Sunday Times

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Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 2829 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

April 17, 2016

PRICE

President defends “honorific” appointments of political supporters ...says political patronage not practiced by his Govt

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Page 3

Intoxicated WBD man crushed by drunk driver

$120 vat included

Carifesta Ave to be renamed 'Avenue of the P15 Caribbean'

Increased fees

Hardships abound as hucksters feel pressured

Page 7

Page 8

CPG anniversary march

Insufficient lighting, P12 poor maintenance plagues hinterland airstrips ...major upgrades expected this year – MPI

Investment needed to make coconut industry P9 viable – Doerga

Community Policing Groups (CPG) in Guyana celebrated the organisation's 40th anniversary and as part of a series of planned activities, the national group staged a march along the East Bank Demerara corridor. The march began from Little Diamond and culminated at the National Stadium’s tarmac in Providence (Marceano Narine photo)

$420M fertilizer deal

HDM Labs insists sole sourced contract valid and open Page 17

Matarkai village without leadership Page 11

… Indigenous Peoples' Affairs Minister ordered ...seeks response from GRDB to ship fertiliser Council elections not be held – Vice Chairman

No need for Labour Ministry – Granger

P7

… brushes aside trade unions' call for re-establishment

2 NEWS

SunDAY, april 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Govt to consider appointment of junior Agriculture Minister – Granger’s Cabinet now stands at 27

By Devina Samaroo

G

overnment is willing to consider the appointment of a junior Agriculture Minister to provide assistance to Agriculture Minister Noel Holder in the management of the critical sector, once a request is made to Cabinet.

Minister Holder’s performance came under public scrutiny and was up for much public discourse after an online news entity reported that the Alliance For Change (AFC) arm of the coalition Government is displeased with the direction agriculture is heading.

Holder was put forward by the AFC since the agriculture portfolio was one which came under the AFC in accordance with the Cummingsburg Accord.

While admitting their dissatisfaction with the manner in which the closure of the Wales Sugar Estate was handled, the party has

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder

since clarified that its senior members never made such general pronouncements on the overall performance of the Agriculture Minister, neither did they put forward a recommendation for junior Minister.

Nonetheless, sections of the public strongly believe that the Minister is not vibrant enough to take charge of the agriculture sector of the country.

Minister Holder is still to meet with the sugar workers more than four months after the announcement was made and he has been heavily criticised for taking a “laid back” approach to the issue.

In fact, the Action Committee of the Rice Producers Association (RPA) – an A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) aligned group – had already expressed that Holder is incapable of handling the tasks under his portfolio, and as such, declared that it has no confidence in his abilities to effectively and efficiently manage the agriculture sector.

During an interview on his weekly television show ‘The Public Interest’,

President David Granger indicated that he is aware of letters to the editors expressing concerns over the Minister’s performance; however, he made it clear Government’s policy is not determined by the contents of those publications.

He clarified that this does not mean that his Administration does not take heed of public opinion.

On the demands for an additional Minister, President Granger posited also that no formal request was ever made to him for there to be another Minister under the Agriculture Ministry.

“If Minister Holder wanted assistance, he is free to approach me… Neither Mr Ramjattan, the Leader of the (AFC) party or Mr Holder has approached me on the matter. But you know, if there was a need, I would certainly give consideration to it,” he stated.

“There might be a possi-

bility of having a Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture but that need has not been articulated but it’s something that I might consider,” he further noted.

Moreover, in light of the growing insecurities in the sugar industry which resulted following the closure of the Wales Sugar Estate and the shutdown of the remaining operations at the La Bonne Intention Estate, President Granger expressed willingness to meet with the disgruntled sugar workers to listen to their concerns.

However, he did not indi-

cate if there is a planned engagement in the making.

Additionally, he noted that the Minister should have already devised a plan to present to the workers who were attached to the Wales Estate.

“I hoped it would be ready by now but certainly by the end of the month,” he assured.

Meanwhile, this consideration comes 10 months after the Head of State had defended his large Cabinet saying that he wanted a “lean” Cabinet.

Granger’s Cabinet now stands at 27.

Kurukururu residents get ‘yellow and green’ 72-seater bus

The 72-seater bus that was handed over to the residents of Kurukururu

D

espite criticisms heaved at government by the public concerning the deliberate painting of vehicles used in President David Granger’s ‘Three Bs’ initiative, in “green and yellow”, the party’s symbolic colours, there has been no modification to the newly commissioned bus that was recently gifted to the Kurukururu residents.

The Three Bs’ initiative which had catered for the provision of Boats, Buses and Bicycles had been introduced by the President earlier this year for transportation needs of students. The programme was further expanded to Five Bs’ with the addition of Breakfast and Books.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had criticised the move by the

A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) government linking it back to the doctrine of Paramountcy of the Party of the 1970s when the ruling party held sway over the state. The Opposition expressed fears that soon, “just as the PNC flag was flown at the Court of Appeal, the colours of APNU and AFC, green and yellow, would be used to paint public buildings.”

The President on Friday commissioned a 72-seater bus, during a ceremony at the Kurukururu Primary School, for students living along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway. This was achieved through a joint partnership between President Granger and Peter Lewis, a Berbice businessman. turn to page 9

NEWS

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SunDAY, april 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, April 17 – 06:00h-12:00h (noon) to facilitate maintenance works and Monday, April 18 – 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, April 17 – 13:25h-14:55h and Monday, April 18 – 14:10h-15:40h.

– says political patronage not practiced by Govt

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

WEATHER TODAY Thundery to heavy rain showers can be expected throughout most of the day, while light rain showers accompanied by thunder storms are expected in the later afternoon and into the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly between 3.57 metres and 5.36 metres per second.

High Tide: 01:19h and 13:41h reaching maximum heights of 2.19 metres and 2.24 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 07:15h and 19:40h reaching minimum heights of 1.04 metres and 0.92 metres respectively.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

LOTTERY NUMBERS M

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06 14 17

President defends “honorific” appointments of political supporters

18 19

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

By: Devina Samaroo

I

n light of mounting criticisms and concerns over the level of transparency and accountability provided by the Administration, has sought to assure that political patronage and widespread corruption are all practices of the past as they are currently being negated by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) government.

Both the APNU and AFC have a long history of wasting no time in calling out and condemning the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration for the slightest of slipups or errors of judgment made during their time in power.

With tables turned, the common perception seems to be that the APNU/AFC coalition is none the wiser as recent revelations including the “honorific” appointments of over 30 coalition supporters by government have only confirmed the belief that political patronage, nepotism and pervasive corruption are alive and thriving within the new administration which had campaigned on the need for change and better governance.

Appearing on the weekly television podcast ‘The Public Interest’, the Head of State was grilled on several recent developments that have propelled his administration into bad light and about his perceived nonchalant attitude

towards the occurrences which have sparked rampant public outrage even among its own support base.

President Granger was prompted to comment on the familiar system whereby in order to “get something” one must “know someone”.

While not directing his response to any situation in particular, he stressed that persons should not be appointed because they are a friend of a politician or because they have done a political favour and in this regard, Granger convolutedly indicated his administration is not guilty of this practice.

“I would expect that in the fullness of time that will be diminished and decisions will be made purely on the basis of objective criteria,” he stated.

However in the same breath, President Granger posited that the appointment of over 30 coalition supporters as “honorific” advisors are not acts of political patronage and that they should not be labelled as corruption.

He explained that there are people in the diaspora who supported the coalition’s campaign to executive office who demanded recognition for their contribution after they won the elections.

“That was when the certificate was invented and nearly three dozen were given out and that was why the term ‘honorific’ was used because it was simply a certificate of honour-

President David Granger

ing them for their contribution,” the President stated.

He then added that, “It is not a corrupt practice.”

But it was quickly pointed out that the coalition is using its power in government to award persons who supported a political party.

On that note, asked whether he does not believe there is a difference between a political party and the government, the President advanced to clarify his statements and further justify the appointments of the “honorific advisors”.

In his explanation, the President gave the impression that nothing is amiss with the appointments since the individuals appointed will have no direct

influence in policies and decisions made by the government.

“What I am saying is that these awards are ‘honorific’ and they were not meant to influence government policy; and as far as I can see, they did not have a role in directing government, they are not employees of the government,” he stated.

He furthered explained that there is an overwhelming amount of people in the diaspora seeking opportunities for investment in Guyana; however Business Minister Dominic Gaskin would be unable to facilitate meetings with every person interested in having such discussions.

As a result he said, those persons who were political engaged in the campaign are now being used as “ad hoc” facilitators.

In this regard, the President said government is moving smoothly in promoting investment opportunities in the diaspora.

Moreover, it was also drawn to the Head of State’s attention that the majority of the public strongly believe that government is now cozying up to situations they would have ardently condemned in the past.

In response, President Granger made it clear he is unaware of instances where government has cozied up to any illegality.

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guyana-times.com

SunDAY, april 17, 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

LBI and the implications for sugar

W

ith the announced complete cessation of sugar production at LBI, many are questioning as to what exactly are the plans of the APNU/AFC coalition government for sugar. Before the 2011 elections, the Presidential candidate for the PNC, David Granger had told a GMSA business luncheon: “I would like to get out of state-owned media, state-owned petroleum distribution, state-owned sugar. I don’t think this is the concern of the state… I don’t think there is any place for state ownership of those things anymore; certainly not under David Granger.”

By 2015, now in the Cummingsburg brokered coalition with the AFC, Granger modified his stance somewhat: “We are not going to dissolve the sugar industry; we want the turnaround plan, we want to sit down with GuySuCo and turn the industry around; it is too big to fail,” he told this newspaper. However, as we reported at the time, Granger had not really shifted his fundamental position, as some – especially among then AFC leadership – thought he had. It was just that he had a specific understanding of what he meant by “not failing”.

Because as he then further asserted, the partnership “would not want to be pumping billions of dollars” into the industry; hence, the need for privatisation. To Granger, privatisation was a viable option to “save the industry” when even Forbes Burnham had rejected that option as selling out the country’s patrimony to that would have off the most valuable asset of GuySuCo – the land – and close the factories. In Granger’s own words, “There will be a gradual transference of more agricultural or field production to private hands, but for the time being, we see that the factory operations will continue to be centralised, but it is our view that more of the production should be in private hands.”

He warned that the partnership “would not want to be pumping billions of dollars” into it; hence, the need for privatisation. “There will be a gradual transference of more agricultural or field production to private hands, but for the time being, we see that the factory operations will continue to be centralised, but it is our view that more of the production should be in private hands.”

It is therefore clear that those who are complaining that the Sugar Industry’s CoI Report was abandoned do not appreciate that Granger is merely proceeding along the path he had clearly articulated during the elections campaign a year ago. The closure of the sugar factory at Wales and its “consolidation” with Uitvlugt and now the “consolidation” of LBI with Enmore, is precisely in line with Granger’s plans.

It was also clear, notwithstanding his protestations, Prime Ministerial Candidate Moses Nagamootoo from the AFC was also au fait with the planned closures.

Speaking on Arrival Day at Highbury Park, East Bank Berbice, the site where the first indentured Indians set foot in Guyana, Nagamootoo gave an indication of what was the plan for sugar: “Our ancestors worked very hard and today we still have their descendants on the sugar estate working very hard and of course they deserve to reap the contributions made by their ancestors and they don’t need to be afraid that the factory may be closed and that they may be out of jobs. They need to be guaranteed that even if there is factory closure on the sugar estates that the land must first go to the sugar workers. Let them choose if they want to grow cane on it, let them choose if they want to rear fish on it or they want to rear cattle on it. The land belongs to the ancestors of our Indian foreparents who worked in the sugar industry…”

The question is, if Granger is preparing GuySuCo for privatisation, and the latter’s land is its most valuable asset, what will be left for Nagamootoo’s “ancestral land”?

This father braved the heat as he carried his two children home from school on his bicycle in downtown Georgetown

Observing Navratri in India, Guyana and NY Dear Editor, The Hindu festival of Navratri, nine nights of worshipping Mother Durga and her incarnations, is being observed (from April 7 to 16 – a one day difference in dates from the East due to lunar calendar) by Hindus throughout the metropolitan area and worldwide.

Navratri is associated with the propitiation of the feminine aspects of the Almighty. This year, I was fortunate to observe Navratri in India and have noted many similarities between the celebrations there, Guyana, the Caribbean and among Indo-Caribbean people in the US. All over India, as in the US and is a tradition in the Caribbean, temples are beautifully decorated with attractive electronic lighting. In India as in the US, temples are packed with worshippers during those nine nights.

Navratri is an extremely pretty festival, highly inspiring and instructive on how to live. People were observed praying during this period with great fervor and devotion. Temples are holding discourses from the Ramayana or other holy books. Navratri is one of the most auspicious festivals of Hindus and it concluded on Friday evening with the celebration of Ram Naumi (a holiday in India) or the appearance of Lord Rama thousands of years ago. Some temples in the US will observethe finale on Saturday, celebrating birth of Lord Rama, as is also the case in India.

Navratri is the worshipping of the Goddess Durga and

the feminine aspects of God – Goddesses Durga, Laxmi and Saraswati.

The famed Lord Rama is also associated with Navratri – his appearance, disappearance and reappearance in the holy city of Ayodha. In India, unlike in the US and Caribbean, all focus is on Durga who is accepted as the incarnations of the other Goddesses. It is noted that in Hinduism, God is neither male nor female, is shapeless and formless. Gods as well as Goddesses are worshipped and for every God there is a corresponding Goddess as his consort.

So, Hindus do not discriminate between the genders. Lord Krishna is quoted in the Bhagavad Gita as saying that God is neither male nor female. “I am the father and mother,” suggesting that God transcends gender. Also, when Hindus pray, they always pay obeisance to their mother and father and at every pooja, they aarti both parents and elderly males and females.

During Navratri, Durga is the collective manifestation of Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), and Shiva (destroyer). As such, when people worship Durga, they are worshipping the other manifestations of God as well.

Hindus worship Durga for protection, love and comfort; Goddess Durga offers divine protection and removal ofdisease.

In India, as is the Caribbean, Hindus are seen making their way early in the morning to the temples for special offerings to the universal mother – jal or

dhar (offerings of water or specially prepared milk).

In the US, it is done mostly in the home because work schedule does not allow for temple visits in the mornings. Special prayers are also held in the evenings for the Universal Mother at the temples which are packed to capacity in India (overflowing with worshippers), the Caribbean and in the US. The mother provides her children with sustenance, and, as such, she is propitiated in the worshipping of the three Devis – Durga (protection), Saraswati (knowledge and education) and Laxmi (prosperity and wealth) – for three nights each for a total of nine nights – “nav” means nine. “Nav” also means new – signaling the beginning of a new season.

Navratri is observed to mark the beginning of the Spring season (when Lord Rama is born) and is also observed in the Fall (when Lord defeats Ravan and return to the kingdom of Ayodha). As explained, since people begin the seasons (planting and harvesting) with new inspiration and new enthusiasm and are often confronted with challenges and illnesses, they pay obeisance to the universal mother for healthy life, prosperity and protection in both navratris”. Navratri is an auspicious time to conduct poojas and for youngster to get married right after the observance. Many Hindus hold on to this tradition in the Caribbean and America.

So during navratri, it is traditional for Hindus to invite priests to conduct pujas in their homes or visit

the temples where there is usually a nightly discourse from the Ramayana.

Worshippers tend to fast for the entire period, avoiding meat, sex, fish, eggs and maintain cleanliness in the homes for almost two weeks. It is the tradition among Indo-Caribbean Hindus (in North America and the Caribbean) as is also the norm in India, during the mornings of these auspicious days to offer jaal or dhar which is a mixture of curd, milk, honey, sugar, cloves, hardi, tills, and other sweet spices. Then at prayer services, worshippers make offerings of prasadam, flowers, fruits, neem and bail leaves, other paraphernalia such as sandal paste, and chandan, and burn incenses (agarbati, gugul, cloves, camphor, Kasturi) at the feet of the universal mother and Lord Rama.

On the last evening of navratri, devotees also pay obeisance to Lord Rama by making offerings to him in a symbolic rocking hammock and nine young ladies (kumaris) are also honoured with gifts (called Devi orkanyakumari puja). All of the temples in NY are conducting nightly Navratri poojas that are accompanied by bhajan and kirtan singing.

This was followed by bhojan. As one Pandit explains, it is not enough to celebrate navratri twice a year. He advices that we must see our own mothers and every female as the manifestation of these attributes of the universal mother and make every day navratri.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

guyana-times.com

SunDAY, april 17, 2016

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

Our politicians need to mature Nailing the lie of racial discrimination by the former Govt

Dear Editor, During the period that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) was in Government, the then A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Opposition, including most of the private media, launched a sustained and massive misinformation campaign against the then Administration, accusing it of corruption and racial discrimination.

This malicious act was done without any substantial evidence, but with the skillful use of photography and constant repetition of lies. They used the old Goebbelean tactic to tell big lies and repeat them as often as possible in a bid to make people believe this was the truth.

The sad reality is that this tactic was very successful. Many people bought into it.

Even though the PPP/C is out of office by a combination of factors, including fraud, many of those in the Government and some of the said private media continue to pursue this line.

The fact is that since Independence, the PPP/C Administration is the only one that did not practice nor preach hate. Successive PPP/C Governments managed in the national interests of all Guyanese.

If an unbiased observer was to conduct an investigation into the actions of the PPP/C, it would reveal that these actions were taken in the national interest and every persons and/or group in Guyana benefited.

Any area that is examined will show the fairminded and even-hand policies of the PPP/C. no racial motive would be found.

When the PPP/C took office, blackouts were the norm; citizens used to be without electricity for days, even weeks.

During the 28 years that the People’s National Congress was in office, they did not add a single watt of energy to the grid. The equipment was obsolete.

Added to this, discrimination in efficient and regular electricity supply had become a norm.

On the Corentyne coast, some villages where IndoGuyanese live were bypassed and electricity supply was given to areas that were pre-dominantly AfroGuyanese.

These blatant practices

of racial discrimination never occurred under the PPP/C Administration.

No home and/or village was ever discriminated based on its ethnic makeup. Moreover, the delivery of these essential services improved significantly.

The PPP/C Administration also worked to bring down cost by seeking the use of renewable energy. The massive Amaila falls hydro project did not get underway because the then Opposition APNU/AFC did everything in its power to block the project. They took a strong anti-development position.

In the education sector, the PPP/C’s investments were massive. The Administration ended the community high school system which did allow students to write the CXC examinations.

More than 1000 schools were built and rehabilitated.

And the passes at the CXC examinations improved greatly. For years Guyanese students topped the region.

Schools were built with dormitories in hinterland areas so that all children could have equal access to a secondary education and despite the many challenges, hinterland students performed exceedingly well.

Every child attending the public school system was provided with free exercise and text books. No one ever complained about discrimination here.

New schools were also built in almost every community. Here again, we had very little help from the then Opposition. Indeed, schools were targets for sabotage and many were deliberately burnt and/or destroyed. One Ministry building on Brickdam was even razed to the ground by saboteurs. This, the PNC (now APNU), saw as political work to destabilise the PPP/C Administration.

In the face of such opposition, the PPP/C Administration still managed to take Guyana to the verge of achieving universal secondary education.

University education had also expanded with a much higher student intake than ever before. More Guyanese were given scholarships to study abroad under the PPP/C Administration in our country’s history.

The availability of technical education has become much more widespread and

almost every region now has a technical institute.

The PPP/C Government initiated several programmes to give school dropouts a second chance.

Apart from the work of the Education Ministry, the Ministries of Labour and Youth, Sports and Culture also had similar programmes to assist those youths.

No sane individual with knowledge of these programmes can accuse the PPP/C of practicing racial discrimination while it was in office. The participants were a true reflection of our country ethnically.

We can say the same for health services. The PPP/C Administration not only upgraded the facilities throughout the country, but built new hospitals in every region and numerous health centres were established countrywide.

Another area where glaring development has taken place is the housing sector. No one can accuse the PPP/C of discrimination in the house lot allocation process. It was an open and fair one since all Guyanese benefitted.

Housing programmes were initiated for every region and this totally transformed the landscape of our country.

Clear evidence that the PPP/C gave every Guyanese equal opportunity was the outcome of the recently held Local Government Elections.

The PPP/C lost in the Parfaite/Harmonie housing scheme because of the continuous racial propaganda pushed by the APNU/AFC. Black people in the main voted for the APNU/AFC coalition. This mere fact clearly states that more AfroGuyanese were allocated house lots in that area than Indo-Guyanese and that they clearly voted race.

But despite all this overwhelming evidence, the APNU/AFC and the Kaieteur News remain relentless in their unfounded and unjustified attacks about racial discrimination.

They have never acknowledged any of the efforts made by the PPP/C to ensure equitable distribution of resources and the equal opportunities that were created for all.

Sincerely, Donald Ramotar Former President

Dear Editor, Please allow me space to share my thoughts on how we may mature politically and grow as a nation.

As we proudly celebrate our 50th year of Independence, it is a good time to reflect on the progress we have made as a nation and how the quality of life of all citizens can be improved. We have become a true democracy, our Governments have been changed by the democratic process, both of the country’s main parties need to accept this fact, both have been guilty of blaming losses at the polls on fraud – to them I say the time to mature and accept that the people have in the past rejected you and no doubt will again in the future, instead of blaming losses at the polls on fraud, engage in serious self-examination and listen to the voice of the people.

There are various constitutional positions that require cooperation of Executive and Opposition, for the good of the people.

Work together to fill these positions; the current acting Chancellor of the Judiciary has ‘acted’ longer than anyone who held the substantive position before him, that the acting Chancellor is the current Chief Justice makes appointing a substantive Chief Justice impossible is a ludicrous scenario. This cannot be right.

Our Constitution requires an Integrity Commission, the current President refused to make submissions to the commission during his tenure as Opposition Leader with the reasoning that without a Chairman, the Integrity Commission does not exist.

No doubt, as President, he will be seeking to redress this situation. We the people are waiting for our politicians to mature, to continue to engage in infantile behaviour is to chance our wrath

at the polls.

The proposed ‘Code of Conduct’ for Ministers and others in public office is a welcomed move, given the revelations and subsequent explanations of the past week. I would suggest sooner, rather than later. My hope is that the People’s Progressive Party can learn from this period in Opposition how arrogance in the face of criticism looks from the other side of the fence. I hope they feel keenly the sense of helplessness when questions asked of Ministers in Parliament are never answered, when information is promised but never delivered, should they return to administration these are lessons that will serve well.

The present Administration sowed the wind of allegations of misconduct, rumours were made and treated as fact, and they are now reaping the whirlwind. Emerging nations such as ours do need to court investors, China is fertile ground and any such endeavour should be commended; however, and this is an important point, there must be transparency and cohesion in such approaches, delegations for such ventures need to comprise of suitable expertise and the public must be notified of

the intention in advance, no gifts or favours can be accepted by such delegations as they can lead to accusations of corruption, always be aware that the road to perdition is paved with good intentions.

The people of our nation have by and large come to terms with our ethnic diversity, we have grown, our politicians sadly, seem oblivious to this new reality, divisive statements are not in short supply, there is no denying both major parties have large ethnic bases, but there is no longer a majority of one ethnicity or group in Guyana, appealing to ethnicity cannot win you an election, I suggest it is time to mature and appeal to our needs instead. Talk about plans to improve our lot in life and when elected, execute those plans without fear or favour – the Amaila Falls Hydro project has to be built, regardless of who first proposed it, there is no shame in using someone else’s ideas and plans if it benefits the nation, that is the maturity we the people are looking forward to seeing.

Our Motto of One People, One Nation, One Destiny must be our only guide.

Respectfully, Robin Singh

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SunDAY, april 17, 2016

Page

Foundation Preventing the untreatable

T

Anu Dev

here are several diseases for which mankind have not managed to discover the cure at this time.

Physicians can try dealing with the symptoms, but they haven’t found a way of actually treating the source of the disease itself. But in an article I read recently, there’s a new In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) technique that could reduce the risks of some of these disorders being passed on from mother to child. But several British Parliamentarians have argued against the therapy, citing the moral implications in substituting the damaged DNA in the mitochondria.

During one of my classes, we discussed a problem that was based on the types of Muscular Dystrophy, which affects the muscles of the body and is due to certain muscle protein not produced. We learnt through our research that it was an inherited genetic disorder and once someone was born with Muscular Dystrophy there aren’t

currently any real treatment options. And then I read this article, and I saw that there are advances being made to manipulate the genetic code, so that mothers wouldn’t be able to pass on diseases involving their mitochondria to their children. And it really made me feel hopeful, that they could keep on making advances, and eventually we would find a way to deal with most inherited disorders, not just ones involving mitochondria. But then I felt disappointed to read about the British

point in the future A neighbour of mine, who is the same age as one of my aunts, suffers from Muscular Dystrophy and it is rather poignant to compare her vibrancy with the wheelchair bound individual I glimpsed through our fence since childhood. I know he will gradually, inexorably deteriorate until he is no more. I also had some experience with another genetic disorder- sickle cell anaemia.

When I was in 2nd form, my Math Teacher’s threeyear-old daughter died of

“Prevention is better than cure.”

– Desiderius Erasmus MPs opposing the technique.

But the article forced me to consider both sides of the argument. And very importantly, it made me realise that with so many rapid advances being made in the dynamic world of medicine, I’ll have to make decisions and consider these moral implications at some

complications due to sickle cell anaemia. There’s no cure for sickle cell anaemia, it’s a genetic disorder and the faulty gene is passed on. I saw how devastated my teacher was, and who could blame her - she’d just lost her little girl after months of desperately trying to find ways for her to have the best shot

at a normal life. But if a baby is born with sickle cell anaemia, there’s not much that can be done in the way of treatment.

But what if they were able to do something in vitro? What if the disease could have been prevented? We’re a way off from coming up with a way to manipulate the genetic code to prevent sickle cell anaemia.

But we’re just making things even more difficult if politicians intervene by playing to public sentiments without considering the underlying science. Essentially advances in science in and of themselves are not "bad" or "good" – it’s to what use they're put. In the case of MD, the science does not alter any aspect of the patient's humanity - that which make them human - but simply allowed to live a fuller human life. The solution is to impose controls over the use of the scientific advance to ensure it is not abused.

I would like to hope that as a doctor I would make the choices that would give my patient the best possible quality of life. I’d like to be the type of doctor that takes the time to educate my patients about the dangers of smoking and alcohol abuse, so that I can prevent lung cancer and liver cirrhosis instead of having to treat them. And if there’s a chance to prevent a child from being born with an untreatable disease, I’d like to take it.

guyana-times.com

ways to talk so your children will listen

(Part two) 6. Keep it simple.

Young children have trouble following too many directions given at once. We can probably relate to that when we ask someone for directions to a destination and are bombarded with instructions we later forget. Try to stagger your requests into small blocks. Eg instead of saying, “Helen, go and pack up your toys, but first put your dirty shoes outside and then feed the cat”.

Chances are, Helen will feed the cat then go outside to play because feeding the cat is the last thing she remembers you asking. Even though we want to improve our communication with our children, be perceptive to their level of interest in the conversation. If they are getting the blank stare, call it quits. If you feel as though you’re waffling on, try to use a more direct approach next time you visit the subject.

7. Keep away from nagging. At the end of each school day, I wanted the children in my class to tidy the room before home time. I felt that they should learn to tidy up after themselves and take pride in their room. I knew that if I went around asking each child to pick up their rubbish, wipe their desks, empty the rubbish bins, and clean the sink nothing would get done. So I created a job chart. Each job had a child’s name next to it and I showed it to them at the start of each week. I would rotate the jobs weekly to avoid monotony. I explained that five minutes before home time each day it would be “job time”. Just before the bell, I would walk around the room and pick which job or jobs were completed to perfection. That child or children would receive a bonus or prize. My room was immaculate each day and I hardly had to say a thing! This can work well at home too.

Either writing things down

or having a chart with incentives in place, eliminate lots of nagging. It is important to make sure you recognise and praise effort, and reward desired behaviour. Try to set a time where children know what is expected. They thrive on routines. For example, set a time to do their chores in the afternoons. When they are playing they don’t like to be interrupted, just as much as we don’t when reading a good book. If they know what is expected and when you shouldn’t have to nag all of the time.

8. Model and expect good manners. Good manners at home or anywhere shouldn’t be optional. If you model good manners to your children and everyone else, they will see that good manners is expected and displayed on a consistent level. Start teaching your children to say the basics like “please” and “thank you” before they can talk. Children deserve the common courtesy of manners that adults use with each other. They will often imitate the speech and behaviour of their parents and carers. Say “please”, “thank you” and “you’re welcome” to your children as you would anyone else.

9. Be gentle but firm.

If you have made your decision about something, stick to it. Make sure you and your partner agree on the issue and stay united on your decision. Your children may not like the decision at the time, but they will know it stands firm and won’t bother persisting with either of you or playing one parent off against the other. Make your requests important and speak as though you mean it. Requesting made in a wishy-washy tone gives children the impression you are not that concerned whether they follow your request or not. (childdevelopmentinfo.com)

news

7

sunDAY, april 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Intoxicated WBD No need for Labour man crushed by Ministry – Granger …brushes aside trade unions’ call for re-establishment drunk driver

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father of one was on Friday evening crushed to death by an alleged drunk driver along the Good Intent Public Road, West Bank Demerara.

Dead is Patraj Basdeo, 46, of Sister’s Village, West Bank Demerara.

According to information, the dead man, under the influence of alcohol was heading home and may have fallen on the roadway where he was run over by the car heading in the direction of Demerara Harbour Bridge.

The man commonly called “Sookra” died on the spot while the car fled the scene. A brother of the dead man who is a Police gave chase and intercepted the vehicle at Belle Vue, WBD. The driver was taken to Wales Police Station where a Breathalyzer test proved he was above the legal limit of driving under the influence of alcohol.

At the home of the dead man on Saturday morning his sister Pam Murray told Guyana Times she was sitting in front of her house on Friday evening and saw her brother walking towards her house.

She noted that he suddenly fell due to his drunken state. The aggrieved woman recalled instructing her son to go

Police ranks at the scene on Saturday morning

pick him up and bring him home. However as the young man was heading to collect his uncle, a speeding car ran over the intoxicated man.

After running over the

Dead: Patraj “Sookra” Basdeo

man, the driver drove off the scene: “My brother who saw what happened jumped into his car and went in pursuit of the driver… my brother said that he met up with him at Bell Vue as he was checking his motorcar for damage… After my brother cornered him, he

claimed that he was under the impression that it was a dog.”

They are of the belief that the driver who is in his 30s knew exactly what had occurred and he was trying to escape.

According to information, the insurance and the road license for the car had expired. On this matter, the driver told investigators that he works in the interior and that he only came out a few days ago and did not have the time to renew the documents.

She described her brother as a heavy drinker while noting that he never really got into trouble with anyone. “He would drink and come home and that’s it… he doesn’t argue or anything.”

The man leaves to mourn his only child and five siblings.

The driver remains in police custody as they continue their investigations.

D

GTUC General Secretary Lincoln Lewis

espite recent calls from trade unions for the Ministry of Labour to be re-established, President David Granger is of the view that there is no need for one.

Speaking on his weekly television programme, “The Public Interest” aired Friday, the Head of State said if he felt there was a need for a Ministry of Labour then he would have created one.

In fact, Granger believes the labour portfolio is appropriately placed under the Ministry of Social Protection which covers a broad area.

“I think the labour portfolio is well placed. I think the duties within the Ministry of Social Protection are clearly defined and had made it clear why I felt that the name social protection is more appropriate,” he stated.

According to the head of state, the idea behind putting labour under this ministry is to ensure the pro-

tection of workers. “When a worker dies in the mines, I feel injured and I want to see the Ministry of Social Protection, protecting workers. If a worker is treated unfairly in a foreign company be it a timber or mining company, it;s social protection,” the President stated on the programme.

However, trade unions in Guyana are of a different belief with many of them calling for the establishment of a substantive Labour Ministry. Only Monday last, the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) had reiterated the need for a ministry of labour.

The umbrella unions noted that with labour being reduced to a mere department, workers do not have an equitable chance of their rights being adequately represented since there seems to be a disjointed ministry for this purpose.

GTUC’s General Secretary Lincoln Lewis had indicated that this was the first time the country is without a Labour Ministry.

“What we are looking forward to is a Ministry of Labour, a ministry that addresses labour issues… It is the first time in the history of this country, even before independence, we have had a government without naming a Ministry of Labour,” he stated.

With the Labour Ministry eliminated from this government, Lewis said this shows there is no emphasis placed on workers and more so a representation for their rights. This situation also resulted in less engagement with the labour movement and as such there is a reduced chance of having consultations and discussions to address issues within the sector.

The GTUC head stressed that when issues arise in the union, there is no particular ministry that one can turn to, neither a minister which was chosen to independently represent public servants.

The trade unionist further pointed out that labour is not an element of social protection as is considered by this administration. In fact he noted that it is the other way round.

After taking office in May 2015, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change coalition government reconfigured and renamed a number of ministries.

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news

SunDAY, april 17, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

Increased fees

Hardships abound as hucksters feel pressured

Hucksters at Bourda Market on Saturday

By Romario Samaroo

I

n light of the increased cost hucksters have to pay for their licences, these street sellers are complaining about difficulties they are faced with to comply with the new requirements.

After the move by the Administration to revise the tax laws, hucksters are forced to pay an enormous increase for their licences.

According to the Hucksters Licensing and Control Amendment Bill No. 9 of 2016, hucksters plying their trade via “foot or man propelled vehicle or cycle” will pay $3500 signalling an increase of 12.5 times the amount.

Those carrying out their business by means of “horse or other beast bearing or drawing burden” must now pay $12,500 rather than the $1000 previously paid.

A number of vendors affected by this increase spoke at length of the strain it had posed on them.

Annoyed vendors flocked to share their views on this issue with Guyana Times.

Frankie, a fruit trader at Bourda Market said he feels the new fees are a burden to small vendors like himself:

“It can’t work out if I got to pay that plus $1000 a day to sell out here, wen yuh wuk it out yuh wuk fa mine dem.”

He reiterated the ever-so-often produce is so cheap and that “is best I close down”.

Cheryll, another Bourda Market huckster pointed out

ford to pay these taxes. I ga pay lesson fees,” she lamented.

Similarly, Tony is asserting his position not to pay because “they not taking care of de place and gat to pay all dese taxes.” He subsequently pointed out that

A huckster in downtown Georgetown

that she is a single mother who is struggling to make ends meet: “I am a single mother of four and I got to pay all these taxes; what is the point?” she further said “money barely circulating”.

Another single mother Patricia added that she cannot afford to pay the increased fees: “I sells from Friday to Monday, i can’t af-

“wholesale farmers would usually pay $3000 to distribute on the parapet.”

Sherry also expressed her disapproval saying, “if I got to pay all of this I going an do domestic work” West Bank vendors also expressed their opinion on the increased licenses fees. Tony said he has a child attending University

of Guyana and it is very difficult for him to pay the increase: “Dem prices too high, but small man na gat a say. I got to send me child UG and and all dem fee raise. They (the government) feel because we selling out here we does mek nuff money.”

Savitiri said she has been selling the same load for the week because “business slow.” She went on to say, “I got to pay $4500 ‘landing fee’ for me Canter and now this” Arif also pointed out he does not sell $3500 a day and still has to pay “$1000 a day” to sell there, in addition to “$300 per pallet” of which she has four.

Visiting Lombard Street now known for its horsedrawn vehicles, Guyana Times met with a few men plying their trade. In conversations, the men spoke of their unwillingness to comply with this increase due to the fact that “business on a whole was slow” and it is hard to meet that money. They went on to further point out that their “family is the main priority” Hucksters traversing the various markets and selling to individual shops using motor vehicles will pay an additional $57,500 on the former $5000 totalling $62,500 for the licence.

When asked about this, one driver complained about “the other expenses I have to face already and now this” and noted “parts expensive, shop owners complaining dem ain’t gat money and now de government want we pay more” Vishal wanted to ask the government “why they don’t go tax all de drug yards than pressure legal workers?”

These issues come in light of the already established difficulty the administration faces with tax collection. Vendors are calling for the revised legislation to be reconsidered.

Eyew tness Who’s in charge...

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...on the Big Jail ack in 1981, when Maggie Thatcher and Ronald Reagan had just taken over the Governments of Britain and the US, the short-lived band, “Fun Boy Three”, came out with a hit single, “The lunatics have taken over the asylum”. The phrase, of course, means those in charge are the most incompetent and unqualified – and was around long before them.

One verse goes, “No nuclear!” the cowboy told us/ and who am I to disagree / ‘cause when the madman flips the switch/ the nuclear will go for me.” The “cowboy”, in case you forgot, was Ronald Reagan, and the next year, he invaded Grenada. The neo-liberalism he and Thatcher launched have been more devastating than any nuclear bomb. The financial meltdown of 2008 is their legacy.

But here in Guyana, we’re also seeing the expression come alive – literally and figuratively. Over at the Camp Street Prison, while the authorities are doggedly sticking to the line that the inmates have taken over the prison ain’t true, reports are too credible to be ignored. So we have a situation where 900 criminal and remand prisoners – armed with homemade knives and other makeshift weapons – are in charge of a prison in the middle of the city.

Back in 2002, five of these guys broke out – and we all know what went then. Imagine if a dozen of them do a repeat performance. The Government has announced what’s really going on is a “sick-out” by prison wardens.

Well...that’s one way to explain why most of the wardens haven’t shown up for work to the prison! The other, of course, is that guarding armed prisoners with violent records while they have free reign of the facilities, is a bit over their pay grade!

The Government has thrown up a cordon of TSU units around the prison – but significantly – NOT inside. And this is where we now get to the figurative aspect that the lunatics are now running the asylum. Where’s National Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, in all of this? Isn’t he the face of the Government’s crime fighting resolve and readiness? And that’s precisely the nub of the mess we’re in – of which the prison is only the top of the iceberg.

The Alliance For Change (AFC) coalesced with the People’s National Congress (PNC) – let’s cut to the chase, will we? – and demanded key ministries. But in each of them they’ve failed abysmally – either because of their own ineptitude (like Ramjattan and Holder) or emasculation (like Nagamootoo and governance).

Will someone not minister to these bumbling and inept “Ministers”? Or better yet...rid us of them? ...of the WPA? The WPA just sent out a release on the Report of the Rodney Commission. It’s one of the most schizophrenic documents your Eyewitness’ read in a long, long time. It opened with this beauty: “The only victory we think the entire country may posture (sic) now is...the imminent official release to the public of the Report.” It’s “posturing” all right!! Did the President tell its coalition partner this?

So Pat Rodney may finally see it?

The release warned: “We will have to consider too that the Commission barely survived a persistent effort to abort the hearings...”. Yet didn’t explicitly say it was their coalition partner PNC that attempted the “abortion”.

And then gave this free pass to the same PNC “For a new administration that could bear no responsibility for the state terror of that period...the inquiry fortifies the moral base for intensified investigations and/or another inquiry.”

So could the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) tell us how the present Administration – with several operatives from when the PNC murdered Rodney – “could bear no responsibility”? ...of governance?

When in Opposition, the APNU and the AFC both made quite a racket about “governance” – usually concatenated with the word “good”. Like in “The [People’s Progressive Party] PPP lacks good governance, which we will practice when we get in.”

So is Nagamootoo responsible for the mess the Government’s presently in?

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

news

9

SunDAY, april 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

AFC’s demands Investment needed to make coconut not harmful to the industry viable – Doerga coalition – President … says there is no rift with APNU

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oncerns abound that there might be a rift brewing between the Alliance For Change (AFC) faction and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) arm of the coalition government; however President David Granger indicated that this is not the case.

Suspicions of this kind arose after AFC issued an official statement calling for the reduction of the powers assigned to State Minister Joseph Harmon.

In response, President Granger had made it clear that the State Minister’s duties and responsibilities are not too burdensome and there is no need for them to be reduced.

During an interview on the programme ‘The Public Interest’, he posited that the problems the coalition are currently encountering should not be considered a form of resentment.

“I don’t think that what occurred is necessarily a sign of any form antagonism and I don’t think it’s harmful to the coalition,” Granger said.

He explained that each party within the coalition government would naturally have their own interests and it is healthy when they voice their concerns since it would help to improve the functioning of the government.

“I am not afraid of debate and discussion,” the President said, indicating that dialogue on similar issues should be encouraged: “I am convinced that all six parties are committed to the coalition and they want to see the coalition have a successful tenure.”

Cabinet had met on April 12 to discuss the AFC’s demand for Harmon to be stripped of some of his powers, however no amicable position was arrived upon at the end of the meeting.

Reports indicate the matter will now be discussed at the level of both parties.

There is always the widespread perception that there is a power struggle within the coalition, with the PNC arm obviously being more dominant than AFC. Prominent political commentators have already concluded that the AFC has lost its identity and that there is nothing but a bleak future in store for the Party.

Economist Ramon Gaskin had expressed that it appears the AFC has been shafted by the PNC-led Government.

He pointed out that while the Cummingsburg Accord promised a 40:60 split between the two parties, the

President David Granger

AFC continues to be left behind. He highlighted, for example, that State boards are made up predominantly of PNC members.

Moreover he posited that, “everyone can see that the AFC lost some grounds in the immediate run-up to the General and Regional Elections in Regions Five and Six… the AFC continues to lose ground among its supporters. They can’t make it on their own now. They would not survive.”

Former Government minister Dr Henry Jeffrey also believes the AFC will be completely wiped out if they ever embark upon entering the political arena as a single entity again.

He believes both sides are well aware of the circumstances and therefore, the AFC will continue to do anything to stay in power while the APNU will remain in control.

“The coalition has placed much emphasis on staying in Government other than political relationships among themselves…

They are set upon staying in Government, so the AFC will bend with the winds to just stay in Government, and the larger party will continue to rule,” Dr Jeffrey defined.

N

ewly appointed President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Vishnu Doerga, has stated that more investment is needed in order to make the coconut industry viable once again.

According to the GCCI President, based on recent statistics, the coconut industry in Guyana has the potential to be the country’s third largest export. However, he noted that in order for Guyana to start reaping the benefits from such an industry, there needs to be adequate investment.

“If you look at the level of skills we have developed in the rice industry, where you continuously have better grains of rice being developed with higher productivity. We need that similar type of investment in the coconut industry if we are to really make it successful,” he stated.

The businessman further added that “we are in a situation where people are realising the health benefits

of coconut and coconut products. This is something that Guyana could take advantage of and capitalise on if we have a coherent strategy,” he noted.

However, the GCCI President explained that while coconuts can be profitable, it does not come without risk. Doerga pointed out that coconuts are prone to diseases, and as such, necessary precautions need to be taken to tackle the diseases.

“We are currently battling such diseases so if we are to really turn this into a viable industry where people can really get the benefit from participating in the coconut industry. We also need to make sure that our research and development and our pest control services are able to really minimise the threat to that industry because it’s a type of industry that can be easily decimated by various pests,” Doerga outlined.

Nevertheless, the GCCI President said he is looking forward to the upcoming co-

GCCI President Vishnu Doerga

conut expo with hopes of it highlighting the opportunities available so that persons can be aware and maybe invest in that area.

Of recent, there has been a renewed drive to resuscitate the coconut industry in Guyana to make it once again vibrant, as the country’s coconut has been in vast demand, especially on the international market. Guyana’s

coconuts is said to be the best mostly because of its quality, as it contains one of the thickest kernels in the world.

The coconut industry in Guyana has been identified as one of the sectors with huge potential for further development. Coconut delivers a wide variety of products, including coconut water, coconut oil, coconut milk and dried coconut, which are all in demand regionally and internationally.

In 2011, the local coconut industry earned hundreds of millions of dollars, producing over 92 million coconuts annually. At the time, coconut was said to be the third leading export product, behind sugar and rice.

Guyana, at the beginning of 2013 had produced between 90 and 100 million coconuts per year, which approximates to some 70,000 tonnes and the world export market for coconut products then was about US$6 billion, while Guyana exports nearly US$3 million in coconut products.

Kurukururu residents get ‘yellow and green’...

from page 2

Citing the high rate of school dropouts and its adverse effect on one’s future, the President during his remarks to the gathering at the school pointed out that government is fixed on ensuring every child has an equal opportunity to easy access to education.

As such, this initiative was introduced to cater for students across the country who may have complexities in acquiring an education due to circumstances, especially in regards to transportation.

With education being one of the most crucial necessities for leading a productive life, the head of state highlighted that this is just one step the government has undertaken to mobilise transportation countrywide.

He emphasised that despite inequalities created by the public in terms of sep-

aration through race, religion and social status, every citizen is entitled to an education which would pave the way for their personal growth and that of the country.

“You must be able to grow up as members of an equal society, as equal citizens. We need to give them equal access to education because education is the gateway to a successful career and to a comfortable life…

Inequality is created by people, who are educational-

ly deficient, people who are poor, people who don’t have opportunities,” President Granger mentioned.

Speaking in regards to the Local Government Elections and the impact of the public’s participation in community affairs, Granger charged the residents to play an active role in the development of Guyana on a constituency basis which is more feasible through education.

Meanwhile, giving her remarks, Regional

Chairperson of Region Four Genevieve Allen cited that students and parents have been facing major difficulties where transportation is concerned, especially financially and the commission of the bus would make a major impact in addressing this adversity.

Thus far, this is the seventh ‘yellow and green” bus that has been commissioned, with one more expected to be donated to the residents of Baracara in Berbice River on Sunday.

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sunDAY, april 17, 2016

guyana-times.com

News

Linden Mayor outlines plans for town – toll booth, reduction of debt major parts of agenda

to see if we can bring business. I’m collaborating with Renis Morian, Regional Chairman; I’m working with Miss (Sandra) Adams of the CDC… with other stakeholders, the MP Jermaine Figueira and we’re trying to do several things…”, he said Holland also spoke of a bottled water initiative which he hopes to see come to fruition.

“Some of the water we see selling, they come from out of Guyana. We have so much water in Guyana, we can start producing bottled water in Linden and that is one of the projects we’re working on that we can get youths employed, through such a project and many other projects”.

By Utamu Belle

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ewly-elected Mayor of Linden Carwyn Holland has outlined a number of plans to improve conditions in the community, revealing that the re-establishment of the toll booth at Kara Kara forms part of the immediate agenda of the council.

The mayor said he is presently putting the logistics in place to facilitate the return of the toll-booth which was ordered close under the previous administration.

Construction of a municipal mall is also part of initiatives the council is targeting.

The council is also targeting other areas such as health, job creation, youth empowerment and community clean-up; however Holland disclosed that presently the municipality is faced with a bill of over $100 million, inherited from the previous administration.

As a matter of fact the Council is still involved in a battle at the Linden Magistrate’s Court over National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and other monies owed.

“My target is to get rid of this burden and free up the council a bit so that we can have space to pay increase salaries and I’m targeting next month. I’m hoping and praying that we can achieve that to raise salaries of the workers, even if by an incre-

Mayor Carwyn Holland

mental by next month”, he said.

Job creation and youth empowerment

Creating jobs in the community and promoting investments also form part of the top priorities of the newly-elected council, as outlined

by Holland who indicated that already a company has expressed interest in setting up a massive computer store in Linden. This, he said can create jobs in the Information Technology sector however space for setting up the factory is an issue.

“I’ve already had talks with Caricom and Caricom will be doing some train-

ing on entrepreneurship to help these young entrepreneurs who are struggling in Linden. We’re already in the process of inviting investors to come… We’re looking for space right now for some of these investors.”

Youth empowerment is important, as he recalled students who travel on a daily basis to attend the University of Guyana. Holland said a section of the campus in the community would be bargained for, given the high costs associated with travel.

“I personally am not satisfied with people working for under $55,000 per month.

I am not happy about that at all and this is one of the reasons I’m working hard

Clean-up campaign

In an effort to rebrand Linden, he said a cleanup is necessary, more so with observances such as Guyana’s 50th Independence anniversary, the town’s anniversary, as well as the 100th year of bauxite mining in the air.

He said there are some old machinery at the Council which are not in working condition but help was sought from Bosai Minerals Group Guyana Incorporated (BMGGI) in having those repaired.

“In the meanwhile, I argued and I begged the Government already, we’ll get some machines… within a couple of weeks or so to start some work in the town… We’re looking to debush many places, have the drainage going. The CIIP programme is going on. The DNI project will be returning… .”

He added that works are also ongoing to re-establish the pound, following complaints by residents of stray animals.

Health

The mayor said he learnt that 90 per cent of patients receiving dialysis treatment in Georgetown are from Linden and as such he will be seeking to have the Linden Hospital furnished with the necessary equipment. He said he would be making this known at a meeting with the President and others.

He outlined that a disadvantage for some people in outlying areas, is that they have to past through Linden to receive treatment in Georgetown, hence it is important to put proper healthcare systems in place in the community.

Showcasing Linden’s rich heritage is also on the agenda as Holland noted that a programme would be crafted to encourage businesses to showcase the cultural and historical aspects of the town.

But one of his immediate plans include building the self-esteem of people in an attempt to achieve maximum work output.

S

Tactics

atiricus didn’t like family feuds. Not the ones on the TV show, but the real life ones in politics. They can get really mean and vicious. “Like the one that was going on right now between the KFC and the Pee-an-See,” thought Satiricus. He was hanging out at the Back Street Bar with his friend Cappo, the Cane cutter. They’d been chugging a few as they commiserated over what was going on in sugar.

“Is sufferation, man. Real sufferation, abee ah face,” said Cappo with feeling. “And ah because Nagga Man too nice. He na like mek trouble.”

“What do you mean, Cappo?” asked Satiricus, who knew Cappo had voted for Nagga Man and the KFC party last year when they had hooked up with APANU. “Wha’ me guh tell yuh? Nagga Man bin tell abee he gon tun Agriculcha Ministah and all abee trouble gon done,” said Cappo quietly. “And dat is why we vote fuh he.”

“Who is we?” said Satiricus, who knew fully well but wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth. The two of them had some real arguments before the elections.

“Abee sugar workers, na!” said Cappo exasperatedly. “He tell abee he know Prime Moocher wuk na gat real powah. Agriculcha gat powah! He woulda help abee.”

“And what happened?” coached Satiricus, as Cappo took a long swig from his bottle. The forest of bottles on the table was growing.

“Nagga Man show up fuh he “swearin in” and he find another fella get de jaab!” snarled Cappo. “Yuh believe da?”

“But why Nagga Man didn’t say anything?” asked Satiricus, as he ordered another round.

“Buddy Sato, dat is wha me ah tell yuh! De man gat wan big heart an he na waan embarrass Pressie.” confided Cappo. “But dat is when we KFC leadah Rum Jhaat decide dat was “eye paas”. And since den is war!”

“War? Is only just now I notice some battles,” said Satiricus. “All the time Rum Jhaat said everything copacetic!”

“Dat is tactics, Cappo! Tactics! Rum Jhaat bin showin’ de KFC brudders from town dat Pee-an-See gat ALL de powah,” Cappo slapped the table for emphasis. “And dat Nagga Man too quiet. He too good.”

“Oh!” exclaimed Satiricus. “So that is what happened last week?”

“Blasted right!” Cappo shouted. No one took notice since everyone was shouting in the Back Street Bar, anyway.

“De KFC town men tek crank up and tell Pressie he gat fuh gie back Nagga Man he powah!” smiled Cappo. “Tactics bai, tactics!”

“But is still sufferation, for you, Cappo,” pointed out Satiricus to his old friend.

“Sato, abee cane-cutta know how fuh baan abee belly fuh Nagga Man. Dat man a wan Saint, an he na want powah!”

Drowned TSU officer

Rank to be laid to rest today

Dead: Special Constable Akeem Hyles

T

he funeral of the 22-yearold Constable attached to the Guyana Police Force’s Tactical Services Unit (TSU) who drowned in the Potaro River, will take place today.

According to Police Public Relations Officer Ivelaw Whittaker, the body of Special Constable 14536 Akeem Hyles will be at his mother’s residence at Lot 41 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice, for viewing from 11:00h to 13:00h.

The family will then move to the Faith Revival Tabernacle

Church at Asylum Street, New Amsterdam, for the funeral service from 13:30h and internment at the Stanleytown Cemetery.

Constable Hyles lost his life while on duty in the Potaro River on April 8. He was travelling in a boat in the Potaro River, Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) when the vessel capsized in the Amatuk Falls area.

Reports revealed that Hyles was in the boat with other Police ranks, members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and representatives of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) heading to conduct raids on illegal mining camps in the area during which the boat came into contact with the rough terrain and subsequently capsized.

The 22-year-old officer had departed the Ogle Airport that said morning along with the other members of the Joint Services, who were dispatched to assist the GGMC officials in dealing with illegal mining that was being carried out in the Kaieteur National Park area.

guyana-timesgy.com

SunDAY, april 17, 2016

11

News

Matarkai village without leadership

… Indigenous Peoples' Affairs Minister ordered Council elections not be held – Vice Chairman in a general meeting had given the community three months in which he would solve the issue.

“The Minister needs to note that Amerindian land titles are absolute and forever as provided for in the Amerindian Act of 2006 and the Government cannot revoke the title. Even considering such a move is lawless and unconstitutional”.

In the meanwhile, as the village is out of proper leadership, the overall state of the village is deteriorating.

By Kizzy Coleman

M

atarkai, a newly titled village of Four Miles in Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini), is currently out of leadership, as instructions were passed for elections to elect Councillors not be held in the village.

According to reports reaching Guyana Times, Four Miles was a titled reservation before the May 11 General and Regional Elections. But when the elections for Village Councillors were held in August of last year, Indigenous Peoples' Affairs Minister Sidney Allicock passed instructions

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman

not to have elections in Four Miles as he was not informed that the village was titled.

Although the title document has surfaced, Minister Allicock has failed to set a date for the election in the village.

According to the Vice Chairman of Region One, Sarah Browne, the village is currently being run “haphazardly.” She also noted that villagers are being left in the

Indigenous Peoples' Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock

dark as it relates to a number of decisions that are made for the community. One example, she said, is the recent visit by Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman.

“I’m in receipt of a letter sent by a political activist who wrote the Toshao instructing him to welcome the Minister and to clean the environment. Nobody from the Ministry is observing the Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC)”.

FPIC entails that for a decision affecting indigenous peoples to be taken, they must benefit from ample consultation which fully informs them of the issue at hand, only after which their consent should be given independently from coercive pressure from other stakeholders.

Browne explained that no protocol is being followed in the village as it is without leadership.

She further explained that currently, there is controversy surrounding the Four Miles land title as ‘nonAmerindians’ are seeking to have the title revoked.

The Vice Chairman pointed out that Minister Trotman

One of the most notable is the neglect of road rehabilitation.

According to Browne, provisions have been made in the 2016 budget for roads in the region to be built and repaired under the Infrastructure Ministry but to date, no works have commenced.

“It seems as if the process is moving at a snail’s pace.

Should the rains start to fall, the current situation would be 100 times worst,” Browne noted.

Browne explained that

the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) in the region had proposed for the project to be completed in the 2016 budget but it was taken out and placed in the central government budget.

She further disclosed that Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson met with residents late last year and told them that the RDC is solely responsible for what is happening in the region.

“I am the Chairperson of the Public Infrastructure

Committee in this region and as such, I am calling on the Government to commence work as it is not the responsibility of the committee to do such.”

Browne lamented that the residents of the region are suffering as the roads are currently in horrible conditions and are continuing to deteriorate.

Guyana Times was unable to reach Indigenous Peoples' Affairs Minister Allicock or Minister Trotman for a comment on the issue.

12 news

SunDAY, april 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Insufficient lighting, poor maintenance plagues hinterland airstrips ...major upgrades expected this year – MPI

G

uyana’s hinterland aerodromes are slated for major upgrades this year as the Public Infrastructure Ministry (MPI) begins the process of establishing a remote monitoring operation to be known as Aerodrome Management System (AMS).

This system which will allow for monitoring of the aerodromes without physical presence, falls under the Ministry’s latest project – the Hinterland Aerodrome Development Policy

airstrips in these communities are just two of more than a dozen that are expected to be upgraded from across the four hinterland regions, that is, Regions One (BarimaWaini), Seven (CuyuniMazaruni), Eight (Potaro/ Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

The team of six comprised of Director (ag) of Air Transport Management Saheed Sulaman; Chief Transport Planning Officer Patrick Thompson; Transport Planning

ber of issues of the Kato airstrip, including the lack of lights, potholes, poor maintenance, and no fencing. He suggested the introduction of a regulatory body to ultimately improve the service provided to far-flung communities, noting that there are cancellations with no warning. These cancellations greatly set back the community which heavily relies on planes arriving thrice a week, he said: “What we need here is a regulatory body that would

Residents and officials of Paramakatoi attend a meeting held by the MPI team during the recent village consultation

airstrip and this shortcoming was both a threat and deterrence to pilots. They added that it was particularly difficult in situations of emergencies, such as transporting the sick out of the community.

Lighting, poor “These pilots are takmaintenance ing a risk to save someone’s plague hinterland life; the least we can do is let airstrips them see where they are going,” one resident stressed.

Residents also raised concerns over maintenance The Paramakatoi Airstrip is among several others to undergo upgrade this year of the airstrip as well as its length. According to the dep(HADP).

Officer/Engineer Ryan visit air services… if we are uty Toshao, an extension of The project consists of Singh; Transport Planning going to move forward so the runway is long overdue. four areas: the development Technician Jamaal Blair; taxpayers can benefit, we He added that while the vilof a policy to address hinter- Surveyor James Lindo; and have to have a regulatory lage was willing to work land aerodromes; the devel- Surveying Technician Alain body. This is especially im- along with persons from opment of an administrative Sirius. portant if we are to develop Georgetown, the village framework; the addressDuring its first stop in tourism in the hinterland.” council would prefer more ing of maintenance issues, Kato, the team met with the He also called for better control over the airstrip’s and the sustainability of the Regional Executive Officer communication among the management. aerodromes.

(REO), Rafael Downes; MPI and those officials and “Georgetown should not The project was recently Deputy Regional Executive residents in hinterland com- be dictating to us who must launched and will see MPI Officer (DREO), Gavin munities. do this or who must do that,” officials visiting hinterland Gounga; and Regional Similarly in he emphasised. communities to physically Democratic Councillor Paramakatoi, residents and Instead the protocols assess the airstrips and re- (RDC) Courtney Hardy. village councillors expressed and policies of the airstrip ceive input from residents The deputy Toshao of Kato concern over the safety of should be shared with the on the best way forward. was also present. The team the airstrips. They noted village council to allow for In fact, on Tuesday and also spent time surveying that Paramakatoi airstrip some level of autonomy and Wednesday last the team and assessing the Kato air- is one that serves the larg- improved management. visited the villages of Kato strip. est village in sub-region one.

Meanwhile, the residents and Paramakatoi in Region During discussions, REO The residents noted that admitted that they have Eight (Potaro-Siparuni). The Downes highlighted a num- there are no lights at the been lax in some areas of

management of the airstrip, especially in regards to the presence of people and animals.

While the airstrip had initially been completely fenced, residents over the years cut these fence and placed gates to create ready access on either side of the airstrip. Animals have also been able to enter the airstrip through these openings.

Residents explained that while they understood the prohibition of animals and people on the airstrip, the recent drought has made it difficult to access water on one side of Paramakatoi.

Therefore they cross the airstrip each day to fetch water from the other side.

The village council indicated its intention to address this issue. Sulaman in turn urged residents to adhere to regulations and warned that the presence of obstacles on the airstrip could prove to be a deterrence to pilots coming in to Paramakatoi.

“An airstrip is an asset to a community; it serves as the economic livelihood of that community so, if air operators decide that they’re not coming here, you will ul-

timately suffer,” he emphasised.

Furthermore, Sulaman stressed that as part of the new pilot project, the MPI will be focusing primarily on the maintenance and sustainability of aerodromes.

In coming weeks the team will be visiting other hinterland airstrips on fact finding missions that will ultimately lead to the establishment of AMS. According to Thompson, who has more than a decade of experience with the Ministry, the current system is complicated, with the use of traditional methods slowing down work.

“We want to collect data of the aerodromes we’re visiting and make a note of their deficiencies so, going forward, when we talk about upgrading the aerodromes, we’ll know exactly what needs to be done,” he said.

Besides Kato and Paramakatoi, the other airstrips that will be assessed are: Baramita; Port Kaituma; Kamarang; Kaikan; Ekereku Bottom; Eterinbang; Bartica; Fairview; Surama; Karanambo; Annai; Lethem; Aishalton; and Mahdia.

New UGSS President on a mission to transform campus experience

By Devina Samaroo

R

ecently appointed University of Guyana Student Society (UGSS) President Ron Glasgow eagerly embarks on his new journey to represent the student body and to work alongside other creative minds in implementing measures that will transform overall experience at the Turkeyen Campus.

Though he was never previously involved in the core of UGSS activities, Glasgow has always participated in events, protests or student movements that the society would organise, and this drive to strive for betterment influenced his decision to take up the mantle

of representing the entire student body in demanding better.

“I’ve always wanted to take charge of campus, you know we all have that bucket list that we want to get cleared, leading the student population, to mobilising them, to doing things, has always been on that list for me, and I only have four years on campus so I have to make the most out of it,” Glasgow expressed during an interview with Guyana Times on Saturday.

At just 19 this passionate young man has another bucket list of tasks he wishes to accomplish before his tenure comes to an end in October.

“Some of my plans in-

Ron Glasgow

clude strengthening the student body in terms of the improvement of the self-esteem level of the students and empowering them so they know their rights, so they can properly represent themselves,

as well as so they can know that they have a student society that is willing to represent them,” he explained.

Glasgow, a Bishops’ High School graduate, also hopes to make some significant strides in improving the communication and bridging the gap between the UG Administration and the student body.

Over the years, the UGSS would complain bitterly of the UG Administration disregarding their views and opinions on matters affecting the welfare of students which ultimately resulted in the many problems existing on campus.

Moreover, Glasgow has two major projects he

wants to started as soon as possible; the first being campus beautification to coincide with the upcoming 50th Independence anniversary celebrations.

“If you drive through campus you’ll notice some of the roads could use some resurfacing, we can see that some of the paint on certain structures are fading, we can see that we only have one football goal on that field, simple things like that just need a little touch to improve,” he noted.

The second project is the establishment of a voluntary task force which will allow students to get together and work with each other on various projects earmarked to be un-

dertaken by the student body.

According to the UGSS president, the forum would be excellent in helping to empower students.

Meanwhile, in relation to the recent meeting with President David Granger on the number of issues affecting the student population on campus, Glasgow said he is satisfied with the outcome and while no concrete solution was proposed, he hopes the issues will be addressed by next semester as was promised.

On that note, he said the students will hold off on their protest actions and other disruptions to administrative activities until next semester.

news

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SunDAY, april 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Dennis Street, Sophia Road Can the Centre hold? reopens ahead of schedule

W

hy would a newly elected Government coming in a wave of goodwill and with campaign promises of positive change, set about, and deliberately so it seems, to destroy it all?

Since coming to office last May, the Ganger Government has done nothing but upset and enrage the general population with their actions and policies. They have upset sugar workers, rice farmers, trade unionists, public servants, the Guyana Ryhaan Shah Bar Association, Red Thread, the GHRA, the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, and TIGI. They have taken away utility subventions from the elderly and created none of the promised jobs for our youth nor included them as significant participants in the new government.

Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan insists he has done nothing illegal by awarding the mayoral and chairmanship positions to only Coalition winners in constituencies where there were ties with the PPP/C. Legality aside, this was a prime opportunity for Government, who were so highly critical while in the Opposition, to act fairly. But this was beyond them so the PPP/C rightly took the matter to court.

In handing down the writs to stay his hand, Justice Diana Insanally said that Bulkan’s decision was “made in bad faith, is unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious, … malicious, vindictive, unlawful …”

Justice Insanally’s words could be applied to just about every decision taken by Government to date. Trade union leader Lincoln Lewis in a recent letter to the press stated: “There are reports of state and government officials acting as a law unto themselves with little or no regard for tenets of good governance that ought to be guiding their conduct.”

In a recent column in Stabroek News, economist Tarron Kemraj disclosed that the forensic audits done by Government into the PPP/C Government’s finances “found little evidence of widespread government theft ….” He added that a redistribution of state resources amounted to “nepotism and bad governance” and that these and other irregularities fed the perception that the previous Government was corrupt.

The imbroglio over the relationship of Minister of State Joe Harmon with businessman Brian Tiwari and Chinese logging company BaiShanLin drew fire from Transparency International Guyana Inc which stated that the Minister “is confirming that the government has been using its position to employ and reward, out of state resources, its supporters and donors.”

Harmon’s prepared statement defending his conduct dispels none of the perceptions of governmental excess and wrongdoing and smacks more of a cover-up.

Nigel Hughes has deferred his resignation as AFC Chairman which came on the heels of a party statement calling for a curb of Harmon’s powers. In resigning, Hughes said that the chairmanship had become “untenable”.

Added to the troubles within the AFC camp are rumours of internal PNC/APNU squabbles over the allocation of the post elections spoils.

President David Granger’s reputation as a strongman could well be tested as he tries to hold everything together especially since his Government has lost the Indo-Guyanese support which the AFC brought to the Coalition. The results of the recent Local Government Elections confirm that the 11% Indo-Guyanese vote that gave the Coalition its slim lead in the general elections have mostly returned to the PPP/C. This will probably be written as the biggest tragedy in the Coalition’s legacy. That Indo-Guyanese were willing to take that chance and vote for a Government led by the PNC/ APNU, knowing full well their Burnhamist past, was a notable move away from Guyana’s race politics.

However, the Granger Government never set about to nurture that new support which would have encouraged more Indo-Guyanese to join them. In fact, they proceeded to do quite the opposite and Granger’s total disregard for the Cummingsburg Accord made it clear that the AFC was simply used for its Indo-Guyanese constituency in order to get them a victory.

With that support gone, the Coalition Government is nothing but a sham. By all accounts, Guyana is now being governed by a minority Government with the PNC/APNU retaining only their hard-core supporters which would put them at much less than 40% of the electorate.

Thus far, the Granger Government seems more intent on exacting vengeance against the PPP/C and its supporters rather than pursuing positive policies for Guyana’s progress.

The country is skittering from one scandal to the next, from one crisis to the next and every bit of goodwill has been squandered. Peace and prosperity always go together and there will be no progress while the country is in a constant state of uproar.

To paraphrase the poet WB Yeats’ famous lines: Can the centre hold when everything is falling apart?

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

T

he Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) advises the general public that Dennis Street and the Sophia Access Road between ‘A’ Field and Eastern Highway, Georgetown, is now reopened to vehicular traffic, days ahead of its scheduled completion.

Construction works on this road began on April 4 and was slated to be completed by April 18. However, recognising that the closed area was an important one for residents and commuters in Sophia, general con-

The newly rehabilitated Sophia Access Road

tractor Colin Talbot and his team worked harder to ensure the work was done before its deadline.

The road works saw the completion of approximately 300 metres of timber revetment along Dennis

Street, Sophia. This construction included the installation of steel tie-rods and “dead man” structures.

Besides Sophia, the MPI will be undertaking other major infrastructural works in Pattensen and Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, as part of its Urban Areas Development Plan for 2016.

The MPI extended appreciation to the general public – and particularly the community of Sophia – for its patience and understanding during the construction period.

14 news

SunDAY, april 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Dismissal of rape case

Colwyn Harding’s mother calls for justice

By Kizzy Coleman

S

usan Harding, mother of the man allegedly raped by ranks at the Timehri Police Station with a baton, on Friday mounted a protest, calling for justice after the matter was thrown out of the Providence Magistrate’s Court.

Protesting outside the Appeal Court, the woman reiterated her call on behalf of her son Colwyn Harding, 23, for justice.

The matter was dis-

Colwyn Harding

missed due to the lack of evidence when it was called last month. But it was also dismissed because of the non-attendance of the state prosecutor, and the late attendance of the Virtual Complainant (VC), at hearings.

According to Harding’s mother, Magistrate Leron Daily had no grounds to

Harding’s mother and relatives outside the Court of Appeal

dismiss the case.

“She had no grounds what-so-ever to dismiss that case whether or not he was absent from Court or he was late for court; it should not have been thrown out of the court” the disappointed woman complained.

She noted that on numerous occasions the two accused Police officers, who were granted bail, frequently absented themselves from Court, but neither were they disciplined or was an arrest warrant issued.

Harding’s mother disclosed that she is calling for disciplinary action to be taken against Magistrate Daily, noting that the matter was dismissed without the VC being given an opportunity to complete his testimony.

“Colwyn was the first person in the witness box and he was still being cross examined by the

attorney for the two accused, so he was not completely out of the witness box” she explained.

According to the woman, she has already approached the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar AliHack, whom she said has already appealed the matter to be brought before the High Court.

Harding’s mother noted that her son was raped and deserves justice, adding “there are witnesses that can attest to this fact”.

She highlighted that under the Sexual Offenses Act tabled in 2010, as long as consent is not given when a sexual act is carried out, it is rape.

“Whether it is a penis or it is an object, its rape. In this case, a baton covered with a condom was used on Colwyn Harding maliciously and it really damaged him a lot and he is still suffering, he needs

justice”.

According to reports, the two officers based at the Timehri Police Station allegedly pushed a condom-covered baton up Harding’s anus in November, 2013.

Harding, who was at the time a prisoner on remand for allegedly assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, suffered a ruptured intestine.

However, some doctors had also reported that they did not see any signs of sexual abuse to support Harding’s allegations.

They noted that they observed the man to be suffering from an intestinal infection and condition.

Harding later underwent two private examinations, one at a hospital in Guyana and the other in Jamaica and the conclusion from both examinations was that a foreign object had been inserted into his anus.

Younge’s Take Naga's Poison T

his week, several strange developments took place in the Alliance For Change (AFC) camp which should provide food for thought for the populace and core areas of analysis for those persons with political minds.

Almost all of those developments were linked to the AFC's partnership with the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) which has the People’s National Congress (PNC) as its main Michael Younge constituent and centrepiece.

Also, they relate to the AFC's positions on issues related to the Executive branch of Government and its decision-making processes.

In short, when a basic and amateur analysis is done of the sudden and unexpected public statements released by the AFC, one may get the impression that the party is independent, autonomus from the others within the coalition and principled.

One may even praise the party for breaking its apparent silence on core issues and standing up to its big brother, the APNU. But if one were to open one's eyes to the realities that led to the AFC joining the coalition in the first place, the personalities that negotiated the Cummingsburg Accord from the party and the histories of the key politicians within its leadership, one can never arrive at such a clumsy and premature conclusion.

In fact, there are those of us who will never be fooled by the theatrics, trickery, drama and pretence of the AFC which is being controlled by Moses Nagamootoo, now Prime Minista, and Vice President Khemraj Ramjattan.

We know that there is more to the AFC's outburst than meets the eye. We also know that Ministers Nagamootoo and Ramjattan do not do things without a clear motive which most times includes personal aggrandisement, betrayal and ambition, as well as the pursuit of power and status.

Therefore, their outbursts can be viewed from two perspectives.

Firstly, the AFC is part and parcel of all of the decisionmaking at the level of Government. It sits at all Cabinet meetings and participates in all of the discussions.

The party is empowered to raise all of its grouses with President David Granger and Minister of State Joseph Harmon where there may be a difference in policy outlook and implementation, as well as Governance techniques.

In short, the party could have resolved all of its concerns quietly behind closed doors without a big hullabaloo.

Secondly, the AFC was part of all of the decisions they are now protesting and apparently against. They supported the closure of the Wales and LBI Estates. They supported the decision by Government not to subsidise the rice industry which is in crisis or search for lucrative markets for paddy. They also supported the new wave of increased taxation and economic hardship which is currently being foisted on the populace. They supported the series of advisory and ministerial appointments made within the coalition. And finally, the AFC supported the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) crass actions against thousands of poor and hardworking sugar workers.

If they did not and the APNU was allowed to make all these decisions and the others that the AFC are opposed to, then the Cummingsburg Accord is a sham, there is no national unity in Government and the coalition is failing as well as falling apart.

The truth is, the AFC is now ready to strike back at the APNU because it recognises that its party structure is falling apart and it has lost a lot of electoral support and attractiveness.

Ministers Ramjattan and Nagamootoo are out to embarrass President Granger and Minister Harmon.

It is widely believed that they are the ones feeding the Kaieteur News and other news outlets with information about BaiShanLin, the missteps of APNU Ministers, inside deals that they will not benefit from and other sensational data.

Both figures want elevation within the Government.

One has always wanted to be President while the other wants to function as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Presidential Secretariat.

As expected, their grasp for power and influence knows no end. It started in the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and spilled over to the AFC before mushrooming to the coalition.

Just as how Mr Raphael Trotman and Mr Granger met and decided on a plan of action in Nassau... the same way these two AFC demigods have cooked up their plan.

guyana-times.com

sunday, April 17, 2016

15

News

Carifesta Ave to be renamed Mc Doom gas station robbery 3 being questioned by Police ‘Avenue of the Caribbean’

W

ith Guyana set to co-host the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Heads of Government Summit in July this year, major plans are afoot to welcome regional leaders.

One such plan is the renaming of Carifesta Avenue, which runs from Vlissengen Road at the Kitty Pump Station to Camp Street. According to sources at the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI), the new name of the road will be ‘Avenue of the Caribbean’.

Guyana Times understands the project concept was approved by Cabinet following which bids were open for tendering. The bids were opened last week, this publication was told. The project also entails facelift works along the road.

According to an advertisement placed by the MPI in March, the works are being done under the ‘Urban renewal on Carifesta Avenue: Avenue of the Caribbean’ project and is divided into two parts. One aspect will deal with lighting while the second will deal with civil works.

However the source noted that the $138 million project will see the road widening to the north and the creation of sidewalks along the road.

In addition, there will

T

The Shell Service Station at Mc Doom

Carifesta Avenue

be a median installed in the middle of the road to separate the southern and northern carriageways. The source explained that one of the major bottlenecks on that road is Marian Academy which constantly has vehicles driving in and out, as such with the works planned for the road, “persons will not be able to go in and come out as they feel”.

Moreover, this newspaper was told that to commemorate the upcoming Caricom summit, plans are afoot to install flags of all the Caricom Member States on the median that will be placed along the road.

The Thirty-Seventh

Regular Meeting of the Conference will be held from July 4 to 6, 2016 under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit and will be co-hosted by the Caricom Secretariat and the Government of Guyana.

Guyana agreed to cohost the meeting after Dominica pulled out. The Caribbean island suffered significant damage after Tropical Storm Erika battered it for five hours last August.

According to the Rotation Schedule for the Chairmanship of the Conference, Guyana will assume Chairmanship from January 1 to June 30, 2017.

ASL brands helicopter for Guyana’s 50th anniversary

I

n Celebration of Guyana’s 50th Independence anniversary, Air Service Limited (ASL) on Saturday launched a flagship rebranded helicopter at the Ogle International Airport.

The company hopes to provide an unforgettable experience for the Independence celebrations.

Speaking at the launch, National Air Transport Association (NATA) president Annette ArjoonMartins said she is proud to be part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations and is committed to the development of the tourism industry.

The helicopter is designed with Guyana’s flag and the Golden Jubilee logo.

“It will be available during the Jubilee celebrations for tours to local resorts, Kaieteur Falls and aerial tours at GuyExpo,” ArjoonMartins explained.

Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes applauded ASL for its initiative and for being a part of the 50th jubilee celebrations, praising those who created the artwork on the helicopter.

She explained that an ex-

Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes and National Air Transport Association president Annette Arjoon-Martins in front of the branded helicopter

citing local aviation industry will begin to develop the tourism sector: “Guyana has a unique advantage with the beauty given but the drawback is that accessibility is hindered since it is impossible to experience Guyana’s true beauty with vehicles”.

ASL has a fleet of 25 aircraft and three helicopters, making them the largest operator at Ogle Airport.

Arjoon-Martins also pointed out that ASL has progressed from a maledominated industry to an all-inclusive one with over 50 female employees, including Lucy Golas one of

the first female pilots in Guyana.

The 50th Jubilee Independence celebrations is touted as the biggest celebrations in Guyana and ASL is offering tours to Kaieteur Falls at the reduced price of US$130.

Some of the activities scheduled for the 50th Independence include a fine art festival, creative writing competition, short play competition, national theatre festival, National Museum day, boat cruise, GuyExpo, float parades, among others.

hree persons have been arrested and are being grilled in connection with the early morning robbery committed on a Shell Service Station at Mc Doom, Greater Georgetown.

This was according to Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum who stated that the Police are questioning the men in an attempt to get additional information about the planning the execution of the robbery. He noted that investigators have several clues that they are working on to solve the crime.

However, owners of the service station have boosted security at the gas station to avoid a reoccurrence.

They are also of the view that the 911 emergency sys-

tems should be reexamined since the cashier on duty on the morning of the robbery called the number several times but the calls went unanswered. The Police however, have received the surveillance footage of the robbery and are continuing their investigations.

According to information received, at about 02:30h on Friday, three armed men went to the gas station and held up three employees, relieving one of them of $51,000 and a mobile phone before engaging Police in a high-speed chase and exchange of gunfire. One of the gunmen was shot during the exchange and was apprehended by the Police However, the men managed to escape into the vil-

lage after the exchange of gunfire. The Police, however, went in search of the men and based on information received, the ranks went to a house where they found an unlicensed 9mm Glock Pistol and 35 matching rounds and twenty-six .32 rounds of ammunition.

The occupants of the house has since denied that the police retrieved the gun and ammunition in the yard and are of the belief that the police might have planted the weapon since they arrived at the house with a bag similar to the one that the contained the gun and ammunition.

However, the Police are continuing their investigations into the robbery.

16 news GGMC cancels river bank mining permits E SunDAY, april 17, 2016 | guyana-times.com

ffective immediately, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) is advising miners that all mining activities on river banks and permits for such mining have been rescinded until further notice.

According to a notice in a local newspaper on Saturday, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman issued policy directives as a result of which protocols in relation to the application for consideration and granting of permission are being reviewed.

“Consequently, all ‘permissions’ previously granted to breach river banks (buffer zones) for access to claims or mining permits or for prospecting, mining and quarrying operations are rescinded with immediate effect until further notice,” the notice stated.

Furthermore, the GGMC publication reminded that mining of river banks is against the law. “Any breach of river banks (buffer zones) for access to claims or mining permits, or for prospecting, mining and quarrying operations require specific permission from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission,” while adding “as such

Anna’s

Why the Communities Minister discredited the petition

L

An aerial River mining

there should be no mining or excavation of the river banks (buffer zones) without due consideration of, and specific permission from the Commission”.

Over the years GGMC has been trying to curb mining activities on river banks as such activities destroy the banks and cause overflows.

Four years ago the Commission stopped issuing river claims saying it was overwhelmed by reports of the damage irresponsible mining is doing to the environment. However, Government was forced to lift the ban after coming under pressure from the mining community.

ast week some 1200 men and women of the Rupununi, mainly Amerindians, addressed a petition to President Granger requesting the removal of the Regional Executive Officer (REO), Carl Parker.

They levelled fourteen grounds of rights violations against him, ranging from sexual harassment, labour law infringement and political discrimination. The Anna Correia petition claimed that Parker was failing at his professional obligations ever since he was appointed REO almost a year ago.

It is true that complaints on varying issues have been cumulating over the months, in particular from women and regional employees and workers. But the two things that are as troubling as these accusations, are the indifference of the authorities which would have received complaints from victims, as well as the fear of victims to stand up to Parker.

Many of them claim they are afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against.

The petition was perhaps their last plea for help but judging from the response provided by the Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, the Government of Guyana seems little inclined to act on a resolution. Instead, Bulkan has lashed out at the petition, and according to one online news source, declared that “several signatures were bogus” since there seemed to be “similarities” in how they were written. In his defense, and after having denied knowledge of the wrongs of which he is being accused, Parker claimed that Berlinda Duncan, the petitioner who signed on behalf of the others, “does not have the capacity to write that letter”.

So here, we have a Minister of Government who immediately tries to discredit the petition, and a Regional Executive Officer who when cornered, insinuates that Amerindians are not educated enough to be able to petition for their rights. While one can understand Parker’s attempt to diminish the validity of the petition in his defence, it is disturbing that the Minister of Communities, and by extent the Government of Guyana, chose to take a position which seems more apt at defending Parker’s questionable integrity as an REO, rather than consider that Amerindians are actually suffering from varying degrees of discrimination. Typography seems more important to the Minister of Communities, than the reason why the signatures were affixed to the petition.

In all evidence, Bulkan’s expressed doubts suggest that this Government is more predisposed to politicising the petition as a means of protecting those in its camp, in lieu of addressing the concerns of Guyanese citizens who have special rights as indigenous peoples.

This is not quite unlike the manner in which the Volda Lawrence, Joseph Harmon, and Winston Harding cases were shrugged off by the powers that be, implying that what is more vital is the protection of politicians at the detriment of democracy and the people. Similar trends were observed under the former administration, where for instance, one Minister, currently a Member of Parliament, was charged for a multimillion dollar fraud, but to date is allowed to sit in Parliament.

Guyanese, in particular those who voted for the slogan of “change” and “anti-corruption”, must now take it upon themselves to ensure that the resources of this country are not channelled into protecting political tyrants and corrupt elements. While democracy is confined to a world where governments determine how much power people are actually allowed to control, the collective consciousness must strive to maintain that balance that prevents us from falling into the trap of power abuse by politicians.

This Government’s neglect for the concerns of Guyanese translates the improbability of Guyana attaining that balance in the near future. The attitude of the Minister of Communities in addressing the petition is synonymous of the lack of accountability and the opacity which shrouds this Government’s leadership.

In the past, Amerindians took it upon themselves to petition the Government of Guyana and to file lawsuits which invoked international support, through frameworks designed to protect their rights when the Government is failing.

Precisely for this reason, the Government of Guyana must not omit that Amerindians are part of a greater nation of indigenous peoples which transcends all geographical borders, and that violating their rights is not just a slap in the face of our first peoples, but a blow to every indigenous woman, man and child who faces the same neglect and prejudice from governments worldwide.

Send comments to Sundayarrow@gmail.com

NEWS

17

SunDAY, april 17, 2016 | guyanatimesGY.com

$420M fertiliser deal

GPH’s maternity ward expansion HDM Labs insists sole sourced for May completion

contract valid and open

...seeks response from GRDB to ship fertiliser

F

ollowing the pronouncements made by a Director on the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Jinnah Rahman, that the $420 million fertiliser contract that Cabinet approved to HDM Labs to supply fertiliser was a “return” on political investment, done secretly and that its principal Hardat Singh should be investigated, Singh has since responded to Guyana Times, seeking to refute such claims while insisting “The contract is currently in full force and effect.”

Singh outlined that around October of 2015, HDM Labs offered to supply “5000 metric tonnes of fertiliser” to the GRDB at G$4160 per kg bag ($US400 per metric tonne), which he posited was 25 per cent cheaper than what was on the local market. GRDB “accepted their offer” and a contract was executed for such.

“As part of the commercially negotiated terms, and consistent with HDM Labs’ worldwide terms, HDM Labs requested that payment be secured by a transferrable irrevocable letter of credit, 50 per cent to be paid on the issuance of the purchase order, 40 per cent upon arrival at port, and 10 per cent after receipt. These terms were in no way negotiated due to any financial constraints or unavailability of products,” said Singh.

On April 8, however, the GRDB issued a statement that contradicted the last assertion of HDM Labs.

“The supplier requested that the Letter of Credit be irrevocable and transferable; which suggested that a supply from this source was not immediately available.”

In a letter to this publication, Singh related that “almost immediately upon HDM Labs’ execution with its contract with the GRDB, despite being kept at above G$5500 a bag for an extended period, retailers lowered their market prices in order to compete with the price of urea being supplied by HDM Labs.”

General Manager of the GRDB Nizam Hassan had used almost identical language on April 8, in addressing his silence on the issue which was making it rounds across the entire media landscape, that the price for urea fertiliser at that time was between $5500 and $6500 per bag but “when local suppliers became knowledgeable of GRDB’s attempt to reduce the cost of fertiliser to farmers for supply of urea, the price immediately fell from $1000 to $2000 per bag.”

Guyana Times understands that around the same time period – November 2015, to the present when HDM Labs made their offer – world prices for the commodity dropped by 20 per

cent. As such, it is possible that the drop in local prices were due to the decline in world prices of urea.

According to the HDM Labs President, “HDM Labs made the necessary arrangements for 5000 tonnes of urea to be available at port for transport to Guyana, that cargo currently awaiting approval from the GRDB to be shipped.”

This approval would appear to be up in the air at this time since Nizam highlighted that “while payment for the fertiliser was by Letter of Credit established through a local commercial bank, the supplier requested that the Letter of Credit be irrevocable and transferable.” And this last requirement cannot be complied by local banks because of local money laundering laws.

As such, Nizam said “GRDB continued to monitor the supply and prices of urea on the local market and has been in constant communication with HDM Labs Inc, since the supply of this commodity can no longer be considered urgent and immediate.” It is not know how the GRDB could comply with the requirement for a transferable irrevocable letter of credit, if, in fact HDM demands payment for “available” fertiliser.

Singh in his correspondence to Guyana Times highlighted that he is not an “investor” or “campaign financier” of the Alliance For Change (AFC) or the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) but a “philanthropist” and listed some of the companies that he contributed to in a philanthropic way.

General Secretary of the Rice Producers Association, Dharamkumar Seeraj; however, had alleged in a press briefing months ago that Cabinet approved a contract for the procurement of $420 million in fertiliser from a “known campaign financier of the AFC/APNU collation”. He also alleged that the contract was not tendered nor advertised and Government’s actions were “in direct contravention of the laws, norms and conventions applicable to the acquisition of farmers’ inputs.”

GRDB Director, Rahman had explained to this publication that the alleged $420 million contract fell apart because Hardat Singh could not supply the fertiliser, since he did not have the financing to do so and wanted an advance payment on the contract from the bank to be able to deliver the goods, “that’s why he asked for the Letter of Credit to be irrevocable and transferable”.

As stated before, GRDB’s General Manager Hassan pointed out, “the local bank only provides the service of irrevocable Letter of Credit which is not transferable.”

Hardat Singh in his de-

fence said that he “has never filed for bankruptcy or defaulted on any payment,” and that he is “extremely solvent and being able to effortlessly simultaneously consummate several multimillion-dollar contracts.”

According to Singh neither himself nor “HDM Labs have been subject to investigations, or involved with or accused of money laundering, fraud or otherwise since the formation of HDM Labs or at all,” refuting the claims made by the GRBD Director Rahman, who had said that Singh should be investigated “since he is in receipt of information which shows that Singh was convicted in the USA on charges of fraud and money laundering.”

Singh asserted that neither he nor his company HDM Labs “are in any way affiliated with, owners or silent partners of, or investors in the entertainment or hospitality industry, and specifically are in no way affiliated with “Spice Restaurant” located in Queens, New York, other than Mr Singh being a patron of the same.” He also said that “HDM Labs does not do business in China nor does it own or operate any Chinese enterprise, or have any Chinese store trading front or otherwise.”

– midwives to undergo training as ward expands

Pregnant mothers as well as those that have already delivered are forced to share a bed in the maternity ward

A

fter months under construction, the Georgetown Public Hospital will now see an expanded maternity ward as the completion of the project is expected by May monthend.

This is according to Public Health Minister Dr George Norton who told Guyana Times during an interview that space has also been high on the agenda of the ministry and as such they are pushing to have the project completed by next month.

This comes at a time when the efficiency of the ministry is being questioned after photos of a mother with her newborn sleeping under a hospital bed in the ward went viral.

Norton said this has always been a concern for the

ministry as the amount of mothers admitted has been on the rise over the years.

However he said, this is not an issue where there is lack of finances to purchases beds but rather insufficient space to house the mothers.

Norton said this will soon be resolved since the ministry will be embarking on a number of initiatives to avert such situations.

He said this includes the training of midwives since there has been a decrease in the number over the years.

Norton disclosed that currently there are 39 midwives at the GPH’s maternity ward, compared to 48 last year.

To address the shortage, the minister said three batches will be undergoing train-

ing throughout the rest of the year.

Norton said this would be a major role in improving the delivery of health care, since patients would be adequately taken care of by the health practitioners.

Also on the issue where mothers have to share beds, the minister said this will be taken care of once the expansion is completed.

Meanwhile, 50 beds will be handed over to the maternity ward during this week to offer a short-term solution until May when the project is completed.

On April 7, when this publication had visited the GPH maternity ward, some mothers complained of restless nights, of being unable to sleep due to the fact it is practically impossible to have a good night’s rest when they, just out of the delivery room, have to sleep with their newborn baby.

The new mothers also expressed concerns over the manner in which the nurses carry out their duties, describing it as a “don’t care” attitude. Additionally, mothers recalled instances where as many as three babies had to share one incubator.

Some of the patients were reluctant to be photographed for fear of being harassed; however, some were keen on having the issue highlighted.

NCN Chairman disputes bitter clash over appointment of CEO

…says only 1 Director objected

By Devina Samaroo

C

hairman of National Communications Network (NCN) Inc Bish Panday has rejected claims outright that there was a bitter clash among board members over the appointment of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lennox Cornette.

An online media outlet reported on a leaked email exchange which suggested that the NCN chairman took it upon himself to appoint Cornette, despite objections from other board members who reportedly argued that his candidacy should be disqualified since his employment at the Guyana Telephone Telegraph (GTT) came to an end in 1999 after it was discovered he forged the signature of then Deputy General Manager Terry Holder.

However, Panday told Guyana Times on Saturday evening that the article is riddled with inaccuracies and he called for evidence to be produced to validate the contents of the publication.

In providing clarity on the matter, he explained that the board of directors agreed Cornette’s appointment during a meeting on April 7.

Later in the evening, he said one of the directors raised a concern regarding

the appointment of Cornette.

This director has been identified as Imran Khan.

Panday explained that the “concern” was investigated, the findings were brought up for discussion and thereafter all but one member gave the approval for Cornette to be appointed the new NCN CEO. “One objected and the others agreed, I can’t go with the one that objected. He objected after the event, he did not object before the man was appointed and if one director objected and seven directors said ‘yes’, I can’t go with the one who objected,” Panday explained.

The chairman maintained that at no point was there a “bitter clash” among board members of the appointment of the CEO as reported in the article.

“That part of the article is a blatant lie,” he said.

Furthermore, Panday pointed out that Cornette should not be condemned for one mistake he made years ago, explaining that the investigation revealed that Cornette had no other blemish after that incident.

According to reports, Panday had told the board member who objected just this.

“In view of the phone calls I delayed my hand and did some investigations. I

New NCN CEO Lennox Cornette

met with Mr Cornette and put the GT&T issue to him.

He readily admitted that in 1999, he did sign Mr Terry Holder’s name and there was a parting of ways between him and GT&T. He said it was a mistake he has regretted ever since and it’s the only blot on his copy book.”

It was also reported that Panday contacted Cornette’s last two employers, Jialing Forests and Conservation International and they both spoke highly of him.

Director of Public Information Khan in response reportedly posited that “I am gravely afraid of entrusting Mr Cornette with the authority of CEO at NCN, or anywhere else for that matter, in light of his

admitting to what effectively constitutes fraud. Should this information become public Chair and colleagues I am afraid that we would find ourselves in extreme difficulties to defend it.”

Khan is said to have recommended that veteran broadcast journalist Enrico Woolford be appointed as the NCN CEO. Notably, the article quoted no other board member objecting to the appointment of Cornette.

It highlighted that the only other board member to contribute to the email exchange was Dr Paloma Mohammed who appeared to have supported the Chairman’s position.

Meanwhile, Cornette, a former journalist who is now a communications consultant and preacher, will take up his post from May 1, 2016 and succeeds Molly Hassan, who resigned a few months ago.

He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Australian Institute of Business, a Bachelor in Social Sciences, (majoring in Mass Communications), a Diploma in Public Communication, and certificates in planning promotion from Bailbrook College, England.

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guyana-times.com

SunDAY, april 17, 2016

Around the world

Pope returns with 12 refugees after visit to Greek island

P

ope Francis took three families of Syrian refugees back to Rome on Saturday after visiting the frontline of Europe’s migrant crisis at a camp in Greece where migrants wept at his feet, kissed his hand and begged for help.

At a sprawling fenced complex on the Aegean island of Lesbos, adults and children broke down in tears before the head of the Roman Catholic Church, after their onward journey to Europe was cut short by an EU decision to block a migrant route used by a million people fleeing conflict since early 2015.

While borders have now largely been shut for migrants, Francis symbolically took a small group of refugees with him on his aircraft

A group of Syrian refugees arrive to board a plane with Pope Francis at the airport of Mytilene, in the Greek island of Lesbos, April 16

as he left the island after a five-hour visit.

The pope told reporters on the plane back from Lesbos that it had been the idea of one of his aides and

that he had immediately agreed.

The pope stressed that taking them to Rome was a humanitarian, not a political, gesture. (Excerpt from Reuters)

PAHO launches database that gathers worldwide Zika virus research

T

he Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) has launched a new Zika Research Projects List, a database that lists and categorises all scientific studies on Zika virus worldwide.

PAHO has systematically identified and collected basic information on all investigations related to Zika, both those already published and those on track to be published. The database includes the title, authors, and a direct link to the article.

Each study has been categorised in the areas of virus, vectors and reservoirs; epidemiology; disease pathogenesis and consequences of Zika infection; clinical management; public health interventions; health systems and services response; research and product development;

and causality. You can also search by publication type: published articles, protocol and publication of preliminary results.

The search mechanism was created after a group of experts from around the world met in March to discuss a regional agenda to prioritize and coordinate research on Zika. At that meeting, researchers concluded that efforts must

be increased to explore unknown factors about microcephaly and other congenital malformations that may be linked to infection by the Zika virus. Experts analyzed and mapped the gaps in scientific knowledge about the virus, how it affects people, its implications for public health in the Americas, and the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector that transmits the disease. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Ethiopia: Armed men ‘kill 140’ Strong earthquake hits off near South Sudan border

E

thiopia says armed men have killed 140 people near its border with South Sudan and abducted at least 39 children.

E t h i o p i a ’ s Communications Minister Getachew Reda said the attackers were members of South Sudan’s Murle tribe.

He said security forces were chasing the attackers and had killed 60 so far.

Ethiopia is hosting thousands of South Sudanese

refugees who fled the 2013 clashes that began when President Salva Kiir sacked his deputy Riek Machar, accusing him of plotting a coup.

Machar denied the charges, but then mobilised a rebel force to fight the Government. He is due to return to the capital Juba to form a transitional Government as part of a peace deal.

Reda told the BBC the

attackers were not thought to have any links to the South Sudanese government or rebels. Ethiopia’s Gambella province, where the raid took place, has a history of conflict between communities and a sizable Nuer population, Machar’s ethnic group.

The Murle have previously been accused of carrying out cattle raids and stealing children to raise as their own. (BBC News)

coast of Ecuador

A

strong earthquake struck off the coast of Ecuador late on Saturday, authorities and residents said, although the Andean country’s emergency authority said it had not received reports of damage.

The quake was felt strongly in the capital Quito some 170 km (105 miles) away, leading panicked residents to flood into

the streets out of fear of potential aftershocks.

“I was in my house watching a movie and everything started to shake. I ran out into the street and now I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Lorena Cazares, 36, a telecommunications worker in Quito.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 7.8, though

Ecuador’s Institute of Geophysics on its Twitter account published several different figures that were lower.

The quake was centered just off the coast at a shallow depth of 19 km (12 miles), according to the USGS. Residents in Quito said electricity and telephone services went off.

(Reuters)

Japan earthquake: Thousands Castro warns Cubans about US tactics spend night in cold and wet P

Firefighters check a collapsed house after an earthquake in Mashiki town, Kumamoto prefecture, southern Japan

T

ens of thousands of people have spent a cold and wet night in temporary shelters following two powerful earthquakes that struck the south-west Japanese island of Kyushu.

More than 240,000 people were urged to evacuate the area amid fears heavy rain could bring landslides and further damage, local media reported.

There is concern for dozens of people feared trapped under rubble. More than 40 people were killed in Thursday and Saturday’s quakes.

About 2000 people were treated for injuries and nearly 200 are said to be in a serious condition. apan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

erlier admitted many people would be spending an uncomfortable night in evacuation centres, tented accommodation and even in their cars.

But he said his government would work through the night to provide them with food, water and medical supplies. At least 50 people spent the night in their cars at a public park in the town of Ozu. They included 62-yearold Yoshiaki Tanaka, his wife and 85-year-old mother. “I don’t think we can go back [home],” he told the Associated Press. “Our life is in limbo”.

Abe also warned that rescuers were in a “race against time” to find survivors before

the bad weather wreaked more damage. Overnight rescue operations “would be extremely difficult”, he said.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

resident Raul Castro warned Cubans on Saturday that the United States was determined to end Cuba’s socialist revolution despite restoring relations and a visit

by US President Barack Obama, saying one-party Communism was essential to defend the system.

“We must be alert, today more than ever,” Castro said, speaking in front of a giant portrait of his brother Fidel Castro at the inauguration of the Communist Party’s first congress in five years.

He called Obama’s desire to end US sanctions on Cuba a change of “method”, in reference to efforts by Washington to bring political change to Cuba ever since

US President Barack Obama and Cuba’s President Raul Castro hold their first meeting on the second day of Obama’s visit to Cuba

the Castro brothers toppled a pro-American Government in 1959.

Obama and Castro announced in December 2014 they would end decades of enmity and normalise relations. Obama made a historic trip to the island last month but angered the Government with calls for more political freedom and democracy in

the one-party State.

Castro and his Lieutenants, many of them in their 70s and 80s, faced some discontent ahead of the congress among younger members who are critical of their slow delivery on promised economic reforms in the past five years and a lack of transparency on discussions. (Excerpt

from Nation News)

India’s smog-choked capital imposes driving restrictions

N

ew Delhi has began imposing driving restrictions that will take around a million cars off its roads for the second time this year, seeking to improve air quality in the world’s most polluted capital.

The Delhi Government first introduced the experiment for two weeks in January as dangerous levels of haze choked the city and

authorities said they were bringing it back for another 15 days by popular demand.

“Odd-even is back because the people of Delhi wanted it,” the city’s transport minister Gopal Rai said on Friday, referring to the scheme that restricts cars to alternate days according to whether they carry odd or even-numbered licence plates.

“We have full faith that Delhi’s people will follow this odd-even rule from today.” A 2014 World Health Organisation survey of more than 1600 cities ranked Delhi as the most polluted, partly because of the nearly 10m vehicles on its roads.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has said pollution levels fell after restrictions were imposed in

January, but many scientists say the scheme is not enough to tackle the problem.

“It is exactly like taking out 10 buckets of water from the ocean, the magnitude of the pollution problem is such,” said Gufran Beig, the chief scientist at India’s state-run System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research.

(Excerpt from The Guardian)

SunDAY, april 17, 2016

Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2016, Hyderabad…

Gambhir, bowlers lift KKR to convincing win

W

ith an attack comprising six international bowlers, Kolkata Knight Riders stamped their authority on Sunrisers Hyderabad to keep

Ojha nudged him around, but ensured they laid onto any scoring opportunity. Six boundaries, including two lofted fours over cover from Morgan off Narine, between

Gautam Gambhir’s unbeaten 90 was his 28th half-century in IPL, the most by any player

them to 142, and then hunted it down with eight wickets in hand. The game was set up by incisive spells from Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav, who hit good lengths and used the cutters effectively to prise out the top three within the Powerplay.

In the chase of 143, Gautam Gambhir struck his 28th IPL fifty, and his second in succession, to help Knight Riders to the target with 10 balls to spare.

Sunrisers' innings began in disastrous fashion after they chose to bat.

David Warner, who averaged 63.10 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium before this match, miscued a pull to square leg off Morkel, who was playing his first T20 game since August 2015. However, Warner was reprieved as replays showed Morkel overstepped.

The luck did not last long, though as Knight Riders chipped away at the top order.

The situation got worse when Deepak Hooda holed out to long-on in the 10th over with the score at 50.

Gambhir saw a chance and used Sunil Narine, bowling with a remodeled action, in a way he rarely has. Narine bowled four overs in a spell in the middle overs, but did not extract much purchase.

Eoin Morgan and Naman

overs 11 and 15 helped yield 42 in those five overs, setting the platform for a competitive total. As his innings progressed, Morgan transitioned from deft touch to muscular strokes in front of the wicket as he accrued 51, his fourth IPL fifty.

It required a moment of athletic brilliance from Andre Russell to remove

Ojha. Running around from long-on, Russell held onto a one-handed stunner and parried the ball to Piyush Chawla as his momentum carried him over the boundary. Sunrisers mustered 142, and their bowlers needed a special performance to get close.

They did not get it as the Knight Riders openers, Gambhir and Robin Uthappa, made a solid start. In the first ten overs, the pair found a boundary in every over, save two, and hunted down 72 - more than half the target - in that period. Then, Gambhir used swift footwork against Karn Sharma's leg-spin for three successive fours in the 11th over to bring the equation down to a run a ball.

Sunrisers saw a ray of hope when they took two wickets in the space of eight balls. First, Uthappa was trapped in front by Ashish Reddy and then Russell, promoted to no. 3, was undone by an inch-perfect yorker from Mustafizur Rahman that uprooted the middle and leg stumps.

Thereafter, Gambhir struck seven boundaries in a 49-run, third-wicket stand with Manish Pandey to take Knight Riders home in another one-sided encounter in this season. (Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD Sunrisers Hyderabad innings (20 overs maximum) DA Warner* c SA Yadav b UT Yadav 13 S Dhawan c †Uthappa b Morkel 6 MC Henriques lbw b UT Yadav 6 EJG Morgan c Shakib Al Hasan b UT Yadav 51 DJ Hooda c UT Yadav b Russell 6 NV Ojha† c Chawla b Morkel 37 A Ashish Reddy run out (Shakib Al Hasan/†Uthappa) 13 KV Sharma not out 2 B Kumar not out 0 Extras: (b-1, lb-2, w-4, nb-1) 8 Total: 7 wickets; 20 overs) 142 Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Dhawan, 2.4 ov), 2-23 (Warner, 3.2 ov), 3-36 (Henriques, 5.6 ov), 4-50 (Hooda, 9.4 ov), 5-117 (Ojha, 17.3 ov), 6-128 (Morgan, 18.4 ov), 7-141 (Ashish Reddy, 19.5 ov) Bowling: M Morkel 4-0-35-2 (1nb, 3-w), UT Yadav 4-0-28-3 (1w), Shakib Al Hasan 3-0-18-0, AD Russell 4-0-19-1, SP Narine 4-026-0, PP Chawla 1-0-13-0

Kolkata Knight Riders innings (target: 143 runs from 20 overs) RV Uthappa† lbw b Ashish Reddy 38 G Gambhir* not out 90 AD Russell b Mustafizur Rahman 2 MK Pandey not out 11 Extras: (w-5) 5 Total: (2 wickets; 18.2 overs 146 Fall of wickets: 1-92 (Uthappa, 12.3 ov), 2-97 (Russell, 13.4 ov) Bowling: Kumar 4-0-29-0 (1w), BB Sran 4-0-31-0 (2-w), Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-291 (1-w), KV Sharma 2.2-0-240, MC Henriques 2-0-19-0 (1w), A Ashish Reddy 2-0-14-1

19

Former Windies player against WICB selection policy

F

Richard Pybus

ormer West Indies player Bryan Davis believes the policy of the West Indies Cricket Board to only select players who participate in the regional tournaments for the upcoming one-day tri-series that involves South Africa and Australia, is flawed.

His comments come against the background that several of the region’s top players, including Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, and Lendl Simmons, members of the 2016 ICC Twenty20 World Cup champions, will not be selected to play against powerhouses South Africa and Australia this coming June.

As many as eight players from that team will not be selected, according to the rules.

WICB Director of Cricket Richard Pybus outlined this

in an interview this strategy improving the with regional media cricket anyway?” this week. “We got a Davis argued that askselection policy and ing a player to give up highit stands. The selec- er wages just so he can come tion policy is pretty home to play for less monstraightforward,” ey is counter-productive.

Pybus said.

“I think the policy should But Davis, who be changed because I don’t played four Tests agree that we, the West for the West Indies Indies, have a team to pick against Australia to play in world competition between March and and we are not picking our May, 1965, said the best team because of our own West Indies needs restrictions on players. My to adopt a policy of idea is that your best team selecting its best should represent the region players. He added that the at all times, regardless if currently policy that was they have played some other designed to have the senior cricket,” Davis said. “Once a players come home to play, man is fit, he should play. If was not working. he has contracts elsewhere, “I don’t agree with the it shows you just how good policy where you have to he is.” (Digicel Sportsmax) play a certain number of games to be available for selection. To me that’s a bit of an archaic rule,” said the 75-year-old Davis. “I can’t see the reason behind it. I think one of the reasons the West Indian stars are required to play in the local domestic leagues means it will improve our club cricket and so on. But, if we are trying to encourage them by doing that, and they are still not coming, how is Bryan Davis

Aston Villa relegated by Man Utd defeat A ston Villa have been relegated to English football's second tier for the first time since 1987 after defeat at Manchester United.

Marcus Rashford scored the only goal, sweeping Antonio Valencia's cutback past goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

Villa were second best for much of the game, although Rudy Gestede's volley did hit a post late on.

It was a ninth straight loss for the visitors and left them 15 points from safety with only four matches left.

European Cup winners in 1982, Aston Villa have a proud history but are facing a turbulent immediate future.

Caretaker manager Eric Black has spoken of the danger of the club falling into "anarchy" at the end of a miserable campaign played out against the backdrop of fan protests against Randy

Lerner's ownership.

Last time Villa were relegated to the old second division they immediately returned under Graham Taylor and finished second in the top flight the following season.

At Old Trafford they were outplayed for the majority of the game until the introduction of Gestede gave the travelling supporters hope of salvaging something from the day they finally went down.

It was not to be though and not many of those 1,500 or so supporters will expect their team to be competing in the Champions League by 2018.

Victory for United means they keep up the pressure on Manchester City in fourth place.

This was an important win in the race for a Champions League spot, and important too for the return of forward Wayne

Rooney, who last played in the Premier League on 13 February.

The England captain was not at his best - one heavy touch on the edge of the box saw a golden chance slip away - but he played his part in a solid all-round performance from Louis van Gaal's team.

The 18-year-old Rashford - who now has seven goals in 12 United appearances - should have added to his brilliantly taken first but prodded wide under pressure in a bright start to the second half, before Juan Mata could only fire straight at Guzan from a short corner.

Gestede almost drew Villa level when striking the post from a corner with just over five minutes to play, but United winger Memphis Depay was also denied by the post soon after - and United were deserved winners. (BBC Sport)

20

guyanatimesGY.com

sundAY, APRIL 17, 2016

Mumbai Indians v Gujarat Lions, IPL 2016, Mumbai…

Chinese GP…

Rosberg walking away Hobbling Finch wins Lions a thriller with it - Hamilton

I

t took one week for IPL 2016 to finally deliver a blockbuster. Gujarat Lions controlled the game for the better part of 35 overs before slipping in the next four to bring the equation

unperturbed, bringing out the big hit - a slog over cow corner off Harbhajan - to bring the equation down to 35 off the last four overs.

After Nath fell to an ungainly heave, James

they played too many shots and left Mumbai in a hole at 77-5. Parthiv's 29-ball 34 at the top of the order and Ambati Rayudu's 19-ball 20 at No. 6 were the only significant contributions in the

L

ewis Hamilton says his tough start to the season has handed a huge advantage to Mercedes

in Shanghai.

Hamilton is 17 points behind Rosberg heading into the race and faces the very

a five-place grid penalty to serve.

But then his engine's energy recovery system devel-

Nico Rosberg has won the past five races - three at the end of 2015 and two and the start of this season

Aaron Finch brought up his third half-century of the season and batted through to steer Lions home in a tense finish

down to 11 off the final over.

Aaron Finch, who overcame bouts of cramps and possibly a twinge in his hamstring, was running on empty by then. Fortunately for them, Dhawal Kulkarni, who returned to the venue he has grown up playing on, channelised his batting potential to smack Jasprit Bumrah over extra cover for four, before Finch biffed a boundary when they needed one off the final ball, and Lions sneaked home by three wickets to consolidate their position at the top of the standings.

Kulkarni and Pravin Tambe, who know what it took to bowl on the Wankhede track having played for Mumbai in domestic cricket, were central to Lions' bowling plans.

They returned combined figures of 6-1-31-4 to rip the heart out of Mumbai Indians' batting line-up.

Finch then showed different shades of his batting in a composed unbeaten 67 to steer Lions through a chase of 144 and extend their winning streak to three matches.

What appeared to be a straightforward chase hit a roadblock as Lions slipped from 65-1 to 83-4.

Suresh Raina's dismissal to a Mitchell McClenaghan bouncer triggered the slide.

Further life was injected into the contest when Dinesh Karthik's sweep found a leaping Harbhajan Singh at deep backward square leg to give Krunal Pandya his first IPL wicket. Dwayne Bravo was then given out caught behind off Mitchell McClenaghan in controversial circumstances - replays suggested there was no deflection.

The asking rate, which had hovered around seven an over, now touched nine.

Lions needed 54 off the last six overs. Akshdeep Nath walked in on IPL debut and Mumbai smelled an opportunity to get in a couple of quiet overs. But Finch was

Faulkner's tactful strike rotation eased the pressure on Finch. But just when Lions were cruising home with 13 to get from the last 12 balls, McClenaghan produced another twist, sending down a dramatic 19th over that saw James Faulkner and Praveen Kumar fall to outstanding catches by Parthiv Patel behind the stumps.

Mumbai sensed an opening, but Finch and Kulkarni kept their calm to see Lions through.

top order.

Mumbai got to 143 thanks to a late assault from Tim Southee and Krunal Pandya, who made 25 and 20 not out respectively, that helped them blast 61 off the last five overs.

Mumbai's momentum stretched into the early part of the Lions innings, when Bumrah saw off Brendon McCullum in the second over. Raina scrapped his way through a short-ball challenge to make 27 before

SCOREBOARD Mumbai Indians innings (20 overs maximum) RG Sharma* c Jakati b Kulkarni 7 PA Patel† c Faulkner b Tambe 34 HH Pandya c Jakati b Kulkarni 2 JC Buttler st †Karthik b Jakati 16 KA Pollard c Bravo b Tambe 1 AT Rayudu b Faulkner 20 Harbhajan Singh c †Karthik b Bravo 8 KH Pandya not out 20 TG Southee run out (†Karthik/ Bravo) 25 MJ McClenaghan not out 0 Extras: (lb-2, w-6, nb-2) 10 Total: (8 wickets; 20 overs) 143 Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Sharma, 1.3 ov), 2-19 (HH Pandya, 3.3 ov), 3-51 (Buttler, 8.5 ov), 4-59 (Pollard, 10.1 ov), 5-77 (Patel, 12.6 ov), 6-88 (Harbhajan Singh, 15.5 ov), 7-99 (Rayudu, 16.6 ov), 8-141 (Southee, 19.5 ov) Bowling: P Kumar 3-018-0 (1-w), DS Kulkarni 4-1-19-2, SB Jakati 3-0-13-1 (1-w), JP Faulkner 4-040-1 (2-nb, 2-w), PV Tambe 2-012-2, DJ Bravo 4-0-39-1 (1-w)

Two overs into the contest, it was evident that Raina had won a crucial toss. This wasn't a Wankhede deck where batsmen could kill the ball like they did at the World T20.

Instead, there was swing, bounce and zip off the deck.

By resisting the temptation to pick Martin Guptill, Mumbai showed faith in the same batting group that had made light work of Kolkata Knight Riders. But this time

Gujarat Lions innings (target: 144 runs from 20 overs) AJ Finch not out 67 BB McCullum c HH Pandya b Bumrah 6 SK Raina* c †Patel b McClenaghan 27 KD Karthik† c Harbhajan Singh b KH Pandya 9 DJ Bravo c †Patel b Bumrah 2 AD Nath c HH Pandya b McClenaghan 12 JP Faulkner c †Patel b McClenaghan 7 P Kumar c †Patel b McClenaghan 0 DS Kulkarni not out 6 Extras: (lb-7, w-3, nb-1) 11 Total: (7 wickets; 20 overs) 147 Fall of wickets: 1-12 (McCullum, 1.3 ov), 2-65 (Raina, 8.3 ov), 3-80 (Karthik, 11.1 ov), 4-83 (Bravo, 12.2 ov), 5-109 (Nath, 16.1 ov), 6-131 (Faulkner, 18.2 ov), 7-131 (Kumar, 18.4 ov) Bowling: TG Southee 4-0-310, JJ Bumrah 4-0-32-2 (1-nb, 1-w), MJ McClenaghan 4-021-4, KH Pandya 4-0-20-1, HH Pandya 2-0-16-0 (2-w), Harbhajan Singh 2-0-20-0

falling to his bogey ball. By then, Finch, coming off 50 and 74 in his first two outings, was in his element. He repeatedly opened up the off side by giving himself width to clear the infield against the spinners in the middle overs.

The groundwork done in the first eight overs helped Lions overcome a real wobble at the end, and dig into their reserves to eke out a memorable win. (Cricinfo)

team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton, who lost potential wins to Rosberg after bad getaways in the first two races, starts Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix last after an engine issue.

The Briton said he felt "more relaxed" than he would have in the past.

But he added: "It doesn't mean I'm not unhappy.

I'm fighting for the World Championship and at the moment Nico is walking away with it."

Despite qualifying taking place on a near-dry track following heavy rain, warm and dry conditions are expected for Sunday's race, where more than 125,000 fans are expected.

Rosberg, who won the first two grands prix of the year in Australia and Bahrain, is on pole position

likely prospect of that margin extending.

"There's a long, long way to go, so there's no real need to be too stressed about it," the world champion said.

"There's no reason to dwell on what happened because there's nothing I can do.

"All I can do is try and shape the future, and that's really what I'm trying to put my energy towards. Zero energy to what's behind me, 100% energy to what's in front."

He said getting on to the podium would be "a very tough challenge - just getting into the points is my goal".

Hamilton already knew before qualifying that he faced a difficult weekend because a decision to change his gearbox meant he had

oped a problem and he failed to set a lap time.

It is the latest in a series of dramas for Hamilton this season.

He took pole position in both Australia and Bahrain but could finish only second and third.

In Melbourne, he lost several positions after he was inadvertently nudged wide by Rosberg at the first corner as they battled for position behind the fast-starting Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.

In Bahrain, a problem with the engine's revs on the grid meant he reacted slowly to the start. He was then hit by Williams' Valtteri Bottas when slotting in behind Rosberg at the first corner, requiring another comeback drive, this time in a damaged car. (BBC Sport)

Man City sink 10-man Chelsea

A

Sergio Aguero hat-trick moved Manchester City closer to securing Champions League football next season with a 3-0 victory over 10man Chelsea.

City profited from slick break-aways, the first goal arriving when Kevin De Bruyne fed Aguero, who fired in.

Again De Bruyne led a clinical counter after the break, finding Samir Nasri, who put Aguero clear to finish smartly.

Thibaut Courtois was sent off for fouling Fernandinho, allowing Aguero to whip home his third from the spot.

Chelsea threatened occasionally before the goals but faded and City move third, a point ahead of Arsenal who have a game in hand and four clear of Manchester United.

When this fixture was scheduled last year, it seemed unthinkable that only one of these sides the last two winners of the Premier League - would be battling for a top-four spot.

They have both underachieved, but City at least have targets as the season draws to a close and they were clearly sharper in west

London, none more so than Aguero.

The Argentinian has now scored at least 20 goals in three Premier League seasons, a feat only achieved

by Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Les Ferdinand.

There can be little doubt City's season has gained a new lease of life in recent weeks and it is notable it has coincided with the return of De Bruyne from a lengthy injury lay-off.

Both he and Samir Nasri drew saves from Courtois

behind leaders Leicester.

They managed just two wins in seven league games without him and one wonders how close they would be to lifting the title now had he stayed fit.

He has now had a hand in 28 goals this season scoring 15 and creating 13 and encouragingly for manager Manuel Pellegrini with a Champions League semifinal to come, his relationship with the clinical Aguero looks sharper than ever.

Aguero, who now has 13 goals in 12 league games,

Sergio Aguero now has 12 goals in his last 12 Premier League games

in the opening period and it was De Bruyne who always looked likely to turn defence into attack for the away side.

When the Belgian suffered knee-ligament damage in January, City were second in the table, three points

will deservedly make headlines. But in De Bruyne, he once again has a support act boasting pace and guile in abundance. Could it be that the enforced rest through injury has left him fresh to do damage at the business end of the season? (BBC Sport)

SPORTs

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No decision yet on Indians playing Women's Super League

N

o decision has been taken on the participation of India's players in the inaugural Women's Super League to be held in England in JulyAugust, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has said.

Several leading players such as Australia captain Meg Lanning, New Zealand captain Suzie Bates, who was rated by Wisden as the leading women's cricketer for 2015, the World T20winning Stafanie Taylor and her West Indies team-mate Deandra Dottin were named to partner the English women for the franchise-based six-team tournament. There were no Indians named in the list released by the ECB. ESPNcricinfo understands the ECB had sent a letter to all Full Members seeking their permission to

ing at the end of the month."

Clare Connor, the ECB's head of women's cricket, said her board had contacted various countries in January. "We wrote to all the boards in January, when we had final approval from the ECB about the six Super League hosts. We let them know where we were with the Super League and what we were looking to do with the overseas players: the number of overseas players (18), how we were looking to involve the world's best.

"We communicated with the BCCI, as we did with all other boards. They made their own decision that they were not going to put players forward or share their contact details."

India's top women cricketers could not play in the inaugural Big Bash League

play in England, where the World Cup will be held in 2017, would help them prepare better.

Unlike the Women's Big Bash League where franchises signed players directly, the ECB decided to form a central pool of overseas players before narrowing down the squads of the six teams.

"We asked whether the teams would prefer to contact their own players about it or whether they would prefer us to contact them directly," Connor said.

"Mostly, we contacted players directly: the boards gave us their main squad's email address and we then communicated with players, asking them to express an interest if they wished to be considered for selection for the Super League."

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Telephone: 275-0733 The BCCI is also mulling an IPL-style T20 league for women

enlist players but the BCCI was yet to discuss the issue. With 18 foreign players already announced only three can feature in the playing XIs - Indian players are effectively ruled out.

Thakur, however, added the Indian board was also mulling an IPL-style T20 league for women. "We have not taken any decision [on not sending Indian women to the T20 league in England] as of now," Thakur told ESPNcricinfo. "As far as leagues are concerned, we are also thinking something [on the same lines] within the BCCI as well. We will decide on it during the meet-

in Australia in DecemberJanuary either. Captain Mithali Raj and fast bowler Jhulan Goswami were on Adelaide Strikers' radar but were denied permission since the tournament dates overlapped with India's domestic season, which was scheduled to be televised for the first time.

The delay in making India's players available for the WSL is surprising considering the team's next international assignment, a limited-overs series against West Indies, is scheduled for November. It was common sentiment within the Indian side that an opportunity to

Connor also confirmed the ECB decided to do away with a draft or auction system to lend balance to all the squads. "We met the teams to discuss the balance of their squads," she said.

"Of course, there were a few players that lots of teams wanted. But actually, it worked out really neatly because, once the teams knew which England players they had, that dictated whether they needed an opening bat, spinner, wicketkeeper or whatever. It was just a case of trying to adhere to our principle of getting the best versus the best." (Cricinfo)

Real win to close gap on Barca G

areth Bale reached 16 goals for the first time in a La Liga season as Real Madrid thrashed Getafe 5-1 to move one point behind leaders Barcelona.

Real's seventh successive league win kept alive their hopes of a first title since 2012 and sent neighbours Getafe to the bottom of the table.

Karim Benzema put Real ahead and after Isco made it 2-0 at half-time, Bale raced clear to add the third.

Getafe replied before James Rodriguez and Cristiano Ronaldo added late goals.

Barca, who have taken just one point from the last possible nine, play at home to Valencia today.

Real kept the pressure

on the defending champions, while Juan Esnaider made a losing start as Getafe's new coach. His side have now lost 11 of their past 13 games.

Real, who beat Wolfbsurg in the Champions League on Tuesday to set up a semi-final with Manchester City, barely had to extend themselves to get the result they needed to go above Atletico Madrid, who play Granada on Sunday (17:15 BST), and into second place.

Coach Zinedine Zidane was able to take off both Bale and Benzema in the second half to give them a rest before Real's midweek league game at home to fourth-placed Villarreal.

Wales forward Bale, 26, set his best Liga tally since arriving in a world-record

£85m move in September 2013, racing into the Getafe area from the right and curling left-footed into the far corner.

Ronaldo continued his record of having played every minute of Real's La Liga campaign and claimed his 47th goal of the season, scoring for the fourth league game in a row in stoppage time when he tapped in after being set up by Jese.

Substitute Jese had also created the fourth goal for Rodriguez, who capped in an impressive performance with a cool finish to enhance his side's goal difference after former Real forward Pablo Sarabia had eaten into the lead with a fine strike in the 84th minute. (BBC Sport)

22

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sundAY, april 17, 2016

GCA’s GISE, Trophy Stall, Star Party Rentals 1st Division two-day cricket...

GFF’s Stag Elite League…

Slingerz FC, Conquerors DCC secure first innings honours against Soldiers continue to surge S

lingerz FC and Fruta Conquerors continue to distance themselves from the rest of the teams in the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) Stag Elite League Finale, following convincing victories on Friday eveningat the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground, Bourda.

Slingerz, who have been termed the “unstoppable” team in the League Finale, overcame an enthusiastic Guyana Defence Force (GDF) unit to win 2-1.

Veteran striker Vurlon Mills was the man to change the score line when he netted in the 10th minute of the match, but the soldiers were up to the task at hand, as Clifford Garraway responded with a goal in the 16th to equalise the scores.

Though both sides created opportunities, the scores ended 1-1 at half-time, but 10 minutes into the second half, Mills was on the pounce once again as he gifted himself another goal

team, continued their sublime record in the League and more so in the Finale, have won all their nine matches to date, to comfortably occupy the top position.

GDF, on the other hand, will remain in fourth position, with three losses, four wins and two drawn matches.

In other game, Fruta Conquerors continued their merry run in the League, with yet another stellar performance, as Vurlon Mills they produce two late goals to earn a muchdeserved, come-from-behind victory over Buxton United.

Clive Andries was the man to put Buxton in the ascendancy when he notched the first goal of the match in the 43rd, as the half end-

Fruta Conquerors scorers! Hubert Pedro (left) and Eon Alleyne

in the 55th.

Mills’ double made sure that the West Coast based

ed 1-0 in favour of the East Coast side.

It was the eventful sec-

By Akeem Greene

D

ond half that saw the Tucville-based unit respond with a late surge, as Hubert Pedro (76th) and Eon Alleyne (79th) scored within the space of three minutes to ensure they further consolidate their second spot on the points table.

Fruta Conquerors have just lost and drew once from their nine matches, with seven resounding victories.

Meanwhile, the East Coast side has been having a dreadful time in the League Finale as they suffered their sixth loss, to go with only one win and two drawn encounters, which have left them in the penultimate position on the table.

The League will continue today at the same venue where Monedderlust FC will play Pele FC from 18:00h, followed by the home side GFC against Alpha United FC from 20:30h.

44-2, with Barnwell on 31 and Imlach on six.

After a quiet period after tea, Barnwell returned to his usual fluency as he brought up his 50 from 52 balls, hitting 10 fours.

The right-hander, at that time, had spent 135 minutes at the crease, and propelled his team to 72 -2.

Just as Barnwell looked

emerara Cricket Club (DCC) made handsome strides in a bid to win the final of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) First Division Two-day competition, sponsored by General Industrial Supplies Enterprise (GISE), Trophy Stall and Star Party Rentals.

Playing against the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) at the GCC ground, Bourda, they secured first innings points on Saturday.

At close of play, DCC were 184-5 in response to GDF’s 163 all out, a lead of 21 heading into today’s final day, with Dennis Squires and Kemol Savoury at the crease, but both yet to score.

When the Queenstown side began their innings, GDF’s Romario Shepherd, who steamed in from the North Road end, caused some early Christopher Barnwell trouble, as he got Brian Sattaur (06) to pull at to register his third centua delivery and was taken by ry of the competition, he hit the keeper. a full toss from leg-spinner Shepherd then sent the Randy Lindore straight to stumps of Kevon Boodie deep mid-wicket for an eye(00) tumbling as DCC were catching 70 (13x4s), adding now in a spot of bother at 10- 84 for the third wicket with 2.

Imlach.

The lanky right-arm Jamal Hinkson, who seamer continued his fierce came to the crease and hit opening spell, but the pair of his first ball for six over deep Christopher Barnwell and mid-wicket, kept the high Tevin Imlach weathered the intensity throughout his instorm to take DCC to tea at

nings, while Imlach began to grow in stature as he played some neatly timed drives, including a chip to Lindore that resulted in six straight down the ground.

Just as the elegant righthander was sending signals of a second successive halfcentury, he retired hurt on 45, after sharing a 62-run partnership with Hinkson.

Hinkson continued his aggressive style of play, with some thumping drives, but fell leg before to Shepherd for an attractive 47 (5x4s).

Jahron Byron (11) fell via the run out route to place at DCC 181-5 with Shepherd taking 3-21 thus far.

Earlier in the day, DCC won the toss and elected to bowl which paid immediate dividend as the mediumpace of Barnwell accounted for Quacey McPherson (00) then Hakeem Hinds (01).

As with most GDF batsmen, Kevin Ramdeen fell for 23 after getting a start and the soldiers slid to 38-4.

Ishwar Singh (24), Randy Lindore (25), Shepherd (22) and Jeremiah Harris 22 not out, all made handy scores, but none were able to form a big partnership to post a challenging total.

Barnwell ended with 3-36 and left-arm spinner Totoram Bishun 3-38, while Paul Wintz took 2-19.

Play will start today at 09:30h.

PCB wants Inzamam as chief selector F

ormer Pakistan cap- "Although he was in con- the contract right now with tain Inzamam-ul-Haq tract with us until December all the terms and conditions is likely to be appoint- this year, we are patriotic but we are not going to drag ed chief selector of Pakistan, people and if Pakistan needs this and rather finish this on after the PCB requested the Inzamam for their own good and high note."

Inzamam had joined the Afghanistan Cricket Board country, we are ready to re(ACB) to release him from lease him. We are looking at Afghanistan set-up as head coach for the team's his role as Afghanistan head coach. If aptour of Zimbabwe pointed, this will be in late 2015. After Afghanistan won the Inzamam's first appointment as selector ODI and T20I series in Zimbabwe, he at any level. signed a contract exThe move came after Waqar Younis, who tending his tenure. recently resigned as In the recent World Pakistan's head coach, T20, he oversaw the team's progression argued in favour of hiring Inzamam as chief to the Super 10s and selector. their famous win Despite Inzamam's over eventual chamcoaching stint with pions West Indies.

Afghanistan being in Prior to his role its infancy, ACB Chief with Afghanistan, Inzamam's last Shafiq Stanikzai confirmed that they are coaching assignready to release him. ment at the inter"Today Shaharyar national level was a Khan called me and short-term stint as Pakistan's batting asked a favour to reconsultant in 2012lease Inzamam-ul-Haq as they are keen to hire If appointed, this will be Inzamam's first 13. (Cricinfo) him," Stanikzai said. appointment as selector at any level

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sundAY, april 17, 2016

GSL/Golyn 10/10 Softball…

Teams to push for place in quarter-finals

T

he Golyn 10/10 softball cricket tournament organised by the Guyana Softball League and sponsored by Golyn and Sons, Trophy Stall, and Miss Love Trading (West Coast) continues today with several matches on the West Coast Demerara, East Bank Demerara and Linden.

At the Leonora ground, Speedboat will play Rydem Star. Unbeaten Speedboat are on a roll having played unbeaten since November in 10/10 tournaments and will be looking to continue in this vein.

Rydem Star has strengthened their side by including Aftab Bacchus and will hope that will help them to straighten the weakness that have seen them lose on a couple of occasions.

Ruimzeight XI will come up against Unstoppable XI. Unbeaten Ruimzeight XI have a tight unit and will look to keep that record in-

tact. Their batting hinges on Duhkraj Singh, who is in the form of his life and can create problems for the opposition.

Unstoppable XI have been just that as the name suggests lately and have shown the talent they possess but will have to work a little harder in order to come out on top.

Superbet XI will then clash with Exclusive XI. Both teams have been playing below par and this match can raise their confidence and display the talent they have in the camps.

They both are equal in both batting and bowling, but it is the fielding that can pull the teams together and they both can change the tempo and support their bowlers better.

West Coast Blazers will battle Crossbreed Warriors.

Crossbreed Warriors are the favourites, but as blazers have shown they can sur-

prise any team on their day.

They have been losing some very close encounters and will be hoping to put that right this time around.

In the final match, Prem XI will play Vipers XI. Prem XI are on winning streak as their batting and bowling as well as the fielding has been on top of late and are one of the few teams to have lost only once.

Vipers XI having just dismantled Power XI will be looking to close the mouths of their opponents as the taunts from both teams have continued.

The fixtures for East Bank and linden will be determined today as all the teams are asked to make themselves available at Diamond and Bayroc centre.

The one ball “man-to” also continues with several trophies up for grab and the winners will move on to the next round.

Inniss completes familiarisation visit to EBFA

G

uyana Football Federation (GFF) Executive Member with responsibility for the East Bank Football Association (EBFA), Dion Inniss, on Wednesday last met with the association’s Executive and General Council at the Park View Hotel, Farm, East Bank Demerara.

ner. Work has already begun in this regard as a Referees Beginners Course has already been organised with about 10 persons from the EBFA set to participate.

The EBFA President Franklin Wilson gave Inniss an overview of the association’s work programme, indicating that the Ralph Green sponsored Under-11 com-

itively at the national level. Discussions were also had in the areas of Coaches, Administrative and Female Development.

Also President of the Guyana Football Referees Council, Inniss presented various sets of FIFA Grassroots tops that have been passed on to the affiliated clubs of the association,

E-Networks, Electronics City assist with Everest CC upgrade

E

-Networks and Electronics City are the two latest companies to make timely donations to the Everest Cricket Club to add to the comfort of club members and visitors alike. The Camp Road club, which is arguably Georgetown’s leading cricket club, received two 42” television sets that will be mounted in the club’s pavilion for entertainment purposes.

E-Networks, the nation’s Cable TV Internet VOIP and 4G Broadband Service provider, and Electronics City, the sole distributor of RCA products in Guyana, immediately agreed to the donation when approached by President of Everest CC, Rajesh Singh.

At the presentation in the club’s boardroom last Wednesday Singh offered hearty appreciation to both companies and assured that the club will make full use of their kind gestures.

Akeem Jeffers, Manager of Electronics City, said his company is overjoyed to be part of such upgrade that will make so many people happy.

The club’s pavillion was a viewing hub for the recently concluded ICC World T20 tournament, which ended in India with West Indies Women and Men lifting the

titles and at the finals there was an overflow of spectators flocking the lone television screen.

Singh said, “This will

petition concluded recently with Agricola Red Triangle emerging the winner over Craig Primary School in the final.

Wilson also informed that the Stag Senior League is ongoing, while the association will kick off its Under-13 in early May. Inniss commended the association for its continued efforts at the grassroots level, noting that this focus will ultimately impact pos-

as well as Craig Primary and Friendship.

Meanwhile, the Technical Advisor to the EBFA, Winston Benons, will be running off a Goalkeepers session for Under-11 and 13 players today at the Farm Community Centre ground from 10:00h.

All clubs are required to ensure their goalkeepers in the targeted age groups attend the session along with their coaches.

please come and let’s help each other.”

On May 1 this year there will be a major fundraising activity at the club where

Everest Cricket Club president Rajesh Singh accepts the donation from Akeem Jeffers, while club members look on

ease the over-crowding and will make everybody comfortable.”

The recently elected President took the opportunity to invite visitors to watch the ongoing Indian Premier League at the historic and scenic club.

Singh said, “The club is open to similar gestures from the private sector and friends as we seek to keep upgrading every day. We have so much to do and so much space for everyone so

there will be a four-team softball cricket competition, a dominoes competition and a feature hardball grudge match to assist the club in sending the Master’s Team on their annual trip.

This year the team is expected to go to Jamaica to play a series of matches across the island. In addition to sporting activities, there will be the club’s signature fish fry and karaoke to cater for a wider cross section of supporters.

Lifetime Achievement for Major James Fraser today

F

ormer Berbice Under-19 and senior cricketer, Major James Fraser, would be specially honoured today by the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC).

The highly ranked Guyana Defence Force Officer would receive the RHTY&SC Lifetime Achievement Award for his achievements in Sports, his military career and for being a positive role model to youths in Rose Hall Town.

The 42-year-old Fraser, who still captains the Rose Hall Town Bakewell Second Division team, returned to Secondary School at the age of 25 years after dropping out of the J.C. Chandisingh Secondary School 10 years earlier.

He successfully passed seven CXC subjects and later joined the Guyana Defence Force’s Cadet Officer Course. He successfully completed the course, became a Cadet Officer

GFF Executive Member Dion Inniss (left) hands over one of the tops to EBFA President Franklin Wilson in the presence of fellow Executive and General Council Members

Inniss, a former FIFA Referee and goalkeeper, informed the members that he was pleased to have been appointed to oversee the association, which he noted has been very proactive especially in the area of youth development.

The Caribbean Airline Marketing Executive informed the association that he was there to work along closely in advancing the further development of the association in a holistic man-

23

RHTY&SC Assistant Organising Secretary, Ravin Kissoonlall (left), receives Medallion from Kings Managing Director, Ryan Persaud

President David Granger, Patron of the Club, is expected to hand over the Lifetime Achievement Award to Fraser, who overcame dropping out of school at a young age to fulfil his lifelong dream to become a senior military official.

and has been promoted to Lieutenant, Captain and his now Major Rank. He has also successfully completed a Diploma in Animal Health and Veterinary Public Health and is now the Commanding Officer at the GDF Agricultural Corp.

Over the years, Fraser has also represented the RHTY&SC at both the second and first division level in cricket. Fraser has scored over 7,000 runs for the club with eight centuries at an average of 43.15 and a top score of 190 versus Albion.

He also represented Berbice at the Under-19 and senior level and in 1996 scored a fighting 60 versus Demerara on debut.

West Indies pacers Colin Stuart and Reon King were the spearhead of the Demerara attack as Fraser and fellow club member, Neil Williams, featured in an opening partnership of 100.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday last Managing Director of King’s Jewellery World, Ryan Persaud, handed over a Wes Indies cricket medallion to the club. The medallion would be presented to Major Fraser as part of his award.

Persaud, who handed over the US$500 medallion, stated that his company, over the last eight years, has been pleased to be associated with the RHTY&SC, and wished the club more success in the future.

Secretary/CEO, Hilbert Foster, hailed the contribution of King’s and noted that the RHTY&SC was grateful for their continued cooperation.

SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016

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

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