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FBI conducts training with local law enforcement P11

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

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 2927

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

PRICE

Jagdeo named FAO’s Special Ambassador for Forests, Environment

WHAT'S INSIDE:

President P7 Granger again calls on City Hall to consult, not dictate

Page 3

14 Venezuelan refugees deported from they are punishing; Guyana …say no job, food in their country Page 2

$80 VAT INCLUDED

Lethem woman unconscious 3 months after surgery Page 8

Mini dredgers proposed for city’s clogged drainage P10 channels – Dutch report

GEA cracks down on fuel smuggling P2 …$1.2 M paid into Consolidated Fund

This Lethem, Region Nine resident manoeuvres his way on the deplorable road even as residents call for better infrastructure in the community (Akeem Greene photo)

Finance Minister hiding serious decline in economic activity – Ramotar Page 7

Corentyne triple murder

Triangular love affair suspected as motive – source

…says revenue statistics misleading … 10 remain in custody

P13 SASOD launches LGBT health training project in Linden …findings suggest community to be homophobic

Page 17

M&CC P11 sidelines projects due to low funds

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tuesDAY, july 26, 2016 | guyana-times.com

GEA cracks down on fuel smuggling …$1.2M paid into Consolidated Fund

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multi-stakeholder approach has greatly aided in curbing the scourge of fuel smuggling. This is the stance of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) which noted on Monday that the “hard work” of its inspectors, in collaboration with sister agencies which form the Task Force on Fuel Smuggling and Contraband, conducted 16 joint operations.

This Task Force comprises the Guyana Police Force, Guyana Defence Force’s Coast Guard, Guyana Revenue Authority and the Customs and Anti-Narcotics Unit.

“The Inspectorate, using strategic sampling and monitoring activities and maintaining a permanent presence in Regions 2, 7 and 10 continues to effectively discharge its duties, greatly aiding in the curbing of the scourge of fuel smuggling. GEA continues to closely monitor reports of fuel smuggling activities,” the body noted.

It was further pointed out that for the period under review, a total of seven charges of possession of illegal fuel were instituted, which represents an increase in the total number of charges filed for 2015, where only five were instituted.

GEA noted that as at June 30, 2016, six prosecutions were engaging the Courts.

However, GEA pointed out that it is in receipt of compensation from offenders.

A GEA release on Monday noted: “Recognising the need to resolve incidents with-

out reverting to sometimes lengthy legal proceedings while maintaining a punitive element in determination, the GEA continues to accept compensation from offenders in accordance with the Act. For the first half of the year, the sum of $1,214,500 has been accepted in three incidents as compensation, exceeding the quantum received the previous year.”

It was pointed out that this sum, as mandated by statute, is paid into the

Consolidated Fund.

GEA added that the Fuel Marking Division of GEA performed “admirably” for the first half of 2016. It further pointed out that the illicit trade is estimated to have been accounting for onethird of the fuel imports of the country, but indicated that the government sought to implement fuel marking and testing services to find the illegally imported fuel and to prosecute the perpetrators.

In its period under review (January to June 2016), GEA found that 107 shipments of fuel were legally imported. GEA added that investigations into several fuel smuggling matters are ongoing: “The total quantity of fuel seized also increased by 76 per cent compared with the amount seized in 2016 being 6200 gallons while the number of confirmed incidents for the year stands at 15, a decrease from 22 last year. The quantity of fuel seized increased greatly following two large seizures in the Mahaica and Pomeroon areas.”

GEA observed that its laboratory analysed 23,251 samples for the first half of this year, as compared with 20,926 for the same period last year: “Results of the analysis indicate that while more samples are being taken and tested in the laboratory, the amount of significant dilution of the fuel marker remains under 3 per cent. This is a testament to the effectiveness of programme as from its inception this has decreased from 34 per cent in 2006.”

Fuel smuggling refers to the importation and distribution of petroleum and petroleum products, particularly petrol (gasoline) and diesel, by both legitimate and illegitimate businesses without the necessary taxes having been paid.

14 Venezuelan refugees deported from Guyana …say they are punishing; no job, food in their country

M

The Venezuelan nationals

ore than a dozen Venezuelan refugees who fled to Guyana to avoid the worsening economic crisis in their country were on Monday fined and deported when they appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Sources have confirmed that an additional 100 refugees are expected to be deported in the coming week.

Five mothers: Floris Garcia, 25; Erika Marza, 30; Lara Rodriguez, 26; Ellen Barose, 28; and Galaska Gellou, 22; as well as nine fathers (who are all miners): Esas Fergeaus, 21; Gabriel Enriques, 26; Moses Cabiro, 24; David Renguez, 24; Luis Paskino, 42; Ricardo Delagato, 28; Ramen Rodriguez, 32; Danny Diaz, 20 and Leonardo Linenduo, 32 pleaded guilty to the offence when it was read to them by the Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.

The Prosecutor told the court that the group of

Venezuelans illegally entered Guyana by sea in the vicinity of Eterinbang, Cuyuni River.

With the help of a translator, the refugees explained that they departed Venezuela with the hopes of finding jobs in Guyana to support their families back home.

The women explained that they were punishing in Venezuela since there were no jobs and only limited food available.

The men explained that it was a struggle to provide for their families in Venezuela; as such, they came to Guyana in search for work.

The Guyana Government had already declared that it has not yet considered the possibility of accepting refugees, but would take returning Guyanese.

President David Granger had told media operatives that while the situation in the neighbouring country was cause for concern, given

the territorial controversy between the two countries, his Administration had not worked out a plan for dealing with refugees.

Nonetheless, Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Mark Phillips, has assured that the Army has been placed on high alert and is proactively monitoring the situation.

The economy of neighbouring Venezuela has been in crisis since the decline in oil prices on the world market and its people has been suffering.

In fact, the Mayor of Chacao, in Venezuela’s capital Caracas, had warned that neighbouring countries, such as Guyana, will suffer an influx of refugees from Venezuela as food shortages continue to prevail in the country.

Reports of rampant outbursts of looting and violence are also emerging from the Spanish-speaking nation. (Kizzy Coleman and Devina Samaroo)

news

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tuesDAY, july 26, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, July 26 – 10:00h-11:30h and Wednesday, July 27 – 11:00h-12:30h The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, July 26 – 09:00h-10:30h and Wednesday, July 27 – 10:10h-11:40h

F

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Light to heavy rain showers throughout the day, with thunderstorms in the early afternoon hours.

Light to partly cloudy skies can be expected in the evening with temperatures ranging between 24 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East South-easterly to East North-easterly between 1.34 metres and 3.12 metres.

High Tide: 09:17h and 21:45h reaching maximum heights of 2.49 metres and 2.48 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 15:14h reaching a minimum height of 0.76 metre.

Saturday, July 23, 2016

LOTTERY NUMBERS F

01 02 06 09 10 21 26 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET monday, July 25, 2016

Daily Millions

05 06 15 18

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Jagdeo named FAO’s Special Ambassador for Forests, Environment

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

ormer President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo was on Friday appointed the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Special Ambassador for Forests and the Environment, the Organisation’s Director General José Graziano da Silva announced on the final day of the 23rd session of the Organisation’s Committee on Forestry (COFO) taking place in the Italian capital of Rome.

As Special Ambassador, Jagdeo will promote the role of forests in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, raise awareness of the vital contributions of forests to food security, rural poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration, and encourage actions to support the sustainable use of forests and other natural resources, the FAO said on its website.

“Dr Jagdeo has been working with FAO to promote environment and forestry around the world, and we are very happy he joins

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

his voice to our efforts,” said Graziano da Silva in thanking Jagdeo for accepting the role of Special Ambassador.

The former Guyanese Head of State described his appointment as a “great honour” and acknowledged FAO’s work in so many areas critical to life and well-being on the planet.

Jagdeo, named Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environmental

Programme in 2010, pledged to continue to raise the profile of forests and advocate for global recognition of their importance.

A global advocate for international action to combat climate change, Jagdeo, who became the youngest Head of State in the world at 35 and went on to serve two terms as President 19992011, launched the Jagdeo Initiative to create a more

competitive agricultural sector in the Caribbean by 2015.

He also conceptualised the internationally renowned Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), a strategy aimed at outlining Guyana's vision in promoting economic development, while at the same time combating climate change.

Jagdeo will also draw on his experience serving on the UN Secretary General's High Level Advisory Group on Climate Financing, as a patron of the Delhibased World Sustainable Development Forum, as an IUCN Patron of Nature, and President of the Assembly of the Korea-based Global Green Growth Institute.

The former Guyanese leader was elected and served as COFO Chairperson for the 22nd and 23rd sessions of FAO’s forestry committee.

The UN has a tradition of enlisting the support of prominent individuals to underline priority issues and to draw attention to its activities.

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guyana-times.com

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 231-0544, 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

Blocked Arteries G

uyana is slowly but surely being strangulated with the traffic build-up on its roads. Roads are routinely referred to as "arteries" for the good reason that traffic is the lifeblood of any nation, transporting not only people from "point A" to "point B", but the intermediate and finished goods that sustain and drive the economy.

But from what we are witnessing in the country today, particularly within Georgetown, including its environs and approaches, the country is about to have a massive embolism - which is what happens to arteries when they get blocked up. It can result in death.

Today the traffic jams into Georgetown in the morning and afternoons extend for miles on the East Coast and East and West Bank Demerara. Commuters routinely add two hours to their schedules in each direction if they are to realistically hope of making appointments or working hours. The toll on the nation's productivity has not been measured as yet but from the experience of those countries that perform such quantifications, it has to be considerable.

While it is easy to criticise the planners and the authorities for allowing the housing development that feeds the traffic, to "grow like Topsy", once our economy took off in the sustained way it has, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to control.

It had been proposed that we should not encourage more development in Georgetown but to spread it across the country. Maybe the proposed Parking Meters might accomplish this.

The reality is that even though we may boast about our vaunted "83,000 square miles" as larger than the rest of Carcom combined, our actual inhabited space is even more cramped than the tiniest of those islands. It is but a mere 200 miles from Charity to Crabwood Creek and with few villages extending inland for more than a mile, it means our 780,000 populace are squeezed in a space of just 200 square miles.

Our settlement pattern has been compared to a string dipped in honey laid parallel to our Atlantic Coast and which attracts intermittent clumps of ants along its path. The string is our one and only major roadway and the clumps are our villages and settlements, the largest of which is Georgetown.

And that roadway would not be called a "highway" by the kindest interpretation of the term, even though we insist on its usage.

The logic of that geographical and topological reality means that no matter where we build roads - unless to Lethem - they are going to be congested and precipitate vehicular embolism. Major interventions that include some bypass operations are demanded.

Several proposals to deal with the clogged arteries have been mooted, some launched and a few have actually been completed. We have the proposed bypass road from East Coast to the airport funded by an Indian loan and the ongoing widening of the East Coast and East Bank roadways.

There are also the proposals for a new Demerara Harbour Bridge. There have been several proposals in the letters pages which are to be encouraged, but we believe unless the situation is approached in a holistic and comprehensive manner, we will be fixing some particular embolic manifestations only to have more serious ones erupting somewhere else.

Take for instance the East Bank Roadway. No matter how wide we make it, because it bisects one of the most densely populated areas in Guyana, as presently designed, there will be the constant need for traffic to stop as pedestrians try to scurry over to the other side.

Studies have shown that such seemingly innocuous pauses cause cascading slowdowns of traffic through the length of the roadway, eventual precipitating much longer delays. The bypass is mandatory.

Other changes would be to have permanent, police on motorcycles patrolling the approaches to the Demerara Bridge, and issuing tickets to those vehicles that insist in "boring in". But let us eschew the present piecemeal approach. It merely hardens the arteries.

Traffic control! A rank from the Lethem Police Station and a member of the Community Policing Group patrol the Lethem roadways (Akeem Greene photo)

Nagamootoo-styled statement reeks jealousy A

statement, tainted by traces of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, seeks to condemn my international exposure of actions advanced by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition – actions that affect all our people.

And I find it strange that a government would release a lengthy statement based on a short clip of a section of the comments I made in New York. What is stranger is that the comments I made in New York were no different to the ones I have made in Guyana – at press conferences and on the campaign trail in the lead-up to the March 2016 Local Government Elections.

I spoke to the issues of racial and political discrimination, the lack of an economic plan, the taxation policies, as well as the repressive laws that have been

advanced and the threats to local democracy under the APNU/AFC Coalition.

Despite the charges made, my record on bolstering racial harmony and advancing equal development across the country, regardless of race, speaks for itself.

That is not a position I need to defend. However, I have spoken out and will continue to speak out about the injustices against our people.

I am inclined to believe that the Nagamootoo-styled statement has more to do with the reception given to me by thousands of people, representing the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) – in contrast to the small crowd and protest actions that greeted him.

While Nagamootoo claims that the Coalition’s policies are geared to deliver the ‘good life’ to all Guyanese and touts social cohesion, he ignores the reality of many of our

Guyanese people – the thousands of young Amerindians who were fired, the many Indo-Guyanese removed from their jobs, the assault on the sugar industry and the non-support of the rice and mining sectors.

No spin by Nagamootoo can hide these facts, in the same way that the fig leaf of social cohesion cannot hide the actions of the Coalition Government.

The Prime Minister talks up what Jaganites would do, but he – as a hypocritically ‘self-professed Jaganite’ – has positioned himself to defend the murder of Dr Walter Rodney, years of rigged elections and denial of democracy in Guyana for years under the People’s National Congress (PNC) – the same PNC that is the majority partner of the Coalition.

The only thing in the Prime Minister’s portfolio, as evidenced recently,

seems to be making statements to attack the PPP. Further this ‘self-professed Jaganite’ only issues press releases, while he enjoys the luxuries of $20 million of renovations to his residence, $45 million in furnishings, $22 million for a new vehicle, a $1.7 million salary and another $8 million per month for security and other costs - contrast that with the plight of our people.

The Coalition Government fails to recognise that its policies and actions do not only hurt people perceived to be supportive of the political Opposition, but all Guyanese across the country.

Jagan’s party is strong and will defend the rights of the Guyanese people.

Bharrat Jagdeo Leader of the Opposition Co-operative Republic of Guyana

Guyana should retain the death penalty Dear Editor, It is most palpable and tacitly understood that the majority of Guyanese prefer the retention of the death penalty as the best deterrent Guyana and other countries that have enacted laws to sentence convicted terrorists to death should take steps to repeal them and also abolish the death penalty altogether, top international advocates against the death penalty said Wednesday.

Commissioner with the International Commission against the Death Penalty, Justice Navi Pillay told a news conference ahead of a judicial colloquium with Guyanese judges and magistrates that she hoped that Guyana would review its Terrorism Act that has 12 provisions for the death penalty.

For the following reasons below I suggest that the death penalty should be supported by all and

retained in Guyana: The death penalty gives closure to the victim’s families who have suffered. It creates another form of crime deterrent. Justice is better served. It would seem that our justice system shows more sympathy for criminals than it does victims.

DNA testing and other methods of modern crimescene science can now effectively eliminate almost all uncertainty as to a per-

son’s guilt or innocence.

Prisoner parole or escapes can give criminals another chance to kill. It contributes to the problem of overpopulation in the prison system. It gives prosecutors another bargaining chip in the plea bargain process, which is essential in cutting costs.

Guyana should retain the death penalty.

Yours faithfully, Rooplall Dudhnath

guyana-times.com

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

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

Why is the IDB using M&CC should exercise fiscal restraint, reduce expenditure the FCPF resources rather than increase income and not Govt?

Dear Editor, These days all one hears from the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown are demands for more income, for new revenue streams and for more financial burdens to be placed on the backs of the poor citizens, many of whom are pensioners, unemployed or struggling to make ends meet. How about if the Council tries a new approach and that is to exercise fiscal restraint and reduce its expenditure rather than increase its income.

Here I would like to put forward just a few of over a hundred suggestions that can save the Council tens of millions each month: 1. Curtailing those frequent and unnecessary trips overseas by municipal officials with the provision of per diems and in many instances airline tickets which costs the citizenry substantially and for which hardly any tangible benefits are ever seen.

2. Terminating the lease arrangements with

private companies for the provision of luxury toilets and portable toilets around markets, residences of Council’s officials, and other municipal locations; replacing them with permanent public conveniences built by the Council.

3. Bringing to an end the leasing of a motor car for hundreds of thousands of dollars a month for a senior officer.

4. Eliminating the considerable entertainment expenditure that is incurred by the administration of the Council, including frequent lunches and dinners at highpriced restaurants.

5. Getting rid of the special contractor who the Council has engaged within the last year to weed our parapets and clear our drains, and who has earned hundreds of millions of dollars to date, by having him replaced by municipal workers who did the job in the past, but who are currently left to idle.

6.

Purging the Council’s human resource

base of the scores and scores of children, nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends of some senior administrators, Councillors who have returned from the last term, and the Mayor, who are being paid super salaries for hardly doing anything.

7. Ending of the illegal, subjective and corrupt granting of interest waivers to favoured property owners who are not entitled to such discounts, and which is costing the city hundreds of millions of dollars.

8. And finally, forthwith, withdraw the security and other staff and attendants that are currently being utilised by the former Mayor, paid for by the Council.

Surely the Municipality should not carry the wage and other bills of the aforementioned.

Still awaiting the forensic audit at this organisation. sincerely, Riley Matthews

Dear Editor, About three months ago I enquired about the status of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) project and how the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is delaying this project much to the disappointment of Indigenous Peoples.

To date absolutely no progress or very little has been done. I ask the questions again: what is the IDB doing other than derailing and delaying this important climate change project in Guyana?

Is the IDB not in favour of the customary forest management practices of indigenous peoples to be included in Guyana’s reddt preparation activities?

I am very emotional and passionate about the FCPF project because the The Amerindian Action Movement Of Guyana (TAAMOG) of which I am a member was involved from the beginning of this project (project idea) to the Readiness preparation plan (R-PP).

TAAMOG spent enormous time and resources

on getting the project approved by the World Bank (WB). TAAMOG attended many of the WB consultations and due diligence exercises. Importantly also TAAMOG attended the FCPF participants committee meeting in Washington, DC in December 2009 and a FCPF regional workshop on capacity building for social inclusion in reddt readiness for South American countries in December 2013 in Bogota, Colombia.

So there is a lot of background work that has been out on this FCPF project. The current head of Guyana’s IDB office and its project manager played no role in the finalisation of the FCPF project and to now delay its implementation is an injustice to the Government of Guyana and indigenous peoples.

The FCPF project was geared to deliver in excess of US$300,000 to national indigenous organisations to conduct reddt readiness consultations in Amerindian communities but to date have not received a cent after close to three years of project signing.

This is cause for great concern and I am appealing to President David Granger for his intervention.

I was however informed that the IDB is having a

stakeholder workshop in September 2016 on the FCPF project where an international facilitator is being contracted. But the questions here are why is the IDB using the FCPF resources and not the Government which is the executing agency of the FCPF project? And why is the IDB usurping the role of the Government of Guyana on the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility project?

Yours sincerely, Peter Persaud

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guyana-times.com

Foundation

Am I messing up

my children?

– how to trust your parenting instincts in a world of nonstop advice

By Shara Marrero Brofman, PsyD

B

elieve it or not, this is a question that we hear a lot. And the first thing I like to point out is that if you are asking this question, you’re probably doing a much better job than you’re giving yourself credit for.

Parents receive constant societal messages about what we should – and shouldn’t do – during pregnancy and as new parents. During pregnancy, there is pressure to eat the right things, get enough exercise (but not too much!), and sleep as much as possible, unrealistic as that may sometimes be. Once the baby arrives, there is more pressure – to breastfeed, start tummy time, and sleep train at an early age. The list goes on. We want to be the best parents we can be. And we want to do the right thing, even when there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to do any of it.

It’s easy to feel constantly overwhelmed by the idea of raising children “successfully” in a complex world. Parents and parents-to-be worry about so many things related to parenting and their children’s well-being.

Here are just a few of the things we have heard from parents: “I’m sad all the time, and I feel stuck. On top of that, I worry that my depression is negatively affecting my baby.”

“My partner and I both work, and our families don’t live nearby. We need to pay for childcare when my maternity leave is over. But what kind of mother leaves her baby with a stranger all day?”

“When I feed my baby, I look at my phone. I feel so guilty

about it, but it’s hard to find a moment to myself. Am I already messing up my baby?”

If any of these worries sound familiar, that’s because they are incredibly common. And importantly, they are coming from a really good place. You want the best for your child.

You want her to have a happy, healthy, and meaningful life.

So worrying about your own “success” as a parent is, in many ways, useful and productive.

But worrying about whether you are “failing” or “messing up” your children can also be consuming, and it can keep you from seeing the good work that you, and the other people in your child’s life, are doing.

When I talk with parents about these kinds of concerns, I sometimes bring up Donald Winnicott, a famous British psychoanalyst and paediatrician well known for his concept of “the good enough mother.” Winnicott

realised that mothers do not need to be perfectly attuned to their babies’ every need to foster healthy development. They do need to adequately feed, clothe, and bathe the baby on a regular basis, as well as comfort him during overwhelming emotional distress.

But importantly, Winnicott believed that parents would inevitably “fail” or disappoint their children – often in small ways – and that these “failures,” were actually beneficial to a developing baby.

They help him learn resilience in the face of disappointment, and self-regulation when we cannot be there right away. These are lessons we want our children to learn.

It’s also important to remember that human beings, both children and adults, are incredibly resilient by nature.

Healthy development occurs with a solid – not perfect – foundation. Of course, it’s

important to be attuned to our children within a realistic range: We need to make sure that their basic needs for food and shelter are met, read and talk to them regularly, and so on. But in order to best take care of our children, we also must take care of ourselves.

Checking in with a mental health professional may be part of that. Together with a mental health professional, you can work on feeling better so that you can access your strengths and enjoy your time with your family more.

When you leave your baby with a childcare provider, think about how you are building the community of people who will love and care for your child so that you can take care of yourself or provide for your family. You may even meet other supportive families as a result of branching out in this way.

As for smartphone use, it’s a growing concern for everyone.

You’re not grappling with this topic alone. Many of us are working on cutting down on our usage when we’re with family, and we can still keep that goal in mind. But you can also consider why you are using your phone.

At best, our phones keep us connected to other people. This is especially important in the early stages of parenting because we know that poor social support is a risk factor for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, including postpartum depression. So if your smartphone enables you to get swaddling tips from a friend, stay in touch with your partner at work, or have a stress-relieving conversation with a family member, those are all good ways of keeping you connected.

Accessing the Internet on your phone from time to time can also be a godsend during those early months of frequent feedings.

Think of all the good you are doing: holding your baby close and nurturing him with your body or a bottle. If a funny video makes you laugh, or a text from a friend lightens your mood, that’s

a bonus.

The bottom line is that there is so much room for error in the messy work of raising children.

The more we can do to alleviate the expectations placed on us as parents, and the more you can do to release those for yourself, the smoother this transition will be. (psychologytoday.com)

How to talk to children about mass shootings and attacks

By Brian D Johnson, PhD and Laurie Berdahl, MD

W

ith frequent stories about horrific mass killings occurring in the US and around the world, many parents wisely worry about how news of these tragedies will affect their children. As Ellen Sturm Niz of Parents.com wrote in her excellent article about talking to kids about terrorism, many kids are asking poignant questions like, “Why do people want to hurt us?”

When it comes to talking to kids about these events, we’ve heard some parents say, “Kids need to know how life is, and hiding the truth won’t do them any good,” but this is only partially true; research clearly shows that how and when kids learn about violent tragedies greatly impacts their psychological health and behaviour.

First, kids age eight and younger have difficulty telling if what they hear and see on screens is fantasy or reality, and this ability develops gradually with age. So young children can find even entertainment violence to be much more frighteni n g and

anxiety provoking than adults, believing it is happening to real people. That’s why experts recommend that children under age eight not view media containing any type of violence.

Regarding real life violence, we think many adults would agree they found it disturbing to watch coverage of mass shootings like the ones in Paris, Orlando, and the recent massacre using a truck to roll over hundreds of people in Nice, France. Well, the more realistic violence is portrayed, as in the case of news coverage of actual events, the more damaging it can be to youth whose brains and life experiences haven’t yet prepared them to cope with these realities like adults can.

Media coverage of violent tragedies can be very psychologically damaging even after age eight, especially with graphic or repetitive exposure where kids can virtually relive the event over and over. Thus, young frequent viewers of explicit violence such as tragedy news coverage can develop longterm fear, anxiety, depression, anger, and even PTSD, and have higher rates of substance use according to studies. (Excerpt from psychologytoday.com)

TO BE CONTINUE

NEWS

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TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Finance Minister hiding serious decline in economic activity – Ramotar …says revenue statistics misleading

R

evenue statistics suggesting that there has been a significant increase in central government’s revenues are only misleading the public about a grave decline in economic activities, former President Donald Ramotar has cautioned.

Several pecuniary commentators also believe that the recently announced statistics do not paint an accurate picture of the country’s economic performance.

Earlier in July, Finance Minister Winston Jordan reported that the economy is thriving, dismissing continuous claims by the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) of an ailing economy.

He disclosed that central government’s revenues totalled $53.4 billion at the end of April 2016, representing an increase of 5.9 per cent or $3 billion compared to revenue collections during the same period – January to April – last year.

But Ramotar contend-

Former Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall

ed that a true assessment of economic performance cannot be based solely on the increase on the revenue statistics.

“A close examination would reveal that his statistics were actually trying to hide the serious decline in economic activities,” he stated in his assertion.

The former President pointed out that the net increase of $3 billion included an increase of nontax revenues of $4.2 billion, mainly because of increased gold production from the two large mines that came into the commercial operations last year.

In this regard, Ramotar explained that the statistics tried to hide the net reduction of tax revenues by

Former President Donald Ramotar

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

$1.2 billion over the previous year.

“This is so even though tax revenues increased for some tax type by more than $2.1B against 2015. This is because of the poor performance of other revenue types, mainly VAT, with an overall negative impact of $3.3B (1.2 + 2.1). Therefore, revenue from tax collection over 2015 was down by $1.2B net,” Ramotar stated.

He argued that this is an indication that the economic activities have declined and warned that if the trend continues, harder times will inevitably prevail: “No amount of statistics would be able to mask this.”

Weighing in on the discussion, Former Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall agreed that the economy is contracting.

In a social media post, Nandlall assertively declared that apart from gold, every other productive sector has been underperforming.

“There have been no new investments; no new jobs created; widespread increased taxation; loss of confidence by the private sector caused primarily by the fear generated by SOCU, SARU and the GRA; withdrawal of tax concessions geared to attract investments; capital flight; a plethora of policies which are anti-business.

These and many more have crippled the economy,” he reasoned.

In an interview with another section of the media, executive member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) David Hinds explained that economic statistics fail to reflect on the struggles of the layman in society.

He pointed out that the measure of the health of economies like Guyana’s is the extent to which peo-

ple are working and making a living wage, and whether small- and medium-sized businesses are generating a living income for their owners.

Additionally, Chartered Accountant and former Auditor General of Guyana Anand Goolsarran highlighted that a genuine assessment of economic performance would involve a thorough examination of the lives of vendors, farmers, regular

Former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran

businessmen and even the consumers.

Strikingly however, Goolsarran remarked that Guyana’s economy under the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic reign was bloated with a lot of revenue from corrupt practices such as money laundering and drug trafficking.

But Nandlall blasted him for those comments, contending that it is completely outrageous.

“I ask every single Guyanese to reflect upon their earnings prior to 2015, and I ask each one of them to examine what portion of their earnings, if any, came from “corrupt” practices?

When this is done, you will realise how preposterous this contention of Goolsarran actually is,” he stated.

President Granger again calls on City Hall to consult, not dictate

P

resident David Granger has once again called on the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to engage in consultation with the citizens of Georgetown on critical matters, and advised them to avoid the escalation of an adversarial relationship between the Council and the people.

The President made these comments, even as he pledged not to interfere in the work of any of the Councils across Guyana.

Speaking on the Ministry of the Presidency’s “Public Interest” television programme, President Granger said Georgetown was the capital city of the country and, as such, the national interest and that of the citizens must be the priority. This, he said, therefore requires consultations, through which citizens can have a voice in what they believe are in their best interests and that of the country.

“Georgetown is a national capital and not just any other municipality. It is the capital of the entire State and there needs to be responsiveness on the part of the Council to the Central Government’s interest and the national interest. I actually advised that every member of the Council was responsible for a particular constituency and they should visit their constituencies… my own view is that there should be greater consultation. That is the message I had felt that I had transmitted to the Mayor and Councillors. That in everything they did, they need

President David Granger addressing Councillors of the Georgetown Municipality on Monday, June 27

to be assured of not necessarily compliance, but consultation with the stakeholders, whether it is the vendors or other people…,” the President said on the programme.

He noted that while it was understood that some changes were necessary for the development of the capital city and the lives of the residents, it was also imperative that consultations be held, so that citizens feel included and their opinions are taken into consideration.

“Vending is a legitimate economic activity and if there needs to be changes, in accordance with sanitary rules or safety rules, there should be consultations and adequate preparations for the vendors.”

He further noted that similarly, “now that the matter of the parking meters has arisen and the matter of container tax, I would urge the Mayor and City Council to embark on a consultative process. I will not interfere, to the extent that they feel that the Council itself is acting within the law.

I am not interested in a con-

flictual situation, or in a confrontational situation. It is my view that consultation is the way to go. In the case of the vendors, there was consultation, people were advised and informed of the need for change. Similarly, for every major measure that will have an effect on the residents of Georgetown, corporate residents, private property owners, there must be information and communication. They should be directing and not dictating.

I am simply asking for the process to be open and transparent so that people know what the decisions are made by the people,” President Granger said.

The President also sought to remind the Councillors that the return of local democracy in Guyana after an absence of more than two decades meant that their reelection to office was entirely dependent on their performance over the next two and a half years, not their personality or party affiliation, and as such, this should be taken into consideration in every decision which is undertaken.

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TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Lethem woman unconscious 3 months after surgery

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ore than three months after having some gall stones removed via surgery, a 47-year-old woman of Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) is still to regain consciousness and her family members are worried sick that she may never recover. The woman’s condition has even caused her husband to be in and out of hospital, as his blood pressure has been soaring since her illness.

According to relatives, Thelma Rebeiro had first undergone a surgery at the Lethem Hospital after she was diagnosed with gall stones. However, something went wrong during the surgery and, as

Thelma Rebeiro

such, Rebeiro was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital. Four days later, another surgery was conducted. However, since the operation, the woman has

not regained consciousness. In fact, according to family members, they were told by doctors that there was nothing more that they could do for her.

The family said Rebeiro was later discharged from the hospital, still in an unconscious state. However, speaking to Guyana Times on Monday, the Hospital’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mitzy Campbell said that it was the family who requested that the woman be discharged.

She said they had made plans for her to seek treatment in Boa Vista, Brazil. It was with that in mind that the request for discharge was granted. Rebeiro is mother to several children, most of whom live in neighbouring Brazil. However, the family were at a loss as to their next move as their loved one lay unconscious day after day.

2015 vehicular death

Final witness statements to be entered

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he trial of the causing death of the Parfaite Harmonie Primary School lad will soon come to a close as evidence in the matter was tendered on Monday at the Wales Magistrate’s Court.

Junior Dey of Lot 18 Second Street, Albertown, Georgetown, appeared before

Magistrate Clive Nurse as the statement was read.

Final statements into the matter are to be taken on August 18 after which Dey will know his fate.

According to reports, on the day of the incident, sixyear-old Keith Adams was walking with two friends on the access road heading to

school when he was struck by a speeding car.

Dey, driver of car PRR 9325 was arrested following the accident.

Reports are that as the lad was walking along the access road, Dey was proceeding south at a fast rate and lost control of the vehicle thereby hitting the lad. Little Adams

was flung into the air after which the car ran over his body.

He reportedly died on the spot qwhile the car skidded and ended up in a nearby trench.

Dey was later charged with causing death by dangerous driving and has been before the court since that time.

Siblings given community service for neighbourhood brawl

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war of words and a damaged fence has led to neighbours at Sisters Village, West Bank Demerara (WBD), being slapped with multiple charges.

In evidence, brought before Magistrate Clive Nurse at the Wales Magistrate’s Court on Monday, it was stated that on May 24, 2016, siblings Rushell Abrams and Marcel Abrams, of Lot 68 Sisters Village, both verbally abused their neighbour, Padmini Fernandes,

who was the Virtual Complainant (VC).

Marcel Abrams, 34, was also charged for damaging the fence of the VC to the tune of $4000. The court heard that Fernandes had also verbally abused the sisters.

In her explanation, Marcel said that on the day of the argument, the VC allegedly told her that she would “never get a husband” after which a slew of expletives was traded.

The defendant admitted that she later retorted: “I

rebuke you! I rebuke you!” while rocking the VC’s fence, thus causing the damage.

After hearing the statements, Magistrate Nurse encouraged the neighbours to live in peace, but ordered that the Abrams siblings serve community service as a consequence.

Marcel Abrams will serve 30 hours of community service cleaning the windows of the Wales Court and Wales Police Station, effective July 25 to August 5.

The Magistrate ruled that

her sister, Rushell Abrams, will serve 20 hours cleaning the windows.

Magistrate Nurse warned that failure to abide by the court’s ruling will cause the Sisters Village siblings to spend two weeks and one week respectively, in the New Amsterdam Prison. The two women were also placed on a oneyear bond to keep the peace and maintain good behaviour. Fernandes, the VC, was also placed on a bond, pending the outcome of the entire matter.

Eyew tness Mono-digital salute...

"A ...to Democrats and Republicans

plague on both (political) houses" appears to be the dominant sentiment in the US key swing voters’ section that calls the shots in presidential elections in the US. Trump has been anointed by the Republicans and Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRC) will soon get the treatment by the Democrats. But apart from the diehard faithfuls in both camps, there's something more than ennui operating in what we may call "independents".

However, while there's some residual rancour against Trump from some of the old-line Republican establishment, at a rank outsider leading the charge for another stab at the White House, their ranks might be augmented from the fallout from some of the non-Republican stands Trump took at the convention. Praising the LGBTQ demographic to the yahoos in the Deep South – who still believe in "men should be men" and women should be their little helpers – didn't earn Trump any kudos from that quarter.

But Trump’s biggest gamble was not just to present himself as an outsider who can clean up Washington – but to do so by erasing most of the pro-business gains under the Clinton, Bush and Obama Administrations. Now some businessmen might take his promise to clean up corruption, cronyism and nepotism in Government dealings with business – because he's played the system as an insider – with a grain of salt.

But when he talks about repealing the Glass-Steagall Act that permits commercial banks to play the market with depositors' funds, Wall Street businessmen won't roll over and play dead. And ditto to his proposal to scuttle the new mega trade pacts like TPP that give business the upper hand in allowing them to take sovereign nations to court. You can be sure they're getting together to decide how to put a spoke into Trump's spokes. But then how many votes can they muster?

But over in the Democratic camp, things are even worse for HRC. The revelation that Debbie Schultz of the Democratic National Committee bent the rules during the primaries to torpedo Rodham's rival Bernie Sanders isn't going to be assuaged his partisans' anger by her resignation.

Especially when she announced immediately Schultz will be joining her team!! That's just rubbing salt into Bernie's substantial base of young, idealistic progressives.

What all of this adds up to is that the unthinkable might just happen, come November: Trump might just squeeze ahead of HRC into the White House. While he's dragging the Republican Party in a new direction and alienating some party members, he doesn't elicit the visceral hatred Rodham does in Democrats and independents.

And hatred is the catalyst for mono-digital salutes!

...by nurses to Doctors

The slow burn that nurses usually nurse for doctors because of their suspicion that the latter see them as doormats, finally spilled out into the open. And as usual, when "mout' open, story jump out". It appears that at the GPHC, the nurses had long moved from the passiveaggressive behaviour they usually exhibit to doctors. You know...like pretending not to understand instructions and taking their sweet time in responding to calls.

The nurses have actually declared they know more about medicine than the doctors...who commit all sorts of medical blunders resulting even in deaths of patients! This is a most serious charge...and with the Minister of Health himself being a doctor who practised at GPHC, an indictment of his own abilities.

The nurses’ charges must be examined by a Commission of Inquiry immediately. Unlike the usual hyperbole, lives are actually at stake here.

Not to mention the reputation of doctors who've spent half-a-decade just to START practising medicine.

...to the WICB

The innings+ drubbing of the West Indies Test Team by India is more of a mono-digital salute to the WICB than the cricket team they selected by a process than's more opaque than octopus' ink.

When will Caricom reciprocate?

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

NEWS

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TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Dutch team proposes Jagdeo tells Diaspora of assault flood hazard maps as 1st on democracy in Guyana step to risk management

The Netherlands’ Risk Reduction Team, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan, National Task Force Commission head, Retired Major General Joe Singh and other members of the task force at a press briefing

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lthough Guyana is not in a position to set up a full risk management system to solve its drainage problem and alleviate the impact of flooding, Dutch experts have proposed that Guyana develop flood hazard maps as a small step towards a full-fledged risk management system.

The report, titled “Risk Approach”, indicated that a full risk management approach was not possible in Guyana at the moment, owing to a lack of data and modelling capacities, but a good first step would be to consider the various elements of the drainage system as interconnected elements of a system, and to look for its weakest elements.

It stated that it would also be a good step to consider drainage system improvements (concrete projects) as investments that need to be in accord with the value of what is being protected. Adding that it makes no sense to invest in protecting an area that has little value, the report suggested that it was more beneficial to invest in protecting high-value areas.

In addition to these more general requirements, a first step towards working with a risk management approach would be to prepare flood hazard maps. These are maps of certain floodprone areas showing what could happen under 1/10, 1/50, or 1/100 years conditions (rainfall, river and sea levels). It will provide information for now and for the future on a number of climate change scenarios.

“Flood hazard maps differ from flood maps such that they are projections for what can be expected under extreme conditions with a specific frequency of occurrence. It is a first step towards a risk approach in decision-making. Flood hazard maps can be used for planning purposes and to compare areas. They can also be used for investment purposes as they show which areas may be

more favourable than others,” the report said.

It added that after local personnel has gained experience in working with flood hazard mapping, “a next step can be made towards the development of a full risk approach for the drainage system of Georgetown and other low-lying coastal areas in Guyana”.

Without drainage systems, flood damage will occur multiple times per year and the avoidance of this damage is the monetary benefit of the drainage system. These benefits are not only monetary, but also refer to health and safety issues. Under extreme flood events, resulting in rapidly rising water or strong flow velocities, deaths may occur as a result of drowning and during inundation, water from the sewerage system may get mixed with the surface drainage water and result in serious health threats.

The report purported that having an adequate and well-functioning drainage system thus prevents economic damage and reduces the number of casualties.

It stated that Guyana’s practice in proposing improvement measures seemed to be primarily project-based, without an assessment of the whole drainage system, implying that the chosen measures may in the end not have the largest reduction of the flood risks.

The Netherlands has developed a Rational Risk Approach to deal with their drainage system. It is a consistent method that analyses all elements of the flood defence system; it computes failure probabilities of each element under a wide variety of extreme conditions and computes the (monetary and nonmonetary) consequences of any such failure. “ Either way, it has proven to be an effective method to steer spatial developments and to prioritise measures that have the largest contribution to

flood risk reduction,” the report indicated, referencing that the Flood Risk document (FLORIS) prepared by the Dutch government on how a Rational Risk Approach has been developed and applied on all water defences in The Netherlands.

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Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

eader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo has orated that there is an attack on democracy in Guyana and more specifically supporters of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

Jagdeo made this assertion at a gathering of Guyanese living in New York and assured them that the PPP/C will win the General Elections in 2020.

“Guyana needs a spir-

it of community to ensure that we defend our people through these dark times.

There is an assault on democracy, on the people of Indian origin and there is an assault on the supporters of the PPP…” he declared.

Stating that he never imagined that Guyana would return to the days of “dictatorship,” Jagdeo asserted that in just one short year it had returned with

“full force” and even worse, in some regards, than the Burnham era. “…from snatching peoples’ land that had transport, to the passage of new laws… the budget this year, and 140 new taxes were increased and largely targeting poor people, but mainly rural poor. And you know who live in the rural areas, it is mainly our supporters,” he added.

Jagdeo has been constantly berating the Government for taking the country backwards, stating that they have no vision for development. He lambasted them about the slothfulness of the economy and the passage of bills that he believes would hamper growth, and not serve the people.

“Our country has taken a turn for the worse…it is something that we have to live with, we are going to work hard and when the elections come again we are going to take back Guyana,” he declared.

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guyana-times.com

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

News

Mini dredgers proposed for city’s clogged drainage channels – Dutch report

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s a result of a reduction in the crosssectional flow of water in the areas of many of the drainage channels in Georgetown, the Dutch Risk Reduction (DRR) team of experts have recommended the procurement of minidredges to fix the problem.

The DRR team in a report stated that although the sources of the deposited sediments have not been examined, it is likely that much of the sediments enter the drainage system from “the roads, illegal deposits, discharges and construction activities.”

Deposited sediments must be removed regularly in order to maintain the passage capacity of the system and the common way to remove it is by an excavator that operates from the landside. But this has proven to be a problem because most places have buildings and human activities occurring.

Thus it was proposed that a good way to maintain the city’s drainage channel at locations where excavation from the landside is not possible would be by floating minidredges, such as cutter suction dredges.

Book review: Jan Lowe Shinebourne, The Last Ship, Leeds: Peepal Tree, 2015

J A clogged drain in one of the wards of Georgetown

The report stated that in The Netherlands, as well as in many other countries, these minidredges are often used to dredge channels in highly urbanised areas or in situations where mud needs to be removed.

The report also indicated that in some instances, a floating pipeline is used to pump the dredged sediments or water mixture to a location where it can be further processed.

“If such minidredges become available these may also be used to maintain the outfall channels. This would require the minidredges to be easily transportable, es-

pecially across the streets,” the report added.

But, nevertheless the DRR team highlighted that before a minidredge is purchased, it first needs to be determined if such an investment will be profitable.

This assessment starts with the computation of the potential benefits of dredging channels that currently cannot be maintained.

The report added that the benefits of dredging are the expected reduction in flood damages, for which different flood scenarios, each with its own percentage of occurrence, need to be considered. The expecta-

tion is that dredging results in a lowering of the flood risk.

It was also asserted that this benefit should be compared with the costs for purchasing, maintaining and operating the minidredges.

Based on this data, a business case can be developed and a sound decision can be made on required dredging capacity, the report said.

According to the report, decisions should be made on whether a public or private entity will run the city’s dredging operations.

Afterward, it stated, a request for proposal to purchase dedicated equipment should also be made.

The Government of Guyana has requested the Government of The Netherlands to provide advice on its drainage situation, both for Georgetown and the low-lying agricultural coastlands. The official request from the Guyanese Ministry of Public Infrastructure was sent to The Netherlands Embassy in Suriname in 2015.

Pouderoyen man slapped with larceny charge

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father of two was placed on $25,000 bail when he appeared at the Vreed-enHoop Magistrate’s Court on Monday to answer to a simple larceny charge.

It is alleged that Kevin Polly, 29, of Lot 55 Phoenix Park, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, entered the premises at Lot 1 Samaroo Dam, Pouderoyen, and stole one bicycle valued $15,000, property of Annette Merchant, on July 7.

Polly, who is a horse-cart operator, pleaded not guilty to the offence. The court also heard that the defendant was previously before the court, but those charges were dismissed.

an Shinebourne is only a handful of authors studying and writing on Chinese in the Caribbean. She is originally from Guyana but has lived in England since 1970. The Last Ship is her most recent novel on Chinese in British Guiana. The Chinese are one group of indentured labourers brought to British Guiana in the second half of the Nineteenth Century to replace slave labour.

Shinebourne’s slender novel revolves around a young Chinese woman, Clarice Chung, along with a group of other Chinese people who arrive on the last ship to British Guiana in 1879. These Chinese people are not all related but are from different regions and from different classes and clans.

However, they are all expected to perform manual labour on the plantations.

“As soon as they came off Dr Lomarsh Roopnarine the ship, they were put to live in wooden huts on Soesdyke estate, where the Cheung brothers became labourers like the blacks and coolies. They had to work in the open in the canefields exposed to the blazing sun and driving rain, and in the sugar factory where there were many accidents that left people permanently injured, even limbless” (p 25).

The Chinese labourers are able to abandon plantation life and open businesses. While some Chinese families become prosperous in the main towns of New Amsterdam and Georgetown, Clarice Chung, the young Chinese woman, remains around the sugar estate as a shopkeeper serving poor estate workers.

She eventually becomes a matriarch and is not interested in becoming rich but in maintaining her Chinese heritage in British Guiana. She tries to maintain Chinese customs. Even though she speaks Creole, she refuses to speak it with her family. Clarice Chung’s determination to maintain Chinese culture and customs in British Guiana is based on the belief that she is a “pure Chinese person, a Punti with a royal ancestor, descended from Emperor Chengzong” (p 73).

She reminds everyone that she arrived in British Guiana “through the sense of obligation to the Christian missionaries, who they repaid by promising to build churches…and convert the Hakkas (indentured Chinese) to Christianity” (p 73).

Instead, she is indentured and eventually leaves the plantation and becomes a shopkeeper. Clarice Chung extends her determination to her immediate family and prefers that her children marry “pure” Chinese and that the marriage should be according to Chinese not Indian nor African customs, the two most influential ethnic groups in British Guiana.

Clarice Chung realises that her wishes are not possible in British Guiana where Chinese of “pure” background are rare. She allows her children to marry someone with at least some Chinese background but is adamant about the new in-laws obeying and practicing Chinese “ways” in her extended family home.

Clarice Chung dies half-way through the novel but her Chinese matriarchal legacy lives on. While most of her children leave their plantation environment, one of them remains and runs the shop.

But Clarice Chung’s legacy is more psychological than physical. She was always concerned about how “pure” the future generations of Chinese in her family would be. The family believes that “Clarice Chung continued to live like a ghost in the minds of the family she had left behind” (p 83).

However, her legacy is severely affected by political turbulence and the introduction of cooperative socialism in the 1970s, which tears at the fabric of Chinese business and safety in British Guiana.

A majority of Chinese, including the wealthy urban class and the younger generation, are forced to emigrate. Those who remain live a sheltered, alcoholic existence.

Clarice Chung’s legacy is further diluted because the younger Chinese engage in inter-marriage along class and ethnic lines as well as because the Chinese stopped coming to British Guiana as indentured servants after 1879.

Jan Lowe Shinebourne has produced a remarkable novel based on three fundamental factors. The first is that the Chinese indentured experience and beyond has rarely been addressed or examined nonfictionally.

The second is that Chinese inter-cultural relations are practically unknown in Guyana, especially since a majority of them have migrated.

In this novel, we are informed of the social complexity among the Chinese from an inter-generational perspective. Not all Chinese are the same, nor are they as united as thought by wider Guyanese society. They are divided by class and environment (rural and urban).

The third is that the novel shows how Chinese immigrants have struggled with issues of cultural retention and cultural assimilation in a foreign land.

The book is easy to read despite the web of family relations and expectations from one generation to the next from 1879 to about 1980. How the characters deal with issues from one generation to next while having no contact with their former homeland and little support from the wider British Guianese society (especially the rurally based Chinese) will amuse and entertain readers. First published in Caribbean Writer 2016. (lomarsh.roopnarine@jsums.edu)

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

guyana-times.com

News

M&CC sidelines projects due to low funds

Deputy Town Clerk (ag), Sharon Harry

By Ramona Luthi

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any facilities in the different constituencies in the city that are in need of immediate attention have been sidelined owing to the financial difficulties encountered by the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), according to the Deputy Town Clerk (ag).

The disclosure was made at a statutory meeting, held on Monday, after Councillors questioned why there was a delay in rehabilitating the various market places and the Charlestown Daycare, which was in a hazardous state, as well as other facilities.

“The Charlestown Daycare’s poor lighting facility, a defective guard hut, gate and fence need repairing.

Since April 1, we’ve been receiving these reports, and it’s the same thing over and

11

over,” Councillor Malcolm Ferreira stated.

Deputy Town Clerk (ag), Sharron Harry responded that she was aware of the many problems at the various facilities which needed to be rectified, highlighting that the work was being done in phases based on importance.

“You would notice from time to time we will have some matters reoccurring and as the Town Clerk would have reported previously, there are several matters and in every section and department of Council, we have issues and what we’re looking at characterising those issues. There’s so many that we may not be able to address all simultaneously, but what we are doing is addressing them in phases,” she explained.

However, this explanation did not sit well with many of the Councillors.

“Now we hearing that

things worse than this are being looked after, so this [daycare restoration] is less important so I want to know two things: what is worse, and why it’s not this?” Ferreira questioned.

It was then that Harry tried to explain again, and disclosed that owing to the Mayor and City Council being low on funds, the restoration of many buildings and rectification of many issues were postponed.

“All our facilities are important to us. We would like to look at all of those facilities like yesterday. But unfortunately finances within the Council does not allow it,” she elucidated.

After claims of City Hall being bankrupt surfaced in May of this year, Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase Green had confirmed last month that the municipality had indeed run short on funds.

In a telephone interview with Guyana Times, at the time, Chase Green said that for the M&CC to be able to run the city efficiently and cater for all the modern developments, it would require approximately $3 billion annually. She highlighted that since many persons did not pay their taxes on time and the M&CC did not collect enough funds, deficits were encountered annually.

Additionally, the Mayor had indicated then that all indebtedness would be discussed by the financial committee and the matter was hoped to be resolved soon.

FBI conducts training with local law enforcement

Participants of the training course with Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan and US Ambassador to Guyana Perry Holloway

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number of senior officers from the Special Operations Crime Unit (SOCU); Customs AntiNarcotic Unit (CANU); the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) last Friday participated in a oneday Financial Intelligence Training course, facilitated by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Public Security Ministry said on Monday.

In a statement, the Ministry said that the training, held at the Police Training Academy, forms part of the ongoing exercises by the Guyana Police Force to enhance the capacity and skills of its members.

Apart from the Guyanese, officers from Trinidad and Tobago attended and,

through tele-conferencing facilities, officers from St Kitts and Jamaica.

“Four senior officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the USA tutored the participants on a number of topics, including money laundering schemes, terror financing, illicit trade-based transfer systems, charting financial data and financial profiles investigation methods,” the Public Security Ministry said of the course, which was fully sponsored by the US Government.

Speaking to the participants, US Ambassador Perry Holloway emphasised the need for capacity building in these areas in Guyana and Caricom, and restated the United States’ continued support in these efforts.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan spoke of the timeliness of the training, stating that there was an emergence of a variety of financial crimes in Guyana to which attention must be paid.

“Crimes of all types do damage to the society at large. Crimes against the person and property instil fear. We are doing the best we possibly can to reduce those. But financial and economic crimes too can damage our economy and even our democracy. These, too, we must do all in our power to halt. This training programme is an ongoing process in that regard,” Ramjattan stated.

He expressed gratitude to the US Government for its support.

12 news

tuesDay, july 26, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Banking services, high City Hall understaffed, no transportation cost efforts made to remedy situation hinder Mahdia businesses

By Ramona Luthi

A section of the gathering at the business meeting

S

everal businesses in Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) met with Business Minister Dominic Gaskin and a team comprising personnel from the Ministry and the Small Business Bureau where concerns about the factors hampering business in the area were discussed.

During the meeting, the business community noted that among the issues affecting economic ac-

tivity were the state of the Linden-Mahdia road, high cost of transportation, the lack of business registration and licensing services in the sub-district, and access to finance and banking services.

Minister Gaskin while addressing the concerns raised by several business owners in the area assured that Government was interested in sustainable longterm economic development driven by private enter-

prise.

The Minister also stressed the need for diversification into value-added products in order to increase economic benefits to the community and reduce dependence on primary products.

He reiterated that increasing value-added productivity was a priority of the current Administration.

A representative of the Small Business Bureau used the opportunity to explain the work of the Bureau to individuals attending the various meetings, highlighting the various opportunities for small businesses with reference to training and support.

The outreach is a continued effort by the Business Ministry to collaborate with Regional Democratic Councils to promote investor-ready projects within the 10 regions.

D

espite the many vacancies for various clerks and officers at the City Hall, no efforts are being made to fill the available positions, as was disclosed at the statutory meeting held on Monday.

It was pointed out by Councillors that there were vacancies for some 140 Constabulary Officers, a Deputy Medical Officer of Health, a Pharmacist, a Practical Nurse, and clerks. “…only a third of the budgeted strength [of] this Administration department is actually at work. There is no Deputy Medical Officer of Health, no Pharmacist, there’s no clerk II or practical nurse,” one Councillor related.

After being questioned by the Councillors about the status of the advertisements for the various vacancies, the Deputy Town Clerk (ag) Sharron Harry relayed that the positions were not publicised. This response resulted in members of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) expressing their annoyance at

the lack of professionalism by the administration.

However, no resolution was brought to the table on this matter.

In January of this year, the Chief Constable of the Mayor and City Council, Andrew Foo, described the Constabulary as “very weak”.

At the time, Foo told Guyana Times that the performance and challenges within the department would be explored.

According to him, the Constabulary which comprised 178 sworn officers and 65 auxiliary security guards, at the time, did not met the expectations of the department owing to “trials and limitations”, including

the lack of human and other resources.

Foo had explained that the department needed trained persons to work with during its recruitment process, since there was competition with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), both offering professional standards of training to their recruits.

He had stated that the City Constabulary was lacking in this area for quite a number of years, noting there was also an urgent need for uniformity of constables within the department.

However, this decision will be left to the administrative body of the Council.

news

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tuesday, july 26, 2016 | guyana-times.com

SASOD launches LGBT health Local laboratories to training project in Linden meet international …findings suggest community is homophobic

By Utamu Belle

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he Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) has partnered with the Linden Care Foundation (LCF), For the Children Sake Foundation (FCSF) and Peace Corps, to launch the Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Sexual Health Training project.

The project was launched in Linden on Friday during a simple ceremony held at the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN). It aims at empowering and providing capacity building for LGBT persons in the community, while promoting positive mental and sexual health practices. Also, the project provides the opportunity for promoting basic human rights, as it relates to non- discrimination, and reduction of internal stigma among LGBT people living within the community. Another objective of the project is to identify a support network of

guide within the next four years. In reaching out, he said it was intended that beneficiaries of the project were empowered to become advocates in their communities, as well as take better care of their mental and sexual health.

“Often times, the approach to sexual health tends to be just about giving people information... without looking at some of the underlying issues that prevent the vulnerable population, vulnerable groups in particular, from attaining a higher level of sexual health. One of the issues that prevent those groups from attaining the best sexual health is the discrimination they face,” he outlined.

Simpson said while SASOD was a national organisation, owing to limited resources, its work was focused on policy which targeted Government and Parliament to change laws regarding same-sex communities and cross dressing, as well as to protect against discrimination based on

those towns...There’s a direct relationship between levels of education, poverty, homophobia and discrimination...because of the socio- economic circumstances of Linden that we find homophobia is more pronounced. With that said, we recognise the dire need to work in Linden.”

He added that it was also discovered that a number of suicide cases over the years in the community may be linked to cases regarding sexuality.

Circumstances such as these have led to the organisation’s establishment of a physical presence in the community as he stressed the importance of partnership with civil society.

In his remarks, LCF Prevention Coordinator Yanick Copeland stated that the organisation supported the work of SASOD. He also outlined the need for LGBT support, increased access to HIV testing, capacity building and improved cohesion to meet psycho-social and sexual health needs, in addi-

From left: SASOD Managing Director Joel Simpson, LCF Prevention Coordinator Yanick Copeland, FCSF Executive Director Vernon Todd, LM&TC Social Development Committee Chairman Keeran Williams and Peace Corps Guyana Health Volunteer Caitlin Sullivan

LGBT and ally persons to establish a sustainable and ongoing linkage of local support, after the project has concluded. It is set to include a 16-night sex positive HIV prevention training, utilising the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC)/Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV (PANCAP) workshop manual, entitled “Sex positive model for HIV prevention and promotion of sexual health”.

During the course of the project, members of the LGBT community will also be provided with HIV testing in a safe, stigma-free environment. The project is expected to serve as the official registration for the sex positive HIV prevention training, with network opportunity for Linden LGBT and community allies (civil society).

SASOD Managing Director Joel Simpson, during his address, said the need to work with communities outside of Georgetown was realised about a year ago, with the organisation’s 2020 vision serving as a

sexual orientation and gender identity, through the Discrimination Act of 1997.

“Through constitutional reform, we’d also like to see sexual orientation and gender identity included,” Simpson said.

Homophobic community

Simpson further related that based on data from independent organisation Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES), homophobia was said to be more pronounced in Linden when compared to other towns across the country. The reasons for the findings, he suggested, may be limited access to broadcast information, high levels of unemployment, limited access to tertiary education and a direct link between poverty and discrimination.

As a result, he said it was discovered that the Linden LGBT community had become more comfortable socialising in Georgetown.

“In our work, we found that...of the towns that we have in Guyana, homophobia is probably most pronounced in Linden, of all of

tion to human rights promotion in a stigma and discrimination free environment.

Meanwhile, FCSF Executive Director Vernon Todd related that his organisation has recently begun work with LGBT youths in the community through its “Youths seeking answers programme”. Through the programme, he said, it was realised that young people have many issues and many organisations were not talking about issues affecting the LGBT community.

Todd emphasised also that it was important that we treat each other as human beings, noting that his organisation also provided HIV testing for the LGBT community.

Linden Mayor and Town Council (LM&TC) Social Development Committee Chairman Keeran Williams also stated during his address that the Council was committed to addressing social issues and creating a stigma-free environment. It was noted that a similar project was launched in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara) last month.

standards – GNBS

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he Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) seeks to have more accredited laboratory testing facilities conforming to international standards as part of the agency’s strategic plan for the next five years.

Local manufacturers are set to benefit from more accredited laboratories shortly. Products prepared for export will be tested and accompanied by certificates enabling their acceptance on the international market.

GNBS Conformity Department Head Candelle Walcott-Bostwick, in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA), explained: “Quite recently, we would have received notification that the US FDA [Food and Drug Administration] will be enforcing certain requirements where local manufacturers involved in food manufacturing will have a HACCP system in place and the laboratories that they use for testing must be accredited. HACCP is the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point sys-

GNBS Conformity Department Head Candelle Walcott-Bostwick

tem that allows a food manufacturer to identify the risk or the areas of contamination, while involved in the manufacturing process from start to the end.”

According to the US FDA website, HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product.

These local testing facilities will serve as certification and inspection bodies, accredited and meeting the requirements of an international standard. The GNBS has set goals for the next five years to stress the need for standards to be embraced in the business environment, benefitting both the manufacturer and consumer.

The primary goals of the GNBS will see a more effective means of fulfilling duties captured in its mission and vision. WalcottBostwick noted, “At GNBS, our primary goals really set out to show how we first work with consumers, with industry and stakeholders, communicating with them the benefits and the role of the GNBS.” The GNBS recently finalised a five-year strategic plan providing the opportunity for stakeholders to embrace standards, since standards add value to the quality of life.

The agency is also working towards building quality infrastructure to support trade, inspection and certification bodies.

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guyana-times.com

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

Regional

UN praises Colombia Mexico Mayors demand more and FARC's security after weekend murders agreement on women M

These women lost loved ones in 1993 when a group of FARC guerrillas, stormed their neighbourhood in Antioquia department, killing 35 people

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he United Nations has welcomed an agreement between the Colombian Government and FARC rebels giving specific guarantees to women as part of a peace accord.

Both sides agreed that women would have equal access to land after a final peace deal was signed.

A commission will also be set up to look into sexual violence during the 50-year conflict.

Women displaced by the conflict have often led the struggle for land rights, and suffered sexual violence.

Speaking in the Cuban capital Havana, where the talks are taking place, the head of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said the UN should use the example of Colombia in other conflict zones around the world.

"The issue of violence against women, especial-

ly, sexual violence, has not been swept under the carpet, it has been made a priority so that the victims can seek justice," she said.

"This has not happened in other peace accords, so it has become a historic event."

The accord includes promises of equal access for women in rural areas to land, ownership rights and credit to buy land.

The agreement also promotes and protects female participation in organisations set up to investigate sexual violence, and addresses how victims should be compensated.

The Colombian Government has also promised it will guarantee the security of female FARC soldiers – believed to be about 30 per cent of an estimated 7000 FARC fighters.

President Juan Manuel Santos has said he expects a full peace accord to be signed in the next few months. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Jamaica in worldwide Zika Virus vaccine trials

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amaica will soon be participating in clinical trials to find a vaccine to treat the mosquito-borne Zika Virus.

Health Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton said the island’s participation was part of an international study and fight against Zika.

The clinical trials are supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Tufton said a vaccine could become available within a year.

Jamaica is among some 65 countries fighting Zika.

And the Health Minister reiterated that the virus isn’t going anywhere in any hurry.

“The Zika Virus is new and there is no resistance.

The immune system has not experienced it and developed the capacity to fight against it. So, when something is new like Zika, it tends to spread faster until you develop some sort of resistance to it,” he said.

He said the Government was determined to empower citizens to fight Zika through the free flow of information at all levels. Tufton believes that once people are informed, they will be better able to tackle the virus.

“The biggest and most significant line of defence to fight this virus is us,” he emphasised.

Jamaica has recorded 44 confirmed cases of the Zika Virus, but there are more than 3000 suspected cases.

ayors in Mexico have demanded they be given extra protection after two of their number were killed in separate incidents on Saturday.

The National Association of Mayors asked the federal Government to offer added security to Mayors "at risk".

On Saturday, the Mayor of the town of Pungabarato in southern Guerrero state was shot dead only hours after a Mayor in southern Chiapas had been killed.

Local officials are often targeted by criminal gangs in Mexico.

The Association asked the Government "to prepare and put in place security protocols for Mayors" and to investigate the killings.

An armed gang ambushed the Mayor of Pungabarato, Ambrosio Soto, on Saturday evening as he was travelling along the main motorway.

The men blocked the motorway with lorries and opened fire on Soto's car, killing him and his driver.

Two weeks previously, Soto had said on Twitter that he had been threatened "by organised crime"

and that his cousin had been killed.

"It's time to act, Mr President @EPN," he said addressing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. "#TierraCaliente needs you." Tierra Caliente is the name given to the area of Mexico State, Guerrero and Michoacan characterised by its hot temperatures.

The area has seen a sharp increase in violence over the past years with drug gangs and vigilantes battling for control of the region. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Belizeans nabbed as US immigration officials hunt down criminal foreigners

They were among 100 men and 12 women with criminal histories who were taken into custody by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers last week

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wo Belizeans were arrested in an operation carried out by the United States immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting at-large criminal foreigners.

They were among 100 men and 12 women with criminal histories who were

taken into custody by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers last week.

The majority – 62 – had prior felony convictions for serious or violent offences, such as child sex crimes, weapons charges, and assault. The remaining had

past convictions for significant or multiple misdemeanours.

While the largest number of those taken into custody during the enforcement action are originally from Mexico (89), a total of 11 countries are represented, including El Salvador (7); Guatemala (5); Belize (2); Honduras (2); Vietnam (2); Egypt (1); Philippines (1); Tonga (1); the United Kingdom (1); and Azerbaijan (1).

“This operation exemplifies ICE’s ongoing commitment to targeting convicted criminals and public safety threats for arrest and removal,” said David Marin, deputy field office director for ERO Los Angeles.

“By taking these individuals off our streets and ultimately removing them from the country, we’re making our communities safer for everyone.” (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Persad-Bissessar: AG’s St Kitts-Nevis PM says claims on prisoners coalition remains strong mischievous, baseless

Prime Minister, Dr Timothy Harris

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rime Minister, Dr Timothy Harris said his coalition Administration remained “extremely strong” and a weekend retreat allowed for members to openly discuss issues confronting the Administration in the twinisland federation.

Dr Harris said that

the retreat conducted by Grenada Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell, the Barbados Opposition Leader Mia Mottley and former St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Sir James Mitchell, allowed his Cabinet colleagues to “look at the bigger situation (and) how we could advance the quality of life for people of St Kitts-Nevis.

“All retreats by nature should be candid and frank and this one was extremely well advanced in terms of the candour and the frankness which members brought to the table,” he said, adding “the Team Unity Cabinet remains extremely strong, the synergies are high, the team spirit is very great”.

Harris led his Team Unity, a coalition of Opposition political par-

(Excerpt from Caribbean360)

ties, into Government on February 16, last year, ending three consecutive terms in office of the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) Administration where he once served as Deputy Prime Minister.

Grenada’s Prime Minister Mitchell described the retreat as a “necessity in the construct of governance, particularly the parliamentary system we are adhering to.

“As Caribbean people we should always be willing and ready to help as we continue to traverse the path of governance of our individual countries,” he said, noting that his ruling Administration had earlier this year benefited from a retreat conducted by a Trinidad and Tobago national. (Excerpt from Antigua Observer)

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&T Opposition Leader Kamla PersadBissessar has accused Attorney General Faris AlRawi of attempting to mislead and deceive the population into thinking that 1300 prisoners are likely to be freed because the Opposition failed to support renewal of the Anti-Gang Act and the Bail (Amendment) Act. Both Acts have sunset clauses that need a special majority in Parliament or they will expire next month.

Persad-Bissessar’s comments followed reports over the weekend that hundreds of prisoners on remand are now being considered for bail by the State from August 15.

Al-Rawi has warned that the release of the prisoners, who are facing charges of kidnapping for ransom, could be a security risk to the country. He said the Opposition’s decision to

blank the Bail Bill extension means he would now have to make certain amendments to the Bail Act. In a statement on Sunday, Persad-Bissessar described the AG’s claims as “mischievous, baseless and politically malicious”, and said they were “designed to score cheap political points at the expense of truth and accuracy and to engender fear in the population”.

She said when the AntiGang Act was passed by her People’s Partnership Administration in 2011, it was criticised by the People’s National Movement (PNM), including then Senator AlRawi.

She said the AG has so far failed to supply the Opposition with information requested on the number of persons arrested, charged, and convicted under the Anti-Gang Act.

T&T Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar

Persad-Bissessar added: “The Opposition cannot in good conscience blindly support legislation that was passed for a specific period of time as a temporary measure to assist in the fight against crime.” (Excerpt from Trinidad

Guardian)

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

guyana-times.com

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Around the World

Security tops Arab League summit agenda Turkey detains 42 journalists in crackdown as Europe sounds alarm A

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reviews a guard of honour as he arrives to the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, Turkey, July 22, 2016

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urkey ordered the detention of 42 journalists on Monday, broadcaster NTV reported, under a crackdown that has targeted more than 60,000 people following a failed coup, drawing fire from the European Union.

The arrests or suspensions of soldiers, Police, Judges and civil servants in response to the July 1516 putsch have raised concerns among rights groups and Western countries, who fear President Tayyip

Erdogan is capitalising on it to tighten his grip on power.

Erdogan has declared a state of emergency, which allows him to sign new laws without prior parliamentary approval and limit rights as he deems necessary. The Government has said these steps are needed to root out supporters of the coup and won’t infringe on the rights of ordinary Turks.

State-run Turkish Airlines said it had fired 211 employees, citing their links to a religious movement Erdogan has blamed for the

attempted putsch.

Western countries pledged support for democracy in Turkey, but have also expressed concern over the scale of subsequent purges of state institutions.

On Sunday, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin took to the opinion pages of the New York Times to defend Turkey’s actions. He also dismissed claims that Erdogan had orchestrated the coup in order to launch a crackdown. (Excerpt from Reuters)

California wildfire: 10,000 homes evacuated from path of Sand Fire

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wildfire north-west of Los Angeles has forced the evacuation of some 10,000 homes as it expands across a rugged 51 sq-mile zone, fuelled by high winds and hot weather.

Helicopters are being used to tackle the blaze, nicknamed the Sand Fire, which broke out near Santa Clarita, 40 miles from Los Angeles.

The fire has destroyed more than a dozen homes in three days.

Nearly 3000 firefighters are working to contain the

blaze.

Officials said only 10 per cent of the fire was under control.

“This is the fifth year of an ongoing drought, so we have very extreme fire behaviour,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Daryl Osby told reporters. “These are not normal times.”

Fire crews have also been hampered by the forested, mountainous terrain. Over the weekend, a body was found in a burned-

out car, but it is not clear if the death is fire-related.

Forecasters say there could be some relief in sight with cooler temperatures due to move in.

Firefighters are also struggling to contain a blaze further north, in mountains near Big Sur. This wildfire, spanning more than 23 sq miles, forced the evacuation of more than 1000 homes in the communities of Palo Colorado and Carmel Highlands. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

rab leaders, speaking at the opening of the Arab League summit in the Mauritanian capital, have pledged to “defeat terrorism”, with the ongoing threat of violence in the region dominating the agenda.

Chaired by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, the two-day conference opened on Monday inside a large tent in Nouakchott, with the crises in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya the main focus of talks.

Sherif Ismail, Egypt’s Prime Minister, was one of the first of the 21 leaders to

speak and blamed foreign intervention in the region for the rise of groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and for the radicalisation of young people.

“Foreign intervention in Arab affairs is one of the major reasons for the current crisis; therefore, we should work together to cement our domestic fronts in order to be able to stand up to these foreign interventions,” Ismail said.

For his part, Yemen’s President called on his country’s Houthi fighters to surrender their weapons

and withdraw from territories they control as Arab coalition air raids continue to strike the armed group’s positions.

Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has fled the Arabian Peninsula country, called the continuation of air strikes “a spark of hope”.

“The only solution to the crisis is for the [Houthis] to abide by the recommendations of the Gulf Arab initiative and UN Security Council resolution 2216 which calls for them to withdraw from areas they seized and lay down the heavy arms they have,” Hadi said.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Yahoo sold for US$4.8B to telecom giant Verizon

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ahoo has agreed to sell its core assets to telecom giant Verizon for US$4.8 billion, ending a 20-year run by the Internet pioneer as an independent company.

Verizon chief executive Lowell McAdam announced on Monday that Yahoo would be integrated into its recently acquired AOL unit to create “a top global mobile media company, and help to accelerate our revenue stream in digital advertising”.

The acquisition, expected to close in early 2017, will exclude Yahoo’s cash, certain patent holdings, and its big share in China’s Alibaba Group and stake in Yahoo Japan.

The deal will leave Yahoo as a separate investment company that will change its name after the transaction.

“Yahoo is a company that has changed the world, and will continue to do so through this combination with Verizon and AOL,”

The deal will leave Yahoo as a separate investment company that will change its name after the transaction [Reuters]

Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, said in a statement.

She added that the deal separates the core Yahoo business from its Asian asset equity stakes, and “is an important step in our plan to unlock shareholder value for Yahoo”.

Verizon won the Yahoo bidding after a five-month auction.

Yahoo Incorporation is parting with its email ser-

vice and websites devoted to news, finance and sports in addition to its advertising tools under pressure from shareholders fed up with a steep downturn in the company’s revenue during the past eight years.

The deal comes with Yahoo, a one-time leader in the online space, struggling to keep up with rivals such as Google and Facebook. (Al

Jazeera)

US election: Sanders’ supporters South Sudan’s president replaces boo call to back Clinton his rival Machar as deputy

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ernie Sanders supporters booed and jeered at a rally ahead of the Democratic Party convention when he urged them to back Hillary Clinton.

The Vermont Senator, who lost to Clinton in the race to be the party’s presidential candidate, will call for Democrats to unite behind her in a speech to the Philadelphia convention.

He will say she is a “far superior” candidate to Republican Donald Trump.

But some Sanders supporters protested, vowing never to vote for her.

The four-day convention got under way at 1600 EDT (2000 GMT) with music from Mother Bethel AME Church choir and Boyz II Men. A few hours earlier, Sanders had implored his supporters to defeat Donald Trump by getting behind

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Bernie Sanders supporters marched through Philadelphia

Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine.

His endorsement was met by loyal supporters in the crowd jeering loudly and shouting: “We want Bernie!”

He said his unexpectedly successful candidacy had proved that Americans “want a bold, progressive agenda that takes on the billionaire class”.

The convention gets under way on Monday with a

leaked email scandal threatening to overshadow it.

Wikileaks released emails that show the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which runs the party, was biased against Sanders when he ran against Clinton in the hard-fought primary contest.

The FBI has confirmed that it is investigating the leak. (Excerpt from BBC News)

outh Sudan President Salva Kiir replaced his Vice President and rival Riek Machar on Monday, a move that could potentially undermine last year’s peace deal and reignite war in Africa’s youngest nation.

Machar was sworn in as First Vice President only last April, eight months after a peace agreement that ended two years of fighting that broke out the last time that Kiir sacked him as his deputy in 2013.

But the rivalry between the two men led to violence in the capital Juba early this month as forces from both sides battled each other with tanks, helicopters and other heavy weapons.

Machar, from the minority Nuer ethnic group, left Juba with his troops, saying he would only return when an international body had to

South Sudan’s rebel leader Riek Machar (right) and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir exchange signed peace agreement documents in Addis Ababa in this May 9, 2014 (file photo)

set up a buffer force between his fighters and those supporting Kiir, leader of the dominant Dinka group.

Kiir issued an ultimatum last week, saying Machar had 48 hours to contact him and return to Juba to salvage last year’s peace deal,

or face replacement.

He made good on that threat on Monday when he issued a decree “for the appointment of the First Vice President of the republic of South Sudan”, naming General Tabal Deng Gai to the post. (Excerpt from Reuters)

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guyanatimesgy.com

tuesday, July 26 2016

News

First Lady meets ‘early Haags Bosch contract controversy childhood’ educator to Ministry says “integrity, ethics” the hallmarks of contract award explore partnership

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First Lady Sandra Granger (centre) is flanked by Joycelyn Thomas-Wilson (left) and Dorrie Thomas-Crawford at her State House office

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irst Lady Sandra Granger met with a United States-based early childhood education specialist and teacher, Dorrie Thomas-Crawford on Monday, who has been hosting a training workshop for teachers in the Buxton community for over seven years.

The meeting was intended to explore the possibility of expanding that training in order to help improve learning outcomes in Guyana.

In an invited comment the First Lady said ThomasCrawford had mentioned her interest in hosting this kind of workshop and as such, the educator’s sister, Joycelyn Thomas-Wilson facilitated and accompanied her to the meeting at State House. “…Given her ideas and experience in early childhood education, we were discussing how best we could share her skills and those of

her colleagues, who want to contribute, some [of whom are] Guyanese, with the Ministry of Education to see if we could plan for a bigger workshop next year that would help our teachers gain the kind of skills that she can bring to improve learning,” Granger said.

Thomas-Crawford has a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and 24 credits in Special Education.

She teaches at the kindergarten (ages five to six) level and has been an educator for 25 years.

In an invited comment, she said that she wanted to inform the First Lady about her workshops and to invite her to observe them.

“Our workshop is entitled ‘Teaching children problem-solving and thinking skills’… I want to show the teachers how they can incorporate language development and concept mod-

elling in the classroom; not only teaching the children to write but teaching them thinking skills and problem solving skills,” ThomasCrawford said.

The next workshop is planned for July 28 at the Friendship Primary School.

A special session titled ‘Class’ has been designed to teach the teachers concept development and other subjects.

Thomas-Crawford said she will be hosting this session in collaboration with Leticia Lake, who is a former Headteacher of Tutorial High School and Guidance Counsellor at the Board of Education. Lake has over 40 years teaching experience, she said.

Thomas-Crawford also revealed that plans are in train to bring five teachers to host a one-week workshop.

HEYS programme has positive impact on St Monica’s youths - Toshao

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ouths and facilitators of the Hinterland Youth Employment Service (HEYS) programme in St Monica, Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) say their participation in the programme has thus far been fruitful.

Toshao of the Pomeroon River community James Miguel in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) said that youths of the village are benefitting tremendously from the programme: “Young people that you never used to see coming out to meetings, they are now coming up front, they are participating fully.”

The Toshao added that the introduction of the programme is also serving to unite young people: “They realise, especially in the life skills programme, it is good that they must communicate, associate together as one.”

The HEYS programme trains youths in various fields such as carpentry, masonry, embroidery, book keeping, agriculture and tourism.

Toshao of St Monica James Miguel

James pointed out that the programme will not only develop St Monica youths, but also the village: “You have contractors coming from the coast and which that money has to go pay them out there, but if we have the people with the knowledge in here, we would benefit more in the community.”

Facilitators of HEYS programme received training by master trainers to effectively deliver the module to the participants.

Facilitator Narissa

Courtman said that the training was very interesting and that she is now in a better position to teach the participants. Courtman explained: “We learn how to teach young adults and children, we learn the different techniques and we learn other different things.

We find it interesting and I know the participants are learning and they will learn more and they will be successful at the end of the training.”

Over 60 students are currently participating in the HEYS programme in St Monica. Vernice Elliot a student was high in praise for the programme: “This programme is very interesting, we learn a lot so far, life skill is a very important topic… garment construction is a subject we do and capacity building is a very important topic too.”

Petal Samuels another participant stressed, “I would encourage anybody who could make it to be here because it is very interesting.”

The HEYS programme is ongoing in 112 hinterland communities.

he Communities Ministry has once again reached out to the public in defence of the process used to award the $221 million contract to Puran Brothers Disposal Inc for the development and maintenance of the controversial Haags Bosch solid waste disposal site at Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

The Ministry had come under fire last week by another contractor, Cevon’s Waste Management, which had also bid for the contract. Cevon’s had accused Government of going against protocol to hand the project to Puran Brothers.

The Ministry had immediately responded to the claims by Cevon’s, but has again made a statement in this regard.

The release said that the Ministry would at no time seek to deny any interested stakeholder the opportunity to contribute to the integrity and reliability of the process that would lead to improved solid waste management.

“The Ministry further reiterates that it will act with dispatch in accordance with the necessary provisions to secure the environmental integrity in the operation of sanitary landfills.”

According to the Ministry, no effort will be spared to ensure the highest standards of integrity, civility and ethics at the other municipal landfill facilities.

Cevon’s Management, following the award of the contract to Puran Brothers, had moved to file a protest with the Bid Protest

The Haags Bosch landfill site

Committee (BPC). It said the decision to award the contract to Puran Brothers Disposal Inc was unfair and biased. Cevon’s also cited low price, technical competence, operation methodology and past performance as reasons for the protest Last week, the $221 million one-year contract was inked between the Communities Ministry and Puran Brothers Inc for that company to maintain the Eccles, EBD dumpsite. Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan, when questioned by Guyana Times assured that the awardee was found to be the most suitable among the bidders for the project.

He said efforts to bring relief to residents of Eccles and neighbouring communities have been, over the past several months, in the pipeline to ensure that the Haags Bosch Landfill facility was transformed into a site which complied with international and environmental standards.

The Ministry said it re-

mained committed to ensuring that new measures were implemented to guarantee the effective management of waste.

At the signing of the contract, Bulkan had said that the signing of the new contract provided for different and improved features, including the use of a compactor unit to more efficiently manage waste and to extend the lifespan of the landfill site.

“There will be daily cover of the waste to prevent odour and other unsanitary effects. There will also be proper firefighting equipment,” he said, since there have been numerous fires during the last couple of months, following the departure of the previous contractor.

The Communities Minister said it was expected that a “fresh approach” from what was said was the continuation of an intended meaningful relationship between Central and Local Government.

Murder for murder

It was a case of murder for murder

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his was how grieving relatives described the murder of Nicholas Mitchell, a 34-year-old father of three who was found dead in a bushy area early Sunday morning shortly after a volley of gunshots rang out near his Dundonald Hill, St James, Trinidad home. Relatives said they believe Mitchell’s murder was a reprisal for another shooting death which occurred 12 days earlier. “I knew it was going to happen,” cried Earlene Mitchell, mother of the deceased. “This happened because of the last murder it had up here. This was street justice! All those mothers who lost their sons to gunshots...I now know how they feel,” she added. According to the relatives, at about 02:00hrs, Mitchell was called out of his home by a man known to him.

The man invited Mitchell to come out and take a ‘smoke’.

Mitchell and another man walked along a track near the

former’s home.

Minutes later, rapid and loud gunshots rang out followed by a eerie silence.

Mitchell was shot multiple times while the other man was shot in his arm. Police investigators were later told that two gunmen jumped out of bushes on either side of the track and opened fire on Mitchell and the other man, before running further along the track and escaping into the night.

Natalie Mitchell said that no one ventured outside at that hour in the morning to investigate the shooting. Moments later she got a telephone call stating her brother was shot.

She told Newsday that the man was calling her while en route to hospital. Natalie said she immediately ran to the track where the shooting took place and began a frantic search for her brother.

Mitchell said she searched for hours in the dark and forested area where she believed her

brother was shot. It was not until hours later, with the assistance of other villagers that Mitchell’s body was found in bushes at Providence Estate also known as “The Coco” off Bournes Road. “Reprisal or no reprisal, that was my brother and I cannot believe he is gone,” she added. Although a motive has not yet been established by police investigators, Mitchell’s relatives believe that he was targeted by associates of Mark John who put the blame squarely on Mitchell for John’s shooting death along Bournes Road on July 12.

While not saying if she knew about her son’s involvement in John’s murder or not, Earlene Mitchell told Newsday she had repeatedly warned him of engaging in criminal acts and liming with criminal elements. But these warnings, she added, went unheeded. (Trinidad Newsday)

NEWS

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TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Corentyne triple murder

Barticans to benefit from better roads

Triangular love − as new $60M asphaltic plant to be commissioned soon – Chairman affair suspected as motive – source R egion Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) is putting an end to the rehabilitation of roads using Double Bituminous Surface Treatment (DBST).

This follows complaints by residents of Bartica and other parts of the Region over the dilapidated state of the roads there.

Regional Chairman

…10 remain in custody

P

olice in Berbice are looking for a key suspect as investigations continue into the triple murder at Cookrite Savannah, Black Bush Polder, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

The Major Organised Crime Unit (MOCU) from Georgetown was expected to take over the investigations as of today.

Police are hoping for a breakthrough in the case as investigators turn their attention to a triangular love affair as motive. According to a source close to the investigation, Police have received new evidence, which suggests that the main suspect was having an affair with the wife of one of the three dead men.

The bodies of Pawan “Surish” Chandradeo, 37, of Lot 163 Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder; his son, Jaikarran “Kevin” Chandradeo, 15 and his brother-in-law, Narish “Mice” Rooplall, 33, of Number 73 Village,

Commander Ian Amsterdam on Monday said the suspect Police were hunting was with the three men some time before they were killed.

According to Chandradeo’s wife, Chandrawattie Rooplall, the suspect telephoned her on Friday morning and informed her that there was a shooting in the backdam and she should contact another man for details.

Meanwhile, Amsterdam

also

Corentyne were found with gunshot wounds on Thursday last.

Speaking with Guyana Time, Divisional

confirmed that 10 persons were still in custody. He added that rice farmers at Cookrite Savannah had warned residents not to go into the area to fish.

He said with the MOCU taking over the investigation today and with the information gathered thus far, it is expected that a major breakthrough would be had within the next 24hours.

Meanwhile, an autopsy performed on the body of Pawan Chandradeo revealed that he suffered a blow to the head, which caused a fractured skull.

The cause of death was giv-

en as shock and haemorrhaging.

Autopsies performed on the bodies of Jaikarran Chandradeo and Narish Rooplall gave the cause of death as shock and haemorrhaging caused by a gunshot wound.

The men, who were discovered with a single gunshot injury each, had gone on a fishing expedition which began at 15:00h on Thursday. They were expected back about 03:00h on Friday. Also on the trip was another of Chandradeo’s sons, Alvin.

The 13-year-old told investigators that he was instructed to wait at King’s Camp with the guard there.

The instructions were given to him about 19:00h on Thursday.

He reported that about 20:00h he heard what sounded like two gunshots, and later the rapid sound of what sounded like four more.

At daybreak, he left the camp in search of his father, brother, and uncle. On his way, he met a man who told him that he did not see his relatives and advised the teen to return to his home.

Solar plane completes historic round-the-world trip

S

olar Impulse 2 landed Tuesday in the UAE, completing its epic journey to become the first sun-powered airplane to circle the globe without a drop of fuel to promote renewable energy.

The plane touched down in the capital Abu Dhabi after a more than 48 hourlong flight from Cairo, the final leg in its journey which began on March 9 last year.

Cheers and clapping welcomed the plane as it arrived at Al-Bateen Executive Airport, where it first launched its world tour, an AFP journalist reported.

its work programme, expressing hope that the same surface would be applied to the other roads in the region.

Additionally, Bradford noted that the BarticaMahdia Road would be resurfaced by the Public Infrastructure Ministry and has already been advertised.

“That road will be of tremendous benefit to Bartica and

Narish Rooplall also called "Mice"

Pawan Chandradeo also called "Surish"

Jaikarran Chandradeo called "Kevin"

ficially. He noted that this would be done soon.

Meanwhile, residents of Potaro are calling for quick action from the regional administration. One resident Joan Clay told this publication that she has endured 39 years of deplorable roads. She says hire cars would demand $5000 per trip over the fivemile stretch of Potaro Road.

Swiss explorer and project director Bertrand Piccard was in the cockpit during the 2,763 kilometre (1,716 mile) flight from Cairo, crossing the Red Sea, the vast Saudi desert and flying over the Gulf.

The flight capped a remarkable 42,000-kilometre journey across four continents, two oceans and three seas.

It took off from Cairo on the final leg early on Sunday, having previously crossed Asia, North America, Europe and North Africa.

“The future is clean, the future is you, the future is now, let’s take it further,”

said Piccard as he disembarked.

Hours before landing, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed praise in a live-streamed conversation with Piccard.

“My deepest admiration and respect for your courage,” he said.

“This is a historic day, not only for you but for humanity.”

Dubbed the “paper plane”, Solar Impulse 2 has been circumnavigating the globe in stages, with 58-year-old Piccard and his compatriot Andre Borschberg taking turns at the controls of the singleseat aircraft. (AFP)

The mobile asphalt plant currently at Potaro

Gordon Bradford, speaking to Guyana Times said that all roads in the Region would be constructed with asphaltic surfaces. “The Region has decided that we are not going to go with the DBST programme anymore because there are many heavy-duty

That road leads to the airstrip and three densely populated communities.

Another resident, Vashti Layne told this publication that she has been trying to meet with the Regional Chairman to voice her disgust over the state of the only

surrounding communities because it will lead to a boost in business. In the past, trucks used to carry foodstuff and fuel from Bartica to Mahdia and Issano.”

He said his administration would be lobbying to have the Issano Road,

road they have to use. She explained that for the past six months, she could not leave the community. “I get a bad foot and with the roads the way it is I can’t go nowhere,” the elderly woman said.

Guyana Times visited Agatash Road, which is the only one resurfaced to date with asphalt and also spoke with the residents there.

Rose Symonds, who lives along the newly reconstructed Agatash Road, expressed satisfaction, but called on the administration to fast-track

which services the middle of Mazaruni, rebuilt. “If we can get that road done, trucks will be able to ply that road also and it would definitely bring down the cost of living in those areas. Right now everything goes up by jet boat and with the high cost for fuel and the fact that jet boat can only carry a limited amount of merchandise, whereas the trucks could carry much more. We hope that would be considered; it is in a deplorable state and hardly anything goes through there.”

The condition of the Potaro Road

vehicles that ply our roadway and that bitumen surface don’t last; maybe in two or three months it is gone again, so we have decided that we are going to go with asphalt which seems to be standing up very strong,” Bradford said on Monday.

He noted that the asphalt would be supplied by a private company, Associated Construction Service, which he said has invested some S60 million to have a mobile asphalt plant set up in the region.

Bradford explained that a section of Agatash Road was recently resurfaced with asphalt which was produced by the plant from the construction company that is headed by entrepreneur Peter Lewis.

This publication was informed that production costs to have the roads surfaced would be reduced by using the mobile asphalt plant, which was currently in Bartica.

According to Associated Construction Service head Lewis, the asphalt plant is yet to be commissioned of-

(Andrew Carmichael)

The recently-resurfaced Agatash Road

18

guyana-times.com

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

ARCHIE

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Romance will lead to a stronger commitment.

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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

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TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

19

Lewis Hamilton says “I have to stay Ben Duckett & Daniel on it” after overhauling Nico Rosberg Bell-Drummond praised after 367-run partnership L

A batsman scored more than 150 in each of England Lions’ four matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s A teams

E

ngland Lions batsmen Ben Duckett and Daniel BellDrummond could play for England within a year, according to former national coach Andy Flower.

Their 367-run partnership in a 425-1 total - the second highest in List A games - saw the Lions beat Sri Lanka A. Duckett's 131-ball 220 not out was the ninth-highest List A score ever, while Bell-Drummond hit 171 off 139.

"Those guys are very capable of playing international cricket," said Flower, who now coaches the Lions.

It was a successful tri-series for Flower's team, as the Lions beat Pakistan A and

Sri Lanka A twice apiece, with batsmen scoring more than 150 in each fixture.

Duckett scored 163 not out in a seven-wicket victory against Pakistan A on 19 July, before excelling again in Monday's 140-run win.

Dawid Malan - the 28-year-old Middlesex batsman who received his first England call-up for the Twenty20 squad against Sri Lanka in June - struck 185 in an 88-run DuckworthLewis win against Sri Lanka on 21 July.

Full international Sam Billings, who has played five ODIs and seven T20s, hit 175 in Sunday's second victory against Pakistan.

"I think English cricket will be better for these guys

having to force their way in," Flower, who led the national team from 2009 to 2014, told the Tuffers and Vaughan Cricket Show on BBC Radio 5 live.

"These youngsters have to push their way in and earn their spot. It was an incredible series of innings and great partnerships, the selectors will almost certainly take interest in these results."

And the 48-year-old had special praise for Northants' 22-year-old opener Duckett, who he described as "a very talented young man".

"None of us can foresee the future but there's no reason why he can't go on and have a very successful international future," he said. (BBC

Sport)

Manning cleared in doping investigation A

n investigation into claims two-time Super Bowl winner Peyton Manning used performance-enhancing drugs found "no credible evidence", says the NFL. Manning, 40, denied claims, aired by Al Jazeera, that he took human growth hormone after neck surgery in 2011.The NFL said he was "fully co-operative" with the investigation.Quarterback Manning won the NFL's most valuable player award five times and retired after winning the Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos last season.

The NFL said investigations would continue into allegations made against other players.Green Bay Packers duo Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers, their former teammate Mike Neal, and James Harrison of the Manning's victory with Denver was the second Pittsburgh Steelers were also named in the Al Super Bowl of his career, after a 2006 win with Jazeera report.

Indianapolis Colts All four have denied wrongdoing.

ewis Hamilton has stressed that, despite the win in Hungary that gave him the lead in the Formula One world championship for the first time this season, he cannot afford to let up the pressure he has exerted over his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.

Both he and his team have made it clear they believe the title fight is far from over – especially given Hamilton will have to take grid penalties for an engine change later in the season, a scenario Mercedes are considering how best to manage.

Hamilton took his fifth win at the Hungaroring on Sunday with a wellmanaged if rather pedestrian race, having beaten Rosberg into the first corner. The three-time world champion had experienced a difficult start to the season with two mechanical failures in qualifying, and after Rosberg won the first four races, was 43 points behind the German.

Hamilton has won five of the last six grands prix and leads his rival by six points, with one race to go – at Hockenheim on Sunday – before the summer break.

He said he had still yet to take in the impact of his remarkable fightback but that continuing with the momentum was paramount. “I’m still in the mentality of chasing,” he said. “It’s been great to be able to come back with fewer engines and the struggle we had at the beginning of the year. I’m very proud of that but conscious there’s

Lewis Hamilton took the lead in the world championship on Sunday but his challenge will soon be complicated by a grid penalty

a long way to go. It’s important we try to go from strength to strength. I need to make sure I stay on it.”

Rosberg has picked up only three podiums from the last six races, and was simply unable to match Hamilton at Hungary and the previous grand prix at Silverstone, but denied the race would turn out to be a significant swing in the championship battle. “I’ve always said I’m not counting points,” he said. “I fully expected him to come back and I didn’t expect to be 43 points in front all the time, it ebbs and flows. It’s always going to be a tough battle because he’s the world champion. I’m disappointed because I wanted to win Hungary, not because some points are this way or that way.”

Hamilton came back at Rosberg from behind three times in the 2014 season and concluded with a run of six wins from seven races to take the championship. The Mercedes executive director, Toto Wolff, believed Rosberg, who the team signed for a further two years last week, could

still fight back against Hamilton, despite having been beaten to the title by the British driver for the past two seasons.

“At the beginning of the season he won so many points against Lewis so you can see it swings both directions,” Wolff said. “It’s important to finish, being solidly on the podium, avoiding mistakes, DNFs can cost you the championship. We’ll see that swing through the season and my feeling is the championship will go to the end.”

The two drivers were still at odds after the race over the decision not to penalise Rosberg for posting his pole position lap while double-waved yellow flags were being shown.

The German insisted he had obeyed the rules – and the stewards agreed – but Hamilton, who lost his quick lap under the flags, believed their interpretation had not been strict enough.

Wolff did not think it would impact on their duel and that the advantage would still shift between them.

Shapovalov shocks Kyrgios in Toronto A

ustralian Nick Kyrgios made a shock first-round exit at the Rogers Cup, losing to Denis Shapovalov.

Teenage world number 370 Denis Shapovalov stunned Nick Kyrgios in the Rogers Cup first round on Monday.

The 17-year-old Canadian wildcard beat the Australian 11th seed 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-3 at the ATP 1000 event in Toronto.

Shapovalov, the

Wimbledon junior champion, mixed 37 winners with 34 unforced errors in his surprise win.

Kyrgios ended up with 44 unforced errors and 18 double faults, losing in one hour, 39 minutes.

Shapovalov broke in the second game of the deciding set on his way to a 3-0 lead he would not relinquish.

He will face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the second round. (Sportsmax)

Denis Shapovalov

20

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

USACA lawsuit to stop CPL England v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Old Trafford dismissed by Florida court Relentless England

Central Broward County ground will come alive when the "Biggest Party in Sport" bowls off on Thursday in Lauderhill

T

he USA Cricket Association's attempt to block six Caribbean Premier League (CPL) games from taking place on July 28-31 in Lauderhill, Florida by pursuing an emergency injunction was denied on Monday afternoon

by Judge Michael L Gates in Florida's 17th Circuit Court in Broward County. Judge Gates struck down the arguments made by former USACA executive secretary Kenwyn Williams on behalf of USACA, that the games were not properly sanctioned, with Gates writing that USACA's claims were "insufficient to justify exparte relief".

"Ex parte orders are antithetical to precious due process rights," Judge Gates wrote, citing previous legal precedent. "There must be a 'strong and clear' showing before a temporary injunction without notice may issue."

Williams had filed a lawsuit against Lauderhill Mayor Richard Kaplan,

Broward County Parks & Recreation, and Central Broward Regional Park manager Duncan Finch last week - with USACA and USACA vice-president Owen Grey listed as coplaintiffs - seeking an emergency injunction to prevent the games from happening.

Williams claimed that in bypassing USACA and going to the ICC for sanctioning, the CPL had not gone through the proper sanctioning process in order for the games to be staged.

However, Williams did not file suit against the CPL nor the ICC, the two parties who applied for and approved sanctioning respectively.

Mayor Kaplan's lawyers filed a motion for dismissal on July 20, arguing that Williams should not be allowed to file a suit as a pro se litigant because he is not licensed to practice law in Florida. In addition to his ruling that the suit did not meet the merits to justify ex-parte relief, Judge Gates also sided with Kaplan's law-

yers in ruling that Williams did not have standing to represent USACA in a legal capacity.

"Petitioner Kenwyn S Williams purports to bring the instant action on behalf of USA Cricket Association," Gates wrote in his summary. "Mr Williams is not permitted to do so. Mr Williams is not a member of the Florida Bar, nor has he provided any documentation that he is authorized to practice law in the State of Florida. Under Florida law, a corporation may not represent itself through non-lawyer employees, officers or shareholders.

"Thus, if petitioner USA Cricket Association wishes to proceed in the instant action, it must retain counsel."

Marshall Beil, a lawyer representing USACA from the firm McGuire Woods LLP, had sent a cease and desist notice to Williams in June when he first threatened to take legal action to stop the CPL games. Based on the stance taken by Beil on behalf of USACA, it is unlikely USACA will continue pursuing the case. Mayor Kaplan was satisfied with the ruling handed down by Judge Gates.

"The Judge's ruling did not surprise me, and we were extremely confident that we would prevail in this situation," Kaplan told ESPNcricinfo in a written statement. "The action had no merit, and the ICC, who has sole authority to sanction the event, did so in writing some time ago. I look forward to seeing everyone at the games." (ESPN Cricinfo)

Afghanistan set to play 1st full series against West Indies

seal 330-run win

P

akistan's win at Lord's in the opening Test set this entertaining series alight, but England responded with a 330-run win at Old Trafford on the fourth evening in a relentless manner that answered many of the questions Lord's presented.

Given a firm pitch of decent bounce and pace, England's pace attack exposed the vulnerability of Pakistan's batting line-up and they will yearn for more of the same at Edgbaston and The Oval.

England's task was completed a day early, the debate over their decision not to enforce the follow-on with a first-innings lead of 391 made entirely redundant.

Misbah-ul-Haq now faces a huge task to rally his side in the nine days before the third Test at Edgbaston.

Pakistan's captain became the fifth wicket to fall 15 minutes before tea - out for 35 as he jabbed a wide yorker from Woakes on to his stumps.

Pakistan, set a notional 565 to win, faced the demanding task of batting for 11 hours to save the Test.

That is longer than a full season of Game of Thrones. The first hour before lunch did not go awfully well: two wickets down already, with even the most ardent Pakistan supporter braced for the inevitable.

James Anderson was, revelling in overhead conditions that enabled the ball to swing and an excellent pitch that seems to have become harder and bouncier as the Test has progressed. Shan Masood and Azhar Ali were pocketed in the 16 overs up to lunch, Anderson claiming 2 for 13 in a masterful seven-over spell.

Firstly, there were formalities to be dealt with, namely

Chris Woakes celebrates the dismissal of Sarfraz Ahmed

SCOREBOARD England 1st Innings 589/8d Pakistan 1st Innings 198 England 2nd Innings (overnight 98/1) AN Cook* not out 76 AD Hales c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Mohammad Amir 24 JE Root not out 71 Extras (lb 2) 2 Total (1 wicket dec; 30 ove rs) 173 Did not bat JM Vince, GS Ballance, BA Stokes, JM Bairstow†, MM Ali, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson Fall of wickets 1-68 (Hales, 15.5 ov) Bowling: Mohammad Amir 11-2 -43-1, Rahat Ali 8-0-54-0,Yasir Shah 9-0-53-0,Azhar Ali 2-0-21-0 Pakistan 2nd innings Mohammad Hafeez c Ballance b Ali 42 Shan Masood c Cook b Anderson 1 Azhar Ali lbw b Anderson 8

(in Tests in which both have played) with no score of substance. There again, he is merely following a trend: the last time Pakistan's openers reached a fifty-stand in a Test

Joe Root struck with his second ball to remove Wahab Riaz Afganistan will play in their first full tour of the Caribbean in 2017

A

fghanistan are set to play their first full series against West Indies, travelling to the Caribbean in June 2017 for five ODIs and three T20Is. It will Afghanistan's first full series against a Full Member other than Zimbabwe.

The specific dates of the tour are yet to be announced, although a press release from the Afghanistan Cricket Board mentioned the tour would begin in midJune.

Afghanistan have played only two full series against

Full Members previously.

The first was when they visited Zimbabwe for five ODIs and two T20Is in October 2015; then, they recorded their first series win over a Full Member. In the return series, two months later, hosted by Afghanistan in the UAE, they beat Zimbabwe in both formats again and broke into the top 10 of the ODI rankings for the first time.

Chairman Nasimullah Danish welcomed the series, saying: "Playing with Twenty20 champions will

boost technical prospects for us." WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead was happy to have more games on the calendar. "This series will add to the variety of cricket our teams will be playing for the next year and we are happy to be able to have teams visit the region to add exposure for all our players," Muirhead said.

Most recently, Afghanistan met West Indies in the Super 10 stage of the World T20 in March and beat them by six runs.

(ESPN Cricinfo)

the dismissal of Masood by Anderson. It has become as natural a task as removing the top from a bottle of milk.

Masood was popped on to the doorstep as Anderson awoke to his task and with a silent nod of thanks he helped himself.

There have been two ways to remove the bottle top: short balls of tight line which Masood has deflected on to his stumps, or routine outswingers. This time Masood succumbed to the latter, edging to Cook at first slip. He has been out to Anderson six times in six innings now

in England was 24 attempts ago by Aamer Sohail and Saeed Anwar at The Oval in 1996.

With Masood out of the picture, it was the inswinger that did for Azhar, bowled tighter to the stumps and having the batsman lbw as he tried to work him through square leg.

In the first innings, he danced across the crease to Stokes as he fell to a leg-side catch but was still at it in the second innings, rearing his back leg as he received his first ball from Anderson, and

Younis Khan c Hales b Ali 28 Misbah-ul-Haq* b Woakes 35 Asad Shafiq lbw b Anderson 39 Sarfraz Ahmed† c †Bairstow b Woakes 7 Yasir Shah lbw b Ali 10 Wahab Riaz c Cook b Root 19 Mohammad Amir c Broad b Wo akes 29 Rahat Ali not out 8 24 Extras (b 2, lb 4, w 1, nb 1) 8 Total (all out; 70.3 overs) 234 Fall of wickets 1-7 (Shan Masood, 4.3 ov), 2-25 (Azhar Ali, 10.2 ov), 3-83 (Mohammad Hafeez, 25.3 ov), 4-102 (Younis Khan, 31.3 ov), 5-145 (Misbahul-Haq, 45.5 ov), 6-163 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 49.3 ov), 7-167 (Asad Shafiq, 50.2 ov), 8-190 (Yasir Shah, 58.4 ov), 9-208 (Wahab Riaz, 63.2 ov), 10-234 (Mohammad Amir, 70.3 ov) Bowling: JM Anderson 16-241-3, SCJ Broad 14-3-37-0,BA Stokes 5.2 -0-21-0 (1w), MM Ali 18.4-1-88-3(1nb),CR Woakes 15.3-2-41-3, JE Root 1-1-0-1

repeating in on several other occasions. Stokes should have dismissed him on 3 but Cook dropped a sitter at first slip.

Moeen evinces little threat but somehow the wickets tot up. By then he had already removed Mohammad Hafeez, who had resisted in stately manner until he was caught at short leg with one that turned and bounced.

Sarfraz Ahmed departed in the first over after the resumption as the slightest deflection off the glove gave Woakes a leg-side strangle.

The following over, Asad Shafiq, who had played neatly, fell lbw to an Anderson nip-backer as England successfully reviewed.

That just left the dregs.

Yasir fell lbw to Moeen as he tried to pull and there was a brief appearance by Root, who added a wicket to his 325 runs in the match: two balls into his solitary over, Wahab Riaz's ungainly slog sweep at a ball well outside off stump top-edging gently into the hands of Cook at short fine leg. Mohammad Amir rode his luck for a while, but the rain held off, Woakes once again revealed the knack of taking a wicket in his first over (Graeme Swann-like, except without the gab), when Amir drove to mid-off and there was no need to come back in the morning.

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By Romario Samaroo

H

ero CPL join Jamaica Tallawahs stars to preview landmark Lauderhill leg Jamaica Tallawahs is the first team to arrive in Florida ahead of the six matches in this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) from July 28 to 31 at the Central Broward County Recreational Park in Lauderhill, Florida.

Their stars; Kumar Sangakkara, Rovman Powell, Chadwick Walton and Coach Paul Nixon conducted a coaching clinic, in association with the International Cricket Council, for 150 children at the match venue on Friday morning. History will be made when Guyana Amazon Warriors face Barbados Tridents on Thursday July 28 from 19:00h.

In addition, Hero CPL CEO Damien O’Donohoe was joined by City of Lauderhill Mayor Richard J. Kaplan, Broward County Commissioner Dale V.C. Holness to discuss the opportunities for growth of West Indies and American cricket Coach of the Tallawahs, Paul Nixon, speaking on the move to Florida, mentioned that “it is simply amazing.

I’ve been here with the inaugural year and seeing the standard of cricket and world class performers we have set the alarms off.” Nixon complimented the organizers for lifting the standards and professionalism that has grown with the tournament as well as thanked them for the opportunity to be pioneers and show the children the basics of the sport. Top order batsman, Kumar Sanagakkara also weighed in on his return to Florida, having been a part of the Sri Lanka team who played two of the four T20I hosted on this ground.

“It’s very exciting to be back in Florida. We played New Zealand here in 2010 and it was two closely con-

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Tallawahs ready and raring for Florida tested games and it’s good to bring cricket back.”

The legend spoke of the privilege of being on the forefronts of pleasing the crowd.

“It is important to introduce the game to new viewership and encourage new spectators to come and watch the differences between cricket and baseball. Hopefully understand it and like it. Cricket viewership in the north has been one of the mainstays globally and for us as Tallawahs to be a part of that and ensure we play here with an eye on finishing on top of the table is important.”

Reminiscing on his games on the ground the wicketkeeper/batsman noted that there has been much development with the pitch and the fans are in for a treat.

“The pitch looks very good and from the looks of it a lot of work has been done. The scores in the previous matches played here seems pretty

be going any better. Guys have worked so well and we got world class stars with us.

That blend of youth and experience has worked well with us. We’ve got a guy from the U.S.A, young Timroy Allen, who has been working closely with Dale Steyn over the last few weeks, so what more can a young cricketer want that than to be with the very best in the world?”

Nixon added “The West Indies were heavily dependent on a few people and the Tallawahs were on Gayle and Russell a few years ago, thankfully now the management team has done well and picked a great squad and now every member of that squad is winning matches and that is crucial.” Young players such as Chadwick Walton and Rovman Powell were both highly motivated heading into their Florida matches.

Walton spoke on his nobility of playing in the U.S.

Jamaica Tallawahs player, Kumar Sangakkara (left) and Coach Paul Nixon with the children at Central Broward Recreational Park on Friday

good. We hope crowds come in and the ordinary American comes in and see what we offer. Crowd participation is absolutely vital and its’ what drives the sport and hopefully good enough for two sides to have a good match.”

Nixon is energized before their Florida games as he has seen much change in the team since the inaugural tournament.

“To come out here with an exciting Tallawahs team, top of the league, things couldn’t

“It’s quiet and honour to be a part of history. It is much anticipated and talked about since the first year of CPL and it’s very exciting here in Florida!”

Powell is pleased with how the season is going and doesn’t think he will be pressured after he got a few games under his belt.

“It’s a good way to start a young career, you know I’ve never played in Florida, so it’s an experience I’ll definitely look forward to.”

Swimming & rowing ban 10 Russians from Rio after IOC report

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wimming’s Fina and rowing’s Fisa took action after the International Olympic Committee let sports federations decide if athletes should miss the Games.

That was in response to a report on state-sponsored doping in Russia.

Anti-doping groups had called for a blanket ban on Russian athletes for next month’s Rio Games.

Last week’s McLaren Report - commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency - said figures in Russia’s ministry of sport and its secret service were complicit in covering up doping across the “vast majority” of summer and winter Olympic sports.

Sunday’s emergency meeting of the IOC opt-

ed to let governing bodies for Olympic sports decide if they should ban athletes from Rio - though it did say any Russian athlete previously sanctioned for doping should not go to Brazil.

That led Fina to take action against seven swimmers, and it will re-test all the samples collected from Russian competitors at last year’s World Championships in Kazan.

London 2012 bronze medallist Yulia Efimova, Mikhail Dovgalyuk, Natalia Lovtcova and Anastasia Krapivina - all of whom have previously been sanctioned for banned substances - were withdrawn by the Russian Olympic Committee.

Nikita Lobintsev, Vladimir Morozov and

17-year-old Daria Ustinova appeared in the McLaren report.

Fisa, meanwhile, said Ivan Balandin from the Russian men’s eight was no longer eligible to take part at Rio as he had been implicated in the same report.

It added two other athletes - Anastasia Karabelshchikova and Ivan Podshivalov - would also now not go to Rio as they had served doping bans in the past.

Both governing bodies said they would continue to analyse data and evidence and look into individuals’ anti-doping records.

“This may result in further declarations of ineligibility,” Fisa said in a statement. (BBCSport)

22

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

WICB Regional Women’s T20 Tournament

Trinidad & Tobago complete the double

— Barbados & Guyana finish 3rd & 5th respectively

West Indies Captain Stafanie Taylor was named Player of the Tournament with a total of 172 runs and 4 wickets

Trinidad and Tobago completed the double by lifting the WICB Regional Women’s T20 Title

BY DELVON MC EWAN

A

carnival finish to a seesaw final as Trinidad and Tobago dethroned Jamaica in the final over of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Women’s Regional T20 Tournament last night at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence.

With 11 runs to get in the

the thriller for the winners.

Lord innings included the six which closed the match and gave Trinidad victory by two wickets.

Like Jamaica, Trinidad innings was oscillated throughout the 20 overs providing much excitement to the small number of spectators. The Jamaicans batted first and were limited to 100-7 in 20 overs, leaving

Guyana and West Indies top order batter Shemaine Campbelle receives the prizes for the player with the most runs (185) and the highest individual score (70 not out) in the tournament

final over and just two wickets remaining it was up to the Jamaicans to hold the grip on Trinidad’s batters while the Trinidadians only option was to score the remaining runs. Two runs followed by a single then two more and finally a big heave that landed over the ropes at long on ensured Trinidad the title and double crown in Women’s Regional tournaments for 2016.

It was Selene Oneil 11 from eight deliveries and Shenelle Lord eight from two balls, who sealed the deal in the final moments of

Trinidad 101 to get from 20 overs.

In pursuit of the target, Trinidad suffered an early set back when Vanessa Watts removed Stacyann King for naught off the fourth ball of the first over.

That wicket also triggered a slow start for Trinidad who crawled to five runs at the end of the third over.

However, opener Reniece Boyce trusted her confidence against pacer Chenelle Henry and decided to open her shoulder at the beginning of the fourth over, hitting the first two balls to the

square leg boundary before playing an expansive drive that bisected cover and midoff for a third boundary in a over which leaked 13 runs.

Subsequent to that over it was all joy for the Jamaicans who controlled the first half of Trinidad’S innings, stifling them to 395. It was Watts and Shenel Daley who did the damage with two wickets each and by that time Trinidad was at the doors of defeat and had only senior players Melissa Aguillera and Anisa Mohammed as their main hope. They both lived up to expectation delivering a sixth wicket partnership worth 39 runs and taking their team within 23 runs of achieving a win before Mohammed, who made a brisk 21 was run out. The very next ball Aguillera followed for a top score of 29 runs.

Rachel Vincent (03) and Oneil joined forces to take their team from 79-7 to 90 before the former was run out attempting a quick single to lower the deficit for the final over. They both ran well between the wicket prior to the run out and instead of the big shots they kept the ball on the parapet and ran to the benefit of the team.

At the beginning of the ultimate over the equation was 11 to get from six deliveries and a title to win.

The captain Stefanie Taylor trusted Watts with the ball, presumably because her returns in the match prior to the final over read 3-1-6-2 and she was the best choice.

However, that moved work in Trinidad’s favour as they won with two balls to spare.

Earlier when Jamaica batted, they slipped to 40-6 before a 55 runs seventh wicket partnership between wicket keeper batter Tameka Sanford (33) and Chenelle Henry (25 not out) resuscitated Jamaica’s innings. Apart from Sanford

and Henry’s heroic only Shanel Dayley of the other batters reached double figures.

Mohammed and Shenelle Lord captured two wickets each while Kirbyina Alexander picked up one wicket.

With that win Trinidad was confirmed double champions after winning the 50 over tournament earlier this month also in Guyana.

In the playoff games Barbados and host Guyana won to finish third and fifth respectively. Barbados defeated Windward Islands by nine wickets while Guyana won by a mammoth margin of 95 runs against Leeward Islands.

In the Barbados versus

and Deandra Dottin sharing an unbroken second wicket partnership worth 81 runs.

Knight made 46 not out from 34 balls while her partner Dottin was on 25 from 19 deliveries when victory was achieved. Hayley Mathews was Barbados only casualty Leg Before Wicket to Rachel Williams for six.

In the day’s first game, Guyana whipped Leewards to end on a positive note.

Batting first Guyana made the highest total (157-1 of the tournament on the back of a solid record breaking partnership between Loshauna Toussaint and ShemayneCampbelle. The pair joined forces at 11-1 in the third over and added 146 for the second wicket which is the highest second wicket and overall partnership in Women’s Regional T20 cricket.

Giddings continue her good form with 2-14 from four overs.

Leewards number three Amanda Edwards and number five Sameldo Willett were the only batters to reach double figures with 10 each.

Campbelle was named player of the match for her top notch knock of 70 which spearheaded Guyana’s batting. It was her second half century of the tournament as she finished as the leading run scorer with 185 from four matches.

Trinidad finished as champions while Jamaica as runners up, third went to Barbados, followed by Windwards, Guyana and Leewards in that order.

At the post match presentation Trinidad was awarded for winning both titles while several top per-

Jamaica wicketkeeper Tameka Sanford was run out after her brilliant innings (Photos by Romario Samaroo)

Windwards match, the latter team won the toss and opted to bat scoring 98-3 off 20 overs in the process.

Akeira Peters top scored with 39 not out from 41 deliveries, an innings which comprised of three fours and two sixes. She added 58 runs with Afy Fletcher, who made 25 from 32 balls.Shakeira Selman 2-14 and Malissa Howard 1-14 were the lone wicket takers for Barbados.

Replying to the small total Barbados rushed to victory at 99-1 in just 10.5 overs, with Kycia Knight

Toussaint who opened the batting made a runner a ball unbeaten 65 while the inform Campbelle played an aggressive knock for a top score of 70. Melanie Henry was Guyana’s only demise. She was bowled by Shawnisha Hector for one.

In reply Leewards were routed for 62 in 16.4 overs as the Guyana bowlers back their batters with some excellent bowling. Off spinner Plaffiana Millington led the way with 3-8 from four economical overs while left arm medium fast bowler Erva

formers were also awarded for individual performance.

Here is the list of awardees; Player of the match Anisa Mohamed 21 runs and two wickets, Player of the Tournament Stefanie Taylor (172 runs and four wickets), batter with most runs and highest individual score Shemayne Campbelle (185 and 70 runs), Most wickets Erva Giddings, Anisa Mohamed and Shenel Daley (9 wickets each) and most dismissals Melissa Aguillera and Tameka Sanford (five each).

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

23

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2016…

TKR could be the Zouks’ Kryptonite I

t would complete a spectacular come back and a perfect home run if the St. Lucia Zouks should win tonight in their final home game of the season against Trinbago Knight Riders at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium.

At home, the Zouks have so far manage three wins from as many matches and have the opportunity to complete their fourth successive win when they come up against the TKR tonight from 18:00h.

Prior to their outstanding performance at home, the Zouks were in the cellar position with one win from four matches, however, in their last three matches they have turn in some sterling performances to comprehensively beat St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Barbados Tridents and Guyana Amazon Warriors.

Due to those successes the Zouks have jumped from

the bottom of the table to third place only behind Jamaica Tallawahs and the Amazon Warriors.

With three successive wins, home advantage and a win in the opener of the season against TKR, the Zouks hold the edge heading in to tonight’s encounter. They have found energy and they are making it purposeful with perfect execution. Their bowling, although questionable, has held its own and has surpassed expectation especially in the last three matches and with Jerome Taylor’s inclusion.

His bowling to date has been the stand out for the Zouks and has restricted opposition batsmen to the latter part of the innings.

He along with Kyle Mayers and Shane Watson has been effective in stifling their opponents. Skipper Darren Sammy and Delorn Johson have been contrib-

Headquarters in charge after opening Day of GPF Annual Athletics Championship

Flashback! Kevin Abbensetts (right) dips at the 100m finish line in the Youth Club boys’ 100m heats yesterday afternoon ahead of sprint sensation Tevin Garraway (second left) (Photo

T

courtesy Orlando Charles)

he Guyana Police Force annual athletics championship got underway on Sunday with two events, its road relay and swimming competitions. Headquarters dominated both events to finish atop of the point standings at the end of the first day of activities.

The winners led the way in the pool at the National Aquatic Centre as they dominated in seven out of the ten events. ‘A’ ‘B’ and ‘C’ divisions were no match for Headquarters who dominated the following proceedings; 50m freestyle, 50 m breast stroke, 50m butterfly, 50m men’s back stroke, 50m females back stroke, female relay and 50m mixed stroke relay.

‘A’ Division won the other three categories namely, 50m freestyle, 50m breast stroke and 50m butterfly, to finish second place with 94 points.

The overall results at the end of the 10 events were, Headquarters 124, ‘A’ Division 94, ‘C’ Division 62 and ‘B’17.

In the mixed road relay, Headquarters finished first, ‘A’ Division in second and Country Division and ‘B’ Division finished in third and fourth respectively.

Upcoming activities are Track and Field Today, Wednesday 27 and Friday 29. First two days activities will commence at 10:00hrs and on the final day at 14:00hrs.

Hashim Amla

uting to their team’s cause as well. With varying pace the bowling attack is difficult for batsmen to adapt and as a result has been productive in recent games.

The host batting is arguably the best on paper and has found form recently. In their three wins at home it has been the most responsible facet of their game.

From openers Johnson

Jerome Taylor

Charles and Andre Fletcher to Mayers at number seven, their batting is definitely a threat to the oppositions’ bowlers. It is also mixed with youth and experience and comprises of stroke makers namely Watson, Grant Elliot, Mike Hussey and David Miller, and power hitters Sammy, Fletcher Charles and Mayers.

With such balance in

team composition and the right execution in recent matches the Zouks have become the team to watch.

However, TKR is not to be written off, especially with the presence of their T20 superstars Brendon McCullum, Sunil Narine, Colin Munro and Dwayne Bravo.

They are currently fifth on the table with three matches to go and a win tonight could ease their adrenaline rush of finding themselves in a must win situation in their final games.

Lots depend on Munro, McCullum, Umar Akmal and Bravo with the bat while Narine is expected to spearhead a bowling attack which includes, Kevon Cooper, Ronsford Beaton and Bravo.

Tonight’s match will also be the last preliminary match in the Caribbean before the tournament move

to Miami. The Zouks is in ripping form at the moment and are predicted to come out on top but TKR could be their kryptonite.

Trinbago Knight Riders-Dwayne Bravo (captain), Brendon McCullum, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Umar Akmal, Kevon Copper, Sulieman Benn, Colin Munro, Anton Devcich, Ronsford Beaton, Nikita Miller, Javon Searles, William Perkins, Yannic Cariah, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Hamza Tariq.

St. Lucia Zouks- Darren Sammy (captain), Shane Watson, David Miller, Michael Hussey, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Morne Morkel, Derone Davis, Jerome Taylor, Grant Elliott, Shane Shillingford, Kristopher Ramsarran, Delorn Johnson, Kyle Mayers, Keddy Lesporis, Nitish Kumar and Gidron Pope.

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

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

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2016…

TKR could be the Zouks’ Kryptonite Pg 23

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