Guyana Times Daily - December 24, 2015

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

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 2717

Thursday, December 23, 2015

PRICE

Govt sends Brassington “on leave”

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Tourism Ministry P13 spreads Christmas cheer at CJIA

Page 3

...SARU, Police to now dig for "evidence" – Harmon

Ramjattan suspends 2am curfew for holiday week Page 16

...when drinking and DUIs are heaviest

GPL’s CEO to be sent on administrative leave Page 7

Millions won in GTT’s P12 Crazy Cash Promotion

...following massive corruption allegations

GPSU already spending $M on ‘Sports Complex’ P9 – Govt contributed $7M thus far

Cabinet P9 approves polythene procurement for rainy season

Downtown Georgetown abuzz with last minute shoppers Georgetown on Wednesday was flocked with hundreds of last minute shoppers who sought to cash in on exciting deals for christmas

Supenaam Ferry delayed for 1 hour for tardy Presidential Guards Page 7

– passengers, businesses up in arms

Man’s body found at Kitty Seawall Page 16

NY Shri Prakash Gossai Foundation fetes 154 children P10

2 NEWS

THURsday, december 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

E Division spreads NA Rotary hosts party for less fortunate joy of Christmas – ‘Girl Power’ donates food hampers

The children having fun at the party with the elves and Rotarians

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Some of the Children at the Christmas Party hosted by E Division on Saturday last

he joy of the Christmas season was extended to those in need, compliments of a give-back initiative by the Guyana Police Force E Division (Linden-Kwakwani).

On Saturday last, the Division hosted a grand Christmas party and donation at the Linden Constabulary Hall, which saw scores of parents and children from the bauxite mining community of

Linden benefiting.

The party graced by the presence of Santa Claus, was filled with fun activities for the children who all received gifts and confectionary, in addition to food and beverage. The initiative was supported by Bai Shan Lin, Chetram’s Lumber Yard, Dave and Celina’s and China Trading, among others.

Meanwhile, the ‘Girl

Power’ group of Linden, in collaboration with New Era Entertainment and Brushe’s Classic donated food hampers to numerous families in Linden. A member of Girl Power, Reycia Nedd, said the group hopes to do more donations in the coming years and has since partnered with a group from Georgetown in an effort to donate to families in need.

A

s part of the festive season, the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam held its annual children’s Christmas party on Sunday.

Apart from receiving gifts, the children had a rollicking time playing with the elves and Rotarians in the absence of Santa. The joy and happiness seen on the faces of the children brought satisfaction to the Rotarians whose motto is: “Service above self.”

New Amsterdam Rotary Club President Chris Hicks says the Club views the season as one for giving love.

“We, the Rotary Club, sees it fit to give especially to children who are less fortunate and to share a gift with them for the Christmas and give them a meal and make them happy and joyful for the season that we are in.”

One hundred and thirty children from New Amsterdam, East Canje and East Coast Berbice benefited from the event which took place at the Welfare Community Centre in Canje. According to Hicks, funds for the project were garnered from several fundraisers held by the Club during the year.

Men before Court for damage to property cross-charges

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wo men were on Wednesday brought before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on cross-charges of damage to property.

Paul Cox, a 53-year-old electrical engineer, accepted the charge which read that on December 14 at Charlotte Street, Georgetown, he unlawfully and maliciously damaged a front windscreen valued $155,000, property of David Ningwah.

Meanwhile, Ningwah denied the charge which read that on the said day, he unlawfully and maliciously damaged a Nissan light and bumper to the tune of $63,800 property of Cox. Cox claimed that on the day in question, Ningwah’s vehicle was parked close

to his when he attempted to drive off from the location. He said that as he was pulling out of his parking space, his vehicle jammed Ningwah’s. He said Ningwah became annoyed and angry and exited his vehicle. Ningwah then damaged Cox’s car light and bumper.

Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones confirmed these facts, adding that Ningwah inflicted the damage using a hockey stick. The men settled the matter, opting not to offer evidence against each other. When Ningwah requested that his repairs be paid for by Cox, the Magistrate related that she would not oblige, given the particulars surrounding the charge.

“Sponsor your own repairs,” the Magistrate stated before dismissing the case.

3 Govt sends Brassington “on leave” news

thursday, december 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, December 24 – 14:30h-16:00h and Friday, December 25 – 05:30h-07:00h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, December 24 – 15:15h-16:45h and Friday, December 25 – 16:00h-17:30h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Weather: Sunny conditions followed by light to heavy rain showers can be expected throughout the day, with cloudy skies in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-Easterly between 4.47 metres and 5.81 metres per second.

High Tide: 15:40h reaching a maximum height of 2.73 metres.

Low Tide: 09:13h and 21:43h reaching minimum heights of 0.65 metre and 0.48 metre respectively.

...SARU, Police to now dig for "evidence" – Harmon

By Devina Samaroo

D

isclosures that the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Executive Director Winston Brassington was ordered on leave to facilitate a Police investigation into the operations of the entity appear to be another attempt by Government to mislead the public.

Notably, this is the second time that Government is being accused of distorting the truth in favour of its agenda.

State Minister Joseph Harmon, during a postCabinet press briefing on Wednesday, disclosed that Cabinet decided to send the NICIL Executive Director and his deputy, Marcia Nadir- Sharma on leave in order to facilitate Police investigations into the operations of the controversial entity.

However, Guyana Times was reliably informed that Brassington was not ordered on leave, but rather, was already scheduled to take his leave.

Sources indicate that Brassington had applied for his leave and this was approved by the Chairman and Board of Directors of NICIL. Brassington proceeded on one-month annual leave effective December 23.

Further, sources close to Brassington indicated that the Board of Directors was never informed by Government of a decision to order the NICIL Executive Director on leave.

Meanwhile, Harmon explained that the forensic audit conducted by Anand Goolsarran into NICIL proved that there was sufficient information for the matter to be handed over to the Police for further investigation.

“Cabinet deliberated on

NICIL Executive Director Winston Brassington

the report…These reports should be sent to the competent agencies for them to explore further and dig deeper to determine whether criminality exist,” he stated.

However, Brassington has since argued against the conclusions provided in the forensic audit report, noting that the forensic auditor was yet to pinpoint any instance of illegality or breach of law in the operations of NICIL. In fact, at a recent press conference just days before he proceeded on leave, Brassington informed the public that Goolsarran had no proof to back up the claims in the report.

“When Mr Goolsarran comments on our finan-

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cial expenditure and our revenue, and he is criticising some of these [and] for many of the things he is criticising, he is not producing any real detail of where he got his information from or whether the accounts are wrong or not. He didn’t provide any evidence that suggest that and so you have these contradictions. At the end of the day, someone has to look and ask has Mr Goolsarran done a proper job? And I think that we will find that the evidence is lacking,” Brassington said.

He added that Goolsarran could not legally support his claims that NICIL has breached Sections 216 and 217 of the Constitution, which state that all revenues or other monies raised or received by Guyana must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

He said based on numerous legal opinions with “some level of depth”, it was revealed that Sections 216 and 217 of the Constitution did not apply to NICIL, as it was a company.

He also chastised Goolsarran who in his assertions implied that the Audit Office of Guyana seemed to have conducted sub-standard audits of the NICIL books over the years.

NICIL was formed in July 1990 by the People’s

Minister of State Joseph Harmon

National Congress (PNC) Government for the purpose of being a Government Holding Company for investments.

Essentially, the company holds Government shares and assets, invests in companies and sells companies among other transactions.

NICIL is basically the company that owns most of the State sector and most of the Industrial Estates and it operates like any other company. It has revenues; it has expenses; some of the profit is distributed to the Government as dividends, some is retained for working capital, and some is invested. (devinas@guyanatimesgy.com)

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thursday, december 24, 2015

Views Odyssey Transport Services fetes thousands for Christmas Editor(ag): Michael Younge Tel: 225-8697, 225-6695, 225-5634, 225-8696, 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

Youman Nabi

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oday is a Public Holiday - Youman Nabi - which commemorates the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of the Islamic religion. It is a mark of the enlightened approach that Guyanese have to the peaceful co-existence of religions that even though Muslims constitute possibly only ten per cent of Guyana’s population, their major festivals receive equal public observation with those of the other major religions - Hinduism and Christianity.

In today’s world, religion has unfortunately become a source of conflict more than a source of peace. In this regard, Guyana, small as it is, has a lot to offer the world.

Much of the tension among religious adherents arises out of not necessarily the making of exclusivistic claims that raises hackles in the followers of other religions, but in the insistence of some to act on those claims by proselytising among the latter groups. From this perspective, Islam in Guyana has the most to offer to peaceful coexistence.

Islam does announce that it presents the only path to God (specifically “Allah”) and salvation. In this way it is exclusivist. But in Guyana, the Muslims have never gone out to “convert” anyone through proselytising activities that include denunciations of the beliefs and the practices of other religions. Yet, the Muslim population has steadily increased through the years, not only through a higher birth rate but through others accepting the tenets of Islam on their own.

How was this achieved? The major reason is that Muslims are exhorted not only to have abstract beliefs, but to concretely practice the tenets of the religion as expounded in the Quran. Actions are as important as beliefs. What makes the actions easier to inculcate is that following the Quran, the life of the Prophet Muhammad as outlined in the “Hadith” is most authoritative exposition of what behaviour constitutes a Muslim. If one is told to be “kind”, then there are the countless examples of kindness performed by the Prophet.

Sacrifice? Here again, look to what the Prophet did in similar circumstances.

So in Guyana, we have the living experience of Muslims giving charity to others, taking care of their bereaved and generally striving to live as one big family. The “anomie” or “alienation” that so many complain about in the modern world has to be less in the Muslim community because of the conscious cultivation of the network of relationships that create strong communities. Others in the wider society see living cohesiveness and are attracted to the religion.

In Guyana, the racial divisions have been the bane of our quest for a more peaceful life. When the ancestors of AfricanGuyanese were brought as slaves starting in the 17th Century, there were a significant number of Muslims among their midst. The term “Fulaman”, which is colloquially applied in the present to Muslims is thought to have been derived from “Fulani” an African people who were among the first in that continent to practice Islam. However by the end of slavery, Islam as a living religion has been beaten out of its adherents.

In the last few years, however, there has been a significant number of Africans who have accepted Islam - without any proselytization. It is hoped that the sharing of a common way of life and an acceptance of the equality of all adherents that is stressed by Islam would go a long way in reducing interracial tensions.

Youman Nabi also has a lesson for those who will be vying this year to lead this nation for the next five years. The Prophet Muhammad left a living example of how a leader of a country should act and behave. Modesty, frugality, fairness, merciful and practicing what is demanded of others were some of his watchwords. While there is great stress nowadays on academic qualifications, the life of Muhamad demonstrates that more than all the “learning”, a leader must be imbued by positive values.

Happy Youman Nabi, Guyana

Odyssey Transport Services on Sunday last held its annual children’s Christmas party at the company’s wharf and at the residence of the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Feroze Barakat. Over 1000 youngsters were treated with toys and other goodies. Santa Claus also popped in on the proceedings, bringing great joy to the attendees

God is love and love is God

Dear Sir, I refer to the correspondence between Pandit Charanlall and Devanand Bhagwan in your recent issues.

Bhagwan recounted his personal religious history - He was born Hindu but like most young Guyanese Hindus today, he knows absolutely nothing about his religion or its philosophical or ethical teachings. He was in a religious vacuum like most Hindu youth today. That vacuum was filled

by Pentecostal/Evangelical Christianity emanating from the United States.

This form of Christianity is regarded by the mainstream churches such as the Roman Catholics and Anglicans as quite erroneous and peripheral. This failure to effectively pass on the Hindu tradition to the youth is attributable to the fault of parents and Pandits, among others.

There are three syndromes which afflict followers and particularly new converts to Evangelical Christianity: The first is they are taught to turn their backs on their former or ancestral religion.

The second is that they now possess a monopoly of truth and their particular religious path is the sole and only one.

The third syndrome is that they have a compulsion to convert others to their version of evangelical Christianity and to remake

the rest of mankind in their own image, oblivious of the arrogance of such a position and the damage it may do to others.

Bhagwan says he has overcome the first syndrome and now respects his former religion and that he is immersing himself in Indian culture which many Guyanese Hindus do not do. He should be complimented for this and it is unfair to suspect him of adopting the Hindu garb merely as a missionary ploy to earn him a better pay as an evangelical pastor.

He seems to be unconsciously beginning to struggle against the second syndrome, that is, he has a monopoly of truth and that the Path he has been taught is the only way to God. He is imperceptibly beginning to realise that such a position is subjective since it is rejected by Logic, Philosophy, History and Psychology.

Indeed it is only a demented person could imagine he is always right, As he advances in spiritual and intellectual knowledge, he will eventually overcome this second syndrome.

The third syndrome is the most difficult one to overcome and it is this which has led to so much disquiet, and indeed attacks on him for singling out Hindus to try to convert into his own image and his particular Path of realising God. To Pandit Charanlall this position seems to be disturb-

ingly irrational since by the Hindu Tradition one is encouraged to follow the Path to God which is best suited to one’s temperament, experiences, education and capability and no one should attempt to place others in his own straight-jacket of religion since such could result in serious spiritual and intellectual harm to others.

There are three main Paths or Ways to God. They are not mutually exclusive but often dove-tails into each other. The first Path is Realization of God through Love. This Way of Love is called Bhakt Yog and is the easiest to follow since it is emotional. Most people choose this Way. Its poetry expresses suffering and sorrow and longing after the beloved. Lord Jesus practised this Way of Love, becoming one with God and becoming an Outar, an incarnation of God. In religious history there are many who had achieved Realisation by Love and are minor Outars and not a very major Outar like Jesus.

Princess Mira, for example, realised God by her intense devotion and love of Lord Krishna and her poetry, her bhajans, are among the most beautiful and inspiring in religious literature.

Bhagwan, as a follower of Lord Jesus, is an aspirant of this Way of Love.

The second Path or Way to God is Realisation through Action or Karm

Yog. There are many historical persons who had achieved Realisation through Karm Yog such as Guru Gobind Singh and in more recent times Mahatma Gandhi.

The third Way is the Way of Knowledge or Gyan Yog where the intellect is used to Realise God. The supreme example of a practitioner of Gyan Yog is Lord Buddha who Realised God and became an incarnation of God, an Outar.

The corpus of Lord Buddha’s teachings provide the most logical and intellectual in all religious literature. Gyan Yog is the most difficult Path and is pursued by smaller numbers but once achieved, it never departs as occasionally happens with Bhakt Yog. Bhagwan wonders how Lord Krishna propounds Love. If he reads the Bhagwad Gita carefully with a proper commentary, he would be enlightened where Lord Krishna teaches Realisation by means of Love, Action, and Knowledge. Lord Jesus teaches only the Way of Love.

Bhagwan, like all of us, has a long journey to make in our quest for God and one should not allow arrogance and egotism to delude us that we have arrived.

Yours sincerely Parbhudayal

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Richmond Hill seniors Guyanese reminded to adopt measures against Zika virus feted at holiday Dear Editor, I applaud and salute the several individuals who helped organise the end-ofyear luncheon for seniors in Richmond Hill, Queens.

The Inter-Community Civic Association (ICCA) in collaboration with community leaders, Indo-Caribbean Federation (Ralph Tamesh), Political District Leader Dr Taj Rajkumar, Richmond Hill Economic Development Corporation (Vishnu Mahadeo), United Arya Samaj Foundation, Shree Maha Lakshmi Mandir, several other Mandirs, and a host of volunteers (Mala Dasrat, etc) feted some 500 seniors at that special holiday luncheon last Sunday at Villa Russo in the heart of the Guyanese community in America.

The hall overflowed with holiday celebrants of varied ethnicities, a get-together unimaginable a decade ago, given the history of ethnic prejudice in America especially in some neighbourhoods.

Some eleven years ago Dr Taj Rajkumar, Jagdesh Mohunlall, and other community leaders felt the seniors, who generally have been neglected by the younger generation, deserve a special annual reception.

So they started the free luncheon with a packed programme of entertainment and providing gifts to the seniors. Frank Singh, the president of ICCA, carried on the luncheon for the past several years, ably assisted by Vishnu Mahadeo.

No other ethnic group hosts an inter-ethnic celebration. The Villa Russo catering hall was well decorated with holiday lights and trimmings.

Deejay music and karaoke singing entertained the large gathering that included several prominent politicians and would-be candidates for political offices.

Several politicians not in attendance sent greetings.

Several community advocates were honoured with plaques.

As the organisers noted,

this is the season of peace and goodwill and caring for others, and the community leaders want to hold an end-of-year function to treat the elderly.

The event brings together people and helps to promote partnerships between businesses and the local communities. It was funded by donations from several businesses and a host of volunteers who worked very hard to put together the programme and organise gifts for everyone to show appreciation for the seniors who have had a very lonely life in America. Restaurants donated foods. Villa Russo provided space at a discounted rate.

Local artiste Son Son Persaud from Port Mourant was the host for the live entertainment. He received a humanitarian award from Assemblyman David Weprin. He is very involved in many community activities.

The senior citizens took part in the proceedings with lots of enthusiasm singing, dancing and cheering performers who entertained them with a variety of Bollywood songs, chutney, and carols.

The elderly also sang several Bollywood songs of yesteryear and took to the dance floor. The non-Indians cheered and several also danced Bollywood and Punjabi music.

Music and the sound system was provided free of charge by Ajay Singh.

Some of the singers included: Joyce Urmila Harris, Frankie, Chris Budhram, Randy Harris, Lilita Ramnauth of Schenectady, and Rohan Ramdeen. The Aliana Dance School performed a classical dance followed by vibrant dancers compliment of Sattie Insurance.

Imran Ahmad, a TV host, filmed the event that will be aired on the local station ITV. The luncheon was graced by several prominent politicians including Congressman Greg Meeks and Councilman David Weprinboth who showered accolades on the commu-

nity organisers for their humanitarian service.

The politicians presented awards and certificates of recognition to several community leaders who have performed yeoman service to help uplift life in the neighbourhood.

This has been an annual rite in the community with organisers recommending names to politicians for honours. The several organisers and volunteers are all deserving of recognition for giving so much of their time to help improve the lives of others especially at this holiday season -- Ena Persaud, Kay Ramdat, Mala Dasrath, Lester Ramcharran, Vidya Singh, Sherry Williams, Yvonne Singh, and Charlie Persaud, among others. They worked tirelessly to pull off this event.

Yours faithfully, Vishnu Bisram

Dear Editor, The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) is reminding Guyanese to adopt all of the necessary precautionary measures to avoid the contraction of the Zika virus, which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes polynesiensis mosquitoes.

In order to prevent the entry of the Zika virus into Guyana, persons should avoid unnecessary travel to places where the virus is known to be present. If they must travel to these areas, then all precaution must be taken against being bitten by mosquitoes.

Persons who travel to Guyana should inform the Port Health Authority at the airport, seaport or land crossing or contact the nearest health facility, if they had symptoms of fever within the last week. The necessary advice and follow-up care would be provided.

In order to prevent mosquito bites, persons should avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. Some mosquitoes bite during the day also, so using

repellents and wearing protective clothing can help prevent bites.

Particularly, the MoPH is advising that all pregnant women and children must sleep under mosquito nets.

The Zika virus causes some abnormalities in developing foetuses so it is now strongly recommended that all pregnant women avoid being bitten.

Natural substances, household insecticidal sprays, coils, candles, among other things, can assist in reducing the presence of mosquitoes around the home.

Screening of windows, doors and other openings along with closing-up in the evening can aid in reduction of mosquitoes in the home.

In order to control the spread of the Aedes aegypti and Aedes polynesiensis mosquitoes, persons should conduct systematic searches in and around their environment for any stored, exposed body of water and remove these sources of mosquito breeding.

Additionally, persons

should rid their environs of tyres, punch holes in discarded containers, properly cover containers with stored and drinking water, pour a little oil in contained water for domestic use, and change water regularly in vases, pet containers and plant saucers.

The MoPH continues to take all precautionary measures to ensure that the Zika virus does not enter Guyana and health officers are on guard to identify any cases.

Symptoms of the Zika virus include fever, headache, joint and muscle pain, rash and sometimes swelling of the limbs. Some persons may also experience vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.

Persons who experience any of the symptoms, including fever are advised to seek medical advice at the nearest health facility or call the Ministry of Public Health on 226-5124 or 226-1224 or email cmoguyana@gmail.com.

Health Ministry Guyana

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Foundation

Late one Christmas Eve, I sank back, tired but content, into my easy chair.

The kids were in bed, the gifts were wrapped, the milk and cookies waited by the fireplace for Santa. As I sat back admiring the tree with its decorations, I couldn’t help feeling that something important was missing. It wasn’t long before the tiny twinkling tree lights lulled me to sleep.

I don’t know how long I slept, but all of a sudden I knew that I wasn’t alone. I opened my eyes, and you can imagine my surprise when I saw Santa Claus himself standing next to my Christmas tree. He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot just as the poem described him, but he was not the “jolly old elf” of Christmas legend.

The man who stood before me looked sad and disappointed, and there were tears in his eyes.

“Santa, what’s wrong?” I asked, “Why are you crying?”

“It’s the children,” Santa replied sadly.

“But Santa, the children love you,” I said.

“Oh, I know they love me, and they love the gifts I bring them,” Santa said, “but the children of today seem to have somehow missed out on the true spirit of Christmas. It’s not their fault.

It’s just that the adults, many of them not having been taught themselves, have forgotten to teach the children.”

“Teach them what?” I asked.

Santa’s kind old face became soft, more gentle. His eyes began to shine with something more than tears. He spoke softly. “Teach the children the true meaning of Christmas. Teach them that the part of Christmas we can see, hear, and touch is much more than meets the eye. Teach them the symbolism behind the customs and traditions of Christmas which we now observe. Teach them what it is they truly represent.”

Santa reached into his bag and pulled out a tiny Christmas tree and set it on my mantle. “Teach them about the Christmas tree. Green is the

second colour of Christmas. The stately evergreen, with its unchanging colour, represents the hope of eternal life in Jesus. Its needles point heavenward as a reminder that mankind’s thoughts should turn heavenward as well.”

Santa reached into his bag again and pulled out a shiny star and placed it at the top of the small tree. “The star was the heavenly sign of promise. God promised a Saviour for the world and the star was the sign of the fulfilment of that promise on the night that Jesus Christ was born. Teach the children

as lost sheep are guided to safety by the sound of the bell, it continues to ring today for all to be guided to the fold. Teach the children to follow the true Shepherd, who gave His life for the sheep.”

Santa placed a candle on the mantle and lit it. The soft glow from its one tiny flame brightened the room. “The glow of the candle represents how people can show their thanks for the gift of God’s Son that Christmas Eve long ago.

Teach the children to follow in Christ’s foot steps... to go about doing good.

that God always fulfils His promises, and that wise men still seek Him.” “Red,” said Santa, “is the first colour of Christmas.” He pulled forth a red ornament for the tiny tree. “Red is deep, intense, vivid. It is the colour of the life-giving blood that flows through our veins. It is the symbol of God’s greatest gift. Teach the children that Christ gave His life and shed His blood for them that they might have eternal life. When they see the colour red, it should remind them of that most wonderful Gift.”

Santa found a silver bell in his pack and placed it on the tree. “Just

Teach them to let their light so shine before people that all may see it and glorify God. This is what is symbolised when the twinkling lights shine on the tree like hundreds of bright, shining candles, each of them representing one of God’s precious children, their light shining for all to see.”

Again Santa reached into his bag and this time he brought forth a tiny red and white striped cane. As he hung it on the tree he spoke softly. “The candy cane is a stick of hard white candy: white to symbolise the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolise the Solid Rock, the

guyanatimesgy.com

foundation of the church, and the firmness of God’s promises. The candy cane is in the form of a ‘J’ to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth. It also represents the Good Shepherd’s crook, which He uses to reach down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray. The original candy cane had three small red stripes, which are the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed, and a large red stripe that represents the shed blood of Jesus, so that we can have the promise of eternal life.”

“Teach these things to the children.”

Santa brought out a beautiful wreath made of fresh, fragrant greenery tied with a bright red bow.

“The bow reminds us of the bond of perfection, which is love. The wreath embodies all the good things about Christmas for those with eyes to see and hearts to understand. It contains the colours of red and green and the heaven-turned needles of the evergreen. The bow tells the story of good will towards all and its colour reminds us of Christ’s sacrifice.

Even its very shape is symbolic, representing eternity and the eternal nature of Christ’s love. It is a circle, without beginning and without end.

These are the things you must teach the children.”

I asked, “But where does that leave you, Santa?”

The tears gone now from his eyes, a smile broke over Santa’s face. “Why bless you, my dear,” he laughed, “I’m only a symbol myself. I represent the spirit of family fun and the joy of giving and receiving. If the children are taught these other things, there is no danger that I’ll ever be forgotten.”

“I think I’m beginning to understand.”

“That’s why I came,” said Santa.

“You’re an adult. If you don’t teach the children these things, then who will?”(Author Unknown) (neloo.com)

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here’s no other evening quite as magical as Christmas Eve. It’s a lovely time of family traditions, and Netmums members have been sharing the special things they do together each Christmas Eve. Traditions which are guaranteed to make the night before Christmas almost as special as the big day itself!

The great cookie surprise Bake some cookies or other edible treats and today deliver them to someone. It could be an elderly neighbour, a children’s home…

Christmas snowflakes Gather round the table and make loads and loads of pretty paper snowflakes to hang from string all about the house and create a mini winter wonderland.

Leave a sack of toys for other children Ask the children to choose a few toys they no longer play with (but are still in good condition) and place them in a special sack for Santa to take away and deliver to children who might not get as many lovely new toys.

Christmas Eve boxes Many give their children a brightly wrapped busy box on Christmas Eve. The box is packed full of things like activity books and felt pens, books, new mugs and hot chocolate and marshmallows.

A great idea for creating an oasis of calm on such an exciting evening.

Write letters to your children Each Christmas Eve write a letter for your child all about their year. Collect them all in a special Christmas book to look back on year after year.

Twinkling walk You could also wait until it is dark and head out on a family walk around your local neighbourhood to spot all the twinkling Christmas lights. The streets always look magical lit up ready for Christmas with all the excitement ahead. (Excerpt from netmums.com)

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thursday, december 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

GPL’s CEO to be sent on Supenaam Ferry delayed for 1 hour for tardy Presidential Guards administrative leave – passengers, businesses up in arms – following massive corruption allegations S P

lans are afoot to send the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) acting of Power and Light (GPL) Colin Welch on administrative leave to allow for the commencement of an investigation into massive allegations of misconduct, fraud and corruption that surfaced recently.

The allegations surfaced following his alleged involvement in the tendering process for a multimilliondollar meter contract.

Guyana Times understands that although the government had been in receipt of complaints about Welch’s involvement in the tendering for about 28,000 prepaid meters being supplied to GPL worth over US$4 million for months, no action has been taken.

This publication was informed that Welch is soon to receive notification that he will be sent on leave.

When contacted on Wednesday, the CEO (ag) told <<Guyana Times>> he was unaware of such a move by the administration or the powers that be.

“No, no, no-one has indicated anything about leave to me… No, no, no indication of any sorts that I will be sent on leave… (If I think I should go on leave to allow investigations?) That is not for me to decide but the newspaper seems to be taking it and having a lot of fun with this but this is a very serious matter,” Welch declared.

Meanwhile, he maintains the allegations being levelled against him are totally fabricated hence he sees no “validity” in the accusations.

This newspaper tried contacting Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson and Junior Minister in his Ministry Annette Ferguson on Wednesday, about the issue at hand but those attempts proved futile.

State Minister Joe Harmon told this publication on Wednesday that this matter involving the GPL CEO and whether or not he will be sent on administration leave is out of his jurisdiction.

He said that such issues come under the Public Infrastructure Ministry but that to date the matter has not been presented to Cabinet for any deliberation on the way forward.

Transparency Institute Guyana Inc (TIGI) in a media statement Tuesday denounced the ‘cavalier treatment’ by the APNU/AFC coalition on the most recent matter where Welch was fingered for his involvement of the procurement of these meters.

It stated that as a result of nonaction by the admin-

GPL acting CEO Colin Welch

istration the CEO is being given the chance to “correct himself in future, if not completely absolve him from any consequences of his actions.”

Welch was reported to have communicated with members of a bidding party and more specifically, a supplier and manufacturer of the items subject to the procurement process.

In less than four months after being controversially appointed Welch found himself in hot water after evidence surfaced about his interference in this multimillion-dollar contract.

In April last, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) closed the bids with Tesco PLC, a British company that won the contract and undertook to supply the prepaid meters to Guyana.

Tesco was going to procure the meters from Shenzhen Clou Electronics Company Limited of China

to supply to GPL. Subsequently, one bidder raised objections about the evaluation and award, claiming that Tesco’s supplier, Shenzhen Clou Electronics Company Limited, does not manufacture the 100amp meters required by GPL. This resulted in the tender board writing both Tesco and Shenzhen, seeking clarifications.

It was during the waiting period for responses that the controversially appointed Welch allegedly contacted the Chinese company, stating that it must lie about having the 100amp prepaid meters available in other countries.

It must be reminded that the acting CEO of GPL was elevated from Deputy CEO – Technical, following former CEO Bharat Dindyal being relieved of his duties in August.

In early August, Welch had clashed with Dindyal at GPL’s Sheriff Street offices after the then CEO overturned a decision to send home two senior staffers.

Prior to that, his actions had landed him under the microscope when he reportedly instructed a metering crew to conduct a search on Freedom House for the purpose of investigating.

Dindyal had acknowledged there was a ‘trend’ or ‘pattern’ being developed which indicated that Welch had been sending GPL crews to properties of persons who were/are affiliated with the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C). (kristenm@ guyanatimesyg.com)

cores of Passengers and Business owners were inconvenienced on Wednesday as a result of a delay of the departure of the Supenaam Ferry in order to reportedly accommodate a group of late Presidential Guards.

According to a businessman, he reached the facility at 00:30h to secure a spot on the boat early and had to wait long for the boat to depart. The businessman further related he missed an appointment he was scheduled to attend, due to delay of the ferry.

The ferry was scheduled to leave Supenaam at 04:00h but instead left at 4:45 for its journey. The guards had visited the coast to provide security for President Granger during his visit to Akawini for a Children’s party.

Passengers as well as businessmen are peeved over the move, stating they too have business to conduct and the delay has resulted in them reaching Parika late.

Persons are of the view that a special ferry should have come to collect the guards, if they were late and not have “poor” people wait.

“I went on the boat since 01:00h, I am coming till from Charity had only one meal, I had my son waiting at Parika to collect me, I had to wait so many hours for the boat to move” an elderly woman said.

Many persons became frustrated as they were not sure what was going on and no one from the Ministry of Transport and Harbours informed them why the long wait. Businessmen had perishables on the boat was well.

One of the Chinese-made ferries at Supenaam Stelling

8 NEWS

thursday, december 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Eyew tness A kinder, gentler…

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…view of Desmond Hoyte

n this intensified Season of goodwill (surely you don’t think, dear reader, that the birthdays of two prophets falling on subsequent days is just coincidence, do you?) your chastened Eyewitness will adopt as his motto “De mortuis nil, nisi bonum”. Of the dead, speak only good. He will ignore Shakespeare’s dictum describing the position of ordinary folks: the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones So today, no talk about “forensic audit of elections”, “Wuk pon she”, “mo fyaah, sjow fyaah” or the “shoot to kill” advice at Boeraserie, or “Putagee Mafia”. Today we reflect on the kind and gentle words of President Granger and the man who stepped aside for him, Robert Corbin as they, reminisced about Hoyte on his 13th death Anniversary. Unlike those superstitious Americans, we Guyanese don’t have any hang-up that 13 is an “unlucky” number.

It was interesting that the kind and gentle words came from two individuals who Hoyte didn’t treat particularly kindly. Corbin was seen by Hoyte as a bit of a rough diamond, who needed a whole lot of polishing. But since his skill set included the techniques of how to win elections without actually getting the votes, he couldn’t very well be discarded, could he?

Our present Pressie was passed over to become Chief of Staff of the Disciplined Forces in favour of Joe Singh – and it’s a tribute to his breeding and magnanimity he was so gracious in his remarks. One wonders why Joe didn’t turn in to show his respects. “Pressing engagements”, one supposes.

But you have to give Pressie due respect: rather than sulking, he turned a sow’s ear into a silk purse by using all his free time as an “Advisor on Security” to Mr Hoyte to get all those advanced degrees in History.

But back to the man of the hour – Hugh Desmond Hoyte — who when he reformed the cooperative economic system of his predecessor to a more free market one, was dubbed “Desmond Persaud”. It probably says more about who’re identified with business than with Mr Hoyte’s ethnic appropriation. Hoyte also went along with the US’ suasion (moral and otherwise) to accept the results of “free and fair elections”. He had to take on - and take out- Hamilton Green to do that.

But this Eewitness thinks his finest hour came when, approaching his final days, he accepted the arguments of some PNC young lions – James Mc Allister, Sherwood Lowe, Aubrey Norton, et al – and accepted the principle that Guyana needed some sort of power sharing governance structure.

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

…Goolsarran?

Goolsarran was always an ambitious man. Nothing’s wrong with that. But he’s hopefully slowly beginning to understand he’s being pushed by a fella who’s not only more ambitious but who has absolutely no scruples about lying, cheating and destroying reputations to get his way. Hopefully he’ll realise that he can’t be running with the hares and hunting with the hounds. His erstwhile pal who cranked him up – to go after Brassington, for instance – have agendas that can sink the career that he’s laboriously constructed over three decades.

These “friends” wouldn’t know “professionalism” if it crept up and butted them on their bamsees! The Muckraker publisher Mook Lall, had 400 million reasons to sic Goolsarran on the NICIL boss. Now Goolsarran’s professional credentials are on the line.

The guardians of accounting professionalism are going to scrutinise Brassington’s 211-page riposte to Goolsarran’s “audit” of NICIL to find out why it was ignored.

The admission that KN lied on him is a good start in his rehabilitation.

…protection?

Did you catch the Chronic front page pic of Nagamootoo holding up his right hand along with the eight other leaders of Mercosur?

Why’s he the only one using his left hand to protect his family jewels? No cricket box?

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

news

9

thursday, december 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

GPSU already spending $M on ‘Sports Complex’ insisted that it had control of the land and as such this matter ended up in Court with no

– Govt contributed $7M thus far

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illions of dollars are being spent on rehabilitation and construction of the much talked about ‘Sports Complex’ on prime property near the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Headquarters, Thomas Lands.

This is according to Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) President Patrick Yarde, who during a media briefing on Tuesday, stated that his union is anticipating the completion of these works since this will ensure the sustainability of GPSU. He explained the union is pleased with the “significant interest” being placed in the prime land, noting that this is a clear indication from gov-

ernment that the land will be “returned to its original use”.

“If you have passed by this complex in recent days you would have seen a lot of developments occurring, the trees are being cut down, the building is under significant repairs. It started a bit late but we were hoping that we would have had some activities there by the end of the year. But it is better late than never,” he said.

Unable to provide figures already spent on the property by the GPSU with assistance from government, he posited that the last cheque which the union pumped into the project amounted to over $30 million.

Guyana Times under-

The property where construction works have begun by the GPSU

stands the administration has already given GPSU $7 million for this project and expectations are that government will continue to pump in funds to further develop the land and its building.

“There are still things to be done because the building needs to be furnished.

However by doing that it is very feasible with a combination of things. Our member-

ship has been rapidly growing, we will be spending less money on… so the future is looking good, many things are clearly feasible and will be implemented,” Yarde posited.

Guyana Times further understands that this land was leased by the then government to develop a Hotel that would have included 100 rooms, a casino, bar, etc.

However, the GPSU had

Cabinet approves polythene procurement for rainy season

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s the country embarks on the expected December/ January rains, Cabinet has given its no objection for materials to be purchased by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to prevent any flooding.

At the post-Cabinet briefing Wednesday, Minister of State Joseph Harmon disclosed that a total of $375,225,580 in contracts were approved by Cabinet.

He noted that a contract of $15,937,500 was approved to purchase high density polythene for NDIA. “We do expect this time around when the rain comes that we will be in a much better position and this is why we actually spent so much money on infrastructure, and these high density polythene also assist in that regard. So we hope as the rains comes this time, the preparations which we made will ensure that the water runs off very quickly from the land and the residents do not have to suffer losses as they have in the past,” Harmon stated.

Only Tuesday last, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure had asked residents along the country’s coast to be prepared for possible flooding during the spring tide period between December 22 and 29. The predicted tide indicates above normal-levels for this impending period.

According to the Sea and River Defence Department ar-

eas along the coastline are considered to be particularly susceptible to flooding as a result of storm surges which may induce overtopping of sea/river defence structures.

The highest tides during this period are expected on Christmas Day at 15:47h at a height of 3.10 metres, and on Boxing Day at 16:28h at a height of 3.08 metres.

All persons residing along the banks of rivers and low lying coastal areas are advised to take all necessary precautions against possible flooding.

Precaution should also be taken by all mariners including those operating fishing vessels and larger ones. Use of beaches and foreshore areas for recreational purposes during this period is not advisable.

On the other hand, Cabinet also granted it’s no objection for a number of infrastructural projects to be carried out in Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini).

A contract of $16,509,600 was approved for works at the Port Kaituma Hospital Complex. Another contract was also given for the construction of an Infectious Inpatient Facility at Port Kaituma Hospital Complex to the tune of $40,962,570; and one of $35,796,162 was approved for the construction of an Administrative Services building at the said Complex.

In addition, Cabinet gave its no objection for the procure-

ment of vaccines and equipment for the Ministry of Public Heath, specifically for GPHC. Monies were also approved for a new generator building and instillation of fixture, diesel and electric ceilings for the Ministry. The contract for these purchases amounts to

$50,915,422.

Another contract was approved for the procurement of equipment such as industrial dryers, large refrigerators and industrial washing machines for Public Health Ministry in the sums of $9,352,500 and $27,405,000.

decision being made to date. (kristenm@guyanatimesgy. com)

10 news NY Shri Prakash Gossai Foundation fetes 154 children thursday, december 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

154 children from a number of orphanages in Guyana were on Saturday last delighted to enjoy the Christmas festivities as the Shri Prakash Gossai Foundation of New York rapped-up a week-long exercise of bringing Christmas cheers to them.

Some of the orphanages that benefited were the Red Cross Convalescent Home, Sophia Care Centre, Ruimveldt Children’s Home, Hope Children’s Home, Prabhu Sharan Orphanage, Shaheed’s Boy’s Orphanage and children from the Essequibo Coast.

Some of the children and the gifts that they received from the foundation

These children all received Christmas presents as the foundation gifted them with toys and clothing which they were all delighted to receive.

The timely donation was as a result of the great love that the late Pandit Shri Prakash Gossai had for children.

Pandit Gossai was a well-known Hindu missionary and special assistant to

former President Bharrat Jagdeo.

The Foundation is of the firm conviction that children irrespective of ethnicity or religious persuasions are God’s special gift. As such, they believe children should not be deprived of the little things that bring joy to their hearts, especially at Christmas.

Son of the late Prakash Gossai, Pandit Arun Gossai, sister, Pratiksha Gossai, and Danny Basil, all principals of the Foundation indicated their delight and privilege to be able to make donations to the children at this festive time of the year.

The Foundation took the opportunity to wish all Guyanese a Merry Christmas and a very Inspiring 2016.

Miner remanded for attempted murder

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miner was on Wednesday remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan following attempted murder charge before her in Court One of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Brian Williams, 23, was not required to plead to the indictable charge which read that on December 20 at Prince Village, Potaro River, with intent to commit murder he wounded Troy Daniels. The particulars of the charge were not divulged in Court.

Bail was objected to by Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones who cited the gravity of the charge and the fact that the accused provided the Police with a false address.

The miner was remanded and

Brian Williams was remanded on an attempted murder charge

the matter transferred to the Mahdia Magistrate’s Court for January 18, 2016.

Labourer remanded on robbery charge

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labourer was on Wednesday remanded to prison following a charge before Magistrate Ann McLennan which alleged that he committed a robbery while armed with a broken glass bottle.

During his appearance in Court One of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, Kerry Crumwell, 23, of 130 King Edward Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, denied the allegation which read that on September 22 at Georgetown, while armed with an offensive weapon, a broken bottle, he robbed Eon Hilkin of a gold chain, identification card, other personal documents, and $42,000, all to a value of $87,000.

He also denied the charge which read that on October 2 at the Ruimveldt Police Station he resisted arrest.

He was also slapped with a charge of escaping law-

ful custody while at the said Police Station on October 2. He denied that charge as well as one which read that on October 2 he assaulted a peace officer.

He was represented by Attorney Ronald Daniels who requested reasonable bail, stating that his client has no antecedents. However, Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones objected to bail based on the gravity of the charge. He stated that the accused lives within close proximity of one of the victims and as such he fears witness tampering may occur.

The prosecutor’s objection was also justified by the fact that the accused did not provide an address to the police.

The Magistrate remanded the accused to prison and transferred the matter to Court Ten for January 12, 2016.

news

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thursday, december 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Guyana gets US$1.3M for crime, unemployment surveys

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uyana’s responses to crime, domestic abuse, incidences of victimisation, unemployment, and living conditions is set to receive a significant boost, following the signing of three non-reimbursable technical cooperation agreements

of poverty rates and income inequality. Information on unemployment and employment participation will be gathered under the labour force survey which will be conducted on a quarterly basis,” the statement said.

The crime and victimisation survey will examine perceptions on crime, violence, domestic abuse as well as the underlying issues of pervasiveness, underreporting, socioeconomic profiles, and geographic patterns.

with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) valued at US$1.3 million.

The agreements which were signed on Wednesday between Minister of Finance Winston Jordan and IDB Country Representative Sophie Makonnen will see the

Santa visits Region 2 Standing far left: Lennox Benjamin - Head of Bureau of Statistics; Sheranne Isaacs: Head Multilateral Institutions Financial Dept MoF; Standing right: Dr Hector Butts, Finance Secretary MoF. Seated far right: Rep of IDB

T

he character of the season, Santa Clause, on Wednesday evening visited Charity, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and brought cheers through gifts to over 50 children living in close proximity, compliments of popular businessman Alfro Alphonso. The gift-sharing exercise is an annual feature by

the businessman.

As santa arrived at the A&S complex, scores of children were heard screaming with excitement to see Santa Clause. Children were given the opportunity to dance and take pictures with Santa. While some of them were crying, some were very happy, having received a toy for Christmas.

design and implementation of the surveys that will provide critical data for effective planning and policy making.

“The Crime and Victimisation Survey, Labour Force Survey and Household Survey on Living Conditions will enable state agencies to improve their capacity to gather and analyse available social and economic data as well as monitor and evaluate the impact of government policies and programmes. These are the first surveys of their kind in more than a decade,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

Minister Jordan was quoted as saying that at this early stage in the life of the government, a premium was placed on statistical data so that government policies and plans can be undertaken in a structured and more informed manner which in turn will ensure resources are optimally expended so they bring the

greatest benefits to the country.

The grants will cover both expenses related to training the staff of the Bureau of Statistics and the actual execution of the surveys.

Meanwhile, Makonnen said this signing is the first of the 2016 support Guyana will receive from the Bank a result of a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Finance and IDB. She pointed out that data on living conditions and unemployment are from 2006 and 2007 respectively and that the surveys will address gaps and weaknesses that emerged during the past decade and will be executed within the next four years.

“Under the household survey of living conditions, information will be gathered on income, health, employment, educational attainment and housing conditions. This data will allow for the calculation

12 news

Millions won in GTT’s Crazy Cash promotion Tou

In a festive atmosphere with loud cheers and dancing at its Fogarty’s building branch, GTT delivered on

thursDAY, december 24, 2015 | gu

a promise to “Do More”, as the company on Wednesday awarded 16 winners for the Christmas season in its

Crazy Cash Promotion.

This promotion was launched at the opening of GTT’s new branch located at the Giftland Mall on November 28 and required prepaid customers of GTT to top up with $500 or more to become eligible to be daily winners of $50,000 and to also qualify to win even more as $6 million in total was up for grabs.

The 16 persons who won were required to answer their phones when called by saying “I can do more with GTT” to win big.

GTT presented the winners with their cheques and six of those winners were given the opportunity to trade in what they already won to punch a drawing board and win.

There were loud shouts of joy when Claire Thomas of Essequibo checked her ticket and saw that she was the winner of $1 million.

She expressed her delight to be the big winner of the day.

“I am so happy to be here as a winner today. I have been with GT&T, now GTT,

The winners along with GTT Marketing Manager Andranie Hackett and GTT PRO Nadia De Abreu

for the past four years and I have enjoyed every moment of their service. I would like to encourage the entire country to join GTT because if they do, they are going to enjoy the benefits that GTT have in store for them,” she explained joyfully, as her family members who were also present danced in delight.

The other winners also won more, taking away cash prizes of $850,000; $650,000; $550,000; $450,000 and $350,000.

The prize winner of $350,000 used his winnings to again patronise GTT as

he purchased an iPhone as soon as his money was delivered to him.

GTT Public Relations Officer (PRO) Nadia De Abreu explained that some of the winners were also post-paid customers who became eligible because of their active service with the company.

“We had a good spread and we’re very happy that we had an Essequibian winning our top prize. We also had winners from as far as Springlands in the Corentyne, from Lusignan and the East Bank. We are very happy that the pro-

motion was successful and we’re happy for all our winners who won in our Crazy Cash Promotion,” she said.

GTT Marketing Manager Andranie Hackett congratulated the winners and encouraged all to continue using GTT as there will be lots to win in the future.

“I want to wish all a Merry Christmas and thank all who participated in this promotion. We will always be giving away to our customers, so look forward for us as we continue to do more in the New Year and onwards, so have a Merry Christmas from GTT.”

C

Visitors receive

hristma cake Guyane ed more than arriving at Mo Stelling, Og Airport and t International over the last fe During “Christmas W ised by the Authority, vis the major por presented with cake, complim Explorers, G Agency, Green Old Fort T

news 13

Tourism Ministry spreads Christmas cheer at CJIA

ber 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

“Christmas Welcome” from December 20-23 with support from various agencies

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Visitors receive their Christmas black cake during their arrival at CJIA

hristmas cheer, black cake and a warm Guyanese welcome awaited more than 1000 passengers arriving at Moleson Creek Ferry Stelling, Ogle International Airport and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) over the last few days.

During the annual “Christmas Welcome”, organised by the Guyana Tourism Authority, visitors arriving at the major ports of entry were presented with traditional black cake, compliments of Wilderness Explorers, Global Marketing Agency, Green Ice Taxi Service, Old Fort Tours, Innovative

Engineering Consultancy Services and Banks DIH (Berbice Branch).

Broad smiles lit the faces of the passengers, despite the hassle of travelling, as they were warmly welcomed at the immigration areas. Many expressed gratitude to the GTA staff and port authorities as they accepted their Christmas treats.

The welcome activities, which culminated on Wednesday, are part of the Tourism Ministry’s and the GTA’s annual calendar of activities.

GTA Director Indranauth Haralsingh shared, “This is part of our annual calendar of events

GTA staff with a passenger at Ogle International Airport

and we also organise similar events for Emancipation, Diwali, and other national holidays. Visitors and returning Guyanese are given a taste of our Guyanese culture.”

The GTA expressed heartfelt thanks to its partners in development and corporate sponsors for their unwavering support in the promotion and development of tourism in Guyana.

“On behalf of the Honourable

Tourism Minister, Cathy Hughes and all the staff of the GTA, we would like to extend warm holiday greetings to everyone, and a heartfelt thank you, particularly to our sponsors and supporters who have worked with us to ensure that similar such activities are conducted for all major holidays throughout the year,” Haralsingh stated.

The management of the CJIA also held its annual

including Beharry Group of Companies, Digicel Guyana and Oasis Café.

14 news

thursday, december 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Victims of Election Day violence

PPP/C to table motion for compensation

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he People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Opposition will be moving a motion for Government to provide compensation packages to all the victims of the May 11 Election Day violence.

This is according to PPP/C Member of Parliament (MP) Gail Teixeira, who was at the time addressing the media at one of the Party’s weekly press conferences at Freedom House, Robb Street on Wednesday.

The motion is scheduled to be tabled at the upcoming sitting of the National Assembly on December 30.

Dozens of persons suffered

tremendously as a result of the many instances of violence that was perpetrated on Election Day 2015.

Guyanese were badly beaten and attacked by angry mobs, and families lost thousands of dollars as a direct result of the unrest that occurred in several communities.

One notable instance of Election Day violence was the situation in Sophia, Greater Georgetown. The community was transformed into a scene of unrest by an angry mob. In the midst of burning tyres and buildings, and angry cries, some residents were injured.

Others had to endure the ex-

Former Information Liaison Kwame McCoy

cruciating pain of watching their hard-earned belongings go up in flames as a result of a fire deliberately started by a particular group of Sophia residents.

At various polling stations across the country, other persons were victims of the brutal violence administered by residents who believed there was a threat to the integrity of the ballot boxes.

At the Turning Point Snackette in Tucville, Greater Georgetown, two persons were physically assaulted after being accused of attempting to steal ballot boxes.

In other areas, persons

were hauled out of their vehicles and received several blows about their bodies for merely making an appearance in villages that were predominately occupied by supporters of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition.

Former Information Liaison Kwame McCoy was attacked so badly that he had to be hospitalised. McCoy was confronted by an angry mob as he was about to exit the polling station at St Sidwell Primary School at Hadfield Street and Vlissengen Road, Georgetown.

Linden ambulatory service staff issues

No word on way forward

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s employees of the St John’s ambulatory service at Linden await a decision on the way forward regarding a number of onthe-job issues which eventually led to protest action recently, there has been no action on the part of the authorities.

The service is contracted to provide transportation to the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) and recently a number of problems were highlighted by employees, who, to date, are still seeking answers.

The issues ranged from unsatisfactory salary to dissatisfaction regarding benefits and allowances. According to staff, their salary is presently at minimum wage level, since they are allegedly paid $18,000 fortnightly.

Apart from that, it is also alleged that employees do not

receive double and time and a half payments for working on Sundays and holidays respectively in some instances. They are required to work eight hours for five consecutive days, followed by two days off.

An employee stated that an increase was given to staff in 2012 and staff were unaware as to the conditions of employment. They said they kept receiving empty promises regarding payment.

Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Health Committee Chairman Maurice Butters said he believed that a “conflict of interest” was responsible for the issues experienced by the staff, since the LHC Administrative Manager was the person responsible for supervising the contract between St John’s and management.

Butters said the Administrative Manager was now making decisions on behalf of St John’s, including the signing of cheques, which he believed was food for corruption. He said according to an agreement signed years ago by the Linden Hospital, whenever the staff at the Linden hospital received an increase, the St John’s staff would also.

Butters added too that according to the agreement, the staff at St John’s should not be paid less than Government’s minimum wage and the Hospital’s Administrative Manager should not have anything to do with the ambulatory service. The GPSU representative said he would engage Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Simona Broomes with regard to the issue.

However, speaking with Guyana Times on Monday, LHC Administrative Manager Trevor Vangenderen said that the staff were not public servants and, as such, were not paid under that bracket.

Contrary to what an employee had indicated about being paid fortnightly, Vangenderen said there were weekly payments.

He said the ambulatory service has an Area Commissioner who was responsible for dealing with such issues, adding that the staff were “contracted” to the LHC. He also noted that the issues of the staff would have to be dealt with internally at the level of management.

Attempts by this newspaper to contact Area Commissioner Pauline Melville regarding the issues proved futile.

aROUND THE WORLD

15

THURsday, december 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Russia rejects accusations New Argentine of killing Syrian civilians Government fires

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ussia denied as “fake information” accusations made on Wednesday that its air strikes in Syria have killed hundreds of civilians and could be treated as war crimes.

In a new report, Amnesty International said Russian air raids had killed at least 200 civilians and about a dozen fighters in Homs, Idlib and Aleppo Provinces between September and November.

“Russian air strikes in Syria have killed hundreds of civilians and caused massive destruction in residential areas, striking homes, a mosque and a busy market, as well as medical facilities in ... attacks

Russia began its aerial campaign in Syria on September 30 [File: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP]

that show evidence of violations of international humanitarian law,” Amnesty said.

The London-based group

also said there was “evidence suggesting Russia’s use of internationally banned cluster munitions and of unguided

bombs in populated residential areas”.

In response, Russia’s Defence Ministry rejected the allegations, saying the report was biased and contained ungrounded claims.

Speaking to journalists, Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the report contained “trite cliches” and “fake information”.

“We familiarised ourselves with the contents of this report and as usual, there is nothing concrete and nothing new published in it,” he said.

Konashenkov also denied the claims that Russia was using cluster bombs in Syria.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Nigerian Army accused of “unjustified” Shia killings

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igerian soldiers fired on unarmed Shia children without provocation before unjustified raids that killed hundreds of the minority group in the West African country, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.

The US-based group disputed the Nigerian military’s version that raids from December 12 to 14 on three Shia locations in the northern town of Zaria followed an attempted assassination of the Army Chief.

Nigeria’s military said the raids came after Shia demonstrators tried to block the con-

The Nigerian Army said the raids came after Shia protesters tried to block the convoy of General Tukur Buratai [File: Lekan Oyekanmi/AP]

voy of General Tukur Buratai.

Human Rights Watch, however, said the Army’s version “just doesn’t stack up”.

“It is almost impossible

to see how a roadblock by angry young men could justify the killings of hundreds of people,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director of Human

Rights Watch.

“At best it was a brutal overreaction and at worst it was a planned attack on the minority Shia group.”

According to Human Rights Watch, witnesses at the Hussainniyah mosque said dozens of soldiers took up positions by the mosque at around midday on December 12, at least an hour before the army chief of staff was due to pass by.

Human Rights Watch said it interviewed many witnesses separately at locations in Kaduna and Zaria, on December 17 and 18. (Excerpt from

Al Jazeera)

‘activist’ media regulator

Martin Sabbatella, head of the Argentine Government’s Federal Authority on Audio Visual Communications Services (AFSCA), appears in front of his office in Buenos Aires, December 23

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rgentina’s new Government fired the country’s chief media regulator on Wednesday, saying the head of the AFSCA television and radio watchdog commission was openly acting against the country’s new centre-right President Mauricio Macri.

Regulator Martin Sabbatella had led previous President Cristina Fernandez’s crack down on then Opposition media group Clarin. Early this month he claimed Macri, who was inaugurated on December 10, was orchestrating a “mafia plot” to get rid of him.

His firing followed the forcing out of CENTRAL BANK CHIEF Alejandro Vanoli. Both moves signalled Macri’s determination to get Fernandez loyalists out of key

positions and replace them with a team willing to implement his free-market policies.

“Sabbatella has shown himself at all times to be a political activist,” Communications Minister Oscar Aguad told reporters in announcing that AFSCA will be combined with the AFTIC telecommunications regulator under new leadership.

“The leaders of both organisms have failed to respond to the hierarchy of the new Government,” Aguad said.

“They have been in a kind of rebellion.”

Speaking in a loud, defiant tone, Sabbatella told reporters his firing was “an illegal act” that he will fight in court. He agreed with the new Communications Director that he was “a proud political activist”. (Excerpt from Reuters)

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thursday, december 24, 2015| guyanatimesGY.com

Ramjattan suspends 2am curfew for holiday week Keeping it real ...when drinking and DUIs are heaviest Guyanese can survive B uckling under pressure from stakeholders, including members of the business community and the general public, Government finally realised the devastating consequences of its decision and accordingly relaxed the unpopular 2:00 am curfew – at least for the Christmas season.

Effective December 23, bars, nightclubs and other places of night-time entertainment are allowed to open beyond 2:00 am.

The Public Security Ministry, via a press release to the media, explained that this decision was taken following an inundation of requests from businesses and the general public seeking to fully enjoy the Christmas season.

“It is a time for celebration and knowing the Guyanese spirit, the Minister has seen

the need for this relaxation,” the Ministry stated.

The Ministry made it clear, however, that the curfew will be back in place effective January 2, 2016.

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) recently urged Government to revoke the “anti-business” 2:00 am curfew, explaining that the deadline negatively impacted the generation of revenues of these businesses.

Several bar and nightclub owners had told Guyana Times that there was a significant sales decline following the imposition of the curfew, but all their pleas fell on deaf ears as the Public Security Minister remained steadfast that he would not relax the curfew.

Chairman of the Trade and Investment Committee of the PSC, Ramesh Dookhoo had contended that night-

clubs and bars, particularly the high-end entertainment complexes, offer more than just a venue for alcohol consumption and were an ideal environment for family affairs, with some being world-class restaurants.

“People do not just go to these spots just to drink, they go for entertainment; it’s a whole experience,” he explained.

“Partygoers will still exit clubs highly intoxicated before 2:00 am and they can still contribute to road accidents, if that’s what the case may be.

So it’s not a matter of what time the bar closes, it’s a matter of law enforcement.”

Furthermore, Dookhoo said many of these high-end businesses invested heavily in creating full-blown entertainment establishments with a projected return on investments based on the existing conditions and, therefore, changing the game plan by putting a deadline on the operations of the businesses would negatively impact

them.

In addition, he predicted that the curfew would act as a disincentive to tourists who would have, under previous circumstances, visited Guyana to enjoy the exhilarating nightlife these entertainment complexes were able to provide.

In fact, the owners of these clubs have provided their own security for patrons coming into and exiting their clubs.

Dookhoo noted that the nightclubs have proved to be safe places of entertainment, but now they were being penalised, when in fact other sectors of society needed to fulfil their obligations to the community by offering proper protection to the citizenry.

Meanwhile, it was observed that while some nightspots were forced to comply with the curfew, others were being allowed to open until at least 4:00 am.

It remains uncertain if this discriminatory practice will continue when the curfew is reinforced next year.

Man’s body found at Kitty seawall

Investigators on the scene Wednesday

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he nude body of a man was on Wednesday morning discovered at the Kitty Seawall,

Georgetown, in the vicinity of the 1823 Monument. The identity of the man is yet to be released but according to information, the body was spotted by an overseas-based family who were jogging on the seawalls at about 08:00h.

Upon seeing the body, one of the visitors claimed he dialled 911 emergency lines but was told he had to contact the Alberttown Police Station to report the matter. The man further stated that he enquired from the person on the line whether she can contact the Alberttown Station but she responded that she does not have the number.

After a few minutes, another man reportedly stopped a traffic rank who was riding a motorcycle and informed him of the body. It was the traffic rank who informed the Criminal Investigations Department.

At the time of the discovery, a pair of blue ¾ denim jeans was found a short distance from the body.

A police source confirmed the body bore several marks of violence. They have not ruled out foul play but he explained that the marks could have been from the body hitting the rocks as the water pushed it ashore.

After sometime, the body was picked up and taken to the Lyken’s Funeral Home where it awaits identification and post mortem.

The police are continuing their investigations.

the hardships of living

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ince the election of May 2015, there has evolved a number of perceptions regarding the performance of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government.

Guyanese are either critical or supportive of the Granger Administration, while some people have reserved judgment. There Dr Baytoram Ramharack may be few people in the latter category because Guyanese politics has a way of forcing people to take sides.

Guyanese can be very critical of political leaders, and vocal too, and for good reasons.

But, as we close out this year, there is need for some introspection and assessment as to how far we have come in our quest for a just, stable and prosperous society, particularly as we approach the 50th Golden Jubilee of sovereignty. As one who experienced life under the PNC years, as well as the post-1992 years, my institutional memory cautions me to be suspicious of Government activities and Government promises. Every Guyanese in their right mind wishes that the coalition Government can improve the lives of all Guyanese in time. There is hope that maybe the large oil reserve discovered off the northern coast can be a life-saver and that the divisions that exist in society will gradually disappear if the economy improves.

The dream is for all Guyanese to share in the national patrimony, to live in peace and unity in an economy that provides us with much more than our basic human needs.

Aside from the obvious, there is still much to be worried about. The 2015 Human Development Index indicates that our standard of living compared to most countries is at the bottom of the charts, even way below that of some of our close neighbours. Violent crime is still rampant, drug trafficking continues to increase, and corruption, whether it is perceived or real, is still high on the agenda. Suicide and alcohol abuse remain the scourge of our society. The promise of hope and a better future for the Guyanese working and middle class seems to be at a standstill, if not disappearing for some, as outward migration continues to impact a stagnant population that remains overwhelmingly young and desperately in need of guidance and mature leadership. The list of unfulfilled promises since 1966 is not a short one.

We have a new government in place. It is trying to usher in a new political culture, one presumably different from what existed before May 2015. Politically, the APNU/ AFC seems to be more concerned about identifying the corrupt practices of the previous Government rather than presenting the citizenry with a comprehensive and workable plan to deal with our national problems. As for the PPP, the largest political institution in Guyana, not much has changed since the Party was booted out of office and lost control over the State and its institutions. Its founder, Cheddi Jagan, was a man of modesty and honesty. It is difficult to imagine that the Party he left behind has drifted away from that tradition. But things change, and the more they do, sometimes the more they remain the same.

If there is one thing we can say about Guyanese, it is that they are a resilient people. They have survived chattel slavery and indentureship. Their resiliency has led them to develop a country from a mudland to create a viable agricultural economy once considered the “bread basket” of the Caribbean. Today, Guyanese are found in various parts of the world. One would like to think that there is a person of Guyanese descent in each of the nearly 200 countries in the world. All of them have made or is currently making significant progress on the development of those societies in which they currently live.

But back in Guyana, despite the issues that plague the nation and its people, a spirit of determination, survival and optimism prevails. It is this spirit that has acted as a guiding star, a spirit that continues to lead us in search of El Dorado.

(Merry Christmas to one and all! Send comments to BRamharack60@gmail.com)

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thursday, december 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Estates to be merged, not shut down – Harmon

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inister of State Joseph Harmon has stated that coming out of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), no recommendations were made for any of the estates to be shut down.

Speaking at the postCabinet briefing on Wednesday, Harmon disclosed that recommendations were made for estates to become more efficient.

However, when questioned about the rumours of factories to be shut down, the minister told reporters GuySuCo has indicated it’s

intension to merge estates across the industry.

“Even without the commission of the inquiry’s findings, recommendations and actions taken on it, my understanding is that GuySuCo on its own volition has actually decided to have merged some estates,” he stated.

Harmon pointed out that Wales Estate will be merged with that of Uitvlugt and the canes from the former will go to the latter for grindings. “That’s an attempt to efficient ties to the operations,” he said.

Moreover, the minister stated that the report con-

taining the findings from the Inquiry was presented to Cabinet for review. He added too that Agriculture Minister Noel Holder had also submitted to Cabinet several proposals to move the process forward.

However, the Minister of State pointed out that Cabinet felt there needs to be wider consultations before any decisions are made: “It was agreed at Cabinet that given the importance of the sugar industry to the national economy and the number of persons depending on it for their livelihood, there was need for wider consul-

Minister of State Joseph Harmon

tation with all stakeholders and the general public about the future of the industry.”

Region 6 residents receive ‘love’ baskets

From right to left: Sergeant Margo Grosvenor, 90-year-old Gwendolyn Burnett, Dhalori Persaud, Audrey Ramson and seven of her adopted children, Marceline Sandy and three of her children (standing) and ASP Gary Nurse

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our residents of Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) were beneficiaries of “love baskets” from the Sisters Police Station/ Community Network.

It was noted that the significant number of unreported criminal activity along the East Bank Berbice corridor have allowed the Sisters Police Station/Community Network to focus on other aspects of community development.

During a simple ceremony on Monday, four residents of the community received ‘love’ baskets from the Police Station in recognition of the Christmas season.

Delivering brief remarks, Officer-in-Charge, Number 1 Sub-division Berbice, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Gary Nurse urged residents not to become complacent because of the absence of criminal activity in the area.

He explained that even though the area is not crime prone, criminals may want to use the community as a safe haven.

The Assistant Superintendent also urged residents to be on guard and to look out for strange persons in their community, noting that the Berbice River runs adjacent to it.

“It is porous, meaning that persons can use the river and come to the community at any

time, commit an unlawful act and leave at any time, so we need to be focused on who is moving in and out of this area.”

Meanwhile the four persons who received the love baskets are Marceline Sandy of Dekendren Village who has five children; Audrey Ramson of Lighttown Village with eleven children; Dhalori Persaud who is blind, and Gwendolyn Burnett, 90, of Sisters Village.

The baskets were gifts from the Sisters Police Station/Community network which was formed last October and has held several activities ever since, including the painting of road signs along the East Bank Berbice.

The network is also responsible for removing thick vegetation from the roadway in some sections of the community.

Over the first three months of its existence the network also held two fitness walks, a fun day, and a fundraising event.

He further disclosed that Cabinet agreed for the CoI report to be sent to the National Assembly for deliberations before any final decisions are made.

Harmon went on to explain that government’s intention is to make the sugar industry efficient and profitable so it would not be a drain on the economy by pumping more money into it.

Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Agriculture’s end-of-year media conference Wednesday, Minister Holder stated that the journey of Guyana’s sugar industry remains a bittersweet one.

However, he pointed out that with Cabinet having already reviewed the CoI’s report into the sugar industry with recommendations for a way forward, it will be laid at next Thursday’s sitting of Parliament for consideration by the Economic Services Committee.

Holder also reiterated the need for additional discussions on the many recommendations and options proffered by the CoI. He noted that implementation of the approved recommendations will commence in 2016.

Highlighting the performance of sugar throughout the year, the minister outlined that production for this year stands at 229,215 tonnes surpassing its projected target of 227,443 tonnes.

He explained that the 2nd crop production is presently at 148,372 tonnes against the latest estimate of 146,300 tonnes. For this

crop, four estates – Skeldon, Albion, Blairmount and Uitvlugt – have exceeded their production targets.

He anticipates there will be no canes carried over into the 1st crop of 2016.

Furthermore, Holder disclosed that the average cane harvesting attendance for the industry as at December 11, was 60.9 per cent compared with 59 per cent for the 2nd Crop in 2014. He further remarked that the Annual Production Incentive (API) negotiations are currently at the conciliation stage, whilst wages negotiations will commence in the New Year.

Going forward to 2016, Minister Holder disclosed that sugar production for that year is projected at 242,287 tonnes, a 5 per cent increase over 2015’s production. He added that grinding operations for the 1st crop will commence at the end of January.

The World Market Price for raw sugar continues to be way below the levels of two-three years ago, and impacted negatively on the price we obtained from sales. This was very evident from sugar sold to the European market where the price received is related to the World Market Price.

Sales of value added sugar increased significantly from 2014 levels and our presence was re-established in most of the Caricom countries. Sales of our latest brand of package sugar “Enmore Crystals” aimed at the North American market commenced in 2015 in both the USA and Canada.

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thursday, DECember 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

As Muslims observe Youman Nabi…

Guyanese urged to recommit to a truly multicultured society

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s the local Muslim community joins Muslims around the world to celebrate Youman Nabi, Guyanese are being urged not to lose sight of the challenges facing the world today and to work towards ensuring they are eliminated.

President of Central Islamic Organization of Guyana (CIOG) Fazil Feroze in a statement Wednesday said the world is no better off today as it was before “Today as we face a rapidly changing world dominated by man’s inhumanity to man.

Where might is right and the poor are taken advantage of by the rich, where women and children are abused and we witness daily the senseless acts of war, where innocent people are killed in large numbers in the name of fighting terrorism, we must ask ourselves, are we better off today or more advanced than our ancestors? The answer is simply, no,” he said.

He said the greatest living miracle of the Holy Prophet is the Holy Quran which remains today the only revealed scripture sent

by God that is unchanged since its revelation.

“I therefore on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet Muhammad call on all Guyanese to reflect on the message of the Holy Quran and the numerous exam-

ples left by the Holy Prophet Muhammad. By doing this we would be able to change our lives and be successful in this life and in the life to come,” he added.

Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo in a statement said the birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet Muhammad inspires hope, a sentiment that is needed at this time in our country.

“Muslims recognise that Youman Nabi also represents the struggles for justice, peace and equality – all qualities that, not only Muslims, but all Guyanese need to embrace as we move forward as a nation and as we confront the challenges of our time.

The teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) belie principles that all Guyanese should emulate and come at a time that should be used for reflection,” he said.

Jagdeo added that the Prophet Muhammad was able to change the conditions of his society, using the message of the holy Quran and his conduct of living.

“The Muslim community in Guyana, like many Muslims across the globe, has made a significant contribution to our society using the lessons of the Holy Quran. As we celebrate Youman Nabi, all Guyanese should commit to these teachings and principles as we strive for a better Guyana, one that is inclusive, progressive and prosperous,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) said in a statement that Guyanese can benefit from the legacy of the Prophet Mohamed by using it as an instrument, not only for promoting understanding among the various ethnic, religious and social groups, but also, and more importantly,

for bringing a healing towel to dilemmas and challenges which affect the nation as it ushers in our 50th year as an independent state.

“As we all celebrate Youman Nabi 2015, we need to recommit ourselves to the achievement of the ideals of a truly multicultural, multiethnic and multireligious society where there is unity in diversity. Happy Youman Nabi to all Guyanese,” it said.

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) said while elsewhere in this world persons of one faith or tribe attack and harm people of different beliefs, Guyanese are blessed with the wisdom and tolerance to understand, to participate in and even celebrate both of these anniversaries in some way.

“The Prophet (On Whom Be Peace) taught the values and virtues of morality based on respect for others; on the principles of devotion to a Higher creator and the acts of kindness and practical consideration for the less fortunate. FITUG knows that those claiming to wage numerous wars in Islam’s name are themselves unfaithful to their faith,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) lauded the local Muslim community for its tremendous role in forging social cohesion and peaceful co-existence in

communities.

Youman Nabi or Eid Milad un Nabi is the observance of the birthday of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad which is celebrated often on the 12th day of Rabi’ al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar. The 12th Day of Rabi’ al-awwall is the most popular date from a list of many dates that are re-

ported as the birth date.

The origin of Youman Nabi observance dates back to the period of the early four Rashidun Caliphs of Islam.

The celebration of this birthdate was further initiated by the Fatimids and it was celebrated in lands under their control.

The Ottomans declared it an official holiday in 1588.

thursday, december 24, 2015

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Simmons ‘frustrated’ WICB congratulates Taylor on ICC award by missing T20 stars W

est Indies coach Phil Simmons has admitted he is “totally frustrated” by seeing West Indian cricketers light up the Big Bash League while his Test squad battles to be competitive. Simmons said it was up to the WICB to find a way to keep the region’s best players and he cited the example of New Zealand, a team with similar resources but which has managed to retain its stars for Test cricket.

Jason Holder’s young outfit collapsed to a threeday loss to Australia in the first Test in Hobart and they face the challenge of lifting themselves for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Andre Russell has been bowling with impressive pace for the Sydney Thunder, and Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle have turned out for the Melbourne Renegades, continuing their tour of domestic T20 tournaments.

“I’m totally frustrated,” Simmons said. “It’s enjoyable to see Andre Russell bowling at 140 clicks, and Bravo hitting three or four sixes, and Chris back in it. It is frustrating that we don’t have them here playing the Test series.

“But it’s something that’s been going on for a while and it’s up to the administration to work out how we get to the stage of, let’s say, New Zealand, because they have

Phil Simmons

similar things and they’re getting all their players to play. It’s up to our administration and our bosses to find out how is the best way that we can get these guys on the pitch.”

It is not as simple as to say that all three men would be in the Test team if available, for Gayle has a back injury that will affect his chances of ever adding to his tally of 103 Tests, and Bravo was not picked for a Test for more than four years before he officially retired from the format in January. This month, Bravo said he remained committed to West Indies cricket but was unhappy with the way players were treated in the Caribbean.

“It’s gets frustrating ... not only for myself but all

the other cricketers: Gayle, Sammy, Pollard, Russell,” Bravo told the Age last week. “We’re all committed to West Indies cricket, but sometimes with the way we’ve been treated over the years, sometimes we second guess and ask ourselves why should we actually fight with West Indies’ cricket [administrators] when the rest of the world are opening their hands for us?”

Gayle and Bravo are both in their 30s but Russell, at 27, is a man who could still offer West Indies many good years, but he has played only one Test five years ago and believes his knee would not stand up to Test cricket. But chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd said in January that Russell was one of the best allrounders in the world and

could be in the Test side if he was willing to play.

“It’s such a waste that we have a guy who could be a great cricketer who is now not thinking of playing both formats,” Lloyd said in the 2015 New Year’s Lecture in Cape Town. “We have contracts, probably not as exorbitant as others, but they are getting good money. It doesn’t seem playing for our country is paramount where these players are concerned.”

Lloyd has arrived in Melbourne ahead of the Boxing Day Test, and will help mentor Holder, who at 24 faces the enormous challenge of leading a side of limited talent while also finding his own way in the game, having played only 11 Tests himself. In the absence of some of the region’s more senior players in the squad, Holder has had to rely heavily on the off-field staff of past legends to help him develop as a captain.

“Off the field he’s getting help from the coaching staff,” Simmons said. “I’m sure he’s getting help from someone like Clive Lloyd.

I’m sure he’s speaking to him, one of the greatest captains we’ve had. He’s getting a lot of advice from Clive too. Having ‘Lloydy’ around is always a good thing. Guys go and speak to him one on one. It’s a good thing to have him here.”

Imran Khan to mentor Peshawar in PSL, says owner

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ormer Pakistan captain Imran Khan has agreed to be a mentor for the Peshawar Zalmi franchise, according to its owner Javed Afridi.

“Imran Khan has become the mentor of our team,” Javed told PTI, “We are overjoyed with this development as he represents the best of Pakistan cricket and we will benefit immensely from his guidance and advice.

“We want the Pakistan Super League to benefit

Imran Khan and Shahid Afridi could be teaming up at the Peshawar Zalmi franchise

from the legacy and vision of Imran the cricketer.”

is

The tournament scheduled to begin

on February 4, when Peshawar will be captained by Shahid Afridi.

Imran’s involvement in cricket has been quite minimum since he retired in 1992, following Pakistan’s victory at the World Cup. He has since become a prominent politician in Pakistan, which might put a limitation on the time he can spend with the team.

Imran has not had much experience in the T20 format either, but

During the period under review, Stafanie Taylor scored 340 runs in nine matches with a best score of 78 off 58 balls against Australia

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he West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) on Wednesday congratulated Stafanie Taylor on winning one of the most prestigious awards in women’s cricket.

Taylor, the West Indies women’s captain, was named the International Cricket Council’s Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year, at the ICC Annual Awards announced for the period September 18, 2014 to September 13, 2015.

This is the third time the 24-year-old top-order batter and off-spinner won a major international award. She previously won the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award in 2011 and 2012.

During the period under review Taylor scored 340 runs in nine matches with a best score of 78 off 58 balls against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Earlier this year she led West Indies to a 3-0 series sweep against Pakistan.

Dave Cameron, President of the WICB, lauded Taylor for her

award-winning performances and leadership of the West Indies women’s team.

“On behalf of the WICB and the various stakeholders in West Indies cricket I want to extend congratulations to Stafanie on winning this major award on the ICC cricketing calendar. She has been an outstanding representative and ambassador for West Indies from the first time she step foot on the international stage, back in 2008, and she keeps getting better,” Cameron said.

“Stafanie has demonstrated that she is not just an excellent batter and bowler but also a very good leader. She did a fantastic job when she took over the captaincy against Pakistan earlier this year and was immediately rewarded with a series victory. This award will help raise the profile of women’s cricket in the West Indies as it is further proof that young women in the Caribbean can rise to the top of the world in their chosen endeavor.” (windiescricket)

Javed brushed those details aside and instead focused on how a presence like Imran’s could impact the youngsters in his team.

“Even if he has not

played T20 cricket it doesn’t matter what is important is his insight and views on cricket and how it should be played,” Javed said. (Cricinfo)

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guyanatimesGY.com

thursday, december 24, 2015

Steven Smith claims top ICC awards – Taylor lone West Indian among awardees tain AB de Villiers was named ODI Cricketer of the Year for the second successive year, while his compatriot Faf du Plessis won the T20 Performance of the Year award for his 56-ball 119 against West Indies in January. Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was named the Emerging Cricketer of the Year.

The two awards in wom-

Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year, while Richard Kettleborough got the Umpire of the Year award for the third straight year.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who has announced he will retire from international cricket in February, bagged the Spirit of Cricket award, for “inspiring his side to play the game

Awards list

Steven Smith was named Cricketer of the Year, as well as Test Cricketer of the Year

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ustralia captain Steven Smith has won the top ICC awards for 2014-15, being named Cricketer of the Year as well as Test Cricketer of the Year.

Smith became the seventh player after Rahul Dravid (2004), Jacques Kallis (2005), Ricky Ponting (2006), Kumar Sangakkara (2012), Michael Clarke (2013) and Mitchell Johnson (2014) to bag both awards in the same year.

Smith was “thrilled” to receive the awards, but said he would end 2015 with “mixed feelings”.

“Given that there are so many great players around the world, I’m incredibly

honoured to receive these awards,” he said. “While team success is always my number one motivation, awards like this are very special. I’m thrilled and very proud to receive them.

“I will look back on 2015 with mixed feelings.

Winning the ICC Cricket World Cup at home was a career highlight, and being appointed captain is a great honour, but the disappointment of losing the Ashes remains.

“To be the best team that we can be, we have to become better at winning away from home, and that remains our motivation heading into 2016.”

South Africa’s ODI cap-

ICC Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy) - Steven Smith Test Cricketer of the Year - Steven Smith ODI Cricketer of the Year - AB de Villiers Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year - Meg Lanning Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year - Stafanie Taylor T20I Performance of the Year - Faf du Plessis Emerging Cricketer of the Year - Josh Hazlewood Associate/Affiliate Cricketer of the Year - Khurram Khan Spirit of Cricket Award - Brendon McCullum Umpire of the Year (David Shepherd Trophy) - Richard Kettleborough en’s cricket, for the ODI Cricketer of the Year and T20I Cricketer of the year, went to Australia captain Meg Lanning and West Indies allrounder Stafanie Taylor respectively.

Former UAE captain Khurram Khan was named

No DRS until it becomes ‘foolproof’ – Manohar

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hashank Manohar, the BCCI president, has closed the door on the Decision Review System (DRS), saying that unless the system became “foolproof”, India’s stance would remain unchanged.

Responding to questions from the public on BCCI’s Facebook account, Manohar said that India’s sole issue with DRS concerned lbw decisions. Manohar pointed out that he had raised this issue even during his first stint as BCCI president, between 2008 and 2011.

“Actually telling you the truth, the BCCI was never against the DRS system right from the time of my earlier tenure,” Manohar said. “We had issues only regarding the leg before decisions to be decided by the DRS system. For everything else we were accepting the DRS system.”

Manohar said that in his previous tenure as BCCI president, the ICC had asked India to accept DRS as a whole, which the board rejected.

“At the ICC meeting, it was decided that either we accept the DRS system as a whole or we don’t accept a DRS system. We were not willing. And today also we are not willing to accept the

Shashank Manohar - “It was decided that either we accept the DRS system as a whole or we don’t accept a DRS system. We were not willing”

DRS system for leg-before system because when you shoot it from a distance, a parallax develops and then you are not able to give the exact direction of the delivery.

“Secondly, instead of the umpire imagining the bounce and the direction of the trajectory, it is the person sitting behind the camera who is going into the DRS. He is going to have his imagination put in the place of the umpire’s imagination with regard to the bounce.”

According to Manohar,

he had posed the same question concerning lbw decisions to the DRS manufacturers at an ICC executive board meeting back in 2011.

“Even the person who has evolved this DRS system was not able to answer me and was not able to satisfy all the members of the ICC,” Manohar said.

“And as you know, there are lot problems even in the DRS systems which are raised by various countries.

Therefore unless and until the DRS system is foolproof with regards to leg-before decisions the BCCI will not accept it.”

The BCCI has never favoured the DRS ever since its inception. Manohar’s reasoning is similar to his successor N Srinivasan, who served as BCCI president till 2013. Srinivasan consistently opposed the DRS, calling the referrals system “faulty” as there was a lot of luck involved, which he did not support.

Manohar’s remarks are bound to hurt the ICC, which has remained optimistic. After the ICC’s annual conference in Barbados in June, Dave Richardson, the ICC’s CEO was confident that the “modern player was more amenable to new ideas and innovation.” (Cricinfo)

in its true spirit”.

McCullum said his teammates deserved as much recognition for buying into his sportsmanlike vision of cricket.

“The team has loved how the New Zealand public and cricket fans from around the

West Indian Stafanie Taylor was voted Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year

world have responded to the way we’ve played our cricket in the last 12 months,” he said. “I think the Spirit of Cricket is hugely important and I feel extremely honoured to have received the award. It does take buy in from the entire team though and the rest of the Blackcaps squad needs to be recognised for this as well.”

The awards were given on the basis of performances during the voting period between September 18, 2014, and September 13, 2015. In that period, Smith was the leading run-getter in Tests, with 1734 runs at an average of 82.57. In that period he also made 1249 ODI runs at 59.47, his excellence

across the two formats contributing to his winning the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of the Year.

De Villiers, the ODI winner, made 1265 runs in that format in the voting period, at an average of 79.06 and a just-as-astounding strike rate of 128.42. The 24-yearold Hazlewood, who made his Test debut in December 2014, took 40 Test wickets in the voting period.

Lanning was the top Women’s ODI run-getter in the voting period, with 531 runs at 88.50, while Taylor finished on top of the Women’s T20I charts with 340 runs at an average of 42.50 and a strike rate of 105.91. (Cricinfo)

Manchester United boss walks out of news conference

U

nder-pressure Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal answered only three questions before walking out of a news conference on Wednesday.

The 64-year-old Dutchman was unhappy at being asked about his future following speculation that he could be sacked.

The media briefing, ahead of Saturday’s game at Stoke, lasted only five minutes before Van Gaal’s departure.

The former Netherlands boss said he had only turned up to speak to journalists because of Premier League rules.

As he left, he told the reporters: “I wish you a merry Christmas and maybe also a happy new year when I see you. Enjoy the wine and a mince pie. Goodbye.”

United are without a win in six games, having lost their last three matches to Wolfsburg, Bournemouth and Norwich.

Van Gaal was in an angry mood from the moment he took his seat in the media room at the club’s training ground in Carrington.

“Has anybody in this room not a feeling to apologise to me? That’s what

Louis Van Gaal wasted little time making his feelings known

I’m wondering,” he responded after being asked about Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger’s earlier claim that speculation about Van Gaal’s future had been “disrespectful”.

The news conference lasted only four minutes and 58 seconds in total.

Van Gaal, who has also managed Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, is halfway through his three-year Old Trafford contract.

Van Gaal said his family and friends had been adversely affected by the criticism, amid rumours that sacked Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is poised to replace him.

“What do you think happens with my wife or my kids?” he snapped.

“Or with my grandchildren? Or with the fans of Manchester United? Or my friends? What do you think?

“So you think that I want to talk with the media now.

I am here only because of the Premier League rules. I have to talk with you.”

Van Gaal is under pressure following United’s dip in league form and early exit from the Champions League.

The club are fifth in the table, below fourth-placed Tottenham on goal difference but nine points behind surprise leaders Leicester.

Chelsea’s sacking of Mourinho, 52 - who has been tipped as a possible replacement - has only intensified the pressure on Van Gaal.

(BBC Sport)

sports

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EBFA/Stag Super XVI…

Goalkeepers shine as Grove Hi Tech, Pouderoyen advance

THURsday, december 24, 2015

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n an unusual night of football at the Golden Grove ground, East Coast Demerara, on Tuesday night last, both matches in the second edition of the Stag Super XVI knockout tournament were decided by penalty kicks.

It was also a night where the respective goalkeepers from defending champions Grove Hi Tech and Pouderoyen stepped up to be recognised since their respective matches had to be decided via the penalty kicks route, having ended in a stalemate at the end of regulation and extra time.

Battling home team Golden Stars in the feature game, Grove Hi Tech, aiming to become back-to-back champions, had to pull out all the stops as Golden Stars clawed their way back twice to push the game into extra time.

Seasoned campaigner for East Bank’s number one side Grove, Orson Francois, netted for the visitors in the 20th minute to hand his team the advantage as they dominated the home team early on. With their fans out in fair numbers urging them on, Golden Stars kept in the hunt, even though the equaliser took some time in coming.

The first half ended with Grove in the ascendancy, but it was the Stars that shone bright early in the second half. Eight minutes into the half, Moses Fraser found shooting range and did not make any mistakes in banging the ball past custodian Michael Matthews in the 53rd minute to bring the home team back into the match.

Grove suffered a setback when goalkeeper Matthews suffered a dislocated left

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Seon Simpson

Sherwin Bernard

shoulder and had to be replaced by Seon Simpson in the 61st minute. Little did anyone know that Simpson was going to be the hero for the defending champions at the death.

Grove restored their one goal cushion in the 64th minute, compliments of a Denzil Crawford’s goal. But while the on-field action was in full swing, the elements above was equally consistent as rain poured down, but did not ‘dampen’ the end-to-end action by any means.

After Grove went ahead again, Golden Stars never let up and were rewarded with another goal through Dexter Archer’s effort in the 72nd minute to equalise yet again.

The remaining minutes did not yield any more goals, as did extra time.

Penalty kicks was then required to determine the winner. The Golden Stars’ goalie was perfect, as was Grove’s Lloyd Matthews with their respective opening penalties. Carambo Holder then sent his shot wide for Golden Stars on their second attempt, while Grove’s goalie Simpson saved their third attempt that was taken by Stephon Walcott. After scoring their fourth attempt through Justin Bristol,

Grove Hi Tech was able to seal a date with Pouderoyen on Christmas Night at the Farm ground, since they were flawless from the ‘spot.’

Captain Shermon Doris, Francois and John Matthews all sank their shots to send Grove through, breaking the hearts of the home team and supporters in the process.

The evening’s opening match was also decided via penalty kicks and a similar 4-2 result in favour of West Demerara’s Pouderoyen over East Bank’s Soesdyke Falcons following a goalless stalemate in regulation and extra time.

Both sides created a few chances, but were unable to penetrate in each other’s attacking third. From the ‘spot’, the Pouderoyen lads were perfect from the four kicks that they needed to seal their quarter-final date with Grove Hi Tech.

Marvin Frank, Deron Chilcott, Adrian Giddings and Delon Josiah were all on target for Pouderoyen. On target for Soesdyke Falcons were Kelcey Benson and Larrey Steel, while missing the target as a result of goalkeeper Sherwin Bernard’s efforts were Alvin Adams and Andy Higgins.

Tiger Sports supports RHTY&SC’s Charity Programme

I

n an act of benevolence, Tiger Sports of Old Road, Enmore, East Coast Demerara, earlier this week presented $100,000 worth of shirts to the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) to aid the club in its Charity Programme.

At a simple ceremony at the business establishment, Secretary/CEO of the RHTY&SC, Hilbert Foster,

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was on hand to receive the 200 shirts, which he said will be distributed to less fortunate children in the Lower Corentyne area during the festive season.

Foster pointed out that the RHTY&SC was extremely grateful for the donation, reserving special thanks for Managing Director of the entity, Sheik Mohamed, the former national wicketkeep-

“We met our objective...

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Phone: 227-0704,

Guyana’s most outstanding swimmers were Leon Seaton, who won five medals, capturing four gold medals (50m backstroke, 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 100m IM) and a silver medal in the 200m freestyle relay event, and Aleka Persaud, who won four gold medals as well in the 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle, 50m breaststroke and the 100m IM. Coach Baksh highlighted the performances of Ejaz Mohammed and Randy

Potter in the relay as they were instrumental in helping them win.

Antonio Rodrigues, who before the competition started had the aim of dropping his timings in the 100m freestyle, achieved this, as his time was lowered by close to a second. Felisa Williams in her first outing got bronze in the 100M freestyle, and Trumaine Cole captured one gold medal in the 100m freestyle. The other swimmers did their best by improving their

er/batsman.

He said the club is looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Tiger Sports, the leading distributor of sport equipment and apparel on the East Coast of Demerara.

Tiger Sports, through a statement, said it was very heartened to assist the youths of Berbice, especially at this time of goodwill. from page 22

times and gaining valuable experience.

Another major facet of attending the meet was the availability of electronic timing, which helped to give more accurate times of the athletes.

Suriname lauded Team Guyana for the level of competition and invited Guyana to another swim meet in 2016. This request will be taken into consideration by the local governing body for the sport. (akeemg@guyanatimesgy.com)

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guyanatimesGY.com

thursday, december 24, 2015

Legacy and 007 Promotions’ Unity Cricket…

Suriname Invitational Swim Meet…

Berbice softball teams to “We met our objective Suriname” – coach participate on January 30 inBaksh F

our softball teams from Berbice will participate in the Legacy and 007 Promotions’ ‘Unity Cricket’ at the National Stadium, Providence, on January 30.

The organisers have collaborated with corporate sponsors and have received support from the Guyana Cricket Board and the Guyana Floodlights Softball cricket Association.

The event will culminate with a galaxy of international stars competing under lights in a T20 game for the President’s trophy and $1 million.

Berbice Masters will face off with Demerara Masters (Over-45s) in a 15-over affair for a winner’s prize of $150, 000, and a Demerara female team will oppose Berbice with the winner of the 15-over game collecting $200,000.

Two of Berbice’s top two teams, including Karibee Boyz, should provide a stern test for West Demerara side Wolf’s Warriors and city team Regal in what promises to be two exciting semifinals with the winners clashing for $500,000 and a trophy under lights in the final. This game will precede

By Akeem Greene

A

group of 30 young swimmers left the shores of Guyana on December 17 with the hope of producing a fleet of stellar performances when they competed in the annual VOS Powerade/ Dasani Invitational Swim Meet held in Suriname from December 17 -21.

Wayne Jones

Shemaine Campbelle

Anil Beharry

the T20 match, which will start at 20:00h.

The action will begin at 11:00h with the first 10/10 semi-final between Wolf’s Warriors and one of the of the Berbice teams, before the second semi-final between Regal and the other team from Berbice commences immediately after.

The 10/10 final will start at 17:30h after a Demerara Masters team face a Berbice Masters in a 15-over fixture and the Demerara girls take on their counterparts from Berbice.

Left-hander Wayne Jones, Ricky Deonarain and Lloyd Rooplall are expected

to feature for the Demerara Masters, while Berbice Cricket Board’s president, the big-hitting Anil Beharry, should represent his home county although he now resides in the city, while Troy Kippins and John Sumir should play for the Ancient County.

The Berbice girls will depend on West Indies female players Shemaine Campbelle, Tremayne Smartt and Erva Giddings, while Demerara should have in their line-up Latoya Smith, Kavita Yadram and Haseena Mohamed.

Regal’s Richard Latiff and Shien Gittens and Wolf

Warriors’ Mark Harold and Amrit Rai are expected be in action before the largest crowd they have played in front of since Berbice softball has a large following.

An anticipated capacity crowd should also see players like Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Krishmar Santokie, Reyad Emrit, Nicholas Pooran, Leon Johnson, Rajendra Chandrika, Christopher Barnwell, Jonathon Foo, Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Bramble, Steven Jacobs, Raymond Reifer and Jevon Searles, compete against each other. Meanwhile, the organisers are expecting confirmation from two of the most exciting T20 players in the world.

Aleka Persaud

Sean Baksh

The aim of the meet was centered on developing the swimmers, and at the same time, giving them much needed exposure. Coach Sean Baksh in speaking to the Guyana Times Sport on Wednesday, said, “If you check the results, we met our objective.”

Guyana was the only foreign country to attend,

and the swimmers picked up nine gold, four silver and two bronze medals, which give them a 15-medal haul at the meet.

Commenting on how the swimmers are continuously developing their talents, Baksh revealed that “two years ago, the same persons were defeating our swimmers, but now we have our swimmers beating them by yards.”

In addition, the coach added that in Suriname, there is a really good programme and if Guyana can produce such performances against that standard, then the country is on its way to vast improvements. turn to page 21

guyanatimesGY.com

thursday, december 24, 2015

Continental joins band of sponsors for KMTC meet T

he season-ending Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club (KMTC) Boxing Day horse race meet is set for a grand showdown on Saturday, and corporate entities are not missing out on the opportunity to have their brands associated with the mega event.

Earlier this week, the Continental Group of Companies announced its support for the event, which will take place at the KMTC’s track at Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne.

“Kennard Memorial Turf Club has been hosting horse racing events of high standards and Continental Group of Companies is happy to continue its association with this club and with this sport,” the company said in a release.

It added, “Over the years, Continental Group of Companies has supported sports in Guyana in a wide array of areas, these being motor-racing, horse racing, badminton, football, table tennis, karate, hockey, and golf just to name a few. Horse racing is a growing sport in Guyana and it’s a sport that brings all our people together, thus

Continental Group of Companies’ Marketing and Sales Manager, Avalon Jagnandan (right), hands over the sponsorship cheque and trophy to president of the KMTC, Justice Cecil Kennard

Continental’s continuous involvement in this sport.”

Continental Group of Companies’ Marketing and Sales Manager, Avalon Jagnandan, who presented the entity’s sponsorship package to KMTC president, Justice Cecil Kennard, wished the club a successful race meeting, noting that it remains fully committed towards the growth and development of sports in Guyana.

Justice Kennard expressed gratitude to the

company for its continued support, promising an action-packed and highly successful race meet, starting at noon.

The event will be headlined by the feature C and Lower, which will run for a mile and has a first prize of $1 million. The second to fourth place finishers will receive $500,000, $250,000 and $125,000 respectively.

That race is expected to feature top horses like Plum Plum, who won Sunday’s

Guyana Cup Rematch, Jack In My Style, Split Fire, California Strike, Run Nana Run and Lady Budapest among others.

The main supporting six-furlong race will be the E and Lower, which will see the top horse and jockey carting off $500,000 and the runner-up collecting half that amount.

The one-mile race for G1 and Lower and Three and Four-year maidens has a winning purse of $300,000, while the H1 and Lower six-furlong showdown has $250,000 set aside for the champion.

Other races carded for the day include the J1 and Lower and Two-year-old Guyana bred, with a winning purse of $180,000, while the J3 and Lower and the K1 and Lower have a top prize of $140,000 and $120,000 respectively.

The day’s activities will be held in strict adherence to the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority.

Kennard also highlighted that vehicles transporting animals to the venue on race day will be exempt from paying the Berbice River Bridge toll.

23

GFA/Banks Beer Cup…

2 teams ordered to pay fines

T

he Georgetown Football Federation (GFA) has sanctioned two teams in the ongoing GFA/Banks Beer knockout football competition. The two clubs in question are Black Pearl FC and Santos FC for having “guest players” and “loan players” on their teams respectively.

A letter, addressed by the General Secretary of the GFA, Althea Scipio, stated that, “Consequent to a match that was played on December 20 between Black Pearl and Santos FC, it was subsequently observed through a democratic process that the directive of the Guyana Football

Federation, which was sent via a correspondence on Tuesday December 15, was in breach via the inclusion of a guest player.” A similar letter was sent to Santos Football Club as it regards their “loan player.”

The letter also stated that based on the discussions at the executive level, it was decided that a fine of $25,000 be imposed on both clubs, which must be paid on or before Tuesday December 29.

The Guyana Football Federation in the initial stages of the competition had disapproved of having ‘outside’ players compete in the tournament, a release from the GFA pointed out.

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

thursday, december 24, 2015

Simmons ‘frustrated’ by missing T20 stars Pg 19

Chris Gayle

Andre Russell

Dwayne Bravo

EBFA/Stag Super XVI… Tiger Sports supports RHTY&SC’s Charity Goalkeepers shine as Grove Hi Tech, Programme Pouderoyen advance Pg 21

Pg 21

Secretary/CEO of the RHTY&SC, Hilbert Foster, receives one of the shirts from staff of Tiger Sports

Part of the action between Grove Hi Tech and Golden Stars

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