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Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 2925 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

July 24, 2016

PRICE

Upgrade to “Upper Middle Income” economy

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Only bad news if Govt unprepared – Edghill

Anti-gold P9 smuggling laws need to be enforced – Allicock

… says Sharma’s statement is ludicrous, demonstrates lack of vision

Another PPP appointed REO contract not renewed Page 5

AIDS response slipping in Caribbean – UN official

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Page 11

Man confesses to murdering Gafsons P8 Manager

Reverend Dorothy Morris M S of Newton, Kitty is flocked by Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence along with her grandchildren and great grandchildren as she celebrated her 104th birthday

Govt prepared to listen to GTT's concerns – President Page 9

UG social work class honoured for domestic violence P10 advocacy

Linden P13 Councillors want Gold Board branch in region

104 and still going strong!

Telecommunications liberalisation

$120 VAT INCLUDED

Corentyne triple murder

2 more detained, Police hunting other suspects Page 12

Spring Garden, Supenaam residents P10 frustrated over water quality

… says water “useless”

P14 GNBS clamping down on importers, local manufacturers … says business must be registered before selling certain commodities

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NEWS

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SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, July 24 – 08:30h-10:00h and Monday, July 25 – 09:00h-10:30h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, July 24 – 07:15h-08:45h and Monday, July 25 – 08:05h-09:35h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Thunder storms with thundery rain showers can be expected throughout the better part of the day, while heavy rain showers can be expected in the afternoon. Partly cloudy conditions can be expected in the evening with temperatures ranging between 24 degrees and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly to East South-easterly between 1.78 metres and 3.57 metres.

High Tide: 07:30h and 19:57h reaching maximum heights of 2.69 metres and 2.62 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 01:02h and 13:29h reaching minimum heights of 0.56 metre and 0.55 metre respectively.

SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2016

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Upgrade to “Upper Middle Income” economy

Only bad news if Govt unprepared – Edghill … says Sharma’s statement is ludicrous, demonstrates lack of vision

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uyana’s graduation to an upper middle income country can only be regarded as “bad news” if the Government is unprepared to deal with the consequences, former Junior Finance Minister Juan Edghill stated.

A recently released World Bank Classification Report revealed that the Guyana’s economy jumped from being lower middle income to upper middle income from the period July 2015 to July 2016; bringing the country up to par with China, Brazil, Jamaica and Venezuela, which recently fell from being a high income country.

Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma had indicated that this development brings great news for the Government but will spell doom for the ordinary citizen.

“It is good because it shows that the Government has gained the confidence of the World Bank and indirectly, the international community… but bad news for the contractors because definitely the World Bank will say we do not qualify for certain categories of loans and other international bodies will follow suit,” he explained.

But Edghill contended that the Minister’s statement is ludicrous and only demonstrates the lack of vision as well as the absence of a coherent policy for the development of the nation.

In an invited comment on Saturday, the former Minister told <<<Guyana Times>>> that such great news can only be considered bad for the people if there is no plan in place to ensure the entire country can be shifted in a direction

Former Junior Finance Minister Juan Edghill

Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma

that matches the improved ranking.

“It would be bad news for the people if the Government is unprepared to relate to the people that the economy has been improving and they are unwilling to pay increased salaries and benefits to the people to allow the citizens to live at that level. So if Minister Sharma is looking in the crystal ball and is saying that Government is unprepared to lift the living standard of the people to accommodate the new classification then it will be bad news for the people. But if the Government is prepared to understand and prepared to act in terms of providing what is needed for the living standards of the people to go up, there’s no bad news, this is good news,” Edghill explained.

He pointed out that since Guyana has moved up in its rankings, chances are the country will not benefit from significant concessions like before.

He explained that, as a result, Government will have to act proactively to ensure the burden does not fall on the population.

“If we don’t raise the

minimum wage and pass on benefits, you will be putting more people in the poverty line… So I think Minister Sharma is basically saying that he is happy that internationally we are being recognised but Guyanese people can expect punishment because the Government is not prepared to act in keeping with that developing rating. So maybe he is talking about something that he is privy to or aware of,” he stated.

Every year, the World Bank assesses its 189 member countries along with 28 other economies with populations of more than 30,000.

These countries are classified so that data users can aggregate, and group statistical data of in-

terest, and for the presentation of key statistics. Its main classifications provided are by geographic region, by income group, and by the operational lending categories of the World Bank Group.

Economies are divided into four income groupings: low, lower-middle, uppermiddle, and high and their income is measured using gross national income (GNI) per capita, in US dollars, converted from local currency using the World Bank Atlas method.

Lower middle income economies are countries with a GNI per capita of between US$1026 and US$4035, upper middle income economies are the ones with between US$4036 and US$12,475, while high income economies are the ones with a GNI per capita of US$12,476 or more.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Guyana expanded by three per cent in 2015 from the previous year. The GDP Annual Growth Rate in the country averaged at 2.09 per cent from 1961 until 2015, reaching an all-time high of 11.36 per cent in 1964 and a record low of -13.19 percent in 1982. The country’s basic minimum wage is $50,000 or $600,000 per annum.

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Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotliine: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

The US Elections and Immigrants

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hile the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 ostensibly was to assert a US role to “protect” the countries in the Western Hemisphere from European aggression, it in effect gave tacit suzerainty to the inchoate world power. As we were reminded fifty-five years ago by President John F Kennedy, Guyana is quite inconsequential in the grand order of things, but we can easily catch a cold if the US sneezes in our direction.

We have to be very concerned not only about who might become President of the US but also of the domestic issues that will prove decisive in the upcoming elections, since these can profoundly effect on foreign affairs later.

In our case, during the 1960 US elections, the major issue was the rising Cold War tensions between the USA and the communist USSR. John F Kennedy had been trenchantly accused by his opponent Richard Nixon for being “soft on communism”. This made it unacceptable for him to permit a possible “fellow traveller” taking office in Guyana after 1961, when his Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba to derail the communist regime of Castro, failed ignominiously.

Now that the Republican Convention has officially anointed billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump as their candidate for the upcoming November elections and the Democratic Convention will reciprocate with Hillary Clinton later this week, the key issues that will define the agenda of the next president of the USA are now clear, regardless of who actually wins.

Donald Trump has been successful in defining those issues and he did so by invoking fears in Americans about losing control over their century-long march of progress to become the lone superpower standing.

One fear that has resonated is Trump’s invocation of immigration - legal and illegal - as a major reason for America’s decline in general, and for crime and low wages, in particular. After almost every speaker preceding him at the Convention reiterated this leitmotif of the primary campaign, Trump perorated provocatively, “Nearly 180,000 people with criminal records ordered deported from our country are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens.”

During the campaign, it was clear from the nature of the crowds flocking to his banner that Trump was stoking racial fears about the changing demographics of the American populace. Several studies had shown that by 2050 whites would be only 46.3% of the country’s population.

However, in his speech Trump drew a casual relationship between immigration and the economic travails of the country - but disingenuously cited the effect on minorities.

“Decades of record immigration have produced lower wages and higher unemployment for our citizens, especially for African-Americans and Latino workers,” he said.

This attack on immigration undermines one of the enduring narratives that America has constructed of its rise to success: that it is a “nation of immigrants” responding to the message inscribed on its Statue of Liberty. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

The new message articulated by Trump would be to deport 11 million immigrants and build an 1800 mile wall costing US$5-10B, along the Mexican border. He would force Mexico to pay for the wall by blocking the US$25B in remittances sent by Mexicans in the US. While Hillary Clinton has up to now supported President Obama’s more traditional stance on immigration that had moved to regularise the illegal immigrants already in the country, she will be forced to modify, if not reverse that position in the coming months. Too many of the traditional Democratic voters have responded to Trump’s demagoguery on immigration.

For Guyana, which only recently was reminded of its high immigration rate to the US - which acts as a safety valve in an economy that is stagnating - and of the US$450M in remittances that props up our economy, there should be concerns.

Australia photography awards showcase beauty of space. From Arctic lights to the hidden colours of constellations, an Australian photography competition captures the night sky to incredible effect (BBC photo)

Views of CCJ in Guyana, Trinidad and Caribbean Dear Editor, Oscar Ramjeet reminded us (July 11, 2016) that “After ten years only four countries accept the CCJ” – Guyana, Barbados, Belize, and Dominica. He has not explained why more countries don’t want to be under the jurisdiction of the CCJ. Guyanese don’t have a choice but to accept the CCJ because Dr Jagan did not want to return to judicial oversight under the neutral British Lords.

If a vote were held, the Privy Council would have been accepted by a landslide.

Dr Fenton Ramsahoye had suggested how Guyana could have fallen under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council, but Jagan was not interested. Dr Jagan and the PPP did not take necessary institutionalised measures to protect their supporters from poor racialised judgments.

They learned nothing from the judicial abuses that occurred after independence under the PNC. The PPP left their supporters overexposed to a biased court.

In Trinidad, unlike in Guyana, Indian politicians have been opposed to replacing the Privy Council with the CCJ because they don’t trust any Caribbean Court.

They learned that the Privy

Council is the only court they can depend on for fair justice. The PPP did not learn that lesson failing to understand and accept political reality.

As an aside, it is noted that no nation held a referendum on the CCJ, as the UK did for Brexit last month.

All the territories should have allowed a referendum for people to decide on such a critical issue relating to justice, especially that people don’t trust Caribbean judges who tend to be influenced by self-serving corrupt politicians; judges tend to do the bidding of some politicians.

Some judges even have politicians and lawyers write judgements. The PPP/C should have given voters a voice on which court to accept.

In my travels in the region, I have found that Caricom nationals feel justice has not improved under the CCJ, as compared with the Privy Council.

Dissatisfaction with CCJ’s rulings is very high and growing.

Caribbean justice has and will not be fair because of politicisation of the judicial system especially in multiethnic nations like Guyana and Trinidad.

Lawyers complained that judges in the region have

been making decisions since independence to please political bosses and/or on ethnic loyalty; it is noted there are no Indian judges in the court.

Lawyers also note that very little jurisprudence and legal traditions go into decision-making; thus, lawyers have greater faith in the English Privy Council, the final court of appeal for the UK and several Commonwealth countries.

The law lords are not subject to outside political pressure or bribery as judges in the Caribbean are. In addition, the Lords do thorough research and use legal precedents from rulings in advanced democracies.

Although the CCJ is located in Trinidad, the people have been resisting its jurisdiction. Judicial rulings, according to lawyers, are politicised in T&T as they are in Guyana with race playing a major role in rulings.

Lawyers also complain about judicial and clerical incompetence in the CCJ and point out that standards of adjudication are different in the CCJ from what prevails in the Privy Council.

Not surprisingly, most Trini lawyers are adamantly opposed to replacing the Privy Council with CCJ because they feel they get fair

rulings from London and not from CCJ. Unlike the PPP in Guyana, the opposition UNC in Trinidad has not and will never support the CCJ because its Indian base is opposed to it, complaining about the history of biased or racialised rulings in Trinidad.

Jagan and the PPP should have learned a lesson from the UNC and find a way to return to the Privy Council or some neutral court.

In Jamaica, a majority is opposed to the CCJ. There, when in government, parties call for the replacement of the Privy Council with the CCJ and the Queen with a President. But when in opposition, they advocate the reverse, fearing the government’s influence on jurisprudence that would affect rights.

Lawyers throughout the region, particularly in Belize and Barbados, are unhappy with CCJ’s rulings because opinions lack depth, logic and rationality. They don’t follow established precedents and are not race neutral.

Lawyers throughout the Caribbean lack faith in the CCJ for fair justice.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

When will this cruelty stop!

Dear Editor, The Guyana National Fisherfolk Organisation and the Suriname Fisherfolk Organisation have been the most affected by these pirate attacks.

Two months ago four fishermen from the Upper Corentyne Fishermen’s Coop in Berbice were thrown overboard to die by pirates

from the same Berbice area.

One body was found and he was given a decent funeral; the other three bodies were not found. The loved ones and relatives of these men could not even do a proper funeral for them.

When the relatives of one of the men was asked if they had received any assistance from the NIS to which

he had been making contributions, they said NIS required a death certificate.

His body was not found so there is no death certificate.

Editor, fisherfolk from Guyana and Suriname are the only ones that are robbed, beaten and killed by pirates; it does not happen in other Caricom countries.

We do not know what to

do or who to ask for help.

Many promises are made but nothing much is done.

On Monday 18 July a fisherman in Suriname was tied to a car battery and thrown overboard by pirates. When will this madness and cruelty stop?

Yours sincerely, Pamashwar Jainarine

NEWS

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SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Parking meter contract Another PPP appointed REO contract not renewed AG to brief Cabinet on findings

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he last holdover Regional Executive Officer (REO) from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) era has been removed as Government has opted against renewing the contract of long-time Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) REO, Peter Ramotar.

Guyana Times learnt that the former REO of Region Five (MahaicaBerbice), Roderick Edinboro was transferred to Region Seven earlier this month replacing Ramotar. When this newspaper contacted Ramotar on Saturday, he confirmed that he was ushered out of his post, pointing out that his was the final REO from the time of the former administration: “Bulkan made it quite clear that all the REOs would go except me…

[Region Seven] was always a PNC-controlled region and they felt once they kept me, there was very little room for me to do outside of the norm.”

Ramotar, brother of former President Donald Ramotar explained that an official reason for the nonrenewal was not given.

“They didn’t agree to renewal. They didn’t give a reason. I did ask if it had to do with the quality of my work and I was told no.... when they came into power they send off all [the] other fellows, they gave me a contract for a year, when the time came for renewal, I applied and they wrote saying that it would not be re-

Former Region 7 REO, Peter Ramotar

newed,” Ramotar noted.

“I had a year-to-year contract and I do not think there was any necessity to give a reason,” he noted.

The ex-official also opined that he executed his duties with professionalism and left on good terms with his now former colleagues in the region. Ramotar suggested that government perhaps did not have full confidence in his performance: “I guess they probably have people who they have more confidence in doing what they want done…I [tried] to be professional as far as possible, I had a very good working relationship with all the team players –the Regional Chairman and all the councillors; nobody in anyway showed me any disrespect,” he noted

When asked about his future now that he is unemployed, the former REO indicated that he is currently in a “job-seeking mode”.

Ramotar served as Region Seven’s REO from January 2007 up until the July 7, 2016 date when his contract expired. Before then he served as Region’s Eight REO from 2000-2007.

Since the coalition’s assumption to Office in May 2015, several PPP/C REOs have been axed by government, causing the Party to accuse the administration of political witch-hunting.

Nigel Fisher – Region One (Barima-Waini); Ashford Ambedkar – Region Five (MahaicaBerbice); Paul Ramrattan – Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) and Yolanda Hiliman – Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), were served with letters of termination.

Additionally, government had terminated the services of REOs for Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) Donald Gagraj; Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Deolall Rooplall; Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) Ronald Harsaywack and Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) Claire Singh.

Government had sought to defend this action by claiming that it needed more qualified persons to fill the posts, “given the complexity of managing five sectors within the region.”

Time and time again, the PPP/C has been condemning the current government for its indiscriminate dismissal of Guyanese professionals on the basis of their “race and political affiliation.”

More than any other thing, the PPP/C has objected to the manner in which the dismissals were effected, pointing out that the employees were not afforded due process. (Shemuel Fanfair)

A

t the upcoming meeting on Tuesday, Cabinet members will be briefed by Attorney General cum Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams on his findings from reviewing the controversial Parking Meter Project contract between the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and Smart City Solutions Inc. Government spokesman Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman on Thursday at the postCabinet press briefing disclosed that the AG had completed his contract review: “The Attorney General has completed his review and will make his report at the next Cabinet meeting.”

In light of mounting concerns over the controversial project, Cabinet had ordered last month that the contract be reviewed by the State.

The Parking Meter Project will see solar-powered parking meters installed along selected streets in Georgetown.

While Government was reviewing the contract to ensure that the document is in compliance with local laws, Smart City Solutions has gone ahead with the project conducting demonstration exercises on how the parking meter works throughout the city.

Persons are also seen conducting assessments on various streets in the city.

This is being done in spite of mounting concerns over the lack of transparency in the deal, which persons say appears to be a shady one aimed at exploiting the populace.

However, Kamau Cush, who owns the company implementing the project, maintained that the project is a legitimate one. In fact he had told reporters last month that he is not bothered by the review being conducted by

Government and assured Guyanese that nothing illegal will be found.

“There is no fleecing going on… We have everything to lose, we will be responsible for all the overhead, for the software, for the hardware – everything.

The City of Georgetown and Central Government will have no financial responsibility in the installation or the operation of the project,” he pointed out.

Furthermore, a United States-based Guyanese businessman disclosed that the contract was actually signed between the Town Council and Smart City Solutions, and not National Parking Systems as previously stated. He added too that when the joint venture between the two companies was formed, NPS was absorbed

into Smart City Solutions, which he now claims is owned by Mexican Company – Operadora de Estacionamientos Bicentenario, S.A. de C.V. “Smart City Solutions is a subsidiary of Operadora de Estacionamientos Bicentenario, this is the parent company that is headquartered in Mexico City… NPS is no longer an entity that’s operating this parking system.

The City of Georgetown signed a contract with Smart City Solutions.

NPS is a shareholder in Smart City Solutions; Smart City Solutions is a subsidiary of Operadora de Estacionamientos Bicentenario, which is based in Mexico,” Cush had related to the media.

This information comes in light of mounting concerns over the authenticity of the two initial companies - NPS and Smart City Solutions. Since the signing of the contract for the Parking Meters Project, several City Councillors have expressed scepticism about the project.

In fact, Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan had stated that he could not find proper information about NPS, which was believed to be the substantive company handling the project.

Duncan had stated that the address given by Cush for NPS led to an address in New York City which housed the Atlanta City Bank.

However, Cush had explained that no information could have been found about the company in the United States because its operation is based in Mexico City.

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Foundation

The collapse of parenting: Why it’s time for parents to grow up – if anyone can be called the boss in modern, anti-hierarchical parenthood, it’s the children (Part 3)

S

Anu Dev

o the past few weeks I’ve gotten into “The Bachelorette”. I know, I know, reality TV, really? But there’s a reason why it’s so addicting - they know exactly what buttons to press, what “drama” to create to make it just so easy to fall into. And even though the only reason I got into the Bachelorette was because I’d seen another show, UnReal, where they gave the scoop about what really goes on behind the scenes in these shows. In other words, how they manipulate the contestants to create drama, I was still sucked into it.

At another level, the productions demonstrate how the hegemony in which we all swim - like fishes in an ocean - and we don’t even realise there is something enveloping us and within which we are forced to exist. All the projections of what is proper and right become “common sense” and we don’t even question it. That’s the way it is!

Looking at the show it was

very interesting to see the types of male stereotypes being played out. You had t w o types of guys - the ripped, muscle-y, “manly” men and the smaller, sensitive guys (maybe you can tell which types of guys lasted longer in the competition).

But it allowed me to see the types of boxes guys have to fit into. The dates the guys had to go on revolved around some variation of stereotypically “manly” things. They had to saddle on firemen gear, put out fires, hack their way through walls with a fireaxe to “save” the bachelorette.

I’ve written before about how even at the school level, there’s this pressure on boys to be cool and “manly”. Maybe

that’s one of the reasons girls keep outperforming boys in school? While the boys have to find time for cricket and other sports and keeping up the façade of being ‘too cool to study’, it’s fine for girls to pop open a textbook, sit in a corner to study and get a l l w o u n d up over wanting to do well for exams.

Boys seem to have to use that time to keep up with the latest video games and generally do other ‘boy things’.

But boys (and all of us) have to take the time to think about the type of person we want to be today, five years from now, and even 10 years from now. Is it worth spending so much time to ‘fit in’ if you become someone that even you can’t recognise?

Being the “macho man”, not showing any weakness,

these are all things that have traditionally been expected of men. And it’s not healthy.

Boys get hurt - girls aren’t the only ones who need to cry. We n e e d to tell o u r sons that i t ’s

o k a y for them to b e expressive, that it’s okay for them to cry, that it’s okay for them to ask for help.

Doing those things doesn’t make them a “sissy”.

Take a quiet moment to think about whether the things you do, or the things you want to do, are things that you truly want or whether it’s what everybody else is doing. Don’t be afraid to flow against the tide, to be your own person, to captain your own destiny.

BY CATHY GULLI

T

hat’s partly why a “culture of disrespect” has sprouted in North America. As children have become less attached to and influenced by the adults in their lives, same-age peers have come to matter more to them. It’s a theme in Neufeld’s book Hold On to Your Children: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers, co-authored by Dr Gabor Maté. Young children “are not rational beings,” says Neufeld. Part of growing up is testing boundaries; little ones, by their very nature, can’t be relied on to hold each other accountable – nor should they.

“Children are not born knowing right from wrong,” says Sax, pointing to longitudinal studies showing that children who are left to discover right from wrong on their own are more likely to have negative outcomes in the future: “That child in their late 20s is much more likely to be anxious, depressed, less likely to be gainfully employed, less likely to be healthy, more likely to be addicted to drugs or alcohol. We now know this,” he says. “Parents who are authoritative have better outcomes, and it’s a larger effect than the effect of race, ethnicity, household income or IQ.” With stakes so high, authoritative parenting would seem imperative. But there is a psychological hurdle that people will have to overcome first, says Nair: “How to respect their child but also be the decider” of the family.

Part of the challenge lies in the fact that parents don’t want to fail – at nurturing and governing simultaneously – and they certainly don’t want their children to fail in their personal development, in school and at so-

cial networking. These worries feed off each other in the minds of parents; that’s why parents second-guess the way they speak to their children, what they feed them, how they discipline them and what activities they permit.

This is all the more true for the growing number of parents who delayed having children until they were “ready” with a secure job, a good home and a dependable partner. “People purposely wait so they can nail it,” says Bria Shantz, a 35-year-old mother of two in Vancouver. “That creates even more pressure. They want to get this perfect.”

Shantz is, in fact, the daughter of Neufeld, and she has called upon him for advice or reassurance. That Shantz, who has a leading child psychologist in her family, one who helped raise her, can still occasionally succumb to parental insecurity, says everything about its potency: “There’s this slight panic.

You want to do everything right,” she says. “Nothing prepares you for how much you want it to go well.”

So as soon as parents conceive, they begin amassing a library of books on how to deal with the fantastic chaos about to enter their lives in the form of a baby; the collection grows with each developmental stage. They subscribe to online newsletters and smartphone apps that alert them on milestones their children should reach by a certain age.

From the outset, parents are tracking how quickly their child is growing, how much they are achieving.

For every expert a parent consults by phone or in person, they’re also checking in with the virtual wise man, Google. That almost never helps. (www.macleans.ca)

NEWS

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SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Chase Green, Jagdeo clash over City Hall's audit

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ity Mayor Patricia Chase Green has declared that while she is not opposed to a forensic audit of the Mayor and City Council, it will not be done at the “whims and fancies” of Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo.

Her comment came in light of repeated calls by Jagdeo for there to be an audit at City Hall.

Green told Guyana Times last week that while in office, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) did not heed her constant calls for an audit of the municipality.

“It is unfortunate that he is calling for an audit now and when I was calling for it under his government, they would have bluntly refused to have that audit,” she said.

It is important to note that since during the PPP/C 23 years in office, Green’s People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) has always been in control of the City Council.

In face of a barrage of forensic audits into state agencies,

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

following the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) assumption to office more than a year ago, Jagdeo had been calling for the Georgetown Mayor and City

Council to be added to the list of agencies to be audited, a call that continues seemingly to fall on deaf ears.

Jagdeo had said that an audit was needed to reveal the amount of tax waivers that were given by the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), how the contracts were tendered as well as the D’urban Park project, among others.

Allegations of misconduct, financial improprieties, illegal tax write-offs as well as sweetheart deals have plagued the M&CC over the past two decades.

Jagdeo’s call was also supported by former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran: “Something has to be done because no efforts are being made to find out what happened in the last 10 years. This infers serious problems.”

He also noted that during his tenure as Auditor General he had cause to repudiate his opinion on the Council’s financial statements, adding that the ac-

Mayor Patricia Chase Green

counts were in such a bad state that he was unable to endorse them as it related to their completeness, accuracy, and validity.

Goolsarran had also stated

that while there was no concrete evidence to suggest wrongdoing within the Council over the last 10 years, he has deduced that non-timely presentation of financial statements implied disinterest and, therefore, raised eyebrows about the handling of fiscal matters within the Council.

“The newly-elected Councillors have to demand an audit and call for accountability within the City Council.

They need to reflect on how best to fix the broken system and bring the accounts up-to-date.

Simultaneously, they need to commission a special audit for the last 10 years because gathering the information for that time would take years…and the people (are) anxious to know what has been going on within City Hall and I am anxious… so a special audit is also necessary,” he had said.

There were calls from several other prominent figures for there to be an inspection of the books of the city.

“We need to be more liberal” – President on dress codes

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hile there have been much talk recently about the strict enforcement of dress codes at various state agencies across the country, President David Granger is of the view that the country needs to be more liberal, calling the imposed dress codes “archaic” and “backward”.

Speaking on the weekly televised programme The Public Interest on Friday, the Head of State pointed out that while the matter has not engaged government at the legislative level, it is a minor bureaucrat probably promulgating rules that are obviously prejudicial.

He noted that if dress codes are causing public nuisance, then it should be remove: “We need to be much more liberal and I am in agreement with serving the public interests first. If the person is clean and decently clad and doesn’t offend public morality, I think the public services should be extended to those persons.”

The President explained that it is unknown where such rules originated but noted that they seem quite archaic: “It is my view that some of the requirements in the so called code, they’re certainly not law. It seems to be a bit backward.

I don’t think, in 2016, there is need for that sort of restriction; it’s an unnecessary imposition particularly when people have to travel distances to transact

business with the government.”

President Granger noted that the dress code is-

sue has often been taken to ridiculous extremes.

He recalled several complaints from parents in a certain part of the hinterland, who claimed that the children were being told to wear white socks and black shoes to go to school.

The Head of State posited that rules such as these pose hindrances to the future of Guyana’s children as well as to the development of the country.

“I have been to schools in which an entire class was barefooted, they had no shoes at all. You mean that because of the dress code, those children will be deprived of an education… they can’t afford shoes,” he stressed.

He went on to say that since the 1970s, the country started moving towards comfort, especially in allowing females to dress comfortably and in accor-

dance with the weather and what they can afford, while being conscious of the need for decency, of course.

Some dress codes in effect at state agencies disallow: tights and short skirts, armless clothing, hair curlers, slippers; and short pants for men and women.

W h i l e dress codes affect the daily routine of most Guyanese, the matter recently gained traction when a local columnist was denied entry into the National Communications Network (NCN) compound because she was clad in an armless dress, even though the dress code notice made no mention of armless clothing.

This is the predicament Guyanese often face when going to conduct business at most government buildings. However, earlier this month the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) had relaxed such imposition.

In fact, newly appointed Commissioner Trevor Benn had explained to a local newspaper that he felt it necessary to address the stringent dress code in light of several complaints by persons being denied entry to the agency.

“Most of the persons who are coming here are coming to transact business, pay their leases and so on…we must remember too that they are most-

ly farmers and some would have travelled long distances… For us to then turn them back because they have on an armless shirt, or are in slippers or rain boots would be us denying ourselves that transaction for which they came… we are not going to refuse money. We are right now

short/strapped for money, so it would be foolish.” the Commissioner stated.

This approach seems to be catching on because the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) about a week later followed suit. Chairman of GRA was quoted earlier this week as saying: “We don’t want the taxpayers to

feel as if we are turning our backs on them…and more so if they are coming to pay their revenues.”

The GRA was said to be one of the strictest enforcers of dress codes, with dozens of people being turned away for simple things such as cuts on the knee caps of vintage jeans.

8

NEWS

SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Man confesses to murdering Eyew tness Gafsons Manager

P

olice on Saturday made a breakthrough in the murder of 55-year-old Terry Lackhan of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, after the detained suspect confessed to killing the man.

The nude body of the Gafsons Industries Limited’s Manager was found hanging from a cord in a wardrobe at his Lot 39 Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, house on Thursday night. The discovery was made by the down-

Dead: Terry Lackhan

stairs neighbour, sometime around 23:00h, after the woman saw a strange person leaving the yard with several bags.

According to A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara) Commander, Clifton Hicken, the postmortem of the body revealed that Lackhan died as a result of strangulation. He added that they arrested a suspect on Friday night and during investigations, the person confessed to the murder.

However, Hicken noted that while they made this breakthrough, investigators are since looking for a second suspect.

“The post-mortem concluded that it was strangu-

lation. We got the suspect in custody and he confessed.

But we’re looking for another suspect and he (suspect in custody) is assisting with the investigations,” the A Division Commander stated.

Meanwhile, Head of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Wendell Blanhum told Guyana Times that the suspect in custody and the one on the run – both of whom are employees of the same company as Lackhan – were seen coming out of the yard on the night of the murder.

“We have an eyewitness who placed both men at the scene, we already have one in custody and so we are looking for the second suspect,” the Crime Chief stated. Blanhum further related that based on the statement of the suspect in custody, it appeared as though the murder was planned.

“Well they would have gone to the house before and based on the statement given to investigators, the murder was planned. They wouldn’t rob him alone because they are known to him and he would have testified against them so they had to kill him,” the Crime Chief stated.

Guyana Times understands that Lakhan was living alone in the upper flat of the two-storey house. The man was seen earlier in the night consuming alcohol at a Chinese restaurant in the village.

Rayad Lackhan, the only son of the dead man, told reporters that he was informed about the tragedy from the bottom flat neighbour. He explained that the neighbour heard strange noises coming from the upper flat but dismissed it because whenever Lakhan was intoxicated, there would be a lot of noises.

“Normally when he drink and come home, he would be disoriented and would probably walk into something or knock down something. So she heard the commotion upstairs and assumed that he was drunk… She told me that’s why she didn’t call me earlier because she assumed he was drunk and moving around and when the wifi cut off, she thought he had tripped on the wire and disconnect it,” he related.

However, the young man noted that the neighbour became suspicious after she heard the gate opening and observed a strange man leaving the yard with several bags in his hand.

“When she saw the person leaving with the bags, that’s when she got scared and realised that something serious has happened,” he added.

It was reported that several items, including a computer that went missing from Lackhan’s house, was found at the home of the suspect that is in Police custody.

Investigations are ongoing.

Culture of silence...

T

...or silencing?

here was a “Professional Social Work Practitioners and Educators Conference” last week at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre. One Jamaican sociologist opined there’s a “culture of silence” operating in Guyana. The different focus of sociologists and social workers was brought out in a meta exchange that saw Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) Executive Director Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth, claiming services should be provided to persons simply because they’re people. The sociologist, on the other hand, claimed social service policies were “created for persons who are not considered persons.”

It’s left to us mere mortals to figure out what the heck they’re talking about. So, dead readers, do we as a people tend to be silent about certain things - or possibly every thing? Let’s start with one topic that falls squarely in the bailiwick of social workers - who’re advocates for the disadvantaged. Suicide, anyone?

Since this APNU/AFC government’s taken office, there’s been so much talking by so many groups about suicide; Guyana’s become a veritable Tower of Babel on the subject. No silence here!

Problem is...with all the breaking of silence on suicide followed by vigils, candlelight ceremonies, marches and conferences, etc not a single action has been taken to actually reduce the rate of suicide that has shot us to the top of the world’s rankings! For years we know the Gatekeepers” Programme - which trains folks in the communities to recognise the signs of suicidal inclinations - which may be verbal or silent - was the most effective interventionist measure. It was even launched by the last administration and recommended by several of the vociferous suicide-fighters.

So why hasn’t anything been done to even resuscitate the Gatekeepers Programme? Well, it looks like the talking IS the action in Guyana. No “culture of silence” here! And suicidal victims - who may or may not be “persons” - are left to their own devices. Which in Guyana is usually poison or rope. But since sociologists usually pontificate on the behaviour of groups at the macro level - “people” rather than “persons” - maybe the Jamaican sociologist meant “the culture of silence” - producing the “sounds of silence” - is more prevalent in some groups more than others in Guyana?

There are definitely some groups that do speak out - even coming out into the streets to make their point, while others are silent and bear their chafe. But is this “cultural silencing” - meaning part of their structural behaviour? Or are they afraid if they speak out they’ll be victimised or worse? And so situational and tactical?

Be as it may, this “silencing” hypothesis looks like fertile ground for some more investigating. And more speechifying.

...on racial politics

Maybe the Jamaican sociologist was referring to pour politicians’ “culture of silence” on our “racial politics”. They should take a peek at what went down in Britain and Brexit and also in Cleveland at the Republican Convention when politicians don’t get real.

The establishment politicians thought they were more “sophisticated” than the folks that put them there.

And insisted that what ordinary blokes were experiencing in their living conditions and prospects for the future, wasn’t REALLY so. They, the politicians, from their well insulated cocoons, knew “better”. And “better” in Britain was to remain in the EU. Several of them had to fall on their swords when the matter was put directly to the “man on the Clapham Bus”!!

Over in the US, the pundits insisted that Trump would never make it past the primaries much less winning the GOP’s nomination for the presidential elections. Just watch deadening silence when the yahoos of America come together in unholy union to catapult Trump into the White House!

Might something similar happen here?

...and CANU CoI Report

With all due respect to Prezzie, he can’t very well paraphrase the findings of the CANU CoI’s report for the people of Guyana. Just as with the Rodney CoI, the ordinary in whom sovereignty ultimately resides, must be given due respect.

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

news

9

SunDAY, JUly 24, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Telecommunications liberalisation

Anti-gold smuggling laws need to be enforced – Allicock

Govt prepared to listen to GTT's concerns – President G

By Shemuel Fanfair

G

overnment is willing to listen to the concerns of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT) Company on the passage of the Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2016, though it believes the telephone giant has nothing new to express.

During an interview on “The Public Interest”, President David Granger made it clear that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) administration is a consultative government and will therefore listen to the concerns of GTT. “It took a long time for us to bring the Bill to its present state. All parties now in the coalition partici-

pated in the Special Select Committee. We heard evidence from the major companies; there is nothing we haven’t heard but we are prepared to sit and listen with them,” he stated.

The President noted however that by no means will government take any measures which will reverse the progress made to liberalise the telecommunications sector.

“We want to make sure that they all recognise that liberalisation is the direction in which the country is travelling and we don’t want any impediments,” Granger emphasised.

Following the passage of the telecommunications bill, GTT Chief Executive Officer Justin Nedd called on the government to honour its contract with service providers.

He posited that in order for the sector to be lib-

President David Granger

eralised, GTT will have to negotiate with the government.

GTT, which had legal monopoly on international voice and data transmissions and the domestic wireline service, has always declared that the sector is free because of the existence of other service providers.

But, Digicel, its biggest competitor, had contended

otherwise due to the many limitations in its desire to expand services to the people of Guyana.

Though GTT has publicly stated that it welcomes the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector, it still wants to further negotiate with government on the matter.

It is unclear what exactly the company wants further discussions on.

The GTT CEO only proffered that the company is not asking for the monopoly to remain but noted there are some things that need to be resolved.

“Right now there are many grey areas we trying to resolve and we’ve been operating in those grey areas for several years, so we’re optimistic that with liberalisation, it will be clear. Businesses need predictability so once we have predictable operating environment, we know that we can focus on driving the business, providing good services and satisfying the customers,” the GTT head had stated.

Additionally, Digicel is awaiting an engagement with government to discuss its licence and regulations for a level playing field.

With the liberalisation, opportunities will now be available for other service providers to make investments in Guyana.

President Granger, when prompted, indicated that he is not aware of any service providers expressing interest in making an investment locally.

(Devina Samaroo)

old exports are one of the main sources of revenue that adds significantly to the Guyanese economy. The associated industries of the precious commodity provide many avenues of employment for both men and women, especially indigenous citizens, the majority of whom reside in the interior.

However, Guyana has not been able to gain the optimum revenue from this lucrative industry as a high percentage of the commodity is not declared to the Guyana Gold Board.

Government had announced earlier this year that thousands of ounces of gold are being smuggled out of the country regularly.

In this light, Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock has reiterated calls for enforcement of regulations that are geared at preventing gold smuggling.

In an interview with this newspaper late last week, the minster suggested that government agencies need to implement better measures of management to correct the “wrongs” that have persisted in the industry: “More systems need to be put in place to retrieve that gold is being taken out of the country without proper management; the laws need to be enforced…[but] things have gone wrong for so long, to do the right seems wrong,” Allicock noted.

According to figures as quoted by Gold Price and the London Fix, the price for gold stood at US$1321 on Friday, up from US$1088 for the same period last year.

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock

This reflects a 17 per cent year on year increase. Late last week, it was announced that the Aurora Mines of Canadian company, Guyana Goldfields Inc had produced an estimated 75,000 ounces of gold for the first half of this year.

In January, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman had announced that about 15,000 ounces of the country’s gold were smuggled every week. Minister Trotman’s previous estimation suggests that the local economy will not fully benefit from the significant price increases on the world market.

In 2015, gold raked in some US$500 million for the country while the early firsthalf of 2016 earnings stood at

some US$366 million.

However, these figures are below the true earnings for the sector, likely reducing the amount of revenue that can be obtained. In September last year, the Natural Resources Minister had pointed out that a multi-stakeholder meeting was held where the anti-gold smuggling task force was established.

The stakeholder agencies the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), and the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU) were included.

In January 2016, it was revealed that the United States government was assisting Guyana to curb gold smuggling to South American nations; and also Europe, Miami and New York.

It was reported that the US Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) were both involved in the antismuggling operations.

Gold prices on the world market skyrocketed following Brexit, which saw the majority of citizens in Great Britain voting to leave the European Union in a nationwide Referendum last month.

10

sunDAY, JUly 24, 2016

guyana-times.com

News

UG social work class honoured for domestic violence advocacy

Go Green!

S

Demonstrating Leadership: From left, Shelisa Camacho-Khan, Kimberly Conway, Shanice Edwards, Jonmal Johnson, Barbara Thomas-Holder (Lecturer), Nickesha Bacchus

T

he University of Guyana’s class of 2014-2016 Social Work diploma students was honoured for their role to eradicate social ills in the society. They received an award at the first ever Guyana Social Work Practitioners and Educators Conference, held Thursday and Friday at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre at Liliendaal, Georgetown.

The social work students were awarded for “demonstrating leadership in advocating for the eradication of social ills within the Guyanese society.”

According to the media release, the award followed a walkathon and rally against domestic violence held on June 25. The walkathon’s PRO Anil Persaud had explained that the event was timely, given the prev-

alence of domestic violence throughout the country.

“Some of us may not know much about the issue and it’s complexities but what we all do know is that domestic violence is unacceptable and it must end if we are to see the brighter future everyone dreams of,” he had noted.

The walkathon was held under the theme, “Stop Domestic Violence: Preserve

the family and Humanity.”

And the initiative was executed in collaboration with the Social Protection Ministry and included the support of NAMILCO (National Milling Company), St Joseph Mercy Hospital and the Civil Defence Commission.

Spring Garden, Supenaam residents frustrated over water quality … says water “useless”

R

esidents living in the villages of Spring Garden and Supenaam in Region Two

(Pomeroon-Supenaam) are complaining bitterly about the poor quality of water they are receiving from Guyana

Water Incorporated (GWI).

According to residents, over the past few months, they have been receiving

“rusty” coloured water at a very low pressure. However, they are still made to pay a bill for water supplied.

Despite several reports made to regional GWI officials, residents say the problem still exists. The water cannot be used for washing or cooking, causing residents to describe it as “useless.”

Several residents also explained that in an entire day, they sometimes do not receive water at all through their taps and when it does flow, it usually takes hours for one bucket to full. “The water supply to us is very bad, it’s so red you cannot use it for anything, we pay our bill monthly, we should be provided with proper water, this is really unfair and

atiricus was concerned. He was concerned about the health of our planet since all those developed countries kept pouring putrid pollution into its atmosphere which is its lungs. He was therefore pleased as punch when Pressie donated another million or so acres of our forest towards cleaning Mother Earth’s lungs.

But he was more pleased with the Georgetown Municipal Elections. Not at the cleanup that preceded it - but with the results that maintained the tradition of a “Green Mayor” at the top. As a man in the newspaper business, Satiricus was keenly aware of the importance of symbolism and was perturbed no one paid any heed to this crucial detail.

“Cappo, my friend,” intoned Satiricus to his friend with whom he was quaffing some beers at the Back Street Bar, “it is God’s work that we have another “Green” as Mayor.”

“Wha’ mek yuh she suh?” asked Cappo idly. He was used to Satiricus’ utterances issued out of the blue.

“To make sure our Garden City returns to its green glory,” said Satiricus sanctimoniously. “And our Green Mayor and Green Georgetown can both be symbols of our Green economy,” “Yes, maan. Me see how de Green Mayah ah bring in Green Parkin’ Meetah fuh put all ova de towng,” said Cappo with a smirk. “De towng guh look prappa nice an’ green!”

“I never thought of it like that,” confessed Satiricus. “I was just looking at the Parking Meters to bring in money to keep the city green.”

“Dat too!” laughed Cappo. “De ‘Merican money de Mayah collect green, yuh know! Me cousin in New Yark she dem a call dem money “green backs”!”

Satiricus looked closely at Cappo. He suspected sometimes Cappo was pulling his leg. “It’s the City that will collect 20% of the greenbacks,” he finally said.

“OK...OK...Me ‘gree dat de Green Mayah serious ‘bout dis Green Economy bizness,” said Cappo as he took a long swig of beer. “Really?” asked Satiricus with a pleased smile.

“Yes, Sato,” confessed Cappo with a twinkle in his eye.

“Yuh na see how she mek de Deputy DumbCan ride wan bicycle? He nah pollute de air now!!”

“But he adds to global warming when he carries on all the time criticising the Green Mayor!” agreed Satiricus as he clinked his beer bottle with Cappo’s.

“Leh abee drink to dat!” Cappo said with a laugh. we are making reports regularly,” one resident told Guyana Times.

A housewife, who spoke with this publication, described the service provided

by GWI as “poor” and said that many times, she has been forced to fetch water from a nearby canal to use in her home. She too said that despite the bad quality of water, GWI is efficient in sending their bills on time.

Residents are therefore calling on the relevant authorities to look into the

matter in an effort to have the situation rectified. This newspaper was told that residents are now solely dependent on rain water for domestic purposes when in the past, GWI’s water was used for domestic purposes.

When this newspaper contracted a senior official from the Anna Regina branch of the water utility, this publication was told that the issue of dirty water is as a result of difficulties the Warousi well is experiencing.

guyana-times.com

SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016

11

News

AIDS response One month later, M&CC still awaiting slipping in “green light” from MPI O Caribbean – UN official Stabroek Market wharf’s rehabilitation

C

omplacency is largely responsible for the slippage in the AIDS response in the Caribbean, according to the United Nations Secretary General Special Envoy for HIV in the Caribbean, Dr Edward Greene.

He made this declaration at the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa before more than 18,000 scientists, practitioners and members of civil society.

Dr Greene was referring to the recent 2016 Prevention Gap report issued by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) just before the Conference began on July 18.

The report shows that after years of steady decline, the Caribbean saw a nine per cent rise in new infections between 2010 and 2015 and only Eastern Europe and Central Asia with a rate of 57 per cent had a higher increase.

The Caribbean statistics compared with a two per cent increase in Latin America; three per cent in Asia and the Pacific; and four per cent in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa for the same period.

In Western and Central Europe, North America and Western and Central Africa there have been marginal declines i n new infections.

Elaborating on the situation for the Caribbean, Dr Greene said that it was necessary for a thorough analysis of the causes and direction of the prevention gap.

Based on his close monitoring of developments in the Region, he identified the possible causes as inadequate attention to testing and treatment, including late testing of people with HIV; lack of care centres, and decrease in the rates of retention of infected people in care.

These, he said, were compounded by equity in access to care especially for the vulnerable populations including men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender people, those who inject drugs and prisoners.

Only recently Guyana’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud stated that HIV/AIDS cases in

United Nations Secretary General Special Envoy for HIV in the Caribbean, Dr Edward Greene

Guyana are once again on the rise.

In fact, he said there is need to re-examine the National HIV/AIDS campaign given that there is a developing trend where persons are no longer scared of contracting the disease because of their awareness that treatment is available and so have become complacent in their sexual activities.

According to reports, Dr Persaud stated that statistics explain that it is mostly the younger population that has been engaging in unprotected sexual activities.

He disclosed that nearly 60 per cent of youths begin having sex at an early age and most of them have little to no knowledge on how HIV/AIDS is contracted or know how to protect themselves.

That aside, Guyana recently received US$160,000 from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to begin a Test and START (Start Anti-Retroviral Therapy) programme which will significantly reduce new HIV infections and fasttrack treatment.

Some 7700 persons in Guyana were infected with HIV in 2013, National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) Programme Manager, Dr Shanti Singh had announced.

The figure represents 1.4 per cent of the country’s population in 2013.

Additionally, according to the statistical report, 5.5 per cent of the 7700 were commercial sex workers while another 4.8 per cent were men who had sex with men.

ne month after the Town Clerk announced that the commencement of the Stabroek Market wharf’s restoration is awaiting the “green light” of the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase Green said she is reiterating the same.

Chase Green told Guyana Times that the Council was unable to carry out the project on its own and so the assistance of the Public Infrastructure Ministry was solicited. However, they are yet to give the “go ahead” for construction to begin at the deteriorated structure.

“We’re working with the Ministry of Infrastructure.

City Hall alone cannot do it.

We’re doing works with the Ministry of Infrastructure

The current state of the Stabroek Market wharf

and it will be looked at, at the earliest opportunity,” she related.

At the beginning of the year, Town Clerk Royston King had announced that there will be a “massive up-

grade” at the facility.

However, when this publication visited the area on Monday last, no work had yet commenced and vendors registered their disappointment at the delay in resto-

ration.

Meanwhile, during the latter part of June, King had declared that the Mayor and City Council requested the assistance of the Public Infrastructure Ministry and is still waiting on the “go ahead” to begin the rehabilitation on the Stabroek Market Wharf.

King acknowledged the deterioration of the wharf and so related that preparations are being made to have the vendors relocated, while further highlighting that the market office will be temporarily transferred to the Kitty Market.

Vendors at the Stabroek Market wharf and its environs have complained bitterly about the condition of the facility where they have to ply their trade.

12 NEWS

SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Pardoned criminals list awaiting approval S

ome two months after Guyana observed its 50th Independence Anniversary the President is yet to approve the final list of prisoners to be pardoned, an initiative of President David Granger to give “petty” offenders a second chance.

Last year, the Head of State pardoned some 50odd “petty” criminals, in their late teens to mid-20s, and committed to do the same again this year as part of the Independence Anniversary; however, these persons are yet to be released.

Guyana Times understands that the President is yet to approve the final list of names vetted and screened by the Guyana Prison Services (GPS) and the Ministry of Public Security.

A senior official from GPS had previously told this newspaper that the list was prepared and sent to the Ministry.

However when contacted on Saturday, Director of Prisons Carl Graham related that they had not received the approved list as yet.

Meanwhile, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan when asked for an update directed this newspaper to the Ministry of the Presidency: “That’s an issue the Office of the President deals with… presidential pardons are from the President’s Office, you should redirect your questions there,” This newspaper also contacted Minister of State Joseph Harmon who said that he is “not aware that the President has approved” the list of prisoners to be pardoned this year.

The criteria used to select the beneficiaries include prisoners who are facing short sentences; those who are incarcerated for petty, non-violent offences; and those be-

Repeat offender Kelvin Bates

tween the ages of 18 and 24.

This pardon gesture applies to both female and male inmates.

While the President initially announced last year that 60 prisoners would be pardoned, only 40 were released in June 2015. The missing 20 were

presumably found unsuitable for various reasons and remain incarcerated.

Additionally, in December Granger pardoned another 20 female prisoners who are mothers so that they can return home to spend the holidays with their children.

However again, only 11 of them were released.

This decision of pardoning criminals had caused great uneasiness among Guyanese, especially business owners.

Persons were also calling for the identities of these convicts to be made public, however it was explained that this would hinder the reintegration of these young people into society.

But this position changed back in May when Kelvin Bates, 19, among the first batch of pardoned prisoners, was charged for a spate of robberies on Corentyne, Berbice.

Minister Ramjattan had stated that he will consid-

er releasing the names of the new set of prisoners to be released this year.

“Of course if asked, we will release the names of all those who will be pardoned. It is an obligation in the name transparency that the Minister release all the names of those who are on parole and pardoned,” he declared.

Bates appeared in Court on Thursday facing several charges ranging from robbery under arms, larceny from persons to possession of illegal firearms and ammunition that occurred earlier this month.

According to court documents, he was on bail for another armed robbery when he committed these offences.

This incident caused concerns to mount again on the initiative adopted by the Head of State.

President However, Granger during The Public Interest television programme admitted to a Guyana Times reporter that Government cannot totally prevent a pardoned individual from relapsing into criminal activities, but he maintained that he was not reckless in releasing those 40 prisoners, among whom the 19-yearold was.

“It wasn’t reckless. I’m not a reckless person… I am advised that it’s not

a reckless plan, there are criteria concerning their age and the possibilities of that person rejoining society and there is a scheme they can do some form of rehabilitative training or education but in the final analysis, it is impossible for the State to guarantee there will be no relapse into that criminal behaviour,” Granger asserted.

The President further pointed out that the initiative cannot be judge based on one individual, highlighting the success of the other 39. He went on to say that criteria used to select the pardoned beneficiaries are strict, hence only 11 of the 20 females were released in December and only 40 of 60 in May last year.

This he explained supports the fact that tough rules are applied when selecting the pardon beneficiaries.

Nevertheless the Head of State said that his focus will continue to be on mothers and young persons who are not involved in violent crimes and cocaine trafficking: “So anybody involved in manslaughter or murder is not going to receive a pardon from the President Granger…

One of the things I said is that (young) people should be in school, in colleges and not in jail.” (Vahnu Manickchand)

Corentyne triple murder

2 more detained, Police hunting other suspects

Dead: Narish Rooplall

I

nvestigators probing the triple murder in Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne, Berbice, have detained two security guards who were stationed in close proximity to where the gruesome discovery of the three bodies, including a father and his son, was made.

Already Police have arrested a man who owns King’s Camp located in close proximity to where they found the bodies of Pawan Chandradeo called "Surish", 37, of Lot 163 Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder; his son Jaikarran Chandradeo called "Kevin", 15, and his brother-in-law Narish

Pawan Chandradeo, also called “Surish”

Jaikarran Chandradeo, also called “Kevin”

Rooplall called "Mice", 33, of Number 73 Village Corentyne.

TURN TO PAGE 16

NEWS

13

SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Linden Councillors want Gold Board branch in region

Those infernal dress codes! L

By Ryhaan Shah

I

had occasion to write before about those infernal dress codes that seem to multiply just to harass and aggravate the general public. The codes do not just emblazon our public service offices - try taking a passport picture in sleeveless attire. No matter once the photograph is cropped just your neck and a bit of your shoulders are showing but the photographers enforce the “law of sleeved dress” as if our lives depended on it.

Ryhaan Shah Who made these rules that our arms, legs and toes are either highly erogenous zones or such horrors to public servants’ eyes that they must be covered up when we stand before them to transact our – the people’s – business? Why do we taxpayers allow ourselves to be bullied in this purely nonsensical manner?

I first wrote about my run-in with these dress codes in a letter to the press years ago. I had gone to the National Public Library to donate some books only to be refused entry by a burly female guard with gaping buttons that exposed her undergarments. But I was the one that was badly dressed because my floral, tropical frock had “fine straps” and these were taboo according to the code. I have never set foot in the library again.

I will use that example as a comparison to my experiences in civilized countries. I had worn that same dress just weeks before to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan and had stood in awe before the original “Water Lilies”

by Monet. That moment was much more sacrosanct than entering our public library and no one cared about my dress because the museum has no such silliness as dress codes.

I have had occasion to go to public libraries in Florida where everyone in those cool, air conditioned spaces are always in breezy tropical wear: flip-flops, shorts, strapless frocks, and even bikini tops. No one bats an eyelid. There, officials are more concerned that the public – however dressed or undressed –borrow books and read than they are about pronouncing on the length of their skirt.

If you feel that the security guards at our gates have no discretionary powers and are forced to follow the rules, think again. Here’s another gem on our dress codes. When I was the GTV Manager, the station was visited by officials from the South African Broadcasting Corp, one of whom was a white South African woman. We were scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Janet Jagan and the lady turned up in a pretty sleeveless frock for the occasion. I said nothing.

It would have been embarrassing to have tried to explain Guyana’s backwardness to her and, anyway, I was curious as to what would happen because just weeks before I had turned up for a meeting in just such a frock and was told in no uncertain terms that I could not enter the compound because my dress had no sleeves.

The male official I was scheduled to meet sent me his jacket to wear. I wore the jacket in the guard hut then took it off as soon as I exited the hut. That such silliness satisfies the dress code proves its silliness.

But what did the guard do about the lady visitor in her sleeveless frock? Nothing! He smiled and waved her though with nary a word. They save their sadism entirely for us locals who they push around with much officious authority because they have been given such unlimited powers – by whom?

But sanity prevails amidst the madness and Commissioner Trevor Benn of the Lands & Surveys Commission must be commended for his commonsense approach to the dress codes. He has stated that to turn people away from paying their bills to the cash-strapped agency because they are wearing slippers or sleeveless shirts would be “foolish”.

Now that the GRA has also removed the dress code, other Ministers, Commissioners, and Department heads should follow suit.

There are situations, occasions, and events that do require socially accepted and appropriate attire – weddings, funerals, parties - but for Government to demand that the public must have a wardrobe change from their regular, everyday clothes just to pick up a library book, or to look after business at government offices is simply ridiculous.

I do not know who has been appointed Guyana’s “fashion police” but I am appealing to First Lady Sandra Granger, who wears sleeveless dresses to many official functions, to use her influence to rid the country of this nonsensical aggravation.

Please have those dress codes removed.

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

inden councillors would like to see the decentralisation of Government institutions which they say will stimulate Region 10 community’s economy.

At a recent meeting with the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources, municipal councillor Lennox Gasper suggested the opening of a Guyana Gold Board office in the bauxite community.

“What will eventually happen is that the miners will stop right here once they know that they can get their gold sold, and they can be able to buy their goods and take it back in. They will ease the extra mileage on their vehicles,” Gasper informed.

He reasoned that this will spark expansion within the business community: “Everything will change.

I’m asking and petitioning if they can do that.”

The councillor also suggested that other government agencies such as the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) be decentralised as

Linden Municipal Councillor Lennox Gasper

well, he told the committee.

A resident present suggested a toll system to charge heavy-duty mining and logging trucks for using the roads and use the money to do road repairs. “If we have our own income…they have to pay a tariff because we can repair our own roads,” this would reduce the need to depend on the Ministry of Infrastructure to repair the roads.

Chairman of the Committee, PPP/C MP

Odinga Lumumba told Gasper his suggestion was a “brilliant idea” and he would raise it with the Minister of Natural Resources.

Other Committee members at the outreach meeting were APNU+AFC MP Audwin Rutherford and PPP/C MP Pauline Sukhai.

Gasper further suggested using the non-operational alumina plant as a processing facility for either lumber or agriculture produce.

However, councillor

Charles Sampson pointed out: “There is still the possibility of the re-establishment of an industrial zone in that area.” The area he referenced was a plot of land outside the boundary of the alumina plant.

Meanwhile, president of the Linden Chamber of Commerce Kevin DeJonge asked for representation to be made to have the road to Lethem fixed. He said the road condition is hindering the effective functioning of the container trans-shipment terminal.

“That container wharf, based on our understanding, was short-changed because of the deplorable state of the road,” DeJonge said.

It was explained by Lumumba that the road to Lethem cannot be repaired to accommodate containers and needed to be paved. He also highlighted the high cost attached to have this done.

The administration last year received recommitment from the Brazilian Government to pave the Linden to Lethem road.

14 NEWS

SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

GNBS clamping down on importers, Younge’s Take local manufacturers The Solider

… says business must be registered before selling certain commodities

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he Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) wants importers and local manufacturers to conform to its registration requirement for the selling of commodities monitored by the agency.

Importers and manufacturers are required to register with the GNBS on a yearly basis to be in compliance with the agency’s standards.

The 20 commodities monitored by GNBS are domestic electric appliances, weighing and measuring devices, textiles, garments, footwear, safety matches, tyres, gas stoves, fertilisers, cigarettes, PVC pipes, furniture, toys, soap powder, Christmas trees and decorative lighting outfits, safety helmets, cellular phones, water and electricity meters, and seatbelts.

The registration of both imported and locally manufactured products will facilitate the inspection of the products’ labels. This will verify that the product is in conformity with national standards.

Head of GNBS Conformity Department Candelle Walcott–Bostwick

Head of the Conformity Department and Officer in Charge of the GNBS, Candelle Walcott-

Bostwick, said: “For the categories of products monitored by the GNBS for the importers, once they’re going to bring in any of those items that are on our list of products they are expected to register with the bureau annually. For the locally manufactured products they also have to register with the bureau.”

If an importer brings in any of these items without being registered by the agency, the items are placed on a ‘hold’ system which allows the importer or the dealer to be registered: “They would complete the form and after that is completed they are normally issued a certificate that should be displayed at the location, that they are a registered importer of a particular product.”

The fee for registration for the importation of these items is generally $30,000 but the dealer (importers of cellular phones, tyre, etc) are required to pay a registration fee of $15,000.

and the State

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olitical Scientist Samuel Huntington underscored the importance and the need for civilian control of the modern day military as he argued passionately that it should always remain “professional” and free from undue political interference and manipulation.

Huntington in his widely published and award winning book, “The Solider and the State”, explained the role that the State must play in order to ensure that the military functions competently, independently and within a clearly specified framework that sees it serving the wider interest of the general public as far as the protectionism of borders and international security is concerned.

Michael Younge To a lesser extent, he explores too the role between the military and other law enforcement agencies whenever the need arises for action to be taken domestically to ward off internal security threats to the State and its civilians.

In short, his advancement of the civilian control over the military theory sees the State and Military as two completely separate entities that turn to a country’s constitution for guidance on how, and to what extent they must relate, intermix and respect each other.

In Guyana, a significant portion of the country’s National Budget totalling billions of dollars have been spent in professionalising the Guyana Defence Force while beefing up the resources for it to pursue its core objectives independently.

Over the past two-and-a-half decades, focus has been placed on allowing the Guyana Defence Force the autonomy it needs to make core decisions about its future, organisational and operational mandates, and the extent to which it wants to become involved in civilian affairs.

This autonomy has been largely guided by the framework set out in the Constitution and the broad policy objectives adumbrated by the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces who in Guyana’s case is its Executive President cum Head of State.

Throughout this period, there was de-politicisation of the GDF, which it is argued by many, had a long history of playing a key role in the execution of political orders that saw the rigging of consecutive democratic elections, suspension of key political freedoms from opponents and the harassment of a selected group of civilians under the instructions of former Prime Ministers, Presidents, Ministers and politicians associated with the successive ruling People’s National Congress administration.

This saw the GDF engaging in key humanitarian exercises to benefit civilians and staying exclusively out of affairs that should largely concern the democratically elected government and its advisors.

But since the new A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change Government has taken office, there seems to be a fundamental shift in both the operational and domestic relations policy of the entity.

It would appear that the GDF, its veterans, retirees and a select group of personnel are now very intertwined and actively involved in the management, investigation and supervision of key activities, programmes and projects that concern civilians at the behest of the government.

Over the past months, both President David Granger and his trusted aide Joseph Harmon have presided over a slew of appointments of sitting and current GDF officers as CoI Heads, probe Commissioners, Advisors in core government departments and state department heads.

These personnel include Rt Brigadier Bruce Lovell (Head - Dataram probe), Rt Colonel Windee Algeron (Head – Drop-in Centre probe), Rt Major General Joe Singh (Head – Mining Pitt Collapse probe), Rear Admiral Gary Best (Climate Change Advisor), Colonel Nazrul Hussain (Head - National Events Planning Dpt), Lieutenant Colonel Sydney James (SOCU Head), and retired Brigadier Edward Collins (Security Advisor) to name a few on a list that continues to grow as the days go by.

From the decisions taken by Government to appoint former military personnel to key state boards and agencies to its apparent favour for persons with a paramilitary background, it appears that civilians are no longer being considered as either competence or qualities to lend assistance in the areas where these former and current military personnel are parachuted.

The now opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic had warned in the lead-up to the 2015 elections that this would happen and has already sounded the alarm, following a series of strange events related to the operations of SOCU, the State Assets Recovery Unit, the Police and other agencies which they believe are pursuing political objectives.

President Granger, a former Brigadier himself, must reconsider his approach as it appears that there is strategic militarisation of the State and Government, and a calculated effort to reduce the influence of civilians in affairs related to governance.

He must take stock of the decision made and seek to chart a different course that would dispel suspicions that a police state is being created or something else sinister is afoot.

The GDF too must insist that its sitting ranks not become involved in the operations of the State or quasi-political overtures in a bid to protect its image and ward-off political manipulation from the Government.

NEWS

15

SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Red Thread to sign on to Hague Children’s Convention

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By: Lorraine Ince-Carvalhal

Teenage pregnancy

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he subject of teenage pregnancy is a significant issue in Guyana and has been for a long time now, yet despite efforts being made to tackle the problem from both the government and non-government organisations, it remains among the highest rates in the Caribbean.

Coupled with the high numbers of those teenagers living in poverty, the situation presents serious concerns.

Why does a young girl who can barely feed herself have a baby?

More mind-baffling is why, after the first she often quickly goes on to have a second and even a third. This culture then becomes a cycle that can be seen repeating itself generation after generation.

The underlying issues leading to teenage pregnancy include gender equality, poverty, sexual violence, negative stereotyping and attitudes, poor education and limited opportunities; all of which many young girls in Guyana face daily.

Gender inequality, despite policy, remains a reality in many parts of the world and here in Guyana the culture of inequality is prevalent. The incidence of reported sexual violence is only the tip of the ice-burg and must make up a large percentage of the numbers of teenage pregnancy each year.

Of those young girls who choose to have children so early in life, poor education and the limited prospects they believe they have contributes to their choice. The issue therefore cannot be dealt with by tackling one area; a much broader approach is necessary.

Family planning should not just be highlighted as a key area for development but should be tackled in an innovative, nationwide drive. It is too large a problem for smaller organisations to tackle effectively.

The government and the family should be a major contributor to the education and guidance of young people in this area to provide a wide societal approach to sex education and make family planning available, accessible and understood.

Sex education in schools is possibly the most efficient medium to educate young girls (and boys) about the issues of teenage pregnancy and the dangers of unsafe sex. There is a need for sexual education to go beyond the practical information and provide the kind of social guidance that is necessary to positively impact on the questionable choices that are so evidently being made by young people in very challenging circumstances.

They should be encouraged to question the irresponsibility of bringing children into the world with no means of providing for them. Are young people being properly spoken to about the realities and responsibility of parenthood? If so why is there no apparent influence on the outcome?

While there are undoubtedly some teenage parents that are doing a wonderful job brining up their children; age does not reflect on their ability to love their child, teenage parents are less likely to have the tools and financial capabilities to offer a child all they need for a secure, safe and healthy start in life.

A child with teenage parents who are financially incapable of ensuring suitable health care standards are met, both nutritionally and hygienically, is more likely to suffer poor health.

Development of social skills, language and cognitive ability can also be delayed due to inadequate parental interactions and guidance; something often associated with teenage parents.

Teenage mothers are less likely to ensure their children go regularly to school, learn to attain standardised national literacy and numeracy levels and follow appropriate routines.

These children are also more likely to have limited access to life experiences.

The loss of a young parent’s own youth and education, narrowed opportunities and restricted lives are further fallouts of young pregnancies. Young girls find it more difficult to pursue dreams and contribute to society once they have a child.They are often reliant upon others for survival and therefore have little control over their lives and what they can offer their children. Risks during pregnancy for teens is a harsh reality and unfortunately a significant contributor to the age group’s mortality figures.

Young people if you have the choice, think carefully before you make a decision, or fail to make one, and bring a child into the world.

They do not only need love to survive. The need food, adequate shelter, security and guidance. There are far too many children already in need of, and lacking, so much.

We are in the 21st century and women have the opportunity to control those areas of their lives more than ever before. The cultural cycle that exists of children begetting children needs to be broken so we can focus all our family resources of time, knowledge and money on the thousands of young people already in need.

ocal NonGovernmental Organisation, Red Thread has disclosed its aim to sign on to the Hague Children’s Convention, noting that this could lead to more strict national standards being developed in Guyana.

The Hague Children’s Convention is held in Guyana to discuss children’s rights and laws which will ensure their protection.

Red Thread Coordinator, Karen DeSouza, said the Convention stands for children’s protection, adding that there is a need for more organisations in Guyana to sign on to these conventions.

“I actually think that once we hopefully become a member of the conference, that there’d be a lot more focus and a lot more recognition and action that address child rights,” DeSouza is quoted as saying by the Government Information

Agency (GINA).

Legal practitioners from across the region recently gathered in Guyana to discuss the Hague Children’s Conventions relating to family law and commerce and how they can be useful to their countries.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, President David Granger noted that the information from it could help Guyana strengthen its regulations.

“Guyana’s legal architecture relating to the protection of children and to issues of family law is far from finished. We expect that the deliberations of this conference will assist us in improving our systems,” Granger said.

Meanwhile, DeSouza said more focus needs to be placed on the implementation of the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

“So one is to, I guess, push the national agencies

Red Thread Coordinator Karen DeSouza

to actually implement in a serious way what we know to be necessary, which is not happening at the moment”.

The CRC is a human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children.

Guyana ratified it in 1991.

The enforcement of the Rights of the Child Convention would then be complemented by the Hague Children’s Convention.

“The Convention simply is about enabling the national stakeholders to access the assistance of an agency that has international reach so it absolutely would be a good thing for Guyana,” she said.

The A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change Government has committed to examine ways of strengthening its human rights architecture.

Red Thread is primarily concerned with the rights of women and children. “So a lot of the times we have to network with other agencies including, Government agencies to ensure that the needs are met of anyone who comes in here,” DeSouza said.

“I did not throw her in grave” – accused tells newspaper

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29-year-old man accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend on Wednesday night, beating and then throwing her into an open grave at the Tunapuna public cemetery, in Trinidad, on Friday contacted Trinidad’s Newsday saying he never threw her in the hole and he would surrender to Police next Monday.

The man denied abducting his ex-girlfriend Shevon Veris.

He admitted meeting with her on Wednesday afternoon but said he has eye-

witnesses who could prove he never abducted anyone, beat her or throw her into a grave.

According to the man, he has voice notes as well as Whatsapp and text messages to prove his innocence.

Asked by Newsday why he was in possession of the victim’s telephone, the man said he grabbed the phone when he realised that another man was calling Veris.

He kept it.

The man denied that he is an obsessed ex-lover and had planned to surrender to Police but changed his mind.

When contacted, Veris insisted her version of the events were the truth and it was preposterous to say that she would intentionally inflict injuries on her own self, as well as go to a cemetery in the dead of night and jump into an open grave.

She said her ex-boyfriend is a pathological liar, hence his reason for not going to the Police. She added that she had TT$1000 in her wallet to buy school books for her six-year-old daughter and the money was stolen.

Veris said she was making arrangements to go to

the Tunapuna Police Station and is hoping that the suspect is apprehended soon.

“I am in pain, but I will have to return to duties next week at my workplace. I cannot live my life in fear, I have a sick child to take care of and I am leaving it in the hands of God and the Police,” Veris said. Senior Police Officers on Friday told Newsday they intend to interview two grave diggers as part of the investigation and believe that the arrest of the suspect is imminent.

(Trinidad Newsday)

Munich gunman ‘obsessed with mass shootings’

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he 18-year-old gunman who killed nine people in Munich was obsessed with mass shootings but had no known links to the Islamic State group, German Police say.

Written material on such attacks was found in his room. Munich’s Police chief spoke of links to the massacre

by Norway’s Anders Behring Breivik.

The gunman, who had dual German-Iranian nationality, later killed himself.

His name has not been officially released but he is being named locally as David Ali Sonboly.

He has also been referred to as Ali David Sonboly, or

David S. He had a 9mm Glock pistol and 300 bullets in his rucksack.

Police do not yet know how the weapon was acquired, but said he had no permit for it and the serial number had been obliterated.

They are investigating whether he may have lured his victims through a

Facebook invitation to the McDonald’s restaurant where he launched his attack on Friday evening. Friday evening’s attack at the Olympia shopping mall also left 27 people injured, including children. Ten of them are critically ill, including a 13-yearold boy, Police say. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

16 NEWS

SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Region 5 RDC meeting disrupted again

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s the ongoing saga between members of the two political entities of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Five (MahaicaBerbice) continues, the nation’s national pledge has been caught up in the dispute. In an interview with Guyana Times on Saturday, Region Five Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal disclosed that last Thursday’s RDC meeting was disrupted once again.

He told this publication that only the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Councillors, along with newly appointed Regional Executive Officer, Ovind Morrinson and his staff, stood for the recital of the national pledge.

“For the national pledge, all of the Councillors of the PPP were standing there, the recently appointed REO and his staff stood up and they had recited the national pledge while Councillors from the [A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change] APNU/AFC remain seated so they disrespected the national pledge,” the Chairman pointed out.

“Mr Morrison had attended his first statutory meeting there. I had introduced him, I had welcomed him to the region and I had given him the opportunity to address the Council; however, the Councillors continued with their disrespectful behaviour and did not allow him although he

Region Five Chairman Vickchand Ramphal

stood at the time when the national pledge was recited,” Ramphal surmised.

He also indicated that he then asked to be excused and gave way for the Regional Vice Chairman, Rion Peters, to continue the meeting, but he was also disallowed from presiding.

Guyana Times has learnt that the new REO had expected the meeting to move forward as he reportedly stated his intention to work with the RDC to advance the work of the region.

A section of the gathering at last Thursday’s disrupted meeting

was standing on the floor, and had entered his presentation but because of their disrespectfulness, he had to discontinue,” the Chairman expressed further.

Ramphal opined that it is the duty of all citizens to honour the pledge.

“They are more disrespectful now because every individual of this land should respect the pledge of this land despite their political affiliation, religion or race… they should have

Earlier this month, Ramphal had contended that because of the lack of monthly statutory meetings, there was a lack of transparency with regard to the RDC’s financial operations. He had stated that the lack of meetings was also affecting the degree to which there could be effective monitoring of projects that were awarded and he had made calls for former REO, Roderick Edinboro, to be clear on the region’s

2 more detained, Police...

Police say more persons could be arrested within the next 24 hours.

A source close to the

financial records.

The issue that has led to the constant disruption of RDC meetings, stemmed from Councillors of the APNU/AFC demanding an apology from the Chairman, premised on claims that Ramphal had disrespected President David Granger by not showing up for an event on January 15, where the President commissioned two buses under the then Three ‘Bs’ initiative.

Ramphal has however argued that he was never invited to the event, and as

investigation told Guyana Times that a son of one of the dead men was told to wait at King Camp while

the trio went fishing. The child reportedly told investigators that at about 20:00h on Thursday eve-

such, there was no need to apologise.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo late last month expressed that Government should condemn what he described as “thuggery” at the Region Five RDC. “President Granger, who talks a lot about social cohesion and allowing local government organs to work, should look at what his Government is doing,” Jagdeo had pointed out.

FROM PAGE 12

ning while at the camp, he heard what sounded to be two gunshots, and later the rapid sound of four more.

He said shortly after, the guards, who were at the camp remarked, “Like dem men shoot them.”

It was based on this information that Police detained the two guards who are being grilled.

Police in a release said each body bore a single gunshot wound.

The discovery of the bodies was made on Friday on a dam at Kokerite Savannah, BBP shortly after daybreak by a rice farmer near to a camp called “King’s Camp”.

The men had gone fishing which began at 15:00h on Thursday. They were expected back at about 03:00h on Friday.

Residents of Mibicuri in the meanwhile have expressed shock over the incident, saying that in the past villagers would go fishing in ponds on a plot of land leased to a cattle farmer, but there were never any objections from that farmer.

One of the three men police have arrested is a cattle farmer.

ANNA'S

Soup drinkers, party ideals and corruption

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here seems to be hardly any space for ideals in political circles. This explains why business and politics almost always go hand in hand, and why at the end of the day Government and opposing polities still seal deals behind closed doors, unbeknownst to the public.

It also explains why business magnates such as Anna Correia Brian Tiwarie jumped from being ardent supporters of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in 2011, to coalition partisans in 2015.

If Tiwarie was not a businessman, perhaps we might have been a bit more surprised at his decision to switch sides.

Similarly, prominent businessmen on the Essequibo Coast who built their fortunes for years on the open market policies of the PPP/C, went ahead and cut deals with the coalition, based on promises bred notably by the Alliance For Change in 2015. False hopes of securing up to $9000 per bag of paddy as promised by men such as Ramayya, Naithram, Doerga, Abel Seetaram and the now Prime Minister Nagamootoo, proved vain. Unfortunately, while for some, switching sides paid off, for others it might just have been an irreversible mistake.

But unlike these popular and established businessmen who came out to publicly voice their support for the coalition with nothing business interests at heart, there are others such as politicians who abnegate from their responsibility to uphold party ideals and values as they proverbially “hang their mouths where the soup flows”.

One of the things that all polities in this country have fought against incessantly is nepotism, despite that they are all equally guilty of indulging in the said. A current case which captured my attention is concealed within the Indigenous Affairs Ministry, under the LCDS-funded Amerindian Development Fund (ADF project).

It was discovered that following the review of the LCDS/ GRIF projects which was completed late last year, the consultant who was hired by the Allicock administration to conduct capacity building sessions for the ADF project, is no other than Minister Allicock’s son-in-law. Interestingly, the individual in question is also a longstanding member of the PPP who was actively engaged in public campaigns.

While there is potentially nothing wrong with working for the development of Guyana regardless of the party in power,(and depending on how strongly one feels about her/his ideals), what is questionable is the ease with which certain politicians succumb to ills which oppose party values, and which feed the corrupt practices of the current Government.

Surprisingly, the partnering United Nations Development Project (UNDP) has either failed to conduct a background check on the individual, or has turned a blind eye to suit the whims and fancies of the powers that be at the Ministry. In either case, this represents a slackening in the recruitment standards of the UNDP which is tasked with ensuring internationally upheld principles of transparency and public accountability.

This also calls for examination of the level of adherence to the party values and stance by members of all polities herewith, and whether the violation of any of these is met with sanctions aimed at preserving the integrity and ideals of each polity. It would be difficult for the supporters of all sides combined, to have faith in parties which are failing to promote the standards which they defend without relent during their electoral campaigns.

Au finale, the cost of corruption is borne by taxpayers who comprise mainly of the working class and working poor. For this reason more than any, the Government of Guyana, notwithstanding Minister Allicock, must be held accountable and must answer to the multiple charges of nepotism which continue to pervade this administration is barely one year of office, falling against the very APNU/AFC 2015 slogan for a corruption-free Guyana.

Likewise, the Opposition PPP must hold its members and leaders to the highest standards if it is to present itself as a credible alternative for the advancement of all Guyanese, including Amerindians. One cannot be part of the problem s/he pretends to solve.

Send questions & comments to sundayarrow@gmail.com

guyanatimesgy.com

SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016

17

Around the World

St Lucia PM wants 80 dead as IS claims twin blasts during Kabul protest Caricom united on foreign relations

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slamic State jihadists claimed responsibility for twin explosions Saturday that ripped through crowds of Shiite Hazaras in Kabul, killing at least 80 people and wounding 231 others in the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since 2001.

The bombings during a huge protest over a power line mark the first major IS assault on Kabul, apparently aimed at sowing sectarian discord in a country well known for Shia-Sunni harmony.

Charred bodies and dismembered limbs littered the scene of the attack, with ambulances struggling to reach the site as authorities had overnight blocked key intersections with stacked shipping containers to control movement of the protesters.

“As a result of the attack 80 people were martyred and 231 others were

S

The Hazaras – mostly Shia Muslims – make up the third largest group in Afghanistan

wounded,” the interior ministry said. “The attack was carried out by three suicide bombers... The third attacker was gunned down by security forces.”

The wounded overwhelmed city hospitals, officials said, with reports emerging of blood shortag-

2 UWI professors to serve on council of International AIDS Society

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wo professors of paediatrics at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, are to serve on the International AIDS Society’s (IAS) governing council for the next four years.

Professors Russell Pierre and Celia DC ChristieSamuels were expected to take up office on Friday, the last day of the 21st International AIDS Conference AIDS 2016) here.

Pierre is also a consultant paediatrician in the Department of Child and Adolescent Health at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), while Christie-Samuels is a senior consultant Paediatrician at the UHWI. He is also the Director of Jamaica’s Paediatric, Perinatal,

Adolescent HIV/AIDS Programme, and Director, Vaccines Infectious Diseases Centre.

Christie-Samuels, who represented Latin America and the Caribbean as a longtime member of the governing council, will take office as Treasurer, while Pierre will join Horacio Salomon of Argentina as well as Luis Soto-Ramirez of Mexico — both of whom were re-elected — and Mauro Schechter of Brazil as a regional member of the IAS’ governing council, representing Latin America and the Caribbean.

The IAS, which was founded in 1988, reportedly has more than 10,000 members from 180 countries and is the largest conference-organising body of health care professionals worldwide.

es and urgent appeals for donors circulating on social media.

The Taliban, who are in the middle of their annual summer offensive and are more powerful than IS, strongly denied any involvement in the attack. The Islamic State group claimed

the bombings in a statement carried by its affiliated Amaq news agency, calling it an attack on Shiites.

The attack represents a major escalation for IS, which so far has largely been confined to the eastern province of Nangarhar. (Excerpt from

Yahoo News)

t Lucia Prime Minister Allen Chastanet wants the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to adopt a unified position when dealing with the United States.

According to Chastanet, while St Lucia completely supports the United States, by not speaking with one voice Caricom has marginalised itself.

“We have become irrelevant,” he said, adding that he was disappointed that the Caribbean was not at a meeting in Ottawa between Canada, Mexico and the United States.

“The fact that we were not at that meeting, the fact that a lot of the things that were given to us initially that gave us an advantage we have lost and when we look at the amount of money that is being spent in the Caribbean in expecta-

tion they have for us to be able to provide proper security in this region is insufficient,” Chastanet told the Times Newspaper in St Lucia.

He said in addition, the issues surrounding correspondent banking relationship could lead to a crisis and supported the position taken by Caricom leaders at their summit in Guyana to have united position on the matter.

Many Caricom countries depend heavily on remittances and foreign direct investments that are facilitated by some of the world’s largest banks based in North America and Europe.

But to comply with international regulations and lessen threats to their reputations, the banks are ending relationships in the region stigmatised as a tax haven.

(Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Floods in China kill scores, displace tens of thousands

H

eavy rain in China has killed at least 154 people and forced tens of thousands from their homes, according to state media reported.

About 114 people were killed and 111 others missing in the northern province of Hebei after rain triggered floods and landslides, the Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, citing the civil affairs department.

Nearly 50,000 homes have collapsed, it said.

In the central province of Henan, 15 people were killed and eight were missing after thunderstorms and strong winds forced 72,000 people from their homes and damaged 18,000 houses.

Overall, about 8.6 million people have been affected by the flooding, according to state media and local government reports.

Dozens of people have been killed and many more are missing across China after a round of torrential rains swept through the country earlier this week, flooding streams, triggering landslides and destroying houses

Large parts of China have been inundated with rain this summer, killing more than 200 people.

More than 1.5 hectares of crops have been damaged, leading to direct economic losses of more than 20 billion yuan (US$3 billion), ac-

cording to the Government.

The central bank on Friday issued a statement

saying it would provide financial support for flooded areas. (Al Jazeera)

Date for CCJ referendum to be Turkey’s Erdogan shuts schools, charities set after Carnival (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

in first state of emergency decree

P

resident Tayyip Erdogan tightened his grip on Turkey on Saturday, ordering the closure of thousands of private schools, charities and other institutions in his first decree since imposing a state of emergency after the failed military coup.

Turkish authorities also detained a nephew of Fethullah Gulen, the USbased Muslim cleric accused by Ankara of orchestrating the July 15 coup attempt, the Anadolu state news agency reported.

A restructuring of Turkey’s once untouchable

military also drew closer, with a planned meeting between Erdogan and the already purged top brass brought forward by several days.

The schools and other institutions are suspected by Turkish authorities of having links to Gulen, who has many followers in Turkey. Gulen denies any involvement in the coup attempt in which at least 246 people were killed.

His nephew, Muhammed Sait Gulen, was detained in the northeastern city of Erzurum and will be brought to the

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends an interview with Reuters at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, July 21

capital Ankara for questioning, Anadolu reported. Among possible charges that could be brought against him is membership of a terrorist organization, the agency said. It is the first time a relative of Gulen has been reported detained since the failed coup.

Turkey has also captured a key aide to Gulen, a presidency official said.

Halis Hanci, described as the cleric’s right-hand man, apparently entered Turkey two days before the abortive coup, the official told reporters. (Excerpt from Reuters)

A

ntiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne said a date will be decided for the referendum to determine whether the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) should replace the London-based Privy Council as the country’s court of last resort, after the Carnival celebrations.

“There is a little hiatus that will continue until after Carnival, but once it is over, we will settle on a date before the end of the year,” he said, adding that the public education campaign would also follow once the referendum has been launched.

Earlier this year, two pieces of draft legislation to allow the CCJ to be adopt-

ed in Antigua and Barbuda were presented to Attorney General Steadroy Benjamin.

The Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda requires a referendum for any amendment, before the country can become a member of the CCJ. In particular, the referendum is needed to address the initiation of the Appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ. So far only Belize, Barbados, Guyana and Dominica have adopted the CCJ as their final appellate court. All 15 Caricom members, however, recognise it as the place to settle matters related to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which formalised the group of nations. (Antigua Observer)

18

SunDAY, july 24, 2016

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2016…

Refreshed Amazon Warriors take on peaking Zouks T

he Guyana Amazon Warriors will get back in action after a nineday break when match 23 of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) bowls off today at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Centre in St. Lucia at 17:00h. The Warriors opponents are the St. Lucia Zouks who have been inspired by home advantage to win two out of two so far.

When the teams met earlier in the tournament, the Warriors drew first blood with a convincing eight-wicket victory at Providence. On that occasion, the Zouks batted first and were restricted to 138/6 with Mike Hussey playing a lone hand with 64. As the Warriors quicks, Sohail Tanvir and Rayad Emrit shared four wickets. In reply the home team knocked off the runs with just two wickets down. The consistent top order was led by unbeaten knocks from Jason Mohammed with 43 and Chris Lynn 38 while Dwayne Smith made 32 and Captain Martin Guptill got 19.

However, today’s en-

counter may not be such an easy assignment for the South America based team as they are coming up against the home team that seem to be peaking at the right time as the league stage of the tournament wraps up. With just two points from four matches before their home leg began, the Zouks were facing elimination for the fourth consecutive year but after two convincing victories in their first two matches their fortunes are brighter for a historic maiden play-off spot.

The Zouks are well led by Captain and home town boy Darren Sammy who seems a different player since playing at the ground that is named in his honour and his team mates have responded in like manner. They first defeated the Patriots by 35 runs with Sammy hitting 59 then disposed of the Tridents by seven wickets with Sammy claiming three wickets. Their batting is led by Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher who had useful knocks against the Tridents with assistance from Shane Watson, Mike Hussey, David Miller and

Sammy while their bowling charges depends on their pace attack led by Jerome Taylor, Morne Morkel, Delorn Johnson, Watson and Sammy.

The Warriors had a nineday break since their last match which was a defeat to the Jamaica Tallawahs.

They have since made one major change to their squad with Captain Martin Guptill leaving to join his native New Zealand in Zimbabwe for a Test series.

He is replaced in the squad

by Australian Nic Maddison while the leadership responsibilities rest on the shoulders of Trinidadian Rayad Emrit.

Emrit who has captaincy experience has nine wickets so far in this year’s CPL with Tanvir’s 13 having more scalps for the Warriors. The pair have been responsible for the damage in the seam department and lots will be dependent on them once again today. Adam Zampa, Veerasammy Permaul and Stevan Jacobs have been taking care of the spin department but it is unlikely that all three of them will play today in seam-friend-

ly conditions in St. Lucia.

Muhammad Ali Khan and Paul Wintz were used earlier as back up seamers and one of them may be called upon as back up to Tanvir and Emrit while Dwayne Smith can also be useful in such conditions.

The opening slot left vacant by Guptill’s absence will be filled immediately by Maddison the hard hitting left handed opening batsman from New South Wales.

The rest of the Warriors batting will revolve around Mohammed, Smith, new vice-captain Lynn with useful contributions from the middle and lower orders

Teams

namely from wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble, Tanvir and Emrit.

The lone casualty may be Christopher Barnwell who is having a forgettable CPL with scores of 5, 0, 0, 10 and 8 so far from seven matches. He may be replaced by either West Indies winning under 19 captain Shimron Hetmyer or Assad Fudadin who can both give the batting some depth.

Guyana Amazon Warriors; Rayad Emrit (Captain), Chris Lynn (Vicecaptain), Sohail Tanvir, Dwayne Smith, Adam Zampa, Jason Mohammed, Christopher Barnwell,

Veerasammy Permaul, Orlando Peters, Assad Fudadin, Anthony Bramble, Paul Wintz, Steven Jacobs, Stephen Katwaroo, Muhammad Ali Khan and Shimron Hetmyer.

St. Lucia Zouks; David Miller, Shane Watson, Darren Sammy (captain), Michael Hussey, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Morne Morkel, Jerome Taylor, Derone Davis, Grant Elliott, Kristopher Ramsaran, Shane Shillingford, Delorn Johnson, Kyle Mayers, Keddy Lesporis, Nitish Kumar, Gidron Pope.

Mat Won Lost N/R

Pts Net RR

Jamaica Tallawahs

8

6

1

1

13

+1.502

Guyana Amazon Warriors

7

5

2

0

10

+0.246

Barbados Tridents

7

3

3

1

7

-0.023

Trinbago Knight Riders

7

3

4

0

6

-0.102

St Lucia Zouks

6

3

3

0

6

-0.629

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots

8

1

7

0

2

-1.022

“You represented Guyana GBTI 40-miler set for today in Berbice with distinction” – Forde − National U-17 team return after Rd 1 of CFU Championships

T

he National Men’s Under-17 team returned to Guyana following the First Round of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Men’s Under-17 tournament held in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) from July 15 to 19, 2016.

The team returned on July 20, 2016 and was welcomed by a contingent from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) including President Wayne Forde, General Secretary (ag), Merson Jones and Communications and Public Relations Officer, Debra Francis.

According to a press release for the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Forde offered brief remarks to the team following their arrival. The GFF boss expressed how proud he was of them, thanked them for their service and said there are the future of Guyana’s football.

“This is a building process; a very careful and deliberate rebuilding process and you are a key component of this process. I want you to lift your heads up high and don’t allow anyone to

Wayne Forde interacting with the technical staff of the Guyana U-17 team upon their arrival at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport

tell you anything negative about the results. We (the Executive Committee) thought you represented Guyana with distinction.

The Executive Committee will do everything within its power to develop you over the next few years to enable you to advance Guyana’s football internationally.” Additionally, he thanked the technical staff for their contribution during the course of the tour.

Head Coach of the National Under-17 team, Anthony

Stephens, in presenting his review said, “the guys performed satisfactorily…they gave a good representation of themselves.”

He attributed the fitness level (lack of) and inability to convert goal-scoring opportunities despite multiple given to them as contributing to the results achieved. He however remains optimistic about their chances of exceling in the future and encourages them to invest in their personal development – developing their football skills – and

urged their respective clubs to establish mechanisms to facilitate the growth/development of the players. Meanwhile, in an invited comment on the way forward, President Forde committed to the development of youth football. “The Executive committee has embarked on the long overdue rebuilding process.

This will no doubt be a difficult process but we are confident that in a few years the fruits of our toils will be evident on the field of play. The five-year GFFNAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power year-round U-17 tournament and the Scotia Bank Academy Training Centre are the bed-rock for that imitative,” as was stated in the release.

Guyana played three matches in Round 1 of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Men’s Under-17 tournament with the following results: MATCH 1: Guyana 1-4 Jamaica (Scorer: Roberto Sewell-Case) MATCH 2: Guyana 1-0 USVI (Scorer: Joshua Ferreira) MATCH 3: Guyana 0-3 Antigua and Barbuda.

Flashback; Branch Manager Keiola Blackman presenting the winning trophy to Romello Crawford

G

uyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) Corriverton Branch, will stage its 9th annual 40mile cycle road race today on the Corentyne.

The race peddles off from the bank’s Corriverton Branch to Adventure Village and returns to the point of origin.

The event will be contested in three categories; open, juvenile and female. The first riders to cross the finish line will receive prizes while the four juveniles will also be awarded for their efforts. Three trophies and cash incentives will also be up for grabs in the fe-

male category. The female category will have a new winner as last year’s winner Marcia Dick will not be competing due to pregnancy. However, Romelo Crawford is expected to receive strong challenges as he attempts to defend the coveted title as ‘The man to ride away with GBTI’s money.’ Today’s race promises keen completion as winners in the Open and Juvenile categories defend their titles against among others, Jeban Crawford who took second prize last year and Zaman Khan; the current National Juvenile Champion.

sundAY, july 24, 2016

guyanatimesGY.com

England vs Pakistan, 2nd Test, Old Trafford

19

Woakes, Root put England in total control J

oe Root made a careerbest 254 and Chris Woakes took three wickets as England dominated Pakistan in the second Test at Old Trafford.

Root helped England declare on 589-8 before Pakistan crumbled to 57-4 on the second evening, trailing by 532.

Woakes, who made 58, removed Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali and nightwatchman Rahat Ali in six overs late on.

Ben Stokes also had Younus Khan caught behind to put England - 1-0 down in the series - in a commanding position.

Root, scoring freely on the second morning.

He hit the only six of the England innings - a superb upper-cut over third man off Mohammad Amir - before offering a tame return catch to Yasir.

But Woakes’ most important contribution came with the ball, adding to his 11-wicket haul at Lord’s with three early victims in Pakistan’s reply.

SCOREBOARD Chris Woakes snaffled Azhar Ali with a one-handed return catch

Joe Root brought up his double hundred with a reverse sweep

Unbeaten on 141 overnight, Root batted for more than 10 hours in total, facing 406 balls and

He had Hafeez taken by Root at second slip in his first over and caught Azhar one-handed above his head off his own bowling.

After Younus Khan gloved Stokes down the leg side via his glove, Rahat fended a Woakes bouncer to short leg to cap a day of almost total England dominance.

hitting 27 fours, although Younus dropped a sharp low chance at slip off Yasir Shah on 155.

Root put on 113 with Woakes, 57 with Stokes

and 106 in only 20 overs with Jonny Bairstow as England added 275 to their overnight total at more than four runs an over.

He was largely content

to play the anchor role - it took him 23 deliveries to go from 190 to 200, reaching the milestone with a reverse-sweep off Yasir before cutting loose either side of tea.

The leg-spinner, Pakistan’s match-winner with 10 wickets at Lord’s, finished with 1-213 from 54 overs.

Stokes hit five fours in his 34 before he was caught behind off Wahab Riaz following a Pakistan review, despite no apparent conclusive video evidence that he had gloved a pull.

Root eventually fell to a top-edged pull off Wahab Riaz, and Bairstow’s dismissal shortly after prompted the declaration.

Nightwatchman Woakes played a key role with the bat alongside

Stumps - Day 2 England 1st innings (Overnight 314/8) AN Cook* b Mohammad Ami r 105 AD Hales b Mohammad Amir10 JE Root c Mohammad Hafeez b Wahab Riaz 254 JM Vince c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Rahat Ali 18 GS Ballance b Rahat Ali23 CR Woakes c & b Yasir Shah 58 BA Stokes c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Wahab Riaz 34 JM Bairstow† c Misbah-ul-Haq b Wahab Riaz 58 2 MM Ali not out Extras: (lb-9, w-8, nb-10) 27 Total: (8 wickets dec; 152.2 ove rs) 589 Did not bat; SCJ Broad, JM Anderson Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Hales, 6.6 ov), 2-210 (Cook, 55.4 ov), 3-238 (Vince, 63.6 ov), 4-311 (Ballance, 85.1 ov), 5-414 (Woakes, 113.4 ov), 6-471 (Stokes, 130.1 ov), 7-577 (Root, 150.2 ov), 8-589 (Bairstow, 152.2 ov) Bowling: Mohammad Amir 29-

6-89-2 (w-2), Rahat Ali 29-4101-2 (w-2), Wahab Riaz 26.21-106-3 (nb-9, w-4), Yasir Shah 54-6-213-1, Azhar Ali 11-0-52-0, Shan Masood 3-0-19-0 (nb-1) Pakistan 1st innings Mohammad Hafeez c Root b Wo akes 18 Shan Masood not out 30 Azhar Ali c & b Woakes 1 Younis Khan c †Bairstow b Stok es 1 Rahat Ali c Ballance b Woakes 4 Misbah-ul-Haq* not out 1 Extras: (lb-1, nb-1)2 Total: (4 wickets; 24 overs) 57 To bat; Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed†, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Mohammad Hafeez, 12.6 ov), 2-43 (Azhar Ali, 18.6 ov), 3-48 (Younis Khan, 21.3 ov), 4-53 (Rahat Ali, 22.5 ov) Bowling: JM Anderson 6-3-70, SCJ Broad 5-2-9-0, MM Ali 3-0-11-0 (nb-1), CR Woakes 6-0-18-3, BA Stokes 4-0-11-1

Guyana romp to 12th consecutive Junior Pepsi Hikers annual Caribbean Squash Championship Hockey camp opens on Monday

G

uyana won the overall Team title for the 12th consecutive year when the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Junior Championship wrapped up on Saturday in the Cayman Islands.

Guyana defeated the Cayman Islands 3-2 in the Boys final, but loss by a similar margin in the Girls final to Barbados.

First it was a repeat of last year’s Girls Final as Barbados aimed to retain the title they won last year against Guyana, who had won the previous nine editions. In the Girls final round robin playoff against Barbados, which was a virtual final as both teams were unbeaten the crucial match would be the Girls Under 13 tie as both teams knew that Team Guyana would most likely win the two Girls Under 19 matches and Barbados would win the Under 17 and Under 15 matches.

The two Under 13 girls Abosaide Cadogan and Sumairaa Suleman took to the court for the first match.

Sumairaa was the defending Girls Under 13 champion who had earlier this week retained her title but she had not yet played Abosaide in the tournament. The two girls matched each other stroke

The victorious Guyana Boys team

for stroke in the first game but Sumairaa won this crucial game 11-9. The second game was even closer but again Sumairaa prevailed 12 -10. Losing these two games seemed to take the fight out of Abosaide and she lost the third game 3-11. Barbados had basically secured the Girls title.

In the girls Under 15 match, Makeda Harding was up against two time defending Girls Under 15 champion Megan Best and lost easily 2-11, 1-11, 2-11. Taylor Fernandes the 2016 Girls Under 19 runner-up quickly dispatched Chelsie Samuel 11 -3, 11-4, 11- 6 but two time defending Girls Under 17 champion Amanda Haywood easily defeated Rebecca Low 11-4, 11-2, 11-1 to clinch the Girls Team title for Barbados. In the dead rubber match Girls

Under 19 champion Larissa Wiltshire defeated Jada Smith- Padmore 11-4, 114, 11-3. Team Guyana then knew that to win the Overall Team title the Boys team had to secure victory against Cayman Islands. First on court was two times defending Boys Under 13 champion Shomari Wiltshire against Jace Jarvis. Shomari won the first game 11-5 and then won the second game 11-6. The third game was quickly over with the score being 11-1.

Next on court were the Under 15’s with Daniel Islam taking on David Pitcairn. Daniel won a close first game 11-6 but David was giving his all and won a close second game 118. It was do or die in the third game but Daniel played the big points better and won this crucial game 11-7.

Daniel held his nerve and

won the fourth game 11-6 to give Team Guyana a crucial two matches to love lead. Ben Mekdeci was up next against 2016 Boys Under 19 champion Julian Jervis. Julian showed his true class with a clinical display as he defeated Ben 11-1, 11-1, 11-2. The crucial Boys Under 17 match was on next as Alex Cheeks was matched against Jason Sairsingh. The two had met earlier in the Pool tie and Alex had won by three games to love but today was different as it was the team final.

Alex won a close first game 11-9 and then took the second game 11-3. At nine all in the third Alex was two points away from securing the victory for Team Guyana but it was not to be as Jason won the next two points and forced the match into a fourth game.

The fourth game was neck and neck with both players giving their all. Again Alec was two points away from victory at 9-7 but Jason won the next point. That was as close as Jason got as Alex won the next two points and with that both the Boys team title and the Overall Team title. In the dead rubber match Rithew Saywack went the full five games with Isiah Robinson but narrowly lost 9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 8-11, 10-12.

T

Some of the Hicker’s junior players engaged in a practice session

he Hikers Hockey Club will stage its Annual two-week Hockey Camp from Monday July 25 to August 6 2016 at St Stanislaus College on Brickdam. The Camp is opened to children between the ages of 6 and 16 years and will be sponsored by Pepsi. Training sessions will take place daily from Monday to Friday with the participants divided into two categories - The beginners group will be coached from 9:00h to 11:00h, while sessions for the intermediates will be conducted from 11:00h to 13:00h.

The camp will end with a mini tournament, where participants will be given the opportunity to showcase their newly acquired skills.

Robert Fernandes, Junior Development Co-ordinator of the Hikers Hockey Club has

described the camp as vital to the club’s development. “This camp is the life-blood of the club, it not only gives youngsters the chance to experience the game for the first time, it is also where our junior coaches develop their skills by giving back to the sport which has helped shape their lives, he disclosed. Fernandes said the Club conducted a coaching clinic for the advanced juniors who will be assisting during the Camp and he was pleasantly surprised by the level of enthusiasm shown by the players to take up the challenge. Meanwhile, the Club has expressed gratitude to Demerara Distillers Limited under their Pepsi brand for sponsoring the Camp.

Admission is free and parents and interested youths can register by calling 685-5003.

20

guyana-times.com

sundAY, july 24, 2016

Arinze Chance aiming to become Guyana’s next sprinting sensation

BY AKEEM GREENE

F

ormer student of The Bishops’ High School and aspiring Petroleum Engineer, Arinze Chance (AC) has given himself some humongous goals and if achieved, it undoubtedly will push Guyana fur-

some eye-catching performances on the track that puts him in pole position to become one of the country’s top sprinters in the near future.

Guyana Times Sport (GTS) had a one-on-one with the 20-year old, who is currently in the twin island Republic of

Chance leads the field at the Flacon Invitational Meet earlier this month in Tobago, where he clocked 46.81s for first place

six but after playing with Maltenoes Sport Club for two years; the coach was watching me doing some shuttle exercises after training and he told I should really consider running, and it was that same year at the National School Championships at Enmore in 2004, I won the 100M and got second in the 400M and right after that championship, I joined the Police Athletic Club (PAC) in March of the same year.

GTS: How has the move from Guyana helped you?

AC: Apart from being in the comfort of my own

Arinze Chance

ents.

Training programmes are actually the same here, you just have more respect here and it’s much more serious, so you feel the need to excel, the passion, the competition would force you to excel.

GTS: What are your marquee events?

AC: 400M and 200M, this season I only ran about four 200Ms, my coach was preparing me for the 400M since I came here, he noticed I had some talent in that event and felt he could help me to become a great 400M runner.

Flashback! Chance and his former teammates of the Police Athletics Club

ther up the ladder in the world of athletics.

From the his young years at the St. Margaret’s Primary School, where he represented North Georgetown at the National School Championships, the sprinter has produced

Trinidad and Tobago furthering his studies at the University of Trinidad and Tobago perusing a diploma in Petroleum Engineering.

GTS: Where did it start for you?

AC: I actually started with cricket, at the age of

home in Guyana, the difference here is that I’m forced to be more responsible for my times, more responsible in the meals that I eat, more responsible for what I do in training; I have to make something out of all the money invested in me by my par-

In January I ran 49.24s at a developmental meet; at Falcons Invitational meet in Tobago in July, I clocked 46.81s.

GTS: Whose is your inspiration in the world of athletics?

AC: Michael Johnson.

Reason being he does the

same events I do and I admire his technique in running and his mental approach because he really uses a tactic for every race, preying on the weakness of others.

GTS: Who or what is the reason behind your success?

AC: The reason being for my success is my love for competing; I have been competing in anything and everything from schoolwork to running. Once I get a chance to compete, I give my utmost; I have been getting a lot of support from my family, especially my aunts and uncles after I was going through a series of hamstring injuries but I have been able to develop, recuperate and come back stronger.

GTS: What is a challenge that you think athletes face in or out of Guyana?

I find those persons in the private sector and other persons in the capacity to provide sponsorship in Guyana, do not invest enough to ensure Guyanese athletes get accommodation, a travel stipend, these simple things athletes should not have to worry about and they should be focused on just performing well.

GTS: Do you receive support from those in Guyana?

AC: I get no support from anyone other than my family, I was actually trying to get into contact with the President of the Guyana Athletics Association (Aubrey Hutson) to see if I can represent Guyana at the Under-23 games since Guyana did not release any qualifying times for the event but I hope my current time makes me eligible since I would really like to attend.

GTS: Where is Arinze

Chance looking to take his running career?

AC: I’m looking to go to the highest point in running, which would be the Olympics, I’m actually looking to qualify for the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo and that process would begin this year, since at the age of 20, it is only wise I put in a four year plan, to get adequate preparation for the Olympic games GTS: What is needed to achieve these goals?

AC: Next year I’m hoping to qualify for the World Championships; it’s a bit unfortunate that I won’t be able to compete at this year’s Olympics but I would be happy to compete at the World Championships because I always had a plan that once I was able to compete at the World Championships, I would be able to get a feel of the international competition before heading to such a major event. To reach there I need to continue working with my coach, Lester Osouna from the University of Trinidad and Tobago, Fast Track.

I would like Guyana send a team to the world relays which will be my first international meet as a senior athlete; from there I would like to represent Guyana at the World University games.

GTS: Any advice for aspiring runners?

AC: Have faith in their coach have a major goal and several smaller goals leading to the major goal and also do a lot of personal research because this is an individual sport, the more you know for yourself, is the better you can reach where you want to go; most importantly never give up and look to God, with God nothing is impossible.

YELLOW PAGES sunDAY, july 24, 2016 | www.guyana-times.com

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D C Caesar-Fox gets first big home game

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D C Caesar-Fox Secondary after defeating Charity Secondary at Mainstay Lake on their way to the quarter finals

D

C Caesar-Fox Secondary formally Waramadong Secondary will have their first quarterfinal game in the Digicel schools annual knockout competition on home soil today when they take on South Georgetown winner, Sir Leon’s Lesson.

The match will be played at the Bartica Community Centre in region number seven.

Defending champions Christiansburg Secondary will have home advantage when they take on the Region Six Champions; Tutorial Academy in Linden and will start as favorites.

Meanwhile, West Berbice powerhouse; Bush Lot Secondary, the Region Five Champions will be at home at the Number Fiver Ground against Annandale Secondary of East Coast

Demerara; the Region Four Champions.

Chase Academy; the winner of the North Georgetown zone will travel to Lethem to take on the region Nine Champions; host Annai Secondary.

Annai and Tutorial are still to prove that they can take on the big teams.

Tutorial has only competed against teams in the region thus far while Annai got pass Vergenoegen Secondary in their playoff match on Sunday but their true potential is still to be proven. The team has shown very good ball control and coordination which seems to be among the best in the tournament so far.

Bush Lot has been living on the edge in all of their games thus far in the competition surviving two penalty shootouts and won the re-

gional final after being two down. They have proven to be fighters and their performance in the 2013 tournament is being remembered when they finished third.

Sir Leon’s Lesson will be taking the field with six players on the national team and are one of the favorites but the national players have not been training with the team recently and were exposed to a higher quality of football, will the recent exposed have a positive or negative impact on the teams ability to perform as a unit be adversely affected will be seen this afternoon.

With all of the games starting at 15:30h it will be impossible to witness more that one of what seems to be an afternoon of exciting school football, it will only be possible to witness one game.

Usain Bolt criticises Justin Gatlin after 200m win

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Usain Bolt jogged across the line to win the 200 metre in 19.90 sec and dismissed any worries about his fitness

U

sain Bolt accused sprint rival Justin Gatlin of “disrespect” after the six-time Olympic champion won the 200m at the Anniversary Games in London.

Bolt, 29, clocked 19.89 seconds in his first appearance since pulling out of the Jamaican trials.

He was picked for the Olympics after getting a medical exemption, leading to comments from Gatlin and others.

“For me I felt it was a joke, I felt it was a disrespect they think I’d back out of a trials,” said Bolt.

“I’ve proven myself year on year that I’m the greatest. I laughed when I heard it, I was disappointed, especially in Justin Gatlin.”

Bolt won gold in both the 100m and 200m at the London and Beijing Olympics, and will defend both titles in Rio next month.

Gatlin, considered his main 100m rival, was among those who claimed the Jamaican − who has struggled with a hamstring injury − got preferential treatment he would not receive were he American.

“He’s injured, gets a

medical pass, that’s what his country does. Our country doesn’t do that,” Gatlin, who has twice served doping bans, was quoted as saying in the American press.

At the Olympic Stadium on Friday night, Bolt finished 0.15 seconds ahead of Panama’s Alonso Edward in second, with Britain’s Commonwealth silver medallist Adam Gemili third.

The fastest 200m time of the year is 19.74 by United States sprinter LaShawn Merritt, while Bolt’s world record − set in 2009 − is 19.19. (BBC Sport)

22

guyana-times.com

sundAY, july 24, 2016

Seagram’s Royal Stag Cup 1st Test, Antigua

Shami, Yadav make West Indies follow-on M

ohammed Shami bowled through the 2015 World Cup with a busted knee.

By the end of it, he needed surgery, lost out on the IPL earnings and missed more than a year of international cricket. The

with a four-for of his own to make West Indies follow on 323 runs behind.

In the follow-on, the other quick, Ishant Sharma got rid of Kraigg Brathwaite, a man known for quiet defiance who denied India for 218 balls in the first

the batsmen for longer, provided fewer freebies, and took out the heart of the West Indies batting.

A word of caution, though: West Indies, not the best going around, contributed to their dismissals.

Brathwaite didn’t.

From the time he and nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo frustrated India for 16 overs, it was clear the bowlers would have to work hard. Patience, the buzzword leading into the series, was tested. A measure of the difficulty in taking 20 wickets was

Mohammed Shami celebrates the wicket of Marlon Samuels en route to his five-for

R Ashwin and Amit Mishra added 51

Rajendra Chandrika awkwardly tries to evade a short ball

BCCI compensated him for the loss of IPL money, a first such recorded instance. Once he was fit, Shami walked into the Test XI in Antigua, and showed why he might be a man worth looking after.

On a slow pitch where it looked difficult to dismiss batsmen who didn’t

innings, in the first over.

The time away from the game was well spent from the looks of it. In his last Test series, Shami was guilty of offering leg-side runs when asked to bowl long spells. The coaches identified long strides in his run-up as the problem, a result of a huge

Roston Chase pulls during his first Test innings

play shots, Shami bowled with menace to take four wickets after which Umesh Yadav chipped in

workload in his first year with the Indian team.

Shami came back with shorter strides, stayed at

how both wickets in the first session came through injudicious shots. It was a period when West Indies didn’t look for runs, which made it difficult for wickets to come.

The resistance was led

by Brathwaite, who rode his luck a little at the start of the day. With a forward and backward short leg in play, he failed to keep the balls angled into his ribs down on at least three occasions, but managed to avoid the fielders. His partner Bishoo’s outside edge was beaten at least seven times. It would have frustrated India even further considering Bishoo faced only 15 balls in the first eight overs of the morning.

The early jitters out of the way, Brathwaite did what he is known for. Bowling outside off to him, if not a long halfvolley, was a waste of energy. At the other end, though, India began to make inroads. Amit Mishra, introduced ahead of R Ashwin, provided the first breakthrough when Bishoo played an impatient sweep shot and dragged his foot over to be stumped. Just before lunch, Kohli sensed an opportunity and went back to Shami, who had been desperately unlucky in his first spell of 6-1-16-0.

Shami glided in and remained threatening even if the batsmen were patient. Darren Bravo wasn’t even patient.

When India were getting restless, he calmed them down by flirting with a wide delivery five minutes before lunch. The ball did bounce more than expected to take the edge, but Bravo had played with an angled bat with his feet stuck on the leg stump.

On the way back for lunch, Kohli was heard telling his bowlers, “This is the reward for patience.”

More reward was to follow in the second session.

Marlon Samuels, who might be playing his last Test series, is not a proactive batsman. He likes to sit back on the back foot, and lets bowlers bowl where they want. Shami did so and in the fifth over after the break, he bowled an in-between length, which dragged Samuels forward even though his weight was back. The ball held its line to take the edge. An aggressive short ball took the shoulder of Jermaine Blackwood’s bat to end a double-wicket maiden. This was the first dismissal that didn’t include wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

From 92 for 5, Brathwaite and debutant Roston Chase resisted for more than 16 overs. They were undone by a man often guilty of not using the crease and also offering freebies on the pads, Yadav. While he did offer freebies here too, especially in the first session, he showed a clear intent of using different angles

to make the batsmen play at balls they would otherwise leave. The reward came unconventionally.

Chase pulled an inviting short ball straight to

57, to hold India off in the final session of the day, but didn’t cause enough damage to prevent a follow-on.

Yadav had taken Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite out in successive balls to seemingly end India’s frustrating experience with the tail. Holder edged a wide outswinger to give Saha a recordequalling sixth dismissal for an Indian wicketkeeper, and Brathwaite premeditated a leave to be bowled. Dowrich, though, annoyed India a little more in partnership with No. 11 Shannon Gabriel, who lasted two balls once the legspin of Mishra was introduced.

With only 90.2 overs bowled in the first innings, with a possible 13

SCOREBOARD Stumps Day 3 India 1st Innings 566/8 decl West Indies 1st innings(Overnight 31/1) KC Brathwaite c †Saha b Yadav74 R Chandrika c †Saha b Mohammed Shami 16 D Bishoo st †Saha b Mishra 12 DM Bravo c †Saha b Mohammed Shami 11 MN Samuels c †Saha b Mohammed Shami 1 J Blackwood c Rahane b Mohammed Shami 0 RL Chase c Kohli b Yadav 23 SO Dowrich† not out 57 JO Holder* c †Saha b Yadav 36 CR Brathwaite b Yadav 0 ST Gabriel b Mishra 2 Extras: (b-4, lb-2, w-2, nb-3) 11 Total:(all out; 90.2 overs) 243 Fall of wickets: 1-30 (Chandrika, 14.2 ov), 2-68 (Bishoo, 32.1 ov), 3-90 (Bravo, 42.3 ov), 4-92 (Samuels, 48.2 ov), 5-92 (Blackwood, 48.6 ov), 6-139

short midwicket followed by a brute to Brathwaite, who on 74 didn’t look like he was going to make a mistake. Yadav went wide on the crease, angled a bouncer in, got Brathwaite to throw his gloves in front of his face.

Playing his first Test as a specialist wicketkeeper, Shane Dowrich scored his second Test half-century, an unbeaten

(Chase, 65.4 ov), 7-144 (KC Brathwaite, 67.3 ov), 8-213 (Holder, 85.2 ov), 9-213 (CR Brathwaite, 85.3 ov), 10243 (Gabriel, 90.2 ov) Bowling: I Sharma 20-7-440 (nb-3), UT Yadav 18-8-41-4, Mohammed Shami 20-4-664 (w-2), R Ashwin 17-5-430, A Mishra 15.2-4-43-2 West Indies 2nd innings (following on) KC Brathwaite lbw b Sharma 2 R Chandrika not out 9 10 DM Bravo not out Extras: 0 Total:(1 wicket; 13 overs) 21 To bat; MN Samuels, J Blackwood, RL Chase, SO Dowrich†, CR Brathwaite, JO Holder*, D Bishoo, ST Gabriel Fall of wickets: 1-2 (KC Brathwaite, 0.5 ov) Bowling: I Sharma 4-2-3-1, Mohammed Shami 4-3-2-0, UT Yadav 3-1-8-0, R Ashwin 2-0-8-0

overs to go before a full night’s rest and with five bowlers in his side, Kohli enforced the first followon for India since late 2012 against England in Ahmedabad. Ishant provided instant pay-off with an inswinger that trapped Brathwaite in front, but Bravo and Rajendra Chandrika prevented further damage. (ESPN Cricinfo)

guyana-times.com

sundAY, july 24, 2016

23

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2016…

Zouks maintain winning ways against Tridents

T

he St Lucia Zouks have made it two Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) wins in two at the Daren Sammy National

needed 30 runs from 36 balls.

It looked to be a cruise for the home team but the Tridents were given some hope when Charles went for 41 to the sec-

Pollard came together with the score on 60-2 and looked to set a platform from which they could launch in the death overs, but neither man

Ahmed Shahzad took a classic catch to dismiss Shane Watson off Ravi Rampaul

Cricket Stadium thanks to the bowling of Sammy himself and runs from Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher.

The win takes them to six points and makes qualification for the knockout stages for the first time in their history a real possibility for the St Lucian side.

Chasing just 138 to win Charles and Fletcher got the home side off to the best possible start. In the first 10 overs the openers managed 80 runs without losing a wicket. It was actually a quiet start until the ninth over that was delivered

by Imran Khan. That one cost 17 runs as Johnson Charles smashed two sixes. The Zouks lost Fletcher not long after that when he nicked a low catch through to Nicholas Pooran behind the stumps.

Charles was joined by Shane Watson who could well have departed on 10 when he skied a catch off Ravi Rampaul that was well caught on the rope by Shoaib Malik. It was a no ball from Rampaul and Watson was reprieved.

A short rain delay shortened the chase by one over meaning that when play got back underway the Zouks

ond ball after the resumption.

Watson also departed before the end of the game to a brilliant tumbling catch

by Ahmed Shehzad but the Zouks cruised home with 15 balls and seven wickets to spare. It was a steady start by the Tridents after they won the toss and decided to bat first. They reached 40 for no loss from their six over PowerPlay with Kyle Hope and Shehzad batting steadily in the opening exchanges.

The first wicket fell when Shehzad completely misjudged a slower ball full toss from Sammy and spooned it straight up in the air. Sammy then picked up his second when Shoaib Malik mistimed a short ball and he was well caught by Mike Hussey on the midwicket boundary.

While wickets were falling at the other end Hope was making his career best T20 score, finishing with 55 from 48 balls – his first fifty in this format. The Tridents have struggled to find a successful opening pair in this tournament and Hope making the spot his own bodes well for the Barbados team going forward.

Hope and captain Kieron

SCOREBOARD Barbados Tridents innings (20 overs maximum) KA Hope c Hussey b Sammy 55 c †Fletcher Ahmed Shehzad b Sammy 13 Shoaib Malik c Hussey b Sammy 3 KA Pollard* c & b Johnson 20 N Pooran† c Lesporis b Watson 2 D Wiese c †Fletcher b Taylor17 SK Springer run out (†Fletcher/ Hussey) 6 ND Stewart c †Fletcher b Watson 9 I Khan not out 3 R Rampaul not out 1 Extras: (b-1, w-6, nb-1)8 Total: (8 wickets; 20 overs) 137 Did not bat; M de Lange Fall of wickets: 1-51 (Ahmed Shehzad, 7.3 ov), 2-60 (Shoaib Malik, 9.1 ov), 3-92 (Hope, 13.4 ov), 4-96 (Pollard, 14.3 ov), 5-98 (Pooran, 15.2 ov), 6-111 (Springer, 17.2 ov), 7-129 (Wiese, 18.3 ov), 8-135 (Stewart, 19.3 ov)

Bowling: JE Taylor 4-0-181, M Morkel 4-0-34-0, DE Johnson 4-0- 37-1 (nb-1, w-3), SR Watson 4-0-29-2 (w1), DJG Sammy 4-0-18-3 (w-1) St Lucia Zouks innings (target: 131 runs from 19 overs) J Charles c Khan b Pollard 41 ADS Fletcher† c †Pooran b Pollard 45 SR Watson c Ahmed Shehzad b Rampaul 19 DA Miller not out 19 DJG Sammy* not out 0 Extras: (lb-2, w-4, nb-1) 7 Total: (3 wickets; 16.3 overs)131 Did not bat; K Lesporis, MEK Hussey, S Shillingford, DE Johnson, JE Taylor, M Morkel Fall of wickets: 1-88 (Fletcher, 11.2 ov), 2-101 (Charles, 13.2 ov), 3-113 (Watson, 14.5 ov) Bowling: M de Lange 2-0-34-0 (w-1), R Rampaul 4-1-21-1 (nb1), D Wiese 3.3-0-21-0, I Khan 3-0-27-0 (w-2), ND Stewart 1-06-0, KA Pollard 3-0-20-2 (w-1)

got that far. First Hope lost his wicket to Sammy, Hussey once again the catcher at midwicket. Then Pollard depart-

ed to a brilliant caught and bowled from Delorn Johnson who swooped low in his follow through to pull off a great grab.

Going into the St Lucia leg of the tournament local hero Sammy had claimed just one wicket in three matches. Since he arrived he has claimed four wickets in two games. In this match he finished with figures of 3-18 from his four overs.

When Nicholas Pooran also fell going to a big shot the Tridents had stumbled to 98-5 in the 16th over. Things got worse when Shamar Springer and David Wiese had a horrible mix up and West Indies Under-19 star Springer was run out by the length of the pitch. Wiese struck some lusty blows but the Tridents lower order couldn’t do the job that the top order had failed to do as they reached just 137-8 thanks to some brilliant bowling from the Zouks, a total that was chased down with some ease. (CPLT20)

Andre Fletcher blasted 45 to lay the foundation for the run chase against the Tridents

SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016

Sports is no longer our game, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s our business

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Refreshed Amazon Warriors take on peaking Zouks

Page 18

England vs Pakistan, 2nd Test, Old Trafford

Page 19

Woakes, Root put England in total control Chris Woakes claimed his third with the scalp of the nightwatchman Rahat Ali to end a good day with bat and ball

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