Granger lays out conditions for talks with Suriname on territorial claims
PPP concerned about operations of "illegal", "shady"
Former PM’s son found guilty of assault, granted bail pending appeal
Teen remanded on attempted murder charge
National Task Force Commission encounters ‘political hoops’ Patterson says billions unaccounted for at T&HD
Region 3 REO disrespects Regional Chairman’s office Whereabouts of Ituni $4M still unknown
Eccles resident frustrated over robbery spree
saturday, october 24, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com
Gecom announces readiness for Local Govt elections
By Edward LaynE
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has announced its preparedness for the holding of the long overdue Local Government Elections (LGE) before May of next year, confirming earlier reports by Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman.
Trotman last week had told Guyana Times the elections, last held in 1994, was likely to be held in March next year, a date which GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally said was “not unreasonable.”
The Elections body was previously a little adamant about its ability to hold the elections because of some parliamentary hiccups. However, in a release to the media on Friday, the Commission declared it was in full election mode.
“This change in gear was caused by the issuance of several related Orders by the Minister of Communities, including Order No 23 of 2015 on Friday 23 October 2015 which identifies nine Towns and 62 NDCs where Local Government Elections will be held. This Order allows the Elections Commission to extract the voters list for the identified areas for Local Government Elections from the current National Register of Registrants (NRR)”, GECOM said in the statement.
It said the fully constituted Elections Commission with all members present, sitting at its statutory Meeting last September, unanimously decided that the qualifying date to be used for the extraction of the voters’ lists will be 29
February 2016.
“As a consequence of the above, and given the current work plan of the GECOM Secretariat, Local Government Elections can be held no earlier than Monday 14 March 2016 and no later than 29 May 2016. The appointment of the specific date within this period as “Election Day” is still to be made by another Ministerial Order”.
Following the extraction of the Preliminary Lists of Voters for all the Local Government Areas, eligible voters are invited to fully use the Claims & Objections period to scrutinise, sanitise and update these lists.
The Commission said during the Claims and Objections period, which will commence on November 9, persons who will be 18 years and over as at 29 February 2016 will be allowed to make claims to have their registration re-
corded at the address in the constituency in which they live, either as new registrants or by transfer.
In addition, GECOM noted, those persons will be allowed to make objections to entries in the list on which their names appear which they know do not represent persons who actually live in their respective constituencies.
Other transactions such as corrections to the recorded particulars of eligible voters and change of name, supported by the appropriate source documents, will also be permitted during this period.
To facilitate this C&O exercise a total of 153 offices will be established across all the Local Government areas identified for Local Government Elections. Lists will be posted in each electoral division in these areas in accordance with the relevant constituencies.
The offices will be opened for business Monday thru Friday from 15:30h to 19:00h and 10:00h to 14:00h on Saturdays and Sundays during the Claims and Objections period.
GECOM urges all eligible voters to make full use of this period to ensure a credible electoral roll is produced. Eligible voters should look out for frequent GECOM publications in the print, electronic and social media in addition to fliers, posters and banners providing greater detail and updated information as the time approaches.
Speaking to Guyana Times last week, GECOM Chairman Dr Surujbally said the Commission had already commenced ground work in preparation for the elections, and March was one of the months which came up for consideration during deliberations with the Communities Minister.
Gunmen rob Sophia Health Centre –
Police launch manhunt
The Police have launched a manhunt for two men who carried out a daring daylight robbery on the Sophia Health Centre at B Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown.
The names and addresses given to health workers by the two men are Kevin James of 285 Festival City, Georgetown and Andre Hicken of B Field, Sophia.
According to reports received, the two men entered the health centre claiming that they were in need of urgent medical attention and stormed into a room where the nurse was attending to a patient. They then held them at gunpoint.
The senior Medex on duty explained that a patient was accompanied by an accomplice and entered the health centre under the pretext that he had sustained a back injury due to a fall.
As such, the patient was attended to by the nurses who later informed him of his condition and immediately advised treatment. However, the man bluntly refused to receive treatement. The Medex stated that he was told of the patient’s reluctance and decided to have him wait his turn.
“I then went to attend to another patient in the dressing room but while doing so, the guy walked into the dressing room, pulled out a hand gun and ordered that no one move. The gunman place the gun to my head after which he direct all of
us to the back of the dressing room where he demanded that we put all out mobile handsets in a bag… he then took off my chain and hand band”, the Medex stated.
During the ordeal, the gunman had the weapon pointed at them, ordering them not to raise an alarm. After the incident, the men left and the nurses and the Medex waited for some time before coming out of the dressing room area. “I came out and enquired if the other patients saw anyone leaving in a hurry with a bag on their back but no one noticed anything”.
He told the media that he immediately instructed the clerk to contact the Police but did not get through. They finally got onto the Regional Health Office and informed them of the situation. Within a few minutes several officials arrived, along with a Police patrol vehicle but no one was seen.
The health worker explained that after the patrol had left, he was told that a young man had visited the health centre claiming that he wanted to see the clerk but she was busy, and he left. The health worker is of the belief that that man was the accomplice to the robbery.
Guyana Times understands that the gun tooting bandit is known to the health centre since he would have visited on a previous occasion and received treatment for a similar injury complaint. The police are continuing their investigation into the matter.
Political date given by Govt for Diwali should be withdrawn – PPP/C
The APNU+AFC Government’s decision to dictate when the National holiday, Diwali, is to be celebrated in Guyana is being highly condemned by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha and the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
As such, the PPP/C is demanding the Administration desist from “political interference” in religious affairs and is calling for the said date given by the coalition to be withdrawn forthwith.
In a media release on Friday, the Opposition stated it supports unequivocally the call of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha that November 11, 2015 be the date for celebrating Diwali in Guyana, and that this date be declared the National Holiday as agreed and reflected in all calendars issued in the national territory of Guyana.
“Prakash Ramjattan has dealt a devastating and irrevocable blow to
the Government which he is part of. From all indications, Ramjattan was picked by the APNU to make this unpopular decision to bring the AFC and its principal leaders into disrepute and to make the AFC unpopular among Indo-Guyanese in general, the Hindu community is particular. Amna Ally, Minister of Social Cohesion, is either cheering Ramjattan or shed-
ding crocodile tears, her platitudinous exhortations about social cohesion has been shattered as a result of the feral blast fired by Ramjattan unto the Hindu community,” said the PPP/C.
Guyana Times was reminded that quite recently Social Cohesion Minister All was in Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara where she stated that she hopes that one day ‘all Guyanese will unite and that no geography, race or border will limit the potential of a socially cohesive society.’
It was also noted that she later declared in Lethem, Region Nine that her Government is interested in national unity and the time has come for all Guyanese to work to achieve national unity and togetherness.
“Minister Ramjattan blew all this to smithereens with his woodenheaded intervention and unwise decision to derecognise November 11 as the day for the observance of
Diwali. This was clearly a political act on the part of the APNU+AFC by inserting themselves in the longheld religious and cultural traditions of our country. Why now with a change of Government should there be change in the date when this particular holiday is to be observed?” the Opposition’s media statement said.
The PPP/C further stated that before the beginning of each calendar year
the Home Affairs Minister is provided with a list of holiday dates to be observed throughout the country for the year.
“Long before the May 2015 Elections the former Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, had signed off on the following dates as National Holidays: January 4, September 14 and December 24 were flagged as tentative dates. These dates are reflected in
all the calendars issued in December 2014 for the year 2015 in Guyana. Up to Eidul-Adha all the National Holidays have been observed without division or disharmony in our society, save for dates for the observance of Deepavali/Diwali which has since been contested by the APNU+AFC,” the PPP/C contended. (kristenm@guyanatimesgy. com)
GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally and Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield
Former Home Affairs Minister and PPP/C General Secretary Clement Rohee
Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan
Minister of Social Cohesion Amna Ally
President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, Dr Vindhya Persaud
BRIDGE OPENINGS
The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:
The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:
Saturday, October 24 – 13:45h-15:15h and Sunday, October 25 – 14:30h-16:00h
FERRY SCHEDULE
Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 11:00h and 16:00h daily.
WEATHER TODAY
Weather: Thundery rain showers
High Tide: 01:36h and
Keep UN involved in the Guyana/Venezuela border issue
Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo has called on President David Granger to urgently establish the Border Committee he proposed when the two met over a month ago.
Granger on Thursday updated the National Assembly on the Guyana/ Venezuela border controversy, as well as a recent statement by Surinamese President Desi Bouterse regarding the New River Triangle.
But Jagdeo told a news conference on Friday at the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Robb Street, Georgetown Headquarters that he was hoping the President would have established the committee sometime back so that issues relating to Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity could be discussed in a structured manner.
“I thought we would move forward in a structured way. I have made it quite clear in the first meeting (between Jagdeo and President Granger), we would be a participant, an active participant of the border committee. We would like that committee to be put in place so that a lot of these issues can be ventilated in those circles or in the committee itself. So I want to urge the President to put the border committee in place, to operationalise it,” Jagdeo said.
He said that while his Party supports the Government fully on the border controversy, there is need for clarity on whether or not choosing the juridical route can jeopardise the United Nation’s (UN) involvement in the process.
“We have declared that we want a juridical settlement. Is that part of the menu available to the Secretary General under the [United Nations] Charter? Will the UN be prepared to recommend that to Venezuela as part of the settlement? If it is not
part of the menu available to the Secretary General under the Charter, does this means we will have to go it alone and lose UN’s involvement in the process? So these are some issues that we could have raised privately, but as I said before, we have not been able to do so in the absence of the border committee],” Jagdeo noted.
Imperialist imposition
The Opposition Leader said that while President Granger’s mention of then Venezuelan President, the late Hugo Chávez’s visit to Guyana and his statement on the continuation of discussions on the border issue through the bilateral commission, he stopped short of mentioning Chávez’s position that the border issue is an imperialist imposition on Guyana and Venezuela.
“If the sitting President of Venezuela at that time viewed the border issue as an imperialist imposition on these two countries, then that must mean something, it must mean that the claims themselves had to be spurious,” he contended.
Jagdeo indicated that Granger’s statement that Venezuela’s actions affect-
ing Guyana’s economy or stymie the country’s development in the last 25 years, is not accurate, since issues were around way before the PPP took office in 1992.
“I wish to point out to the President that Venezuela’s attempts to affect our economy or to object to projects in the Essequibo, which stymied our economy, predated us assuming office. We would recall the Upper Mazaruni Development Project that was a victim of two things, bad planning and Venezuela’s objection. That was a huge hydropower project that saw the spending of some $300 million dollars and then leaving the steel to rot in the jungle,” he reminded.
Meanwhile, Jagdeo said that PPP/C while in office, had internally explored as one of five options; the possibility of giving Venezuela an access to the Atlantic Ocean offshore Guyana, without giving up any of the land territory or compromising the 1899 Tribunal Ward, as part of deal to settle the long-running bor-
der controversy. However, these were never presented to the Venezuelans.
“There were other options that involved a negotiated settlement which did not see any land concession, that the 1899 Award would remain intact, that there was one view that you could probably on the maritime area give Venezuela a channel out to sea so you make a slight concession on the maritime area but make sure that you do not concede any territory that is land-based because the maritime boundaries still are yet to be determined,” he said.
New River Triangle
Turning his attention to Suriname, Jagdeo expressed surprise that Granger responded in such a detailed way to a broad statement by the President of Suriname about the New River Triangle to suggest that it is back on the agenda.
He said that he concurred with Granger that the dispute with Suriname was settled since 1936 and there was an agreement on the settlement and was therefore surprise at the President’s challenge to Suriname to initiate an adjudicatory process to deal with the New River Triangle issue, if they are confident about their case.
“In the years I have been President, I always argued that the matter is settled and this is sovereign Guyanese territory and there is absolutely no need for any process to deal with this matter again,” he stressed.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo
Editor(ag): Michael Younge
Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134
The Government of Guyana is moving ahead with its plan to ban the importation and use of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam, popularly known as Styrofoam, with effect from January 2016. It could be recalled that the previous PPP/C Administration had already started work on this initiative. In fact, the ban on Styrofoam was supposed to take effect from since January 2014, however, after some lobbying by the private sector, the Government made a decision to give importers and distributers some more time to get their act together before the ban was fully implemented.
In Guyana, Styrofoam makes up about two to five per cent of the waste stream, and is used mostly in the food industry. The improper disposal of the single-use item has been and remains a threat to health and the wider environment, incurring clean-up and disposal costs in the sum of millions of dollars, a cost borne by the tax-paying public.
Although we are told that Styrofoam has detrimental effects to the environment, very few of us actually understand the science behind it. While there are some positive aspects of the use of the product, research has shown that Styrofoam has severe harmful effects and it is better to not use it. For example, environmental health concerns start with the elements used to make Styrofoam. Styrene, for example, is the foundational ingredient used to make polystyrene which is widely used to manufacture plastics, resins, and rubber.
Additionally, Styrofoam appears to last forever, as it is resistant to photolysis, or the breaking down of materials by protons originating from a light source. This, combined with the fact that Styrofoam is lightweight and therefore floats, means that over time a great deal of polystyrene will accumulate along coasts and waterways which will have negative effects to plants and animal life.
Further, what many of us do not know is that when Styrofoam containers are used for food, chemicals can contaminate the food, affecting human health and the reproductive systems, especially if the food is reheated while still in the container.
It was reported in the media that the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment has begun implementing a series of measures to address waste management and to promote the use of biodegradable materials. Also, the proposed Expanded Polystyrene Ban Regulation is being finalised before the effective date to ensure the ban is legally enforced.
In the coming weeks, citizens can expect to see a heightened public awareness programme to educate persons on the consequences of the use of Styrofoam, and the benefits of alternatives. The goal is to see a significant reduction in the effects of polystyrene foam products on solid waste management in Guyana and its negative impact on the environment, while leading to the further development of new enterprises in alternatives.
The Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) have both endorsed the plan to scale back the importation of the product. However, as expected, a few persons, especially importers of the product, are still showing some resistance. The truth is that the authorities had already given adequate time for importers and distributers to prepare themselves for such a move.
We hope the Government will, almost immediately, step up its massive public awareness and education campaign aimed at getting both businesses and consumers to understand and appreciate the need to ban Styrofoam. In its PR drive, consumers should also be encouraged to support businesses that are gradually moving away from the use of Styrofoam products.
Further, Government must seek to ensure that individuals and businesses are given the necessary support and guidance in the entire transition process; simply enforcing a ban on the product would not be enough. For example, Government may want to examine the option of granting waiver of taxes for a certain period, to businesses willing to make the transition from Styrofoam to biodegradable and less harmful materials. Perhaps the business community may want to discuss and come up with a proposal which they could present to Government for consideration.
We believe the ban on Styrofoam is necessary. And all stakeholders must work with the authorities in ensuring there is a smooth transition from Styrofoam to materials that are much safer to our environment and for humans in general.
Whither Youth Development
Dear Editor, The APNU+AFC Coalition campaigned heavily for 2015 Elections on the platform of youth. The Nation, and young people in particular, were regaled about the importance of young people to the future development of Guyana. Indeed, two pages of their Manifesto were dedicated to this theme under the caption “Youth Policy and Development”.
In the Manifesto, we are told that “policies will be fashioned to deal with unemployment and the lack of suitable and rewarding jobs facing young people”. Promises were made to:
(i) appoint a Ministerial Task Force;
(ii) develop programmes to provide solutions for problems confronting youth;
(iii) provide and nurture a vibrant diversified, skillintensive and natural-resource based modern economy to satisfy the needs of young people;
(iv) develop and implement a plan for universalising a programme of Technical and Vocational Training in order to give every child an opportunity to acquire skill and qualifications;
(v) establish a National Youth Council;
(vi) create a Special Youth Fund;
(vii) encouraging meaningful community and volunteer programmes;
(viii) establish Technical Skills Training Centres.
The propaganda pitch did not end there. In the APNU+AFC Action Programme For The First 100 Days, they promised: “The National Youth Council will be convened and its mandate, terms of reference and programme of action produced for endorsement at a National Youth Conference”.
A large constituent of both young and not so young people drank deeply of the cool aid. It was most evident on the social media. The charge was led by the likes of Messrs Christopher Jones, James Bond, Trevor Williams, Mark Ross and Abel Seetaram. They were on the social media, on television and at every other place. They worked tirelessly. I will readily concede that they had a good message based on their manifesto. In addition to that, there were other attractive sound-bites intended to lure young people.
For example, a modern University of Guyana; a local law school; a vibrant and expansive sports programme embracing the communities, the schools and the university with guaranteed funding for travel and accommodation to attend international championships throughout the Caribbean; the establishment of ICT Centres, etc. In short, it was a fan-
tastic plan which turned out to be a fantastic fantasy.
When the Cabinet was announced, none of the young people who were omnipresent on the campaign trail made it to the Cabinet. Indeed, almost the entire Cabinet, excepting one person, seemed to be over 50 years old. More than 50% of the Cabinet seemed to be in their 60s and 70s. Young people were tossed aside.
Then Members of Parliament were named. Again, none of these young leaders made it to Parliament. The ages of the Members of Parliament were similar to those in Cabinet. Indeed, while in Opposition, Jones, Bond and Williams were all members of Parliament. Despite all their hard work, they were inexplicably dropped. Indeed, apart from Jones, Bond and Williams, were not even given an appointment in the public sector.
If anyone were in doubt about whether APNU+AFC were committed to the ideals relating to youth development as expressed in their Manifesto, then those doubts ought to have dissipated when the APNU+AFC Government morphed the Ministry of Youth within the umbrella of the Ministry of Education.
Clearly, it did not consider that it was a sufficiently important Ministry for it to stand by itself and
with its own substantive Minister.
The Minister of Education (this Ministry now has the responsibility for youth) is in his 70s. But that aside, the 100 days have long passed. No National Youth Council has yet been convened as promised. After six months in Government, I am unaware of a singular step being taken by this Government to implement any of the aforementioned promises which were made in their Manifesto.
Indeed, the evidence seems to suggest that not only would these promises be completely ignored but that gains made in the area of youth development are going to be reversed.
The cumulative impact of all this must be devastating to those who believed in the Manifesto promises of the APNU+AFC regarding youth policy and to those who worked so tirelessly in disseminating it. I do not fault them for believing in their leaders. They did what they were expected to do. I blame the leaders. They did not do what they promised. I hope that those who are disappointed and disenchanted, and understandably so, would not make the same mistake twice. Only time will tell.
Mohabir Anil Nandlall MP Attorney
Future Golden Jaguars! These youngsters enjoying an exciting game of football at the Parade Ground
Ramkarran’s bitterness is not his fault alone
Dear Editor,
Kindly permit me to respond to former Speaker Ralph Ramkarran’s Conversation Tree original article of 10-17-15. That the Speaker took so long to respond to the APNU+AFC pay increase occurring only after the crescendo kept rising, seems most contrived. Ramkarran has been most disappointing and out of touch lately. It does the body politic no good that our leaders are lagging so far behind.
Editor, my public preferences in 2011 favoured Ramkarran as the PPP/C’s Presidential candidate and the late Dr Faith Harding for the PNCR. Neither unfortunately made the grade. Ramkarran is most enlightening when he wrote: “Between 1957 and 1964, the totality of salary and benefits for a (PPP) minister was $840 (then about US$420) per month with $120 as a travel allowance and a driver. In order to attract Shridath Ramphal, who had served as Deputy Attorney General of the West Indian Federation and was then in private practice in Jamaica, the PNC-UF coalition government in 1964 offered him a salary of $4,000 tax free as Attorney General (AG). The salaries of ministers remained the same.”
Ramkarran did not say the obvious that Ramphal was very upfront in demanding and getting paid for his legal skills, not necessarily any sterling patriotism which is now brandished as heavenly. Credit however goes to Ramkarran for his reminder that by Ramphal’s legacy “Thus commenced a fiftyyear anomaly with the Attorney General (AG) earning one million plus, tax free, and everybody else, including the President, earning far less at the end of 2006.” Now let’s be honest. What makes this right for the Attorney General in any country to earn more than the President? What makes it wrong to correct it? What is most amazing is the sour grapes bitterness which seems to characterise our Guyanese political dropouts especially those from the PPP.
In public pain, becoming ours, the dropouts require constant sympathy, solace and healing from an ill equipped public much in need of it themselves.
Editor, is Ramakarran’s bitterness causing him to lose it? Why is he denouncing the APNU+AFC coalition for their 2015 massive 50 per cent salary increase and equalising it to President Jagdeo’s correction of the Ramphal historical anomaly where the AG earned more than the Head of State of Guyana? The two cases are totally dichotomous with one being completely unfair.
Again, - let’s say Ramkarran is being consistent in knocking today’s gaggle of geese compared to yesteryear’s. Why only now is President Jagdeo at fault correcting the “gargantuan disparity”? If my hero has overnight become more brave, maybe he is the promised messiah for the ethnic balancing of Guyana’s armed forc-
You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com
Comparing Guyana and Canada Elections
Dear Editor, There are interesting contrasts on the elections held in Guyana and Canada.
es once dear to his heart. No? He already championed homosexual rights.
Editor, even when Ramkarran mentions: “In his second term, President Jagdeo increased his own salary above the Attorney General but did nothing to reduce the gargantuan disparity (sic) between the President and Attorney General on the one hand and (PPP/C) ministers of government on the other.” Isn’t Ramkarran blowing hot and cold simultaneously?
If President Jagdeo’s proactive salary change of the Ramphal “gargantuan anomaly” apparently was wrong - it was notwould increasing the PPP/C’s entire cabinet’s pay have made it significantly better, most correct and righteously acceptable? Why would it be right by expansion but is most egregiously wrong because only a single glaring 50year anomaly has being corrected?
You cannot have it both ways. The facts of the matter are the PPP/C Government did not do what amkarran now berates President Jagdeo for failing to do, ie raise the entire PPP/C Cabinets salary.
By his skewed protests, Ramkarran has only invited suspicion of his own motives. Truth be told, Ramkarran as senior partner of Cameron and Shephard law firm is not poor by any means. This is the tale of two divided Guyanas not just two divided cities. As PNC leader and President, David Granger has complete entitlement to his army pension but a former PPP/C President cannot collect his because the renegades in the AFC objected. The question which must be asked is why Ramkarran has joined the chorus denouncing the APNU+AFC pay increase so late? Isn’t he out of touch? Is it the usual dropout bitterness? Is it because he too lost out in a pay raise due to him as Speaker by Jagdeo’s inaction?
Like current Speaker Dr Barton Scotland who also got an APNU+AFC pay hike, Ramkarran cannot escape the assertion that he is only wishing and wishing to blow the PPP/C house down. He is outside their tent peeping inside when it’s preferable to be inside. If the PPP Speaker - my hero for President of Guyanawas not thinking about his bigger Government pension, he is most welcome to deny that he is no Ramphal, Granger, Nagamootoo or for that matter a Jagdeo.
Even with Ramkarran unclarified failings he still has my admiration but it rests on thawing thin ice.
Their family name still has resonance and clout today. None of the aforementioned however, should become or remain President of Guyana. We younger Guyanese are always told we are the future leaders of tomorrow. That day has finally arrived. Move over, please. It’s time to go back to basics.
Sultan Mohamed
Canadians changed government on Monday with the Conservatives routed by the Liberals without having to resort to rigging or electoral fraud like what allegedly took place in Guyana on May 11.
There were peaceful voting and peaceful change unlike in Guyana where there was ethnic bullying and evidence of fraud, voter intimidation and skulduggery. In Canada, thugs were not brought out in the streets to produce a desired result, unlike what took place in Guyana.
Foreign Ambassadors in Canada did not intervene to influence the outcome in removing the incumbent. The equivalent of Gecom in Canada did not take sides; it did not take measures to engineer the ouster of the incumbent.
The counting of ballots was swift and accurate; there was no attempt to manipulate the count by ethnic supporters. In short, unlike in Guyana, there were no allegations of fraud.
In Canada, there was no manipulation of the results or refusal for recounting ballots as happened in Guyana. No Ambassador of another nation in Canada sought to change the government through counting manipulation and other electoral skulduggery unlike what was alleged to have taken place in Guyana on May 11.
No foreign Ambassador gave instruction to the Canadian Election Commission not to do a recount of ballots or to support other Ambassadors in a mission to change government undemocratically.
There were no fake statements of poll or the use of washable ink and encouragement of multiple voting as happened in Guyana (to which the Ambassadors in Guyana closed their eyes and ears on complaints).
Unlike in Guyana, if there is a challenge of the result in any area in Canada, as happened in earlier elections, there will be a swift hearing by the courts; the Canadian court is known to supervise recounting when election results were challenged.
It is doubtful such judicial hearing or intervention will happen swiftly in Guyana to bolster democratic institutions.
The defeated Prime Minister (Conservative) resigned as leader of his party to allow a successor to re-
build unlike in Guyana where the defeated Presidential candidate wanted to hold on, albeit he claimed, offering credible evidence, he was engineered out of office through electoral and counting manipulation.
In terms of comparison, Guyanese were in the fray in Canada as voters though it is not clear whether there were any Guyanese or Caribbean candidates in the elections or in the last parliament. But an Afro-Guyanese (from New Amsterdam) was elected as Mayor of a small town some years ago, and subsequently to parliament, serving as a Junior Minister. Several minorities were elected to parliament similar to Guyana.
South Asian or Indian-Canadians more than doubled their representation in the new House of Commons moving from eight to 19 (of 38 who contested) with several Indians contesting against each other. A few Indian incumbents lost their seats.
Guyanese voters influenced the outcome of several seats.
Reports in various Indian publications indicate that the longest-serving Indian descent MP Deepak Obhrai won for the seventh time from Calgary Forest Lawn. Several Guyanese live in the greater Calgary area and a few IndoGuyanese doctors employed in Calgary at various times volunteered service at Guyanese medical institutions.
Some doctors in Guyana were offered training in Calgary and returned home to serve the nation.
While Obhrai retained his seat, outgoing minister of state Bal Gosal and four-time
MP Nina Grewal, both prominent Indo-Canadians, lost. Gosal lost to fellow Indian Ramesh Sangha of the Liberal Party in Brampton Center, and Grewal of the Conservative Party lost in Fleetwood-Port Kells, British Columbia.
Darshan Kang of the Liberal Party created an upset in Calgary Skyview seat defeating fellow Indian Devinder Shory of Conservative Party and Sahajvir Singh Randhawa of the New Democratic Party. This is the first time Liberal has won the seat in 50 years.
The outgoing minister of state Tim Uppal retained his seat by beating Amarjeet SinghSahi of the Liberal Party and Jasvir Deol of the NDP in Edmonton Mill Woods; there is a thriving Guyanese community in Edmonton..
Most Indian-Canadian victories came in Canada’s biggest province of Ontario where 100,000 Guyanese live. In Brampton East (where many Guyanese are settled), Raj Grewal of the Liberal Party beat Harbaljit Kahlon of the NDP and Naval Bajaj of the Conservative Party. In Brampton West, Kamal Khera of the Liberal Party beat Ninder Thind of the Conservative Party. In Brampton North, Ruby Sahota of the Liberal Party beat outgoing MP Parm Gill of the Conservative Party and Martin Singh of the NDP. In Brampton South, Sonia Sidhu of the Liberal party beat Amarjeet Sangha of the NDP.
In the newly demarcated constituency of Mississauga-Malton in the Toronto area, former MP Navdeep Bains got elected once again by beating Jagdish Grewal (an independent after he was kicked out by the Conservative Party over his write-up on homosexuality).
In Mississauga Streetville, GaganSikand of the Liberal Party won.
Raj Saini of the Liberal Party won from Kitchener Center - not far from Toronto – where early Guyanese students/immigrants settled.
Bardish Chagger of the Liberal Party also won from Waterloo – another area where some Guyanese live. Bob Saroya of the Conservative Party won in Markham-Unionville –where a large number of Guyanese reside.
In Don Valle East, where significant numbers of Guyanese make their home, Yasmin Ratansi of the Liberal Party was elected.
Chandra Arya of the Liberal Party won from Napean in the Ottawa area.
In British Columbia, Harjit Sajjan of the Liberal Party beat Amarjeet Nijjar of the NDP in Vancouver South where a small Guyanese and IndoCaribbean and a significant IndoFijian community thrive.
Anju Dhillon of the Liberal Party became the first Indian-Canadian to win a seat in French speaking Quebec - Dorsal-Lachine-LaSalle; the French wanted to break away from Canada and form their own French-speaking nation; just a few Guyanese live in
Quebec City although a significant number of (early) Guyanese studied in and subsequently settled in Montreal.
Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram
Our workers deserve better
Dear Editor,
Please permit me, after days of silence and serious reflection, to express my feeling which is supported by my Union on the financial conditions of the members at this moment, in your letter page. It has been many months since the last imposition of wages/salaries in the Public Corporation and Public Sector was done. The members of NAACIE and I, are aware that like us, others have had to be living with wages imposed since January 1, 2014 to date while goods and services continue to escalate. I am sure that some of my union’s members would not have expected this to be the result of expression of franchise in May 2015.
In GuySuCo, the Union and workers are still awaiting the result of the Government’s decision after a study of the COI report, before the Corporation is prepared to negotiate. We must remember that one of the promises of this Government is the cessation of imposition of wages/ salaries and the return of the right to negotiate by unions. So far, apparent-
ly the Public Service has been assisted by 5% increase until the result of their negotiations of salaries for 2015 is completed in keeping with that same promise. Sad however, that is no other employee is in this bracket, some which include sugar workers, will be allowed to negotiate for increase of salary when the COI is completed and for GPL when a new Board is in place. Of course we have to hope that this arrangement is only for 2015. The recent Ministerial wages/salaries increase though apparently monumental is encouraging, especially when the Union is aware that Guyana is advertised as a Low Income earning country and members of the last Government have been courting investment based on this presumption. This new Administration I hope is encouraging a different approach.
This unusual increase will give workers and Unions an opportunity to struggle for better payment and can depend on the Government for support.
Editor, I know that the GPL at one time was in a healthy position
and with the reduction of the price for fuel, is in a far better position to negotiate a better package for workers. I remember the excuse of cost of fuel causing them not to be in a position to make increases.
Also, Bauxite being just there, according to the Finance Minister, can sustain a reasonable increase. There was a time when rice was doing exceedingly well but is now in crisis. Should this industry be closed or, would there be a COI? Gold production I think need a COI but not forensic as yet unless we are looking at safety and Health Standards.
Finally, I would like to see the fear and anxiety from Business, Banks and families reduced in the Sugar Sector. For the Sugar Industry my advice is that this fear and Political battle is also a reason (and has been reason for a long time) for the inefficiencies and poor quality of Sugar production and the COI.
Kenneth Joseph General Secretary NAACIE
Page Foundation
The term attachment parenting – usually associated with cosleeping, baby-“wearing” and prolonged breast-feeding –is heard increasingly often these days. Yet it isn’t always well understood, even by those who support it. What is “attachment,” what does it have to do with parenting, and how does it relate to healthy family relationships?
In May 2012, Time magazine ignited a virtual parenting-book war with a cover depicting a mother nursing her three-yearold son. Both mother and son were standing, a small chair making up for the difference in their stature, and the headline challenged, “Are You Mom Enough?” This provocative question was followed by the subtitle, “Why attachment parenting drives some moms to extremes – and how Dr Bill Sears became their guru.”
The media firestorm that followed invited a number of recent parenting books into the fray, even though in some cases it required portraying them in oversimplified terms and forcing them into straw uniforms to equip them for battle. This is, of course, how publishing often works: controversy sells.
Although the ensuing debate over the current state of motherhood may have played out mostly in the media (real mothers are too busy to
obsess very much about what other mothers may be doing), it nevertheless reflected a huge gap between what researchers know about child development – particularly in terms of what’s called “attachment theory” – and the current assumptions of the popular press and parenting gurus. And while opponents of attachment parenting rarely characterise attachment research accurately, it is also clear from much of the debate that even supporters of the movement may sometimes suffer from misconceptions. The media is no less in the dark. In articles and even parenting books, it is not uncommon to come across the scientifically meaningless term “attached parents.”
This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of attachment bonds. By definition an attachment bond is one that seeks security and comfort. If these are received, the attachment is “secure.”
Children are “insecurely attached” when these needs are not met; they may have dysfunctional attachment style, but they are nonetheless attached. Even abused children become attached to their mothers. We are wired to continually seek security and comfort from others, whether we receive it or not. On the other hand, a parent should not be looking to a child for
security and comfort; parents’ bonds with their children may express themselves in deep and persistent affection, but you would not refer to such individuals as “attached parents.”
Perhaps surprisingly, the very term attachment parenting is also scientifically meaningless. It carries the subtle implication that there is a well-defined and specific set of parenting practices underlying secure attachment. Quite the contrary is true: the
also the parallel but distinct approach popularised by celebrity Neuroscientist, actress and mom Mayim Bialik, whose 2012 book Beyond the Sling does not refer to Sears at all, pointing rather to John Bowlby’s famous 1950s and ’60s research as its foundation. Bowlby, for his part, didn’t coin any such phrase. He studied the phenomenon of infant attachment from a psychological, observational perspective and did not attempt to define limits
human interaction, and it has influenced almost every field related to the development of the mind for more than half a century.
Securing the bond
So how do parents work toward the kind of secure attachment bonds that will set children on the path toward optimum mental health? Is it critical to co-sleep for a prescribed number of months or years – or at all? Is there a perfect length of time to breast-
term has a complex origin and a rather loose application. It has been used to describe not only the approach outlined in The Baby Book, a popular parenting manual written by Paediatrician Sears and his wife Martha in 1992, but
for how long babies can be allowed to cry or whether they need to be strapped on to a parent’s body for a specific period of time every day.
Rather, Bowlby’s “attachment theory” illuminates the basic requirements for healthy
feed or “wear” babies? This is where interpretation of the research comes in. Certainly anything that increases the opportunity for bonding can be helpful – including co-sleeping, wearing babies and nursing (which, of course, is beneficial for physical health as much as
mental health). But parents’ perception of their infant and of their relationship may be the most important factor in assuring these important bonding opportunities, say researchers.
“Happy, attuned interactions are as much a basic need for an infant as is feeding or burping,” writes Daniel Goleman in Social Intelligence. “Lacking such synchronous parenting, children are more at risk of growing up with disturbed attachment patterns. In short, well-empathised children tend to become secure; anxious parenting produces anxious children; and aloof parents produce avoidant children, who withdraw from emotion and from people.”
Distant parents, he says, do produce children who are good at the stiff-upper-lip pretense, but these same children are shown to be subject to high anxiety, a situation that has little chance to improve over their lifetime as they tend to remain aloof and distant toward others. It must be said that today’s attachment parenting style as presented by Bialik rests rather soundly on the basis of the research evidence, but as a whole it is nevertheless a style of applying the research. Even Bialik cautions that many of her recommendations go beyond “good-enough” parenting and may not be for everyone. “I am not implying that if you do not follow attachment parenting your child will display disorganised, ambivalent, or avoidant attachment,” she reassures. “Rather, with this knowledge of the dynamics of attachment, I hope you will be able to see why attachment theory makes sense for what I propose.”
All the same, critics of the attachment parenting style have suggested that it overemphasises parental devotion and sacrifice at the expense of raising selfsufficient children, a charge that is unfair both to its proponents and to the findings of attachment research. Bialik, for instance, points out that she doesn’t rush to intervene at every misstep. “It’s okay to observe a little bit before acting,” she says, having noted that “so often, adults make a bigger deal of a fall than a child does.” But she does advocate naming the event, helping the child identify the resulting feelings “without us overtalking it,” and even holding a young child until he or she is ready to move on. Rather than inhibiting independence, this kind of attunement and responsiveness forms the necessary bedrock for the development of self-sufficient children.
(www.vision.org)
TO BE CONTINUED
Granger lays out conditions for talks with Suriname on territorial claims
President David Granger has stated he is willing to engage the Surinamese Government over its renewed claims on the New River Triangle but noted the talks will have to be done under conditions set by Guyana.
Last month, Suriname President Desi Bouterse told his country’s National Assembly that the New River Triangle issue would be “placed back on the agenda.”
However while addressing the full Parliament Thursday, the Guyanese Leader said he is unclear what President Bouterse meant with that statement since the boundary of the area was “definitively established in 1936.”
Nevertheless, President Granger pointed out that while he is ready to engage the neighbouring country on the matter, there needs to be certain conditions set out.
“Guyana, in view of the fact that there is at present a mechanism for addressing this matter, is willing to continue a bilateral discourse with the Government of Suriname on the matter of that country’s claims. That discourse, however, must be grounded on the principles of mutual respect and a repudiation of the use of force,” he outlined.
According to President Granger, Guyana has never been in doubt about the shape or extent of the territory which it acquired upon gaining independence in May 1966. Against this backdrop, he explained that the Netherlands could not have bequeathed the New river Triangle area to Suriname at that country’s independence on November 25, 1975. .
Furthermore, the Head of State noted that there is an Agreement which outlines the territory of Guyana and that of Suriname but there is no formal treaty that encapsulates that Agreement. In the absence of that formal treaty, the President said Suriname has sought to seize Guyana’s territory. He underscored that the Dutch country’s claim was based on an arbitrary, municipal, leg-
islative resolution passed in October 1965 by which the Staten changed the name of Guyana’s New River to ‘Boven Corantijin’ or Upper Corentyne.
On this note, the Head of State pointed out that Guyana has made a large portion of its documents from the British Archives available to Suriname for scrutiny and hopes the neighbouring country will do the same by requesting the Netherlands Government to open the relevant Dutch Archives to facilitate research by both sides.
“Guyana has no doubt about the soundness of the bases on which it exercises sovereignty of its territory… The discourse will be helped by ready access to the archival documents which are pertinent to the issues to be resolved. These must be opened to both sides for scrutiny in order to determine that there has been full adherence to the principles of international law as they relate to sovereignty over territory,” the Guyanese Leader remarked.
Moreover, President Granger outlined to the House that inter-state relations between the two neighbouring countries over the past 50 years have encountered testing times. He specifically referred to 1985 when the Surinamese government in Operation SchoonSchip (Clean Sweep) expelled over 5000 Guyanese, as well as Haitian, workers on the pretext of ‘national security’. Additionally, he mentioned the incident in 2000 when
Surinamese gunboats evicted the Guyana-licensed, Canadian-operated CGX petroleum exploration platform from what is believed to be one of the Region’s largest petroleum and natural gas fields.
Nevertheless, the Guyanese Head of State believes the governments of Guyana and Suriname can find a way of resolving its differences without acrimony or the use of force. He emphasised that Guyana has no fear in having Suriname’s claim to its territory resolved by an adjudicatory process.
“Suriname, if it is convinced that its claim can withstand legal scrutiny, should agree to take the matter before an internationally recognised adjudicatory body. Guyana is of the view that, if an agreement cannot be reached at the bilateral level within a given time-frame, the matter should be taken to adjudication so that this controversy can be concluded,” Granger told the National Assembly.
He reiterated the need for the two neighbouring countries to bring finality to their differences in a permanent and internationally recognised legal manner.
Additionally, he noted that Guyana is prepared to continue discussions on the unresolved issues within the mechanism of the National Border Commissions, which have been meeting over the past two years. He said: “We believe that we should seek to build our relations on those issues which can bring our two countries and peoples closer together and not divide us. We are committed to collaborating on reaching a peaceful solution to the territorial controversies.”
On this note, President Granger commended Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Barton Scotland and members of the House for leading the delegation to Suriname, while adding that the various initiatives outlined by the National Assemblies of Guyana and Suriname that will undoubtedly serve to deepen collaboration between the two states.
Works on US$46.8M Vreed-en-HoopHydronie road project
underway
Works have commenced on the widening of the West Coast Demerara road from Vreed-en-Hoop to Hydronie, which is a partnership project between the Government and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), valued at US$46.8 million.
Geoffrey Vaughn, Coordinator of the Public Infrastructure Ministry’s Works Services Group, said works have commenced from the Hydronie, East
Bank Essequibo end.
“That’s approximately six kilometres from Hydronie coming down where utilities have been moved… we will see some amount of widening taking place in those areas…” Vaughn said.
This project which is being executed by overseas construction company Surrey Paving and Aggregate Company Ltd, in joint venture with local company BK International, will see approximately 36km of
PPP concerned about operations of "illegal", "shady" SARU unit
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has said it is still concerned over the operation of the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU), which it said has been operating illegally.
In a release to the press on Friday, the Party said that the Unit, set up by Government to investigate the operations of Government organisations, is yet to be legally clothed, while its staff and Terms of Reference are still unknown to the public.
It said the objectives of the Recovery Unit are clearly political and are aimed at proving the alleged wrong-doings of the PPP/C Administration while in office.
The SARU, it said, was established for the purpose of transforming projects initiated by the PPP/C Administration as “controversial” and tarnishing them as corrupt and unnecessary.
In fact, the nature and intent of the body is what it described as “untrustable”.
“On assumption to office, the [A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change] APNU/AFC took up the cudgels of what was a personal vendetta on the part of the owner of the Kaieteur News and transformed it into reality.
Eventually, a morphed Opposition media/ Government vendetta became a civil juridical mat-
ter, thanks to a conspiracy between the APNU/AFC and the Kaieteur News”.
The Party said it is confident that the truth will come out and the facts and evidence will not support the heavy politics fuelling this and any future allegations and actions of the Recovery Unit.
In fact, the nature and intent of the body is just as untrustable as its highly salaried architects who parade the corridors of the Office of the President, and who, by virtue of their deliberate actions, fan the flames of division and intolerance.
The release further said the Party will vigorously defend itself against the wild and baseless allegations of those who now hold office, thanks to the manipulative and sneaky officials
at the Guyana Elections Commission.
So far, the SARU which is headed by renowned Economist, Dr Clive Thomas, has recommended that the relevant authority consider laying charges against several PPP Members of Parliament, including former President Bharrat Jagdeo, over allegations that they were all involved in obtaining State lands at an undervalued market price. Those named include PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee, former Education Minister Priya Manickchand, former Public Service Minister Jennifer Westford, former Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud, and former head of the Guyana Sugar Corporation Board Sheik Baksh.
road being widened.
“On completion of the project, you will see areas being wider in terms of roads… you may see the road being more like a threelane rather than a full four lane… it’s more of an upgrade,” Vaughn explained. He added that sidewalks and bicycle lanes which enhance safety on the roadways will be seen on this road so that pedestrians would not have to interface with traffic directly.
PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee
State Assets Recovery Unit head, Dr Clive Thomas
President David Granger
saturday, october 24, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com
Former PM’s son found guilty of assault, granted bail pending appeal
Former Prime Minister
Samuel Hinds’ son –
Samuel Hinds Jr was on Friday sentenced to two months in prison after he was found guilty of an assault charge by Magistrate Annette Singh in Court 11 of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Hinds Jr was found guilty of the charge which read that on February 27, 2014 at Lot 83 Duke Street, Kingston, the defendant pulled a gun on the Virtual
Complianat (VC) Tenza Layne, who is his sister-inlaw, and threatened to kill her. The charges further alleged that he unlawfully assaulted her causing her actual bodily harm.
According to reports, the defendant had gotten upset as he believed the Virtual Complainant (VC) had stolen his cellphone. During an altercation with the VC, the defendant allegedly grabbed Layne by her hair, pulled her to the ground and
stomped her in her face. It is also alleged that he dragged the VC around his home, even after beating her with a cane, and utilising other forms of abuse against her.
He was sentenced to serve two months in prison on the assault charge and a fine of $10,000 on the threatening behaviour charge. However, the accused was granted $50,000 bail pending an appeal.
Man charged for malicious wounding 1 year after incident
Aman was on Friday placed on $30,000 bail after he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Court Two of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged for unlawfully wounding a Police Officer.
Sherwin Benjamin, 24, of 232 South Amelia’s Ward, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) was not required to plead to the charge which read that on October 24, 2014 at the Mackenzie Market, Linden, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded the Virtual Complainant (VC), Damien
McFarlene. After the Administration of Justice Act was applied, the accused denied the allegation.
According to the facts presented by Police Prosecutor, Corporal Deniro Jones, on the day in question, the VC, who is a Police Officer, was on duty and he reportedly approached the accused at the Linden Tarmac. An argument ensued between the two, which escalated into an altercation and the accused reportedly stabbed the VC twice to the right side of his chest.
According to Attorney Jochebed Pollard, who was acting in association with Attorney Gordon Gilhuys, the defendant was on station bail and was unaware that the matter was still
pending. She stated that her client had gone to the Police in relation to an unrelated matter and was arrested and brought before the Court. She stated that the VC had reportedly admitted that it was not her client who committed the act. She made an application for reasonable bail; however, Prosecutor Jones intervened stating that he would not object to bail, however it must be of a substantial amount. Bail was granted in the sum of $30,000. The matter was transferred to the Linden Magistrate’s Court for November 17.
Eyew tness Missing the point…
…on the salary abomination
Moses Nagamootoo just doesn’t get it, does he? It’s more than being socially tone deaf – this is a fella who’s morally callused to the plight of ordinary people. Imagine he just ran a cordon of social activists protesting the 50% salary increases he and his cohorts in the Executive gave themselves – compared to the pitiful 5% for Public Workers – and the man had the chutzpah to blame it on his “poor PR job”?!!
Is this fella for real? He really thinks the rage of the people’s about PR? So exactly how would he’ve told pensioners that while they’re getting $4000 more monthly – giving them the princely sum of $17,000 – HE gets another $200,000 on top of his $1,500,000 monthly?!! Or that they have to now pay their light and water bills - wiping out that $4000 - but his water bill, light & air conditioning bill, chauffeur bill, gardener bill, guard bill, government car maintenance bill, first class plane-tickets bill, entertainment bill, food bill, telephone bill, etc, etc – are paid for by the Government?!!
Nagamootoo’s now 68 years old – he’s of pensionable age. There are thousands of his old comrades from his days in the PPP plus opponents from the PNC side, who have to feed, clothe and house themselves – plus all the other expenses like bus fares, etc - on that $17,000. While he can just deposit his 100 times greater $1.7M in the bank every month – because ALL his expenses have been paid for him. And it’s just a matter of PR?? What kind of man is this?
How can he live with himself? He spoke about “qualifying” himself for his job – which is presumably worth the money and benefits he’s drawing from the pockets of the Guyanese taxpayers. But he’s finally confessed the Cummingsburg Accord isn’t worth the toilet paper it was most likely written on - seeing how it was used after the election – and all he’s “responsible” for is the State Media.
But since he’d sanctimoniously announced he wouldn’t get involved with operations – like he accused the PPP of doing— it means he’s basically just “throwing back”. So how was he going to wash away his twiddling of thumbs with PR? That it’ll take a lot energy to continue with more downright lowdown schemes like “outing” NCN CEO’s - Molly Hassan’s - salary and benefits?
No PR can absolve a man who would bring such calumny on his Government just because he couldn’t stand that a colleague - Basil Williams in this case – was getting more money than he did.
Even if it is a payoff for being shafted over Cummingsburg, it’s downright nasty.
…on Amerindian development
The APNU/AFC coalition’s pulling out all the stops to bring the real 11% into their “fold”- Amerindians. Right off the bat, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs was renamed as the “Ministry of Indigenous Peoples” – being what some of our native folks had requested for a while. It was then given two Ministers – and one of them was made into a VICE PRESIDENT.
But the coalition wasn’t leaving their wooing to just symbolic name changes and “bigging up leaders” –they immediately acted to wipe out the PPP/C’s earlier efforts to use development as a mobilisational tool. They fired 1972 employees in the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme (YEAP) through which Amerindians in the villages were given some skills training and a stipend to help develop their communities.
“Boondoggle!” screamed the coalition. “YEAP was just a thinly disguised vehicle to recruit party workers!” Well now the coalition’s launched A “ Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS)” that’ll employ and “train” 3000 Amerindians.
But “HEYS” IS NOT a booddoggle! Just “YEAP”.
…on democracy
Shouldn’t the people have a say in deciding how much money the Executive can grant itself? If a referendum’s needed to decide whether a president can run for three terms, shouldn’t we have one on permissible greed?
Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com
Samuel Hinds Jr
The accused, Sherwin Benjamin
Region 2 RE0 verbally abuses GuyanaTimes reporter over Lima Sands article
– says articles are creating trouble in region, undue pressure from
Newly appointed Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Two, Rupert Hopkinson, on Friday verbally abused Guyana Times Reporter over a story published in relation to the woes faced by Lima Sands residents and the failure of the Regional Administration to meaningfully respond to concerns of residents there.
The REO approached the reporter, Indrawattie Natram in a hostile and unprofessional manner to claim that residents were dishonest about the situation.
He said residents were not suffering and there was no dead carcass in the canal as reported by this newspaper. He continued to raise his voice in an attempt to drown out the responses of the reporter as she attempted to defend her work.
When Natram told him that she went in the area interviewing persons he became even angrier. Hopkinson said officers from the Region Two Administration visited the area and reported a different situation to him.
He related that the article has caused him to face pressure from his Government and he did not take office to deal with petty issues. The RE0 who was accompanied by the Prime Minister Representative within the Region, tried to muzzle the Guyana Times reporter, cautioning her on the type of articles she was doing are creating issues.
Natram asserted she has been a reporter for Guyana Times for over six years and would not allow just any politician to muzzle her.
She is highly annoyed at the manner of Hopkinson on her, noting that the situation could
have been addressed in a better manner in an office. She said it is highly unprofessional for a person in such an office to behave in such a manner publicly.
Natram said she has no apologies for her articles since she interviewed people who expressed the plight of the water woes at Lima Sands. She pointed out that although the articles were published in other sections of the media, only Guyana Times seems to be under attack.
Meanwhile, the Lima Sands residents are still claiming they are in need of drinking water and despite several letters to Regional Executive Officer Hopkinson, nothing has been done.
Following those reports not being followed-up by the relevant authorities, residents approached Guyana Times which went into the Lima Sands area (a village located some 7km from Essequibo Coast).
When Guyana Times had visited the area the decomposing body of the cow was in the canal, the same canal from which residents source water. A report was published in several sections of the media (including online news and print media).
Last Thursday Guyana Times revisited the area and spoke with several residents who continued to voice their concern over the water woes they are facing.
Spokesperson of the community Rosaline Thompson reiterated that residents do not have drinking water because the canal water still cannot be used. Thompson had reported that the canal water was contaminated with the decomposing cow.
She however said the cow has since been was removed from the water and put on a dam but residents remain afraid to use the water.
Thompson reminded that residents depend on rainfall but presently there is a long dry spell. She reported that the village does not have access to well water.
The Lima Sands Primary and Nursery schools are without water.
Residents have reported that the Region in collaboration with Guyana Water Incorporated has sent water to the area.
Govt
Residents claim the water cannot be used for drinking purposes and is limited to one drum per family.
Teen remanded on attempted murder charge – ripped out man’s intestines with knife
AMazaruni man was on Friday remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Court Two of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts after he appeared before her charged with attempted murder.
Eighteen-year-old Tim Brown pleaded not guilty to the charge which read that on October 11 at Jawalla Village, Upper Mazaruni, with the intent to commit murder, he wounded the Virtual Complainant (VC), Romel Edwin.
According to the particulars of the charge as presented by Police Prosecutor, Corporal Deniro Jones, on the day in question, the accused while in the company of another was at a shop imbibing in alcohol. An argument ensued between the accused and the VC’s
brother, during which the accused began to physically assault the young man. The VC reportedly intervened in an attempt to calm the situation when the accused dealt the VC a stab to his lower stomach, twisting the knife, pulling out his intestines in the
process. The Prosecutor revealed that the VC is still hospitalised and objected to bail on the grounds of the seriousness of the offence, adding that the VC is in critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
According to the accused’s Attorney, Nigel Hughes, his client was visiting the area with some friends when they were attacked by a few young men from the village. A fight ensued and the VC was injured in the process. He indicated that his client is not a flight risk and requested bail.
The Magistrate refused bail and the young man was remanded to prison until December 21 when the matter will be called at the Kamarang Magistrate’s Court.
The accused Tim Brown
Region Two new Regional Executive Officer, Rupert Hopkinson
Guyana Times Reporter Indrawattie Natram
Water taxis vs minibus service...
No 56 Minibus Assoc
seeks
audience with the President
– “It look like the drivers gon bruk up what we put together and do dem own ting” – Acting Association President
Minibus owners ply-
ing the Number 56 route (Rosignol-New Amsterdam) are being forced to seek other job alternatives to secure their livelihood, since Government instituted the water taxi service across the Berbice River.
The deplorable condition of the New Amsterdam Ferry Stelling also continues to pose great danger for passengers using the water taxi service, even though repair works to the stelling have commenced.
Several minibus operators who worked the Rosignol-New Amsterdam route have left the job, since their income has been reduced by more than two thirds, forcing minibus owners out to work.
The subsidised water
taxi service – which was introduced by Government on September 21 – has caused the service of the 49 minibuses between New Amsterdam and Rosignol to almost grind to a halt. The buses charge $300 per trip while the water taxis charge $120. The operators of the water taxies say Government pays them $1500 per trip and provides free fuel for their operation.
Govt pressuring BBCI
Government introduced the water taxi service in an attempt to pressure the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) to lower its charge for vehicles crossing the Berbice River Bridge. Both the minibuses and the BBCI are losing revenue as a result of Government’s subsidised water taxi service. The route 56 Minibus Association, which was considered one of the more organised, has since plunged into a state on anarchy. Its President, Dennis Chesney has since resigned from the Association while some minibus operators are no longer sticking to the orderly ‘wait your turn system’. Some are using areas not designated as the bus park in an effort to attract passengers.
Speaking with Guyana Times, former President of the Association, Dennis Chesney said when decisions are taken by the Association; some of the operators disregard those decisions. “But I can’t blame them because they have loans to pay and now with the water taxi service, they are not making any money. I cannot sit at the head of an Association
when I can’t help the members.”
According to Chesney, the Association has made requests to have dialogue with Government officials to come up with a solution which will allow for the Number 56 route operators to be able to survive. “We want to meet with President Granger. We sent him a letter and have gotten no acknowledgement from his office.”
Against regulation
“When we keep a meeting, some of the drivers go after and keep a meeting by themselves. I intend to bring the people back to the busses. I have a plan to drop the bus fair to $260. But one of the problems that we have is that the Association is not ‘bus drivers association’, it is a ‘owners association’. So the drivers can do their own thing and we can’t sanction them,” the former Association President said.
Chesney added that before the water taxi service become operational, 35 busses operated each day and made at least two trips each. “Each bus would only be able
to work five days every week. We had to reduce it to four days a week and so some of the busses stop coming in the line and working six days and not four as arranged.”
Meanwhile, Minister within the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Annette Ferguson who met with some of the drivers of the minibuses plying this route expressed the view that the Number 56 zone could be extended up to Number 30 Village, West Coast Berbice.
Chesney says none of the operators are in favour of that. Weighing in on the issue, operators who ply the Number 50 route (RosignolGeorgetown) say it will create difficulty in an already overcrowded zone. “It can’t work. We don’t get enough passengers already, now if they coming and run till up to Number 30 Village, you aint see what gon happen,” one operator said. Another operator noted that on many occasions, they go to Georgetown with as little as two passengers and depend on the ‘short drop passengers’ to back it up, adding that “if they come in this zone then is nothing we gon get,”
another frustrated operator opined.
Acting President of the Number 56 Minibus Association Dwaka Soolall told Guyana Times that apart from the meeting with President Granger, the Association is also seeking to have an audience with Minister Ferguson. He noted that the Association now has to fight against the water taxi service and from all indications, it seems as though the Association is heading to an end. “It look like the drivers gon bruk up what we put together and do dem own ting. I can’t blame them, some of dem have loans to pay they have children to send to school; none of us can see our way out.”
Sooklall added that the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change coalition Government had promised a good life for all, but never engaged them in discussions before making a decision to introduce the water taxi service across the Berbice River. “They offering the water taxies free gasoline, if they do the same for us we can provide a cheaper service.
The previous Administration try with us and help. Why the current Government can’t?”
The acting Association President further added that the Association needs a urgent meeting with President Granger. “We understand that he is a reasonable man. If this Administration can’t help us then we will have to go to the Opposition for help.” Sooklall noted that in many other countries there are similar services and both services are able to operate without conflict.
Stelling repair Meanwhile, work has commenced on the New Amsterdam Ferry Stelling. The Public Infrastructure Ministry had promised that before the introduction of water taxies, works would have been done to upgrade the New Amsterdam and Rosignol Ferry stellings. However, at the New Amsterdam stelling, there are still loose boards. Some of the boards on the platform which operators use when securing their vessels are rotten and unsafe.
On a positive note, the introduction of the water taxi service has also seen renewed business activity in the town of New Amsterdam. Taxies are now plying the Mathew Allen-New Amsterdam route; a route which had become dormant some six years ago when the Berbice River Bridge was built. Also, businesses along the Mathew Allen Road which had previously closed their doors are resuscitating their business.
Acting President of the Number 56 Minibus Association Dwaka Soolall
Number 56 minibuses parked on a no stopping zone in Rosignol soliciting passengers
UG Medical School might be re-accredited by June 2016 – Norton
Health Minister, Dr George Norton on Thursday told reports he is currently working on a plan to get back the University of Guyana Medical School’s accreditation, hopefully by June 2016.
The Minister explained that the situation is most unfortunate, particularly so because the programme has a large number of international students enrolled from around the world including Nigeria and Syria.
The Minister stated that UG’s loss of accreditation for its medical school is multifaceted, but he noted that already there is an international consultant in Guyana working on the issue, and hopes are high in regaining the Medical Institution’s accreditation by June 2016. “Losing that accreditation is not in our favour at all, but it was something waiting to happen,” Dr Norton added.
Dr Norton stated that the theoretical aspect of the school’s course content as well as infrastructure were major contributors for the loss of accreditation: “If you have a university medical school and
you’re training doctors, then you must have places for the doctors where they can have proper classrooms, labs and places for relaxation while on duty, which is some of the things that the University of Guyana Medical School is lacking.”
He also mentioned that there are plans underway to assist with these matters as the Health Ministry is currently seeking funding to have the University of Guyana Medical School in a building where they can have
National Task Force Commission encounters ‘political hoops’
Three months have passed since the Government’s National Task Force Commission (NTFC) began its work under the “Guyana Restoration Project” and thus far has been able to visit all 10 Administrative Regions.
However, according to Chairman of the Commission, Retired Major General Joe Singh, despite the successes the NTFC has been seeing to date, there are difficulties which it has encountered such as ‘political hurdles’.
“We still have some political hoops in that even though within the Regions what I have found is that all political parties represented in the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) are present during our consultations. The extent to which they are actually involved in the process depends, and varies from region to region. I hope that the invitation issued by the Government to the main Opposition Party to have someone sit on the National Commission, which I have the honour of chairing, will be taken up,” he stated.
According to the Retired Major General, regardless of political affiliation he is urging persons to recognise that this is a very important, national exercise which is not political in nature.
“It’s here to stay. We feel that all political parties need to demonstrate their patriotism, their commitment to the good of Guyana and the wellbeing of its citizens as well as the sustainable management of our environment. We would like to appeal to those persons who are still bystanders, sitting on the fence, to throw in their lot and to see it as a patriotic labour of love, so to speak, for Guyana,” the NTFC Chairman posited.
He explained that at present budgets are a bit “harem scarem” because the Commission was not included in this year’s National Budget which was presented in Parliament by the coalition
all that is required to be successful doctors and to regain and keep their accreditation.
Dr Norton noted that it will take time and money to get the medical institution up to par, but added that his Ministry has engineers looking into the ball park cost to get the medical school back on track.
When ask about the students who may complete the programme before the university in again accredited, the Minister mentioned that for those students, it would not be the same as having a certificate from an accredited university, however, it will not hinder students from getting a job or functioning as a medical doctor, as all they may have to do is write an examination.
Former Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsarran in a telephone interview with Guyana Times, reiterated that the main problem which caused the loss of accreditation was the lack of a residence for the students to engage in practical work.
He mentioned that in spite of negative and uninformed criticism, the Ministry of Health under the PPP/C had arranged for the medi-
cal school to have access to a nursery school building for which many fought against.
Ramsarram explained that he had visited UG’s Vice Chancellor Jacob Opadayei when he first learned that the university’s accreditation might be taken, to devise a plan as to what would be needed to save the accreditation, and had endeavoured to do all in his power to save the institution.
He noted that during his period in office, his Ministry had brought in individuals from Canada to analyse the
situation and give advice, after the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP), the institute responsible for the University’s Medical School’s accreditation, had given a list of tasks that needed to be completed for the institution to become accredited, and before he left office, his Government had completed some 80% of those tasks.
The former Minister said he was shocked when he recently heard the news of the medical school’s loss of accreditation as he was expecting the new Government would continue with these tasks so that any problems may be avoided.
In 2009, the CAAM-HP accredited the University of Guyana Medical School from 2009 to 2012, where it was scheduled to be reviewed.
CAAM-HP is a Caribbean accreditation body set up by Caribbean Community governments. In the formulation of the Authority, help was received from Canada, the United States, Britain and other Caribbean professionals to create a set of standards necessary for the functioning of a medical school.
Standards created included education resources, internships and staff development, among others.
The Authority reports to the Caricom Secretariat.
In 2014, Registrar Vincent Alexander disclosed that the Director of the medical school was facing challenges in his position as he held other positions in several other organisations, and his responsibilities at the Medical School required him to be away from those.
Also, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences had then confirmed that the University of Guyana’s Medical School was on provisional accreditation until 2015 from the Caribbean body. He explained that the situation arose after the university had failed to satisfy some of the minimal requirements which were put forward by the Caribbean authority, but had given assurance that UG was working strenuously to fix the matter. The Medical School earlier this year lost its full accreditation after a visit from the CAAM-HP revealed that a number of recommendations to improve the institution were not adhered to. (jpinder@guyanatimesgy.com)
Administration. Guyana Times was told the Commission and its Secretariat have been receiving some support in terms of funding from the Public Infrastructure Ministry.
“So we have been able to maintain that with a promise that the Ministry of the Presidency will look at some interim financing arrangement until we are catered for in the Budget in 2016. We have already submitted our budgets both for interim arrangements for the remainder of this year as well as for 2016. Again, I want to stress that we are not actually doing these projects ourselves and therefore the funding is more tailored to ensure that we can get there, we can communicate, we can consult, we can pay the small staff of the Secretariat, provide vehicles and fuel and those other things what I call operating costs,” he explained.
In August this year Singh had told the media that the NTFC was awarded $36 million by Cabinet for a sixmonth duration until the other budget is presented in 2016, where funding should be continued throughout the next five years.
He had earlier stated that there was significant deterioration of many aspects of Guyanese life, including unplanned settlements, inadequate traffic flows, garbage buildup and occasional flooding in many areas.
At that time, the National Task Force Commission’s aim was to focus on five important issues which revolve around drainage, traffic management, sustainable urban, rural and hinterland physical structure renewal and solid waste management and derelict vehicle removal.
Last but not least the welfare management of the homeless, addicted and mentally challenged will also be a key issue for the commission. (kristenm@guyanatimesgy. com)
Health Minister, Dr George Norton
Former Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsarran
saturday, october 24, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com
AG report on drug supplies inaccurate – NEW GPC
– says faulty conclusions being used to malign company
NEW GPC INC has clarified that information contained in the Auditor General Report for 2014 is inaccurate, since the company has “fully completed” all contracts from previous years.
The report, which was laid in the National Assembly on Thursday when sitting resumed after a month’s recess, states that NEW GPC allegedly owes millions of dollars for drugs and medical supplies that are yet to be delivered when the payments were already made.
However, the pharmaceutical company in a statement on Friday pointed out that as usual, the Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma was not accurate in his findings on NEW GPC. According to the company, it has constantly provided status reports to the Public Health Ministry (MoH) in this regard but the information proffered is continuously ignored by the AG in his annual reports.
This, NEW GPC added, has often resulted in the misinformation being used to tarnish the company’s reputation by certain section of the media, for example the Stabroek News which carried a highly erroneous article in its Friday October 23, 2015 edition.
“Consequently, NEW GPC had offered to render assistance since the Report is usually deliberately used to malign the company. In the
main, the AG has ignored this offer. When it did allow a request for documentation several years ago, the company’s submission was completely ignored. As a result, the faulty conclusion reached was printed repeatedly for several years and repeatedly used by certain sections in the media to tarnish NEW GPC’s image.”
The pharmaceutical manufacturer strongly feels that the Auditor General’s office should take time to acquaint and educate itself with the supply chain management, the pre-qualification objectives and most importantly, the practical issues of phar-
maceutical procurement and supply in the Guyana context. “The AG typically does not recognise the obvious fact that many contracts are meant to overlap from one year to the next. Selectively, the AG does not report where delivery occurs before payment is made and the fact that there are payments owing to NEW GPC by the MoH as far back as 2008.”
One the other hand, addressing the issue of the company reportedly supplying millions of dollars of drugs without the required shelf life, NEW GPC outlined that the AG office draws the shallow conclusion that it has
breached the 18-month expiry requirements without considering that items are kept in NEW GPC storage for extended periods for the Health Ministry.
Furthermore, the company explained that a more indepth analysis would have revealed that there is a time gap from when the goods leave the manufacturing plant or comes off the wharf to the time the delivery note is signed and goods collected.
“Although the MoH has constructed its own warehouse at Diamond, NEW GPC is still storing container-loads of items at its Ruimveldt facility. How is NEW GPC respon-
sible under such circumstances? It is very unlikely that the AG would have considered that shelf life varies.”
Moreover, NEW GPC noted that some items, reagents for example, are made with as little as three months shelf life while other products vary from six months to two years.
In the supply chain, the company said, one still has to factor in logistics such as ordering time, mobilisation and manufacturing time, shipping time, customs processing, customs delays and so on.
“NEW GPC does not hide expiry dates. The expiry date and batch number is listed for each item on every delivery note. In exceptional cases where products are manufactured with short expiry dates, the MoH/GPHC prior to delivery is informed of such products”.
Back in 2013, NEW GPC had issued a detailed statement that sought to give clarity to a number of erroneous statements contained in the 2012 Report. The company had stated that in the course of providing information to a team from the Office of the Auditor General, the NEW GPC Chairman had indicated that if audit checks at the MoH and Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation found gaps in the latter’s documentation as it relates to transactions with the NEW GPC, the auditors could contact NEW GPC officials to fill the lacuna, as was done in the past.
“The NEW GPC would like to reiterate that, if the Office of the Auditor General has concerns now or in the future, the Corporation stands ready to provide whatever documentation or explanation is needed to bring clarity to the matter. And it would appreciate if such clarification could be sought before the annual reports are produced.”
However, as the years went by, no such contacts were made by the AG office.
The company had highlighted the following points, which it said, appears to have escaped the auditors from the AG Office:
(1) Contracts, particularly the larger orders, sometimes overlap from a consumption point of view into the following financial year, hence, it is not unusual that some items
are not collected by the MoH at the end of the fiscal year.
(2) National budgets are approved sometime between March and July and the quantities being ordered sometimes cater for this overlap.
(3) The MoH takes in, or receives goods, based on their own predetermined consumption pattern and that means deliveries are staggered throughout the year.
(4) Staggering or phased delivery is also important and specifically sought when items carry short shelf life. So, for example, if an item has less than a year’s shelf life, such as diagnostic test kits, it is counterproductive to deliver all of it in one batch unless it can be utilised within that limited timeframe.
(5) Contracts are signed at different times during the year, and so for those signed in the later months, deliveries are actually intended to roll over into the following year.
(6) Bank guarantees are not meant to be valid for the original sum throughout the life of the contract. As deliveries are made, the risk is obviously decreasing and a bank guarantee can be, and is, often renewed for a lesser amount.
And with the added emphasis on bank guarantees these days, the NEW GPC sometimes has to provide bank guarantees for stocks that were already delivered or are on hand and cannot be taken in due to space and other limitations at the MoH. The NEW GPC has never defaulted on any of its contracts to the MoH and GPHC.
(7) As a large supplier, there is always some amount of inventory on hand that is pending receipt by MoH personnel. The media often misinterprets and sometimes deliberately misrepresents the Auditor General’s statements and the NEW GPC gets condemnation while the stocks are sitting in the warehouse.
(8) The Auditor General seems unaware that the MoH has written to the NEW GPC in the past to cease or delay deliveries on account of their Diamond warehouse transition. This has resulted in NEW GPC storing a very large volume of items for the MoH and GPHC which have been recorded as delivered.
Gun, cutlass toting bandits terrorise WBD family
Afamily of three was terrorised by five armed men on Thursday evening when they invaded a property at Samaroo Dam, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara.
According to information, about 20:30h, the five men – one of whom was armed with a handgun and the others with cutlasses, entered the property of Andy Sookram and tied him up, along with his wife Eswardai Sookram and teenage son Andrew. During the ordeal, the men demanded cash and jewellery but the trio claimed they did
not have cash at home, so the invaders reportedly demanded the finger rings the family were wearing at the time. After they ransacked the home and came up empty handed, the armed men then carted off two generators, a weeding machine, two gas cylinders and four mobile phones. They made good their escape in a waiting vehicle. After a while the businessman managed to untie himself and raised an alarm. The Police were called and an investigation launched. No arrest has been made.
NEW GPC often stores large volume of items for the MoH and GPHC which are recorded as delivered
Patterson says billions unaccounted for at T&HD
Public Infrastructure
Minister David Patterson
he Auditor General’s
TReport on the Transport and Harbours Department of the previous Public Works Ministry for the fiscal years 2003-2007 showed that there were several billions of dollars unaccounted for, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson told the National Assembly on Thursday.
In presenting the Department’s financial statements to the National
Assembly, Minister Patterson took the liberty of finely pointing out the parts of the document which showed these inconsistencies.
Reading excerpts, Minister Patterson stated that for the year 2003, some $597 million was reported as the operational expenses however, the report stated that in actuality a cheque of $639 million was written for that purpose. This shows a difference of $43 million, the Minister stated.
He noted that the trend continued in the following years, with $332 million listed as the operational expenses for 2004 but a total of $639 million was disbursed - a difference of $307 million.
For 2005, the stated figure was $362 million but the actual income was $658 million - a difference of $295 million.
For 2006, the stated amount was $488 million but the actual income was $805 - a difference of $317 million whilst in 2007, the amount was $718 million but the actual was $830 million - a difference of $112 million.
When contacted Manager of the Transport
New coalition Govt no different from PPP – URP
United Republican Party (URP) President Vishnu Bandhu, in a recent press release shared that the party believes the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition Government is showing itself to be no different from its predecessor, doing much the same things or even worse.
The URP President stated that the coalition partners had condemned the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government for patronage policies and alleged discrimination in hiring practices; yet the same has been done by the now ruling party since it was handed the Government in mid-May.
Bandhu continued by stating that thousands have lost their jobs on account of political affiliation and ethnic background, only to be largely replaced by coalition supporters. He highlighted that just over a week ago, the coalition announced the appointment of supporters in the United States and Canada as “Consultants on Diaspora Affairs”.
“One expects patronage appointments when there is a change in Administration.
THD General Manager
Marclene Merchant
and Harbours Department
Marclene Merchant explained that the inconsistencies existed because supporting documents such as cash vouchers were misplaced or are unable to be located. “It’s not billions of dollars were unaccounted,” she insisted.
Efforts to contact former Public Works Minister Robeson Benn for a comment proved futile.
But replacements must be competent in the selected fields – not square peg in round holes, incompetency and appointees’ lack of qualification that the coalition partners criticised when they were in the Opposition,” Bandhu stressed.
The party leader further begged the question as to whether or not the APNU+AFC coalition can say which of their appointees is an expert or specialist on the Diaspora. “Which of them has studied or written on the Diaspora? When we speak of the Diaspora and the important role it can play in our nation’s development, we can look to Annan Boodram or Dr Baytoram Ramharack or Dr Vishnu Bisram or several others who have studied and written on the Diaspora. Who has written more on or better understand the Diaspora that Dr Bisram?”
The URP feels there is nothing wrong in hiring friends and supporters if they are qualified for the position, as any other action would be deemed as “politicking.”
The party advised that a good Government should not only restrict itself to “party hawks” when making appointments. The URP President stated that a person should not be rejected or not be considered for important positions just because they do not support the ruling dispensation, as that was supposed to be the “governance of the past”, and added however that the APNU/AFC Government is continuing on, cementing the politics of the past that is a detriment to Guyana’s political system.
The URP feels that unless the coalition changes its course and appoint persons based on competence, “the inherent evils of past will be perpetuated.”
saturday, october 24, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com
More commissioners to be appointed in education probe – Minister
Some three months after it was announced that a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) will be launched into the education sector the probe it yet to commence.
Speaking with Guyana Times on Thursday, Minister of Education Dr Rupert Roopnaraine stated that his Ministry is still in the process of selecting persons who will be heading the probe. He disclosed he is currently in talks with three persons.
“I’m still contacting people to get their consent to serve on the commission,” he stated.
Five persons have so far been confirmed to sit on the panel, Dr Roopnarine disclosed to this newspaper. However, the Minister said he intends to have about nine Commissioners sitting on the panel. “So I have about four more persons that I have to contact and confirm,” he added.
In July Dr Roopnaraine had announced he was establishing a probe into the operations of the education system: The Commission is mandated to investigate and hold hearings across the country on the state of the sector, and provide a report outlining recommen-
dations for the enhancement of education delivery.
Dr Roopnaraine said as the new Minister, he needed to know more about what had happened to an education system that was once the pride of the Caribbean and further afield. He explained that he was, by no means, trying to say that the system has collapsed and was not well-equipped with experts, a cadre of dedicated teachers, and willing students.
Meanwhile last month, the Education Minister had stated that the findings from the Inquiry would be used to design an effective education reform process. He had pointed out that the CoI would give parents, students and other stakeholders countrywide the opportunity to make contributions to the reform process.
Dr Roopnaraine had stated that the education reform process cannot be designed out of ideas but needed experience and evidence, which would be gathered through the Inquiry: “We can’t design an educational reform process out of our heads. That’s something, I think, that really has to be based on the experience of peo-
ple and the evidence that the Commission of Inquiry gets.” However, the Minister pointed out that the Commission did not have a narrow focus. Dr Roopnaraine reiterated his dissatisfaction with the fact that the schools and classrooms were almost exclusively devoted to academic instruction, noting that he wanted to see a far more rounded education in the schools.
“So, all of this will encompass the Inquiry. To what extent we believe that bringing music back into the school will produce a more rounded child? To what extent we believe that enhancing physical education and encouraging sports is going to result in a better educated person?” he wondered.
Moreover, the Education Minister stated that the reform would not happen overnight but needed time to be implemented and enforced.
“Based on everything we hear in the Commission, based on the audit findings we have on our desks, based on all of these things, we will be able to design an education reform process in the key areas that need to be addressed,” he assured.
URP President Vishnu Bandhu
saturday, october 24, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com
Region 3 REO disrespects Regional Chairman’s office
Despite the PPP/C winning the majority of seats in the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) in Region Three, its Chairman Julius Faeber is currently being ‘undermined’ by the present Regional Executive Officer (REO) to the extent that it is affecting the work of the RDC itself.
Guyana Times understands that the APNU+AFC appointed REO has refused the granting/accessing of fuel to Faeber to carry out his function as the Regional Chairman on weekends.
A reliable source told this newspaper that such “blatant” disrespect and disregard to an elected official is not only “high handed” but specifically designed to impede and handicap the work of the Chairman.
“He (the Regional Chairman) is expected like any Minister to be on call or on duty 24/7. It is with amazement that the REO has refused to grant fuel to him, and this new approach by the Administration is grossly unprofessional and politically motivated. The unprofessional behaviour of the REO does not end here because in
Regions Three Regional Chairman Julius Faerber
a letter addressed to Minister Ronald Bulkan, the Regional Chairman has made a startling revelation that the REO has withdrawn heads of department from statutory meetings of the Region,” said the source.
This publication was further told that such an action by the REO of Region Three will most obviously result in elected councillors being uninformed of the work these departments execute. This in turn makes it difficult for the interest of their constituency to be represented.
“This long-held tradition and necessity to make the work of elected officials easier and relevant to the interest of the people they represent is not trampled upon by an Administrator which is clearly carrying out a political mandate. This behaviour and disregard cannot be tolerated or condoned. Finally, the refusal of the REO to attend weekly management meetings of the Regional Chairman is the highest level of disrespect and disregard,” Guyana Times was further told.
According to a source close to the Region, if this action is politically sponsored or directed then it speaks volumes to the level of regression the country has digressed into in terms of democracy and democratic gains.
“Can you imagine if a Permanent Secretary refuses to attend weekly management meetings of their subject Minister? The undermining of the Regional Chairman’s office and the work of this elected official is a slap in the face of the electorate and a deep bite into the democratic gains we have fought so hard for,” this source posited. (kristenm@guyanatimesgy.com)
Eccles resident frustrated over robbery spree
Aresident of Eccles Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, is frustrated over the tardy action of Police as he along with neighbours continue to be victims of an apparent robbery spree in the area.
Jeffery Prag a taxi service owner, said he is frustrated with the attitude of the ranks at Providence Police Station who are investigating a break and enter at his home which occurred over a week ago.
The Lot 1358 Eccles Housing Scheme resident told Guyana Times that on Saturday last he returned home just before 01:00h and went to check on his son but fell asleep in the room. Prag said he woke up the following morning around 07:20h dazed as though he was drugged. He noted that this was strange since he usually gets up at 04:00h but he did not hear his alarm, which is usually loud enough to be heard from the lower flat of his two-storey house.
This prompted the man to check his house: “As soon as I go down the stairs to the bottom flat, I observe the backdoor opened, the kitchen window opened, curtains on the floor, no table cloth and the two desks where I had all of my documents for the week, papers for the house and my drivers’ salary were out of draw and the whole place was ransacked. All the draws were
on the ground,” he stated.
Among the items missing were two laptop computers, several flash drives, two pairs of Clarks footwear and $400,000 cash. The man said his car keys were also missing but he found it later that day on the dumpsite road along with the table cloth.
Prag related that he reported the matter to the Providence Station, where a detective took his basic information and then he transported her to his residence. While there, he said the officer took notes but no statements, and he was told that she would contact him to return to the station on Monday.
Additionally, he disclosed that the Police were supposed to conduct a raid at a house in Providence the same day but when he contacted the detective, he was told that the raid would be done on Monday instead and he would be contacted. No contact has been made since, he said.
Furthermore, the man revealed that on two occasions on Sunday he returned home to find traces of “fresh” foot and hand prints in his yard but could never get a response from Police. The taxi driver went on to say that on Wednesday morning, he returned home moments after leaving because a pick-up work had cancelled. Upon his arrival, he found
Whereabouts
TSASOD hosts 2nd “Lunch Talk” to examine UN observations on CESCR
Advancing Partners and Communities (APC) Guyana Project and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) hosted the second in its series of “Lunch Talks” at the APC office in Bel Air Park to examine the Concluding Observations from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) on Guyana’s recent review on September 2829, 2015.
The Concluding Observations after Guyana’s recent review on September 28 and 29 were released on October 9. The Concluding Observations contained the collective assessment of the state’s record and recommendations for enhanced implementation of the rights under the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
SASOD Managing Director Joel Simpson
a strange man in his neighbour’s yard where construction works were stalled at the time. Prag questioned the man about his cause for being there and after getting no satisfactory response, he took him to the Station.
He added that statements were taken from him and another man who was present when he caught the suspect. Prag said the suspect had keys to a room in Leopold Street but had given his address as Sophia. The man said he offered to transport the Police to check the location but was told no ranks were available, although three of them were just sitting around.
According to Prag, later that day he was informed by the officers that they had no reason to keep the man in custody. He added that sometime around 02:00h Thursday morning, he saw the man walking along the dumpsite road.
Prag pointed out that at least two persons in his street were robbed prior to his house being burglarised and the suspect seen roaming around in the area on a regularly. He further mentioned that the same day he was robbed, another house in the street was also raided.
The frustrated man is calling on the authorities to ensure that residents and their properties are protected.
At the “Lunch Talk”, a team from SASOD including Managing Director Joel Simpson; Advocacy and Communications Officer Schemel Patrick and SASOD Volunteers Monica Brinn and Chase Gorishek, shared a summary of the SASOD’s Stakeholder Report accentuating pertinent topics that were highlighted by the Committee in its Concluding Observations to the Government of Guyana. The discussion around the table interrogated the Concluding Observations and outlined a clear roadmap of how the Government of Guyana can meet its treaty obligations to fulfill the economic, social and cultural rights of all Guyanese.
The “Lunch Talk” served as the catalyst for publicly distilling and disseminating, for the first time, the CESCR’s Concluding Observations on Guyana. CESCR provides concrete recommendations on constitutional reform, law reform and policy prescriptions which the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration is charged to implement forthwith as urgent priorities for achieving equality and human rights for all Guyanese.
In his opening remarks, Simpson provided a brief background on how the CESCR operates and significance of the Concluding Observations to civil society organisations working to advance these causes.
Brinn underscored the articles of the covenant addressed in the SASOD’s Stakeholder Report on the Protection of the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) persons in Guyana. The discussion ex-
plored Guyana’s failure to comply with Articles Two: probation of discrimination; Article Six: right to work; Article Seven: right to favourable and just conditions at work; Article 12: right to highest attainable standard of health; and Article 13: right to education of the ICESCR.
Brinn noted that the ICESCR through its General Comments prohibits any discrimination on a number of grounds including sexual orientation and health status (including HIV status). In the concluding observations from the CESCR to the Government of Guyana on the issue of non-discrimination, the committee is “concerned about the widespread discrimination based on sex, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, and health status, in all areas of economic and cultural rights...”. The Committee “is concerned that the Prevention of Discrimination Act of 1997 is mainly applicable to the employment sector and does not cover all grounds of discrimination.” The Committee “recommends that the State party review the Prevention of Discrimination Act of 1997 and other relevant laws with a view to bringing them into full conformity with Article Two of the ICESCR.” and “the Committee recommends that the State party repeal the criminalisation of same sex relations between consenting adults and cross-gender dressing. It also recommends that the State party provide effective protection for LGBTI persons against any form of discrimination on the grounds of their sexual orientation.”
Patrick in her presentation discussed issues affecting LGBT persons as it relates to the right to education and the right to work. She noted cases where LGBT persons were discriminated against because there are no mechanisms and policies to protect them in the education system and workplace. As it relates to the right to work, the
Committee, through the Concluding Observations, recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to collect disaggregated statistical data necessary to assess the employment and labour market situations and to review and implement effective labour policies.” As it relates to education, the Committee, recommends that State party “take all necessary measures and to enhance information and education on sexual and reproductive health inter alia, through including them in the school curricula in accordance with the evolving capacities of children and adolescents, as well as in informal education”. Additionally, “the Committee is concerned at the drain of skilled workforce, particularly in the areas of healthcare and education and its negative impact on the enjoyment of the relevant rights by the people in the State Party.”
Gorishek presented on the right to the highest attainable standard of health. He noted the recommendation that there made to the UN CESCR through the Stakeholder Report and also the concluding observations that were recommended by the Committee. “The Committee recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to improve the availability, accessibility and quality of healthcare services, including the mental health sector”; “that the State party take all necessary measures to combat the epidemics of malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS; and to remove obstacles to access sexual and reproductivehealth care services, including through sensitising healthcare professionals…”; “the Committee is concerned at the drain of skilled workforce, particularly in the areas of healthcare and education and its negative impact on the enjoyment of the relevant rights by the people in the State party.”
After the presentations, the discussion around the table included the need for quantitative data on the cases of LGBT discrimination, the recent cross-dressing case, the issue of mental health and the need for the health system to be more equipped and prepared to deal with LGBTI issues, the importance of working with police to address the re-victimisation of LGBTI persons.
In his closing remarks, Simpson urged the APNU/ AFC Administration to keep its 2015 election manifesto promise to address discrimination based on sexual orientation by implementing the specific recommendations in CESCR’s Concluding Observations as an immediate priority.
of Ituni $4M still unknown
he whereabouts of approximately $4 million belonging to residents of Ituni, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) remains a mystery, even four years after it disappeared from a social account, under a previous Regional Democratic Council (RDC) administration back in 2011. The money was derived from a percentage of a sale of scrap iron by members of the community; in addition to fund-raising activities. At the time, former Regional Chairman Mortimer Mingo was heading the RDC. Former Regional officials were signatories to the account, which initially included $6 million deposited by the Linmine Secretariat.
to probe the missing $4 million, after the people of Ituni had requested it in an effort to carry out developmental activities. However, it failed to locate the cash.
Under previous Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon, a Committee was set up in 2013
Solomon had related that little progress was made in the investigations, even after a year of the Committee’s probe, and now it appears as if the money may not be located since present Regional Chairman
Renis Morian said he will not be pursuing the issue.
The money was reported missing when residents indicated that they would be venturing into an activity and as such made a request for the money. While the Committee set up to investigate the matter was not able to solve the case completely, it discovered that a sum of $1.2 million was the final withdrawal made from the
Republic Bank account at the end of the year (December 31) in 2011. However, no official account could be given as to how the sum was spent.
Solomon had disclosed then that it was speculated that the final sum was spent on maintenance of the Ituni Guest House however, residents refuted thate claim. He had also indicated that this may not have been the case, since the
administration was tasked with maintenance of the Guest House.
Morian recently stated his administration would not be pursuing the matter, since it seems as though the issue was blown out of proportion by Solomon’s administration. He said if the case was a serious one, then the Police should have been involved in investigations.
Around the world
At least 43 killed in French bus crash, worst in decades
At least 41 people on a bus carrying elderly day-trippers were killed early on Friday when the bus hit a truck head-on and caught fire, in France’s worst road crash in more than 30 years.
Two people, including a young boy, died in the truck. A total of eight people were injured. The bus and the truck collided near a forested bend on a two-lane road cut into a hillside near Puisseguin in the Gironde region, about 60 km (35 miles) East of Bordeaux, the local prefect’s office said in a statement.
TV footage showed two blackened vehicles, with the bus facing the wood-transporter’s trailer, the truck’s cab skewed to one side, and scorched vegetation around the site, which was sealed off by Police.
The bus was carrying about 50 pensioners South to the Bearn region from their homes in the village of Petit Palais and surrounding hamlets. The crash occurred just a few minutes after the pensioners had boarded the bus.
Among the dead were the driver of the articulated lorry and a young boy who was in the cab, according to the local prefect’s office. News reports said the child was about three years old.
The driver of the bus was among the survivors, who were able to exit through the front door he opened, according to a source close to an inquiry that was under way within hours. (Excerpt from
Hurricane Patricia: Mexico braces for ‘strongest
ever’
storm in East Pacific
Hurricane Patricia strengthened into a potentially catastrophic Category Five storm as it churned toward Mexico’s Pacific coast, having grown at an “incredible rate” in the past 12 hours, the World Meteorological Organisation said on Friday.
“Patricia is now the strongest ever hurricane to hit the eastern North Pacific region,” WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis told a UN briefing in Geneva, citing an update from the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC).
“This is really, really, really strong. It’s comparable with Typhoon Haiyan which hit the Philippines with such devastating effect a couple of years ago.”
Haiyan killed more than 6300 people and wiped out or damaged practically everything in its path as it swept ashore on 8 November 2013, destroying about 90 per cent of the city of Tacloban in Leyte province.
Patricia, which became a hurricane overnight, had maximum sustained winds of about 200 mph (325kph) as it
China launches
moved toward the North North-West at 10mph (16kph).
Brazil hosts first World Indigenous Games
The games include football as well as traditional indigenous sports like archery and spear tossing
Some 2000 athletes from many indigenous ethnic groups and 30 countries are taking part in the first World Indigenous Games. The event in the northern Brazilian city of Palmas officially got under way on Friday and will end on October 31.
On Thursday, the participants took part in a traditional fire-lighting ceremony in Palmas’s central square. Indigenous peoples from countries including Ethiopia, Mongolia and Brazil sang and danced at the ceremony, dressed in traditional outfits.
The football tournament
also began on Thursday. Among the sports included in the games are archery, spear tossing, canoeing and a race through the forest. There will be non-competitive events showcasing the many different traditions of indigenous ethnic groups involved, such as a footballstyle game called xikunahity in which the ball is controlled only with the head. As well as peoples from across the Americas, there are delegations from Australia, Russia, the Philippines, Ethiopia and New Zealand. From Brazil alone, 24 different indigenous groups are taking part. (Excerpt from BBC News)
South Africa’s Zuma caves in on fees amid violent student protests
“The winds are enough to get a plane in the air and keep it flying,” Nullis said. Patricia was last located about 185 miles (295 km) South SouthWest of the port of Manzanillo, where a hurricane warning had been issued. A hurricane warning was also in effect for the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta.
US$2.8B worth major water diversion project
China has started yet another large water diversion project with US$2.8 billion investment in central China’s Hubei Province which will benefit nearly five million people after completion.
The 270km long pipeline will divert 1.4 billion cubic metres of water each year from Danjiangkou Reservoir to the cities of Xiangyang, Suizhou and Xiaogan in North Hubei.
Last year, China successfully completed its US$80 billion world’s biggest water diversion project which had brought water to Danjiangkou Reservoir from the country’s sec-
ond largest Yellow River. It is the largest water distribution project in Hubei and will take three years and nine months to complete. After completion, it will benefit 4.82 million people and irrigate 310,000 hectares of land as well as industries along the route, said Wang Zhongfa, head of the Hubei Provincial Water Resources Department.
A reliable water supply will guarantee urban water supply, ensure grain production, improve the regional environment and with poverty relief efforts, said Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. (Excerpt from The Times of India)
The storm, which is a Category Five, the highest rating possible, had been expected to weaken somewhat before making landfall in the hurricane warning area by Friday afternoon or evening, the Miami-based hurricane center said earlier. (Excerpt from The Guardian)
Swedish Police say school attack was racist, as refugee rules tightened
A“suicide note” and the manner in which he picked out victims by the colour of their skin to be mercilessly cut down with his sword marked out the armed man who rampaged through a Swedish school on Thursday as a racist with Nazi sympathies, Police have said.
The city of Trollhättan, where the attacks took place, was still in shock as hundreds of mourners gathered at the school on Friday evening to honour the dead, grieve and express their anger. On Friday night, Police confirmed that Anton Lundin Pettersson, 21, ear-
lier identified by Swedish media as the culprit, was the attacker. His home was cordoned off on Thursday afternoon by dozens of Police, who emptied the apartment. Police found a handwritten letter in his apartment, “a sort of suicide note”, which showed he had planned the attack, and in which he said he expected it would be his final act. The man, who killed a 15-year-old male pupil and a teaching assistant, was gunned down by Police shortly after the alarm was raised and died two hours later in hospital. Two people, aged 15 and 41, are still fighting for their lives after the attack.
South Africa’s President
Jacob Zuma on Friday ruled out university fee increases next year after a week of angry protests by students across the country in the first signs of the postapartheid ‘Born Free’ generation flexing its muscle.
Police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades at students who hurled rocks and lit fires on the grounds of Union Buildings, where the government has its offices in Pretoria, demanding Zuma come outside and address them.
But security officials feared for his safety, and Zuma remained inside, making the fee freeze announcement to the media instead. “We decided against it because it was not safe,” a state security official told
Reuters. “There were students there with stones.” A second source confirmed the change of plan.
The protest caps a week of angry demonstrations over the cost of university education – prohibitive for many blacks – amid frustration at the inequalities that persist two decades after the end of white-minority rule.
“On the matter at hand we agreed that there will be a zero increase of university fees in 2016,” Zuma said after meeting in private with student leaders and university management.
Some of the more than 12,000 students who gathered at Union Buildings in Pretoria welcomed Zuma’s announcement, but others said the measure fell short of their demand for free education. (Excerpt from Reuters)
Rescue workers carry a injured person on a stretcher during rescue operations near the site where a coach carrying members of an elderly people’s club collided with a truck outside Puisseguin near Bordeaux, western France, October 23
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma on Friday ruled out university fee increases next year after a week of angry protests by students across the country
Newly established customer contact centre Teleperformance has debunked a report in the Stabroek News that it was expanding its business. The sentiments were ex-
pressed on Friday by the company’s Country Ambassador Andrew Rhikkie Alexander, who met with the press in the company’s boardroom.
According to Alexander, the information carried in the local
newspaper has put falsehood forward, devoid of integrity, respect and professionalism.
“We at Teleperformance are passionate and engaged, and extremely serious about dispelling and disproving this un-
truth which has been peddled in some sections of the media. While we look forward to continue providing great opportunities to our citizens by way of transforming Guyana’s employment and education, we are confident that through our growth, we will multiply our sites in Guyana in the not distant future. This is to say emphatically and unambiguously that Teleperformance is not moving or expanding next door, case closed”.
The Stabroek News had re-
ported in its Sunday, October 18 edition, that the new company was moving to expand its operations by moving to build a new structure on the lot opposite its current location – the lot with used to house the Kissoon Furniture Store. That building a few months ago was completely raised by fire.
“This we firmly believe. What was printed in the Stabroek newspaper is putting falsehood forward dressed in garments that are devoid of integrity, respect and profession-
alism”.
Alexander said the fact that society exists in an age of the information, digital revolution, communication revolution and technological singularity, “this to my mind must never relegate journalistic integrity to the realm of history. We hold the view that integrity differentiates journalism from non-journalism and that journalistic integrity, standards and ethics embraces some fundamentals which must remain constant.”
Meanwhile speaking about the performance of the company since it began operation, Recruiting Officer Nandi Ramcharan said that the successes have been good so far.
Teleperformance has over the last three decades been in the business of providing service in the contact centre industry. Its service has been hinged on delivering outstanding customer experience at every single opportunity, as a result of its commitment, passion and dedication to excellence.
Food For The Poor’s Christmas drive gets donation from Carib Foods
Carib Foods Distributors on Thursday donated a 40-foot container of Campbell’s canned soup and toilet tissue to Food For The Poor (FFTP) as a contribution towards the organisation’s annual Christmas drive, the School Feeding Programme and the elderly care homes which are all supported by Food For The Poor.
Receiving the donation on behalf of FFTP was Aubrey Austin who expressed his gratitude to the business for its kind contribution. “Thanks to Carib Foods for this generous donation. These items, the soups and paper products, have demonstrated to us that you are catering for the poor.”
Operations Manager of Carib Foods, Kharishma Narine-Foo at the simple handing over exercise explained that the donations were a means of giving to the poor. “We at Craib Foods wanted to do something for our community. We wanted to give to the community as customers have supported us. We were not quite sure about what exactly we could have done but then the idea of giving to the less fortunate surfaced,” she explained.
She revealed that the food distributor would be continuing such charitable endeavours, saying “As customers support us, we will try our best to give to the poor. I’m hoping that other distributors other than Carib Foods will come on board with us and give back to the community.”
Police warn about fake firearm permits
The Guyana Police Force is urging the public to be aware of the circulation of a number of forged firearm approvals.
Guyana Times understands that there is a group of people who claim to be close associates of Police ranks, and as such, charge an exorbitant amount for the processing of firearm licenses.
The Police however, stated that in order to prevent being a victim of this scam, members of the public are advised that no money is required for the processing of firearm applications and that the procedure on the results of their application is done via the Guyana Post Office.
The newly established customer contact centre Teleperformance
Meagre
$5M
allotted
for remedial work on section of EBB road
– “The $6.6M can only do to fill the holes temporarily...” – Armogan
Residents living along the East Bank of Berbice are up in arms over the poor quality of remedial work being executed on the main access road.
For years, residents in this area have been clamouring to have a new road build but have had to make do with only repairs, since the previous Government was in the process of making arrangements to secure funding for the construction of a newly designed road.
As the years passed and several meetings were held with residents and the funding agency; the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), the regional administration and central Government had been spending millions of dollars to make the road useable.
The region spent $15 million anually while Central Government, through the then Public Works Ministry, spent other sums annually to upkeep the road.
Now residents are peeved as very little is being done, as the current Administration waits on the IDB. Repair work to more than half of the damaged roadway was reportedly completed in one night. Residents are aware that very little funding has been made available for repairs to the main access road this time around. One resident, Reynard Ward, who was on the list of can-
didates for the coalition as it campaigned for the May 11 polls, told this publication that the Government the people voted for is now turning its back on them.
“The whole East Bank vote for [A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change] APNU/AFC and they only spending $5 million on the road. The previous Administration use to spend $15 million.”
Persons who use that stretch or road, including members of the East Bank Berbice Hire Car Association, met with Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) Chairman David Armogan and expressed the need for some remedial work to be done to upgrade that stretch of road.
The current project entails fixing the roadway be-
tween Marks Bridge and Bermine, with the worst section being Glasgow. The project is expected to be funded by the IDB to the tune of US$8 million and requires the building of a new four-mile stretch of roadway. According to Armogan, the funds have not yet been released by the IDB for the project. “The previous Government [People’s Progressive Party] was also depending on the IDB to do that road. I understand this Government is also waiting on the IDB to have this US$7-8 million to do this work. In the meantime, what we are doing at the regional level budget is trying to do some work on that road. Remember the regional budget was significantly cut because we are operating with a four-month bud-
Ricks and Sari gives away
The Ricks and Sari Agro Company completed its second of three drawings on Monday at Nigel’s Supermarket, in Georgetown. The winner of the GE six-burner gas stove worth over $100,000 was Esther Barry of Eccles, East Bank Demerara.
of a Berbician who was the first to win a gas stove. Chandra Gossai, a housewife of Number 11 Village, West Coast Berbice, won the first stove less than two weeks ago, when the company held the first of three draws at J’s Supermarket, Strand, New Amsterdam. The final draw is set for October 26 at Bounty Supermarket.
According to Mancey, the company has been receiving tremendous support locally.
“We love our customers and we want to give back in a big way this year,” she said.
get. So we only have $260 million to do all the projects within the region, whereas we would have $450-$500 million. So in terms of road work there is not much money available. So out of the
money that we have for road maintenance we have put aside $5 million to basically fill hole.”
Armogan told this publication that the last contracting service that executed remedial works on that road had a retention of $1.6 million which is currently being used to make the East Bank Berbice main access road usable. “The $6.6 million can only do to fill the holes temporarily and so we will have to wait on Government. If this process takes too long, I think Government will have to make some kind of intervention, but if the rains come heavily I think that $6.6 million will be washed out and so we will get back to square one,” the Regional Chairman said.
Meanwhile, another $6 million project is also taking place on the Upper East Bank Berbice. This, the Chairman told Guyana Times, will see the section of road from Lightown to Mara being repaired. That section of road has been deteriorating at fast rate. That 12-mile stretch of road work was budgeted for in the 2015 regional budget. We did not budget anything for the road between Marks Bridge and Bermine because we were hoping that the IDB funding would have been released and so we were hoping that a big project would have started to ensure that road becomes a first class road. Unfortunately things are happening very slowly,” the Regional Chairman said.
The ‘Let Ricks & Sari Agro Industries Ltd help you to keep the pot bubbling’ promotion will give three lucky customers the opportunity to win GE six-burner gas stoves. Co-founder of Ricks and Sari marketing team, Akilah Mancey in explaining how persons can be a part of the promotion said persons first need to purchase the product. “Drop three empty packets of our 85-gram or one empty packet of our 200-gram Sari curry powder, along with your contact information, into our many collection boxes nationwide at leading supermarkets for a chance to win one of three, yes three gas stoves.”
She noted that the company has always treated its customers with respect because the customers are an important component of the company’s existence. The marketing representative stated that the Rick’s and Sari’s policy is to give back to the community from where it garners its support.
Ricks and Sari is a nationwide company, as such it has promotions throughout the country. The company over the years has supported a number of youth, sport, education and community initiatives. It is a big supporter of cycling in Guyana; being one of the leading sponsors in the country. It also supports Futsal football and kiddies cricket with the Berbice Cricket Board.
Barry’s win follows that
A section of completed work on the East Bank Berbice main access road
Sales Executive of Ricks and Sari, Carlos Mendonca presents a new six-burner gas stove to the second winner of the promotion, Ester Barry
second gas stove
SUDOKU
ARIES (March 21April 19)
TAURUS (April 20May 20)
(May 21June 20)
CANCER
Shake up your routine and consider relieving your boredom by taking on a unique challenge. Share your ideas with someone you want to collaborate with. A moneymaking enterprise is apparent.
A tempting career offer will be fleeting. Prepare to act quickly when offered a change in direction. Overspending on household items will cause tension with someone you live with.
Do whatever it takes to increase your popularity. Come up with a variety of challenging activities for yourself and your friends. Intellectual and physical contests will allow you to step into the spotlight.
LEO (July 23Aug. 22)
VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)
Don’t let personal issues cause you to lose focus professionally. Your productivity will suffer if your mind is caught up in emotional situations. Protect your livelihood and your heart.
You’ll be given a chance to develop an idea. Don’t let indecision or anxiety prevent you from giving your best effort. You have what it takes to be a success.
Consider the effect an emotional upheaval will have on those around you. Don’t make a change prematurely. You’ll find a workable solution if you bide your time.
LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)
Getting involved in an enjoyable pastime will help you relieve stress. Reading, listening to music or embarking on a day trip will take your mind off any troubling matter you face.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)
Damage control will be needed if you go over budget. Cut back on entertainment and devote more money to household funds. Say no to anyone asking for a donation.
CAPRICORN (June 21July 22)
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)
Your emotions will be close to the surface. Don’t fly off the handle if you are offered constructive criticism. Think clearly and strive to see the positive instead of the negative.
(Jan. 20Feb. 19) (Dec. 22Jan. 19)
Deception is evident. Make sure that your valuables are in a safe location and don’t reveal the extent of your assets to prying individuals. Caution is your best friend.
AQUARIUS
PISCES
(Feb. 20March 20)
A day trip will calm your nerves and motivate you to rethink your plans. A long chat with an old friend will help you put whatever adversity you face in perspective.
Think before you speak. Something you tell someone in confidence will end up public knowledge. Your reputation will come under scrutiny if you have been indiscreet. Offer honest, precise information.
GEMINI
Peanuts
Calvin and hobbes
dilbert
arChie
Sri Lanka v West Indies, 2nd Test…
Dhammika Prasad
bounded in, making the early incisions, allrounder Milinda Siriwardana struck either side of lunch, and offspinner Dilruwan Perera took care of the tail, as West Indies were bowled out for 163, giving Sri Lanka a 37-run lead by tea on the second day, at the P Sara Oval. The lead was built further by Kusal Mendis and Kaushal Silva, who added 54 together, the highest partnership of the Test so far.
Mendis may have looked jittery in the first innings but he got going in the second dig with some wristy flicks. He began with three fours and sussed out the conditions better after Dimuth Karunaratne was dismissed first ball when he tamely chipped Jerome Taylor to square leg.
The other openerKaushal Silva - also had jit-
ters. He was given out lbw on 3 before a review rescued him, with the tracker confirming that the ball was sliding down leg.
Mendis’ promising innings was cut short at 39 by
Courts golf tourney tees off today
The Lusignan Golf Course will be a hive of keen competition today when golfers, both locally and internationally, compete for supremacy in the annual mega Courts Golf Tournament that will tee off at 12:30h.
Courts had earlier this week endorsed the event with its Marketing Manager, Pernell Cummings, stating that they are proud to be associated with the sport.
The one-day tournament will be used by golfers to fine tune their preparations ahead of next weekend’s
Guyana Open golf tournament.
Captain of the Lusignan Golf Course, Chatterpaul Deo had said that all systems are in place for keen competition today. Among those competing are defending male and female Guyana Open champions, Avinash Persaud and Joaan Deo.
Meanwhile, Guyana’s premier golf tournament, the Guyana Open is billed for October 31 and November 1 at the country’s lone golf course at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara.
Jomel Warrican, but Dinesh Chandimal, having survived a tighter lbw review on 4, and Silva saw their team through to stumps while pushing the lead past 100.
Kraigg Braithwaite had earlier mounted some fight for West Indies with 47 off 101 balls, and it was extended through a 32-run seventh-wicket partnership between Denesh Ramdin and Jason Holder. Rangana Herath continued to be a wicket-taking threat, but had success only in his 17th over when Ramdin missed an agricultural swipe. Not that Sri Lanka complained.
Prasad, who led the attack, explored shorter lengths to begin with, but soon settled into his groove and returned figures of 5-28-2 in an energetic first spell. Nuwan Pradeep exploited the uneven bounce
Different day, same West Indies; fold for 163
well enough to complement Prasad. Devendra Bishoo, the nightwatchman, was the first to fall on the second day when he threw his bat outside off, nicking Prasad behind, for 14.
Prasad then welcomed Darren Bravo with one that misbehaved, snaking away wide outside off and beat the outside edge with a full tempter. Prasad got the big eyes and the big smile going. What followed was a sequence of 19 dots with Sri Lanka burrowing into the middle order. A few balls spat from a length while others kept low, asking more questions of the batsmen.
The pressure on Bravo eventually told, with the batsman offering an indecisive angled bat and chopping Prasad on for 2. Herath added to West Indies’ worries by employing teasing flight and ripped one viciously past the outside edge of Brathwaite. Prasad then got to bowl to Brathwaite for the first time on the second morning, 45 minutes after a delayed start due to a damp outfield caused by overnight rain, and had the opener scoop the first ball just wide of short cover.
Brathwaite had endured more dicey moments, but his innings ended when he was given out caught behind by umpire Rod Tucker. The noise may have come from the bat jamming the ground but there was not enough evidence to overturn the on-field decision. Marlon Samuel’s innings was far more painstaking - he sur-
vived two leg-before appeals on zero within his first five balls, and was left scoreless for another ten balls. He weathered two more leg-before appeals and was caught at slip, lazily pushing at a tossed-up ball from
for a
SCOREBOARD
Sri Lanka 1st innings 200 West Indies 1st innings
KC Brathwaite c †MDKJ Perera
b Siriwardana 47
SD Hope lbw b Prasad 4
D Bishoo c †MDKJ Perera
b Prasad 13
DM Bravo b Prasad 2
MN Samuels c Mathews
b Siriwardana 13
J Blackwood c †MDKJ Perera
b Prasad 16
D Ramdin† b Herath 14
JO Holder* c Mathews
b MDK Perera 21
KAJ Roach not out 17
JE Taylor lbw b MDK Perera 1
J Warrican c & b MDK Perera 1
Extras: (b 9, lb 3, w 1, nb 1) 14
Total: (all out; 64.2 overs) 163
Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-33, 3-37, 4-76, 5-89, 6-105,
Siriwardana to leave his side at 76 for 4, eight balls before lunch.
If it was any consolation, though, Samuels avoided his ninth single-digit score against Sri Lanka in 16 innings, nudging his average to double-figures.
Jermaine Blackwood flickered briefly - he drilled Pradeep through mid-off after a slow start and launched
7-137, 8-149, 9-151, 10-163
Bowling: KTGD Prasad 12-3-344, N Pradeep 11-3-24-0, HMRKB Herath 20-5-39-1, MDK Perera 11.2-3-28-3, TAM Siriwardana 10-2-26-2.
Sri Lanka 2nd innings FDM Karunaratne c Bishoo b Taylor 0 JK Silva not out 31 K Mendis c †Ramdin b Warrican 39 LD Chandimal not out 5 Extras: (lb 1) 1
Total: (2 wickets; 31 overs) 76
To bat: AD Mathews*, TAM Siriwardana, MDKJ Perera†, KTGD Prasad, HMRKB Herath, N Pradeep, MDK Perera. Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-55. Bowling: JE Taylor 4-1-15-1, KAJ Roach 4-1-10-0, JO Holder 5-1-9-0, J Warrican 11-1-211, D Bishoo 7-1-20-0.
However, Ramdin and Holder exited in a space of 19 balls and the tail did not wag, as the hosts gained what appeared to be a substantial lead on a pitch that already had puffs of dust exploding from the surface. This was only the first time since 2006 that Sri Lanka had managed a first-innings lead after making 200 or fewer when batting first. (Cricinfo)
Avinash Persaud Joaan Deo
Siriwardana
straight six - before Prasad returned and struck with the first ball after lunch. Holder also showed intent when he jumped out of the crease and sent Dilruwan clattering towards the media box.
Milinda Siriwardena spun a web on West Indies (AFP photo)
Berbice Bridge Company Inc’s 1st division competition…
Arch rivals clash in today’s final
Despite the absence of a few key players, Albion Community Centre Cricket Club will start as favourites when they clash with arch-rivals, Rose Hall Town Gismos and Gadgets in today’s final of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc 50-over cricket tournament at the Port Mourant ground.
The defending champions, Albion is without West Indies leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo and the hard hitting Jonathan Foo, but after easily defeating their opponents a week ago in the Tenelec Inc preliminary match, the Albion team is entering the game with a huge advantage.
The Albion batting lineup will be spearheaded by
Guyana wicket-keeper-batsman Anthony Bramble, Berbice opening batsman Kandasammy Surujnarine, rising star David Latchaya, two Guyana Under-19 batsmen Balchand Baldeo and Sharaz Ramcharran in addition to Guyana Under-17 cricketer Adrian Sukhwa.
Their almost all spin bowling attack will be spearheaded by West Indies left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, West Indies Under-19 offspinner Gudakesh Motie, as well as off-spinners Baldeo, Ramcharran and Latchaya.
On the other hand, Rose Hall Town Gismos and Gadgets will look to fire on all cylinders right from the start. They will depend heavily on West Indies bats-
man Assad Fudadin.
The hard hitting trio of former Berbice cricketers Delbert Hicks, Clinton Pestano and Jason Sinclair are expected to lend vital support to Fudadin.
Their improved opening pacer Keon Sinclair together with fast bowler Pestano can pose problems for the Albion line-up, while spinners Shawn Pereira, Eon Hooper and Troy Mathieson are also expected to play key roles with the ball.
The umpires named for the match are Imran and Zaheer Moakan, with Omadat Samaroo as the stand by.
The match is scheduled to start at 09:30h. (rajivb@ guyanatimesgy.com)
GCB/Banks DIH/Digicel NSSCL…
Karim’s century powers Rosignol Secondary to huge victory
Ablistering 133 from Javid Karim saw Rosignol Secondary whipping Belladrum Secondary by 116 runs at the De Edward ground in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) inaugural National Secondary School Cricket League (NSSCL), sponsored by Banks DIH’s Coco Cola and Rainforest Water, along with Digicel.
Karim recorded the first century of the League as Rosignol Secondary amassed 239 all out in 29 overs. Karim’s knock included 17 boundaries and four maximums.
Even though wickets kept tumbling at the other end (the next highest score was 15), Karim showed great composer and control. Bowling for Belladrum Secondary, Orlando Towenfield grabbed 3-37, Anthony McPherson 3-0 and Curtis Maxwell 2-36.
There was never a threat to the target during the Belladrum’s innings, and the crumbled for meager 123 in 22.4 overs. Curtis Maxwell contributed 48. The destroyer with the
ball was Hemchand Singh, who captured 5-23 from six overs.
At Bush Lot Secondary School ground, the home team registered a comfortable 141-run victory over Woodley Park. The match was a one-sided one in favour of the home team.
Batting first, Bush Lot Secondary totalled 227 all out in their allotted 30 overs.
The primary scorers were Marvin Persaud with 50 (3x4s), Seon Glasgow with 47 (6x4s), and Nivendra Peraud with 24. Among the wickets for Woodley Park
were Tamesh Roopnarine with 4-41 from 4.5 overs, Tony Dalona 2-24 from four overs and Lookram Evans 2-39 from six overs.
In their reply, Woodley Park was bowled out for 86. Clinton Grant snatched 4-33 from five overs, while Seon Glasgow and Nivendra Persaud accounted for 3-11 and 2-16 respectively. The League was launched last week Friday at the Everest Cricket Club ground. Its major aim is to
identify talents, who would be channeled towards joining cricket clubs and transition into our national teams.
England rely on Root after Pakistan 378
There will come a time when Joe Root's back becomes a subject of national concern. Not quite yet. His troubled stretches as yet only concern the physios and anyway, as he sought to bat England into a position of authority against Pakistan, Xi Jinping and David Cameron only had eyes for selfies with Manchester City footballers. The longer that question is not pressing the better for England. Root, unbeaten on 76, again brought certainty and zest to England's middle order, his Test average past 57 now. He is playing at a consistent standard that only the best Test players ever attain. England trail by 196 and, of the seven wickets remaining, his is
naturally the most important.
This has been a good contest on a good pitch, goodnatured, too, quite fortunate considering that comments in this near-empty stadium travel around the ground as if Dubai is trialling a huge invisible microphone.
Root's most awkward moment, once he had negotiated a fiery new-ball burst from Wahab Riaz, speeds in excess of 90mph, came with the light fading, after a stretch of that wooden back. He stands lower against the spinners and it adds to his problems. A loose drive at a googly from Yasir Shah, which flew past slip, suggested his mind was briefly elsewhere. He probably needs a break but since
when did an England cricketer involved in all three formats get those?
England coped well with their first sight of Yasir, the Pakistan legspinner who many believe will decide this series in their favour. His 17 overs cost 59, although he did unearth Alastair Cook, on 65, a routine turn to leg falling obligingly to leg slip. Until then Cook had been in strikingly good order after his 263 in the first Test, upping the power a notch from Abu Dhabi and even coming down the pitch to smite Zulfiqar over midwicket on one occasion. When an inside-edge against Wahab also spared him a Pakistan lbw referral on 41, he responded with a crisp pull.
Anthony Bramble Assad Fudadin Veerasammy Permaul
Javid Karim of Rosignol Secondary recorded the first century in the League
Hemchand of Rosignol Secondary Singh captured 5-23
Joe Root made a typically positive start to his innings (Getty Images)
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Inter-Ministry/Corporation Banks Beer Futsal... Morris leads republic Bank impr essive on opening night
Republic Bank played a brilliant game of futsal on the opening night of the Inter-Ministry/ Corporation Banks Beer Futsal Championship on Thursday evening to overcome the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
It was a brilliant evening of action as Akeem Morris took the proverbial bull by the horns and hammered NIS for a helmet-trick in the ninth, 10th, 21st and 24th minutes respectively to help Republic Bank pull off a 5-3 win in a fast paced game. Netting the opening goal in the win was Bruce Daniels in the fifth minute.
Allende Henry was the only man to score for NIS with a hat-trick in the second, 19th and 20th minutes.
The Public Security Ministry escaped with a slim 4-3 win over the Guyana National Industrial Company (GNIC).
The physical encounter saw Denver Rowley, Gavin Bobb, Sherwin Vincent and Delroy O’Neil scoring in the first, seventh, 11th and 17th minutes respectively in the win while Rolex Moore, Roger Justice and Richard Bartholomew scored in the 14th, 18th and 21st minutes respectively.
In the opening game of the evening, Transport and Harbours topped the Agriculture Ministry in another close game that ended 4-3.
Lloyd Prince, Ulric Bourne, Rondel Henry and Joel Singh found the back of the net for the winners in the fifth, eighth, 11th and 13th minutes respectively.
Scoring from the losing side came from Ramin Lindo who had a hat-trick in the first, 12th and 27th minutes.
In the other results of the night, the Bank of Guyana and the Tourism Ministry played to a 2-2 draw. Jolyan
Harry netted a double for the Tourism Ministry in the 15th and 21st minutes while Jermin Junior scored for the Bank of Guyana in the 20th and 22nd minute.
The final game of the evening featured the Guyana Power Light (GPL) and the Ministry of Forestry that ended in a two all draw. Xavier Fraser netted a double for the Ministry of Forestry in the fifth and 12th minutes while Daniel Cozier and Linden Munroe scored for GPL in the 19th and 21st minutes respectively.
The winners of the tournament will receive $200,000 and the winning trophy while the second, third and fourth positioned team will receive $150,000, $100,000 and $50,000 respectively along with trophies.
Action in the tournament is set to continue on Monday with eight games from 18:30h.
England rely on Root...
So this was the Yasir unknown to casual English observers. He was a busier, more bustling spinner than Adil Rashid, about 10kph faster, a comparatively rotund, slightly dishevelled figure with a drying rag hanging out of his back pocket. He turned several balls sharply, but England played him well. Jonny Bairstow, unbeaten at the close, will give thanks for all those Yorkshire net sessions against Rashid.
Cook, on 27, also had fortune when he misjudged a sweep and a delivery from the left-arm spinner, Zulfiqar Babar, brushed glove and pad before crashing into the base of middle stump without dislodging a bail. The immovable batsman of Abu Dhabi was blessed, so it seemed, with immovable bails.
England lost Moeen Ali and Ian Bell within five overs of the new ball, Moeen falling to an excellent reaction catch by Shan Masood at short leg - the second great catch under the lid in this Test, follow-
ing Jonny Bairstow’s chestassisted effort on the opening day - and Bell caught at slip as he was drawn into playing a ball that left him. Bell’s dismissal came with a cry of anguish as the ball headed towards the keeper’s gloves.
Pakistan’s batting on the first day had belonged to the staunch figure of their veteran captain, Misbahul-Haq. Such certainty was hard to find on the second morning as Misbah departed in the opening over and Pakistan’s lower order duly followed, sometimes skittishly. From an overnight 282 for 4, they lost six wickets for 96, a reward
for England’s resolve. A strong-minded pace quartet exerted that control, allowing 2.46 runs per over while the spinners leaked 4.26. Asad Shafiq was the mainstay, last man out for 83, but even his smoothly assembled innings ended in obvious discomfort as he was struck just above the knee by a low full toss from Wood and, although he batted on, soon slogged to short midwicket. He did not field. Wood had again been persistently aggressive - more so than in Abu Dhabi - and his return of 3 for 39 in 19.5 overs in discouraging conditions represented his best Test figures. (Cricinfo)
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The teams line up for the opening kickoff
Courts Pee Wee school football tournament…
Round of 16 to begin today
By TreisTon Joseph
The Courts Pee Wee school football tournament is heading into that critical stage where all the marbles will be on the line when Round of 16 action begins today at the Banks DIH Thirst park ground.
Eight games will be contested from 10:00h today with some thrilling matches expected from the primary school teams.
South Ruimveldt and Smith Memorial will open the proceedings in a game that might prove to be closer than expected. South Ruimveldt always plays good football but an improving Smith squad might prove to be too hot to handle.
Defending Champions Stella Maris will also be in
action on the first day of Round of 16 action when they go up against St Agnes Primary.
Stella Maris while making it to the Round of 16 round, has looked a bit out of sorts during their games but have done enough to pull off wins.
St Agnes on the other hand continues to improve with each game and might put up a challenge against the defending champs. Enterprise Primary will match up against St Ambrose Primary in what is expected to be a walk in the park for Enterprise.
St Ambrose to this point has yet to show any particular team chemistry as well as defence to top a team like Enterprise, that is known for its scoring prowess.
St Margaret’s Primary will also be in action when they face Winfer Gardens in a game that might be too close to call.
St Angeles will face St Stephens in yet another match that might come down to the wire as both sides have played good football to this point in the tournament.
St Pius will take on Comenius Primary just after in a match that is expected to go the way of St Pius who have been a model of consistency during the tournament thus far.
Tucville Primary and FE Pollard will also engage in battle while West Ruimveldt will face North Georgetown primary in the final game today. (josepht@guyanatimesgy.com)
Las Vegas comes to Guyana this evening
– “Brawl at the Mall” boxing card to invade Giftland Mall
If the promises made by the organisers in the leadup to tonight’s “Brawl at the Mall” boxing card are kept, spectators and boxers alike are in for a memorable experience at the Giftland Mall, Pattenson, Greater Georgetown.
Ever since the card was officially announced a few months ago, representatives of Next Generation Boxing have been boasting about transforming the Liliendaal facility into the glitz and glamour that is so synonymous with bouts staged in Las Vegas – the boxing capital of the world.
A red carpet welcome and mind-blowing lighting effects, coupled with a six-camera television shoot to create the Showtime imagery for television audiences after the fight, are just a few of the things that the organisers have high-
lighted for tonight’s eightfight card.
One of Guyana’s top designers Sonia Noel, is also slated to display some of her pieces during the breaks between fights. The boxing card, which will be the first to be staged at the venue, will comprise four amateur and a similar number of professional fights.
Clive Atwell and Dexter Gonsalves will face off for the FECABOX Super Lightweight belt in the main contest, and the winner of the bout is guaranteed a spot in the WBC Top 20.
Apart from the main fight, Imran “Magic” Khan, a highly successful amateur boxer, will make the move up the professional ranks and will face David Thomas in a four-round lightweight contest, while Terrence Adams and Keeve Allicock will open the professional segment with
GABA League basketball…
a four-round featherweight showdown.
In bout number three, Anson Green and Quincy Gomes will trade punches in a six-round junior welterweight clash.
On the amateur side, Orin Bancroft of Forgotten Youth Foundation Boxing Gym will take on Travis Hubbard of Harpy Eagles Boxing Gym in a Youth Lightweight fight; Tefon Green of Guyana Defence Force will trade punches with Dexter Wray of Republican in an Elite Flyweight showdown; Glenroy Smith of Essequibo Boxing Gym will confront Clifton Grayham of Republican in a Welterweight bout; and Nandkumar Singh of Republican will battle with Kelon King of Forgotten Youth Foundation in a Lightweight fight. Admission to the venue is $2000 for general seating, and $5000 VIP.
Plaisance top Ravens 5145 in 1st Division encounter
The Plaisance Guardians got the better of the number one ranked Georgetown club, the Dynas Ravens when action in the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) League continued on Wednesday evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The Guardians from the onset attacked the paint as the Ravens searched for rhythm and chemistry, falling behind early with the first quarter, ending 14-9 in favour of the East Coast based side.
The Guardians continued their attack on the paint, but the Ravens finding some offensive flow matched them bucket for bucket as both teams scored 16 points apiece in the second period as the half ended with the Guardians leading 30-25.
Ravens, always a strong third quarter team showed their might and hustled their way back in the ball game to end the third period tied on 39.
Nevertheless, with the Ravens looking out of sync all evening, the Guardians used a 12-6 final period to
top the Ravens for their first win of the league.
Mark Richards was the only player in double-digit scoring for the Guardians with a game high 16 points and eight rebounds, while Ryan Gullen was the only player as well in double-digits for the Ravens with 10 points and eight rebounds.
In Division Two action, the Republic Bank Nets cruised past the Eagles with a 72-56 win.
The Nets scored 18 points in each quarter as they outplayed the Eagles on both the offensive and defensive end of the court.
Mortimer Williams was the high point man for the Nets with 13 points while Joe Ifill had a double-double performance of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Darrion Lewis also had 10 points.
Scoring from the eagles came from Devon Murray who had a game high 15 points 12 rebounds along with four steals in the losing effort. Courtenay Taylor also scored 11 points in the loss.
Meanwhile, in Under-23 action, the Ravens routed the Guardians 69-49 for a convincing victory. Mortland Ward led the team with 16 points while Carlos Edwards had a monster game with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Devon Williams also had 12 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Sebastian Duke also hit double-digit scoring with 12 points.
Terrence Daniels was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort while teammates Andrew Johnson and Malcolm Powdar had 11 and 10 points respectively. Action in the tournament will continue next week.
Some of the action during the group stage of the tournament
Clive Atwell Dexter Gonsalves
Sonia Noel
Mortimer Williams
“Nationals” to be held November month end
The National Schools Athletics, Cycling, Swimming and Teachers Championships have been confirmed for November 23-27.
This is according to a press release by the Committee of the championships that will be in its 55th year.
The event, contrary to popular belief will not be held at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora, West Coast Demerara, but instead will be held at the National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD), and at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.
The National Stadium will host the cycling and track and field champion-
GFF Elections…
ships from November 24 while the swimming championship will be held on November 23 at the National Aquatic Centre.
The press release also noted that the Games Village will be established on Woolford Avenue with Tutorial High School, North Georgetown Primary, Richard Ishmael and Stella Maris being the residence of the 16 Districts from across Guyana that will compete.
According to Competitions Director Ceon Bristol, the Games Secretariat will officially open on October 28 where the entries from the various Districts will be cleared and entered for the national showdown next month end.
The opening ceremony
Nigel Hughes to head Team Unity
Attorney and politician Nigel Hughes has thrown his hat into the ring as a candidate for the top post of President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF).
Hughes has accepted a request from a group called “Friends of Guyana Sport” to lead Team Unity in its quest to guide Guyana’s football forward.
Hughes, who represented Georgetown at the subassociation level as a goalkeeper several years ago, will bring a passion for football and youth development to the job, in addition to legal and political acumen, should he win the nod of the voters.
Team Unity’s slate also includes lawyer Mark Waldron, football Promoter and Co-Director of the Kashif and Shanghai organisation Aubrey “Shanghai” Major, Slingerz FC boss Javed Ali, business executive Troy Cadogan and politician and President of the Alpha United Football Club Odinga Lumumba.
Team Unity will officially launch its campaign today at 11:00h at the Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis gym in Albouystown, where the members will make public their plans for the
The Management Committee of the 55th edition of the championships deliberate on the logistics for the event for the National Schools’ Championships is scheduled for November 23 at 10:30h at the National Stadium, Providence, EBD. The Management Committee includes Bristol,
development of the game should they be voted in as the new Executive of the GFF next month.
On Thursday, another group going by the name Team Integrity, launched their bid to take over the reigns of the GFF, which is currently being run by a Normalisation Committee – its tenure will end on November 14 when Congress is held. That group’s Presidential Candidate is Wayne Forde, who recently won another term as President of Fruta Conquerors Football Club of Georgetown. It also includes Brigadier General (Retired) Bruce Lovell, former GFF Vice President Rawlston Adams and Legal Officer Thandi McAllister.
Team Integrity has outlined a six-point plan to move the sport forward, including good governance, accountability and transparency; improved community based facilities and social programmes; improved education and training; national partnerships for football development; improve financing for football development; and improve the livelihoods of footballers.
Coleen Liddell,
Lance Baptiste, Sumanta Alleyne, Desiree Ogle, Glendon Fogenay and GTU President, Mark Lyte,
Permanent Secretary within the Education Ministry Delma Nedd and Edison Jefford.
Nigel Hughes
Presidential hopeful Nigel Hughes (third right) with members of his slate. From left are Odinga Lumumba, Javed Ali, Aubrey “Shanghai” Major, Mark Waldron and Troy Cadagon
Bruce Daniels (#15) watches as the ball rocks the back of the net (Treiston Joseph photo)
Darren Bravo’s body expression says it all about West Indies’ poor outing with the bat (Associated Press photo)
