Guyana Times Daily

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DAYS

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

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 2859

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

PRICE

Conflict of interest

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

New TIGI President supports transfer of Minister Broomes

P11 US Ambassador to Guyana visits Linden – promises improved engagement with stakeholders

Page 7

Professor’s killing

5 teenagers slapped with murder charge

Jordan’s ‘drug economy’ comment

A “lame excuse” for the Govt’s mismanagement of economy – Ramotar P14

Page 8

Pomeroon still inundated Linden murder suspect confesses P9 to killing accomplice Education P10 Ministry to address ill treatment of teachers – CEO

Town Clerk urges defiant vendors to observe P17 city laws

Residents suffering while waiting for breach to be sealed Page 16

A Lower Pomeroon home under water

BaiShanLin writes UN on vehicles’ seizure Page 3

– says APNU/AFC wants to cripple the company’s operations in Guyana – GRA breached agreement between Govts of Guyana and China

Brazilian company given 10,000 acres for soya, corn cultivation Page 11

...vows to heighten enforcement

$M bids P9 for Region 1 security services, other contracts

2 news

wednesDAY, may 18, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Alleged beating of 5-year-old

Education Ministry launches investigation

T

he Education Ministry has launched an investigation into Stella Maris Primary School, where it was alleged that a five-yearold nursery student was beaten by his teacher.

The child’s mother took to social media to express her deep dissatisfaction with the treatment her child is receiving at the nursery school. Her comments attracted several responses from concerned parents.

Chief Education Officer Olato Sam speaking with Guyana Times said the incident is being investigated and based on the findings, disciplinary actions will be taken against the teacher if found culpable.

On social media, the dis-

The child’s shoulderwhere he was allegedly struck by the teacher

traught mother’s post attracted the attention of former Education Minister Priya Manickchand, who being an Attorney by profession, provided the legal steps that the

mother could take to obtain justice for her child.

According to the mother’s Facebook post, she walked into her child’s school and saw the child crying uncontrollably, to the extent of him failing to form sentences. The mother questioned her son about what happened and he responded saying that “a girl was beating me up and because I slapped her back, teacher hit me.”

The mother is outraged that the teacher did not make the girl apologise to her son for hitting him but instead made the situation worse by subjecting the child to corporal punishment. “The teacher wanted him to put out his hand for a lash and because he refused, she found it necessary to deal him a blow to his shoulder... with a metal ruler... now her explanation to me is...”he was being rude to her,” the mother said.

The mother made serious allegations of improprieties her child has suffered at the school, noting that he was sprayed with Lysol disinfectant spray.

According to her, her son has suffered tremendously at the school. The mother who sought the Ministry’s intervention stated “this is victimisation to the fullest extent and I have had enough! Something has to be done! My child has to get some sort of justification for the trauma he has to go through on a daily basis by the people who have been entrusted to take care of him.”

When contacted, the Head teacher of Stella Maris declined to comment on the matter.

President to address Parade Ground Reparations Rally – actor Danny Glover expected as guest

P

resident David Granger has been confirmed as the main speaker for the Guyana Reparations Commission’s regional youth rally and relay set for Parade ground, Georgetown, on Friday.

Chairman of the Guyana Reparations Commission, Dr Eric Phillips said United States (US) actor Danny Glover, is also expected to attend what is said to be main event of a month-long list of activities for the Caricom International and Regional Youth Reparations Relay and Rally.

According to Dr Phillips, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Initiative began in Barbados on April 16, when Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, Chairman of the Caricom Heads of State Subcommittee on Reparations launched the event. He said President Granger is a sitting member of that Subcommittee and will deliver remarks here.

A reparations Baton – made in Barbados of mahogany wood – was passed on to Guyana at the event

by Chairman of Barbados’ Task Force on Reparations, Professor Pedro Welch, to acting Consul General of Guyana to Barbados, Monique Jackman. It arrived in Guyana on April 19, 2016.

Dr Phillips said the Caricom Relay and Rally

Guyana Reparations Commission Chairman, Dr Eric Phillips

is part of a wider effort to spread the reparations message around the Caribbean, through public education and other initiatives focused on youth.

The May 20 event is part of a large number of activities all across Guyana.

The Reparations Commission Chairman said Friday is the next major activity at Parade ground beginning at 16:00h, with young runners leaving with the Baton at Stabroek where slaves were undocked through several historical stops, including Parliament Building, Cuffy Square, the Sea Walls, then to the Parade ground for the 18:00h programme.

Following the Parade ground event, villages on the East Coast and West

Coast of Demerara will stage their own activities.

The calendar is as follows: the baton will be sent to the next Caricom country after Guyana’s activities are over in May and will tour all 15 Caricom reparation countries this year.

Guyana has produced three replicas of the baton, in beautiful mahogany; one for each of the three original counties of Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice.

Magnificently carved from fine Barbados mahogany wood, the original baton is a symbol of justice – engraved on it is a map of Africa and the words “Reparations Now,” representing the 15 Caricom countries. The relay will culminate in Jamaica later this year where the Emancipation Rebellion, led by Sam Sharpe, will be remembered and celebrated.

Guyana, like the other Caribbean countries, remains steadfast in its calls for Britain to make its due payment to the descendants of those who suffered in the massive slave trade which spread between the 16th and 19th centuries.

Earlier this month, the Caribbean Diaspora was called upon to support Caricom’s calls for the UK to pay reparations as compensation for its involvement in slavery and the slave trade.

3 BaiShanLin writes UN on vehicles’ seizure news

wednesDAY, may 18, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, May 18– 14:30h-16:00h and Thursday, May 19 – 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, May 18– 14:20h-15:50h and Thursday, May 19 – 15:00h-16:30h

F

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

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

Clear skies with the chance of light rain showers are expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly to East North-easterly between 4.02 metres per second and 5.81 metres per second.

High Tide: 02:12h and 14:34h reaching maximum heights of 2.40 metres and 2.39 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 08:10h and 20:25h reaching minimum heights of 0.81 metre and 0.80 metre respectively.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

LOTTERY NUMBERS M 06 07 11 12 19 20 01 Bonus Ball

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Draw De Line 01 02 06 08 09

– says APNU/AFC wants to cripple company’s operations in Guyana – GRA breached agreement between Govts of Guyana and China

19 20

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

ollowing the seizure of two luxury vehicles from BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc last month, principals of the controversial Chinese conglomerate have written the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Ban Ki-moon on the matter, stating that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has breached the agreement between the Governments of Guyana and China.

On April 5, officials from GRA’s Customs Department seized a Lexus SUV with registration number PRR 2888 and a Nissan mini-van with licence plate PRR 3888, belonging to BaiShanLin. Guyana Times was told that the Chinese logging company allegedly has over $50 million outstanding in duties, which it failed to pay within the stipulated time frame.

However, according to the letter dated May 16, 2016, Attorney C V Satram on behalf of the company complained to the UN that the seizure was in breach of the agreement signed by the two countries in March 2003, noting that “the Government of the Republic of Guyana has commenced operations beginning with the seizure of property and the threatened loss to forfeit the company’s investments and to cripple its business in Guyana”.

The letter, which was seen by this newspaper, was also copied to President David Granger. It outlined that BaiShanLin represents Chinese investments in Guyana and Guyana’s relationship with China is threatened by these events; therefore, it was requested that the UN remind Guyana of its obligations.

“I shall be grateful if action can be taken to remind the Government of Guyana and China of their obligations in this regard. The matter is causing severe losses to the company I represent, but it may extend to create impediments to foreign investment in Guyana to the prejudice of the national interest when it becomes known that treaty obligations are not honoured

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon

here,” the letter stated.

Moreover, the correspondence further pointed out that in accordance with the agreement, which is on record with the UN as a treaty between China and Guyana, disputes are to be settled after consultations through diplomatic channels. However, in the event of failure to reach a resolution within six months, then the process of arbitration can be adopted.

On this note, the company said it has called on Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge and the Chinese Ambassador to Guyana Zhang Limin to commence diplomatic consultations with the aim of settling the disputes.

In that letter to Minister Greenidge, the company explained that following the execution of the agreement, BaiShanLin went on to invest enormous sums of money in Guyana and in the development of forest products.

However, since the Administration was changed after the May 2015 General Elections, the new Government has embarked upon a course of activities designed to cripple the company’s operations in Guyana, the Attorney stated.

The latest of which, the letter highlighted, was the imposition of tax liabilities on vehicles for which the company was granted dutyfree concessions by the previous Government.

“The new Government seeks to dismantle the concessionary structure, and

has commenced to seize property (owned by the company)… in pursuance of its tax liability, which the company claims to be unlawful, the Government, through its Revenue Authority, has embarked upon seizures to enforce the tax liability which is denied and is strongly contested,” the correspondence to the Foreign Affairs Minister stated, adding that the investment agreement under which the concessions were granted has not expired.

Moreover, a third letter was dispatched on behalf of the Chinese logging company, this time to the GRA, stating the Authority’s action was in disregard of the international obligations of Guyana under the agreement with China.

“The purported imposition of the liability is unlawful and the imposition of it triggered a dispute between the company and the Government of Guyana,” the letter detailed.

Moreover, Attorney Satram on behalf of the company sought to request that the vehicles be returned within the next week. “On behalf of the company for which I act I hereby call upon you to release and return to the company all property which has been seized from it or has been possessed or confiscated within seven(7) days of the date hereof,” the company’s legal representative stated.

According to BaiShanLin, this is a matter of concern not only to it, but to all investors who wish to undertake investment in Guyana.

Days after the seizure

Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge

just over a month ago, attempts were made by this newspaper to ascertain GRA’s course of action in recouping the outstanding payments. When asked whether the Authority would be filing criminal charges against the foreign company or would opt to settle the matter beforehand, GRA Chairman Rawle Lucas had stated that no decision had been taken at the time.

However, the latter option might be more feasible, he had noted, since Government wants to maintain its relationship with investors, but at the same time ensure that they operate within the confines of the laws of Guyana.

“Remember, what we are trying to do is to make sure that we can try our best to maintain a reasonable relationship that we expect between the Government and the investors; so one should, therefore, expect prudent actions to be taken in order to deal with the matter,” he previously pointed out.

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guyana-times.com

WEDNESdAY, may 18, 2016

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

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

Editorial

What matters most?

I

n life, everyone has their own unique thinking and disposition as it pertains to their perception of what they expect from their Government and holistically, from their economy. Hardly would you find everyone agreeing on a particular perspective, whether it is political or socio-economic. This however, was not the case when it came time to review the performance and progress of the Government after one year in office.

At present, while many could point to a positive situation, they have condemned the Government for its poor management of the country’s economic affairs.

No amount of statistical spin can justify the actual hand being played out on the ground. The poor and middle-class families and workers were haemorrhaging financially, eating away at the little that they were able to accumulate under the growth of the previous Administration. People stopped spending altogether, only allocations were made for the basic provisions such as food, indeed, in some cases, that is all that could be allocated for.

After one year, everything came to a screeching halt. Why is that? We don’t believe that it was the Government’s intention to have the economy reach to this point. But the Government has played a significant role in maintaining this drought by not advancing any meaningful stimulus packages that would jolt the economy and proliferate internal consumption, thereby increasing spending.

Further exacerbating Government’s predicament is its perceptible short-term disposition as it pertains to investment and economic growth. Within its one year in office, instead of investing in projects that would elevate the productive or manufacturing sectors, the Government has plugged monies into projects such as the creation of the D’Urban Park Stadium, an entity that beyond providing jobs during its construction, will not provide any returns on the investments made, only incurring further expenditure for its upkeep and maintenance.

The monies for its upkeep would invariably come from the pockets of tax payers.

Had the Government invested the millions spent on the Park project to instead bailout and diversify the ailing sugar industry, there would have been 2000 workers still receiving a paycheque, which would have through local domestic consumption, aided in providing the impetus needed to propel the stagnant economy.

The Government’s apparent downsizing of the industry by acquiescing to the closure of two of its prominent estates is also seen as a retrograde move, especially when there is scope to diversify the surplus tonnes of sugar that the international market no longer wants into an alternative, eco-friendly form of fuel, which is ethanol.

What is paradoxically significant at this juncture is to note the pronouncements made by President Granger who in calling for more Caribbean countries to invest in Guyana via agricultural production said in his weekly televised “Public Interest” programme that “the Trinidadians are welcome to come. They had an interest in Canje, and the intermediate savannahs. It depends on the crop they want to produce. If they want to produce sugar cane to produce ethanol, I would welcome, yes.”

So on one side the government is downsizing on the domestic production of sugar, knowing very well that it could be used in the production of ethanol and on the other side they are advocating for the increased production of sugar from another country, utilising our lands, to produce ethanol.

There seems to be no clear cut vision on the part of the Government as to where its wants to be in the long run, especially where the developmental economics of the country is involved. These same inconsistencies are manifesting itself across Guyana and making businesses and persons who have money to invest in the economy reluctant to want to do so, thereby contributing to its stagnation further.

In the final analysis, the Government needs to understand what matters most to the people of this country and start putting in place proper long-term mechanisms to facilitate the proliferation of the manufacturing sectors, the creation of jobs and worthwhile investments such as cheap energy. This would encourage multinational corporations to want to invest here, thereby further stimulating the growth of the economy and in the long run, uplifting the standard of living of the most vulnerable in our society.

A girl sits on her boat at a Bak Angrout dried up pond at the drought-hit Kandal province in Cambodia, May 13

(Reuters)

I have never experienced such an acrimonious, unhealthy atmosphere Dear Editor, I just returned to Guyana in time to join the celebration for our nation’s Jubilee after a busy business trip negotiating for the expanding of the Dynamic flights between New York and Guyana.

On my return, I was astonished to learn of the verbal abuse unleashed on me by Mike Correia in the presence of President Granger, senior members of the Cabinet, members of the diplomatic corps and the full media corps at the renaming of the Ogle International Airport, primarily because I dared to represent the views of the nine dissatisfied aircraft operators at the Ogle Airport.

It is said Mike Correia rules his family business with an iron fist, the same way he attempts to run the airport management and his competitors.

It is not unusual to watch him shout Malcolm Chan-a-Sue and Kit Nascimento into silence during board meetings, this being one of the very reasons I deliberately stay away because of the hostility that predominates meetings chaired by him.

Mike Correia is not an aviation professional of any sort and his embarrassing attempt at trying to drive a wedge between professional aviators such as Captain Chan-a-Sue, Captain Tony Mecdeci and myself is a cheap shot.

It is my hope that even though both of them work for him, that does not spoil the mutually respectful professional relationship we shared over the past four

decades.

Mike Correia is extremely intolerant of opinions that are opposed to his own, and it is obvious that he is possessed by an extreme sense of false supremacy driven by his family’s money and which had driven him into believing that his family’s money could indeed buy the Ogle Airport (a public utility) and transform it into a department of the CORREIA GROUP. (Just look at the Correia Group website) It is important to note that I represent NATA as its Vice President, (an organisation that represents nine of the 10 local aircraft operators), a responsibility I take very seriously and, therefore, I view Mike Correia’s outrageous outburst as a clear demonstration of the disrespect he harbours personally for all the other nine local operators at Ogle, as well as an opportunity for all the persons who were sitting in the audience to truly, once and for all, see his true arrogant colours.

On a personal note, my wife and I are particularly saddened by his public demeaning of the little fortune which we have struggled to consolidate to invest in OAI while we were also struggling to build our company (Roraima Airways), which is a first-generation family company being built from the ground up, while Mike Correia is managing a third-generation company (the Correia Group) built by his grandparents.

I think it is important to highlight that the Airport was leased to five aircraft

operators with the clear understanding that the Airport would be operated by those operators and in a fair and equitable manner, a far cry from the anti-competitive environment that exists today.

Over the past 40 years , while Mike Correia’s father was continuing the building of their family’s gold mining business in preparation to hand it over to him one day on a silver platter, I was serving in the Guyana National Service, planting cotton at Kimbia, singing national songs, while learning to build my country by living and working in harmony with my Guyanese brothers and sisters from all walks of life across Guyana.

I was also serving my country as an army officer and military pilot flying dangerous Medivac missions both by day and by night between the mountains of the deep Mazaruni , bringing vital supplies to our Amerindian families living in the most remote areas of our country’s hinterland, all in the interest of contributing to making my country a better place.

The fact that Mike Correia ranted and raved in his attempt to belittle me, even suggesting that I am anti-national, in front of His Excellency, Brigadier General David Granger, a man, under whose command I had the honour and privilege of serving for more than a decade is revealing in how far Mike Correia will go to silence the minority shareholders and his competitors at the

Ogle Airport.

Even as I write this letter , there is another controversy developing at the Airport , where once again Mike Correia is attempting to heist the engineering school away from the Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana (AOAG) , into a private company owned by himself and Malcolm Chan-aSue, a company which was registered within the past month.

It’s important to note that this School has been part of the AOAG over the past 20 years, even as Mike Correia manipulated the AOAG governance systems, keeping himself as President all during those 20 years, which is unprecedented in the Private Sector.

I have been a professional aviator for 40 years and I have never experienced such an acrimonious unhealthy atmosphere that exists today at Ogle.

A lot was said and written publicly about the challenges we are facing at Ogle Airport; I would, therefore, close by saying it is my fervent hope that the Government intervenes urgently in a meaningful and even-handed way to halt and reverse the unhealthy and dangerously deteriorating inter-personal relationship between Mike Correia personally and all the other aircraft operators which is not healthy for the Airport nor for Guyana’s aviation industry.

Sincerely, Captain Gerry Gouveia CEO, Roraima Airways

guyana-times.com

WEDNESDAY, may 18, 2016

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

What will be renamed next?

Dear Editor, David Granger fired the first salvo in pursuit of his historical mission to misinterpret and revise Guyana’s contemporary political history.

In the course of a lecture delivered at Parliament Building on July 6, 2012, he declared; “There is no Father of the Nation, Independence cannot be attributed to a single person or to a single party.”

With this single sentence, Granger dismissed out of hand any role for both Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham, by the same token, he distanced himself from Burnham, his benefactor, “the Kabaka” and Founder Leader of the Party – the People’s National Congress (PNC) – he now heads.

A mere three years later, Amna Ally speaking at a ceremony hosted by the Women’s Arm of the PNC on August 7, 2015, contradicted Granger. She publicly hailed Burnham as “the Father of the Nation”.

It was the politics of deception at work.

In the same month and year to mark the same occasion but at a different venue, Granger made a 90 degree about turn, probably to appease the Nortons and other hardline Burnhamites, who had expressed publicly their disagreement with Granger’s earlier “Father of the Nation” statement.

Praising Burnham, this is what Granger had to say: “Guyanese, are heirs of a rich legacy bequeathed

by Forbes Burnham… we draw strength from our former leader’s exemplary record and renew our collective effort to continue his life’s work and to create a good life for all Guyanese.”

Continuing his historical mission to dictate the course of history and to provide his own interpretation of Guyana’s political history, speaking at a President’s College Graduation ceremony in November 2015, Granger declared that Guyana needs a “Second Independence”.

He stated that “The independence movement was “incomplete”... it left many citizens languishing in the shadow of dependency with its poverty, prejudices and political partisanship.”

Granger completely and consciously side-stepped the programmes and policies implemented by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) from 1957 to 1964 but more importantly, those implemented from 1992 to 2015.

At the ceremony marking the 49th anniversary of Guyana’s independence held at the Independence Arch

at Brickdam, Georgetown, Granger praised to the skies one Theopholus Lee who he claimed played a major role in the Guyanese people’s struggle for Universal Adult Suffrage – a rather far-fetched and obscurantist approach to Guyanese political history. It was a falsehood which could not survive a test of a Guyanese history lesson nor scrutiny of British Guiana’s historical records.

It astounded many that Granger would scrape the barrel searching for an obscure and a non-entity as Lee, a turncoat who openly supported pro-colonial policies against the citizens of the then British Guiana.

It came as a surprise therefore that Granger did not use the occasion to name the Brickdam Arch after Theopholus Lee. But this was not to be the end of the revisionist and obscurantist approach to Guyana’s contemporary political history. In fact, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of our country’s independence, Mr Granger was at it again. This time, he delved deep into his party’s album in search of a hero who perhaps Burnham himself never liked anyway.

Thus, Granger came up with the name Eugene Correia.

The question was where was the name to be placed?

A location had to be found to assign the name and, after all, what better place can there be than the Ogle International Airport.

The President therefore took it upon himself to sell the name and to publicly justify the name being emblazoned atop the main terminal building at the Ogle International Airport.

In this way, Granger opened a can of worms, all hell broke loose, the proposal became mired in controversy from the very outset but there was no turning back.

Eugene Correia belonged to privileged and propertied class of the then British Guiana. Following the removal of the PPP Government as a result of the suspension of the Constitution by the colonial powers, he was elected a member of the 1954 Interim Government.

Correia belonged to the National Democratic Party (NDP) which fought the PPP in 1953 elections. Correia’s party was closely associated with the League of Coloured People (LCP); a party that

appealed to African racism. Correia, along with others, opposed the Rice Farmers’ Security of Tenure Ordinance.

According to Cheddi Jagan, “The Ordinance sought to help rice farmers during droughts and floods and to secure and protect their rights. For a landlord who did not keep drains and trenches free from bush; the penalty was again; that the tenant would vacate the land. The landlord deliberately did not uphold the rules of good estate management. And vacating the land was the last thing the tenant wanted to do – The law was of no value to him”.

So much for the “admirable role” played by Eugene Correia. Rice farmers today should take note of these historical facts as they continue to struggle for survival 50 years later.

Guyana can look forward to more of these brazen and disrespectful acts as we move towards celebrating the 50th anniversary of our country’s independence.

Respectfully, Clement Rohee General Secretary People’s Progressive Party

I received no Bill from Minister Patterson Dear Editor, In a Kaieteur News article published on Saturday, May 14, 2016, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson was quoted as saying that I had been furnished with a copy of

the “Draft Bill on Aviation Safety Standards”. As the Opposition spokesperson on Public Infrastructure, I did not receive any such Bill sent either by way of email or hand delivery at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.

Minister Patterson should therefore desist from misleading the public on this matter.

Sincerely, Bishop Juan Edghill, Member of Parliament PPP/C

Defence of Minister Broomes Dear Editor, It fascinates me, the hearts of men, when within them ‘cynicism’ exits to berate and torture the very people who upon them, shew only wondrous munificence and love. I am talking about the recent articles against Minister Broomes and her character.

Note, I am not writing to bash the ignorant writers, but instead wish to highlight their inaccuracy and vindictive reproach toward a woman.

Although I have not yet been given the pleasure of meeting Minister Broomes, her pure and transparent work within the fields of human trafficking, and social issues altogether, precedes her.

Let us take a moment to reflect upon the humble beginnings of this one woman. An entrepreneur, she bought and sold gold before acquiring enough money to begin mining. Unlike the thousands who would have traversed the interiors of Guyana, witness human injustices and deemed them normalcy, Minister Broomes saw inhumanity and her heart ached.

Establishing the Guyana Women Miners Organisation, she was recognised by a foreign people before she was bestowed any honour from here at home. Now in the position where she can help even more people.

William Shakespeare enlightened, “How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.” She must have shone

too brightly for the present government, so they tried to dim her light by transferring her to another ministry. Dare I say, that even this, worked not against her?

Consequently, evil tries another method of debasement: to produce frivolous inaccuracies. Facts: A doctor, who later becomes a minister, can never cease his family from practicing medicine. Minister Broomes, a former miner, cannot cease her family from mining. And this is the issue at hand today! A minister and mother with children invested in mining. Shall I say it, or is Guyana at least competent enough to decipher that this is not a matter worth writing about much less publishing.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,” preached Martin Luther King Jr. Brothers and sisters, be wise, remember these words, and let us not crucify another good man.

Sincerely, Joseph Hardatt

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wednesday, may 18, 2016

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guyana-times.com

Foundation

Academic skills your child needs for high school 10 tips to prepare your

BY AMANDA MORIN

At a glance

* High school children need the skills to think critically about all types of information, including numbers and what they read. * High school reading skills include being able to analyze books, infographics, websites and other forms of writing. * High school Maths skills include the ability to understand how formulas are related and how they apply in the real world.

High school students often have a lot more choices about which classes to take than they did in middle school. They also sometimes get to choose the order in which they take classes.

For example, some students opt to take Algebra II right after Algebra I. Others hold off so they can sandwich geometry in between.

This kind of flexibility helps explain why the Common Core State Standards – which have been adopted in recent years by over 40 states – don’t break down by grade level what children are expected to learn in high school.

To help prepare for ninth grade and beyond, eighth graders spend a lot of time learning to analyze and interpret information – to think beyond what’s on the page. Here are some highlights of what skills children are expected to have by the beginning of ninth grade, according to Common Core State Standards.

Skills to get ready for high school: English Language Arts and Literacy

In preparation for high school, eighth graders read

fiction and nonfiction from many time periods and cultures. These might include an autobiography such as Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, by Frederick Douglass (1845) and a novel about slavery,Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor (1976).

By the time students begin ninth grade, they’re expected to know how to be critical readers and decide whether the information makes sense or seems correct. In eighth grade, children learn to do activities like these to strengthen language skills: * Identify the exact

meaning of something read and what’s implied by the word choice, tone and use of language. * Decide whether a writer’s argument has enough good evidence and reasoning to back it up. * Connect ideas and information in writing in a natural and effective way. * Analyse why information is presented in one media format over another (interactive maps vs videos, for example). * Develop a vocabulary of academic words and phrases to use in writing and discussion.

* Make sense of figures of speech (such as puns or idioms) based on the context in which they are used.

Skills to get ready for high school: Mathematics

Eighth graders use all the Maths concepts and skills they’ve learned in sixth and seventh grade to start learning algebra.

They start using many variables to work with expressions and learn about numbers known as “irrational numbers” – ones you can’t write as numerals, decimals or fractions. The following Maths activities strengthen Maths skills to help children get ready for high school: * Learn that rational

numbers can be written as a decimal (such as 3/4 = .75) or a fraction (2 = 2/1), but that the same isn’t true for irrational numbers (such as the square root of 2). * Figure out the square roots of perfect squares (such as the square root of 64 = 8). * Solve and graph equations; figure out the ratio of two numbers by looking at a line on a graph. * Learn the meaning of a function—a rule that gives a variable a value based on its relationship to another variable (such as 2x = y). * Determine when

shapes are of equal size and shape (congruent) and when they are the same shape but of different sizes (similar). * Use the Pythagorean theorem (a2 + b2 = c2) to find the lengths of the sides of a right triangle. * Find the volume of cylinders, cones and spheres.

The skills needed for high school go beyond memoris0ation. Understanding real-world relevance is key.

At home, there are skills you can practice to help your child get ready for high school. Prepare her for high school reading and writing by practicing how to understand puns and “figures of speech.” Finding ways to use decimals and fractions in daily activities (such as calculating tips or tax) can help her get ready for high school Maths classes.

Remember that children learn at different rates. If your child has mastered most of these skills by the end of eighth grade, that’s good news. If, however, your child is struggling to learn a number of these skills, it’s a good idea to speak with the teacher. Together you can come up with a plan for addressing your child’s challenges. (www.understood. org)

Key takeaways

* There are specific Maths and reading skills – including the ability to think critically about numbers and text – your child is expected to have by the time she enters high school. * If you’re concerned about your child’s progress, talk to her teacher about next steps. * You can practice skills at home with your child to help prepare her for high school. (www.understood.org)

child for high school

S

tarting secondary school is exciting, but it’s a big step up from primary school. Getting used to the change can be difficult for some young people and first-day jitters can be hard to overcome.

Here are some tips to help prepare your child for high school Be positive and enthusiastic

Your child is more likely to look forward to starting high school if you’re positive about it.

Attend orientation events

Most high schools offer an open day in the second semester where grade six students and their parents can attend, meet teachers and tour the facilities.

Find a school buddy for your child

This may be a neighbour’s child or an older playmate. Some high schools have their own ‘buddy system’, where older children at the school look out for new students.

Understand the school routine

Being familiar with timetables, scheduled breaks and start or finish times can help your child to know what to expect from their school day.

Be prepared ahead of time

Involve your child in getting their books, uniform and travel pass organised well in advance of their start date, so they feel reassured and don’t have to worry.

Visit the school over the August holidays, if possible

Stroll around the grounds to familiarise your child with the location of the toilets, office, lockers and sports facilities.

Figure out the travel route

Talk with your child about how they will get to and from school, and explore the route with them a few times before they start.

Practise travelling to and from school

If they’re walking or catching public transport, go with your child or arrange someone else to accompany them until they are confident travelling on their own.

Have an emergency safety plan

Be clear about who your child should contact and what you expect them to do in an emergency. Be calm and matterof-fact about issues such as crossing major roads on their own or catching public transport if you are unable to arrange a lift for them.

Encourage your child to talk about their feelings

They may be anxious about making the transition to high school or they may experience difficulties settling in once they start. Reassure them that it’s normal to have mixed feelings about starting a new school. (www. betterhealth.vic.gov.au)

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wednesday, may 18, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Conflict of interest

New TIGI President supports transfer of Minister Broomes

A

s conflict of interest concerns continue to rage over Junior Natural Resources Minister Simona Broomes’ mining interests and current oversight of the mining sector, newly-appointed President of the local corruption watchdog, Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI), Troy Thomas said the entire situation was embarrassing, and supported calls for the Minister to be transferred to another Ministry.

Broomes’ mining interests came under scrutiny over the weekend after information surfaced suggesting she was granted another Mining Permit H43/MP/000 by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).

However, the Minister denied this, noting that the Simona Broomes mentioned in the documents which were made public is her daughter who shares the same name.

She said her mining interests were transferred to her two children, thus removing any cloud of conflict of interest that may linger.

When contacted on

Newly-appointed TIGI President Troy Thomas

Tuesday, Thomas said that TIGI did not discuss the Broomes issue thus far.

“This issue we have not discussed,” he stated, but promised to hold talks with the TIGI executive on the issue soon.

However, when asked about a personal perspective on the issue, Thomas said that while he recognised the Minister has found herself in a tough spot, she will at some point have to make a decision.

“Because if mining is all I have been doing all my life, then it becomes a choice between that and being Minister and I see that from a personal standpoint as being something harsh,” he conceded, but agreed that the Minister’s presence in the Ministry which has oversight of the mining sector does create a conflict of interest..

“They might also argue that she has expertise in that area, but I am not sure I will buy that, because ultimately she is working in that area and Guyana is a small country and the contacts with officials will be very close, so I think it does create a conflict of interest from a personal standpoint,” he stated.

Thomas also said he supported the position that the Minister should be reassigned to another Ministry, which could significantly reduce the accusations of a conflict of interest.

“It might indeed be better if she has to be a minister, to go somewhere else, because no matter how you turn, it doesn’t look good,”

DPP office to host public outreach programme

I

n an effort to better serve the needs of the public, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack will on Friday hold a public outreach programme in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam).

The objective of this programme, according to the office’s Communications Officer Liz Rahaman, is to meet with members of the public who have concerns

and complaints about criminal matters and need assistance.

The outreach programme forms part of the DPP chambers’ constitutional mandate “to be of service to people” and owing to the high number of complaints received from residents in Region Two, the office considered it imperative that the Region be helped “with the aim of ensuring that justice is served in an efficient

and timely manner”.

Rahaman is, however, requesting from the Regional Chairman’s Office, its cooperation in the facilitation of the use of the regional boardroom, to meet with the public on the above specified date between 09:00h and 14:30h, and has expressed commendations on behalf of the DPP to the Regional Chairman for his anticipated cooperation.

Junior Natural Resources Minister Simona Broomes

he opined.

Last Sunday, two other anti-corruption advocates suggested that the Minister be transferred from the Natural Resources Ministry.

Political commentator Dr Henry Jeffrey contended that the only way concerns of conflict of interest could be eliminated was by completely removing the Minister from the Natural Resources Ministry.

“I don’t think Minister Broomes understands clearly what conflict of interest means. I can understand her dilemma being in mining all this time and you know it’s a family business, and she is now in the Ministry involved with mining. What she should be

asking is for Government to remove her from there and put her somewhere else.

She could be in another Ministry,” Dr Jeffrey stated.

Another political commentator and economist Ramon Gaskin reasoned that Broomes’ decision to transfer her mining operations to her children did not put to rest conflict of interest concerns.

“That doesn’t solve the problem because when the children go into Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to do business, they know that the children’s mother is the Minister, so that really don’t solve the problem,” he explained.

Despite these concerns of conflict of interest, there has been no official statement from Government regarding this issue.

However, Broomes told a news conference Monday that she was not moved by this “deliberate attempt to besmirch” her character and those of her children.

The Minister, who has spent some 28 years as a miner, said that while her children continue to operate in the mining sector, there is no preferential treatment, as rather her children were “toeing the line”.

Broomes boasted that prior to becoming a Minister, she maintained

a spotless character and it was her intention to continue to maintain that character and leave a legacy of transparency and accountability.

“It is not an easy task, but I have committed. I am one of the female Ministers that will stand tall and I will not buckle,” she said.

Some transparency and accountability advocates are maintaining that the Minister’s decision to transfer her mining interests to her children do not remove the cloud of conflict of interest, since they are in essence managing her business.

They also suggested that the Minister was in breach of the Government’s highlytouted Code of Conduct for Ministers, parliamentarians and other public officials, even before its implementation.

A transparency and accountability advocate recalled an almost similar situation when the daughter of then Minister of Human Services under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Administration, Jennifer Webster was forced to resign as a director from Natural Globe Inc, a recycling company that won the bid to develop a plant here, after conflict of interest arguments were raised

by Broomes’ party while in Opposition.

8 news

wednesDAY, may 18, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Professor’s killing

5 teenagers slapped Eyew tness with murder charge What's I

going on...

t was complete mayhem in the compound of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts when the five teenagers charged with brutally murdering retired University Professor Perry Mars made their entrance.

The teens – two females and three males – hid their faces while being escorted to court under the watchful eyes of nearly a dozen Police Officers.

A number of persons flocked the court compound to get a glimpse of the teenagers.

Meanwhile, Police Officers barred members of the media from standing on the court steps to take

A

The female suspects being escorted by Police Officers

The male suspects being escorted by Police Officers

photographs and they were also not allowed to enter the courtroom to witness the in-camera proceedings.

The five teens were not required to plead to the indictable charge of murder.

The 15-year-old teenage girl involved in the incident was charged as a juvenile, while the others were charged as adults.

They were all remanded to prison.

Mars, of Bissessar Avenue, Prashad Nagar, Greater Georgetown, was found bound and beaten in his home about 18:30h

on Thursday by his wife.

He was rushed to a hospital where he later succumbed.

The alleged teen murderers were all arrested on Friday last as persons in the area identified them as the persons who were seen leaving Mars’ yard with suitcases and bags filled with valuables.

The stolen items were said to have been recovered in the homes of the teens in Sophia and Campbellville.

They are expected to make their next court appearance on June 14.

Suspect confesses to fatal Hadfield St stabbing

A

Houston, Greater Georgetown man on Tuesday confessed to fatally stabbing another man outside White Castle Fish Shop on Hadfield Street, Georgetown, almost three weeks ago.

Mark Anthony Barkley, 37, a labourer of Lot 38 Houston Back Road, was arrested around 18:00h on Tuesday in relation to the murder of 26-year-old Gordon Ross, called “Black Boy”, who was found on

John Street, Georgetown.

According to a previous Police report, Ross was found around 01:40h on May 30, with stab wounds about his body. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital by publicspirited persons and succumbed while receiving medical attention.

While being questioned by investigators on Tuesday, Barkley admitted to the crime. He told detectives that on the day

in question some time after midnight, he was at the Fish Shop dancing.

The suspect went on to say that the deceased reportedly became upset because everybody liked his dancing. “He (Barkley) said that the deceased took off his belt and hit him, causing him to fall to the ground. Then the deceased pulled out a knife from his waist and stabbed him in his right palm,” a Police source told

Guyana Times.

This newspaper was further told that Barkley then kicked Ross to his crotch resulting in the knife falling to the ground. The suspect said he picked up the weapon and stabbed Ross about his body four to five times before running away from the scene.

Barkley also told detectives that he disposed of the knife, but could not recall where.

...in the economy

nd here it was your Eyewitness thought the Government – at least the President and his Cabinet would've sat down and had their own first-year review of steering the shop of state. Prezzie didn't back down from his assertion things "na regulah" because the six sisters of the traditional economy – sugar, rice, bauxite, gold, diamond and timber – were all "anaemic".

But here came his Finance Minister Jordan, contradicting his boss and claiming the conceded downturn in the economy was really due to the sterling efforts of our lawmen in nipping nefarious criminal efforts in the bud! All the money usually garnered from crimes and pumped into the economy by free-spending criminals had all dried up because of the new, invigorated efforts of our men in blue!

Really? So does the Finance Minister have a base line on which he makes his assertion? Take cocaine smuggling.

After all, the number of armed robberies doesn't seem to've decreased significantly when compared to those of the last years. How does the Honourable Minister know that in fact even more drugs aren't being transhipped through our borders?

Did Dataram, who willingly gave some details of what's going down in the drug trade, say CANU officers aren't returning as high a percentage of seized drugs back into the streets? Do we have some numbers from the new DEA office that's been set up here? Or is it they've had a "chilling effect" on the drug trade? We expect loose talk with no cause and effect linkages from the Minister of Public Security – with his wild speculations on reducing crime by closing bars at 2pm – but a Minister of Finance? Jeez!!

Economics aspires to be "Queen of the Social Sciences" and Finance plugs in more of those equations than any sub-field of economics. We expect a little more rigorous analysis, nuh? But moving on to answer the second question – "whatcha gonna do 'bout it?", the Minister again flattered to deceive. He did start out on the right foot by asserting there "will have" to be some "stimulus" to prime pump the economy.

But he didn't elaborate. Instead he went on to suggest more "value added" industries were necessary. And interestingly enough, picked gold. We should take our raw gold and make "coins". Coins? Does the Minister really believe our coins – which would have to be legal tender – will be worth a premium when we dilute their content?

And making them into jewellery? Didn't he hear SARU just defined all jewellery as "money" and can seize anything more than US$10,000 worth?

That's just 8 ozs of gold bling! Half of our Jubilee visitors might end up in jail?

...with Public Servants

Prezzie just delivered some tough love to Public Servants.

Stop dawdling on the job, he said, and maybe they'll get a raise. Maybe. And in this he's going to get a helluva lot of support from the man in the street. In Guyana, politicians pander too much just to get votes. When the PPP came into office in 1992, the IMF had already issued a directive to the PNC Government to radically reduce the Public Service.

(Just as they recently ordered the Barbados Government.)

President Hoyte duly started pruning and called it "retrenchment". In came the PPP in 1992 and put a halt to the downsizing! They wanted to ingratiate themselves with the Public Servants. True story – just check the figures!

Point is, when they DID want to improve "efficiency", it was too late. Napping on the job was once again taken as an entitlement.

President Granger's wise to demand increased productivity for increased pay!

...in sugar

What happened? One day after the announcement that Tony Vieira was appointed "Director of Field Operations", GuySuCo announced there's "no such position" in the corporation.

So what is Vieira? Head rat catcher? They certainly need one since those critters are wreaking havoc in the cane fields.

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

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9

wednesday, may 18, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Murder suspect confesses to killing accomplice

F

ollowing his arrest on Saturday at Kurupakari Crossing, Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo), wanted murder suspect Stafrei Hopkinson Alexander confessed to investigators that he killed his accomplice, Robin Maxwell Thomas.

Alexander, 30, of Lot 129 Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was arrested and charged along with Thomas, 25, of Caneview Avenue, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, for the murder of businesswoman Shevon Gordon of Wismar, Linden, during a robbery on April 4, 2015.

However, last December, the duo escaped from lawful custody at the Mackenzie Police Station. As such, the Police issued wanted bulletins for them. But after evading Police ranks for six months, Alexander was arrested in a vehicle at a checkpoint in the area.

During interrogation over the past few days, the suspect confessed to investigators that he killed Thomas. This was confirmed by Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, who stated that another murder case was also made out against the suspect after he confessed to another murder on Tuesday.

According to details provided by Police sources, Alexander reportedly told detectives that he did not want his accomplice to implicate him in the murder of the businesswoman. The suspect dis-

$M bids for Region 1 security services, other contracts

M

illions of dollars in bids were opened for the provision of security services, among others, in Region One (Barima-Waini), as the National Procurement and Tender

BIDDER RK’s Guyana Security Service Sentinel Security Service Strategic Action Security Service Murder suspect: Stafrei Hopkinson Alexander

closed that on the same day they escaped from custody, he dealt Thomas a fatal blow with a piece of wood to the back of his head. Alexander said he then dumped his accomplice’s body in the Demerara River in the vicinity of West Watooka, Wismar.

The body was discovered some time later and was identified as Thomas’s via fingerprints.

Meanwhile, the second murder Alexander confessed to occurred between February 9 and 12, 2015. Based upon information received, he killed Richard Remmington, 44, of Lot 19 Christianburg, Linden, at Cholomdely Hill, Wismar.

Two persons, Winston Hinds and Owen Belfield, were already charged with Remmington’s murder when they implicated Alexander.

Alexander is also facing other charges, including attempted murder and several counts of robbery under arms.

Administration (NPTA) held another session on Tuesday.

This session of bid opening, held in the Finance Ministry’s compound, Main Street, Georgetown, lasted the

AMOUNT $93.7 million $69.2 million $89.4 million

Bids were also opened for the procurement of a new ambulance for the Region. The bidders include: BIDDER International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA) Car Clean Enterprise

AMOUNT $16 million $11.4 million

Moreover, there were three bidders for the rehabilitation of a timber bridge at Papaya, Matarkai, Region One. They are: BIDDER S Lorrick Contracting Service International Imports and Supplies Troy Dainty Construction

AMOUNT $14.8 million $13 million $13.1 million

In addition, 10 companies responded to the invitation for bids to construct a concrete bridge at Arocuro in Mabaruma. These are: BIDDER Vijay Persaud and Sons S Lorrick Contracting Service Eron Lall Civil Engineering Aruca Investment

AMOUNT $16.9 million $16.1 million $16.7 million $16.3 million

entire day.

Three companies had responded to the invitation for bids to provide security services to the Region’s Regional Democratic Council (RDC). These are:

AAV Ragobeer General Construction Pacific Device System Beerdat Harinandan Builders Hardware A Bacchus Constructing M Surujpaul General Construction

$16.6 million $14.7 million $16.8 million $16.3 million $15 million $16.0 million

Meanwhile, bids were opened for the construction of a double bituminous surface treatment (DBST) road. Four companies submitted bids for this project. They are: BIDDER Eron Lall Civil Engineering S LorrickContracting Service M Surujpaul General Construction Vijay Persaud and Sons

AMOUNT $15.6 million $15.6 million $13.8 million $15.6 million

Finally, bidders responded to the invitation for the construction of a secondary school at Waramouri, Region One. Eight bids were opened on Tuesday. These are: BIDDER Builders Hardware BeerdatHarinandan EronLall Civil Engineering Aruca Investment Sattaur Mohamed and Sons AAV Ragobeer GeneralConstruction N&A Construction A Bacchus Constructing

AMOUNT $15.7 million $17 million $16.7 million $16.5 million $15.2 million $17.7 million $16 million $15.6 million

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, may 18, 2016

News

Education Ministry to address ill treatment of teachers – CEO

T

he Education Ministry has indicated that it is prepared to have discussion with the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) to address the challenges faced by public school teachers, specifically the recent allegations of ill treatment meted out by Regional Education Officers (REOs).

This was according to Chief Education Officer Olato Sam, who informed Guyana Times on Monday during a telephone interview that the Ministry is open to discussions with the Union to have the cases raised and analysed so that

solutions can be derived.

This came as the union and teachers are protesting the ill treatment of public school teachers, who are reportedly being harassed by their REOs in Regions Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

However, he additionally reported that thus far, the Ministry has not received any reports by the Union with regard to the issues raised by the teachers at the Union’s conference last week.

“They never actually brought these reports to the Ministry’s attention. The

Chief Education Officer Olato Sam

Union could bring the cases and we will have those addressed but so far, they haven’t done that,” Sam affirmed.

The Chief Education Officer further stated that the there are specific dates on which the Union meets with the Ministry to have current issues discussed and addressed, noting that the GTU is welcomed to have the current matter presented at the meeting.

Following a meeting last week between public school teachers and the GTU, the topic of ill treatment by REOs was brought to the fore for discussion.

According to the Union

during an interview with this publication last week, the teachers had vented their frustration at the manner in which the Region Three and Region 10 REOs were running the education sector of those regions and violating the rights of teachers, as well as being disrespectful.

On the list of issues affecting the teachers due to the inefficiency of the REOs, who are placed in the position by the Ministry to overlook the educational affairs of the various administrative regions, was the manner in which teachers are spoken, to as well as the lack of proper communication to discuss matters.

Matters relating to leave passage and transferrals to other departments and schools were also raised at the meeting. The Union had described this nature of action against the teachers as being “worst than slavery.”

The teachers had indicated that this is not only a burden to them in terms of a reduction in their productivity level, but also for the students who will be indirectly affected by the ill treatment.

As such, the Union appealed to the Education Ministry to immediately intervene so that the ill treatment against the teachers could be eliminated.

Meanwhile, REO of Region Three, Penelope Mackintosh, had denied having knowledge of information pertaining to the issue. She had informed that she is oblivious to the allegations and had not gotten reports about the administration being fingered in the matter.

All attempts to contact Region’s 10 REO were futile since she was out of office.

Review?

S

atiricus was quite taken back by what the press called a "review" of the APANU/KFC’s first year in office. "Isn't a review supposed to show the good, the bad and the ugly?" said Satiricus to his friend Cappo.

"How come we only heard about the bad and ugly? And even that was exaggerated!" As usual, the two of them were throwing back at the Back Street Bar, having a few.

"Budday! When people a talk 'bout de sun, dem gat fuh talk mos' 'bout de heat, you know!" smiled Cappo.

"So tell me 'bout all de good, dem lef' out."

"They got rid of Ham-Ton Green, didn't they?"

Satiricus smiled. "Twenty-two years, the PPP couldn't do that! Why you think they boasting how the city clean???!"

"Well...da a wan start," said Cappo, grinning widely.

"Me na bin t'ink 'bout dat. Wha' else?"

"Well the new Government don't hide like the PPCEE that they take bribes. When American politicians get paid off, it's called "lobbying". “Satiricus paused to take a heavy draught of his beer." In Guyana, the new Government calls it "political investment." Isn't that even more honest than the US?" "Me na know 'bout dat!" said Cappo, scratching his head. "You na t'ink de investors gon want big profit pan dem investment?"

"Cappo, that is how the world operates, old friend," said Satiricus. "But another good thing about the coalition Government is they're not selfish."

"Wha' you mean?" replied Cappo. "Me always hear abee country gat fuh t'ink only 'bout abee."

"And that is why the world got so much trouble," said Satiricus sternly. "No country is an island! You see how Agri Minister Hold-Her went to Costa Rica to solve the region's agriculture problem? Don't you feel that's good?"

"Me woulda feel mo' good if he bin fix abee suga' industry fuss!" he said surlily.

"They fixing it boy!" replied Satiricus. "But you know sometimes when the doctor does operate, the patient could still die?"

"And wha' suh good 'bout dat?" Cappo was now livid.

"Is the intention, old buddy," said Satiricus consolingly. "The Government's intention is good."

news

11

WEDNESDAY, may 18, 2016 | guyana-times.com

US Ambassador to Guyana visits Linden – promises improved engagement with stakeholders

By Utamu Belle

U

nited States Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway on Tuesday paid a visit to the Linden community in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) and held consultations with various stakeholders.

The diplomat met and consulted with members of the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN), including its newlyappointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tandika Miller; members of the Private Sector and the Linden Chamber of Industry Commerce and Development and regional officials, among them Councillor Sandra Adams and Regional Chairman Renis Morian.

Holloway also attended a health fair in the community on Tuesday, hosted by the Regional Health Committee, following which he visited several areas.

Several ideas were traded at these consultations in an effort to assist in the development process of the community. One such area discussed was the crafting of a working relationship between the local Chamber of Commerce and those within the United States. In response to a question posed by a member of the Linden Chamber on the establishment of such a relationship, Holloway reassured that he has already tasked his Deputy with focusing on commerce, industry and business. Member of the Linden Chamber, Staydon Payne sought to engage the Ambassador on trade and business opportunities through collaboration with agencies such as GO-Invest,

US Ambassador Perry Holloway meeting with Linden stakeholders

and the establishment of a working relationship with the US Embassy. He also sought assistance with resource and development officers to assist in the area of training.

Another area discussed was the alternative energy sector, on which Holloway said he has held private engagement with President David Granger.

It was noted by Payne that there is high potential for alternative sources of energy in the Region, more specifically hydro-power, as outlined in the Plan of Action for Regional Development (PARD). As such, he noted, this remains an area of focus, and should the agro-processing industry develop, then there will be increased need for alternative sources of energy. Holloway noted that one of the biggest barriers in Guyana was the high cost of electricity as he outlined that hydro should be part of Guyana’s future.

“Companies don’t want to come build a factory because the electricity cost is too high,” he noted, as participants in the discussion assured him of the lower costs in Linden.

Meanwhile, Adams stressed

the need for private-public partnership, while Miller expressed optimism in working collaboratively with the US Embassy, through the LEN, in the area of investment.

During Holloway’s meet with officials of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Regional Chairman Morian said he was happy about the visit and highlighted several issues affecting the Linden community. He noted that officials were presently working towards peace building and togetherness.

Holloway stated that he has learnt much from the members of the “wonderful” community of Linden and made a promise to render assistance in whatever way possible. He said given the information which he has gathered on the community, he is better able to put things into context and as such, Linden officials can look forward to improved engagement in the future.

“I can’t promise you giant things, but I can promise you that we’re in a position to look for opportunities and we’re going to do just that,” Holloway declared.

Brazilian company given 10,000 acres for soya, corn cultivation

B

razilian company New Frontier Agriculture Guyana Incorporated is preparing to cultivate its first crops of soya and corn on a model farm in the country’s intermediate savannahs in a matter of days.

This is according to the Government Information Agency (GINA), which stated that the company is currently working to develop the approximately 10,000 acres of land in the intermediate savannahs in Ebini, Berbice River. This farm will be used as a model demonstration station for development of the entire savannahs. Improved pastures for cattle, sheep, goats and horses are also planned.

New Frontier Agriculture Guyana Inc conducted trial of the commodities on 25 acres of land owned by the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).

According to the GINA release, the Government is currently pursuing development of the intermediate savannahs for the introduction of new crops and livestock.

The country’s coastland lies approximately six feet below sea level, and with the prevailing change in climate; the country needs to move its agriculture base inward to minimise crop loss, according to Agriculture Minister Noel Holder.

Minister Holder told GINA that, “Government’s policy is centred not only on improving the drainage system and rationalising production on the coast, but also in developing these new areas of activity.

The drive to expand and diversify the country’s agriculture is a policy direction

that has gained the attention and support of Finance Minister Winston Jordan.

“We are not going to grow seven per cent, if we continue to do the same things we were doing 50 years ago… It is unbelievable that 50 years ago we talked about the economy sitting on a tripod, sugar, rice and bauxite, which contributed the bulk of the productive activity of the country’s foreign exchange earnings and employment.”

Minister Jordan stated that “with proper maintenance, modernisation and proper use of technology and so on… these industries can still be good for a number of years in the future. Importantly, two of them are agriculture- based and agriculture can absorb labour faster than any other industry.”

Rice and sugar are Guyana’s main agricultural exports and with the decline in prices for these commodities on the world market, it is important that new foreign exchange earners be identified.

12 news

WEDNESDay, may 18, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Several WCD roads in terrible condition

P

oor road conditions have now become a cause of concern for many residents in the communities of De Kendren, Zeelugt, Sections of MetenMeer-Zorg and Vergenoegen; all on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD).

Presently, numerous streets in those communities are in deplorable conditions, which create undue difficulties, not just for vehicle owners but pedestrians as well.

Residents are calling for the Public Infrastructure Ministry to intervene, as they claim that the newly elected Councillors are turning a deaf ear to their complaints.

According to the residents, some of the roads are in such awful condition that as soon as it rains, the roads become almost impassable, with pedestrians being made to hop over puddles every few seconds.

After many calls were made to the Public Infrastructure Ministry, residents reported that workers showed up with loads of broken stones which were thrown into some of the holes in the roads. This was the only work that was carried out on the roads after many years, the residents contended.

They added that the Councillors were approached with this issue recently in many of the communities but no intervention was carried out.

Roycelyn Alleyne, a resident of De Kendren, WCD, told the Guyana Times that the roads that are now being built

Keeping it real President Granger should act on the Rodney CoI recommendations

A

One of the roads in De Kindren which are in need of urgent repairs

are substandard, adding that works would have to be done regularly for there not to be complaints from those who are affected.

Alleyne divulged that very soon, there will be no road for residents to walk on in her community, especially at a street called “Young and the restless” which is in the worst state.

A resident of Zeelugt, Bibi Haniff, told this publication that she has personally made calls and have reported the state of the roads in her community to the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) but stated that her complaints went unanswered.

“I think that we are the people that no one has any interest in, we are left to the wilderness over here and our plights are not being addressed. We really need

better roads; it is very difficult for us especially in the rainy weathers and at night. We need help,” Haniff stated.

In January, $14.4 billion had been budgeted to continue the upgrade, expansion and rehabilitation of Regions Three’s (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) network of roads and bridges. $2.3 billion was allocated to be spent on upgrading the West Coast Demerara highway, from Parika, East Bank Essequibo to Vreeden-Hoop, West Coast Demerara.

The works include widening the corridor and improving road safety features.

Works have commenced on the main roads in the area. The Uitvlugt access road, along with the Parika and Ruby access roads have been rehabilitated.

Currently works are ongoing to have the De Kendren access road rehabilitated.

lmost four decades after the death of historian, Dr Walter Rodney, the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (CoI) – which was set up to probe the circumstances surrounding his death – has finally handed over the report to Parliament.

The CoI has found that the then Government, the People’s National Congress (PNC) under the control of Prime Minister Forbes Burnham (later President), Dr Baytoram Ramharack conspired to assassinate the renowned scholar on June 13, 1980, on a Friday night.

To be clear, Walter Rodney was not the only political activist to be assassinated at the hands of the Burnhamite state.

Many members of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) were continuously harassed by House of Israel thugs, run by an American refugee, Rabbi Washington. There were the killing of Ohene Koama, Edward Dublin and the stabbing, in broad daylight, of a Catholic priest, Fr Bernard Darke, to name a few.

Walter Rodney was a renowned Pan-Africanist, a Marxist, an intellectual and a revolutionary who learned Spanish, Portuguese, French and Swahili in order to undertake research for his doctoral thesis which he earned at the young age of 24. The Commission of Inquiry, formed 34 years after Rodney’s death, noted that it could not hear from all the witnesses scheduled to testify because the Government brought the Inquiry to a pre-mature end, but the Commission had “enough evidence to make significant findings of fact”. This conclusion was based on testimony presented during 66 sessions and oral evidence from 31 witnesses. The most damning part of the report is found on page 143, which stated that “there is prima facie evidence that he [Laurie Lewis, Head of Special Branch], along with Major General, Norman McLean (Ret’d), then Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force and Mr Cecil “Skip” Roberts, the Deputy Commissioner of Police and Crime Chief, had significant roles to play in the conspiracy to kill Dr Walter Rodney and the subsequent attempt to conceal the circumstances surrounding his death.” It further concluded that “Prime Minister Burnham knew of the plan and was part of the conspiracy to assassinate Dr Rodney”. Those words are written in plain language for all Guyanese to read.

As I noted before, there is one aspect of the Walter Rodney CoI that remains troubling. The CoI made reference to Granger’s 2005 book on the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) National Defence: A Brief History of the Guyana Defence Force (1965-2005) regarding the politicisation of Guyanese society following Burnham’s pronunciation at the December 1974 Declaration at Plantation Sophia that “the Party” would “assume unapologetically its paramountcy over the government which is merely one of its executive arms”. Citing Granger’s words, the CoI noted that this action was “a marked departure from the apparent non-partisan stance”, which “raised public concern about the direction being taken by civilmilitary relations” (page 111). To forge his paramountcy plan, Burnham appointed a PNC loyalist, Colonel David Granger to commander of the GDF. Granger was made Commandant of the GDF in late 1979, just before the assassination, when it was clear that Rodney was infiltrating the officer corps. This historical revelation alone should cause Granger to confront and denounce his party’s killing of the Guyanese scholar.

It is ironic that two very close friends of Rodney; Dr Rupert Roopnaraine (Education Minister) and Dr Clive Thomas (State Assets Recovery Unit) remain “junior partners” in the coalition Government, and have remained silent so far. Both of them are leading members of the WPA. How do these two prominent citizens feel about the findings of the CoI? Perhaps what is more significant is not the findings, but the recommendations made by the three-member Commission.

The Commission, led by Chairman, Sir Richard Cheltenham, made the following recommendations (my summary): 1) Guyana needs a well-trained and highly professional Police Force not easily swayed by ethnicity or party affiliation; 2) The Army must be professionalised; and, 3) The Government has a responsibility to promote ethnic harmony and a strengthen national unity. As we approach our 50th anniversary, it is clear that we are far from achieving these goals even though all of them will impact the future political and economic development of this country. There is a deafening silence among political activists regarding the need to ensure balance in the Disciplined Forces.

As a student of history, with intimate knowledge of the Disciplined Forces, and as a leader presiding over a divided nation, is President Granger willing to become the transformational leader who can confront these issues and deliver us to the promise land? Until then, Guyana remains at the crossroads.

Send comments to BRamharack60@gmail.com

NEWS

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wednesDay, may 18, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Police Force donates school supplies to Baramita students

I

n an effort to boost school attendance among children in the North West District community of Baramita, Region One (Barima-Waini), ranks of F Division (Interior Locations) under the command of Senior Superintendent Ravindradat Budhram, donated a quantity of school supplies to a group of underprivileged children.

The donation was made as part of the Guyana Police Force’s Social Crime Prevention Programme.

According to the Force’s Public Relations Office Ivelaw Whittaker, ranks of the Baramita Police Station in continuing with their community outreach interven-

tions under the programme and during routine visits to the village of Baramita, NWD, discovered that due to a lack of school supplies, some children were not attending school.

This situation saw the intervention of the Police Commissioner through the Divisional Commander and on May 4, some 50 children received donations of school supplies, included school uniforms. In addition, 15 of the beneficiaries were placed into school.

Meanwhile, in the community of Annai in Region Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo) on April 24, a meeting was held between

Ranks of Baramita Police Station along with students from the community who benefited from the donation of school supplies

the residents of Annai, Surama, and Wowetta and the Police. During the engagement, a number of topics including domestic violence

22-year-old diagnosed with Gullian-Barre Syndrome – family solicits Govt and public for financial assistance

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leven days after being diagnosed with the rare disease Guillian Barre Syndrome (GBS) at the Georgetown Public Hospital, the family of Pooran Ramcharitar is soliciting financial support from Government and members of the public to facilitate treatment which costs GY$2,625,000.

According to the 22-yearold man’s father, Surindra Ramcharitar, his son began experiencing pain, numbness and weakness in his lower limbs approximately eight weeks prior to the diagnosis and presently he is “breathing through a machine” since his respiratory system “gave out.”

“I’m begging from assistance from the public and the Government to please help my son. He is the second of six children. My eldest is 23 and

Pooran Ramcharitar breathing with the aid of a ventilator

youngest is 15. I’ve spent all my life savings to get him this far. I can’t afford his treatment and I really need help,” the senior Ramcharitar pleaded.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome

is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Person may experience changes in sensation or develop pain, followed by muscle weakness beginning in the feet and hands.

The symptoms develop over half a day to two weeks.

During the acute phase, the disorder can be life-threatening with about a quarter developing weakness of the breathing muscles and requiring mechanical ventilation.

Some are affected by changes in the function of the autonomic nervous system, which can lead to dangerous abnormalities in heart rate and blood pressure.

Persons desirous of assisting the Ramcharitar family can make contact on telephone numbers 326-1203 or 652-7044.

were discussed and a community policing group was formed in the village.

The social crime prevention programme focuses on the empowerment of youths by developing skills and mor-

al values, in order to mould them into productive and meaningful contributors to society and to enhance Police community relations.

On the other hand, a Canadian-based Guyanese businessman on Monday donated a professional document laminator to the Guyana Police Force. Dr Roberto Jacgobin has had a working relationship with the Force’s Cops and Faith Community Network. The presentation was made at the Office of the Assistant Commissioner (Administration) at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown.

In brief remarks during the presentation, Jacgobin said it was a pleasure for him to be of some assistance to

the Guyana Police Force and expressed his readiness to be of further assistance with other initiatives.

Additionally, Assistant Commissioner David Ramnarine who received the laminating machine expressed sincere appreciation on behalf of the Police Commissioner and the Force for the piece of equipment, noting that it will assist in the production of identification cards for members of the Force.

Also present during the simple presentation ceremony were Senior Superintendent Maxine Graham, Assistant Commissioner (Operations) Christopher Griffith and the Force’s Chaplain, Pastor Patrick Doolichand.

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guyana-times.com

wednesday, may 18, 2016

News

Hururu residents petition A “lame excuse” for Govt’s for removal of their Toshao Jordan’s ‘drug economy’ comment

mismanagement of the economy – Ramotar

– says CANU made more busts under PPP/C than APNU

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inance Minister Winston Jordan has come in for a flagging from immediate past President Donald Ramotar over his statements which suggested that the slowdown in the economy is as result of law enforcement’s success in stemming the illicit drug trade in Guyana.

Minister Jordan in reflecting on the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government’s first year in office, told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that the economy is not as buoyant as it needs to be and ascribed this partly to the role that illicit drugs and other illegal activities played in creating a parallel economy.

“So the more that you go after that, and the more it will miniaturise, that is the less free spending you will see… it’s going to take a time for the economy to get comfortable with that, but in the meanwhile, we will be putting other incentives to stimulate growth in the economy, but one good thing we can say, the economy will grow,” GINA quoted the Minister as saying.

However, Ramotar described Jordan’s comment as another attempt to hide the coalition Government’s obvious mismanagement of the Guyanese economy since it took office in May 2016.

“I think the statement by the Minister is a very lame excuse for the obvious failure of the APNU/AFC regime in managing our economy. It is also an insult to the people involved in produc-

Former President Donald Ramotar

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

tion of goods and services in Guyana, workers and business people and the [People’s Progressive Party/Civic] PPP/Civic Government that work so hard to ensure prosperity in our country for them to make such a statement,” Ramotar noted.

Ramotar said all revenues collected by the Government under the PPP/C Administration were accounted for, adding that in the PPP/C budgets, “there was no line item called drug money.”

The former President said the claim of greater success in fighting the drug trade under the coalition Government as against the PPP/C Administration is a figment of Jordan’s imagination.

“Over the last year, under this Government, the [Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit] CANU has not made any big breakthrough with drugs like they made in our time. In fact, they made bigger drug busts under the

PPP/Civic Government than they made under the APNU/ AFC Government,” he stated.

Ramotar said it is now strange that the Finance Minister is now praising CANU when all their actions toward the Unit seem to be leaning towards supporting the drug underworld.

“It is strange now that the Minister is now praising CANU, when on the word of a self-confessed drug lord, Barry Dataram, they opened a Commission of Inquiry against CANU, which suggests that it is this Government that is protecting and promoting the interest of drug dealers in Guyana,” the former Head of State argued.

A one-man CoI is currently probing Dataram’s allegation that senior officials of CANU were facilitating the passage of illicit drugs through the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, the country’s main port of entry.

Caribbean countries warned debt will continue to soar on current path

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n its current development path, the Caribbean in 2050 will face unmanageable debt, poor growth, and greater socio-economic problems, warns a Commonwealth report launched at the Fourth Global Biennial Conference on Small States in Seychelles.

The report, “Achieving a Resilient Future for Small States: Caribbean 2050”, considers current policies and trends in six Caribbean countries – Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, St Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana – and makes a 34-year projection across different sectors. The research shows five out of the six countries

would have a debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) above 100 per cent – dangerous levels if growth continues to lag. Projections also suggest interest expenditure on debt is likely to sap public finances, reducing funds for development and giving rise to greater socio-economic problems.

The Caribbean faces mounting challenges, according to the report, and unless there are seismic shifts in policy-making, the outlook is stark. Sluggish growth, spiralling debt, high youth unemployment, rising crime rates, piecemeal investment and low productivity all pose serious threats to the Region’s future. Climate

change also casts a long shadow; small island developing states are most vulnerable to extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing natural resources but lack the funds to plan ahead and minimise risks.

The report challenges the status quo and sets out policy interventions in targeted areas aimed at tackling persistent barriers to the Region’s growth. “This publication offers strategies that seek balance for the Caribbean in the survivability of today and the sustainability of tomorrow,” said Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Deodat Maharaj. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

– accuse her of defrauding way into office

T

he residents of Hururu, an Amerindian Village in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), are calling on the Government to immediately remove their Toshao, Arvil Sarmento, from office on account of fraud.

They claim that she fraudulently acquired the position and moved up from her initial position as a Deputy Toshao.

Noting the “fraudulent” method which was used by Sarmento to occupy the office of Toshao, the residents turned to filing a petition for her removal which has got a “90 per cent endorsement by those in the small village”.

The petition was also premised on the belief that Sarmento was inefficient in executing her duties and, therefore, contributed to stagnation in the development of the village.

Speaking with Guyana Times on Tuesday, former Deputy Toshao of the village, Cleveland Williams, related that Sarmento had been elected as Deputy Toshao following an election on July 20, 2015. At this election, Leslie Fredericks was elected Toshao.

However, subsequent to his admission to office, an issue had arisen where Fredericks was found guilty of loaning $300,000 of the village’s money to another member of the Administration.

After a meeting was held with the residents to an-

nounce the breach of the law

by Fredericks, the decision had been taken to have him remain in office, since the issue was described as “petty”.

However, this publication was informed that Sarmento used the signatures of the residents who were in attendance at that meeting and “framed it [the situation] as though the signatories were in agreement of Fredericks being stripped of his power”.

This list was then submitted, along with a detailed report, to the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry where Sarmento’s position as Toshao was confirmed.

As a result of this decision by the Ministry, Fredericks was relieved of his duties and Sarmento sworn in as Toshao of Hururu on August 20, 2015.

Nonetheless, the residents hold the belief that the Ministry had been wrong in making the sole decision to have a new Toshao appointed to office without any consultation with the villagers.

Residents of Hururu, therefore, view this as the Ministry imposing Sarmento as Toshao, which they say is “unfair”.

“It should be the people’s decision and not the Ministry’s, knowing that residents have an issue pending the intervention of the Ministry, they should have given a hearing to the residents first.”This was according to a detailed report sub-

mitted by the residents to a number of Government officials on the matter in November 2015.

Williams reported that it was not until March 1, 2016, that they had gotten a response from the Ministry in relation to the matter which has been escalating over the past months.

He related that the Minister within the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry, Valerie GarridoLowe, had visited the village and appealed to the residents on behalf of Sarmento.

Based on reports, GarridoLowe had pleaded with the residents to give Sarmento “a second chance” after she had offered an apology in the presence of the villagers.

However, Williams informed that the apology was “fruitless since Sarmento’s attitude remained the same”.

As such, the residents are calling on the Government to intervene and conduct a forensic audit of the village’s finances.

An investigation, public hearing and report were also suggested by the residents so that a detailed account can be given of the affairs of the Hururu Village.

Letters were reportedly sent out to the Head of State and all the Members of Parliament so that the concerns of the residents of Hururu could be highlighted and rectified.

Trinidad trade unionist charged with rape, indecent assault

T

he head of the Public Services Association (PSA) Watson Duke has been charged with raping one of the organisation’s employees at a hotel a week ago, after allegedly indecently assaulting her on four previous occasions.

But he is adamant that he is innocent and says he has no intentions of resigning from his position as President of the PSA. Duke appeared in court Monday and was granted TT$250,000 (US$37,537) bail, on charges that he com-

mitted acts of serious indecency against the woman on four occasions between January and last month at the union’s headquarters; and having sexual intercourse with the woman against her will, last Tuesday in a room at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain.

He was not required to plead to the indictable offences, but he told the media after appearing before Chief Magistrate Marcia AyersCaesar that he was innocent.

“I didn’t commit the act and

I’m sure with time that will be proven,” he said, adding that he felt no embarrassment because he was not guilty. “I feel very normal, like Watson Duke.”

Duke had been in custody for four days, after turning himself in to Police last Thursday when he learned he was being sought for questioning. Speaking to the media Monday, Duke said he was under no obligation, under the PSA’s constitution, to resign from his position. (Excerpt

from Caribbean360)

Bolivian President’s estranged son “does not exist”

A

Bolivian Journalist who made headlines when he alleged that Bolivian President Evo Morales had a son whose existence had been unknown until then, now says the child never existed.

Journalist Carlos Valverde reported in February that Morales had a son with Gabriela Zapata, a woman detained over alleged influence peddling.

Morales acknowledged he had had a two-year relationship with Zapata.

But he said that Zapata had told him their son had died shortly after birth.

In the latest twist in the

According to Valverde, the child presented to the court was neither the child of Gabriela Zapata nor that of Evo Morales

confusing

story,

Valverde

now says that Morales and Zapata never had a child together.

Valverde was conducting an investigation into alleged influence peddling involving a Chinese firm operating in Bolivia. Zapata was working as a senior manager at the firm, CAMC, which had been given lucrative State contracts.

Valverde reported that she had had a relationship with Morales from which a son was born.

Morales, who is not married, acknowledged the relationship, which he said lasted from 2005 to 2007. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

wednesDAY, may 18, 2016

guyana-times.com

15

Around the world

EU President: Brexit SA Parliament brawl over Zuma heckling will bring chaos

E

uropean Council President Donald Tusk has said the only alternative to the European Union is “political chaos” and key Leave campaigner, ex-London Mayor Boris Johnson’s recent comments were “absurd”. Tusk said he was speaking out to defend his “vision of Europe”. He said he could not “remain silent” after Johnson compared the EU’s aims with Hitler’s.

Leave campaigners said EU chiefs joining the referendum debate would help their cause. The United Kingdom votes on June 23 on whether to remain in the EU or to leave.Tusk chose a joint news conference with the Danish Prime Minister to

European Council President Donald Tusk

make his intervention, saying that Johnson had shown “political amnesia”.He said: “To defend does not mean to lecture anyone. The British citizens will make this decision themselves and they

do not need any whisperers, especially from Brussels. “I understand this very well.

But when I hear the EU being compared to the plans and projects of Adolf Hitler I cannot remain silent. Such absurd arguments should be completely ignored if they hadn’t been formulated by one of the most influential politicians of the ruling party.” Tusk said the EU remained a “firewall” against conflict between European countries, saying the “banal” truth was that “the only alternative for the Union is political chaos, the return to national egoisms, and in consequence, the triumph of anti-democratic tendencies, which can lead to history repeating itself”. (Excerpt from BBC News)

A

brawl broke out in the South African Parliament on Tuesday as security officers were ordered to forcibly remove Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs).

Several punches were thrown as the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) were expelled after trying to stop President Jacob Zuma speaking.

In March, a court ruled Zuma violated the Constitution by failing to pay back public money used on his mansion.

It is the second brawl in Parliament this month.

Security guards were or-

dered by the Speaker to eject the people who were being disruptive.

Guards surrounded the EFF MPs who were dressed in their trademark red boiler suits.

Objects, including bottles of water and a hard hat, were thrown as the guards tried to wrestle the MPs out of the chamber.

The EFF has denounced Zuma as an “illegitimate” ruler who should step down.

South Africa’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, ruled that Zuma had violated the Constitution when he failed to repay Government money used to

upgrade his private home in the rural area of Nkandla.

In a second case, at the end of April, a court said that Zuma should be charged with corruption.

The case is related to a multibillion-dollar arms deal the Government negotiated in 1999.

Zuma denies any wrongdoing, and says he will continue to “shepherd” the nation. His term is due to end in 2019.

In his first appearance after this court ruling at the beginning of May, a brawl also broke out as EFF members were evicted for heckling. (Excerpt from BBC News)

India drought: 5 men die trying to restore water well

Kerry claims progress F in talks on Syria

W

orld leaders have renewed their calls for a cessation of hostilities in Syria after meeting in Vienna hoping to restart peace talks aimed at halting Syria’s ongoing civil war. The meeting on Tuesday was led by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and United Nations special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura as well as other leaders from the 17-nation

International Syria Support Group (ISSG). They confirmed their support for an end to the violence and the need for immediate humanitarian access to besieged communities. While the parties involved did not set a date for the next round of peace talks, Kerry said the gathering in the Austrian capital was a step in the right direction. “All the parties [...] have agreed on a basic framework which is a united, non-sectarian Syria

that is able to choose its future through a transitional governing body,” said Kerry.

“The challenge we face now is to transform these possibilities into the reality of an agreement.” De Mistura has said the involved parties “can’t wait too long” to set a date. US officials travelling with Kerry say the US still insists that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should go as part of a “framework for political transition” with an August 1 deadline. (Excerpt from Al

Jazeera)

Chinese official visits Hong Kong amid tension

H

ong Kong has launched one of its largest security operations, as a high-ranking Chinese politician arrived in the city on a rare visit.

Some 6000 Police Officers have been deployed throughout the city, including counterterrorism and special forces, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported. A ban on drones was put in place and the Government also began gluing down pavement bricks in an attempt to stop protesters from digging them up and using them as

projectiles.

The three-day visit by Zhang Dejiang, who is in charge of Hong Kong and Macau affairs, is the first by such a senior official since the 2014 occupy democracy protests and comes amid growing concerns that Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous territory. Zhang, 69, arrived just before noon at Hong Kong airport where he was met by city leader Leung Chun-ying and a brass band.

In a short speech on the tarmac he said that he brought a “caring heart”

from the Chinese Central Government as well as “hearty greetings and good wishes” from China’s President Xi Jinping.

Zhang, a member of the politburo standing committee, said he would listen to the public’s “suggestions and demands” over how the city is governed.

While Zhang is ostensibly visiting to speak at an economic conference on Wednesday, the trip is widely seen as a bid to gauge the political climate which has fostered a fledgling independence movement. (Excerpt from Al

ive villagers in a drought-hit part of northern India have died while trying to restore a disused drinking well.

The men died after inhaling poisonous gases that had collected in the well in Haryana state, a local official said.

Much of India is in the grip of a severe drought, which has killed at least 300 people. Haryana and two other states were last week criticised by India’s Supreme Court for failing to acknowledge the water shortage problem. Some local reports said the men, from the Jind district of Haryana, had decided to try to get the well working again to alleviate an acute shortage of drinking water in the area.

But local Deputy Police Chief Virender Singh denied that they needed drinking water, saying the men had been hoping to use the well for bathing and washing purposes.

The men died after inhaling poisonous gases that had collected in the well in Haryana state, a local official said. Much of India is in the grip of a severe drought, which has killed at least 300 people

“The well had not been in use for about five to six years and a poisonous gas had formed in its depths,” he told the AFP news agency.

“The five men inhaled that and died”.

Haryana, along with

Canada evacuates oil workers as wildfire spreads

O

il workers in Canada’s western province of Alberta have been ordered to evac-

jor oil facilities. By Monday evening, the blaze was moving at 30 to 40 metres a minute north of Fort McMurray

Jazeera)

South Korea’s Han Kang wins Booker International prize

S

outh Korean author Han Kang has won the Man Booker International Prize, sharing the £50,000 (US$72,000) award with her translator – who had only taught herself Korean three years before.

Han Kang, 45, an author and creative writing teacher who is already successful in South Korea, is likely to enjoy a spike in international sales following

the win for her book, The Vegetarian. “I’m so honoured” she told AFP news agency. “The work features a protagonist who wants to become a plant, and to leave the human race to save herself from the dark side human nature.

“Through this extreme narrative I felt I could question ... the difficult question of being human.”

She is the first South

The blaze, which continues to burn uncontrolled, now covers 285,000 hectares (704,000 acres), officials said

For the first time, the Man Booker International prize was split evenly between author and translator [Reuters]

Korean to win the prize.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Gujarat and Bihar, was heavily criticised last week by the Supreme Court for failing to declare a drought in their regions, while a significant number of their people were suffering from a lack of water. (Excerpt from BBC News)

uate camps as a resurgent wildfire heads towards them. The emergency on Monday north of the oil town of Fort McMurray has forced firefighters to shift their focus to protect ma-

and had jumped a critical firebreak to push into the oil sand camp areas. “The urgency we’re looking at is with regards to the oil gas infrastructure,” Scott Long, Executive Director

of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, told reporters in Edmonton, adding that Fort McMurray itself appeared to be safe for now. Hundreds of workers in the camps close to the flames were ordered to move out while thousands more were put on standby. There are 12 oil sands camps in the area. Chad Morrison, Alberta’s manager of wildfire prevention, said the blaze was expected to slow into the evening and it was unclear if it would reach the major oil sand facilities, though responders were preparing for that eventuality. “When you have this type of extreme fire behaviour, it doesn’t matter what tankers you put in front of it, or how many helicopters, Mother Nature is going to continue to move that fire forward,” Morrison said.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)ww

16 news

wednesDAY, may 18, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Rice doing better – Agriculture Minister ...as farmers face rising production costs

D

espite the mounting challenges many in rice industry continue to face, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder is maintaining that rice is doing “much better” than it was a year ago.

Speaking with the Government Information Agency (GINA), Minister Holder noted the challenges of heavy rainfall.

“We had the tremendous rainfall and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) was able to bring relief, tremendous relief to the coastland …. I think in Region Two [Pomeroon-Supenaam] and Region Six [East BerbiceCorentyne] and this brought tremendous relief floodwise. Rainfall is on right now, as you know and flooding is not occurring… during El Niño… the NDIA was able to bring water by tapping creeks further upstream to give farmers relief on the coast. So of the areas planted, only about four per cent (of the rice crop) was lost due to (the) El Niño situation,” the Minister pointed out.

According to Holder, for the first rice crop of 2016, some 91,072 hectares of rice was planted. At the end of March, 93,582 tonnes had been exported which is “six per cent more” than the corresponding period for 2015, which was 88,286 tonnes.

The Minister explained that despite Guyana losing the PetroCaribe market it had with Venezuela, shortly after the coalition Government took of-

President David Granger is open to negotiations with Venezuela on the establishment of a new rice deal

fice in May 2015, rice is in a much better situation as it relates to markets. He said Government has been exploring and establishing new markets and has been able to increase the market share for Guyana’s rice, “at prices above world market prices so the rice industry is not really in that much crisis as people try to say”.

Amid calls by the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic for Guyana to re-enter the Venezuelan rice market, the Minister said, “Guyana has met all the shipments to Venezuela, but Venezuela will not, bearing in mind the price of rice and oil prices now hovering around US$30 a barrel or slightly above, enter into a similar agreement.”

However, President David Granger had outlined in his weekly televised “Public Interest” programme

that his Government could look at reopening the rice deal with its Spanishspeaking South American neighbour, if negotiations go well with his Ambassador, Foreign Affairs and Finance Ministers.

These fresh statements were a contradiction to earlier claims as posited by the Agriculture Minister.

“I did meet with the Ambassador before she left for her post and I did say that we are interested in that market. It came to an end. The agreement came to an end and we need a new agreement. Both the Foreign Minister and Finance Minister are working at that, but we are also examining new markets in Latin America, including Panama and Costa Rica and Mexico. That is a clear objective and mandate given to Ambassadors,” the President noted.

Holder also noted the recent Panama agreement for the purchase of 11,000 tonnes of rice. It was also noted that Guyana signed agreements with two Jamaican companies to purchase 80,000 tonnes of the country’s rice per annum.

The companies have agreed to pay the Guyanese millers US$400 per tonne.

However, parts of the Jamaica rice contract were lambasted with the expressed view that the deal was void of rationale, since the cheapest rice rates in Jamaica comes from the United States market which sells at US $550 per tonne.

The Rice Producers

I

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder

Association (RPA) Action Committee Co-Chairman, Dr Turhane Doerga told Guyana Times in March that based on his assessment of the contract, if anyone else wanted to sell in Jamaica, they would have to sell at a minimum 1500 metric tonnes at US$475.

“The US$75 per metric tonne is what the boys will be splitting among each other,” he had alleged.

Many rice farmers have been complaining that $1800-$2000 per bag of paddy cannot pay because of rising maintenance costs, being owed by millers and hefty loan repayments.

Farmers are also calling on Government to provide subsidies on fertilisers.

Opposition Member of Parliament Irfaan Ali has called for a return of the subsidy on milling equipment which can also reduce rice production costs, thus easing some of the burdens in the rice industry.

Pomeroon still inundated

Residents suffering while waiting for breach to be sealed

R

esidents living in the Lower Pomeroon in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and their farmlands are still under water owing to a breach at Grant Canaan that has not yet been sealed.

Many persons are still counting their losses as their livelihood prospects remain bleak in the wake of the devastation they faced as a result of the flooding which significantly damaged many crops that were ready for harvesting.

According to large-scale cash crop farmer Joan Peters, the water was not receding. She reported that many farmers were clueless what to do next as many of their crops have been destroyed. Persons reportedly lost acres of suckers, sweet cassava, pepper, water melon, bora as well as livestock.

Peters said following the breach owing to the

excessive high tides, several regional officials visited the area, but to date nothing has been done. She said many persons want to commence land preparation but cannot do so until the huge breach is sealed.

According to the farmer, Government officials visited and assessed the situation, but residents were not given any feedback as to whether works would commence or not.

Currently, persons are forced to dwell in unsanitary conditions given the flood situation and many of the residents have complained of suffering skin rashes and pain in their joints.

They are, therefore, calling on relevant authorities from Central Government to immediately deploy machinery in the area and have the breach sealed so that they can resume operations on their farmlands.

Ramsammy’s Ruminations Clueless on the path for destruction of rice and sugar

Yards under water at Lower Pomeroon

s it a deliberate effort to kill rice and sugar because the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) sees these industries as People’s Progressive Party (PPP) strongholds?

Or is it that APNU/AFC is clueless? They are clueless about rice and sugar, but they will not Dr Leslie Ramsammy shed a tear if both rice and sugar die sooner than later. Oil will not save Guyana, although oil will be a boon together with rice and sugar. Just look at Nigeria, Venezuela, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. They all have oil, but oil is not saving them. APNU/AFC is dead wrong that Guyana can do well without rice and sugar.

The PPP called for a resumption of talks with Venezuela for a new contract under the PetroCaribe arrangement where Guyana buys oil from Venezuela and sells rice to them. Maybe such talks could prove useless, but what is there to lose? In fact, there is much to gain. The Agriculture Minister dismissed this idea totally. But then days later, President David Granger announced that Guyana is still pursuing a rice deal with Venezuela. What is going on? Does the proverbial right hand know what the left is doing? Talk about clueless!

Having lost the Venezuelan market, the Government has done nothing to re-establish that lucrative market, nor has it pursued other markets. We heard of the Mexican market, with a lot of huffing and puffing and beating of chests by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, but has anyone noticed how quiet he is about the so-called breakthrough with the Mexican rice market? Incidentally, we were very active in pursuing a market in Mexico too, but realised that because of The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and high tariffs, Guyana would not find a very profitable market in Mexico.

We were already advance in talks with other Central American countries and was already sending rice and paddy to Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua and were talking to Costa Rica and African countries. These efforts were stalled after May 2015 and APNU/AFC essentially took another approach, announcing that it is not the Government's responsibility to look for markets, but rather it was the responsibility of the millers. The PPP Government had actively sought new markets and helped consolidate the traditional markets. We encouraged and facilitated joint and independent efforts by millers and other stakeholders.

The PPP had also called for APNU/AFC to create certain other incentives for rice, such as improving duty-free and subsidised access to equipment and supplies, such as fertilisers and paddy seeds. Not only did APNU/AFC rejected this proposal, but they had previously removed the waiver on Value Added Tax that the rice industry enjoyed before. The PPP had also called on APNU/ AFC to hold discussions with banks to re-negotiate loans and for the Government to waive drainage and irrigation and lease payments for rice farmers. All of these were rejected by APNU/ AFC. Clearly, APNU/AFC has no interest in supporting the rice industry. We see further evidence in the fields. Farmers have received no support to drain and irrigate their lands. These were taken for granted when the PPP was in office. Today, farmers have been left on their own to battle the everyday challenges.

Take for example the farmers in Mahaicony who were flooded because a Government-neglected dam broke and there was no one there to give support.

These signals from APNU/AFC reflect both a clueless Government and one that cares very little if rice and sugar survives. It is possible that for the first time after about 10 crops, rice production will be under 300,000 tons for the first crop for 2016. After reaching 500,000 tons in 2013 and 600,000 tons in 2014, we failed to reach the 700,000 tons in 2015 and we appear to be slipping below the 600,000 tons for 2016. Clearly, rice is on a downward trend even after just one year of APNU/ AFC. But the downward trend is across the board for agriculture.

Sugar for example fell about 30 per cent below the target for the first crop of 2016. They have become secretive because they know that production overall have fallen dramatically across the board in agriculture. Incidentally, they have gone silent on Skeldon which produced just about 5000 tons of sugar in the first crop.

While agriculture and, in particular, rice and sugar, are now on a downward trend, APNU/AFC is both clueless and uncaring about the very industries that are the pillars of the economic potential of Guyana. As APNU/AFC consume themselves in the Jubilee, the pillars of the Guyanese economy are left abandoned in uncertain and turbulent waters. Sooner or later, APNU/AFC will realise it is too late to stop another period of relentless economic destruction and increasing poverty in our beautiful Guyana. (Send comments to doc_ram@hotmail.com)

17

news

WEDNESDAY, may 18, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Mahaicony backlands flooding Town Clerk urges defiant vendors to observe city laws Breach to be sealed soon ... vows to heighten enforcement

A

The cleared Stabroek Market area which shows no evidence of vending

s a result of reports that have surfaced which indicate that some Stabroek Market vendors are not adhering to city laws, which prohibit vending in that area, Town Clerk Royston King has vowed to heighten enforcement.

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has urged that all relocated vendors uphold commitments made with the municipality to keep public areas free of obstacles, particularly vending.

According to the Town Clerk, numerous reports have been received by the municipality stating that many vendors are now returning to spots where they formerly vended.

King said that “this is against what was agreed to between the Council and vendors, and thus demands some amount of enforcement”.

He added that the Administration and the City Constabulary were and would continue to closely monitor citizens’ adherence to city laws as there were “significant strides to beef up our ability to enforce these regulations”.

Two temporary locations have been provided for the street vendors of various stripes.

Food, fruit, clothes and accessories among other items are being sold at Parliament View Mall at Lombard and Hadfield Streets, while barbers, nail technicians and other grooming services’ providers are at Merriman Mall.

The Town Clerk is adamant that these trades are not to be practised in any other locations other than those specifically provided.

Some vendors were allowed to vend at locations specified by the Council; however, King explained that this was only temporary.

He said that while these persons may have a marginal effect on public mobility and access, the law is clear about items being stored or left in public areas.

King divulged that it is expected of those persons to observe laid-out rules which state, among others, that they need to have proper receptacles close to their operations, keep their work space sanitary, only display a manageable amount

of goods and not create hindrances for the free movement of citizens.

These vendors are also prohibited from having items hanging overhead on pavements or in front of established businesses.

“No large umbrellas that block or prick passersby, and no item should be stored in any public space once operations have been done for the day,” it was added.

The municipality warned that no vending was permitted in the Stabroek Square. Minibuses, taxis and private cars are not permitted to park in this location. “This historical site is to be left clear and clean,” King insisted.

He noted too that no vending was permitted on London, Water and Commerce Streets (near Muneshwar’s). Operators of push or pull carts are not permitted on the pavements.

Despite the reports of vendors returning to the prohibited areas, when Guyana Times visited the area, it was clear except for a few lingering push carts.

Pumping floodwaters out of the farmlands

By Shemuel Fanfair

A

fter weeks of flooding, farmers and residents in the backlands of Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, are slated to get relief as rehabilitation works on a breached dam in Strath Campbell along the Perth Canal are expected to commence shortly.

This comes in light of a report recently carried in Guyana Times which highlighted that hundreds of acres of farmlands were flooded via the unrepaired breach during high tide.

Information reaching this publication indicated that the Mahaica/ Mahaicony/Abary Agricultural Developmental Authority (MMA-ADA) has secured equipment and will visit the area to begin rehabilitation by Thursday.

MMA-ADA General Manager Aubrey Charles, when contacted on Tuesday, confirmed this and further explained that some

months after the said dam was constructed, it settled and its height was as a consequence decreased.

“After the settlement, the height of the dam was below the designed level,” Charles explained.

The General Manager also said that the recent spring tide overflow caused soil erosion which facilitated the widening of breaches which were responsible for the heavy levels of flooding.

“We also learnt that not too far from there, another section of the dam has eroded, so it’s two portions of the dam eroded,” Charles stated.

According to the official, he visited the area some three weeks ago, but because of the “soft” terrain of the area, it is difficult to transport machines to rectify the problem. To this end, Charles pointed out that he could not give a specific date for when the works would be completed.

One farmer with knowledge of the dam had told

Disgruntled customers express frustration with La Penitence shipping company

A

group of unhappy customers on Tuesday turned up at a La Penitence shipping company, demanding that answers be given as to why they are not yet able to uplift their barrels and packages.

The handful of customers, who showed up at the O G Shipping Company, said they have been running to the company for weeks, but have not yet been given an explanation as to why their packages are delayed or receive any of their items.

Marilyn Thomas said she posted a barrel from New York on March 28 and has not been able to clear it to date.

“I am here still and I cannot get my stuff. Every day I am here, and they keep telling me that I have to come back. Every week is the other week. The guy just showed me a paper that says my barrel is here, but

OG Shipping Company at La Penitence, Georgetown

the container is not opened as yet. They are not giving me no reason, they are just telling me, just now, just now,” the upset woman told Guyana Times.

She said this is the first

time she ness with ter it was her family According soon have US again,

has done busithe company afrecommended by members abroad. to her, she will to return to the but is yet to re-

ceive her barrel.

“Imagine an old woman was here, she’s been running here too. The woman said her pressure gone up. It’s too much,” Thomas said Another customer said he has been doing business with the company for sometime now, and is extremely disappointed at the current state of affairs.

“I feeling for the people them because they ship their things and they said months and months because I am a businessman and I deal with principle. I myself have some things that I shipped and up to now… last week they said they would give me the stuff and up to now, nothing. It is ridiculous. I just spoke to the boss man over the phone and he told me that everything is going to be alright. It’s like, people like when you curse at them, and they’ll get things quickly,” the frustrated businessman said.

Another woman claimed that while she received her barrel, it was observed that several items were missing.

She also showed up at the company to make claims.

Guyana Times sought to contact the owner, Orin Galloway, at his New York head office but was unsuccessful; however his son, Quacy Galloway told this publication that there has been a delay in the container. And while that delay has nothing to do with the company, it is not the first time that such a hiccup has occurred. He said the company is seeking to have the issue resolved and customers will be able to receive their belongings the latest today.

As it relates to the woman who has reported missing items, Gallaway said he could not say, since her delivery was “door to door”. He said her barrel was sealed upon delivery.

MMA-ADA General Manager Aubrey Charles

Guyana Times that indeed the current conditions would hinder the completion of the rehabilitation works. As the breached sections of the Perth Canal are currently unrepaired, farmers in the Branch Road Mahaicony backlands are still battling flooding even though the high tide has decreased.

Farmers, who are still flooded, related that they were suffering as the dam now needed some amount of dry weather to be repaired.

They expressed their frustration over the fact that the recent El Niño period was the ideal time to have done the repairs, but nothing was done to assist them.

Now that the rainy season has started, they lamented the fact that they have to suffer losses.

They stand to lose hundreds of acres and millions of dollars. To prevent a complete destruction of the rice crop, the farmers have the costly undertaking of pumping water from the fields every time the tide goes out.

Meanwhile, while the floodwaters at Company Dam, New Providence have receded, residents fear that the next spring tide will again cause major flooding, which would destroy their plants and threaten the safety of the children who use outside toilets and traverse the area to get to and from school.

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guyana-timesgy.com

wednesday, may 18, 2016

ARCHIE

ARIES

Don’t let a co-worker or

(March 21- superior make you feel guilty April 19) or doubt your ability. Don’t be

afraid to negotiate, and don’t hesitate to take charge of your future. Update your resume.

Live in the moment and TAURUS (April 20- take time to enjoy the people May 20) you love and the things that make you happy. It’s up to you to take responsibility for your success.

dilbert

Review personal finances GEMINI (May 21- to find out where you stand June 20) and what you can afford.

Temptation will rear its head if you become restless. Put your possessions and money in a safe place.

Let your personality shine.

CANCER Take part in events that chal(June 21- lenge you and make you think July 22) about your life and available options. Stop worrying about others and start doing what’s best for you.

Peanuts

Don’t waste time criticisLEO ing others or complaining (July 23Aug. 22) about the way they do things.

Step up your game and take charge to ensure that you get the results you want.

Calvin and Hobbes

Look at the big picture and VIRGO gather all the information you (Aug. 23can.

You will benefit from a Sept. 22) change of pace or from tweaking your skills or re-evaluating your beliefs. Romance is highlighted.

You’ll be challenged if you LIBRA (Sept. 23- oppose a deal or neglect legal Oct. 23) or health issues. Pick up the pace and take care of matters before someone else takes control.

SUDOKU TODAY’S WORD – SELENIUM (SELENIUM: seh-LEEN-ee-um; A non-metallic element.)

Average mark 23 words Time limit 40 minutes Can you find 37 or more words in SELENIUM? The list will be published tomorrow.

You’ll be taken advantage SAGITTARIUS of if you are overly friendly or (Nov. 23- accommodating. Don’t get inDec. 21) volved in a scheme you know little about. Get the lowdown before you give the go-ahead.

YESTERDAY’S WORD – ADVERBS

abed aver dare dear debar drab vase verb rase

rave read rebar bade bard bare base baser bead

bear beard brad brave bread bred saber sard save

Partnerships will depend SCORPIO on priorities.

No matter what (Oct. 24the deal or who is involved, Nov. 22) don’t rule out an obscure idea or plan if it feels right to you.

saver sear solution for Last Published Puzzle

Avoid anyone who is emoCAPRICORN (Dec. 22- tionally unpredictable. Look Jan. 19) for projects that will improve a very special personal relationship as well as your home environment. Romance will add excitement to your life.

Steer clear of anyone tryAQUARIUS ing to pressure you. Avoid a (Jan. 20disagreement with someone Feb. 19) close to you. Putting in extra time at work will help you get ahead.

Being a participant will PISCES (Feb. 20- encourage you to stand up for March 20) your rights and concerns. You can make a difference if you are precise and detailed with your reasoning and solutions.

wednesDAY, may 18, 2016

19

Daredevils defeat to Supergiants makes play-offs push dicey

R

ising Pune Supergiants added more spice to the race to the VIVO IPL 2016 Playoffs after they defeated contenders Delhi Daredevils on Tuesday.

After restricting the Daredevils to 121-6, RPS were guided by Ajinkya Rahane’s calm 42 before rains forced a premature end to proceedings. At that stage, RPS were 76-1, found to be 19 runs ahead of the par score worked out using the Duckworth-Lewis Stern

method. Earlier in the evening, the Delhi Daredevils, put in to bat first, never really kicked into fifth gear mode. Runs came in trickles for most of the innings; if not for a flourish in the last three overs, the Daredevils wouldn’t have even reached the 100-run mark. Karun Nair, who batted at three, was the innings top-scorer; the Karnataka batsman scored 41 and struck five boundaries in his 43ball outing. The only other knock of note came from

the willow of Chris Morris; the South African, who came in to bat in the 15th over, tonked four boundaries and two sixes in his 20ball 38. Thanks to Morris’ cameo at the end, the Delhi Daredevils added 40 runs in the final three overs and finished at 121-6. Summary of the DD innings: they scored 28-2 in the powerplay, 45-3 in the middle overs and played out 52 dot balls in total.

It was a disciplined bowling performance all

VIVO Indian Premier League Points Table 2016 TEAMS MAT

WON LOST

TIED

N/R

PTS

NET RR

Sunrisers Hyderabad 12 8 4 0 0 16 +0.400 Ajinkya Rahane made 42 not out for Rising Pune Supergiants against Delhi Daredevils in the

Kolkata Knight Riders 12 7 5 0 0 14 +0.280 rain affected contest

round from the Rising Pune Mumbai Indians 13 7 6 0 0 14 -0.082

Superigants bowlers. Ashok Dinda set the tone, bowlGujarat Lions 12 7 5 0 0 14 -0.747 ing a tight spell upfront and trapping the prolific Royal Challengers Bangalore 12 6 6 0 0 12 +0.640 Quinton de Kock leg before in the third over. The rest Delhi Daredevils 12 6 6 0 0 12 -0.125 of the bowling attack maintained the pressure too; the Rising Pune Supergiants 13 4 9 0 0 8 +0.013 spin-twins Adam Zampa and R Ashwin exploited Kings XI Punjab 12 4 8 0 0 8 -0.371 the conditions beautifully,

conceding only 44 runs in their eight overs combined.

The only blip in what was an otherwise clinical performance from the bowlers was the last over from Thisara Perera which cost them 22 runs.

RPS’ run-chase was interrupted on two occasions – on the first time for nearly an hour and on the sec-

ond occasion which brought an early closure. Despite losing Usman Khawaja in the fourth over, Rahane held his end and played some exquisite shots in his 36-ball 42. At the end of the eleventh over, the rains came down hard and brought an early closure to proceedings. RPS were 761.

Rashford stars as Man Utd finish 5th

M

arcus Rashford impressed as Manchester United clinched a Europa League group spot by beating Bournemouth in their rearranged Premier League match.

The teams met at a sparsely populated Old Trafford after Sunday's game was called off following a bomb scare.

Wayne Rooney tucked the home side ahead after Rashford's dummy, then the young striker drilled in from 12 yards.

Ashley Young converted Rooney's pass, before Chris Smalling diverted in Max Gradel's shot as United finished fifth.

The final-game victory took the hosts above Southampton, who go into the Europa League qualifying stage next season.

Now the Red Devils turn their attentions to Saturday's FA Cup final against Crystal Palace at Wembley.

Louis van Gaal, who still faces an uncertain future, is aiming to lead United to their first major trophy

since the Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.

Plenty of attention was focused on United striker Rashford after the 18-yearold was a shock inclusion in England's initial 26-man squad for Euro 2016.

The youngster was largely anonymous for the majority of the first half, managing just 12 touches as he was starved of service.

However, the game's first moment of quality came when Rashford again failed to touch the ball - a marvellous dummy for Rooney's opener, the 30-year-old's 100th goal at Old Trafford.

The teenager showed mature awareness to leave Anthony Martial's pass, following the France forward's neat one-two with Juan Mata, for his skipper to fire in from close range.

Rashford looked lively when the teams returned after the break, his sharp movement and exuberant skill providing United's brightest moments.

Fittingly, he thumped in Antonio Valencia's cushioned header after another

Rooney pass - before he was substituted to a standing ovation after 79 minutes.

United's Champions League hopes (officially) ended

United could have technically still qualified for the Champions League, although it would have required a record - and entirely improbable - 19-goal victory to overhaul neighbours Manchester City.

More realistically, Van Gaal's side needed a point to secure automatic qualification to the group stage of next season's Europa League.

And a fifth-place finish ahead of Southampton never looked in doubt against a Bournemouth side with nothing to play for.

Both clubs were allowed to name different teams for the rearranged game, with many expecting the Dutchman to make changes with Saturday's FA Cup final against Crystal Palace in mind.

However, he surprisingly named the same starting line-up with Rooney again playing in a deeper midfield

role.

The England captain was instrumental throughout, pulling the strings in a dominant United performance

Bittersweet finish for Cherries

Bournemouth can look back at their debut season in the English top flight with plenty of satisfaction, despite signing off with a convincing defeat.

The Cherries were one of the favourites to be relegated before the campaign, but finished comfortably clear of the bottom three.

An encouraging period of just two defeats in 12 matches - including backto-back wins against defending champions Chelsea and Manchester United - moved Eddie Howe's side away from the thick of a relegation battle.

However, the south coast club only managed to win one of their final eight games, leaving them 16th in the table.

Chances were rare in their first league visit to Old Trafford until substitute Gradel's wayward shot hit

Marcus Rashford has been involved in seven goals in 11 league appearances for Manchester United this season - five goals, two assists

Smalling and flew past the stranded David de Gea. "There was disappointment towards the end of the season, but overall the players have been outstanding and we have to look forward with real optimism," said Howe.

"Over the summer we'll reflect on a memorable sea-

son - the best in the club's history."

But Howe may find himself fighting a battle to hang on to some of his players, revealing the club had rejected a combined £20m bid from West Ham for striker Callum Wilson and midfielder Matt Ritchie.

20

guyana-times.com

wednesDAY, may 18, 2016

Du Plessis eager Thunder come from behind to for CPL action

S

outh Africa star batsman Faf du Plessis is relishing the opportunity to play in the West Indies this summer and believes that the HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) can open up a new and exciting chapter in his career when he leads the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots this summer.

Pretoria born du Plessis, 31, will feature in the Proteas squad for their forthcoming tour of the Caribbean and will then captain the Patriots in the fourth edition of the CPL, which is scheduled to take place between June 29 and August 7.

“When you look at the amount of international Test, ODI and T20 cricket that’s being played around the world, it’s funny to think that this will be the first time that I will get to play in the West Indies,” he said.

“I’ve been fortunate to play

Faf Du Plessis will make his Caribbean Premier League debut when he turns out for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots this year

for my country for the last five years, but for whatever reason it hasn’t come to pass. I guess you could say that it has been a long time

coming, but I’m really excited to finally be playing in the Caribbean.”

Not playing in the Caribbean has not prevent-

ed news from the region from getting to his ears and what he has been hearing had only served to pique his interest.

“I’ve heard nothing but good things about the CPL. Off the field, the Caribbean people are great fans and provide an incredible atmosphere, which I have yet to fully experience,” he said. “And this year, on it, I think the competition is going to grow from strength to strength with a really high calibre of players across each of the six teams. It will undoubtedly be a step into the unknown because I’m not familiar with the conditions, but that’s the kind of challenge you live for as a cricketer. After my (finger) injury I’m feeling fresh and ready to get out there and try and be a positive influence for the Proteas and then the Patriots. I just can’t wait to get started!” (Sportsmax)

stun Warriors A t the beginning, before losing hold of what became a 108102 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Golden State Warriors had plans.

They’d drawn up clever defensive schemes, one that included asking Draymond Green to “guard” Oklahoma City’s infrequently shooting Andre Roberson. Green, whose focused physicality evokes NFL defense, was in essence asked to play free safety. Initially, the Warriors appeared to be in

will and force in the third quarter. The Thunder point guard was ubiquitous in the stanza, hitting 3s, drawing fouls and snagging steals to the tune of 19 third-quarter points.

After that, Durant orchestrated a run at the beginning of the fourth as Golden State found outside shots begging. The Warriors went to their “Death Lineup” of Green at center earlier than usual after falling down four early in the quarter. They did not, how-

England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Headingley

Daunting challenge for Sri Lanka to repeat 2014 heist T

wo years ago, when these sides last met, Sri Lanka were the buoyant side and England struggling. This time the roles are reversed and it will be a significant surprise if the result isn't as well.

In the heady first half of 2014, Sri Lanka floated into England in the afterglow of Asia Cup and World T20 triumphs, won the limitedovers leg, then made James Anderson weep at the end of the Tests.

In the doleful first half of 2014, nursing gashes from the tri-format flagellation in Australia, England sought to launch a "new era". This promptly splintered and ran aground on Angelo Mathews' rock-of-Gibraltar forward defence.

Still, even in England's bleakest hours, they had their defenders. Not so long after they had lost to Netherlands in the World T20, a noisy ex-player was happy to announce that Sri Lanka's bowling was merely a "glorified county attack". This year, it was a former Sri Lankan cricketer who made the wild predictions. The team he selects has the "best attack in the world" Sanath Jayasuriya, said. In two years, even the delusion, it would seem, has switched feet.

Since that 2014 series, Anderson has reclaimed his snarl so completely that presently he seems more likely to produce swear words from his tear ducts, than tears. And it is England that came within a Brathwaite bat-breadth of claiming the recent World T20. England who - under the instruction of Trevor Bayliss,

Paul Farbrace, and briefly Mahela Jayawardene, all of whom have been in charge of Sri Lanka in some way have opened with spin, batted with adventure, widened their horizons.

While they bristled with purpose, Sri Lanka have moped through some of their

England Captain Cook

Alastair

grimmest months this decade. The bowling has generally been heartening. The fielding and batting has not.

At times, the catching has brought to mind slapstick acts at children's birthday parties. At others the top order have played like balloon animals. In Tests, good match positions have been routinely traded in for substantial losses. That dynamism that used to make them greater than the sum of their parts has slipped, because occasionally the think-tank seemed to have taken leave of some of their

parts - namely, their brains.

And so it is that while Mathews' stony batting and Rangana Herath's lovable left-arm spin provide substance to this squad, many of their hopes lie with young players yet to fully bloom at the top level. How well will Kusal Mendis, who is so fresh from school the mental check between instinct and flowing cover drive has not yet taken hold, manage warworn bowlers like Anderson and Stuart Broad? How will Dushmantha Chameera, tall and slim as a coconut tree, fare with Alastair Cook staring him down?

There are also the repeat visitors to England. Dinesh Chandimal caught fire on his first trip to England, fizzled in his second, and now has recently rediscovered his spark. Mathews will look to him to liven things up at No. 4 if the top order gets stuck.

Opener Dimuth Karunaratne had made flashy starts and got out when substantial innings beckoned in 2014. Now he seems to have the opposite dilemma, in that there are not many innings of note between towering Test scores.

His partner Kaushal Silva hit twin fifties at Lord's last time, but has since gone through a worrying dip in form, and a more worrying blow to the head. His innings usually have more leaves than a Banyan tree, though, so it is hoped he could be the trunk around whom the top order drops its roots in early-summer England.

The hosts are smuggling inexperience as well, with batsman James Vince and seamer Jake Ball in con-

tention for Test debuts. But even aside from Cook and Anderson - their most prolific Test batsman and bowler ever - there is a reassuring steadiness to their likely XI. Steven Finn, on a continued redemptive trajectory, is likely to produce the steepling bounce that so often troubles Asian sides in England. Broad's average against Sri Lanka of 46.16 is his worst against any side, but his thundering spells can decide a series in a session.

And then there is quite possibly England's best player, Joe Root, who is set to begin the series at his home ground, and finish it at Lord's, where runs stream more lavishly out of him even than abuse. The 2014 Sri Lanka side had absorbed many Root taunts through the series, then spat it all back at him on the decisive final day of that series. In a strange way, it might do Sri Lanka good if Root is mouthy again. They have in the past closed ranks and coaxed the best from themselves when a siege is on against them.

The man who played the last shot in 2014, fired the first one this time around.

Anderson has suggested his side were in the running for a 3-0 triumph. Sadly, for Sri Lanka, a whitewash does not seem a complete impossibility. That has been their fate in the last two away series.

They have said in the past months and years that they are in transition. In this series, it is up to Sri Lanka to prove they are heading for happier times, and not just more months and years of "transition". (ESPN Cricinfo)

Kevin Durant scored 26 points and made a key 17-foot jumper with 30.7 seconds left, and the Thunder handed the Warriors their first home loss of the playoffs with a 108-102 victory in Game 1 of the West finals

control, forcing the Thunder into a rash of turnovers.

On the other side, the Warriors attempted to seize upon Oklahoma City’s lapses. Golden State can strike when least expected, even immediately after its own disappointments. For example, an errant Andre Iguodala pass ended in a Serge Ibaka dunk, cutting the Warriors’ lead to four points in the second quarter. This would be a natural occasion for a team to sulk a bit, ruing their recriminations as they slowly walked up the ball. Instead, Iguodala immediately shoveled an inbounds to Curry, who rocketed an outlet to Klay Thompson. Ibaka’s dunk finished up with 3:11 on the clock. Thompson’s response 3-pointer was in the air at 3:08. At the end of the quarter, Golden State led 60-47 and were seemingly cruising to victory.

Oklahoma City then mounted a focused response that ultimately cracked Golden State’s hold. It began with Russell Westbrook's

ever, find their rhythm with the switch.

The quarter that began with Durant making a 27foot 3-pointer essentially ended with his coup de grace.

After a closing sequence in which both teams played frenzied, skittish offense, he found an oasis of poise with an isolation midrange jumper with 30 seconds remaining to push the lead to 105100. An uncalled Westbrook travel might have offered the Warriors a last-gasp chance at a 3-pointer, but this loss was earned slowly over the second half.

Ultimately, the Thunder won Game 1 with resolve and late-game defense. They now own home-court advantage in a series where that advantage looms especially large. As for the Warriors, they’ll likely need better performances from their bigs and possibly from an MVP who is still working his way back from a knee injury. The Thunder didn’t steal home court on Monday so much as they steadfastly and eventually earned it. (espn.com)

YELLOW PAGES wednesDAY, may 18, 2016 | www.guyana-times.com

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Progressive Auto Rental: Cars from $4000 and up. Tel: 219-3900, 643-5122

21

sports

DC Jammers to tip-off Goodwill tour this weekend

dentistry Dentures provided in 72 hours from as low as $4500. Contact Dr B Stuart, 209B Charlotte St, Lacytown. Tel: 225-5034

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FOR SALE One Toyota Spacio, One Toyota Forklift, One Motorcycle 110cc, One Cement Mixer (Ransom), Vick’s Hardware. Tel: 2642682/649-0707 Clean Garden Earth. Also excavating, grading and leveling done. Call 627-9977 Road to Belwasa and A Dip at the Sangam, Indentureship Novels at Austin’s Book Store and at Lachmansingh Drug Store. Tel: 2265053.

For sale by lot: Lot (1): 2 bath tubs, bathroom fittings and fixtures & toilet set; shower fittings - $150,000 and Lot (2): 1 Dell desktop computer & HP scanner $25,000. Call 225-2676 or 601-5285.

One 6 inch dredge, one 4-cylinder MWM, one 3-cylinder MWM engine in working condition with all other complete equipment in good working condition. 679-3655 2 STOREY CONCRETE HOUSE 35 X 45 ENCLOSED DOWNSTAIRS, SIZE OF LAND 65 X 120, SECTION A DIAMOND HOUSING SCHEME, EAST BANK DEMERARA, CONTACT # 664-5052/617-0583

flowers Available: Fresh long-stemmed roses, fresh dried and silk floral arrangements, gift items, bridal boutiques and wreaths. Nesha’s Flowerland. 78 Church Street (opposite St George’s Cathedral).

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immigration Immigration & Visa Services We handle all Canadian, USA and UK immigration and visa matters. Self sponsorships, holiday/visitor’s visas, work permits, students visas, family, class, immigration forms, embassy enquiries, appeals for refused cases, US green card lottery, business class waivers, pardons, etc. Get your visa approved. High success rate. Balwant Persaud & Associates.

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Phone: 225-3923, mobile: 621-3249.

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optician Da Silva’s Optical. For Your Eyes Only, Look Better See Better. Phillip A Da Silva OD, Shannon L Da Silva OD, Natalie Da Silva OD. 248 South Road, Bourda. Phone: 227-3529, Linden: 444-6376, Corriverton: 339-3536, Meten-Meer-Zorg: 275-0322, Grand Cayman Islands: (345) 943-1515 for the perfect trendy touch.

lAND FOR SALE Land at La Grange Public Road to Sea Dam, Size 4 Acres, could be used for commercial or Housing Scheme. Tel 625-1514 1.5 Acre Land in W.B.D. Call #:658-0115 Land at La Grange Public Road, Size 4 Acre, could be used for commercial or housing scheme. Tel#: 625-1514 Formerly Globe Cinema, Corner lot, Church and Waterloo Street Size 125 ft x 133 ft Tel: 610-2234 One land 100/50 at Good Hope Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara for sale. Priced six million dollars. For more information, kindly call 623-0156 or 695-3150 (serious inquires only)

property for sale House Lot, Diamond New Scheme between 2nd & 3rd Avenue.

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VEHICLES FOR SALE Toyota WILL VS-low mileage. 2010 Kawasaki Ninja 250R – imported from the USA, low mileage. Tel: 6749002 NISSAN –X Trail 2013 Model Fully Loaded, 2500cc CVT 31,000KM, 8.9 Mil – Negotiable. Serious Enquires Only. Call: 685-3069/644-9141 One RZ Minibus BLL series in working condition. $400,000.00

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taxi services GR Taxi, 24 hours. Phone: 225-7878, 219-5000 or 227-2100

all three matches the experience gained in 1988 would later proved invaluable.

The boys from Washington returned five years later July 1993 and won an international triangular series against Guyana and Suriname thanks to the mastery of new recruits Willie Hodge, Steven Nurse, Heinrod David, Reggie King and Andre Lee.

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services

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under-16 teams currently engaged in the National School Basketball Festival that are set to tip-off at 6:30 Hrs on game days.

Fans will be treated to an exciting display of intense and competitive basketball action on the four days. To add depth to the local sides each local team will be allowed three guest players in match against the Jammers.

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Fast growing food distribution company is looking for a driver, salesperson and canter driver with experience and Police clearance.

231-8344/231-8529

TO let

C Jammers basketball team out of the state of Washington in the United States of America (USA), are set to open their 2016 four game Goodwill tour of Guyana this weekend.

The series which forms part of Guyana’s Independence Jubilee celebrations is set to be played at the Cliff Anderson Sports

One Toyota Picnic (8 Seater) in excellent condition.Mags Rims, DVD Player etc. $1.7M neg. Contact – 624-5002

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Repairs and Spares, Air Conditioning, Car AC, Washers, Stoves. Call Nick: 683-1312, 627-3206

D

Players of the DC Jammers basketball team

Fast growing food distribution company is looking for a driver and salesperson with a car, experience and police clearance. Call: 231-8344 or 231-8529 Wanted, One Joiner to work in Crown Dam, ECD. Call: 627-3405 or 222-4576.

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(MAIN ENTRANCE 42 WATER ST. G/Town. 231-7101 Vacancy exists for one fulltime Pharmacist to work on the West Coast of Demerara in Metenmeerzorg. Telephone: 2750733

DC Jammers’ last encounter against Guyanese opposition

Hall, Georgetown.

The Jammers will take on four of Guyana’s top basketball clubs, with the first game on Saturday evening against Ravens. They will then oppose a feisty Linden unit; the Retrieve Raiders on May 22 before coming up against Pacesetters on May 24 The four game tour will conclude on May 27 against reigning Road to Mecca Champions; the Colts. The main event games will be preceded by clashes between

Washington based ballers; D.C. Jammers first engagement against Guyanese opposition was in July 1988 when they took on Guyana’s National Basketball Team. The locals at that time led by high flyers Leon Christian and coached by Mike Brushe used the inaugural series as preparation for the 7th Caricom Championship which the land of many waters successfully hosted at the National Sports Hall.

Although the Jammers lost

GFF/Stag Elite League Finale

Dc Jammers’ last appearance in Guyana was in 2012 when they defeated the national team 65-62 in a closely contested encounter.

Our local basketball clubs will be hoping to have a different outcome as they seek to impress against a highly skilled Jammers team.

Fly Jamaica Airways and Federal Management Systems Inc. are the main sponsors for the Jammers tour of Guyana. Admission to the games is $1000.

Footballers take over Leonora tonight

T

he Stag Elite League Finale stage continues tonight at the Leonora Track and Field Facility on the West Coast of Demerara.

In the opening game, home team Slingerz FC will tackle Buxton FC from 19:00 Hrs while in the second game from 21:00 Hrs Alpha United FC will engage Pele FC. There were some adjustments to the schedule where games previously scheduled for Monday May 16 have been shifted to Friday May 20.

The first game at 19:00 Hrs will be between Georgetown Football Club (GFC) and Guyana Defence Force (GDF) while the feature game will put together Fruta Conquerors FC and Pele FC from 21:00 Hrs also at the Leonora Track and Field Facility.

22

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

wednesDAY, may 18, 2016

Hand-in-Hand U-19 Junior Men’s Team Inter-county tournament arrive in Toronto for Pan recommences this weekend American Championships T

T

he Guyana National Junior Men’s Hockey Team arrived in Toronto, Canada on Monday evening to take part in the Pan American Junior Championships, scheduled for May 20th to 28th. The team settled into their accommodation at the University of Toronto grounds and had a taste of the 6?C temperature on their early morning jog and stretching session on Tuesday, under the guidance of physical trainer Barrington Browne. The team is scheduled to have their first practice session on one of the University’s two artificial turfs, at 3:30pm on Tuesday. The team is also scheduled to play a practice match on Wednesday against a selection of senior Toronto club players, before their final practice session on Thursday, with the tour-

nament scheduled to start on Friday.

Three of the team’s most experienced players, Hilton Chester, Kareem McKenzie and Daniel Hooper will join the team on Thursday evening, after completing some of their CXC and CAPE exams. The team is schedule to take on the tournament’s third seed on Friday at 3:00pm, then Mexico on Saturday at the same time before playing second seed Canada on Monday at 5:30pm. According to head coach Robert Fernandes “We will use these first few days to get the boys comfortable with their surroundings, acclimatized to the conditions and adjusted to playing on the turf. We usually get better as tournaments wear on and we adjust to the faster pace of play that the turf allows. So hopefully by arriving here early and having

three sessions on the surface we will be firing on all cylinders by Friday.”

Local fans will be able to stream the matches live on the www.panamhockey.org website.

National Junior Men’s Hockey Team Mark Sargeant (Cap), Medroy Scotland (GK), Michael Hing (GK), Kareem McKenzie, Keon McKenzie, Daniel Hooper, Shaquille Leung, Meshach Sargeant, Rosario Ramsammy, Aroydy Branford, Andrew Stewart, Leon Bacchus, Jael Gaskin, Omar Hopkinson, Hilton Chester, Ato Greene, Paramanand Dindial, and Nyron Joseph.

Manager – Hubert Forrester Coaches – Robert Fernandes, Dwayne Alleyne and Marvin Dannett Physical Trainer – Barrington Browne

Fitness Express boosts powerlifting

L

ong time supporter of Powerlifting in Guyana, Fitness Express has once again come in as the main sponsor for the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPLF) Annual Claude Charles Memorial Intermediate and Masters Powerlifting Competition set for June 5 at the Critchlow Labour College, Woolford Avenue Georgetown.

The presentation was done yesterday at Fitness Express 47 John & Sheriff Streets, Campbellville by

Jaime McDonald whose organization has always been a contributor to sports in Guyana.

The competition is expected to usher the return of One of Guyana’s most seasoned and decorated powerlifter, Big John Edwards who will be making his return after 3 years “out of training” in Masters 1 category.

Patrons can also look forward to the likes of Winston “Little Master” Stoby who will be competing in the Masters 2 catego-

ry. Frank Tucker, President of the Guyana Weightlifting Association will also be competing in the Masters 3 category along with Farouk Abdool out of Hardcore Gym in Berbice.

Several youngsters are expected to vie for Supremacy in the Intermediate Category.

Best Lifter for Novices Unequipped 2016, Carlos Peterson has already set the tone with his stellar performance in Berbice and is expected to better his previous total. Best Lifter for

he Guyana Cricket Board/Hand in Hand Group of Companies Under-19 50-Overs Competition which was put on hold due to consistent inclement weather, is all set to recommence this weekend at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.

Heavy and persistent showers completely washed out the third round and final that were initially slated for April 29 and May 1 respectively. In the rescheduled fixture Demerara will play the Under-17 select squad on Friday May 20 while on Saturday May 21, Berbice battle Essequibo.

The winner of the two matches would contest the final on Sunday May 22. All matches would start at 9:30 hours.

The squads are as follows: Demerara: Travis Persaud (captain), Ronaldo Alimohamed (vice-captain), Ronaldo Renee, Raymond Perez, Sherfane Rutherford, Vishwanauth Ramlakhan, Malcom Hubbard, Ramnarine Chatura,

the Equipped category Arif Immamdeen of Elite Systems is expected to face fierce opposition from Sub Junior Powerhouse Romario Gonsalves of Life Gym. Well known bodybuilder and Ms. Physique competitor, NadinaTaharally will be stepping on the platform to compete in the Masters 1 and Intermediate category. Much is expected of the 2 Unequipped females Lisa Oudit and Melissa Tucker

Kelvin Shewpersaud, Romain Muniram, Darshan Persaud, Ershad Ali, Samuel McKenzie, Keshram Shabodan, and Gavin Boodwah. The Coach is Clive Grimmond and the Manager is Omar Hussain.

Essequibo: Keemo Paul (captain), Sachin Persaud (vice-captain), Akinie Adams, Looknauth Chinkoo, Siddiq Mohamed, Leslie Allen, Nathan Persaud, Jonathan Fernandes, Travay Wolfe, Dwayne Thomas, Satesh Lachana, Mark Williams, Reaz

Khan, and Miguel Jones.

The Coach is Nandkishure Andrews and the Manager is Forbes Daniels.

Selected U-17: Bhaskar Yadram (Captain), Kelvin Sinclair (Vice Captain), Joshua Persaud, Ashmead Nedd, Kurt Lovell, Rayon Venture, Javed Karim, Sagar Hathiramani, Steve Deonarine, Collin Barlow, Joshua Jones, Kelvin Umroa, Tameshwar Motiram, Kevlon Anderson, Alphius Bookie, Joel Fortune, and Sachin Singh.

The Manager is Nazeer Mohamned and the Coach is Garvin Nedd.

Berbice: Brandon Prashad (captain), Adrian Sukwah (vice-captain), Sasenarine Sookhoo, Trevon Ceasar, Joshua Harrichand, Ritesh Omroa, Matthew Hardial, Randy Wade, Joel Seitaram, Vevekanand Jagit, Asif Ally, Nicholas Seenarine, Raymond Vankenic, and Sylus Tyndall. The Coach is Delbert Hicks and the Manager is Julian Cambridge.

whose Novice performances were quite impressive.

Weigh In and Equipment check starts at 7:00 Hrs and ends at 9:00 Hrs sharp.

Athletes are strongly advised to make this time bracket, failing to do so will make them ineligible to compete. Athletes are also urged to be in accordance with the rules and regulations of the GAPLF. Lifting will commence at 10:30 hrs and admission

is $500. Food and Drinks will be on sale and there will be novelty events for members of the audience to participate and win prizes. There will also be guest lifting by members of the team selected to represent Guyana at this year’s Caribbean Powerlifting Championships in St. Croix , USVI, Andrea Smith, Paul Adams, Rawndell Clementson, Karel Mars and Erwyn Smith.

Ronaldo Renee

guyana-times.com

wednesDAY, may 18, 2016

WIFBSC Championships 2016 – Antigua

Local marksmen aiming to retain Short Range and Individual titles

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Shooters will be engaged in action as Guyana looks to retain the WIFBSC short range trophy

he defending champions of the West Indies Fullbore Shooting Council (WIFBSC) Short Range championship; Guyana, is confident of successfully retaining the trophy in the 2016 championships at the Crabbs Rifle Range in Antigua and Barbuda.

Defending Individual champion Lennox Braithwaite is also confident of making it four in a row when the region’s top marksmen take aim in the three day championships.

No championships were held last year since the WIFBSC sent a team to the World Championships which was held in Ohio, Texas USA. And for the first time in its history the West Indies did not finish in last position. On that occasion (Last year) half of the Caribbean 16-man team were Guyanese and they fin-

ished ahead of Germany.

Braithwaite and USA based John Fraser arrived in Antigua on Sunday while the remainder of the team, Mahendra Persaud (Captain & Wind Coach), Dylan Fields (Vice Captain), Ransford Goodluck (Wind Coach), Leo Romalho, Peter Persaud, Ryan Sampson, Sherwin Felicien, Terrance Stuart and Head Wind Coach Paul Slowe all arrived on Monday.

Team Guyana practiced on Monday in order to get their zeros and a feel of the range ahead of today’s competition.

Captain Persaud informed that whilst being a bit tired, they are focused on the task at hand and that is; to successfully defend the Individual title as well as the Short Range championship. The Long Range title which Guyana also holds will not be contested since

Antigua does not have such a facility.

President of the Antigua and Barbuda Shooting Club which is an affiliate of the WIFBSC, Thomas Greenaway said that all systems are in place for the successful hosting of the 2016 championships noting that a lot of work has gone into making it become reality.

Competition will be held at the 300, 500 and 600 yards ranges respectively. The Individual competition which would see shooters from the host nation, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Canada competing will last until Thursday.

Team matches will commence on Friday with the nations competing in the Wadadli Cup, a 4-member per team competition while on Saturday, the 8-member team Anchor Cup match will be contested.

Berbice Cricket Board says congratulations and good luck to Gudakesh Motie

23

Mayor’s Cup Football tournament to kick-off Friday

T

he 22nd edition of the annual feature for local football teams, the Mayor’s Cup is set to kickoff Friday (May 20) evening at Victoria Ground, East Coast Demerara. The tournament was delayed several times due to the inclement weather experienced in and around Georgetown over the past few weeks.

Opening games will feature a classic East Coast Demerara versus East Bank Demerara affair when Buxton Bakewell of the East Coast take on East Bank side; Grove Hi Tech at 18:30 Hrs. The second match of the double header will see another East Coast team; Victoria Kings challenge Agricola of the East Bank at 20:30 Hrs. The tournament is scheduled to continue on Saturday at the same venue with another double header as BV Triumph face off against Eagles at 18:30 Hrs, while Golden Grove tangle with Herstelling at 20:30

Hrs. Coordinator Mayor’s Cup,

Mayor’s Cup Lennox Arthur

of the Lennox

Coordinator,

Arthur expressed gratitude to the fans, teams and sponsors who have been patient as they wait for the start of the tournament which should finally see some action this week.

Top four finishers will be awarded prize monies of $700,000 for the winners, $300,000 for the first runner-up, $200,000 for third placed finisher and $100,000 for fourth placed team.

The Coordinator, who is a former National footballer and Coach and has been behind this event for all of its 22 years, indicated that this year’s cup will form part of the 50th Independence Anniversary (Jubilee) celebrations.

Arthur was extremely grateful to the sponsors who have assisted so far. The top four prizes have been put up by Aruwai Resorts, Ansa McAl, John Fernandes and German’s Restaurant respectively. Others who have contributed towards the tournament include the Government of Guyana, Macorp, Busta, Cummings’ Electrical Company Limited, Bakewell, IPA, China Trading, E Networks, Namilco and BK International.

Independence Golden Jubilee Race Walk set for Sunday

P

resident’s College student Douressa Thompson blazed her way to an exciting finish to seal another victory when the Cavaliers Sports and Tour Club (CS&TC) continued it’s programme of race walk events to commemorate the Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary on Sunday last (May 15, 2016).

The all girls race for students of President College commenced at the college’s entrance, Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara and proceeded to the village market before returning to the place of origin for the finish.

Tashena La Rose copped second place and Carol Bob-Semple came in third.

Audrey Haywood, Amber

Jacobus, Lydia Roberts and Ruth Waddell finished in fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh positions respectively.

Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkhan, Fitness Express, Khanai’s Guyana Electrical Services and Woodpecker Trophy World donated the trophies for the event.

At the presentation which followed shortly after the event, coordinator of the CS&TC Ms. Jennifer Major, thanked the participants and urged the girls to continue to participate in race walking since it is healthy and an inexpensive sport.

Meanwhile, Local race walkers are expected to match steps when the CS&TC stages the Georgetown 50th

Independence Anniversary Race Walk on Sunday May 22, 2016.

The Race will commence at 6:30 at “Burnham’s Bust”, Public and Vlissengen Roads, Kitty and proceed to the Independence Arch, Brickdam for the finish.

Trophies, Medals and other prizes will be up for grabs for the first top three finishers in male and female categories for seniors, juniors, veterans and differently abled participants.

Trophies have already been donated by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock.

Participants are reminded to be at the start line for 06:00 Hrs.

New York Business Group/BCB U-191-day 2 innings competition

Gudakesh Motie collects his Guyana Jaguars cap from Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board, Anand Sanasie in November 2015 as he was making his First Class debut against the Windwards Volcanoes at Providence

A

nother cricketer from Berbice is in line for West Indies Cricket team senior selection. Former West Indies Under-19 left arm spinner Gudakesh Motie was included in the West Indies senior team training squad with the possibility of selection for the upcoming test series, West Indies versus India in the Caribbean.

A statement from the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB)

said that from a very tender age Motie, another player coming out of the mighty Albion Cricket Club, was Identified as a future West Indies product. Today he is not far from that and that is after only his first season at the senior level, the release continued.

Gudakesh Motie, took 40 wickets in his debut First Class season from 7 matches in the West Indies Cricket Board Professional Cricket

League Regional Four Day Tournament 2015/16. His bowling returns included one 10-wicket match haul and took 5 wickets or more per innings four times. His best bowling was 6 for 20 against Jamaica at Sabina Park in December 2015.

The BCB takes this opportunity to congratulate Motie on his call up and wish him well. He is advised to keep his feet grounded. Best wishes also to the entire team.

Senwasane’s 82, Latiff’s 9 for 12 help Port Mourant beat Albion by innings and 88 runs

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he Port Mourant Cricket Club (PMCC) continued its winning streak in the New York Business Group sponsored Under 19 one day-2 innings competition when they defeated the Albion Cricket Club by 88 runs and an innings in their match played at the Port Mourant Community Center, Berbice.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Albion Cricket Club were all out for 102 in 34 overs. R. Kasinauth led the way with

29, while G. Outar made 25 and A. Ault chipped in with 20. All the other batsmen failed to reach double figures as the Port Mourant bowlers proved detrimental to the Albion batting order.

Bowling for Port Mourant Cricket Club, Kevin Latif took 4 wickets for 4 off 8 overs, Totaram Rajaram took 2 for 14 off 4.

Port Mourant replied with 212 in 48 overs. Batting for Port Mourant, the aggressive Opener Veramootoo Senwasane made a smashing 82 while Imran Khan

crafted 41, Emmanuel Seecharran made 25 while Totaram Rajaram and Ezekiel Kempadoo ended on 13 each.

The Albion Batsmen failed to recover from the first innings deficit crumbled to be 22 all out to give Port Mourant Cricket Club victory by an innings and 88 runs.

Port Mourant’s left arm spinner Kevin Latiff again proved dangerous and bagged 5 wickets for 8 runs while Sudesh Ghamandi took 5 for 7 runs.

wednesdAY, May 18, 2016

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

Junior Men’s Team arrive in Toronto for Pan American Championships

Pg 22 Standing (L-R) Barrington Browne (Physical Trainer); Robert Fernandes (Head Coach); Nyron Joseph; Andrew Stewart; Leon Bacchus; Shaquille Leung; Ato Greene; Keon McKenzie; Medroy Scotland (GK); Paramanand Dindial; Mark Sargeant (Cap); Aroydy Branford & Hubert Forrester (Manager) Stooping: Kareem McKenzie, Omar Hopkinson, Meshach Sargeant, Daniel Hooper, Rosario Ramsammy, Michael Hing (GK) and Jael Gaskin Absent from photo is Hilton Chester

Fitness Express boosts powerlifting

WIFBSC Championships 2016 – Antigua

Local marksmen aiming to retain Short Range and Individual titles

Pg 23

Pg 22 Jaime McDonald of Fitness Express hands over the sponsorship cheque to GAPLA representative Paul Adams

Team Guyana, minus Lennox Braithwaite and John Fraser, upon arrival at the VC Bird International Airport in Antigua & Barbuda. WIBFSC President Norris Gomez is fourth right

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