven that it is a jungle force to be reckoned with because they have been able to master the environment – the part of Guyana that Venezuela claims, threequarter of our territory. They operated in the jungle as a fish operates in water,” the President said.

The Commander-inChief said that the GDF has been training in jungle operations for some 45 years so they were not “afraid of the jungle”. The third pillar, he noted, are strategic exercises.” What you have seen here today is a continuation of what we have been doing. You have seen us here before and you will see us here again. Just as the human body needs exercise, the soldier needs exercise as well.”

Meanwhile, the President said that Guyana must remain a country that should be free to accommodate persons who are interested in investing here.

“People must know that when they come to Guyana to invest, they are coming into a safe environment that is protected by one of the best defence forces in the Caribbean. If they come in to explore in our gold fields or our petroleum, they must do so freely and no other country must intimidate them or threaten them,” he said

“So what was done here today by the GDF was an example to show our foreign investors that our environment is safe. And that Guyana will use every fibre of its defence system to protect their investments. It is a good example of union that the defence forces can work together with all sectors to protect the country.”

The Commander-inChief said the exercise was timely as countries to the east and west of Guyana have tried to push their claims to Guyana’s territory. He reminded of the move by Venezuela to occupy the island of Ankoko, some 48 years ago.

“As I speak the Venezuelans’ National Armed Forces are still in occupation of Guyana’s territory. ...We cannot sell out, we cannot give way, and we cannot offer the adversary any passage. We have an obligation to hand over to our children the country that we inherited from our parents and grandparents,” the Head of State said.

Govt should ensure GuySuCo workers’ increases – former Agriculture Minister

By KRisTen MACKlinGAM

Regardless of the fact that Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is operating at a loss and cannot afford to give sugar workers’ wage increases at this point in time, the APNU/AFC Administration should ensure the corporation finds a way to grant the much-anticipated pay increases for 2015.

This is according to former Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, who on Monday told Guyana Times that GuySuCo has been suffering from tremendous financial difficulties for many years but the PPP/C while in power had ensured sugar workers still received some form of increase in their wages on an annual basis.

As such, this coalition Government should find it necessary to intervene and assist cash-strapped GuySuCo in finding monies to reward its sugar workers for work they have done during 2015.

In light of this latest

strike action by sugar workers across the sugar belt, the former Agri Minister stated that during the PPP/C’s Regime there was never an issue of whether or not sugar workers would receive wage increases, but that the basis of negotiations was on the size of increases.

He discredited the insinuation of the Agriculture Minister that this strike action is politically motivated.

According to Dr Ramsammy, even if it were the PPP/C Government in power, under these circumstances, the sugar workers would have definitely taken strike action.

“I caution the Minister and APNU+AFC, this strike is motivated by workers demanding their right and has nothing to do with any support for any political party and my personal support to the workers has nothing to do with politics, but everything to do with the fact that I stand as resolute now as then that the sugar workers are fully deserving of a wage and salary increase now.

They certainly are more deserving of a pay increase than the Cabinet members,” he added.

Dr Ramsammy told Guyana Times that by using the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into GuySuCo as an excuse not to start wages negotiations is a “wicked discriminatory ploy.”

He contended that there is also a COI for the Public Service and yet no one suggested that public servants wait until that COI is completed to discuss any possi-

ble wage and salary increases in the public service.

The public servants received a pay hike, even though it was paltry and the argument was that only a paltry increase was possible because of a bankrupt Treasury, he said.

“My question is why the difference in managing wage and salary increases between sugar workers and the public service? I object to the measly pay increases given to public servants. The public servants deserved the 20% increase that APNU+AFC promised them. But the treatment of sugar workers is shameless and a clear case of discrimination, all because the sugar workers are seen as PPP/C supporters,” the former Minister noted.

He told this publication that the second part of the explanation is that the COI will make no recommendations relating to wages and salaries since these were not included in its Terms of Reference.

According to Dr

Ramsammy, if indeed wages and salaries were not a part of the COI then it would be an insult to sugar workers.

“How do we establish an expensive COI that is likely to cost more than $75M by the end and not include any examination of wages and salaries and how these impact the sugar industry? But accepting on face value the COI has nothing to do with wages and salaries, then why should the workers have to wait on the COI to start negotiation for wages?” he questioned.

Dr Ramsammy reminded that in 2013 and 2014, GuySuCo’s management had proposed zero increases during negotiation with workers Union. The sugar corporation’s management rightly made a case that GuySuCo’s finances could not permit them to extend any wage and salary increases.

“The PPP/C Government stepped in and urged GuySuCo to agree to wage increases and the PPP/C Government ensured finan-

cial support to GuySuCo to allow these to meet the wages obligations,” Dr Ramsammy added.

Thousands of workers from across the sugar belt officially downed tools on Sunday morning to push for higher wages from GuySuCo with hopes that this latest action would result in their favour.

Operations at all sugar factories are adversely affected and will cause GuySuCo to lose millions as a consequence of the workers’ decision to strike. Guyana Times understands that at present the Sugar Corporation is being smothered under its current debt and the current cost of production is over US40 cents per pound while world market prices are a third of that. This means the revenue that GuySuCo receives is not enough to cover its operating costs, thus resulting in the Corporation suffering huge losses annually. It was also disclosed that the company is running on debt financing.

in “Exercise Greenheart” before

Former Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy

tuesday, october 27, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

Dear Editor,

I call on the rice farmers to support the sugar workers by withholding all your rice and paddy from the rice marketing board; a call to the business people to help by donating to the sugar workers’ strike fund. This is not only a strike for wages but a strike for your votes to be counted accurately at all elections.

You should recall, especially those at Albion, that the AFC promised you

Support for the Sugar Workers Georgetown Municipality needs investigating

Dear Editor,

The Government of Guyana through the relevant ministry should do something to bring an end to the alarming situation of rampant nepotism, cronyism and favouritism that exists at the Georgetown Municipality.

At City Hall there is the outright recruitment of relatives and friends of Councillors and senior officers for jobs they are incapable of performing well, by the Personnel Officer, seemingly as a policy now, rather than the occasional occurrence. A visit to the Finance Department alone would reveal that the daughters

20% increase but instead they gave themselves a 50% increase plus benefits. You have been deceived and taken for a ride and you fell for it hook, line and sinker (“cark duck”).

Now the workers are trying to salvage what has been taken away from them for years. Let us send a message to Georgetown that you should not be taken for granted.

To all Corentyne, Berbice, West Coast Demerara and Essequibo, this is

not a fight only for wages but one to get your votes counted fairly and accurately. Already there are plans by Gecom to rig all future elections as Burnham and the PNC did between 1968 and 1985.

I also call on the Police and GDF not to take a partisan approach. Just take a look at what is happening in the Middle East.

N Singh San Fili, Venezuela

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

of at least two Councillors along with relatives of senior officers are employed there. Even more worrying is the fact that the very Councillors are members of the Finance Committee, the oversight body for the same department to which their daughters are assigned, a clear conflict of interest and recipe for corruption. These circumstances are replicated in every other department. Additionally, there consists a gross ethnic imbalance in the staff structure which would suggest the employment of discriminatory practices by the personnel section during the recruitment process. Surely in a mult-racial society such

as Guyana, the applicants would be diverse and one would expect to see this diversity reflected in the workforce, but no, this is not so. There is a feeling of inequality amongst many current employees which results in an attitude of defeat by these staff members as they assume that promotions and perks will always go to friends and relatives rather than deserving persons, resulting in feelings less inclined to do the best work to distinguish themselves. Resentment and indifference is now the order of the day at City Hall which leads to reduced productivity. The nepotism, cronyism

and favouritism at City Hall are damaging not just a department or two, but the entire municipality. It is creating a sense of entitlement that is causing insubordination and disrespect for management and other employees. It is also creating a drop in workplace morale. Friends of the Personnel Section are being placed at the top of their salary scales, and given acting appointments ahead of more qualified employees and those with much greater experience and longer service, resulting in the distortion of the pay scale.

Sincerely, Nadine Jerrick

Good move, Mr Seelall

Dear Editor, I wish to congratulate the Commissioner of Police for breaking the monopoly in relation to a single funeral parlour (Lyken) trans-

porting persons who died from unnatural causes.

This move will definitely lift the standards and ultimately, benefit the relations of the deceased.

My relative, Shiraz Amir Ali was murdered last week, Monday, October 19.

The Police summoned Lyken Funeral Parlour to pick up the body which they

did. They were also responsible for returning the body of our relative for postmortem at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Wednesday, October 21.

We were present at GPHC to witness the Post Mortem with the Police. Lyken Funeral Parlour arrived late at GPHC with the body resulting in the postmortem not being done on our relative.

We are poor people and our relatives travelled from Berbice for this funeral to Good Hope, East Coast Demerara on Wednesday, October 21. The post-mortem was performed on Friday, October 23.

In addition, the storage of dead bodies at this Parlour leaves much to be desired.

In closing, this is the kind of service you get where there is no alternative funeral Parlour. When there is competition, the standards will be lifted.

Thank you once again to Mr Seelall, Commissioner of Police for breaking the monopoly.

I hope other agencies learn from this.

Regards, Boyee Mohamed New Amsterdam Berbice

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER

(June 21July 22)

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

A hobby or skill can be turned into a moneymaker. Consider teaching or mentoring your favourite subject. Educational facilities offer night courses that could provide an outlet for your abilities.

Stick to a solitary activity rather than joining group ventures. Personality clashes are likely if you have a difference of opinion with a colleague or relative.

A new hobby will help to stave off feelings of lethargy and keep you motivated. Damage to a friendship will occur if you unwittingly reveal private information.

Overspending on luxury items will compromise your budget. Don’t try to impress others with showy displays of wealth. Your friends love you for who you are, not for what you own.

Consider your future. Reflect on your past and make a realistic evaluation of what educational advancements you should be making to ensure your future security. Your dream job is within reach.

There is an aura of positive force surrounding you today. Family, friends and romance will all play a major part in your life. Plan a gettogether with people who inspire you.

You have a lot on your mind, but don’t take your frustrations out on others. Your emotions will be close to the surface, so choose an activity that requires concentration, not communication.

You are best to focus on affection and love. Make the most of your romantic feelings and spend extra time with someone you care about or enjoy being around.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21) Don’t risk your position or your reputation by being indiscreet with one of your peers or openly discussing how you feel about the people you work with or your superiors. Deception is apparent.

CAPRICORN

(Jan. 20Feb. 19) (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

A financial seminar will provide a beneficial moneymaking strategy. Leave time at the end of the workday to destress by pursuing a creative passion and making a refreshing change to your routine.

AQUARIUS

PISCES

(Feb. 20March 20)

Family members will be hard to deal with. Don’t make unrealistic demands or promises. Combative sessions can be avoided if you follow through and honour your promises.

Someone from your past will come to mind or reappear in your life. Your powers of persuasion will help you get your way. Make good use of your time. Promote your ideas.

South Africa slam 438 to flatten India in decider

South Africa won their first-ever bilateral series in India after Faf du Plessis’ first, Quinton de Kock’s second and AB de Villiers’ third centuries of the series helped the visitors soar to the highest total in the five matches, the highest at the Wankhede and the highest against India. They did not subject India to their biggest margin of defeat, but they did bowl them out more than 200 runs short of the target, no mean feat in batsmen-friendly conditions.

South Africa’s line-up enjoyed the track, which offered almost no bounce or turn, and applied aggression in waves reminiscent of the day nine years ago when they scored this exact number of runs against Australia at the Wanderers. Then, South Africa were chasing, this time they were making India’s bowlers do that. India have never conceded more runs in an ODI; South Africa have scored more but only by one. This was their sixth score over 400 and fourth in 2015 alone, and it underlined their ability to dominate opposition on their own turf.

India will be disappointed by the way their challenge died in both departments. Their bowlers began with an over-reliance on the short ball and then just ran out of ideas while their batsmen showed the right intent upfront but lost wickets try-

ing to sustain the scoring rate. In the end, they conceded a second series to South Africa on the tour with the main event, the Tests, still to come.

The signs of South African authority were evident from the start. They raced to fifty inside six overs during which Hashim Amla became the fastest batsmen to 6,000 ODI runs. Amla was dismissed cheaply for a fifth time in the series but that did not have an impact on South Africa’s morale.

the seventh over. Harbhajan Singh kept things tight at first but the tension was routinely broken at the other end. South Africa grew in confidence, brought up 100 in the 15th over and appeared unstoppable until de Kock hit Amit Mishra in the

air to mid-off and presented a chance. Mohit Sharma got fingertips to the ball but could not hold on. De Kock was on 58 at the time and Mohit’s mistake would prove costly.

De Kock owned the pull shot and with the seamers failing to generate anything, MS Dhoni introduced spin in

He was seeing the ball well and found the rope so regularly, there was barely a need for singles. More than two-thirds of his runs came

in boundaries but he reached his century, his fifth against India and eighth overall, with a single.

Du Plessis had almost been a spectator in the proceedings and allowed de Kock most of the strike but when de Kock was caught on the long-off boundary, he knew he had to take over. With de Villiers egging him on, du Plessis upped the ante, assisted by Dhoni using parttimers Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli against South Africa’s two most destructive batsmen. They pierced the gaps and hit with power as the intensity increased.

De Villiers injected impetus into the innings with his scoring rate - his fifty came off 34 balls - and du Plessis followed suit. After taking 61 balls to score fifty, he needed just 44 more deliveries to get a century, even as he battled cramps to get there.

South Africa entered the last ten overs on 294 for 2 but would have been wary of the squeeze that can strike with the new playing conditions. This time, they were not strangled. Du Plessis plundered 24 runs off the 43rd over, bowled by Axar Patel, even though he could barely stand up and had to retire hurt on 133.

Then, it was de Villiers’ turn. His century came off the 57th ball he faced to chants of “ABD” from the Wankhede crowd. South

Valentino Rossi penalised for kicking Marc Marquez

MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi will start the final race of the season from the back of the grid after kicking Marc Marquez off his bike during the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Rossi finished third but was given three penalty points following a post-race investigation.

He later accused Marquez of “making me lose the championship”.

Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won the race, with Jorge Lorenzo second. The final race takes place in Spain on 8 November.

Rossi now leads Lorenzo by just seven points in the championship.

The Italian, whose team Yamaha have said they will appeal the sanction, said Spain’s Marquez “rode only to cause me problems”.

The incident happened on lap 13 of 20 after Rossi had gestured at Marquez following an overtaking move.

“Unfortunately, I lose a lot of time with Marc,” the Italian ex-

plained. “And in turn 14, I tried to go a bit wide to take a better line and make him slow.

“He came to me and I think he crashed in that moment. His handlebar touched my foot and my foot slipped off, a bike can’t crash only with a touch.

“He has won his fight, he made me lose the championship.”

But Spaniard Lorenzo had called

for Rossi to be punished, adding: “It’s clear that he took Marquez off.”

Before the race Rossi, 36, accused Marquez of deliberately trying to impede him during the Australian Grand Prix on 18 October in order to help Lorenzo.

“Marquez did not play with both of us, he played only with me,” Rossi said.

“He isn’t playing fair. He would prefer Lorenzo to win. He is angry at me for a personal matter.”

MotoGP race director Mike Webb said: “It’s irresponsible riding causing a crash and for that we have imposed three penalties points on Rossi.”

Rossi’s lead means he will definitely win the title if he can finish in the top two in Malaysia, while Lorenzo must finish at least eighth to have any chance of depriving him.

Rossi is seeking his seventh MotoGP title, while 28-year-old Lorenzo is trying to win his third.

(BBC Sport)

Africa were on the brink of 400 when de Villiers edged an attempted pull and was caught behind and India had finally got through the senior batsmen. Farhaan Behardien and David Miller had free reign to slog as hard as they wanted and they made the most of what time they had. South Africa scored 144 runs in the last ten overs. By the time India had that many, it looked as though a thriller might just play out.

India lost Rohit Sharma

and Virat Kohli in the first eight overs of the reply but Shikhar Dhawan, who had been middling until this match, and Ajinkya Rahane kept them in it. Rahane was particularly severe on Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir but neither of them targeted South Africa’s fifth bowler, Behardien, as much as they should have. Still, they applied pressure, forced mistakes from South Africa in the field and were on track despite the length of the journey. (Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD

South Africa innings (50 overs maximum)

Q de Kock† c Kohli b Raina 109

HM Amla c †Dhoni b MM Sharma 23

F du Plessis retired hurt 133

AB de Villiers* c †Dhoni b Kumar 119

DA Miller not out 22

F Behardien c Raina b Harbhajan Singh 16

D Elgar not out 5

Extras (lb 2, w 9) 11

Total (4 wickets; 50 overs) 438

Did not bat: DW Steyn, K Rabada, Imran Tahir, KJ Abbott

Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-187, 3-398, 4-430

Bowling: B Kumar 10-0-1061, MM Sharma 7-0-84-1, Harbhajan Singh 10-0-70-1, AR Patel 8-0-65-0, A Mishra 10-0-78-0, SK Raina 3-019-1, V Kohli 2-0-14-0. India innings (target: 439

runs from 50 overs)

RG Sharma c Imran Tahir b Abbott 16 S Dhawan c Amla b Rabada 60 V Kohli c †de Kock b Rabada 7 AM Rahane c Behardien b Steyn 87 SK Raina b Rabada

MS Dhoni*† b Imran Tahir

AR Patel c Miller b Steyn 5 Harbhajan Singh c sub (CH Morris) b Steyn 0 View dismissal B Kumar c Miller b Imran Tahir 1 View dismissal A Mishra lbw b Rabada 4 MM Sharma

Hamilton wins US Grand Prix for 3rd F1 title

Britain’s Lewis Hamilton clinched his third Formula One world championship on Sunday after winning a thrilling and unpredictable U.S. Grand Prix for Mercedes.

The 30-year-old became the first British driver to win back to back titles and also the first to win 10 or more races in successive seasons.

Hamilton’s German team mate Nico Rosberg, who started on pole,

finished second after making a costly late mistake while leading. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel took third place a mere 0.5 of a second behind.

Hamilton had needed to beat Vettel by nine points and Rosberg by two to take the crown, but for much of the race it looked as if he would have to wait at least until Mexico next weekend. (Reuters Sport)

The South African players get together after winning the series. (BCCI photo)

Valentino Rossi

Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain races ahead of team mate Nico Rosberg of Germany during the US F1 Grand Prix. (Reuters photo)

UEFA’s Infantino to bid for FIFA presidency

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino entered the race for FIFA president on Monday as Asian soccer chief Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain declared he had also put himself forward.

The surprise announcement from the executive committee of the European soccer authority that it was backing Infantino came ahead of the midnight CET deadline for candidates to register nominations for the presidency of world soccer’s crisis-torn governing body. The FIFA election is scheduled to take place in Zurich on Feb. 26.

FIFA is embroiled in the worst scandal of its 111-year history, the United States having indicted several FIFA officials for bribery, money laundering and wire fraud in May.

Swiss authorities are also investigating the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.

Earlier this month, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini, who had been favourite to succeed him, were suspended for 90 days pending a full investigation by FIFA’s Ethics Committee.

Platini would not be able to be officially named a candidate while under suspension but FIFA has left the door ajar for him to run

should he later win an appeal against his ban.

In the meantime, UEFA has opted to make sure they have a candidate in the race.

“We are delighted that Gianni has agreed to stand and he knows that he has our full support in his campaign to become FIFA President,” said UEFA in a statement.

“We believe that Gianni Infantino has all of the qualities required to tackle the major challenges ahead and

Financial Fair Play policy, a break-even rule which clubs are required to meet before they can take part in European competition.

SCRAMBLE FOR NOMINATIONS

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said in a statement it had offered overwhelming support to Sheikh Salman who had assured it “that his campaign will be entirely self-financed”.

The Bahraini, close-

to lead the organisation on a path of reform to restore FIFA’s integrity and credibility.”

A multilingual lawyer, shaven-headed Infantino joined UEFA in 2000 and has been general secretary since 2009.

He has overseen the implementation of the complicated and controversial

ly allied to Kuwaiti Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, one of the most powerful men in the Olympic movement, canvassed opinion from Asian associations last week.

On Saturday, South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale, a former Apartheid-era political prisoner turned businessman, announced he

would stand. A spokesman confirmed Sexwale had the necessary five nominations.

Former Trinidad and Tobago midfielder David Nakhid says he has submitted his papers to FIFA, along with former FIFA deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne and Jordanian Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein.

Liberia’s Musa Bility has said he wants to run. His chances suffered a setback when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) refused to back him, but on Monday the BBC reported that he had the five nominations necessary to stand.

Former Brazil international Zico has been campaigning but has admitted he is struggling to get the backing of five FAs.

Another candidate, South Korea’s Chung MongJoon, pulled out of the race on Monday. A scion of South Korea’s Hyundai industrial conglomerate, Chung was banned from the sport for six years by FIFA, after an investigation into the decision to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.

“Even though I can no longer stand for FIFA President, there is much left for me to do,” Chung said. “I will continue to work with all those who love football to bring about legitimate changes from within FIFA.”

(Reuters Sport)

Suarez treble gives Barca comeback win over Eibar

BPink ball concerns dismissed by CA

Concerns raised during the Prime Minister’s XI match about the experimental pink ball have been dismissed by Cricket Australia, as a host of cricket and broadcasting figures prepare to descend on Adelaide for a day/night Sheffield Shield fixture that will be used for all manner of last-minute rehearsals.

The meeting between South Australia and New South Wales, part of a full round of floodlit Shield games, will not only serve as a pink ball proving ground for the players involved but also Channel Nine and various operators of technology associated with international cricket and the Decision Review System.

Ian Taylor, the head of Animation Research, recently admitted that the company responsible for ball tracking was yet to do so successfully with a pink ball, telling Fairfax Media that “we can

it’s probably more of a player safety issue rather than playing at night. As Victoria batting coach I’m trying to tell all the batters just to play the ball as late as they possibly can, because it is a different style of ball, and you just see a sort of blur to start off with. It takes a few balls to get used to it.

“The concept sits quite comfortably with all the players, but the pink ball, there could be a better option about.”

Separate issues about the ball’s visibility were raised, including the inability of some batsmen to pick up the orientation of the seam as a way of working out which way it was going to be swinging or seaming. Visual cues such as these are viewed as critical to a batsman’s capacity to survive against fast bowling at the top level of the game. However CA’s head of cricket operations, Sean Cary, said the Canberra match was not a source of worry.

“We’re not reading too much into the condition of the ball during the Prime Minister’s XI match in Canberra,” said Cary, who will also be in Adelaide for the Shield match. “We know the Manuka wicket is very abrasive and has a similar impact on a white ball in limited-overs cricket.

“We’ve worked very closely with the Australian Cricketers’ Association and Kookaburra during its development to get it ready and fit for purpose. That included making significant improvements in the last 18 months around greater seam visibility, colour, shape and hardness.

minute lead at the Nou Camp.

A well-worked move resulted in a simple header for Suarez to level in the 21st

Suarez in the 85th minute and he chested the ball down and arrowed a shot past Asier Riesgo in the Eibar goal for his second La

arcelona needed a clinical Luis Suarez hat-trick to secure a 3-1 comeback win at home to modest Eibar which put the champions level on 21 points with arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga on Sunday.

Barca’s defence has been ragged this season and more poor play at the back allowed Borja Gonzalez in to give Eibar a surprise 10th-

minute and Neymar drove into the area and fed the Uruguayan to make it 2-1 with a low strike into the corner three minutes into the second half.

Chances were scarce after the break until Neymar lifted a pass over the top for

Liga hat-trick.

Suarez’s third goal, his seventh in the Spanish top flight this season, came moments after Barca’s Javier Mascherano was shown a straight red card having appeared to verbally abuse one of the referee’s assistants.

“We started off going behind, it was a difficult game because of that and that’s what we need to start looking at,” Suarez told Spanish television.

“Last season we conceded very few goals,” added the 28-year-old, who made his Barca debut exactly one year ago on Sunday.

“These are phases in which every time the opponents get forward they score and we have to correct that.”

Real, who host Barca in the first La Liga ‘Clasico’ of the season on Nov. 21, lead on goal difference after they secured a nervy 3-1 win at 10-man Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Celta are third on 18 points, one ahead of Villarreal, who drew 0-0 at promoted Las Palmas earlier on Sunday.

Atletico Madrid, the 2014 champions, can climb above Celta into third on 19 points with a win at home to eighth-placed Valencia in Sunday’s late kickoff.

Basque side Eibar, who were relegated last season but gained a reprieve when Elche were thrown out of the league for tax irregularities, are seventh on 13 points, one ahead of Valencia. (Reuters Sport)

track it some of the time”. Management and crew from Nine, CA, the ABC and numerous other interested parties including the Australian Cricketers’ Association will be in Adelaide to see for themselves how the ball and playing conditions stand up to scrutiny.

The latest version of the Kookaburra ball was chewed up badly by Manuka Oval’s abrasive pitch and square, leading the Test batsman Adam Voges to offer a blunt critique. Players on both sides were similarly nonplussed, and there was much discussion of the topic during the two-day tour match that followed. David Hussey, another participant, said the ball simply did not look capable of lasting 80 overs.

“The ball simply doesn’t stand up for the 80 overs, and during the PM’s XI game we had to change the ball twice, so certainly some tinkering needs to happen sooner rather than later,” Hussey told SEN. “The administrators have simply gone ahead with it, they want day/night Test cricket to happen purely for TV rights I believe. I think it’s going to be here to stay but I really think they have to do something about the ball and very quickly.

“Talking to some of the Kiwis after Friday night’s match, they were fielding in the evening and they could barely pick up the ball. So

“We’re as confident as we can be that the ball is ready to go and I think from the experiences in the last round of Shield cricket that we had using the pink ball, we can be really positive as we approach the Test.”

Greg Dyer, the president of the ACA, has stated that it is not too late for the Adelaide Test to revert to a day fixture. However the logistics and commercial arrangements being set in place for a match that was announced as far back as June make this a distinctly unlikely possibility - in a nutshell too much money is being spent, or made.

Advocates of day/night Test cricket have been out in force, with the former captain Steve Waugh declaring the necessity of the game moving into the night in a string of interviews. “Test cricket is withering away in a lot of countries; Australia and England are the only two places where people watch Test matches,” Waugh told Triple M. “Day/night will bring people back to the game. We’ve got to get over the fact it might not be a perfect ball ... once we play one day/night Test people will be saying ‘what were we worrying about?’.” (Cricinfo)

Gianni Infantino

Barcelona’s Luis Suarez (C) and Neymar (L) celebrate a goal against against Eibar during their Spanish first division soccer match. (Reuters photo)

Doug Bracewell prepares to bowl with the pink ball. (AFP photo)

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Brusches basketball classic set for Burnham Court tonight

The 5th Brusches Basketball Classic will continue this evening when Georgetown clubs, Dynas Ravens face Plaisance Guardians and the Colts battle Trinity Grid Holding (TGH) Pacesetters from 19:00h at the Burnham Court.

The four city based teams contesting this year’s tournament in one half are battling for a place in the semifinals following the opening ten point wins by Half Mile Bulls 68-58 over Victory Valley Royals and Amelia’s Ward Jets 57-47 against Retrieve Raiders on Saturday at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court.

Tonight’s double header is win or go home in the eight team knockout tournament as they aim join the Jets who play Bulls on Friday in one semifinal and the other pits the winners

Sri Lanka

v

of tonight’s games against each other at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court.

Last Saturday the first game saw Bulls nudging ahead at the end of the first quarter 14-13 but the Royals recovered top lead at half

time 32-23 and then 46-42 at the end of the third quarter. The Bulls sparked by the tiny guard Keifer Tappin who finished with 15 points and youth national Dennis Niles with a top score of 16 eventually romped home handsomely by ten pints

West Indies, 2nd Test…

with a comfortable win. Terron Welch had nine points and Eon Reddock and Michael Turner contributed eight and seven points respectively for the winners. Harold Adams had a game high 22 points for the Royals as their next best score came from Chris Williams with 10 and Trevor profit with eight. In the second game the jets enjoyed a 15-12 first quarter advantage but were behind 22-23 at half time before taking the lead 38-30 when the third quarter ended and stayed ahead to win 57-47 against the Raiders. The scoring for the Jets was shouldered by guest player Akeem Kanhai with 13, Amaniki Archibald with 10 and Omally Sampson eight. For the losers former national Neil Marks had 16 points and veteran Abdulla Hamid 11.

Windies crumble as Sri lanka seal 2-0 series win

Sri Lanka had come into the series against West Indies in a state of flux, after having lost two home Test series in a year for only the second time. Kumar Sangakkara had retired after the second Test against India, and coach Marvan Atapattu had resigned. However, they rallied to sweep West Indies 2-0, after a 72-run win before tea on the final day

his first over for the third innings in a row, having Shai Hope stumped for 35. He followed that with the wicket of Jermaine Blackwood 20 minutes before the lunch. In between, offspinner Dilruwan Perera also chipped in to prolong Marlon Samuels' lean patch against Sri Lanka.

Samuels was dismissed for his ninth single-digit score against the hosts

of the second Test at the P Sara Oval, despite four sessions getting washed out.

Milinda Siriwardana, whose 68 in the first innings turned out to the top score in the match, picked up three wickets in the final innings to trigger the slide. Sri Lanka's lead spinner Rangana Herath claimed four wickets to skittle the visitors, who began the day at 20 for 1, for 171.

West Indies' innings followed a similar pattern with one batsman making a fifty - Darren Bravo in this caseand the others deflating like cheap party balloons.

Siriwardana struck in

in 17 innings, when he feebly poked and nicked to slip where Angelo Mathews completed a sharp, low catch. The dismissal was reviewed and Samuels was given out by third umpire Marias Erasmus, who decided Mathews had caught it cleanly even as the ball bounced out of his right hand and into his left.

Herath then engineered a double-strike in his fourth over after lunch to remove Denesh Ramdin and Bravo. Jomel Warrican, one of the few positives in an otherwise dark series for West Indies, summoned some late blows in a last-wicket part-

nership of 33 to only delay Sri Lanka's victory. West Indies had begun the day brightly amid overcast conditions, before letting the advantage slip away. Hope was surefooted and ticked along smoothly. He serenely drove Dhammika Prasad past mid-on, and greeted Herath with a pulled four. Bravo looked fidgety early on, playing and missing outside off to add to a few pokey drives. Soon, a Prasad half-volley provided a release and Bravo found his mojo as he drove it through the covers. He then stepped out and hit Perera on to the sightscreen before a repeat of the big hit brought up only the third fifty stand of the match. West Indies had squeezed out 14 partnerships of more than 20 in this series but none of them had passed 50, until the last day of the second Test. Hope and Bravo addressed the issue, adding 60 together, but it was not enough to help West Indies secure their first Test win in Sri Lanka. (Cricinfo)

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The Sri Lankans rush to celebrate the wicket of Darren Bravo with Rangana Herath. (AFP photo)

Johnson, D’Andrade finish in top 10 of UWI Spec International Half Marathon

The Trinidad-based Guyanese duo of Kelvin Johnson and Lionel D’Andrade braved cold and rainy weather to finished sixth and 10th respectively in the University of the West Indies (UWI) Spec International Half Marathon on Sunday in Trinidad and Tobago.

Hundreds of fans braved the weather to witness top regional and international runners from Kenya, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica and Guyana.

The men’s title had been guaranteed to change hands long before the finish, as defending champion, Brazilian Daniel Chavez Da Silva was forced to retire in the early going, reportedly having suffered stomach cramps.

Nevertheless, the Guyanese were no match for Cuban Richer Perez who stopped the clock in 1:08:00. Kennneth Rotich of Kenya was close in 1:08:06, while Kirk Brown of Jamaica was 3rd in 1:09:12.

Johnson finished sixth in 1:12:43, while D'Andrade rounded out the top ten in 1:16:02. Nevertheless, they both did manage to win their categories.

D'Andrade noted, "I felt good in the cool morning. I increased my speed at the halfway point and definitely saw an improvement from the Banker's Insurance Half Marathon (August 2015) which was 1:20:04.

So I am please with my UWI Spec time. I've competed in forty (40) races for the year so far and I have five (5) more to compete in before the end of the 2015 race calendar. On November 1st, I will be defending my double titles in the Flow Energy Sunday mini-Duathlon and 1 Lap Run. After that, I have a few more 5Ks."

The UWI Spec International Half Marathonhad 1,104 participants and is AIMS certified and IAAF accredited which is recognised worldwide.

Pakistan v England, 2nd Test…

Marian Academy Inter-Schools football…

Queen’s College dominate to win top prize

– Bishop’s High top female category

Queen’s College topped School of the Nations 12-5 in the final of the Marian Academy Inter-Schools football tournament on Saturday at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary.

The competition which

was organised as part of Marian’s Physical Education CXC programmed produced some thrilling moments especially in the final.

With School of the Nations finishing second, Marian Academy finished in third after handing

Georgetown International Academy a 6-1 defeat.

Meanwhile on the distaff side, Bishop’s High School topped Marian Academy in the final by a 1-0 margin. St Rose’s High School finished third in the female competition.

Pakistan finally break epic

Nobody expected it to be cut this fine. England produced one of the finest stonewalling efforts in their history only to concede the second Test in Dubai to Pakistan with only 6.3 overs remaining on the final day. Six wickets down at lunch, eight well before tea, they were indebted to more than four hours of defiance by Adil Rashid before he became the last wicket to fall.

Rashid’s maiden fifty in his second Test was a redoubtable effort as Pakistan’s spinners tired on a surface that gradually lost its zip as the day progressed but, when least expected, Yasir Shah’s legspin finally drew him into a drive through a curtain of close fielders and Zulfiqar Babar scooped up a catch at short cover. The tension was unclamped in an instant as Pakistan completed a victory by 178 runs to go 1-0 up with one to play.

It was an appropriate finale as Pakistan’s two spin bowlers combined for the final wicket. They sent down 88.3 overs between them, sharing a return of 7 for 140 on a slow pitch that gave them plentiful encouragement, but no largesse. Pakistan have never bowled so many overs in the fourth innings of a Test, as both slow bowlers will be

able to testify when they wake up with aching limbs in the morning.

Twice, it looked as if

Tests in their own country because of an unstable political situation. Their presence in World T20 is threatened by

England’s defeat would be a formality, firstly when Joe Root fell in the first hour of play and again, merely a confirmation of their plight, when Stuart Broad, silenced by a superb yorker from Wahab Riaz, became the eighth wicket to fall with 41 overs still left to bowl, the day barely past its mid-point.

Should Pakistan go on to win the series 2-0, they would go second in the ICC Test rankings, quite an achievement for a side unable to play

Indian extremists and, as if all that was not enough, even as the presentation ceremony took place their priority was to discover more news about an earthquake of 7.5 magnitude, centred upon Afghanistan, which had shaken Pakistan’s major cities.

For England, the history of the past 10 years had told that survival was not statistically impossible. To bat out the final day would have stood alongside the most outstanding resistance efforts of the past

decade: 148 overs by South Africa against Australia in Adelaide in 2012, a backs-tothe-wall innings led by Faf du Plessis, or England’s own 143 overs against New Zealand in Auckland a few months later when Matt Prior’s defiant hundred did the job. Ultimately, they managed 137.3.

England did not seem equipped for survival. Their lower-middle order was replete with shot-makers, untutored in the sort of turning conditions they had to confront on the final day. The spin and - initially at leastbounce that had been so reluctant to show itself on the fourth evening was available in abundance.

From the moment that Root departed, it felt like a matter of time, but nobody had reckoned for Rashid, who read his fellow spinners as if the holder of an exclusive code, leaving the ball impeccably and shifting the emphasis as the day wore on from wristy strokeplay to steely defence. He was dropped once, off Yasir on 42, when Mohammad Hafeez failed to hold a chance at gully shortly before tea.

England, beginning the last day on 130 for 3, their victory target of 491 irrelevant, added only 57 runs in the

morning session as the pressure from Pakistan’s spinners was unrelenting. For 50 minutes, the Yorkshire pair of Root and Jonny Bairstow defended stoutly, Root relaxing into the day, Bairstow holding himself stiffly as he stole the occasional run, not just his mind locked in concentration but his neck and shoulders too.

Then Zulfiqar dislodged Root and the anticipation in Pakistan’s ranks immediately soared. He had already spun one past the outside edge; the second time he deceived Root, the edge came and Younis Khan pouched a good low catch at slip.

Bairstow followed five

overs later. Yasir has bowled only the occasional googly in this Test, but when he gave it an airing, a full-length delivery deceived Bairstow in the air and he was bowled through the gate as he was suckered into a leg-side flick. For Jos Buttler, there was another failure, one that could interrupt his Test career in Sharjah as England seek to regroup. At least he fell to an excellent delivery as Yasir made one turn and bounce from a challenging length and Younis stooped for his fourth slip catch of the innings, his offerings so plentiful that he might have been picking strawberries in the desert air. (Cricinfo)

Some of the action during the final between Queen’s College and School of the Nations. (Marceano Narine photo)

Lionel D’Andrade Kelvin Johnson

Shah is mobbed by celebrating Pakistan fielders as he claims victory. (Getty Images)

Tour of Guyana 5-Stage cycling… 60 riders confirmed to battle for top honours

B y A ven A sh R A mz A n

Sixty (60) riders will face the starting line in East Berbice on Thursday morning when the ninth annual Five-Stage cycling, now rebranded Tour of Guyana, pedals off for the first time under a new government.

An initiative of the former administration, in collaboration with the Guyana Cycling Federation, the fourday race will spanned all three counties of Guyana, and will see a total of 11 overseas riders competing.

Chief race coordinator, Hassan Mohamed, revealed on Monday that registration closed on Sunday at midnight, and a total of five dozen cyclists have confirmed their participation in the event.

Among the foreign riders is 2012 champion Jaime Ramirez of Team Coco’s, along with teammate Carlos Ospina of the Miami-based club.

Stage four (October 31) in Essequibo. The final stage (November 1) will place from Linden to Georgetown.

The opening stage will be held from Corriverton to New Amsterdam (46.6 miles) from 07:30h; while Stage Two will be on the same day from Rosignol to Georgetown (60.4 miles) from 14:00h.

Stage Three will take place from Wales to Parika (35 miles) from 09:00h, while the penultimate stage will be contested from 07:30h from Supenaam to Suddie, covering a distance of 62 miles. The fifth and final stage will commence in Linden at 08:30h and finish in Georgetown, covering a distance of 62 miles.

Wilson elected head of EBFA

Franklin Wilson was elected President of the East Bank Football Association (EBFA) when that entity held its Annual General Meeting on Sunday at the Kuru Kururu Community Centre, Kuru Kururu, Linden-Soesdyke Highway.

Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Normalisation Committee Chairman Clinton Urling and General Secretary Diedre Davis were present to conduct the elections. There was one list of executives that was submitted to the Association and subsequently the Federation.

a positive direction, pointing out that all must work together. Wilson also congratulated Urling and his team for the fine job they have done in reviving Guyana’s football and promised to ensure that the good work they have done was built upon.

Meanwhile, the EBFA will this Saturday conclude the Lens Craft Under-13 League with the final game, which will see Agricola Red Triangle, which is already assured of the title, taking on Kuru Kururu Warriors.

Agricola is on 12 points, the same as second placed Grove Hi Tech and third place Herstelling Raiders. However, Agricola has a goal difference of +16, Grove +7 and Herstelling +6.

The neighbouring Dutchspeaking nation Suriname will be well represented with five riders confirmed, while two cyclists will be riding under the Barbados flag. Grenada and St Lucia will be represented by one rider each. Mohamed also informed that riders and officials will head to Berbice on Wednesday, and the contingent will leave from the National Sports Commission’s office on Homestretch Avenue at 11:00h.

Courts

Pee

The race is the signature

event on the local cycling calendar, and usually attracts the largest group of local and foreign riders.

As is the norm, the first two stages will be held on the opening day (October 29) in Berbice and Demerara. Stage three (October 30) will take place in West Demerara, followed by

As was the case in previous years, the event will be held with the objectives of increasing awareness and knowledge about HIV/Aids among participants and the general public, and increasing HIV/Aids activism and volunteerism among the participants and inspiring them to become ambassadors in the fight against HIV/Aids.

Last year’s race, which spanned 266 miles of the country’s roadways, was won by Carlton Wheelers’ rider Robin Persaud. (aramzan@ guyanatimesgy.com)

Wee football… Enterprise impressive as Round of 16 action starts

Round of 16 action in the annual Courts

Pee Wee Football Competition got off to a thrilling start last weekend with Enterprise Primary being the most dominant school with a thrilling 7-0 win over St Ambrose.

Playing at the Banks DIH Ground, Thirst Park, St Pius and West Ruimveldt were also among the goals, record-

The other executives elected are First Vice President Kevin Anthony, Second Vice President Noel Harry, Secretary Wayne Francois, Treasurer Dwayne Lovell, Assistant Secretary/ Treasurer Roxanne Dey, and Committee Members Clive Matthews, Seenauth Ramsahai, Marlon Leitch, John Woolford and Noel Punch.

In congratulating the new executives, Urling encouraged them to continue being committed to the development of the game in the Association, and by extension Guyana. He noted that the EBFA elections were the 14th the GFF has conducted in the ongoing process to have associations prepared constitutionally for the upcoming GFF elections on November 14.

Wilson thanked the clubs for the high level of confidence reposed in him and promised to guide the upward climb of the clubs and Association in

Also on Saturday, the Association will kick off its Under-17 League, while the following Sunday, an InterVillage seven-a-side competition will get cracking. The Association has taken a decision that it will commence its Senior League early in 2016.

Also, the Kuru Kururu Warriors Club will collaborate with the Guyana Beach Soccer Association to run off a familiarisation programme, which will see matches being played on November 1 at Kuru Kururu, Herstelling and Diamond.

Clubs present at Sunday’s meeting were Agricola Red Triangle, Herstelling Raiders, Mocha Champs, Diamond United, Grove Hi Tech and Kuru Kururu Warriors. Unavoidably absent were Soesdyke Falcons.

Michael Oie (13th and 20th) and Justin Persaud (12th and 32nd) with doubles, and a singles strike from Mark Cameron in the 18th minute were good enough for

Stella Maris managed a 3-1 success over St Agnes, with Keshawn Andrew (10th); Nicklus Stanton (38th) and Jayden Pitt (40th) scoring for the victors, while Shamar Moore (19th) netted for St Agnes.

In other results, South Ruimveldt, through goals from Zacharia Pemberton and John Simon, beat Smith’s Memorial 2-0; Josiah

Another competitive day of Pee Wee football materialised last Saturday at the Banks DIH ground, Thirst Park

ing 5-0 wins over Comenius and North Georgetown respectively.

In game two of the day, the Enterprise lads were led to victory by a hat-trick from Seon Archibald, who netted in the 5th, 21st and 57th minutes. Garfield Caesar (27th and 35th) and Martin King (34th and 37th) were also on target with a double apiece.

West Ruimveldt, who kept North Georgetown goalless during the exchanges.

Doubles from Rayheim Marques and Shaquille Sergeant handed Tucville a comfortable 4-0 win over FE Pollard. Marques opened the scoring in the seventh minute, and then extended his team’s lead in the 27th, before Sergeant scored twice in the space of five minutes, his first coming in the 30th.

Defending champions

Four of St Pius players got on the score sheets, with Brandon Solomon netting twice, first in the 27th minute, then nine minutes later. Selwyn Jones (3rd), Mike Prince (35th) and Christian Jupiter (40th) accounted for the other goals.

King led St Margaret’s to a 1-0 success over Winfer Gardens; and St Angela’s won 4-3 on penalties against St Stephen’s after a goalless draw.

The competition, sponsored by Courts (Guyana) Inc, in partnership with Banks DIH Limited, and coordinated by the Petra Organisation, will continue on Saturday at the same venue with another round of matches.

Flashback! 2012 champion Jaime Ramirez is back to reclaim his title in 2015. In this Avenash Ramzan file photo, he receives his trophy from former Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony and race coordinator, Hassan Mohamed

The victorious Sri Lankan players with Garry Sobers and Michael Tissera (AFP photo)