Guyana Times Daily - January 24, 2015

Legislation crucial to control use of state resources

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...incumbency advantage universal in democracies Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 2383

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Saturday, January 24, 2015

PRICE

Elections 2015

Ramotar commits to dissolving Parliament

Page 16

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

UG workers to go on 9 strike from Monday P

…within constitutional timeframe

AFC/APNU/PNC coalition talks...

Falling fuel prices:

“Pass on the benefits” – Minister Ali urges service providers

APNU ignores Ramjattan's premature P9 ejaculation on leadership

Page 7

Angoy’s Avenue residents now have lights P12 ...after GPL’s Thursday evening ‘switch on’ EU budgetary support...

New owner of Park Vue Hotel, Fazil Mirza at the re-launch of the hotel on Friday evening along with Coordinator of the Mashramani Secretariat, Lennox Canterbury; designer Olympia Small-Sonaram and the ‘Mashramani Models’ as they gear up for the pre-Mash celebrations. (See story on page 18)

Faith Harding passes on Page 14

Anti-APNU flyers...

Page 13

Granger warns of reprisals

Millions of P14 euros withheld from Guyana Specialty Hospital:

P16

Surendra Engineering penalised nearly $1B for breach

2 NEWS

saturday, JANUARY 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

President pleased with work of Rodney Commission Brown, and Trinidadbased Guyanese Senior Counsel Seenath Jairam Ramotar said from the revelations so far, the Guyanese populace has become much more aware of what transpired during the period under investigation and the circumstances surrounding Dr Rodney’s death.

President Donald Ramotar

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resident Donald Ramotar said he was so far satisfied with the work of the three-member Commission of Inquiry investigating the death of slain historian Dr Walter Rodney. He hoped that the final report would bring about some amount of healing for the family and the country as a whole.

The Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry was established in February last year by President Ramotar, to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of the academic, who died when a bomb planted in a walkie-talkie device exploded as he sat in his brother’s car outside the Camp Street Prison, Georgetown

on June 13, 1980. The Working People’s Alliance co-founder had been a thorn in the side of the People’s National Congress (PNC) led by then leader President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.

Since then, fingers have been pointed in the direction of the PNC, although the political party has equally denied the allegation.

Speaking to the Guyana Times on Thursday, Ramotar said that there has been “a lot of revelations” coming out of the Commission’s hearings which are presided over by Barbados Queen’s Counsel, Sir Richard Cheltenham; Jamaican Queen’s Counsel Jacqueline Samuels-

Opposition The Rodney CoI will go into its seventh session on Monday, January 26, despite opposition from the PNC about the timing of its resumption.

The party’s Chairman, Basil Williams, who has been representing the PNC as its attorney, had expressed disappointment that the Commission would be resuming during a period when political parties would be involved in their election campaigns. He had raised this concern days before President Ramotar announced that Regional and General Elections would be held in May of this year.

Williams had told the Guyana Times that the PNC had expressed concern when it received a notice that the CoI would be commencing on January 26.

“Why would you want a Commission during this time?” he had questioned, noting that the three-member Commission had already expressed reservations about proceeding during the “political atmosphere “that will prevail”.

Asked about this concern, President Ramotar said that “things don’t work like that”.

“We cannot stop things

Motion, we would not have been in this.”

Walter Rodney Secretariat Chairman Hugh Denbow had told the Guyana Times last week that the Commission, upon its resumption on January 26, would run for some five days before taking a break and resuming on February 9.

Based on the Commission’s plan of ac-

tion for 2015, hearings will continue way into March.

While some key witnesses, including Dr Rodney’s wife, Patricia and WPA co-founder Eusi Kwayana have already given evidence, the world awaits the testimony of Rodney’s younger brother Donald, who is said to be the only known witness to the fatal bomb blast.

Engineering confab set for February 5

“D Dr Walter Rodney

because of things like that,” Ramotar told the Guyana Times, continuing that the Commission was set up long before any major political issues had arisen. “If they had not put forward the No-Confidence

e f e n d i n g G u y a n a ’ s Development with Engineering Solutions” is this year’s theme for the Public Works Ministry’s Engineering Conference to be held on February 5 at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown .

The fifth annual Conference will bring together a wide range of local and international experts and innovators in the field of engineering, road safety, renewable energy and maritime administration and hundreds of engineer-

ing professionals, contractors, consultants, suppliers and students.

The technical sessions will be highlighted by presentations on a number of ongoing development projects in Guyana, and will provide participants with the opportunity to interact with the presenters and policymakers in the transport sector.

Meanwhile, the feature address will be delivered by President Donald Ramotar. Registration will commence at 08:00h and the technical sessions will run from 09:30h to 17:00h.

news

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saturday, january 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, January 24 – 05:30h-07:00h and Sunday, January 25 – 08:30h-10:00h The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, January 24 – 06:55h-08:25h and Sunday, January 25 – 07:40h-09:10h

FERRY SCHEDULE Parika and Supenaam departure times – 06:00h, 11:00h and 16:00h daily.

Elections 2015:

Legislation crucial to control use of state resources ...incumbency advantage universal in democracies

WEATHER TODAY Thundery showers can be expected in the morning, with light rain showers in the afternoon.

Thundery showers are expected to return in the evening over coastal regions and near inland locations. Temperatures are expected to range between 23 degrees and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly between 3.57 metres and 4.47 metres per second.

High Tide: 07:18h and 19:40h reaching maximum heights of 2.73 metres and 2.72 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 00:51h and 13:12h reaching minimum heights of 0.42 metre and 0.50 metre respectively.

The above-normal high tide is in effect until Monday, January 26, 2015. Residents of coastal, ow-lying and riverine areas are advised to take necessary precautions against possible flooding

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

PPP/C General Secretary Clement Rohee

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top political analyst here has said that political parties should move urgently after the upcoming elections to enact specific legislation to curb any spending and abuse by an incumbent government during elections campaign.

The comment comes in wake of claims by the Opposition that the Donald Ramotar administration might be inclined to use state resources for its campaign work, putting them at a disadvantage.

Government spokespersons have already described the Opposition’s complaints as a ‘red herring’ as the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) have been accused of receiving funding through a shady group dubbed Funding a United Committee for Opposition Presidency (FUCOP).

Through the group

Kaieteur News Publisher Glenn Lall is alleged to have pumped tens of millions annually to the Opposition.

This includes newspaper advertisements, free columns in the Kaieteur News and other benefits. It was also reported that some businessmen had been forced to join or contribute financially to the group.

Speaking to Guyana Times on Tuesday a senior Government official said that the Opposition would start their misinformation and campaigning by alleging that there was a misuse of state resources. The official dispelled any notion that

AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan

monies from the State coffers would flow into any coffer of the PPP/C to prepare it for elections.

“The fears and apprehensions that are being expressed are completely without foundation. They are baseless and whimsical,” the official said during the interview.

“These are the very persons whom….are unprepared

to support legislation to regulate campaign financing.

And they may be guilty of financial manoeuvrings which cannot withstand the test of scrutiny and proper analysis. And that is why they are expressing aversion to campaigning financing,” the official declared.

The official reasoned that the Opposition’s intent is to set the platform for an atmosphere of tension, confusion, and chaos which could translate into violence if people get the impression that the Government is misusing funds for political purposes and is undermining democracy.

The analyst in making the case for specific legislation to deal with the issue reasoned that the issue of incumbency advantage is not confined to emerging democracies like Guyana alone, noting that even more established democracies such as the United States have attempted to address the issue in their electoral law.

He cited that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act, the Finance Law Act, the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act, and the Bipartisan Reform Act of 2002, pieces of legislations, which attempt to address, among other issues, the expenditure of presidential candidates during an election.

The analyst said that the laws provide for stringent guidelines for presidential candidates to disclose their campaign expenditures and puts a cap on campaign expenditure. But the laws do

not provide specific guidelines on incumbent expenditure.

“The laws are more specific on the use of Air Force One, the plane the US President travels in.”

Despite these provisions, the analyst said in reality it appears the sitting presidents have used federal resources during their re-election campaigns as was the case with former presidents Bill Clinton in 1996 and George W Bush in 2004.

The media reported that Bush enjoyed presidential privileges during the campaign period ranging from a

APNU General Secretary Joseph Harmon

huge staff team and White House facilities. In 2004, USA Today reported that while Democratic rival John Kerry had to dig into his campaign bank account to charter a plane to roam the country, Bush travelled at no cost to his campaign by simply declaring a trip “official” travel rather than “political.” turn to page 7

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guyanatimesgy.com

saturDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015

Views Editor: Nigel Williams Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134 Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

Preventable deaths

G

overnment has been placing great emphasis in the fight against the spread of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). The massive investments being made in the health sector, especially in relation to ensuring there is a healthier and more productive population, and the numerous sensitization programmes being carried out could attest to this.

Now citizens have access to a wealth of information via TV, radio and newspaper and other forms of media to enlighten them about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. But there are still many premature deaths as a result of NCDs. Chronic NCDs result from behavioural attitudes, or risk factors such as tobacco use, excessive use of alcohol, unhealthy eating habits, and inactivity among other reasons, hence most NCD deaths are preventable. What is needed is a change in lifestyle. This will take much effort, both in terms of human and financial resources to get persons to adopt healthier lifestyle attitudes.

People’s lives are cut short and more persons are becoming disabled as a result of NCDs. People are getting blind or are becoming physically disabled because of amputations. The number one cause of disability in Caricom countries is NCDs. According to statistics from the Health Ministry, chronic NCDs such as heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancer, lung diseases and neo-psychiatric disorders are responsible for almost 60 per cent of deaths in the country annually.

This is indeed quite shocking; and now, more than ever, stakeholders in the health sector and funding partners must step up and take bolder actions needed to reverse the number of persons becoming disabled or dying from NCDs. NCDs are one of the major causes of poverty globally. Not only are individuals and families being impoverished, there is a direct impact on the economy. NCDs have an equally critical impact on productivity, as we lose victims who have developed years of experience in various fields of development.

According to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) report titled, “Global Status Report on Non-Communicable Diseases 2014”, urgent Government action is needed to meet global targets to reduce the burden of NCDs, and prevent the annual toll of 16 million people dying prematurely – before the age of 70 – from heart and lung diseases, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

The report states that most premature NCD deaths are preventable. Of the 38 million lives (globally) lost to NCDs in 2012, 16 million or 42 percent were premature and avoidable – up from 14.6 million in 2000.

Nearly five years into the global effort to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by 25 per cent by 2025, the report provides a fresh perspective on key lessons learned. The report calls for more action to be taken to curb the epidemic, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where deaths due to NCDs are overtaking those from infectious diseases.

Almost three quarters of all NCD deaths (28 million), and 82 per cent of the 16 million premature deaths, occur in low- and middle-income countries.

The WHO report provides the baseline for monitoring implementation of the “Global action plan for NCDs 20132020”, aimed at reducing the number of premature deaths from NCDs by 25 per cent by 2025. Outlined in the action plan are nine voluntary global targets that address key NCD risk factors including tobacco use, salt intake, physical inactivity, high blood pressure and harmful use of alcohol.

The report provides “best buy” or cost-effective, highimpact interventions recommended by WHO, including banning all forms of tobacco advertising, replacing trans fats with polyunsaturated fats, restricting or banning alcohol advertising, preventing heart attacks and strokes, promoting breastfeeding, implementing public awareness programmes on diet and physical activity, and preventing cervical cancer through screening.

Many countries have already had successes in implementing these interventions to meet global targets.

Guyana in particular has made measureable progress in its fights against NCDs, but there is still a far way to go. This latest WHO report provides useful insight into where countries are and what actions could be taken.

Getting fit with Courts: One consumer tries out an exercise machine at the home furnishing giant (Carl Croker photo)

There is justification to keep faith in the PPP/C

Dear Editor, Allow me the opportunity to challenge some aspects of Dr Clive Thomas’ regular, specifically his contentions about “looting national resources”, “the PPP/C executive is particularly promoting a frantic scramble for minerals similar to other poor countries of Africa and Asia with the attendant looting of the country’s natural resources”, and “the fire sale of Guyana’s national resources”.

We, Guyanese, have grown up hearing of and believing, even though not really seeing evidence of, the existence of abundant, rich natural resources. It is unfortunate that Dr Thomas’ charges, presumably arising from that view, further reinforces an incorrect view that we have bonanzas on which many people want to get their hands, and which we, the PPP/C, have been giving away.

I will present pertinent facts, not to “dis” our comforting, seductive view of our abundant, rich natural resources, but to help open our eyes to a more realistic view: there is much hard work and, often times, little or no success, in going after the development of our natural resources.

The Omai gold deposit would not have been economic in a developed country, yet who would say that Omai was not good for us? Its attractiveness lay in compensation (wages, salaries and benefits) payments being less than 10 per cent of total costs.

In a developed country, such payments would more likely have been 20to-30 per cent of total

costs. Essentially, the Omai gold deposits provided an opportunity to utilize competent, competitive Guyanese workers.

It is with a sense of realism and balance that this administration has been pursuing the development of our natural resources, even as we look for our salvation in our people’s work, in our people working productively, individually and altogether, and in achieving high levels of productivity, quality, and timeliness, with the lowest quartile of costs for our products and services.

In responding to Dr Thomas’ charges about “a frantic scramble for minerals and other resources”, I would firstly submit that we live, today, in a world of global trading. We, Guyanese, want many, many things that other people, in other countries, produce, and we need to produce goods and services with which to trade.

Further, with our small numbers, we need to develop strategic alliances and partnerships for mutual benefits, with whoever is willing to be so engaged.

I would ask Dr Thomas to point to the instances of ‘’looting and frantic scramble’’ - would it be BOSAI and RUSAL, which rescued our bauxite operations? The sad truth is that when we nationalized bauxite in the early 1970s, bauxite in Guyana was in its declining, old age, to use the analysis of a 1980s Jamaica Bauxite Institute paper on a “Life Cycle Study of Bauxite Deposits around the World”.

For most of the time that the bauxite operations were owned by us, we were incur-

ring costs of about 30per cent more than the prevailing prices, and since as much as 90per cent of costs were incurred on imported materials, we were at times losing money from our nation’s foreign exchange account.

Eventually, our national treasury was freed of subsidizing the core bauxite operations, as this Administration welcomed RUSAL and BOSAI. The addition of their significant internal needs, and their presence in the international markets, improved the prospects for our bauxite mines and communities.

And, to which companies may Dr Thomas be referring, in the gold sector? Not the development at Aurora, where the Company has been persevering since the mid1990s to arrive at where it is today.

Not the on-going feasibility studies at Toroparo, where the current owners have been working since about 2000.

Not the mine under construction at Kaburi, where Guyanese Geologist, Jerry Carter, is now happy that after more than forty years of believing in its success, and prospecting the property, he now has a partner who is bringing it into production.

Dr Thomas should set his mind at ease – no looting, but lots of hard work and lots of money spent, over many years, accumulating and studying information gained from prospecting.

And, do we have agreements in place that provide a fair share to our country, in addition to the jobs, the examples of organization and purpose, and other benefits, which they bring to our coun-

try? Yes, we do.

This PPP/C Administration, admittedly after some questioning, has, nonetheless, been continuing much of the same standard mining, petroleum and timber agreements, as were introduced in the latter years of the PNC administration, under the guidance of UN and Commonwealth agencies.

We, the PPP/C Administration, commissioned a review of the Omai Mining Agreement by one of the top international accounting firms. And, what was the firm’s judgement?

That in its international comparison, our offer to prospective investors was not competitive, not attractive enough, and that we should give more concessions and incentives.

But, we did not give in.

Our mineral agreement was truly one of those that demanded the most of investors. We demanded five per cent off the top, for royalty – many other countries accepted three per cent, or less.

And, what did this PPP/C administration do when, in 2010, we began negotiating Mineral Agreements for the development of the mines at Aurora, Toraparo, and later, Kaburi? We raised royalty further to eoght per cent, when gold prices are above $1000 an ounce. There has been no ‘’fire-sale’’, no giveaway, to friend or foe, in the mining sector.

And let me remind us here that development agreements for large-scale operations do not ‘see’ nationality, whether local or foreign, but need only that the operations be of sufficiently large size. turn to page 5

guyanatimesgy.com

saturDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015

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Jeffrey is wrong in supporting British diplomat Dear Editor, For the last few months, none of my letters have caught the Editors’ eyes at the Guyana Chronicle, Kaieteur News and Stabroek News, despite the USAID’s revamped democracy and press freedom mission.

Maybe, “It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key” or whatever, if it can be solved. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill certainly did not have little me in mind in that pontification.

But British Guiana was certainly on his mind when he suspended the country’s Constitution in 1953. Can British presence still be debilitating?

“Since one only requires a cursory (sic) understanding of the political situation in Guyana to appreciate that the (PPP/C) regime has broken the Commonwealth Charter, the most sympathetic interpretation of the Guyana Government’s response to the British Government’s position is that, like the military theo-

rist Karl Von Clausewitz, it believes that ‘the best form of defense is attack’,” as Dr Henry Jeffrey wrote in affirming that “the British High Commissioner was in order”, easily found by checking out the SN features column of January 21.

When Dr Jeffrey quotes Von Clausewitz, one must bear in mind the current PNC leader’s lifetime military background.

Who stands to benefit is not in doubt.

Von Clausewitz as a soldier, also had many aphorisms, of which the most famous is “war is the continuation of politics by other means”.

Mr David Granger as the PNC leader, has already revisited the tragic 1960s Sun Chapman’ s bombing for another Linden monument, while the PNC pleads innocence and no responsibility for Dr Walter Rodney similar worldwide denounced horror.

No sheep for sure, but with such sharp horns and possessing both exemplary education and many priv-

ileged unique experiences, one can be bedazzling brilliant like Dr Jeffrey.

The question becomes topical whether, with age and boredom, the wine or man is getting better, or the marbles being juggled have become lost in transit to more than gravity.

Naturally when one Beneba is unwell, it’s a hint to all Quashebas, most concerned about the tribal family’s wellbeing. Under what classification would Dr Jeffrey’s unsupported claims fall under when he wrote: “Prorogation is only indicative of a trend towards administrative profligacy. In the first place, the regimes financial waywardness and the )pposition’s belief that it has broken the law is what led to the forging of the noconfidence motion the prorogation is attempting to avoid.”

How many times must it be affirmed that the Judiciary, legally empowered to interpret the country’s Constitution - the highest law of the land, mind you - specifically ruled the

(AFC-APNU) Opposition was without legal authority to cut the budget?

What exempts the Opposition to be above the law? Why is flagrant contempt of court by the Opposition to be condoned?

What makes it valid and furthermore excuses the Opposition’s violation of the law to, in effect, exonerate their lawlessness?

Can anyone, not only the good doctor, care to explain why anyone would justify the AFC-APNU with a superior entitlement or empowerment to slash the budget in violation of Guyana’s Constitution?

Without consent of the Finance Minister representing the Executive Government, such AFCAPNU actions have no validity, therefore shamelessness can only boomerang to its slashers.

Historically, only one man did turn water into wine. Dr Jeffrey is probably fit to unfasten his own shoe laces. Unfortunately, he is ill equipped for “fixing” even if he has gone around the

block.

Dr Jeffrey’s assertion that “the (PPP/C) regimes financial waywardness and the Opposition’s belief that it has broken the law” has absolutely no validity whatsoever. Absolutely none. But Dr Jeffrey seems to believe if he repeats the British diplomat’s assertion that the PPP/C’s regime was wrong it would become right by his say so chorusing.

Between, “How does thy honour? Let me lick thy shoe. I’ll not serve him; he’s not valiant” (Shakespeare’s Tempest), the very highly educated Dr Jeffrey was with choice between the British diplomat and his own country’s Judiciary.

Guyana’s Judiciary clarified the law very clearly as it applies within constitutional boundaries. Few in Guyana are likely to go British when Chinese has always been preferred and satisfying.

Something must be seriously amiss for Dr Jeffrey to ploug on in unashamed verbal nakedness when in the very next paragraph he

There is justification to keep...

Further, though some say a challengeable situation under our various agreements, only Guyanese nationals now have ownership of small- and medium-scale properties and, therefore, protected opportunities to grow, and to develop partnerships. And, to which companies might Dr Thomas have been referring, in the petroleum sector?

Not CGX, which, with great faith, has been persevering in exploration since the early 1990s. Not Repsol, and other partners joining that Company in the 2000s.

Not Exxon, which has been here since 1999 and is persevering with its planned well in deep-water, beginning by the end of this first quarter.

And, the story in the logging and timber sector has not been much different. Let me admit that I, too, have been in error about the not-so-bountiful nature of our forests.

When, in 1993 or 1994, the Case-Unamco group applied for forest areas upon which to base a second plywood factory in Guyana, I thought that Clayton Hall, then Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), was being much too conservative with his position that Guyana’s forests could not well support, even one plywood factory!

I do not think that Clayton has found it consoling that time proved him to be correct. The Case-Unamco TSA areas languished for many years despite a bright start, with lots of money put into the Case-Unamco road from Kwakwani, past Parrish Peak, and as the plywood factory remained in containers for more than a decade.

Someone observing Mabura (the centre for the Demerara Woods Ltd [DWL]/ Demerara Timbers Ltd [DTL] operations) over the years, would recognize that it, too, has not done well.

David Cassells, a past Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Iwokrama, put things on a more theoretical footing, arguing that natural, diverse tropical rainforests such as ours, rooted in highly-leached poor soils such as our sands and laterites, could hardly sustain commercial timberexploitation in competition with the planted temperate forests.

Our forests attain average growth rates of wood of about 10 cubic metres per hectare per year, and in our diverse forests, each tree logged requires an average of about half-mile of trail. It is a real challenge to sustain commercial activity at an acceptable standard of prosperity, for stakeholders.

In Africa, average growth rates are twice as good - 20 cubic metres per hectare per year. At the higher end, the planted pine- forests in Chile, on the sides of the Andes Mountains, attain up to 80 cubic metres per hectare per year, and are ‘clear-felled’ and replanted (like harvesting of cane) every 15 years.

Think of the production and productivity, and lower costs, of such planted temperate forests, and you would understand why Guyanese are finding pine-doors and lumber attractive, typically 70 per cent of the cost of the Guyanese equivalent. Our saw-mills could soon start importing pine-logs from North America, like other countries

do.

To succeed in competition, our tropical wood and woodproducts have to attract premium prices, based on either service-properties or customer fashion-preferences. Dr Thomas’ charges may be reflective of the slow move to value-added, particularly by the foreign-owned timber companies.

We must all be for valueadded, to get to more and better-paying jobs, but we must be adding value (as judged by the international market) faster than we are adding costs.

Our woods, including the lesser-known species, have to be introduced to, and established in, the new markets.

The export of logs to existing processing and manufacturing facilities, which are already supplying wood-products to the potentially new markets, is probably the most prudent and practical approach, but it takes time – it could be a work of 10 years.

It is not unreasonable that, in looking around for reasons why we are not ‘better off’, we pay attention to the judgements of others who have already gotten to where we hope to get; but, we get different advice at different times.

In the petroleum sector, the same bilateral and multilateral agencies which were pushing, in the 1990s, for Guyana to give more concessions, when they returned in about 2010 when there were high expectations that we were about to strike oil, were telling me that I, in poor Guyana, might have given too much to the oil-exploration companies, earlier.

They were offering to re-read the agreements. Perhaps, I had a look of some consternation on my face, for they then said that we should not be looking to break the agreements: agreements are sacrosanct, but in re-reading the agreements, we might find that we do not have to give as much as we first thought that we had to give!

No doubt, they were offering to be helpful: we must learn of the advice that was given at different times, before we level charges at one another. A ‘fire-sale’ today, could yesterday have been a ‘winning bargain’!

Allow me some more of your valuable time and space, to address some charges about a spectrum give-away. Critics of this administration have been pointing to the big sums of money that some countries have made from auctioning of spectrum.

Well, those sums are, at best, a pre-payment by the investor, of moneys that he will recover from the public, over the 10-20 years period for which he/she has bought the spectrum.

The price that any investor is willing to pay, is relatable to the GDP, the per capita GDP, the population, the population density, and other characteristics of the area that he/she would access - in effect, the money that he/she thinks that could be made.

Put in the numbers for Guyana, and you might find that the auction-values that might be attracted by Guyana, would be very small.

This PPP/C Administration has consciously opted for the other

surprisingly concedes that: “Secondly, the prorogation may be constitutional, but as we have seen above, the existence of a functioning parliament is essential to democracy as stated in the Commonwealth Charter.”

Obviously anyone who publicly subsumes their country’s Constitution to the dictates of external alien contingencies raises questions about their patriotism.

What is not considered is the Commonwealth Charter can only have validity save and except when it is not in conflict or overrides the Guyana Constitution.

In a democracy, no one can legally sanctify contempt of court by any Opposition who in pre-meditative tossing aside of the Judiciary’s decision, specifically embarked on a trip to violate Guyana’s Constitution - the highest law of the land.

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Shakespeares Hamlet) and the sources are obvious.

Sultan Mohamed

from page 4

model of granting spectrum: minimizing the initial payment, but pushing for maximum investment in facilities, and an annual payment of a fixed percentage of gross revenues over the period.

We maintain that this option best fits the Guyana situation and, in the end, brings more growth and development, and more money all around.

Recall, also, that many who called for the ‘big money’ of auctions, on the one hand, complained that the minimum figure of G$2.5 million per annum for the spectrum, for a TV station, is too much!

People not in office can take different positions at different times of the day, but a person in office is expected to hold to some consistent position.

I do hope that this letter would have reduced concerns about the charges of ‘’fire sale’’ and ‘’looting of natural resources’’. Far from it, as has been reported by the Commissioner of the GFC, only about half of the sustainable cutting of logs is being harvested.

Indeed, a case could rather be made that we have been too cautious and tentative. It can be argued that in pursuing development of our natural resources potential, if we had been on a ‘’fire sale’’, we might have been having much more economic activities now, and our GDP might have been five times what it is today, and, no doubt, we might all have been much ‘better off’!

Making our people ‘better off’, is all that this PPP/C administration has been earnestly working at, in trying to bring about the sustainable,

equitable exploitation of our natural resources so as to provide us with opportunities to work and make a better life.

To those who may say that I have ignored other charges of Dr Thomas’ presentation, I would concede that I have deliberately constrained my response to an area wherein we might be able to establish some objective facts, in addressing those charges of Dr Thomas that reveal his ‘felt’ frustration and a searching for answers.

At times, it appears to me that we, in Guyana, are very much like the blind men who walked into an elephant, grasping different parts of it, and who each proclaimed that the elephant was, respectively, a snake, a rope, a wall, a tree, depending on the part that each came up against.

People and societies (especially developing societies, such as ours) are complex and many- sided, and full of imperfections: one can see the picture that he/she is inclined to see, in what is happening.

One can, indeed, see in Guyana, today, a ‘wild-west’, with all that that entails, whilst flourishing in the USA and elsewhere, today, one can see good order, good governance, and the rule of law.

But, one should also see, in yester-year, the ‘wild-west’ in the USA that was extolled in the ‘cowboy movies’, and see us, in Guyana, also attaining good governance and the rule of law, in the coming years.

There is good justification to ‘keep the faith’ in the PPP/C administration.

Samuel Hinds Prime Minister

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Foundation

Fire safety for children: How to keep babies, toddlers and young children safe from home fires

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hildren under the age of five are at twice the risk of dying in a residential fire than those in other age groups, according to the US Fire Administration. Among the thousands of children killed or injured in home fires each year, about 40 per cent are under five years of age. Because children of this age aren’t as capable of exiting a home or understanding the dangers of fire risks, parents must take extra precautions to reduce fire risk in the home and prepare comprehensive safety and evacuation plans to ensure their children escape safely.

There are three Ps of fire safety for children under the age of five: PREPARE – Reduce the risk of fires in your home by eliminating hazards.

PRACTICE – Practice a home fire evacuation plan and general fire safety practices.

PREVENT Unthinkable.

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The

Heat sources – including matches, lighters, and other items commonly found in homes – are the leading cause of fire-related deaths in children under the age of five. And two-thirds of all homes in which fires result in the death of a child under five years old aren’t equipped with working smoke alarms.

Smoke alarms save lives Smoke alarms are the foundation for fire safety in the home. While you can take steps to reduce fire hazards, there’s little that can be done to predict and prevent a random wiring malfunction that could lead to a devastating fire.

Smoke alarms serve as a first alert, letting your family know there’s imminent danger and providing a few moments warning for you to enact your fire safety plan. You can also opt for wireless alarm systems that are interconnected, sounding all the alarms in the home for better notification of a problem in one area of the home.

Those extra few seconds can be enough to save the lives of your young children.

S m o k e alarms should be tested at least twice annually – some experts advise testing monthly.

You should also change the batteries every six months, at minimum, to ensure adequate operation. Smoke alarms should be installed on every level outside the home.

There should also be an alarm placed outside each sleeping area in the home.

Fire safety for children Take a tour of your local fire station to familiarise your children with fire fighters in uniform. Teach them that fire fighters are friendly heroes – this prevents them from shying away or even running away from fire fighters in hazardous situations. Those extra few minutes – or even seconds – could save your child’s life.

Reduce fire threats in the home The best fire safety practices are avoiding a home fire altogether. While prevention isn’t a 100 per cent guarantee, following safe practices can reduce the risk of a devastating fire.

It takes less than 30 seconds for a small flame to turn into a major fire. Even simple precautions that seem like overkill can make the difference be-

tween keeping your children safe through fire prevention and a deadly fire occurring in your home.

There are many precautions you can take in your home to reduce fire hazards and keep your children safe. Here are some common household fire hazards and solutions: Don’t overload electric outlets. Stringing multiple extension cords together in order to plug several appliances into the same outlet is a bad idea.

Reduce clutter. This is especially important in the kitchen, where dish towels, sponges, paper towels, and other items can catch fire if placed too close to a hot stove. But it’s also important in all areas of your home – blankets and clothing piled up against a heat run, for instance, can also pose a fire hazard. As a rule, keep combustible materials at least three feet from the stove burners, and never leave cooking unattended.

Don’t leave burning candles unattended. A candle can fall for a multitude of reasons, lighting carpets, curtains or furniture ablaze. This can also happen if a candle is allowed to burn down too low, causing its glass container to break and freeing the flame.

Hide all matches and lighters out of reach of young children. Even responsible children can accidentally

light a fire if they encounter a lighter or match and try it out of curiosity. It’s best to place these items well out of reach of children.

Always have multiple working fire extinguishers conveniently located in your home You should always have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, for instance, as it’s a common location for fires to occur from cooking and other hazards.

Replace circuit breakers with arc-fault circuit interrupters. These gadgets pick up on electrical arcs, usually caused by poor insulation or loose wires or connections, and halt them before they lead to fires.

Replace electrical outlets. Faulty electrical outlets can be a source of home fires, too. If plugs seem to be loose or fall out, the blades inside may have loosened.

Loose blades create excessive

heat, which can lead to fires.

Keep an eye on garage safety. Heated garages pose another threat to your home’s safety. If your garage contains a workshop, where even a thin layer of sawdust is present, and a heating appliance – whether a portable kerosene heater, wood stove, coal stove or anything else – there’s a fire risk.

Sawdust is easily combustible, so employ a heavy-duty vacuum like a Shop Vac to remove as much sawdust as possible.

Don’t use really old appliances. A great find in your parent’s attic might seem like a money-saver, but old appliances weren’t manufactured up to par with modern safety standards. That means a vintage record player is only a nostalgic piece of art if it’s unplugged.

Otherwise, it’s a fire hazard.

Don’t smoke inside, and never smoke indoors where portable oxygen is used. Portable oxygen is 100 per cent pure oxygen, making it extremely flammable – in fact, it’s explosive and makes fire burn hotter and faster. The air we breathe contains only about 20 per cent oxygen.

This deadly combination has caused many unfortunate deaths and devastating burns.

Maintain heat sources.

Wood stoves, coal stoves, oil furnaces and any other heat source should be regularly inspected, cleaned and maintained. This reduces the likelihood of dangerous chimney fires. Never use a cooking stove as a heat source in the home.

Create a home fire escape safety plan According to FEMA, children as young as age three can typically follow a fire escape plan. Every child is different, so base your plans on your child’s individual abilities. For children younger than three or those not able to adequately follow detailed instructions, you’ll need a more comprehensive escape plan. Here are some recommended steps to follow: • Keep all exits clear of toys and debris • Draw a diagramme of your home and plan two escape routes • Practice, practice, practice Keep children’s doors closed. This slows the time it takes for smoke from hallway fires to enter the room, leaving more time for firefighters to rescue young children.

Have a safe meeting place outside the home. It should be far enough away from the structure that you will be safe if the building collapses, but close enough that your children can get there easily.

Always have two routes of escape from every room. In addition to the door, find an alternate escape route, such as a window that leads to a neighbouring roof or a window with a collapsible ladder for escaping from upper-story windows. (safesoundfamily.com) TO BE CONTINUED

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saturday, JANUARY 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Falling fuel prices:

“Pass on the benefits” – Minister Ali urges service providers

Minibus operators adamantly refuse to lower bus fares

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ourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Irfaan Ali is urging service providers and producers of consumer goods to apply conscionable measures so that all Guyanese and residents could benefit from the domino effect of low fuel prices.

In a statement on Thursday, Ali called on all service providers and producers of consumer goods to facilitate the passing on of the benefits of the fuel reduction to consumers in order to ease the cost of living for everyone.

The Minister said he was looking forward to initiatives by those businesses which would significantly benefit from the reduction in fuel prices, to promptly commence a downward adjustment for payment by consumers for goods produced and services delivered.

Ali further noted that the Ministry was engaging certain associations and representative bodies in response to their advocacy efforts for relief when revenue streams were negatively affected. “We ask that associations representing manufacturers of goods and services take the initiative to ensure their membership and other stakeholders promptly act accordingly,” he said.

Specifically, the Minister was asking the service industry and their respective representatives to take note, including the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association; the minibus operators’ United Minibus Union and other minibus operators’ representatives; speed-

boat operators; taxi services; agro processors – Guyana Agro Processors Association; Aircraft Owners Association; Forest Products Producers, and tour operators.

However, a recent visit to the bus parks around the city revealed that bus operators were adamant about not lowering the fares. Minibus drivers argued that the cost to maintain their vehicles was extremely high, so if they dropped bus fares, that would negate the savings received

with undue circumstances the last time there was a reduction in the bus fares and the price for fuel went up.

“The last time gas drop and we drop the fare; it took eight years to raise the fare by $20 only. We had to strike and all these things.”

Nevertheless, the Ministry hopes that applicable measures will be initiated before it commences discussions with the above listed parties. The discussions are aimed at arriving at a formal position on the issue.

Courts gives $1M in Samsung packages

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t is no longer Christmas but Courts Guyana Inc has not stopped giving.

Thursday the furniture store gave away two Samsung packages valued $500, 000 each, in addition to five LG G Flex Curved Screen Smart phones. The seven lucky customers received their prices at Courts Main Street Branch in Georgetown.

Sade Campbell and Alwin Jemmott took home the top prizes after winning the Samsung Entertainment Package Promotion. This promotion was part of Courts Ultimate Christmas Big Prize Promotion that kicked off in November, 2014.

The winners, after shopping in November and December, got to take home S5 cell phones, tablets, home theatre systems and audio systems – all part of the Samsung Entertainment Package. In a press release, Courts stated that there were three winners of the promotion; the third winner having received his package in November, 2014.

For the LG promotion, the release stated that ten lucky customers, who bought LG digital items during the life of the promotion, won the

Winners of the Samsung Entertainment Package Promotion, Sade Campbell (second left) and Alwin Jemmott (second right) with Courts PRO Roberta Ferguson and Courts General Manager Pamela Humphrey

coveted LG G Flex Curved Screen Smart phones. Prior to Thursday, five had already received their prizes.

Dexter Fredericks, John Dookran, Jason Monah, Tessa Chalmers and Donna Rodney are the new beneficiaries.

Legislation crucial to...

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Irfaan Ali

from lower fuel prices.

“Fuel price low yes, but the costs to repair your vehicle still the same. Vehicle parts still expensive. So if we drop the price, then it means we still getting the same profit basically,” one driver explained.

Another minibus driver related that they were faced

Even when the White House deemed a trip as political, the cost to Bush’s campaign was minimal.

In such instances, the campaign must only pay the government the equivalent of a comparable first-class fare for each political traveller on each leg, FEC guidelines say, the analyst stated, noting that usually, this meant paying a few hundred or a few thousand US dollars for the president and a handful of aides – a minuscule sum compared to the US$56,800 per hour that it was estimated it cost to run Air Force One. “Ultimately, the issue of incumbency advantage is a grey area in many democracies. There is definitely a case for further research with a view to establishing how regulation can ensure the playing field is level and that abuse of taxpayers’ money for party political purposes is avoided.”

Refusal

At their news conference on Thursday AFC lashed out at the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) for allegedly “abusing state resources and the state media for campaigning for the up-

“Courts takes pride in giving back to its customers and saying thank you for their loyal patronage and will continue to endeavor to have the best products and services and the most rewarding promotions,” the furniture giant said.

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coming elections.”

Presidential Candidate for the party, Moses Nagamootoo noted that the Government has been using the state media for reaching out to the population and for their elections campaign but continues to bar the Opposition parties from having their views aired. Nagamootoo went on to note that even though the party had even offered to pay for its air time like any other person that too, was met with refusal.

Meanwhile, member of the party, Cathy Hughes related that while the Constitution of Guyana promises inclusionary democracy, it is not present under the current administration.

“You cannot talk about inclusionary democracy and everybody is not allowed equal and fair access. The fact that the Opposition is forced out, it means that there is a very important constitutional requirement we are not looking at,” she said.

Leader of the Opposition, David Granger has also raised concerns about the use of state resources by members of the government to conduct political campaign work for their party. Granger said the PPP/C had started its campaigning

for elections but has been using many of the state’s property to get around and to do their political work.

Disappointed

On the broad issue of financing for campaign Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Dr Steve Surujbally had told Guyana Times that while GECOM has been pushing for campaign finance legislation there is only so much the body can do. He noted that the responsibility of passing the legislation lies in the hands of the National Assembly and they have taken no direct stance on the issue.

“Which political party is going to tell you where they got their money from?” questioned Dr Surujbally. It was explained that the reluctance on the part of the political parties may be because their donors are not willing to come to the public spotlight.

He maintained that given the imminence of general elections, other things may be worthy of pursuing other than this issue which would bear no fruit given that Parliament is currently prorogued.

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saturDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Father, son charged with wounding released on bail A father and son were placed on $30,000 bail each after being arraigned on a wounding charge.

Martin Saul and his son Akene Saul appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

The duo denied the charge which alleged that on December 24, 2014 at Guyhoc Squatting Area,

Greater Georgetown, they unlawfully and maliciously wounded the Virtual Complainant (VC) Mark Campbell with intent to mane, disfigure or disable him.

The court heard that on the day in question, Martin and Campbell were in an argument when Martin took a cutlass and dealt Campbell several chops to his right arm. Martin escaped and a report was

made to the station and the defendant was subsequently arrested.

However, Martin told the court a different story. According to him, Campbell came into his yard with a cutlass and was aiming to chop his son.

The father said he intervened and tried taking the weapon away, adding that “while doing so, the cutlass cut him”.

He further mentioned

that the VC is a problematic man who is constantly in the habit of threatening his wife and son.

There were no objections to bail being granted. The Chief Magistrate granted bail in the sum of $50,000, but Martin asked the court for the bail amount to be reduced.

Taking the defendant’s request into consideration, bail was reduced to $30,000 each.

Eyew tness Megalomania...

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...and AFC Leader demand

his Eyewitness has no illusions about the egos of those who throw their hats into the political ring.

Fellas and felines who believe they can lead an entire country to the promised land got to have some egos.

The problem arises when “ego” becomes inflated into “megalomania”. Megalomania, let’s first of all understand, is a mental illness. Megalomaniacs have an obsession with the exercise of power and a severe delusion about their power and importance.

We’ve all heard about “delusions of grandeur”, no??

That’s megalomania!! And from what the leader of the AFC just demanded from APNU to form PANTY! - “LEADER OR NOTHING!!” - megalomania’s also Khemraj Ramjattan!!

It’s quite possible that this is why he chose the acronym PANTY when he suggested coalition talks - Partnership Alliance for National Trust - Yes! He probably felt that Granger mightn’t want to be saddled with that name over his head. His buddy Nagamootoo certainly raised a stink!!

But seriously now, this Eyewitness does think Ramjattan is mental. Let’s look at the facts - as they are, and not how Ramjattan’s deluded to believe they are. All of us know APNU’s a front for the PNC and that the other members are simply paper organisations. But with that said, the PNC’s still the PNC!!! From 1964 to 2011, it was able to maintain a steady 40 per cent of the country’s electors.

And whether Ramjattan wants to pretend otherwise or is subjected to dementia tremens - he can’t wish that away! The best he and his fellow deserter Trotman were able to do was to poach five to six seats from the PPP/C and PNC. And this, according to the wankers - with the help of the Americans with their Big Dick Pole...Ooops... poll!!

Now he’s demanding that PNC/APNU follow his leadership?? This is not hubris.... It is out and out megalomania!! Berbice Mad House time!!

As an aside, don’t be fooled for a moment about Ramjattan’s floating Nagamootoo as the Presidential Candidate for the AFC. To assume if APNU were daft enough to cave in, the latter becomes the Presidential candidate for PANTY! Not in this lifetime.

There’s a method to the madness of megalomania.

It’s always Me!! Me!! Me!! And in this case the “me” is Ramjattan!!

He’s the one who floated PANTY! And by golly he’ll be the one to to carry PANTY to to the end of the line if it were to come to fruition!

But we all know that’s the pipe dream of a very sick man, don’t we??

...and Ramkarran

The AFC’s been dropping persistent hints that they’ve snagged a big fish whose name also begins with “Ram”.

Now since we know it can’t be “Ramotar” then it got to be “Ramkarran”.

Since the Opposition Stabber’s been promoting him as a “big fish” and these Opposition types do tend towards group think, right? If Ramkarran does join the AFC, it’ll be a very interesting mix: each of them - Nagamootoo, Ramjattan and Ramkarran jumped the PPP/C ship because of their megalomaniacal insistence that they had to be leader or nothing! And they did get “nothing”!!

We’ve heard that “two man crabs can’t live in the same hole” - so can we expect some storm and thunder if Ramkarran joins the mess?? This Eyewitness doesn’t think so. While they all still harbour and nurse their megalomaniacal ambitions, they’ve all been so neutered on departure, they just don’t have the cojones to rumble with each other.

Ramjattan and Nagamoottoo were neutered by Jagdeo and while Gail Texiera bitch-slapped Ramkarran so solidly, his head’s still spinning!!

...and going ballistic

David Granger likes to come off as a doddering old fogey. But having sat and imbibed at the feet of Burnham, some of that megalomaniac’s madness had to’ve rubbed off. So it’ll be interesting to watch Dagger’s reaction to Ramjattan’s “leader or nothing” demand, when it’s made in person!!

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saturDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

AFC/APNU/PNC coalition talks...

APNU ignores Ramjattan's premature ejaculation on leadership By: Jomo Paul

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hile talks between A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) over the formation of a possible preelection coalition are continuing, APNU Leader David Granger says talks about the leadership would be premature.

This is despite AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan making it clear that the AFC will be leading the coalition, if there is to be one at the end of the talks between the two political factions.

However according to Granger, “The APNU has empowered its negotiation team to explore all possibilities that could lead to a pre election coalition…the matter has not yet arisen.”

Granger was adamant that he will not prejudge the deliberations between the two political factions.

“At this point in time we have not reached to the level of discussing appointments.

We are looking mainly at bring an end to the damaging 22-year PPP/C [People's Progressive Party/Civic]regime,” commented the APNU Leader.

He related that APNU has appointed a seven-man negotiation team which includes representatives from each respective party within the coalition.

It was noted that Keith Scott is representing the interests of the National Front Alliance, Sydney Allicock representing the Guyana Action Party, Basil Williams for the Peoples National Congress/Reform, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine for the Working Peoples Alliance and Dr George Norton was appoint-

AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan

ed by the APNU shadow cabinet.

It was also noted that APNU General Secretary Joseph Harmon also plays an integral role while, Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge is the head of the negotiating team. Granger explained that the APNU expects to conclude negotiations within the next four weeks.

Failure

When asked if the talks failed what would happen, Granger said that the APNU was “confident of winning the presidency” when the Guyanese electorate goes to the polls on May 11.

However, he maintained that the party is “not playing a winner takes all game” contending that the partnership intends to set up a Government of National Unity if it is elected into office.

“We need to walk away from winner takes all and give Guyanese a chance and combine the talents and skills of the best Guyanese… we are being left behind,” underscored Granger.

At the 2011 General and Regional Elections, APNU received 139,678 votes (26 seats in the National Assembly); the AFC 35,333 (seven seats); and the PPP/C 166,340 (32 seats).

On Thursday, when asked whether the AFC saw its support dwindling at the upcoming elections because a large portion of its support base did not trust nor wanted to be associated with the People’s National Congress (PNC)/APNU style of politics, Ramjattan boldly responded in the negative.

A seemingly uncomfortable Ramjattan tried hard to explain that there would be no reduction of support because the AFC would lead the coalition and its own policies would lay the foundation for the work of the APNU/ AFC Government after the next polls.

“That is the conditionality, the AFC must lead it,” he said. Observers have questioned whether Ramjattan’s extreme condition is not intended to ensure his prediction that his party will be “dead meat” if they coalesce with the APNU, does not come to pass.

Quizzed further, Ramjattan denied that his allegation that the ruling PPP/C had given $30 million bribes to three Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) who were not from the AFC – and so had to be from APNU – would have any bearing on the ongoing talks.

“It has no relevance,” he said, while denying that he had outrightly identified the MPs as those of APNU. He did this when it was clear to all and sundry that there were only two Opposition parliamentary parties in the 65-seat Legislature.

UG workers to go on strike from Monday

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niversity of Guyana (UG) Vice Chancellor, Dr Jacob Opadeyi had until 16:00h on Thursday to communicate to the University of Guyana’s Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) and the UG Workers’ Union (UGWU) on their proposed 60 per cent increase in salary, but to date a response is still pending.

With the Vice Chancellor failing to yield to their request, the unions said the threat of industrial action will become a reality on Monday.

One day after issuing the ultimatum, UGSSA and UGWU on Thursday said the Vice Chancellor had disappointed them once again due to his repeated failure to consider their demands.

In a release, UGSSA President, Dr Melissa Ifill and UGWU President Bruce Haynes explained that the industrial action will take the form of a “sit-in exercise” for three days, from Monday

The University of Guyana

to Wednesday.

“We are aware of the possible implications of our actions on our students and the University as a whole.

Our aim is not to make the students or the University suffer…we are simply insisting on better standards and conditions at the University which will be beneficial to (all),” Dr Ifill and Haynes said in the joint statement.

According to the unions, they are “fed up” with the poor management of the

University and the paltry wages.

Last Monday Dr Melissa Ifill said the Vice Chancellor was updated on the needs of the unions. Aside from a 60 per cent increase in salary, staff members have also been clamouring for a 200 per cent increase in their travelling allowance, a better medical scheme, increases in allowances for books and other materials, dutyfree concessions, and yearly research grants.

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saturday, JANUARY 24, 2015

News

No telling when US Ambassador will arrive – Hunt

By Vahnu Manikchand

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hargé ďAffaires of the United States Embassy, Bryan Hunt has indicated that there was no telling when the new US Ambassador would be posted in Guyana, noting that there was a long process to be undertaken.

In an exclusive interview with the Guyana

US Embassy Chargé Affaires Bryan Hunt

Times, Hunt explained that while US President Barack Obama has selected Ambassador Perry Holloway as a nominee for the posting in Guyana, he still has to go through a Senate confirmation process.

Hunt said he was hopeful that in the near future, the Senate Sub-Committee that was responsible for this part of the world would schedule hearings at which Holloway would have to testify on matters such as foreign poli-

cy and the US-Guyana relationship. Following this, he added, the Sub-Committee would then determine whether or not Holloway was a qualified nominee to be appointed here.

“If so, they will vote his nomination out to the full Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will then take its own vote to make sure all the members are in agreement or majority of the members are in agreement that it should move to the full floor of the Senate and from there, the Senate will take a vote after some debate as to whether or not to approve the President’s nomination,” Hunt stated.

He pointed out that there was no telling how soon this would happen, noting that the time frame lay solely with the Senate. He further pointed out that the United States’ Executive branch was different from the Legislative branch; as such, the former had no control over the latter’s calendar.

Holloway was most recently stationed in Afghanistan, where he served as the head of the US Political Military Office, assisting the Afghan Government with transition and development in the areas of military and security.

He also served in the Latin American region and was the Deputy Chief of Mission in both Columbia and Paraguay. Additionally, he spent a great deal of his career countering narcotics issues in this region.

Hunt outlined that the US, in selecting a nominee for the post of Ambassador to another country, would opt to match the nominee’s experience with the destination country.

He noted that for career Foreign Service Officers, such as Holloway, all the ambassadorship postings that will become vacant are advertised and interested

Ambassador nominee Perry Holloway

persons apply.

“Anyone who believes they have the qualifications to serve as Ambassadors are able to submit essentially a resume and an application which details why they believe their experience would enable them to adequately represent US Foreign Policy in that country.

"Then there is a Committee comprised of Senior State Officials who review all of the applications and determine who they believed to be the most qualified applicant for the job.

"That name is then sent over to the White House Personnel Office and the President ultimately makes

the decision as to whom he wishes to nominate,” he said.

Hunt underscored that there was no single criterion that determines who is chosen, instead he stressed that this was decided by taking into account a totality of the applicant’s background.

He noted that Holloway’s experience in South America and the Western Hemisphere Bureau was taken into consideration in his nomination.

“His experience in working with countries that are dealing with security challenges like Columbia would have been taken into account given the heavy Caribbean Basin Security Initiative investment that we are making in tandem with the Government here to improve the security situation.

"Certainly his experience in counternarcotics would have been taken into account given that we do spend quite a bit of foreign assistance money here annually to help the Guyana Government to deal with the narcotics threats.”

Specialist

Asked whether the US opted to post a ‘narcotic specialist here because of Guyana’s seemingly high rate of narcotics trafficking, the Chargé ď Affaires explained that the nomination was made by the US President and each president has his own criteria as to how he selects a nominee.

He said the decision was based most likely on the President’s preference, that is, whom he wishes to send and the suitability of envoy for their postings, that is who would be most effective in representing the US in-

Both Green Jah and Rum Jhaat wanna be on top

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um Jhaat like to sing and dance to “one in front and one behind”. Especially when he performin pun Station Street and at 7-owe-4 from 7 till 4. Since he and Green Jah start sleepin together, he does sing it nuff times before dem sleep.

He does friken to sing it when he deh home though. Any ting bout front when Rum Jhaat deh home is he in front of a large. And any ting bout behind when Rum Jhaat deh home is he gettin licks in he behind.

Of course, that is licks in he behind to pick up de empty bottles and clean up when he done throw up. De fact that he does pay dem fellas to clean up after he throw up any where in GT don’t wuk at he home address.

But nowadays no body wanna deh behind. Not Green Jah, not Rum Jhaat. Every wanna be in front like a leadah. And Guyana gotta lotta people who wanna be leadah. No body ever wanna “follow de leadah-leadah-leadah”. That is why Rum Jhaat don’t sing and dance to that.

Rum Jhaat wanna lead Green Jah, and Green Jah wanna lead Rum Jhaat. De best ting woulda be to put de two of dem to lead one another. Or as Sparrow seh, “both awee on top” (of one another). Should be a nice piece of wrestling (hustling?) match to see two old men tryin to get on top of one another.

De Nagga Man wanna be leadah too and in fact Rum Jhaat done put he to be leadah fuh de elections. Since then Nagga Man start smilin and by de time he done a large he does start laughin.

But old people seh who laugh last laugh de best. And right now de Nagga Man don’t get to see Rum Jhaat laughin in secret because he tink he gon be de leadah fuh Green Jah, who does also call he heself de leadah.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie!

Soon both of dem gon wanna be on top of Nagga Man!

terests in that setting.

He added that the State Department’s only role in this process was to make the White House aware of what ambassadorial postings were going to be vacant.

The President and his staff then decide which ones they want the State Department to submit a career nominee for and which ones they want to use as political appointees.

“Some postings, like Guyana, have almost always been a career Foreign Service Officer, other postings like Australia has almost always been a political appointee.

Then there are some like Pakistan, where I served, where it has gone back and forth between career ambassadors and political appointees depending on the White House,” he said.

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News

US looking to increase investment in Caribbean ...cites energy prices as major hurdle

By Jomo Paul

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eputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in Guyana, Bryan Hunt says that the Barack Obama Administration was looking at ways to increase US Private Sector investments in the Caribbean, but cited the high cost of fuel as a major obstruction.

Hunt made the comment during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Times on Monday.

According to him, the Caribbean has always been good for investment, but there has been a major detraction – energy costs.

He maintained that the US Government believed that its Private Sector would be very much interested in investing in a number of areas of the Caribbean region.

However, there were still some quirks that had to be worked on at the level of the regional bodies to make the region more appealing to investors.

“It’s our view that the US Private Sector would

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr Nicole Giles

be interested in this part of the world, but there are certain things Caricom itself has identified that need to be done in order to attract investment,” the Chargé d’ Affaires said.

Hunt noted that the US was currently encouraging Caribbean countries to look at investment in energy generation and ways at which energy costs can be lowered. It has been noted that the Caribbean’s high energy costs has been one of the major deterrents to foreign investment.

“Overseas private investment cooperation which offers political risk insurance, commercial risk insurance and what is at stake (with) potential projects (that) US investors are looking to undertake,” he said.

It was also explained that the issues of debt fi-

nancing and reduction of energy costs would be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, along with Government officials from the Caribbean, meet with US Vice President Joe Biden next week in Washington.

Back in 2013, a coalition of Caribbean Private Sector organisations was launched with a multi-year programme to develop, design, and implement a policy and business advocacy campaign to promote the enhancement of the United States Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI-CBERA) programme with an expansion into the services sector.

The new organisation, the Services of the Caribbean (Soca) is an initiative being led by the TT Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) and the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica.

Soca had said then that it would focus on advancing new trade and investment opportunities between the United States and Caricom’s services sectors and industries.

Caricom countries have insisted, over the years, that they have much greater potential for trade in the service sector, which the CBI does not cover.

Foreign investment For Guyana, over the past years, major Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has come from Canada in the area of mining. Back in September 2014, Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr Nicole Giles disclosed that total Canadian investments in Guyana were estimated at over C$3 billion (G$563,831,023,574). She said in a quest to strengthen commercial and investment ties, Guyana and Canada have been working closely to increase mutual economic prosperity.

In 2013, Canadian imports from Guyana totalled C$486.4 million) – precious stones and metals (mostly gold), bauxite, beverages, and fish and seafood. On the flip side, Canadian exports to Guyana in 2013 totalled C$19.4 million.

Guyana imported mainly cereals, machinery, paper and paperboard, vegetables and printed books.

According to Dr Giles, Canada is the largest source of FDI to Guyana.

In an exclusive interview with the Guyana Times she disclosed that Canada was the leading player in Guyana’s extractive sector,

United States Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, Bryan Hunt

putting up over 90 per cent of the sector’s international investment.

Currently, there are 32 Canadian exploration companies operating in

Guyana’s extractive sector working in sectors such as gold, bauxite, oil and gas, manganese, uranium and other precious metals.

Reference was made to the Guyana Goldfields, which officially launched its Aurora Gold Mine Operations in December 2013.

The Guyana Goldfields Aurora Project represents a 4.8 million ounce deposit. When it kicks into operations next year, it will become the country’s largest ever gold mine operation with over 1500 employees.

FDI for Guyana dipped sharply from a total of US$294 million in 2012 to US$214 million last year, the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said

in its latest report on FDI in the region in May 2014.

The Commission said the most important development took place in the mining and oil and gas exploration sectors, mentioning the US$249 million Guyana Goldfields investment in the Aurora Gold Mine and Repsol’s and Tullow Oil’s plan to explore the Kanuku block.

The report also made mention of the collapse of Government’s plan to build the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project and the shelving of an ethanol plant. The report also stated that a Trinidad and Tobago firm – Citrus Growers Association – planned to spend US$25 million in the country.

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saturday, JANUARY 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Angoy’s Avenue residents now have lights ...after GPL’s Thursday evening ‘switch on’ By: Andrew Carmichael

R

esidents of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) received electricity for the first time on Thursday night.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said it was a good day for the more than 16,000 residents, as he assisted a child in switching on the electrical network.

It was a symbolical gesture that connected the 331 new service installations to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) network. Documents for the other applicants are being processed.

Speaking at a simple ceremony to mark the occasion, Prime Minister Hinds said the ongoing electrification programme seeks to improve the lives of Guyanese. It was pointed out that to date, 98 per cent of all Guyanese now has access to electricity.

Prime Minister Hinds said although more than 200 communities have benefited from the Unserved Areas Electrification Programme (UAEP), which started in 2005, many in those communities are still without electricity. He explained that those

A section of the gathering during the commissioning ceremony

tion and we are trying our best to set up another UAEP – UAEP-II.” He added, under the UAEP, which was funded through a soft loan from the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB),

GPL polls planted in Angoy’s Avenue with electricity

communities would have expanded since receiving electricity for the first time.

“They are all calling for electrifica-

Government could have only provided electricity to homes where the average cost was under $200,000 per house

hold.

The Prime Minister said Guyana has moved from being among the Least Developed Countries (LDC) to being dubbed a Medium Developed Country (MDC). “You know what that means? It is good on one hand (but) we are no longer at the head of the line grants and soft loans. That is one of the things that come with progress,” he said.

Meanwhile, GPL Loss Reduction Coordinator Phulyonjee Nandkumar called on residents to support Government’s electrification programme and desist from stealing electricity. He pointed out that in 2014, GPL removed 1685 illegal service connections.

Mention was made of the two largest consumers in Berbice; Nand Persaud, a company that pays the power company $30 million and A. Ally and Sons that pays $10 million.

Region Six Chairman David Armogan echoed similar sentiments.

“Now that we have provided you with an alternative, we would expect you to behave in a certain way and do what is right,” he said.

The electrification programme in New Amsterdam, he said, is one of several thousand projects undertaken by the Peoples’ Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament Faizal Jaffarally in acknowledging that the community is a stigmatised one, called on residents to work with the Government to remove the stigma.

SASOD receives US$10,000 to build LGBT centre

T

he Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) will embark on a project to construct a Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community centre to the tune of US$500,000 (G$100 million) based on current market prices.

In 2014, SASOD was recognised and honoured with the prestigious Red Ribbon Award for its work in the category of Advocacy and Human Rights at the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia. The Red Ribbon Award is the world’s leading award for innovative and outstanding community work in response to the HIV epidemic.

As part of the award, SASOD received a US$10, 000 grant. The funds will be used to purchase the plot of land where the community centre will be erected. It will also finance the construction of the facility.

The LGBT community centre will be a multi-purpose facility which will also serve as SASOD’s secretariat. The organisation also intends to share the space with smaller communitybased groups, given the inability of state facilities to provide a safe shelter for the homeless LGBT youths.

“There is an urgent need for a safe space to provide temporary housing for vulnerable youths; hence the centre will provide transitional housing for the LGBT youths facing homelessness,” SASOD said in a release.

Additionally, a section of the facility will function as an in-house studio that will be used to produce audio-visual campaigning materials, including documentaries and public service announcements among other media outputs.

According to SASOD, research shows that LGBT

youths in Guyana face severe discrimination which often goes unreported because LGBT people have no legal protection on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace.

“The state has failed to address this problem due to a lack of political will and leadership and resource constraints… LGBT youths in Guyana face higher levels of unemployment, underemployment, and if employed, are paid lower wages.”

In the long run, it negatively impacts their ability to access housing, which then affects other key aspects of their lives, SASOD said.

It was highlighted that access to housing, especially for LGBT youths, cannot be overshadowed, particularly, as it relates to building resilience against HIV. “LGBT youths are ostracised by their families and communities…

Without a safe place to stay when faced with homelessness, these youths are likely to drop out of school, become involved in sex work, and use dangerous drugs.

These social factors are significant drivers of HIV and cause LGBT youths to come into conflict with the law.”

As a result, the centre aims to mitigate these harms by providing a space for dialogue, community building, belonging and overall wellbeing where the beneficiaries can easily support each other.

Moreover, SASOD acknowledged that the United Nations Programme for AIDS (UNAIDS) is an integral partner in the development and execution of the community centre project.

SASOD said it foresees continuous partnership with UNAIDS particularly in administering health promotions and advocacy programmes for vulnerable communities.

news

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saturday, JANUARY 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Anti-APNU flyers...

Granger warns of reprisals

L

eader of the A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) David Granger on Friday expressed his concern over the continued publication and distribution of several fliers depicting opposition members in a vile manner.

He accused the ruling

People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) for being behind the fliers- a charge the party has rejected.

Over the past weeks several politically-motivated flyers have inundated popular social media sites and are reportedly making rounds in Guyana’s interior locations.

Some of the fliers com-

pare Granger with infamous world figures including former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein and the man who has been accused of genocide and is responsible for World War One Adolf Hitler.

Another flyer shows several members of the APNU including General Secretary

Joseph Harmon. Co-Chair Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader Khemraj Ramjattam, AFC Chairman Nigel Hughes and Granger among other highly ranked Opposition politicians.

The flier labels the politicians with several distasteful titles. However the same

Govt brainstorms ways to sustain clean-up campaign tities and staffers to get it done and they are the ones who are held accountable.”

He said too that every individual and agency must be engaged in the maintenance of their environment, stressing that mobilisation must be done in an aggressive manner, if sustainability is to be achieved.

One of the many communities that benefited from the Clean Up My Country Programme By: Royden James

L

ocal Government and Regional Development Minister Norman Whittaker on Thursday met with stakeholders to devise a plan for the maintenance of the Clean Up My Country Programme.

Addressing the stakeholders in the presence of Public Works Minister Robeson Benn and Environment Minister Robert Persaud, Minister Whittaker said the campaign which is in its final stage, has proven to be successful.

With the investment of $1 billion for the national clean-up exercise, of which $500 million was pumped into the city, he said there were high expectations, but the aim was to improve the aesthetics of the city and the administrative regions, not to prevent flooding.

He said that a committee was established to manage the campaign. Based on the availability of resources, Minister Whittaker said, the committee identified areas to be cleaned. He pointed out that with $500 million spent to clean-up Georgetown, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) was able to save in big.

Reflecting on the exercise, the Local Government Minister said it was not only a source of employment but it evoked a sense of ownership, as residents were actively involved.

With focus being placed on solid waste management, the Minister disclosed that garbage receptacles will be arriving in February. These bins will be placed in market

and public spaces, jointly agreed on by the ministries.

Additionally, equipment will be made available to the City Council to aid in the removal of bulk waste.

According to Minister Whittaker, the Council has been struggling to execute its mandate, pointing out that it has been unable to pay contractors for the removal of bulk waste.

Based on discussions held with the stakeholders, he said the terms and conditions would be extended, although the private sector is not playing an active role.

Meanwhile, Public Works Minister said the interventions which were made over the years, such as the establishment of the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill and reclamation of useful materials have had positive impacts on the environment.

“We want to see that there is a significant continuation of this effort from the level of the Central Government, the Ministry of Local Government... the critical issue of sustainability is one which I’m sure everyone will accord that is indeed very important, there is the aspect of cultural change in the way which we dispose of garbage,” Minister Benn said. He said, however, that squatting along city canals and the impasse at City Hall, remain major stumbling blocks.

The Environment Minister added that for the efforts to be “really” validated, emphasis must be placed on sustainability. He said the 800 City Hall workers must execute their duties.

“Responsibility of sustainability starts with these en-

Minister Persaud said enforcement is another way to ensure the environment is kept clean. He suggested that people be “named and shamed” for littering. “The onus is on all of us to make this intervention of the Government sustainable,” he added.

APNU Leader David Granger

flier labels members of the Government as "champions".

Granger told a press conference on Friday that he found these publications to be vile. “I am worried about what the people would do to the publishers of that vile propaganda. I don’t know if

the police will be able to restrain those angry people” said Granger.

Accusing the ruling PPP/C Granger of being behind the flyers, Granger threatened, “They are playing with fire” and should desist from doing so making the way for a clean campaigning leading up to General Elections."

He said again the PPP/C is "playing with fire" when they start publishing photographs of me alongside Adolf Hitler. "When they start claiming that the Demerara River will run red with blood if Granger is elected President, they are playing with fire and I warn them to desist from that vile propaganda,” he said He noted that he has since written the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) with respect to the issue which he is “deeply” concerned about the issue.

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guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015

News

Faith Harding Millions of euros withheld from Guyana passes on EU budgetary support ...

Dr Faith Harding

D

r Faith Harding, child psychologist and longstanding member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), died at age 67 on Friday afternoon at the St Joseph’s Mercy Hospital of bronchitis.

According to Harding’s distraught husband, Patrick, the President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association, she was taken to the hospital on January 2 after feeling ill and was hospitalised until the time she passed on.

The widower said his wife was diagnosed with bronchitis and was being treated by doctors at the health institution, but several complications arose since she also had diabetes. As such, the grieving man noted that his family was awaiting the result of a post-mortem which would be conducted on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, President Donald Ramotar, speaking to the Guyana Times on Friday evening, related that the news of Harding’s passing come as a shock.

“It is very sad. I was very surprised when I heard of her passing. I have known Faith for a very long time. We were both in Parliament together for a number of years and during that time, I knew her well.

I am very much saddened by her passing. I wish to express my sincerest condolences to her husband and family and friends. On behalf of myself, my family and my Government, our condolences and sympathies to her family,” the President said.

Alliance For Change (AFC) General Secretary David Patterson also expressed his shock over the passing of the political stalwart. He noted that Harding was a woman of character and served this country well during her tenure as Minister of Public Service and even after her tenure had ended.

“It is awfully tragic. It is shocking to hear that she has passed on. Dr Faith Harding would have served this country well not just as a Minister but even when she had ended her term as a Minister, with her advocacy policies and her policies and work on issues affecting children. To say the least,

we are very shocked to hear that she has passed on and we would like to express our sincerest condolences to her family,” Patterson shared.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Vice Chairman, Dr Rupert Roopnarine on behalf of that grouping, which comprises PNCR, related that it was indeed saddening to hear of her passing, and it was a great loss to the country.

“I actually heard about her passing on my way home and I must say that it is extremely saddening. I knew Faith to be an impressionable and charming woman, committed to everything she set out to do. She will be greatly missed. It is such a loss,” he said.

Dr Harding was introduced to politics at an early age through a close relationship with her uncle, the late Andrew Jackson, who was the President of the Post Office Telecommunication Workers Union. He played a significant role in her life after her father died when she was only nine years old.

Minister Appointed as Minister of Public Service in 1989, Dr Harding led the restructuring of the Guyana Public Service and achieved significant success in decreasing inefficiencies, lowering redundancies and elevating overall effectiveness of all government programmes and also spearheaded the nationalisation of kindergarten education that institutionalised cost-free education for all children over the age of three.

With a keen focus on the key issues that continue to challenge Guyana today, Harding emerged as a strong, viable and competent candidate for the PNCR Presidential Candidacy in the 2011 elections.

Her platform for change included initiatives that would have brought affordable electricity and energy to every household; significantly reduce crimes against women and the incidence of domestic violence, sexual abuse and gender-based abuse; introduce much-needed drug intervention and drug rehabilitation programmes; develop training centres to enhance skills and competencies for teenagers and young adults;

among others.

She eventually lost out to APNU and PNCR Leader David Granger. However, not long after, she resigned from the party. She never publicly endorsed any other political party.

Dr Harding, a mother of one, was born on October 5, 1947 in Georgetown, Guyana to Egbert and Beryl Blackmore.

She was the sixth child in a close knit family of three brothers and three sisters.

She attended the St Ambrose and St Stephen’s Primary Schools before moving on to the British Guiana Education Trust High School.

She was described as an enthusiastic learner who enjoyed English Language, English Literature, Religious Knowledge, History and reading Nancy Drew books.

The young Harding completed her Bachelor of Science degree in education at Mills College of Education in New York City. Harding began her professional career in the field of education at the Lexington Houses Day Care Centre in Harlem, New York where she developed a non-sexist curriculum for early childhood education and supervised classroom experiences for student teachers of Hunter College.

The hardworking psychiatrist, who holds a Master of Arts degree in curriculum and teaching, a master’s degree in education and a doctorate in education, completed her advanced education at the prestigious Teachers College at Columbia University.

Community advocate At home, she was instrumental in starting an education programme that was described as the best in the Caribbean and was intimately involved in a wide range of volunteer projects that turned around communities and neighbourhoods in Guyana.

Over a four-year period, she launched an education and literacy programme in the Tiger Bay community, instituting a programme with job skills training and instilling self-esteem and pride among the citizens through a “Miss Tiger Bay” pageant that raised money for local projects.

In the Den Amstel community where a large percentage of women and mothers lacked marketable skills, Harding helped build a skill development programme that introduced sewing and cosmetology as viable careers. She assisted the community in writing grant proposals and successfully solicited funds from international agencies that financed a daycare community centre that allowed mothers to earn a living and still have adequate care for their children.

In addition, she opened a private, free clinic that provided counselling services for children and families infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, runaway youth, male and female victims of domestic violence as well as young victims of sexual abuse.

F

our days after Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh disclosed that the European Union has been withholding millions of euros in budgetary support funding, the EU has responded indicating that it would not release the monies until Government met “all eligibility criteria”.

A release from the international organisation on Friday stated, “The latest partial payments related to these two programmes (sugar sector and sea-defences) have been temporarily put on hold until all eligibility criteria, inter alia budget oversight, are satisfactorily addressed.”

However, in a swift response, Government expressed concerns over the position taken by the EU Delegation.

Government has published correspondence between the EU Delegation and the Finance Minister. The communication dated September 8, 2014, Government said, indicated “clearly that Guyana had met the eligibility criteria required to qualify for disbursements totalling €25,858,025, and that the same Delegation had recommended disbursement of this sum to the EU Budget Support Steering Committee in Brussels which was due to meet on September 17, 2014”.

According to Government, with the evidence of this written confirmation of Guyana’s qualification, the EU may want to correct the misinformation contained in its press release issued on Friday, and further explain to the people of Guyana what exactly accounted for the failure to disburse the sums since September 8, especially bearing in mind that Parliament was not prorogued until November 10, 2014. The emailed correspondence stated: “This is to inform you that the Delegation has submitted a positive disbursement advice to its Headquarters with regard to the budget support tranches listed below. They will all be discussed for decision by our Budget Support Steering Committee on 17 September 2014.”

The email was sent by Ewout Sandker, Head of

Cooperation, Delegation of the EU to Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago. He mentioned in the correspondence that this was the first time that the budget support disbursement requests for Guyana had been submitted that early in the second semester. Sandker added that this maximised the chances for payments within the budgetary year since that is subject to the availability of payment credits.

There was also a breakdown of the funding for the two programmes that the EU recommended payment to the tune of €25,858,025.

Last week, British High Commissioner Andrew Ayre during a press conference had warned that Guyana could face serious financial sanctions if Parliament did not reconvene.

When asked about funding for several projects underway in which the UK played the critical role of donor, the British High Commissioner noted that these projects may be in jeopardy, with some “reluctance” to provide developmental funds to Guyana from the UK. “Without the Parliament, there is no parliamentary oversight … clearly the appetite to send money to a country that has no parliamentary oversight is much reduced … there’s a reluctance to send development funds, how can we justify that to our own taxpayers?” Ayre questioned.

Budgetary oversight With the EU invoking the need for “budgetary oversight” it would appear that the EU shares the concern expressed by the British High Commissioner.

Observers say the withholding of the funds is a means of punishing the Donald Ramotar Administration for proroguing Parliament, but comes at a time when the President has kept his promise to schedule elections.

The EU has a longstanding commitment to support development and poverty reduction in Guyana and some €34 million was allocated to the country under the 11th European Development Fund. The EU aid is channelled through different modalities, of which budget

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh

support is one. The two ongoing budget support programmes in Guyana are: one for the sugar sector totalling €28.9 million and the other for sea defence totalling €14.8 million.

On Tuesday, Dr Singh at a press conference explained that Guyana had met its obligation in relation to the payments and had even been given written confirmation from the European Union that it had qualified for the grant.

However, the Minister pointed out that the payments were not made.

“We have taken the necessary actions: we have implemented the necessary conditions and we have achieved the necessary targets and we have that in writing. Why the EU has not disbursed the budgetary support grants in keeping with the written agreement we have with them is a matter they should explain,” Dr Singh noted.

It is expected that the Minister would be in touch with the EU to explain why with elections scheduled and Parliament about to be dissolved, it would insist on an “oversight” that is not possible.

Dr Singh went on to say that the written agreement between the two, under which the payments were made, detailed indicators that the country had to achieve before it could receive any money.

He added that the EU sent experts to score the country after which, they confirmed that Guyana had performed satisfactorily and favourably recommended to the Head Office in Brussels for payment to be made.

Man jailed for stealing, promises to change his life

C

lifton Ramsarran, also known as “Witch” was on Friday jailed for three years by Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus.

Ramsarran had earlier pleaded guilty to stealing one gas bottle valued $10,000, a BMX bicycle valued $10,000, a quantity of bed sheets valued $300,000, two CD players valued $45,000, one DVD player valued $30,000, a quantity of jewellery valued $100,000 and a blender valued $10,000, from the dwelling house of Shirley Chesney of Lot 90 Palmyra Village, East Canje, Berbice.

Asked what sentence he was expecting, the defendant said, “Sixteen months Your Worship.”

Clifton Ramsarran

Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus then asked Sergeant Phillip Sherriff, who was prosecuting the case what sentence the Police thought would be appropriate. Sherriff told the court that Ramsarran has appeared before the court for mat-

ters of a similar nature and a three-year sentence was fitting.

Ramsarran immediately responded, “I will never do it again…” He said now that he was going to jail he was stressing over his wife and two minors and had asked the court to put measures in place for the children to be taken care of.

The Magistrate then instructed the Probation and Welfare Department of the Social Services Ministry to look into the matter.

Ramsarran was charged jointly with the Samaroo brothers who pleaded not guilty to the offence. They will return to court on February 27 for trial.

sATURDAY JANUARY 24, 2015

guyanatimesgy.com

15

Around the world

AirAsia crash: Divers Guyanese killed in enter fuselage for first Antigua road accident time, retrieve 6 bodies A I

Guyanese construction worker living in Antigua and Barbuda became the first road fatality on that island for 2015 after he fell off a truck and into the path of a 4Runner along the Sir Sydney Walwyn Highway on Thursday.

The dead man has been identified as Murtland Bagot, of Atts Avenue, Antigua, formerly of Lot 25 Phoenix Park, West Bank Demerara, Guyana.

The 51-year-old man was reportedly with a number of construction workers who were on their way to Crabb’s Peninsula to board the ferry for Jumby Bay. The truck they were travelling in reportedly collided with a silver Suzuki van, which was heading in the opposite direction, shortly after 08:00h.

According to a source, Bagot was violently thrown from the back of the vehicle where he was seated, and hit the moving van before landing yards away from the scene. He was taken to the Mount St John’s Medical Centre where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Troy Bagot, the dead man’s brother, during a telephone interview with the Guyana Times from Antigua said his brother would normally catch the company truck to go to work.

He explained that the tray of the truck supported several pieces of board crosswise, which were used as seats. The pieces of board, he added, were not properly secured to the truck.

On the morning of the accident, he explained that as the truck was heading in an eastern direction, a 4Runner, which was travelling in the opposite direction, suddenly veered into its path.

The driver of the truck, he stated, swerved in an attempt to avoid a collision and it was then that his brother fell out of the tray and onto the 4Runner.

He was reportedly dragged several feet resulting in him sustaining a fractured skull. He also lost a lot of blood, the devastated sibling added. The female driver of the 4Runner who was reportedly fumbling with her mobile phone at

Guyanese construction worker Murtland Bagot

the time of the accident was detained by the Police. Two children were also in the vehicle when the accident occurred.

Bagot’s brother stated that the family was awaiting the post-mortem examination before making funeral arrangements. The now dead man had been residing on the island for the past 13 years and was a very avid cricket fan. He leaves to mourn his common-law wife who resides in the USA, four children and five brothers.

Ukrainian troops retake Donetsk airport from rebels

Ukrainian troops fire a mortar at the position of pro-Russian separatists

U

krainian troops have retaken most of the territory of Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine after launching a “mass operation” overnight to Sunday and wresting control of it from pro-Russian separatists, an Army spokesman said.

“The decision was taken for a mass operation...

We succeeded in almost completely cleaning the territory of the airport, which belongs to the territory of Ukrainian forces as marked by military separation lines,” military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.

At least six people were killed in the fighting that ensued, including four soldiers.

Lysenko said the operation had returned the battle lines near the airport to the previous status quo and that the Ukrainian Army had therefore not violated the Minsk 12-point peace plan agreed with Russia and separatist leaders last September.

Nearby houses were destroyed by heavy shelling and electricity was cut for many homes and businesses as explosions repeatedly ripped through parts of the Donetsk re-

gion.

Some blasts were also heard closer to the city centre, and Donetsk officials reported “massive damage to housing stock, infrastructure and communications of the city”.

“All night, shells flew over our house,” said Margarita, 24, a resident of the city’s northwest.

“This morning windows broke from the trembling – [it was} very scary”.

Another resident who lives a couple of kilometres from the airport said a children’s hospital had been damaged. (Excerpt from

France24)

ndonesian divers have been able to enter the fuselage of AirAsia flight QZ8501 for the first time, retrieving six bodies.

The operations chief at Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, Suryadi Bambang Supriyadi, said the divers spotted some more bodies inside the fuselage of the AirAsia jetliner that crashed last month into the Java Sea. “Today we have evacuated six bodies from inside the fuselage,” Supriyadi said on Friday. “Some other bodies are still there but their position among other debris

made it difficult for our divers.”

A total of 65 bodies have now been recovered from the AirAsia jet, which crashed on December 28, 2014 with 162 people on board while flying from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city, to Singapore.

Authorities believe many of the other bodies are still inside the fuselage.

Rescuers have been struggling with strong currents and poor visibility in their attempts to lift the fuselage of the Airbus A320 and what appears to be the plane’s cockpit from the sea-

bed, at a depth of 30 metres (100 feet).

Bad weather is a suspected factor in the crash. The pilots asked to climb from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet to avoid threatening clouds, but were denied permission by air traffic controllers because of heavy air traffic.

The transport minister, Ignasius Jonan, told the Indonesian parliament earlier this week that radar data showed the plane was climbing at an abnormally high rate, then dropped rapidly and disappeared.

No distress signal was sent.

(Excerpt from The Guardian)

Yemen suffers power vacuum after President, Premier quit

P

File photo of Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi taken in Sanaa September 21, 2014

Y

emen drifted deeper into political limbo on Friday after President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi resigned in exasperation at a Houthi rebel takeover of the country, a move that appeared to catch the Iran-backed group off balance.

Hadi, a former General, blamed the Houthis’ control of the capital Sanaa for impeding his attempt to steer Yemen toward stability after years of turmoil and tribal unrest, deepening poverty and US drone strikes on Islamist militants.

His resignation on

Thursday startled the Arabian Peninsula country of 25 million, where the Houthis emerged as the dominant faction by seizing Sanaa in September and dictating terms to a humiliated Hadi, whom they had held as a virtual prisoner at his home residence clashes with security guards this week.

The Houthis and prodemocracy activists staged rival rallies on Friday.

Thousands gathered in central Sanaa with placards calling for “Death to America, Death to Israel”, a slogan that has become a trademark of the Shi’ite

Muslim Houthi group.

“Hadi should have resigned a long time ago,” Al Sheikh Moghadal Al Wazeer, an elderly Houthi supporter said. “He should have done more and he should have run the country with more strength.”

Earlier in the day, a small group of pro-democracy activists chanted “we are the revolution” as they converged on Change Square, the focus of 2011 protests which forced long-ruling President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down under a Gulf power transfer deal.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Philippines homeless relocated during Pope Francis visit

T

he Government in the Philippines is facing calls for an inquiry after it admitted relocating homeless people temporarily during Pope Francis’ visit.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said that nearly 500 people were taken from the streets of Manila to an upscale resort in the outskirts.

House of Representatives member Terry Ridon called for an inquiry, saying the move was a “clearing operation”. Pope Francis arrived in the Philippines last week

and left on Monday.

Ridon said the Government relocation scheme was “truly horrendous, given the fact that Pope Francis visited our country to – first and foremost – see and talk to the poor.”

The Philippine Star said he plans to summon Soliman to explain her agency’s actions before lawmakers.

Soliman said in interviews this week that the homeless families were removed shortly before the pontiff arrived on January 15.

Many of them lived along the Manila Bay seafront, the venue for Sunday’s mass which drew a record crowd of six million. On January 14 they were taken to the Chateau Royale resort, which charges hundreds of dollars for a room per night, and returned to the capital on Monday after Pope Francis had left.

The families are now temporarily residing at Government facilities in Manila, Soliman said. (Excerpt from BBC News)

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16 news

saturday, january 24, 2015| guyanatimesGY.com

Specialty Hospital:

Elections 2015

Ramotar commits to dissolving Parliament

Surendra Engineering penalised nearly $1B for breach

…within constitutional timeframe

President Donald Ramotar

P

resident Donald Ramotar has responded to criticism levelled against him over the dissolution of Parliament, informing that he would dissolve the legislative body when it was constitutionally due.

Since his announcement that Guyanese will head to the polls on May 11, there has been criticism of Ramotar’s decision to not dissolve the National Assembly immediately after, or on the same day as he announced the date for General and Regional Elections.

The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) had said that the non-dissolution of Parliament widened the gap on any possible agreement by the National Assembly on disapproved major projects like the Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project.

The human rights body had also called on the President to either dissolve Parliament at the earliest opportunity or adjust the election date to conform to the constitutional provision of three months.

But the Head of State,

speaking to this publication, said that everything would be done at the appropriate time. “There is a specific timeframe in our Constitution that provides for that. When that time comes, you will know,” the President told the Guyana Times Thursday evening.

Similar sentiments were expressed by a senior Attorney close to the administration earlier this week.

The Attorney said there was absolutely no obligation on the President’s to dissolve Parliament at the same time a date for National Elections is announced.

He noted that the summoning, prorogation and dissolution of Parliament were matters that the Constitution places exclusively with the President.

“These powers and discretion are largely uncircumscribed, except for certain time constraints, none of which are relevant in this context.”

According to Guyana’s Constitution, elections must be held within three months of the dissolution of Parliament. Given the

May 11 election date, logically the date for the dissolution of Parliament is either February 10 or 11.

Criticism of Government’s handling of these political matters has been rife even before the President prorogued the National Assembly on November 10 last year.

The political Opposition, sections of the Private Sector and the international community had raised their voices in the call for the holding of the overdue Local Government Elections.

When the junior political Opposition party the Alliance For Change (AFC) threatened a No-Confidence vote against his Administration late last year, the President was forced to prorogue the sittings of the National Assembly.

Since the prorogation, his Administration had also come under severe criticism from stakeholders, both local and internationally, with many calling the move unconstitutional.

The last public attack on Government was when outgoing British High Commissioner Andrew Ayre, some two weeks ago, asked the Head of State to honour his obligations and either resume Parliament or set a date for General and Regional Elections.

Under the British system of rule, from which Guyana has emerged, when Parliament is dissolved, every seat in the “House of Commons” becomes vacant.

Members of Parliament (MPs) immediately revert to being members of the general public and lose all the privileges associated with being a MP.

An artist's impression of the Specialty Hospital

S

urendra Engineering Limited has been ordered to pay close to $1 billion to the Government of Guyana after failing to honour its obligations under the US$18 million Specialty Hospital contract.

Government had pulled the contract from the Indian firm last year after a series of breaches and alleged fraudulent activities. Subsequently court action was initiated, but the firm failed to attend the court hearings and never responded to a summons and the writs filed by the Government.

In a statement from the Attorney General Chambers, it was explained that judgment was granted in favour of the Government of Guyana in terms of special damages of US$4,285,440, which amounts to GY$899,942,440 and interest thereon, costs of US$10,714.50 which amounts to GY$2,250,043.

On September 14, 2012, the Government of Guyana, through the Health Ministry, entered into a contract with Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited, a limited liability company incorporated in India and registered in Guyana. Under the contract, it was agreed that the company would provide services in relation to designing, building, equipping, testing, delivering, installing, completing and commissioning certain facilities for the Surgical Specialty hospital in Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown. The consideration or cost of the contract was US$18,180,000.

According to the statement, pursuant to the said

contract, on December 27, 2012, Surendra Engineering was given an advance payment of 20 per cent of the contract price, which amounted to US$3,636,000 and on November 18, 2013, an additional payment of US$649,440.

Fraud

Surendra Engineering Corporation eventually failed to submit payment receipts to account for the advanced payment of US$4,285,440, the AG Chambers said, adding that instead, the company submitted allegedly fabricated, unsigned and inflated invoices with no evidence of actual payments made to support the expenditure claimed.

According to the Chamber in addition, the Advance Payment Guarantee expired on March 11, 2014, and the company failed to renew same in accordance with the terms of the contract.

After being informed of the expiration of the Advance Payment Guarantee, Surendra Engineering Corporation then attempted to submit an Advance Payment Guarantee, Performance Security, and Insurance from a company in Trinidad and Tobago called ‘Worldwide Bankers Re Company Ltd’. However, pursuant to queries by the Government of Guyana, it was informed by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago that ‘Worldwide Bankers Re Company Ltd’ is not a registered insurance company under the Insurance Act of Trinidad and Tobago.

Consequently, the

Government of Guyana terminated the contract on the grounds that Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited failed to renew/provide the Advance Payment Guarantee; engaged in fraudulent practices; and failed to satisfactorily perform its obligations under the terms of the contract.

Pursuant to the termination of the contract the Government of Guyana through the Office of the Attorney General on October 15, 2014, filed a Writ of Summons in the Commercial Division of the High Court naming Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited as the defendant and claiming the following reliefs: damages in excess of G$100,000,000; special damages in the sum of US$4,285,440; interest at the rate of six per cent per annum from the date of filing to the date of judgment and at the rate of four per cent until fully paid; and costs in the sum of US$10,714.50.

The AG Chambers stated that after having being unable to locate the company’s locally registered address in Berbice to effect service of the Writ, notice of service was made in the Guyana Chronicle Newspaper on two consecutive occasions, December 13, 2014, and December 20, 2014. The matter was heard on January 21, 2015, in the Commercial Court. However, when the matter was called no one appeared for or on behalf of the defendant company. The matter was called again on January 23, 2015, and once again no one appeared for or on behalf of the company.

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Saturday, january 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Security guard on multiple Man in love triangle larceny and fraudulent remanded for chopping conversion charges husband and wife – probation report ordered A A

labourer who chopped another man and his wife while in a minibus in Berbice on Wednesday, was on Friday refused bail when he appeared at the Albion Magistrate’s Court.

The accused told the court that he and the woman were in a relationship.

Leon Thomas, 39, of Manchester Village, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) is accused of unlawfully and maliciously wounding Meena Crawford-Morrison with

Meena Crawford-Morrison

Leon Thomas

intent to murder. The labourer was also charged for wounding Glen Morrison on January 21 at Number One Public Road, Corentyne.

Thomas was not required to plea to the first charge which was indictable and pleaded not guilty to the second charge of malicious wounding.

Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Althea Solomon told the court that the accused was previously charged for a similar offence and the matter is currently receiving the attention of the Whim Magistrate’s Court. In

Prosecutor Solomon’s bail objection she stated that Crawford-Morrison was still hospitalised and asked to court to consider that the matter was one of domestic violence, as well as the prevalence of the offence.

She said that the court had also ordered that Thomas stay more than 100 feet away from the couple.

After hearing the prosecution’s presentation, Magistrate Robindranauth Singh remanded the accused and fixed his return date for February 6 when the matter comes up again for a Police report.

Thomas then asked the court to be allowed to speak and his request was granted. The defendant told the court that he too sustained injuries during the incident but was not taken to see a doctor. “Me an she had a relationship an two weeks ago she disappeared. She steal money and jewelry from me.” He said on the day in question Crawford-Morrison called him and told him to come

to New Amsterdam to collect the money. He said he later joined the very bus that the couple was in.

“They started it first. The fello pull out a knife…,” Thomas claimed.

Guyana Times on Thursday reported that Thomas was the instigator of the argument with the couple who initially ignored him, but as they responded to his statements,

Leon Thomas

he reportedly whipped out a knife and attacked the couple. He was arrested by public spirited citizens and handed over to the Police.

28-year-old security guard was slapped with several simple larceny and fraudulent conversion charges.

Mohammad Ali of Lot 121 Second Street, Alberttown, Georgetown, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts for the second time before Magistrate Geeta Chandan-Edmond on Friday.

Ali pleaded guilty to all the charges read to him.

It is alleged that on January 12, at Woolford Avenue, Georgetown, he stole Brandy Hazel’s Samsung Galaxy S4 cellphone valued $140,000 and Rehanna Abel’s $60,000 Samsung Tablet.

It is further alleged that on January 14, at Charlotte Street, Georgetown, being solely entrusted by Nalini Rambarack with her $30,000 cellphone to make a call and return it, he fraudulently converted it to his own use and benefit.

The court also heard that on January 17, at the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC), he stole one gold chain valued $50,000 along with $40,000 cash from Raywattie Outar.

It was further alleged that while Ali was at the GPOC on that day, Latanie Ross entrusted him with her $30,000 BLU cellphone to make a call and return it, but he fraudulently converted it to his own use and benefit.

Police Prosecutor Renetta Bentham told the court that the defendant entered Tutorial High School

at about 10:30h on January 12 and approached Hazel and Abel who are students of the school, introducing himself as the new Visual Arts teacher.

He then asked the students for their gadgets and they handed them over.

The imposter then told the students that he was heading to Stella Maris Primary School and would return with the items, but never did. The matter was reported.

Prosecutor Bentham also explained that on January 14 about 15:20h, Rambarack was at the Georgetown High Court when Ali approached her and asked her to borrow her phone to make a call.

After she gave it to him, he strolled out the Court’s northern gate and never returned.

The matter was reported to the Police. The court also heard that on January 17 about 09:45h, Ross and Outar were conducting business at the GPOC, when the defendant approached Outar and told her that he was a staff of the entity and could assist her.

The Prosecutor said that he took her into the corridor and persuaded her to hand over the aforementioned articles. According to Bentham, Ali told the woman that she cannot go into the office to see the “Big One” with her cellphone and wearing jewellery.

After receiving the articles, he then took her into an office and told her to wait there and he slipped

away. At the same place, Ali met Ross and asked her to borrow her phone to make a call. After she handed him the device, he left and did not return it.

It was also reported that Ali attempted to deceive a bunch of Queen’s College First Form students but his plot was cut short after suspicious students reported the matter to teachers and parents.

The Prosecutor told the court that on Thursday, January 22, acting on information received, Police arrested the defendant. Ali was placed on an identification (ID) parade where he was positively identified by all the victims.

Ali asked the Magistrate to be merciful. He said he is the sole breadwinner of his family and after leaving jail last November, he has been struggling to land a job.

He told the Magistrate that he had been jailed for five years on a damage to property charge. He broke down in tears saying “Sometimes people don’t know what people go through. I had no choice…

I work $10,000 a week and on Tuesday I had $860 in my pocket and two bottles of water in my fridge.” He said employers are reluctant to hire him because of his criminal record. Ali broke down in tears and apologised to all the victims who were present in court.

The Magistrate deferred sentencing and ordered that a probation report be prepared for the defendant.

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saturday, january 24, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Park Vue Hotel re-launched T

Opening of Giftland OfficeMax Mall approaches

The Park Vue Hotel and Lounge

“M

ash Up” the East Bank activities set before Mashramani The Park Vue Hotel and Lounge, the multimillion-dollar hotel located at Farm, East Bank Demerara, was officially re-launched on Friday, January 23 under the new ownership of Fazil Mirza.

According to the new owner, he aims to raise awareness and promote the hotel, something that was not done before.

“What better way to do it… Mashramani is right around the corner,” Mirza told media operatives at the event. A line up of exciting activities can be expected to “mash up” the East Bank of Demerara the weekend just before Mashramani.

On February 20, there will be a pool party featuring the Melody Makers Brass Band out of Suriname and a Carlsberg ‘Happy Half Hour’ from noon to 18:00h.

On Saturday, February 21, there will be “Mash Up the Bank Celebrations” featuring Jomo Primo, Sammy Baksh, among others, and on Sunday, February 22, there will be a Chutney concert featuring Young Bill Rogers and

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds greets new owner of Park Vue Fazil Mirza at the re-launching of the Hotel on Friday evening

other top local chutney artistes.

All events are compliments of Carlsberg Beer.

The Park Vue Hotel and Lounge was initially opened in January 2014 by Robin and Sharon Persaud.

The construction of the hotel was meant to boost Guyana’s tourism sector with its 32 spacious rooms, restaurants, poolside, bar, boutique, spa, gift shop, among other amenities.

Just 10 minutes from the capital city and less than 35 minutes

from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, it was perfect for business travellers.

Marketing Officer of Park Vue Vanessa Swan noted that there will be special discounts for repeat businesses.

Meanwhile, Mirza noted that he has confidence in Guyana’s economy and is looking forward to a prosperous business year ahead.

Park Vue has been under new management since January 1.

Duck thief who could not pay fine jailed A

duck thief who could not pay a fine of $40,000 was on Friday jailed for three months by Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in a New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court.

Jegwant Ramcharran, 47, of Cumberland Village, East Canje, Berbice, Region Six (East

Berbice-Corentyne) pleaded guilty to a charge of larceny which stated that on December 30, 2014 at Cumberland, he stole 28 ducks which were ordinarily kept in a stock for domestic purposes. The birds which are the property of Randolph Blain, Proprietor of Stretch ‘D’ Dollar Supermarket of

Cumberland, are valued at $84,000.

Ramcharran told the court that he was fined $40,000 which had to be paid immediately or an alternative of 90 days in jail.

The thief has appeared before the court in the past for matters of a similar nature.

housands eagerly wait as the date for the opening of the multi-million dollar Giftland OfficeMax Mega Mall slowly approaches.

The mall, located at Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, was expected to open its doors to the public in March; however, Giftland OfficeMax Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ian Ramdeo said the mall will now be opened in April.

Ramdeo said it is anticipated that the shipment of fuel tanks from Rubis will take longer than expected, however, when the tanks arrive, arrangements will be made for the grand opening.

The 265,000 square-foot mall will be self-sufficient, with its own sewerage treatment plant, water well and a 5.75 megawatt power plant.

The shopping centre will accommodate the initial entity – Giftland OfficeMax, in addition to a wide range of commercial entities.

“The mall will be owned

by Giftland and Giftland will rent a space in the mall and about 120 different concessions outside of Giftland will be renting,” Ramdeo explained.

He disclosed that 70 per cent of the space is already confirmed for rental, with stores such as Levis, Dockers, the West Indies Store, Popeyes, Quiznos and Church’s Chicken onboard.

Additionally, Caribbean Cinemas will be one of the major features.

Ramdeo further explained that while the mall

Giftland’s wing escalator

has been under construction for approximately three years, planning had begun long before. He stated that the vision was to create a full blown family entertainment complex to cater for children, teenagers and adults.

Being the first of its kind in Guyana, the mall will be introducing a number of exciting amenities such as free drinking fountains; valet parking; a playground featuring zip lines, rock climbing and bungee jumping, and a 90-station sheltered bus terminal.

“We will also be featuring the 560 feet “Strip” comprising four fine dining restaurants, the sports bar, the Brazilian Grill and Bar, and a British Pub for evening entertainment. The street will be closed for vehicular traffic in the evenings from 18:00h allowing us to turn this area into a street entertainment area…This area will also be used to showcase Guyanese Culture and exhibitions, talent and other shows, po-

etry reading, horticulture, crafts and other areas in need of being highlighted in an open-air atmosphere,” Ramdeo explained.

On Thursday, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh had a grand tour of the mega mall. He said the facility is a “fantastic investment.”

“We’re glad to see investors responding to Guyana’s economy. This is the vision the Government had… The Giftland Mall is another example of investor’s confidence in Guyana, another example of people’s life improving,” the Finance Minister said.

With all the exhilarating features and amenities the mall will offer, the Water and Holmes Street location will be closed and relocated to the world-class shopping plaza when it opens.

The mall is expected to create job opportunities for over 2000 people. Part-time job opportunities will also be provided to students of the University of Guyana.

Police impersonator nabbed in Berbice

A

man who claimed he once worked at Demerara Bank as a security guard, has been arrested after going about impersonating a Police Officer using the alias “Sergeant Singh”. The incident took place on Thursday.

The man reportedly stopped two drivers on the Corentyne who allegedly were not wearing their seats belts at the time and demanded money from them.

He was nabbed shortly after he went to the Rose Hall Town Police Outpost with one of the victims and told Police there that he was “Sergeant Singh” and that he was transferred from Georgetown.

After extorting money from that second victim, he impostor left the outpost. He was however moments later was arrested. He was wearing a white shirt jack and black pants.

He told Guyana Times that his surname was indeed

Ronald Balgobin

Singh and that he resides at Lot 5 Meadow Brook Drive, Georgetown. He said that he took $4000 from each of the two drivers he stopped, stating that neither of the two were wearing their seat belts at the time. “Ah have a wife and a young baby, two months old an ah ent working, ah apply but nowhere ah ent get through… Ah only do it because ah need money fo the bady to buy pampers and milk,” the man related

to this publication.

He said that his wife was staying at Reliance Village, East Canje, Berbice, and he had given her $6000 of his takings before he was arrested. “I am asking God to open a way for me to get a job,” he said in tears.

A source close to the investigation told this publication that the 20-yearold impostor was from Goed Fortune, West Bank Demerara, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara). The source said his correct name is Ronald Balgobin, also known as “Collie Boy” and had formally lived in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

At the time of his arrest, Balgobin had $2000 in his possession.

Sources close to the Police say that they are investigating whether “Sergeant Singh” had been involved in similar activities in other parts of the country.

saturday, january 24, 2015

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High School Championships “Athletes need to register,” says AAG boss a good initiative T says

I

Treiston Joseph

n a recent interview with Guyana Times Sport, Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) President Aubrey Hutson revealed plans in the work to host a newly-conceptualised High School Championships where the focus will be on the school as well as the athletes.

The concept is different from the National School Championships in a number of ways that might be better for the development of young athletes in the long run.

First off, the meet is scheduled to be held in March, a time period that is filled with competition not just locally but also regionally and internationally meaning that the athletes should be in peak condition for the season. Hence, athletes would be in greater physical condition for international selection.

This compares favour-

ably with the National School Championships, which is hosted in a period (November) when most nations are in their offseason, so little international or regional competition for juniors is happening.

However, the most intriguing feature of the event will be the selection procedure.

Unlike the National School Championships where you simply have to win at the various district levels to qualify for the championships, athletes will have to make a qualifying time to reach the High School Championships.

What this basically does is allow the possibility of more than one athlete from the same zone or even school contesting the same final of any event, whereas at the National School Championships that possibility is nonexistent because only one athlete from a zone can represent that zone in a specific event.

This allows for a high level of competition both at the school, zone and national level since on many occasions athletes had to resort to stepping up to higher age categories because of the possibility of clashing with their school or zone mate in a specific event.

While this might prevent the best athlete of the district from participating in the event because of their inability to make the qualifying time, it raises the quality of the meet.

The National School Championship will always be a main staple in the diet of the junior athletes and it definitely showcases some of Guyana’s best athletes on one stage.

However, the High School Championships has the ability to showcase all of Guyana’s top athletes regardless of which school or district they come from, a good initiative indeed.

Trinidad’s Wilson honoured to be picked as World Cup Umpire

T

op Trinidad and Tobago umpire Joel Wilson said he is both honoured and humbled to be chosen by world cricket’s governing body to officiate at the upcoming ICC World Cup to be jointly staged by Australia and New Zealand.

Wilson, 48, will become the first T&T umpire to participate in an ICC World Cup when he joins the elite group of officials for the competition and his historic accomplishment has not gone unnoticed by the T&T Umpires and Scorers’ Association (TTUSA).

On Wednesday the organisation staged a cocktail reception for all match officials participating in the current Nagico Super50 regional oneday 50-overs tournament being staged in Trinidad and Tobago.

Among those attending the function in the hospitality suite of the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain were president and secretary of the TTUSA, Parasram Singh and John Lewis respectively and several leading local and regional umpires, fourth officials and match-referees.

Wilson said that over the

Joel Wilson

past few weeks he has been preparing for the big assignment by participating in a series of ICC organised pre-tournament exercises, including a training regimen designed to fine-tune the skills of the umpires picked for the World Cup.

He said he has been taking part in a specialist “eye-gym” programme and other exercises to improve his reflex time, brushing up on his knowledge of the laws and regulations of the game, as well as familiarising himself with the hotspot and Snicko technology.

Another important area that Wilson is devoting a lot of time to, is the Decision Review System (DRS), which will be used at the World Cup which he could be called upon to adjudicate in two matches when he sits as the third umpire.

“My intention is to do my best and try and learn all I can from the very knowledgeable bunch of officials I will be among at the World Cup,” said Wilson, who leaves T&T on February 2 for Melbourne where he will be based for three matches as the fourth umpire. “It will be an opportunity to take advantage of the great opportunity I am being given. I can advance my career,” he added.

Wilson will be required to attend an ICC workshop on February 5 and 6 and will also participate in a camp which starts on the February 9. (Windies

Cricket)

AAG President Hutson

Aubrey

he President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), Aubrey Hutson, is urging all athletes to register with the Association.

The AAG, which has had a late start to its 2015 season according to its calendar, is aiming to get on track in the coming weeks once the athletes register.

“What happens is that the athletes wait until it’s time for these events to register, but we need them to register early so that we can plan better,” Hutson told Guyana Times Sport.

The season was to kick off with a cross-country race on January 17, but it was postponed partly as a result of the lack of registration, “The cross countries are an integral part of the programme and we really need the athletes to register, so I’m urging them to register as early as possible,” Hutson stressed.

With the AAG’s Annual General Meeting set for January 25, the season is expected to kick start in February.

Longtime administrator resigns from TGH Pacesetters

L

ongtime administrator Dennis Clarke has resigned from duty with the Trinity Grid Holding (TGH) Pacesetters Club on Friday.

Clarke, who resigned via letter, noted that he served in many capacities during his 35 years with the Club and was proud to be part of the highly successful entity.

In an invited comment, Clarke told Guyana Times Sport the reason behind his resignation, “It’s mainly for personal reason, it has been

Dennis Clarke

35 years and I think those guys need to set themselves if I should decide to make other moves,” he stated.

Clarke is also one of Guyana’s most recognised basketball statisticians and served as Chairman as well as Head Coach of the Club at one time or another.

He thanked Courts Furniture for its 12 years of sponsorship as well as current sponsor Trinity Grid Holding for its support during his run as administrator of the Club.

Nadal progresses in Australian Open

R

afa Nadal reached the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-1 6-0 7-5 win over Israel’s Dudi Sela on Friday, avoiding the fate that befell great rival Roger Federer who had earlier lost to Andreas Seppi.

Third seeded Nadal had himself narrowly avoided an early exit when he took five sets and more than four hours to beat American qualifier Tim Smyczek in the second round as he battled illness, but had no problems against Sela.

The matchup, later in the evening, suited Nadal, who suffered from dehydration, an upset stomach and cramping during the marathon against Smyczek.

The 14-times grand slam winner said he had recovered well enough from the experience that he had described as one of the worst he had felt in his career.

“I was still a little bit dizzy yesterday,” Nadal said. “I think I lost lot of fluids the other night. But in general I was not very, very bad.

“Knowing that I was going to play tonight ... I thought I going to be ready for tonight (and was) happy the way I was physically on court.”

Nadal, whose 2014 campaign was upset by injury and illness in the second half of the year, had been concerned he might not be ready for an assault on a second title at Melbourne Park, having beaten Federer in the 2009 final.

The third round match was a work in progress for the Spaniard as he dominated physically, but was also made to work hard against the diminutive Israeli, who is listed by the ATP as being 1.75m and 65kgs.

Such is the physical disparity between the pair Nadal is 1.85m and 85kg anyone watching may have believed the Spaniard was playing someone from the junior tournament.

Sela was overpowered but he showed impressive touch, varied his pace on return, worked the angles and earned a massive cheer when he won his first game in the third set,

Rafael Nadal

ending a nine-game run by the Spaniard.

Nadal said he felt the match had helped him continue to work out any kinks and he was feeling the rhythm of his game back.

“When you are on the confidence, you feel that shots come without thinking,” he said.

“If I want to have chances to keep being competitive in this tournament, I need to play this way.” (Reuters)

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guyanatimesGY.com

saturday, january 24, 2015

Smith ton leads Federer makes early exit in Australian Open Australia to final F

Steven Smith drops another century for Australia

B

efore this game, Steven Smith had captained Australia in three matches. They had lost none of them, and he had scored a century in each. Now he has captained Australia in four matches. They have still lost none of them, and he has still scored a century in each. The first three were Tests against India, this was an ODI against England. The opponents were new, the format was different, but this was the same captain Smith.

The day had started with Smith sending England in; he thought the pitch had some juice in it, and would help his fast bowlers. He was wrong, and Ian Bell’s best one-day international score of 141 might have made Smith the captain rue his bold decision. But Smith the batsman did everything right in the chase of 304, and paced his innings to perfection. He was still there when the winning runs were struck with just one ball to spare.

The end was tighter than Australia had hoped. Smith and Brad Haddin had made victory seem inevitable and only five runs were needed from the last two overs, but Haddin had just fallen and Moises Henriques was on strike. He picked up three from James Anderson’s over, but also retained the strike for the final over. With every delivery that Smith was at the wrong end, tension rose in the Australian rooms.

Two runs from six Chris Woakes deliveries was the equation, but Henriques couldn’t penetrate the infield, and was run out third ball attempting a suicidal single.

At least it meant Smith was on strike; he flicked a single through midwicket, and the new batsman Mitchell Starc managed to force the ball through cover for the winning run from the fifth ball of the over. It was enough to put Australia into the tri-series final.

Smith walked off unbeaten on 102 from 95 balls - his third ODI century from his past ten matches - and collected another Man-of-theMatch novelty cheque. He deserved it, but it was also notable that Smith had more support than did Bell during England’s innings. Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner and Haddin all made at least 30; only Moeen Ali and Joe Root backed up Bell with 30plus scores for England.

The rate of scoring at the death was also significant.

After 40 overs the Australians had 5 for 230, meaning their last 9.5 overs brought 2 for 74. England had the perfect platform thanks to Bell and Root and were 2 for 244 after 40 overs, but lost 6 for 59 in their final ten as both established batsmen fell and the Australian bowlers found their range. It really was an opportunity missed for England.

Australia’s chase began solidly through Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch, but on 32 Finch was bowled when he tried to work Moeen Ali through leg. Things looked shaky when Steven Finn struck twice in an over, first with Marsh caught at backward point for 45, undone

by Finn’s bounce, and then Cameron White leg-before by a searing inswinging yorker for a second-ball duck in his first ODI innings for nearly four years.

A third wicket should have followed in the same over, when Glenn Maxwell chipped and was put down by James Anderson at short midwicket.

Even so, Australia were 3 for 92 and in some trouble. But Smith played a typically levelheaded innings, steering the ball through gaps and milking as many runs as he could to build a platform. Maxwell did the same for 37, before he lost his head and was caught on the boundary off Moeen.

Promoted to No. 6, James Faulkner scored 35 but this time was unable to be the finisher, caught at point off Woakes. But Haddin showed his experience and struck the boundaries Australia required

to bring the equation well into their favour. He crunched Finn down the ground for a six and a four in his final over, the 45th of the innings.

Until then it seemed the Australian Finn review might make depressing reading for Darren Lehmann and his men on Saturday, but the story of the economy changed quickly. Finn finished with 2 for 65 off his ten overs, and when he sent down his last ball the Australians needed 32 off 30. Haddin was caught off Woakes for 42 off 29, but Australia were by then close enough.

It meant that Bell’s outstanding innings had been in vain. He set England up to reach 8 for 303, batting himself until the 42nd over of the innings. With no swing evident, Bell went after the bowling early and struck three fours in Starc’s second over, although it was Moeen who really got the runs flowing with three consecutive sixes off Pat Cummins.

Moeen top-edged a slower bouncer from Faulkner and was caught for 46, and followed by James Taylor, who drove Henriques to mid-off for 5. But after a 113-run opening stand, Bell found another ally and his partnership with Root was worth 121 for the third wicket. Bell’s half-century came from 42 balls and his hundred off 92 balls, his fourth one-day international century and his first for nearly two years.

It was an impressively controlled innings, confirming that Eoin Morgan had made the right move by asking Bell to return to the top of the order for this series after he was dropped in Sri Lanka. Bell finished with 15 fours and one six and was especially strong through the off side, before finally he slapped Gurinder Sandhu’s slower bouncer to mid-off and was caught.

Sandhu made it a double strike by having Morgan caught behind first ball, and after a couple of adventurous strokes including a sort of reverse ramp over short third man for four off Sandhu, Root fell for 69 when he lobbed a catch to mid-on off Cummins.

(Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD England innings (50 overs maximum) MM Ali c sub (XJ Doherty) b Faulkner 46 IR Bell c Starc b Sandhu 141 JWA Taylor c Faulkner b Henriques 5 JE Root c Finch b Cummins 69 EJG Morgan* c †Haddin b Sandhu 0 JC Buttler† run out (†Haddin) 25 S Bopara b Starc 7 CR Woakes run out (†Haddin) 0 SCJ Broad not out 0 Extras (b 1, lb 4, w 5) 10 Total (8 wickets; 50 overs) 303 Did not bat: JM Anderson, ST Finn Fall of wickets: 1-113, 2-132, 3-253, 4-254, 5-275, 6-303, 7-303, 8-303.

Australia Bowling: MA Starc 10-0-60-1, PJ Cummins 100-74-1, GS Sandhu 10-049-2, GJ Maxwell 3-0-22-0,

JP Faulkner 10-0-59-1, MC Henriques 7-0-34-1.

Australia innings (target: 304 runs from 50 overs) AJ Finch b Ali 32 SE Marsh c Bell b Finn 45 SPD Smith* not out 102 CL White lbw b Finn 0 GJ Maxwell c Root b Ali 37 JP Faulkner c Bell b Woakes 35 BJ Haddin† c Bell b Woakes 42 MC Henriques run out (Taylor) 4 MA Starc not out 1 Extras (lb 3, w 3) 6 Total (7 wickets; 49.5 overs) 304 Did not bat: PJ Cummins, GS Sandhu Fall of wickets: 1-76, 2-92, 3-92, 4-161, 5-216, 6-297, 7-302.

England Bowling: CR Woakes 9.5-0-58-2, JM Anderson 10-0-56-0, SCJ Broad 9-0-61-0, MM Ali 10-0-50-2, ST Finn 100-65-2, RS Bopara 1-0-11-0.

our-time champion Roger Federer is out of the Australian Open after being beaten in the third round by unheralded Italian Andreas Seppi.

The 33-year-old Swiss second seed went down 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) to Seppi, who is ranked 46 in the world.

Seppi, 30, had never beaten the 17-time Grand Slam champion in 10 previous meetings and his win ends a 23-match losing streak against top 10 opponents.

“I just tried my best and it was one of my best matches for sure,” said Seppi.

British number one Andy Murray is through to the last 16 but it is the first time since 2003 that Federer has failed to reach at least the semi-finals in Melbourne, and it extends his run without a Grand Slam title which stretches back to Wimbledon 2012.

“It was just a bad day,” he said. “I wish I could have played better, but clearly it was tough losing the first two sets.

“I had chances to get back into it. I let it slip, both

Roger Federer

times in some ways. I guess I won the wrong points out there today.”

Federer enjoyed a revival last year, vying with Novak Djokovic for the number one ranking, and began 2015 with his 83rd career title in Brisbane.

However, there had been signs in his previous match against another Italian, Simone Bolelli, that the Swiss was not at his best as he dropped the opening set.

Two points from defeat in game 10, Federer held on to force another tie-break and had two serves at 5-4, but lost them both to give Seppi a match point.

Faced with the biggest point of his career, Seppi came up with a spectacular running forehand pass to complete a stunning upset.

“I just tried to enjoy playing on centre court (Rod Laver Arena) because it’s not often I get the chance,” added the Italian.

“I was focusing on my service games as I was not getting many chances on his.

“The tie-break was great, especially the last point. I did not think I would get the ball. I thought it was a winner so I don’t know how I hit a winner.” (BBC Sport)

J’can swimmer fends off stereotypes, racism in white dominated sport

A

lia Atkinson has been the darling of Jamaica’s swimming for some time. Following her record-equalling 100-metre women’s breaststroke win at the Short Course World Championships in Doha, Qatar last December, she has become a prominent standard-bearer for black swimmers across the globe.

The time of 1:02.36 seconds tied the record of Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte, which the teenager set in 2013.

It is natural that much responsibility has fallen Atkinson’s way. After all, the World Championships show, most significantly, saw her become the first black woman to win a world swimming title.

Still, in a sport dominated by white swimmers and burdened by stereotypes, there have been the far too frequent challenges of racism.

“I was very shy growing up considering I was in a sport where the odds were already against you. It made me feel very insecure and I didn’t have much confidence when I was younger swimming internationally,” Atkinson said as she addressed a recent Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange.

“I didn’t [feel confident] because everybody was looking at you like you never knew what you were doing, and eventually you feel like maybe you really don’t. As I got older they knew me so they knew not to play like that.”

The 26-year-old, whose training base is in Florida, United States, pointed to instances she has witnessed at

Alia Atkinson received her World Championship gold medal last December

international events.

“I went to the Commonwealth [Games in 2010] in India and the lanes were set about where you have 10 lanes or eight lanes.

The outside lanes are for starts and then every lane in between is for warm-up or warm-down.

“So I went to one of the lanes and was about to do a start. He [a pool attendant] said no, you can’t do starts, So I went off and as soon as I turned around a white swimmer came up... [and was allowed]. It was very weird and it was the little things like that.”

But why would there be racial discrimination in the pool?

“We have Caribbean swimmers that are good and can compete with anybody in the world. And then you have other nations who are starting to develop. I’m not sure if they just saw a black face and thought I couldn’t swim, but that was one of

the myths I wanted to break.

“They didn’t even take the time to find out where you’re from. They see a black person and think they come from Africa. That’s not a bad thing, but Africa is developmental and they automatically think those from Africa can’t swim,” said Atkinson who placed fourth in the finals of the 2012 London Olympics 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:06.93.

She gave an example of how swimmers from Oceania’s Papau New Guinea were marginalised at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona 2013.

“They didn’t have caps or goggles and didn’t know how to properly go on the [starting] block. Things keep changing in swimming and they weren’t aware of the changes. Everybody saw them on the blocks, coaches were there and none of them told them the correct way.

“I went over there and gave them some caps and taught a swimmer how to do the dive, and she showed her [compatriots]. Someone just needed to have the courage to go over there, but since they’re from Papau New Guinea no one took the effort because they say, ‘What are they doing there anyway?’”

It is for this reason that Atkinson, who says she has several white swimmers as friends, has revealed that a post-retirement dream is to teach the art of swimming in countries still in development stages.

Of course, she said, funding will dictate if that dream will become reality. (Jamaica Observer)

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Ronchi, Elliott shatter records, flatten Sri Lanka

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Grant Elliott scored a hundred and then took the first two Sri Lankan wickets

A

record-shattering sixth-wicket stand between Luke Ronchi and Grant Elliott yanked New Zealand out of the mire at 93 for 5 and sent them hurtling to 360 for 5, in what began as a counterattack and then grew into a gargantuan, unstoppable thing of terror.

Their unbeaten stand of 267 off 180 balls was the highest ever for the sixth wicket, and is the second for any wicket for New Zealand.

In response, Sri Lanka managed 15 fewer runs than Ronchi and Elliot did together, and were 108 shy of the hosts' total, despite a spirited 116 from 106 balls for Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Ronchi was chief architect of the mauling, clobbering 170 from 99 balls, murdering anything pitched up and never failing to slam the short balls over the leg-side fence.

Rarely did he fail to execute the strokes he attempted, no matter how audacious. His maiden ton was scored from 74 balls. The next 70 runs were slammed off 25. He hit nine sixes and 14 fours in all.

Elliott was slightly more reserved in the early phase of their partnership but once he had set himself a foundation with 25 runs off 35 balls, his strike rate moved smoothly upwards, even if he sought to give Ronchi more of the bowling. By the end of the innings, Elliott was creaming the dross Sri Lanka served up at the death almost as cleanly as his partner was.

His 104 not out came from 96 deliveries; he then returned with the ball to deliver nine pinpoint overs that conceded only 44 and claimed two wickets.

Sri Lanka were indisciplined with the ball to begin with, despite the seam movement on offer, but became truly pathetic by the end of the innings. Suranga Lakmal missed his lengths more often than he hit them towards the death, traveling for 93 in his 10 overs. Nuwan Kulasekara nabbed two wickets with the new ball, but was almost as bad with the older one. He disappeared for 73 from his full quota.

Lasith Malinga's absence was keenly felt at the death, but Angelo Mathews was also missing, thanks to a calf niggle. Acting captain Lahiru Thirimanne took two wickets with his seam-up deliveries, but was otherwise disappointing in the field, shelling difficult chances off

Ronchi and Elliott once each.

Elliott was 47 when the diving chance at short cover went down. Ronchi was already at 167 when the overhead chance, running back from point, was spilled in the last over.

Ronchi began his charge with two of the simplest sixes he will ever hit. Jeevan Mendis dropped the ball halfway down the pitch on successive deliveries, and was walloped over cow corner in the 25th over. The boundaries were scored almost at will from then on.

Sachithra Senanayake's introduction to the attack had been delayed slightly, thanks to the earlier success of the seamers, but he was picked off effortlessly by Ronchi and Elliott, who used the sweep to excellent effect against his leg-stump line.

They occasionally came down the pitch to the spinners, but were largely content to punish the bad balls - of which there were many - from the crease.

Ronchi and Elliott strolled past their individual half-centuries, and by the 40th over, had catapulted New Zealand to 238 for 5. The last seven overs were a blur of boundaries as Sri Lanka failed emphatically to execute a wide-yorker plan, their quicks routinely delivering knee-high full tosses

that the batsmen hammered down the ground or slapped to the off-side fence. The pair struck 122 runs from the last 10 overs to complete one of the most emphatic lower-order comebacks in a tour brimming with them.

That Sri Lanka allowed themselves to slip to such a woeful position will now be a source of extreme frustration in the dressing room. At 20 overs, New Zealand were 93 for 5. The visitors perhaps hoped to keep the opposition to 175 at that stage.

They ended up getting twice that amount, and Sri Lanka did not get another breakthrough. They were repeatedly thwarted by mammoth lower-middle order partnerships in the Tests, and each of the ODIs they have lost so far has featured substantial stands for the fifth, sixth and seventh wickets.

Thirimanne and Dilshan sunk balls into getting in and setting a foundation in the chase, making clear Sri Lanka's plan to conserve wickets and attack in the latter half of the innings. There were flashes of aggression in the mandatory Powerplay, like in the ninth over when Thirimanne pulled Tim Southee for four then picked him up to deposit him in the bleachers beyond wide long-on next ball. The New Zealand bowlers were more accurate than the opposition had been, however, and fewer loose balls abounded.

Thirimanne eventually fell for 45 off 65 balls, pulling a gentle Elliott half-tracker to fine leg, immediately after a drinks break.

Sri Lanka perhaps had a glimmer of hope while Dilshan was at the crease.

Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were not at their fluent best, particularly on such a flat batting strip, but Dilshan scythed his way through the innings at close to a run a ball, and had Sri Lanka requiring 192 runs from the last 20 overs, with eight wickets still in hand.

(Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD New Zealand innings (50 overs maximum) MJ Guptill c †Sangakkara b Kulasekara 0 BB McCullum* lbw b Kulasekara 25 KS Williamson c †Sangakkara b Perera 26 LRPL Taylor c Karunaratne b 20 Thirimanne GD Elliott not out 104 CJ Anderson lbw b Thirimanne 8 L Ronchi† not out 170 Extras (lb 1, w 6) 7 Total (5 wickets; 50 overs; 217 mins) 360 Did not bat: NL McCullum, TG Southee, MJ McClenaghan, TA Boult Fall of wickets 1-0, 2-51, 3-60, 4-82, 5-93.

Sri Lanka Bowling: KMDN Kulasekara 10-0-71-2, RAS Lakmal 10-0-93-0, NLTC Perera 10-0-49-1, HDRL Thirimanne 7-0-36-2, SMSM Senanayake 7-0-58-0, BMAJ Mendis 2-021-0, TM Dilshan 4-0-31-0 Sri Lanka innings (target: 361 runs from 50 overs)

HDRL Thirimanne* c Taylor b Elliott 45 TM Dilshan c NL McCullum b McClenaghan 116 KC Sangakkara† c NL McCullum b Elliott 9 DPMD Jayawardene b Boult 30 KMDN Kulasekara c †Ronchi b Boult 3 BMAJ Mendis b Boult 18 LD Chandimal c †Ronchi b McClenaghan 0 NLTC Perera c Williamson b Boult 0 FDM Karunaratne c BB McCullum b Southee 12 SMSM Senanayake not out 3 RAS Lakmal b Southee 0 Extras (b 4, lb 2, w 10) 16 Total (all out; 43.4 overs; 189 mins) 252 Fall of wickets: 1-93, 2-141, 3-211, 4-215, 5-224, 6-233, 7-234, 8-245, 9-252, 10-252.

New Zealand Bowling: TG Southee 7.4-0-42-2, TA Boult 10-0-44-4, NL McCullum 4-0-21-0, MJ McClenaghan 8-0-56-2, GD Elliott 9-0-422, CJ Anderson 5-0-41-0

22

guyanatimesGY.com

saturday, january 24, 2015

Cycling season starts 8 games to kick off West Dem leg tonight today at National Park A Guinness Greatest in the Streets football...

One of the competition’s coordinators, Travis Bess

By Avenash Ramzan

H

istory will be created this evening when the Guinness Greatest in the Streets Football Competition is staged for the first time on the West Demerara corridor.

After staging successful zone competitions in other parts of the country, the organisers have decided to tap the talents and resources in the West Demerara area, and they have received an overwhelming response with 16 teams set to battle for the title of inaugural champion.

A total of eight games will kick-start the tournament this evening at the Pouderoyen Tarmac, with the organisers promising that action will commence at 19:00h sharp.

Golden Stars and Brother United will have the honour of setting the tone for the remainder of the competition when they clash in the opening game. This will be followed

by De Kinderen against Vergenoegen All Stars and Patentia Street Ballers versus Raiders.

The other matches will see Majee Street versus Demerara Speedboat Service, Young Warriors against Jetty, West Side Ballers versus Pouderoyen Showstoppers, Admiral United against Den Amstel and Uitvlugt versus Showtime.

According to one of the coordinators of the competition, Travis Bess, the teams have been placed in four groups of four with the top two from each group at the end of the round-robin phase advancing to the quarter-finals.

From the knockout stage, Bess informed that several exhibition games would be played to showcase the talent that existed

in the West Demerara area.

The competition, which will conclude on February 7, will see the champion team becoming $300,000 richer. The losing finalist will pocket $150,000, while the third-place finisher will collect $100,000 and fourth $75,000.

There will also be a Fair Play cash award of $50,000.

The top two teams will gain automatic entry into the national playoff.

Matches will be played at the Pouderoyen Tarmac and the Vergenoegen Rice Mill Tarmac.

These will be followed by zonal competitions for teams on the East Coast of Demerara and Berbice during February and March.

The Linden leg will also be contested this year, culminating during the Town Week celebrations. The

Georgetown leg was held late last year, with North Ruimveldt beating Festival City Warriors in the final.

The top teams from each of the five zones will earn the right to contest the national playoff, scheduled for early May, with a dozen teams set to compete for top honours.

The champion team will earn the distinction of being Guyana’s representative at the Guinness Caribbean Street Challenge, which is fixed for Trinidad and Tobago in June.

The Guinness Greatest in the Streets Football Competition, which is being sponsored by Banks DIH Limited and coordinated by the Petra Organisation, has been a big hit with the public, attracting massive crowds at the numerous venues across the country.

Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste is expected to be among the group of officials to meet the players before the start of the competition this evening (An Avenash Ramzan file photo)

fter a prolonged break, cyclists will jump on the saddles today to usher in the 2015 season, which is set to commence with the annual Ricks and Sari Agro Industries 11race programme at the inner circuit of the National Park.

Action will roll off at 09:00h when the BMX riders take centre stage, before the seniors swing into action in the Veterans, Open and Mountain Bike categories.

Speaking to this publication recently, the longserving sport administrator and former national cyclist Hassan Mohamed indicated

Second RHTY&SC/GBTI Tapeball Competition launched

GBTI Manager Ghoeblall Mahadeo hands over the sponsorship cheque to RHTY&SC Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster

NBS on board with YWCC T Mash Cup M ortgage giant New Building Society has thrown its support behind the 2015 edition of the Young Warriors Cricket Club (YWCC) annual fundraiser – Mash Cup. The tournament will be played February 23, a national holiday, and will involve 11 Second-Division teams from the Number 19-Canje area.

At a simple ceremony held recently at NBS’ New Amsterdam Branch, Supervisor Bryan Baker said that the NBS believed strongly in giving back to the community in which it operates to improve the lives of the less fortunate.

He added that the NBS has always made significant contributions to the development of sports in Bryan Baker of NBS New Amsterdam hands over the sponsorship cheque to YWCC Senior the country, referring to Coach Hubern Evans in the presence of other staff members the Georgetown Cricket Association and the Berbice behalf of the cricket club, licity for all sponsors and will also be donated to fulfil Cricket Board sponsored Senior Coach Hubern Evans a well-organised tourna- small projects of a mandir, Second-Division Cricket thanked the NBS for its ment. The defending cham- mosque and church within pion is Young and Restless. the area.

Competitions among others. kind gesture.

He promised good pub- Proceeds from this event Receiving the cheque on

his desire to match or even surpass the achievements of the past year, when he was able to pull off a whopping 42 events.

These included 19 11race programmes on the inner circuit of the National Park and 23 along the country’s roadways, touching the Corentyne in Berbice, the Demerara thoroughfare, Linden in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) and the Essequibo Coast.

The season will continue on Sunday when a road race is staged in the county of Berbice.

he Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) on Tuesday launched the second edition of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) Tapeball Cricket Tournament for secondary schools in the Lower and Central Corentyne area.

The launching ceremony was held at the Bank’s Port Mourant branch.

Club Secretary/ Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hilbert Foster at the ceremony stated that the first edition of the tournament was highly successful and numerous promising cricketers were identified.

The 2015 edition, he stated, would have a special meaning to the RHTY&SC as it would be held during the Club’s Silver Jubilee anniversary.

The tournament would be contested by both male and female teams from the following schools: Central Corentyne Secondary, Manchester High School, Winifred Gaskin Secondary, Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary, Port Mourant Secondary and Lower Corentyne Secondary.

Players must be under 16 years of age and must have an attendance rate of

80 per cent.

The male tournament would be contested over 15 overs, while the female tournament would be played 10 overs per side.

The winning team, runners-up, and player-of-thefinals would receive trophies, while special prizes would be given to other top performers.

The long-standing Secretary/CEO also disclosed that the RHTY&SC would use the GBTI tournament to promote its “Say Yes to Education and Sports and Say No to Suicide and Drugs “message.

He expressed gratitude to the management of the Bank for its continued support to the RHTY&SC, and stated that the tournament would be well-organised as was usually the case with the club.

GBTI Port Mourant Branch Manager Ghoeblall Mahadeo congratulated the RHTY&SC on achieving 25 years as a successful organisation, and stated that the Bank was pleased to be associated with it.

The tournament would start in early February, with the final scheduled for February 20 at the Area H Ground.

guyanatimesGY.com

saturday, january 24, 2015

23

Golden Jaguars v Barbados international friendly...

Shabazz impressed with enthusiasm of squad

By Avenash Ramzan

H

ead Coach Jamaal Shabazz has lauded the enthusiasm of the Golden Jaguars squad, following the conclusion of the first training session at the Guyana National Stadium as the players prepare to face Barbados in an international friendly on February 1.

Under the guidance of

Shabazz, Assistant Coach Wayne “Wiggy” Dover and newly-appointed Technical Director Claude Bolton, the squad of players assembled by the Normalisation Committee of the Guyana Football Federation went through their paces as the Technical Team sought to determine their strengths and weaknesses.

“I think what we looked at today [Thursday] is to see

who brings what to the table, but we’re impressed with the enthusiasm in the squad; everybody’s raring to go and I think it is a really good full session for us going into the start of this camp,” Shabazz said.

Dover also shared his thoughts about the opening session of the one-week encampment.

“We started off with the regular warm-ups and then

“It’s great to be back”...

“It’s great to be back.

It’s been a long time since we played together as a team and as a country and I think you can tell by everybody’s expressions today that everybody is glad the Guyana national team is back together,” Nurse said on Thursday evening at the National Stadium, moments after completing the first training session with the preliminary squad named for the Barbados game.

The England-born athlete of Guyanese parentage enjoyed a dream run with the Golden Jaguars, leading the team to the CONCACAF semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers for the first time in history.

That achievement resulted in a rise up the FIFA rankings for Guyana, as Nurse became the country’s most successful captain ever. Nurse first donned the national colours in 2008 and by late 2010, Guyana had risen to an alltime high of 86 on the FIFA rankings.

After 47 appearances, the footballer, who is currently plying his trade for Fort Lauderdale Strikers

in the North American Soccer League, has scored five goals for Guyana.

He would look to add to that tally in the coming season as the Golden Jaguars are bracing for a busy year, including the start of the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers in June.

The game against Barbados is the Golden Jaguars’ first on a path to upward mobility on the FIFA rankings after slipping to 167, and Nurse is not ruling out the team returning to the glory days under his leadership.

“There are a lot of new faces. Guyana is always a team and a country that has lots of talents and it’s now about moulding that talent into a team. We know we’ve had a long time off and we have a lot of work to do to get back to where we were previously,” Nurse said.

During his time at the helm of the Golden Jaguars, Nurse was very critical of the administration of the sport at the time, stating publicly that the players had not received payments for the camps that were held in St Lucia and Grenada during the World Cup campaign,

Gayle to face...

Desmond Haynes, the former Barbados and West Indies opening batsman, one of the five Tribunal members, said yesterday he had not yet been contacted about sitting on the Gayle case.

Other members of the tribunal are CCJ judge Madame Justice Denise Bernard, Rev.Dr.Lloyd Barrett and Courtney Walsh, the former Jamaica and West Indies captain.

After his match-winning 90 off 41 balls that led the West Indies to victory in the second Twenty20 International that secured the three-match series against South Africa, Gayle repeatedly referred to the exclusion of Bravo and Pollard as “ridiculous” and said it smacked of “victimisation”. Both were on the ODI team that prematurely quit the tour of India in October, Bravo as captain.

Cameron and chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd have both strongly denied that the India situation had any bearing on the selection.

from back page

Lloyd , the West Indies’ longest serving and most successful captain, took up his position as chief selector last August.

He said Gayle’s outburst was “not in keeping with (our) standards” and called for the implementation of a code of conduct.

“Anybody can now say what they like about selection,” he charged in an interview with Sky Sports in England. “I think that’s wrong and I hope they rectify it as soon as possible.”

Aged 35, with 103 Tests, 261 ODIs, 45 Twenty20 Internationals and a combined 37 international hundreds to his name, Gayle is a towering figure in the game.

A former West Indies captain, he has been involved in several disputes with the WICB, the last leading to his absence from the team for 18 months over his refusal to withdraw criticism of head coach Ottis Gibson and WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire. (Trinidad

Express)

Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz from back page

as well as the Texas game against Mexico, which was switched from Guyana.

Last year, he also lashed out at Christopher Matthias, who was the then Guyana Football Federation President, for his poorly perceived comments on a television show about foreign-based players representing the country.

we got into some technical passing exercises, as we place a lot of emphasis on the technical aspect and playing the ball in the correct angle, and we had a bit of tactical element to it, and I think they completed the 30 minutes well. After that we progressed into the last phase, which was more of a scrimmage to look and evaluate them,” Dover explained.

Shabazz highlighted that one of the areas of focus during the encampment is get-

ting the players up to an acceptable level of fitness, as the players would have suffered from the lack of competitive football over the past few weeks.

“Of course, we would have liked the players to be a lot fitter than they are, but we don’t have a League going on yet. We’ve had some tournaments over the vacation in the different sub-associations, but after that, the players have not been doing anything. I think in the short-term it is to try and get some fitness work in, but still pay respect to the tactical nature of a game against Barbados,” Shabazz posited.

The squad also had a rigorous session on Friday at the National Stadium, and the training is expected to intensify this weekend.

The game is the Golden Jaguars’ first as they try to improve their FIFA ranking from 167 after they would have dropped from an alltime high of 86 in November 2010.

The preliminary squad reads: Christopher Nurse, Jamaal Smith, Emery Welshman, O’Neil Carter, Oswald Cornett, Omallo Williams, Travis Henry, Solomon Austin, Kris Camacho, Quincy Madramootoo, Trevon Lithcott, Dwain Jacobs, Amos Ramsey, Daniel Wilson, Keron Solomon, Sheldon Holder, Clive DeNobrega, Colin Nelson, Dwight Peters, Tishard Joseph, Dwayne Lawrence, Domini Garnett, Travis Hillman, Rawle Gittins, Denver Dennis, Calvin Sheppard, Joshua Brown, Eusi Phillips and Vurlon Mills.

Other members of the Technical Team include Trevor Burnett (Manager – Equipment); Faizal Khan (Manager – Commercial and Administrative); Mark Xavier (Manager – Operations); Anson Ambrose (Trainer); Andrew Hazel (Goalkeeping Coach); and Debita Harriprashad (Physiotherapist).

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

saturday, january 24, 2015

WICB in receipt of Sport Minister’s letter

...mum on GCB elections

President Donald Ramotar

By Rajiv Bisnauth

T

he West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has acknowledged receiving a letter from Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony with regard to the setting of a date for the elections of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).

This confirmation was made on Friday via email

by WICB Marketing and Communications Manager Imran Khan.

“I can confirm that the WICB is in receipt of the letter from the Honourable Minister, Dr Anthony,” Khan stated in the email.

However, it is not clear what position the WICB has taken regarding the GCB elections, since according to Khan he needs some time to

be briefed before disclosing the regional cricket board’s stance.

Further, Khan could not confirm if the WICB will respond within the 21 days given by the Minister.

Dr Anthony had written to the WICB earlier this week.

Should the Dave Cameronled body not respond within the stipulated timeframe, Dr Anthony told this publication Wednesday evening that he would go ahead and set a date for the elections.

The GCB’s 2015 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elections came under scrutiny after the local Board announced that they will be held on January 25, apparently in contravention of the recently-passed Cricket Administration Act 2014.

According to the Cricket

GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie

Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony

Administration Act (Schedule 1, Section 7), the “elections to the Executive Committee of the GCB in respect of the first elections shall be held in accordance with Section

WICB President Dave Cameron

ECB President Fizul Bacchus

17 on the date appointed in writing by the Minister acting in consultation with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)”.

Part VII, Section 17 of the Act states that “the Minister, after meaningful consultation with the WICB, shall be responsible for the appointment of a Cricket Ombudsman, who shall be responsible for the verification of the Register of Clubs and for performing the functions of Returning Officer for the first elections of the membership”.

Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall had told Guyana Times Sport that any decision by the GCB to proceed with elections as recently announced would be illegal if they were held outside of the procedures laid down

in the Cricket Administration Act. The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) has already announced that it would not be participating in the elections, citing the Cricket Administration Act. New BCB President Anil Beharry indicated that the body was willing and ready to participate in any GCB elections that were properly conducted, but explained that he would not defy the laws of the land.

However, Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) President Fizul Bacchus revealed on Tuesday that the ECB will not boycott the upcoming AGM and elections.

“Well, we are going to the meeting as delegates of the Essequibo Cricket Board, so whether the meeting is held or not, that’s another story.

“Based on the GCB’s

Constitution, the Board must hold its AGM in January,” Bacchus said.

However, it is said that the Cricket Administration Act supersedes the GCB Constitution.

The ECB has been the only legitimate county board which has voted at the GCB’s past two elections.

The BCB had pulled out of those elections, citing financial mismanagement among other irregularities by the GCB, while the Demerara Cricket Board was (DCB) restrained from operating. But it appears that one group calling themselves the DCB (Raj Singh’s faction) are still operating in local cricket.

According to the GCB Constitution, no less than two Boards can conduct the elections and 14 of the 27 delegates are needed to convene a meeting and elections.

BCB President Anil Beharry

WICB Marketing and Communications Manager Imran Khan

Gayle to face WICB’s “It’s great to be back”– Nurse Disciplinary Tribunal W A

By Avenash Ramzan

EST Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron said Wednesday that Chris Gayle’s public criticism of the omissions of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from the squad to next month’s World Cup has been referred to its Disciplinary Tribunal.

Cameron revealed during a wide-ranging interview on Sportsmax, the cable tv sports channel out of Jamaica, that Gayle had breached the code of conduct clause in the tour contract by his comments. But he did not know whether Tribunal chairman Justice Adrian Saunders, 61, a Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) judge from St.Vincent and the Grenadines, had yet

Chris Gayle

summoned a meeting to deal with the case.

It last convened a year ago over a “conduct unbecoming” charge against Deandra Dottin of the West Indies women’s team in an

incident during the TriNation Twenty20 tournament in Barbados in 2013.

The outcome was Dottin’s suspension for the tour of New Zealand last February and March. turn to page 23

fter a stint as Captain of the Golden Jaguars, Guyana’s senior national men’s football team, Christopher Nurse is set to make a return to national colours for the highlyanticipated international friendly against hosts Barbados on February 1.

The 30-year-old central midfielder had his own share of success and disappointment, but was putting the past behind him as he embarked on a new journey to lift Guyana’s football, especially the men’s senior team, out of the deep hole it had descended into. turn to page 23

Christopher Nurse

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