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Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyana-times.com

Issue No. 2857

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Monday, May 16, 2016

PRICE

After one year in office

Coalition govt performance disappointing – political commentators Page 3

Guyana-Venezuela rice deal

Govt working to recapture market – President Page 7

– as MPs nix reopening talks

NEW GPC INC launches new products at GuyExpo 2016

Page 11

Arches to be erected to mark city boundaries Page 10

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Family wants deeper probe into death of Zeelugt woman P8 Gafoors’ fire

Affected employees to receive 75% of salary during rebuilding process P10

Essequibo Coast smash-up

Another victim succumbs

P8

UG ready for emerging oil sector – PM P17 One of the arches that will demarcate the boundaries of Georgetown being erected at Agricola, East Bank Demerara

Conflict of interest…

Relocate Broomes from Natural Resources Ministry – Jeffrey Page 2

… transfer of interest to children is not the answer

No obstacles for Caribbean investors – Granger Page 9

GuyExpo P11 2016 comes to a close

2 news

monDAY, may 16, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Conflict of Interest…

Relocate Broomes from Natural Resources Ministry – Jeffrey – transfer of interest to children is not the answer

D

Minister Simona Broomes

espite no longer having legal control of her mining interests, concerns still abound that preferential treatment and favours will be granted to the children of Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes, who recently announced that her children have taken over

all her mining operations in an effort to quiet down conflict of interest concerns.

However, political commentator Dr Henry Jeffrey contended that the only way those concerns can be eliminated is by completely removing the Minister from the Natural Resources Ministry.

“I don’t think Minister Broomes understands clearly what conflict of interest means, I can understand her dilemma being in mining all this time and you know it’s a family business and she is now in the Ministry involved with mining. What she should be asking is for government to remove her from there and put her somewhere else. She could be in another Ministry,” Dr Jeffrey stated.

The recent approval of an application to operate a dredge in the name of ‘Simona Broomes’ sparked much controversy and once again raised conflict of interest concerns.

However, reports indicate that the applicant ‘Simona Broomes’ is actually the daughter of the Minister, who shares the same name as her mother.

According to reports, Broomes said since becoming a Minister, she took a personal decision to relinquish control of all her dredges. In this regard, Broomes dismissed conflict of interest concerns with her children operating dredges, insisting that they have been in the mining industry all their lives.

But, questions still remain as to whether the minister is using her children as a front.

Another political commentator Ramon Gaskin, in an invited comment, supported the notion that the transfer of mining operations to her children does not put to rest conflict of interest concerns.

“That doesn’t solve the problem because when the chil-

dren go into Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to do business, they know that the children’s mother is the Minister, so that really don’t solve the problem,” he explained.

Blind trust

Gaskin said the best way to settle the conflict of interest concerns is to set up a blind trust. “You don’t hear from them and they don’t hear from you. They just running it for you and you have nothing to do with it. That’s how you deal with those kinds of situations. Not by giving it to your children and all that nonsense, that doesn’t solve the problem,” he stated.

A blind trust protects an investor from charges of conflict of interest and other improprieties because its specific assets and trading practices are unknown to the investor.

In modern societies, corporate employees and public officials

Documents showing dredge licence granted to the Junior Natural Resources Minister’s daughter, Simona Broomes

often use blind trusts to avoid charges of insider trading and corruption, respectively.

In fact, Gaskin said blind trusts should be established for all government ministers who have business interests.

“This also goes to all ministers who have businesses, all of them should be required to set up a blind trust and turn over all their business deals, have nothing to do with it at all, ever. In that way, you would avoid any allegations of impropriety, because it is blind,” he stated.

Code of Conduct

According to the draft code of conduct, “Ministers, Members of Parliament and public office holders should avoid using their official position or transmitting any information made available to them in the course of their work to benefit themselves, their relations or any other individuals with whom they are associated.

They should avoid com-

promising themselves or their office which may lead to an actual or perceived conflict of interest. Failure to avoid or declare any conflict of interest may give rise to criticism of favouritism, abuse of authority or even allegations of corruption.”

The Code is further meant to engender and reinforce public confidence in the manner in which senior government officials perform their duties in service to the people. It is based on ten principles – Accountability, Dignity, Diligence, Duty, Honour, Integrity, Loyalty, Objectivity, Responsibility and Transparency – and is a Coalition Government manifesto promise.

Reports indicate that the government is still receiving feedback from stakeholders on the draft code of conduct before finalising it and passing in it in the National Assembly. Something which was supposed to have been done since August last year.

Guns, ammo found at abandoned mining camp

P

olice in Mazaruni have found two firearms and a quantity of ammunition at an abandoned mining camp at Blackwater, Cuyuni, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) on Saturday.

A police report stated that Police conducted a search on the abandoned mining camp and found two .9mm pistols along with 27 matching live rounds.

It is unclear if anyone was arrested in relation to this find.

In recent months, there has been an upsurge in illegal weapons being found in possession of persons, particularly miners in the Region Seven area for which a number of persons have been arrested.

On February 4, 2016

three men were arrested at Turtle Creek, Mazaruni, after they were found with an illegal .32 pistol with three matching rounds and a .38 revolver with three matching rounds.

Then on February 11, a miner was arrested when an illegal firearm was found in a mining camp he was occupying. Also in February at Honey Camp, Issano, police found an unlicensed shotgun along with two cartridges.

In March, a man was arrested and charged after he was found with an unlicensed .9mm pistol and seven matching rounds at Itaballi Checkpoint, Mazaruni.

All of these persons have been placed before the courts for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

news

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monDAY, may 16, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, May 16 – 13:30h-15:00h and Tuesday, May 17 – 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, May 16 – 12:45h-14:15h and Tuesday, May 17 – 13:40h-15:10h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Light to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunder can be expected throughout the day. Thundery showers are also expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly to East North-easterly between 3.12 metres per second and 5.36 metres per second.

High Tide: 12:33h reaching a maximum height of 2.20 metres.

Low Tide: 06:31h and 18:55h reaching minimum heights of 1.03 metres and 0.96 metre respectively.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

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After one year in office

Coalition govt performance disappointing – political commentators

O

n May 11, 2015, Guyanese went to the polls to elect a new Government for the next five years and those elections were seen as historic; as for the first time in 23 years, there was a change of Government. The change of Government brought with it, high expectations, since the coalition on the campaign trail promised, “A better life for all”. Today, May 16, one year after David Granger was sworn in as President Guyana Times takes a look at the coalition’s performance during its first year in office.

Clean up The Government mere days after it was elected, kicked into top gear and in partnership with “private contractors”, commenced a massive clean-up and restoration of Georgetown.

While the clean up at that time was ahead of the planned inauguration of the President and his Cabinet, it was extended and is continuing.

There is no doubt; the Government has achieved much success in this area, as the city now boasts a completely different aesthetic.

The Government also fulfilled several of the 21 promises made for completion within 100 days. Most noteworthy was the early holding of Local Government Elections. After a 22-year delay, those elections were held on March 18, 2016, less than one year after the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) took office.

The amending of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act 2009, in keeping with the recommendations of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) or the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was another.

Then, the coalition Government reduced the tolls to cross the Berbice River Bridge. After lengthy debates between the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) and Government, a deal was inked and a small reduction was effected through a subsidy from the Consolidated Funds.

The Government also lived up to a promise to declare Mabaruma, Lethem and Bartica towns. Mahdia in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni)

President David Granger

was the other village slated to be a town; however, it was not gazetted.

Among other areas of success for the coalition are the efforts to decentralise passport, birth certificate and Licensing services and the fulfilment of a promise to return the community-owned television station to Linden. Value Added Tax (VAT) was also reduced on several new items while a significant increase was given on old age pensions.

The liberalisation of the telecommunications and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector was advanced with the introduction of 4G mobile communications technology.

The following are some evaluations in several areas of national endeavour: Economic. The greatest disappointment in the new Government has been its performance on the economic front.

In fact, concerns have been raised about the Government’s misplaced priorities and the spending of exorbitant sums on monies on celebratory activities, such as the President’s inauguration ceremony and Independence activities. A stimulus is obviously needed to give the economy a jumpstart. The President conceded that the “six sisters” of the Guyanese economy – sugar, rice, bauxite, gold, forestry, and demand – were anaemic.

The collapse of the lucrative PetroCaribe rice deal between Guyana and Venezuela also occurred under the new Government, plunging thousands of rice farmers into economic straits. The Administration declared that rice was not Government’s business. Sugar workers also re-

ceived a jolt after Government hastily announced the imminent closure of the Wales (West Bank Demerara) and the La Bonne Intention (East Coast Demerara) estates, despite recommendations from the Commission of Inquiry report which advised against those actions. More than 2000 workers would be out of work.

Government also continued its opposition to the Amaila Fall Hydropower Project (AFHEP) even though the President now concedes that one of the major obstacles to generating new jobs in value added manufacturing activities is the provision of cheap energy.

The Government has instead mentioned solar and wind power generation that are not nearly as set for early delivery as the Amaila Falls hydroelectric Project (AFHEP) – one project in this area is the Wind Farm Project which was given to a company controlled

by AFC financier Lloyd Singh.

Singh built the AFC headquarters and was described by minister Trotman as a “political investor” who would expect “returns”.

Political. While President Granger reiterated his commitment to a “unity government” and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo promised to cooperate with the Government, there has been no subsequent movement in this direction.

Following up with its claims while in opposition that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) was “corruption”, the Granger-led Administration instituted over 30 Commissions of Inquiries (CoI) and forensic audits of State agencies.

Yet after spending more than $300 million, nothing illegal was found and no one has been charged, even though most top officials were fired and replaced by party officials, such as Director of the Government Information Agency (GINA) Beverly Alert who is an AFC candidate; Richard Van West-Charles who is former President Forbes Burnham’s son-in-law as head of the Guyana Water Inc; Robert Badal, an AFC financier as the Chairman on the Guyana Power and Light Board; several Regional Executive Officers (REO) among countless others.

Upon assumption to office, Government embarked on a series of personnel changes that

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

were dubbed “ethnic cleansing” by the PPP/Civic Opposition, since long serving public servants were arbitrarily fired.

This campaign included the firing of close to 2000 Community Support Officers (CSOs) from various Amerindian communities.

While Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo’s powers as promised in the Cummingsburg Accord were completely degutted, he was allowed four well compensated “Prime Ministerial Representatives” to be his “eyes and ears” in the various regions. More pertinently, these representatives have the potential to subvert the local government system.

Government then proceeded to award 27 senior and junior Ministers and other top officials 50 per cent salary increases, just four months in office, upon the request of Prime Minister Nagamootoo, who insisted that the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams should not be earning more money than he was. On the other hand, Government workers were told that their promised “significant salary increases” could not be accommodated.

Moreover, the performance of several Government Ministers came under review, with calls already being made for Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder and Public Security Minister Ramjattan to be fired over their inability to effectively manage their portfolios.

Social. While the new Government promised to curb crime, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan appeared to be out of his league. turn to page 9

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mondAY, may 16, 2016

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

Editorial

Families: building blocks of society

E

very human society ever studied was based on the notion of “family”. While there were doubts of its existence during the “Stone Age” a burial site in Germany with two adults and two children genetically related suggest that even then, the nuclear family was present. Because humans are born with very few instincts and cannot immediately fend for themselves, the actions necessary for survival have to be taught; at least by the mother of children. Even bands of apes show tendencies of living as “families”.

While in the “hunting and gathering” stage small tribes might have been the dominant mode of organisation, “society” as we know it only arose as humans transitioned into a settled mode of living when they turned to farming for securing food supplies. At that stage, the earlier nuclear family structure with mother, father and children solidified as areas demarcated for farming would have been most effectively cultivated by families that needed a very minimal level of organisation.

This does not mean that modern “property relations” had to be present. In the Caribbean islands and in Guyana, before the coming of the Europeans, the farming plots were communally commingled and villagers would simply harvest for their daily needs. But the nuclear family was strong.

When individuals from Africa were captured and brought here as slaves, they also came from societies in which families were strong but with polygynous marriages - meaning one man had several wives. But in the Caribbean, those bonds were torn asunder as those who made themselves “owners of chattel” imposed social relations that were best for production of sugar. The plantation society reverted to one in which the mothers were the centre of the family and fathers had “visiting” relationships.

The planters even “breaded” enslaved people to produce individuals they felt might be better workers.

This was the beginning of the destruction of the family unit in the African Guyanese community but with the inculcation of Christianity, the nuclear family ideal has been painstakingly recreated into the present where it remains a work in progress.

The other large community that was imported over 79 years (1838-1917) from India came from a society in which the extended family was the norm. This was changed on the plantations because of the scarcity of women brought into the colony during Indentureship and the allocation of living quarters in the “logees” to nuclear families.

While after the abolition of indentureship the Indians gradually recreated elements of their societal relations of village India, the extended family and the tight network of relationships that sustained such communities were never the same.

One of the major effects predicted when such bonds are sundered and the society becomes increasingly atomised is a feeling of “anomie” will develop in individuals and social pathologies such as higher rates of suicide, domestic violence and alcoholism become more prevalent. This is the reality in the Indian Guyanese community.

In 1993, recognising the importance of families to the maintenance of viable societies, the UN declared April 15, “International Day of Families”. The theme of this year’s observance focuses on Sustainable Development Goal 3 of the 17 to be achieved by 2030: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

While the form of the family may differ - nuclear, polygamous, extended, single family, same sex, etc. As the UN advises: “Families remain at the centre of social life ensuring the well-being of their members, educating and socialising children and youth and caring for young and old. From a policy perspective, taking families into account in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals has a potential to speed up the achievements of many targets relating to individuals’ well-being.”

While the last exhortation may be directed at governments, ultimately it is the members of the society that have to seize the initiative to create stable families that can be the base of stable societies.

Boys, who are experiencing the lives of Buddhist monks by staying in a temple for two weeks as novice monks, look at a carousel at the Everland amusement park in Yongin, South Korea, May 9, 2016 (Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji)

Performance-related pay

Dear Editor, Implicit in the initial comments of President David Granger, when he received the Report of the CoI into the Public Service last Friday, was his apparently strong preference for performance-related pay as opposed to across-the-board increases. For example, in the Stabroek News article of Saturday, 14/05/16, the President is reported to have “expressed the hope that the COI Report will be a launch pad for differentiated emoluments for workers… where performance of individuals is related to promotion and pay… if they work hard they will be rewarded… if they want to be lazy, they will get a lazy person salary”.

On the assumption that these very strong comments had some genesis in the CoI report itself to which the President must have had ample access and furthermore, that they are probably portentous of the positions the government negotiators might take when they eventually engage the unions in their collective bargaining for Public Servant’s emoluments, etc, they should not be taken lightly. Furthermore, the remarks the President reportedly made also included a denouncement of “across-the-board” approach for uniform increases in pay and benefits.

These are indeed fundamental, crucial and farreaching ideas and approaches which would require much goodwill, patience, openness and thinking outside the proverbial box, the likes of which have so far not been characteristic of negotiations in Guyana.

Besides, the nature of the

work typically performed by Public Servants do not easily facilitate measurement of output especially at the individual level.

In similar vein, the Guyana Times report on the same matter on the said date is headlined by an apparent quote from the President that “Lazy Public Servants to receive lazy persons salary”. Who (and how in the structure and super-structured maze of the Public Service) will decide who is lazy and how would the lazy public servant’s salary be determined? At first blush one cannot fault the ideas and approaches hinted at by the President; they do make sense especially having regard to the public’s negative impressions of the quantitative and qualitative outputs from the Public Service.

But, they are akin to the concept and practice of paying “piece workers” for units of work done in the historical “time and motion” assessment of work which originated more than a century ago by the pioneers of “Scientific Management” such as Fredrich Taylor et al.

These were geared more to production environments rather than the Service and Public Sectors. And, even in the former, they were not as readily or easily applicable or welcomed as the traditional negotiations and fixing of wages and salary scales by way of negotiations for across-the-board increases. Guyana has been no different from the rest of the world although the sugar industry has always had a mixture of negotiated wage and salary scales for time workers plus piece-rated or job-rated pay for production

workers like planters, weeders and harvesters.

It is not unreasonable to think that the contemplated change from ‘fixed’, acrossthe-board increases for the typical Public Servant will be a hard sell. That is not to say it cannot be done (as Director of Human Resources for DDL many years ago I was fortunate to be able to successfully negotiate the first multi-year, multi-union agreement for Performance Based increases for all employees of DDL which became a model for successive Agreements and, as far as I know, the practice is still in vogue!).

However, it must be noted that any Performance Based compensation system depends on a robust Performance Appraisal System which in turn depends on unquestionable objectivity and integrity of the supervisory and managerial staff who are responsible for implementation and ongoing monitoring to ensure that the system does not degenerate into automaticity and perfunctory implementation. Favoritism, bias and similar human frailties can ruin the most wellintentioned, best-crafted Performance Related Pay and Promotion System.

Another peculiar feature of the performance of the typical Public Servant is that it is more qualitative than quantitative; qualitative performance is more difficult to measure than quantitative especially if one believes, like Henry Ford, that “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking”. What proportions of our public servants will qualify for good, very good

or excellent service without supervision? Unsupervised qualitative performance is also referred to as ‘discretionary effort’; a gain, how do we spot and capture such ‘discretionary efforts’?

Most achievements in the Public Service depend on ‘team work’; how do you identify the unproductive team members from those whose basic plus discretionary efforts are key contributors to the team effort? The referenced SN report of 14/05/16 is headlined “Public Service wage negotiations closer”, giving the impression that these negotiations will likely start very soon; having regard to the President’s far-reaching comments discussed above, one is tempted to ask the following questions: Are the supervisory and managerial staff in our Public Service ready for such challenges? Are the Performance Appraisal systems currently in place geared to accommodate a system of Performance Based Increases? If they are not, can they be made ready in time for the already overdue negotiations with thue Unions for current and nearterm salary adjustments?

In conclusion, I wish to emphasize that I am also a firm believer in and implementer of ‘performance related compensation systems’; my purpose in writing this letter is to forewarn about the need for much advance preparatory work to establish the necessary foundations, subsystems, competencies and sensitisation, lest any new contemplated system result in a ‘still-birth’!

Yours, Nowrang Persaud

guyana-times.com

monDAY, may 16, 2016

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

A year of reversals, The Rodney Commission of Inquiry Report not progress Dear Editor, The regime has been targeting Indo-Guyanese employed in the public service, dismissing them without grounds. Hundreds of people have been sent home and the process is confusing.

While all of this is happening, the economy has taken a rapid downward turn and the business community has reported slow or have no business, forcing them to lay off staff.

The working people are suffering badly. Thousands of sugar workers’ jobs are on the line, as estates are targeted for closure.

Vendors in Georgetown, many of whom are single-parents, are being pushed off the street without proper alternative accommodation to ply their trade.

Many of the benefits that the PPP/C administration gave to the working class are now being with-

drawn.

The $10,000 per child grant to school children, the water and electricity subsidies to pensioners, etc, have all been discontinued.

The housing programme has stalled and apart from that, the regime has introduced racial discrimination in the allocation process as well. There are drug shortages at the public hospitals, reminiscent of the pre-1992 period when the PNC was in power.

Yes, there is an all-round decline in the economy and in social services.

The quality of life that Guyanese once enjoyed has fallen drastically within the span of one year of the APNU/AFC regime’s governance.

It is time for the people to make their voices heard. This has been a year of reversals, not progress.

Gopaul Singh

Dear Editor, Please allow me to express my disgust at the events pertaining to the laying of the Rodney CoI Report in the National Assembly on 12 May 2016.

The leaked portions of the report have suggested in no ambiguous manner that our late President LFS Burnham was complicit in the murder of one of our nation’s brightest minds, an allegation that I personally find beyond contemptuous after reviewing the bona fides of the witnesses that testified to such knowledge.

Member of Parliament for the PPP, Gail Teixeira sought by way of motion to bring the aforementioned report before a select committee for examination, in what can only be de-

scribed as a vomitus display of ignorance, the Prime Minister of our nation stood and argued against such a motion on the spurious grounds of ‘Rules’.

The Speaker of the House in the end suggested that another pathway to achieve the end result desired by Teixeira exists.

My dismay with the government for failing to see the need to examine the Rodney CoI and its despicable conclusion knows no bounds, an accusation of murder levelled against our former president is a stain on the character of the man, his legacy and against each and every citizen of this nation, it must be defended vigorously, I can safely say a cursory examination of the workings of the Commission has revealed a disturbing lack of intellect and in-

tegrity, critical witnesses were ignored and credence given to those who have long lost any.

I urge President of our republic to change tack and to consider this report an affront to all the people of our Nation and to treat with it in the aggressive manner it deserves.

President Burnham deserves better than to have this poor attempt to smear his name lie gathering dust, I always remember him thundering the lines from Belafonte’s Zombie Jamboree “Back to back, belly to belly, I don’t give a damn, I done dead already”, the good comrade may be truly dead now, but some of us still give a damn!

Faithfully, Robin Singh

Why Rousseff’s impeachment battle is bad for Brazil – but could be good for democracy

By Gretchen Helmke

L

atin America was synonymous with political instability throughout the 20th Century. The spectre of military coups faded in the 1980s, yet political crises – like the one now engulfing Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff – still plague the Region.

If Rousseff ultimately loses her looming impeachment battle over claims of illegal accounting, she will be the 18th elected Latin American President since 1985 (excluding Haiti) forced to leave office by means other than the ballot box. And the second Brazilian President since Fernando Collor de Mello resigned under threat of impeachment in 1992.

When the military stays in the barracks and presidential ousters follow the constitutional rules, it is tempting to see this as a good sign for democracy. After all, if corrupt presidents are being impeached for misdeeds, doesn’t it show that checks and balances are working?

Consider recent events in Guatemala. When President Otto Pérez Molina was caught in the middle of a corruption scandal uncovered in 2015 by the International Commission Against Impunity, political analysts applauded his stunning resignation. They touted his downfall as a sign of a “democratic spring” in Central America.

More broadly, one major concern about presidential systems that entail fixed terms is their rigidity – and, hence, their vulnerability to regime breakdown when Presidents fail to govern effectively. Presidential crises could instead be viewed as a positive sign that these systems are adopting “parliamentary traits”.

Yet reasons for scepti-

cism remain. First, the succession process is key. Even if the charges used to remove Presidents are valid, how succession is carried out affects a country’s rule of law and the quality of democracy going forward.

Latin American Presidents are notorious for decrying the politicisation and corruption of the courts and legislatures – only to pack them with their own loyal supporters. Similarly, legislatures often bypass Vice Presidents and replace ousted leaders with members of the Opposition.

Indeed, in Latin America, most presidential ousters look more like partisan affairs. Of the Region’s 17 ousted leaders, only six successors were the Vice Presidents – and most of those cases were not from the same party as the President.

Replacing Rousseff is likely to be particularly fraught.

Brazil’s entire line of succession is under investigation for corruption with the nation already seething over a harsh recession.

The Supreme Federal Tribunal recently ruled that Vice President Michel Temer, whom Rousseff alleges [and is the new leader since her sus-

pension] has masterminded the conspiracy against her, must face separate impeachment charges. The next in line, the Speaker of the Lower House, Eduardo Cunha, is implicated in a scandal involving Petrobras, the Stateowned oil giant, and was just named in the Panama Papers leak exposing offshore financial deals. He is charged with taking up to US$40 million in bribes. The Senate President, who is third in line, is also deeply implicated in the Petrobras scandal, as well as other corruption charges.

Though Rousseff was narrowly re-elected in 2014, the only plausible option seems to be new elections. But which sort of candidate would prosper in this environment?

Anti-system, anti-establishment politicians – think Alberto Fujimori of Peru and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela – are not known for their commitment to democracy or the rule of law.

The second concern hinges on basic checks and balances. As envisioned by The

Federalist Papers, this system was designed primarily to slow things down and serve as a deterrent. So, even if a President is forced out for a valid reason, we should still be concerned that institutions are failing to prevent political corruption in the first place.

Consider, for example, the role of the judiciary: To be an effective deterrent to corruption and other political crimes, the courts must be fully independent from politicians.

Yet before 2012, when the Supreme Federal Tribunal under Chief Justice Jaoquim Barbosa began to assume a more activist role, most Brazilians had a justly cynical view of their judicial system, neatly captured by the maxim: “The Police arrest; the courts set free.”

There is every reason to suspect that the same elites under investigation for corruption also assumed that they could act with impunity.

Looking forward, strengthening accountability in Brazil and elsewhere must ulti-

mately be about convincing elites that committing political crimes is too risky. In fully consolidated democracies, checks and balances should work to discourage bad behaviour – not sporadically sanction it afterward.

Recent history also suggests that the negative effects of presidential crises in Latin America rarely remain exclusive to the executive branch.

Most end up pulling other important political institutions into their vortex. Polarisation and decreasing public trust increase along the way.

This holds true with the current Brazilian crisis, in which more than 50 per cent of all Congress members are

facing corruption charges.

Judge Sergio Moro, the celebrated lead prosecutor in the Petrobras scandal, has recently come under scathing attack for his controversial decision to release wiretapped conversations between Rousseff and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The key question is whether ousting elected Presidents increases or decreases the credibility of other institutions. If the former, a virtuous cycle begins. If the latter, a vicious cycle prevails.

Unfortunately, the trajectory of other Latin American countries, where Presidents were forced from power, does not bode well for Brazil. (Reuters)

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monday, may 16, 2016

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By Lynette Arceneaux

Establish a pattern

It’s important to let newborn babies eat and sleep as much as they want during the first few weeks. “Ideally you should create an eatplay-sleep pattern that allows for four to five naps per day of one to three hours each,” says parenting author Dana Obleman. Most newborns will be awake for only 45 to 60 minutes at a time before they need another nap. “And they can only sleep two to three hours at a time – even at night – because their little bellies are too small to hold enough food to sustain them for any longer than that,” she says.

Foundation

sleep strategies for new moms Can sleep training Part 1

Take about 20 to 30 minutes to wind down your baby’s day, calming him and creating a recognisable pattern that tells your baby it’s bedtime, said parenting author Dana Obleman. This, she says, will help your baby learn to be a great sleeper.

“Creating a bedtime routine – even for newborns – is an important way of setting the groundwork for longer sleeps once they don’t need to eat so often.”

Watch for cues from baby

During the newborn phase, the awake periods for babies are short and sweet, but watch their cues, says

days – even weeks – babies will mainly sleep, wake, eat and soon afterward, want to sleep again.

Look into getting a co-sleeper

Consider using a cosleeper, says Michelle Bennett, founder of Mama Seeds. A co-sleeper is a bedside bassinet that attaches to the adult’s bed. “Baby will be within arm’s reach for nighttime nursing,” she says, “then can be easily returned to his or her own safe sleeping space afterward.”

Keep in mind, however, that while a number of experts and moms recommend cosleepers, they are somewhat

Set realistic expectations

Having realistic expectations is probably the most important factor in how satisfied new mothers are with their sleep – and with their babies, says Dr Michelle Bennett, founder of the website Mama Seeds. “It’s normal for babies to not sleep through the night,” she says.

Don’t assume you’re doing something wrong or that something is wrong with your baby. “Unrealistic expectations make sleep deprivation seem even more torturous,” Dr Bennett says.

“Once mothers are able to accept that they’re doing a fine job as mothers and that their baby is normal, they feel better.” You’ll still miss your sleep, but will be less likely to feel frustration and resentment about it.

Create a bedtime routine

guyana-times.com

Share responsibilities with your partner

“Sharing the work is crucial,” says Denise Stern, president of Let Mommy Sleep. One partner continuously focusing only on baby, with the other helping only during off-work hours, is not a good support system, she says. “It’s a recipe for exhaustion, poor health and stress.” Parenting coach Chelsea P Gladden says the couples she works with use various teamwork methods to get the job done. Some have one partner do many of the nighttime feedings while the other sleeps; other couples have mom do all the feedings but have her partner taking care of the baby after the first morning nursing so she can go back to sleep.

Spend time soothing

Chelsea P Gladden, parenting coach and co-founder of Breezy Mama, an online parenting magazine and mom blog. “As soon as they stop making eye contact, before they start crying and getting themselves too frantic to fall asleep, swaddle them and either set them down to sleep or start swaying them in your arms,” Gladden says. She reminds mothers that during the first few

controversial. In a 2011 policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatricians stated: “Devices promoted to make bed-sharing ‘safe’ – e.g., in-bed co-sleepers – are not recommended,” although they do recommend sharing a room without sharing a bed. Do some research of your own and talk to your pediatrician before making any decision on a cosleeper.

Denise Stern of Let Mommy Sleep advises new moms to invest their time in soothing their babies. “This above all other basic care techniques,” she says. Feed baby slowly then massage and burp him afterward to reduce gas. “When we see babies jerking awake after 20 minutes, it’s usually due to gastric distress,” Stern says. “They’ve not been given enough time to deal with digestion and gas.” She recommends holding baby upright and burping him for 20 to 30 minutes before putting him back down to sleep.

“Although this seems like a big time commitment in the middle of the night, it will pay off with a more restful sleep.” (livestrong.com) To be continued

be harmful?

By Elizabeth Hurchalla

A

nd indeed, a 2011 study from the University of North Texas found that babies undergoing sleep training did experience high levels of the stress hormone cortisol even after they stopped crying. In other words, despite quieting down, they stayed stressed.

Mindell, however, questions the study’s significance: “This study only looked at a few nights; thus, it is hard to interpret the results.”

Furthermore, if your child is waking frequently and, therefore, not getting enough sleep (defined as 14 to 15 hours for infants, 12 to 14 hours for toddlers and 11 to 13 hours for preschoolers, according to the National Sleep Foundation), that, too, affects the brain.

First, children who don’t get enough sleep tend to exhibit increased aggression and tantrums. Lack of sleep may also affect children’s ability to learn.

(Continued from Saturday)

According to a 2003 study published in the journal “Child Development”, older children whose sleep was restricted experienced a significant increase in teacherreported academic and attention problems.

In addition, a 2013 study by Swiss researchers published in the journal “Nature Neuroscience” found that children were significantly better able to recall information they had learnt after a good night’s sleep. Long story short, your child needs solid rest to be at her best.

Won’t my baby learn to sleep through the night?

Don’t count on it. One study published in the “Journal of Pediatrics” showed that 84 per cent of children who had trouble going to sleep or waking up at night still had the same problem three years later.

If I feel guilty, is that a sign I shouldn’t do it?

Pantley thinks so.

“Crying is a baby’s main way of communicating a state of unhappiness, fear, discomfort, loneliness or pain. A mother is biologically wired to respond to her baby’s cry and feels a physical need to respond. A mother who is letting her baby cry it out must fight this maternal instinct and often finds it a difficult task, frequently resulting in a mother’s tears in addition to the baby’s.”

Admittedly, hearing your baby wail can be heartrending, but according to Jennifer Waldburger and Jill Spivack, licensed marriage and family therapists and authors of “The Sleepeasy Solution”, continuing to respond doesn’t allow her to change her habits.

“Whether your child is learning to walk, tie a shoe, ride a bike or do math homework, each time your child struggles, it’s going to be tempting to jump in and rescue her,” says Spivack.

“But when you do this, you are actually preventing her from learning for herself what she can do to alleviate her frustration.” (livestrong.com) To be continued

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monday, may 16, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Guyana-Venezuela rice deal

Govt working to recapture market – President – as MPs nix reopening talks

President David Granger says Guyana is willing to resume the rice for oil pact with Venezuela

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resident David Granger said his Government could look at reopening the rice deal with its Spanishspeaking South American neighbour, Venezuela, if negotiations go well by his Ambassador, Foreign Affairs and Finance Ministers, contradicting earlier statements by his Agriculture Minister Noel Holder. “I did meet with the Ambassador before she left for her post and I did say that we are interested in that market. It came to an end. The agreement came to an end and we need a new agreement.

Both the Foreign Minister and Finance Minister are working at that, but we are also examining new markets in Latin America including Panama and Costa Rica and Mexico. That is a clear objective and mandate given

to ambassadors”, President Granger said in his weekly televised “Public Interest” Programme” But while the President acknowledged the importance of the Venezuela Market, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, a senior member of the Cabinet, has a different story to tell.

Holder said last Thursday in Parliament that based on the serious economic problems facing the Bolivarian Republic, a return of such a deal seems improbable.

“It is inconceivable that deals that are comparable in volume and price often past are achievable again”. Holder told legislators in response to a call from the opposition for government to re-engage their Venezuelan counterparts.

Opposition Shadow Finance Minister Irfaan Ali, proposed a motion titled “The state of the rice industry in Guyana” which highlighted the plight under which rice farmers have found themselves. The motion called on the President Granger Administration to resume ties with Venezuela, so that some amount of relief could be had among rice farmers here. Interestingly, the President has acknowledged the need to recapture the Venezuelan rice market and even indicated that his Finance and Foreign ministers were working on securing that market once again, however, his

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro

Parliamentarians, including these two ministers, voted against Ali’s motion which sought to reaffirm the need for that market.

Meanwhile, economic commentator and former Minister of Foreign Trade under the PPP/C Dr Henry Jeffery in an invited comment said he sees no reason why government could not reopen the rice deal. “I think it is a good idea. Whether or not Venezuela is in economic crises, the Venezuelans will have to decide whether or not they want to restart the deal.

They still have to eat, therefore no doubt they still have to get rice and therefore I see no reason wrong with Guyana attempting to restart the deal”, he told Guyana Times.

According to him, while it all depends on the Venezuelan Government, it might be that the conditions might be different now,” but if you have rice to sell, you must sell it

to persons who need it”. The PetroCaribe deal is an oil alliance of many Caribbean states with Venezuela to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment.

The alliance was launched in June 2005 in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.

In 2013, PetroCaribe agreed links with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), to go beyond oil and promote economic cooperation. The agreement was initiated with the aim of having solidarity with other countries in accordance with ALBA. The payment system allows for purchase of oil at market value for five 50 per cent up front with a grace period of one to two years; the remainder can be paid through a 17-25-year fi-

Caribbean Community, 12 countries have signed on to the agreement, including Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, The Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname.

While Guyana had also signed on to that agreement and was enjoying a fruitful relationship, recent tensions between the two countries saw Venezuela pulling out of the rice for oil contract it had with Guyana.

PetroCaribe, a signature initiative of late President Hugo Chávez, has sold about US$28 billion to participating nations across the Caribbean and Central America since its creation in 2005. Member

25 years. Guyana received about half its fuel supply via PetroCaribe, but the agreement was affected by the diplomatic row with Venezuela over a longstanding border controversy.

Relations between Guyana and Venezuela have soured following ExxonMobil Corporation’s announcement of a “significant” oil discovery off Guyana’s coast in waters that Venezuela claims as its own. The country has contended that borders drawn in 1899 are invalid, and claims nearly two-thirds of Guyana’s territory, mainly the County of Essequibo.

The Guyana Government had said it remains committed to judicial settlement of the border controversy, and is seeking legal opinion of

nancing agreement with one per cent interest if oil prices are above US$40 per barrel.

Out of the 15-member

countries finance as much as half the price of the shipments at one per cent to two per cent interest over

the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the 1899 arbitral award.

8 news

monDAY, may 16, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Family wants deeper probe into death of Zeelugt woman

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elatives of the woman who recently died after a severe beating allegedly from her husband, are demanding a deeper probe into the circumstances of her death, insisting that some level of foul play must have been involved.

Sahodra Ramkarran, 71, who was discovered dead at her Lot 4 Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) home on May 10, died as a result of cardiac arrest. This is according to results her Post Mortem (PM) Examination.

The woman’s body was discovered leaning over a window in a pool of blood, with her hands held outwards.

Photographs seen by

Guyana Times also show that there was a deep incision on her upper torso.

Reports indicate that the woman had locked herself away in the room to escape the beatings from her husband.

The woman’s husband, Ramkarran, was taken into police custody for questioning but subsequently released.

During an interview with Guyana Times on Sunday, several of the family said they strongly believe that Baabie might have killed his wife.

“The PM say she died from a heart attack. Okay, let we say she get a heart attack from the beatings and that’s

how she died. But what if she didn’t get the heart attack, he wudda continue beating she till she dead,” one relative speculated, noting that the police should do a more in-depth investigation into the matter.

According to another family, there is no evidence to prove that the woman managed to escape the beatings.

Relatives alleged that prior to the PM, the woman’s husband was desperately trying to garner $300,000 which they suspect he was going to pay to alter the PM. “We don’t believe it’s a heart attack, man. We getting so many information that we don’t know what to believe. We hear Baabie

give up the transport for the house to another family member in exchange for the $300,000. We want feel he pay off somebody to let it not look like a murder,” the relative speculated.

He also stated that one of the doctors, during the PM examination, indicated that the deep cut on the woman’s stomach would have been as a result of mounted pressure on her back.

Relatives said they already informed the authorities at the Leonora Police Station of their suspicions and they will be attempting to seek an audience with Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum on the matter today.

Essequibo Coast smash-up

Another victim succumbs A

nother name has been added to the list of road fatalities after the head-on collision between a minibus and car at Richmond Public Road, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), which has so far left four persons dead and 15 others hospitalised.

Nineteen-year-old Stefan Benn, of Dartmouth Village in Region Two, succumbed early Sunday morning to the severe injuries he sustained in the accident.

Benn was admitted into the Suddie Public Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Saturday morning following the accident.

According to Dorcie Benn, the mother of the deceased, her son left home on Friday evening to meet with his cousin. She related that some time later, she received a call informing her that her son was in an accident. Struggling to hold back tears, the mother recounted that when she went to the hospital she saw her son in the ICU battling for his life. She said he was unconscious and was unresponsive. He sustained injuries to his legs, chest and other parts of his body.

Benn was a Guyana Police Force recruit.

Meanwhile, the 15 persons injured in the accident

remain hospitalised and several of them, who are at the Georgetown Public Hospital, have been listed as critical. Doctors at both hospitals are monitoring the victims’ conditions.

Those who have been hospitalised are: Maxton Lawrie, Anil Marks, Alvin Stephen, Ruel Lawrie, Kevon Clay, Navin Radesh, Trevon John, Delroy Barranton, Lancel Seizer, Rovon Johnson, Ansel Cornette, Cadine Clay, Kevin Brummel and Alfred Shepherd.

Glenford Stephen, the driver of the minibus, is under Police guard at the Suddie Public Hospital in

Essequibo. His feet were chained as he was receiving treatment for the injuries he received in the collision.

Police will soon institute charges against Stephen once he is fully recovered.

The accident has thus far claimed four lives including: Gavin Lawrie, 19; Esan Cornette, 19, and Levon Grey, 45.

According to reports, about 23:00h on Friday minibus BRR 3943 was heading south along the Richmond Public Road when it collided with a blue Toyota Carina 212, bearing registration PMM 5867, which was heading north.

At the time of the accident, the minibus had 16 passengers, while the car was driven by the deceased Lawrie, and had four passengers.

Investigations into the accident are still ongoing.

Sophia man stabbed to death during drunken brawl

A

Sophia man was on Saturday evening stabbed to death by his cousin during an argument, Police say.

The dead man was identified as Lennox Norton, 51, of South Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

Police say that about 21:30h Saturday, the man was imbibing with a male cousin at Lodge Housing Scheme, Georgetown, when they began an argument during which Norton was stabbed to his abdomen.

Norton was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he succumbed while being treated.

Up to press time, the suspect had still not been arrested. Police are continuing their investigations.

Eyew tness Code of conduct...

A

...Missing in Action

Code of Conduct was one of the 21 promises made

by APNU/AFC to be completed within their “first 100 days”. Placing hands over their chests, they pledged it would “be established for Parliamentarians, Ministers and others holding high positions in government public office to abide by, including mechanisms for demitting office if in violation of the Code of Conduct.”

100 days would’ve given them until mid-August, to show that - unlike the dastardly PPP - they’d jail persons who crossed the line.

By mid-July, Raphael Trotman announced on behalf of the Ministry of the Presidency that President Granger issued a code at the end of May “which we are already operating under so for now we are simply expanding on it.” By mid-September Trotman declared the “draft had been completed” - implying that the “expansion” had occurred. The “public” would now be asked to give its input.

Finally, in early November - 200 days after - a DRAFT Code was released. But not to worry - assured the ubiquitous Trotman who kept responsibility for the Code even though he was confined to Natural Resources - all government officials were following the Code. It’s now Mid-May - 366 days after the APNU/AFC government was sworn in but the Code still hasn’t been laid in Parliament.

In the meantime the usual suspects - the GHRA, the Bar Association, Red Thread - have already made their comments.

But not to worry, as Trotman assures us - the Code is in effect for Government officials. So how would it deal with the revelation that just this year, permission was granted by the authorities - of which she’s the subject Minister! - for a dredge in the name of “Simona Broomes” to conduct mining operations. Not to worry, said Minister Trotman, who’s her Senior Minister. Upon him hearing rumours of the transaction she’d provided info which satisfied him there was “no conflict of interest”. No need to disturb the public.

But when the matter was leaked this weekend, Minister Broomes revealed “Simona Brooms” was also the name of her daughter to whom she’d transferred ownership of the dredge - even though she was studying abroad. The Minister evidently goes by the sobriquet “I is” Broomes. We last saw the younger Broomes at a function hosted by the President last yearend where he encouraged young Guyanese students studying abroad to return home.

So did the young Broomes heed the President’s call and is now back home? Without specifically naming her daughter, “I is” Broomes asserted carefully “her family” has always been in mining.

And furthermore, she queried why are “people from GGMC...in collusion with people with political wickedness and trying to destroy people”?

“I is” Broomes is a “people’s person”.

...and conflict of interest

But that Code of Conduct which Trotman assures us is in force for all the honourable Members of Parliament and Ministers, does address question raised by inquiring whether there’s an ineluctably “conflict of interest” when a Minister transfers ownership of assets to a family member and then awards that family member business benefits.

The Code’s very clear: “A conflict of interest situation arises when the “private interests” of the public office holder compete or conflict with the interests of the State. Private interests mean both the financial and personal interests of the official and staff or those of their connections including family and other relations. Failure to avoid or declare any conflict of interest may give rise to criticism of favouritism, abuse of authority or even allegations of corruption.”

“I is” Broomes only revealed info on her daughter when it was leaked.

...and Banks

There’s a report some local banks made less profits, even though deposits are up. Well...duh!! If no one’s spending but “depositing” in banks, how are banks gonna make profits when businesses won’t take out loans to invest in a sinking economy.

It’s an economic death spiral in the absence of a governmental stimulus.

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

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monday, may 16, 2016 | guyana-times.com

No obstacles for Caribbean Coalition govt performance... investors – Granger

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President David Granger

n light of an impending land deal between Guyana and neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), President David Granger last week promised that his Government will make the way clear for any member of Caricom to make investments in Guyana.

Appearing on his weekly televised “Public Interest” Programme, the Head of State noted it was time that Caribbean countries make use of the investment opportunities in Guyana: “I did meet with the former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Kamla PersadBissessar and the current Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and said that Guyana has Brazilian, American and Chinese investors, why not West Indian investors. We are not going to put any obstacles in the way for people of the Caribbean particularly Trinidad and Tobago”, President Granger told the panel of journalists.

Back in 2013 under the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration, Guyana and Trinidad signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), where Guyana committed to making available 10,000 acres of land for farmers from the Twin-Island Republic for agricultural purposes.

However, that project

is yet to be undertaken by Trinidad, although Guyana has maintained that it remains committed. Asked about that initiative and whether TT was still interested, the Head of State said he has “not become aware of their lack of interest”, noting that Barbados currently has a major investment in the Rupununi region.

“The Trinidadians are welcome to come. They had an interest in Canje, and the intermediate savannahs.

It depends on the crop they want to produce. If they want to produce sugar cane to produce ethanol, I would welcome, yes”, the President said.

Only last month, when questioned about the deal, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder said he was yet to receive word from his counterpart, Senator Clarence Rambharat, on the way forward for the GuyanaTrinidad land deal.

Minister Holder said his Ministry is still waiting to hear from the new Agriculture Minister there.

Holder said he understands that the new Government may want to look over some of the projects in the pipeline, and to this he has no objection. Asked about the last time he communicated with officials there, Holder recalled it was sometime last year.

Trinidad and Tobago’s former Finance Minister Larry Howai had announced in 2013 that Guyana would provide 10,000 acres in Berbice for immediate agricultural production and that “a further 90,000 acres of Guyana’s land would also be made available to T&T farmers. The whole idea was that investors in Port of Spain would be invited to farm the lands.

In December 2014, investors from the Twin-Island Republic visited and had begun screening Guyana’s landscape with particular focus on the Canje Basin and Intermediate Savannahs.

Economist Raymond Gaskin

Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley

Though no agreement was signed, then Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy had said the discussions had taken the countries one step closer to fulfilling the objective of the MoU, which was designed to facilitate TT investment in Guyana for agricultural production.

According to him, the next step would have been the presentation of scoping proposals for potential investment, even as dialogue continued between the two countries. He had also noted that while certain projects had been identified during another visit, the groups are still to submit their proposals to Guyana’s Government.

Meanwhile, President Granger also reminded that his government is most certainly committed to the offers by Trinidad to assist in the oil and gas sector.

He said in discussions with former Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, she had indicated that Trinidad has petroleum expertise.

“Of course we are interested in inviting Trinidad into our petroleum sector although we are in our early days. Trinidad has been developing petroleum for decades and decades. Hope that the arrangement could be made under the CSME”, the President said.

He persuaded the APNU/ AFC coalition that the implementation of the 2:00 am curfew on bar closures was going to bring down crime rates. The Private Sector Commission (PSC) challenged him to provide the statistics which he could not.

Also, Guyana made worldwide news when 17 inmates perished during three days of prison unrest, which occurred under the watch of the current Administration.

Prime Minister Nagamootoo was also cited for his attempts to censor and control the State media, and this was reported by the 2015 US Department of State Human Rights Report.

The Administration also received severe criticisms over its decision to arbitrarily award the contract for the Indiafunded Specialty Hospital project to Fedders Lloyd, a client of Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, who is also an Attorney.

Additionally, instead of reducing Valus Added Tax (VAT) as promised, Government significantly increased the taxes and licence fees, adding to the burdens of families across Guyana. The Government also removed the old age water and electricity subsidies, quashed the ‘Because we care’ cash grant and announced the ban on used tyres and old vehicles; all of which are labelled anti-poor initiatives.

What commentators say Political Commentator and former Government Minister, Dr Henry Jeffrey said like most persons, he is disappointed with the performance of the coalition Government thus far, singling out some of the actions of the Government, which he said, run contrary to their campaign promises.

“Most people would say that

they are somewhat disappointed. I feel that way. One expected when one was calling for some kind of change. Let me make it quite clear that the PPP was there for 23 years and they had to go, they had to have a change, but that does not mean that you think the change is centrally as what you wanted, starting from the issues of salary increases, etc,” Jeffrey stated.

He added that from the unset, the coalition Government started off on the wrong footing and thus far, continues to operate in a haphazard manner.

“It started from the first day in numerous cases, with the many Ministers, we have about 28; the issue with Harmon; they promised to deal with the AFC in a particular way and Nagamootoo and all that. It all seems much jumbled and as if they are just administering things day to day and doing things in an opportunistic way.

So yeah, I have been disappointed. I don’t think there are many people, even their core supporters that are not disappointed in their first year in Government,” he stated.

The Govt failed Meanwhile, prominent Economist, Ramon gaskin declared, “the Government has failed.”

“It has failed to stimulate the economy, to get the economy moving. It has failed to deal with the problems of [Guyana Sugar Corporation] GuySuCo, failed to come up with a plan to deal with the people at Wales, it has failed to deal with the problem of public service wages and they said they are waiting on some report from Lutchman and GuySuCo, they are also waiting some report on diversifications, they waiting and waiting. They failed to deal with prison reform and they are waiting on a report from the CoI on the prison. They are always waiting on something rather than getting on with the business,” Gaskin declared.

He explained that the David Granger Administration had a year to deal with GuySuCo and yet the Corporation lost between $10 billion and $12 billion this year, adding that the Government seems not to be doing anything to address this loss. “They don’t know what to do with these problems. Sugar production is a total disaster this year. We’re down 23,000

from page 3

Dr Henry Jeffrey

tonnes from the target and in the next year or two, Guyana will be importing sugar. Write that in your paper! If we continue how we’re going, in a year or two, Guyana will have to import sugar to meet its international or domestic commitments.

Simple as that and they don’t know what to do,” he declared.

The respected economist said that for the first 12 months in office, the coalition Government failed to tackle a single problem; instead they have been involved in cosmetology. He said the renaming of the Ogle International Airport is purely cosmetic, while the “big spending” at Durban Park, will only yield “more sporting, and enjoyment and merrymaking.”

“No production! Nothing!

My overall assessment is that (Winston) Jordan (Finance Minister) doesn’t know what he is doing to stimulate this economy to get it going. There is no job creation at all, so that’s what you got. Nothing, nothing at all, just cosmetics. A lot of noise and no production,” he stated.

Gaskin noted that while many persons are talking about the cleaning of the city, he does not see this as something to gloat about since City Hall failed to clean the city for 20 years.

“City Hall hasn’t had an audit done in over 12 years; the Auditor General has not done an audit into City Hall for over 12 years,” he remarked.

In concluding, Gaskin said ”they are very good at putting on a big sport, big music set, big noise! Dancehall music, you bring in all the artistes from outside, but no production! It’s a country without production!

But we are good at that; we are good at bringing in all these artistes from outside to jump up at the National Park. They are very good at that.”

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guyanatimesgy.com

monDAY, may 16, 2016

News

Gafoors' fire

Affected employees to receive 75% of salary during rebuilding process ...“Mr Gafoor is always fair’’ – employees

S

ix days after a catastrophic fire ruined almost 40% of the Gafoors Houston Complex, Georgetown, that company’s Executive Chairman Sattaur Gafoor on Sunday met with his over 500 employees to discuss the way forward as he prepares to rebuild.

The chairman met with staff of each department at the Huston Complex, to discuss a range of issues regarding the future of the company and its employees. At one of the departmental meetings, Gafoor stated clearly that he considered the company’s biggest asset to be his employees and assured them that their continued employment is guaranteed. While some employees have been reassigned to other Gafoors locations, others will be paid 75 per cent of their salaries and will be given one bag of rice until they are able to resume work.

In an interview with Guyana Times Gafoor said his decision to give a 75% honorarium to his displaced

Executive Chairman Sattaur Gafoor meeting with staff of one of the departments

staff, was to ensure he shows loyalty to those who dedicated their time and effort to the company over the years.

Meanwhile, the business magnate noted that the complex is opened for business following the blaze; however, there has been a significant decline in sale.

“When you have a fire, it’s not only that the goods are lost, you lose also the essence of time, meaning that the momentum that you would have had, to some extent is lost. People are yet to understand that we’re open for business again. So that’s what I meant by say-

ing we’ve lost a momentum of sales,” Gafoor said.

Another challenge highlighted by Gafoor is the fact that some suppliers are refusing to engage him following the blaze, presumably out of fear they will not be paid promptly for commodities. “What is surprising, is

some of the companies with whom we have business, refuse to speak with us even, for fear that they may not be paid. But as a matter of fact, what we’ve been doing is preparing invoices and paying them in advance to allay that fear that they may have, that we may not pay

them,” he explained.

Meanwhile, scores of other employees of the company expressed satisfaction with the decision taken by Gafoor.

“Mr Gafoor is always fair. I thank God for him because I doubt any other employer would be so fair to us. Even while the building was burning, all Mr Gafoor and his wife kept talking about was how they’re going to maintain all the employees. They’ve left no stone unturned to provide for us and ensure no one is out of a job,’’ was the remark of one employee. The popular Gafoors Shopping Complex located at Houston, Greater Georgetown, went up in flames on Monday, May 9, 2016, as workers were leaving work for the day. Reports are that the fire started about 15:00h in Bond Three, which contained fishing equipment.

Despite valiant attempts by firefighters from the Guyana Fire Service to contain the blaze, the fire quickly engulfed the building.

Arches to be erected to mark NAREI helps Region 2 farmers eliminate caterpillar infestation city boundaries

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The arch being established on the EBD

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rches will be established on both the East Bank Demerara (EBD) and East Coast of Demerara (ECD) roadways to identify the city boundaries.

Over the years, there has been much confusion as to which villages actually mark the beginning of the EBD and ECD respectively, with some areas on both corridors being referred to as “Greater Georgetown”.

On Sunday afternoon, an arching structure was

being erected on the EBD roadway in the vicinity of Eccles/Agricola, indicating that that is the southern boundary of Georgetown.

Therefore, all the villages north of the arch are part and parcel of Georgetown.

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, who was on site at the time, told Guyana Times that the initiative is a public/private partnership aimed at indicating where Georgetown actually begins/ends.

The development of the structure on EBD is being funded by Banks DIH Limited.

On the ECD an arch will be erected in the vicinity of Industry.

Therefore the villages: Cummings Lodge, Turkeyen, Pattensen, Sophia, Bel Air and Blygezigt are all part of the city.

Government is currently engaged in discussions with the private sector seeking funding for the establishment of that structure.

egion Two (Pomeroon/ Supenaam) farmers currently battling a caterpillar infestation have expressed satisfaction with the intervention by the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) in combatting the situation.

The caterpillars, which infested farmlands at Wakapoa, Curimaru, Myrie and Yarrashirima, all riverine areas, affected over 200 acres of cassava plants.

According to a recent statement, the farmers are pleased with the chemicals provided by NAREI, noting that they were definitely effective in destroying caterpillars that had infested their farms earlier this month.

Farmers are now nurturing their crops to ensure the cassava matures.

Stanley Emanuel, whose farm was affected, said of his two-and-a-half acres only half acre was saved from the pest.

Had it not been for NAREI’s intervention the prospect of reviving the other two acres would have been bleak, he indicated.

According to Emanuel, farmers are grateful for the assistance offered by NAREI. Extension officers of NAREI have been working with farmers since the re-

Some of the caterpillars that had overrun the farmlands in Region Two

port was made on May 4.

Following the report, extension officers visited the communities to assess the situation. Chemicals and blowers were sent into the area for farmers to tackle the pest. Demonstrations were done to enlighten farmers of how much chemical to use and how to handle the blowers for optimal results.

Emanuel found NAREI’s response to be highly effective since there is no caterpillar visible.

However, he is heeding NAREI’s advice to monitor

his farm regularly for any signs of the pest.

Another farmer who shared his experience with NAREI is Joel Smith. His entire three-and-a-half acres were destroyed by the pest. He is thankful for the assistance from NAREI but is troubled about his finances.

“The fields damage real bad… I am happy the chemicals really helped… they don’t have any caterpillar right now but I have to wait and see how this crop turn out,” Smith said.

news

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monDAY, may 16, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

NEW GPC INC launches new products at GuyExpo 2016 ...promises more as local, int’l demand soars

A consumer inspecting Children's Phanadyl at the NEW GPC booth

N

EW GPC INC over the weekend launched several new and innovative products at GuyExpo 2016 which will definitely contribute positively to the overall development of the country’s health sector while boosting the health and well-being of all Guyanese.

Some of the new and reformulated products displayed at this year’s GuyExpo include Children’s Phanadyl Multi symptom Cold and Flu, BabyCare Gripe Water and VitonePlus Multivitamin.

Persons visiting the Expo also got the opportunity to see NEW GPC’s Xcite (Sildenafil Citrate) tablets which have been generating a lot of interest in the local and international markets.

Xcite is NEW GPC’s brand of performance enhancers which come in 25mg,

50mg and 100mg strengths and are used to treat erectile dysfunction.

These products complement the already established

NEW GPC Pharmacist Michael Stewart

line of products and bring the company’s product portfolio closer to 300.

Patrons visiting the booth

Passerby inspects Whisper Mouth Wash at the NEW GPC booth

NEW GPC booth

also spoke highly of the BioKlenz – an expanding line of hand sanitisers; Shoo insect repellent – which is assuming added importance since the Zika threat; Chlorophan Expectorant and Syrup, custom packaged for and widely used by the Ministry of Public Health and the wide range of prescription tablets.

In an invited comment, the Marketing Manager, Trevor Bassoo disclosed that several other products would be launched on both the local and overseas markets in the coming months.

He explained that consumers can expect extensions to popular brands like Whizz, Phanadyl and Nutrophos. In the case of

Whizz, which is popular in Caricom States, the company would soon release several versions that specifically treat migraines, arthritis, tension headaches, and sinus and allergies.

“The new Whizz formulations are without Aspirin and likewise some of the new tonics are sugar/alcohol free and are, therefore, safe for use by diabetics and young children. NEW GPC also has new classes of prescription/ therapeutic medicines under development that target chronic and emerging conditions. Examples are Atorvastain – (cholesterol); naproxen (pain and anti-inflammatory) and clopidogrel – (prevent blood clots)”, he

said.

Over the last few years, NEW GPC has started to rapidly extend its range by manufacturing Captopril (hypertension); Omprezole (gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD); Diclofenac (anti-inflammatory); Ciprofloxacin (antibiotic); Nystatin (anti-fungal); Neomycin and Bacitracin (antibiotic) and Ketoconazole (anti-fungal) just to name a few.

All of the company’s products are manufactured under strict approval of the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department and the plant is compliant with US Food and Department Agency regulations.

GuyExpo 2016 comes to a close – Businesses pleased with response

A

s GuyExpo 2016 came to an end Sunday evening, several businesses expressed their satisfaction at the response from visitors.

Natasha who was representing the ND&S Furniture store explained that as the four-day event came to a close, she was very pleased with the result of their boot’s marketing strategies. “So far with the Expo, a lot of persons have shown interest in our products as well as given us good feedback because of the great quality of products that we have offered.

We’re expecting to do a whole lot better the next time,” she stated.

Michael Stewart, a pharmacist with New Guyana Pharmaceutical Company (New GPC) related that the exhibition was a success as it saw many persons becoming more familiar with the company’s products: “Initially, in the first few days there was a bit of a slow flow with the number of persons coming in.

But we found that in the last two days, there was a greater turn out.

Our booth was strategically placed in such a way that as long as you came into the big tent, you would pass by and have easier access to the booth.”

Asher Seaforth, a representative of Gizmos and Gadgets revealed that through the Expo, the store was able to broaden its customer base, especially com-

Eon Veira of Dyna’s Embroidery proudly displays the “Jubilee” Coffee mug

ing down to the closing date, saw a large number of persons visiting the booth to take advantage of the promotions: “Things were slow at first, but coming down to the last few days we had hundreds of persons visiting the booth to get in on our low prices as well as the tradein option.”

Avalon Jagnandan, the Marketing and Sales Manager of Continental Agencies Limited related that the Expo has given the company a great opportunity to familiarise consumers with their products: “Tonight, the response has been very good to our signature brands, particularly Sunburst Juices, Sujata Curry Powder and Torginol Paints. We’ve had a number of promotions on our products

A visitor signs on the walls of the GuyExpo “Jubilee Selfie Booth”

Patrons flocked the various booths on Sunday evening

and the response has been overwhelming. It has been far better than we would have initially expected.”

Eon Veira of Dyna’s Embroidery explained that they too had a great turnout, far beyond their expectations: “We’ve had a great response this year at GuyExpo, this being our fourth year at the Expo. We’ve had a great turnout and an even greater response, especially with the Jubilee Coffee mugs which had been going pretty fast.”

First time participant Fernandez Bread Box stated that the event was momentous for them as the support and response from visitors over the four-day period was vast: “We have received excellent reviews of

our products and the traffic passing through here…I can’t complain, it’s enormous,” she stated, adding that they did not have enough representatives to cater to the great demand for their products.

Meanwhile, visitors to the exhibition expressed satisfaction with the quality of the displays and products offered, some saying it came “bigger and better this year” while others stated that it lacked in comparison to previous years.

“It’s not my first year; I’ve seen much more variety in previous years when compared to this year.

Nevertheless, I am satisfied ‘cause the promotions are great and the atmosphere is greater,” Anjalie Singh exclaimed.

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Scenes at Gu

16, 2016 | guyana-times.com

GuyExpo 2016

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guyana-times.com

monday, may 16, 2016

Regional

Venezuela crisis: Maduro threatens Surging economy favours seizure of closed factories Medina in Dominican election despite graft claims V enezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has threatened the seizure of factories that have stopped production, and the jailing of their owners.

In a speech to supporters in the capital Caracas, he said the country had to recover the means of production, to counter its deep economic crisis.

On Friday, he introduced a new, nationwide state of emergency.

Opposition protesters have been rallying in Caracas to push for a recall vote to eject him from power.

Maduro said the state of emergency was needed

D

ominican Republic President Danilo Medina was poised to win the first round of a presidential election on Sunday, with polls showing voters crediting him with economic growth and social projects, while less concerned about accusations of graft.

Voters lined up outside polling stations in schools before they opened at 06:00h and by mid-morning 15 per cent of eligible voters in the Caribbean's largest economy had cast their ballots.

A Gallup-Hoy poll published on April 25 showed Medina winning 63 per cent of the vote, enough to avoid a second-round runoff in June. His ratings have been climbing in recent months, at the expense of his nearest rival, businessman Luis Abinader.

Voting intentions barely reach 10 per cent for the remaining six candidates combined, including the first two women running for the presidency in a Dominican election.

"We are now better off than four years ago,” said Lisbelis Acosta, 24, after voting in Santo Domingo.

A woman casts her vote at a polling station during the presidential elections in Santo Domingo, May 15, 2016

She said the Government had improved health and education services.

A left-of-centre economist, Medina has had high popularity ratings during the latter part of his fouryear term in the country of 10.4 million. Electoral rules were changed to allow him to run for a second consecutive term.

“I won’t be satisfied until progress reaches everyone, when growth means a table full of food for every-

one,” Medina, 64, said at a rally to close his campaign on Thursday.

Medina's Dominican Liberation Party has been continuously in power since 2004.

Abinader promises to double down on social spending and reduce crime. The challenger has also focused on allegations of corruption related to a power plant awarded to Brazilian engineering conglomerate Grupo Odebrecht. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Haiti's Parliament to meet in emergency session on Tuesday

H

aiti’s Interim President Jocelerme Privert has called an emergency meeting of Parliament on Tuesday to discuss a number of issues amid fears by Opposition politicians that he could use the occasion to further delay presidential elections in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country.

According to the decree issued by Privert, the Parliament with many of the lawmakers on annual leave, will discuss issues ranging from the draft penal code to a law creating a basic public service in communal sec-

tions.

But political observers note that “nothing appears in the agenda concerning the non-holding of elections provided for in the agreement of 6 February”.

They said that contrary to what some parliamentarians say, nothing in the agreement could force Privert “to explain the failure to respect the planned timetable concerning the absence or delay of elections within the framework of its mandate”.

Under the February 6 agreement, a new Head of State to replace Michel Martelly, who left office on February 7 without a suc-

cessor being elected, should have been sworn in on May 14.

The third round of the presidential poll was scheduled for late April and Privert has said that it probably would take place later this year without giving a timeframe.

Under the agreement, the term of the Interim President lasts for 120 days and according to Article 7 “The mandate of the temporary President is up to 120 days from the date of installation. If necessary the National Assembly will take the necessary arrangements”. (Excerpt from CMC)

Payments still outstanding for BAICO and CLICO policyholders

T

he Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Governor Timothy Antoine on Friday provided an update on payments issued to both BAICO and CLICO policyholders to date.

“We had some challengers over the last seven years, but have made some payments especially to BAICO policyholders.

"We paid 7500 claims under the Health Fund in 2011 and assisted over 15,000 policyholders in 2012 after the traditional portfolio was sold to Sagicor.

“In 2013, the policyholders release scheme was launched where EC$108 million have been paid to 7834 policyholders where about 80 per cent of BAICO policyholders have received their principal payments, “ Antoine said.

The ECCB Governor added, “All policyholders owed EC$30,000 were paid in full less interest.

“A total of EC$14 million were paid to 487 of these policyholders.

“While we were in the process of making this payment, the money dried up.

. The Government of Trinida The Government of Trinidad d and Tobago promised us thi s money, but after cheque s were prepared and in th e middle of disbursing thes e cheques they said there wer e delays so we had to stop th e disbursement of cheque s otherwise they would hav e bounced. ” According to Antoine , policyholders all across th e Eastern Caribbean Currenc y Union (ECCU) were affected, but 292 policyholders i n Antigua & Barbuda remai n unpaid which amounts t o EC8.8 million . (Excerpt from Reuters

to combat foreign aggression, which he blamed for Venezuela's problems.

And he said military exercises would take place next weekend to counter "foreign threats".

Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, but its economy has been severely hit by falling global oil prices. Its economy contracted by 5.7 per cent last year and its official inflation rate is estimated to be topping 180 per cent.

There are severe shortages of food, medicines and basic goods which Maduro argues are due to business leaders and the US waging

an economic war against his Government.

The economic crisis that started three years ago has deepened this year, to the point that it has affected immensely the day-to-day life of every Venezuelan.

On top of having to queue for hours every week to be able to buy the basic products, now Venezuelans have to cope with energy and water rationing almost daily.

This, in a country that used to be one of the most developed nations in Latin America, with the highest consumption rates in the region. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Guatemala accuses Belize of excessive force during arrest

T

he Guatemalan Government has accused Belize's army of using excessive force following the injury of a Guatemalan man arrested for illegal mining.

The man was one of three suspected illegal gold miners detained on Friday on Belizean territory.

Belize says its troops acted in self-defence when the Guatemalan tried to attack an army patrol with a machete, but Guatemala contests that.

The two Central American neighbours have a long-standing border dispute.

Last month, Guatemala deployed 3000 troops along the frontier following a shooting incident in which a Guatemalan teenager was killed.

Belize said the presence of large numbers of Guatemalan troops along

Guatemala has deployed troops along its border with Belize

the border had increased tensions between the two countries.

In a statement, the Government of Belize said one of the three detainees had acted "aggressively" and ignored a warning shot before being shot in the elbow.

Guatemala's Foreign Ministry rejected Belize's version of events.

It said that one person

with a machete could not attack a "properly equipped and armed" patrol.

The territorial dispute between the two nations dates back more than 150 years.

Belize became independent from Britain in 1981.

However, Guatemala did not recognise it for another decade because of the land dispute. (BBC News)

Trinidad Attorney General targeted in no-confidence motion

T

he Opposition in Trinidad and Tobago has filled a no-confidence motion against Attorney General Faris AlRawi, following the passage of a controversial piece of legislation that will expand the mandate of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA), including giving it power to intercept the calls of people suspected of being engaged in serious crimes.

And it is also planning to take legal action to have that legislation which was passed last week – the SSA (Amendment) Bill – struck down, once it is proclaimed.

The motion was filed on Friday by Member of Parliament for Oropouche East, Dr Roodal Moonilal.

At a press conference later in the day where she explained the reasons for the motion, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar accused Al-Rawi of compromising the Office of the Attorney

The Opposition People’s Partnership has filed a no-confidence motion against Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi

General.

“He misled the Parliament and provided unsound advice and abandoned his role as guardian of the public interest. We also believe that there are other areas with respect to the conduct of the AG, in which he has fallen short of upholding the Office of the AG. We believe that he has conducted himself in a manner to compromise his office, and this is why we have moved this private motion,”

she said.

Among the other grounds for the motion are Al-Rawi’s conduct of the matter relating to the discontinuation of a case in the High Court against Malcolm Jones, the former Executive President of State-owned company Petrotrin, which PersadBissessar said lacked transparency and accountability and caused the State to lose more than TT$1.2 billion (US$180.3 million). (Excerpt from

Caribbean360)

MONDAY, may 16, 2016

guyana-times.com

15

Around the World

Beijing blasts Pentagon report on Kerry meets Saudi King to discuss Syria before Vienna talks Chinese military as damaging trust

C

Saudi Arabia's King Salman (R) meets US Secretary of State John Kerry in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia May 15, 2016

U

S Secretary of State John Kerry met Saudi Arabia's King Salman in Jeddah on Sunday to discuss the fragile truce in Syria, before broader talks with Russia, Iran and other countries in Vienna on Tuesday.

Kerry has said he hoped to strengthen a "cessation of hostilities" agreement between Syrian Government forces and rebels, which has been undermined by fighting in some areas, and to increase humanitarian aid deliveries to besieged areas.

On Friday, he said the meetings with the King

and the Saudi Interior and Defence Ministers – the two most senior princes – would try "to make sure that we can get this cessation better footed and, frankly, better observed and implemented throughout the country".

The United States, Saudi Arabia and some other Western and Gulf states plus Turkey back rebels fighting to remove President Bashar al-Assad, who has military support from Russia and Iran.

However, diplomats in the Gulf say Saudi Arabia sees US support for the rebels as inadequate, and fears

that Washington may abandon their shared stance that Assad must immediately leave power as part of any negotiated political deal.

Kerry and his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir have previously characterised disagreements over Syria as being limited to "tactical differences" not objectives.

On Tuesday the United States and Russia will cochair a meeting of the International Syria Support Group, which includes Arab League and European Union countries as well as Turkey, Iran and China. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Egyptian court sentences 6 inmates to jail for killing Frenchman

A

n Egyptian court sentenced six people to seven years each in prison on Sunday for beating to death a Frenchman in 2013 while they were all being held together in a Cairo Police cell, a judicial source said.

Eric Lang, a teacher who was living in Cairo, was stopped by Police in September 2013 for violating a night-time curfew in place at that time, security sources said then.

Lang was drunk and Police detained him when they found that he had no valid residency permit, they

said.

The six men convicted on Sunday had been Lang's cellmates and had beaten the teacher to death, according to a prosecution document and the judicial source.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact the lawyers representing either Lang or the six defendants.

A French Embassy spokesman did not respond to calls for comment on the case.

French President Francois Hollande told a news conference during a visit to Cairo last month that he had raised the case

of Lang and that of Italian student Giulio Regeni in his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah alSisi.

Regeni, 28, was last seen by his friends on January 25. His body, which showed signs of torture, was found on February 3 in a roadside ditch on the edge of Cairo.

Lang was known to have been held at a central Cairo Police station. Following his arrest, the Frenchman was presented to Egyptian Prosecutors who decided to deport him, security sources said at the time. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Indian Journalist arrested over Muslim yoga ban report

A

Journalist in India is facing charges over a report he wrote saying Muslims were banned from being yoga teachers under Government policy.

Pushp Sharma's report appeared in March in the Milli Gazette, a newspaper aimed at India's Muslim community.

It quoted what was said to be a Government document that banned Muslims from travelling abroad to teach yoga for last year's World Yoga Day. Sharma faces charges of fabricating the document, which he denies.

His report was based on what he said was an official reply from a Government Ministry that promotes yoga and ayurveda medicine.

The report said that, after several queries to the

hina condemned the United States Defence Department's annual report on the Chinese military on Sunday, calling it deliberate distortion that has "severely damaged" mutual trust.

In its annual report to Congress on Chinese military activities, the US Defence Department said on Friday that China was expected to add substantial military infrastructure, including communications and surveillance systems, to artificial islands in the South China Sea this year.

China's Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun expressed "strong dissatisfaction" and "firm opposition" to the Pentagon report and said it has "severely dam-

aged mutual trust", State news agency Xinhua reported.

The report "hyped up" China's military threat and lack of transparency, "deliberately distorted" Chinese defence policies and "unfairly" depicted Chinese activities in the East and South China seas, Yang was quoted as saying.

"China follows a national defence policy that is defensive in nature," Yang said, adding that the country's military build-up and reforms are aimed at maintaining sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and guaranteeing China's peaceful development.

It is the United States that has always been suspicious and flexing its mil-

itary muscle by frequently sending military aircraft and warships to the region, Yang said.

Despite its calls for freedom of navigation and restraint for peace, the US has pushed forward militarisation of the South China Sea with an "intention to exert hegemony", Yang added.

The Pentagon report said the planned addition of military infrastructure would give China long-term "civilmilitary bases" in the contested waters.

It estimated that China's reclamation work had added more than 3200 acres (1300 hectares) of land on seven features it occupied in the Spratly Islands in the space of two years. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Female French Ministers vow to fight sexual harassment

S

eventeen French Ministers and ex-Ministers have vowed to "systematically denounce" sexual harassment, days after a probe was opened into multiple claims against a former deputy parliamentary Speaker. The signatories of Sunday's statement, who are all women, include current IMF chief Christine Lagarde, ex-Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot and exHousing Minister Cecile Duflot.

"We will no longer keep quiet," they said in a statement published by the Journal du Dimanche weekly paper.

They promised to "systematically denounce all sexist remarks, inappropriate gestures and inappropriate behaviour".

Their cross-party stand comes after French Judges on Tuesday opened an investigation into multiple claims of sexual harassment

IMF Chief Christine Lagarde, a former French Minister, is among the women who signed the statement [Getty Images]

against former deputy parliamentary Speaker Denis Baupin.

Baupin, 53, vigorously denied the claims and has instructed his lawyers to sue two French media outlets for defamation, calling the allegations "mendacious".

The same day Finance Minister Michel Sapin became ensnared in a sexual harassment scandal after admitting that he acted "in-

appropriately" towards a female journalist after twice denying any improper conduct.

Sapin acknowledged late on Tuesday "making a comment" while placing his hand on the woman's back at a conference early last year – following two previous denials of a claim that he had tweaked her knicker elastic. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Netanyahu slams France after UN vote on al-Aqsa mosque

I The reporter has denied the charges of fabricating a document

Ministry, it replied saying that none of the 3841 Muslims who had applied to become yoga teachers had been hired up to October 2015.

A letter printed alongside the article, purporting to be from the Ministry, said that 711 Muslims had applied to travel abroad as instructors during the first World Yoga Day last June, but none was selected "as per government

policy".

The letter does not include a Government letterhead and contains a number of spelling mistakes, including an incorrect spelling of the word "yoga".

The Milli Gazette confirmed Sharma was arrested on Saturday morning. Its editor Zafarul-Islam Khan said the charges were "clear attempts to stifle the freedom of the press". (Excerpt from BBC

News)

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said French support for a UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem cast doubt on the impartiality of its Middle East peace initiative, a claim Paris denied.

Netanyahu had met French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Sunday and discussed the "scandalous resolution accepted at UNESCO with France's support, that does not recognise the bond of thousands of years between the Jewish people and the Temple Mount".

This French support "casts a shadow over the impartiality of the entire

forum France is trying to convene", Netanyahu said, ahead of a weekly Cabinet meeting.

The Israeli Premier was referring to a resolution adopted last month by the Paris-based UN cultural body on the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, which made no reference to the fact it is also revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and is the most sacred site in Judaism.

Sources close to Ayrault said on Sunday that France "regretted" the resolution, echoing remarks by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls who on Wednesday called it "clumsy" and "un-

fortunate" and said it should have been avoided.

But at the same time, Ayrault rejected Netanyahu's claim of French impartiality, insisting that an Israeli-Palestinian peace process was imperative to prevent the spread of deadly Islamist violence.

"France has no vested interest, but is deeply convinced that if we don't want to let the ideas of the Islamic State group prosper in this region, we must do something," he told reporters at Ben Gurion airport after meeting both Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

16 news

monDAY, may 16, 2016 | guyana-times.com

VOX POPULI

What the people say

I SAY...

Guyanese share their views on the decision by City Council to remove vendors from the outskirts of the Stabroek Market Amy Singh (Essequibo) “I think that clearing the area at Stabroek is not a good move.

My reason for this: many vendors’ sales will be affected; those travelling from the Essequibo Coast would find it difficult to locate a particular vendor given the new arrangement; sales will be significantly hampered.”

Dalon Chapman (Linden) “Well, my view on the removing of vendors from the outlying areas – I think it was a comfortable decision because of the crowding confusion among other reasons. I’m happy that they made that decision. Look at the stealing and picking of pockets that used to go on near the vendors. Thieves picking people’s pockets and so on. I would like to say that I think it was a wise decision that the City Council made.”

Odessa Wellington (Georgetown) “Vending over there is very difficult for us fruit vendors because persons don’t want to come all the way there, and when they do come, it is to buy food and drinks. I think they should leave the food and clothes vendors over there, but have the fruit vendors stay right where we used to; they could even put us in the corners. People already get accustomed to seeing us out on the road, so it is very hard. For the next three months I will sell over there during the day and come out in the nights to get sales.

Omeika Douglas (Georgetown) “Sitting down in there whole day is waste time because you barely getting any sales and when you come out with your carts the Constables harassing you. For people like us who sell these small items, it is very difficult and at the end of the day is nothing you coming out with. Something needs to be done in the next three months, because is a lot of time wasting. We don’t know what to do.”

Shemroy Joseph (Georgetown) “So far business is very slow for me. I have been in there for four days and it is hard, so I had to come on the road to see if I could catch up because I have expenses. For the next three months I want to see what the Council will do. I want them to tell us where they are going to put us next, but we will be there until they relocate us to the other place. I will sell on the road when I’m not there because people can’t starve. We have mortgages and families to take care of.”

Orin McKenzie (Georgetown) “They didn’t even indicate that they were moving us out; they just pick us up and dumped us and this is putting us out of a daily bread. The first day I made $2000 and I still have children to send to school and mortgages to pay off. That place is not for business: it is very slow and we need money because this is our only means of livelihood. I can’t sit in there for the next three months. I have to come out and sell, because if I stay is my family and I will starve.”

Antonio Hackett (Linden) “I only feel that the laws have to be kept. Guyanese have come so far away from maintaining law and order that we have to start somewhere to bring our beloved country back to some semblance of decency, from top to bottom.”

Samantha Shireen (Georgetown) “It is hard being over there, because sales are very hard to get especially since we are fruit vendors. Nobody likes to come in there to buy, because they are saying it is too far. I don’t know what we are going to do for the next three months, but we need the Council to do something about this. Business is very slow over at that new place.”

Akeem Roseman (Georgetown) “Business is slower than it used to be out there; it is very hard to sell in the new location because people are not coming in to purchase CDs like they used to before. For the next three months I plan on selling there throughout the day, then coming out in the nights to do my business.”

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news

monDAY, may 16, 2016 | guyana-times.com

International Day for Families 2016

Guyanese share their thoughts under the theme “Families – Healthy Lives and Sustainable Future”

F

or some, a family may mean people that they can rely on and be themselves with, while for others, family means unconditional love, security and comfort. On the occasion of the International Day of Families, proclaimed by the United Nation’s General Assembly in 1993, to be observed on May 15, a few people took the opportunity to reflect on what family means to them.

The perception of family is viewed differently by different people living in Guyana. For Malesa Ramotar Sohan, eldest daughter of an extended family, the word means having a support system as well as unlimited love and affection.

“Family means everything to me. They are my happiness. They’re the ones that are always there, no matter how tough the situation is. They’re always there to listen and help. We need to cherish them, our family members, while they are still here. Blood is thicker than water.”

Meanwhile, for Arifa Bacchus, family does not necessarily mean having blood relations. “For me, family does not mean that you’re related by blood.

Family means people that always have your best interest at heart, despite the circumstances. Family means that they always have your back and always offer support, not necessarily in tangible means. In my life, I have met persons that have shown me great love and care unlike blood relatives,” she related.

One of Guyana’s wonderful nuclear families

For other persons, family is described as our first influences, the teachers that make up our characters. “Family is necessary.

They’re our first attachments and though we don’t choose them, they influence us in many ways: our character, our outlook on life and most of our sensibilities. Depending on our first years of exposure, that influence can be positive or negative. However, whatever the influence, it is escapable. Quite often we depend upon experiences with family when we decide to start ours. Thereby proving its necessity,” said Juke Ross. ‘’Family is where love, trust and security exists,’’ Thameshwar Ramcharran voiced.

These persons all indicated that their perception of family derives from being a Guyanese since Guyana is believed to create ‘close knitted’ relations.

Families from villages

in Region Three (Essequibo Island-West Demerara) shared that regardless of family type, everyone in immediate or neighbouring villages live as one.

“We all live together. That’s the thing about Guyana. We Guyanese, live in unity. We treat everyone in our area like family.

Everyone is aunty, uncle or cousin. We look out for each other in my area. If a single mother doesn’t have food to send her kids to school, there’s always someone willing to lend a hand,” said 37-year-old Imran Alli.

One sibling household, consisting of a brother and sister, relayed that having lived in Herstelling, East Bamk Demerara, for four years; they have experienced the best hospitality from neighbours in the area. The duo highlighted that one year after arriving in the country; they lost their mother to cancer. The sister, Sarah John, said that

since they had no relatives in Guyana, they did not expect the help and support they received from persons living in the area.

“When our mom died, we didn’t expect help from anyone, so you can imagine our surprise when residents from Herstelling helped us tremendously. People came out to set up tents to keep wake, then others brought biscuits and coffee. They contributed so much. I never knew persons to care for strangers like family. Living in Guyana has shown me what a real family should be.”

Tomika Angus, a resident of Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara, related that Guyana has influenced her thoughts of family, through living in an environment where the head of the household is made to work hard. Hailing from an extended family, she defines the word ‘family’ as the “the true definition of love, shelter and a shoulder to lean on.”

Another individual, Daniel Singh, who hails from Kitty, Georgetown, highlighted that family is his sense of belonging. He indicated that having been an orphan from the age of 16, his current nuclear family means “the world.”

“I know what it’s like to not have a family. Yes, living in my area, the residents were very friendly and caring. I must say Guyanese really are the friendliest and most caring people in the world. But now that I’ve gotten my own family, I feel like I belong somewhere. I now know what home is.”

Prison Service to increase raids – Director …173 improvised weapons, 44 cellphones, marijuana netted in recent operation

I

n an effort to ensure weapons and contraband items are kept out of the hands of prisoners, authorities at the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) will be conducting more regular raids at the various detention facilities across the country.

Director of Prisons, Carl Graham told Guyana Times on Sunday that the Prison Services would increase the number of raids and surprise raids conducted at penitentiaries.

On Saturday, the GPS with support from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) conducted a massive raid at the overcrowded Camp Street penitentiary, less than three months after the deadly prison riot.

Among the items confiscated were 173 improvised weapons, two kitchen knives, three screwdrivers, one hacksaw blade, 44 cellphones, a quantity of razor blades, 149 lighters, three garden files, five tattoo machines and a quantity of marijuana.

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) was on standby as the raid was being executed, in the event of any possible dis-

Director of Prisons Carl Graham

turbance. The Camp Street Prison unrest, which left 17 inmates dead, is suspected to have been ignited as a result of a similar raid.

The Prisons Director told this newspaper that since most of the weapons discovered were improvised tools, steps

were being taken to ensure a reduction in the possible items from which these weapons could be made.

Currently, moves are afoot to source new beds from overseas to replace the existing ones in the Camp Street Prison.

Graham explained that prisoners tend to use material from the beds to create weapons; therefore, the authorities were trying to source beds that could not be so easily dismantled.

He said the replacement of the beds would be done in phases, until all were replaced.

At the moment, the Prisons Director could not give an estimate of how much this would cost. However, he disclosed that discussions were ongoing with a company that will be tasked with sourcing the beds from abroad.

A recent Commission of inquiry (CoI) into the deadly March 3, 2016 riot at the Georgetown Prisons which claimed the lives of 17 inmates is likely to include a slew of recommendations, including the removal of items which can be converted into weapons and stricter controls to prevent drugs and other contraband items from making their way into cells.

UG ready for emerging oil sector – PM

Newly-installed Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor E Nigel Harris

W

ith a new Chancellor assigned to the University of Guyana (UG), Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo said Guyana was well on its way to becoming fully equipped for the oil and gas industry.

Nagamootoo was at the time delivering congratulatory remarks when new Chancellor, Professor E Nigel Harris was installed last Wednesday. Harris, who recently demitted office as Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Trinidad and Tobago, was installed as UG’s ninth Chancellor.

“We should be cooperating with the University of the West Indies for a faculty for Petroleum in Guyana. Now with the advent of Professor Harris as Chancellor of the University of Guyana, I think that faculty could be closer to home as we not only dream of becoming an oil and gas producing country, but we are seeing the potentials on the horizon that we will, in fact, become an oil and gas producing state,” the Prime Minister said.

He noted that it would be a “great demand” for this university to produce its own petroleum, environmental disaster prevention and other intelligence that would serve and service the new industry.

Back in February, Professor Harris had said that UG was set to “link up” with some big names that provide practical and theoretical training in the petroleum sector, as it prepared itself for the economic boom the local oil and gas industry could create.

The recent discovery of oil in Guyana’s waters by US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil has evoked a new level of hope for Guyana’s ailing economy.

And while questions have been asked about whether the country’s tertiary institution is able to galvanise itself to help realise the promised profits to the economy, critics say it is a far cry from what is really needed to take hold of the emerging industry.

Professor Harris said the institution had better be prepared for the oil and gas sector, which promises economic growth for Guyana.

“We had better be able to address that area,” the Chancellor told Guyana Times. He was at the time addressing Journalists at a forum where he disclosed the plans the fairly new Administration had for the institution.

He said the US oil company has already approached the University and has been making inquiries about its current arrangement for an industry that is likely to place the country’s economy on another level.

While the University is already offering programmes related to the industry, others are in the pipeline, the Professor said. However, much more needs to be done, he noted, stating that he will be arranging with UWI and international agencies to provide assistance for the institution.

According to him, UWI has been training petroleum engineers and other persons in the industry for the past four decades.

“It may be that the UG may not be able to provide all the staff they need. So we are planning to link the University of Guyana with international institutions. I will be pushing for links with UWI…. It does not make sense that we have the next-door neighbours and not take advantage of the programmes,” he told Guyana Times.

The call for Guyana’s University to be streamlined was already made by Chairman of the Guyana Board of the Canadian oil company CGX, Dr Suresh Narine. Dr Narine, who is also the Director of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology at UG, had said Government needed to introduce relevant courses at the University to cater for the takeoff of the local oil industry.

While President David Granger has already committed to the establishment of a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) to secure the future of the nation, Dr Narine had said more was needed to be done regarding the quality of education being offered to students at UG. CGX Inc has been in Guyana for some 15 years and is among a number of companies which have been seeking to benefit from Guyana’s promising oil reserves.

Professor Narine said the oil and gas sector, a major enhancement to any economy, would do wonders for Guyana’s fiscal footing.

Unfortunately, according to him, the country’s premier university is “nowhere near where it needs to be to prepare people for the oil and gas industry”.

If the industry were to begin active operations now, there would be a shortage of personnel.

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monday, may 16, 2016

ARCHIE

Plan a vacation or devote some time to a loved one.

(March 21- Making personal adjustments April 19) will lead to a positive plan or a new adventure.

ARIES

Ask and you shall receive.

TAURUS Let your intuition and experi(April 20- ence guide you when it comes May 20) to advancement. Don’t let anyone saddle you with responsibilities that don’t belong to you.

dilbert

Put your plans into moGEMINI (May 21- tion. Use your power of perJune 20) suasion to entice others to see and do things your way. Love is in the stars, but temptation will lead you astray.

Show restraint when CANCER asked to keep a secret if you (June 21- want to avoid damaging your July 22) reputation. Concentrate on a creative endeavour or improving yourself or your home.

Avoid an emotional scene.

Peanuts

If you look for a way to help, LEO you will discover a new way to (July 23Aug. 22) use your skills in a more diverse manner. You will enjoy feeling needed. Romance will enhance your life.

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Observation will be necVIRGO essary if you want to avoid a (Aug. 23scandal.

Don’t get caught in Sept. 22) a position that will make you look bad or incompetent. Bide your time.

If you give your all, you LIBRA (Sept. 23- will get the same in return.

Oct. 23) Good fortune is around the corner socially, emotionally and financially. A romantic gesture will encourage a positive change in your life.

SUDOKU TODAY’S WORD – PLATYPUS (PLATYPUS: PLAT-ih-pus: A semiaquatic egg-laying mammal.)

Average mark 22 words Time limit 40 minutes Can you find 31 or more words in PLATYPUS? The list will be published tomorrow.

SATURDAY’S WORD – DARNEL

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real renal rend near earl earn elan eland lade

laden land lane lard lead lean learn lend

solution for Last Published Puzzle

Let your emotions lead the SCORPIO way when it comes to person(Oct. 24al matters.

An unusual lifeNov. 22) style change will help you obtain a lifelong dream.

Serious talks can help SAGITTARIUS smooth over a misunder(Nov. 23- standing or disagreement, but Dec. 21) honesty will be required in order to bring about the changes you desire. Compromise and incentives will bring good results.

Finish what you start and CAPRICORN clear your agenda so you can (Dec. 22- enjoy some downtime with Jan. 19) friends and family. Sharing your ideas will result in support and encouragement.

A chance to step into the AQUARIUS limelight is apparent, but it (Jan. 20must be handled graciousFeb. 19) ly. Stick to facts and realistic promises. Personal gains look promising.

Honesty is the best poliPISCES (Feb. 20- cy when dealing with friends March 20) and family. An interesting partnership will be enticing, but you need to iron out the details before you commit to anything long-term.

monDAY, may 16, 2016

19

Warner, Yuvraj help SRH chase down 180 against KXIP

S

unrisers Hyderabad firmed up their position at the top of the VIVO IPL 2016 standings after they defeated Kings XI Punjab by 7 wickets on Sunday evening. After being set a target of 180, Sunrisers Hyderabad were powered by a half-century from their captain David Warner at the start of the innings, before the finishing touches were applied by Yuvraj Singh. The result also pulled the lid on Kings XI Punjab’s chances of making it to the Playoffs.

Needing to score at nine

runs per over, the Sunrisers were brisk at the beginning of their chase, with the opening pair of Warner and Shikhar Dhawan setting a sound platform. Warner interspersed his big shots with plenty of singles and not surprisingly dominated the opening partnership; he contributed 40 runs in the 68-run opening stand, while Dhawan picked up boundaries every now and then, but ensured he was always a run-a-ball. The KXIP bowlers seemed to have run out of ideas to dismiss the openers, when a piece of brilliance in

SCOREBOARD Kings XI Punjab innings (20 overs maximum) HM Amla c Warner b Kumar 96 M Vijay* c Warner b 6 Mustafizur Rahman WP Saha† c Hooda b Henriques 27 Gurkeerat Singh b Kumar 27 DA Miller not out 20 GJ Maxwell not out 0 Extras: (lb-3) 3 Total: (4 wickets; 20 overs) 179 Fall of wickets: 1-33 (Vijay, 4.2 ov), 2-87 (Saha, 11.1 ov), 3-152 (Gurkeerat Singh, 17.2 ov), 4-173 (Amla, 19.4 ov) Bowling: B Kumar 4-0-32-2, A Nehra 2.5-0-35-0, Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-32-1, BCJ Cutting 1.1-0-11-0, KV Sharma 4-0-26-0, MC Henriques 3-029-1, Yuvraj Singh 1-0-11-0

Sunrisers Hyderabad innings (target: 180 runs from 20 overs) DA Warner* hit wicket b Patel 52 S Dhawan run out (Sharma) 25 DJ Hooda c Miller b Sandeep Sharma 34 Yuvraj Singh not out 42 BCJ Cutting not out 18 Extras: (lb-4, w-3, nb-2) 9 Total: (3 wickets; 19.4 ove rs) 180 Fall of wickets: 1-68 (Dhawan, 7.6 ov), 2-97 (Warner, 12.1 ov), 3-139 (Hooda, 15.6 ov) Bowling: Sandeep Sharma 4-0-35-1, M Vijay 1-0-8-0 (w1), MM Sharma 3.4-0-40-0 (w-1), Anureet Singh 3-0-280 (nb-2), MP Stoinis 3-0-280 (w-1), GJ Maxwell 1-011-0, AR Patel 4-0-26-1

the field in the eighth over put the lid on Dhawan’s innings; Mohit Sharma fired in a rocket throw from wide long-on and hit the stumps direct to catch Dhawan (25 from 22 balls) short of his ground.

Warner carried on and looked good for another big score. But against the run of play, in the thirteenth over, he trod onto his stumps – becoming the third SRH batsman to be dismissed ‘Hit Wicket’ this season - and had to walk back for 52 (41 balls, 5 fours, 1 six). Sunrisers’ decision to send in Deepak Hooda at number three clicked too, as the youngster made 34 from 22 balls, aided with three fours and a six. The 21-year old played a mature hand in stitching together partnerships of 29 and 42 with Warner and Yuvraj Singh respectively.

But his dismissal in the 16th over – when he holed out to David Miller at midwicket – put the match in the balance yet again.

That’s when Yuvraj Singh took control of proceedings and saw his team past the finish line. The lefthander singled out Mohit Sharma for punishment; he hit the KXIP quick for a six and a four at the start of the eighteenth over to bring the required rate under control. And then again, when

the bowler came on to bowl the final over – with 9 runs to defend – Yuvraj killed to contest in the first ball when he bludgeoned the ball into the stands at midwicket. The left-hander finished unbeaten on 42, made from 24 balls and studded with three fours and as many sixes. Ben Cutting (21 from 11 balls) hit the winning runs as Sunrisers Hyderabad got across the line with two balls to spare.

Earlier in the evening, on a pitch on which the ball stopped on occasions and stroke-making was difficult, Hashim Amla batted beautifully to pilot his team to 179-4. He started off playing proper cricket strokes; he was fluent through the offside and down the ground, and played several eyecandy drives and cuts. He made use of the depth of the crease, judged the pace of the bowlers and the pitch perfectly, played late and pierced the field to perfection on most occasions. He brought up his maiden IPL half-century in the eleventh over – needing 30 balls to get to the milestone.

Amla opened up thereafter and improvised on occasions to pick up boundaries; he played the ramp shot, used the paddle shot and scooped the ball into the fine-leg boundary too. The

Captain David Warner looked good for another big score but trod onto his stumps – becoming the third SRH batsman to be dismissed ‘Hit Wicket’ this season

33-year old had the chance to score his maiden T20 century, but perished on 96 when he didn’t get sufficiently under the ball while attempting to hit the ball over long-off and found David Warner manning the boundary. Amla had consumed 56 balls and struck 14 fours and two sixes before he was dismissed with two balls remaining in the innings.

The South African was involved in useful partnerships all along the way; he added 33 with Murali Vijay, 54 with Wriddhiman Saha, 64 with Gurkeerat Singh and 21 with David Miller, who all made useful contributions with the bat. KXIP added 51 in their first seven

overs, 51 in the next six and 77 in the final seven overs to get to 179-4.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who accounted for the wickets of Amla and Gurkeerat, was Sunrisers Hyderabad’s most successful bowler.

Mustafizur Rahman (132) and Moises Henriques (1-29) were the other wicket-takers. Karn Sharma, who was included in the XI in place of Barinder Sran, bowled tidily too, conceding only 26 runs in his four overs. The Sunrisers had to alter their plans midway through the innings after Ashish Nehra, after bowling five deliveries in his third over, pulled up with what appeared to be a calf injury.

to cameos from Jos Buttler (18 from 9 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (13 from 5 balls).

Earlier in the evening, Rohit Sharma and Martin Guptill – Mumbai Indians’ fifth opening pair of the season – added 46 before the former cut Amit Mishra to point in the seventh over. Guptill though carried on and batted until the 15th over; the Kiwi batsman struggled for timing, found the weather conditions trying, yet persevered.

He made 48 from 42 balls and hit two fours and three sixes and had the best seat in the house to watch Krunal’s pyrotechnics.

Amidst all the carnage, the Delhi Daredevils captain was outstanding with the ball; Zaheer Khan finished with an economy rate of 5.75 – when the next best economy rate in the innings was 8.50. Chris Morris bowled two good overs at the death.

The three spinners – Mishra (1-42), Imran Tahir (0-59) and Nadeem (0-42) – had a forgettable day on the park; despite the turn available for them, they continued to bowl

quickly through the air and were taken to the cleaners.

In pursuit of 207, the Delhi Daredevils’ chase never really took off. Quinton de Kock was the only batsman to post a respectable score; the left-hand opener made 40 before he was dismissed in the tenth over.

Rishabh Pant’s 23 was the second-highest score of the innings. The 35 runs de Kock and Karun Nair added for the second wicket was the highest partnership in DD’s chase. DD were eventually bowled out for 126 in 19.1 overs.

Not content with what he had done in the first half, Krunal returned to cause inflict more damage in the second half; he picked up the key wicket of de Kock in his first over and then returned to pick up the last wicket of the innings. Jasprit Bumrah picked up three wickets in five deliveries – spread across two overs – to be the most successful bowler in the match. Harbhajan Singh and R Vinay Kumar were the other wicket-takers for MI. (IPLT20)

Krunal Pandya slaughters Delhi Daredevils A

breathtaking display of power-hitting from Krunal Pandya was the highlight of Mumbai Indians’ 80-run win over the Delhi Daredevils on Sunday night. Batting at number three, Krunal plundered seven fours and six sixes in his 37-ball 86 – this on a pitch where the rest of his teammates took time to come to terms with the surface - and set up the match for his team.

Mumbai Indians posted 2064 and then skittled out the visitors for 126 to post a commanding victory.

Krunal walked in to bat in the seventh over after his captain Rohit Sharma and Martin Guptill had set up a platform with a 46-run stand.

Krunal scored 5 runs off the first five balls he faced. But once he decided he had seen enough and had a good idea of the conditions, he exploded; he pulverised the Delhi Daredevils spinners, hitting them for 69 runs from 27 balls. When he went after the ball, he went hard at it and gave it a proper whack; he peppered the arc between

long-on and midwicket, hitting all his six sixes in that region. Krunal raced to his maiden IPL half-century off only 22 balls. Not satisfied with the havoc he had already caused, the 25-year old carried on and looked good to convert it to maiden century too. In the 16th over, he hit Amit Mishra for a four and two sixes. In the seventeenth, he deposited a short delivery from Zaheer Khan over the midwicket boundary.

When on 86, Krunal attempted to whip a delivery outside off through the legside, but lost his shape and only managed to drag the ball back onto the stumps.

He walked off the ground to thunderous applause from the MI supporters in the stands and all the personnel in the MI dugout. Younger brother Hardik Pandya gave him a warm bear hug just as Krunal crossed the boundary ropes. Krunal’s sensational knock had put MI in the driver’s seat; they were 173 for 3 after 17.2 overs when Krunal was dismissed, which was

SCOREBOARD Mumbai Indians innings (20 overs maximum) RG Sharma* c Pant b Mishra 31 MJ Guptill c Nair b Khan 48 KH Pandya b Morris 86 KA Pollard c †de Kock b Morris 3 C Buttler† not out 18 AT Rayudu not out 13 Extras: (b-4, lb-2, w-1) 7 Total: (4 wickets;20 ove rs) 206 Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Sharma, 6.3 ov), 2-144 (Guptill, 14.5 ov), 3-173 (Pandya, 17.2 ov), 4-174 (Pollard, 17.5 ov) Bowling: S Nadeem 4-0-420, CH Morris 4-0-34-2, Z Khan 4-0-23-1 (w-1), A Mishra 4-042-1, Imran Tahir 4-0-59-0 Delhi Daredevils innings (target: 207 runs from 20 overs) MA Agarwal b Vinay Kumar 8 Q de Kock† c †Buttler b Pandya 40 KK Nair c Bumrah b Harbhajan Singh 8 SV Samson run out (Harbhajan Singh/Pandya) 6

stretched to 206-4 at the end

RR Pant b Bumrah 23 JP Duminy c †Buttler b Bumrah 9 CH Morris run out (Rayudu/†Bu ttler) 20 A Mishra b Bumrah 1 S Nadeem not out 1 Imran Tahir run out (Vinay Kumar) 5 Z Khan* b Pandya 2 Extras: (b-1, lb-1, w-1) 3 Total: (all out; 19.1 overs) 126 (6.57 runs per over) Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Agarwal, 1.3 ov), 2-46 (Nair, 4.4 ov), 3-60 (Samson, 7.5 ov), 4-71 (de Kock, 9.2 ov), 5-96 (Duminy, 12.5 ov), 6-96 (Pant, 12.6 ov), 7-109 (Mishra, 15.3 ov), 8-118 (Morris, 16.4 ov), 9-123 (Imran Tahir, 17.6 ov), 10-126 (Khan, 19.1 ov) Bowling: Harbhajan Singh 4-0-34-1, R Vinay Kumar 4-0-33-1, MJ McClenaghan 4-0-26-0, JJ Bumrah 4-013-3, KH Pandya 2.1-0-152 (w-1), N Rana 1-0-3-0

of the twenty overs, thanks

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guyana-times.com

monDAY, may 16, 2016

Suspicious item discovered at Old Trafford was training device A

suspicious item discovered at Old Trafford on Sunday was a training device, police have confirmed.

The Premier League match between Manchester United and Bournemouth was called off after a suspect package was found shortly before kick-off and a controlled explosion carried out.

Police said the item had "accidentally" been left by a private company after a training exercise on Wednesday.

The match has been rearranged for Tuesday at 20:00 BST. United will be refunding all tickets and allowing ticket holders from both clubs in for free.

Manchester United season ticket holders will also be given a credit for the sum concerned.

It is estimated this will cost United around £3m.

Bournemouth expect to make an announcement on arrangements for their travelling fans on Monday.

A Greater Manchester Police (GMP) statement read: "Shortly before today's planned football fixture, staff from the Manchester United ground alerted police to a suspicious item that had been found in the toilets within the North West Quadrant, between the Sir Alex Ferguson stand and the Stretford End. "Police quickly attended and explosive experts were called in to assess the item, which has been described as an incredibly realistic-looking explosive device."

The Sir Alex Ferguson

Police sniffer dogs were used at Old Trafford as part of the security check

Stand and the Stretford End were evacuated and sniffer dogs brought in.

Kick-off was delayed initially and shortly afterwards the match was abandoned on police advice.

A bomb disposal team carried out the explosion at about 16:30 BST. Assistant chief constable John O'Hare said: "I am grateful to the Manchester United and Bournemouth supporters for their support and assistance today.

"Following today's controlled explosion, we have since found out that the item was a training device which had accidentally been left by a private company following a training exercise involving explosive search dogs.

"While this item did not turn out to be a viable explosive, on appearance this device was as real as could be, and the decision to evacuate the stadium was the right thing to do, until we could be

sure that people were not at risk."

Manchester United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said: "The club takes security very seriously and staff are regularly trained with the police and emergency services to identify and deal with these incidents.

"We will investigate the incident to inform future actions and decisions."

Just under two hours before the controlled explosion was carried out, an "operation red code" alert had been heard over the public address system, and the players who were warming up had left the field.

Fans were then advised that, because of "the discovery of a suspect package in the north-west quadrant of the ground, the match has been abandoned for today on police advice".

Supporters who were still in the ground were advised

to stay in their seats while the forecourt was cleared of fans who had been in the two stands that were evacuated.

United players were seen leaving the ground shortly after 16:30 BST. BBC commentator Conor McNamara said he saw Bournemouth players and staff boarding their team bus outside Old Trafford around an hour later.

The south coast club flew back to Bournemouth on Sunday night.

Manchester United had started Sunday with an outside chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League by finishing fourth in the Premier League.

However, Manchester City's draw against Swansea in their final game means United are effectively out of the running, with City three points clear of United and possessing a goal difference that is 18 better than that of their rivals.

1st title in 9 months for Serena Williams S

erena Williams beat Madison Keys in straight sets to win the Italian Open - her first WTA title in nine months.

The world number one beat her fellow American 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to triumph in Rome for the fourth time since 2002.

Williams, 34, last won a title in Cincinnati in August, and has since lost finals at the US Open, Australian Open and Indian Wells.

She will begin the defence of her French Open title when the tournament gets under way next Sunday.

"I have tried to defend there once, twice, three times before," Williams said of the Paris Grand Slam.

"It didn't quite work so well. But this year is different. I'm going to definitely go in there and I feel more calm and I don't feel stress to have to win.

"I feel like I just am happy to be out here."

Experience tells in all-

Williams' biggest error of the afternoon came when she almost dropped the trophy — but she just held on

American clash Williams showed the value of experience as she claimed her 70th career title in her 89th final - with Keys playing only her second.

Keys, 21, broke serve in the opening game and matched Williams for power throughout, but a loose service game allowed the top seed to level at 3-3.

Williams edged the tiebreak, sealing it with a heavy serve, and raced into a 3-0 lead in the second.

Two poor games followed, suggesting the 21time Grand Slam champion is still some way from her best, but she saw out the set and the match after one hour and 24 minutes.

"It feels great," Williams

said of finally winning her 70th career title.

"I have played, let's see, US Open, Australian, Miami, Indian Wells. So it's only four tournaments. So it's not like I was playing every week.

"So that's kind of how I look at it. But it feels great to win a title, especially on clay."

Rio should show us how far we are in sports

By Akeem Greene

T

he Rio summer Olympics that will be held in the neighbouring Brazil in August 2016 and three Guyanese have qualified for the event.

Sprinters Winston George, Brenessa Thompson and Triple Jumper Troy Doris are the trio that meet the qualifying mark to date.

With the exception of Akeem Greene George, the other Athletes are predominately overseas based who inevitably have to return home to compete at local meets, to be eligible to run under our country’s flag.

Though whatever performances these athletes produce we should commend them for their efforts, a more in depth analysis should be done of their “success”.

For example, George who ran a National record of 45.25 in the 400M at the World Championships in China last year, only placed 25th overall and just for facts, the current World record stands at 43.18, held by American Michael Johnson. It shows that we so close but yet so far off the mark at the same time.

I’m extremely intrigued to see how Doris performs in the triple jump, as to my knowledge it will be the first time a Guyanese will take part in that event.

In no way I’m trying to postulate that our country needs record breaking sprinters to say our system is working, albeit, fancifully to see a sportsman or woman achieve that feat would be momentous.

But the critical question should be, are we improving as nation in sports? As the saying goes,” the proof is in the pudding.” Something that could be drawn as a parallel is the development of youths in sports in neighbouring countries and how a little investment in the sector, sees a correlation of glorifying results that makes all stakeholders proud.

Though the highlights of the Olympics usually surrounds the sprinters producing some outstanding performance or a jumper taking an astronomically leap or swimmers copping numerous gold medals there are other avenues countries like ours can add to our lone Olympic medal from since 1980 in Russia where Boxer Michael Paris won a Bronze medal.

Areas such as football, though that one could be in the more distant future. Canoeing and archery can be sports we could explore but the essential thing would be whether funding could be given to support prospective athletes.

Just recently, Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Awards President of the GOA K. A. Juman Yassin informed that the GOA will fully fund all those athletes, who had qualified for the August 5-21 Olympic and at the same time, Minister with responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sports, Dr. Nicolette Henry, indicated that there will be no more neglect for the development of sports since it plays an important role in human capacity development.

Also present at the awards was President David Granger, who lobbied for a “fresh” approach to the development of sports. He asked the question, “So why do we do so poorly? What we need to do is take the model that we are using and take a fresh look at sports”.

In a nutshell, the President was advocating for the development of sport from the grassroots level which is what is undoubtedly needed.

That is why I believe that the performances of team Guyana at the RIO Olympics should allow the stakeholders to analyze what we need to nurture more and what areas we should smartly invest in.

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Guyanese batsmen, bowlers dominate opening round in ORSCA competition

F

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ormer Guyana Under-19 batsman Rovendra Mandolall struck an entertaining 130 to inspire Sunrisers to a comfortable 53-run win over Challengers on Saturday when actions got underway in the opening round of the 2016 Ontario Round-arm Softball Cricket Association (ORSCA) 20-over competition.

Sunrisers piled up a sufficient 203-8 from the allocation of 20-overs while Challengers responded with 150-7 off 20-overs.

The right-hander Mandolall hit 19 sixes during his stay at the crease while he got support from fellow Essequibian Jaimini Singh who made 36.

In Challengers’ innings, Harry Sukhram and Nando Jaglall scored 46 runs apiece while former West Indies and Guyana Under-19 opener Hemnarine Chattergoon chipped in with 36.

In the same West End Division, Rishie Shivrathan grabbed five wickets for

Rovendra Mandolall

20 runs from 3.3 overs to lift Pegasus to an emphatic 80-run win over United Warriors while Rishi Sukhoo also snared five wickets for 27 from 3.5 overs to help Berbice Boys beat 11-Man Army by 73 runs.

Other outstanding individual performances from the East End Division include, Azam Haniff scored 80 and took four for 19 from four overs to see Masters defeat Brampton Rangers by seven wickets.

Roy Sitaram got seven wickets for nine runs from

three overs including a hat-trick for Spartans who thrashed Jay Auto Body by a resounding 139-run win.

The competition is set to continue on Saturday with several more matches across the Greater Toronto Area.

Meanwhile, President of the Association, Mitch Bacchus expressed great satisfaction with the way things unfolded for the opening round and thanked all the teams for their continued participation.

A large number of players who would have represented Guyana at the youth and senior levels have turned out to represent their respective clubs again this year.

Apart from Mandolall and Chattergoon, some of the other players are: Azib Ali Hanif, Zaheer Haniff, Troy Gobin, Ejaz Mohamed, Sunil Dhaniram, Shiv Seeram, Devon Ramnauth, Fazil Gani, Damodar Daesrath, Shaun Deonandan, Riaz Kadir, Krishna Arjune among others.

BHS, Marian Academy and GTI among winners in the NSBF

T

he National School Basketball Festival; Georgetown & East Coast Regionals’ continued on May 13th & 14th at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Georgetown with some more enthralling games.

On Friday, May 13 Girls category, Queen’s College (QC) topped Charlestown Secondary 4-0 with Miranna Ogle and Rianna Khan scoring 2 points each and the only four points of the game.

Then, the Bishops’ High School (BHS) made quick work of Plaisance Secondary with a 7-1 defeat of the East Coast Demerara school team.

Ruth Sanmoogan dominated the game with 6 points and 3 steals for the winners.

Meanwhile, in the Under-14 Male segment, St Roses High thrashed St Stanislaus College 25-6.

Shamar Bristol led all scorers with 9 points and collected 3 steals while Jaheem Burton had an exceptional game on the boards grabbing 16 rebounds and scored 6 points for St Roses High.

Omario Gomeshdin topped scored for Saints with 6 points.

President’s College (PC) then defeated The Bishops’ High School 22-16. Jeremy Fraser scored 5 points while Akinyelle Derrell had a decent all-around game with 4 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals for PC. Timothy Richmond had 7 points and 4 steals while Duwone Younge added 4 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals for BHS. Saturday’s action saw President’s College defeating St. Stanislaus College 12-2 in the Girls Category with Demelza Nicholson leading all scorers with 10 points, 5 rebounds and grabbing 8 in-

Action from the St Roses (black uniform) and President’s College Under-19 Game

credible steals for President’s College. Cherub Auter scored Saints only 2 points.

Marian Academy dispatched St Roses High with a 19-7 victory. Jada Mohan led all scorers with 10 points and 5 steals while Georginna Vyphuis added 7 points for Marian Academy.

Aliyah Howard had 4 points and 2 rebounds for St. Roses.

In the under-16 male category, St Stanislaus College narrowly edged Queens College 16-15. Devon Nedd scored 6 points and Nathan Hackett had 4 points and grabbed 7 rebounds for Saints. Brian Peters had a double-double with 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for QC. The Bishops’ High School then came out victorious against North Georgetown 24-17.

Roydon Glasgow led the way for BHS scoring 11 points while Shemar Greaves scored 6 points.

Javroll Shepherd had 9 points and 4 steals for North Georgetown.

In the male under-19 games, St Stanislaus College defeated St. Joseph High 3937 in an exciting match-up.

Travis Belgrave’s exception-

al performance of 28 points and 11 rebounds helped steer his side to victory.

Lemuel Grant scored 9 points while Abevia Perry added 8 points and grabbed 5 rebounds for St. Joseph.

Georgetown Technical Institute (GTI) continued their 3 game winning streak with a 45-40 victory over Marian Academy.

Nathan Saul scored 17 points and Keon Marks added 8 points and 6 rebounds for GTI. Jonathan Mangra scored 20 points for Marian Academy but it wasn't enough to help his side to a victory.

Meanwhile, St. Roses High defeated President’s College 40-35 with Shamar Huntley scoring 15 points while Anfernee Jervis added 10 points for St Roses High.

Akeem Crandon had 10 points and 7 rebounds while Jaleel Duke scored 9 points for President’s College The Tournament is sponsored by Digicel, Edward B. Beharry and Company Ltd under the Champion Brand and Banks DIH LTD under the Powerade banner and will continue this week with more matches in all categories.

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GUYANA-TIMES.COM

monDAY, may 16, 2016

Inter-Agency Canada tame Golden MNRE domino finals Jaguars with 5-1 set for Friday crushing at Providence T

BY DARREN CARMICHAEL

C

anada proved too strong for the Guyana Golden Jaguars with a 5-1 mauling of the locals in the feature game of a double header at Providence. The event was part of the calendar of events to celebrate the nation’s golden jubilee of Independence.

Canada opened the game with a slow build-up play as they tried to work their way into the game familiarizing themselves with the Providence outfield. Canada enjoyed a good spell of possession early on as Guyana struggled to maintain possession.

Nerves were flying high early on in the match when Jahall Greaves had a great opportunity in the 15th minute to put the home side ahead but his shot was blocked by the defender.

Canada continued to work the ball around the field but lacked final execution on, as they only managed one shot on goal after The crowd was in the game throughout the opening minutes as the ohhs and awws propelled from the stands.

The Jaguars had another great opportunity after Eon Alleyne shot went flying over the crossbar from a Trayon Bobb’s cross after a brilliant run down the left flank.

Guyana started pressing high putting pressure on the Canadian side creating numerous opportunities but lacked that final execution.

Canada caught Guyana on the counter attack through Ben Fisk who was having an outstanding start on the left wing. He fired his shot at goal after beating two defenders off the dribble his shot was saved by the keeper.

The game started to settle down as both sides started to figure out each other.

Canada took the lead in the 23rd minute when Celeb Clarke volleyed home a left footed shot following a cross

Part of the action in the international friendly between the Guyana Golden Jaguars and the Canada Olympic Team.

Canada prevailed 5-1

by Louis Beland-Goyotte from the right wing.

Things got even worst for Guyana in the 29th minute when Guyana’s captain Colin Nelson accidentally kicked the ball into his own net in an attempt to stop a shot from Richmond Laryea.

Guyana looked shellshocked after conceding 2 goals in six minutes as they carelessly gave up possession while on the attack as they pursued their first goal of the evening.

However, Canada would hold on to their two-goal advantage and ended the first half leading 2-0.

Upon the resumption, Canada would once again find the back of the net when Raheem Edwards struck a left footed Messi-like finesse shot into the top corner to make it 3-0.

Treyon Bobb was Guyana’s lion-hearted player throughout the game as he tried to inject life into the Guyanese side.

Canada swarmed the Guyanese half with their continuous attacks towards goal.

However, Guyana would hold their defensive line and withstand Canada’s relent-

less attacks for the time being.

The Jaguars came roaring back when Hubert Pedro finished a shot from inside the box to make it 3-1 in the 68th minute.

Nevertheless, Canada would regain their 3 goal advantage in the 73rd minute after Ben Fisk’s brilliant run down the left wing beating two defenders before dragging the ball around the keeper and striking it into the empty net to give Canada a 4-1 lead with little over quarter of an hour to play.

Canada refused to sit back and see the game out as they once again pressed forward and caught Guyana on the break in the 87th minute when Jordan Hamilton rocket home a shot from inside the box to make it 5-1 with three minutes to play.

The Canadians would then close out the game and complete a resounding victory over Guyana.

In the first game of the day, Georgetown’s schools champion Chase Academy defeated Linden’s top secondary school Wismar Christianburg Secondary by a 2-1 margin.

Bolt not bothered after failing to break 10-second barrier

W

orld’s fastest man Usain Bolt claims he is not bothered after failing to break the 10 second barrier on season debut at the Cayman Invitational on Saturday.

Bolt clocked 10.05 to take the event ahead of Jason Rogers of St Kitts and Nevis (10.12) and teammate Kemar Bailey-Cole.

With compatriot Yohan Blake and American sprinter Justin Gatlin having already broken the 10 second

barrier the double world record holder was looking to do the same. He, however, admitted to being somewhat race rusty.

“It’s just more races.

My coach will determine what I need to work on, but right now it’s just more races” Bolt said following the event.

“It wasn’t the best, but as long as I come out injury free, that’s the key thing,” he added “The more races I run,

the better I will feel so I am just looking forward to running more races and see what happens.

“I am never worried. I’ve been in worse situations.

It’s just race rusty. I can tell. I could feel the difference from when you are flying from when you are not.”

Bolt will be in pursuit of history at this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio as he seeks to be the first man to claim three consecutive sprint doubles. (Sportsmax)

he Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) successfully hosted their inter-agency domino semi-finals last Friday.

Played in the compound of the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC), GGMC “B” and Guyana Lands & Survey Commission (GL&SC) qualified ahead of GGMC “C”. The two teams will now contest the finals against the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) who gained a bye to the finals.

The GGMC “C,” an all-female team entered the final sitting - ten games behind GL&SC and a further six games behind eventual winners GGMC “B.” However, the finals were only decided at the end of the penultimate game of the evening after some very exciting domino and a vociferous team support.

Shonette Elias of GGMC “B” was the best player of the evening after jointly acquiring the maximum eighteen games with GL&SC’s Reyburn Holder, however, wining due to her “sharing a double love”.

Thirteen teams entered the competition which began on April 13, three from

Part of the action in the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment Inter-Agency Domino competition last Friday

GGMC, two from MNRE, 2 from GFC, two from the National Parks Commission (NPC) and one each from the Guyana Gold Board (GGB), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), World

Wildlife Fund (WWF) and GLSC. Following the conclusion of the finals there will be presentation of prizes to the top teams and individuals with outstanding performances.

Sir Curtly disappointed, surprised following West Indies replacement

West Indies Head Coach, Phil Simmons and Sir Curtly Ambrose exchange ideas during a practice session at the Kensington Oval in April 2015 (File Photo)

F

ormer West Indies Fast Bowler Sir Curtly Ambrose has labelled as disappointing, his removal as bowling consultant for the senior men’s team ahead of next month’s one-day international triangular series against Australia and South Africa.

News broke late last week that the Antiguan has been replaced by former West Indies A Cricketer Roderick Estwick. Estwick is also a former bowling coach with the Barbados Pride.

“I only learnt about it from head coach Phil Simmons on Wednesday (last week), and when he told me I said to him that I am very disappointed, because I never expected it, and I never saw it coming because he never gave me

any indication he was going to let me go. So, it came as a bit of a shock basically, but I haven’t decided which direction I am going to take just yet. I’ll just pause and give it a little time to think about it and decide where I want to go after,” Sir Curtly said.

The former pacer, one of Antigua and Barbuda’s four Knighted cricketers, was bowling consultant with the regional outfit for the last three years, most recently during their triumphant World Twenty20 campaign in India.

Sir Curtly revealed at least one reason he was given for the surprise decision

“I spoke to Head Coach Phil Simmons, and he told me that he wanted someone who is more technical

to work with the fast bowlers. So, I said to him well, if you knew I was doing a poor job, then you should have told me. He said no, I did a fantastic job, because I brought a high level of discipline to the team, and I have motivated the guys quite a bit. I’ve gotten the respect from all the guys, and I did a fantastic job, but he wants somebody more technical, hence, he is going for Roderick Estwick,” he said.

Sir Curtly, who took 405 Test wickets at an average of 20.99 and topped the ICC Player Rankings for much of his career, said he was looking towards the upcoming tri-nation series. He however holds no grudge against Simmons or the WICB. “I had high hopes for the tri-nation series and the Test series against India, because I have planned most of my stuff around those series.

So, it was a bit of a shock, and it’s disappointing, but he’s the boss, and the head coach is the one who selects his crew, his coaching staff,” he said.

“I did wish him all the best and asked him to continue with the team and that we can get some positive results, because I am not going to hold him in malice or hold it against him…. Its’ just disappointing,” he added.

Estwick is due to join the West Indies camp on Thursday. (Antigua Observer)

guyana-times.com

monDAY, may 16, 2016

Jacques Kallis named chief mentor of Trinbago Knight Riders S hah Rukh Khan owned Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) has announced that legendary South African cricketer Jacques Kallis will serve as its Chief Mentor for the 2016 HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign.

Kallis, an accomplished all-rounder who scored 19,695 first-class runs and took 427 wickets overall in an illustrious career across all three formats, was a key part of the team's victorious campaign last year when the team was called the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel. Now he, along with head coach, Simon Helmot, will lead the charge as defending champions.

The franchise owned by Shah Rukh Khan announced the tie-up on Friday (May 13) with the 40-year old South African. Kallis played 13 games for the Trinbago Knight Riders in the 2015 edition and scored 304 runs as the side clinched their maiden CPL title.

"We are very glad to have the legend on-board in the TKR set-up as Chief Mentor

T

South African Jacques Kallis was a vital member in Trinbago Knight Riders’ march to their maiden CPL title last year

and I look forward to working with him closely this year", said Simon Helmot, Head Coach of TKR. Kallis has a long-standing association with the Knight Riders family. He played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from 2011 to 2014 and played a big role

in helping KKR win two IPL championships in 2012 and 2014.

He then became part of the coaching set-up of the team, before taking over the mantle of Head Coach of KKR this year.

The 2016 edition of the CPL starts on June 30.

Outstanding Hinds wins again O

rville Hinds rode to victory in the third and final stage and in the process defended his title at the Ministry of Education/National Sports Commission/Guyana Cycling Federation 34th annual Independence threestage cycle meet.

The inform Team Evolution cyclist stopped the clock at 2 hours 54 minutes and 41 seconds making light work of Team Alanis and junior rider Deoraj Garbaran (2H:54M:56S) after the two came in well ahead of the others.

Out of the fifty seven that contested the first

Everest Cricket Masters suffered mixed fortunes in Jamaica

Everest Cricket Club Masters Team on their recent tour of Jamaica where they played two matches

34th Annual MoE/NSC/GCF Independence 3-Stage Cycle Road Race

BY RENE STOBY

23

stage, thirty seven out of the forty one eligible cyclists took to the starting line in the mining town of Linden yesterday for the schedule 8 am start to the final and most demanding of the three stages. Experiencing the occasional showers along the highway, several attempts were made by cyclists to break loose of the peloton with none looking threatening and proving successful.

With the main peloton approaching the village of Coverden along the east bank of the Demerara River, Deoraj Garbaran made a decisive move away from the main pack with only Hinds being best able to respond.

The pair rode unchallenged

from there on with Hinds crossing the finish line in front of the National Sports Commission’s office along Homestretch Avenue in Georgetown, well ahead of his counterpart. Speaking to Guyana Times Sport Garbaran said that though it was a very tough ride it was one of his best overall.

Finishing the stage in third position was Marlon “Fishy” Williams of Team Evolution (2H: 56M: 41S) followed by his teammate Raul Leal.

Team Evolution’s overall dominance on local cycling was highlighted with them taking the top three and four of the top five overall positions.

Minister within the Ministry of Education Nicolette Henry, at centre, and National Cycling Coach Hassan Mohamed, right, pose with winners of the 34th annual Independence Cycle Meet

he Everest Cricket Club Masters team returned to Guyana after suffering mixed fortunes on their short tour to Jamaica. Everest went down in the first match to Kensington Cricket Club Masters but rebounded beautifully to beat Ultimate Invitational XI in a close low scoring match.

The first game was played at the Kensington Cricket Club Ground in Kingston and ended in favour of the home team who prevailed by just two runs.

Everest won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first in the 25 overs a-side contest in perfect conditions for cricket. Ashton Caregon top scored with 27 while Rolston Nelson scored a very crucial 26 that saw Kensington Cricket Club eventually making a challenging 144 for 8 from the full quota of 25 overs. Bowling for the Everest Masters - Ronald Jaisingh had 2 wickets for 17 runs and Sahadeo Hardiow 2 for 21 while there was one wicket each for Basil Persaud (1 for 14), Rohan Sarjoo (1 for 17, Hemraj garbaran (1 for 20 and Ravindranauth Seeram (1 for 21).

In reply, the Guyanese were given an excellent chance for the perfect run chase with Shaheed Mohamed playing a lone hand with 64. However, it was the lack of support at Hinds who also won the first stage and placed second in the second stage finished with an overall time of 7H:10M:07S after covering approximately 170 miles of Guyana’s road and highways. Speaking to this publication, Hinds said that it offers him a great feeling to be able to defend his crown and looks forward to the upcoming National Championships.

Rounding off the overall top five were Michael Anthony (Evolution) 7H: 12M: 46S, Marlon Williams (Evolution) 7H: 14: 02S, Shaquille Agard (Linden Bauxite Flyers) 7H: 14M: 10S and Raul Leal (Evolution) 7H: 14M: 40 placing second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Raphael Leung of team We Stand United (WSU) 7:21:47 won the juniors category followed by Andrew Hicks (Coco) 7:22:59 and

the other end that resulted in Everest Masters falling two runs short of the target.

Only Sahadeo hardiow and Basil Persaud with 16 runs each showed any resistance.

Marlon Gardner and Rolston Nelson took 2 wickets for 27 runs each while there was one for Mark English for 17 runs for the victorious Kensington CC. The Guyanese then journeyed to Discovery Bay where they met the Ultimate Sports Club Invitation XI at the Ultimate Cricket Club Ground. This time Everest opted to bat first and were set for a big total when the top order was scoring heavily and quickly but a batting collapse saw the Camp Road Georgetown club posting what looked an inadequate score of 136 for 7 from 25 overs. Basil Persaud made 55, Hemraj Garbaran 23 and Shaheed Mohamed 18 with no other Everest Master passing 15 runs. The bowling of Ultimate Sports Club was led by Myron Ohin who pegged back the Guyanese batting with four wickets for 17 runs from his five overs. Ohin got support from Dexter Barnaby with one for 16 and Solomon Darby one for 26.

The run chase began with Ultimate Sports Club racing towards victory with Odelmo Peters and Rohan Freiter taking the attack to the bowlers. However, with the introduction of Rajesh

Singh into the bowling attack the match swung dramatically. The right arm offspinner bowled unchanged for his five overs at a very economical rate as well.

Singh ended with figures of 5-0-12-2 that was instrumental in restricting the home team to 128 for 8 from 25 overs to fall short of the target by eight runs.

Shaheed Mohamed had a productive tour and ended with two wickets for 21 runs while there was one wicket each for Ravindranauth Seeram (1 for 18) and Shahdeo Hardiow (1 for 24).

Peters top scored with 31 with Freiter making 20 and Michael Donagel 16 for the Jamaicans. Former First Class batsmen, Delroy Morgan for Jamaica, Ravindranauth Seeram and Rohan Sarjoo for Guyana were part of the series which was played at a very high standard.

Everest Cricket Club Masters team’s trip to Jamaica was made possible through the generosity of IMG, Dinar Trading, Trophy Stall, Professional Printing Services, Carib Food Distributors, Fly Jamaica, Banks Premium Beer, Star party Rental, Shalindra Etwaru, Robin Bharat, Anand Sanasie and staff of the Guyana Cricket Board.

Dave Cameron, Wavell Hinds and Paul Campbell from Jamaica also assisted in the successful tour.

Junior cyclist Deoraj Garbaran of Team Alanis rode a brave race

Christopher Cornelius (Evolution) 7:25:05.

The veterans category was won by Junior Niles (Coco) 7:16:34, with Stephen

Fernandes (Evolution) 7:21:57 and Raymond Newton (Roraima Bikers) 7:23:14 place second and third respectively.

mondAY, May 16, 2016

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

Canada tame Golden Jaguars with 5-1 crushing at Providence

Pg 22 Canada Olympics Team defeated the Guyana Golden Jaguars 5-1 at Providence Sunday evening in their friendly international to celebrate Guyana’s Golden Jubilee of Independence

“King of Dragz” Outstanding thrills hundreds of Hinds wins again fans at South Dakota

34th Annual MoE/NSC/GCF Independence 3-Stage Cycle Road Race

Pg 23

Champion Orville Hinds finishing unchallenged at Homestretch Avenue to claim the third stage and overall title

The drag racing showdown between Guyana and Suriname at the South Dakota thrilled the hundreds of spectators that turned up to see the horsepower action of the various cars and motor bikes that participated in the event. Guyana’s “Speed Queen” Sharima Khan made some dashing wins in her Toyota NZE but was defeated in one of the final elimination races in that category. Up to press time, full details of the winners have not been tallied. Check tomorrow’s edition for a full report. (Marceano Narine photo)

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