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Issue No. 2745

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Saturday, January 23, 2016

PRICE

Sattaur exposes GRA taxgate

Ramjattan’s, other taxpayers’ files removed illegally Page 3

– admits to being pressured to act unprofessionally As out-of-control crime spirals

Masked gunmen rob Bank of Baroda Page 2

– hold up female tellers, cart off undisclosed amount of cash

Woman murdered at Zeelugt, body found in canal Page 18

Judiciary members attend seminar on domestic violence

Page 7

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE: RDC 10 damning fraud allegations

SARU to take action after completing probe P10 P2 Police equipped to better fight transnational crime

17,000 acres of rice under threat at Mahaica/Mahaicony

Govt responds swiftly to P12 GT article – farmers want Police to monitor the process

3 charged with rustling cow

P8

President David Granger, Justice Carl Singh, Commonwealth representative Mark Guthrie, acting Chief Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale (left) of Turks and Caicos Islands at the head table during the opening ceremony of the two-day domestic violence workshop

“Govt betrayed US adds us” – striking Guyana Wales workers to CDC ... as sugar turns Zika Virus bitter leaving 183 already jobless warning list Page 11

Page 9

SWAT team member remanded for possession of unlicensed ammunition Page 8

"Love your life: say no to suicide" P17 awareness programme launched Presidential term limit proposal

PM’s shill P17 responds to GTimes article ... invokes false "Jagan" context

2 news

saturday, january 23, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Masked gunmen rob Bank of Baroda

– hold up female tellers, cart off undisclosed amount of cash

Police equipped to better fight transnational crime

F

our masked gunmen on Friday stormed the Bank of Baroda’s Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD) location and carted off an undisclosed amount of cash.

According to information, the four bandits invaded the Bank located on the ground floor of the Mon Repos Mall at about 12:50h, and from all indications relieved the female security guard of a .32 service revolver.

Guyana Police Force C Division Commander Marlon Chapman revealed that the men held the two female tellers at gunpoint for five minutes during which they relieved them of an undisclosed amount of cash.

An eyewitness reported that afterwards they then made good their escape in a silver-grey Toyota Primo car bearing licence plate PNN 8984.

It was also related to this publication that there were no customers in the bank at the time and none of the employees were hurt.

An investigation has been launched and the Police are in the process of reviewing the surveillance footage from the bank and sur-

The Bank of Baroda at Mon Repos was on Friday stormed by four masked bandits who carted off an undisclosed sum of cash

rounding businesses. Strategic road blocks have also been established and anti-crime patrols are on alert.

Additionally, Crime Intelligence Units have been activated.

An employee of a nearby store related that as a result of the robbery, other businesses closed up shop early

and left. She also explained that the Mall lacks proper security measures.

“It needs better security ’cause is a lonely area here. Thankfully no one was hurt ’cause those situations can turn deadly quick,” she stated.

Investigators have so far retrieved fingerprints from the scene.

US Ambassador Perry Holloway officially handing over the equipment to Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud

A

s part of its efforts to aid Guyana in the fight against transnational crime, the United States Government presented a management system to the Guyana Police Force.

The Vaddio IR Management Learning System valued at some $4.7 million (US$23,000) was handed over to Police on Thursday at a simple ceremony at the Police Officers’ Training Centre, Camp Road, Georgetown. It was done at the conclusion of a three-day training session facilitated by the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) Technical Working Group (TWG), in cooperation with the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and implementing partner MetroStar Systems.

In making the presentation, US Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway explained that the equipment would be of significant assistance in local and international training, more particularly in the fight against transnational crimes.

Ambassador Holloway further pledged his Government’s “continued support for similar type activities that could ultimately lead to enhancing the security of Guyana and other Caribbean nations”.

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, who received the equipment on behalf of the Police Force, expressed sincere appreciation to the Government of the United States for its continued support under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) to build capacity in the security sector in Guyana. He assured that the equipment and the training provided would be put into effective use.

The Guyana Police Force Training Officer, Senior Superintendent Paul Williams; Project Manager Christine Allgood and Training Coordinator of MetroStar Systems, Shai Segal were all present at the hand-over ceremony. During the ceremony, officials also launched the Caribbean

Police Academy Regional Training Initiative.

The Caribbean Police Academy Regional Training Initiative combines audiovisual hardware and a secure Learning Management System (LMS) called CBSIConnect to bring together Police academies from countries throughout the Caribbean. The equipment allows for collaboration and shared training in a virtual, secure environment built exclusively for Caribbean law enforcement officials, as well as virtual meetings.

Use of the equipment and the advanced technology also allows for greater communication among participating countries to confront the many security challenges in the Region, including narcotics trafficking, gang violence, and crossborder criminality. Current participating countries are Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Suriname, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, The Bahamas, The Dominican Republic and Guyana.

This programme, funded through the CBSI, helps strengthen capacity and provide practical skills to relevant security officials working in law enforcement.

Through such CBSI partnerships, the United States and Guyana seek to enhance the bilateral security relationship to create a partnership to combat transnational crime, develop strong security institutions in Guyana, and advance the safety and security of the citizens of Guyana.

The CBSI programme was announced by US President Barack Obama at the 2009 Summit of the Americas. It was then launched the following year in Washington. Several years into the partnership, the US still remains committed to working with Guyana and regional partners to expand their efforts.

Under the CBSI programme, Guyana has received some US$900,000 to enhance its security and crime-fighting efforts.

news

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saturday, january 23, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, January 23 – 05:00h-06:30h and Sunday, January 24 – 05:30h-07:00h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, January 23 – 15:45h-17:15h and Sunday, January 24 – 16:25h-17:55h.

Sattaur exposes GRA taxgate

Ramjattan’s, other taxpayers’ files removed illegally – admits to being pressured to act unprofessionally

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Weather: Sunny conditions are expected throughout the day with some cloud cover. Clear skies can be expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 23 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly between 3.57 metres and 4.91 metres per second.

High Tide: 16:12h reaching a maximum height of 2.65 metres.

Low Tide: 09:46h and 22:13h reaching minimum heights of 0.70 metre and 0.56 metre.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

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Khurshid Sattaur

By Vahnu Manickchand

R

ecently-sacked Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur has exposed a tax scandal at the Revenue Authority as he revealed several unscrupulous, illegal undertakings and malpractices taking place at the country’s premier tax and revenue collection agency.

Sattaur on Friday also made damning accusations about illegal and suspicious removal of tax information and files which were photocopied.

Those files, he said, related directly to records pertaining to Vice President and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan.

The former Commissioner General shockingly revealed that a “known” individual had photocopied and removed documents and he was forced to turn a “blind eye”.

Sattaur’s statement comes in light of corruption allegations made against him by Chairman of GRA’s Board, Rawle Lucas. In his defence, the former Commissioner General disclosed that after the new Board was put in place, he was unable to properly carry out his functions

and was made to do certain unprofessional things.

His accusations also come on the heels of the Government on Thursday evening voting down a motion tabled by the parliamentary Opposition that sought to have Members of Parliament (MPs) publicly declare their income taxes and assets, and to have criminal charges advanced for non-compliance.

Efforts by Guyana Times to contact Minister Ramjattan and Finance Minister Winston Jordan for a comment on the allegations about the removal of the files proved futile.

However, during a press conference on Friday at the Revenue Authority’s Head Office on Camp Street, the Chairman said he was not aware of any such reports. “I cannot say; the GRA cannot say at this stage if any (taxpayers’) information might have been deleted… (or) might have been away from GRA,” he said.

Settling tax cases illegally, corruption

Meanwhile, Sattaur also claimed that he was forced to settle tax cases for meagre sums, costing the country’s coffers billions of dollars in lost revenue. He added that he was asked to promote unqualified staff, who were acting for a considerable period, before they were found to be suitably qualified and even those who had “questionable records” of service.

The former Commissioner General went on to disclose that staff members who were previously dismissed for corrupt practices have since been rehired and placed in senior positions.

On the other hand, during the press conference, the GRA Chairman sought to justify the Board’s decision to terminate the services of Sattaur, claiming that Sattaur committed several infractions.

These include breaching his Oath of Office, being in possession of a safe used for storing confidential taxpayers’ documents and backdating benefits for himself.

However, the former Commissioner General, in the said statement, denied the accusations, calling them “highly offensive”. He further gave explanations of the circumstances of each allegation.

No admission

Lucas disclosed that Sattaur admitted to the Board that he had divulged information on a Guyanese taxpayer to an unauthorised individual one month before the May 2015 elections, which was in breach of his oath of office.

While he opted not to name the taxpayer in question, the Chairman noted that it was not the Kaieteur News when asked.

But in his statement, Sattaur denied divulging taxpayers’ information to anyone.

In fact, he said that he gave information to a Diplomatic Head of Mission based upon

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan

request to facilitate an internal probe at the Embassy. He noted that that data divulged was the diplomat’s and not a taxpayer’s.

“I do not agree that for the reasons given above that I admitted to the Board that I divulged taxpayers’ information… a month prior to the May 11, 2015 General Elections, a diplomat asked me to facilitate a probe that the foreign Government had been conducting into one of its staff members. One of their staff is not a taxpayer of this country. That staff member had allegedly breached a very serious protocol and had given the GRA information on someone which should not have been the case and as such, the diplomat was asked by his Government to investigate the matter,” he pointed out.

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guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, january 23, 2016

Views General Editor: Michael Younge News Hotliine: 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

Jobs for our youth

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lobally, the unemployment rate for 2015 is estimated to stand at 197.1 million and in 2016 is forecast to rise by about 2.3 million to reach 199.4 million. It is also predicted that an additional 1.1 million jobless persons will likely be added to the global tally in 2017. These findings, which are considered very useful to Governments and policymakers, were included in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2016 (WESO), which was recently published.

There are several reasons for the rising unemployment rate in many countries; most notably, the significant slowdown in emerging economies since 2007 and the sharp decline in commodity prices, among others. If the current trends continue, it is clear that the unemployment situation for many countries will get worse. This, therefore, makes a strong case for all stakeholders to take the necessary bold decisions and move towards implementing effective policies which aim to minimise the impact on the rising unemployment rate on citizens everywhere.

According to the WESO outlook, while there has been a decrease in poverty rates, the rate of decline in the number of working poor in developing economies has slowed and vulnerable employment still accounts for over 46 per cent of total employment globally, affecting nearly 1.5 billion people.

The authors of the WESO also document the fact that job quality remains a major challenge.

The lack of decent jobs leads people to turn to informal employment, which is typically characterised by low productivity, low pay and no social protection.

A similar situation exists in Guyana where many young people are unemployed or are just not finding suitable jobs to match their qualifications and experience. A recent study conducted by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in May 2015 found that Guyana had a youth unemployment rate of about 40 per cent. According to the report’s findings, the regional countries with the highest persistent youth unemployment were Guyana and Suriname.

It would be worthwhile to mention, too, that since the APNU/ AFC coalition Government took political power last May, it has not come up with any detailed plan about how it intends to address the unemployment crisis in the country. The present Government campaigned on the promise that it would provide thousands of jobs for citizens, but, so far, hardly any tangible effort was made in this regard. In fact, what we have seen is the opposite: many persons were fired from their positions for reasons which were highly questionable.

That said, unemployment and poverty are two of the main challenges that countries, both developed and developing, are faced with at present. Unemployment leads to financial crisis and reduces the overall purchasing capacity of a nation. This in turn results in persons getting in the bracket of poverty followed by the increasing burden of debt.

Young people everywhere, both skilled and unskilled, have been crying out for decent jobs. Far too many young people in the Region are being pushed to the margins of society – unable to obtain a quality education or secure a good job so that they can help to break the cycle of poverty which continues to plague their families and communities.

We had stated before that access to quality education was essential if one were to seize the opportunities and emerge from poverty. Everyone must have the opportunity to develop themselves, have their rights protected and have access to basic services. The way to achieving this is by including fair, inclusive social policies in national development agendas which focus on supporting vulnerable groups in various communities.

Further, we stress the need for more collaboration between Government and the Private Sector with the aim of increasing the scale of targeted youth programmes. This is necessary if young people are to be equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to allow them to function effectively in the working world. While there are a few such programmes in Guyana, the question remains as to how effective they have been in meeting the needs of our youth and the country as a whole.

We anxiously await the 2016 National Estimates, which are expected to be presented to the Parliament for discussion and debate next week. Our hope is that the Administration will take into account the need to design policies and programmes which allow for the creation of employment and training opportunities for our youth.

A student at the launch of the "Love your life: say no to suicide" awareness programme at North Ruimveldt Multilateral School

An open letter to the President Dear Editor, Please allow me this space in your newspaper to ask the President of Guyanaa few questions.

Mr President, You claimed on the first of your two inaugurations that you would be a”good President to all Guyanese”. This was warmlywelcomed and everyone washappy even though you were not the first choice for some of us.

Can you explain to the Guyanese public how ‘good’ were you when a

part ofthe working people of Guyana received a whopping tax free bonus of $50,000and the other part were subject to tax on the meagre $10,000 that was paid tothem? Why did you not challenge the Private Sector to match what you didfor the people who worked for you?

Moving on, we were happy to know your government did not scrap the Mortgage Interest Relief.

But why were you so cunning to stop the monthly remittanceto our account?

Are you aware that the new system to claim MIR at the endof the year is costing the poor? Do you know that Republic Bank Limited is charging their customers $5000 for the statement GRA requires?

Is thisyour means of helping the poor? Is this the way you are showing your professed goodness? Are you aware that you are making an already rich entityricher at the expense of your people?

It was the same uncaring, unconcerned and lies

that took the PPP/C out ofoffice and it is a dangerous path for a government to thread on andinterestingly, it is not even a year since you are in power.

If you have the power, please look into and reverse at least the MIRrequirement expense at the commercial banks, if not then I guess you are not what you claimed to be.

M Jonas MIR Applicant

Appeal for landline telephone service in De Hoop Branch Road area Dear Editor, It is pellucid that GT&T seems to be reluctant in expanding the landline telephone service in this country.

It seems to have been an eternity since residents of the De Hoop Branch Road, West Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, have been pleading with this telephone company for the expansion of the landline service (that is already there at the front part of the village) to further into the community.

Several petitions were done over the years, the last of which was sent a

few months ago, through the Regional Chairman’s office, Region 5, to GT&T. However, they have all been ignored, or so it seems.

I am quite aware that it may not be lucrative business for the telephone company when it comes to the money raked in from landline calls, but management needs to look on the bright side. De Hoop is a very populated community of mainly middle-class families all of whom can afford to pay the $9,980 per month for the internet service provided via the landlines.

Even though we are in

the 21st century, when it comes to information technology, while other countries around the world are moving ahead by leaps and bounds, we are stuck in a rut somewhere in the 19th century, thanks to a lack of innovation by a telephone company that has the monopoly over the landline service in Guyana.

The provision of this basic service should definitely be opened to competition from other service providers.

I believe that it is criminal to deny hundreds of primary and secondary schools students the oppor-

tunity to use this basic facility, the internet, to assist them with their daily research in their quest to access a proper education and be somebody in society.

Hence, I would like to use this forum to once again appeal to GT&T, on behalf of residents of the community, for immediate action in the installation of the landline phone service and by extension, internet service, in the De Hoop Branch Road area.

Yours faithfully, Janaknauth Panchu Resident

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, january 23, 2016

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Propaganda should be curbed Response to M Maxwell Dear Editor, Propaganda press is not new in Guyana, the Caribbean, or the world over, but it could be very damaging.

Germany’s dictator Adolph Hitler, had Gobells as his propaganda specialist and he misled the world about the Führer’s activities.

Guyanese are well aware about misleading articles that appear in the press every day.

In fact when we in the diaspora read in Sunday’s issue of the Guyana Times that PM “Nagamootoo stripped of all line responsibilities” though eyebrows were raised, most did not believe it. One friend sent me an email “Oscar, is it true? I always take Guyana Times with a bit of salt” My response was that I was not certain, but let’s wait to see if the Government will respond.

“Well, they did, criticising the Times newspaper for misleading the public.

The newspapers did not give top priority to the Government’s response. In fact, the Kaieteur used it as its No 11 story while the

Times led in Monday’s edition with “Region’s economy will suffer tremendously... former President” and although it carried the government’s response it did not apologise for the inaccuracy, and to some extent maintained its stand.

Stabroek News’s top story was “Jagdeo and arrogance to blame for PPP/C loss...

Ramkarran” and used the government’s response as its third story.

In the pre-independence era, the press owned by big business was used as a tool to fool the masses. In fact Peter Taylor’s Evening Post and Sunday Argosy newspapers were anti-Jagan and were used to keep the PPP out of power.

The Chronicle was owned by the so called “elites”.

It was not better after independence since the Burnham administration muzzled the opposition press - making it difficult even to get newsprint. But opposition forces used leaflets such as the “Day Clean” and other means to get their word out to

the public.

We have come a long way - a very long way - the masses are more aware of present day happenings, both locally and internationally. We now have the powerful social network “Facebook”, texting, emails, easy access to telephone, etc - the world is getting smaller every day and an incident in Guyana is known overseas within minutes - even before the next door neighbour.

Therefore media houses should operate above-board and be as accurate as possible in their reports. They should carry balanced stories because their reports are being closely examined by the reading public.

Sincerely, Oscar Ramjeet Editor’s Note: The Government did not dispute President Granger’s exhaustive enumeration of ministerial “line responsibilities” in the Cabinet excluded the Prime Minister.

Guyana’s NY 50th Independence Committee dissociates itself from purported member Dear Editor, Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary Celebration Committee (New York) has been notified that an individual by the name of Kamla Asha Balbachan has allegedly been holding herself out to be a member of the committee, acting on behalf of the committee and has also allegedly pursued certain actions that can potentially subject the Committee to liabilities.

I wish to state categorically that Kamla Asha Balbachan is not a member of Guyana’s 50th Independence

Anniversary Celebration Committee (New York).

She is not authorized to conduct any business on behalf of, nor is in any way associated with this Committee.

The Committee therefore dissociates itselffrom this individual and any purported action by her on its behalf.

As General Counsel to the Committee, I have dispatched a letter to Kamla Asha Balbachan directing her to cease and desist from allegedly acting onbehalf of the committee or holding herself out as a member of the

committee.

This Committee will aggressively pursue any individual or group that purports to use the Committee’s name and/or intellectual property for their own private use, benefit or profit.

The public is advised that the Director of Communications should be contacted for the committee or for verification of Committee members, who are also listed on our website www.celebrateguyana50thinnyc.com.

Rovin R Rozario General Counsel

Dear Editor, M Maxwell’s SN letter of 4/1/16 titled” A worsening economy will not see the PPP return to power” gives some juicy tenderloin figures how the PPP/C will not be re-elected democratically because future ethnic voting favours the PNC. He is wrong as sin but most welcome to his own universe.

He writes nothing about the PNC’s history of rigging elections, street violence directed against Indian Guyanese, intimidation of Chinese businesses and massive firing of Amerindians. For our Maxwells everything escapes such a mindset about the PPP’s appropriate response which consistently seeks redress by legal means.

The PNC is not a party of law and order except when it suits them.What Maxwell believes will be the new Guyana order under perpetual PNC governance is Guyana again bypassing Haiti as the worst poverty-stricken country.

Maxwell outlines several points that need a response.

He will have to deal with it, like it or not, and always live with it rejoicing with his desired plenty.

First, Maxwell believes African Guyanese and whomever will forever vote the PNC into power even if the country goes bankrupt,(he says worsened), just like the good old starvation days of the PNC under Forbes Burnham.

For Maxwell, this is inevitable because African

Guyanese will vote race as the Indian Guyanese. He believes the mixed races and Amerindianswill also continue to flock to the PNC come hell or high water.

Second, is Maxwell now confirming that nothing is wrong voting race for the PNC to be the forever party in power? Our Maxwells could probably spare some precious time to then explain what was the abnormality when Indian Guyanese voted for the last 20 years for the PPP? Why are Indian Guyanese perpetually cited as engaging in a voting anomaly but all become the normality when African Guyanese s will forever vote race no matter the crisis state of Guyana’s economy?

Since the Granger-led Government gained power, crime has continued to skyrocket, suicides are on the increase, murders, kidnappings, press freedom, human rights infractions, armed forces surveillance and mass firings of Indian Guyanese and Amerindians is the new norm.

The PNC will not change because it does not know how.

Third, since Maxwell believes that the mixed races and Amerindianswill always give the PNC the power of forever political power, then he is admitting the AFC’s crossover 11 per cent Indian Guyanese votes which brought the PNC to power will or has already absconded.

So who and what make the Granger government one of current shared governance

and national unity?

Fourth, what Maxwell and others like him are depending on is forcing more Indian Guyanese out of Guyana by immigration. We all know why and from where the exodus is taking place because the continued sanctification of such policies by the Maxwells and their sympathisers gives comfort to the PNC. They believe race parity and misogyny with blatant rigging will keep them in power.

Fifth, as for mixed-race voting, Maxwell forgets President Donald Ramotar and PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee’sDNA will pull those votes for the PPP. The PNC has no such parity, because the PPP always embraced them at the highest level.

Lastly, even if my analysis of Maxwell’s beliefs that the PNC will be relying more heavily on African Guyanese Apaan Jhaat race voting to return to power in 2020was incorrect, the critical question should be whether the current PPP leaders have the capacity, willpower, fortitude and a repaired political machinery to respond even outside the courts to sustain and prevail by free and fair elections in our democracy.

Given GECOM’s admitted obduracy, its compromised staff and external intervention againt the norm,much compromising needs to be done.

Respectfully, VassanRamracha

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guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation

Getting it right

By Estelle Erasmus

I

recently took my daughter to see the recently-released Pixar/Disney film “The Good Dinosaur”, a computer-animated adventure (which used to be known as a cartoon). It is rated PG, but so is “Frozen” (and my daughter loves that movie). At first glance, I thought the film was beautifully animated with a relatable main character, the young dinosaur Arlo, and his human, but dog-like sidekick Spot, a Palaeolithic child who has lost his family. Settling in for a 3-D experience of a coming of age story, I was shocked to see these scenarios: death of a beloved parent, a paean to the allure o f

drug-induced hallucinating from eating fermented fruit, predatory creatures, and the violence of nature in the form of landslides, hurricanes, and lightning, all of which gave me pause that I’d made the right decision to take my child. I was further disheartened to find my six-year-old in tears halfway through the movie, the liquid drops of her sorrow sliding down underneath her thick-rimmed viewing glasses.

What were the filmmakers thinking in making this emotional

tsunami of a movie and promoting it to young children? I love most Disney films, but why do they feel the need to start each of their recent films (looking at you Cinderella) with death scenes that create havoc from the howling of the young, traumatised moviegoers.

A small child secure in her parent or guardian’s love, should never see a prolonged, intense scene of a man, mouse, girl, or dinosaur losing a parent – and in this case, being

out into the wilderness in the midst of a storm. The filmmakers then cruelly bring him back in a dream sequence only to have him dissipate.

Lest you think that my child is too sensitive, let me tell you, my daughter is hard to ruffle. She doesn’t flinch at Harry Potter’s headless ghosts swarming around Hogwarts, and she didn’t blink an eye at Baymax’s sacrifice during Big Hero 6, or when Optimus Prime died in the Transformers movie.

responsible for a parent’s death – without a trigger warning and notes for discussion.

Watching my daughter repeatedly sob, “ He lost his daddy,” while I stroked her shoulders and said, “I know sweetie. I know,” broke my heart. The father doesn’t even die for a good reason. He perishes pushing his son to be brave by going

She sadly watched the death of Mufasa in the Lion King, but quickly recovered, buoyed by the film’s lighthearted scenes and sing-along musical numbers.

If the idea is to tell our kids, “Buck up, it’s a tough world out there,” I think that’s the wrong message.

Our kids will learn that all too soon.

In the meantime, any movie that

has a high level of intensity when it comes to death scenes, bullying, loneliness, violence, and assorted maelstroms should be considered unsuitable for young ones.

I hate the feeling of being manipulated to tears and fight it at every turn, but children are the most susceptible. So here’s my plea to filmmakers: Please don’t elicit our children’s fears with your flicks. While I don’t have a problem with my daughter’s crying to show empathy (she tears up at the commercials with the sad dogs up for adoption and asks if we can donate money to help them), I do have a problem with her being subjected to harsh realities when she is just going to the movies for an entertaining escape.

Going forward I’ll also be checking sites like Common Sense Media and Parent Previews before heading out for a fun afternoon at the movies. And I’ll plan to take her to the violence- and traumafree film about Charlie Brown, The Peanuts Movie, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip.

For now, let’s at least agree to keep the movies safe for our youngest, most innocent children. In a world where weekly school safety drills have become a necessity, shielding our kids from unnecessary pain or fear about the harsh realities of life today is perhaps the best New Year’s resolution we can still make.

(Excerpt from psychologytoday.com)

W

atching movies, videos, and DVDs can be a fun activity in which children and adolescents can use their imagination. Parents should, however, consider the following issues when planning to watch movies at a theatre or at home: Although going to a movie theatre can be exciting, movies can create anxiety for children with loud noises and frightening and upsetting scenes.

Younger children may have trouble telling the difference between make-believe and reality.

They can be upset when a parent figure dies in a movie or frightening things happen to children.

Some children cannot tolerate the darkness of a movie theatre, even with their parents present.

Viewing movies with sex, violence, drug abuse, adult themes, and offensive language can have a negative effect on children and adolescents. Many movies are not appropriate for children or teenagers.

Older children and adolescents may copy risky and possibly dangerous things they see in movies.

Having a TV, VCR, or DVD player in children and adolescents’ bedrooms encourages movie watching without adult supervision.

Movies should not replace childcare or be left on as background noise.

If parents are unsure whether a movie is appropriate, they should view the movie in private before watching it as a family.

Tips and recommendations for parents: Check a movie’s Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rating and read reviews before it is viewed. Movie reviews can be found online, and on AACAP’s website.

Discuss upsetting or frightening events seen in a movie.

Turn the movie off or leave the theatre if your child becomes upset or frightened.

Use the same care and attention to a movie’s content when choosing a movie to watch at home for a child or adolescent as you would a movie in the theatre.

Deciding when a teenager can go to a movie without parental supervision depends on the teenagers’ maturity and the friends going with your teenager.

All ages of children should have their movie watching supervised by their parents or adult caretakers.

Parents can and should be active participants in their children and adolescents’ movie watching experiences.

Watching movies together can be a rewarding experience.

It can be an opportunity for your child to have fun with family and friends. If your child or adolescent, however, develops strong and persistent emotional reactions or behaviour from seeing a movie, then consider having your child evaluated by a qualified mental health professional. (aacap.org)

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saturday, january 23, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Judiciary members attend seminar on domestic violence

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s Guyana continues to struggle with the high prevalence of domestic violence, various groups within the criminal justice system locally are participating in a two-day seminar that focuses on tackling the societal scourge.

Judges, Magistrates, Attorneys and Police Prosecutors are among the participants at the seminar, which is aimed at strengthening the administration of justice by providing a platform for the members of the justice system to discuss major issues confronting them in dealing with domestic abuse cases.

The event, which is being held at the Marriott International Hotel, was organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Judiciary of Guyana and the Commonwealth Magistrates’

the country and the viciousness and gruesome brutality in which it more than often resulted.

“When I read in the local newspapers words such as “bludgeoned” and “battered” used in reports on domestic violence, I am forced to the conclusion that our menfolk, in particular, are going berserk,” he stated.

The Chancellor underscored the importance of judicial officers, particularly Magistrates, being equipped to deal justly with domestic violence matters. He noted that many of the Magistrates who had benefited from previous training in this area had migrated.

Moreover, Justice Singh pointed out that the scourge of domestic abuse needed to be addressed from an early stage, given the effect it had on children. He added that the best way was through ed-

A section of the gathering at the opening ceremony of the two-day seminar

and Judges’ Association. The seminar will see Judges and Magistrates from around the world making presentations.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on Friday, acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Carl Singh pointed out that he was increasingly alarmed about the high rate of domestic violence in

ucation.

“The benefit of educating our people – young, middle-aged and old – would undoubtedly yield positive results in our efforts to deal with domestic violence as a national problem,” he said.

The Chancellor added: “The cost of domestic violence to children is accumu-

President David Granger, Justice Carl Singh, Commonwealth representative Mark Guthrie, acting Chief Justice, Yonette Cummings-Edwards (right) and Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale of Turks and Caicos Islands at the head table during the opening ceremony

lative over time. They experience emotional disturbance from domestic violence in the homes, which is often times re-enacted in adolescence and adulthood. Domestic violence is not phenomenon to be treated lightly, it leads to the break-up of families and, ultimately, to some societal destabilisation.”

In his feature address to the seminar, President David Granger outlined that in order for domestic violence to be eradicated, Guyana first had to bring closure to its violent history by solving all the massacres and murders committed during the crime wave in the 2000s.

He posited that no society could have survived the “troubles” that Guyana had to endure without suffering their after-effects and secondary impacts.

“The eradication of domestic violence has to start with an investigation into causation. It matters little how many laws are enacted, the core problem will not be solved unless the core causes of domestic violence in Guyana are addressed,” he stated.

According to the Head of State, while Guyana has co-

mulgated a raft of laws that are aimed at deterring domestic violence by punishing perpetrators and protecting victims and potential victims, this is not sufficient to tackle the societal scourge.

“The laws have limitations. The law cannot deal with the impact of violence in society; the law cannot rebuild shattered lives and

broken wounds; the law unfortunately does not address causes of violence. Laws can punish (but) they cannot, without an examination of the causes of the crimes, eradicate the scourge of criminal violence and the secondary outcome – domestic violence,” President Granger noted.

On the other hand,

Commonwealth Legal Advisor Mark Guthrie, in his opening remarks, said that seminars such as this one aimed at protecting the human rights of domestic abuse victims so that they got justice through the laws. He further highlighted that it was the obligation of any state to secure the human rights of its citizenry.

“It is the aim of this seminar to assist Guyana in meeting that obligation by equipping its judicial officers, its Police Officers with the necessary knowledge and skills to deal effectively with domestic abuse,” Guthrie outlined.

The 2015 Americas Barometer Survey, which covers the years 2006 to 2014, revealed that Guyana has a high level of tolerance for domestic abuse.

Man charged for Bartica woman’s death

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man was on Friday placed on $400,000 bail when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan to answer a causing death by dangerous driving charge.

Dale Edwards, 28, of Lot 35 Sixth Avenue, Bartica, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) is accused of causing the death of 31-year-old Denita Williams by driving in a dangerous manner on January 20 this year.

He told the Court that he was driving motor lorry PKK 7351 when the woman walked into his path and by the time he stopped, it was too late, particularly as the road was too narrow and he lost control of the wheel.

The defendant Dale Edwards escorted by a Police rank

Earlier media reports stated that the mother of four was on her way to purchase groceries at the market when she was struck down by the truck.

She was rushed to the com-

munity’s hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

The matter was transferred to the Bartica Magistrate’s Court for February 5.

8 news

saturday, january 23, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Eyew tness

SWAT team member remanded for possession of unlicensed ammunition Feathering

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Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team member was on Friday remanded to prison when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with having unlicensed ammunition in his possession.

Quacy Springer, 35, of Lot 41 William Street, Kitty, Georgetown, was arrested on Friday following reports

The SWAT team member who was remanded to prison

that were made against him in December 2015, by his former partner who made the discovery at her 92 Roxanne Burnham Gardens home.

Springer’s Attorney told the court that his client was innocent and he was only the caretaker of the home in which the items were discovered.

The Attorney said Springer had no knowledge of the offence until he was

contacted on Friday and subsequently arrested.

He also noted that the man’s former lover was married and he had ended the relationship owing to conflict. He added that this was not the first court issue involving the pair, as there was one at the Georgetown High Court.

The prosecution objected to bail and the matter was adjourned to February 15.

3 charged with rustling cow

T

hree men were on Friday placed on $25,000 bail each

by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan when they appeared before her at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with stealing a cow.

David Edwards, 52, a farmer of Annai, North Rupununi, stood to answer to the charge which read that between Monday, January 18 and Tuesday, January 19, 2016, he and two relatives, Cleveland Edwards, 26, and Cleitus Edwards, 18, stole a cow valued $75,000, property of Randolph Gilbert, in Region Nine (Upper EssequiboUpper Takutu). The other two accused were also charged with the same of-

fence.

It was reported that beef from the animal, which was butchered, was recovered.

The three farmers were represented by Attorney Peter Hugh, who made an application for the matter to be transferred to the Lethem Magistrate’s Court, since the cost of one plane ticket to travel from Lethem to Georgetown to attend court was $50,000 and hence too expensive for his clients to manage. He further requested bail in a reasonable sum, as two of the accused were fathers with families to maintain.

There was no objection to bail, and the matter was transferred to the Lethem Magistrate’s Court for March 2.

The three accused

21-year-old placed on $50,000 bail for stealing from brother

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young man was on Friday placed on $50,000 bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan when he appeared before her at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged

for stealing.

Eon Alphonso, 21, of Toucan Drive, South Ruimveldt Gardens, Georgetown, on Tuesday, January 19, allegedly stole from his brother, Junior

Alphonso, a gold chain, blender, and two pennyweights of gold among other items to a total value of $123,000.

The defendant, who works at Pritipaul Fisheries, East Bank Demerara, re-

sides at the same home with his brother.

The matter was adjourned to February 15, and Alphonso was placed on bail and a bond of good behaviour until his trial.

of nest

H

…by Nagamootoo

ow far do you push your own agenda when you're a public official? As far as you can get away with it, if you're Moses Nagamootoo! Appointed Prime Minister for delivering his "Berbice 11%", he was handed "Constitutional Reform" on behalf of the government.

This was just before Pressie announced to the National Assembly (with Nagamootoo right in front of him) that the man had "no line responsibility".

He's just there to help out and "facilitate" the 14 line Ministers... and doing odd-jobs like making sure the Chronicle's headlines slavishly toe the government's line... and of course, the Constitutional thing. Now Nagamootoo's party'd made "Constitutional Change" a "Big Thing" while in Opposition. And when you're given lemon, Nagamootoo shows you can still make lemonade. So while everyone thought Nagamootoo would be vegetating in some back room discussing the finer points of the Westminster System and other constitutional esoterica, the man launches his campaign for the 2020 Presidential nominee of APNU/AFC. It could be of course the proximity to Trump while he was in the Big Apple: if TRUMP has a shot at being president, Nagamootoo evidently figured, then there's hope for even a windbag like him doing the same! In Guyana, of course.

Lightning might strike twice. Now, like the US, Guyana also allows a President to serve for two terms. And also, like America, it's expected the incumbent President will be allowed to run again.

So how does Nagamootoo satisfy his overweening Presidential ambition before he's sent to a retirement home? Well... DUH!!!! ...ensure Granger doesn't run for a second term - and he, Nagamootoo's next in line to step up to the crease. So lo and behold, (as the original Moses was wont to say!) Nagamootoo tells an audience (corralled to sign on to the 50th Jubilee celebrations) that he believes the constitution should be changed to forbid a president from serving a second term.

Now who says Moses has lost that cunning feeling!?

Since he hasn't "called" Granger's name... and has presented his proposal in general terms he can say with a straight face it’s all about "constitutional change" and Pressie shouldn't take it personally! The President would be caught between a rock and a hard place to oppose Nagamootoo.

And how does he justify this "one term limit"?

Well, that's when the "thiefing" occurs, according to Nagamootoo. In the first term Presidents just LEARN where the loot's stashed away.

This means, of course, Donald Ramotar - not even a "one term" President - had no "thiefing" under his watch.

According to Nagamootoo.

...by Government MP's

After going along for years with the Muckraker's vendetta against Jagdeo and the PPP about them "siphoning" off billions and billions... you'd think the APNU and AFC leaders would want to ogle their tax returns for the last ten years, no? After all, when their audits - foreign and domestic - finally come in, wouldn't they want to bounce them against what they'd claimed as earnings? And if there were discrepancies, haul them off to the clinker?

Well...er...no! Thursday the government put up such a struggle against the PPP's motion to compel ALL MPs to make their tax returns for the last ten years public, you'd think they were being forcibly raped! But maybe that's how they actually saw it, since the taxman would've been visiting when they saw what paltry sums the government MPs have been declaring.

Versus, of course, the millions Harmon declared they'd forgone in income to accept the paltry $10,400,000 they're collecting as ministers!

Ahhh... but you gotta feather your nest any which way you can, don't you?!

...by AFC

Well! Well! Well! Once again, "mouth open and story jump out". Asquith Rose, who laboured with Sase Singh to burnish AFC's shield for years, revealed the entire Nagamootoo "official" junket to NY - Secret Service protection and all - was organised by the AFC's NJ Chapter.

Too bad, unlike Singh, Rose's nest hadn't been feathered!

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

news

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saturday, january 23, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

“Govt betrayed us” – striking Wales workers ...as sugar turns bitter leaving 183 already jobless tabacco to cope with the sad reality.

“All I know is sugar…I cant read nor write…I not bright but I could work and I does wuk hard so I don’t

last Monday was like a thunderbolt to the workers, their families and the communities as a whole”.

He lamented that the closure of the estate will

have serious implications on workers, their families, pensioners, business owners, service providers, among others.

“It offers the risk of fu-

PPP/C MP Komal Chand By: Michael Young & Kizzy Coleman

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder

S

ugar workers attached to the historic Wales, West Bank Demerara continued their protest and strike action on Friday as they maintained that they had been betrayed by the recently elected A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change coalition Government.

Some workers who spoke with Guyana Times made it clear that they are concerned about their economic futures and livelihood following the decision by the DavidGranger led Government to close the estate and make redundant hundreds of poor and ordinary sugar workers.

“We prepared to do what we have to send a message to this Government…we can’t accept the decision to close down we factory and estate…the government betrayed we and awe know dat….nobody can tell we differently”, Sugrim Persaud said.

Fear

Another worker said that he was hurt and shocked by the decision and the Government’s seemingly lack of concern about the impact that the closure will have on the workers and their families.

“I hearing lots of things in the media and I see the Prime Minista and Mr Holder talking about going to another estate…I want work right here…none a dem aint got no real plan fah deal with the situation”, he exclaimed while constantly spilling expletives.

Others said that the decision, though comprehensible, could have been announced along with a sound short and long term plan of action.

“We are not dogs…is not our fault that things aint work out..we gon stand up day and night to government to defend we family and we life”, a younger and seemingly more informed worker said.

Throughout Friday, workers met at various points in their community to discuss a plan of action and offer solutions on the way forward after continuing the protest.

The pressure of the announcement has also seen several workers consuming large amounts of alcohol and

A section of the gathering at Wales

understand why honest and poor people that wuk got to suffer…the Govt cant send me to another place to wuk jus sah…I want to know who doing de pikcing and how”, an 60 year old worker remarked.

Operation closure commences

Meanwhile, 183 workers of the estate were already dismissed 73 of them being tillage employees and 110 from the planting division of the estate. Many workers from the estate are also soon to be deployed to the Uitvulgt Estate.

Most recently the estate tilted some 800 acres of land which has been abandoned as the planting of cane is not permitted any longer.

The Agriculture Ministry announced that these lands are to be used for other ventures which are yet to be detailed as such the preparation and planting of the land are to be discontinued.

Some equipment from the Wales Sugar Estate are already being moved to Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Uitvulgt inclusive of the ploughing machines/tractors, all in an aid to close off all operations at the estate by 2016 year end.

Union responds

The Head of the Guyana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) and PPP/C MP Komal Chand attempted to debate the discussed made by the Government in Parliament but this was not approved as House Speaker Dr. Barton Scotland turned down his request.

Komal Chand voiced his disappointment for the announcement of the closure of the estate stating that the decision to close can be seen as an act of betrayal by the Government.

“The sudden decision to close Wales Estate at the end of the second crop this year which was announced

elling an escalation in the levels of poverty, unemployment, crime, suicide, among other things, within the area. We shall see the ruination of many families, the shattering of the dreams, the hopes and the future of the younger employmentseeking generation and the devastation of businesses’.

He scrutinized the de-

cision to close the estate stating that it flouts a fundamental and important recommendation of the Sugar Commission of Inquiry (CoI) which on page thirty seven of the Volume One of the Report said “the COI does not recommend the closure of the any estate at this time”. The CoI in reflecting on closure of estates at page thirty (30) of Volume One of its report said “They took into account the current state of the economy which lacks vibrancy, with awareness of the problems in the rice industry, the low market price of gold and the level of ‘unemployment’” and, at page thirty-one (31) the CoI said “the effect of closing any estate without planning and adequate notice to cane farmers has serious consequences, not only for the employees and private farmers but for the communities as well” . turn to page 18

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guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, january 23, 2016

News Silt build-up at Hope Koker

RDC 10’s damning fraud allegations

Fishermen urged SARU to take action after completing probe to unite to rectify

By Utamu Belle

T

he State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU), State Audit Department and the Ministry of the Presidency have completed investigations, along with Police, into fraudulent activities, which were recently unearthed at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice).

According to Regional Chairman Renis Morian, further action on the issue is pending and will be based on the results of the just-completed investigations. Earlier this month, three employees attached to the RDC were placed on station bail after they were implicated in the matter. Following the investigations, those employees were sent on leave while others were questioned.

The discovery of false payment vouchers prompted the probe, as Regional Executive Officer (REO) Gavin Clarke had revealed there were several money-related discrepancies

Former Regional Councillor at RDC 10 Valerie PattersonSharpe, now Junior Minister within the Communities Ministry

which involved the RDC employees and contract workers. Auditors as well as the Police were then summoned to investigate.

Morian told this newspaper on Friday that investigators have wrapped up securing information from within the RDC office, noting that the investigations were "full paced".

"The investigators have just left Linden, so now we have to wait to see what

they will come up with.

That's the stage that it's at right now. Based on the information they are left to come up with the next step (to be taken)," he said.

Meanwhile, former Regional Councillor at RDC 10 Valerie PattersonSharpe, now Junior Minister within the Communities Ministry, told the media earlier this week that fraudulent activities at the particular Council was nothing new.

Patterson-Sharpe, who served as Councillor under the chairmanship of Mortimer Mingo from 2001 to 2011, said there were several irregularities identified by the Auditor General's Office at the time; however, no action had been taken.

"There have been fraudulent actions; there have been misappropriation of monies: there were projects where contractors were fully paid off and the projects just 20 per cent and 30 per cent completed. Not only in Linden but in the Berbice River," she stated.

problem

Region 10 REO Gavin Clarke

Patterson-Sharpe said while Mingo was a very proactive Chairman who took the necessary steps to have the discrepancies brought to light, even taking pictures and securing evidence, nothing was done to correct the problem.

"At one time, we, the Councillors, moved a noconfidence motion against the then REO because nothing was being done about all these fraudulent activities...if those things were dealt with since then – (because) it's not that these things were not identified, but no attention was paid to it by the then Government and so the staff continued to do their own thing...," PattersonSharpe noted.

Patterson-Sharpe further contended that Police intervention was necessary since back then and might have stymied any other action by employees who were involved in those activities. She added that it was her belief that corruption could be averted if the necessary action was taken in the first instance.

The silted-up Hope Channel

I

n light of a recent article

by Guyana Times about the halt in fishing activities at the Hope Channel, East Coast Demerara owing to the build-up of mudbanks, a former sluice operator is urging the fishermen who utilise the waterway to unite and rectify the situation.

Fishermen who operate at the Hope Channel recently voiced their concerns, as they were forced to halt their operations because the mudbanks were preventing their boats from going out to sea.

The fishermen stated that it was difficult for boats to leave to go fishing when the water was low and many days they had to wait on the high tide to bring out

their boats, usually late at nights. It was also related that the Hope Koker was not functional and as such, the Channel was also being used to discharge water during the rainy season from a pump that was located next to the Koker.

The fisherfolk called on the Agriculture Ministry to render some sort of assistance to clear the mudbanks away.

Aditnarine Persaud said the banks were silt deposits and not mud from land erosion, although they were known as mudbanks. He related that they were due to sediments from the sea settling in the Channel. This build-up, he explained, cannot be resolved by excavating but by very simple flushing measures.

“During the high tide, koker doors are opened to take in water to a certain level, and in order to ensure that excess water which may lead to the destruction of crops is not taken in, it is closed during the end of the low tide,” he related.

He noted that in the case of the Hope Canal, the doors were closed and could not be opened to take in water to a certain level, and, as such, the only practical solution would be to manually clear away the silt.

“Since during the high tide fishing boats can have access to and fro in the Channel, then, to secure the livelihood for themselves and their families, each fishing boat captain can attach a rake or bramble (tree limb) to the fishing boats and manoeuvre the boats for six hours to and fro in the channel for a few days to get rid of the silt or mudbanks,” he recommended.

saturday, january 23, 2016

guyanatimesgy.com

11

News

National Resources forum

UWI Professor to Guyana: Do not abuse oil, gas resources

By Alexis Rodney

G

uyana has been urged to take stock of the bountiful economic prospects of its oil and gas sector, and not become misguided or loose in its approach to secure a brighter future for its people.

The advice was given

by Dr Roger Hosein, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine Campus.

He was delivering remarks Friday at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, at a forum organised by UWI in collaboration with the Trinidad and Tobago Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative (TTEITI), targeting the Ministry of Natural Resources, multilateral organisations and energy companies.

The Professor, also a well-regarded economist, said Guyana can take a page out of the books of both Trinidad and Tobago and oil rich Venezuela, whose economies are now tumbling as speedily as the falling oil price on the global scene.

Their failure to effectively prepare for any such occurrence is the main reason for the current state of their economies.

During the booming years of oil prices, both countries had tremendous economic successes, and while the impact is not readily seen on the economy of the Twin Island Republic,

neighbouring Venezuela has been experiencing a massive economic decline in recent months. It is the same Venezuela that has been vehement in its claims over portions of Guyana’s waters, said to be pregnant with oil yielding potentials.

Back in May of 2015, United States oil and gas exploration giant Exxon Mobil announced a startling discovery of some 295 feet of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. The well is the first on the 6.6-million acre Stabroek Block. At the time of the discovery, then Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Robert Persaud had said the discovery would be a significant boost to the country’s economy.

Following the disclosure too, the new government, which took office just a few days following, said that the monies garnered from this will be placed into a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).

Hosein said Guyana needs be very careful and take proper stock of the discovery by the US oil giant and appropriately value it so that sufficiently good planning could be enacted.

“It is called the permanent income hypothesis approach to dealing with depletable natural resource.

One school of thought is that they take these resources, place it into a stabilisation fund and use it over a long period in a sustainable way.

Guyana needs to be care-

UWI Professor and Trinidadian Economist Dr Roger Hosein

ful about drawing up on the use of the natural resource wealth upfront, using it for consumption and therefore using too little later for capital investments”, he told the stakeholders.

He commended Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman, for taking a measured necessarily laboured approach to collecting facts and material to help him make informed decisions.

He said too that Government should ensure it is creating the right infrastructural development network so that from this fund, monies can be spent on infrastructural development either physical development, or human and capital development so that when the oil comes to an end, Guyanese will be better off.

“It should also consider in an active way building industrial shelves and wooing the diaspora to attract investment to exports abroad, so that some of the resourc-

US adds Guyana to CDC Zika Virus warning list

T

he United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extended its travel warning to another eight territories, which it said pose a risk of infection with the mosquito-borne Zika Virus, which is spreading through Caribbean and Latin American countries.

The warning added Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Cape Verde, Samoa and the island of Saint Martin to a list of 14 countries and territories.

The agency issued an advisory last week against travel to Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and the US Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

The CDC has cautioned pregnant women not to travel to these areas as Zika has been suspected to lead to birth defects.

Last week, Health Minister, Dr George Norton had reported to the National Assembly that Guyana had

found one confirmed case of the Zika Virus.

The Zika Virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is also known to carry the Dengue, Yellow Fever and Chikungunya Viruses.

Health experts are unsure why the Virus – detected in Africa in 1947 but unknown in the Americas until last year – is spreading so rapidly in Brazil and neighbouring countries.

Meanwhile, women in El Salvador are advised to avoid getting pregnant for two years. The warning comes shortly after Colombia also advised women against falling pregnant, but only for six to eight months. There are 96 suspected cases of pregnant women contracting the Virus in El Salvador.

None have so far had babies born with microcephaly.

In other developments, the first British cases of the disease were confirmed, as three UK travellers have been diagnosed with Zika.

The Britons had travelled to Colombia, Suriname and Guyana. It was not clear if any of the three were

pregnant women.

A statement on Public Health England’s website said: “ZIKV (Zika) does not occur naturally in the UK. As of January 18, 2016, three cases associated with travel to Colombia, Suriname and Guyana have been diagnosed in UK travellers.

“Further cases of ZIKV are expected to be reported in other countries, particularly in the Americas, where the mosquito vector is present.”

Although the research is still underway, there is significant evidence to suggest a link between the Virus and a spike in the number of cases of microcephaly, a neurological defect in newborns.

Babies suffering from the condition have smaller than normal heads, preventing their brains from developing properly.

Brazil and Colombia are the worst-affected countries, although 5397 cases were detected in El Salvador alone in 2015 and the first few days of this year.

es of this energy sector, could be used to develop other sectors in the diaspora, of which we know Guyanese has a large one abroad”

Meanwhile, also speaking at the forum, Rebecca Gookool, Department of Economics of UWI, in her welcoming remarks said the extractive industry based economies in the region benefitted significantly over the period 2002 to 2014 from what has become known as a commodity super cycle.

“For many years Guyana has been looked upon with great interest by investors as there were significant commercial hydrocarbon discoveries in countries close to Guyana, including Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and Venezuela”.

“Indeed the Government of Guyana

is now at the doorstep of commercialising what has been regarded as one of the largest oil finds in the world. However, the economy has some way to go in being institutionally ready for such a macroeconomic shock. Policy makers in Guyana must now navigate its development path under more uncertain economic conditions”, she said Present also at the forum were Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman, Minister within the Ministry Simona Broomes, Dr Francisco Paris, Caribbean Director in the TTEITI Secretariat, among others.

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news

saturday, january 23, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

17,000 acres of rice under threat at Mahaica/Mahaicony

Govt responds swiftly to GTimes article – farmers want Police to monitor the process

T

he government has responded to an appeal by Region Five Chairman Vickchand Ramphal by deploying three pumps to the Mahaicony River with the hope of saving 17,000 acres of rice under threat but farmers are still calling for the area to be monitored in order for all of the rice to be saved.

three pumps have been installed 15 miles up the Mahaicony River and are pumping water into the Biaboo Canal from which farmers are able to get water.

However while rice farmers welcome the initiative by government, they are seeking the intervention of authorities to monitor the canals. One farmer Ramdeo Persaud, who

The condition of some rice fields at Mahaica and Mahaicony

Last week this publication reported the plight of several farmers in the Mahaica/ Mahaicony area being affected by the current dry spell. The Agriculture Ministry responded the following day through the Mahaica-MahaiconyAbary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) and the national Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA).

The NDIA supplied two pumps and MMA one. The

has 600 acres under rice cultivation, says the current dry spell has taken a toll on the canals and most of them are almost dried. Government’s intervention while good may only benefit some farmers.

“The weather condition is one but then the Kasharaboo Canal that the government is pumping water from, needs more Hymacks to finish digging it fast so that the farmers can get water because some of the crop them, they al-

ready near but it dry so they need water. The government got pumps pumping into the Port Biaboo Canal, but they got about fifty farmers with pumps taking the water out from the main canal and that is affecting the farmers in the branch canal to get water for their rice.”

When this publication visited the area Thursday, several tractors with pumps were pumping water out on the canal. According to an official from MMA, that practice is making it more difficult for the entire farming community.

Persaud says they need security to monitor their fellow farmers. “We need a police officer with this guy from MMA to assist him to get farmers from pumping water from the main canal so the farmers in the branch canal could get water, too.”

On Thursday, Chairman Ramphal was instrumental in getting a police officer from the Mahaica Police Station to go along with a supervisor from MMA to visit the farmers who were selfishly pumping water into their own farms.

They were warned against the act and told they will not be allowed to pump water into their rice fields until Monday evening.

However, some farmers are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that the plants will stay alive until then. Andrew Carmichael

Ramjattan’s, other taxpayers’...

GRA Chairman’s counter allegations However, the GRA Chairman noted that Sattaur also told the Board that he had a safe that was normally used to keep confidential taxpayers’ data at his residence.

According to Lucas, the safe is supposed to be under the control of the Head of GRA’s Information and Technology (IT) Division and not at Sattaur’s home. He added that the Commissioner General had explained that the safe was at his residence given the fact that his son was an IT officer at the revenue agency.

The Chairman could not say whether any of the information in the safe was compromised. However, Sattaur disclosed that while his son in his senior capacity was given responsibility for storing the tax agency’s data at another safe place offsite, this process of storing data at his home was abandoned some five years ago.

“My home or the safe was no longer the repository of that information. I categorically state that the safe never had any data. I wish to state further that the infrastructure related to the backing up of the data has since been removed under the directive of the new GRA Board,” he noted.

During Friday’s press conference, the Head of the GRA Board further revealed to media operatives that Sattaur, who was appointed Commissioner General in 2003, had retired in 2011, but continued serving in the post via an “implied contract”. He noted that the former Commissioner General had racked up millions in pension money, after he

backdated the payments to 2007, causing Government to incur an expense of $12 million.

“Our Legal Services Division was asked to examine this action and to pro-

from page 3

Authority is looking into reports of a GRA registered vehicle being driven by an individual unauthorised to do so.

But, Sattaur maintained in his lengthy statement that he always only had two ve-

GRA Chairman Rawle Lucas, along with other executives, at the press conference on Friday

vide us with more rational or supportive legal basis for what appears, prima facie, a highly irregular course of action that created the misleading impression also that he was retained under permanent establishment and that he was not on contract,” the Chairman noted.

But Sattaur explained that he was unaware of these benefits under GRA’s contributory pension scheme and was recently advised of them, so he claimed for them after getting approval from the Human Resources Department, which had failed to inform him before of the benefits.

“If this is so wrong, why was the monies approved for payment?” questioned Sattaur.

Lucas said furthermore investigations were ongoing as to how two vehicles belonging to GRA, one of which was a gift, have the same registration number at the same time. Additionally, the

hicles in his possession – a Camry and a Fortuna, the latter, however, he was recently relieved of.

According to the Head of the GRA Board, these factors were considered by the Board in its decision to terminate the services of Sattaur, who was sent on leave in December to facilitate an internal probe.

The Chairman further disclosed that the Authority’s legal team was currently working on whether criminal charges would be brought against the former Commissioner General.

“We are still examining the options that are available to us at this particular point in time,” he stated.

On the other hand, Sattaur said he was all set to take legal action against GRA if necessary. “I have given appropriate direction to my lawyers so that they can act in my best interest,” he said.

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Agriculture Minister meets with European rice investors – welcomes research for new higher yielding varieties

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overnment has remained steadfast in its quest to develop rice lines that are blast and disease resistant and results in higher yields, and also to attract additional markets to offset Guyana’s growing production levels.

On Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder met with a team of European Investors to discuss future export agreements of rice and cargo pad-

dy from Guyana to Europe.

During the meeting, a number of issues were highlighted as both parties called for stronger collaboration between the two parties as it relates to rice trade.

Bruno Sempio, Chairman of the European Rice Company (EUROCOM) expressed interest in investment opportunities among the two, alluding to the high quality of Guyana’s rice.

Another area of interest

Alberttown residents affected by stagnant water

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Stagnant water on the premises

esidents living in Light and 4th Streets, Alberttown, are appealing to the relevant authorities to address the issue of stagnant water lodged in their yards for over a prolonged period.

Speaking with this publication Ian Yansen a concerned resident stated, that the water is lodged in his premises over a long time which has become a health risk, as is breathing ground for mosquitoes. He related that on several occasions he has appealed to the Mayor and City Council to address the issue. After several visits to the council he was informed that the drains in his area are blocked and alternative arrangements would be made to have them cleaned.

After making several more appeals to the council they had the area inspected.

It was discovered, that Guy Will Shipping Company, had violated building laws by blocking the main flow of water for proper drainage.

Investigations also revealed that the restaurant known as Delicious had also failed to comply with regulations for health and food safety.

In an interview with Mayor Hamilton Green, he explained that these businesses have violated the laws with regard to health and safety. Green stated they will be issued notices to have the problems rectified in a given time. Failure to comply will result in legal action being taken.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder with Bruno Sempio (left of minister) and other officials at the meeting

to the delegation is research and development through the propagation of new lines of rice varieties, which will offer not only higher yields but greater disease resistant properties.

Minister Holder in welcoming collaboration, said rice research and development remain an integral part of rice development and as such, Guyana continues to boost its capabilities.

Another area for future

collaboration will be the improvement of pesticide management and control in Guyana.

Guyana’s rice exports increased by six per cent during the period January to October 2015 as compared with the corresponding period for 2014. However, the industry is forced to deal with a significant fall in world market price that has affected export earnings. This is being further compounded

by an overabundance of supply.

In 2015 exports reached an all-time high of 501,208 tonnes, compared to 394,988 tonnes of rice in 2013.

Guyana was also exporting to 32 countries in 2014, as markets were secured in Panama, Belize, Nicaragua, Chile, Costa Rica, Brazil, among others, The EU team consisted of Bruno Sempio, Romano Mincini, technical advi-

sor to EUROCOM, Miguel Stenderup, rice trader for Sea Rice and Jean-Pierre Brun of Marius Brun and Fils Rice Brokers.

The team will also be visiting rice fields and factories in Regions 2, 5 and 6. The team was accompanied by Roopnarine Sukhai, Managing Director of Sea Rice Guyana and Mohammed Ali, Operations Manager of Sea Rice Guyana.

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LBGT community more prone to suicide – SASOD

'Lunch Talk' Forum discussing LGBT issues

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uso International’s Mental Health Researcher, Abdel Fudadin on Thursday last, at a “Lunch Talk” forum on Mental Health said that persons who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and/ or Transgender (LGBT) are two to three times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual persons.

These comments were made at a discussion forum which was facilitated by the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) in partnership with USAID’s Advancing

Partners and Communities (APC) Project.

This forum was tasked with an aim to “evaluate with various civil society organisations (CSOs) ways and means the Guyanese society can aid vulnerable communities such as LGBT persons from falling into mental despair and how support can be offered to them.”

Depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and anxiety were some of the conditions that would often lead to substance abuse, risky behaviour, and suicide.

It was also stated that LGBT persons are often marginalised from society, discriminated against and shunned from accessing health, social and security services.

Social anxiety, battling with conservative and religious views and poverty were other causal factors which were linked to weakened mental health of the LGBT community.

“It is a stark reality that happens every day in Guyana,” Fudadin said.

Health, education and advocacy needs to be strengthened. It is what we need to do, to work together; not let religious homophobes and conservatives cloud our progress as a society,” he pleaded during his presentation.

The expert believes that medical students in Guyana need more hours of “mental health sensitivity training.”

Also present at the forum was reigning Miss Guyana World and President of the Prevention of Teenage Suicide (POTS) - Guyana organisation, Lisa Punch.

Punch announced that

her organisation has found that at least “10 per cent of teens and young adults they have approached, are grappling with issues related to their sexuality, and thus, she feels society has failed them by not offering support and comprehensive education on sexuality.”

“Society tells them it is

emphasised.

The POTS organisation has collaborated with the Mental Health team of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), targeting around one hundred teens and young adults to provide education and support in suicide prevention.

Punch also called on oth-

Reigning Miss Guyana World Lisa Punch speaking on suicide prevention

wrong [to be anything other than “straight” (heterosexual)], they hurt themselves, they fight themselves even and their families sometimes do not even support them during this time. They are not sure who to talk to and who understands - we need to teach them to believe in themselves,” Punch

er organisations to heed the calls of vulnerable groups.

She also said that signs of moodiness, withdrawal, rebellious attitudes and suicide jokes must all be observed.

GPH Psychologist and Addiction Specialist Caitlin Vieira voiced concerns over the way suicides are por-

trayed in the media.

According to Vieira, “sometimes people do not even know how to commit the act but the media would show pictures or clips of people hanging, razor cuts on their wrists and go into detail of the substances and amounts used, which exposes more than is needed to people who are already suicidal.”

“The media exposes way too much than they need to: age, means, identity, suspected reasons and other factors that may influence what is known as ‘copycat suicides’ and this phenomenon is currently happening right now,” the specialist added.

Mental Health Researcher, Abdel Fudadin shared her views and also noted that not enough consideration is given to grieving families.

“The media should take the responsibility and take the national effort to curb the rate of suicide by being sensitive about their publications,” the expert added.

This ‘Lunch Talk’ forum was held on Thursday, January 14 at the APC Office. SASOD project officer John Quelch moderated the event.

GNSC donates benches to City Hall for Merriman Mall

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he Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC) on Friday donated several park benches to the Mayor and City Council to be placed in the newly established Merriman Mall.

Project Manager of GNSC, Eion Oudkerk, said the corporation was attracted by the initiative to turn the Merriman Mall into a Recreational Facility, being all part of restoring the Capital to a “Garden City”, hence, they decided to contribute six concrete benches to the Children’s Play Section.

This contribution follows closely on a monetary donation made to City Hall at a Green Conference and Expo about two months ago which underlines the corporation’s commitment to working

From left, Admin Manager Mohini Somaroo and Project Manager Eion Oudkerk officially hand over the furniture to M&CC

closely with stakeholders in its various endeavours to beautify Georgetown as the country prepares to celebrate its 50th Independence anniversary.

A representative receiving the gifts on behalf of M&CC said the council is very grateful for the donation which will greatly assist in further developing a safe fun place for the children.

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Govt slapped with $10M lawsuit after Tunisia declares curfew after days of violent protests businessman’s jewellery seized at CJIA T A

local businessman has moved to the courts, slapping Government with a $10 million lawsuit after he was detained at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) for several hours and his jewellery, valued at some $4 million, was confiscated on Tuesday.

Richard Ramjit, a businessman and goldsmith of Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, was detained for four hours and two pieces of his jewellery, a gold and silver necklace and a gold and silver band, were seized by officers of the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) under the new Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Act passed by Government last year.

This incident has brought to the fore concerns about how potential travellers will be affected by this new legislation, which allows designated officers to seize jewellery in excess of US$10,000.

According to the man’s

Attorney, Anil Nandlall, Opposition Member of Parliament, he had pointed out this fact in Parliament during his arguments on the amendments.

“In 2013, I cautioned that if certain amendments were made to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act conferring a power upon law enforcement officers to confiscate cash and jewellery to the tune of US$10,000 and above, the said power would be abused and misused ... It is only a matter of time before this misuse and abuse is extended right across this country and persons who have the value of US$10,000 in cash and/or jewellery in the course of their legitimate business are exposed to the same being confiscated by an errant or overzealous law enforcement officer,” Nandlall said.

In the Notice of Motion filed on Thursday, Ramjit said that this was the first time he has had this experience despite wearing the two

pieces of jewellery whenever he travelled and he would normally travel regularly.

The man noted that on the day in question as he was checking in at the airline counter, a person in civilian clothes approached him, and indicated that he was a CANU officer and wanted to search his suitcases. The officer also questioned him, the businessman recalled.

Ramjit added that after being questioned by two officers in a room, he was allowed to proceed to the Departure Longue, but shortly after, he was detained again.

“He again accused me of smuggling gold and again I denied this allegation.” The businessman said he was then taken to the tarmac where his checked-in suitcase was opened in the presence of the other passengers.

“This officer then demanded that I hand over to him the said neckwear and wristband; I did so and I have not seen either pieces

of jewellery since. This officer also requested that I report the following morning to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) at Camp Street, Georgetown.”

Ramjit said that eventually he was told to leave, but by that time the flight had already left without him, incurring him a loss of US$750 (the cost of his ticket) and a further GY$400,000 for items he was supposed to buy and resell to make a profit.

“When I was being escorted around the Airport and when my suitcase was searched on the tarmac, the same were done in the full view of all other passengers and other persons, and I felt publicly humiliated and embarrassed,” the man stated.

In addition to asking the court to grant an order for his jewellery to be returned, Ramjit is also asking for “damages in excess of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) for breach of the applicant’s fundamental rights and freedom guaranteed by the Constitution of Guyana”.

Millions in path of huge US blizzard A huge blizzard along the east coast of the United States was expected to dump near-record levels of snow on Washington and the Mid-Atlantic region.

More than 50 million people have been warned a “potentially paralysing storm” will drop 24 inches (60cm) of snow in hours.

Southern states are already blanketed, but the worst is expected to hit the nation’s capital late on Friday.

There are warnings the blizzard could cause power outages and will bring road and air travel to a halt.

A rush for supplies led to long queues and empty shelves at supermarkets.

The weather system has already proved to be deadly, with two drivers killed in North Carolina, one in Tennessee and a pedestrian dead in Maryland.

In Washington, Mayor Muriel Bowser has warned residents of winds

Snow has begun falling in southern Virginia, and was expected to reach the capital shortly after midday

up to 80km/h (50mph) with the possibility of thunder snow.

“I want to be very clear with every-

body: we see this as a major storm. It has life and death implications,” she said. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Migrant crisis: Dozens drown in shipwrecks off Greece

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t least 42 migrants have drowned overnight in two separate shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea, officials say.

The first boat struck rocks near the Greek island of Farmakonisi, while the second overturned near Kalolimnos. Many of those killed were children.

Meanwhile German Chancellor Angela Merkel said human traffickers must not be allowed to profit from exploiting people desperate to reach Europe.

More than a million migrants arrived in Europe illegally last year.

More than 700 died in

Survivors of Friday’s boat sinking off Kalolimnos change their clothes after being rescued

the Aegean crossing from Turkey to Greece. At least another 100 have died in the Aegean this year.

After a joint Cabinet

meeting in Berlin, the German and Turkish leaders reaffirmed their commitment to tackling the crisis.

Mrs Merkel pledged to ensure Turkey would receive more than €3 billion (US$3.3 billion) promised by the European Union in return for strengthening its border controls.

“Today, once again, we heard of dreadful numbers of dead, including children, in the Aegean,” the Chancellor told a joint news conference.

“We cannot let that happen, and let illegal traffickers and people smugglers be in charge between Turkey and Greece, continuing to put people in danger and profiteering.” (Excerpt from BBC News)

unisia has declared a nationwide curfew after days of protests and rioting over jobs and economic conditions, the Interior Ministry announced.

Protests over unemployment in the country, which started in the western Kasserine province, intensified and spread to other parts of the country on Thursday.

Solidarity rallies were held in cities including Tunis, Sidi Bouzid and Gafsa, with several reports of suicide attempts as frustration over the lack of jobs boiled over.

One Policeman was reportedly killed when demonstrators overturned his car in the town of Feriana.

Protests and clashes with security forces started in

Kasserine on Saturday after the death of an unemployed man who was electrocuted on top of a power pole near the Governor’s office.

Ridha Yahyaoui, 28, was protesting because his name was removed from a list of potential recruits for coveted Public Sector jobs.

The Government has ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Kasserine, said the Army has been deployed to ensure that the curfew is observed.

He added that the country’s President, Beji Caid Essebsi was expected to give a speech today. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Zika Virus: Women in El Salvador advised not to get pregnant

A health worker collects blood from a child to test for three different mosquito-borne viruses [AP]

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ublic health officials in El Salvador have advised women to delay pregnancy for the next two years to prevent children from developing birth defects from the mosquito-borne Zika Virus.

The country’s Vice Minister of Public Health, Eduardo Espinoza said on Thursday that women who were already pregnant should stay covered outdoors to reduce the risk of mosquito bites.

“We’d like to suggest to all the women of fertile age that they take steps to plan their pregnancies, and avoid getting pregnant between this year and next,” he said.

The Government decided to make the announcement after 5397 cases of the Zika Virus were detected in El

Salvador in 2015 and the first few days of this year, Espinoza said.

Official figures show 96 pregnant women were suspected of having contracted the Virus, but so far none has had babies born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads, which the disease can cause.

In Colombia, which has the second-highest Zika infection rate after Brazil, the Government is also advising women to delay becoming pregnant, but only for six to eight months.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said on Thursday that local researchers were working with domestic and foreign laboratories to try to develop a vaccine for the Zika and Dengue Viruses. (Excerpt from Al

Jazeera)

China taking selfisolating steps in South China Sea – Pentagon

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he United States is not looking for conflict with China, but steps it is taking in the South China Sea are self-isolating and prompting other countries to seek help from Washington, US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said on Friday.

“I’m not one of those people who believe conflict between the United States and China is inevitable; it’s certainly not desirable. I don’t

think it’s likely,” Carter said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“We don’t seek to ask people to take sides. We do know that people are coming to us increasingly. Why is that? It is because China is taking some steps that I fear are self-isolating, driving towards a result that none of us wants,” he said, in reference to Chinese measures in the South China Sea. (Reuters)

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saturday, january 23, 2016| guyanatimesGY.com

Assured Services launches Drought situation continues – Govt sourcing funding for equipment for affected communities Career Day Competition

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Coordinators and sponsors of the competition

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ssured Services, in collaboration with the Education Ministry and other local sponsors, on Thursday launched its Children’s Career Day Competition at the National Library under the theme “Our contribution to developing the nation through education”.

The competition, which is designed for secondary school students, aspires to provide the basic necessities for the ‘working world’.

This is according to Natheeah Mendonca, Business Relations Manager of Assured Services. In her remarks to the small gathering, she emphasised how fundamental it was to prepare students for any career path they chose to pursue, hence the competition.

“The initiative was conceptualised to provide basic

necessity in preparing secondary school graduates for the challenges that lie ahead in the professional world. The aim of this activity seeks to introduce children to varying professions and at the same time guide their thinking towards making decisions for future careers,” Mendonca informed.

The idea of investing in such a beneficial activity was endorsed by the Ministry.

Assistant Chief Education Officer (CEO) within the Education Ministry, Leslyn Edwards Charles, underscored the value of guidance when dealing with young people who are preparing to enter the world of work.

“Guidance helps them to feel supported; they know that there is someone or some group of persons to form a base for them whether that person is directly in front of

Passengers encouraged to wear life jackets

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he Maritime Administration D e p a r t m e n t (MARAD) has sent out an advisory to the general public urging them to make use of life jackets when travelling in water taxis to ensure their protection at all times.

This stipulation comes in light of a recent incident during which a captain and bowman were banned from operating for five weeks after they had failed to ensure that all passengers in their vessel were wearing life jackets. It was reported that

of the 19 passengers on the boat, only one, a MARAD official, was wearing a life jacket.

The official subsequently made a report and an investigation was launched into the incident. Both men involved claimed that they were unaware the passengers were not wearing the life jackets.

The Department is, therefore, beseeching all passengers to wear the provided life jackets and captains of the vessels to enforce this regulation.

them, at their school, in some institution or church. It also helps them to follow the rules that are established,” she told the gathering.

Charles expressed how elated the Ministry was, therefore, to help promote the activity since it was one that would help students to gain valuable experience.

The competition will see the participation of 65 schools across the country targeting students between the ages of 11 and 16.

The preliminary rounds of the competition will be held at the Girls Guides Association Pavilion on January 28 and 29 at 09:30h, while the final is slated for February 5 at the Theatre Guild.

he prolonged dry weather conditions which the country is facing have led to an intensified drought situation, especially in Region Nine (Upper Essequibo-Upper Takutu).

This has brought numerous hardships to farmers and residents in the area.

Other affected Regions include Regions One (Barima-Waini); Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); Five (Mahaica-Berbice); Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).

In light of this, the Government has embarked upon a multi-stakeholder approach which includes visiting affected communities and meeting with residents. The Civil Defence Commission has been integrally involved with various Ministries to assess and tackle the ongoing situation.

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock, through the Government Information Agency (GINA), related that “at the moment there are plans to get funding and sourcing of equipment to help the communities which are affected. The rainy season that we are accustomed to never came. Normally in the May /June period, the river banks are overflowing.

This never happened.”

It was also stated that lakes in Region Nine that

had never dried up were now swamps.

On January 15, Guyana Times reported on Region Nine cattle farmers having to transport their animals over vast distances to locate water.

“Cattle have to move very far distances to get water… [to get to] the swamp areas,” stated Terrence Boston, a farmer in the Rupununi. The farmer had also stressed that this constant movement was “not commercial”.

In the GINA release, it was noted that although there was a “good flow” of water in Regions One and Eight, mining in those areas contributed to the water being contaminated.

Locals use the water from creeks and rivers for drinking purposes and general use.

Government intends to acquire the “appropriate

equipment” to dig deep wells in South Rupununi and plans for “short- and medium-term operations”.

The Ministries of Agriculture, Public Health and Communities are said to be in collaboration to offer support to the affected communities.

“It is serious, but we have plans to try to cope with the situation…we are trying to help them to understand that water is life.

The drought is serious so we have to conserve, and if there is any rain, we have to capture the rain water,” Minister Allicock explained.

The Minister also said that the Administration would have to look at longterm solutions with regard to addressing the issue of climate change.

The drought has been attributed to the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Women’s Empowerment Symposium for March 2016

By Shemuel Fanfair

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ocal fashion designer Sonia Noel has collaborated with former Trinidadian Miss Universe delegate and politician Nicole Dyer-Griffith in launching a women’s empowerment symposium under the banner “O2N Guyana”.

The event was launched at the Marriott Hotel on Thursday with the symposium slated for March 6. It is free of charge and aims to cater for 300 participants.

Some of the areas in focus will include depression, domestic violence, and abuse.

Noel noted that the creative arts would be utilised to craft the storytelling of participants.

“In Guyana right now with the rate of depression, we need something to get us out and that is one of the things that the creative field does too,” Noel stated.

She posited that “history and statistics” have shown that in an economic downturn, the creative sector would become prominent because it added to quality of life.

Dyer-Griffith is the mind behind the O2N – “Oxygen with Nicole” initiative. She stated that the symposium’s main objective was to offer a safe space where persons can create, connect and cohere.

“The safe space concept is an international concept and also an intellectual concept where you provide that safe

Sponsors of the Women Empowerment Symposium

space for persons to be able to share their stories without being judged and without feeling that those stories could be made into an ugly type of narrative.”

“The creative part comes in the use of the psychodrama and storytelling methodology where people share their stories. The audience participant also has the opportunity to interact with the person who is sharing,” DyerGriffith stated.

This type of “constructive conversation” will be guided by fashion producer Richard Young who will be the storytelling moderator.

Young deemed two previous instalments of the project in Trinidad as successful. He will engage in “therapeutic” pre-discussions with all participants so that their stories can be carefully handled.

He stressed that the space, management, how the information is given, followup, how the press is given information, how people access it, reach out to partners and Public Sector stakeholders

will all form part of the developmental formula.

The Social Cohesion and the Social Protection Ministries are two Public Sector stakeholders which have endorsed the O2N drive.

Head of the Men’s Affairs Bureau, Diego Alphonso said Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence has given her full support to the project.

“We at the Ministry of Social Protection would like to highly endorse and commend this initiative,” Alphonso said. The representative also praised the “creativity, dynamism and uniqueness” of the drive.

Olive Gopaul of the Social Protection Ministry lauded the project on behalf of Minister Amna Ally, stating that it was in keeping with the Ministry’s objectives “to create an environment of trust, appreciation, unity and embracing diversity across Guyana”.

Noel emphasised that future outreach programmes would cater to men and

schools.

“We have a lot of things that will be coming up, but it is going to benefit us tremendously – both Guyana and the Region. This particular one is based on women, but going down the line it would be for everyone because everyone has a story.

That’s what we’re about: we will be definitely telling your stories.”

“We have to get into schools too, because we have impressionable minds there.

We need to talk to our young men too; to treat our women with more respect,” Noel posited.

Dyer-Griffith stressed that people in the Caribbean Region were not always open to the kinds of therapy sessions which Young has crafted. She is, however, hopeful that this mindset could be changed so that people’s stories can be heard.

This year’s International Women’s Day falls under the theme: “Pledge for Parity”. It will be observed on March 8.

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saturday, january 23, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Most residents responding "Love your life: say no to suicide" awareness programme launched well to city clean-up ...Govt subvention not enough – City Council PRO

Hard at work during the clean up

By Shemuel Fanfair

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any residents in the capital have expressed pleasure with Georgetown Mayor & City Council’s ongoing cleaning efforts. These efforts have seen the support of citizens as well Central Government, where the sum of $300 million was allocated in 2015.

Public Relations Officer Debra Lewis on Wednesday said based on council’s interactions with residents, the response to the cleanup campaign has been overwhelmingly positive.

Lewis stated: “From research and our interactions with the various communities – groups and residents, persons are indeed elated because Georgetown hasn’t been in this state of cleanliness for a very long time and in some areas you can see the concrete drains – Queenstown, Alberttown, Wortmanville, Werk-enRust, and people are happy because you have a freer flow of water, you can breathe a cleaner air.”

The PRO remarked that the cleaning efforts were initially focused on downtown Georgetown areas but were then spread out to central Georgetown, and later to outlying communities.

“A couple of weeks back we had the community outreach stakeholders approach in which we [brought] onboard community leaders and persons within the community and they were tasked with cleaning the area and of course we pay them.

“That project allowed for community involvement and ownership because what we found [was] that people lost interest in their local communities,” stated the PRO. It was opined that the March 18 Local Government Elections will see a great interest of community involvement.

“They have persons who will be coming from the local communities and persons who will be coming from the political parties and so with that approach to local governance, that will engender more community participation,” Lewis stressed.

Guyana Times inter-

viewed several persons from various communities in the capital to garner opinions on the campaign and their comments were somewhat varied.

Leticia Minese of Queenstown: “The area in my street, fair enough but they haven’t met my end as yet… I’m viewing right down Third Street and I’m seeing it’s very good.”

Freddy Bhagwandin of Cummingslodge: “My area doesn’t have any clean-up campaign… we haven’t seen their presence here for a long time. We get people coming to collect garbage which is a must by City Council and in terms of cleaning, the residents them Fareeda, only name given, of Cummingsburg however said: “Everything is good, the city is looking really clear, clean… I’m living Quamina [Street], on the top flat and when you look down you can see the drains very clear.”

Hazel Brown: “The campaign is very all right and I thank God for that. I live in West La Penitence and right now they done clean the trench and the boys clean in

the burial ground and I feel so proud…”

On the other hand, residents in North East La Penitence had voiced concerns over continued garbage disposal at the back of the Le Repentir Cemetery.

City Council later admitted that sludge from various city canals is indeed being deposited in the cemetery’s “discontinued” dumpsite.

Carl Simpson of South Ruimveldt claimed that he was ‘out of town’ until recently but noted that in his location the place is clean and the city council is doing a good job.

Public Relations Officer Lewis emphasised that funds are needed to continue the clean-up campaign.

“The works that we are doing is much more than the $300 million that was allocated to the municipality so obviously finances also came from the council’s coffers to clean, desilt and do all the other works… the $300 million couldn’t possibly do the works that you see continue to happen in Georgetown.”

The PRO did not specify what the amount City Council allocated to the clean-up in Georgetown.

Efforts on Friday to contact City Council to provide clarity on these financial matters proved futile.

“The council is also working assiduously to restore the pristine state of the city of Georgetown,” stated Lewis on Wednesday.

She pointed out that Georgetown extends from Agricola to Cummingslodge.

Many residents have called on fellow citizens to support the work of the council and do their part by not littering.

The launch of the awareness programme at North Ruimveldt Multilateral

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he North Ruimveldt Multilateral School on Friday launched its suicide awareness programme “Love your life: say no to suicide” to remind students life is a precious gift given to every individual.

Organiser of the programme, Donessa Clarke told media operatives that this venture was geared at addressing the current suicide epidemic young persons were faced with today.

Clarke explained that the rate of suicide has accelerated significantly since the year began, with the majority of those committing the act being young persons, both in and out of school.

She explained that the programme would be helping students to cope with suicidal thoughts and spreading positive messages on the importance of life to reduce the rate of suicide in Guyana.

In his remarks, Pastor Eworth Williams told the students that every individual had a purpose in

life. He stressed that situations should never determine our destinies, and students should be able to reach out to someone for help. Williams explained from a religious point of view, prayers answered problems and the students needed to believe in God despite their religious background. He emphasised that people should never try to impersonate another individual and should always be their selves. “We are all unique individuals; everything in life has an expiration day, which would eventually have solutions.”

Attorney-at-Law James Bond, in his address, said suicide could not be tackled alone, as it was a collective problem that needed to be tackled by using a holistic approach. Bond encouraged the students to be each other’s keeper and they should let education be their main goal. Suicide is not the answer to any problem; it only adds pain and sorrow to the family, he said, as he urged them:

live your life wisely, dream positive dreams.

Dr Dawn Stuart, in her remarks, noted the importance of life, adding that suicide is never an alternative to any problem. “Face the challenges in life with a positive tone, since they are the stumbling blocks to make us stronger individuals.”

About 40 per cent of the persons who turn to suicide in Guyana are young individuals between the ages of 15 and 28.

During an interview, Health Minister, Dr George Norton stated that there was currently a Mental Health Strategy Programme designed to deal with the prevention of suicide. Norton said after a meeting with President David Granger, his Ministry was in the process of having social workers and counsellors work in a collaborative effort with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to assist in the prevention of suicide.

Presidential term limit proposal

PM’s shill responds to GTimes article ...invokes false “Jagan” context

G

overnment on Friday, in what can be described as another weak and disingenuous response to an article published in this newspaper, claimed that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo’s statement and one presidential termlimit proposal was taken out of context.

The Prime Minister shill, Imran Khan in a 355 word hastily written press statement did not deny that the statements were made by the Nagamootoo at a meeting in New York but attempted to distract attention from the crux and underlying political undertone of the PM’s presenta-

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

tion.

In what appeared to be a scantly written statement

and another attempt to muzzle the Guyana Times from reporting fearlessly the statements made by the public official, Khan alleged that the Prime Minister was reflecting on discussions with former President and Peoples Progressive Party Leader Dr Cheddi Jagan.

Readers are encouraged to go to www.guyanatimesgy.com where they can read the text of Prime Minister’s Moses Nagamootoo’s statements, and view the video clip of his presentation in New York to arrive at their own conclusions on the conext and underlying political tones it set.

In 50 years we only

Imran Khan

changed our government twice and if you don’t change governments quick-

ly and periodically, you end up in all kinds of situations where you are not moving forward because you stay with the same leaders too long And people always say, when we decided to change the constitution to allow a president to contest the elections only two occasions, two times, we realise that that itself is a danger, perhaps you should only have a president for one term or five year because the thieving always starts in the second term You have to think about changing governments as quickly as you can, as periodically as you can be-cause thieving is a disease

18 news

saturday, january 23, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Woman murdered at Zeelugt, body found in Canal

P

olice are on the hunt for a Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara, man after his wife’s body was found in a canal at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo.

The dead woman has been identified as 41-year-old Bibi Zabida Khan called “Theresa” of Uitvlugt Seaview, WCD. According to Police reports, the woman’s body was discovered sometime around 20:30h on Thursday. Her body was taken to the Ezekiel Funeral Home, where it was identified by relatives on Friday.

Guyana Times understands that the woman and her reputed husband, Rudolph Williams, were last seen at a house at the back of Zeelugt, where persons heard him beating her.

Speaking with the Guyana Times, the mother of the dead woman, Bibi Zalika, related that he was told by persons that her daughter was badly beaten at the hands of Williams. “I hear that de beating she bad at Zeelugt and the neighbours them couldn’t bear it so they call the police,” she stated.

The woman added that she was further told that before the police arrived, the man reportedly took the woman’s body to the canal, where she was found, and drowned her. “When people go to rescue

Dead: Bibi Zabida Khan

her, he was in the trench and then swim across (to the other side),” she said.

According to Zalika, she was not aware that her daughter, her only child, was killed until Friday morning when the man’s family intercepted her on her way to Georgetown and related the tragedy. The woman said that she last saw her daughter on Wednesday afternoon, when the couple was leaving to go to church in Meten-Meer-Zorg, WCD. “When they stop me, they say that something happen to Zabida so I ask what happened and they said they don’t

know that somebody tell them something happen to Theresa.

I tell them to go and find while I go GPL but then I get second thoughts so I call me granddaughter (deceased daughter) to go with them and see what happen,” Zalika recalled.

She noted that sometime after, she called back and her granddaughter said that somebody told her to go to the police station to identify her mother as she was dead.

According to the woman, she was aware that the couple was having problems but could not say what caused the man to commit such a gruesome act. She disclosed that her daughter and Williams are together for about 18 years and that the man often threatened her.

“She come and tell me this bai ah threaten she but me ain’t really know why she never tell me… I tell she, she has to live good and she should leave him but she never did,” the woman said. Zalika further related that her daughter had even reported Williams several times to the police but she ended up taking him back every time.

Up to press time, the 43-year-old man was still on the run.

Khan leaves to mourn three children, her mother and other relatives and friends.

Unsanitary conditions at Waterchris Hotel

W

orkers employed at Waterchris Restaurant and Hotel, located on Waterloo Street, Georgetown, on Thursday expressed their grave concerns over the unsanitary conditions under which they are presently working.

Speaking with this publication, senior supervisor of the entity, Sandra Charles lamented that over the past month they were affected by the stench of filthy stagnant water lodged in the blocked drain on the southern side, and also in front of the building. She also said the trench

behind the building was covered with bushes and it was alleged that alligators were seen there.

Charles said due to this issue they were experiencing a severe decline in customers, who said they were forced to stop using the services offered there owing to the unsanitary conditions of the environment.

The employers are pleading with the relevant authorities to intervene to rectify this issue, which could possibly lead to the closure of this business.

In an interview, Colvirl Venteur, the City Engineer of

the Mayor and City Council, stated that the blocked drains in the area resulted because the canal feeding that area needed to be de-silted.

He also said “cleaning of” clogged drains and canals in the city was currently in progress; however, this was being done in stages, throughout the city of Georgetown.

Venteur explained that contracts were awarded, but due to the negligence of these workers, there was presently a backlog of work at the moment, but the new contracts given out would begin in midFebruary.

“Govt betrayed us”...

Chand recalled President Granger words made during the 2015 National and Regional elections campaign where he said in reference to the sugar industry that “there is no quick fix but we are not going to dissolve the industry… it is too big to fail”. Prime Minister Nagamootoo had stated that “The focus is to make sugar work. We have too many workers who stand to lose with the collapse of the industry; so it is no question that we have to make it work.”

“Against the backdrop of such reasonbased statements, there is the obviously subjective and, I daresay irresponsible, decision to close Wales Estate. Undoubtedly, it’s an act of betrayal” Chand stated.

Hardship

He explained that not only will the workers be inconvenienced but also the cane farmers who will have to now transport their canes to Uitvulgt in relations to the low prices that they are currently receiving for the cane. This he stated will cause may to cease cane cultivation.

“The decision to close Wales Estate, I believe, was not well thought out and considered fully. It has grave implications for the workers, the residents, the community, Region Three,

Refurbished Kimbia to restart operations

T

he motor vessel (MV) Kimbia which was docked at the Guyana National Industrial Company’s (GNIC’s) shipyard in November for repairs and restoration, will soon be back in operation as works are 90 percent complete.

The MV Kimbia is a passenger and cargo vessel that has the capacity to transport 200 persons. It is said to be one of the oldest vessels in the maritime public transport system and has served the T&HD for more than 70 years.

It is one of two vessels which provide service to passengers travelling to and from the North West District, Region One. The other vessel, Lady Northcote also recently recommenced operations after major repairs were done on that vessel. The vessel has since made several trips to the region.

Marclene Merchant, General Manager of Transport & Harbours Department (T&HD) of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure in a recent interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) said that the vessel will provide a much more efficient service when it re-starts operations.

According to the GINA report passengers using the service of the vessel to and from North West District

MV Kimbia

will benefit from reduced journey time and improved facilities on board as a result of the work done on the vessel.

Merchant explained that, “Works were executed to the superstructure; plates were changed in the hull, the propeller, shaft and rudder along with other under water fittings; and the interior of the vessel such as cabins, gallery and cargo wench.”

Dwayne Griffith the Chief Mechanical Engineer of T&HD said the fabrication of metal replacements are just about complete, however there were small variations to be done to the water line, key plating by the rudder and a section in the fuel tank.

The GINA report stated that there is yet works to be done to the hull of the vessel which will ensure the effec-

tive functioning of the safety features in terms of journey time and consumption.

Victor Reid, Project Manager, T&HD explained that, “The hull is divided into tanks; we had encountered some holes in these tanks which will be addressed… The tanks are a safety mechanism as in the event there is a breach in the hull, the water will be contained in the tanks which will prevent the boat from sinking.

Additional works which were not a part of the initial contract are currently underway and are almost complete, Reid explained.

The sum of $107M is being expended to execute rehabilitation and repair works to MV Kimbia, however, extra works will cost $61M more which is to be approved by Cabinet.

Children’s Mash Competitions set for 17 to 20 February

from page 9

and the national economy. The Government must now act wisely, sensibly and immediately to reverse their decisions for the consequences are too dire”.

In a meeting with GAWU, GuySuCo advised that some workers who would not be absorbed to the Uitvulgt Estate will be deployed into new economic venture but no information was provided as to what these ventures are.

As a result of the closure of the Wales Estate more than 20,000 tonnes of sugar will be loss which will have major implications on the economy in terms of foreign exchange.

The loss of so many NIS contributors will have some negative effect on the National Insurance Scheme.

In the absence of estate services, the drainage and irrigation system will be neglected which will result in flooding and health hazards.

Many workers of the estate will demand their severance pay as most will not opt to go to GuySuCo as the estate is miles away.

Government statement said that the operation at the Wale Sugar Estate will continue until the end of the second crop of 2016 and will close completely in 2017. Sugar workers who will not be absorbed at the Uitvulgt Estate will be dismissed.

Minister Nicolette Henry along with Permanent Secretary Alfred King unveiling the Mash 2016 logo

A

s Guyana draws closer to celebrating its 46th Republic Anniversary in a matter of weeks, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport has announced that the Children’s Annual Mashramani Competitions is scheduled to be held from February 17 to 20, 2016.

Mashramani 2016 was launched under the theme “Celebration of Diversity, Unity and Sovereignty” with much pomp and celebration.

At the launch of Mashramani 2016 at the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport in Main Street, Minister within the Education Ministry Nicolette Henry told those gathered that Mashramani 2016 was set to include Children’s Competitions – which will start at the Regional level, commenc-

ing in January and the National level will be during February.

Never before has the children’s competition lasted a mere four days.

Though not much of what is going to occur during those four days, members of the public would have to be patient and see what the coming days bring.

The areas of the competition include dance, calypso, dramatic poetry, costume display, and choral presentations.

The general public was urged to remember that Guyana will be celebrating its 50th Independence anniversary, and the intention is to have expansive activities for the year which had cancelled several activities, including the highly anticipated “float parade”.

Minister Henry had stated that the 50-year mark is a profound milestone for Guyana, as it is in the life of any person, and any group of people: “At 50, we come closer to wisdom about the people and things that are truly important to us. At 50, we look forward to the younger ones who may walk the same path we take today, except with new energy and towards new heights that we cannot yet imagine.

50 is a time of deep humility about ourselves, honour for our elders, and hope for the young – these are truly cause for celebration.”

The minister had noted that several activities that are usually held for certain holidays, including Mashramani, will be incorporated into Guyana’s Golden Jubilee Celebration.

saturday, january 23, 2016

Hetmyer, Imlach star as Windies U-19s demolish Scotland

C

Shimron Hetmyer

enturies from Shimron Hetmyer and opener Tevin Imlach saw the West Indies Under-19s cruise to a comfortable 148-run win over Scotland in a warm-up game in Fautllah on Friday.

Hetmyer blasted 136 off just 116 balls, while opener Imlach retired after a similarly scorching 100 from 115 balls. The duo’s heroics propelled the West Indies, who elected to bat first, to an impressive 342 for four.

The Scotts, in response, saw their resistance ended at 194 for seven, Ben Wilkinson and Owais Shah having led the effort with 63 and 55 respectively.

For the Caribbean team Shamar Springer did the

majority of the damage with the ball after claiming three for 19, while left-arm fast bowler Obed McCoy claimed two for 18.

The regional team is looking to shift into high gear ahead of the Under-19 World Cup, a16-nation tournament that will feature nine Test-playing nations and seven Associate and Affiliate Members, Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Nepal, Ireland and Scotland.

Teams have been divided into four groups with the top two in each advancing to the Super League quarter-finals and the other two qualifying for the Plate championships.

(Digicel Sportsmax)

Narine was never in danger of local cricket ban, claims TTCB official

S

uspended West Indies spinner Sunil Narine will be able to play local cricket despite being issued with an international bowling ban.

Rumours recently surfaced that the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) were considering a motion that would extend the player’s international ban to local soil.

However, while an executive member of the TTCB confirmed that the subject was brought up before the board at the last executive meeting, there was never any threat of the player not being allowed to take part in the competition.

“Narine is from Trinidad and Tobago and falls under the umbrella of the TTCB. We just could not bury our heads and not discuss the matter concerning Narine.

It was brought up as a matter of interest,” the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian quoted an unnamed source as

Sunil Narine

saying.

“We saw the story and it is total rubbish, it is just misleading and mischievous. The matter was brought up, because the ICC has indicated that the call to allow Narine to play or not has to come from the respective boards. The matter has been referred to the National League Committee and it is just a discussion that will take place between the committee and officials of Queen’s Park Cricket Club.” (Digicel Sportsmax)

19

NBA Roundup

Cavs top Clippers to improve record L

eBron James had 22 points and 12 assists; J.R. Smith had 22 points and six three-pointers; and the Cavaliers took care of one of the Western Conference’s top teams, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 115-102 on Thursday night.

Kevin Love added 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Cavs, playing their first home game since being embarrassed in a 34-point loss to Golden State on Monday in a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals. They bounced back with a win at Brooklyn on Wednesday, but the Nets aren’t the Clippers, who came in 11-1 in their past 12.

Kyrie Irving had 21 points for Cleveland, which has won 13 of 14 against Los Angeles.

Chris Paul scored 30 and J.J. Redick 17 for the Clippers. Los Angeles made only six 3-pointers after knocking down 22 on Monday against Houston. The Clippers were again without star forward Blake Griffin (torn quadriceps).

In the second half, Cleveland intentionally fouled Los Angeles center DeAndre Jordan, who went just 6 of 15 from the line.

Pelicans 115, Pistons 99: Anthony Davis scored 32 points and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Detroit Pistons 115-99 on Thursday night for their fourth victory in five games.

Tyreke Evans had 22 points and 10 assists for the Pelicans, who raced to a 72-53 halftime lead and never allowed Detroit to get closer than nine points the rest of the way.

The game was the first for New Orleans since starting shooting guard Eric Gordon was ruled out for four to six

hit a driving layup and was fouled. His free throw put Memphis ahead 100-98.

Danilo Gallinari, who led Denver with 17 points, missed a 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left and Conley followed with two free throws.

Kobe Bryant

weeks with a fractured ring finger in his shooting hand. Norris Cole was moved into the starting lineup and responded with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Ryan Anderson scored 13 points and Omer Asik added 12.

Andre Drummond had 19 points and 22 rebounds for Detroit, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 23 and Brandon Jennings 20.

Grizzlies 102, Nuggets 101: Marc Gasol had 27 points, including a go-ahead three-point play with 12.2 seconds left, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Denver Nuggets 102-101 on Thursday night.

Mike Conley had 20 points as the Grizzlies won their fourth in a row in front of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

With Memphis trailing by one, Gasol

Kobe Top All-Star Vote-Getter: Kobe Bryant is the leading vote-getter for his final NBA All-Star Game, and Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry made late moves to join him in the starting lineup.

Leonard will start in his first AllStar Game and Lowry will start on his home court in Toronto after both made up ground in the final days of voting on Thursday.

Nobody was catching Bryant, who had 1.9 million votes and was selected an All-Star for the 18th time.

“It’ll be a special All-Star because this is Kobe’s last run,” Miami’s Dwyane Wade said.

“Obviously, I wasn’t in the league and didn’t get a chance to see (Michael) Jordan’s, but I was watching as a fan and it looked like it would be something cool to be a part of. So this will be special.”

MVP Stephen Curry of Golden State was next with 1.6 million and they will be joined in the Western Conference lineup by Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and Leonard, the San Antonio star who was more than 12,000 votes behind Golden State’s Draymond Green for the last front-court spot after the most recent returns.

Cleveland’s LeBron James and Indiana’s Paul George will start in the East frontcourt with New York’s Carmelo Anthony, who held off Chicago’s Pau Gasol by 360 votes. (The Columbus Dispatch)

WICB, PCB, CSA write ICC about MCL

A

t least three Full Member boards have written to the ICC expressing concern over their current players asking for no objection certificates to participate in the Masters Champions League (MCL), which was approved as a Twenty20 event meant strictly for retired players. The ICC has warned that “actions of those involved with the MCL in seeking current player participation” is “unacceptable”.

It is understood that the three aggrieved members are the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Cricket South Africa (CSA), and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

In an e-mail sent to all the member boards, ICC senior operations manager Clive Hitchcock asked them to contact him immediately if they received a request from a current or non-retired player for an NOC to play in the MCL. According to Hitchcock, the ICC had granted an approval to the MCL last November, and notified all the board members.

“Our decision not to issue a Disapproved Notice was based on the application from MCL

which clearly stated that it was an event for retired players only,” Hitchcock wrote in the e-mail, which is in possession of ESPNcricinfo. “Emirates Cricket Board, who sanctioned the event, did so on the basis of their negotiations with MCL for a retired players event.

Consequently, the actions of those involved with the MCL in seeking current player participation in the event is unacceptable to us.”

Hitchcock pointed out that affected boards have highlighted to the ICC that the MCL has been signing up players who are yet to retire, thereby weakening their domestic cricket. “Within the past week we have received notification from two Full Members that its current players have just been approached to play in the event, by requesting those players to seek NOCs from their respective Board,” Hitchcock said.

Haroon Lorgat, the CSA chief executive, said he had to take notice once his board received a “couple of queries” for NOCs from current South African domestic players. “I am concerned because on the

back of what was meant to be [a tournament] for retired players they are now inviting or approaching who are currently playing in our domestic set-up,” Lorgat said.

Lorgat did not disclose the names of the players, but said CSA had approached the ICC asking for intervention.

“You can’t have domestic competitions affected,” Lorgat said. “This is the prime part of our season. And they are not retired players. They are contracted to our domestic franchises.”

The MCL’s squads feature a number of South African players who haven’t yet announced their retirement, including a few who have featured in the current domestic season, such as Ryan McLaren, Richard Levi and Robin Peterson.

WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead said his board had written to the ICC seeking clarity, although he added no West Indies player had yet asked for an NOC. West Indian players in the MCL roster include Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Fidel Edwards, who are yet to an-

nounce their retirements.

For the PCB, the challenge is of a different kind. Last week the PCB had made it clear that the Pakistan players who wanted to play in the MCL would need to submit in writing that they had “announced and confirmed their irrevocable resignation and retirement from international cricket on behalf of Pakistan”.

The main issue for the PCB is the ten-day clash between the Pakistan Super League and the MCL, both of which are being staged in the UAE. The MCL is scheduled be held from January 28 to February 13, while the PSL is to be held from February 4 to 23. “MCL was earlier meant to end a few days before we started our league [PSL] in the UAE, but later the MCL and ECB made a some changes in their fixtures,” Najam Sethi, the PCB’s executive committee head, said. “Later we got a three-way agreement with MCL, PCB and ECB, but still it’s overlapping, which isn’t ideal, but we have agreed to it and we didn’t have any other choice.” Sethi said.

(Cricinfo)

20

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2016

“Choose Life” tape-ball Quarterfinals on today tournament set for Sunday Mobile Wizard 10/10 softball cricket

at Tuschen Ground T he quarterfinals draw for the Mobile Wizard 10/10 softball cricket competition being organised by the Guyana Softball League (GSL) and sponsored by Mobile Wizard, Trophy Stall, Miss Love (West Coast) Trading, Rohan’s Furniture Establishment , Imtiaz and Imran Hack has been completed and all the quarterfinalists are raring to go today at the Tuschen ground.

Wolf’s Warriors will play Vipers XI; Wolf’s Warriors has been training hard since their loss to Speedboat SC and has dominated all their matches up to this point. The side is a good all-round side and their aggressive play will certainly keep their opponents on their toes.

Vipers XI will remember in the round-robin rounds when they had them on the ropes only to drop four catches allowing the Warriors to escape.

Crossbreed Warriors will come against Omesh XI. Both camps have been hard at work on their weaknesses and this match is up for grabs as the teams are evenly matched. The bowling on both sides seems to have improved as well.

Omesh XI will depend on Ricardo Adams and Vickram Kissoon to set the pace but Crossbreed bowling is an experienced one and will hope to run through the first five batsmen.

Settle XI will then play Speedboat XI; Settle XI

started well in this tournament dominating all the teams until they reached Speedboat SC in the round robin stage and lost miserably.

They have indicated that this is a different time and they have learned

from there mistake and will make amends. They will depend heavily on allrounders Diaram Persaud and skipper Nazim Azeem to take them to victory.

Speedboat SC has played unbeaten so far with the minimum of fuss and will look on every player to come to the party in order to be victorious.

Leonora Youths versus Power XI; this match is a repeat of the last round but on that occasion Power XI were the victors with Leonora Youths taking them for granted. This time around Leonora Youths are more aware of that and has pledged to beat the Power XI by a big margin.

There will also be exhibition games in the form of Leguan SuperStars versus

Omesh XI; Well Woman against Lady Jags; Savage Masters versus West Coast and Parika Defenders versus West Coast Blazers.

Meanwhile lots of entertainment is planned by the organisers as Kirk “Chow Pow” Jardine will host an

evening comedy show along with other top comedians.

Music will be provided by top entertainers.

The organisers will be giving away cell phones and t-shirts as well as other items to the spectators who are chosen randomly from the crowd.

Additionally the one ball “manto” which goes for a top prize of $10,000 plus credit will continue its qualifying stage as the spectators can feel what’s like out in the middle.

The semi-finals and the finals are slated for February 13 where all the players, officials and sponsors will assemble to witness a grand finish to a wonderful tournament.

Admission to the ground is $300.

T

he Foreign Ministry Sports Promotion team will host an 11 a-side six-over tape ball cricket competition on Sunday dubbed, “Choose Life” for all Ministries and work places.

The event is expected to start from 09:00h and will be hosted ta the National Culture Centre Tarmac.

The competition which is coordinated by James Lewis is being held as an event to advocate for life over suicide which has grabbed Guyana by storm at the break of the New Year.

Finalists from last year’s event, the Guyana Beverage Company “Busta” and the Ministry of Education will

be back to take on all comers when action begins.

Teams are asked to contact Lewis on 666-5857 or 672-6179 to register for the

event. Teams will be playing for the “Life Cup” along with medals in the straight knockout tournament.

Anderson 82* sets up punishing NZ win C orey Anderson limped off the field with 15 overs of the third T20 still remaining, but by then he had done enough to tilt the match, and the series, decisively New Zealand’s way. He had smashed an unbeaten 42-ball 82 to power New Zealand to a total of 196, and by the end of his second over, when he pulled up with cramps, had picked

reached double figures as they only just scraped past the 100 mark.

This was surely not the finish Pakistan had envisioned when Shahid Afridi chose to bowl after winning the toss. But the portents were clear right from the first ball of the match, which Martin Guptill flatbatted to the cover boundary. Carrying on from where

overs. In between, a brilliant piece of fielding from Rizwan at midwicket ran out Colin Munro at the nonstriker’s end.

Not long after, Williamson had holed out off Wahab Riaz, and Ross Taylor had retired hurt with a side strain. But New Zealand still had the momentum, with Anderson already underway with two

Vish Trading golf tourney on today

A

s the golf season gains momentum, Vish Trading Inc of Area ‘D’, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara, has eagerly come forth to sponsor a tournament in memory of the late Prabudial Ramdial, the founder of the company. Vish Trading Inc has been a regular sponsor of tournaments at the Lusignan Golf Course.

Vish Ramdial, the Managing Director of Vish Trading Inc, expressed his desire that this tournament be a great one in honour of his father, who was a very great positive man and who was an ardent golf fan.

Representatives of Vish Trading will be on hand in support of their sponsorship today. The Open Medal Play tournament will tee off at 12:30h.

Past president Brian Hackett, who was singled out for his positive encouragement to Vish, will be expected to put up a good performance in honour of his late friend. Winner of the last Vish sponsored

The New Zealand players get together after a wicket (Getty Images)

Guy Griffith (left), the PRO of the Lusignan Golf Club, receives the sponsorship cheque from Vish Ramdial, the Managing Director of Vish Trading Inc.

tournament was the youthful Joann Deo. Up for grabs would be trophies for the top three finishers, Best Gross and

Nearest to The Pin prizes, but Vish Trading is likely to have other encouraging features for this tournament.

up two wickets to help reduce Pakistan to 36 for 4.

A good start is critical in a chase of such magnitude, and Pakistan did not make one. Failing to get on top of a short ball from Trent Boult, Mohammad Hafeez sliced a high catch into the point region. In the next over, Ahmed Shehzad picked out deep square leg while looking to pull Anderson, before Mohammad Rizwan ran himself out hurtling needlessly from his crease.

Shoaib Malik struck three sweetly-timed fours off Boult, but the required rate brought out a miscued slog in the next over; Anderson had his second, and New Zealand were firmly on the road to victory.

In the end, Anderson was not required to come back onto the field as New Zealand wrapped up the match with close to four overs still remaining. Only two Pakistan batsmen

he left off in Hamilton, Guptill tore into Anwar Ali, who replaced Umar Gul in Pakistan’s seam attack, spanking him for another four and a six off the last two balls of the first over.

With Guptill in an equally punishing mood against Imad Wasim’s hitherto unhittable left-arm spin, New Zealand reached the halfcentury mark as early as the start of the fifth over. They could have gotten there earlier, had more if not for Mohammad Amir’s efforts to tie up Kane Williamson at the other end, bowling with pace and giving him no room.

Guptill was looking unstoppable until Afridi brought himself on and pulled things back with his skiddy topspinners from just back of a length. He forced Guptill to miscue a slog-sweep and hole out, and gave away only seven runs from his first two

fours and a six off his first twelve balls.

Anderson was not at his most fluent, but his method of clearing his front leg to make swinging room brought him rich dividends whenever anything was pitched in his hitting zone.

All four of his sixes flew over the arc between deep midwicket and long-on, with those two fielders made to look like spectators.

With the leg-side boundary packed and a sweeper square on the off-side, third man was usually inside the circle. This gave Pakistan’s seamers little margin for error when they tried to fire in the yorker, as Anderson made room, freed his arms, and carved the ball over or wide of that fielder for four of his six fours, with Wahab, who went for 43 in his four overs, receiving special attention for this form of punishment. (Cricinfo)

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FOR SALE One 6 inch dredge, one 4 cylinder mwm, one 3 cylinder mwm engine in working condition with all other complete equipments in good working condition 679 3655 Clean Garden Earth. Also excavating, grading and leveling done. Call 627-9977 Road to Belwasa and A Dip at the Sangam, Indenture ship Novels at Austin’s Book Store and at Lachmansingh Drug Store. Tel: 226-5053.

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PROPERTY FOR SALE

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21 Cook and Amla hundreds lead South Africa S SPORTS

Call 223-7230-1 ext 35

outh Africa shook off a week of introspection by taking two centuries off a flaccid England attack in a satisfying opening to the final Test in Centurion. Hashim Amla found his innings so untaxing that he might have made it in his sleep; Stephen Cook must have imagined every step of his so vividly that there would have been times when sleep was hard to find.

The series has been lost, South Africa are about to relinquish their No. 1 Test ranking to India, and five changes from the side that lost in Johannesburg told of the uncertainty afflicting their cricket, but by closing at 329 for 5 they hold the upper hand here.

For Amla, a 25th Test hundred was an unburdening after a sequence of low scores which contributed to him conceding the captaincy.

For Cook, the unburdening came with opportunity, a Test debut at 33, one he grasped so desirously that he became the 100th batsman to make a century on Test debut. Two - Lawrence Rowe and Yasir Hameed - even had the audacity to do it twice in the match.

Why is it that 100 Test batsmen, previously unchosen, have now trodden this path? There is often an advantage that bowlers have had no time to explore their deficiencies, but most influential of all must be the hunger that runs through their veins.

England will rue the life offered to both batsmen Amla on 5 and Cook on 47, and both of them fixing further attention on the wicketkeeping of Jonny Bairstow - but that should not deflect from the untroubled assembly of a second-wicket stand worth 202 in 53 overs.

Both will be frustrated that they failed to cement South Africa’s authority, dismissed in identical manner, playing on, in a final session where England belatedly be-

Hashim Amla celebrates his 25th Test century (Gallo Images)

came attuned to their task.

Amla, even at his must luxuriant, does not always concern himself with the gap between bat and pad and it was a sizeable one as he hung his bat limply against Ben Stokes. Chris Woakes silenced Cook - an indeterminate drive at a rising delivery.

Amla’s sixth Test hundred against England was replete with poised off-side drives as

England’s bowlers repeatedly erred in length. Cook, too, a sober-minded sort, played with a fluency that he has not always attained during his career as he has built an image of a steady accumulator.

He looked what he is: a proper opener. That said, South Africa zipped along for much of the day above four an over.

Four wickets in all in the final session, all with the old ball, gave England hope. AB de Villiers’ defensive jab at Stuart Broad flew to Joe Root at second slip, his second successive duck and the 10th time Broad has dismissed him in 14 Tests. JP Duminy, ambitiously high at No. 5 despite his recent double hundred in domestic cricket, then pulled at Moeen Ali’s offspin and was lbw to a straight one.

It was left to Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock to re-establish South Africa’s authority against the second new ball, their unbroken stand of 56 coming with a relaxed air that belied South Africa’s anxiety to bring their losing run to an end.

A Test debut at the ripe old age of 33 is something to take seriously. Cook was never going to regard it any other way. From the moment that he took guard at SuperSport Park, and despatched his first ball in Test cricket a half volley from James Anderson - to the boundary, an air of gravitas descended upon proceedings. (Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD South Africa 1st innings SC Cook b Woakes 115 D Elgar c Taylor b Ali 20 HM Amla b Stokes 109 AB de Villiers* c Root b Broad 0 JP Duminy lbw b Ali 16 T Bavuma not out 32 Q de Kock† not out 25 Extras (lb 10, w 2) 12 Total (5 wickets; 90 overs) 329 To bat: KJ Abbott, M Morkel,

K Rabada, DL Piedt Fall of wickets: 1-35, 2-237, 3-238, 4-271, 5-273 Bowling: JM Anderson 21-4-700, SCJ Broad 18-1-65-1, MM Ali 17-4-53-2, CR Woakes 16-2-741, BA Stokes 18-2-57-1.

England team: AN Cook*, AD Hales, NRD Compton, JE Root, JWA Taylor, BA Stokes, JM Bairstow†, MM Ali, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson

Federer defuses Dimitrov to seal 300th slam win

A

patient Roger Federer weathered a second set storm from Grigor Dimitrov before slapping down the Bulgarian 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-4 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open and clinch his 300th win in grand slams.

The four-times champion wobbled briefly in the inter-generational battle when the 24-year-old nicknamed ‘Baby Fed’ pulled off his best impression of the Swiss master to capture the second set under a closed roof at Rod Laver Arena.

Federer, however, simply lifted a gear, taming an occasionally wayward forehand before speeding away to set up a clash with another young gun in Belgian 15th seed David Goffin.

Blessed with a similar shot-making grace as his opponent, Dimitrov showed his class in a number of thrilling baseline battles and Federer admitted that, at times, it felt like playing himself.

“It’s a little odd from time

to time, I feel like he picks up the ball on the backhand and the forehand (like me),” Federer said in a courtside interview.

“Then I started playing the wrong way at times ...

It’s nice playing him, it’s always fair play.”

Their head-to-head record at the end of the twilight match stood at 5-0 in Federer’s favour, however, and Dimitrov exits Melbourne Park still very much stuck in the Swiss’s long shadow.

Having celebrated his 1,000th tour win in Brisbane last year, Federer was tickled by the idea of notching up his 300th in grand slams.

Only Martina Navratilova has won more matches at the majors, with 306, while among the men, Jimmy Connors is a distant second to Federer with 233.

The third seed’s winning run showed that he still has the game to dismiss young pretenders.

“You got to work hard,

even harder now these days it seems like,” Federer told reporters when asked what he might write to a junior version of himself.

“There’s more professional tennis players than ever.

The depth is greater. Talent takes you only so far. But the rest of it is you have to teach it to yourself and learn it, get it right.”

It may as well have been a lecture for the benefit of Dimitrov as the 24-year-old plots a way to return to the big-time in the wake of an underwhelming season that checked his emergence.

“You got to be patient, as well,” Federer added.

“Can’t expect to win slams at 16, 17, 18 anymore these days, skyrocket through the rankings, unless you’re out of this world.

“I needed to make mistakes to become the player I am today. It’s been amazing.

I’ve been truly privileged to have the experience.” (Reuters

Sport)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2016

shooting season starts with Ricks and Sari 11-race cycling Trap successful practice session at National Park today T

Flashback! Marlon Williams won the main race in 2015. Here, he receives his trophy and hamper from Ricks and Sari Agro Industries’ Accountant, Shahzir Ali, in the presence of organiser Hassan Mohamed and race official Joseph Britton (Avenash Ramzan file photo)

By Avenash Ramzan

C

ompetitive cycling will return to the inner circuit of the National Park today, with the 23rd staging of the annual Ricks and Sari Agro Industries 11-race programme, starting at the 09:00h.

Coming off a solid 2015 when he organised an amazing 43 cycling races, national cycling coach Hassan Mohamed will commence his 2016 season with today’s race, and he is hoping to surpass the achievements of the past year.

As usual, the day’s activities will roll off with the

young riders competing in the various BMX categories, before the ‘big boys’ take centre stage in the senior races.

The youngsters will compete in the BMX Open, 6-9, 9-12, 12-14 and Boys and Girls Open divisions, followed by the Veterans Under-50 and Over-50, the Juveniles and Mountain Bikes, and the feature event, the gruelling 35-lap School Boys and Invitational.

Team Gillette Evolution’s rider Marlon Williams is the defending champion of the main race, having won last year’s event in a time of one hour, 20 minutes, 11 seconds (01h: 20m: 11s).

He will however, face stiff competition in the defence of his title, with the likes of Orville Hinds, Hamzah Eastman, Paul DeNobrega, Romello Crawford and others vying for supremacy.

Crawford was also the winner of the Juveniles race last year, while Junior Niles won the Veterans Under-50; Sean Budhan won the Mountain Bikes, and Rakheem Blair was the top rider in the BMX Boys and Girls Open.

Top officials of Ricks and Sari Agro Industries will be on hand to witness the day’s activities and also assist in the presentation of prizes at the conclusion. (aramzan@guyana-

timesgy.com)

he Guyana Sport Shooting Federation (GSSF) started their season with a successful practice session last Saturday at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Yarrowkabra shooting range.

Members who turned out after the long Christmas holidays returned to the range to warm up their trigger fingers in both handgun practice sessions and trapshooting fun.

In October 2015, the GSSF having secured affiliation to the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA), hosted the official launch of the sport.

Since then a Trapshooting Committee has been formed, tasked with pioneering this sport in Guyana under the chairmanship of Gerard Mekdeci who has committed to ensuring that monthly trapshooting sessions will be organised.

President of the Federation, Vidushi Persaud, expressed delight at the interest in this sport and the encouraging turn-out of members last Saturday for this sporting discipline.

She went on to extend thanks to members Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer for the kind assistance with storage of the machine at National Hardware and to Mekdeci for his company, JT Mekdeci’s kind donation of the five station mats and

Members of GSSF’s Trapshooting Committee, from left; Dr Pravesh Harry, Ryan McKinnon, Vidushi Persaud, Gerard Mekdeci and Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer

ammo pouches to the trapshooting section.

Trapshooting is a specific form of clay target shooting utilising shotguns. It is a game of movement, action and split-second timing which requires the accuracy and skill to repeatedly aim, fire one shot in an attempt to break the 108mm clay discs which are hurled through the air at speeds surpassing 65kmh.

In registered trapshooting, the rules specify that targets must be thrown no more than 52 yards and should reach a height of between eight and 12 feet at 10 yards from the trap house.

Shooters stand a minimum of 16 yards from the trap

houses and take turns at calling “Pull” for the targets to be launched when they are ready.

Usually there are about four types of shotguns which can be used for trapshooting; those are over and under, single barrel, semi-automatic and pump action.

Regulations stipulate they must be no larger than 12 gauge.

Persaud also extended sincere thanks to Hakeem Mohamed of H. Mohamed’s General Store and Firearms Dealers, the Chief of Staff of the GDF, Brigadier Mark Phillips, GPF Commissioner Seelall Persaud as well as other senior officers in the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

Rebel Tennis Club Championship

4 teams to contest Fredericks’ Campbell upsets Dey to reach final T memorial match

Roy Fredericks

T

he Blairmont Cricket Club and Cotton Tree Die Hard will clash in a T20 match on January 31, with the Roy Fredericks Memorial Cup at stake.

After naming the main pavilion in honour of the former West Indies opener two week ago, the executives of the Blairmont Cricket Club believe it is imperative they do more to recognise Fredericks for his contribution to the game.

After the naming of the pavillion, Blairmont had played Georgetown Cricket Club in a feature match, which the city side won. The January 31 event will in-

volve four teams tussling for supremacy, with two preliminary matches and the winners competing in the grand final.

Following the drawing earlier this week, Cotton Tree Die Hard will go headto-head against D’Edward Warriors from 08:30h, while the following match will see Bath Underdogs taking on home team Blairmont Blazers from 11:00h. The final will bowl off at 14:30h.

Cotton Tree Die Hard will depend on hard-hitting batsman Romesh Boodram, Pooran Persaud, Abdool Subhan and Roshan Gafoor to take on D’Edward Warriors, who boast the ev-

ergreen Eon Abel, Brijlall Heeralall, Devindra Lalsa and Ravi Brijlall.

In the second encounter, Bath Underdogs will have in their line-up Andrew Dutchin, Richard Gangaram, Ravi Gossai and Kevin Ramnauth to challenge Blairmont Blazers, who have the likes of Permanand Ramdhan, Kevon Jawahir, Brendon Bess and Waqar Hassan.

The clubs are seeking other sponsors to add to contribution made by Berbice Bridge Company, Baksh Travel Service and Greens Massive. All proceeds from the day’s event will go towards cricket development.

Representatives of the clubs display the trophies that would be up for grabs

he first ladies’ semi-finals of the Rebel Tennis Club Championship took an unexpected twist during the match-up between Cristy Campbell and Aretta Dey on Thursday evening at the Harry Panday hard court.

Most persons had written off the unseeded Campbell against the consistent number 1 seed in Dey but the viewers were left aghast when the dust settled and Campbell emerged as the victor.

When asked about the match that could be describe as the biggest one in her four years of play, she said, “obviously it feels good to go out and win after being side lined with various injuries for the entire 2015. My plan was to stick to my usual game and thankfully things went in my favour. Going into Sunday’s final I intend to maintain my strategy which has worked thus far and just go out and have fun. There can only be one winner. Win or lose the year has started well for me. I’m working around the clock on my ankle and hopefully I’m in a better comfort zone come Sunday.”

The match was highlighted with long rallies

Cristy Campbell (left) and Aretta Dey after their match

and a test of mental toughness as the match lasted for two hours.

The women demonstrated that their matches can be as equally exciting and drew the largest amount of spectators. Campbell booked her first ladies’ finals with a 7/5, 6/1 win.

The final match of the evening was con-

tested between number 2 seed, Leyland Leacock and Anthony Amerally in the quarterfinals.

Amerally powered several remarkable aces which caught Leacock off-guard.

However, the top seed was not to be deterred and went on to quickly wrap up his match 6/1, 6/1.

guyanatimesGY.com

saturday, january 23, 2016

23

Busta Champion of Champions

Milo U-20 School Football Tournament

RHT Gizmos & Gadgets, Young Warriors face off in Sunday’s final

The quest for championship glory starts today

T

Gajanand Singh

Rajiv Ivan

he three pavilions in the Area ‘H’ ground are expected to be filled to capacity when the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club hosts the finals of the 12th annual Busta Champion of Champions on Sunday.

Rose Hall Town Gizmos and Gadgets would clash with Young Warriors in the final after the Canje-based team replaced Tucber Park, whose manager Carl Moore informed the organisers that his club would be unable to field a team due to the absence of key players.

Young Warriors were the losing semi-finalist to Tucber Park in Zone A and were therefore selected as the replacement. Rose Hall Town Gizmos and Gadgets would be led by former national Under-19 captain Shawn Perriera, while

Jason Sinclair, Rajiv Ivan, Clinton Pestano, Micheal Hicks and Eon Hooper would spearhead a powerful home team’s batting order, which is capable of scoring heavily at home.

Perriera would be part of a spin attack that includes Collis Butts, Eon Hooper, Troy Mathieson, Khemraj Mahadeo and Rajiv Ivan.

They would receive support from pacers Clinton Pestano and Keon Sinclair, who would share the new ball.

Young Warriors would depend heavily on Gajanand Singh, Ishwar Singh, Kevin Ramdeen, Seon Hetmyer, Linden Austin and Wahied Edwards. They would need to score heavily on a fast Area ‘H’ outfield if their bowling attack has any chance to defend.

Pacer Jermin Henry would receive support from

off-spinners Gajanand Singh, Kevin Ramdeen, Linden Austin, Kevin Sinclair and left-arm spinner Kassim Khan. The winning team would carry home the top prize of $100,000 and the Busta Trophy, while the runner-up would collect $50,000 and a trophy.

Other prizes would include Man-of-the-Final and best all-rounder.

Managing Director of Guyana Beverage Company, Robert Selman, Marketing Manager, ShameizaYadram, and RHTY&SC Secretary/ CEO, Hilbert Foster, will share out the prizes after the match.

The RHTY&SC would also be acknowledging the contribution of Selman, who would be going into retirement soon.

RHTGG squad reads: Jason Sinclair, Micheal Hicks, Rajiv Ivan, Clinton Pestano, Eon Hooper, Khemraj Mahadeo, Collis Butts, Troy Matheison, Keon Sinclair, Shawn Perriera, Slyus Tyndall and Denzil Sinclair.

Young Warriors squad reads: Wahied Edwards, Gajanand Singh, Alex Algoo, Keon Sinclair, Ishwar Singh, Kevin Ramdeen, Amir Khan, Seon Hetmyer, Kassim Khan, Linden Austin, Balram Samaroo, Jermin Henry, Mortimer Fraser and Trevon Somersault.

Hikers/Stag 7-a-side hockey set for January 31

From left: Stag Beer Brand Manager Lindon Henry, Hikers President Devin Munroe and Hikers player Kenisha Wills (Avenash Ramzan photo)

By Avenash Ramzan

F

using the best male and female players from all the top clubs in Guyana, the Hikers seven-aside festival is set for a grand return on January 31 with 10 branded teams set to compete for top honours.

Slated for the St Stanislaus ground on Carifesta Avenue, the tournament, which was first held in 2014, but was put off last year because of poor weather, has received title sponsorship from Ansa McAL Trading under its Stag Beer brand.

Stag Beer Brand Manager, Lindon Henry, said the company is pleased to partner in the initiative, noting that Ansa McAL Trading is always supportive of sport.

President of the Hikers

Hockey Club, Devin Munroe, speaking at the tournament launch on Friday afternoon at Antonio’s Grille on Sheriff Street, revealed that the 10 teams will be mandated to field three female and three male players with the goalkeeper being of either gender.

The teams will each be sponsored by a corporate entity, and those are Antonio’s Grille, Global Technology, Emtec (Java Coffee Bar), Jai Signs, 704 Sports Bar, Elegance Boutique, Cell Phone Shack, EMP Air Conditioning, Sonic Business Services and C&F Meats.

Each team will don colourful and branded uniforms bearing the logos of the various business entities.

The teams will be placed in two groups of five, and will compete in a round robin for-

mat. The top two from each group will then advance to the semi-finals. Each game will last 24 minutes.

Cash, trophies and medals will be up for grabs, with action set to get underway at 10:00h and conclude with the final under floodlights.

With admission to the venue being absolutely free, Munroe is hoping to attract a large turnout. Apart from the on-field action and several side attractions off it, the organisers are also looking to market the sport to persons who may have an interest in signing up with the various clubs.

Camex Restaurant and Demerara Distillers Limited have also partnered with Hikers to pull off the one day event.

By Treiston Joseph

G

eorgetown’s top under-20 school teams will kick off the battle for the much coveted Milo School football championship today when action commences at the Ministry of Education ground.

With the tournament being in its fourth year and no team having won the event more than once, Chase Academy who are the defending champs will start as favourites to take the title a second year running.

However, with former champs Lodge Secondary who won the second edition of the event ready and raring to go, the current champs might not find the task of repeating too easy.

Their consistency as a unit will play a major role

in how they progress in the tournament especially against a side like Chase who has superb team chemistry.

Nevertheless, Lodge has proven to be the most consistent side in the tournament’s history thus far, winning the second edition of the tournament while finishing third in the first and third last year as well.

St George’s Secondary will also have a say in the tournament especially since they were the inaugural champs and one of the more consistent sides in the tournament as well.

Another team that will be looking to leave their mark on the tournament is last year’s runners-up Dolphin Secondary who had a below par showing against

Chase in the final.

With schools and lessons such as South Ruimveldt Secondary, Morgan Learning Centre, Charlestown Secondary, Sir Leon Lessons, Tucville Secondary and many others, the tournament is set to have an exciting finish as is usually the case.

Meanwhile Coach of Lodge Secondary, Leon Bishop summed up the tournament the best, noting that the tournament is wide open as every squad will have to bring their best game each day, including his ever present Lodge Secondary.

Four games will kick off the action today with the final match seeing defending champions Chase Academy taking on Tucville Secondary.

WICB/NAGICO Super50

Pride to tackle Red Force in today’s final

Bravo scored 82 the last time he played the Pride

By Akeem Greene

B

arbados Pride will play Trinidad and Tobago Red Force today in the final match of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)/ NAGICO Super50 tournament at the Queen’s Park Oval.

To jog the memory of some, the last time these two squads met in the final of this very tournament in 2014, Barbados were the victors by 17 runs.

Barbados batted first in that match and were led by Dwayne Smith with a quick fire 83 from 77 balls which gave them a total of 252 all out in 48.4 overs. In response Red Force crashed to 235 from 45.5 overs. Young Carlos Brathwaite was the chief bowler with figures of 4-41 from 10 overs.

Nevertheless, Trinidad still cannot be written off since they have won ten regional 50 overs titles, (most by any team) and are currently defending champions.

Barbados on the other hand have won six titles.

In this year’s tournament, the two Group ‘A’ teams will meet for the third time in the tournament with the victories being split between both.

The Red Force’s first win over Pride was by nine wickets but the Pride had a depleted team due to most of their players on West Indies duty.

On the second occasion, Pride had a stronger team and defeated a Red Force team who

too had players returning from West Indies duty.

Pride hopes with the bat will fall on opener Kraigg Brathwaite who has an astonishing average of 107.5 from his four games since his return. He has only been

Kraigg Brathwaite will be a key man with the bat today

dismissed twice in accumulating 215 runs. The likes of Dwayne Smith, Jonathon Carter and Shamarh Brooks are all handy batsmen to have as well.

The bowling boasts the likes of West Indies Captain Jason Holder and West Indies players such as Carlos Brathwaite, Sulieman Benn (leading wicket taker with 14 scalps), Ashley Nurse, Jomel Warrican along with the upcoming pacer Miguel Cummins The Red Force, even though they lack a bit of experience they boast an extremely young and talented unit.

The young opener Evin Lewis

who made his maiden List ‘A’ century during this tournament along with Kyle Hope, Kjorn Ottley, Captain Jason Mohammad, Denesh Ramdin and the in-form Darren Bravo will have to carry the batting load.

Bravo in particular has been the main driving force behind the Red Force’s batting since his return.

In his two games thus far, he would have easily gotten two centuries with scores of 82 and 95 but he carelessly gave away his wicket on both occasions. Ramdin too has looked in good touch both behind and in-front of the stumps.

Off-spinner Jon-Russ Jaggesar with his 12 wickets to date has been leading the team with the ball in hand.

The slippery spinner simply has a knack of picking up wickets during crucial stages of the match.

Rayad Emrit will provide handy support with his variations on a surface which seems worn and is extremely helpful when pace is taken off the ball. Narsingh Deonarine should also be one to look out for with his off-spinners.

Both teams host a number of exciting players which spells a highly competitive match is on the cards when the first ball is bowled at 13:30 hrs.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO RED FORCE (from): Jason Mohammed (captain),Darren Bravo , Narsingh Deonarine, Rayad Emrit, Kyle Hope, Akeal Hosein, Jon Russ Jagesar, , Imran Khan, Evin Lewis, Uthman Muhamm, Kjorn Ottley, Yannick Ottley, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Richards.

BARBADOS PRIDE (from): Jason Holder (captain), Sulieman Benn, Shamarh Brooks, Carlos Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Royston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shai Hope, Ashley Nurse, Dwayne Smith, Kevin Stoute, Jomel Warrican.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2016

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

Milo U-20 School Football Tournament…

The quest for championship glory starts today Pg 23

WICB/NAGICO Super50

Pride to tackle Red Force in today’s final Pg 23

The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force will aim to win back-toback titles

Flashback: Chase Academy’s Captain, Kareem Knights (green bib) dribbles the ball around a defender during the final against Dolphin Secondary

Chanderpaul calls it a day from International cricket S

h i v n a r i n e Chanderpaul has officially retired from international cricket almost 22 years after making his debut.

The durable left-handed batsman, affectionately known as “Tiger”, formally notified the West Indies Cricket Board in an email that he will no longer be available for selection for West Indies. “The WICB acknowledges the invaluable contribution Shiv has made to the game globally and we wish him all the best,” said WICB President Dave Cameron.

Chanderpaul was just this week, part of the Guyana Jaguars side that lost the first semi-final of the NAGICO Super50 Tournament against Trinidad & Tobago Red Force. He has brought the curtain down on a glittering career that featured 164 Test appearances, 268 One-day Internationals and 22 Twenty20 Internationals.

His debut match for West Indies was against England in March 1994, in his native Guyana, where

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

he made a half-century on debut.

The West Indies won by an innings and 44 runs. His final Test against England last May in Barbados was also a memorable occasion for the 00-yearold, as West Indies won by five wickets to level a

three-Test series against Alastair Cook’s side.

Chanderpaul’s highest score in Tests was 203 not out and he finished with an average of 51.37, and he also posted a top score of 150 in ODIs, finishing with an average of 41.60.

(WICB release)

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