Guyana Times, March 8, 2016

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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 2790

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

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Deadly prison riot

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

“Heads must roll” – Rohee calls for Ramjattan to be fired!

The Race to LGE 2016

Will work across P16 political, racial divide to advance development – retired Wakenaam teacher contests Constituency 9

Page 3

3 in custody 1 critical after following ganja minibus bursts bust at Lethem into flames Page 2

P9 Special Victims Unit commissioned

Page 9

Hindu community observes Maha Shivraatri Page 17 Prison unrest

Families of dead prisoners call for P7 independent CoI body – $100,000 given to relatives to assist with funeral expenses

Ex-boyfriend remanded for Sophia teen’s murder

– allegedly confessed to stabbing her 41 times P8

– President joins in celebration President David Granger is flanked by Swami Shivashankaranandji Maharaj (left) and other officials and students of the Hindu College on Monday in observance of Maha Shivraatri

UG LGE debate

Prison riot CoI

Independent Commissioners candidates sworn face off with Page 2 in major political …“CoI will not be Page 18 players hoodwinked” – Harmon

LGE 2016

Disciplined Forces to vote today

Page 18

Jealous uncle pleads guilty to killing P8 nephew Seven years later

Health P7 Ministry arson suspect nabbed in city

2 news

tuesDAY, march 8, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Prison riot CoI

Commissioners sworn in … “CoI will not be hoodwinked” – Harmon

T

he three persons who will serve on the Commission of Inquiry (CoI), ordered by President David Granger following the death of 17 prisoners after rioting at the Camp Street Prison, were on Monday sworn in by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

The commissioners are former Judge, James Patterson, Chairman, former Director of Prisons Dale Erskine and human rights activist Merle Mendonca.

They were sworn-in at the Ministry of Presidency in the presence of Minister of State Joseph Harmon and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan.

Minister Harmon in delivering his charge to the Commissioners, said the incident at the Georgetown Prison is one which has affected every Guyanese and as such, answers are urgently needed. In this regard, he noted that it is imperative that the work of the Commission be in accordance with the Oath of Office, which they have taken.

“This Commission of Inquiry, we believe, should be done in a very speedy fashion. While we are not trying to put any pressure on the Commissioners, it is understood that the society is looking for answers,”

From left: Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; former Director of Prisons and Commissioner Dale Erskine; human rights activist and Commissioner Merle Mendonca; Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan; former Judge and Chairman of the Commission, Justice James Patterson and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan after the swearing-in ceremony

Harmon said.

He noted

that

the

Guyanese people must be assured and can be assured

that the Commission will not be “hoodwinked” but will ensure that its mandate is properly fulfilled.

“The Commission has been given wide scope and the instrument they received, gives them as much power as High Court Judge to summon witnesses and take evidence as you would in the High Court and I want to give the assurance to the relatives of the deceased that they can come forward and give evidence to the Commission and the Commission has full authority to take their evidence into their recommendations to the administration,” he said.

According to Harmon, while some sections of society have been calling for the CoI to be held after Police investigations are completed, the two investigations are completely different and will not interfere with each other.

After a brief meeting with the Commissioners, Minister Harmon said the Commission will meet today, Tuesday, to finalise the procedures and Terms of

Reference (ToRs). Following that meeting, the decision will then be made by the Commission as to when evidence will be gathered.

The deadline for the submission of their report was initially set for March 15, 2016.

Delivering brief comments to the media, Minister Harmon acknowledged that the initial time frame may not have been adequate.

“We have pushed that back because we have recognised that that timeline is not enough for them to actually do a proper investigation so we have pushed that back for at least two more weeks. We expect that they should finish their work in about a month. They expect to take evidence from inmates from Georgetown and even from the other prisons.

They will take from the relatives, prison officers and any other person who in their view can give evidence,” Harmon said.

On the evening of March 2, inmates at the Camp Street Prison started about nine fires to express dissatisfaction over living conditions there, among other matters.

In fact, the confiscation of several prohibited items earlier that day prompted the whole reaction.

The next day, the prisoners again started rioting which led to the deaths of 17 inmates.

The following day was also marred by unrest.

It was not until government officials visited the prison and negotiated with the criminals, promising to meet their demands, that normalcy was restored.

3 in custody after ganja bust at Lethem

T

hree men – two Brazilians and one Guyanese – were on Sunday arrested following the discovery of a quantity of marijuana at a house in St Ignatius Village, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

According to reports received, Police ranks, acting on information, went to the house and conducted a search during which 1.610 kilograms of marijuana was discovered.

The three detained men, who were in the house at the time, are assisting with investigations. The Guyana Police Force has stepped up its anti-drug campaign in an attempt to get drug dealers off the streets.

Only recently, the Police

have made a number of successful raids resulting in several persons being placed before the courts.

On Saturday last, Police ranks intercepted a motor vehicle during a road block exercise with more than seven kilograms of cannabis.

Based on reports received, the Police ranks conducted a search of the vehicle and several plastic bags were found in various sections of the vehicle with seeds, leaves and stems suspected to be that of marijuana.

The driver was arrested and taken to the Number 51 Police Station where the drug was weighed in his presence. He is expected to be charged shortly.

news

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tuesDAY, march 8, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, March 8 – 14:30h-16:00h and Wednesday, March 9 – 05:00h-06:30h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, March 8 – 16:05h-17:35h and Wednesday, March 9 – 16:50h-18:20h.

Deadly prison riot

“Heads must roll” – Rohee calls for Ramjattan to be fired!

On that note, Rohee posited that the Camp Street Prison unrest basically shattered the myth that the current Administration was the best equipped to manage the country’s security sector.

The former Minister also used the opportunity to admit that his Administration failed to leave behind a perfect system, but he indicated that the present Government now has to pick up from where the PPP/ Civic left off.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Cloudy skies will give way to light rain showers, which will prevail throughout the day. Partly cloudy conditions can be expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly between 3.12 metres and 4.91 metres per second.

High Tide: 04:06h and 16:25h reaching maximum heights of 2.76 metres and 2.86 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 09:59h and 22:21h reaching minimum heights of 0.43 metre and 0.34 metre respectively.

PPP General Secretary and former Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee

By Devina Samaroo

P

eople’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary and former Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee insists that Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan is to be blamed for the deadly prison riot and as such, again calls for his immediate dismissal or resignation.

“Lying at the feet of Ramjattan and indeed the Granger Administration are 17, not three dead bodies,” Rohee exclaimed, referring to when a no-confidence motion was passed against him following the deaths of three individuals in the Linden unrest in 2012. “(I) was prevented from speaking by the then Opposition by disrupting the proceedings of the House and they refused to pass any Bills or Motions laid in the House in the name of the said Minister,” he recollected.

In comparing the track records of the two Administrations, Rohee contended that his Government never presided over a riot of such magnitude as the one that recently took place which claimed the lives of 17 prisoners with more than a dozen injured.

“The Granger Administration stands condemned. Heads must roll for this unforgiveable and unforgettably episode in the hierarchy of the security sector in general and the Prison

Service in particular,” Rohee declared.

Justifications

However, when reminded of the 2002 jailbreak during which five dangerous criminals shot and stabbed their way out of the Camp Street Prison and subsequently unleashed terror across Guyana, Rohee accused media operatives of justifying the Government’s shortcomings.

He also pointed out that both the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), while in Opposition, claimed to have all the answers to the security concerns in the country.

“The APNU/AFC Administration came to power fooling the Guyanese electorate that they are most knowledgeable and best prepared to handle public safety and security in Guyana,” he stated.

Solutions and reforms

Rohee also renewed calls for the current Administration to take immediate steps to implement the prison reform plan that had been created under the former Government.

“The blueprint is there for them to examine carefully and to press ahead with implementation of the strategic plan for prison reform,” he stated.

Rohee explained that the implementation of the strategic plan was aimed at enhancing the transformation process which had already

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan

begun with the establishment of a sentence management board, the recruitment and training board, the agricultural development board, the prison’s visiting committee and a training college.

Basically, the reform plan outlines that the Timehri Prison should house those prisoners who, to a larger extent, are first offenders. Also, the Timehri Prison was earmarked to become an industrial hub where the inmates would be engaged in industrialised activities such as masonry.

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Editorial

Ancient wisdom and modern facts

L

ast year was the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity – coming 10 years after his Special Theory threw the entire edifice of physics into a tailspin. This year, the last unproved prediction of the General Theory was settled – that space-time (itself a concept that we are not evolutionary competent to grasp or apprehend directly) could produce “gravity” waves if massive enough fluctuations of gargantuan masses could be induced. In this case, the collapse of two black holes, rotating and then collapsing into each other, did the trick, and the predicted waves were detected by special new equipment built on Earth.

It was a great day for science and the implications are still not fully grasped save that direct apprehension of fluctuations of space-time is tantamount to mankind obtaining a sixth sense – one that takes our evolved five into realms we cannot possibly even dream about. After Einstein’s Special Theory led to the upturning of Newtonian physics and the notion of energy being transmitted only via waves, building on Einstein’s insight quantum theory not overtook the field but only led to concrete benefits in our own lifetimes. This will be the case with General Theory.

But way back the two theories confirmed a fact that very few of us know about, even today: that the universe both at the micro quantum level and the macro cosmological level are not directly apprehensible to our species, but that everything are interconnected. It is as we are the six blind men groping different parts of an elephant, but each insisting that our apprehended portion is THE elephant in toto. At a minimum, this perspective should caution us against making categorical statements about even “observed” phenomena – much less unobserved ones. It is a stance that is much needed in today’s world where each little grouping of mankind offer their truth as THE truth and are willing to exterminate those who may differ.

But even in the absence of modern scientific findings, our forefathers had been able to discern the limited nature of our “knowledge” and suggested modes of behaviour that eschew absolutist claims on “truth”. Take for instance, the African notion of “Ubuntu”. As one African philosopher expressed its wider essence which “has to be discussed in a comprehensive ontological horizon. It shows how the being of an African person is not only imbedded in the community, but in the universe as a whole. This is primarily expressed in the prefix ubu- of the word ubuntu. It refers to the universe as being enfolded, containing everything.

The stem -ntu means the process of life as the unfolding of the universe by concrete manifestations in different forms and modes of being. This process includes the emergence of the speaking and knowing human being.”

Last night, the Hindu community commemorated “Shiva Ratri” which reminded them of this greater interconnectedness at a most spectacular level. Hindus conceive of the universes as one interconnected reality that emerged over 4 billion years ago out of singularity that was quiescent for another 8.4 billion years. At one level, this is the “night of Shiva” or “Shiva Ratri” since they posit after that emergence (which they personalise as activated by “Brahma”), the universe will expand and evolve for another 8.4 billion years and be sustained by “Vishnu”. In this scheme of things, we are midway in this particular cycle so in another 4.2 billion years, all will subsist or dissolve once again into a singularity by “Shiva”. And imagine these cycles of 8.4 billion years themselves are infinite! But like the universe itself, we cannot even imagine an atom of it.

While most of us have lost the ancient wonder in the profundity of reality and our human incapacity to apprehend it, maybe the scientific confirmation of our ancient wisdom might encourage more humility in our premises when we deal with “the other”.

Worshippers at Cove and John Ashram, East Coast Demerara observing Maha Shivaraatri by worshipping Lord Shiva on Monday. “Maha Shivaraatri” means “a great night for Lord Shiva”

Cheddi Jagan and Independence Dear Editor, Sunday, March 06, 2016, marked the 19th death anniversary of President of Guyana Dr Cheddi Jagan.

Dr Jagan’s life was totally dedicated to the welfare of the Guyanese people. His was a life lived in service to his country and humanity as a whole. He was not only a patriot, but also an internationalist.

This year, the anniversary of his death coincides with the 50th anniversary of our Independence.

While Independence was the result of great struggles and sacrifices of the masses of people, it is also true that no individual has done more for freedom than Cheddi Jagan. Therefore, in celebrating our independence, we are also celebrating the work of Cheddi Jagan.

Dr Jagan is probably the first Guyanese to call for independence from Great Britain. When he first issued that call in the 1940s, it was regarded as a very bold move. It was a time when our people were still singing ‘rule Britannia, rule.’ If you listen to Caribbean music emanating from that period, you will notice that it lauded colonialism.

Therefore, Dr Jagan’s call was the first spark in the process of gaining IIdependence.

He made Guyanese see themselves as equals to any in the world and inspired them to support his call for freedom.

For Cheddi, Independence was not an end in itself, but a means to an end. His ultimate goal was the social liberation of our people. Of course, he understood that this was not possible without Independence.

So in 1946, when he and his wife Janet, teamed up with Jocelyn Hubbard and

Ashton Chase to form the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), Cheddi had a clear vision on the direction the movement must take. He saw that the principal role of the PAC was to lift the consciousness of the Guyanese people to fight for Independence and for eventual social emancipation.

That principle was clearly stated in the first issue of the PAC Bulletin, published on November 06, 1946.

It is amazing to reflect on the manner in which Cheddi and his comrades captured the imagination and support of the Guyanese people and the rapid growth of his freedom movement.

In 1947 three of the four founders of the PAC contested the elections for the Legislative Council. Janet barely lost in Georgetown against John Fernandes and racism was used against Hubbard (him being a Mulatto). Cheddi Jagan won his seat on the East Coast Demerara.

That was an important victory. Jagan used his position in the Assembly to represent the people as a whole, to educate the masses and to involve them in the fight for their own freedom.

In a short period, Jagan and his comrades created a massive movement. They attracted the support of not just workers, but the finest intellectuals of our society.

By 1950, they were able to transform the PAC into a full-fledged political party, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

The colonial powers, however, were not asleep. In 1947, Winston Churchill, signalled the beginning of the Cold War with his speech in Fluton, Missouri.

Repression was used

against the PPP after its great success at the 1953 elections. Many of its most important leaders were imprisoned. The limited democracy that existed under colonialism was crushed.

However, having failed to crush the movement by repression, the colonialists and their allies added bribery to their arsenal.

The movement was betrayed by some members who worked with the colonial power to break up the PPP with the promise of high office. A section of the PPP, including Forbes Burnham, broke ranks in an attempt to capture the party.

Despite that blow, however, Dr Jagan and his comrades persisted and fought consistently for Guyana’s Independence. The PPP, which he led was the bulwark of that fight.

In their bid to prevent independence, the colonial power and its ally, the CIA, financed strikes and instigated racial strife.

Unfortunately, they found willing tools in those who had split from the PPP in 1955. It was the local instruments that were used to burn and destroy. Guyana (then British Guiana) was one of the earliest colonies that faced destabilisation.

At the time of Independence, British Guiana still had a ‘state of emergency’ in place. That was replaced by the National Security Act, which kept the powers of the state of emergency and even extended it. Political prisoners were languishing at Sibly Hall (Mazaruni) and all attempts were made to crush the PPP, which at the time of Independence, was in the opposition, having been removed by foreign interven-

tion and local collaboration.

Workers and farmers came under attack by the PNC-led coalition regime.

The prices paid to rice farmers for their produce was reduced and when they protested, police dogs were let loose on them. Thus began the long night of social and economic decline in our country.

On this 50th anniversary that we are approaching, we are witnessing many of the atrocities of the 1966 period.

Rice farmers are once again under attack and the prices for their produce chopped.

The sugar workers also are also under the hammer.

Many are being dismissed and the imminent closure of the industry has begun with the announced closure of the Wales Estate.

Recall, too, that the sugar workers were promised a 20 per cent increase by those in government today.

The militarisation of our state has begun. Indeed, the process has gone a far way already.

Just like at the dawn of Independence, the PPP members and supporters were the first to feel the brunt of the regime’s attack, the same process is reoccurring today.

What should be noted, too, is that while the PPP supporters were the first under attack, that modus operandi was eventually broadened to include their own supporters.

We must in honouring the memory of Cheddi Jagan, follow his example and fight for the protection of human rights, fight to defend our living standards and for justice in our country.

Sincerely, Donald Ramotar

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, march 8, 2016

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Invest in areas that will expand the economy Dear Editor Lawlessness in Guyana seems to be the order of the day in spite of the new Government’s commitment to aggressively pursue corruption in all its forms. I look forward to the day when the State Asset Recovery Bill is passed so that action can be taken against the many.

I was shocked to read Clifton Bacchus’s defence of his potential Casino on Church Street which is situated next to a Mosque and two Churches.

His first argument shows the lack of morality that is a feature of many so-called businessmen in Guyana.

After indicating he has employed 50 people for the last four years, he states the project enjoys a Memorandum of Understanding with the previous Government for “the

grant of certain facilities, including a casino’s license”.

Can Bacchus state whom in the last Government his partners, if any, in this Casino.

If there are any, then this is political malfeasance similar to the Pradoville 2 case which is at the DPP and may well be soon heading to Court.

Can Bacchus state who signed the MoU on behalf of the Government?

Additionally, is the hotel being built just to obtain a Casino license given low occupancy rates of hotels in Guyana? Hopefully Bacchus knows that with FATF and the AML/CFT Bill, and the current National Risk Assessment currently underway, the Gaming Board in Guyana will have to address new international requirements for any new Casino license holders.

Remember, a MoU is not a license.

Regardless of Bacchus’s letter, here are some facts why a license should be given to this hotel.

1. The Marriott was scheduled to cost US$43 million.

Instead of US$43 million, the Marriott cost a whopping US$98 million. The only way the Marriott will ever be profitable in Guyana is if it has a casino license. The Marriott will forever be a burden on the People and Government of Guyana without a Casino so that profits from the Casino can be used to cover the debt created by the Marriott.

Why would any sane government, much less Government in Guyana dedicated to transparency, stolen assets recovery, the stopping of money laundering and other corrupt practices, grant

a license to a casino masquerading as a hotel, when it has a massive Marriott problem created by the same government that gave Bacchus a socalled MoU. 2.

This building at Oronoque and Church Street, is in a residential area. There is no parking. So to compare the Casino at the Princess Hotel with this new building is outright scampishness.

The Marriott and the Princess had to have plans for parking in their upfront designs.

Why wasn’t this done for this Church Street Hotel/Casino.

This alone would have disqualified the Casino on Church Street. This fish smells bad.

Where will the users of this Casino (if it ever becomes one) or Hotel Park?

Across the street from this so-called Casino is Merriman Mall. One now understands

Local representatives should outline plans to develop districts Dear Editor, With the historic Local Government Elections (LGE) looming there was a historic debate on Saturday night last. It was hosted by Nigel Hughes. The format did not lend to the much needed cross-talk and expansions on the plans and views of the candidates. Candidates should have been allowed to question each other as there seems to be some amount of copying of ideas. There also seemed to be a lack of big-city plans and initiatives. This is the 21st Century and Guyana needs a council that understands that Georgetown needs to move with the times.

Here are some of my ideas, most of which will add money to the Council’s coffers: 1. Reduce the amount of cars coming into the city by charging a toll.

Simultaneously, have shuttles taking commuters to central locations around town.

2. Relocate our bus parks onto the outskirts of town and shuttle folks in and out.

3. Immediately regularise our building codes for our sidewalks, so the differently-abled could move freely

around town. Have the property owners be responsible for fixing this.

4. With regards to abandonde buildings and empty lots: the city council will clean those lots or demolish those buildings and send the bill to the property owners.

If the bills are not paid in a reasonable time, the property should be gazette and auctioned off.

5. All immobile vehicles on the roadways or on government parapets should be removed at the owners’ expense.

6. Folks with working vehicles (buses, taxis, etc), on government lands, should pay a fee.

7. Establish a tow-truck department for violators of city parking codes. Vis-àvis pedestrian crossings, bus stops, thoroughfares, water hydrants (after they are fixed).

8. Spearhead a drive, in collaboration with the Ministries of Social Protection and Health, to rid the city streets of the homeless.

9. Regularize the scrap metal buyers (with the threat of closure of their business

and incarceration), so that some form of accountability is in place to prevent the theft and sale of copper and other metals.

10. Distribute garbage bins to every home and make a minimal addition to the property taxes.

All of these suggestions can be implemented almost immediately and will bring much need funds into the M&CC. I was not invited to participate in the recent debate.

In fact I got a few calls from some who thought I should have been thrown into the mix. However, while no explanation was given for my noninvite, I perceived from those represented, that it was the groups and political parties that were slated to present.

It was a refreshing undertaking and one would well agree that this should have been done before and probably needs to be done again.

However, I would like to see the debate broadened to include the independent candidates and individual representatives of the varied groups. For while the leaders of the groups might well

be able to articulate their desires for the Mayoral position, their underlings should be made to explain to the public, how they plan to assist the constituents they are vying to represent.

I listened and read how difficult it was for some of the group leaders and Mayoral hopefuls to explain their intentions for the City of Georgetown, which made me wonder if they are really up to the challenge. I also contemplated the fact that if these leading candidates had such difficulties at explaining what should by now be second nature to them, how well their subordinates will be able to cast their visions.

Editor, I would like to suggest that the coordinators of the last debate or indeed any other with the wherewithal, arrange a similar event and have the local representatives speak to how they plan to develop their local districts.

Sincerely, Pastor Wendell Jeffrey, Independent Candidate, Wortmanville/ Werk-en-Rust

why the Pan-African Group had to resort to meeting with the president and many City Hall officials to protect this land that was given to them decades ago from becoming a Parking Lot. Of course, Clifton Bacchus will say he had nothing to do with this attempt to bully Pan-African Guyana (Branch) Organisation from the Merriman Mall. The Marriott and Princess Hotels were deliberately built in spaces that would have parking.

Who cares about Bacchus’s explanation of Suriname having 25 casinos? This is Guyana and we need to bring back the Rule of Law. Holland has a Casino at its main Airport. This is the Dutch way. New York doesn’t have

casinos in the City and certainly not next to churches, mosques and schools. The other arguments put forward

by Bacchus echoes the views are morally and economically flawed. For him, the end justifies the means.

It is the same argument used when those smuggling our gold are caught. “Others are doing it”. Where are our religious leaders on this matter? Still sleeping at the trough. Hopefully, Bacchus will invest in areas that will grow the economy not in sectors that prey on citizens and in sectors that are rent and morality seeking.

Sincerely, Eric Phillips

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tuesday, march 8, 2016

Page

By Janet Lehman

S

omething I’ve learnt as a therapist and a mom is that you cannot “fix” your child’s self-esteem as a parent – though many of us make ourselves crazy trying to do just that.

It’s hard to see our children acting out and giving up because of insecurities, so we wrack our brains trying to find ways to motivate them and make them feel better.

Unfortunately, self-esteem just doesn’t work that way.

Here’s the truth: Children can’t feel their way to better behaviour, but they can behave their way to better feelings eventually.

What does this mean?

In my experience, children develop self-esteem by doing things that are difficult or challenging for them. To give you an example, when your child was young and learnt to walk, you were probably proud of them and praised them for it. But now that they’re older, it’s no longer something you probably applaud them for. The point is, you want to compliment your child on things that are difficult for them to do. When your child solves a problem that’s challenging and relevant to them now, it builds self-esteem.

In our culture today, it can sometimes seem like children get handed trophies and awards left and right for almost anything.

But when children are rewarded for things that

guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation aren’t really difficult for them, it doesn’t affect their sense of self-worth because those artificial rewards don’t build genuine self-esteem.

At best, your child will feel better for a few minutes. Of course, it’s important to give our children genuine encouragement as often as we can, as long as the praise is

esteem through the framework of problem solving.

Feeling good about yourself is a problem you have to solve; you solve it by learning how to do things better, not by talking about it and feeling better artificially or fleetingly. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with focusing on helping your child

his life.

Challenge the thinking that creates the self-esteem problem

If you want to challenge a child who’s having behavioural issues and self-esteem problems, you have to confront the thinking they use to justify inappropriate behaviour. So here’s what that

learn anything about having a good work ethic or being responsible. On the other hand, a teen who completed her tasks at work has every reason to feel good about herself. She’s on top of her responsibilities, and possibly gets rewarded for her efforts. The next day, she simply goes to work again. She may not understand how powerful her actions are, but in reality, she’s learning successful habits that breed self-esteem. The more your child learns how to be independent and do things independently, the higher her self-esteem is going to be, and the better she’s going to feel –she’s “behaved her way to better feelings”.

Promoting positive self-esteem: setting expectations

merited and isn’t for something they’ve been doing with ease for years, like tying their shoes. Think about it this way: if your boss told you “nice work” for printing something out on your computer or pounding in a nail, would you value that praise?

If you’ve been an office worker or a carpenter for more than a few days, probably not!

You have to look at self-

express his or her feelings.

Just know that it’s not going to help them with their problem-solving skill development, their mastery of difficult tasks, and won’t give them the means to produce self-esteem. In other words, if you make your child feel good, he will feel good for the moment, but if you show him what to do to feel good about himself, he can use those skills for the rest of

would look like: Let’s say your child has an excuse for why she didn’t do what the boss asked at her part-time job. As a parent, you want her to respect authority and follow through on her responsibilities. You also want to let her know that giving an excuse is not going to help; you want to challenge that kind of faulty belief.

If you let it slide or allow her to do a poor job, she won’t

Children need parents to be consistent and solid – to be their rock and followthrough with expectations.

Children feel safer when parents are clear and matter of fact. This objective lens can help you put your child’s negative emotions into perspective. When emotions get in the way of following through on responsibilities or expectations, it’s up to us as parents to focus on the behaviour at hand.

Then when your child does what he needs to do, you can be encouraging, reinforcing the positive behaviour rather than the negative feelings and excuses that might have gotten in the way. (Excerpt from empoweringparents.com)

to be continued

4 steps to changing child behaviour

By Rebecca Wolfenden

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rocrastinating about homework. Backtalk.

Refusal to do chores.

Cursing. Most of the parents I speak with on a daily basis know something has to change with their child’s behaviour, yet they feel overwhelmed about how to change it and unsure of where to start. With this uncertainty, it’s easy to get “stuck” in a place of inaction and growing resentment that nothing is changing. What’s a parent to do?

Sometimes a good place to start is by talking with your child about what is going on.

Chances are, if you are feeling that something isn’t working and are tired of constant conflict, your child has similar feelings and may be motivated to change her behaviour. But she might be overwhelmed about how to do it as well. This is when it’s helpful to remember that, as James Lehman said, good behaviour is a skill, and children can learn the skill they need by making it a goal to achieve.

No matter what you and your child want to change, the process is similar: pick a behaviour, define the issue, plan a goal, and create steps to work toward that goal. In order for change to happen most effectively, all steps in the process need to occur.

Let’s look at each step, and how you can help your child achieve her goals.

Pick a behaviour. When we coach parents, we typically advise them to focus on only one or two issues at one time. Let’s say your daughter’s room is constantly dirty and messy, it’s irritating you, and you’re both arguing about this…as well as homework and bedtime issues. You can start by picking one behaviour – keeping her room clean and organised – and make a goal of that. It is not going to be helpful to add in the other issues you’re experiencing around homework and bedtime right now. This way, you are not feeling overwhelmed, and neither is your child. For some parents, the behaviour to work on first may be very clear-cut and easy to pick out. For others, it can feel like they are drowning in a sea of misbehaviour from their child. For these parents, it might look something like this: the day starts with a struggle to get your children out of bed and out the door on time. Then you are dealing with calls from school about discipline problems in the classroom, battles with homework, and explosive outbursts which could involve verbal abuse, physical abuse, and/or destroying items within the home. (Excerpt from empoweringparents.com)

to be continued

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tuesDay, march 8, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Prison unrest

Seven years later

– $100,000 given to relatives to assist with funeral expenses

nabbed in city

Families of dead prisoners Health Ministry call for independent CoI body arson suspect

F

amily of the 17 prisoners who died during the Camp Street Prison unrest, are calling for an independent Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of their loved ones.

The Commission will be led by former Justice James Patterson and will include Merle Mendonca of the Guyana Human Rights Association and former Director of Prisons Dale Erskine.

These sentiments were expressed following a meeting between the families of the deceased and the Guyana Prison Services.

In an interview with Guyana Times Lisa Eastman, a relative of Aaron Eastman, one of the dead prisoners, stated she is of the opinion that an independent body should be conducting the inquiry to the uprising, as she has no confidence in the chosen commissioners.

“They didn’t even have a proper discussion with us… they tried. I think they were just trying to placate people but I think they just made matters worse,” the woman stated. She further added she is desirous of seeing a proper and detailed investigation into

A

Some relatives of the dead prisoners gathered outside the Prison Officers Hall where the meeting was held on Monday

the matter being launched, adding “If they’re really serious, they are going to change that CoI panel.”

The families related that thus far, they have identified their loved ones, and are in the process of making funeral arrangements. They further related that during this meeting, it was revealed that the government is providing the families with $100,000 to assist with the funeral expenses.

However, these families are dissatisfied with the outcome of the meeting. The mother of Delroy Williams, a murder accused, who perished in the flames, stated

that the government intervention is not substantial and as such she is dissatisfied. “They say if we need the body, they just going to give us $100,000 but that $100,000 can’t bring back a life. I already lost my son and nothing can bring him back right now. And I have another son in there, and when I go to see him this morning he can’t even talk to me when I talk to him,” the mother related. She explained that her other son Leroy Williams, a murder accused, is still in prison.

“Like he leff shock. I want justice… right now my other son needs to see a doctor,” the woman re-

vealed.

However, Chairman of the Guyana Prison Services RK Chand has stated that the injured prisoners are being tended by medical practitioners, and their concerns are being addressed.

It was further revealed that the prisoners are being held at different station lock-ups at the moment, and they have been provided with proper necessities such as food and clothing.

However, the families remain firm they want to meet with President David Granger to discuss the issue.

lmost seven years after the Health Ministry was set on fire, one of the suspected arsonists, Keith Ferrier, was on Monday apprehended by Police at a popular business establishment on North Road, Bourda, Georgetown.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Guyana Times that Ferrier was in Police custody and was being interrogated by investigators.

After the fire, the Guyana Police Force had issued a wanted bulletin for Ferrier and George Lashley, 60, of Lot 187 Freeman Street, East La Penitence, Georgetown among others for the fire.

However, Clayton Westford, 19, an office assistant of 7 West La Penitence, and 21-yearold Tedena Bagot, a porkknocker of 32 Second Street, Alexander Village, were subsequently charged.

The Police had also stated that Colin Jones was also a part of the gang that set the Ministry on fire.

On July 17, 2009, about 03:00h, arsonists hurled improvised bombs made with channa and fuel into the upper flat of the main building. As a result of the

Suspected arsonist: Keith Ferrier

fire, more than 200 persons were dislocated and the entire building destroyed.

Police removed channa bombs from inside the compound and also discovered that louver windows on another building in the compound were damaged.

Pieces of glass and channa were found on the inside and outside of the building.

After an investigation, it was concluded that the fire was an act of arson.

Then President Bharrat Jagdeo subsequently announced a $25 million reward for information that could help investigators find those behind the firebombing.

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tuesDAY, march 8, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Ex-boyfriend remanded for Sophia teen’s murder – allegedly confessed to stabbing her 41 times

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fter almost a year on the run, Shivanand Roopnarine, 22, of Lot 478 Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, who reportedly stabbed his girlfriend to death, has been arraigned for her murder.

He appeared at Sparendaam Magistrates’ Court on Monday where he was not required to plead to the indictable charge. It is alleged that on April 19, 2015 at Sophia, Georgetown he murdered Alicia McPherson, 18.

Police Prosecutor Sergeant Jupiter told the court that the accused was captured last Friday at Mabura.

She said that on the day of the murder, the deceased was at a barbeque in Sophia

Shivanand Roopnarine

with a male companion when the accused showed up and had a confrontation with the decreased. During the heated argument the

accused allegedly dealt the young woman 41 stabs about her body.

Roopnarine was remanded to prison and will make his next Court appearance on April 28.

Last Friday, the murder suspect was reportedly heading to Mahdia and at a check point at Mabura, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), he was asked to produce a form of identification.

It was at that point the Police at the check point recognised the young man and made the arrest. The young man at the time of the murder had long braided hair, however upon his capture his hair was short, presumably to disguise himself.

The suspect reportedly told investigators that on

the night of the incident, he became annoyed after seeing the teenager dancing with another man.

Upon seeing this, he ordered McPherson to leave the dance but she refused and in retaliation, he dragged her to the back of the yard where he stabbed her multiple times before escaping.

A senior Police rank has confirmed that the wanted man was transported to Georgetown where he was grilled by Police in the capital.

Relatives of the dead woman are satisfied the fugitive has been captured and will face the full force of the law.

Jealous uncle pleads guilty to killing nephew

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man accused of killing his nephew in 2012 pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter on Monday when the matter was called during the Berbice Criminal Assizes.

Roy Lewis, 37, of Glasgow Housing Scheme, East Bank Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne)

Roy Lewis

was charged for murdering Devon Lewis, also called Devon DaSilva,18, on December 27, 2012 at Sisters Village, East Bank Berbice.

He appeared before Justice Franklyn Holder and through his legal counsel, State-appointed Attorney Sasha Robertson, said he was going to take a certain Murdered: Devon Lewis

course of action after saying he was not guilty of murder.

However, Robertson petitioned the Court for a probation report on Lewis which is expected to be available on March 22 when the suspect is expected to be present for sentencing.

State Prosecutor Natasha Backer did not produce any facts on the case to the Court. However, it had been reported in the media that on December 27, 2012, a man had allegedly stabbed to death his step-nephew while he was sleeping next to his girlfriend, Ashley “Toya” Whyte. The stabbing occurred at the home of the girl’s parents.

It was also reported that after allegedly killing the young man, Lewis ingested a poisonous substance with the intention of committing suicide, but he was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he was treated. He subsequently fully recovered.

It was reported that the murder suspect had attempted to seduce the youth into a homosexual relationship, but the teenager paid him no heed. As a result, the murder suspect had become jealous after the teenager started to see Whyte.

In court documents dated May 3, 2012, Devon Lewis had said that he was not on speaking terms with his uncle since he was aged 14 years. The case is being heard by the judge without a jury.

Eyew tness

Big-up..

T

...BIGA

he Local group formed in Bartica – the Bartica Independent Green Alliance (BIGA) – to contest the LGE has certainly raised a hornet’s nest in the APNU/ AFC coalition. No other than the President himself – but probably acting in his capacity as leader of the PNC accused them of “splitting the vote”. Now in all of the possible manoeuvres in ethnic politics, this is possibly the most desperate – and the most dangerous.

What it does is to presume that constituencies – and in Guyana read ethnic communities – are owned by specific parties – the PNC and the PPP. So when Mr Granger or his party representatives talk about “vote splitting”, they are really talking about “race splitting”. As the APNU/AFC leaders said, “the PPP is the enemy” and any splitting of the vote might make them “take” Bartica. Which is just not done, we guess.

And what is most sad about the entire episode is one of the most highly touted reasons for struggling for Local Government Elections was – in addition to reversing the authoritarian centralised power structure – to break this racial orientation to politics in Guyana. The theory was at the local level, the problems were faced by everyone: when, say, blackout comes, both PPP and PNC supporters have to suffer in the dark. They all have an interest in correcting the situation.

But with the national parties interjecting themselves into the fray, they are bringing the national racial orientation in politics down to the grassroots. All comparative studies have shown if these parties stay out, the locals will in general vote for persons they know can do the job – regardless of which party they might’ve been involved with at the national elections. The studies show that these same locals who vote for an independent local group would gravitate back towards “their national” group comes the General Elections.

In this case at Bartica, BIGA has personnel from the APNU, AFC and the PPP. This is a very positive development and must be encouraged. Mr Nigel Hughes, Chairman of the AFC, must be commended for not being afraid of identifying with the local group BIGA. More citizens must support independents as well as all nationalist politicians.

In Georgetown, for instance, our most troubled Municipality but which affects all citizens since it is also the national capital, the best possible outcome would be for independents to take most of the seats so that when they get together to select a mayor, they can’t just toe the “party line” but the “city line”.

It is also our hope that in the NDCs and the other municipalities, INDEPENDENTS will emerge who will be foremost for their localities.

...WI T20

Entering the ICC Twenty20 World Cup starting today, the WI is rated as the second favourite to take it all the way – just behind India. This is quite a feat for a team that’s been depleted of several of its stars – for various and sundry reasons. Now it’s up to the team to live up to their billing.

But whatever the outcome of the World Cup, we cannot be diverted from the fact that our cricket is in serious straits and that reform must begin with the WICB. CARICOM’s been bringing some pressure to bear and we hope this continues. We certainly don’t need another study to tell us what to do.

From where this Eyewitness sits (in the bleacher stands) we can’t do worse than begin implementation of the Patterson Report – named after the former Jamaican PM who was part of an eminent three-man panel.

The sticking point there is the WICB, as is, has to be disbanded. Are our leaders up to ensuring this?

Change has got to come!

...Parika

Did you notice one of the contestants for the Georgetown LGE said the city could take a leaf from Parika and build vertical parking lots??!

Are we going to be rid of GT insularity at last?

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

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tuesday, march 8, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

1 critical after minibus bursts into flames

Special Victims Unit commissioned – Canada plugs C$20,000 into entity

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Pierre Giroux; Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence and other officals at the commissioning of the Unit

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The Guyana Fire Service along with residents extinguished the fire

By Devina Samaroo

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man is now in critical condition after a parked Route 94 bus suddenly erupted into flames in Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

He has been identified only as “Kills Bean” – a bus driver who normally plied the Georgetown-Lethem route.

Guyana Times understands that the minibus

bearing registration number BLL 8767 was undergoing repairs at a popular service station in the vicinity of the Tabatinga Bridge, when, all of a sudden, the engine exploded. The fire then began to spread rapidly.

The bus driver, who was at the time servicing the bus, sustained severe burns about his body.

He was rushed to the regional hospital for medical treatment.

The flames also scorched a wooden building situated in the compound of the service station. Dark and heavy smoke filled the air as the vehicle’s tyres started to burn.

Nearby residents rushed to the scene to help douse the flames as they waited on the Fire Service to arrive.

Together, firemen and residents extinguished the blaze before further damage could have occurred.

Mother, son injured in Palmyra accident

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Injured: Latchmi Armogan

mother and her son are now hospitalised after they were struck by a speeding motor car while they were walking along Palmyra Public Road, Berbice.

The injured are Latchmi Armogan, 42, a cleaner attached to the Rose Hall Sugar Estate, and her 16-year-old son, Joshua Ramlakan, both of Palmyra.

Armogan remains a patient in the Intensive Care Unit of the New Amsterdam Hospital while her son was transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital for further medical attention.

Reports are that the accident occurred as the woman and her son were heading home. This newspaper was told that the two were

Injured, Joshua Ramlakan

struck and thrown into a nearby canal by the force of the impact, but were subsequently rescued and taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital where they were treated.

According to Ganish Ramlakan, his mother and brother were struck by a speeding car that was allegedly racing with another to reach a nearby service station.

He noted that after he realised that his mother and brother were nowhere to be seen, another brother, Suraj, went into the water where he found his mother.

His brother was moments later found with his head stuck in the mud.

“We find we mother de lying flat at the bottom of de canal… after he pull she up,

we make sure she was alive and then I start to ask about meh brother… is about three minutes we search fo he. He did stick up with he face in the mud,” he reiterated.

However, Suraj said one of the two drivers who were racing returned to the scene shortly after his mother was taken to the hospital.

“Me hear them talk that dem ah race fo ketch the gas station…one come to the scene, but after he come and he ain’t see nobody, he go way back. He went back and then is when somebody tell he that they knock two persons and he come back and park he car over the road and asking me buddy wha going on.”

Meanwhile, acting on information, Police were able to arrest one of the drivers.

Officer in charge of Traffic for B Division (Berbice), Deputy Superintendent Boodnarine Persaud told Guyana Times that at the time of arrest, a breathalyser test was administered to the arrested driver and it proved that he was above the legal limit of alcohol consumption.

He is expected to appear at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court as soon as today when he would be read several charges, including failing to render assistance, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

he Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Pierre Giroux on Monday reiterated support for Guyana’s fight against sexual and domestic violence. These sentiments were echoed during a simple commissioning ceremony of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Unit at the Social Cohesion Ministry, Stabroek, Georgetown.

The reestablishment of the unit was made possible by donation of the Government of Canada.

High Commissioner Giroux said Canada has always been supportive of these causes locally and this

time around is making a tangible contribution by providing a dedicated space for victims of sexual and domestic violence.

“As you all know, gender issues and violence against women have been a theme in which Canada has been supporting Guyana over the years. This year we found it interesting and useful to create a Unit here at the Ministry to create a unit which is the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Unit to help women who are victims of violence to have an appropriate place to express their problems and hopefully get resolutions to their issues,” he stated.

In expressing her appreciation for the donation, which has equipment and furniture valued C$20,000, Social Cohesion Minister Volda Lawrence related that the donation has enabled the ministry to fast-track the much-needed initiative.

She further noted that a Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Unit will not only aid policy makers in their efforts to combat the scourges, but also help to spread awareness about prevention and care to the wider population, including those living in the hinterland.

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tuesdAY, march 8,2016

News

Region 10 Council strikes deal with Alesie – awaits approval of cassava sample

BY UTAMU BELLE

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he farmlands of Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) may soon be engulfed with cassava production, as the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) continues negotiations with Alesie to have farmers provide the crop to support manufacturing.

Regional Chairman Renis Morian said a second meeting was held with businessman Doerga Persaud of Alesie, Interim-Management Committee (IMC) Chairman Orrin Gordon and Head of the RDC Agriculture Committee Douglas Gittens to discuss the advancement of the venture.

Already, a cassava sample was taken from a farmer in the Region and the Council is awaiting its approval.

“The first meeting was where they showed the interest, the second meeting is where we moved beyond the interest to say ‘look, give us a sample of cassava’. That sample was taken… so now we’re waiting on report to see if the sample has been accepted”, Morian said. Once all goes well it would give rise to massive cassava production by farmers to meet

the demands of the company.

The Regional Chairman last Friday met with farmers of Syberian, Old England to sensitise them about the initiative. A number of farmers there have expressed interest and enthusiasm to become involved.

“Once the sample that we sent up has been approved it simply means that we would have to go into a lot of cassava production. We wouldn’t approve it in the office. We would call a meeting with the farmers themselves because we don’t want to sign on to a price that would be bad for the farmer. So we would want the farmers themselves to agree on prices. And we don’t want a price that is fixed for the next five years. We want a price that can be negotiated every year. When the time comes, we would want to bring the investor and sit with the farmers… and get a consensus, and when we get the document we will have farmers sign for farmers, I sign for the RDC and the businessman sign,” Morian told farmers.

Agricultural markets

The Regional Chairman said the Council, in visit-

Regional Chairman Renis Morian

ing the community is also taking note of lands available to facilitate similar ventures with the aim of scaling up agriculture in Region 10.

He said while pepper has already been cited as a possible future investment, the RDC is presently looking at marketing one product at a time.

“So this is a sensitisation stage to let you know that we are expanding agriculture and you can’t expand agriculture unless you get a market. So before we expand, we have to get a market. We’re trying to do them simultaneously, securing markets and produce, looking at the quality, et cetera.”

Anticipating approval of the cassava sample, Morian said if approval is not given, then another sample may be taken from elsewhere in the Region to ensure farmers make use of the opportunity.

“If that sample is accepted and the cassava in (other parts of) Region 10 don’t measure up to that sample what we would have to do is to quickly spread the sticks around. It’s a Region 10 project all across the barriers so we would want to share the (cassava) sticks”, Morian posited.

Meanwhile, Gittens said the retraction of crude oil in the Region was also discussed. Morian added that while the proposal was made, a plan is yet to be submitted for the setting up of an oil refinery in Linden.

“Heads must roll”...

From page 3

The Lusignan Prison was slated to be transformed into a model prison for first offenders who are charged for small offences like possession of marijuana and/or for those who are on remand awaiting trial.

Additionally, the Lusignan Prison would have placed much emphasis on educational reform.

Furthermore, both the New Amsterdam Prison and the Mazaruni Prison were identified to become self-sufficient.

The New Amsterdam Prison was to be used mainly for poultry production, whereas the Mazaruni would have focused on cash crops and livestock.

Rohee explained that the produce could have been used internally and also sold to the various markets.

He also disclosed that inmates at the Mazaruni Prison had already undertaken furniture making and were, in fact, the ones supplying quality furniture for the Family Court.

Moreover, Rohee explained that the prison reform plan includes steps to be taken towards implementing community service sentencing whereby individuals on minor offences would be punished by doing community work rather than occupying space in prisons.

The movie Spotlight and journalism in Guyana

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his week I was experiencing a writer’s block and then I saw on television that the movie Spotlight won the best Oscar for picture. The movie is basically a newspaper drama of how the Roman Catholic Church has tried to coverup sexual abuse by priests.

The Atlantic, an American Magazine espouses that “The Dr Lomarsh Roopnarine central cast isn’t the motley crew of self-destructive drunks and grandstanders you’d usually see—this is a film about the methodical process of reporting, not the stirring heroism behind it, and at the end of the film, it’s the story itself, not the journalists’ personal achievements, that stands triumphant.” Put differently in three words: Practice responsible journalism.

The story produced is greater than the journalist’s ego.

The contents of film certainly resonate beyond the shores of the United States and it is arguably a sound message to journalists and columnists around the world, including Guyana. My take is that thirty to 40 per cent of what comes out in the daily columns in Guyana should be taken with a grain of salt and more. Propaganda journalism in Guyana is as deep as the Demerara River and as high as Mount Roraima.

That being said, the Freddie Kissoon face and faeces fiasco comes to mind. To recall, Kissoon was assaulted in May 2010 when faeces were thrown in his face. Three individuals - Former Presidential Liaison Officer, Kwame McCoy, self-confessed killing squad member Shawn Hinds and former Office of the President employee Jason Abdulla – were charged and these individuals will be in court starting March 11.

Whatever verdict comes out of that court hearing – guilty or not – the hope is that it will follow the fair journey of jurisprudence. I leave that for the court to decide.

There is a larger concern here that should appeal to all those who seek to write on controversial issues in the media. That is, the throwing of faeces on Kissoon’s face is wrong and should be condemned by all and sundry.

The attack on Kissoon is an attack on all those who choose to write. That attack is a disgraceful and dastardly act that has no place in the free world.

I propose that a bill be put forward in Parliament to provide protection to those who go out on a limb and be courageous enough and say it the way it is. Whatever protection exists right now, it is limited and insignificant.

In Kissoon’s head and trembling hands may not reside a staggering wealth of expertise. But that does not mean he should be attacked physically. He may not abide by the modus operandi of journalism but that does not mean he should be attacked. He may not be a skilled communicator or a gifted columnist but that does not mean he should be attacked.

His rumbling baritone and his inflammatory rhetoric in his continuous catacombs of columns do not give anyone the right to attack him. Use your pen as much as he does.

I was told that I was wasting my time responding to Kissoon and I said that might be so but let the man write. Some say that Kissoon has crossed the line and my response is, let the man write. I take this position not only for Kissoon but for all those who write about Guyana in the media.

There are those who are besotted by Kissoon’s writings because they believe that he is informative and does well to society. Then there are those who believe that he should do more than what he is doing rather than less of it.

I believe that attempts to silence writers by whatever means is an attempt to silence what is going on. Writing, in any form, represents free speech and free speech is crucial to the development and sustainment of a free society. I believe that there is no organised effort to hurt journalists in Guyana but my philosophy is, hurting one affects all. The message is more dangerous than the action.

Personally, I do not feel totally comfortable writing the way I write in my weekly column for the fear of reprisal.

Nevertheless, I am guided by this mantra. I live to write and write to live and I should have the right to write. Of course, there are limits to freedom of speech based on civility and consciousness but not on consternation. I urge my fellow Guyanese to pay attention to the message in Spotlight. (lomarsh.roopnarine@jsums.edu)

tuesDAY, march 8, 2016

guyanatimesgy.com

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Messages on the occasion of International P13 Women’s Day Despite life's challenges

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oinciding with the International Women’s Day 2016 observance, Guyana has picked up the mantle in representing its women.

This was done through the launching of a guide, specifically aimed at building

a strong foundation for gender equality in Guyana.

The publication, “A Guide to the Rights of Women”, was launched on Monday, in keeping with the celebration of women’s achievements.

The Social Protection Ministry and the author, former Head of the National Resource

and Documentation Centre for Gender and Development, Yvonne Stephenson, partnered to release what was described as a comprehensive guide for women to realise their full significance and role in society.

Completed in accordance with the Constitution and laws

of Guyana, the book addresses discrimination on the basis of gender.

Stephenson, a strong advocate for women empowerment, noted that it was noticeable that in much of the history of Guyana, women were undocumented, although they had made some valuable

contributions.

As such, she explained that this led to the development of a women’s archive, including women who had contributed greatly to society and the status of their kind in Guyana.

Stephenson went on to add that even though the rights of women have been established, some women were still unaware and continue to live in fear and isolation, hindering them from displaying their full productivity and leadership skills which can effectively evolve Guyana.

Alluding to 1953, the year when the rights of women became well-known, Stephenson related that this had opened doors for women’s empowerment, and more females needed to be made aware and embrace the universal achievement.

However, though a massive stride in accomplishing the task of women’s empowerment, bringing all the rights into one publication is just the first step of the long journey, she said.

Officially launching the book, Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence told the gathering that the wellput together publication came

P15

Linden single mother faces the odds P14 with head held high Defying the odds:

Courageous women share P14 their stories of overcoming difficulties The Race to LGE 2016

subsequent to an assessment which proved that women often lacked the requisite knowledge and were unsure of their entitlements as women.

With this publication, she said that readers now had the unique opportunity to review an ample guide in a nutshell of what their rights were in every aspect of life. This, she said, will encourage women to become more proactive in ensuring that their rights are not trampled on or denied.

Using the book as a tool to “hit at the glass ceiling”, the Minister pledged that the Ministry would work with women to ensure that they break through with knowledge of their rights.

“Our Ministry has published this manual, therefore, envisioning that the various aspects will definitely contribute to a better informed woman who can make a difference in her community and society,” Lawrence said.

It is the hope of herself and other collaborators that they will be able to have the guide translated into the languages of the indigenous peoples so that Amerindian women too would be conscious of their rights.

In addition to the list of rights, the book is also said to include lines for assistance

in cases where women may feel that their rights are being violated.

The all-inclusive book also covers laws in marriage, domestic and sexual abuse and rights in the workplace.

Will work across political, racial divide P16 to advance development

– retired Wakenaam teacher contests Constituency 9

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tuesDAY, march 8, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

#PLEDGEFORPARITY

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#PLEDGEFORPARITY

tuesDAY, march 8, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Messages on the occasion of International Women’s Day

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bserved under the theme “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”, International Women’s Day provides an important opportunity to keep women’s issues at the forefront. It celebrates the economic, academic, social and political achievements of women and the vital role they play in society while providing an occasion to promote the work that still needs to be done towards achieving true gender equality.

Despite greater protection for the rights of women, including improved

I

n keeping with the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, “Gender Equality by 2030”, the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL) encourages women in Guyana to keep their eye on the prize and work together with all other women in the world to achieve this goal. Equality is not an elusive dream, as some persons would prefer to have us think, and we must insist that gender equality be observed in every facet of our lives.

It is still a “man’s world”, even though we have made great strides in Guyana in having the law recognise our rights with respect to marriage, maintenance, division of property, and medical termination. There is still regrettably a disconnect, however, in achieving equal pay for work of equal value in all areas of employment. There is still discrimination in the workplace as evidenced by the discriminatory

access to education, health care and employment, it is well recognised that women still do not enjoy the same rights and opportunities as men in many areas. Much work still needs to be done to end discrimination and violence against women and girls and to ensure equal participation and opportunities in all spheres of life.

The Mahila Mandalee, the women’s section of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, believes that education is key to achieving equality. In this regard, we have been

rules applied to female constabulary members and pregnancy, and the nurses at the Linden Hospital who were denied maternity leave privileges as the law allows. And sexual harassment is a cause for great concern and needs to be addressed frontally by legislation and workplace protocols.

I m p o r ta nt l y, housework is still not acknowledged by all of us, especially our menfolk, as being work. Hence, a woman who is a mother and wife or caregiver in the home is still regarded as a ‘housewife’ or ‘homemaker’ and not worthy of mutual respect, while women who work outside of the home are still regarded as working housewives . Thus, after a full day’s work, most, if not all women, (regardless of status), meet more than

working assiduously to promote literacy for women and children

and to encourage girls to remain in school. We believe that literacy is the foundation for lifelong learning and is essential to social and human development in its ability to transform lives. In addition, the Mandalee has been organising skills training programmes aimed at assisting women to become selfsufficient and has held seminars and conferences across the country at which women are encouraged to recognise their potential and worth.

As we observe this most

important day in the calendar for women, we encourage our sisters to believe in themselves and to be ambitious, to be willing to work towards achieving their dreams and to see the sky as the limit.

In observance of the day as well as in commemoration of Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary, the Mandalee presented hampers containing personal care and essential food items to 50 women from Georgetown, East Bank Demerara and East and West Coast Demerara.

their fair share of chores which ought to in fact be shared by all in the home, moreso because it is felt that the woman in the house will get it done regardless.

For some women, help with one major chore can go a far way to easing their never ending burdens.

As recorded in an article by Melinda Gates about her live-in experience in Tanzania with a rural family, the assistance by the village menfolk with the fetching of water for two miles twice a day gave their wives the breathing space to adequately nurse and care for the children, among other chores. This only came about after the wife of the family Gates was staying with and other women in the village threatened to strike because of the lack of support with this very important chore. In this vein, it is noted that a recognition of the need for such assistance will allow women greater scope to contribute to their financial independence as they seek employment, establish businesses and strive to leadership positions in all spheres of activities, including politics.

Thus, we call on all to ensure that women’s caring work is acknowledged and counted as being essential to

the well-being of our families and communities and the development of our country.

The GAWL is conscious of the fact that the cynics, mostly male, will scoff at our representations, and no doubt concur with the recent headline of a leading newspaper that we are “ quarrelling”, when in fact we are standing up for justice and equality.

We must as women speak up and represent ourselves, as no one else will do it for us. Remember, there is no such thing as men’s work and women’s work. We must insist on mutual respect as there are some things we each do better naturally, but it does not bar either gender from supporting each other for the betterment of ourselves individually, our families and the society as a whole.

Best wishes for a proactive and productive International Women’s Day!

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tuesDAY, march 8, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Despite life’s challenges

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here is no doubt that the role of women in today’s society has evolved, compared to decades ago when woman were more centred around child-bearing and homemaking.

Withstanding the test of time, it is evident women have fought hard to achieve and have integrated well into the society of the working class. With this in mind, single mothers have also appeared to refuse to be left behind, as demonstrated in their uncanny efforts to make ends meet.

Take single mother Leslyn Logan, 56, a mother of four who hails from

BY UTAMU BELLE was just 16. Reminiscing, with a pleasant smile, she recalled that life was so much easier back then. She related that she and the baby were well taken care of.

A second child followed but as she explained the relationship she shared with the children’s father eventually ended.

Later on, she married and had two more children.

“I then picked up with another guy, got married,

Leslyn Logan poses with her mobile cooler

Victory Valley, Wismar, Linden, for example. Logan is a mobile beverage vendor, whom, at the moment, has two school-aged children who totally depend on her.

Logan is no stranger to passengers plying the Linden-Georgetown route as she vends daily on the minibus park at Mackenzie.

Her story mirrors that of scores of other single mothers around the world, working day after day to make ends meet.

Taking time out from her busy schedule to speak with Guyana Times Logan explained that she gave birth to her first child while she

but then it didn’t work out so I decided to push off and be on my own… I got married when I had my two last children. One is 15, one is 12. All my life I’ve been selling you know, but I find it difficult selling on the wharf because where they take us at the back, sales wasn’t nice. It was very tough behind there. So I just left and start hussle here” Following that breakup Logan said she decided to stay focused to maintain her children.

Speaking of her daily routine, Logan admitted that it’s no easy sailing. Her day usually begins

at 03:00h, as she noted that she ensures that her chores are done and the children get ready for school.

She also ensures that her home is in perfect order before she leaves for work.

S h e explained that like most jobs, vending has its good and not so good days, but through it all, she perseveres.

“You know, it has ups and downs, it got in and out. If the rain is falling don’t e x p e c t to do no business.

You find sometimes business is a little hard, according to how business run, but you know, you have to keep trying… I got to sell to pay my bills. My light bill… On the water end, we get water from the spring because it’s the valley”, she quipped.

Logan describes herself as a very easy-going person. She explained that for her, vending on the streets also comes with a lot of respect from the people whom she comes in contact with.

While her two older children are no longer living with her and the young children, Logan remains dedicated to the two which remain.

Like many single mothers, she explained that seeing her children become educated and successful in life is her greatest wish. She explained, however, that raising children in today’s society can be challenging.

“They are doing fairly alright in school, but sometimes, bringing up the children now these days ain’t easy. I was saying to myself, you know, that is why they got so many suicides, because the children ain’t hearing”, she said, while adding, “I would like to see them come out to be respectable, good children. I want them to take in their education so I’m working very hard.”

Logan can be compared to many others whose dayto-day means of a livelihood is centred on providing for the general upkeep of her children, regardless of the circumstances.

On International Women’s Day, let us remember the challenges faced by women in our society today, and embrace them with words of encouragement to show our support.

W

omen’s courage and achievements in spite of severe challenges were brought to the fore this weekend, as Sonia Noel, the Oxygen (O2) grouping and Ministries of Social Protection and Social Cohesion partnered to share stories of courageous women.

The event, hosted at the Pegasus, Georgetown, aimed at engaging incisive dialogue on somewhat taken-for-granted socio-cultural scenarios that impact women's self-esteem, capacity and personal development. Hence, the organisers interviewed a panel of women on their life stories with the aim of empowering other women.

Among the women sharing stories were Meleesa Payne, a former Miss Guyana Universe, who experienced physical and emotional abuse and harboured suicidal tendencies, but who has now emerged as a cultural activist leading charities designed to enable the less fortunate.

Sonia Noel, renowned designer whose humble beginnings militated against any notions of success in the creative industry.

Roshini Boodhoo whose passion for cultural expression and stage dynamics against the grain of her traditional Hindu upbringing provided so much conflict that at times she was daunted and depressed, but has managed to overcome. Setra Oselma, a woman bounded to a wheel-chair as a result of a serious accident, who is nevertheless a burst of energy; and Sabanto Tokoroho, an Amerindian woman originally from the remote Kabakaburi in Pomeroon, who experienced physical abuse and intense prejudice during her life, but went on to receiver her graduate degree and now promotes voluntarism and collaboration within communities.

Speaking at the forum, Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence commended the

grouping for their initiative and creativity that have produced such a unique session to generate greater awareness and empower women.

Noting that the Ministry will be engaged in similar activities over the next week in celebration of International Women’s Day 2016, she said the forum “allows us not only to reflect on women and their accomplishments, but we will have first-hand, authentic accounts

of some of the traumatic experiences that some of our womenfolk have had to endure.

Yes, we will no doubt hear the echo of the atrocities reverberating in each story and each of us will react in a different way.”

She commended the panellists for sharing their life stories with others. “I want to thank these women for their courage and acts of resilience in that they can share in this public forum, intimate incidents, which we always want to guard secretly lest we incur the stigma or further humiliation from other women or the society at large. The outcome of such outpourings can only be used in a positive way,” she said.

The Minister noted that the sharing of such experience by women helps nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the Ministry of Social Protection to have greater insight into the type of policies and programmes that should be shaped and the outreach ventures that should be organised “to combat the pressures that our women and young girls undergo on a daily basis.”

European Union Message continued

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oday we celebrate women. We celebrate their role in society, at work, in our families and lives. We also remember their suffering, hardship and injustice, which for many is still a reality today. It is also true that we must promote gender equality not just today, on International Women’s Day, but every day.

Since the very start of our European project, the European Union has been committed to achieving gender equality both within our borders and across the globe. We are proud of what we have achieved so far. More and more women, both within the European Union and beyond, have equal opportunities in the world of work, and are leaders in every field, be it business, politics or education.

It is essential that we continue our efforts to integrate equality for women and men into every one of our policies across the board, in each of our Member States and in the countries we work with. Also within the Commission, we will continue our strong commitment to gender equality.

Women are still paid on average 16 per cent less than men for every hour worked, still make up less than a quarter of company board positions and a third of women work part-time, notably because of care responsibilities that are not equitably shared with men.

The European Union relentlessly combats sexism, discrimination, genderbased violence and inequality. Recent EU legislation secures victims’ rights, addresses trafficking in human beings,

and promotes equal treatment. Initiatives this year will include addressing the work-life balance of parents and the participation of women in the labour market. The Commission just tabled a proposal to ratify the Istanbul Convention on combating violence against women, a clear signal that now is the time to step up our collective action.

The European Union is also committed to taking forward the new 2030 United Nations Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, which include a strong commitment to advance gender equality and empower women and girls around the world. In humanitarian emergencies, including the current refugee crises, the European Union strives to ensure that its humanitarian assistance responds to specific gender needs, in particular the vulnerabilities of migrant women. We are taking steps to empower women, to fight for their rights and their equal access to economic resources, and to address all forms of violence against women and girls, especially trafficking, female genital mutilation and early or forced marriage. Women, as key agents and drivers of sustainable development and sustainable peace, have a crucial role to play in a world so hard hit by conflict and inequality.

We stand together, today and every other day, committed to creating a world where our daughters and sons have equal opportunities. When it comes to dreams, when it comes to goals, gender must never be considered an obstacle.

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I

n a world dominated by male players, Sheila Veerasammy entered the political arena at a very tender age; where she was almost instantaneously awe-inspired by great female leaders dedicating their lives towards making a difference in society.

Born the last child of eight to a traditional Indian/Hindu family in the village of Industry, East Coast Demerara (ECD), Sheila endured much resistance from her parents who were grounded in the time-honoured belief that women were meant to be at home – to be a good wife and an excellent mother.

At just 12 years, Sheila was taken out of school and began her training towards being a good housewife: she learnt to cook and clean.

But this ambitious maiden always hungered for education.

Some three years later, Sheila was approached by a People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) activist who encouraged her to join the Progressive Youth Organisation/Women’s Progressive Organisation (PYO/WPO) – the youth and women’s arm of the PPP/C. “I loved it. What I found was that there was so much respect and so much love among the members of this organisation, immediately you found big sisters and big brothers who were not

related to you and definitely it gave me the honour and privilege to have met comrades Cheddi and Janet Jagan… that was the highlight of it all,” Sheila reminisced with glowing eyes and wreathed in smiles.

For the most part, this blissful teenager just enjoyed getting to travel and explore Guyana with affectionate comrades.

BY DEVINA SAMAROO back from Moscow fresh with all this vigour and education and I faced myself with this, that I am now a married woman and I want to use this knowledge I have to help people but I have to fulfil the responsibilities of being a wife, and it clashed,” she stated.

Gradually, they both managed to overcome this obstacle.

Education It was only in 1980 that Sheila took a firm decision to break into the political scene.

“There was a WPO Congress at the LBI Primary School where I met many of the leaders of the WPO who included Gail Teixeira, Indra (Chandarpal), and Comrade Janet… and I said to myself that one day, I want to be just like them. And that was where my journey concretely began to take off,” Sheila related.

But first, she knew she had to get an education.

“It was difficult for parents to allow their girl child into an arena in which they hardly had an understanding of…,” she said, noting that her parents were born to indentured labourers.

“For instance, as it related to travelling… they (the organisation) had to come home and ask permission and they had to give the assurance that I’d be taken care of and that I’d be brought back safely at home,” she explained.

Her patience eventually paid off.

“After a period of time I was freely allowed to do things, I no longer had to ask permission… I would just say ‘ma, I am going to Berbice and I will leave at this time and I will be back at this time’… I prob-

ably broke the glass ceiling there…,” Sheila chuckled.

And so Sheila started from the bottom to get her education.

She attended the Acrebre College and subsequently earned a scholarship to study political science in Moscow, Russia.

“For my parents, I was moving very fast and they didn’t understand that… and the thing was my hus-

Achievements

band came into my life somewhere around there and my husband would not have sent me to Moscow if I didn’t get married… so I got married,” she reflected.

Apart from that, Sheila also attended monthly education programmes organised by the PPP/C where they were trained in the political ideology of the Party.

“It was an important aspect because it moulds the psychology of the individual and helps them understand how to interact with grassroots at all times. You learn how to interact with them without being annoyed if they criticise you, how to be patient when they are telling a story… it helped us to be able to answer a question without showing an attitude,” she noted.

Politics Living in a patriarchal society, it was indeed challenging for women to make significant strides on the political platform.

Sheila noted that based on her experience, observations and interactions, there is a strong cultural barrier that continues to stymie the advancement of women in Guyana.

Despite decades having elapsed, she lamented the very little progress made in eradicating these hurdles.

“Recently, I wanted to take a group of women to watch a cultural show at the National Cultural Centre. It was around 8:00pm and it would have ended around 10:00pm. As I was taking with them, I was horrified because these were members who interacted with me at a grassroots level but to take them this evening, I found myself going to speak with husbands to say, she’s going with me…,” Sheila related as she exposed the imbal-

ance that still plagues the Guyanese society.

In fact, Sheila briefly experienced such a lifestyle.

“It was horribly difficult.

When I got married, even though my husband knew what I was doing and before I got married, he used to accompany me to activities yet after I came back from Moscow, we did the Hindu traditional wedding but after that, I found that he started to make demands.

For a while I stopped. I came

Sheila is most proud of her contributions at the grassroots level where she went door-to-door with her party comrades to convince both mothers and fathers to allow their children to pursue an education.

“We are trying to cultivate this in the minds of our men and our women that education is the key to success and it is the thing that will eradicate poverty from the lives of the family,” she explained, further noting that an educated woman is an empowered woman.

While she does not consider it the highlight of her

political journey, Sheila was beyond elated when asked to serve as a PPP/C Member of Parliament (MP).

For Sheila, this is a grand opportunity to expand her work of representing women, this time, at the highest decision-making body in the country.

This mother of three intends to use her voice to speak out for those women suffering domestic violence and use her influence to create change in their lives and shape a better society for generations to come.

She also underscored the importance of education in achieving this dream, and also, the significance of involving men in the process.

On that note, the Parliamentarian observed that throughout the years, while lots of focus was placed on empowering women, the young boys are being completely neglected.

She noted that such an imbalance would be disastrous to society and as such, intends to also address this concern to ensure equality prevails.

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tuesDAY, march 8, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

The Race to LGE 2016

E – retired Wakenaam teacher contests Constituency 9

By Shemuel Fanfair

A

s the March 18 Local Government Elections (LGE) draw closer, candidates are ever more pushing their agendas by outlining the reasons why constituents should support them. Situated at the mouth of the Essequibo River, Wakenaam is a Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) which has nine constituencies up for grabs.

Retired school teacher Jeanette Harrylall is a contesting Constituency 9 [Fredericksburg– Noitgedacht] under the banner of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

The first-time candidate emphasised that she will work along with various stakeholders to ensure her causes are achieved.

“My main objectives in contesting the constituency are to develop my community; work across the political and racial divide and I will not support any measures to raise taxes because the population is already burdened,” Harrylall opined.

The candidate also noted that she intends to ensure there is continued cleaning of drains and that kokers and roads are maintained. She further postulated that she intends to establish more recreational activities for youth such as a playground.

Harrylall said she will partner with nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and religious groups to address “social ills” with primary emphasis on preventing suicide and drug use. The candidate related that while there has been some outreach programmes by religious groups in the Region Three (EssequiboIslands–West Demerara) island, she feels that it should be approached in a more “holistic manner”.

As an elected councillor at the NDC, Harrylall will continue to highlight challenges which the island currently faces.

“Presently the cash-crop farmers are facing a lot of difficulties; my neighbour [a cash-crop farmer] - she went out and came back with a lot of goods that didn’t sell… rice is on the downturn so money is not circulating, the shops are also complaining about the amount of money they [are] garnering, whereas before time it was different,” stressed the PPP/C candidate.

“I would raise these [issues] at the council level, from there we would advance to the regional level to

address the problems that we are facing,” stated Harrylall.

The candidate also noted that residents have complained about the island having many mosquitoes and observed that she will ensure fogging continues.

The candidate stressed that she would like to see the return of landline telephone service and ensure streetlights are installed at strategic points.

“That is one of my major concerns – having street lights. I know we might not be able to get all but I’m saying strategically placed street lights... one of the cemeteries is situated between two turns and it’s not safe and also at certain [other] junctures on the island,” expressed Harrylall.

“We have been advocating for telephone for a long time, it has not been forthcoming so we are going to push that agenda also,” stated the PPP/C candidate.

The candidate is of the belief that her experience as a teacher has earned her “some respect in the area” since she, over the years, has dealt with parents as well as their children.

Harylall further posited that her party’s objectives are in keeping with the development of the island and she further outlined her optimism of being successful at the polls.

“The party’s objectives are very much aligned towards what we are working here in Wakenaam because they’re advocating fogging, maintaining access dams and roads, kokers, and especially no other tax increases,” she pointed out.

“I think my chances are good in [this] constituency because I have the respect of most people in the community. Even though I have friends who are in the APNU-AFC camp, we get along very well and I think people are going to cross the divide when it comes to this [elections],” posited Harrylall.

very day as the alarm strikes the 05:00h mark, for a mother of three this is the beginning to make a new resolution to work harder to provide for her family.

As if her job at the gas station is not tiresome enough, the mother of two teenagers and a toddler faces the brunt every day of dealing with a handful of mood swings, complaints, fighting and arguments.

Doing it alone for the past two years has been hardhitting for the mother but she is motivated by her will to ensure that her children do not suffer the same fate as she did in her younger years.

Subsequent to her husband leaving two years ago, Shelly Prince, 40, has had no alternative but to pick up the mantle and be both father and mother for her three children 19, 14 and four.

Holding back tears, the mother related to Guyana Times that her current life is nothing compared to how it used to be two years ago before her husband left.

Just like in fairy tales, her marriage was one which was the ‘envy of the town’ and everyone was of the belief that it would last forever.

However, after 14 years of marriage, everything went downhill for the once blissful couple, things that weren’t seen by others.

Prince openly expressed her sorrow at the way things turned out between she and her husband, but said there was no other alternative but to end the marriage.

“He was seeing other

females while being with me. My husband completely shunned his own family to go and live with another woman.”

Subsequent to the divorce, she revealed that her husband married the woman and they migrated to the United States where they now have a family of their own.

As would be expected, when an immediate family migrates to a First World country, provisions would be made to improve the conditions in the poorer country.

However, this was not the case for the m o t h e r, who told that they hadn’t e v e n

Raising the children in an area which is stereotyped as being one of “where nothing good can come out of” didn’t help much, but Prince has been on a mission to ensure her children does not fall into the category that justifies the description.

Whether it’s working two jobs a day or doing odd chores for people in betteroff positions, the determined mother would try anything to make ends meet, or at least to provide adequate meals for her family, and support their education.

Dealing with three children might not seem too hard f o r

received a call from her husband much less m o n e y or other essentials. “ Fo r me it was the toughest thing. I didn’t have a good paying job, my son was getting ready to write CXC, my daughter was readying for common entrance and youngest one was just two.”

At this breaking point many women would’ve “thrown in the towel”, but for Prince being alive and having her children by her side was reason enough to try harder and work towards betterment of her family.

some, but for Prince h e r children a r e “one of a kind.”

“You have to be around my children to know what I am talking about. They are the nicest children sometimes and then they could just turn in a second.” Prince related.

On the more emotional level, there’s only so much the ‘supermom’ can do in terms of making her family happy, but there has been some obstacles in removing any memories of their father which would further add grief.

“I have tried to make them not think about their father too much, not because I am a bad mother but I just don’t want them to hurt. But sometimes it’s more than I can handle. My girls cry every time they see someone with their father. It grieves me.”

She related a recent occasion where her older daughter had cried for days after hearing stories from friends about their dad.

“I didn’t know what to do.

I myself wanted to cry. It’s heartbreaking for us all.”

Nonetheless the singlemother continues to stride to ensure her family’s condition does not remain the same, and that her dreams for her children all become reality.

With education being the best policy and the gateway to success, Prince contributes all she has to maintain the intelligence level that her children had always possessed.

In addition, the woman has become strongly grounded in her religious belief, and makes sure that her children do not miss out on “the mercies of God.” She is optimistic that in the near future, her family’s unfortunate situation would completely evolve, proving to society especially singlemothers “that once you have the determination and the favour of God, anything is possible to achieve.”

Commenting on the observance of International Women’s Day, Prince believes that every day should be a day to celebrate women’s achievements, their dedication and everlasting love.

International Women’s Day

Women of Wales uncertain about their future

By Shemuel Fanfair

A

s the world observes International Women’s Day under the theme, ‘Pledge for parity’, several women in the Wales, West Bank Demerara community face uncertain futures with the proposed closure of the sugar factory as announced in January.

Guyana Times caught up with several women in Wales

Anita Ramsudar

who expressed views on the imminent closure of the sugar estate. Most of the women related their worry over the wellbeing of their children, which only highlighted their intrinsic motherly values.

Enid Dataram, 75, a great-grandmother sells across from the Patentia Primary School to support her upkeep. “If this estate close I don’t know what will happen, I’m living here 60

years now, I don’t know what will become of the area,” she stated.

For stayat-home single parent Zareena Goberdhan, the dim view of her future is no different from Dataram’s.

“I don’t agree with closure, they should keep the estate working. They got to reverse the decision.”

Shamu Bhoodoo observed that she cannot see how the hundreds of workers along with their families will make out of the crisis.

“The women wouldn’t get money to look after their children... how would the children get passage for school,” Bhoodoo expressed.

With an expression of grave melancholy, Devika Deochand, a part-time babysitter, noted that since her

Enid Dataram

husband will be put on early pension, it would put a “great strain” on the family. “Everybody gon really punish because who go buy from who, who go sell, they will give [my] husband early pension… he’s 56… we gone really suffer because me wouldn’t get back work here when this child goes whole day school, it gan really hard.”

Tracey Boyce has been selling at a school in Patentia for years. She too noted that impact have already begun with just the mere announcement of the closure. turn to page 18

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news

tuesday, march 8, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Hindu community observes Maha Shivraatri – President joins in celebration

President David Granger with one of the devotees

By Merissa Wilson and Indrawattie Natram

O

n the auspicious day of Maha Shivraatri, thousands of Hindus across the world join in unity to observe the celebration and seek purification.

In Guyana, it is no different as hundreds of devotees swarmed through the gates of the Guyana Sevashram Sangha in Cove and John,

East Coast Demerara on Monday in observance of the auspicious occasion celebrating the birth of Lord Shiva.

As part of the proceedings, the devotees were required to set their daily lives aside and go before the Lord Shiva in prayers, fasting and offerings for the duration of 24 hours.

This offers purification to the mind and body, open-

ing paths for prosperous and blissful lives, once one is genuinely purged of one’s wrongdoings.

As the activity has become widespread, over the years, developing into one of the largest gatherings for a religious event, overseasbased devotees return to Guyana to fellowship with their fellow devotees.

This day is one of the most elating times for the

Hindu society as it presents the opportunity to make it right with their Lord Shiva.

To observe the auspicious day with the Hindu community, President David Granger, along with Social Cohesion Minister Amna Ally, visited the Mandir.

During the President’s speech, he deemed the activity as one which added to the diverse cultural his-

tory of Guyana which endowed more significance on the country.

Granger also lauded the Ashram for playing an essential role in advancing Guyana’s Hindu community through interactive activities which he said have caused the religion to thrive. ”The rich traditions and festivals of Hinduism have knitted the local Hindu community together and have ensured that Hinduism remains vibrant in Guyana,” he said.

The President encouraged that regardless of religion, there should be peaceful coexistence in the nation, since Guyana has a range of various religious preferences. He added that in order to foster harmony and social cohesion, there must be religious freedom, which

he acknowledged existed in Guyana. The President boasted that this religious freedom in Guyana meant the country did not have to endure unfortunate events of violent religious conflicts.

Adding to the President’s call for social cohesion, Minister Ally shared the view that in spite of religious background or preference, there should be an atmosphere of peace and love.

This, she said, would promote Guyana’s goal of moving forward as a nation.

She noted that it was her hope that the bodies

would work together to further advance progress in not only the Hindu community but among other religious groups in Guyana.

Essequibo Coast

Thousands of Hindus residing in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam)

turned up early Monday at various temples in observance of the sacred day in the Hindu calendar, Maha Shivaratri. A large number of persons were seen very early at the seawalls, drenching their bodies in the waters of the Atlantic and making offerings while reciting special prayers in the name of Lord Shiva.

Most Hindus fasted on the auspicious day and spent their day visiting temples uttering the panchakshari mantra – “om namah shivaya”.

At various temples in-

cluding Golden Fleece, Anna Regina, Cotton Field, Perseverance, Sparta and Hampton, persons were neatly dressed in their Indian attire and surrounded “hawan kund” making offerings. Mandirs prepared seven curries, prashad, and sweet rice, which were offered to those visiting.

would be forgiven.

Speaking with this newspaper about the significance of the festival in the Hindu calendar, Swami Shivashankaranandaji of the Cove and John Ashram, said that “Maha Shivaratri” literally means “a great night for Lord Shiva”.

The Swami said Maha

At various temples, pandits and religious educators informed the gathering of the significance of the day. Hindus were reminded about the power of Lord Shiva and what they can attain from observing the great day of Maha Shivaratri “Great night of Shiva”. They were reminded that no matter how many mistakes one has made in one’s life, if one were a strong and devoted devotee to Lord Shiva, all one’s sins

Shivaratri was the most important festival for devotees of Lord Shiva and has been accorded much significance in the Hindu calendar.

“It says that a devotee who performs sincere worship of Lord Shiva on the auspicious day of Shivratri is absolved of sins and attains moksha/ liberation, this itself is very significant,” Swami Shivashankaranadaji pointed out.

LGE 2016

PPP/C launches campaign Manifesto in Lethem … garbage, health & security concerns among priorities By: Devina Samaroo

A

A section of the crowd at the launch of the PPP/C campaign and Manifesto in Lethem

mid pomp and ceremony, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) on Sunday launched its Local Government Elections (LGE) campaign Manifesto in Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takatu/Upper Essequibo) under the theme “A Return to Progressive Ideas”.

Vying for a seat on the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) are Lennox Ramsahoye (Constituency 1), Debra King (Constituency 2), John Macedo (Constituency

3), Jacqueline D’Aguiar (Constituency 4) and Jason Williams (Constituency 5) – all representing the PPP/C. The candidates, during the Manifesto launch, took turns explaining to the sizeable gathering about their plans and visions for the people of Lethem.

Chief among the mandates outlined in the Manifesto include improvements in solid waste disposal, cleaning of the city, infrastructural development, health access, strengthening security sector, and construction of sporting complexes.

According to the docu-

PPP/C MP Gail Teixeira delivering the feature address at the launch of the PPP/C campaign and Manifesto in Lethem

ment, the Party plans to secure more garbage trucks to increase and improve garbage collection on a timely basis from both residents and businesses.

Additionally, the Party intends to employ staff to regularly clean parapets and alleyways within the municipality.

Turn to page 18

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tuesday, march 8, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

LGE 2016

UG LGE debate

Disciplined Forces to vote today

Independent candidates face off with major political players

Candidates at Monday evening’s debate

By Kizzy Coleman

T

W

Disciplined Services voting today!

oday, almost 7000 Disciplined Services ranks will be casting their ballots for the Local Government Elections (LGE).

Those registered to vote include 4693 from the Guyana Police Force (GPF); 357 from the Guyana Prison Service (GPS); and 1928 from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

Ballot stations across the country will be opened from 06:00h to 18:00h.

Ballot stations for the Disciplined Services ranks are located at their places of duty or deployment.

These include 19 loca-

tions for the GDF, five locations for the GPS and four for the GPF. After arrival in Guyana on March 1, the ballots were extracted, sorted and enveloped in accordance to schedule.

Each ballot sheet for a member of the Disciplined Forces is placed into two envelopes. The outer envelope bears the elector’s name along with the District and Local Authority Area in which he/she is required to vote. The inner envelope bears the District, Local Authority Area and the Constituency in which he/she is required to vote.

Ballot boxes will be

returned to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) after voting, and kept in the secured custody of the Chief Elections Officer under guard by members of the GPF. The ballots cast by members of the Disciplined Forces will be sorted by the Local Authority and Constituency to be dispatched to the respective Returning Officers for intermixing on Election Day, March 18.

The polling stations identified for the intermixing of the Disciplined Forces ballots will be gazetted.

Women of Wales uncertain...

from page 17

Zareena Goberdhan

“The closure is very bad because everything start slowing. I trusting that we aint get the closure; the women will really find it hard, especially who got plenty children, it really taking effect because they done poor already. I does sell but they got plenty housewives who don’t really do nothing. I aint know what really gan happen.”

Parbatie Looknauth is a vegetable vendor and mother of two who stated her fears for the future.

“My husband working as cane planter 15 years; when this estate close me business flat because people wouldn’t [have] money

to buy nothing… me gone have to search work out of the area.”

She explained she sells “greens” at Friday Market but during the week, she sells chicken foot, plantain & cassava chips for her ailing mother. Looknauth swears Wales will turn into a “ghost town” and crime would increase.

Amrita a young mother of three children said the decision to shut down Wales will affect women badly and she lamented that when the estate closes, there would be no money for her children to get any education.

Another young moth-

er is Anita Ramsudar, 25, a housewife who could not contain the sadness due to her concern of the future of her four children.

“How me husband gone get work, how we gone eat; he working there three years now and we together bout 5 years… I mean if the estate got to close, it got to close but I don’t know what will happen…

Uitvlugt deh too far foh he to go… de children can’t go to school because the money short, it mek me sad” Dacia Jacobs is a mother of a one-year-old toddler who explained that her basket will be without bounty.

“Closing Wales would put bread out of me basket, it will be a strain on me alone to look after me son plus me husband. They should give the Estate a little more time and they should hear other people opinion but by the grace of God, I will try to mek it.”

It remains to be seen if the call to parity would override the cries of the imminent reality which may see many women at a disadvantageous state.

ith the Local Government Elections (LGE) just 10 days away, two independent candidates on Monday evening went headto-head with representatives of the major political players at the University of Guyana Student Society (UGSS) debate aimed at promoting citizen and student advocacy.

The debate saw Pastor Wendell Jeffrey and Malcolm DeFreitas up against candidates for A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) as well as Team Benschop; Team Legacy; Guyana Nation Building Corp and Youth for Local Government.

The candidates reiterated why they should be elected, putting forth their vision for the city of Georgetown.

Some candidates vowed to re-establish Georgetown as a city of vibrancy that would be recognised internationally, while others guaranteed attention to building stronger families in communities.

Sherrod Duncan of APNU/AFC explained that every country has a capital but not every country has an international city, pledging to internationalise Georgetown if elected.

“Part of our vision is making Georgetown an international city and there

are certain things that go hand in hand with an international city. An international city has functioning infrastructure, and good services, good roads, good lighting, the garbage is picked up on time, the vendors are organised in a certain way, and the markets are organised in a certain way. There is a sense of normalcy and a sense of decency and a sense of pride; this is what we want for Georgetown.”

On the other hand, PPP/C candidate Shazad Sookram said that his Party intended to transform the city into a “vibrant” space with sustainable management with respect to the ever-so worrisome garbage situation.

“We want to develop our city into a vibrant city, into a green city. We have a huge garbage problem and we believe in sustainable management; we don’t believe that you go clean up the city and next two months, garbage is back again and nothing happens, anything that is done must be done in a sustainable way and we will see to this,” Sookram said.

The Guyana Nation Building Corp noted that its main focus lay in strengthening and building families.

“Local Government and the involvement of civil society is key and fundamental because we need more people on the ground to get involved in their own affairs.

We need the single moth-

ers who can balance that $50,000 budget with three children, hefty light bills and can lend that advice in regards to how people’s communities are developed,” the group’s candidate said.

Questions were posed to the candidates from audience members, who quizzed them mainly on the issues of security, job creation, garbage disposal, revenue generation, zoning and removing the Camp Street Prison from within the city.

Pastor Jeffrey, in response to the question of the relocation of the Prison, highlighted that even though it was a move that should be taken, Guyana was not in a financial position to do such.

“What I would suggest is that they need to reduce significantly the amount of people that they have at the prisons right now until they can build a better facility.

Yes, I think it should be removed, but I think it would be just political grandstanding for me to say that we should move it, it’s not costeffective to do that right now.”

On the issue of security, most candidates agreed that policing groups were a must.

All candidates stand motivated to serve fully if elected.

This debate series is to continue in other municipalities in the coming days leading up to the polls.

PPP/C launches campaign...

The construction of drains in each constituency along with regular weeding, slashing and clearing of vegetation are all part of the plan to keep the city clean and also to avoid flooding.

With regards to better infrastructure, the candidates intend to use their influence at the Council level to construct proper roads in each constituency including the housing schemes.

Moreover, they tout the construction of a water purification plant and public conveniences as well as the timely upgrade and maintenance of the abattoir and public schools.

For educational/sporting and social development, the Manifesto guarantees that

there will be attractive support and sponsorship of activities for schools and youth groups; commemoration activities for the elderly; and education and awareness on topical issues such as health and climate change.

Focusing on health, the document promises that there will be regular fogging and regular health inspections of bakeries, hotels, restaurants, market places, malls, supermarkets and other public places to ensure the surroundings are safe and sanitary.

In relation to security concerns, the PPP/C assured that more streetlights will be installed, there will be more aggressive police patrolling within the munici-

from page 17

pality, formation of community policing groups and the establishment of neighbourhood watch teams.

Meanwhile, during the Manifesto launch, city businessman Basdeo Ramlall endorsed the PPP/C candidates and encouraged residents to come out on Local Government Elections Day to show their support by voting for the Party.

Notably, Ramlall was a candidate for the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition at the General and Regional Elections 2015.

Other speakers at the event included PPP/C Parliamentarians Gail Teixeira and Alister Charlie.

TUESDAY, march 8, 2016

19

Tennis star Sharapova Messi bags brace as Barca strike trio hit century says she failed drug L test at Australian Open F

ormer tennis world No.1 Maria Sharapova said on Monday that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open due to a substance she has been taking the last 10 years for health issues.

The 28-year-old Russian, a five-time grand slam champion, tested positive for meldonium, which is used to treat diabetes and low magnesium, and was only banned by the World AntiDoping Agency as of Jan. 1.

"I received a letter from the ITF (International Tennis Federation) saying that I had failed a drug test at the Australian Open … and I take full responsibility for it," Sharapova told a news conference in a downtown Los Angeles hotel.

"For the past 10 years, I have been given a medicine called mildronate by my family doctor … and it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know.

"It is very important for you to understand that for 10 years this medicine was not on WADA's banned list and I had been legally taking the medicine. But on January the first, the rules have changed and meldonium became a prohibited

Maria Sharapova

substance."

Meldonium is used to treat chest pain and heart attacks, but some researchers have linked it to increased athletic performance and endurance. It is not approved in the United States but is available in Russia, Latvia and other countries in that region.

The stunning news came a day after Sharapova's management team said she was going to make a "major announcement," which had many speculating that she was going to announce her retirement from professional tennis.

"I made a huge mistake.

I let my fans down and I let the sport down. I have been playing since the age of four a sport that I love so deeply," said Sharapova, a teenage tennis prodigy who became the third-youngest Wimbledon champion.

"I know that with this I face consequences and I don’t want to end my career this way. I really hope that I will be given another chance to play this game."

Sharapova, who has struggled with a series of injuries in recent years, has not competed since she lost to Serena Williams in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January.

"I was first given this medicine by my doctor for several health issues I was having back in 2006," said Sharapova, who according to Forbes earned $29.5 million in 2015.

"I was getting sick a lot. I was getting the flu every couple of months.

I had irregular EKG results.

"I had a deficiency in magnesium and a family history of diabetes, and there were signs of diabetes. That is one of the medications, along with others, that I received."

(Reuters Sports)

ionel Messi's double helped Barcelona secure a 4-0 victory at Eibar in La Liga on Sunday that kept them eight points clear at the top and brought up 100 goals for their lethal strikeforce.

Munir El Haddadi, standing in for the suspended Neymar, tapped in the first goal for the Catalans early on before Messi's brace, while Luis Suarez completed the rout.

Barca's lethal attacking trio of Messi (35 goals), Suarez (42) and Neymar (23) have scored a century of goals in all competitions this season.

Barcelona have 72 points ahead of Atletico on 64 and Real Madrid, who romped to a 7-1 win at home to Celta Vigo helped by four goals from Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday, trail on 60.

Messi's first was a fine solo effort, while his second came from the penalty spot as Barcelona maintained their advantage over second-placed Atletico Madrid, who won 3-1 at Valencia.

Barca extended their Spanish record unbeaten run to 36 games, which includes 30 wins. They have not lost since Oct. 3.

“The team are looking good and not losing their ambition. When these players are in such form it’s very hard to stop them," said Barcelona coach Luis

Lionel Messi

Enrique, before sounding a warning that the title race is not over.

“No-one can be sure we’ll be in this form in the next match,” he told reporters.

There are still 30 points left (to play for). We won’t let ourselves be distracted by being called champions before time. You win this (league) when mathematically there are no more points.”

Perfect pass

Barcelona went in front in the eighth minute when Messi lifted a perfect pass forward to Suarez, who crossed from the right to the far post for Munir to tap in.

Messi added the second three minutes before halftime after running from the

centre circle and ignoring the strikers either side of him who stretched the defence wide.

The Argentina captain made it 3-0 when he dinked a 76th-minute penalty, awarded for handball by Ivan Ramis, past goalkeeper Asier Riesgo for his 21st La Liga strike.

Messi is six league goals behind Ronaldo and five short of Suarez, who scored Barca's fourth when he shot past Riesgo from a narrow angle six minutes from time after knocking the ball through the legs of Ander Capa.

At the Mestalla, Antoine Griezmann put Atletico in front against mid-table Valencia after 24 minutes with a shot from outside the box for his 15th league goal.

The hosts equalised in the 28th when Denis Cheryshev fired past Jan Oblak after Paco Alcacer laid the ball off superbly with his head.

Fernando Torres, unmarked on the left, tucked the ball away in the 72nd, after a corner from the right was headed towards the far post, for his 102nd goal in 300 matches for Atletico.

As the visitors increased their grip, Valencia defender Aderlan Santos was sent off for a second booking in the 80th minute after a foul on Torres before Yannick Carrasco wrapped up the points in the 85th. (Reuters Sport)

Man United lose to West Brom, Liverpool hit back to beat Palace

T

en-man Manchester United suffered a blow to their Premier League top-four hopes with a 1-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion as 10-man Liverpool kept up the pressure with a last-gasp 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

United lost Spain international Juan Mata to two yellow cards inside two minutes midway through the first half and went behind to a sharp goal from Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondon on 67 minutes.

Louis van Gaal's side were unable to fight back and slumped to their first league defeat at The Hawthorns since 1984 to end their recent run of four straight wins in all competitions.

"When you have to play 75 minutes with 10 players, I don't think we were so uncomfortable," United manager Van Gaal told BBC

utes.

Deep into stoppage time late substitute Christian Benteke surged into the left side of the Palace penalty area and went down after a slight contact with defender Damien Delaney, who was sliding on his knees.

"ROBBED"

West Brom’s Salomon Rondon in action (Reuters photo)

Sport.

"The loss is a big blow because it was not necessary.

When you see the first half it was not necessary, I think."

United remain sixth, three points adrift of Manchester City in fourth place, with Liverpool breathing down their neck in seventh after

fighting back from 1-0 down with 10 men to consign Palace to a 12th league game without a win.

The home side went ahead through Joe Ledley's low drive just after the break and Liverpool found themselves further on the back foot when they lost James Milner to a

second yellow card on 62 minutes.

Yet Juergen Klopp's men kept pressing and their perseverance paid off when Palace goalkeeper Alex McCarthy lost his footing and scuffed a clearance straight to Roberto Firmino, who fired it past him for the equaliser on 72 min-

Referee Andre Marriner awarded the spot kick after consulting his linesman and Belgium's Benteke opted for a stuttering run-up before burying the penalty with virtually the last kick of the match.

"I feel sorry for Palace but I have just seen the replay in the dressing room and it was a clear penalty," Klopp told BBC Sport.

"If there was no contact, Benteke would have been in a great position to shoot. He made the move and forced the situation.

"This is the third league win in a row. I can't believe how it feels -- really good, a big

moment for us."

Former Aston Villa striker Benteke was adamant he had been floored, saying: "I believe he touched me, otherwise I don't go down."

But Palace manager Alan Pardew threw his jacket into the dugout in disgust at the penalty decision and said afterwards his side were "robbed".

"You've got to be 100 percent sure," he told Sky Sports.

"In super slow motion the knee touches the foot and he goes over like he's been shot.

"The linesman assumes that little touch is a penalty.

If you think that touch affects the fall and the way he lands, then you really need to be consulted."

Palace, who are without a league win in 2016, are 15th in the table, nine points above the relegation zone.

Pardew told BBC Sport: "I feel like we've been robbed a little bit but again maybe we shot ourselves in the foot a bit."

(Reuters Sport)

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guyanatimesGY.com

TUESDAY, march 8, 2016

Dhawan, Kohli bring India sixth Asia Cup title

A

thunderstorm and a Mahmudullah squall came in India's way, but a calm chase from Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli helped India make light work of their chase of 121 that brought them their sixth Asia Cup title.

Dhawan and Kohli added 94 for the second wicket before MS Dhoni, who walked in to bat with India needing 22 off 14 balls, quite fittingly, polished off the chase with an unbeaten six-ball 20 as India won with seven balls to spare. Kohli's credentials in run chases received another fillip as he finished unbeaten on 41.

That the match took place was a miracle, given the amount of rain that lashed Dhaka 90 minutes before start of play. It was a typical spring-time thunderstorm that created puddles across the outfield, but the ground was readied in just over an hour after the rain stopped.

Halfway through the protracted game, India were left with scoring at eight runs per over. They were dented in the second over as Rohit Sharma was snaffled by Soumya Sarkar at slip off Al-Amin Hossain as Bangladesh kept things tight upfront.

Dhawan and Kohli took stock of the situation till the fourth over, before wading into newcomer Abu Hider for three fours to kickstart the chase. Shakib gave away 15 runs in the next over, as

SCOREBOARD

Virat Kohli celebrates after sealing India's win along with MS Dhoni

the pair effortlessly switched gears. Dhawan helped himself to a half-century, even as the Bangladesh bowlers at times tried to do too much, and paid the price.

Only Taskin Ahmed stood out with figures of 1 for 14 off three overs.

That Bangladesh got into a position from where they could entertain hopes of a win was largely due to Mahmudullah's late blitz, an unbeaten 13-ball 33 that took the hosts to 120 after a sluggish start. He started with a straight drill off Ashish Nehra before going inside out against Hardik Pandya to start 14th over that was taken for 21.

Jasprit Bumrah's superb last over, off which he con-

ceded just seven, helped India pull it back. Yet, the star of the first half was R Ashwin, who gave away very little in a 15-over bash that was tailor-made for batsmen to tee off.

Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar took a bit of time to suss the situation, but took three more fours off Nehra in the fourth over.

But Nehra struck to dismiss Sarkar off the last ball to ensure he has taken a wicket in the Powerplay for the eighth game in a row.

Tamim followed three balls later, trapped plumb in front by Jasprit Bumrah.

Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman added 34 runs for the third wicket to briefly lift them, before Shakib top-

(AFP photo)

edged a sweep to short fine leg. He struck three fours in his 16-ball 21.

Mushfiqur Rahim was run-out, while Mortaza, who promoted himself to No. 6 holed out to Kohli at deep square leg off the first ball. At 75 for 5, Bangladesh had lost their way and were in danger of finishing with a sub-par total. But Sabbir broke a 24-ball boundary duck with a nicely timed lap sweep to get them up and running along with Mahmudullah to give the hosts a chance. But on the night, it came as a scant consolation against Dhawan and Kohli, who piloted India home in style. (Cricinfo)

Bangladesh innings Tamim Iqbal lbw b Bumrah 13 Soumya Sarkar c Pandya b Nehra 14 Sabbir Rahman not out 32 Shakib Al Hasanc Bumrah b Ashwin 21 Mushfiqur Rahim† run out (Kohli/†Dhoni) 4 Mashrafe Mortaza* c 0 Kohli b Jadeja Mahmudullah not out 33 3 Extras (w 3) Total(5 wickets; 15 overs) 120 Did not bat: Nasir Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain, Abu Hider, Taskin Ahmed Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-30, 3-64, 4-75, 5-75 Bowling: R Ashwin 3-0-14-1, A Nehra 3-0-33-1, JJ Bumrah 3-0-13-1, RA Jadeja 3-0-251, HH Pandya 3-0-35-0

India innings RG Sharma c Soumya Sarkar b Al-Amin Hossain 1 S Dhawan c Soumya Sarkar b Taskin Ahmed 60 41 V Kohli not out MS Dhoni*†not out 20 Extras 0 Total (2 wickets; 13.5 overs) 122 Did not bat: SK Raina, Yuvraj Singh, HH Pandya, RA Jadeja, R Ashwin, JJ Bumrah, A Nehra Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-99 Bowling: Taskin Ahmed 3-014-1, Al-Amin Hossain 2.50-30-1, Abu Hider,1-0-14-0, Shakib Al Hasan 2-0-26-0, Mashrafe Mortaza 2-0-16-0, Nasir Hossain,3-0-22-0.

GFF/Stag Elite League…

10-man GDF hold off Pele – Buxton United notch first win

EBFA / STAG Senior League….

Defending champs Grove Hi G Tech crush Herstelling Raiders

Tyrone Harper (left) and Dillon Wright

A

Denzil Crawford double set the platform for defending champions Grove Hi Tech to defeat Herstelling Raiders 4-1 in the opening match of the STAG sponsored East Bank Football Association (EBFA) Senior League on Sunday afternoon last at the Grove Playfield.

Denzil Crawford netted the first of his brace on the half hour, a shot that was partially blocked

by Herstelling’s custodian and Captain Quazim Yussuf. With a minute to half time, Crawford was on target again as he beat Yussuf to his left again, the Herstelling defence was caught napping.

Grove, fielding a side primarily made up of Under-18 players started the game scratchy but they found their range as the match progressed. Herstelling Raiders in their second season at the senior level looked a more experienced unit from the

Grove Hi Tech’s Denzil Crawford (#13) scores his second goal against Herstelling Raiders

last competition when they placed seventh out of eight teams.

However, the seasoned nature of the Grove players made the difference between the two sides as the match matured. Herstelling stood firm in the first 30 minutes but could not hold back the home team from taking control.

In the second half, Grove continued to dominate proceedings with Herstelling showing a few signs of brilliance which did not translate itself into goals. Second half substitute Kevin Dalton who ended as the top goal scorer and MVP of the Under-17 League showed his ability to score yet again with a well placed header in

the 70th minute that further strengthened Grove’s hold on the match, 3-0.

Yussuf, a former National Under-17 goalkeeper did not help his and his team’s cause as ordinary work saw a tame shot from Orson Francois sliding under his outstretched body and into the back of the nets with three minutes to full time as Grove took and unassailable 4-0 lead.

Herstelling was able to score a consolation goal in the penultimate minute of the match; Alwyn White sliding the ball into the back of the net despite the efforts of Trevor Jones to deny him after custodian Michael Matthews was beaten.

Matches will continue this Sunday at the same venue. Agricola Red Triangle will square off with Diamond United in the feature match at 15:30hrs, opening play at 13:30hrs brings together Kruru Kururu Warriors and Soesdyke Falcons.

uyana Defence Force (GDF) with just 10-men held off Pele FC to win 1-0 and stemmed their two-match losing streak in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Stag Elite League Finale on Sunday.

Playing at home, the match’s lone goal came off the foot of Alden Lawrence in the 42nd, when Lawrence playing down the left, lobbed the ball over the rushing goalie to put his side in the lead. The army held their nerve after they became a bit ragged in the final half as in the 68th Kenard Simon received his second yellow card and was sent off the field.

Though in the dying minutes of the game Travis Grant had a goal declared off-side, the GDF side simply outplayed Pele.

In the earlier match, Buxton United notched their first win in the League Finale when they defeated the Georgetown Football Club 3-2.

Buxton took an early lead when Dillon Wright scored in the 19th but GFC quickly responded as Peter Parks scored in the 21st.

In the 52nd Linden

Pickett netted a penalty to put the Bourda side ahead but Wright took a free-kick which deflected off the keep-

Alden Lawrence

er and Tryone Harper scored in the 62nd to equalize the match.

Both teams continued to battle for another goal but Wright who was having a phenomenal night hit the back of the net in the 79th.

The league continues on Wednesday at the Tucville Ground, where Alpha United will play Slingerz from 19:00hrs and then Monedderlust tackle FrutaConquerors from 21:00h.

21

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Cameron, who expressed surprise at Russell's rule violation given efforts of the board to inform players of WADA requirements, also stated that Russell has the full support of the board.

"We have Ayana Cooper (WICB player relations officer), who is on board, on staff and that is exactly one of the reasons she is there for: To support the players directly on those things," stated Cameron.

"We have to now move to try and support him in ensuring whatever sanctions we can mitigate."

The big-hitting Russell guided Islamabad United to the inaugural Pakistan

Super League title last month. He was also named man of the tournament.

He also helped Sydney Thunder win the Australia Big Bash League, Kolkata Knight Riders the Indian Premier League and Jamaica Tallawahs the Caribbean Premier League.

He is also in talks with Nottinghamshire in a bid to represent them in this year's England T20 Blast tournament.

According to WADA rules, athletes must tell their local anti-doping agency, where they will be for at least one hour each day, to accommodate out-of-competition drug tests. (Jamaica Gleaner)

Edghill upsets Britton L

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Andre Russell

National Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships…

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est Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Whycliffe 'Dave' Cameron has disclosed that West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell will not be pulled from the West Indies team for the upcoming ICC World T20 World Cup. The Windies are currently preparing for the upcoming tournament to be held in India.

Russell, an anticipated key figure in the West Indies push to regain the World Twenty20 crown, recently missed three out-ofcompetition drug tests over a 12-month period, which under World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) rules equates to a positive finding and carries a suspension of two years for a first offence.

The 27-year-old, according to Cameron, is to face an independent panel of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission after the March 8 to April 3 tournament.

"Mr Russell is not suspended as he will play in the World T20," Cameron said, following the annual general meeting of the WICB at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel at the weekend.

"The matter has been sent to an independent panel for hearing, and that will be done after the tournament."

– Jackman, Ninvalle dominate

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ocal star Shemar Britton fell to Kyle Edghill in a competitive 18 years and under boy’s round robin final when the National Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships concluded on Sunday evening at the National Gymnasium.

With a star-studded round robin final featuring Edghill, Britton, Miguel Wong, Elishaba Johnson, Nicholus Romain, Sheldon Atherley, Jamaal Nicholas and Yeudistir Persaud, Edhill played to six wins and one loss to capture the title.

Edghill defeated Britton 3-1, Wong 3-0, Nicholus Romain 3-1, Sheldon Atherley (Bartica) 3-0, Yeudistir Persaud 3-0, Jamaal Nicholas 3-0 and lost to lost to Johnson 1-3.

Britton settled for second losing to Edghill while

defeating Wong, Johnson, Romain, Atherley, Persaud and Nicholas.

Third went to Wong he defeated Johnson, Romain, Atherley, Persaud and Nicholas.

Fourth place went to Johnson who defeated Edghill, Romain, Atherley, Persaud and Nicholas.

In the junior girls 18 years and under round robin finals Selenas Jackman defeated Nevaeh Clarkston 3-1, Aneka Phillips 3-2 and Dovanna Bess 3-2 to claim the title.

Jackman also took the girls 15 years and under title by defeating Nevaeh Clarkston 3-0 in the final.

The junior Boys 15 years and under round robin final was won by the gifted Nicholus Romain who defeated 11 year old Kaysan Ninvalle who brought second 3-0, Vicente Henery 3-0 and Terrence Rausch

3-0. Second place went to Ninvalle, third to Henry and fourth Rausch.

Ninvalle, however, was dominant in the boy’s 11 and 13 years and under categories winning both titles with 3-0 and 3-1 wins respectively against Dhanesh Persaud and Niron Bissu respectively.

In the 13 years and under girls final: Clarkston defeated Martin 3-0 while the 11 years and under girls was won by Thuraia Thomas who defeated Kassia Liverpool 3-0.

The nine years and under round robin final was won by Colin Wong who defeated, Alexandre DeAbru, Dhanesh Persaud, Christopher Shepperd and Paul David Bess.

Jonathon Van Lange and Tahira Stall were the winners of the Novices male and female categories respectively.

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

TUESday, march 8, 2016

ICC confident of IndiaRavens, Pacesetters Pakistan security resolution Road to Mecca III…

D

grab big wins –VVR edge Rockers

By T reiston J oseph

R

ound of 16 action in the Road to Mecca III National Club Basketball Championship concluded on Sunday with teams delivering blowouts at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH).

Defending Champs, Trinity Grid Holding (TGH) Pacesetters played their first game of the tournament and tore into the Eagles with an 86-68 victory.

Their up-tempo style of play was too much for the Eagles squad who found it hard to find the bottom of the net.

Nathan Saul shot the ball well for the Pacesetters to finish with 16 points while Joslyn Crawford also had 16 points in the win.

Travis Burnett and randy Richards also contributed 13 and 11 points respectively.

Scoring for the eagles came from Travis Belgrave with 15 points while Kevin Wiggins and Mark Wills had 14 and 10 points respectively.

Linden’s Victory Valley Royals (VVR) made their presence felt with a thrilling 7268 win against Berbice’s Smythfield Rockers.

Trevor Profit dropped

Ryan Gullen

Dominic Vincente

21 points in the win for VVR while Harold Adams and Rawle Beckles had 14 and 12 points respectively.

Michael Bowen had a team high 17 points while Neil Wills scored 14 points in the loss.

The final game of the evening saw Dynas Ravens routing Banker Trust Flacons 83-52 to easily advance to the quarterfinal round.

Raven’s ability to play from the post as well as to run the fast break proved vital in routing of the Falcons.

Rebounding the basketball was also a crucial part of Raven’s game as they put in extra work on the boards.

Dominic Vincente led all scorers with 19 points while Ryan Gullen had 18 points eight boards and five assists. Ryan Stephney was also feeling it form the field and dropped 15 points 11 boards to go along with five assists. Tyrone Hamid also scored 14 points and collected eight rebounds.

Scoring for the Falcons came from Lawrence Simon with 13 points and 11 rebounds while Dale Sauers had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Akeel Primo also scored 11 points to go along with 15 rebounds.

Action in the quarterfinal round will continue on March 11 at the CASH.

Fitzgerald, Smartt dominate in darts

S

udesh Fitzgerald continues to display his accuracy as Guyana’s best darts player with yet another win on Friday at the Malteenoes Sports Club.

The Guyana Darts Association (GDA) who held another of their monthly tournaments saw Fitzgerald teaming with Melissa Smartt to easily defeat Anil Latchman sr and jr in the “Luck of the Draw”.

The losing semifinalists were Nicholas Seetaram and Luis Ramirez-Merlano as well as Jamwant Bhupan and Victorine Chandro.

In the team event

Sudesh Fitzgerald

Ramirez-Merlano, A Singh Latchman jr defeated the team of Latchman sr, Delon Correia and Terence Joseph.

Surprisingly the team comprising of Fitzgerald, Smartt and Seetaram placed third in the team category.

avid Richardson, the ICC chief executive, has expressed confidence that the IndiaPakistan match will take place in Dharamsala as scheduled on March 19 despite there being security concerns over the venue.

Richardson was speaking in Delhi on the same day that a two-member team from Pakistan visited Dharamsala to assess the security arrangements for the World T20.

"Challenges in respect to those two venues, they are there," Richardson said of Dharamsala and Delhi, a venue that has had severe administrative problems.

"But we are dealing with those problems. The venues were decided a year back and all arrangements are in place to stage the matches at those two venues.

"These challenges have reasons not through the fault of the BCCI or the ICC. But the fact is that we are dealing with these and we are confident that the matches will proceed at those two

The International Cricket Council headquarters

venues. The Indian government has shown a commitment to make sure that adequate security measures are in place at all the venues for all the teams."

According to a PTI report, Federal Investigation Agency Lahore director Usman Anwar and PCB chief security officer Azam Khan arrived in India via the Wagah border and left for Dharamsala on Monday. Their report will have a crucial impact on whether the PCB clears its men's and women's teams

for travel to India on March 9 for the World T20.

The Pakistan government had initially granted the PCB permission to play in India, but the board decided to put the visit on hold until they were guaranteed foolproof security. The PCB's move was prompted by the Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh expressing his state government's difficulty in providing security for the India-Pakistan match.

(Cricinfo)

WADA dismayed by new TV allegations on Russian doping

T

he World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was dismayed by revelations in a German TV documentary that contained fresh allegations of malpractice in Russia's anti-doping system and is urgently seeking confirmation, it said on Monday.

Amongst the claims in Sunday's ARD program were that Russian coaches suspended in the worst corruption and doping scandal to hit the sport were still working in athletics, while others continued to provide banned substances to athletes.

"WADA has viewed and is dismayed by the revelations in yesterday’s television documentary (which) contains new allegations suggesting malpractice by a number of individuals involved in the Russian antidoping system," WADA said in a statement.

"WADA will verify these allegations and, in particular, seek confirmation as to when the evidence was collected."

Russia has been suspended from international track and field in the wake of a report exposing widespread cheating and corruption and has been ordered by world athletics' governing body, the International Association of Athletics' Federations (IAAF), and WADA, to show evidence

The inside of WADA’s head office

of a change of culture and practice in fighting doping.

The country, second only to the United States in the sport's pecking order, will be allowed to return to competition, including this year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, only when it can prove to WADA and the IAAF that it has met a series of conditions regarding its anti-doping operation.

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko on Sunday dismissed the latest TV claims, telling Reuters: "These facts have once again been taken out of context and are an attempt to mislead the public.

"We have a huge country, with 83 regions. It is possible that a banned coach could be working somewhere, but certainly not with the national team and not at official events."

WADA president Craig

Reedie, however, said questions needed to be answered.

"At a time when trust in sport is wafer thin, these troubling assertions will do little to reinforce confidence in the Russian anti-doping system when clean athletes need it most," he said.

"The next important step is to install two international experts in Russia to ensure that the anti-doping system is free of undue interference and is fully independent.

"I will not hesitate to act swiftly to ensure that any breaches to the (WADA) Code are dealt with firmly and expeditiously.

"Strong and decisive action by all sporting authorities is imperative if clean athletes, and indeed the public at large, are to retain belief in the integrity of sport." (Reuters Sport)

guyanatimesGY.com

TUESDAY, march 8, 2016

23

Chanderpauls entertain Joe Vieira Park with 190-run partnership I

t was a classic case of “dad, you taught me well” when Tagenarine “Brandon”Chanderpaul out scored his father in an entertaining 190 runs partnership which gave Tiger XI a hard fought victory over Independence Sports Club on Sunday at Joe Vieira Park, West Bank Demerara.

The special T20 match was organized by the executives and members of Independence Sports Club (ISC) to honour the outstanding Guyanese cricketer Shivnarine “Tiger” Chanderpaul. Upon his arrival, the batting great was greeted by scores of fans mainly from La Grange and other parts of West Bank Demerara with a huge and colourful garland and lots of cameras.

When the match got on the way Tiger XI opted to bat in windy but sunny conditions. As Shiv was making his way to the middle to have a bat, the fielding side made a human arch for “Tiger” to walk through. When he got to the crease Tiger XI were 5/1 in the first over with his son, Tagenarine at the nonstrikers end on a single. The younger Chanderpaul, who was referred to by the vo-

Ta g e n a r i n e C h a n d e r p a u l leaving the field after his innings at the Joe Vieira Park

cal supporters as the “Cub,” then got to work.

The outfield was dry and grassless which made fielding very difficult but Tagenarine got value for his powerful shots on the two paced track by clearing the straight boundaries at will. In all, the younger Chanderpaul hit 10 sixes and 11 fours as he carried his bat through the innings to end on 124*. His first 50 runs came at a much more sedate pace and when he got

West Demerara President’s Cup…

Akshaya Persaud’s blitz powers CICC to win

Persaud raises his bat after his century

N

ational youth player and all-rounder Akshaya Persaud struck a whirl wiled 160 off just 52 to register his first century in Twenty20 cricket to help Corneilia Idea Cricket Club (CICC) to an emphatic 38-run win over Multicultural Sports Club (MSC) at Meten-Meer-Zorg.

The left-handed batsman hit eleven fours and sixteen sixes in his torment of all the bowlers to help CICC reach 234-4 off their allotted

20 overs.

Richie Looknauth 39 (4x4s) and Ameer Khan 15 (2x6s) chipped in with useful contributions.

In response MSC folded on 196 all out as A. Dejong hit a rapid 91 with nine fours and six sixes; T. Frant 34 (1x4;4x6s) and M. Albert 30 (2x4s;3x6s).

Khan took 4-15 from three overs while Naveed Ali picked up 4-9 from two overs.

to 50 his dad was 39*. Shiv played the main supporting role by giving Brandon the strike who made full use of the opportunity on a small outfield. When Shiv holed out to long on in the final over for 56 with two towering sixes and four sweetly timed fours Brandon was on 124* and Tiger XI 195/2.

The partnership was worth 190 and was worth the spectators braving the midday sun.

Saeed Mohammed joined Brandon with 3 balls in the innings remaining and took the score to 204/2 including a savage pull shot for six that almost disappeared on the public road just off of the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

Mahendra Dhanpaul 1/43

from 4 overs and Sheik Bacchus 1/30 from three overs were successful with the ball for ISC. Some purposeful batting from the home team and ordinary fielding from the visitors saw ISC being restricted to 186/5 from their allotment of 20 overs giving Tiger XI victory in fading light by 18 runs. Independence Sports Club skipper Sarfraz Esau played delightfully for a top score of 62 with 5 sixes and 3 fours and was admirably supported by Dhanpaul 34 and opener Vivian Beckles 31. Brandon returned with the ball to claim two wickets for 39 runs with Vishal Arjune (2/34) and Shiv (1/29) sharing the other wickets that fell.

The father-son duo of Shivnarine and Tagenarine

TUESday, march 8, 2016

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

Edghill upsets Britton

Pg 21 The winners of the 2016 National Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships pose after the presentation ceremony

EBFA / STAG Senior League….

Defending champs Grove Hi Tech crush Herstelling Raiders Pg 20

Kevin Dalton (#15) of Grove Hi Tech rises above the Herstelling Raiders defence to head the ball into the back of the net for his side’s third goal

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