Binder1

Times Media Group spreads

holiday goodwill

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

P4

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 3075

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

PRICE

PPP’s 31st Congress

Jagdeo gets overwhelming support at internal elections Page 3

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Pensioner robbed at knifepoint

P2

Decisions in oil sector must lead to capacity building – P12 Trotman

…as Party elects new Central Committee D’Urban Park controversy

Contractors likely to be underpaid as $298M still owed Page 9

Region 2 rice lands inundated

P10

…caused by heavy rains, negligence – farmers

…Finance Minister tells them to “take it or leave it” As blackouts continue

GPL workers protest for increased salaries

Taxi driver P11 robs passenger – escapes from Police

(see stories on pages 2, 16)

Cancelled flights

Stranded Dynamic Airways passengers arrive in Guyana P13 ― Gouveia

…company still to ascertain cause of outages Campbellville shootout

Wanted man among 2 killed by Police Page 7

Public P13 servants left in the cold …as Ministers’ wage increases cost treasury $65M annually

2 news

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016 | guyanatimesgy.com

GPL workers protest Pensioner robbed at knifepoint for increased salaries M …company “dragging feet” on proposals − NAACIE

T

he Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has once again found itself in some hot water as workers of its Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Department on Monday downed tools in protest of being refused an eight per cent salary increase.

The action by the employees, said to be critical to the operations of the power company, was to have occurred at GPL branches across the country.

The almost 40 employees gathered in front of the company’s Georgetown office, and though they carried no placards, they made the point that the two per cent increase being proposed by GPL will in no way work for them, especially at this time of the year.

“We come out here because we are saying no to that two per cent,” one protestor said. “The union and management meet, and they ain’t come to no sort of agreement. They offer us two per cent and that can’t work, especially around this time,” he told Guyana Times.

“Every year is the same thing, every year is one thing with them,” another worker lamented.

President of the National Association of Agricultural,

Workers of the power company stand in protest for higher salaries

Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) Kenneth Joseph, present during the protest, explained that the power company and the union have found themselves in a deadlock as the negotiations have not yet been completed.

“Since we have sent our proposals in April, we have not been able to complete negotiations with GPL. Last year we had three meetings. We are still at nothing.”

According to Joseph, the company is now casting blame at the feet of the union, saying that the union “is the reason for the non-agreement.”

He pointed out that the union would not be doing its work effectively by representing the interest of workers, if it were to accept the propos-

als of the company.

“These include the acrossthe-board payment, the changes in working hours that were signed long ago.

We don’t agree with the proposals they have made. They are just pulling this thing on...They are not ready yet to call us to discuss some new thing. I think it was disgusting throughout,” the union head told this newspaper.

He said the union has given the company every chance to come up with a situation that would not involve a protest or strike action. “We told them that the people will someday get fed up and that is what has happened today. The union is in full support of this protest. I’m sorry that we have to be on the road. It took them 11 and

half months for them to be on the road. But you can imagine, they are frustrated, the union is frustrated. I was told that there are people on the road in Onverwagt and New Amsterdam. We were hoping that it did not get this far. I already told the Ministry of Labour that my members are on the road.”

During the last meeting the two units had last Tuesday, Joseph said the company presented two per cent across-the-board, three per cent end scale movement and 0-10 per cent for performance.

“We have two parts that we can take, but the acrossthe-board 2 per cent we cannot; we cannot agree with that”, Joseph maintained.

(Alexis Rodney)

ary Elizabeth, 75, of Suddie Sea Road, Essequibo Coast, is thanking God for sparing her life after she was robbed of cash and clothing, early Monday morning.

According to information, around 02:45h, the woman heard a knocking sound at the northern window of her house while she also smelt something burning. Sensing that something was amiss, the pensioner decided to make inquiries and rushed out of

her room.

To her dismay, she stumbled upon the male suspect, whom she recognised. The bandit then held a knife to her neck and ordered her to go into her room and hand over the money.

The woman complied and the suspect then collected $45,000 cash and a quantity of clothing. He then made good his escape.

The matter was reported and the Police promptly responded.

The suspect has since been arrested.

3 years for narco trafficker A prisoner who decided to continue his “trade” of trafficking narcotics at the Camp Street Prison was on Monday jailed for three years when he appeared before Magistrate Annette Singh.

Cardel Carter, of Lot 75 Queens Street, Kitty, Georgetown, had the charge brought against him, which stated that on May 17, 2016 at the Camp Street Prison, he had in his possession 16 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

According to the facts of the matter, the defendant is an inmate at the Prison, and is housed in the Tailor Shop Division

On the day in question, he was observed by a prison warden taking a parcel from a garbage bin. He was confronted and a transparent plastic filled with leaves, seeds and stems was taken from his person. The prisoner was then taken for questioning and the substance was weighed.

Carter was told of the offence and charged.

Magistrate Singh told him that the evidence presented against him for the offence was sufficient; as such, he was found guilty as charged.

Along with the threeyear sentence, Carter was also fined $30,000.

news

3

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016 | guyanatimesgy.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, December 20 –10:30h-12:00h and Wednesday, December 21 – 11:30-13:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, December 20 –09:35h-11:05h and Wednesday, December 21 –10:35h-12:05h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

PPP’s 31st Congress

Jagdeo gets overwhelming support at internal elections

…as Party elects new Central Committee

Weather: Early morning sunshine followed by thundery to heavy rain showers into the evening, with partly cloudy skies later in the evening.

Temperatures are expected to range between 23 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tide: 09:10h and 21:32h reaching maximum heights of 2.28 metres and 2.26 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 15:04h reaching a minimum height of 0.98 metre.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

F

ormer President Bharrat Jagdeo has emerged with the most votes at the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) internal elections for its new Central Committee.

The internal elections

Dr Frank Anthony

Committee are: Bharrat Jagdeo with 718 votes; Dr Frank Anthony with 620 votes; Gail Teixeira with 583 votes; Donald Ramotar with 570; Anil Nandlall with 548; Clement Rohee with 522; Ganga Persaud with 512; Irfaan Ali with 511 votes;

saturday, december 17, 2016

LOTTERY NUMBERS D

05 07 12 19 22 28 09 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

Monday, December 19, 2016

Daily Millions

02 03 22 24 26 LUCKY 3 5

0

7

9

Afternoon Draw

Draw De Line 04 05 08 12 13

5

5

Evening Draw

20 21

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

Gail Teixeira

Anil Nandlall

were held on Saturday following the opening ceremony of the 31st Congress of the PPP and the results were announced on Monday as the curtains closed on the event.

Those elected to the 35-seat Central

Zulfikar Mustapha, with 496 votes; Shyam Nokta with 495; Indra Chandarpal with 490; Dr Roger Luncheon with 488; Pauline Sukhai with 460; Nigel Dharamlall with 453 votes; Dr Vindiya Persaud with 439 votes; Hydar Ally with 422; and Vickram Bharrat with 408.

Also making the Central Committee cut are Dharankumar Seeraj with 393; Komal Chand with 378; Collin Croal with 360; Alister Charlie with 356; Brian Allicock with 326; Neil Kumar with 321 votes; David Armogan with 317 votes; Jennifer Westford with 304 votes; Vishwa Mahadeo with 289; Clinton Collymore with 287; Kwame McCoy with 281 votes; Dr Bheri Ramsaran with 278; Faizal Jaffaraly with 277; Majeed Hussain with 267 votes; Rickey Ramdat with 260 votes; Claire Singh with 255; Anand Persaud with 242; and Mitra Devi Ally with 230 votes.

The new Central Committee will be meeting shortly and among other items on the agenda will be the election of a new Executive Committee and the Party’s Secretariat.

The Executive Committee consists of 15 members and is the highest decision making forum within the Party. Additionally, over the three days, members brainstormed mechanisms that can propel the Party in the direction of success, with the view of continuing to transform the lives of every citizen for the better and of having a resounding victory in the 2020 elections.

Jagdeo told the Congress that the Party cannot be

Names

Votes

1. Bharrat Jagdeo 2. Dr Frank Anthony 3. Gail Teixeira 4. Donald Ramotar 5. Anil Nandlall 6. Clement Rohee 7. Ganga Persaud 8. Irfaan Ali 9. Zulfikar Mustapha 10. Shyam Nokta 11. Indra Chandarpal 12. Roger Luncheon 13. Pauline Sukhai 14. Nigel Dharamlall 15. Vindiya Persaud 16. Hydar Ally 17. Vickram Bharrat 18. Dharankumar Seeraj 19. Komal Chand 20. Collin Croal 21. Alister Charlie 22. Brian Allicock 23. Neil Kumar 24. David Armogan 25. Jennifer Westford 26. Vishwa Mahadeo 27. Clinton Collymore 28. Kwame McCoy 29. Bheri Ramsaran 30. Faizal Jaffaraly 31. Majeed Hussain 32. Rickey Ramdat 33. Claire Singh 34. Anand Persaud 35. Mitra Devi Ally

718 620 583 570 548 522 512 511 496 495 490 488 460 453 439 422 408 393 378 360 356 326 321 317 304 289 287 281 278 277 267 260 255 242 230

trapped by philosophy, urged members to face reality and accept that weaknesses exist within the Party which ultimately led to their narrow defeat in the 2015 General and Regional Elections.

TURN TO PAGE 5

4

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016

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

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

Editorial

Human Solidarity

S

olidarity is identified in the Millennium Declaration as one of the fundamental values of international relations in the 21st Century, wherein those who either suffer or benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most. Consequently, in the context of globalisation and the challenge of growing inequality, strengthening of international solidarity is indispensable.

Therefore, the United Nations General Assembly, convinced that the promotion of the culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing are important for combating poverty, proclaimed December 20 as International Human Solidarity Day. The General Assembly, on December 22, 2005, by resolution 60/209 identified solidarity as one of the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the 21st Century, and in that regard, decided to proclaim December 20 of each year International Human Solidarity Day. The day has been set aside to celebrate our unity in diversity; to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements; to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity; to encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, including poverty eradication – a day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication.

In his message on the occasion, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon emphasised that despite advances made, prosperity has not been shared by all. Inequalities, extreme poverty, unemployment, social exclusion and environmental degradation continue to be prominent features of societies around the world. Discrimination and prejudice remain major barriers to building inclusive societies. Many vulnerable social groups find their situation worsening. The impacts of climate change will fall most heavily on those who did least to cause the problem.

He stressed too that leaving no one behind, promoting prosperity and ensuring inclusiveness and equality are core principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by world leaders in September 2015, and of the Paris Agreement on climate change adopted in December of that same year.

As nations strive to uphold their promises and to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Secretary General pointed out that mutual support will be crucial.

Global problems require collective solutions. At a time of divisiveness on many key global issues, from armed conflict to forced migration, he urged that people need to turn toward each other in common cause, not away from each other in fear.

Human solidarity is needed now more than ever, particularly for those defenceless victims of war, particularly children who are affected by the Syrian conflict.

Even while civilians were being moved to safety on December 19, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution which requested “UN and other relevant institutions to carry out adequate, neutral monitoring” of the mass evacuations from Aleppo.

More than 4500 civilians, including dozens of orphans, have left Aleppo in one of the besieged Syrian city’s biggest evacuations yet. A statement by children’s charity Unicef said that 47 children trapped in an orphanage were taken to safety on Monday morning. Some are in critical condition because of injuries or dehydration, the organisation said.

Initial efforts to evacuate the small pockets of eastern Aleppo still held by rebels had collapsed on Friday, leaving civilians stranded without access to food and shelter and with almost no medical facilities. However, the operation restarted late on Sunday, December 18. But after years of war, and months of a government siege pushing people to the brink of starvation, tens of thousands are now trying to escape what the UN calls a “slow-motion descent into hell”.

As Guyana joins the rest of the world in counting down to Christmas, only a few days away, it is crucial that we remember to keep those affected in our thoughts and prayers and that we band together in solidarity for our fellow human beings .

Youngest member at Congress: Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo took time out of his busy schedule for a photo with a PPP supporter and her baby aboard the ferry on his way back to the city, after attending the PPP’s 31st Congress at Cotton Field Secondary School, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam)

Times Media Group spreads holiday goodwill T

he Times Media Group (TVG Channel 28, Radio Guyana 89.5FM and Guyana Times newspaper) in partnership with Beepats, Carib Foods and Sureia Manufacturing Inc hosted their inaugural Christmas Toy drive on Friday, December 16 at the Media Group’s office at Industrial Site, Ruimveldt.

Despite intermittent rain, scores of children gathered to receive their toys and treats, which were presented to them by Santa Claus himself.

According to the Times

The children and Santa were invited on set

ed to be an annual activity, would not have been possible without immense support, particularly from the sponsors including Frank Sanichara from Sueria Manufacturing Inc which supplied FIKA snacks, Mogu Mogu juices and Kaieteur exotic candies, Pretima Singh from Carib Foods which donated Juice Time Juices and Renita Sital from Beepats

for contributing Milo beverages.

Immediately following the activity, some of the children were invited on set of the live show ‘TVG’s a Guyanese Christmas’, where they expressed joy at having received toys and extended Christmas wishes to their friends and families.

These little girls were all smiles after their visit

Media Group’s Personnel Supervisor, Lisa Ahmad, the initiative was a success owing to the overwhelming response from the staff and sponsors.

A few weeks prior to the activity, staff of the Media Group were asked to donate toys for both boys and girls; the activity was geared to-

wards bringing joy to over sixty children living in impoverished communities nearby.

“I would say that we had overwhelming response. We catered for sixty children and we received toys for close to 100. It was a huge success,” Ahmad explained.

She emphasised too that the event, which is intend-

This little girl receives her present from Santa Claus

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016

5

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

Guyana Then and Now: Guyana Now and Then Dear Editor, Today’s provocative editorial ( “Guyana Then and Now”, KN, 19/12/16) resonates very much with the sentiments that are triggered in me every time I visit Toronto as I am indeed currently doing.

The bold editorial comparison between the status quo of pre- and post-independent Guyana is quite ironic when silhouetted against the picture of the obvious social, psychological, material and communal progress made

by Guyanese who migrated to Canada (and elsewhere) during the same period.

We must respect and applaud the resilience and ambition of our Guyanese compatriots who are able to make good in countries that are no more bountiful in natural resources, much less hospitable climatically (right now it is like living in a refrigerator here in Toronto!), but which

continually provide extensive enabling political and cultural environments for all its multiracial, multicultural citizens and residents.

I am reminded of the old, but in this context misleading saying that “you can take a man out of the gutter but you cannot take the gutter out of him”. Guyanese ran away and continue to do so because of the steadily sliding standards and elusive achievements in Guyana since Independence. They have proven beyond doubt that, whether it is England or the USA or Canada, they can be a progressive people when they are not subject to the ‘gutter politics’ and other demeaning circumstances which have been taking place.

They therefore sought a more enabling environment for them to express themselves as intelligent, ambitious and progressive people

and, by and large, they have succeeded in doing so for themselves and their families.

Let us hope and pray that our political leaders will, sooner than later, realise that the essential development of our dear land of Guyana depends very much on their creating an enabling environment for ALL GUYANESE. In this context we should also not lose sight of the fact that successful Guyanese in the diaspora are not averse to returning to assist with the development of our country, all things being equal, especially if they can be made to feel secure and free from the many societal biases that still plague us.

The sum of Guyana’s parts will always be greater than any one part.

Yours sincerely, Nowrang Persaud

Jagdeo gets overwhelming...

“If we do not have honest opinion then we cannot fix the problems that led us to being in Opposition, how do we rebuild from this as a party?” he emphasised.

He maintained, however, that the PPP was cheated during the last elections but conceded that that aspect was not the main reason behind its current Opposition status.

Additionally, he said the PPP needs to begin the process of decentralisation and

to build up its local leaders so that the Party is in “tip top” shape to address the challenges in society.

Jagdeo also dismissed suggestions that the older Party members are being side-lined, emphasising that their wealth of knowledge serves as the backbone of the PPP’s development.

He said it should be the honour of the stalwarts to instil the requisite knowledge and provide guidance to those upcoming vibrant

Those abandoned parents

Dear Editor, At this time of year many of us reflect on the year which is about to end: What we did good, what we didn't do so good and what we did that was terrible.

And I think there are many who do not reflect at all. I have occasion to visit many "inner villages" and the plight of some old people pull at my heart-strings.

Are the base instincts of lower animals just under the skin of some humans?

I am reminded of the bee colony.

How else can it be interpreted when human beings abandon their parents - in a leaky shack or hospital, or wherever, and never show a care thereafter for them?

It would be folly of me to debate whether (those) parents may have done their duty to their children in earlier years. But a basic truism in life might

from page 3

minds who possess the vibrancy to thrust the Party forward.

Jagdeo also stressed that long-standing members should take pride in encouraging youths and women and to send a message that the PPP is open to all Guyanese.

The politician noted too that it is time to reach out to the disgruntled and disappointed A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change supporters who

are also facing the burdens unleashed by the coalition Administration.

In this regard, Jagdeo underlined that the PPP will forever remain committed to the fundamental principle of being patriotic and tending to the needs of the grassroots. He acknowledged that though times have changed, the PPP will always be thankful to its Founding Leader, Dr Cheddi Jagan.

be worthy as a reminder to those who are parents and who have parents: "What goes around comes around". The anecdote below is appropriate.A son, tired of his wife's tirade about his sick and useless father, placed his feeble father on his shoulder and headed into the jungle. The father kept asking the son where he was being taken, but the son remained quiet. Troubled, pained—but quiet.

The father's uncertainty left him as he was taken deeper and deeper into the jungle. His questions became chuckles and then loud laughter. This puzzled the son, who asked his father why he was laughing.

The father told the son: "What goes around, comes around sometime".

The father then told the son that he had, many years back, taken his own sick father into the jun-

gle and left him to die. So he recognised that his son was now going to leave him in the jungle to die in like fashion, and he harboured no ill feeling against his son.

He told his son, however, that he could let the cycle continue or he could stop the cycle. The choice was his son's.

It didn't take long for the son to decide that he would not want his son to take him to the jungle and leave him to die. So the son took the father back home.

The wife raged and raged. And the son said firmly: "I will have only one father in this lifetime, but I can have more than one wife".

Humbly submitted. The interpretation is the reader's.

Sincerely, Taajnauth Jadunauth

6

tuesday, december 20, 2016

Page

guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation

― with days to go until Christmas there are lots of little tricks you can still pull from your sleeve

A

1. Say my name

sk the children to make table nameplates for everyone who’s coming to Christmas dinner, with a drawing of the person rather than their name – it will be fun trying to work out who’s who. Or they could write the person’s name and put something nice or funny on the other side.

2. Dear Santa

Get your child to write a letter to Father Christmas today – then buy a frame and hang it on the wall.

3. Buy a group present

If you’ve got time for some last-minute shopping, buy a “family” present. It could be a game, or a great Christmas DVD like It’s A Wonderful Life that everyone can enjoy together.

4. Create evidence

Leave a glass of sherry out, put a bit of cotton wool on the empty glass, and tell the children it’s a piece of Santa’s beard.

5. Remember Christmases past

Raid the family photo album for half a dozen snaps of past Christmases. Stick them on a large sheet of paper with some funny captions, put some tinsel round it and pin it to the wall.

6. Make a special soundtrack

Make your own festive album of hits with timeless classics from Bing Crosby to Slade by burning tracks on to a CD or downloading on to your iPod. Play it throughout the day.

7. Merry Xmas...bleep

Change your ‘answer phone’ message to a festive greeting – that way you can wish everyone “Merry Christmas” even if you’re busy.

8. Paper the door

Tape a roll of wrapping paper to the open doorframe of the room where the presents are – you’ll probably have to stick several rolls together. Make a thin slit in the middle of the paper and on Christmas morning get your children to burst through to find their presents. (Make sure the door definitely is open!)

9. Toast the day

Make a special breakfast – Scottish pancakes with maple syrup or croissants with bucks fizz will get the day off to a great start. Or even cut the toast into Christmas tree shapes.

10. Be mad hatters

Buy your children and any guests their very own reindeer ears or a Santa hat to wear throughout the day.

Or you could even ask everyone coming to bring their own – and tell them they won’t be allowed through the door without one on their head.

11. Create a festive smell

Fill your home with lovely warm smells. Light a frankincense-scented candle, cook mince pies gently in the oven or put some cinnamon sticks into oranges and dot them around the house so every room smells divine.

12. Just one more present

When you’re giving out presents, keep one back for

everyone until after lunch. It will keep the excitement going and they’ll probably appreciate it more if it’s unwrapped separately after the main opening frenzy.

13. Have a present

Hide some of the smaller presents around the house – under the beds, behind the curtains, in the cupboards – and get everyone to go and find them. If anyone finds someone else’s, they have to leave it where it is – and not let on!

14. Send a festive text

Had a Christmas card from a friend you haven’t spoken to for ages? Send them a surprise text on Christmas Day, telling them you’ll phone them soon.

15. Cocktail hour

Make a non-alcoholic Christmas cocktail as a midmorning pick-me-up. Mix equal quantities of orange juice with bitter lemon or cranberry juice. Stir and garnish with wedges of lime or orange.

16. Festive dip

Live near the sea?

Many seaside towns hold a Christmas Day swim – so go and cheer the swimmers on and maybe even have a dip yourself!

17. Deck the table

Cover the table in wrapping paper. If you choose sparkly paper, it will reflect the candles on the table and look even better.

18. Say cheese

Place disposable cameras on the Christmas table so ev-

eryone can take funny, spontaneous pictures of each other.

19. Set a candle competition

Buy some floating candles in different colours. Fill a large bowl with water, put the candles in and get everyone to light one. The person whose candle lasts longest wins a prize. You could put some holly round the bottom of the bowl and make it the centrepiece for the Christmas table.

20. Turn down the lights

Switch Christmas lunch to the evening and eat it by candlelight.

21. Hit a note

Ring relatives who can’t be with you and sing Christmas carols down the phone.

22. Have a carol contest

Instead of charades, have a carol competition – everyone has to write down as many carols as they can in five minutes. Afterwards, see who knows the most words to each song!

23. Chocolate heaven

In the evening, settle down to watch your favourite Christmas TV programme with a REAL hot chocolate.

For two people place 50g (2oz) plain chocolate, broken into pieces, a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon and 400ml (14fl oz) of milk into a saucepan.

Heat it gently until the chocolate is melted, making sure it doesn’t boil. Add marshmallows and top with whipped cream and grated chocolate. (mirror.uk.co)

By ANDREA REISER

I

f you’re like most families, the approach of the holiday season brings with it the anticipation of a few weeks filled with family togetherness and merry memory-making – in other words, the holidays as you’ve always imagined them. But when it comes to children, how can you make the holiday more about the feeling and less about the stuff?

Instead of showering your children with a pile of this year’s hot clothes, toys and electronics (which, let’s face it, will probably be collecting dust by the end of the school year), make it a tradition to give your children the gift of a memorable holiday experience.

It’s amazing how much children value and remember family traditions.

U n l i k e anything e l s e , they’re a source of fun, they strengthen family bonds and they form a meaningful link to the past. Whether you’re baking cookies, watching a favourite holiday movie or piling into the car to look at neighbourhood lights, don’t underestimate the value of time spent together, enjoying each other’s company.

Here are 9 tips to make the holidays meaningful for your children:

Find holiday events to attend together

Check out the holidaythemed concerts, plays, parades, shows and other events happening in your community and choose a few to attend as a family. Your children (and you!) will enjoy counting down to these outings, and you’ll have an even better time attending them. Plus, everyone will remember the live holiday music performance at the high school or the holiday-themed magic show

much longer than they will a bunch of action figures under the tree. Even better? In most communities, there are plenty of events to choose from that are free to the public. You honestly don’t have to spend a mint to make memories over the holidays.

There really is no place like home for the holidays

Making special holiday memories doesn’t always have to mean going somewhere. In fact, some of your most treasured experiences can be created inside the four walls of your house, and they don’t have to cost a lot of money or cause a lot of stress to be perfect.

Take a regular weeknight dinner and turn it into a magical holiday meal by dimming t h e lights, lighting candles on the table and playing holiday music in the background.

Serve sparkling juice or cider in special glasses and pull out the fancy china for once.

It’s a special night you and your family won’t soon forget.

Set your family up for success

On the best of days, children will be children – and their propensity for energy, misbehaviour and hijinks grows exponentially when they’re excited. Whenever your family is preparing for any sort of event this season, go over your expectations – and potential consequences – beforehand so everyone’s on the same page. And take a minute to remind yourself that children are often over stimulated, overexcited and saturated with sugar this time of year. If you don’t think your brood can handle sitting still for an hourlong concert, then make the choice not to go. You’ll save yourself a lot of stress, frustration and disappointment in the long run. (The Huffington Post) TO BE CONTINUED

news

7

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016 | guyanatimesgy.com

Campbellville shootout

Budget 2017

Wanted man among Finance Minister snubs stakeholders' 2 killed by Police request for talks before passage

T

he two men who were killed during a shootout with Police on Sunday evening in Campbellville, Georgetown, were positively identified by relatives at the Georgetown Public Hospital mortuary.

They were killed in a church yard in Campbellville following an exchange of gunfire with Police after having committing a robbery on Seaforth Street, Campbellville.

Dead are Jamal Letlow, 22, also called “Gaza”, of John Fernandes Squatting Area, Georgetown, and Shaquille Fraser, 22, of Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, and of Lot 153 Lodge Housing Scheme, Georgetown.

According to the Police, Letlow, a fish cleaner, was wanted for an armed robbery committed on Christopher Persaud at John Fernandes Access Road on October 25 last.

On Sunday evening, after committing the robbery, the duo was pursued by a number of public spirited citizens, victims and a Police patrol.

The two bandits were eventually cornered inside the compound of the Campbellville Secondary School but removed a zinc sheet to gain access to a church yard next door. It was while on the premises of the church, they discharged several rounds at the lawmen, who returned fire, fatally wounding them.

An unlicensed revolver with five live rounds and a spent shell were recovered next to the slain bandits along with some of the stolen articles, which included five cellular phones, a chain, and cash. Several spent shells were also retrieved at the scene of the crime.

At the home of the victims, one young man, who asked not to be named, explained that the family was entertaining several relatives and it was during the celebrations that one of the bandits walked into the yard and enquired about a “Kevin”.

He explained that a group of relatives told him to check inside. He noted that the man walked into the yard, proceeded into the lower flat of the house and collected several mobile phones and was walking out.

“I deh going in the kitchen the same time and see the man, so I ask he, he is who… is then I see he draw to his waist and I done know something wrong… he pulled out the gun and fire one shot… by then I move to the side or I would a be dead,” he related.

After discharging the round, the man left but as he was leaving, he held several persons at gunpoint and relieved them of their gold jewellery and other personal belongings. “The other man, a rasta one was on the road and he also fire a shot… by then the skinny one who went in the yard run out and

Dead: Jamal Letlow

they run up the road,” the man related.

He further explained that the family attempted to contact the Police but got

The guard on duty at the school told Guyana Times that his colleagues who worked the night shift ran for cover following the shootout between the bandits and Police. He noted that it was until after the place went silent, they came out of hiding.

The wounded men were taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where on arrival they were pronounced dead.

Meanwhile, in addition to the robbery committed on Persaud by Jamal Letlow, he was also shot and injured to the buttocks in 2014 by city constabulary after he snatched a gold chain from a minibus passenger some time ago. It was reported

The house where the robbery occurred

no response; this did not deter them from chasing the bandits. It was while on the chase that they stopped a Police patrol and related what took place.

In rapid response the Police joined in chase and the men were cornered.

When Guyana Times visited the area where the two men were killed, Police ranks were seen guarding the church premises. A portion of the zinc fence between the Campbellville Secondary School and the church was ripped opened.

that Letlow was in a minibus when he requested to get off at High Street.

While exiting the vehicle, he snatched the chain from a female passenger in the minibus. The Police added that an alarm was raised and ranks of a City Constabulary on patrol responded and gave chase.

Letlow however, attacked one of the ranks with a knife despite being called upon to desist. He was eventually shot and injured. (Bhisham Mohamed)

Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira

F

inance Minister Winston Jordan joined his colleague, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo in disregarding continuous calls by major stakeholders for an urgent meeting on the National Budget 2017 before its passage sometime this week.

“I think the Prime Minister is in terms of rank, outranks me and this was put to the Prime Minister and he adequately represented the views of the Government. It is not for me to add to that, I think he has adequately explained where that matter lies,” Jordan told media operatives on Monday during his yearend press conference at the Finance Ministry on Main Street, Georgetown.

In a move regarded as a major phenomenon in the country’s political history; the Private Sector Commission (PSC) joined forces with two chief labour movements: the Guyana Trade Union Congress (GTUC) and the

Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) in calling for an imperative multi-stakeholder forum on some of the worrying contents in Budget 2017.

Consistent with Article 13 of the Guyana Constitution, the three bodies jointly dispatched letters to Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo (leader of Government Business), Dr Barton Scotland (Speaker of the National Assembly) and Bharrat Jagdeo (Leader of the Opposition) regarding their request.

But Nagamootoo told media operatives that Government will not be meeting with the bodies for now.

“There was a period before the budget was laid when consultation was encouraged; however, once it reaches the Legislature, only one of two things can happen; that is, the budget is either approved or not approved. There is no unwillingness to meet but we are involved in a gruelling, unending process as we consider the estimates. Basically the timing is wrong,” he is quoted as saying in sections of the media.

The three bodies strongly believe “deliberate efforts” are being made to avoid having the engagement on “what is most evidently a matter of national importance that will impact on and carry consequences for our constituents.”

The bodies are concerned about the new VAT system, the proposed garnishing of accounts of delinquent taxpayers by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), among oth-

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

er measures.

Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira had described the development as “phenomenally important” and lambasted the Government for ignoring the public’s concerns.

“The Government is being hard ears. It doesn’t want to listen and it doesn’t want to budge. And if you had sat in the debates, you would know that the Government is oblivious to the calls of the people… this is a phenomenally important political development in terms of the coming together of these bodies to be able to say to a Government ‘no, you’re not doing the right thing. You are damaging this country. You are hurting the people, particularly the poor people,’” she expressed.

Teixeira highlighted that the opposition voices in the country, political and nonpolitical, are “as loud... we haven’t heard since 1985” – when the People’s National Congress ruled the country.

(Devina Samaroo)

8

News

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016 | guyanatimesgy.com

Cocaine trafficker remanded A

woman who appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in tears at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Monday was remanded to prison, charged with trafficking cocaine.

Andrea Polla Winifred of Lot 12 Prince Williams Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on December 16, 2016, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), she had in her possession 2.548kg of cocaine.

The prosecution contended that on the day in question, the defendant was

an outgoing passenger to Canada, when she failed to give a proper address to the

airport officers.

As such, an alarm was raised and the woman’s hand luggage was inspected. A false wall was found in her handbag with the cocaine hidden inside.

She was taken into Police custody, questioned and charged with the offence.

The prosecution objected to bail, pointing out that there were no special reasons why this should be granted.

Winifred was remanded to prison until January 10, 2017.

Dominican trio on bail for fraud, overstaying

T

hree Dominican women were on Monday granted bail when they appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan charged with fraud and overstaying in Guyana.

Serbit Diaz, Cynthia Delaroza and Stephanie Herria all pleaded not guilty to the charges, which read that between March 21, 2016

and December 15, 2016, at Georgetown and with intent to defraud, they conspired with others to forge one Guyana immigration arrival service and departure stamp, which was inserted on page 10 of a Republic of Dominica Passport, purporting to show that same was issued by the Central and Immigration Passport

Office, knowing same to be false.

The second charge against them stated that between October 12, 2016 and November 11, 2016, they failed to comply with conditions subject to which any permit would have been granted to stay in Guyana, overstaying the permitted period.

The prosecution objected to bail, stating that the defendants would not return to Court.

However, their Attorney successfully requested bail on the grounds that his clients entered Guyana legally.

Bail was granted in the sum of $40,000 each, and the defendants were scheduled to reappear on December 28.

Criminally clueless… …on crime hey talk about some people burying their heads in the sand when they don’t want to face the truth. But from the inane (insane?) utterances of others, it’s clear others just bury THEIR heads in their nether orifices. Since they simultaneously also put their foot in their mouths when they carry on with their “schupidness” , it’s quite a sight to behold them in this situation!!

Take Khemraj Ramjattan (as Rodney Dangerfield used to say…“Pleeease!”) who just happens to be Minister of Public Security. For the past year and a half, he’s been coming up with one inanity after another. But unfortunately, since it has to do with OUR security, your Eyewitness doesn’t find them funny. He’ll pass over Ramjattan’s Columbus-like “discovery” of “greed” as the source of all crimes and his 2am drinking curfew…and move right into his present bloviation – crime statistics.

For the past year, the fella’s insisted that the increasing crime wave’s a figment of our imagination and the statistics show crime’s actually decreasing! It’s now clear he’s the one behind the police jumping on THAT particular bandwagon.

But he just decided the media’s the real culprit – not the bandits. The media are just making up most of the reports of murders, robberies, rapes and other gratuitous acts of mayhem and giving the peace loving bandits a “bad name”.

But he only revealed how clueless he is on crime. Building on his earth-shaking revelation that “Guyana always had crime”…he asked the Muckraker over the weekend, “Do you know what the crime rate in New York is? How come the New York Times isn’t filled with crime reports?”

The Muckraker should’ve asked Ramjattan is HE knew what the crime rate in New York was!! But then the Muckraker ain’t the New York Times!! The question just goes to show how starved of oxygen Ramjattan’s brain must be!

Even though NYC has a population of 8.5 million – more than TEN times ours - their numbers of murders are just around 350 nowadays, just about twice ours in absolute numbers.

What this means – if Ramjattan had bothered to check - is our murder rate’s FIVE TIMES that of NYC!!! And ditto for most of the crimes our police lists as “serious”.

But Ramjattan should’ve also looked at how rapidly NYC was able to reduce its murder rate in the last decade…and taken some notes. The Police and the Commissioner didn’t try to deny reality. They took action.

As Colin Powel described his strategy in Iraq, “Our strategy in going after this army is very simple. First we are going to cut it off, and then we are going to kill it.”

T

…GPL Evidently, it’s that time of the year. Yes, it’s the Christmas season and GPL’s doing its best to commemorate the event by giving us blackouts with such increasing frequency, a visitor would be forgiven for thinking all Guyana was a blinking Christmas tree. Guyanese just want to know why GPL insists on making Guyana a “blasted” Christmas tree!

But they won’t be getting answers anytime soon. The GPL top Brass, including its acting CEO and Chairman Robert Badal (the Chicken-feed man) have thrown up their hands and confessed they’re clueless as to what’s going on. Now ain’t that a bi*ch!?!

Here were these big ones now running the Government, running their mouths about how the previous Government was overpaying the previous CEO. Folks went along with their criticism. Even though he’d improved the electricity generation waaaay above what he’d inherited, there was need for improvement. But at least he could explain WHY blackouts happened under his watch.

If you’re in the dark on this, how can you ever fix it? …on the economy The Government insists Winston Jordan’s an “economist” – just because he has a degree in the subject. And this explains our economic tragedy.

Would you have your brain operated on by a fella who graduated from med school – but never performed an operation?

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

news

9

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016 | guyanatimesgy.com

D’Urban Park controversy

Contractors likely to be underpaid as $298M still owed …Finance Minister tells them to “take it or leave it”

C

ontractors are likely to be majorly underpaid for works done at the D’Urban Park complex and Finance Minister Winston Jordan told them they can either “take it or leave it.”

The Minister added that those contractors who are dissatisfied with their underpayment, are free to file lawsuits against the building company, Homestretch Development Inc (HDI) – which was clandestinely registered for the purpose of collecting monies for the D’Urban Park Project.

Jordan told the yearend press briefing on Monday that the company still owes approximately $298 million to contractors but he noted that Government will not be releasing any more monies.

Government on December 14 approved an additional $500 million to be paid out from the Consolidated Fund to a

“I don’t want to answer any more questions on this.” – Jordan number of contractors and other persons owed varying amounts for works done on the controversial Jubilee Park Project.

But the $500 million is inadequate to meet the debts of the company, which owes contractors some $798 million altogether.

“Government indicat-

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

explained.

The Minister refused to expand on his proposal for the disgruntled contractors to file a lawsuit against the building company, shutting down further questions on the matter.

“I don’t want to answer any more questions on this,” he expressed, noting that he will only disclose information relative to the financial aspect of the D’Urban Park scandal.

It is assumed that the company does not generate its own revenue since it relied on monies from donations and from the public purse for the construction of D’Urban Park.

President David Granger had described HDI as a “special purpose” company, setup with the sole purpose of overseeing the D’Urban Park development.

It is therefore puzzling regarding the source of the finance for legal proceedings if HDI is sued for underpaying the contractors.

Artist's impression of the proposed D'Urban Park Project

ed that it can only accommodate the $500 million as the full and final settlement. What that means is that HDI will have to pay some apportionment relative to the debts owed. This is a ‘take it or leave it’ situation. If you were owed $2 million by HDI, and it works out that you will only get paid $1.2 million, then you could either accept $1.2 million as the full and final settlement or you could sue HDI,” the Finance Minister

Government already pumped $400 million into the D’Urban Park Project, which has been shrouded in secrecy since its inception in 2015.

Only several weeks ago it was finally disclosed that a private company was registered in January to collect donations which were given since the previous year towards to D’Urban Park development.

Questions still abound regarding which entity col-

lected the monies that were donated before HDI was established. Concerns were also voiced about the absence of public tendering for a project that amounted to close to $1 billion.

Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine is a director of HDI but Government never disclosed this information.

Following a motion brought by Opposition parliamentarian Bishop Juan Edghill, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson finally announced to the National Assembly the list of those who sat as directors of the company.

He failed to disclose that his cabinet colleague was a director, and the coalition Administration is yet to of-

fer an explanation regarding why this information was withheld and what process was undertaken for the Education Minister to be sitting as a director.

Other affiliates of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government including Larry London is also a director of HDI. Patterson’s Ministry subsequently took over work of the D’Urban Park Project after Government realised that HDI had run out of resources to complete the arena in time for the country’s 50th Independence anniversary celebrations.

Government also cited the shoddy works done as reasons for the Public Infrastructure Ministry to take over the project.

The D’Urban Park

Meanwhile, Minister Patterson had told the House that a total of $27.7 million was received in the form of donations from private individuals and entities, while another $37 million came about ‘in kind’. As it relates to the donations, the Minister provided a list to the House.

The Opposition is calling on the Auditor General

to conduct an immediate forensic audit into all revenues, expenditure and donations received. It contends that the coalition Government attempted propagate the impression that D’Urban Park was privately funded when only less than 10 per cent of the financing was from private individuals. (Devina Samaroo)

10

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016

News

Region 2 rice lands inundated ...owing to heavy rains, negligence − farmers

A

cres of rice lands in Lima, Coffee Grove, Hampton Court and Sparta in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) are currently inundated due to excessive rain, coupled with poor drainage and irrigation.

Rice farmers in those areas are calling on the Regional Administration to act promptly in addressing the issue; the flooding was caused by excessive rain over the weekend.

According to the affected businessmen, this situation is compounded by negligence of the Region Two Administration.

Currently the pumps that are supposed to assist with the drainage are inoperable and despite several reports made to the administration in the past, nothing has been done.

The farmers have complained that they are losing daily due to the negligence of pump attendants and officials of Region Two. The Lima pump, which was recently commissioned

by Prime Minister Mosses Nagamootoo, has been down for some time. The pump costs in excess of $192 million and according to rice farmers, they have not received the kind of service from the station they ought to.

Those affected are now pondering what the future holds, since they have invested sizeable amounts in their businesses.

During an interview with this publication on Monday, one farmer who cultivates 35 acres of rice, said his crop is presently two weeks old and is flooded. The farmer questioned who is there to represent them and why the pumps are not in operation.

"Before the rain could have even stepped in we went in to the administration telling the D and I workers that we would need the pump running. Up to now no one seems to care; rice farmers are always at a loss", the farmer complained.

In Hampton Court and

Should I have really attended this conference?

L

Some of the flooded rice lands

Sparta most of the front lands were submerged. The pumps in that area are also out of order.

Rice farmers have vented frustration, noting that if prompt action is not taken then their investments will be destroyed.

In the meanwhile farmers explained that they are still owed by two prominent millers for paddy sold crops ago and that they are subjected to a barrage of negative comments

whenever they broach the subject.

Only recently at the statutory RDC meeting, Regional Vice Chairperson Nandranie Coonjah related that out of 13 pumps, two are out of order. It was then coalition councillor, Naithram, related that he was in possession of supporting documents to show that those pumps were out of order, and still receiving fuel. Up to 270 gallons of fuel was supplied to the inoperable stations.

ast October I presented a paper at the 45th Annual South Asian conference in Madison, Wisconsin. The conference was mostly organised by the South Asian Department at the University of Wisconsin, which is ranked one of the best in North America. I lived in Madison in the 1980s and I must admit that this place had an enormous impact on my life, including the way I think and speak. But for some strange reason I did not return to this place for the past twenty years. I was therefore naturally elated to be back but was dismayed to see how much the city and campus have changed. Of course, I do not expect environments to be stoic to change with firm unchanging boundaries. What I saw, however, was beyond the normal.

The once numerous small wooden houses and apartment buildings of this student-oriented Dr Lomarsh Roopnarine city have gradually been replaced with high rises and heaps of new concrete. The people too looked different. The liberal style, at least in attire, seemed obsolete, pushed into history. For the unaware, Madison was one of the most liberal cities in the United States that staged a number of student protests that helped to form and shape a more open US society in the 1960s and 1970s. Madison is still this way in some ways.

The audience at the conference also seemed homogeneous and homologous to South Asia from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and their respective Diasporas, but with western clothing. The audience looked like the browning of America but with an American mode of selection that appeared supercilious. I wonder sometimes whatever happens to saris, salwars, kurtas and the South Asian accent when transplanted. There was no one from the Caribbean, which did not surprise me. But one woman from Mauritius was on my panel as well as a colleague from Natal, South Africa who was at the conference from the inception. We hang out occasionally.

What I have described above is probably the givens of conferences specific to ethnicity and geographical region. What lingers on my mind, however, is that I have presented at many conferences and walked away without much reservations. But this conference struck a chord in me, which I feel I need to get out. It forces me to think what is missing in the South Asian experience in North America.

I have walked the halls of many universities and I have seen academic departments with distinct labels like African Diaspora Studies, Chinese Diaspora Studies, Jewish Diaspora Studies, American Studies and more, which are admirable in and by themselves. But I have never seen a South Asian Diaspora Studies Department that focuses on the political, social and economic aspects of people of East Indian descent who have migrated from India and settled in different parts of the world during different time periods. This definition should not be conflated and confused with South Asian Studies since they are many in North America.

There is, however, a South Asian Diaspora peer-reviewed journal, which has been in existence for about a decade. A few of us from the Caribbean are serving on the editorial board.

What is so bizarre about any semblance of a South Asian Diaspora Studies Department is that over 20 million people of South Asian descent currently live in North America which is larger than most Diasporas.

For transplanted Indians, their presence in North America provides the first opportunity to meet and mingle with people like themselves from different parts of the world. For Indo-Guyanese in Queens, for example, many have met people from their ancestral homeland in North America, not in India. Many are also thoroughly surprised how different they are from Indians in India and vice versa.

I do not know why a South Asian Diaspora Studies Department does not exist in North America. Perhaps, there is a lack of interest, a lack of awareness, a lack of vision and a lack of leadership. My experience is that Indians seem to be comfortable in silence, in their corner, and with their own group when they are outside of their comfortable zone.

What is more certain is that history has shown that other Diasporic Studies Departments, and in particular, African, had to work hard to have a study of this nature to be up and going.

Undoubtedly, Diasporic Studies have come a long way as evidenced in 1998 when the American Historical Association, the largest in the world, dedicated its conference theme as “Diaspora and Migration in History.� Unfortunately, not much of anything was said about South Asian Diaspora at this conference. I think a South Asian Diaspora Studies Department can be, at a minimum level, a gateway for ethnic exploration and understanding in the academic world of marginalised histories. I think too that this approach will alleviate homogenising Diasporas and allow an ethnic trajectory in the trajectory of a nation state like US where the predictable has become unpredictable. I plan to present a paper on this argument for a South Asian Diaspora Studies Department at the South Asian conference next year. Are you with me? (send comments to: lomarsh.roopnarine@jsums.edu)

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016

guyanatimesgy.com

News

Good Hope murder

File for DPP today A

s the Major Crime Unit wrapup their investigations into the murder of Mohamed and Jamilla Munir of Good Hope, East Bank Essequibo, the file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice today.

A source close to investigations told Guyana Times that the unit has sufficient evidence and confessions to institute charges against the four men who were implicated in the murder of the elderly couple.

He explained that once the DPP is finished with the file, the accused will make their first court appearance. Nevertheless, he related that while four men remain in Police custody, a fifth is still on the run. The men in custody, according to information, are cooperating with the Police.

The source posited that the DPP will also determine if the fifth suspect, Gavin Shepherd, called “Pepsi” can be charged in absentia.

The Major Crime Unit took over the case sometime back, working on several leads. It was only last week they got the breakthrough.

Three of the perpetrators were arrested and another was arrested on Saturday. Since the arrests, the men have con-

11

Dead: Mohamed and Jamilla Munir

fessed to the murders and have given detailed accounts of how the heinous crime was committed.

The elderly couple was killed after bandits set their home ablaze on April 17, 2016.

The last man to be arrested is referred to as “Plang”, a neighbour of the deceased elderly couple.

“Plang” is the alleged mastermind, who had a conversation with his crew, informing them that the rice farmers had $20 million stashed away in their Lot 16 Good Hope home.

It is believed that what propelled the men to carry out their attack was the assumed presence of this large sum of money.

On that deadly night, the young suspects climbed into the house through the veranda and ransacked the

house. The elderly couple heard the commotion and raised an alarm. The rice farmers remained in their room although the perpetrators ordered them to come out. According to one of the suspects, his accomplice set a sofa alight after which he tossed a fuel cylinder in the fire, causing an explosion. The perpetrators fled through a track that led to a church and cemetery behind the couple’s home where they stood and listened to the couple in anguish screaming for help. As neighbours became aware of what was happening, they attempted to rescue the couple but to no avail. The charred remains of Mohamed and his wife were later discovered together (Bhisham Mohamed)

Taxi driver robs passenger − escapes from Police

A

taxi driver early Sunday morning robbed his passenger of her valuables after she exited his vehicle to accompany a friend to her door.

Guyana Times understands that at approximately 01:30h on Sunday, the woman and her friends hailed HC 2302 to take them to their respective homes.

However, after the man stopped at the first house, he drove off with the woman’s bag which contained her iPhone, money and other valuables.

Using the GPS on her phone, the woman, accompanied by the Police, was able to track the driver down, who denied the allegations.

According to the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, she approached the man and enquired whether he picked up her and her friends, and he replied in the affirmative. “I approached him and asked if he had just picked up me and my friends to which he admitted. I then asked for my belongings and he pretended to not know what I was talking about, but eventually reached over

onto the passenger side floor and picked up my phone,” the woman explained.

She further relayed that she enquired where her bag was and was told by the taxi driver that he could not say.

“When I asked for my bag, however, he claimed he didn't know I left it and a passenger he just dropped off might have gone with it. I called him out on his bull **** and kept asking for my bag, but he kept denying.”

The woman further questioned the driver in the presence of the Police as to why he left with her belongings; the man then told her that one of the passengers told

him to leave.

“This was untrue since I was the last person to leave the car and no one ever turned back,” she explained.

The taxi driver was told

by Police to drive to the Police Station as he was going to be locked up, but the man then escaped.

The upset woman said that the work of the Police was very sloppy, as they did not even search the man’s car even after he was caught with her phone, which he was in the process of charging.

Up to press time, the whereabouts of the man were still unknown; however, a search has been launched.

12

news

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016 | guyanatimesgy.com

Decisions in oil sector must lead to capacity building – Trotman

D

eveloping a standardised regulatory framework must go hand in hand with building

capacity as Guyana works towards developing its oil and gas sector.

This is according to

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, who on Monday, received the Rapid Analysis of the State

of Readiness of Guyana’s Hydrocarbon Regulatory Framework Report, which was facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

At a simple handing-over ceremony at the Ministry’s boardroom, Anthony Paul, Principal Consultant from the Association of Caribbean Energy Specialists out of

20 years will have learned from those who have designed what you are putting in place at the outset,” Paul urged.

Paul, who spent half the year assessing Guyana’s oil sector readiness, explained that the report examined what countries around the world have done, successes, mistakes made and how

the governing of the sector to where it should go, Paul added. “The approach used can be standardised or can be similar from agency to agency so if you build a common approach and find ways to implement it across the agencies, I think that will help in simplifying how we will go forward.”

Meanwhile, Minister

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman receives the readiness assessment report from Principal Consultant of the Association of Caribbean Energy Specialists, Anthony Paul and UNDP Resident Representative, Mikiko Tanaka

Trinidad and Tobago told the Minister that decisions made in the sector today must be the foundation of what will be needed in the future.

“My recommendation is that when you engage support to make decisions, make sure that support goes towards building capacity at the same time so that those who will run for the next

they can be avoided.

He pointed out that Guyana’s advantage over other oil-producing countries is that it does not have “legacy issues” to overcome.

This provides Guyana with “a long-term outlook on development that very few people have taken time to think through”.

“A whole of Government approach” is required for

Trotman in accepting the report said he was impressed with Paul’s knowledge and experience.

The UNDP Resident Representative, Mikiko Tanaka expressed the hope that the recommendations would not only strengthen the Ministry, but other sections of Government and the Private Sector.

news

13

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016 | guyanatimesgy.com

Cancelled flights

Public servants left in the cold

…as Ministers’ wage increases Stranded Dynamic cost treasury $65M annually Airways passengers arrive F in Guyana – Gouveia

M

ore than 280 Guyanese passengers who were affected by the delay of Dynamic Airways’ flights have finally arrived in Guyana from the John F Kennedy Airport in New York after being stranded there since early Saturday morning, the company’s local representative Captain Gerry Gouveia confirmed during a press conference on Monday.

These passengers were among the 600 travellers stranded from Saturday to Monday at the JFK Airport and at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) in Guyana.

Gouveia further explained that there were two 767-300 jumbo jet aircraft placed on stand-by by Dynamic Airways in case of an emergency with the primary aircraft. He stated that on Saturday, a ground

Local Dynamic Airways’ representative Captain Gerry Gouveia

information to their customers.

“We are extremely sorry and apologise to the passengers for the delay and the cancellations. Both Dynamic Airways and Roraima Airways are committed to safety and the safety of our passengers,

The stranded bride, who missed her wedding in Guyana (photo courtesy of NY Post)

handling truck at the JFK Airport crashed into the airplane and damaged its engine shell.

The “backup” airplane, he continued, was activated for travel, but after three flights to Guyana it developed mechanical problems with the flaps and had to be taken in for maintenance.

Gouveia said it was believed that the secondary plane’s mechanical problems would have been short term, but upon further technical checks, they discovered that that would not be the case.

Meanwhile, the disheartened passengers complained that the airline made no effort to relate the exact cause of the delay and instead resorted to treating them harshly. One such passenger was a young woman who was stranded in New York and missed her wedding here in Guyana on Saturday.

In response, Captain Gouveia noted that initially the team did not have any information on the accident or how long the maintenance would take; this he said was the reason they were unable to relate any

and we cannot fly that aircraft until it is cleared by the maintenance team,” he

Gouveia noted.

He pointed out that the airline was committed to Guyana and it opted to divert another 767 airplane to fly passengers from New York to Guyana. “Like most airlines we do have challenges and we work very hard to recover from those challenges,” Gouveia stated.

However, he was quick to brush off assertions that the airline service did not have an office in New York or in the airport, stating that they do have an administrative office. Meanwhile, he reminded that Roraima Airways remained the face of Dynamic Airways in Guyana and all queries could be made there.

Gouveia stated that the aggrieved passengers would be compensated in accordance to the company’s legal obligations within air transport laws. He noted that the bride who missed her wedding on Saturday in Guyana as a result of the flight cancellation would be offered a free weekend trip to Arrowpoint Resort and a

inance Minister Winston Jordan said it is unfair to compare the percentages in wage increases for public servants against the exorbitant amounts being enjoyed by senior Government ministers.

He contended too that Government cannot afford to sustain a higher salary increase for the public sector workers but can manage to sustain the 50 per cent hike for ministers as well as in excess of $20 million annually for Hamilton Green as part of his pension package.

During his yearend press conference on Monday, the Minister explained that public servants did not get a better salary because such a venture would be unsustainable: “Nothing can be paid unless you can find the means of paying it and find the means of sustaining it. That’s why I can pay you a $25,000 bonus this year because it’s one off and I don’t have to sustain it.”

After salary negotiations with the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) reached a deadlock, Government made an offer of a 10 per cent increase in salaries for public servants working earning below $99,000, and an offer of 1-6 per cent for other categories of workers.

Asked to justify the meagre increases given to public servants against the astronomical increases given to ministers shortly after assuming office, the Minister said the latter is more affordable.

He disclosed that it costs the Treasury some $65 million annually to sustain the ministerial increases which ranges from 4.7 per cent to 50

per cent whereas it costs in excess of $2 billion to pay the 1-10 per cent increase to public servants.

Cabinet ministers are now receiving $10,439,124 annually, a 50 per cent increase.

Vice Presidents, other than the PM, are to be paid $11,135,064 per annum.

Junior Ministers will earn $8,346,492, an over 16 per cent increase from the annual salary of a Cabinet minister under the former administration which was earning $6,959,412 annually.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo will now receive $20,580,000 annually, an over $2M increase.

Hamilton Green

Prompted to justify why Government will be forking out over $20 million annually for former Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green instead of giving public servants a better wage, Jordan insisted that Green deserves his pension for serving as Prime Minister for more than five years.

“It’s so unfair to carry that line of thinking and propaganda. Hamilton Green was a Prime Minister...,” the

Most maternal deaths this year were preventable – Norton

P

The stranded passengers at JFK Airport

said, adding that they were extremely sensitive about the effect the delay would have on passengers. “….we are sorry that it happened at this time when Guyanese are coming home for Christmas, but this was beyond our control,”

trip to the Kaieteur Falls.

“I have instructed my staff to find her, so I could meet her and her husband and maybe offer them a honeymoon package at Arrowpoint Resort and a trip to Kaieteur Falls,” he said.

Finance Minister expressed.

The existing law stipulates that Prime Ministers will get a pension that is 7/8 of their highest annual salary upon retirement.

Jordan explained that the Hamilton Green Pension Bill was specifically drafted because 7/8 of his salary then would be majorly undervalued now. “The reason why it is named Hamilton Green is because when Hamilton Green goes, the bill is dead.

Why? Because every Prime Minister from Nagamootoo going forward will get 7/8 of his salary so if Nagamootoo for some reason says he will demit office, he will get 7/8 of his salary which right now is $1.7M,” Jordan pellucid ly explained. The Hamilton Green Pension Bill, which was introduced to the National Assembly despite mounting criticisms from civil society and the political opposition, proposes an annual pension of G$20,580,000, others benefits to the value of $3.1 million annually, two vehicles provided and maintained by the State, and two first-class annual airfares to any part of the world free transportation provided by the State.

(Devina Samaroo)

ublic Health Minister Dr George Norton is of the view that most of the maternal deaths in Guyana during 2016 could have been prevented.

So far this year there have been 12 recorded maternal deaths, compared to last year when 17 deaths were recorded.

“Before I became Minister I thought it was not accurate to say all maternal deaths are preventable or avoidable.

More and more I am coming to face with the reality, I think it is true that we can prevent and avoid all maternal death,” Norton disclosed during a recent function at Port Mourant, Region Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne).

Maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management. According to the Minister, primary health, which involves education, is a major role in saving lives of

Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton

both mother and child.

“Just telling a mother what to do and how important it is for her to turn up at the clinic is important,” he said.

Alluding to the fact that Japan has a maternal death rate of zero, the Minister said this is due not only to the technological advances that country has made but to the primary healthcare which is provided to pregnant women.

Referring to the death of a mother and baby from Region One (Barima/Waini), who attempted to make the delivery

without help, Norton said that too could have been prevented.

He explained that at Obadiah; a village along the Aruka River, the young mother attempted to give birth without assistance. The health worker was not contacted: “This was at about one o’clock in the morning; she had a retention of the placenta, she was bleeding and by the time help came it was too late. The doctor at Mabaruma left home at about 2 O’clock that morning and travelled up the river only to find the patient coming down half way but it was too late; both mother and baby perished.”

In 2015, the Public Health Ministry recorded 17 cases of maternal deaths, one short of the 2014 figures. This resulted in Guyana missing its goal to reduce maternal deaths by three-quarters between 1990 and 2015.

Guyana has a maternal mortality rate of 229 deaths for every 100,000 live births and is rated 42 out of 184 countries.

14

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesday, deceMber 20, 2016

Regional

Cuba announces home Internet Amnesty International wants Dominican Republic trial scheme in Havana

T

he Cuban Government has announced a twomonth trial scheme to allow Internet access in private homes. State-run telecommunications company Etecsa will install internet in some 2000 homes in the capital’s colonial district, Old Havana.

The company has also reduced by 25 per cent the fee charged to connect to the web, which most Cubans can only access from public wi-fi hotspots.

Cuba has one of the lowest online connectivity rates in the world.

Many Cubans hope the country’s communist gov-

Cubans still struggle to get Internet access in most parts of the country

ernment will eventually expand the scheme, says the BBC’s Will Grant in

Havana.

Details are scarce, but the authorities say the ex-

periment will be extended if it is approved after the twomonth trial period.

Last week, Etecsa signed an agreement with Google to provide faster access to content including Gmail and YouTube. Google will install local servers that will speed up connection to its services.

Much of the island’s internet infrastructure is obsolete. Google and Etecsa reached agreement in the final weeks of Barack Obama’s presidency, but it is not clear whether his successor, Donald Trump, will change US policies towards Cuba. (BBC News)

Increased cases of respiratory illness in Barbados

B

arbados is recording an increase in respiratory illnesses in November 2016 as compared to the same period last year.

The Health Ministry in a statement did not give figures to indicate the number of cases, but noted that “for the subset of cases tested, the causative organism was not the flu virus but mostly

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

“Nevertheless, PAHO (Pan American Health Organisation) has advised that the incidence of seasonal flu is starting to increase in North America and sporadic cases are also being seen in neighbouring islands.”

Health officials urged

Barbadians to continue to practise good hygiene, as this is the most effective way of reducing the transmission of respiratory viruses.

“These practices include washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and drying them with disposable tissue. If soap and water are not available, an alcohol-based hand sani-

tizer is recommended.”

The Health Ministry said as in previous years “persons at risk for severe illness from the seasonal flu virus are advised to ask their doctor about receiving the vaccine against seasonal flu.

These include persons with asthma, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases”. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Haitian and Dom Rep customs officers receive training on transnational crime and corruption

T

wenty customs officers from Haiti and The Dominican Republic have strengthened their trade facilitation capacity following a two-week training programme on “Techniques to fight against transnational fiscal crimes and corruption” implemented by the Scuola di Polizia Tributaria (Tax Police School) of the Guardia di Finanza in Rome, Italy, on November 21 –December 2, 2016.

The activity was undertaken within the framework of the HaitiDominican Republic BiNational Programme, Trade Component, implemented by Caribbean Export and funded by the European Union under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF).

Additionally, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti

Participants at a transnational crime and corruption training programme in Rome, Italy

(MINUSTAH) joined efforts in the coordination of the training programme.

Cross-border crimes are a common threat for both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, resulting in the need for this training to help combat such crimes. Joint training of this nature en-

sures both sides of the border are skilled at identifying possible threats thus tempering the impact of illicit financial activities such as corruption, money laundering and transnational organised crime.

During the graduation ceremony, held on December

2, Victor Saint-Louis and Enrique Ramirez, general directors of the customs organisations of Haiti and The Dominican Republic respectively, stressed the importance of increasing joint initiatives such as this. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

to stop ‘regressive reform’ for women’s rights

T

he London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International is calling on the Government of President Danilo Medina to stop “regressive reform” for women’s rights.

On December 14, The Dominican Congress adopted a reform of the Criminal Code, which maintains the criminalisation of abortion, except when the pregnancy poses a risk to the life of a pregnant woman or girl but only after “all attempts had been made to save both the lives of the woman and the foetus.”

Under the current reform, Amnesty International said women will receive criminal sanctions of two to three years’ imprisonment.

Health professionals who provide abortion services will receive between four to 10 years in prisons.

The text is now expect-

ed to be sent to President Medina for promulgation.

“The president has the power to object the proposed reform and insist on the exceptions to the criminalisation of abortion he proposed in 2014,” said Robin Guittard, Caribbean Campaigner for Amnesty International.

These include decriminalising abortion where the pregnancy poses a risk to the life or to the physical or mental health of a pregnant woman or girl, in cases where the foetus will be unable to survive outside the womb, and in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

Amnesty International said evidence shows that total bans on abortion do not reduce the number of abortions but instead increase the risk of women dying due to illegal, unsafe abortions.

(Excerpt from Antigua Observer)

PM wants swift justice in T&T

Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley on Monday called for “swift justice” in Trinidad and Tobago and dismissed reports that a crime plan should be outlined to deal with criminal activities in the country.

Speaking at the opening of a new Police station in East Trinidad, Rowley said that a crime plan does not necessarily have to be a new document and that his Government acknowledges that “it is the quality and effectiveness of the Police that will give us the kinds of results that we are looking for as a response to unacceptable violent crime in many districts in Trinidad and Tobago.

“If that plan is not acceptable then we will have to revisit it. But at the level of the Cabinet we are not of the view that that position has expired.

Rowley said that such policing has two facets including enforcing the law, He said there was also the need for law-abiding cit-

T&T Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley

izens to feel “a sense of safety and security and that the community if being protected against those who will break the law to the detriment to the rest of the national community”.

Rowley said that his administration would continue to provide “all that is affordable” in terms of resources in a bid to deal with the crime situation and hoped the results would lead to a drastic decline in crime and also the fear of crime. (Excerpt

from Jamaica Observer)

Bank of Saint Lucia changing hands Accused drunk LIAT pilot cleared

I

n its largest acquisition to date, a Jamaicaregistered, St Luciaincorporated investment holding company will take over the Bank of Saint Lucia International Limited (BOSLIL).

The cost of the acquisition – the first banking operation for PROVEN Investments Ltd (PIL) – has not been disclosed.

A statement from the

East Caribbean Financial Holding Company Limited (ECFH) has confirmed the sale of 100 per cent shareholding interest in BOSLIL, its wholly owned offshore banking subsidiary, which is pending approval by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of St Lucia.

“The parties are in the process of obtaining the necessary regulatory approv-

als prior to the completion of the sale,” the ECFH said.

President and chief executive officer of PROVEN Management Ltd with responsibility for the operations of PIL, Christopher Williams told the Jamaica Observer the deal presents “an exciting opportunity for PROVEN Investments to move into the international finance market with a strong team”. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

T

he Liat pilot whose flight was cancelled when passengers accused him of being intoxicated, has been cleared, but the association who represents the pilots is claiming “disrespect”.

Last week Tuesday, a delayed Liat 769 flight from Barbados to St Vincent was cancelled following accusations of the pilot being drunk, but President of the Leeward Islands Airline

Pilots’ Association, Captain Carl Burke told OBSERVER media, lab result showed later that there were no drugs, including alcohol, in the pilot’s system.

He explained that the pilot went to a private lab after the police station at the Grantley Adams Airport, in Barbados, could not administer a breathalyser test.

“What we have seen here is a total lack of respect for the crew, which was dis-

played by the passengers,” he said. Burke said the passengers’ behaviour could be as a result of the recent treatment of pilots by management.

According to Burke, Liat pilots have a reputation for taking their jobs seriously.

“For years, we have seen that these pilots have taken their jobs very seriously, and I would be very curious if that happened to any of our members,” he said. (Excerpt from Antigua Observer)

tuesday, december 20, 2016

guyanatimesgy.com

15

Around the World

Russian Ambassador shot Thousands evacuated from Aleppo after deal over besieged villages dead in Ankara gallery

T

Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov lies on the ground after he was shot by an unidentified man at an art gallery in Ankara

T

he Russian ambassador to Turkey was shot in the back and killed as he gave a speech at an Ankara art gallery on Monday by an off-duty Police Officer who shouted “Don’t forget Aleppo” and “Allahu Akbar” as he opened fire.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of envoy Andrei Karlov, calling it a “terrorist act”. Relations between Moscow and Ankara have long been strained over the conflict in Syria, with the two support opposing sides in the war.

Russia is an ally of

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its air strikes helped Syrian forces end rebel resistance last week in the northern city of Aleppo.

Turkey, which seeks Assad’s ouster, has been repairing ties with Moscow after shooting down a Russian warplane over Syria last year.

The Ankara mayor said on Twitter the gunman as a 22-year-old police officer.

Two security sources told Reuters he was not on duty at the time.

The attacker was smartly dressed in black suit and tie and stood, alone, behind the ambassador as he made

a speech at the art exhibition, a person at the scene told Reuters.

“He took out his gun and shot the ambassador from behind. We saw him lying on the floor and then we ran out,” said the witness, who asked not to be identified. People took refuge in adjoining rooms as the shooting continued. A video showed the attacker shouting: “Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria!” and “Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest) as screams rang out. He paced about and shouted as he held the gun in one hand and waved the other in the air. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Berlin Breitscheidplatz: Lorry kills 9 at Christmas market

A

lorry has ploughed into a Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, killing nine people and injuring many more, police say.

Police now say they suspect it was a deliberate attack. Video footage from the scene shows stalls knocked over and people lying injured on the ground.

The driver is believed to be under arrest while the codriver died.

The market is at

Breitscheidplatz, close to the Kurfuerstendamm, the main shopping street in the city’s West. It is situated at the foot of the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, which was kept as a bombed-out ruin after World War Two. As emergency vehicles filled the area, Berlin police appealed to the public to avoid the area and stay at home. Facebook has set up a “Safety Check” page for people affected to let their loved ones know they are safe.

A British eyewitness, Mike Fox, told The Associated Press at the scene that the large lorry had missed him by only about 3m as it drove into the market, tearing through tables and wooden stands.

“It was definitely deliberate,” said the tourist, visiting from Birmingham.

He said he had helped people who appeared to have broken limbs, and that others were trapped under Christmas stands. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

housands of people were evacuated from the last rebelheld enclave of Aleppo on Monday in return for insurgents allowing people to leave two besieged pro-government villages in nearby Idlib province.

In bitter winter weather, convoys of buses from eastern Aleppo reached rebel-held areas to the west of the city. More buses left the Shi’ite Muslim villages of al-Foua and Kefraya for government lines, according to a United Nations official and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group.

I

IMF chief Christine Lagarde

hasn’t decided whether to appeal the sentence. She was cleared of another count related to her initial decision

to enter into the arbitration agreement.

The trial looked into how Lagarde handled a decadeold dispute between former state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais and businessman Bernard Tapie over the 1993 sale of Adidas AG. Lagarde allowed the disagreement to go to arbitration in mid2008, and then didn’t appeal the payout, which later was cut to zero. The case has been a distraction to Lagarde’s duties at the IMF, the institution leading efforts to combat the global financial crisis and provides billions of dollars in loans to countries at risk of default.

The Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Ja’afari, denounced the resolution as propaganda, saying the last of the rebels were leaving and Aleppo would be “clean” by Monday evening.

UN Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura intends to convene peace talks in Geneva on February 8, his office said.

The recapture of Aleppo is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s biggest victory so far in the nearly sixyear-old war, but the fighting is not over. Large parts of the country are still controlled by insurgent and Islamist groups. (Excerpt from

Reuters)

India’s maternal mortality rate decreases

T

he country’s maternal mortality rate (MMR) has steadily decreased over time, Jean McEwan, Professor of Clinical Education and Consultant Cardiologist, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, UK, has said.

“Indian MMR is declining, slowly but steadily. The maternal mortality rate is the annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes),” she said.

About maternal deaths in the country, McEwan said according to a review of 124 deaths published in 2014, 23.4 per cent, 17.7 per cent, 4.8 per cent and 14 per cent maternity deaths were caused in India due to postpartum haemorrhage,

anaemia, antepartum haemorrhage and severe pre-eclampsia or eclampsia.

For early diagnosis and treatment, diuretics during pregnancy is very important for those who have heart problem, she added. Consultant nephrologist of UK’s Hull & East Yorkshire NHS Hospitals, Sunil Bhandari said hypertension was the most com-

mon problem encountered during pregnancy.

They were speaking at ‘Medicon International 2016’ organised jointly by Peerless Hospital and B K Roy Research Centre, Association of Physicians of India (West Bengal Chapter) and UK’s Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on Monday. (Times

of India)

US sees China returning drone as early as today in South China Sea

T

he United States expects China to return soon an underwater US drone seized by a Chinese naval vessel last week, with one US official telling Reuters the exchange could

IMF head Lagarde convicted in French negligence trial nternational Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde was convicted of negligence by a Paris court over her handling of a multimillion euro dispute during her time as France’s finance minister nearly a decade ago.

The judges on the Cour de Justice de la Republique said that Lagarde should have done more to overturn a 285 million-euro (US$297 million) payout to a businessman in an arbitration case.

The 60-year-old Managing Director of the IMF won’t face a fine or prison term, Judge Martine Ract-Madoux said Monday.

Lagarde’s lawyer said she

The Foreign and Defence Ministers of Russia and Iran, President Bashar al-Assad’s main supporters, and Turkey, which backs some large rebel groups, will meet in Moscow today.

The talks, aimed at giving fresh impetus for a solution in Aleppo, will go ahead despite the killing of Russia’s Ambassador to Ankara by a gunman on Monday.

The United Nations Security Council agreed a resolution calling for UN officials and others to monitor evacuations from east Aleppo and the safety of civilians still there.

Lagarde didn’t fully examine the award, whose “violent wording” could “only have led the Minister” to seek to overturn it in court, Ract-Madoux said. “Overall, Lagarde was negligent in seeking information” to guide her views about a bid for annulment, the court President said.

On the second day of the trial earlier this month, Lagarde told the court, which specialises in ministerial misconduct, she’d relied on her then Chief-of-Staff, Stephane Richard, to screen thousands of documents and provide advice on using arbitration in the dispute. (Excerpt from MSN)

happen as early as Tuesday at an agreed location in the South China Sea. China’s seizure of the unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) triggered a diplomatic protest and speculation about whether it will strengthen US President-elect Donald Trump’s hand as he seeks a tougher line with Beijing.

A Chinese warship took the drone, which the Pentagon says uses unclassified, commercially available technology to collect oceanographic data, on Thursday about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines.

The US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said talks with Beijing on the timing of the exchange were advancing, with two saying they expected the incident to be satisfactorily resolved “relatively soon.”

One of the officials added the exchange could take place in the vicinity of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook

South China Sea as early as Tuesday, local time, putting the handover potentially just hours away.

A US destroyer would likely receive the drone, although the mechanics of the exchange were unclear.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook refused to offer any details at a news briefing, saying only that “conversations are ongoing ... We’re working out the logistical details with Chinese officials”.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

16 news

tuesDAY, december 20, 2016 | guyanatimesgy.com

GPL still to ascertain cause of constant power outages W

hile it is still investigating the main reason for the frequent, lengthy power outages which occurred last week, over the weekend and continued on Sunday, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) said it is working to ensure that the discomforts are not experienced during the holidays and the New Year.

Speaking at an emergency press conference called on Monday, GPL’s acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Renford Homer and acting Deputy Chief Executive

Officer (Technical) Elwyn Marshall, sought to appease the concerns of the public, while offering technical explanations for the outages, admitting that there had

been some disturbances beginning last Tuesday and particularly over the weekend.

In terms of the outages on Sunday morning, Marshall said the power company was still analysing what might have been the cause and the reason for it taking such a long time to be restored.

Kingston Plant

According to Marshall, on Tuesday night last, the conductor of one of the feeders coming out of the Kingston, Georgetown plant failed. As

a result the line linking the Kingston and Sophia substations tripped, which led to the total outage of power.

According to him it took the company over three hours

to restore power and return the system to normalcy. The DCEO said on December 16 there was a failed insulator on the feeder that feeds the Albertown, Queenstown and neighbouring areas. He said the crossarm of the insulator caught fire which caused the power outages on that day.

“What we managed to do was provide alternative feed to provide the hospital and a large section of Queenstown while repairs were being done.”

Explaining the scenario on Saturday, December 17, Marshall said there were three feeders coming out of the Kingston Wartsila Plant which also feeds the commercial districts of Albertown, Queenstown, Prashad Nagar, etc. He related that the conductors for two of those feeders were entangled, while one encountered a burnt jumper and switch. He explained that there seemed to have been a fault of that circuit and because of the heavy current, it sagged and came into contact with another conductor. Because of the entanglement of the conductor in the Kingston area, the Kinston plant began tripping.

“The fact that they are all located on one side of poles, we could not do work on the F8 without taking out the

F3 for safety reasons, so the commercial areas would have been without power for just about one hour.”

Addressing the outage on Sunday which began at 02:30h, Marshall said that was caused by the power transformer at Kingston, which is used to convert the power from the generator tripped and caused the total outage. By 16:00h the power company began the process of restoring the system. He said there was enough damage to cause the company to take the generator out of service.

According to the CEO, there is no single reason for all the problems as all the incidences are unrelated. He said everything happened at a time when all want to be assured of a trouble-free Christmas as it relates to electricity.

“Those are the things we are cognisant of and those are the things that we are making efforts to ensure that we understand cleary beyond what we have just told you and to take the corrective actions, not just for Christmas, but ensuring the reliability of the network is concerned.”

Meanwhile, the Deputy CEO informed that GPL currently has a firm capacity of some 104 megawatts which do not include the eight

Acting CEO Renford Homer and acting Deputy CEO (Technical) Elwyn Marshall seek to apprise the public on frequent power outages during a press briefing on Monday

megawatts generation available at Skeldon. “As of today (Monday) we have 112 megawatts of generation capacity.

Our peak load in December we expect it to be 108 to 109.

Traditionally our largest demands are in October and in October we had just about 110 megawatts. As it stands there is sufficient demand to meet the peak, however there is not much reserve of 112 to meet the capacity of 108.”

Garden of Eden Plant

He informed that GPL has found itself in this situation partly because of the Wartsila plant at Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara, which was taken down for

maintenance that was expected to last for some two weeks. Marshall said it was realised that after the maintenance some items needed to be replaced. According to him, the parts were ordered and were to be shipped to Guyana last week. However, because of the Christmas rush the airfreight company was unable to get it to Guyana earlier. It was however promised to be here last evening and should be available today to be installed.

When that is completed there should be another 5.5 megawatts of power available before Christmas. That, he said, will give a reserve of 10 megawatts.

Finance Minister would like to “tax everything” …to broaden tax base to ensure everyone is taxed

G

uyanese would be paying tax on “everything” if it was solely up to Finance Minister Winston Jordan, who believes that “rich people” should pay Value Added Tax (VAT) on basic consumer items even if it means the poor cannot afford the higher cost.

During a news conference on Monday, the Minister said if it was his decision, Guyanese would be paying taxes on everything but at reduced rates.

“Some people are telling us why don’t we just VAT everything at a lower rate and have programmes in place that would protect the poor. At a personal level – this is not the coalition level, but at a personal level, this would be my favoured approach,” he expressed.

Broader tax base

His personal desires aside, the Finance Minister said Government would continue along the lines of reducing taxes, but would implement measures in the coming years to ensure more people start paying taxes.

“Our Government would

like to reduce tax rates over time, we’ve started this year and we’d like to continue this trend, providing that two things happen. One, we are in a position to broaden the base on which we are taxing and also make certain that the economy continue to grow. These aren’t conflicting priorities, they go in tandem. The economy grows once it can be helped by a tax regime that is supportive,” he explained.

Expanding on this vision, Jordan outlined that the broadening of the tax base included going after persons who were evading taxes.

“You know everybody says the self-employed is hard to tax: doctors, accountants, engineers, lawyers and so on and that is a significant group in Guyana.

If we don’t have the wherewith to tax them and they are enjoying all the good public services that we do… then we have to tax me and you whose taxes come out at the PAYE (Pay as You Earn) level,” he explained.

The Minister posited if Government was to broaden the base to ensure everyone paid their fair share of tax-

registered businesses which were obviously evading taxes.

The Minister noted too that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) needed strengthening to go after businesses in far-flung regions that easily get away with not paying taxes.

“GRA tends to focus heavily on Georgetown, but there are a significant amount of businesses going on outside of Georgetown,” he reminded.

es, then the burden on a select few would be reduced.

Jordan had stated back in March that he personally supported removing the income tax exemption enjoyed by the President, the Attorney General, the Auditor General, the Chancellor of the Judiciary and the Chief Justice.

“My personal view is that no one should be ex-

Taxing the rich

empted from income tax… Obviously from somebody who is an economist, we would love to see everybody paying their (income) taxes… I don’t believe it to be a fair position for some to be paying taxes and others to be not paying taxes when we all would benefit from the same provision of social and other goods the Government would pro-

vide,” he had expressed.

Further, Jordan said Government would seek to broaden the tax base by going after persons who were cheating in their tax payments by doing multiple jobs, but only paying taxes on one.

Additionally, he alluded to the fact that there were some 32,000 active but un-

The Minister further justified the Government’s rationale to remove VAT exemptions by indicating that rich people must pay taxes even if it meant the poor could not afford the taxed prices.

“Why should a rich person who can pay the VAT on chowmein not pay the VAT on chowmein? But you can’t say ‘rich people pay the VAT and poor people don’t pay the VAT’, so it is either VAT-able or exempt, and those who have the money they can buy chowmein, the poor person who can hardly see the price for bread will just watch chowmein,” the

Minister explained.

He contended too that VAT exemptions on consumer items made no sense since many retailers do not pass down the benefits to their customers.

“People knowledgeable enough use the poor in this manner to get these items to become VAT free so that they can continue charging the same price as if VAT is still in place and so they are the beneficiaries not the poor people,” he highlighted as another reason behind the removal of the VAT exemptions.

Budget 2017 proposes a major shakeup in the tax regime, including a reduction in VAT from 16 per cent to 14 per cent and the addition of VAT to water and electricity.

Persons consuming water and electricity in excess of $1500 and $10,000 respectively will be charged 14 per cent on their total bill for each.

A d d i t i o n a l l y , Government removed the VAT exempted items; therefore, basic goods and services like healthcare would now attract the 14 per cent VAT. (Devina Samaroo)

17

news

tuesday, december 20, 2016 | guyanatimesgy.com

Wales Sugar Estate inching closer to shutdown date ...workers to report until severance process is completed − official

The Wales Sugar Estate

A

s the days inch closer toward the end of the year, preparations are underway for the official closure of the Wales Sugar Estate.

A senior official from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) told Guyana TimesMonday that while the factory is still boiling liquid stock to convert into crystals, it has ceased the processing of canes. He said the “book off” should also be completed by today, after which some items from the factory will be stored in containers. He said parts will be taken out and used at other factories. The entity is expected to officially close operations Friday.

He said however, that workers will still report to the factory until the severance package is completed.

They will also assist with the storage of items at the Uitvlugt Estate.

On Sunday, Guyana Times was told that much of farmers’ canes were left in the backlands, which had amounted to wasted produce. According to information received, GuySuCo had deserted the majority of the sugar cane it had in its control.

However, the final cane supply was accepted and is currently being processed.

This newspaper was told this would occur over a three-day period and after that operations will be halted. Following the repeated mechanical disruptions that occurred late into Saturday night – the same day the final canes were accepted – the Police were reportedly alerted to be on patrol to monitor activities at the estate.

In February of this year, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder had told the National Assembly that the sugar fac-

tory would be converted into a business establishment which will see the rearing of poultry and other livestock.

With the expected final days to the closure of the estate, the future and livelihood of over 1000 workers and the sustenance of their families remain uncertain.

GAWU maintains that over the last 11 months, it has been in the dark over the Wales conversion plans, noting that GuySuCo has offered little explanation about the future of many workers. The closure of the over a century estate by yearend has affected some 1700 workers directly and thousands of persons in the Wales and surrounding communities indirectly.

The decision to close the entity was confirmed

by Government in January 2016 after Guyana Times broke the news earlier that month.

Corriverton heist

5 remain in custody A

s Police continue their investigations into last week’s high-profile robbery of a Corriverton cambio dealer, five suspects remain in custody.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Guyana Times that the investigation was still ongoing. He disclosed that although one of the suspects was identified during an identification parade on Thursday, the Police were not ready to place him before the court.

The brazen robbery was executed last Monday by a gang of 15 heavily armed men at the Number 79 Village, Corentyne home of cambio dealer Devendra Churaman aka “Katak”.

The AK-47 rifle and shotgun wielding men carted off $20 million in cash and $1 million in jewellery.

The cambio dealer positively identified one of the suspects from a line-up on Thursday.

B Division (Berbice) Commander Errol Watts disclosed that the individual was a resident of Sand Hills, Berbice River. He also revealed that during Churaman's statement to the Police early on in the investigation, he indicated that during the confrontation with five of the men in his bedroom, the mask of one of the bandits fell off, and he saw the perpetrator’s face. Meanwhile, a source close to the investigation has confirmed that the man identified was the brother of Milton VanLuen.

The 28-year-old VanLuen of Sand Hills along the Berbice River is alleged to have had in his

Raymond LaFleur

possession one Taurus pistol on November 15, at Mount Sinai without being the holder of a firearm licence.

He is also accused of having in his possession 10 live .38 rounds of ammunition.

VanLuen was arrested shortly after Police shot and killed a bandit at Mount Sinai after he attempted to shoot at the Police.

Meanwhile, this publication understands that another of the five men was allegedly part of the former “Popcorn”’ gang.

The notorious “Popcorn” gang between 2010 and 2014 robbed families along the Corentyne until its leader Deodat “Popcorn” Seecharran was killed during a shootout with Police in East Canje in April 2014.

Timothy Sampson was part of that gang and has been convicted of several robberies and unlawful escape from prison. In September 2010, Sampson was charged for being in possession of two AK-47 assault rifles, one UZI submachine gun

and one double-barrel shotgun without being the holder of a firearm licence.

The charges were subsequently dismissed after the Police personnel, who allegedly found Sampson with the illegal weapons, failed to appear in court to present the evidence.

Another man who is also assisting the Police was recently remanded on a charge of being in possession of a firearm and ammunition, without having a licence along with other gun-related charges. On November 23, Raymond LaFleur, 40, of Lot 28 South Mount Sinai, West Canje, appeared before Magistrate Alex Moore and pleaded not guilty to a charge of illegal firearm possession among others.

Meanwhile, the Crime Chief told this publication that the Police were still awaiting results from the lab of gunpowder residue tests carried out on the hands of the suspects.

The investigation continues.

Donald Trump wins Chinese Army delegation Electoral College vote visiting Guyana T

A six-member military delegation from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), on Monday evening, paid a courtesy call on President David Granger. Senior Colonel Lu Zhonglin led the team.

The other members of the delegation included: Senior Colonel Zhang Yanke, Senior Colonel Zhang Ying, Colonel Zhao Cheng and Lieutenant Colonel Chen Xiao. On Monday morning, the delegation signed a Military Aid Gratis agreement between the Guyana Defence Force and the PLA for the provision of non-lethal military aid

he US Electoral College has certified Donald Trump as president, despite a lastditch effort to deny him the White House.

Six weeks after winning the polls, the Republican has secured the 270 votes needed to formalise his victory.

Reacting to his win, Trump promised to "work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans".

Electors had been flooded with emails and phone calls urging them not to support the billionaire.

The voting process is usually a formality, but was clouded this year by claims that Russian hackers tried to sway the presidential election.

Texas ultimately put the president-elect over the 270 threshold, despite two of its electors voting against him.

The New York Times re-

Donald Trump is now guaranteed to be the 45th President of the United States

ports that four Democratic electors also cast their votes for someone other than Clinton. The result will be officially announced on January 6, 2017 in a special joint session of Congress.

"I thank the American people for their overwhelming vote to elect me as

their next president of the United States,” Trump said in a statement after the result came in.

"With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans," he added. (BBC)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesday, december 20, 2016

ARCHIE

You will come up against a roadblock if you try to take on (March 21- too much or protest against April 19) someone who is in control.

Focus on making positive personal changes.

ARIES

Plan to do something nice TAURUS for your peers. Your generos(April 20- ity and thoughtfulness will be May 20) appreciated. A unique gesture to help someone in need will bring you satisfaction.

dilbert

Stick to what you know, GEMINI and don’t budge even if some(May 21June 20) one tries to talk you into taking part in something that isn’t in your best interest.

Avoid joint ventures and overspending.

Spending time at home with your family while get(June 21- ting things ready for end-ofJuly 22) year festivities will put you in a good mood. Sharing your thoughts and feelings will result in an unexpected change.

CANCER

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

A change at home or in your workplace will turn out better than anticipated.

Something you want to do for a loved one will result in an emotional reaction.

Stick to the facts when VIRGO dealing with controversial (Aug. 23- matters. Your future may be Sept. 22) at stake if you don’t adhere to the rules. Industry parties are best handled diplomatically.

Calvin and Hobbes

Consider positive personLIBRA al changes you can make.

(Sept. 23Knowing what you want to Oct. 23) achieve next year will help you enjoy the festive season. A move, trip or educational pursuit looks promising.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

Don’t let your emotions SCORPIO take charge when dealing (Oct. 24with older relatives. Do what Nov. 22) you have to do and don’t look back. Your intuition will help you make the right choice.

Find out what everyone SAGITTARIUS else is up to before making (Nov. 23- a change that could affect Dec. 21) others. Once you get the goahead, it will make your job and life easier.

solution for Last Published Puzzle

You’ll intuitively know CAPRICORN what’s best for you and how (Dec. 22to go about getting what you Jan. 19) want. Don’t hesitate when the going is good. Make your move without looking back.

You need to take care of AQUARIUS incomplete financial matters.

(Jan. 20Making a donation to a charFeb. 19) ity or cause is fine, as long as you don’t go into debt to help others. Cover your and your family’s needs first.

RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” is not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed. To contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe, write to Word Game, Kathleen Saxe, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

PISCES Don’t get too serious. Get (Feb. 20- into the spirit of the season March 20) and be grateful for what you have. Take a moment to rejuvenate and reflect on what transpired this year.

guyanatimesgy.com

England have all to play for after Nair triple

B

ack in March 2008, the MA Chidambaram Stadium witnessed the first triple-hundred on Indian soil, as Virender Sehwag plundered 319 against South Africa. Eight-and-a-half years later, the stadium’s revamped stands became the backdrop to the first triple-hundred by any Indian batsman apart from Sehwag. That batsman, Karun Nair, was playing his third Test match, and was only playing because India’s middle order had lost two of its regular occupants to injury.

When India next play a Test match, they will need to choose who to leave out - and perhaps even which two - among Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Nair, a man with an unbeaten 303 in his last innings. Three hundred and three, not out.

A square-cut brought up the landmark; Alastair Cook had

Karun Nair converted his maiden hundred into a triple ton

brought all his men into singlesaving positions with Nair on 299. Adil Rashid dropped short, Nair slapped it away, and Cook just happened to be the fielder diving uselessly to his left from cover point. The declaration came right then, with India 759 for 7. It was their highest-ever total, against anyone. It was the highest total against England, by anyone. It left England, starting their second innings with a deficit of 282, 16 minutes to get through to stumps.

By the time Virat Kohli called his batsmen off the field, they had inflicted as much mental disintegration upon England as they have faced anywhere in the time since Carl Rackemann coined the term during the 1989 Ashes. At lunch, India still trailed by 14 runs. At tea, they led by 105. So far, so Mumbai, on a pitch that was rather flatter than Mumbai, and England didn’t seem in any immediate danger of defeat.

By the time India declared, an innings defeat wasn’t out of the question. Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings got through to stumps unscathed, but their task has barely begun.

England have it all to do on the last day of a sapping tour of the subcontinent. This is still a flat pitch, by the standard of Indian pitches, but R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bowling on it with raucous voices clustered around the bat is an entirely different prospect to England’s spinners bowling with five fielders on the rope.

Ashwin and Jadeja did their bit with the bat as well, scoring 67 and 51 as the sixth- and seventh-wicket partnerships added 319 to India’s total. Posttea, India clattered 177 runs in 25.4 overs. That’s 6.9 runs per over. Nair, on 195 at tea, scored his last 108 runs in 78 balls.

If his triple-hundred wasn’t uniformly Sehwagian in tone, it certainly was now. England tried to bounce him with a fine third-man - almost a long stop

SCOREBOARD Stumps - Day 4 England 1st innings 477 India 1st innings (Overnight 391/4) KL Rahul c Buttler b Rashid 199 PA Patel† c Buttler b Ali 71 CA Pujara c Cook b Stokes 16 V Kohli* c Jennings b Broad 15 KK Nair not out 303 M Vijay lbw b Dawson 29 R Ashwin c Buttler b Broad 67 RA Jadeja c Ball b Dawson 51 UT Yadav not out 1 Extras (b-2, lb-4, w-1) 7 Total (7 wickets dec; 90.4 overs) 759 (3.98 runs per over) Did not bat: A Mishra, I Sharma Fall of wickets 1-152 (Patel, 41.5 ov), 2-181 (Pujara, 50.5 ov), 3-211 (Kohli, 60.4 ov), 4-372 (Rahul, 102.3 ov), 5-435 (Vijay, 123.4 ov),

6-616 (Ashwin, 170.4 ov), 7-754 (Jadeja, 189.5 ov) Bowling:SCJ Broad 27-6-802, JT Ball 23-2-93-0 (w-), MM Ali 41-1-190-1, BA Stokes 20-2-76-1, AU Rashid 29.4-1-153-1, LA Dawson 43-4-129-2, JE Root 2-0-120, KK Jennings 5-1-20-0 England 2nd innings AN Cook* not out KK Jennings not out Extras Total (0 wickets; 5 overs) To bat; JE Root, MM Ali, JM Bairstow†, BA Stokes, JC Buttler, LA Dawson, AU Rashid, SCJ Broad, JT Ball Bowling: I Sharma 1-0-20, R Ashwin 2-0-7-0, RA Jadeja 2-0-3-0

3 9 0 12

TUESday, DECember 20, 2016

19

Nair looking down at Lara on list of highest maiden ton scores

Ravindra Jadeja hits a slog sweep in his half century knock

- in place for the ramp over the keeper. Nair tennis-forehanded Jake Ball through the vacant mid-on region. Then he played the ramp anyway, against Stuart Broad, and it carried all the way for six. When the spinners returned he reverse-swept Moeen Ali, and tonked four fours and a brutally clubbed six off successive overs from Adil Rashid. This when Rashid had five men on the boundary.

Nair’s innings wasn’t chanceless, of course. Cook had put him down at slip on day three, a hard chance flying to his right when Nair edged Ball on 34. Then, on 154, he had tried to reverse-sweep Rashid and sent the ball into Jonny Bairstow’s gloves. Replays and

Test hundred. M Vijay saw him through a nervy period in the nineties, exhorting him from the other end to stay calm and wait for the scoring opportunity. Having played out five dots from Ben Stokes on 99, he reached the landmark by defying a packed off-side field, which included two short covers for the uppish drive, stretching out to a full, wide ball and letting it come to him to steer it past the diving backward point fielder.

That was only the third boundary Nair hit in those first 49 balls - and one of them had been unintentional, off an edge when he tried to leave the ball. It reflected the hardnosed approach India had

Liam Dawson enjoys his first wicket with his team-mates

Ultra Edge suggested it had deflected off the face of his bat.

The umpire said not out, and England had no reviews left.

On 217, he edged Ball again, the third new ball going low to Joe Root’s right at slip.

He only got his fingertips to the ball. And finally, on 246, he stepped out, heaved at Moeen, missed, and turned around to see the unsighted Bairstow fluff the stumping chance. Destiny was clearly on Nair’s side, and he chased it in a hurry, scoring 57 off 39 balls after the missed stumping.

All this merrymaking, of course, would not have been possible without the restraint he displayed on day three he walked in with India 211 for 3 and still trailing by 266 - and in the morning session of day four. India went at less than three runs an over in the session before lunch, but lost only one wicket, M Vijay lbw to a Liam Dawson arm ball.

Resuming on 71, Nair took 49 balls to reach his maiden

had to take in a session where England set defensive fields, bowled with discipline, and got a bit of help from the surface, largely through inconsistent bounce. Dawson nearly bowled Vijay with one that crept low, and Ben Stokes, hitting the pitch hard, got the ball to lift disconcertingly as lunch approached, taking a chunk off the shoulder of Nair’s bat and hitting Ashwin’s right glove.

Cook’s use of his spinners also contributed to India’s caution in the first session: he bowled the accurate Dawson unchanged from one end - he sent down 13 overs for 31 runs - and his seamers from the other, only using Rashid for one over - the last one before lunch - and not using Moeen at all.

Rashid’s introduction brought a little spike of aggression from Nair, who made himself a bit of room and drove him inside-out to the cover boundary. It was just a teaser of what was to come after lunch. (ESPNcricinfo)

Karun Nair

O

nly Garfield Sobers and Bob Simpson scored more runs than Karun Nair when recording a first Test hundred.

Karun Nair sent records tumbling on day four of the fifth Test with England, as he powered India towards their highest total in the five-day game by becoming only the second batsman from the country to score 300 in the longest format.

Nair, playing in just his third Test, hit 32 fours and four sixes en route to an unbeaten 303, with India setting a new Test best of 7597 - smashing their previous top score of 726 - in response to England’s first-innings 477.

His effort was the third highest by a player recording his maiden Test century and, with the help of Opta, we look at some of the facts and figures surrounding the top scores made by cricketers reaching three figures for the first time.

- Garfield Sobers holds the record for the highest maiden Test century score, the West Indies star hitting an unbeaten 365 against Pakistan in Kingston on February 26, 1958.

Australia’s Bob Simpson is the other player above Nair on that list, he mesmerised Old Trafford with a 311 versus England on 23 July, 1964. It was a Test score he never bettered, though it did not contribute to a win - with the match ending in a draw.

- Brian Lara is among the illustrious names now below Nair on the list. The West Indies legend’s first

three-figure effort came in Sydney on January 2, 1993 in just his fifth Test appearance, he scored 277 in a draw with Australia at the SCG. - While England were on the receiving end this time around, an Englishman owns the fourth-highest score by a player hitting a maiden century. Reginald Erskine Foster marked his Test bow in Sydney with a 287 against Australia on December 11, 1903.

- Vinod Kambli is the next best performing Indian on the list, the middle-order batsman’s first Test ton came when he scored 224 versus England on February 19, 1993. He bettered that effort with a 227 against Zimbabwe less than a month later.

- The best performance by a player scoring his first Test century against India came on New Year’s Eve 1958, Rohan Kanhai ringing in 1959 in style with a 256 in Kolkata to help the Windies to an innings victory.

- Prior to Nair’s heroics, the most recent top score by a player recording his maiden Test ton was on April 16, 2006, when Jason Gillespie waited until his final appearance in the longest format to hit 201 in an Australia win over Bangladesh in Chittagong.

- The only other player to score over 200 when making his first Test century in Chennai is Australia’s Dean Jones, whose 210 at the same venue on September 18, 1986 served as one of the many highlights in a dramatic tie with India.

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

TUESday, DECember 20, 2016

Pakistan’s terrific chase ends 40 short P

akistan’s bid for a world-record chase fell a mere 40 runs short, allowing Australia to exhale after coming close to coughing up a match they had dominated over the first four days and nights at the Gabba.

Asad Shafiq’s sublime century and sturdy support from Yasir Shah took Steven Smith’s men close to their wit’s end, but a

Mitchell Starc short ball did for Shafiq when the visitors needed only 41 runs to steal the most fanciful of victories. Three balls later, Smith struck the final blow, running out Yasir from slip after the No. 10 wandered out of his crease, ending a match that had seemed destined for a much wider margin.

Starc’s speed and direction were vital throughout, and it remains to be seen

SCOREBOARD Australia 1st Innings 429 Pakistan 1st Innings 142 Australia 2nd Innings 202/5 declared Pakistan 2nd innings (overnight score 382/8) Sami Aslam c Renshaw b Starc 15 Azhar Ali c †Wade b Starc 71 Babar Azam c Smith b Lyon 14 Younis Khan c Smith b Lyon 65 Misbah-ul-Haq* c †Wade b Bird 5 Asad Shafiq c Warner b Starc 137 Sarfraz Ahmed† b Starc 24 Mohammad Amir c †Wade b Bird 48 Wahab Riaz c Smith b Bird 30 Yasir Shah run out (Smith) 33 Rahat Ali not out 1

7 Extras (lb-5, w-2) Total (all out; 145 overs; 653 mins) 450 Fall of wickets: 1-31 (Sami Aslam, 11.3 ov), 2-54 (Babar Azam, 26.2 ov), 3-145 (Azhar Ali, 59.6 ov), 4-165 (Misbahul-Haq, 69.5 ov), 5-173 (Younis Khan, 74.3 ov), 6-220 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 87.3 ov), 7-312 (Mohammad Amir, 106.4 ov), 8-378 (Wahab Riaz, 122.3 ov), 9-449 (Asad Shafiq, 144.2 ov), 10-450 (Yasir Shah, 144.6 ov) Bowling: MA Starc 38-10-1194 (w-1), JR Hazlewood 42-1199-0, JM Bird 33-6-110-3 (w-1), NM Lyon 29-3-108-2, NJ Maddinson 3-0-9-0

whether the huge number of overs bowled by him and Josh Hazlewood will have an impact on their physical preparation for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The Australians had a hangdog air in the field for much of the final day, and their relief at the final wickets was palpable.

Pakistan, by contrast, will now feel they are very much in the series, with matches on friendlier surfaces in Melbourne and Sydney to come. The Gabba has always been a major competitive advantage for Australia, and the close result will afford plenty of confidence to the tourists even if they are now 1-0 down with two to play.

When play began half an hour early, both sides seemed a little unsure of their ground. Shafiq did not take singles he would have gone for the night before, while Smith’s fields were notably defensive, often sparing only one slip in a match where catches in the cordon have been comfortably the main mode of dismissal.

After the first few overs

The Australian players embrace after completing a 39-run win against Pakistan

passed without incident, Shafiq and Yasir grew in confidence, doubtless aided by a vocal contingent of Pakistan supporters who made their presence felt in an otherwise deserted stadium. Shafiq was able to find numerous off-side gaps, while Yasir married impressive defence with the occasional flourish, including an upper cut over the slips and later a handsome flick over midwicket off Jackson Bird.

At length Smith brought Nathan Lyon into the attack, but the spinner was unable to find enough consistency to trouble either batsman - even if Matthew Wade appealed for a stump-

ing from a straighter ball that Yasir played inside.

Lyon soon found himself relieved of duty.

As the runs ticked down the tenseness on Australian faces was acute. Several near misses took place: Yasir square drove in the air a millimetre out of the reach of a diving Lyon; he was given out lbw to Hazlewood padding up, but on review was reprieved by the bounce. Next Yasir appeared to get the slightest of touches when glancing Starc, but Wade could not hang on and any appeal was strangled.

Only 41 runs were required when Starc finally

found the delivery to break the stand, a throat ball that Shafiq could only throw his bat at, resulting in a skier that David Warner was able to cling onto at gully.

Rahat Ali took a single first ball, but Yasir’s composure was clearly at an end when he swung wildly at the next one.

Next ball Yasir dug out a Starc yorker but ventured out of his crease long enough for Smith to throw the stumps down from slips and begin relieved celebrations for a team that went from dominators to nervous wrecks over the course of Shafiq’s wondrous innings.

CONCACAF Gold Cup venues, seeded teams announced

C

ONCACAF unveiled Monday the 14 stadiums in 13 metropolitan areas across the United States that will host the next CONCACAF Gold Cup to be played from July 7-26, 2017.

Venues, group stage dates and group assignments for already-qualified seeded nations -- Mexico and the United States -- were also revealed for the 14th edition of the biennial event.

The announcement was made simultaneously from coast-to-coast by athletes, musicians and local dignitaries representing each of the host venues, including Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, rock band Kings of Leon and the mayors of several of the participating cities.

In order to allow more fans throughout the USA to take part in the continental championship first-hand, CONCACAF extended the tournament’s footprint into emerging soccer markets.

The 2017 Gold Cup will feature four first-time hosts: Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas); FirstEnergy Stadium (Cleveland, Ohio); Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, California); and Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee).

Returning in 2017 are ten previous Gold

Cup host venues: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (2009, 2011, 2013); BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas (2013, 2015); Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2009, 2015);

Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California (1996, 2000); Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida (2011); Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey (2011, 2013); the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California (1991, 2002, 2011, 2013); Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado (2013); Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas (2015); and University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (2009, 2015).

“We’re excited to bring the Gold Cup to new markets across the country.

These cities have all proved ready and eager to host our region’s marquee soccer championship, and welcome world class international soccer next summer,” said CONCACAF General Secretary Philippe Moggio.

“With matches also set for some of our more popular venues over the years, such as Dallas, Los Angeles and New York, next year’s Gold Cup will highlight the toptier sporting status of international soccer across the nation.”

The dates for Gold Cup matches scheduled for each group-stage city were also announced, as well as the groups to be headed up by the tournament’s seeded nations: the United States (Group B), and Mexico (Group C). Group A will be filled out pending the

completion of the tournament field, with January’s UNCAF Central American Cup set to determine four direct qualifiers.

Complete groups and the full schedule, including selection of dates and assignment of matches for the knockout round and the awarding of the Final, will be announced next year.

To date, seven national teams from the ultimate field of twelve have qualified for next year’s tournament: Canada, Curacao, French Guiana, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico and the United States.

Canada, Mexico and the United States are automatic North American entrants, while the four Caribbean nations earned berths by virtue of securing semifinal places in the 2016/17 Scotiabank CFU Men’s Caribbean Cup. The top four finishers from the Central American Cup -to be played in Panama from January 13-22, 2017 -- will also qualify. The three best second-place finishers from the third round of Caribbean Cup play -- Haiti, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago – will compete against each other in January 4-8, 2017, with the winner facing the fifth-place team from the Central American Cup to determine the final Gold Cup qualifier.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is the region’s official national team championship and will be broadcast next year in the United States on the FOX and the Univision family of networks. Drawing large crowds and millions of television viewers, the Gold Cup is a celebration of soccer, sportsmanship, and culture. The winner of the 2017 tournament will take home continental bragging rights and an assured spot in the next CONCACAF Cup, a play-in game to qualify for the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup, in the

case two separate champions emerge from the next two editions of the Gold Cup. Fans can now visit www.

GoldCup.org to sign up for an exclusive pre-sale offering for any Gold Cup game day in 2017, before seats go on sale to the general public.

Tickets for the 2017 Gold Cup will go on sale at a later date. The LOC encourages fans to purchase their tickets early in order to secure the best seats for a great fan experience.

2017 CONCACAF GOLD CUP Seeded Nations Group A: to be determined Group B: United States Group C: Mexico Group Stage Dates & Venues July 7, Group A: NY/NJ – Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ) July 8, Group B: Nashville – Nissan Stadium (Nashville, TN) July 9, Group C: San Diego – Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego, CA) July 11, Group A: Houston – BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, TX) July 12, Group B: Tampa Bay – Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL) July 13, Group C: Denver – Sports Authority Field (Denver, CO) July 14, Group A: Dallas – Toyota Stadium (Frisco, TX) July 15, Group B: Cleveland – FirstEnergy Stadium (Cleveland, OH) July 16, Group C: San Antonio – Alamodome (San Antonio, TX) Knockout Round Venues (alphabetical order by metropolitan area) Bay Area – Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, CA) Dallas – AT&T Stadium (Arlington, TX) Los Angeles – Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA) Philadelphia – Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA) Phoenix – University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, AZ)

21

sports

YELLOW PAGES tuesDAY, december 20, 2016 | www.guyanatimesgy.com Business Opportunity

lAND FOR Lease

Complete package, key cutting machine plus 1000 blank keys:.Price: $450,000. Vers Realty: To Rent Office Space & Store Front, 17 Brickdam & Smyth Street, Stabroek, Georgetown Guyana. Tel: 223-1217 Or 600-5759

Land for Lease. 1.5 Acres WBD. Close to Plantation Walk, Vreed-EnHoop. Call: 658-0115

CAR RENTALS

Plot of land used to cultivate RICE, Plantation Better Hope, Essequibo Coast. Size 33.14 Acres. Tel: 625-1514

FAST GROWING FOOD DISTRIBUTION COMPANY SEEKING A BOOK KEEPER / INVENTORY CLERK, EXPERIENCE AND POLICE CLEARANCE NEEDED

prIVATE INVESTIGATION

CALL FOR INTERVIEW 231-8344, 223-1027 OR 223-1034

SERVICES: polygraph testing, cheating spouse, background checks, criminal investigations, private investigations, security survey – risk analysis, due diligence, bodyguard service, security consultancy, any other worldwide services.

Contact Central Advisory Service – email: internationallpi1@yahoo. com. Tel : 592-630-4041

For sale Two (2) - 212 One old model Pkk /one new model PPP and one(1) 192 PRR Series serious enquiry only contact owner on 6212087 or 6380223.we

Need a car to rent? Then call 6111018 for the best cars at great prices.

Progressive Auto Rental: Cars from $4000 and up. Tel: 219-3900, 6435122

dentistry Dentures provided in 72 hours from as low as $4500. Contact Dr B Stuart, 209B Charlotte St, Lacytown. Tel: 225-5034

Driving School Shalom Enterprise Driving School 2 Croal Street, Stabroek. You can obtain an International Drivers Permit Covering 131 Countries. Tel: 2273869, 644-7052, 659-3381

EDUCATION REGISTER - learn to play drums, guitar, keyboard and train your voice NOW OR in the Summer. Call 2251151/ 657-8404 Learn to Play Music at Foundation7 : Call NOW: 225-1151/6578404

FOR SALE MX 2000, 1500, 1000 AMP, 4 BASS, 4 MID, 4 HORN, 4 TWEETER, MIXER, JUGGLER CABLE AND 1 JACUZZI. CALL: 253-3070, 654-2732 Powerline Battery Water/wholesale.

1 litre and 0.5 litre sizes. Tel: 680-3863 Clean Garden Earth. Also excavating, grading and leveling done. Call 6279977 Road to Belwasa and A Dip at the Sangam, Indentureship Novels at Austin’s Book Store and Lachmansingh Drug Store. Tel: 226-5053.

flowers Available: Fresh long-stemmed roses, fresh dried and silk floral arrangements, gift items, bridal boutiques and wreaths. Nesha’s Flowerland. 78 Church Street (opposite St George’s Cathedral). Tel: 227-3553/225-3315

immigration Immigration & Visa Services We handle all Canadian, USA and UK immigration and visa matters. Self sponsorships, holiday/visitor’s visas, work permits, students visas, family, class, immigration forms, embassy enquiries, appeals for refused cases, US green card lottery, business class waivers, pardons, etc.

Get your visa approved. High success rate. Balwant Persaud & Associates.

Certified Immigration Consultants, 68 Sixth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown (Between Cummings & Lights Sts) Tel: 225-1540, 622-8308, 655-3105. Email: balwantpersaud@yahoo.ca IMMIGRATION SERVICES PROFESSIONALLY PREPARED BY IMMIGRATION CONSULTANT. PASSPORT AND VISA APPLICATIONS (PERMANENT/VISITOR) FOR USA, CANADA, UK, CHINA, INDIA, ETC. SABITA’S IMMIGRATION SERVICES. TEL: 225-6496/662-6045

KEY CUTTing Professional Key Shop, 125 Carmichael Street, Georgetown. Phone: 225-3923, mobile: 621-3249. We cut any type of key, service and repair all types of locks.

Get your extra key today.

optician Da Silva’s Optical. For Your Eyes Only, Look Better See Better. Phillip A Da Silva OD, Shannon L Da Silva OD, Natalie Da Silva OD. 248 South Road, Bourda. Phone: 227-3529, Linden: 444-6376, Corriverton: 339-3536, Meten-Meer-Zorg: 275-0322, Grand Cayman Islands: (345) 943-1515 for the perfect trendy touch.

health Healthworld Clinic – Providing professional psychological therapy for all mental and behavioral health problems. Call (592)-690-1824 MondaysSaturdays 9am-3pm. Email; healthworldhc@gmail.com

LAND for sale

property for sale PROPERTY FOR SALE IN ENTERPRISE SCHEME. 1 LARGE FAMILY HOME, 4 BEDROOM, FULLY GRILLED, 2-CAR GARAGE, RESERVOIR, OVERHEAD TANKS AND WATER FILTRATION, ETC. CALL/WHATSAPP NAVIN: 1-347-517-7432 Two buildings on lot at 180 Charlotte Street. L 20 x W 30. Contact Tel: 624-7341, 227-6817, 226-5183.

Price Neg. Eccles: $27M Neg. Enterprise Sec C: $20M Neg. Mon Repos: $30M Neg. South Ruimveldt Park: $20M Neg. Broad Street: $80M Neg. Charlotte Street between Camp & Alexander: $55M Neg. Providence (land): $6.5M Neg. Parfaite Harmonie (land): $4.5M Neg. Contact: 6911521 GOOD HOPE AND OGLE. CONTACT: 673-5546, 222-3066, 682-7257, 679-0987

VACANCY

VACANCY HOUSEKEEPER – 624-0033

CUSTOMER/SALES ASSISTANT – 624- 0033 PUMP ATTENDANT – 680-3863 DRIVER/COMPANY – 680-3863

VEHICLES FOR SALE

FOR SALE 1 FLAT TRAY NISSAN PICK UP. VERY GOOD CONDITION. CALL: 662-3997 OR 610-4897 1 TOYOTA IPSUM (7-SEATER) IN EXCELLENT WORKING CONDITION WITH MUSIC (5800 W): CONTACT 653-1003 JUST ARRIVED: TOP QUALITY RECONDITIONED VEHICLES; TOYOTA NOAH; TOYOTA VOXY; TOYOTA IST (NEW SHAPE); SUZUKI SWIFT; DAIHATSU MOVE (660CC); MERCEDES BENZ C200 KOMPRESSOR; COROLLA AE100 WAGON; TOYOTA HIACE MINIBUS RZ; PITBULL-STYLE FREEZER VAN; LAND CRUISER (FULLY LOADED); MAZDA PROCEED 4WD EXTRA-CAB PICK-UP; TOYOTA HILUX 4WD EXTRA CAB PICKUPS - 3RZ, 5L, 3L SOLID DEFFERNTIAL; MITSUBISHI CANTER TRUCKS 4 TONS FREEZER; 3 TONS OPEN TRAY; 2 TONS 4WD; NISSAN ATLAS 2 TONS OPEN TRAY TRUCK. PRE-ORDER YOUR UNITS EARLY AND GET THE BEST PRICES. FULL AFTER SALES SERVICES AND FINANCING AVAILABLE. DEO MARAJ AUTO SALES, 2 CHIMNEY ROAD, CHATEAU MARGOT, ECD. 624-0762, 220-5177. A NAME AND SERVICE YOU CAN TRUST

services

WANTED

PRIVATE CUSTOMS BROKERAGE. CERTIFICATE TRAINING COURSE IN JANUARY 2017. REGISTER NOW AND GET 50% DISCOUNTFOR CHRISTMAS UP TO 31ST DECEMBER. CALL: 694-8322 OR 671-9603

SALES GIRLS WITH EXPERIENCE PLEASE BRING WRITTEN APPLICATION AND CV TO TRISTAR ELECTRICAL, BRASSONIC Bldg. (MAIN ENTRANCE 42 WATER ST. G/Town. 231-7101

House plans & estimates, weeding of grass & spraying done within 48hrs. Call: 216-0671; 622-0267; 692-8464 Repairs and Spares, Air Conditioning, Car AC, Washers, Stoves. Call Nick: 683-1312, 627-3206

spirituality Dutch spiritual healing in removing evil spirit, bad luck, evil sickness, spells, reuniting lovers and prosperity to business. Call: 612-6417, 6875653 Surinamese spiritualist. Resolving all problems. Money, love, blockage etc.

Call 223-6834/600-7719.

DDL continues to support Boxing Day Horse Race Meet R

egular Sponsor, D e m e r a r a D i s t i l l e r s Limited (DDL), has once again thrown its weight behind Kennard’s Memmorial Club Boxing Day horse race meet.

On Friday the beverage giants were the latest entity to get on board with the annual Boxing Day event which is in its 43rd year.

DDL has branded the event under its Ivanoff Vodka Brand and the entity Wines and Spirit Manager, Maria Munroe, presented the trophy to KMTC Chairman Justice Cecil Kennard at a simple DDL Wines and Spirit Manager Maria Munroe presents the trophy for the winner of the two year old race to KMTC presentation.

The trophy along Chairman, Retired Justice Cecil Kennard with an undisclosed and I am grateful for the continuous supamount of cash will go to the winner of port that DDL usually offers.” the two year-old event on the day of the In addition he informed that the track meet. is in good shape and turfites can expect It is three decades now since DDL has an action packed day. been on board for the event and Munroe A trophy and $220,000 will be given stated that her company is elated to be to the winner of the two-year old event associated with the event for so long and while the runner up will take home she is optimistic that it would be contin- $110,000. In all, eight races are carduous as far as she know. Kennard ex- ed for the Boxing Day tradition which pressed gratitude to DDL; “Sponsorship attracts the best of the best within the is necessary for the development of sport Region.

“I want to play for my home franchise”― Baker Classified Ads $5+VAT per word

Call: 223-7230 Ext 35

Suriname’s Astrology, Palmist and Hindustani Spiritual Healer, solve all purpose problems, 100% confidential guaranteed. Phone: 602-8997 HEPHZIBAH MINISTRIES 24 hrs Prayer Line 322-5081, 322-5738, 322-5788, 337-4510, 337-4259, 3373070, 337-5103. For healing, deliverance, financial difficulties, marriage issues call now. Jesus Cares.

Elton Baker

By Delvon Mc Ewan

O

Ifa Temple – Are you having serious problems and urgently need spiritual help? Call 621-0552 now. Email: anew-life@live.com

SPIRITUAL HEALING: REMOVE BLOCKAGE , VOODOO, HEXCURSE, BLACK MAGIC, SPELL, BUSINESS, UPLIFTMENT, PREGNANCY, LOVE & MARRIAGE PROBLEMS, CLEARANCE ETC. Contact: 612-1975, 683-5228

taxi services GR Taxi, 24 hours. Phone: 2257878, 219-5000 or 227-2100

TO LET 2-BEDROOM APARTMENT (UPSTAIRS) IN CRANE, $40,000 PER MONTH. TELE: 668-0032 – D-SINGH, 615-5646 – NEVILLE

223-7230-1 (Ext: 35) NOW!

n Thursday the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) 50 over Jaguars Franchise League is set to commence and like the three day version of the League, it is expected to feature professional players, who play Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America and Canada.

However, this time around it will feature more of those returning players and one of them are the talented strokeplayer Elton Baker, who has recently returned from stints with Clarke Rochard in T&T and Civics in Canada.

The right handed batsman, who is a familiar face

on the local cricket arena but was out for 19 months due to injury prior to 2016 will once again aim to stake his claim for a national call up. “I have been working hard, my work ethics has never been questioned but it is a matter of making use of opportunities…I wanted to return for the three day League but unfortunately my contract did not afford me the opportunity. I would love to be offered an opportunity to play in the League. I want to play for my country and with this League it seems as though there are opportunities for me to do so.”

The 28 year old lives at Vryheid’s Lust on the East Coast of Demerara but since the junior level has played all of his cricket in Georgetown.

He started at the Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) then moved to Malteenoes Sports Club (MSC). With the structure of the League he should be eligible to represent East Coast Demerara or Georgetown. According to Baker, he is willing to play for either team once given an opportunity; “At the youth level I played for Georgetown but this is a League and whichever team selects me I am open to represent.” In his last two

matches in domestic cricket earlier this year (which was his first two since recovering from a 19 month break due to injury), the former North Georgetown Secondary School (NGSS) Student scored half centuries in Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) first division two day completion against powerhouse Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) and his former club GNIC. Subsequent to that he had a short stint in T&T where he registered three fifties in five 50 over and T20 innings, with his highest score being 79.

His next assignment was in Canada where he chalked up five half centuries from ten 50 over matches with a top score of 84. Baker is valuable as an opener or middle order batsman, who is a utility bowler of leg spin and medium pace. He last dominated things on the local scene in 2011, when GCB hosted a national T20 tournament.

He scored a century in that tournament, was among the top five run getters and was named man of the match in the final where he pulled off an unimaginable victory in the last two overs whilst batting.

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

tuesday, december 20, 2016

It was a challenging year Tactful Western Tigers, for AAG – Hutson Santos through to final 8 Stag Nations Cup KO Football

I

t was a rainy night in Georgetown which also rained down goals when the Stag Nations Cup five association knock-out football championship continued on Sunday night at the Tucville Community ground.

The rain had not abated but that was no bother to Western Tigers and Santos which had downed their respective opponents, Flamingo and Herstelling Raiders rspectively, by 8-0 and 4-0 margins, respectively to book their places in the quarter finals on Christmas and Boxing Day at the Tucville and Buxton

Tigers would have always been a monumental task given their recent run of form in the Georgetown FA Premier League. As the pundits had predicted, Western Tigers made light work of the Flamingo’s, prevailing 8-0.

Randolph Wagner led the Tigers with a second half double in the 55th and 67th minute; but the platform for the win and quarter final place which will see them taking on the winner of tomorrow’s match between Pouderoyen and Mahaica Determinators, was set up by the two first half goals

end of the first 45 minutes by which time they built up a 3-0 advantage with a brace from Keith Cains in the 7th and 32nd minute while Orin Yard had netted the first of his two in the 14th minute.

Yard completed his brace in the 78th minute as Herstelling found it difficult to break down the 10-man Santos unit; the latter losing one of their players who received a straight red card in the closing moments of the first half.

Santos’ quarter final opponent would be the winner of Wednesday’s main event between Uitvlugt Warriors

P

resident of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) Aubrey Hutson has stated that 2016 has been “a challenging year.” This statement was made in an interview with the AAG President on Monday at his Alberttown, Georgetown.

While it was challenging nevertheless there were some amount of success in the year. “I expected a little more particularly out of our Olympic team. Over the years I have been saying the key to success is shining at the higher competitions, that are where we attract the real kind of sponsorships but outside of that I am quite comfortable of what the athletes would have accomplished at the junior level. The year 2016 has been a reasonable good year for track and field in Guyana I think” Hutson said.

However, the association will be meeting this weekend to “look back at 2016 to see where we can improve in 2017.”

Looking at what was achieved in 2016, the AAG President said that the efficient running of the com-

AAG President Aubrey Hutson

petitions was one of the main objectives to have fulfilled and is proud to have achieved that goal.

“We would have focused on having our competitions ran more efficient and I think we have done so well and now we have persons trained to use the Fully Automatic Timing system, we have many persons trained to do meet management. So we know when we hold our competitions the results we put out there are true and authentic.”

Heading into 2017, the new aim is to have more certified coaches in the system in order to garner the devel-

opment of our athletes.

“Now we are working with our coaches we have too many uncertified coaches in the system, they will take our junior athletes to a particular level but no further and the way things are set up on the international level is if you can’t complete level one then you can’t go on to level two. We are looking to put out 48 new certified coaches into the system which will be a major boost to our local programme,” Stated the AAG President.

Hutson was elected president of the AAG back in 2013.

Sport is like a business – Jones A confident Western Tigers will look to go deeper in the tournament with more sterling efforts

Santos FC will be looking for more success in their quarter-final clash on Boxing Night

grounds. Western Tigers was not daunted by the fact that Flamingo, on account of Shem Porter’s goal - the best goal in the championship to date - had defeated Mahaicony Thunders of Berbice on the opening day of the competition at the Golden Grove ground.

Coming up against the

which were scored by Andre Webber (12) and Dwayne Mc Lennon in the 34th minute.

The other goal scorers were Rensford Colridge (72), Shamar Wilson (83), Darren Benjamin (85) and Anthony Sancho, two minutes to full time. Santos took care of Herstelling Raiders 4-0 and had sealed the deal by the

and City side Northern Rangers at the Leonora Track and Field Facility.

The Pouderoyen vs Mahaica Determinators showdown is the supporting match on Wednesday night’s double header card.

The final day of roundof-16 action is set for Friday at the Diamond ground when Ann’s The quarter-final schedule is as follows: Grove takes Team

Date Venue on Den Amstel Western Tigers vs winner of Pouderoyen /Mahaica Dec. 25 Tucville from 18:00h and Determinators Grove Hi Tech Police

vs winner of Grove Hi Tech/NA United Dec. 25 Tucville match skills with Santos vs winner of Uitvlugt/Northern Rangers Dec 26 Buxton New Amsterdam Riddim Squad vs winner of Ann’s Grove/Den Amstel Dec. 26 Buxton United.

By Romario Samaroo

D

irector of Sport Christopher Jones has mentioned that “we have to see sport like a business and unless you invest in it you cannot get returns and these are the returns we are seeing from the little investment we have done thus far.” Jones had made this disclosure in relation to the excelling of local boxers in the recent Caribbean Development Boxing Tournament in Barbados.

Jones related that boxing is a sport that Guyana particularly shines in, but it is sad to see that the sport has not always been on the front burner when it comes to financial support.

We have heard the many cries of various gyms across the country, both in Georgetown and outside, for the increase in funding.

Upon return from the land of flying fish, Chief Coach Sebert Blake had appealed to all the authorities for more support.

Jones added that a few months back, the National Sports Commission had made donations to gyms including the Forgotten Youths Foundation Boxing Gym, located in Albouystown, and “perhaps now we see the reciprocity of those donations.

It further reiterates the point that as a National Sports Commission and a

Director of Sport Christopher Jones

Government by extension we have to continue to invest in sports and the development of athletes.”

With boxing giving Guyana its only Olympic medal and Keevin Allicock already putting up his hand to signal his intent to win gold, Jones is of the opinion that there must be continued support from the National Sports Commission for this to happen.

“What the National Sports Commission needs to do is continue to work with the Amateur Boxing Association as we have been doing and more so strengthen those gyms across the country with whatever resources are needed,” the

Director of Sport stated.

He went on to say that “every year there is an allocation to the National Sports Commission from the national budget for us to purchase sports gears which includes boxing equipment so it is in our possession, it is only for us to distribute them.”

Minister with responsibility for Sport, Nicolette Henry has already stated that the current administration has doubled the allocation in the 2017 budget for sports while President of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), K. A. Juman Yassin has emphasized that the GOA will be doing everything in its power to support the sport.

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESday, december 20, 2016

WICB/PCL Digicel Regional 4-Day Tournament 2016-17

Jaguars beat rain to crush Red Force

― Permaul picks up 9/83

J

pacey Berbician, bowled a short and quick ball to Hope who attempted to hook and was hit on the shoulder with the ball ending up in the wicketkeeper’s gloves and Umpire Christopher Taylor ruled not out however, Joseph was persistent.

Two balls later, Joseph bowled another short ball

SCOREBOARD Red Force 1st Innings 162 Jaguars 1st Innings 378 Red Force 2nd Innings (overnight 96/2) K Hope c Hetmyer b Joseph 40 I Khan LBW b Joseph 3 I Rajah c wkpr Bramble b Permaul 63 K Pierre c Johnson b Motie 5 J Mohammed c wkpr Bramble b Reifer 36 Y Cariah LBW b Permaul 27 Y Ottley c wkpr Bramble b Permaul 21 R Primus c (sub) T Chanderpaul b Motie 11 S Katwaroo c wkpr Bramble b Permaul 7 M Richards c Hetmyer b Permaul 7 J Jagessar Not Out 0 Extras (w-1, nb-9, b-4, lb-1) 15

20 minutes. With the sun peeking out, the Jaguars were on the attack. First to go was the prize wicket of Mohammed after hitting four fours and a six. Then after putting on 39 with Captain Yannick Ottley, the left-handed Cariah was hit adjacent to Permaul at 208 for 6 with the deficit at eight

Shimron Hetmyer took 15 runs off the first over of the run chase off Jon-Russ Jagessar to beat the rain

this time Hope hooked and found the safe hands of Shimron Hetmyer on the deep backward squareleg boundary. Hope gone for 40 from 185 balls with a six and three fours and the Red Force hope of salvaging a draw was gone at 147/4. Yannic Cariah who was out first ball in the first innings played patiently and with Mohammed took Red Force to lunch at 151/4 with Mohammed on 26 and Cariah yet to score. The visitors were trailing by 65 runs after 55 runs were scored in the session of 22 overs.

During the interval, a sharp shower came and the resumption was delayed for

Total (All out, 95 Overs) 235 FOW: 1-3, 2-96, 3-112, 4-147, 5-168, 6-208, 7-217, 8-221, 9-228, 10-235 Bowling: K Joseph 14-4-38-2 (nb-7), R Reifer 9-0-30-1 (nb-1), G Motie 36-11-92-2, C Barnwell 6-1-7-0 (w-1), V Permaul 2814-53-5, L Johnson 2-0-10-0 Jaguars 2nd Innings (Target 20 runs) S Hetmyer not out 17 R Chandrika not out 4 Extras 0 Total (For 0 wicket, 2.4 Overs) 21 To bat: L Johnson, V Singh, S Chanderpaul, C Barnwell, R Reifer, A Bramble, V Permaul, G Motie, K Joseph Bowling: J Jagessar 1-0-15-0, K Hope 1-0-1-0, I Rajah 0.4-0-5-0

By Akeem Greene

A

Veerasammy Permaul had a match haul of 9 for 83, his best figures this season

aguars champion left arm spinner, Veerasammy Permaul picked up his 20th First Class five-wicket haul on Monday to lead the Guyana Jaguars to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in round five of the on going Digicel Regional Four Day Tournament at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Immediately after victory was achieved at 14:57h the heavens opened which is perhaps the reason the Jaguars openers chased the 20-run target in 2.2 overs.

It was another cat and mouse situation with the rain again on the final day as was the case all match and after 16 minutes of play the players were off and the covers were on. Red Force resumed on 95/2 still 121 runs away from making the defending champions bat again. Kyle Hope was on 20 and night watchman Khary Pierre was yet to score. In the three and a half overs that were sent down, 16 runs were scored with both batsmen looking comfortable and scoring freely. Red Force were 112/2 after 44.3 overs.

The very next over when play resumed, Pierre edged to Leon Johnson at first slip in Gudakesh Motie’s first over of the day with the score on 112/3 to bring the most accomplished Red Force pair together. Jason Mohammed looked classical and untroubled in adding 35 with the patient Hope who was outfoxed by Keon Joseph. The

Chanderpaul open to playing for West Indies again

with four wickets in hand.

Roshon Primus got an inside edge at 215/6 to ensure the home team bat again.

However, disaster struck next over when Ottley was caught behind off Permaul for 21 (2x4; 1x6) with Red Force just one run ahead and steering down the barrel.

The tail did not wag and Permaul helped himself to his best bowling figures of the season bettering the 5/60 he picked up in the opening round against Jamaica Scorpions to see Red Force folding for 235 a slim lead of 19.

Shimron Hetmyer (17 with two fours and a six) and Rajendra Chandrika who hit a boundary to seal the deal took 2 overs and four balls to get to the 20 runs required for the defending champions to take 20.6 points from a hard fought victory over a youthful Red Force team and the Christmas season rain. Jon-Russ Jagessar, Kyle Hope and Isaiah Rajah were the bowlers used in thee run chase. Jamaica Scorpions are the table leaders while Red Force remain at the bottom.

Veteran batsman, Shiv Chanderpaul who hit a majestic 143 in the Jaguars 1st innings was named man of the Match. The teams will now take a break for Christmas and the Regional Super 50 before the second half of the league begins in March next year.

t 42 years old, retired West Indies Test batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has batted in this year’s Digicel Regional 4-day competition with an aptitude of a cricketer way below his age which corresponded in him scoring 447 runs from five matches at an average of 74.50 which has placed him in third position on the leading runs tally at the half-way stage of the league.

His highest score of 143 and second century thus far, came in his last match against the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at Providence and it was an innings where he batted with utmost command stoking the opposition bowlers to all parts of the ground and most importantly bailed the Guyana Jaguars out of another spot of bother.

Throughout the entire season he been the Jaguars’ “Mr. Dependable” and the manner in which he grafted his innings left the question, is “Tiger” still worthy of the maroon colours?

After his Man of the Match winning performance, Shiv was questioned on the whether he would come out of retirement to add to his 164 Tests (the most by a West Indian) and the dogged lefthander said “Somebody has to say something for me to come out of retirement, nothing has been said to me yet so I’m just here to help out the guys.”

He added, “I still love the game, I still do the things such as the training and preparations, the basic stuff that I have done for so many years, preparing myself and getting ready for

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

games, is something that I always enjoy doing.”

A Test career which began with a score of 62 on debut in 1994 against the touring England at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, Bourda, saw the Unity born call time on a stellar 21-year career in January of this year.

The cricketer, who played his last Test in 2015 against the same team he began in 1994, scored 11,857 runs (second most by a West Indian) at an average of 51.37, explained that

23

his focus now is on helping the Jaguars to an unprecedented three-peat in titles.

“The team is playing good cricket, the guys are gelling well, some of our players such [Veerasammy] Permaul,[Shimron] Hetmyer, [Leon] Johnson came in this game and did well, so the team is doing well, the players are performing” the player said.

Chanderpaul, who scored his 73rd First-class century on Saturday added that “performance wise, for me this year, it has been good I don’t know what is going to happen but I’m really focused on Guyana cricket and helping the guys out.”

The four-day season has reached the fifth round and Guyana franchise have managed to win two of their matches, drawing two and losing one which sees them being placed second position.

Commenting on the team’s performance this year and the quest to retain the title the veteran of 355 First-class matches posited that “It is going to be collective effort, not going to be individual, everyone has to chip in like we did the last two seasons and hopefully we can continue it this season.”

Chanderpaul, will turn his attention to the Regional 50over tournament in January and February after which the four-day season will resume in March.

Considering Pakistan are scheduled to tour the Caribbean in March, a productive 50-over tournament and continued success in the 4-day format, could leave the door open to a fanciful recall to the Test side. (akeemgg@guyanatimes.com)

Pride-Volcanoes clash ends in damp draw ― 74.4 overs bowled in entire match

A

fighting half century from Barbados Pride skipper Kevin Stoute stabilized his team’s innings as they recovered from 1186 to declare on 200 on the fourth and final day in their rain affected match against the Windward Volcanoes.

Stoute struck an even fifty from 63 deliveries with four boundaries to get the visitors back on track yesterday in Dominica.

Resuming the day on 136-6, Pride added 18 runs before Kenroy Peters collected his second wicket when

he removed Jonathan Carter for 22. Nine runs later the visitors, whose innings started on the first day on Friday, lost Kenroy Williams for one to Volcanoes most successful bowler in the match Mervin Matthew, who ended with figures of 4-52 from 18 overs.

Williams was the Pride final casualty as Stoute and Kemar Roach (six not out) saw them to 200 to pick up an important batting point before the declaration came.

Matthew led the hosts bowling and was well supported by Peters while Liam

Ground staff using the waterhog to dry Windsor Park

Mervin Matthew

Sebastien and Kyle Mayers claimed a wicket each. Shai Hope made 43 and Roston Chase 35. After batting only 63.4 overs on three separate days- the first, second and fourth day after the entire third day was washed outit was now time for Pride to take the field and by the time the rain stopped play for the final time in the match, Volcanoes had reached 42 without loss in 11 overs with Devon Smith on 14 and Tyrone Theopille on 27.

Volcanoes gained 6.4 points from the match while Pride got four.

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

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2016

guyanatimesgy.com

WICB/PCL Digicel Regional 4-Day Tournament 2016-17

Jaguars beat rain to crush Red Force

Pg 23

― Permaul picks up 9/83 Rajendra Chandrika on drives Isiah Rajah for four to seal the victory for the Jaguars before the rain began at Providence on Monday

Chanderpaul open to playing for West Indies again

Pg 23

As the cliché goes “form is temporary and class is permanent” and throughout this season, the left-hander has certainly looked a step above his peers

GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, News Hotliine: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 SALES AND MARKETING - lezas@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC.