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Guyana celebrates 40 years of nursery education

The Education Ministry on Tuesday marked the 40th anniversary of nursery education in Guyana with a simple ceremony at the Roxanne Burnham Gardens Nursery School.

The Ministry, as part of Education Month observances, held the special ceremony to mark 40 years of development in early childhood education.

It was back in 1976 that the Education Ministry in Guyana took under its wings the bottom house kindergarten schools, which were privately owned. Today, the system celebrates 40 years; a timeline that is said to have done tremendously well for the nation’s children.

Assistant Chief Education Officer with responsibility for Nursery

Education (ACEO-N)

Ingrid Trotman in her presentation said 40 years ago only 19,000 children were enrolled in 380 nursery schools. In 2016, the Ministry’s records indicate that 26,500 children are

currently enrolled in 332 discrete schools and 142 nursery classes in Guyana. Across the country, there are 1700 nursery teachers, three of whom are males.

The two-year nursery education programme from

1984-2016 has had eight Assistant Chief Education Officers. Trotman took the opportunity to express the Ministry’s gratitude to each past ACEO for their sterling contribution to advancing nursery education in Guyana. Among the

names she mentioned were Norma Baichoo who served at the first ACEO-N from 1984-1990; Pamela Henry (1990-1994); Genevieve Whyte-Nedd (1994-1999); Romeo McAdam (19992000); Shirley Mentis-King (2001-2003); Jacqueline Waithe (2004-2007); and Doodmattie Singh (20072011).

According to Trotman, the Education Ministry has been working to improve the delivery of early childhood/nursery education. The establishment of the non-academic standards for nursery schools in 2002; production of the nursery education handbook in 2005; launch of the early childhood literacy and numeracy programmes and curriculum guides in 2006; production of the Roraima Reader Series between 2013-2015: and, continuous capacity training and provision of teaching materials are among the Ministry’s long list of achievements.

In addition to this, the Ministry has constructed and commissioned a number of nursery schools which meet standards set out by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) namely, Tuschen Nursery – Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Diamond, Good Hope, and Beterverwagting – Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), Ithaca Nursery – Region Five (MahaicaBerbice), Number 77 –Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), and Turkeyen, Roxanne Burnham, and Cummings Park Nursery Schools in Georgetown.

Meanwhile, Acting Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hutson said nursery education remains a critical role in the life of children. He said that nursery schooling provides a good head start for learning and that incorporating creative and fun methods helps to put children on a path to lifelong learning. Hutson stated too that at a basic level, certain types of facilities are necessary. He said a neat and hygienic environment, trained soft

speaking teachers, colourful classrooms, toys, a rest corner, drawing boards, playgrounds, safe drinking water, and flash cards are among the necessities for good educational outcomes. Huston called on stakeholders to pitch in and help to ensure that every child receives a good education.

“It is against this background I would like to extend a call to all stakeholders to let us collectively work to positively impact the lives of our little ones that in future they will fulfil purpose… Together we can do the extraordinary,” the acting CEO said.

The inclusion of nursery education in the public system gave rise to the development of the Early Childhood Education Programme which allowed for teachers to be trained for two years of nursery in addition to the first two years primary education, now called Grades One and Two.

Research has shown that when teachers embarked on this programme, they were better equipped to prepare students for the transition from nursery to primary.

In Guyana, teachers are trained at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and the University of Guyana (UG).

Meanwhile, a number of other events have been planned to celebrate Guyana’s 40 years of Nursery Education including an exhibition of teaching/learning materials which will be held today at 09:00h at the Liana Nursery School. The early childhood education campaign “Parents, Teachers, Children and Friends” in concert will be hosted on September 15, 2016 at 13:00h at the Police Officers Mess, Eve Leary and a rally on September 16, 2016 at 08:30h from Stabroek Square to Durban Park (Vlissengen Road, Mandela Ave). An award ceremony for Nursery Educators with 35+ years of service will also be hosted.

Acting CEO Marcel Hutson at the simple ceremony on TuesdayA section of the gathering at the Roxanne Garden Nursery School on Tuesday

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Wednesday, September 14 – 14:30h-16:00h and Thursday, September 15 – 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Wednesday, September 14 – 14:40h-16:10h and Thursday, September 15 – 15:20h-16:50h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

… sub judice rule prohibits public discussion of ongoing cases

Freddie Kissoon could face up to one month jail time for contempt of court. This comes in light of Kissoon’s public discussion of a case, which is currently before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Kissoon’s ramblings about the case in tabloid-like newspaper Kaieteur News constitutes sub judice, as the matter is under judicial consideration and, therefore, prohibited from public discussion. As such, his actions can now interfere with the administration of justice. The Magistrate also has discretion to make a gag order to avoid a trial by the press. Lord Justice Watkins in Peacock v London Weekend Television (1985) 150 J.P. 71 at p. 80, said: “In our land we do not allow trial by television or newspaper. Until the well-recognised institution of this country for the doing of justice, namely the courts, have worked their course, then the hand of the writer and the voice of the broadcaster must be still.”

Kissoon’s sanity was questioned last week when he failed to demonstrate comprehension of basic questions by a defence attorney during a cross-examination in a case for which he was a witness. On several occasions, the presiding Magistrate in that case has to caution Kissoon after he kept ranting at every question asked. The lawyer experienced great difficulties securing direct answers from Kissoon, who opted to respond to every question philosophically. His responses seemed to entertain persons in the courtroom

GPSU wage/salary deadlock

as there were chuckles every time he answered.

‘Insane’ Freddie Kissoon can face jail time for contempt of court ‘Insane’

As such, the lawyer in his submissions to the court questioned Kissoon’s sanity, pointing out to the court that his evidence should be withdrawn, since he has proven on several occasions that he was incompetent to stand trial. According to Section 49 of the Evidence Act, a witness is incompetent if in the opinion of the court if he is prevented by memory lapse from recollecting the matter on which he is supposed to testify, from understanding the questions put to him, from giving rational answers to those questions, or from knowing that he ought to speak the truth. Under cross-examination Kissoon repeatedly stated that he was unable to recollect certain important matters, he was unable to understand simple questions and instead of answering questions, went off on a tangent about philosophy and semantics.

Importantly, when questioned about his knowing that he affirmed to tell the whole truth, he denied ever making such an affirmation. Guyana Times understands that legal luminaries have advised Kissoon to take his mediation on a regular basis.

Government can afford what it prioritises – David Hinds

Government seems to have an innate interest only in what is important to it, and according to political commentator, Dr David Hinds, when it comes to the situation involving the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), it is obvious that much consideration has not been given to the well-being of public workers.

Speaking with Guyana Times on Tuesday, Hinds said Government’s 10 per cent salary increase offer was very much inadequate, considering the social, political and economic factors involved.

“For example, 10 per cent of 60, 000 is $6000; there is not much more a woman with two or three children can do with that. Public servants, like all categories of workers, deserve a living wage. The Government’s

explanation that that’s all they can afford is not good enough. What Government can afford is based on what Government prioritises,” Dr Hinds told Guyana Times in

an invited comment.

Government and the GPSU are still at a standstill on salary increase negotiations. While Government maintains that it will not budge from its 10 per cent increase offer, the GPSU has been holding out and has even suggested that the two parties meet again for more talks. President David Granger has, however, said that there was nothing more that could be offered at this time.

While speaking to this publication, Hinds questioned whether Government has made public servants’ wages a priority.

“Of course, there are times when different categories of workers or different policy initiatives must be prioritised, but I have not heard of plausible reasons why public servant wages should not be

given a look in at this point. I say this even after taking into consideration that the Government did give the public servants a raise during its first year in office. When one takes into consideration that the majority of public servants come from the Government’s constituency, it is even more puzzling that it is not more forthcoming,” he posited.

Dr Hinds said while he was not suggesting that Government should engage in “overt clientelism”, the reality was that it was not sensible to go out of its way to alienate its constituency.

Hinds continued, “I am a bit disappointed that the Government has chosen to go ahead and pay the increased wage even though the Union has rejected it.

Freddie Kissoon

Dr David Hinds

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Editor: Tusika Martin

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Editorial

Road carnage

Once again road accidents have become a common occurrence on our roads and motorways with their accompanying fatalities and casualties. The country awoke Monday morning to the tragic news that even more lives were lost owing to yet another accident, this time in Berbice. Two men lost their lives and another three were hospitalised.

This is a source of pain for families, who lose their loved ones or who have to bear the burden of medical expenses for those who suffer disability from the accidents. In many cases, it is the life of the family’s breadwinner that is snuffed out.

Every year, when the road fatality numbers rack up and the situation spirals out of control, we all cry “something must be done”; this year, however, let us deviate from the norm and assert “something will be done”. It is clear that something very different must be done. This has become a chronic rather than a seasonal problem in Guyana.

Recently, the Guyana Police Force released statistics with respect to traffic management, which has revealed, yet again, an increase in road fatalities. Eighty-seven fatalities were recorded at the end of August this year, seven more than the same period last year. There was a reduction in serious and minor accidents, but again an increase in damage accidents. Speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and inattentiveness continue to be the main causes of fatal accidents.

The report also noted that enforcement will be amplified, with emphasis on reducing driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding, loud music/breach of condition of road service licence, overloaded minibuses and use of cellular phones. The Police are also instituting a schools lecture programme.

Let us now examine where the responsibility lies. The various State bodies that have remits that affect road safety need to urgently implement a holistic plan of action that addresses the actual causes of road deaths. Various responsible parties need to ensure that our roads are in good condition, that painted lines are visible and that signage is intact and legible.

Then, there is the policing strategy – which is currently focused on speed-trapping and roadblocks – this needs to change. Another major cause of accidents is head-on collisions, so it is clear that the crossing of solid white lines needs to be policed, as do tailgating, failing to indicate, overtaking on the inside and the routine flouting of myriad other perfectly sensible laws. This can be achieved only by getting many officers out from behind their speed guns and into their patrol cars.

Additionally, if a drunk driver is able to carry on his or her journey after offering a corrupt officer a bribe, people will die. Given the reality that a percentage of those killed on the roads are pedestrians, laws preventing jaywalking and walking on highways need to be enforced. Speed traps cannot do this. More infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, such as footbridges and cycle lanes, is urgently needed.

Further, we need to rid the roads of stray animals. At some point in the past, we had a vibrant stray catching programme, which was a collaborative effort between the Police and the various Neighbourhood Democratic Councils. The most recent road fatality resulted when a motor car collided with a horse.

Motorists, pedestrians and road users also need to take responsibility for their actions and decisions.

We must, however, give credit where credit is due, the Public Security Ministry and, by extension, the Guyana Police Force have recently instituted several commendable, and in some cases controversial, steps to tackle this issue. The Public Security Minister recently announced that the procedure for issuing drivers’ licences is to be examined and, in some cases, there will be retesting of licence holders. This is a good move. Let us admit, we are all aware that in some instances drivers’ licences are fake or obtained fraudulently. Then, there is the ban on used tyres. Although there is no definitive research to prove that this could actually prevent road accidents, it can be viewed as another preventative (though costly) measure. The Police have again clamped down on tinted vehicles.

Reducing road deaths is not a short-term project, but it is essential that we get to work immediately. It is time to embrace the complicated and difficult root-and-branch work that needs to be done. Perhaps we could consider the introduction of new traffic regulations to complement the existing rules.

Maybe we can advocate for the introduction of new fines, for example, boarding public transport at non-designated areas, streamlining motorcycle operations, etc; the list is by no means exhaustive. What is evident is that we need to find a solution soon.

The situation on the ground is a clear indication that road safety is not being taken seriously.

Dangerous situation in Mazaruni River

Dear Editor, I am a concerned gold miner from Bartica, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) who has a work force of over 40 persons currently. I am writing to highlight a situation that is happening with a pontoon that sunk in the channel of the Mazaruni River.

Approximately three months ago, a “Draga” as this pontoon is called, owned by a popular mining company, ran aground just at the top of the Piremap Falls in the Mazaruni River.

Initially it was out of the channel, but after efforts were made by the company to remove it from its position, it shifted into

the channel. That is when the problem started! The company left it there for weeks at a time and then would make a halfhearted effort to salvage it, then once again retreat and not be seen for a while.

All the time, workers and supply boats that work for, and service over 50 mining operations located above the Falls, had to use whatever way they could to gain access to their mining camps, which includes manually fetching supplies over rocky and dangerous terrain, and in some cases, in waist deep water just to survive. I am concerned about the non-action by this company which seems

to be above the law as they continue daily to live in total disregard for the inconvenience their sloppiness in handling this situation has caused so many miners.

Let me also mention the operations of the two jet boat services that service the locations have been completely halted, putting almost 60 workers out of a job and the secondary school children that normally use the jet boat service to return to their school at Bartica are stuck.

I call on the relevant authorities – the Natural Resources Ministry, the Education Ministry, the Maritime Administration,

even the Public Health Ministry – God forbid we get some sort of medical emergency, to please do something.

One is being led to believe that because the main principal of Crown Mining supplies is a national sportsman and carries a lot of clout in the Government and also the mining associations, they are being allowed to do as they feel.

Once again, I do hope this situation is looked at with urgent attention by the relevant authorities.

Regards, Miner (Name and address withheld)

Does the Town Clerk have a hidden agenda or is he just callous

Dear Editor,

When one reads of the perpetual demonstration of arrogance, deception, callousness and wrongdoing being propagated against the citizens of our capital by the present Town Clerk, Royston King, one can only wonder two things – a) Why and for how long the authorities are going to allow him to continue to destroy our capital city and b) What is his real and ultimate objective?

The list of idiosyncrasies committed by King in just over a year since he was installed by the former Mayor who had the

court halt their proceedings against him after he was arrested, criminally charged by the national Police and hauled before the courts, is too long to publish in this letter. However, to recall some of the more blatant ones we can easily call to mind include the wanton destruction of the ‘Dread Shop’; the rounding up of the Water Street vendors and cramming them into the old Auto Supplies compound; the placement of roadside barbers, hairdressers, manicurists, pedicurists and tattooists on the Mall under

conditions that break the public health regulations of the very City Council; the creation of a White Elephant- car park on East Street between Middle and New Market Streets which no one uses; the eviction and subsequent overcharging of wholesale vendors on Merriman Mall between Orange Walk and Cummings Street to occupy some dog kennels they constructed; then the scandalous parking meter contract which he disgracefully signed and awarded to an unknown sole trader and; the wasteful spend -

ing and construction of a Presidential Park. The question that needs to be asked is whether King has an agenda and is deliberately doing these heinous things to the poor people to discredit the President and Government of Guyana or is it that in his quest for fame and fortune, he could care less for the injury and discredit and disrepute he is causing the governing party, merely considering it collateral damage as he pursues his own ambitions?

Sincerely,

James McOnnell

Guyana Market Vendors Union may be wasting their time

Dear Editor, The executive of the Guyana Market Vendors Union (GMVU), which was recently launched, is com-

pletely wasting its time and energy and that of its wider membership (the vendors) as it seeks to obtain recognition by and to

dialogue with the Town Clerk Royston King, who is just too egotistical to give them the light of day.

The President of this union

(GMVU), Eon Andrews was once a Councillor with the Georgetown Municipality.

As Guyana celebrated the 40th anniversary of nursery education in nation on Tuesday, these little children recited the opening prayers at the Roxanne Burnham Gardens Nursery School, where the Education Ministry hosted a simple ceremony to mark the occasion

Guyana to push for border resolution at UN General Assembly

As the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly commences, President David Granger is expected to raise the ongoing border controversy with neighbouring Venezuela, with several international bodies.

The annual meeting of 193 countries officially opened on Tuesday at the UN’s Headquarters in New York. According to Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, President Granger will be raising the issue during his presentation to the General Assembly on September 20.

“He will doubtless also be addressing issues pertaining to the greening of Guyana…,” Minister Greenidge said during a round-table discussion on the Foreign Policy Fact Files Programme.

The President is also expected to highlight issues of global governance during his presentation. “He will touch upon the problems of global governance, the issues pertaining to how the small and the voiceless can be given the opportunity to have their messages heard, and to have the UN act in a manner that is consistent with their interests,” the

Minister stated. Moreover, Guyana will also have meetings on the sidelines with Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers during the General Assembly where a sub-committee is expected to address the border controversy, Greenidge pointed out.

“The Commonwealth Foreign Ministers will in the course of their deliberations be looking at issues they’ve highlighted: problems of governance within the Commonwealth and also problems of borders,” he explained.

The border issue will again come up during

Guyana Market Vendors...

At a meeting held recently at City Hall, where he met with more than 40 fruit and vegetable vendors from the Bourda Market area, the Town Clerk sent a clear message to the GMVU of his lack of interest in dealing with them by instructing the vendors to form a representative committee which would meet regularly with the City’s administration for bargaining and evaluation. At that meeting he declared that no one, including a union, could force City Hall to permit vending if it does not allow it. In fact he said, “No union can breach Market By-Laws, no union can breach the agreement we have and I want you to understand that.”

Before that, Royston King clearly stated that he was only willing to meet with the newly-formed Guyana Market Vendors Union, after it provides necessary documentation

meetings with Caricom’s Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR). “COFCOR will also be meeting with the same view, to look at common issues and to ensure that their positions are synchronised,” Greenidge further detailed.

According to the Foreign Affairs Minister, peace and security are major concerns of Guyana during this sitting. He added that agriculture and issues pertaining to gender are among some of the other focus areas for Guyana at this year’s General Assembly.

Minister Greenidge and a team from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, along with Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Michael TenPow, will also be in attendance at the General Assembly.

FROM PAGE 4

to verify its legitimacy. It is unbelievable that King, of all persons, would make such demands for legitimacy when there are so much unlawful activities occurring daily at City Hall. If that union does not become more proactive and militant, King will no doubt continue to brutalise the vendors as he has been doing to the “Parliament View Mall” occupants, the wholesale vendors on the Merriman’s Mall and the hairdressers, cosmetologists, tattoo artists and barbers that he rounded up and also placed on the Mall in most unhygienic conditions. They can’t beg him for a meeting. They have to take the type of action that will force him to recognise them and be inclined to bargain with them.

Sincerely,

Jermain Johnson

Brother blames sister for arrest

A46-year-old man of 222 Side Line, East La Penitence, Georgetown, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to two charges.

However, the man claimed that his sister paid the Police to arrest him, so that she could have full ownership of a piece of land his deceased mother left to both of them.

Theodore King is facing charges of robbery under arms and escaping lawful custody; he denied both charges and registered a notguilty plea.

The first charge stated that on August 27, 2016, at Regent Street, Georgetown, armed with a knife, he robbed Angelica Seeraj of two gold bands valued $100,000. The second charge stated that on the same day at the Brickdam Police Station, while he was in lawful custody for a criminal offence, he escaped from custody.

The prosecution stated that the man escaped from a window in the Brickdam

Police Station. He was recaptured the same day, arrested and charged.

The unrepresented King told the court that he had no knowledge of the allegations being levelled against him. He explained that he did not escape from the Police Station, but simply left the premises.

Further, King related that he spoke to an officer at the Station and explained that he knew nothing of the robbery charge against him. After some time waiting on the bench, he decided to walk out, since he had left his six

children alone. The defendant said his sister seemed to want all of the land and even threatened to kill him for it.

Chief Magistrate McLennan asked the defendant if he had ever made a report, but he replied in the negative, stating that his sister ‘owned’ the Police outpost in his community, since she once hired the Police to seize his electronics. He claimed his girlfriend has all of the receipts for the items they bought and he was now trying to build a life, but his sister was not giving him a chance.

King stressed that he knew nothing about robbing anyone of any jewellery. He maintained that he was a hardworking and changed man, while admitting to committing previous offences. He said he was a Muslim and had changed his life for the better.

King was granted bail in the sum of $50,000, and was scheduled to make his next court appearance on October 6, 2016.

Government can...

I think it’s bad political optics. It can be interpreted as a form of power politics—“We have the power to do it, so we will”.

He said a better approach would have been to reach an interim arrangement with the Union of say 15 per cent, while the two sides continue to negotiate. This, according to him, would have sent a signal of compromise rather than “unilateralism”, and the latter was never a good approach for a government to take, especially one that is under the microscope as this government is.

“If I were the Government, I would try arbitration as much as possible. It is not good politically.

They should try to reach an amicable solution as much as possible. Getting a third party involved sends the message of inflexibility on the part of the two sides, but often it is the Government that suffers in the eyes of the public to avoid arbitration,” Dr Hinds said While suggestions of arbitration have been brewing, the GPSU, however, has

not yet begun such talks, although the option is openly available for it to thrash out the wages and salaries impasse with Government. The GPSU had come out very strongly recently, warning Government that it needed to be guided by the 1999 strike, which lasted for 57 days and led to arbitration over deadlocked salary talks.

President David Granger

Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge

Theodore King

Page Foundation

(Continued from tuesday)

By Charlotte latvala

Rubbing eyes and/or ears

Babies will rub their eyes and ears with their hands when they are starting to tire. “Before six months, they rub their faces against something if they are tired or itchy,” she says. “After that, they might discover an ear by accident, and take comfort in pulling or rubbing it. Ears are a sensitive part of the body, and babies like feeling them.”

What to do:

Start your bedtime or naptime routine as soon as baby begins rubbing his ears and face. One caveat: If your baby is rubbing his ears, has a temperature of over 101 degrees and is fussy, he may have an ear infection and you should call your paediatrician, says Dr Saysana.

Rooting The rooting reflex is a key to survival, as it helps the baby find food. “A newborn will turn his head whenever something touches his cheek,” says Dr Saysana. “The reflex disappears after the first few weeks, although babies will still turn toward you to nurse – it’s not automatic anymore and becomes a cue they are hungry.”

What to do:

Use the rooting reflex to your advantage while your baby figures out feeding; a simple touch of the cheek will help him find the breast or bottle.

Startle reflex

Loud noises, bright lights, or a head bobble can trigger the startle reflex –babies jerk, spread out their arms and legs, then quickly pull them back in and cry.

The startle reflex is present at birth, but fades between three and six months.

What to do:

Although startling doesn’t hurt the baby, it can feel scary and set off a crying fit. To recreate the security of the womb, where sound and light were muffled, try swaddling your baby with a lightweight receiving blanket. (This technique is best for younger babies. By four months, most babies can squirm out of a swad dle, Saysana notes – after six months, swad dling can lead to hip problems.)

over a second in duration,” says Bahr. If you don’t respond quickly, the cry becomes louder and more intense.

What to do:

Respond to your baby as quickly as possible, especially in the first few months of life. You’re not going to spoil your baby by picking him up and feeding him right away. Tending to your baby’s hunger immediately teaches him that you’ll always be there to care for his needs.

Cry baby

Crying is the quickest way for your baby to let you know she’s tired, hungry, in pain or just plain fussy. But which cry is which? “At birth, all the cries sound pretty much the same,” says Bahr. “Newborn babies cry when they inhale and exhale; they don’t have much respiratory control.” Start listening for variations around one month, explains Bahr – as your baby matures, you’ll be able to figure out what she wants from the cry she makes. Here are the biggies:

Hungry cry. A baby will generally wake up hungry and crying for food. “It’s a short, low-pitched cry, just

(Don’t forget to use common sense in deciphering cries: If your baby’s been awake for a couple hours, it’s more than likely you’re hearing a sleepy cry.)

What to do: Try rocking in a chair or on your feet, swaying from side to side, gently stroking his head or chest or softly singing. You’ll quickly find out what works best to quiet your baby.

Sports Term

APain

. A cry of pain comes on much more suddenly than a hunger cry. It’s about twice as long, and continuous- that is, it doesn’t rise and fall in pitch.

What to do:

Go through a mental checklist when trying to comfort your baby. Could she have a wet or soiled diaper? Could she be too cold –or too warm? (A baby waking up in a car seat, for instance, is often overheated.) Look your baby over from head to toe. Sometimes a piece of clothing or edge of a diaper is pinching her skin.

Tired cry. Between two and three months, your baby’s cries will become more varied, and he may develop a cranky, “tired” cry. “It may be a softer variation of his distress cry, says Bahr.

Cooing, babbling and laughing Babies “talk” between two and three months, says Bahr. “They start to match the pitch and variation of the parent’s tone.” By four to six months, babies experiment even more with their voices; they babble, putting consonant and vowel sounds together and make raspberry sounds. “Her voice can express a range of emotions – happy, mad, irritated, protesting, eager and satisfied,” says Bahr. What to do: Narrate your activities as you go through the day with your baby (“Now I’m going to run the water for your bath,” “Look at the pretty butterfly!”) – pausing to let her babble back at you. Encourage her by mimicking the sounds she makes – and enjoy these first, memorable conversations! (Parenting.com)

s the second week of school kicks into motion, so do sporting activities. The Christmas term, popularly known by students as the “sports” term, is for many, the most exciting time of the year.

Ashley Anthony

Now, I will confess, that I can’t claim to be athletic, however, that doesn’t make it impossible to enjoy the sport environment. For six years, I have done the “bare minimum” in terms of sports: standard trials, March past, that kind of thing. And, if my house was shy of athletes, as it often was, I ran a race or two.

However, this doesn’t mean I didn’t participate fully. If I wasn’t organising younger students, I was handing our runners water or glucose, or I was helping to design marching outfits. I say this to make a point: every year, without exception, I see many students who say that because they aren’t athletic it makes no sense for them to participate in any way. They don’t come to school during the time, and they don’t even come on sports day itself. This, to me, is a shame.

The “sports term” is the time where I make some of my best memories. It provides us with a chance to interact with people who we might never have spoken to had it not been for our houses. It is in my opinion, a vital part of the high school experience. Yes, we may complain that marching in the sun was exhausting, or that because there was no one else you were forced to run 800 metres; I believe these are the things we’ll remember. We’ll share our communal “suffering” years from now, and recall with smiles on our faces how “that one teacher used to cheat”, or how a particular house was notorious for bringing last. If you don’t believe me, think about every time you meet an alumnus of your school. What’s the first thing they ask? In my experience, it’s always been “What house are you in?” Quickly followed by, “Back in my day, MY house was the best”.

Of course, there isn’t one standard way everyone should experience high school, but don’t write it off until you try it. I find that some students make up their minds before even giving something a chance. Don’t miss out on what could be the best times of your school life just because you didn’t believe that it would be enjoyable.

Ramayya resigns again from AFC

− says party turns blind eye to corruption, still to repay him $15M

Executive Member of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Dr Veerasammy Ramayya has resigned again from the party, citing pervasive corruption to which the party has turned a blind eye, in addition to being owed $15 million, which he claims was spent on the 2011 election campaign and for which he has not been repaid.

He tendered his resignation on Tuesday with immediate effect, which was addressed to the AFC’s General Secretary David Patterson; Party Leader Khemraj Ramjattan; along with Executive Members Moses Nagamootoo, Raphael Trotman and Dominic Gaskin.

The former AFC Executive, in tendering his resignation said his contributions and investments in the party did not resonate deeply. He said too his contributions over the past six years to the party have instead benefited others, adding “I have no remorse in exiting the party.”

According to Dr Ramayya, the party has failed to deliver on its promises and pointed out that the party which politicised the issue of corruption in the 2015 campaign has instead turned a blind eye.

The party’s former Executive Member who had been credited with helping the AFC secure two parliamentary seats representing Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), has also lamented the fact that the party is yet to repay him $15 million.

According to Dr Ramayya, in the run-up to the 2011 election campaign, he sold a property and handed over the $15 million to the party to assist in funding its activities with a promise that he would be repaid.

Dr Ramayya said to date; he is still to be repaid his money.

This is the second time the AFC’s Executive Member has resigned from the party, citing internal differences. In August last

year, he had tendered his resignation citing internal differences.

This time, he accused the coalition A Partnership for National Unity, AFC (APNU/AFC) of disrespecting him. He had told Guyana Times , “They offer me $180,000 to sit in an office in Georgetown and take complaints from people and report to Khemraj. I want to work for the people of Berbice and serve them,” the politician said, noting that all he wanted to do was to serve the people of Berbice but the coalition is not allowing him to do so.

“What I wanted to do is to be able to fix all of the sports grounds in Berbice and to clean up the hospital compounds, but I have to have the authority and power to be able to do so,” he asserted.

He was later appointed Regional Executive Officer, but has since resigned from that position as well.

At the time, Dr Ramayya had been openly critical for not being rewarded by the coalition Government saying, “I spent my money to organise meetings in Berbice during the campaign period. Now when I go to the office in Georgetown, the office is empty because all the boys get Minister jobs and big positions with some Ministry."

Ramayya was the only party executive who did not vote in favour of the coalition when it was proposed and had voiced his disappointment to both Ramjattan and Nagamootoo because they had earlier claimed that they will never coalesce with APNU.

10-month-old, 7-year-old siblings killed in WCD crash – parents hospitalised

Two young children were killed and their parents hospitalised after the car they were travelling in slammed into two parked vehicles on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD).

According to information reaching Guyana Times, the accident occurred at about 02:45h on Tuesday on the Blankenburg Public Road, WCD.

Dead are 10-monthold Marvin Miguel and his seven-year-old sister Tina Miguel. Their mother, Michell Miguel and stepfather, Mark Halley, of Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara, are currently hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Halley, a taxi operator, was driving the vehicle they were travelling in and is said to be in a critical condition, while Miguel has been listed as stable. There was also another adult in the car at the time of the accident. This newspaper was told that he is a Police Officer and escaped with only minor injuries, for which he was treated and sent away.

Based on information received, the family was heading to Parika, East Bank Essequibo, in the dark grey Allion motorcar, bearing registration number PVV 38, when the driver reportedly lost control and slammed into two vehicles –a Toyota Tundra and a minibus – that were parked on the roadway. When Guyana Times visited the couple’s Lot 38 Covent Garden Public Road home, the premises was locked; however, the upstairs neighbour confirmed hearing about the accident and was desperately trying to locate the relatives of the couple.

One of the neighbours claimed that the family was last seen early Monday evening and might have left home later that night. The woman explained that on Tuesday morning, sometime just after 06:00h, a friend of Halley, who was said to be the Police Officer that was in the car at the time of the accident, went to the home and informed them about the accident.

The young lady said that

they went to the hospital to confirm that it was indeed the tenants downstairs who were involved in the accident.

“Only one of my cousins went in and she saw Mark but he was unconscious. They told us Michell was awake but when we were at the hospital, she was sleeping so we didn’t get to see or talk to her,” the neighbour related.

The woman indicated that they were told Halley suffered several broken bones including his ribs, which reportedly punctured his lung. He also sustained a broken shoulder and lacerations to his head.

She further explained to this publication that Halley has been living at the downstairs apartment for some 10 years now and Miguel only moved in with him about a year ago. She noted that Miguel’s seven-yearold daughter usually stays with her (Michell’s) family in Lethem, Region Nine but came to spend the holidays with her mother, brother and stepfather.

Former AFC Executive Member, Dr Veerasammy Ramaya AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan

10-month-old Marvin was killed in the crash

Mark Halley and his reputed wife Michell Miguel

IN THE COURTS

Duo charged with threatening language, behaviour granted bail

Alex Rowe, a 41-year-old labourer, and Romel Archer, a 21-year-old constable attached to Bosai Minerals Group Guyana Incorporated (BMGGI), were granted bail by Magistrate Clive Nurse on charges of making use of threatening behaviour.

The duo, both of Block 22 Squatting Area, Wismar, Linden, appeared at the Linden Magistrate’s Court accused of making use of threatening language and behaviour to Pamela Abrams, the Virtual

Complainant (VC), on Wednesday, September 7 at the above mentioned area.

Both men pleaded not guilty to the charge and were granted $10,000 bail each.

Meanwhile, Rowe was charged separately with unlawfully making use of threatening language against the VC at the same address on Friday, August 12. He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted $10,000 bail.

The men are scheduled to return to court on November 15.

36 months for Lindener found guilty of stealing car

Magistrate Clive Nurse on Tuesday sentenced a Lindener to 36 months in prison after he was found guilty of stealing a car in his final appearance at the Linden Magistrate’s Court.

The defendant in the case, 24-year-old Denzil Bentick of 394 One Mile, Wismar, Linden, had made several appearances in relation to the charge of simple larceny, and was remanded to prison. The defendant was convicted of stealing an AT 192 motor car bearing licence plate PLL 9006, on Sunday, August 14 at Potaro Road, Mackenzie, Linden.

The car, which is valued

$1 million, is the property of Uroy Major, the Virtual Complainant (VC). On the day in question, the VC parked the said car at his girlfriend’s home around 01:30h at the aforementioned location, only to discover it missing at approximately 05:07h. The matter was reported to the Mackenzie Police Station and an investigation was launched. The defendant was subsequently contacted and found to be in possession of the stolen motor car. He was then arrested and taken into custody where he was charged with the offence. He was previously charged with a break and enter and larceny offence.

Teen granted bail over chopping incident

Ateenager who appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse on Tuesday charged with assault, causing actual bodily harm, was granted bail following an appearance at the Linden Magistrate’s Court.

The defendant, 19-yearold Raheem Bristol, of 251 Half Mile, Wismar, Linden, is accused of unlawfully and maliciously assaulting the Virtual Complainant (VC), Jamal Pork along the One Mile Public Road on April 21, 2016.

The prosecution indicated that the defendant and the VC were known to each other. It is alleged that on

the day in question, there was an altercation between the two in the vicinity of the One Mile wash bay, which led to Bristol repeatedly chopping Pork from behind with a cutlass, causing him to sustain numerous injuries.

The VC reported the incident to the Wismar Police Station and was treated at the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) where a medical certificate was obtained.

The defendant was granted bail in the sum of $25,000. He is scheduled to make his next court appearance on September 27.

43-year-old receives bail for traffic offence

Dexter Cameron, 43, of Hadfield Street, Georgetown and 1319 Amelia’s Ward, Linden received bail in the sum of $10,000 by Magistrate Clive

Conspiracies...

...on 9/11

America has to be the most fertile ground for "conspiracy theories" (CTs) to flourish. And it's not only in California, long regarded as the land of "fruits and nuts"!! One wonders "why". Fiftythree years after JFK was gunned down in Dallas, the word is still out that there was a "third man" on some grassy knoll that actually did the dirty deed. And the identity of that "third man"? CIA still heads the list.

But the events of 9/11 gave rise to such a slew of "conspiracy theories", just following up on them gave rise to a whole new cottage industry that provided employment to thousands – not to mention grist for the sensationalist media. What are some of these theories and what are their status up to now? Do they have the shelf life of the JFK mystery?

One of the most sensational ones was that 4000 Jewish persons stayed away from the World Trade Center (WTC) on that fateful day – either from their jobs or from appointments. That one is still alive and kicking, since no one has provided an exhaustive list of all the persons who were supposed to be at the WTC – but came out with a list of the 400 Jews that DID perish. The conspirationists deny that the first claim is destroyed by the second fact!

The second big CT is that burning jet fuel doesn't create the 2700F temperatures that can melt steel – and that the towers were brought down by "controlled explosions". Now most have looked again and again at those steel beams collapsing like wet noodles and it's hard not to demand some credible explanation. The explanation that the 1700F max temp can SOFTEN steel and create the meltdown hasn't managed to convince the diehards.

Another popular CT was based on the fact that even though it was CONFIRMED that four planes had been hijacked, NOT A SINGLE fighter plane was scrambled from the 28 bases within range!! The "explanation" that there was no computer network or alarm system designed to alert the central command of NORAD about the hijackings and that they had to be dialled manually still hasn't cut any ice with anyone!

Nurse after he was charged in relation to a traffic violation.

Cameron, who appeared at the Linden Magistrate’s Court, was charged with crossing continuous double lines on the Amelia’s Ward Public Road on Thursday, September 8, to which he pleaded not guilty. At the time, he was said to be driving motor car PNN 7267.

He will return to court on October 4.

Wisroc resident charged with threatening language granted bail

Magistrate Clive Nurse on Tuesday granted bail in the sum of $10,000 to 30-yearold Carlyle Craig, a resident of Wisroc, Wismar, Linden, who appeared at the Linden Magistrate’s Court on a charge of making use of threatening language.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that he committed the offence against Keion Foster on Tuesday, September 6, at Block 22 Public Road, Wismar.

The matter was adjourned until November 16.

Another fact that strained credulity and begged for CTs was that the holes at the Pentagon made by the 125 ft place were only 125 and 12 feet wide. That the wings might have fallen off hasn't been shown by the evidence. That there was absolutely NO debris from a plane at the Pentagon didn't help.

So where does that leave us? Well, two years later, we had the second Gulf War that is still continuing under ISIS!!

...in Guyana

Never let it be said we don't strain mightily to imitate the developed countries – first Britain and then the US. From the Brits, we still insist executive compensation packages include "leave passages". This, of course, goes back to the British colonial elite workers getting their "leave passages" to return "home".

From the Americans we adopted "Conspiracy Theories". Well...not "we", but mostly the PPP. Jagan was the first to go off on this tangent when he carried on and on about the Americans throwing him out of office! Some of his followers still can't get it that an elephant doesn't take any notice of gnats.

Then Jagan carried on about his arch-rival Burnham "rigging elections" to keep himself in office! He just couldn't get himself to accept that because –as Burnham put it – the PNC had brought "Peace Not Conflict" (which forms the acronym "PNC) he could routinely get 97% votes from the grateful populace!!

They're so colonial about these CTs, aren't they?!?

...on corruption advocates

Our Finance Minister just can't identify the "corruption advocates. Several fellas have appended their names when they identity corrupt activities by several government operatives.

Is there a conspiracy to keep the "advocates’" names from the Finance Minister?

Govt terminates Investment Agreement with BaiShanLin

The Guyana Government has terminated the Investment Agreement with controversial Chinese logging company BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc, and the entity is now being asked to repay the fiscal concessions it had been granted for the importation of machinery, equipment and vehicles to the tune of $1.5 billion.

Guyana Times has seen a copy of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) letter, which was inked by Commissioner General (ag) Ingrid Griffith and called on the company to make good on its payment within two weeks or face having its machinery, equipment and motor vehicles seized.

This publication has since been informed that it was the failure of BaiShanLin to make its payments, which saw members of the law enforcement and investigative division of GRA descending on the entity’s Coomacka Linden operations Sunday last.

According to the GRA missive addressed to Managing Director of BaiShanLin, Chu Hongbo, the Government’s premier revenue collection agency had launched an investigation to determine if the terms and conditions under which the tax exemptions were granted had been complied with.

BSL breach

The GRA also investigated to ascertain if the activities of the project were undertaken in accordance with the business proposals that the Chinese logging company had issued to the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) prior to the Investment Agreement.

The GRA found that the company had breached the terms and conditions, under which tax exemptions were granted as outlined in the Investment Agreement.

According to the Revenue Authority, BaiShanLin failed to undertake the activities of the project specified in the Investment Agreement with regard to the setting up of a modernised wood processing facility in Linden.

The tax collection body also found that BaiShanLin had also failed to create and sustain employment for 150 persons over three years.

“It should be noted that they also failed to employ citizens of Guyana with first preference being given to residents in the region where the project is located,” the GRA added.

It found too that the company also failed to procure and provide all the investment and other financing required by the undertaking, in the estimated sum of US$150 million over a threeyear period from the time of signing of the Investment Agreement.

Value added, not log exports

In its letter to BaiShanLin outlining the course of action to be taken, the GRA pointed out to the company that during an interview, the company’s accountant informed GRA investigators that the design of the wood processing facility was now being finalised in China and the company was in the process of seeking alternative sources of financing to continue with the project, which would now include valueadded processing.

In the letter, Griffith reminded BaiShanLin’s Managing Director, “As you

are aware, the concessions were granted on the basis that activities of your company would be value-added processing and not the cutting, felling and exporting of logs.”

Repay $1.5B

It was subsequently determined that BaiShanLin breached its covenant with Government in its Investment Agreement “for which the penalty is termination of the Agreement”.

As such, “the residual Customs duty and taxes are now due and payable on machinery, equipment and motor vehicles” in the amount of just over $1.5 billion ($1,584,047,052).

The company was also warned that failing to make good on its payments within the two-week timeframe would result in “the Law Enforcement and Investigation Division taking the necessary actions to seize the machinery, equipment and motor vehicles” in accordance with the Customs Act.

Ranks of the GRA’s enforcement division seized several pieces of equipment

belonging to the embattled Chinese logging company when they descended on its operations on Sunday.

The move by GRA’s enforcement decision came just days after the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) terminated several local Joint Venture Agreements the company had in addition to revoking its State Forest Exploratory Permit.

Joint ventures

Based on documentation seen by this publication, on September 1, 2016, the GFC wrote to the five companies with whom BaiShanLin had entered into joint ventures, informing them that the arrangement had been terminated, since the Commission had not been informed ahead of time of a transfer of shares.

Each of the companies was told to remove any equipment it had on the more than 400,000 hectares of forest within 90 days.

The matter has since engaged the attention of the Chinese Embassy in Georgetown, since it was approached for assistance by BaiShanLin.

According to letters issued to Haimorakabra Logging Co Inc, Kwebanna Wood Products Inc, Sherwood Forests Inc, Wood Association Industries Company and Puruni Woods, they had violated provisions in the Forestry Act when they failed to inform the Commission of a transfer of shares, hence the decision to terminate the arrangement.

GFC owed In making the announcement of repossession, the Commission said, “The decision came after the company failed to deliver on agreed actions to introduce investors to the Commission and having been given time to prove that it had an acceptable plan to clear an approximately GY$80 million debt.” BaiShanLin was incorporated locally in September 2006 under the Guyana Companies Act 1991 with the main objective of timber harvesting and establishing downstream wood processing operations in Linden. To date, however, the company has failed to fulfil many of its commitments to the Government of Guyana, reneging on the obligations it made, which were accepted in good faith, according to the GFC.

Commissioner General (ag) Ingrid Griffith

BaiShanLin Managing Director Chu Hongbo

wednesday, september 14, 2016 | guyana-times.com

4 arrested as probe continues into Albouystown execution

Investigators probing the execution-style killing of taxi driver Oswald Rambarran have arrested four persons who are assisting with the investigations.

Rambarran, called “Junior”, 42, of Lot 93 West Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, Georgetown, was shot dead about 20:30h on Sunday at King Edward Street, Albouystown, Georgetown.

Speaking with Guyana Times on Tuesday, acting Crime Chief Hugh Jessemy disclosed that the suspects were being questioned about the execution.

“We have a couple persons in custody…four persons were arrested and are being questioned as we speak,” he told this newspaper when contacted for an update on the murder of Rambarran.

According to reports, the taxi driver, who was attached to 007 Taxi Service located in East La Penitence, Georgetown, had just returned to his friend’s King Edward Street home after they had gone to get some food when two persons on a motorcycle pulled up.

The perpetrators reportedly stopped at Sussex and King Edward Streets, and the pillion rider jumped off and ran towards the car as Rambarran and his friend were exiting. The gunman then opened fire, with at least one bullet hitting the taxi driver. The perpetrator then returned to his accomplice on the bike and they escaped.

According to Rambarran’s friend, the attack was a deliberate one on the father of six since no shots were fired at him (the friend) as he ran into the yard, to take cover.

Rambarran was reportedly shot to his left temple and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital by friends from the area, but succumbed while receiving medical attention.

However, the reputed wife of the dead man, Dolly Yarde, is holding out that the hospital did nothing to save the man’s life, noting that he was left unattended for some time before he was seen by a doctor. The woman further told this newspaper that af-

ter receiving the news of the shooting, she rushed to the hospital only to be told that Rambarran had to undergo a scan that would cost $18,000.

Yarde said at the time, she did not have the money and, as such, contacted her daughter who subsequently brought it, but that was too late. During that time, the man was kept in the emergency unit with the bullet lodged in his temple.

“Why they couldn’t do the scan and wait for his relatives

come to have the money… that is my thing, why they couldn’t put him through the scan and take the bullet out of his left side head… so they didn’t do anything, so he died with the bullet in his head,” the angry woman related.

Yarde was uncertain of a possible motive for the shooting since she said Rambarran did not have any enemies.

However, according to reports, Rambarran has had previous brushes with the law. In fact, back in 2008, he was shot by the Police during a high-speed chase after he and an accomplice were seen trying to put a man in the trunk of his car.

When asked about the 2008 incident and others that he might have been involved in, the woman claimed that for the past 11 years, she had never known her reputed husband to be involved in criminal activities.

A post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted on the taxi driver’s body today. Rambarran leaves to mourn his six children, reputed wife and relatives.

Student-teacher ratio too high in Region 7 Education Ministry CoI hears

During a visit to Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) by members of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the state of the education sector in Guyana, teachers and officials there revealed that the student to teacher ratio is too high. Representatives from several schools and communities in the Region, including Phillipai, Kako, Jawalla, Waramadong, Quebanang, Wax Creek, Paruima, and Imbamadai, were able to voice their concerns to the

CoI last Friday. The concerned stakeholders explained that the high pupil-teacher ratio did not allow for effective supervision. They made a recommendation that at the nursery level, the teacher-pupil ratio should be 1:15, at the primary level 1:20; and at the secondary level 1:30. There were also requests for the Ministry to bring secondary schools in the Region up to par with those on the coast by ensuring that the curriculum, included technical subjects such as Home

Economics, Wood Working and Information Technology.

According to a release from the Ministry, CoI Chairman Edward Caesar, in his opening remarks, briefed the gathering on the significance of the CoI, and its ability to strengthen the Ministry’s Strategic Plan, also referred to as the Education Sector Plan.

In April, the Ministry had announced that the Inquiry would commence, aiding to review, revise, upgrade and extend the Education Sector Strategic Plan.

Fighting fire with fire

Satiricus was very upset with his friend Cappo. But being brought up very British (Satiricus was resigned to the fact that ex-colonials like him inherited the good, bad and ugly from the departed "masters") he couldn't bring himself to express his displeasure directly. Instead he'd been uttering short, one word, laconic answers - as if he was Gary Cooper - to Cappo's attempts at humour. Normally he'd be cackling like a satisfied hen who's been visited by a rooster.

"OK… OK… Sato… me know yuh laang now," Cappo started out in his inimitable, direct manner. "Wha' stick in yuh craw?"

"Why do you have to always be making jokes about the KFC and Pee an See government?" Satiricus said truculently. "You know my leaders are the main people there."

"Budday, w'en yuh leadah dem cyaan get nutten ri'te and dem a distrai dis country, eidah me laaf or me cry," confessed Cappo to his friend. "An' yuh know me nah like fuh cry."

"But it's the same thing with you always, Cappo," continued Satiricus heatedly. "You like to jump to conclusions before finding out the facts?" "Suh wha de facks?" demanded Cappo. "Sugah na dead? RICE na dead? Business na dead? An' na every day abee a find out 'bout wan nex' big tiefing?"

"But you are looking at effects, Cappo," said Satiricus pompously. "Do you know the cause?"

"De caaz?" screeched Cappo in a rising voice. "De caaz? Wha' de arse me bais a ta'k all dis time about? De guvnment na know "B" fram "Bullfoot" how fuh run wan country! Dem only know how fuh t'ief!"

"Cappo, you ever hear about Homeopathy?" asked Satiricus as he leaned over the table.

“We have to hear from our brothers and sisters about how the education system affects them. Nothing is too small or too big to talk about,” Caesar stated in the CoI’s first visit to a hinterland region.

Pointing to the link between an effective education system and the role of all and sundry, Caesar stated, “We want the country to prosper, but it cannot happen unless the education system so facilitates.”

continued on page 11

"Na" replied Cappo. "Wha' da?"

"It's a way of treating a disease with remedies that produce effects similar to those caused by the disease itself," said Satiricus, sounding like a schoolteacher speaking to a slow child.

"Wha' de arse da mean?" demanded Cappo.

"It mean that KFC leaders - who are the real leaders in the government - are thiefing more to stop thiefing and running down the economy to build it back."

"Allopaty? Na?" said Cappo, "Like when abee a fight fyaah wid fyaah in de cane fiel'?"

"That's right, Cappo," gushed Satiricus. "NOW you understand. Just wait and see how things will grow back from scratch!" "Jus' like when dem bin bruk up de country de fuss time, na?" Cappo asked.

Satiricus went quite.

Slain taxi driver Oswald Rambarran

Town Clerk should be fired! – Councillor

…“He lies too much!”

Georgetown Constituency Six

Councillor Andrea Marks on Tuesday convened a silent protest in the midst of an ongoing statutory meeting, calling for Town Clerk Royston King to be booted.

Marks held up placards which read “Royston King must go!” and “Has Royston taken up from where Sooba left off?” as the Mayor and other Councillors were discussing city matters. Her protest comes on the heels of the Town Clerk’s decision to have vendors on Robb Street near Bourda Market cease selling because of a clean-up exercise without any prior notice.

“I’m upset that he didn’t give these vendors any notice, especially those from my constituency. If we were given notice, there wouldn’t be a need to kick up a storm, but is the manner in which he is doing things. He needs to remember he is not the boss,” Marks said in an interview with Guyana Times

Tuesday evening. She stated if the vendors were given notice, they would have been able to prepare themselves for the exercise. “Those people had perishable goods, all spoil because King just did what he felt like doing,” she said, adding that he should be given the boot for his “stupid” attitude.

“He has to go, because he is lying too much and he is making the same mistake over and over,” she said, noting that King acted of his own accord and did not even inform the Councillors of his decision.

“I didn’t even know until the vendors call and tell me they are being put out,” she stressed. Marks stated that King was “not a person that should be trusted”, because he was becoming famous for actions such as this.

Vendors had stated that the Town Clerk, along with City Constabulary Officers, turned up and ordered everyone to remove their stalls and goods and vehicles from the area.

“They never tell we anything. Royston King just come and shut the place down and tell everybody move out,” said one distraught vendor.

The vendors griped that they had suffered hundreds of thousands in losses, since most of their merchandise was perishable.

“I now come here, I ain’t even sell a load yet. All me goods gon spoil. Watch the plantain them getting black’ black, cause everything ga deh in the sun. The cassava ga throw way, it get blue. All that is money down the drain!” one vendor had complained.

Trigger-happy Ruimveldt man remanded

Aman of Lot 2413 South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, who claimed to be the only caretaker of his grandmother, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to a charge of discharging a loaded firearm.

Kevin Aaron pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on September 8, 2016, in Georgetown, he discharged a loaded firearm with intent to maim, disfigure, dis-

able or to cause grievous bodily harm to Rawle Blackman.

The prosecution’s case contended that Police ranks were unable to retrieve the gun, however they noted that they successfully confiscated the ammunition.

The unrepresented defendant pleaded with the Chief Magistrate for minimal bail, stating that he is the only caretaker of his grandmother. However, his submissions were overruled. Aaron will make his next court appearance on October 3. Kevin Aaron

Student-teacher ratio...

Other recommendations coming out of the meeting included the necessity for welfare officers to cater to the needs of both teachers and students; disbursement of benefits before retirement age; the introduction of Amerindian languages in the school’s curriculum; more support to address the high cost of living in the Region; and a need for opportunities to be presented to allow persons to pursue studies at the University of Guyana via the distance mode.

Recommendations were

also made by the Guyana Teachers Union, representatives from religious organisations, private educational institutions, the University of Guyana, and the Cyril Potter College of Education.

Regional Education Officer Charles Holmes, in expounding on a few of the successful initiatives implemented by the Ministry, stated that the hot meals programme has been successful in the Region.

He said 11 out of 16 schools have access to computer labs and plans are on-

going to ensure that the remaining schools have access by the end of 2016. Teachers in the Region are being encouraged to utilise Information and Communication Technology to aid their work, especially as it relates to the timely completion of reports and lesson plans.

Public consultations are scheduled to be held in Region One (Barima-Waini) at Port Kaituma, Mabaruma, and Moruca from September 1417, 2016. The CoI will expire in December.

Councillor Andrea Marks protesting in the midst of the statutory meeting

Town Clerk Royston King

Juvenile Holding Centre not a “conducive” environment – official … says children should be separated

Housing teens who have committed minor crimes with juveniles who are on remand for capital offences and other serious crimes, is neither conducive for the rehabilitation process nor healthy for the teens’ psychological development, an official of the Social Protection Ministry has opined.

The official said the juvenile holding centre should not have these teens that are on completely different end of the spectrum amalgamating, since behavioural patterns are easily conveyed.

“When a juvenile is arrested for a serious crime, they should be placed in a different place from other teens and the rehabilitation process should commence immediately from when they

are sent to the centre,” the official stated.

This rehabilitation process, the official disclosed, has not been integrated into the system and teens would in essence “just be there waiting on their court dates.”

According to the Juvenile Offenders Amendment Act, which was passed two years ago, the Public Security Ministry may establish and maintain as many centres as may be necessary as the holding centres for juveniles for the reception, care and custody of children and young persons under the orders of the court or for any other appropriate reasons as the Minister may determine.

“They need to have a conducive environment for these teens, on both ends. I’m not saying all is bad in the cen-

tre… we are trying with the resources that we have but the main issue is that they have to be separated,” the official said.

The official added that based on the present state of the centre, it can be deduced that the centre is not favourable for the teens.

Reports are circulating that the teens in the facility were fashioning weapons from bed frames and abusing the staff by throwing faeces on them. The teens, which were placed in the facility for serious crimes, have been openly violent to staff, Police Officers and other teenagers.

Several days ago, three teens escaped from the holding centre; two have been recaptured while one is still on the run. One of the teens was charged for attempted murder. Acting Crime Chief Hugh Jessemy told Guyana Times on Tuesday that the Police are working on some leads in the case but they are uncertain of their authenticity.

The escaped teens used a cutlass and a piece of wood wood to dig a hole in the lower flat of the building to get out of their cell. After they escaped the cell, they jumped the barbed wire fence and fled.

Students granted UG, 6th Form entry under “temporary” arrangement

By Shemuel FanFair

Even as the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) continues its investigation into the reported technical glitch that caused several students of the Annandale Secondary School to be issued with incorrect grades, the students are now being allowed to attend Sixth Form classes and the University of Guyana.

Guyana Times was on Tuesday informed that this was a temporary arrangement, pending the release of the actual results by CXC. When this publication called CXC’s Headquarters in Barbados, the Head of Examinations was at the time unavailable and could not be reached for a comment.

When contacted, Superintendent of Examinations, Sauda Kadir explained that the Education Ministry was collaborating with the Examination Council to ensure that the missing grades were sorted out. She could not, however, give a definite timeframe as to when the results would be likely released.

“It is collaborative effort between us and CXC, and we are working to get it completed in the shortest possible time,” Kadir told this publi-

cation.

On Sunday, acting Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hutson, pointed out that he could not definitively say when the error would be corrected. He assured that he has been employing strategies to ensure students could move forward with their studies.

“I can’t say definitively [when the students would get their results], but I told those responsible that we need those results… because our children are waiting those results to know how they would have performed from a holistic perspective,” Hutson recently told this newspaper.

It has been reported that a “technical glitch” was responsible for the students not seeing their correct grades. In some cases, students were seeing “ungraded” and others were not seeing results for some subject areas. It is still not yet clear just how many students have been affected.

Last week, parents of the affected students had called off a planned protest after they were told by the school’s management and operatives of the Education Ministry that the matter would have been resolved.

It was in August that Guyana Times first reported that many of the students were unable to obtain passes in certain subjects owing to the school’s alleged non-submission of the SBAs, but the Education Ministry later denied that this was the case.

“This is not a situation that the teachers did not do what they had to do, it was a technical glitch,” Hutson had indicated.

When this publication spoke to Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine on the sidelines of the Education Month launch on September 1, he indicated that he would personally investigate the matter since, at that time, he was “not aware of the report”. Guyana Times had further reported that the school’s teachers had received the requisite training in sending the SBA grades via the Internet to CXC, but they did not adhere to the deadline. This publication also reported that many of the secondary school students were disappointed since their grades, as published, had barred them from proceeding with their studies.

The Juvenile Holding Centre in Sophia, Greater Georgetown

Caribbean Leadership Programme opens in Guyana

The Canadian High Commission in Guyana on Monday hosted a reception to commence a CDN$20 million Caribbean Leadership Programme (CLP), which will see officials from Guyana benefiting from a project aimed at creating a sustainable leadership development programme for countries across the Caribbean region.

The training programme, which will be delivered from September 12-16 under the theme “Leading through others”, will be held in Guyana for the first time. It will be held at the Ramada Princess Hotel.

Canada’s High Commissioner to Guyana Pierre Giroux, at the reception held at his residence, underlined the significance of the CLP in Canada’s portfolio of initiatives in the area of governance and sustainable economic growth to assist the Region in the development of a new cadre of Public Sector managers, to effectively meet the emerging leadership roles in resolving complex governance, environmental and economic challenges within Guyana and the Caribbean. Alluding to the success of the programme so far, the High Commissioner also acknowledged the Canada School of Public Service and its partner institutions for their effective delivery of the programme and applauded the Government of Guyana for its support.

Guyana and other Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries were commended for ensuring that

representatives participated in leadership development initiatives.

The CLP is a $20 million project supported by the Government of Canada that aims to create a sustainable leadership development programme for the Caricom Region. Twelve participating countries, including Guyana benefit from the programme. Since its launch back in 2013, 93 persons have participated, including three senior officials from Guyana. Currently, three Guyanese officials are completing training in the present cohort.

Present also at the event were Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo; Minister of State Joseph Harmon; Deputy Secretary General, Caricom Secretariat Ambassador Manorma Soeknandan; Permanent Secretaries; Deputy Permanent Secretaries; Members of the Diplomatic Corps; and Regional participants; coaches and trainers of the CLP, and other key Public Sector officials. Prime Minister Nagamootoo in his

remarks emphasised the importance of training for the Public Sector as he welcomed the initiative and highlighted Government’s commitment to working to resolve the current challenges in the Public Sector and promoting a decentralised public system.

Ambassador Soeknandan encouraged the participants to learn from each other given the similarities and uniqueness in the Region as they work towards an enhanced Public Sector.

The event also welcomed Jan Sheltinga, the new Counsellor for Development Cooperation.

Sheltinga expressed her appreciation for the warm hospitality and also welcomed the CLP participants to Guyana. She relayed her enthusiasm to contribute significantly towards Canada’s Regional Development Programme, given her extensive knowledge and experience in international development. Twelve countries are participating in the training in the six months course.

Guyana, FAO agree to regulate fishing industry

In an effort to curb illegal fishing in Guyana’s waters, the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday signed the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which will see the implementation of measures to battle the scourge.

According to the Ministry, the project, valued at US$500,000, is funded by the FAO and includes “technical assistance” and a “monitoring and evaluation process”. It is expected to be completed within the next 18 months.

The Agriculture Ministry noted that once the measures were implemented, Guyana would “benefit tremendously” as the PSMA would ensure that the country maintained its fish stock.

“Guyana will now be able to integrate and coordinate fisheries [and] related Port State Measures with the

broader system of Port State controls,” a release from the Agriculture Ministry stated.

Agriculture Ministry Permanent Secretary George Jervis was said to have expressed gratitude to the FAO, noting that the intervention was “timely”.

“The fishing industry is one of the most important contributing sectors to Guyana’s revenue as the country exports more than 60 per cent of its catch. This industry is responsible for the livelihood of approximately 15,000 persons and their families,” the statement added.

FAO Country Representative to Guyana, Reuben Robertson explained that the Organisation would be giving technical assistance in the implementation of measures against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.

“IUU fishing hinders the

growth of developing countries such as Guyana. This agreement is considered as one of the most cost-effective and useful enforcement tools for combating IUU fishing. It significantly reduces the need for surveillance and inspection of fishing vessels at sea in favour of inspections at port,” he stated.

Earlier this year, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder had revealed that in 2015, the marine sub-sector produced “35,835MT (metric tonnes) of seafood, raised revenue to the sum of G$25,426,250 and recorded exports of 21,568MT or US$71 million (G$14.7Billion)”.

With the implementation of this agreement, it is envisaged that the sub-sector would increase its financial contribution to the economy. To date, 33 States, including the US, Canada and France have already signed on to the PSMA.

A section of the gathering at the welcome reception of the Caribbean Leadership Programme and for Jan Sheltinga, New Counsellor, Development Cooperation

Regional

Chile demands Venezuela disclose location of detained journalist

The Government of Chile has demanded that Venezuela “immediately” disclose the location of a journalist who was detained earlier this month.

In return Venezuela accused Chile of “inadmissible interventionism” and a “lack of diplomatic circumspection”.

Braulio Jatar was taken into custody on September 3 after publishing videos of a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Jatar was born in Chile and also has Venezuelan nationality. He is an open supporter of the Opposition and runs a news website on Margarita island in Venezuela.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based pressure group, called on Venezuela to “al-

low all journalists to report freely”.

On Monday, Brazil’s Foreign Minister also criticised the Venezuelan Government’s actions, say-

ing the country had seen an increase in what he called “arbitrary detentions”.

Jose Serra told a local newspaper such detentions “make it even more difficult to have the dialogue between Government and Opposition that is indispensable for overcoming the dramatic political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis that is affecting Venezuela”.

At the start of September, Jatar released videos of a protest when island residents jeered the President. Protests have been a regular occurrence in Venezuela as the Opposition calls for President Maduro to be removed from power. They blame him for the country’s economic crisis and accuse the electoral commission of delaying a referendum that could shorten his rule. (Excerpt from BBC News)

St Lucia Prime Minister proposes Caricom tourism summit

Saint Lucia Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has proposed the implementation of two initiatives that he believes will assist the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in finding solutions for surmounting some of the economic challenges confronting the regional body.

In a recent meeting with Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque, Chastanet mooted the idea of a tourism summit, which he said should be convened by the Caribbean Community in the short to medium term.

He also emphasised the need for the Council of Finance and Planning (COFAP), to convene an urgent round of joint discussions, noting that they must

undertake a more active role in an environment where the region is confronting several critical micro- and macro-economic challenges.

COFAP is also respon-

sible for economic policy coordination, along with the financial and monetary integration of member states.

LaRocque visited Saint Lucia on September 6, 2016. (Caribbean News Now)

Brazil’s ex-Speaker Cunha expelled from Congress over Swiss bank accounts

The powerful former speaker of the lower house of the Brazilian Congress, Eduardo Cunha, has lost his seat after an overwhelming vote by fellow members of Congress to eject him.

Cunha had denied having millions of dollars hidden in Swiss bank accounts – said to be the proceeds of corruption.

But information from Swiss authorities proved the existence of the accounts.

Cunha – seen as the architect of former President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment – could now face ar-

rest. Rousseff was removed last month for moving funds between Government budgets, which is illegal under Brazilian law. During a bitter debate on Monday, Cunha accused her supporters of seeking revenge against him.

The vote was seen as critical for the credibility of Congress and all eyes will now be on what Cunha does next, the BBC’s Wyre Davies in Brazil says. He is also known as the “keeper of secrets” in Congress, where dozens of other politicians are also

accused of fraud and has suggested he may cooperate with investigators into a wide ranging corruption scandal.

Cunha is also being investigated by the Supreme Court for allegedly taking millions of dollars in bribes to secure contracts with state oil giant, Petrobras.

Petrobras is at the centre of a massive kickbacks scandal which cost the company US$2 billion (£1.5 billion) and has led to the arrest of dozens of lawmakers and top businessmen. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Kamla: Govt has failed to deliver

Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T) Opposition Leader Kamla PersadBissessar said the address to the nation by Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley confirmed what many have been speculating for quite some time now, that his Administration is not working, has stalled the nation’s economy and is illequipped to lead the nation forward.

In a statement she said (On Sunday) “we listened in vain as the Prime Minister attempted to explain away his Government’s first year of failure and their lacklustre performance.

Instead of recognising the stark reality that his Government has failed to deliver, we heard excuses, we heard shameless propaganda, we heard repeated complaints about the impact of low energy prices and the effect it has on the Rowley administration’s cash flow and we heard contin-

ued blame on the Opposition...

We recognised that we faced challenges and we recognised that we had to be innovative in dealing with these challenges. We recognise that there are places where adjustments have to be made but we must protect the working poor and provide opportunities to diversify and build our economy.

However, the Rowley ad-

ministration has no plan, no vision and no ability to get things done. I want to warn PM Rowley that all the money in the world won’t solve problems if you have no plan, initiative or imagination.

We have experienced a year of broken promises and the Prime Minister offered no hope that anything would change...”

(Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Caribbean countries urged to do more to tackle cybercrime

Asenior official of the accounting firm, Deloitte’s Global, says despite increased improvements in technology in Latin America and the Caribbean, the region remains highly vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Delivering the Prime Minister’s Independence Lecture Series Monday as part of the activities to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of St Kitts and Nevis’ independence from Britain, is Deloitte’s Global Chief Information Officer, Larry Quinlan, said “there is a price to be paid for all the

unfettered computing and it’s called cyber security. Making reference to the 2016 Cyber security Report produced by the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) and the Organisation of American States (OAS), the Deloitte Executive said “four out of every five countries in the region do not have a cyber security strategy or plans for protecting critical infrastructure...”

He said the situation now strikes at the heart of businesses and governments, having become far more sophisticated and hav-

ing the capability of destabilising institutions. “There is data-driven evidence that STEM education supports economic growth and fills critical skills gap,” said Quinlan, who has worked with the US-based Deloitte since 1988.

Quinlan said that the Caribbean and Latin America region needs to do more to prepare the next generation for “a technology enabled life” where educational institutions must do more to encourage students to pursue technology courses. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Braulio Jatar’s family say they do not know where he is

T&T Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar

Prime Minister Allen Chastanet (right) meeting with Caricom Secretary General, Irwin LaRocque

Shimon Peres, former Israeli President, suffers stroke

Former Israeli President Shimon Peres has been rushed to a hospital outside Tel Aviv after suffering a stroke. The 93-year-old has been sedated and is breathing with the help of a respirator, his office said. He is now expect-

ed to undergo a CT scan.

He had been described as conscious and stable when he arrived at the Sheba Medical Centre in Tel Hashomer. In January, he underwent successful minor surgery at the same hospital after suffering a small heart

attack.

The veteran politician has held almost every major political office since Israel was founded in 1948, and was the architect of Israel’s secret nuclear programme.

He twice served as prime minister and was president from 2007 to 2014.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his role negotiating the Oslo peace accords with the Palestinians a year earlier, a prize he shared with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was later assassinated, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Despite his age, Mr Peres has maintained an active public schedule, mostly through his non-governmental Peres Centre for Peace, which promotes closer ties between Israel and the Palestinians. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Turkey asks US to arrest Gulen for ‘ordering’ coup bid

Turkey has asked Washington to arrest a US-based religious leader and businessman for allegedly masterminding a failed attempt to overthrow the Government, according to state media.

The Turkish Justice Ministry formally demanded that US authorities arrest Fethullah Gulen on charges of “ordering and commanding the attempted coup”, the State-run Anadolu news agency reported on Tuesday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other top Turkish officials have repeatedly appealed to the US Government to extradite Gulen, sending them documents which alleg -

edly show evidence of his involvement in the failed coup attempt on July 15. Gulen has denied any involvement in the coup bid. A delegation of US of -

ficials visited Ankara late last month to hold talks over Turkey’s request for Gulen’s extradition.

The development marked the first concrete and public sign of progress in Turkey’s efforts to get him returned to the country. Early last month, an Istanbul court issued a formal arrest warrant for Gulen.

When US Vice President Joe Biden visited Ankara several weeks later, he said he understood the “intense feeling” in Turkey over Gulen. The US has “no interest whatsoever in protecting anyone who has done harm to an ally. None,” he said. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera News)

Harmony of the Seas accident: 1 dead, 4 hurt in lifeboat crash

One crew member has died and four others have been injured in an accident on the Harmony of the Seas, the world’s biggest cruise liner.

The 42-year-old Filipino crew member died when a lifeboat, with five crew, became detached from the fifth deck during a safety exercise. It fell 10 metres (33 feet) into the water. Two crew members are in hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The accident happened during a stopover in Marseille. The injured crew members included three other Filipinos and an Indian man, AFP reports.

The Royal Caribbean Cruise company, which operates the Harmony of the Seas, also confirmed the death on its Twitter ac -

count. “We’re keeping our colleagues and their families in our thoughts and prayers,” the company said.

Harmony of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise liner at 362 metres long, and can hold more than 8000 passengers and crew.

Around the World

Refugee girls, hoping for more than survival, need education – Malala

Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday called on world leaders to provide education to girls in refugee camps to avoid them being forced into early marriage or child labour.

Yousafzai’s statement comes a week before US President Barack Obama hosts the first UN summit on refugees in New York where he is expected to urge leaders to do more to help refugees in countries like Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Kenya.

“Why do world leaders waste our time with this pageant of sympathy while they are unwilling to do the one thing that will change the future for millions of children?”

Yousafzai said in a statement ahead of the September 20 summit.

She said refugee girls were wondering how long they can stay out of school be-

fore they are forced into early marriages or child labour.

“They’re hoping for more than survival” she said. “And they have the potential to help rebuild safe, peaceful, prosperous countries, but they can’t do this without education.”

Fighting in Syria, Afghanistan, Burundi and South Sudan has contributed to a record number of people who were uprooted last year, according to the UN refugee agency, which estimates there are 21.3 million refugees worldwide, half of them children. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Chinese Police fight running battles with villagers in restive Wukan

Chinese Police fired rubber bullets at villagers and arrested 13 people on Tuesday in an overnight crackdown to suppress demonstrations in a southern fishing village that became internationally known five years ago for protesting land seizures.

Police stormed into the village of Wukan in the southern province of Guangdong and arrested leaders of ongoing demonstrations in their homes. Videos posted on social

media show one person with blood on his arm and chest, and another being treated for an apparent bullet wound on his hand.

Another video shows a line of black police vans streaming into the village, a hamlet of about 13,000 people on the South China Sea near Hong Kong.

Wukan carries symbolic importance due to the success of 2011 protests that broke out over land seizures and corruption. Villagers were able

to expel Government officials and Police, and barricaded the village. The siege was resolved only after the provincial secretary of China’s ruling Communist Party agreed to allow a local election.

The winner of that election was Lin Zuluan, a former protest leader. Lin was planning to lead a new round of protests this year over more land grabs. Instead, authorities detained him and then charged him with taking bribes. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Somalia hosts first summit of African leaders since war began in 1991

Somalia hosted regional African heads of state on Tuesday for a summit that was the first of its kind in the Somali capital since the Horn of Africa nation plunged into conflict in 1991.

Streets were shut down to traffic in Mogadishu, which regularly faces attacks from the Islamist al Shabaab militants, for the one-day meeting of IGAD, a grouping that includes Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti, Sudan, Uganda and Somalia.

The regional leaders dis-

cussed Somalia’s upcoming vote for a new parliament and president, as well the situation in South Sudan, where fighting in July has further destabilized the five-year-old nation. The Presidents of Kenya, Uganda and Djibouti, and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, were in Mogadishu for the summit meeting of IGAD, or the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, officials said.

It is higher than a 25-storey building, and longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower. It entered service in May this year.

Among its luxurious facilities are 20 restaurants, 23 swimming pools, a theatre and a casino. (BBC News)

Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit, India and Russia will review the status of bilateral ties on Tuesday as also lay the ground for next month’s Presidential visit.

The discussions will be part of the 22nd Session of the India-Russia InterGovernmental Commission (IRIGC-TEC) where External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will lead the Indian delegation, while Dmitry

Somalia has hosted visits of individual heads of state, but Omer said this was the first summit gathering for about four decades, since the rule of President Siad Barre, whose toppling in 1991 was followed by two decades of conflict.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, chair of IGAD, said Somalia had made progress but more was needed. “IGAD is confident that its efforts will succeed in the complete restoration of peace and stability,” he said, according to statements released after the meeting.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

India, Russia to review bilateral ties ahead of Putin’s visit

Olegovich Rogozin, Deputy Chairman, will head the Russian side.

Asserting that India and Russia share a special and privileged strategic partnership, External Affairs Ministry said Swaraj and Rogozin would review the work of various working groups and subgroups under the IRIGC-TEC mechanism and discuss the preparations for the forthcoming visit of Putin.

Putin will be travelling to

India in October for BRICS Summit and will also hold a bilateral Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The India-Russia InterGovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) provides a framework for review of a broad spectrum of bilateral issues covering trade, economic, scientific, educational and cultural cooperation. (Excerpt from The Times of India)

The 93-year-old reported to be stable and fully conscious after being rushed to hospital

Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai addresses students at the Nasib Secondary School in Ifo2 area of Dadaab refugee camp during celebrations to mark her 19th birthday near the Kenya-Somalia border, July 12, 2016

A delegation of US officials visited Ankara late last month to hold talks over Gulen’s extradition

The cruise ship features a 10-storey water slide and 23 swimming pools

APNU/AFC: a Government of excuses – Ramotar

… says acts of incompetence, corruption stacking up daily

he 16-month-old

TA Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC) Government is being described as one “full of excuses” by former President of Guyana, Donald Ramotar, who said daily, Guyanese are seeing the true face of the President David Grangerled coalition Administration for which the acts of incompetence and corruption are stacking up.

Since the APNU/AFC coalition unseated the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in May 2015, it has been under fire for a number of blunders and was called into question over several “shady” contractual arrangements.

Among them was the lavish inauguration of President David Granger on May 16, 2015, a mere four days after his party won the national elections; the Georgetown clean-up exercise which followed the inauguration; the Durban Park Project; and most recently, the highly controversial and shady Sussex Street Drug Bond deal, along with the hiring of a number of convicts in top Government positions.

In an interview with Guyana Times on Monday, Ramotar, who served as President of Guyana from 2011-2015, hauled the

Administration over the coals for these missteps which he said exposed the true nature of how corrupt the Government is.

Ramotar went on to chronicle the shady transactions of the coalition over the past 16 months, noting that the nation “has come full circle” and is returning to the days of the People’s National Congress (PNC) when corruption and “rape of the treasury “ was the order of the day.

“The bond deal is the latest in a series of things that have happened… the tax write-off to people, the settlements sometimes even before people go to court, people being given positions as a pay-

back for the financial support to the coalition during the campaign, like the ambassador who was convicted in the US. We have also seen the immorality of huge salary increases for ministers and the bloating of the bureaucracy, employing more people at high prices,” he stated.

Taking these into account, Ramotar scolded the President and his Ministers, who he said are “full of excuses” when these grave infractions are highlighted.

“This is a Government full of excuses, that’s all they do, make excuses for every blunder, rather and addressing these issues with a firm fist. Ramjattan is saying that the Government is not a Cabinet of angels and

even the President is making excuses about mistakes that were made, but nothing is being done to put measures in place to stop this corruption that is now eating into the Guyanese society,” Ramotar lamented.

Speaking to what he described as the “failed promise” of the AFC to keep the coalition Government intact when it assumed power, Ramotar said the Khemraj Ramjattan-led party has its own struggles to defend the credibility of those questionable characters it recommended for top positions.

“The AFC and Ramjattan can’t make no significant contribution to anything, because they are always busy trying to defend some fraud they recommend for a position in the Government. They are always busy begging for the coalition to keep on the people they asked to be appointed,” Ramotar said with a chuckle.

Recently, the coalition Administration has been under severe pressure from political commentators and anti-corruption advocates for what was described as an abandonment of its own campaign promises and principles which were centred on transparency, accountability and the elimination of corruption at all levels of Government.

Food & Drug Department to clamp down on inferior drugs

Government AnalystFood and Drug Department (GAFDD) Director Marlan Cole on Tuesday announced that by December 2016, a pharmacovigilance centre for monitoring and inspecting drugs would be set up.

Pharmacovigilance is the practice of monitoring the effects of medical drugs after they have been licensed for use, especially in order to identify and evaluate previously unreported adverse reactions.

This announcement came during brief remarks at a pharmacovigilance awareness workshop at Duke Lodge, where the GAFDD, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health

Organisation (PAHO/WHO), is creating awareness among health officials.

Facilitators of the workshop were PAHO/WHO representative, Dr William Adu-Krow; Medicine Safety representative, WHO Geneva, Dr Shanthi Pal; WHO team officer, Leticia Megias and team leader of the BRICS medicine alliance, Dr Gurumurthy Parthasarathi.

Making reference to a presentation made earlier by Dr Pal, Cole said that “ [it] would have indicated to us, all areas in blue are those that are members of the WHO reporting system and all those areas that are in white would represent those countries that are currently not being represented. I can assure that we at the Food and

Drug Department are working and as of December 2016, we would be in blue as well.”

There is also no tracking system in Guyana that would allow for one to identify the production date, batch number and other necessary information that help the identification process.

Cole pointed out that, “… a pharmacovigilance centre will allow us to ensure that drugs are of the requisite quality.”

Minister within the Public Health Ministry, Dr Karen Cummings noted, “Indeed all medicines, all products imported or manufactured in Guyana, are subject to a strict testing and assessment of their quality, efficacy and safety before being authorised, and once

Ramsammy’s Ruminations

APNU/AFC endorses the Cunha Canal Project they voted against in 2014

ADr Leslie Ramsammy

s corruption swirls wildly around us, crime spirals out of control, the economy in a freefall, growing more dismal daily and international debt threatening to again overwhelm us, we console ourselves with an occasional trickle of good news, such as the government’s announcement that the Cunha Canal Reconstruction Project is underway. The preparation was in the making since 2011. But the project nearly did not happen. It took a herculean effort to persuade a pessimistic World Bank technical team and we had to overcome APNU/AFC budget cuts in Parliament. I am proud of my own role as Minister of Agriculture in bringing this project from a mere concept to reality. Even as some of my staff at the time insisted it was futile, Lionel Wordsworth and his team helped me to make the technical, economic and social justice case for the Cunha Reconstruction Project.

APNU/AFC should not be embarrassed or hesitant to implement a PPP project that they voted against in 2014. The project is in the interest of the country and the only good news coming out of their administration has been in their implementation of PPP-initiated projects. After the World Bank approved GRIF projects in 2013, the PPP had budgeted for the Cunha Canal as part of the GRIF Programme in 2014. APNU/AFC voted against the GRIF programme as part of cutting the budget by billions of dollars, hoping to inflict harm and to stymie Guyana’s development trajectory.

It was rotten political opportunism as they sought to embarrass the PPP government, with the Guyanese people as collateral damage. But I was convinced that they knew then, as they do now, that the Cunha Canal Reconstruction Project and the entire GRIF Programme was in the interest of the Guyanese people. Having let the people down when they voted against these projects previously, it is no humiliation now for APNU/AFC to do the right thing. It is the sensible thing for APNU/AFC to proceed with this most worthy project.

The Cunha Project is one of the GRIF (Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund) projects under the Conservancy Adaptation Programme (CAP). I had personally made this one of our priorities while I was Minister of Agriculture and, in spite of some early reservations by the World Bank technical team, the PPP Cabinet, President Donald Ramotar and the World Bank agreed that the Cunha Canal Reconstruction was a worthy infrastructure initiative as part of Guyana’s climate change adaptation.

I became involved when my technical team at the Ministry of Agriculture failed to convince the World Bank team that the project was worthy of consideration. Working personally with Lionel Wordsworth, the then head of the National Drainage and Irrigation Agency (NDIA), we made the technical, economic and social justice case for the Cunha Canal Reconstruction and obtained the approval of the GRIF Steering Committee in June 2012. Subsequently we successfully obtained the endorsement of the World Bank technical team that visited Guyana in July and November 2012. It was, therefore, despicable when APNU/AFC in an act of political cowardice, voted against the project in the budget considerations of 2014.

placed on the market, they continue to be monitored so as to assure that any aspect which could impact the safety profile of a medicine is detected and assessed and that necessary measures are taken.”

Minister Cummings further stressed, “Pharmacovigilance is crucial to the Ministry of Public Health’s work in ensuring that Guyanese benefit from the best quality medicines making them safe, efficacious … – hence the need for ongoing surveillance.”

The ongoing workshop is aimed at providing the health officials with the necessary information relating to pharmacovigilance and their role in the implementation of the programme.

The Cunha Canal Rehabilitation is a part of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), a signature Jagdeo footprint. The project was designed to improve water management in the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) and to enhance the drainage for residents and for farmers on the East Bank of Demerara. The proposed physical works for the Cunha Canal include the widening of the canal, the rehabilitation of the former outlet structure, rerouting the canal to re-establish its original alignment and construction of a bridge on the East Bank of Demerara Public Road where the canal intercepts the road.

This project became an imperative because the former PNC government, the parent body of APNU/AFC, in a reckless act closed the original Cunha Sluice and rerouted the Cunha Canal to accommodate the Barama Logging Company in 1990. In rerouting the Cunha Canal, the original alignment was changed to link Cunha with the Sarah Johanna Channel. This overloaded the Sarah Johanna Channel and flooding became more frequent and more intense. Areas such as Kuru Kururu, Coverden, Pearl and Sarah Johanna with about 1,000 hectares of farmlands became agriculture wasteland and the effective drainage of the EDWC also became a nightmare, increasing flood threats for Mahaica and Mahaicony.

The project was designed to correct the recklessness of a previous disastrous decision of the old PNC government. It will improve the livelihoods of thousands of families on the East Bank Demerara and, together with the new Hope Canal, significantly reduce threats of flooding in the Mahaica/Mahaicony areas. While it is true that the project has the footprints of the PPP Government and Bharat Jagdeo, the only thing relevant is that the project is in the interest of the people of Guyana. It is the right thing to do.

Dr Leslie Ramsammy

Donald Ramotar served as President of Guyana from 2011 to 2015

President David Granger

Director of the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department, Marlan Cole, along with WHO team officer Leticia Megias, Junior Public Health Minister Karen Cummings, with participants of the pharmacovigilance sensitisation workshop

Climate Diplomacy Week

EU, UK envoys call for policies to develop national plan

As Climate Diplomacy Week kicked off on Monday, Guyana is being urged to formulate the necessary policies required to develop national climate plans.

This call was made in a joint statement from the European Union Ambassador Jernej Videtiĉ, and the British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn.

According to the diplomats, it has been 10 months since 195 countries gathered in Paris to negotiate a new global climate agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the signatories of the historic and ambitious Paris Agreement, which includes Guyana, should be proud of the achievement.

However, they noted at the same time that there was no room for complacency after the success of the Paris Conference.

The diplomats pointed out that in order for the vision of a global low emissions future to materialise, attention needed to be placed on putting words into action.

“Already this year, we have seen encouraging signs that our partners around the world are keen to maintain the unprecedented political momentum in support of climate action.”

More than 180 countries have now signed the Paris Agreement and 22 have completed their domestic ratification procedures and become Parties to the Agreement.

The diplomats extended congratulations to Guyana for its leadership in being one of the first countries to ratify the Agreement, but noted that more needed to be done.

“Ratification is an important step towards implementation of the Paris Agreement, but ratifying the Agreement on its own will not deliver the necessary greenhouse gas reductions, adaptation action and financing. Equally important are the steps countries will take to meet the commitments made in Paris, starting with the policy and legislative frameworks required to develop robust national climate plans and international approaches.”

The envoys remarked that they welcomed actions taken by Guyana, such as the Low Carbon Development Strategy and the Green Development Strategy. However, it was outlined that this was not just Government’s responsibility but that of busi-

Rockaway Group of Companies makes donation to Pakuri

Alocal family has now joined the rest of the nation in paying homage to our Indigenous brothers and sisters this month, having taken the time to give back to the community of Pakuri, commonly known as St Cuthbert’s Mission, which is located 30 miles off the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway.

The Rockaway Group of Companies, which operates in North America, visited the community on Saturday and donated a wide range of supplies in what was deemed one of the largest acts of kindness the community has seen to date.

While this was not the first such exercise by the company, it was the first time the exercise ventured into the Amerindian community.

Through a collaborative effort, the Chairman of the Group of Companies, Hafeez Ali and his wife, Floretta Ali, donated in excess of five million dollars in supplies; the Chairman

organised with the community to host an invitational cricket match between the home team and Belle Vue Sports Club and also to provide lunch and drinks for the entire community.

Floretta Ali organised a donation for the children of the community. In excess of 3000 children benefited from the donation, which included book bags, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, pens and other school supplies to help them achieve a brighter future; the younger children were presented with toys and trinkets.

Even the adults in the community were catered for, as they each received a LED light in addition to their other tokens of appreciation in the form of jerseys, food supplies and other daily necessities.

In addition to the supplies, the Company also donated cricket gear and branded team jerseys for the community clubs, as they would participate

in volleyball and soccer matches.

Speaking on behalf of the company, an emotional Hafeez Ali revealed what a personal attachment he had to give to those who were not as fortunate as some.

He also reflected on a time in his life when his family had nothing and only saw it fit to give to the needy when the opportunity came.

He extended thanks to the community for welcoming him with open arms and giving him the chance to do something of this magnitude.

Speaking on behalf of the community, Deputy Toshao Dundas said the community was very pleased to be recognised by Ali, noting that his contribution was well received.

In turn, the family was presented with tokens of gratitude from the community which included handmade jewellery and ornaments.

nesses, cities and civil society, all of whom have a crucial role to play in delivering the action on the ground that will really make a difference, for example the work of Conservation International, the various village organisations or the City of Georgetown’s Green Conference and Expo.

According to the statement, the EU and its Member States are taking concrete implementation very seriously, and are moving forward with ambitious domestic climate policies, with new proposals that will help to meet the emissions reduction target of at least 40 per cent by 2030 and further drive the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The statement further recognised that while the EU has more than two decades of experience in developing and implementing ambitious climate policy, it was cognisant that many of the partners were doing so for the first time and, as such, stood ready to share its experience and lessons learnt for the benefit of others.

Climate change poses a spe-

cial risk for Guyana, given that most of its coastline lies below sea level. The EU has been supporting climate change adaptation over the years, including through its ongoing 10th European Development Fund (EDF) sea defence programme.

The new 11th EDF programme will see a doubling of funding to 30 million euros to address sea and river defences and storm water drainage. A pilot programme on mangroves reforestation was funded under the EU’s Global Climate Change Alliance and a new programme will build on this experience by promoting natural mangrove regeneration.

In just a few months, countries will gather in Marrakech to start to add the technical details to the breakthrough political agreement in Paris. Both the EU Ambassador and the British High Commissioner underscored that there was much more work to do and they were looking forward to continuing their partnerships with Guyana.

Floretta Ali donating supplies to the children of St Cuthbert’s Mission

British High Commissioner Greg Quinn

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

SOLUTION FOR

(April 20May 20)

(May 21June 20)

(June 21July 22)

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) ARIES (March 21April 19) LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

(Nov. 23Dec. 21)

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

(Feb. 20March 20)

Do a little soul-searching and consider what’s truly important. A positive change in your love life will be the result of a personal change you make.

Don’t feel the need to buy someone’s love or attention. If you use your imagination, you’ll come up with a nice way to do something special for someone without spending much.

A partnership should be questioned. If someone is being emotionally manipulative, you are best off taking a step back and evaluating the relationship. Don’t let yourself be used.

Participate in events that make you feel good. Make domestic alterations that will enrich your life. Don’t let work come between you and a loved one.

Get busy and active. Emphasizing physical fitness and striving to reach your personal goals will energize you and give you incentive to work harder. If you prioritize love, a romantic gesture could be a game-changer.

Use your knowledge and experience wisely. Take part in educational events or engage in activities that you can enjoy with a friend or your family.

Take the initiative to put your ideas and plans into play. It’s up to you to explore possibilities and make suggestions that can help you reach your goals.

You should put greater effort into self-improvement or making positive changes to your home or lifestyle. Certain changes will encourage you to grow emotionally and spiritually, and should be welcome.

You’ll face a multitude of challenges if you expect too much or let someone make decisions for you. Focus on self-improvement, pleasure trips and domestic changes.

Making the right gesture or not acting on an assumption will play an important role in the way things transpire today. If you overreact, you could make a costly mistake.

Go after your goals and get involved in organizations or events that will help you bring about personal change. A medical issue or self-improvement project will turn out favorably.

Your emotions will take charge if you don’t allow enough time to gather the facts and listen to others’ suggestions and solutions. Giveand-take will be necessary.

GEMINI

Russian hackers leak Simone Biles and Serena Williams files

The World AntiDoping Agency (Wada) has condemned Russian hackers for leaking confidential medical files of US Olympic athletes.

Athletes affected include tennis players Venus and Serena Williams and gymnast Simone Biles.

A group calling itself “Fancy Bears” claimed responsibility for the hack of a Wada database.

Wada said in a statement that the cyber attacks were an attempt to undermine the global anti-doping system.

Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “out of question” that the Kremlin or secret services were involved in the hacking, Russian news agencies reported.

The hackers accessed records detail-

ing “Therapeutic Use Exemptions”, which allows the use of banned substances due to athletes’ verified medical needs.

‘Compromising trust’

Russia’s track and field team were banned from the Rio Olympics over an alleged state-backed doping programme.

“Let it be known that these criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global antidoping community to reestablish trust in Russia,” Wada director-general Olivier Niggli said.

Fancy Bears pledged

to release confidential records from other national Olympic teams.

It’s an old saying in cybersecurity that the weakest point of any supposedly secure system is the people that use it.

Wada says it believes this hack was made pos-

Nigeria’s Paralympic team is grabbing medals left, right and centre – Nollywood star breaks world record

At the half-way point through the Games, here are five things you may not know about the team.

1. A gold medal has been won by a Nollywood actress

When Lauritta Onye threw a shot put 8.40m she not only won gold but broke a word record.

The Nigerian Paralympic gold medallist is also known as…. Laury White.

Under that name she starred in the Nollywood

2. More medals than the Olympic team Nigeria’s Paralympians already have six golds, two silvers and one bronze medal. That’s compared to Nigeria’s Olympic team which only took home one bronze for football last month.

At the half-way point

sible thanks to a successful spearphishing attack. Phishing is a term given to the technique of tricking a user into giving up crucial information - often by clicking a link that takes them to a malicious website disguised as a familiar one, such as the log-in page for

a bank or social network.

Spearphishing takes this one significant step further. While a phishing attack is often aimed at many people in the hope some will fall for it, spearphishing is highly targeted. Hackers perhaps identified a small number of people, or even just one person, and wrote a phishing attack specifically designed to trick them.

Other than pushing a message of vigilance among staff, spearphishing is incredibly difficult to defend against. Attackers often scour the internet, looking for added information on the target that might make an email more believable. Sometimes even knowing a person’s favourite football team is enough to tip the balance in making a spearphishing email seem genuine. (BBC Sport)

NZ ‘blade runner’

breaks Pistorius record

It the third time she has broken a world record - in Beijing in 2008 she broke two during the under-48kg event.

The 38-year-old wheelchair user has won three gold medals since she started competing in 2000.

5. Powerlifting dominates

Lords of Money in 2015.

Her performance skills were put to good use on Sunday night when she celebrated her victory in acrobatic style in front of the cameras.

Nigeria’s Paralympic team is 10th in the medal table and top among African countries, whereas the Olympians were joint 78th by the end.

3. It’s not the first time

At London 2012 the country won 13 medals at the Paralympic Games and not one single medal in the

Olympics.

And again they came home with more medals in 2008, 2004, 2000 and 1996.

Before this Games, the former director of the National Sports Commission went as far as to say that he hoped the Paralympians would “erase the shame of the dismal showing at the Olympic Games.”

4 Serial record breaker

Weightlifter Lucy Ejike broke a world record on Sunday to win gold with a lift of 142kg in the women’s under-61kg event.

Only one of Nigeria’s nine medals is not in powerlifting - so far it has five Paralympic powerlifting golds, two silvers and one bronze.

That’s added to 15 other powerlifting gold medals since Nigeria started competing in 1992.

But then the numbers are against the other Paralympians - 14 of the 23 Nigerian competitors are powerlifters.

This doesn’t appear to be by accident.

After the powerlifters came back from the 2012 Paralympics with 12 medals the then Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi told the UK’s Guardian paper that Nigeria would just put money into a few sports where they have a comparative advantage. (BBC Sport)

New Zealand’s Liam Malone has broken a Paralympic Games record held by South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius.

The 22-year-old, from Nelson, won gold in the men’s 200m T44 final in Rio in a time of 21.06 seconds. Pistorius’ record was 21.30 seconds.

Victory gave Malone his second medal of the Games and New Zealand’s third gold of the day.

“I wouldn’t be here without those blades in the first instance. I’m filled with gratitude to everyone who invested in me from the start,” he said after the 100m final, according to New Zealand’s Stuff news agency.

Pistorius, one of the world’s most famous disability athletes, is serving a six-year jail term for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

He won silver in the 100m on Friday, losing out to Great Britain’s Jonnie Peacock, who retained his title. Malone’s blades were bought with donations from members of the public.

Simone Biles’ confidential medical data has been released

The Williams sisters won Olympics doubles gold in 2000, 2008 and 2012 but lost at Rio 2016

film

Paul Kehinde won gold in the men’s 65kg powerlifting

Lauritta Onye who is known as Laury White in Nollywood celebrates in emphatic style

Liam Malone of New Zealand (2nd from left) races to the 200m record ahead of Hunter Woodhall of the US and David Behre of Germany

Cummins stars as Jordan, Archer shine

West Indies fast bowler, Miguel Cummins, picked up a brilliant seven-wicket haul but a Worcestershire batting collapse opened the door for a Sussex victory on day two of the County Championship Division Two here Tuesday.

Playing at Hove, Barbadian Cummins claimed seven for 84 to send Sussex tumbling to 229 all out, in response to Worcestershire’s first innings of 306 at Hove.

However, Worcestershire were quickly dismissed in their second innings for 194, leaving Sussex with 272 to get for victory.

They ended the day on 13 for one.

Having taken three wickets on Monday’s first day to reduce Sussex to 50 for four at the close, Cummins resumed where he left off in helping to further dismantle the inning and hand Worcestershire a small first innings lead.

With just the second ball of the day, he bowled Philip Salt without scoring

and he was on target again four overs later when he also breached the defence of David Wiese to remove the South African for four, and send Sussex tumbling to 71 for seven.

However, Barbadians

Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer then combined to prop up the innings in a brilliant 97-run, eighth wicket stand.

Jordan, who has played first class cricket for Barbados but in recent years has represented England in eight Tests and 31 OneDay Internationals, stroked

an unbeaten 57 from 82 balls with ten boundaries while the 21-year-old Archer struck a breezy 46 from 56 balls with eight fours.

Cummins got his sixth wicket when he knocked over Archer and had his seventh when Danny Briggs was taken at the wicket for 22.

Seamer Steve Magoffin then snatched his second five-wicket haul of the contest to hurt Worcestershire in their second turn at the crease, despite half-centuries from Tom Fell (85) and Ben Cox (56). (Windies Cricket)

Bolt reports for duty

Usain Bolt reported for his first day on the job as Digicel’s Chief Speed Officer on Tuesday, September 13. And to mark his first day, Usain’s home was officially upgraded to the fastest in the world.

Bolt, who has been an ambassador for the brand since 2003 and is now a global Lifetime Ambassador, was given the royal treatment upon arrival at Digicel’s regional headquarters in downtown Kingston. After parking in his specially-designated CSO parking spot, he was greeted with much fanfare by the entire Digicel staff.

His day consisted of unveiling his very own übermodern Usain Bolt Speed Lab which will be used to continue developing new and innovative ways of delivering high-speed internet and connectivity technology to customers. To ensure that Bolt could also continue on the fast path after his 9 to 5, the company also announced a 10GB (10,000MB) Internet upgrade for the legendary sprinter’s homemaking it the fastest home in the world.

“The world’s fastest man deserves to have the fastest home in the world,” said Peter Lloyd, Digicel Group Marketing Director.

Also on his list of things to do was to experience firsthand the role of a customer care agent. In addition to resolving their queries, he gave one lucky customer a free nine month upgrade to a Digicel LTE plan and another, an upgrade to the fastest home internet speed (200MBps) also for nine months.

“I’m here to ensure that everything runs smoothly and fast of course, so cus-

tomers will begin to see improvements,” said an animated Bolt. “Outside of the office, I am working on opening a sports clinic in Jamaica. Injury has always been an issue for athletes so we need better care.” Further explaining Bolt’s role as CSO, Lloyd said Bolt will be taking his unique understanding of speed and translating that into Digicel’s products and services and ensuring that his legacy lives on, he will also be passing on his passion for track and field through various philanthropic activities directed towards youth. (Sportsmax)

“Red Bull and Ferrari a threat to Mercedes” – Hamilton

Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton expects the challenge from Red Bull and Ferrari to make it a tough weekend for Mercedes at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Mercedes struggled in the same race last year but dominated the rest of the season - just as they are doing now.

They believe they know why they underperformed but are still expecting one of the closest races of the year.

“It’s not going to be an easy-breezy drive,” said Hamilton. “Even when we won in 2014 it wasn’t straightforward.”

The Briton heads into the

weekend with a two-point lead over Nico Rosberg, who won the last race in Italy.

After the first four races, he was 43 points adrift of his German team-mate.

“Monza didn’t quite go to plan,” said Hamilton, who battled back to second after dropping to sixth on the first lap.

“But when you look at how far we’ve come as a team this season, from the position we were in, then I realise I’m in a phenomenal position.”

Red Bull expect Singapore to be their best chance of a victory since Monaco, where Daniel Ricciardo lost out on the win

because of a slow pit-stop.

They claim the characteristics of the Singapore track, which has 23 corners and few long straights, diminish the influence of the Mercedes engine, which has a power advantage over Red Bull’s Renault

But Mercedes say the performance comparisons between the two teams are also influenced by the fact that Red Bull run their car with an aerodynamic philosophy that increases drag.

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff made a thinly veiled dig at Red Bull on this subject after Monza.

“Our car is the best compromise,” said the Austrian.

“We have 21 races throughout the season and we have to have a chassisengine combination that works well in average.

“You have a team that is doing extremely well on circuits like Singapore with high downforce but they are not competitive on a circuit like [Monza].

“Then you can play the blame game and say the engine is not good enough, but if your car is draggy and has a rake like you are doing a handstand, then you cannot expect to go fast on the straights. “It is about finding the best compromise. Let’s see what happens in Singapore.” (BBC Sport)

Messi hat-trick helps rampant Barca put 7 past Celtic

Lionel Messi scored his sixth Champions League hat-trick as rampant Barcelona inflicted on Celtic their heaviest ever European defeat.

The Argentine forward cracked in an early first goal in the Group C match.

Celtic’s Moussa Dembele had a penalty saved before Messi poked in his second.

In the second half, Neymar’s free-kick sailed into the net, Andres Iniesta volleyed a fourth, Messi slid home the fifth and Suarez scored with a volley and then a side-footed finish.

266 goals & 128 assists In their two full seasons together at the Nou Camp, Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez have scored a combined 253 goals and have assisted 120 more.

Those numbers are rising quickly in the early weeks of this season - 266

goals and 128 assists - and in this latest masterclass, Messi got a hat-trick of goals and Neymar a goal and four assists. They are - more often than not - unplayable. All of

the weaknesses in Celtic’s make-up - and there were so many - were ruthlessly exposed.

Messi scored after just three minutes when Neymar slid the ball through a

spooked defence.

Celtic won a penalty against the run of play when Dembele was brought down by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but the striker then had his effort saved by the Barcelona

goalkeeper.

After that, the floodgates opened.

Football as art

Messi’s second came after he and Neymar combined to bamboozle the Celtic defence, Messi walking it in for number two. Barca’s speed of thought and movement was delicious. Football, yes, but not as anybody in Scotland knows it.

Neymar’s 50th-minute free-kick made it three, Celtic goalkeeper Dorus de Vries getting a touch but not a big enough touch. De Vries should have done better.

The torture just got worse. Iniesta came on at the break and he scored the fourth, thumping Neymar’s cross on the volley past De Vries.

Celtic’s brains were spinning. Within 76 seconds the fifth had arrived, Suarez putting it into the box for

Messi to slide in for his hattrick goal.

Suarez added the sixth, taking down Neymar’s dinked pass on his chest before turning and rifling it home. Wrong kind of history

This was Celtic’s heaviest ever defeat in Europe even before Messi assisted once again for the seventh, for Suarez.

Celtic are just another in a long line of Barca victims. The Catalans have done this kind of thing to so many teams in the recent past and that is the only consolation for the visitors.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said on Monday that great players always find space no matter what their opponents try to do to stop them.

Barca had the freedom of the Nou Camp - and they revelled in it to make Celtic suffer. (BBC Sport)

Three the hard way! At the Nou Camp, Neymar, Messi and Luis Suarez have scored more than 250 goals and assisted more than 120 others

Miguel Cummins

The world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt reported for duty as Digicel’s Chief Speed Officer

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel won in Singapore last year after Lewis Hamilton retired from the race

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Post-Emancipation horse race classic set for Sunday

– Clear Waters running neck and neck with KMTC

The Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club (KMTC) will run off their one day PostEmancipation eight-race programme on Sunday at Bush Lot Farm on the Corentyne, Berbice.

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The other events carded are for horses classed D3 maidens and E and Lower covering a distance of seven furlongs with $600,000 going to the first place finisher, G1 and Lower over seven furlongs for the top prize of $280,000., H1 and Lower battling over six furlongs with $240,000 going to the winner, then there is the five-furlong race for horses in the J1 and Lower class with $180,000 guaranteed for the winner and for horses in the L class and lower there will be to races over five furlongs. One of the races will be for the nonwinners however, both races fetch a top purse of $120,000 for the winners.

Meanwhile, for the race for the two year old Guyana bred horses which will see the horses covering a distance of five furlongs Clear Waters has sponsored the first prize of $200,000. The

race will also be contested under the Clear Waters label.

In a simple presentation to Chairman of the KMTC Justice Cecil Kennard last Friday Marketing, Sales and Distribution Manager of Clear Waters Amarjeet Hardat said that his company is in full support of the sport of horse racing and said with absolute certainty that this event will be well received.

In response Justice Kennard relayed deep gratitude, while acknowledging the value of such support and believes that no sport programme could be successful without such cor-

Tallawahs’

porate intervention and is in great appreciation of the support rendered by Clear Waters over the years. The day’s event is being run under the rules of the Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club and if for any reason there are less than five horses entered for an event, the club reserves the right to not run the race.

According to the organizers, five horses have to run for there to be a third place prize, while seven are needed for a fourth place prize. If only four horses run, then the winning prizes will be reduced by 25% while if there are only three starters then the reduction will be 40%.

Williams to replace Russell in West Indies T20 Squad

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is indeed the league where heroes are born as it is already evident in the case of Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell, who were recently selected to represent West Indies. Now a third player is set to be honoured by the West Indies selectors for his outstanding performance in the CPL.

According to a source who is close to the selectors that player is no other than Kesrick Williams, who represented the Jamaica Tallawahs in the 2016 version of the CPL. The source added that Williams will replace Andre Russell, who has indicated to the selectors that he would be unavailable for the upcoming tour to Dubai.

Russell who was named Most Valuable Player of the CPL had the worse bowling figures of the the tournament when he conceeded 64 runs from four overs against the Zouks in Florida. Six days later he blasted the fastest CPL century when he reached three figures from just 42 deliveries against the Trinbago Knight

Riders. However, the talented all-rounder is consantly troubled by a knee problem and may be taking the opportunity to rest or recover.

The source informed, that the selectors decided to reward Williams with the position due to his good showing at the recently concluded CPL Tournament.

During the CPL the right handed fast bowler was impressive as he collected 17 wickets to finish as the Tallawahs’ leading bowler and third overall on the wickets tally. His performance also assisted the Chris Gayle led Tallawahs to a second CPL title.

Williams is 26 years old and hails from the Windward Island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. His ability to bowl fast has afforded him professional opportunities on major teams like the Windward Islands, Combined Campus and Colleges (CCC) and the Jamaica Tallawahs.

To date he has just played in a total of 31 official professional matches with 16 of them being T20s, six are List A encounters and nine are first class matches. In his six List A matches he has collected seven wickets at an average of 22.14 with his best being 3/16. Meanwhile in his 16 T20 games he has captured 17 wickets from 16 matches with a best of 4/37. While in the longest format he has snatched 12 victims. Williams’ selection will add to the fast bowling department which includes recently retired Test player Jerome Taylor. Pakistan will host the West Indies in three T20 Internationals from September 23 and 27 in Dubai.

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KMTC Chairman, retired Justice Cecil Kennard (left) receives the first prize cheque from Amarjeet Hardat for the Clear Waters Race

Kesrick Williams

wednesday, september 14, 2016

Simmons sacked as Windies coach

WHAT! The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has once more shock the cricket fraternity in yet another eccentric decision to sack head coach Phil Simmons. The move comes exactly 10 days before the West Indies team feature in their next international assignment.

In a WICB release that reached the media the Board detailed its reason for Simmons’ removal which isdiffers in culture and strategic approach. According to the said release, the decision was made on Saturday, September 10, in a meeting of the Board of Directors.

The full print reads, “Effectively immediately, the WICB today announced it has separated from the Head Coach Phil Simmons. In a meeting of the Board of Directors, on Saturday, September 10, this decision was taken.

In recent times, based on the public pronouncements of the coach and the approach internally, we have identified differences in culture and strategic approach.

The WICB would therefore like to thank the coach for his contribution and wishes him the best in his future endeavours.

The Senior Team is preparing for its upcoming assignments against Pakistan in the UAE. The Team will be headed by Manager Joel Garner, coaches Henderson Springer and Roddy

Estwick.” Since taking the job the former West Indies player was faced with challenges including team selection and getting the Test team to be more competitive. Simmons, who took over the unit subsequent to last year’s World Cup, learnt about the termination of his contract on Tuesday by WICB CEO Michael Muirhead.

The decision came as a surprise because he is constantly labelled by current players, former players and stakeholders of the game as one who could take the team to the summit and just six months after West Indies won the World T20.

Simmons and the Board have had issues dating back to September last year when he spoke about outside influence during selection. He was subsequently fired, then

reinstated on the grounds that he made a public apology to the WICB and those who were affected, and a letter of reprimand be issue to him.

The former coach has become the third victim to be sacked following West Indies triumph at the World T20 in India. Curtly Ambrose was first released of his bowling coach role, Darren Sammy, the former captain, was sacked before the West Indies team played a T20 after their World T20 success and now Simmons.

For Simmons it will be tools down for a while unless some entity decides to pick him up quickly to utilize his expertize or if there is a possible second reinstatement by the Board while the West Indies are scheduled to start a series with Pakistan from September 23.

Out-of-town gyms benefit from intermediate boxing

At the conclusion of the Lennox Blackmoore National Intermediate Boxing Championships on Sunday, the Guyana Defence Force retained the title as the best boxing gym, but two gyms – one from Berbice and the other from Essequibo that took part, though not finishing as overall winners were definitely not losers.

Representing the Cinderella county, the Essequibo Boxing gym under the watchful eyes of coach Clifton Moore and Rose Hall Town Jammers, trained by Gregory Cort, took away a few prizes but more importantly exposure and reassurance that talent in those areas are not being overshadowed by gyms in the city.

Speaking with Guyana Times Sport the two coaches expressed their delight of the support shown in order for the sport to flourish in those extreme conditions.

The Coach of the Essequibo Boxing gym highlighted that this was not the first year they are a part of the event, but a consistent activity on the calendar for the gym since 2002 and it is with this that the gym produced champions.

“Since 2002 we have been coming to this event and we have sent boxers overseas through these very scouting grounds and they have returned with awards.” Moore said.

Crandon happy with T20 success in Canada

By Ravi Madholall in ToRonTo

After triumphing by a comfortable seven-wicket margin on Sunday at the Maple Leaf facility in King City, Toronto, skipper of the side, Royston Crandon, was understandably overwhelmed in the 2016 Toronto and District Cricket Association (T&DCA) Super6 20-over final.

JB Masters had much to remember and to settle the issue with Ontario Cricket Association/Overseas for the late Johnny Bujan memorial trophy.

They won the toss and asked their opponents to take first knock on a pitch that was quite animated but Overseas could only have mustered an inadequate 130-6 from the allotment of 20-overs.

JB Masters, in reply, coasted home with six balls to spare. Usman Limbada and Ruvindu Gunasekera, both Canada’s seasoned international players, scored 37 runs apiece.

Their manager Bujan passed away earlier this year via a vehicular accident in his native Trinidad and Tobago but owing to his yeoman service to Toronto cricket over the past two decades, the Association decided to name the competition in his memory.

In addition to the T20 success, JB Masters also already lifted the Super6 50over trophy having emphatically thrashed Mississauga Ramblers by 187 runs at the same venue, approximately two months ago.

According to Crandon, who is a past Guyana and West Indies player, the team is still saddened by his passing but was jubilant to emerge as the champion.

“We were more than happy to win the T20 championship; everyone was delighted to dedicate the win to Johnny’s memory,” Crandon related.

Johnny’s widow and two

children were on hand to witness the action and also participated in the postmatch presentation.

Crandon, who claimed two wickets, felt the team showed great character from the commencement of the T20 competition and the hard work and excellent commitment paid great dividends.

“I think we played good cricket from the beginning and as I said we had wanted to win the tournament because we know Johnny will be proud of this achievement in [heaven],” Crandon, who only appeared in a solitary 50-over game for West Indies, commented.

The Essequibo Boxing Gym, though having a small contingent has plans to expand its reach with the business fraternity coming on board.

“Currently we have a membership of 22 and we were given a number of gears from renowned businessmen in the community and it is through this initiative that the gym will be able to recruit more members.” Moore added. One of the promising prospects mentioned by Moore was the Amateur Welterweight winner, Akil Mounter, who is also a Caribbean champion and a “precision puncher.”

In addition to the Essequibo Gym, Coach of the Rose Hall Jammers, Gregory Cort also spoke on the spoils he and his team would have achieved on their trip, and the challenges boxing faces in the ancient county.

“Despite only brining three contenders to the

championship, all of them made it to the finals” Cort pointed out. It was evident through that Cort was dedicated to lifting the sport in the eastern most county, by always having a boxer in every national event.

“Even if is one boxer representing we, I make sure is one of the best and they make us proud” Cort added, “at this year’s Championship the guys made us proud and as a county we can lift our heads high.”

However, it was the fighting spirit of the team that has lead to their success as they battle poor conditions for boxing in the ancient county indicating that more could be done to help develop the sport in the Berbice.

Rose Hall Town star, Julius Kesney defeated Guyana Defence Force boxer, Courtney Lynch in the Elite Bantam weight category to cart off the top prize at the championships.

WICB headquarters set to move next year

Since 2010, JB Masters, formerly known as Brampton Masters, have been dominant, reeling in the 50-over title on three occasions and still remain the defending champion.

He feels with the experience of some experienced Canadian professional cricketers and overseas imported players is a testament to their continued phenomenal performances.

“I think we have the experience and quality in our side to be the champion; in the 50-over, we batted and bowled well and the T20 we just played smart and good cricket again,” the right-handed batsman said.

Notably, Crandon, the younger brother of former Guyana fast-bowler Eusan and current head coach for the senior team (Guyana Jaguars), is among a bulk of other exGuyana youth and firstclass cricketers plying their trade in Canada and by large, throughout North America.

In another stint in Canada’s cricket, Royston is leading the JB Masters side for the first year and stated that captaincy is enjoyable and liked the support he gets from his colleagues since responsibly taking the armband.

The headquarters of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will be relocated by early next year.

This is according to President Dave Cameron, who said plans are in the pipeline to move the St John’s offices to the Stanford Cricket Ground at Coolidge.

The move, he said, will come following the joint acquisition of the Grounds by the WICB and the Antigua & Barbuda government.

Cameron anticipates that by early 2017, the acquisition would have been complete, but hints that work could start at the facility long before then.

“Whether we acquire the stadium, and irrespective of the timeline, we are looking at starting to improve the park so that we can use it next year. It will become the home of West Indies cricket,” he said.

“We will lease the restaurant, because that’s not the business we’re in, and the

idea is to create a cricket experience upstairs for tourists and of course, our islanders from Antigua & Barbuda and surrounding islands. The head office will be re-located there and we ideally want to make that our home within Antigua & Barbuda,” he added.

News of the planned acquisition broke in late May when Prime Minister Gaston Browne announced the country’s partnership with the WICB while addressing a gathering celebrating the WICB’s 90th year of recognition by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Antigua.

Browne said they were in negotiation with the Stanford liquidator receiver to acquire the Stanford Cricket Ground, Sticky Wicket and other amenities valued at US$6million. His government, he said, will underwrite up to 50 per cent of that amount. (Windies Cricket)

What’s next for Phil Simmons now that he is no longer West Indies coach

Coach of Rose Hall Jammers ,Gregory Cort

Coach of Essequibo Boxing Gym, Clifton Moore

Royston Crandon

The Stanford Cricket Ground

Hinds opens up on NSC resignation

Following the abrupt resignation of Nigel Hinds from the post of Commissioner of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hinds came clean with the circumstances surrounding the ending of his tenure.

Speaking with Guyana Times Sport Hinds, who also holds the post of President of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) indicated that his resignation, which was tendered on August 12, 2016 with immediate effect, was surrounding an E-mail as it related to the status of funds used to refurbish the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall to host the Caribbean Basketball Championships (CBC).

The Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, which was refurbished in preparation for the Under-16 Caribbean Basketball Championship hosted in July under the

authority of the Ministry of Education/National Sports Commission.

It was revealed by Hinds that the funds provided were inadequate and it was an understanding between the GABF/Nigel Hinds and the NSC that the Federation would be reimbursed for the excess funds spent, however, according to Hinds, the Federation did not have the necessary funds and it was through his private account that funds were sourced.

It was also indicated that the total cost to renovate and to successfully host the CBC 2016 amounted to in excess of $91 million, of which some were used to “purchase state assets in the building such as basketball goals, etc.”

The project had received $20 million for the Ministry of Education and $20 million from the Lottery Fund and $8 million from corporate

sponsors, to name the major entities, which showed the GABF was in debt and Hinds subsequently ventured to his private account “to assist under the assurance of repayment.”

“We (GABF/Nigel Hinds) hereby seek reimbursement

Youngest West Indies First Class debutant to retire

After a prolific career which spanned 21 years starting with a match for Guyana 1995/96 and ending in Trinbago Knight Riders’ colours in 2016 former Guyana and West Indies Cricket Captain Ramnaresh ‘Ronnie’ Sarwan will officially announce his retirement from all forms of cricket on Thursday September 15. The announcement will be made at the primary school that Sarwan attended, the Stella Maris Primary School at Woolford Avenue, Thomas Lands at 10:00h.

The 36-year-old Sarwan started his career at Stella Marris where he scored his first two centuries in the U-12 competition. He will make a presentation of an autographed bat along with Scotia Bank Kiddies shirts and a Scotia Bank Kiddies

cricket gears’ bag with bats, stumps and balls for the school’s Kiddies cricket team.

Sarwan played 87 Test matches for the West Indies between May 2000 and June 2011. He scored 5,842 runs with 15 centuries, a highest score of 291 against England at an average of 40.1 per innings.

Sarwan made his ODI debut in July 2000 against England and played a total of 181 matches to score 5,804 runs at an Ave of 42.60 per innings with five hundreds.

He played 220 FirstClass matches and made 33 centuries at an average of 38.52 and holds the record for the youngest West Indian player to play FirstClass Cricket which he did it at 15 years-old, playing for Guyana against Barbados

at the Albion Community Centre ground, Berbice.

Sarwan, who was born in Wakenaam Essequibo but represented Demerara in Inter-County cricket, last played for Knight Riders in this year’s CPL Tournament.

The right handed batsman is one of only 11 players to score 4000 or more runs batting at number three and at one time was regarded as the best finishers in ODIs.

He last played an international match for the West Indies in 2013 in an ODI game against India at the Kennington Oval in the Champions Trophy tournament. His talent afforded him the opportunity to play for professional teams in the West Indies, India and England which for most of those periods he did with success.

timely repayment of funds, and this being emphatically stated by the NSC Chairman, who even asked for my request to be made by Thursday, July 21, 2016 so that repayment could be done quickly.”

The contents of the E-mail, Hinds found it to be “A shameful, ridiculous and disrespectful request.”

from the NSC as agreed upon by the NSC at the July 19, 2016 Meeting.” Hinds sent to the NSC via E-mail.

In an E-mail, Hinds further deliberated, “After receiving your commitment on Wednesday, July 19, 2016 at an NSC meeting, promising

Hinds said that he later received an E-mail from Director of Sport, Christopher Jones on August 10, 2016 saying, “I have been directed from the meeting of Commissioners held on August 9, 2016 to discuss the request for payment to the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation to indicate that after much deliberation, the Commissioners have reiterated that the request made for a detailed report of the recently concluded CBC Championship accompanied by the financial statements are need to be provided for them to deliberate and make an informed decision.”

Adding that “The NSC owes me (Nigel Hinds) approximately $7 Million for monies I spent on the import of basketball goals, carpeting the VIP and other rooms, upgrading several rooms and having the Sports Hall cleaned in a comprehensive manner for the CBC U16 Championships. We have no ownership rights to the equipment and rooms in the Sports Hall.”

Additionally, Hinds claimed that there is still a debt owed to suppliers amounting to over $20 million and is hoping that the NSC honours their agreement.

For the moment will go back to his fulltime job and his much preferred role at the helm of the GABF.

Digicel launches play go streaming app

– stream live sports and your favourite TV shows from anywhere

Digicel Play, announced the launch of Play Go, its allnew live streaming service with premium and exclusive content for sports fans and TV lovers across its markets in the Caribbean.

Featuring the live and direct action of SportsMax, SportsMax 2, NBA TV, Fight Sports, Catch, Catch 2 and P. Diddy’s REVOLT TV - all in seven awesome HD channels - Play Go means that, with a simple click, viewers can use whatever device they wish to stream through a Wi-Fi network and enjoy their favourite live sports, popular TV shows and other programmes.

Sport fanatics are in for a treat with an exciting menu of premier sporting action ranging from football (UEFA Championships League, LA Liga, Serie A), cricket (the Indian Premier League, England Domestic League and International Cricket), basketball (NBA basketball and NCAA basketball), track and field (IAAF Diamond League and the IAAF World Challenge tour) to rugby, Boxing World Title Championship and kickboxing.

TV lovers can also enjoy an enviable line up of drama, sitcom, reality series and popular documentary series, including the multi award-winning Law and Order series, Law and Order SVU and Law and

Order CI, Modern Family and 60-Minutes as well as all-time classics like The Simpsons, Dr. Phil, Matlock and East Enders, to name a few.

As an introductory offer, Digicel Play is giving everyone 30 days free Play Go service when they subscribe to this new and exciting streaming service.

John Suranyi, Group CEO for Digicel Play,

is all about giving as many people as possible options to view all our amazing content with a simple-to-access, affordable service.”

Play Go can be downloaded free at the Google Play Store and iTunes Store for Android and iOS users respectively, or at www. digicelplaygo.com for laptops. The service requires an active monthly subscription which Digicel customers can access using their prepaid or postpaid account, while non-Digicel customers can make payment using their credit card.

Caribbean and Central America, explained; “In the world of entertainment, content is king – and getting it in customers’ hands in as many ways as possible is of paramount importance. Play Go, the latest in a long line of innovations brought to the people across the Caribbean by Digicel,

Play Go is available in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Panama.

Former Commissioner of National Sports Commission, Nigel Hinds

Ramnaresh Sarwan

Simmons sacked as Windies coach