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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 2881

Friday, June 10, 2016

PRICE

Border shooting

Tourism Ministry needs P11 dedicated, standalone Minister – THAG

Page 3

…situation unacceptable but will not escalate – President Granger Local Govt Commission

Bulkan, Teixeira trade barbs over delayed establishment

Page 3

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

10 days later, no response from Venezuela 10-year-old mysteriously collapses, dies at school

P10

Stabroek Market P16 vendors say Council ignoring concerns

Page 9

Forensic Lab gets surveillance equipment Page 7

A representative from JES handing over one piece of the forensic video equipment to Head of the Forensic Lab, Delon France on Thursday at the Public Security Ministry as other officials, including subject Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, look on

Rodney CoI Report

Motion to be moved to adopt recommendations PPP/C

Page 13

Old Age Pension

No proper accountability for pension books – forensic audit finds

Page 16

Guyana-Mexico rice deal

P16 GRDB awaiting Pest Risk Assessment – Hassan

Region P7 10 eyeing several investment opportunities

Several injured P in WCD 2-vehicle collision

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2 news

friDAY, june 10, 2016 | guyana-times.com

news

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friDAY, june 10, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

10-year-old mysteriously collapses, dies at school

A

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, June 10 – 08:30h-10:00h and Saturday, June 11 – 09:30h-11:00h The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, June 10 – 07:35h-09:05h and Saturday, June 11 – 08:25h-09:55h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Thundery rain showers with sunny intervals can be expected in the morning and early afternoon, followed by heavy rain showers in the late afternoon hours. Light cloud cover can be expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly to East North-easterly between 3.12 metres per second and 4.47 metres per second.

High Tide: 08:04h and 20:39h reaching maximum heights of 2.43 metres and 2.31 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 01:37h and 14:08h reaching minimum heights of 0.86 metre and 0.80 metre respectively.

n Industry, East Coast Demerara (ECD) family is mourning the death of a 10-year-old boy who mysteriously collapsed in school on Wednesday and died.

The dead young man has been identified as Yogindra Persaud, called “Shawn”, a Grade Four student of Grahams Hall Primary School, in Cummings Lodge, ECD. According to information reaching Guyana Times, the lad was in his classroom eating a snack when he collapsed. Teachers rushed to his side and upon examination, found no pulse. He was picked up and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

When Guyana Times visited the child’s Lot 19 First Street, Industry, home on Thursday, his mother,

Sharon Reid, related that her son left home for school in good health on Wednesday morning.

The woman noted that she was at work when her daughter called and informed her that something was wrong with her son.

“Like about 10:30-11:00h, my daughter called me and said something is wrong with Shawn because he is not breathing at school. So I left work to go to the school but they called and tell me that they took him to the hospital and when I reach there, the doctor called and told me that your son has died,” the distraught woman recalled.

Reid noted that the doctor could not say what happened to the child since he was already dead when he arrived at the medical facility. She added that they have been getting various reports from school officials, parents and

Dead: Yogindra “Shawn” Persaud

even students about what transpired.

According to what she was told, Reid said her son urinated himself in class before he collapse. He was picked up and placed on a bench but fell off. It was

at this time that one of the teachers checked and found that he had no pulse.

“That is all the teacher told me; that is all I hear.

Is different, different things you hearing from people,” she stated.

The aggrieved mother noted that while her son did not suffer from any ailments, she is not holding anyone accountable for his death and is awaiting the results of the post-mortem examination which will be conducted today, to find out why her youngest of three children and only son died.

At the time this newspaper was at the home of the dead child, officials from the Education Ministry were visiting to offer their condolences to the grieving family.

Young Persaud leaves to mourn his parents, two older sisters and other relatives and friends.

Border shooting

10 days later, no response from Venezuela

... situation unacceptable but will not escalate – President Granger

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en days have gone by and the Guyana Government is still awaiting an official explanation from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in response to the shooting incident which occurred at Eteringbang, in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) on May 30, 2016.

President Brigadier David Granger has since labelled the situation as unacceptable; however, he also expressed confidence that it will not escalate into an international conflict.

He also indicated that Government, once requested, might consider providing assistance to the Spanishspeaking nation during its time of economic crisis.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry had dispatched a Note Verbale to the Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministry conveying its gravest concern over the incident and calling on the Venezuelan Government to desist from such provocative and dangerous actions on Guyana’s border.

During an interview on the ‘Public Interest’, the Head of State explained that while the situation is unfortunate, it should not be a considered a clash between the two States.

“It is localised… It was a local incident and we are not saying that there is no fault but my information is that the rain was falling very heavily and there might have been some misunderstanding with

the boat that was taking the officials…,” he stated.

Nonetheless, Granger said that matter is still unacceptable. “It is unacceptable in the relation between two States, on a river owned by Guyana for shots to be fired in a hostile manner,” he ex-

pressed.

Three mining officers of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) came under fire from the National Bolivarian Armed Forces while travelling in a boat in the Cuyuni River. turn to page 14

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guyana-times.com

fridAY, june 10, 2016

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

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

Editorial

Child labour

G

uyana will be joining the rest of the world over the weekend to observe World Day Against Child Labour.

This year, the focus is on child labour and supply

chains.

According to the United Nations, with 168 million children still in child labour, all supply chains, from agriculture to manufacturing, services to construction, run the risk that child labour may be present.

International Labour Organisation (ILO) Director Guy Ryder, in his message for this year’s observances, noted that child labour had no place in well-functioning and wellregulated markets, or in any supply chain. The message that countries must act now to stop child labour once and for all has been affirmed by the Sustainable Development Goals.

Acting together, it is within everyone’s means to make the future of work a future without child labour.

To support businesses in their actions to remove child labour from their supply chains, the ILO and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) have jointly created the Child Labour Guidance Tool, a resource for companies to increase their knowledge and ability to conduct business in line with international labour standards on child labour.

The tool draws on the long experience of the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC) in collaborating with employers to combat child labour in supply chains and incorporates contributions from a wide variety of companies.

In October 2015, the Government of Guyana announced that a unit to focus specifically on the issue of child labour would be established by the Social Protection Ministry. This announcement came mere days after a survey revealed that there was an alarmingly high number of Guyanese children involved in the worst forms of child labour.

Guyana’s National Child Labour Rapid Assessment Survey was conducted in Georgetown, New Amsterdam, Linden, Corriverton, Black Bush Polder, Number 58 Village, Charity, Kwakwani, and Ituni. It was done among three categories of children: 15 years and younger, 15 to 16, and 16 to 18.

A total of 532 children and young workers were involved in the survey.

The survey detailed that many of the youths who participated in the research in all three categories were involved in selling and agricultural activities. It was also highlighted that hidden evidence of prostitution activities were found in all of the age ranges.

Another disturbing fact revealed by the survey was that a minor percentage of the working youths sustained illness and injuries while working, especially in areas of weeding, begging or carrying out sexual activities. It was also found that many children and young workers were involved in carrying heavy loads and operating machinery and were exposed to chemicals, pesticides and gases at their places of work.

Troubling also was the fact that most of the households that the children were from were headed by single females who had more than one dependant. The study also highlighted that guardians/parents reported the main reason for the children working was to help support their families. The study also highlighted that 67 per cent of the children in the 15 years and younger category were males, with 40 per cent of this age group not in school and 36 per cent of them employed on a full-time basis. A significant per cent of the children, according to the survey, were involved in rice farming, while eight per cent were involved in prostitution and stripping.

After the survey was released, the Government announced that urgent steps to address the issue of child labour would be taken. To quote the Social Protection Ministry, “Our nation’s children and youths are our future and they should be provided with the best possible opportunities to ensure they achieve their full potential.” Among the strategies to address the problem the Administration had said were the enforcement of child labour laws, the removal of working children off the streets and ensuring they were in school, and providing more funding to facilitate labour inspections.

Sunday marks World Day Against Child Labour and we are yet to hear about the establishment of this proposed unit and the “urgent” steps to address the alarming issue.

A Musaharati, or dawn awakener, strikes his drum to wake observant Muslims for their ‘sahur’ (last meal) before the day’s fast during Ramadan in Sidon’s Old City in south Lebanon just before dawn, June 8, 2016 (Reuters/Ali Hashisho)

Attorney General displays ‘shocking lack of understanding’ for matters under his remit Dear Editor, The issue of the admission of LLB graduates of the University of Guyana to the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) has once again raised its head in the public domain. The matter has been obfuscated by a plethora of statements emanating from Attorney General Basil Williams, who has not only misrepresented the facts but refuses to accept any responsibility; and shifts blame from himself to me, the previous administration and to the Council of Legal Education (CLE).

As a result, I feel compelled to respond in order to set the record straight.

In 2013-2014, I along with the then Head of the Department of Law, University of Guyana, Sheldon McDonald, successfully negotiated, on behalf of the Government of Guyana, the terms of a new agreement with officials of the University of the West Indies and the Council of Legal Education of the West Indies, for the continued automatic admissions of graduates of the UG Law Programme into the Hugh Wooding Law School. This became necessary because the previous agreement entered into by my predecessor had come to an end through effluxion of time.

For the record, this entire initiative was a PPP/C Government one which was started in 1996. Two previous such agreements had expired. The responsibility became mine to negotiate and conclude the third. At the commencement of the negotiations, several members of CLE/UWI team had argued against non- renewal of the agreement. We de-

feated this argument. They next argued for a reduction of the quota of 25. We again defeated this argument. In the end not only did we succeed in retaining the quota of 25 for Guyanese national graduates but were able to secure an additional 10 places for non-Guyanese National graduates of the said Law programme.

This agreement was to be signed before September 2015 to regulate the admission of students for the year 2015-2016 to the Law School. I left office in May 2015. Upon my departure, I briefed Basil Williams. I explained to him that the hard work is finished and that all he needs to do is to ensure that the agreement which was being drafted by UG and UWI be signed and taken to the CLE for their signature because it is a tripartite agreement.

One year after, I am reading in the press that Williams has disclosed that this agreement has not yet been signed. What is worse, rather than remain silent or accept his responsibility to get it signed, he blames the previous government and the CLE for this predicament.

To further befuddle this simple issue, he throws a red herring into the equation about building a local School. Even if that’s a feasible option, it will take years to materialise. What will happen to students in the meantime? Why after one year, the negotiated agreement has not been signed?

Williams blames a decision of the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration to discontinue contributions

to the HWLS as the reason for the dilemma facing Guyanese law students: “I could tell you that they all (HWLS) feel that because we don’t pay and contribute, it is unfair for us to have our students taking up places at the school… It is a question of the discontinuance of paying any contribution whatsoever, and we inherited that situation and are trying to address it…”

Williams said (see Guyana Times: 8/6/2016@p 9) These statements constitute another demonstration of the shocking lack of understanding of, or the gross misunderstanding by the Attorney General of matters for which he holds responsibility. It is clear he does not understand the nature and purpose of the contributions to which he refers.

Had he done so, he ought to appreciate that it has no causal connection whatsoever to the admission of our UG LLB graduates into the Hugh Wooding Law School.

Historically, each member territory of the Council of Legal Education of the West Indies made an annual financial contribution to the Council, depending upon the number of seats allocated to each territory, for their students to be admitted to the Regional Law Schools. In this regard, Guyana’s quota has always been 25.

The financial contribution which each territory makes is in turn used to subsidize the tuition fees which these students are required to pay at the Law School.

Guyana stopped this contribution nearly 15 years ago.

It never affected the admission of our students into the Law School all these years.

All that it meant was that the Guyanese students no longer benefitted from a subsidised tuition fee and therefore, have been paying the full tuition fee since.

In fact, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago are the only two countries in the Caribbean that are not indebted to the Council of Legal Education in relation to this contribution.

Millions of US dollars are owed by the other territories.

This is reflected in the Annual Financial Statements of the Council of Legal Education, a copy of which is sent to every Attorney General of the region, who are all ex-officio executive members of the Council. It is obvious that Williams never read his.

Ironically, during all of the negotiations which I have had with the Council for the admission of UG Law graduates, my most potent argument has been that apart from Trinidad and Tobago, the largest influx of revenue into Hugh Wooding Law School comes from the Guyanese students who pay their full tuition fees and it is this revenue that carries the bulk of the other students whose governments fail to pay the subsidies for their students. Therefore, I used Guyana’s non-contribution as an asset.

It is my sincere hope that the grandstanding ceases and that this government finds a speedy solution to this matter which will inure to the best interest of the students.

Yours faithfully, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, MP Attorney

guyana-times.com

friDAY, june 10, 2016

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

Unbiased recruitment has many A tribute to Dale Andrews understandable distractions Dear Editor, There is no doubt in my mind, fortified by wide, relevant and substantial experience, that “meritocracy is the way to go” (ref. GHK Lall’s letter in SN of 8/6/16) if we are to achieve unduly unbiased, effective recruitment and promotion of staff without playing the tit-for-tat or revolving political/racial games which many of the commentators and critics of my earlier letter against “social engineering” of this nodal Human Resource Management function seem to be advocating.

I have never had nor do I now have any interest in any “PR or cover-up” for any government or private sector organisation here in Guyana (as was implied by some critics) nor for any other entities in the many countries in which I have lived and worked.

I am very proud of the non-political, non-racial and other non-discriminatory ways in which I have practiced my professions first as a school-teacher and then as a Human Resource Management practitioner.

I am fully aware of what appears like gross political/ ethnic and other discrimination during all the regimes in Guyana’s 50 years of existence. For example, I travel a lot into and out of Guyana, the USA and Canada and every time I do so I am struck by the mono-ethnicity of the airport officials at Timehri vis-à-vis the multi-ethnicity of their counterparts in New York and Toronto.

Incidentally, what is also quite noticeable is the inefficiency and deficient courtesy of the Timehri staff in stark contrast with the courtesy and efficiency of their American and Canadian counterparts. (I can relate several examples but last Monday’s when I arrived at Timehri from NY will suffice: For years I have been using the Immigration

line marked for VIP’s and Diplomats without any objection from anyone; however, on this first and only occasion I was accosted by a rudely officious female officer standing at the top of the line with a stern comment: “You are in the wrong line” to which my response with a respectful smile was that I always used that line and if she could please tell me why she thought that I was “in the wrong line”; her brusque, brutish response was “I said you are in the wrong line” and she peremptorily wave-motioned me to the other lines! There was no one behind me and the other lines were already quite long!! …I did not make a fuss but meekly moved as she ordered because I was particularly keen to get out quickly on this occasion as I had two successive official appointments for that morning with very senior officers at NCN and GRA, at their requests!!!).

Now back to the issue at hand: What is obviously clear is the fact that Guyana Governments of all stripes have had ample opportunities to remedy the perceived racial imbalances but all unfortunately failed.

I therefore repeat my professional conviction that the best approach to the ethnic and effectiveness factors

is the focus on “meritocracy’ as mentioned by the respected GHK or “competency” as I have been advocating, without losing sight altogether of the need for diversity and equity, all things being equal.

There has also been much talk about the so-called ‘level playing field’; to me that is a myth or at best wishful thinking! Like my Guyanese brothers and sisters, I am painfully aware of the same ‘level playing field’ concept being compromised by several extraneous factors, both human and physical.

As a dedicated farmer as well as an avid sportsman, I can relate several instances where ‘the field’ is as level as a billiard table but compromised by many variables like soil structure, perimeter drainage, moisture, other environmental factors and contextual imperatives that over-ride any advantage attributable to the ‘levelling’ factor be it sports or farming or recruitment or promotion or other HR management practices.

In the final analysis it is the knowledge, the skill, the experience, the competence of the relative players that matter most.

Yours faithfully, Nowrang Persaud

Dear Editor, I write to applaud your paper for expressing condolences on the passing of media man Dale Andrews (GT, June 6). The fact that he was news editor from another newspaper that has not been friendly to Guyana Times, and, in fact, has been in an attack mode against Times and its owner has not prevented the paper from expressing emotional solidarity with his colleagues and sympathy with his family.

This is an illustration of media maturity and professionalism that have rarely been shown by other media houses. Guyana Times’ professionalism, support and respect for the media fraternity are to be admired and emulated. Few in the media demonstrate the kind of maturity your editorial board exhibits.

I spoke with Dale occasionally to complain about biased reporting and my Op Ed commentaries not being published. His defence often was he did not see them or he was not editing every day. He would ask me to resend letters directly to him, and I did and some were published.

Last January, I called again to query why my letters were not being published from around December, he said to check with Freddie Kissoon who, Dale stated, replaced him as

letters editor. Freddie stated he would not carry my letters apparently because he does not like when I critique him and when I write (wrote) facts of what happened in Guyana.

The 45-year-old Dale did not have my (nearly 40) years of experience in the media. Although he showed some flaws in editing and bias in reporting, he was a professional last December unlike Freddie. Dale allowed a relative free press in the letters section until it was handed to the petty editorial dictator Freddie Kissoon. Whenever I complained, Dale heeded critique and tried to accommodate my letters.

But he was powerless to rein in dictator Freddie, who is not qualified to be in the media, to carry my dozens of letters. Freddie does not tolerate critiques of his writings which are replete with inaccuracies and bias.

Freddie creates enemies and he personally attacks those who critique his writings.

He also attacks the PPP and Indians for supporting the PPP. He would not attack Africans for supporting the PNC. Unlike Freddie, Dale was trained as a journalist. Dale did not attack people and he was accommodating to critics whereas Freddie is not. Dale had noted to me Freddie’s lack of professionalism, his peren-

Open letter to GRA Commissioner General Dear Editor, We have renewed our applications for Mortgage Interest Relief for 2015 until such time that the GRA thinks we should renew again, paid the necessary fees to the commercial banks and did everything that would be required to get our

refunds from MIR. Calls to the GRA MIR office are always met with the usual unprofessional and rude answer, “We don’t know when this would be ready.”

So, since they don’t know, it is only fair to ask you, the big boss responsible for the Guyana Revenue Authority,

when would we, the poor people of Guyana, expect our MIR to be processed for JulyDecember2015?

Mr President, this delayed MIR to the Guyanese people that is outstanding for the period July-December 2015, would your office be kind enough to expedite this

process?

Regards, Michael Singh

nial bias against the PPP, his misreporting, his censorship, and his hatred for people at Times. Freddie does not allow different perspectives especially from those he views as academic competitors. Freddie engages in opinion mongering whereas Dale was a real reporter who was not into editorialising news. Unlike Dale, Freddie fears critics.

Freddie’s editing has led to lower readership of that media he is associated with while Times readership has increased for its openness to views from across the political spectrum. Times comes across as truly professional in its reporting and editing and in the way it treats colleagues from other media outlets especially towards those who demonstrate an element of relative professionalism such as Dale Andrews. I thank Dale for allowing some of my letters.

Dale’s work at the rival paper will be sorely missed.

My sympathy goes out to his family and his colleagues.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

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friday, june 10, 2016

Page

Foundation

What it takes to be great parents

– 6 dos and don’ts that will improve your co-parenting skills

By Emily Stewart, Kristina Kochanova and Laura Pittman

W

hat does it take to be a successful parent?

Unless you’re raising a child by yourself, you’re asking the wrong question.

A good way to reframe the topic is: What does it take to be a great co-parent?

Co-parenting involves two or more adults (usually parents) who work together to raise children (McHale, Lauretti, Talbot, & Pouquette, 2002). To do it well, it requires coordination of parenting and support for each other, particularly when dealing with conflict (McHale, Kuersten-Hogan, Lauretti, & Rasmussen, 2000).

And it’s important to do it well.

Positive co-parenting has been linked to children having fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and behavioural and social problems (Teubert & Pinquart, 2010).

Much of the research has focused on co-parenting younger children, which requires efforts to provide constant supervision and care. However, co-parenting also plays an important role with adolescents.

During the teen years, parents must strike a delicate balance between setting clear rules and expectations and fostering children’s ageappropriate attempts to increase independence and autonomy (Feinberg, Kan, & Hetherington, 2007). Positive co-parenting is linked to adolescents being less involved with risky behaviours, having fewer depressive symptoms, and having better adolescent life-satisfaction (Baril,

Crouter, & McHale, 2007; Feinberg et al., 2007; Riina & McHale, 2014; Teuberg & Pinquart, 2011).

So how can you improve your co-parenting skills?

Share decision-making responsibilities. Parenting decisions should be based on your own opinions as well as the opinions of your co-parent.

When you don’t agree, it’s essential to find compromises to

as children age and push for more autonomy and freedom.

Children will learn if one parent will be more lenient than the other, and they may take advantage of the parent who is more lenient when asking for privileges.

Don’t allow children and adolescents to dictate your parenting decisions. You’re the parents –and that means you are the decision makers.

aside time each day (maybe over breakfast or just before you go to bed) to talk about what is going on with your children. This time together will likely foster your co-parenting relationship and help you both be the best parents you can be.

Do not involve your children in parenting conflicts.

Some disagreements between co-parents are inevitable, and

guyana-times.com

Homemade Father’s Day gifts that dads will love S

ome dads want a new tool for Father’s Day, and others want an afternoon to play cricket with their buddies. But the one thing every dad loves is a homemade gift from his children to show him how appreciated he really is, and these 10 awesome DIY crafts will make any dad feel loved this Father’s Day.

A ‘stache’ of his own

What dad doesn’t sneak into the candy jar when his kids aren’t looking? For this Father’s Day, how about making him his own ‘stache’ –er, stash –that he won’t need to share.

Fill it with his favourite candy and a promise that it’s for him and him alone with this free printable from Thoughts from Alice!

Samples of his life

Here’s a colourful way to share all the things your kids love about their favourite guy this Father’s Day! Little ones can draw a picture of their favourite thing to do together or fill each paint chip with what’s so great about their special dad. No matter what, these “samples” of their appreciation are sure to brighten up any Father’s Day.

create rules and set boundaries you can both enforce.

Don’t undermine each other When one parent makes a decision or sets a boundary, the co-parent should be supportive of that decision and enforce it in the same way.

Present a united front when setting limits for children. This helps the child understand rules and provides them with structure, which can be particularly important

While it’s important to listen to your child’s perceptions of rules or punishments and keep their feelings in mind, decisions need to be made by parents after thoughtful consideration together.

Communicate, communicate, communicate! To effectively remain on the same parenting page, it is important to talk with each other about your children – even if you disagree on setting a rule or enforcing a punishment. Set

they should be managed in private. Involving children will force them to choose sides and increase conflict between you and your partner. Your child may suffer, too, from being drawn into the fray.

The bottom line is this: Parenting is a tough job. That’s why it is necessary to have a supportive co-parenting relationship. And, in the future, your grownup son or daughter might just say “thank you.” (psychologytoday.com)

For the handyman in your life

If dad just can’t seem to get his workshop organised, try turning empty boxes into mini toolboxes to store nuts, bolts and all sorts of tiny hardware. Children can personalise them with their names or even with what’s inside of each box. Either way, they’re a great way to help dad be the best Mr Fix It he can be!

What I love about you

Let dad read what the kids really think of him this Father’s Day. Create an entertaining and fun questionnaire for your kids to answer and showcase all the things they love about their dad. With just a frame, some paper bunting and a printer, you can create a memorable keepsake that will make any father smile.

Cook up some love

Every man wants to have his very own apron, just one without ruffles or frills. This adjustable apron is just the right gift for your personal chef this Father’s Day. With some simple sewing and some love, you’ll have him cooking something up for the family in no time!

At the car wash!

Washing a car is to fathers what going shopping without children is like for mothers. So this Father’s Day, why not put together a personalised car washing kit for dear ol’ dad?

It’s as easy as a decorated bucket filled with all the necessities to bring out the sparkle of your car and dad!

Control of the Remote

What man wouldn’t love to not only get homemade cookies on Father’s Day but also gain control of the television remote for at least one day? Now he can have both with these adorable remote control cookies. And don’t be scared by how real they look, it’s as simple as some royal icing and edible markers to bring the cookies to the beta phase! (Excerpt from parenting.com)

news

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friday, june 10, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Region 10 eyeing several Forensic Lab gets surveillance equipment investment opportunities

T

he Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory (GFSL) is now furnished with surveillance equipment to analyse video evidence, compliments of the Justice Education Society (JES), a Canada-based NonGovernmental Organisation (NGO).

The equipment and software were handed over to the Public Security Ministry on Thursday by officials from JES, which is funded by the Canadian Government through its AntiCrime Capacity Building Programme.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan said the equipment is crucial not only in solving serious crimes, but also in traffic matters. He disclosed that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is already using the equipment, which has been instrumental in the probe of last Saturday’s grenade attack on Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall.

The Minister pointed out that the use of the equipment would not have been effective without the training which was conducted by JES. “A lot of people don’t understand that what is required is analysis and competent people to understand how to do the analysis of these video clippings that we find whenever crimes are committed, and how you go through the process of magnifying that and what to look for,” he stated.

Ramjattan noted that such acquired expertise was used in relation to the Kaieteur News probe, hence the arrest of the six suspects and one car being detained.

Furthermore, the Public Security Minister outlined that these pieces of equipment will also prove to be beneficial to the Force as Guyana is working on rolling out its ‘Smart City’ project,

T

A representative from JES handing over one piece of the forensic video equipment to Head of the Forensic Lab, Delon France on Thursday at the Public Security Ministry as other officials, including subject Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, look on

which is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Chargé d’Affaires of the Canadian High Commission, Daniel Joly, noted that the donation is being made as part of the Canada’s efforts to strengthen the criminal justice system in Guyana.

“The forensic video equipment that we are handing over to you today, Minister, used specialist appropriately trained by the JES programme, will enable officers to hone in and better analyse video footage being gathered all around Georgetown and that will certainly aid in Police investigations,” he stated.

He noted that his Government is committed to promoting freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law by strengthening the professionalism and accountability of law enforcement agencies.

“Our capacity building efforts in Guyana, and elsewhere, are helping criminal justice systems to be responsive, both to the needs and concerns of citizens… already, we are seeing results.

Techniques learned on JES training courses have contributed to the successful investigation of several cases; in some instances, in cases that have been opened for years,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Police

Commission (Ag), David Ramnarine in brief remarks recognised the impact the JES project has had thus far on the Force’s ability to carry out its duties.

“The contributions of the Justice Education Society – a wonderful, pleasant, approachable, dedicated group of individuals with their Guyanese counterparts – would have impacted significantly on our ability to investigate serious crimes, there is no doubt about it,” he stated.

Ramnarine stressed too that recent successes in solving crimes is also credited to the current batch of dedicated and academically qualified ranks in the Force’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) who takes pride in their work.

In accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Forensic Lab, JES will be monitoring the proper use of the equipment and will provide a report to the financiers as required.

This inventory will be done every six months and at the closure of the project.

The goal of the JES project is to develop the technical capacity of local Police, Police Prosecutors, State Prosecutors and Magistrates to collect, analyse and present forensic evidence as a means of decreasing impunity rates.

he Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Regional Democratic Council (RDC) has its eyes set on a number of investment opportunities which once on stream, may yield economic results and provide employment.

According to Regional Chairman Renis Morian and Regional Vice Chairman Elroy Adolph, several influential Guyanese are interested in partnering with the region in order to bring several projects on stream.

One such investment includes a television assembling facility to be set up in Linden. A particular company, which has its eyes set on this project, has already explored numerous possible location sites, Morian stated recently.

“Once the facility is in Region 10, it means the company will qualify to benefit under a particular trade agreement which would allow them to sell the stuff to Brazil with a limited amount of duty… so if they can assemble here and fulfil that trade agreement, it will be beneficial to the company. We took them to a number of facilities, a number of open spaces for them to make their choices,” he stated.

Another includes the construction of a modern hotel complex in Linden.

Region 10 Chairman Renis Morian

Morian said there is an interest in utilising the site of the former Magistrate’s Court at Christianburg in the community. Once the project becomes a reality, he said water sports have been outlined as a possible attraction given the close proximity of the site to the Demerara River.

Another agency, Morian noted, has also been seeking to establish a branch of Burger King in the region since a few years ago, due to issues with the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) it did not come to fruition. It has been established by regional officials

that NICIL owns most of the lands in the region.

“I saw the documents, I saw the letters. They would have applied since 2013 but NICIL was the hindrance. But I’m saying now that NICIL is owned by the people of Guyana... it should not be a hindrance,” the Regional Chairman contended.

According to Morian, an agreement had already been made for a lease, however he alleged that it was objected to by NICIL. The RDC is also exploring the possibility a 20 million-dollar agro sector investment; to plant, process and market products. A no objection in relation to the project was already sought from the Ministry of the Presidency and is presently with the Finance Ministry, the Regional Chairman indicated. Additionally, he stated that an investor is also seeking lands to conduct a trucking and mechanical facility in Linden.

Meanwhile, Adolph indicated that an overseas-based Guyanese has expressed interest in investing in a tourism venture, which will see yachting services being offered at the Kwakwani waterfront. Once all goes well, he said it would provide employment for 30 people from within the region.

8 news

friDAY, june 10, 2016 | guyana-times.com

IN THE COURTS GPL conspiracy

Police amend joint charge against Duncan, former GPL DCEO

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olice on Thursday amended the joint charge against former Director of Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Carvil Duncan and the company’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aeshwar Deonarine.

This was revealed by Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers on Thursday, when Duncan made an appearance before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Duncan of Lot 1977 Lanstead Road, Festival City, and Deonarine were jointly charged with conspiring to steal from GPL $984,900 on March 31, 2015.

They were also jointly charged for conspiring to steal from the said company

Former GPL Deputy Chief Executive Officer Aeshwar Deonarine

$27,757,547 between May 7 and 8, 2015.

Duncan was also charged separately for allegedly stealing $984,900 from GPL on March 31, 2015.

But the prosecutor told the

court that one of the charges will now state that Duncan conspired with others to steal $984,900 from GPL. The other charge will state that Duncan conspired with others to steal $27,757,547 from the power company between May 7 and 8 of last year.

The former GPL Director made his first court appearance on January 26, 2016 and was placed on $1 million bail.

However, Deonarine continue to elude police and is said to be living in Canada.

Local law enforcement had said they were seeking the help of the International Police (Interpol) in tracking down Deonarine.

Duncan, who is the pres-

Court on Thursday, Sandoni Ally appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse to answer the charge which stated that on Sunday 29 May, 2016 he assaulted his common-law wife Gomattie Persaud at the home which they shared.

Persaud told the court that the accused was already before the court for a similar

offence and was fined.

The defendant, a construction worker, admitted that he was fined for a prior offence of the same nature.

As the police prosecution had no objection, Ally was granted his pre-trial liberty, but was ordered by the Magistrate not to have any contact with the VC for the

Former GPL Director Carvil Duncan

ident of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and General Secretary of the Guyana Labour Union (GTU), will make his next court appearance on July 5.

Another arrest warrant was issued for Deonarine.

duration of the trial.

As such, Ally, provided an alternative address and will reside with his relatives on an Essequibo Island.

Magistrate Nurse warned Ally that if he violates the conditions of bail, he will be arrested and placed on remand until the case is called again on July 22, 2016.

Essequibo businessman 2 granted bail for fined for ganja possession armed robbery

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29-year-old Essequibo Coast businessman was on Wednesday fined $10,000 and sentenced to one month community service by Magistrate Sunil Scarce at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court.

Ramchandra Hardeen, also known as “Vickey”, of Lot 13 Aurora Estate, Essequibo Coast, pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that on June 6, around 22:30h at Aurora,

he had in his possession, a quantity of leaves seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis sativa (Marijuana).

When the leaves and seeds were weighed, it amounted to five grams.

He was then told of the offence which he admitted to and was subsequently arrested. He was expected to commence the one month community service at the Suddie Police station on Thursday.

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wo men were on Thursday released on $40,000 bail each after they appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to answer to an armed robbery charge.

It is alleged that on June 8, 2016, at Duncan Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, being armed with a knife, Anthony Hendricks, 18, and Davon Jackson, 33, robbed Cabrera Batista of one Blu cellular phone valued $4000 and $900 in cash.

Comings...

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Alleged wife beater granted bail W hile calls are being made for more measures to curb the incidence of domestic violence, a 45-year-old father of five from Bell West Housing Scheme, West Bank Demerara (WBD), was placed on $25,000 bail for the unlawful assault on the mother of his children.

At the Wales Magistrate’s

Eyew tness

Hendricks, of Campbellville, and Jackson, of Tucville Terrace, Greater Georgetown, who were unrepresented, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Jackson even tried to explain his side of the story, but Magistrate Faith McGusty told him he would get his chance to give his testimony during the trial.

The duo will make their next court appearance on July 1.

...and Jubilee goings

he organisers of the Jubilee Celebrations mightn’t have been on the ball with their arrangements but they’re certainly making it up with their PR about their “success”! We were just informed that a whopping 27,000 passengers arrived in our fair land during the even merrier month of May. And this compares very favourably, thank you, to the 15,000 that touched down in May 2015.

So can we say 12,000 tourists streamed in because of Jubilee 2016? While it may seem churlish to mention it...the release does bring to mind the old saw about “lies, damned lies and statistics”. For instance, take that “15000” from last year. Didn’t the same government - after squeezing into office last May - complain a couple of months later as to how arrivals had dropped “precipitously” because of elections fears?

So in the normal course of things, in the absence of the aforementioned “fears” wouldn’t the arrivals have been at least a couple of thousands more? And your Eyewitness will ignore the difference between “arrivals” and “tourists” based on how long they stay and presumably spend their money. So let us say “at least 10,000 bodies arrived for the big celebrations”.

This isn’t an inconsiderable achievement. But it’s sure a long way from the 50,000 we’d been hearing about during the months of hype. When the dust finally settles, even without a “forensic audit”, we’ll find out we shelled out at least $1 billion from the Consolidated Funds for the Big Bash. And a like amount of “matching funds” from the business community. Now, even though you may think that’s not our “worries”, since we’ve been informed these things are actually “political investments” - you can be sure we, the ordinary citizens will literally get it in the end!

But now that we’ve given these 10,000 Overseas Guyanese goosebumps when they saw the largest Golden Arrowhead being hoisted on the tallest flagpole in the land, what next? Do we have their e-mails so can offer them a prospectus for funding Amaila Falls HydroElectric Project? “What the!!” you sputter, dear readers?

Now surely you didn’t think we should’ve spent all that money just to have some long-in-the-tooth “foreign” get a tingle, did you?

Listen, all other countries tap into their diasporas for funding. In the states these retirees are getting a measly 1/2% on savings! If the China Development Bank’s 9% was too high...surely we can get our ex-pats to come in at 5%. How many long-term investments in the US can generate that kind of return?

And they can come every year to both touch their investment and get goosebumps! ...and crossings It’s a tale of two bridges - both floating on troubled waters. The one on the east - BBCI - owned by Private interests - hasn’t been making money to cover its expenses and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The government decided to REDUCE its tolls but is covering the reduction from the Consolidated funds.

The Bridge in the west, in the meantime has almost twice the traffic than its sister in the east but is owned by the state. Yet its tolls are so low, the government’s been subsidising it for decades to the tune of FIFTEEN times the subsidies in the east. So finally, the Prime Minister - who’s from the East - says it’s time the tolls in the west be raised since it’s a pittance in any case.

“Not so!” says the Minister of Infrastructure, who’s in charge of bridges. “We haven’t agreed to that yet!”

What’s to agree? $200 to cross in the west is too much but $1900 is OK for the east? ...and cannibalisation To survive after the abolition of slavery, sugar owners sold off plantations in droves. We founded our Villages by buying them up. Now it’s in trouble again, GuySuCo just announced its going to sell off land again.

A new Village Movement?

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

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friday, june 10, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Local Govt Commission

Bulkan, Teixeira trade barbs over delayed establishment By: Devina Samaroo And Shemuel Fanfare

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ommunities Minister Ronald Bulkan and People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Chief Whip Gail Teixeira are at loggerheads over who is to be blamed for the delay in the establishment of the Local Government Commission.

During an interview with Guyana Times on Wednesday, Bulkan said he is waiting on Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to submit the names of three nominees to sit as representatives on the Co mmission.

The minister indicated that those outstanding names have been holding up the process, noting that if the Parliamentary Opposition does not make those submissions soon, he will go ahead and establish the Commission without them.

However, Teixeira was completely taken aback by those remarks, insisting

Ronald Bulkan

that it is a clear demonstration that government does not know what needs to be done.

She explained that before the Parliamentary Opposition submits the names, the Communities Minister is required by law to formally write the Opposition Leader on the matter.

Teixeira emphasised that the minister was constantly reminded of

this task but to date, the Opposition Leader is yet to receive a formal letter.

“The Leader of Opposition by law, the President by law shall appoint a certain number of people. The Act talks about the minister responsible for local government triggering this. The Minister of Communities has to trigger the action to write the Leader of the Opposition to say according to section so and so of the Act, we require the following… I’ve raised this matter over and over again,” Teixeira asserted.

The parliamentarian explained that the Parliamentary Committee overseeing the process is also required to submit a nominee, which it did approximately one month ago.

This recommendation was supposed to be brought to the House; however more than three sittings have gone by and there has been no move on the matter.

“There seems to be no

Gail Teixeira

haste on the government’s side to get the motion into the parliament,” she expressed.

Teixeira maintained that the Opposition ought not to be blamed for the delay in the establishment of the Commission since the ball is in the minister’s court to start the process by first writing Jagdeo.

“Mr Bulkan believes that Dr Jagdeo will sit there one night and out of the blue

say ‘ooh! He needs these names, let me give it to him.’ It’s not going to work like that. We are running a government and a country and not in the whimsical fancies of Minister Bulkan.

There is law. He must also, and I assume he has done it as Cabinet Minister, advise the president that he needs a number of names from him…He can’t blame us for not putting up the Local Government Commission,” she stated.

Meanwhile, Bulkan had noted that only one member from the government side has been confirmed to serve on the commission, while other nominees are yet to be confirmed.

He added that if the Opposition Leader does not submit the names, the Commission will be established without those representatives.

He noted too that a lease for the premises has to be approved and signed by Cabinet.

Nonetheless, he expects

the Commission will be fully operationalised by the end of June.

Following the historic return of Local Government Elections (LGE), tensions and controversy has surrounded the establishment of some of the local democratic organs.

As such, calls were made for the establishment of the Local Government Commission (LGC) which will have oversight on the various local authorities in the country.

Government had promised to have this Commission functioning since early 2016.

The Commission would ensure that directives on local government matters are issued by the LGC rather the subject minister.

The commission will be tasked with monitoring and assessing the performance of the local government organs, administer disciplinary action, and implement policies such as tax collection.

Lindener remanded to prison on drug trafficking charge

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Lindener who pleaded not guilty to a trafficking in narcotics charge was on Wednesday remanded to prison by Magistrate Clive Nurse.

The accused, Jamal Marcus, of Lot 789 Determa Street, Mackenzie, Linden, Region 10 (Upper

Demerara-Berbice), appeared at the Linden Magistrate’s Court to answer to the charge which stated that on Monday June 6, he had 38 grams of cannabis sativa (marijuana) in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The incident is alleged to have occurred at Ituni, in Region 10.

Facts on the case presented to the court indicated that on the day in question at approximately 08:30h, the defendant was observed along the Ituni Public Road acting in a suspicious manner, which led to Police ranks conducting a search on his person. The narcotic was found concealed in a bag in his crotch.

However, the defendant maintained that the cannabis sativa was not found in his possession. He is scheduled to make his next court appearance on July 26.

10 news

friDAY, june 10, 2016| guyana-times.com

Guyana committed to eliminating HIV/AIDS by 2030 – Dr Norton

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uyana stands in solidarity with the rest of the world as it takes on the challenge of completely eliminating the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic by 2030, according to Minister of Health Dr George Norton.

Dr Norton made this commitment while addressing a United Nations (UN) High Level Meeting on ending AIDS in New York on Wednesday.

Noting that Guyana will spare no effort in working to reduce the number of victims and deaths, the minister shed light on the 2016 Political Declaration which his ministry will implement as a guide to end the epidemic.

With the factors to curb the prevalence of the virus at arms’ length, Norton assured that ending the AIDS epidemic as a public threat by 2030 is definitely within the country’s reach. To this extent, he added that a national stakeholder’s response would be essential, as well as the use of resources and a change in the course of action over the years.

“This will depend on the strong solidarity and shared commitment of all stakeholders in the fight against HIV/ AIDS, and the mobilisation of the requisite resources to sustain our common efforts at all levels. It will require a radical change of the trajectory over the next five years, recognising the multidimensional nature of the challenge,” the minister reminded.

Norton noted that the Guyana Health Vision 2020 has been serving its intended function as a framework for the national health response.

Present within this frame-

Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton along with other participants of the United Nations High Level Meeting on ending AIDS

work, he added, is the HIVision 2020, which can be credited for the reduction of deaths due to HIV/AIDS as well as the prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT).

Dr Norton explained that the vision emphasises on major principles that are to be considered when fighting a virus as widespread and devastating as HIV/AIDS. He mentioned that the government, on realising this, had crafted the vision under these guidelines.

“Its goal is to reduce the social and economic impact of HIV and AIDS on individuals and communities and ultimately the development of the country. It focuses on five priority areas: Coordination; Prevention; Treatment, Care and Support; Integration and Strategic Information,” the Minister stated.

As the HIVision has become integrated into Guyana’s national response to the virus, the results thus far have been in sync with the government’s target, according to Dr Norton.

According to statistics, Guyana had recorded 3.4 per cent of its population had been living with the virus in 2004, which had then reduced to 1.4 per cent in 2013.

In 2014, the cases further decreased with 751 persons be-

ing infected as opposed to 758 in 2013. However, these figures were at its worst in 2009 when a total of 1176 cases were recorded.

“This achievement can be attributed to a combination of factors, chief among them being actions taken at the policy and programmatic levels to realise a comprehensive approach to ending the epidemic locally. An increase in access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) has also been instrumental in our success,” the minister stated. In addition to these factors, the establishment on programmes within the region with more emphasis on youth involvement has contributed to the tumbling rates, according to Dr Norton.

These programmes focused on counselling, reproductive health education, information, education and communication which are vital factors when considering a national response to the virus.

However,despite Guyana’s persistence in combating the virus, inevitably a number of obstacles have been stumbled upon with the primary one being financial constraints.

Nonetheless, the country remains unyielding in achieving the goal of eliminating HIV/ AIDS.

HSS to observe International Day of Yoga

Hindus for Selfless Service Guyana with other groups celebrating International Day of Yoga 2015 at Everest Cricket Club

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he Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (Hindus for Selfless Service (HSS) Guyana), as part of its continuous promotion of health awareness and its “I love Guyana” project, is coordinating Guyana’s second International Day of Yoga.

The group coordinated Guyana’s first International Day of Yoga in collaboration with a wide cross-section of groups at the Everest Cricket Club in 2015.

The HSS, in providing a background on the genesis of International World Yoga Day, outlined that it was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in his speech to the United Nations Assembly in

New York on September 27, 2014, among other things, proposed to have a day in honour of Yoga.

Recognising the universal appeal of this form of meditation and exercise, on December 11, 2014, the United Nations decreed June 21, as International Yoga Day; in less than three months, Modi’s resolution became a reality. This day was proclaimed International World Yoga Day and is sanctioned in excess of 177 countries including the United States of America, Canada and China.

With the aim of raising awareness of the many benefits of practising yoga, International Yoga Day is now

observed worldwide with activities such as Yoga asanas, meditation, meetings, discussions and cultural performances. Evidence of Yoga in the form of stone sculptures, uncovered in architecture dating back to over 3000BC, indicates that Yoga may be as old as civilisation. This activity, which originated in India, is known as an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice.

The word “yoga” derives from Sanskrit and means “to join” or “to unite”, symbolising the union of body and consciousness.

It has been reported that Yoga can be done by anyone regardless of age and gender since it holds numerous health benefits such as all-round fitness, stress relief, weight loss, increased energy and much more. Based on scientific reports, yoga is said to stabilise the mind and relief chronic illnesses while contributing to proper blood circulation and inner peace. It involved the integration of several practices including breath control, simple meditation and the adoption of specific bodily posture. There are also different types of Yoga which involve physical, mental and spiritual concentration.

Today, Yoga is practised in various forms around the world and continues to grow in popularity.

news

2 persons vying for position of FIU Director – Teixeira …concerns persist over SOCU operations without FIU

By Devina Samaroo

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ontrary to what was previously disclosed, two persons are in the top running to serve as the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

During a news conference on Thursday, People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP) and Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, who is also a member of the committee responsible for the selection of the Director, clarified that no one candidate has been identified for the position.

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams recently announced that the National Assembly’s Appointments Committee already decided on a FIU Director and its recommendation would be voted on at the next sitting of the House.

However, Teixeira explained that the committee had narrowed the list to two persons, and was currently waiting for either individual to accept the contract under the stipulated terms and conditions.

She noted that a final decision was likely to be made when the committee met on June 20.

According to the parliamentarian, a FIU Director could have been installed since the beginning of June; however, because of the Government Ministers’ hectic travelling schedules, the committee could

PPP/C MPs Gail Teixeira and Juan Edghill during the press conference on Thursday morning at Freedom House, Robb Street

not have met as often as it should have.

Nonetheless, Teixeira pointed out that once the committee reached a consensus, the recommendation would go to the House for approval.

When prompted, Teixeira said it would be improper to disclose the names of the two individuals vying for the position.

The FIU is a critical component of the anti-money laundering legislation.

Time and again, the Government has been criticised for its failure to ensure that a Director is appointed so that the Unit becomes fully operational.

SOCU Operation Meanwhile, concerns continue to persist over the operations of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) without a FIU Director installed.

PPP/C MP Juan Edghill, who was also present at the news conference, said it was worrying that SOCU was carrying out investigations and

making arrests without legal coverage.

“If SOCU is operating and their actions are not triggered by the FIU, then who is triggering those actions?” he queried. “Because it is the FIU that needs to say there is a suspicious transaction and an investigation needs to be launched.

And if that is not coming from FIU, it is clear that SOCU is either acting on its own whimsically or under the directions of another authority apart of the FIU.” SOCU has launched several investigations involving the seizure of individuals’ possessions, both jewellery and money.

Some of those confiscations have triggered multimilliondollar lawsuits.

Moreover, it was also disclosed that the Government was yet to provide the parliamentary Opposition with the protocols governing the operations of SOCU, despite a promise some months ago by Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan that he would make the protocols public.

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friDAY, june 10, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Tourism Ministry needs dedicated, standalone Minister – THAG

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ollowing an announcement that Business Minister Dominic Gaskin will now be responsible for the tourism industry and that Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes will relinquish her responsibility of the tourism sector, the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) has voiced their opinion that this decision was taken without much consideration.

According to reports, the rationale behind this move is based on the need for greater focus on public telecommunications, even after Minister Hughes managed both sectors effectively. Minister Hughes had amassed a vast knowledge of the telecommunications sector, having graduated from University of the West Indies, with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Mass Communications in addition to her 20 years of onfield knowledge. Minister Hughes will serve as Tourism Minister until the end of June, as Gaskin will take over effective July 1, 2016. Hughes has also previously served as Director of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana.

The Tourism and Hospitality Association expressed their disappointment with the change, stating that at the commencement of the new Government’s term in office, the Association wel-

comed the identification of Hughes as a standalone Tourism Minister. However, the Association stated that over the course of the last 12 months, this portfolio has been drastically diluted to the proposed move being presented.

“If the current Minister of Public Communication, with a strong background in and understanding of the industry, is too busy to address the needs of the industry, how could an equally demanding portfolio of the Minister of Business be able to devote attention to the Tourism Sector?” a release from the Association stated.

The Association posited that it is critical to the industry’s development to have a Minister who has the time to focus on the sector’s development, understands the needs of the industry and auxiliary sectors; such as transportation, agriculture, culture, arts and craft, and with the depth of knowledge of the key stakeholders’ ability to effect change.

The tourism body further stated that 2015 was a productive year for the sector, as the Minister in charge understood the needs and the concerns of the sector and was able to make representation on their behalf, both at the regional and international level, which they said was very well received. As such, they stated that they are hopeful that the decision to have Hughes relinquish responsibility of the sector is

given further consideration.

The Association also pointed out that they have noted the commitment to foster sector growth in the Government’s manifesto; however; with two budgets presented in the past, this commitment remains largely undelivered. The body further stated that they are of the opinion that the steps taken by Government in the last year in the administration of the sector are regressive and disadvantageous to tourism development.

“THAG now believes that the steps taken by Government in the last year in the administration of the sector are regressive and disadvantageous to our development. The tourism sector is keenly focused on answering President Granger’s call for a green economy and believes that tourism is one of the few sustainable pillars in our country’s economy.

The Government of Guyana identified that tourism contributes nine per cent of revenue per annum to the [Gross Domestic Product] GDP and the recently produced report from the Tax Advisory Board stated that because the capital and labour ratio is low, tourism is one of the sectors with the greatest job creation potential; however, no allowances have been made to build the industry. Imagine what the industry could achieve with our own dedicated Minister of Tourism,” the Association stated.

12 news GNBS lauds companies with accredited status T Rodney, culture friDay, june 10, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BY RENNELLA BOURNE

he Guyana National Bureau of Standard (GNBS) joined with the rest of the world in celebrating World Accreditation Day under the theme, “Accreditation: A Global Tool to Support Public Policy”.

While Word Accreditation Day is celebrated by many North American countries that promote their businesses which have been accredited, Guyana lacks severely in this respect since it only possess two laboratories that are accredited internationally.

The GNBS took the time on Thursday to celebrate and promote the two laboratories that have been accredited – Eureka Medical Laboratory (EML) and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) laboratory. These two laboratories have overridden the challenges and became accredited by the Jamaican National Agency for Accreditation which is recognised by international standards.

Head of the Conformity Assessment Department at GNBS, Candelle WalcottBestwick expressed delight that the two laboratories are being recognised by international standards. “We have been putting much recognition to accreditation since 2010. I must say over the years, the sensitisation has grown; now two laboratories have been accredited in less than a year.”

Walcott-Bestwick added that policymakers should take note of accreditation since in these two cases, it reduces the cost for delays of retesting and it reduces rejections of shipments of rice.

Chief Executive Officer of Eureka Medical Laboratory Andrew Boyle, speaking with Guyana Times expressed his satisfaction of gaining an accredited status. He noted that while the company will not recoup the investments made to have the company accredited “what we have gained at EML is self-satisfaction to know that we are following the correct procedures and we are able to

give patients their results with confidence.”

According to Boyle, “We have been improving every single day, “it is something that I see the need for. We have been improving our machinery and our equipment not because of accreditation but because we want to improve our services to the public.”

EML is not only located in the city but provides services to Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice); Charity and Anna Regina, Region Two (Pomeroon Supenaam); Rose Hall and New Amsterdam, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne); Parika, Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara); and Bartica, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni).

Allison Peters, Quality Control Manager of GRDB speaking with Guyana Times noted that the rice board’s laboratory gained accreditation one year ago and has instilled confidence in their work.

Peters emphasised, “The benefits of accreditation many

do not understand, but accreditation does not have much benefits for us here but it is for the buyers that will recognise we have international standard and as long as they see that they usually become confident in our markets.”

She noted that the GRDB at its national certification status had to comply with many unnecessary retests at the miller’s expense but now accreditation has removed all of that.

The GRDB Research Assistant, Marsha Hohenkirk said she was proud of the new recognition the laboratory has received and noted that “accreditation has benefited the laboratory’s staff; enhancing the discipline in their testing so that errors cannot go out of the laboratory.”

Walcott-Bestwick noted that only the health and agricultural sectors are being impacted by the accreditation.

“We would like to see more laboratories being accredited especially those for export, Guyana ready for business should mean more accredited facilities.”

and unity

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ext Monday will be the 36th Anniversary of the death of Dr Walter Rodney. The Commission of Inquiry that examined the circumstances of his death has made its Report public. But Rodney made too much of an impact during his short life for his legacy to be reduced only to his death.

Ravi Dev Rodney was deeply influenced by the three ideological currents that swept the Caribbean after WWII - Marxism, anti-colonialism and Black Power/ Pan Africanism. A member of a study group that coalesced around CLR James in London as he studied for his PhD (1966) (“History of the Upper Guinea Coast 1545-1800”), he obviously agreed with the assessment of the great Marxist: “The race question is subsidiary to the class question in politics, and to think of imperialism in terms of race is disastrous. But to neglect the racial factor as merely incidental is an error only less grave than to make it fundamental.”

Rodney did not return to Guyana because of the complexities the racial hostilities engendered between 1962 and 1964 among the Indian and African segments. In Tanzania, where he taught at the University between 1966 and 1968, he criticised the transfer of power by the British to local African leaders from a Marxist perspective as a “briefcase revolution”. Refused a teaching appointment at UG in 1968 we went on to the Mona Campus of UWI, where he had studied for his first degree in history. He dismissed the Jamaican leader Hugh Shearer as another “briefcase leader”.

His slim 1969 book, “Grounding with my brothers” summarised the lessons he took outside the classroom and into the “gullies” of Kingston. He opened their eyes to Black Power: “Black power is a doctrine about black people, for black people, preached by black people....the colour of our skins is the most fundamental thing about us....In doing so I am not saying that is the way things ought to be.

I am simply recognising the real world - that is the way things are.”

He pointed out the power of oppression to sustain identities: “So long as there are people who deny our humanity as blacks for so long must we proclaim and assert our humanity as blacks.”

Speaking in Jamaica with its 1% Indian population, and away from the challenges of his native Guyana, Rodney yet noted its racial divisions and pleaded for working class unity. He pointed out that to “whites” there were no differences between Africans and Indians: “Today some Indians (like some Africans) have joined the white power structure in terms of economic activity and culture; but the underlying reality is that poverty resides among Africans and Indians in the West Indies and that power is denied them. Black power in the West Indies therefore, refers primarily to people who are recognisably African or Indian.”

Describing Black Power as, “The hope of the black man (remember Rodney uses this term to include both Black and Indian) that he should have power over his own destinies”, Rodney made a point that is very apropos to Guyana today, “This is not incompatible with a multiracial society where each individual counts equally.

Because the moment that power is equitably distributed among the several ethnic groups then the very relevance of making the distinction between groups will be lost.”

But after he returned to Guyana he acknowledged the salience of culture over class. While pointing out the homogenising impact of creolisation, Rodney conceded that Indians and Africans had not overcome their cultural differences to develop working class consciousness.

In his last book published posthumously in 1981, he concluded: ”...the existing aspects of cultural convergence were insufficiently developed to contribute decisively to solidarity among the working people of the two major race groups. The obverse of this raceclass conjuncture is that the development of class forces and class consciousness was inadequate to sustain unity of the working people across the barriers created by legal distinctions, racial exclusiveness, and the separate trajectories of important aspects of culture.”

Where do we stand today to create a Guyanese unity?

news

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friDay, june 10, 2016 | guyana-times.com

PPP criticises decision to increase tolls

Cabinet still considering increases – Public Infrastructure Ministry

A

s cabinet continues to consider proposals on increasing the tolls for the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has heavily criticised the move for such increases. During a news conference on Thursday, PPP/C Parliamentarians Gail Teixeira and Bishop Juan Edghill observed that the pending decision to increase the DHB tolls will only add to the financial burdens of commuters.

Teixeira contended that there needs to be consultations before such a decision is made, especially with commuters who traverse the bridge on a regular basis.

“People are hurting…if this is the direction that government wishes to go into it would make things harder for people coming to work,” she stated, noting the complaints of several taxi operators that they will have no choice other than to impose increased fares on passengers.

Bishop Edghill opined that government has once again flip-flopped on an issue, pointing out that prior to this revelation they denied that tolls would be increased.

The former Junior Finance Minister noted that in February he questioned government over the consideration of a $150 million subsidy where he asked if it meant there would be no toll hikes. Edghill was of the view

Demerara Harbour Bridge

that if taxpayers are providing money to the bridge by way of the subsidy, it would be deceptive to then “turn around and charge” increases.

“If when seeking the subsidy of $150 million to do capital works at the bridge, you have a $150 million for expenditure, then you turn around to increase the tolls, then you have deceived the nation,” Edghill postulated.

He also contended that it is “discriminatory” for government to increase the tolls for the DHB but fight vociferously to reduce the tolls for the Berbice Bridge.

According to media reports, Director of Public Information Imran Khan had disclosed that motorcyclists will now pay $40 instead of $20 and the toll for cars will be raised from $100 to $200.

On Wednesday, the publically owned Guyana Chronicle published that Cabinet had cleared the way for the toll increases.

But in an issued statement on Thursday, the Public Infrastructure Ministry disputed the article and it was pointed out that there has been no increase in tolls at the Demerara Harbour Bridge. It was in this statement that the ministry disclosed that Cabinet has not yet approved the increases.

Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Annette Ferguson noted that the details surrounding the proposal are still “being ironed out”.

It was further emphasised that the ministry and the DHB will relay any official notice of increases in tolls.

It was on Wednesday that many car drivers bemoaned the reports of the 100 per cent toll increase. Some taxi drivers who ply various routes to Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) from the outskirts of Georgetown viewed the increase inappropriate.

One driver, Moses (only

name given) noted that passengers who cross the bridge will be burdened. He noted that 20 per cent increase would have been more appropriate. Petwam Singh, a father of four operating taxi for over seven years decried high maintenance costs, gasoline, added to the increased tolls.

It was also explained that at present, passengers pay between $500 to $700 to cross the bridge by taxi, but with possible increases in the tolls and gas, fares could be hiked to as much as $1000.

However, some were of the view that there is imbalance between the toll of the Demerara Harbour Bridge and that of the Berbice Bridge.

Aubrey Sanko a driver for 15 years indicated that he does not see the problem with the increase, noting that toll hikes are in keeping with “development”. He also observed the gap between the Demerara and Berbice tolls.

Some persons selling around the Harbour Bridge also noted that increase is justified because that toll has “remained the same” for many years.

The 37-year-old bridge linking East Bank and West Bank Demerara is accounting for millions of dollars in maintenance on a yearly basis. While the bridge raked in some $519 million in 2015, over $2 billion was allotted for its maintenance between 2010 and 2015.

Rodney CoI Report

Motion to be moved to adopt recommendations

By Devina Samaroo

A

motion will be moved in the National Assembly by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Chief Whip Gail Teixeira for the recommendations made in the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (CoI) Report to be adopted.

During a news conference on Thursday, Teixeira said it is imperative that the National Assembly have a debate on the report with the aim of arriving at a consensus to take the necessary steps, based on the recommendations, to ensure that such events do not happen ever again in Guyana’s history.

The Rodney Report was handed over to the Speaker of the House, Dr Barton Scotland on May 11, 2016 – some months after it was submitted to the government, after close to two years of public hearings on the matter.

The report compiled the findings of the CoI, which was established by former President Donald Ramotar to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of renowned Guyanese Historian and Leader of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr Walter Rodney who died when a bomb exploded in his lap in his car on June 13, 1980, dur-

House Speaker, Scotland

Dr

Barton

ing a time of intense political activism in the country.

Government officials, including President David Granger and Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams have both discredited the findings of the report, indicating that there was some agenda to target the People’s National Congress (PNC).

A great debate has since erupted on what purpose these revelations really serve, with many contending that millions of taxpayers’ dollars were wasted to uncovered a truth all Guyanese already knew.

Others, however, argued that the contents of the reports equates to justice finally being served.

Meanwhile, the Rodney Report had recommended that every effort be made to have a well-trained and highly professional Police Force and Army, loyal only to the interests of the country.

Consequently, the report recommended there be considerable investments in training at every level of the Force on an ongoing basis, with particular focus on the importance of values and etiquettes.

“It was conceded by the Police in the course of the Inquiry that a thorough investigation was not done into Rodney’s death. In fact, the evidence is that the Police did not act with professionalism, thoroughness or speed.

The recommendation is that the department in the Police Force tasked with the responsibility to investigate crimes like murder, should, at all times, strive to do so with thoroughness and urgency…” a section of the report stated.

Additionally, given that important documents could not have been found to be presented during the Inquiry, a recommendation was made for there to be a thorough review of the systems in place to store records of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.

Other recommendations were based on the need for ethnic harmony and for the

Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to be an individual of integrity.

Several injured in WCD 2-vehicle collision

The mangled car that reportedly suffered a blowout

S

everal persons had to be rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital following a two vehicle collision on Thursday morning at La Union, West Coast Demerara. The names of those injured in the accident were not immediately available.

According to information received, a minibus bearing registration number BPP 700 was heading to Georgetown when a car with registration plate HC 407 veered into the path of the minibus, causing a head-on collision.

The minibus was at the time carry 10 passengers while the motorcar had three occupants, including the driver. Based on reports gathered, the motorcar might have suffered a blow out, thus causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and slamming into the minibus.

When Guyana Times arrived at the accident scene, both mangled vehicles were being towed away.

Nevertheless, the minibus driver, Seepersaud, claimed that he was travelling towards Vreed-en-Hoop when he saw the motorcar swaying on the roadway.

He added that by the time he made an attempt to pull off the roadway, the

car came crashing into him.

Seepersaud, who received minor bruises about the body, recalled that the motorcar was travelling at a fast rate.

Following the accident, two occupants of the car were reportedly trapped and had to be pulled from the wreckage by public spirited citizens who rushed to assist the injured. They suffered severe injuries to the hands and legs as well as laceration to the head.

An eyewitness told Guyana Times that he was indoors when he heard the loud impact and rushed out to investigate. He recalled seeing the car and the minibus together. The car, he added, was damaged more than the minibus.

He also stated that after the accident, an ambulance was summoned to the scene and transported several injured persons, including the two persons who were pulled from the car. From all indications, none of the injuries looked life threatening.

Guyana Times understands that the driver of the motorcar might have received the brunt of the impact and his condition was listed as serious. The Police have launched an investigation into the accident.

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guyana-times.com

friday, june 10, 2016

News

Over $200M needed Peru election: Kuczynski wins, to restore City Hall but Fujimori has yet to concede ...plans in place for entire rehab – Mayor W F

BY RAMONA LUTHI

uture plans to rehabilitate City Hall may be as costly; in excess of $200 million according to Mayor, Patricia Chase Green in an interview on Wednesday.

According to the Mayor, there are plans to be implemented with respect to the entire rehabilitation of the building. Chase Green said though support was offered from the European Union, it was announced in a meeting prior to this interview that the tenders which the Mayor and City Council would have sent to them proved to be inadequate, and so a retendering was required.

“We were offered some assistance from the European Union and they would have said to us in a recent meeting that the tenders that were sent in did not meet the requirements for the European Union and so they have to do a retendering,” she asserted.

The Mayor highlighted that there were discussions with the World Monument Funding Agency, Guyana Heritage Society and the

Mayor Patricia Chase Green

National Trust, which also gave assurances of their support after a review of the building, indicating that repairs should be conducted in the near future. She pointed out that presently, the wait is on for a thorough report from the organisations along with recommendations on each phase of the restoration process, after which the rehabilitation works will commence.

“I would have also received a visit from the World Monument Funding Agency, the Heritage Society and the National Trust. They have also pledged some support.

They visited the building

and they said to us that the structure needs some repairs and we should do it as early as possible so I’m awaiting the report from the World Monument Fund, and the Heritage Society, National Trust to be forwarded to me and they would also recommend the phases in which the restorations would be made” said the Mayor.

Though she pointed out that there was no fixed estimate for the overall cost of the restoration of the City Hall, Mayor Chase Green said it was an approximation of over $200 million, since it was a matter of good quality and adequate quantity.

“It will be in excess of, I would want to say, two to three hundred million dollars because if you’re talking about restoration and not simply repair, you have to look at the cast iron work they would have to do for it. To have it replaced, and that would cost money. You have to look at the boards that you’re going to replace, the designs of the board and the quality of the boards you buying. So that will have a cost,” the Mayor stated.

Guyana Learning Institute offering CSEC, other training courses

I

n an effort to attain more desirable results in the core subject areas, the Guyana Learning Institute (GLI) will soon offer classes in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC).

Plans are also in the pipeline for the commencement of Certificate and Diploma level courses.

Members of the GLI management committee on Thursday related that from Tuesday 15 June, the Institute will be offering CSEC classes in Mathematics, English Language, Social Studies, Biology, Spanish and Information Technology.

CSEC subjects and courses relating to the field of Agriculture will also be offered in future.

The classes will be conducted at the General and Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) Labour College and each subject will be offered once per week. Between June 14 and July 22, all classes will be free of cost but when that timeframes passes, students will pay a $4000 fee per subject monthly. It was also stated that courses in Public Management, Industrial Relations and Project Management are being planned.

Coordinator of the management committee Ganga Persaud likened the Certificate and Diploma programmes to that of the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE). Persaud stressed that GLI’s courses are in keeping in the guidelines of the University of Guyana.

“Once you have successfully completed both components, then your certificate will reflect your degree of achievement,” Persaud explained. The profiles for the degree of achievement will reflect Distinction, Credit and Pass. It was noted that the classes will cater for 35-40 students. It was also noted that GLI seeks to plan and implement specific training programmes to meet the needs of citizens through an “open education learning system”.

Present at the launch were Hydar Ally, former Ministry of Youth, Culture & Sport, Dr Frank Anthony, and educator Mohandatt Golsarran.

Over the years, calls have been made for measures to be implemented to improve the low pass rate of core subjects, especially Mathematics and English Language. These sentiments were also echoed by Chief Education Officer (CEO) Olato Sam who observed that despite an increase in results, much more work was needed.

At last year’s announcement of the CXC results, the CEO disclosed that the pass rate for Grades One to Three in English A at 49.36 per cent, compared to 46.98 per cent for 2014 while the Mathematics pass rate rose to 45.07 per cent

from 38.75 per cent in 2014.

The 2015 CSEC results also revealed that the overall pass rate at the General and Technical proficiencies for Grades One to Three was 62.72 per cent. Of the 35 subject areas that 12,606 students wrote, 15 subjects recorded performances with the Grades One to Three passes exceeding 75 per cent.

ith all votes counted, the economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski appears to have won the majority of votes in Peru’s cliff-hanger presidential election.

The electoral commission said he received 50.12 per cent of votes, against 49.88 per cent for his rival, Keiko Fujimori.

About 50,000 ballots must first be settled by an electoral court before a winner can be officially declared.

Fujimori has yet to concede, but Kuczynski tweeted his thanks to the Peruvian people.

“It’s time to work together for the future of our coun-

try,” he told his followers on Twitter.

This has been the most closely-fought election in Peru in five decades.

As the last few votes were counted, the candidates remained neck-and-neck, with Kuczynski leading by a tiny margin.

The closeness of the result came as a surprise after polls in the run-up to the election had suggested Fujimori had a comfortable lead.

Analysts said corruption scandals in Fujimori’s Popular Force Party may have dented her support since April, when she comfortably won the first

Border shooting

from page 3

10 days later......

However none of the mining officers, nor the captain of the boat were injured in the shooting incident.

The officers were carrying out inspections and monitoring gold mining camps in the Cuyuni area when the Venezuelan soldiers opened fire on them. They were forced to seek cover by lying flat in the boat as the captain sought to get the attention of the Venezuelan troops with whom he is said to be familiar with.

After recognising the captain, the Venezuelan troops ceased fire and asked the GGCM official to identify themselves before they were allowed to proceed.

According to reports however, the Venezuelan soldiers opened fire at the vessel because they suspected it was carrying smuggled fuel and other contraband.

This is not the first time there has been tension at the Guyana/Venezuela border.

In September last year, the Venezuelan military dispatched heavily armed troops as well as a gunboat and other heavy artillery to the Cuyuni area. Then in December, a Venezuelan helicopter landed at the Kaikan Airstrip, in Region Seven.

Relations between Guyana and Venezuela have been tense over the past few

round of voting.

She is the daughter of Peru’s former President, Alberto Fujimori, who is in jail for crimes against humanity.

Kuczynski, who is an exWall Street financier, said he would use his international financial experience to promote economic growth.

He has the support of prominent figures such as NobelPrize-winning novelist Mario Vargas Llosa and left-wing candidate Veronika Mendoza, who came third in the first round of voting.

But he has faced scrutiny over his close relationship to Peru’s business elite.

months after the Bolivarian Republic continues to lay claim over two thirds of Guyana’s territory, even though an 1899 Arbitration panel awarded the disputed Essequibo region to Guyana.

In February 1966, just before Guyana was granted Independence, in Geneva, Switzerland, the Governments of British Guiana, the United Kingdom and Venezuela signed an agreement to resolve its contentions, but Venezuela has sporadically raised the controversy it created.

The controversy was reignited by Venezuela when the Government of Guyana granted access to the USbased oil exploration company ExxonMobil, allowing it to drill for oil in the Stabroek block offshore Essequibo.

The Venezuelan Government was peeved at this move and made direct contact with the oil company, urging it to discontinue its attempt to carry out drilling activities in the area. Saying it had no part in the territorial issue, the oil company went ahead with its drilling activity.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro later issued a decree on May 26, 2015, which purported to ratify maritime sovereignty over waters within 200 miles in-

cluding the entire Atlantic Ocean off the Essequibo Coast as well as part of Suriname’s maritime territory and an area which is under dispute with Colombia.

Guyana has been seeking the United Nations’ (UN) help in resolving the issue and has sought a juridical settlement if the UN process fails.

Meanwhile, when prompted on Government’s posture towards helping Venezuela during its troubling times, the President conceded that he has not contemplated the possibility.

However, he said if a request was made, his Administration will give it consideration.

“Venezuela has not made a request to us and I am sure if they needed assistance and they asked for our help, we would consider it. But we must not exaggerate, we don’t know the exact situation in that country. We know about newspaper reports, there are some shortages but the Venezuelan economy is not on the point of collapse.

There are some shortages because of the inability to buy goods on the world market, particularly household goods, food stuff and so on.

But the country is not on the brink of collapse you know,” he stated.

friday, june 10, 2016

guyana-times.com

News

Obama officially endorses Hillary Clinton

U

S President Barack Obama has officially endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party presidential nominee.

His endorsement came after meeting Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who has been battling Mrs Clinton for the nomination.

Speaking in a video tweeted out by Mrs Clinton, Obama said she may be the most qualified person “ever” for the role of President.

The two are set to start campaigning together soon.

“I want those of you who’ve been with me from

15

the beginning of this incredible journey to be the first to know that ‘I’m with Her.’ I am fired up and cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary,” Obama said in the video.

“Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders may have been rivals during this primary, but they’re both patriots who love this country and they share a vision for the America that we all believe in.”

The two ran against one another for the Democratic nomination in 2008 and Obama later made Mrs

Clinton Secretary of State.

Speaking to Reuters following the endorsement, Mrs Clinton said Obama’s endorsement “means the world”.

“It is absolutely a joy and an honour that President Obama and I, over the years, have gone from fierce competitors to true friends,” she said.

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump tweeted that Obama’s endorsement means he wants “four more years of Obama” and “nobody else does”. (Excerpt

from BBC News)

16 news

friday, june 10, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Old Age Pension…

No proper accountability for pension books – forensic audit finds

T

he forensic audit into the Old Age Pension (OAP) has revealed that the Ministry of Social Protection (formerly Human Services and Social Security) has no proper accountability for the distribution process of pension books.

This was the finding of auditor Leslie Veerasammy of Nizam Ali and Company.

The audit covered the period January 1, 2015 to May 31, 2015.

During the probe, Veeersammy said it was found that “There was no proper accountability for the 50,500 OAP books printed for 2015 as a reconciliation is not maintained between books printed versus books used.”

It was noted that the total amount of eligible pensioners as recorded in the pension database was 45,262 at the beginning of 2015 during January 1, 2015 to May 31, 2015 and there were a 2301 additions and 587 removals. Therefore, the total amount of eligible pensioners as per the database at May 31, 2015 was 46,976.

Additionally, it was stated

that of the 50,500 OAP books printed for last year, only 500 were recorded on stock as undistributed. According to the auditor, the ministry could not provide a reconciliation of the actual books printed against those distributed for the years 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015; nevertheless, the auditors carried out an independent reconciliation for 2015 based on available data and found overall that there is a variance in the numbers of books based on data when compared to figures based on the average number of pensioners.

He disclosed that at the beginning of the audit, they were provided with two incorrect lists showing total eligible pensioners of 64,001 and 51,915 respectively; however, a revised list was provided to six weeks later with 46,976 pensioners.

“We noted that the department is not capable of retrieving an accurate list of eligible pensioners on a real-time basis. Further, it was noted that the OAP database as at May 31, 2015 contained 46,976 pen-

sioners, however, the average number of pensioners that have encashed their coupons amounts to approximately 42,744. Pursuant to the above, there is an urgent need to have the information on the database sanitised to accurately reflect the list of eligible pensioners,” the report detailed.

Veerasammy further noted that the distribution of OAP books initially to the social workers is based on the distribution lists for the various districts and the distribution list is obtained from the pension database. To the extent that books are issued to social workers and not actually distributed to pensioners, these (unissued) books should be returned to the stores, he stated.

Furthermore, the auditor pointed out that based on the number of vouchers enchased, it is likely that all pension books given to social workers for distribution were not actually distributed and there is no evidence that the unused books were returned.

“In the absence of a system to ensure that all OAP books

are properly accounted for, we are unable to assess the extent to which OAP books printed were legitimately distributed and whether unused books were returned to the stores,” he stated.

In this regard, the auditor recommended that the ministry provide a detailed reconciliation of all OAP books for 2015 and the following details should be included: the number of books printed, number of books issued to social workers, number of books returned by social workers, damaged books, and number of books on hand.

He also made a recommendation for a monthly reconciliation to be done. “As part of this reconciliation process, there should be monthly counts of the quantity of OAP books on hand done by the Internal Audit Department,” he added.

Moreover, during the investigation, it was found that some 27 instances were found where persons collecting the pension books were not the eligible pensioners. The auditor stated that attempts were

made to confirm the existence of these persons by contacting them but were unsuccessful.

“No evidence exists to support the existence of these persons…The Ministry should desist from issuing OAP books to persons other than eligible pensioners,” the auditor recommended, while adding that the ministry should also provide evidence that these persons are legitimate pensioners.

Furthermore, the probe highlighted instances where pension books are distributed in hinterland areas through the Tashaos or Village Councillors, hence there is no need for pensioners to sign the prescribed distribution sheet when uplifting their books.

This, Veerasammy explained, opens room for misconduct.

“The pension vouchers may be encashed by the Toshaos or Village Councilors… There is no system in place to ensure that pensioners in these areas are alive. This may result in the distribution of OAP books to non- existent persons,” he stated.

The auditor noted that the

ministry has indicated that due to the remoteness of the hinterland regions, accessibility to those beneficiaries is difficult and very costly. To facilitate the process of timely distribution, Village Councillors and Toshaos are solicited.

“These persons, by virtue of their office and status, are legally and culturally responsible for the welfare and wellbeing of the people they serve. By this token therefore they are entrusted with the delivery of the pension booklets to intended beneficiaries. This system has proven to be very cost effective and efficient,” the ministry had justified.

Nevertheless, Veerasammy made a recommendation for the ministry to develop a policy whereby a social worker accompanies the Toshaos for distribution of OAPs to pensioners in these communities.

Additionally, he suggested that a detailed census be conducted in order to determine whether persons living in the hinterland area are alive and eligible for pension.

Stabroek Market vendors say GRDB awaiting Pest Risk Assessment – Hassan T Council ignoring concerns Guyana-Mexico rice deal

W

hile works are being carried out around Stabroek Market to improve the aesthetics of Georgetown, City Council is failing to address the sanitary concerns of vendors within the Market. This is according to several vendors who ply their trade in the Western section of the market.

The vendors expressed frustrations as they related that the walkways inside the market are flooded on a daily basis due to the overflowing underground drainage systems. Several snackette owners explained that the drains are less than two feet from their stalls, and every day the clogged drains overflow, resulting in the dirty and foulsmelling water flooding the walkways. This they stated causes them to incur losses as customers do not want to pur-

The overflowing drains in the Market

chase edibles from a snackette that is located in such an insanitary environment.

“This happens on a daily basis…sometimes twice a day, and sometimes up to three times a day. One of the causes would be the dumping of garbage in the drains by other vendors at the back of the market. They dump veg-

The collapsing roof of the wharf is a hazard to those vendors who ply their trade there

etable remnants in the drains and that causes clogging,” one vendor explained.

The vendors, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that they had voiced their concerns with City Hall officials several times; however, to date nothing has been done. They also revealed that after lodging several complaints about the lackadaisical approach to the issue by City officials, several stalls were shut down for one week. “We reported to the Council several times, and they always said that they would look into it but to date nothing has been done.

We complained before to the Council….but in retaliation they shut down two stands for one week,” a concerned vendor stated.

The vendors are imploring City Council to address the matter urgently as it is affecting them. ”Something needs to be done because when it floods, people don’t want to walk through the dirty water and come buy anything. And that causes us to incur great losses,” another vendor stated.

Meanwhile, the vendors located on the wharf are expressing concerns for their safety as the structure is in dire need of repairs. The roof is in a state of partial col-

lapse while the floorboards are loose. “Yuh know how much time people come and seh that they gon repair this thing? Is years now we hearing they gon fix it but nothing ain’t happening. Look, this roof falling apart. A lil breeze and this thing gon come crashing down budday. Them need to look after this soon ‘cause it look like them gon wait ‘til it fall nd kill somebody ‘fore they mek a move,” one vendor stated.

he promised rice deal between Guyana and the North American Spanishspeaking country of Mexico is yet to become a reality, as Guyana awaits the completion of a Pest Risk Assessment currently being carried out by that country.

Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) General Manager Nizam Hassan told Guyana Times on Wednesday that the Board had already played its part in this Risk Assessment, which he believed would create brighter prospects for rice farmers. He said Guyana has already submitted the necessary information to Mexico for it to carry out the analysis. It is now awaiting the results.

Hassan disclosed further, however, that Guyana still has another hurdle to cross after the analysis. “We have been told that the Pest Risk Assessment is under review by SENASICA (the Mexican Government agency responsible for such activity) and that the next step will be to submit it to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for potential comments.”

Last year, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo publicly announced that Government was moving in the direction of securing a rice deal with Mexico. This was a few months after the lucrative rice deal with Venezuela came to an abrupt end. It was noted that the relationship between Guyana and Venezuela became extremely tense and further deteriorated after the A Partnership for National Unity /Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC) Government made a decision not to allow the Venezuelan State-owned airline Conviasa Airlines to land in Guyana over the non-payment of its bond. As time progressed, the two countries drifted from the cordial relations they were sharing for a number of years to bilateral talks breaking down. The rice industry in Guyana is suffering even more since the deal with that country was by far the most profitable.

In earlier reports, Rice Producers Association (RPA) General Secretary Dharamkumar Seeraj had disclosed that there was no progress on the Mexican deal since the collapse of the lucrative

Venezuelan deal. According to Seeraj, “There were promises of Guyana selling into the Mexican market as to replace, if not by value, by volume, the Venezuelan market, but we are still awaiting some progress of that arrangement with Mexico.”

Seeraj had also highlighted that the proposed rice deal with Mexico might not even be a lucrative one. He said the RPA was not too optimistic about that market becoming a reality, and even if it did, it may not be at a competitive price, as the United States supplied about 95 per cent of the rice sold to Mexico at very economical prices.

“Mexico is also very close to the US so there are a lot of logistical advantages over a country like Guyana that is way down in South America.”

He reminded that Mexico and the US were also part of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), a trading bloc protected by protocols involving taxes on imports for extra-regional sources. Guyana, he said, can be classified as an extra-regional source taking into consideration NAFTA.

guyana-times.com

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3-year-old Milcah Garraway of Christianburg Wismar Secondary School was crowned winner of the inaugural Supernova singing contest held at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground.

She captured the hearts of the judges with her tune “Never Gonna Stop”. She was also awarded the prize for the best motivational song.

Coming in second spot was Andella Alexander of Linden Foundation Secondary School with her rendition of “Over My Ex” who also won the Social Media Award and the prize for best video.

In third spot was Anthony Persaud of Mackenzie High School with “All I Need is Love”. Former calypso monarch Dianna Chapman was adjudged

Winners of the inaugural Supernova Singing Contest

T

he first leg of the Champion of Champions’ Karaoke Contest kicked off last Saturday at Aracari Resort with the customary pomp and fanfare.

Some twelve talented amateur singers took to the stage and after gruelling battle it was East Bank Demerara’s Rhonda Williams who stole the heart of the judges, netting a whopping 98 points out of the maximum 100.

Belting out Whitney Houston’s ‘Try it on My Own’ she

friday, june 10, 2016

best mentor. were encouraged to share the The first ever Supernova audio and video of their repsinging contest was promotresentative as many times ed by Divine Entertainment/ as possible to gain points, as Code Red Records in colmomentum built some saw laboration with Elevate as many as 45,000 votes in a Studio, Venom Beatz and the matter of days and to an exDepartment of Education. tent even got international atThe event which ended on tention. a high was deemed exciting, The finals was staged at challenging but yet fulfilling the Mackenzie Sports Club high school singing competiground that saw scores of tion. cheering fans from across the The event was concepturegion, eager to witness who alised with the aim of showwould win the top prizes of casing and nurturing the cash, record deals, tablets and hidden talents trophies. that exist in high They were even treatschools, through a ed to performances by Semi mentorship methFinalist Si Headley, Quarter odology that saw Finalist Fernandas, Alpha participants being Dan, Sweet Kindgo, Shelly G, guided by sessional FYB Dancers, Multi Dancers and recognised arand More. tistes.

This once is a life time exThe 57 participerience for these nine finalpants after audiists will never be forgotten, tions were grilled and has touched the hearts through quarter fiof thousands, and while some nals, 18 then ad- The Best Mentor along with the winner of may be disappointed, they are vanced to semifinals the inaugural Supernova singing contest all winners in the organizers’ where they were books; but one thing remains, paired randomly to compete in the duet the key focus that this continues to be reiterated round, then a remaining nine made it to “with popularity comes great responsibility” and finals. “education sets the foundation for endless possiFor the finals each finalist was task bilities”. with writing, composing and recording As the eight-week journey concluded, it is intheir own songs which then had a video deed a testimony that Guyanese music has great produced to accompany it. potential and the era of a new sound, new flavour Through a stringent voting system and the next generation of renowned artistes has via social media, finalists and schools begun.

infused classic charisma, grace, and astounding vocals to receive a standing ovation from audience and judges as alike. Hot on her heels was West Demerara’s Jason Griffith scoring 95 points.

Georgetown’s Paul Muesa topped the charts with mind boggling choreography and vocals raking at 91 point to cart off the third position. In fourth was Mickel Sam of West Demerara with 90 points, while Georgetown’s Marvin Mc Clennon placed fifth with 82 points.

Following in consecutive order was West Demerara’s Natasha Emperor with 78 points and Georgetown’s Tyra Banks with 71 points. The second leg of this competition continues on Saturday, June 11, 2016 at 20:00h at the Aracari Resort.

At this round karaoke champions from Mahaicony, Berbice, Mahaica, Victoria, Ann’s Grove, Plaisance and Timehri villages will battle against those from the first leg for a whopping $50 000, and trophy.

The winner will also win an all-inclusive night’s stay at the resort for him/herself, and partner, and a recording contract compliments

of KrossKolor Records.

The second place winner will take home a trophy, three months free pool and gym membership package compliments of Aracari Resort’s Salon and Spa. The individual copping third place is entitled to six months gym and pool membership, plus dinner for two at the Aracrai Resort, and a trophy.

There is still room for more entrants, so interested persons can call Alex Wayne on phone numbers 694 9406, or 264 2946 for more information.

This event concludes on Saturday, June 25, 2016.

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guyana-times.com

friday, june 10, 2016

Stephen Ramphall

Vicadi

C

hutney lovers on the Westside are in for Pooran Seeraj a treat when Aamir Khan Entertainment presents West Coast Chutney Night on June 18 at the Aracari Resort, Versailles, West Bank Demerara. The event is the first of its kind and will see several local artistes performing some of their well known hits.

Those slated to perform are Aamir Khan, Chutney King, Pooran Seeraj, Stephen Ramphall and a budding new singer, Vicadi, among others.

Apart from the live performances by the artistes, there will be several dance pieces by popular dance troupes. Tickets for the event cost $1000 in advance while vehicle passes will be available at a cost of $500. Showtime is 20:00h.

The evening is sponsored by Westsiders Entertainment and Stag Beer.

ANSA McAL launches SKYY/Appleton Dream Weekend Promotion

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NSA McAL, under its SKYY Vodka Brand in collaboration with Appleton Special, today launches its Dream Weekend Promotion that will see one lucky person winning fabulous prizes.

The winner not only gets a trip for two to Negril, Jamaica, but has a chance to experience the island in all its glory.

Known as the land of reggae, Jamaica is the ultimate getaway for that special couple.

The prize includes airfare for two, accommodation, meals and drinks, two Appleton Special Dream Weekend VIP bands, a chance to attend all Appleton Special events for the three days and US$400 spending money. Be ready to experience five nights, four days of non-stop parties.

The date to mark down on that calendar is July 28 to August 1, 2016, but before you pack those bags, you must win the promotion by following some simple rules.

Those interested will have to collect one cap of an Appleton Rum bottle or a label from any 750ML or 1L SKYY Vodka and place it in an envelope with your name, telephone number and address.

The next step is to drop it into entry boxes at participating stores and supermarkets nationwide. The drawing for the promotion will take place on July 20 and the name of the winner will be published in the press.

The promotion is only open to persons over 18 years old.

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Aamir Khan

ext week, “Painting the Spectrum 12” continues with two compelling films from Sweden and the United States of America exposing unequivocal love and the everyday endeavours for self-acceptance faced by LGBT persons.

The week’s screenings begin on Tuesday, June 14 with “Kiss Me” — a film that portrays the ecstasy of true undeniable lesbian love entwined with the angst of coming out.

It tells the story of Mia, a thirty-something well-to-do architect who finds her life turned upside down when she unexpectedly falls in love with the free-spirited Frida.

The two women meet at an engagement party in the country — Frida’s mother is about to marry Mia’s father — and discover an instant attraction that immediately calls into question Mia’s engagement to her long-time boyfriend Tim. “Kiss Me” is notable for its sumptuous and sensual love scenes featuring exceptional performances from a stellar cast. This deeply romantic and passionate drama has earned universal acclaim from fans and critics around the world and has already established itself as one of the most beloved lesbian films of the decade.

Then on Thursday, June 16, Spectrum 12 will screen “Blackbird” — a film telling the struggle for self-acceptance of 17-year-old Randy, a boy who tries very hard to be a good person.

Since his father left, Randy takes care of his emotionally disturbed mother, and he’s the kind of friend all his classmates can depend on. As strong as he seems on the outside, Randy is hiding a secret inner struggle and denial of his true self. It’s not until he opens himself up to love that he discovers that becoming a man means accepting who you really are.

"Painting the Spectrum 12" continues every Tuesday and Thursday in June commencing at 18:00h at the Dutch Bottle Café, 10 North Road, Bourda, Georgetown.

The film festival offers free, onsite HIV counselling and testing, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Advancing Partnerships and Communities (APC) Project, which will be available every festival night.

There is no charge for admission to the film festival, and drinks and snacks will be on sale. All proceeds go towards SASOD’s LGBT Emergency Shelter and Community Centre Fund.

The films are intended for mature audiences. Persons must be 18 years and over to attend.

friDAY, june 10, 2016

guyana-times.com

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uyanese music producer DRWTVN has been dominating the local music industry for quite some time now and has recently been making his mark on the

Regional and International music industry as well.

His latest release “Hookah” sung by Trinidadian sensation Shal Marshall is a high energy party track which is a crossover fusion between groovy soca and middle Eastern percussion instruments. In addition, it has a hint of EDM sounds and synths that would make listeners break out in their best dance moves while puffing on their “Hookah”.

The concept for the song was birthed out of the popular Arabian trend that has been taking the social scene by storm over the last year.

Party people and those who love “Hookah” are well pleased with the song.

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he Indian Cultural Centre (ICC), located at Lot 67 New Haven, Bel Air, Georgetown, invites the public to a screening of the 1993 film “Baazigar” commencing at 17:30h.

This thriller, directed by Abbas Mustan, features Shah Rukh Khan as a seemingly nice young man, Ajay Sharma. Ajay sets out to seek revenge on the man who destroyed his father. Ajay’s vengeance extends to the man’s daughters Priya and Seema Chopra played by Kajol and Shilpa Shetty.

“Baazigar” is one of the few films in which the main character is an anti-hero. The film won several awards, including awards for the soundtrack.

T a m i k a Henry, Leon Cummings, Troy Parboo, Mark Kazim and Henry R o d n e y among others.

Admission Henry Rodney

to the event is $1000 (balcony) and $1500 (main floor).

The production is expected to commence at 19:00h.

Troy Parboo

Lloyda Nicholas-Garrett

Admission to the screening is absolutely free.

Independence Jubilee Wash-down for Linden this Sunday T

he Linden community is expected to come alive in a kaleidoscope of colours on Sunday, as the Regional Democratic Council of Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) presents the 50th Independence Anniversary Wash-down and Jubilee Float Parade.

According to information coming out of the RDC, several costume bands intend to take to the streets, including the RDC band and bands from the People’s National Congress Reform, Digicel, ANSA McAL and Banks DIH. ANSA McAL, Digicel and Banks DIH in-

A

ll plans are in place for yet another theatrical production on Saturday evening at the Theatre Guild, Parade Street, Georgetown as part of Guyana’s Jubilee celebrations. The play titled “Miriamy” is directed by well-known actor and playwright Ron Robinson.

Over the past weekend, comedy lovers stormed the venue for “Till I Find A Place – After the 50th” and tomorrow evening will be no different since this show promises

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tend to participate with 100 revellers each, while the RDC is expected to have 50 persons on the road, sources said. The revellers are expected to assemble at the Mackenzie shore, starting from Purpleheart Street, into the Five Corner area, as they proceed along the Washer Pond Road, thence over to the Wismar shore where the parade will culminate at the Bayroc Community Centre Ground.

The event will be held under the theme “Reflection, Celebration, Inspiration” and promises to be one with a difference as hundreds are expected to participate.

The Commemoration Planning Committee of the RDC also has several other entertainment features lined up for the event on Sunday.

to be off the hook with some of the best actors and actresses in the business.

The show tells the story of a woman who is pregnant with quintuplets, but she does not know who the father is.

In an action packed production, patrons will explode with laughter, spurred on by a well-experienced cast featuring Mark-Luke Edwards, Lloyda Alicia, Nickosie Layne, Mariatha Causway,

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Mark Kazim

Mark-Luke Edwards

This production is being staged for one night only, as part of the Jubilee Theatre Festival.

ll roads will lead to Palm Court, Main Street, Georgetown on Saturday evening for Pulse Entertainment’s “Hawaiian Night”.

The action will start at 21:00h.

Patrons can expect an awesome line of Hawaiian food, authentic Hawaiian cocktails from the TIKI bar and to add some fun to the eventful night, there will be the best in Hawaiian games.

In addition, patrons will definitely be treated to some of the best Hawaiian music by the Pulse DJs. Music and lighting will be provided

by Pulse Entertainment. Admission cost $2000 while ladies will be admitted free until 22:00h.

“Hawaiian Night” is sponsored by Pulse Entertainment, Banks Beer, Pulse Magazine, Best WareHouse deals, Hotspotgy and Jamdayard.

Gates open at 20:00h.

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guyana-times.com

friDAY, june 10, 2016

Cavs crush Bairstow century leads Warriors to recovery after Lords’ collapse cut Finals J deficit to 2-1 England v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test, Lord’s, 1st day

onny Bairstow’s second century of the series helped England recover from another top-order collapse to reach 279-6 on day one of the third Test with Sri Lanka.

He once again helped rescue England’s flaky batting as he hit an unbeaten 107 at a sun-kissed Lord’s.

Together with 85 from skipper Alastair Cook, Bairstow’s third ton in six Tests dragged the hosts out of a hole in near-perfect conditions for batting.

Rash strokeplay mixed with disciplined bowling from Sri Lanka had reduced Cook’s men to 84-4 just after lunch.

But Bairstow profited from a dropped catch and then the most marginal of lbw decisions to continue his wonderful early summer run of form.

Not since beating India 4-0 in the summer of 2011 have England whitewashed a Test opponent in a series of three or more matches.

And while the weather forecast for the remainder of the match is uncertain, Bairstow’s fightback has given them a hold in a contest that had been drifting Sri Lanka’s way.

On a true pitch and under benign skies, England once again lost key wickets cheaply - four this time for 28 runs, having chosen to bat and looked completely untroubled in the first hour of play.

First Alex Hales lost patience, having been kept runless for 22 balls, heaving unnecessarily at Rangana Herath to send a looping

Jonny Bairstow screams with delight after scoring a Test hundred at Lord’s

edge to Angelo Mathews at slip.

Then Nick Compton, mired in a horrible trot of form and seemingly lacking in confidence, chased a wide half-volley and edged Suranga Lakmal behind for just one.

Joe Root followed four runs later, pinned lbw by the same bowler after the initial not-out decision was correctly overturned by the third umpire, and when James Vince had his bail removed

by Nuwan Pradeep for 10 just after lunch, England had slumped from 56-0 to 84-4.

Compton’s dismissal was the most chastening of all: to a ball that should have been routinely driven away for four, greeted by a ghastly silence from the near capacity crowd, followed by a slow walk back to the old pavilion, Lord’s suddenly the loneliest place in London.

It could have been worse

had Shaminda Eranga held on to a straightforward chance at mid-wicket when Bairstow was on 11, the ball flying straight into his hands and out again.

By his aggressive standards it was a patient innings, but when offered anything overpitched or wide by a hard-working and parsi-

monious attack, he took full advantage.

His first Test century at Lord’s came with a tickle off the hip from his 160th ball as the evening shadows stretched across the pitch, and he celebrated in fitting style - helmet off, arms stretched out wide to the grateful crowd. (BBC Sport)

SCOREBOARD Stumps - Day 1 Total (6 wickets; 90 overs) 279 England 1st innings To batSCJ Broad, ST Finn, JM AN Cook* lbw b Pradeep 85 Anderson AD Hales c Mathews b Herath Fall of wickets 1-56 (Hales, 19.4 18 ov), 2-67 (Compton, 24.3 ov), NRD Compton c †Chandimal 3-71 (Root, 26.1 ov), 4-84 (Vince, b Lakmal 1 31.3 ov), 5-164 (Cook, 56.2 ov), JE Root lbw b Lakmal 3 6-227 (Ali, 73.5 ov) JM Vince b Pradeep 10 Bowling: RMS Eranga 20-2JM Bairstow† not out 107 63-0, RAS Lakmal 19-2-66-2, MM Ali c Mathews b Herath 25 N Pradeep 20-4-79-2, AD CR Woakes not out 23 Mathews 10-5-19-0, HMRKB Extras (lb-7) 7 Herath 21 4 45 2

6th Annual Digicel Nationwide Schools Football…

Tournament to kick-off today at Leonora – Vreed-en-Hoop, L’Aventure to take centre stage

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fter weeks of preparations by participants, the eagerly anticipated sixth annual Digicel Nationwide Schools Football Competition is set to commence today with a lone game at the Leonora Synthetic track and field facility, West Coast Demerara.

The opening fixture of this year’s competition is an all-region three affair with Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary taking on L’Aventure Secondary in what is expected to deliver an exciting start to the tournament from 15:30 Hrs. The early talk about this year’s competition is that it will produce fireworks from the first kick-off and fans are being urged to converge at the venue to get a first hand glimpse of some of the future stars in the sport.

The competition which is in its sixth year has seen the Government Technical

More goals and young talents are expected to be unearthed in another exciting edition of the nationwide tournament

Institute securing the inaugural championship, but since then the school from the Mining Town of Linden, Wismar/Christianburg Secondary has dominated

the event, winning the next four years to become the most successful team in the competition’s history.

This year, however, many observers believe that a new

champion will be crowned and among the early favourites is Chase Academic Foundation, a team that has dominated the junior level in Georgetown, while

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Lebron James had a game-high 32 points

eBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers stormed back into the NBA Finals with a dominant 120-90 victory over the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Wednesday that cut the series deficit to 2-1.

James, who called the game “do-or-die” for his team, scored a game-high 32 points and Kyrie Irving added 30 as the Cavaliers breathed new life into a series that had looked headed for a quick finish after a lopsided opening two games in Oakland.

“We talked about effort for the last two days, just being aggressive, playing hard, the physicality, and we brought that,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. “When we play that way, we’re tough to beat.”

Cleveland, well aware that no team in NBA history has ever come back from an 3-0 series deficit to win in seven games, got off to a fast start and led the entire way to keep alive their hopes of avenging last year’s Finals defeat to the Warriors.

NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry had a night to forget with 19 points on 6-for-13 shooting for the Warriors.

The Cavaliers were a much different team than the one that lost the first two games of the series by a combined 48 points and kept alive their hopes of delivering Cleveland its first profes-

sional sports championship in 52 years.

James and Irving set the tone early with a dominant first quarter, during which they helped Cleveland establish a 20-point lead at one stage.

The defending champion Warriors showed some signs of life in the second quarter as they chipped away at the Cavaliers lead, getting to within eight points by halftime despite Curry being held to two points.

However, Cleveland quickly squashed any hopes the Warriors had at making a comeback with a blistering start to the third quarter, where they built a 22-point lead after a jump shot by James with about six minutes left in the quarter.

The Cavaliers, embarrassed by a 33-point loss in Game Two, cruised the rest of the way and led by as many as 31 with a minute to play to change the narrative of a series that many had started to think would be over in four games.

“We weren’t ready to play,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr lamented. “Obviously, they just punched us right in the mouth right in the beginning.

“It’s going to take more than an effort like that to win a Finals game against a great team, obviously.”

Game Four is in Cleveland on Friday. (Reuters.com)

schools such as Mackenzie High, Berbice Educational Institute, Dolphin, Lodge and Beterverwagting Secondary and schools from the hinterland districts including Waramadong and Annai Secondary are also favoured to do well.

What is certain is that due to the increase competitions that are being played now, the level of play will most definitely be much higher than last year.

The nationwide event

has provided scouts, clubs and the Guyana Football Federation the opportunity to see players from every part of Guyana, a definite positive for the national team’s Technical Director and coaches throughout the country.

Matches are slated to be played in every region in the country.

In excess of 150 schools are registered for this year’s competition.

YELLOW PAGES friDAY, june 10, 2016 | www.guyana-times.com

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P

Philippe Coutinho

hilippe Coutinho, Renato Augusto, Gabriel and Lucas Lima were all on target as Brazil boosted its Copa America quarterfinal hopes.

Philippe Coutinho netted a hat trick as Brazil kickstarted its Copa America Centenario campaign with a 7-1 win over Haiti.

Brazil played out a contentious goalless draw with Ecuador last time out but there was nothing controversial about Wednesday’s Group B victory as Philippe Coutinho put the result beyond doubt against the Caribbean minnow during the first 45 minutes in Orlando.

Coutinho scored twice inside the opening half hour and completed his hat trick in the second minute of injury time at Camping World Stadium.

Renato Augusto scored twice with goals in each half, while substitutes and Santos pair Gabriel - dubbed the new Neymar - and Lucas Lima got in on the action after the break to ease some of the pressure on coach Dunga at the centenary tournament in the United States.

Brazil, though, was exposed in defense as James Marcelin scored Haiti’s first Copa America goal with 20 minutes remaining.

With Miranda still unfit, Dunga retained the center back pairing of Gil and Marquinhos as Brazil named an unchanged starting XI. Looking to pull off a shock and snap a threegame losing streak, CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinalist Haiti called in Jean Alexandre, Jean Alcenat and Kevin Belfort at the expense of Wilde Donald Guerrier, Max Hilaire and Duckens Nazon.

As expected, Brazil con-

trolled the game against the 74th-ranked nation but was made to wait 15 minutes for the opener, though it was worth it after Coutinho produced a stunning strike to break the deadlock.

Left in plenty of space, Coutinho collected the ball outside the penalty area and beared down on goal before unleashing a powerful effort beyond Haiti goalkeeper Johny Placide.

For all of Brazil’s dominance, the side was often sloppy in possession but that did not stop them from doubling the lead via Coutinho just shy of the half-hour mark in an all too easy sequence of play.

Dani Alves crossed in from the right flank, picking out Jonas, who outmuscled two opponents, including the keeper, and squared the ball to an unmarked Coutinho for the Liverpool star to tap into an empty net for Brazil’s 400th Copa America goal.

Haiti emerged from the halftime break on the front foot, threatening at times but was not clinical enough as Gabriel came off the bench to extend Brazil’s lead.

Staking his claim for a starting berth after replacing Jonas at the interval, teenager Gabriel was fed through by Elias and coolly slotted the ball past Placide on the hour.

Brazil showed no signs of easing up on Haiti as fellow substitute Lucas Lima got in on the action in the 68th minute, nodding home Alves’ cross.

Haiti, though, did score, with USA-based forward Marcelin thumping home the 70th-minute rebound after Alisson was unable to deal with Hilaire’s shot following a driving run from Nazon.

There was almost a sixth for Brazil after Gabriel’s impressive footwork but Willian’s stinging shot was saved by Placide with 12 minutes remaining, however Augusto completed his brace in the 86th minute with a tidy finish and Coutinho bagged his third late in stoppage time as the South American giant extended its unbeaten streak to eight matches.

Ecuador 2 – 2 Peru: Bolanos rescues point in Copa America thriller Miller Bolanos scored early in the second half as Ecuador overturned a twogoal deficit to earn a share of the spoils with Peru.

Ecuador fought back from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw against Peru in Group B at the Copa America Centenario on Wednesday.

Miller Bolanos scored the equalizing goal early in the second half after Peru took a commanding lead at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Christian Cueva put Peru ahead in just the fifth minute with one of the goals of the centenary tournament, before Edison Flores doubled the advantage eight minutes later.

Enner Valencia reduced the deficit on the stroke of halftime and it was Bolanos who made it 2-2 three minutes into the second period, with neither side finding the net in the closing stages as Ecuador defender Gabriel Achilier saw red for a second bookable offence.

The result keeps Peru in second position in Group B on four points with a clash against Brazil to come, while Ecuador is two points behind and will face Haiti in its final game. (Goal)

22

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

friDAY, june 10, 2016

Hero Caribbean Premier League, 2016

CPL ticket sales off to marvellous start

By Akeem Greene

T

he rush is on for tickets to the “Biggest Party in Sport” which heads to Providence for four matches beginning July 7 with an evening clash between the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Jamaica Tallawahs.

The sale of tickets for the Guyana Amazon Warriors home matches in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) commenced on Thursday at the spanking new ticket office at Camp and Quamina Streets, Georgetown (the former TVG building) with several fans gathering to grab their tickets early.

Manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors Omar Khan in speaking to media operatives explained that patrons can expect an improved ticketing process due to the new features of the new location that will allow crowd control. The customer friendly location is also designed to eliminate the issue of flooding which inconvenienced fans in the previous years.

“Ticket sales have started this morning [Thursday], we have had a steady flow of patrons coming to get their tickets which is a good sign;

people are asking calling and asking about tickets, all systems are in place from now until the start of the games”, the manager said.

Khan also revealed that as the time draws closer to the matches, there will be other ticket locations namely at the Guyana National Stadium. Moreover, system are being put in place to have ticket offices in Berbice and on the Essequibo Coast.

Ticket prices are $4,000. for the Red and Green stands; $ 3,000. for Orange Stand and $2,000. for the Grass Mound; fans are reminded that a maximum of ten tickets may be purchased by one per match and the choice of specific seating will depend on availability.

The ticketing office, also houses the merchandise store which has a variety of Amazon Warriors replica uniforms, cricket gears and many memorabilia. The clothing line include track suits, polo jerseys, round neck jerseys, v-neck jerseys, tank tops, training shirts, practice shirts, match shirts and long and short trousers are available in various sizes and colours. Amazon Warriors acrylic coins, caps and hats, umbrellas, flags, tea cups, i-phone cases, key rings and haversacks are

Some of the merchandise on sale at the ticketing office

also available.

The office is open from 09:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs Monday to Friday while on Saturdays it functions from 09:00hrs to 14:00 hrs; as match days come nearer, Sundays are expected to be made available for the purchasing of tickets.

Match at high noon What may be bewildering to some fans is the day match against the St. Kitts

and Nevis Patriots which begins at 12:00 hrs on Saturday July 9, since the usually custom is to have the matches being played in late afternoon period into the night as is the case with the other three home fixtures.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors manager addressed the issue, stating that the prescribed time is to accommodate viewership

by a larger than usual television audience especially in Europe and the Indian Subcontinent. Khan explained, “this game is being beamed throughout India, throughout Europe and other parts of Asia because the IPL [Indian Premier League] owners specifically requested that this game be held at this time so they can get a viewing audience in India; so it is an opportunity to sell

Guyana and expose Guyana to the world.”

The Trinbago Knight Riders tem is currently owned by Kolkata Knight Riders franchise team owner, Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan while Barbados Tridents have ties with Royal Challenger Bangalore and Dr. Vidya Mallya.

Guyana Amazon Warriors will play four home matches beginning on 7 July against the Jamaica Tallawahs from 19:00 Hrs then, 9 July against the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.

The popular “grudge match” between Guyana and Trinidad will occur on July 10 when they tackle the Trinbago Knight Riders from 19:00 Hrs and the final match on home turf is on July 12 against the St. Lucia Zouks from 19:00 Hrs. The fourth edition of the tournament opens on June 29 when Trinbago Knight Riders host the St. Lucia Zouks at the Queen’s Park Oval from 21:00 Hrs. The Amazon Warriors open their 2016 campaign on the road to the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Warner Park on Thursday June 30 at 20:00 Hrs. (akeemg@guyanatimesgy.com)

Eagles United wins UDFA PYO salutes U-17 Round League Muhammad Ali T Brewley was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament while Joel Isaacs copped the prize for the most goals scored.

UDFA President, Sharma Solomon and other representatives assisted with the presentation of trophies.

The tournament which saw twelve teams being placed into two groups of six, played over a nine weeks period and was sponsored by: UDFA, Petra Organization, BOSAI Minerals, Dave and Celina’s and Sports Plus.

Eagles Captain Javair Smith being presented with winners’ trophy by Sharma Solomon

I

n front of a sizeable and vocal crowd the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) U-17 Round Robin League ended on a high note with an exciting finals between Amelias Ward Panthers and Eagles United. The match saw a very defensive first half by both teams which ended scoreless.

After the break, the Eagles with a more attacking style of play and their talisman Shemar Brewley maintaining pressure on the Panthers defence man-

age to find the back of the net from the top of the 18 in the 54th minute. The game maintained its high intensity with the Panthers striking in the 70th minute, however the goal was disallowed which saw the Eagles soaring to a one nil victory.

In the third place match up Net Rockers made light work of Mile Rock when Reon Tappin scored the first goal in the 26th minute, and Joel Isaacs netted the second and third goals in the 60th and 66th minutes respectively. Shemar

MVP Shemar Brewley collects trophy from Sharma Solomon

he Progressive Youth Organization of Guyana (PYO) wishes to express its profound sadness at the passing of one of the world’s most celebrated athletes and personalities who has not only reshaped the corridors of history but has left an indelible impression on the minds of young people across the world.

Muhammad Ali, who passed away at 74, used every fiber in his being to fight against social injustices, economic inequalities and racism within a developing America and further afield.

He also believed strongly that young people were indeed the future architects of a modern world where peace and human justice prevails, and persons regardless of their nationalities are allowed to practice their religious beliefs without facing systemic and legal discrimination.

The PYO notes Ali’s unwavering commitment to the Civil Rights Movement in America which has since the 1960’s led to so many changes and reforms within the American political system that have seen minorities there receiving equal

rights and respect.

We believe strongly that youths here and abroad can learn a lot of lessons from the humility, coverage and perseverance, commitment to excellence in sports, politics and overall drive of Muhammad Ali. As one of the principled and key youth organizations in Guyana, the PYO believes there are many similarities between its overall agenda at the time of its establishment and even now, and Ali’s struggle for justice and rejection of racism.

We will therefore continue in Guyana to fight against the current political oppressors and other forces who have launched an anti-youth campaign aimed at stifling the potential of Guyanese youth, dismissing them on the basis of their race and political affiliation while threatening them into silence as the economy moves further into decline.

The PYO therefore salutes this Boxing Heavy Weight Champion and Icon whose life will no doubt serve as an inspiration to youth to continue to strive to accomplish their dreams and ambitions.

guyana-times.com

fridAY, june 10, 2016

23

An evening of tributes to “The Windies focused on correcting mistakes Greatest” planned for tomorrow B

T

he Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GBA) and McNeal Enterprise announced that they have teamed up to organize an evening of tribute to one of the best know figures of the 20th Century, Muhammad Ali. At the simple press briefing held on Thursday in Georgetown, Odinga Lumumba of Mc Neal Enterprise expressed disappointment that no organization was doing a tribute to the great man. He noted that Ali, who twice visited Guyana, motivated thousands of Guyanese, made an impact on our boxers and inspired many young people.

He described Ali as a giant, who created the atmosphere for the fight against oppression, “he was not only a boxer but a teacher and a leader” were also the words of Lumumba.

Steve Ninvalle (left) and Odinga Lumumba

President of the GBA, Steve Ninvalle who was in full support of the event, described it as fitting and timely and thanked McNeal Enterprise for getting onboard with the event at such a short time. Ninvalle said, “The broad expanse of the people we have invited would be able to tangibly give an outlook at what Muhammad Ali actually was.”

The organizers said that

in addition to the event being opened to the general public, they have invited several notable Guyanese, including doctors, students and leaders to give tributes to the late great Muhammad Ali. The event that will also have a viewing of some of Ali’s greatest fights is scheduled for 17:00 Hrs tomorrow, Sunday June 12 at the Impeccable Banquet Hall, Brickdam Georgetown.

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2016

Amazon Warriors training camp commences on June 20

T

By Akeem Greene

he Guyana Amazon Warriors pre-tournament training camp for this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will commence on June 20 with the international and regional signings are expected to be in attendance. This is according to Manager Omar Khan who made the disclosure while speaking to members of the media at the new ticketing office at Camp and Quamina Streets.

Pakistani all-rounder Sohail Tanvir , Australian Chris Lynn, West Indies T20 star Dwayne Smith are some of the high profiles to grace the preparatory camp.

International stars Martin Guptill and Adam Zampa are the only two players who will miss the camp due to pre-tournament commitments.

The New Zealander Guptill, who succeeded Denesh Ramdin as the Warriors’ Captain, is in England participating in the NatWest T20 Blast for county side Lancashire.

The dashing right-handed opener who has been in sublime for in past months will play six group games for the county side after which he will leave after the team’s final home match on June 24 to join the Amazon Warriors.

On the other hand, the unavailability of the Australian leg-spinner Zampa, is due to his commitments for country in the ongoing Ballr Cup Tri-Nation Series involving the West Indies and South Africa; the series is slated to finish on June 26 in Barbados.

During the camp, practice matches against a local representative team will be played and the Manager also revealed that West Indies Under-19 players Keemo Paul, Tevin Imlach along with Akshaya Persaud will be a part of the training regime in keeping with the Warriors developmental programme.

In April, the management Warriors began preparations in earnest with an interactive session comprising of all the locally based players.

The session was geared to have the local based players interact with each other, field questions and seek clarifications ahead of CPL 2016.

After the indoor session, the players took to the National Stadium for their first physical workout ahead of the impending season.

The Warriors will be in search of their first title win this year after coming up short in two finals, one against the Jamaica Tallawahs in the first edition and then against the Barbados Tridents in the second year.

Last year they had a spirited run, reaching the play-offs which they lost to Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel (now Trinbago Knight Riders) by six wickets.

The first home match for the Warriors will be on July 7 against the Jamaica Tallawahs, followed by a match against the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots on July 9.

They will then battle the Trinbago Knight Riders on June 10 followed by a clash against St. Lucia Zouks on July 12.

However, the Warriors will in action before playing on home turf as they open their campaign on June 30 at Warner Park, St. Kitts against the Patriots from 20:00hrs.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors squad reads: Dwayne Smith, Rayad Emrit, Veerasammy Permaul, Orlando Peters, Assad Fudadin, Anthony Bramble, Paul Wintz, Steven Jacobs, Steven Katwaroo, Ali Khan, Jason Mohammed, Christopher Barnwell, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Lynn, Sohail Tanvir, Martin Guptill and Adam Zampa. (akeemg@guyanatimesgy. com)

owling coach Roddy Estwick says West Indies are aware of where they went wrong in their last game against Australia and will have to pull together in order to correct those issues.

West Indies beat South Africa by four wickets in the opening game of the TriNations Series last Friday but then produced a meek batting performance in their second outing against World champions Australia, to slump to a six-wicket defeat last Sunday.

“It’s a collective thing.

We’re all in it together. We wouldn’t say it is the bowlers or the batsmen that have let us down,” said Estwick, who recently replaced bowling legend Sir Curtly Ambrose in the position.

“We haven’t played well as a team in the last game and we know the areas we need to improve. We need to get partnerships, it’s 50-over cricket.

“Once we can get partnerships and someone in the top four gets a big score, then

we’ll turn it around. There’s no doubt about that.”

In the opening encounter, West Indies bowlers led by resurgent off-spinner Sunil Narine, undermined the Proteas with a career-best, six-wicket haul on a slow, low track at the National Stadium here, limiting them to 188 all out.

And after being dismissed for a disappointing 116 against the Aussies, Narine again proved a handful as the Windies managed to claim four wickets before going under.

Estwick, a former Barbados Pride coach and West Indies A seamer, said he had put a huge emphasis on discipline among his bowlers.

“That is something I have stressed big on that we must reduce the extras and reduce the boundary balls. If you look at the extras, there were five in the first game which was very, very good and there was one extra in the last game so those are areas we’re trying to improve,” Estwick pointed out.

“If we reduce the boundary balls as well – we’re trying to stop the opposition from gaining momentum going forward – so we’re trying to cut out that first-ball four which gives the momentum going into the over or the lastball four which the momentum going into the next over.

“So the players know what we’re trying to do and once we continue to work, we can achieve it.”

All three teams will turn their attention to the St Kitts leg of the tournament where matches will be played at the Warner Park venue.

And Estwick said this change would call for a recalibration on the part of the bowlers.

“Guyana is a different surface, a different pitch and when we go to St Kitts it will be a different pitch was well and you’ve got to rise to the challenge as a team and as a collective unit and that’s what we’re working to do.”

West Indies take on the Aussies again in their next game slated for next Monday.

(CMC)

fridAY, june 10, 2016

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

Hero Caribbean Premier League, 2016

CPL ticket sales off to marvellous start Pg 23

The early bird catches the worm!

Two excited fans display their tickets for the Guyana Amazon Warriors four home matches

Thousands attend jenazah for Muhammad Ali

A

Muslim funeral for Muhammad Ali on Thursday drew thousands of admirers to the boxer’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, where mourners prayed over the body of a man who battled in the ring and sought peace outside it.

An estimated 14,000 people, representing many

races and creeds, attended the jenazah, or funeral in Arabic, where he was repeatedly feted as “the people’s champion.”

Ali, a three-time heavyweight champion known for his showmanship, political activism and devotion to humanitarian causes, died on Friday of septic shock in

an Arizona hospital. He was 74.

Ali and his family planned his funeral for 10 years, making sure it would honor his Muslim faith while also adapting to the demands of Western mediadriven culture.

He was due to be buried on Friday, after a funeral

procession and before one final goodbye when thousands more will gather for an interfaith service.

Luminaries including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and comedian Billy Crystal will attend Friday’s event, at the KFC Yum Center.

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