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Issue No. 2875

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Public Health Ministry to crack down on unlabelled food items Page 3

Piracy attack

5 fishermen slapped with murder charge

P17

Mechanic stabbed to death at Plaisance

Page 7

Page 11

Minister Harmon meets with Mocha residents

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Alleged cocaine P7 mule recruiters charged - remanded to prison

11% of Guyanese unemployed – Chief Statistician FIU to get new Director Boyfriend charged for killing US- P2 based Guyanese teen

Minister of State Joseph meeting with representatives of residents of Mocha Arcadia, East Bank Demerara on Friday, to discuss issues facing residents of that community

Forensic audit

PPP/C, APNU/ AFC owe NCN $M for elections ads

Jagdeo upbradies Nagamootoo over Parliamentary conventions Page 10

Parking meters to be installed in September

Supenaam man slapped with rape charge P8

2 news

saturDAY, june 4, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Parking meters to be installed Boyfriend charged for killing in September

US-based Guyanese teen

Murder suspect Taariq Stephens

The relatives of the dead teenager at the Precinct stationhouse on Friday

ours after the man accused of fatally shooting 16-yearold Shemel Mecurius in a Brooklyn apartment turned himself into law enforcement, he was arraigned for her murder.

Taariq Stephens, 24, appeared at the 67th Precinct stationhouse in Brooklyn on Friday morning.

The murder suspect surrendered moments after his photograph and surveillance video were released by authorities in the US. The now dead teen was babysitting her cousin when she was shot three times by the suspect and died while receiving medical attention.

Her aunt said she lived long enough to identify her killer.

However, at the court on Friday morning, relatives of the murdered teen turned up in their numbers to get a glimpse of the man who took the life of the teenager.

Based on news reports in the United States, her grandfather, Harold Mercurius said “You see the pictures on the TV… in articles on your phone... I just wanted to see him for myself.”

Mercurius’ father, Dexter Mercurius, wanted to see if he recogniSed his daughter’s killer. “I know this person used to live right in the neighboUrhood, and I wanted to see if I knew this guy – but honestly, I never knew this guy,” he said. “My daughter’s 16 and he’s 24. I

H

would like to know why he did this. It’s still hard for me right now.”

A motive for the killing was not immediately disclosed. Stephens said nothing as detectives escorted him to a waiting unmarked squad car.

The 24-year-old, who has more than a dozen arrests under his belt, was charged with murder and weapons possession.

The dead teenager moved to New York from Guyana three years ago and lived with her aunt, who was her primary caregiver. The teen, who attended Edward R Murrow High School, often cared for her young cousin and wanted to become a nurse.

G

eorgetown will soon get parking meters as City Hall moves to introduce this new system by September. This was announced by the Chairman of the National Parking Systems (NPS) and the Director of Smart City Solutions, Kamau Cush after the recent signing of the contract between NPS and the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC).

Of significance however, was the total cost attached to the provisions of the parking meters. The Chairman of NPS and the Director of Smart City Solutions said the cost for the first phase of setup of this technology is more than US$10 million and this will increase with each phase. He did not specify how many phases there would be but instead said that this investment will assist in making the President’s dream of a clean and green Guyana become a reality, while reducing the congestion and accumulating revenue.

“The cost for the first phase is north of US$10 million and as we move forward it will be more but President Granger has articulated a vision of a clean and green Guyana in general, and a clean and green Georgetown in particular, and so the Mayor and Councils of the City of Georgetown have embraced that vision. We at Smart City Solutions share that vision and with the introduction of our on street paid parking systems; this will be one step forward in the movement towards actualising President Granger’s vision. The meters will contribute to a reduction of pollution, reduction of congestion in our city, regulation of traffic and more significantly, it will create a brand new stream in Georgetown,” Cush said.

Cush told Guyana Times that 3000 spaces would be allocated for parking, with

a parking meter attached to every 10 spaces, totalling 300 parking meters being installed in busy areas, charging $125 every 15 minutes, allowing an expected yearly income of approximately $100-$200 million. He indicated that this revenue will

the minibus and taxi drivers in the various parking lots is $100, once they come in, they pay $100 fill up then leave, then they come back, pay another $100 and move.

For those drivers, the just have to pay $100 for however long they take to fill up, it doesn’t matter. It will be counted by trips for them.”

According to Cush, in a press conference held on Friday, the proposal for the country to endorse parking meters was made 20 years ago, and it has been three years since workers have commenced preparations to facilitate the installations, highlighting that workers have currently been assigned to measuring the length and widths of every road in Georgetown.

It was also explained to this publication that while there will be consultations with members of the Guyana Police Force, in terms of security, the primary law enforce-

be used by the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to facilitate the amenities and services that it is mandated to deliver, adding that installations of the parking meters would begin in September 2016 with an intention of being concluded

by September month end.

However, Cush relayed that there will be a reduced cost of $100 per trip for taxi and minibus operators.

“What we are proposing for

ments to be assigned would be the City Constabulary Officers.

Meanwhile, when Guyana Times spoke to a few drivers in Georgetown, there was a mixture of displeasure and acceptance to this new initiation by the M&CC. While some agreed with the decision to have the parking meters installed, others referred to the move as “thoughtless” and “burdensome.”

Chairman of NPS and Smart City Solutions Director, Kamau Cush

news

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saturDAY, june 4, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, June 4 – 14:30h-16:00h and Sunday, June 5 – 05:00h-06:30h The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, June 4 – 16:10h-17:40h and Sunday, June 5 – 16:55h-18:25h.

P

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Heavy rain showers can be expected throughout the day, while light rain showers are expected to prevail in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly to North-easterly between 3.12 metres per second and 5.36 metres per second.

High Tide: 03:36h and 16:06h reaching maximum heights of 2.82 metres and 2.71 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 09:38h and 21:54h reaching minimum heights of 0.37 metre and 0.52 metre respectively.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

LOTTERY NUMBERS L

02 11 17 18 21 22 14 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

friday, June 3, 2016

Daily Millions

08 09 15 18 23 LUCKY 3 1

9

5

Draw De Line 03 05 12 15 18

Public Health Ministry to crack down on unlabelled food items

19 20

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

ublic Health Minister, Dr George Norton announced on Friday that items in supermarkets across the nation that do not bear labels will no longer be tolerated to be distributed to consumers.

The customary act of shop owners, especially small businesses retailing large quantity of goods into small packages without bearing a label or an unidentifiable label, will no longer be accepted by the Public Health Ministry.

Norton disclosed that all retailing of food items will have to be approved by the Food and Drug Department (FDD) of the Ministry before it can be packed unto shelves.

Norton recalled, “You used to go in a supermarket and buy peas in a bag with no writing on it, buy rice in a bag with no writing on it or anything on a bag with no writing on it”. He emphasised that this will no longer be acceptable, since the law would be enforced upon offenders.

Norton reiterated, “The law says you must state what is in the packages and the necessaries”. He is also urging small shops to have their licences in order, since they will not be allowed to operate without one. He articulated that unlicenced businesses are the ones that usually provide unhygienic items to the public because they don’t adhere to the Standard Operating Procedures.

Meanwhile, Minister Norton added that milk being sold loosely in unlabelled packages is unfortu-

Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton

nate and will soon come to a halt. “We are going to insist that all who are importing milk and retailing it, comply with the regulations.

Conditions must be certified

by FDD, meaning they need infrastructure to be in place, the machine that actual does the packaging, they ought to have that in place and apart from that, they must also label it,” the Minister said.

Norton further noted that “all of our local stuff have labels from coconut water to crab oil, so everything we sell, we must put a label on it”. Minister Norton stressed that this is what the law requires.

In 2015, The Government Analyst-Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) had advised consumers against purchasing powdered milk in unlabelled and transparent bags.

According to the FDD, “The sale of milk powder in this manner is in breach of the Food and Drug Act 1971 and the Food and Drug Regulation 1977 and any

person who sells Powdered Milk in unlabelled, transparent plastic bags are guilty of an Offence”.

The press statement warned retailers to discontinue the practice of repackaging milk without being in possession of a permit to repackage.

Just recently, the GAFDD in clamping down on substandard goods in the local market, recalled the infant milk formula known as LAILAC which was being imported and distributed by the International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA) Guyana Ltd. The recall by the GAFDD was issued on two grounds; one of which was the product’s noncompliance with Food and Drug Regulation (12) of 1977, which prohibits distributing a product in Guyana that is not distributed in its country of origin.

GA-FDD Director Marlon Cole was quoted in other sections of the media as saying that LAILAC was not and could not possibly be sold in France as milk.

“Our regulations clearly state that the product must be freely distributed in the country of production.

That product is not sold in France. No other Caribbean country has LAILAC milk.

It is not milk,” he was quoted as saying.

The other reason for this recall was based on concluding after reading the product’s label which showed that the product is labelled infant milk although in the production process, nonspecified ‘vegetable oils’ were used to replace milk

fats.

According to the GAFDD, in making the product as close as possible to “mother’s milk”, unless specific vegetable oils were added to the cow milk-based substance, when digested by infants, the formula can prove to be dangerous since the fatty acids in the triglycerides produced influence their functions negatively.

It was reported that even though LAILAC was recalled months ago, the products are still being sold and stocked on shelves of supermarkets.

The Public Health Minister had said “It could be that the company brought in the milk some time ago, probably sold it to supermarkets and the supermarkets continue to display it so that they don’t make a loss. What I know that can be done is the Food and Drug Department can literally go and seize these products. I don’t know why they’re not doing it.”

He also noted that if it was ascertained that the IPA is refusing the mandate of the GA-FDD, then it will become a legal issue where the Police will get involved.

“If the law so says and the product does not abide by the regulations then the Food and Drug Department has a right to pull the product from the market.

If they (distributors) continue to defy the order, then it’s a legal matter and when it comes to a legal case, it goes to the Police and a decision will have to be made,” the Public Health Minister had said.

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saturdAY, june 4, 2016

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

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

Editorial

CPL 2016 I

n a matter of days, the HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2016 tournament will commence with some of the leading West Indian and international talents set to descend on the Caribbean. Excitement is building as many fans across Guyana and the other nations where the games are expected to be played are now in a rush to secure tickets and be part of the action.

Now in its fourth year, CPL is now truly established as one of the leading T20 leagues in the world and compares favourably with the likes of the IPL and Big Bash League.

From what we have seen so far, the competition is expected to be stiffer this year as some of the best international talents in world cricket have been selected to participate in the tournament. With the West Indies currently sitting atop the World T20 team rankings, the top quality signings of iconic and hugely decorated marquee players shows that CPL is serious about captivating the attention of both the West Indies public and cricket followers globally.

Many stakeholders in the Caribbean are very optimistic about the huge potential the tournament has in terms of cricket development in the Caribbean and the development of the region as a whole.

In previous tournaments, almost every stakeholder came out in support of the games. From current and past players to commentators, government officials, corporate sponsors, Hollywood actors and so on; all of them understood the kind of impact a tournament of such magnitude would have on the region. Certainly, the economic impact has been tremendous.

According to an independent Economic Impact study on the tournament, Guyana’s economy cashed in on some US$24.5 million from the overall US$166 million that was injected to the Region’s economy during the 2014 tournament – a significant increase of 58 per cent on 2013.

The study conducted by SMG-Insight/YouGov, one of the world’s leading sports measurement, research and analysis companies, showed a breakout across each of the eight markets as follows: Antigua and Barbuda – US$13.8 million; Barbados – US$28.7 million; Grenada – US$13.3 million; Guyana – US$24.5 million; Jamaica – US$25.1 million; St Kitts and Nevis – US$26.3 million; St Lucia – US$13.9 million and Trinidad and Tobago – US$21.1 million. This is the kind of fillip the region’s economies need at a time when most of them are recording slow growth rates.

Further, there has been massive commercial support for the tournament which this region has never seen for any sporting event. It was disclosed that even before a ball was bowled, almost 40 commercial partners were on board signalling their long-term support for the tournament and West Indies cricket in general. That number has increased dramatically to date as many Caribbean businesses are seeing for themselves the significant returns they could have from investing and being part of the tournament.

In terms of media coverage, the tournament has had a global audience for the games through outstanding broadcast coverage on television and radio, in addition to significant presence on social media through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Importantly too is that the League has provided the opportunity for new talents to emerge. Players like young Nicholas Pooran, Rayad Emrit, Sheldon Cotterell and Steven Jacobs, to name a few, who may have flown under the radar or been overshadowed by the bigger names in the region have now been given an opportunity to shine, and they are indeed taking advantage of that opportunity.

Certainly CPL has opened many doors for these young athletes to achieve their dreams by competing all over the world.

Many experts have said that the CPL has exceeded every benchmark set. It has sparked a renewed interest in cricket as persons all over the region, even those who were not avid cricket fans, are talking about the game.

Prior to CPL, there has never been this level of interest in cricket here, except for the period when the West Indies were on top of world cricket.

The CPL has shown both the West Indian public’s enduring love for cricket and the endless potential for growth and success that there is in the region.

In essence, CPL has indeed been a success story not only as it relates to the development of cricket, but the potential for growth and the ability to create the kind of opportunities that would seek to improve the lives of citizens.

Jubilant West Indies supporters at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, for the return of international cricket to Guyana

Narine photo)

(Marceano

Being in denial will not change our economy’s performance Dear Editor, The recent article which quoted Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman that the “Forestry ban was just and necessary” is just another smokescreen to justify the current slump in the economy.

It is true the forest sector is not performing as it should, but it’s not due to the ban on the exportation of logs, it’s mainly due to the lack of uptake of forest product by the construction and housing sector. While the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Natural Resources and the rest of the government is denying that the economy is sluggish, there is a decline in the construc-

tion and housing sectors.

Hence, the returns reduced in the forest sector.

It would be interesting to get from the banking sector how many new loans were approved for the housing and construction sectors of the past year compared to the previous year.

For reference I quote: “The Finance Ministry admitted that the low production levels resulted from Government’s temporary ban on timber exports.” In a previous interview with this newspaper, Finance Minister Winston Jordan had said that the forestry sector’s performance for 2015 was disappointing.

“This sector had one of the hardest hits in recent

times. We expected it to pick up, but it did not.”

On the other hand, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman insists that the ban was “just and necessary”. He admitted that forestry production fell short of expectations, but he refrained from expressing that the industry performed “poorly”.

How can the Minister of Finance associate low production levels as a result of the ban on timber exports. Editor, I am confident there are thousands of cubic metres of logs at various log depots, stockyard and sawmills.

Production is at a standstill because the economy has slowed and forest produced is not be-

ing used as usual by the housing and construction sectors, as compared to the previous years. I am confident that there is adequate production; the Minister need to consult with the relevant agencies and stakeholders before making irrational statements.

I therefore suggest that the ministers and the government need to first admit the economy has slowed and is underperforming and then go about fixing. Being in denial will not change nor improve our country’s circumstance. Let us all see the change that was promised.

Sincerely, Christine Cadogan

Which position is the new Mayor taking?

Dear Editor, The new Mayor of Georgetown is either very confused, ill-advised or ill-informed.

One day during an interview with a local newspaper she denies that City Hall is cash-strapped.

Mayor Chase Green denied such claims, saying that allegations of bankruptcy were untrue, and expressed an unawareness that the municipality was struggling to pay its mammoth monthly wage bill, its contractors’ fees, and its statutory

payments such as to the GRA and NIS. She further went on to say that she had not received any such reports, which suggest that City Hall was incapable of paying its debts, and as such, she questioned the authenticity and reliability of the information that was published.

Then the very next day the Mayor made a 180 degree pivot and confirmed that the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) had indeed run short on funds. In fact she

said there was not been a time that she was aware the Council had not had a loss, claiming that the city has always been broke.

Her new claim was that the Council does not collect enough rates and taxes (general rates) to meet all the demands financially to run this city and so being short of cash was no new news, suggesting that it would take like $3 billion a year to run the city of Georgetown if it is to be developed into a modern city.

How could it be that

on one day the mayor was totally oblivious of the Council’s dire financial straits even though all of her staff including those surrounding her – security, drivers and secretarial staff – were not paid, and then the next day do a complete back flip and indicate that for the last 21 years that she was at the Council, the entity was always broke?

Something has to be wrong.

Best regards, James Mc Onnell

guyana-times.com

saturDAY, june 4, 2016

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City Council bullying GECOM responds to PPP/C’s protests the citizenry Dear Editor, As a business owner I would like to express my dismay at the arbitrary imposition of a new fee/fine by the Georgetown City Council.

Without publishing in the Official Gazette, local newspapers or without even sending a formal letter to business owners, the Council has just started demanding a fee of $25,000

from business owners each time a container is parked outside their premises for the offloading of their goods.

I believe it is time a legal challenge is made against the Council, as nowhere in the by-laws or statutes of the city is there a provision for the charging of a $25,000 per day fee for the parking of a container.

The City Council in its

recent greed and desire to extract every dollar it possibly can from the citizens of Georgetown is becoming unreasonable in its demands.

Why is no other municipality demanding this fee for the parking of containers?

Soon they may charge the business owner for parking his or her car there.

And why does the Council not charge the mo-

bile fish truck “King Fish”; which is associated with a senior officer of the Council, a fee of $25,000 per day for parking there 24/7, 365 days a year?

It is time for the citizenry of Georgetown to stand against the bullyism of the City Council.

Sincerely, Mark Roopan

Let security systems be more easily obtainable

Dear Editor, The crime situation continues to haunt us and many people are investing heavily to protect their properties and lives with the use of security cameras to identify criminals or raise alarms, amongst other things.

Most people installing Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) security cameras would install the cameras at positions that makes it impossible to identify someone unless the person could be recognized by his/her physical structure and in many cases, it’s impossible.

People should not be fooled with what is shown in the CSI Television series, technology is not available as yet to enhance bad footage so in order to get a decent im-

age, the camera must be very close. It doesn’t matter if people could touch the cameras because if they do they are being recorded.

The standard recording for most dvr’s [digital video recorder’s] is 24 frames per second (fps), that is like taking 24 photos in a second and playing it back thus you get the videos and depending on the setting of the dvr, you could record 30 fps which is a far better quality when replaying. There are also videos editing programs available that could be used to scrutinize the videos properly to get the best images.

While there are many places that you could go to get different types of security systems to purchase, the real shocker is when you query the

prices. Believe it or not, these people are increasing the values of a security system by four times and those installing it are charging a tremendous amount and when you look at the way they install the system, you start to wonder what is the purpose for the cameras because you could know that they wouldn’t get proper footages.

If this government is serious about fighting crime, they should get a mechanism in place to let citizens get security cameras at an affordable rate because the prices are jacked up tremendously.

If almost everyone could install a security system it would enhance the fight against crime greatly. Take the recent crime that was committed against the M&M

Snackette.

The robbers had on face masks to prevent people from knowing their identity but I don’t believe that they would walk from their home with their face blocked to commit a crime and if they do that they would draw attention to themselves.

I’m quite sure the police will be looking at houses nearby with security cameras to see if they have footage of the criminals passing before/ after they commit the crime.

In order to help fight against crime, let security systems be more easily obtainable, so that many people could get cameras easily and help each other.

Yours truly, Sahadeo Bates

Sad attempt at politicking Dear Editor, I read with some interest an article headlined “Ramotar’s son paid over $32M, for ‘poor supervision’ of E-Governance Project.”

It is a known fact that rambunctious headlines are what get newspapers sold. A quick look at the top five selling newspapers in the UK, for example, will show that all are tabloids. Unsurprisingly this is the path that has been taken by KN. Like all tabloids the headlines and articles are usually devoid of facts. Although I have not received a copy of the forensic audit report, which in itself is highly irreg-

ular, it was quite satisfying that KN deemed it worthy to highlight my remuneration. It points to the obvious fact that like many other forensic audits conducted by the new administration, there has been absolutely no evidence of fraud, embezzlement or corruption. After all that is the purpose of a forensic audit.

I will, however, admit that a headline stating “No Fraud discovered at E-Governance Project” is not sexy. Regrettably, the modus operandi of this newspaper throughout its reporting on the forensic audits has been a crass disinterest in reporting

the facts; that there has been no evidence that any entity or individual has committed fraud, embezzlement or has been involved in corrupt practices. Therefore KN has instead had to write about remunerations as in the cases of Valmikki Singh, the accounting department at OLPF and me or who’s the father of whom as in the cases of Azariah Assim, Abdallah Hamilton and again me.

The article tries to further obfuscate facts by making a claim that the E-Governance Project was a failure. The E-Governance Project was in fact completed in August of 2014. The project was com-

pleted within its scheduled timeline and budget.

In fact the technical scope of the project was expanded without incurring either any financial or time scheduling penalties. The credit for this goes to the hardworking team that from mid-2009 worked on all aspects of the project from design, budgeting, scheduling and implementation.

To denigrate the efforts of my team is to do a disservice to dedicated Guyanese in a rather sad attempt at politicking.

Sincerely, Alexei Ramotar

Dear Editor, As the organisation that is responsible for conducting national elections in Guyana, the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) undertakes these procedures transparently, and in accordance with the law. While this has been explained and attested before now, it is important for us to reiterate this fact, in light of the recent protests, held by members of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

While we respect the rights of citizens to protest, since it is a common feature of a democracy, we abhor misinformation, libellous, slanderous and boisterous assertions about Gecom during your (PPP/C) demonstrations.

As an independent body, the activities of Gecom, specific to elections and National Registration, are approved by the Commission.

This Commission comprises six Commissioners (three nominated by APNU/AFC and three by the PPP/C), along with the Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally. The Commission deliberates, pronounces and votes on decisions and work plans to be executed by the Secretariat.

It therefore means that Dr Surujbally does not exclusively make decisions concerning Gecom, instead, these decisions are made by a body of Commissioners.

In addition, all activities at the Polling Stations and Registration Offices are conducted in the presence of Party Agents, who are there to witness and ensure that

all activities are conducted in a lawful and transparent manner. On Elections Day, these Party Agents are also required to sign the Statements of Poll and collect a copy for their respective parties. The Statements of Poll are posted outside the Polling Stations after the counting and tallying processes are completed, as the law stipulates. Gecom will not break the law to satisfy political expediency.

Given the measures implemented, how could 2015 General Elections been “rigged”? Why would Gecom set out to “rig” any elections?

The votes were counted - in the presence of the Party Agents. The Commission provided the nation with the results, within the time frame stipulated by law. It is now left for us to prove that wise man wrong when he said that “the hardest thing an Elections Body can do is convince the losers that they have lost”.

Meanwhile, Gecom will proceed on the activities scheduled for this autonomous body. The 8th Cycle of Continuous Registration begins on June 6, as outlined in the notices published. We will be providing further guidance via the media, as required.

A brand new and due House-to-House Registration will follow, probably as early as next year, as it has been a part of our mode of operations - not because we were pushed by any political party.

Sincerely, Guyana Elections Commission Public Relations

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saturday, june 4, 2016

guyana-times.com

Page Foundation Positive parenting your tween 10 tips for parenting P

arenting preteens, or tweens, can be a challenge. Discipline, school, homework, time with family – everything is renegotiated. Hormones kick in as puberty approaches, and the pressures of the peer group magnify. Many moms and dads react to their tween’s moodiness, focus outside the family, increasing independence and maturing physical body by distancing somewhat from their child. But tweens need to feel they have a secure nest as they launch themselves into the exciting but scary world outside the family. Children who feel disconnected from their parents lose their anchor and look for it in their peer group.

The only way to make it through the tween years with a firm foundation for the teen years to come is to fiercely maintain a strong bond with your child, even while you encourage ageappropriate freedom. In fact, much like the toddler years, parents play a major role in whether the tween years are turbulent or terrific. Here are 12 tips to positive parent your child (and maximise your influence!) as she moves toward the teen years.

1. Stay connected by having dinner together every night, or as often as possible.

Children who have dinner with their parents do better in school, are less likely to use drugs or alcohol, are less likely to have sex while in high school, and are less likely to experience depression or anxiety.

Check in with your

tween every single day by spending some private time together; many parents find that 15 minutes at bedtime is grounding and most intimate. But car rides run a close second, probably because kids feel less threatened when you aren’t looking right at them.

Schedule regular longer alone-time with each parent, such as monthly brunch with dad or weekly walks with mom. Don’t expect your son or daughter to in-

vite closeness or volunteer vulnerable emotions at each interaction, or when you expect it. But if you set up enough regular opportunities to be together, and you mostly listen and love (rather than lecturing or quizzing) it will happen.

2. To reduce rebelliousness, recognise and work with your tween’s need for independence.

Be aware that as we feel less powerful as parents we often compensate by becoming overprotective. Instead of breathing down his neck, agree on and enforce standards. Set reasonable lim-

its (no texting during dinner and after 9pm, no online chatting or TV until homework is finished) and be sure to offer empathy when they hate your limits. It’s their job to test limits, and yours to set limits based on your values.

3. Re-think your previous ideas about discipline.

Power-based punishment strategies stop working as soon as your child

gets big enough to say “You can’t make me.” Even consequences will only work a short time longer, because many teens simply refuse them, and any kind of punishment makes them better liars. You never win a power struggle with your child.

The only leverage we really have with our tweens and teens is their love for us, which becomes a more potent motivator over time.

That means the best way to get your tween to follow your rules is to maintain a strong bond with him.

4. Don’t underestimate hormones.

Your child’s body is changing, creating mood swings, distractibility, competitiveness, and preoccupation with the opposite sex.

What’s more, their brains are undergoing an extensive re-wiring, which can make them emotionally volatile. Tweens can even find themselves in a full-blown tantrum without understanding how it happened.

Kindly tell your tantrum throwing preteen that you see how upset they are and you want to give them time to pull themselves together before you discuss whatever the issue is. Ask them if they want you to stay, or to leave the room to let everyone calm down. Your preteen doesn’t understand his or her moods any more than you do right now. Later, give them a big hug, and really listen to what they have to say. Even if you can’t agree with their position, acknowledge your child’s perspective, and work to find a win/ win solution.

5. Don’t take it personally!

When your tween yells at you to drop dead, don’t overreact. When they hurt your feelings and you’re tempted to withdraw, take a deep breath and stand your ground calmly. That doesn’t mean you don’t kindly demand civility, and it doesn’t mean you can’t use strategic withdrawals as a chance to regroup, but that you continue to reinforce your love for and connection to your child. Your best way to get your tween to act respectfully towards you is to extend respect to her, and to calmly expect it in return. (ahaparent-

ing.com)

(To be continued)

your pre-teen

– how to stay close as children move into adolescence

By Juliann Garey

I

t’s typically between the ages of nine and 12 that our cute, cuddly little children, once so willing to climb into our laps and share their secrets, suddenly want little or nothing to do with us. Your pre-adolescent is not the same person he was just a year or two ago. He has changed – physically, cognitively, emotionally, and socially. He’s developing new independence and may even want to see how far he can push limits set by parents.

What he may not know is that he needs you as much as ever, because a strong parentchild relationship now can set the stage for a much less turbulent adolescence. But it won’t be easy, because you as a parent need to respect your child’s need for greater autonomy in order to forge a successful relationship with this “updated” version of your child.

We asked some experts for tips to help you keep the channels of communication open between you and your preteen – and have a smoother transition into the teen years.

1. Don’t feel rejected by their newfound independence. It’s appropriate for children this age to start turning away from their parents and relying more and more on friends, but parents can take their pre-teen’s withdrawal as rejection. “All too often parents personalise some of

the distance that occurs and misinterpret it as a wilful refusal or maybe oppositional behaviour,” says Catherine Steiner-Adair, a Harvard Psychologist, schools consultant, and author of The Big Disconnect.

Beware of trying to force information out of a resistant tween. “This is a time when children really start to have secrets from us,” says SteinerAdair, “and parents who have a low tolerance for that transition – they want to know everything – can alienate their children by being too inquisitive.”

2. Set aside special time with your child. It’s often tough to get pre-teens to open up and talk. Laura Kirmayer, a Clinical Psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, suggests establishing a special period of one-on-one time once or twice a week that you spend with your tween, where you’re providing undivided attention and you’re not working or texting at the same time.

In doing this you’re not only improving your relationship, you’re also teaching interpersonal skills that are going to be crucial in the future.

“That quality time is really key,” Kirmayer says, “and it’s something that we might overlook because our children might be saying they don’t want it and be pulling away.

And we might unintentionally collude with that tendency.”

3. Try the indirect approach. When they were younger you could ask direct questions. How was school?

How did you do on the test?

Now, the direct approach – carpet-bombing them with questions about school and their day – doesn’t work.

Suddenly that feels overwhelming and intrusive. And it’s going to backfire.

If anything, says Kirmayer, you have to take the opposite approach and position yourself as mostly just a listener: “If you actually just sit down, without questions, and just listen, you’re more likely to get the information about your child’s life that you’re wanting.” Kirmayer says this approach gives children the message that “this is a place where they can come and talk, and they have permission to say anything that they’re thinking or feeling.”

Sometimes you’ll be able to help and give advice – but don’t try to step in and solve all their problems. Other times you’ll just be there to empathise with how hard it is to deal with whatever they’re going through. (childmind.org) (To be continued)

news

Alleged cocaine mule recruiters charged

- remanded to prison cealed in milk

Rolston Bacchus, called “Biggs”

T

wo suspected cocaine mule recruiters were on Friday brought before the court for recruiting Safraz Jalaladeen to traffic over 6.04 kilograms of cocaine out of Guyana, and appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Rolston Bacchus, called “Biggs” and Mark Sawyers, called “Marco” both denied they recruited Jalaladeen to traffic the cocaine between April 1 and May 19, 2016.

Reports indicate that ranks from the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) were able to finger the men after Jalaladeen was busted at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) with the drug con-

packets in two suitcases.

Jalaladeen appeared before the same Magistrate two weeks ago and was sentenced to four years imprisonment for the crime and has since been cooperating with (CANU) ranks in the investigation.

Bacchus was further slapped with recruiting Kathleen DeFlorimonte and Odessa Pollard, between July and November 2015 to traffic 12.34 Kilograms of cocaine out of Guyana.

According to Prosecutor Konyo SandifordThompson, Bacchus denied the charge. Reports are that on November 5, 2015, Pollard was slated to depart on a Caribbean Airlines flight destined to Trinidad and Tobago when she was busted with 12.348 kilogram of cocaine.

Prosecutor Thompson disclosed that the drug was concealed in Kerrygold milk packets. Pollard told officers it is her motherin-law, DeFlorimonte who had packed her suitcase and told her that diamonds were contained in the milk packages.

They were charged before the court and are currently on trial at the Providence Magistrate’s Court.

CANU officers noted that it is due to the two women’s statements that they were able to arrest of

Bacchus who had been long under their surveillance.

The Prosecution pointed out that Sawyer is no stranger to the court or the drug world, telling the court that the 26-year-old resides at Lot 521 Dazzle Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara, and has similar matters pending at the Providence and Sparendaam Magistrate’s Courts.

Bail for the men was strongly objected to by the Prosecutor –Bacchus being a flight risk and Sawyer’s previous involvement in such matters.

Chief Magistrate Ann

Mark Sawyers

McLennan remanded the duo until June 21 and transferred the joint matter to Courts Five and Three respectively.

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saturday, june 4, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Mechanic stabbed to death at Plaisance A

father of one was fatally stabbed at the Plaisance Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara, where he had gone to party, on Friday morning by a man with whom he allegedly had an old grievance.

Orrette West, 29, of Tucville Terrace, East La Penitence, Georgetown, was stabbed to his chest and abdomen by his attacker who immediately fled the scene.

Reports are that West was dancing with a female when an argument broke out between him and the suspect during which the suspect whipped out a knife and dealt him the fatal stabs.

After being stabbed West was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he succumbed.

When Guyana Times visited the mother of the dead man at her GuyHoc, Greater Georgetown home, she explained that her son left home just before midnight on Thursday with a group of friends as they normally would to the party on Plaisance ‘Line Top’.

According to the grieving mother, at about 01:30h, she heard a car honking in front of her yard and went to inquire, and was told that her son was stabbed.

The woman said she panicked and sent her other sons to the hospital to check on West. After sometime, she got the dreaded news.

Dead: Orretta West

The mother noted that at the time of her son’s death he was with another woman while his child-mother was at her home and his fiancé at his house in Tucville.

She related that she could not say if the stabbing stemmed from an old grievance and noted that she would not vow for her dead son. The mother noted that her son was hardworking but he loved to go out with his friends.

Meanwhile, the dead

man’s fiancé posited that she was at work when she got the call about the fatal stabbing.

On the other hand, West’s child-mother, who was almost in tears, did not offer a comment.

The Police in a release stated that they are investigating the murder of West, which occurred at about 00:30 on Friday.

Police are continuing their investigation as the suspect has still not been apprehended. (Bhisham Mohamed)

8 news

saturDAY, june 4, 2016 | guyana-times.com

IN THE COURTS Supenaam man slapped with rape charge

A

Supenaam Village, Essequibo Coast, man was on Friday remanded to prison by magistrate Sunil Scarce when he appeared at the Suddie Magistrate’s Court slapped with a rape charge.

Troy Richard, 19, was not required to plea to the indictable charge which stat-

ed that on May 28, 2016, he raped a 30-year-old woman of Supenaam. The labourer was unrepresented.

The Prosecution is contending that on May 28, 2016 at about 02:00h the victim went to the washroom and upon her return in her bedroom she felt a hand around her neck and a man saying,

“don’t scream.”

Prosecutor Haimraj Ramsewack told the court that the victim was then pushed onto her bed and a knife placed to her throat by the accused who proceeded to rape her.

The Prosecutor said the victim recognised the accused since he is known to her.

Following the rape he escaped

after which the victim alerted her neighbours. She was then taken to the Suddie Public Hospital. The matter was later reported and the suspect arrested.

The court was told the accused admitted to Police that he indeed raped the woman.

The case will continue on June 24.

Cane harvester charged with assault

A

cane harvester of Uitvlugt Sugar Estate was Friday brought before Magistrate Christel Lambert at the Vreed-enHoop Magistrate’s Court charged with assault.

Parshram Beharry, 31, of Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, pleaded not guilty to the offense which alleged that on May 23, 2016 at

Uitvlugt Village, West Coast Demerara, he assaulted Roy Charles with intent to cause bodily harm.

The prosecution’s case stated that on the day in question, the virtual complainant (VC) and the defendant were engaged in a discussion when a disagreement arose.

Both men started to argue, after which an angered

Beharry took up a piece of wood and hit the VC about his body numerous times.

As a result of the blows, the VC had to be treated at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

The matter was reported to the Vreed-en-Hoop Police Station and the defendant was arrested and charged.

The defendant told the

court that the VC was very disrespectful towards him and he could not take it. He explained that in anger, he acted unwisely.

Magistrate Lambert told the defendant that he does not have the authority to take matters into his own hands.

He was granted $20,000 bail and will have to return to court on June 10, 2016.

Woman charged with assault

A

woman was called to answer a charge of assault on Friday when she appeared before Magistrate Christel Lambert at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court.

Shontel Cummings, 29, of Stewartville, West Coast Demerara, (WCD) pleaded not guilty to the offence which alleged that on 25 May, 2016 at Blankenburg, WCD, she assaulted Marissa

Harding with intent to maim, disfigure and cause grievous bodily harm.

The prosecution’s case stated that on the day in question, the defendant approached the virtual complainant (VC), Harding, with a dangerous weapon, that is, a knife, and proceeded to assault her. The VC was stabbed several times about her body and had to be rushed to the West Demerara

Regional Hospital.

The matter was reported to the Vreed-en-Hoop Police Station, where the defendant was arrested, cautioned and charged with the offence.

In court the defendant said that she and the VC have an ongoing vendetta for a number of years now and on the day in question, the VC spread defaming rumours about her which angered her and caused her to

take the course of action outlined.

Cummings said that the VC was the first person to attack her and she had to defend herself.

The Police Prosecutor objected to bail based on the gravity of the offence but was unsuccessfully.

The defendant was granted bail at the sum of $50,000 and will next have to appear in court on 9 June 2016.

Elderly man charged for larceny

A

n elderly man on Friday made his appearance at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Christel Lambert charged with simple larceny.

Rohit Persaud of West

Coast Demerara (WCD) was charged along with Arjun Budram for the incident.

Persaud, who was unrepresented in court, pleaded not guilty to the offense, which alleged that on May 4, 2016, at Vreed-en-Hoop,

West Coast Demerara (WCD) he stole one cell phone valued $50,ooo.

Budram did not appear in court.

The court heard that on the day in question, Persaud along with Budram stole the phone from one

Paul (only name given) and attempted to sell it to the Virtual Complainant (VC), Surain Persaud, an overseas based Guyanese.

The VC told the court that he was approached by the two men who showed him the phone which he described as being in a gray casing, and asked him if he wanted to buy it.

He told the men no but before the phone could be handed back to them, a bus pulled up collected the men and pulled off.

The VC said he was left standing with the phone in his hand. He attempted to find the bus at the Vreeden-Hoop Junction but was unsuccessful.

In the process of trying to find the bus, the VC said the phone rang and he answered. The person he spoke with, ‘Paul’ the owner of the phone asked him to report to the Vreed-enHoop Police station which he did.

After the matter was reported, both defendants were arrested and charged with the offense.

The phone was then handed back to the owner.

Magistrate Lambert asked the defendant if he would like to say anything in his defense to which he was refused.

As such he was released on self-bail and will have to return to court on 6 June, 2016 for decision.

Eyew tness Moral callusing...

S

...or patriotic urges?

ome folks have expressed surprise at the few egregious acts of robbery and violence that were perpetuated during Jubilee 2016. On the other hand, your Eyewitness was very thankful the banditry wasn’t more widespread. With all those “outside people” moving about Georgetown - and so many in the geriatric brackets - he was afraid they’d be seen as easy marks to fleece. So we have to congratulate our criminal class for their patriotic efforts to curb their natural urges.

But the couple of reported incidents were intriguing in that they both involved real foreigners - white foreigners. Over at the Jubilee Park a group of American tourists stood up to applaud the flag raising while waving their own little Golden Arrowheads. Cries from folks behind the stands, went unheeded. This so annoyed some locals who couldn’t see the action that one fella literally hurled his body into their midst - and knocking down three of their females. A regular letter writer to the press expressed his disgust at the “violence” inflicted on our guests.

Well, the fella who felt so strongly about seeing his Golden Arrowhead fluttering on the highest flagpole in the land...might just be patriotic, too. He also wanted to see his Golden Arrowhead, nuh? Was it because he wasn’t American or whatever, the blood of nationalism didn’t flow in his veins? If those Americans were, say, in Yankee Stadium when “The Star Spangled Banner” was being belted out as its subject was lifted into the sky, would they put up with Guyanese standing up in their faces?

But the other incident was a bit much. This British soldier who’d been posted here when the British handed over power decided to check out what we natives had done with our fifty years of freedom. You have to remember for the longest while (hundreds of years!) the British had claimed we weren’t ready to go it on our own. Well after he was mugged by a fella named “Quarters” - who spared no quarter as he ripped off the Britisher’s gold chain, given to him by his dying wife - you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to guess his assessment of us right now.

But should we wonder whether “Quarters” was making a point - maybe not too subtly, we concede - about us being oppressed by the British for the aforementioned “hundreds of years” and the old soldier merely being a trope for expressing our collective rejection of that domination? Are we facing a case of “one man’s criminal is another man’s freedom fighter”.

If “Quarters” is sent off to Camp Street should we expect patriots picketing the locale with “Free Quarters!!” placards?

...of the business class?

Back in the day, this old geezer Newton proposed that “what goes up must come down”. Or more relevantly to what’s going on nowadays, “to every action, there’s a reaction”. Everybody and their uncle has been beating up on our beleaguered governmental officers - Ministers and such like - for being “corrupt”. Among other things, for sticking their hands out to take bribes from John Public - but moreso from the business community.

Well, it seems Pressie’s just about had it with that sort of thinking. He pointed out mildly that, “It takes two to tango” and if government officers are “corrupt” for taking bribes, then what about the parties that OFFER the bribes? Namely the public and businessmen.

But are government officers more to blame?

After all, they ought to be doing what they’re being bribed to do - they’re already been paid by the state to do so. But this is where we get to the “action and reaction” business.

Once morals have been callused on this bribery road, there’s no turning back for both sides.

...and show no mercy

Pressie’s also taking a lot of flak for pardoning some low level law violators. Without going into deep analysis about the implications of the costs of total incarceration, don’t we have any mercy for our fellow (fallen) man?

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

news

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saturday, june 4, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Nandlall could face criminal charges Teen miner killed at Konawaruk resulted from negligence – Broomes for “missing” law books – AG

H

aving being given the responsibility to determine the cause of death of Ramold Williams, 18, a miner killed on Sunday last, after a mine pit caved-in burying him, Junior Natural Resources Minister Simona Broomes is of the view that negligence may have caused the young man’s death.

Williams called ‘Fat Man’ of 58 Miles, Mabura Road, Region 10 (Upper Demerara/ Berbice) was working with four others in the mining pit at Konawaruk Backdam, Potaro, Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni), when the eastern wall caved in and covered him. The others ran for cover.

Efforts to rescue the man were futile after his lifeless body was found. He was taken to the Mahdia Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

After the young man’s death, a committee was established to probe the incident and Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman had tasked his junior to immediately visit the area in order to ascertain the circumstances leading to the

Dead: Ramold Williams

death of Williams.

Following a visit to the site Thursday, Minister Broomes believes that negligence and breach of mining regulations may be responsible for the miner’s death.

Speaking with the Government Information Agency (GINA) on her findings, she said: “I think its complete negligence. The owner of the operations is in Georgetown and is communicating with the workers and did not even go back and visit the site. One would say maybe he is scared, scared of what? I want to put miners on notice, you will have to

put the lives of the workers first and put money after.”

According to the junior minister, they were able to see the poor conditions that miners are exposed to out there. She noted that this is something that government intends to change but this needs to be a collaborative effort among land owners, the operators, the workers and the policy makers to bring about the change. “(Miners) are important, you are somebody’s son, somebody’s wife, somebody’s father, somebody’s wife and mother and to value your life also to be on this fight to prevent fatalities,” Brooms appealed.

The government has voiced dissatisfaction with the way mining is being done in Guyana and has adopted an inter-agency collaborative approach to regulate the sector.

Late last year President David Granger appointed a commission of inquiry to investigate deaths at mining operations. A report has since been produced and handed over to Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman.

Over 150 families along Highway get potable water for the first time

GWI Executive Director for Infrastructure Planning and Implementation Ramchand Jailal

M

ore than 150 families along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway are benefiting from potable water for the first time. This is after a well was drilled and a water supply system was installed in their community.

Guyana Water Inc (GWI) Executive Director for Infrastructure Planning and Implementation, Ramchand Jailal, told the

Government Information Agency (GINA) that GWI is moving aggressively to serve communities not receiving water.

Jailal explained that GWI is also in the process of setting up a water supply system at Silver Hill, another community along the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway. “That one is presently being tested and works are ongoing and we’re hoping to have that well completed within another two weeks for residents in the area to benefit from potable water supply,” he said.

Drought earlier this year resulted in residents of Silver Hill being without access to water in their community. The residents, including school children, had to access water from tankers or creeks far away.

“It is expected that when the new well is drilled, residents will be relieved from their burdens,” Jailall said, adding that works should be completed within the next two months.

Additionally, works are ongoing in several communities on the East Coast of Demerara, including Dazzle Housing Scheme, Lusignan, the railway embankment and President’s College road.

GWI is installing additional transmission mains for persons who have no access to water in those communities. Residents of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, Berbice are also to benefit from water supply.

F

Anil Nandlall

ormer Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall could find himself before the courts facing criminal charges for the purchase – for his personal use following an arrangement with former President Donald Ramotar – of the Commonwealth Law Books, which was made with funds from the Ministry.

This is according to the current Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney General Basil Williams on Friday at a news conference.

Last month, Minister Williams disclosed that during the audit conducted to locate the $2.5 million missing books, former President Donald Ramotar admitted to the auditor that he had an arrangement with Nandlall, as part of his contract of service, for the State to buy the law book series for his personal use and so when he demitted office, he took them with him.

However, on Friday, Williams rejected the explanation, saying that the act was a criminal one and the matter has to be addressed.

“The view is that under the Auditor Act, we had re-

jected within a month, which we are allowed to do, that position he had offered to us… it is my position that any audit – whether forensic or otherwise – once there is a criminal offence disclosed ex-facie on the records or in the audits, the matter will go straight to the Police… it’s criminal,” Minister Williams outlined.

According to the Attorney General, the matter is now supposed to go to the Public Accounts Committee.

Nevertheless, when questioned whether Government would consider asking the former Minister to repay the State’s money, Williams explained that such a decision would have to be made by Cabinet.

“That’s not for me to say… that matter is really out of my hands; that matter is for Cabinet,” the Attorney General posited.

Moreover, the Legal Affairs Minister explained that Government has many such cases they are working on but do not publicise them because they do not want to alert any of the suspects. However, he noted that persons are not aware of this fact but are quick to say Government is not doing anything.

“I’m not going to essay any tactic that we are going to address. You have to recognise that if you essay certain things, men would jump the country. We already have one man who jumped the country… So who feels that we are not doing this and we are not doing that, and we must put up or shut up, it’s just a matter of time,” Williams asserted.

Meanwhile, Nandlall

Attorney General Basil Williams

had previously told Guyana Times that nothing was abnormal about the arrangement for Government to stand the expense for his subscriptions for the Commonwealth Law books, arguing that this practice is done by other Government Ministries such as Finance and Health.

“I was subscribing to this particular law report over a decade before my appointment as Attorney General. When I was offered the position, one of the conditions I asked for is for the Government of Guyana to continue to pay the subscription of these books because I did not want to break the subscription,” Nandlall pointed out.

Further asked why he did not continue to pay for his own subscriptions instead of depending on State resources, Nandlall asserted that it is somewhat an entitlement just as other benefits he received from the State.

“Why didn’t I pay for my light bill? Why didn’t I pay for my own phone bill? Because they are all a part of my conditions of service,” he had responded.

Bullet still lodged in shot teen waitress’ throat

T

he 16-year-old waitress who was shot during a failed robbery at a Chinese Restaurant last month is still hospitalised and awaiting surgery to have the bullet lodged in her throat removed.

Onika Luke of Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara (ECD), remains in critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

According to information received, the teenager has re-

fused to have tubes placed through her nose to feed her since she indicated that this would be too painful for her to endure as she already is in a lot of pain.

Meanwhile, her assailant is still on the run. However, Guyana Times understands that the injured teen was able to write a statements from her hospital bed, detailing the incident on the night she was shot.

The teen worked part-time at the Chinese Restaurant.

Reports are that the lone gunman walked into the restaurant posing as a customer.

This newspaper was told that he ordered a half serving of vegetable fried rice and paid Luke for the meal. However, when she collected the money from the man, he snatched her by the shirt, whipped out a gun and demanded cash.

After the waitress did not comply with his demand, the lone gunman shot her. Police are still investigating.

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guyana-times.com

saturDAY, june 4, 2016

News

Jagdeo upbraids Nagamootoo “Women have no place in over parliamentary conventions prisons” – GHRA

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

O

pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has taken a swing at Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, calling him out for what he said is his cowardice posture in the National Assembly.

Jagdeo was speaking to journalists on Wednesday addressing the departure from Parliamentary norms and practices by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) coalition government.

He said out of fear the Prime Minister has also been engaged in drifting from the conventions.

“Normally, the first person to speak on a motion is the presenter of the motion.

We saw a departure of this in the Parliament the last time, when we were debating the motion on the rice indus-

try. The motion was in Irfaan Ali’s name, when he was finished speaking, Nagamootoo jumped up, and proceeded to give a long speech about the rice industry”, Jagdeo said, continuing: “He did so because he is a coward. He could have spoken just before Irfaan Ali, but he was afraid that Ali would have responded to him, or I would have responded after him,” Jagdeo said of the former PPP/C executive.

He added that it is this fear which drives the Prime Minister not to have respect for the convention at budget time, where the leader of the opposition is usually the second to last speaker.

“He’s worried of speaking before me, because his speeches are vacuous, hollow, lack substance. He is very insecure and only by criticising the PPP and being hostile to the policies that he can keep his place in that configuration in which he feels insecure,” Jagdeo said.

Meanwhile, Jagdeo also went on to condemn House Speaker Dr Barton Scotland, who he said has also been ignoring the laws that govern the National Assembly.

“This is a part of the numerous instances that we have pointed out, where the government has suspended the standing order and violated every parliamentary norm to have its way in Parliament.”

He said he recently had discussions with sev-

T

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

eral persons including the Commonwealth Secretary General, where he raised the issue about the new Parliamentary norm in Guyana, and how government had radically departed from the convention and West Minster model. We are worried that our voices will be muzzled in Parliament.

Speaking more on the Speaker’s action, Jagdeo referred to the recent position taken by Scotland when the opposition presented its first motion on the rice industry.

“When the President said that the rice industry is a private industry, the speaker denied our motion using the same claim. We re-tabled that motion and only recently, you will recall that when we tabled it first, that was his explanation”, the opposition leader said.

he Guyana Human Right Association (GHRA) is of the view that women should not be placed in the prison system but should be sent to some sort of “half-way house” to be rehabilitated instead.

In a statement on Friday, the association welcomes and lauds the intention of President David Granger to pardon non-violent female prisoners, highlighting the injustice that incarceration imposes on women in ways that do not apply to men.

“Women, for the most part, have no place in prison. Some 90 per cent of women are in prison for three offences: petty theft, drug trafficking and murder – all related to disordered relationships with men.

Female drug traffickers carry the can – so to speak - for the male king-pins, or are charged jointly with men for drugs found in homes; they steal to maintain children neglected by child-fathers and kill in retaliating against men who are persistently violent,” the release stated.

According to the GHRA, none of these women poses a danger to society, which is the fundamental reason for incarceration. In fact society does not fear women in general, at least not in the sense of being a threat to life or property. The Association noted that even women who have committed violent crimes are not viewed with the dread that male perpetrators can inspire.

Reference was made to a recent Australian study from the Centre for Evidence-based Sentencing: “Women almost never scare us; commit random acts of serious violence; violate our sexual integrity; or form organised crime networks and yet their prison numbers are now the highest in recorded history.”

GHRA added that the study also outlined that a high percentage of women in prison suffered from sexual and

violent abuse in their childhood. This, the release detailed, when added to the other factors highlighted earlier for which most women are incarcerated, prison as a response to women in trouble with the law is simply a reflection of an area in which gender inequality remains undisturbed.

In fact, the study notes: “Nearly every incarcerated woman is the victim of a perverse and lazy policy disfigurement that fails to acknowledge the marked difference between female and male offenders.”

The human rights organisation went on to stress that incarcerating women is a harsher penalty than for men: “Put men in prison (in

come.

“The GHRA has for many years held the position that rather than prison, the overwhelming number of women found guilty of crimes requires a place safe from the men who are complicating their lives.

A half-way house approach is needed where women can undergo forms of rehabilitation to restore self-esteem and learn problem-solving techniques – problems being a major cause of why they got into trouble in the first place,” the human rights organisation posited.

Since Guyana needs radical solutions to address rising levels of criminality, the association believes that starting

humane conditions) and provide them with cigarettes (and – it would seem - access to Facebook) and they just do the time. Women in prison are pre-occupied by what is happening to their children, their homes and their partners – all of which can be dispersed and disappear by the time they leave prison,” the release said.

Furthermore, GHRA related that reports from other societies show women in prison experience much higher rates of sexual violence than men and from men, stating that while no reports of such acts have been received from the New Amsterdam prison, the higher the numbers grow the more exposed inmates be-

a programme along the lines being suggested with women would not generate hostility to the extent it would with men.

The release added that such alternatives to imprisonment successfully tested with women could in fact be extended to men in a reverse of the thinking which saw women being incarcerated in the first place.

On a different aspect, the GHRA noted that in light of prison overcrowding, Presidential pardons on a more regular basis would be a welcomed development, particularly given judicial and magisterial sloth with respect to remand prisoners and the ponderous procedures of the Parole Board.

saturDAY, june 4, 2016

guyana-times.com

11

News

PPP/C, APNU/AFC owe 5 fishermen slapped NCN $M for elections ads Piracy attack

with murder charge T

Accused: Leon Sammy

T

he five Corentyne fishermen were remanded to prison on a murder charge when they appeared at the Number 51 Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

The five appeared before Magistrate Charlyn Artiga to answer the capital offence.

It is alleged that between May 28 and 28 at the Upper Corentyne they murdered Hemchand Sookedo in the course of a piracy attack.

Ramchan Latchman, 23, of Number 65 Village is the captain of the alleged piracy boat and number one accused. The others on the indictable charge are Ganesh Naidoo, 41, of Number 79 Village; Ramesh Singh, 53, of Liverpool; Stephon Leon Leacock, 19, of Number 77 Housing Scheme, Corriverton and Leon Sammy, 29, of Number 75 Village.

Latchman, who is a father of two, is said to been the mastermind behind the plot to hijack the fishermen.

Police Prosecutor, Inspector Bernard Brown told the court that Sammy was previously before the court on a similar offence.

As the men made their appearance before the mag-

Accused: Ramesh Singh

Accused: Ganesh Naidoo

Accused: Ramchan Latchman

Accused: Stephon Leacock

istrate several family members of the accused were seated and listened intently to the proceedings. Also seated was a relative of the deceased.

Magistrate Artiga ordered that the accused return to court on July 6 for a police report.

It had been reported that between May 28 and 29 the five alleged pirates, hijacked three fishing boats and after taking away their catch, threw the captain of one of the vessels overboard.

He swam for three hours and was rescued by other fishermen.

The body of 45-year-old Hemchand Sookdeo also called ‘Dread’ of Number 55

Village was found trapped in a seine while Dochan Sukra, 54, also called ‘’Butcher’ of Number 55 Village, Dhanpaul Rampaul of Number 67 Village and Munish Churman 26 also called ‘Boyo’ of Number 60 Village are all still missing.

An autopsy performed on the body Sookdeo by Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh on Friday at the Fort Wellington Hospital Mortuary gave the cause of death as drowning.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan is expected to meet with members of the fishing community on the Corentyne tomorrow to discuss issues surrounding the safety of fishermen.

"Wild buck" slapped with fraud charges

F

loyd Primo called "Wild Buck", 31, of Lot 80 D’Urban Street, Georgetown, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts Friday slapped with fraud charges.

It is alleged that between May 6 and 27, 2015 at Georgetown with intent to defraud ‘Wild Buck’ took $13,750,000 from Karen Persaud pretending to be the owner of a piece of land located at Lot 40 Public Road, Kitty, Georgetown.

‘Wild Buck’s Attorney George Thomas in a bail application told the court his client was not the one whom the VC had the agreement with, rather one Marjorie Edinboro, who was also fingered in the fraud probe.

He requested that Magistrate McLennan take into consideration that

Floyd Primo

Primo never collected a cheque from Persaud.

Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers however strongly opposed bail, pointing out that the defendant has pending matters in court and more

importantly a wanted bulletin was issued for him in 2015 and he had failed to turn himself over law enforcement officers.

Jeffers stated also that Primo along with others took $13, 750,000 cash from Persaud under false pretence and that he is the owner of the land at the aforementioned plot in Kitty.

Primo claimed he was the owner of the land which he provided documents for, but upon the plaintiff’s arrival at the Deeds Registry, Primo was in the possession of a fake Identification Card.

He then left for another ID card but never returned.

Chief Magistrate McLennan overruled the bail application and remanded the man to prison.

The case will continue on June 13.

he forensic audited conducted on the State-run National Communications Network (NCN) has revealed that the company failed to bill two major political parties – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) for over $22 million in political advertisements aired during the 2011 and 2015 General Elections campaigns.

According to the audit report published by the Ministry of Finance on Friday, the parties owe NCN a total of $21,978,450.

“Based on our review of the system, it was identified that several advertisements were not invoiced to the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) and one for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)/Alliance for Change (AFC),” the auditor stated.

It was outlined that in 2011, PPP/C was not invoiced for $18,204,750 and APNU for $45,500 in advertisements aired by the State-run company.

The summary of PPP/C, the then government, free ads includes: $4,704,000 for 100.1 Radio Roraima Fresh FM; $5,667,500 for 98.1 Hot FM; 3,878,250 for Channel 11 and $3,955,000 for the Voice of Guyana 102.5.

Also included in the PPP/ C’s debt is $12,988,500, which was recorded as Public Service Announcements (PSA). The auditor pointed out that NCN could not have presented a documented policy on PSAs, but was noted that political advertisements are not approved as PSAs. Meanwhile as it relates to 2015, PPP/C and APNU/AFC were not invoiced for advertisements aired by NCN to the tune of $3,708,200 and $20,000, respectively.

In relation to the PPP/C free ads during the 2015 Elections Campaign, $39,200 was for 100.1 Radio Roraima Fresh FM; $1,453,750 for 98.1 Hot FM; $492,000 for Channel 11 and $1,723,250 for Voice of Guyana 102.5.

The auditors also founded that another $3 million was never invoiced for free services provided to Eddies Bobcat Excavator and Construction Services, a business owned by the company’s Finance Manager's husband.

“It was identified that advertisements totalling $3,083,396 were not invoiced to Eddies Bobcat Excavator and Construction Services, instead those advertisements were recorded as PSAs. Advertisements were aired during the period 9 September 2011 to 31 May 2012,” the auditor highlighted, while noting that actions

should be taken to recover the money owed.

Against this backdrop, the auditor recommended that “Systems should be implemented to ensure that all advertisements aired by NCN are invoiced to customers.”

The report further outlined that advertisements are recorded on a Daily Broadcast Log Sheet for each radio station and television station by the Marketing Department and the log sheet is submitted on a daily basis to the Productions Department for airing on the relevant sta-

It was pointed out that in a few instances NCN incurred legal fees to recover debts through the Courts.

In two instances – Hits & Jams Entertainment for $7,913,193 and Kashif & Shangai for $2,046,703 – the court ruled in favour of NCN. However, the Board of Directors at a meeting held on 10 March, 2015 decided not to enforce the judgment thus failing to recover the debt.

“For the two matters involving Hits & Jams Entertainment and Kashif & Shangai, the NCN incurred legal fees in excess of

tion. The broadcast logs are signed off by the technicians on duty as evidence of advertisements being aired.

It was observed that the broadcast sheets are summarised on a monthly basis for billing to the customer by the Marketing Department and then passed on to the Finance Department, however, there is no evidence that the summary prepared is being approved by any senior personnel or cross checked by the Accounts Department for accuracy and completeness.

Furthermore, the auditors highlighted that an effective credit control system in place should ensure that orders are accepted from customers who are able to pay within a time period which is acceptable to the company. Once a sale has been made it is the duty of credit control to monitor the accounts to ensure that payment is commenced within the normal credit period and that any accounts which are not settled promptly are investigated and appropriate action taken.

Credit sales to customers should be approved by authorised personnel of the company based on approved credit established.

Moreover, the auditors revealed that NCN have large receivable balances outstanding for the following years: $244,994,451 for December 31, 2011; $278,401,380 for December 31, 2012; $234,413,585 for December 31, 2013; $219,911,646 for December 31, 2014, and $230,015,361 for May 31, 2015.

$1,200,000. There is not adequate evidence to confirm that significant efforts were made to collect the debts outstanding,” the auditor opined.

Moreover, the forensic audit report outlines the company’s top 20 balances outstanding.

These are: $17,525,326 from Impressions; $11,795,765 from the Ministry of Health; $9,523,248 from PPP/C; $7,913,193 from Hits & Jams Entertainment; $6,344,300 from the Media Centre (PPP/C); $5,259,864 from Beepats Company; $3,378,579 from Brutal Tracks Recording; $2,713,342 from Merundoi Inc; $2,220,123 from Ministry of Tourism, Industry & Commerce; $2,117,555 from Guyana Water Inc.; $2,046,703 from Kashif & Shangai; $1,745,412 from Wireless Connection; $1,650,222 from Caribbean Fire Fest Production, and $1,330,984 from Ministry of Health Chronic Diseases.

In addition, the Company wrote off bad debts to the tune of $8,610,794 in 2013, which was approved by the Board of Directors. Among the write offs are: $5,246,936 from Astroarts; $486,190 from the Georgetown Reading & Research Centre; $2,497,281 from Wireless Connections, and $380,387 from Creative Advertising.

These bad debts were deemed uncollectable as per section 6 of the Limitation Act, Chapter 7:02, laws of Guyana.

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School for differently abled seeking to raise standards

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he David Rose School for the Handicapped, with a current population of 140 students, is seeking more class rooms and specialised teachers to better groom their students to become productive individuals.

The school located in Thomas Lands, within close proximity of Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Base Camp Ayanganna, caters for students from 3 to 21 years of age. The school system is divided into three sections: cognitive, autism, and deft learners.

Headmistress of the institu-

tion Dionne Mackenzie speaking with Guyana Time, disclosed that the school is lacking a few amenities but the administration is sincere to their profession and delivering their best at all times.

Mackenzie said: “What we require here at the school is specialised teachers and a programme to expose teachers who are new to the profession to gain firsthand experience into the special needs children. We have found from time to time that teachers would come but after a short period they realise

they are not prepared for the task ahead. They would usually claim that is not what they signed up for after being placed in the system.”

Meanwhile, the school’s transportation catering for the 140 children is woefully inadequate with only one 15-seat minibus available. That bus was donated by former Minister of Education Priya Manickchand almost two years ago as she had noticed the transportation difficulties at the school for the handicapped.

The lone transportation

tends to be challenging upon the school’s administration to accommodate the school’s daily activities, since the school participates in many outdoor activities.

Mackenzie further said: “We have students on the West Demerara who rarely get to attend school and because of the one transportation we cannot always be there for them.”

Kudos to GDF

Noting all the difficulties that the administration have to surmount, Mackenzie was thankful to the GDF for their

unflinching support in helping the school in whatever capacity it could. “GDF has been our medical rescuers all the time; they have never turned us away. GDF has lent countless support to us, they have helped us by giving us water when our water runs low and they have assisted us greatly in our regular feeding programmes.”

Mackenzie further added: “Anytime we call upon the GDF they are always present and ready to grant their assistance to us and for that we are very grateful.”

She disclosed that while their mainstream education platform is not fully developed, they are working assiduously to have that changed: “We have had inputs from National Centre for Education and Development which we will be incorporating soon.”

She cautioned however, that it is a process that will take some time before it could become mainstream.

Mackenzie reiterated that the administration is committed to further developing the school’s education capacity.

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News

Pepsi CEO dies while FIU to get new Director Former snorkeling in Cayman Islands G T uyana is set to move a little further on the straight and narrow road of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), as Government on Friday announced that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) will soon recommence operations as a new Director has been identified to head the Unit.

According to the Finance Ministry, the FIU, is a constitutional unit, established under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act 2009, as an agency responsible for requesting, receiving, analysing and the dissemination of suspicious transaction reports and other information relating to money laundering, terrorist financing or proceeds of crime.

The Act authorises the FIU to request and receive information from any reporting entity, any supervisory agency and any law enforcement agency, any other competent authority in Guyana or elsewhere for purposes of this Act. It overrides secrecy laws and protects reporting entities by ensuring that no civil or criminal liability action may be brought nor may any professional sanction be taken against any person or agent of any reporting entity for breach of any restriction on disclosure who in good faith transmits information or submits reports to the Financial Intelligence Unit.

The FIU works in close partnership with similar type national and international intelligence and law enforcement agencies to en-

sure that the country has a comprehensive anti-money laundering system that identifies and effectively addresses suspected illegal activity. Licensed financial institutions and a wide-cross section of designated business and professional entities are obligated to report suspicious transactions to the FIU. The Unit has been headless for the past several months.

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams told journalists on Friday that a new Director has already been identified and will be voted on at the next sitting of the National Assembly. He related that interviews for the post of Deputy Director have already been concluded while the process continues for the Attorney and Accountant.

He said the work unit is continuing amid the contention that it is headless and dysfunctional. “It is difficult to see CFATF of FATF sanctioning Guyana because the new Government is recognising the FIU in the interest of transparency and accountability,” Williams told the media.

He expressed that the new Administration inherited the FIU with just two members. Those were the Director and the legal adviser. The former Director’s contract came to an end in December 2015.

According to Williams, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), while in Opposition, and recognising that the Director was a virtual It was the parliamentary Opposition just last month which blazed Government for moving head on with the

passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill, in the absence of a functioning FIU. Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira had said Government was heading downhill with the AML/ CFT Bill, adding that its decision to ramrod three new stages of the Bill in Parliament would do more harm than good.

She said Government was advancing with the stages, without taking into consideration the most important element that would get the nod from the Financial Action Task Force, and that is the appointment of a Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit.

Teixeira said the architecture of the AML/CFT is structured on a Financial Intelligence Unit, adding “The role of the FIU is implementer and regulator in relation to the implementation of regulation on these issues… there is no FIU Director or Deputy Director and the new architecture that the new Government brought in and passed in Parliament, leaves it to the parliamentary Committee of Appointment to appoint.”

The Chief Whip said there has been no appointment of any member of the constitutional body. According to her, Government needs to appoint a Director, Deputy Director, Accountant and Attorney along with 10 members to sit on the Anti-Money Laundering Authority. She said none of the issues have been completed. In fact, they have only now begun to be addressed.

Mexican bullfighter “El Pana” dies a month after being gored

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he bullfighter Rodolfo Rodriguez, known as “El Pana”, has died from injuries he sustained in the ring a month ago, ending the longest career in Mexican bullfighting. El Pana, so called because he was once a baker (panadero), was 64 when he fought his last bull – ironically named Pan francés – on May 2 in the plaza Durango in Mexico.

The bull, catching him off guard, gored him and then threw him into the air. The injuries left him unable to move and barely able to speak, and Rodriguez is said to have asked doctors to allow him to die so that he did not have to live with tetraplegia.

Born in Mexico, El Pana had no bullfighting pedigree.

His father, a Police Officer, was murdered, and El Pana held a variety of jobs, among them a gravedigger. He rose from his humble beginnings to become a larger-than-life character much loved beyond bullfighting circles.

Rodolfo Rodriguez performing a pass on a Rehuelga bull at the Marcel-Dangou arena in south-western France

In a world circumscribed by ritual and tradition, El Pana was an iconoclast who liked to arrive in the ring in a pink carriage, his hair tied back in a long ponytail, and smoking an immense Havana cigar. For all this, he was derided by purists, who laughed at his fake Andalusian accent and extravagant gestures and

excluded him from the most prestigious events. His life was chaotic, he had problems with alcohol, and spent more than one night in jail.

El País described Rodriguez as “a bullfighter out of hunger, not for glory”, while El Mundo called him “bullfighting’s last bohemian”. (Excerpt from The Guardian)

he former Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo Roger Enrico died on Wednesday while snorkeling in the Cayman Islands.

Police said 71-yearold Enrico was snorkeling with friends at the popular Stingray City when he got into difficulty. He was given CPR before a Police vessel arrived and took him to a waiting ambulance at the George Town Yacht Club.

Despite efforts to revive Enrico, he was pronounced dead at the George Town Hospital just after 15:00h.

The official cause of death has not yet been disclosed.

Roger Enrico was snorkeling in the Cayman Islands when he became unresponsive

Enrico joined PepsiCo in 1971 after serving in the

Navy in the Vietnam War and rose swiftly through the ranks, according to the New York Times. He oversaw the company’s advertising campaign during the so-called Cola Wars, making marketing deals with celebrities like Michael Jackson, Madonna and Michael J Fox. “Roger Enrico was, quite simply, one of the most creative marketers of his or any generation,” Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo’s current chairman and CEO, said in a statement on Thursday. “He was a risk-taker, never afraid to challenge the status quo.”

4 pathologists needed in T&T F

our hundred and eighty autopsies have been performed at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, Trinidad, since the year began and the majority have been homicides, senior Forensic Pathologist, Dr Valery Alexandrov said on Thursday.

“The homicides comprise about 45 per cent of all the autopsies and the rest are motor vehicle accidents and suicides,” Alexandrov said in an interview.

The majority of these homicides, he added, were

gun-related, amounting to close to 75 per cent. And the weapons used were becoming more sophisticated.

He said according to international standards, one forensic pathologist is supposed to carry out between 250 to 300 autopsies a year. “Today (yesterday) is only June 2 and I already did 200 autopsies. With this workload to reach the annual limit would take me just another month,” Alexandrov said.

He added that an average of 1000-plus autopsies were conducted at the centre annually. An additional

(Caribbean360)

burden for the centre was post-mortems conducted on elderly people.

He said at least four forensic pathologists were needed in T&T. He said also that unlike T&T, in the US, forensic pathologists received better benefits, including medical insurance.

Saying he had six cases of tuberculosis last year, Alexandrov added: “These were open tuberculosis. We are exposed to all sorts of things, including Aids. The contract for a forensic pathologist is different.” (Excerpt

from Trinidad Guardian)

Venezuela’s Maduro takes Opposition congress leaders to court

P

resident Nicolás Maduro’s legal team lodged a formal complaint in Venezuela’s Supreme Court on Friday against the National Assembly’s Opposition Leaders for allegedly “usurping” his role in international affairs.

Maduro’s legal adviser Elvis Amoroso said documents were delivered to the court accusing the assembly’s heads of violating the constitution by requesting support from international bodies including the Organisation of American States. The Government views the 35-member OAS as a puppet of hostile US policy.

While the measure was

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro speaks during his weekly broadcast ‘En contacto con Maduro’ (In contact with Maduro) at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, May 31

an attempt to stop leaders of the congress from ad-

dressing foreign bodies such as the OAS, there are wider fears in Opposition circles that the President may seek to close down the legislature altogether.

Thanks to public ire over a brutal economic crisis in the OPEC nation of 30 million, the Opposition won control of the assembly in a December 2015 election and is pushing for a recall referendum this year to oust Maduro.

Maduro, 53, is already winning a power conflict with the National Assembly, whose measures have been repeatedly struck down by the Supreme Court, but he said recently that the legislature could soon “disappear”.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Argentina mulling possible Venezuela censure in OAS, Mercosur

A

rgentina is studying whether to back moves at the Organisation of American States and the Mercosur trade group to censure Venezuela and block it from leadership positions in response to allegations the socialist government is behaving undemocratically, the Argentine Government said Friday.

OAS head Luis Almagro,

who has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of sidelining his country’s Opposition-led congress and stuffing the supreme court with loyalists, has requested an emergency meeting to discuss a possible censure of the country.

If OAS members agree that Venezuela is violating basic democratic principles laid out in the group’s char-

ter, it could pave the way for a vote that may suspend it from the regional diplomatic body.

Meanwhile, a senior Brazilian official said on Thursday Brazil may help block Venezuela from taking the rotating presidency of Mercosur in a bid to prevent Maduro from strengthening his power.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

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News

UN blacklists Arab coalition Missing 7-year-old Japanese for child deaths in Yemen boy found alive in Hokkaido A T

he UN has blacklisted the Arab coalition in Yemen for causing deaths and injuries to hundreds of children.

The coalition of 10 Arab countries, assembled by Saudi Arabia last year, was blamed for 60 per cent of the child deaths and injuries in 2015 in air strikes that killed 510 and wounded 667.

In Friday’s report, Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, called the situation on the ground “worrisome”, adding that Yemen had witnessed “six times more children killed and maimed [in 2015] compared to 2014”.

“Owing to the very large number of violations... the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition are listed for killing and maiming and attacks on schools and hospitals,” Ban said.

The report also noted a “five-fold increase in the number of children recruit-

More than 10 million children urgently need humanitarian assistance

ed [by armed groups]”. Of a list of 762 verified cases of recruitment of child soldiers, 72 per cent were attributed to the Houthis, 15 per cent to pro-Government forces and nine per cent to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

The Houthis have been on the UN blacklist for at least five years and are considered “persistent perpe-

trators”. The 15-month conflict in Yemen has taken a horrifying toll on the country’s youth, with UNICEF warning that an estimated 320,000 children face lifethreatening malnutrition.

It also estimates that 82 per cent of the population is now in desperate need of humanitarian aid, with nearly half of Yemen’s 22 provinces on the verge of famine. (Excerpt

boy missing in remote woods in Japan since Saturday after being left alone by his parents as punishment has been found alive and well.

Seven-year-old Yamato Tanooka was found in a military training base near Shikabe in Hokkaido, just a few kilometres from where he was left. His parents initially said he had got lost, but eventually admitted briefly abandoning him for being naughty.

His father has apologised to his son and rescuers, say-

ing “we went too far”.

Search teams including the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) have been combing the remote area, home to brown bears, for nearly a week. They had found no trace of Yamato and hopes were fading.

But shortly before 08:00 on Friday morning (23:00 GMT on Thursday) he was found inside a building at the SDF base about 4km (2.5 miles) from where he was left.

“One of our soldiers was preparing for drills this

morning and opened the door of a building on the base, and there he was,” an SDF member told NHK. The soldier who found him was not part of the search team. NHK said Yamato had told rescuers he “walked through the mountains” until he found the shelter. He was taken to hospital by a medical helicopter. A doctor later said he was in very good condition, despite only having had water during his six-day ordeal. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Malawi Bans Witchdoctors in Bid to Halt Albino Killings

from Al Jazeera)

UN pleads with Syria to airlift aid to starving civilians

T

he United Nations, backed by the United States, Britain and other powers, urged the Syrian Government on Friday to end all sieges and allow UN airdrops of aid to hundreds of thousands of people trapped across conflict-torn Syria.

Nearly 600,000 people are besieged in 19 different areas in Syria, according to the UN, with two-thirds trapped by Government forces and the rest by armed Opposition groups and Islamic State militants.

UN aid chief Stephen

O’Brien told the Security Council the world body would on Sunday ask Syria to approve airdrops or airlifts of aid into besieged areas where only partial or no land access had previously been granted, said French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre, president of the council for June.

“I told the council that the operating space for humanitarian actors is shrinking as violence and attacks across Syria increase,” O’Brien said in an statement. “We need the consent of the Syrian government

and all necessary security guarantees, in order to conduct airdrops.”

Last month members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which includes Russia and the United States, agreed that the UN World Food Programme should airdrop aid to Syria’s besieged communities from June 1 if land access was denied. O’Brien said the UN only reached two of the besieged areas by land last month, representing some 20,000 people, or 3.4 per cent of Syria’s total besieged population. (Excerpt from

Reuters)

Obama now inviting only leaders close to him - Modi’s one of them

W

hen Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the US on June 7-8, he will be among the few close world leaders that President Barack Obama is inviting in the last year of his presidency.

“President Obama spoke to the Prime Minister and mentioned to him that this year he was inviting some leaders with whom he had a very close and productive working relationship to visit him in the United States,” Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said at a pre-departure media briefing here on Friday.

This will be Modi’s second bilateral visit to the US after his visit in September 2014. Jaishankar said that in many ways it would be a sort of “consolidation visit” after Obama and Modi working on the US-India relationship in the last two years.

After departing on Saturday morning, Modi will stop over in Herat in Afghanistan where he will,

US President Barack Obama welcomes India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a previous visit

jointly with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, inaugurate the India-Afghan Friendship Dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, that has been rebuilt with Indian aid.

Originally constructed in 1976 on the Hari river basin, the Salma Dam suffered extensive damage during the civil war in Afghanistan.

“It was built at a cost of approximately Rs 1700 crore,” Jaishankar said.

After attending a lunch to be hosted in his honour

by Ghani, Modi will leave for Doha, Qatar, where he will meet Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani on Saturday evening. (Excerpt from The Times of India)

An albino child sits with his parents in Nkole, Machinga district, Malawi, April 17, 2015. Malawian police have recorded 65 attacks on albinos, including murders, since late 2014

M

alawi has banned witchdoctors and other traditional healers from working in the country in a bid to halt a spate of killings of albinos.

Albinos, who usually have pale skin, hair and eyes due to a lack of the pigment melanin, have been targeted in Malawi as some believe that using their organs or body parts in traditional medicine has healing powers or can confer wealth.

Police in Malawi have recorded 65 cases of attacks on albinos since late 2014, including murders, and the United Nations warned in April that people with albinism in Malawi are “an endangered people... facing a risk of systemic extinction over time if nothing is done.”

A Malawian court in the northern city of Mzuzu made the ruling on Wednesday after a case was brought by three complainants against

two witchdoctors, AFP reported. The complainants brought the case after seeking the witchdoctors’ services but failing to get results: one was promised that a lover who left her would come back and another that a robber would return her stolen belongings.

One of the complainants, Oswald Phiri – who has an albino cousin – said that he believed that “all the killings [of albinos] are stemming from witchdoctors.” (Excerpt from Newsweek)

pours forecast. At least 15 people have died across central Europe as heavy rainfall caused flooding from France to Ukraine.

While two people died in France, 10 were killed in southern Germany as several towns were devastated.

Two more fatalities were reported in Romania and one in Belgium. Austria, the Netherlands and Poland have also been affected.

Tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. The flood-

ing could cost French insurance companies more than 600 million euros (£470 million), according to the industry association AFA. In Paris, the Cluny – La Sorbonne and St Michel metro stations were closed as a precaution while the river spilled onto the city’s streets. Bridges were closed and non-emergency boats were banned from the Seine as its swelling forced the closure of museums, parks and cemeteries. (Excerpt from BBC

Qaeda militants have said they were behind the attacks.

The UN mission in Mali (Minusma) was set up in 2013 to help stabilise the country following a rebellion by Islamist jihadists and ethnic Tuareg fighters.

The al-Qaeda-linked insurgents, who fell out with Tuareg separatists, were ousted from northern towns by a French led-force in 2013. Minusma is the world’s deadliest UN peace-

keeping mission, with 65 of its soldiers having died in active service.

Militants have continued sporadic assaults on peacekeepers from the desert hideouts.

Five UN peacekeepers – from Togo – were killed on Sunday in the Mopti region of central Mali. They came under fire after their vehicle hit a landmine.

Paris floods: Seine at 30year high as galleries close

T

he River Seine in Paris is at its highest level for more than 30 years, with floods forcing closed parts of the metro systems and major landmarks.

The Louvre and Orsay museums were shut while staff moved artworks to safety as flood levels climbed above six metres (18 feet).

The Seine is set to reach as high as 6.5 metres and unlikely to recede over the weekend, with more down-

News)

Chinese peacekeeper among 4 killed in Mali attacks

A

Chinese UN peacekeeper and three members of a UN de-mining unit have been killed in northern Mali. China’s foreign ministry confirmed one of its nationals was killed in a mortar attack on a UN camp in Gao that seriously wounded three others.

The UN said that “two security guards and an international expert” with a de-mining unit were also killed in a separate attack in the city. Al-

(Excerpt from BBC NEWS)

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saturday, june 4, 2016 | guyana-times.com

11% of Guyanese Minister Harmon unemployed – Chief meets with Mocha Statistician residents T

he country’s unemployment rate stands at approximately 11 per cent. This is according to the Guyana National Bureau of Statistics (GNBS), Chief Statistician Lennox Benjamin who recently disclosed that while the status of the local labour force is still undetermined, it will be released by early 2017.

He explained that statistics will be released following a poverty-related living conditions survey which is scheduled to be conducted in 2017.

The statistician explained that this information is not accurately known as there has not been a thorough and advanced assessment of the labour force for a number of years, possibly decades.

He went on to explain that the unemployment rates or profiles of the country’s economic activities are fundamentally calculated using a labour force survey. He pointed out that due to the absence of such a survey, the GNBS has been relying on approximations, garnered from the National Population and Household

Guyana’s Chief Lennox Benjamin

Statistician

surveys.

According to Benjamin, the unemployment rate has been estimated to be close to 11 per cent based on an assessment of other household surveys. “Based on the proxies, we know that the unemployment rate has been running at double digits, approximately 11 per cent,” the chief statistician stated.

Benjamin went on to emphasise that the Bureau is not only interested in overall top-line indicators of unemploy-

ment in Guyana, but it is also seeking to assess unemployment in the proportional aspect, meaning the Bureau wants to look at age groups, gender profiles, youth unemployment and under-employment.

He explained that while the finding of the last Population and Housing census which was conducted in 2012 currently remains undeclared, the Bureau intends to release these findings soon, possibly as early as next month.

Meanwhile, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan posited that the previous administration placed no emphasis whatever on determining these statistics as they were “just not interested”. He stated that government has recognised the need and importance of this information and had, “immediately asked the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for assistance.”

He revealed that the assistance, which will provide for institutional strengthening and capacity building at the Bureau, has been approved, and is expected to cost an estimated US$1.5 million.

Minister of State Joseph Harmon meeting with residents of Mocha/Arcadia

M

inister of State Joseph Harmon on Friday met several residents of the Mocha/Arcadia community, including Chairman of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) Rudolph Adams, to discuss issues faced by the residents.

Among the concerns raised was that of access to electricity and water as well as the need for proper roads in the community since the ones being used are dilapidated. The chairman explained that many roads in the area are in a deplorable state. He also related that poor access to potable water and proper drainage systems are

also concerns for the community as these are giving rise to a number of problems in the community. Additionally, Adams pointed out that the most pressing issue is that of land titling. It was pointed out that many persons residing in Mocha/Arcadia for a number of years are not the certified land owners, and have been seeking land titles for their lands. However although constantly approaching the authorities on the issue, the residents are still without legal ownership of the land.

Harmon pledged to have the issue of land titling addressed at the earliest possible time, say-

ing: “This issue has been raised before and I had asked the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) to take a team into the community to find a solution.”

He added that the new CEO of GLSC Trevor Benn is aware of the situation and will be visiting the community shortly. The minister also promised residents to approach the ministries of Communities and Public Infrastructure, the Guyana Water Incorporated, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority and the GLSC to discuss these challenges with the view of finding speedy resolutions by the end of next week.

saturday, june 4, 2016

guyana-times.com

17

News

Lucky mother wins SASOD’s 12th film festival trip to Queens, NY for opened by Chilean Ambassador Jubilee celebrations T

From left to right: Winner Nandaney Budram receives her plain tickets from Caribbean Airlines’ representative Dion Inniss, while Western Union’s Reena Williams looks on

T

he winner of a collaborated promotion between Western Union and Caribbean Airlines, on Thursday expressed sheer jubilation after receiving her prize of an all-expense paid nine-day return trip to the United States to participate in Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary Celebrations in Queens.

According to the Marketing Assistant of Western Union, Reena Williams, the promotion commenced on 25 April and ended on 20 May. She highlighted that within the pro-

motional period, anyone who used their Western Union card to transact business was automatically eligible.

The winner, Nandaney Budhram expressed appreciation towards Western Union and Caribbean Airlines and pronounced that she was oblivious to the promotion, thus being sceptical when she was informed she had won.

“I am so very happy. I can’t even express. When I was called and told that I won, I wasn’t sure, because, you know, a lot of fraud

is going on. I didn’t even know there was a promotion or anything. But I’m so very happy and thankful,” Budhram said.

Western Union Marketing Officer, Christel Vansluytman explained that the winning package entails an all-expense paid trip and accommodation for two to New York, along with US$800 pocket money.

Caribbean Airlines Sales Executive Deon Innis extended congratulations to Budhram and encouraged her to “enjoy the opportunity to the fullest.”

Businessman pledges support to rebuild Linden family’s burnt home

The burnt house

By Utamu Belle

C

hetram Brothers Sawmill and Zinc Manufacturing business in Linden has pledged full support in rebuilding the home of Cedric James and family situated at Amelia’s Ward, Mackenzie, Linden, which was completely destroyed by fire last Saturday.

Proprietor of the business Amar Chetram indicated that although the family has been promised support from a contractor, his business entities are committed to standing the costs to provide whatever is needed to ensure the family’s three-bedroom upper flat wood home is rebuilt according to specification, within a month’s time.

Chetram noted that he is happy to assist, since he is in the business of home construction. Having met with the family already, he said regardless of if items needed are available at his business, the commitment to reconstruction of the home will be provided.

He said he would like to be an example, to assist those in need and in unfortunate circumstances such as this. He said it is important for businesses in the community which are benefitting to give back so that people can have some help in enhancing their lives.

“I’m in the construction sector, I can do that for them but there might be somebody else in another sector that can assist too… no matter how bad things

are we can still help a little and these people need help so let’s put our best foot forward and try to help them”, Chetram stated.

On May 28 the Amelia’s Ward family of five home went up in flames shortly after midday.

Owner of the home, Cedric James had said the fire started in the hallway after a four-year-old child reportedly lit a mattress, which had been placed there at the time. James said he barely managed to remove his car, which had been parked underneath the house by breaking one of its windows, as the house quickly went up in flames.

The family has estimated their losses in the millions as nothing from the fully furnished house was saved.

he Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination’s (SASOD) 12th annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) film festival identified as “Painting the Spectrum 12” was launched on Thursday night by Chilean Ambassador Claudio Rojas at the Dutch Bottle Café in Georgetown.

According to managing director of SASOD Joel Simpson, this occasion was the prime activity hosted and sponsored by the Chilean Embassy in observance of LGBT Pride Month in Guyana as well as SASOD’s 13th anniversary: “We came into the public space in Guyana on June 7, 2003.”

The film ‘My Last Round’, donated by the embassy, was played at the film festival. Edibles and wines, also donated by the embassy were sold at reduced costs in aid LGBT’s efforts to construct a community centre and emergency shelter.

Simpson highlighted that the space provided for them was utilised to educate persons on what LGBTs experience on a daily basis while living in prejudicial environments, and added: “The film festival has really provided a space for the community to gather and have discussions for us to bring our supporters together. As you can see there’s a diverse audience which includes government workers, people from the private sector, diplomatic community and so on. The goal here is educating people, while entertaining them. It’s not everyone that’s going to pick up a book and read, so we educate them through the films we show here.”

Chilean Ambassador Claudio Rojas told this publication that the opening of the event was significant since Chile is a part of a group of countries that promote LGBT worldwide. He disclosed that their support came from being against discrimination and allowing social inclusion.

“We support the idea that the LGBT community should not be discriminated in any manner but also one should respect human rights and their personal interests.

Chilean Ambassador Claudio Rojas

We encourage communities and other civil organisations to engage, to know about it, and not to discriminate it,” Rojas said.

It was revealed that “Painting the Spectrum 12” intends to bring excitement into the lives of the public through the eyes of sexual and gender minorities by bringing about the illustrations of love, acceptance, struggles, human rights and the impact of socio-cultural influences.

Simpson also added that on 28 June 28, “Spectrum Night” will be featured with expectations of amazing performances through the arts of poetry, dance, song, music and other forms.

In commemoration of the closing of the ceremony on 30 June, participants are encouraged to leave marks of support, messages of hope and inspiration for a society which is expected to become more accepted and respected regardless of their sexual and gender diversity.

18

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saturday, june 4, 2016

ARCHIE

ARIES

Live in the moment. Do

(March 21- things that will make a difApril 19) ference in your life and will

leave you feeling mentally, spiritually or physically accomplished.

Don’t trust what peoTAURUS ple tell you. Go to the source (April 20- and find out what you need May 20) to know firsthand before you make a decision or take action. Personal improvements should take top priority.

dilbert

Don’t let other people limit GEMINI you. If you do your own thing, (May 21June 20) you’ll bring about the changes that are in your best interest.

Don’t follow the crowd or give in to peer pressure.

Host a gathering or ask for CANCER favors that will help you bring (June 21- about positive changes to your July 22) living quarters. Collaborate with someone as passionate as you are.

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Don’t make a fuss or VIRGO place demands on anyone.

(Aug. 23Do something that will help Sept. 22) you uncover information that can help you get ahead. Don’t let a needy and demanding someone stand in your way.

Trying something new LIBRA (Sept. 23- or heading to a destination Oct. 23) you’ve never visited before will make your day. If you add a little romance into the mix, you will improve your personal life.

WORD GAME TODAY’S WORD – TORPEDO

SUDOKU

Be very cautious when SAGITTARIUS dealing with friends, loved (Nov. 23- ones or anyone trying to pry Dec. 21) into your affairs. Problems will arise that can result in emotional and physical setbacks.

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Average mark 20 words Time limit 35 minutes Can you find 31 or more words in TORPEDO? The list will be published tomorrow.

THURSDAY’S WORD – HOPEFULLY

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Travel, disagreements and PISCES (Feb. 20- trying to please everyone will March 20) have an adverse effect on your day. Concentrate on creative projects and taking care of your needs.

SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2016

19

Andy Murray beats Stan Wawrinka to reach his first French Open final

A

ndy Murray outplayed defending champion Stan Wawrinka to become the first British man to reach a French Open final since 1937.

The Scot, seeded second, won 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2 and will face world number one Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final.

Djokovic beat Austrian 13th seed Dominic Thiem 6-2 6-1 6-4.

Murray, 29, matches the achievement of Britain's last finalist Bunny Austin - and will now hope to equal Fred Perry's victory of 1936.

He also becomes one of only 10 men since the open era began in 1968 to have reached the final of all four Grand Slam tournaments.

"I'm extremely proud," said Murray. "I never expected to reach the final here, I always struggled on the clay. I hope I can put on a good match on Sunday."

Wawrinka, 31, had won their last three matches and came out firing on all

Djokovic is trying to win his first French Open title

cylinders, but once Murray had saved a break point in a lengthy opening service game he steadily assumed control.

A backhand smash gave Murray the break in game three and he served superbly under pressure to fend off three break points before sealing the set after 50 minutes.

The brilliant shotmaking that had helped Wawrinka upset Djokovic in last year's final was increasingly matched by errors as

Murray's terrific movement made winners hard to come by.

Wawrinka looked a forlorn figure when Murray broke to love early in the second set, and a second break soon followed as the Briton buzzed with energy on a dank afternoon in Paris.

Murray closed it out with another winning first serve and looked on the verge of victory with a break point in the third, but Wawrinka hit a big serve down the middle and raised his level as the

set progressed.

It still appeared that Murray was the man in control but from 5-4, 40-15 he lost four straight points and Wawrinka roared in delight as he clinched the set.

There was no sustained comeback from the champion, however, as Murray regained the initiative in the fourth set with an immediate break.

An unplayable drop shot followed by a stunning lob showed the confidence of the former Wimbledon and US Open champion, and he broke serve for a fifth time on his way to a comprehensive victory.

"To play at that level in the semis of the French Open is very pleasing," added Murray. "There was a lot of pressure there today."

Wawrinka said: "I think that Andy played really so well today. He was the strongest on the court."

Djokovic too strong for Thiem

Top seed Djokovic looked in superb form as he saw

Murray has played three other semi-finals before finally crossing the hurdle at Roland Garros

off Thiem in straight sets to reach a fourth French Open final.

The Serb, 29, dominated against a player in his first Grand Slam semi-final to move within one victory of completing the set of all four major titles.

Their semi-final was played on the second show court as organisers looked to get the schedule back on track after persistent rain in Paris.

"The atmosphere was fantastic," said Djokovic.

"It's the first time I have played a semi-final on the Suzanne Lenglen court.

"I played the best tennis of the tournament so far.

I am now in the situation where I always dream of being each season, in the final of Roland Garros."

Djokovic has now reached six consecutive Grand Slam finals and will try to win his 12th title on Sunday. (BBC Sport)

Serena Williams to face Garbine Zieler signs Muguruza in French Open final with Leicester

Williams and Bertens played on an almost empty Court Philippe Chatrier in their French Open Semi-final match

S

erena Williams remains on course to win a 22nd Grand Slam title after beating Kiki Bertens to set up a French Open final against Garbine Muguruza.

The American top seed was well below her best, but beat unseeded Dutch player Bertens 7-6 (9-7) 6-4.

Spanish fourth seed Muguruza impressed in a 6-2 6-4 win over former finalist Sam Stosur of Australia.

Both matches were watched by sparse crowds on another cold, grey day as Paris suffers severe flooding.

Williams, 34, is aiming to tie

Germany's Steffi Graf on 22 major singles titles, which would put her two behind all-time leader Margaret Court of Australia.

"If I get there it will be great," said Williams. "The only thing can I do is just play to win the tournament and that's it."

Defending champion Williams had made a host of errors in her quarterfinal and was unusually inconsistent again as she faced an opponent making her Grand Slam semi-final debut.

Both women went into the match with injury doubts - Bertens struggling with her calf and Williams reportedly playing through a thigh problem.

Bertens, ranked 58th, had plenty of chances in the first set against a sluggish Williams, earning seven break points and two set points, but Williams came back from 4-2 down to clinch it in an unpredictable tie-break.

Two dreadful volleys, one of them on set point, illustrated Williams' lack of form but experience dragged her through, and she came back from a break down to take control of the second set.

Muguruza makes short work of Stosur

Saturday will see a repeat of last year's Wimbledon final after Muguruza swept aside 2010 runner-up Stosur on a barren Court Suzanne Lenglen.

The 22-year-old, who was born in

G

Muguruza is through to her second Grand Slam final

Venezuela, raced into a 4-0 lead and took the opening set in 32 minutes.

A sixth double-fault by Stosur gave Muguruza a 5-2 lead in the second set but she faltered with victory in sight, playing a poor service game, before closing it out at the second opportunity.

Muguruza is the first Spanish woman since Conchita Martinez in 2000 to reach the final in Paris.

"Emotions can sometimes be bad when you make a final," said Muguruza. "Sometimes you just have to stay calm, prepare yourself as best you can and play with no regrets."

ermany’s international goalkeeper Ron- Robert Zieler has inked a four year deal with Premier League Champions Leicester City.

The 27 year old star will now transfer from Hannover, who finished at the bottom of the table in the Bundesliga this season, to Leicester after the deal was made for an undisclosed sum at the King Power Stadium.

Reports are surfacing that the German star had contracted with Hannover containing a £3million release clause.

“It feels great coming to Leicester and joining the club after they’ve had such a great season” the goalkeeper told Leicester’s official site.

Zieler began his professional career at Manchester United in 2008 but made his debut at Northampton Town on loan.

The former German youth player was part of the 2008 UEFA under-19 Championship winning team as well as the

Ron Robert Zieler signs over to Leicester

Champion squad of 2014’s FIFA World Cup. Zieler has made six appearances for Germany since his debut in 2011.

20

SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2016| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Aliann Pompey Invitational officially launched

Stag Elite League Finale

Provisional suspension T on Pele FC lifted

T

Gregory Richardson

he final preliminary games of the Stag Elite League Finale takes place this evening at the National Track and Field Facility, Leonora beginning at 18:00hrs.

The first match of the night will see the Guyana Defense Force (GDF) FC looking to beak the shackles and secure their place in the play-offs when they tackle bottom of the table team, Georgetown Football Club (GFC) who will be looking to secure their first win of the league at 18:00hrs.

The second match of the double header will see second placed team, Fruta Conquerors FC seeking to extend their lead as they battle Pele FC who will be trying to remain in contention for a play-off spot.

This double-header is being played following a meeting with the Executive of the Pele Football Club and that of the GFF on the June 1, 2016 to discuss the ongoing provisional suspension of the team and the corresponding penalty. It was decided that the provisional suspension of the club will be lifted and the three points deducted from the Club will be restored; however, the club will still be required to pay the fine imposed.

Additionally, the three players in question, Gregory Richardson, Omario Williams and Travis Grant, have remained sus-

have been written to and advised to submit statements of their version of events to the Disciplinary Committee; the deadline for submission was yesterday Friday June 3, 2016. The hearing with the Disciplinary Committee is scheduled for Friday June 10, 2016. Therefore, the club will play the scheduled game excluding the players in question.

After the preliminary rounds of matches the top four teams will battle in the play-offs where the winning club will take home $4 million while the second placed team will pocket $2 million.

The third placed team will walk away with $1 million and fourth placed team will win $500,000.

The club that accumulates the most points at the end of both

stages will also get $1 million bonus. Slingers FC is unbeaten in the Finale leg of the Stag Elite League and leads the points table.

he Aliann Pompey Invitational Track and Field Meet scheduled for June 18 at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora was officially launched on Thursday June 2.

The event was launched

by Pompey, GOA President, K A Juman-Yassin, Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) President, Aubrey Hutson, Director of Sport, Christopher Jones and sponsors at the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Headquarters in Kingston where all present got a glimpse of the Olympic Torch which is on tour of Guyana ahead of the Summer Olympics to be held in neighbouring Brazil.

In excess of 30 international athletes are expected to compete with overseas and locally based Guyanese athletes and at the same time push to qualify for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil. Athletes are expected from Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Haiti, Ireland, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States of America and the US Virgin Islands.

From left: Christopher Jones, KA Juman-Yassin and Allian Pompey

Pompey a four time Olympian said that “the sponsored events are the Fly Jamaica’s women 100m, the Ramada Princess Hotel 110m hurdles, the Quality Plus Men’s 200m, the GuySuCo Men’s triple jump the GOA men’s 400m and the Digicel men’s 100m and women’s 200m.

All events will have cash incentives but according to Pompey, the 100m and 400m (the premier races) will have the most, with to the top three finishers receiving $US1000, $US600 and $US300.

President of the Athletic Association of Guyana, Aubrey Hutson was hap-

py with the return of international competition to Guyana after so many years and disclosed that the meet is funded by track and field’s governing body, IAAF. Director of Sport, Chris Jones told the media that “the National Sports Commission is proud to be associated with the AP Invitational.”

Yassin pledged the GOA’s support to make the AP Invitational an annual one while representatives of Digicel and Fly Jamaica were very excited to be associated with the event and urged everyone to also show their support.

Gatlin continues Bench lifts Warriors to first fine form in Rome pended

and

blood in Finals series

T

he Golden State Warriors needed a big lift from their bench to down the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-89 in the NBA Finals opener in Oakland on Thursday.

With Warriors sharpshooters Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson going cold, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala and Leandro Barbosa came through to spearhead a decisive 15-0 run at end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter.

“I missed some shots and didn’t get a rhythm, but the way that they defended, we’ll be able to find some adjustments for Game Two. Not worried about that,” said Curry, who settled for 11 points, two more than his backcourt team mate, Thompson.

“Just really proud of the way everybody contributed. You don’t win championships without the entire squad coming in and making an impact on games.”

In a rematch of last year’s championship series, won by the Warriors in six games, LeBron James and the Cavaliers had taken the lead for the first time since the opening minute with a surge midway through the third quarter.

Shaun Livingston finished with a playoff career-high 20 points

Livingston, who scored a playoff career-high 20 points, Iguodala (12) and Barbosa (11) picked up the slack for the defending champions, however, with the Warriors bench outscoring their Cleveland counterparts 45-10. James kicked off his sixth straight finals with 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, but coldshooting Cleveland went 38.1 percent from the floor.

Kyrie Irving, lost to a devastating knee injury in a Game 1 overtime defeat last year, scored 26 points, 11 on free throws.

“This was a strange game for us,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re not

use to having both Steph and Klay off like that with their shooting.

“But we’ve said all year that if we defend and take care of the ball we’re going to have somebody score enough points, whether it’s the starters or the bench.

“I thought we played great defense. We had nine turnovers total and that allowed us to control the game, and our bench obviously gave us a huge lift.”

Livingston has played for nine different teams in his 14-year career but has found a home with the Warriors in the last two seasons.

“Steph and Klay, they’re

W

ith the Rio Olympics just months away, Justin Gatlin continued his fine form in Rome despite being pushed hard by Ameer Webb.

American sprinter Justin Gatlin won his third 100 metre sprint of the Diamond League season after coming out on top in Rome on Thursday.

Gatlin edged compatriot Ameer Webb as he recorded a season best time of 9.93 seconds to seal the win and continue his fine form ahead of the Rio Olympic Games in August.

But it was Webb's performance that got tongues wagging as the 26-year-old pushed Gatlin all the way after winning the 200m event earlier in the day with a time of 20.04secs, ahead of second-placed Canadian Aaron Brown.

London 2012 gold medallist Greg Rutherford recorded his own season-best effort in the men's long jump after he reached 8.31m to comfortably take the win ahead of Marquise Goodwin.

Justin Gatlin

our guys,” said the 30-yearold, whose team have now won four straight games since falling behind 3-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference final series.

“I think the series with [Oklahoma City] really pre-

pared us for this series.

“It can be anybody on any given night. We just have to stay ready.”

As well as a standout performance on offense, Iguodala helped limit James to 23 points and made the most of his knack of strip-

Jamaica's Elaine Thompson won the women's 200m sprint with a 10.87secs effort to defeat English Gardner, while South Africa's Caster Semenya won the 800m and Ayana Almaz recorded a time of 14:12.59 to win the women's 5,000m.

Janieve Russell won her second straight Diamond League race in the 400m women's hurdles to move to the top of the race standings in the event, recording a time of 53.95secs.

South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk edged Bralon Taplin for the 400m men's win, completing the spirt in 44.19secs, while Kenya's Elijah Motonei Manangoi recorded a 3:33.96 in the men's 1,500m to finish clear of compatriot Robert Biwott and Australian Ryan Gregson.

Orlando Ortega took out the 110m men's hurdles, joining Conseslus Kipruto on the winner's list after he won the men's 3,000m steeplechase.

Bohdan Bondarenko won the men's high jump in Rome as he reached 2.33m, while Robert Urbanek took out the men's discus.

Greece's Katerina Stefanidi narrowly beat compatriot Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou in the women's pole vault, while Caterine Ibarguen took out the women's triple jump.

New Zealand's Valerie Adams won the women's shot-put by almost a metre, as Sunette Viljoen claimed the women's javelin throw.

(Sportsmax)

ping opponents of the ball when in close.

“He’s great at doing that, for sure,” James said. “Just got to do a better job protecting the ball. It’s that simple.”

Game Two is in Oakland on Sunday. (Reuters.com)

YELLOW PAGES SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2016 | WWW.GUYANA-TIMES.COM

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Nesta Carter (second from left) and Usain Bolt (second from right) won gold for Jamaica in Beijing

J

amaica's Usain Bolt could lose one of the three gold medals he won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Reuters report that the 'A' sample of one of his teammates in the 4x100m, Nesta Carter, was found to contain the banned substance Methylhexanamine.

The news comes after the retesting of 454 samples from the 2008 Games.

Carter, who along with his agent has not replied to requests for comment, will face sanctions if his 'B' sample also tests positive for the substance.

The 30-year-old ran the first leg for Jamaica's 4x100m relay team in Beijing, which also included Michael Frater, Asafa Powell and Bolt.

The team took gold in what was then a new world record of 37.10 seconds, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago and Japan.

Carter was also a member of Jamaica's gold medalwinning relay teams at the 2011, 2013 and 2015 World Championships as well as the 2012 Olympic Games.

He has not run this season, because of a foot injury, but is expected to return to the track ahead of Jamaica's Olympic trials from 30 June to 3 July.

Methylhexanamine has been on the World AntiDoping Agency (Wada) Code prohibited list since 2004, although it was reclassified on the 2011 list as a "specified substance", meaning one that is more susceptible to a "credible, non-doping

explanation".

Sold as a nasal decongestant in the United States until 1983, Methylhexanamine has been used more recently as an ingredient in dietary supplements.

The IOC programme of revisiting samples is aimed at using developments in testing techniques to expose traces of drugs that were undetectable in 2008 or 2012.

In previous doping cases where individual members of a medal-winning relay squads have tested positive for a banned substance, the whole team is stripped of their medal.

The United States men's 4x100m team were stripped of their silver medals from the 2012 Olympics after Tyson Gay's doping case. (BBC

Sport)

ICC considering bat size limit T

he ICC's cricket committee has urged MCC to "strongly consider limiting the dimensions of cricket bats" amid concerns over the balance between bat and ball.

At the conclusion of a two-day meeting at Lord's, the committee – chaired by former India spinner Anil Kumble – announced a series of recommendations that will be taken forward to the next ICC board meeting and chief executives' committee in July.

Addressing the issue of bat size, amid spiralling run-rates, a statement read: "MCC sought the committee's guidance on the desirability of making changes in order to redress the balance between bat and ball.

"The committee received a research paper from MCC citing a wealth of scientific and statistical evidence showing bats have become more powerful in recent years, primarily due to having larger 'sweet-spots'.

"The committee's view

MCC urged to balance bat and ball after domination by bat in recent years

was that MCC should strongly consider limiting the dimensions of cricket bats to help achieve a better balance between bat and ball."

The Committee will debate further on the issue with the World Cricket Committee which is chaired by former England Captain Mike Brearley on 11th and 12th of July.

MCC Cricket committee will decide on introducing the revised Code of the Laws of Cricket on October 1st, 2017.

Additionally, a number of issues relating to Test cricket, including day-night matches, were also high on the agenda at Lord's.

The cricket committee's statement continued: "There was unanimous agreement from committee members that the current structure of international cricket needed to change.

"The committee was very supportive of the efforts to widen the audience for Test cricket across all member countries and acknowledged the success of the inaugural day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide.

"It stressed, however, that day-night Test cricket needs to be delivered to a consistently high standard across all member countries if the concept is to be successful, noting that the combination of ball, pitch, lighting levels and environmental conditions needed to allow for an even contest between bat and ball at all proposed day-night Test venues."

22

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2016

Ballr Cup Tri-Nation Series…

Narine, Pollard power West Indies to 4-wicket win over South Africa

By Akeem Greene

I

t seemed to be a day to make an international return to cricket as the duo of Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard combined to power the West Indies to a hard fought four-wicket win over South Africa in the first match in the Ballr Cup Tri- Nation Series at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence on Friday.

Watched by approximately 8,000 spectators which represents just above half of capacity at the stadium, Sunil Narine bowled a mesmerizing spell of offspin bowling on his return to International cricket to end with career best figures of 6-27 from 9.5 overs, the best by a West Indian spinner in a One Day International. Narine’s brilliance left the visiting South Africans losing seven wick-

Kagiso Rabada gets one to lift on Pollard

home team.

Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher trudged to the crease to begin the West Indian reply to a total that seemed small but would be challenging due to the typical low and slow track at Providence and the overcast and humid weather

Jean- Paul Duminy gathers runs on the leg side

ets for 28 runs to be rattled out for 188 in 46.5 overs.

It was then a mature innings from Pollard, who made a run-a ball 67 not out that guided the West Indies to 190/6 to win by four wickets with 11 balls to spare.

West Indies Captain, Jason Holder (10 not out) stroked the winning runs, a confident cover drive for four to seal the much needed opening victory for the

conditions that prevailed all match.

Three balls into the chase, Charles offered a genuine opportunity that should have been taken when he edged to a vacant first slip position as the ball went between wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla who was standing at a wide slip.

Charles offered another chance, as the ball bal-

Kyle Abbott is bowled by Carlos Brathwaite

looned over first slip for another boundary but the men in maroon moved unto 20 without loss after five overs.

Leg-spinner Imran Tahir broke the 37-run partnership when Fletcher was undone by a googly for 11 in the 12th over.

Charles continued to play some unorthodox shots and as he and Darren Bravo brought up the team’s 50 in the 14th over with Charles on 31 and Bravo on five.

Four overs later, Charles fell for 31 (4x4s) in near identical fashion as Fletcher which gave AB de Villiers’ hope for a come from behind win.

Marlon Samuels (01) was the third victim of the spin dietary when he fell leg before to left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso, as the home-side slipped to 53-3 in the 19th over.

Kieron Pollard came to the crease like a man on mission as he smacked the second he faced from JeanPaul Duminy for six over the players’ pavilion but Duminy got some respite as he removed Denesh Ramdin for ten, leaving the team 76-4 from 26 overs.

Next over Pollard thumped Phangiso back over his head for two more sixes as he and Bravo added 76 for the fifth wicket when Bravo fell leg before for a patient 30 (2x4s) but the side seemed to be in comfortable position of 150-5 in the 39th over.

The hard hitting Pollard brought up his eight One Day International (ODI) half-century off 45 balls but at the other end Carlos Brathwaite hit a four over cover before holing out to long-on for eight with the home side needing 15 more runs for victory.

Earlier, with some lingering clouds, de Villiers won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch which surprisingly looked very dry considering the prevailing weather.

Jerome Taylor bowling the first over from the southern end could have removed the dangerous de Kock when he spilled a return catch off the third ball of the over and got the South African innings start-

achieved, surprisingly with no runs coming in boundaries. In fact, only nine boundaries were scored in the Proteas innings in total.

The first boundary since the seventh over was scored when Roussouw played a reversed sweep through backward point off the left-am spin of Sulieman Benn.

A huge turning point came in the match when Taylor held onto a return catch to capture the humongous wicket of de Villiers for a painstaking 31 by his

spinner and was struck plum leg before for a duck to leave the visitors in a spot of bother at 160-5 from 36 overs.

Five overs later, the South Africans were further trouble at 172-6 when Duminy chopped the ball back unto his stumps for 23 in the 41st over.

Narine then made light work of the tail-enders, removing Chris Morris (09), Aaron Phangiso (03) and Imran Tahir (00) to bundle out the visitors inside the

ed, as the ball trickled into the boundary.

Captain Holder took up the mantle at the Media Center End but he floated one wide outside the offstump of Hashim Amla who played a sumptuous coverdrive that flew to the ropes after piercing the gap between extra-cover and midoff.

The pair reached 25 without loss from five overs, with de Kock on 13 and Amla on 10; the scoring became quicker as the seamers erred in length, allowing Roussouw is about to taken at slip by Carlos Brathwaite off a the batsmen to play some Narine delivery (Marceano Narine photos) audacious pulls and drives to put the visitors 47 withstandards off 49 balls, and allotted overs. out loss after eight overs. astonishingly, not hitting Brathwaite supportThe introduction of mysany boundaries. As Taylor ed Holder with 2-35 while tery spinner Sunil Narine finally held on to a return Holder and Taylor took just after just eight overs catch the vocal Providence one wicket a piece in an exof seam saw him extractcrowd went into a frenzy. tremely disciplined bowling ing turn which gave Holder The men in green and performance. some control once more. gold were now 130-3 in the At the presentation cerCarlos Brathwaite 31st over; the wicket also emony, Trinidadian Sunil proved to be the man with brought the end of the 78th Narine was named Man the golden arm when he run partnership for the of the match for his splenbowled a back of the length third wicket from 20 overs. did return to internationdelivery which pegged back The left-hander al cricket with a remodeled the middle stump of de Roussouw who played a bowling action that he said Kock after he got an inside typical rebuilding innings, is about 80% different from edge trying to pull the ball got to his half-century in before. He also said that it through the leg-side. the 32nd over off 74 balls was a lot of work to get to The attacking batsman, with the score on 141 for 3 where he is now while he who was beginning to look and Jean- Paul Duminy on also noted that it was diffithreatening fell for 30 (6x4s) eight. cult to watch from the outfrom 34 balls to leave his It was then time for the side with so much cricket side 52-1 in the tenth over.

Sunil Narine show who re- being played.

Two balls later both openturned into the attack. That The next match will be on ers were back in the hut, as move immediately paid div- Sunday also at Providence Amla was adjudged leg beidends when he removed when the West Indies fore wicket off Narine for 20 Roussouw for 61 (2x4s) with take on World Champions (1x4) off 26 balls. a low catch by Brathwaite Australia in another day/ Amla’s departure saw at first slip; two balls later night match beginning at the score now being 52-2 in Farhaan Behardein played 13:00 hrs. (akeemg@guy10.1 overs which brought back to a delivery from the anatimesgy.com) AB de Villiers to the crease in which Holder deployed Pollard into the silly mid-on position and inserted a slip to put the pressure on the star player but the batsman nonchalantly played out the over to nullify any more chances of the West Indians making inroads.

The visitors reached a hundred in the 24th over with de Villiers on 22 and Rilee Roussouw on 26; the next over the 50 – run partnership between Darren Bravo cuts through the off-side the two players was

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2016

23

Golden Jaguars clash with Might the West Indies’ next USVI in must win encounter tour of England be their last?

G

Jamal Shabazz

uyana’s Golden Jaguars will faceoff against the US Virgin Island (USVI) in their final 2nd round match of the Caribbean Football Union Scotia Bank, Men’s

Caribbean Cup. The must win game for men from the land of many waters will be played at the Adelita Cancryn Junior High School Ground in St. Thomas, USVI.

The USVI road to the second round was a 2-1 win over St. Marteen and a 1-2 loss to Grenada in March of this year.

Head Coach of the Golden Jaguars Jamaal Shabazz remains optimistic about his team’s chances of progressing to the third round in October despite losing 2 goals to 5 to Curacao on Wednesday night.

The under-strength Jaguars team who are missing some key players for various reasons will go all out for the win then trust for Curacao to also defeat the USVI when the two teams clash on Tuesday June 7 in Curacao.

Kick off time is 16:15 Hrs Guyana time.

Aliann Pompey credited for elevating St. John’s to the next level

T

wo members of the St. John’s University track and field team are headed to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, June 8-11. Claire Mooney qualified in the 800 meters and Stephanie Van Pelt in the 1,500.

Although the spring semester is over, track season isn’t done. In addition to the NCAA Championships, Mooney, Pariis Garcia and Maya Stephens all have Olympic aspirations and are trying to achieve times to qualify for their respective countries’ teams (Ireland, Puerto Rico and Canada).

The Red Storm’s sprints and hurdles coach, Aliann Pompey, will not only be of help in their training but also is hosting a meet in which the athletes can perform. On June 18, Pompey, a four-time Olympian, will host the Aliann Pompey Invitational at the Leonora Track & Field facility in Guyana, her home country.

“There are countries around the Caribbean that are producing really good athletes. When you look at

Allian Pompey

what they all have in common, they have at least one good meet in their country where they can showcase their athletes,” said Pompey, who wants to raise support for track and field in Guyana. “I’m really excited about it.”

There will be athletes from the Caribbean, the U.S. and South America at the meet. Pompey is grateful for her sponsors, Ramada Princess Hotel, FlyJamaica, Guyana Olympic Association, ConSudAtle/ IAAF, GuySuCo, Quality Plus Fast Foods and Digicel for making her dream a reality.

Pompey’s impact on Red Storm track has been decisive. Garcia credits Pompey for elevating training and expectations.

“She helped us pay attention to the fact that it’s a very mental sport and we have to prepare ourselves mentally every day in practice,” said Garcia, a 400-meter runner from Staten Island who plans to compete at the Guyana meet. “It is one of the reasons a lot of us were able to improve.”

Pompey, a graduate of Manhattan College and longtime Bronx resident, held off going into coaching until her own competitive track days were over. She said the past two years at St. John’s working with longtime head coach Jim Hurt have been incredible.

“The good thing is because I’ve been where they want to go and I’ve done to a pretty good extent what they want to do, the athletes went in whole heartedly and accepted what I needed them to do,” said Pompey, who has high expectations for the future. (Amsterdamnews.com)

Russell set to join Nottinghamshire

W

est Indies all-rounder Andre Russell is set to join English cricket team Nottinghamshire for its current NatWest T20 Blast campaign.

Fresh of success in the ICC World Twenty20 competition the 28-year-old is currently one of the game’s most sought after players.

"Andre is one of the leading T20 players in the world right now," said Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell.

Newell explained that the team was focused on adding hitting power to the middle of the batting order, but are excited by Russell’s ability with the ball as well.

"Looking at our line-up, there was certainly scope to add a hitter into the middle order, as we did in 2015 with Darren Sammy,” Newell.

"In Andre's case it's an added bonus that he's a very effective fast bowler as well."

Russell has been a strong taken 180 wickets in T20 cricket at an average of 26.13, and has 12 half-centuries with the bat with a strike rate of more than 165 runs per 100 balls.

Russell had been a stand out performer for IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders

West Indies, England Test matches date back to 1928 with many historic feats including Brian Lara’s 375 and 400 Not Out

T

he state of West Indies cricket has been a cause for concern for years. However, proposals this week to split Test cricket into two divisions by 2019 threaten to finally kill off the longest form of the game in the Caribbean.

Dave Richardson, the International Cricket Council’s chief executive, revealed plans to revolutionise the Test format on a visit to London to promote next year’s Champions Trophy in England.

That is a tournament the West ­Indies will not be a part of, missing out on qualification because of their low oneday ranking. But the absence of the West Indies from a major ICC global event for the first time is a symptom of the growing culture in Caribbean cricket where Twenty20 is now the only game in town.

The popularity of the Caribbean Premier League and success of West Indies in two of the past three World T20s, most recently in India this year, partly explains why that is the case. Yet the parlous state of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the lack of revenue in Test cricket outside of series against India and England is the real issue.

Under Richardson’s proposals, the WICB would lose those games – and the revenue they generate – ­because the West Indies would be dumped into the second tier of Test cricket.

The structure the ICC will seek to ratify later this

month will see the top seven ranked Test nations comprise division one, while the bottom three, including West Indies, would make up a fiveteam group that would also include two associate nations, likely to be Ireland and Afghanistan.

The ICC’s goal, says Richardson, is to provide “context” to series. However, the context of West Indies’ tour to England next summer might be that it is the last time they ever play Tests in this country.

That may appear a doomsday scenario, but such is the conflict within Caribbean cricket that downgrading their flagship team to second-class status in Tests may prove terminal.

Interest among players taking part in Test matches is already ­negligible. Much of that is to do with money. The best-paid West Indies cricketers receive £97,000 per year. Their Test-match fee is just £3,500.

In comparison, England’s centrally-contracted players earn £700,000 a year and get £12,000 per Test.

No wonder the likes of Chris Gayle would prefer to ply their trade in T20 leagues. No wonder, too, money has been at the heart of a dispute between the players and the board which came to a head in 2014 when West Indies pulled out of a tour to India following a pay dispute.

A fractious peace has been ­brokered, but that did not stop captain Darren

Sammy laying into the board after his team beat England in the World T20 final.

Among his complaints were that the squad were not provided with kit.

With such division, it is hard to see established players being incentivised to play Test cricket when the only opposition on offer is Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland.

West Indies yesterday announced India will embark on a seven-week tour of the Caribbean next month.

That is a financial boon for a board who would have been declared bankrupt had India not dropped their £30mclaim against them following the cancellation of the West Indies’ 2014 tour of their country.

Losing such revenue in future may see the extinction of the West Indies as we know it.

There has been talk at ICC level of breaking up the region into separate nation states, with some asking why Jamaica or Trinidad & Tobago can take part in a football World Cup or Olympics yet in cricket they are part of a disparate grouping which harks back to colonial times.

Jamaica, for example, could produce a team who would certainly be capable of beating Bangladesh and Ireland. For now, this is all hypothetical. Yet if the ICC opens a Pandora’s Box by splitting Test cricket it may one day become a reality. (I

News-UK)

Mayor’s Cup Round of 16 kicks off this weekend T

Andre Russell

both with the bat as well as the ball. The West Indian amassed 188 runs from 12 matches and also claimed 15 wickets. (Sportsmax)

he 22nd edition of the Mayors Cup knock-out tournament continues this Sunday, June 5 with a double header action at the Victoria Ground, on the East Coast of Demerara. In the opening game, Cougars FC will take on Police FC at 18:30 Hrs while in the second contest home team Victoria Kings will face off against Federal Winners Connection from the mining town of Linden at 20:30 Hrs. Action in the round of 16

stage will then continue at the same venue on Thursday June 9 with another double header. In the first game at 18:30 BV/Triumph will challenge Eagles United from Linden followed by the clash of the Groves, when Ann’s Grove rub shoulders against Grove Hi Tech at 20:30 hrs.

The top four prizes have been put up by Aruwai Resorts, Ansa McAl, John Fernandes and German’s Restaurant respectively.

The winner of the tour-

nament will receive $700,000 and a trophy from Aruwai Resort. Runner up will receive 300,000 and the Ansa McAl trophy, third place will receive $200,000 and a trophy from John Fernandes while fourth place will take home $100,000 and the Ministry of State trophy. Winners will also receive hampers from Ricks and Sari.

Top scorer of the tournament will be rewarded with a 3-piece suite from AH&L Kissoon’s Modern Furniture Factory.

SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2016

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

Ballr Cup Tri-Nation Series…

West Indies celebrate the fall of another wicket (Marceano Narine photos)

Narine, Pollard power West Indies to 4-wicket win over South Africa Pg 22

Narine successfully appeals for the wicket of Farhaan Behardein

Pollard launches one of his five sixes into orbit

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