Guyana Times Daily

BK sues Specialty Hospital contractor for $400M debt

BK International Incorporated is moving to the courts in India in an effort to recoup outstanding monies owed by Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited, the Indian company contracted to construct the US$18 million Specialty Hospital at Turkeyen in Guyana.

The move to the courts in India comes after the Commercial Court here lifted an Interim Injunction restraining Brijen Parikh, Managing Director of Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited, from leaving Guyana without settling the debt to BK International. Prior to the decision to take legal action in India, BK International sought the intervention of the Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, but saw no progress.

In a statement, BK International said as a sub-contractor, it is owed $180,100,242 for work done in the months of May, June, and July 2014. Three Invoices dated May 12, June 4, and July 1 were dispatched to Surendra Engineering’s Managing Director Parikh and certified by the engineer on site.

However, Parikh indicated that BK International Inc

cannot be paid, citing the project’s budget cut as the reason.

BK International and Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited entered into a written agreement for BK International to supply and drive 2000 pieces of 65-foot greenheart piles at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara. The agreed sum for the execution of the contract by BK International is $673,978,328.

Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited agreed to pay BK International for quantities of work done and certified by the engineer on site. Payment was to be made within two weeks of submission of the invoices by BK International. This was not done.

Interim Injunction

On July 21, 2014, BK International filed for and received an Interim Injunction against Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited. The injunction, granted by Justice Rishi Persaud in the Commercial Court, followed an Ex Parte Application by way of Affidavit by BK International Inc.

The Interim Injunction restrained the defendant, Surendra Engineering

Corporation Limited, from leaving or attempting to leave the jurisdiction pending the hearing and determination of the action unless and until the defendant lodges with the Registrar of the Supreme Court the sum of $180,100,242 as security in the event that judgment is obtained against the defendant by the plaintiff.

On July 23, 2014, Justice Persaud ruled that BK International is entitled to recover the sum of $180,100,242 together with costs in the sum of $450,000 after Surendra consented to judgement.

Justice Persaud also ordered that there be a stay of execution for a period of two months and discharged the Interim Injunction granted by the said court on July 22, 2014. After the order by Justice Singh, Parikh left the jurisdiction without paying BK International.

While the court action relates to Valuations numbered three, four, and five, BK International is exposed for over $400 million on the Specialty Hospital Project.

BK International is being represented by Robert Ramcharran and Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited is being represented by Vidyanand Persaud.

Caricom makes case for sustainable development of SIDS at UN conference

Caricom officials at the Third United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) made the case for the peculiar vulnerabilities of SIDS to be considered when the international community formulates economic policies for those countries.

The critical importance of debt management, concessionary financing, partnerships, financing for climate change adaptation and mitigation, trade, capacity building, technology and sustainable energy in addressing severe challenges confronting SIDS were among the issues emphasised by the Caricom highlevel delegation, which included Heads and Ministers of Government.

SIDS Collectivity

Speaking at the AOSIS Leaders Conference, Barbados’ Prime Minister Freundel Stuart advocated for what he described as the “SIDS Collectivity”. SIDS “speaking with one voice”, he explained, was paramount in representing their interests at the international level, whatever the issue – whether trade relations; graduation from least developed status and the constraints experienced; the inherent weaknesses of using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the sole criterion for accessing concessional resources; or the sustainable development of SIDS, including the adverse impacts of climate change.

Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, bemoaned that the global financial and technological support for the special needs of SIDS are “inadequate and unfulfilled”. She urged developed countries to honour the commitment under the Millennium target, to provide 0.7 per cent of their GDP for official development assistance to developing countries. At their last conference in July

2014, Caricom Heads of Government approved their first Strategic Plan for the Community which identified six integrated areas of focus over the next five years (2015-2019). These include Building Economic Resilience: Sustainable Economic Growth and Development; Building Social Resilience: Equitable Human and Social Development; Building Environmental Resilience; and Building Technological Resilience.

Speaking at a plenary session, Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, told the gathering that growth in the Eastern Caribbean was impeded, as double-digit percentages of their import bill were used for fossil fuel. He reasoned that, with such significantly high electricity cost, small islands of the Caribbean provided smart investment opportunities for renewable energy. He made the connection between climate change and the indebtedness of many small island states, referencing a World Bank report on country assistance strategy for Eastern Caribbean islands, which identified extreme weather and oil-price volatility as critical factors contributing to high indebtedness.

The Prime Minister illustrated the critical impor-

tance of partnership among SIDS and the international community in addressing development challenges. He noted that the World Bank’s Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility and its Pilot Programme for Climate Resistance had been helpful to the Caribbean and should be scaled up to provide liquidity to Governments.

Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Arnold Nicholson, urged the international community to consider SIDS’ peculiar vulnerabilities when designing

economic programmes for such countries. He stated that the current trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) [Doha Round] must ensure that small, vulnerable economies are treated fairly in trade. He emphasised the need for sustainable partnership, which are needed to eradicate poverty, strengthen health and education systems, and improve the livelihood of people in SIDS.

St Vincent and the Grenadines Foreign Affairs Minister Camillo Gonsalves, in his presentation, called for an immediate end to the practice of using per capita GDP as a criterion for development aid.

In a statement, BK International said as a sub-contractor, it is owed $180,100,242 for work done in the months of May, June, and July 2014 on the Specialty Hospital Project

Grenadian Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell

Guyanese Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett

BRIDGE OPENINGS

WEATHER TODAY

Weather: Heavy rain showers can be expected during the day and into the later afternoon, with thundery showers prevailing during the evening over coastal regions and near inland locations. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly between 1.78 metres and 2.23 metres per second.

High Tide: 12:43h and 13:29h reaching maximum heights of 2.35 metres and 2.36 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 06:53h and 19:24h reaching minimum heights of 0.81 metre and 0.85 metre respectively.

iNet acquired Telecoms licence 14 years ago

iNet Communications Inc on Thursday confirmed that it acquired its telecommunications licence over 14 years ago and clarified that Dr Ranjisinghi Ramroop joined its board more than 12 years after it was established, as it dismissed claims by Kaieteur News that the company was operating its new “high-speed Internet service” using satellites without a licence.

Responding to the erroneous report in the newspaper, iNet Communications Chief Executive Officer George Melville clarified that it was established 14 years ago to provide high-speed, highbandwidth and cost-effective methods to transmit and receive data communications via satellite and other stateof-the-art wireless technologies. At that time, the iNet Communications owners were: Louis Holder; Noel and the late Sheila Holder, MP; David Klautky; Clifford Reis, Managing Director of Banks DIH; and Raymond Shay.

Sale of company

According to Melville, the company, approximately 14 years ago, viewed the Internet as the highway along which it can provide an array of products and services to the Government of Guyana, miners, businesses all over Guyana (not only on the coast), and citizens that were living off the coast of Guyana.

“iNet was build to provide coverage in geographic areas where the incumbent Telecommunications provider was not operating and 14 years later, is still not operating,” the company said in its statement, adding that it pioneered wireless telecommunications in Guyana.

Giving a history of the company, Melville said in September 2011, discussions between Global Technology Group and iNet Communications began for a possible sale of iNet Communications to the Global Technology Group. Approximately two years later, in September 2013, the iNet Communications Company was sold to Global Technology (George Melville, Jude Philipneri and Dr Ranjisinghi Ramroop).

In an attempt to better manage iNet Communications, Melville said, Global Technology then expanded its board. The new Board comprised Dr Ramroop

(Chairman and shareholder); George Melville (CEO and shareholder); Jude Philipneri (Operations Director and shareholder); Orson Smith; and Ravi Ramcharitar. The new Company Secretary for the Global Technology Group is Valeri Khan.

“It is to be clearly noted that iNet’s telecommunications licence was granted by the Government of Guyana through the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) 12 years before Dr Ramroop became a shareholder of Global Technology Group, and Chairman of the Global Technology Board of Directors,” Melville clarified.

He added that iNet Communications pays its annual licensing fees to operate under NFMU in Guyana and the only difference in iNet’s telecommunications operations in the last 14 years is that now, iNet is rolling out the fastest data network in Guyana.

“We are using satellites to achieve this feat, since it is the fastest way to connect businesses operating, and residential consumers living off of the coastline of Guyana (Berbice River, Mabaruma, Kaituma, etc). We are now the only network that has 100 per cent coverage of the country, with maximum 10 Mbps Internet download speeds, at affordable prices.”

Melville said after the new Board of Directors was installed, Global Technology’s first order of business was to grow and expand iNet Communications network coverage in Guyana, especially in areas where the other two telecommunications providers do not operate. “After

two years of investment, research, and partnership development, iNet’s network is finally ready to roll out.

iNet Communications is also now the only true alternative (or redundant Internet network) to Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company for bandwidth in and out of Guyana, since after years of tremendous capital investment, the e-Government fibre cable to Brazil failed to materialise,” Melville said.

Additionally, Melville emphasised that the Board of Directors of the Global Technology Group are all Guyanese, and include three past Guyana Scholars: Orson Smith, himself and Jude Philipneri, all of whom studied technology in the United Kingdom.

“We are all working tirelessly to provide complete coverage and connectivity to our entire country, at affordable rates. The only available satellite network that is affordable to all Guyanese today is the one launched by Global Technology, iNet Communications, Eutelsat, and Newtec two days ago,” Melville said.

Further, Melville said the known telecommunications providers do not provide coverage over 80 per cent of Guyana and connectivity for people living and working in those areas is only possible via satellite networks.

He said there are 20 known Guyanese companies reselling Internet bandwidth in Guyana, including Digicel; Broadband Satellites; E-Networks; Next Link; Vnet; Jaeger; El Dorado; Bentley Walker; Wechatting;

Williams Communications; iMON Communications, and about 100 Brazilian satellite providers.

iNet Communications customers have so far included: the Government of Guyana; Ministry of Finance; Parliament Building; Supreme Court; Director of Public Prosecutions; Guyana Defence Force; Guyana Police Force; Public Service Commission; Police Service Commission; Office of The President; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Deeds Registry; Georgetown Public Hospital; Office of The Ombudsman/ Appellate Court; Ministry of Human Services/Labour; Teaching Service Commission; Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports; Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Local Government; Ministry of Home Affairs; Guyana Elections Commission; Office of the Auditor General; Ministry of Education; Machinery Corporation; Demerara Mutual Life; Acnet Café; Laparkan; American Embassy; UNICEF; Citizens Bank; Banks DIH; Pegasus; Caricom; Guyana Forestry Commission; Millenium Café;

Guyana National Industrial Company; Stabroek News; Bank of Guyana; GuySuCo; National Insurance Scheme; Project Dawn; Caribbean Containers Inc; Caribbean Airlines; Peace Corps; World Bank; Carter Centre; Correia’s Mining; MMC; Evergreen Adventures; Farfan and Mendez; Gerald Fusum; Japarts; Jen Mahadeo; Kenwin Charles; Odyssey Transportation; Oldendorff Carriers (Guyana) Inc; Pauline Philips; Splashmins Fun Park; St Mary's Quarry; Steven Faria; and Georgetown Public Hospital Centre.

iNet Communications Chief Executive Officer George Melville

The late Sheila Holder, former shareholder

Clifford Reis, former shareholder

Editor: Nigel Williams

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

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

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

Editorial

Bring back our boys

We are mis-educating our boys and continuously contributing to a culture that is retarding their overall ability to grow and become well rounded beings. This mis-education has reached alarming proportions in every sphere and has plunged our boys into a crisis state where they are unable to aptly challenge the very stereotypes created by society that are undermining the progress of the boy child.

These stereotypes teach our boys that they are not masculine if they are humane and are able to resort to nonviolent mechanisms of solving domestic disputes and everyday conflicts. They teach them that unless they are engaged in some sort of polygamous relations with women and are the dominant partner then they are a lesser male than others.

As a matter of fact, Co-director of the Centre for Men at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School William Pollack, PhD, warns: “When we don’t let boys cry tears, some will cry bullets.” He decried the emotional mis-education of our boys and the impact that it has on their egos, future and ability to be respected, as well as their brand masculinity.

The trending stereotypes also teach boys that there is no shame in trailing after fast and even ‘dirty money’ with the intention of achieving wealth to acquire material things. This has led many young males to become ‘thugs’ and engage in crime and violence as a means of getting rich, even if they have to die trying.

No wonder gang violence is at an alarming level in Guyana, for instance, with young males taking up occupancy at the Camp Street Jail and Le Repentir Cemetery. Unfortunately, the media images in the Region and further afield have become more hyper-masculine, emotionless killing machines have supplanted strong yet milder heroes like. Many boys learn to hide behind a “mask of bravado.”

Research shows too that fathers tend to demand that their sons act tough, while mothers tend to expect boys to be strong and protective, and their friends enforce the rule that a boy doesn’t cry. And after being taught not to be “sissies”, boys are then chastised for being insensitive.

Added to this, our boys are performing poorly when formal education is delivered to them in the classroom. Those boys who are willing to learn and excel at their exams and other class-based assessments face immense levels of ridicule from their peers and are viewed as either ‘geeks, gays or sissies’.

In Guyana, the situation is same and a closer look at the disparity in the performance of males against females, including a detailed analysis of the drop-out rates, would also prove that the average boy is in crisis.

Interestingly, Professor Dan Kindlon, a child-development researcher at Harvard University, advised that an action plan is needed to help boys prosper, prevent them from becoming alienated, and stop their academic decline. He believes in restructuring elementary schools as young boys are typically more rambunctious than girls, yet grade school teachers, overwhelmingly women, confine them to chairs for long periods and punish them for activity.

As a result, some boys develop a negative notion of education as controlling and prohibitive, he says.

Gender equality and feminism aside, there is need for the relevant stakeholders to do a detailed analysis of bringing back our boys to a state where they feel comfortable living healthy monogamous lives and are not pressured to confirm to the stereotypes which are undermining their future.

Too many conflicting messages about what it requires to be respected as a male are being touted in our society. Maybe, it is time for someone to initiate a ‘bring back our boys’ challenge where a national, regional and international conversation commences with focus of repairing the damage that has been inflicted on the male gender. No time must be spared if there is genuine interest in ending the scourge of domestic violence, achieving gender equity, and reducing the instances of criminality and violence in our society.

EU continues to encourage dialogue on Ukraine situation

Dear Editor,

Please allow us the opportunity to inform your readers of the actions of the European Union (EU) towards finding a comprehensive solution to the ongoing crisis affecting our neighbour and partner, Ukraine.

The EU has worked relentlessly over the past weeks at political, diplomatic and technical assistance levels, with an overall goal of achieving a solution to the crisis in Ukraine that respects its territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, as well as international law.

The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, signed on June 27, strengthens political and economic ties and should eventually bring greater stability and prosperity to the European continent.

Furthermore, the EU has undertaken a number of specific measures to assist Ukraine, which include a series of economic and financial proposals of approximately €11 billion as part of international efforts in support of Ukraine’s economic and political reforms.

The EU has also established a number of measures to support Ukraine’s security

sector, including an EU Advisory Mission for Civilian Security Sector Reform and a €10 million assistance package to OSCE programmes in Ukraine. On August 12, the European Commission also announced the provision of a further €2.5 million of humanitarian aid for the most vulnerable people affected by the fighting in eastern Ukraine.

At the same time, the EU has been very clear that actions by the Russian Federation in violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, stability and security are unacceptable and have consequences. The EU has condemned the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia and has adopted trade and investment restrictions.

On August 30, the European Council condemned the increasing inflows of fighters and weapons from the territory of the Russian Federation into Eastern Ukraine, as well as the aggression by Russian armed forces on Ukrainian soil. It calls upon the Russian Federation to immediately withdraw all its military assets and forces from Ukraine.

The EU continues to call on Russia

to engage in a meaningful dialogue with Ukraine instead of isolating itself further diplomatically and economically. Sanctions imposed on Russia are intended to dissuade from further actions against Ukraine’s interests and to help bring about a sustainable political solution.

The EU stands ready to take further significant steps in light of the evolution of the situation on the ground. The EU also remains ready to reverse such measures when Russia starts contributing actively and without ambiguities to finding a solution to the crisis.

Europe continues to encourage all possible forms of dialogue with the Russian Federation and others with a view to finding a sustainable political solution.

Yours faithfully, Derek Lambe

EU Delegation Chargé d’Affaires

Andrew Ayre

British High Commissioner

Opportune time for TIGI to demonstrate non-partisanship

Dear Editor,

Please permit me space in your pages to congratulate the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), led by Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur, on the recent work being done to stem the abuse of the well-intended duty-free concessions for re-migrants.

In the same vein, it is important to condemn the actions of those like Glenn Lall and his wife.

I call on all citizens to speak up and call out individuals like Lall when they engage in such behaviour, especially since Lall professes through his newspaper, Kaieteur News, to be the advocate for justice, transparency and accountability for the Guyanese people.

The public needs to note that Lall is blatantly engaging in the very activities he accuses the Government of, but what is worse is that he also reportedly threatened the Commissioner General in an effort to dissuade him from pursu-

ing the case.

Lall is the first to make claim of Government corruption based on hearsay and suspect journalism, yet fails every time to provide evidence of such claims that can withstand the scrutiny of the judicial system.

Also, please permit me to encourage Ananad Goolsarran to use his organisation, Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) as a platform to commend the GRA and acknowledge the good work the Government of Guyana is doing to stem corruption. This is an opportune time for the organisation, and indeed Goolsarran to demonstrate to the public that he and his organisation are nonpartisan. If the mandate of the Institute is “to promote public accountability and transparency, and eradicate corruption in Guyana”, it is important for Goolsarran and his organisation to acknowledge the effort being made by the

Government at this time.

Though it has been past a week since this story has been unfolding, Goolsarran and his organisation have been notably silent on the issue. The Transparency Institute and Goolsarran need to set the tone and rebuke Mr and Mrs Lall.

The GRA is now tasked to provide evidence to the courts about the activities of Mr and Mrs Lall. I will not take up column inches to rehash the facts already presented about the case via the various news outlets, but would like to call on all right thinking, fair minded citizens to speak up and encourage the GRA, and indeed the Government of

to pursue this case.

There needs to be a clear message to the public, by the public, that such barefaced abuse, illegal activities and thuggery will not be tolerated!

Sincerely, Richard Paul

Guyana,

In the hilarious ‘Facebook Update’, a cheeky Japanese Macaque monkey managed to steal an iPhone off an over excited tourist, and seems fascinated by his new toy. "What strikes me most about this image, is that the macaque is holding the iPhone exactly how a human being would hold it," notes photographer Marsel van Oosten who entered the snap for the Wildlife Photographer of the year competition. He also mentioned that the phone sadly did not survive the underwater sessions that followed (Yahoo! News)

Outcomes of the Third International Conference on SIDS

Dear Editor,

The Russian Federation welcomes the outcomes of the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in Apia, Samoa and adoption of the final document – accelerated Modalities of SIDS Action (“Samoa Pathway”). It will give an additional impetus to the achievement of the goals of the Barbados Programme of Action (1994) and the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation (2005).

“Samoa Pathway” will activate international efforts for the sustainable development of this group of states through expansion and increasing effectiveness of international partnership mechanisms and providing adequate resource support. Long term priorities and demands of SIDS vulnerable before the challenges of climate change and natural disasters must be adequately reflected in the UN Post-2015 development agenda.

The current analysis demonstrates that the Small Island Developing States continuously face challenges that halt their social and economic progress and prevent their move to sustainable development. The trends in the SIDS linked to the newly increasing poverty rate and the growing debt burden cause particular concern.

Heavy dependence of the SIDS on the economic situation in the world and their particular vulnerability to such global long-term problems as climate change, natural disasters and conservation of ocean bio-diversity bring to the forefront the need to strengthen international cooperation in the interests of this group of countries.

In Russia’s view, the main task for the island states is to create their own production capabilities and build up capacities to ensure their equitable and efficient participation in the global economic processes.

Practical needs of the is-

Good time to reflect on contribution of Amerindian people

Dear Editor,

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) salutes our Amerindian brothers and sisters on the occasion of Amerindian Heritage Month. This is indeed a good time to reflect on the contributions made by our Amerindian people in the development of a strong and prosperous Guyana and also on the long and difficult road they traversed over several decades.

land states should be properly met when determining the approaches to establishing a modern system of economic, social and environmental relations at the global and regional levels. What is needed to overcome the existing objective constraints on economic development of the island states is to facilitate their access to key commodity markets by improving the preferential trade regime, building a reliable transport infrastructure and introducing information and communication technologies.

The key to stable functioning of the economies and to the welfare of local population is an uninterrupted supply of basic resources, including energy and food.

Furthermore, it is important that while focusing the attention of the international community on the special needs of the SIDS and the necessity to increase their own potential, the provisions of the “Samoa Pathway” outcome document are based on universal goals and principles enshrined in the UN Charter and on the threepoint concept of sustainable development in accordance with the decisions of the Rio+20 Conference.

The broad thematic scope of the outcome document and the principles of national leadership and ownership and of common but differentiated responsibility set out in it, as well as the obligation to ensure the necessary institutional support, provide prerequisites for flexible and effective response to challenges faced by the island states consistent with their national priorities.

At the bilateral meetings during the Conference further steps have been determined to increase political and economic cooperation of the Russian Federation with the Island States.

Submitted by Denis Kopyl Press-Attaché Russian Embassy

According to our historians, Amerindians were the first people that inhabited this beautiful land of ours. Attempts by the colonial powers to enslave them failed and they refused to be pawns in the capture of runaway slaves who sought to escape the brutality of plantation existence.

It is an established fact that historically our Amerindian people were neglected by the colonial administration. That trend continued under the previous PNC Administration

which not only treated Amerindians as second-class citizens but denied them their basic and fundamental rights through rigged village elections and access to proper health, education, and recreational facilities.

The PPP/C is proud of the contribution made by our indigenous people and the fortitude and endurance they displayed in the face of the myriad challenges they experienced in the face of an uncaring PNC regime, which, for nearly three decades, relegated them to the back burner in terms of national development.

It took the return of the PPP/C Government to restore the pride and dignity of our Amerindian and hinterland people by way of a multiplicity of policy interventions, which included the establishment of an Amerindian Affairs Ministry, the re-enactment of the Amerindian Act giving more rights to Amerindians to manage their own affairs

Police have submitted

report of Mac Cloud/ Johnson matter

Dear Editor,

The Home Affairs Ministry refers to an article that appeared in the Kaieteur News. In the article, ex-neighbourhood Police rank Yutive Mac Cloud of Mahdia Police Station alleged that the Police were not taking action against Brandon Johnson for committing an assault on her.

The Guyana Police Force has since provided the Home Affairs Ministry with an update on the matter.

On April 17, Johnson, who was charged in the matter, was found guilty by the presiding Magistrate at the Mahdia Magistrate’s Court for the offence of assault causing actual bodily harm committed on Mac Cloud. He was fined $10,000 and was bonded for a period of six months.

Mac Cloud, who was also charged by the Police, was found guilty on April 17, at the Mahdia Magistrate’s Court for the offence of assault committed on Johnson. She was fined $5000 and was also bonded for a period of six months.

Sincerely,

and the granting of title to Amerindian lands.

In addition, through the Presidential Grants introduced by the PPP/C Administration, Amerindian villages benefited from Government subventions which are utilised by Amerindians for community projects.

The PPP/C is pleased with the fact that our Amerindian peoples are today much more empowered, thanks to priority attention given by the Government in the areas of education, health and water, which cumulatively have impacted on an enhanced quality of life of our Amerindian people.

It is not accidental that Amerindians constitute the fastest growing segment of the population due primarily to better vector control programmes and a robust immunisation programme for children among several other interventions.

The PPP/C is aware of the several challenges still faced in hinterland communities, but remains optimistic that under the present PPP/C Government, Amerindians will take their rightful place as the architects of their own development.

Already there are hopeful

indications in the increasing number of Amerindian children who graduate from tertiary institutions, both locally and overseas, in a variety of fields including medicine, engineering, management, and agronomy.

The trained teacher/student ratio has improved significantly and the entire education infrastructure has been overhauled, thereby providing for much greater accessibility to quality primary and secondary education.

The same is true for the delivery of health care due to more doctors and nurses who now service the hinterland areas and the construction of new healthcare facilities in those communities.

The PPP/C takes this opportunity to thank the Amerindian people for the support they have given to the Party over the decades and looks forward to their continued support. The PPP has always been a friend of the Amerindian people and will continue to champion their cause.

Once again, congratulations to our Amerindian peoples.

Submitted by, PPP/C Freedom House

Page Foundation

How to teach children self-discipline

BY SANDRA WHITEHEAD

Hectic schedules, high-tech gadgets and a culture of immediacy make it harder for today’s parents to teach children self-discipline and selfcontrol. Slow down, experts advise, and teach your children about choices, decisionmaking and the value of patience.

You see it every day. Children don’t want to wait. Indeed, many don’t seem able to wait – for anything! And while many parents say they’re trying to instil patience and self-control in their children, you can see their frustration levels rising. Children have never been particularly patient; self-control is a learned skill. But changes in our culture have created a generation of children accustomed to getting what they want, when they want it – whether it’s the latest iPod; costly lessons in sports, dance and music; or even a new car when they reach driving age. There are simply more “things” available to children today, and more parents with money to spend on them.

Instant gratification

The trouble lies in how this instant gratification has affected children’s character and values. The nonprofit research organisation Public Agenda identified the problem in its 2002 report, “Easier Said Than Done.” Based on its poll of 1607 US

parents of children ages five to 17, the report claimed that only 34 per cent of parents believe they’ve succeeded in teaching their children self-control and self-discipline – that is, the ability to wait, to think before acting and to understand potential consequences of their actions.

Most parents, the report notes, describe society as “an inhospitable climate for raising children, where parents can never let their guard down in the face of popular culture, drugs and crime.” Their biggest worry? Protecting children from negative social influences.

Media

Advertisements pushing the latest “must-have” snack food, sneaker brand or toy are one factor. The media’s ever-increasing reliance on sex, violence and disrespect – in TV, film, video game and Internet content – is another. Parents worry that children see the inappropriate behaviour in much media content as the norm in everyday life.

But beyond media influences, the opportunities for children to make risky decisions are plentiful. For young children, that can range from ignoring parents’ limits to bullying others to get what they want. For older children, the risks are greater: earlier sexual relationships, drug or alcohol abuse, reckless driving, and more.

“Children are bombarded with more temptations than

ever before,” says Charles Fay, PhD, an expert in child and family psychology with the Love and Logic Institute, which provides parenting education and consults with schools nationwide. “At the same time,” he adds, “there are fewer adults at home or in the neighbourhood will ing to help raise your child. When today’s parents were growing up, many neighbours didn’t think twice about disciplining some one else’s child. That doesn’t happen very of ten today.”

With the safe ty net down, and the sense that mis takes are more cost ly, children need to develop “a little voice in their heads re minding them of the consequences of their choices,” says Fay. That voice gives them the ability to control their impulses and make good choices. More than that, he says, when children do the right thing, they feel good about themselves.

expert who has written and lectured extensively on selfesteem and resilience in children.

“Self-discipline will give them the ability to think before they act, improve their

Mischel’s famous longitudinal research study, “The Marshmallow Test,” showed the importance of impulse control – and delayed gratification – for ac-

even scored about 210 points higher on their SATs.

Parents overwhelmingly agree that teaching self-discipline is important, yet relatively few believe they’ve been successful doing it, according to the Public Agenda report. And they don’t think their peers are doing any better. Six in 10 rate other parents as only “fair” or “poor” in raising children. They’re not the only ones who feel that way. “Teachers often tell me that children today seem more impulsive and less self-reflective,” notes Brooks. But he also points out that today’s parents face significant challenges from the world around them. Children, he says:

come good problem solvers,” Brooks says.

Qualities

“Self-discipline means taking ownership, accountability and responsibility for our behaviour. It is one of the most important qualities we can help our children develop,” says Robert Brooks, PhD, a Harvard Medical School psychologist and child development

The dieter’s decision to forego the pizza, the smoker’s vow never to light another cigarette and the compulsive shopper’s resolution to avoid the latest sale are only implemented by people who have the ability to delay gratification, insists Walter Mischel, PhD, a renowned psychologist of personality at Columbia University. It is through this ability to delay gratification that one is able to reach long-term goals.

two. Some children eagerly grabbed a marshmallow and ate it. Others waited, some having to cover their eyes in order not to see the tempting treat. Mischel followed the group and found that, 14 years later, the “grabbers” suffered low self-esteem and were viewed by others as stubborn, prone to envy and easily frustrated. The “waiters” coped better, were more socially competent and selfassertive, trustworthy, dependable and more academically successful. This group

* Have limited experience with delayed gratification. In fact, their lives are saturated with instant gratification from technology that delivers information and results faster than ever;

* Experience an enormous amount of stimulation every day, from the media and other technological gadgets;

* Have less downtime with the adults in their lives, due to the frantic pace of family life. In addition, children’s packed daily schedules provide few opportunities for them to think before they act.

Spend time

Making a concerted effort to slow down and spend time together as a family is part of the solution. Cutting back on materialism is another, says Psychologist and Organisation Consultant Donna Genett, PhD, and author of the book Help Your Children Get It Done Right at Home and at School! which helps parents teach their children to be more self-sufficient and disciplined.

“It all started with twoincome households in which children had no consistent caregivers,” Genett says. “Parents tried to make up for the lack of time spent with their children by giving them things. They wanted to make their children’s lives better than their own and have tried to do it with things. The result is that children today have a great sense of entitlement.”

Some parents don’t seem to realise that it’s okay not to give their children everything, she says. “I have a friend who is a single mother of a teenager. She has just lost her job to downsizing and she is trying to figure out how to pay her daughter’s college fees. She’s trying to keep up with the dual-income families. Her daughter would probably value her education more and get more satisfaction if she helped pay for it herself.” (parenthood.com) to be continued

Guyana topped global suicide rates in 2012 – WHO report

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday announced that Guyana had the highest estimated suicide rate for 2012, even as it disclosed that around 800,000 people die each year as a result of the scourge.

Suicide has been a major issue here for a number of years with Government struggling to deal with the issue. Only this week, Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran said that his Ministry has developed a “strategic partnership” with the Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) to heighten awareness on the need to prevent suicides in the country. Ramsaran said that that the Health Ministry has been involved in several plans aimed at curbing suicide, including the training of persons, noting that there was a need for all stakeholders to be involved in the fight against suicide.

So far this year, more than 30 people have committed suicide, while several others are recovering from failed attempts. The IAC said it will stage a walk on September 14 to highlight the issue and was urging all nationals, religious and nongovernment organisations to support the initiative to heighten awareness about the need to prevent suicide.

Meanwhile, according to the WHO’s first global report on suicide prevention, some 75 per cent of suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries. “Unfortunately, suicide all too often fails to be prioritised as a major public health problem,” said WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan. “Despite an increase in research and knowledge about suicide and its prevention, the taboo and stigma surrounding suicide persist, and often people do not seek help or are left

alone. And if they do seek help, many health systems and services fail to provide timely and effective help.”

Suicide occurs all over the world and can take place at almost any age. Globally, rates of suicide are highest in people aged 70 years and over. In some individual countries, however, the highest rates are found among the young. Notably, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 15- to 29-year-olds globally.

Highest estimates

According to the report, in the Americas, the average estimated suicide rate is 7.3 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is lower than in other WHO regions and lower than the global average of 11.4 per 100,000. However, Guyana had the highest estimated suicide rate in the world for 2012, and Suriname had the sixth-highest. Data from the Americas show that suicide rates first peak among young people, remain at the same level for other age groups, and rise again among older men.

In general, more men die by suicide than women. In countries of the Americas, rates range two to six times

higher for men than for women. Pesticide poisoning is one of the most common methods of suicide, especially in low- and middle-income countries, and accounts for one-third of cases globally. The relatively high proportion of suicides by firearms in high-income countries is primarily driven by high-income countries in the Americas, where firearms account for 46 per cent of all suicides; in high-income countries outside the Americas, firearms account for only 4.5 per cent of suicides. Evidence shows that limiting access to the means of suicide can help prevent such deaths, as can a commitment by national governments to the establishment and implementation of coordinated plans of action.

“The most important message is that suicide can be prevented, especially if we identify people at risk and intervene early,” said Dr Jorge Rodriguez, chief of the Mental Health Unit at the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Regional Office for the Americas of WHO. People who have attempted suicide are at higher risk of attempting it again, he noted, mak-

ing it important for health personnel to provide followup on such cases, with family and community support. The new WHO report identifies a series of measures that can help prevent suicide, among them: creating national strategies for suicide prevention; restrict-

ing access to the most common means of suicide, including pesticides, firearms, and certain medicines; providing medical follow-up for people who have attempted suicide; incorporating suicide prevention as a central component in health service; identifying and treating mental health and substance abuse disorders as early as possible and responsible reporting on suicide by the news media.

Global target

WHO’s World Suicide Report “Preventing suicide: a global imperative” seeks to make suicide a top priority on the global public health agenda. The report’s launch comes just a week before World Suicide Prevention Day, observed on September 10 each year to provide an opportunity for joint action to raise awareness about suicide and its prevention around the world.

Caricom makes case...

He stressed that evaluation of the economic and development health of SIDS must include an analysis of their vulnerability and resilience. At the same time, debt forgiveness, debt-forclimate swaps and debt relief must be part of any serious considerations on SIDS development, as Caribbean SIDS have experienced sluggish growth due to the adverse impact of climate change, he added. The Minister reminded the international community of St Vincent and the Grenadines December 2013 natural disaster, which accounted for losses amounting to 17 per cent of its GDP.

Against this backdrop, he said that SIDS were calling for a “real and substan-

tial commitment” to climate change financing for mitigation and adaptation, and demanding a legally-binding commitment to emission targets in 2015.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Minister, Winston Dookeran, reiterated the need for enhanced partnerships among SIDS, through the Alliance of Small Island States, to leverage the negotiating space it encompasses in multilateral discourses.

He emphasised the critical importance of the “SIDS Collectivity” in addressing, through effective partnership, the priority issues for these states.

These, he said, included the systemic problems related to graduation, access to financing for sustainable de-

Suicide prevention is a central goal of WHO’s Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, which was adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2013. The plan calls on countries to reduce their suicide rates by 10 per cent by the year 2020. A similar regional mental health action plan will be considered by health authorities from the Americas during the PAHO Directing Council, on September 29 to October 3.

In late October in Mexico, PAHO/WHO will launch a Spanish version of the WHO World Suicide Report, along with a regional report on suicide in the Americas. On World Mental Health Day, October 10, PAHO/WHO will host a panel discussion featuring experts on a range of mental health issues, who will focus on the challenges facing the countries of the Americas in this area.

velopment, trade imbalances, debt and climate change.

As Caricom continued to push its position at the Samoa conference, Belize’s Minister of Public Service and Elections and Boundaries, Charles Gibson, stressed that the economies of SIDS were small and, therefore, could not finance many economic growth opportunities.

In this context, he said that the Samoa Pathway would serve as a sustainable development blueprint in the post-2015 development era with partnerships, whether traditional donorrecipient relationships or new stakeholders, serving as a critical component in advancing the priorities of SIDS.

Angoy’s Avenue man on trial for alleged murder of 'Scare Them' crew member

An Angoy’s Avenue man indicted for the murder of Anthony Sameroo, a member of the ‘Scare Them’ brothers’ crew appeared before Justice Navindra Singh on Tuesday in the Berbice Assizes, as the trial opened before a mixed jury.

Naresh Ramjohn, also called “Saddam”, is on trial for the July 2, 2008 murder of 28-year-old Anthony Sameroo at Angoy’s Avenue.

In addressing the jury as the trial opened, State Prosecutor Renita Singh said that according to Ryan Sameroo, a brother of the deceased, on July 2, 2008 around 08:30h, he was at Levi Dam in Angoy’s Avenue when he saw “Joe Boy”, “Saddam” and Danny throwing missiles as they came out of their yard.

“At the time that was going on, there were villagers and neighbours around,” Singh said, as she tried to give the jury an overview of the facts that are expected to be presented as evidence in the trial. Ryan was told by the accused as he and his brothers are ‘kochoer’ and

that their parents will find their bodies.

“Ryan did not do anything but continued to walk and noticed another one of his brothers – Tejpaul, at a shop and advised him to go home. That brother then told Ryan to look up the street and when he looked, he saw Ramjohn and his two brothers “Joe Boy” and “Baboo”. “Joe Boy” had a spare, “Baboo” had a pitch fork, and Ramjohn had what appeared to be a cutlass,” the Prosecutor said.

Feud

Ryan grabbed Tejpaul and ran home where he told Anthony what Ramjohn had said. Anthony then told them that he was going to settle the story. When they got back to Levi Dam, all three of them were attacked and Ryan and Tejpaul were able to escape. “Ryan was standing about 50 feet away when he saw Ramjohn bore his brother. Then Ramjohn shouted to his brothers ‘Done he, done he.’”

The two brothers then went and told their mother what was happening and

she returned with them to Levi Dam. “When they got there, they saw Anthony lying on the ground in a pool of blood and neighbours had all gone.” Anthony was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“On July 8, a post-mortem examination performed on the body revealed that he died from shock and haemorrhage from a collapsed lung and stab wounds,” the

Prosecutor said as she addressed the jury.

Two years later, in May 2010, Ramjohn was arrested for another matter and was in the lock-ups. Ryan Sameroo was also there at the same time for another matter and related to the Police that Ramjohn was the person who murdered his brother.

This led to the arrest of Ramjohn who was later charged for murder.

The state called four of its 10 witnesses, including the mother of the deceased, Meena Persaud, who told the court that she knew the accused for about 10 years, as she lived in a house with her husband and children two streets away from where Ramjohn lived. Under cross- examination by Defence Attorney Marceline Bacchus, Persaud said during the Preliminary inquiry at the Magistrate’s Court, she gave evidence in the matter and told the court that she saw 12 stab wounds on her son. The trial continues before Justice Navindra Singh.

North West District couple on drug, ammo charges

ANorth West District farmer and his reputed wife were on Thursday remanded to prison on charges of unlawful possession of ammunition and the possession of narcotics for the purposes of trafficking.

Forty-seven-year-old Franklin Valanzuela, who is also known as Franklin Anthony, along with his 65-year-old spouse, Claris Hutson, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Judy Latchman.

The first shared charge read that on September 2 at Hobodeia Village, they had in their possession 1117

grams of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. They pleaded not guilty to that charge.

The second charge alleged that on the same day at the aforementioned village, they had in their possession three 16-gauge cartridge shell casings without being the holder of a firearm licence.

The duo was unrepresented and told the court that they have two children. Hutson explained that she has a heart problem and diabetes, while Valanzuela told the court that the ammunition was found in a carton box with some old clothing which he claimed no owner-

Gold miner charged for Arakaka murder

Agold miner accused of stabbing to death a fellow miner at Four Miles, Arakaka, North West District, Region One, on Monday morning was remanded to prison.

Desmond James, 24, of Hotoquai Village, North West District, allegedly killed 45-year-old Glendon Cox of Aberdeen Village on the Essequibo Coast during a verbal confrontation according to Police.

The suspect was arrest-

ed and held in Police custody, assisting with the investigation until Thursday morning when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Judy Latchman. In view of the fact that the murder charge was indictable, James was not required to plead. He will make his next court appearance before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

ship of.

Police Prosecutor Michael Grant pointed out that no special reasons for bail were raised by the duo. They are scheduled to appear in court once again on September 8 for these matters.

Valanzuela is also facing a separate charge of cultivating illegal plants. This charge stated that on September 2 at his residence, he cultivated cannabis.

According to the facts given by the Police Prosecutor, on the day in question, acting on information received, the Police went to the house of the defendant and the

couple were contacted. Valanzuela subsequently took the ranks to Hobodeia Backdam where he pointed out his farm. When the farm was searched, 16 marijuana plants were found. When Police enquired about the plants, Valanzuela admitted that he planted them.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the offence, saying that he had sown the plants to raise money to buy a chainsaw.

The Magistrate informed Valanzuela that such offences are given harsh penalties and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment, along with a $6000 fine.

Security guard charged with electricity theft

A56-year-old security guard appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Judy Latchman to answer to a charge of electricity theft, which was laid against him.

It is alleged that on July 19, Michael Mc Clean, of Lot 229 Durban Street, Lodge, Georgetown, fraudulently diverted electricity supplied by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc to his abode. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge. His Attorney, Paul Fung-A-

Fat, requested bail for him, since he has two minors and is employed at Ray’s Auto Sales on Sheriff Street as a security guard. Fung-A-Fat also highlighted that his client has no prior convictions or pending matters in any court.

Police Prosecutor Michael Grant had no objections to bail. The Magistrate then granted the defendant bail in the sum of $10,000 and told him he was to return to court on September 8 before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

Eyew tness

Elections 'leaders'...

...for AFC

Looks like the fellas in the race to be leader of the AFC are playing coy. You know...like the kid in first grade who’s sweet on the girl in the next bench, but is just too bashful to say anything. Keeps his eyes firmly on the floor on which his foot’s making persistent semi-circles! But hey!! Elections are just around the corner, no?? In fact, it’s the AFC that’s insisting on bringing on “snapelections”. And if they haven’t decided who’ll lead them into the hustings – then they’re even more screwed up than we thought!

But we think they’re just playing the fool. Their party has rules and conventions – most of which have been wellventilated in the leadup to the last two elections. Their most famous rule goes to the heart of what they boast makes their party different from all the other parties. They have solved the “racial” problem in Guyana by having their two top guns come from each of the two major race groups in Guyana!

In the first round, the formula begat “Trotman as leader” and Ramjattan as flower girl. No one made a big deal of Trotman being “Mixed”, because, hey, “Mixed” and “African” Guyanese voted alike, no?

And so Trotman – with the help of bigtime US pollster Dick Morris and unexpected funding – was the AFC’s first Presidential Candidate. The Tricky Dick poll – and the winks and nods implying they were supported by the US Embassy – gave the AFC a respectable showing poached from “traditional” PNC voters.

In the next go-around, the “alternation rule” kicked in – the next Presidential Candidate must come from the “other race group”. Trotman made a big stink about stepping aside – his argument was he had nothing against the rule, but it was just that the fella to fill the slot was so patently crude and vulgar. He contracted a mysterious, evidently life-threatening ailment and resigned from politics.

And Ramjattan, with help from another PPP/C refugee Nagamootoo, led the party in 2011 to repeat the respectable showing – but this time with votes from the “traditional” PPP/C voters.

But the AFC continued crying, paraphrasing Tina Turner, “What’s race gotta do with it??” As a happy postscript, when Trotman was later nominated by the PNC for the Speaker’s Chair, in apposition to the AFC’s nominee Nagamootoo, he recovered miraculously from his ailment and hopped into the Chair.

It could be the Speakers’ chair has healing powers. Almost as much as “power”, which is said to be the most powerful aphrodisiac.

...and race

Now, while all the top dogs in the AFC might want to play ducks and drakes about coming out of the closet on their leadership ambitions, they can’t avoid their claim to fame on the “race question”. They can’t have their phoulourie and eat it too. If they’re to be consistent, the Presidential Candidate this go-around has to be their African Guyanese leader. That’s what makes them different from the rest of the field if they are to be believable.

So unlike what the headline trumpeted...Nagamootoo can’t be in the running for their presidential candidacy. And God forbid if Ramjattan gets the itch once again. Got to be either Nigel Hughes or Patterson or even the youth leader, Trevor Williams, who said enthusiastically, “I am definitely thinking about running!” Ahhh...to be young and black and in the AFC!!

Don’t even have to be “gifted”. With the leadership equation carved in stone, all it takes is to be black.

...from PNC

But what’s going on over at the PNC on the leadership question? Have Norton and his posse from Linden given up the good fight?? Looks that way – unless they’re girding up their loins for battle when everyone returns from vacation.

How the heck they’re going to have a straight face when they accuse the PPP/C of “corruption”???!!!

Naresh Ramjohn

GECOM confirms the dead ‘lives’ on voters’ list

... but claims PLE “near perfect”

By Svetlana MarShall

Though the names of 12,404 dead persons were removed from the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) during the period January 1, 2008 and April 2014, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally confirmed

that there remain thousands of dead persons on the list.

“So we have a bloated list, thousands of dead persons are on the list,” Dr Surujbally admitted as he addressed journalists under the watch of the diplomatic community at Cara Lodge Hotel on Thursday. Recently, the People’s

Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) said there were 2958 deceased persons, including former President Arthur Chung, included on the PLE.

“Arthur Chung is not the only one: there are thousands that are on the list that should not be there; Sheila Holder, she was the Deputy Leader of the AFC; Brindley Benn, our Ambassador in Canada… we went to the wake, we drank the man’s coffee and ate the biscuits, but we can’t take the name off the list though, because the death certificate has not arrived,” Dr Surujbally explained.

Monthly reports

But he said GECOM should not be blamed. In defence, it was explained that constitutionally, the General Register Office (GRO) is required to submit monthly reports on those who have passed away in the country, before

their names can be flagged on the National Register of Registrants (NRR) and subsequently removed when the PLE is extracted. He made it clear that if the death certificates have not been issued by GRO and the relevant information, including names and addresses, have not been handed down to GECOM, names of persons who are publicly known to be dead cannot be flagged or removed from the PLE. It would be a breach of the law, the Chairman emphasised

This is the case of former President Chung. It was explained that during the House-to-House Exercise conducted by GECOM from January 7, 2008 to July 4, 2008, Chung was alive and registered. He was, therefore, included on the NRR, but he subsequently died. His name, however, was listed on the Official List of Electors (OLE) used for the 2011 General and Regional Elections. To date, his name

Amerindian cultural groups urged to preserve rich traditions

As the celebrations continue for Amerindian Heritage Month 2014, cultural groups which have been showcasing their talents at the Amerindian Village, Sophia Exhibition Complex, were treated to a luncheon on Thursday.

On the occasion, Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai commended the groups for their wonderful performances at the official opening of Amerindian Heritage Month on Monday. “I admired the costumes and the effort which they put into the performances at the launch, which was the key to expressing our heritage. What you did at the launch sells the heritage to everyone, and when I looked at each performance, I noticed the quality was improving.”

remains on the PLE, because GRO has not submitted the relevant information.

However, it was explained that during this –the extended Claims and Objections period, scrutinisers representing political parties and electors who are listed in the division or

sub-division of the deceased can make representation to GECOM for the removal of the deceased person’s name, but authentic documents such as a death certificate must be provided.

But despite his lengthy explanations with the backing of the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, Dr Surujbally again acknowledged it was a problem, though not unique to Guyana.

New methodologies

According to him, the issue came up for discussion when the Association of Caribbean Electoral Organisations met earlier this year.

During that meeting, all participating election managing bodies agreed that the removal of the deceased from the list of electors remain a problem, and added that new methodologies should be established to make the process flexible.

having documentation from the GRO,” Dr Surujbally said. He further disclosed that GECOM has recently begun to review its internal system with regard to the flagging of names and subsequent elimination from the PLE. Its proposals in the future will be presented to the National Assembly. Currently, the system is so rigid that if a lot number is missing or varies for an individual when the report of the deceased is submitted by GRO, the name is not flagged, but Dr Surujbally said Commissioners are now calling for more leniency. “Perhaps we can establish margins even of acceptable errors, we can proactively work along with the Police, with the hospitals, funeral parlours to ascertain whether some persons are actually dead,” he suggested.

Until the system is reformed, the Chairman made clear that GECOM has a rigid system in place to prevent imposters from voting on behalf of the dead whenever elections are called.

“I have a menu of measures to stop that: nobody could vote for a person that is dead, and political parties have helped us to develop that menu of measures,” he said.

The Minister also acknowledged the fact that this year more villages participated and expressed her hope that in the coming years, the number will further increase. “I want, when you go back as ambassadors of your culture, that you ensure that those who are not onboard with supporting and encouraging the revival and strengthening of our cultures will be encouraged.”

work collaboratively to organise more traditional activities.

The Minister noted the Government’s commitment towards keeping the Amerindian culture alive through its many investments, including the Community Support Officer (CSO) initiative. Minister Sukhai noted that some of the CSOs have been appointed to deal with youth and cultural development, and urged the groups to

“You still work with limited resources, but Guyana is a diverse country with so many ethnic groups, and each is unique. Our Amerindians are very much fortunate that we have maintained a high level of our cultural diversity.”

According to Minister Sukhai, it is important to note that to date, six Amerindian tribes still speak their languages, which is remarkable. “I im-

plore you, it’s not only about dances and songs; one of the key things is maintaining your language, that’s the key to your identity.”

“Even in situations where distrust is highly pronounced, it may be possible to produce criteria which can result in the removal of the names that are genuinely deceased without actually

GECOM convened the press conference, weeks after being bombarded by the PPP/C about flaws in the preparations for elections. (svetlanam@guyanatimesgy. com)

The Deceased Report for the period January 1, 2008- April 2014

GECOM’s Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally addressing the press and members of the diplomatic community on Thursday at Cara Lodge

Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai addressing the groups at the luncheon, which was held in their honour

Police Service Commission members sworn in

The five members who will be serving on the Police Service Commission were sworn in on Thursday before President Donald Ramotar at the Office of the President.

Chairman Omesh Satyanand, and mem-

bers Lloyd Smith, Harold Martin, Keith John, and Carvil Duncan took their oath to serve.

Delivering brief remarks, President Donald Ramotar said that the swearing in was a fulfilment of a promise made earlier this year when he

addressed the annual Police Officers’ Conference at Eve Leary.

“I did say that as soon as I got the names from Parliament, I’d be ready to appoint this body and now today we have that reality.”

The Head of State reminded the new PSC mem-

bers to take their oath to serve the people of Guyana very seriously and to serve with distinction.

In keeping with Article 212 of the Constitution, Chairman Satyanand said the body will work with this framework and administrative matters will be prioritised.

A statutory meeting is scheduled shortly, and all of the members will be updated on the work ahead.

Consultations between President Ramotar and Opposition Leader David Granger saw the parties agreeing on the reconstitution of the Service Commissions on August 22.

The four Service Commissions are: the Judicial Service Commission (JSC); the Teaching Service Commission (TSC); the Public Service Commission; and the Police Service Commission.

The lives of these commissions expired over the past year and the constitutionally-mandated provisions for their reconstitution have finally been completed.

A drownin man does clutch at any ting

De paper man gettin desperate. Just like paper, he gettin mash up and tear up. Some body seh a lotta tings tear up fuh he a long time now and no doctor can’t bring he back, although de (w)hole idea of back was de problem in de first place.

A reporter who does wuk (fuh) de paper man seh paper man never expect some body woulda expose he so much. De reporter seh although paper man accustom to one kinda exposure, he wasn’t accustom to this kinda Customs exposure.

Accordin to de reporter, de paper man used to pay wid paper to get all de papers whah he need at Customs.

De story is that every paper whah get sign off equal a certain number of paper and every gate whah open at de wharf equal to another set of paper.

De reporter come to a conclusion whah nuff people suspect a long time now. That is, it look like paper man does print more than just a daily newspaper, because not even Bill Gates does give away de other kinda paper so easy.

Old people seh easy come, easy go, and every body know whah that mean. But every body also know that de paper man does go more than whah he does come.

And even when is time fuh come, he does have to send some body to come fuh he. Well, de reporter also seh paper man got people who does come fuh he no matter wheh he deh.

De other day, de Bell Crier turn a prophet when he seh de paper man gon tek out spite pun every Tom, Dick and Harry, and so said so done. Old people also seh a drownin man does clutch at any ting to stay afloat.

Well, sooner rather than later, de paper man ain’t gon get any ting to hold on to because dem paper business gon get expose one by one.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie! So look out fuh more exposure and look out fuh more spite.

Father, sons attacked on Waini River

Afather and his two sons are thankful for their lives after they were attacked and robbed at the mouth of the Waini River, North West District (NWD) on Thursday around 06:45h.

According to information received, Samuel Benjamin, 52, of Four Miles, Port Kaituma, NWD, and his two sons aged 27 and 24 were fishing in the estuary when they were attacked by four men in a boat powered by two 40 horsepower outboard engines.

The bandits, who were armed with firearms, made their way into the fishing boat where they reportedly tied up the man’s sons.

They then took away a 15hp outboard engine that was affixed to Benjamin’s boat and drove away.

The victims, who were not injured by the bandits, managed to untie themselves and paddled to shore where they made a complaint to the Mabaruma Police Station.

A source close to the investigation told Guyana

Times that the victims can identify the perpetrators, since they were not wearing masks at the time. Guyana Times understands that the Benjamins would normally leave Port Kaituma and drift their seines along the Essequibo River, after which they would return to their village or Mabaruma to sell their catch. The men left their home on Tuesday last. Statements were taken from the victims, as Police continue their investigations.

Members of the Police Service Commission: Harold Martin, Carvil Duncan, Chairman Omesh Satyanand, Lloyd Smith and Keith John pose with President Donald Ramotar

GECOM says no to third cycle of registration

By Jomo Paul

The Guyana Elections Commission

(GECOM) on

Thursday rejected calls made by the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) for a third cycle of continuous registration to be undertaken to further purge the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) and remove any deficiencies.

The PPP/C made the call for the exercise to be undertaken last week after several major discrepancies were uncovered in the PLE. The Party had said that GECOM should return to the registration process and purge the “defective list”.

But GECOM’s Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally, rejected the proposal at a press conference on Thursday. Dr Surujbally, addressing members of the media and the diplomatic corps, said such an exercise would be a waste of tax dollars.

Concerns

“I would not be a protagonist of that… if there are concerns, let’s sort the concerns out, let’s not belabour people and waste taxpayers’ money,” Dr Surujbally said.

He highlighted that the current and all previous registration processes were conducted with the complete and unequivocal involvement of the scrutineers from the political parties, that is to say, the PPP/C; A Partnership for National Unity (APNU); and the Alliance For Change (AFC). He said: “If a party does not have faith in the work of its scrutineers…why would you place confidence in them in any new cycle of registration that you’re calling for.”

He said that the notion of another House-to-House registration is equally outlandish since it would “cost billions, it’s not cheap”. According to the Chairman, the recent announcements made by the PPP/C, through its General Secretary, Clement Rohee, are “unac-

ceptable, unwarranted and undeserving”, noting that the electoral body takes umbrage to the damning statements made by the Party.

GECOM, he said, has been subjected relentlessly to an “unacceptable, unwarranted and undeserving amount of castigation, under the guise – that is the hypocrisy of it – under the guise of supposedly pointing us technicians and specialists, and policymaker and election management professionals in a direction that we are supposedly knowledgeable about … and then worse, they’re offering help that we supposedly need”.

He maintained that the integrity of GECOM is unblemished, pointing out that his “A team” of specialists has mastered the art of elections and, for that matter, contributed to the development of some countries.

“We have an obligation, a duty to tell this nation the truth and to bare naked the falsehoods and the unprovoked innuendos which seem intended to blemish GECOM’s credibility that it painstakingly cultivated and nurtured over the years,” Dr Surujbally said, adding that “we at GECOM

do not immerse ourselves in unnecessary, unrewarding, counterproductive speculations”.

The Chairman also pointed to the recent reports of 10 persons living in a nonexistent house, contending that “this particular piece of deception must be exposed”.

He said that the Registration Officer (RO) under whose responsibility the district would fall was instructed to visit the site and verify what was reported.

Empty lot

The RO, Dr Surujbally went on to say, found the “unoccupied empty lot overgrown with bushes”. However, he was told by a neighbour that the house fell down last year and the persons at that address sought refuge elsewhere. “He was able to confirm that which was reported to him by the neighbour… all 10 persons were accounted for,” said Dr Surujbally.

The GECOM Chairman also pointed out that no other political party has raised concerns about the PLE, noting that the Commission was in contact with all of the political stakeholders.

Meanwhile, GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander also noted that the calls for an additional cycle of continuous registration are baseless. He opined that what was being asked of GECOM was an “inherent contradiction”.

“Suffice to say, suffice to say, that as we speak now, continuous registration has not concluded … we are being asked to start another cycle when in fact we have not concluded any cycle…,” Alexander said.

He said too that each political party should be in a position to come up with the same PLE as GECOM if their scrutineers are doing their work effectively. He said questions about concerns should be posed to GECOM on this basis.

Police destroy three acres of marijuana

The Guyana Police Force on Thursday destroyed approximately three acres of ganja plants.

AFC leadership race: 'Moses is my man' – Ramjattan

Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader Khemraj Ramjattan on Thursday signalled his intention to support the party’s current Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo, as its presidential candidate for the upcoming general elections.

Ramjattan is barred from running for the presidential candidacy because of the party’s internal constitution. The party’s internal constitution stipulates that the person running for the presidential candidacy

of any impending elections cannot do so two consecutive times, which is unique to established party constitutions in Guyana’s political sphere.

Ramjattan told Guyana Times in an interview on Thursday that he will be supporting Nagamootoo, since he believes “he is

the man to run against the Donald Ramotar Administration”.

He explained that he will “try to persuade the party’s upcoming Congress that it should be Nagamootoo”. This comes as the party is making preparations for its Biennial Congress scheduled for October 25, when all of the posts within the party will be made available to party members.

The AFC’s General Secretary, David Patterson, on Thursday named the four most likely persons to contest for the leadership of the party as Ramjattan; Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman; Nagamootoo, and Hughes.

When the AFC was founded in 2005, it included three parliamentarians who had left their respective parties, namely Trotman of the People’s

National Congress Reform (PNCR); Ramjattan of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) and the late Sheila Holder of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA).

Trotman subsequently became the leader of the party and led it at the 2006 parliamentary elections.

He made way for Ramjattan in the 2011 polls at which time the party received 10.3 per cent of the votes and gained seven of Guyana’s 65 parliamentary seats, becoming the third largest political party in the National Assembly of Guyana.

The General Secretary said that there was also talk of a possible female leader or presidential candidate for the party and the persons pinpointed in this regard are Valerie GarridoLowe and Kathy Hughes.

However, he noted that nominations have not yet been received for posts within the party at its upcoming congress.

When asked whether he will be running for posts or hope to be nominated for another office within the party, Patterson said that while all the posts will be available, he will not be lobbying for any post.

He noted that should he be nominated, then he will accept the nomination. Further, he said preparations for the congress are “going quite well”, but a location has not been identified.

In a press release, the Police said that ranks were conducting a drug eradication exercise at the La Harmonie Backdam in the Demerara River when the illegal plants were discovered and immediately destroyed.

plants that was under cultivation was found and destroyed,” the release stated.

“The Police conducted a drug eradication operation at the La Harmonie Backdam, Demerara River, during which a field of cannabis sativa (marijuana)

According to the Police, the land had some 3000 plants that ranged from four to seven feet in height. No arrest has been made; however, investigations are continuing.

AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan

AFC Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo

Chairman of GECOM, Dr Steve Surujbally addressing the media forum at Cara Lodge

5,

Stakeholders hail Govt’s $2B contribution

to Protected

Areas Trust Fund

Guyana is blessed with both rich natural and mineral resources. The challenge faced by Government is to identify mechanisms that allow economic development via the careful exploitation of this mineral wealth while not jeopardising the rich natural heritage of the country

Two major stakeholders in the protection of the environment have commended the Government’s commitment to channel $2 billion to the newly-established Protected Areas Trust Fund.

In a statement, Conservation International (CI) said it welcomed the generous contribution from the Government of Guyana for the Fund. “With the Government’s contribution, the Trust has now been endowed with US$18.5 million, of which some US$5 million has been donated by the German Development Bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), and US$3.5 million from Conservation International’s Global Conservation Fund (GCF),” CI said in its statement.

Describing the Government’s contribution as truly historic, CI’s President, Dr Russell Mittermeier, noted the fundamental role that protected areas play in Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), and in maintaining Guyana’s leadership role in the global fight against climate change.

“Biodiversity and ecosystems are critical for human survival. Guyana and the Guiana Shield Region as a whole where nature is still so vibrantly intact are playing an important role

Tropical

Tin demonstrating the possibilities of growing a healthy sustainable economy while maintaining nature.”

“The establishment of the Trust Fund is an important milestone, because it represents another step towards the establishment of a strong governance and institutional structure for the maintenance of Guyana’s natural capital, an important central feature of Guyana’s national Low Carbon Development Strategy,” said CI Guyana Office Vice President, Dr David Singh.

Long-term conservation CI also offered congratulations to the newly-established Board of Trustees and noted the important responsibilities that have been entrusted with the Board. The Trust Fund will support the establishment and management of protected areas in Guyana to ensure the longterm conservation of the country’s rich biodiversity and ecosystems. CI has been working in Guyana through the locally registered Conservation International Foundation for over 20 years, linking human development with conservation of the earth’s living natural heritage by supporting the establishment of the country’s National Protected Area System among other activities.

Meanwhile, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) also welcomed the announcement of the Government of Guyana on Monday, noting that the significant contribution more than doubles the existing fund that comprises US$5.3 million committed by the Government of Germany and US$3.5 million from Cl’s GCF. “It also signals the Government’s recognition of the importance of the environment to the nation’s well-being and its intent to give this sector priority.”

The Trust Fund will support the Protected Areas of Kaieteur, the Kanuku Mountains, and Shell Beach as well as some of the urban park areas. These collectively cover some five per cent of the national territory. Plans are also well advanced to include the Wai-Wai community conservation concession into the National Protected Area System. The completion of this process will add another three per cent of territory, bringing the total area under protection to approximately eight per cent of Guyana’s land mass. Guyana is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which commits the nation to designating 17 per cent of its territory as Protected Areas, and funds accruing for the Trust Fund can help meet this target.

WWF also applauded the decision to take these funds from mining revenues. Guyana is blessed with both rich natural and mineral resources. The challenge faced by Government is to identify mechanisms that allow economic development via the careful exploitation of this mineral wealth while not jeopardising the rich natural heritage of the country. Utilising funds from the mining sector to support the Trust Fund is a good example of how these sometimes conflicting interests can be used for net long-term benefit.

Courts rewards lucky customers

Public Relations and Promotions Officer of Courts (Guyana) Inc, Roberta Ferguson (left), shares a moment with three of the winners on Thursday

Several Guyanese were on Thursday rewarded by Courts (Guyana) Inc, as the company brought the curtains down on one of its promotions. The company hosted two promotions, one for Back to School and another dubbed the “Facebook CPL Trivia”.

The winners were presented with Samsung laptops, Samsung tablets and Alcatel cellular phones.

Those present at Courts’ Main Street branch to collect their prizes on Thursday were

Patricia Drakes, Kirk Browne, and Denton Collison, while other winners from other parts of the country will collect their prizes from the Courts branches in their jurisdiction.

Courts (Guyana) Inc Public Relations and Promotions Officer Roberta Ferguson thanked the consumers for participating in the promotions and urged them to take full advantage of the upcoming ones, as the company celebrates its 21st anniversary during the month of September.

Lusignan teen was executed over drug-info leak – Police source

The brother-in-law of 18-year-old Ashminie Hariram is among four persons arrested between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning for her murder.

The cosmetologist of Lot 9B Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, was shot once to her neck in early July and died almost immediately. The shooter reportedly exited a burgundy taxi, whipped out a gun, and shot the teen, after which he took her mobile phone and left the scene.

The other persons arrested are the taxi driver, the shooter, and a well-known drug dealer.

According to a senior rank in C Division (East Coast of Demerara), the taxi driver and the shooter have confessed to the murder, which occurred on July 10, moments after the young woman, accompanied by a cousin, disembarked a minibus along the Lusignan Railway Embankment.

From all indications, the

murder was drug-related. Information reaching this newspaper suggested that the young woman might have been cooperating with law enforcement officers in connection with a drug bust in the area.

The ranks at C Division knew the two confessions were the breakthrough that they needed to crack the case open.

Immediately after the

Rhythms, Lucozade award promotion winners

he grand winners of two ANSA McAL promotions received their prizes of a Mazda Axela car and $1 million respectively in a presentation held at the company’s head office at Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara on Thursday.

Esther Allison, of Smythfield, New Amsterdam, Berbice, was ecstatic about winning her dream car in the Lucozade “Drive Your Dreams” Promotion, which concluded in July. However, Allison was out of the country, so she was unable to uplift her prize until now. She noted that she could not return soon enough to collect her car.

For the other promotion – Tropical Rhythms’ “Money Switch Up”, Rosaline Tillack of Charlestown, Georgetown, was the grand winner of $1 million. She said she was more than eager to uplift her winnings. The Tropical Rhythms promotion concluded in August.

The participants in the promotions were required to enter Lucozade and Tropical Rhythms bottle tops respectively, with their names, addresses and telephone numbers attached. Drawings for these promotions were held on a fortnightly basis, giving persons a chance to also win great consolation prizes.

shooting incident, the taxi driver was taken into Police custody based on the description given by the main eyewitness. Further, he had returned the burgundy car he used as a taxi to the owner on the night of the shooting, claiming that it was encountering mechanical problems. However, the key eyewitness had failed to positively identify the man as the shooter during an identification parade a few days later; hence, the suspect was released. The man had maintained his innocence throughout his detention and even at the ID parade.

This, however, did not deter investigators in their efforts to crack the case. The Police source told Guyana Times that based on continuous leads, they managed to break the taxi driver, who led them to the shooter.

Initially, the shooter gave the impression that the motive for the shooting was robbery, but speculation arose, since the phone was a standard Samsung Galaxy and not a high-end one.

The mobile phone, the Police source explained, was taken so that the person who wanted Hariram dead could peruse her call log and be aware of whom she communicated with.

The source close to the investigation revealed that Hariram’s brother-in-law colluded with the drug dealer by providing him with information about the young woman’s whereabouts. The young woman was returning home from Georgetown when she was killed. The car from which the shooter exited was parked in the area for some time.

The investigator also stated that the investigation is continuing and the perpetrators might be placed before the courts soon.

From left: Esther Allison, Rosaline Tillack, with ANSA McAL Brand Manager Anjeta Hinds and Public Relations Officer Darshanie Yussuf

Dead: Ashminie Hariram

School heads urged to punish errant teachers

Heads of the various public schools have been advised to take stern disciplinary action against teachers who are habitually late and do not prepare well for their classes.

As the Education Ministry observes Education Month and the 2014/2015 academic year commences, Chief Education Officer Olato Sam encourags the school heads to properly manage the attendance rate, punctuality, and preparedness of their teaching staff.

At a recent heads of schools meeting, the Chief Education Officer stated that the education system has shown progress. However, the concern is that this progress is still concentrated in pockets and is not as widespread as the system requires.

According to a release, he noted that the Ministry has devised programmes and initiatives that are centred on moving the system even further, and at the core of this is what he terms the “teacher factor”. He said that teachers cannot continue to show up late for duty and in some instances, neglect to show at all. “In 2014, it really is an indictment of the system that we are still grappling with issues in relation to teacher attendance and punctuality. I maintain that we cannot see true progress in education if our teachers continue to arrive to work late, unprepared, and abuse their annual leave concessions.”

In his message to the meeting of heads, he posited that the Ministry has adopted a no-nonsense approach to such unprofessional conduct. He said, “The reality is that the system can no lon-

ger condone these malpractices if we are serious about progress.”

Sam cautioned all heads and officers to follow proper procedures in relation to disciplining of teachers who breach these basic policies.

Education managers must establish a work ethic that makes attendance, punctuality, and preparedness priorities in their schools. These are key pillars upon which improved output depends. Headteachers are encouraged to state openly to all of their teachers that they are now expected to demonstrate a higher level of output in these areas and devise monitoring mechanisms to ensure this is realised.

All Department Officers have been informed that where the evidence shows that heads have not taken the necessary disciplinary steps to curb these ills in the system, the Ministry will take the steps to charge the errant teachers but also institute disciplinary action against the Heads and the Deputies.

Several city canals to be desilted

Several communities are to benefit from the cleaning of the seven main canals in Georgetown: those along Princes Street, Sussex Street, Church Street, Irvin Street, Lamaha Street, and Young Street, as well as the Downer Canal.

The areas that will benefit include: Liliendaal, Sophia, Kingston, Queenstown, Newtown, Campbellville, Bel Air, Queenstown, Alberttown, North Cummingsburg, North Ruimveldt, Lamaha Park, Lamaha Springs, Lodge, Le Repentir Cemetery, Wortmanville, Werk-enRust, East La Penitence, Albouystown, Charlestown, Bourda, Lacytown, and South Cummingsburg.

Under the “Clean-Up My Country” Programme,

ASM officials propose ways to enhance CJIA

President Donald Ramotar, accompanied by Public Works Minister Robeson Benn and Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Chief Executive Officer

Ramesh Ghir, met with the Senior Consultant of Airport Strategy and Marketing (ASM), and Routes, Yuliya Crane, and ASM Latin America and the Caribbean

Director, David Appleby.

The meeting was to brief the Head of State on the ongoing process to examine and propose ways to improve facilities and boost international air travel to Guyana. The two officials are looking at the potential for increased business and tourist-based flights to Guyana, with special focus on international air transport carriers. They are also in the

process of meeting local aviation officials, travel agents and other stakeholders within the sector.

According to Minister Benn, the team’s consultancy is merely one facet of Government’s plans to expand Guyana’s infrastructure and position the country as a true “hub” for regional and international air transport into South and Latin America.

The consultant, along with the airport officials, is engaging up to 20 airlines to attract more carriers to Guyana, from Europe, North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The meeting encouraged the formation of a route development committee locally to work together with ASM. The team arrived in Guyana on September 2, for a four-day visit.

contracts were awarded by way of an invitation to bid to desilt the seven major canals. To further improve the drainage network, the Ministry awarded contracts for the repairs to the Meadow Bank, Lamaha, and Ruimveldt sluices.

“Clean-Up My Country” is a Government initiative, which is being implemented by the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry and encompasses three aspects: the community cleanup and projects aspect, de-bushing and desilting of drains in Le Repentir Cemetery, and repairs to Mayor and City Council machinery and equipment which are expected to be used for the sustainability of the programme after they are refurbished.

Chief Education Officer Olato Sam

Airport and Strategy Marketing (ASM) and Routes officials, David Appleby (right) and Consultant Yuliya Crane (second right) with

President Donald Ramotar, CJIA Chief Executive Officer Ramesh Ghir and Public Works Minister Robeson Benn

Second Caricom reparations confab billed for Antigua

Chairman of the Guyana Reparations Committee, Dr Eric Phillips has disclosed that the work of the Committee continues to progress, even as an important conference has been set for next month in Antigua and Barbuda to discuss related issues.

The objective of the two-day workshop between October 12 and 14 is to intensify the scientific and popular discourse on the Caricom Reparations Commission (CRC) 10-point plan on reparatory justice. These include a full formal apology, reparations, an Indigenous Peoples Development Plan, cultural institution and psychological rehabilitation among others.

The conference, which will be staged by the CRC and the Antigua and Barbuda Reparation Support Commission, has among its activities a plenary address on political commitment. According to Dr Phillips, Guyana will be in attendance.

The Caribbean Reparations Committee, which was launched in July of last year, had set a number of demands to the former European slave trade nations. Those demands include that those nations providing diplomatic help to persuade countries, such as Ghana and Ethiopia, to offer citizen-

ship to the children of the people of the Caribbean to “return” to Africa; devising a developmental strategy to help improve the lives of poor communities in the Caribbean, and supporting cultural exchanges between the Caribbean and West Africa.

The Guyana Reparations Committee has latched on to the Caribbean Committee and will be holding meetings with stakeholders in Berbice and Essequibo on September 21 and 27 respectively to engage in related discussions.

“Business of development”

Dr Phillips said reparation is all about the “business of development” and the economic future of Caricom and its member states.

He said the Caribbean is at a serious economic crossroads, with some governments trying to airbrush it from the portrait of rising poverty, unemployment, debt and declining economic growth.

The economies of Caricom member states reportedly total close to US$78 billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which would place the Region at 65 in the world if it were a single country.

Meanwhile, Dr Phillips explained that the Guyana Reparations Committee is set to face three significant challenges in the next few months.

According to him, the country will be tasked with developing a credible economic evaluation of its reparations claims on the British and Dutch Governments.

“The Committee is aware of the sums of monies paid out at Emancipation to slave owners who had slaves in Guyana. But this is a small and relatively easy part of the evaluation process. We also are aware of what the Venn Commission found,” the Committee Chairman said.

He said history has recorded that Africans “had driven back the sea and had cleared, drained and reclaimed 15,000 square miles of forest and

swamps. This is equivalent to 9,000,000 acres of land”.

In short, all the fields on which the sugar estates are now based were cleared, drained, and irrigated by African labour. All the plantations now turned villages and cities were built by unpaid African labour, Dr Phillip said.

In the process of building these plantations, careful research has shown, Africans installed 2,580,000 miles of drainage canals, trenches and inter-bed drains; 3500 miles of dams, roads and footpaths; and 2176 miles of sea and river defence.

“To perform a comprehensive valuation, our historians will have to document the millions of pounds of sugar and other crops exported from Guyana to Europe during slavery and the economic costs of the lives of Indigenous People and Africans lost during the process. The Surinamese have been able to perform such an analysis, but they were helped by the tremendous records the Dutch kept.” He noted that British records are not so detailed.

The second challenge for the Guyana Reparations Committee, Dr Phillips explained, is that of creating a correct detailed historical narrative of Indigenous genocide and African slavery. This narrative will cover several centuries and must be done in a manner that is both factually correct and detailed enough so as to assist in the first activity of economic valuation. He explained the third major challenge was time.

The Transatlantic slave trade brought over 10 million captured Africans to work as chattel slaves in sugar and cotton plantations throughout the Caribbean and the Americas. It was the largest forced migration in human history. Today, Caricom nations have a population of 16 million, and the Diaspora in the United States, Canada and Europe is about four to five million people.

New Amsterdam woman on 4

embezzlement charges

ANew Amsterdam woman was granted bail in the sum of $300,000 when she appeared before Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus on four charges of embezzlement.

Guitree Birjanand, also called “Falita” of Glasgow Housing Scheme is accused of embezzling $9.8 million belonging to Abdol Ishmael, the Virtual Complainant (VC) who is also her uncle. The court was told that the 45-year-old mother of one defrauded Ishmael, who in January 2012 started to construct a house at Gay Park, Greater New Amsterdam but left for the USA. Ishmael asked Birjanand to overlook the remainder of the construction process for him.

GECOM defends PLE as “near perfect”

Amid a mountain of concerns over the integrity of the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE), Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally on Thursday said “our list is near perfect”.

He was indirectly responding to accusations by the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) that the PLE is highly padded. “GECOM takes umbrage by the use of the word padding, when our antagonist refers to the voters list,” the Chairman said.

He added, “The word padding strongly suggests that GECOM is consciously and wilfully increasing the size of the voters’ list with persons who are not supposed to be on the list. We collectively resent and debunk such unfair statement in the strongest terms.” Though not 100 per cent accurate, he maintained that the PLE is close to perfection.

According to him, the significant increase in new registrants can be accredited to the excellent work done by GECOM’s “A Team”, in addition to the groundwork done by political parties.

Supporting the Chairman at the press conference at Cara Lodge Hotel were the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield; Voter Registration Manager

Beverly Critchlow; and Commissioners, including Vincent Alexander.

In his quest to pour cold water on the accusations, the CEO explained that prior to 2005, registration occurred episodically; just before elections were called. However in 2005, the National Assembly amended the National Registration Act, paving way for continuous registration. Lowenfield explained that persons 14 years and older are registered and consequently added to the National Register of Registrants (NRR), but only the names of those 18 years and older are extracted and included on the PLE and the Official List of Electors (OLE).

In documents provided to the press, GECOM stated that 87,295 persons have been added to the PLE, since the 2011 OLE was produced. It was explained that during the 2008 House-toHouse Registration, 430,396 new registrants were added, but only 11,800 have qualified to be placed on the 2014 PLE. With continuous registration being conducted in 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014, the number of new registrants jumped to 614,543; however, only 87,295 were extracted for the PLE.

“We are satisfied that at the time of registration – whether during

the 2008 House-to-House Registration exercise, or any subsequent Cycle of Continuous Registration, every registrant in GECOM’s NRR was verified as residing at the address which he or she provided,” GECOM said. The Commission added too that the information collected has been authenticated by the scrutineers representing both the governing and the combined Opposition political parties.

It was further explained that the inputting of registration data is done by staff in the Registration Division under the direct supervision of the Voter Registration Manager and not by staffers of the Information Technology (TI) Department.

“The quality control mechanism for the entire registration process includes several tiers of checks and balances aimed at maintaining the integrity of the National Register of Registrants (NRR) in which the particulars all registrants [are] entered, subject to having met all of the approved criteria for such inclusion therein,” GECOM said. It added that the mandated security measures associated with the integrity of the NRR have never been compromised or even questioned.

East Bank Berbice woman on $100,000 bail for forgery

… swindles niece out of over $4M

The Prosecutor told the court that when the VC returned to Guyana, he was shocked to learn that his house was incomplete and no document could be produced. Further checks revealed that a total sum of $9.5 million could not be accounted for.

Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Godfrey Playter told the court that the necessary arrangements were made and Ishmael left for overseas. The man had various sums of money, including over $7.7 million in a popular bank. He also left the defendant with $565,000 cash. During the time he was away, the VC would have also sent various sums of money to the accused for her to conduct business on his behalf. Sergeant Playter went on to tell the court that the defendant also received two other sums totalling $3 million from another business person on behalf of Ishmael to carry out work on the construction project.

The first charge read that

between January and May 30, 2012 at Gay Park, East Bank Berbice, Girjanand embezzled $9,767,691 belonging to Abdol Ishmael.

The second and third charges alleged that on October 20 and November 22, 2012, at Gay Park, East Bank Berbice, with intent to defraud, the accused forged cash receipts in the amounts of $158,000 and $750,000 respectively, purporting to show that they were made out by Lakhram Parmanand.

The final charge reads that on the May 13, 2013, also at Gay Park, with intent to defraud, Girjanand uttered to Abdol Ishmael, two forged cash receipts purporting to show that they were made out by Lakhram Parmanand, knowing same to be forged.

The accused will return to court on September 15.

An East Bank Berbice woman was on Tuesday placed on bail in the sum of $100,000 when she appeared before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court. It is alleged that the defendant obtaining money by fraudulent means.

Sandra Rampersaud, 56, of Lot 2 Highbury, East Bank Berbice, is accused of obtained US$21,574 from Chetranie Rampersaud of New York. The court was told that Chetranie Rampersaud migrated to the USA in 1991 and kept in constant contact with her aunt Sandra Rampersaud.

According to Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Godfrey Playter, in December 2008, during

one of their regular conversations, the Virtual Complainant (VC) expressed an interest in doing business back home. Playter told the court that the VC indicated her interest in purchasing house lots, rice lands and a stall in the New Amsterdam Market.

The VC subsequently started sending money to her aunt in September 2010 for her to transact business on her behalf. Amounts ranging from US$50 to US$2000 were sent by the VC over time, amounting to G$4,314,600. The accused acknowledged receipt of such money transactions.

However, things began to look suspicious when the overseas-based Rampersaud arrived in Guyana on August 7, 2014 and could not make

contact with the accused. The VC tried various means of trying to get into contact with her aunt; that is to say via telephone, visits to her home, envoy etc, but all in to no avail.

The woman sensing something was amiss decided to make some checks for herself. She visited the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) where she was informed that her aunt never purchased any land in her name. She also found out that no stall or rice land was acquired.

The matter was reported and the defendant was placed before the court. She will make her next court appearance before Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus on September 30.

Guyana Reparations Committee Chairman, Dr Eric Phillips

Around the world

India hanged girls’ case: Bail for accused in Badaun

Three men, who were arrested in May for the alleged gang rape and murder of two teenage cousins in northern India, have been freed on bail.

The girls were found hanged from a tree in Uttar Pradesh state and the case sparked global outrage. At the time a local post-mortem examination confirmed multiple sexual assaults and death due to hanging.

But last month, federal investigators said new forensic tests had concluded the girls were not sexually assaulted. Officials at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the clothes and personal effects of the girls had been examined by the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) and it found no proof of sexual assault.

A court on Thursday bailed the three accused after federal investigators refused to charge them citing lack of evidence. The men have been in custody for 90 days – the maximum period an accused can be held without being charged.

Two constables, who were also arrested along with the accused and charged with dereliction of duty and criminal conspiracy for not taking the parents’ complaint seriously, were bailed on Monday. The girls, who were from a lower caste, were found hanged from a tree in Badaun district on May 28. The girls, thought to have been 14 and 15, went missing when they had apparently gone out to relieve themselves as they had no toilet at home. Their bodies were discovered the following day. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Rare outbreak in Tokyo as WHO warns of spread of dengue fever

As the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned of the potential increase of dengue fever and other climate-sensitive illnesses, Japan saw an almost-seven decade streak of being dengue fever-free end.

In the past week, at least 55 people have become ill with dengue fever, confirming fears that the fever, last seen in 1945, is back. The cases have one thing in common – those affected all appear to have visited Yoyogi Park, one of Tokyo’s largest outdoor spaces, and all have complained of mosquito bites.

Israel says close to cracking Hamas cell behind teens’ slaying

Israel has arrested eight Palestinians who had supporting roles in the abduction and killing of three Jewish teenagers in June but the two kidnappers themselves remain at large, Israeli officials said on Thursday.

They said interrogation of the suspects, all from the West Bank city of Hebron and linked to Hamas, had turned up evidence of funding from the Gaza Strip, which the Islamist faction controls, but not yet of any direct orders by Hamas leaders.

The account underscored the often diffuse structure of Hamas, hundreds of whose activists were rounded up by Israeli forces in the West

Bank after the abductions, stoking hostilities from Gaza that led to a sevenweek-long war there.

After initially denying involvement in the deaths of Jewish seminary students Eyal Yifrach, 19, and 16-year-olds Gilad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel, Hamas last month acknowledged responsibility.

But Khaled Meshaal, the group’s exiled leader, said Hamas members had struck without informing the top echelon in advance. In 2011, Hamas traded an Israeli soldier it was holding in Gaza for more than 1000 Palestinians jailed by Israel. It had since advocated the seizure of more Israelis for further swaps. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Woman found beheaded in north London named as Palmira Silva

Aman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after an elderly woman was beheaded in broad daylight in a suburban back garden. The victim, named by Police as Palmira Silva, 82, was found at an address in Edmonton, North London, just after 13:00h on Thursday.

Residents described scenes of terror and panic as the suspect, dressed in black, waved a machetelike weapon as he wandered screaming and shouting through private gardens.

Forensic investigators prepare to examine a property in Edmonton where a woman is thought to have been beheaded in London

This week, two models, Saaya, 20, and Eri Aoki, 25, who were filming for “King’s Brunch,” a variety show, in the park, were struck down with the virus, the Nikkan

Following fumigation last week, the health ministry and Tokyo metropolitan Government trapped and analysed about 100 mosquitoes from the park and, found strains of the virus, prompting authorities to close large parts of the park as of Thursday afternoon.

Sports newspaper reported. The dengue outbreak in Japan has seen victims from the age of 10 to those in their 70’s. While most people recover within a week, the disease can create discomfort and can, in rare cases, cause death. (Excerpt from CNN)

NATO Chief asks Russia to pull back troops

NATO Secretary General has told the Kremlin to pull back Russian troops from Ukraine and to stop supporting rebels in eastern Ukraine, as leaders from the Trans-Atlantic military alliance meet in the UK.

“We call on Russia to pull back its troops from Ukraine and to stop the flow of arms, fighters and funds to the separatists,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday at the NATO summit near the Welsh city of Newport.

The NATO chief asked “Russia to end its illegal and self-declared annexation of Crimea”.

But Rasmussen said that NATO would not supply arms to Ukraine, saying it was up to individual members to decide whether to supply arms to the conflictwracked country. Earlier, the White House said that key NATO leaders had agreed during the meeting that Russia should face increased sanctions for its actions in eastern Ukraine.

“The leaders reiterat-

ed their condemnation of Russia’s continued flagrant vioaltion of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and agreed on the need for Russia to face increased costs for its actions,” the statement on Wednesday said.

NATO leaders, including US President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande, earlier met President Poroshenko on the sidelines of the summit described as the most important since the end of the Cold War. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Police said a man had run through back gardens armed with a weapon, with officers smashing windows to evacuate terrified residents. They risked their lives and distracted the man so he did not harm anyone else.

Armed officers were sent to the scene. The Metropolitan Police said the 25-year-old man was cor-

nered in a house, Tasered then arrested, and one officer broke his wrist in the struggle.

Officers from the Met’s homicide and major crime command are also investigating an attempted attack on two people at another house in the road before Silva was killed. A spokesman said: “At this stage we believe they were both able to get out of the house without injury.” Tributes were paid on Thursday night to Silva, who is thought to have been of Italian descent and to have worked in a nearby cafe. (Excerpt from The Guardian)

Boko Haram crisis: Bodies ‘litter’ Nigeria’s Bama town

Bodies remain littered on the streets of a northern Nigerian town two days after it was seized by militant Islamists, a lawmaker has told the BBC.

Boko Haram fighters were patrolling the streets of Bama, preventing people from burying the dead, Ahmed Zanna said. On Wednesday, the state Government denied the town had fallen.

Officials said about 26,000 people had been dis-

placed by fighting in Bama, a key town in the battle for control of Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state.

Earlier this week, the Nigeria Security Network (NSN) think-tank said the group had made “lightning territorial gains” in recent months, raising fears that the country could disintegrate like Syria and Iraq, where the Islamic State (IS) rebel group has declared a caliphate.

Boko Haram has also said it has set up a caliphate

in the areas it controls – it is not clear if the two groups are allied. Zanna, a senator in Borno, said the humanitarian situation in Bama was “terrible” and there had been a “lot of killings” in the town. “So many bodies litter the streets, and people are not allowed to even go and bury the dead ones. So the situation is getting worse and worse,” Zanna told the BBC’s Newsday programme after speaking to a resident who fled the town. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Angry villagers protested at the tree where the girls were found hanged in Badaun district

A workman sprays pesticide in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan. Sections of the park have been closed to the public

On November 12, Miss Guyana

World 2013, Ruqayyah Boyer will be competing with 90 other beauties around the world for the prestigious title of Miss International 2014 in Toyko, Japan.

The Miss International Pageant is the fourth largest pageant in the world. The others are Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss Earth. Presently, the Guyanese delegate is in the Philippines undergoing intense training leading up to the pageant.

She is expected to arrive in Toyko, Japan on October 26 where she will participate in another training session and preliminary competitions. She is being trained by the Gouldian Team that is

known for their successes in pageantry over the past year.

Boyer, along with Miss Guyana World Rafieya Hussein, is in training from 09:00h to 18:00h every day in various areas including makeup, hair style, wardrobe, pageant walk and others. Hussein is slated to represent Guyana at the Miss World Pageant in December.

However, during an online interview with Boyer, she stated “I am being trained on pageant walk for Miss International since our trainer indicated that for each pageant it is different… the requirements change in Miss Universe where I might have needed a more fiercer catwalk… such does not apply

for Miss World or Miss International.”

She noted, however, there are certain elements of the training that are a bit unorthodox, but admitted they are to help with her walk, posture and leg muscles.

In the next few days, the two delegates will have a fitness session and photo shoots along with speech training with respect to “what to say and what not to say”, she grinned.

Boyer also noted that the training is of a high quality and she was honoured to have been able to meet the reigning Miss International, who is from the Philippines.

“It so happens that the reigning Miss International is from the Philippines so I am learning the secrets to get her crown…”

With less than three weeks before she wings off to Japan for the final, she remains optimistic that she will do well as she represents Guyana on the international stage. She recalled competing with more than 130 delegates in the Miss World Pageant and she promises to use her experience in the upcoming pageant.

Boyer was contacted by the Miss International Committee to participate in the pageant and after realising that Guyana has never been represented on that stage, she agreed almost immediately.

“I wasn’t going to do another beauty pageant contest after Miss World, but I was asked to consider and I did, but I figured if I were going to do this again… I will need a different approach, hence the training for the first time.”

On October 5, all roads

The day is expected to be filled

with lots of activities for the entire family. There will be football and cricket competitions where the competing teams can go head to head to win up to $100,000 in cash and trophies. Domino lovers can also be a part of a competition, which can see them winning a unique prize – a

sheep.

Children will also have a chance to enjoy the bouncy castle, trampoline, and merry-go-round, while also partaking in face painting and other fun activities.

When darkness falls, several local artistes will take to the stage for live

performances. These include

and

– and others are likely to entertain

Entertainment, and Xtra Energy Drink.

will lead to the Wales Community Centre ground for the 7th annual Wales Village Day. The event is promoted by Avinash, Anil and Rudolph in collaboration with Promoter Suga.

Prince JP, Jory Hector, Bunty Singh and Mystic. They will be backed by Big Life Sound

TRD Sounds. Several local deejays – Deejay Long John, Deejay Fine Man, Labumba, Deejay Dellon, Deejay Stephon, Selector Seen Up

patrons with their well known hyped personalities.

Admission to the event is absolutely free before 18:00h. Some of the sponsors are Banks DIH, Giftland OfficeMax, Westside Taxi, Trophy Stall, Westsiderz

Many would agree that Jamzone 2014 saw many changes, some would even say the festival downscaled somewhat, but one thing is for sure – the entertainment factor of this annual fiesta was still very much there.

The biggest change on this year’s Jamzone list of events definitely was the inclusion of Jamzone NYC which suffered a severe hit when on the day of the event, Hits and Jams Entertainment was informed that the event can no longer be hosted at ‘The Village’ due to reasons beyond the entity’s control.

A thorough statement would be issued to the public after the completion of legal action being sought by Hits and Jams. Nevertheless, an alternate venue was found and the event was eventually pulled off the following day with tremendous support from the Guyanese society abroad. Jamaican’s dancehall artiste Mavado was the headlining act of the event.

Back home in Guyana, anticipation was building and Jamzone certainly did not

way, what their country has to offer.

That weekend had much more in store for Jamzone enthusiasts with the Kids Zone event which catered to junior supporters. The younger ones enjoyed a variety of games and activities such as bouncy castle fun, trampolines, raging bull, face painting, paintball, football, etc.

As the sun set on that Saturday evening, a Brazilian affair erupted at Palm Court where Brazilian Bands Banda-F-Mix and Banda-Apegada along with Brazilian DJ Tranquilo, who was supported by Fusion spin masters, entertained patrons all night until the crack of dawn.

On Sunday, all roads led to the National Park for one of the biggest and most anticipated events on the Jamzone calendar – Bikers Fest.

The bikers did not fail to tantalise the audience with mindboggling flips, tricks and jumps through the night’s sky. With every rev of an engine and every bike that zinged past the stands, persons screamed for more while the children frolicked in excitement.

made him the most memorable artiste to have performed on the Jamzone 2014 stage.

As usual, Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons and the Vikings Band did not disappoint. However, the segment that absolutely thrilled patrons had to be Bunji’s audience-based freestyle verses. As his wife Fay-Ann pointed out patrons, Bunji belted out descriptive lyrics, proof that the Soca Superstar certainly is one of the most versatile lyricists of our time.

The concert saw a great lineup of local artistes as well including Jackie Hanover and Malcolm Ferreira who made Guyanese proud that night.

Local entertainers Jory and Magnum also pushed it to the limit during a lyrical clash at the Jamzone Beach Jam at the all new HJ Water Park where the “Clash fuh Cash” event was hosted. After a series of exchanges, Jory was named winner of the battle and was awarded the prize of $150,000.

While the new location was very different from the location of previous

fail to deliver. First up on the agenda was the Miss Jamzone International Pageant which saw eight beauties from around the Region and the USA competing for the title.

Throughout the challenging rounds, Soyini Fraser presented her best, eventually copping the title of Miss Jamzone International, making her the first Guyanese to do so since the pageant’s inception. Coming in at first runner-up was none other than Miss Barbados Dannyele Leslie who was followed by Miss Bahamas Lexi Wilson.

Miss Trinidad Yaya Henry secured the third runner-up position while much adored Miss Jamaica Joanna Sadler managed to score fourth runner-up in this year’s pageant.

The pageant was overall well executed and the girls all delivered in their unique

The most talked-about event had to be the Jamzone Super Concert, which was hosted the following weekend and was headlined by Jamaican Dancehall artist Alkaline whose Jamzone performance happened to be his debut in Guyana and was unquestionably well received. Alkaline dished out his biggest hits “Things Mi Love”, “Gyal Bruk Out”, “123”, “Move Mountains”, “Lonely”, “Live Life”, among others.

With the start of each song, a fresh burst of excitement went through the crowd in which patrons tried desperately to get a closer view of the artiste, perhaps to get a glimpse of those controversial eye tattoos?

All things considered, Alkaline’s stage performance combined with his ability to deliver each track in perfect harmony and not forgetting those raunchy lyrics have

years, patrons enjoyed the Beach Jam to its fullest with games provided for children and adults all the same, the Beach Jam lived up to its billing of being a true familyoriented event.

The adults enjoyed the usual kissing games, burger eating competition, tug of war battle and much more, enjoying awards of big dollars to further enjoy the day’s activities! Going forward, the HJ Water Park will be 100 per cent completed and fully equipped with the amenities to make Jamzone 2015 a one-of-a-kind occasion in Guyana. Plans are already being put in place to make this a reality.

Jamzone Summer Break 2014, both in the Big Apple and locally, was a tremendous success considering the big smiles, laughter, joy and pure fun it brought to every patron.

Many people would know the handsome and talented Mr Guyana International Pageant contender Curt Junior Walcott, as an exceptional and powerful singer. But this local entertainer is about to embark on a journey to help those, who like himself, were raised without a father.

Curt is no stranger to the public eye, especially after making several appearances on the popular singing contest, the GT&T Jingle and Song Competition. But before we get into his upcoming venture, let us get to know this talented individual a little better.

Life without a father

Curt was born on September 10, 1989 at the Georgetown Public Hospital. Being the eldest of four siblings, Curt said that he never had the opportunity, like many children, to know his biological father.

In addition to being fatherless, Walcott’s biological mother, being young and inexperienced, placed him in the care of his Godparents, Mr and Mrs Edmond Benjamin who raised, loved and nurtured him, with a Christian upbringing.

The 24-year-old said that he started out his early years of education at Pavilion Nursery, before moving on to Central Primary to complete his primary education. He continued his secondary school education at Dolphin Secondary School.

Walcott explained that because he suffered rejection at birth from his biological father, the feeling of being

rebuffed began to negatively impact most of his adolescent years. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Curt also was unable to complete his secondary education.

He, however, went into the world of work and became independent. But this experience was shortlived when the only man he knew as a father passed away; especially at that time when he really needed a male father figure in his life.

His musical career

After the death of his Godfather, Walcott received moral support from his church circle and friends. With his passion for music, especially in the Gospel genre, he was influenced and encouraged to push forward, despite of life’s setbacks.

He later travelled to the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 2013 and got the opportunity to record his first single with VOG Records, before he returned to Guyana to continue his goal of becoming an established gospel artiste. He is currently working on his album with Producer William Harper at Extreme Studios.

The young man said that being part of such a competition as the Mr Guyana International Pageant would allow him to interact with youths, like himself, who are fatherless and he has hopes of making a difference in their lives.

He will be competing with 10 other young men for the inaugural title and hopes to put his best foot forward, noting that he is ready for the challenge.

For those who think they have just a little more weight than they’re comfortable with, there is a great opportunity to get rid of that extra body mass by joining the “ReXtreme Challenge”.

The ReXtreme Challenge will commence on September 15 and end on October 15 and will be conducted at the FIT-REX Fitness Training Centre located at Bel Air Avenue, Lamaha Gardens. The sessions will be conducted by professional trainer, Joshua Singh who has a vast knowledge in fitness training.

The sessions are held three times a day, with the early session commencing at 09:00h while the second will be done at 17:50h and the final session of the day will commence at 18:30h.

These sessions will last for approximately 45 minutes to an hour and are held on Mondays, Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Some sessions might be held on Fridays. Registration is absolutely free but the one month training is $9000.

The trainer, Joshua Singh who has more than five years experience in the fitness industry has gone through all stages of overweight challenges in the past hence he is now taking another step in his life to help change the lives of people in a positive way.

On September 27, the Lion’s Club of Essequibo will be hosting its first fundraiser of the year in the form of a boat cruise from Charity to Kabakaburi, Essequibo River. The organisation held a similar exercise to Bartica in the past and it was deemed a tremendous success.

This coming event will see at least 250 persons gyrating to selected music onboard a vessel that will take them to the destination which is close to two hours

The “ReXtreme Challenge” will be an event that will prove that negative boundaries are pointless and more so, the unwanted weight will be gone through rigorous indoor and outdoor training. This challenge is not only to prove who is the best, but is also used as a motivator for citizens to acquire and maintain a healthier body.

Rather than going through the basic boring gym routines, there will be new and exciting challenges on a daily basis to assist in maintaining a fit and healthy lifestyle.

“I came up with this idea because I noticed most people in Guyana are puzzled on which workouts to do and also they eventually get bored of doing one thing over and over… especially when they see no results… so I am revolutionising fitness in Guyana with a different approach and system where fitness will forever be fun and high expectations for each session”, the trainer added.

The ReXtreme Challenge is not only about the prizes but rather to prove what your body is capable of doing.

Those who are interested can contact the trainer on telephone number 622-2606. The 17:30h session is completely booked but for those who are working, can take advantage of the 18:30h session.

on the water. At the village of Kabakaburi, patrons will have a change to tour the community and more so, participate in a bar-be-que and lime.

Again, there will be tons of fun before they head back to Charity, Essequibo Coast. It is expected that on board the vessel, there will be lots of excitement, especially with a well stocked bar and a music system with the best deejay in the house.

Patrons can ready themselves for the best

selections of soca, Indian, dancehall and other genre of music that will definitely add fun to the cruise.

Tickets cost $2000 and are available from any Lion’s Club member. Those who wish to be a part of the excitement can make contact with members of the Lions on telephone numbers 613-4185, 6478171 and 639-5374 for more information.

It is a cruise that you do not want to miss and it is for the entire family. The boat leaves Charity at 08:00h.

In just over a month, nine beautiful and well groomed young women will clash head on as they vie for the prestigious ti tle of Miss Guyana Universe 2014. The win ner will go on to represent Guyana in the international pageant slated for later in the year.

Guyana Times Entertainment turing the delegates of this year’s pag eant starting with Alicia Kirton.

She compares herself to the owl, a creature of great integ rity and a wise observer of hu man society. The 23-year-old Georgetown born, Industry raised graduate of the Cyril Potter College of Education, is currently a Grade One teacher at Ketley Primary School in Charlestown.

The self-proclaimed chef says every moment spent eating pumpkin and shrimp with roti is a precious moment. She is far from a perfect danc er, but it is almost the only time she feels like per fection.

The budding beauty queen says her week ends are important to her, since it is a time to unplug from the day-to-day routine, and get a chance to float free from any worries, self-consciousness, or physical discomfort, by swim ming.

Because of the commit ment her parents made to their work in Region Eight, she and her twin brother

were raised by their babysitter, whom they now hold close to their hearts as a grand

She describes her grandmother as the biggest blessing in her life; a woman who has given her reservoirs of strength, taught her to stay morally upright, and inspired

Like every other young adult, lenges in life, but she learned to surround herself with positive ings, and most importantly

“I see life as a blessing, and I wake up each day with a humble heart and I remain thankful for life” the beauty

Those who have been a part of the Westside Auto Expo 2 can attest to it being one of the biggest car and bike shows on the West side. It is with this in mind that the third exposition was planned.

Presently, preparations are underway for the hosting of the third annual Westside Auto Expo and Vehicle Sound Off slated for November 1 at the Parika Community Centre ground, East Bank Essequibo.

So far, seven teams have indicated their interest in the competition that will see hundreds of thousands of dollars being given away in prizes and trophies. The teams include The Avengers, Team Wrecker, Team 18 Sound, Team Raj Audio, Team RX8, Team Alteeza Guy, and Team Sonic Riderz. Many others are expected to register.

Persons interested in participating can register their vehicle(s) now for a fee of $5000

per vehicle. It is a night where vehicles will be judged for the hardest and cleanest sound, best graphic designs, and more interestingly, judges will be looking for the best car, SUV, motorcycles and minibuses.

During the evening, there will be ‘maddd’ entertainment, compliments of Big Life and Royalti Vybez, and the proceedings will be emceed by Golden Chyld.

Tickets for the third Westside Auto Expo and Vehicle Sound Off cost $1000 in advance and $1500 at the gate. Vehicles will pay $2000 for entry into the Community Centre ground. Tickets are available at Westside Entertainment Centre, Vreed-en-Hoop; AVON DVD Club, Uitvlugt; and Sunil DVD Store, Wales and Parika branches.

On the night of the event, one lucky patron will win a Samsung Galaxy phone. Gates open at 16:00h but the competition kicks off at 22:00h.

Leonora Synthetic track certified by IAAF

B y TreisTon Joseph

The Leonora Synthetic Track has officially been certified by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) as a class two track.

At a visit to the track on Thursday, Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony and the President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) Aubrey Hutson displayed the certification of Guyana’s lone synthetic facility.

Anthony was particularly in high spirits with the certification of the track, “This now would be the first certified facility that we have in Guyana for athletics so while it looks like a simple thing it is really a big deal.

“We are extremely pleased because now allows our athletes to race on a surface and if they break any records it will be accepted and I think that’s a remarkable stride… prior to that many of our athletes would have to go to other certified facilities, now you can be right here so I see it as a good thing for competition,” Dr Anthony stated.

Hutson noted that the certification of the track will bode well for the development of the sport. “The AAG is on a constant drive to improve athletics and in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, we are really heartened that

we have got a certified track.

“We are hoping that through our development we will be able to bring track and field out here and get the kind of results that we are looking for so that we can really and truly perform and compete internationally,” Hutson said.

With the Northern stands still under construction, Dr Anthony noted that no official date for the opening has officially been set at the moment.

“We still have a number

of things that we have to do at the track, so for now once we complete these Northern Stands and have them all painted and the rooms below ready and the VIP area then we will do a soft launch but we will have to see how our contractors are working.

“If fact we were on schedule to that that later in the year but we had to fire the contractor who was working on the VIP building because of slow progress and that has delayed us,” said Dr Anthony.

Looking at the possibility

of athletes using the track, Dr Antony noted that there will have be a structured talk with the way forward as professional persons both from the Ministry and the AAG will have to be in place in order to have supervision on the usage of the track.

Dr Anthony revealed that the Ministry will be building a southern, eastern and western stand as well as installing a warm up track in the near future which will be situated just behind the northern stand which will house the call room.

GOA collaborates with Australian University to conduct marketing studies on athletes

Aresearch Study on Guyanese pre-elite athletes is currently being conducted in Guyana in collaboration with the Griffith University of Australia.

The Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) who has collaborated with Griffith University of Australia to conduct study as part of requirements for Nicholas Fraser of the Head-Physical Education in the Unit of Allied Arts (Ministry of Education) who is currently pursuing a Master of Business with Honours Degree (Sport Management).

The study will analyse the relationship between specific facial features and brand match-up as the GOA has assisted Fraser in acquiring 68 photographs of pre-elite athletes after which two male and two female athletes were randomly selected.

The next step in the study is to make the survey available to the Guyanese public to make their opinions heard while the report will be drawn up and submitted to the GOA as the final step in the study by early December.

Nicholas Fraser

According to a press release by the GOA, the use of pre-elite athletes in marketing strategies is not as popular as the use of elite athletes in the current marketing activities of business entities although it is well documented that pre-elite athletes require more resources.

Further, the current strategies targeting elite athletes have proven to be high risk since success is linked to fluctuating athletic performances. This study will provide marketers with another tool which could reduce the risks associated with relying solely on performance as the element of athlete selection and to include a possibly more reliable element – facial features.

The Australia-based research team is comprised of Dr Brad Hill (Lecturer of Sports Marketing at Griffith University) and Nicholas Fraser (Master of Business Administration honour student specialising in Sport Management) who are being supported locally by Dr Karen Pilgrim and Shanomae Blackmore of the GOA.

Lower Corentyne U-19s defeat Rest of Berbice

he Berbice Cricket

TBoard’s (BCB) Golden Jubilee celebrations continued on Sunday with a specially arranged 20/20 cricket match between the Rest of Berbice Under-19 and Lower Corentyne Under-19 teams at the Albion Community Centre ground.

Lower Corentyne, led by national Under-19 player Askay Homraj, defeated the Rest of Berbice by seven wickets. Playing in front of a fairsized crowd, Lower Corentyne won the toss and invited their counterparts to take first strike. The Rest of Berbice XI reached 87-9 in the al-

lotted 20 overs with skipper Hakeem Hinds topscoring with 31, including three boundaries, and received support from Arif Chan (13) and A Miller (12).

Bowling for Lower Corentyne, Dimentri Cameron and Daniel Lewis took identical figures of 2-12 from four overs. West Indies Under-19 player Shimron Hetmeyer disappointed his fans when he threw his wicket away for six off the bowling of Sylus Tyndall. In reply, Lower Corentyne struggled to get the ball off the square until the national Under-19 duo, Balchand

al aggressive self with 30. Homraj was dismissed at 773, but David Latchaya (03*) out saw his team home with the solid Balchand. Bowling for the Rest of Berbice Under-19 team, off-spinner Leon Andrew took 1-9 from four overs and Smith 2-19 from four overs.

Baldeo was named Player-of-the-Match and Best Batsman, while Daniel Lewis and Cameron were named Best Bowlers. All three players received special Diamond Jubilee Souvenirs, while the winning team received a trophy, compliments of Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall.

Chairman of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations Committee, Hilbert Foster, stated that the main aim of the match was to showcase the rich pool of cricket talents that Berbice has at the youth level and also to honour Bobby Deonarine of Washington, DC, USA, for his outstanding contribution to the development of Berbice cricket.

The month of celebration would be used to educate all Berbicians of the achievements over the years and to make sure that all of the country’s heroes and stalwarts are recognised and honoured.

Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony (second left) and AAG President Aubrey Huston (second right) shake hands and display the certification of the track in the presence of Permanent Secretary in the Sport Ministry Alfred King (right) and Deputy Permanent Secretary Steve Ninvalle (left)

Baldeo and Askay Homraj, joined forces at 9-2 in the fifth over.

Baldeo top scored with 34, while Homraj was his usu-

Akshay Homraj Balchand Baldeo

Zimbabwe v South Africa, Tri-series, Harare…

Du Plessis’ third century puts South Africa in final

South Africa secured their place in the triangular series final against Australia thanks to a third century in the competition from Faf du Plessis, which formed the spine of a target too tall for Zimbabwe to chase. Du Plessis shared a 103-run stand with JP Duminy for the fifth wicket and led the final assault which helped South Africa take 61 runs off the last five overs to put a place in the final beyond Zimbabwe’s reach.

The hosts had to reach the score in 25.2 overs to earn a bonus point and improve their run-rate enough to leapfrog South Africa but at a required run-rate of 10.83 to the over that was always going to be a tough ask. Zimbabwe have only managed over 200 once in the five ODIs they played before this one and, although they crossed the mark again this time, their batting let them down again. Aside from a welcome return to form for Brendan Taylor, who scored his first-half century in six innings, no one else managed to stay at the crease for longer than 41 minutes or score more than 29 runs.

This was the last of five ODIs played between South Africa and Zimbabwe over the past three weeks and it was a microcosm of all of them. Zimbabwe were disciplined in the field, after Elton Chigumbura asked South Africa to bat first. Their spinners enforced a stranglehold which kept South Africa quiet for most of the first 45 overs of their innings but, because they lacked the incisiveness to keep taking wickets, one batsman anchored and set up for a final assault. Du Plessis was that man.

As soon as the score moved beyond 220, Zimbabwe’s chances of winning, not in the overs they needed to get to the final, but overall, were dimmed. Their opening partnership remains brittle, their middle-order soft and their tail brave but inadequate even against a South African attack that was a man short.

After a collapse against Australia in their previous match, South Africa chose to bulk up the batting by adding Rilee Rossouw to the XI and had to bench a bowler. Imran Tahir missed out to leave South Africa with just one specialist spinner in Aaron Phangiso. Had Zimbabwe

found a partnership as stubborn as the du PlessisDuminy one, South Africa may have been found wanting but poor shot selection and wavering temperament continue to stunt their progress.

They can look to South Africa’s approach as inspiration. When the openers were dismissed in the first eight overs, there was no panic despite the inexperienced player at No.4.

Rossouw had two first-ball ducks to his name before this and Zimbabwe could have got through him and into the middle order but he showed more composure this time, particularly against spin.

Rossouw used his feet fairly well, brought out the sweep and reverse

sweep and left du Plessis to be the aggressor. For all Rossouw’s caution, he could do nothing about the Sean Williams delivery that turned into him as he went back to cut and bowled him but he had acquitted himself well enough to show his promise.

De Villiers was run-out cheaply at the non-strikers’ end to give Zimbabwe another chance to take control but Duminy denied them that. He played a Test-match style innings with du Plessis which focused on finding gaps and rotating strike rather than muscling through. They did not breach the boundary for nine overs, including during the Powerplay but importantly, did not

SCOREBOARD

South Africa innings (50 overs

maximum)

Q de Kock† c †Taylor b Chatara 2

HM Amla c Chigumbura b Madziva 14

F du Plessis c Chigumbura b Nyumbu 121

RR Rossouw b Williams 36

AB de Villiers* run out (Nyumbu) 16

JP Duminy c & b Madziva 51

DA Miller not out 10

WD Parnell not out 10

Extras (lb-2, w-9) 11

Total (6 wickets; 50 overs) 271

Fall of wickets: 1-2 (de Kock, 0.4 ov), 2-26 (Amla, 7.1 ov), 3-96 (Rossouw, 20.5 ov), 4-120 (de Villiers, 27.5 ov), 5-223 (Duminy, 46.3 ov), 6-246 (du Plessis, 47.5 ov)

Bowling: TL Chatara 6-031-1 (1-w), N Madziva

6-0-53-2 (4-w), J Nyumbu

8-0-53-1, SC Williams 10-138-1, P Utseya 10-0-55-0, MN Waller 10-0-39-0 (1-w)

Zimbabwe innings (target: 272 runs from 50 overs)

V Sibanda run out (de Villiers) 11

Sikandar Raza c Miller b Parnell 29

H Masakadza c de Villiers b

Morkel 26

BRM Taylor† b Duminy 79

SC Williams c Amla b Duminy 3

E Chigumbura* c Miller b Rossouw 13

MN Waller c †de Kock

b Phangiso 17

P Utseya c Amla b Steyn 0 N Madziva run out (Miller/†de Kock) 3

TL Chatara not out 10

J Nyumbu lbw b Duminy 4

Extras (lb-1, w-11, nb-1) 13

Total (all out; 47.2 overs) 208 Fall of wickets: 1-31 (Sibanda, 6.5 ov), 2-46 (Sikandar Raza, 8.5 ov), 3-77 (Masakadza, 16.2 ov), 4-85 (Williams, 19.4 ov), 5-110 (Chigumbura, 27.5 ov), 6-156 (Waller, 35.4 ov), 7-157 (Utseya, 36.6 ov), 8-166 (Madziva, 39.2 ov), 9-202 (Taylor, 45.3 ov), 10208 (Nyumbu, 47.2 ov)

Bowling: DW Steyn 8-1-24-1 (1-w), JP Duminy 8.2-0-35-3 (1-w), M Morkel 8-0-41-1 (1nb, 3-w), WD Parnell 8-0-39-1 (1-w), AM Phangiso 10-0-381, RR Rossouw 3-0-17-1, AB de Villiers 2-0-13-0 (4-w)

Mercedes may consider change to Hamilton, Rosberg line-up

Mercedes say they will have to consider dropping Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg if the pair cannot race together cleanly.

lose a wicket in that period either to ensue the foundation was laid.

Du Plessis eventually broke the drought in the 43rd over when he creamed Malcolm Waller through the offside and then slammed Nyumbu for six over long-on. As his century approached, fatigue shrouded du Plessis but he knew he needed to provide impetus at the end. Duminy was equally aware of the task.

In one eventful Madziva over, Duminy swatted one to the square leg boundary and then recorded his first half-century of the series, then top-edged and was dismissed, du Plessis inside-edged a ball for four to register a hundred in 135 balls and hammered the bowler for six over long-off. South Africa had the freedom to hit out at the end and ended up with a comfortable score on a sluggish surface. (Cricinfo)

The ultimatum from Mercedes sports boss Toto Wolff comes in the aftermath of the drivers’ collision in Belgium.

The team have made it clear before this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix that there must be no more ontrack contact.

“We would have to take decisions and take the consequences of having a different line-up,” said Wolff.

“If we are not able to manage the two of them following the Mercedes-Benz spirit then we need to admit that,” added Wolff.

Mercedes have taken disciplinary action against Rosberg for the collision at Spa on 24 August, for which the German has taken responsibility and apologised.

The collision caused a puncture in Hamilton’s car and forced him to retire, and Rosberg subsequently opened up a 29-point advantage over his team-mate in the championship.

Wolff, speaking in an exclusive interview with BBC Radio 5 live , refused to give

details of the internal action taken against Rosberg.

Wolff said: “When you are managing a team it is very important to keep it balanced. I would very much like the penalties we have been implementing to stay within the team because it is just not fair on the driver to discuss that in public.

“We have made it very clear this is an unacceptable scenario for us, for both of them. We don’t want this to happen ever again.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton has queried the FIA’s decision not to investigate the collision with Rosberg.

The governing body decided not to look at the incident again despite it emerging after the race that Rosberg had told his team he had known the two could crash.

Hamilton said: “Can we race a lot closer and if the other guy is out of the race nothing will happen? Or if it happens again will there be a penalty?

“We are always asking to be able to race. But there is a fine line.”

FIA stewards looked at the clash while the race was in progress and decided it was a ‘racing incident’ that required no further action.

(BBC Sport)

pressure on West indies...

West Indies can call upon four allrounders in limited-overs cricket, but none of them are in the Test squad. Instead, they used Jason Holder at No 7 in their last Test, where he impressed with a fifty. But Holder’s stronger suit, quick bowling from a high action, will be expected to come through first.

Bangladesh’s thin bowling resources mean that Al-Amin Hossain has suddenly become a bit of a leader of the attack, though he himself has played only three Tests.

But he was the highest wicket-taker in the ODI series less than two weeks ago and with Robiul Islam being downgraded in the pecking order and Rubel Hossain averaging 80-plus in 19 Tests, Al-Amin can expect a lot of

bowling.

West Indies have picked a similar squad to the one that played New Zealand in June. So the only change could be Kirk Edwards making way at No. 3 for Jermaine Blackwood, who had done very well against Bangladesh A and earned a Test cap as well.

West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Jermaine Blackwood, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Denesh Ramdin (capt & wk), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Kemar Roach, 9 Shane Shillingford, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Jerome Taylor.

Bangladesh have a difficult choice to make at the top of their order, where they might have to leave out ei-

ther Shamsur Rahman, who scored a hundred in their last Test match, or Anamul Haque, who scored a century in the first ODI. Rubel Hossain took three wickets in the warm-up match, so he might pip Robiul Islam for a place in a two-man pace attack. Given the shape of the squad, Bangladesh are likely to give debuts to both Taijul Islam and Shuvagoto Hom, the spin-bowling allrounder.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Shamsur Rahman/Anamul Haque, 3 Imrul Kayes, 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 6 Nasir Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Shuvagoto Hom, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Al-Amin Hossain. (Cricinfo)

Faf du Plessis scored his third hundred of the Tri-series

Mercedes say they will have to consider dropping Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg if the pair cannot race together cleanly

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5 teams advance to semi-finals in Guytrac T20 Knock-Out cricket competition

One game had to be decided by a super over after the match ended in a tie, while at the No71 Village Cricket Ground, both teams were chased out of the ground resulting in not a ball being bowled in that game.

Skeldon Community Centre defeated Number 71 by 8 wickets, while Number 64 Fighting Marines trashed Crabwood Creek (CWC) Rising, and Skeldon defeated Corriverton by 6 wickets.

At the Number 73 ground, Springlands took the sting out of the Number 43 Scorpion in a game which was decided by a super over. The initial game ended with both teams scoring 139 off their allotted 20 overs.

In the super over, Number 43 Scorpion scored 11. In reply Springlands needed just two deliveries to reach 12, with Trishan Ramdass hitting two sixes to take his team to the next stage.

Sunday was full of action on the Upper Corentyne and at the Number 73 Ground, Skeldon Community Centre defeated Number 71 by 8 wickets with 12.2 overs remaining.

Batting first Number 71, were bowled out for 100 in 19.1 overs with Deodar Mohamed scoring 20. Bowling for Skeldon, Parmanand Narine took 3 for 9 and Deon Esau 2 for 20. Skeldon raced to 101 for 2 in 7.4 overs with Sherwin Murray leading the assault with a quick fire unde-

feated 55.

At the game played at the Number 73 ground, Number 64 Fighting Marines travelled to CWC Rising to sink the home team by 90 runs. Batting first, the Marines landed at the venue in a destructive mood as they assaulted their opponents and raced to an even 200 for 6 in their 20 overs.

Their point men were Steven Embrack with 61 and Davendra Budhoo with 50. Bowling for CWC Rising, Omar Khan took two wickets.

In reply CWC Rising never got an opportunity to rise up and were bowled out for 110 in 18.2 overs, with Lakeram Seegobin scoring 36 and Naresh Deo 34.

Bowling for the Marines, Embrack returned with the ball to take 2 for 7, while Raj Subhan supporting with 2 for 16.

At Skeldon, the home team

defeated Corriverton by six wickets with 3.3 overs remaining. Batting first Corriverton were restricted to 123 for 9 off 20 overs, with Clavern Beresford top scoring with 38. Bowling for Skeldon Robert Moore took 4 for 17 and got support from Javid Alli who picked up 3 for 12. In reply, Skeldon reached 124 for 4 in 16.3 overs with Charles France 54, and Parmanand Narine and Junior Blair 21each. Bowling for Corriverton Jermaine Reid picked up 3 for 11. The competition is expected to continue on Sunday, when at the Number 70 ground Number 69 Red Rose will be looking for a rosy day as they take on Number 72 Cut and Load from 10:00h. In game two, the winner of game one will play Number 70 Cricket Club.

two books on history of berbice cricket launched

Two books on the history of Berbice cricket have been released. The books were released on Sunday as the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) honoured past Berbice Test players and administrators as part of the its Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The books cover a period of more than a quarter of a century of Berbice cricket. They were written by former Secretary of the then Berbice Cricket Board of Control (BCBC) Mortimer George.

George, who served from the age of 21, holds the record as the youngest Secretary of the cricket board.

His first book on Berbice cricket was written in 2012 and his second in 2012.

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“And in 2014, I thought it would again be appropriate for me to right about Berbice cricket. My feeling is that every adult or child must know something about the history of our national past time,” he said, adding that this motivated him to write his third and fourth books.

George’s fourth book on Berbice cricket captures events which led to some of the great Berbicians being called up for trials with the Guyana team and some of the struggles that Berbicians had

to endure.

It also focuses on some of the work administrators did to ensure that Berbice had a voice in the affairs of Guyana’s cricket.

George, in his book also, zeroes in on some past players who never made the national side, but were talented enough to make the Berbice team regularly in those days.

“It is better to light a candle than to sit and curse the dark and wait for the dawn of a new day, which may never come. The candle will pro-

vide light for me to see and for others to follow, see and emulate with a vision and purpose. That is the reason why I write,” said George. George was also honoured during Sunday’s ceremony for his 50 years serving as an administrator of cricket.

In applauding the BCB, the former Secretary praised the Board for what it has been able to achieve, given that over the past four years they have received no funding from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).

WaNteD

Driving School

VehIcleS

SPIrItualIty

SerVIceS

Davendra Budhoo Syeven Embrack

Mortimer George (right) presents a copy of each book to BCB President Keith Foster, while Regional Chairman, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) looks on

Courts renews support for annual golf tourney

Courts (Guyana) Inc on Thursday renewed its sponsorship of the annual golf tournament set for Saturday at the Lusignan Golf Course, East Coast Demerara.

Officials of the Lusignan Golf Club were on hand at Courts Main Street branch to launch the competition, which will take the form of a Flight format and is expected to attract a large turnout with several major tournaments, such as the annual Guyana Open, looming.

Marketing Manager of Courts, Pernell Cummings, said Courts was pleased to once again come on board with the tournament. The sponsorship forms part of the entity’s 21st anniversary.

The company has injected $275,000 in cash, along with trophies for this weekend’s

Guyana Media XI, Gas Masters clash today at Everest

Riding on a high after their morale-boosting win over Enmore Masters in early June, the Guyana Media XI will take on Gas Masters in a feature 20/20 match this afternoon at the Everest Cricket Club ground, Camp Road.

Action is set to bowl off at 13:00h sharp and a keen contest is expected as the Media boys look to continue their winning ways. The team is unbeaten after two games, after the second innings of the match against the Georgetown Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association was washed out at the GCC ground, Bourda, on Independence Day.

The Calvin Roberts-led Media unit has been in training over the past week at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary, and according to the skipper, confidence is high in the camp as they hunt another win.

The Media workers had physical sessions, as well as batting, bowling and fielding drills and are keen on executing their plans when action bowls off this afternoon.

Roberts, who was devastating against

Enmore with a three-wicket burst, will lead the bowling attack with support from seamers

Ishaka Jackman and Chad Ramsarup, leftarm spinner Ravi Persaud and spinner Imran Khan among others.

The batting will revolve around openers

John Ramsingh and Rajiv Bisnauth, Ravi Persaud, wicketkeeper Daniel Singh, Avenash Ramzan, Ishaka Jackman, Khan, Clifton Ross, Esan Griffith and Orlando Charles.

Gas Masters will be led Nadir Baksh, called “Gas”, groundstaff at the Everest ground. Admission to the venue is free.

Guyana Media XI squad reads: Calvin Roberts (Captain), John Ramsingh, Rajiv Bisnauth, Ravi Persaud, Daniel Singh, Avenash Ramzan, Clifton Ross, Imran Khan, Chad Ramsarup, Orlando Charles, Esan Griffith and Ishaka Jackman.

Gas Masters squad reads: Nadir Baksh (Captain), Harrish Loaknauth, Terrence Narine, Feroze Bacchus, Chandrika Jeenarine, Chatpaul Balkissoon, Fazleem Mohamed, Satish Persaud, Talish Ramotar, Sodie Mohamed, Ramo Malone and Vivakanand Ramsaywack.

event.

President of the Lusignan Golf Club, David Mohamed, highlighted the significance of the tournament, noting that it is a precursor to other major events that are planned for the rest of 2014. He said the course had to undergo some repair due to the infestation of a bug, but the facility is in top condition for the competition.

Also attending Thursday’s launch were Lusignan Golf Club captain Chatterpaul Deo, Public Relations Officer Guy Griffith, Courts Marketing Manager Pernell Cummings and Courts Public Relations Officer Roberta Ferguson.

Saturday’s competition is the first of a double this weekend, with the postponed tournament from last Saturday being held on Sunday.

Ramchand/Rohan Auto Spares softball starts tonight

The highly anticipated Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) softball tournament will start tonight at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground and will continue on Sunday with 10 matches at the GCC ground, Bourda, and DCC ground.

The white softballs will be used and rules of the game pertaining to all Guyana Softball Cups will be in effect. The competition will be called ‘Ramchand Auto Spares/Rohan Auto Spares Softball Tournament.

It forms part of preparations for players who will be participating in the GFSCA annual International Softball Tournament dubbed the ‘Guyana Softball Cup 4’, which will be held on October 31 to November 2.

This Ramchand Auto Spares of Sheriff Street and Rohan Auto Spares

of Mahaica Softball Tournament will be held in three categories: Male Open, Female Open, and Male 40 years and over (born 1974 and before).

All teams wishing to participate should contact Wayne Jones on 650-1790.

The entrance fee is $10,000 for male teams, while the females will be admitted in the competition free.

The top prize in both male categories is $100,000 plus trophy, while the runnersup will receive $25,000 plus trophy. The winning female team will receive $50,000 and a trophy, while the runner-up will get $25,000 plus trophy.

The tournament has also received additional support from Mike’s Pharmacy and Nauth’s Motor Spares of Sheriff Street, Ariel Enterprise of Regent Street, Trophy Stall of Bourda Market/City Mall, Romeo’s

Oil Seal of Barr Street, Motor Trend of Enmore and Bel Air Rubis Service Station. The games on tonight will see Parika Defenders versus Floodlights on Pitch One and Rohan Auto Spares playing Bel Air Rubis. Both games will start at 20:30h. Several others games are slated for Sunday. At the DCC ground: On Pitch One, 09:30 – (Frontliners vs Floodlights), 12:30h- (Blue Divas vs Wellwoman), 14:00h – (Wellman vs Enmore) On Pitch Two, 09:30h –(Challengers vs Trophy Stall), 12:30h – (Trophy Stall Angels vs 4R Lioness), 14:00h – (Enterprise Legends vs Slingers). At the GCC ground: On Pitch One, 09:30h – (Bel Air Rubis vs Fishermen Masters), 12:30h – (Industry Super Kings vs Regal Masters) On Pitch Two, 09:30h – (Farm vs Uprisers), 12:30h – (Regal vs Wolf Warriors).

Semifinal action in VVR tournament set for tonight

Semifinal action in the Victory Valley Royals (VVR) Knockout basketball tournament will tip off tonight at the Mackenzie Sports Club Hard Court in Linden from 19:00h.

Host VVR will battle the Amelia Ward Jets in the first clash tonight and will look to run the ball in their usual fast pace offence especially with the likes of Chris Williams and Orlando Glasgow running the offence.

However, the inside game of the Jets should slow the pace of the game especially with the inside presence of Allister Webster.

How the absence of Shane Webster for the Jets will be felt after he was suspended by the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) is left to be seen.

Meanwhile is the second game scheduled for 21:00h, number one seed Kashif and Shangai Kings will hope to make easy work of the Half Mile Bulls.

The Bulls pulled off the upset of the tournament thus far with a one point win over the Retrieve Raiders last weekend.

However their game will have to be much smoother in order to defeat the Kings as they will have to rely on

junior national players in Terron Welch and Travin Dryden. With the Kings recalling national centre Jason Holder to the squad, the Kings will be looking to put big bodies on the youngsters in an effort to slow the pace down with more offensive sets as both Steve Neils Jr and Abdulla Hamid are capable of changing the game within their half court system.

Further, as all four teams prepare for their respective games, a chance to make the finals of the tournament where a $70,000 first prize awaits will be up for grabs.

From left: Guy Griffith, Chatterpaul Deo, David Mohamed, Pernell Cummings and Roberta Ferguson display the sponsorship cheque and trophies (Photo: Avenash Ramzan)

John Ramsingh

Ravi Persaud

ECCB Second Division cricket… Bravados defeat Strathavon in Upper East Coast Zone

Bravados defeated Strathavon by one wicket in a tense semi-final of the East Coast Cricket Board’s Second Division competition, Upper East Coast Zone, on Sunday last.

Bravados won the toss and invited Strathavon to bat first. Hosts Strathavon made 137 all out in 28 overs with only Chandrapaul Hemraj putting up a fight with 40 (5x4s, 1x6) and Gobinram Hemraj contributing 19 (2x4s).

Bravados scraped home at 138-9 in 29 overs with T. Capp top scoring with 22 (2x4s) and Walkins 18 (2x4s). Bowling for Strathavon, Chandrapaul Hemraj and Gobinram Hemraj bowled beautifully, returning figures of 4-1-10-2 and 7-0-21-2 respectively.

Because of the ground condition, a date and venue will be named shortly for the other semi-final game between Perseverance Cricket Club and Unity Sports Club in the Upper East Coast Zone.

In the Lower East

Coast Zone, Better Hope B won the toss against the Enterprise Busta Sports Club B and batted first on a good pitch in bright sunshine and made 164 all out in 33.5 overs at the Enterprise Community ground.

Kevin Rampersaud made 34 (4x4s, 1x6), while Clive Rampersaud stroked 30 (3x4s). Vivian Albert picked up 3-25 from seven overs.

Enterprise reached 165-9 in 32 overs with Beepat smashing 63 (6x4s, 3x6s). Bowling for Better

Hope, Daniel Kowlessar almost put in a match-winning performance, copping 4-35 off seven overs.

The East Coast Cricket Board is aiming to conclude this competition as soon as possible and commence its premier tournament, the Carib Beer T20, which will have the final playoff under lights. Clubs are asked to contact Chairman of the Competitions Committee, Raymond Barton, on 2201636 or 626-0223 for more information on this competition.

Budhan Memorial Turf Club plans small meet for Sunday

After two weeks of horse racing, the animals will be in action for a third straight week when the Budhan Memorial Turf Club stages their grand one-day horse race meet on Sunday.

The six-race meet will take place at the club’s Number 66 Village track.

The feature event will be for animals classified J1 and lower. The first prize for that event is $120,000.

The other events

planned are the K Class event, which will be for a distance of 1600 meters and has a top prize of $80,000.

The J2 and lower event is expected to bring about a lot of excitement as some of the promising animals race over a distance of 1200 metres for a top prize of $100,000.

Some of the horses are expected to also be featured in the J3 and lower event over the same dis -

tance, where the top prize will be $90,000.

Organisers have also set two races for unclassified horses and many are expected to take the starting gates in these events with the hope of delivering performances that will get them classified.

Persons interested in taking part are being asked to contact Dennis Deoroop on 609-9143, Roopnarine Matadial on 325-3192, or Nikita Ross on 662-4668.

Afridi backs under-fire Misbah

akistan all-rounder

PShahid Afridi, who is being tipped to replace Misbah-ul-Haq as captain of the ODI team for next year’s World Cup, has come out in support of his current captain.

“Misbah has been leading the side well since the last few years and he has also been our most prolific batsman. I think we all need to support him even if he has had one bad series,” Afridi said. “It is unfair to criticize him so much after just one bad series as captain and batsman. He has been a stable influence on the team and he needs support at this stage for the World Cup.”

Misbah has been Test captain since 2010 but he replaced Afridi as the captain of the one-day and T20 squads in only in May 2011 after Afridi had a spat with the PCB.

“I have no issues playing under Misbah’s captaincy be-

cause he has been there for a while now and has been performing consistently since 2010. We depend on Misbah and few other seniors,” he said. “But it is time the junior players also put up their

Senior Inter-County cricket… Demerara survive

Essequibo scare to win by two wickets

By Rajiv Bisnauth

Agritty Demerara fought off Essequibo’s spinners to snatch a nerve-jangling two-wicket victory in Thursday’s first round of the senior Inter-County tournament of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) at the Wales Community Centre ground, West Coast Demerara.

Chasing a target of 153, Demerara were in serious trouble after left-arm spinners Anthony and Ricardo Adams combined together to take eight wickets between them. The hosts a lost those wickets for just 54 runs but Shemron Barrington (10*) and Paul Wintz (6*) held their nerves to see the hosts home in 28.3 overs.

hands and took responsibility to perform. If we play as a unit, I am sure we will start doing well again and I just want to see the team winning again before the World Cup.”

Afridi also praised the role of head coach Waqar Younis who he called a “changed person”. Afridi was stripped of the captaincy after differences with Waqar in 2011, but he said that the incident was a thing of the past.

“Waqar worked very hard with the team in Sri Lanka and the players got a lot of support from the team management even under pressure. There is lot of team spirit in this side and I am confident we can start winning again soon it is a matter of time.

“I enjoyed working with Waqar. He is a different person now and you can see the team management just wants the team to click and do well.”

(Cricinfo)

Demerara’s decision to bowl first paid off and would have been more than satisfied with their situation at halfway – they confined Essequibo to 152 all out in 39.2 overs batting first. The Essequibo batsmen struggled to come to grips with the spinners, in particular, and significant partnerships were notably lacking.

Kevon Boodie showed glimpses of intent before being bowled by Amir Khan (1-19) for a top scored of 42, while Hemchand Persaud (26) looked similarly capable of wresting the initiative away at the latter stage of the innings before he was removed by Zaheer Mohamed.

Their inability to build big partnerships was largely due to some accurate bowling and a great effort in the field from the hosts. Steven Jacobs was the chief destroyer in taking 4

for 32. Fellow off-spinner Mohamed also bowled impressively, claiming 3 for 16.

The visitors lost the toss and were put in to bat by Demerara and progressed nicely, with openers Norman Fredericks and Boodie putting on 61 for the first wicket in 13.4 overs, the biggest partnership for Essequibo.

Despite being beaten occasionally by new ball bowlers Paul Wintz and Christopher Barnwell, Boodie mixed caution with bouts of aggression, while Fredericks played rather circumspectly.

However, with the introduction of off-spinner Jacobs and leg-spinner Khan, Essequibo were reduced to 82-5.

The Fredericks brothers, Norman (12) and Royan (6), along with Ricardo Adams (8) and Vijay Surujpaul (0) were removed by Jacobs. Khan accounted for Boodie after an innings which spanned 62 balls, inclusive of six boundaries.

Mohamed bowled Royston Alkins (5) in his first over. Thereafter Anthony Adams and Hemchand Persaud added 38 valuable runs and posted the hundred landmark in the 28th over.

Wintz (1-18) then bowled Brian Herbert (5) and Adams was trapped leg before for ten before the innings came to a close with Mark Tyrell run out for 10.

In the run chase, Demerara openers Trevon Griffith and Andrew Lyght, with a mixture of calculated risks and cleanstriking orchestrated a 93run alliance in 12.1 overs, and set a solid foundation.

Griffith and Lyght made 47 (8x4, 1x6) and 38 (7x4) respectively.

But a combination of panic and some fine bowling and fielding by the visitors saw the hosts suffering a disastrous collapse losing Robin Bacchus (16), Christopher Barnwell (7), Rajendra Chandrika (12), Chanderpaul Hemrak (1), Steven Jacobs (1) and Zaheer Mohamed (2).

Anthony Adams finished with 5-38 off his 10 overs, while Ricardo had 3-10 off his ten overs spell. Meanwhile, in the other second round game, Berbice whipped the National Under-19 team by 105 runs.

Batting first Berbice made 278-7 in 50 overs. Kandasammy Surujnarine top scored with 81 (2x6, 6x4). Devon Clements supported with 54 (3x4, 2x6),

Narsingh Deonarine 24, Jonathan Foo, 30, and Veerasammy Permau 31.

Spinner Damion Waldron was the best bowler for the youngsters with 2-33.

In reply the National Under-19 made 173 all out in 47.3 overs. Kemo Paul was the main contributor with 47 (3x6, 3x4). Tagnarine Chanderpaul, 21, Ronaldo Mohamed, 28, and Kemol Savory, 26, were the other main scorers.

Off-Spinner Krishundat Ramoo 3-37 and Narsingh Deonarine 3-26 were the main destructive forces for Berbice.

The second round is billed for Saturday with Demerara playing Berbice at Wales and Essequibo challenging the National Under-19 at the Demerara Cricket Club ground.

Vivian Albert Chandrapaul Hemraj

Trevon Griffith was in his usual attacking mood

Anthony Adams bowled a crucial spell, claiming 5-38 off his ten overs

Shahid Afridi: “It is unfair to criticize Misbah after just one bad series as captain and batsman”

West Indies v Bangladesh, 1st Test, St Vincent…

Pressure on West Indies to improve home form

West Indies have more to play for in the first Test at Arnos Vale, since Bangladesh are only looking to get out with two drawn Test matches. West Indies are the team in form, having crushed the visitors 3-0 in the ODI series. More crucially, they have to bounce back from the 2-1 defeat to New Zealand in their only Test series of the year so far.

Denesh Ramdin would like to use some of his ODI form in this series, his second as captain. The 169 in the second ODI aside, he has been in fairly good form since 2012, having struck three centuries and as many fifties in Tests. He would also be inclined to rely on Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo to hold the batting together. Younger batsmen like Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood would be expected to settle in with big scores, having done well against Bangladeshi sides in

Leonora Synthetic track

the recent past. The visitors’ humble goal is particularly down to their own ordinary form and having to play without the suspended Shakib Al Hasan. Some of their batsmen have shown improvement in the last two innings, in the third ODI and the only innings in the three-day warm-up match against St Kitts & Nevis.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain got hundreds while Tamim Iqbal finally broke his long streak of sub-50 scores in international cricket. Surprisingly, Mominul Haque’s place in the team is being reconsidered after just two low scores in international cricket.

He has scored three hundreds in Bangladesh’s last four Test matches, and has batted with a lot more assurance than many of his teammates.

Apart from selection confusion, Bangladesh’s bowling attack is also going to slow them down. Rubel

Hossain is the only bowler to have played more than 15 Tests, and his bowling average is a dismal 81.23, the worst among all bowlers who have delivered more than 3000 balls in Test cricket.

Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam is most likely to make his Test debut, in which case he will be selected ahead of Elias Sunny, who has only just arrived in St Vincent to replace Sohag Gazi.

Mahmudullah will have to step up and show some experience, having taken eight wickets at this ground on his Test debut five years ago. AlAmin Hossain’s wickets in the ODI series will be considered a sliver of hope.

While Bangladesh can pick eight recognised batsmen, West Indies might have to push Test newcomer Jason Holder up to No 7. Some might say their tail starts early but Holder has shown he can bat, particularly when he made a fifty in his debut Test in June.

The captains Mushfiqur Rahim (left) and Denesh Ramdin (right) pose for a pic with the winning trophy

Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony (second left) and AAG President Aubrey Huston (second right) shake hands and display the certification of the track in the presence of Permanent Secretary in the Sport Ministry Alfred King (right) and Deputy Permanent Secretary Steve Ninvalle (left)