Guyana Times Daily - February 15, 2015

BRIDGE OPENINGS

AFC, PNC/APNU consummate union

Granger number 1; Nagamootoo number 2

... Ramjattan eats his words

MFERRY SCHEDULE

WEATHER TODAY

Winds:

High

onths of speculation was ended on Saturday, with the signing of the “Cummingsburg Accord” which resulted in the coalition of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC), ahead of the much anticipated May 11 General and Regional Elections. It was not evident that a new name was proposed for the entity, but this will be necessary for them to contest the election jointly.

Shortly after signing the Accord, the announcement was made at the Georgetown Club, while supplying some details hammered out during the negotiations. Leader of the Opposition David Granger will lead the coalition as the Presidential Candidate, while former People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Executive Member Moses Nagamootoo, who jumped ship to become Vice Chairman of the AFC in the lead up to the 2011 Elections, will represent the AFC as the Prime Ministerial Candidate.

Addressing a packed media corps, APNU’s Leader, in the presence of his new partners, said the agreement followed weeks of intense highlevel negotiations, noting that it is a direct response to demands that have been made by a vast majority of Guyanese.

Contesting the upcoming election as a coalition, Granger explained, that in addition to APNU nominating the Presidential Candidate and AFC, the Prime Ministerial Candidate, the latter party has been assured 12 seats in the 65 seat Parliament. This would be approximately 36 per cent of the combined seats by the two parties in the 10th Parliament.

In the construct of a new Government, APNU will be allocated one Vice President while AFC will be allocated two Vice Presidents, both of whom will be members of the Cabinet, the Opposition Leader further detailed.

Taking into consideration the possibility of constitutional reform in the future,

Granger said both APNU and AFC have agreed that the President as “Head of State, Head of Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces” will be responsible for the appointment of constitutional agencies and commissions with the required and agreed democratic mechanisms of consultations.

Additionally, the President will be directly in charge of foreign affairs, international relations and international non-commercial treaties, national security policy, the Defense Board, the Joint Intelligence Committee and the Guyana Defence Force.

According to the Opposition Leader, the President will delegate several responsibilities to the Prime Minister, including the

will be neutrally selected by both parties from independent members from Civil Society.

“This is a historic and water shed development for our country as this new electro alliance moves to put Guyana on the correct path where all Guyanese regardless of ethnicity, can be fully motivated to be proud of his/her nation,” Granger added after give a synopsis of the agreement.

He admitted that the discussions were not easy, noting that the parties had to give up some of their demands in an effort to arrive at a consensus; a most significant and momentous point of national renewal.

“The work has just begun, and we had no time to lose. Starting immediately, the General Secretaries

chairmanship of the Cabinet and matters supporting the Domestic National Affairs.

Additionally, the Prime Minister will make recommendations for the ministerial appointments and providing the organisational structure of the ministries for the approval of the President.

Appointment of heads of agencies and non-constitutional commissions will also be done by the Prime Minister following the agreed democratic mechanism of consultation.

The parties further agreed that Cabinet positions will be allocated on a 60/40 basis between APNU and AFC. Both the representative of the list and the Speaker of the House

of both parties, APNU and AFC will commence the process of combing our campaign themes into one unbeatable electro machine to secure victory, this country urgently demands of us.”

Questioned about some of the demands both parties were forced to give up in the process of negotiation, Granger said declined to disclose but said for him “Guyana has won” with the formation of the coalition.

“This is the first time in the history of Guyana that we will have a multi-party pre-election coalition that is committed to Article 13 of the Constitution, inclusionary democracy, and we have all committed to mak-

ing this thing work.”

Moving ahead, a Campaign Financing Committee will ensure the effective funding of the coalition using the formula 60/40 with APNU contributing the majority. Granger is also of the opinion that greater financial support will be garnered from the wider public.

“I am convinced that many donors were waiting for this thing to happen, they were not prepared to commit themselves to another one party, but what we did today has convinced them that the days of winner takes all politics are over.”

Though appearing “happy,” Leader of the AFC Khemraj Ramjattan evidently had no other choice but to rescind his initial position that AFC will not take back seat and must lead any coalition it entered. Ramjattan had boldly made the statement as he addressed hundreds of the party’s supporters.

But when asked about this position at the joint press conference, he said “that was our maximum position but during the process of the negotiations, we could not have obtained it.”

“But in view of the fact that there has been a tremendous climb to the powers of the Prime Minister, we feel that it was an acceptable proposal and that is why we signed on,” he added.

Nevertheless, both Ramjattan and Granger’s statements have confirmed the many reports carried by Guyana Times, that the parties were having difficulties in deciding on the leader of the newly formed coalition.

Nagamootoo who was among AFC representatives sitting at the head table, alleged that in like of the coalition talks, former and current members of the PPP/C has expressed interest in being a part of this new movement. But the political leader felt short in buttressing his credibility by failing to disclose the names of those he said as now longing to be a part of this coalition.

Leader of the Opposition David Granger greets his new counterpart Moses Nagamootoo minutes before the announcement

Sunday Editor: Michael Younge

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

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Editorial

Loving Guyana

Having achieved independence from Britain in 1966, there cannot be a Guyanese man, woman or child who has not recited the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag, the Golden Arrowhead. We have all taken therefore, the following vow, with our hand across our breasts to emphasise our seriousness about the words recited:

"I pledge myself to honour always the Flag of Guyana; and to be loyal to my country; to be obedient to the laws of Guyana; to love my fellow citizens and to dedicate my energies towards the happiness and prosperity of Guyana."

Yesterday was "Valentine's Day" and across our land, expressions and symbols of love were shared with our near and dear. We do believe that today, in the penumbra of that love fest, we would spare a thought to our promises in our "Pledge of Allegiance".

There is that promise to "honour always" our flag –which, of course, is a symbol of our nation. In making the promise, we are asserting that Guyana must be honoured and as such we must never let its flag be sullied.

In the end, we would only be allowing our individual selves to be dishonoured. We are not sure that enough has been done to inculcate into our citizens the respect of flag and country that, for instance, was insisted on in reference to the Union Jack of Britain during the colonial era.

The prior question is whether Guyanese citizens have a deep sense of loyalty to their country – which is the second promise. Would they react positively to JFK's famous exhortation: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?”

While one cannot speak conclusively on this issue, anecdotal evidence suggests that it does not take much for Guyanese to "bad mouth" their country and even to "shake the dust off their feet" from it. It has been estimated that there are as many Guyanese out of Guyana as in.

Obeying the laws of a country is the sine qua non of peace and stability and is summarised in the phrase "rule of law", which exhorts all that they are "under" the law equally. This equality of treatment under the law is one of the most important practices that must be adhered to if the country is to be honoured and inspire loyalty.

And since we have taken an oath to obey the laws, we must help on insuring that others also do the same. This does not mean that there may not be "bad" laws, but that the law itself would encompass procedures that would allow the people to deliberate on and change them if that is the general consensus.

And we arrive at our promise to love each other as citizens. That is an important distinction: we have not promised to love someone in general, but as "citizens". We Guyanese are all citizens of this country and as such are endowed with particular rights and responsibilities towards each other and the country.

To "love" another citizen, we each have to ensure that we do not infringe on their rights and that we assist them to fulfill their obligations. In that sense, we are our brothers’ (and sisters’) keepers.

The final promise is that we do all within our power towards "the happiness and prosperity of Guyana". While if we live happy and prosperous lives "Guyana" becomes a happier place, we can also collectively act to increase this possibility. And at this time we have been presented with a golden opportunity.

General Elections are scheduled for May 11 and all adults have the opportunity to chose political leaders to steer our ship of state for the next five years for the "greater good".

Our experience over the last three years is that the hand on the wheel must be firm and therefore the next Government must be elected by a majority in the National Assembly.

Guyanese stars, politicians should take example from Katy Perry, Barack Obama

Dear Editor, American singing star, Katy Perry, used the stage at the Grammys to make a huge statement against domestic violence, with a survivor introducing the performer and President Barack Obama speaking against domestic violence and rape afterward.

Brooke Axtell, 34, introduced Perry with a moving speech about her own experience as a survivor of domestic violence and a traumatic childhood. In her speech Atwell pointed out, “Authentic love does not devalue another human being. Authentic love does not silence shame or abuse.

If you’re in a relationship with someone who does not honor or respect you, I want you to know you are worthy of love. Please reach out for help.”

In his video presentation, President Obama emphasised, “It’s on us, all of us, to create a culture where violence isn’t tolerated, where survivors are supported and where all our young people, men and women, can go as far as their talents and their dreams will take them.”

Given the crisis on Guyana’s social landscape, especially as it relates to suicide, domestic violence, rape and incest, is it not time for Guyana’s performing stars and politicians to take some pages from the Grammys 2015 playbook?

For example, now that Mashramani season has arrived, all those involved in floats and in various per-

formances throughout this season should find ways of making statements on suicide, domestic abuse, child abuse, criminal violence, trafficking, alcoholism, drug abuse, rape, incest or any other form of violence close to their hearts and affecting their communities and nation.

In fact, The Caribbean Voice has three cultural personalities involved with us – the versatile Terry Gajraj, the ebullient Slingshot Drepaul, and the upcoming chutney singer Satish Udairam.

This year Slingshot will be incorporating suicide prevention into his float. We strongly urge others to follow suit. And perhaps Terry Gajraj’s anti-suicide song, “Love is the answer”, can be given play and air time.

It would also be fabulous if the many artistes can create video or audio messages for the media and general use, and in any other way lend their voices to be used in the campaigns against suicide, domestic abuse and so on.

By the same token, we also urge our politicians to go beyond the rare press release put out by their respective political parties and to start speaking out on these issues. Furthermore, we urge the various political parties to publicise their plans and policies with respect to these social issues, as they man the campaign trail.

What has been placed in the public domain thus far

is, at best, far from satisfactory or desired. And we also appeal to the Guyana Elections Commission to include a number of related questions on the upcoming ballot, to wit: setting up suicide and abuse hotlines, banning corporal punishment in schools, establishing a registry of sex offenders and predators, putting counselors in every school and decriminalising attempted suicide.

It is the considered view of many, if not all, involved in activism on the social landscape, that violence prevention is everybody’s business and that no form of violence is acceptable or justified.

And given the reach and impact of culture and sports, we believe that our leading cultural practitioners and sports stars should take their examples from Katy Perry and company. Also we strongly believe that mobilising and organising can be done by the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry, a point we made to subject Minister, Dr Frank Anthony in our meeting with him.

The lament that resources are not available for concerted and comprehensive action does not negate those actions that require minimal resources and therefore the traditional approach of passing the buck must give way to taking the ball and running with it.

Surely if the good Minister approaches Shivnarine Chanderpaul, for example, to create a

message or two, that cricketing icon would not refuse? Ditto for Lisa Punch, Devendra Bishoo, Nicolette Fernandes, Roger "Young Bill Rogers" Hinds, et al. Mashramani will be followed by Phagwah and Easter. NGOs are allowing scope for social issues, especially suicide, to be focused on at their annual Phagwah Festival at the National Stadium.

Given that Phagwah celebrates the triumph of good over evil (among other things), is it not time for organisations such as the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabbha and our Hindu priests and community leaders to find ways of bringing suicide, domestic violence, rape, alcoholism and so on into daily conversations as a first step in developing awareness leading to strategies to redress these issues?

After all eliminating or tremendously reducing the effects of these behaviours would be tantamount to good overcoming evil and in the process lives being saved and families being empowered.

Via the resurrection, Easter significantly marks the triumph over death. Given that suicide, domestic violence and so on are death, in a literal and/or metaphoric sense, should not churches and pastors foster conversations on these issues, again with the intention of finding and implementing redress?

Annan Boodram

The Caribbean Voice

Two Primary school Teachers seem to be enjoying the Children’s Float Parade on Saturday more than their students (Carl Croker photo)

Flexible arrangement should be in place for Hindus on Maha Shivratri

Dear Editor,

We, as a youth organisation, have over the years listened to the cries of many Hindus; especially our youths, who complain of being unable to attend Maha Shivraatri services due to work and school.

Concerns have been raised about not being afforded the opportunity to engage in satsangh or congregational worship on this day. We are told that due to rigid work environment regulations in some instances, Hindus do not get to attend their mandirs; various local temples service times vary.

Maha Shivratri is considered to be one of the most auspicious days. It occurs this year on the February 17.

In several countries worldwide, there has been a continued call to declare this sacred day as a national holiday (recently in Sri Lanka).

We accept that Guyana cannot afford another National Holiday; however, we are urging employers to facilitate a flexible arrangement that will see our Hindus being given some special consideration (time off, day off, or half-day off) on this day to worship.

The same for the school system. Majority of the temples across Guyana are involved in 12 to 24 hours of worshipping; by not allowing our Hindus to be a part of this important prayer engagement is tantamount to denying them their religious rights.

The festival of Maha

Shivaratri has tremendous significance in Hinduism and is celebrated by all Hindus. Devotees of Lord Shiva perform the ritual worship of Shivratri with care and devotion.

They observe day and night fast and give sacred bath to Shiva Lingam with honey, milk, water, etc. Hindus consider it extremely auspicious to worship Lord Shiva on Shivaratri as it is believed that worship of Lord Shiva with devotion and sincerity absolves a devotee of past sins. He/she is also liberated from the cycle of birth and death and attains moksha or salvation.

While, major holidays such as Holi and Diwali are more of a celebratory nature, Maha Shivraatri is a more spiritually inclined holiday that allows for deeper self-introspection, worship and prayers.

Mahashivratri is not just another festival of Hindus that indicates worshipping different forms of God. It is celebrated to make people aware of the universe and their inner selves. It drives out ignorance and radiates the light of knowledge.

According to Hindu mythology, observance of Mahashivratri Vrat with discipline helps a devotee to control the two great natural forces that afflict a man, rajas guna (the quality of passionate activity) and tamas guna (the quality of inertia).

When a devotee spends an entire day in the feet of Lord and worships with sincerity, his motion is con-

trolled and evils like lust, anger and jealousy, born of Rajas, are ignored and subdued. Besides, when a devotee observes vigil throughout the night (jaagran), he/ she manages to conquer the evils of Tamas Gunatoo.

From the lands of our foreparents, it is celebrated across India and is a holiday in the following states: Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha,Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Maha Shivraatri is as important as Eid-Ul-Fitz and Prayer of Jumma on Fridays for our Muslim brothers and sisters and as sacred as Good Friday for our Christian brothers and sisters.

We ask that this auspicious day of Maha Shivratri be considered in the same way as those religious days and that Hindus in private and public sector and school be given time for worship on this day.

In conclusion, we wish to reiterate our calls to the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Service and the Private sector to heed our call and facilitate same.

Dharmic Youth Arm, East Berbice Praant Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha

Corruption, mismanagement claimed yet another AFC victim

Dear Editor, Corruption and mismanagement claimed yet another victim in the small Alliance For Change (AFC) party, this time its former General Secretary Sixtus Edwards.

It’s a shame the way this selfless individual of irrefutable character was treated by a party which promised change; all for insisting that it practises what it preaches.

Edwards joins a long list of individuals who have left after differences with the party’s leadership over various issues. Another soon to be departed stalwart is Gerhard Ramsaroop whose noticeable absence has been pointed out by many.

These days the AFC appears to be a shell of its for-

mer self, as what was once a vibrant collective group of leaders is now replaced by a small self-centred clique, which has on its front burner the fulfilment of Moses Nagamootoo’s presidential dream.

As the party negotiates to formalize its union with the PNC’s APNU, one therefore has to ask what really is it bringing to the table other than the 11 per cent Indo-Guyanese votes promised by Nagamootoo.

I wish to commend Mr Edwards for remaining steadfast to his principles and not allowing himself to be succumbed by the duplicitous and hypocritical politics practised by some of his now former colleagues.

Baldeo Mathura

Continue finding ways to enrich our democracy

Dear Editor,

There is a tendency on the part of some people to devalue our democracy because in their opinion it is more the result of ‘ethnic arithmetic’ rather than the ‘true’expression of the will of the people.

This is an erroneous view and needed to be debunked since any democracy in whatever form, shape or configuration is always superior to any other governance mechanism known to man. One can never have too much democracy in the same way that we can never have too much of fresh air.

I do recognise that there are challenges to democracy especially when it comes tomulti-racial society like ours where there are two dominant ethnic groups. We live in what sociologists refer to as a plural society.

Voting preferences and behavior are often conditioned by ethnic loyalty which may not correspond to otherwise rational choices. In other words, voting preferences tend to be at times less issue oriented and more group oriented.

But this is the reality of our political life and it cannot be wished away. Instead, we have to continue to find ways in which our democracy can become much more enriched, not by tampering with our democratic essence but by putting in place the necessary mechanisms to make governance more participatory and inclusive regardless which of the two major political constituents are elected to govern.

Our democracy has been evolving over the decades from one of privileged voting as during the pre-1953 period to one of represen-

tative democracy as is currently the case.

There were periods in our post independence history when our democracy was subverted but the democratic spirit to have a government elected through the expressed will of the electorate was always paramount in the minds of the Guyanese people.

Democracy is premised on the belief that people are sovereign. It is the expressed will of the majority that forms the basis for governance and this has always been the hallmark of democracies throughout the free world.

And this is how it must be since any attempt to depart from this time-honoured principle is fraught with dangers as our own experience in Guyana under the PNC regime has demonstrated.

Today, as we approach yet another General and Regional elections, the Opposition parties are in secret talks on how to come up with an electoral alliance which could address the race question. The fact that the talks seem to be going nowhere is indicative of the deep-seated and entrenched nature of racebased politics.

This is why the need to establish trust in our political culture is so important. In this regard the incum-

bent PPP/C alliance has a built-in political advantage in this regard. It is the largest and most representative political party in terms ofmulti-racial support. This is attributable to the fact that the party has always embraced values that are universalistic and which transcends the narrow confines of race. The development philosophy pursued by the PPP/C has lifted all boats and people today are enjoying a much higher standard of living that at any period in our history.

Government has continued this tradition of development with a human face which in essence is one of putting people at the centre of his development paradigm. This is also why Government wasted no time in ensuring that the benefits of a reduction in the price of fuel trickles down to people by way of lower electricity costs to consumers. This coming elections is essentially one of securing a new mandate for the PPP/C Administration to continue with his development paradigm. As the President said, he remained confident that he and his party would win a resounding victory having regard to his administration’s solid record of progress and development.

Hydar Ally

You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Page Foundation

Anu Dev

Yesterday, florists and confectioners probably tripled or even quadrupled their sales as people rushed to buy last minute „Valentine’s“ for their loved ones. Whether it’s a card or a simple rose or diamond earrings, practically everyone does something to show the special people of the opposite sex in their life that they care on February 14.

But why only on February the 14? It’s just a date chosen in honour of St Valentine who became associated with romantic love back in the 14th century. Weren’t people «falling into love» before then??

Where’s the love at?

“You can’t blame gravity for falling in love”– Albert Einstein

It could’ve been any other date or better yet, it doesn’t just have to be one date. Why can’t people show their love for the important in their lives every day? Or rather, why don’t they?

The persons you love should be important enough to you that you would have no problem with show ing them that you love them every day - whether you want to show your love by just saying “I love you” or by showering them with gifts, it’s your preroga tive.

Be spontaneous! Show your love every day in all of the little ways that count so much, much more than an elaborate show on Valentine’s Day. And love itself comes in so many, many forms - you could love your mom, your dad, brother, friends, boyfriend, girlfriend and all of the other people on your life. Why should only romantic love be exalted?

Day? And if everyone did, there probably wouldn’t be enough flowers in the world to gift all of those people - so how are you going to show your love to all of them on Valentine’s Day?

You don’t have to - not if you showed them that you

And I’m not saying you need to go around loving everyone because no matter how many pink sunglasses we wear, we can’t fool ourselves that the world is as rosy as we would like it to be. There are always people who we will find decidedly unlovable, and that’s OK.

You don’t need to love everyone and show everyone that you love them - that might be spreading yourself too thin (not to mention you also losing the plot of love being special and important).

You at least you ought to show the important people in your life, the ones you care deeply about that you love them because hey, if you love them that much, that shouldn’t be much of a problem - right?

Tips for parents of out-of-control teens

BY MOLLY EDMONDS

Start the countdown

But how many people consider all of those other people on Valentine’s

should be doing. Let the people you care about always know and feel that you care about them. Sure, people aren’t perfect and someone is sure to step on your toes over time. But you don’t need to hold a grudge or put them in the doghouse - remember that you love them.

But OK, even though you should be showing your love every day, it IS a nice gesture to go that extra mile on Valentine’s Day. All hope isn’t lost, there’s still a lot of love left in the world. So where’s the love at? It’s everywhere - we just need to show it a bit more.

Parents are full of hopes and dreams for their children. They may imagine their daughter becoming the first female President, or their son finding the cure for cancer. No parent holds a newborn and wishes that the child will become a troubled teen. Unfortunately, despite parents’ best efforts, it’s possible for a teenager to exhibit some terribly frightening behaviours. An out-of-control teen may be verbally or physically abusive, dive into dark worlds of drugs and alcohol, drop out of school or run away from home. He or she might acquire a criminal record.

Parents may feel helpless and hopeless when it comes to the troubled teenager in their family, and it’s unlikely that there’s a quick fix or a cure. Still, we can provide you with some tips for helping a teen in crisis.

Take control

The title of this article refers to the belief that troubled teens are “out of control,” but in fact, the most dangerous teens are often in control of the entire family. They hold their homes hostage with their disturbing and frightening behaviour because parents may be too fearful to assert their power. It’s important to remember that you, as a parent, control the home. You set the rules and the consequences for breaking those rules, and you are responsible for ensuring that your home is a safe and secure place. If you’ve been too permissive with your children in an effort to be their buddy, you may have to make some changes in yourself. Parenting classes or parenting coaches who specialise in teen behavior can help you learn how to modify your behaviour. Don’t allow yourself to be held a prisoner in your home; take control for what happens within it, even if you can’t control what your teen does outside of it.

Underlying issues

There are many different reasons why teens have behavioral problems. Medical problems like bipolar disorder, depression or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be present and inadequately treated, as the symptoms of these conditions affect behaviour. Teens may be troubled by problems at home, both present and past. If divorce, sexual abuse or violent death lurk in your family’s past, that might be an issue. Drug use will also affect his or her behaviour. (www.howstuffworks.com)

May 11 election...

Surujbally to political parties: Don’t blame GECOM if you lose!

B y V ahnu M anickchand

Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Dr Steve Surujbally says that the Commission will not accept any blame for the failure of any political party to win the upcoming General and Regional Elections which is slated for May 11.

Surujbally said that GECOM was not the “whipping boy” and therefore cautioned politicians against blaming GECOM or its bureaucracy for their performance at the polls.

He was at the time speaking at a training session held for the media on Saturday. According to Dr Surajbally, it is understandable with elections around the corner that the political parties tend to become anxious and “fearful” of loosing, and as such, they try to cast assertions that GECOM is flawed or unable to host a free and fair election.

But, the head of the electoral body pointed out that he has observed political parties already adopting such behaviours and questioned their motives.

He says he will not entertain it while explaining that “the electoral process must be the single most important tile in the mosaic of democracy”.

As such, everyone should work together to ensure that the process is an efficient one, the GECOM Chairman advised. Dr Surajbally added that the Commission has been engaged in a stringent preparatory exercise for the May 11 polls.

He noted that while they cannot be perfect in every aspect of their functions and they do have a “near-perfect process” that

seeks to generate the most reliability and efficiency during the elections period.

“We will do what is right,” he stated.

On the other hand, the GECOM Chairman told media operatives that they too have a role to play and need to be responsible in their reporting of election related issues.

He added that all of Guyana would like to see peaceful elections come May 11. “Come stand with me, walk with me,” so that this can be achieved, he appealed.

Since President Donald Ramotar announced the prorogation of the 10th Parliament in November 2014, and subsequently, his decision to dissolve Parliament, GECOM has come under additional scrutiny regarding its preparedness for the polls.

However, the Commission has been contending that it is prepared and ready for the hosting of General and Regional Elections, even before such announcements were made by the President. The ruling People’s Progressive

Party/Civic (PPP/C) has maintained that the electoral body is not ready and raised several issues as it relates to the accuracy of the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE).

Only last week, an updated PLE was published by GECOM following the recently concluded Seventh Cycle of Continuous Registration. Since its release, the Claims and Objection period has opened for 21 days but the last seven days will be dedicated towards objections only.

Meeting E-Day

Meanwhile, Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield told the media on Saturday that GECOM is working to ensure that the date set by President Ramotar for Elections is met. He noted that during this Claims and Objection exercise, citizens will be able to make changes if there is any to be done so that come the polling day, there will be less confusion.

Lowenfield said that electors in all the divisions and sub-divisions can check the PLE to see if their names are on or not and if it is currently spelt. He added too that persons can also apply for transfers during this period.

According to the CEO, since the opening of this Claims and Objections period on February 9, there have been a number of new electors registering and several transfers requested. “The Claims and Objections exercise is to sanitise the list… bring on those who are not there and taking off those who should not be there,” he stated.

Lowenfield further explained that following this exercise, the PLE will be revised.

President breached Constitution – Guyana Bar Association

The Guyana Bar Association says the non-dissolution of Parliament thus far is unconstitutional and unlawful as it rapped Head of State, President Donald Ramotar for not acting within the confines of the laws of Guyana.

The Association in a statement to the media on Saturday said that the Parliament should have been dissolved by or on February 10 this year.

“The failure to act in accordance with clear constitutional provisions is a worrying manifestation of casual disregard of the laws by which we are governed. It is more acute when done by the Executive whose mandate it is to uphold those laws”, the Association said.

It argued that President Donald Ramotar prorogued the National Assembly on November 10, 2014 under Article 70 of the Guyana Constitution and prior to the prorogation, the National Assembly held its last sitting on July 10, 2014.

The Association stated that the Assembly had already completed its two-month recess, which commenced on August 10, 2014, bringing the session to an end on that date.

It opined that the preceding section which the President’s legal advisors have no doubt brought to his attention – Article 69 (1) –states unambiguously that “each session of Parliament shall be held at such place within Guyana and shall begin at such time (not being later than six months from the end of the preceding session if Parliament has been prorogued or four months from the end of that session if Parliament has been dissolved) as the President shall appoint by proclamation.”

It maintained that Parliament therefore should have been done no later than February 10, 2015.

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall had told Guyana Times that President Donald Ramotar was expected to dissolve the 10th Parliament of the National Assembly by month-end.

He would do so, despite the expectation of his political opponents that the dissolution would have taken place by the February 12 the latest.

Nandlall explained that the Head of State can dissolve Parliament any date after February 12 this year.

He argued that the Constitution requires that Parliament “must be dissolved within three months” of the date announced for elections.

Nandlall explained that another part of the Constitution also stipulates another requirement which states that political parties must present their lists of Candidates some 32 days prior to the planned date for elections to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

He had said if one counts backwards and discounts the 32 days which must be available for the political parties to submit their lists, then the President can chose to dissolve Parliament any date before this time period.

Thirty-two days before May 11 would be April 9. Questioned further about the possible consequences of the President delaying the dissolution of Parliament further, despite the heightened political campaigning that is already taking place while Parliament is prorogued, the Attorney General said there would be none.

GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally

President Donald Ramotar

President of the GBA Ronald Burch-Smith

Guyana Marriott opens next month

The management of the Guyana Marriott remains committed to a grand opening of the luxurious hotel next month. A significant portion of the major construction has been completed and the necessary staff is being trained to ensure that the international brand is evident here. This was confirmed during a site tour on Friday. General Manager, Roberto

completed. The items for the other rooms are stored at the Kingston location to ensure timely completion. The decoration package will be rolled out in several weeks before a thorough cleaning of the building is carried out.

According to Grisi, the March deadline is highly dependent on the construction team and whether it could meet the approval of the

the hotel unless we have met 100 per cent fire safety standards,” the General Manager added.

Meanwhile, Marriott Guyana has already hired some 140 persons, many of whom are undergoing rigid training to ensure the kind of service that accompanies the ‘Marriott’ brand. Grisi told this publication that another 30 persons will be hired just before the open-

brought on with the completion of the Entertainment Centre in September of this year. This second component of a 29,000 square foot entertainment complex will house a casino, restaurant and nightclub all of which will be privately operated, separate and distinct from the hotel and its operator.

The tour was facilitated by Director of Sales and Marketing, Denisse

Grisi following the tour, indicated that a majority of the 197 rooms was already

corporate office. “The most important aspect is the fire safety… we do not open

ing in March. He says the company intends to keep its commitment to the government to ensure Guyanese are hired for most of the vacant posts.

“We have three Guyanese on the executive committee,” the general manager revealed. He added that certain management positions are filled by employees from abroad who are responsible for training. “Hopefully in another several years we will have a fully Guyanese management team.” Some 95 per cent of the 500 employees at the Marriott Guyana Hotel will be Guyanese. The remaining 240 persons will be

Olivio who explained that a ‘Guyanese’ theme is prominently featured in the décor. The meeting and conference rooms are named after Guyanese Rivers and Waterfalls. The ceiling immediately upon entrance into the lobby features a replica of the Water Lily suspended, like chandeliers. The ‘Water Lily’ will be the flower of the hotel.

“The decoration package will feature a lot of Guyanese artists,” informed Grisi, who added that the inclusion of Guyana in the aesthetics of the Hotel is “extremely important”.

Killing Muslims...

...not so softly

The murder of three young US Muslims seems to have elicited precious little outrage in Guyana. Apart from the PYO, this Eyewitness hasn’t noticed the expressions of outrage that erupts from the usual suspects when, say, a “regular” American is killed in similar circumstances.

And that’s the point, isn’t it?? We’ve all been conditioned – even our local media – like Pavlovian dogs to salivate or foam at the mouth depending on the cues given by the Western media.

So we’ve developed our own “chain of being” as to the worth of lives that are all putatively “human”. Thousands die from disease, wars, famine and assorted plagues in Africa and doesn’t even earn a shrug. They’re “savages”, aren’t they?? Hundreds of thousands die in Iraq and Afghanistan from “carpet bombing” emanating miles in the sky?? So what??

That’s just statistics...and in any case “we’re” only speeding up what would’ve been done to them by their own tyrants, no? Palestinians die from Israeli bombs every day...but what the heck? They’re just refugees.

And closer to home - and of course the US is “home”. Don’t we look at their news more than ours, and feel the pain of the snowed-in from the latest storm more than the flooded out in Essequibo, Region Two??

So when that awful gunman killed all those sweet schoolchildren, of course, we were all moved to tears. More than when the Lusignan and Bartica massacres by Fineman Rawlings took place. After all, we ARE just natives whose lives don’t count as much.

And we cut to the murder of the Muslim couple who were so all-American they cheered their football team (in North Carolina, football comes before Apple Pie and motherhood!), revelled in their civic duties as volunteers, and excelled in school.

Even as Muslims the father of the girls – a psychiatrist – had the opening dance with his daughter at her wedding only a month ago. “A 23-year-old dental school student, his college graduate wife, and her college student sister completed the all-American image. But as the father said, the girls wore hijabs.

He’s convinced the dispute over parking spaces was just the occasion for the executions – not the cause. And he’s a fella who studies the psyches and motivations of people. Fact of the matter is that “the colour line” – as WEB du Bois called it – still governs sociological reality in the US. So when we hear about the Ferguson killing of an unarmed black youth and that one in three male African Americans will go to jail in his lifetime, we shouldn’t be surprised.

And we shouldn’t be surprised after all the handwringing. There will be more of these hate crimes.

...as cinematic fare

The movie “American Sniper” earned over US$300 million in the three weeks following its release. It’s been nominated for six Academy Awards. But most folks ignored Arab American organisations that pointed out the movie dehumanised Iraqis as the “other” and justified their killing. They warned about the exact scenario that unfolded in North Carolina.

The hero is a real life SEAL with the most kills in US military HISTORY!! Even though director Clint Eastwood added some nuances to the book by the rabidly racist SEAL (Iraqis are “savages” who deserve to die), American audiences still left the theatres all riled up and ready to kill.

“Great f***ing movie and now I really want to kill some f***ing ragheads,” read one tweet. “American sniper makes me wanna go shoot some f****n Arabs,” read another.

What’s different about movies that made us all hate “Red Indians”, “Japs”, “Negros”, Ciet Congs, etc, etc...?

...in reprisals

None of the foregoing is to imply that Muslims are a bunch of angels in the “violence” sweepstakes. And that’s the point. Let’s not be taken in by the hype that only “one side” is all evil.

Staff in training to use service technology

One of the completed basic rooms

General Manager Roberto Grisi

Exxon Mobil to invest US$600M in oil exploration here

US giant oil company

Exxon will be venturing into the waters of Guyana for the exploration of oil at the cost of some US$600 million.

A 118-foot wide vessel, with over 200 people onboard, will depart the Gulf of Mexico to the designated area over 100 miles offshore Guyana, to dredge the unexplored areas in the coming months.

The area, known as the Liza Area or the Stabroek Block Area measuring some 26,806 square kilometres is said to be the target area and the company intends to drill 1750 metres in depths that reach up to 3000 metres.

Officials from the company explained that while they are not yet sure if prospect will be successful, they are still prepared to invest the money into the venture.

Jeff Simons, Country Manager of Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) stated that it may take them seven or more years to find oil in

the country, explaining that the specialists just know the layout of the underwater area, such as where rocks and various obstacles are located, based on the seismic data gathered.

The project is expected to be a 10-year exploration with three periods including two phases in each period while each period lasts for one to two years, with the strictest safety procedures expected to be followed throughout the project.

Erik Oswalk, Vice President of the Americas mentioned that they already trained a fleet of drivers they will be using for the venture while every other staff member has been trained with basic first aid procedure and contractors were encouraged to wear appropriate attire on the job.

Exxon is the world’s largest publicly traded international oil and gas company that has existed for 130 years. Exxon replaced the Esso, Enco, and Humble brands in the United States on January 1, 1973.

Scotiabank spreads love on Valentine’s Day

member from the Scotiabank team interacting with one of the

In celebrating Valentine’s Day, the staff of Scotiabank (Carmichael Street Branch) on Saturday served meals and distributed hampers to two homes in Guyana as they expressed their love and appreciation for the elderly people in Guyana.

Guyana has a history of petroleum exploration. Guyana’s offshore Guyana Basin and the inland Takatu Basin have attracted companies such as Shell, Total and Mobil since the 1940s that have done much geological surveyance of the area and have drilled a number of wells.

As of 2008, there were four companies undertaking exploration work in Guyana. These were ExxonMobil, Repsol, Century Guyana Ltd and CGX. The Petroleum Division of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission has the responsibility of monitoring surveyance in Guyana. The venture is expected to provide job opportunities to Guyanese in several areas when operations commence.

According to a member from the Scotiabank team, the bank along with several members collaborated and pooled resources to make this project a success. The bank has been executing this charitable event for the past five years and they vowed to continue spreading the love on Valentine’s Day in the years to come.

The administrators from both the homes also expressed their deepest gratitude to Scotiabank for always giving back to the community.

Fourteen residents from Archer’s Home and 12 from the Salvation Army Women’s Home happily welcomed the kind gesture from the members of Scotiabank. They were grateful for the wonderful meal and the hampers which included toiletries such as toilet paper, toothpaste, soap and other hygienic items.

A

residents at Archer’s Home

Exxon is the world’s largest publicly traded international oil and gas company

Region 10 shines in Children’s Mash Calypso finals

– while GT dominates Children’s Dramatic Poetry finals

Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) students showed children all across Guyana that Calypso is as natural to the region as Bauxite is on Friday, as the region dominated the Children’s Mashramani Calypso finals. However, the competition ended in high drama as Georgetown turned the tables, copping all top spots in the Dramatic Poetry competition.

The first performance at the final of the competition was the Calypso competition in the 5-7 years category. For this category, the judges had no hesitation, declaring Syesha Cole from Region 10 the first place winner with the song “Mash Train”. Kelvyn Garraway from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and Rondell Peters from Region One (Barima-Waini) brought close second and third positions. Region 10 also maintained its first place position in the 8-10 years category with the performance of Marissa Neptune. The

young lady sang about the “Mashing Down” on Guyana’s Republic Day, when all roads will lead to the National Park. Sarah Fredericks of Region Two took the second prize position, while Leshanti Giles kept the third place position in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).

Also, in the 11-13 years category of the Calypso competition, the Bauxite Region yet again took home the first place position with the song “De Gun Ya”, which was performed by Chelsea Sanchara. The young lady, in her song, lobbied for the end of the epidemic. She emphasised the fact that there is no cure but symptoms can be treated.

However, it was Georgetown that was a favourite with Kelli Grandsolut’s “Stay in School”. The young lady urged students to remember the importance of education in the long run as otherwise may lead to death and despair.

Nevertheless, it was not

until Joshua Paul Watson performed the “Pot Pouri” in the 14-17 years category that Georgetown was sure of placing a definite first in the Calypso competition. Region 10 followed in second place with the song of Chisara James’ “Present School Days”. Region One gained the first place position with Maria Thomas singing “This is we country”.

Even so, all this was forgotten with the Dramatic Poetry competition, which Georgetown dominated. Justine Hamer gave the Capital city its first win in the 5-7 years category with his song “It I told You I was Deaf”. Region 10 yet again followed in its shadow in second place with Iyesha Scott’s song “Meh Future” and Region Two in third place.

For the 8-10 years category, Georgetown yet again took the first place position with Mariel Barrow’s “Who am I?” song. Roshanna Torres from Region 10 and Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara)

were declared the second and third place winners, respectively.

However, it was the Aaliyah Moore from Georgetown who copped all prizes with her portrayal of the suffering that slavery and Guyana as a colony brings to the fore in 11-13 years category. Her dramatic performance was called “Our History, Our Celebration”, where she urged this suffering to be put into perspective to encourage unity and celebration for what Guyanese have accomplished. Region Three’s “State of Affairs”, performed by Onifa Pedro also got wide applause as she highlighted several issues that affect school students. She dramatised that students do not “put (their) brain under pressure” because they get automatic promotion, indicating that she can simply go to school once a month to give a reasonable attendance to get the $10,000 grant that is offered by the Education Ministry.

Region Four gained the third spot with the performance of Gaitree Ramjam’s “Ode of the Masses”.

For the last category of the 14-17 years, Georgetown yet again copped the first place position. The city was represented by Seanyce Moonsammy from St Joseph High School. She won with the dramatic piece “Birth of the Republic”. Second and third place positions were awarded to Bladen Hall from Region Four who was represented by Ronald Thomas and Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) who was represented by Julia Thomas. It was the first prize that Region Eight copped for the Children’s Mash final.

Ghoul-sehrun farts

Satiricus, as an old newshound, always like a peek behind the scenes as to what goes on to make the news. Satiricus had always been amazed when Ghoul-seh-run suddenly became a news item.

Accountants are by nature dull fellas...and Ghoulseh-run was the dullest of the dull. If you think watching grass grow was dull...you should listen to Ghoul-sehrun talk!!

And it’s not that the fella was doing anything newsworthy. Back in the day, he’d been a Government auditor – one of the thousands of faceless bureaucrats who push pens behind Government desks. Deadly dull. And never presented the reports he was supposed to.

He’d educated himself at the people’s expense, but after he sucked up to the IMF and World Bank who came in to fix the Pee-an-See mess, he got a pen pushing job in the UN audit office. Even deadlier dull.

But suddenly he shows up like a bad penny in Guyana and every little thing he did became news. Ghoul-sehran who couldn’t even submit a single audited report when he worked in Guyana for GreenBridge, suddenly can criticise the Auditor General – and have it reported as gospel by the Stabber and the Muckraker!

He gets down and dirty and even attacks a female auditor who used to work for him! And the attacks are reported like messages from the Angel Gabriel!

Now Satiricus accepted that he was a dim bulb, but even he began to see a pattern when Ghoul-seh-run suddenly became the leading light in the corruption watch group. Everything he did was to rip down the Government!

And lo and behold, he became a regular in the Stabber and the Muckraker whose opinions are quoted on why hemlines are rising!! (The Government’s wages are too low and women can’t afford to buy enough fabric to sew longer dresses!)

The fella is even given a column in the Stabber. “Jeez!! It took me ten years of slogging in the newspaper trenches before I got my column,” thought Satiricus bitterly. Then Ghoul-Seh-ran decides to launch another Opposition party!!

And even this one man stunt is reported! Satiricus was vindicated! “But who’s backing him to get all this publicity??” thought Satiricus, “even when he farts, it gets coverage”. But now it was all explained.

In a long release (which is reported) Ghoul-sehran revealed that the man behind it all – the deus ex machina so to speak - was the Business Icon!

Pulled up six years ago by the then Prezzie Jagdesh, the miffed Business Icon had decided to take revenge. “And revenge is best served cold,” thought Satiricus admiringly.

Granger promises to quadruple UG funds

Opposition Leader

David Granger believes that if State funds to the University of Guyana (UG) are not significantly improved, the kind of changes that are needed at the institution will not be possible. He told media operatives on Friday that funds must be quadrupled for any real change to occur.

“Without funds, there will be no change,” he insisted.

The Government earmarked some $1.4 billion in the 2014 National Budget for the University of Guyana. This amount would have been for both the Tain and Turkeyen campuses.

Of that amount, $450 million was allotted for the student loan programme. With Granger’s proposal, Government’s annual allocation to UG would amount to some $5.6 billion.

Asked whether a study was done to determine whether the probability and affordability of such an increase, the Opposition Leader said “we will find the money, if we could find money from GGMC, we will find the money for education,” referring to the loan the Government took from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader said if elected, APNU will rehabilitate the physical structure, stock laboratories and

libraries and ensure that the staff is better paid.

Describing the current situation as chronic, Granger stated that these issues have long existed and require a change in the attitude of the Government.

He believes that UG Council also needs to be depoliticised without acknowledging that the APNU also has representatives on the Council, one of which is its Prime Ministerial Candidate, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine.

The University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU) and the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) have been on strike for weeks demanding a 60 per cent salary increase and improved working conditions. Granger told the media that after having met the unions and

student society in 2012 his party had taken a petition to the National Assembly for intervention.

The UG Administration offered 25 per cent over a three-year period as well as other benefits such as house lots and duty-free concessions for the purchase of a vehicle for lecturers with a Masters Degree and 10 years of service.

The Council had also made an offer to buy the cloth needed for work uniforms for some staffs as well as bursaries for their children who performed well in the National Grade Six Assessment, the Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE).

The Unions, two days later made a counter offer of 75 per cent over the three-month period instead. While this continued, the Vice Chancellor’s expectation was that classes would resume and after striking workers failed to so ensure, he ended talks.

Earlier this week, the Unions indicated that it would be engaged in an indefinite strike.

Classes have resumed for the Law Department, students of which are obligated to sit examinations set by the University of the West Indies. Classes lectured by part-time staff have also restarted.

Puran Brothers’ tragedy…

Porter remains hospitalised, company promises support

Puran Brothers Disposal Service, on the Essequibo Coast, has pledged its unwavering support to one of its porters, Danny Narine, who lost his left foot while on duty earlier this month.

The 42-year-old porter, who remains a patient at the Suddie Regional Hospital, was loading garbage into a dump truck in the vicinity of Supenaam on February 3 when the accident occurred. The driver of the truck reportedly switched on the “Harper” without informing Narine, thereby injuring him in the process. The “Harper”, which is located at the back of the truck and contains sharp blades, minced Narine’s left foot.

Though hospitalised, Narine remains in a stable condition. His doctors have however indicated that he can remain in the hospital for the next three months but further explained that he would not be able to work until his foot is completely healed.

Meanwhile, Puran Brothers Disposal Service’s Supervisor on the Essequibo Coast, Matthew Munroe said that full support will be given to Narine’s family.

Munroe said that the company can assure the porter that an appropriate job will be made available to him upon his return, noting too that Puran Brothers Disposal Service will finance the acquisition of a prosthetic foot for Narine in the future.

However, Munroe is contending that the accident was not the fault of the driver, explaining that the switch for the “Harper” is located at the back of the truck. He is of the opinion

that someone who was at the back of the truck at the time of the accident might have accidently switched on the “Harper.”

Meanwhile, wife of the injured porter, Leena Narine told Guyana Times that the company has thus far given her two weeks’ pay for her husband since the accident.

In expressing her gratitude to the company, the woman pointed out that her husband is the sole breadwinner of the family.

Opposition Leader David Granger

Danny Narine on his hospital bed

Lima Sands woman found dead

IndrawattIe natram

Police ranks from G Division in Region

Two (PomeroonSupenaam) are probing the death of 37-year-old Haimwattie, also known as “Kathy” which occurred at Lima Sands, Essequibo Coast on Saturday.

The woman’s body was discovered by her husband Annirude (only name given) who later summoned family relatives then the Police.

Commander of G Division Kevin Adonis, said that while the Police are not treating the case as a homicide, they will be guided by the results of the post-mortem examination which is scheduled to be performed early next week.

“We will have to wait and see what the findings are”, he told Guyana Times during a brief interview at the crime scene.

Crime scene investigators confirmed that there were no marks of violence about the woman’s body. She was also fully dressed at the time when her body was discovered.

But family members who are living 12 miles from Anna Regina Public Road are alleging that the couple would usually have fights, since both of them are known alcoholics in the community.

They recalled receiving a call from the dead woman’s husband around 05:30h informing them of her demise. They also told media operatives that when the family members would enquire about the reasons behind their continuous squabbles and fights, “Kathy” and her husband would give no acceptable answer.

Neighbours heard noises

“They does say is just a joke”, one relative said. They also admitted that Haimwattie’s husband, earlier in the week, had informed them that she was sick.

Meanwhile, neighbours are reporting that they heard loud screams and noises over the course of

Friday night into Saturday morning.

One neighbour said, “like they were fighting, like we hear he beating her, she was screaming, all we heard that she died this morning, like he beat her to death”.

Other neighbours confirmed that fighting for the couple is normal. “They would drink together. Get drunk together and roam the streets together,” another neighbour related.

Police are continuing their investigations into the woman’s death. Her body was transported to the Suddie Mortuary where it is awaiting a post-mortem examination. Arrangements for Haimwattie’s interment are expected to be made shortly.

Rupununi

Chamber

calls for reduced electricity rates

Head of the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) Daniel Gadjie said the business community of Lethem is advocating for a reduction in its electricity tariffs in light of the fall in gas prices internationally.

In an interview with Guyana Times on Friday, Gadjie said it would only be fair if the Lethem Power Company Inc drops its rates, given the decision by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) to reduce its tariffs by 10 per cent from March 1.

“We need the rates to go down, it is too high and business has been slow in Lethem for quite some time, and a reduction will help us out a lot,” Gadjie said during a telephone interview.

Gadjie added that the cost for electricity stands at $80 per kilowatt hour (kWh) and the chamber is requesting a reduction of $20.

Further, Gadjie added that 90 per cent of the commercial activities in Lethem emanates from Brazil, noting that since the Brazilian currency began to fall after the country’s 2014 election; Lethem’s economy has been suffering.

However, Chairman of

the Lethem Power Company, John Macedo said the power company has been operating at a loss for a number of years. He explained that it is presently costing the power company $120 to produce one kilowatt hour of power.

Thus, over the years, the company has been losing $40 of every kilowatt hour sold.

Macedo pointed out that during 2013, when Gadjie was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) attached to the power company, he had proposed that the electricity be sold for $120 per kWh.

Hence, Macedo feels it is unfair to ask the power company to reduce its rates. He said with the current drop in gas prices internationally, the power company has been

able to break even on the cost of production.

The chairman further sought to discredit Gadjie’s position as Head of the RCCI, contending that the RCCI is almost a non-existent organisation with a very small amount of members.

As such, Macedo is of the opinion that the RCCI does not have the right to speak on behalf of the business community of Lethem. “A small group of people cannot represent the entire community,” Macedo said.

Over the years, there have been a number of issues facing the power company. Residents of Lethem have protested the cost for power and the number of power failures they have faced.

AFC calls for violence free elections

Alliance For Change (AFC) is calling on all political parties and journalists to exhibit the best standard of behavior for the upcoming General and Regional Elections on May 11.

Speaking at the party’s weekly press conference on Thursday at the Georgetown Club, Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo said political parties and journalists should operate in an impartial manner given the sensitivity associated with this period.

He noted that there is an existing Code of Conduct for both of the groups and as such, the regulations should be respected and practiced, before and even after the elections.

“In the spirit of creating a safe environment, where citizens can go and exercise their vote, we should support the initiative. The Code of Conduct is a voluntary subscription to modes of behavior and our modes of behaviour ought not to be invented and new. Our mode of behaviours must comply with the best of standards and the best standards are those applicable to the world,” he said.

Nagamootoo said too that the issue of race should not be taken advantage of and used as a trump card in soliciting votes since it can cause unrest and division in the country.

“No one should use racism and racial advocacy in an election or outside of the elections. If the Constitution recognises that this country

can be devastated by race hate, advocacy of race, using race in speech, in language that offend, hurt and destroy then the Constitution must have thought seriously about the conduct during elections,” the Vice Chairman told media operatives.

He noted that the only conflict political parties should be having, is one involving their opinions, manifestos and ideas, and the people of Guyana, the families of public officials and politicians should never be used to gain cheap political points.

He is hopeful that the election process will be one free of unrest, violence and negativity.

“Life will have to go on after elections. The parties will have to exist in the same environment and so in the elections, there should only be a disputation of ideas, contest as against the benefit of one platform as against another platform, contest in relation to our manifesto and programmes and there-

fore we, the AFC would hope that itself do not convert into an occasion for verbal abuse, personal attacks, gutter kind of vendetta,” the practicing attorney outlined.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament, Cathy Hughes underscored that while the Code of Conduct lacks legislative support every media personnel and politician should be ethical.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) had only recently noted that there is a need for political parties to return to the Code of Conduct they had signed to ensure free, fair and transparent elections.

In endorsing the Code of Conduct, the leadership of a party acknowledges that peace and public order, freedom of political campaigning, and compliance with electoral laws and regulations are essential and of paramount importance to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.

In addition to these objectives, the leadership declares and affirms its party’s belief in the sanctity of human life, and the abhorrence of taking human life. The parties are also expected to denounce the violation of anyone, because of political allegiance.

The endorsing parties also commit to oppose and reject the use of violence and intimidation or plans of this nature by any of their candidates, agents, members or supporters as a means of expressing political support or furthering political objectives.

The house in which Haimwattie lived

Moses Nagamootoo

Several businesses in the Lethem Industrial Site

Digicel Guyana launches “Kaleidoscope of Rainbow”

Telecommunica -

tions Giant, Digicel

Guyana in the wee hours of Saturday morning launched its 2015 Mash Band titled “Kaleidoscope of Rainbow” in grand style at New Amsterdam, Berbice before a festive crowd.

The pieces were skillfully put together by Guyanese designer, Olympia SmallSonoram and were excellently displayed by a group of well trained models.

Sonaram has been designing the Digicel Costumes for several years and was successful in copping top awards.

Speaking with Guyana Times, Sonaram explained that she was happy once again to work for the Bigger Better Network and is confident of winning the Designer of the Year Award.

This year the Digicel’s band will be able to accommodate 205 persons as it takes to the streets on February 23.

"Ace" Edmondson. Those who made a special effort to attend were entertained by the two artistes along with Calvin Burnett.

Midnight sale

Digicel Guyana also engaged in a promotional activity for its 8th Anniversary Promotion which saw thousands of persons flocking several locations to cash in on the fabulous deals where smart phones were offered to customers at $80,000 less than the actual price.

ing the turn out especially in Berbice and Georgetown, she thinks that the company has made a great decision to have the midnight sale.

The sale ended at 02:30h at all the participating stores. Guyana Times understands that most of the phones sold on the night are the Samsung Galaxy 5S which was sold as low as $60,000. There were also other phones available.

The designer explained that this year, she decided to play around with colours and came up with the concept of the rainbow. She added that her designing team comprise of 15 persons who have worked around the clock to make sure that the costumes are ready to be showcased in Berbice.

with Sonaram claiming that she has the touch of finesse.

The official encouraged persons to get on board explaining that it is extremely simple to register to be part of the band.

Public Relations Officer, Vidya Sanachara told this publication that it was always a pleasure to work

Canada-based Guyanese wins prestigious community service award

Canadian-based Guyanese Narine

Dat Sookram won the prestigious Reverend John Holland Award for his diligent work in the community service category.

The 19th annual Reverend John C Holland Awards took place on February 8 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada where 12 people were recognised.

Sookram was recognised for his significant role and impact in enriching the lives of individuals and groups, over a period of time, his demonstration of commitment and dedication through voluntary service; exceptional volunteer service as recognised by community organisations and services.

He made a major contrition to immigrants in the Waterloo Region through his Active Vision Charity Association.

“I would like to thank the awards selection committee for recognising my contributions to the community. For those of you who don’t know me, I have always been community oriented mainly because it fits perfectly with my values. As a human being I believe it’s part of my pur-

pose, as a citizen in Canada, I believe it’s part of my obligation. I believe that the biggest project usually starts off with the simplest ideas. I do believe however that the simplest thing is life is usually the most important. And for that reason I encourage you to utilise the skills and resources you have to maximise your potential, so that together we can build our community to a very high standard, setting an example for others to follow,” Sookram said upon receipt of his award.

Meanwhile, a special Award of Merit was given out to the 27-year-old Black Action Defence Committee (BADC) and one of its cofounders, the late activist Dudley Laws. The Torontobased BADC was born amid community anger at Police shootings of black men and their activism led to the creation of Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, which probes all incidents involving injuries and deaths during encounters with police.

Other winners included a powerful singing talent who just happens to be deaf and blind, and a Brock University student – athlete, mentor and valedictorian.

The Reverend John C Holland Award was established in 1996 as a part of Hamilton Sesquicentennial celebrations. An initiative of the Hamilton Black History Committee, these awards serve to recognise the significant contributions of African Canadians to the community.

Since its inception, these awards have received broad support from the community. Each year hundreds of Hamiltonians join with the Black History Committee to acknowledge and celebrate excellence.

“Once registered, costumes are distributed based on customers’ data plans. Once a customer has a month’s plan, they will be entitle to a full costume

while those who have a day play will be given the semi costumes”, she explained.

The costumes will be free and registration commences in the new week on Digicel’s Facebook page.

Meanwhile, the models gyrated to the tunes of two-time Carib Soca Monarch, Jumo "Rubber Waist" Primo and 2014 Carib Soca Monarch, Kwasi

From reports received, more than 800 persons camped out at the City Mall Branch while close to 200 flocked the Anna Regina Branch. The queue at Linden was also overwhelming.

Head of Sales and Distribution, Nadira Vieira told Guyana Times that this year, the company wanted to do something different to celebrate its 8th Anniversary.

She said they were not sure what would have been the response but upon see-

Gregory Dean, Chief Executive Officer disclosed that he was a little skeptical about the mid night sale when the idea was thrown at him and was surprised that Guyanese actually turned out in their numbers to celebrate with Digicel.

Also on the stroke of midnight, the CEO along with a resident of Berbice cut the symbolic red and white cake to usher in the commencement of the 9th year for the company in Guyana. Eight years ago, the Red Network was launched with Grammy winner, Akon performing.

Narine Dat Sookram

The models in the fabulous pieces designed by Olympia Small Sonaram

Lethem gets stable power supply

Chairman of the Lethem Power Company, John Macedo says residents of Lethem have been receiving fewer power failures since the company acquired two brand new generators.

“At present the power company has six generators.

There are two sets that are presently being used, one on standby that is in working order, two more which we are presently doing some maintenance work on and one more which is presently down,” Macedo related in an interview with Guyana Times

Asked when was the last time residents of Lethem suffered a lengthy power failure, Macedo said “I can remember.” According to him, power failures last for five to a

maximum of 30 minutes, depending of the level of maintenance work to be done.

“In extreme cases, we

may have to do a major maintenance job and in those cases, power is usually gone for about four hours,” Macedo said while pointing out that this situation only occurs in certain parts of Lethem.

Macedo explained that the power company now operates for 84 hours before it shuts off power for five to 30 minutes. After this initial power outage, the company runs for up to 250 hours before there is another power outage. This is repeated.

In another six weeks, the power company is scheduled to move to a new location. The issue of power outages to facilitate maintenance will be a story of the past, according to Macedo.

He said at the new location, there will be better fa-

cilities and a new synchronising system.

He explained that this system will allow for maintenance to be done without power failures. However, Macedo maintained that while management strives for improvement, certain incidents are unavoidable. “Somebody must hit down a poll or something and then there will be a blackout of some sort to facilitate fixing the problem.”

In the past, the power company had four generators and the community of Lethem and its environs were plagued with blackouts. Power failure reportedly lasted for days and on one occasion the entire border community was consequently shutdown.

PYO set to participate in Mash 2015

The Progressive Youth Organisation of Guyana (PYO) will take Mashramani 2015 by storm, as it gears up to participate in the National Costume and Float Parade on February 23 in the capital city, Georgetown.

The organisation, which has a membership base that spreads across the country, said that Republic Day and

Mashramani are significant events in Guyana, which enable Guyanese to reflect on the country’s rich history which led to development of a unique, free and democratic state.

“These events also play an integral role in cementing Guyana’s cultural identity as a melting pot of culture within the Caribbean, South America and the wider world. Our youths

will use Mashramani as the stage to celebrate all of the achievements that have been made as far as socioeconomic development and cultural transformation are concerned,” PYO said in a release on Saturday.

As the organisation joins thousands of Guyanese in celebrating Mashramani under the theme “One People, One Culture, One Celebration,” it will dem-

onstrate the power to resist those who are bent on fractionalising and dividing Guyana.

As a result, a number of events will be executed over the next few days to put Guyanese into the Mash mood, in the lead up to Republic Day.

The release added that “A Mash camp, which will be established at the side of Freedom House, Robb Street from Monday will see youths from all walks of life and Guyanese celebrating the cultural diversities of all six ethnic groups that make our society. Additionally, each night will carry a different theme and there will be speakers delivering short presentations on various issues related to youth and national development”.

The PYO will also be decorating its Mash float, costumes and paraphernalia at the location.

Younge’s Take

Bring back big buses

Guyanese must find creative strategies and ways to place more pressure on the Guyana Minibus Union and the Guyana Taxi Association for a reduction in the cost that is currently being paid for public transportation.

The positions adopted by both entities are unfair and unreasonable in light of the drop in world fuel and oil prices. By their continued refusal to reduce their fares, they are blocking passengers from benefiting from the pass-on effect of Government’s decision to axe gas and fuel prices by 30 per cent.

In other words, these two entities are unwilling to give any financial relief to their customers who contribute to their profitability and the success of the service industry on a daily basis.

This is most unfair when one considers the cost of living in Guyana for the majority of the travelling public and the fact that, when there is an increase in gas prices, the minibus and taxis that ply various routes impose increases almost immediately.

It is also unreasonable because Government has left in place several measures to ease the burden on the minibus and taxi operators to keep their vehicles functional.

Additionally, the Government has also been very lenient as far as regulating the affairs of the transportation sector are concerned. This leniency has led to the exploitation of the travelling public on many fronts.

If the minibus and taxi operators want to continue to be foolhardy, the travelling public must start to make certain demands.

Firstly, passengers must demand that they get their monies worth. They must not compromise on their level of comfort while travelling and must refuse to “double up” or be “squeezed up” in one seat to accommodate others.

Passengers must also demand that they be treated with respect by the minibus conductors and taxi drivers when they are utilizing the service. They must demonstrate a zero tolerance policy for loud and lewd music, speeding and the breach of other general safety rules while travelling.

Thos measures aside, if the Government through the Ministries of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and Public Transport cannot negotiate a reduction in the cost of public transport with the minibus union and the taxi association by the end of February, then strong decisions must be made.

The Government can choose to enter into the sector to provide direct competition to those private operators that are exploiting the public.

They could introduce 100 big buses, which could be purchased or lease with either grant or aid funds, to ply selected routes. These big buses would offer the travelling public an alternative to the existing small and uncomfortable minibuses and taxis, while providing an efficient, comfortable, safe and affordable service.

The Government could also choose to invest in establishing a national taxi service with the aim too of influencing the price and fare structures in this respect too.

Such a move, would force those in the industry to reduce their fares and to also upgrade the service they offer. In the end, the public will emerge as the winner because they will no longer fall victim to the ‘discretion’ of who control the transport services.

If the introduction of the big buses and a national taxi service is impractical and would prove an unprofitable venture for the State, then there must be a temporary boycott of all minibuses and taxi services that continue to deny passengers the right to benefit from the reduced gas and oil prices.

The passengers must organize themselves as a critical part of civil society to take action in the form of picketing exercises and demonstrations to point out their dissatisfaction with the decisions taken by the minibus union and taxi association.

It’s time to end the passive resistance to the continued exploitation of passengers and for decisive action to be taken.

Chairman of the Lethem Power Company John Macedo

PYO members in their Mashramani costumes last year

Digicel Guyana renews calls for liberalisation

As Digicel Guyana Inc celebrates its 8th anniversary, Chief Executive Officer of the company, Gregory Dean reiterated his call for a liberalised market to foster enhanced competition.

He made this comment in an interview with Guyana Times during anniversary celebrations in New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice Corentyne).

Dean said that while the company has done well in the market, there needs legislative framework to improve competitiveness should be enhanced. “We have been quite happy with most of the things we were able to achieve in terms of everything in our control we have been successful in achieving most things”, he stated. “There is no secret that we want to go beyond providing a mobile service… we went to go into land lines… we want to go into Internet and do other business solutions”.

The CEO insisted that the company is ready to provide these services with the passage of the telecommunications Bill, which is currently before a select committee in the National Assembly. The passage of this Bill will free up the over 20 year monopoly enjoyed by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company.

This is among several other bills that were due to

be tabled in the National Assembly on November 10, 2014 – the day, President Donald Ramotar prorogued Parliament. The others were the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill and Education Bill.

Dean stated it is just matter of time when parliament reconvenes and these outstanding bills become laws. He is optimistic that the Telecoms Bill will be made a priority when the parliament reconvenes. “I think the Telecoms Bill is right up there, so we are hopeful that it can get resolve soon in the year”.

Dean had recently said

the liberalisation of the sector would lay the base for the company becoming fully competitive with GT&T.

He also said that liberalisation would draw other companies into the Guyana market. Since coming to Guyana in 2007, Digicel Guyana Inc said it has invested close to US$80 million, providing coverage to close to 96 per cent of the population, including persons residing off Guyana’s coastland.

On the other hand, GT&T’s Chief Executive Officer, Radha Krishna Sharma only recently stated that his company will continue to push for the passage of the Telecoms legislation. He noted then that GT&T recognised the benefits this could have for all players.

Sharma said to date they have made both written and oral submissions to the Special Select Committee on Telecommunication Reform on specific aspects of the legislation.

However, he pointed out that fundamental to the liberalisation of the sector is the treatment of its contractual rights and Government’s obligation as enshrined in a legal, lawful agreement between the Government of Guyana and GT&T’s parent company Atlantic Telecommunication Network (ATN).

North Georgetown Primary students tours CJIA

Over two hundred students from the North Georgetown Primary School were given a grand tour of the CheddiJagan International Airport (CJIA) terminal building and aircraft museum on Thursday.

This tour initiated the usually busy tour season at the Timehri, East Bank Demerara airport.

According to a release from the CJIA, during the next six weeks there will be more than 20 nursery, primary and secondary schools visiting the airport.

These schools have already booked there slots to tour the country’s main port of entry, which processed close to 600,000 passengers last year. The tours are being facilitated by the Customer Service Representatives

(CSRs), a new service introduced by the airport over a year ago to improve customer satisfaction.

While the highlight of the tour is the DC-3 Museum, a fully outfitted 30-seater aircraft, students are given the opportunity to see the operations in Arrivals and the Check-In Halls. During the visits, the students are also quizzed on their knowledge of the airport and the aviation sector.

“Aviation is an exciting field and we want these students to realize that,” Aneka Edwards, CJIA’s Public Relations Officer said. The CJIA has embarked on producing a five minute feature to show students some of the exciting career choices the facility has to offer. Additionally, brochures of

GECOM hosts workshop with reporters ahead of elections

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) detailed the process of conducting the General and Regional Elections during an interactive session on Saturday with the media.

Staff from the Commission outlined the roles and functions of the Polling Day staff which includes the Presiding Officer, Assistant Presiding Officer, Polling, Ballot and Information Clerks.

The media was informed about the process involving the appointment of agents, restrictions of agents and the persons who are authorised to be in the Polling Station.

On Elections Day, there will be 10 Polling Districts which will be divided into Polling SubDistricts, Polling Divisions and Polling Sub-Divisions,

Guyana

it was explained.

Additionally, there was a detailed explanation on the use of proxy voting. It was explained that GECOM has introduced a new option for visually impaired persons who do not want to appoint a proxy voter. The Commission has created a design that will allow such persons to cast their votes themselves. It was noted that a person can be appointed a proxy voter for not more than two electors and must be on the same Official List of Electors, from the same Polling Station.

The staff went also outlined the process of intermixing the Disciplinary Services and Non-Resident Ballots, and how such persons are allowed to vote.

‘D’ Day, as it is referred to, involves members from Guyana Defence Force, Guyana Police Force and

Guyana Prison Service casting their votes prior to Elections day so that they can carry out their respective duties on that day.

The Polling Stations on Elections Day are opened from 06:00h to 18:00h and the staff includes the Presiding Officer, Assistant Presiding Office, two Polling Clerks, One Ballot Box Clerk or Counting Assistant, one Information Poll Clerk, one Polling Agent and the duly appointed candidates from the various political parties.

In addition, the GECOM staff enlightened the media on the work that is being done in the Polling Station leading up to ‘the end of E-Day (Elections Day) which includes the tallying of the votes from each polling station and the compilation of votes for each political party.

Marriott opens...

Meanwhile, questioned about being able to ensure the venture is a profitable one, Grisi noted that Marriott has made a relative commitment to the owners of the property. While he could not state the precise number of guests and the period the commitment covered, the General Manager added that “we do not have a reason to think that we are not going to meet or exceed those numbers”.

many as many 700 persons. There are also facilities that are tailored for the visually and hearing impaired.

The glass finish allows picturesque views of the city of Georgetown in the front or the Atlantic Ocean in the rear.

The Marriott Guyana investment had come under severe criticisms and review by sections of the media, the political Opposition and interest groups.

that there would be growth in this sector by 2021 from G$35.1 billion to G$42.3 billion, nearly doubling from 2011 to 2021, making this project a worthwhile investment.

the DC-3 are distributed to teachers, parents and students.

The Marriott Guyana Hotel boasts services of an international standard and facilities such as the business, fitness and entertainment centers, guest rooms to meet varying preferences and meeting spaces that could accommodate as

According to the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd. (NICIL) an estimated 12.2 per cent of Guyana’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from travel and tourism in 2011 up from 11.5 per cent in 2010. The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates

The project’s construction and management is owned and overseen by Atlantic Hotel Inc (AHI), a company owned by the Government of Guyana through its shareholding company NICIL. AHI was incorporated in Guyana on September 10, 2009 under the Companies Act 1991. The total project cost is US$58 million. Of this the construction aspect for the hotel and outer shell of the entertainment complex are valued US$50.9M.

Digicel’s CEO Gregory Dean

Two lads in the cockpit of the DC-3 aircraft

Housing and Water Minister commissions $90.4M well at Manchester Village

Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali on Friday commissioner a $90.4 million water well at Manchester Village, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne).

The well was constructed by Water and Oil Wells Service Corporation Limited and has a depth of 310 metres and a pump performance of 2.6 cubic metres per minute, which is equivalent to 75 black tanks of water per hour.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Minister Ali reiterated that the main goal of the project is to take treated water coverage to 60 per cent in the short-term but this, he noted, can only happen if there is continuity of the development agenda, policy and predictability.

He stated that his Ministry will over a period of time ensure that every Guyanese has access to treated water.

In this regard, he noted that Government invested a

total of $6 billion, with a per capita of nearly $50,000 per person and included major projects in Region Six.

These include the construction of new water treatment plants in Number 56 Village and Queenstown, installation of transmission mains in Skeldon, Number 74 to 75 Villages, Number 61 to 62 Villages, Letter Kenny, Adventure to Alness, Fyrish, Black Bush Polder, Canefield, Whim and Manchester.

In addition, there was an upgrade to distribution systems in Number 51 to 73 Villages, Number One road to Whim, Whim to Bush Lot, Goed Bananen Land, Number One to 50 Villages, Number 67 to Crabwood Creek and Glasgow to Edinburg.

Other projects include drilling of a new well in Canefield, Rosehall and Number 47 Village, distribution upgrade in Angoy’s Avenue, transmission main in Mibicuri to Lesbeholden and Canefield to Reliance,

Scenes

among other areas. Presently, work is ongoing in Angoy’s avenue, where 500 residents will benefit from improved water service.

construction of a new water treatment plant to cover villages from Sheet Anchor, Number 19 to Goed Bananen Land. The construction is expected to commence during 2015, benefiting some 15,000 residents. This he noted will take the coverage of water in the region to 65 per cent.

Meanwhile, over the past 15 years, the water sector has seen significant transformation in the different regions, where more people are receiving improved service across the country, inclusive of hinterland regions.

These projects include new water treatment plants, drilling of new wells, upgrading of distribution networks and service connections and installation of photovoltaic system and gravity feet systems in the hinterland.

hold over the period.

These investments the Minister stated resulted in the construction of seven new water treatment plants to increase coverage, drilling of 25 new potable water wells, rehabilitation of distribution and transmission networks, rehabilitation of sewer systems in Georgetown, and in the hinterland, development, inclusive of the construction of gravity feed systems, installation of photo voltaic systems and drilling of medium depth wells to improve service.

The impact of this investment has been tremendous, in that access to potable water increased from 26 per cent to 50 per cent, service was provided for in excess of 100,000 people for the first time, coverage to hinterland

cent at present.

Meter coverage increased from 25 per cent to 50 per cent while a total of 25,000 pensioners are also being subsidised by Government.

In 2014, the rehabilitation of the Georgetown sewer system was completed as promised. Two new water treatment plants are under construction in Linden which will be completed in March 2015.

Plans are well in place for the construction of new water treatment plants at Uitvlugt, Region Three, (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); Diamond, Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) and Sheet Anchor, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) and expand the treatment plants in Georgetown to increase the treated water coverage. This

Minister Ali also disclosed that the contract has already been signed for the

More than $20 billion has been invested in this sector with a per capita investment of nearly $30,000 per house-

increased from 25 per cent to 80 per cent and coverage on the coast increase from less than 70 per cent to 95 per

will intimately result in the improved standard of living for citizens.

Even in the pram 'we mashin it up'

these hinterland scholarship students 'mashed down de road' on their way to the National Park

A section of the gathering at the commissioning of the Manchester well

Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali unveiling the plaque to commission the well at Manchester, Region Six

this little 'masher' proudly showcased the forefathers' journey to Guyana

Children display unity in costume parade

The Children’s Mashramani Costume and Parade was the epitome of unity as banners and costumes portrayed messages of unification.

It was a glowing start on Saturday with bright sunlight and the excitement of thousands of students from all across Guyana. Leading the parade was the Education Minister Priya Manickchand who took pictures with persons from the crowd as she marched with the little revelers, waving to the sound of Soca music.

South Ruimveldt Primary School was rivaled the sun on the road march with the theme “Under the Sun.” All dressed in gold with six rays of sunlight on their heads, the students rallied through the streets of Georgetown. One who was instrumental in creating the costumes, stated that they were designed by Nielson Nurse with a message that “no matter the race you

can still celebrate.”

“Fusion of Colours” was North Georgetown Primary School’s theme. Abiola Edwards, who designed the float, stated that it depicted a mixture of the six races, holidays and festivals.

East La Penitence Primary School was also a part of the celebration with their designer, Treiston Holder, a Grade Six Teacher.

He explained that the float depicts the strength of the Guyanese people, in addition to Guyana’s diversity and its wealth of resources.

The teacher explained that while there was a shortage of funds, creativity was rife. Together, they used teaching aids and other materials from the school such as cardboards and sponges to create the float.

The staff of the Department of Education in Region Two joined the procession under the theme “In Unity We Strive.” Shaunda

Hercules, an Education Officer who coordinated the Region Two revelers, stated that they strived to show unity in their parade and the costumes as well. Their main float depicted six children of varying ethnicities under one big umbrella.

“Celebrating As One’ was the theme Ithaca Primary embraced with its “Teacup and Saucer Float.” Teacher

Natasha Paddy explained that it was her initiative that other teachers and parents helped to make a reality.

Paddy explained this unusual

that the telecommunication company sponsored the school for this year’s mash parade, providing the theme behind their floats and costumes – “Broadband Making Communication Better.”

St Gabriel’s Primary School which was sponsored by Malta had the “Queen of the Fairies” with a host of servant fairies. The school’s float was led by an exuberant young man who was the bumble bee for the fairy contingent. He drew the attention of all as he moved his stinger to the beat of “Go Down, Go

float, stating that the practice of using teacup and saucers were from the Europeans but it is now used by all.

Tucville Primary School led the competition all dressed in their blue costumes, waving banners depicting “GT&T The Bigger, Better Network”. Ryan Belgrave, a Grade Six teacher told Guyana Times

Berbice Riot Squad formed for elections

Police in Berbice are working to enhance their capabilities to control possible protests or mass demonstrations resulting from the May 11, General and Regional Elections.

Ranks from both Regions Five (Mahaica/Berbice) and Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne) have been selected to form the Berbice Riot Squad.

ways of approaching a disorderly crowd. They are also currently being equipped with the skills needed to disperse protestors.

Assisting Isles with the training are Assistant Superintendant Gay Nurse, Assistant Superintendant Kibwea Griffith and Inspector Michael Newland.

Down…. Come Up, Come Up.”

The departments of education in the various Regional Democratic Councils also participated.

The group, which consists of more than thirty officers, has commenced a rigorous training program leading up to Election Day. They are being trained in crowd control and unauthorised mass street protests.

Under the tutorship of Deputy Superintendant, Linden Isles the ranks have been trained on tactical

The 1992 Elections resulted in the People’s National Congress (PNC) being removed from power after a 28-year reign. Mass street demonstrations followed in the capital Georgetown and also in the towns on Linden and New Amsterdam.

On Saturday the Berbice Riot Squad received training at the Esplanade Ground in New Amsterdam.

The Region Nine Department of Education in “Entanglement of Education”

The Berbice Riot Squad is fully equipped, having embarked on rigid training

Unity was expressed in this little Queen's float as she marched in the Children's Mash Parade

The Lion and the Jewel , written in London, by Wole Soyinka was one of the first plays written by the author to be performed in Africa. It was performed at the Ibadan Arts Theatre in 1959, where it was well received.

The Lion and the Jewel was the first major play to draw on tradition al Yoruba poetry, music, and dance to tell a Nigerian story in English. The play enabled Nigerian drama to become part of world thea tre. The production is a comedy set in the small remote village of Ilujinle. There are three central charac ters: Lakunle, an ea ger but naïve school teacher who accepts

Western ideas and modernity without really understanding them; Baroka, the village chief, who sees mod-

ern ideas as a threat to his power; and Sidi, the jewel of the village, a beautiful woman who will choose one of the men for a husband.

The characters are exaggerated: Lakunle is arrogant and talks too much, and Baroka is cunning, but they are ultimately likable. Unlike many of Soyinka’s later plays, there is no evil in this play, and the author pokes only gentle fun at his characters. In the end, the men will have to deal with each other. As Baroka says, “the old must flow into the new.”

The play focus-

es on several conflicts that Soyinka presents but does not attempt to resolve. Lakunle and Baroka embody the contrary urges toward modernity and tradition. They personify the two sides of the major social and political issue in Africa during the last half of the 20th century.

The play is now on the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) list of drama texts for its CSEC examination.

This fairly straightforward but somewhat alien drama, alien to students of this part of the world, is dramatised by Godfrey Naughton and a brilliant cast.

The book, like all others is being chosen by CXC for Literature was written to be performed to bring out its nuances and traditions of its host playwrights.

The conundrum this cre-

ated was somewhat alleviated when Naughton chose to dramatise these texts all across Guyana for schools and general audiences.

From Saturday, February 21 to Thursday, March 5, the play can be viewed at the Theatre Guild Playhouse in the finest traditions of great stagings by that venerable institution.

The cast boasts leading artists such as Guyana Prize winner Mosa Telford, Clinton Duncan, Kim Fernandes, Candacy Baveghens and introducing singer/ dancer/ actor Kefa Smith.

They are backed by 20 other dancers, singers and actors who introduce Guyana to the “total” nature of African Theatre.

The event is sponsored by Digicel and Impressions and is presented by the Theatre Guild.

Fifty Shades of Grey, the 2015 American erotic romantic drama film will hit the Princess Theaters on February 20. The movie is due to be released in the US on February 14 with expected sold out audiences.

The movie is based on E. L. James’ bestselling novel, the film stars Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele, a college graduate who begins a sadomasochistic relationship with young business magnate Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).

The film premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival on February 11. The movie tells of a Virginal student Steele goes to interview wealthy, handsome, charismatic entrepreneur Grey.

The attraction between them is immediate and electric. But Ana learns that Christian is only interested in a relationship on his own controlling terms.

As they embark on an in-

tense and passionate affair, he introduces her to his dark and very particular tastes. Now she finds herself exploring her own desires for the first time.

Meanwhile, the ‘Spongebob the Movie’ will also premier on February 20.

On the other hand, ‘Kingsman’, a 2014 spy action comedy film based on the comic book The Secret Service will open today and will be available for viewing at 13:00h, 16:00h, 19:00h and 21:30h on Screen 1.

Screen two will feature ‘Roy’ at 19:00h and 21:30h while Disney’s ‘Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast’ will also be on Screen Two at 13:00h, 15:00h and 17:00h. All the movies can be viewed up to next Thursday.

The Miss Global International Guyana 2015 pageant committee has shortlisted, from 25 applicants, a panel of qualified beauty Ambassadors to compete for the title.

It is from this list of trained contenders that Onesha Hutson’s successor will be chosen.

The bevy of beauties will be introduced to the public on Saturday, February 28 at the Roraima Duke Lodge at 20:00h with a gala show and cocktail ball.

This event will also feature dances by the Nachgana Academy of Dance, Naya Andaz Preforming Arts, Fashion display by Nachle Designs, Quinton Pearson and Natalya Thomas and performances by Melissa Vanilla Roberts among other top Guyanese Entertainers. Emcee will be Party Boss, WR Reaz of Mega Mix Reload.

The contenders would participate in a variety of events before the grand finals which covers the talent, evening gown, intelligence and swimsuit segments before a qualified panel of experience judges on April 4.

The winner of Miss Global Guyana 2015 goes on to represent Guyana at the Miss Global International 2015 pageant in Panama between June 23 and 27.

WICB’s PCL 4-day cricket…

Chandrika (83), Cornwall (7-96) highlight second day

Guyana Jaguars opener Rajendra Chandrika and Leeward Islands

Hurricanes off-spinner

Rakheem Cornwall were the star performers on day two when sixth round action in the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) Professional Cricket League (PCL) Four-day competition contested at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in North Sound, Antigua.

At stumps, the hosts, trailing the Jaguars by 128 runs on first innings, were 36-1 in their second turn at the crease. Scores in the match so far: Leeward Islands Hurricanes 139 and 36-1; Guyana Jaguars 267.

Resuming on 14-0, Guyana Jaguars soon went past the home team’s total and were led by a fighting knock of 83 from Chandrika, his second fifty this season and fourth overall in 27 matches.

Test batsman Leon Johnson and Narsingh Deonarine supported with 42 and 32 respectively, as Cornwall returned careerbest figures of 7-96 in only his third First-Class game.

Below are the summarised scores from the other games.

Rajendra Chandrika

At Arnos Vale: Jamaica 204 (Jermaine Blackwood 96, Carlton Baugh 33; Alston Bobb 5-38, Johnson Charles 2-14) versus Windward Islands Volcanoes 2897 (Andre Fletcher 102*, Tyrone Theophile 55; David Bernard Jr 4-41).

At Kensington Oval: Barbados Pride 275 (Shane Dowrich 92, Roston Chase 85, Kraigg Brathwaite 40; Imran Khan 4-65, Shannon Gabriel 3-40 ) and 15-0 versus T&T Red Force 218 (Evin Lewis 43, Jason Mohammed 32, Jeremy Solozano 30; Carlos Brathwaite 4-50, Roston Chase 3-14).

richard Ishmael outplay...

Peters scored in the 14th and 68th minutes, and he was supported by Sese Norville and Rondel Peters with goals in the 38th and 54th minutes respectively. Freeburg’s solitary strike came off the boot of Charles Chester in the 27th minute.

Game two resulted in a blowout for School of the Nations, who stormed to a 3-0 victory over North Georgetown. Shaquille Bess was undoubtedly the star of the show, blasting home all three goals.

He netted in the 31st, 64th and 65th minutes. The Queen’s College/Mae’s clash has been rescheduled, due to the unavoidable absence of Queen’s College.

In the other game of the day, North Ruimveldt pipped Charlestown 2-1. Shaquan Mars and Matthew Harrison scored for North Ruimveldt, while Ravin Naughton netted for Charlestown.

Another four games are carded for the same venue today, with kick off set for 11:00 hours.

Christ Church and Morgan Learning Centre will collide in the curtain raiser, followed by Kingston against St Joseph, St George’s versus Brickdam and David Rose against Tucville. The competition, coordinated by the Petra Organisation, is being sponsored by Beepat’s Trading.

Preparations moving apace for KMTC’s Phagwah race meet

Preparations are moving apace for the grand Phagwah horse-race meet organised by the Kennard Memorial Turf Club (KMTC), which is slated for March 8 at the club’s race track, Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, Berbice.

According to chief organiser, Cecil Kennard, most of the top horses in the country have already indicated their interest and reports out of the KMTC states that only limited spaces are available, with entries filling up at a rapid pace.

Competitors will be vy-

ing for over $6 million, which will be available in cash, trophies and other attractive prizes. The fea-

ture attraction will be the A1 and Lower Class over a distance of seven furlongs.

The top prize is $700,000, while the second place finisher will receive half that amount. Horses that place third and fourth will receive $175,000 and $87,000 respectively.

The other seven furlongs race is the G1 and Lower for a winning prize of $300,000.

The remaining four races will all run over five furlongs. The K1 and Lower and the K and Lower handicap races will see the owner of the winning hors-

es taking home $120,000 each.

The D3 Maiden and E and F Lower have a winning tag of $400,000 each, while the final race for J1 and Lower has a top prize of $180,000.

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Bolt to retire after 2017 World Championships

Jamaican sprinter

Usain Bolt said he will retire from athletics after the 2017 World Championships in London.

The 28-year-old sixtime Olympic gold medallist also said that he will just focus on the 100m in 2017.

Bolt had suggested that the Rio Games in 2016 would be his last major championship but he now appears to have changed his mind to make a return to London.

“That was the initial plan [to sign off after Rio],” he told the Daily Mail. “But my sponsor has asked me

to go on for another year; to 2017 and London. But I’ll be doing one event, the 100. I’ve already discussed

it with my coach. I can concentrate on that, and on retiring on a winning note.”

Bolt’s main focus for

2015 will be the World Championships in Beijing from August 22-30 where he will be looking to add to his haul of eight World gold medals. He also has an eye on breaking his own 100m world record of 9.58 seconds, set in Berlin in 2009.

“If everything goes well this season...in my life anything is possible. If I can get myself in good shape, it should be wonderful this season,” he added.

“I live for competition. I thrive on competition. I live to compete against the best.” (BBC Sport)

Cecil Kennard

Usain Bolt is looking to finish off on a high in 2017

Finch, Marsh outclass sorry England

England were outclassed by an impressive Australia in a 111-run defeat on the opening day of the World Cup in Melbourne.

Aaron Finch, dropped on nought by Chris Woakes in the first over, hammered 135 and Glenn Maxwell a 40-ball 66 to propel the co-hosts to 342-9.

Chasing the biggest score they had ever conceded in a one-day international against Australia never seemed likely for England and a top-order collapse further demonstrated the gulf in class.

Mitchell Marsh took 5-33 as England were bowled out for 231 despite an inventive unbeaten 98 from James Taylor.

Although an expected defeat by the tournament favourites does little damage to England’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals, the manner of the reverse should provide cause for concern.

They were substandard in the field, lacked control at the end of the Australia innings and were saved from their heaviest World Cup defeat by Taylor.

The most costly mistake was made by Woakes, dropping a simple chance above his head at square leg off James Anderson to reprieve Finch from only the fifth delivery.

The right-hander made the most of his let-off to dominate the innings through flicks off his pads, brutal pulls and powerful hits down the ground.

But the biggest disappointment was England’s death overs, which featured too few yorkers, too many slow bouncers and Maxwell’s clean striking.

Steven Finn at least claimed the first World Cup hat-trick by an England

bowler from the final three balls of the innings, all skied catches.

Bowling first on a flat pitch in the hope the overnight rain would result in some assistance, England reduced Australia to 70-3 by Stuart Broad and Woakes finding movement on a good length.

The lesson was not learnt, though, and George Bailey was allowed to settle on a diet of short bowling, making 55 and rebuilding in a stand of 146 with Finch.

When Finch and Bailey fell, England looked like they might check Australia’s progress, but Maxwell provided the late carnage. The final 10 overs yielded 105 runs, including 76 off the last six.

side for Ravi Bopara - flicked to short mid-wicket, Ian Bell cut to deep point, Joe Root top-edged and captain Eoin Morgan toe-ended a pull to diving wicketkeeper Brad Haddin for a third successive duck against Australia.

Steve Smith’s wonderful flying catch at short cover accounted for Jos Buttler and left England at a hopeless 92-6.

However, Taylor, dropped down the order to accommodate Ballance, did find a way to score by running hard and capitalising on what loose bowling was on offer.

He nudged towards a maiden century in the company of last man Anderson, but was given out lbw to Josh Hazlewood, only for the deci-

Cup

A successful chase looked fanciful, but England’s tepid reply never had them in the game.

As Australia hit their lengths and held their catches to provide the visitors with a lesson, one by one, England’s batsmen holed out.

Moeen Ali started the rot by pulling Mitchell Starc to mid-on, before Marsh’s medium-pacers took over.

Gary Ballance - in the

SCOREBOARD

England Innings Moeen c Bailey b Starc 10 Bell c Starc b M Marsh 36

Ballance c Finch b M Marsh 10

sion to be overturned on review.

But, from the same delivery, Anderson was run out and, amid confusing scenes as the TV replays were consulted, England’s fate was sealed.

The International Cricket Council’s later admitted that an error had been made and that the ball should have been declared dead, but the decision was incidental to a one-sided result. (BBC Sport)

Co-hosts New Zealand got off to a winning start with a resounding 98-run victory over Sri Lanka in the opening match of the World Cup in Christchurch.

Captain Brendon McCullum struck 65 off 49 balls as the Black Caps put on a rapid 111 for the first wicket.

Kane Williamson added a composed 57 before Corey Anderson blasted 75 off 46 balls to help the hosts to an imposing total of 331-6 from their 50 overs.

In reply, Sri Lanka subsided to 233 all out, with Daniel Vettori taking 2-34.

New Zealand, who play England next, have reached six World Cup semi-finals without ever going on to make the final.

The Black Caps, however, are one of the favourites for this tournament, and this powerful performance against the 2011 finalists underlined why they are so highly-rated.

Extras (3-w, 2-lb) 5

Total (for 9 wickets; 50 overs) 342

Bowling: Anderson 10-0-670, Broad 10-0-66-2, Woakes 10-0-65-1, Finn 10-0-71-5, Moeen 9-0-60-0, Root 1-0-11-0

Fall of wickets: 57 (Warner), 57 (Watson), 70 (Smith), 216 (Finch), 228 (Bailey), 281 (M Marsh), 342 (Haddin), 342 (Maxwell), 342 (Johnson)

Root c Haddin b M Marsh 5 Morgan c Haddin b M Marsh 0 Taylor not out 98 Buttler c Smith b M Marsh 10 Woakes c Smith b Johnson 37 Broad b Starc 0 Finn c and b Johnson 1 Anderson run out (Maxwell) 8 Extras (11-w, 5-lb) 16

Total (all out; 41.5 overs) 231

Bowling: Starc 9-1-47-2, Hazlewood 6.5-0-45-0, Johnson 8-0-36-2, M Marsh 9-0-335, Watson 3-0-13-0, Maxwell 4-0-33-0, Smith 2-0-19-0

Fall of wickets: 25 (Moeen), 49 (Balance), 66 (Bell), 66 (Root), 73 (Morgan), 92 (Buttler), 184 (Woakes), 194 (Broad), 195 (Finn), 231 (Anderson)

James Taylor was denied a maiden international century by an umpiring error as Australia opened their World Cup campaign with a crushing defeat of England.

“Following Australia’s 111-run win over England in the Group A ICC Cricket World Cup clash at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday night, the Playing Control Team (PCT) met and reviewed the final ball of the game, which resulted in James Anderson being given run out,” an ICC statement said.

“Article 3.6a of

“We executed our blueprint with the bat,” said McCullum. “It was a really good performance all round. We have been waiting a long time for this so it is great to complete our plans.”

Put in under grey skies, the hosts immediately attacked the Sri Lanka bowlers with some explosive hitting in the first powerplay.

Williamson recorded his 13th fifty in his last 17 ODIs, before Anderson, playing in his home city, helped New Zealand to add a crucial 102 in the final 10 overs.

Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996 and reached the final of the last two tournaments, but they will have to improve on this performance in order to challenge at this tournament.

Influential fast bowler Lasith Malinga was disap-

pointing, conceding 84 runs in 10 wicketless overs.

Sri Lanka’s chase began well, with opener Lahiru Thirimanne hitting 65, but was soon derailed by the pace of Trent Boult and the spin of Vettori.

They collapsed from 1241 to 168-6, with Boult, Adam Milne and Vettori, who reversed his retirement from ODIs last year, capturing two wickets each, and their

innings never recovered. They will hope for a rapid return to form when they face Afghanistan on Saturday.

“They probably scored 30 or 40 runs too many and then we needed someone in our top four to get a hundred,” said captain Angelo Matthews.

“But we are not going to panic, we still have five group games left.” (BBC Sport)

New Zealand beat Sri Lanka in opener SCOREBOARD

New Zealand Innings

Guptill c Sangakkara b Lakmal 49

B McCullum c J Mendis

b Herath 65

Williamson c Karunaratne

b J Mendis 57

Taylor st Sangakkara

b J Mendis 14

Elliott c Thirimanne b Lakmal 29

Anderson c Lakmal b Kulasekara 75 Ronchi not out 29

Extras (3-nb, 8-w, 2-lb) 13

Total (for 6 wickets; 50 overs) 331

Bowling: Kulasekara 8-0-78-1, Malinga 10-0-84-0, Mathews 6-0-28-0, Herath 9-0-37-1, Dilshan 5-0-35-0, Lakmal 100-62-2, J Mendis 2-0-5-2

Fall of wickets: 111 (B McCullum),136 (Guptill), 193 (Williamson), 193 (Taylor), 258 (Elliott), 331 (Anderson) Sri Lanka Innings Thirimanne b Boult 65

Dilshan c and b Vettori 24 Sangakkara lbw b Boult 39 M Jayawardene c Ronchi b Vettori 0 Karunaratne b Milne 14 Mathews c Vettori b Southee 46 J Mendis c Ronchi b Milne 4 Kulasekara c Elliott b Anderson 10 Herath c Milne b Anderson 13 Malinga c Ronchi b Southee 0 Lakmal not out 7

Extras (1-nb, 10-w) 11

Total (all out; 46.1 overs) 233 Bowling: Southee 10-1-43-2, Boult 10-0-64-2, Milne 10-056-2, Vettori 10-0-34-2, Elliott 2-0-11-0, Williamson 1-07-0, Anderson 3.1-0-18-2 Fall of wickets: 67 (Dilshan), 124 (Thirimanne), 125 (M Jayawardene), 129 (Sangakkara), 163 (Karunaratne), 168 (J Mendis), 196 (Kulasekara), 216 (Mathews), 217 (Malinga), 233 (Herath)

ICC accepts umpiring error on Anderson run-out

Appendix 6 of the Decision Review System Playing Conditions states that the ball should have been deemed dead when the batsman (James Taylor) was given out LBW. No further runs or dismissals were possible.

“The PCT spoke to the England team management and acknowledges that the game ended incorrectly and that an error was made.”

The confusion arose when Taylor was given out by umpire Aleem Dar following a leg before appeal from Josn Hazlewood. However, Taylor called for a review which suggested

the ball was passing down the leg side. Dar’s original decision was therefore overturned. But as England attempted a single from the same delivery, Glenn Maxwell hit the stumps before Anderson could make his ground. After some confusion and a number of replays, the square leg umpire, Kumar Dharmasena gave Anderson out.

But the playing conditions suggest the ball should have been declared dead at the time and Anderson should have been reprieved. While the decision had no bearing on the result - Australia were in a position of overwhelm-

ing dominance - it did deny Taylor the chance to register a century on World Cup debut.

Aaron Finch, the Australian opener who was awarded the Man-of-theMatch award for his century, admitted the players had “no idea” what the playing conditions were.

“We had no idea what was going on,” he said. “We appealed for an lb, we appealed for a run out. We would have taken anything at the time.

“I honestly still don’t know the rule. Maybe it was a dead ball, but I still haven’t seen a rule.”

Aaron Finch became the first man to score a hundred in the 2015 World

Corey Anderson smashed 75 off 46 balls

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Berbice Bridge supports RHTY&SC

Jubilee Celebrations

Long-time sponsor of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC), the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI) has renewed its sponsorship of three major activities of Guyana’s leading youth and sports organisation. Administrative Assistant of the Company, Bibi Ali, handed over a cheque for an undisclosed amount to Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the club, Hilbert Foster, during a simple presentation ceremony on Thursday last.

The long-serving Secretary/CEO stated that under the 2015 sponsorship the BBCI will be sponsoring the Tribute to Retired Teachers Programme and also co-sponsoring the Silver Jubilee Souvenir Magazine and the Silver Jubilee Tribute to Heroes Awards Programme.

Foster hailed the support of the company and expressed gratitude to its Chief Executive Officer, Omadat Samaroo, for his support over the years.

Four retired teachers,

selected by the Guyana Teachers Union and drawn from both Regions Five and Six for their outstanding contribution to education and sports, will be recognised.

Foster also disclosed that the RHTY&SC will be publishing a 48-page souvenir magazine for its Silver Jubilee anniversary, while outstanding members of the club over the last 25 years will be honoured during the Tribute to Heroes Awards Programme. Foster proudly stated that the RHTY&SC Silver Jubilee celebration would not just be a memorable one, but one that would be unmatched in the history of any youth and sports organisation in Guyana.

Ali praised the RHTY&SC for the outstanding work it is doing for youth and stated that her company was pleased to be associated with Guyana’s best. She wished the club more successes in the future and expressed confidence that all the projects sponsored by the BBCI would be successfully organised.

GBTI Secondary School tapeball bowls off

The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) organised GBTI Inter-secondary school tapeball tournament for both males and females bowled off successfully on Thursday last.

Three rounds of matches were held at separate grounds and all matches were well supported with students and members of the public attending. Secretary/CEO of the RHTY&SC officially declared the tournament open along with Assistant Manager of GBTI’s Port Mourant Branch, Ameer Azeef.

In the opening rounds, Lower Corentyne Secondary, Winifred Gaskin and Corentyne Comprehensive advanced to the semi-finals of the Boys category, while on the distaff side, J.C. Chandisingh Secondary, Manchester Secondary and Port Mourant also progressed to join Central Corentyne Secondary School, who drew the bye into the semi-finals, for both divisions.

Below are the summarised scores from the games played.

In the Boys category: At Ulverston- Winifred Gaskin defeated Manchester by four wickets. Manchester Secondary 109- 8 from 15 overs (Kornelius France 28, Sanjeem Bartany 40, Akeem Blackman 2-20, Trevon Cort 2-10) Winifred Gaskin 113-6 in 14.3 overs (Akeem Blackman 70, Tishon Cooper 20, Shane Campbelle 2-15).

At Port Mourant-

Corentyne Comprehensive defeated Port Mourant Secondary by 77 runs. Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary School 126-7 off 15 overs (Avinash Ramnarine 27, Jermine Pollard 17, Akeem Hooper 2-23, Deonarine Ramnarine 2-26) Port Mourant Secondary School 49 all out (Nicholas Nankoo 11, Azim Ally 13, Joel Pike and Ronaldo Rowe 2-9 each).

At the Area “H” ground- Lower Corentyne crushed J.C. Chandisingh Secondary by 42 runs. Lower Corentyne 102-2 off 15 overs (Kevlon Anderson 56*, Keith Simpson 30*) J.C. Chandisingh Secondary School 60 all out in 13.3 overs.

In the Girls division: At Ulverston- Port Mourant

Herstelling Raiders Football Club recorded their first win of the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport (MCY&S) sponsored East Bank Football Association (EBFA) Under-11 Pee Wee League, a 1-0 win

over the previously unbeaten Grove Hi Tech on Saturday at the Grove Playfield.

In the eagerly anticipated clash, the Herstelling lads, who dominated much of the encounter, left it late to seal full points with Shoran James

Secondary School defeated Corentyne Comprehensive by seven wickets. Corentyne Comprehensive 50 all out in 8.3 overs (Erica Lashley 3-7, L. Mc Kenzie 3- 13) Port Mourant Secondary School 53-3 in 7.1 overs (Aleema Arokium 20, Kavita Ramsammy 11).

At UlverstonManchester Secondary defeated Winifred Gaskin by 27 runs. Manchester Gaskin 93 all out in 9.5 overs (Kimmone Thomas 48, Kimola Davis 11, Nazela Leitch 2-11) Winifred Gaskin 66 all out in 10 overs (Thiona Park 2-20, Tishana Munroe 2-11).

At the Area “H” ground in Rose Hall Town- J.C. Chandisingh Secondary defeated Lower Corentyne by five wickets. Lower

Corentyne 55 all out in 10 overs (Lashonda Punch 17, Hazeena Mannick 12) J. C. Chandisingh 56-5 in 8.2 overs (Natasha Sukhdeo 15, Lashonda Punch 3-10). The semi-finals are slated for Monday at the Port Mourant cricket ground and the Area “H” ground. At the Port Mourant venue, J.C. Chandisingh will play Central Corentyne at 09:00h in the Girls category and at 11:30 hours, Central Corentyne and Lower Corentyne will contest one of the Boys semis.

Over on the Area “H” ground in Rose Hall, Manchester will play Port Mourant 09:00h in the Girls division and Winifred Gaskin and Corentyne Comprehensive will clash at 11:30h in the Boys semi.

netting the winner in the 29th minute of the contest. Grove was awarded a penalty midway through the second half, but the shot taken by their captain Devon Padmore was saved by the lone female of the tournament, Indira Winter.

Winter’s heroics paved the way for her side’s eventual win, which was formalised with James’ goal in the penultimate minute of the match.

Grove is stalled on six points from three games with Herstelling moving to three from two matches. Saturday’s supporting game ended in a 0-0 stalemate between Craig Primary and Agricola Red Triangle.

Both teams played well and while Craig had the big-

ger of the players in terms of size, Agricola never allowed them to impose their will as they were very aggressive, with their goalkeeper Christopher Adams pulling off a few big saves to help earn his side an even share of the spoils.

The day’s opening clash saw Diamond United defeating Mocha Champs by the lone goal of the game, which came off the boot of Andy Gray in the 28th minute. Mocha, playing in their first game of the league, looked a good unit, but it was the more active Diamond side that gained the edge to record their first win of the competition, which will continue this Saturday at the same venue.

Bibi Ali of the BBCI hands over the sponsorship to RHTY&SC Secretary/CEO, Hilbert Foster

Assistant Manager of GBTI’s Port Mourant Branch, Ameer Azeef (left), and West Indies all-rounder Shemaine Campbelle (right) with some of the young ladies participating in the competition

The Herstelling Raiders players pose for a photo after their win over Grove Hi Tech on Saturday

Heart of Oak football…

All Saints Primary takes Boys and Girls titles

All Saints Primary emerged winner of both the Boys and Girls finals of the Heart of Oak Masters’ Interprimary schools football competition in the Ancient County.

The girls first won their closely contested championship game against St Theresa Primary, before the boys convincingly beat the same school in their match-up. Both schools had their respective boys and girls’ teams advance to the final after three days of competition at the round-robin stage.

After a nil-all game between the girls, Evrigna Mentor scored from the penalty line for All Saints Primary as all her four other team mates failed to score, so too did the five girls chosen by St Theresa to take the penalty kicks to decide the winner.

Hoping for revenge, St Theresa boys started their game at a fast pace, but soon found themselves try -

ing to play ‘catch up’ after Ezekiel Hamilton scored in the first half. Jarel Fraser then made it 2-0 before the half time whistle.

Despite some bold efforts by St Theresa in the second half, they could not score and the game ended 2-0 in favour of All Saints Primary to give them a clean sweep of the competition.

The Most Valuable Player of the tournament for the Boys category was Jarel Fraser of All Saints Primary, while his teammates, Lionel Hollogam and Ezekiel Hamilton were named best goalkeeper and highest goalscorer respectively.

The Most Valuable Player for the Girls division was Evrigna Mentore of All Saints Primary, while her teammates Ophella Grant took the best goalkeeper award.

Mentore also took the award for most goals.

The tournament was organised by Neil Humphrey

AAG second Development Meet on today at GDF

The Meet will commence at 13:00h today

The Athletics Association of Guyana’s (AAG) second and final Developmental Meet is set for today at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground, Camp Ayanganna. The meet will begin at 13:00h.

Junior, youth and senior athletes will compete on the day.

Events will begin with the 2000m Open race to be followed by the 60m sprint for Under-14, 16 and 18

Boys and Girls and Open Males and Females, 600m Open, 150m sprints, with the 300m events closing out the day’s races.

The Javelin, Discus and Long Jump field events will punctuate the day’s programme.

Developmental Meets are used to prime athletes and keep them active for the traditional races at the National Junior and Senior Championships.

of the Heart of Oak Masters Football Club, with Young’s Photo Studio of New Amsterdam and Sean Griffith of GT&T being the sponsors. (Andrew Carmichael)

The proud students of All Saints Primary display their medals and trophies for winning both the Boys and Girls categories

Teacher Bassant Jagdeo presenting All Saints Captain Affir Hackman with the winner’s trophy

Caribbean Premier League 2015… Chanderpaul’s inclusion a

“great motivating factor”, says Khan

B y R ajiv B isnauth

Operations Manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Omar Khan, feels that Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s inclusion in the Guyana Amazon Warriors makeup for the third edition of the Caribbean Primer League (CPL) will definitely boost the morale of the squad.

The champion batsman was bought in Round 12 for US$10,000, and is one of six players to represent the local franchise for the first time. Khan

cricket, Shiv is very active, still very fit, still scoring runs, so his experience and knowledge will be a great asset to the team. He will bring that to the table where he will help motivate the guys, he will help add experience in match situations and help support the overall team effort,” Khan said with confidence.

He continued, “Shiv is also a legend of West Indies cricket. He has been representing Guyana and West Indies so consistently well over

believes the obdurate lefthander’s contribution to the squad is more of a motivating factor for the rest of the players.

“Shiv is still playing

the years, and when the opportunity came for us to pick Shiv it was a great opportunity to give him a chance to be a part of the team, not only in terms of

his cricketing skills, but his experience as an international player, his experience as a professional cricketer.”

The former West Indies captain, who was a part of the St Lucia Zouks squad in the inaugural edition in 2013, had pulled out prior to the start of that tournament in order fulfill his contractual obligations with English county side, Derbyshire.

Back then, Chanderpaul had signed a contract with CPL offering himself for selection, but later realised that his commitment to Derbyshire allowed a release only if it pertained to playing for West Indies.

The man, who hammers a bail into the pitch to mark his guard, joins Australia’s Brad Hodge, Sir Lanka’s Thisara Perera, Guyanese trio Assad Fudadin, Paul Wintz and Devendra Bishoo as the new comers.

Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga and Tillakaratne Dilshan, Trinidadians Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons and Denesh Ramdin, along with Guyanese Christopher Barnwell, Veerasammy Permaul, Ronsford Beaton and Trevon Griffith are the other members of the squad.

The CPL is the Region’s premier T20 tournament, attracting sold-out crowds and is viewed by millions across the globe. The 2015 CPL will take place from June 20 to July 26.

The Amazon Warriors lost at the final hurdle in both of the previous two editions, to Jamaica Tallawahs in 2013 and Barbados Tridents last year.

Upcoming World Cup matches (with Guyana time)

Today: 5th Match, Pool B - Ireland v West Indies, 18:00h

Monday: 6th Match, Pool A - New Zealand v Scotland University Oval, 18:00h

Tuesday: 7th Match, Pool A - Afghanistan v Bangladesh, 23:30h

Wednesday: 8th Match, Pool B - United Arab Emirates v Zimbabwe, 18:00h

Thursday: 9th Match, Pool A - New Zealand v England, 21:00h

ESPN, E-Networks facilitate ICC World Cup coverage at President's request

ESPN, the rights holder for the ICC Cricket World Cup, will allow state-owned NCN to air the major matches during the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament.

A Guyana Times article on Saturday highlighted the fact that less than 5,000 Guyanese would have been able to see the Cricket World Cup if E-Networks remained as the only provider of the television broadcast.

A release from

E-Networks said this was a direct result of President Ramotar’s request that the majority of Guyanese be allowed to enjoy and partake in this major series.

ESPN traditionally only allows coverage of its content to cable subscribers through its only locally authorized partner in Guyana E-Networks Inc.

According to the release, E-Networks will provide NCN with a live feed of the matches, starting February 14, waiving its rights to ex-

clusivity for the matches in Guyana.

ESPN has also requested as part of this effort more governmental support in its fight against piracy in the local market.

The release said ESPN has been fighting local piracy of its ESPN and Disney feeds against Atlantic Cable Network and Moviestar, which have been repeatedly warned to desist from pirating ESPN signals, which they include as part of their commercial cable services.

Milo Under-20 Schools football…

Richard Ishmael outplay Freeburg 4-1

By avenash Ramzan

Second round action in the annual Milo Under-20 Secondary Schools football tournament

commenced on Saturday with three teams recording wins, while one game had to be rescheduled. Playing at the Education Ministry ground on

Carifesta Avenue, Richard Ishmael started proceedings with a 4-1 drubbing of Freeburg with a double from Delton Peters.

Omar Khan

Shivnarine Chanderpaul displayed solid form in the recently concluded NAGICO Super50 tournament for Guyana Jaguars

School of the Nations player Shaquille Bess set off in celebrations after scoring against North Georgetown (Photo: Richard Jagdeo)