Guyana Times Daily

Child Evangelism Fellowship celebrates 20 years in Guyana

GPHC hosted 1st employee blood drive

Govt out of touch with people –Opposition MP Region 6 unable to store all paddy produced

UN Mission in Guyana to discuss the Guyana/ Venezuela controversy

Child Evangelism Fellowship celebrates 20 years in Guyana

Over 500 children turned out to join the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), an interdenominational Christian organisation, as it celebrated its 20th anniversary in Guyana with a grand rally through the streets of Grove, East Bank Demerara.

Child Evangelism Fellowship is a non-profit organisation, aimed at evangelising young boys and girls through functional Ministries such as the

Five-Day Clubs, Good News Clubs, School Ministries, Fair Evangelism, Mail Box Club, Party Clubs, and the Daniel Prayer Network.

The main aim of the organisation is to ensure the lives of children are transformed through the teachings of the Bible.

Its services extend to Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), Region Three (Essequibo Island-West Demerara), Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica),

Region Five (MahaicaBerbice) and Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) and the organisation intends to expand as the years go by.

To mark its 20th years in the Guyana, children from as far as Corentyne, New Amsterdam, East Coast Demerara, West Coast Demerara, West Bank Demerara and Linden, came out to join the celebrations.

The rally ended with a grand concert at the

Market Tarmac. The concert comprised of dancing, singing, reciting of dramatic poems, and other cultural and biblical items.

CEF Guyana is under the umbrella of CEF International. For more information on the organisation, persons can make con-

tact at its headquarters at Lot 15 Azore Street, Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara or on telephone number592-233-5485.

Godfather’s defence of goddaughter gets him an arrest warrant

An arrest warrant has been issued on Ronald DaSilva, a 32-year-old mason and godfather from Albouystown, who did not appear in Court 11 of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to an assault charge laid against him after he allegedly beat the Virtual Complaint (VC), Michael Tahorally

Even so, the court heard that last week he unlaw-

fully assaulted Tahorally while they were both at 31 Albouys Street, Albouystown. Prosecutor Addunni Inniss told the court that the VC and the defendant have been friends for over six years and even live at the same premises.

On August 26 they had an argument after Tahorally slapped DaSilva’s goddaughter. Thus, he retaliated by cuffing him twice to the head and shoulder.

Tahorally reported the matter to the Police Station and DaSilva was arrested. However, Guyana Times understands that he was then released on station bail.

Magistrate Annette McLennan, who presides in Court 11, stated that she will call the matter again on September 4 for a report. She issued the arrest warrant for him to be present to answer the charge against him.

Man on fraudulent conversion charge gets bail

Aman was released from the possibility of remand on Friday after he was granted bail in the sum of $15,000 by Magistrate Alex Moore for allegedly conning a man out of a quantity of clothes and $25,000 cash.

Lennox Muesa told the court that he was not guilty of conning the mentioned items from the Virtual Complainant (name not

known). He stated that the accused and his family bear him some animosity and have set him up with this charge. He, however, initially pleaded guilty to the charge. It was only when Magistrate Moore explained what the charge entailed that he changed his plea to not guilty.

In Court 10, Guyana Times heard that he was given the items on August

1 at the Bourda Market in Georgetown for him to give to someone else. However, he fraudulently converted the items to his own use and benefit.

Presiding in this court, Magistrate Moore placed him on the bail as he promised to return to face the charge against him. He is expected back in court on September 9 for report and fixture.

Scenes from the Child Evangelism Fellowship 20th Anniversary celebration

Diamond

These youngsters travelled all the way from Linden to participate in the rally

Berbice Bridge toll reductions...

Bankruptcy looms if subsidies based at present rates

...Directors duty-bound to inform stakeholders

espite the subsidies promised, the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) indicated that while it supports moves to make the Berbice crossing more affordable, it could go bankrupt if Government arbitrarily moves ahead with the toll reduction without fully honouring the legally binding agreement between the Company and the Government to have tolls adjusted within specified timeframes.

Both the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC) precipitated this situation when they used their one-seat majority in the 10th Parliament to pass a motion on March

Jordan exclaimed.

However, in response, the Bridge Company issued a release, expressing its rejection over the Minis-ter’s accusation.

The Company explained that its Directors are constrained by the Berbice Bridge Act and Regulations and the Concession Agreement – the legally binding agreement between the Government of Guyana and the BBCI; therefore, it cannot introduce a reduction without proper discussions with its principals the shareholders, bond holders and trustees.

Discussions ongoing

In fact, the Company pointed out that no fixed agreement ha even been

ers,” the Company stated.

It also noted that Government has other obligations to honour before the Company agrees to toll reductions.

“The Government pro-

10 2015 to lower the Berbice Bridge tolls without taking into consideration that the move was an in-fringement on a legal agreement and that the Company would incur significant losses. At that time, the company had applied to the then PPPC administration for the legally specified toll adjustments.

Finance Minister

Winston Jordan on Friday blamed the Bridge Company for the setback in the toll reductions, which Government announced would take effect on September 1.

“With September 1, fast approaching, the Government is concerned that these delaying and dilatory manoeuvres appeared designed to frustrate the reduction in tolls and hold the travelling public hostage,”

reached in relation to toll reductions as the discussions are still ongoing between Government and the BBCI Directors.

“Discussions also took place concerning the timing of subsidy payments, but BBCI team made it clear that nothing could be agreed upon until the matter had been brought before its full Board and stakehold-

posed a schedule of subsi-

dies to commuters based on the existing toll struc-ture.

But the Minister also accepted that "the Company would like further discussions to take place on the proposal and an extension in the concession period from 21 years to 40 years: or for the Govern-ment to give consideration to an application for an increase in toll made to the PPP/C Government on March 15, 2015.” The Minister has accepted that no agreement was reached with BCCI,” BBCI stated.

The Company also noted that, “the Government in other fora proceeded as if its proposal was au fait accompli, simply to fulfil a campaign promise on the BBCI tolls, which was made without any consultations with the BBCI.

turn to page 13

Despite the subsidies promised, the BBCI indicated that it could go bankrupt if Government haphazardly moves ahead with the toll reduction without honouring the legally binding agreement between the Company and the Government

Toll booths at the Berbice River Bridge

Sunday Editor: Michael Younge

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

Governance by witch hunting

Every government acquires, through its actions, an image in the eyes of the populace that then defines it through the ages. The PNC government from 19641992, for instance, while articulating several noteworthy and forward looking policies failed horribly in their implementation. Very few Guyanese, excepting for some "true believers", would disavow the contention that the PNC left the country much a worse off that when they found it and this would forever be their legacy. It is not intentions that matter in the end, but the consequences of actions.

This present government in its campaign speeches and its manifesto, outlined some very positive policies and projects. And for this they were able to secure both the Executive and control of the Legislature. However, while it is very early days to pronounce conclusively on the matter, their actions are not only generating negative outcomes due to the "principle of unintended consequences", but in fact are a complete variance in several critical areas from what was promised. One line of action serves to define this government as one consumed by "witch hunting" rather than seeking to improve the lives of all Guyanese.

In the section of its Manifesto captioned, "Foundations of Governance", the very first principle is on "National unity". Which Guyanese would dispute the need for this goal? The Manifesto explained: "National Unity is the essence for the coming into being of the APNU+AFC Coalition. This spirit and imperative of unity, consultation and cooperation will inform all decision-making with respect to political, economic and social development issues. The practice of One Party Rule and Winner-takes-all is now history."

But citizens have to be scratching their heads and asking where the “consultation and cooperation” is even between the two partners of the coalition, much less with the Opposition PPP and Civil Society. The "Cummingsburg Accord", which defined the parameters of that internal process has been jettisoned completely. That the smaller AFC, which was courted assiduously to provide margin the victory margin, was denied two of the fundamental agreements - chairing of the Cabinet and oversight over Domestic Governance - is proof positive that the APNU is paramount "uber alles" and that "one party rule and winner-take-all" are alive and kicking vigorously.

But the government did not confine its actions to defensively solidifying its ranks by sanitising and neutering the AFC while keeping them within its fold. From day one it launched a programme of ferreting out and going after all officials suspected of "PPP leanings" and then summarily firing them. The paradigmatic case was of the veteran Clinton Collymore, who was not even offered the courtesy of a face to face meeting with the Minister of Communities, before being dismissed and losing all his benefits.

The PPP, in the form of the immediate past President Donald Ramotar, described the actions as "ethnic cleansing", the term used by ex-PNC President Desmond Hoyte post-1992 for far lesser dismissals when the PPP took over following the first free and fair elections in 28 years. While some might have dismissed Mr Ramotar's assertion as hyperbole, they could not say the same for the 1972 Amerindian Community Support Officers who were sent on the breadlines without any notice.

For a community that has always placed last on every measure of income and expenditure in this country to suffer such a blow to its collective solar plexus, the effects will be far reaching and long lasting. With the results of dozens of "audit" being conducted into a huge number of governments, the witch hunting and bloodletting has evidently only begun. Moving away from the government services, the coalition has now moved into the "autonomous" agencies.

The government often categorised its coming into office as a "revolution". It should be aware that after revolutions destroy "outsiders" it inevitably turns on itself. AFC and other "partners", be forewarned.

Being fitted for school

Criticism of Guyana’s development should remain within the confines of relative comparison

Dear Editor,

I note with interest the letter of Pastor Wendell Jeffrey published in yesterday’s edition of the Guyana Times, captioned “Misconceptions on Guyana’s Development”, and I commend him for his pertinent response to the related misconceptions. This clairvoyance is often lacking in the stance many take in our religious community.

Misconceptions are often harboured due to the ignorance of our own history, which hinders us from contextualizing our current situation.

For example, one shouldn’t attempt to compare French Guiana to Guyana, since the first is a French DOM (overseas department), making it the largest region of France. It is not a sovereign State and its autonomy is limited to a system of decentralised administration and governance.

While the French State has catered for solid infrastructure and modern technology in all its regions, the situation of inhabitants of these DOMs might not reflect the comfort of their fellow Frenchmen and women in the hexagon. Besides the Space Centre and dynamic airways, the region depends heavily on the economy of the mother

land. Unemployment rate surpasses 20% of the active population and many migrate to France for better opportunities. Delinquency rates and the cost of living are high due to the price of products imported while many depend on the famous French social welfare system which has been under severe strain for years now. Subsequently, comparison with Guyana must consider these factors.

Pastor Wendell is right to a certain extent only, when he affirms that “our lack of human, technological and infrastructural development is due primarily either to political and governmental miscalculations, or gross administrative ineptness”. While this is not entirely false, it is only a mere part of why Guyana is now only emerging.

Guyana was decolonized only forty nine years ago, less than a Century. Unlike French Guiana, at least five different races comprised of more than six different peoples were forced to elect home on this land, under conditions of slavery and indentureship. Divisive colonial tactics and imperialist western intervention in the 60s laid the foundation for what was to become an ethnically divided independent Guyana. The Burnham dictatorial policies walled

out development opportunities of almost half of our independent years, while promoting quasi irreparable prejudice to the dream of constituting a united nation-State. One can say that Independence was truly achieved when Guyana had its first free and fair elections. It is on the basis of this inherited context that Guyana has been visibly developing for the past twenty three years, evolving in the regional and international spheres of foreign affairs and economic development through increased open market and democratic principles.

It is good to compare Guyana to our neighbours, but it is equally important to understand the mechanisms and dynamics which have caused each country to arrive at its current state of affairs. The economic development of Suriname for instance, was boosted among others, by heavy financial and technical support from Holland, and the strong ties it maintains with Europe.

Guyana however, although a member of the Commonwealth, and despite having a good relationship with the UK which includes financial aid, doesn’t benefit from the same level of support. Perhaps, this is because, as

compared to the Dutch and the Portuguese Empires, and to a certain extent the French, the British Empire bestowed upon its former colonies whether consciously or not, dysfunctional States running on unadapted policies which have neglected, and continue to neglect, the human and sociopolitical nature of these societies. It is these policies which today are at the root of some of the wars which have been dragging on for years in Africa and the Middle East.

It will do Guyanese well from time to time in their criticism of our condition, to remember that it took the United States of America more than 200 years since it was founded, to accomplish the level of development we often aspire to achieve. Women obtained rights to vote 144 years after the US gained Independence and AfroAmericans up to the late 60s voted at the risk of their lives and heavy racial discrimination. Native Americans suffered equal, if not worse, civil rights issues, and still do today.

Subsequently, criticism of Guyana’s development should remain within the confines of relative social, political and economic comparison.

This little lady, all smiles, was among the weekend shoppers getting their final school items together for the start of the new school year, come Monday

GuySuCo’s 2015 turn around

Dear Editor,

The Agriculture Minister, has announced that Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) will be turned around by the end of 2015. For the sake of GuySuCo and the sugar workers and for the sake of Guyana, I hope he’s right.

However, it is now an established norm that this Government says one thing but does another. Even as the Agriculture Minister spoke of the 2015 turnaround, GuySuCo and the APNU/ AFC were lowering the target from 240,000 to 227,000 tonnes of sugar.

The truth is there’s a turnaround plan but it will take more time to achieve. We made progress last year and GuySuCo surpassed the target we had set for the industry. We set a more ambiguous target for 2015 and the first crop, and came close to achieving the target of 84,000 tonnes by producing 81,000 tonnes. It means that the second crop must achieve a production of about 159,000 tonnes to reach 240,000 tons or 146,000 tons for the reduced target of 227,000 tons.

It’s a doable target, but the Minister and the “new” team at GuySuCo has already been convinced that they cannot achieve the 240,000 tonnes initial target, thus reducing it. So much for

the turnaround by the end of 2015.

Yet, there’s enough sugar cane in the fields to meet the target which is part of the turnaround plan. Now we need to squeeze 70 tonnes per acre and not the average of 50 tonnes.

Meeting the target of 240,000 tonnes doesn’t means a turnaround but is a sign that GuySuCo is on its way to recovery which canot be accomplished by the end of 2015.

The turnaround would occur if the APNU/AFC gives support to the management staff and workers, and commits to making the kind of investment that Donald Ramotar and the PPP spoke about during the elections campaign. GuySuCo needs about $20 billion now.

The 2015 budget made no provisions for such a total commitment. Instead, the 2015 budget is about starving GuySuCo although a turnaround cannot come without financial support. The sugar industry requires financial commitment from the Government now; giving a little at a time will not solve the problem, but make the problem more acute.

GuySuCo is being given subsidies in a way that hinders it from achieving a turnaround. For example, has GuySuCo procure enough

fertilizers for the year or obtained fertilizers on a timely basis? Does GuySuCo have the finances to ensure acceleration of its program of mechanization without which it cannot effect a turnaround?

None of these issues were addressed by APNU/AFC during the recent budget discussion. The Agriculture Minister spoke as though sugar isn’t his responsibility. GuySuCo is too important and too big to fail and I believe that the Agriculture, Finance and Prime Ministers treat GuySuCo with much indifference. The budget debate is the most important forum to establish what the Government intended for GuySuCo. Yet, the nation is still left perplexed that it was ignored during most of the budget debate.

The turnaround will not come by appointing a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) as a witch hunting exercise. It will come through commitment to the turnaround plan that GuySuCo management has been working with.

The Minister failed to say how much the members of the CoI are being paid. From all evidence gathered, by the end of September, it will exceed $75 million. At no time during the budget presentation or debate did the Government present the costs which will be incurred

by the CoI.

Neither the Finance, Prime nor Agriculture Ministers spoke about Skeldon in the budget debate. Yet, without Skeldon, GuySuCo’s turnaround is impossible. The PPP/C Government was right in its decision to construct a factory in Skeldon. Circumstances changed and some of the assumptions proved wrong.

Yet Skeldon still possess great potential. This is why commitment through investment in Skeldon is required but at no point did APNU/ AFC give the assurance of making the financial commitment necessary.

The turnaround will not come by placing friends and political allies on the Board which seems intent to pursue a different agenda. Instead of focusing on the turnaround plan, the new Chairman is approaching the issue from a different perspective - privatization of GuySuCo. Such a move is not in Guyana’s interest and will prove detrimental to the workers of GuySuCo.

Hopefully GuySuCo will come close to achieving its initial target of 240,000 tonnes to further consolidate its recovery which started in 2014.

Dr

Leslie Ramsammy

President Granger’s 10-point plan lacks credibility

Dear Editor,

In continuing to assess the credibility of president Granger’s 10 point plan for the hinterland, I wish to refer to the annual Presidential Grant, an Economic Programme initiated by former President Jagdeo for the first time in 2007. The Grant which formed a component of our Poverty Reduction Programme for Hinterland Communities provided financial and technical resources for Amerindian Villages and Communities to fund social and economic Projects of their choice. The APNU/AFC may wish to continue this Programme which has worked so well to improve the livelihood of our Amerindian people even if it means using a different name as they have been doing.

Furthermore, the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme launched in June 2013 by the Amerindian Affairs Ministry and targeting young Amerindians aged 18years to 40 years old was a recommendation of the National Toshaos Council and which aimed at creating employment, building capacity in Entrepreneurship through skills training and providing income for those employed. The Project aimed also at helping to build self, family and the Village Economy.

That the 1 972 Amerindians employed under this Project were unlawfully and without good cause or reason dismissed by the APNU/ AFC Government speaks volumes about their love for Amerindian people and their development.

But the Government of the APNU/AFC can correct this wrong: not by training a few hundred Amerindian Youths. The young Amerindians want their jobs back. They depended on it, their families depended on these jobs and so too did their Villages. They should be reemployed these young Amerindian workers. Call it what you want: “Hinterland Employment and Youth Service”. There can be no further excuses.

The establishment of the National Toshaos Council under the PPP/C Government meant that no longer was accessibility a limiting factor in the PPP/C Government’s determined efforts to dialogue with Amerindian Leaders. This is contrary to what happened recently when the APNU/AFC not only hijacked the NTC Agenda but sought to interfere with the process for electing the Executive of the NTC. Most of the Toshaos with whom I spoke complained of an Agenda that lacked substance, relevance, depth and meaning. Many saw the five and a half days activities as a waste of time. Indeed information in the public purview speak of overt disrespect heaped on Toshaos by some who served as facilitators during the Meeting. Talk of value for money: compare $ 33.4 M for the 2014 NTC meeting and $60 M for the 2015 meeting in terms of the output of the two meetings.

The tremendous progress in realizing improvement in the lives of the people in the Amerindian Villages and Communities under the PPP/C Government must be attribut-

ed to the work of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs working along with sister Ministries, Regional Councils and Village Councils, utilizing resources made available by the PPP/C Government.

In the process of realizing these improvements, we have in addition to the developments adumbrated already; removed several of the obstacles to development, viz: the absence of infrastructure and social services. But there is much more to be done.

One of the biggest challenges for the PPP/C was to strike a balance between socio-economic development and the protection of the rights of Indigenous communities to their ethnic identity. In this regard, we were able to examine various options and develop specific policies and programmes with the participation of our Amerindian People and their Village Councils; in order to meet specific needs and address particular concerns and so build the necessary conditions for development to take place in the Villages/Communities. The PPP/C commits to continued work with our Amerindian people, their elected leaders and all who would genuinely work with us to bring further improvements in the quality of the lives of our Amerindian people.

True enough there are still challenges to be surmounted, but the 23 years under the People’s Progressive Party have brought much improvement in the lives of our Indigenous peoples across our country. I challenge the APNU/AFC to ensure that the progress to which I refer

Raksha Bandhan − The Bond of Love

Dear Editor,

Celebrated on the full moon day in the Hindu calendar month of Sharavan, Raksha Bandhan is one of the most widely celebrated festivals.

It is a day that symbolises the sacred relationship between a brother and a sister. Literally translated, “raksha” means protection, while “bandhan” means bond. Raksha Bandhan, therefore, signifies the bond of love out which comes a sense of security and protection.

On Raksha Bandhan, the sister ties a rakhi, comprising of sacred threads, on her brother’s wrist and performs an “aarti” . In return, the brother gives her a gift. The ritual is meant to signify their love and that both are looking out for each other.

Today, the festival goes much beyond real brothers and sisters to any two individuals who enjoy a deep relationship. So you are likely to see a woman tie a rakhi to her cousins, neighbours and close friends.

continues. Our Indigenous peoples do not want mere platitudes, tokenism or appeasements. They had enough of that from 1964 to 1992. Let the progress and development of October 1992 to May 2015 continue.

Norman Whittaker

Raksha Bandhan also has a great history. Various stories have been passed down indicating the origin of Raksha Bandhan. One of them draws its origin from the Mahabharata epic.

Once, Lord Krishna hurt his hand while fighting Shishupala, a man who had committed several heinous acts. When

this happened, Draupadi, the wife of the Pandava brothers, rushed to cover the wound by tearing a piece of her sari and tying it around Lord Krishna’s hand. In return for her kind gesture, the Lord asked what she would like. Draupadi replied by saying she only desired his divine presence at every moment of her life. From that moment on, Lord Krishna told Draupadi that he would be with her whenever she called out for him.

Much later, when the Kauravas tried to disrobe her in their court, helpless, she called out to Lord Krishna to save her. And in return, the Lord gave her a sari that was infinitely long. As a result, the Kauravas were unable to disrobe her and Draupadi was saved from being dishonoured.

While the festival typically celebrates the relationship between brother and sister, it has a much deeper spiritual significance. When we take one step on the spiritual path, the Lord takes 99 steps, as it were. This is the symbolism of Lord Krishna giving Draupadi an infinitely long sari in return for a protecting his wound with a small piece of cloth. At the absolute level, it is only when we give up egos that we are able to experience the joy of the Infinite.

Pandit

Surendra Tiwari

You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Page Foundation

FAnu Dev

amily - it's a word that’s casually thrown about, taken for granted and really used flippantly without knowing the exact meaning. Who hasn't seen that video of various groups swaying with up stretched arms and belting out, "We are family"? But in reality the "family" is not given the importance it deserves and by extension, the family members are probably not getting enough importance either.

Family is what separates us from other members of the animal kingdom. Not born with instincts like lions or fishes, we have to be taught what it takes to survive. And it's the family that's the crucible for that effort. There's lots of chatter about the "changing family" - but very little

Family Vibes!

To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right. – Confucius

about exactly who will perform the functions of the "traditional family"

How many parents nowadays take the time to connect with your children and find out how their day went? How many of you take the time to find out about all of those little things in your son’s life? And how many kids take the time to find out how was their dad’s day at work?

The values we learn from our families are the ones that mold us- the ones that shape us as individuals. Back in early high school when our teacher taught us the proverb “The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the World”. I always used to think it was terribly clichéd and so I disregarded it. But I realize now that hackneyed though the adage may be, it still holds a simple truth: the institution of the family has great power and then with that great power comes great responsibility. And it is not just the mother’s hand that should ‘rock’ the cradle: fathers, we

know are just as important.

I have noticed a strange phenomenon developing in our society. Parents are refusing to be parents: they want to be “friends” with their children. My parents have a rule: they are friendly with their children but they’re not our friends! I commend that rule to parents out there – it works. Children don’t take too kindly to their friends telling them what to do.

Parents also need to make sure that they are fulfilling their responsibility to their children by ensuring that they are a part of their childhood. If you’ve ever had those moments when you look at your kid and you realize you don’t really know your own childyou’re clearly doing something wrong.

If your child is expected to learn their key values from you, what do you expect them to learn if you’re not interested in teaching them anything? And remember you teach values by doing; not just talking! If

you don’t, then don’t be surprised while you’re connected by the strongest bonds ever- blood- you’re further apart than if you were just co-workers.

The family, then, no matter how it's defined needs to go back to what it was intended to be - an institution to provide care and teaching of the fundamental values. If these values are not set when young, little change can be expected later.

Of course that’s not to say that all families are ‘dysfunctional’ and that all family members are strangers. It’s just that we might be headed for that, with everyone getting more and more caught up in their own busy lifestyles and looking out only for #1.

So take the time to connect with your family members- don’t lock yourself away in your room all day while you’re on Facebook connecting with people from across the world, when you can’t connect with family in your own house. They can’t “unfriend” you!

Slothful Govt response affecting Corentyne rice farmers

More than 1500 acres of rice in under threat from lack of water in the 52-74 area in the Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

The farmers are calling on Government to act swiftly and have a pump installed so that they can have access to some much needed water for their rice fields.

More than two dozen farmers met with regional officials and members of the Waters Users Association on Thursday afternoon at the Tagore Memorial Secondary School with the hope of addressing the issue.

“They spending time on sending home people and investigating this and that and not paying any attention to we the farmers,” one of the farmers told the meeting which was chaired by Regional Chairman David Armogan and included Regional Vice Chairman Dennis DeRoop, Chairman of the Waters Users Association Arjune Poonai, Regional Engineer Rupesh Persaud and Chairman of the 52-72 Interim Management Committee (IMC) Rishieram Motie.

According to one farmer, the water in his field dried up on Thursday and the next two days are critical for his rice crop. Other farmers are facing a similar dilemma. About 14,000 acres of rice are being cultivated in the 52-74 area.

Guyana Times understands that the pump which supplies those farmers has been out of operation for three months.

The Region Six administration has written to the

Agriculture Ministry seeking its intervention for funding to repair the pump.

Regional Chairman David Armogan says it is unfortunate that all he has received to date from the Ministry is a letter of acknowledgement. “It has a lot to do with slowness and I am not satisfied that we are getting the kind of quick response that we want with this new Administration. We used to get quicker response with the previous Administration. I don’t know if it is because we have new Ministers in the Ministries; a lot of them don’t seem to have their footing on the ground as yet and by the time they get their footing, farmers could be suffering,” the Chairman told Guyana Times

Meanwhile, there is another urgent matter which the farmers would like to engage the attention of the Agriculture Ministry. This publication was told that most of the dams leading to farmlands in the 52-74 area have been destroyed during the rainy weather.

Armogan told this publication that representation has been made to the Ministry for funding to repair the access dams. “I don’t know if funding will be released to do these dams… We will have to get this process moving otherwise we will run into serious trouble in terms of getting farmers to get their paddy out of the field,” he said.

Farmers are now forced to sit and wait to see if it will rain to save the crop or if the Ministry will come to their rescue.

The head table at Thursday’s meeting (left-right) Chairman of the 52-74 IMC Rishieram Motie, Regional Chairman David Armogan, Waters Users Association Chairman Arjune Poonai, Regional Vice Chairman Dennis DeRoop and Regional Engineer Rupesh Persaud

Govt out of touch with people – Opposition MP

The A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government “is out of touch with the people of Guyana”. This view was expressed by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), who is contending that the $221 billion Budget presented by the Finance Minister Winston Jordan is filled with empty promises.

Describing the Government as an urban, upper middle class group of elites, former Junior Finance Minister Bishop Juan Edghill, during a recent press conference, said the David Granger Administration “is out of touch with the ordinary people”. According to Edghill, the 18 measures announced by the subject Minister will not significantly ben -

efit the more than 747,000 Guyanese spread across the country.

Alluding to the “Reduction in the Berbice Bridge Toll”, which was among the measures announced by the Government, Edghill said only a small part of the population will benefit.

With effect from September 1, the toll for passenger cars and buses will be reduced from $2200 to $1900, a decline by 13.6 per cent. At the same time, the toll for all other types of vehicles will be reduced by 10 per cent.

But according to Edghill, “the man who drives himself to No 63 Beach to have a nice time with his family....he pays $300 less...but commuters and school children, that will not impact them.” He further pointed

out that bus drivers plying the route have since indicated that they will not be reducing their fares. As a result, a majority of the Berbice populace will not benefit from the toll reductions as the APNU/AFC Administration had hoped.

The PPP/C Member of Parliament also made reference to the issue of insufficient funds allotted for Old Age Pensioners. Despite being refuted by the Finance Minister, he is maintaining that pensioners will not benefit from any significant increase.

Edghill had pointed out that “in 2014, the PPP/C Administration spent $7,895,554,000 to benefit approximately 43,500 pensioners and almost 10, 000 persons on Public Assistance. However, in 2015 the

Granger Administration, with its announced increases in Old Age Pension to $17,000, only allocated $8,085,442,000, approximately a $190 million increase over 2014, to finance this increase for the period September to December 2015.”

The Opposition is maintaining that approximately $675 million would be required; some $485 million more than what was budgeted for in 2015. “A simple crunching of the numbers will show that based on the increased sums allocated in the 2015 Budget, Old Age Pensioners in real terms will only benefit from a $300 increase monthly.”

Another act of deception by the David Granger Administration, Edghill said, is the Finance Minister’s announcement that the school-feeding programme will be expanded in the absence of the $10, 000 education cash grant programme which was introduced in 2014 by then Education Minister Priya Manickchand under the PPP/C Administration. In scrutinising the budget estimates, the former Minister said the Opposition was shocked to discover that provisions were not made for the expansion of the feeding programme.

Edghill said he could only conclude that the 2015 Budget is not a people’s Budget. “That 90 page document was a well crafted document to hoodwink , deceive, and to project themselves (Government) as doing something for the

people but when you came to the crunch of the numbers, in reality these things do not exist.” He added that “this is

a sign to suggest that the pact, the social contract that was made with the people of Guyana,” is being betrayed.

New MP sworn in to Parliament

Berbician Attorneyat-Law Adrian Anamaya on Friday took his oath at Parliament and was finally sworn in as a People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP) at the National Assembly. He is a first timer, and it must be noted that since the debates began and concluded, the PPP/C has been short of one member.

Anamaya was scheduled to make his first parliamentary appearance as an MP when the Opposition Party returned to Parliament and all its members were sworn in earlier this month

to participate in the 2015 National Budget debates. However, the House was told by Chief Whip of the PPP/C, Gail Teixeira, that Anamaya had asked to be excused from that sitting due to personal reasons. Friday marked his introduction to parliamentary life as an active Member of Parliament at the Opposition side of the House. He was welcomed by the Speaker, Barton Scotland and members of his Party, as well as the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change coalition Government.

The Berbice River Bridge

Former Junior Finance Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill, scrutinising the Budget Estimates during in the Committee of Supply last week

56 months in jail for Jialing thief

Ershad Bacchus of 59 Albouys Street, Albouystown may have sincerely pleaded his innocence before Magistrate Judy Latchman for the last four months. However, the truth was revealed on Friday when he was sentenced to 56 months imprisonment for stealing a Jialing 110 motorcycle.

Bacchus, an 18-yearsold labourer, was accused of stealing the Jialing motorbike last March from one of his own villagers. He was found guilty by Magistrate Latchman of the crime and was sentenced to jail.

The charge against him stated that on March 6 he

$60,000

Aman from Kwakwani, Upper Berbice has been released on $60,000 bail on Friday after appearing before Magistrate Ann McLennan in Court Two of the Georgetown Magistrates’

was armed with a knife when he relieved Antoine Nauth of the motorbike, costing $200,000, using personal violence. The Virtual Complainant (VC) had testified that around 03:00h he was riding home on the motorbike when he was stopped by Bacchus and others. He said Bacchus stabbed him twice in his back and made away with the motorbike.

It was only the next day that the injured was able to report the matter to the Police. He went back to the spot where the incident took place, a street known to the community as School Street, Albouystown, to assist them with their investigation and

also point out the whereabouts of the defendant.

The prosecution, which consisted of Inspector Vishnu Hunt, Corporal Kerry Bostwick and Corporal Shawn Bostwick, presented four witnesses in Court Three, where the trial took place. However, Magistrate Latchman said she placed emphasis on the testimony of the VC for her ruling, as both the VC and the defendant admitted to knowing one another and the VC would not have mistaken who attacked him on that fateful day. She then sentenced Bacchus to the 56 months in jail.

bail for jobless man

Courts on a charge of unlawful assault.

Iver Williams, 20, of Kwakwani Water Front, Berbice River is charged with unlawfully assaulting Winfer Gomes on August 24 at the Kwakwani Park

in Upper Berbice. He pleaded not guilty to this and made an application for his release as he was unemployed.

Magistrate Ann McLennan granted this at $60,000 as the prosecu-

tion did not provide any objections. Nevertheless, Magistrate McLennan ordered the accused to ensure he appeared at the Kwakwani Magistrate’s Court on September 22 for his matter to move forward.

Invisibility cloak...

... removed for Berbice?

You can tell that Ramjattan, the invisible man, is also a frustrated man. And we’re not only talking about the crime tsunami that’s long drowned him and his ambitions from moving up in public life. All that’s left for him is to move on...as wide swathes of citizens are praying reverently for him to do. One new PPP MP had mentioned moving a “no confidence” motion against him in Parliament. What’s happened to that idea that’s taken so much traction?

The PPP shouldn’t worry about the two additional MP votes needed to pass the motion. Crime isn’t a partisan issue. APNU/AFC members are as petrified as everyone else about being the next victims. Not all of them are Ministers with phalanxes of guards like Ramjattan. There’s got to be at least two PNC MP’s (the ones he accused of taking bribes?) who want justice done. At least they’ll make sure it’s a “conscience” vote and then citizens can see exactly who’re in favour of the same ole, same ole.

But back to the (other) issue that has Ramjattan’s drawers in a knot. Did you hear his latest pronouncement on his infamous curfew? Because he’s taking knocks on the 2:am deadline for battening the hatches at watering holes, he’s now threatening to bring that down to 12 midnight. Maybe he figures if it was good enough for Cinderella, it should be good enough for the partying crowd? Now while you humble Eyewitness, who likes his vino as much as the next guy, do think Guyanese ought to reign in our Bacchanalian revelries, he still hasn’t seen the figures Ramjattan keeps conjuring up that his curfew’s brought down crime rates.

In fact from the actual figures released by the Police, those rates are zooming steadily onwards and upwards. So you Eyewitnes’ gripe was that Ramjattan’s engaged in fiddling with peripheral measures like curfews, decriminalizing suicide etc, while Guyana burns with criminal depredations. But it might appear Ramjattan’s finally waking up from his slumber. A couple of weeks ago he announced he’d deployed a squad form the SWAT to Berbice...but we haven’t heard of their “special weapons and tactics” being used up to now.

And now comes news that he’s sent in army units in conjunction with the Police. 45 men in all. Now while may sound as if something’s being done at last by the previously somnolent Minister, we remind him of the last time the Police and Army conducted Joint Operations- during the Buxton Violence. And there were more problems between the Police and Army than between them and the bandits! Hope Ramjattan makes clear who’re the “bad guys”!

...over the Presidency

Whether the honeymoon’s officially over or not, folks are begin to talk about where’s President Granger when the action’s been flying so fast and furious. Either he’s there in the middle of the fray and is using Harry Potter’s invisibility shield, or he’s missing in action. And since our President is an upstanding Muggle, and has no truck with magic and incantations and such like, it has to be the latter.

But why? We know Generals aren’t in the front linesthat’s reserved for the youthful and not so youthful cannon fodder - but when the army’s in full retreat, shouldn’t the General be at least be instill some spine in the troops? Now let’s face it. While Jordan might’ve “rolled” in previous administrations, he was never a conceptualizer of policies. He wouldn’t know a static equilibrium much less the latest DSGE model if it crept up and bit him on his behind.

Isn’t this where the General should be there to recognize his troops may need more advanced weaponry?

After all they’re facing Jagdeo!

...over Inauguration

When first you try to deceive....The govt first said NO government was spent on the inauguration. Now they say $1M was spent by pure coincidence on the Stadium. When no sports programme was scheduled!!

Oh my...

Jialing thief, Ershad Bacchus, jailed

Diamond family robbed on the way home from airport

ADiamond family was robbed of over US$4000 at their home immediately after their return from the United States on Saturday morning.

The Ramnarine family, of 11 Street Back-half, Diamond New Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara had just returned from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, when two armed bandits pounced upon them as they were entering their yard. The incident occurred around 03:00h.

The bandits, one armed with a gun and the other with a knife, viciously attacked the taxi driver while threatening the family to hand over their valuables.

Eventually, after a series of threats and attacks, the bandits made their escape in a getaway motor vehicle, which was parked one corner away from the house.

They carted off with the US$4000, two smartphones, two tablet devices, medication and important documents including Identification Cards, pass-

ports, birth certificates, and travelling documents, among others.

The man of the house, Mr Ramnarine, explained to the Guyana Times that he, his wife and his 13-year-old daughter were passengers in the taxi on their way back from the airport. He stated that when the taxi pulled up by their gate, his sons came outside to assist in taking in the luggage into the house. At that time, he followed his daughter to the doorsteps and when he returned to the taxi, the bandits had already beaten the taxi driver and one was holding his wife at knifepoint, demanding money.

“My son them came and opened the gate, so I came till here by the door and then I gone back and there is the man them. They had the driver on the ground with a gun to his head and they had my wife with a knife to her neck. They were telling the driver that they will ‘kill he’ if we don’t give them anything,” he related.

According the Mr Ramnarine, before fleeing the scene, the bandits

put the driver’s car into reverse and slammed it into a steel structured letterbox, causing damages to the vehicle.

“They then jumped into a vehicle that they had parked a corner away and they speed away,” he stated. Thereafter, the family summoned the Police.

“We went to the station and the Police them went and drive around the scheme, they went till to 2nd Bridge and they were looking for the car but we didn’t see it,” Mr Ramnarine said, lauding the Police for their prompt response.

Opportunity

The taxi driver, “Steve”, who is a family-friend, told this newspaper that he does not believe they were trailed from the airport.

“This car wasn’t following us. It was there when I turn in the street. I see the car was driving around, it was speeding. When I park the car by the gate here, I see back the car through another street and then it stopped and the two man rush out. Everything happened so fast,” Steve ex-

plained.

He said that he believes the perpetrators were not planning the attack but rather, saw an ideal opportunity to attack and rob.

In June last, there was a spike in the number of incidents where Guyanese are being attacked, robbed or murdered upon their return to Guyana.

Reports indicate that in most of these incidents, the victims are tailed from the airport. In other instances, victims have alleged that airport security or taxi drivers may have colluded with criminals to plan the attack and robbery.

There have been concerns from sections of society regarding these attacks and the impact it has on the country’s image and its tourism potential. Crime Chief Wendall Blanhum had vowed to review the crime fighting strategies and make the necessary adjustments with the aim of reducing the crime rate in Guyana.

Meanwhile, the family is asking that anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the documents, make contact with the nearest Police Station or contact the family on 625-6215.

Fertile

ears

Satiricus was a fan of Naga Man. And why not? Here was a man who was "no man" and so "every man". Satiricus was sick and tired of all those people who insisted to be "hyphenated" - like the Hines fella who Naga Man surprisingly hired for the Chronic and who insisted he was "African Guyanese". Naga Man, on the other hand, was just "human". He was not Indian, or Indian-Guyanese or even Guyanese. Why set boundaries, asked Naga Man. He was Human.

So when Naga Man spoke, Satiricus listened. He couldn't listen as close as Naga Man, who'd heard Chedy Hagan anoint him leader, when the hundreds around heard nothing. No... He could never match Naga Man in the hearing department. However, he listened even though sometimes he couldn't understand what Naga Man would be saying. But then, what did Satiricus, a known dunce, know? Naga Man was a LAWYER!! Satiricus was suitably impressed.

Anyhow Ex-President Jagdesh, who Naga Man hated because the fella used to always slap him behind the head when Naga Man made a mistake at meetings, spoke before Naga Man in the Budget Debate. And sadly Naga Man made a lot of mistakes and so received a lot of slaps. So after Jagdesh spoke and walked out, Naga Man made a cryptic observation, "Jaddesh harangue did not fall of fertile ears."

"Fertile ears?" What the heck was that, wondered Satiricus. He's heard about the "Fertile Crescent" and crescents were like ears, no? But the Fertile Crescent was in the Middle East and Jagdeo certainly wasn't speaking in Baghdad! So when he went home, he asked his wife, who knew ever so much more than Satiricus. She was his better half. She told him Naga Man must be thinking of the new device made by YoNo labs that women place in their ears to know when they're "fertile".

Satiricus knew that there weren't too many women to begin with on the APANU/KFC benches. How many would have "fertile ears"?

But Satiricus was puzzled even more. Why would Naga Man be pleased that Jagdesh words didn't fall on APANU/ KFC women's "fertile ears"? He asked his wife.

"Silly Sato!" Satiricus' wife giggled and she tickled his chin. "Don't you know that a powerful voice like Jagdesh's can influence even the unfertilised APANU/KFC eggs?"

Satiricus now knew why Naga Man was sh***ing bricks.

GPHC hosted 1st employee blood drive

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Friday hosted its first employee blood drive, which was the initiative of the hospital’s Blood Transfusion Committee and had seen some 30 persons donating blood during the first half of the day. Committee member Erwinetta Austin said, “The main aim of today’s exercise is to encourage health care workers to donate blood regularly, hence we did this to raise awareness in the hospital.” She explained that while the activity targeted employees of the hospital, outside persons were also encouraged to participate.

She noted that the turnout was fairly well and added that most likely the committee will make this blood drive a yearly event.

A GPHC doctor donating blood

Policeman critical following accident at Timehri

APolice Constable attached to the Madewini Outpost, East Bank Demerara, who was supposed to be on duty on Friday evening, is now a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital following a horrific accident at Timehri Public Road, East Bank Demerara.

The accident occurred at about 22:30h in the vicinity of “Church Hill” on the Timehri Base Road.

Constable Griffith reportedly sustained severe head injuries and other lacerations to the body as a result of the horrific accident. At the time of the accident, he was using a vehicle belonging to the Guyana Police Force.

According to information received, Griffith was seen on Friday evening consuming alcohol at a drinking spot close to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport with a group of friends. He reportedly left in a drunken state and went to check on his post, since he was in charge on the night in question.

After making sure all was right, he reportedly left the outpost and was heading back to the airport to continue the drinking spree. It was on his way that he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a pile of sand resulting in the vehicle toppling several times before coming to a half.

Griffith was reportedly

trapped in the mangled vehicle and had to be rescued by residents. After 20 minutes, the man was pulled from the wreckage and rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where he was referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital to his condition.

An eyewitness told the Guyana Times that he was waiting on transportation when he saw the Police car

ed. The man stated that after residents managed to take him out of the wrecked car, he was bleeding from his nostrils and head.

Contacts were made with his colleagues at the Timehri Police Station, who arrived on the scene in a jiffy and rushed him off to the East Bank Regional Hospital at Diamond, East Bank Demerara. The wrecked vehicle was taken to the Timehri Police Station, while the Office of Professional Responsibility has launched a probe into the incident.

Guyana Times understands that this was not the first time Griffith has been drinking on the job. A few months ago, while at the Outpost on the Soesdyke Linden Highways, Griffith was reportedly under the influence of alcohol when he lost control of his heavily

approaching him at a fast rate of speed. As the car got close, he realised that it was swaying on the roadway and suddenly veered off the road and into the sand. The car, he stated toppled several times before coming to a halt.

“A little bit more he would ah crash into a bus that de carrying down Suriname Airways workers,” he stat-

tinted motorcar, which resulted in it running off the road.

He had to be assisted out the vehicle, but was robbed in the process. Ironically, the traffic rank would penalise drivers when they were caught driving under the influence of alcohol. He has been seconded at the Madewini Police Outpost for the past five months.

Amerindian Heritage Month preparation underway

Preparations for Amerindian Heritage Month 2015 celebrations are almost completed as the Amerindian Village in the Sophia Exhibition Centre, is undergoing renovations to commence the hosting of the month long celebration.

September is being celebrated as Indigenous Heritage Month in Guyana, with this year’s theme “Preserving our customs and traditions”.

Reports are that Advisor to the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister, Mervyn Williams, stated that the necessary logistical arrangements have already been

made to transport the persons who will be participating in these activities from the 187 indigenous communities.

With regard the much anticipated heritage games, Williams explained that plans are also well advanced in the coordination of the various games with a view of allowing persons from all areas to compete in the various competitions to share their talent.

The Advisor is also appealing to all Guyanese to visit the Amerindian Village and participate in the activities, as it is done with the “we are all Guyanese,” concept in mind.

Minister within the Indigenous People’s Affairs Ministry, Valerie GarridoLowe, at the launching of Heritage Month, told reporters that over 600 persons are expected to attend the Heritage ceremonial launch of the event.

Every year, a Heritage Village is selected, which becomes the focus of festivities, and celebration of that village is one of the very much anticipated events of the month. The village selected to be celebrated this year is Santa Aratak in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara) and activities will commence in that village on September 15.

Some of the craft displayed during last year’s celebration of Amerindian Heritage Month

The side of the damaged Police car

The front of the damaged Police car

Mohamed Ramjohn Khan is Region 2’s oldest man

− turns 104

By IndrawattIe natram

Many persons who came in contact with the elder Mohamed Ramjohn Khan usually describe him as a very blessed and phenomenal individual who never hesitates to give you a positive word of advice.

Khan of Aurora Village in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) has turned 104 years on August 16, 2015 and has credited his long life to prayers (reading of the Holy Quran) and eating healthy.

Even at the age of 104, Khan still finds time to read verses from the Quran as he believes that the life that is given to us must be used to serve the Almighty himself.

"Prayers are the key to a successful and long life… you want to live long, then chant and read the scriptures with a sincere heart," Khan explained.

Khan is presently being taken care of by his children and grandchildren, who reside in Guyana and Canada. He served as an Imam for 43 years and is known for

reaching out to the vulnerable, needy and youths.

In an exclusive interview with Guyana Times, the elder reminisced on his earlier days informing this newspaper that his parents were Faqueerbuksh Mohamed Khan and Bibi Woulfath.

He said he has a trace of the Indian ancestry in his history and outlined that his father came from India as a "Coolie" in 1898 and worked extensively in the rice fields.

Khan, during his childhood, attended the Aurora Church of Scotland for four years of his life. He attended the Kitty and Christ Church Schools for a few months. At the tender age of 12, Khan

worked on plantation in Sophia with some older men to assist in taking care of his younger siblings.

At 24 years old, he got married to his second wife

Mabel Khan, also known as Betty, where a beautiful marriage life unfolded. That marriage produced 12 children, to add to the two from the previous one. He said during his time with his wife he had many experiences, which he still remembers and smiles silently to himself. He described his wife as a true supporter and a blessing directly from the Almighty, noting that she guided him accordingly

and groomed him into the man he is today.

Khan is very versed in speaking fluent Urdu, Hindi and English and reading the Arabic language. "We need to always thank God for life; no matter what is your condition you still have another day to thank him for the air you breathe and ask him for forgiveness," Khan related.

Mohamed Ramjohn Khan is also a recipient of an award from the Legislators of the Provincial Parliament of Ontario, Canada, where he currently resides. That award was given when he had attained the age of 100 and was recorded as being a Canadian citizen who attained the age of 100. He was recognised by Canadian Member of Parlaiment Roxanne James and Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

The elder is advising young people not to turn to suicide but rather to be thankful for life. He said everyday is a new opportunity to do something and to become someone better than you were yesterday. He said all it takes is believe in one's self and the will power to serve God sincerely.

Region 6 unable to store all paddy produced

The Rice Producers Association (RPA) has expressed concerns that there is likely to be storage problem for paddy being produced in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) during this crop.

Those concerns were recently brought to the fore during a meeting with rice farmers, the Water Users Association and the RPA and Region Six Chairman David Armogan.

Following the meeting the Chairman told this publication that the RPA is concerned that other rice producing regions may not be able to able to store paddy for the Region Six rice farmers.

More than 62,000 acres of land is under rice cultivation for the current crop in Region Six. The region does not have the storage capacity to take off what would be the largest crop on paddy produced by the region in a single crop.

Armogan says help must

come from another region or Government. However other regions are currently hard pressed to store their own paddy.

“You know the shipment of rice to Venezuela has not stopped, but there is a problem with wharfs in Venezuela. So at the moment nothing is going to Venezuela because of the congestion of the wharfs in

Venezuela, so a lot of storage capacity in Georgetown too has been taken up. So we are hoping that Venezuela opens up back its wharfs.”

There has been no word coming out of Venezuela as to when it is likely to resume taking rice from Guyana. It is presumed that once Venezuela re-opens its wharfs, a lot of rice will be shipped from Guyana to

that country.

Guyana has a contractual agreement to supply rice to Venezuela until November. Guyana is waiting on the Venezuelans to re-open its wharfs so that Guyana can supply rice which, has already been ordered but is currently being stored in Guyana.

Armogan says, in the meantime, additional storage for paddy is being sought in Region Six. “If the Venezuelan market is knocked out at the end of November then we could be in serious problems. There are markets all over the world but the prices that are offered at most of those markets range between $2000 and $2500 a bag for paddy,” Armogan noted.

In the region, farmers are producing paddy at between $2800 and $3000 a bag. It could become very problematic if rice farmers are forced to have to sell their paddy at below $3000 a bag of paddy.

Younge’s Take Ramming Ramjattan’s Vision

Vice President and Public Security Minister

Khemraj Ramjattan on Friday expressed the view that the 2:00 am curfew imposed by his Government on the sale of alcohol and the operations of bars and night clubs, is working and receiving lots of support from the public.

Michael Younge

Ramjattan went further, after being questioned by media on the controversial issue, to state that the only change he would be making, if the need arises, is to bring the curfew forward to 12:00 am as a means of further enforcing the laws.

The Minister while flexing his muscles further told reporters that those Guyanese who do not support of the curfew should do a petition. Added to that he argued that wives were happy with the curfew because their husbands were coming home earlier with more money in their pockets, and therefore he feels the curfew is good for Guyana.

There are many things wrong with the Minister’s analogy and posture on the curfew issue. From the time he took the decision to implement the curfew, there has been mass resistance, particularly from young people and businesses.

Understandable youths felt their freedom to party, drink and socialize in a modern and rapidly developing Guyana was being curtailed by the new Government.

Additionally, the Government was now telling businesses in the entertainment arena that regardless of the amounts of investment you have made in your private enterprise to stimulate its growth and profitability, you must close your doors on customers and turn them away.

The Government also sent the message that it could care less whether businesses involved in the entertainment sector, which is intertwined in the Tourism Industry, remained profitable in order to aid the domestic direct investment and push spending to cushion the economy which is showing troubling signs of recession.

As predicted, given the unpopular policy and how it was rammed down the throats of the population, the Government was forced to defend its rationale. Minister Ramjattan then told the public that if bars closed at 2:00 am then we could see a reduction in crime and criminality as there was an alleged “factual correlation” between these two indices. He preferred that it could also see reductions in the road carnage and accidents and lead to a more productive society while tackling domestic abuse etcetera.

Weeks after its implementation, Minister Ramjattan is unable to report in a factual way what his Government has managed to accomplish since the implementation of the curfew.

The truth is nothing was accomplished because the crime rate continued to soar regardless of the curfew. Domestic abuse has not declined and there is no massive reduction in the spate of road accidents. The levels of productivity have not increased and there is no study available to show that the drinking habits of both young and adult males have changed.

If Minister Ramjattan wants to be taken seriously he must produce empirical evidence to show what has been accomplished by curtailing a freedom without consultation that Guyanese have enjoyed for decades.

This issue has nothing to with enforcing laws as some is arguing who favours the curfew. If Government is interesting in enforcing laws, then there are scores of the law books that date back to the 1980’s that they should be equally enforcing. It should not cherry pick which ones to implement now and tomorrow.

Minister Ramjattan must end his arrogance and disrespectful posture. He must listen to the scores of small and medium and large scale entertainment businesses who have been slighted by his decision. He must listen to young people and respect their decision to live sociable lives even if it means partying past 2:00 am because it happens the world over, in buoyant economies and the strictest of democracies.

If the Minister is serious about tackling crime and curbing the major issue of noise nuisance then he must start by inviting stakeholders to a serious meeting to address these issues. He must start a debate about underage drinking, the sale of alcohol and irresponsible partying.

He must ask businesses to make the necessary adjustments to have sound proof bars and clubs so that neighbours in residential areas are not victims of the party atmosphere and all that goes with it.

There is something crooked, twisted and baffling about the Minister’s vision and by extension the new Government.

Paddy has to be dried at a facility like this on the Corentyne before it can be placed into a bond

Mohamed Ramjohn Khan, Region Two’s oldest man

EVERY CHILD A SUCCESS

Anew school year starts tomorrow and our children will begin or continue their academic studies with the goal of passing their final examinations and going on to jobs and careers.

Some will do very well and will be among those who will be congratulated for excelling at the CSEC and CAPE examinations. They will most likely graduate to further studies and professional careers. But what happens to the ones who gain less than four subjects at the CSEC and with not very good grades?

They leave school with a sense of failure when we’re the ones who failed them. The purpose of education is not to cram students to pass examinations. To understand the word from its Latin roots, education means to “lead out of”. Education policies and programmes must be designed to bring out the best from our children to make them each shine.

Not every child will become a doctor or engineer yet most of the discussions on education reforms are about improving the CSEC pass rates – to make Guyana shineand improving our university and, now, even adding a law school. These are all commendable but there should be as much discussion about introducing vocational programmes within high schools or establishing dedicated vocational high schools in every region.

The labour market does not only require the work of professionals but also needs the skills and talents of crafts people who will become the nation’s carpenters, electricians, hairdressers, plumbers, cooks, tailors, etc.

The idea for vocational training is not new or even revolutionary. In the United States, such educational programmes have been around for over a hundred years and while there are technical institutes and internship programmes available here, school leavers enroll after they have likely failed at the academic subjects, and if they have the finances to apply.

The new century requires specialization of the labour market and trade schools continually diversify to meet the demand, adding such courses as information technology, tourism, and massage therapy to more traditional industrial courses.

Such schools and programmes provide a teenager with the distinct advantage of being able to gain employment directly out of high school. A core set of academic subjects would ensure that they graduate with the ability to function well within society and lead good, productive lives.

Every child will have a chance to develop their particular skills and talents; every child will have a chance to succeed.

Vocational education is not about giving up on a child and viewing such programmes or trade schools as dumping grounds for academic underachievers. No child should ever be made to feel they are a failure but this is what the current academic emphasis means for many.

Standardized tests and certification will ensure that students graduate with a certificate that will be recognized nationally and employers will know that the new graduate is coming to the job with the basic skills, aptitude and knowledge to help them fit well with the culture, environment and expectations of their new workplace.

To establish vocational programmes or dedicated trade schools would take planning and budgetary allocations. However, the results of having each of our children shine and having each of them leave school with a sense of success would be more than worth the necessary outlay. It would also increase our national wellbeing and productivity.

A notable point to make is the high success rate of the Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) which, this year, topped the CSEC list with the two best graduating students. SVN principal, Swami Aksharananda, says the success is due to a more rounded school experience where an academic education is only part of the whole. SVN includes cultural and emotional education within its programme and the school is also known for its disciplined environment and its close partnering with parents.SVN’s success is even more remarkable when you consider that the school’s student intake does not usually include the high fliers who attend city schools like Queen’s College or Bishop’s High School. The students are mostly viewed as average. SVN makes them high fliers.

This does bring into question the low matriculation rate of many of our public high schools, which might have more to do with the State-run education system than with the capabilities of the students themselves.

The Minister of Education should seek the counsel of Swamiji on the way forward for a revamped education policy.

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

As economy flounders...

Opposition ready to debate Govt on key financial issues

The Opposition Party, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), led by Bharrat Jagdeo has signalled its willingness to participate in debates with the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government about matters surrounding CLICO, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the Berbice River Bridge.

On Friday, Jagdeo told the House that it was his duty to respond to Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, after the Government Official addressed the issue of NIS’ “reckless investment” in CLICO costing the insurance scheme to lose billions of dollars.

However, the Opposition Leader stood his ground when he notified the National Assembly of the former Administration’s role in the transactions stating that the PPP/C had ensured that Guyana is the only country in the region to pledge that the face value would be redeemed.

“We believe we are the only country in the region that pledged that we will redeem the face value. We are the only country to do this… the defaulters of all the contributors to CLICO…even in Trinidad they are doing so at a discount and we have only done this through sound financial management.”

He stated that his Party would “welcome a debate on this” as he lashed out at the coalition Government for its position on the Berbice River

Bridge.

“This is the Government that is now truncating the revenue stream of the Berbice River Bridge. They say it was a milking cow for friends and family of the PPP/C and now we are hearing that dividends have not been paid to the investors. You have to be consistent,” he told the Government side of the House.

He emphasised that should a debate be granted he would be able to tell the National Assembly of the early days when Minister Jordan was in the Office of the Budget and the APNU/ AFC’s Vice President was Finance Minister; how the NIS money was used then being given to the City Council at zero rated bonds.

Jagdeo then alluded to the fact that calculations done by Minister Jordan and his statements during the Budget presentation stated that Guyanese will be ben-

efitting from the Budget through greater disposable income.

“But the calculations have been very convenient, and when tomorrow when the people of this country wake up and they see, they look at their pay cheques and their benefits then they are going to realise how misleading many, much of the calculations made by the honourable Minister of Finance has been. The interest subsidy on NIS contribution has been removed. The Minister of Finance did not tell us the figure for that, how much the treasury will benefit, how much disposable income would be withdrawn from people based on the removal of the interest subsidy. But he told us that removing the interest from NIS contribution would contribute to 1.3 million people’s disposable income,” Jagdeo posited.

In his address, he contin-

Bankruptcy looms if subsidies...

The au fait accompli was that its proposed commuter subsidy would be based on the existing toll structure, and that the revised toll structure as adumbrated in the Concession Agreement, and brought to the attention of the Government, would be ignored. The other win-win scenario of an extension of the concession period that would have allowed the present toll structure and the subsidy levels proposed by the Government would presumably also be placed in doubt.”

Against this background, the Directors convened an Emergency Meeting on August 27 to discuss a way forward on the toll reductions.

Lost revenue

“Based on the figures that had been submitted to the Government, because tolls had not been in-creased based on the Toll Formula under the Concession Agreement, revenues of $1,228,523,720 had already been lost,” the Company said.

It also noted that because of the then Opposition’s successful move to lower the tolls in the 10th Parliament, the Company is already heavily indebted due to rev-

Agreement will result in the BBCI defaulting on its obligation to re-pay debt in 2015 and possible insolvency.

“In 2015, over $500 million in debt repayments to investors is required. Directors cannot change the agreements reached with the investors in the bridge as represented by the Trustee for the debt and the Shareholders for the equity. Such a decision must involve an agreement with the Trustee and the Shareholders.

enues lost.

“In June 2014, based on its financial model and debt commitments, BBCI began to repay the principal on its bonds. This increase in demand for cash was supposed to have been met by increases in tolls. However, such an increase was deemed untenable particularly after the then Opposition passed a mo-tion in the National Assembly on May 15, 2014 to reduce tolls by more than half. This motion was first tabled in December 2013,” the Bridge Company said.

Therefore, the Company said any agreement to a subsidy without honouring the toll adjustment formula set out in the Concession

ued to explain that similarly the PPP/C did not obtain from Minister Jordan a net calculation of the withdrawal of disposable income from every family in this country that has children going to school.

“We have heard about the $500 increase in uniform, but we did not hear much the cost of the removal of the $10,000 grant from school children and our calculation is this is close to $1.7 billion. We have heard about by extension benefits for rice farmers, the country was happy to hear that this Government is now putting in the Budget an incremental sum in their view of $23 billion to help rice farmers, and in the Budget Debate we saw honourable Minister of Finance dodge the question of where the money is budgeted using technicalities,” the PPP/C Leader also explained.

He further stated that while everyone has heard about the $3.8 billion that the rice industry was given, the Finance Minister again dodged the question as to whether or not the money came from the Consolidated Fund.

“And if this money came from the Consolidated Fund in the absence of a Budget he would have committed an illegal act. So if it did not come from the Consolidated Fund where did it come from? And if we can’t be told where it came from, did GuySuCo (Guyana Sugar Corporation) actually receive the money?” he questioned.

best service to the Berbice Bridge commuters at an affordable cost but reminded that it also has to fulfil their fiduciary responsibilities and also act in accordance to the law.

Reduced toll

During his budget presentation, Jordan had indicated that from September 1 this year, the toll for passenger vehicles crossing the Berbice Bridge would be reduced from $2200 to $1900.

As such, any change in the Concession Agreement and the Toll Order which is made by the Govern-ment (the last one was made in 2009 by the Minister of Public Works), requires the approval of the Trustee and the shareholders. All investors relied on the toll making adjustment in the financial model that is referenced in Schedule Four of the Concession Agreement and projected in the financial model referenced in the Concession Agreement,” the Company explained.

“A subsidy divorced from honouring the BBCI Concession agreement could very well result in bank-ruptcy for the BBCI,” it reiterated.

The Company noted that it is willing to provide the

The move, he said, was the first of a phased reduction of the tolls which he said have been a worri-some issue for Guyanese, particularly those living in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne).

The annual subsidy for the BBCI, Jordan informed, stands between $120 million and $140 million. However, it was already established by observers that the toll $300 toll reduction will not benefit those who really need it, given that the everyday commuter who normally uses public transportation given that bus drivers and taxi drivers already insisted that they will not lower their fares, citing its insignificance.

Ryhaan Shah

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

Finance Minister Winston Jordan on Friday blamed the Bridge Company for the setback in the toll reductions

December 7 likely date for Local Govt polls – Bulkan

Contending that the “minor” legislative amendments are not impinging on the operations of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan said December 7 is likely to be the date for the country’s long overdue Local Government Elections (LGE).

“I am told by GECOM that despite everything, the December 7 date is not in jeopardy,” Bulkan recently told <Guyana Times

He noted that the early December period would be ideal for the staging of LGE as it will not interfere with Christmas celebrations.

GECOM on Friday explained that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration was blocking its attempts to fully prepare for the Elections by not taking adequate steps to remove the legislative blockade in the way of the hosting of the Elections under a new and improved system.

On the other hand, Minister Bulkan told this publication that these amendments should not severely affect GECOM.

“Those minor legislative amendments are not expected to impinge or impact the timetable that GECOM currently possess in relation to the holding of these elections… The minor legislative amendment is not the issue holding up elections,” he insisted.

Instead, Bulkan sought to blame the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) for the holdup.

“I’ve learnt that the Opposition raised a number of concerns in relation to several activities… There are a number of reservations being advanced by the Opposition… the Opposition seems to be playing a cat and mouse game to prove a point that we are misleading the public and that the date we desire is unrealistic,” the Minister speculated.

Minister Bulkan is holding out that the Government is currently at a standstill until GECOM further advises.

Government already budgeted $2 billion for the hosting of the LGE.

But GECOM is holding out that the Government knows what it has to do to enable GECOM to officially commence active steps to carry out its mandate as regards Local Government Elections.

GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield maintained that GECOM cannot proceed to prepare a Preliminary Lists of Voters for the conduct of Claims and Objections for the purpose of finalising the respective Registers of Voters that will be necessary to conduct LGEs in the 65 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and the six municipalities in Guyana.

GECOM is also stating that existing legislation relative to the preparation of the Preliminary List of Voters requires that the Lists be prepared from the Official List of Electors that was used for the 1992 General and Regional Elections, explaining this legislation must be amended to

clear the way for the Lists to be extracted from the upto-date National Register of Registrants.

The Commission said too that the proposed (draft) amendment, among others, has already been prepared in one document which was discussed and fine-tuned between GECOM’s Legal Officer and the Chief Parliamentary Counsel of the Ministry of Legal Affairs.

Why LGE was not held since 1994

While in Opposition, APNU and AFC lambasted the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Administration for not holding LGE, claiming that they will host the LGE immediately after occupying office, casting blame upon the then Government for robbing citizens of their democratic right to elect the leaders for their Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and town councils.

But then Attorney General Anil Nandlall had contended that this is not so and explained how the main Opposition actively participated in the postponement of those elections.

He had chronicled a series of events in his attempt to explain how such an imperative event has been put off time and time again.

The former Attorney General recalled that in 1997, the then Government of the day went to general elections and since Local Government and General Elections could not have been facilitated in the same year, the decision was made to hold General Elections with the PPP/C Presidential Candidate being the late Janet Jagan. That election was followed by massive social unrest, riots, violence, street protests, and arson, which resulted in a team from the Caribbean Community (Caricom) intervening. This resulted in the LGE being delayed thereaf-

Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan

ter.

Further, for every year for onward for that period, there were amendments to the law, postponing Local Government Election.

“The Constitutional Reform Commission assembled and it began its work; that Commission recommended several changes to the Constitution that affected governmental structure generally, but more significantly that affected local government at the time,” Nandlall had explained.

However, when that process was completed another general election was held in 2001 and again during that period LGE was being postponed consensually by all the political parties in the Parliament. Following the 2001 election was more violence and unrest, which led to the postponement of LGE once again.

At that time, the Constitution provided for the establishment of a Local Government Commission, it did not provide for the way that the Commission will function, the powers that the Commission will have, the way the Commission will staff itself, all of which were supposed to be the subject of ordinary legislation.

“So while the Constitution laid the foundation, ordinary law would have outlined the way the constitutionally enshrined Commissioner was to function,” Nandlall stated. Subsequently, a task force was assembled to work out the modalities and to come up with draft legislation.

Again, as this process was being carried out, an amendment was moved in the National Assembly repeatedly and on an annual basis to postpone Local Government Election; this went on until 2009/2010.

Elections could have been held then, but a decision was taken for the hosting General and Regional Elections instead.

Then in 2011 when the 10th Parliament was convened works began on the local government bills which took about two to three years.

Nandlall had noted that only in 2014 the APNU started its “new enthusiasm” for LGE, making the then Government appear to be culprits in the process of postponement when for nearly 15 years they supported the process.

Uniting Amerindians under the Golden Arrowhead

The importance of the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) was previously broached to highlight the violations of an indigenous right enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The Communities Ministry has confirmed its intention of establishing a flag for each administrative region, despite that when questioned on the issue of regional consultation during the 2015 National Budget Debate, Minister Bulkan was unable to confirm that citizens were part of a consultation exercise. While the Government defended in the House that the regional authorities would have been presented with the draft flags, they are not representative of nor speak on behalf of the Amerindian communities, but instead are political appointees. This arbitrary process goes against the very principle that Minister claims he is advocating: to wit, to increase local autonomy.

In Regions 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 where significant numbers of Amerindians live, it is the duty of the Government in keeping with the principle of FPIC, to consult with and inform Amerindians adequately of the decision, and obtain their feedback. Abstaining from such dialogue infringes on Amerindian rights. The result of this imposed decision is that several Regional Chairmen, including Brenton Ashley of Region One, Davanand Ramdatt of Region Two, Vickchand Ramphal of Region Five, Brian Allicock of Region Nine and Renis Morlan of Region Ten have all confirmed that they were part of no proper consultation and didn’t see the relevance of such flags. The issue of undermining national sovereignty as well as the case of cultural identity were raised in justification of their objection to the regional flags.

The cultural identity of Amerindians will immediately be engaged if the Government does chose to implement regional flags. Regional Chairman Brian Allicock who is also the brother of Hon. Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Sydney Allicock indicated that the flag which was forced on Region Nine carries an eagle as the national bird but insists that this should have been the Canje Pheasant instead. He asserted that the people of the region will not support the move.

If the Government was keen on engaging Amerindians on the creation of regional flags, then there would not be a predefined core colour of green on nine of the ten drafts, with the exception of Region Four’s proposal. Ancestrally, Amerindians identify primarily to black and red, black being symbolic of the spiritual world whereas red in some instances is also tied to certain spirituality and certain rituals, while also being associated with hunting. Nobles within Amerindian societies adopted black and red, while other members of society also wore colours such as blue and yellow. The colour code is just one aspect of Amerindian culture; symbolism is also incarnated through nature and the animal realm.

Subsequently, if the Government of Guyana implements regional flags with the intention of forging regional identities, they must not bypass the authority of Amerindian leaders, Toshaos and Village Councils alike, who are the true representatives of our first peoples.

The pattern of recurrent disregard for their authority is prolonging into one which will have serious implications if not reversed. Indeed, indigenous rights in Guyana have long, rich history. From Ordinances issued by the British Crown, to the Amerindian Act Cap 29:01 of 1976 and the Amerindian Act no. 6 - 2006, Guyana’s indigenous peoples have achieved significant progress in having their rights respected by the State.

They have become quasi autonomous in the governance and management of village affairs and their development, and now form a veritable network of communication through the Ministry whose ground staff largely outnumbered, up to recently, those stationed in administrative departments in Georgetown.

However, the policy of the recently installed Government seems paradoxical to the path of development undertaken by Amerindians.

Consequently, it isn’t surprising that young unemployed Amerindians are departing for neighbouring Brazil in search of employment and new opportunities, considering the skepticism stemming from the Government’s new agenda. For the first time in years, Amerindian development doesn’t hold a prominent place in the National Budget. All the efforts invested in lifting them up might now be in vain.

Perhaps the Granger-led administration should attempt to secure the trust of Amerindians under one national Golden Arrowhead, rather than encourage them to migrate in search of a better future.

Anna Correia

Attorney Anil Nandlall

Rakshabandhan tales from Indian mythology

by Danny Haobam

Rakshabandhan is celebrated on Shravan Poornima, the full moon day in the Hindu calendar month of Shravana. There are many popular legends associated with the origin of the Rakshabandhan festival and why it is celebrated on this day:

According to the Bhavisya Puran, there was once a prolonged battle between the gods led by Lord Indra and the forces of Brurta, the demon king. The legend states that in the battle the gods were being overpowered by demons, and Lord Indra became worried. Upon seeing this Indrani, the wife of Indra prayed to the Almighty. She then prepared a sacred thread with her power of mantra and tied it around Indra’s right wrist. The sacred thread acted as a talisman and protected Indra from the demons and thus he was able to win the battle. As the sacred thread had the power of protection it was known as the “Raksha Sutra” and the ceremony of tying this thread came to be known as “Raksha Bandhan.” Since the act of tying the talisman took place on Shravan Poornima, it has become a tradition to celebrate Raksha Bandhan on this particular date.

2) Another fascinating story on Raksha Bandhan is that of Yama and Yamuna. In Hindu mythology, Yama is the lord of Death and his sister was Yamuna. Their story is a testimony of the powerful and eternal brother-sister relationship. According to the Shiv Puranas, Yama was wounded by the Vivasana after which he became the king of the Land of the Dead. Yamuna mourned for her brother whom she would never see again and she wept until the gods decided to turn her into Yamini, the goddess of the night. As a goddess she was able to bridge the despair of sunset with the hope of sunrise, and thus reconcile with her brother. The rituals of Raksha Bandhan are a reminder of the parting and unification of Yama and Yamuna, and on this day it is the tradition for brothers to visit their sisters. It is believed that on this auspicious day, brothers and sisters are blessed by Lord Yama and Goddess Yamuna. There are several versions of the legend of Yama and Yamuna. It is also considered that Yamuna used to tie the sacred thread Rakhi on the wrists of Lord Yama as a talisman on every Shravana Poornima. And to this day people celebrate Rakshabandhan on the full moon day of Shravana.

3) The third and most significant tale associated with the festival is that of the demon king Mahabali and the goddess Laxmi. The demon king Mahabali was a great devotee of lord Vishnu and because of his immense devotion, Vishnu himself took the task of protecting Bali’s Kingdom. And in order to do that Vishnu has to leave his abode in Vaikunth. Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi, the wife of lord Vishnu began to miss her husband and so she went to Bali disguised as a Brahmin woman and took refuge in his palace. And during the Shravana Poornima celebrations she tied a Rakhi on King Bali’s wrist. Upon asking for a return gift, the Goddess Lakshmi revealed her true self and purpose. Mahabali immediately requested Lord Vishnu to accompany Lakshmi back to their abode. Bali in his devotion was ready to give up everything for the lord and due to this reason the festival is also called Baleva which translates as Bali Raja’s devotion to the Lord Vishnu.

4) Another tale concerning Rakshabandhan comes from the Epic Mahabharata. Once Krishna was wounded in a battle and Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas tore a strip from her sari and tied it around the wound. The piece of sari was significant of the rakhi thread and Krishna was bound to Draupadi as a brother. And later Krishna saved Draupadi from humiliation as she was being disrobed by Dushashana after a dice game.

5) Ganesha and his sister Manasa: Although the tale does not originate from the Hindu scriptures, people attribute the birth of Goddess Santoshi Maa to the festival of Raksha Bandhan. It is believed that on the day of Rakshabandhan, Manasa used to visit her brother Lord Ganesha’s and tie him the rakhi. On seeing this, Shubha and Labha the sons of Ganesha become curious and insisted for a sister of their own. Ganesha is supposed to have gave in to their demands eventually and created the goddess Santoshi which literally the Mother Goddess of Satisfaction.

UN Mission in Guyana to discuss the Guyana/Venezuela controversy

AUnited Nations (UN) mission arrived in Guyana on Saturday to discuss the matters surrounding the ongoing border controversy between Guyana and its western South American neighbour, Venezuela.

The team, which was dispatched by the UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon, will particularly discuss options under the Geneva Agreement for a resolution of Venezuela’s continuous contention that the Arbitral Award of 1899 is null and void.

Guyana had already deemed the Good Offices Process as ineffective in resolving the issue and signalled its intention to opt out of it.

Vice President and Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge had already declared in the National Assembly that a juridical settlement is possibly the best and only option open to Guyana to move beyond the controversy. For generations, Venezuela has been claim-

ing most of Guyana’s territory. The controversy surfaced again in May when US-oil giant ExxonMobil revealed it had found massive offshore oil and gas deposits.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro issued a decree ratifying maritime sovereignty over waters within a 200-mile range, including the entire Atlantic Ocean off the Essequibo Coast, as well as part of Suriname’s maritime territory.

This decree sparked a nationwide debate regard-

ing the matter, with various regional bodies and nations calling for the peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Meanwhile, the UN team will meet with former Government officials and current Government Ministers including Minister Greenidge; former Foreign Affairs Ministers, Sir Shridath Ramphal; Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; and Rashleigh Jackson; former Guyana Facilitator in the Good Offices Process Ralph Ramkarran; Ambassadors Rudolph

Collins, Elisabeth Harper, and Major General Retired Joseph Singh. The UN Mission, which is led by the Chief of the Americas Division – Department of Political Affairs of the United Nations, Martha Doggett, will be departing Guyana on September 2.

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s President has already met with the UN Secretary General, seeking support amid the controversy.

Maduro told the Secretary General that

Guyana’s President David Granger disregarded the 1966 Geneva Agreement by allowing US oil giant ExxonMobil a concession for oil prospecting in the Liz-1 Block, which is offshore the Essequibo Coast.

“The Guayana Esequiba (Essequibo) always belonged to Venezuela even since the establishment of the Captaincy General of Venezuela in 1777 and in all the stages of the Independence,” Maduro insisted.

More vehicles, weaponry for Police

− as Govt struggles to get grip on crime

In efforts to equip the Guyana Police Force with the necessary resources needed to combat the crime situation, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has disclosed that some $200 million has been approved to acquire additional land and water transport as well as more high profile weaponry for law enforcement officers.

would appreciate, though there might be lots of social reasons for high crime rates, we also have to strengthen the Police work and as a part of that, the professionalism is required,” he stated.

The Minister implored the Police Officers who undergo training sponsored by the Force to inculcate that those training. He said that officers should do some “in-

policing methods to become better detectives,” he urged.

Moreover, the Public Security Minister highlighted the need for rehabilitative works to be done at the various Police Stations in order to improve the deplorable conditions that some officers are made to work in. He pointed out that officers would not be willing and motivated to work if the envi-

it, enhancing police comfort level in getting their work done will pay off,” he declared.

More security for Berbice

On the other hand, Ramjattan announced that the compliment of the security forces in Berbice recently got a significant boost as several ranks from specialised teams were deployed to

The Minister outlined to media operatives that 10 more 4x4 double cap pickups; six minibuses and land cruisers; 15 motor bicycles, bicycles and motor cars are among the new fleet of vehicles for the Police Force. As it relates to the weaponry, more body armours and high profile guns and ammunitions will be procured.

In addition to resources, Ramjattan stated that focus will also be placed on enhancing the capacity and professionalism of members of the Police Force. “As you

ward stretching” so that whatever they learn can be used for “outward reach”.

According to Ramjattan, most of the officers do not do anything after a bout of training to further development themselves on their own, instead they let whatever was taught to them go to waste.

“They have to do self learning a lot of them go to training and let it as that but there must be a continuing education by tapping into law journals website on policing and administrative

ronment in which they are is not encouraging.

“You need better conditions for your Policemen. If you go in and the toilets are in a mess and the bedroom facilities for over-nighting is in shabby condition, they are not going to perform. So over the long period of time they have sickening kinds of treatment that are not of quality to the extent that it is not going to be helpful. They are not going to want to go out next morning. So I think indeed, though you might not see the results of

the county in bid to reduce the increasing crime rates.

He explained that Government is looking to have the more patrols dispatched to those areas that were mapped as “high crime” zones. He added that currently Berbice, more specifically the Corentyne area, has been identified as one such area hence the deployment of Special Forces to the county.

“We have three bodies of about 12 or 15 men, so that’s about 45 more men that have strengthened Berbice,”

he noted. The Public Security Minister disclosed that a unit from the Joint Special Operations Group (JSOG) comprising of army and Police Officials along with a Crime Unit from A Division (Georgetown, East Bank Demerara) inclusive of senior detectives, who are lending their expertise to the local officers.

This decision, Ramjattan noted, has paid off as he made reference to investigations into the No 45 Village murder of cash crop farmer, Pamela Kendall, which led to the arrested of her reputed husband. Deoram Sookchand was arraigned on the capital offence on Friday and subsequently remanded.

“We are also getting lots more senior detective work there so it is not simply doing the patrols, but doing the detective work and that quality detective work apparently is paying off… It is that kind of quality work that we would want to see

the Police do,” he pointed out.

Furthermore, the Minister outlined that the Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) Unit is still in Berbice. Head of the Criminal Investigations Department, Wendell Blanhum, told the Guyana Times that since the deployment of the SWAT Unit, there has been a decline in crime in the region. The Crime Chief explained that there have been incidents where groups of criminal elements are armed with high profile rifles and so the SWAT Unit was dispatched with the necessary resources to aid the Berbice compliment in any cases.

Nevertheless, Ramjattan remain positive that the overall crime rates in Guyana will be reduced, but noted it will take time. He maintained, “We are on our way; we are going to see the reduction… so bear with us and we will do a better job come 2016.”

Former Guyana Facilitator in the Good Offices Process Ralph Ramkarran

Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Sir Shridath Ramphal

Former Director General Elisabeth Harper

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Rashleigh Jackson

Vice President and Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has disclosed that some $200 million has been approved to acquire additional land and water transport as well as more high profile weaponry for law enforcement officers

Basketball Summer Camp concludes in New Amsterdam

The annual two week Basketball Summer Camp for Youths in New Amsterdam, Berbice ended on a high note on Friday morning at the Vryman’s Erven Basketball Court in New Amsterdam.

Despite the intense heat, which allowed the camp to be held from 07:00h to 09:00h Mondays to Fridays, campers were in high spirits when it closed Friday, and are even making arrangements to continue working

with organiser Kirk Fraser on Saturdays.

According to Fraser, one accepts that the camp experience is should not be completed. “We were trying to get both of the backboards fixed so that we could have had the youths actually participate in a game to see just how much they have learnt, but only one of the backboards returned so far and we could not have that aspect of the camp held.”

The camp catered for

persons between the ages of eight and 17 years old. Discipline was one of the key areas of the camp, which also focused on the physical aspect of basketball. Fraser noted that one of the objectives was to enforce certain fundamentals of the sport, including the importance of teamwork.

During the two week programme, campers were also exposed to sessions that dealt with social topics like HIV/AIDS.

WICB pledges support for Dominica

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said on Friday that it is “very saddened” to hear of the loss of life and damage to property that has taken place in Dominica during the passage of Tropical Storm Erika

The weather system battered the island on Thursday with heavy rains causing streets to flood and rivers to overflow.

Reports say as many as 20 people may have been killed.

Dave Cameron

“It was with great distress and sadness that we received the news about Tropical Storm Erika which has caused loss of lives, injuries and damage in Dominica,” said WICB president Dave Cameron.

“On behalf of the directors, management and staff of the WICB, I would like to convey our heartfelt solidarity with the people of Dominica who have suffered great loss from this natural disaster.”

Dominica is the home

of WICB Vice President Emmanuel Nanthan and base for the newly-formed Windward Islands Volcanoes franchise which takes part in the WICB Professional Cricket League.

“Our prayers are with Vice President Nanthan and all Dominicans,” said Cameron.

“While the country and people are undergoing this serious crisis, we want to assure them that the WICB fully understands the seriousness of their loss and is committed to contribute in any possible way to help them overcome the impact of this natural disaster and in alleviating the stress of the affected victims.” (CMC)

Bolt secures third sprint...

“It’s called pressure,” the Jamaican added of the American disqualification.

“When there’s a lot of pressure to come out here and perform at your best. And we saw what happened.”

Jamaica have now won the sprint relay at six straight major global championships, including the last two Olympics, but for the first 200m it did not like they were going to extend their dominance.

While Nesta Carter and former world record holder Asafa Powell did not get Jamaica off to the best of starts, the Americans were flying with Trayvon Bromell and Gatlin tearing up the track.

Nickel Ashmeade, who won bronze behind Bolt and Gatlin in the 100 meters, gained ground on Gay coming round the final bend but the Americans were looking in good shape to repeat their victory over the Jamaicans

at this year’s world relays. EXCHANGE ZONE

On the final handover, however, Gay was initially unable to get the baton to Rodgers and by the time he did, the anchorman was outside the exchange zone.

Bolt already had the Jamaican baton safely in his hand and sprinted to victory down a track on which he has now won six major global championship gold medals.

“It’s unfortunate,” Gay said. “We tried to do the best we could, but unfortunately we didn’t get the stick in the exchange zone and that’s what it was.”

Rodgers was unsure what had gone on.

“Did he feel something was wrong?” he said. “I didn’t have the stick, so I had to slow down to get it in the zone. I knew it was close.”

China’s silver -- their first medal in the sprint re-

Eaton overcomes fatigue to claim world record

American Ashton Eaton retained the decathlon world title in the Bird’s Nest Stadium on Saturday, breaking his own world record by scoring 9,045 points. After just five hours sleep, however, the 27-year-old admitted he had doubts over whether he could break the record.

In the 10th and last discipline, the 1,500 meters, he needed the help of one of his rivals to drag him around the final lap in a fast enough time.

Competing in his first decathlon for two years, Eaton had to run four minutes 18.25 seconds to score the 824 points required to break the world record.

“I knew with 300 meters to go that I was behind, and I said, ‘Oh crap! I better go’,” Eaton told reporters.

“I could see the Algerian Larbi (Bouraada) in front of me and I used him. I could tell, he sped up. I caught up again and he sped up again. So I thank him for that.”

Eaton stopped the clock at 4:17.52 to score 829 points and break his old mark, set in 2012, by six points.

The silver medal went to Canada’s Damian Warner with a national record 8,695

points and Rico Freimuth of Germany took bronze with 8,561.

There had been little doubt through the second day that Eaton would win gold and it was all about whether he could better the record.

The Olympic gold medalist had run 45.00 seconds in the 400 meters on Friday, the fastest ever by a decathlete during a multi-event.

Eaton finished the first day on 4,703 points, well ahead of medal challengers Warner Freimuth and the second German, Kai Kazmirek.

His procession towards the gold continued on Saturday with a 13.69-second 110m hurdles, a 43.34-metre discus throw,

5.20 meters in the pole vault and a 63.63-metre javelin throw.

“In the hurdles, it was really hard to get over nine and 10. I thought, ‘Jeez, I’m getting old.’ It was just kind of difficult,” Eaton said.

“The world record thing? I knew I was on track, and I was just trying to have fun. But I got to the pole vault, and I was getting tired and I thought ‘I don’t know if this thing is possible’,” he added.

“Then in the javelin I got all fired-up. Where do you find that inner strength, I don’t know, but the important thing is to search for it, to dig, any way.

“In the 1,500, I was having doubts, I didn’t know if I could do it. It’s like two years since I did a decathlon like this, and it’s different from when I did the record in Eugene. This was 12-hour days.”

With one day of the meeting to go, Eaton’s is the only world record to be broken at the Beijing championships. Eaton is married to Canadian heptathlete Brianne Theisen- Eaton, who won the world silver medal here earlier this week. (Reuters)

Pakistan women to play series against Windies women

Pakistan women’s cricket team will tour the West Indies from the middle of October to play four one-day internationals and three T20 internationals

A 16 –member squad along with four standbys have been selected to participate in a training camp in preparation for the tour which runs from October 14 to November 2.

from back page

lay -- was a particularly timely gift for Su Bingtian, whose 26th birthday was celebrated in song by a delighted crowd.

“I was moved when everybody was singing happy birthday to me,” he said. “This is an historic medal for us. We have trained a lot and worked very hard. This progress is the result.”

Britain failed to finish after a calamitous final handover between James Ellington and Chijindu Ujah cost them a likely medal.

“We were easily in the running for a bronze medal. I don’t know what went on on the last change,” said lead-off runner Richard Kilty.

“It’s probably the fastest team on paper we’ve ever had out. It’s just heartbreaking knowing that we set the race up so well and we messed up on the last change. Just absolutely gutted.” (Reuters)

Three of the four ODIs in the rubber are a part of the ICC ODI Women’s Championship, which is also a qualification process for the Women’s World Cup to be held in England in 2017.

Sana Mir will captain the side which includes Bismah Maroof V.Captain, Syeda Nain Fatima Abidi, Nida Rashid, Rabiya Shah, Asmavia Iqbal Kocher, Javeria Wadood,

Sania Iqbal, Marina Iqbal, Sumaiya Siddique, Sidra Amin, Iram Javed, Diana Baig, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Zafar. On its way back from the Caribbean, Pakistan Women’s team will visit the United States to play two friendly T20 matches between November 2 and 6, at Fort Lauderdale, Florida to promote women’s cricket in the USA. (CMC)

Fraser-Pryce leads Jamaican women to relay gold

Jamaica, anchored by Shelly-Ann FraserPryce, clocked the second fastest time in history to retain their 4x100 meters relay title at the world championships on Saturday.

Veronica CampbellBrown, Natasha Morrison and 200 meters silver medalist Elaine Thompson ensured Fraser-Pryce had a good lead when she took the baton and the 100 meters champion stormed across the line in 41.07 seconds.

The United States finished second in 41.68 with the early pace of the Jamaicans giving anchor Allyson Felix, the 400 meters champion in Beijing, no chance of catching Fraser-Pryce.

Trinidad and Tobago won the bronze in a national record of 42.03 ahead of Britain, whose 42.10 was also the best time ever run by the nation’s top women

sprinters. Only the 40.82 recorded by the Americans to win gold at the 2012 London Olympics was faster than Saturday’s winning time. (Reuters)

The Jamaican women ran the second fastest 4x100m time in history.(Getty Images photo)

Ashton Eaton

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GT Beer Futsal Tournament… Action continues tonight with 4 games

Action in the GT Beer Futsal Tournament will continue this evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall with four exciting games from 19:00h.

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Alexander Village will battle Globe Yard in the opening game of the evening in a game that might be low scoring since both teams play brilliant defence.

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Both teams like to score and it will be interesting to see if they change their attacking styles to possibly throw off their opponents.

Agricola will then take of Queen Street Tigerbay in another game that might have little goals involved;

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Usain Bolt has transcended the world of sport

By TreisTon Joseph

There are not many occasions when we get to witness the existence of a once in a lifetime athlete.

Yet here we are witnessing the phenomenon that is Usain Bolt.

Since his explosion as a youth athlete, Bolt was destined for greatness, putting the world on notice in 2004 at the tender age of 17 with a world junior record in the 200m of 19.93s which was done at the Carifta Games in Bermuda.

Fast forward four years later and Bolt smashed the world record in both the 100 and 200m to 9.69s and 19.30s respectively at the Olympics. A year later at the World Championships Bolt further reduced those records to 9.58s and 19.19s.

in my estimation he was everything contrary to a power sprinter.

If we look at the likes of Linford Christie, Ben Johnson and Donovan Bailey these men embodied what a power sprinter is suppose to be compared to Bolt who is tall and lanky and is not as aggressive out of the blocks as the aforementioned athletes has made the 100m his own, winning the race with an expert drive, acceleration and flight phases.

If we look at Maurice Greene, another power

is a thing of a beauty, an expert curve, a brilliant acceleration phase off the curve and a perfect deceleration phase has put Bolt in a class by himself over the 200m distance.

Simply put we have seen athletes like Michael Johnson change the landscape of basketball, Joe Montana with NFL Football, Pele with soccer, Muhammad Ali with boxing, Serena Williams with women’s sport, Michael Phelps with swimming, Tiger Woods with golf, Vivian

Now as we look at Bolt compete at these World Championships in Beijing while he is not the record breaking lightning bolt that he was in 2008-9, we have come to appreciate Bolt as probably the greatest athlete to ever walk the face of the earth not just because he has not lost a global final since 2007 but because he is also probably the biggest clutch performer we have ever seen.

His 100m with Justin Gatlin at these championships, after the injury riddled season that Bolt endured spoke of his fortitude and will power as an athlete and was a sight to behold as he produced his best performance of the season to win the event.

To be honest I was never a fan of Bolt’s 100m metres,

sprinter who brought showmanship to the sport, Bolt has taken showmanship to a new level with his cool and calm style, not forgetting his famous lightning bolt pose.

If we look at Jesse Owens, the man that transcended athletics because of the racial degrading during the 1930’s, Bolt has crossed a boundary where he is appreciated and revered by all races around the entire globe.

Meanwhile Bolt’s 200m

Richards with cricket but never have we seen an athlete transcend not just athletics but sport itself. Bolt has been named the most marketable athlete in the world while making the most money by an athlete in the history of the athletics.

Usain Bolt is a living legend and for as long as he laces up those Puma spike for Jamaica he will be revered as the greatest athlete the world has ever seen.

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Some action during the tournament

Usain Bolt

New champion to be crown at today’s President’s Cup

– feature race changed to C and Lower

BY RAJIV BISNAUTH

Anew champion will be crowned today when the Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC) stage its annual President’s Cup at the Club’s, Arima Park, West Coast Berbice from noon.

Last year’s champion horse, Score’s Even, will not feature in today’s event as a result of an injured hip. Owner of the racehorse, Dennis DeRoop, confirmed that the animal would not be in action until the annual Boxing Day meet.

Further with Score’s Even absence, organisers have changed the feature A and Lower race to C and Lower.

Chief Coordinator Fazal Habibulla told <<<Guyana Times Sport>>> on Saturday that the distance for the feature race remains one mile with the winning stable set to take home $1.2 million and the President’s Cup.The other races listed for the day are the 1400-metre race for Three-year-old West Indian bred animals for a top prize of $500,000.

The one-mile race for Four-year-old West Indian bred animals and D3 nonewinners for 2015 and those classified E and Lower will also compete for a first prize of $500,000.

There is an event for horses classified F and Lower over 1400m for a top prize of $350,000.

The organisers have also disclosed that there will be no distinction in the Twoyear-old event as both the West Indian and Guyana bred horses are slated to do battle over 1100m for $350,000 and a trophy.

The winner of the G3 and lower 1400m event will get $300,000 and a trophy, while

participate in today’s event

Habibulla also confirmed that all systems are in place for the race meet. “We have put all systems in place and, apart from that, the weather has been excellent for racing, resulting in the track being in tip top shape,” he said.

a competitive field is expected to take to the track in the race for animals classified I and Lower for the $260,000 top prize. That race will be run over a distance of 1100 metres.

Horses running in the J and Lower 1100m event will battle for a first prize of $240,000 and a trophy, while the K and Lower event will see the winner taking home $200,000 and a trophy.

Habibulla confirmed that close to 100 of the country’s top horses will be in action with 9 mouth-watering contests carded for the day.

Races will be run under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority.

Admission to the venue is $1500 for adults and $800 for children over 10 years old, while parking and race programme will be free.

He further indicated that all the big names are set to be on show, adding that a competitive day of racing is definitely in the making.

Reifer, Bishop spur WICB Under-15s to victory on UK Tour

Half-centuries from compatriots Nico Reifer and Joshua Bishop have helped the WICB Invitational Under-15s to victory in the two latest matches on their tour of the United Kingdom.

Reifer cracked 60, spurring the WICB Under-15s to a nine-wicket victory over Hertfordshire Under-15s Thursday at West Herts, while Bishop scored a vital 57, propelling the visitors to a one-wicket victory over Barmy Army Colts on Friday at Stanmore.

On Thursday, Reifer, the younger cousin of former Barbados batsman and West Indies captain Floyd Reifer, smashed five fours and four sixes from 48 balls, as WICB Under-15s successfully chased 135 for victory in a Twenty20 contest at the Herts Under-15s.

Before he was the only scalp claimed by the Herts Under-15s, Reifer shared an opening stand of 91 with Crystian Thurton, whose runa-ball 42 not out included five fours and one six. The visitors’ captain Kirstan Kallicharran was not out on 29.

Collin Barlow was the Caribbean side’s bowling with 3-23 from his allotted four overs, after West Herts won the toss, chose to bat and posted 134 for seven from their 20 overs.

On Friday, a rearguard innings from Bishop which included four fours and five sixes from 41 balls catapulted the WICB Under-15s to victory.

The visitors were wobbling on 42 for seven in the 18th over, chasing 143 for vic-

tory, before Bishop entered to get them back on track with a stand of 83 for the eighth wicket, with Johnnel Eugene, son of former Windward Islands batsman John Eugene, supporting with 30.

Earlier, Raewin Senior grabbed 4-22 from nine overs and Eugene captured 3-20 from the same number of overs to undermine the Barmy Army Colts’ batting.

The WICB Invitational Under-15s take a break on Saturday before returning to the field of play for the Lashings & House of Commons/House of Lords Twenty20 Tournament at The Mote.

Summarised scores: At West Herts CC on Thursday, August 27: WICB Invitational Under-15s won by 9 wickets. HERTFORDSHIRE UNDER-15s 134 for seven off 20 overs (A. Neal 39, A. Verdi 32, W. Latham 23 not out, O. Marin 22 not out; Collin Barlow 3-23, Nyeem Young 2-36). WICB INVITATIONAL UNDER-15s 135 for one off 17.2 overs (Nico Reifer 60, Crystian Thurton 42 not out, Kirstan Kallicharran 29 not out). At Stanmore CC on Friday, August 28: WICB Invitational Under-15s won by one wicket. BARMY ARMY COLTS 142 off 43.2 overs (A. Laws-Mather 40, W. Latham 25, A. Neal 24 not out; Raewin Senior 4-22, Johnnel Eugene 3-20, Nyeem Young 2-18). WICB INVITATIONAL UNDER-15s 143 for nine off 37.5 overs (Joshua Bishop 57, Johnnel Eugene 30; C. Yorath 3-26, T. Stock 2-22, A. Neal 2-26). (CMC)

The Rising Sung Turf Club looks in tip top shape for today’s President’s Cup

Fazal Habibulla collects the President’s Cup trophy from a representative from Trophy Stall

A new champion will be crowned in today’s President’s Cup, since defending champion, Score’s Even, will not

Persaud wins NSC feature race

Veteran rider Robin Persaud rode away with top honours in the annual National Sports Commission (NSC) 11race cycling programme on Saturday to signal the close of the 39th “Teach Them Young” cycle academy at the National Park.

settle for fourth.

The top four finishers had sprinted away from the small field of 11 starters as early as the first lap and kept increasing their lead. That early move by the quartet all but finalised the outcome of the race, as they were never caught

camp, which was held over the last six weeks at the inner circuit of the National Park. It was conducted by national coach Hassan Mohamed and sponsored exclusively by the NSC.

The riders were on hand to showcase what they would have learnt from the

Persaud of the Carlton Wheelers Cycle Club crossed the line in a time of one hour, 16 minutes, 32.56 seconds (01h: 16m: 32.56s) to notch up the win ahead of fellow veteran rider and long-time rival, Junior Niles of Team Coco’s.

Young talent Jamal John of Team Coco’s rode in third, while Team Alanis’ Paul DeNobrega, who suffered a puncture on the final 300m of the race, had to

throughout the gruelling encounter.

Raul Leal of Team Evolution Gillette and Paul Choo Wee Nam of Team Alanis occupied fifth and sixth positions respectively. DeNobrega copped three of the eight prime prizes, while Niles and John had two each, and Persaud collected the other.

The event was held to coincide with the conclusion of the annual cycling

camp, and they competed in the several BMX events, which were organised to gauge their progress.

In the 6-9, the talented Alexander Leung copped top honours with Simeon Chee taking second and John Niles third, while Zab James won the 9-12. Thuran Garbarran emerged winner of the 1214, while Adelia Hodge, who was given a new bicycle by Ricks and Sari Agro

RHTY&SC to celebrate township’s 45th anniversary

The village of Rose Hall was granted the status of township on the September 20, 1970, by the Administration of the late Prime Minister of Guyana, Linden Forbes Samspon Burnham.

The village was sold to 57 former slaves by Henry John Baird, a European planter, and then became the fifth town in Guyana.

The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC), the leading youth and sport organisation in Guyana, is based in the country’s smallest town and over the last 25 years has contributed to the development of the township.

The club serves residents of the town by hosting 200 programmes/activities under the sub-headings of sport, culture, charity, proeducation, anti-drugs, anti-suicide, honour/awards, youth development, community development, religious, social and personal development, among others.

To mark the town’s 45th

anniversary, the RHTY&SC and its cricket teams, Rose Hall Town Farfan and Mendes Under-15, Bakewell Under-17 and Second Division, Pepsi Under-19, Metro Females and Gizmos and Gadgets Under-21 and First Division teams would be organising several activities.

These includes a 20/20 cricket match at the Area “H” ground, an Inter-ward basketball tournament, unveiling of a 45th anniversary billboard, hosting of the Assuria Insurance 5-over cricket tournament, distribution of footwear to less fortunate students across Berbice and the launching of a leaflet on the history of the town.

The teams would also be hosting a medical outreach programme in conjunction with the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, an InterPrimary School Spelling Bee competition, an Evening of Music with the Guyana Defence Force and a Public Exhibition.

Club Secretary and

Industries for being the best rider of the camp, finished second. Ronaldo Narine won the other BMX race, the 12-14 Boys and Girls.

In other results, Jude Bentley, Junior Niles and

Ian Jackson were 1-2-3 in the Veterans Under-50, while Linden Blackman won the Over-50. Jamal

John won the Juveniles race ahead of Raphael Leung and Kemuel Moses, while Marcus Keiler took the Mountain Bike event from Makel Diaz and Jadon Herbert. Administrator of the NSC, Gervy Harry, was on hand to assist in the presentation of prizes.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Hilbert Foster, stated that the teams and the club would be funding most of the activities as a way of saying thank you to the township for its support over the years.

Foster also disclosed that the RHTY&SC would also be spearheading the construction of a Community Recreational Park for residents. This project would be a joint project with the Guyana Police Force B Division, the RHTY&SC and the residents under the “Say No to Crime Programme”.

The project is currently in its planning stage and is expected to be completed by March 2016. Efforts would also be made to assist sport organisations and schools in the Rose Hall Town area with sport gear/equipment.

This would be done, according to the long-serving Secretary/CEO, so that the clubs and schools can promote sport as an alternative to a life on the road for youths.

The top performers of the NSC 11-race programme display their trophies and prime prizes

iNet Communications U-13 Football…

Santos stun Fruta Conquerors to lift title

BY AVENASH RAMZAN

Santos pulled off a dramatic 3-1 victory on Saturday afternoon to deny Fruta Conquerors the iNet Communications Under-13 Football title on familiar turf at the Tucville ground. With both teams enjoy-

ing solid support behind the lines, Fruta Conquerors surged ahead in the first half, before Santos equalised in the second to force the game into extra time. Now with the momentum and confidence, Santos drove home two more goals in extra time against a visibly tired Fruta Conquerors

unit, whose defence did little to maintain their unbeaten run in the competition.

In the blazing afternoon sunshine, Jermain Garrett put the host ahead in the 20th minute, much to the delight of the Fruta Conquerors supporters. At that point, it was hard to believe it was going to be their lone moment

Bolt secures third sprint sweep as Jamaica win 4x100m relay

Usain Bolt secured a sweep of the sprint golds at a world championships for the third time on Saturday when, aided by a U.S. disqualification, he anchored Jamaica to the 4x100 meters relay title.

The 29-year-old, who had already won the 100 and 200 meters events at the Bird’s Nest Stadium, stormed across the line in 37.36 seconds to give his country a fourth straight world title in the event.

of joy.

After the break, Fabian Abrams, the eventual Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament, equalised for Santos in the 30th minute to send his teammates and supporters into high-octane mode.

As the game headed into extra time, the Santos lads

were the eager of the two teams, as relinquishing their slim lead seemed to have taken a toll on the morale of the Conquerors boys.

The body language would transform into goals, as Santos blasted two unanswered goals to lift the title with ease. Darren Niles put Santos up 2-1 in the 49th minute, before Jermaine Padmore easily converted a penalty stretch his team’s advantage.

Earlier in the day, the third place game was awarded to Renaissance after their opponent, Western Tigers, failed to put in an appearance.

At the presentation ceremony which followed, Abrams received a trophy for being adjudged MVP, while Tyrese Gouveia of Fruta Conquerors copped the Best Goalkeeper award and Bevney Marks of Renaissance was the leading goal scorer with eight goals. The competition was coordinated by the Fruta Conquerors Football Club, and its Secretary Daniel Thomas hailed the final as “one of the best Under-13 games we’ve seen in a while”. He lauded the courage of both teams, especially the Santos players for their remarkable comeback in the latter half of the game.

The United States team featuring Justin Gatlin, who won silver behind Bolt in both individual sprints, botched their final handover between Tyson Gay and Mike Rodgers and were disqualified after crossing the line second.

That elevated hosts China to a hugely popular silver medal in 38.01 with Canada taking the bronze in 38.13. It was a record-extending 11th world gold for Bolt, who also won three sprint titles at the 2009 and 2013 world championships.

“I told you I was coming here and do my best as always. I was coming here to achieve gold medals and that’s what I did,” Bolt told reporters. turn to page 20 The Jamaican men have not

The Santos boys pose for a photo after copping the title on Saturday afternoon (Avenash Ramzan photos)

Fabian Abrams (backing camera) sets off in celebrations after scoring the equaliser for Santos