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Lands, P12 royalties to be set aside for veterans – Trotman

…as CoI continues THE BEACON OF TRUTH

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

Issue No. 2990

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Teenager gunned down at Rio night spot

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

GNNL Board Chairperson La Rose P7 resigns

Page 3

AFC a prisoner of APNU – Rohee Page 7

Conductor dies after bus topples on muddy road

Page 14

Education P9 Ministry clamps down on absenteeism

– parents could face criminal charges

Friend of P7 drowned man refutes “betting” accusation

Linden Town Council to seek $200M debt bailout

P9

Carambola P11 farms stymied by fly infestation

Region Two women displaying the 6 Ps of Business at the seventh session of the Self-Reliance and Success in Business Workshop. At the workshop, First Lady Sandra Granger said she had high hopes for them as women have the ability to change a nation

Radio set fiasco

Clinton, Trump clash in first presidential debate

Page 15

GECOM evaluated bids, shortlisted contractors – Dr Luncheon Page 13

Odle playing games with GTT shares money – financial P10 analyst

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tuesDAY, september 27, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, September 27 – 14:30h-16:00h and Wednesday, September 28 – 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, September 27 – 14:25h-15:55h and Wednesday, September 28 – 15:05h-16:35h.

Teenager gunned down at Rio night spot

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny conditions interrupted by heavy rain showers in the late morning and early afternoon, while clear skies can be expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: South Easterly to North North-easterly between 0.89 metres and 3.12 metres.

High Tide: 14:18h reaching a maximum height of 2.32 metres.

Low Tide: 07:47h and 20:12h reaching minimum heights of 0.86 metre and 0.87 metre respectively.

The popular Rio Nightclub

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

teenager was brutally shot and killed during an argument over money and “girls” at the popular Rio Nightclub in Queenstown, Georgetown, in the wee hours of Monday.

Ryan “Harry” Sergeant, 19, of Lot 2530 Layon Street, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was shot once to the jaw during an exchange of gunfire, which started in the night club and ended on the outside.

Jeffrey Ferrel also of North Ruimveldt, was also shot and injured during the gun battle. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was admitted and is said to be in critical state.

After the shooting the now dead man was picked up by his ‘gang members’ and dropped off at the Woodlands Hospital.

Upon seeing this, the staff of the hospital took him to the emergency room but he was already dead.

While information remains sketchy about the shooting, Guyana Times understands that the incident stemmed from a gambling spree within the nightclub.

However, another ver-

Dead: Ryan Sergeant

sion stated that Ferrel was involved in an altercation with one of the suspects who in turn left the club with another friend and a female companion. Further reports stated that after the trio left, they were followed by Farrel and the now dead man and the argument resumed.

During the argument, the suspect whipped out a gun and discharge several rounds hitting Farrel to the neck and shoulder.

Attempting to rescue his shot friend, Sergeant was shot to the jaw. The suspects then fled the scene.

Nevertheless, as investigations intensify, the Police are hunting two men after reviewing the surveillance footage. One of the men was identified as a former bodyguard of wellknown drug lord.

This was revealed by a well-placed source in the probe, who also related that another well-known man was also caught on camera during the shooting incident.

He confirmed that based on the surveillance footage at the nightclub, the two men were seen leaving with guns in their hands.

Meanwhile, at the home

of the dead man, his grandmother Jillian Sergeant told Guyana Times that they took care of the young man from a tender age since his mother resides in the United States.

The elderly woman noted that the family received a phone call from overseas informing them that her grandson was shot and killed. Without hesitation, he rushed to the private hospital where she saw her grandson’s lifeless body. “He had a bullet to his jaw and like it exited at the back of the head or somewhere,” she cried.

It was after receiving the news of his death that the grandmother claimed that she knew he was a regular visitor at the nightclub.

“I never know he use to go to the night club… he use to sell clothes and nev-

er had problems with anyone”, the woman claimed.

When asked if she was told what occurred, her response was “they tell me that he was shot and that is all… the police come and do their investigation at the hospital and they left without telling us anything.”

A relative of the dead man told Guyana Times that no one knows what occurred on the fateful morning: “We don’t know who shoot; we don’t know is what cause the shooting, nothing.”

The young man only returned from the USA recently and was in the habit of partying with friends.

The Police in a release stated that they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting.

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tuesday, september 27, 2016

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

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

Editorial

Battling against child abuse

C

hild Protection Week in Guyana came to a close recently. During the Week, planned events, awareness programmes, exhibitions, lectures and fun activities were held across the country to sensitise the populace and to raise awareness about the causes and effects of child abuse, as well as preventative measures.

A call was made for the public to assist in reducing child abuse and child sexual abuse which, the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) said, are on the increase.

Director of the Agency, Ann Greene reported that from January to July 2016, there were 2238 reports of child abuse and 441 cases of sexual abuse in Guyana. These numbers are alarming and confirm that we have a serious problem.

The head of the CCPA acknowledges that these figures are “really too much” and child abuse, in all of its forms, should be eradicated. What is even more worrisome is that these figures only represent the reported cases.

None of us need to be reminded that child abuse and neglect are serious problems that can have lasting harmful effects on its victims. The goal, both globally and nationally, in preventing child abuse and neglect is clear – to stop it from happening in the first place.

The provision of safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children and families can prevent abuse and help all children reach their full potential.

Towards this goal, local advocates are urging parents, caregivers and society at large to look for the signs and to be the voices of the voiceless.

Undoubtedly, these are complex problems rooted in unhealthy relationships and environments. Preventing child abuse and neglect requires a comprehensive approach that influences all levels of social ecology (including societal culture), community involvement, relationships among families and neighbours, and individual behaviours.

These strategies to stamp out child abuse range from a focus on individuals, families, and relationships, to broader community and societal change. This range of strategies is needed to better address the interplay between individualfamily behaviour and broader neighbourhood, community, and cultural contexts.

Not only do children suffer acutely from the physical and mental cruelty of child abuse, research has found that they endure many long-term consequences, including delays in reaching developmental milestones, refusal to attend school and separation anxiety disorders. Other consequences include an increased likelihood of future substance abuse, aggressive behaviours, high-risk health behaviours, criminal activity, somatisation, depressive and affective disorders, personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, schizophrenia and abuse of their own children and spouses. The vicious cycle seems never-ending.

The Social Protection Ministry, CCPA and other advocates are all on the right track. Every effort to rid society of this scourge is commendable and a positive one.

Having acknowledged this, it is vital to also face the reality that the current efforts are not enough. Every week should be designated to fighting the battle against child abuse, in all forms. If this is not already a national emergency, then it should be considered as such. What is currently being done is merely a drop in the bucket.

During the week-long activities, much has been revealed about this issue, including important statistics, suggested preventative measures and the challenges facing the advocates. One of the major challenges, according to the head of the CCPA, is the law itself and the hurdles in the way of attaining justice for the abused and neglected.

Clearly, the authorities, advocates and policymakers need to re-examine the approach to the issues. Effective prevention strategies should focus on modifying policies, practices, and societal norms to create safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments. Again, it would be beneficial to examine what has been done elsewhere.

What remains important, in the wake of all efforts, is that action is being taken, education continues and that there is commitment to eradicating child abuse countrywide.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy: these youngsters were seen swinging from a tree in the Botanical Gardens as they take a break from the hectic school schedule (Carl Croker photo)

Easing the congestion at Supenaam Car, Minibus Park Dear Editor, Early in 2012, at which time I was a member of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam), I suggested at a RDC meeting that to ease traffic congestion at the Supenaam Car and Mini Bus Park, more parking space can be provided by placing a concrete culvert, sand fill and cap the drain in front of the area stretching from the Guyana Forestry Commission building to the Amerindian Hostel.

This idea was discussed

at subsequent meetings, including the meetings of the Works and Agriculture Committee, a statutory body of the RDC of which I was also a member at the time.

It is certainly important to note that in February of 2013, I resigned as a member of the RDC and all the other Committees; namely Works and Agriculture, Local Government and Land Selection.

That was after I took up an appointment in Region 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) and was unable to ground with the people as often as I use

to thereby giving them the level of representation they had become accustomed to, and well and truly deserved.

I am not sure if any further discussion had taken place at any meeting or forum from then to now; anyone looking at that area in question, at first glance would agree how good a suggestion it was, and definitely is, because by placing a culvert, sand fill and capping, you will be beautifying the area, preventing the public road and state property from eroding during heavy rainfall, and most

importantly creating parking space for about sixty more vehicles and in so doing, significantly reduce the total confusion due to the traffic congestion.

It is a wonderful idea that both the RDC and the Neighbourhood Democratic Council should explore. It was done at Charity where there was a longer, wider and deeper drain; it can and must be done at Supenaam.

Archie Cordis Former AFC Councillor Region 2

Inside corruption in Region 6 Dear Editor, Corruption has pervaded every stratum of Governments in this country, be it at the Central Government or the Local Government level. However, the focus has always been on the Central Government and the myriad of corruption which exists there with little or no emphasis being placed on the corruption which has been destroying the very fabric of social and economic development at the ‘grass root’ level.

On the APNU/AFC Campaign trail I found myself following a similar trend and attacked the PPP/C as being corrupt a Government which showed little respect for tax-payers’ dollars, but I was shocked out of my senses when I was appointed as the Regional Executive

Officer of Region 6 and came face to face with the massive corruption at the Local Government level from the Budget Proposal level, to the Tender Board level and to the certification of works level.

It is at this level that I saw the true meaning of ‘social and political cohesion’.

I saw another form of coalition taken a step further where the APNU, AFC and the PPP councillors came together to fight in favour of corruption – not against corruption and the ‘common enemy’ was Dr Ramayya.

It was all done under the façade that I was not attending the RDC Statutory meeting. However, it is important to note that there are 2 DREOs in the Region and that on some days I had meetings and appointments

to keep elsewhere.

Firstly, the formulation of the Region 6 2017 proposed budget is the epitome of corruption in Region 6 and had no input from myself, the Chairman, the NDCs and other stakeholders. It was done solely by the Regional Vice-chairman the Regional Engineer.

Furthermore, there are many instances where some of the work projects in the 2017 Proposal are in excellent condition, having been done only recently. This will be easy ‘pickings’ for the contractors. Therefore, the Engineer and the Regional Vice-chairman prepared the budget proposal and then they certify the works done - this is world class corruption. The preparation of the 2017 Budget Proposal is the mother of all corruption in

Region 6.

From the inception I made a valiant effort to stop corrupt practices. I implemented the biometric clocking system at the Regional Office which was the brain child of the PPP/C when they were in Government and which was supported by the Chairman and the Public Service Union, yet the RDC Council moved a motion spearheaded by the Regional Vice-chairman and his cohort to vote against that system. He was supported by the APNU, AFC and the PPP councillors.

Then I tried to stem the rape of the Region’s resources by capping the gas expenditure expense of the Regional Vice-chairman who was using the Region’s vehicle for the political work of the PPP. turn to page 5

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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

Truly put the needs Issues affecting Region 9 of youth first Dear Editor, Please allow me to highlight a serious flaw in our state system for funding of tertiary education; the current system requires students to 'qualify' for a loan by fulfilling the following requirements: Filling a Ministry of Finance Information form (new or continuing student), providing a guarantor for the loan by having them sign an affidavit. The student information form is straight-forward: name of applicant, registration number, course and faculty and cost; this is by no means an unreasonable step in the process as this is the vital information required by the state agency.

What comes next however is the requirement to secure a guarantor for their loan, the guarantor also has a form to fill: 1) Name, Nationality, Age, Date of birth, Address, Telephone number; 2) Relationship to borrower; 3) Occupation, Place of employment, address and telephone of employer; 4) Name of Employer;

5) Period of employment; 6) Net Annual Income; 7) Taxpayer Identification Number; 8) National Identification Number; 9) Affidavit to be sworn before a Commissioner of Oaths; 10) Guarantor's Credit Score; 11) Guarantor's Tax Compliance Certificate.

The issue I would like to highlight is the inherent unfairness of the system to our young people who are seeking to further their education: they are being placed in a situation of finding someone who would not only be willing to guarantee a loan, but one who is willing to undergo much stress to provide numerous pieces of information to comply with the 'requirements'.

For out of town students the task is multiple times harder, with families working in the informal sectors, some parents unemployed and no one willing to take that responsibility of guaranteeing a loan, the struggle often leads to despair as the less well-off you are financially the harder the task

of finding a guarantor becomes.

I would ask the present administration to change the system created by the previous government and to make the student form the only requirement for a citizen student loan and include the ever rising faculty fees in the loan amount, remove the unnecessary requirement of a guarantor as it is onerous and creates an unfair burden to those in the direst financial need.

Let a student loan become a right easily enjoyed by all citizens, let us truly put the needs of the youth first on our list of national priorities.

With all the talk about Sovereign Wealth Fund Investments it would be wise to heed the words of Benjamin Franklin "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.

Sincerely, Robin Singh President Guyana Baseball League Inc

Inside corruption...

He again moved a motion to quash the capping of the gas expenses and received the support of APNU, AFC and PPP Councillors. In addition, why is the Regional Vicechairman’s telephone bill and electricity bill being paid by the Region? Why is he given a full-time driver?

Does Chapter 28:02 provide for this? I raised this in Georgetown and was told to continue to approve payment.

The pertinent question is: Why were the APNU and AFC Councillors supporting the PPP? These councillors saw me as a threat when I began publicising the corruption taking place at the hospital where major and costly works were treated as ‘emergencies’ and not tendered thereby benefiting the friends of a certain Regional Health official. I also exposed the drugs shortage and the single sourcing of drugs and supplies and the atrocious conditions existing in the hospitals, especially at the New Amsterdam Hospital. The single sourcing was done without my knowledge and the only time I became cognizant of them was when the vouchers were brought for me to sign.

In addition, I questioned the huge and costly amounts of dietary supplies which were pur-

chased on a regular basis and which never seemed to reach the patients. Millions were spent on these, yet patients were suffering from shortage or poor quality of dietary items. Furthermore, I unearth instances where items supplied have a variation in price for the same item from the same supplier. A roll of toilet paper is supplied at $2,500 per bale and the same toilet paper is priced at $4,300 from the same supplier.

The Regional Officials feel that I should never have done these things and that I should just sit back and enjoy the ride. But that is not what I fought for all these years on my programme ‘Issues of the People’. The consultation to do the electrical wiring of the NA Hospital was another sole sourcing done to enrich the boys. One million dollars was paid for this ‘emergency’ work. Why was this not tendered out?

The next major corruption occurs at the Regional Tender Board. There are many allegations of the Tender Board receiving ‘kickbacks’ for contracts and this was something which we in the AFC had spoken at great length about, especially Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo. Then the sub-treasury came on the scene to make me look bad.

from page 4

I was being attacked on all flanks and Nagamootoo and Ramjattan offered no support. They are too busy enjoying the fruits of my labour! Everyone is enjoying ‘abee time’!

I have been deemed to be ‘incompetent’ but not ‘corrupt’ and that I can live with!

Yours sincerely, Dr V Ramayya

Dear Editor, Quite recently, I was in Rupununi, Region 9 (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and was bombarded with the following complaints by villagers. * The Minister of Public Health, Dr George Horton, lied to the family of Thelma Rebeiro, saying that he will visit her on the 5th September, 2016 at the Lethem Hospital, even though he recently visited villages in South Rupununi; Thelma Rebeiro, in the meanwhile, continues suffering at the Lethem Hospital, unable to regain consciousness after two surgeries for gallstones at the Lethem and Georgetown Public Hospitals.

The surgeries were done in April 2016. Even the Guyana Medical Council (GMC) failed to carry out an investigation to determine the cause for Thelma Rebeiro’s current health condition, which seems highly suspicious that the doctors who performed the surgeries may be at fault, which the GMC intends to hide. * The Government’s Hinterland Employment Youth Service (HEYS) is in jeopardy and may soon collapse because stipends are not being paid to participants of the programme. * The Brazilians who are contracted by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) to dig eight wells in the Rupununi region are not paying their Amerindian workers on the claim that the GWI is not paying the Brazilian contractors.

Recently, the Brazilians had to borrow money from a Shulinab businessman to pay their Amerindian workers. The businessman in Shulinab Village has not being repaid as yet. Dr Richard Van West-Charles needs to urgently investi-

gate this matter. * The rich and powerful in the Rupununi are now bent on taking away titled Amerindian village lands.

In Parikwaranau Village, a known rancher has taken away a portion of the village’s land where a house has been built and a ranch demarcated with the erection of a notice board. This matter has since been reported to the Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Sydney Allicock, in August 2016, but so far no action has been taken. The Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) was also called to investigate this piracy of Parikwaranau’s titled village lands. * The Region 9 tender board seems to be awarding contracts to persons who cannot build, neither repair roads and as a result, lots of sub-standard works are being carried out. A road entering Aishalton was recently built but has now collapsed. The Region 9 tender board needs investigating. * Illegal mining activities at the Marudi Mountains are causing severe environmental damages with no government interventions, such as Aishalton, where the heavy trucks of the illegal miners are destroying the main public road from Lethem to the deep south of the Rupununi. It was alleged that the Region 9 Regional Executive Officer (REO)

has given the permission for illegal mining activities at the Marudi Mountains.

Has the mediation process headed by Mr Joe Singh in relation to mining at the Marudi Mountains completely failed? * The awarding of second hand all-terrain vehicles (ATVS) to health workers of South Rupununi by the Ministry of Public Health, will not last. The health workers are highly concerned. * Health workers do not get fuel and are now taking out the sick from villages to the Lethem hospital and returning them back to the villages by the REO. Is this a directive from the Granger Administration? * The Police at Aishalton village are harassing villagers when they use their motorcycles because of not being licensed and not using helmets.

The licensing officer the Lethem Police station promised to go and have all motorcycles licensed in South Rupununi about a year ago. To date he has not done so. Can the F Division commander intervene? * Aircraft are landing at times on make shift airstrips about fifteen miles from a bus shed opposite the entrance to the Shiriri community on the main road. The relevant authorities need to investigate.

Yours sincerely, Peter Persaud

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

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guyana-times.com

Foundation

What does your plastic brain need to grow?

By Lori Russell-Chapin, PhD

Y

ou now know your brain is plastic and can be influenced by many variables.

Dr Michael Merzenich, often called the Father of Modern Neuroplasticity, outlines the necessary conditions needed for your brain to create new neuronal pathways. His 2013 book titled “Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life” is a must read for anyone who wants to know more about generating better brain health.

The first time I read his book, my feelings went from discouragement to hope.

Without understanding what conditions are needed for healthy brain growth, the aging brain and its behavioural correlates seems doomed for a dismal ending.

However by engaging in wellness activities and creating an enriched environment of change and stimulation, your brain can be vital, rejuvenated and truly create neurogenesis, new neuronal growth especially in the hippocampus but throughout the brain. Now that is encouraging!

Before I share the eight circumstances needed for positive plasticity, I want to share my favourite Dr Michael Merzenich quote.

This tenet needs to be in the forefront of everyone’s brain growth. He stated, “If it doesn’t matter to you, and if you don’t have to try to succeed, NOTHING much will change in your brain!” So remember that

notion, and begin to recognise what you have to prepare in order for your brain to continue to grow and stay healthy.

Change occurs when the brain is in the mood for learning

Many of the lifestyle topics presented in previous blogs assist your brain to be in the mood for learning.

Proper sleep, nutrition, exercise and wellness in general create the necessary building blocks and conditions for brain growth.

pebbles over the roads. It was so difficult to ride our bikes. It was very scary and uncomfortable. For one day we turned around and went a different route. At least our brains were seeing something different. Then I decided we needed to adapt and challenge our brains to ride over the rough roads.

We did that, and I was

skill, the stronger those connections become.

Of course, this is true for negative plasticity as well as positive plasticity.

The more we practise our bad habits, the greater the synaptic rut will be come.

When you learn something new and continue to practice that skill, those negative ruts are pruned away.

The brain must judge the experience as fascinating or novel and the behavioural outcome is deemed important or just good

Experiencing the same habit or experiencing the same skill even when that skill is expertly done, makes your brain complacent. The brain loves to be challenged and needs additional stimulation and complexity to continue to thrive.

Mental rehearsal assists in brain plasticity-based learning

Research is demonstrating that even imagining a skill or practising that new technique mentally, activates the brain as well as actually doing that same skill. I so enjoyed watching the summer Olympics. You could watch those peak performers continue to practise mentally as they were preparing to compete.

The brain recalls the last good attempt, makes incremental adjustments and progressively improves. Memory guides most learning

Effort makes a difference for learning, and change will be greater

Hard work and practice allow for brain growth and brain strength. However doing the same exercises every day or taking the same route to work every day makes the brain soft and lazy. Diversity and variety is what the brain needs.

Here is an example: My husband and I ride our bikes every morning.

Our subdivision began the tedious process of re-paving the roads. The first stage was to pour tar and

thing, get uncomfortable again and add to that skill.

If you are great at tennis, learn a new spin on the ball.

If you speak English well, this is the time to learn another language. Your brain will love you.

amazed how quickly we became adept at that pebbly road. We offered our brains a complex challenge. We adapted very quickly to the complexity. I have to admit, I was quite proud of us!

What changes in the brain are the strengthening of the connections

The notion that neurons that fire together wire together is very true. The more you practise a new

The more powerully connected the nerve cells are, the more reliable the behavioural production

The more you practise, the better and easier the behaviour becomes.

But that is somewhat paradoxical, because once you obtain a certain level of expertise and skill, the brain does get bored. So you always need to “up your game”. If you are really good at some-

It is important to reinforce every small step in achieving your goal or new skill. You cannot learn it all at once. Breaking the technique down into smaller increments and rewarding those successes is important.

The brain functions with a negative bias. It is very

good at remembering bad things, but bad at remembering good things.

This last tenet comes from the work of Dr Rick Hanson, 2016. It fits nicely here though. To be able to practise condition #7, then you must understand that negative bias occurs almost instantly because of evolutionary needs. If a tiger is chasing you, instantly run.

You will remember that tiger in case it comes another time. To build new positive skills and help your memory guide you, it takes longer to assimilate into the brain.

You must practice that new skill or insight for at least 20 seconds. Then your memory can assist in your new learning.

The moral of Dr Merzenich’s work is to always continue to learn. Make yourself uncomfortable. Try new adventures. Be curious and adaptable. Take a look at your Bucket List and challenge yourself to take on one new skill. Add more complexity to an already existing skill. Your brain will love you. You will also live a longer, more productive and vital life. (psychologytoday.com)

2 brain-boosting tips for speed learning

N

eed to learn a lot of material fast and perform well when it counts? Two new studies suggest easy ways to speed up learning and ease anxiety before a test.

A simple recall drill may be the best way to solidify new information in your memory, according to a study published online January 20 in Science.

Many teachers encourage students to use elaborate conceptual methods to learn complicated material, but psychologists at Purdue University found that practice at retrieving facts works better.

College students who read short science texts and then spent 20 minutes recalling as much as possible by writing down what they h a d read

performed about 50 per cent b e t t e r on tests the next week than did students drew complex d e p i c t i n g

w h o m a ps

relations between concepts.

The authors say that the act of re­constructing knowledge enhances learning and strengthens memories.

Put simply, practice makes perfect.

But sometimes all that studying is for naught when a test or a big performance rolls around and you choke. It turns out that focusing on your worries by writing about them before a test can boost your scores, according to a different paper published in January in Science. Psychologists at the University of Chicago found that college students who first wrote about their thoughts and feelings about an upcoming math exam for 10 minutes solved more arithmetic problems than did students who sat quietly.

And the writing task improved the scores of highly anxious ninth graders so much that they performed as well as students with low anxiety on a biology final exam. The authors say that the technique may be most useful for habitual worriers in high-pressure situations. (scientificamerican.com)

news

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tuesday, september 27, 2016 | guyana-times.com

AFC a prisoner of APNU – Rohee

T

he Alliance For Change (AFC) may be no Police of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), but it certainly is its prisoner.

This is according to People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Clement Rohee, who is refusing to succumb to the idea that all is well within the coalition camp. Rohee indicated that the AFC is setting itself up for a major downfall where there will be no escape, other than political death.

Political observers and other commentators have deduced that the AFC–arm has been shafted by the People’s National Congress (PNC)–led APNU following the coalition’s assumption to Executive Office and that a major conflict has been brewing between the two parties over a number of stark disagreements on several issues.

But Business and Tourism Minister, Dominic Gaskin, during a recent news conference sought to assure the party’s supporters that the relationship between the AFC and APNU is not fractured as is being assumed by sections of society.

At the time he was speaking in the capacity of the AFC Treasurer at the Party’s biweekly press conference held at its Kitty Headquarters.

“I think we have a good working relationship with our coalition partners,” he stated in response to questions about the speculations of a rift between the two parties.

However, during a news conference on Monday, Rohee ridiculed his response as he outlined several instances which prove that the AFC is powerless.

“Everyone is seeing the reality where the AFC, they went to the PNC Congress

the AFC’s nominees to the Procurement Commission, Dr Anand Goolsarran and Christopher Ram, have been rejected by APNU in the Public Accounts Committee.

Battered economy

PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee

and they made a lot of statements there which shows they are now being consumed into the warm embrace or the kiss of death of the PNC which is the major part of the APNU,” he expressed.

He pointed out also that the AFC’s attempts to “clip the wings” of Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, was an abysmal failure which eventually backfired.

“Instead of them clipping the wings on Mr Joe Harmon or Joeshanlin, their wings were clipped instead,” Rohee stated.

Earlier this year, AFC Vice-chairperson and the country’s Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, publicly expressed his desire to have the powers entitled to Harmon be reduced.

Rohee also highlighted that the Cummingsburg Accord has many breaches which disadvantages the AFC. Previously, the PPP had observed that Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, the AFC Leader, had a significant portion of his ministerial powers transferred to PNC’s Winston Felix, now the Citizenship Minister.

It was also observed that

Rohee went on to criticise the Business Minister’s claims that the economy is performing excellently when he called on all Guyanese to gear up for increased economic growth.

“Where is the growth to come from when the productive sector is being stifled; the manufacturing sector is in a slump; the public service is demoralised; the global economic environment remains hostile and non-responsive; private sector investments remain frozen; foreign direct investment is now a thing of the past; the private sector/ business community is battered, ostracised, neglected, pressured and heavily taxed compounded by untenable industrial relations; and social and political democracy are consistently trampled upon,” the PPP General Secretary announced.

In this regard, he noted that with government coming under pressure from the majority of stakeholders, it is a clear demonstration of the administration’s ineptitude.

Friend of drowned man refutes “betting” accusation

F

ollowing the tragic death of Orvin Tiwari at St Cuthbert’s Mission on Sunday, news emerged that the young man had jumped off a tree into the creek to win a bet he had made with another man, but a friend who was with him at the time refuted the claim.

The mechanic, of Lot 137 Block X, Good Hope, East Coast Demerara, took the fatal plunge into the black water creek at St Cuthbert’s Mission just after 15:00h on Sunday. He was reportedly in the water with his friends, but was swept into the deep as his friends turned their backs.

At the Tiwari home, Sanjay Annirood, a friend of the now deceased young man, refuted allegations that Tiwari jumped from a tree into the creek.

“Orvin never went up on no tree… it had a sudden drop and he fall in the drop and the water (current) is what pull he down… we tried to save him, a girl who went with us tried to save him, but the water was too strong so instead of getting him up, he was pulling her down with him,” the friend explained.

He further related that after the drowning pair called out to him, he rushed to their assistance and grabbed

Dead: Orvin Tiwari

the female friend’s arm and pulled. “When I was coming up, I thought was both of them, but when we reach up, the girl said that Orvin loose off.”

At this time, they raised an alarm, and persons plunged into the water in search of the young man. About 15 minutes later, his body was pulled from the creek and taken to the Diamond hospital. The postmortem conducted on his body on Monday morning proved that he drowned.

The young man’s father, Mahendra Tiwari, in tears, told Guyana Times that he was not aware that his son was heading to the Mission

to partake in the festivities.

He recalled seeing his son on Sunday morning when he collected a piece of equipment that he had left in his car.

The grieving father, a taxi driver, recalled receiving a call from someone urging him to return home at once.

“I already had someone in my car to drop off at Buxton, but after I get the call so I asked the dispatcher to let another driver drop off the customer and I went home.”

As he arrived home, he saw everyone in tears and it was then he was given the news. He travelled to the Diamond hospital where he saw his son’s motionless body lying on the table.

Upon enquiring, he was reportedly told that his son and others were playing in the water and suddenly, he went into the deeper area causing him to be swept away. Guyana Times understands that this was the second time the now dead young man and his friends travelled to the Mission for the heritage celebration, but it was the first time they went into the water.

The young man leaves to mourn his parents and two brothers, among other relatives and friends. The family is preparing for his funeral later in the week.

GNNL Board Chairperson La Rose resigns

G

uyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL) Board of Directors Chairperson Jean La Rose has resigned with effect from October 1, 2016.

In a letter to subject Minister, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, dated September 23, 2016, La Rose said, “at this point, I feel I am not contributing to the further development of the Board

or the GNNL as I may have done if I had more time to dedicate towards fully understanding my role as Chair or as Director.”

La Rose is quoted by the Government Information Agency (GINA) as saying that since taking up office the new Government has provided more opportunities and space to work with and on behalf of indigenous communities in Guyana and “this has grown resulting in the expansion of my work commitments and less time to dedicate to issues of the GNNL”.

In his letter of acceptance, Prime Minister Nagamootoo said, “I accept your resignation with a heavy heart, but understand your reasons for doing so. I thank you for having accepted the challenge to serve as Chairperson and express my appreciation of your efforts to resuscitate the GNNL as a national newspaper and to improve professionalism among its many staffers.”

Her resignation comes months after Imran Khan resigned from the National Communications Network

GNNL Chairperson Jean La Rose

(NCN) board. La Rose was appointed chairperson of the GNNL Board on September 15, 2015.

8 NEWS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

IN THE COURTS

5th man charged in Corentyne trio’s murder case

C

atchew Chaitram, 63, was on Monday charged with being an accessory after the fact in the murder of Pawan Chandradeo, Jaikarran Chandradeo and Narish Rooplall at Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne.

The man was brought before the Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to face the charge which stated that between

July 21 and 22 at Cookrite Savannah, Black Bush Polder, he received, conspired and provided assistance to the four murder accused.

Chaitram was remanded to prison. He will make his next appearance in the Mibicuri Magistrate’s Court on October 18, 2016.

The trio already facing charges for the triple murder are Carlton Chaitram, Jairam Chaitram and Tameshwar Jagmohan, all of

Mibicuri South, Black Bush Polder.

On Friday, July 23, 2016, the bodies of the Chandradeos and Rooplall, the elder Chandradeo’s brother-in-law, of Number 73 Village, Corentyne, were discovered lying next to each other on a dam at Cookrite Savannah with gunshot wounds.

The discovery of the bodies was made shortly after daybreak by a rice farmer.

R

Romano Hamblin

The man denied the allegation, and pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him.

It is alleged that on September 23, 2016, he entered the dwelling place of Lashana Richmond and stole one Compact Laptop valued $136,000 and one Acer Laptop valued $148,000.

Mout' open... ...on Govt audits t could be just a matter of serendipity...but more folks would probably say “there is a God!!” Your Eyewitness is referring, of course, to the Muckraker finally accepting (and publishing!!) that the audit from the number one crusader for “transparency” – Chris Ram – was fatally flawed. For what? Lack of transparency!!! And in the same edition the Muckraker carries the umpteenth plea from David Hinds of the WPA – the accusation that the Government is dragging its feet on taking action (read “jailing”) against all the malfeasors – all PPP, of course.

Well, now Hinds and all those wondering why there haven’t been more prosecutions for bilking (and “siphoning”) billions and billions of dollars from the national treasury – as most of the ones given the task of conducting the audits claimed – have been offered ONE reason. THE AUDITS WERE GAMED TO BEGIN WITH!!!!

Take the revelation trumpeted by the Muckraker: Chris Ram was given the lucrative contract (part of the $153 million doled out!) to examine the books of the GNBA. Ram, however, failed to reveal one crucial fact – that one of his clients was the Stabber News which was one of the major players in the direct broadcasting arena!! So – surprise! surprise! – Ram didn’t even mention SN in his “audit” and, therefore, most pertinently that the outfit avowed a whopping $25M!!! Now if a “big man” like Ram can play so fast and loose with his professional credentials and standards, imagine how low that nonentity vying for his 15 minutes in the limelight – Goolsarran— would sink!!

Maybe folks would now revisit Brassington’s exhaustive comments on Goolsarran’s “audit” of NICIL – none of which were incorporated in the “final” release. Not even in a footnote though Goolsarran requested and received the comments!! Any impartial reviewer would conclude after reading both documents that Goolsarran was conducting a hatchet job on Brassington. But why should anyone be surprised? Didn’t Goolsarran and Ram – not to mention the Muckraker – use Brassington as a punching bag for years?

The question that should now be asked, is why did the Government give these accountants contracts to audit firms and Government departments they’d been criticising for years? Isn’t such a selection process “outcome determinative”?? What did anyone expect these auditors to do? Reveal findings that showed they were full of it all along?

From the Chris Ram revelation, we can now understand the government’s coyness when it comes to charging anyone. Imagine the only persons before the court was because of a PPP official highlighting some discrepancies!

What we need is an audit of the audits!! But to prevent an infinite regression of audits, let’s bring in some foreigners.

I Catchew Chaitram

Laptop thief jailed omano Hamblin, 20, of One Mile Extension, Linden, in Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice), made his appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Monday and was called upon to explain

by Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan, why he stole two computers.

Eyew tness

The details surrounding the allegation are not known, as the prosecution’s file was not presented in court.

The defendant was remanded and will make his next court appearance at the Linden Magistrate’s Court on October 4, 2016.

...and paddy selling?

A year ago, PM Nagamootoo assured beleaguered rice farmers – reeling from the loss of the 200,000 tonne Venezuelan RICE market – he’d secured new markets from Mexico. He reminded salivating farmers Mexico imports 1 MILLION tonnes of rice annually! Nagamootoo was so persuasive, the Mexicans presumably overlooked their NAFTA commitments to the USA – their major supplier – to “fast track” the necessary approval.

Well, your Eyewitness then hoped local farmers didn’t hold their breath. Because we were just informed that “PHYTOSANITARY certification” is still being “pursued”! But somehow everyone in governmental circles still ignores Mexico’s insistence that its eventual goal is not to find markets for our rice, but to “begin the commercialisation” of our production.

So what’s “commercialisation” of rice?? Well, that’s grist for another mill – or another Eyewitness exposé! But basically it’s just about advising us to get our (production) act together, domestically.

But isn’t this what GRDB was supposed to do with its annual $500M levy on rice exports? ...on delegating power Your Eyewitness hopes Town Clerk King noted how graciously Prezzie passed his mace to PM Nagamootoo.

And Minister of State Harmon didn’t boorishly deny him the privileges of the Presidency.

See how President Moses glowed when he met business leaders? Now could Sherod Duncan at least get one guard?

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

news

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tuesday, september 27, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Education Ministry clamps PPP blasts “cash-strapped” City Hall over security down on absenteeism – parents could face criminal charges services for former Mayor

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he Education Ministry will be enforcing the law as inscribed in the Education Act 39:01, to have parents criminally charged or fined if their children are absent from school for more than five days.

On Monday, the Ministry indicated that in an effort to reduce absenteeism, the Schools Welfare Department will conduct truancy campaigns, as well as school and home visits to ensure that children attend school regularly.

By law, children between the ages of five years nine months and 15 years are required to receive an education, and it is the duty of parents, guardians and caregivers to ensure that they are supported to do so.

“Numerous studies show the link between academic performance and consistent attendance, which is so critical for the quality of a child’s education. Research suggests that children who are frequently absent from school are more likely to become involved in, or be a victim of

crime and anti-social behaviour,” the Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Public Relations Officer Suelle Williams, when contacted, told this publication that the Ministry was reminding parents of their duty in keeping with the rights of a child. She stated that when a child was refused the right to an education, they were done an injus-

tice.

Children are sometimes absent from school because of medical reasons for extended periods, but it is the parents’ or guardians’ responsibility to make every effort to inform the school of the reason(s) for the child’s absence, the Ministry stated.

It affirmed that in the event that parents fail to notify the school of the child’s absence, the school is required to notify the Schools Welfare Department at the Ministry or any Regional Department

of Education who would then issue an ‘attendance notification’ to parents.

Schools are obligated to take such action when a child is absent for five or more days.

“This attendance notification gives the parent notice that the student has accumulated too many unexcused absences and gives the parent an opportunity to visit the Schools Welfare Department to make the necessary steps to ensure that the child’s attendance record improves,” the Ministry said, adding that if this step did not obtain the desired results, a court warning would be issued notifying the parent of the potential summons to be filed in the Magistrate’s Court.

“Parents are likely to be criminally charged or fined if their child has unexcused absences,” it added, emphasising that the School Welfare Service was taking the matter seriously and would enforce the law to ensure that every child had the right to an education.

Linden Town Council to seek $200M debt bailout

W

ith a debt of approximately $200 million which it inherited from the previous town administration, the cashstrapped Linden Mayor and Town Council (LM&TC) is now seeking the assistance of Government in the form of a bailout in an effort to assist with its present financial woes.

Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland said the municipality was greatly in need of assistance in moving forward.

Holland confirmed that he has had an initial discussion about the situation with

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, and he would follow up by officially writing the Minister on behalf of the Council.

"We're calling on Government for a bailout because we've realised several months ago, since we've came in to office, that we have this massive debt facing us and with this debt it remains like a monkey on our backs… that we can't be able to do certain things still at the Council…

We asked before, but we intend to formally write the Office of the President and the respective Ministries ask-

ing them to bail us out," the Mayor said.

Holland further explained that the Council was currently not in a position to pay its employees' gratuity, which they were in need of. The Mayor added that Council workers also needed salary increases since many were still being paid below the minimum wage, which was unacceptable.

Apart from that, the Mayor said the Council could not afford expenses such as electricity, and also needed assistance on other issues, such as erosion andtogarbage turn page 10

T

Patricia Chase Green

he People’s Progressive Party (PPP) says it finds it baffling that an entity which constantly cries of being bankrupt found it necessary to stand the security services expenses of a former employee.

Former Mayor Hamilton Green will continue to enjoy the protection of the City Constabulary at his D’Urban Backlands, Greater Georgetown residence after the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) voted in favour of the proposal.

This is despite the fact that not all Councillors were in agreement with this decision amid the claims that City Hall was cash strapped.

During a news conference on Monday, PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee strongly criticised the decision, explaining that it was illogical for the taxpayers to continue to pay for the security services of another citizen who was of no service to them. “(The Mayor Patricia Chase Green) has publicly stated that “without any apologies to anyone” ,she sees no reason why a bankrupt City Council should

not continue to pay a security service to protect the residence of Hamilton Green, a former Mayor of Georgetown…,” Rohee outlined as he questioned how City Hall intended to continue to finance this venture.

He pointed out that the PPP Councillor had objected to the proposal on this very basis.

“He opposed the request on the ground that Green is now employed at the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) and that Agency should take care of such expenses, since in any case, Georgetown citizens were told that the Council is broke. So where is the mon-

Former Mayor Hamilton Green

motion for continued security services on the grounds that her predecessor served in that capacity for some 20 years.

She also explained that

City Hall has been chronically cash strapped

ey to come from to finance the security for Green’s residence? How much is it costing taxpayers?” Rohee questioned.

The General Secretary argued that this decision was another reflection of the lack of transparency and accountability with respect to the revenues, income and expenditure of City Council.

Chase Green had defended her decision to move the

in 1994 when Green was elected as Mayor of the city of Georgetown, he was then receiving security from the National Guard Service. She said an agreement was subsequently made between the then Commissioner of Police and the then Town Clerk that instead of being afforded the service of the national Police and City Council, he would just be afforded the services of one or the other.

10

guyana-times.com

tuesDAY, september 27, 2016

News

Odle playing games with GTT shares money – financial analyst F

inancial analyst Ramon Gaskin is of the firm belief that Chairman of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Dr Maurice Odle should be taken to the courts to reveal what really happened with the US$5 million GTT shares.

Since he is “playing games,” Gaskin said, a member of the public or the Opposition should go to the court and get a court order against NICIL or Odle instructing that the report on the shares be released for public scrutiny.

He stated that those responsible for disclosing

He should be taken to the courts to reveal what really happened with the money. the elements of the reports continue to shirk their responsibility without anyone holding them accountable while adding that the members of the board are using the bureaucracy of the system to shy away from what they really do not want to say.

“They don’t want to say that they don’t want to reveal the report. Let me tell you, Odle doesn’t need the

Financial analyst Ramon Gaskin

board to reveal critical information. He is playing the game of who could reveal and who can’t reveal but the whole nation know that Odle could reveal it if he wants,” he charged.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has also questioned why the report has not yet been made public since “it is clear as day that NICIL can release the findings.”

“I don’t understand why they don’t release the information,” he said, urging them to make the disclosure quickly.

However, when this newspaper contacted NICIL for an update on a letter sent to the unit for clarification on the transaction, an official stated that the letter should be in

the hands of Chairman Dr Maurice Odle, who would furnish a response.

When asked whether Odle is the person to respond on the issue, the official said yes. But, Odle had told Guyana Times that he is not the person to answer the questions— instead it was the board’s duty. Notably, Odle is head of that board.

Critics are stating that the transaction shows that there is little to no accountability or transparency in the APNU/AFC administration. There have also been calls for similar matters to be brought before the House for scrutiny.

Gaskin stated that despite the Government’s promise to be transparent, the case of the missing GTT shares along with several contracts have not been laid in the public domain, shows otherwise.

“There are a number of contracts that we want to see. Let us read it for ourselves. We have eyes and we can read English, we don’t need them to tell us what it says. Show us,” Gaskin asserted.

Government spokesperson Raphael Trotman had disclosed that Minister of State Joseph Harmon was able to recover documents, which revealed that the monies were paid.

Ethno-Global Indian Identity

I NICIL Chairman, Dr Maurice Odle

However, NICIL quickly slapped it down, stating that Guyana’s former Ambassador to China David Dabydeen had facilitated the US$5 million debt waiver with Datang, the Chinese company, on the grounds that it was not granted the same minority protection rights enjoyed

by NICIL (that is, two, instead of one, representatives on the GT&T Board of Directors).

NICIL had sold the Government shares in GT&T for US$30 million of which US$25 million was received at the signing of the agreement.

However, the outstanding money, which should have been paid by the end of December 2015, has not been discovered.

Linden Town Council... from page 9

"We need a bailout at the moment. Linden needs a fresh start. We shouldn't be carrying the baggage left by previous administration and persons will look at and will think that was our making, but it was never our making… We need help and we're looking for Government to inject some funds," he noted.

In April of this year, it was reported that newlysworn in Council of the Linden Municipality (M&TC) had inherited close to $200 million in debt to several organisations, and was seeking various solutions to clear these debts at the earliest opportunity.

Millions were reportedly owed to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the Council was also allegedly indebted to Linden Electricity Company Incorporated (LUSCSI) for street light payments, besides being in debt to other organisations.

In an effort to generate much-needed revenue, the town recently reintroduced the toll system. Holland reaffirmed that projects such as the return of the Kara Kara toll booth at Mackenzie were sought after in an effort to offset expenses incurred by the cash-strapped municipality over the years.

have now arrived at the last of my multipartite analyses of Indian identity which is ethno-global. Before I proceed, I think it is worthwhile to provide a brief discussion on globalisation with regard to culture since this process has significantly shaped Indian ethno-global identity in Guyana.

I see globalisation as a worldwide interconnectedness through the movement of resources, goods, services, capital, and information.

The main driving force behind globalisation is technology and as far as culture is concerned technology has intensified global relations linking local communities with distant and developed areas of the world and the other way around.

In consequence, globalisation has brought about a culture of shared beliefs, social norms and fewer differences.

What has happened, however, in this process is that the impact of globalisation has not been uniform. Some cultures have experienced faster levels of Dr Lomarsh Roopnarine integration into the world system while other cultures have lagged or been left behind. Some cultures have resisted globalisation and opted for localisation.

We can conclude then that globalisation can be a double-edged sword, that is, some cultures have experienced rapid growth and prosperity while other cultures have experienced changes that undermine long established institutions and identity.

Undoubtedly, the Guyanese Indian culture has experienced the above global trends. The question is how much of globalisation has led to or even affected Indian identity in Guyana. I will show two ongoing trends of Indian global identity I believe have gone undetected by analysts.

The first is that Indian global identity has existed long before the impact of globalisation in the twentieth century. The second is that Indian global identity is more sound and solid than any other Indian identity because it is not loyal to the nation-state but to other communities worldwide.

European isms – imperialism, colonialism and capitalism – were directly responsible for the initial formation of Indian global identity.

To meet the demands of the above isms, Indians were brought to the Caribbean following slave emancipation under a labour contact system commonly known as plantation indenture.

While the majority of these labourers probably left their homeland willingly, there is little doubt that they were dislocated and displaced from their traditional settings. For a majority, it was the first time they ever ventured out beyond their villages. Without realising it, these contract labourers were in the process of becoming global citizens.

They might not have become global citizens if the indenture system was restricted to Guyana but Indians were taken to other parts of the Caribbean, Mauritius, Fiji, and South Africa. They might not have become global citizens if the indenture system was merely cyclical but the changing dynamics of indenture led to these once contract labourers becoming settlers as well as majority populations where they were indentured.

What the indenture system did was that it transformed these once localised peasants from the local to the global, linking them with their departed and new found homeland. These individuals were active agents of globalisation through which I label as primary indentured migration, long before the full blown impact of globalisation in the twentieth century.

Indians have also become global citizens mainly from the Second World War onwards through the globalisation of secondary migration. The need for better job opportunities and better lifestyles have pushed them out of their homeland – either in India or in the indentured Diaspora or even from one developed region to another.

Unlike the initial movement during indenture which resulted in Indians forming majority populations in some countries, the secondary migration in the modern period has led to the formation of a minority population. They are therefore exposed to the trappings of being a minority population in their new homeland.

In all, an estimated 20 million people of Indian origin have migrated and settled outside of India since the colonial period.

Indian global identity has formed and shaped precisely because of this world migration, specifically between India and the Indian Diaspora worldwide, which I believe, is always pushing for interconnectedness.

In this regard, an Indian global identity is not localised or regionalised. It is abstractive, it is mobile, and it is international.

Whenever and wherever Indians have called home, they do not see themselves belonging to that particular locality, region or country.

Their homeland, their identity is linked to other communities across the globe that may or may not share similar characteristics, particularly with regard to Indian customs and the assimilation of western values.

Like so many immigration groups, Indians have drawn sustenance from diverse challenging conditions and while they have experienced some change in the process, some similarities to the original homeland have always been there.

You can take Indians out of India but you cannot take India out of Indians. To be continued. (Send comments to lomarsh.roopnarine@ jsums.edu).

tuesDAY, september 27, 2016

guyana-times.com

11

News

Govt’s crime fighting Carambola farms stymied by fly infestation strategy a “deception” – Rohee

M

ore than a year after a new crime fighting strategy was introduced by the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Administration, there is yet to be seen any amount of changes and/or reduction in the incidences of crime in Guyana.

According to the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Clement Rohee, the crime plan implemented by President David Granger over a year ago was nothing more than a deception.

Weeks into office last year, President Granger had summoned his top security officials, including Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan and Brigadier Mark Phillips, Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), and had laid out a five-point action plan that the security sector would use to battle the crime wave, which at that time, had been rising at an alarming rate. The plan, however, was more of a strategic nature than immediate actions to address the crime wave.

Together, the group had suggested the beefing up of security at borders across the country. Coupled with that move was the resuscitation of the Police’s marine wing to provide Police officers with flexibility and greater access to inland waterways along with the use of animals, including horses and dogs, to go after criminals.

Focus was also to be placed on the Police administration itself and the requirement to identify criminal activities across all 10 regions of

Guyana, to determine where the activities are being committed and to decide on the strategy to deal with them on a national basis.

The next element of that plan was to involve Police organisation and training and the way in which the Police Force is organised. A directive was given by the Public Security Minister that more Police officers needed to be put on the streets to carry out patrols to get out of the offices, where they were performing non-core functions.

Speaking on Monday at his party’s weekly Press Conference, Clement Rohee said the plans announced by government to tackle crime never really existed, but actually was being used to fool the public.

“First Granger called for a crime plan. Then we were told the plan is with Ramjattan, then we were told that it was with the National Security Council which is chaired

by President Granger, then later we were told that it was with the Commissioner of Police, then we were later told that there was no plan,” Rohee told the media.

He said while that plan has seemingly failed, Government is again now announcing that there will soon be a security sector action plan.

According to him, there are more questions than answers about this new plan, including its financing, whether it would be coming from the Government coffers; the length of time for the plan and key components, and whether or not the plan will be made public.

F

NAREI officers placing bait on the Carambola trees in Tumatumari

arms in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) are being affected by flies which destroy the fruits on the Carambola/five finger trees.

Over 3600 baits were placed on the fruit trees in Mahdia and surrounding communities as the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) takes steps to eliminate the Carambola Fruit Flay.

Baits were also placed in Mahdia, Microbie, Tumatumari, Campbelltown, 47 Miles Mabura, and 58 Miles Mabura.

A team responsible for providing plant protection and quarantine services conducted a four-day exercise of baiting and servicing traps in the district as part of a control strategy for quarantine pest.

During a routine surveillance earlier this year it was observed that there was a large population of Fruit Fly in the targeted communities.

The adult fruit fly lives for a

few weeks so it is important that they reproduce rapidly for their survival. The fruit flies lay eggs in the flesh of ripening and ripe fruits and vegetables. Once the eggs are hatched, the larvae begin to feed within the fruit. This causes the fruit to prematurely ripen, rot and drop.

The NAREI team also serviced Jackson traps (detectors) that were installed at Rockstone and Mabura outposts. While the traps at Rockstone were empty, two Carambola Fruit Flies were found in a trap at Mabura outpost. This is an indication that the pest is moving closer to Lethem, an area yet unaffected.

Even at this stage residents and farmers can assist in eliminating the pest through practices such as placing fallen fruits inside plastic bags and leaving them exposed to sun light; using fruits as livestock feed; and spraying insecticide on the soil around the tree.

NAREI is reminding persons to avoid transporting fruits from the affected areas to other parts of the country.

The damage caused by the Carambola Fruit fly

12 News

tuesDay, september 27, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Lands, royalties to be set aside Industry man wanted for for veterans – Trotman Cummings Lodge murder

A

…as CoI continues

lmost one month after the gruesome murder of Anita Mohan, whose battered body was found in her Cummings Lodge, Greater Georgetown home, the Police have issued a wanted bulletin for the second suspect.

Damion Hopkinson, 27, of Lot 55 Industry, East Coast Demerara, is wanted by the Police in connection with the murder, which occurred on September 5.

So far, the dead woman’s nephew, Kevin

N

atural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman on Monday stated that the Ministry has pledged support to the veterans of the security forces, throwing out proposals for lands to be set aside for housing, mining, or farming for them.

Trotman made this statement at the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the conditions and circumstances facing veterans of the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Peoples Militia and the Guyana National Service.

He stated that he has recognised that the protectors and defenders of the national patrimony must be given an inheritance or parts of that patrimony. “…they should be guaranteed specific portions that are set aside for this purpose. It may be land that is either in housing, mining, farming or forestry,” he said, pointing out to the Chairman of the CoI that: “as a means of both ensuring access to resources to veterans and for ensuring beneficial occupation of territory, persons may be assigned lands for settlements based on Company or Corps structure”.

He affirmed that in his opinion, service to one’s country is the highest and most important form of service and when that service involves protecting and advancing the values, ideals, symbols and patrimony of the State and people, then it is to be treasured and set apart for the highest commendation.

“It is selfless and sacrificial service that must be respected and rewarded,” he added, stating that these servicemen and women should be honoured for their service to the nation.

He stated that the Ministry has several possible perspectives on how it can support the veterans.

Trotman said in terms of mining in particular, many veterans are engaged in obtaining lands; therefore, he opined that mining

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman

lands can be set aside for individual servicemen or women or for large groups structured around what is referred to as a syndicate.

Also, he stated, as Guyana develops the concept of generational transfers and sovereign wealth, and in the same way 20 per cent of royalties collected from mining within Amerindian titled villages is set aside, it is proposed for consideration that a percentage of royalties earned be transferred to the Treasury for addition to veterans’ pensions.

The CoI is set up to investigate, examine, and report on the required support to enable the transition from service to civilian life for servicemen and women; the quality of welfare service that promotes independence, maintains dignity, and provides the required support after service; and the eligibility and adequacy of veterans’ benefits.

These benefits include “compensation for disabling injuries, psychological trauma, or a terminal disease resulting from his or her participation in service activities; dedicated counselling and treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder or related conditions; honouring and memorialising of

fallen veterans; education, training and skills’ development; facilitation of employment placement; facilitation of or advice on business opportunities; pension; access to healthcare; and housing”.

Retired Colonel Desmond Roberts was sworn in before Georgetown Magistrate Judy Latchman as the lone Commissioner to deliver, within two months, a report on the findings into those matters; and to inquire into all incidental consequential matters connected therewith, to report the findings and conclusions, and to advise the State on the conditions and circumstances facing the veterans”.

The report will be given to President David Granger.

Slain: Anita Mohan

Mohan, also called Azad Ally and “Chucky”, 22, was charged for the murder, but the Police have since been on the hunt for the second suspect.

Upon his arrest, the nephew allegedly told detectives that his now dead aunt sold drugs at home apart from selling greens

Murder accused: Kevin Mohan

Wanted: Damion Hopkinson

and vegetables during the day. He claimed that on the day in question, a friend had purchased some drugs from the woman and left.

The friend later returned and requested another package but on credit since he did not have money. He further stated that his now dead aunt refused to give credit which led to an argument.

It was during the argument that the suspect and his accomplice dealt the woman several blows to the head.

In an attempt to authenticate the statement, detectives revisited the scene to conduct an additional search but no illegal substance was found on the premises.

The body of the 48-yearold greens vendor was discovered by her son lying in a pool of blood after he re-

turned home from work.

He immediately raised an alarm and the Police were summoned. The woman’s head was bashed in, with a single stab wound to her chest.

A bloody rolling pin, suspected to be one of the murder weapons, was found in close proximity to her body, as well as a broken beer bottle.

A pair of wet threequarter pants was found in the washing area which led investigators to believe that after committing the murder, the main suspect might have washed off the blood.

However, when contacted on Wednesday, Rosita Sarabjeet refuted the story given to the Police by Ally, claiming that her sister was a greens vendor and was never involved in any illegal activities.

Meanwhile, an autopsy performed on the body of Mohan revealed that she sustained a chop to her head and one near her temple, along with a stab wound to her chin and one to her mouth. The perpetrators also cut off a portion of her tongue before strangling her.

Anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of the wanted man is asked to contact the Police on 229-2289, 229-2557, 229-2750, 225-2227, 2250575, 911 or at the nearest Police Station.

Man charged after “cussout”

H

ugh Nelson, 45, of Lot 12 East La Penitence, Georgetown, was placed before the courts and charged following heated exchanges with another man.

It is alleged that on September 5, 2016, at Independence Boulevard, he used abusive language towards Clifton Barker.

Also on August 26, 2016, at the same location, he used abusive behaviour towards Felicia Barker.

Additionally, on August 25, 2016, he used threatening language towards Clifton Barker thereby breaching a bond to keep the peace.

The defendant denied the allegations, and pleaded not guilty to the charg-

es when he appeared before Magistrate Annette Singh on Monday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The prosecution had no objections, and bail was granted in the sum of $5000 for each charge.

Barker will next appear on October 10, 2016 for the commencement of his trial.

NEWS

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tuesday, september 27, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Motorcyclist dies after GECOM evaluated bids, shortlisted slamming into utility pole contractors – Dr Luncheon Radio set fiasco

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motorcyclist from Corriverton, Region 6 (East BerbiceCorentyne) died after he slammed into a utility pole on Saturday.

The man has been identified as Hemraj Sudama, 22, of Linepath, Corriverton.

Reports are that Sudama was riding motorcycle CF 5587 along Jumai Street, Number 78 Village, Corentyne, when the accident occurred.

Guyana Times was informed that the young man rode into a pothole and lost control before slamming into a Guyana Power and Light power pole. At the time of the accident, Sudama was not wearing a helmet, and as a result sustained injuries to the head.

The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) employee was taken to the Skeldon Hospital where he

Dead: Hemraj Sudama

was pronounced dead.

Officer-in-charge of traffic in B Division (Berbice), Bhudnarine Persaud, said reports indicate that Sudama had been consuming alcohol prior to the accident.

Sudama’s death pushed the road facility figure for Berbice to 13 for the year,

compared with 14 for the corresponding period last year.

Persaud explained that Jumai Street is not one of the major roads in Corriverton.

“They are leaving the major roads and now going into the back streets killing themselves. We can’t send officers there to Police the roads. No one is expected to be speeding in those small streets.

But even with that, I am of the view that if he was wearing a helmet he might just have had some injuries but would have been alive,” Persaud said.

Meanwhile, as “Operation Safeway” enters its third week, the division’s traffic capability was on Monday boosted with an addition of eight ranks, who officially became Police officers on Saturday. This follows an addition of six ranks two weeks ago.

Stabroek Market shooting

Ballistics tests contradict stories of cop, suspect – Police

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s Police continue to probe the ‘accidental’ shooting of a 54-yearold woman last week when she was caught in the crossfire between a law enforcement official and an alleged bandit at the Stabroek Market area, the Guyana Police Force on Monday said that ballistics results contradict the stories of both the Constable and the suspect.

Police had initially claimed that Jean Rodrigues, a mother of eight of Lot 35 Crane, West Coast Demerara, was hit by a bullet discharged by a bandit.

However, the Police statement said following the tests, the stories of both the Policeman and the suspect were challenged. “… the Constable has been removed from that type of duty, to another area as the investigation continues,” the Force added.

According to the statement, the case file will be completed in a few days and sent for legal advice.

Meanwhile, a source close to the investigation told Guyana Times that the ballistics revealed gunpowder residue on the hands of the Policeman and the suspect.

According to the source, with this recent development, the teen suspect, who was released after being held for the mandatory 72 hours, was likely to be rearrested.

Reports are that around 16:00h on September 20, 2016 while in the vicinity of the Stabroek Market, Georgetown, Rodrigues was shot during a shootout between a Policeman and a fleeing bandit.

The alleged bandit later turned out to be a teenage footballer identified as Kelsey Benjamin.

Jean Rodrigues was shot in the back during a Police chase

He was turned over to Police at the Brickdam Police Station by his mother.

After being held, the young man was released without charge.

At the time of the shooting, Rodrigues, her husband, three of their three children and a grandchild were waiting for a bus to travel to Grove, East Bank Demerara to attend a relative’s wake.

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s controversy continues to deepen over a decision by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to purchase 50 defective high frequency radios from a city businessman for a whopping $1.9 million each, leading to an audit over suspected corruption, former head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon distanced the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Cabinet from the scandal, making it clear that Cabinet’s role was limited to its “no objection”.

Dr Luncheon’s comment came in light of a claim by GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, who was quoted in the media as saying that GECOM had nothing to do with the actual procurement of the radio sets, but rather the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) and the PPP/C Administration.

Lowenfield explained that his spending ceiling as CEO is $249,999 and any amount over that has to go through NPTAB and Cabinet.

“Outside of that if it is over 250,000 it goes to National Tender Board, which is the agency responsible for scrutiny and integrity of submissions made by agencies and contractors. We provide to them the contractors and who are shortlisted. Once we hand over to the Board the selection of the provider is with the Board,” he told reporters.

He also stated that prior to the 2015 General and Regional Elections, GECOM was still a budget agency with financial oversight by the Finance Ministry and Dr Luncheon played a pivotal role.

But, Dr Luncheon told Guyana Times that despite Lowenfield’s claims, the procuring agency, in this case, GECOM was responsible for evaluating the bidders and then submitting the shortlisted bidders based on rankings to the NPTAB, thus the CEO could not exculpate himself “Cabinet has no original role to play in any procurement that is at Cabinet level – that’s over $15 million;

Dr Roger Luncheon

the original role is by the procurement entity, in this case GECOM,” Dr Luncheon explained.

In this case, the amount is close to $100 million and according to the former Head of the Presidential Secretariat, the bids would have been opened at the NPTAB. He explained that the Tender Board would have sent all the bids after they were opened to GECOM for evaluation.

The procurement entity’s top brass, in GECOM’s case, probably the CEO, is assisted by one or two people appointed by the central Tender Board to be the evaluators and they evaluate those responses and then send them back with their recommendations to the central Tender Board. If the central Tender Board sees that the recommendations are consistent with the role and it is the least responsive tendering, they send it to Cabinet for its no objection, Dr Luncheon explained.

The former Head of the Presidential Secretariat was confident that Lowenfield headed the evaluation team that recommended Mobile Authority as the supplier of the radios.

“The evaluation committee I am certain was headed by the CEO. He headed the evaluation committee; he was responsible for submitting the evaluation to the central Tender Board,” Dr Luncheon declared.

He is also confident that the ongoing audit, when completed, will clarify a number of issues.

When contacted, Chief Executive Officer of the NPTAB, Donald De Clou declined to comment.

GECOM earlier this month was caught in a web of corruption allegations surrounding the purchase of the radios from Mobile Authority, a company owned by a Water Street, Georgetown businessman, while sidelining Barrett Communications, the manufacturer of the said radio sets.

Barrett subsequently distanced itself from the radio sets and highlighted that it had ceased production of that particular equipment since 2009, six years before they were purchased by GECOM. Subsequently, reports surfaced that the Commission doled out close to $100 million to M-Tech Business Solutions, another company owned by the same Water Street businessman, this time for the supply of toners used for photocopiers and printers, office furniture and equipment, photo paper and scanners, printing accessories, and even Duracell batteries.

Additionally, the Commission is accused of purchasing a whopping $14 million in nippers from another relative of the same businessman at a whopping $6000 each. The very pliers/nippers are sold in many parts of the city for a mere $600.

Last week, PPP/C GECOM Commissioner Robeson Benn stated that corruption at the electoral body was deep-rooted, with key players at many levels of the organisation. He went on to describe the management of the organisation as “a national disgrace”.

In moving forward, the PPP/C Commissioner stated there needed to be some house cleaning and some heads must roll, the first being the Commission’s Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally.

Surujbally already distanced himself from the controversy, stating that he was not responsible for the financial affairs of the Commission, but rather the CEO. In March 2014, Lowenfield was appointed CEO.

14

guyana-times.com

tuesday, september 27, 2016

News

Conductor killed after bus Only 41 education welfare topples on muddy road officers in 970 public schools

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s the road carnage continues, a West Bank Demerara family has plunged into mourning following an accident that killed a minibus conductor Monday evening.

Dead is Roger “Jerry” Waldron, 30, of Lot 57 Good Intent, West Bank Demerara who died after the Route 31 minibus in which he was the conductor toppled at the Nismes Public Road, while negotiating through roadside mud on a turn.

The accident occurred in the vicinity of the Gafoors Nismes Complex, WBD

T

The damaged minibus

The toppled bus

where the mud was temporarily moved to the roadside to facilitate ongoing drainage works.

Guyana Times understands that the accident occurred around 19:00h. When this publication arrived on

the scene, the minibus was still on its side with heavy mud on the wheels and in surrounding environs. This newspaper was told that public-spirited citizens assisted in rushing passengers to the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

At the hospital, family members of the injured were anxiously awaiting word on their loved ones, while the family of the deceased conductor was trying to come to grips with the devastating news. As porters pushed the dead man’s body out to the mortuary, his mother broke down in tears exclaiming: “Why Jerry? Ow meh baby.”

She was consoled by her daughter and other family members.

Meanwhile, a family member of an injured teenager who was a passenger in the minibus told this publication that she had to be administered emergency oxygen as a result of irregular breathing.

Most passengers suffered minor injuries while the bus driver, sustained cuts and bruises to his hands. (Shemuel Fanfair)

Police Officer freed on $6M bribe charge

O

ne of the four police officers who was charged for allegedly accepting bribe to allow drug smugglers to go free after an interception was made on the Corentyne in September 2015, has been set free.

A s s i s t a n t Superintendent Terrence Browne, 48, was the officer-in-charge of the Whim Police Station, where the bus was allegedly detained on September 10, 2015 until the $6 million bribe was paid.

It was alleged that Browne along with others, between September 10 and 11, 2015, at Salton Village, Corentyne, Berbice, obtained a sum of cash from the other police officers, as an inducement to forego charges against Rennison Park.

Corporal Shawn McPhoy, of 174 Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt; Constable Ray Drepaul Saul, of Eversham, Corentyne, and Constable Trevon McKenzie, of Princeton, Corentyne,

were charged jointly while Browne was charged separately.

It was also alleged that the three along with a female officer collected a $6 million bribe and relinquished some of the cash to Browne. The female, Constable Stacy Welch had testified during Brown’s trial that she received a share of the money when it was parted. She further stated that McPhoy placed a portion of the money into a plastic bag and said it was for the boss.

Attorney Chandra Sohan who represented Browne, questioned Welch to determine her interpretation of ‘the boss’, while noting that it could have been the Commander or the Commissioner.

He told the court that the prosecution failed to establish that McPhoy said he was taking the money to Browne.

Welch, who was the prosecution’s key witness, told conflicting stories, Sohan argued. During her evi-

dence, Welch had stated that she was outside of the Police Station and saw when Browne collected the money.

She also told the court that she was in enquiries and never left the station.

Sohan pointed out that another witness places Welch in a car and said she remained there all of the time.

Magistrate Charlyne Artiga presiding over the Whim Magistrate’s court, on Monday said that the prosecution had failed to convince the court that the Assistant Superintendent was the person who received the plastic bag and that anyone saw him.

In September, Browne had maintained that he knew nothing of the alleged transaction while those charged along with Welch returned money, allegedly their share from the $6 million bribe.

McPhoy, Saul, and McKenzie will have to return to court next Monday when the trial continues.

here are exactly 41 Education Welfare Officers providing information, advice, guidance and support to the nearly 190,000 children in the 970 public schools across the country.

Chief Schools’ Welfare Officer Gillian Vyphius in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) on Monday, said that the Welfare Department has been “juggling” to provide its services to students. Among their tasks were working with ‘atrisk’ students, families and community partners to address barriers to learning and strengthen the safety net for these students.

Vyphius said to fill the gap, the department has to rely heavily on the “Liaison Welfare Officers… – teachers are identified from different schools to liaise with the Schools Welfare Department to deal with mi-

Chief Welfare Officer Gillian Vyphuis

nor incidents that arise in the schools”.

Vyphius explained that those teachers with a social work background were asked by the Ministry to function as Liaison Welfare Officers.

The Ministry’s “Maintenance of Order and Discipline Manual” is used to train these teachers, and

is also used as a guide in carrying out their liaison duties, including sanctioning students.

The Department only seeks to step in with the support of the Education Welfare Officers for serious issues such as violent behaviour, including fighting with a weapon, the Chief Schools’ Welfare Officer explained.

These teachers have been performing the duties of liaison officers without compensation from the Ministry.

Vyphius said that the department planned to seek a stipend for the teachers.

The Liaison Welfare Officer programme, however, is not active in all schools, just those in Regions Five, Six and Ten, Vyphius said.

The introduction of more Schools’ Welfare Officers And counsellors is among issues that the Government had identified to address in the revamp of the education system.

Colombia and FARC sign historic pact

C

olombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Marxist rebel leader Timochenko used a pen made from a bullet on Monday to sign an agreement ending a half-century war that killed a quarter of a million people and made their nation a byword for violence.

After four years of negotiations in Havana, Santos, 65, and Timochenko - a nom de guerre for 57-yearold revolutionary Rodrigo Londono - shook hands on Monday on Colombian soil for the first time.

Some 2,500 foreign and local dignitaries attended the ceremony in the walled, colonial city of Cartagena.

The agreement to end Latin America’s longestrunning conflict turns the FARC fighters into a political party fighting at the ballot box instead of the battlefield they have occupied since 1964.

The special pen was used

President Santos, left, and FARC’’s “Timochenko” shake hands after signing the peace agreement [Fernando Vergara/AP]

“to illustrate the transition of bullets into education and future”, said Santos, who staked his reputation on achieving peace.

Guests included United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon, Cuban President Raul Castro, US Secretary of State John Kerry and victims of the conflict.

“The UN will assist in the implementation of the accord and offer Colombians our complete support at a time that sees a new destiny

for the nation,” Ban said.

The European Union said on Monday it was removing the group from its “terror” list simultaneously with the peace signing.

Kerry lauded the deal during a visit to a training centre for war victims, ex-combatants and other young people. “Anybody can pick up a gun, blow things up, hurt other people, but it doesn’t take you anywhere ... Peace is hard work,” he said.(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Kidnapped Mexican Catholic priest found shot dead

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Roman Catholic priest who was kidnapped in western Mexico a week ago has been found shot dead.

The body of Jose Alfredo Lopez Guillen was found late on Saturday near the town of Puruandiro in Michoacan state, Prosecutors said.

He is the third priest to be found murdered in Mexico in the past week.

Father Lopez Guillen had been robbed before being abducted from his home

last Monday in Janamuato, Michoacan state, Church officials said.

The Michoacan Prosecutor’s office said a post-mortem examination showed the priest had been killed several days before his body was found.

On the same day that he disappeared, the bodies of two other priests who had vanished the day before were found by a roadside in Veracruz, on Mexico’s east coast. They had also been

shot dead. It is not believed their deaths are linked to that of Father Lopez Guillen.

His death brings the number of priests murdered in Mexico since 2012 to 15, according to figures from the Catholic Multimedia Centre, which monitors violence against clerics.

Veracruz and Michoacan have been plagued by years of violence from drug cartels and other organised crime.

(BBC News)

tuesday, september 27, 2016

guyana-times.com

15

Around the World

Bodies Clinton, Trump clash in Aleppo: litter floor at first presidential debate makeshift hospital

D

emocrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump locked horns over the economy, assailed each other’s foreign policy, and interrupted each other repeatedly in heated exchanges at the first US presidential debate on Monday.

After greeting each other with a handshake and a smile, the two opponents went on the attack, with Clinton calling the New York businessman’s tax policies “Trumpedup trickle-down” economics and Trump accusing the former Secretary of State of being “all talk, no action”.

Each accused the other of distortions and falsehoods and urged viewers to check their websites for the facts. She called him Donald, and he called her Secretary Clinton “I have a feeling I’m going to be blamed for everything,” said Clinton, the first woman to win the presidential nomination of a major U.S. political party.

“Why not?” Trump retorted.

As the debate opened, they put forward competing

H

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump

visions for the US economy.

“The kind of plan that Donald has put forth would be trickle-down economics all over again. And in fact it would be the most extreme version, the biggest tax cuts for the top percent of the people in this country that we’ve ever had,” Clinton said. “I call it Trumped-up trickle-down, because that’s exactly what it would be.”

Trump, a real estate tycoon and former reality television star who has never held elective office, criticised

Clinton for her trade policies and said she would approve a controversial trade deal with Asian countries despite opposing it as a candidate.

“You were totally in favour of it, then you heard what I was saying, how bad it is, and you said, ‘Well, I can’t win that debate,’ but you know that if you did win, you would approve that,” he said.

Clinton rejected the criticism.

“Well Donald, I know you live in your own reality, but that is not the facts,” she said.

Clinton, 68, wore a red pantsuit, and Trump, 70, wore a dark suit and a blue tie to the encounter that could shift the course of the tight 2016 race for the White House.

Moderator Lester Holt struggled to rein in the candidates, with discussions about trade policy suddenly shifting to the fight against Islamic State as Trump accused Clinton of giving away information to the enemy by revealing on her website how she planned to defeat the group. (Reuters)

ospitals are struggling to cope in Syria’s Aleppo as Government and Russian fighter jets continued to pound the city’s rebel-held east, killing more than 200 people in under a week.

Al Jazeera’s Amr al-Halabi, reporting from a makeshift hospital in the city, described a bleak situation as the hospital overflowed with dozens of dead and wounded people.

“Dead people are on the floor of this makeshift hospital,” Halabi said. “The situation here is desperate.”

Bodies littered the ground inside and outside the facility, as volunteers and relatives carried severely wounded people inside, looking for somewhere to put them down on a floor already full with air raid victims.

“There is not enough space for us. We have to leave immediately to make more room for those injured,” Halabi said as a stream of ambulances ferried in the dead and wounded, overcrowding hospital

wards.

“It looks like judgement day,” he said.

At an emergency meeting of the UN on Sunday, the US, Britain and France accused Russia, a key military backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, of war crimes.

Since a ceasefire deal broke down last week, the Syrian Government and Russia have intensified a barrage of air raids aimed at taking the east of the city from rebels.

Russia’s Ambassador Vitaly Churkin conceded that the surge in violence over the past days meant that “bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now”.

But Churkin laid the blame for the ceasefire collapse with the US, accusing Washington of being unable to convince the rebel groups it backs to distance themselves from the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group - formerly known as the Nusra Front and not included in the truce deal – and abide by the ceasefire. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Saudi women file Portugal’s Guterres leads race petition to end male guardianship system for UN chief after 5th ballot

F

ormer Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres leads the race to become the next United Nations Secretary General after a fifth UN Security Council secret ballot on Monday, diplomats said.

The 15-member council cast a ballot for each of the remaining nine candidates with the choices of: encourage, discourage or no opinion. Guterres received 12 encourage, two discourage and one no opinion, diplomats said.

Guterres, who was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015, also won the other four

Antonio Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), arrives for a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 18, 2015

rounds.

The Council’s secret ballots will continue until there is consensus on a candidate

to replace UN chief Ban Kimoon of South Korea, who steps down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year

terms. The council will then formally recommend the candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for election.

The next secret ballot is scheduled for October 5, when the ballots cast by the five veto powers – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – will be a different colour from the votes of the other 10 council members, though they remain anonymous.

This allows candidates to see if they could be facing a veto. While the Security Council would like to choose a candidate by consensus, technically nine votes in favour and no vetoes is all that is needed for a candidate to be recommended. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Deadly Boko Haram attacks in north-eastern Nigeria

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oko Haram has killed at least eight soldiers in two attacks in north-eastern Nigeria while more than two dozen fighters also died, according to the military.

The armed group ambushed a convoy late on Sunday near Bama, 70km south-east of Maiduguri, resulting in the deaths of an army officer, three soldiers, and three attackers, an army statement said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, gunmen attacked an army position at Logomani, 110km northeast of Maiduguri city, killing four soldiers, it said. The army said at least 22 fighters died in the firefight.

The attacks brought the official death toll of troops killed in the past week to 10 with 24 others wounded.

However, Boko Haram claimed more than 40 soldiers from a multinational army were killed in just one

attack last week.

On Sunday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau appeared in a video denying military reports that he was fatally wounded last month. He also insisted he remained in charge despite the fact that ISIL appointed a new leader of Boko Haram, which is also known as Islamic State West Africa Province.

In the video, Shekau taunted parents of the more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls

kidnapped in 2014, saying they will see their daughters only if the government swaps them for detained leaders of the group.

“To the people of Chibok: You have not seen the worst yet,” Shekau said, ending with laughter.

Boko Haram’s sevenyear insurgency has killed about 20,000 people and displaced more than two million in its effort to create a state adhering to strict Islamic laws. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

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petition signed by more than 14,000 Saudi women calling for an end to the country’s male guardianship system is being handed to the Government.

Women must have the consent of a male guardian to travel abroad, and often need permission to work or study.

Support for the first large-scale campaign on the issue grew online in response to a trending Twitter hashtag.

Activist Aziza Al-Yousef told the BBC she felt “very proud” of the campaign, but now needed a response.

In the deeply conservative Islamic kingdom, a woman must have permission from her father, brother or other male relative –- in the case of a widow, sometimes her son – to obtain a passport, marry or leave the country.

Many workplaces and universities also demand a guardian’s consent for female employees and students, although it is not legally required.

Renting a flat, undergoing hospital treatment or filing a legal claim often also require a male guardian’s permission, and there is very little recourse for women whose guardians abuse them or severely limit their freedom.

Aziza al-Yousef

In July, an Arabic Twitter hashtag which translates as “Saudi women want to abolish the guardianship system” went viral after a Human Rights Watch report was published on the issue. Saudi women tweeted comments, videos and artwork calling for change. Bracelets saying “I Am My Own Guardian” appeared.

The women counted on the petition all gave their full names, though more signed anonymously. Hundreds of women – one estimate suggests as many as 2500 – bombarded the Saudi King’s office over the weekend with telegrams containing personal messages backing the campaign.

There has been no official response to the petition yet.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

16 News

tuesDay, september 27, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Ally condemns discrimination against LGBT persons

S

ocial Cohesion Minister Amna Ally has pledged her ministry’s support to ending discrimination against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Ally, who held recent discussions with the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), noted that discrimination does not occur only along ethnic lines but also concerning gender identity and sexual orientation.

SASOD Managing Director Joel Simpson raised several issues with the Minister, including the impact of discrimination on LGBT youth in the education sector, social inequality due to stigma and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workforce, mental health challenges faced by LGBT Guyanese and the prevalence of suicide due to homophobic and transphobic stigma and discrimination.

“We cannot build a cohesive society, if particular groups are excluded in law, policy or practice. LGBT Guyanese are systemically marginalised in Guyana’s laws, policies and we face real barriers to accessing basic socioeconomic services, especially our rights to education, work and health, particularly mental health services which are critical to our communities,” Simpson stated.

Another SASOD member said that while there

were no laws or policies specifically preventing LGBT persons from accessing education, many LGBT Guyanese students drop out of school due to homophobic and transphobic bullying and discrimination.

This, the Society noted, prevents members of the LGBT community from practically fulfilling their right to education. It was pointed out that the “negative consequences” and psychological damage were carried way into their adult lives.

“From not attaining their full potential in schools, these now vulnerable youth are driven into poverty to fend for themselves and some come into conflict with the law. Others that cannot attain sound employment opportunities turn to sex work which further puts them at risk of drug abuse, Sexual Transmitted Infections and Diseases and more prejudices which add to their stress and can cause depression.

These mental health burdens become worse without adequate support as more stigma and discrimination is stacked upon them in other areas of their lives” the representative said.

There are many documented cases reported to SASOD about homophobic and transphobic discrimination in the workplace. It was revealed that this type of discrimination leads to social inequities within the realm of employment.

Another representa-

tive explained that with the absence of specific prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the Prevention of Discrimination Act 1997, LGBT persons are left open to discrimination in the workplace, with essentially no consequences under the law. In light of that, the Government was urged to commit to amending the Prevention of Discrimination Act 1997 to include “sexual orientation and gender identity” as grounds for discrimination.

Minister Ally expressed her willingness to engage in further discussions with her Cabinet and parliamentary colleagues.

“The Ministry of Social Cohesion for one will not stand for any sort of discrimination. It is the policy of this Government to not discriminate or foster any form of social inequalities – we recognise we have people in society that are of all kinds and we have to respect each other. I, as Social Cohesion Minister, promise to drive such policies in combating discrimination.

Be assured of my support to LGBT persons,” she stated.

Simpson also discussed SASOD’s approach to working with the Government to strengthen mental health support for LGBT Guyanese. He explained to Minister Ally that worldwide research has found LGBT people are two to three times more likely to commit suicide than their

heterosexual counterparts, and that the findings in Guyana are no different, based on SASOD’s ongoing research in this area.

Therefore, as part of the organisation’s Human

Services programme, Simpson recommended ways and means SASOD can offer support to reduce the effects of mental illnesses and work with the Ministry and other stakeholders as the nation

implements measures to reduce suicide across the country. He offered SASOD’s support in providing training to enhance sensitivity towards LGBT persons who access Government services.

2014 hit-and-run

Police evidence tendered as trial continues

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upesh Ramotar, 42, of Houston, Georgetown, on Monday made another appearance at the Wales Magistrate’s Court where he is standing trial for a hit and run vehicular accident that caused the death of Kumarie Tikaram, at Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara (WBD), two years ago.

A Police Lance Corporal who investigated the fatal accident took to the stand at Wednesday’s hearing, where the court heard that the defendant had a blood alcohol level of .91 micrograms, above the legal limit.

According to Lance Corporal Lochan, on the night of the September 7, 2014, accident, he saw a large crowd gathered at the scene, where he discovered the motionless body of Tikaram, 38, who appeared to have head and bodily injuries.

The post-mortem report revealed that the victim died of multiple injuries due to a vehicular accident. The defendant, Ramotar, had fled the scene after he hit the mother of five.

The Police witness added that, acting on information, the day after the fatal accident, at around 03:30h at Lot 12 Houston Public Road, the car bearing a PMM number plate was found at the bottom flat of the defendant’s residence. Lochan recalled that

Kumarie Tikaram in happier times

the car’s front windscreen was shattered while the leftside “front portion” was damaged.

According to additional evidence tendered, the driver of the car admitted that he did in fact “shove” a person down and immediately “drove away without stopping because the place was too dark”.

The defendant reportedly claimed that he informed the Police about the accident the day after it had occurred. It was at this point that Ramotar was arrested and taken to the La Grange Police Station, WBD, where he was charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

Presiding Magistrate, Clive Nurse, was told that later on Monday, September

8, 2014, Ramotar was taken to the scene of the crime where he identified the spot where the mother was struck.

Meanwhile, one section of evidence the Lance Corporal tendered was torn apart by the defence. Under cross-examination, the Police rank who had accompanied the defendant to the mortuary, said the Police pointed out the dead woman’s body to Ramator instead of having the defendant identify the victim. The court heard that the defendant was told by Police that the fatal accident was the only one that had occurred, which lead the driver to identify Tikaram as the victim.

After Ramotar’s attorney was made privy to this disclosure, he swiftly appealed for adjournment of the case which was granted by Magistrate Nurse.

The hit and run fatal accident case will continue on October 3. Tikaram also called “Mamalo” was reportedly stuck from behind by a speeding car on September 7, 2014 at 20:35h, moments after leaving a friend’s home a short distance from her North Section, Canal Number Two, residence.

The mother of five was placed into a van and accompanied by Police to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Judicial system delays

Multiple defendants miss court date at Wales

A

number of persons were missing in action when their court cases were called on Monday.

During the morning session at the Wales Magistrate’s Court, over 10 cases were slated to be heard

by Presiding Magistrate Clive Nurse, but most of the parties were absent and few explanations were given. While the particulars of the cases were not disclosed, Magistrate Nurse issued arrest warrants for several of the absent defendants.

Among those who did not make an appearance on Monday were Davandand Rambarran; Andrew Webster and Keon Gonslaves; Joshua Ferdinand; Jonathan Eugenia and Edson Nelson.

Just days ago, arrest warrants were issued for a couple on trial for drug possession at a city court after they failed to turn up for judgement.They have alleg-

The Wales Magistrate’s Court where several defendants were missing in action on Monday

edly fled the jurisdiction.

The matter is set to be called again later this week.

Earlier this month, Police Prosecutor, Lance Corporal David Goodridge was late for an afternoon session at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court which led to the dismissal of eight cases.

Guyana Times had reported that Goodridge was about 15 minutes late and presiding Magistrate Zamina Seepaul Ally com-

menced the session in his absence.

Ally dismissed the cases on the grounds of absence of the prosecution.

The freed defendants, who were not present at the time of their hearings like those at Wales on Monday, included Jagdesh Narine, Quason Bobb, Ravindra Sugdeo, Mario Profit, Denzil Astrage and prisoner Jamal Bourne, who had been en route to make his court appearance.

NEWS

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Islamic Organisation head begins Caribbean tour in Guyana

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he Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General, Iyad Madani on Monday commenced his first tour of the two OIC member states in the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Guyana and Suriname.

Accompanying the OIC Chief is Agshin Mehdiyev, an Azerbaijan diplomat who is the OIC ambassador to the United Nations; the two will arrive in Paramaribo, Suriname on Wednesday.

Madani, in an invited comment, said that his visit to Guyana and Suriname was part of his routine tour of OIC member states.

One of the goals of his visit is to assess Guyana’s and Suriname’s expectations of the OIC. Madani will share with the leaders of these countries, some of the products and support that the OIC can offer them. He also wants to “engage Guyana and Suriname” in stronger OIC ties.

Madani will hold meetings with President Desi Bouterse of Suriname and President David Granger, along with Suriname’s Foreign Minister, Niermala Badrising. The OIC head will also meet with the civil society in both countries.

Badrising said that Suriname was excited to welcome the OIC head, especially at a time when ties between Suriname and the OIC have significantly expanded. During the visit, various agreements between Suriname and the OIC in the fields of education, economics and trade will be signed. Agreements

Islamic Cooperation Secretary General, Iyad Madani

to commence Islamic banking in Suriname will also be finalised.

Badrising said that the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB), an organ of the OIC, is supporting the economic stabilisation and recovery policies of Suriname with a soft loan of approximately US$1.8 billion. Of this money, her Government is planning to invest US$1.278 billion in five sectors – agriculture, healthcare, finance, transportation and infrastructure, and tourism.

Last week in Paramaribo, Bouterse praised the OIC, saying that “Suriname has a golden opportunity” with the US$1.8 billion in financing that the ISDB has offered his country.

While in New York to address the 71st United Nations General Assembly on behalf of Bouterse, Badrising held bilateral meetings with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, two OIC members, in her quest to bring foreign direct investment to

Suriname. She also had informal talks with Madani during an OIC reception in New York. No officials from Guyana attended the reception.

After a pledge by Granger in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he met Madani earlier this year to improve its ties with the OIC, his Government failed to attend the last Heads of Government summit, which was held in Turkey earlier this year.

Guyana does not attend smaller meetings of the OIC due to the lack of funds budgeted by its Foreign Ministry, one Guyanese diplomat confirmed.

Suriname and Guyana were fortunate to have joined the OIC in the 1990s.

The OIC has closed its doors to new membership for decades now. Today, many countries are knocking at the door of the OIC with the objective of exploiting the economic benefits the group offers.

The following countries are waiting to join the OIC: Brazil (since 2011), South Africa (since 2002), Sri Lanka (since 2008), the Philippines (since 2008), Serbia (Since 2008), Nepal (since 2008), Democratic Republic of Congo (since 2008), Republic of Central Africa (since 2002), Mauritius (since 2002) and Kenya (since 2011).

Like Guyana and Suriname, Muslim minority states Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Togo, Ivory Coast, Mozambique and Uganda, are members of the OIC.

(Caribbean News Now)

Venezuelan remanded on multiple charges

A

3 0 - y e a r - o l d Venezuelan man was remanded to prison when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to charges of unlawful wounding and obtaining credit by false pretence.

Mark Williams pleaded not guilty to the charges which stated that on September 8, 2016, at Itabali

landing, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded Devon Leur.

The prosecution stated that the Virtual Complainant (VC) sustained abrasions to his left arm and a two centimetre laceration to his shoulder. It was stated that a pair of scissors was used to inflict the injuries.

The second charge stated that on the same day, Williams obtained from Leur eight cases of beer val-

ued $50,000 on credit by falsely pretending that he was in a position to pay.

The prosecution further objected to bail, noting that the man was not a resident of Guyana, had no local address and if released, would not return to Guyana.

The defendant was refused bail and the matter was transferred to Kamarang Magistrate’s Court, to be called again on September 29, 2016.

North Ruimveldt man fined for assault

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36-year-old man of North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was fined $35,000 after he appeared before Magistrate Faith McGusty at Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on a charge of assault.

Lloyd Kissoon pleaded guilty with explanation to the charge which stated that on September 9, 2016 at Alexander Street,

Kitty, he assaulted Ronald Williams as to cause actual bodily harm.

Kissoon explained to the court that he was a construction worker at the Kitty Market and on the day in question, the Virtual Complainant (VC) was under the influence.

As such, he asked him to leave the compound of the market, which he refused to do. Kissoon claimed the

man was behaving disorderly, so he took a piece of wood from the work site and “braced” him on his leg.

The prosecution’s case revealed that an argument ensued between the VC and the defendant, which escalated into the assault on the Virtual Complainant, who suffered injuries to his hand and back.

City Mandir donates 55 units of blood

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Scenes from the blood drive over the weekend

he Guyana Pandits’ Council in partnership with the Radha Krishna Mandir held its annual blood drive at its Camp and Quamina Streets Headquarters on Saturday.

The event saw scores of persons who participated in donating blood for a worthy cause.

Some fifty-five units of blood were donated to the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS), which has regularly faced challenges in getting enough blood to meet the national demands.

Persons desirous of donating blood independently can visit the Blood Bank during opening hours from

Monday to Friday between the hours of 8:00h and 18:30h.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had issued a call for an increase in regular blood donations from voluntary, unpaid donors, in order to save millions of lives globally each year.

18

guyana-times.com

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

ARCHIE

Take the plunge and do something you’ve been think(March 21- ing about for some time. Set April 19) a reasonable goal. Success will lead to opportunity, but shortsightedness will hold you back.

ARIES

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DILBERT

Stick close to home and GEMINI the people you can trust. An (May 21older relative or a youngster June 20) in your life may cause you grief. Do not give in to pressure. Do what’s best for you and your family.

You should mix busiCANCER ness with pleasure in order (June 21- to impress an influential perJuly 22) son. Networking and finding unique ways to improve your skills and other attributes will position you for advancement.

PEANUTS

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Take care of minor deVIRGO tails when dealing with insti(Aug. 23Sept. 22) tutions, government agencies or authority figures. Do what needs to be done and plan to celebrate your victory with a loved one.

Until the time is right, LIBRA don’t divulge information that (Sept. 23can help you control a situaOct. 23) tion. Getting angry and overreacting will not encourage others to support your plans.

Observe and learn.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

WORD GAME

Get together with people you can learn from, and share ideas. Endeavour to build confidence among your peers.

A carefully executed plan will lead to an unexpected and welcome proposal.

SUDOKU

Personal improvements SCORPIO (Oct. 24- will boost your confidence.

Nov. 22) Whether you change your lifestyle or your physical appearance, it will give you the push you need to excel in all aspects of life.

Don’t sit still when there SAGITTARIUS is so much you can accom(Nov. 23plish. Prepare to take action Dec. 21) and pursue your goals. A business trip or meeting will pay off.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Don’t mess with the CAPRICORN rules or regulations, espe(Dec. 22- cially while travelling or Jan. 19) dealing with institutions or Government agencies. Stick to what you know, and don’t assume anything. Avoid indulgent tendencies.

Share your concerns and AQUARIUS find out where you stand.

(Jan. 20Refuse to let anyone presFeb. 19) sure you into something that doesn’t interest you. Avoid donating to something you know little about.

PISCES A former co-worker will (Feb. 20- have a solution to a problem March 20) you are facing with an authoritative individual. Plan your actions carefully before you make your move.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

19

Competition bringing out the best in local runners T he old saying goes “competition brings out the best in all of us” and that is what unfolds as the athletes in Guyana elevate themselves.

Following the Massy 10K and Courts 10K over the past month, Cleveland Forde, who triumphed over Winston Missingher on both occasions indicated that the competition is intensifying and it is good for the sport.

At the end of the Courts 10K on Sunday Forde said “It was a very competitive race as we see Missingher control the race from a long way out, so the challenge is expected and we can see them stepping up and naturally we can see faster times.”

It is clearly evident that this was so as Forde completed the Massy 10K on September 4 in a time of 33 minutes 11 seconds while at the Courts 10K, three weeks later he completed the distance in a time of 32 minutes 40 seconds.

Missingher also bettered his timings, finishing the Massy 10K in 33minutes 31

seconds and Courts 10K in 33 minutes 15 seconds.

Both athletes are at the helm of distance running locally and are making an impact regionally, having both participated in the Venture Credit Union 5K last weekend in Trinidad and Tobago, where Forde finished second and Missingher third.

Missingher, at the end of the Courts 10K indicated that the race was indeed “a fast race and a challenging one.” Adding “I had to come out and give 100 percent cause I know it would be a fast race.”

The 28 year old star pointed out that his rival and friend, Forde is a very good athlete and is more experience but “when it comes to speed, strength and stamina we have the same level.”

The competition is getting better and Missingher, as well notices this pointing out the fact in history that the last two years Forde was winning comfortably and running the same speed but now that he has arrived on the scene he has to run hard and the times are getting

Cleveland Forde (left) and Winston Missingher pose for a quick photo after completing the Courts 10K on Sunday

better.

But it is not only Forde and Missingher who benefit from vigorous competition, Cleveland Thomas, who won the Courts 10K back in 2014 was among the top seed and rising star, Nathaniel Giddings is ever present at the pinnacle of the sport.

Police Track Club’s Nathaniel Giddings ran 33:33 and Cleveland Thomas clocked in 34 minutes 01 seconds (34:01) at the Massy 10K but in the Courts 10K, the two completed in 33:46 and 33:26 respectively.

Missingher added that even at the half way stage of

the Courts 10K, five runners were bundled up and this was not the norm with usually three or just two having been able to keep up.

Junior winner, Odwin Tudor highlighted that his training with Forde was good as the experienced trainer guiding him to keep up with the senior runners and if possible could be clocking in timings like the ace runners.

The development of the sport, as Athletics Association of Guyana President, Aubrey Hutson pointed out is going along fairly as we can see better timings and “we are growing from strength to strength, soon producing more and more Olympians” The females are also clocking in better timings on the track. In the Massy 10K, The junior female category was won by Claudrice McKay (41:32) while Maria Urquart completed the task in 47:52 followed by Leanna Charles (50:11) while at the Courts 10k on Sunday; first placed Joanna Archer completed the distance in 45

minutes and nine seconds (45:09) and even though the top time was not as good as the Massy 10K top, second to fourth places all ran below the 47th minute mark.

(Tabitha Bowman with 45:17, Cassie Kirton - 46:34 and Shontel Hinds - 46:56) In the senior women’s category, Ashanti Scott copped first place in a time of 42:21 followed by Alicia Jack (46:52), third placed, Shion Boyer (49:32) and Nikita Wilson (54:25) but at the Courts 10K, the figures were significantly better.

United States Based top runner, Euleene JosiahTanner, who is undisputedly the queen of the Courts 10k where she is unbeaten after six years clocked in 40:12 followed by Claudrice McKay (41:42), Ashanti Scott (41:56), Alicia Jack (45:36) and Shion Boyer (45:50).

Additionally, the events are attracting a larger number of athletes every year to which Aubrey Hutson is making the future of the sport bright.

Consistent Pakistan Craig out of Test series chasing whitewash due to side strain

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s teams master the T20 format, they also sometimes deem a “bad day” acceptable. West Indies’ batsmen suffered two in succession, which has cost the team the series; their six-hitters have hit the wall when unable to find the boundary. “West Indies are known to be a boundary-hitting side. But it’s up to us to find a way around that,” batting coach Toby Radford said after the second T20. If they don’t, a whitewash may be inevitable.

Shoaib Malik has been one of Pakistan’s most consistent T20 performers. In his last 16 T20I innings, Malik has failed to register a double-digit score just once.

Malik’s experience and fielding prowess have also helped Pakistan in their dramatic limited-overs revival.

West Indies’ middle order, which includes Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Carlos Brathwaite, is arguably the best in the world.

Bravo resurrected West Indies’ innings in the first T20 with a 54-ball 55. But for them to be at their destructive best, West Indies’ top order has to set a base from where the middle order can attack effectively.

Pakistan have no reason to change their winning combination with a white-

N

Rovman Powell is in line for a debut in the final T20 against Pakistan in the UAE

wash in sight, though coach Mickey Arthur said on the eve of the game there might be changes on the fast-bowling front. “We would like to bring in [Mohammad] Amir, and start him bowling before the ODIs,” he said. “I want to know how Rumman Raees goes too, but we will take a final decision tomorrow.”

With the series gone, West Indies may hand Rovman Powell a debut, bringing him in for Nicholas Pooran, who has scores of 5 and 4 in his first two T20Is. West Indies may also rejig their misfiring top order.

Abu Dhabi, with its larger dimensions, will provide

Pakistan is advancing largely due to Shoaib Mailk’s allround consistency

a different challenge to the batsmen. Pakistan’s batsmen scampered through for plenty of twos in the smaller Dubai outfield, which could continue. West Indies’ sixhitting ability and adaptability will be tested. The nature of the pitch is unlikely to be too dissimilar from the first two T20Is. Pakistan squad; Sarfraz Ahmed, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Rumman Raees, Saad Nasim, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal and Wahab Riaz

ew Zealand’s chances in the Test series against India suffered a major blow with offspinner Mark Craig being ruled out of the remaining two matches. He will be replaced by Jeetan Patel, who last played for New Zealand in January 2013. Craig, who suffered a side strain, was New Zealand’s best spinner, and the most accurate, in the Kanpur Test even though that didn’t show in his match figures of two wickets for 139 runs. Craig had made a comeback to the side in Kanpur after missing all four Tests on the recent tour of Africa.

Patel, who averages 48.46 in Test cricket, was the leading wicket-taker in the 2016 English County Championship with 69 wickets for Warwickshire and was on Monday named the Most Valuable Player in the Professional Cricketers’ Association rankings for the season. “Jeetan is up to speed from a bowling load perspective having recently completed a successful county season - so he will be ready for the rigours of Test cricket,” Hesson said. “He’ll also add invaluable experience to our young spin group.”

Craig is expected to take four weeks to recover from

Mark Craig (left) discussing strategies with Captain Kane Williamson during the Kanpur Test

his injury. This was the third injury blow for the tourists. Tim Southee was ruled out of the Test series with an ankle injury but could come back for the ODIs. Allrounder Jimmy Neesham missed the first Test after being struck on the rib in the nets in Delhi, but has been bowling in the nets in Kanpur.

Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, admitted Patel had not been on the selectors’ radar be-

fore the start of the tour.

“He wasn’t initially,” he said. “Obviously, having three frontline spinners over here, we didn’t expect to need too many more spin options.

In saying that, having played three in the first one, certainly we had to sit down and think about it, given the number of overs they may bowl and the possible chance of injury, which unfortunately has happened to Mark Craig. (ESPNcricinfo)

20

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Ashwin seals big win in India’s 500th Test

Fury will not fight again - Hearn

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Tyson Fury

orld heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will never fight again, leading British promoter Eddie Hearn

has said.

Fury, 28, has withdrawn from his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko, scheduled for 29 October, because of reported mental health issues.

The Englishman, who has not fought since beating Klitschko last November, postponed the original rematch in June.

“Fury will be stripped of his titles and, after a legal battle, he’ll say: ‘No more, I’m done’,” said Hearn.

“It’s going to be really messy and it might take a year to resolve. I know there are sensitivities around mental health issues but this is a business.

“The governing bodies have had enough.

The world heavyweight title is a huge part of their business and they’ve not made any money from it for a year.”

Fury beat Klitschko on points in Germany - the Ukrainian’s first loss since 2004 - to pick up the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles, with American Deontay Wilder holding the WBC belt.

Within two weeks Fury was stripped of the IBF title because he was unable to fight mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov - and that belt is now held by Fury’s fellow Briton Anthony Joshua. (BBC Sport)

FIFA under fire for disbanding anti-racism task force W

orld soccer’s governing body FIFA was under fire on Monday for winding up its anti-racism task force with former presidential candidate Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan describing the move as worrying and shameful.

FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura confirmed the decision when she spoke to the Soccerex conference in Manchester, saying the task force had a “very specific mandate”.

“We will turn its work into a strong program of zero tolerance policy toward discrimination of any kind, including violation of human rights,” she said. “We can live with perception (created by disbanding the task force) but we are taking very firm action.”

However, Prince Ali, a former FIFA executive committee member who has twice run for the presidency, said that “the notion that the current FIFA leadership believes that the task force’s recommendations have been implemented is shameful.”

He added that the announcement was “incredibly worrying”.

“Never has the need to combat racism and racial discrimination been more evi-

R

Ravichandran Ashwin is ecstatic after dismissing last man Neil Wagner to end with 10 wickets in the match

avichandran Ashwin picked up sweeping and cutting delightfully. The en, his defence looked solid; front leg comhis 19th five-wicket haul as India sixth-wicket partnership had moved to 29 ing down the pitch rather than across to wrapped up a 197-run win in their when Shami measured his run-up. guard against the lbw, bat close to pad, and 500th Test match. Needing six wickets at Bowling around the wicket to the left- hands refusing to get drawn by the turn. the start of the fifth day, India endured a handed Santner, he gave early warning of As the morning wore on, the turn bewicketless first hour as Luke Ronchi and reverse-swing with an lbw shout off his sec- came slower, and batting easier, especially Mitchell Santner stretched their fifth-wick- ond ball. The ball was probably doing too off the back foot. Ronchi, his footwork nimet stand to 102, but the wickets came quick- much and missing leg stump. The last ball ble and decisive, began to dominate Ashwin. ly thereafter. The win arrived 43 minutes of his second over was a near mirror image. He had looked comfortable against the offafter lunch when Ashwin had Neil Wagner Shami was bowling over the wicket to the spinner even on the fourth evening, jumplbw with a carrom ball. Chasing a nominal right-handed Watling, and the ball tailed ing out to hit him over the long-on boundary 434, New Zealand had been and making room to cut him off the stumps. bowled out for 236.

Now, having mostly faced Jadeja in the Ashwin finished with inearly exchanges - 17 out of his first 23 balls nings figures of 6 for 132 and of the day - he moved to fifty with a covermatch figures of 10 for 225 drive for two off Ashwin, and four overs latin 66.2 overs. Bowling with er came down the track to lift him over mida callus in the middle finger on for four. By the end, he had scored 37 off the 33 balls he faced from Ashwin. of his bowling hand, he used Santner too was opening up, but always the carrom ball frequentplaying within his limitations; his go-to atly after lunch, possibly betacking shots were the cut, whenever anycause he was finding it diffione dropped a little short, and the slogcult to grip the offbreak. He sweep, when he saw a bit of air and room to took two wickets with it - of free his arms, hitting a six each off Ashwin Wagner and Ish Sodhi, who and Jadeja. walked across his stumps to Mitchell Santner and Luke Ronchi shared a century stand The wicket came off Jadeja’s bowling, get bowled around his legs to frustrate India on day 5 of the Kanpur Test and it came off an ill-advised shot. Till - but the big breakthrough then, Ronchi had hit all his lofted hits with came with a big-spinning offbreak, pitching outside Santner’s leg stump into him to pin him to the crease. Again, a straight bat, but now, with long-off back and turning across him to force an edge to the ball swung appreciably, but replays and mid-on in, he looked to slog-sweep gully. suggested the ball would probably have hit against the turn, and only managed a topIt ended a hugely impressive perfor- some part of leg stump - umpire’s call, per- edge that skewed high to point. (ESPNcricinfo) mance from Santner, who faced 179 balls in haps, had DRS been in use. the innings and 286 in the match in addiThen, first ball of his next tion to bowling 55.2 overs of left-arm spin over, reverse-swing into the and picking up five wickets. left-handed Craig, who played Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja did the the initial line without realIndia 1st Innings 318 IS Sodhi b Ashwin 17 bulk of the bowling, sending down all but 18 ly moving his feet, and left a New Zealand 1st Innings 262 TA Boult not out 2 overs of New Zealand’s innings, which last- big gap for the ball to swerve India 2nd Innings 377/5 decl N Wagner lbw b Ashwin 0 ed 87.3 overs, and 134.2 of the 183.2 overs through and crash into the New Zealand 2nd Innings Extras (lb-2, nb-1) 3 (target: 434 runs) Total (all out; 87.3 overs) 236 India bowled in the match. At times India’s stumps.

Fall of wickets 1-2 (Guptill, selection of two spinners and two seamers As had been the case 3.1 ov), 2-3 (Latham, 3.5 ov), TWM Latham lbw b Ashwin 2 looked questionable, but Mohammed Shami through the match, there had 3-43 (Williamson, 17.5 ov), MJ Guptill c Vijay b Ashwin

0 showed why he had been included by tak- been plenty of help in the first 4-56 (Taylor, 21.3 ov), 5-158 KS Williamson* lbw b Ashwin ing out two wickets in two balls in a short, half-hour of the morning, and (Ronchi, 57.4 ov), 6-194 25 (Watling, 67.6 ov), 7-196 (Craig, sharp spell of reverse-swing - which had the ball turned and jumped LRPL Taylor run out (Yadav) 17 69.1 ov), 8-223 (Santner, 79.2 been in scant evidence in the match until extravagantly past the edge ov), 9-236 (Sodhi, 83.3 ov), L Ronchi c Ashwin b Jadeja 80 that point - before lunch. on a number of occasions.

10-236 (Wagner, 87.3 ov) MJ Santner c

Sharma b Ashwin

By the time Shami came on, bowling all Santner’s reaction to being Bowling: Mohammed Shami

71 those overs was beginning to have its ef- beaten by Ashwin was a wide 8-2-18-2, R Ashwin BJ Watling† lbw b Mohammed fect on the spinners. Ronchi gifted them his grin, suggesting there was lit35.3-5-132-6, RA Jadeja Shami 18 wicket with a loss of concentration in the tle he could do against a ball MD Craig b Mohammed Shami 34-17-58-1 (nb-1), UT Yadav 8-1-23-0, M Vijay 2-0-3-0 first over after drinks, but the new bats- turning so far.

1 man, BJ Watling, was looking comfortable, But even when it was beat-

SCOREBOARD

Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan

FIFA Secretary General, Fatma Samoura

dent than it is in the world we live in today,” Prince Ali said in a statement.

“It is not something that any governing body with any semblance of responsibility can down play or deny.

“The reality, as with many programs within FIFA, is that the task force was never given real support since its conception and its role was more about FIFA’s image than actually tackling the issues.”

The decision emerged on Friday when

Osasu Obayiuwana, a Nigerian broadcaster and lawyer who was a member of the panel, published on Twitter a letter he received from FIFA announcing the end of the task force.

It said the task force had achieved the goals which were set out for it when it was created under the leadership of disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter in 2013.

The task force’s original chairman,

Jeffrey Webb, was among high-ranking soccer officials arrested in Zurich in May last year.

Webb has since pleaded guilty in the United States to offences linked to racketeering, fraud and money-laundering.

He was one of 42 soccer officials and entities indicted last year, plunging FIFA into its worst ever crisis.

Webb was replaced as head of the task force by Constant Omary, a FIFA Council member from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Britain’s Kick It Out anti-racism group said it was perplexed by FIFA’s decision, especially as the move came less than two years before the World Cup in Russia, a country it said was “notorious for racism and abusive activities toward minorities”.

It said football should seek to lead the way in combating violence, prejudice and hate and that organizations fighting racism would be “deeply disheartened to hear news of the disbandment, as they look to FIFA for leadership.” (Reuters)

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21

SPORTS Caribbean Bodybuilding Championship 2016

“I think we should do better”- Tucker P

resident of the Guyana Amateur Weightlifting Association (GAWA), Frank Tucker threw his hat in the ring and backed the four-member Guyanese bodybuilding team heading off to the 44th Central American & Caribbean (CAC) Bodybuilding Championships in Dominican Republic.

The team which is spearheaded by top bodybuilder, Kerwin Clarke also includes Devon Davis, who has won gold at CAC three times, Alisha Fortune and Emmerson Campbell as the team for the September 29 event.

Tucker, who has been one of the stalwarts in the bodybuilding fraternity, compared the Guyanese team to others across the region and from what he has seen, the prospects for Guyana looks promising.

“I’ve seen the quality and standard of athletes across the region and I know the Guyanese athletes ought to do better on this occasion.”

Tucker compared the positions Guyana finished in last year.

Most notably for Tucker is the talent of young Clarke, who narrowly missed the podium on the last occasion having finished fourth when the competition was held in the Bahamas.

Tucker pointed out that Clarke caught his attention and judging from last showing, “I’ve seen Mr. Clarke from then to now, and his body has improved tremendously.”

A bodybuilder himself, Tucker predicted great things for Clarke noting that it is possible; the young talent could achieve great heights in the event.

“I would expect him to perform at a higher level and to medal, if possible the gold medal and I would expect his placing to go up.”

Tucker Said.

Tucker’s predictions however, are not based on instinct but rather facts, highlighting some of the stand out qualities that define Clarke from the others.

GAWA President Frank Tucker

“Clarke’s body is well groomed and mature. There are other bodybuilders who may have basics like shape, basic definition but Clarke has density, striations in his muscles. You get the separation of the muscles much more than in other athletes and that is what separates him.” The GAWA President pointed out.

While the expectations for these athletes are high, it is fair enough that Tucker advises other bodybuilders to help better themselves in the field and more so, lift the Guyana flag high comparing the preparations of the other teams to that of Guyana’s.

“Well for the athletes in Guyana, I’m not sure about [when] their preparation started as long as the other athletes. Those athletes when they finish one competition they got a road map to the next so they start prep early I’m not sure we do the same so they are ready,” Tucker referenced.

Recommending the athletes “need to ensure their diets are in order,” signaling “What makes the difference between the winners is the diet.”

Speaking on his personal preparations, Clarke highlighted that he is confident of medaling in the Dominican Republic and bettering his performance from the last time after having made major adjustments to his training and dieting.

The confident bodybuilder said that his final preparations are up to speed and his progression is on moving along nicely and has some unfinished business in the light middle weight divi-

Kerwin Clarke

sion and is definitely looking to better his previous two bronze medals with gold.

“I am nailing all my exercise sessions and I am progressing decently. I am trying to stick to a stringent diet and remain focus in the gym.” Clarke declared.

Judging on his performance from the last outing, judges would have noted that Clarke would have had minor issues that would have lead him to finishing fourth rather than on the podium, but Clarke has indicated that he has made a lot of adjustments to his physique and has a better chance of copping gold this year.

Devon Davis, who is usually among the gold medals is expected to go a step further this year in the bantamweight division after copping silver in 2015.

Meanwhile, Emmerson Campbell who is in his preferred category the Men’s Physique told Guyana Times Sport that he is in the best shape of his life heading to the DR. The local journalist finished fourth last year in the Bahamas and is said “I am gunning for a podium finish this year but not just any spot, the top spot.”

The lone female on the team, Alisha Fortune will be hoping for a much better showing this year after suffering in the Bahamas with a wardrobe failure.

Over 400 of the best body builders in the Caribbean and Central America are registered in what may be considered the “Olympics” of body building in the Caribbean.

Team Guyana depart on Wednesday at 06:00h.

LICB to investigate poor performances T

he president of the Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB), Enoch Lewis, has lamented the poor performances of the sub-region’s youth teams and has promised an “investigation” and or probe to determine the cause or causes.

“We want to see what’s happening, whether or not we have the right people around the team, whether the approach is right because it is time that we improve our performance but what I am observing is that we lost the Three Day competition by half of a point and then we proceeded to

come fifth or so in the One Day version,”’ he said.

“Something is not quite right, you can’t be that good at one time and so bad at another time. These are the same players so that concerns me,” the Antiguan added.

Despite doing well in the Under-19 Three Day, placing second, Leeward Islands finished fourth in Under-15 category and last in the Under-17s.

Lewis said the findings will be discussed at a meeting slated for the end of September in St. Kitts.

“When we meet at the

end of this month we will try to, as a group, try to determine exactly what we need to do to improve the performance of the teams and from that, we are going to meet with the individual managers and coaches and see if they think something beyond whatever took place on the field would have hampered the players in terms of the overall performance,” he said.

The Leeward Islands Hurricanes is currently preparing for the WICB’s Professional Cricket League (PCL) slated to bowl off in November. (Antigua Observer)

22

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Confident Green Machine wing out today for Mexico “We really want to bring this one to Guyana” ― Coach Adonis

By Akeem Greene

W

ith one goal in mind, to win, Guyana’s National Rugby team, the Green Machine will depart today to play host Mexico in the final of the Rugby Americas North (RAN) 15s Championship and 2019 World Cup Qualifier on October 1.

Over the past weeks the team has been involved in intense training sessions under the watchful eyes of head coach Lawrence Adonis and most recently Argentine scrum specialist Diego Giannantonio and according to Adonis the ruggers are confident and ready to do battle in Mexico City.

Speaking to Guyana Times Sport on Monday after team’s final practice session at the National Park Rugby Field, Adonis

said “We are very confident, because we have been doing a lot of work and since Diego has been here he has straighten out some techniques in the weak areas and the guys have been working well; I think once we handle the high altitude, we should be okay in that game”.

Adonis added, “We really need this one, most of the times the teams from the north has been hugging the sweet and we really want to bring this one to Guyana; One thing with this team, they might be going at a sleep pace and soon as it close to game time everybody gets hungry and is ready to go out there and get a victory”.

The Agrentine coach was integrated into the team to help oil the Green Machine’s rusty scrums and the head coach is pleased with the improvement.

Head Coach Lawrence Adonis

“It has been showing, especially some of the areas especially the work on the ground work with balls has been really working for us but there is still more the players need to understand,” Adonis disclosed.

The coach further stated, “It has even been sug-

gested that the fronts and second row players get the right type of boots so they can be able to hold and push a lot better in the scrum”.

Commenting on the squad composition, Adonis revealed that they have been dealt a serious blow with the loss of Kevin

Mckenzie due to a broken thumb but firmly believes that there is still a wealth of experience in the squad.

Mexico and Guyana earned their way into the Rugby Americas North Final by winning the North and South Zone qualifiers respectively.

Las Serpientes completed a comfortable 39-3 and 75-10 wins over the Bahamas and Bermuda before being challenged by Cayman Islands but still managed to win 34-24.

The Green Machine also had three convincing wins out of three; they started off by defeating Barbados 49-17 which was followed by a 23-5 win over Jamaica.

They then snatched a 23-18 win against Trinidad and Tobago.

The local ruggers have leaped nine places to 47 (their highest world ranking) after three wins in the

tourney and should they defeat Mexico they will face the South American B Championship winner in November The squad reads: Richard Staglon (Captain), Avery Corbin (vice-captain), Jason Tyrell, Rondell McArthur, Patrick King, Rickford Cummings, Kevon David, Reign Dey, Jose Felicien, Dwayne Schroeder, Jamal Angus, Ryan Gonsalves, Lancelot Adonis, Peabo Hamilton, Osei McKenzie, Ronald Mayers, Vallon Adams, Godfrey Broomes, Blaise Bailey, Elwin Chase, Cyon Kitt, Trevin Selman, Dane Parks.

Officials: Lawrence Adonis (Head coach), Diego Giannantonio (Argentine scrum specialist), Kenneth Grant Stuart (Assistant Coach), Robin Roberts (Manager) and Phillip Barrington (Physio).

Barnwell lights up DCC Reggae Boyz open title

defence against Suriname

N

ational all-rounder Christopher Barnwell playing his maiden game for the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) ‘Floodlights’ team struck a fine unbeaten 87 to lead Floodlights to an eightwicket victory over G Square Cavaliers of Wakenaam in a T20 hardball fixture played on Friday night at Demerara Cricket Club, Georgetown.

The hard hitting right handed all-rounder hammered four fours and eight sixes as Floodlight chasing 176, reached 178-2 in 18.1 overs. Anil Beharry was not out on 26 when victory was achieved while Uniss Yusuf made 35 (3x4; 3x6) and Ramo Malone 20 (3x4).

Kamal Khan and Mahindra Dindyal took one wicket each for the Essequibo island-team.

Earlier, Kamal Khan led Cavaliers batting with 43 including three fours and four maximums while Jaggernauth Manbodh made 40 (6x4), Heera Sukram 26 and Toolsie Sahadeo 23.

Khalid Baksh and Dharam

Christopher Barnwell won the Best Batsman prize in his debut match for Floodlights

Caribbean Cup champions, the Reggae Boyz are heading to Guyana soon

J

Anil Beharry flicks beautifully for six

Persaud claimed two wickets each and 10 year old Romeo Deonarain one.

Patrick Khan of Floodlights was given the best fielder award,

Deonarain the best bowler prize and Barnwell the best batsman accolade. Both teams received trophies.

The game was sponsored by Factory Price.

amaica’s Reggae Boyz will open the defense of the Caribbean Cup against Suriname on Wednesday at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex in Kingston.

Suriname will come into the contest as underdogs having qualified for the third round as a group runnerup. The Jamaicans by virtue of being involved in the

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification fourth round were along with Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti given a bye for the previous rounds.

The defending champions have been drawn in the four team group 1, which also include Guyana.

Following the opening match, Jamaica will depart on October 9 for Guyana, who will host them at the Leonora Stadium on

October 11. Group 2 action will see Haiti play French Guiana and St Kitts and Nevis while in Puerto Rico.

Antigua and Barbuda and Curacao will play in Group 3. Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic and Martinique will play in Group 4. The four group winners will qualify for the Caribbean Cup to be played in June.

Haiti thrash Cuba to hold 2nd U-17 title in a row

H

aiti exploded for four second-half goals to earn a 5-0 win over Cuba in the final of the Caribbean qualifying competition for the 2017 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship on Sunday at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Trinidad and Tobago.

The Haitians completed the final round with a 4W-1D-0L record, scoring 15 goals and conceding only one, while Cuba lost for the first time after posting four straight wins.

Steeve Mondestin scored in a third straight game to

The victorious and overjoyed Haiti U-17 team

give Haiti a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute.

Ten minutes after break, Steeve Selso Saint-Duc doubled the advantage with his team-high fifth goal and Jean Jacques Danley made it 3-0 in the 63rd minute.

Luidon Casseus (78’) and Nael Wellofky Elysee (90’+2) completed the scoreline with their second and third goals of the tournament, respectively.

In the match for third place, Jamaica posted a 3-0 victory over Curacao.

Raewin Senior got things started with a 21st-minute

goal and Nicque Daley (48’, 70’) netted a second-half brace. Senior and Daley finished the tournament as the team’s co-scoring leaders with four goals each.

Cuba, Curacao, Haiti and Jamaica had previously earned berths to the CONCACAF event, which will be played in Panama from April 21-May 7, 2017.

The field also include the host nation, Canada, Mexico, Suriname, the United States and three to-be-determined Central American sides. (CONCACAF.com)

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

WI name predictable 15 for Pakistan Tests

23

― historic day/night fixture set for Oct 13

Arab Emirates.

The series will consist of three Test matches with the opening match a historic a day/night fixture at he the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, from Thursday, Promising fast bowler Alzarri October 13 Joseph is included for his to Monday, Selection October 17.

Panel of the first Test tour T h i s West Indies will be the first time both C r i c k e t teams play a Test match B o a r d (WICB) announced the 15- under lights using the man squad for the upcom- pink ball.

The second Test will ing Test Series against Pakistan in the United be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

T

from Friday, October 21 to Tuesday, October 25 and the final Test will be at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium from Sunday, October 30 to Thursday, November 3.

Despite repeated batting and bowling failures in the recent home Test series against India, the selectors have kept faith with the same squad to play against world’s number one ranked Pakistan.

Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican is the only addition to the 14 players who constituted the squad for the third and fourth Tests of the home series against

India in August that the regional side lost 2-0.

The squad includes seven batsmen (including wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich), three allrounders (Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite and Roston Chase) and five bowlers three right-arm pacers, a legspinner and a left-arm spinner.

During the recent series in the Caribbean, West Indies managed to save the second Test thanks to a gutsy rearguard century from Chase and fighting fifties from Dowrich and Holder. The fourth Test

which was played at the b e Queen’s Park i n g Oval and was t h e washed out, maiden with no play day-night possible after the first Jomel Warrican fixture session on day one. for both Batsmen Leon Johnson teams.

Squad Jason and Shai Hope, and fast Holder (captain), Kraigg bowler Alzarri Joseph, had Brathwaite (vice capbeen added to West Indies’ tain), Devendra Bishoo, squad for the third and Jermaine Blackwood, fourth Tests of that series. Carlos Brathwaite, Only Johnson and Joseph Darren Bravo, Roston featured in the playing XI, Chase, Miguel Cummins, but neither had any stand- Shane Dowrich, Shannon out performances.

Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon West Indies play three Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Tests in the UAE, the first Marlon Samuels, Jomel in Dubai from October 13 Warrican.

Jeremy Garrett aiming to score Palmer, America’s 1st at both academics and football commercial hero dies

T

Jeremy Garrett in action in the Digicel’s School Football Tournament

By Akeem Greene

A

t the age of 16, Jeremy Garrett has gripped the attention of many followers in the football fraternity with this passion and discipline on the field and more so, his eloquence at the art of public speaking, an aspect where many ages alike and above has struggled.

It is those aforementioned ingredients that the young footballer is aiming to add for his recipe for success. Speaking to Guyana Times Sport after being named in the country’s senior football squad, Garrett says the selection came as a result of hard work.

“It’s a good feeling, I have been working hard so it is not anything new and I believe through hard work you get those opportunities to be called into the national team at the age of 16,” the Fruta Conquerors player stated.

He added, “I must commend the coach for accepting me, they treated me well, it’s a great experience and I’m really thankful for Coach [Jamaal] Shabazz, he has helped me improve my ability.”

The Chase Academic Foundation Student recently wrote the Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) were acquired eight subjects and has now returned to the institution to engage in Caribbean Advance Proficiency Exams (CAPE) and SATs with the aim of securing a scholar-

ship in the near future.

“I’m really looking for a scholarship to play in a college abroad and further my education as well; me staying in Guyana with the talent and education will just go to waste because I have seen it happen to others and I don’t want the same for me” the former Tucville Primary School student disclosed.

Quizzed on his academic goals, he responded saying, I’m looking to do physiotherapy, if football doesn’t happen, I always have something to fall back on.”

Garrett, who recently captained his school to the title in the Digicel’s Schools Football Championship, and was then at the helm of the National under-17 squad in their World Cup qualifiers, first made donned national colours at the age of 14 when he toured with the under-15 team to the Dominican Republic, was in admiration of Golden Jaguars defender Collin Nelson.

The footballer who himself plays in the central defence position revealed that, “I must commend the likes of Collin Nelson, playing in the defence with him, I learned a lot from him and hopefully I will play alongside him in the future; Colin has thought me how to keep time on an attacker, as it is just not about rushing him.”

The player, who was drafted into the Fruta Conquers senior team is expected to participate in the Guyana Football Federation

(GFF) Elite League, says that the league is great opportunity to develop players.

“The elite league is a very good oppouruntiy for most players in Guyana, last year I had CXC exams so I did not get the chance to play but I do believe it develops the players and coaches,” Garrett stated.

As the conversation neared to a close, the student who has played the game he loves since the age of eight was quizzed on what he believes the GFF can do to better nurture young talents.

His response was, “What I think is needed is for the Federation to get a programme, in other Caribbean countries there is a programme set for every year, schools are accompanied by the Federation to play football because the two go together.”

He added, “ So they need to be more organised as far I can see since I was playing football since the age of 8 and there has never been an organised tournament that runs every year , so they should try seek private business to get funding to help produce better players; they are talents in Guyana, they just need sharpening.”

Garrett ended by saying his main focus now will be producing stellar performances in the ongoing GFF/ NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power National Under-17 League and the Elite League. (akeemg@ guyanatimesgy.com)

he earthy, endearing and gifted Arnold Palmer left a brilliant legacy in golf but he transcended the links, launching an era of sports stars as high paid pitchmen and pioneering in sports media.

“Something of a pop hero,” Bob Dorfman, creative director at San Francisco’s Baker Street Advertising, told Reuters about Palmer, who died on Sunday aged 87.

“A trend-setter in terms of sports endorsements on TV. It was kind of the right guy, the right personality, the right time.”

Palmer, winner of seven majors, captured the public’s imagination with his everyman demeanour, swashbuckling style and good looks just as television was coming of age nearly 60 years ago.

“Our first commercial sports hero,” former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson said in a telephone interview. “He created the television audience that still exists today.”

Beyond his go-for-broke style and accomplishments on the course, Palmer was also remembered on Monday as a philanthropist in his adopted hometown of Orlando.

Mike McCarley, presi-

Arnold Palmer

dent of the Orlando-based Golf Channel that was cofounded by Palmer, spoke to yet another side of ‘The King’.

“There’s a medical center that bears his name in Orlando because he decided that we, as a community, could do better for the kids of the community,” McCarley told Reuters.

“Children are born in Winnie Palmer Hospital (named after his late wife).

When they get sick, they go to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

Across the entire community, it’s an incredible impact.”

At a time when leading sports athletes were supplementing their salaries with local advertisements for car dealerships, supermarkets

and the like, Palmer’s qualities enabled him to become a national spokesman for several big brands.

Both Pilson and Dorfman credited the deft steering of his agent Mark McCormack, who went on to found the International Management Group (IMG).

“He wasn’t this elite country-club type guy. He seemed to be very friendly and approachable,” said Dorfman. “He really crossed the line there in terms of sports guys doing products outside of just equipment or things related to their sport.

“He did everything from cars, Cadillacs, and CocaCola and Pennzoil and again the fact that golfers have such a long shelf life also kept him going well into his 80s. He was making $40 million dollars off the course.”

Dorfman said Palmer, who owns Orlando’s Bay Hill golf resort which hosts a regular PGA Tour stop, said another factor helped make him “one of the forefathers of modern sports endorsers.”

“He also had the advantage of being in a sport where the following was a little more moneyed, so there was a stronger connection maybe between upscale brands and him as a pitchman.”(Reuters)

Hughes leaves Derbyshire after season

L

eeward Islands lefthander Chesney Hughes has parted ways with Derbyshire, following the just concluded English County season in which he enjoyed his best ever campaign for the club.

The 25-year-old, who was born in Anguilla, spent seven fairly successful years in the East Midlands but failed to agree terms on a new contract.

Derbyshire’s cricket advisory director, Kevin Dean, said opener Hughes had been an asset to the club.

“We would like to thank Chesney for his efforts for Derbyshire over the last

Chesney Hughes

seven years,” Dean said.

“He produced some memorable innings for the Club, no more than his unbeaten 270 in 2013 at Headingley. Whilst it’s disappointing that we were unable to agree terms on a

new deal, we wish Chesney well for the future.”

Hughes enjoyed his best ever season on the County circuit this year, lashing 806 runs in 11 games at an average of 53 with three centuries.

He also managed 244 runs in 12 outings in the T20 Blast.

Overall, he scored 3 934 runs at an average of 34 in first class matches and amassed 6657 runs in all formats.

Hughes played for Leeward Islands Hurricanes in this year’s NAGICO Super50 in the Caribbean, scoring 112 runs in six matches.

(Windiescricket)

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

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

Confident Green Machine wing out today for Mexico “We really want to bring this one to Guyana” ― Coach Adonis

Pg 22

Under the watchful eyes of Argentine Diego Giannantonio (red top), the ruggers go through their paces at their final practice session on Monday

WI name predictable 15 for Pakistan Tests

― historic day/night fixture set for Oct 13

Jeremy Garrett aiming to score at both academics and football

Pg 23

A youthful West Indies team will look to compete against top ranked Pakistan in the UAE over three Tests

Pg 23

Creating the right balance between football and academics is the aim of the young footballer

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