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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 3022

Friday, October 28, 2016

PRICE

$5B constitutional agencies’ budget cuts

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Jagdeo flays Jordan over “fiscal space” argument

– as House approves cuts

Cornelia Ida family attacked by bandits Page 2

$80 vat included

2 injured inP14 Sophia driveby shooting

Page 3

Police find 235 bullets in abandoned car at Kitty

Page 14

SWF to prevent “oil curse”— Canadian High Commissioner

P9

GRA head warns staff against P7 bribery, corruption

Page 16

Mahdia man charged for murder 17 P8 years after Vickram Bharrat new PPP/C MP P11 In high spirits, scores of people gathered on Main Street, Georgetown to witness the launch of Mashramani 2017, under the theme “Celebrate with Liberty, Dignity and Greater Unity” on Thursday evening. Inset: Junior Education Minister with responsibility for Culture, Nicolette Henry presents the prize for the winning theme

Guyana gets $1.6B to tackle maternal, infant mortality Page 10

– to benefit over 140,000 women, 9000 newborns annually

DTL should respect P11 country’s laws – GAWU Eccles man struck down by speeding minibus P9

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friDAY, october 28, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Cornelia Ida family Prison officer granted bail on ganja in jail charge attacked by bandits

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woman, 45, and her two children are now traumatised after armed bandits stormed their West Coast Demerara home last night, in an attempt to rob them.

In tears, Gail Atkinson of Cornelia Ida, WCD, told Guyana Times that at approximately 19:00h, she arrived home with her 12-year-old son and 5-yearold daughter and after she drove into the yard, her children went into the house, while she set about locking the gate.

However, the distraught woman stated that two men approached the gate and forced their way inside before she could mentally process what was happening.

“I see they coming in and I said, yo, yo, wa wrong with y’all?”

The woman said that they then began to curse her, while demanding that she be quiet. Atkinson explained that she refused to obey them since by then her mind had shifted to her two children in the house.

In an effort to prevent the men from entering the house (one of which was armed), a scuffle ensued with her and the unarmed bandit.

The armed thug used this opportunity to quickly run into the house where he met the woman’s children.

According to Atkinson’s young son, his sister ran into

A bloodied Gail Atkinson after being gun-butted by armed bandits

the bathroom and locked the door, as he tried to divert the gunman’s attention by hitting him with his school bag.

Unfortunately, this resulted in the bandit using his gun to “gun-butt” the child to his head.

Guyana Times understands that the man then dragged the young boy upstairs by his shirt, and began to shout and demand that he disclose where “the gold and money were.”

When the boy stated that he was unaware of where the valuables were, the gunman ransacked the home, and then made his way back into the yard where Atkinson and his accomplice were still fighting.

Atkinson recalled that he braced her to the fence and said “where is the *#$% gold and money? Tell me before I shoot yuh!”

After Atkinson contended that she had no gold or money, the man “gun butted” her and then fired four shots into the sky, before fleeing with his accomplice on a bicycle.

Atkinson is a mother of three, and her husband works in the interior. The woman expressed that she felt like the bandits knew her, or had been monitoring the home for some time, since they knew exactly what time she would be home and what to ask for.

n officer who is attached to the New Amsterdam Prison has been granted bail for allegedly having marijuana in the prison.

Magistrate Alex Moore initially refused bail and remanded to Prison Officer to the said prison.

Joananne Erskine King, 38, of Fort Ordinance, East Canje, Berbice, is accused of having 298 grams of marijuana in the New Amsterdam prison for the purpose of trafficking on Sunday, October 23.

Attorney Tonya Clements, in a bail application, told the court that Erskine dealt with prisoners at the institution and as such placing her there could create problems.

However, Magistrate Moore ruled that other officers have been sent to prison before. He explained that the prison has special arrangements for such persons and ruled that it was not a special circumstance where bail should be granted.

Prosecutor Police Inspector Godfrey Playter when asked when the Police will be ready to commence the trial, said the officer who is responsible for testing the substance which King allegedly had, is currently on leave and will not be back to work until December. Seizing the opportunity, Clements argued that the court should grant bail on the grounds that the Police are not ready to proceed with the trial.

Magistrate Moore ruled

Joananne Erskine King, the prison officer accused of having 298 grams of marijuana in the New Amsterdam Prison

that the grounds on which the defence argued were sufficient to grant bail and set bail at $200,000. When asked to reduce it, the Magistrate said $199,000. The defence then suggested $150,000 which the court accepted.

King will return to court on December 15, for a Police progress report.

As she left the court, the mother of two was shielded with an umbrella from some sections of the media and taken to a car. Meanwhile, it was reported that on Sunday, the officer was taken into custody after she was allegedly found with a quantity of cannabis within the walls of the New Amsterdam Prison.

She had reportedly asked an inmate of the prison to take a bag into the prison and give it to another inmate.

When the prisoner inquired, he was told that it was med-

ication for another inmate.

However, when the prisoner got to a second gate, he was asked to give the bag to have it checked.

It was reported that King who was in close proximity, moved up and attempted to take the bag. There was a tussle for possession of the bag causing a senior officer to investigate.

The office requested possession of the bag and upon checking its contents, a quantity of suspected marijuana was discovered.

Meanwhile, on August 28 last, the same female officer was fingered in another drug bust at that prison.

On that occasion, a convicted inmate was found with seven grams of marijuana and had implicated King.

The illegal drug was found when a convicted inmate, Ayube Rangasammy, was seen acing in a suspicious manner. A search conducted on a bag he was carrying revealed what appeared to be marijuana. The inmate told investigators that King took the drug into the prison and placed it in a bucket by a sink for him to uplift.

Rangasammy subsequently pleaded guilty to trafficking in narcotics within the prison and was sentenced while the Director of Public Prosecutions had advised that no charges be brought against King since the Police had failed to produce any concrete evidence that she had knowledge of the bag and its consents.

news

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friDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, October 28 – 14:30h-16:00h and Saturday, October 29 – 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, October 28 – 15:15h-16:45h and Saturday, October 29 – 15:45h-17:15h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Weather: Light to heavy rain showers with sunny intervals can be expected throughout the day, with sunny weather returning in the later afternoon. Clear skies can be expected in the evening with temperatures ranging between 25 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly to Easterly ranging from 0.89 metre to 3.57 metres.

High Tide: 02:52h and 15:09h reaching maximum heights of 2.47 metres and 2.55 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 08:43h and 21:04h reaching minimum heights of 0.72 metre and 0.64 metre respectively.

wednesday, October 26, 2016

LOTTERY NUMBERS O

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FREE TICKET

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Daily Millions

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DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

$5B constitutional agencies’ budget cuts

Jagdeo flays Jordan over “fiscal space” argument – as House approves cuts

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move by the government, described as a direct threat to democracy in Guyana, saw the A partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government slashing the budget for a number of critical constitutional agencies by a whopping $5 billion on Thursday evening.

During consideration of the 2017 Estimates of Expenditure for 16 Constitutional Agencies, tempers flared in the National Assembly as the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) argued profusely against a decision to reduce the agencies’ allocations, which could impact their effective functioning.

The 16 agencies requested over $11 billion for 2016, however those requests were watered down to $6 billion by the government, with Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan leading the charge.

The Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) suffered the ‘deepest’ cut with its 2017 budgetary request slashed from $5.8 billion to $2 billion.

This decision came in for heavy criticism from the PPP/C benches; however House Speaker, Dr Barton Scotland blocked most of the questions posed by the Opposition which sought to enquire whether the allocation is sufficient, bearing in mind the electoral commission is expected to embark on fresh house-to-house registration next year.

Scotland said the rules prohibited the PPP/C parliamentarians from scrutinising the operational aspects and line-items of the constitutional bodies.

The government used its 33-member majority in the house to vote for the Gecom allocation.

Public Procurement Commission As it relates to the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) Jordan unilaterally decided to allocate $76.2M to the body for fiscal year 2017,

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

arguing that the Commission is not yet operational, thus it will benefit from supplementary financing if necessary during 2017.

“Don't beat us up on it...it is a provisional sum, “Jordan said.

His revelation however prompted Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and PPP/C Member of Parliament, Irfaan Ali, to questionwho the Finance Minister consulted before arriving at the provision.

But before any further scrutiny by the Opposition, Dr Scotland called a vote. The opposition abstained.

President David Granger is yet to swear-in the five-member commission as recommended by the Aliled PAC The members of the PPC are Emily Dodson, Carol Corbin, Sukrishnalall Pasha, Ivor B English and Dr Nanda K Gopaul.

The names were unanimously approved by Parliament. The Government also reduced the budgetary requests for the Ethic Relations Commission (ERC) from $141.2 million and received $84.9 million, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) from $15.02 million to $10.02million.

Indigenous Peoples’ Commission’s (IPC) request was reduced from $33.1 million to $24.4 million, while the Rights of the Child Commission (ROC) requested

$97million, but only received $41.5 million.

The Women and Gender Equality Commission requested $62.9million but received $42 million, while the Human Rights Commission received $34.1 million of the $74.9 million requested.

The Minister of Finance also slashed the budgetary request of the Office of the Ombudsman, which is without a head from $50.3 million to $48.3 million and the Public Service Appellate Tribunal, which has not been established yet received $12.4 million, but had requested$13.9 million.

However, the cut that raised much concern was that of the Auditor General Office, which had proposed a $771.2 million budget but the amount was slashed to 754.9 million.

This decision came on the heels of AG Deodat Sharma being critical of the Finance Ministry for misusing the Consolidated Fund in a recent audit report.

Additionally, Government used its one-seat majority to reduce the budget of the Parliament Office from $1.7 billion to $1.5 billion.

“Fiscal Space” The opposition questioned where the sums approved by Jordan were adequate for the effective functioning of the constitutional bodies.

However, every time

these questions were put to the Finance Minister, he argued that the allocations were made "in context of existing fiscal space and the consideration of the Agency's request within national development priorities."

This prompted Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, to challenge the Finance Minister to explain his concept of fiscal space.

"It (his explanation) connotes an assumption on level of expenditure and revenues, to get a fiscal surplus or deficit...and it fits into a notion, capricious or rational, of what is sustainable over time...I would like to know, what assumptions were made on revenue, on expenditure...what is the sustainable framework?"

Jagdeo asked, as he called on Jordan to proffer an explanation.

Jordan in an attempt to dodge Jagdeo’s question stated that "Mr Chairman, I don't know if you are permitting us to go down this road... this is not the Minister of Finance's fiscal space. This is the Executive fiscal space... the Minister of Finance is one member of the Executive."

But, adamant Jagdeo said while he was not questioning the notion that the budget was "the Executive's budget' he was still trying to get what the minister meant, since he continuously argued that “fiscal space” was the determining factor in him exercising the cuts. “All I am asking for is how he determined what the fiscal space available is…He mentioned the concept of fiscal space and I am asking him to tell the country how he came up with the notion of fiscal space,” Jagdeo stated.

Minister Jordan declined to answer. The 2017 Budgets of 16 Constitutional agencies were submitted to the National Assembly and copied to the Ministry of Finance, in keeping with the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2015 passed by the APNU/AFC administration.

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guyana-times.com

friday, october 28, 2016

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

World’s largest marine protected area declared in Antarctica

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

Editorial

Social Responsibility

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very business seeks to maximise its profit, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) would seem to contradict this logic by taking away some of the company's resources.

At its heart, Corporate Social Responsibility is about an organisation taking responsibility for the impacts of its decisions and activities on all aspects of society, the community and the environment. Corporate Social Responsibility is more than just donating money; it’s about contributing to the health and welfare of society, operating transparently and ethically.

More importantly, this way of operating should be embedded in the business, rather than an afterthought.

What many may not know is that Corporate Social Responsibility also helps to build a good corporate reputation.

In other words, companies agree to do more for society than simply create jobs and pay wages and taxes with the expectation of some reward, such as a good reputation or a competitive advantage in the local market.

Corporate philanthropy can serve to promote solidarity in a society where different groups agree on what is ethical and beneficial, according to the researchers. In societies built on this consensus model, CSR can smooth out the effects of economic inequality, and corporations voluntarily support public benefit projects to achieve this goal.

It can be understood that CSR helps in building a reputation as a responsible business and as a good citizen.

Keeping social responsibility front of mind encourages businesses to act ethically and to consider the social and environmental impacts of their business. In doing so, organisations can avoid or mitigate detrimental impacts of their business in the community. In some cases, organisations will find ways to make changes in their services or value chain that actually delivers benefits for the community, where they once didn’t.

In addition, CSR supports public value outcomes; put simply, public value is about the value that an organisation contributes to society. A sound, robust corporate social responsibility framework and organisational mindset can genuinely help organisations deliver public value outcomes by focussing on how their services can make a difference in the community.

This might happen indirectly, where an organisation’s services enable others to contribute to the community, or directly through the organisation’s own activities, such as volunteerism and philanthropy.

Quite recently, a local company, in seeking to fulfil its CSR donated a quantity of cash to the victims of a fire; a family of five was left homeless after the tragedy. This is commendable.

However, this was only one family in need of such assistance.

Another benefit of a strong corporate social responsibility framework is essential to building and maintaining trust between the company and clients. It can strengthen ties, build alliances and foster strong working relationships with both existing and new clients. One way this can be achieved is by offering pro-bono or similar services where a company can partner with not-for-profit organisations to support their public value outcomes, where funds or resources may be limited.

In turn, this helps deliver public value outcomes that may not have been delivered otherwise. Studies have shown that a robust corporate social responsibility framework can also help a company become more attractive to potential future employees who are looking for workplaces with socially responsible practices, community mindedness and sound ethics.

The era of the social enterprises is upon us. More so than ever before, the most successful, respected, and desirable businesses exist to do much more than make money; they exist to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

Study after study has shown that socially responsible businesses (aka social enterprises) not only provide sustainable business models, but also have improved marketing, employee recruitment, employee satisfaction, legal treatment, customer loyalty, brand perception, and richer partnerships.

The questions that many local businesses need to consider are: Can corporate social responsibility help your organisation?

Do you see the benefits of CSR?

Environmentalists have welcomed the move to protect what’s said to be the Earth’s most pristine marine ecosystem. Some 1.57 million sq km (600,000 sq miles) of the Southern Ocean (the Ross Sea) in Antarctica will gain protection from fishing for 35 years (BBC News)

Road rage and taking responsibility

Dear Editor, While travelling home on Tuesday, I witnessed an accident between a bus and a car.

Following the accident, the driver of the bus exited his vehicle and abused the driver of the car, a handicapped man. Looking to ensure that the handicapped man was not taken advantage of, I exited my own vehicle and placed myself between the bus driver and the handicapped man.

The events which took place during the incident stated above have left me fearful for my safety, as well as that of the driver of the car. It is against this backdrop that I ask that you provide me space in your newspaper to make the public aware of what transpired.

What follows is an almost identical rendering of the statement which I made to Police concerning the occurrence.

“I, Paul Stuart Fraser, of 444 Republic Park, Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara (EBD), hereby give this statement.

On the afternoon of October 25, 2016, at about 4:30 pm, I was driving on the East Bank road, heading south on the western carriageway of the road in the lane designated by Police to southbound traffic during the daily rush hour.

As I was in front of the Harbour Bridge Mall, a minibus, licence plate # BNN 3629, which was in the lane to my right, and was northbound, bumped into the back of a car which was in front of him. There was no obvious damage to either vehicle, and I noticed a child, aged two or three, in the car.

The traffic in my lane was moving very slowly, and I chose to stop out of concern for the child in the car. As I remained in my vehicle, I observed the driver of the minibus, licence plate # BNN 3629, exit his vehicle, and begin to verbally abuse the driver of the car in front of him, which he had just bumped into. I then saw him pull back his right hand, and punch the driver of the car, through the open window of the car, in his face. The driver of the car was still sitting in his car when he was hit, and the child, who was sitting in the front seat of the car, was now crying.

At this point, I exited my vehicle, and stood between the obviously irate minibus driver and the assaulted driver of the car.

The irate minibus driver continued to try to get to the driver of the car which he had bumped into, and eventually began threatening both myself and the driver of the car he had bumped into. He told me that I ‘must stay out of this’, and asked if I knew who he was. He also told me that he works at the Ministry of the Presidency. He further said that he could do as he likes, and would ‘deal with me’’ A large crowd of people had gathered by this time, and the assaulted driver finally came out of the car. Seeing the driver of the car exit his vehicle, the minibus driver, again, advanced toward him.

Upon the driver exiting the vehicle, I immediately noticed that the driver was handicapped – missing his entire left arm. I again stood between the irate bus driver, and the handicapped driver of the car. The bus driver again,

to me, threatened harm if I did not get out of his way.

I was afraid, but was determined not to allow the irate bus driver to further assault the handicapped man.

I stated my name, explained that my office was at the Harbour Bridge Mall, and that I was not afraid of him.

Someone eventually came and collected the frightened child from the car, and took her/him to safety. Looking for assistance in disarming the situation, I beckoned to the Police Officers who were directing traffic at the Harbour Bridge for help. I then noticed that the only passenger of the minibus appeared to be a uniformed officer of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF). I immediately begged him for help.

He continued, however, to sit in the bus, and never made any attempt to call off, or subdue the irate driver. His refusal to help the disabled man seemed to embolden the irate driver, who again advanced toward the handicapped driver. Again, I was forced to stand between them in an effort to protect him. At this time, Police Officers had arrived, and I finally began to feel safe.

The GDF Officer eventually emerged from the minibus, and proceeded to defend the actions of the irate driver to the Police, saying that the car had hit the bus. The GDF Officer then claimed that he sat in the vehicle, and did not render any assistance because he could not open his door. If this is the case, it is interesting to wonder how he was able to exit the bus after the Police arrived. The irate driver of the minibus, now supported by the GDF Officer, contin-

ued to abuse the handicapped driver.

At this point, I undertook to make a full statement of this incident to the Police, and any other relevant official. This was in an effort to ensure that the handicapped driver of the car was not further taken advantage of.

The Police took the two parties to the Providence Police Station, and I followed to ensure that the driver of the car was okay. I then introduced myself to the handicapped driver, and found out that his name was Mr Roger Gautier.

I have never witnessed road rage before today. This was road rage. It was shocking. It was equally shocking to see a uniformed GDF officer allowing his driver to assault and abuse a person, a handicapped person at that. Our men and women in uniform have a special obligation to do the right thing, and set a good example. This officer did not, and in so failing to do, in my mind, hurt the credibility of the GDF, and our President, himself a retired Brigadier General.

It is my hope that with this statement, given by myself as a true testament of what transpired, the driver of the car, who is a handicapped person, gets justice, and the irate driver is held accountable for assault. I also believe that the uniformed GDF Officer, who intentionally omitted to intervene, and by so doing condoned the actions described above, is equally guilty of assault, and should also be penalised in a fitting manner.”

Yours sincerely, Paul Fraser

Training teachers for managerial responsibilities Dear Editor, Denise Belgrave, Chairperson of the Education Committee of Region 10 is reported (Guyana Times 22/10/16) to have said that: “Training, guidance essential for teachers performing management duties”.

Besides my continuing pro-

fessional interest in both teaching and management development, this interesting report aroused some special nostalgia in me going way back to the early 1960s.

Since that time the late Neil Cadogan of New Amsterdam who was the Education Officer overseeing

the schools in East Berbice recognised the need for the kind of management training of which Belgrave spoke.

He accordingly sought help from the late Harold Davis who was then the Bookers Sugar Estates’ Director of Personnel Management (now Human Resource

Management) and famous for his passionate dedication and sterling contribution to Management Development (in keeping with this noble passion, Davis also founded the Guyana Institute of Management which unfortunately became defunct). continues on page 5

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friday, october 28, 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

Diwali – A time to Suggestions for the Public reflect and inspire Security Minister Dear Editor, Diwali is a time to reflect and inspire, a time to forget the past and live in the present; a time to embrace, a time to love and hate none.

Diwali, the festival of lights, celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance.

Lamps are lit on this day not just to decorate homes but also to communicate a profound truth about life – when the darkness within is dispelled through the light of wisdom; the good in us wins over the evil.

Diwali, in essence, is celebrated to kindle the light of wisdom in every heart, the light of life in every home, and bring a smile on every face. Diwali is the shortened form of Deepavali, which literally means rows of lamps. Life has many facets and stages to it. It is important that we throw light on all of them, for if one aspect of our life is in darkness, we cannot express life in its totality. The rows of lamps lit on Diwali remind us that every aspect of life needs our attention.

The Hindu texts, describe for us three aspects of Diwali for us to understand:

Lighting good qualities Every lamp that we light is symbolic of a good quality. There are good qualities in every human being.

Some have forbearance, some have love, strength, generosity; others have the ability to unite people. When all these quali-

ties are lit, awakened, that is Diwali. Don’t be satisfied with lighting one lamp; light a thousand! If you have the value of service in you, don’t be satisfied only with that. Light the lamp of wisdom in yourself and acquire knowledge

Being in the present Diwali means to be in the present – dropping the regrets of the past, the worries of the future, and living in the moment. The sweets and exchange of gifts symbolise forgetting the bickering and negativities of the past and renewal of friendship for the times to come.

A true celebration means dissolving all differences. Happiness and wisdom have to spread in society and that can happen when all come together and celebrate. Even if one member of the family is filled in darkness, you cannot be happy. You need to kindle wisdom in every member of your family. Extend it to every member of society, every person on the planet.

Spirit of service Any celebration is incomplete without the spirit of service. Whatever we have received from the Divine, we should share it with others, for it is in giving that we receive. That is true celebration.

Diwali is a time when you throw light on the wisdom you have gained and welcome a new beginning.

When true wisdom dawns, it gives rise to celebration.

Celebration is the nature of the spirit and every ex-

cuse to celebrate is good.

For the one who is not in knowledge, Diwali comes only once a year, but for the wise, Diwali is every moment and every day.

This Diwali, celebrate with knowledge and take a sankalpa (vow) to serve humanity. Light the lamp of love in your heart; the lamp of abundance in your home; the lamp of compassion to serve others; the lamp of knowledge to dispel the darkness of ignorance and the lamp of gratitude for the abundance that the Divine has bestowed on us.

Diwali is a time to reflect on and evaluate our thoughts, words, and actions over the past year. It is a time to acknowledge and better understand our negative behaviours, and bad habits so that we may begin the process of transforming ourselves.

It is a time to discover how we can be more loving, kind, respectful, and skillful towards ourselves and others. And since all wealth, be it material or spiritual, should be shared with others who are less fortunate, Diwali is also a time to reflect on the various ways we can assist others and shine our light out into the world.

I wish to extend Diwali greetings to all Guyana, especially to my Hindu brothers and sisters. I pray the universal mother Mata Latchmie blesses you with the light of wisdom.

HAPPY DIWALI. Sincerely, Pandit Surendra Tiwari

Training teachers for...

In response to Cadogan’s intuitive needed analysis, Davis suggested a series of Saturday seminars on Supervision and Management for the Head Teachers and graciously advised Cadogan that I was capable to conduct the suggested seminars. At the time I was the ‘Personnel Manager’ of the Rose Hall Sugar Estate in Berbice.

Accordingly, Cadogan

and I embarked on the Saturday seminars which were well attended and I believe much appreciated. I thought of recounting the foregoing as our current education administrators might draw some parallels from same and possibly consider taking similar costand time-saving initiatives.

Another cost-effective and perhaps more appropriate approach could be

Dear Editor, My name is Jamall Adams, I’m a 29-year-old resident of East Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, who is passionate about the overall development of my beloved country, Guyana.

This passion that exists within my heart and soul that I speak about, has basically been the driving force behind everything that I’ve accomplished academically, professionally and personally, while living in the United States of America for eight years.

This passion is also the same passion that has always kept me involved with the happenings in Guyana, even while being in the US, both on a socio-economical aspect and as we Guyanese might say “How we country doing.”

I can honestly say that, when you were first selected for the position of the Public Security Minister, I wasn’t very supportive of you and some of the decisions, which you made in order to fight crime here in Guyana.

This might have been because of my personal political affiliation or maybe the fact of me seeing you as a flip-flopper, based on your previous political moves. Which was very ignorant and naive of me at the same time, because just as it’s my civil right to support whichever political party I choose to, you also have that same right and can exercise it, however you determine.

My unwillingness to support you was very selfish, since I should’ve looked past my political affiliation and focused on the passion of which I have when it comes to the development of Guyana. A passion that I’m certain exists within your heart and mind also, since you’ve dedicated almost half your life as a public servant of Guyana. I applaud you and your life long contribution to Guyana as a public servant, Khemraj Ramjattan, we’re all grateful.

Now 17 months after being selected as the Public Security Minister of Guyana

from page 4

the TOT model (Training of Trainers) whereby all Headteachers are specially trained and required to orient, teach and induct regular teachers who have the potential for managerial

roles so that a sufficient cadre of professional teachers are available for appointment to supervisory/managerial positions.

Nowrang Persaud

and putting forth different strategies in order to keep our country safe, I can personally say that more needs to be done, in order for your strategies to be more effective.

You see, Security Minister, I’m not here to chastise you or to taint your efforts, when it comes to keeping us safe in Guyana. I’m only here to help and to give you my undivided support, whether its advisory support or practical support, since the passion I have for the overall development of Guyana, doesn’t have a political preference or any political affiliation.

Minister, I’ve seen several implementations that were made on your behalf, in order to fight criminal activities in Guyana and have noticed that 95% or even more of those strategies of yours, had to do with policing. Don’t get me wrong, policing can be a useful tactic, when it comes to fighting crime, but in a Third World country that’s feeding off of the current technological era, more needs to be done, other than policing.

For example, since Guyana has the largest ghetto in the entire Caribbean and most of the daily criminal activities stem from these communities, I would firstly suggest that we create monitored hotspots in and around these communities, which will ensure police surveillance 24/7.

Secondly, I would suggest that we create a sustainable plan that will ensure ongoing interaction between the police

and people from these communities, especially youths.

Thirdly, I would suggest that more recreational facilities be built and be functional, in order to decrease loitering and idle time.

Fourthly, I would suggest that we promote the “If you see something, say something” campaign more and decently reward people for whatever they may prevent or help the police to solve.

Fifthly, I would suggest that we focus more on Gun Control as a whole. We need more gun amnesty whereby people will be rewarded for whatever role they may play in turning in guns and ammunitions and more sensible gun laws need to be establishd.

Minister, those are only a small percentage of the ideas I have in my head, which I think can help us to deal with our crime situation in Guyana. I strongly believe in diplomacy when it comes to having the same goals, especially in the case of if one fails, we all fail.

What’s best for Guyana is bigger than both you and me and every other citizen of this beautiful nation, but the only way we all will inherit what’s best for the country, is if we work together as One People and One Nation who share the same Destiny.

We are all Guyanese at the end of the day and public safety is all of our business.

Sincerely, JL Adams

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friday, october 28, 2016

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guyana-times.com

Foundation Step 8: Be kind to yourself

your temper once or twenty times, acknowledge to yourself that you’ve made mistakes, and commit to doing better in the future.

Acknowledge that you aren’t perfect, that you may have future tantrums, but that you are human and fallible. Forgive

of love and concern for our children, as well as the desire to get it all right all the time. But there’s no such thing as a perfect parent who does it all right, all the time. Most of us are lucky if we can get through the day being a “good enough” parent. Whether you lose

yourself for past indiscretions and move forward with the goal that you will start each day aiming to try your best, forgiving yourself if you weren’t great, and praising yourself when you find you are parenting at your best. (Excerpt from empow-

Lastly, practise self-care by being kind and forgiving towards yourself. Parents are harder on themselves than any other group of individuals I know of. This is born out of intense feelings

Continued

By Dr Joan Simeo Munson

Step 4: Communicate calmly

Healthy communication relies on both you and your child being calm, so do not approach them if they are still raging at you or you are still too angry to talk. For both young children as well as adolescents, keep your comments brief and to the point.

“I really don’t appreciate it when I come home from work and you haven’t done any of your chores. Please do them now.”

“I don’t like it when you take your brother’s toys and make him cry. The consequence for that is that your train now is in timeout for 20 minutes, while you practise better behaviour.”

“You know the rule in our house is completing homework before television. No more TV for the night.”

When you are finished, move on to something else.

Don’t dwell on what just happened.

Step 5: Choose your battles

Too often, our own tantrums are born out of parents feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, so it’s important to not put yourself in a position of feeling chronically overwhelmed by getting upset over every little annoy-

ing thing your child does. One way to combat this is to really think hard about what is important to try to enforce and what you can just let go of in regards to your child. For younger children, there are a lot of daily behaviours that can be frustrating: at this age children are messy, they cry easily, they have meltdowns, and they can be grouchy. Middle school and high school age kids are messy, can be moody, irresponsible and unfocused.

Pinpoint what your family values are and decide what to tackle. Is it important that your child completes chores, has a semi-clean room, and is respectful? If so, then make it c l e a r

what your expectations are and let the rest (the occasional mess, the roll of the eyes, the moody/grouchy behaviour) roll off your back.

Step 6: Apologise when you are in the wrong

One of the greatest gifts you can give your child is knowing when to admit you’ve done something wrong and apologising. Some parents strug-

gle with this, thinking that if they do this, they are giving up their power or showing weakness. But ask yourself what it is you want to teach your child about grown-up relationships. Surely we want our children to know when they’ve wronged someone and teach them the importance of an apology.

There’s nothing more powerful than a parent admitting their faults and offering a sincere apology. Modelling this type of humility shows a child that we are all human and that even parents make mistakes.

Step 7: Find support

Pick trusted friends or family members who will support you through your parenting years. Find like-minded parents who you feel safe confiding in when you’ve exploded and feel ashamed or guilty. Make sure you nurture these relationships so you have a sounding board (and can return the favour) when you are at your wits’ end.

Important: Do not divulge your worst parenting moments to other parents or family members who are judgmental, or who express shock or dismay at your momentary lapse in parenting judgment. These people will only make you feel worse about yourself and will suck the energy out of you.

By Signe Whitson

I

n the last several years of working as a school counsellor and speaking with professionals, parents, and students on the topic of bullying prevention, one of the observations that stand out to me the most is that parents, in general, are very eager to talk about bullying while their children, on the other hand, seem to

want to do anything but talk to their parents about t h i s topic. The more parents pry, the more children withdraw.

The more parents push, the harder children pushback – with excuses, minimisations, abrupt subject changes, stonewalling, silence, and sometimes even complete denial that a peer problem exists.

eringparents.com)

Why is it that so many young people are so loathe to talk to their caregivers about bullying? The more I ask students this question, the more often they tell me some version of this frustrated rationale: “If I tell my parents, they are going to make a big deal out of it and tell everyone what’s happening to me.”

Or “If I tell my parents, they’ll rush into school to try to meet with the principal, which will definitely make things way worse for me.”

What can parents, caregivers, educators, and other trustworthy adults do to help a young person feel safe enough to con- fide in them about a bullying situation?

How can you make your child feel supported – instead of embarrassed or endangered – enough to tell you when they really need your help? (Excerpt from psychologytoday.com)

To be continued

news

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friday, october 28, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Ministry denies conducting audit into City Hall … says M&CC only under scrutiny on spending of $300M

T

he Communities Ministry is denying conducting an audit into City Hall, insisting that it is only keeping the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) in check with its spending of two subventions it received from Government.

Following discrepancies highlighted in the Auditor General’s Report 2015, the Ministry launched a review of the M&CC’s spending of its $300 million Government subvention and City Mayor Patricia Chase-Green is upset with this development.

Media reported that the Mayor, during the recent statutory meeting, labelled the exercise as an “audit” which was “unprofessional and disrespectful.”

“The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities would’ve sent in their internal auditors to examine the spending of the same $300 million. I don’t know what particularly they are looking for,” she is quoted as venting.

She was also annoyed that Auditor General Deodat Sharma published the document before giving City Hall an opportunity to respond to the findings on the questionable spending of the $300 million grant it received from the Communities Ministry under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the ‘Georgetown Restoration Programme’.

“I welcome any audit done by the AG or any other person but I do not understand the manner in which they are operating. While we will tolerate it, all this clearly shows no respect to this Council. This is very disrespectful, without completely finishing your audit you present a report and you did not wait for a response from us,” she posited.

No audit

But the Communities Ministry in response to the Mayor’s rage denied conducting an audit into the spending of the subvention.

According to the statement it released on Thursday, the Ministry is merely collecting data in preparation of a response to audit queries stemming from the 2015 Auditor General’s Report.

with the Laws of Guyana, Chapter 28:01 (Municipal and District Councils) which was set out to satisfy financial accountability and transparency.

In its statement, the Ministry emphasised its “absolute regard” for the authority and autonomy of local organs and expressed that it would never impinge or circumvent the council’s work.

Discrepancies

Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan

“It is required of the Ministry of Communities to ensure that any subvention or grant disbursed to local democratic organs is spent in accordance with the programme,” the Ministry pointed out.

The Ministry explained that on October 5, following the submission of the AG Report, a letter was sent

Mayor Patricia Chase-Green

ing out its standard duty to ensure the grant was being spent in accordance with the MoU. The Ministry added that there is no basis on which to launch an investigation, at least at this stage.

Furthermore, the Ministry said the ongoing exercise is seeking to also determine whether the munic-

City Hall

to the Town Clerk Royston King and copied to the Mayor, informing them of a decision to dispatch its internal auditor to have the issues resolved.

The Ministry outlined that during a meeting on October 14, it was made clear to the Town Clerk, the Internal Auditor of the M&CC and the City Treasurer that no audit was being conducted but rather, the Ministry was carry-

ipality is spending its other grant of $100 million on the “Emergency Solid Waste Management of Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill” in accordance with that MoU. Both grants were given last year and each was based on a separately signed MoU between the Permanent Secretary, the Ministry and the M&CC Town Clerk.

The MoUs outline stipulated requirements attached to the grants in accordance

The Auditor General, in his audit of the City Hall, found no basis of the award of several contracts for the weeding of parapets, desilting of drains and cutting down trees in various areas around Georgetown since supporting documents were unavailable. As a result, it could not be determined whether proper transparency and accountability were exercised in the awarding of the contracts. Additionally, there was no evidence of receipt or payee acknowledgement for a payment of $750,000 to a contractor.

The AG Report also highlighted that several payment vouchers were examined – of which 167 had no evidence of vouchers being certified by the accountant of any other authorised officer; 140 vouchers totalling $143.683 million were not approved by the treasurer and 58 totalling $48.404 million had not been approved by the Finance Committee.

(Devina Samaroo)

GRA head warns staff against bribery, corruption

E

mployees of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Wednesday received a stern warning from Commissioner General Godfrey Statia on bribery and other corrupt practices.

The admonishment came after two of the entity’s staffers were late last week arrested for duty-free fraud.

The GRA Commissioner General was said to have “summoned a general meeting with staff” at the entity’s Camp Street headquarters where he noted that a nononsense approach to bribery and other forms of corruption would be taken.

According to a release issued by the tax authority, Statia made it clear that in addition to honesty and integrity, “professionalism must be paramount” and he reminded his staff that they took an oath of confidentiality as outlined in the Income Tax Act, Chapter 81:01, Section 4 (1) that “all officers are sworn to same upon acceptance of employment with the Authority”.

Commissioner General Statia also stated his intention to “rid the GRA of the wrongdoings that have tarnished its reputation in the past”. The tax collection authority also stated that members of the public should avoid any form of collusion with staff, such as payment of monies for services offered by the GRA. “Members of the public are just as guilty should they aid and albeit the com-

GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia

mission of an offence by willingly participating in any clandestine act and may also be subject to prosecution,” the statement added.

On October 20, reports surfaced that the two employees had reportedly forged documents that purported to show that two AllTerrain Vehicles (ATVs) were subject to duty-free concessions. Reports had indicated that the two staffers benefited from the alleged fraud.

It was only in June that the tax body had undergone significant staffing changes, according to Chairman of the governing board, Rawle Lucas, as the organisation sought to realise its objective of improving its relationship with Guyanese taxpayers, and to increase the collection of revenues.

At that point, several staff members were let go from the tax authority.

8 news

fridAY, OCTOBER 28, 2016 | guyana-times.com

IN THE COURTS

Houston man to face High Court trial

M

ark Barcley, of 38 Back Street, Houston, Greater Georgetown, was on Thursday committed to stand trial for manslaughter at the High Court by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, after she declared a prima facie case was made out against him.

The security guard was initially charged with murder, but the Chief Magistrate, in handing down her ruling, explained

Mark Barcley

that the man would be charged with manslaughter instead of murder.

Initially, the charge stated that on April 30, 2016, at Georgetown, the defendant murdered Gordon Ross.

According to reports, 26-year-old Ross was found on John Street, Georgetown in the vicinity of White Castle Fish Shop with multiple stab wounds to his body. He was then taken to the Georgetown

Public Hospital by publicspirited persons where he succumbed while receiving medical treatment.

The Chief Magistrate further stated that the prosecution has provided substantial evidence to the court through its witnesses.

The defendant was granted bail in the sum of $200,000 with the condition he appear weekly to the officer in charge at the Ruimveldt Police Station.

Wife places husband before the court

A

wife placed her husband before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts for unlawfully assaulting her.

Henry King, 39, who is a bus driver of Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-

Waini) appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan to answer to the unlawful assault charge.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on October 23, 2016, at Mabaruma, North West

District, he unlawfully assaulted Verna King. Henry was not represented by an Attorney.

The prosecution had no objections to bail but asked the Magistrate to add a condition or place the defendant

on a bond to keep the peace.

His wife was advised to acquire a protection order against her husband.

The defendant was placed on $15,000 bail and ordered to return to court on November 14.

City woman busted with cocaine at Corentyne border

A

city woman was on Thursday intercepted on the Corentyne, in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) as she tried to leave the country with a quantity of cocaine strapped to her leg. The woman from South Ruimveldt Gardens, Georgetown, was at the time at Corriverton foreshore, which is used as the ‘back-

track’ crossing to neighbouring Suriname. Divisional Commander of Berbice Kevin Adonis confirmed the bust when contacted

by Guyana Times. He related that acting on information, Police went to the area and after scrutinising same, saw the suspect acting in a suspicious manner.

The woman was apprehend-

ed and a search carried out on her person during which the illegal substance was found. At the time, she allegedly had 668 grams of cocaine strapped to her right leg. The woman was taken into custody and is expected to appear at the Skeldon Magistrate’s Court to answer a trafficking in narcotics charge.

Mahdia man charged for murder 17 years after

A

resident of Princeville, Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparinu) who was on the run from law enforcement for 17 years after allegedly committing a murder, was on Thursday charged and placed before the court.

Phillip Edwards, 39, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown

Magistrates’ Courts and was not required plead to the indictable charge of murder.

It was alleged that on May 3, 1999, at 7 mile Mahdia, Edwards murdered David Ramcharran.

Edwards was nabbed a few months ago by Police Officers on a charge of unlawful wounding. It was that charge that led to the discovery of the murder

charge.

The defendant was sentenced to six months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawful wounding.

While Edwards was serving his sentence, Police were in the process of wrapping up their investigations into the offence of murder before placing him before the court.

It was revealed that on May 3, 1999, Edwards and Ramcharran were drinking at a shop where an argument occurred that resulted in the defendant stabbing the now dead man.

Ramcharran succumbed to his injuries while he was being rushed to a nearby hospital in Mahdia.

The matter was transferred to Mahdia Magistrate’s Court where

Winning lotto...

L ...or using Lotto

ast August, with great fanfare – and not a little skin teeth and gloating at the PPP’s expense – then Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman carried on as to how they were going to be depositing all the monies from the Lotto Fund into the Consolidated Fund. He took the opportunity once again to rip into the PPP’s practice of using portions of the Fund for agricultural development and other public projects.

The PPP’s contention that the “ Development Fund of Guyana” into which they placed the Lotto monies – and from which they were spent – were exempted from deposit into the Consolidated Fund by ART 216, that covered the latter fund, didn’t cut any ice. So, also did the point that the Extra-budgetary Fund, as the Development Fund of Guyana was officially known, was established by the Government Lotteries Act CAP 80:07 since 1963. And that, in any case, the Fund was audited by the Auditor General under the provisions of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003.

That was all so much rigmarole, said Trotman sanctimoniously, intended by the PPP to throw dust into the eyes of the people of Guyana. While they raped the country in general and the Lotto Fund in particular! The insistence on placing all revenues collected by the Government into the Consolidated Fund is to ensure Parliament gets to review the Government’s spending. And this is what Trotman and his cohorts in Government were insisting on – after all THEY controlled Parliament!

But OHHH...what a difference does a year – not to mention being able to have some grubby little paws rummage into the Lotto Fund! – make!! According to the Auditor General’s Report for 2015, the APNU/AFC spent a whopping $305 million from the Lotto Fund!! Once again your Eyewitness asks, how come the APNU goose gets a richer sauce that the PPP gander?? And it’s not as if Trotman bought a Lotto ticket and won the money – which he donated to the Government because he felt guilty about receiving that 50% salary increase when Government workers and other ordinary folks got Larwah. Naaah! This was Lotto funds that those same ordinary folks fattened as they desperately tried to escape out of poverty.

This isn’t just hypocrisy to the max – but contempt for the people of this long-suffering land. Now when you hear, Dear Reader, as to what the Government spent the Lotto $300 million on, you’ll understand why they wanted to escape parliamentary scrutiny.

They squandered all that money on the wooden Jubilee Park that’s already falling apart from the wood ants attack!!

After they assured “private donors” would cover it!!

...or losing marbles?

Murder accused: Phillip Edwards

Edwards will make an appearance on January 17, 2017.

When you win the Lotto, it does seem to go to most people’s heads. So we don’t know whether the Lotto money used by Government Ministers like they won it has them reduced to uttering inanities. Such as the Minister of Public Security is wont to do when asked how he’ll deal with the crime crisis.

Early in the day he came up with a 2:00am curfew on bars and rum shops. He still hasn’t provided requested figures as to the correlation – not even causation – between drinking past 2:00am and crime rates. Then he came up with a grand explanation for crime – greed. Some grave souls held their breaths waiting for him to follow up on how he planned to reduce greed and so reduce crime. Not a squeak and those folks are getting blue in the face!

Fast forward to the present – he now advises Guyanese use less cash to stop robberies.

So in Trinidad, where plastic is ubiquitous, there aren’t any robberies?

...through importing chicken

You don’t need to win Lotto to get rich immediately.

You can also get a licence from the Government to import frozen foreign chicken – even though there’s no shortage to justify removing the 100% tariff.

But we’ll never know their names, will we?

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

news

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friday, october 28, 2016 | guyana-times.com

SWF to prevent “oil curse”− Eccles man struck down Canadian High Commissioner by speeding minibus

W

ith US oil giant ExxonMobil recording more successes at oil exploration in Guyana’s waters, chances are there will be an increase in monies being pumped into Guyana’s already fragile economy.

And with the establishment of a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) already in the pipeline, Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Pierre Giroux said his Government has already

no need, it will have its own funding. But how to manage that funding is the question”, the High Commissioner told Guyana Times in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

He said many countries with such resources try to prevent the “oil curse”, which means that when oil revenue increases rapidly people begin increasing their expenses. If oil price suddenly falls, then there is also a crisis, as is currently happening

Stena Carron harsh environment drillship

committed to assist Guyana in this process. “When a country is planning to increase its petroleum sector, there is a big effect. The country will be totally transformed. In the case of Guyana, if production goes to 100 barrels a day, and continues to increase, the country will move from an aid recipient country, to actually a country with

in some neighbouring countries, including Trinidad and Tobago and to a greater extent Venezuela. He said the Sovereign Wealth Fund will be used to try to control the use of the future revenue in a way that is usable in a rational way over a long period of time.

“So the concept is quite rational, let’s put some of

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Pierre Giroux

the money aside, so when there is variation in prices, we can use it. The Wealth Fund is also a way in which you can allocate funds, to tell the public that the funds that are being received, is not to buy Mercedes, but to invest in the future”. He said Calgary, located in Alberta, the largest oil producing province of Canada, is currently in discussion with the Government of Guyana on the issue. Canada, he said, produces about four million barrels of oil annually and has widespread knowledge in SWF. “So what we would like to do is simply share our knowledge, so that the Government of Guyana can choose what sort of model of the Wealth Fund they would like to put in place… a decision of the Guyanese people of course, but we are collabo-

rating, we’re offering our experience”. President David Granger, upon assuming office in May last year – the very month ExxonMobil announced the discovery of oil in the Stabroek Block – told Guyana Times that his Government would be using the revenues garnered from the oil and gas sector, and other natural resources sector, to be placed in a SWF. A sovereign wealth fund consists of pools of money derived from a country's reserves, set aside for investment purposes to benefit the country's economy and citizens. The funding for a sovereign wealth fund comes from central bank reserves that accumulate as a result of budget and trade surpluses, and from revenue generated from the exports of natural resources.

An injured Hafeez Sattaur being rushed into the Diamond hospital shortly after the accident

A

father of one is now hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital for trauma to the head and internal bleeding after a minibus slammed into him as he was crossing on the pedestrian sign at Eccles Public Road, East Bank Demerara.

Reports indicate that at approximately 18:30h on Thursday, Hafeez Sattaur, 33, of Eccles Housing Scheme, EBD, was struck by the speeding minibus, bearing registration BPP 8292, and reportedly landed several metres away.

A traffic officer, who was on duty in the area at the time, quickly assisted the injured man into the said minibus and took him to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre (Hospital).

Speaking to Guyana Times from the medical fa-

cility, the injured Sattaur recalled that he was crossing the road to approach the traffic officer on duty, when he was hit. He could not recall much of that transpired after.

However, the traffic officer was overheard explaining to the man’s family that he ‘was calling the traffic' which was coming from Georgetown when Sattaur began crossing the road.

"I was calling the traffic, and it was moving fast. The traffic wasn't heavy but the vehicles were moving fast, and I see him walking over," the officer related.

Sattaur was subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital since according to doctors at the Diagnostic Centre, the facility was not equipped to treat the injuries the man sustained.

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guyana-times.com

friday, october 28, 2016

News

Guyana gets $1.6B to tackle maternal, infant mortality – to benefit over 140,000 women, 9000 newborns annually

W

ith Guyana currently experiencing one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in Latin America and the Caribbean, the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) announced Thursday that it has approved a $1.6 billion loan to fund a programme to help reduce maternal, perinatal and neonatal deaths in the country.

The Bank in a statement said that the programme, which seeks to improve the quality of care at 140 health facilities across Guyana, will benefit some 140,000 women and 9000 babies annually.

It pointed out that despite progress achieved during the last decade, Guyana’s maternal and infant mortality rates remain among the highest in the Region, with a maternal mortality rate estimated at 121 per 1000 live births and an infant mortality rate of 22 per 1000 live births.

“Given that about 93 per cent of deaths in children less than one year of age oc-

The project will draw from the IDB’s experiences with the Mesoamerican Health Initiative and incorporates lessons learnt from evidence-based biomedical and operational interventions

curred in the neonatal period, the programme will support and improve maternal and child healthcare with a focus on improving access to quality neonatal health services and providing a better path to and quality of reproductive and maternal health services.,” the regional institution said.

The IDB said that the operation draws from the IDB’s experiences with the Mesoamerican Health Initiative and incorporates lessons learnt from

evidence-based biomedical and operational interventions. It will closely monitor results to ensure that those interventions can contribute to the success of the programme.

The total cost of the project is $1.6 billion (US$8 million), of which $800 million will come from the IDB’s ordinary capital resources and $800 million from the Fund for Special Operations (FSO) of the Bank.

The loan from the

Bank’s ordinary capital has a six-year grace period and a 30-year term, while the FSO funding has a term of 40 years with a 40-year grace period and a fixed annual rate of 0.25 per cent.

The IDB is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Bank also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to Public and Private Sector clients throughout the Region.

Mandela Avenue shooting

Jury returns speedy “not guilty” verdict

M

urder accused Lloyd Britton who allegedly killed 24-year-old Elvis Fernandes during an argument at Mandela Avenue, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, two years ago became a free man late Thursday afternoon after a 12-member jury returned a verdict of not guilty after less than 30 minutes of deliberation. As he was being unshackled at the Demerara High Court, he thanked his lawyer, defence counsel Nigel Hughes and presiding Judge James Bovell-Drakes and then calmly walked out to freedom with his relatives.

Prosecutors Tamica Clarke and Stacy Goodings led the State’s case. It was in 2014 that Fernandes was allegedly shot and killed during an argument with a minibus driver. Police had noted that the driver of the minibus and the driver of a motor car had an argument earlier at Mandela Avenue as a result of a damage accident involving the two vehicles. “The drivers of the two vehicles later crossed paths again along Mandela Avenue as the minibus stopped to put off a passenger and another argument arose. On this occasion, Elvis Fernandes and a plain clothes Policeman were in the motor car,” Police had noted.

Somehow, Fernandes became involved in the argument along with the driver of the minibus, during which

The late Elvis Fernandes was shot at Mandela Avenue

he was shot to his chest by a man who was a passenger in the minibus and who had begun discharging rounds from a firearm, who was believed to be Britton. It had been reported that a Policeman was said to have made efforts to pacify the situation and had responded and discharged a round from his service firearm which struck the armed man who was on trial for murder. In his closing remarks on Monday, Defence Counsel Hughes pointed the court and jury to the discrepancies in the Police account, suggesting that it may have been a rank that shot the now deceased Fernandes and had alleged a “Police cover-up”.

Prosecutor Clarke had however contended that the defense’s argument was a “fabrication”, noting that the defendant changed his story at least three times.

friDAY, october 28, 2016

guyana-times.com

11

News

Vickram Bharrat new PPP/C MP – to focus on education and local governance

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member of the Party since he was 14 years old, Vickram Bharrat was beyond euphoric when he was sworn in as the newest Member of Parliament (MP) for the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) – the oldest local political party.

The 36-year-old Bharrat took his oath on Thursday before the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs and was congratulated by the Speaker of the House, Dr Barton Scotland.

Bharrat replaced Charles Ramson Jr who recently resigned to pursue studies in oil and gas.

During an interview with Guyana Times in the corridor of Parliament Building, the new parliamentarian could not contain his excitement about the journey ahead in pushing for programmes and policies that will benefit the people of Guyana.

“Of course, I am elated.

I am excited to be a part of the National Assembly.

Vickram Bharrat being sworn in as the newest PPP/C MP before Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs on Thursday

This has been my dream growing up and I am aware of the fact that this is serious business. At the same time the excitement is bubbling, I know we really have to get down to serious work

in representing our people,” he stated.

He also commended the work of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and the other MPs on their progress thus far, noting that he was

DTL should respect Guyana’s laws – GAWU I n the wake of the recent dismissal of 11 workers attached to Demerara Timbers Limited (DTL), the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) has suggested that the Social Protection Ministry implement policies governing the protection of the rights of workers who are employed with foreign-based companies.

“Our Union strongly urges the Ministry to uphold its authority and, therefore, ensure that the foreign-owned company respects the laws of our country as well as the established principles and conventions, which are integral to safeguarding the welfare of our working people,” GAWU stated on Thursday.

The Union noted that it has sought an “amicable and satisfactory” resolution to the situation, disclosing that it utilised the conciliatory services that are “lawfully provided” by the Ministry to “address workers’ disputes and problems”.

“Attempts to this end by the Ministry, however, have been strongly rebuffed by the company…letters dated October 25 and 26, 2016 from the Ministry and the company…show demonstration of DTL’s uncalled-for disregard of the Ministry apart from the aggrieved workers,” GAWU noted in its strongly worded release.

The DTL has attracted much criticism over the last few weeks after it sacked 11

properly consulted by the DTL. “This is not consultations; this is closing down the company one way or the other and getting rid of the workers,” Narine had pointed out, adding that the Union was informed that some workers would be phased out by October month-end, while the others would be relieved of employment in November. This publication understands that the final set of workers would be retrenched in December.

Guyana Times was told GAWU General Secretary that the DTL would supSeepaul Narine posedly pay the workworkers who protested folers their “full benefits”. lowing a pay rise dispute.

However, GAWU had mainThe company later suggested its intention to cease op- tained that as the 2015 erations in this country pay rise dispute was still while Guyana Times was being addressed by the told that some 72 workers Social Protection Ministry’s were on a retrenchment list, Labour Department, the which would be completed matter should be settled beby December. This publica- fore any workers were laid tion reported that the com- off.

Negotiations between pany had outlined options, the Union and the compathe first being to sell its ny reached a stalemate on shares to a foreign investor.

November 17, 2015 after However, it was revealed that the shares could the DTL did not approve only be sold if the Guyana any pay raise, but offered a Forestry Commission (GFC) Christmas bonus of $5000 to had granted permission. It each worker. The DTL had was explained that in any of informed that its financial these scenarios, the workers state precluded it from ofwould have to be made re- fering a pay raise. Following the impasse, the dispute dundant.

GAWU General was next subjected to conSecretary Seepaul Narine ciliatory services by the had stated his displeasure Social Protection Ministry’s over the Union not being Labour Department.

ready to contribute meaningfully to further advance those efforts.

Bharrat holds a degree in computer science and is qualified in the area of public management.

Additionally, being a former Chairman of the Grove/ Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and having worked with the Local Government Ministry for a number of years, Bharrat boasts a wealth of knowledge in the area of local governance.

He is also familiar with the educational system, having been a teacher since 1998.

“I am well aware of the education system in Guyana and what is needed to improve it,” he stated.

In briefly outlining some of the issues with the edu-

cation system, Bharrat said parents needed to be more involved in the process.

“Parenting plays a lot.

Parents, teachers and students – education is a three-way process; it has never been the student and teacher alone. Parents need to play a bigger role. We need to engage the parents more and encourage them to play a more active role in their child’s education,” he explained. He also said there was need for more emphasis on the teaching of Mathematics and English at a younger age in order to lay a firm foundation for students entering high school.

Bharrat was elected a Candidate Member to the PPP/C Central Committee at the last Congress.

(Devina Samaroo)

12 news

friDay, october 28, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Fire victims receive much needed help − 10 homeless after two fires

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wo families are now pleading with the public for assistance after two devastating fires have left them homeless.

On November 12, a twostoried house at Number 69 Village was completely destroyed, rendering the family of five homeless. The Fire Service has since concluded that the fire was caused by an electrical fault.

And on November 16 a cottage at Lot 75 North Lesbeholden, Black Bush Polder, was gutted, leaving another family of five homeless, including a one-year-old and a 3-month-old baby. In this instance, the Fire Service never visited the scene.

According to Roopchand

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The family of Number 69 Village

In picture, CEO Christopher Persaud (extreme left) presents the cheque while Hemraj and Rampersaud of David Persaud Investments look on

Hemraj no one was home when the Black Bush Polder

Crisis in crime fighting

fire started.

“When me come home dem boys ah front dea tell

me ah house catch afire…Me start me motorbike an come.

When me reach, dem done

out the fire but it de still bin ah smoke, but me can’t do nothing; everything gone,” the labourer said.

The mid-morning fire left the labourer, his wife and their three children without a home or clothing other that what they were wearing.

According to Hemraj’s wife, Davi, no stoves were left on when they went out nor any refrigerator, freezer, television set or DVD player.

She said, “Sunday when me went me carry dem children ah sea corner and bathe dem, then me get a message… When me come me see all body deh hea and everything bun up.

The young woman, in a plea for public assistance, noted that members of the Guyana Fire Service never visited the scene.

She says villagers have assisted so that her son can get back to school. However, the family is still very in need. “If ah want to cook ah ent even got a pot,” She lamented.

Act of Goodwill

David Persaud Investments heeded the family’s pleas and made a donation of $50,000 to the Hemraj family of Lot 11 Lesbeholden.

The Company’s CEO Christopher Persaud presented the cheque to the family.

Meanwhile, Seekumari Dauroop, of the Number 69 Village, Corentyne, fire says there has been no assistance for the family since the fire destroyed their home leaving her, a husband, a daughter and two grandchildren homeless. According to the 58-yearold, no agency has come forward to offer any assistance.

For the first five days, the family lived at a neighbour under a temporary arrangement. They have since been rescued by another neighbour, another temporary arrangement. According to Dauroop the family is in urgent need of somewhere to stay and are also in need of mattresses. Dauroop can be contacted on phone number 646-7234, while Hemraj can be contacted on 687-0498.

he Minister of Public Security insists "serious crime is decreasing" and spew out statistics to "prove" his contention. But the populace is unmoved, since their experience tells them otherwise. Even outside observers like the former Chief of Staff and Ravi Dev the British Ambassador have explained the widespread scepticism by showing why people dismiss "lies, damned lies and statistics".

All across the country, the cry is: “Why isn’t the Government getting a grip on crime?” After all, this was one of their major planks during the elections campaign. Not so long ago the citizens of Berbice and Essequibo used to see crime as a Georgetown problem, but no more. Anxiety, frustration and fear are palpable across the country. The present crime situation is not only quantitatively different from what prevails in other jurisdictions but possibly also qualitatively so.

Commentators cite Guyana becoming a major transshipment point for hard drugs as a reason for the bump in crime. But one spill-off from the drug trade has been the percolation of drug use into our coastal communities.

Most policymakers and analysts appear to be unaware of what is going on in the villages. This drug culture has resulted not only in the destruction of the lives of so many of our youths – many not even yet teenagers – but in the creation of an endemic criminal element who prey on their hapless neighbours. And as Brigadier Philips pointed out, these criminals now have guns freely available and are practised in unleashing the most vicious forms of violence on their victims. They are patterning their viciousness from the gunmen who were given political support when they took on the State between 1998 and 2008 – and the drug gangs that took them on and each other. And therein lies a lesson. As crime spreads once again like a dark and malignant cancer across our land, it has grown increasingly virulent. At each stage, the criminals incorporate the older, prevalent modus operandi into their repertoire then go on to devise some new and greater sadistic twist in an ever-increasing spiral of degradation for their victims.

ROAR had identified the nexus between politics and criminality as a constant when it launched in 1999. The “Choke and rob” gangs of the sixties were succeeded by the kick-down-the-door-bandits of the seventies and eighties and they by the “resistance fighters” of the first millennium decade – and they all had connections with politics and politicians. While most don't see this government having any skin in the present crime crisis, nevertheless, once violence of any stripe is introduced as a tactic to make a political point, it remains as a fixture in the criminal arsenal. If we are ever to get a grip on crime in Guyana, we will have to sever the links between politics and crime. Poverty and destitution have also been identified as breeding grounds for crime and criminality. This statement should not be a point of disputation: all across the globe, the correlation between crime and poverty holds. But there is the riposte from many in Guyana: that there are many communities here that are poor but do not resort to crime. However, this does not sever the correlation but rather suggests there are other factors in addition to poverty that propel some into crime. The causative factors for criminal behaviours must be identified and tackled. But so must be the constraints on a more effective police force. From this side of the law and order line, we certainly will not solve crime with statistics, nor, God forbids, by claiming our neighbours have greater crime rates. The Police have been equipped and they must now be professionalised, both operationally and compositionally.

How long will the Government ignore the recommendations of the Disciplined Forces Commission (on which the President sat) and Parliament approved?

This demanded the Police and well as all the Disciplined Forces reflect the composition of our country's population as part of their professionalisation.

Crime can bring down not only our state but each one of us. This is not a partisan issue and it should not be treated as such.

news

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friday, OCTOBER 28, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Guyanese Judges capitalise on study tour of BC Provincial Court

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epresentatives of the Guyanese court system spent an intense week in Vancouver, Canada this month studying the British Columbia (BC) Provincial Court’s problemsolving courts, use of technology, and system performance measures, as well as trial scheduling, early resolution, and case management strategies.

The study programme was part of the Justice Education Society of BC (JES) project funded by the Canadian Government to help Guyana strengthen its criminal justice system.

The two-year project aims at strengthening the Guyanese justice system by developing the technical capacity of the Police, Prosecutors and Magistrates to work with criminal evidence. The project also includes training in criminal investigations, case preparation, evidence handling, and trial advocacy. The recent study tour in Vancouver focused on court administration concepts and design, highlighting the initiatives the BC Provincial Court has undertaken to maximise the effective, equitable and efficient use of its resources and minimise wait times for trials.

Headed by Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh, the delegation included High Court Judge, Justice Brassington Reynolds; Chief Magistrate Ann

Left to right: JES Guyana Country Representative Rolinda Kirton, JES Guyana Project Manager Evelyn Neaman, Justice Brassington Reynolds, Chief Judge Thomas Crabtree, Chancellor Carl Singh, Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali-Hack, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, Vancouver lawyer Chris Johnson, and Judge Michael Hicks (retired)

McLennan; and Director of Public Prosecutions Bibi Shalimar Ali-Hack. Their week was packed with presentations, courtroom visits, and opportunities for discussion with those involved in the BC initiatives they were studying.

Daily debriefing sessions allowed the delegates to discuss possible applications of what they learnt that day to their own system and to identify related issues.

Chancellor Singh ex-

pressed particular interest in BC’s community and drug treatment courts, and in the Digital Audio Recording System (DARS) used by BC’s Court Services branch to record court proceedings. He explained that Canadian Provincial Court Chief Judge Thomas Crabtree had, following a previous visit to Guyana, prepared “an extremely valuable report” with suggestions for consideration, and that actually seeing the suggested measures in action helped tremendously.

Clarification On Thursday, October 27, 2016 Guyana Times published an article captioned ‘Student slapped with forgery charges’. The 20-year-old student, Deoharry Odit, is a student of Morgan Institute and not Chase Academy, as was reported. Guyana Times apologises for any inconvenience this may have caused.

The Chancellor added that he is determined the study tour will yield results, and hopes to implement some measures, within resources, without delay.

Chancellor Singh also stressed his appreciation for the welcome the delegation received, saying “All the judges and others we spoke to were very accommodating, warm, and helpful”. Chief Judge Crabtree replied, “It was a pleasure and a privilege to host judicial colleagues from Guyana and share with them the initiatives we have studied, developed and implemented in recent years.

With the help of Project

Manager Evelyn Neaman, Country Representative Rolinda Kirton, and retired judge Michael Hicks, the court presented an intensive programme to acquaint our guests with a number of our administrative initiatives in the criminal justice field that might be adapted for use in Guyana. We are looking forward to future collaboration with our Guyanese colleagues.”

JES is a Canadian non– profit organisation with an impressive record of improving the effectiveness of justice systems in Canada and around the world. The Guyana project is being implemented in collaboration with the Public Security and Legal Affairs Ministries, as well as the Office of the

Chancellor of the Judiciary, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Guyana Police Force.

The ACCBP funds a number of regional security projects which benefit Guyana, including the recently launched INTERPOL Project to combat human trafficking in the Caribbean and a project to strengthen the anti-money laundering systems in Central America and the Caribbean.

Canada is also working to strengthen national justice systems in the region, by sharing Canadian expertise, improving access to and efficiency of the justice system, and providing training and mentoring programmes for both Police and justice officials.

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guyana-times.com

friday, october 28, 2016

News

2 injured in Sophia Venezuelan crisis enters dangerous drive-by shooting phase as Maduro foes go militant

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The house where the men were liming when the drive-by shooting occurred

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ne man is in critical condition and another injured following a drive-by shooting in Sophia, Greater Georgetown, Thursday evening. The incident occurred sometime around 22:00h.

Guyana Times understands that the victims were hanging out with a large group of men by their usual “liming spot” at Lot 325 ‘B’ Field, Sophia, when a vehicle slowly drove by and opened fire in their direction.

This newspaper was told that approximately 14 gunshots rapidly went off as the men scattered for shelter.

However, Kevin Inniss, 23, who lives four houses away, was shot to his neck, chest and back. He is said to be in a critical condition.

Guyana Times spoke to the brother of Inniss at the Georgetown Public Hospital, who suspected that Inniss might have been the target of an execution attempt.

The man explained that the silver Toyota 212 car, which was void of a licence plate, initially stopped at their house before driving off, heading towards the

yard where the group were gathered.

The brother of the injured man further related that he does not know why anyone would want to kill Inniss, who works in the ‘Backdam’.

At the hospital, the unmarried man’s life was on the line as he was desperately in need of two pints of blood.

Meanwhile, information about the second victim, identified only as “Shane”, was unavailable to this publication up to press time.

However, this publication was told that the man sustained two gunshot wounds to his leg.

He was receiving an xray when this publication arrived at the hospital and his family, who were in the waiting room, indicated that they were unaware of what transpired.

Over at the crime scene, the concrete floor was stained with pools of blood and there were several spent shells in a pile.

The police have since launched an investigation into the matter. (Devina Samaroo)

Police find 235 bullets in abandoned car at Kitty

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he Guyana Police Force stumbled upon over 200 pieces of ammunition hidden in a paint can that was left in an abandoned car. The discovery was made sometime around 12:30h on Thursday.

According to the Police, acting on information received from a concerned citizen, ranks went to Gordon Street, Kitty, Georgetown, and conducted a search on a suspiciously parked car.

During the search of the vehicle, ranks uncovered a one-gallon paint can containing 234 live rounds of .40 and one live round of .45 calibre ammunition.

No arrest has been made, however Police are investigating the incident.

This find comes on the heels of Police in ‘E’ Division (Linden/Kwakwani) discovering an AK-47 rifle, two magazines and 15 rounds

n a curious convergence of events on the same day last week, four Venezuelan provincial courts issued identical rulings, State Governors quickly hit Twitter to celebrate, then the election board emailed a short but bombshell statement.

Opposition hopes for a referendum to recall President Nicolás Maduro were dashed, on grounds of fraud in an initial signature drive. The vote was off.

For many in the Opposition, that settled a years-old debate about the nature of Venezuela’s socialist Government, uniting them in conviction they are now fighting a dictatorship.

Their new militancy heightens the risk of unrest as the South American OPEC member of 30 million people grapples with a dangerous economic and political crisis.

“Can anyone in the world now really doubt that Venezuela is living in

Supporters of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro shout slogans as they gather outside the National Assembly building during a session in Caracas, Venezuela October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos

Garcia Rawlins

tyranny?” said housewife Mabel Pinate, 62, dressed in white among thousands of protesters who took to the streets against Maduro on Wednesday.

“We are sick of this. It’s time to toughen up and do what we must to save Venezuela,” added Pinate, whose husband was fired

from state oil company PDVSA by Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chávez and whose two children have gone abroad.

After pinning its hopes on a referendum this year – which could have triggered a presidential election and put them in power after 17 years of leftist rule – the enraged

Opposition Democratic Unity coalition has taken its gloves off.

It is holding a symbolic political trial of Maduro in the legislature, organising daily street protests, and shunning talks with the Government that had been announced by the Vatican for this weekend. (Excerpt from

Reuters)

Deadly Colombia landslide engulfs highway near Medellin

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landslide on a major highway in Colombia has killed at least six people, officials said.

On Wednesday, tonnes of earth engulfed the main highway leading north from Colombia’s secondlargest city, Medellin.

The mud from the mountainside covered an area the size of two football fields and buried two cars, a lorry and two motorbikes, rescue workers said.

Emergency workers are searching the mud for any more victims.

The landslide came down about 12 kilometres (seven miles) north of

The main highway leading north from Medellin was buried under tonnes of earth

Medellin in the Copacabana area.

Dogs have been brought in to help search for the victims.

Landslides are common in this mountainous region of Colombia, especially following heavy rains.

Six years ago, 85 people

died just a few kilometres south of Copacabana, when a landslide buried dozens of homes in the town of Bello. (BBC News)

Marijuana being traded for weapons in Caribbean drug trade

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The bullets that were found

of matching ammunition, 15 .38 live rounds, 39 .9mm live rounds and 21 .223 live rounds along with a magazine.

The Police said that whilst cleaning a house in Linden, a citizen observed a haversack behind a wardrobe and upon examination, found the firearm and ammunition. He subsequently made a report and the Police took possession of the cache.

riminals involved in the Caribbean drug trade are increasingly using marijuana to buy weapons, according to Juan Gonzalez, deputy assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs in the US State Department during a recent press briefing to give updates on the sixth Caribbean Basin Security Initiatives (CBSI) dialogue.

Gonzalez said, “We’re also seeing an increase in incidences of trading marijuana for weapons, and so one of the areas where we are also cooperating with the Caribbean, is to making sure that we’re actu-

ally expanding the proliferation of the automated fingerprint identification systems, which allows law enforcement to share information on fingerprints for criminals, but also ballistics information. So that if somebody commits a crime in another island, the databases on other islands can actually catch that individual and also trying to share information on illegal firearms that are coming from the United States.”

Gonzalez went on to note that a lot of the firearms in the Caribbean are actually being cross-traded and not necessarily coming from the

Some sectors of the community are calling on the government to legalise or decriminalise marijuana possession

US. St Kitts and Nevis is one of the eight Caribbean states that benefit from the CBSI. The Government and

Police have come under fire recently for the eradication of large amounts of marijuana plants across the federation. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

friday, october 28, 2016

guyana-times.com

15

Around the World

Syrian conflict: UN urges inquiry India, Pakistan to expel diplomats amid Kashmir tension into deadly air strike on school

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ndia and Pakistan on Thursday announced they would each expel one of the other’s diplomats amid growing tension between the nuclear-armed arch-foes over the disputed region of Kashmir.

India said it would expel a Pakistani diplomat based in New Delhi who allegedly ran a spy ring that collected sensitive information about Indian security operations along its border.

Late on Thursday night, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said it had declared an Indian diplomat, Surjeet Singh, persona non grata and given him 48 hours to leave the country.

Police in the Indian capital said the Pakistani diplomat was detained on Wednesday outside the gates to Delhi Zoo, where he had met two Indian associates whom Police believe he had recruited to spy for him.

The Pakistani dip-

A Pakistani flag flies on a mast as paramilitary Frontier Corps soldiers talk while guarding at Karachi’s District Malir prison, August 23, 2013

lomat, who reportedly worked in Pakistan High Commission’s visa section, and his alleged Indian accomplices were found with forged documents, defenserelated maps, deployment charts and lists of officers working along India’s border with Pakistan, Indian police said in a statement.

An Indian foreign min-

istry spokesman said the man, who was released from custody under diplomatic immunity rules, must leave the country by Saturday. Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi rejected the allegations, saying in a statement it “never engages in any activity that is incompatible with its diplomatic status”.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Indonesia ‘coffee killer’ trial: Jessica Wongso found guilty of murder

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woman accused of murdering her friend by slipping cyanide into her coffee has been found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in jail by an Indonesian court, in a case that gripped the country.

Jessica Wongso, an Indonesian citizen and Australian permanent resident, said the verdict was “not fair”. The victim, Wayan Mirna Salihin, met Wongso at a Jakarta cafe in January.

She died minutes after sipping a coffee ordered by her friend. An autopsy found traces of cyanide in her body. The trial of Wongso, dubbed by some as the “Coffee Killer”, attracted intense public interest in Indonesia as well as Australia, where Wongso and Salihin had met and lived for several years.

Wongso denied all the charges and her lawyers have said they will appeal against the verdict.

Prosecutors argued she had decided to kill Salihin after the latter had advised her to break up with her boyfriend. Defence lawyers had argued that police never found cyanide in Wongso’s possession, and she had never been seen spiking the coffee. Australian police agreed to assist Indonesian police with their investigation after receiving assurances that she would not be handed the death penalty.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

he United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, has demanded an immediate investigation into an air strike in Syria on Wednesday that reportedly struck a school, killing more than 20 children.

Activists say a village school was targeted in rebel-held Idlib.

The UN also warned that the coming winter could be the worst yet in Syria’s fiveyear-long civil war.

Its Syria humanitarian effort head, Jan Egeland, said the brutal conflict had become more ruthless.

He said it was affecting increasing numbers of civil-

ians.

UNICEF said that, including the one in Idlib, five Syrian schools had been targeted since October 11 in “simply inhuman” attacks.

Emergency responders in Syria and a UK-based monitoring group said on Thursday that the death toll from the Idlib attack had increased to 35, and most of the victims were children.

It appears the bomb fell in the village of Hass, about 75 kilometres (46 miles) south-west of Aleppo, as children were getting ready to go home early because of air strikes.

The BBC has not been

able to independently verify the details of the attack.

Russia has denied that either it or its Syrian allies were responsible.

A spokesman for Russia’s Defence Ministry, Major Gen Igor Konashenkov, said the claim was a fabrication and that a Russian drone had found the school’s roof still intact on Thursday.

But the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which gathers information from a network of people within the country, said “warplanes – either Russian or Syrian” had carried out six air strikes on the village. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Iraq: Thousands displaced as battle for Mosul rages on

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ore than 10,000 Iraqis have fled their homes since the start of an offensive to retake Mosul from ISIL this month, according to the United Nations.

That figure is just a fraction of the displacement that aid groups expect to see when Iraqi forces reach the city limits and some of the million-plus people thought to be inside attempt to flee.

“As the fighting gets closer to more populated areas, we’re starting to see more and more families flee the fighting,” Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Erbil in northern Iraq, said.

“At least 1000 people were evacuated by [Iraqi] counterterrorism forces from their villages,” Dekker added. “These are terrifying times for those people – their houses are shaking, and they are being caught in

That figure is just a fraction of the displacement that aid groups expect to see when Iraqi forces reach the city limits

the crossfire.”

And while those evacuated by the elite Iraqi unit were guided to nearby camps, there “are no humanitarian corridors” to manage the thousands more being displaced, Dekker said.

“Many other people are making this terrifying journey on foot.”

But, though the number of displaced Iraqis has increased rapidly over the

past two days, there was no sign an exodus of larger proportions was beginning.

The aid community has been scrambling to build camps and bring equipment to areas on the edges of the Mosul battlefield, a vast area where Iraqi forces are closing in on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL, also known as ISIS) from the north, east and south. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Ghana education: Boy who became a meme raises thousands 60% of global wildlife species wiped out

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chubby-cheeked little boy whose serious expression turned him into a meme could end up educating an entire village.

Jake has become one of the most famous schoolchildren in South Africa since people began sharing a picture of him, joking he was everything from a grumpy driving instructor to an unimpressed security guard.

But Jake lives thousands of miles North, in a small village in eastern Ghana, unaware of his newfound fame. In fact, up until Wednesday, not even the man who took the photograph knew it had proved such a hit.

Cameraman Carlos Cortes travelled to Ghana in 2015 to make a documentary about Solomon Adufah, an artist returning to his home country from the US. The picture of Jake, then four, was one of hun-

Jake has no idea he is an internet sensation

dreds taken by Cortes while Adufah taught art and creative studies to the children. But the schoolboy’s picture began doing the rounds after Adufah shared it on his Instagram account.

Jake and his friends live in a rural village, and for some families sending their children to school is more than they can afford. What is more, the primary school is also in need of supplies.

So Adufah, who has lived in the US since he

was 16, set up a fundraising campaign, hoping Jake will really inspire people to turn their likes into cash to help pay for his education, and that of the other children in the village.

Within 24 hours, it had raised US$2000 (£1642) – 10 per cent of its target.

Adufah said: “This money could make a huge difference to the kids - this could be something really positive going forward.”(Excerpt from BBC News)

bout 60 per cent of the world’s fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles have been wiped out over the last four decades largely because of human activity, researchers say.

The Living Planet Report 2016, released on Thursday, blamed deforestation, pollution, overfishing, and the illegal wildlife trade for “pushing species populations to the edge”.

According to the report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), in collaboration with other international environmental advocacy groups, the five main drivers of wildlife decline are habitat loss, overconsumption, pollution, invasive species and disease.

“For the first time since the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, we face a global mass extinction of

“For the first time since the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, we face a global mass extinction of wildlife,” WWF official Mike Barrett said

wildlife,” said Mike Barrett, Director of Science and Policy at WWF’s UK branch.

“We ignore the decline of other species at our peril – for they are the barometer that reveals our impact on the world that sustains us.”

The findings are based on long-term monitoring of some 3700 vertebrate species spread across more than 14,000 distinct populations.

Victims include gorillas and orangutans, rhinos and elephants, tigers and snow leopards, but also faceless species such as corals – a crucial cornerstone not only of marine life but also coastal human communities.

Factory fishing has emptied the seas of 40 per cent of sea life, and nine out of 10 fisheries in the world are either over-fished or fullfished today. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

16 news

friDay, october 28, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Doctors on pensionable system

AG 2015 Report

Norton says Govt trying Over $300M in expired drugs in Region 4 alone to rebuild Public Service − says Jagdeo’s public health crisis claim is irresponsible

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ublic Health Minister Dr George Norton has explained that government is currently trying to re-strengthen the public health sector; hence the move to recruit Cuban trained doctors under the pensionable system as opposed to a contractual arrangement.

He was at the time responding to recent claims by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo who said that this new policy could potentially lead to a countrywide ‘public health crisis’ if not addressed immediately.

The former President said during engagements with several young doctors returning from training in Cuba in was indicated that Government has been pushing an agenda to have these persons enrolled through the traditional pensionable public service.

This, Jagdeo noted, will serve as a disincentive and could very well see Guyana losing its trained healthcare delivery personnel in droves, should Government persist.

“This government now is demanding that people go on the pensionable establishment and not contract as was the choice before,” the Opposition Leader posited, while adding that this will result in most doctors losing out on contract gratuity and other benefits if placed on the pensionable system; thus becoming dissatisfied and developing the urge to leave.

“Why we want to chase people who we invested in?”

Jagdeo questioned, and posited, “it will cause major dissatisfaction…It could lead to a reversal of what we had, that is more doctors in the system,” he stated at a press conference last Friday.

However, speaking with >>>Guyana Times<<< on Thursday, Dr Norton outlined that this new policy is aimed at rebuilding the public service.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton

“I can’t see how we will continue to have persons on contract if we are going to strengthen the public service and these students went on a public service ministry scholarship to come back and work in the public service,” he outlined.

He continued that the doctors should be “happy” about working in the public service and under a pensionable establishment since it gives them a security of tenure.

Dr Norton added too that employment under such a regime allows unexpected termination as opposed to being on contract, which gives employers the option of firing staff with one month’s notice or in lieu of one month’s pay.

Moreover, the Public Health Minister asserted that the doctors may have been ill-informed that being in a pensionable system does not guarantee any benefits: “I’m really sorry that persons think that these patriotic doctors coming back to serve their country would even consider running because they won’t get some gratuity. That to me is putting ideas in the heads of these young doctors.”

According to Dr Norton, the comments made by the Opposition Leader were irresponsible. He further re-

marked that the number of doctors does not reflect whether or not there is an efficient health system.

In fact what is needed is conscientious, committed healthcare workers rather than the numbers.

And further he noted that there needs to be a very efficient procurement system in place in order to have quality medication available in sufficient quantity as well as have delivery of healthcare with equity and universal health coverage available.

“I don’t certainly see ourself falling in any crisis other than that which we ourselves contribute to by not being as efficient as we can be, proactive as we can be, and giving the people of Guyana value for their money in the salary you give to them,” the minister posited.

Moreover, Dr Norton disregarded claims of job shortages for those returning specialised doctors, stating that his ministry is not aware of such a situation. He pointed out that while the state of the health sector is better than it was years ago, there will always be the need for more doctors and other medical practitioners.

In fact he stated that up to that morning, more doctors were recruited by the Public Health Ministry.

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he Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) is found to have in its possession in excess of $300 million in expired drugs and pharmaceuticals; and according to Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, no effort is being made to dispose of these items.

Sharma in his 2015 Audit Report, said that physical verification exercises conducted on drugs and medical supplies at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre and ten Health Centres in the region, revealed that there are approximately $315.618 million in expired drugs at these locations.

“The Audit Office recommends that the Regional Administration undertake a survey to determine the realistic needs of pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies at these institutions in order to reduce losses through the expiration of drugs,” the AG Report stated.

Sharma also lambasted the authorities for their failure to take the necessary steps to properly dispose of the expired goods and recommended that the necessary actions be taken in this regard.

This revelation comes on the heels of recent public disclosure that many of the medical facilities in Region Four and many other parts of the country were without basic medical supplies such as pain killers, syringes and even bandage, making it futile for them to treat patients for minor complications.

Drug purchase

The state auditors also found that of the $226.781 million budgeted for in 2015 for the procurement of drugs & medical supplies for the region, an Inter-Departmental Warrant on December 12, 2015 was issued to the Ministry of Public Health valuing $224.781 million for the Ministry to procure drugs and medical supplies on behalf of the Region. However, audit checks revealed that

Auditor General of Guyana, Deodat Sharma

Regional Executive Officer, Region 4, Pauline Lucas

the Ministry was unable to execute the purchase.

This revelation comes in the face of recent massive drug shortages in the region, including at the Diamond Hospital and a number of health centres across the region.

Sharma also cited similar occurrences in almost all the other administrative region.

Meanwhile, the AG report also highlighted a number of financial and other breaches by the Regional Administration including hiring of vehicle despite the region having its own.

The report singled out an instance where the RDC expended some $9.4 million to hire two vehicles to deliver juice, biscuits and furniture to various schools across the Region, despite having a canter truck and several other vehicles which could have been utilised for this purpose.

However, the regional authorities argued that the “medium-sized” canter truck and other vehicles are inadequate to transport the items.

quired to pay rent of 10% and 12% of their salary for unfurnished and furnished accommodation, respectively, except where entitlement to rent-free Government quarters had been previously approved, as a condition of service.

He said of the 300 buildings controlled by the Regional Administration, 132 are occupied by various persons including individuals from Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) and TOPCO, however only 26 of those persons are paying rent.

“However, from the records presented for audit examination it could not be determined whether those persons who were not paying rent were entitled to rent free quarters,” Sharma’s Report pointed out.

He recommended that authorities take steps to collect the outstanding rent Under its capital programme, the region failed to execute about 46.3% of its capital budget for 2015.

“The sum of $237.387M was budgeted in 2015 for the Region to execute its capital programme. According to the Appropriation Account the sum of $127.474M were expended, resulting in the Region not achieving its anticipated level of capital expenditure activities in 2015 by $109.913 million,” the report stated. There were also issues of overpayment of contractors, improper record keeping and breach of financial regulations in the region.

Living quarters

Meanwhile, the Auditor General questioned the regional authorities over their failure to collect rental from persons who are occupying more than 100 living quarters owned by the regional authorities.

Sharma reminded of circularised instructions which state that for the occupation of Government quarters, Public Servants are re-

Mash 2017 launched

I

n high spirits, scores of people were present for the Mashramani 2017 launching ceremony on Main Street, Georgetown hosted by the Education Ministry’s Department of Culture, Youth and Sport, on Thursday evening.

The theme for Mash 2017 was also revealed: “Celebrate with Liberty, Dignity and Greater Unity”.

The audience enjoyed the entertaining performances of the Amerindian Dance Troupe, Nitryageet Dancers, the National School of Dance, singing by the winner of the Junior Calypso Monarch, Chutney singer Bunty Singh and Calypsonian Bill Rogers.

Additionally, the folk songs by the National Steel Orchestra proved quite appealing to many.

Minister within the Education Ministry, Nicolette Henry expressed appreciation of the launch, as she emphasised on the importance of unity among persons of different races and religions, in Guyana.

She further encouraged persons to participate in Mashramani 2017, promising that “it will not only be colourful but inclusive”.

Junior Education Minister Nicolette Henry unveiling the theme for Mashramani 2017 at the launch on Thursday evening

guyana-times.com

A

ll preparations are in place for the hosting of the biggest Diwali motorcade organised by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha on Saturday evening. More than 30 floats have confirmed their participation in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event that will see $3 million distributed in cash in addition to cash and other prizes.

The fabulously decorated and well illuminated floats will assemble at the Shri Krishna Mandir, Campbellville, Georgetown, from 18:00h and will move West along Campbell Avenue into Sandy Babb Street, North into JB

friday, october 28, 2016

Singh Road and East onto Seawall Road, to the La Bonne Intention Community (LBI) Centre ground, East Coast Demerara.

At the LBI Community Centre ground, the stage programme starts at 19:00h with special performances by ZEETVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Saregamapa, 2016 winner, Kushal Paul and finalist Jyotica Tangri.

In addition, the Dharmic Nritya Sangh and Sookrane Boodhoo along with others are slated to perform.

Admission to all motorcades is free and no alcohol is allowed.

O

n November 5, Crane Village, on the West Coast of Demerara, will come alive as six beauties clash head on to win the coveted title of Miss Crane 2016. The delegates aged 14-21 were chosen from various sections of the village with the task of showcasing their respective areas.

The delegates are Odella Flower, 17, and a former student of Richard Ishmael Secondary School; Ronella Evans, 20, a call centre representative; Shaskea Garraway, 17, a student at the University of Guyana pursuing a degree in Economics; Jamela Holder, 17, a former student of Leonora Secondary School; Davie Jittah, 18, a former student of Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary School and Sheniza Garraway, 19, a former student of Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary School.

On pageant night, the delegates will compete in several segments including introduction, presentation platform, evening gown and intelligence.

The six young ladies are presently undergoing rigorous training to get their walk, stance and gracefulness intact for pageant night. Apart from the pageant, there will be several dance troupes to entertain the audience and more, a special Guyanese artiste is expected to serenade the delegates.

The emcee for the pageant is a popular pastor in the area. No entrance fees will be charged but barbeque and beverages will be on sale. Music for the pageant will be provided by Ghost Rider and Stereo Sonics.

Xtra Energy deejays, Skinny Hype and Platinum will be in the house.

After the pageant, there will be the after party. The pageant is promoted by Sceon Swan.

Davie Jittah

Sheniza Garraway

Jamela Holder

Odella Flower

Shaskea Garraway

Ronella Evans

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guyana-times.com

friday, october 28, 2016

WEEK FIRE FEST

set for November 6-13

C

oming off of one of the biggest events in the dancehall arena on local shores, Empire Media Inc (EMI) is keen on building on the momentum of the resurgence of sound culture and the dancehall industry in Guyana.

The recent Art of War DJ competition that was held in July was just a step in the direction that EMI intends to take the entertainment/dancehall industry.

To this end, EMI will stage its third event called “Fire Fest” which is billed for October 29, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall tarmac.

Fire Fest is a dancehall event which will provide revellers with a fiery concept by encouraging and promoting the use of lighters and fire sprays.

The event promises to create a unique picturesque setting throughout the night. Both local and international DJs and sound systems combine will ignite and blaze a musical fire like never witnessed before on local shores. It will be fire in the sky!

Blazing the fire will be international DJs Nasheen Fire from Florida and Fire

Fox featuring female DJ phenomenon MC Lady Love from New Jersey.

They will share the stage with Guyana’s finest in the dancehall, which include Art of War champions Platinum and Skinny Hype, Selector Face and Seen Up, Killer Feelings and DJ Dellon and Selector Charlie.

Early juggling will be provided by Determine Sound.

Tickets for the event cost $1000 and will be available at Nigel’s Supermarket Depot, White Castle Fish shop, Gumdac Music House, Corner Kick Restaurant and Bar, Hot and Spicy Creole Corner and Rubis Gas Station (Mandela Avenue).

For more information, like their Facebook page ‘Empire Media Inc’.

G

uyana Fashion Week 7 is around the corner and adrenaline is running high as designers, models, make-up artists, and hair stylists are expecting a show of international standard. GFW 2016 has been the toughest as it relates to sponsorship.

The rehearsals are intensifying and the cast and crew are hyped for the hectic week of fashion. GFW commences with a church service on November 6 at Love and Faith Ministries.

On November 7, there will be a workshop for models and is being facilitated by Artistic Director of the event, Richard Young followed by a leadership workshop that is being conducted by Dr Sonia Noel, Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Fashion Week on November 8.

On November 9, the Theatre Guild will come alive with ‘Performing Style’ followed by a media conference on November 10, as well as a hairstylist’s workshop facilitated by Essenese Sambury, Master Cutter, Hairstylist and the CEO Caribbean School of Cosmetology. Meanwhile, later in the day, the designer’s workshop will be facilitated by Walter Greene Fashion Editorial, Director of Profiles98 Magazine.

On November 11 there will be the “Meet and Greet In Style”, Cocktail Reception at Pegasus and on November 12 will be the Beauty and Fashion Expo. This will be fol-

lowed by the finals “Model Image” competition and young designers showcase.

On the night, the first runway show will commence at 20:00h followed by an “All White Affair” after party at Aura Lounge. On November 13, the Beauty and Fashion Expo continues from 09:00h-18:00h and the final runway show will be held at 19:00h.

The public will be able to attend the Beauty and Fashion EXPO free of cost, and purchase pieces from the designers as well as support the other beauty businesses.

With the holiday season approaching, it will be great to select your Christmas party outfits and gifts. Youths have played an integral part in the planning and execution of Guyana Fashion Weekend; one such individual being Keron Noble for his commitment and dedication.

This year, GFW will feature the Indigenous fashion display. Trafficking In Persons (TIP), domestic violence and people living with disabilities are the causes GFW will be highlighting this year.

Guyana Fashion Week is the second longest fashion event in the Caribbean and the team very thankful for the support since 2007.

T

wenty-fiveyear-old Sameer Khan has made a name for himself in several fields including drawing, painting, sculpting, leather craft, ceramics, fabric design, tie dye, floral arrangements, decorative crafts, cake decorating and many more.

More importantly, he has designed costumes for Mashramani and the several Halloween parties.

Growing up with his parents in Essequibo, he was forced to explore art and craft since they were fearful that one day he would drown. His father died as a result of alcohol abuse. He always thinks of striving and aiming to excel since he did not want to become like his father.

His mother, who has been his biggest supporter, passed away two years ago as a result of kidney failure.

She was also diabetic and would have lost sight in both eyes due to cataract.

Three months after the passing of his mother, his eldest sister committed suicide. She was 30 and took her own life in December of 2014 while he was living in Georgetown. On the day she died, he recalled attempting to make contact with her but his calls went to voice mail.

Khan who claimed that he was sexually molested confided in his family that he was gay at the age of 15 but they never believed him until he was 21 – his mother accepted his sexual orientation.

Upon finding out he was gay; his sister got someone to produce a death certificate in his name.

His sister did not want to be associated with him but he never lost hope that one day she would have accepted him for who he really was.

At the tender age of six, he discovered his passion for drawing and has used every opportunity to

master the skill. At the age of seven, h e won an Easter competition which was enough motivation to keep going.

At the age of 13, he won an international art competition. He went on to win the Ethnic Relations Poster Competition. His achievements continued by winning the Guyana Rice Development Board logo competition – the one that is presently being used by the organisation.

A f t e r Carifesta in 2008, he worked at Theatre Guild a n d started to tutor children preparing for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) as a part-time gig. That same year, he worked with the Link Show by preparing props and costumes.

His work at Carifesta was an experience of a lifetime.

He continued to work in theatrical productions at the Theatre Guild such as “Masacura Man”. This talented individual has designed costumes with materials thrown at him; even if it meant him recycling; he was determined to finish the task given to him.

In 2011, he worked along with the designer for Carib Beer and GTT Blue Wave Mash Bands and in 2012 he was the technical designer for Banks Beer band.

He also designed and created costumes for schools which subsequently emerged victorious.

Presently, he is looking ahead as Guyana celebrates its 46th Republic status with a massive costume and float parade in February 2017.

friDAY, october 28, 2016

guyana-times.com

19

T

wenty-one-year-old Guyanese songstress Poonam Singh is presently in The Dominican Republic where she will be competing with 24 other delegates from around the world for the coveted title of Miss Global International.

The preliminaries for the pageant commenced and the grand finale is set for Saturday evening. On the night of the pageant, the delegates will compete in the national costume, swimwear, evening wear and intelligence segments.

The delegates who would have placed on the top five in the talent preliminaries will have to showcase their masterpieces on pageant night.

Apart from the main attraction, which is the crowning, there will be several other prizes that will be awarded to the delegates, including Miss Body Beautiful, Best National Costume, Best talent, Miss Congeniality and several others.

Singh who is performing a song as her talent piece will definitely blow the crowd away with her melodious voice. At the age of 16, the Guyana beauty placed 2nd in the GT&T Jingle and Song Competition after which she ventured out to pursue her tertiary education.

She graduated with a diploma in Communication Studies at the University of Guyana and is presently pursuing her Bachelor of Law from the University

Plans for

Guyana Night

BIG CLASH

of London through the Nations of University of Law. She also has several songs under her belt that have been creating waves on local and international radio. One of such is the famous “Guyana” which he recorded for Guyana’s Independence celebrations.

However, she has huge shoes to fill, since in the 2015 pageant, Alica Bess would have secured the second runner-up spot in the international pageant but the talented young lady who is competing in her first pageant is confidence she will do well.

The pageant is expected to be streamed live from The Dominican Republic on Saturday evening via the Miss Global International facebook page.

Party Poppers

moving apace

I

n just over a week, all roads will lead to the Lusignan Community Centre ground, on the East Coast of Demerara, for one of the most diverse concerts – Guyana Night Big Clash, hosted by Fire Fest Production. Presently, plans are moving apace for the highly publicised and anticipated concerts to be held on November 5.

Tickets are available at several locations on the East Coast, in Georgetown and in some areas in Berbice. From feedback received, the tickets are going like hot cakes.

Those desirous of being a part of the event are asked to grab their tickets at the earliest opportunity.

Those slated to perform are Mahendra

Ramkellawan, Jumo Primo, Shelly G, Steven Ramphal, Aamir Khan, Avinash Roopchand, Aaron Dasrat, Rajesh Dubraj, Ceclia Samaroo, Bunty Singh, Young Bill Rogers and Charmaine Blackman.

Also adding some vibes to the evening will be the The Heatwaves Band, Dax New Generation Band, the Hot Shots Band and the Shakti String Orchestra. There will also be members of the Fire Fest Dance and Shalita Dance Troupes as well as members of Dance Fanatics.

In addition, Cool Boyz as well as Mark Kazim and other leading comedians will be there to lighten up the night with some laughter. Popular television personality, WR Reaz and radio announcer Surida Nagreadi will be part of the action.

T

he newest VIP Cocktail and Mix Bar is the place to be for the best mixes in town. Located at Lot 75 Ireng Place, West Bel Air Park, Georgetown, the experience is nothing short from the name imaginable.

Because of its expertise in the international market, this has led the team to constantly upgrade its standards and to go that extra mile to meet the needs of their clients.

Now they are pleased to introduce to wining and dining in the finest style with the experience of our New VIP Cocktail Mix Bar. This exquisite initiative

al-

lows patrons to enjoy events as a guest while being the host. The VIP Cocktail & Mix Bar caters everything from Décor to clean up.

The newly established entity also caters for popular cocktails; both locally and internationally, known which is made from the finest alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks and prepared by its professionally trained mixers then served by our courteous waiters.

For more information on the VIP Cocktail & Mix Bar, persons are asked to contact them on 592- 6567897.

20

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

friday, october 28, 2016

Tennis IGG Games open in French Guiana

The teams stand at the opening ceremony for the singing of their National Anthems of each nation

By Delvon Mc Ewan in Cayenne, French Guiana

T

he fifth edition of the tennis Inter Guiana Games (IGG) last evening had its official opening at the League Centre in the capital of French Guiana, Cayenne.

President of the French Guiana League, Christian Pitta declared the tournament open as he welcomed the four teams to French Guiana. He urged

the teams to be competitive as well as to enjoy what his country has to offer.

The Tennis IGG which started in 2012 usually features three teams, French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana. However, for the first time the tournament will feature the three traditional teams and Martinique.

Meanwhile in his brief but jovial message Vice President of the Suriname Tennis Federation, Karl Ganteaume shared similar sentiments

as his French counterpart while he joked about Guyana having new courts when the tournament move there next years. Whether it was just a joke or sarcasm it was analogous to what former President of the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA), Grace McCalman has been seeking during her tenure as President and continues to seek now as a committee member.

The tournament was last year held in Suriname,

it will start here (French Guiana) tomorrow and will move to Guyana next year.

Suriname are the reigning champions and have won the tournament on three occasions while French Guiana won it in its third year at home. Guyana is yet to win the tournament but are confident of completing the task this time around.

One of Guyana’s most experience tennis player Afruica Gentle believes team Guyana stands a chance but

the boys will have to pull their weights.

According to Gentle, the team can gained their required points but the boys will have to put in that extra effort judging from previous experience. If they failed at getting it right it can cause Guyana points since the winners emerge from a point system.

The number one ranked junior Guyanese female player is very confident about the girls, especially her

individual performance since she has been outstanding since the start of the year.

The Tennis IGG Games are for junior tennis players and is played across three categories, under-12s, under-14s and under-18s for boys and girls. It is broken into the singles and doubles as well.

Guyana will open its campaign today and will be looking to better their 2014 runners up finish.

Windies Women will qualify easily – Cameron

W

est Indies Cricket Board president, Dave Cameron, has backed the women’s side to easily qualify for next year’s World Cup in England, despite their recent series loss to the hosts in the Caribbean.

Cameron told Line and Length Network even though he believed the Stafanie Taylor-led unit would secure automatic qualification, if they did not, a place in the eight-team tournament was still virtually assured.

I think they will qualify easily,” Cameron said.

“And again, it’s a tenteam [qualifying] tournament, there are eight teams playing now in the Women’s Championship so I think we’ll qualify but if we don’t automatically qualify then I

Chase Academy shut out St John’s...

continued from page 21

Alphius Bookie drives confidently against Mark Ramsammy who was threatening to take the match away from Christ Church Secondary at Bourda

I

n reply, skipper Alphius Bookie made 45 not out laced with six sweetly timed boundaries as he led his team to their winning target. Mark Ramsammy took the only two wickets to fall.

Over at Zeeburg, Uitvlugt Secondary squeezed past Leonora Secondary by two wickets. Leonora Secondary

made 107 all out in 20.2 overs. Kevin Christian top scored with 31. Salman Khan and Reaz Khan had figures of 3-10 and 2-29 respectively.

Uitvulgt in their reply, limped to 108/8 in 20.4 overs with Lalchan Seeram leading the run chase with 38 while Reaz Khan supported with 36. Kevin Christian had

4-23 bowling for Leonora.

Today, Diamond Secondary will play Friendship Secondary in the East Bank Demerara zone final at the Everest Cricket Club ground from 10:00h while GCC will host the East Georgetown zone semi-final between Mae’s Secondary and Tutorial High School from midday.

can’t see us missing out on the World Cup. “I think they are very relaxed in their approach right now.”

West Indies Women currently sit third in the ICC Women’s Championship, the ongoing competition which will determine the four automatic qualifiers for the 50-overs World Cup which runs from June 26 to July 23, 2017.

The remaining four spots will be determined by a 10team qualifier in February next year.

West Indies Women were well below their best in the recent England series, winning just one of the three Women’s Championship games and earning two points, as they went down 3-2 in the OneDay International series.

However, Cameron pointed out that with a structure now in place to ensure long term development of the side, success in the future would be guaranteed.

“I’m very, very delighted with the women’s cricket. I think we always had talent, everybody knew that,” the region’s top administrator said.

“And when you look at persons like Dorothy Hobson (former West Indies player) today, they didn’t get the opportunity to play as much cricket and you’re seeing the difference now.

Dave Cameron (left) was present in India when the West Indies Women won the World T20

“We have a structured programme. The ladies

are now off to play in India so every year they have a minimum of 12 games and that makes a huge differ-

ence to the performance.”

The WICB announced last month it would give players a pay hike and also increase the number of retainer contracts from 11 to 15, a move Cameron believes will be instrumental in motivating the side.

“I’m very happy with where they are. We now have 15 of them retained so I think that will also boost their confidence,” he noted. “I’m looking forward to them winning the World Cup next year actually.”

West Indies Women, the reigning Twenty20 World champions, will tour India for three ODIs and three T20s next month. (Windiescricket. com)

21

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WI A power to series win with 109-run victory

A

maiden List A century from Kyle Hope and a strong all-round effort from Rovman Powell forced West Indies A’s 109run victory over Sri Lanka A in Kurunegela. The win gave the visitors a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Hope hit four sixes and ten fours in his 110-ball 107, sharing century stands with Chadwick Walton for the first wicket and Assad Fudadin for the second.

Walton scored a 57-ball 70 in an opening stand of 111 in 18.1 overs. Fudadin was slower, with a 70-ball 57, but Hope’s acceleration

meant the secondwicket partnership put on 109 in

17.1 overs. That partnership ended with the wicket of Hope, but West Indies A still had a strong platform, with 220 for 2 in the 36th over.

SCOREBOARD West Indies A innings (50 overs maximum) CAK Walton† b Siriwardana 70 KA Hope c Weerakkody b 107 Gunathilaka AB Fudadin c Weerakkody 57 b Jayasuriya ADS Fletcher b Shanaka 3 R Powell c Fernando b Jayasuriya 52 KR Mayers b Fernando 16 JN Mohammed*c Aponso b Jayasuriya 14 V Permaul b Jayasuriya 13 not out 5 DE Johnson RR Beaton c Weerakkody b Fernando 2 JL Jaggesar not out 1 Extras (b-1, w-5, nb-1) 7 Total (9 wickets; 50 overs) 347 Fall of wickets 1-111 (Walton, 18.1 ov), 2-220 (Hope, 35.2 ov), 3-228 (Fletcher, 38.2 ov), 4-294 (Powell, 44.3 ov), 5-294 (Fudadin, 44.4 ov), 6-321 (Mohammed, 46.4 ov), 7-325 (Mayers, 47.5 ov), 8-340 (Permaul, 48.6 ov), 9-343 (Beaton, 49.3 ov) Bowling: B Fernando 9-0-70-2 (w-3), CMKK Wijerathne 4-0-480 (nb-1, w-1), MA Aponso 7-0-40-0, DSNFG Jayasuriya 9-1-54-4, KIC Asalanka 1-0-80, MD Gunathilaka 10-0-631, TAM Siriwardana 3-0-13-1, MD Shanaka 7-0-50-1 (w-1)

Sri Lanka A innings (target: 348 runs from 50 overs) DS Weerakkody b Beaton 0 MD Gunathilaka c †Walton b 1 Beaton DSNFG Jayasuriya c Powell b 119 Mayers KIC Asalanka run out 44 (Permaul) TAM Siriwardana*c Fudadin 16 b Powell S Ashan c Fletcher b Permaul 1 M Bhanuka†run out (Permaul) 8 MD Shanakac †Walton b 32 Powell B Fernando lbw b Powell 5 MA Aponsoc Powell b Mayers 2 CMKK Wijerathne not out 2 Extras (lb-3, w-5) 8 Total (all out; 42.1 overs) 238 Fall of wickets 1-0 (Weerakkody, 0.2 ov), 2-10 (Gunathilaka, 2.1 ov), 3-98 (Asalanka, 20.2 ov), 4-120 (Siriwardana, 23.1 ov), 5-127 (Ashan, 24.4 ov), 6-159 (Bhanuka, 29.5 ov), 7-229 (Jayasuriya, 39.4 ov), 8-229 (Shanaka, 40.3 ov), 9-236 (Aponso, 41.4 ov), 10-238 (Fernando, 42.1 ov) Bowling: RR Beaton 7-0-412 (w-2), DE Johnson 4-0-160, JL Jaggesar 6-0-39-0 (w-2), KR Mayers 8-0-57-2 (w-1), V Permaul 10-0-38-1, R Powell 7.1-0-44-3

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Powell made full use of that base, hitting six sixes and two fours en route to 52 off 22 balls. West Indies added 113 runs in the last ten overs to set a target of 348.

The Sri Lankan openers, Sandun Weerakkody and Danushka Gunathilaka, fell for 0 and 1 respectively to leave the side at 10 for 2. Shehan Jayasuriya, who had led the bowling effort with 4 for 54, did his best to resurrect the batting with a 113-ball 119. He and Charith Asalanka added 88 for the third wicket, before a run-out ended the partnership. Thereafter, a steady stream of wickets deflated Sri Lanka A’s chase with Powell claiming 3 for 43.

Sri Lanka A were ultimately bowled out for 238 in 42.1 overs.

The Caribbean side won the opening One Day match by 165 runs after bowling out the home team for 102 chasing 267/6. Hope was once again among the runs with the top score of 81 while Jason Mohammed made 58 and Powell 55. Offspinner, Jon-Russ Jagessar picked up four wickets while Ronsford Beaton and Delorn Johnson shared five wickets.

The final match between the two sides will be held in Colombo on October 30.

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Chase Academy shut out St John’s for 38 to reach Zone final – Diamond & Friendship contesting EBD Zone final

D

efending champions Chase Academy and Christ Church Secondary set up a final showdown after both teams recorded comfortable victories in the North Georgetown zone semi-final of the 2016 edition of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) National Secondary School Cricket League (NSSCL) on Wednesday.

At DCC, defending champions Chase Academy rattled up 233/8 in 30 overs against St John’s College.

National under 17 allrounder Ashmead Nedd smashed a belligerent 96.

He struck 11 fours and four thunderous sixes during his innings. National under 15 captain and opener Sachin Singh made 39 and Garrick Persaud chipped in with 36 to give the Chase Academy team a huge total. Bowling for St John’s, Shemar Bookie was the pick of the bowlers taking 3-9 amid the carnage.

Yohancy Angoy took 2-24.

The St John’s College boys showed little fight when

it was their turn to bat folding for just 38. Dwain Dick had 3-3 and Tyrese Trescot took 2-9 bowling for Chase Academy.

At GCC, Christ Church registered an easy eight wicket victory over School of Nations. Batting first, School of Nations were dismissed for 95 with Christopher Baljit making 31. Renaldo Mohamed had 3-22 and Aaron Beharry 3-25 bowling for Christ Church. continues on page 20

22

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

friday, october 28, 2016

Royal Sports take ownership of Zouks "Obeah Man" confident Digicel Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Cycle Race

of defending title A

There was a strong fan base for the Zouks when they beat the Tallawahs twice in Florida in CPL 2016 (CPL Photo)

T

he Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) are delighted to announce that the Zouks franchise have been purchased by ‘Jay’ Pandya of Royal Sports Club, based in Philadelphia.

Jignesh ‘Jay’ Pandya is the founder of the Rohan Group of companies, a real estate venture with over 100 combined commercial and retail properties that employs in excess of 1,200 people. He currently also serves as the Chairman of Global Sports Ventures, LLC and Royal Sports Club, LLC. The 2016 season was the Zouks’ most successful yet, with Daren Sammy’s St. Lucia-based side reaching the final four of CPL for the first time.

Welcoming Royal Sports Club’s acquisition of the Zouks, Damien O’Donohoe, CEO of the Hero CPL, said: “Today is a landmark day for the Zouks franchise, and indeed for the Hero CPL, and is further evidence of the growing stature of the biggest party in sport both in the Caribbean and internationally.

“Discussions have been ongoing with Pandya and his representatives for many months and they have a clear vision for the Zouks to elevate them even higher for the seasons to come in terms of recruitment and in building all aspects of the franchise, from root to branch. Their passion for the Hero CPL is obvious, with their values

being closely aligned to our own to strive to be an innovative market-leader, and I have no doubt that these are exciting times to be a Zouks fan.

“The 2016 season was a ground-breaking one for Hero CPL, with the successful staging of six matches in Central Broward Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida helping to elevate the competition to new heights. As we build up to the 2017 campaign, I would like to welcome Mr. Pandya to the CPL family and wish him and his consortium well for the seasons to come.”

Outlining his vision for the Zouks franchise, owner Jay Pandya said: “Our aim is to help drive the Zouks forward to become the dominant team in the CPL by producing consistent results that will enable us to be title contenders in every edition of CPL going forward.

“Royal Sports encounters numerous investment opportunities in the sporting businesses across North America and Europe, and one of the investments that really excited us was the CPL and we felt it was a great addition to our sports portfolio. One of the key reasons being CPL has shown

fantastic growth since its inception and it has quickly grown to over 120 million television viewers in such a short period of time.

It has energized crowds to come and watch matches live at stadiums across the Caribbean and the United States with the party-like atmosphere. It has definitely become the biggest party in sport and it was this, coupled with the fact that St Lucia Zouks has a strong fan following in St Lucia, which were the key factors in our investment decision.

“We are extremely happy that the management team, with Stuart Williams as our Head Coach and Daren Sammy as our Captain, have committed to remain with the franchise and will continue to lead it.

Daren is a passionate St. Lucian who leads the side with great skill and charisma and is hugely respected internationally, especially after guiding the West Indies to their second ICC World T20 title in India earlier this year.

“Our Executive Directors are working closely with both Stuart and Daren in terms of player recruitment, the goal being to become champions of the CPL after missing out last year in the playoffs.

“CPL have worked closely with the governments, tourism boards and sponsors and we look forward to building on each of those relationships especially considering the direct contribution towards economies around the Caribbean made

by CPL in terms of dollar spend. This is just our first investment into the Caribbean and we will continue to explore more investment options in terms of tourism and other business opportunities that are available.” (cplt20.com)

head of the 5th Annual Digicel Breast Cancer Awareness Cycle Race billed for this Sunday, two-time defending champion, Team Cocos Raynauth ‘Obeah Man’ Jeffrey has already set his sights on making it three in three.

Jeffrey took last year’s championship in a time of 3:15:32, with Jaime Romeirs (3:16:01) and Marlon Williams (3:16:23) finishing in second and third respectively.

While in the last few meets, Jeffrey would not have featured in the top spots, the top wheelsman, speaking with Guyana Times Sport said it was due to an injury sustained from a crash while competing in the Tour of Tobago in September as well as an illness but has recovered and is ready to defend his title.

“I am ok and my preparations are going well.” Jeffrey stated.

The cyclist noted that he is conscience of his fitness after cramping up and becoming dehydrated in the Kadir Memorial Road Race and has worked to remedy these problems.

However, the talented rider remained that the ideology of being a team player is what they practice in the club and they “are working as a team to win.

With the likes of Junior Niles, Hamza Eastman and Stephano Husbands Jeffrey said “It is a team effort and once one of Team Cocos wins we are alright.”

Jeffrey pointed out that there is not much competi-

Flashback! Two-time defending champion Raynauth Jeffrey receiving his prize from then Digicel, CEO Gregory Dean

tion out there for Team Cocos but in particular, the team is watchful of Continental Rider Gerron Williams, Orville Hinds and Shaquille Agard.

Digicel’s Head of Marketing Jacqueline James stated in a previous conference that while the race is about spreading awareness about Breast and all other forms of Cancers affecting persons in society, she would like persons to also celebrate those individuals who have survived the dreaded disease.

This year’s event, which would see fans being treated to Digicel giveaways on the lawns of Camp Ayangana along the JB Singh Highway is dedicated to Digicel staff member Sharon Singh, a survivor of Cancer.

As has been the tradition, James reminded that all participants would be required to pay an entrance fee of $1,000;

however, paying more would not be disallowed, the accumulated amount would be matched by Digicel which would then be handed over to the Guyana Cancer Society on behalf of all the cyclists and staff of Digicel.

The much anticipated event takes place on the outer circuit of the National Park, the featured race would attract the senior riders, juniors as well as the Under-45 and Over-45 riders with the veterans’ race finishing after 18 laps and the juniors and seniors going on to complete a 30-lap race after which Digicel representatives will take over to award prizes.

The top 5 senior riders would receive cash awards of $250,000, $200,000, $150,000, $80,000 and $20,000, respectively. The top three juniors are guaranteed, $80,000, $50,000 and $30,000.

We will do our best to bring back French Guiana – Jones

A

t the conclusion of the Guyana-hosted 2016 edition of the InterGuiana Games, renamed the Goodwill Games due to the non-participation of French Guiana, the Directors of Sport for Suriname and Guyana have both indicated intentions of traveling to their sister country to ascertain the future of the French nation’s participation in the Games.

Surinamese Director of Sport Luciano Mentowikromo, speaking with Guyana Times Sport said that it was not the same, having to compete in the Games without French Guiana and would like to see them returning to competition.

Mentowikromo further added that it was most likely that due to the lengthy paper work required by the Frenchspeaking nation needed to fulfill as they are still a colony under France.

“The difference between French Guiana and us (Suriname and Guyana) is that French Guiana is still a colony of France and we are independent, they have a lot more work to do before they get the permission.” With Mentowikromo adding that

Sport

Suriname Director of Sport Luciano Mentowikromo

“we want them back because its Inter Guiana Games which means Guyana Suriname and French Guiana, without one of them it is incomplete and we will do our best to bring them back.”

Director of Sport for Guyana, Christopher Jones confirmed that there are plans to visit French Guiana and to identify the issues surrounding the Inter Guiana Games.

“It is most critical that we go because we don’t know that over a year now, both Guyana and Suriname has been trying to make contact with the officials in French Guiana to ascertain their participation and we have not been able to get a feedback from them.”

Jones said The Guyanese Director pointed out that even e-mails were sent and none was returned so there would be a trip to the French nation to actually speak first hand with the officials and find out whether or not they are going to continue to participate in the Inter-Guiana Games and more so even host the games in the near future.

The Inter-Guiana Games began back in 1967 when Guyana and Suriname Under-19 football teams played for a trophy. In 2016 the games have grown to include seven sporting disciplines while French Guiana became an active participant over the years.

Guyana Director of Christopher Jones

guyana-times.com

friday, october 28, 2016

61 years of athletes’ data just a click away

By Romario Samaroo

L

iving in the modern world where almost everything is made accessible in the palm of our hands, the National Sports Commission (NSC) has teamed up with IntellectStorm to bring

hand.” Jones noted.

It was revealed that there were three tenders issued to the National Tender Board with IntellectStorm securing the bid at a cost of $2.8Million.

The Sport Director pointed out that this provides

an election due and the NSC had inform them of such, should they breach it will have consequences attached based on the information provided from the database.

Chief Executive Officer of IntellectStorm, Rowen Willabus took to his social

23

Stage of Champions set for November debut

made a n d a t a simple demonstrat i o n exercise the media were informed and showed the progress the technology company has made to date.

Videsh Sookram with CACBFF President Joe Varnie (right) and General Secretary Sheldon Seebarran

T

The home page of the first-ever National Sports Database

to fruition the first ever National Sports Database.

The revelation was made in the boardroom of the National Sports Commission boardroom on Thursday when Director of Sport Christopher Jones had indicated that this was the first time a rich database of Sporting knowledge will be just a click away.

“Several months ago the NSC would have made it known its desire to have a national database of athletes throughout the country… the preparation and collection of information for this database is currently at

a strategic advantage of knowing “who, what, where, when and why funding from the NSC is made available.”

It is expected that the database will feature all information from NSC recognized institutions including key people, their constitutions/ documents, players, districts, zones, schools, competitions, athlete performance, awards from 1955.

Jones noted that this is particularly important for the NSC as it will be used as a guideline in keeping all federations in check, giving the example that if there is

media page to point out that, “In other countries, sport is a science. It is time that we implement a data driven approach to nurture, selection and policy making.” Further adding that it is his passion to see the development of sport take shape and it is through initiatives like this that we as a sporting nation can come out of the dark and be on par with the top countries.

While there was no definite date as to when the programme will be released to the world it was clear that significant strides have been

The programmer acknowledged that the database will only be limited to the information that is available and it is on the best interest of federations and associations that the information be readily available as the project seeks information from some of the oldest archives in the country.

This declaration has come with the prospects of the annual National Schools Cycling, Swimming and Track and Field Championships which is set for November 21 – 25.

GCB/Scotiabank Kiddy Progression One Cricket...

G

he first ever ‘Stage of Champions’ is set for November 19 at the Theater Guild in Kingston, Georgetown. The event will feature a wide array of talents from across the Caribbean and is organized by Organising Secretary of the Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GABBFF), Videsh Sookram. Sookram recently returned from Barbados where he was the Manager of the Guyana contingent for the Darcy Beckles Classic.

So far, 35 athletes have confirmed their participation including a strong overseas representation from Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Bahamas.

The show is sanctioned by the GABBFF and the Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (CACBFF) and will feature the men’s open class and the men’s invitational class as well as a men’s physique and a miss bikini open categories.

The inaugural winner of Mr. Stage of Champions will earn a purse of $250,000 while second place attracts $150,000 and 3rd, $100,000 as well as fitness hampers compliments of Fitness Express.

The show is expected to feature reigning Mr. Guyana Kerwin Clarke as well as silver medalist in the CAC Championships, Emmerson Campbell and other highly talented youngsters representing the Golden Arrowhead.

The muscle men will take the stage from 19:00h and admission is $2,000.

The tournament is well supported by sponsors including Fitness Express, Extra Energy Drink, Farfan and Mendes Limited, Vinu’s Shoe Box, Life Gym, Status Hotel, Space Gym, Print For Less, 65eight Concept and QC Designer Boutique.

Greenwich Primary win East Bank Essequibo Zone

reenwich Primary emerged winners of the East Bank Essequibo Zone after they defeated Zeelught Primary by 117 runs in the final of the GCB/Scotiabank Kiddy Progression One Cricket at the Tuschen Community Centre ground.

Greenwich batted first and amassed a mammoth 197/3 off their allotted 14 overs. Shane Rodrigues struck a brilliant 110 while M. Khan made 27 and K. Smith 17. In reply, Zeelugt Primary could only muster 80/4. Adesh made 42 for Zeelugt, while Rodrigues took two wickets for Greenwich.

Building up to the final of the Zone a number of preliminary matches were played during the course of the day. St. Lawrence Primary defeat-

ed Philadelphia Primary.

The winners took first strike and managed to post 99-9 off their allotted 14 overs. Navine Harripersaud top scored with 33. And Anthony Joseph took three wickets for St. Lawrence.

St. Lawrence in reply, reached the target losing six wickets in the process.

Anthony Joseph made 26 and Suresh Narine supported him well with 24.

In another match, Blake Primary defeated Tuschen Primary by 11 wickets. Batting first, Tuschen scored 151 all out.

In response Blake Primary reached their victory target of 152 for the loss of three wickets. S. Rupi top scored with 49 and Mickey Sumaroi made 35.

Zeelugt Primary got the better of Parika Primary in their matchup. Taking first

Smiles of champions. The jubilant Greenwich Primary School team pose with the winning trophy

strike, Zeelugt managed to reach 142 with V. Dass hitting 52. In reply Parika

were restricted for 74. V. Dass had a very good all round match, as he picked

up four wickets to add to his top score.

Greenwich Primary held

off Parika Salem in a onesided match. Parika Salem scored 113, with M. Khan making 32. Parika Salem in their chase could only muster 60. Greenwich won by 53 runs.

In the semi-final encounter, Greenwich Primary defeated Blake Primary.

Greenwich took first strike and managed 180-6, with B. Veerasammy hitting a magnificent 103. M. Khan supporting with 16.

Blake Primary in reply, could only reach 1143, Mickey Sumiah made a valuable 48.

In the other semi-final, Zeelugt Primary got the better of St. Lawrence by 71 runs.

Batting first Zeelugt posted 128 while St. Lawrence could only respond with 57.

friday, october 28, 2016

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

Royal Sports take ownership of Zouks Pg 20

Hero CPL’s Chief Executive Officer, Damian O’Donohoe and Chief Operations Officer Pete Russell officially welcome Jignesh "Jay" Pandya. (CPL Photo)

61 years of athletes’ data just a click away Pg 22

From left: NSC Commissioner Edison Jefford, Christopher Jones, Rowen Willabus and Assistant Director of Sport Melissa Richards stand proudly at the unveiling of the first-ever National Athletes Database

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