Binder1

Over 12,000 mangrove seedlings planted at Better Hope P13

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

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 2958

Thursday, August 25, 2016

PRICE

Jagdeo fires back

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

“Deo Singh called me to settle $1B owed taxes; I refused”

Vigilante justice

“Do not take law into your own hands” – James Bond P12

Page 7

Battered, bound body found at No 68 Village

Page 17

National Toshaos Conference

Illegal firearms, drug use worry Amerindian leaders Page 17

Tucville shooting

Miner shot dead after making ‘wrong turn’

Govt creating parallel justice P14 system – Nandlall

The Tucville, Georgetown bridge on which 24-year-old Colin Malcolm Perriera was turning when the property owner opened fire on him, killing him and leaving his friend Gailann Chacon injured. Inset: Colin Malcolm Perriera

Page 13

Plane P14 crashes at Eteringbang airstrip SARA consultation

– shooter claims robbery attempt

Walter Roth Museum relocation halted

Ramjattan to re-evaluate all gun licence holders P2

GTM makes whopping $1.1B payout in claims Page 11

GPSU rejects 6% salary increase for public P17 servants GAWU’s 21st Delegates Congress

Creative thinking needed to keep sugar alive P7 – Professor Rose

2 NEWS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Ramjattan to re-evaluate all gun licence holders

T

uesday’s fatal shooting of a 24-yearold man in Tucville, Georgetown, has left Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan more determined to control firearm holders.

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Ramjattan disclosed that he intends to conduct a yearly review on all licensed firearm holders to ensure that they are still compatible with the criteria for issuance.

He explained that this is being done since the personality of people often change as they get older and they might not be as sound as they would have been at the time when they were evaluated before being issued with the firearm licence.

In this regard, the Minister said he intends to conduct new evaluation and review of firearm licence holders when they turn-up to renew their licences every year.

“I intend to go back and do the checks every year because some of these people get old and they get de-

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan

pressed, who were very valid applicants years ago. So we have to do an ongoing process and if the ongoing process is going to realise a revocation, I think it is good because after getting (the licences) you are not the same persons from age 25 to age 75,” he pointed out.

Ramjattan went on to talk about the Tucville shooting, noting that it was a very sad situation thus solidifying his approach to

evaluate licence holders.

“It’s an extremely sad story; I would not believe that someone, from what I’m being told, just sees a car turn into his driveway and then he come down like a cowboy and start shooting… what is that? We got a lot of people that are not mentally sound in this place and they carry arms,” the Minister remarked.

However, another area that the Public Security Minister said needs to be reviewed is the issuance of gun licences to private security firms.

“At the time when they (firms) might have applied for the licence, they might have had a good set of guys who may do the work for the firm but during the course of the years, those guys fall off. Some go America, some die, some migrate and then we get some people who we did not make checks on and because the company got the licences, we don’t know of some of these characters,” Ramjattan outlined.

The Public Security

Minister renewed his position on local gun control following the death of 24-year old Colin Perreira of Barr Street, Kitty, whose body was riddled with bullets by the owner of a Tucville house.

Reports revealed that Perreira was in a motor car with a female, 20-year-old Gail Ann Chacon, who was driving and had used the suspect’s parapet to reverse the vehicle. The shooter, a licensed firearm holder, reportedly stormed out of his house with his weapon and opened fire on the vehicle.

The young man was killed while the 20-year old female has been listed a critical.

This incident comes less than two weeks after a 74-year-old miner, Theodore Adams, committed suicide after injuring his reputed wife with a gunshot wound to her mouth. Reports revealed Adams had been suffering from mental health-related issues and this may have triggered the shooting.

Tucville shooting

Miner shot dead after making ‘wrong turn’ – shooter claims robbery attempt

The driveway in which the miner attempted to turn his car

T

he relatives of 24-yearold Colin Malcolm Perriera, who was shot and killed on Tuesday evening in Tucville, Georgetown, are calling on the Police and the relevant authorities to have the alleged shooter face the full brunt of the law.

The now dead father of one of Lot 213 Bar Street, Kitty, Georgetown, was gunned down on Tuesday at about 21:00h while the car he was travelling in turned onto a bridge belonging to the shooter, in an attempt to turn around.

At the time of the incident, the car was driven

by Gailann Chacon, 20, of Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini), who is a friend of the now dead man.

Perriera sustained three gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen while Chacon was shot to her abdomen.

Based on reports received, the shooter, who is now in Police custody, allegedly claimed that he thought the occupants of the heavily tinted car, were going to commit a robbery on his property.

Reports revealed that the businessman, who was in his yard, whipped out his firearm and discharged several rounds, hitting Perriera and his female friend as the car revered on the bridge.

However, the man managed to exit the car and ran to safety but the businessman kept discharging rounds at him.

Perriera eventually collapsed in front of a house a short distance away. A teenager, who was standing where the man collapsed, explained that after the man dropped to the roadway, he called out for help and told them that someone else was also shot.

“He said that he was shot so we called 911 but like after 20 minutes, a Police vehicle pull up and they take he to the hospital… he was still alive when the vehicle left but they pronounce he dead at the hospital”.

According to the teen, while waiting for the Police, several persons went to the car where they saw the young lady lying in a pool of blood.

She too was rushed to the hospital where she remains a patient.

At the home of the dead man, his cousin, Elizabeth

Dead: Colin Malcolm Perriera

Roberts told Guyana Times that they were at church when they received news of the shooting. She added that she was contacted by the victim’s mother, who informed them of the incident. After receiving the news, they rushed to the area but by the time they arrived, the two injured people were already taken to the hospital.

“When we reach, the Police was in his car and they drove it to the East La Penitence Police Station… so we went to the hospital and when we reach there, he was already dead.”

Roberts further stated that the young man left home on Tuesday afternoon to do some errands and from all reports, went to collect Chacon and her father who was visiting from Port Kaituma. “That was the last time we saw him alive and then at the hospital, dead”. She is however, convinced that her cousin was murdered and that he was not involved in any robbery or attempted robbery. She recalled him being a jovial and friendly person who was always laughing and smiling.

Meanwhile, the Police in a release stated that they are investigating the murder of Perriera and the attempted murder of Chacon, which occurred on Tuesday evening at Lot 10 Perry Street, Tucville.

The Police added that he was shot by a licensed firearm holder.

Police investigations revealed that Perriera was in a heavily tinted motor car and as it attempted to turn around, the suspect, who was in his yard, drew his licensed handgun and discharged several rounds at the vehicle, hitting the victims about their bodies. The businessman has since been arrested by the Police.

NEWS

3

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, August 25 – 10:30h-12:00h and Friday, August 26 –12:00h-13:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, August 25 – 09:45h-11:15h and Friday, August 26 – 11:15h-12:45h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Weather: Heavy rain showers with sunny intervals are expected throughout the day, while clear skies can be expected in the evening with temperatures ranging between 25 degrees and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East to East South-easterly between 2.68 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 09:53h and 22:18 reaching maximum heights of 2.33 metres and 2.36 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 03:20h and 15:46h reaching minimum heights of 0.76 metre and 0.94 metre respectively.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2016

LOTTERY NUMBERS B

03 09 12 23 24 25 08 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

Daily Millions

08 09 16 26

01

LUCKY 3 6

1

7

1

Afternoon Draw

4

3

Evening Draw

Draw De Line 03 05

10 11 13

14 20

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

Pharmagate

Cabinet “throwing Norton under the bus” – fmr President

O

pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is charging there is massive and entrenched corruption by the incumbent Administration with regard to the Sussex Street, Albouystown, Georgetown property it has decided to rent from Larry Singh’s Linden Holding Inc. Jagdeo made the pronouncements on Wednesday when he met with members of the local media corps for a press briefing at his Party’s Freedom House Headquarters.

The former President told media operatives that there was more than met the eye with the $12.5 million monthly rental agreement for the property to be used for the storage of Government’s drugs and medical supplies.

Linden Holding Inc has its registered office in Middle Street, Georgetown, in the same building that housed the Sidewalk Café which is owned by Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes and its bond is located at Lot 69 Sussex Street.

Jagdeo told media operatives that the entire sordid affair went beyond Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton, who is essentially now being thrown under the proverbial bus.

“Find out about the people who have been frequenting this place in Middle Street…You will find how deep the connections run,” he said.

Jagdeo was adamant that Minister Norton was in fact directed to do what he did, but nonetheless he would not escape, since the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) was committed to having him placed before the Committee of Privileges, since he lied to the members of the National Assembly.

Cover-up committee

The Opposition Leader was also highly critical of the Cabinet Sub-Committee that has been set up by Head of State David Granger to investigate the sordid affair.

if Government were to terminate the contract.

This, he said, results in a situation where Larry Singh’s Company bought a building for $25 million and would be paid $150 million per year in rental and the drugs would not be stored properly.

“This is a cover up by the Cabinet, huge cover-up by the Cabinet; they are all involved…,” said Jagdeo.

Deep connections

Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton

According to the former President now Opposition Leader, the PPP/C was open to giving the Committee a fair chance to see what it would have come up with following its investigations, but the Party was now of the view that it was merely a “cover-up committee”.

Jagdeo said while the Opposition “thought it would not be really objective, but we were prepared to give them a chance”.

That Committee was chaired by Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman.

Jagdeo in giving his initial assessment of the findings of the report of the Committee queried when the Natural Resources Minister—an Attorney-atLaw – become a specialist in assessing the standards required by the World Health Organisation and the Pan American Health Organisation (WHO/PAHO) for the storage of drugs and medical supplies.

The Opposition Leader has lamented the public position adumbrated by Trotman that the building did in fact meet WHO/PAHO standards and pointed out that at the time of Minister Trotman’s visit, the facility had still been under renovation.

He pointed to the fact that the ‘cover-up committee’ said in its recommendations that Larry Singh’s company should be given a year to rake in $150 million

He threw out a challenge to the media representatives present, saying, find out about the people who have been frequenting this place in Middle Street and you will find how deep the connections run into the Cabinet”.

The Opposition Leader said the contract that has been entered into between the Public Health Ministry and Linden Holding Inc, “is not about Norton...Norton was directed to initiate that”.

Jagdeo observed too that Government spokespersons to date were yet to tell the nation how Dr Norton knew about the availability of the Sussex Street bond.

“They haven’t answered that question, but Norton was directed by members of that Cabinet to negotiate this deal with this individual (Larry Singh) and they all knew about it when it went to the Parliament,” the Opposition Leader claimed.

He recalled that Prime Minister Nagamootoo, “said to me it was fully debated at the Cabinet”.

On the matter of the promised public apology on the part of the Public Health Minister, Jagdeo asked “if this Cabinet debated that is-

sue, why must Norton apologise”?

The former President was referring to another of the recommendations coming out of the Cabinet SubCommittee that Minister Norton make a public apology over the misleading statements he made to members of the National Assembly.

The Opposition Leader was firm in his supposition that “they are throwing Norton under the bus”.

The brouhaha came to the fore when the National Assembly scrutinised the advances made from the Contingency Fund to meet unforeseen expenditures and found that $25 million in a security deposit had been fronted to Linden Holding Inc, in addition to $12.5 million for the first month’s rental.

It was later discovered that not only did Linden Holding Inc not have any experience in the storage of drugs but that the decision was deliberately taken by Cabinet to sideline the NEW GPC INC which incidentally had been accommodating the storage of drugs and medical supplies purchased from it by Government – free of cost.

NEW GPC had taken a decision to request a rental fee from Government since it ended its arrangement with the local drugs manufacturer.

NEW GPC’s asking price was calculated to be $237 per square foot in a stateof-the-art facility while Government opted instead to pay in excess of $1200 per square foot for a substandard facility under questionable circumstances.

4

guyana-times.com

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

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

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

Editorial

Whither power sharing?

E

ven though it confirmed the uniethnic bases of the major political parties, the USAID-commissioned Report studiously avoided referring to the issue of "power sharing". Rather, it spoke of the implementation of previous constitutional reforms: “These can help balance the power of the executive, address the winner-takes-all nature of the political and electoral systems, and devolve power to local government."

But how does this end the problematic of the legitimacy of governments in a deeply divided racial/ethnic society? In Guyana, the institution of executive power sharing has now seemingly been shelved by its old proponents in the People’s National Congress (PNC) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) even though there is now consensus on its true raison d'etre: the racial/ethnic nature of the parties' support, which had been lurking unacknowledged under surface all along.

The PNC proposed the power-sharing model for Guyana a decade ago but had always danced around its rationale. If, as it claimed, it represented the all of the groups in Guyana, then the present majoritarian system was unobjectionable, since it was simply a matter of presenting a programme that attracted enough votes to constitute a majority to form the Executive in which all groups would be represented.

"Power sharing" as articulated by the PNC originated in a situation existing in a number of European countries such as The Netherlands and Belgium where religious/ ethnic divisions produced entrenched voting patterns.

The Executive or Cabinet was shared by all the parties in Parliament and in Parliament there were frank discussions of the interests of the specifically named groups being addressed through bargaining and eventual consensus.

The overall approach was given the name "consociational democracy" by one theorist in the 1960's. Then suddenly, it was moved from a descriptive to a prescriptive status by beleaguered politicians in several divided societies.

A half a century later we have quite a wealth of experience with the transplantation of the consociational model of governance in several non-European societies.

One of the earliest clients was Lebanon, which after WWII was divided between Christian and Moslems. One of the weakness of the model – the presumption of immutable groups producing immutable electoral outcomes – was soon challenged when the Muslim minority soon became a majority. The Christians refused to accept the necessity for alterations not only of the distribution of Ministries but more trenchantly, of the quotas that had been instituted in various valued areas of national life. A civil war ensued that has not been ended four decades later.

The model was also applied early on in Malaysia in a governing coalition that included parties of its three major ethnic groups. After riots broke out between these ethnic groups in 1969, quotas were instituted for national participation in business and education. Here, learning from Lebanon, the application was more salutary.

In Africa, where countries inherited arbitrarily drawn colonial borders encompassing large number of ethnic groups, the endemic ethnic hostilities also elicited calls for Executive "power sharing". However, absent the nationalist outlook, in those countries where it was tried even for one term such as Kenya after riots in 2007 and in Zimbabwe in 2008, it was abandoned. Power sharing meant only sharing the of the national patrimony. This would have necessitated the introduction of quotas which could never be agreed on.

While the present Government has on occasion claimed it possessed the necessary qualifications to be considered a "government of national unity", this claim falls flat when it acknowledges accomplished this through the participation of the AFC which was supposed to bring in 11 per cent Indian Guyanese votes. But what it actually did do was to implicitly concede that power sharing in Guyana will have to be accomplished by ensuring the representatives of substantial blocks of the major radial/ethnic blocks are in the "grand coalition".

This implies two prerequisites in Guyana, the inclusion of the People’s Progressive Party and the introduction of quotas. Is this what killed "power sharing"?

As the heat of the August holidays rises, these youngsters found a perfect solution by cooling down in a canal and enjoying a fun game of water volleyball in East La Penitence, Georgetown (Marceano Narine photo)

An expression of paranoia

Dear Editor, I refer to a letter written

by Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister, Mr Basil Williams, published in the August 23, 2016 edition of your newspaper. It is in response to a letter of mine published earlier. This letter contains some bold but inexact asseverations which I feel compelled to repudiate for the public record.

The letter begins thus: “I write in relation to a letter published in another section of the media… under the caption; ‘JSC has power to appoint the Deputy Registrar of Deeds’. Editor, I agree with the caption because it is the APNU/AFC Government which made this possible”.

This is a crude and deliberate untruth. In the very letter to which the AG is responding, I explained the genesis of the power which the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) enjoys in respect of the appointment of the Deputy Registrar of Deeds. I did so because previously, the AG had publicly expressed his unfamiliarity regarding the origin of this power which the JSC wields.

For his edification, I imparted in my letter that this provision was the product of the

constitutional reform process 1999-2001. Obviously, the PPP/C was in Government at the time. In fact, neither the APNU nor the AFC were even in existence at that time and they were some 15 years away from the seat of government. Therefore, the learned Attorney General’s crediting an APNU/AFC Government with this accomplishment is, indeed, paranormal.

Inexplicably, while the AG seeks to credit his government for the JSC enjoying the power to appoint the Deputy Registrar of Deeds, for the remainder of the letter he denounces this very power and oddly argues for its rescission!

The learned AG then makes a similar wacky accusation: that the independence of constitutional bodies was “emasculated during the 23 years of PPP/C rule including the Judicial Service Commission (JSC)”. The truth is that in 23 years of PPP/C governance, no minister has ever created the type of public spectacle in relation to any independent constitutional institution remotely close to the magnitude of the one which Mr Williams has recently precipitated in relation to the JSC. In fact, in 23

years, no Attorney General of the PPP/C administration was ever publicly accused of interfering with the functions of the JSC and certainly, none was ever sued in relation thereto. In just 15 months, the incumbent has accomplished them all.

The learned AG’s recent obsession with these powers of appointment of the JSC is quite intriguing. These powers were being exercised by the JSC for the last 15 years.

Prior to now, not once has Mr Williams ever publicly expressed a murmur about them. That it is one of his recent discoveries is the only rational conclusion.

The learned AG adumbrates an exhaustive and exhausting raft of reasons why the JSC ought not to be vested with powers of appointment in respect of the Registrar and Deputy Registrar of Deeds. Unfortunately, these arguments are over 16 years late. His colleagues, Messrs Haslyn Paris, Derrick Bernard, Winston Murray, Vincent Alexander, Rupert Roopnarine, Moses Nagamootoo, Kemraj Ramjattan, inter alia, all played a pivotal role in effecting those, among nearly 200 changes to the 1980 con-

stitution, during the 19992001 constitutional reform process. Those who are still around may wish to enlighten the Attorney General of the rationale that inspired those constitutional amendments which he now, belatedly, finds objectionable.

However, as regards to the Deeds Registry, the Attorney General can extract solace from the fact that the JSC’s powers are confined only to the appointment of the Registrar and Deputy Registrar of Deeds. It does not extend beyond.

In my considered view and for the reasons which I have intimated above, the apprehension expressed by the AG that the “smooth and effective running” of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority could be “undermined’’ by the JSC “simply inserting a Registrar and Deputy Registrar of its choice” and the resultant “anarchy” which the AG fears, as expressed in the last paragraph of his letter, maybe an expression of paranoia and nothing else.

Sincerely, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, MP Attorney-at-Law

When will LGC be set up?

Dear Editor, Something has to be considerably wrong that is preventing the Government from peopling and commencing the operations of the Local Government Commission. Several weeks ago, the Opposition named their Commissioners who are ready and rearing to go, but the Government continues to delay the process of announcing and appointing theirs, and the question is why?

The Guyanese public was assured that the Government had as one of their priorities, the setting up of the LGC; in fact the

impression given was that the Commission would have been set up even before the Local Government Elections were held.

But this was not to be.

The authority and independence of local democratic organs, which include the nine municipalities and sixty-five Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC’s), cannot be guaranteed without this commission.

An important aspect of the Commission is that it shall have power to deal with all matters relating to the regulation and staffing of Local Government

organs, including employment and dismissal of staff and with dispute resolution within and between Local Government organs.

It could not be more needed now to deal with the wayward and corrupt officers in the Georgetown Municipality that are arrogantly corrupt, narcissistic and inept.

I think that the real problem is that the Commission, once established, will take over most of the current oversight role exercised by the Ministry of Communities.

The Ministry, therefore, will no longer have the ability to degrade the capacity of

Local Government organs which will now be able to exercise executive authority in keeping with the autonomy guaranteed by the constitution, and therefore the Minister is in no hurry to relinquish this power and authority In fact, the Commission will oversee not only municipalities and NDCs, but also Regional Democratic Councils, as well as Amerindian Villages, and therefore we need it commissioned without any further delay.

Best regards, Riley Matthews

guyana-times.com

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

5

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

Business community has Indian Action Committee no confidence in M&CC replies to Carl Veecock Dear Editor, The Georgetown municipality could not be serious in its call for an increase and improvement in its revenue collection rate. Is it not quite obvious to them by now that the citizenry at large and the business community in particular that belongs to Georgetown and beyond have absolutely no confidence whatsoever in the Council to manage properly and account for the money it collects on a daily basis?.

And who could blame them for their lack of confidence? An agency such as the Council, which should have its accounts qualified and presented for scrutiny on a yearly basis to the Audit Office of Guyana and to the citizens of Georgetown, has not done so for over a decade.

This is wholly unacceptable. In any decent, progressive and democratic society, at the very least the Chief Administrative and Chief Financial Officers would have long been given pink slips and sent along

their way, but not here in Georgetown. In fact, they have even been given acclamations in some quarters for cleaning up the city for the Jubilee celebrations, in spite of their complete lack of accountability.

To add insult to injury, the Town Clerk has indicated his desire to obtain funding, including loans and grants from international organisations and foreign countries. That is unbelievable.

Which credible foreign agency do they think would even consider putting a dime into the black hole of City Hall?

Clearly, the City Council mistaking the charity of the Central Government who has been bailing them out for decades now, as some endorsement of its crooked accounting system.

The first step that must be taken before any consideration be given to give the Council a blind cent, whether from local or foreign entities, is the qualification and presentation of its accounts to the Audit Office of Guyana,

its accounts for the last ten years.

The second non-negotiable step has to be the effecting of a deep and thorough forensic audit of its financial and human resource systems by a private, competent and independent audit agency, with the findings presented to Parliament, debated and made public.

The third requirement is for the Council to recommence making its yearly budget a public document, so that the citizens could be apprised of its proposed work programmes and expenditure, along with its projected revenue.

In the meanwhile, until the Council gets its act together, it would be foolish to give the Council more money such as the container tax, and the parking meter fees which would only exacerbate the problem that it has with corruption, nepotism and fiscal impropriety.

Yours sincerely, Sean Moniz

Krishna Janmashtami Dear Editor, The birthday of Hinduism’s favourite Lord Krishna is a special occasion for Hindus who consider him their leader, hero, protector, philosopher, teacher and friend all rolled into one. Krishna took birth at midnight on the ashtami or the 8th day of the Krishnapaksha or dark fortnight in the Hindu month of Shravan (August-September). This auspicious day is called Janmashtami. Indian as well as Western scholars have now accepted the period between 3200 and 3100 BC as the period in which Lord Krishna lived on Earth.

How do Hindus celebrate Janmashtami? The devotees of Lord Krishna observe a fast for the whole day and night, worshipping him and keeping vigil through the night while listening to his tales and exploits, reciting hymns from the Gita, singing devotional songs, and chanting the mantra Om namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.

Krishna’s birthplace Mathura and Vrindavan celebrate this occasion with great pomp and show.

Raslilas or religious plays are performed to recreate incidents from the life of Krishna and to commemorate his love for Radha.

Song and dance mark the celebration of this festive occasion all over northern India. At midnight, the statue of infant Krishna is bathed and placed in a cradle, which is rocked, amidst the blowing of conch shells and the ringing of bells.

In the south-western state of Maharashtra, people enact the god’s childhood attempts to steal butter and curd from earthen pots beyond his reach. A similar pot is suspended high above the ground and groups of young people form human pyramids to try and reach the pot and break it.

The town of Dwarka in Gujarat, Krishna’s own land, comes alive with major celebrations as hordes of visitors flock to the town.

Sincerely, Surendranauth Persaud Tiwari

Dear Editor, The Indian Action Committee (IAC) has noted remarks by Carl Veecock of Markham, Ontario in another section of the media on August 24, 2016 in a Letter to the Editor regarding the IAC’s recent visit to President Granger to discuss the organisation’s ‘upcoming play on social cohesion’.

The IAC, however, wishes to make clarification that the organisation’s visit to President Granger was not based entirely on the ‘upcoming play on social cohesion’, but to discuss several issues that the IAC felt that HE should be apprised of.

The full meeting of the IAC with President Granger consisted of:

1. Unity play

The IAC first informed President Granger of its recently-completed stage play titled “I am US”, written by IAC Executive Member Neaz Subhan which deals with the problem of social cohesion in Guyanese society as general elections approach.

The IAC invited stage actors and cast members Mr Godrey Naughton and Mr Kirk Jardine to explain the objectives of the stage play to President Granger. The IAC presented a copy of the stage

play to President Granger.

2. ERC establishment

The IAC enquired into the restoration of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) and was given the assurance by President Granger that the ERC will be restored when Parliament reconvenes after its recess.

3. 100th year of last 'coolie' ship

The IAC informed President Granger that the last 'coolie' ship from India arrived in British Guiana on April 18, 1917 and that the organisation has planned a series of cultural events, including a stage play to commemorate the centenary anniversary of the arrival of the SS Ganges which brought 437 persons.

The IAC suggested to President Granger that this commemoration coincide with the unveiling of the 1838 (Indian Indentured) Monument, which is a gift from the Government of India to the people of Guyana. The IAC led the call for the 1838 Monument during the time of the previous Government. The Monument has been completed and is ready to be shipped to Guyana for installation at Palmyra, Region

Six, Berbice.

4. Communal land concerns

The IAC requested clarification from President Granger on what he meant by “anomalies” and “controversies” pertaining to communal and proprietary villages established by formerly enslaved persons between 1839 and 1860, and his proposed communal lands commission to deal with these problems.

The IAC was informed by President Granger that no lands will be taken away from anyone, but problems relating to land ownership involving the descendants of the commonly owned lands involving land titles will be resolved by this commission.

The IAC intends to follow up these matters with the President. Further, the organisation will reach out to other stakeholders, including the political Opposition, religious groups, the international community and civil society on these and other matters relating to the Indian community.

Yours sincerely, Saira Alli Secretary Indian Action Committee

Town Clerk has some audacity Dear Editor, How could the Town Clerk of Georgetown have the audacity to tell the citizenry that there is no secrecy regarding the Council’s accounting system including its many bank accounts?

If there is no secrecy, then why is he and the others so vigorously preventing the commissioning of a deep wide ranging forensic audit of its accounting system?

If there is no secrecy, then why have they not presented their accounts for qualification by the state auditors for more than a decade now?

If there is no secrecy then why aren’t all of their bank accounts reflected on their financial statements?

If there is no secrecy why then can’t all of their Councillors be given a copy of the crooked parking meter contract they signed

with Smart City Solutions/ National Parking Systems?

If there is no secrecy, why then have they not yet made public the city’s budget for 2016, when it is already August of 2016?

If there is no secrecy, why then are the members of staff of the Finance Department being muzzled and prevented from speaking to the press regarding matters of considerable importance to the citizens?

If there is no secrecy, why did they so hurriedly appoint a Chairman of the Finance Committee after the Mayoral election process and stuff the committee full with old timers from the past scandalous Council?

If there is no secrecy, then why are the senior administrative and financial management staffers of the Council refusing to proceed on their

vacation leave like everyone else has to within the municipality?

No other public organisation in the whole of Guyana is less transparent and more secretive, than the Georgetown Municipality and yet the Town Clerk goes

to the media to say they have no secrets. Wait until a forensic audit is held, then there will no doubt be the discovery of more secrets.

With thanks, Debra Gibson

6

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

Page

guyana-times.com

Foundation

The art and science of mistakes

– common 'myth understandings'

BY ROBERT J MAURER PHD

N

o one likes to make mistakes. In fact many of us, including our leaders, tend to avoid acknowledging our mistakes, or we blame others when missteps occur.

We all know and accept that people do make mistakes. This simple truth, however, can hide some important questions. For example: What mistakes do we make when we think about our own or others’ mistakes? What types of mistakes should we expect and encourage and which, when possible, should we try to avoid? Finally, what are some effective strategies for minimising the cost of mistakes and maximizing what we learn from them? Today, let’s begin by answering the first question; we’ll get to the others in future blogs.

There are four common mistakes people make when considering mistakes made by themselves or others.

Common mistake number one: The belief that the older, wiser and more successful you are, the fewer mistakes you will make.

Indeed, as we become older and wiser, we hope that we will experience greater success while making fewer mistakes. Successful people, however, do not look at life this way. Instead, they put themselves more at risk for making mistakes by embracing change and challenge. Many extraordinary people, in fact, have taken their biggest risks at ages many of us would consider too late to try. For example, Goethe wrote Faust at age 82; Verdi composed Othello

at age 72; Michelangelo began work on the St Peter’s Basilica at age 70; and Benjamin Franklin changed careers to become the chief executive of Pennsylvania at age 79.

Successful people assume that life is a trial-anderror process. We continue to learn and experiment, and so make meaningful mistakes, until we take our last breath.

Common mistake number two: Confusing mistakes with failure.

Successful people make an important distinction between these two words.

Failure refers to any wrong decision that cannot be corrected. “Heart failure” is a good use of the term. Once the heart stops, your options are understandably limited.

Another dramatic example of an appropriate use of this word was the decision by former Attorney General, Janet Reno, to order an attack on the religious group, Branch Davidians, who were resisting the ATF in Waco, Texas, in 1993. The attack began with tear gas; then a fire ensued, killing the 75 people inside. On the anniversary of the Waco siege, Reno stated that it was the worst failure in her life. Her decision was intended only to force these people to surrender, not to die. It was a decision that could not be reversed and the lives could not be brought back. Fortunately, this sort of mistake is rare.

Most of our errors in life can be corrected in some way: a divorce can lead to a better relationship down the road, a financial reversal can be turned around, etc. My favourite example of someone refusing to confuse mis-

takes with failure can be found in a statement made

by Thomas Edison.

After the 10,000th experiment with the light bulb failed, he was asked why he continued. He responded: “I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discovered is another step forward.”

Common mistake number three: Believing that other people have it easier Author Merle Shain captured this sentiment powerfully in her book Some Men Are More Perfect Than Others: Most of us have thought from time to time when life conspired to let us down that this was surely the last quarter of the moon and all was lost or losing. And we looked about us wondering why everyone seemed to have what we had not and why they did not seem to pay the price we did and how they had blundered into peace when we had lost the way.

When we observe success, we often assume that the person’s path was an easy one. However, that is rarely the case. Consider that our beloved Harry Potter was rejected by 12 publishers before finding a home; Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team; Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor who declared that Disney lacked imagination; and Henry Ford went bankrupt twice. Steve Jobs was unsuccessful in his attempts to sell an early version of an Apple computer to HP; the amazing Dr Seuss was rejected by 23 publishers; and,

in its first year vending, Coca-Cola sold a mere100 bottles of soda. We see stars on TV and assume that if we had their talent – and even more so their luck – we would be a success too. We are not aware, in these moments, of the average 10 or more years they strived in obscurity before coming to our attention.

Common mistake number four: Mistakes must be painful.

Failures are, of course, painful. They are permanent and irreparable.

Mistakes, on the other hand, are often stepping stones to success. Successful people share a strategy for making mistakes both bearable and positive. They begin any endeavour assuming that what they are seeking, and the path to achieving it, may be difficult. Therefore, mistakes are to be expected. As a result, when they occur, they are not a reflection of personal inadequacy.

Consider these perspectives from highly successful individuals: As you contemplate these, take a look at your own life challenges and accomplishments. If we perceive that developing strong friendships or a loving romance, raising a child, or maintaining creativity and discipline in work endeavours are challenging quests, than the frequent mistakes we are likely to make along the way can be more easily accepted and truly embraced for the lessons they teach. (Excerpt from psychologytoday.com)

– recent studies show that talking about weight can cause long-term harm

BY SALLY KUZEMCHAK

My parents never said anything to me about my weight. Not a peep. Even after I returned home from my freshman year of college 15 pounds heavier. Turns out, I was lucky. I have more than a few friends who heard critical comments about their weight growing up – and they all remember those comments vividly, the sting of the words still fresh after so many years.

According to a recent study, those comments made

during childhood are more than hurtful. They can have lasting consequences. In new research from Cornell University’s Food and Brand Laboratory, women who remembered their parents commenting on their weight when they were g irls (including remarks that they were eating too much) were more likely to be overweight as adults and to report that they needed to lose more weight to be happy. Even women with normal body mass index (BMIs) were more likely to be dissatisfied with their weight if they recalled mom and dad making weight-related comments to them when they were a child.

The survey of about 500 women also revealed that those who remember their parents being concerned with their own weight were more likely to be concerned themselves about calories and weight.

These findings echo lessons from previous research: Parents play a powerful role in a child’s view of weight, dieting, and body image. Lots of chatter about weight and dieting at home rubs off on children and can shape how

they feel about food (and themselves) – not just during childhood, but into adulthood as well.

Yet with one third of all children either overweight or obese, weight is an understandable concern for parents. So if you’re worried about your child’s weight, what should you do?

Shift family habits

Experts agree that healthy lifestyle changes are key, but that those changes should be made for the whole family, not just the child. For instance, cook more meals at

home instead of going out to eat and do active things together like playing together outside instead of watching TV in the evening.

Be a role model

Choose healthy snacks, exercise regularly, and drink water instead of soda. When your child sees you choosing these behaviours they’re more likely to view them as the norm.

Watch your mouth

In addition to avoiding talk about your child’s weight and food intake, don’t make critical comments about your own body. While you’re at it, don’t label foods as “good” or “bad” – or yourself as “good” or “bad” for eating a certain way.

Don’t rush to judgment

Some children gain pounds before hitting a growth spurt, when their weight will catch up with their height. So don’t jump the gun with worrying about weight. You can also consult your child’s paediatrician (privately), who will have a long-term understanding of your child’s growth. (www.parents. com)

NEWS

7

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

GAWU’s 21st Delegates Congress

Jagdeo fires back

“Deo Singh called me to settle Creative thinking needed to keep sugar alive – Professor Rose $1B owed taxes; I refused”

DIDCO owner Deo Singh

I

t was a classic case of ‘mouth open, story jump out’ when Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday disclosed that Deo Singh, proprietor of one of Guyana’s largest Private Sector companies – DIDCO Trading Company Limited – had in fact sought to have him intervene on his behalf in order to settle almost one billion dollars in outstanding taxes owed to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Jagdeo on Wednesday accused Singh of attempting to solicit his help in the ‘corrupt’ transaction but he refused. The matter came to the fore when Jagdeo was asked to respond to allegations that he, while as President, out of an act of vindictiveness, deliberately ordered the relevant authorities to not repair the roads adjacent to the DIDCO property in Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

Jagdeo was at the time addressing members of the local media corps at his party’s Freedom House Headquarters and said that the outstanding taxes related to unpaid Value Added Tax (VAT), Corporation Taxes and even Pay As You Earn (PAYE).

The former President disclosed that the matter has either been settled between the GRA and DIDCO,

or is in the process of being settled and that it had in fact raised concerns within the Revenue Authority.

Jagdeo used the opportunity to disclose to the media that a letter has been written and circulated within the GRA questioning the legality of any settlement with Deo Singh’s DIDCO. The former President said Deo Singh had sent him documents outlining the taxes he owed to the GRA, in order to solicit his help to have the matter settled.

“I received sealed documents to talk about helping him with GRA and I said I don’t get involved in those things,” according to the former President, who sought to remind that most times, people act based on their personal motives.

Jagdeo said he demitted office in 2011 but two years later, “I received several calls from the same Mr Deo Singh, saying ‘you are the only one who can help me’”.

According to Jagdeo, Deo Singh asked him to “ask the Government to settle my tax matters in GRA.” He said the quantum of the money involved is close to $1 billion.

“VAT was paid and not remitted close to $600 million, PAYE not remitted to GRA, collected and not remitted and then Corporate Tax… he himself told me this, he sent me documents,” according to Jagdeo.

Jagdeo at this point disclosed too that “from what I gather, there was a move to settle or they have settled and a letter was written by the staff in the GRA questioning the settlement.”

The former President noted that staffers at the GRA are of the position that any settlement with Deo Singh’s DIDCO would not be in keeping with the provisions in the law.

He said now that Singh has been caught in the conundrum, “how do you get the Government to think

Delegates awarded for their long and dedicated service

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

favourably about you… you get the man who they probably hate the most and then you criticise him publicly.”

He suggested that Singh was looking to say, “Look I have good APNU credentials; I was the victim of Jagdeo.” According to the former Head of State, the public assertions adumbrated by Singh are meant to send a signal to the coalition Government.

“The things I get blamed for sometimes, I find them funny,” said Jagdeo, who was adamant that during his tenure as President, his days were pre-occupied with actual work and not deciding whose road will or will not be fixed.

Jagdeo in fact claimed ignorance of knowing where Singh and others lived. It was later pointed out that the roads in question fall under the ambit of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, meaning that Jagdeo would have had to directed the then City Mayor, Hamilton Green, to not do the roads at DIDCO – a far-fetched notion, given the level of acrimony between the two politicians.

According to Jagdeo, he only held meetings once every quarter-year in order to obtain progress reports on projects both locally and foreign funded.

Former UG Vice Chancellor, Dr James Rose addressing delegates

D

espite its many challenges, both globally and locally, the sugar industry in Guyana will remain alive through creative thinking, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG) and historian, Professor James Rose has declared.

Addressing the opening of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) 21st Delegates Congress on Sunday at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Dr Rose pointed to the current challenges faced by workers arising from the global economic and financial crises

and increasing poverty in the world.

He also noted that the sugar industry in Guyana, over its long history, has experienced many challenges, but through creative thinking, it has managed to cope and overcome the obstacles.

He stressed that a similar approach was needed today and urged that all stakeholders work together.

GAWU President Komal Chand expressed optimism that the industry could be turned around and placed on a sustainable footing through certain diversification initiatives.

Chand said workers were the industry's most important asset and accused the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) of an uncaring approach in recent times.

He called on GuySuCo and, more particularly, the Interim Management Committee (IMC), to end its hostility towards the workers and the Union.

Chand also called on workers to “stand up and defend their rights” in the face of the “massive challenges” which they were confronted with at this time, while calling for a total rejection of the reprivatisation of the industry.

He reiterated the need

GAWU President Komal Chand addressing delegates

for unity among workers, while stressing the need for support and cooperation to rebuild the industry. Chand cautioned against those who were looking to sow division among the workers.

GAWU said that the delegates condemned GuySuCo for its “attack on workers' rights and benefits which they vowed to safeguard”.

“They were especially dismayed by the decision of the Corporation not to grant paid release and assist in transportation for sugar workers attending the Congress, and this they emphasised was discriminatory.”

TURN TO PAGE 9

8 NEWS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

IN THE COURTS

Eyew tness 2nd beaten ‘bandit’ charged Rough love...

North Ruimveldt robbery

T

he second suspect in the attempted robbery at North Ruimveldt who received a sound thrashing from residents was on Wednesday slapped with two charges and taken before Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Collis Amos, 21, pleaded not guilty to the first charge which stated that on August 17, 2016, he attempted to commit a felony, that is to say robbery under arms on Roger Lovell.

He also denied the second charge which read that on the same day he had in his possession one .9mm pistol while not being a licensed firearm holder.

Suspected bandit: Collis Amos

Police Prosecutor Kerry Bostwick objected to bail, citing the severity of the offence and pointing out that

Suspected bandit: Patrick Goodluck

a gun was used in attempted robbery. The Prosecutor also informed the court that

the defendant was positively identified by the Virtual Complainant (VC).

On Monday, Amos’ alleged accomplice Patrick Goodluck, 22, of Lot T-72 North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was charged for the offence.

Reports are Lovell was watching television when the defendants broke in to the house and demanded his gold chain and motorcycle.

However, an alarm was raised and the defendants were apprehended and dealt a severe thrashing by public-spirited persons.

Amos, like Goodluck, was remanded to prison.

The case will continue on September 6.

Taxi driver remanded on wounding charge

A

taxi driver attached to the Green Ice Taxi Service was on Wednesday morning remanded to prison when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to a wounding charge.

Trevor Hacker, 36, of Albouystown, Georgetown, pleaded not guilty to the

charge when he appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman.

It is alleged that on August 20, 2016 at Georgetown, Hacker unlawfully and maliciously inflicted grievous bodily harm on Kelvin Wills.

The prosecution is contending that on the day of the incident, the two men

Taxi driver Trevor Hacker

who both work for the same taxi service were arguing over a customer.

According to the prosecution, as the argument escalated, the defendant picked up a stone and a Guinness bottle and dealt the Virtual Complainant (VC) two blows to his face.

As a result of the injuries, the VC was rushed to the hospital where he received stitches to his right eye and above his ears.

His medical report, which was presented in court, stated that the injuries he sustained were potentially life-threatening.

Hacker was remanded.

The case will continue on September 7.

W

...from a friend

e've all heard about "tough love". In case you haven't, David Hinds recently said that's what he showed the APNU/AFC coalition when he rapped them on the knuckles on the Rodney CoI's report.

It was "tough love" because his WPA's a partner in the said coalition – like one of those Russian Babushka dolls that fit into each other in an infinite regression. This love is "tough" – unlike the "soft" version shown by another WPA member Rupert Roopnaraine, who pretty much said, "do wha' yuh want wid me"!!

Anyhow, we just saw another type of love being exhibited last week when the USAID released a specially commissioned report on the Government's first year in office. This is "ROUGH LOVE" and in normally shown by intimates who can tell you like it is in a brutal fashion! No holds barred. They can do this for the simple reason your behaviour's threatening their interests – and you can't do them squat when they sock it to you.

For example, in an overall assessment of what it calls the her men's/rather worthwhile verbally expressed aspiration towards things like "good governance" and "inclusion", it concluded it "lacks the political acumen needed to address the above-listed struggles"!!

Whew!! "Lacks political acumen"!!! In other words the Government's been quite dumb in going about its business. In fact the report even used language seldom seen in these "official reports" – it repeated the above assessment when it said the APNU/AFC Government just "talks the talk, but can't walk the walk"!! When was the last time you heard that kind of language excepting from the Opposition benches?!

But the USAID Report didn't confine itself to broad condemnations – it went for the jugular. For instance "the abuse of state resources for partisan ends"! Now isn't this what the Opposition's been screaming about for the last year? The report didn't have to mention the billion dollar settlements that are awarded without the "partisans" even taking the govt to court! Or the doubling of Ministerial salaries – even as the Government workers got zilch, did they!

We heard the Government couldn't "constrain the habit of inserting party loyalists within made-up positions"!! "Made up positions!!" Think about the dozens of "Presidential Advisors". Think about the four "Prime Ministerial representatives". Think about Ministries that no one can still figure out what the heck they're doing! Social Cohesion, anyone?

But the most pertinent was that the Government wasn't following "due process". Coming from an American, this is just about the last rites on democratic governance being read in Guyana!

But they gave the Government 18 months to change matters. This is the "love" part.

...but not on integrity!!

Your Eyewitness has been carrying on like a voice in the wilderness on this long promised "Code of Conduct" by this government. Promised to be launched in "three months", it's looking more and more like one of those old "Cecil D DeMills" production like the Ten Commandments that were always "years in the making".

But hey!! THAT was trying to convey the teachings of the Divine via celluloid. All we're talking about here is for some simple rules to keep members on the straight and narrow. Not a new Ten Commandments!!

And it's not like they don't know where to draw some lines – they've been criticising the PPP's "lapses" forever. And if they "forgot" they can now refer to the USAID Report. But after crafting a "draft code" that took months, then taking "comments" (more months) , the PM decided to fuse it with the Integrity Commission (more months) he now wants to give the latter "investigative and prosecutorial powers".

You think they're stalling?

...on vigilante justice

Prezzie recently announced, "We can’t tolerate vigilantism, especially when it results in the injury or death of anybody; it can get out of hand".

Was he perchance talking about SOCU and its rogue Wild West fatal chase?

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

NEWS

9

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Govt must come clean on ‘drug dealing’ Alleged thief remanded financers – Opposition Leader

W

ith more of its supporters and financers being implicated in drug related scandals and activities, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is calling on the Administration to come clean on its campaign finances and financers.

Jagdeo was at the time making reference to Lear Goring, the recently hired and fired Guyana Water Inc (GWI) Debt Recovery Manager, and former Health Minister, Dr Noel Blackman.

The Opposition Leader has since called on the coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, to say how much ‘drug money,’ if any, went into its campaign.

Jagdeo made the pronouncement on Wednesday, as he addressed members of the local media corps at his party’s Freedom House headquarters.

He suggested that had it been discovered that the

People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) had in fact employed someone convicted of drug trafficking, “the newspapers would go wild.”

According to Jagdeo, while Goring has been fired since the recent exposé, the Administration still needs to clear the air on whether any of the drug dealings that Dr Blackman has been found guilty of made its way into the APNU/AFC campaign.

Additionally, Goring was found guilty on two occasions of drug trafficking and had been deported twice from the United States of America.

The Opposition Leader recalled that Dr Blackman was in fact tipped to replace the Chairman at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GHPC), but had been hauled off by agents of the plane by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

Dr Blackman was on his way back to Guyana to assume his post at the GPHC, before being nabbed and con-

victed of drug trafficking in the US. He has since copped a plea bargain with US authorities in order to face a reduced sentence. Jagdeo said when similar occurrences obtained during his time in office, each of the guilty parties were accused of being close to the Administration. “Everybody used to be Jagdeo friend, whether I knew the people or not.”

He drew reference too, to reports that his Administration, while in office, had granted a forestry concession to convicted drug trafficker, Roger Khan, but this turned out to be untrue.

Jagdeo said when the investigations were carried out, it was found that the inaccurate information had been passed onto the US Government by members of APNU. On the matter of the former Health Minister being convicted of drug offences in the US, Jagdeo said, “There are no secrets about this that Mr Blackman was a staunch supporter of APNU… he is now being convicted for drug dealing in the United States of America.”

According to Jagdeo, for-

Creative thinking needed to keep...

According to Chand, some workers reported that intimidating tactics were also employed by certain GuySuCo personnel to prevent workers from attending the Congress.

These efforts to undermine the Union's highest decisionmaking forum, he noted, were roundly condemned. “The workers also stressed the need for unity among all workers in the bargaining units of the Union and workers in Guyana generally since only through their togetherness and working-class unity, they would be able to overcome their various challenges,” the Union stated.

Meanwhile, the Union

elected a new 52-member General Council on Tuesday, the final day of the three-day congress.

The new General Council, charged with managing the affairs of the Union, at its first meeting will elect its new executive.

The Congress also “unanimously approved” nine resolutions which addressed safeguarding and defending workers' gains in the sugar industry; rejecting reprivatisation and closure of the sugar industry; education and training; unity of the working class; the National Insurance Scheme (NIS); wage/salary

FROM PAGE 7

improvements and Annual Production Incentive (API); solidarity with the workers of Wales Estate; the public health situation and solidarity with all working oppressed peoples as well as world peace.

The Congress, held under the theme “United Struggles for Workers' Rights, Democracy and a Secure Future", was attended by some 500 delegates from the Union's 14 bargaining units across the sugar belt.

Twenty-three members were also rewarded for their long and dedicated service in the development of GAWU.

mer Health Minister, Dr Blackman was central to the APNU’s election campaign and “was brought back by this Government to chair the GPHC, he was on his way back to take up that post in Guyana, he was central in the campaign in 2015, as he was in previous campaigns.”

The President has since publicly asked “was some of the (drugs) money spent and how much.”

These questions, he said, should be posed to the APNU General Secretary, Minister of State Joseph Harmon, “if they received a donation (from Dr Blackman) and how much.”

According to Jagdeo, had it been the PPP/C, “there would be an automatic assumption that he funded our whole campaign” adding that, “the same standards don’t hold for the other two parties.”

A

n alleged thief, who was reportedly caught after he broke into a Charlotte Street, Georgetown home, and given a sound beating by residents, was on Monday remanded to prison.

Jason Joseph, 21, of Lot 164 Charlotte Street, Georgetown, appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

He pleaded not guilty to the offence, which stated that on August 17, 2016, at Charlotte Street, Georgetown, he broke and entered the dwelling of Orlando Batson and stole one Dragon Touch Tablet valued $25,000 and $142,000 in cash.

The prosecution noted that on the day in ques-

Jason Joseph

tion, the defendant entered the house and stole the items, but was later caught and given a severe beating.

He was then handed over to the Police.

The case will continue on September 7.

10

guyana-times.com

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

News

CSS programme launched – community-based crime, violence targeted

T

he first component of the Citizens Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP) was launched on Wednesday with the focus on curbing crime and violence in tar-

(East Berbice-Corentyne) and 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) have been identified for the ‘Community Crime and Violence Prevention’ project – component one of the CSSP.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan pointed out that the crime rate in Guyana is compounded by the high incidents of violent behav-

pany of his father and another individual when they carried out the gruesome triple murder at Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder.

“So this component of the Citizen Security

From left: Deputy Mayor of Georgetown Sherod Duncan, IDB Country Representative Sophie Makonnen, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, Junior Education Minister Nicolette Henry and Permanent Secretary of the Public Security Ministry, Daniella McCalmon at the launching ceremony

geted communities.

The programme is a collaborative effort between the Public Security Ministry and the InterAmerican Development (IDB), which is funding the CSSP. Some 20 communities in Regions Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Six

The CSSP aims at reducing crime and violence in Guyana, especially in the targeted communities and among youths, by increasing their human and social capacity through various programmes; such as skills training, developing community leadership in violence prevention and promoting community cohesion, among others.

iours at the community level, especially among youths.

He mentioned the recent incident where 13-year-old Daveanand Sanichar was beaten to death just over a week ago a few houses away from his Plantain Walk Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara, home. The Minister also reflected on another incident where an 18-year-old was in the com-

Strengthening Programme is a grass roots attempt designed to address these kinds of crime and violence

Guyana to become free from violent crimes, every citizen must play a role. “Parents, therefore, need to work with their children and even other children so that we can reduce the risks of someone that is loved becoming a perpetrator or a victim of violence and crime,” she stated.

According to the Junior Education Minister, children need to be taught how to handle conflicts and problems without using force. She noted that Government has recognised this, hence, it has conducted training programmes across the various regions, targeting youths who were exposed to life skills which will help them to face challenges.

Additionally, IDB Country Representative, Sophie Makonnen, also underscored the importance of having community par-

peaceful conflict resolution and the use of mediation prevention activities in order for the communities not to get to the place where violence and Police has to intervene… Police is necessary but you do not have to go there,” she remarked.

Of the US$15 million loan from the IDB, some US$5.7 million will be spent on the first component to support the ‘Community Crime and Violence Prevention’ under the CSSP. Among the 20 communities to benefit from this project are Vreen-enHoop and Westminster in Region Three; Rosignol in Region Five; Wismar in Region 10, and FriendshipKildonan, Albion-Fyrish, Port Mourant and Rose Hall, Adelphi Village and Canefield and Angoy’s Avenue in Region Six. Other communities are

A section of the gathering at the launching of the IDB-funded CSSP – Phase Two

at the community level by reducing the contributing factors while at the same time strengthening the protective factors,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Minister within the Education Ministry Nicolette Henry, who has responsibility for youth, in brief remarks highlighted the need for a collective approach in tackling the issue of crime and violence.

She pointed out that for

ticipation in efforts to curb crime and violence, noting that it is a key component of any Citizens’ Security Strengthening Programme.

She pointed out that the CSSP will contribute to addressing the key causes of crime and violence while at the same time, contributing to institutional strengthening as well.

“Community-based interventions promote greater social cohesion, encourage

Albouystown; Charlestown; Sophia; South Ruimveldt Park and Gardens, North Ruimveldt; Alberttown and South Cummingsburg; Kingston and Lacytown, La Pentience and West Ruimveldt, Agricola-McDoom; Mocha-Providence; Annandale-Lusignan; Buxton-Friendship and Vigilance, and EnmoreHaslington in Region Four.

(Vahnu Manickchand)

Family alleges dead Corentyne man poisoned

… 2nd autopsy ordered by Police

A

second autopsy is scheduled to be conducted today on the body of 35-year-old Seepersaud Hemchand of Number 56 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, whose family is adamant in their belief that he was poisoned.

The autopsy is to be conducted by State Pathologist, Dr Vivekanand Bridgemohan.

This suspicion stemmed

from a recorded conversation between Hemchand’s 57-year-old wife, Daikumarie Radhay and her friend, which was stumbled upon by relatives of the now dead man.

During the conversation, talks of infidelity and what appears to a descriptive confession of a premeditated murder. The initial autopsy stated Hemchand’s cause of

death to be septic shock.

However, relatives raised their suspicions on Monday afternoon and the Police were contacted. The dead man’s wife was taken into custody on the same night but was released on station bail on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Police are trying to ascertain the exact cause of death through the second autopsy.

NEWS

11

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

GTM makes whopping $1.1B payout in claims …as Chairman laments reduced demand for insurance coverage

By: Lorraine Ince-Carvalhal

The benefit of sports on our young people

T

he curtains have dropped on yet another memorable Olympics and the sporting fever has seen many of us on the edge our seats, no matter what our preferred sport. The diversity of the range of sports included in this year’s spectacular games has offered a vast number of athletes from many countries an opportunity to represent their country and a shot at a place in the history books. Alongside those who continued to impress and deliver, break records, set new ones and defy expectations; are also those who may not have made a remarkable impression just yet. However, the fact that they made it to the Olympics is a dream come true; a feat thousands of athletes unfortunately never realise.

The dedication, hard work and determination required to reach such a pinnacle in a sporting career often passes unseen to the masses. When you consider how much effort it takes to make your school team then onto regional and international levels, before making it all the way to the top to compete against the best of the best and to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s greatest athletes, it can become clearer the kind of devoted individuals who get there.

Whether a young child begins with dreams of an Olympic medal, representing their country or making the school team, involvement in sports from an early age can have immense positive outcomes.

The effect of sports on children has many benefits, including character development, leadership skills, good sporting behaviour and achievement orientation. Whether a child participates at school level, outside school or higher, the reasons for participation range from having fun, improving skills, keeping fit, being part of a team and the challenge and excitement of competition. The environment in which a child experiences sport participation and the types of adults and peers involved will help determine continued participation and strength of commitment.

Involvement in both team and individual sport enhances self-esteem, builds friendships, and encourages interactions which develop pro-social behaviours. Also it, encourages loyalty, requires commitment, provides emotional support, and develops skills in conflict and resolution. Both can enrich feelings of inclusion in either a team or within a family.

If children continue and participate at a higher competitive standard, they require a certain level of discipline, determination, sportsmanship, and respect for peers in sport; more useful qualities for a healthier and more fulfilling childhood that they will carry with them later in life.

Unfortunately, between the ages of twelve and thirteen, research shows sports participation declines as young people tend to focus on other things. This can be a result of a number of factors including; lack of motivation, wanting to spend time elsewhere, perceived failures or conflicting relationships with sports providers. This is actually a crucial time in their lives and being encouraged (not forced) to continue, even if not competitively, can give them a valuable focus. Regrettably, it is often children with low perceptions of their abilities who would benefit greatly from the positive outcomes of sports that drop out.

Whilst at an age when children are most vulnerable in environments where there is very little on offer in the way of recreation, and fewer opportunities to become involved in something that has positive effects on both physical and mental wellbeing and development, sport can offer a real way forward.

With the untold challenges facing our young people today, this is a lifeline that can be utilised to provide many different avenues to success.

While sports can be an invaluable tool for children who are not academically gifted, it is not a substitute for academic work, but can actually be used to support involvement in academic improvement by ways of encouraging engagement at school.

By developing skills needed to increase academic performance, such as discipline, realising that hard work pays off and the ability to perform under pressure, sport participation can provide a building block of character qualities and the enhancement of self-esteem, allowing them to be applied to other areas of a child’s life.

Where possible, provide your child with the opportunity to experience a range of sports and support their involvement in any way you can. As a country we should continue to encourage youth involvement in sport and strive to widen the opportunities for further participation. The healthy mind and healthy body philosophy has great merit, couple this with the physical and mental skill development sport provides, and we are a step closer to offering our young people a better start in life.

Re-elected GTM Chairman Ram Singh

T

he Guyana and Trinidad Mutual Fire Insurance Company Limited (GTM) last year paid out a whopping $1.1 billion in insurance claims, even as its profit margin declined by a little less than half compared to the previous year.

This was the dire state of affairs reported by re-elected Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ram Singh.

The Board of Directors met with policyholders on Wednesday at the Georgetown Club for the 136th Annual General Meeting (AGM), where Chairman Singh reported that after-tax profit for the company in 2015 was $82 million, as against the $160 million earned in 2014.

Fire losses

Speaking to the $1.1 billion payout in insurance claims, Singh told policyholders, this was primarily as a result of large fire losses incurred for the third consecutive year.

He sought to reassure policyholders, however, that “since the beginning of 2014, your company has taken steps to prevent a reoccurrence by implementing more stringent underwriting guidelines”.

Singh was optimistic in his pronouncements as he told policyholders in his report that despite the increase in claims that had to be met,

the company still performed “fairly well despite fierce competition from existing insurance companies, new entrants, a decline in premium rates and a reduced demand for insurance coverage”.

Speaking on the company’s asset base, Singh told those in attendance that GTM did record an increase in its holdings, totalling $6.65 billion in 2015, up from $5.92 billion the previous year.

He said given the 2015 performance, the company has declared a final dividend of 4.6 per cent for ordinary scrip, preferent scrip and first preferred stock holders.

The resolution for the dividend payout was unanimously approved by the policyholders in attendance.

Regional performance

The GTM Chairman also used the opportunity to provide an update on the performance of its regional branches.

He told policyholders that in Grenada, total premiums grew by G$20 million. Singh recalled too that at the beginning of 2014, that country’s Government commenced the rollout of its three-year homegrown economic recovery programme of fiscal adjustments and reform – supported by the International Monetary Fund – and this programme at the end of 2017 is expected to stimulate the economy and reduce unemployment.

In St Lucia, Singh lamented, the country’s economy shrank by almost two per cent and its “general insurance sector continues to face intense competition, high policy attrition (erosion) and declining growth”.

According to Singh, in an effort to maintain market share and profitability, competitors engaged in discounting of premium rates, but these factors negatively affected the performance of the St Lucia branch.

He said the sister branch in St Vincent and the Grenadines faced similar challenges to those expe-

by GTM. He told policyholders, “Any policy or practice that leads ultimately to the client being placed at a disadvantage will not be adopted by your company.”

The GTM Chairman also used the opportunity to provide policyholders with an update on some infrastructural works undertaken in 2015.

1962 roof

Salesperson of the Year and Superstar Achiever, Hansraj Singh

rienced in St Lucia, but has fared better with marginal growth in premiums.

Investment returns

The GTM Chairman’s spate of bad news continued, as he reported on the company’s investments, highlighting that they have seen a decline in the rate of returns being earned.

He sought to reassure, however, that “cognisant of the need to improve the yield on investment in order to avoid volatile or toxic investments, the Board’s first priority “is to protect your company and its investments by seeking only secured and guaranteed investments”.

Singh used the opportunity to lament that the motor insurance aspect of GTM’s business portfolio did not fare well in 2015.

This, he said, resulted from insurance companies across the territories, “underwriting at rock-bottom rates with very large excesses”.

According to Singh, “on the surface, this may seem beneficial; however, the client ultimately loses more at the time of a claim”.

This practice, according to Singh, will not be entertained

According to Singh, the company utilised $51 million in renovations and repairs in 2015, most of which went into replacing the entire roof of the original GTM building in addition to upgrading its outdated electrical systems.

He told policyholders that the repairs were deemed necessary, since “the building was last roofed in 1962 and had developed a number of leaks”.

Singh also reported that the company renovated a property which it had leased in D’Edward Village in Berbice and has since relocated its Rosignol office there.

“Other renovations included constructing a roof to cover the entire fifth floor of the Head office building to improve utility of the roof garden.”

Superstar achiever

Sticking to tradition, the company also used the opportunity to reward its outstanding employees.

Hansraj Singh was the top awardee copping a number of prizes, including Salesperson of the Year, the Superstar Achiever Award and the Chairman’s Award – the highest award across the branches.

The company also presented bursaries to a number of students who recorded creditable performances in their examinations.

All of the Directors, inclusive of the Chairman, were re-elected to serve on the company’s Board of Directors for another year.

12 NEWS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Vigilante justice

Sacking of Linden CIIP workers

“Do not take law into your Minister suggests tackling own hands” – James Bond issue at local level

I

n the face of a seemingly growing trend of vigilante justice in recent weeks, youth leader and former A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentarian, Attorneyat-Law James Bond is the latest to come out in strong condemnation of these acts, urging citizens not to take the law into their own hands.

Over the past two weeks, there have been several cases of vigilantism, particularly in cases where robberies were committed or suspected, which resulted in at least two deaths and serious injuries.

At least one suspected bandit was beaten by residents in North Ruimveldt and another in Charlotte Street, Georgetown, while 24-year-old Colin Perreira of Barr Street, Kitty, was shot dead and his friend, Gailann Chacon, 20, of Port Kaituma, North West District, Region One seriously injured, as they attempted to turn their car on the bridge of a Tucville businessman. The businessman claimed that he thought that he was going to be robbed by the young miner.

On Wednesday, Bond said this growing trend is frightening, as he singled out the Tuesday night incident involving Perreria which also saw his girlfriend sustaining severe injuries.

“I said ‘James, this

Politician and youth leader, Attorney-at-Law James Bond

could be you, because you could be driving’ and I was driving and taking one of my staff home at Lusignan (East Coast Demerara) and the same thing… I turned back at somebody’s gap, like the young man that died there last night (Tuesday), that could have been me,” Bond said.

The Attorney said while he understood persons may feel threatened and react spontaneously, they must allow the law to take its course.

“You cannot just take justice in your own hands and I think Guyanese at this stage need to understand that is wrong. If you apprehend someone and they are no threat to you, you must turn that per-

son over to the Police absolutely. Do not beat, do not maim, do not injure, do not disfigure… much more you murder someone,” Bond advised.

The youth leader is pleading with citizens not to react in such a violent manner, as already lives have been lost.

“I want to advise and admonish all Guyanese, as an Attorney, as a law-abiding citizen, to desist from same. I know you may feel under threat; I know you may feel fearful for your lives and livelihoods, but at the end of the day, you may get it wrong,” Bond stated.

Last week, residents of North Ruimveldt, Georgetown captured two men who attempted to rob a barber of his jewellery after storming his home. The men were severely beaten and the Police were then summoned.

Then a few days later a man was severely beaten after attempting to snatch a chain at Bourda Market, Georgetown.

That was followed by the shooting death of a 20-year-old suspected bandit and a sound beating of his accomplice after they attempted to rob a Sara Johanna businessman.

There have been a number of other cases of vigilantism caused deaths over the years in Guyana, for which persons were charged and even convicted.

M

inister within the Natural Resources Ministry Simona Broomes has made an appeal to Lindeners to practice problem-solving at the local level, with a reminder of the purpose of Local Government Elections (LGE). The call was made during a meeting with residents of the community on Sunday where a number of issues were brought to the fore and discussed, including the recent termination of workers under the Community Infrastructure Improvement Project (CIIP).

Present at the meeting was Councillor within the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Gordon Callender, who wasted no time in relaying the concerns of the workers. Callender, who was very vocal on the issue, stressed that many persons employed under the CIIP programme are single parents. He pointed out that more people in the community had been employed under a similar drainage and irrigation (D&I) programme under the previous Administration, stressing that the numbers have since decreased and there was a recent attempt to have the numbers further decreased.

Callender complained that although efforts were made to have the termination letters rescinded by Regional Chairman Renis Morian, this was not done, noting that there are several issues surrounding the CIIP that leaders in Georgetown are unaware of. Meanwhile, Councillor Charles Sampson stated that there are many irregularities as it relates to payment associated with the programme and opined that the payment policies should be clearly outlined so that workers know what they are.

A section of the gathering at the meeting

“If this programme has to continue, it has to continue in an orderly way. The people must know up front, what are the hours they would work, they also would need to know who takes care of their NIS; there are so many irregularities with this programme that it needs to be put into discussion. I am sure that the people in Georgetown who are ultimately responsible for this programme don’t know what they are doing... we want these workers to get an ease. It is not easy.

Linden is a place with high unemployment,” he stressed.

In response, Minister Broomes urged the community to “wake up” and become more involved in the process of moving their community forward, and reminded those present of the aim of Local Government Elections in returning the power to the people. As such, she advised that certain issues should be tackled at the level of their local administrations. She urged those present to come up with proposals and solutions to the issue and to have those presented to the relevant Ministry, through the RDC, adding that she was surprised that it was not ventilated at that level.

“You have certain powers at the local level... go through the Constitution of your RDCs, go through the Constitution of your NDCs and the township... change has come, you had Local Government Elections... I don’t want to come here to dictate... These are problems you could fix comrades... stop calling on Ministers to fix problems. Fix your problems in house... you got a RDC and you got a Council... call an emergency meeting... raise it at the level of the RDC, make a decision on it and then you send that RDC minutes and a cover letter to the Minister responsible with your position. I don’t want to come in your region and dictate...”

The Minister also encouraged Lindeners to stop the infighting and “shake off the spirit of depression”, noting that there is a lot that can be done; however the drive to get things done is lacking.

“Linden, I want to see you straighten up. We got to bring Linden to where it used to be. Lindeners, let us unite and stand up”, Broomes said.

She also encouraged those present to become more involved in democracy and to hold their leaders accountable.

US$33M plugged into regional climate change infrastructure

G

uyana will be among 11 Caribbean countries to benefit from a multimillion-dollar agreement that will see funds being made available to finance climate change adaptation and mitigation projects in the Region.

This was the realisation of an agreement signed between officials from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to provide some US$33 million towards financing sustainable infrastructure projects in the Caribbean. At least half of the funds is expected to be injected into the projects.

The agreement was signed last month at the CDB Headquarters in Barbados,

by French Ambassador to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Barbados, Eric de la Moussaye, in the presence of CDB Vice President (Operations) Patricia

CDB Vice President (Operations) Patricia McKenzie and French Ambassador to the OECS and Barbados, Eric de la Moussaye sign the Credit Facility Agreement. Looking on is Legal Counsel at the CDB, Dave Waithe

McKenzie.

“Caribbean countries are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with our geographical location leading to high exposure to natural hazards. Economic conditions also play a role, as there is a lack of access to long-term resources to finance sustainable climate-

related infrastructure projects. We believe that these additional funds will go a long way towards building resilience and mitigating the impact of climate change in our Region,” McKenzie said.

The funds are being provided by AFD under a Credit Facility Agreement with CDB. CONTINUES ON PAGE 13

NEWS

13

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Walter Roth Museum relocation halted

I

n light of mounting controversy over the announcement to relocate the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology, Government has since put the move on hold.

This was disclosed by Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnarine on Wednesday. The Minister was at the time engaging indigenous leaders at the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference, which is being held at the Arthur Chung International Convention Centre, and was questioned about the relocation of the museum.

Two weeks ago, Guyana Times broke the news of plans afoot to relocate the museum, which was subsequently confirmed by the Ministry of the Presidency, which said it would be moving the museum and its employees to the National Museum by the end of the year. The relocation was to facilitate the housing of a department of the Ministry at the Museum’s current Main Street location.

This decision did not sit well with various sections of Guyanese society as criticisms mounted against Government for not holding any consultations on its decision to relocate the museum, which is the oldest museum of anthropology in the English-speaking Caribbean.

However, Dr Roopnarine on Wednesday gave assurance that no decisions will be made to move the historical museum until consultations were held with museum staff and stakeholders, including the leaders of the 212 indigenous villages.

“What I have done is I

The Walter Roth Museum

have asked the President (David Granger) to put the question of the movement of the Walter Roth Museum on hold until I have had an opportunity to discuss the matter more thoroughly with the people, the anthropologists, the Toshaos and so on,” Minister Roopnaraine informed the gathering at the Convention Centre.

This announcement was met with resounding applause from the indigenous leaders. The Minister further indicated to the indigenous leaders that the matter was one that was at the heart of his very own family.

During the engagement on the third day of the NTC, Toshao of Maruranau Village in Region Nine, Patrick Gomes decried the Government’s decision to move the museum, on the grounds that the artefacts contained within were those discovered several hundred years ago and many may not survive relocation.

Gomes called on all the indigenous leaders present at the NTC to make a recommendation to the Government that the museum remains at its present site, “because we do

not want to lose our heritage and our connection to the past”.

He added that the indigenous people needed to “have that connection to the past, to know where we came from, where we are going and what we have”.

The Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology contains a wealth of historic information and artefacts about the Amerindian people with the aim of keeping the legacy of Guyana’s first people alive.

The museum was founded with the collections of Guyanese archaeologist, Dr Denis Williams and in 1980, the ethnographic collections of Dr Walter Roth, Mr J J Quelch and Sir Everardim Thurn were transferred to the museum from the National Museum. The museum’s collections also include dug-up artefacts from all 10 administrative regions.

In addition to condemnation from the likes of former Ministers of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony and Gail Teixeira among others, there has been an online petition to stop the relocation of the historical facility with over 500 signatures gathered.

Over 12,000 mangrove seedlings planted at Better Hope

E

fforts to revive the mangrove forest along the East Demerara foreshore has been accelerated with the planting of over 12,000 black mangrove seedlings at Better Hope, East Coast Demerara.

The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) in a statement on Wednesday said that the planting exercise, which started last week and runs until Friday, is aimed at regenerating 450 metres of mangrove forest.

Some 18 persons from the community were employed for the project.

The NAREI and the World Wildlife Fund’s Education for Nature Grantfunded project, is being executed by the Mangrove Reserve Producers Co-op.

“The completion of this activity is expected to result in the restoration of 450 metres of black mangroves; natural recruitment and extension of mangrove forests East along the coastline; reduction in garbage dumping along the shoreline; in-

Persons planting black mangrove seedlings along the Better Hope foreshore

crease in knowledge of local communities about the importance of mangroves; increase biodiversity within the restored forest; and reduction in overtopping and flooding in the community,” NAREI said.

It said that in preparation for the planting exercise, several activities were undertaken, including a survey of the foreshore to identify a suitable site for regeneration, a community clean-up exercise for World Environment Day 2016, and the contracting of five community nurseries to produce 2500 seedlings each.

“Further, consultations were conducted between

NAREI and the Better Hope/ LBI Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and residents, to ensure that there was community buy-in, especially since fishing is an economic activity of the community. A small area on the foreshore was identified for community fishermen to dock their boats,” the statement continued.

Residents in the Better Hope area were also urged to support the Project, which will also see the construction of garbage receptacles at strategic points as a means of encouraging residents not to dump over the seawall.

US$33M plugged into...

AFD is the primary agency through which the Government of France provides funding for sustainable development projects.

This marks the first time that the CDB has accessed financing from AFD. The Facility will be used by the CDB to augment financing for infrastructure projects in several areas: renewable energy, water and sanitation, waste management, adaptation of in-

frastructure to the effects of climate change, and protection of coasts and rivers.

Countries that are eligible to benefit from this Facility are: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname.

The Facility is also complemented by a €3,000,000 technical assistance grant,

FROM PAGE 12

which will finance feasibility studies for projects eligible for financing.

The agreement supports the improvement of Caribbean economies’ resilience and vitality through the development of sustainable infrastructure projects with significant environmental or climate impacts.

It is in alignment with the Bank’s corporate priority of promoting environmental sustainability.

14

guyana-times.com

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

News

SARA consultation

Govt creating parallel justice system – Nandlall A

larm bells were sounded and the public warned about the creation of a parallel justice system driven by a political agenda to spread fear and intimidation across the country in an effort to make the public docile and subservient to an authoritative Government.

This is according to former Attorney General and Member of Parliament (MP) Anil Nandlall. In his bid to sensitise the public about the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) Bill, Nandlall warned of the dictatorial situation this legislation is bound to create and how it would ultimately negatively impact the socioeconomic landscape of the country.

During a public consultation forum on the SARA Bill, organised by the parliamentary Opposition – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) – on Wednesday, stakeholders expressed grave concerns about the dangers of the passage of this piece of legislation.

According to Nandlall, who made an informative presentation at the consultation, the SARA Bill, as currently structured, creates an environment that encourages the violation of individuals’ constitutional rights and undermines the rule of law since it confers powers ten times greater than those of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) on a sole individual – the Director of the Agency.

Currently, this post is occupied by Professor Clive Thomas who will, upon the passage of the SARA Bill, become the most powerful man in the country second to President David Granger.

Nandlall’s assertions were budded by presentations made by Private Sector representative Sase Gunraj and former presidential adviser Gail Teixeira, after which members of civil society were invited to join in the discussion.

Parallel justice system

The former Attorney General asserted that SARA would first target those who have held high office formerly, but afterwards, it would grow hungry again and its “vicious” pursuits could extend to other high office holders and even the ordinary people.

“Those who hold office now and that are giving directions and whose intentions are being manifested in these Bills and these organisations were the same architects of a brutal dictatorship that held this country ransom in a not-

A section of the gathering at the consultation on Wednesday

too-distant past,” Nandlall reminded.

He contended that the consideration of the establishment of a separate prosecuting department is evidence of the Government’s intention to destabilise the independence currently enjoyed by the existing prosecutorial office in the discharge of its functions, an independence which is protected by the highest law of the country – the Constitution of Guyana.

“When the authoritarian cannot penetrate that barrier of independence, the authoritarian creates its own structure, its own prosecutorial office that it will staff with its own lackeys of course who will come after you,” he warned.

He pointed out too that calls have already been made by “lackeys” from the Guyana Bar Association (GBA) for the establishment of a separate court to try persons charged by SARA.

Civil forfeiture

Nandlall highlighted that the SARA Bill contains features which distinguishes civil forfeiture bills globally, making it the most draconian of its kind.

Civil forfeiture is a controversial draconian concept in the legal system because it relates to the seizure of property without a conviction.

According to the legal luminary, the Bill creates a series of new offences, the SARA Director is vested with unparallel powers to investigate the newly-created offences and persons can be rid of their properties without ever being charged with a crime.

He explained that the Bill redefined the term “unlawful”, diluting the seriousness of a “wrong” which can now warrant the seizure of one’s property.

Therefore, it becomes easier to commit an “unlawful act”, and in the process, one risks losing one’s property.

“Why a government would want to pass a law like this? It’s because they want to control and have

you in a state of fear, you threaten a man’s property, you threaten their very existence… you break the back of independence in a society and when that happens, the society is irreparably destroyed,” he emphasised.

Constitutional rights

The Bill bestows power on the SARA Director to, in the discharge of his functions, demand information from the Director of Prosecutions, Commissioner of Police, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Special Organised Crime Unit, the Integrity

Commission, the Central Bank, the Commissioner General, among many other influential office bearers and entities.

“He can demand information from all of these organisations…The Bill ignores the fact that some of these officials are prohibited from their respective organisation to disclose information… This Bill gives him this overarching power, demand over and above those legislation. So I don’t know if it is the intention of this Bill to repeal those existing legislation,” he stated.

He concluded that this was simply a recipe for abuse and misuse of power and authority.

Incentive

Moreover, Nandlall noted that the SARA Bill, through its source of funding, encourages the Unit to pursue and seize properties haphazardly and without any firm basis in order to finance its operations.

According to the draft Bill, funding will come from the sale of seized property.

Plane crashes at Eterinbang airstrip A

locally-registered twin-engine 10-seater Islander aircraft has reportedly suffered substantial damage after it encountered problems during takeoff at the remote Eteringbang airstrip on Wednesday.

Minister within the Public Infrastructure Ministry, who holds responsibility for the aviation sector, Annette Ferguson, confirmed on Wednesday evening that she was in receipt of a report of an incident at the Eteringbang airstrip but details were still sketchy at the time.

Minister Ferguson told Guyana Times that a team from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA)’s investigation department will be heading to the interior location to ascertain the extent and cause of the accident.

Ferguson further stated that according to initial reports, the front wheel of the plane was damaged when it failed to take off from the airstrip.

Guyana Times was reliably informed that the BN2A Islander aircraft encountered technical problems halfway down the airstrip, which was wet at the time due to rain-

Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Annette Ferguson

fall.

The plane reportedly failed to takeoff and ended up in a deep ditch at the end of the airstrip.

The incident reportedly occurred around noon on Wednesday.

Sources have since told this publication that the aircraft had overnighted at the Eteringbang airstrip in Guyana’s remote CuyuniMazaruni region, near the Venezuelan border, and was about to takeoff en route to the Eugine F Correia International Airport at Ogle, East Coast Demerara when the unfortunate incident occurred. There are no reported injuries.

Colombia, FARC to unveil final deal to end 5 decades of bloodshed

C

o l o m b i a ’ s Government and the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels will unveil a final peace deal on Wednesday, negotiators said, bringing to a close talks in Havana that many thought would never succeed in ending one of the world’s most-protracted insurgencies.

Cuban authorities called a news conference about the deal for 19:00h.

“We will announce the end of negotiations and the closing of the accord,” the Colombia Government negotiating team said in a statement about the event.

The historic agreement foresees the demobilisation of the FARC after half a century of war that once took

Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos speaks during a Presidential address in Bogota, Colombia, July 18

the resource-rich country to the brink of being a failed state.

The accord caps nearly four years of talks in

Cuba that at times almost derailed, including when FARC kidnapped a general in 2014. The deal, opposed by two former Colombian

presidents, still needs to be voted on in a referendum and signed.

Earlier, Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos said a big announcement was very close. “May this country that you are imagining, that you are painting, become reality,” he said at the Bogota launch of a children’s competition called “Depict a Colombia in Peace.”

FARC negotiator Pastor Alape tweeted overnight that “the days now are hours” until peace starts to take shape. Most opinion polls suggest Colombians will back the accord, although there is strong opposition from those who believe the only way to deal with FARC is to crush it militarily. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Soldier charged for break-in at Antigua PM’s home

A

defence force soldier has been formally accused of a criminal offence after he allegedly broke into Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s home while he, [Browne] his wife and son were overseas on vacation recently.

The soldier has been identified as 22-year-old Zavier Baltimore of Golden Grove, who joined the force

in May this year, after training for six months with the last batch of recruits.

It is alleged that sometime between August 3 and 10, Baltimore broke into PM Browne’s private Hodges Bay residence.

The Police said they are also contemplating charging Baltimore with misbehaviour in public office, but there’s no word

yet on whether he would be charged with larceny for the two missing laptops and an Ipad which Prime Minister Browne on Tuesday said belonged to his mother-in-law.

Up to last night, the items had not been recovered and the country’s leader declined to comment further on the matter. Baltimore was one of several defence

force soldiers who guarded the property between 18:00h and 06:00h daily since his graduation on May 31, 2016, where the Prime Minister had delivered the charge.

Commissioner of Police Wendel Robinson confirmed the accused soldier is expected in court this week.

(Excerpt from Antigua Observer)

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

guyana-times.com

15

Around the World

Earthquake in central Anti-Mugabe protests turn Italy kills 160 violent in capital Harare

Hardest hit were the small towns and villages in the mountainous area where the regions of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche meet

A

t least 160 people have been killed and 368 injured in an earthquake that hit a mountainous area of central Italy, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has said.

The magnitude-6.2 quake struck at 03:36 (01:36 GMT), 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome, not far from Perugia.

Many of the dead were in the historic town of Amatrice, where the mayor said three-quarters of the

town was destroyed, and in nearby Accumoli.

Many people are still believed to be buried under rubble.

"This is not a final toll," Renzi warned as he gave the latest figures.

He had earlier paid tribute to the volunteers and civil defence officials who had rushed to the scene in the middle of the night and used their bare hands to dig for survivors.

He promised "no family,

no city, no hamlet will be left behind".

The tremor was felt across Italy, from Bologna in the north to Naples in the south. There have been dozens of aftershocks.

Hardest hit were the small towns and villages in the mountainous area where the regions of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche meet.

Italy's civil protection department said that at least 73 people were now known to have been killed.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said it had recorded more than 200 aftershocks by 15:00h (13:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

The country is no stranger to earthquakes: in 2009 a tremor killed more than 300 people in L'Aquila and in May 2012 two tremors nine days apart killed more than 20 people in the northern Emilia Romagna region.

Rescue teams from around the country have been sent to the affected region. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Archbishop Tutu checks into hospital for infection

V

eteran South African anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu checked into a Cape Town hospital for a recurring infection, his daughter said on Wednesday, a bug that put the former cleric hospital for a week last year.

"He is expected to remain in hospital for a week

or two. The Archbishop underwent similar treatment last year," Thandeka TutuGxashe said in a statement.

It is unclear what infection Tutu, 84, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is suffering from but his family has said it is not related to the prostate cancer he has been living with for nearly 20 years.

The former Anglican

archbishop of Cape Town often used the pulpit to criticise white-minority rule, which ended in 1994.

Tutu retired from public life in 2010 but has kept speaking out in issues ranging from Israel's policies toward the Palestinians to corruption among South Africa's political elite. (Reuters)

Kabul attack: Gunmen target American University

A

Afghan forces rushed to the scene after the blast and gunfire were heard

militant attack took place at the American University in the Afghan capital, Kabul on Wednesday.

A large explosion has been heard and frightened students barricaded inside rooms in the building said they heard gunfire close by.

At least one person has died and at least 12 are injured, officials say.

Police have described

the attack, which began at about 19:00 local time (14:30 GMT), as "complex" and have deployed Special Forces.

The university president, Mark English, told AP news agency that a militant attack was underway and "we are trying to assess the situation".

An Interior Ministry official said he thought several gunmen, some with suicide

vests, were involved.

Student Ahmad Mukhtar told the BBC that he was 100 metres (320 feet) away from the university's main entrance when he heard "six or 10" shots and a "huge" blast.

The explosion created so much light that it momentarily lit up the surrounding area, he said. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Z

imbabwean Police have used tear gas, water cannons and batons to disperse an Opposition rally protesting against Police brutality in the capital Harare.

More than 200 supporters, mostly youths, of the main Opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), took to the streets on Wednesday.

Many protesters were reported to have been injured on Wednesday, but police spokeswoman Charity Charamba said she had no information on that.

Riot Police blocked

streets around the MDC headquarters and used water cannon against some youths in downtown Harare.

Some protesters threw back tear gas canisters, as well as rocks, towards the Police, who fired more tear gas outside the MDC offices.

The demonstrators had marched through the streets of the capital denouncing the Police for beating up protesters and called on President Robert Mugabe to step down, accusing him of running a dictatorship.

The demonstration came two days before a planned march by all Opposition par-

ties to try to force Mugabe to implement electoral reforms before the 2018 vote.

The southern African nation has a history of violence against opponents of Mugabe, where Police have in the past few months crushed demonstrations against high unemployment, acute cash shortages and corruption.

"We have been seeing a deliberate attempt by the Police to intimidate, harass and silence the people of Zimbabwe," Lovemore Chinoputsa, the MDC Youth Assembly Secretary General, said during the march. (Excerpt

from Al Jazeera)

Duterte warns China over South China Sea dispute

P

hilippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned of a "bloody" confrontation should China try to invade the country's territories in the disputed South China Sea. While insisting that he would first seek a peaceful resolution, Duterte told soldiers on Wednesday that they should be prepared to defend the country over the territorial dispute.

"We do not want a quarrel," he said. "I would walk the extra mile to ask for peace for everybody.

"But I am sure and I guarantee to them that if they invade us, it will be bloody and we will not give it to them easily," he added.

Duterte also said he would "not raise hell now" about an international court ruling that China had no legal right to claim a large swathe of the South China Sea, in a case brought by the Philippines.

Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam also have overlapping claims to the South China Sea, a shipping lane rich in resources

[Reuters]

But he stressed that "there will come a time that they have to do some reckoning about this".

China, which did not participate in the arbitration case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, has rejected the court's ruling as "null and void".

The Philippines has repeatedly called on China to respect international law in

resolving maritime territorial disputes and stressed that any talks would have to be based on the court's ruling.

Apart from China and the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam also have overlapping claims to the South China Sea, a key shipping lane rich in mineral and marine resources. (Al Jazeera)

Earth-type world found around nearest star

T

Artwork: The planet's mass would suggest it is a rocky world like Earth

he nearest habitable world beyond our Solar System might be right on our doorstep –astronomically speaking.

Scientists say their investigations of the closest star, Proxima Centauri, show it to have an Earthsized planet orbiting about it.

What is more, this rocky globe is moving in a zone

that would make liquid water on its surface a possibility.

Proxima is 40 trillion km away and would take a spacecraft using current technology thousands of years to reach.

Nonetheless, the discovery of a planet potentially favourable to life in our cosmic neighbourhood is likely to fire the imagination.

"For sure, to go there right now is science fiction, but people are thinking about it and it's no longer just an academic exercise to imagine we could send a probe there one day," said Guillem Anglada-EscudĂŠ whose "Pale Red Dot" team reports the existence of the new world in the journal Nature. (Excerpt from BBC News)

16

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

guyanatimesgy.com

Business News Celes Onica Robeiro: Helping you look pretty Google punishes sites with pop-up adverts

C

eles Onica Robeiro of A and C Boutique and Beauty Parlour is in the business of making people look good. The animation in her voice was obvious as she spoke of her primary motivation – “I love to see people being pretty and handsome” and shared how she would compliment well-groomed and welldressed men and women and endeavour to ensure all who came within her orbit were well put-together.

“I would see a woman walking down the road and say she looks nice, but the hair is missing something...,” she confessed. “I even call customers off the road and say ‘come, come, we have things to make you look pretty’ and show them the different colour combinations and styles...”

The trained cosmetologist and barber with a keen eye for style is always on the lookout for great fashion and personally selects the clothing she carries in her boutique from online and other sources.

A native of the Cinderella County, she grew up watching her mother work hard in business and was inspired to do likewise. The married mom of five said she also opened her own business, “because I love to earn my own money. I am an independent woman”.

Robeiro has a simple goal for the registered enterprise to “brighten it” up and ensure it flourishes, providing “good things” for customers to satisfy their needs so that they would not go somewhere else for their beauty and fashion needs. She is quite aware of the challenges she faces, pointing out that “every day more and more salons” are opening and many of them operate training schools, so they are able to offer cheaper prices. Moreover, the inherent cyclical nature of the hairdress-

G

oogle is to penalise websites that feature intrusive pop-up ad-

verts.

It is updating the algorithms used to rank its search results so that offending pages are more likely to get lower placings.

The change is due to come into effect on January 10.

Google makes much of its money from placing ads on the mobile web. One expert said the company wanted to give users one less reason to use ad-blockers or search

within apps instead.

For its part, Google said the move should make using some of its results less frustrating.

"Pages that show intrusive interstitials [elements that cover the content] provide a poorer experience to users than other pages where content is immediately accessible," it blogged.

"This can be problematic on mobile devices where screens are often smaller."

The California-based company gave three examples of practices it wanted to

discourage: pop-ups that covered part of the main content when the user clicked on to a page an intermediary webpage that had to be dismissed before the main content could be seen an ad that filled the web browser's screen so users had to scroll down "below the fold" before they could see the material they wanted Google will, however, make some exceptions. (BBC

News)

Agreement reached for completion of Baha Mar project ing business – you can only do your hair so often – makes it hard to earn a consistent dollar, although selling clothes helps to offset some of the uncertainty for the young businesswoman.

“Sometimes business is good; sometimes business is bad, but you can’t give up,” the entrepreneur said, noting that holidays were the best periods for the beauty parlour/ boutique and things were average right now.

When questioned on what the authorities could do to help business owners, Robeiro paused in thought for a few moments before the words rushed out. “People need jobs: if you don’t have a job, you don’t have money to spend.”

She had very straightforward advice for persons desir-

ous of taking the plunge into business ownership: “Starting a business is very nice, but you have to know how to budget yourself (in terms of time, money and other resources).”

She added that being polite was the most important quality for an entrepreneur. “You have to be polite to people,” she stated emphatically.

Robeiro, who describes herself as an early bird and a woman of faith, has managed to achieve a good work-life balance, but is very focused on growing her business.

“Success is when you achieve something you have always wanted.”

Contact: 678-7979I celesrobeiro@yahoo.com I Lot 6 Anna Regina Public Road, Essequibo Coast

Market statistics Cambio Rates

Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Bank of Guyana Cur

Buying

Selling

GBP

$ 272.45

$275.91

CAN

$159.25

$161.10

USD

$205.98

$208.44

EURO

$ 231.88

$234.84

Calculated at 94% purity, August 24, 2016

USD

$1337.30

Gross

$258,226

Net

$240,150

Indicators as on August 24, 2016 Indicators Crude Oil

US$ per barrel $49.10

Price

USD

Change % +1.60

Change %

Rough Rice

$221.76/ton

0.00

London Sugar

$542.10/ton

+0.00

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1325.60

$1326.60

Low/High

$1323.30

$1340.60

Change

+1.80

Business Concept – Opportunity Cost

+0.14%

A benefit, profit, or value of something that must be given up to acquire or achieve something else. Since every resource (land, money, time, etc) can be put to alternative uses, every action, choice, or decision has an associated opportunity cost.

Opportunity costs are fundamental costs in economics, and are used in computing cost benefit analysis of a project. Such costs, however, are not recorded in the account books, but are recognised in decision making by computing the cash outlays and their resulting profit or loss. (Business Dictionary)

the costs to finish the project and the resort’s general contractor, China Construction America (CCA) Bahamas, will complete the outstanding work.

A

n agreement has been reached between the Government and the Export Import (EXIM) Bank of China for the completion of the multibilliondollar Baha Mar tourism project.

On Monday, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced that once complet-

ed, the hotel will be sold to a “world-class” hotel and casino operator”.

In a live address to the nation late Monday, the Prime Minister said construction is scheduled to resume in September, and under the terms of the agreement, the EXIM Bank has committed to funding

“Under the heads of terms signed today (Monday) by the Government and the bank, the remobilisation of Baha Mar will commence immediately. Construction at the site is expected to resume in a few weeks during the month of September,” Christie said.

Christie, who did not disclose the name of the new buyer, said Bahamian contractors who are still owed money for their work at the resort, will have access to funds that will enable them to receive a significant part “and possible all, of the value for their claims”. (CMC)

Investors’ Guide

Wall St falls as healthcare shares, materials stumble

W

all Street retreated on Wednesday, pulled lower by weakness in the materials and healthcare sectors as investors continued to weigh the possibility of an interest rate hike in the coming months.

Healthcare shares, off 1.6 per cent, saw their biggest drop since June 24. They were dragged lower by a 5.4per cent drop in Mylan to US$43.15 as political pressure mounted on the company in the wake of price increases for its EpiPen allergy treatment.

Materials were down 1.2 per cent as names such as Newmont Mining and Freeport-McMoRan were the worst performing names on the S&P 500, losing more than seven per cent. Gold fell to a one-month low on a firmer dollar.

The market is awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday for insight on the direction of monetary policy.

Recent hawkish comments from some Fed officials, including Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, have raised expectations that Yellen might signal a hike in September.

"The market over the past several weeks has been in a holding pattern, really not doing much of anything and the reason for that is everyone is waiting to hear what Yellen is going to say," said Peter Cardillo, Chief Market Economist at First Standard Financial in New York.

"Of course, the markets might get surprised. The markets are looking for clarity and we might not get clarity."

The benchmark S&P 500 has not seen a move of more than one per cent in either direction on a closing basis since July 8.

Expectations for a rate hike in September are at 18 per cent, up from 12 per cent at the end of last week, according to CME Group's FedWatch. The odds of a hike in December are slightly more

than 50 per cent.

While Wall Street is trading near record levels, volumes have been below average in the past few sessions as the US earnings season winds down and traders avoid major bets until a clearer picture on monetary policy emerges.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 65.82 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 18,481.48, the S&P 500 lost 11.46 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 2175.44 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 42.38 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 5217.70.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.39-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.96-to-1 ratio favoured decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 100 new highs and 19 new lows.

About 6.09 billion shares changed hands in US exchanges, compared with the 6.26 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions. (Reuters)

17

NEWS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

National Toshaos Conference

Illegal firearms, drug use worry Amerindian leaders A

s the National Toshao’s Conference (NTC) continues, many Indigenous leaders and representatives on Wednesday voiced their concerns on the prevailing matters affecting their security. Some of the echoing calls made by leaders were the prevalence of illegal firearms, marijuana and heavy alcohol use which they believe has fuelled the increase of criminal activities in the hinterland communities.

In this vein, many expressed the view that more gun licences should be given to Indigenous peoples to protect themselves, not only from criminals, but from wild animals as well. It was reiterated that jaguars are still invading dwelling places and eating livestock and dogs in Indigenous communities.

In the absence of Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, senior Police ranks were on hand to address the concerns of the Indigenous (Amerindian) community leaders. Carl Lewis, a Toshao from Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni), indicated that illegal drugs and alcohol are passing through many communities. Lewis told law enforcement representatives

that he wants atleast four persons from his village to be trained in security.

It was also explained that many persons who commit criminal acts flee to neighbouring Brazil, since these areas are without Police protection and the borders are porous.

Another Toshao, this time from Port Kaituma, Region One (BarimaWaini), expressed that he feels like his life is “at stake” in defending himself with a baton.

He too asked that members from his village to be trained in security defence.

He also appealed for a firearm licence.

The Port Kaituma

Toshao added that youths in the village would exhibit tenants of dangerous behaviour when they use marijuana.

“These youths could be very dangerous when the youths smoke up the bush,” he noted.

As the leaders plea for assistance, the Mazaruni Toshao expressed that “95 per cent” of youths in his area are involved in alcohol and marijuana use and urged authorities to implement measures to curb these activities.

In light of many Amerindians having lost possession of their firearms through Government’s Gun Amnesty Programme last

year, the leaders called on the law enforcement authorities to issue firearm licences for their personal protection against crime and wild animals. A Police representative who responded to the questions on citizen security, however, explained that this regulation falls within the preview of the Public Security Ministry.

Commander of F Division (Lethem and other Interior Locations), Senior Superintendent Ravindradat Budhram, however, encouraged the Toshaos to apply for the licences, given the many security concerns raised. He pointed out that the licences will either be approved

or disapproved by the Ministry.

“Residents can apply for firearms… you can apply now, go to the website and download it now… apply, is either you’re approve or not approved,” the Commander stated, even as many hinterland residents are still without access to the Internet.

On the point of the licences, Norma Thomas, the Kamarang, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) Toshao noted that “We surrendered our illegal firearms and appealed for a licence,” adding that residents are happy about a road that was built, but want security since drugs are coming through this route.

C o m m u n i t y Development Council (CDC) Chairman in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) Ian Jacobis, also told the Conference of rampant drug use, especially in North Rupununi.

“Drugs has become so dominant, people have no respect for elderly… a set of men every morning at the front of the road smoking where children take buses to go to school… the men have no respect for girl children,” Jacobis noted.

He further noted that he tried reporting the matter to Police and petitioned

that the matter be urgently addressed. Toshaos also made allegations of wrongdoings by some Police ranks who would reportedly demand money from Amerindians found with firearms in addition to facilitating some criminals escaping to Brazil.

Responding to the myriad of concerns, Commander Budhram observed that Police ranks become corrupt after a time, as “they get familiar with people”. He noted that there are intentions to rotate ranks every three months but maintained that the possession of the unlicensed firearms is still outlawed.

“We collected over 100 fire arms from Kamarang alone,” he stated, noting that about 24 persons were granted licences, while 42 applications have been received. Budram pointed out that some applicants did not submit identification cards and medical certificates.

He conceded that drugs and firearms were found in the Kamarang to Kaikan areas. Budhram explained that while the setting up of more Police stations in many of the locations would be impractical, what he will do is ensure that there are more Police patrols in the villages. (Shemuel Fanfair)

GPSU rejects 6% salary 13-year-old murdered in Corentyne increase for public servants Suspect for court today … agrees to consider Govt’s revised 10% proposal

T

he Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has outrightly rejected a proposed 6 per cent increase in public servants wages and salaries for 2016, but has agreed to consider a subsequent proposal for a 10 per cent increase for persons earning below $99,000 per month.

Government on Wednesday evening issued a public statement to this effect, and reiterated that its “proposal took into consideration the fundamental need for a restructured Public Service which included the adjustment of scales for wages and salaries; the implementation of a merit increment system; and a resolution of the issue of bunching.”

According to the missive released by Reginald Brotherson, head of the Government’s negotiating team, “GPSU agreed to consider the Government’s final offer and indicated that a response will be forthcoming after a meeting of its General Council.”

The two month long collective bargaining process concluded yesterday without a definite agreement in place, leaving the door open to a unilateral increases by government should the unions continue to reject the

GPSU President Patrick Yarde

proposals.

The negotiations were conducted within a two month period from June 22, 2016 to August 24, 2016.

The initial proposal of the GPSU was for a 40 per cent across the board increase for public servants, but this was subsequently adjusted to 25 per cent. The Union had also demanded that allowances be included in the negotiations.

Government responded by proposing that persons earning less than $100,000 be paid a 5.5 per cent increase while persons earning above $1M would only get a 1 per cent increase.

The proposed 5.5 per cent offer was later increased to 6

per cent by Government, but this too was rejected by the union.

According to Brotherson, the Government re-considered its position and a final offer was presented. This proposal by government, if accepted by the union, will see public servants earning below $99,000 getting a 10 per cent increase with the rate incrementally decreasing to a one per cent increase for those earning in excess of $1M. Brotherson, in his public missive on Wednesday, sought to stress that “It was pointed out to the GPSU that the GOG’s final offer for wages and salaries increases for Public Servants had taken into consideration the current socio-economic environment; the difficulty in agreeing to increases that would entail having to raise additional revenue and the unsustainability of any further addition to its offer with regard to the current and future budgets.”

He said too that Government reiterated to the Union that its members were also the Government’s employees and that the Government was equally mindful of the need for financial relief for the workers under consideration.

T

he suspect in the killing of the Corentyne teen is expected to appear in a Berbice court today to face the capital charge.

This was disclosed by Acting Crime Chief Hugh Jessamy on Wednesday.

Jessamy told Guyana Times that investigators were not able to get a confession from the accused, but based on circumstantial evidence, he was charged.

The partly decomposed body of 13-year-old Akeem Grimmond, of No 61 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, was discovered in a drain last Monday, behind a cemetery at Number 62 Village about 300 metres from his home. He had gone missing

Dead: Akeem Grimmond

last Saturday.

After Grimmond went missing, the wife of an associate told the Police that her husband had reported

to her that he had killed the teenager and had planned to purchase biscuits and coffee to give to his parents for a wake.

Following the revelation, Police arrested Terani Goolsarran, also called “Brozer” of Number 62 Village. However, he denied killing Grimmond.

Jessamy said that there was enough circumstantial evidence to give weight to the charge.

The former Bush Lot Secondary School student leaves to mourn a sister, mother and step-father.

Eight years ago, Grimmond’s father disappeared in the backdam. His remains were discovered eight months after.

Battered, bound body found in No 68 Village

T

he battered and bound body of an alleged pirate gang member was on Wednesday evening found in the backlands of Number 68 Village, Corentyne, Berbice.

Reports are that the body of Levan Chanderpaul, 28 of Number 68 Village, was discovered with his hands and feet bound. The discovery was made at about

19:30h by a teenager who was returning to the village from the backdam.

Details are still sketchy, but this newspaper understands that the body bore several marks of violence.

Chanderpaul, a fisherman, was in December of 2011 charged and placed before the court after he was suspected to have been a part of a notorious pirate

gang.

He currently is before the Springlands Magistrate’s Court on a simple larceny and threatening language charge. He was expected to be in court on Tuesday but was absent.

He has also been charged with armed robbery in the past. Police are continuing with investigations.

18

guyana-times.com

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

ARCHIE

Stabilize your financial situation by locking in your (March 21- investments and protecting April 19) your assets and possessions.

Now is not the time to share.

Look out for your own interests.

ARIES

Trust what you know, not

DILBERT

TAURUS what others tell you. Refuse to (April 20- let emotional blackmail deter May 20) you from doing what’s best for

you. Learn from your experience and make progress by being smart and working hard.

Strong emotions will cause GEMINI you to do things you normally (May 21wouldn’t do. Take precautions June 20) and force yourself to think before you make a regrettable mistake. Deception and disillusionment are apparent.

Someone will withhold inCANCER formation. If something isn’t (June 21- clear, you are best off biding July 22) your time until you can figure out exactly what’s taking place. Be safe and avoid a costly mistake.

PEANUTS

Take charge and get LEO things done. Empty promises (July 23will set you back and cost you Aug. 22) time and money. Take charge and bring about the changes you deem necessary.

Refrain from showing your VIRGO feelings.

An argument will (Aug. 23Sept. 22) not help you solve any of your problems. Listen and learn before taking action in order to avoid backlash. Focus on love and personal improvement.

Stand on guard. There is a LIBRA lesson to be learned, but if you (Sept. 23proceed with caution, it won’t Oct. 23) cost you financially or emotionally. Protect your property and move on.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

No one will take care of SCORPIO your business the same way (Oct. 24- you will. You’ll be led astray Nov. 22) by someone trying to take advantage of you. Emotionally inspired spending is discouraged.

Don’t wait for someone to SAGITTARIUS take the reins. Ask questions (Nov. 23- and make choices and deciDec. 21) sions based on what works for you. Don’t give in to others’ demands. Recognize emotional deceit when you see it.

Emotional manipulaCAPRICORN tion is apparent in the work(Dec. 22- place. Don’t trust anyone to Jan. 19) give you the lowdown when it comes to business; find out for yourself.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE Improve your surroundAQUARIUS ings and make adjustments (Jan. 20that will deter complaints or Feb. 19) criticism. Partnerships will be taxing. Take a moment to rethink and revamp your strategy.

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

PISCES Be careful when in tense (Feb. 20- or tempting situations. An March 20) honest and open approach to life and relationships will be necessary. Be reasonable and realistic. Make your expectations clear.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

19

Guyanese Olympians Ronaldo working hard for Madrid return honoured O

n Wednesday evening the Minister within the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport, Honourable Nicolette Henry, recognised Guyana’s Olympians at a ceremony done in honour of the athletes at the Minister’s Secretariat.

Although the athletes did not return with

Henry urged the athletes to continue in their sporting disciplines because of her optimism of success for Guyana in the future. “We know that Guyanese can become world class athletes if they are given the necessary exposure and training… among you who represented Guyana in Rio, I believe our future Olympic medal lies.

this note the Minister advised that the athletes must play their parts, and that is through hard work, sacrifice, dedication and disciplined.

President of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) K A Juman Yassin, in his speech, complimented the Minister for her recognition of the athletes. “On behalf of

R

eal Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo put in the hard yards in training on Wednesday ahead of a possible weekend return.

Cristiano Ronaldo has pledged to be back soon after stepping up his work at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training base.

Three-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo suffered a knee injury during the early stages of Portugal’s Euro 2016 final triumph over France last month.

The 31-year-old’s late return to training following his exploits with his country meant he watched

Cristiano Ronaldo

on as Zinedine Zidane’s men cruised to an open-

ing 3-0 LaLiga win at Real Sociedad.

Saturday’s match with Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu marks a potential comeback date and Ronaldo posted footage of his work behind the scenes to his Instagram account on Wednesday.

“Looking good. Soon I will be back,” he wrote alongside a short video of sweat-soaked running drills.

Ronaldo scored 51 goals in 48 appearances last season as Madrid finished as runners-up to Barcelona in LaLiga and claimed Champions League glory.

(SportsMax)

Kingsmead and Queen's Park Oval outfields rated poor

Minister Nicolette Henry (fourth from right) and GOA President K A Juman Yassin, (extreme left) pose with Guyanese Olympians and others who collected the certificates on behalf of absentees

any medals, the Minister found it necessary to recognise their efforts made for Guyana. “First of all let me take this opportunity to congratulate you the athletes for representing this country (Guyana) in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. I understand you did track and field and swimming and even though you did not medal I think you should be proud of yourself because you would have certainly gotten enough exposure and there is a lot of good in each of you. The fact that you were chosen to represent Guyana will tell you that you have the talent and potential to reach very far in your sporting disciplines.”

Each athlete received a certificate to recognise their participation at the gamesa.

Guyana was represented by a six member team at the Rio Games. They participated in swimming and track and field. These athletes are Jamila Sanmoogan, Aliyah Abrams, Brenessa Thompson, Winston George, Troy Doris and Hannibal Gaskin. Doris was the only one to make it to a final at the event.

I therefore wish to encourage you to continue in your sporting discipline. Let this exposure be a motivation for you. And you need to tell yourself that you can do as well as the great athletes like Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps.”

On behalf of the Government of Guyana through her ministry, the Minister made a pledge to support the athletes in the future. “I wish to let you know the Government of Guyana, through the department of Culture, Youth and Sport is prepared and we are going to commit to providing you, in partnership of course, with the necessary resources for your continued preparation and training in your particular disciplines, as well as we intend to support you to participate and compete in international meets… we recognised, that for you to reach your full potential, you must be exposed to the kind of competition that will bring out the best in you,” Henry informed.

The athletes cannot achieve much without their own commitment, and on

the GOA we are very pleased that you (the Minister) and the Government of Guyana would have organised an event like this to honour our athletes, despite the fact we did not medal.”

In his remarks Yassin made reference of Great Britain’s success at the games and where they derived funding from (the lottery funds there), hinting to what can similarly be done here in Guyana for us to also be successful.

He also shed his disappointment at an article done locally in the Stabroek Newspaper of Wednesday, August 24, 2016, which was a criticism of the performance of our athletes.

He urged the journalist of that article to go back and analyze the performance or non-performance of those athletes and compare it to the performance of the other athletes who were in the individual races.

Olympians Winston George and Hannibal Gaskin were present at the event and were in high praise for the Minister to host such an event in their honour.

T

Ground staff at Queen’s Park Oval dug up the outfield in a bid to get it to dry out © AFP

he outfields at Kingsmead and Queen's Park Oval have been rated poor by the ICC match referees who oversaw the washed out Tests between South Africa and New Zealand in Durban, and West Indies and India in Trinidad.

The ICC said the officials - Andy Pycroft in Durban and Ranjan Madugalle in Trinidad - had expressed concerns in accordance with clause three of the Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

The match referees' reports have been forwarded to the concerned home boards, the WICB and Cricket South Africa, which now have 14 days to respond. CSA's response, the ICC said, will be reviewed by ICC general manager, cricket, Geoff Allardice, while match referee David Boon will assess the WICB's reply.

Then, as per the rules, the grounds will either receive a warning or a fine not exceeding USD 15,000, along with "a directive for appropriate corrective action". A repeat offence over the next five years would

draw a fine not exceeding USD 30,000.

In all, 11 sessions out of 15 were lost to a wet and soft outfield at Kingsmead, while in Port of Spain West Indies and India were able to play only one session across five days.

It was the first Test played in Trinidad in August, which is the wet season there, and rain had hampered preparations in the days leading up to the match but during the game itself there was largely sunshine. However, with there not being enough covers at the ground to protect the bowlers' run-ups or the outfield, and no super sopper available either, the outfield did not recover enough to allow play. The draw meant that India, who needed to win the Test to retain their No. 1 Test ranking, lost the top spot to Pakistan. The Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board had already said it would investigate the reasons behind the washout.

The Durban Test was also scheduled in what is traditionally the off season in South Africa, during

the winter. Rain forced the players off the field around lunch on day two, and the big damage was done to the outfield that night, when the ground took 65mm of water.

Here, too, the covers did not protect large parts of the field, and the super sopper was made to stop operating for fear it would do further damage to the soft patches that persisted into day five despite no more rain falling.

There were concerns over the Kingsmead outfield being underprepared even before the match began, as it had been relaid in June following complaints from South Africa and New Zealand that the surface was too hard during the limited-overs games played there last year.

Similar comments were levelled at Centurion, the venue of the upcoming second Test, but the SuperSport Park outfield was relaid in April once the season ended; work could not get underway at Kingsmead till the Comrades Marathon - for which it is the ending point - was completed on May 29.

(Cricinfo)

20

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

Sri Lanka vs Australia, 2nd ODI, Colombo

Amila Aponso 4 for 18 seals Sri Lanka’s 82-run victory S

ri Lanka’s openers gone cheaply. A recovery led

by Kusal Mendis. A Sri Lankan attack heavy on spin options. Australia’s batsmen struggling to have any impact.

A Sri Lankan victory. Steven Smith could be forgiven for feeling like this was a flashback to the Test series just ended. But the big difference was that Australia already have a win in this one-day series. At the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka merely levelled it 1-1 with three to play.

It was a victory built on two big partnerships: a 125run stand between Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal, and a 103-run effort from Angelo Mathews and Kusal Perera.

Chandimal was the only one of the quartet who did not reach fifty, falling instead on 48 and thus missing the chance to become the first Sri Lankan to score six consecutive ODI half-centuries.

Besides those two stands, Sri Lanka’s wickets fell rapidly in three clumps.

The last of those clumps featured a momentous event - James Faulkner became the sixth Australian to take a hattrick in an ODI. But by that late stage in the innings the damage had been done. Sri Lanka had done enough to set Australia a target of 289. No team had ever won an ODI at this ground chasing such a hefty total and on a pitch offering plenty of turn Australia could not rewrite history, despite Matthew Wade’s careerbest innings.

One key difference from the Test series was that Sri Lanka opened with seamers from both ends - curious given that Nathan Lyon had taken the new ball for Australia earlier in the day - and the move

Amila Aponso trapped James Faulkner lbw for 13 © AFP

brought immediate success.

Thisara Perera’s first ball drew David Warner into a drive that was edged behind, and in his next over Perera had Aaron Finch dragging one on. Australia were 16 for 2, hardly the kind of start required for this chase.

Sri Lanka had recovered from a similar position, but forcing the scoring rate against Sri Lanka’s spin attack was never going to be easy for Australia. Left-arm spinner Amila Aponso in particular proved difficult to get away, and the pressure that he applied brought him the wickets of Smith and George Bailey. On 30, Smith advanced and drove a catch to mid-on. Bailey was much less fluent, his 27 taking 46 balls, and he did not manage a single boundary before being bowled, deceived by Aponso’s dip.

Bailey was not the only Australian to labour at the crease. Moises Henriques took 16 balls to make 4 and was out when he lunged forward and was beaten by leg spinner Seekkuge Prasanna’s turn and Chandimal’s quick stumping - a similar dismissal to the first innings in the Colombo Test, when

Henriques dragged his back foot out of his ground.

Supposedly a good player of spin, Henriques must find another method, for drag is proving as costly to him as it does an Olympic swimmer.

Wade and Travis Head did their best to claw Australia back into the match, but clawing rarely achieves much but to delay the inevitable. Sri Lanka’s spinners were too hard to dominate, and the required rate ballooned. Wade reached 76, his highest ODI score, but did so with only three boundaries, and by the timed he holed out to Thisara Perera, Australia needed more than 10 an over.

Head top-edged a catch off Mathews for 31 from 48, Mitchell Starc popped a return catch back to Mathews, and then Aponso finished off the game with the wickets of Adam Zampa and Faulkner, to end up with the outstanding figures of 4 for 18 off 9.2 overs. Sri Lanka had won by 82 runs.

For the first few overs of the day it looked like Australia’s hopes of taking a 2-0 series lead were strong.

After Mathews chose to bat, Sri Lanka stumbled to 12 for 2. Danushka Gunathilaka,

brought in for this match at the expense of Milinda Siriwardana, was bowled

by Starc for 2, and next ball Tillakarante Dilshan was bowled behind his legs by Lyon, operating around the wicket.

But Mendis and Chandimal were up to the task of rebuilding, rotating the strike and putting away boundaries off bad balls. And they got a few of those. Smith’s decision to use the part-time offspin of Head inside the first 10 overs backfired spectacularly when Mendis plundered 20 runs off his first over.

Head’s four overs cost 41 and combined with Henriques’ 0 for 40 off five, offset much of the good work of Zampa, Starc and Faulkner, who each took three wickets.

Chandimal was the victim of a remarkable review off the bowling of Zampa. Chandimal advanced and tried to work Zampa to leg, missed, and the ball cannoned into the wicketkeeper Wade’s midriff. When Wade recovered, he appealed for lbw and convinced Smith to ask for a review. Replays confirmed the ball had struck Chandimal’s pad on the way through, in line, and would have hit the stumps.

Zampa added the key wicket of Mendis to his tally in his next over. Mendis, who had scored all around the ground for his run-a-ball 69, was done by Zampa’s googly, trapped lbw, so plumb he did not seriously consider asking for a review. Zampa’s third came when Dhananjaya de Silva drove a catch to short cover, and he finished with 3 for 42 from his 10 overs.

But then came the second of Sri Lanka’s crucial - or is that Kusal? - partnerships.

Kusal Perera and Mathews

came together with the score at 158 for 5 and both men combined attacking stroke play with the ability to find the gaps for ones and twos.

Mathews launched a pair of sixes off Lyon in the 40th over and his fifty came up off 55 balls; Perera struck five fours and one six, and brought up his half-century from 47 deliveries.

However, they became the first two victims of Faulkner’s hat-trick: on 54 Perera was lbw trying a reverse sweep from the last ball of the 46th

over, and first ball of the next over Mathews, on 57, drilled a catch down the ground.

Completing the feat, Faulkner had Thisara Perera bowled.

But by then, the damage had been done. Starc finished off the tail in the 49th over.

Sri Lanka’s wickets had fallen in clusters - 2 for 12 at the top, 3 for 21 in the middle, 5 for 27 at the end. But those collapses were offset by two century stands, and those two partnerships were the difference in the match. (Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD Sri Lanka innings (50 overs maximum) M Gunathilaka b Starc 2 T Dilshan b Lyon 10 B Mendis lbw b Zampa 69 L Chandimal† lbw b Zampa 48 A Mathews* c Henriques b Faul kner 57 D de Silva c Smith b Zampa 7 M Perera lbw b Faulkner 54 N Perera b Faulkner 12 S Prasanna not out 2 MD Perera b Starc 5 M Aponso b Starc 2 Extras (b 4, lb 7, w 9) 20 Total (all out; 48.5 overs) 288 Fall of wickets 1-12 (Gunathilaka, 2.6 ov), 2-12 (Dilshan, 3.1 ov), 3-137 (Chandimal, 24.1 ov), 4-146 (Mendis, 26.6 ov), 5-158 (de Silva, 30.2 ov), 6-261 (MDKJ Perera, 45.6 ov), 7-279 (Mathews, 47.1 ov), 8-279 (NLTC Perera, 47.2 ov), 9-286 (MDK Perera, 48.1 ov), 10288 (Aponso, 48.5 ov) Bowling: Starc 9.5-0-53-3, Lyon 9-0-49-1 (2w), Faulkner 9-0-45-3 (1w), Head 4-0-41-0 (2w), Zampa 100-42-3 (1w), Finch 2-0-7-0, Henriques 5-0-40-0 (1w)

289 runs from 50 overs) D Warnerc † Chandimal b N Perera 1 A Finchb N Perera 4 S Smith*c MDK Perera b Aponso 30 G Baileyb Aponso 27 M Wade†c Gunathilaka b N Perera 76 M Henriques st †Chandimal b Prasanna 4 T Headc Dilshan b Mathews 31 J Faulkner lbw b Aponso 13 M Starcc & b Mathews 0 A Zampac Dilshan b Aponso 5 N Lyon not out 4 Extras (b 1, lb 3, w 7) 11 Total (all out; 47.2 overs) 206 Fall of wickets 1-3 (Warner, 1.1 ov), 2-16 (Finch, 3.3 ov), 3-41 (Smith, 9.2 ov), 4-102 (Bailey, 22.5 ov), 5-118 (Henriques, 27.4 ov), 6-182 (Wade, 39.6 ov), 7-184 (Head, 40.2 ov), 8-185 (Starc, 40.4 ov), 9-202 (Zampa, 45.5 ov), 10-206 (Faulkner, 47.2 ov) Bowling: Mathews 6-0-172, N Perera 5-0-33-3, Aponso 9.2-0-18-4 (1w), Prasanna 8-1-48-1(3w), M Perera 10-043-0 (1w), Dilshan5-0-23-0, de Silva 4-0-20-0

Australia innings (target:

England vs Pakistan, 1st ODI, Ageas Bowl

Roy and Root shine in England canter

J

ason Roy and Joe Root helped England cruise to victory in the opening ODI with Pakistan by 44 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Jason Roy and Joe Root starred as England ended their four-year wait for a one-day international victory at The Rose Bowl with a 44-run win over Pakistan in the opening match of the series.

Eoin Morgan’s side had not won a 50-over match in Southampton since their 114run triumph over the West Indies in June 2012, but that finally came to an end on Wednesday via the DuckworthLewis method.

Set an initial target of 261 runs to win, England’s run chase was disrupted by rain, but their scoring rate was high enough to leave them well ahead when rain stopped play.

Azhar Ali (82) and Sarfraz Ahmed played crucial roles in Pakistan getting their total up above 250, the latter’s 55 coming off just 58 balls as the middle-order provided much-needed runs.

It was never going to be enough to deny the hosts even though they lost Alex Hales (7)

Jason Roy takes the aerial route during his half-century Images

in the fifth over.

Roy (65) and Root (61) showed they are in fine touch with a brilliant second-wicket stand of 89, while captain Morgan also appeared in good nick in an unbeaten knock of 33 as England reached 194-3 well above the revised target of 151 – with two attempts to restart proving unsuccessful before play was abandoned and

©Getty

the hosts were awarded the win.

Mark Wood (1-57) - making his first international appearance since October 2015 immediately found his rhythm and troubled Sharjeel Khan (16) early on, and in the sixth over he got his man as Jos Buttler took down the leg side.

Sharjeel reviewed the decision and its rejection proved cost-

ly later in the innings when Babar Azam (40) was given out lbw to Adil Rashid (2-51).

The leg spinner produced a faster, flatter googly that struck Azam’s pad, however the ball had taken an inside edge beforehand, but the batsman was unable to review after Sharjeel’s earlier mistake.

At 113-3, Pakistan needed Azhar and Sarfraz (55) to rebuild their innings and together the pair took the score closer to 200 and allowed the lower order to add some valuable runs.

Azhar’s superb 82 included some powerful hitting on the leg side after being dropped by Hales at slip, the ODI skipper going on to complete his eighth half century.

The opener became Rashid’s second victim of the innings with 14 overs remaining but Sarfraz, and latterly Mohammad Nawaz and Imad Wasim (both 17 not out) fired the tourists to a competitive total.

Umar Gul’s (1-46) dismissal of Hales early in England’s response offered hope for Pakistan, but it was shortlived as Roy and Root took the match away from the tourists.

Their 89-run partnership came off 14 overs with an average run-rate of 6.28, Roy the first to fifty before giving away the chance of a century as Azam took a simple catch on the boundary.

Morgan and Root continued England’s charge to victory and even the latter’s run out could not halt their progress, Ben Stokes (15) joining his captain to wrap up the win. (SportsMax)

SCOREBOARD Pakistan innings (50 overs maximum) Azhar Ali* c Ali b Rashid 82 Sharjeel Khan c †Buttler b Woo d 16 Mohammad Hafeez c Hales b Root 11 Babar Azam lbw b Rashid 40 Sarfraz Ahmed† c Wood b Woakes 55 Shoaib Malik c Rashid b Plunkett 17 Imad Wasim not out 17 Extras (lb 1, w 4)5 Total (6 wickets; 50 overs) 260 Did not bat: Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Umar Gul Fall of wickets 1-25 (Sharjeel Khan, 5.1 ov), 2-52 (Mohammad Hafeez, 12.2 ov), 3-113 (Babar Azam, 23.6 ov), 4-178 (Azhar Ali, 35.5 ov), 5-224 (Shoaib Malik, 43.5 ov), 6-226 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 44.3 ov) Bowling: Woakes 10-2-431,Wood 10-0-57-1(3w), Plunkett 10-0-52-1, Root 4-0-26-

1 (1w), Ali 7-030-0, Rashid 9-0-51-2 England innings (target: 151 runs from 34.3 overs) J Roy c Babar Azam b Mohammad Nawaz 65 A Hales c Mohammad Hafeez b Umar Gul 7 J Root run out (Azhar Ali) 61 E Morgan* not out 33 B Stokes not out 15 Extras (lb 6, w 7) 13 Total (3 wickets; 34.3 overs) 194 Did not bat: JC Buttler†, MM Ali, CR Woakes, AU Rashid, LE Plunkett, MA Wood Fall of wickets 1-27 (Hales, 4.3 ov), 2-116 (Roy, 18.4 ov), 3-158 (Root, 27.5 ov) Bowling: Imad Wasim 5-0-230, Mohammad Amir 6-0-330, Umar Gul6-0-46-1 (2w), Wahab Riaz 6-0-30-0 (1w), Mohammad Nawaz 6.3-031-1, Shoaib Malik 5-0-25-0

YELLOW PAGES THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 | WWW.GUYANA-TIMES.COM

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

Progressive Auto Rental: Cars from $4000 and up. Tel: 219-3900, 643-5122

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

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

EDUCATION REGISTER - learn to play drums, guitar, keyboard and train your voice NOW OR in the Summer. Call 225-1151/ 657-8404

FOR SALE Powerline Battery Water/wholesale. 1 litre and 0.5 litre sizes. Tel: 680-3863 Clean Garden Earth. Also excavating, grading and leveling done. Call 627-9977

One land 100/50 at Good Hope Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara for sale. Priced six million dollars. For more information, kindly call 623-0156 or 695-3150 (serious inquires only) Transported Land for Sale at Logwood Enmore, ECD. Contact Tel: (592)-6225824 or (592)-671-5395.

PROPERTY FOR SALE Transported property in excellent condition. Recently renovated 2- storey property; Concrete and wooden structure with modern amenities. Each floor has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and 1 kitchen also concrete yard with 4 sides of fencing. Back lot, Dowding Street, Kitty. $ 30M negotiable. Call 6142722 for viewing. Serious inquiries only.

House Lot, Diamond New Scheme between 2nd & 3rd Ave. Contact: 638-1529

GOOD HOPE AND OGLE. CONTACT: 673-5546, 222-3066, 682-7257, 679-0987

For sale by lot: Lot (1): 2 bath tubs, bathroom fittings and fixtures & toilet set; shower fittings - $150,000 and Lot (2): 1 Dell desktop computer & HP scanner $25,000. Call 225-2676 or 601-5285.

SERVICES

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

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

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

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

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

OPTICIAN Da Silva’s Optical. For Your Eyes Only, Look Better See Better. Phillip A Da Silva OD, Shannon L Da Silva OD, Natalie Da Silva OD. 248 South Road, Bourda.

Phone: 227-3529, Linden: 444-6376, Corriverton: 339-3536, Meten-MeerZorg: 275-0322, Grand Cayman Islands: (345) 943-1515 for the perfect trendy touch.

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

LAND FOR SALE Land at La Grange Public Road, Size 4 Acre, could be used for commercial or housing scheme. Tel: 625-1514 Formerly Globe Cinema, Corner lot, Church and Waterloo Street Size 125 ft x 133 ft Tel: 610-2234

1 TOYOTA IPSUM (7-SEATER) IN EXCELLENT WORKING CONDITION WITH MUSIC (5800 W): CONTACT 653-1003 JUST ARRIVED: TOP QUALITY RECONDITIONED VEHICLES; TOYOTA NOAH; TOYOTA VOXY; TOYOTA IST (NEW SHAPE); SUZUKI SWIFT; DAIHATSU MOVE (660CC); MERCEDES BENZ C200 KOMPRESSOR; COROLLA AE100 WAGON; TOYOTA HIACE MINIBUS RZ; PITBULL-STYLE FREEZER VAN; LAND CRUISER (FULLY LOADED); MAZDA PROCEED 4WD EXTRA-CAB PICK-UP; TOYOTA HILUX 4WD EXTRA CAB PICKUPS - 3RZ, 5L, 3L SOLID DEFFERNTIAL; MITSUBISHI CANTER TRUCKS 4 TONS FREEZER; 3 TONS OPEN TRAY; 2 TONS 4WD; NISSAN ATLAS 2 TONS OPEN TRAY TRUCK. PREORDER YOUR UNITS EARLY AND GET THE BEST PRICES. FULL AFTER SALES SERVICES AND FINANCING AVAILABLE. DEO MARAJ AUTO SALES, 2 CHIMNEY ROAD, CHATEAU MARGOT, ECD. 6240762, 220-5177. A NAME AND SERVICE YOU CAN TRUST

Eccles: $27M Neg. Enterprise Sec C: $20M Neg. Mon Repos: $30M Neg. South Ruimveldt Park: $20M Neg. Broad Street: $80M Neg. Charlotte Street between Camp & Alexander: $55M Neg. Providence (land): $6.5M Neg. Parfaite Harmonie (land): $4.5M Neg. Contact: 691-1521

Road to Belwasa and A Dip at the Sangam, Indentureship Novels at Austin’s Book Store and Lachmansingh Drug Store. Tel: 226-5053.

FLOWERS

VEHICLES FOR SALE

House plans & estimates, weeding of grass and spraying done within 48hrs.

Call: 216-0671; 622-0267; 692-8464

TO LET FOR RENT. ONE THREE (3) BEDROOM TOP FLOOR APARTMENT. ONE TWO (2) BEDROOM BOTTOM FLOOR APARTMENT. LA GRANGE PUBLIC ROAD. TEL: 619-0673 SPACE TO RENT FOR BOOKSTORE/ FOOD COURT OR CLOTHING AND COSMETICS STORE, 15X30 FT. LOCATED SATRO BUILDING. CONTACT: 642-7743

SPIRITUALITY

HEPHZIBAH MINISTRIES 24 hrs Prayer Line 322-5081, 322-5738, 322-5788, 337-4510, 337-4259, 337-3070, 337-5103. For healing, deliverance, financial difficulties, marriage issues call now. Jesus Cares.

Ifa Temple – Are you having serious problems and urgently need spiritual help? Call 621-0552 now.

Email: anew-life@live.com

TAXI SERVICES GR Taxi, 24 hours. Phone: 225-7878, 219-5000 or 227-2100

VACANCIES Vacancy exists for one (1) SALES CLERK-Age 18-28. - Sound Secondary Education - Experience in Sales.

Send applications to: 35 North Road, Georgetown. Telephone: 225-8831 Cashier for Supermarket. Tel: 624-0033 One (1) Cook. Tel: 624-0033 One (1) Maid. Tel: 624-0033 Driver for Water Truck. Tel: 680-3863 Security In-store; Day Duty. Tel: 6803863

Deputy Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels

Samuels, who is seen as one of the leading officers in maintaining order among prisoners, added that the institution takes the responsibility to teach prisoners to become better citizens. “It would be better off if you did not go to prison at all.”

He says success can only be achieved through dedication and good interpersonal skills. “The success of any child in the community can no longer be merely the

responsibility of parents.

Successful children and successful communities will come about as a result of community participation. It means that each and every one of us must play a vital role in terms of guiding the young minds so that they do not go astray.”

As it relates sports he said young athletes must be able to set goals and also maintain a balance between academics and sports. “If for some reason there is a lack of community involvement in your day to day life, it means that you would have been lacking in many ways.

Today we are aware that many households are without fathers, hence the community has a responsibility to provide that father figure for our youths,” Samuels said.

He also noted that it is important for young sportsmen and women to be respectful to elders at all times.

Andrew Carmichael

T

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

Suriname’s Astrology, Palmist and Hindustani Spiritual Healer, solve all purpose problems, 100% confidential guaranteed. Phone: 602-8997

B

eing a role model is one of the few characteristics which will enable other persons to become role models in today’s society. That is according to Deputy Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, as he addressed a gathering of youths at a rent forum in New Amsterdam.

The senior corrections officer noted that discipline plays a key role in personal, social and professional development. He says that in the prison service, they act to bring about change in persons who would have committed wrong acts in society, that is, those who are sent to prison because of their bad behaviour. “If you are not disciplined in your everyday life, it means that things can get bad for you and instead of continuing in school, taking your CXC, going on to university or the Teachers Training College and having successful jobs, you can find yourself behind the prison walls.”

Guyana secures silver medal in team championships

WANTED

Surinamese spiritualist. Resolving all problems. Money, love, blockage etc. Call 223-6834/600-7719.

Young sportsmen and women must be law-abiding citizens — Deputy Director of Prisons

Caribbean Badminton Team Championships 2016 – Aruba...

Repairs and Spares, Air Conditioning, Car AC, Washers, Stoves. Call Nick: 683-1312, 627-3206

Dutch spiritual healing in removing evil spirit, bad luck, evil sickness, spells, reuniting lovers and prosperity to business. Call: 612-6417, 6875653

21

SPORTS

Classified Ads

$5+VAT per word

Call: 226-9921

he Guyana Badminton Team consisting of SUNBURST Narayan Ramdhani, Jonathan Mangra, Priyanna Ramdhani and Ambika Ramraj placed second in the overall team event at the Caribbean Badminton Team Championships in Aruba on Tuesday evening.

The Guyanese defeated Suriname 3-2 in the semi-finals by virtue of siblings Narayan & Priyanna Ramdhani winning the mix doubles.

However, they lost by a 3-2 score line in an exciting final, 3-2 to The Dominican Republic.

In the team Championships, Boys & Girls Singles, Boys & Girls Doubles & Mix Doubles must be played to get five points. To win, the team

(L-R) Jonathan Mangra, Priyanna Ramdhani, Ambika Ramraj and Narayan Ramdhani

must win three of the matches to gain three points.

In the boys singles, Narayan lost to Cesar Brito: 11-21, 15-21 while in the girls singles, Ambika Ramraj lost to Nairobi Jimenez: 4-21, 6-21. In the boys’ doubles Narayan and Jonathan defeated Wilmer Brea and Bryan Castro: 21-16, 21-9.

Similarly in the girls’ doubles, Priyanna and Ambika de-

feated Carmen Garcia and Francesca Matias: 21-9, 217. However, in the mixed doubles, Jonathan and Priyanna lost to Argenis Marinez Nairobi Jimenez.

Guyana topped Group B by beating Barbados and Aruba while in Aruba while Group A Dominican Republic won against Trinidad & Tobago & Suriname.

Federer targets Australian Open for return from knee injury

R

oger Federer is aiming to be fit for next year's Australian Open after injury wiped out the last half of his 2016 season.

Federer, 35, has been out of action since late July - his last match was a Wimbledon semi-final loss to Milos Raonic.

The 17-time Grand Slam winner had surgery in February before a back issue ruled him out of the French Open.

"I'm working for the Australian Open," the Swiss said. "I'm doing well."

"I never thought I'd have a year like this. I've learned a lot from this year," added Federer, who missed the Rio 2016 Olympics and will be

Roger Federer

unable to go for a sixth US Open title when the tournament begins on 29 August.

"It's painful being here in New York, and it was painful during the Olympics because I love competing. But you can't have it all.

"It was a tough deci-

sion to say the least - going out of Rio, the US Open, the [season-ending] World Tour Finals. But in some ways it ended up being a simple decision. Health is my number one thing."

Federer was speaking at an event in New York to launch the 'Laver Cup', a Ryder-Cup style tournament named after Australian legend Rod Laver and set for September 2017 in Prague, with Europe playing the Rest of the World.

Former greats Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe are captains of the respective teams, with long-time rivals Federer and Spaniard Rafael Nadal set to play doubles together. (BBC)

22 Sports at grass-root level is important for development – Granger

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

GHB/Lucozade Indoor Hockey Tournament

Hikers remain undefeated — Saints register 2nd win

...as President opens Caribbean Children’s Charity Shield Soccer Classic

President David Granger shares a light moment with Chairman of the Hamilton Lashley Human Development Foundation, Hamilton Lashley, before the commencement of the event (Ministry of Presidency Photo)

By Akeem Greene

P

resident David Granger, speaking at the launch of the Caribbean Children’s Charity Shield Soccer Classic on Wednesday at the Guyana Defence Force Ground (GDF), emphasise the importance of having sport mechanisms at the grass-root level, since it can be used as a catalyst for the development of Guyana and the Caribbean.

The President said, “I compare the Caribbean to a tree, at the top of tree you have the Caribbean heads of government from all the states of Caricom; then there is the trunk, the Caribbean Single Market and Economy which holds us together; but right at the bottom you have the grass-root and the tree cannot survive and grow without its grass-roots”.

Granger further stated, “I commend the Foundation for [strengthening regional integration] through its social work activism in grass-root communities.

The Foundation is foster-

ing the spirit of social solidarity among the region’s young people. It is promoting regionalism from the bottom up, it is working at community levels to build greater self-esteem and selfworth, particularly among the youth, and that is why we are all here this morning. This tournament has become a bridge among the three states,” Over 500 children from Trinidad, Barbados and Guyana are partaking in the tournament, with participants from as far as Parishara Village, Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo (Region Nine).

Chairman of the Foundation, Hamilton Lashley, said that the organisation is delighted to be hosting the tournament in Guyana, even as the country is in its golden jubilee year of Independence. He noted that Guyanese and even Caribbean nationals can expect more coming out of the organisation in the days to come.

“We are delighted to be here in Guyana. We are

thankful for the hospitality. This tri-nation relationship that we have developed certainly will continue,” he said.

President of the Guyana Football Federation, Wayne Forde, said that the organisation welcomes the initiative since it is in keeping with its goals.

“We at the Guyana Football Federation and the Executive Committee believe that this is the perfect opportunity to further our youth development programme. As you may have seen over the past couple of months, there have been tremendous emphasis on youth development football,” he said.

The Tournament, which features teams from the under-15 and under-17 age group, kicked-off after the ceremonial march pass, with some of the local sides recording victories.

In the under-17 matches, Fruta Conquerors defeated Trinidad side, Creek 2-0; Black Water lost to Morvant 6-1; Cosmos defeated Pele 4-1; Gall Hill downed Alpha 2-0 and Paradise edged Santos 2-1.

For the under-15 matches, Victoria Kings went down to Gall Hill 2-0; Empire trounced Compton 4-0; Gairy John Training Academy edged Paradise 1-0; Elcock hammered Grove Hi Tech 5-2; Paradise obliterated Guyanese side RP Warriors 15-0; while Morvant won via forfeited Hampstead.

Matches continue today at the same venue and will be played on a round-robin basis, after which the top two sides clash in the finals on Monday.

Undefeated Hikers team

By Romario Samaroo

T

he Guyana Hockey Board/Lucozade Indoor Hockey Tournament continued on Tuesday night at the National Gymnasium with the Hikers men remaining as the table toppers in the tournament, while the youngest team in the competition, Saints, marked their second win.

In the first match up of the night, the two last place teams battled for supremacy, but in the end, Saints saw their second win, while Old Fort Knockers were still searching for their first win.

Lead brilliantly by their skipper, Yonnick Peters, Saints rushed to a 4-nil victory over the Knockers team.

In the first half, Joel Hunte produced the first goal for Saints in just 10 minutes of play, capitalising on a fumble by the Knockers men to get past the goal keeper.

Knockers tried valiantly but were unable to score a goal in the first half but in the 19th minute, Saints’ Hilton Chester found a way to get past the Knockers defence to end the first half 2-nil.

The second half showed some quality skills in the sport, but it belonged to captain Yonnick Peters, who scored two penalty goals.

Peters scored in the 29th and 32nd minutes as Saints managed their second win of the tournament.

In an entertaining second game, Hikers extend-

second half.

As the match resumed, Vintage took the early lead as Eric Hing found the back of the net in the 21st Minute.

However, Hikers did not take it easy, levelling the score once more through the efforts of Bradford in the 23rd minute.

Two minutes later, a goal from Randy Hope sent Hikers in the lead while two goals from Michael Harding in the 28th and 31st minutes placed Hikers well ahead with the score 5-2.

Vintage would also score in the 31st minute as Fernandes worked his way through the Hikers' defence.

In the 33rd minute, Vintage registered their fourth and final goal compli-

Saints goal scorers (L-R) Joel Hunte, Hilton Chester and Yonnick Peters

ed their undefeated streak to 11 matches with a comprehensive 7:4 drubbing of fourth place Vintage.

Leading goal scorer, Aroydy Brandford showed why he has been such an integral part to Hikers' success, penetrating the Vintage defence in the third minute to start proceedings.

Seconds before the end of the first half, Alan Fernandes secured a goal for Vintage to level the scoreboard 1-1 heading into the

ments of Fernandes' brother, Phillip.

Hope secured his second goal of the night in the 35th minute of play and Jamarj Assanah scored his first of the night in minute 37 to show their level of dominance, Hikers have produced throughout the tournament with this next 7-4 victory added to their tally.

Action continues on Friday at the same venue from 17:00h.

Development of referees high on GFF's boss agenda

P

resident of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Wayne Forde in speaking at the launch of the Referee's Assistant Program (RAP) on Wednesday at the National Racquet Centre in Woolford Avenue.

Forde said the development of referees is an integral part of his executives plan, noting too much emphasis has been placed “on the politics of the sport and that the executive committee will do all it can to bring the conversation to be about football”.

The program which will last the duration of five days is an avenue to improve the quality of officiating of football and is a partnership with the GFF and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).

Dion Innis, Head of the Guyana Football Referees Council (GFRC) said the current executive places ref-

(L-R) FIFA Fitness Instructor Allan Morgan Browne, FIFA Regional Development Officer Peter Prendergast, GFF President Wayne Forde and GFF Chairman of Referees Dion Innis (Photo courtesy of Avenash Ramzan)

erees in high regard, noting that the best days are still ahead for this aspect of the discipline.

He further challenged the officials to grasp and learn as much as possible

during the period.

Peter Prendergast, FIFA Regional Development Officer/Technical Officer said Guyana was one of the first Member Associations to have the program, not-

ing the main purpose is to improve the standard of the officials so that it links well with the other sections of the discipline.

According to Prendergast, his presence here is to share

and show methods and new approaches that will be used to improve the ability to manage the game, adding that the course will delve into the new changes within the rules and regulations.

He further added that the modern game is constantly improving and as such, “preparation is a key component to the success of the referees on the field”.

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

Malteenoes Cricket Clinic…

23

Important to relay information for the game’s survival — Wintz T

By Delvon McEwan

he Malteenoes Sports Club’s (MSC’s) Summer Clinic continued yesterday with an interaction between the participants and Guyana Amazon Warriors’ fast bowler, Paul Wintz, who spoke about players’ social development, as well as the art of fast bowling.

The 30-year-old fast bowler provided an insight into the kind of individual development the game has to offer, but at the same time he urged the players to secure their social growth, especially their education.

He also provided them with a detailed journey of his life and career which started when he was just 13 and continues to flourish presently. “I was raised in a single parent family (I lived with my mother and sister), my mother instilled the importance of education, but I naturally loved cricket.

She worked hard to ensure my sister and I got to complete school. In regards of school and cricket, I had to balance the two. I was also part of several camps (just

Club player Darian Best shows one of the youngsters a way of improving his batting technique

like you here today). I love the game, so I always work hard. Initially, I was a wicket-keeper but due to playing several tape-ball matches, I switch to fast bowling. Since then it has been about elevation for me. Coincidentally, like you youngsters here, Mark Harper (the head facilitator of the camp) was also my first coach when I represented Guyana. He taught me a great deal about crick-

Post Emancipation Race Meet

T

he place to be on Sunday, September 18, 2016, is at the Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club at Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, Berbice, for its big horse racing meet dubbed, the Post Emancipation Day Race Meet.

The meet promises to be an exhilarating one with lots of cash and prizes up for grabs in a total of seven races.

horse will not be permitted to run; five horses must start before a third prize is awarded. Seven horses must start before a fourth prize is awarded. If only four horses start, the prize money will be reduced by 25 per cent. If only three horses start the prize money will be reduced by 40 per cent.

Entries will close on Sunday, September 18, and there will be no room for late entries because they will not

Some of the top horse stables are expected to be part of the pulsating action

The terms and conditions that apply to this event, which is being run under the rules of the Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club, are as follow: in the event that there are less than five horses entered for any event, the club reserves the right to cancel or reframe the said event; owners of horses must pay at least five thousand dollars ($5000) for each horse at the time of entry; if not paid, the horses’ names would not appear on the official programme and the

be accepted.

Persons desirous of entering their horses can contact the following persons; Roopnarine Matadial (Shine 325-3192), Ivan Dipnarine (331-0316), Justice Kennard (623-7609, 225-4818 or 2261399), Fazal Habibulla (6577010), Dennis Deroop (6406396) or Compton Sancho (602-1567).

Interested persons can also contact the secretary of the club, Niketa Ross, on telephone number 662-4668 for more information.

et and life.”

Wintz finds it important to be involved in activities of this nature because prior to his growth, there were others who would have done the same to relay informa-

tion from one generation to another for the game’s survival.

He might be a rookie of merely three first class matches, but he is vastly experienced with the art of fast bowling, as witnessed during his interaction. His delivery on fast bowling included how to bowl inswinging and out-swinging deliveries, how to bowl to aggressive batsmen, bowling up front and at the depth of an innings, how to bowl slower balls without much change in the action, his approach to a limited overs game, as compared to three or four day games, among other things that makes him the fine bowler he is today.

The interaction was done during the lunch break and it went smoothly for its duration of approximately 30 minutes. Wintz was second in a chain of established cricketers to lecture to the

youngsters following his Warriors’ colleague, Assad Fudadin.

Prior to the interaction, the first half of the day saw the participants going through various drills to improve their techniques.

Yesterday ended the third day of the two-week long camp, which is being facilitated by former national player and coach, Mark Harper; along with other established coaches. The aims of the programme are: to provide a variety of fun and enjoyable activities which are expected to provide immense pleasure and satisfaction, while teaching the basic skills of the game; to develop hand-eye co-ordination, sharpen reflexes, agility and flexibility, balance and speed; to teach the rules of the game by step-by-step instructions; to develop life skills, such as self-confidence and self-discipline; to

build and improve skills and athletic capabilities.

Children will also learn the basics of the game through playing a variety of games that cover all facets of cricket. Games will be designed for small groups to ensure that all children get a go, and that they can test, learn and practice skills as they go. There will also be matches during the programme to test the skills, confidence and mental capabilities of players.

Apart from the qualified coaches, Guyana Amazon Warriors player, Steven Jacobs, who is a member of the club, along with several of his Warriors teammates, will be on hand to deliver motivational lectures during the duration of the camp.

The event will run up to September 2. For more information, contact 225-6509 or call the club’s treasurer, Troy Lewis, on 613-2575.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

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

Sports at grass-root level is important for development – Granger Pg 22

Pg 22

...as President opens Caribbean Children’s Charity Shield Soccer Classic

Fruta Conquerors Jeremy Garrett (orange and blue) attempting to gain control of the ball in the match against Trinidadian side Creek (Marceano Narine Photo)

Malteenoes Cricket Clinic…

Important to relay information for the game’s survival — Wintz

Pg 23 Guyana Amazon Warriors Player Paul Wintz shares a light moment with some of the camp’s attendees

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