Guyana Times Daily

Passenger traffic at CJIA skyrocketed for Jubilee celebrations P2

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

Issue No. 2880

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Thursday, June 9, 2016

PRICE

10 arrested after cocaine found in frozen fish at CJIA

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Miner dies after boat slams into tree stump

Page 7

Taxi driver Drivers bemoan DHB 100% toll increase beaten, robbed

Page 3 Page 7

$80 VAT INCLUDED

Page 3

Region 5 communities remain under water

P9

Region 1 P2 economy depressed over stalled projects … Chairman fears funds will be returned to Treasury

Page 12

“I can go anywhere, P5 it is my responsibility!”

– Dr Ramayya … says NA Hospital CEO was disrespectful, arrogant

– regional officials meet residents, farmers

NCN defends $2M debt write-off for Director’s NGO Page 9

Parking meter debacle

Cabinet gives green light to over $2B in contracts

“I have a right to speak” – Deputy Mayor P11

Page 17

Carjacker P12 sentenced to 18 months

2 NEWS

THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Region 1 economy depressed over stalled projects Passenger traffic at … Chairman fears funds will be returned to Treasury CJIA skyrocketed for Jubilee celebration T

he continuous failure of the Regional Procurement and Tender Administration Board to meet on a regular basis and award contracts is severely affecting the performance of the economy in Region One (Barima-Waini).

Regional Chairman Brentnol Ashley during an interview with Guyana Times expressed that the state of the region’s economy is extremely worrisome, owing to the fact that economic activities which are normally driven by the awarding of contracts are at a standstill.

He explained that the Regional Executive Officer (REO) Leslie Wilburg, who is also the Chairman of the Board, and therefore has the responsible for calling the meetings, has not been doing so. This has resulted in the delay in commencement of various projects earmarked for completion this year.

“We’re already in the sixth month of the year and we have seen no movement and this is a major concern,” Ashley lamented, noting that if the contracts are not awarded before the presentation of the next budget, the monies allocated to the region will have to be returned to the Consolidated Fund.

“There is no guarantee we will get that money back and no guarantee the budget will be higher than the current budget. The first thing that the Planning Secretary will say is that if you can’t spend $1 then why are you now asking for $15? They

Region One Regional Chairman Brentnol Ashley

might very well cut you down to 5 cents or 50 cents…

Government committed to having budget 2017 ready this year so there is no such place for rollover projects.

So if you don’t do the project then the money goes back to the Consolidated Fund and the development of the region will be one step backward rather than forward,” he explained.

The Regional Chairman disclosed that there are a number of projects that should have been at least 50 per cent completed by now, but have not yet commenced.

Some of these projects include rehabilitation works to schools, bridges leading to schools, health centres, roads as well as the construction of health institutions and schools.

In Waramuri-Moruca community, residents have been calling for a new secondary school, however no moves have been made to

address this concern.

The Regional Chairman explained that every day, the number of students attending the existing school keeps increasing, adding that there is a genuine need for a new educational institution in the area.

Also, in the new township of Mabaruma, the health institution there is without an ambulance and no moves have been made to procure one.

According to Ashley, there is a minibus with the name “ambulance” printed on it; however, the vehicle lacks the amenities of an ambulance.

“This is a major concern to me and the region as a whole,” Ashley emphasised, noting that the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) will be hosting a series of meetings aimed at discovering the reasons for these projects to be moving at a snail’s pace and what measures can be put in place to address the issues.

“We have communities that are suffering for proper bridges, health institutions, infrastructure for schooling, proper roads and it is not that provisions are not there but rather because the provisions are not being utilised in a meaningful way and in a timelier manner,” he noted.

In relation to the awarding of contracts in the region, Ashley pointed out that another major issue is the fact that a sole contractor receives a number of projects and because of this, substandard works are be-

ing delivered or deadlines are not being met.

“When a contractor gets a number of projects, the manner in which they are done and secondly the timeframe for them to be completed. Right now we have a number of outstanding projects from last year that we needs to be completed, that have not yet started,” he stated.

He also contended that the awarding of contracts to a single contractor is not beneficial to the development of village economies.

“I believe that in the good conscience of the tender board, I believe that equal opportunities should be provided to every person in the region so that we can revitalize our regional economy by resuscitating our village economies that are already stagnated,” he stated.

Ashley acknowledged that the work of the tender board is governed by the law, but he pointed out that provisions of justifications can be made for the awarding of contracts to those who have not bid the lowest.

“In a vast region like Region One, one supplier should not be earmarked to serving the entire region…

Even though that would be the lowest bidder, there is still provisions for justifications for the service be done by someone else in a specific sub region. I would prefer that they do the justification rather than awarding the lowest bidder,” he stated.

In this way, he explained, everyone can benefit.

CJIA records an 80.3% increase in passenger arrivals for Jubilee month

G

uyana’s main port of entry, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) has recorded a significant boost in passenger traffic during the 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations.

According to the Airport’s Statistics Department, there was an 80.3 per cent increase in passenger traffic at the CJIA at the end of last month when compared to May 2015.

The data shows that some 27,353 passengers arrived last month compared to 15,173 passengers for the same period in 2015.

Meanwhile, figures for the year to date, that is, from January to the end of May, have revealed that there was a 15 per cent increase in passenger arrivals compared to 2015, with a total of 102,110 passenger ar-

rivals, while total passenger movement during the fivemonth period was recorded as 206,965.

The CJIA noted that the large influx of passengers was credited to Guyana celebrating its Jubilee anniversary as an independent nation on May 26, 2016. A plethora of events were organised leading up to the momentous day hence the high influx of passengers during that month.

Commercial airlines such as Caribbean Airlines, Dynamic Airways, COPA, Surinam Airways, Fly Jamaica and Insel Air all recorded surges in passenger movement for the month.

CJIA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ramesh Ghir disclosed that the Airport’s stakeholders partnered with management to guarantee a smooth arrival process.

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thursDAY, june 9, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, June 9 – 05:00h-06:30h and Friday, June 10 – 08:30h-10:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, June 9 – 06:55h-08:25h and Friday, June 10 – 07:35h-09:05h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Light to thundery rain showers can be expected in the morning, followed by thundery and heavy rain showers in the afternoon. Partly cloudy conditions with light rain showers can be expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly between 2.68 metres per second and 4.02 metres per second.

High Tide: 07:16h and 19:49h reaching maximum heights of 2.56 metres and 2.40 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 00:49h and 13:20h reaching minimum heights of 0.76 metre and 0.68 metre respectively.

wednesday, June 8, 2016

LOTTERY NUMBERS H

13 14 15 19 22 25 23 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

Daily Millions

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

Drivers bemoan 100% DHB toll increase

T

he Government is being criticised for a decision to double the toll paid by cars and motor cycles to traverse the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

Director of Public Information, in the office of the Prime Minister, Imran Khan was quoted in the media as saying that motor cars will now pay $200 to cross the bridge, up from the $100 paid previously, while motorcycles will not pay $40. They previously paid $20.

Minibus tolls remained at $200 per crossing.

While it is unclear when the new increases will take effect, some taxi drivers who ply several routes to Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) from the outskirts of Georgetown on Wednesday described the increase as “unreasonable”.

One driver, Moses (only name given) noted that passengers who cross the bridge will be burdened.

“It would put pressure on the customer; gas is a next thing… I say like a 20 per cent increase would be better,” he noted.

It was also explained that at present, passengers pay between $500 and $700 to cross the bridge by taxi, but with imminent increases in the tolls and gas, fares could be hiked to as much as $1000.

Petwam Singh, a father of four, operating taxi for over seven years said high maintenance costs, coupled with the increased tolls will pressure both drivers and commuters.

“We traverse 14 to 15 times a daily if you have to take a passenger from this side to other side for $500, what gas you gonna

Aubrey Sanko

with the increase, noting that toll hikes are in keeping with “development”.

“I don’t have a problem with the increase… if this is the way it got to be for us to have development or progress, it is okay with me,” Sanko observed.

When asked if he would increase his car fares with the toll increase, the driver maintained that he would not.

Some persons selling around the Harbour Bridge noted that the increase is justified saying that toll has remained the same for

Commuters discussing the issue

leff with and [what will be left] for yourself,” he questioned.

“The increase in gas will be worse on us [and] when the tolls increase we [will charge] $1000 and consumers will not feel good [about paying the increase],” Singh further opined.

It was also noted that with the expense of having to purchase new tyres, there should be better maintenance of the roads.

Meanwhile, Aubrey Sanko, a driver for 15 years, indicated that he does not see the problem

many years.

The 37-year-old bridge linking East Bank and West Bank Demerara is accounting for millions of dollars in maintenance costs

Petwam Singh

on a yearly basis. While the Bridge raked in some $519 million in 2015, over $2 billion was allotted for its maintenance between 2010 and 2015.

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guyana-times.com

thursdAY, june 9, 2016

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

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

Editorial

Rights and duties

O

ne of the challenges to nation-building that is not discussed widely enough is, ironically, the focus of the United Nations and other institutions of the modern state system on “human rights”. Because of the universal adoption of the UN Declaration of Human Rights and its adoption into national statutory binding laws with nary a mention of “human duties”, a situation has been fostered where individuals are simply driven to exercise those rights. Upon being pressed, they may concede that each “right” implies a correlative “duty”, but the latter is lost in the shuffle.

However, even the most cursory reflection on the reality of human rights suggests this imbalance creates an untenable situation. For instance, unless rights of citizens are backed up by a duty of the state to enforce them, they are simply aspirational. And if the state does fulfil its duty to enforce the rights of its citizens – say to insist the forces of law and order ensure citizens are not subject to violent assaults by other citizens – do not citizens have a duty to pay their taxes so the forces of law and order can be compensated?

At one time, almost all societies via the “religions” they practised – Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Confucianism and African religions – focused on the duties of individuals rather than their rights. But in the West at least, this led to great abuses when the ruling strata used their “might” to ensure the duties only flowed upwards. While in theory, the feudal lords might have a duty to their serfs, who was going to apply sanctions on the former if they lapsed? The struggle for “rights” was therefore launched within the “Enlightenment” to correct this state of affairs first as movements for reform in the 17th Century in Europe and then via revolutions at the end of the 18th.

But the emphasis on duties did not just disappear immediately: in fact, they were used to inculcate the new privileging of individual “human rights”. For instance, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789 – stressing “life, liberty and fraternity” has its counterpart in the 1795 Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and Citizen of 1795. It noted pertinently: “The maintenance of society requires that those who compose it should both know and fulfil their duties.” But with the passage of time, the baby was thrown out with the bathwater and henceforth, the “Rights of Man” held centre stage.

The flaw in the argument for individual rights lies in eliding the fact that man is not a solitary being but a social one. And the exigencies of that existence demand the necessary reciprocity of expectations to coordinate the activities of the collective for its survival be sustained through corresponding rights and duties. The right to drive one’s car on the road implied the duty to drive on one mutually agreed side, so that anarchy does not become the norm. But, unfortunately, even though the individual right to accumulate at the expense of the collective has led to an ever-widening gap between “the haves and the have-nots”, the duty that is implicit in distributive justice even in the welfare state has not offered a vocabulary to make duty as fundamental as rights.

Of recent, the reintroduction of “duties” of man is coming from an unexpected quarter: environmentalism.

Part and parcel of the post-Enlightenment insistence on the “rights of man” was man’s “dominion” over the earth and his right to “exploit” it as he saw fit. While there were early reactions against such thinking, notably among the 19th Century Romantics, they were dismissed as “idealists”. But with the earth facing a catastrophic climatic disaster, there is now a growing awareness that man also has a duty towards his environment.

We have to transpose that global concern to our local Guyanese circumstance. We each have to be our brother’s keeper or we all face disaster.

Russian Ambassador Nikolay Smirnov along with President David Granger and First Lady Sandra Granger share a toast in observation of the Russian Federation’s National Day at a reception on Wednesday evening at the Russian Embassy

It’s time to charge, prosecute litterbugs Dear Editor, There is a growing garbage dumping problem which is getting worse daily. Streets, roads, playgrounds, school compounds, trenches, canals, and every conceivable place have become the dumping grounds for these litterbugs.

These people have no conscience and no sense of civic responsibility. They feel that society, the NGOs, the NDCs, the municipalities, and the Government should be cleaning and disposing of their filth and garbage all the time and they have no responsibility to dispose of their garbage.

This littering problem is caused by human beings and is a serious environmental problem in Guyana. It can seriously affect our quality of life. This Government and the previous Government have been waging a continuous and never-ending battle against this man-made problem.

On October 30, 2013, the then Minister of

Natural Resources and the Environment signed the legal supplement to the Environmental Protection Act 1996 (No 11 of 1996), which appeared in the Official Gazette on November 16, 2013.

According to this EPA Litter Regulation, it became an offence to commit certain acts. Regulation 3 makes it an offence to deposit litter in a public place without reasonable excuse. The penalty for committing this offence is $50,000 in case of an individual and $100,000 in case of a company.

Regulation 2 deals with disposal of litter from motor vehicles or trailer. It states that a person who transports in or on a motor vehicle or trailer along any motorway, road, street, alley, lane, mall or thoroughfare, any substance or material which is likely to fall off or blow off the motor vehicle or trailer is guilty of the offence of littering. The fines are the same as above.

Regulation 3 states that if the owner of a bus or taxi fails to provide in a convenient place in his vehicle one or more receptacles for the deposit of litter, he is guilty of an offence and the fine is $15,000.

Regulation 4 states that a person who throws down, drops or otherwise deposits and leaves any litter in or into any premises owned or occupied by another without consent of that person is guilty of an offence and the fine is $30,000. The Regulations also state that it shall be the duty of all officers and constables of the Guyana Police Force to assist in carrying the provisions into effect. The Regulations also provided for the use of wardens to enforce the same.

However, to my dismay, some of the Police Stations are not even aware of the existence of these EPA Regulations and how they can prosecute alleged offenders.

Therefore, I would like to see the relevant authority ed-

ucating the Guyana Police Force and the other agencies about their roles in charging and prosecuting offenders. This will go a long way in keeping our environment clean, healthy and litter-free.

It costs us a fortune to keep our environment garbage-free and it is time that the perpetrators of this nastiness are made to pay.

Lastly, I would like to compliment Mr Amarnauth Jaggernauth, a businessman of Chesney, who have spent thousands of dollars to clean the trench in the area which was so full of garbage and filth dumped by some residents in the said area. I do hope that the residents will keep the place clean in the future and that other businessmen can assist to clean their respective areas.

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf Chairman (Kilcoy/ Hampshire NDC)

I am not in the company of naysayers Dear Editor, Guyana Sugar Corporation’s Senior Communications Officer, Audreyanna Thomas’ letter, published on June 4, 2016 captioned “Ramotar confused business with politics on GuySuCo” seeks to vilify former President Donald Ramotar. My response to Thomas’ letter is not to lecture Thomas on journalistic ethics but to make reference to two points in the letter.

The letter states, in part, “in order to come to any intelligent conclusion about the prospects of GuySuCo, one has to examine how the Corporation got to this stage, and how it was governed and managed in the past as against how it is currently governed and managed”, and further “it went through a gradual process of deterioration of systems and structures, which included poor leadership and management” – “an industry that has undergone a systematic process of decay”.

Editor, the foregoing statements would give the impression to the ordinary man-inthe-street that the current cadre of management are completely new to the sugar company and so it’s an absolute necessity to investigate, probe and research on what went wrong with the company to make it become what it is today. But this is just a ‘hoodwink’ strategy. The fact of the matter is that the two members of the interim management, Errol Hanoman and Paul Bhim are two previous Chief Executive Officers of the same company not too long ago. Hanoman was a senior representative of the management consultants, Booker Tate, responsible for the affairs of GuySuCo, and after Booker Tate was removed in 2008, was appointed the CEO in 2009. He demitted this position in mid-2010 and Paul Bhim was appointed CEO until he was removed in 2014.

Under Bhim’s leadership, GuySuCo recorded its low-

est production in 23 years, when 186,000 tonnes sugar was produced in 2013.These gentlemen cannot so easily absolve themselves from the current financial travesty facing the industry. It was Bhim, as the CEO, who reported to the Economic Services Commission in 2014 that GuySuCo has incurred a debt of a whopping G$58 billion. If the company is now asserting that it “went through a gradual deterioration of systems and structures, which included poor leadership and management” and a “systematic process of decay”, then they must take ownership as being part of the said deterioration process. It was only through poor leadership and management that the company recorded its worst production and financial performances from 2009 to 2014. The average production between 2009 and 2014 (the era of Paul Bhim and Errol Hanoman as CEOs) was 218,000 tonnes when compared with the pre-

vious five years (2003- 2008) of 272,000 tonnes.

The letter further states “these pensioners of whom Mr Ramotar speaks are highly qualified and experienced Guyanese” and “muster a cadre of the best minds in the sugar industry”. I would wish for the Corporation to show one iota of any successful intervention of any one of the “highly qualified and experienced best minds in the sugar industry”, who are now consultants, for the time they previously spent in GuySuCo before becoming consultants.

Editor, I am not in the “company of naysayers” as Thomas is implying Mr Ramotar has joined. I am in the company of those who would wish for a turnaround of the sugar industry, so that the lives of all sugar workers could be improved, and not to see them joining the breadline.

Yours faithfully, Fredrick Yuvraj

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THURSDAY, june 9, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Essequibians educated “I can go anywhere, it is my on Juvenile Justice Bill responsibility!” – Dr Ramayya – call for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised

By Indrawattie Natram

A

public consultation was on Wednesday held in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) at the Richard Faikal Police College in Suddie to educate persons on the draft Juvenile Justice Bill 2015.

The consultation was the third of its kind and was a collaborative effort between the Public Security Ministry and UNICEF. Delivering opening remarks was Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt who said that the consultation should be standardised so that agencies and key stakeholders can express their views on the Bill.

Speaking to key stakeholders, which included the heads of various youth groups, members of the

er and inter-agency approach, and thorough networking, recommending that the Minister with responsibility for youth be the main advocate for sensitisation on the Bill.

According to Ramdatt, most of the probation reports on juvenile cases lack quality and often young victims are wrongfully sentenced to the NOC. This, he said, can be eliminated with proper understanding and investigations.

Often, he noted, children are being sent to the NOC for minor offences such as "wandering", while other offenders spent less than a year at the NOC which he believes is insufficient time to socially rehabilitate them. Ramdatt said a key component of the Bill should be education and ways in which the teens’ lives could become mean-

the first and second consultation on the draft of the Juvenile Justice Bill in Georgetown and New Amsterdam respectively.

Expounding on the purpose of the Bill, Samuels said it was to amend and consolidate the law in relation to criminal justice for juveniles as well as to provide establishment facilities for custody, education and rehabilitation for juvenile offenders and to repeal the Juvenile Offenders Act and the Training Schools Act. The consultations, he said, are expected to strengthen the existing draft and spur action for reforms/discussion in areas such as alternatives to sentences, the removal of status offences such as wandering, increasing the age of criminal responsibility and greater account-

A section of the gathering that attended the draft Juvenile Justice Bill 2015 consultation

Police Force; representatives of the Region Two Administration, Suddie Public Hospital, and New Opportunity Corps (NOC) and Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) officials, Ramdatt said he was happy members of the NOC were involved in such consultations.

The Regional Chairman noted that the age of criminal responsibility in Guyana was 10 years and he believed this should be raised. He opined that for the Bill to be passed, there must be a multi-stakehold-

ingful through a business trade.

He also recommended Government should play a role in providing quality infrastructure/holding facilities for children who are being sanctioned. He called on major stakeholders to express their views on the draft bill before it is passed, noting anything that involved children was important.

Representing the Public Security Ministry was Courtney Samuels who said on April 27 and May 11, the Ministry convened

ability and action across all sectors for the prevention of, treatment for and response to children in contact with the law.

The Bill, he said, also plays a pivotal role in ensuring that detention is used as an absolute last resort, and there are programmes which promote prevention of children in contact with the law. The draft Juvenile Justice Bill is a comprehensive document which will tackle significant issues related to juvenile justice in Guyana.

TUNN TO PAGE 17

… says NA Hospital CEO was disrespectful, arrogant

By Devina Samaroo

A

fter being unceremoniously ordered out of the New Amsterdam Hospital’s compound on Friday by the facility’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Colin Bynoe, the Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) Regional Executive Officer (REO), Dr Veerasammy Ramayya is hoping someone from central government pays heed to the situation, noting that it was utter disrespect to his authority and capacity in the region.

During an interview with Guyana Times on Wednesday, Dr Ramayya stoutly emphasised that he does not need to follow a protocol to enter the Hospital and that generally, representatives of regional organisations would be happy for him to visit and offer advice.

Reflecting on the series of events in the lead up to the “kick out”, Ramayya explained that he was informed that the operating theatre was not working and therefore, surgeries were cancelled.

As a result, he went to the hospital to investigate the matter.

When he arrived, he said the CEO nor the Director of Regional Health Services Jevaughn Stephens were present.

“They were apparently in the Boardroom… so when I went in there, I wanted to know what was the problem, so somebody from the hospital maybe called him to say I was there… I can’t recall if he said ‘good morning’ or not, so the man walk straight to me and said ‘REO I want to see you in my office!” Ramayya related.

The REO said he was in for a surprise. “I sat there and he started to give me a lecture about if I want to go to the hospital, I am supposed to follow protocol.

Whenever I want to visit the hospital, he has to be aware and Jevaughn has to be aware. As the REO, I don’t see where I have to meet that demand,” Ramayya insisted.

He posited that it is an insult to his authority in the region.

“This is the arrogance of that man… That is disrespectful because although he is the CEO of the hospi-

REO Dr Veerasammy Ramayya

tal, I as the REO, I can go anywhere, this is my responsibility,” he declared.

Ramayya contended that the CEO seems to have a personal vendetta against him because of his televised broadcasts, which sometimes highlights irregularities at the health institution.

“I am on television, if something [is] wrong with the hospital, I am going to speak out because that is what I did for 23 years…

And under my supervision, if something is wrong I will talk about it,” he posited, disclosing that many things are wrong with the operations of the hospital under the stewardship of Bynoe.

However, he did not divulge further details except that the CEO has a long record of insulting and verbally abusing hospital staff.

In April, the Chairman of the Regional Health Committee, Haseef Yusuf reported that there had been several complaints issued against the CEO who allegedly has been verbally abusive to visitors and staff of the institution.

Yusuf also alleged that there was also a report that the CEO had physically abused a doctor at the institution. Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton has advised that the doctor report the matter to Police.

The issue was raised at a recent Regional Democratic Council (RDC) meeting and Director of Regional Health Services defended Bynoe saying that the doctor was not assaulted.

“I investigated a matter which was proved not to be

true, the same doctor came and said he is sorry because of his interpretation of the issue. I personally called the Police and told them to expect the doctor to come to make a report. I did that from my office in front of the ‘complainee’ and the other guy.”

The matter had also been reported to Minister of State Joseph Harmon on April 22, during the Ministry of the Presidency Outreach Programme at State House in New Amsterdam.

However, Stephens said he was now forced to deal with several other matters involving the CEO. “There are several complaints of a said nature. I can assure you that these complaints are being taken seriously. Before I came here this morning, I had to deal with a said complaint. I have engaged the Minister of Health and his Ministry to deal with that matter. There is nothing that comes to my desk or my office that I intend to push under the carpet.”

Regional Chairman David Armogan had also asked the Public Health Minister to investigate the matter involving the CEO. Meanwhile, prompted on how he intends to address the situation moving forward, Ramayya hinted that central government, after seeing the report in the media, should investigate the matter.

“It is there, the people in Georgetown, they have seen it (the report), let them do something about it. Let them come and find out what are the reasons for this to happen,” he stated.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016

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guyana-times.com

Foundation

The case for summer school for children – sure, the living’s easy, but experts say that’s why children fall behind in, well, everything. Here’s how to decide what kind of summer learning programme is best for your child

By Linda Rodgers

Yay or nay to summer education?

ou don’t have to be a Tiger Mom to worry that your child is losing brain cells while he soaks up R&R over the summer break. And you’d be right to be concerned – summer learning loss, as the experts call it, is real. The typical child loses two months’ worth of the math skills he gained during the school year over the summer due to lack of practice, and lower-income children also fall behind in reading.

This summer slide is especially critical for those children without access to summer learning programmes, who are more likely to spend summers on the couch in front of a television instead of going to camp or engaging in educational activities with their parents.

For this reason, extending the school year has become the issue du jour for many prominent education experts.

“There’s a small positive effect on children when they go to school year-round and a much larger effect on students who are struggling,” says Harris Cooper, PhD, chair of the psychology and neuroscience department at Duke University and a summerlearning expert. But should summer learning be happening in a more formal academic programme, at a traditional camp, or right in the backyard? Not surprisingly, parents have their own opinions.

Thumbs Up! “Children need to keep up their learning in a structured way over the summer, not only to ‘compete’ but to guard against losing what they’ve learned. I wish we had yearround school, and it’s not because I’m a mean mom. I just want my children to be prepared, and I’m not able to teach them.” – Eileen Z Wolter, Summit, NJ “They will really bene-

Y

fit from continued education.

My wife and I put our daughters into two classes – one we felt they needed and one they got to pick.” – Lewis Hall, Los Angeles “Summer school has been woven into my second- and fifth-graders’ plans since their kindergarten years, academics in the morning and sports in the afternoon. This summer they will also attend a Spanish-immersion camp with their cousins. Children

need academic goals – realistic ones!” – Cyn Hawkins Davis, Silver Spring, MD No Way! “Summer should be a time to recharge and relax, with plenty of time for unstructured play. That said, parents can do simple things to make sure their children don’t lose important skills. By incorporating fun learning activities into the routine, children will stay sharp and enjoy the summer.” – Erin Wing, Issaquah,

WA “Children in grade school need to experience life, and learn through doing during their summer vacations. My children, husband, and I take day trips to museums, parks, zoos, and the beach, and we go camping, too. Our summers are full of learning – just not the traditional classroom type.” – Sarah Caron, Sandy Hook, CT “It saddens me when parents put their children in pro-

grammes all summer. What happened to letting them be children? Childhood is way too short, and they are already inundated with stress.” – Nancy O’Neill, Temecula, CA

Are your teens bored?

Keep them organised this summer

How to pick a summer programme

The most learning occurs in programmes that are more informal than school and teach to smaller groups.

Typically, they include field trips, hands-on learning, and sport, along with math and reading-skills work. In Pittsburgh, the public schools partner with local organisations to offer kayaking, fencing, and theatre. Children even built their own bikes, and then rode them on a field trip. How to choose one that’s right for your child: ***Be a matchmaker***.

Your child won’t get anything out of science camp if she’s crazy about creative writing. Ideally, you want a programme that’s challenging but engaging enough that she wants to go. That may mean cobbling together a few different programmes throughout the break. ***Keep her health in mind***. Does the programme have a schedule that it follows most days?

A lack of structure suggests a disorganised programme. Also check to see that it takes advantage of its space to offer sports or physical activities – and that it serves healthy lunches and snacks. (parenting.com)

By Pam Myers, BSED

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ave you ever heard your teen remark that they are bored?

It can be like a broken record by summer’s end. Here are some ideas to keep your temperamental teens busy all summer long.

Are teenagers prone to boredom? The attention span of an adolescent is notoriously short. They need constant stimulation to stay interested. It can be a daunting task to keep them occupied, especially when all you want to do is relax. Help them stay occupied this summer with these tips.

Discuss options with your teen

Talk to your teen. What are their likes and dislikes?

What are their favourite hobbies or what hobbies are they interested in trying?

This information can help you and them plan out their summer.

Set boundaries

Let them know that they won’t be sitting on the couch watching television and munching on snacks all summer. Give them a minimum of activities to choose from the list that you have both created. While downtime is healthy and necessary, routine – even in the form of fun activities – is important.

Volunteering

Even if they are not old enough for a paid job, they can volunteer and give back to the community. Sign them up to work at a soup kitchen, help at a SPCA, the Red Cross, or do something that involves one of their hobbies. Getting involved with church groups is a great way to volunteer and help folks that you know.

Playing summer sports

If your teen played a sport in school, they may be interested in keeping their skills up in a summer league. They can have fun without the added competitive pressure of school sports.

Find a job

If your teenager is willing to get their hands dirty, work when their friends are at the beach, and learn new skills in the real world, then a summer job might be a good idea. In addition to keeping busy, your teenager will start to learn how to earn and budget money.

Consider jobs close by so they can ride their bike or walk to work.

Take a fun class

Does your child like art?

Sign them up for a class?

There are tons to choose from – painting, pottery, watercolour, and drawing are just some of the more popular options available in most areas.

Summer programmes

Summer programmes span a variety of career disciplines and many offer Certificates at the end of participation. Work study is also a good option for teens soon to graduate high school.

Help out around the house

With so much extra time, teenagers can help in making improvements to the house. Assisting mom or dad with building a deck, landscaping the yard, or coming up with their own outdoor projects has the potential to be a productive and fun learning experience. (childdevelopmentinfo.com)

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thursday, june 9, 2016 | guyana-times.com

hunt other suspects 10 arrested after cocaine Police in KN grenade attack found in frozen fish at CJIA T en persons were taken into Police custody after a quantity of cocaine was unearthed in frozen fish at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, East Bank Demerara, on Wednesday morning.

According to reports, at about 02:00h, members of the Police narcotic branch intercepted over six kilograms of cocaine in several boxes. The boxes were found among other cargo during a routine check by Police.

Guyana Times understands that of the 10 arrested, six are ramp attendants attached to a handling service at the main port of entry. The others are reportedly shipping agents.

The consignment of frozen fish was destined for the United States of America. The seizure comes as the Guyana Police Force intensifies its efforts to clamp down on the scourge

The cocaine found stashed in the frozen fish

of drug trafficking.

Police are continuing their investigations.

Only last month, Sarfraz Jalaladeen, 30, of Riverview, Ruimveldt,

Georgetown, was busted at the CJIA with almost 12 pounds of cocaine in milk powder packets. He was sentenced to serve four years in prison and fined

$16.3 million.

Reports are that the welder who was travelling for the first time to the United States via a Caribbean Airlines flight was intercepted by members of the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit after they became suspicious after noticing several packets of what appeared to be powdered milk in the man’s suitcases.

A closer examination revealed that the milk packets were resealed and a further check was undertaken. It was then that the ranks realised that the contents of the packets were cocaine. He was arrested and taken to CANU headquarters where the illegal substance was weighed and proved to be just over 6kg.

The suspect told CANU ranks that he was promised US$7000 to traffic the illegal substance to New York but did not say if he was paid an advance.

Taxi driver beaten, robbed

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driver attached to the Green Ice Taxi Service was on Wednesday morning found lying in the back seat of his motor car suspected to have been beaten and robbed after he was hijacked on Tuesday evening. The car was found in Plum Park, Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

The man has been identified as Gavin Brandis, 44, of Lot 1170 Pigeon Place, South Ruimveldt, Greater Georgetown.

According to reports, Brandis received a telephone call to collect a passenger and left his base at Aubrey Barker Road, Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

After some time passed, his wife and other relatives attempted to contact him but their calls went to voice mail. On Wednesday morning, they received reports that his car was found in Plum Park, Sophia and rushed to the scene.

Brandis was found in the back seat of the vehicle with several injuries to his head.

His mobile phone and cash, along with jewellery were missing. He is presently a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The man’s wife when contacted told Guyana Times that at about 20:00h, she attempted to contact her husband but all the calls went unanswered. This, she noted, went on for the remainder of the night which threw the family into panic.

According to the woman, she was in contract with the taxi service base but up to midnight, there was no word on her husband’s whereabouts. She said early Wednesday morning, the family received a call from

The car belonging to Brandis in Sophia after the discovery

one of the drivers at the base informing them that the car was found in Sophia and someone was lying in the back seat.

Her brother-in-law, she noted, went to the scene while she made her way to the hospital. She said that her husband arrived at the hospital in an unconscious state and was immediately admitted.

The woman further stated that based on reports received, her husband suffered lacerations to his head. The Police however, were called in and two resident of Sophia were up to late Wednesday evening detained.

They are continuing their investigations into the incident.

The car that was allegedly used by the perpetrators during the grenade attack

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lthough six persons remain in custody for hurling a grenade at a vehicle belonging to Kaieteur News Publisher Glenn Lall, the Police are tracking several others in relation to the incident which occurred last Saturday evening.

Acting Crime Chief, Hugh Jessamy told Guyana Times that investigators were up to late Wednesday evening interrogating those who were arrested on Tuesday evening at several locations. They were arrested following the discovery of the motorcar that was allegedly used by the perpetrators.

Jessamy added that the Police are working on several leads but cannot divulge any information with respect to the investigation. He further stated that before the Police institute charges against the men, there needs to be sufficient evidence, hence, an early court appearance might not be possible.

The acting Crime Chief added that investigators are yet to verify whether or not the motorcar that was found abandoned was the one actually used in the commissioning of the crime.

Guyana Times understands that the men in custody are from the Sophia area including the driver, who claimed that he was hijacked but after further interrogation, he told investigators that the car was lent to a friend.

Initially, the driver claimed that he was driving along Albert Street, Alberttown when two men on a motorcycle pulled

up alongside him, pulled out a weapon and ordered him to stop the vehicle. Without hesitation, he told ranks that he complied.

Based on information gathered from the driver, the others were taken into police custody. On Saturday night, as Kaieteur News held its first night of wake to pay respect to the late Assistant Editor, Dale Andrews who passed away on Friday, the live grenade was hurled at Lall’s vehicle.

Persons who were at the wake recalled hearing a strange sound but assumed it was shattering glass. However, when a thorough check was made, the grenade was found lying next to the right front tyre of Lall’s black Lexus vehicle.

The Police were summoned and the area was immediately cordoned off while bomb experts deactivate the device.

They noted it was a miracle that the live grenade did not explode. On Monday, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Guyana Times that the grenade was detonated at the seawalls and that it was too early to determine the motive for the attack.

This attack was condemned by several groups including the Government, the Opposition, the Guyana Public Service Union, the Private Sector Commission and several other news outfits. In addition, they have all called for a speeding investigation into the incident, referring to the attack as domestic terrorism.

8 NEWS

THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

IN THE COURTS Victoria double murder

Accused faces 3rd trial D

ouble murder accused Cyon “Picture Boy” Collier is once again on trial at the High Court on charges in relation to the murder of two brothers.

Collier is before Justice Priya Beharry-Sewnarine and a mixed Demerara Assizes jury charged with the murder of brothers Ray Walcott and Carl Andrews, who were fatally shot on September 23, 2006, at Victoria Four Corner, East Coast Demerara. The trial commenced on Tuesday, and continues today.

This is the third trial the accused is facing for the double murder after the previous

trials ended with the jury being unable to arrive at a unanimous verdict.

In his previous trials, Collier was called upon to lead his defence and he offered unsworn statements from the dock, claiming that he was “innocent of this crime”. The accused claimed that he was in Linden when the two brothers were killed.

He reiterated his claims that he was kicked repeatedly to his scrotum, causing him to suffer from hydrocele, and forced to confess to the crime which he knew nothing about.

Collier also faced another murder trial in 2014 and was

Double murder accused Cyon “Picture Boy” Collier

found not guilty of the murder of Chandrapaul Persaud, 34, who was fatally shot in an armed robbery at Nonpareil, East Coast Demerara, on September 30, 2006.

Persaud had just exited his vehicle at his residence when he was attacked. He was shot by one of three gunmen.

In that trial, the Court heard that around 18:50h three men entered Persaud’s premises armed with guns and robbed his family of jewellery and money.

One of the men then shot him dead. The wife of the deceased later identified the shooter as Collier.

Teen remanded for armed robbery A

17-year-old Lodge Housing Scheme, Georgetown resident was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on a robbery under arms charge at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The unrepresented Joshua Austin, who told the Court that he worked at a ‘Blocks yard’, pleaded not guilty to the charge. It is al-

leged that on June 6, 2016 at Mandela Avenue, being armed with a knife he robbed Julius Patterson of one cosmetic silver ring, US$1500, Cdn$50, 20 pounds, 40 euros and G$2000.

The young man’s mother had to be called to the courtroom to verify his age as he first told the Magistrate he was 16 years old.

However, a copy of his

birth certificate was given to the Magistrate which verified that he was 17 years old.

Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers told the Court the defendant was positively identified by Patterson and none of the stolen money was recovered.

Jeffers objected to bail on the grounds of the serious nature of the offence

and the fact that a knife was used to carry out the act.

He further told the Court that the teen was not a first-time offender and had a pending matter at the Providence Magistrate’s Court.

Austin was remanded to prison until June 17.

The case was transferred to the Providence Magistrate’s Court.

which he allegedly committed on May 28, 2016 at Tuschen, EBE when he assaulted Norman Duke with intent to cause bodily harm.

The prosecution is contending that on the day in question, the Virtual Complainant (VC) was riding a bicycle when he struck the defendant causing him to fall. Upon getting up

from the road, the defendant took up a piece of wood and dealt the VC multiple lashes.

As a result, the VC had to be rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where he was treated and sent away.

The matter was reported to the Police Outpost at Tuschen and then to the

Leonora Police Station.

The defendant was later arrested and charged with the offence of assault.

When given an opportunity to speak in Court, he explained that he was upset because the VC was careless. Magistrate Lambert explained to the defendant that his actions could not be justified, and ordered him to seek anger management counselling.

He was granted bail in the sum of $30,000. The case will continue on June 22.

Pensioner slapped with assault charge

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pensioner was on Wednesday slapped with an assault charge when he appeared at the Vreed-enHoop Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Christel Lambert.

Joel Harper, 69, of Lot 7 Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), pleaded not guilty to the offence,

Lindener jailed for larceny

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elwyn Moore of Lot 112 Silvertown, Wismar, Linden, was on Wednesday jailed for six months after he was found guilty of breaking and entering and larceny.

The defendant made his final appearance before Magistrate Clive Nurse at the Linden Magistrate’s Court where sentencing was imposed. The court heard that on January 6, 2015, the defendant broke and entered the dwelling house of the Virtual Complainant (VC) Jason Glyan at Burnham Drive, Wismar, Linden and stole a quantity of tools valued $149,000, property of the VC.

Eyew tness Murky dealings...

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...in Brazil

ost Guyanese are kinda confused about what exactly’s going on in Brazil. Here it is, their President Dilma Rousseff – with one of the highest popularity ratings a year ago...and the handpicked successor of the MOST popular president of Brazil of all times – being IMPEACHED? Not for being personally corrupt, but for balancing the budget through forbidden unorthodox methods! And there’s no one in the streets for her? What’s going on?

Part of the confusion is because the folks trying to impeach her are themselves being knocked over like ninepins for ...you guessed it...personal corruption!!!

To get a sense of what’s going on...or more like, what’s going down – we’ll have to back up a bit. Between 1964 to 1985, Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship. That’s the same period Burnham ruled Guyana as a dictator... but his Brazilian counterparts made him look like a kinder, gentler Santa Claus!!

Even the anodyne Wikipedia says, “To extinguish its left-wing opponents, the (Brazilian) dictatorship used arbitrary arrests, imprisonment without trials, kidnapping, and most of all, torture, which included rape and castration”. That’s right...you could lose your nuts.

We shouldn’t be surprised the US supported the army coup against the left -leaning Brazilian President in 1964, should we? The beneficiaries of the military rule was an oligarchy that sucked the country dry as Brazil became one of the most stratified countries in the world. Life was desperate for the poorer, generally African dominated classes.

The pertinent fact is Rousseff – even though from a middle-class family – was a guerrilla rebel against the military dictatorship and was jailed and tortured for years. After the dictatorship, she plunged into electoral politics and eventually joined the leftist PT under the charismatic Lula. She was his chief of staff during his twoterm presidency.

But we have to cut to the quick... With the redistributive policies of Lula and Rousseff, we shouldn’t be surprised the old oligarchy reacted like the Sheriff of Nottingham when Robin Hood did his “steal from the rich and give to the poor” bit back in Sherwood Forest. Even though the iconic Lula himself was accused of dipping into the till, never Rousseff. But the representatives and successors of the old oligarchy capitalised on Rousseff’s middle-of-theroad approach which teed off both her poor and lumpen supporters and her wealthy opponents.

While the opportunists might squeeze out Rousseff, like in Venezuela with Maduro, the “Return of the Oligarchy” doesn’t bode well for Brazil.

And for us in Guyana. It’ll be like sitting on a powder keg?

...at NCN

The Government audit of NCN shows a whole host of Organisations and companies owing the State broadcaster.

Millions and Millions! But somehow the State media just mentions the PPP’s campaign debt. Now don’t get this Eyewitness wrong. He believes anyone that racked up debts for services rendered ought to cough up.

But that’s exactly what’s wrong with the finger pointing. Some debts have already been written off. With another written-off debt, we’ve gotten some more details – and it stinks to high heavens! It has to do with $2.5M owed by the company Merundoi whose director sits on the NCN Board – which makes the decision on these matters! Imagine that!!! Merundoi paid $200,000 and had $2.1M or 92% written off!

Asked about this blatant conflict of interest, Chairman of the Board of this “people of Guyana” company, Bish Panday replied curtly, “Ain’t nobody business but me own!”

So will the PPP get $20M written off?

...perpetrators nabbed!

This Eyewitness is pleased as Punch the Police have acted so swiftly to nab suspects in the despicable grenade throwing incident at the Muckraker.

He’s expressed differences with the Muckraker’s style, but draws the line there.

Bring back the cat o’ nine tail!

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

news

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thursday, june 9, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Trio busted by NCN defends $2M debt cop with write-off for Director’s NGO undercover prohibited stimulant

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he State-run broadcaster, the National Communications Network (NCN) on Tuesday defended its decision to write-off a $2 million debt owed by one Merundoi Inc, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).

Merundoi is headed by Margaret Lawrence, who is also a serving member on the NCN Board of Directors.

NCN in defending its decision, highlighted that a proposal from the NGO was submitted way back in 2012 which suggested that it make available the production content of Merundoi for to the State broadcaster, with the NGO paying 50 per cent of the normal broadcast charges and NCN absorbing the remaining 50 per cent.

“NCN did not respond favourably or otherwise to the proposal but collected the 50 per cent broadcast fees and aired the programme. In 2014, NCN instituted court proceed-

Bish Panday

Maggie Lawrence

ings against Merundoi for the 50 per cent of broadcast charges, and the matter engaged the court,” the broadcaster stated.

It added that on April 4, Merundoi made a proposal to pay $250,000, while allowing NCN access to some 500 episodes from two previous seasons of the Radio Serial Drama, as well as a collaboration to produce a TV Sitcom “Cheap and Sweet”, the pilot of which it had submitted to NCN since 2012.

“At a special meet-

ing on April 7th, 2016, the Board unanimously agreed to accept the offer.

Ms Lawrence was not part of the meeting. In arriving at the decision, the Board took account of, among other things, the fact that Merundoi is an NGO, it is not for profit, and it was willing to make the programme content available to NCN and to collaborate on the production of a local TV Sitcom,” the NCN said in its defence.

It also dismissed as untrue and erroneous me-

Miner dies after boat slams into tree stump

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hree days after a boat reportedly crashed into a tree stump in the Mazaruni River, the body of one of the miners was pulled from the river on Tuesday evening. The dead miner has been identified as Leslie Blair, 24, of Berbice.

He was reportedly pulled from under a “dragger”.

According to information received, Blair and three others left a mining camp on Sunday evening with the aim of visiting a drinking spot in the area.

As they were heading to

Dead: Leslie Blair

the shop, the captain of the boat reportedly lost control and slammed into the tree stump resulting in them being thrown overboard.

Those who survived told Police that they heard Blair breathing loudly and saw him swim towards a log, but that was the last time they saw him alive. Blair was responsible for security at the mining camp and was not supposed to leave the premises on the night he met his demise. A post-mortem examination is expected to be performed shortly.

dia reports which said that the Board’s decision was not unanimous. The State broadcaster also announced that it remains ready to engage other defaulting customers in order to settle outstanding debts outside of the courts.

The decision to writeoff the Merino’s debt comes mere days after a forensic audit report into the company’s operations suggested that NCN should establish a debt collection committee with specific responsibility to collect all outstanding debts within six months.

Based on the audit report, as at May 2015, the company was owed some $230 million by various advertisers, including Merundoi.

Merundoi’s debt was twelfth on a list of the top 20 outstanding balances.

Impression’s printing is leading the list with a whopping $17.5 million, followed by the Health Ministry with $11.7 million and the People’s Progressive Party which owes a combined $14.8 million.

Also on the list is the Tourism Industry and Commerce Ministry (now the Tourism Ministry).

It is unclear if the Board of Directors are contemplating write-offs for other clients, similar to what was offered to Merundoi.

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hree persons who were caught selling an illegal stimulant by an undercover Police Officer were charged with possession of the illicit items and made an appear-

read to them by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers told the court that the trio was caught selling the items by an undercover Police

The trio: Omalo Garraway, Shivano Ubitana and Olivia Grimes

ance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday.

It is alleged that on June 6, at Charlotte Street, Georgetown, Omalo Garraway, 24, of Lot 71 Norton Street, Lodge, Georgetown; Shivano Ubitana, 22, of Princes Street, Lodge; and Olivia Grimes, 23, of Norton Street, Lodge, had 40 amphetamine tablets amounting to 10.5 grams in their possession.

They pleaded not guilty to the charge after it was

Officer. He said that Police received information and held a sting operation, where a rank went undercover and purchased the tablets from the defendants.

They were subsequently told of the offence and arrested and charged.

Jeffers pointed out that the defendants have no antecedents and that an analyst report is still outstanding from the case file. They were each granted bail in the sum of $75,000 and will return to court on July 5.

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guyana-times.com

thursDAY, june 9, 2016

News

British High Commissioner to exWitness testifies to British soldier: “It was a privilege, seeing perpetrators honour and pleasure to meet you” with murder weapon

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ritish High Commissioner Gregory Quinn saluted former British soldier Edward Constant, who experienced a great misfortune during a historic return to Guyana for its independence jubilee celebrations.

The heartbreaking story of the ex-British soldier, who was brazenly mugged of his most cherished possessions while sightseeing in Guyana, made headlines in recent days.

Constant, at just 19 years old, witnessed the momentous moment in Guyanese history in 1966 when the Union Jack was lowered and replaced by the Golden Arrowhead.

Fifty years ago, Constant made a promise to himself to return to Guyana to be a part of the country’s grand celebrations for its jubilee independence anniversary.

He was having a wonderful time, enjoying the friendliness of the folks amid the electrifying independence ambiance. During his merriment, he was robbed while in the vicinity of the Stabroek Market Square.

He was robbed of a gold chain which his wife had bought for him before she died. The chain bore her wedding ring and her engagement ring.

Despite his misfortune, Constant remained in high

British High Commissioner Gregory Quinn

spirits as he enjoyed the last moments of his stay in Guyana.

His essence was admirable and ignited a personal message from the British High Commissioner, who acknowledged that the former British soldier is indeed a remarkable human being.

In a video message posted on the Embassy’s website, Quinn spoke highly of Constant, noting that the world would be a better place if more people were like him.

“Despite the sadness of losing some of his possessions, Edward remains someone who has loved his time here. He keeps telling me about how well he

has been welcomed into the community and how friendly the people have been and how much he has enjoyed being here. And how he is telling the story about Guyana in a positive way to anyone and everyone who would listen back in the UK. That is an extremely admirable quality and I think it goes to the depth of feeling people here have had for Edward and for the welcome he had. It has been a privilege, honour and pleasure to meet you Edward.

You are a true gentleman and if the world had more people like you, it would be a far, far better place,” the British High Commissioner expressed.

In a Facebook post, Constant thanked the Guyanese people for their generosity during his stay, promising to return sometime once again.

“To all you wonderful people of Guyana, I thank you for allowing me to share parts of your life, this Milkie is now home safe, I know lots of you made comments about my misfortunes, both good and bad, because you have your Independence you also have that right, I love you all for your hospitality, I will return to your great country,” his post read.

Police had arrested someone named Jose Barker, also known as “Quarter” as the perpetrator of the rob-

A

Former British soldier Edward Constant

bery. Barker was recently charged with the crime and remanded to prison.It remains uncertain whether or not the soldier regained possession of his priceless belongings.

s the murder trial into the death of Antonio Isles continues, one witness has testified to seeing the deceased being beaten by several persons using a piece of wood.

Two persons are currently before Justice Navindra Singh and a 12-member jury charged with the murder of Isles, 40, who was a seaman and who resided at Pike Street, Kitty, Georgetown.

Isles was beaten to death by several persons at Pike Street, Kitty.

Kevin Washington, 18, and Dennecia Halley, 15, are both facing the murder charge which read that between March 1 and 3, 2013, they murdered Isles. They duo were juveniles at the time of the alleged murder – Halley was 12 years old and Washington was 15 years old.

According to the Police report, on March 1, 2013, the deceased was beaten by sev-

eral persons at Pike Street.

He was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he subsequently succumbed to his injuries.

An autopsy performed by State Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh revealed that Isles died as a result of a fractured skull.The case is being prosecuted by State Prosecutor Michael Shahoud in association with Prosecutor Orinthia Schmidt. Washington and Halley are being represented

by Attorneys Peter Hugh and Dexter Todd respectively.

On Wednesday, the Prosecutors continued to present their case and called an eyewitness to the stand who testified that she saw several persons attacking the deceased. She also related that one of the perpetrators was using a large piece of lumber to hit the seaman about his body. The prosecutors are expected to present more witnesses today.

the Virtual Complainant (VC) Beverley Frank of one Samsung Galaxy S5 cellphone valued $89,000; property of Beverley Frank.

The prosecution’s case stated that on the day in question, at around 21:00h, the VC was walking along the public road at Stewartville, when the defendant pounced upon her.

He placed a knife to her throat and demanded cash but subsequently took her cellphone from her hand as

she had no money on her person.

The defendant then made good his escape. He was later identified by the VC, arrested and charged with the offence.

The VC told the court that the defendant is known in the area as a thief. She further stated that he carried out a number of similar acts in the past but was never charged.

He was remanded to prison and will next appear in court on June 17.

Alleged thief remanded

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Stewartville, West Cost Demerara (WCD) man was sent back to jail on robbery underarms charges after he appeared before Magistrate Christel Lambert at the Vreed-enHoop Magistrate’s Court.

Calvin Tucks pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him on Wednesday. It was alleged that on May 29, at Stewartville, while being armed with a dangerous weapon, Tucks robbed

thursDAY, june 9, 2016

guyana-times.com

11

News

Parking meter debacle

“I have a right to speak” – Deputy Mayor By: Lorraine Ince-Carvalhal

Stress comes from perception

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ost of us view stress as a negative thing and relatedly most of us experience stress in a negative way. In fact, stress is simply a reaction to something that disturbs, threatens or challenges our balance, and our bodies respond in either a fight or flight manner; that is we decide to face it or run from it.

Whichever response we choose, stress shuts down nonessential bodily functions such as our digestive system and immune system in order to focus its energies elsewhere and releases chemicals into our body that make it possible for us to either fight or retreat.

In some instances, stress can be a positive thing and it encourages us to develop our mental strength. Having the body prepare for a necessary physical response that requires fast action to ensure safety is an essential survival tool. Responses of increased heart rate, heightened muscle preparedness and increased alertness along with released adrenalin, enhances our reaction.

Unfortunately, the stresses we talk about more commonly are the threats and pressures we experience in our everyday lives. We continually weigh and assess situations, then judge whether something is a threat and if we have the resources to cope. If we believe we are able to effectively deal with the situation, we are unlikely to become stressed but if we believe the situation is beyond our capabilities or resources, it becomes stressful.

Unfortunately, the lifestyles many of us lead nowadays find us increasingly experiencing those pressures and they can have negative effects; both physically and psychologically.

Our young people especially are feeling the pressure.

Regardless of their backgrounds, perception makes stress real and it is adversely affecting them. The most common type of emotional stress is acute stress. It comes from demands and pressures of the recent past and anticipated demands and pressures of the near future. Whether that threat is coming in the form of poverty related issues, relationship difficulties or exam stress, if someone experiences stress over a long period, the effects can lead to psychological distress and physical symptoms such as tension headaches and upset stomach.

Long-term acute stress can cause people to be shorttempered, irritable, anxious and tense. With the generation gap already so wide, the abrupt, irritable and hostile way in which a person experiencing stress can present themselves can cause interpersonal relationships to deteriorate rapidly, and widen the gap further between parent/caregiver and child. It can be difficult to understand why a young person behaves this way when it is not apparent that they are experiencing difficulties. Just because their lives may seem threat free to an adult who has many more problems to face daily does not mean the young person is not feeling stress.

Those experiencing moderate stress can begin to combat those situations or feelings by finding out what triggers stress and try to understand why it has the effect it does. Sorting worries into those categories – something can be done and those there is no control over – then starting to do something about the ones that can be changed and finding ways to cope with the ones that cannot, gives some control and develops acceptance. Taking one task at a time makes things seem more manageable and knowing when to take a break and, as far as possible taking one, is a valuable tool. Most importantly, getting a fresh perspective to help re-evaluate expectations, capabilities and resources in a more positive light can shift the balance and release pressures.

More serious is chronic stress when a person cannot see a way out of a miserable situation and loses hope, and stops looking for a solution. Unrelenting demands and pressures for seemingly interminable periods of time can lead to mental health issues that may require more invasive intervention.

Do not continue to live under your perceived stresses, make small changes that will give you some freedom from your pressures. Remember stress is a natural survival response, we just need to re-examine our stressors.

By Ramona Luthi

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s a controversy regarding the installation of parking meters in Georgetown continues to rage, a war of

stated the contract for the parking meters was shared between two companies, with Smart City Solutions receiving 50 per cent and another company the remaining 50 per cent.

“The day I was elected to the Council, I did not give up my right to speak on my own behalf or my right to speak on the behalf of all those residents of my constituency and municipality at large” words seems to be emerging between Mayor Patricia Chase Green and her deputy, Sherod Duncan, who evidently have different views on the contract for the installation of the meters.

Duncan had previously

Teenager granted bail for cocaine trafficking

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Robert Imran

17-year-old minibus conductor was on Wednesday released on $50,000 bail for allegedly having one gram cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.

It is alleged that on June 6, at Fourth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown, Robert Imran had the illegal substance in his possession.

The teen who resides at Lot 53 Fourth Street, Alberttown, pleaded not guilty to the charge. He was represented by Attorney Charlene Fung-a-Fat who made an application for bail.

However, Imran told the court that he lives alone and is supported by a friend since his mother died and he does not know his father.

Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers stated that an analyst report is still outstanding. Imran was granted bail and was instructed to report to the Alberttown Police Station every Friday until the completion of his trial.

However that was disputed by Director of Smart City Kamau Kush, who said his company has a contract for the installation of all the meters.

Commenting on Duncan’s position, Chase Green on Tuesday made it clear that the Deputy Mayor was not speaking on behalf of the Council.

However, on Wednesday, Duncan fired back at the Mayor, making it clear that he was elected to represent the views of his constituency.

He said while she was

correct that the Council has a Public Relations Officer who speaks on the Council’s behalf, he was reelected as a Councillor to represent all of Georgetown in keeping with the laws.

“The day I was elected to the Council, I did not give up my right to speak on my own behalf or my right to speak on the behalf of all those residents of my constituency and municipality at large. And I most certainly speak for the officer of the Deputy Mayor of the municipality of Georgetown. I don’t believe the argument put forward, whether in a personal capacity or officially on behalf of Council, diminishes the potency and veracity of said arguments,” Duncan asserted.

Duncan also brushed aside reports that there is a “rift” between him and the Mayor.

He said that there are often clashes between persons with differing opinions.

“This is what happens when people with differ-

Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan

ing views meet. There is a reason why there are 30 Councillors and not just a Town Clerk or just a Mayor and administrative staff.

City Hall has to become a place of rigorous discussion, high ideals, and the cross fertilisation of ideas.”

Both Duncan and Chase Greene were elected on APNU/AFC tickets; however, Duncan came from the AFC faction of the coalition, while Chase Green is from the APNU.

12 NEWS

THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Region 5 communities remain under water – regional officials meet residents, farmers

By Shemuel Fanfair

A

s the flood situation continues across communities in Region Five (DemeraraMahaica), Regional Democratic Council officials on Wednesday met with residents and farmers in the communities of Lovely Lass, Trafalgar and Union to address their concerns.

Officials also met with affected residents of Moraikobai on Tuesday.

These meetings came in light of statements made by aggrieved residents who expressed that the regional administration was doing “little or nothing” to address their plight.

Region Five Chairman Vickchand Ramphal told Guyana Times that the water level remains high in many of the areas and some cash crop plots are being destroyed.

He further opined that livestock is also being affected in three areas which is severely threatening the livelihoods of farmers and the economy of the region as a whole.

The Chairman noted that in Trafalgar, the canal and sluice is heavily silted. To this end, it was observed that the Mahaica/Mahaicony/AbaryAgricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) installed a hydraulic pump.

Ramphal however cautioned that this pump is insuffi-

Livestock affected by flood waters

cient to handle the amount of water on the land.

Guyana Times was told that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) will soon provide an additional pump but no clear date has been given for this installation.

Meanwhile, this newspaper was told that a medical team will be deployed to affected areas and relevant agencies such as the Civil Defence Commission and the Agriculture Ministry have been notified of the crisis.

On Tuesday, reports surfaced of flooding in Lovely Lass, Mahaica, due to a faulty pump which was in-

stalled by MMA/ADA. This publication reported that residents felt the region had “turned a deaf ear” on their plight to have the issue discussed with MMA/ADA. It was noted that the heavy downpours over the last few days caused this situation to escalate to the point where some of the roads began to deteriorate. Ernest Mona, one affected resident, told this newspaper that in addition to a faulty pump, the general drainage in the area is in dire need of attention. According to Mona, the residents raised the issue with Councillors who reportedly informed that it was not their place to address

Scene from Moraikobai’s flooding on Tuesday

the flooding situation. The man further remarked that residents who are living on the dams are feeling the full brunt since that part of the area is especially affected.

Regional Chairman Ramphal had confirmed that a solution was not in the hands of the region’s administration since the pump had been placed by the

MMA/ADA. He also pointed out that the area is generally prone to flooding so the effects are extended, as the faulty pumps compound the problem.

Over the last few weeks, Guyana Times has been highlighting the challenges which communities in Region Five have been facing as a result of being in-

undated. It was noted that more resources are needed to alleviate the flooding.

A breached dam along the Perth Canal in Branch Road, Mahaicony, led to significant acreages of rice lands being inundated earlier in May. Farmers there had the costly undertaking of having to pump water out of their rice lands.

Carjacker sentenced to 18 months

A

21-year-old man will spend the next 18 months in prison after he confessed to stealing a Toyota Raum vehicle when he appeared before a city Magistrate on Wednesday.

Romario Henry, of Lot 12 Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, admitted he stole the vehicle valued $1.6 million, belonging to Mahendra Dhanpaul.

However, after pleading guilty to the charge, Henry explained that Dhanpaul had lent him the vehicle. He

explained that he borrowed the vehicle to help with his military training.

The accused also claimed that he was in the process of carry out investigations at Police stations across the country.

According to reports, on the day in question, Dhanpaul parked his vehicle on Middle Road, La Penitence, and left the key in the ignition, when Henry entered the car and drove off.

Police Prosecutor Neville

Jeffers told the court that a report was made to the Ruimveldt Police Station and a Police patrol intercepted the car which was being driven by Henry at Hunter Street, Albouystown.

He added that the carjacker was arrested and investigations carried out led to charges being instituted against him.

Jeffers stated that in a Police statement, Dhanpaul made it clear that he never Henry permission to take his car.

13

THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

14

guyana-times.com

thursday, june 9, 2016

Regional

Guatemala "closes its eyes" to rampant child sex trafficking – UN B E

Voters in The Bahamas say “no” to gender equality changes in Constitution

very day 33 people become entrapped in sex trafficking rings in Guatemala, including a “shocking” proportion of children, some of them sold into the sex trade by their mothers, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.

Nearly 60 per cent of the 50,000 victims of sex trafficking in Guatemala are children, according to a report

by UNICEF and the UN Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which estimates the industry to be worth US$1.6 billion a year.

“We never imagined the magnitude of the number of children being sexually exploited. People were shocked by the figures, as were we,” Kagoshima said, referring to the recent UN report. Girls as young as 12 work in brothels and are forced to have sex with up to 30 customers a day, while virgin girls are recruited at schools, she said.

Sex trafficking is fuelled by a “social tolerance” of children being sold for sex work, a business equal to 2.7 per cent of Guatemala’s gross domestic product, she said.

“Society collectively closes its eyes

to children being exploited. We have to open our eyes to the problem,” Kagoshima told the Thomson Reuters Foundation late on Tuesday. Poverty is one of the biggest drivers of sex trafficking in the central American country where three in five people live

on less than US$3.10 a day, UNICEF said.

Traffickers often target poor, uneducated and unemployed women and girls, luring them with false promises of earning money as a waitress or model, UNICEF said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

ahamians have rejected changes to the Constitution that the Government had said were aimed at ensuring gender equality in citizenship matters, with the majority voting “no” in Tuesday’s referendum.

Official results are not expected until this afternoon, but Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall said preliminary figures showed that the four bills which would have facilitated the changes were soundly rejected by the electorate.

The first bill would have allowed children born abroad to obtain Bahamian citizenship from either their Bahamian father or mother, in circumstances where the other parent is not Bahamian; the second would have enabled a Bahamian woman who marries a nonBahamian man to secure for him the same ability to apply for Bahamian citizen-

ship currently afforded to a Bahamian man married to a non-Bahamian woman; the third change would have seen an unmarried Bahamian man being able to pass on his Bahamian citizenship to a child fathered with a nonBahamian woman, if he is able to provide DNA evidence that he is the father; and the fourth amendment would have updated Article 26 of the Constitution, to make it unconstitutional for Parliament to pass any laws that discriminate based on sex.

The outcome of the referendum was disappointing for the Perry Christie Administration which had run an aggressive Vote Yes campaign. Prime Minister Christie described it as a “setback” but said the referendum was fair, transparent and open and the voice of the people would be respected and honoured. (Excerpt from

Caribbean360)

St Lucia’s new PM pledges PM Holness wants Spanish to to hit the ground running be Jamaica’s second language

L

ess than 24 hours after his United Workers Party (UWP) won general elections, Allen Chastanet was sworn in as the new Prime Minister, promising that he would immediately begin work on improving the economy and life for the people of St Lucia.

The UWP won 11 of the 17 constituencies, while the incumbent St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) secured the other six in Monday’s polls.

After being sworn in on Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Chastanet told an audience that included Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy, elected parliamentary representatives, senior party officials, critical state officials and a select few invited guests that the hard work was not

Prime Minister Allen Chastanet

beginning and he needed the cooperation of all St Lucians.

“The will of the people was to give the United Workers Party an opportunity to pursue policies and programmes aimed at im-

proving the standard of living and the quality of life for all St Lucians. For this ambitious goal to be achieved, I will require the cooperation and full support of all St Lucians,” he said.

“It is for this reason that I wish to signal, from the outset, my desire to foster a far more cooperative and collaborative relationship with all interests in society, including the official Opposition.”

He said his new Government intended to move to address the problems highlighted in the election campaign, including the 24 per cent unemployment rate, unsatisfactory standards in health care and inaccessible tertiary education for those who wish to go beyond secondary. (Excerpt from

Caribbean360)

S

panish might soon become Jamaica’s second official language. Speaking in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness disclosed that while speaking to Cuban President Raul Castro on his recent visit to the Spanish-speaking country for the 7th Summit of the Association of Caribbean States, the two discussed a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including exploring initiatives for increased language training.

The Prime Minister said the commitment was made to explore initiatives for the provision of increased language training on both sides, emphasising provision of English language training to assist Cuba, as required,

Prime Minister Andrew Holness

as they prepare to receive greater inflows of visitors.

But, Holness went a little further in his presentation to Parliament. “Jamaica will have to take the bold step to make Spanish our second language and making it compulsory in schools,” the

prime minister said.

Holness reported that other areas, including stronger mechanisms for cooperation in culture through music and the creative industries, were identified for immediate action. (Jamaica

Observer)

Brazil Police Officer, symbol of Mexico elections: Violence corruption crackdown, arrested reported as states vote

H

e is a symbol of Brazil’s biggest corruption investigation – a ballyhooed battle against impunity for powerful politicians and businessmen.

But on Wednesday, federal Police agent Newton Ishii sat in the same jail where he had been photographed and shown on TV escorting countless highprofile politicians and executives linked to a kickback scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA).

It is a long fall for Ishii, perhaps the first Brazilian policeman ever to be exalt-

ed in a Carnival song, sung by party-goers who wore masks bearing his likeness and dressed in his black police garb.

Known in Brazil simply as “the Japanese cop,” due to his heritage, Ishii’s face appeared on placards at massive rallies in the past year that demanded the impeachment of now-suspended President Dilma Rousseff.

Ishii’s visit to Brazil’s lower house of congress in February created a commotion as deputies, including the far right-wing Jair Bolsonaro, took selfies with him. Rumours

even floated that the agent might consider a political career.

But his growing cult of personality rubbed some high-level federal police officials the wrong way, two authorities familiar with the situation said on condition of anonymity, and Ishii has not been seen in the Petrobras police raids since his congress visit.

Federal Police in the southern city of Curitiba, where investigators, prosecutors and a judge are spear-heading the Petrobras probe, said Ishii was arrested on Tuesday afternoon. (Excerpt from Reuters)

for new Governors

G

overnment and political leaders reported scattered incidents of election-related violence in Mexico on Sunday, as 12 states voted for new governors.

In Veracruz, a two-party alliance backing an opposition candidate complained of attacks against party members in seven municipalities, including vehicles being burned and gasoline bombs thrown at a party office in the state capital of Xalapa.

José Mancha Alarcón,

the state leader of the National Action party, said attackers burst into the home of the Mayor of Acajete and set it on fire.

In the town of Emiliano Zapata, near Xalapa, a severed human head was left in a park just steps from a polling station.

Veracruz state public security secretary Arturo Bermúdez confirmed that a driver for a local lawmaker was kidnapped. The lawmaker is part of the opposition alliance’s gubernatorial campaign.

Threatening text messages warning people not to vote were sent to cellphones in Veracruz. The newspaper El Universal reported that attackers with clubs and stones damaged dozens of buses carrying campaign material in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa. It said a mob in the southern state of Oaxaca burned some ballots and threatened to prevent polling stations from opening, while in Zacatecas a gasoline bomb was tossed at the door of the state congress. (Excerpt from The Guardian)

thursday, june 9, 2016

guyana-times.com

15

Around the World

Modi wants deeper US-India Pakistan: Mother “burnt her daughter to death” over marriage security relationship

P

olice in the Pakistani city of Lahore have arrested a woman suspected of murdering her daughter for marrying without family consent.

Police say the body of Zeenat Rafiq shows signs of torture. She was doused with fuel and set alight.

Her mother Parveen is accused of luring her back from her in-laws.

It is the third such case in a month in Pakistan, where attacks on women who go against conservative rules on love and marriage are common.

Last week, a young school teacher, Maria Sadaqat, was set on fire in Murree near Islamabad for refusing a marriage proposal. She died of her injuries.

A month earlier village elders near Abbottabad ordered the murder of a teen-

Zeenat Rafiq, pictured here on her marriage certificate, wed Hassan Khan last week

age girl who was burnt to death because she helped a friend to elope, Police said.

Zeenat Rafiq, who was 18, had been burnt and there were signs of torture and strangulation, Police told BBC Urdu. A post-mortem examination may establish if she was still alive when she was set on fire.

Police Superintendent Ibadat Nisar said officers were looking for her brother who is “on the run”. Her mother was found in the house with the body.

“Her mother has confessed to the crime, but we find it hard to believe that a 50-year-old woman committed this act all by herself with no help from the family members,” he said.

Neighbours contacted authorities after hearing screaming, but Ms Rafiq was already dead by the time Police arrived, BBC reporter Saba Eitizaz says.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

I

ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a closer security relationship between his country and the United States on Wednesday, in an address to the US Congress stressing the importance of warming ties between the two countries.

He dedicated much of the speech to the importance of fighting terrorism, thanking Congress for US support after a Pakistan-based military group’s rampage in Mumbai killed 166 people in 2008.

“The fight against terrorism has to be fought at many levels. And the traditional tools of military, intelligence or diplomacy alone would not be able to win this fight,” Modi told a rare joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives.

“We have both lost civil-

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets US Speaker Paul Ryan

ians and soldiers in combating it. The need of the hour is for us to deepen our security cooperation,” Modi said.

He leavened the speech to lawmakers, the first such address by an international leader since Pope Francis’ in September, with jokes about Congress’ bitter partisan divide and yoga. But Modi used it to make serious

points about India’s neighbour and arch-rival Pakistan and regional concerns about Chinese expansionism.

“I commend the members of the US Congress for sending a clear message to those who preach and practise terrorism for political gains,” he said, not mentioning either country by name. (Excerpt from

Reuters)

Pressure builds on Bernie China says Philippines ignoring Sanders to drop out of race maritime talks proposal

P

ressure is building on Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to give up his fight for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Hillary Clinton has been declared the presumptive Democratic nominee after winning four out of six primaries on Tuesday.

Sanders has virtually no path to the nomination, but has vowed to fight on. He meets President Obama today.

Democrats have urged Sanders to join Mrs Clinton as she tries to defeat Donald Trump.

The billionaire businessman, seen as an outsider early in the campaign, is the Republican’s presumptive nominee.

The White House meeting came at Sanders’ request. He will hold a rally in Washington the same day ahead of the District of Columbia’s primary

on June 14.

He has won 22 state primaries and caucuses, but failed to make a significant dent in Mrs Clinton’s delegate lead, despite mounting what has been seen as an impressive campaign, influencing the Democratic debate and engaging with thousands of young voters.

“The struggle continues.

We are going to fight for every vote in Tuesday’s primary in Washington DC, and then we will bring our political revolution to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia,” his campaign said in a statement on Wednesday.

As the votes were being counted in California, Sanders said: “I am pretty good at arithmetic, and I know that the fight in front of us is a very, very steep fight, but we will continue to fight for every vote and every delegate we can get.” (Excerpt

from BBC News)

C

hina said on Wednesday the Philippines has ignored a proposal for a regular talks mechanism over maritime issues, as it repeated that its door was always open to bilateral talks with Manila on the South China Sea. China claims most of the waters, through which US$5 trillion in shipborne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims, as well as close military ties with the United States.

The Philippines has brought a case at an international tribunal in The Hague contesting China’s claims, a case rejected

by China which wants to solve the issue bilaterally.

In a statement released in both Chinese

and English, China’s Foreign Ministry said the two countries had agreed in 1995 to settle disputes in the South China Sea “in a peaceful and friendly

manner through consultations on the basis of equity and mutual respect”.

China and the Philippines have held many rounds of talks on

the proper management of maritime disputes, though have had no negotiations designed to settle the actual disputes in the South China Sea, the Ministry said.

“China has on a number of occasions proposed with the Philippines the establishment of a ChinaPhilippines regular consultation mechanism on maritime issues; however, to date, there has never been any response from the Philippine side.”

The Philippines Foreign Ministry declined to comment.

A Ministry official familiar with the arbitration case said that as Manila is expecting the tribunal to hand down a ruling this month it would rather remain quiet until then. (Excerpt from Reuters)

UN whistleblower resigns over French Eritrea commits crimes against humanity, UN says peacekeeper child abuse

A

United Nations whistleblower who alleged child sex abuse by French peacekeepers in the Central African Republic has resigned, citing the “complete impunity” of those responsible for the crimes.

Anders Kompass told officials that the UN was failing to properly investigate allegations that French troops abused children as young as eight.

A UN investigation in May 2015 cleared him of sharing confidential documents.

But Kompass says senior officials have still not been held to account. His resignation takes effect in August. Kompass is the director of field operations at the UN human rights office in Geneva.

French authorities say they are investigating the abuse allegations

Anders Kompass

and will punish anyone found responsible.

In an interview with the humanitarian news agency IRIN, Kompass said he was departing because of “the complete impunity for those who have been found

to have, in various degrees, abused their authority, together with the unwillingness of the hierarchy to express any regrets for the way they acted towards me”.

“This makes it impossible for me to keep working there,” he said.

In July 2014, Kompass leaked a confidential UN report on the alleged sexual abuse of children by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic to prosecutors in France – the former colonial power – claiming the UN was taking too long to act.

French authorities are now investigating 14 soldiers in connection with the report’s findings.

A study by independent experts in December revealed “gross institutional failure” by the UN in the way it responded to abuse allegations. (Excerpt from BBC News)

E

ritrea’s Government is guilty of committing crimes against humanity since independence a quarter-century ago with up to 400,000 people “enslaved”, the UN said on Wednesday.

The crimes committed since 1991 include imprisonment, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killings, and rape and murder, said the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) on human rights.

The forced labour of military conscripts is also a major problem in the country, the UN said.

“We think that there are 300,000 to 400,000 people who have been enslaved,” chief UN investigator Mike Smith told journalists in Geneva.

The Government also operates a shoot-to-kill policy to stop people fleeing the country, according to ev-

idence collected by the UN inquiry.

About 5000 Eritreans risk their lives each month to flee the nation where forcible army conscription can last decades.

“Very few Eritreans are ever released from their military service obligations,” Smith said.

Eritrea’s Minister of Information Yemane Meskel denounced the UN’s findings on Twitter.

One witness said that Air Force conscripts were made to work in a plantation that belonged to the Air Force chief. The conscripts were not paid and were sent to detention facilities if they refused to work.

These acts were perpetrated to terrify and control the civilian population, while crushing opposition, the Commission of Inquiry said.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

16

thursday, june 9, 2016

guyanatimesgy.com

Ruqayyah Boyer - Provotique

M

iss Guyana Universe.

Miss Guyana World.

Miss Guyana International. Model. Flight Attendant. Vlogger. Reporter.

TV Presenter. Actress. Singer.

Poet/Writer. Social Activist.

Ruqayyah Boyer has embraced many roles in her short life with great enthusiasm. Now she is taking on the role of entrepreneur with Provotique, an umbrella company that is home to Provotique Image and Beauty Pageant Consultancy and Provotique Walking Tours, a unique idea in the Guyanese business landscape.

The effervescent Boyer, who hails from Linden but now lives in Georgetown, has been a fountain of boundless energy since she burst on the national scene in 2012 and she has brought that same energy to her business enterprises, gathering rave reviews along the way. With world-beating Richard Branson as her inspiration, you know that this is just the start for Boyer, whose company motto is “Innovation that inspires”.

When asked what prompted her jump into the world of business, she candidly admits that the loss

of her job as a flight attendant pushed her to pursue her business dreams.

“Let’s just say the company I worked for as a flight attendant had lost its contract with the carrier we worked collaboratively with and then all the flight attendants were left redundant.

The lifestyle that came with being a flight attendant was one I had grown accustomed to and given my love for travel I wanted to continue in a career path that allowed for my creativity to flourish and not limit my growth to four walls, a stack of paper and a routine of 9-5. I did benefit from training, graduation and being certified by the FAA in the USA, but no luck after trying out for other airlines post the said predicament. Prior to that my only job had been working in the media and that of a National Beauty Ambassador for Guyana so the next best option available was to dive into business but the type that would complement my creative and innovative side.

I did grow up with my father as a businessman and also excelled in the related courses in high school. So you can say there was some influence all along.

However, even now that I’m on this path working alongside others and gradually building and learning I don’t think of myself as a businessperson but more so as a creative utilising combined thoughts and ideas to improve my surroundings and circumstance. Altogether, I believe the timing was right to rise to the occasion.”

A true millennial’s response to the situation. In August 2015, Provotique was officially launched.

She explained that Provotique Image and Beauty Pageant Consultancy (onsultprovotique25@yahoo. com) is a working partnership between herself and another former beauty pageant titleholder.

It aims at incorporating a network of specialised professionals to help clients develop confidence by improving their image via customised packages. Clients are coached on appearance, behaviour and communication to help them show themselves to their best advantage.

Boyer’s next business venture, Provotique Walking Tours, Guyana’s first walking tours company, was launched in

Ruqayyah Boyer

February 2016. It is a partnership between Boyer and Candasy Tuanna Layne (Chief Operations Officer) who worked alongside her as a flight attendant. She says it’s a safe, fun and very affordable way for tourists and locals alike to sight-see around the capital city. In pointing out that the company was seeking to help boost Guyanese pride in their country, the well-travelled Boyer said “we believe one of our main challenges as a Guyanese people is that of nationalism and our current product is seeking to

help restore that in the best way possible”. The company, which strives to create personalised memorable moments for clients while being socially responsible and environmentally friendly, is seeking to expand beyond Georgetown and to the Caribbean. Bookings can be made at provotiquewalkingtours@ yahoo.com 24 hours in advance.

The former beauty queen has been heartened by the public’s response to Provotique.

“Initially, there was a lot of curiosity with the name itself generating a lot of interest. The response has been very positive and encouraging.

Friends, family, most in civil society, some in the Private Sector and Government seem to have taken kindly to the ideas and concepts generated thus far under this small enterprise and we are progressively gaining momentum. As an umbrella, we look forward to growing and becoming more established in years to come.”

She advised would-be entrepreneurs to go for it and establish their business. In reflecting on the lessons she learnt along the way, Boyer

noted: “Business isn’t a solo job.

Relationships are fundamental in general, but in business it’s even more critical to harness healthy relationships across the board if you are to survive in this type of industry. Never take any one person for granted irrespective of what position they may hold, every individual is just as important as the next and at any point that one relationship may be the portal to something great.”

Everything takes time, so be patient. Business in itself requires a certain type of fortitude to commit and even so it can still be a very challenging lifestyle. However, once you’re devoted to seeing it through, the end results I’ve been told will be worth the sacrifices made. Overall, believe in your brand, believe in your vision and try maintain and harness an honourable reputation.”

Boyer stressed that she has very high expectations of the business, as “the possibilities are endless”.

Contact: facebook.com/ Provotique, facebook.com/ provotiquewalkingtours, 6902739

Amazon to boost India Oil rises, hits 2016 highs investment by US$3B Business News

C

rude futures rose on Wednesday, hitting 2016 highs above US$50 a barrel and settling up for a third straight day on worries about sabotage of oil facilities in Nigeria, although a build in US gasoline stocks amid peak summer demand could pressure prices.

US crude stocks fell for the third consecutive week, sliding by 3.2 million barrels versus analysts’ expectations for a 2.7 million-barrel drawdown, Government data showed.

But gasoline inventories grew by one million barrels and distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.8 million barrels, versus forecasts of drawdowns.

This indicates a sentiment that gasoline demand will weaken more than expected or that the crude glut will be reflected by a gasoline glut, said Troy Vincent, crude oil analyst for New York-headquartered energy data provider ClipperData.

Brent crude settled up US$1.07 at US$52.51 a barrel. It extended gains in post-settlement trade,

reaching US$52.60, the highest since October.

US crude futures rose 87 cents, or 1.7 per cent, to settle at US$51.23 a barrel. The session high was US$51.34, a peak since July.

Oil rallied early, after the Niger Delta Avengers militant group said it had blown up a Chevron oil well in Nigeria, rejecting peace talks with the Government. Rebel attacks have brought oil output in Nigeria, once Africa’s largest crude producer, to a 20-year low.

(Reuters)

Market statistics Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Cambio Rates Bank of Guyana Cur

Buying

Selling

Fixed as at June 7, 2016 Calculated at 94% purity

USD

$1241.10

$164.53

Gross

$239,650

$205.98

$208.44

Net

$222,874

$ 234.31

$237.30

GBP

$300.47

$304.25

CAN

$162.65

USD EURO

Indicators as on June 8, 2016 Indicators

US$ per barrel

Crude Oil

$50.36

Price

Change %

+1.33

USD

Change %

Rough Rice

$253.66/ton

London Sugar

$527.70/ton

+0.00 +2.80

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Once

Bid/Ask

$1262.60

$1263.60

Low/High

$1246.90

$1265.20

Change

+0.10

+0.01%

Business Concept – Customer-centric Creating a positive consumer experience at the point of sale and post-sale. A customer-centric approach can add value to a company by enabling it to differentiate itself from competitors who do not offer the same experience. (Business Dictionary)

A

mazon has said it will increase its investment in India by US$3 billion, bringing the total amount invested in the country to more than US$5 billion.

The online retail giant announced a $2 billion investment in India in 2014 and already employs 45,000 people there.

Chief executive Jeff Bezos said Amazon continued to see “huge potential” in India, its fastest-growing region.

In 2014, the firm said

India was on track to become its “fastest country ever” to achieve US$1 billion in gross sales.

However, it faces competition from home grown ecommerce retailers Flipkart and Snapdeal.

Bezos was speaking at a summit in Washington, attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We have already created some 45,000 jobs and continue to see huge potential in the Indian economy,” he told the US-India Business

Council’s leadership summit.

“Our Amazon.in team is surpassing even our most ambitious planned milestones.”

In a letter to shareholders in April, Bezos described Amazon’s efforts to educate small business owners in India about selling online.

In February, it launched Amazon Tatkal, a service that enables sellers to get online in less than an hour, which Bezos said had reached sellers in 25 cities.

(BBC News)

Investors’ Guide

Dow finishes back above 18,000 as dollar dips

T

he Dow ended above 18,000 for the first time since April on Wednesday as declines in the dollar lifted some commodity-related shares and boosted the outlook for multinationals.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 66.77 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 18,005.05, closing above 18,000 for the first time since April 27.

The S&P 500 materials index climbed 0.6 per cent following gains in copper and gold prices.

Energy shares were lower despite a jump in oil prices.

The benchmark S&P 500, up for a third straight session, is now about 12 points shy of its all-time closing high of 2130.82. It gained 6.99 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 2119.12, while the Nasdaq Composite added 12.89 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 4974.64.

Helping sentiment was a weaker dollar, which tends to benefit US multinationals that derive a large portion of their sales from overseas. The S&P industrials index rose 0.7 per cent, the day’s best-performing

S&P index.

“The weaker dollar and strength in commodity names is certainly helping to fuel the market’s strength,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.

“Multinational companies are all benefiting and helping to drag the market higher.”

The dollar to a five-week low against a basket of currencies as traders reduced bets of an imminent US interest rate increase.

With the S&P so close to its highs, “I do think the level around 2130 ... is going to provide some psychological resistance in the market, and you may see a little pause there,” James said.

Federal Reserve officials meet next Tuesday and Wednesday, and the US central bank is expected to leave rates unchanged. Despite surprisingly weak monthly jobs data last Friday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen boosted sentiment Monday by painting a mostly upbeat picture of the economy.

Bucking the recent trend in retail stocks, Lululemon Athletica Inc shares rose 4.9 per cent to US$71.48 after first-quarter sales beat analyst expectations.

Among the day’s decliners, shares of VeriFone Systems fell 24.7 per cent to US$21.27, a day after announcing lower-thanexpected earnings and said it intended to reduce headcount and conduct a strategic review to address underperforming businesses.

About 6.5 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, below the 6.8 billion daily average for the past 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2034 to 981, for a 2.07-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1844 issues rose and 980 fell for a 1.88-to-1 ratio favouring advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 53 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 106 new highs and 24 new lows.

(Reuters)

17

news

thursDAY, june 9, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Mayor defends Cabinet gives green light container tax to over $2B in contracts decision D – says damage to the roads by freight trucks is to be blamed

T

he Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase Green, is defending the Municipality’s decision to now charge businessmen a $25,000 fee for parking container trucks along city streets for offload goods, noting that the vehicles continue to deteriorate these thoroughfares.

Chase Green, in an interview with Guyana Times, on Wednesday said that the cost to repair to roads damaged by these trucks was being borne by the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) since previously, there was no fee attached.

Mayor Chase-Green highlighted that when the roadways become “broken” and “deteriorated”, the businessmen would be the first to accuse the Council of providing poor services.

As such, the Council took a decision last year to introduce the “container tax”.

She explained that the $25,000 would allow the freight trucks to be parked for a maximum of three days in front of the respective businesses, and for each additional day, an additional $5000 would be charged.

“I don’t think $25,000 is high. Remember those containers are coming into our city streets, and they occupy in front of your business, especially on the busy downtown areas, like Regent Street, Robb Street, Water Street and previously they paid nothing. It

Mayor Patricia Chase Green

damages our roadways, it damages our parapets and we have to repair. These same business people complain if the roads are not proper,” she said.

The Mayor told this publication that another reason for the fee is the increased vehicular congestion when the trucks are parked in the city’s shopping districts.

She indicated that while the parking of these trucks is outlawed, that law was not being enforced.

“Everyone is coming into the city and taking out from the city every day. Nobody wants to pay for anything in the city. Yet they look forward to the city to provide all of the services for them. And if you look back to the laws, those containers should not even be on

those streets. Take for instance, if you go on Friday nights to these streets, those big big trucks, loaded with rice, take up the entire Water Street, starting somewhere from Fogarty’s going way down to the seawall. We get nothing from them. And if those trucks continue like that all the time, the roads are going to be damaged. And it’s our responsibility to repair it,” she stated and asked, “Where are we going to get the money from?”

It was further related that businessmen were informed of the fee attached to parking containers outside of their businesses via the Public Relations Department between November and December of last year.

uring its weekly meeting on Tuesday last, Cabinet granted its no objection to several multimillion-dollar contracts in the various sectors.

According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency on Wednesday, approvals were given for contracts in the Ministries of Public Infrastructure, Public Health, Education, Security, Communities and Social Protection.

These approved contracts amounts to a total of a whopping $2,054,059,056.

Under the Public Security Ministry, a total of $492.2 million was approved in contracts. These include $32.5 million for the upgrade of sea defence structures between Bushlot and Reliance in Essequibo, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam); $206.4 million for supply and installation of ADS-Band WHF repeater equipment for the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), which is awarded to Intelecan; $65.9 million for rehabilitation of Iwokrama-Fairview Airstrip, awarded to JR Ranch Incorporated.

An additional $77.59 million was approved for the docking and rehabilitation of MV Sabanto, being awarded to EC Vieira Investments Limited; $33.97 million for the construction of river defences at Arthurville, Wakenaam Island, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), and was awarded to Maraj Contracting Services; $60.59 million for the construction of rip rap sea defences at Moorfarm and Rubblewall, Wakenaam Island, Region

Independence flag allegedly replaced at Kwakwani

R

egion 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Chairman Renis Morian is perturbed over the alleged move by someone in the Upper Berbice region of Kwakwani to remove a flag, which was

hoisted during a flag- raising ceremony in the community to signal Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary.

According to Morian, he is seeking to engage the Police on the “unaccept-

able” move whereby the flag was removed and replaced. The original flag was allegedly left at a “guard hut”, according to Morian.

The Regional Chairman recently referred to the

Essequibians educated on ...

Attorney-at-Law Simone Morris Ramlall explained in detail key aspects of the Bill. The entire Bill, she said, is principally intended to reform young people to move on and lead a productive life after contact with the law, and to ensure their records are sealed and not used against him or her.

Ramlall further explained that the Bill re-

flected the modern philosophy of juvenile justice in an effort to strengthen and make the justice system more responsive. The Bill also sought to provide a framework where professionals are in the forefront to support the State in assisting juveniles, as far as possible.

The main focus, Ramlall noted, is to ensure that juveniles understand what

alleged act as “lawlessness”, adding, “it’s like Kwakwani is the Wild Wild West”. As such, the head of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) said he would be following up the issue with the Police.

FROM PAGE 5

wrong they did and for a sanction to be given for the error, but at the end of the sanction period, the child must be able to reintegrate smoothly into society. The Bill also focused on the role of the Police.

Persons who attended the consultations called for an increase in the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14. There was also a call for intervention

from religious organisations for first-time offenders in terms of counselling before putting the matter before the courts.

Once the Bill becomes law, the Minister responsible for Public Security will have the responsibility of establishing facilities for juvenile custody and detention throughout Guyana.

Three, awarded to Maraj Contracting Services, and another $15.3 million for the construction of groynes along Cullen, Essequibo Coast, Region Two, given to Adamantium Holdings.

Meanwhile, Cabinet also granted it’s no objection to contracts under the Education Ministry to the tune of $628 million. Among the contracts was the procurement of primary and secondary level textbooks for national distribution from the following publishers: Oxford University Press at $39.7 million, Macmillan Distribution at $10.4 million, Bookpoint Limited at $17.7 million, and Mohamed’s Book Store Associates Limited $180.3

Guyana, Global Healthcare Supplies and International Pharmacy Agency.

A contract for the sum of $109.4 million for the procurement of medical supplies for the Public Health Ministry was awarded to New GPC INC, Meditron, International Pharmacy Agency, Caribbean Medical Supplies and Global Healthcare Supplies; while second contract valued $115.2 million for the procurement of roche reagents and supplies for the National Public Health Reference Laboratory was given to Productos Roche Panama, South America, and a third contract of $30 million was awarded to Netcom Computer

Two contracts were approved under the Foreign Affairs Ministry for the provision of advisory services in respect to the Guyana-Venezuela Border Controversy.

These contracts were awarded to Sir Shridath Ramphal for $7.8 million and Dr Payam Akhavan for $10.3 million. million.

There were also contracts for the provision of security services for the University of Guyana – Tain and Turkeyen campuses, awarded to Massy Security Guyana to the tune of $85 million, and procurement of fortified sweetened biscuits under the National School Feeding Programme for the school year April 2016-March 2017 and this contract valued $294.7 million was awarded to Banks DIH Limited.

On the other hand, contracts to the tune of $762.6 million were approved for the procurement of items for the Public Health Ministry of. A contract in the sum of $21 million was approved for the procurement of two ventilators for the Intensive Care Unit at the Georgetown Public Hospital from KD Enterprise; $61.6 million for the supply and delivery of contraceptives for Maternal and Child Health Care awarded to NEW GPC INC; $15.2 for the purchase of vaccines for Maternal Child Health from Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), and $242.2 million for the procurement of dialysis fluids and supplies for the Georgetown Public Hospital from ANSA McAL Trading Limited.

In addition, Cabinet gave its no objection to the award of the contract for the procurement of pharmaceuticals for the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The $167.94 million contract is awarded to NEW GPC INC, Health 2000

City for the supply of a washer for the laundry at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Two contracts were approved under the Foreign Affairs Ministry for the provision of advisory services in respect to the Guyana-Venezuela Border Controversy. These contracts were awarded to Sir Shridath Ramphal for $7.8 million and Dr Payam Akhavan for $10.3 million.

Moreover, Dask Enterprise was awarded a contract to the tune of $69 million under the Ministry of Presidency for the procurement of military uniform material for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and another contract to the tune of $20 million was approved under the Guyana Fire Service for the procurement of tools and equipment from Industrial Safety Supplies Incorporated.

Additionally, a $16.97 million contract was given no objection for the construction of a ramp and landing for Orealla and Siparuta residents on the Corriverton Foreshore, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne). This contract under the Communities Ministry was awarded to Memorex Enterprises.

Cabinet also approved the supply and delivery of cooked meals for the Night Shelter under the Social Protection Ministry. These contracts were awarded to D and Gee’s Foods for Dinner at $17.5 million and Breakfast at $16.1 million, to Koshall’s Catering for Lunch at $25.26 million.

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guyana-times.com

THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016

ARCHIE

A trip will help you more clearly see a situation you (March 21April 19) face. A partnership can be adjusted to improve communication and cooperation.

Romance will improve your day.

ARIES

You cannot buy love or use TAURUS emotional manipulation to (April 20- get your way. Youngsters will May 20) try your patience and arguments will not solve matters.

Learn from past mistakes.

DILBERT

If something doesn’t seem GEMINI right, you need to ask ques(May 21June 20) tions. Don’t be a follower, or you will end up being used.

Home and personal improvements will boost your confidence and energy.

Don’t let the unexpected CANCER changes going on around you (June 21- cause stress and worry. Go July 22) about your business and follow your chosen path. Trust in your imagination and don’t fear being unique.

PEANUTS

Think twice before you share

LEO your opinion. Not everyone will (July 23- agree, putting you in a comproAug. 22) mising position. Put more effort into self-preservation, practicing good health and maintaining a superior appearance. Put love first.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Refuse to let anyone force VIRGO you to make a premature de(Aug. 23cision.

Use your intelligence Sept. 22) to turn any situation you face to your favour.

Don’t hold back. If you LIBRA (Sept. 23- believe in something, speak Oct. 23) up and share your thoughts.

Your passion and deliberate actions will help bring about compelling change. Romance looks promising.

WORD GAME TODAY’S WORD – HIRELING

SUDOKU

You’ll be intrigued by an SAGITTARIUS offer. Before you put your (Nov. 23- trust in someone, make Dec. 21) sure the ideas presented are sound. Traveling and making new acquaintances will do you good.

(HIRELING: HIRE-ling: One who works solely for compensation.)

Average mark 16 words Time limit 30 minutes Can you find 24 or more words in HIRELING? The list will be published tomorrow.

YESTERDAY’S WORD – RUGOSE

rogue rose roue rouge rouse ruse urge user goes gore gorse

grouse ogre ours sego sore sour suer sure surge ergo euro

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Don’t feel the need to SCORPIO work with just anyone. If you (Oct. 24carefully consider with whom Nov. 22) you want to collaborate, you will find the road to victory without delay.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

An opportunity to make CAPRICORN money or expand a project (Dec. 22will need your undivided atJan. 19) tention. Pull in people from your past to help you turn your dream into reality.

Say little and do a lot.

AQUARIUS Being observant and objective (Jan. 20Feb. 19) will help you alleviate trouble. Upgrades to your home, relationships or physical appearance will lift your spirits.

Take a short trip and inPISCES (Feb. 20- teract with people you can March 20) learn from. Don’t let anyone treat you poorly. Speak up and take action. It’s up to you to initiate personal change.

THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016

19

England v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test

Lord’s factor offers struggling Sri Lanka a boost A

fter a torrid tour of England’s northern-most venues, Sri Lanka head south to their relative fortress at Lord’s. Ever since Sidath Wettimuny and Duleep Mendis lit up their country’s maiden visit in 1984 with a brace of epic hundreds, Sri Lanka have forged an unlikely fondness for the game’s grandest venue. They haven’t yet won in seven previous matches - but neither have they lost since 1991, and the defiance that they showed in each of their four most recent visits will augur well for the challenge that lies ahead this week.

As Sri Lanka head to HQ as a chastened and somewhat demoralised outfit – they were crushed in Cardiff after being bowled out for 82 in the second innings of a rainplagued first Test. But just as they managed in the second innings at Chester-le-Street last week, Sri Lanka found unexpected resilience in their hour of need, and matched England blow-for-blow on a typically flat deck - 486 v 479 in the first innings.

There’s no guarantee that Sri Lanka’s batsmen will maintain that upward surge, of course. But with the weather finally threat-

James Anderson and Stuart Broad

ening to break out into summer, and with four innings of proper England Test experience now under their belt - as opposed to the slightly flimsy county opposition that Dimuth Karunaratne was railing against earlier this week - they are as well prepared as they can possibly be for a contest that provides an early raison d’etre for Andrew Strauss’s newly incorporated points system. The Test series may be lost already - England are 2-0 up with one to play but the avoidance of defeat

this week will keep the Super Series alive ahead of the oneday leg later in the month.

With Dinesh Chandimal’s excellent century underpinning their resistance, Sri Lanka now know they have a means to survive the best that England can throw at them and it really is the best, given that James Anderson has just succeeded his new-ball partner Stuart Broad as the No.1-ranked bowler in the world. Among Englishmen, only Steve Harmison (2004) and Ian Botham (1980) have

ever before held that accolade, which just goes to show how mighty this current partnership is.

But, in Sri Lanka’s bowling ranks, the disarray and despondency hasn’t been entirely banished. Dushmantha Chameera’s zippy pace will be missed on this Lord’s surface perhaps more than anywhere else - he flew home earlier in the month with a back injury.

And while Shaminda Eranga is available for selection after being reported for a suspect action at Chester-le-Street, the chances are that he won’t be exposed to the heightened scrutiny.

The tale of the tour so far doesn’t augur well for Sri Lanka’s prospects over the next few days. But, as Kumar Sangakkara, their irreplaceable former captain and linchpin, said during the MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture on Monday, this is not a team that can be judged in the hereand-now. Give their young players 18 months to absorb the lessons of a bruising tour, and let’s see how they stack up when England next pay a visit to their shores. Nevertheless, as their forebears have demonstrated in the past, the hallowed turf has an uncanny ability to bring out their very

Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket 2016 off to great start G

eorgetown, Guyana – The Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket Programme for 2016 got off to a rousing start as over 100 enthusiastic children participated in the on-field skills display at the Guyana National Stadium.

The aspiring cricketers were taken from the top performing primary schools in Guyana to showcase their talents during the halftime break in the opening match of the Ballr Cup Tri Nation ODI Series between West Indies and South Africa last Friday.

The primary schools were: North Georgetown Primary, Patentia Primary, Hope Town Primary, Mae’s Primary, Supply Primary, Saraswat Primary, Watooka Primary and Philadelphia Primary.

One of the participants was Shiloh Adams, an allrounder from the North Georgetown Primary School, who was then chosen to accompany captains Jason Holder and Steve Smith at

Shiloh Adams stands with Steve Smith and Jason Holder at the toss of the West Indies versus Australia Ballr Cup Tri-Nations Cup Match at Providence (WICB Media Photo/Randy Brooks)

the toss for the Match 2 of the Ballr Cup between West Indies and Australia on Sunday.

K.J Singh, the WICB’s Senior Project Officer, said he was pleased with the day’s event and is expecting more growth in the tourna-

ment.

“We are off to a great start for 2016. The children who participated in the first Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket display here in Guyana were fantastic and showed great discipline and talent.

They were very enthusias-

tic and enjoyed their time on the field, and we look forward to similar demonstrations in the coming months as international cricket visits other countries across the West Indies,” Singh said.

“The WICB has definitely seen great success from the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket Programme which has been going for over 20 years. Players such as Britney Cooper, Shaquana Quintyne, Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite, Shamar Springer, Ryan John, Gidron Pope have come through the programme are were members of the West Indies teams which won the three international titles earlier this year.”

Singh added: “We hope the exposure and experiences these young Scotiabank kiddy cricketers take away for the interval display at the international series inspire them to work hard and achieve great cricketing success, just as those before them.”

(Windiescricket)

best. If England aren’t yet forewarned, a quick glance at their recent Lord’s history ought to do the trick.

Following scratchy starts to the summer, Nick Compton and Steven Finn are under the microscope going into the Lord’s Test, although Compton is the only one who is seriously fearing for his future. His failure to make so much as a half-century in 15 first-class innings is weighing heavily on his mind, and when a man as intense as Mark Ramprakash says it’s time to loosen up, you know the writing is on the wall.

Bandara, the uncapped leftarm seamer, may step in while Eranga faces up to his bowling action issues, while Dasun Shanaka could also be considered for a recall. Kusal Perera, back with the squad following the overturning of his drugs ban, is an outside bet to challenge the underperforming Lahiru Thirimanne in the middle order.

Don’t look down, look up.

Lord’s is one of those venues that can be entirely dictated by the weather. The pitch has been flat as a pancake ever since the installation of its now-decade-old drainage

Kumar Sangakkara will ring the bell on day one of the Lord’s Test

Compton, to be fair, probably hasn’t been helped by the lack of competition in the first two Tests. It’s hard to appreciate the merits of hard graft when the opposition is being rolled over inside 40 overs on a regular basis. But his only salvation is runs, and lots of them.

Chandimal took the plaudits at Chester-le-Street, but the catalyst for their fightback was provided by Kaushal Silva at the top of the order.

His hard-earned 60 from 145 balls atoned for a dismal run of performances by Sri Lanka’s openers - his partner, Dimuth Karunaratne, has reached double figures once in four innings - and demonstrated that resistance wasn’t entirely futile. It’s been an up-and-down few months for Kaushal - he was dropped last year after a run of one fifty in nine innings against Pakistan, India and West Indies. However, he thrived at Lord’s on his last visit in 2014 with 63 and 57 in his two innings. He knows he has the game to succeed in England, and he might just have picked up the confidence too.

More potential upheaval in Sri Lanka’s ranks following an injury in training for Milinda Siriwardana, who faces a late fitness test on an ankle problem. Chaminda

system in 2006 - as the riot of recent centuries on its legendary honours boards can attest.

However, the ball still hoops around regardless given the right cloud cover, so we’ll all have to wait and see.

The week is presumed to be dry, but there’s humidity in the offing for Thursday morning. Anderson, for one, won’t object to that.

Stuart Broad needs seven more wickets to become the 22nd bowler, and third from England, to reach 350 in Tests. Only Ian Botham (383) and James Anderson (451) lie ahead of him among Englishmen.

With 16 catches in two Tests so far, Jonny Bairstow needs another four dismissals at Lord’s to set a new record for a wicketkeeper in a three-Test series. The record of 19 is held by Ian Healy (Aus v SL, 1995-96).

Kumar Sangakkara will ring the bell to signal five minutes before the start of play on the first day of the match. He will become the seventh Sri Lankan to be given the honour, following in the footsteps of his teammates Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Attapattu and Chaminda Vaas who rung the bell in 2014.

20

guyana-times.com

thursDAY, june 9, 2016

Challenge Maria Sharapova banned for 2 years Wolf’s Softball Cup for failed drugs test but will appeal continues on Sunday

M

aria Sharapova has been banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation for using a prohibited drug.

The Russian was provisionally banned in March after testing positive for meldonium at January’s Australian Open.

The heart disease drug, which 29-year-old Sharapova says she has been taking since 2006 for health issues, became a banned substance on 1 January 2016.

The five-time Grand Slam winner said she “cannot accept” the “unfairly harsh” ban - and will appeal.

Sharapova will challenge the suspension, which is backdated to 26 January 2016, at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) In a statement, she said the tribunal concluded her offence was “unintentional” and that she had not tried to use a “performance-enhancing substance”.

But she claimed the ITF had asked the tribunal for a four-year ban, adding it “spent tremendous amounts of time and resources trying

Maria Sharapova reveals Australian Open failed drugs test

to prove I intentionally violated the anti-doping rules”.

The tribunal ruling said Sharapova tested positive for meldonium in an outof competition test on 2 February, as well as in the aftermath of her Australian Open quarter-final defeat

by Serena Williams on 26 January. It treated both results as a single anti-doping violation.

The London 2012 Olympic silver medallist added: “I have missed playing tennis and I have missed my amazing fans... your love

and support has gotten me through these tough days.

“I intend to stand for what I believe is right and that’s why I will fight to be back on the tennis court as soon as possible.”

Sharapova, then 17, became the first Russian to win Wimbledon in 2004, added the US Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008, before completing a career Grand Slam with the French Open title in 2012.

She won the French Open again in 2014 and was Forbes’ highest-earning fe-

male athlete in the world for 11 consecutive years, until Williams claimed top spot this year.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said in April that scientists were unsure how long meldonium stayed in the system, and suggested athletes who tested positive before 1 March could avoid bans, provided they had stopped taking it before 1 January.

However, Sharapova had already admitted she continued taking the substance past that date, saying she was unaware it had been added to the banned list as she knew it by another name - mildronate.

In reaching its verdict, the ITF recognised Sharapova had not intentionally broken anti-doping rules, as she did not know that mildronate contained a banned substance from January of this year.

But the federation said the Russian was “the sole author of her own misfortune”, as she had “failed to take any steps to check whether continued use of the medicine was permissible”. (BBC Sport)

T

Wayne Jones

he prolonged rainy season has affected yet another cricket tournament in Georgetown.

The Wolf’ Challenge Softball Cup tournament for MaleOpen and Male-Masters teams which has been severely affected by the May/ June rains will resume with six more matches this Sunday at the “Mecca” of softball cricket in Guyana, the Everest Cricket Club ground.

The tournament which is organized by the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) started in February this year

May with some teams only playing two games while others got in three. There are 12 Masters teams and five Open teams and this Sunday there will be six matches in the Masters Category.

All 12 teams will be in action in the 25 overs aside competition for players above the age of 45 years old.

Organizing Secretary of the GFSCA Wayne Jones said “it’s going on too long and we need to get in some games.” He was referring to the lengthy break with no cricket action taking place in about two months. The six matches slated for this Sunday at Everest are; Pitch 1: 10:00 Hrs Floodlights vs Wellman, 13:00 Hrs Tropical Springs vs Wolf Warriors Masters Pitch 2: 10:00 Hrs Regal Masters vs Tropical Woods, 13:00 Hrs Enterprise Legends vs Fisherman Masters Pitch 3: 10:00 Hrs Albion Masters vs Savage Masters, 13:00 Hrs Parika Masters vs H.S Masters.

Weather permitting the Open contest will resume next weekend.

Copa America: US men’s national team thrash Costa Rica 4-0, Colombia advance T

he U.S. men’s national team (USMNT) stared elimination in the eye Tuesday but put together a masterful performance to beat Costa Rica, 4-0, at the Copa America.

Clint Dempsey got the scoring started in the ninth minute when he drove home a penalty in the right corner after Bobby Wood was thrown to the turf in the penalty box. DeAndre Yedlin set up the play with a great stutter-step and quality cross that Wood was ready to pounce on getting taken out.

The goal, Dempsey’s 50th internationally, brought him to within seven of Landon Donovan’s USMNT record.

After playing as a striker in the first game, Dempsey slid into an attacking midfield role Tuesday, and looked much more comfortable facilitating for others.

Dempsey’s keen vision led to the second goal, when he picked out Jermaine Jones while dribbling into the box.

Jones took the slow-rolling ball and laced one into the bottom right corner of the net, then celebrated with the American Outlaws. Jones had just missed an opportunity moments before, but he made sure he got it right the second time.

Costa Rica, normally known for its tight defensive formation, looked completely out of sorts after allowing the second goal. Fabian Johnson, the USMNT’s left back, was

ready to take advantage.

The marauding runs of Johnson caused Costa Rica havoc all night, especially in the 42nd minute when he found Wood at he top of the penalty box. Wood quickly gained control, spun, then slotted one home in the bottom left corner.

The fans, situated right behind the goal, went wild because they knew that goal gave their team a chance to stay in the tournament.

The second half was a little more subdued with the game already out of hand, and Costa Rica opting to sub out Joel Campbell, but Graham Zusi, who came on in the 70th minute, added a fourth goal in the 87th minute after stealing a pass.

After Friday’s 2-0 loss against No. 3 ranked Colombia, and then when Costa Rica and Paraguay tied in their game, the USMNT would have been out of the tournament with a game to play with a loss. But Jurgen Klinsmann, who has been under fire lately, got his team to play with more passion and better precision against a beleaguered Costa Rican side.

Colombia 2-1 Paraguay

Colombia advanced to the quarterfinals of the Copa America Centenario courtesy of a 2-1 win over 10-man Paraguay on Tuesday.

Captain James Rodriguez overcame a shoul-

Clint Demsey scored the opening goal from the penalty spot

der problem to score the match-winner in the first half after Carlos Bacca gave Colombia an early lead at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

The goal was James’ second in as many Copa America games as the Real Madrid attacker extended his goal-scoring tally for Colombia to 16.

Paraguay made things difficult for Colombia in the second half as substitute Victor Ayala pulled a goal back with a stunning strike, but a red card to Oscar Romero dented their chances of finding an equaliser.

The Lanus midfielder received two yellow cards in as many minutes, with Colombia holding out for victory.

The win means Colombia advances to the last eight of the centenary tournament,

while Paraguay must beat the United States in its final Group A fixture to go through to the quarterfinals.

Colombia coach Jose Pekerman named an unchanged lineup, with James keeping his spot in the side despite concerns over his fitness following a shoulder injury sustained against the USA last week.

Paraguay counterpart Ramon Diaz made just the one change, replacing Derlis Gonzalez with Miguel Almiron for the 22-year-old’s international starting debut.

Colombia looked the livelier of the two sides in the opening stages and James threatened with a shot from distance before Bacca gave them the lead in the 12th minute.

Cristian Zapata won a corner after his header was

blocked, and James delivered a perfect ball for Bacca to head home the opener.

James had the chance to score himself in the 16th minute but his effort was saved by Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar.

Colombia shot-stopper David Ospina hardly touched the ball in the opening half, and a Robert Piris Da Motta strike was the only shot they had on goal in the opening 22 minutes, but even that was blocked by defender Jeison Murillo.

However, Colombia eventually did double its advantage through James, after Edwin Cardona’s brilliant lay-off inside the box set up the Madrid attacker to smash home the second.

Paraguay managed to pull one back in the 34th minute through a Paulo da Silva header, but he was ad-

judged to have been offside by the assistant referee in a tight, but correct call.

Cardona set up Bacca with a delightful curling cross a minute later but the Milan forward could not collect with the ball properly, before Ospina was forced into his first save of the half approaching the break, putting out his hand to deny a bouncing free kick.

Paraguay was unlucky not to go into the half at least one goal down, after Dario Lezcano smashed a free kick in a dangerous position off the crossbar.

Colombia thought it had scored a third when Bacca put the ball into the net in the 69th minute but the goal was ruled out for offside, and Paraguay struck back just two minutes later.

Substitute Ayala received the ball from distance but unleashed a thunderous effort past Ospina to reduce the deficit with just under 20 minutes remaining.

However, the task at hand became even more difficult for Paraguay when the team was reduced to 10 men after Romero received two yellow cards in as many minutes.

Cardona almost buried the game a minute later but his strike came off the post, however Colombia was able to run out the game as Paraguay pushed hard for an equalizer to no avail.

YELLOW PAGES thursDAY, june 9, 2016 | www.guyana-times.com

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21

sports

Contractor removes sand from Kennard Memorial Turf Club for sea defence P

By Andrew Carmichael

resident of the Kennard Memorial Turf Club, Justice Cecil Kennard has expressed concerns over the destruction of the race track at Bush Lot by a contractor who was contracted by government to build the sea defence.

Toolsie Persaud Ltd had been awarded a contract to rehabilitate the sea defense at Bush Lot/Madia, Corentyne.

According to Kennard, in the process of executing the project, the contractor damaged the roadway leading to the complex making it almost impossible for vehicular traffic to traverse, destroyed sections of the car park, broke rails around the race track and also on the race track.

The club’s President explained that, the contractor used the roadway leading to the complex to get his heavy duty machinery into the work site and also to take materials to the work site.

This he said destroyed the road leading to the arena. The actions also destroyed sections of the car park situated beyond the gates.

More worrying Kennard explained, is the fact that the contractor dug sand from the tract to build the sea defence. Two and a half furlongs, two meters deep at thirty feet wide of sand

The road leading to the race track is impassable to vehicular traffic

was removed from the track and used the rehabilitate the sea defence Kennard said. He estimated the cost to repair the damage to be at $2M. In order the get to the race track, Kennard said he is of the belief that the contractor broke rails from a section of track. These he said are for security purposes. These damages are estimated at $1M In a letter dated May 5, to Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, and titled ‘Rehabilitation of sea defence at Bush Lot/Madia Corentyne,’ Kennard expressed frustration and disgust.

“As you are aware Toolsie Persaud has been given the contract for the rehabilitation of the above referred work.

We of Kennard Memorial Turf Club have given maximum cooperation to the contractor by giving free access to the road lead-

ing to the race track and sea defence work, the race track, our car park and we also provided a house free of cost (including light and water) for employees of Toolsie Persaud Ltd in order that the work would have been expedited,” the letter said in part.

The project took more that 18-months. Kennard is seeking the intervention on the Public Infrastructure Ministry to have the matter resolved.

Engineer attached to Toolsie Persaud Ltd. Romeo Ramscindo has since met with the club and has promised to repair the damages.

However, Kennard say the destruction to Guyana’s premiere horse race track, has caused the postponement of race meetings and loss of revenue.

He is hoping that it will be fixed for the next scheduled meet billed for August 28 this year.

Rossouw out of tri-series with shoulder injury R

ilee Rossouw is set to return to South Africa from the Caribbean, to have surgery on the shoulder he injured during the tri-series match against Australia on June 7. Dean Elgar has been named Rossouw’s replacement. Elgar was picked ahead of David Miller, who was dropped for this series.

Rossouw had injured his right shoulder while fielding in South Africa’s bonuspoint win against Australia.

The incident occurred when he crashed shoulderfirst into the ground as he hauled the ball in after a chase from backward point.

He was helped off the field by the medical staff and taken for scans with what seemed to be a dislocated shoulder.

Rossouw had scored 68 runs in the two matches he played in the series, including an innings of 61 in the opening match of the triseries against West Indies, which South Africa lost by four wickets.

Elgar comes in to the squad having last played an ODI in October last year on South Africa’s tour to India. The left-handed bats-

Rilee Rossouw had injured his right shoulder while fielding in South Africa’s bonus-point win against Australia

man scored 608 runs in six matches in South Africa’s first-class competition, the Sunfoil Series, in 2015-16 and was the second-highest run-getter for South Africa in the four-Test series against England earlier this year. Against England, Elgar scored 284 runs in four matches, including a knock of 118 in the Boxing

Day Test in Durban.

South Africa are leading the table after the first leg of tri-series matches. After losing their opening match, they claimed a bonus-point victory over Australia, defending 189 for a 47-run win. Their next match in the series is on June 11 against Australia in Basseterre, St Kitts.

22

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

thursDAY, june 9, 2016

Roddy Estwick wants West Indies Warriors Coach Roger to focus on building partnerships Harper hails impact of proud W Guyana public for CPL 2016 T Hero Caribbean Premier League, 2016

he Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) are delighted to announce that the Ticket Offices at Guyana CPL Office, Corner Camp and Quamina Streets in Georgetown will open today.

The Ticket Offices will be open for business from Monday to Saturday during normal working hours (9am6pm) to enable fans to physically buy their tickets in advance for the biggest party in sport this summer.

Supporters can already buy tickets online at www.

Guyana Amazon Warriors Head Coach, Roger Harper

the field this year we need big crowds and we are going to try our best to play our part and aim to give our public a team to be proud of. I hope to see as many fans as possible again this year.”

Guyana Amazon Warriors Home Fixtures (all times local): 7 July – Jamaica Tallawahs (19:00 Hrs), 9 July – St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots (12:00 Hrs), 10 July – Trinbago Knight Riders (19:00 Hrs), 12 July – St. Lucia Zouks (19:00 Hrs).

The fourth edition of the tournament opens on June 29

Amazon Warriors fans are very creative and spontaneous

cplt20.com and are urged to buy in advance to avoid disappointment.

The Warriors will be aiming to lift their inaugural CPL title this year and will face Jamaica Tallawahs in their first home fixture on Thursday, 7 July and will play a mix of day and night games between 7 - 12 July.

Roger Harper, Head

Coach of Guyana Amazon Warriors, said: “The CPL is now just a few weeks away and there’s great excitement from everyone within the organisation.

Guyana supporters are incredibly proud of their team and their support on match days makes Providence Stadium one of the greatest fortresses in the Caribbean.

To help us achieve success on

when Trinbago Knight Riders host the St. Lucia Zouks at the Queen’s Park Oval from 21:00 Hrs. The Guyana Amazon Warriors open their 2016 campaign on the road to the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Warner Park on Thursday June 30 at 20:00 Hrs. The Trinbago Knight Riders are the defending champions.

CBC U16 Championship official website launched

T

he Caribbean B a s k e t b a l l Confederation (CBC) launched the official website of the 2016 CBC U16 Championship, www.guyana2016.com.

The site will have the most current and complete information about this FIBA qualifying Championship in the Caribbean.

The website has the latest information for all participating national teams, including their full rosters, exhibition game results and history of the teams and its players in international competitions, among other details.

Also, the official website will have all the details of

the event, including information about the host city - Georgetown, travel advice, tickets, hotels for media and fans, media accreditation and all relevant information as it relates to the championship.

Throughout the Championship, the website www.guyana2016. com will provide full comprehensive coverage with news, livestats, leaders, game reports, photos, video highlights, exclusive interviews, and live broadcast of all games.

The CBC Championship will be held from July 14th - 9th for Men and July 12th - 16th for Women in Georgetown, Guyana. With

the participation of the men’s national teams from Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and the host Guyana, along with the women’s national teams from the Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and the host Guyana fighting for three spots in the 2017 Centrobasket U17Championship for Men and Women.

At the last CBC U16 Championship held in St. John, Antigua in 2008, the Bahamas won the championship for Men and Women.

est Indies bowling coach Roddy Estwick has urged his side to concentrate on building partnerships in order to improve upon their performance in the ongoing tri-series.

In the game against Australia in Guyana, West Indies were bowled out for 116 runs and went on to lose the match by six wickets with 146 balls still left in the game.

Despite a complete batting failure, Estwick termed the defeat as a collective responsibility and was confident that by building partnerships, the team can turn the results around.

“It is a collective thing.

We are all in this together, so we wouldn’t say it is the bowlers or the batters that let us down.

“We did not play well as a team in the last game and we know the areas that we need to improve.

“It is 50-over cricket and we need to get partnerships.

“Once we can get a partnership and somebody in the top four can get a big score we can turn it around, no doubt about that.”

West Indies are taking on South Africa and Australia in the ongoing tri-series and both the teams are ranked significantly higher than the hosts.

However, Estwick believes that this is a good opportunity for West Indies to challenge themselves and gauge their improvement over a period of time.

“That is why you play international cricket.

“You challenge yourself against the best and that is the gauge to see how far you

Roddy Estwick

have come.

“Guyana here is a different surface and when you go to St Kitts there is going to be a different pitch as well and you’ve got to rise to the challenge as a team and as a collective unit and that is what we are working to do.”

In the match against Australia in Guyana, the West Indies bowlers managed to pick four wickets and Sunil Narine starred with two scalps to his name.

Grading the bowling performance as 75 percent, Estwick wants to see a gradual improvement and wants the bowlers to keep learning.

“If you were grading it, I would say 75 percent.

“I am not totally happy yet and you are never happy.

“You are still striving to get better and get it near perfect.

“You are never going to get it 100 percent but you must see a gradual improvement.

“You must see the slide going upward.

“You keep improving, you keep passing on ideas and you are trying to work the Australian batsmen as well.

“So you keep learning all the time. Once you keep learning, you’ve got a chance, and Like I always say, if teaching happens, learning happens.”

The one area where West Indies performed well in both the games so far is the spin bowling attack with Narine and Sulieman Benn bowling well in tandem.

Though Estwick is happy with the way the West Indies spinners are performing, he wants them to study the technical aspects like par scores and pitch conditions to come out on top of the batsmen every time.

“The spinners are in a good place.

“Sunil Narine is a world class spinner, there is no doubt about that; so is Sulieman Benn. We are very happy about them.

“We’ve still got Ashley Nurse waiting in the wings.

“Your lengths tend to change, it depends from territories to territories.

“We will have to study the lengths we need to bowl.

“We have to study the par scores. There are little technical things that you have to do to make sure you come out on top.”

West Indies will play their third fixture of the triseries against Australia on 13th June in St Kitts and will follow it up with another match against South Africa at the same venue on 15th. (Sandeep Shivam, Cricket

World)

New dates set for National Cycling Championships

T

he Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) was forced to make changes to the dates and schedule of its national championships. According to GCF’s committee member Linden Dowridge the following changes are in place: Ladies Time Trials and Road Race for Juniors, Veterans and Ladies will take place at the Mahaicony Circuit, East Coast Demerara on Saturday June 18 from 08:00 hrs.

Juniors and Veterans will cover a distance of 50 miles (8.5 laps) and Ladies will cover a distance of 25 miles (4 laps) while the Time Trials for the Ladies will be 5.8 miles (1 lap).

On Saturday June 25 the Mahaicony circuit will also host the individual Time Trials for the Juniors, Seniors and Veterans categories of cyclists from 08:00 hrs.

The Road Race for Elite

2015 GCF - National Championship winner Hamza Esatman

Cyclist will take place on the outer circuit of the National Park on Sunday June 26 starting at 11:00 hrs and covering a distance of 75 miles (25 laps).

The finish line for the event will be outside the Guyana Defence Force’s en-

trance situated on Irving Street, opposite Barr Street, Kitty.

Last year’s male and female feature race and time trial were both respectively won by Hamza Eastman and England-based Claire Fraser-Green.

guyana-times.com

thursdAY, june 9, 2016

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2016

23

NAMILCO/GFF Flour Power Nat. U17 League

Soesdyke demolish Herstelling Biggest party in sport heads to Central Broward 11-0; Grove defeat Agricola 4-1 Stadium, Fort Lauderdale

Central Broward Stadium at Lauderhill in Fort Lauderdale will host six CPL matches in July 2016

U

SA international Steven Taylor proud to be a part of cricketing history in his home state The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) are delighted to announce that the Ticket Offices at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, located next to the Central Broward Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, will open today.

The Ticket Offices will be open for business from Monday to Friday (10am5pm) and on Saturday (12 – 4pm) to enable fans to physically buy their tickets in advance for the biggest party in sport this summer.

Supporters can already buy tickets online at www. cplt20.com and are urged to buy in advance to avoid disappointment.

Some of the biggest stars in world cricket, including West Indies stars Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, alongside South Africa’s AB de Villiers, New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and Australia’s Shane Watson, will descend on Florida between 28-31 July in what will be a gripping final round of matches before the finals the following week.

The Ticket Office at the

Steven Taylor

Lauderhill Performing Arts Center will provide supporters in the Sunshine State another outlet to sign up for the biggest party in sport which marks an historic chapter both for CPL and professional cricket in the USA. Local favourite Steven Taylor, a USA international all-rounder who will feature once more for Barbados Tridents having represented his country on 18 occasions to date, said: “As a Florida man, born and bred, I am hugely honoured to be involved in this incredible departure for professional cricket in the USA. There is a huge cricket audience across America who

are craving for the opportunity to see some of the biggest names in world cricket, and CPL’s decision to play these six games in Central Broward Stadium is huge for the sport.

“There has been a huge take up across America, with supporters coming from as far north as New York and as far west as Texas and Los Angeles, but it’s great now for Floridians to have an outlet at the ground to buy tickets. Things are really building and we want to see full houses across all six matches. Given the interest levels, I’d urge everyone to buy tickets early so we can put on a show and a celebration of Caribbean cricket that will captivate the entire cricketing world.”

Fort Lauderdale Fixtures (all times local): 28 July – Guyana Amazon Warriors v Barbados Tridents (19:00 Hrs), 29 July - St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Trinbago Knight Riders (19:00 Hrs), 30 July – St. Lucia Zouks v Jamaica Tallawahs (12:00 Hrs), Barbados Tridents v Guyana Amazon Warriors (16:00 Hrs), 31 July Trinbago Knight Riders v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (12:00 Hrs), Jamaica Tallawahs v St. Lucia Zouks (16:00 Hrs).

(CPLT20)

T

Tyrel Khan

he National Milling Company of Guyana (NAMILCO) East Bank Football Association (EBFA) leg of the NAMILCO/ GFF Flour Power National U-17 League got on the way with some commanding victories for traditional powerhouse teams, Soesdyke and Grove.

The association’s highly touted teams that are arguably number one and two in the association were in dismissive mood with Grove Hi Tech trouncing Agricola Red Triangle 4-1 while Soesdyke Falcons romped to a huge 11-0 win over Herstelling Raiders.

It was Agricola that would take the lead early in the encounter when Isaiah De Lover rocked the back of the nets in the 5th minute of play. As it turned out, it would be their only goal of the match.

Leading the EBFA’s number one team, Grove to their win were Kevin Padmore who netted a double with one each for Rasheed Evans and Threvon Pluck. Grove absorbed the early runs of Agricola but gradually turned the tables

to come out victors as they virtually sealed the win by the end of the first half.

Pluck opened proceedings in the 12th minute to even things up; his performance was matched by Evans in the 22nd minute as they took the lead and never .looked back. Padmore took center stage netting his first, two minutes to half time and his second one minute into the second half.

Soesdyke Falcons have sounded a stern warning to all with a solid all-round performance which produced their 11-0 win. The consistent Tryell Khan blasted a hat-trick including the fastest goal of the competition so far which came in the first minute of the tournament.

Soesdyke, like the other teams have been eagerly awaiting the start of action and they celebrated same with quick goals as the lead was double in the second minute Stephon Steel emulated Khan.

Khan’s elder brother, Tyrone led all scorers with a helmet-trick while Kevin Sobers converted twice.

Tyrell was on target again in the 11th and 61st minute.

Tyrone blasted the nets in the 23rd, 31st, 65th and 67th minute while Sobers inked his name on the score sheets in the 34th and 56th minute.

The other goal was scored by Shanon Samnauth.

Meanwhile, in remarks to the teams prior to the start of the matches, Mr Mc Leod commended the players for being members of their respective teams while encouraging them to be the best they can be.

“I would like to encourage you to always play fair, be disciplined and play hard. This tournament is an investment for your development from NAMILCO along with the Guyana Football Federation. We are here to stay and we want to see

Kevin Padmore

many of you going on to represent Guyana at the other levels, ultimately, the senior team.”

Mc Leod told the players and officials that similar tournaments are being held in the other associations affiliated to the GFF making the competition a national one, the first using this format in Guyana.

“NAMILCO has been around for quite some time and we are known for producing quality products which are second to none.

We would like to see you playing the best football of your lives, may the best team win.”

Chances are that NAMILCO’s Finance Director Mr Fitzroy McLeod’s remarks to the players prior to the kick-off invigorated the young players to the extent that two power results were recorded.

Matches that were scheduled for Sunday last were called off due to the ground being unplayable as a result of excessive rain fall. Weather permitting; matches will be played on Saturday and Sunday at the same venue.

Private Sector support, a must for sports development

By Rene Stoby

G

uyana Amateur B a s k e t b a l l Federation (GABF) and veteran Guyanese broadcaster and sports administrator Joseph “Reds” Perreira held a joint press conference at Cara Lodge last Monday June 6.

The GABF President, Nigel Hinds updated the media on the progress with regards to Guyana hosting the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Under-16 Championships, which will be at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in Georgetown Guyana.

Hinds indicated that the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) has committed $1M while Quality Seafoods Inc. has contrib-

uted $1M to the hosting of the event.

Other commitments in place are $20M from the Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture Youth and Sports and $16M from the CBC. The $12M upgrades to CASH and the National Gymnasium are also part of $80M budget of hosting the Championships.

Guyana is scheduled to co-host the CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting early in July and both Hinds and “Reds” Perreira appealed to corporate Guyana to help the federation and the Local Organising Committee to put on an impressive event at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Perreira, former Head of GABF in the 1960’s and ‘70s also urged associations to work closer with the relevant stakeholders including Ministries and social development agencies to ensure programmes are in place that would contribute to the development of sports and young people at large.

Additionally, Perreira donated 48 whistles to the Guyana Basketball Officials Council (GBOC) on behalf of Bruce Fernandes, a former basketball player now refereeing in Canada.

He also made a donation to GABF by way of a cheque that he described as “just a token” and hopes it will motivate the private sector and individuals to do the same.

From left Nigel Hinds, Joseph “Reds” Perreira and Dexter Douglas, head of GBOC

thursdAY, june 9, 2016

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

Pg 23

Warriors Coach Roger Harper hails impact of proud Guyana public for CPL 2016

Guyanese fans turn the Guyana National Stadium into a truly big party

Contractor removes sand Roddy Estwick wants West Indies from Kennard Memorial to focus on building partnerships Turf Club for sea defence Pg 21

Pg 23

Sections of the damaged track

West Indies batting has been a concern for them in the series. Photo courtesy WICB Media (Randy Brooks)

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