Guyana Times Daily

PPP wants extension of Claims and Objections period Cabinet clears over $412.3M in contracts

Cabinet on Tuesday gave its no-objection to more than $412.03 million in contracts which were approved by the Tender Board.

Bagotville residents in Region Three will now benefit from a new sluice to the tune of $48.6 million, while residents of La Grange, West Bank Demerara will also benefit from the construction of a sluice to the tune of $57.8 million.

Additionally, a contract totalling $61.52 million, which received cabinet’s no-objection, will see the provision of floor care and janitorial services for the Georgetown Public Hospital. Another contract for the provi -

sion and supply of paediatric Antiretroviral drugs for the National Aids

Programme Secretariat to the tune of US$91,721 was also given the go ahead.

Meanwhile, residents of Region Six will benefit from repairs to damaged sections of the East Berbice Road as a contract to the tune of $36.06 million was also supported by Cabinet. Sea Defence work at Cane Garden, Leguan, Essequibo River is now possible after Cabinet approved $43.8 million.

Dr Roger Luncheon also advised that Cabinet gave its no-objection to a contract to the tune of $118.9 million for the docking and rehabilitation of the MV Malawi . A $31.4 million contract for the rehabilitation of the Parika Stelling was also given the go-ahead.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has officially written the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) requesting that the period assigned for Claims that is, August 4-24, be extended by seven days.

The PPP/C said in a statement that it is convinced that an extension at this critical time is necessary to ensure most, if not all, eligible Guyanese are on the list and not disenfranchised whenever elections are called.

“Already we have seen the AFC submission of a “No-Confidence Motion” on the Government, coupled with the APNU public support and only recently, the Speaker of the National Assembly has thrown his weight behind them with justification that the Government is undermining the work of Parliament.”

The party said it has received valuable information from extensive fieldwork countrywide which proves there are many persons who are still to effect transfer of their particulars from one list to another, especially in new housing schemes.

“Time and again, the party had engaged GECOM to conduct mobile registration in these schemes as well as hinterland and riverain communities; even though some amount of work was been done to this effect, the PPP/C remains dissatisfied with GECOM’s poor PR [public relations] to notify residents of mobile units; poor selection of convenient days and times to residents and meagre time spent in hinterland and riverain communities,” the statement read.

Representation

It is to be reminded that it was the PPP/C who made representation for the over 8000 persons who were still to take transfers at the end of the last continuous registration period. And ground work has shown there is still a significant amount of persons who are still to do so with the Claims and Objections period concluding on Sunday, August 24.

Consequently the PPP/C wrote to GECOM on June 20 requesting an extension to the Sixth Cycle of Registration, since there were significant amounts of corrections and new registrants to be done as well, cognisant of the fact that the Claims and Objections period is very short.

The PPP/C calls on all major stakeholders to support its call for an extension so that every eligible Guyanese can get on the list, paving the way for transparent, free and fair elections.

Earlier this week, the PPP/C had called on all Guyanese to expose any type of discrepancies that may

surface during the current Claims and Objections period in order to ensure there is a clean, accurate and credible Voters List. The party said the first ingredient for the holding of free and fair elections is a Voters List that is above board.

“We call on all Guyana to support the PPP/C’s concerns with respect to discrepancies arising out of the registration process and the production of a Preliminary List of Electors (PLE). GECOM should be reminded that political parties were given copies of the Preliminary Voters List to scrutinise.

“Further, it is the prerogative of political parties to monitor the current Claims and Objections exercise and to report its findings of malpractices to GECOM for their corrective action.

“It is GECOM’s responsibility to inform the public that political parties are currently carrying out house to house work to check for discrepancies on the PLE 2014. This exercise of house to house checking of the list by political parties is a right that parties have over the years,” the party said.

Transparency

Given a mandate by the electorate to represent almost half of the country’s population, the PPP/C intends to ensure that there is complete transparency during the registration process and at GECOM itself.

The party had cause to write GECOM only last week after its field operatives found 18 persons on the PLE with the same Georgetown address. At the said address, they found one of the 18 persons with a prepared list of the 18 that were listed.

“The PPP/C has been submitting irregularities to GECOM on an ongoing basis rather than wait until the Claims and Objections period concludes since this period lasts for only 28 days and we are only 10 days away from its conclusion,” the party said.

The PPP/C is calling on GECOM to explain in clear terms: The drastic increase in new registrants (over 78,000) when the average annual increase of new registrants is usually just over 11,000; what quality-control mechanism was used for inputting data from the NRRD into the PLE and who did it?; why weren’t critical vacancies including those yet to be filled at the IT Department not filled and was only acted upon after questions were raised by the PPP/C?; and when will GECOM put an International Monitoring Unit (IMU) or Joint International Technical Assistance (JITA) in place to overlook the inputting of critical and important data and the evaluation of such data as well?”

Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon

OPENINGS

WEATHER TODAY

No evidence other narcosubs were built here

− Benn says patrolling rivers impossible

BY VAHNU MANIKCHAND

Transport Minister

Robeson Benn has said that evidence so far is inconclusive as to whether other narco-subs were built here in light of the recent discovery of a self-propelled, semi-submersible craft last Thursday in Region One.

Guyana has so far requested assistance from the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Asked in his capacity as Transport Minister, whether there was any information as to whether other such vessels were built here undetected, Benn said they have no information.

“We have no information that would suggest that this is going on for a while. It appears as though it might either be a newly built semisubmersible or one that was being repaired. Based on all information, we have and all the chatter out there, it does appear that this is a firsttime activity, but we could be very conclusive.”

He said too that given the large size of “our interior, there are things happening out there that are, in many cases, beyond our capacity to know about. These vessels are designed to be undetectable or non-detectable so there is that problem.

Surveillance

Asked about monitoring and surveillance of the country’s waterways, Benn said: “It is impossible for anyone to be patrolling all the creeks and waterways of our country, all at the same time to discover every activity out there. We have to rely on information from people, from sightings while flying over and regular updates on information that we have on these issues.”

Noting that the vessel was found in a very small creek, Benn said: “There are numerous ones like that in our country. It would be beyond our capacity at the moment and even just now to be patrolling, at the state level

by the Coast Guard, every little creek. The Waini is filled with numerable creeks and some of these disappear in the dry season and re-appear in the rainy season.”

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee on Wednesday while commending the security forces for the discovery of the vessel in a creek along the Waini River, North West District, asserted that it was built to transport tonnes of cocaine.

The Minister said this was the first time a SPSS was found in Guyana, and was built to transship tonnes of narcotics/contraband, smuggled into the country, possibly for onward movement through the North-West coast onto the trans-Atlantic route.

Praise

“The Ministry applauds the work of the security operatives and reaffirms its commitment to regional and international cooperation based on the principles of mutual respect in the fight against the world drug problem,” Rohee said in a statement.

The vessel is the latest innovation in the decades-old drug trade and President Donald Ramotar has announced that agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will help local sleuths probe the discovery.

With the use of these craft on the rise, US officials have said that they fear that the trafficking networks are moving away from so-called fast boats, the high-powered fishing and leisure boats that can carry about a tonne of cocaine and are easier to spot, to semi-submersible and fully submersible vessels that can surreptitiously carry many more tonnes of drugs, which are unloaded in shallow waters or transported to shore by small boats.

Former Police Commissioner and APNU security spokesman, Winston Felix said on Monday that such a vessel points to the presence of internation-

al drug mafias here. He said Government needs to strengthen border security.

“The GDF [Guyana Defence Force] should have been deployed there, but they weren’t, so there was a gap available and enough space for these people to engage in such illegal activities,” he stated.

The former Police Commissioner pointed out that Government should have recognised that the North West District is probably the country’s most vulnerable area; hence, they should implement systems to have the GDF’s presence there, along with the necessary resources to strengthen their operations. Felix opined that such a submersible vessel is used only to conceal the shipment of narcotics, particularly cocaine, around the Region.

He lauded the organisa-

tions for their diligent work in intercepting the vessel; however, he noted that there is no telling of how long the illegal activity has been going on there or whether any such craft was built before.

The Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) had said that the craft found in Region One was blue and was already fitted with a diesel engine and steering wheel, navigation and other machinery to deem it serviceable. However, no contraband was on board the SPSS.

Investigations

CANU, along with Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Special Forces, Coast Guard and Air Corps, acting on intelligence from an ongoing investigation, conducted an operation along the Waini River.

During a search of one of the creeks branching off from the Waini, the vessel was discovered about two miles in, along with a camp consisting of three structures – accommodation, workshop area and generator. The accommodation had the capacity to sleep approximately 12 persons. In addition, there was also a kitchen area located within the accommodation.

The workshop consisted of pulleys, power tools, paint, and several fibre-glass materials. Based on the items present, it is believed that the SPSS found in the creek was built in the area.

Transport Minister Robeson Benn

Editor: Nigel Williams

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Editorial

National unity

Guyana’s forward movement is heavily dependent on the ability of all political parties to build trust and work together with the aim of strengthening our governance structure, reducing ethnic tensions and creating permanent unity. Perhaps the most important ingredients in the recipe for establishing a true government of national unity that can stand the test of time are trust, compromise and mutual respect.

Such a government would see widespread healing occurring, and the reduction of all forms of discrimination and racism, which still exist in our society, albeit in smaller portions. But caution must be exercised ahead of any attempt to establish such a government because of the negative implications that can arise if the process fails.

It is also necessary to give much thought to putting enough measures in place that will present the collapse of this form of government, were it to come into being, because this too can have a negative impact on the populace, while reinstating long-held fears and a lack of trust.

Therefore, Guyanese must strongly reject any attempt to score cheap political points or gain the reins of government, by simply bandying around the concept and using it conveniently. They must also take with a tip of salt those who are touting the concept of shared governance but are failing miserably to demonstrate the political maturity that is needed to make it a reality.

Understandably, some believe that trust can only be built when the partners enter the mechanism established for them to work together. However, no one enters an agreement blindly. There must be clear preconditions, an assessment of the viability of the engagement, trust, an agreed list of expectations and a clear understanding of how to move the process past possible gridlock.

As a matter of fact, the 10th Parliament has demonstrated that even if the electorate creates the situation where all parties must work together, trust is not axiomatic and neither is forward movement. Interestingly, not even the parliamentarians themselves have managed to come up with a mechanism that can move them past the stalemate and political differences which are hampering the progress of this nation.

Whenever differences occur, the lack of trust is rooted in the constant recanting on agreements by the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) brokered with the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C). No one should forget the consequences when talks between the two sides collapsed and some sections of Guyanese were mislead.

Interestingly, the PPP/C’s declaration that any discussion on shared governance must be rooted on the firm foundation of trust is welcoming. The party has also managed publicly to illustrate the series of actions taken since the 1970s to advance similar concepts. It should be recalled, that former President Bharrat Jagdeo had embarked on such a process when he successfully piloted massive constitutional reforms which led to greater inclusivity as far as governance is concerned.

It is therefore, regrettable that the two Opposition parties, which are holding on to a combined one-seat majority in the Parliament, are misusing their new-found power while taking advantage of some of those same reforms.

None of the current political actors have sought to pursue the vision outlined by Jagdeo in his February 11, 2003 declaration. Equally alarming is APNU’s decision to seek to broker a partnership that does not include the PPP/C under the guise that it is pursuing a “one Guyana platform” and its interested in shared governance.

The time for excuses on both sides of the divide is long gone and the country’s current political situation requires mature talks about inclusive governance and the building of trust. President Donald Ramotar and Opposition Leader David Granger have a golden opportunity to create history in Guyana by initiating an arrangement that demonstrates their seriousness about uniting all Guyanese.

No one must be locked out of the discussion and no stakeholder must be locked out of the governance structure.

Flooding continues

many streets in the capital city were transformed into lakes, forcing pedestrians to either walk through the filthy water or risk their safety by walking along the roadways. Is this what our tax dollars are paying for?

Those who win elections by fraud can never provide honest leadership

Dear Editor,

Voting in the election of public officials is the most visible and common form of participation in modern democracies, and also the most fundamental. The ability to conduct free and fair elections is at the core of what it means to call a society democratic.

Elections provide a peaceful and fair method by which the citizens of a democracy can select their leaders and have a meaningful role in determining their own destiny. Therefore, fraud or corruption should not be allowed, in any form,

anywhere near our elections because it hinders our ability to freely choose our representatives.

It is not really important which candidate or political party wins or prevails in an election. The important thing is that the winners should be the best of us, in the moral, civic, political and integrity sense, regardless of their political affiliations. The future of our country and our people will depend on the integrity of the personalities we elect to our representative bodies. Those who seek to win elections by fraudulent or

corrupt means can never be able to provide the honest leadership we seek; and as such, they have no problems fielding candidates who have been found to be corrupt or fraudulent in their politics. Is it because such political parties are themselves corrupt? Or is it because corruption is not an issue that troubles them in any way?

For instance, the APNU/ AFC who was found to be corrupt in numerous ways, not once did they ever handle any situation in a decent manner; their lewd and lawless behaviour is somewhat

expected of them; and is known for defending criminals and corruption. It is therefore not surprising that such things, such evils don’t bother them. Corruption doesn’t seem to be an issue for them. We cannot continue to rely on politicians who consistently refuse to see what is lofty, and fix their eyes with solemn intentness only on that which is vile and debasing. There is filth in our electoral processes, and it must be scrapped.

Sincerely, R

Persaud

Déjà vu with well-orchestrated attacks by Opposition, media on investment

Dear Editor,

Once again I am experiencing déjà vu with the current attacks well-orchestrated by the Opposition with Kaieteur News and not far behind the Stabroek News on investment in Guyana which disenfranchise all our people.

Only a few months back, there was a huge cry from the Opposition and Kaieteur News/Stabroek News about the Muri Brazil Investment, South of Guyana. Now, it’s Chinese company Bai Shan Lin that s being castigated for large scale investment in the forest sector.

From the side lines, I have been observing the back and forth between the

Government Ministry –the Natural Resources and the Environment Ministry and the Guyana Forestry Commission, providing numerous facts/clarification on this investment, which was not published. However, the facts provided were instead twisted to suit the exposed agenda of the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News. This should not be a surprising act by either newspaper, as over the years, these media entities have churned out misinformation to victimise and extort foreign investment/companies.

I find it appalling that new foreign direct investment is continually being

attacked and forced out of Guyana just because newspaper publishers want to sell their papers with scandal and as a means of extortion.

We have seen attacks by both the Opposition and hostile media on the Marriott Hotel, Amalia Falls Hydro Project, Specialty Hospital, Muri Brazil Investment, and now Bai San Lin. While I am absolutely sure this is not the end, I believe the Opposition and the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News need to be taken to task to provide real verified facts, rather than speculations and manufactured misinformation.

While I may not be a

Government supporter, I would like to state that if these newspapers are practising investigative journalism as they claim, I would like to see the newspapers publish the verified facts on all that has been said about the forestry sector and Bai Shan Lin. And please, no photographs without verification. Finally, I would like to urge the gullible reporters of the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News not to be persuaded by your editors and publishers to twist your articles, it will only come back to haunt you as an individual.

Sincerely, Erica Smith

Would citizens of Georgetown ever experience something other than “wading through the water” when it rains? After one day of heavy downpour,

(Carl Croker photo)

Kaieteur News should desist from creating unnecessary public mischief

Dear Editor,

Reference is made to an article published by the Kaieteur News on August 19 in the newspaper pointing to questions asked during a press conference hosted by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the latter’s referral of such queries to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

There was also a follow up report in the August 21 edition of the newspaper.

In the subsequent article, the issue is referenced yet again as though there is some mystery as to the process, despite GRA’s previous outline of the process

through which concessions are granted, which ironically was noted in the same article.

As such, based on these continuous queries by the newspaper on the same matter and for further clarification, the GRA wishes to make it clear that duty-free concessions are only granted by the GRA if they were first approved by the relevant regulatory entities/bodies, approvals of which are then forwarded to the Revenue Authority.

The GRA is most certain that the newspaper is already aware of this and therefore its representatives

had to have been mischievous to even pose such questions at the forum.

The granting of any specified concession is based on established laws and policies and would be granted taking into consideration the type of investment involved and, therefore, the newspaper’s reference to the type(s) of vehicle for which any concession was granted was most likely also malicious and reflects a complete misunderstanding of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) followed in the granting of concessions.

The GRA will not be

providing any further comments on this matter since the Tax Act includes provisions for such information to be deemed strictly privileged and confidential.

The GRA therefore advises that the Kaieteur News desist from creating unnecessary public mischief and sensationalism and hopes that the newspaper will venture to do proper and thorough research in the future, especially prior to publishing articles of such nature.

Respectfully,

Khurshid Sattaur Commissioner General

An unfortunate mischarge of justice

Dear Editor,

The Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) wishes to express concern over the circumstances which led to the dismissal of the case against Linden Primo, who was recently charged with discharging a firearm and threatening behaviour following the staging of the controversial 18th Biennial Congress of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).

The PPP/C has noted too the attempts by the PNCR to cover for Primo, while using its Oppositionmedia agents to downplay the issue and sweep it under the carpet.

The party is aware that the chief witness in the case and several others did not attend court proceedings to give evidence, because of sheer intimida-

tion and bullyism by key operatives at the PNC’s Headquarters. The PPP/C condemns this type of intimidatory tactics.

The PPP/C is concerned that the women were forced into silence by those who had an interest in ensuring that the truth surrounding what took place at the protest-riddled congress did not come to the fore.

While this is not surprising, the party believes that David Granger, who holds himself out as the paragon of virtue, political rectitude should now also express concern that the charges were dropped against a man whose actions clearly compromised the integrity of the PNCR’s Congress.

Granger ill-affords to be silent on this issue, given the criticisms from his

own camp about the manner in which the PNCR’s Congress was conducted. He must also explain why his party, which preaches law and order, failed to cooperate with the Police during the initial stages of the investigation, and why the PNCR did not opt to furnish the Police with other witnesses.

Granger himself cannot deny knowledge of Primo’s actions as it occurred while he was present at Congress Place.

The PPP/C firmly believes that the PNC’s attempt at protecting the accused came off the heels of the party’s association with other criminal elements, including Kevin Fields, Linden “Blackie” London, and others who launched assaults on innocent Guyanese.

India’s independence has historical significance for Guyana

Dear Editor, India celebrated her 68th independence from British colonialism last Sunday. I was fortunate to be invited by the President’s staff for a reception at the President’s residence in the evening to mark the occasion. This is a tradition going back for decades – ambassadors and most prominent citizens, including the MPs and Ministers, were invited for the event to interact with Ministers, VIPs and VVIPS.

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi was also there. It was a most impressive ceremony that included classical music from the Army bands and the National Anthem. Earlier in the morning, Prime Minister Modi addressed the nation in an hourlong speech at the historic Red Fort, a tradition going back to the time of independence.

What is also interesting is the media’s astounding silence and lack of investigative reporting on this aspect of the PNCR’s congress. Had such developments occurred at the PPP/C’s Congress, it would have been splashed across the media and blown out of proportion.

As a matter of fact, the PPP/C would have no doubt been the subject of ridicule and widespread criticisms from the Opposition media and their interests. While the party is guided by the rationale behind the court’s ruling, it is saddened that justice was not allowed to take its full course and a full trial not held.

Submitted by, PPP/C, Freedom House

In watching him deliver his speech, it appeared he spoke off the cuff. He certainly did not read a speech in contrast to his immediate predecessor. Modi is a masterful orator and he knows how to connect with his audience.

He is a gifted speaker –few can communicate like him. He speaks the language of the masses and he was interrupted numerous times during his speech with loud cheers. The speech was delivered in Hindi and was carried live on TV and translated into the languages of the various states.

Those who listened to the speech said it was the best delivered by any Prime Minister. Critics of the PM on national TV said they could not find anything on which to criticise Modi.

It was a speech to take India forward and appealed to the common man. The PM laid out his programme for India and talked about needed reforms to speed up India’s development.

In terms of basic services, he plans to focus on education, improvement in electrici-

ty and potable water and road transport. Modi also wants to build modern cyber cities and bullet trains to compete with China and Japan.

India’s independence has historical significance for Guyana and indeed for all Third World peoples. Her freedom struggle and home rule served as a model for colonised peoples to fight for their own independence from colonial rule in the 1950s and 1960s.

India’s freedom in 1947 set the stage for freedom for the colonies of the world. Not surprisingly, ambassadors from all the major countries of the world turned up for the reception to pay tribute to India’s 67th anniversary since it was freed from British colonial control. I interacted with several representatives, including many from Africa dressed in traditional African garb. No doubt, it was a wonderful social get together allowing people from different nations to interact and to better understand each other and to appreciate the historical achievements of India that has helped to set other colonies free.

I attended several India Independence Day celebrations all over the world, including Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad, New York and India. I prefer the ones in Guyana and Trinidad that allow me to interact with people I hardly see throughout year.

This in no way takes away from the significance and charm of being invited to the celebration hosted by the President, who has to manage a huge list of invitees.

Congratulations are in order for the country reaching another milestone in her freedom. And indeed President Ramotar, President Obama and world leaders sent congratulatory messages to the leaders of the country on its achievement.

Yours faithfully, Vishnu Bisram

New ADS programme to boost air traffic surveillance

The aviation sector

here is now better positioned to manage its airspace and the safety of air traffic as the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on Thursday launched the Automatic Dependence Surveillance Broadcast Project.

The project is part of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) global plan for the seamless transition of flights through the world’s airspace. At the launch, Transport Minister Robeson Benn said the project is indeed a significant achievement for the transport sector, more so the aviation sector, as the demands

The Minister pointed out that this project now provides a more advanced means of air surveillance and air safety.

Currently, the aviation sector manages the air space while depending mainly on procedural activities, and heavily on the engagement training of air traffic controllers on radio sets.

Against this backdrop, Minister Benn said this new monitoring system represents a great leap forward to a new level on how the aviation sector manages its air space and traffic.

“We know it has been implemented in other coun-

nificant increase in domestic flights in local airspace, as well as an increase in international air traffic.

“I’m pleased that by the end of this year, we would have more than doubled the number of operating assets in terms of air traffic, and we have to manage those operations.”

Next- generation technology

ADS-B is a next- generation surveillance technology incorporating both air and ground aspects that provide a more accurate picture of the three -dimensional position of the aircraft. The system is a cooperative surveillance technology in which

have been growing over the years.

“It may have not been particularly noted that our choice for this project over radar represents a saving of US$20 million. This project afforded us that window of opportunity as it went along with the ICAO standards in relation to flight monitoring and surveillance.”

tries, and it affords seamless interface between other countries as it will allow for efficient, safe and comprehensive operation and a better overall management of the air- safety control.”

Minister Benn also welcomed the initiative against the backdrop that over the years, there has been a sig-

the aircraft avionics determines position via satellite navigation and periodically broadcasts it, enabling it to be tracked. The system will be operated by the Air Traffic Control Tower in Timehri. GCAA Director General Zulficar Mohamed said the new technology is in keeping with its modernisa-

tion drive, noting that it is a step in the right direction.

He noted that air traffic in Guyana has significantly increased over the years, making it more difficult for the Air Traffic Controllers to manage aircraft effectively. Mohamed disclosed that since 2005, GCAA has been trying to launch the programme and has even replaced the communication equipment.

The GCAA Director pointed out that the ADS-B hardware equipment is being loaned to them by the service provider and all they have to acquire now is the software.

“We hopefully should have a system up and running and fully utilised in three to four years. We are about to embark on a project that will be beneficial to the aviation sector,” he stated.

A detailed presentation on the ADS-B system was done by Air Navigation Services Director Chaitrani Heeralall. She too noted that Guyana’s air traffic has become crowded and re-

quires a more technologically advanced method of controlling the traffic.

She added that the this new system will also go a long way in search- and -res-

cue missions, since it has the technology to locate aircraft from a wider range. Guyana Times was told that the overall cost for the implementation of the ADS-B project will be approximately US$2.5 million to US$3 million. This includes the acquisition and installation of the equipment and training of staff. Most of the aircraft are already equipped with the aviation units that are required for the ADS-B system; however, domestic aircraft do not have the technology to facilitate this. It will take some US$5000 for the upgrading of the equipment in some aircraft, while new installation will cost some US$8000.

Duo survives after boat sinks in Essequibo River

Two men were on Thursday afternoon rescued after their boat Kaikuman capsized and sank in the vicinity of Success, Leguan, Essequibo River.

According to information received, the boat left Success Foreshore about 15:00h and was heading to Parika, East Bank Essequibo, when the incident occurred.

The small boat was laden with agricultural produce.

The circumstances surround-

ing the incident are still to be known, but Guyana Times understands that the boat was overloaded.

After the incident, the two men held onto the sunken boat until they were rescued by two boats that were in the area at the time. Some of the cargo were recovered and taken to Parika.

As a result of the incident, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) has launched an investigation. The incident comes days after a passenger boat crashed into a rock in the vicinity of the Dukwari River, Cuyuni.

The boat capsized as a result of the impact, resulting in several passengers falling overboard. Unfortunately, Beesham Munilall, five, and Jose Henriqu Salvao De Souza, 66, of Junior Rose Landing met their demise.

It was reported that many of the passengers managed to make their way back to the safety of the boat, except for the five-year-old and the Brazilian national.

The body of De Souza was discovered a few hours later, but that of the five-year old was fished out of the river on Tuesday evening.

Earlier in the month, Leon D’Aguiar, 20, of Mahaica Village, East Bank Demerara and Junior Williams, 19, formerly of 1275 Spurwing Place, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown and Lot 31 Broad Street, Georgetown, met their demise after falling into a creek at Aranka Backdam, Cuyuni River, Region Seven. It was reported that the men were crossing a creek in Aranka Backdam when D’Aguiar reportedly slipped into the water and Williams attempted to rescue him, but was pulled overboard.

Aviation stakeholders at the launch of the Automatic Dependence Surveillance Broadcast Project

A diagram showing how the ADS-B system works

Way cleared for fourth tranche of Norway forest funds − Dr Luncheon

Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon on Thursday said now that all of the necessary procedures have been completed, the fourth payment under the Governments of Guyana and Norway partnership should be made available.

“This initiative, for all intents and purposes is under continuous review and reporting to the Norwegian Government… the payment that we get is a reflection of our performance and the way in which we have met the indicators used to assign the volume of payments for a participating party to receive…. So if we match the indicators to the max, we get a maximum payment and if we fall short of our obligations, then our payments will reflect the deductions of equivalent deductions in the extent to which we shortfall,” the Cabinet Secretary told reporters at his weekly news briefing.

Deforestation

The historic GuyanaNorway partnership agreement was signed in 2009, when the latter had committed to providing Guyana with up to US$250 million by 2015 for avoided deforestation once certain performance indicators are met.

He clarified impressions that are being created that payment is held up and informed the media that verification, which is one of the procedures that has to be un-

dertaken, was only recently completed.

“We expect shortly to be advised about the payments to be made to Guyana since we have completed all the requirements for the fourth payment.”

Dr Luncheon described the Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) system as a success story at both the national and subnational levels.

“Its success has been such that even in hinterland communities, MRVs are being resorted to as a sub-national model for what we conceived and agreed with the Norwegians as a national model,” Dr Luncheon said.

Collaboration

Guyana has developed a good collaborative mechanism with the relevant local agencies such as the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), the Office of Climate Change (OCC) and the Project Management Office at the Office of the President to ensure that the country fulfils its obligations under this partnership to the best of its ability.

These local agencies in turn, have all been collaborating with their international counterparts and the result of that collaboration has been instructive. Guyana has undertaken not to issue new leases in the forestry sector and to maintain a certain range in its deforestation rate.

“A comprehensive review and examination of that col-

laboration is the best way of defining how well Guyana has performed, particularly in reference to our obligations… full realisation of the promise behind REDD+ financing continues to elude developing countries, the shining star in what has developed; what is on board currently is Norway and its development aid agenda,” the HPS posited.

He noted however, that Guyana’s partnership with the Kingdom of Norway should in no way be considered “hunky dory”, since there are areas of concern, which Guyana is on record for highlighting.

These concerns include extension of the GuyanaNorway Partnership beyond 2015 (at which time the first phase would come to an end), need for a reform of the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF), dealing with the impact of sustainable

mining on Guyana’s reference levels, and smoother and faster flow of financing.

A recent report issued by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), speaks to the impact of mining on Guyana’s deforestation level. This report was done by professional consultants who are reporting to the Government of Norway. Dr Luncheon said mining is important to Guyana’s economy, but maintained that Government will continue to pursue sustainable mining activities.

Meanwhile, the Norwegians’ Real Time Evaluation Report on Norway international Climate and Forest Initiative that summarises the partnerships support under this programme over the period 2007-2013, released its report on Guyana on Monday. The report, accord-

ing to the Guyana Forestry Commission, points to an overall, positive performance of Guyana in key technical areas of REDD+ and highlights the exemplary work done by Guyana in developing a system for monitoring, reporting and verification for forest and REDD+.

The evaluation reports also lauded the extensive efforts that have been expended by Guyana and the GFC in opening up national systems for independent thirdparty scrutiny.

The evaluation report notes that the GuyanaNorway partnership has been highly successful at developing national-level monitoring, reporting and verification systems, and reasonably successful at developing a financial mechanism for REDD+ payments.

The system has now successfully completed three rounds of reporting and independent verification, and two rounds of payments have been made to the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund.

Cabinet yet to discuss no-confidence motion

The no-confidence motion submitted to the National Assembly by the Alliance For Change (AFC) has not been fully discussed by the Government, though feverish preparations have begun in the event a snap election is called.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, on Thursday said a special meeting has not been convened to discuss the motion.

“I am sorry to disappoint you, but a discussion hasn’t happened… (but) Cabinet did remind itself of various aspects of the motion, but did not entertain a dedicated discussion to take place,” Dr Luncheon said in response to a question posed by Guyana Times on the

matter.

Cognisant of the fact that a no-confidence motion, Dr Luncheon said the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government stands ready to face the consequence, as he echoed the sentiment of President Donald Ramotar and party General Secretary Clement Rohee. “Both the party and Government are ready,” he said.

The no-confidence motion was submitted to the National Assembly on August 7, three days before the House went into recess. If successfully debated and passed, it will result in President Donald Ramotar being forced to dissolve Parliament, paving the way for General Elections within 90 days.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon

Teenage boy on bail for three offences

Appearing at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Fabayo Azore on Thursday was a 17-year-old Lethem teenager who was slapped with three charges: threatening behaviour, possession of a firearm and escaping Police custody.

The first charge alleged that on August 12, at Karasabai, South Rupununi, Wendson Thomas made use of threatening behaviour to the Virtual Defendant (VC) Wendy Thomas, who is his mother.

The second charge alleged that on August 14, at the said location, he had in his possession a .25 pistol when he is not the holder of a firearm licence. Lastly, at the aforementioned location on August 15, after being in Police custody for illegal possession of the firearm, he escaped from the lawful custody.

According to Police Prosecutor Micheal Grant’s facts, on the day in question, the VC and the defendant were engaged in an argument when he pointed the gun at her and threaten to kill her.

Fearful of her life, she reported the defendant at the

nearest Police station. When the Police arrived, the defendant showed the Police where the gun was located. While doing so, he made his escape. However, the defendant’s Attorney Jerome Khan gave the court a conflicting story. The Attorney related that the defendant and his girlfriend had a misunderstanding and his mother had taken the side of the girlfriend.

Thomas felt that his mother should have sided with him, and with this, he got annoyed and burst out in rage. His mother went to the village Toshao so that he could discipline her son. After the Toshao would have done so, the mother requested him to report the matter to the

station.

While the defendant was at the Police station, the Police were looking for Thomas’s uncle, “Nacimento” who was suspected of having a firearm in his possession. The Police had asked the defendant the whereabouts of his uncle.

Thomas led the Police to the house where the gun was found in a music box. There was no ammunition in the gun. In the Attorney’s opinion, if anyone was to be arrested and charged for the firearm, it should be the mother since she is the owner of the property.

After locating the firearm and detaining Thomas for 72 hours, the Police were unsure as to what should be their next move. The lawyer said that the Police were debating whether to place the defendant on station bail.

While all of the debating was going on inside of the Police station, the defendant was sitting on a bench outside and was placed in the lock ups. After a while, the defendant walked out of the station, went home and had a shower.

Attorney Khan pointed out to the court that his client could have easily gone across

to Brazil since the border line was right there but stressed that his client is not a flight risk.

He also stated that Thomas has no prior convictions or pending court cases. Wendy Thomas has regretted what she has done and the defendant as well. Khan noted that it is a bailable offence and not to make a criminal out of the 17-year-old since he has learnt his lesson.

Police Prosecutor Grant indicated to the court that a gun without ammunition is still a firearm and made objections to bail on the ground of the prevalence of the offence and that he may be a possible flight risk; however Thomas’ Attorney assured the court that his client is not a person of that sort.

Magistrate Azore after listening to both parties decided to grant the 17-year-old bail, however, separately due to the nature of the charges.

The escape of custody charge carried a bail sum of $50,000, while the threatening behaviour charge was $10,000 and the possession of firearm was $150,000. He is said to return to court on September 8, before Chief Magistrate Priya SewnarineBeharry.

Carpenter granted bail for simple larceny

In the courtroom of Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday was a 44-year-old carpenter of Lot 41 North Sophia, Greater Georgetown. Clifton Dowlyn plead not guilty to the charge of simple larceny, which alleged that on August 18 at Prashad Nagar, Georgetown, he stole two 27 plates batteries valued $115,000, property of

Michael Gaskin. Police Prosecutor Adduni Innis told the court that the Virtual Complainant’s (VC) employees checked and secured the truck which was parked on the eastern parapet of his employer’s yard and left for home. At 19:00h the same day, Gaskin went to check his truck and discovered that the articles mentioned were missing. A report was made

and investigations were carried out. The defendant was arrested and charged.

The Prosecutor opposed bail for the unrepresented man based on the nature of the charge and the fact that he was convicted previously for a similar offence. He was placed on $75,000 bail and his case is rescheduled for October 1 where he will face Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

Eyew tness

Big and bad…

...Speaker

Even since Raphael Trotman ascended onto the Speaker’s Chair in the National Assembly, he’s been acting “big and bad”. The use of the Biblical language is deliberate – to signal the Speaker’s assumption that he’s God’s gift to Constitutional Law. Problem is, he’s not only deficient in that area, but lacking even a passing acquaintance with the traditions of his office. As even a wet-behind-the-ears-schoolboy would know, in matters that have to do with Parliament, traditions are as important as the written rules.

Take his latest outburst on the “no-confidence” motion submitted by his (old?) party, the AFC. He feels the Motion – now supported by the PNC/APNU/ AFC combined – is justified because in the actions of the Government “every effort has been made to frustrate the work of the Parliament”. Now what kind of statement is this, coming from the Speaker of the House, who’s supposed – by the traditions of centuries of British practice – to be scrupulously neutral??

The “work” of the National Assembly is conducted by both the Government and the Opposition – as the latter have never been tired of reminding us. As per the Constitution, if there’s a dispute between the two branches of Government – the Legislative and the Executive – then it’s the duty of the third branch – the Judiciary – to make the call as to who’s right and who’s wrong. And in every instance, where this has happened, the courts have ruled in favour of the Government!! So who’s frustrating whom??

But the Speaker – in his arrogance of office and self – has always second-guessed the courts – issuing long, meandering, self-serving statements in favour of the Opposition. It’s clear by now that he places the National Assembly higher than the Constitution – obviously because he’s in charge of it! If he hadn’t slept his way through law school he would’ve known – and accepted as the Attorney General does – that if he disagrees with the courts – he can appeal to the Appellate Courts – all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice.

But hey!! He’s done that – but yet chooses to speak so conclusively. This Eyewitness guesses that with his divine associations, he only has to appeal to his own “conscience”. We just would like to remind him however, that the said “conscience” was strangled when he mendaciously accepted PNC’s David Granger’s assessment of Nagamootoo – the AFC’s original nominee for the Speakership: “too PPP”.

Meaning in the lexicon of the PNC – “too Indian”. It was OK for Trotman that Nagamootoo get “Larwah”! And that was the end of Speaker’s “neutrality”.

...against integrity

The Members of the PNC in Parliament – led by one of its two leaders who’d been rigged out of its leadership – find it “laughable” that they were required to submit their 2014 declaration forms to the Office of the Integrity Commission. What evidently made the request even more “laughable” was that the reminder reminded them that they were required to file because IT WAS THE LAW.

Obviously, for a party that was born in the illegality of rigging and betrayals of their country to foreign interests, the word INTEGRITY itself must be “laughable”. And we’re not talking about fiddling by their Founderleader Burnham back in the day. Haven’t Greenidge and most other PNCites accepted another rigging for the leadership just this same month of August??

To accede to a request to declare their assets to an Integrity Commission must seem to be a betrayal of the “big and bad” image they’ve taken so much trouble to nurture.

...Gibson gone

You dear readers of this column would know of the contempt in which we held Gibson, the coach of our WI cricket team. Now that he’s been unceremoniously dumped, we can only say – good riddance to bad rubbish. We hear their dullard PR flak is also about to be thrown out on his ear.

Wendson Thomas

Clifton Dowlyn

Consultations open on standards for petroleum transportation

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) in collaboration with the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) is conducting countrywide public consulta-

tions on draft standards for the transportation of petroleum and petroleum products. The standards focus on the requirements for the transportation of petroleum

and its by-products by roadtanker wagons and by bulk transportation carriers. The first of a series of consultations was held on Thursday at the Regency Hotel,

Hadfield Street, Georgetown. It was attended by owners of road- tanker wagons, fuel companies, gas station operators, among others. According to Director of the Bureau of Standards, Evadnie Enniss, these consultation sessions are very important since they allow stakeholders to have an input on the standards, which was drafted to protect citizens and the environment from any harm that could be caused from carelessness in transporting fuel.

“This is a very important standard and we want your inputs… standards are developed to promote the health and safety of our citizens and whenever standards are developed, usually they are made mandatory because they govern the health and safety of our population and consumers, etc,” she stated.

The GNBS Director noted that they are including the stakeholders so that there can be a well-rounded standard. She pointed out that standards are not developed by the GNBS; instead, they facilitate the development of the standards with support from key stakeholders.

Meanwhile, GEA Director Mahender Sharma explained that the session is more about the health and safety of the people.

“This is about the preservation of life, the preservation of health, the preservation of safety in the tasks that we do.

"The truck and the fuel is [sic] just a means to something bigger; for an income to ensure that your family is being taken care of.

"We want to ensure that you are equipped and you are aware of what is needed to ensure that the person you employ, whether it is yourself, they are doing their tasks and their jobs in a safe manner to prevent harm to themselves or the persons around them or the communities and environment in which they operate,” he stated.

Sharma noted that the GEA has been looking into the transportation of fuel for years and has developed regulations to govern the licensing of trucks that transport fuel. He explained that since then they have been toying with the idea of standards.

The two standards were reviewed in detail to the

gathering, after which there was a discussion session. During this, it was suggested that spill kits be included in the standard as mandatory for all fuel tankers.

Additionally, persons were told that the Guyana Fire Service will be providing training sessions for personnel in this field. Another issue that was brought up during the discussion was the containers in which fuel is taken to far-flung areas such as Mahdia. One person asked what should be done in the case of the buses transporting fuel in yellow “jar” containers on top of buses. Responding, Sharma said that those containers are not safe to store fuel nor is it safe to transport them on top of buses.

He said that they will address the issue after further consultation with stakeholders. The standards were drafted earlier this year and the series of consultations will conclude on October 17.

Following this, the ideas from the consultations will be sent to the technical team to be included in the standards before it will go the Standard Committee for implementation.

Preparations being made for swearing in of ERC, TSC members

Members of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) and the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) will soon be sworn in, as preparations for the swearing in ceremonies are well on their way.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon made this disclosure on Thursday during his post Cabinet Media Briefing at the Office of the President.

The swearing in ceremonies come after members of both the ERC and TSC were identified through the “appropriate mechanisms” in the National Assembly.

Representatives from the Christian, Hindu and Muslin faiths, cultural organisations, Afro-Guyanese, Indo-Guyanese, Indigenous peoples, women, youth and private sector organisations, and the labour movement will form the ERC.

On July 10, the National Assembly approved the membership which includes Dr John Smith (Christian), Rajkumarie Singh (Hindu), Shaykh Moeen ul-Hack (Muslim), Norris Witter (Labour), Ravindra Dev (Private Sector Organisations), Gomattie Kalicharran (Women’s

Organisations), Ruth Howard (Cultural Organisation), Neaz Subhan (Indo-Guyanese), Barrington Braithwaite (AfroGuyanese) and Peter Persaud (Indigenous Guyanese).

According to Dr Luncheon, the Commission’s members have been duly notified and once the swearing in is out of the way, they will elect the new Chairman of the constitutional body. Current Minister within the Finance Ministry, Bishop Juan Edghill served as the last Chairman of the ERC, before taking up active politics on behalf of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic Administration.

Police probe body at Susannah Village

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a so far unidentified man, whose body was found around 21:30h Wednesday night at

Susannah Village, Corentyne, Berbice. The deceased is of East Indian descent, appears to be in his 50s,is of medium build, dark in complexion, about 5’4”

in height, and was clad in a black “Nike” shirt. The body is at the New Amsterdam Hospital mortuary, Police said in a statement.

A section of the gathering at the consultations

UNICEF’s fifth round of survey data gathering completed

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Representative for Guyana and Suriname, Marianne Flach, today gave an update on the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) Round Five in Guyana.

The data- collection campaign, which was launched in March at the Bureau of Statistics, is a study to look at the welfare of women, children and men because, previously, no such information was collected, but this time, statistics on men’s health are being gathered.

Flach pointed out that for most countries , MICS are used for situation analyses, policy decisions and programme interventions, and for influencing public opinion on the situation of children and women.

Information needed

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shamdeo Persaud pointed out that MICS provide the wide range of information needed to address several areas which include education, child protection, water and sanitation, and many health issues, including HIV and AIDS. The information is also used to address special health issues for men, women and children.

Dr. Persaud also pointed to MICS enabling the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including those related to hunger, primary education, gender equality and en-

vironmental sustainability, which are proving to be more elusive and costly to attain. He observed that the Ministry of Health is looking forward to the results of the MICS, since there are always other pressing health matters that have to be faced, including the emergence of new diseases.

The project was funded by the Government of Guyana and UNICEF.

MICS is a household survey developed by the agency in response to the World Summit for Children, held in 1990, to measure progress towards an internationally agreed set of goals for children. Since the inception of MICS, four rounds have been completed in 1995, 2000, 2005-6 and 2009-10.

The first was conducted around 1995 and although Guyana did not participate,

it was one of the 65 countries involved in the second round of global surveys conducted in 2000 and participated, again, in 2006. This has given the country, its decision- makers and its donors, quality data that has started to map out development trends for the country.

While Guyana has either achieved or is well on course to achieving several of the MDGs, including those related to hunger, primary education, gender equality and environmental sustainability, other goals are proving to be more elusive and costly to attain.

Critical issue

Among those is the goal of reducing infant and maternal mortality, but while it has made significant progress in reducing it under five years through better

vaccination coverage and management of childhood illnesses, neonatal mortality is still a critical issue.

While many children still die from preventable causes within the first month of life, MICS data can provide the information needed to identify these trends and plan effectively to address them. It is an important monitoring tool for assessing the well-being of children, women and their families, as it gathers facts for over 20 of the 48 MDG indicators.

The MICS is the largest international household survey to collect information on so many MDG indi-

cators in such a short period and for Guyana to continue making progress as a lower middle- income country, sound information on child rights indicators is crucial for formulating and revising national and sub-national policies and for monitoring to ensure the country’s progress toward the achievement of the MDGs and other global commitments aimed at promoting the welfare of children. MICS Five will address the current data gaps in Guyana, and for children, this means that they will be better able to identify the critical areas which need to be addressed and ensure that they are protected, have better access to quality health care and education and make better life choices, so that they will have a sustainable future as they grow into adulthood. With the completion of data- gathering, the final report is expected to be available by the end of December.

Chinese sex ring busted in TT

Ten chinese women, along with one male, were detained last weekend in Trinidad and Tobago on suspicion that they were involved in a prostitution ring, following police investigations into another Chinese man reported to be missing.

A raid was carried out by

the Counter Trafficking Unit (CTU), along with Western Division Task Force officers, who searched several properties in the Woodbrook area, the Trinidad Express reported. The police said “at these locations, officers found ten females and one male, all from China and Hong Kong. Three of the for-

eign nationals were found to be illegal migrants and were handed over to Immigration Division”. The other detainees were taken for screening by the Counter Trafficking Unit. Officers also seized a large sum of local currency. They added that investigations are ongoing.

Ian Manifold of the Bureau of Statistics, Marianne Flach, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative for Guyana and Suriname and Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud at the presentation of an update on the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey

Govt to toughen laws for defaulting millers

Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) General Manager Jagnarine Singh said moves are afoot to further amend the Rice Factory Act to deal with millers who owe farmers outstanding payments.

Speaking at a farmers’ meeting at Riverstown Nursery School, Essequibo Coast, on Thursday, Singh said a proposal has been sent to the Agriculture Ministry, advocating alternative penalties to closing down the operations of millers in default.

“Closing the mill will not ensure farmers get paid, we need something more staunch. There must be a piece of legislation intact to deal with millers, shutting down the mill is not a desired result, paddy has to sell and on time, farmers need to be treated fairly and GRDB would ensure this,” Singh pointed out, even though he refused to say what are the alternatives he wished to propose.

On that note, he said Golden Fleece Rice Investment owes some 108 farmers in excess of $89 million in outstanding payments.

Singh said the GRDB, along with the Agriculture Ministry met with the Bankers Association recently and negotiations have commenced for financing the sector.

The General Manager said the value of paddy a few years back was $8 billion but today, it is in excess of $50 billion. He made it clear that the GRDB is not responsible for assisting farmers in the form of loans and advances; however, the Government through the Agriculture Ministry is trying to assist millers so that farmers can be at ease.

Loans

Singh also reminded farmers that at no time will the GRDB give loans to millers for expansion purposes, noting that the aim is to help millers clear outstanding debts owing to them.

He said when a farmer sells his paddy, within 42 days he should be paid.

Singh also spoke at length about the new market in Panama and the Venezuelan deal. He also said the GRDB will continue to bring fertiliser to assist farmers.

“Securing rice markets is not that easy; it’s not like supermarket you go in and pick up, there are challenges,” Singh explained.

Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA) General Secretary Dharamkumar Seeraj said a lot of emphasis will be placed on timely payments by millers.

He said despite the fact that the industry has many challenges, farmers are moving to cultivate more and more lands, noting that there has been an increase in productivity compared to previous years.

“There are 23,200 acres under cultivation despite the challenges, we have to examine what is driving the process to cause farmers to plant more, against all that’s happening, people still continue to invest,” Seeraj said.

Seeraj, speaking on the price for paddy, said the Government forced millers to

Caricom Secretariat strengthens internal risks management system

The Caricom Secretariat is actively pursuing enhancements to systems and procedures required of organisations to be entrusted with resources and budget implementation tasks under protocols designed by development partners.

These enhancements include a process of preparing for a Seven Pillar Assessment that provides assurance that practices are in place to ensure successful implementation and accountability.

pay $3500 per bag during the last crop with some assistance.

The General Secretary said a number of millers are finding it difficult as everyone wants to tap into the Venezuela market, pointing out that it is not possible as the market can only accommodate a certain quota.

Seeraj said the Panama market does not assure more money for paddy, but is a market nonetheless. “We are trying to get all the money, timely payment is better than high

price,” he said, noting that farmers would be happy if they are given a price and are paid promptly.

“We are working to resolve the financial issue, this crop, from RPA perspective, we are advocating to get a minimum price as last crop,” Seeraj noted.

Region Two Chairman Parmanand Persaud said he is cognisant that the region is faced with poor drainage and irrigation, and has requested the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to send a few excavators to the region.

The Regional Chairman commended the efforts of the GRDB and RPA on their frequent outreaches to farmers, and issued a warning to farmers.

“Don’t ever take the rice industry into political hands, make decisions for ourselves,” he said. Farmers were of the view that if some mills have to close, they should close. They also complained of having problems accessing their monies at Demerara Bank.

Singh urged farmers to hold discussions with Demerara Bank as well as with millers. Meanwhile, some farmers on the Essequibo Coast are in the process of harvesting.

As part of the Seven Pillar Assessment, and within a broader framework to improve the secretariat’s business processes, a group of staff members from across various directorates and departments within the Caricom Secretariat’s Guyana and Barbados offices recently completed training in Enterprise Risk Management.

Emphasis was placed on risk assessment and transformation with the aim of promoting awareness among staff at several levels, including those in the Executive Management Committee and Senior Management Committee.

Risk management awareness and transformation fits comfortably with the roll out of the recently approved Strategic Plan for the Community (2015-2019): Repositioning Caricom.

The members of the working group were drawn from the Directorates of Human and Social Development, Trade and Economic Integration, Foreign and Community Relations, the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) and Office of Trade Negotiation offices.

Included also were legal, finance, resource mobilisation, audit, and human resource management.

The training was conducted by consultant from the Institute of Risk Management (IRM), United Kingdom, Norman Hoppé, who exposed the group to concepts in risk profiling for enterprises, risk identification, tracking development of the risk register, risk treatment, measurement, reporting and the development of an initial risk framework.

Caricom Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Manorma Soeknandan, during a final wrap-up of the training, noted that she was pleased the secretariat could demonstrate to stakeholders, a structured approach adopted to risk management practices.

Capacity and awareness, she said, are important for future relationships and engagement with member states, regional institutions and development partners.

The Deputy Secretary General further expressed appreciation to the members of the working group for their demonstrated commitment of both time and effort in commencing the development of the risk register and framework, which assisted with risk-identification, analysis, evaluation and treatment.

With the development and roll out of the strategic plan, it was felt that the secretariat needed a modern enterprise risk management to demonstrate to stakeholders, including internal publics, member states and donor partners that it takes risk-assessed decisions and that it undertakes risk-managed functions.

She encouraged the members of the working group to keep seeking new avenues to continually boost their capacities, for the benefit of all.

People with low self-esteem

brag more about relationships on Facebook

If it has ever crossed your mind that the portrayal of certain relationships in Facebook feeds seems too good to be true, there is a fair chance that you are right.

According to a new study from Albright College in Pennsylvania, USA, individuals high in Relationship Contingent Self-Esteem (RCSE) – a type of low-confidence and self-esteem that is lifted by the perception of a successful relationship –are more likely than others to post hearts-and-flowery content and expressions of joy about their partner.

Such individuals are also more likely to boast about their relationship, and are often driven to monitor the Facebook activities of their partner.

According to Gwendolyn Seidman, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Albright University: “These results suggest that those

high in RCSE feel a need to show others, their partners and perhaps themselves that their relationship is ‘ok’ and, thus, they are ok.”

Together with Albright alumna Amanda Havens, Dr Seidman monitored a group of volunteers in relationships ranging in duration from one month to 30 years.

The volunteers were tested on their relationship-related Facebook tendencies, including interacting with their partner online and posting pictures of each other, according to a report in The Atlantic.

The volunteers were also tested on their personalities based on five traits known to psychologists as the “Big Five”: neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness.

The findings indicated that introverts were more likely to “show off” on Facebook.

Participants high in neu-

roticism were also more likely to monitor their partner and flaunt their relationship on Facebook.

“This is what we expected, given that neurotic individuals are generally more jealous in their romantic relationships,” Seidman said.

Earlier studies had suggested that extroverts tended to be more active on social media and have larger online networks.

Seidman nevertheless noted that extroverts might be more comfortable to share information with people face-to-face, as opposed to introverts.

Other previous studies indicated that individuals inclined to overshare online might “just want to belong”. Dr Seidman was nevertheless quick to acknowledge that based on her research, some Facebook bragging was legitimate. (Caribbean360)

Farmers at the Riverstown Nursery School meeting

Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) General Manager Jagnarine Singh speaking to farmers at the meeting

Members of the Caricom Secretariat Barbados Office who formed part of the working group

580 suspected cases of Chikungunya reported – Chief Medical Officer

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud has confirmed that Guyana has recorded a total of 76 cases of the Chikungunya disease from approximately 250 samples that were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad and Tobago.

The disease is not associated with high fatality, as overall, there have been only three Chikungunyarelated deaths recorded in the Caribbean.

The CMO said that based on reports coming from health facilities across the country, there are 580 suspected cases. However, there may be milder forms of the disease in some areas. Some of the samples sent to CARPHA are still to be tested (the laboratory conducts testing for other Caribbean countries as well).

The situation in Guyana in terms of the disease is not much different from Caricom jurisdictions. There are currently 921 confirmed cases in the entire Region; however, in some countries the number of cases is not as high as others.

While the prevalence of Chikungunya has been more pronounced in Regions Six

and Five and to some extent Four, there have been three reported cases in Region 10, but are associated with travelling, not active transmission.

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease; transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which is also known to spread viruses such as dengue, and yellow fever.

Dr Persaud explained that the Aedes Aegypti mosquito is commonly found in many homes. Water collected in containers, old tyres and other vessels provides the perfect breeding ground for these mosquitoes.

Precautionary measures

The CMO said that even though fogging and more general environmental controls are necessary, a lot more precautionary measures can and should be taken at the household level.

“We feel that a lot can be done at the household level… from the inspections carried out, we have noted that there are several common breeding grounds around the homes where even fogging would not impact effectively,” he said.

The CMO also called for

greater community involvement and understanding of the virus and how it can be prevented.

Vector control personnel in Georgetown have been going around in communities where Chikungunya and dengue have been identified to conduct yard inspections and distributing “abate”.

This larvicide is placed in water to prevent the growth of larvae and ultimately the multiplication of mosquitoes.

However, there have been reports of cases where people throw out the treated water before the larvicidal agent would have had enough time to work and kill the larvae before they develop into adult mosquitoes.

The Health Ministry is urging residents to keep their surroundings clean to prevent them from becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Wearing protective clothing and using repellents and mosquito nets are also effective measures.

Fogging

At present, fogging cycles are ongoing in parts of Regions Six, Five and Four. These exercises are still to commence in Regions Three and 10 as a result of a number of factors including the weather and availability of adequate personnel.

Dr Persaud explained that the same Vector Control Unit that is in charge of the fogging exercise is also

tasked with the management of malaria, another mosquito-borne disease, in Guyana, and this unit is very stretched at this point in time.

The CMO explained that while fogging has been deemed helpful, it comes with environmental and other health-risk consequences.

“Our programme usually recommends two cycles of fogging annually per populated areas like Georgetown and the East Bank.

Too much of fogging could lead to additional risk due to chemical exposure… it is an intermittent intervention to help to reduce the mosquitoes, but more measures should be taken in the home,” the CMO said.

Chikungunya is a viral infection that is self-limiting. This means that after the usual bout of fever, the body’s immune system would take care of the viral infection.

However, in rare cases, especially where people have had predisposing joint conditions such as arthritis, the pain may persist.

“Once you have contracted it, you have life-long protection against; it is one of those viral diseases that you develop immunity against,” the CMO said.

Treatment

At present, there are no specific antibiotic or antiviral medicines that can be used to treat Chikungunya. The disease is treated symptomatically; whereby persons experiencing high fevers are prescribed fever and pain medication.

A suspected Chikungunya case is identified when a person has a temperature of over 38.5 degrees Celsius and is also experiencing severe arthritis (joint pains).

It also helps to know whether the person experiencing these symptoms hail from an area where the disease has been prevalent.

Vector Control Service conducting a fogging exercise in Kitty, Georgetown

Caribbean Export supports Haiti’s private sector

The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) recently held a series of high-level meetings with Ministry officials and key stakeholders in Haiti.

These meetings were not only to strengthen the relationship with Haiti but also to set the agenda for the agency’s commitment to supporting Haiti’s buoyant private sector to achieve greater competitiveness and integration into the regional and international markets.

In a meeting with Haiti’s Trade and Industry Minister Wilson Laleau, Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton stressed the importance of Haiti’s private sector, as she believes that “Haiti has a role to play in integrating the Caribbean into the world economy and there is a need to drive production and the export capacity”.

In agreement, Minister Laleau stated that Haiti had put itself in the legal framework that is conducive for economic development; however, sectorial policies remained a challenge.

In addition to meeting with the Ministry, the delegation of Caribbean Export also met with National Authorising Officer of the European Development

Fund (EDF) Jean-Edner Nelson who also expressed his gratitude for the initiative Caribbean Export had taken to drive forward the amalgamation of Haitian people into the Caribbean.

The meetings within Haiti were part of a road show that the agency is currently embarking on to raise awareness regarding the grants that have been awarded to firms across the Region under the Direct Assistance Grant Scheme.

In Haiti, 11 firms have been awarded grants with a total value of some €242,000 (US$324,000) over the 9th and 10th EDF, with five of those being awarded in the most recent Call for Proposals.

The companies were Caribbean Craft; Délicious Fruits, SA; Gade, SA; Kenscoff Manufacturing, SA and Produits des Iles (PISA) SA. These firms represent the agro-processing, manufacturing and creative industries.

With an overall increase of 200 per cent of grant funding awarded to Haitian firms between the 9th and 10th EDF, the results are encouraging. However, given the location and size of Haiti, the opportunity for growth is immense and the country has the potential and is poised to become

the exporting centre of the Region.

Caribbean Export will be hosting their annual Caribbean Exporters Colloquium during Caribbean Export Week and it is hoped that there will be significant involvement from Haiti in the activities.

Caribbean Export opened an office in Haiti in 2012 to facilitate the Bi-National programme between Haiti and The Dominican Republic. Now with a full complement of staff, it is anticipated that the team will not only develop stronger trade relations between Haiti and The Dominican Republic, but also with the rest of Caricom.

Caribbean Export is a regional export development and trade and investment promotion organisation of the Forum of Caribbean States (CARIFORUM) currently executing the Regional Private Sector Programme (RPSDP) funded by the European Union under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF).

Caribbean Export’s mission is to increase the competitiveness of Caribbean countries by providing quality export development and trade and investment promotion services through effective programme execution and strategic alliances.

Fly Jamaica expanding operations

Fly Jamaica has set its sights on servicing a major South American city with the acquisition of its new aircraft.

The route expansion will allow the airline to maintain a higher passenger count without having to hunt to fill seats, servicing competitive US cities, according to Paul Ronald Reece.

The airline’s CEO said that the move would attract Latin tourists travelling into Montego Bay.

Relatives of slain Guyanese to travel to French Guiana

The relatives of slain Hazley Greenidge, 36, formerly of North East La Penitence, Georgetown are preparing to travel to Cayenne with the hope of getting the authorities to speed up their investigations so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice.

The father of three was gunned down on Monday evening on his way home. His body was reportedly riddled with bullets by a group of men who authorities believe might have been monitoring his moves.

While information remains sketchy about the shooting, Guyana Times was made to understand that the man who has been living in French Guiana for the past few years might have been involved in bad business.

In light of the developments, it is believed that a deal went sour, thus, the perpetrators took the opportunity to eliminate him.

Speaking with a relative of the dead man, she said the slain man’s mother is travelling to the neighbouring country to meet with authorities there.

She is hoping that the authorities will hand over her three grandchildren so that she can take care of them. This, however, might be an issue since the children, ages one, two and three are with the welfare authorities. The mother, the source stated, has been in contact with authorities from both countries to address custody issues.

A little reserved about her cousin’s line of work, she said that he had been in “trouble” before. The woman could not have confirmed whether or not anyone was arrested for his murder. She, however, added that his wife passed away about six months ago, but he has since been living with someone.

Another relative who requested anonymity explained that they received a call about midnight on Monday from the man’s common-law wife, informing them that he had been executed.

From all indications, the man might have known his attackers.

The relative added that the man was making arrangements to bring his children to Guyana for the holidays and was supposed to have left on Tuesday.

Currently, the family is trying to have Greenidge’s body brought back to Guyana so that he can be laid to rest among his loved ones. This, however, will take some time.

“They want us to come there… you go where you can fill the seats,” he reasoned.

The Boeing 767 aeroplane should start flying this year and will add to the Boeing 757 which the airline now utilises. The airline ultimately wants two 757s and two 767s.

“There are millions in that city who want to travel,” he said, while officially declining to release the name of the South American city for competitive concerns. Negotiations are still underway, but the company already flew to that city and held discussions with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), regulators and tour operators which service that territory.

Fly Jamaica currently provides scheduled service to the North American cities of New York, in the US and Toronto in Canada, as well as to Guyana and Jamaica.

In July, passengers experienced delays with the untimely maintenance of the aircraft. Reece told the Observer that the second plane would also serve as redundancy in the event of maintenance delays.

“So you have two aeroplanes. One on a hard schedule, the other on a soft schedule to back up the first one,” he said of the Boeing 767 which seats 246 passengers. (Jamaica Observer)

Dead: Hazley Greenidge

Officials who were part of the series of high-level meetings with Ministry officials and key stakeholders in Haiti

In less than 48 hours, the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara will explode as Jamaican rising dancehall artiste Alkaline will perform for the Jamzone Summer Break Regional Night.

Known as the “tattooed eye kid”, he is expected to create a whirlwind on the evening of the show. From information received, he will be the headlining act for the con cert. The young man, who is also known for his explicit lyrics, might be asked to tone it down during his performance.

It is the first time he will be in Guyana and according to reports, he has a big fan base. His tunes include “123”, “Things Mi Love” and “Mouth Talk”, among others.

The youngster, whose real name is Farlan Bartley, described his music to be “everything that so ciety is afraid of and society repre sents everything that he is afraid of”.

This ambitious young man started writing lyrics at age 14 and within two years, he was recording and producing his own records. While balancing his studies with his passion, Alkaline graduated with six Caribbean Secondary

Examination Council (CSEC) subjects and is currently pursuing a first degree in Media and Communication at the University of the West Indies.

This upcoming star comes to the fore with a ton of hardcore rhymes, killer hooks and slick production. He is undoubtedly one of ‘the baddest’ lyricists to keep your eyes on. His personal style is not that of a typical artiste but he is known for his urban edgy fashion with

He will share the stage with Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Giant Bunji Garlin and Fay Ann Lyons. The couple are known for their high-energy performances that will rock the national stadium. Bunji has hits that will definitely create the right atmosphere. His hits include “differentology”, “Bring it”, “No Super Hero”, “Fire fi dem”, “jump up” and “gangster”, among others. On the other hand, Lyons has been heating up the regional and international stages with several of her hits, “this is carnival”, “Display” and “Get on” among others.

Tickets for the show cost $20,000 for VIP and $3000 for general admission. Meanwhile, after the regional night, all roads will lead to the Water Park aback the Princess Hotel and Casino for the beach jam. For the first time, the beach jam will take place at the new location which is located just 10-15 minutes from the capital city.

Tickets for the beach jam cost $2000 and are available at Ashmin’s Trading on High Street, Georgetown.

Not only will patrons be treated to an all new Jamzone location on Sunday, but they will also get the chance to witness a much anticipated clash between local entertainers Jory and Magnum.

On August 24, Jamzone’s oldest and most original event will be taken to the recently unveiled HJ Water World site, two great aspects wrapped in one for patrons to enjoy. Added to the programme is a musical clash which will see Jory and Magnum battling for the “King of the

Beach” title and $150,000.

Since the birth of Jamzone, this will be the very first time the Beach Jam will be taken away from the Splashmin’s Fun Park and Resort. Still, Hits and Jams Entertainment is thrilled about this move, since this event will be made even more exciting with the new commodities this venue has to offer.

Patrons can look forward to all the things that has made Jamzone what it is today such as the beach games and cash prizes! As the sun dips,

the party starts with juggling by Guyana’s best DJs, the BOOM and Fusion DJs! Making appearances throughout the night will be other local artistes and also the Miss Jamzone International girls.

The Hits and Jams team is excited about the changes Jamzone Summer Break Beach Jam will be undertaking this year and even more excited about their supporters enjoying all that this event has to offer as they bring better quality entertainment every year.

Now that the word is out, Guyanese are scampering to get their tickets for the satirical production titled “Bare Rikaticks” which premieres this Saturday evening. Reports coming out of the camp reveal that tickets are going like hot cakes.

The show is the first of its kind and the producers and directors are hoping that it will replace the well-known comedy shows in years to come. The presentation is hosted by The Re-Actors and is expected to leave patrons breathless and begging for more.

The new show “Bare Rikaticks” will feature the new generation of comedians who are also seasoned in the business. The show will

comprise high-quality acting which includes dances, poetry, stand-up comedy and some singing which will undoubtedly keep you on the edge of your seats.

Those expected to perform in the new addition to the comedy arena are Lyndon “Jumbie” Jones, Kirk “Chow Pow” Jardin, Nirmala Narine, Chris Gopaul, Michael Ignatius, Kwasi “Ace” Edmondson and members of the Re-Actors group – Mark Kazim, Sean Thompson, Tash Inniss, Leon Thompson and Mark Luke Edwards.

Tickets for the event cost $1500 and are available at the National Cultural Centre and regular ticketing locations.

Just after performing at CARIBANA in Canada and at several gigs in the United States of America, Jumo “Rubber Waist” Primo will this weekend launch his new music video titled “Drop”. It will hit the airwaves on Saturday morning on all major television stations across the country.

The video was shot by Gennesiz in Monaco Night Club, Splashmin’s Fun Park and Resort and Umbrella Resort.

The video was also produced by Gennesiz and was written by Jumo Primo.

The song is a combination of dancehall and soca and shows how girls party or rather how they

“drop”. The music video is suited for any club and even the street sessions. The video took approximately two weeks to be completed since the artiste had prior commitments here

He is certain that the new video will create some vibes on the local airwaves. He is also in the process of completing a medley album featuring Kwasi “Ace” Edmondson, Adrian Dutchin, Alabama and others. Also, he is set to release a new reggae tune in September and currently he is already making plans for Mash 2015.

The local boy who is known internationally, is also set to perform at various events in and out of Guyana for the next few months.

Kishawn Doobay was born on May 13, 1989 to Carole Fowler and Audie Doobay and has lived most of his life in East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, but has travelled the length and breadth of Guyana. He is the only child for his parents and is commonly known as “Kamouflage”. He presently lives at Bagotville on the West Bank of Demerara.

While he has a number of tunes that have been recorded and ready to release, he is waiting for the opportune time to do so. He is more or less a Hip Hop/R&B artiste who is still to create a stir in the local music industry.

This budding artiste is religious and grew up in a Christian home and is accustomed to listening to gospel music on Sunday mornings. The only important date, the jovial young man reminisced, is his birthday which he spends with family and friends as a form of celebrating life.

During his spare time, he plays video games, basketball and more importantly, writing rhythms for his tunes that he is optimistic will hit the top of the list.

His mind is focused on success since he claims that failure is not a word in his vocabulary. As a young man who has a vision and aims high, he appreciates people who are loyal, trustworthy, honest and respectful, noting that those are the qualities that will lead a good life.

Doobay is somewhat a shy individual and despite having someone close to his heart, he expressed his feelings to them to the art form. He is normally a reserved person, hence persons would keep their distance.

He grew up in East Ruimveldt and he described his childhood as “awesome”. He said that it was while hanging with his friends, he got involved in music. With nothing to do, he and his friend gathered at a popular spot and it was then that he started to rap.

His friends heard him and thought that he had a good voice and encouraged him to get involved in music, since they wanted to see him on television one day. At the time

growing up, he recalled that there were a number of driveby shootings and robberies but this has helped him to gain

some experience in life.

His mother, he said, has raised him to be the person he is today. She is a loving person who keeps him laughing all the time. She is also strict in her

moments which keeps him well grounded. His father on the other hand, was not actively involved in his upbringing, but the young man says he is more or less over protective. Although his father resides overseas, he loves to keep an eye on him.

When asked if there is anything in particular he would want to do over, Doobay says if he had the chance he will do everything over the same way. The young man told Guyana Times Entertainment that he is proud of himself especially with the tracks he had produced. Through his music, he has gained a lot of fans in different countries, where persons have indicated their interest in working with him and vice versa.

He is not in a serious relationship claiming that he “Got his heart broken one too many times... after my last relationship, I’m just sitting and looking on for a while before getting into something serious”. His favourite food is roti and curry while his favourite colour is blue (all shades).

Mark Kazim

Sean Thompson

Michael Ignatius Chow Pow

BOorn under the zodiac sign of Scorpio (November 9, 1995) bringing joy and happiness to loving and caring parents Shamain Smith and Kevin Cross is this young, vibrant, shining star Kevin Smith.

Smith, a present employee of the Guyana Revenue Authority was born and raised in West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

His parents instilled in him the values of love, unity and respect for all individuals which contributed to his amazing persona.

He started his education at the South Road Nursery School and moved on to his primary education at Smith’s Memorial Primary where he spent six unforgettable years and met a lot of interesting individuals. Being a lover of sport and reading, he was a part of his school’s Spelling Bee team and was one of his school’s best athletes.

As time waits for no one, it was then time for his departure from the primary school he so loved. He wrote the National Grade Six Assessment and gained a place at St John’s College. It was no different there since his intelligence was recognised and he was a part of his school’s debating team.

The thrill he got from participating in numerous debating competitions boosted his confidence and aspiration of becoming a lawyer.

In the y wrote seven subjects at the CSEC examination and he obtained six passes. In 2013, he wrote an additional three subjects and recently, in June 2014, he wrote another. He believes that "Education is a beacon of light in the darkness of ignorance" and as such, continuously tries to improve himself.

Further, in 2013 he joined the Guyana Red Cross Society Youth Group where he volunteers part-time. It also brings him great joy to volunteer at the Children Convalescence Home (C.C.H) every Sunday. Additionally, he recently completed the Bronze Presidential Youth Award programme.

Kevin is actively involved in drama, dancing, poetry, street football and basketball. He also enjoys social media, reading, and meeting people of interest. His role model is none other than Guyanese lawyer James Bond. He is exceedingly impressed with Bond’s persona and

eantry is nothing new to Smith since he was a part of Mr Guyana Talented Teen 2013 pageant. This experience, he said, gave him the confidence to step up to this challenge – competing for the Mr Guyana

Smith seeks fulfilment in everything that he does. As such, he joined this pageant with the hope that at the end of the day, he would find satisfaction in accomplishing something new. ves that he is destined for great things and that he has an awesome future ahead of him.

This shining star has chosen "Male Underachievement" as his platform for this competition because he strongly believes that males are

underachievers because they are shortcut seekers, never wanting to go the distance in order to achieve greatness. It has been rightly said that "the roots of education are bitter, but the fruits are sweet".

Sadly, not many of the young men in our society today understand this simple vin lives by the motto: “Dream the impossible, achieve the unattainable and face the future with

Coastlanders will have an opportunity on Sunday to witness and be a part of the annual Guyana Police Force’s Gymkhana which is expected to feature a number of spectacular and breathtaking events. The event is slated for the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary.

The Guyana Police Force’s Gymkhana is a regular feature on the Force’s calendar of activities, and will also be held on the East Coast of Demerara, West Bank of Demerara and in Berbice.

Gymkhanas are part of the Force’s outreach programme which provides the Police with the opportunity to display their skills, agility and physical prowess to the public, while at the same time promoting

closer interaction between the Police and citizens.

The highly entertaining programme will include grass track motorcycle riding, displays by the Police Mounted Branch and sniffer dogs, tugof-war, athletics, gymnastics, drills and karate displays, trampoline and pony rides.

Performances by the Police Mounted Branch will take the horses through various drills, including jumping through fire and musical chairs.

The Police Canine Branch with their tracker dogs will also be a part of the day’s activities as they do various displays.

The Majorettes will also be displaying various skills during their display.

The various Police

motorbike divisions, including traffic, will also be a part of the day’s activities. Foot drill displays, late for work, bounty hunting and the Police military band will all show off their skills, in what they do best.

Bikers from various biker clubs and grass track riders will also be a part of the day’s proceedings.

In addition, for the first time, there will be an inclusion of track events which will see top athletes within the Force competing for supremacy.

There will also be lots of activities for children including bouncy castle, trampoline, face painting and many other attractions. Admission to the event is absolutely free and show time is 11:00h.

ver the years, one would have heard about the Caribbean for its exotic beaches and tourism packages that wow the world, but after paying a visit to Punta Cana, in The Dominican Republic, the perception about tourism changes drastically.

The Dominican Republic has a population of about 8.9 million people and has a land mass of roughly half the size of Guyana, with an estimated 10 million tourists visiting the country on an annual basis. A recent visit to the island proved that from January to mid August, a total of 4.8 million people visited the island.

A high influx of visitors is evident during the summer vacation and then again during the winter. North Americans would visit the country as they run away from the harsh winter weather for somewhere warmer.

The country is known for its exotic beaches, tropical climate, excellent tour packages and more so, hospitable citizens. In Punta Cana itself, there are close to 150 hotels and resorts which are usually booked to capacity during the August Holidays.

While visits were made to several hotels, a group of Guyanese media operatives had the opportunity to stay at Be.Live Hotels which is located about 20 minutes away from the Punta Cana International Airport. There, the media spent a total of four days.

The services at the hotel were excellent and catered for persons of all nationalities. The Guyana delegation, comprising eight people, jumped at the opportunity to visit the island during an offer by Vision Airlines.

While at the resort, food, drinks, and accommodation were included in the package but once someone desired to visit the tourist destinations, additional fees were charged.

The most memorable, however was the buggy rides, the trip to Bavaro Island and the two-hour drive to its capital city, Santo Domingo. The trips to the Macoa Beach and the Blue Water Cave are scenes to be visited when you are planning a trip to Punta Cana.

While at the Be.Live Hotels, it was partying nonstop.

From All White parties to beach jams, hotel guests had much to talk about and a lot of memories to take back with them when they returned home. During the four-day stay, each night was dedicated to a particular group (Brazil, Spanish, Trinidad and a combination of others).

The Punta Cana Airport is another breathtaking scene. The buildings are constructed with wood and are covered with straw instead of zinc sheeting which makes the surroundings much cooler. The country’s main economic products are tourism, sugar and agriculture.

he Hits and Jams Black Tie Affair raked in over quarter of a million dollars in auctioned items at the Pegasus Hotel on Wednesday evening.

The items were tokens received from each delegate who competed in this year’s Jamzone International Pageant. These items consisted of a canvas painting from Guyana, a pen holder, a handmade purse, a packet of rare coffee beans with a necklace bearing the image of Bob Marley and a lamp donated by Courts among others.

Attracting the highest bid was the lamp at $120,000 followed by the painting from Guyana for $85,000.

The event got off to a late start due to inclement weather, but as the night’s proceedings got under way, several pieces of high-fashion outfits were presented by Guyanese designer Randy Madray. The pieces were worn by the pageant delegates and Ms India Guyana.

A unique solo dance performance by the Classique Dance Company along with the melodious voice of Jackie Hannover brought life to the audience just after dinner.

During dinner, patrons were serenaded with music by a local saxophonist. Proceeds of the auction go to helping children who are in need of urgent medical attention and were the inspiration of the Hits and Jams CEO Rawle

Reigning Miss Jamzone International, Soyini Fraser

Some of the items that were auctioned on Wednesday evening

A section of the Be Live Hotels, Punta Cana

Independence T20 Cup fulfills promise to charitable organisations

At a simple ceremony held recently, the Organising Committee of the Guyana Independence T20 Cup 2014 made presentations to several charitable organisations with proceeds gar-

nered from the tournament.

The third edition of the tournament was a joint fundraiser of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) and the Berbice Chambers of Commerce and Development Association. In an invited comment,

Anil Beharry, the Chairman of the Committee and the First Vice-president of the BCB, said that he was happy to report that the tournament was a resounding success despite the challenges faced.

Beharry said the fundraiser is here to stay and will continue to assist the less fortunate in society. He thanked the sponsors for the faith shown in the organisers and commended the players and fans for

their support. Beharry also thanked all the media houses for their excellent coverage of the tournament.

Mark Roopnarine, President of the Chambers and a member of the Organising Committee, echoed the sentiments of Beharry and promised a bigger event in 2015. He added that planning for next year’s edition would commence soon.

Donations were made to the Chambers, BCB, two cricket clubs, the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association and the Blairmont Cricket Club, Bal Nivas, a new shelter at Port Mourant, Alpha Home, Canaan Home and Children of Promise.

Two schools are also to benefit, along with continued assistance to Albion Sports Complex for renovation purposes. Funds were put aside for health/disaster and a contribution was made to the Regional Democratic Council of Region Six for launching the newly installed floodlights at Albion.

The Organising Committee wishes to thank the following sponsors

for their support: Courts Guyana Limted, Rommel Jagroop, Ansa McAl Trading, Greenidge Refrigeration, Demerara Distilleries Limited, Sentinel Security, GT&T, Demerara Bank Limited, Banks DIH Limited, Bissoondyal Singh of Elizabeth Styles, Berbice River Bridge, Hand In Hand Insurance, E-Networks, Raffik and Sons Constructions, Jayzee of USA, Sunshine Supermarket, NPG, Nand Persaud- Karibee Rice, Ainlim, Mary Prashad Gas Station, Ishmael Poultry, New Building Society, Asheik and Sons Spare Parts and Auto Sales, Danzies Fashion Centre and Auto Sales, Peter Ferriera of Canada, Advance Agri, Poonai’s Pharmacy, Zai Permaul, Terminex Pest Control, Metro Computer and Office Supplies, Balram Shane, Furniture World, Ramesh Maraj, Bhagoo, Digital Technology, Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall, A. Ally and Sons, Geddes Grant, J’s Printer and David Armogan, Regional Chairman, Region Six.

Van Lange, Gaskin complete participation at Youth Olympics

Swimmers Britany Van Lange and Hannibal Gaskin both completed their participation at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China, after failing to advance past the heat stage of their respective swimming events on Thursday.

Participating in her final event, the 50 metres Butterfly, Van Lange swam 28.43 in her heat.

That heat was won by Suharmee Raheem of Sri Lanka in 26.79. Second was Johnnya Ferdinand of Trinidad and Tobago, while third was Lydia Musleh of Jordan who all swam under 28 seconds. However, no swimmer in that heat made it to the semi-finals as the majority of the swimmers clocked less than 26 seconds in the other heats.

Van Lange had also competed in the Girls’ 100 metres Freestyle but failed to make a qualifying time.

Meanwhile, Hannibal Gaskin clocked 58.03secs for sixth in his heat, which was won by Patrick Conaton of the United States of America in 52.49.

Second was Calum Bain of Ireland and third Raoul Stafrace of Malta, who all swam under 54 minutes, however, the times were not fast enough to earn anyone in that heat qualification to the semi-finals.

2013 Carifta bronze medallist Jason Yaw is the only Guyanese remaining in the Games as he will be contesting the ‘B’ final of the Boys’ 400 metres on Saturday. Yaw has the best PB in that line-up and could emerge the winner if he could replicate the form that brought him his PB.

He will be up against Australia’s Michael Mullet, Trinidad and Tobago’s Kashief King, Puerto Rico’s Ezequiel Suarez, Thailand’s

Phosri, United States of America’s Andrew James and Republic of

Vitsanu

Korea’s Mingi Choi. Table tennis player Chelsea Edghill was the

first Guyanese to crash out of the Youth Olympics after failing to win a game in the

group stage of the Women’s Singles table tennis tournament.

Representatives from various charitable organisations display their cheques in the presence of members of the Organising Committee of the Guyana Independence T20 Cup 2014

The Guyana team at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China. Photo: Facebook

South Africa complete comfortable clean sweep

Atrio of changes to both teams and a change of approach which saw Zimbabwe bat first brought no change in proceedings as South Africa swept their eighth three-match series against Zimbabwe. Even without their regular ODI captain AB de Villiers, who was rested for this match, two debutants in their XI and being a batsman short, South Africa dominated a Zimbabwean team that were without their senior-most batsman Brendan Taylor, who was dropped along with Brian Vitori and Neville Madziva.

Taylor’s axing came just two games after he was relieved of the limited-overs captaincy and after he managed just 20 runs in the two matches before this one. His longstanding reputation as the pivot around which the middle-order functions earned him no rope but his absence was notable as Zimbabwe suffered another collapse. Five wickets fell for 15 runs a six-over period to undo the recovery Sikandar Raza and Elton Chigumbura fashioned following another stuttering start. With an additional

seamer in their XI, South Africa posed even more of a threat than usual and Zimbabwe were silenced from the start. Kyle Abbott and Marchant de Lange added another item to the things they have in

common after both took seven wickets on Test debut, when they both claimed wickets in their first over of this match. Abbott had Hamilton Masakadza out lbw when he beat his inside-edge

with a full delivery and de Lange, making his return after 30 months out of the international game, had Richmond Mutumbami caught at second slip with his first ball.

Chigumbura’s was promoted to Taylor’s No. 4 position but it was Sikandar Raza Butt, not the new captain, who calmed the early nerves. Butt was confident against the both the short and the full ball and struck seven boundaries which suggested he could single-handedly haul Zimbabwe out of trouble. He sent Abbott through midwicket, smoked de Lange through the covers and took three fours off Ryan McLaren first over but then threw it away.

Faf du Plessis stationed a man at deep square leg for the pull and Raza played one straight into his hands, leaving Chigumbura to steer the innings from the 11th over. Sean Williams was in even earlier than he has been in the two matches so far but did not produce this time. He hung around with Chigumbura for 11.2 overs in which Parnell and rookie Mthokozisi Shezi squeezed them with changes of pace, and was bowled when trying to sweep Aaron Phangiso.

The loss of Williams forced Chigumbura to become even more quiet, an approach Malcolm Waller mirrored so well his presence barely registered on the radar. Waller scratched around until he was caught behind off the glove off de Lange. The next four wickets fell swiftly as Abbott claimed a second, Parnell took two

frustrate South Africa’s bowlers at the end but his contribution was never going to be enough to force a favourable result for Zimbabwe.

A sliver of hope came when Rilee Rossouw was run-out in the first over thanks to his own urgency to get off the mark and Waller’s direct hit, but South Africa’s lineup had their best to come. Quinton de Kock made himself at home in a senior role and scored briskly while du Plessis played with more freedom than he has all series.

in two and Shezi got first international scalp when Tafadzwa Kamungozi was given out lbw even though the ball pitched outside leg stump.

Amid the carnage, Chigumbura had crawled to 48 and as soon as the Powerplay began, he converted that. He whipped a Parnell yorker through midwicket to reach his half-century off 102 balls, and then cut loose.

McLaren’s slower bouncer took the most punishment and Chigumbura plundered two fours and then two sixes in consecutive overs. Chigumbura scored 40 off 20 balls to reach his highest ODI score and

Before 10 overs were up, South Africa had already cut the target to less than 100. The second-wicket stand was worth 73 when du Plessis was bowled through the gate by Sean Williams but de Kock seemed certain to take South Africa to the close. He brought his second half-century of the series with a chip over mid-off and his aggression after that took him within touching distance of a century. After sending Tinashe Panyangara over long-off for six, de Kock tried to do it again but misplaced it to deep midwicket to leave JP Duminy to finish it off.

South Africa won inside 28 overs and will enter the triangular series, which also involves Australia, brimming with confidence. Zimbabwe will head there in the opposite frame of mind.They remain starved of success and now have created more questions for themselves to answer ahead of duels with two of the most intimidating outfits around.

SCOREBOARD

Zimbabwe innings (50 overs maximum)

H Masakadza lbw b Abbott 4

R Mutumbami† c Rossouw

b de Lange 0

Sikandar Raza c Phangiso

b McLaren 30

E Chigumbura* b de Lange 90

SC Williams b Phangiso 17

MN Waller c †de Kock b de Lange 2

LM Jongwe lbw b Abbott 2

P Utseya b Parnell 2

J Nyumbu c du Plessis b Parnell 0

T Kamungozi lbw b Shezi 1

T Panyangara not out 0

Extras (lb 6, w 11) 17

Total (all out; 39.5 overs; 180 mins) 165 (4.14 runs per over)

Fall of wickets 1-4 (Masakadza, 0.3 ov), 2-4 (Mutumbami, 1.1 ov), 3-55 (Sikandar Raza, 10.3 ov), 4-89 (Williams, 21.5 ov), 5-104 (Waller, 28.2 ov), 6-109 (Jongwe, 30.6 ov), 7-114 (Utseya, 33.2 ov), 8-114 (Nyumbu, 33.3 ov), 9-119 (Kamungozi, 34.1 ov), 10-

165 (Chigumbura, 39.5 ov)

Bowling: KJ Abbott 6-1-212, M de Lange 7.5-0-31-3, R McLaren 6-0-53-1, WD Parnell 8-0-33-2, M Shezi 6-2-8-1, AM Phangiso 6-1-13-1 South Africa innings (target: 166 runs from 50 overs) Q de Kock† c Williams b Panyangara 84 RR Rossouw run out (Waller) 0 F du Plessis* b Williams 40 JP Duminy not out 28 DA Miller not out 13 Extras (w 5, nb 1) 6

Total (3 wickets; 27.2 overs; 114 mins) 171 (6.25 runs per over) Did not bat: R McLaren, WD Parnell, KJ Abbott, AM Phangiso, M de Lange, M Shezi Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Rossouw, 0.4 ov), 2-74 (du Plessis, 12.1 ov), 3-144 (de Kock, 23.5 ov) Bowling: T Panyangara 6-0-39-1, LM Jongwe 5-030-0, T Kamungozi 3-032-0, J Nyumbu 5.2-0-330, SC Williams 2-1-1-1, P Utseya 6-0-36-0

The South Africa players celebrate with the series trophy, Zimbabwe v South Africa, 3rd ODI, Bulawayo, August 21, 2014. Photo: AFP

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Base Camp Ayanganna take GDF sports by storm

Base Camp Ayanganna prevailed as the 2014 champions of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Athletic Championships on Wednesday at the Camp Ayanganna Ground.

The event which had to be moved from last Friday to Wednesday due to rain, saw Defence Headquarters finishing second, while Base Camp Stevenson was third. First Infantry finished fourth to round out the top four teams of the competition.

Meanwhile, in track and field action, Patrick King was at the top of his game winning the men’s 100 metres while Akeem Stewart was able to win the men’s

200 metres. Javelin champion Leslain Baird also won the 400 metres, while Cleveland

Forde dominated the men’s 1500 and 5000 metres.

On the distaff side, Letitia Myles looked in a bit of form winning the female 100 metres, while a new addition to the army Neisa Allen prevailed in both the women’s 200 and 400 metres.

Carlissa Atkinson was a force in the longer version of the track events, winning a triple- distance crown by taking the 800, 1500 and 3000 metres.

The event is normally the proving ground for athletes that want to compete at the Inter Services Athletic Championships (ISAC) also known as the Joint Services Sports.

Formula 1 drive for 16-year-old "a risk", say drivers

Formula 1 drivers have questioned the wisdom of Red Bull’s decision to pick teenager Max Verstappen to drive for Toro Rosso next year.

The Dutchman will be 17 when he makes his debut - the youngest F1 driver in history by about a year-and-a-half.

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button said they were not ready for F1 at 17, which Felipe Massa said was “a little young”.

Many said they were pleased Verstappen had been promoted on the basis of talent rather than financial backing.

But Sauber’s Adrian Sutil said the move was a “risk” for Verstappen’s career.

Sutil said: “It’s quite a risky move and a surprise for everyone to be announced as F1 driver after only half a season in F3.

“But there are drivers who can manage that, for example Kimi Raikkonen, who did only one season of Formula Renault and performed extremely well.

“But I think you still need a little bit of driving, a couple of years, before you do F1.

“I think 17 is very young but it just shows everything is possible. The downside is if he doesn’t perform his career might be ending very quickly.”

Button said: “When I was 20, I wasn’t ready. I was probably ready at 23, but people are ready at different times.

“Also, if someone comes along and says ‘do you want a drive in F1?’ you’re not going to say no, are you? Because there might not be another opportunity.

“That’s what happened to me. Frank [Williams] said to me when I was in the pub with my mates drinking beer and eating sausages and bacon: ‘Are you ready for F1?’ And I said, ‘no’.

“My dad said, ‘I can’t believe you’ve just said that. Phone him back and lie to him basically and tell him you are ready.’ And then I got the test drive and the race drive. You have to take the opportunity, you have to say you’re ready and I hope he is.” Hamilton said: “I can only say, ‘good for him’. I just remember when I was 17, I was calling [McLaren

bosses] Martin Whitmarsh and Ron Dennis asking, ‘can I go to F1?’.

“And I was very fortunate I had them and my dad keeping my feet on the ground, and helping me making the right steps. And when I got there I was ready.

“I got offered a drive for BMW and I had a chance to race in the last three races of 2006 for McLaren and I know if I had taken an of those opportunities I wouldn’t be here. But it’s different for everyonelook at Kimi.

“Max has been doing fantastically well, and I wish him all the best and hope he has as good a group of people as I had to guide him through it.”

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who made his own F1 debut when he was 19 and went on to become the youngest man to win a race and a world championship, said “age is just a number in your passport”.

He added: “Before saying anything, we need to see how Verstappen does next year and after six-toeight races we can see if he was ready or not.”

Shalom

Letitia Myles

Verstappen will be 17 when he makes his debut - the youngest F1 driver in history by about a yearand-a-half

W&H Rambaran on board with DCB youth summer camp

W&H Rambaran Mariner Outboard Engines is on board with the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) for its Youth Summer Camp which is scheduled to be launched on Monday August 25, 2014 at the Demerara Cricket Club ground at 09:00h.

This company was founded in the early 1990s and, according to a press release from the DCB, “Its aim is to propel Guyana into the 21st century to make its customers’ boating experience better in the long run.

W&H Rambaran Mariner Outboard Engines is the number one on the water, and supplies Mariner and Mercury outboard engines, spare parts and accessories,” the press release stated.

The DCB one- week Summer Camp will focus on U-15 and U-17 boys and girls across Demerara, and caters for 25 boys and 10 girls from each age group.

Each day would have two sessions, one in the morning from 09:00-12:00h for the U-15s, and one from 13:0015:00h for the U-17s. These sessions will be spearheaded by DCB head coach Garvin Nedd who will be supported by Clive Grimmond. The entire camp will be super-

Manager, Bharrat Singh hands over the sponsorship cheque to DCB Treasurer, Anand Kalladeen in the presence of DCB President and Administrator, Raj Singh and Melinda Bishundyal

vised by the GCB Territorial Developmental Officer, Colin Stuart.

Special emphasis would be placed on the technical aspects of batting, fast bowling, and spin bowling. The aim of the camp is to challenge, improve and develop the younger cricketers’ ability, widen their knowledge of the game, and make them

more appreciative of it.

To be eligible for the U-15 programme, players have to be born on or after September 1, 2000 and for the U-17, on or after September 1, 1998. Those interested can contact the DCB office on 223 5479 or Garvin Nedd on 617 9381.

ECCB Academy commences Monday

Youth cricketers, male and female, along the East Coast corridor will convene at the Lusignan Community Centre on Monday August 25, at 08:30h when the East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB) launches the 14th edition of its annual Cricket Academy.

Activities will be held under the theme “Cricket – Professionalism and Healthy Lifestyle,” and are for children 12-16 years of age. More than 50 aspiring cricketers, drawn from Ogle to Abary, are expected to participate in the programme.

Organisers have also revealed that participants will enjoy interaction with senior and former national cricketers who will grace the forum with their presence. While there, the seniors will introduce the youngsters to the technicalities of the sport while sharing their experiences on the national field.

Several resource persons will entertain thought-provoking discussions on cricket-related and other topics during the proceedings. The history of West Indies cricket will be lectured by former University of Guyana lecturer Mr Tota Mangar; national umpire Davteerth Anandjit will discuss the laws of

cricket and umpiring, while international book scorer Sidartha Anandjit will deal with the intricacies of the scoring system.

Officers from the Cove and John Police Station will tutor the aspiring cricketers on road safety practices, while an officer from the Ministry of Education will discuss careers in cricket and discipline. Participants will also receive tutoring in drugs and sports;the Importance of Education; Leadership and Sportsmanship; HIV and Teenage Sex; Food and Nutrition; Social Etiquette/ Grooming and Discipline.

Latchman Yadram and Jeenarine are the coaches.

According to a press release from the ECCB, it must be noted the more than twenty (20) participants who have attended the ECCB annual academy over the years went on to represent Guyana with distinction, notably Brian Sattaur who captained the successful Guyana under-19 team this year and Bashkar Yadram who captained the Guyana under-15 team.

The organisers are indeed grateful for the support received from the corporate community and wish to express heartfelt gratitude to

Guytrac 20/20 cricket bowls off in Berbice Sunday

Action in the Guyana Tractor and Equipment (Guytrac) 20/20 cricket competition is set to bowl off on Sunday in Upper Corentyne, Berbice, with a total of 10 matches at five venues.

The competition, which was scheduled to start on June 1, was postponed due to the rainy season. It will feature 20 teams, which are affiliated to the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association (UCCA), and is expected to finish in one month.

The final and third place playoff will be held at the Crabwood Creek ground at a date to be announced.

The tournament is being organised by the UCCA and the organisers are hop-

ing that all teams will play in the spirit of the game of cricket and not be carried away by the fast nature and intensity T20 cricket brings.

Two games will be played at each of the five venues, with the first match starting at 10:00h and the second at 14:00h.

At the Number 70 ground, Number 70 Cricket Club will take on Number 47 Pioneer, followed by Number 72 All Star against Number 70 Young Star.

Over on the Crabwood Creek ground, Number 64 Fighting Marines and Crabwood Creek Rising will clash in the opening game, while Number 69 Red Rose and Number 72 Cut and Load will battle in game two.

The Number 43 ground will be the venue for the Number 43 Scorpion and Number 68 Turn game, followed by a clash between Guytrac XI and Number 48 Challengers, while the Number 69 Vikings ground will host Number 69 Vikings against Young Royals and Number 73 Young Warriors versus Springlands.

At the Number 71 ground, Number 70 MYO will take on Corriverton, after which Number 71 Cricket Club will face Skeldon. Guytrac, dealers in all heavy duty machinery, spares and the home of Hyundai machines, is located at 215 Cross Street, Mandela Avenue, Georgetown.

George honoured at Boyce/Jefford Classic

Middle- distance prodigy Cassey George was honoured with a monetary donation last Sunday following the conclusion of the Boyce/Jefford Track and Field Classic in Linden. George, who has won three Carifta gold medals over the course of her bud-

ding career was unable to officially run for cash prizes because of her age.

However, the patrons were prompted by the organisers to donate money to an impromptu fund that started at the championships on Sunday for the top athlete.

All the proceeds raised from the fund were handed over by the organisers to the athlete for her remarkable performances for Guyana. George is a native of Linden. It has become a Boyce/ Jefford tradition to donate funding to someone or something following the conclusion of the event.

Serena Williams top seed for Us Open

those individuals and organisations that have made this event possible. These include Ansa McAl, B.M. Soat Auto Sales, Rockaway Auto Sales, Trophy Stall, Global Manufacturing Company (Marvex Bleach), NIDECA Investments, Elizabeth Styles, Bissan’s Trading, Mirza Khan, Bibi Samaroo Trading (Lethem), Yadram Distributions, D. Singh and Sons General Stores, Deodat Sooklall Investments, Mr. Samaroo Jailall and the executives and members of the many clubs along the East Coast.

Activities will be coordinated by Secretary of the ECCB Mr Judister Rampersaud, with assistance from national cricket coach, Latchman Yadram.

The Academy concludes on Friday August 29, 2014.

Participants are reminded to assemble at 09.30h at the Lusignan Community Centre on Friday August 22, 2014 for registration. Contact can be made via telephone to the Secretary Mr Judister Rampersaud (2590308). Vice-President in charge of competitions, Mr Raymond Barton (626-0223 or 220-1636) or Executive Member Mr Dave Anandjit (617-8502).

World number one Serena Williams is the top women’s seed as she attempts to win a third successive US Open title.

The tournament is the 32-year-old’s last chance to win a Grand Slam in 2014, having failed to reach the last eight of the year’s first three majors.

French Open runnerup Simona Halep is seeded second, with Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova third.

Britons Heather Watson and Johanna Konta are in the main

draw for the tournament, which starts on Monday.

The pair will learn their first-round opponents when the draw is made from 17:00 BST on Thursday.

French Open champion Maria Sharapova, who won the title at Flushing Meadows in 2006, is seeded fifth.

Victoria Azarenka, beaten in the past two US Open finals, is seeded 16th after an injury-hit year.

American five-time champion Williams is hoping to win her 18th Grand

Slam title, equalling the feats of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

Women’s top 16 seeds: 1) Serena Williams, 2) Simona Halep, 3) Petra Kvitova, 4) Agnieszka Radwanska, 5) Maria Sharapova, 6) Angelique Kerber, 7) Eugenie Bouchard, 8) Ana Ivanovic, 9) Jelena Jankovic, 10) Caroline Wozniacki, 11) Flavia Pennetta, 12) Dominika Cibulkova, 13) Sara Errani, 14) Lucie Safarova, 15) Carla Suarez Navarro, 16) Victoria Azarenka.

W&H Rambaran Mariner Outboard Engines

Williams is hoping to win her 18th Grand Slam title

GRFU 10s rugby continues Saturday

−focus on beach rugby during two-day session in Linden

Two exciting matches are carded for this Saturday

The National Park rugby field will be buzzing with activity on Saturday when action in the Guyana Rugby Football Union’s (GRFU) 10s tournament continues from 15:30 hours with a double-header.

In the opening clash, the University of Guyana Wolves will take on points leaders the Pepsi Hornets, while the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) will tackle Yamaha Caribs.

During the last round of competition last Saturday, UG Wolves defeated Yamaha Caribs 42-34, while the Pepsi Hornets whipped GDF 41-12.

NaMilCo rewards champion athletes from Boyce/Jefford Classic

The champion athletes of the Boyce/Jefford Track and Field Classic were on Wednesday rewarded with a cash prize of $50,000 each for their performances at the meet in Linden last Sunday.

ter winning the men’s 100, 200 and 400 metres, while Natasha Alder was the female champion athlete after dominating the throws in the field events.

Youth Development Officer Theodore Henry and volunteers Nicole Nero and Joseph Rahaman are spearheading the coaching, along with three Get Into Rugby (GIR) trained Teachers from Linden.

Today the Youth Development Officers will conclude the camp with exhibition matches featuring

The Pepsi Hornets are on six points, followed by GDF and UG Wolves on four each and Yamaha Caribs in the cellar position without a point. Meanwhile, the GRFU, in an effort to spread the exciting game of rugby around the country, is capitalising on an ongoing camp in Linden featuring Beach Rugby by inserting a two-day session for aspiring rugby players of diverse ages. The camp started on Thursday and will conclude today at the Wismar beach facility.

real madrid winger angel Di maria tells club he wants to leave

Argentina winger

Angel Di Maria has told Real Madrid he wants to leave the La Liga club. Di Maria has been linked with a move to Manchester United, with manager Louis van Gaal reportedly keen to take the 26-year-old to Old Trafford.

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti confirmed the player rejected the offer of a new contract at the European champions.

“Di Maria asked to go in the summer and has rejected an offer from the club,” said Ancelotti at a news conference.

“The player has to look for a solution. If when the transfer market closes he’s still here, he will work with us like last season and there will be no problem.”

Di Maria, who missed the World Cup final defeat by Germany because of in-

jury, moved to Real from Benfica for £20m in 2010.

He was one of Real’s most prominent players as the Spanish club claimed their 10th European crown last season.

But with the club bringing in James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos, Di Maria is in danger of falling down the pecking order. Paris SaintGermain have also been linked with a move for the player.

Ancelotti also hinted that World Cup winner Sami Khedira could also be set to leave in the coming weeks.

“Khedira’s situation is different because he has just a year left on his contract and has rejected a new one,” said Ancelotti.

“We will see what happens, but his situation is different because he has not asked to leave.”

the attendees.

Olympian Winston George was dubbed the male champion athlete af -

Managing Director of NaMilco Bert Sukhai congratulated the athletes for their all-round performances, while wishing the organisers continued success with the growing event that has become Guyana’s biggest track and field meet. The organisers were thankful for the contribution from NaMilCo and has already promised to improve the quality of the meet next year.

Winston George (third from left) and Natasha Alder (third from right) receive their awards from representatives of NaMilCo in the presence of organisers Colin Boyce (extreme left) and Edison Jefford (extreme right).

TOP SCORES

Shaky West Indies seeking improvement

Team news

West Indies sweated for their 1-0 lead on Wednesday but it could prove a crucial advantage in a series likely to be affected by rain. While it is unlikely the hosts will be as slipshod in the second game today, Bangladesh are still searching for a performance good enough to bring them a first win in 2014.

For the first hour of West Indies’ chase of 218, Bangladesh were producing that performance. They tied down Chris Gayle, played on Kirk Edwards’ patience and induced poor shots from Lendl Simmons and the brothers Bravo, leaving West Indies on 34 for 5 in 13.1 overs. Bangladesh were a wicket away from the tail but they did not get it for 145 runs.

Denesh Ramdin was sensible, Kieron Pollard powerful, and they were dismissed only after they had put West Indies on verge of victory.

There is room for West Indies to improve with the ball too. Sunil Narine, though wicketless, troubled

the batsmen but the seamers were loose with their lines and lengths on a pitch that was on the slower side.

Bangladesh have work to do. Their strike-rates at the top need improvement, and they need to find ideas

when the match is on edge. They can take encouragement from the restraint Tamim Iqbal and Nasir

Hossain showed while trying to build their innings, Anamul Haque’s application during his century, and Al-Amin’s incisiveness.

If Bangladesh don’t get it together on Thursday, their winless run in 2014 will cost them another series.

In the spotlight Kieron Pollard was Man of the Match in the first ODI but Denesh Ramdin’s role was as important. He rotated strike when none of the batsmen above him had been willing to do so and enabled Pollard to bat with relatively less pressure. Ramdin was able to find the boundaries too, and his recent dependable form in the lower-middle order is a welcome support for West Indies.

It would be surprising if Mushfiqur Rahim let his batting from the first game affect his innings in the second. He has been Bangladesh’s most prolific scorer this year, and for him to throw it away before getting a proper look-in was unusual.

Either Nikita Miller or Darren Sammy could play if conditions are slower than they were in the first ODI. West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kirk Edwards, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Jason Holder, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Kemar Roach. Mominul Haque or Mithun Ali could replace Shamsur Rahman at No. 4, but the decision to bat Shamsur at that position was made from Dhaka. Shamsur will feel he deserves another chance at a role that is not his usual responsibility.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Imrul Kayes, 4 Shamsur Rahman, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 6 Nasir Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Sohag Gazi, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 AlAmin Hossain. (espncricinfo)

Jason Holder celebrates the wicket of Tamim Iqbal, West Indies v Bangladesh, 1st ODI, St George’s, August 20, 2014. Photo: AFP