Guyana Times Daily

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Issue No. 3030

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Govt hijacks PPP/C’s business in Parliament Page 3

…as Jagdeo blasts Granger, calls for “mother of all inquiries”

Dismissed DTL workers stage protest at President’s office Page 12

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Major reforms P7 for local aviation sector

Parking P10 meters to be implemented for Christmas …commuters protest against launching

Chinese restaurant robbed, owner beaten

Trinidadian remanded on fraud charges

Page 11

P8

P7 Debt management laws now on the cards …as access to concessional loans dwindles

Page 16

Ministries team up with GGMC to clean up Itaballi

GuySuCo bleeding country – Granger

Page 16

GWI bought 100 litres of Antinfek

Page 9

…was used for testing in water distribution mains – Minister Bulkan

11% of P11 children not registered at birth – UNICEF Dead bandit identified as Albouystown P11 man

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, November 5 – 08:30h-10:00h and Sunday, November 6 – 09:00h-10:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, November 5 – 07:05h-08:35h and Sunday, November 6 – 07:50h-09:20h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Weather: Sunny intervals interrupted by heavy rain showers throughout the day, while clear skies can be expected in the evening.

Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East South-easterly to East Northeasterly ranging from 2.68 metres to 4.91 metres.

High Tide: 07:33h and 19:47h reaching maximum heights of 2.36 metres and 2.41 metres.

Low Tide: 13:20h reaching a minimum height of 0.91 metre.

Govt hijacks PPP/C's business in Parliament …as Jagdeo blasts Granger, calls for “mother of all inquiries”

G

overnment on Friday ‘hijacked’ the business of the political Opposition when it opted to instead move a motion to debate the contents of the speech given by Head of State, David Granger when he addressed the House on October 13.

The speech was systematically assailed by the Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.

The session of the House was slated to begin at 14:00h on Friday to deal with three motions tabled by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in relation to the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Public Service, the Parking Meter and D’Urban Park Projects, but this did not obtain since Speaker, Dr Barton Scotland, agreed to allow Government to move its motion.

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When the session did eventually begin 30 minutes after its scheduled start, PPP/C Chief Whip Gail Teixeira immediately sought to complain that despite there being a compromise to have the Government’s motion take precedence, when the Opposition tabled its business on November 1, 2016, there was no hint of Government’s business for the House.

She called the move on Friday “a travesty”, which did little to deny the Leader of the Government business in the House to move the motion to debate and subsequently approve the contents of the President’s address to the National Assembly – the sixth such address to the House in 17 months.

An animated Opposition Leader, however, wasted no time during the hour-long presentation to systematically rubbish the President’s assertions as misinformation and excuses by an inept, comatose Administration for its underperformance.

Jagdeo, himself a former Executive President, was quick to lash out at the praises aimed at Granger over the number of times he has addressed the House, saying this was no barometer of a functioning democracy.

to Jagdeo are currently buoying the economy.

He said what Government has instead been seeking to do was to take previous policies crafted by the PPP/C and present them “unabashedly” as its own new thinking.

According to the former President, there is nothing wrong with continuity and the PPP/C is willing to give the current Government the positive legacy, “but at least attribute where they came from”.

“Mother of all inquiries”

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo during his address to Parliament

“How many times you address the National Assembly does not really matter, the content is what matters…

I see it as an imposition on the National Assembly that in such a short period this is a routine… There must be some weight behind the address of a Head of State to National Assembly,” Jagdeo stated.

He was also quick to lambaste the manner in which the motion was taken to the House for a debate, saying the Opposition Members of Parliament had, in fact, prepared for the motions that they had presented for consideration.

PPP/C vindicated

Seeking to rubbish President Granger’s claim that at the time the coalition took office the economy had been in a parlous state, Jagdeo pointed to the Public Debt Report which had only minutes earlier been tabled in the House – and said this, in fact, vindicated the PPP/C. Calling on the Government to be truthful in its revision of, as well as presentation, of history, Jagdeo said the Government’s own report dispels the notion attributed to the President.

“They say they inherited a mountain of debt,” Jagdeo noted, further saying he was all too happy that the document was prepared since it reflected the debt situation and its evolution.

According to Jagdeo, “we have heard the President said

they inherited a parlous economic situation, but this is far from the truth.”

Guyana, he insisted, has over the past 10 years achieved consistent economic growth – the first such growth experienced in the Caribbean.

Jagdeo was adamant that not only had the current Government inherited a growing economy, it had also benefited from numerous large-scale investments that had been brought into the country by the then PPP/C Government.

The country, he said, was booming with investment possibilities, pointing to entities such as the two large gold mines, which according

On the matter of the sentiments that had been raised with regard to Guyana’s recent exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Jagdeo was of the view that what the Government failed to also recall was that it was the coalition partners APNU and AFC, while in Opposition, who had voted down the amendments in the laws that caused Guyana to be blacklisted in the first place.

Responding to President Granger’s lamentations during his speech of a dark and troubling period in Guyana where hundreds of persons were slaughtered, including a sitting Government Minister, Jagdeo responded saying this was one view, but there were others.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016

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

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

Editorial

Social ills affecting youths

T

here are many social ills affecting the Guyanese society, especially the younger segment of the population and programmes and support services to help address these issues could never be enough. For example, the use of illegal drugs and alcohol, crime, suicide, domestic and other forms of violence, lack of jobs, and so on are having a huge negative impact on communities across Guyana. And now, more than ever, there is need for a genuine collaborative approach, with inclusive planning and coordination, where volunteerism is a key element, to help find practical and lasting solutions to these many ills.

We are well aware that sometimes young people feel there is no end or solutions to the problems they are facing and hence they turn to various forms of anti-social behaviours thereby creating more challenges for an already burdened society.

While the Government must play a crucial role in designing the relevant policies and putting in place the necessary legislative framework and other support mechanisms aimed at addressing these issues, this burden must also be shared by various actors within the society, such as religious groups, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), etc, since such problems affect everyone. For example, there is hardly any family in Guyana which was never touched directly or indirectly by suicide. Experts have pointed to the fact that about 90 per cent of people who die by suicide had some sort of mental illness at the time of their death.

Many people die by suicide because depression is triggered by several negative life experiences and the suffering person does not receive effective treatment or support. In many communities across the country, persons are crying out for attention: they need guidance or simply someone to speak with; many want to find a way out of their misery. However, sometimes accessing that source of help is very difficult.

At present there are quite a few NGOs, faith-based organisations, etc, offering such support services, but there is need for more to get involved. Those who are already on board should be commended for the work they are doing. Such work is invaluable and must be supported and encouraged. A few new organisations are also coming on board and some are expanding their services – the most recent being The Guyana Foundation Sunrise Centre, which was recently launched in Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

The Guyana Foundation Sunrise Centre could be regarded as a model to follow. It has a well-thought-out strategy aimed at providing the much-needed care and support to young persons in the Region and surrounding areas. Services being offered free of charge include professional counselling and mental health support services, holistic wellness activities, and skill training courses in various areas.

The Centre is an excellent initiative, which should be replicated across the country. As stated by First Lady Sandra Granger at the launch of the Centre, “what we have seen here is a sunrise – the symbolic dawn of a new day on the Essequibo Coast. This is a day on which people can wake up to the promise of a difference in their lives. They know that regardless of gender, race, age, or religion, they can come to this Centre to meet their peers or seek counselling. They can share their thoughts and feelings about the things that affect their daily lives and perhaps, find the solution to some of [them]”.

The role of the Private Sector should also never be underestimated. There is need for funding for many crucial programmes aimed at creating better opportunities for young persons and businesses should step up to the challenge.

Such programmes once effectively implemented would see our children and young people become well-equipped with the necessary skills to develop themselves and, in turn, contribute to the overall development of the country as a whole.

We believe that if our young people are to move from the less mature and irresponsible ways of thinking and acting, to making more mature and responsible judgments and engaging in activities that are the hallmark of a socially productive adulthood, certain support systems must be provided. The Guyana Foundation Sunrise Centre is one of the most recent organisations to take the lead in this regard; others should follow.

A male elephant attempts to stand on his feet after he was fitted with an advanced satellite radio tracking collar to monitor movement and control human-wildlife conflict near Mt Kilimanjaro at the Amboseli National Park, in Kenya (Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)

The conundrum of age, experience, qualification and competence Dear Editor, Recent reports in the media repeated the old conundrum surrounding the retention of older people in employment versus ‘retiring’ them just to provide opportunities for youth employment.

Naturally, younger people want to escape the stigma, misfortunes and vicissitudes of the unemployed while their older counterparts struggle to remain relevant, recognised, useful, and rewarded.

Concurrently, employers who are increasingly under pressure to get the best returns from their significant outlays on rising employment costs, must weigh the pros and cons of retaining the services of the tried (not necessarily tired) experienced staff who have already proven their worth versus the unknown but ‘suspect’ competencies of the latest ‘graduates’ from schools and institutions of equally ‘questionable’ curricula, credentials and objectives.

Often, the doubts and debates devolve from dubious attitudes and aptitudes of potential recruits.

Especially disconcerting to

employers are their personal/behavioural ‘characteristics’, their approach to work and relationships with people including manners and courtesy towards seniors and supervisors, and sensitivity to organisational norms and contextual imperatives.

Areas of practical concerns include their engagement with and commitment to the organisation, willingness to learn and ‘go the extra mile’ in the interest of the organisation vis-à-vis their expectation from the organisation or the so-called “give and take”.

This is not to say that all young people are guilty of these ‘shortcomings’ nor is it an excuse for poor orientation by unwary or insensitive employers; they certainly have basic responsibilities in these regards.

However, while corporate social responsibility cannot be ignored, the overriding concern of management in the private sector includes efficiency, productivity and profitability which remain their basic raison d’etre, compared to their counterparts in Government and the Public Sector who are required to think of their

overriding obligation to the State to pursue developmental opportunities for the population at large.

Obviously, a viable compromise is the ideal.

My experience as a Human Resource Management practitioner convinces me that while younger people tend to be more academically and technically ‘qualified’ and are more concerned about their ‘professional profile’, the older counterparts tend to be more competent and committed to ‘the organisation’.

(The days of “the organisation man” as for example the “Bookers Man” or the “Bauxite Man” or the “Civil Servant” are a thing of the past, but that tendency or culture still lingers among the elderly as opposed to the newer generation of employees who appear to be more ‘self-centred’ in pursuit of their personal and professional development.

Again, it must be emphasised that nothing is intrinsically wrong with self-development but its pursuit must not be exclusive of considerations for the employer who facilitates it.

In practical terms, it is obvious that the foregoing

tendencies and the reported ’brain drain’ being experienced in Guyana, require a liberal, more pragmatic use of all the available, usable human resources irrespective of any dogmatic or preconceived constraints like a fixed age of retirement; many of the more advanced and better endowed societies have already moved in the direction of open-ended or flexible ‘retirement’.

Already there has been much media coverage about the questionable practice of retiring members of the noble profession of teaching as early as at 55 years when most of them are at their best; given the numerical shortages and/or inefficacy of recent ‘youthful’ intake into this critical profession, the need for urgent reversal of current practices seems pellucid.

Similarly, I am aware of the dearth and/or deficiencies in the Human Resources Management profession which is also nodal for effective utilisation of the employees in important production and services organisations.

Dear Editor, The appointment of the Public Procurement Commission by President Granger is a good decision since it has now severed the procurement process from the politicians into the hands of people who are expected to act professional.

Much is expected from Carol Corbin and Dr Nanda

Gopaul as the more experienced appointee, in guiding this team into staying professional at all time. The Guyanese people have lost too many billions because the procurement process was in the hands of politicians. Good luck to them and good luck to Emily Dodson and Sukrishnalal Pasha.

So thank you, President Granger and Minister Joseph Harmon and Minister Khemraj Ramjattan who I know personally pushed against much resistance within their own government to make this a reality. Guyana has gained from this process.

So one of the 100 Day

promises has finally been deliver; better late than never.

Now let us get these people an office and put them to work. What’s next?

Constitutional reform?

Sincerely, Nowrang Persaud

PPC a good move Sincerely, Sase Singh, MSc Finance, ACCA Maryland, USA

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate, Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Borderline between Prosecutions will continue to be done military linkages fairly to Government

Dear Editor I refer to a letter that appeared in another section of the media on November 4 written by a “Concerned Citizen” which criticised the government’s decision to hold Cabinet meetings at the GDF headquarters.

The concerned citizen asked “where are the voices of Dr David Hinds and Freddy Kissoon”—an obvious inference that we have been silent on the issue.

On so many occasions I have heard that line—where was Hinds when so and so happened or why didn’t Hinds speak up when so and so was happening? The truth is that Hinds did comment on the issue to which the letter writer refers.

No single individual can be everywhere or speak on every issue. But maybe it would help if people did a little bit of research before they make some sweeping assertions. This is relatively easy to do in the age of the internet. Further, maybe editors can use the “editor’s note” a little bit more to correct some of these glaring inaccuracies which when allowed to go unchallenged could be interpreted by readers as the truth.

For what it is worth, the writer of that letter should be informed that I did comment on the Government’s decision to hold Cabinet meetings at the GDF headquarters in a news item on

October 26 under the headline “Meeting of Cabinet at GDF HQ pilloried by Jagdeo - presidential complex undergoing urgent repairs” In an invited comment by Stabroek News I made the following observations.

The Government’s decision to hold Cabinet meetings at the GDF headquarters, while not politically explosive, is bad optics and not tactically sound. At the end of the day, there are political consequences for such actions. The explanation that there were security concerns seems plausible on its face, but may not be worth the political cost.

We have to believe that the Government tried very hard to find an alternative meeting place for Cabinet meetings. But I would have stayed away from the GDF headquarters for two reasons. First, by going there, the government is playing into the hands of the opposition, which has already raised the issue of the militarisation of the government. For the PPP’s support base this linkage of the military to government has long been a sensitive issue with ethno-political overtones that the government ought to do everything in its power not to feed.

But there are also murmurs about the over-reliance on ex-military personnel among government supporters. Ours is a soci-

ety in which political optics matter even among supporters and perception quickly becomes reality. We are also a society whose political culture is partly grounded in a separation of the military from the government; we don’t have a history of military coups and are not accustomed to seeing ex-military people in high political office.

Mr Granger rose to political prominence, not because of his military background, but primarily because there was and is a perception that he is a decent man who is not tainted by the old politics. I think that a section of the society expected that his closest advisors would include some of his military comrades, but he has to be careful not to veer too much in that direction. In my estimation, we are at the borderline as far as the military linkage to Government is concerned.

Sincerely, David Hinds

Dear Editor, Pursuant to a published article titled "State prosecutors shun 'highly political cases' in the Guyana Chronicle on Friday, November 4, 2016, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mrs Shalimar Ali-Hack herein states that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is governed by Article 187 of the Constitution of Guyana.

The DPP states that prosecutions will continue to be done fairly and impartially based solely on consideration of the evidence contained in the Police file and the prevailing law.

Specifically, as it relates to the court matter involving former Minister Jennifer Westford, the DPP herein informs that two lawyers from the DPP's Chambers, Senior State Counsel Teshana Lake and State Counsel Natasha Backer are prosecuting this matter.

Further, neither of these two State lawyers has expressed any discomfort in the execution of their duties

in the said matter.

"The DPP, Mrs Ali-Hack or any other lawyer in these Chambers have never indicated that they are uncomfortable in prosecuting any criminal matters, whether political or otherwise." The staff at the DPP's Chambers examine the evidence in Police files in relation to the prevailing law and advise charges accordingly; prosecutions are based on the evidence in the file and the law.

This is so regardless of who the accused persons are and the positions they hold.

Additionally, the present

system is that lawyers at these Chambers appear in the High Court and all the Appellate Courts.

There are not sufficient lawyers to appear in the Magistrates' Courts; hence, four Police Prosecutors are assigned to these Chambers and appear in the more serious cases in the Magistrates' Courts. To say that State Prosecutors shun highly political cases is defamatory.

Sincerely, Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions

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Foundation simple ways you and your child can be happier

– here are three strategies you can use, starting today

By Laura Markham, PhD

D

o you have a list of things you’d like to change about: Your child (More cooperative? More responsible?

More reasonable?)

Your life (More time?

More money? More fun?)

Yourself (More fit? More patient? More light-hearted?)

Do you think you’d be happier if you could wave a

“Everyone has a “set point” for happiness, just as they do for weight” – Martin Seligman wand and make things more perfect? Join the club! I wish I could hand you that wand.

But I’m afraid I have bad news. Your child will never be perfect. Your life will never be perfect. You will never be perfect. None of us will ever be perfect; we’re human!

And even if things get better in your life, research shows that even desirable changes don’t necessarily make you happier for long unless you change your happiness set point.

But I have good news,

guyanatimesgy.com

too.

You don’t have to be perfect to be happy! In fact, pursuing perfection actually sabotages happiness. That’s because we’re always holding the reality of our experience up to some ideal that can never be attained, instead of appreciating what we have. It’s like we’re always fighting with life.

You can still take action to change things. But you’ll do that more effectively from a positive, appreciative mindset.

And there’s even better news. You actually already have that magic wand, not for perfection, but for more happiness with things exactly as they are. Scientists have proven that you can change your happiness setpoint so that you feel measurably happier.

Here are three strategies you can use, starting today.

Choose gratitude.

Feeling appreciation and gratitude makes us measurably happier. There is suffering in every life, and sometimes it seems there is a whole lot more wrong than right. But even in the hard times, there are so many blessings. Try to find a way to focus on those as much as you can.

For parents, simply appreciating your child – de-

lighting in them, enjoying them – can transform how you feel about being a parent, and positively impacts your child’s behaviour.

Choose to make the most of life by seeing the bright side. Optimists are healthier, happier, have more fulfilling relationships, and live longer. Want

to retrain yourself to see the glass as half-full?

Choose love. The path to happiness requires you to accept and love yourself just the way you are, messy imperfections and all. In fact, I sometimes think that the only thing that really matters in parenting is for the parent to deeply love and accept him or herself.

That’s because your unconditional love for yourself is what allows you to love your child unconditionally.

We know that’s what every child needs, and deserves.

In fact, unconditional love cures a whole lot of problem behaviours (and maturation cures most of the rest.)

So why not start, today, by talking to yourself like someone you appreciate and adore? You’ll find that love spills over into how you

Helping your child, and yourself, develop optimism

“W

e don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change.

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world..... To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.... If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places – and there are so many – where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.” – Historian Howard Zinn The world needs optimists today more than ever. And people who are optimists have better lives.

Optimism, or the conviction that things will work

the world and its potential from those around us, and that a depressed, negative parent can easily influence us to interpret events in a negative way. Findings from Cognitive Therapy show that we can change the way we talk to ourselves about events and how we interpret them, which has a direct impact on our emotional reaction to our experiences.

The bottom line is this: even if you are born with a tendency to pessimism, you can greatly increase your optimism quotient.

So how do you help your child to become more optimistic?

out in the end, is a cornerstone of resilience, and an asset in achieving any kind of success. Research shows that optimists, who believe they can achieve success, are in fact more able to do so. They are less likely to get depressed, get fewer illnesses, have longer relationships, and live longer.

When life seems to be dealing one blow after another, you want your child to believe that things can get better. Otherwise, why should he pull himself together and keep going?

Can you help your child become more optimistic?

There is some evidence that optimism is an inherited trait, and certainly we know there is a biological basis to much depression as well as to a tendency to be upbeat.

There is also evidence, however, that we learn at an early age how to view

If you see that he’s pessimistic, you can help him to learn optimism.

Notice how your child thinks about things

Is the glass half full or half empty? When something bad happens, does he see it as exemplary of his entire life, does he think the misfortune is pervasive, permanent, and personally directed at him? (“Why does this always happen to me?”)

talk to your child. And your child’s inner voice, when he grows up, will come from how you talk to him now.

Nothing has to be different for you to love yourself, wholly and completely, exactly as you are. Nothing is stopping you from being happier, starting today.

What are you waiting for?

“Nothing has to be different for you to be whole.” – Stephen Levine (psychologytoday.com)

Confront pessimism

Pessimistic thinking can be defined as expecting bad things to happen.

Pessimists think catastrophically. For example, they might say, “I won’t make any friends at this new school. No one is going to like me.”

To confront pessimism, challenge the four thought patterns that lead to pessimistic thinking: Permanence: “This always happens and always will.”

Pervasive: “Nothing ever goes right.”

Personal: “This always happens to me.”

Powerlessness: “There is no real relationship between cause and effect; things just happened; I am the victim of what has occurred.” (Excerpt from ahaparenting.com)

NEWS

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Debt management laws now on the cards …as access to concessional loans dwindles

G

uyana’s debt portfolio and the risks associated with it are becoming increasingly more complex and it is in this vein that the coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Government has proposed a menu of measures including the introduction of a Debt Management Act. These are among the pertinent proposals in the Guyana Public Debt Report for 2015—the first of its kind in the nation’s history—which pegs the nation’s debt at almost half of its annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to the 2015 Report compiled by the Debt Management Division of the Ministry of Finance, Guyana’s national debt declined by a mere three per cent during 2015.

Guyana’s total debt at the end of 2014 was 51.9 per cent of the nation’s total earnings and according to the Ministry of Finance report, this declined to 48.6 per cent by the end of 2015.

The report however, documents a series of potential exigencies and local factors that could adversely affect Guyana’s effective management of its total public debt.

According to Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, in his executive summary of the report, “it thus becomes a policy imperative for us to strengthen the institutional framework for public debt management, including establishing a sound and modernised legal framework for debt management and implementing a comprehensive medium term debt strategy that is not only cost but risk focused.”

Jordan in his report said managing operating risks have also been assigned much higher priority in ensuring effective debt management operations.

Compounding the situation, the report documented that “in 2015, Guyana’s economy, perhaps for the first time in recent history, found itself in a precarious situation where most of the

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

country’s key agricultural commodities, including sugar, rice and forestry faced headwinds.”

The report found that given the nation’s excessive reliance on its traditional sources of foreign exchange, including remittances—which also declined in 2015—will continue to expose the economy to volatile external developments, “and make us more susceptible to external shocks.”

Borrowing

Speaking of Guyana’s dwindling sources of borrowing, the Ministry’s Public Debt Report points to the nation’s overall increased GDP saying, “this has far

reaching implications for the terms at which Guyana can access financing.”

As a result, the Ministry said that in order to access favourable loans, government has been turning more and more to SouthSouth partners such as the Indian and Chinese Export Import (EXIM) Banks, the Mexican Agency for International Cooperation and Development and the Islamic Development Bank.

The report said government will however continue to maintain ties with traditional multilateral agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

Speaking of proposals to the internal and external factors that could adversely affect Guyana’s management of its public debt, the Ministry has pointed to a six-pronged approach.

According to the Minister of Finance, “government must continue to invest in a consistent capacity building plan to develop the skill-set necessary in understanding public debt management and implementing a comprehensive debt strategy.”

He disclosed that, “to remedy some of the challenges facing the debt management division and supporting our national development, the Guyana Government is committed to building a comprehensive plan to develop the skill-set required to understanding public debt linkages.”

As such, the report has identified at least six areas where government is looking to improve on the nation’s debt management capacity.

These include: “institutional and legal frameworks, debt strategy formulation, self-assessment, operational risk management and debt negotiations.”

The report highlights that “in this regard, a major thrust expected in 2017 is a modern consolidated debt Management Act.”

Major reforms for local aviation sector

F

ollowing a recent briefing on the state of affairs within the local aviation sector, Government has announced major reforms to develop the industry.

Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, State Minister Joseph Harmon disclosed that Cabinet was given detailed presentation on several matters in the aviation industry as well as recommendations for taking the sector to the next level.

The presentation was done by Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson, who was given the go-ahead to implement the reforms that Cabinet approved.

According to Harmon, one of the issues that were raised was an airport review panel that was supposed to be established as part of the arrangements in the Ogle airport lease agreement.

“That panel, since the airport lease arrangement had been made, was never established so Cabinet has been briefed on this matter and gave its approval for the establishment of an airport review panel as required by Article 16 of the Lease Agreement with Ogle Airport Inc,” the State Minister remarked.

Additionally, he contin-

Minister of State Joseph Harmon

ued that Cabinet also approved the introduction of an oversight of airports to supervise the commercial and economic practices of airports countrywide through regulations by enactment of new legislations.

Minister Harmon further noted that approval was granted for the establishment of an Airport Authority to create, upgrade, maintain and manage airport infrastructure throughout Guyana.

Moreover, he outlined that Cabinet gave its approval for the development of a Civil Aviation Master Plan to guide the strategic development of airport infrastructure.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

IN THE COURTS

Albouystown man slapped with robbery charges

A

53-year-old resident of Albouystown, Georgetown made an appearance before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on charges of robbery under arms.

Patrick Smith pleaded guilty with explanation to the charge, which stated that on June 26, 2016 at Georgetown, while being in the company of others and armed with a gun, he robbed Gunradge Vidyallal

of $700,000.

Smith also pleaded guilty with explanation to another charge that stated on the same day, while being in the company of others and armed with a gun, he robbed Corlotta Vidyallal of $475,000.

The unrepresented defendant explained to the court that he worked in the interior and upon his return to the city, he was intercepted by Police ranks who told him he looked like a man

caught on Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage who committed a robbery.

As such, he was detained.

He added that the footage shown to him was a man who had a garment wrapped around half of his face while he was only able to see the man’s eyes and mouth. He clearly stated that the man was not him.

The Magistrate questioned the defendant as to why he would plead guilty if it was not him. He responded

that since he worked in the interior and had no relatives to post bail for him, that was why he pleaded guilty. As such, a not-guilty plea was then entered by Magistrate Azore on the defendant’s behalf. However, the prosecution told the court that the man was identified in the CCTV footage and objected to bail.

Smith was remanded to prison. He will make his next court appearance on November 18, 2016.

2 8 - y e a r - o l d Trinidadian was on Friday remanded to prison on charges of fraud that allegedly occurred at two city hotels.

Anthony Nestor, who stated his home address as Lot 187 Cummings Street, Kitty, appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where he pleaded not guilty to both charges.

It was alleged that between April 1 and 15, 2016,

at Brandsville, he incurred a debt of $206,804 and at Opus Hotel, between April 15 and 18 by falsely pretending he had a valid credit card, obtained $66,000 credit.

Attorney-at-Law James Bond, who represented Nestor, told the court that his client stayed at the Brandsville Hotel four times prior to the present offence and he has never experienced such a problem.

Bond, in an attempt to secure bail for his client, told the court that his client was

willing to lodge his passport to eradicate any suspicion by the prosecution that he was a flight risk. Bond also supplied the court with a second address, stating that it was his client’s fiancée’s home address, and they would be marrying on November 13, 2016.

Bond further told the court that his client was the registered owner of the soon-to-be-opened school of etiquette.

Police Prosecutor Sean Gonsalves objected to bail,

stating that the defendant was a flight risk and may flee the jurisdiction, escaping the charges.

In a further attempt by Bond to convince the prosecution that his client was not a flight risk, he made it known to the court that his client was willing to subject himself to weekly visits to any Police Station.

However, the bail application was denied and the defendant was ordered to return to court on November 18, 2016.

Trinidadian remanded on fraud charges A

Dominican fined, remanded on forgery charge

A

Dominican Republic national was on Friday fined $60,000 for overstaying her time in Guyana and was further

remanded on a charge of conspiracy to commit forgery by a City Magistrate.

Providencia Guzman, 26, pleaded guilty to

the charge, which stated that between April 14 and October 13, 2016, at Georgetown, she failed to comply with any conditions

of a permit granted her, she overstayed in Guyana.

Guzman was fined for the offence, but failure to pay the fine will result in 37 days imprisonment.

Meanwhile, Guzman pleaded not guilty to the other charge which stated that between April 14 and October 26, 2016, she conspired with persons to commit forgery. Reports are that Guzman arrived in Guyana and was granted one month’s stay, but forged her passport stamp for an extension of three months, purporting to show that same was stamped by Guyana immigration officials at Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

A tearful Guzman pleaded with the Magistrate to return her home through a translator since she is unable to speak English.

Magistrate Judy Latchman told her that she will not be able to leave Guyana until the outcome of her trial.

Police Prosecutor Sean Gonsalves objected to bail, stating that the defendant is a flight risk and he is fearful she will flee the jurisdiction.

The defendant will make her next court appearance on November 14, 2016.

Riding roughshod...

I

...on the rule of law

t appears that this Government's contempt for the law knows no bounds. And it's epitomized by the latest gambit of Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams to select Special Prosecutors to go after PPP figures identified in the government's "audits". This is just after his ill-judged attempts to forcibly expropriate land owned by our Ambassador to Canada Clarissa Riehl and the Beharry Corporation was abandoned after a public outcry.

We won't mention the attempt to railroad Calvin Duncan, head of the Judicial Service Commission.

Now it's no secret the government's pursuing a "Jail PPP" vendetta in general and a "Jail Jagdeo" one in particular - ever since the elections. They conducted $153 million worth of "audits" (Illegally through "sole sourcing", according to the Auditor General!! But when you WANT a result… you try to ENSURE a result!!) which however, produced no smoking gun on the "billions and billions" they claimed had been "siphoned off".

So whaddya do? Especially when the Macbethian witches at the Muckraker kept stirring the cauldron. Well, it seems they're following the rule - "if at first you don't succeed (illegally), then try again (illegally). Fellas like AG Williams were beside themselves that local accountants who had joined them in castigating the PPP couldn't dig up dirt to support prima facile cases to prosecute.

How'd we know this? Well, Williams himself confessed that the institution in charge of initiating prosecutions in Guyana, the DPP office, said so! Only he twisted the statement to say the cases were "too political"! But didn't the same DPP allow charges to be made against Carvil Duncan? Wasn't that political? Williams then raised the point of the DPP's involved in one of the cases. But He had to concede, so was she in the infamous NBS case, and all she had to do was recuse herself!

You don't kill a mosquito sitting on the forehead of your friend by using a hammer, do you? And transferring the right to select Prosecutors from the DPP to the Executive is like using a SLEDGEHAMMER on the Rule of Law - as articulated by the Constitution. This point was cogently made by ex-AG Nandlall. In fact, the DPP's office was created in the Commonwealth specifically to protect citizens from Executive persecution.

Williams whinged that Nandlall himself had been a Special Prosecutor against treason accused Benschop.

But he's being beyond disingenuous. Nandlall had been identified and selected by the DPP office!! And not by some partisan AG! What Williams didn't mention was that he then argued AGAINST Nandlall being made a Special Prosecutor by then Deputy Roxanne George… and lost!

Oh! Times have changed, but not the rule of law!!

...over security

Between 2002-2008, as the Buxton gang created mayhem on the East Coast and in forays to Georgetown and as far afield as the Port Mourant PPP Congress. And amazingly even thought they didn't have the power of "apparating" like the Harry Potter wizards, no one reported seeing the bandits in the locales where they were holed up.

Part of the problem was even though folks talked about the bandits "holding communities hostage", much, if not all, of that was a myth. These fellas had people who were sympathetic - if not downright friendly - to them and we had the huge turnout at several funerals to prove that. Well, now that the Bartica Massacre miscreants are on trial… we're hearing testimony about how they holed up at several locations ranging from Tiger Bay to Parika.

So what're the Police doing about this? There are no statutes of limitations on murder… and these people who aided and abetted the murders are accomplices to murder.

They should be hauled before the counts and charged. ...on IDB Loan for Ogle The government's moving to create the body to regulate the operations of the Ogle Airport… which the last administration had initiated.

But what about servicing the US$ millions doled out by the IDB that the government's servicing?

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

NEWS

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

GWI bought 100 litres of Govt will help young Antinfek people find jobs …was used for testing in water distribution mains – Minister Bulkan

T

he Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) purchased 100 litres of the questionable chemical Antinfek, which it used for testing of the treatment of water in distribution lines.

This disclosure was made

by Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan, seconds after he vehemently denied

Dr Frank Anthony

that the questionable chemical was being used by the GWI at any of its water treatment plants across the country.

Bulkan was at the time being grilled by Opposition Member of Parliament, Dr Frank Anthony, who at the beginning of Friday’s session of the National Assembly sought to enquire of the Minister why and how GWI came to be using the questionable chemical.

Bulkan, after complaining of being ambushed with the questions by the Opposition member, vehemently denied that GWI was using the chemical at any of its Water Treatment Plants.

After fielding numerous clarifications on the chemical and GWI’s use of it, Minister Bulkan confessed that the water company had, in fact, purchased 100 litres of Antinfek for testing.

He said the chemical was for testing in the water distribution mains.

Dr Anthony – who holds the Opposition shadow parliamentary portfolio for Health – at the beginning of the sitting, used the occa-

sion permitted for questions without notice to be fielded by the Minister.

Dr Anthony sought to query of Bulkan whether “Antifek or Polyhexanide” was being used for purification of water and if so who authorised its use.

He queried too when the decision was taken to use Antinfek instead of chorine, which countries were using the chemical, what international agencies have approved its use and had the members of the communities where it was in use notified.

Dr Anthony also sought to find out the procurement methods used by the GWI among other concerns.

Bulkan, in seeking to provide preliminary answers— since he had been ambushed with the questions, said the GWI met with the Public Utilities Commission over the very concerns surrounding the use of Antinfek.

He said this information would be made available to the public at some later time.

Bulkan then informed the House that he had only been informed of the questions two hours ahead of time and, as such, would not be in a position to give full and complete answers but preliminary responses.

The Communities Minister, at this point in time, proceeded to inform the House that the GWI was not using the chemical at any of its Water Treatment Plants across the country and that there were some locations where Alum and Lime were being used.

Before seeking to regale the House on some of the uses of Polyhexanide, the chemical used in Antinfek, Minister Bulkan insisted that the chemical has, in fact, been used before in Guyana and had been approved for importation by the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB).

He insisted, however, that there has been no decision taken as yet with regard to the widespread use of

Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan

Antinfek.

In late October, the GWI confirmed that it was using the chemical, but maintained that it was just being tested.

Guyana Times has since been able to verify, through internal communications of the water company, that the chemical has, in fact, been put into use at three locations, including Diamond, one of the largest housing schemes in the nation, affecting thousands of consumers.

Minutes of meetings during March 2016 show that the Antinfek chemical was scheduled for use in new wells in several communities in Bartica. The documents from another meeting in June 2016 indicate that the well at the Linden-Soesdyke Highway would also be dosed with Antinfek. In fact, the internal communications illustrate that dosing pumps were being procured to add the chemical into the well.

Additionally, the records of a July 2016 meeting show that the well at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, was also being dosed with the Antinfek chemical to treat the water.

On October 22, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo called for a fullfledged investigation into the use of the chemical after an order by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to the GWI to halt its use of this chemical.

In its public missive on the issue, the GWI said it was still using chlorine, the sole disinfecting agent in all the treatment plants, while laboratory studies were being done on the use of other treatment alternatives.

The water company argued that it was found that the residual concentration of chlorine had a short lifespan, so it did not protect the water from recontamination during prolonged storage.

Antinfek is manufactured

by DoveBiotech Group of Companies, which describes the chemical as a powerful organic bio-polymerbased compound, effective in decontamination of water against waterborne diseases, bacteria and fungi.

Internal communications show that the GWI Scientific Services Manager outlined that research suggested that the chemical was not recommended for approval for household water treatment distribution in Haiti, which had no US National Sanitary Foundation (NFS) certification for potable water use.

Guyana Times understands that a DoveBiotech representative claimed that Antinfek was “approved for sale in Guyana by the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board of Guyana”. However, the Registrar at the Board indicated to the GWI by email that “records at the PTCCB do not show a registration/ approval for this product”.

Notably, the importation of this chemical requires approval by the PTCCB under the law.

– Granger

P

resident David Granger during a recording of the Public Interest on Thursday disclosed that the administration will continue their quest in finding jobs for unemployed youths.

Granger disclosed that in 2017, the administration aims to improve some of the programmes that are already being implemented.

Some of those are the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) and Sustainable Livelihood Development (SLED) programmes.

The Head of State revealed that since the commencement of the programmes, they have been fruitful.

However, the President explained that it is difficult for any Government to promise employment, but it is a task his administration is willing to tackle head on.

“So we need to cultivate the culture of entrepreneurship as well because it would be difficult for any government to promise jobs

to young people but the Government will continue to help young people to find employment, we will continue to run training programmes like SLED and HEYS.” Granger noted that more young entrepreneurs are needed instead of Policemen and soldiers.

“We will continue to run programmes for youth training, particularly in skills but since we want to see a bigger pool of young entrepreneurs, we have made some progress in 2016 and these programmes will be enlarged and augmented in 2017.”

Job creation was a major platform promise during the APNU/AFC elections campaign.

Only recently, Police Commissioner (Ag) David Ramnarine drew focus on what he believes is a significant contributor to the criminal activities in the country, the idle youths. Ramnarine also pointed to a correlation between the crime wave and youth unemployment in the nation.

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News

Parking meters to be implemented for Christmas

– commuters protest against launching

A

lthough the parking meter project came under fire from all ends, the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown (M&CC) is moving ahead with its implementation, with the first phase set to be completed in December.

Not only will private citizens be forced to pay the charge, they will have to endure paying Value Added Tax (VAT) on it until the City can have it removed.

On Friday, Smart City Solutions’ Director, Amir Oren said that the implementation would be divided into two phases. He stated that the first phase of the parking meter project will occupy 3237 parking spaces in Georgetown, utilising 157 parking meters.

These machines will be positioned close to all the commercial hubs in Georgetown. The meters, intended to regulated traffic, will be situated along Quamina Street, Water Street, Hadfield Street, Camp Street, Church Street, North Road, Robb Street, Regent Street, Charlotte Street, South Road, Croal Street, Brickdam, Avenue of the Republic, Wellington Street and King Street.

Oren added that the second phase of the project would be completed in three months after the first phase, and would cover 4000 spaces and utilise 163 parking me-

ters. The locations for the meters in the second phase were not divulged to the public.

From its genesis, the parking meter project was rejected by citizens and the Private Sector. However, the “shady” contract was endorsed by the Government, which stated that no illegalities were found, and so the project was given the “goahead”.

At that time, the project was being spearheaded by Ifa Kamau Cush, who was named the Director of Smart City Solutions. However, just a few weeks ago, the company’s Public Relations Officer, Kit Nascimento stated that Cush was only a shareholder of the company and was no longer operational.

Commuters will be charged $50 plus VAT each 15 minutes; this will also be mandatory to public transportation, until preparations are made for alternative parking spaces.

Nascimento stated that the company was presently in the process of applying for tax exemptions for the citizens of Georgetown, so that they would not be required to pay VAT on their purchase of parking time.

The Public Relations Officer disclosed that the parking meters would be operational from 07:00h to 19:00h Mondays to

A demonstration of how the parking meter works at the Marriott Hotel on Friday

Saturdays. However, parking is free any time before 07:00h and 20:00h, on

Sundays and holidays.

One commuter, Orin Benjamin, stated that the

city of Georgetown was too small to accommodate something of that magnitude.

“It is shame because our country is not ready for that sort of service. The city is too small…this is just putting pressure on the poor people. Let’s say I’m working in town and I have a car, how could I pay for parking whole day? That’s eight hours and maybe more. What they are doing is forcing companies to create parking lots for their employees. This will reduce business also,” he said.

Benjamin also stated that while it was a good initiative, the timing is bad.

“We don’t have the economy to support it,” he said.

One businessman considered the implementation of the parking meters to be ridiculous. “There are other ways the Government or the City can gain money. We don’t need parking meters to maintain traffic or generate funds,” he said disgustedly. “Most people cannot afford to drive. I would ride to

Major reforms for local...

“The master plan would set out the types of services and facilities to be provided by airports by categories. It will also include plans for the development of air navigation services and safety oversight aspects of the national civil aviation sys-

tem,” Harmon explained.

According to the Minister, these structures are very important since the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) administration intends to ensure that in every region of the coun-

Georgetown when the traffic is heavy, so I don’t know why they are doing this if the population is already scraping to get one car. What they need to do is look at the disposable income for the population— which is practically dead right now,” the businessman said.

“This is only going stress people out; we already have them city Police creating problems at the bus parks, now we have to pay money with VAT just to park?

We not ready for that. If they are going to start the parking meter system in December, then we are gonna have a merry VAT parking meter Christmas,” another man said.

One woman said once the parking meter project was implemented she would revert to catching public transportation. “… that’s another bill onto my monthly expenses. I cannot park for eight hours. Just the thought of paying money makes me say no,” Amrita Rivas said.

FROM PAGE 7

try, particularly Regions One (Barima-Waini), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Demerara-Upper Takutu), there are ‘municipal-type airports’ that are of a quality likened to that of the Eugiene Correia

International Airport.

Harmon pointed out that with the development of new towns and communities, Government needs to ensure that necessary systems and regulations are in place to guide the process.

NEWS

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Chinese restaurant 11% of children not registered at birth – UNICEF robbed, owner beaten T

The Hing Fa Chinese Restaurant that was robbed on Thursday

A

rmed bandits on Thursday evening stormed the Hing Fa Chinese Restaurant in Newtown, Georgetown and carted off an undisclosed sum of money, but not before beating the owner.

The incident reportedly occurred about 23:30h on Thursday. Based on reports received, the men confronted the owner of the restaurant as he stood outside and held him at gunpoint.

They reportedly dragged the man into the restaurant and demanded that he handed over the money.

After a while, they took him into the upper flat of the business place and started to assault him. Guyana Times understands that the gunmen threatened that if the restaurant owner did not hand over money and other valuables, they would shoot a relative.

When Guyana Times visited the scene, the proprietor was reluctant to speak to the media, but, from all indications, he was severely beaten.

Police sources confirmed that the armed men escaped with an undisclosed sum of money.

Residents in the area explained that pain-filled

screams were heard coming from the upper flat of the restaurant.

Neighbours were unsure of the number of bandits that stormed the business, but related that the ordeal lasted approximately 20 minutes.

Although they attempted to call the Police using 911, it proved futile.

After the ordeal, the men discharged a round into the air and fled the scene in a waiting hire car. The Police have launched an investigation into the robbery, but no arrests have been made.

Dead bandit identified as Albouystown man

T

he suspected bandit who was shot dead during an attempted robbery on Wednesday morning in Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) has been identified as Elisha Simon De Florimonte, 20, of Hunter Street, Albouystown, Georgetown.

He was shot twice to the neck by a licensed firearm holder and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Diamond hospital.

It was reported that De Florimonte and an accomplice, a 27-year-old West Ruimveldt man, were attempting to gain entry to a home belonging to a miner in Fifth Avenue, Diamond New Housing Scheme when the man discharged a few rounds in their direction.

De Florimonte was fatally shot in the process. The accomplice, who was subsequently arrested, is expected to be charged shortly. It

was reported that the miner was awakened by loud sounds emanating from the yard.

As he looked out, he saw the two men, one armed with a handgun, trying to force open a door. It was then he raised an alarm and discharged a few rounds.

The accomplice managed to scale the perimeter fence, but was apprehended by the Police who responded to the report.

he Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014 has revealed that 11.3 per cent of births in Guyana are not registered, with hardly any differences between boys and girls.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has stated that this was because of bottlenecks in the system.

UNICEF stated that a qualitative assessment carried out indicated two immediate causes and two underlying causes that influence the low levels of birth registration for some groups and some regions. In terms of immediate causes, UNICEF said, while knowledge of the importance of having the children registered was vital, parents and caregivers have to have the means to register their children.

“Both immediate causes are influenced by the cultural aspects and by the efficiency of the system,” it said, adding that the number of unregistered births was three times higher in Region One (Barima-Waini) than the average for the country. Similarly, a child living in the interior of the country (hinterlands) has twice the chance of not having a birth certificate in comparison to a child living in the urban areas (19 per cent and 9.5 per cent, respectively).

Two other factors that increase the chances of a child not having a birth certificate are poverty and ethnicity.

According to UNICEF, the birth registration is more than an administrative record of the existence of a child and is the foundation for safeguarding many of the child’s civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

“Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child specifies that every child has the right to be registered at birth without any discrimination. Birth registration is central to ensuring that children are counted and have quality access to basic services such as health, social security and education,” it said, emphasising that knowing the age of a child was central to protecting them from child labour, being arrested and treated as adults in the justice system, forcible conscription in armed forces, child marriage, trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The report said further that there were two bottlenecks within the system that cause low registration: the lack of coordination among the different stakeholders involved in the process of birth registration, and the inefficiency of the registration system.

“The registration system is almost totally manual and highly centralised, resulting in delays due to loss of application and original documents, errors, invalidity of certificates, multiple applications for one child and increased transaction costs,” it said, noting that there was also the deficiency of effective

methods to track and accurately assess the status of applications.

It was reported by the Rights of the Child Commission in 2011, that there were cases of unprepared and unskilled staff working on birth registration, resulting in errors in the process.

“For instance, some birth certificates are not being stamped by Government officials, making the document invalid. In the same line, as appointed by the 2014 MICS, gaps in registration could be a result of people reporting partial/incomplete registration as not being registered,” UNICEF added.

It highlighted that until 2015, the partial/incomplete registration would occur when, based on information from the child’s mother, the father of the child was expected to present himself to affix his signature to the form acknowledging being the father.

This practice has changed and it is expected that the number of partial/incomplete registrations will be reduced in the coming years, UNICEF said, underscoring that birth registration forms pending fathers’ signatures are going to be processed and birth certificates will be issued by the General Register Office (GRO) after a specific length of time has elapsed. The process allows for the name of the child’s father to be added to the birth certificate at a later stage.

12 NEWS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Dismissed DTL workers stage protest at President’s office

O

fficials of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) joined with 11 dismissed workers of the Demerara Timber Limited (DTL) on Friday picketing for their dismissal to be rescinded.

Standing in front of the Ministry of the Presidency, the workers all made their dissatisfaction heard. The workers were dismissed from the company following protest action taken early last month calling for bargaining with the company’s heads.

According to GAWU, the company’s decision must be seen as “yet another but telling antiworker and antiunion act.”

The union noted that the actions of the company must been seen as tantamount to denying the workers their rights.

It was revealed that the services of the Ministry of Social Protection was sought to address the situation, however, DTL failed to comply with notices sent by the Ministry to attend meetings.

“The company’s response must be seen as nothing other than blatant disrespect for the Ministry and the concerned workers” GAWU said in a release.

GAWU is calling on the Social Protection Ministry (and Government) to uphold its authority and to ensure that DTL respect the

The protesting dismissed workers

laws of the country.

“Our union strongly urges the Ministry

(Government) to uphold its authority and, therefore, ensure that the foreign-

owned company respect the laws of our country as well as the established princi-

ples and conventions which are integral to the welfare of our working people.”

GBTI donates to GNRSC Govt hijacks PPP/C's...

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he Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) Limited made a donation to the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) in observance of National Road Safety Month.

The presentation was done at GBTI’s Corporate Office in Kingston, Georgetown. Receiving the donation was Coordinator of the National Road Safety Council, Ramona Doorgen and presenting the donation on behalf of the Bank was Administration Manager Sean Noel, who emphasised that safety on the roadways should be adhered to at all times.

This year’s theme for National Road Safety Month is, “Life does not have a reset button, drive carefully”.

GNRSC Coordinator Ramona Doorgen receives the donation from GBTI Administrative Manager Sean Noel, while GNRSC Representative Coleen Thomson (left) and GBTI Public Relations and Marketing Manager Pamela Binda look on

To this end, Jagdeo said the PPP/C welcomed the “mother of all inquiries” into that period in Guyana’s history given the Government’s proclivity towards the setting up of Commissions of Inquiry.

He used the occasion to also point to a book written by prominent Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Member, Eusi Kwayana, which had accused former President Desmond Hoyte and the People’s National Congress of being in cahoots with the supposed ‘Freedom Fighters’ that had besieged the East Coast Demerara village of Buxton.

Summing up his presentation to the House in response to the President’s October 13 speech, Jagdeo said, “The story is not black and white; this narrative dominated by binary thinking, [the] situation is more complex than just ap-

FROM PAGE 3

proaching it in that manner.”

Disrespectful Opposition

Another of the keynote speakers to the motion was Social Cohesion Minister Amna Ally, who in her presentation, accused the Opposition of being disrespectful to the President, since it had walked out of the House during his speech.

She insisted that as a young government they have in fact done well, given what they had inherited.

“We are building public trust…

We are on the road to good governance,” according to the Minister,

as she sought to point to some of the coalition’s achievements thus far, but did concede existing gaps along social, economic and political lines.

NEWS

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

National dialysis centre only hope for GPHC struggles – Dr Persaud

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he Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is in a desperate situation - one that is hardly known by the public and even those who are directly affected.

Head of the Nephrology department Dr Kishore Persaud is the only consultant and kidney transplant surgeon at the GPHC. He said while almost every patient with kidney failure goes to the hospital seeking immediate dialysis treatment, there is only so much the department can offer.

In Guyana there are some 120 patients on record who are on Haemodialysis.

Haemodialysis a process that uses a man-made membrane (dialyzer) to remove wastes such as urea, from the blood and restore the proper balance of electrolytes in the blood. There are also and 35 patients on peritoneal dialysis.

In an open discussion with the media on Friday, Dr Persaud said while doctors are prepared to give 100 per cent, the hospital resources are not what are demanded. He said staff members are not receiving what they asked for to carry out their daily duty.

In the department of nephrology and transplant surgery Dr Persaud is the only nephrologists at the

Dr Kishore Persaud, head of the Nephrology Department, GPHC

transplant surgery. He has working along with him five General Medical Officers, a social worker, a pharmacist and dietician, who he said are trying to provide a holistic list of care to patients.

According to Dr Persaud, the big issue is the provision of dialysis treatment in the country.

“If all of us live to 100 years, we will develop kidney failure. People will go on dialysis also because of the high incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure; and people not paying

close attention to the control of this”, he said.

He informed that there are a lot of persons who are now being diagnosed with end stage kidney failure.

He said the problem occurring at the GPHC “is that people want dialysis and are desperate to receive it.”

“Dialysis is an expensive modality of treatment.

An average man’s salary on the road, even take a junior doctor, their salary cannot maintain them on dialysis if they should get a kidney failure.”

According to him, the

cost of dialysis range from $12,000 to $15,000 per session, which gives an average of $36,000 to $45,000 per week for the dialysis.

He explained that the GPHC is the only centre in Guyana that provides dialysis free of cost.

“We only provide dialysis for in-patient persons; we cannot at this point afford to do outpatient dialysis. That is because we recently upgraded our centre from having three machines to eight. The GPHC serves the entire country, because it is the only centre that provides free service.”

Dr Persaud said there remains a problem however, because patients who are admitted cannot afford to pay for treatment elsewhere, “so what they do, they are admitted to the hospital, and some of them are obtaining “green card status”, “residency status”, they do not want to leave the hospital because

they cannot afford dialysis.

They are now taking up a slot in the hospital, taking up a bed, costing us more; and preventing the patients who are coming in to occupy the machine, because they are not leaving”.

He said the GPHC has five functioning machines at any one time and two on standby.

Providing a solution to the problem, Dr Persaud said the only solution is the establishment of a national dialysis centre where treatment could be provided to the population and significantly reduce the fee to an affordable cost.

He said through that, patients would be mobilised to “come out of the hospital to live a more productive life.”

“We are seeking to work with the younger patients who are healthy to come out, have a career and work and contribute to the country.”

According to Dr Persaud, the hospital will in February next year, be embarking on at least five transplants and will be collaborating with the University of Calgary where officials there will train doctors and nurses of the nephrology department to uplift the standard of the dialysis treatment in the department.

He said there were moves earlier toward developing the private dialysis centres throughout the country, however, a look at all the centres across the developing world; it is found that dialysis is very expensive; it cannot be in the hands of the private sector.

“You need to develop with corporate society, a national dialysis centre and they have found this to work as the best solution, where you monitor your resources and utilise the resource to the best of your capacity,” he told the media.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016

Regional

Maduro rejects demands Historic climate change as truce fails agreement goes into force

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he Paris Agreement on climate change entered into force Friday, 30 days after the required 55 minimum states – accounting for 55 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions – ratified the convention.

The central aim of the Agreement is to keep global temperature rise during this century to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to try to limit the temperature increase even further to

V

About 150 students protested on Thursday in San Cristobal against President Nicolás Maduro

enezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has rejected calls from the Opposition for an early election, amid a fragile and fraying political truce in the country.In a national address, the President said: “There can be no ultimatums.”Maduro’s supporters massed outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on Thursday night to show their support for the socialist leader.Meanwhile, about 150 students protested against Maduro in the western city of San Cristobal, clashing with Police.Venezuela is mired in worsening economic crisis, leading to calls for Maduro to step down.An

Opposition coalition had said its goal for talks, due to begin on November 11, was to set an election for early next year, well ahead of the end of Maduro’s term.But the 53-year-old President hit out at the coalition in his address, accusing them of lying.He said: “There can be no ultimatums. Nobody can issue an ultimatum.

Everything in its time. I want to alert you all, especially the Opposition’s supporters: ‘They are lying to you again’.”Maduro’s comments came at the end of a week that saw progress made in talks, mediated by a Vatican envoy and former international leaders

from Spain, the Dominican Republic and Panama, slowly fall apart.During the talks on Sunday, the first time Government and Opposition officials have met this year, they agreed to tone down their rhetoric, and planned Opposition protest marches were cancelled.The two sides also agreed to create four working groups and to reconvene on November 11, but Maduro’s comments have thrown this meeting into doubt.The main Opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), is divided over the talks, with 16 of 30 parties refusing to take part. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Chile protesters burn buses over pensions

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emonstrators in Chile have blocked streets and set fire to buses in a protest against a controversial privatised pension plan.

The scheme, involving funds called AFPs, was launched in 1981 during the military Government of General Augusto Pinochet.

Protesters say some 10 million people who joined have now been left with very low retirement incomes – less than the minimum wage in many cases.

They are calling for President Michelle Bachelet

to scrap the scheme.

Millions of people struggled to get to work during rush hour in the capital, Santiago, and other cities after leaders of the No More AFP movement called a nationwide strike.

Luis Mesina, a spokesman for No More AFP, which has led protests in recent months, distanced the group from the violence.

“To the people who are not going to take part [in the protests] of course we apologise, because our intention is not to cause them grief,” Mesina told CNN Chile.

Most of the barricades had been dismantled by mid-morning, said Deputy Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy.

He said: “All Chileans have the right to protest what they feel are their legitimate demands, but it is not right that this causes problems for other citizens.”

The Chilean pension fund system has been praised by pro-market politicians and economists across the world.

It was originally intended to pay 70 per cent of people’s final salaries. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

Jamaican parliamentarians want mentally ill released from prison

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hat’s the demand of Jamaican parliamentarians who have argued that mentally-ill inmates being kept in prison is “an absolute disgrace”.

Currently, there are 127 mentally-ill inmates in custody and unfit to plead. The inmates, who are housed separately at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in Kingston and the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre, are separated from the general population of more than 3000.

“It is an absolute disgrace! This can’t wait on reform! It is an indictment

against us. Yes, it has been there for years, and we know in the Ministry that this is how it has been, and yet it has always been on the back burner and nobody has brought it forward,” said Marisa Dalrymple Philibert, Member of Parliament for Trelawny Southern.

Philibert was one of the members of Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) who expressed outrage after Ina Hunter, Commissioner of Corrections, revealed on Wednesday that “several” mentally-ill inmates had been incarcerated for more

than a decade.

“Those that are unfit to plea would not have got a determinate sentence, and they would have had to attain a mental state where they can deliver themselves in the court,” Hunter said, noting that the Department of Correctional Services cannot release inmates, and the lack of family support makes it even more difficult.

“They would be taken back to court, and a determination could be made to send them home, but there’s no family support in many instances,” she added. (Excerpt

from Caribbean360)

1.5 degrees Celsius (the level pushed by Caricom during the Paris negotiations).

This commitment supports Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 (Climate Action) and 12 others that include targets addressing climate change.

Countries will begin to tackle implementation of the Paris Agreement when COP22 (the 22nd Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC))

convenes in Marrakech, Morocco from November 7 to 18. The Caricom Secretariat will join several Caricom Member States at this meeting.

At this first meeting of the parties to the Agreement, areas of focus will include emissions reduction, resilience, finance, transparency, technology transfer, migration, capacity building, and loss and damages. (Caribbean360)

Storms bring flooding to Mexico

Drains were unable to cope with the sudden downpour and vehicles struggled to make headway against the rising waters in city streets

H

eavy rain causes chaos in the north of the country, with the risk of storms set to persist.

A trough of low pressure lying north-south through Mexico, and a cold weather front moving southwards across the United States, coincided to bring the severe weather conditions.

Tampico, a port city in

the state of Tamaulipas, some 10km inland of the Gulf of Mexico, received 129mm of rain during the day. This compares with average monthly rainfall of around 40mm.

Drains were unable to cope with the sudden downpour and photographs from the scene show a collapsed wall and vehicles struggling to make headway against

the rising waters in the city’s streets.

The risk of storms is expected to continue, moving slowly northwards across the border with the US, into the state of Texas.

Linked to the same weather system, storms are also expected to develop in southern parts of New Mexico and Arizona in the coming days. (Al Jazeera)

Corruption case: T&T Govt goes after officials under past Administration

T

he Trinidad and Tobago Government has initiated legal action against nine former officials of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) over allegations of corruption during their tenure.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian hours after Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley revealed that the lawsuit had been filed on Wednesday afternoon, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said it was the first to arise out of extensive audits and investigations ordered by the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government after assuming office in September last year.

“In this particular matter, there are nine defendants, including public officials and persons who have had control of certain entities of the State,” Al-Rawi said.

“The nature of matters surround the core of corruption, unjust enrichment, the breach of certain duties, but it is squarely designed to tackle corruption, misman-

T&T Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi

agement and to ask people to account for what they have done.”

While Al-Rawi repeatedly said he could not reveal the parties named in the lawsuit and the wrongdoing they are alleged to have committed as the case was at a sensitive stage, the T&T Guardian understands it involves former officials of HDC, a State-run company which falls under the Housing Ministry.

“You would know that some time ago I also made a commitment not to do what my predecessors had done, which is to give chapter and verse and campaigning in relation to litigation really because we are adamant that due process ought to be followed and that the courts will be the ultimate arbiter of the matters which are under investigation,” Al-Rawi said. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016

guyanatimesgy.com

15

Around the world

British PM confident of Brexit Clinton, Trump take campaign plans, reassures EU leaders fight to Ohio, Pennsylvania

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ritain’s Prime Minister Theresa May told European Union leaders on Friday she was confident a court ruling that could delay Britain’s departure from the bloc would be overturned and she vowed to stick to her Brexit timetable.

May told German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker she believed her case that the Government – not Parliament – should be responsible for triggering Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty to launch the divorce would win in Britain’s high-

est court, a spokesman said.

May is determined to carry out what she calls “the will of the people” and deliver Brexit. But a High Court ruling on Thursday that Parliament must approve the process raised doubts over whether she can trigger Article 50 by the end of March as she planned. It also prompted suggestions of an early election.

Her focus on ensuring the Government has the lead on breaking with the EU has incensed some lawmakers, and on Friday, a member of her ruling Conservative Party said he had resigned over “irreconcilable policy

differences” with May. The Government will appeal against the ruling in the Supreme Court, which is expected to consider it early next month.

“The focus of the Government is on the Supreme Court case, winning that case and proceeding with Article 50,” May’s spokesman told reporters.

“Clearly, we are disappointed by yesterday’s decision, we’d rather not be in this position but we are, so ... the key is our commitment to triggering Article 50 no later. The end of March remains the target for the Government.” (Excerpt from Reuters)

Iraqi forces push deeper into eastern Mosul

Iraqi soldiers dance as they celebrate during a fight with Islamic State fighters, at the front line in the Shahrazad district of eastern Mosul, Iraq on November 4, 2016

I

raqi Special Forces said they recaptured six districts of eastern Mosul on Friday, expanding the army’s foothold in the Islamic State bastion a day after its leader told his jihadist followers there could be no retreat.An officer in the elite Counter Terrorism Service, which has spearheaded the Mosul offensive, said troops had launched a major operation against the militants, who are now almost surrounded in their last major urban redoubt in Iraq.CTS Special Forces took over

Malayeen, Samah, Khadra, Karkukli, Quds and Karama districts, the army said.“This is something very big – it means large parts of the left bank have been liberated,” CTS commander Lieutenant General Talib Shaghati said, referring to the half of Mosul which lies on the east bank of the Tigris.However, a resident of one district which the army declared recaptured told Reuters after the announcement that clashes continued.“It’s true urban warfare,” he said by telephone.In the neighbour-

hood of Intisar, still fiercely contested by the army and jihadists, a Reuters correspondent heard heavy gunfire and explosions. Black smoke rose from an area nearby and damaged buildings showed signs of combat.The territory taken by the Government still amounts to just a fraction of the sprawling city, which is divided into dozens of residential and industrial districts and was home two million people before it was captured by Islamic State in 2014. (Excerpt from Reuters)

3 US trainers shot dead in Jordan – military source

T

hree US military trainers were shot dead in Jordan on Friday when their car failed to stop at the gate of a military base and was fired on

by Jordanian security forces, a Jordanian military source said.

The incident occurred at the Prince Faisal air base in the south of the country, a close ally of the United States. Two trainers died immediately and a third died later in hospital.

A Jordanian army guard was also shot and wounded.

“There was an exchange of fire at the entrance to the base after an attempt by the

trainers’ vehicle to enter the gate without heeding orders of the guards to stop,” the military source said.

“An investigation is now underway to know exactly what happened.”

Another Jordanian security source said it was not possible to rule out political motives in the incidwent at an air base where dozens of US trainers work alongside Jordanians.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters they were reviewing the incident and could not rule out the possibility of a deliberate attack.

One said there were

Americans in the convoy who were unharmed in the incident.

Many ordinary Jordanians harbour strong anti-American sentiment over Washington’s strong support for Israel and its military interventions in the region.

Several incidents this year have jolted the Arab kingdom, which has been relatively unscathed by the instability that has swept the region since 2011.

A Pentagon spokesman confirmed the shooting incident. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Selma, North Carolina, November 3, 2016

T

he US presidential campaign moved back to Ohio and Pennsylvania on Friday as Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump try to put their best message forward leading up to the final weekend of a bruising race.

The race for the White House tightened significantly in the past week, as several swing states that Trump must win shifted from favouring Clinton to toss-ups, according to the Reuters/ Ipsos States of the Nation project.

The two candidates

are now tied in Florida and North Carolina, and Clinton’s lead in Michigan has narrowed so much that the state is too close to call.

Ohio remains a dead heat and Pennsylvania is now tilting to Clinton.

Clinton is still the favourite to win Tuesday’s election, but Trump now has a plausible route to victory, especially if there is a sharp fall in turnout among African-Americans from the levels of the 2012 election.

The race tightened in the week since FBI Directory James Comey revealed the existence of more emails

possibly related to the private server Clinton used while she was Secretary of State.

That announcement, which did not indicate wrongdoing by Clinton, gave Trump the opening he needed to shift the spotlight from allegations of sexual assault that followed the release last month of a 2005 video in which he boasted about groping women. Trump has denied the allegations.

With four days until Election Day, Trump and Clinton are touring the states that are key to their path to the White House.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Scarred by pellets, Kashmir girls face uncertain future

More than 1600 civilians have been hit in the face with pellets since the uprising began in July [Shuaib Masoodi/Al Jazeera]

I

nside the ophthalmology ward at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar, four teenage girls between 12 and 19, lie on parallel beds with their eyes shut.

Hit in the eyes with lead-based pellets, they are the latest victims of the non-lethal projectiles used by troops as a method of crowd control in Indiaadministered Kashmir.

Three of the girls – 13-year-old Ifrah Jan, and two 18-year olds, Shabroza Akhtar and Shabroza Baghat – were hit in the face

during protests on Sunday in Rumhoo village, in the Pulwama district of southern Kashmir.

Urfi Rashid, 19, was struck on Monday when she peered out of her home in the village of Chitragam Kalan, in the southern district of Shopian.

On Thursday, Dr Tariq Qureshi, the head of ophthalmology at the Hospital, told Al Jazeera that he had conducted primary surgery on all four. He is optimistic about the girls regaining their vision.

“The condition of all the

four girls has improved.

They have vision. We are waiting to see the improvement, and then we will see if they need secondary surgery. But they are not blind,” he told Al Jazeera.

The families are still in a state of shock.

“Pellets are inside her head as well,” Akhter’s mother, Rafika told Al Jazeera, sitting beside the hospital bed.

“You need to be able to see for every type of job or work. She was very bright. I don’t understand what happened to her.” (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

16 NEWS GuySuCo bleeding country – President W SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

ith the administration having already given several billion dollars in subsidies and loans to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), President David Granger has stated that Government can no longer bailout the cash-strapped entity.

Speaking on his weekly televised programme ‘The Public Interest’, the Head of State pointed out that the present model of the sugar corporation has failed, thus necessary and immediate changes need to be made to return the industry to a viable and profitable one. “(GuySuCo) is the single, oldest and continuous industry in Guyana and it is haemorrhaging.

Government cannot afford to keep on bailing it out. There has to be change, the very nature of the change is something that is still to be decided but the model that we inherited and the plantation model that

we have used for three and a half centuries has failed,” Granger posited.

He told reporters on the programme which aired on Friday night, that Government is now looking at a more modern model for the industry because it recognises the impact GuySuCo has on the lives of Guyanese.

“We feel that there are some parts of the industry which could be made profitable. When you look at the cost of the Skeldon Factory, when we look at the closures which have taken place even under the previous administration, we have come to the conclusion that there’s got to be major change and that change has to happen in 2016,” asserted the Head of State.

Only Tuesday last, Cabinet was briefed by top GuySuCo officials on the current status of the corporation’s operations, as well as future plans. Following that

engagement, Cabinet has established a sub-committee to look into the options proffered by GuySuCo about its future.

With Government adamant about having a final decision on the way forward with the sugar industry, the sub-committee is expected to submit its report by mid-November outlining what approach should be adopted.

At the post-Cabinet briefing on Thursday, Minister of State Joseph Harmon disclosed that among the options outlined by GuySuCo were to allow the corporation to run ‘as is’ or engage in limited diversification.

He further outlined that the corporation is of the belief that the worst option was to maintain the status quo, that is to say do nothing and allow the corporation to go as it is; since there would be serious implications for the national treasury, which can incur the cost of some $18.6

billion in 2017 and another $21.4 billion in 2018, just to maintain this option.

GuySuCo already has an excess of $80 billion in debt, notwithstanding the fact that only last week, the cash-strapped GuySuCo was asked to repay a loan of almost $4 billion which it received from Central Government as part of its

$12 billion subsidy last year.

“Your Government was forced to divert money from economic development and social projects to rescue the ailing corporation with an immediate injection of $12 billion. An additional $11 billion had to be provided the next year, 2016, making it a total of $23 billion bail-

out in 18 months,” the 2015 Auditor General report had highlighted.

This comes in light of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) advising the Guyana Government to reduce bailouts to the cashstrapped industry, especially given that experts are saying that it is not a viable option.

Ministries team up with GGMC to clean up Itaballi

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he Ministries of Natural Resources and Communities collaborated with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to undertake a major clean-up exercise in Itaballi Village, Mazaruni.

The exercise lasted five days and included the rehabilitation of previous dump sites.

The campaign stemmed from requests made by the Community Development Council (CDC) in Itaballi.

Chairperson of the CDC,

Coleen Singh, called for the clean-up of the community which was in a deplorable condition.

GGMC spearheaded the clean-up of Itaballi by donating 100 packs of garbage bags and 40 garbage bins.

The Commission also sent employees to ensure that the job was done effectively.

The first phase of this exercise included the rehabilitation of the existing garbage disposal site; and staff assigned to the Litter Prevention Unit of the EPA spearheaded the second

phase of this exercise, which involved enlightening the business-owners and residents about the Litter Act and Regulations.

The third and final phase of this exercise included a massive clean-up of the Itaballi community organised by the CDC and was heavily supported by residents.

It was recommended at the end of the exercise that the CDC and RDC of Bartica jointly monitor and maintain the garbage disposal site at Itaballi.

NEWS

17

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Tackling white-collar crime

Govt ensuring infrastructure in place – Granger

A

s concerns mount and calls continue to be made for Government to take action on the forensic audits conducted on various State agencies, President David Granger pointed out that the Administration was working to ensure that the necessary infrastructure was in place before any step was taken on the findings.

He explained to reporters on “The Public Interest” programme, which aired on Friday, that while white-collar crimes was a problem in Guyana, he could not promise any “quick” solution, since Government efforts were afoot for the necessary infrastructure to be put in place.

“We are working to ensure that the institutions are in place. We respect the judiciary; we respect the Auditor General, we respect the National Assembly and we expect that once the Police Force is properly trained and we have the arms like SARA (State Assets Recovery Agency) and SOCU (Special Organised Crime Unit), we will be able to have a much more clean Government,” he stated.

According to the Head of State, once there are cases to be made, Government will follow due process and have those cases placed before the courts. However, he pointed out that sometimes a magistrate might find that there was insufficient evidence in a particular case, but this did not mean innocence.

“We have to be very careful that we don’t end up with egg on our face by bringing cases and for some reason or the other, the prosecution is not as robust as we expect,” he remarked.

Nevertheless, the President outlined that Government was continuing to establish avenues to reduce

white-collar crimes within the Public Sector. He mentioned the recent establishment of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC), which allows for Government and Government employees to not be directly involved in the awarding of contracts.

He added too that steps were taken to ensure that persons found or accused of corrupt transactions are not kept in positions.

In this vein, the Head of State pointed out that not only Government officials “wear white collars”, “so, when you look at white-collar crimes, these are not small fry; these are not people from broken homes. These are people who are businessmen,” President Granger posited.

He outlined that the country has come out of a very long period of illegality and so it has now become a practice that has found its way into daily lives and even everyday vocabulary.

Backtracking is one such word Granger noted that is embedded in illegality yet, it’s common in Guyanese society.

“I’ve read statements from members of a certain chambers of commerce who actually called for the backtrack routes to be kept open because it’s quick,” he pointed out.

On this note, the President sought to call on the Private Sector to also clean up their act as well and refrain from white-collar crimes.

He recalled an explosion last year in Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini), which was found to originate from the importation of illegal fuel and the conditions under which that fuel was being distributed in the area.

The Head of State also mentioned the prevalence of gold and diamond smuggling by businessmen.

GHDS President addresses Divali Nagar 2016 in Trinidad

Dr Vindhya Persaud assisting in the lighting of the diya at Divali Nagar in T&T

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uyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha President (GHDS), Dr Vindhya Persaud was the chief guest and feature speaker at this year’s Divali (Diwali) Nagar in Trinidad and Tobago, hosted by the National Council for Indian Culture (NCIC) in Trinidad and Tobago.

Dr Persaud’s message, which was delivered extemporaneously, stressed the importance of unity and respect for each other’s culture and traditions. She also urged a deeper understanding of the significance of Diwali, underscoring the point that festivals were an integral part of Hinduism.

She urged all to look at the multifaceted significance of Diwali and to understand the importance of rekindling light within and being pure in thought, word and action.

Dr Persaud spoke of the Nagar's theme of Ganga and made the point that women play a key role in society. Quoting Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi, she said: “If you can educate a man, you educate but one, but if you educate a woman, you educate the nation…tonight, I want to encourage you all to think of women in such a way and in

such a light. Empower, educate and enable all the women, all the girls, not only in Trinidad and Tobago but the world so that they can continue to be inspirations to all who they come into contact with.”

As the NCIC celebrated its 30th year, Dr Persaud mentioned that her father, the late Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud was part of the historic opening of the Nagar 30 years ago and she was humbled to be there this year.

In her congratulations to the members of NCIC, she said: “As you celebrate 30 years, I encourage you to do

it with absolute pride, because as a people you have united, you have worked tirelessly and incessantly to make this happen consecutively and it's not just these moments that are shared at the beginning of every Divali Nagar, but, it is what is involved.

“The training of young people, their immersion in culture, their exposure to the wider ambit of Sanatan Vedic Dharma, their introduction to values and principles and more importantly the sharing of cultural traditions and beliefs among all people.”

Dr Persaud said that

if people understood each other's beliefs, the barriers separating them would be broken and there would be unity.

She said that to understand what it meant to be a global village necessitated reaching out to each other.

“I want to encourage you to not confine what you want to achieve, to the borders of your country rather reach out to your sister nations across the world. Reach out to the cultural Diaspora, build relationships, friendships, share ideas so that we can truly achieve what we mean by a global village,” she noted.

Dr Persaud extended an invitation to the people of Trinidad and Tobago to visit Guyana for the annual Diwali motorcade hosted by the Dharmic Sabha.

In attendance at the opening of Divali Nagar were House Speaker Bridgid Annisette George, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, US Ambassador to Trinidad John Estrada, Indian High Commissioner Bishwasdip Dey, and Members of Parliament Suruj Rambachan, Rudy Indarsingh, and Bhoe Tewarie as well as Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodan.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016

ARCHIE

Take care of your responsibilities and move on to the (March 21- things you enjoy doing and April 19) the people you love to spend time with. A physical adventure will stimulate your senses.

ARIES

You’ll possess much inTAURUS sight into what’s going on (April 20- around you. Trust in yourMay 20) self and your feelings, and follow through with your plans.

Don’t let anyone take advantage of you.

DILBERT

Keep your money in a safe GEMINI place.

If you are going to in(May 21vest in anything or anyone, June 20) let it be yourself and personal improvements. A promise will lead to long-term plans.

A partnership will take shape if you divvy up respon(June 21- sibilities and set boundarJuly 22) ies. Sharing the work and the costs will help you advance quickly. Your intuitive intelligence will lead to prosperity.

CANCER

PEANUTS

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

The less said, the better.

Show how much you care by doing the things that make the people you love happy.

A change of scenery will lift your spirits.

Make plans to engage in VIRGO social events or inspirational (Aug. 23Sept. 22) meetings. You will be offered information that can help you advance.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Protect your assets, and LIBRA update personal papers. You (Sept. 23will face opposition if you opt Oct. 23) to do your own thing. Think about what’s best for you, and don’t fold under pressure.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

If you are realistic and aim SCORPIO to succeed, you will find many (Oct. 24opportunities in the future. A Nov. 22) steady pace and hardy strategy are all that’s required.

Call in favors and considSAGITTARIUS er who you can trust to take (Nov. 23- care of your requests. You Dec. 21) can make improvements to your home as long as you stay within your means.

THURSDAY'S

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

An unusual opportuniCAPRICORN ty will develop due to a con(Dec. 22versation with someone who Jan. 19) likes to think outside of the box. Your gut feeling will encourage you to jump in at ground level.

You need to keep your

AQUARIUS spending under control. You are (Jan. 20- better off saving for something Feb. 19) you really want, not frittering

away your money. Personal improvement should come from within, not from something you purchase.

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

PISCES Be reasonable when put(Feb. 20- ting out the welcome mat or March 20) offering your time or money.

You’ll be taken advantage of if you are too trusting or accommodating.

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016

19

South Africa bounce back on eventful day W

hen Australia and South Africa play, you should expect the unexpected. Not literally, of course, because then it wouldn't be unexpected anymore. But in recent Tests between these two nations there have typically been more swings than a children's playground, more roundabouts than Canberra.

It is always hard to predict the direction of the contest.

Such has been the case over the first two days at the WACA. The second morning began with Australia firmly on top; the third will start with South Africa in a position of strength. By stumps on day two, the visitors had a lead of 102 runs with eight wickets in hand, a quite unbelievable state of affairs only eight hours earlier. Dean Elgar was on 46 and JP Duminy had 34, and South Africa had completely loosened the tight grip Australia had held on the match the previous evening.

It all started with David Warner dabbling outside off and edging Dale Steyn to slip on 97. Strange things then started to happen.

Firstly, Steyn failed to complete his next over; clutching his right shoulder he walked off the field, a sorry sight for South African fans, who have seen their team win a Test without him only once in the past eight years. Late in the day, Steyn's injury was confirmed as a fracture that ruled him out of the entire tour.

Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and debutant Keshav Maharaj ran through Australia's order with renewed vigour, completing a remarkable collapse of 10 for 86 that began with the single wicket taken by South Africa's best bowler, perhaps of all time, who was otherwise absent.

Philander became the leader, and they applied constant pressure on Australia's batsmen.

Philander and Rabada found some reverse swing, and Maharaj bowled impressively, keeping things tight enough at his end while also picking up a few wickets. He is the first specialist spinner in Test history to make his debut at the pace-friendly WACA, and he justified his inclusion by dismissing Australia's captain Steven Smith, wicketkeeper Peter Nevill, and then Mitchell Starc.

The wicket of Smith was particularly jaw-dropping, mostly for the brazen though legitimate - lbw decision given by umpire Aleem

SCOREBOARD Kagiso Rabada roars after taking a return catch

Dar. Smith, yet to score, advanced down the pitch from his fourth delivery and could not get bat on ball, which prompted a zealous appeal from Maharaj but a halfhearted one from his teammates. It was, as the police might say, just a routine enquiry - until Dar unholstered his finger.

Smith looked dumbstruck, and immediately asked for a review. The broadcaster's technology suggested he was well down the pitch - 2.8 metres from the stumps when struck but the ball was hitting in line, and was going on to clip the top of leg stump.

The umpire's decision stood: Maharaj had his first Test wicket, and Australia were starting to wobble at 3 for 168.

Already Usman Khawaja had been and gone, bowled for 4 by a beauty from Rabada, who angled one in from around the wicket and sneaked through the batsman's defences. Shaun Marsh, who had batted so solidly with Warner in a 158-run opening stand, fell to a similar delivery from Philander for 63 - he did get his pad in the way, but Nigel Llong's lbw decision was also upheld on review.

There was precious little resistance from the rest of Australia's order, although Adam Voges and Peter Nevill at least reached the 20s. But Mitchell Marsh, under pressure to hold the No. 6 spot after selector Rod Marsh said last week "he needs to get a Test hundred I reckon", fell a hundred runs short. He was lbw for an eight-ball duck to Philander, and perhaps the

biggest worry was the distance by which he missed the ball.

Voges spooned a return catch to Rabada for 27, Starc was caught at midwicket for a duck off Maharaj, Nevill was caught at slip off Maharaj for 23, though was unlucky Australia's reviews were exhausted for he appeared not to have touched the ball. Josh Hazlewood was taken at gully off Philander for 4 and Nathan Lyon was caught at slip off Philander for 0. Peter Siddle remained unbeaten on 18, having helped Australia squeeze into the lead.

It was a quite remarkable collapse; not on the scale of Australia's 47 all out in Cape Town, of course, but remarkable mostly because South Africa achieved all but one of the wickets without their best bowler.

Australia went rapidly from complete dominance to serious danger of conceding a first-innings lead. By the change of innings, the Test was effectively all square.

Still, South Africa needed to avoid the kind of toporder wobbles that had left them at 4 for 32 on the first morning. Stephen Cook and Elgar provided a more solid opening stand on this occasion, although Cook still could not survive for too long, and was caught for 12 pulling Siddle to midwicket.

The loss of Hashim Amla, who chopped on to Hazlewood for 1 - his firstinnings duck meant a Test aggregate of one run in this match, equalling his career worst - had the potential to give Australia the momentum, but they could not find another breakthrough. By

stumps, Elgar and Duminy had moved the total on to 2 for 104.

On the first day, Australia's bowlers had run through South Africa for 242, and their openers had then cruised to 105 without loss. The question was not whether Australia would take the lead, but by how much. That was even more the case when the score moved along to 0 for 158.

Then the unexpected began to happen. Who knows, then, what might happen on day three?

South Africa 1st Innings 242 Australia 1st innings (overnight 105/0) DA Warner c Amla b Steyn 97 SE Marsh lbw b Philander 63 UT Khawaja b Rabada 4 SPD Smith* lbw b Maharaj 0 AC Voges c & b Rabada 27 MR Marsh lbw b Philander 0 PM Nevill†c Amla b 23 Maharaj MA Starc c du Plessis b Maharaj 0 18 PM Siddle not out JR Hazlewood c Duminy b Philander 4 NM Lyon c Elgar b Philander 0 Extras (lb-3, nb-5) 8 Total (all out; 70.2 overs) 244 Fall of wickets 1-158 (Warner, 35.2 ov), 2-167 (Khawaja, 40.4 ov), 3-168 (Smith, 41.3 ov), 4-181 (SE Marsh, 46.5 ov), 5-181 (MR Marsh, 50.1 ov), 6-202 (Voges, 60.6 ov), 7-203

(Starc, 61.6 ov), 8-232 (Nevill, 67.5 ov), 9-243 (Hazlewood, 70.1 ov), 10-244 (Lyon, 70.2 ov) Bowling: DW Steyn 12.4-351-1, VD Philander 19.2-2-564 (nb-3), K Rabada 20-1-78-2 (nb-2), KA Maharaj 18.2-5-56-3 South Africa 2nd innings SC Cook c SE Marsh b Siddle 12 D Elgar not out 46 1 HM Amla b Hazlewood JP Duminy not out 34 Extras (lb-5, w-5, nb-1) 11 Total (2 wickets; 40 overs) 1 04 To bat: F du Plessis*, T Bavuma, Q de Kock†, VD Philander, DW Steyn, K Rabada, KA Maharaj Fall of wickets 1-35 (Cook, 16.4 ov), 2-45 (Amla, 20.1 ov) Bowling: MA Starc 9-4-180, JR Hazlewood 10-2-311 (nb-1), PM Siddle 8-412-1, MR Marsh 4-1-11-0 (w-1), NM Lyon 9-2-27-0

Snr. National Chess Qualifiers begin Sunday

F

ollowing the conclusion of the National Junior Chess Championship, the Guyana Chess Federation will now look to stage the Seniors National Qualifiers which is slated to begin on November 6. The tournament will be hosted at the usual venue for Chess, the National Racquet Center located in Woolford Avenue.

This tournament will be played in seven rounds with a time control of one hour plus 30 minutes sudden death.

It is particularly rewarding for the up and coming champions, who will have the opportunity to face National Champion, Wendell Meusa in the Round Robin style event.

Among the big names turning out for this tournament, are top players such as WFM Maria Thomas, CM Taffin Khan, WCM Anthony Drayton and other senior players. Also in the mix will be just crowned Junior Champion, Saeed Ali and his sister WCM Sherrifa Ali

All eyes will be on CM Wendell Meusa who will be aiming for his 3rd title

along with Roberto Neto who have all earned their spot among the seniors.

These players will seek to dethrone CM Wendell Meusa of his title to stop him from winning it for the third

time. CM Wendell Meusa has recently transferred from Barbados Chess Federation to Guyana Chess Federation with a FIDE rating of 1967 making him the highest FIDE rated player.

20

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016

Murray 1 win away from world number 1

B

ritain’s Andy Murray is one win from becoming world number one following Novak Djokovic’s surprise defeat

by Marin Cilic at the Paris Masters.

Djokovic needed to reach the final to retain the top ranking but lost 6-4 7-6 (7-2) to Cilic in the quarter-finals.

Second seed Murray beat Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6 (11-9) 7-5 and will play France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Canadian Milos Raonic in

Saturday’s semi-final.

Victory would see the Scot top the rankings for the first time.

Murray claimed the first set after a thrilling tie-break in which he defended a total of seven set points, having at one stage been 6-1 down.

He immediately broke Berdych’s serve in the second set, and looked set to force home his advantage until, when serving for the match at 5-4, his opponent broke back.

However, Berdych failed to take advantage and his double fault handed the initiative back to Murray, who held his nerve for a sixth successive win over the 31-year-old.

“I played some good points in the tie-break and he played some bad ones. I just fought as hard as I could and served well in those moments,” Murray said.

“Maybe there were a few more nerves today knowing that the world number

one was possible but once you are out there on court it didn’t bother me,” he told Sky Sports.

“I have never been in that position of playing for the world number one spot before so I don’t know how I will deal with it tomorrow.

“It can be tough for the 45 minutes or so before the match, but it was not my goal to get to world number one this year. I am just pleased with how I am playing over the latter half of

this season.”

Murray’s semi-final is scheduled on court not before 15:30 GMT on Saturday.

Should he reach the final in Paris he will become the second-oldest player to debut at number one, after the 30-year-old Australian John Newcombe in 1974.

The Wimbledon champion would also set a record for the most time between becoming number two and number one, having first reached number two in

2009.

Eleventh seed Tsonga and fourth seed Raonic play later on Friday evening, with Croat Cilic and American John Isner to contest the other last-four tie.

Back in June, Djokovic beat Murray in the French Open final to complete a career Grand Slam. Now Murray is on the brink of ending the Serb’s 28-month run as world number one.

(BBCSport)

Gibbs praises Bishoo for feat against Pakistan

L

ance Gibbs, legendary West Indies offspinner, has praised Devendra Bishoo on his performance in the just-concluded Test series defeat against Pakistan and is encouraging him and other upcoming spinners to seek out former player’s knowledge on the art of spin bowling.

Bishoo’s series haul of 18 wickets at an average of 27 was the most wickets for a West Indies spinner in a series since Gibbs took 21 in India in 1974.

Other notable records Bishoo broke during his first Test spell of 8 for 49 were the best figures by a West Indian bowler overseas, the best figures by a West Indies bowler this century and alongside Gibbs (1962 vs India), Alf Valentine (1950 vs England) and Jack Noreiga (1971 vs India), and he also became one of the only West Indies spinners to have taken eight wickets or more in a Test innings.

That haul was also the second time in the last year that Bishoo has produced a top-class figures in a losing cause, following his 6 for 80 versus Australia in Dominica.

“Bishoo has always been a talent, so I’m proud to see him producing such a series performance which justifies his ability to join me as one of the few West Indies spinners to take eight wickets in a Test innings”, said the

80 year-old Gibbs speaking from his residence in Miami, on Thursday (November 3).

“Traditionally, spinners start peaking as they approach 30 and I remember speaking to him last year when he was having some problem with his bowling fingers, when I gave him the remedy to the problem I got from Richie Benaud.

“Since then he seems to be fine because he has bowled closed to 40 overs in a few Test matches,” Gibbs added.

For much of the last decade during the West Indies decline, spin bowlers generally are the leading wickettakers in West Indies domestic cricket - but only Bishoo, Sunil Narine and Shane Shillingford (before he was called for chucking) have had an impact at international level.

“The wickets in domestic cricket are too under-prepared and spinners are made to look better than they are” stated Gibbs who was once Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker with 309 scalps in 79 games, when he retired in 1976.

Gibbs reasoned that since the current fast bowlers have not been of the standard of past West Indian greats, that Bishoo and Sunil Narine should be playing more Tests together and rekindle the great West Indies’ spin bowling partnership of the 1950s and 1960s that Gibbs had

Devendra Bishoo collects ‘The Best Allrounder’ cheque in the recent series against Pakistan in the UAE

with Valentine and Sonny Ramadhin.

Bishoo and Narine were ICC Emerging Players of the Year in 2011 and 2012 respectively - but yet have only played one game together for the West Indies, which was a Twenty20 International in Sri Lanka, in 2015.

“They (Bishoo and Narine) have been the team’s most destructive bowlers when in form in recent years and the selectors have to answer the question why they don’t play more together across the formats.

“Having been part of a

great spin bowling partnership with Valentine and Ramadhin early in my career and it would be great to see that replicated with Bishoo and Narine today.

“I have been through the mill and believe I have sufficient knowledge to share with any young spinner in Caribbean - along with the other great batsman like Sir Gary Sobers, Sir Viv Richards, Rohan Kanhai, Everton Weekes etc who are alive today.

“When I played and toured India, I would talk to fellow established offspinners such as Ghulam Ahmed (India, deceased), Ian Johnson (Australia) and Ray Illingworth and David Allen (England).

“Sir Frank Worrell would tell me to leave Ian Johnson alone”, Gibbs recounted humorously.

“I did this because I wanted to perfect my craft when I went on to the field and it aided me. When Australia toured the Caribbean in 2012, Nathan Lyon asked me for advice and one time Omari Banks came to home in Miami for guidance.

“So if the media and overseas players can contact me, I encourage the current players to seek out our knowledge because we are always willing to pass on what we know.

In Bishoo’s case, since he is from Guyana just like me, I’d probably help him more,” he concluded. (Windiescricket)

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or the next two days, starting today Guyana’s premier golf challenge- Digicel Guyana Open golf classic- will be in ‘full swing’ at the Lusignan Golf Course and scores of players are expected to participate for top honours.

In its eighth year the tournament is expected to be action pack for the next two days as players from Suriname, Barbados, Canada, the United States of America (USA) among other visiting players and Guyana’s golfers will compete.

Earlier this week the event was launched and President of the Lusignan Golf Club Oncar Ramroop disclosed that 57 players had registered at that time. Of the

57, 25 were foreign players.

So indeed it is predicted to be highly competitive and challenging as approximately 80 players are expected to compete.

Besides the tournament’s general increase in participants, there was a significant jump in the amount of women set to participate. A total of eight women, including Shanella Webster, last year’s female winner will take to the field later today.

Four of the women are from Suriname while the others are local players.

According to club Captain, Chatterpaul Deo, the format will be the same as last year, with the addition of the senior flight which did not occur last

year due to the lack of participants.

Deo explained that the men’s championship will be adjudged by gross while the ladies by net.

Last year, Avinash Persaud and Webster were the male and female champions respectively but Persaud is expected to face tough challenge from Jaipaul Suknanan and many others while the female contingent from Suriname could pose a threat to Webster.

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GCB donates trophies to East Canje Day of Sports

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SPORTS

223-7230-1 (Ext: 35)

uyana Cricket Board has provided trophies for The Young Warriors Cricket Club "East Canje Day of Sports" to be held on November 6, 2016 at the Cumberland Ground.

At a simple presentation ceremony held recently, former West Indies pacer Colin Stuart presented the trophies to Rafeek Kassim, president of the club. Kassim thanked the GCB and every other sponsor who have supported the event. Stuart said that the GCB is pleased to be part of this fund raiser.

Meanwhile, Anthony Ameerally of Memorex, Art Sawmill and Massy Distribution are the latest sponsors to show their support for the highly anticipated event.

Over the years, the East Canje area produced many talented cricketers with the latest being young West Indies winning captain Shimron Hetmyer.

Leonard Baichan was the first and only test cricketer coming out of the area. Seon Hetymer, Gajanand Singh, Damodar Daesarat, Richard and Kevin Ramdeen, Balram Samaroo, Kwesi Maltay, Linden Austin, Boodnarine Sumair and Kassim Khan are among many others that

Former West Indies pacer Colin Stuart (right), hands over trophies to Rafeek Kassim in the presence of Melisa Bishundial

represented Guyana at the various plevels.

The teams will be drawn from the area and some of them expected to take part are Canefield, Gangaram, Canje Pathfinders, Betsy Ground, Goed Bananen Land and Rose Hall Estate.

The cricket competition will be of five overs aside and will involve second division players. However, the teams are allowed to buy the first division players in the area with the starting bid being two thousand dollars with the exception of Shimron Hetymer whose starting bid will be $10,000

similar to franchise cricket style.

In addition, there will be sprint races, lime and spoon, bag race and a feature football game involving players from #2, Palmyra, Sheet Anchor and Cumberland versus the other villages in East Canje.

Attractive incentives and gate prizes are up for grabs with the oldest male and female fan receiving a hamper each. Proceeds from this event will go towards the host to help continue promoting cricket in the area.

The first cricket match bowls off at 9.30h.

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

saturday, november 5, 2016

Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championships 2016

International bikers to heat up South Dakota

T

he final of leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) is swiftly approaching and Mohammed’s Enterprise will be adding to the adrenaline at the South Dakota Circuit on November 13 by bringing two international motor bikers.

on the circuit and could pose a threat for the local riders.

Truelove is a 27 yearold who rides for Astro-TT in the Dickies British Super sport Champion while Prince is MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Champion.

Prince, who was interviewed by MotoAmerica explained that, “One of the

from there; they were buying some bikes from Chuck Graves so when they met with Chuck, they came up and met me up here.”

Prince doesn’t know what to expect, though he knows the South Dakota Circuit is small.

“I have no idea what to expect,” Prince said. “It’s

Matt Truelove

Byrce Prince

American Byrce Prince and British Matt Truelove will make their debut rides

owners of the team messaged me on Facebook and just started talking to me

all going to be a surprise.

I think it will be a cool experience. I don’t know how

competitive it is to be honest. I don’t know how fast people are down there. The track I’m going to is super small—it’s less than a mile long. It should be interesting. Not sure if that will make it easier or harder with it being that little of a track.”

Prince will get two days of testing on the team’s Yamaha R6.

“It’s all going to be a surprise. I think it will be a cool experience.”

Prince rode a Rider’s Discount/Tuned Racing Yamaha R6 to the 2016 MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Championship, winning nine of the 15 races.

While the riders, from the united States should be a threat for fans, another plot in the day’s proceed-

ings will be which of the Vieira’s will be crowned the CMRC Super Stock Champion.

Matthew Vieira currently leads the standing with 166 points but four-time champion Stephen Vieira is nestled closely in second with 122 points while defending Champion Elliot Vieira is in third on 93.

After the first two rounds, Stephen, used his Kawasaki ZX6R to good effect in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago but a series of unfortunate events hampered his progress in the third leg which was held in Barbados where Matthew stole the show which gave him the 44-point lead.

Matthew, who uses a Yamaha R6 has fond memories of the circuit after be-

ing crowned the Super Bike Champion last year and is known to be one of the best riders taking the close corners.

For Stephen, finishing ahead of Matthew in the three races should return him to the pole position while Matthew will know that staying ahead will ultimately give him the coveted title but though the competition seems to be one and two, defending champion Elliot could be the proverbial “spoil sport” of the day.

Elliot looked in good form in Jamaica and then Barbados and has already expressed that we will be push his Kawasaki ZX6R to the maximum in order to secure which could see him walking away with the champion driver for the day

Digicel, Banks DIH proud sponsors for Nationals W

ith the 56th edition of the National Schools Cycling, Swimming and Track and Field Championships two weeks away, regular sponsors for sports in the country, Telecommunications giant, Digicel and local beverage powerhouses, Banks D’Aguiar Industries and Holdings (D.I.H.), through their rainforest water and Supreme Malta brands have renewed their sponsorship with the Championships.

Speaking at the launch of the Championships on Thursday included representatives from both companies in the form of Digicel’s Head of Marketing Jacqueline James and Banks D.I.H. non-alcoholic beverage manager, Clayton McKenize.

James noted that the event was a history making event, which has been around before we gained independence.

“The National Schools Cycling Swimming and Track and Field Championships is

Banks D.I.H Non-Alcoholic brand manager Clayton McKenzie

a land mark activity which is welcomed every year by the schools throughout Guyana, so this year being 56 years you know that that is more than half a century, and I am sure none of us here is 50 years old is really a significant event.” The marketing head stated.

James went on to reiterate the telecommunications company’s commitment to the improving of the country

through youth development and has been doing so since the company began operations on these shores.

“Digicel, in our commitment to support the development of our youths and sports is one such area that Digicel has been involved in this championship for quite a number of years. “As a sponsor of the championships we are also encouraging the organizers to provide excellence throughout the championships so that our students will feel comfortable in order to perform at their best.” James mentioned.

With an eye on the 2020 Olympics, the head of marketing made a bold pronouncement to challenge those in authority to better guide the youths in sports and to take them seriously, aiming for greater heights.

“This championship in particular will see our students showing their talents which must be developed and displayed for Guyana’s

Digicel Guyana Inc. Head of Marketing Jacqueline James

future. So I am challenging the sporting bodies such as the Guyana athletics associations and all other sporting bodies in Guyana to take these championships seriously and develop our youths into Guyana’s future champions.” James challenged, adding that “The 2020 Olympics is just 45 months away and the need to select and train our athletes to represent Guyana should start now from this championship.”

McKenzie, like James

urged the organizers to press for excellence and create an environment that will foster the children to excel with the partnership of the beverage company by their side.

“Banks D.I.H is once again happy to be on board with such an exciting programme that has been running for now 56 years. We will continue to support the event that surrounds children participating in athletics events and also educational events. We believe

that children are the future as we see the world today has been developing more into.”

The President of The Guyana Teachers Union, Mark Lyte also welcomed the championships with open arms and an eye on the task of developing future gold medalists. Lyte informed that the public that schools would have started preparations for the Championships at the beginning of the school term where teachers would have taken athletes through the various paces and stages like inter-house, interschools and inter-zones respectively and now the ushering in of the National championship.

The Championships will run from November 21-25 with Cycling at the National Park and swimming at the National Aquatic Center, Lilliendaal on November 1 while the Opening Ceremony will be at the Providence National Stadium the following day.

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, november, 5, 2016

23

GHB/GTT Indoor Hockey Tournament…

Pizza Hut destroy Lady Bugs 8-1 A

s the fourth night of play of the Guyana Hockey Board, GTT Indoor Hockey Tournament continued at the National Gymnasium on Thursday, Old Fort and GCC both had mixed nights across the four divisions and six matches.

In the second Division, two matches were played with GCC Pitbulls beating St. Stanislaus College 3-1 and Saints thumping Phoenix 6-0.

In the first match up, at the end of the first half it was anyone’s game with the scores locked 1-1 as Samuel Woodroffe in the 4th minute and Robert Fernandes two minutes later scored for Pitbulls and St. St. Stanislaus college respectively but two goals in the second half from Trevon Smith in the 17th and 19th minute (17’ and 19’) to sink the school based team.

Trevon Smith scored twice in the second half for GCC while Robert Fernandes was the lone scorer for St. Stanislaus College.

However, the second

Action in the tournament

team from the school had a better outing, ensuring Phoenix remained winless in the competition compliments of doubles from Yonnick Peters (12’ and 13’) in the first half and Parmanand Dindial (18’ and 21’). Ato Greene (22’) and Joel Hunte (23’) were the other scorers for Saints.

In the female matches, Pizza Hut GCC swept eight

goals as Old Fort Lady Bugs struggled to register only one goal while Spartans and Hikers played to a draw 2-2.

By the end of the first half, Pizza Hut GCC had already dented the defence of the Lady Bugs with Sonia Jardine scored twice (2’ and 4’) as young talent Aliyah Gordon (18’) and Kerensa Fernandes (20’) pummeled

four goals.

The second half got no better for the Lady bugs with four more goals being scored on them (24’, 25’, 27 and 28’) as they only managed to scrape one consolation goal (32’).

Spartans fought hard to break away from Hikers but only saw their second draw in three matches.

Tekeisha de Leon placed

Hikers on the scoreboard with a goal in the 10’ but Dominique DeGroot quickly countered with a goal for Spartans five minutes later. DeGroot returned in the second half to put Spartans in the lead with a goal in the 24’ but once again Latacia Chung equalized 10 minutes later.

Moving over to the Veterans’ division, GCC

Vintage stunned Antonio’s Hickers with a 6-0 win.

Devin Hooper (5’) and Dwayne Scott (10’) made sure Vintage entered the second half with a 2-0 lead, setting the platform Patrick Edghill to score twice (16’ and 29’) while both of them scored once more in the 30’ and 18’ respectively.

In the main event match of the first division, Old Fort squeezed past GCC with a 4-3 victory.

In an eventful first half, Old Fort assumed the early lead with 3-1 score line.

Eric Hing was the first to score in the 2’ which happened to be the only goal for GCC as Jason DeSantos (9’), Aderemi (16’) and Jael Gaskin (17’) scored for Old Fort.

In the second half, Kevin Spencer looked to bring GCC back in the contest with a penalty stoke in the 26’ followed by a penalty corner 10 minutes later to level the score but a late goal (39’), from Stefon Sprosta sealed GCC’s faith.

The action continues at the same venue from 17:30H.

3-stage rides off today – Team Cocos looking to extend winning streak, Evolution aiming to defend title

W

ith the National Three-Stage Cycling race, which replaces the National Five-Stage for this year, set to commence at 07:30h today, rivals Team Cocos and Team Gillette Evolution

between the two teams in the last few races, team Cocos will feel confident heading into the stages, having had Jamal John edge Leal in the Digicel Cancer Awareness race and the two being the leaders in the abruptly end-

right at its pinnacle.

Speaking with Guyana Times Sport, Team Cocos, Raynauth “Obeah Man” Jeffrey has stated that his team is ready and should be able to take the title with the likes of Stephano

Raul Leal will be putting his all to lift the title once more

the rivalry will be renewed between Team Cocos and Team Gillette Evolution for the kings of cycling today

will be gunning for the title with Evolution’s Raul Leal winning the previous FiveStage and Team Cocos on a seven race winning streak.

With a grueling rivalry

ed Payless Variety Store 35lap feature.

However, Leal has been putting in the work and along with the Evolution line up, the competition is

“Sunny” Husbands, Hamza Eastman, John, Junior Niles and others, pointing out that it would take a gigantic effort to stop them.

Leal and his men will be

looking to settle the score and put to the test that are is the better riders when it comes to the stages.

Meanwhile, there will be competition coming from lone rider, Continental’s Geron Williams, the returning Alanzo Greaves and a number of promising young riders.

The two day event is a collaborative effort of the National Sports Commission, the Ministry

of Health, Department of Culture Youth and Sport and the Guyana Cycling Federation.

While the race would previously include Berbice and Essequibo, this edition will only be hosted in Demerara.

Riders will be competing for a total of G$400,000, when they take to the roadways today at 7:00h to complete a 65 mile road race from Georgetown heading

to Mahaicony where they would return to the starting point for a finish while completing an Individual time trial from Georgetown to Plaisance, a stretch of 3.5 miles from 15:00h later in the day.

The wheelsmen will then take to the Outer circuit of the National Park to compete in a 30-lap race beginning from 11:00h on November 6. The 30-lap race is equivalent of 70 miles.

saturday, november 5, 2016

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

guyanatimesgy.com

GHB/GTT Indoor Hockey Tournament…

-Pizza Hut destroy Lady Bugs 8-1

Pg 23

Old Fort, GCC share spoils on day 4

GFSCA/Guyana Softball Cup 6 Pg 22

Regal Masters & All-Stars reign continue Pg 22

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