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Issue No. 2866

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

CH&PA cancels 50/50

jubilee housing promotion

... no consultation with Board before announcement, Page 17 to examine financial implications – Chairman

Norton insists no drug shortage crisis

Soldier killed in EBD crash Page 10

Page 14

− PPP maintains problem exists

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Govt should proceed with Venezuela refugees P7 cautiously – Rohee

Security guard shot

P10

− robbed of guns, cash at ECD bank P9 Father succumbs after blow to head from son

Student crushed after steelpan rehearsal See details in

om Uni c i r a ty C

thursday's edition

Babita Sarjou’s murder

Husband, accomplice for court P11 today

Conflict of interest

Minister Broomes’ actions threaten impartiality in industry – GGDMA P17

The Social Protection Ministry on Tuesday launched its 50th Anniversary band under the theme “Caricom Unity.” The pieces that will be showcased during the float parade this Thursday depicted the colours and the flags of fellow Caribbean nations

Diamond hospital staff decry inhumane working conditions

Page 9

Forensic audits

Hinds calls for action against transgressors

– says Govt should use audits to set an example

– supports her transfer out of Natural Resources Ministry

Page 3

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wednesDAY, may 25, 2016 | guyana-times.com

news

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wednesDAY, may 25, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, May 25 – 05:00h-06:30h and Thursday, May 26 – 05:30h-07:00h The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, May 25 – 06:05h-07:35h and Thursday, May 26 – 06:45h-08:15h.

By Alexis Rodney

WEATHER TODAY Thundery rain showers can be expected throughout the day, while heavy rain showers can be expected in the late afternoon and light cloud cover in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly to North Easterly between 2.23 metres per second and 3.57 metres per second.

High Tide: 06:23h and 18:54h reaching maximum heights of 2.64 metres and 2.49 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 12:25h reaching a minimum height of 0.57 metre.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

LOTTERY NUMBERS E 02 05 06 08 12 14 16 Bonus Ball

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Daily Millions

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Draw De Line 03 05 07 11 15

Hinds calls for action against transgressors

– says Govt should use audits to set an example

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Forensic audits

17 19

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olitical commentator Dr David Hinds has said while he agreed with President David Granger that it might be difficult to persecute every person found culpable in the reports of the recently concluded State Audits, Government should go after some instances of corruption to send a very stern message.

Speaking with Guyana Times in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, Hinds, an executive of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), one of the partners in the coalition Government, said there have to be some cases of “blatant corruption”, carried out by some former Government officials, and the new Administration should use some of these instances to hint that it was totally against corruption.

“Having gotten the results of the audits, I agree with the President that you should not jump at everything, because not every malpractice is corruption, but I think that from the best of my knowledge, there are some instances of blatant corruption. I think the President has to go after the instances of blatant corruption,” Hinds told Guyana Times.

He said it would be a good move; however, before Government “jumps before the courts”, the audits should be carefully studied.

“You have to get a set of fresh eyes and legal people to look at it. But I refuse to believe [based on] what I have read in the newspapers that there are not two or three or four instances of blatant corruption that should be brought before the courts.”

According to Hinds, should Government fail in this regard, it will send a message to those from the previous Administration who remain, to continue down this path, thus, driving a continuous process of undetectable corruption.

“We live in the type of society, if you do not do it, there are still others who are in office from the old regime, because the top officers

President David Granger

Dr David Hinds

may have gone, but the people at the second, and third level of Government are still there and so, if they can see that these things can be uncovered and people can get away, then that give them the incentive to continue.”

Hinds said for him, it is not about punishing the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) and their officials, it is simply putting a brake on blatant corruption and setting an example for future Governments.

President Granger late last week said that while Government has received the reports of the so far completed State Audits, it may find it challenging to persecute persons who have been found culpable.

He insisted that the main objective behind audits and the reports was to ensure that no improper or corrupt practices recur. He said too that he was not willing to use the audits and the reports as tools for “witch hunting”.

The President had pre-

viously said the audits were being used as “guides for corrective action to ensure that there is no reoccurrence”.

Hinds expressed the view that the State Audits were an absolute necessity, since there had been an “abuse of State resources throughout our post-independence”.

“It did not start with the previous PPP, it started before. But I think it escalated under the PPP and we have to put a stop to that, because, if it escalated under the PPP, the logic is that if nothing is done, it will continue with this audit. So I think the audit was very important.”

Meanwhile, Hinds, speaking on Government’s decision to use independent auditors, as against officials of the State Audit Department, said he totally supported the use of independent officials.

“I think if you were to use State Auditors to audit the State, whether it was the past or present Government, it is the same Government.

I don’t think that the State

should be asking State Auditors to audit it. So I do agree with the move to have an independent audit,” he explained.

Hinds said it was understandable that persons have had some qualms about the independent auditors; however, he was quite sure that an excellent job was done.

“I know some people have questioned whether the auditors themselves were independent as many of the auditors, some of them were associated with the Opposition. That is the difficulty with politics in Guyana. But professionals need to be given a chance to do their professional work…

To the best of my knowledge, I think they have done a professional job.”

He continued there were always going to be subjectivity and one has to make allowances for that. “I still do think that the independent auditors would give more nuances and a more dispassionate review of the audits as against the State Auditors.”

Hinds said in all of this, it would be a good thing if Government could be a little clearer about what was being done about official corruption. He said while the audits were fine, Government still needed to be clear about where the lines should be drawn.

“There is not really a clear line drawn. There are still vestiges of the old order still in place that should not be there,” Hinds told Guyana Times.

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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

The technological frontier

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s the country is about to celebrate a milestone of 50 years of Independence, much reflection has to be done on where we are as a developing country and where we would like to see ourselves another 50 years from now.

Surely, the ubiquitous affirmation would be for us to transcend our status of a “developing” country and through prudent, holistic micro and macro governance, collaborations with the Private Sector and international financing institutions ascend to the ranks of “developed” countries.

One of the definitive pillars that would invariably assist in the promulgation of our country from “developing” to “developed” is the proliferation of technology.

Information from the 2014 Brookings Blum Roundtable report on Advancing Technological Diffusion in Developing Countries asserts that for developed countries “marginal productivity gains depend on the discovery of new technologies that push the technology frontier further out. In contrast, poorer countries are positioned some distance back from this frontier. Poor countries’ opportunity to make use of proven technologies without having to develop them from scratch is one factor that allows them to grow faster than rich countries under the right conditions, and thereby accelerate closer to the frontier”.

Currently, while we are on par with most of the developed world as it relates to our Internet speeds (4G) and access to technological products through imports, we are still lagging behind from an institutional perspective.

In Guyana’s case, more institutional investment is needed in pushing tech in the education sector. Significantly more impetus should be given to the University of Guyana via funding to support Research and Development (R&D). More alliances and being part of a network of universities, academic institutions, research laboratories and firms are also necessary to exploit the technological frontier.

Additionally, more specialised courses such as programming/ coding should be implemented within our curriculum from primary up to tertiary, so that Guyanese can tap into the ever growing market for software developers, support technicians and systems analysts that are needed. Experts have posited that employment in all computer occupations is expected to increase by 22 per cent in the next four years.

According to Stanford.edu in its article “Technology in Developing Economies”, “in order to participate in a hightech marketplace, developing nations require individuals with technical expertise. Problems arise when nations attempt to make overly rapid advances in education, producing graduates without a satisfactory infrastructure to support the education system. Namely, families must be able to afford to send their children to school, educational institutions need resources such as current textbooks and electricity, and educated individuals require incentives to remain in their home nations”.

From an incentive standpoint, once the human resources component is there, tech firms will come looking to establish footings in developing countries that have the educated human capital and cheaper labour to increase their profits. The local economy will invariably benefit from this relationship.

In fact, this foreign investment is a given, since the demand for technology is expected to increase as the world becomes “hyper-globalised”.

Guyana is not the only developing country looking to advance itself, so the longer we wait to start the process, the longer we will take to further develop in this particularly lucrative sector.

Stanford.edu posits that “the adoption of technology by developing countries has had profound effects on their economies, such as reducing the national costs of production, establishing standards for quality, and allowing individuals to communicate from a distance…the rapid spread of technology fuelled by the Internet has led to positive cultural changes in developing countries. Easier, faster communication has contributed to the rise of democracy, as well as the alleviation of poverty. Globalisation can also increase cultural awareness and promote diversity.”

Our biggest detriment so far is that our telecommunications sector is not yet liberalised; thankfully, this will soon be addressed as a bill is currently before the National Assembly that should soon see the opening up of the sector, allowing other local and international players the opportunity to competitively offer increased technological services to Guyana.

As part of nationwide activities planned to celebrate and commemorate Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary, NEW GPC INC beautified and upgraded the Independence Arch in the National Park. NEW GPC initiated sponsorship of the Arch more than 15 years ago and does monthly maintenance of the area in collaboration with the National Parks Commission

Negative impact on rice industry

Dear Editor, Local rice exporters are extremely horrified, threatened and apprehensive by the recent action of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) which seeks to monopolise the sale of rice to only two Jamaican companies. But it is apparent that there are conflicting positions on this matter.

The GRDB’s General Manager had said that “any company can export to and import from Jamaica, meaning buyers and sellers who meet the GRDB criteria will not be hindered in any way nor will it be hindered in any way nor will it limit importation into Jamaica to two Jamaican companies” (Guyana Chronicle April 25, 2016). On the other hand, the Agriculture Ministry’s website has made it clear that ‘the GRDB is the facilitator and the rice industry is owned by the Private Sector’. (www.agriculture. gov.gy/grdb) Furthermore, the General Manager of the GRDB, Nizam Hassan (former General Manager of Guyana Marketing Corporation), in a press release had claimed that the actions of the GRDB is supported by the GRDB Act 1994 – he said that the approval of contracts is in accordance with the Act. He further stated that “the GRDB Act states clearly the procedure which should be taken when entering into a contract for the supply and sale of paddy and other products of paddy”.

However, what he fails to acknowledge is the fact that the GRDB does not have the mandate according to the Act to enter into such contractual arrangements purportedly on behalf of rice

millers. It must be stated that rice exporters were not even party to this negotiation – so how can this contract be even made on their behalf? It was literally pushed down their throats!

Is the General Manager stating that the GRDB is a rice miller? It is the GRDB that entered into the contract with the two Jamaican companies.

Both the Agriculture Ministry website and the GRDB’s website are again clear on this matter when they state that the function of the GRDB is to work along with stakeholders in export and trade facilitation. In fact, the GRDB has a department which is solely responsible for the preparation of all relevant documentation for the exporting of rice from Guyana.

They also assist in the facilitation of foreign investors in the purchase of Guyana’s rice and other rice products.

These websites are in direct agreement with the Guyana Rice Development Board Act Chapter 72:01 Section 4. This Section makes it clear that the GRDB should promote the expansion of the export trade in the rice industry, to facilitate the export of paddy and rice, to establish mechanisms and systems to assist rice producers to export rice and paddy and to provide assistance in negotiating and entering into contracts with foreign governments, agencies or persons for the export of paddy and rice and to engage in such activities which appear to the Board to be necessary for the purpose of increasing the export rice and paddy.

Hence, it is submitted that the GRDB has no legal jurisdiction to actually negotiate and enter into con-

tracts to export rice-it can provide assistance!

Furthermore, this illegal and counter-trading act by the GRDB seeks to contravene, once again, its mandate in the GRDB Act. Section 4, subsection (5)(g) gives the GRDB the mandate ‘to monitor and guide the development of the rice industry having regard to changes in the export markets for rice and other products of paddy, paddy and products of rice’.

The GRDB, as one of its criteria to export to the Jamaican rice market is guilefully trying to delete branding and is insisting that rice millers supply white rice in bulk. What is the hidden agenda of the GRDB? This criterion cannot be seen as a ‘development’ of the rice industry.

It is an established fact that branding is the key to business success and it requires huge amounts of financial and human resources to create and launch a successful brand. In effect, the GRDB is wilfully killing the growth of the rice industry. In today’s business world, product differentiation and branding is vital for the growth and development of the rice industry. It is only by creating and maintaining successful brands of rice that we will ensure our long-term market growth and survival on the international market scene.

This new development which will negatively affect one of the largest entrepreneurs and rice millers in Berbice and Guyana – Nand Persaud and Company – locally and internationally famous for its Karibee Brand of rice. This Company has taken more than 20 years and millions of dollars to

create and promote an enduring brand name which is not only highly famous and a household name in Guyana but in the Caribbean and many parts of the world. It is a travesty to good business practice that such a prestigious brand name should be sacrificed by policymakers of the GRDB who have shown no concern for the long-term survival and development of the rice industry.

To deliberately destroy a successful brand name will greatly affect the competitive nature of business since this is what spurs efficiency in production, improvement in quality and in the effective marketing of products and services. The GRDB should be aware that bulk selling is injurious to rice millers who have spent time and money to ensure that their products are of superior quality and can secure a huge market share. This will also serve to hide poor quality and will result in giving the rice industry a bad reputation. This act of destroying a successful brand name is definitely taking the rice industry back to the dinosaur age!

I am calling on the Government and specifically, the Business Minister, the Guyana Rice Exporters and Millers Association, the Guyana Manufacturing Association and the Private Sector Commission, to intervene and protect the businesses affected by this capricious and detrimental action by the GRDB. Are the GRDB officials willing to circumvent their legal mandate in pursuit of self-aggrandisement?

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf Councillor, Region Six

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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

Put down your drums! PPP leaders wouldn’t be jailed Dear Editor, Elections in Guyana have never been about ideas. From the days of rigging to the more recent times of race-baiting, Guyana has been devoid of any election – won or lost – based of critical thinking.

Yet, every other day, someone is banging on a drum or writing in the dailies, or otherwise calling for action to be taken against those who raped our treasury.

There is this notion that this Administration will pursue some investigations, jail a few People’s Progressive Party (PPP) stalwarts and supporters and then come next elections, the PPP will lose big.

And the drum beats are getting louder and louder. However, I am amazed at those making the calls.

It is as if they are living in an ignorance-bubble or as if they are dwelling in a dream world.

I sat and listened very carefully to President David Granger on this matter. He was asked about his position on the audits.

I even went and read the script on the interview.

The President was very

clear when he said that the audits were firstly to lay a framework “for corrective action” to prevent the likelihood of such financial skullduggery and ethical adultery from ever happening again.

And then, “If” any are found guilty, they “could” be punished. It is very clear from how the President framed his response that the main reasons for the extensive audits are not to determine culpability for the financial atrocities.

So those who are constantly calling for arrests and imprisonment and embarrassment of the PPP folks, had better save their breaths. It is this Government that is paying the hefty sums for the audits.

Yet those calling for the President to take action are behaving as if they are the ones telling the President what is going on. News flash! The President knows of the findings long before you do. And he has spoken on the matter already.

It might appear to some that the President is running a one man show. He most definitely is not. Only recently, he said his re-

lease of young offender is not reckless.

He went on to explain that he works on the advice of those he respects.

Similarly, one would have to assume that when it comes to operationalising the culpability of the audits, his attitude is governed by his advisers. One would have to be very narrow-minded and politically biased to think that the guilt parties of those audits will rest solely with the PPP members.

It would take a simpleton to conclude that only persons in the last Administration stole the people’s money. Crime and corruption in Guyana are not only systematic, they are endemic. It is how Guyana does business.

And it is how the successive Governments have been doing business for a long time. So any indepth investigation of any of those audits is likely to have tentacles reaching right into the halls of the current Administration.

And they might go high and far.

So while I do not agree with the President’s rea-

soning and reluctance on these matters, I understand his caution. This Government cannot deal with any more scandals.

I remember Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo saying to the Government Ministers, “You tell the people how much money ya’ll got, and I will tell them how much I got.” I am shocked that no one has called his bluff. So for all those banging drums and calling on President Granger to “Do Something!” he will not and he already told you so.

So if you think the next election will be won by the coalition because the PPP leaders are all in jail, or if you think the coming elections will be based on ideas, or concepts, or critical thinking, or any of those mushy stuff, think again. The next election will be based on who could get out their racial base, plus some of those in the interior. Now go put down your drum.

Sincerely, Pastor Wendell Jeffrey Practical Christianity Ministries

Freddie is worse than those he attacks Dear Editor, Freddie Kissoon dishes out almost daily slander against people he does not like. He targets former PPP Government and, specifically, several of its officials accusing them of corruption and authoritarianism and other abuses.

But Freddie is a hypocrite when it comes to corruption and fraud as well as being a bully and authoritarian figure.

The evidence would reveal Freddie is guilty of the very same allegations he levelled against others. He pilloried those in positions as behaving like dictators.

But when he became “ruler” (chief), he behaves no differently from them.

In fact, he behaves worse. As a columnist, Freddie has had a history of confrontations or run-ins

with many individuals derogating and calling them all kinds of insulting names.

He uses the media to personally attack people with whom he has had disagreements – a serious violation of media norms.

In addition, he has been very controversial making claims that turned out to be incorrect or that were outright lies and falsehoods.

His scholarship in his writings has been very poor and could not be supported with evidence.

Freddie also attacked Chronicle editors for not carrying his responses when PPP controlled the Government. Today, under his coalition Government, Chronicle does not carry views of critics and dissidents – Freddie is silent. Freddie wrote that he was offered a job by David

Hinds to be a columnist for Chronicle.

We did not know Hinds is a manager of Chronicle because Hinds himself complains about being censored at Chronicle. Freddie says he cannot write for Chronicle because his views are not consonant with Chronicle’s on the role of a free media. Really! So why censor others now that he is letters editor? On corruption, Freddie ceaselessly slammed PPP figures as corrupt.

He mentioned the name of Nirmal Rekha ad nauseam regarding the vehicle duty-free controversy up till today when the incident occurred a decade ago; notice Freddie does not write about corruption under the coalition APNU/AFC. Freddie complained that his duty-free car was not

approved. Rekha did not authorise a duty-free car for Freddie. So Freddie would not forget or forgive the man. But Freddie was not qualified for duty free – he wanted the man to break the law for him.

If Freddie had gotten his duty-free vehicle, all would have been well with regard to Rekha and the PPP. Freddie needs to address the charges made against him by GHK Lall and Maxwell regarding corruption. Freddie is accused of blackmailing businessmen for money not to write against them.

So when it comes to corruption and authoritarianism, and on professional conduct, Freddie is worse than those he attacked.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

GRA welcomes Finance Minister’s enhanced capacity vision Dear Editor, The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Minister of Finance Winston Jordan on his inaugural Budget presentation and looks forward with optimism to the realisation of the Government’s vision for a new and improved tax Agency that promises quality service delivery and efficient revenue collection.

Note was made of the plans outlined by the Minister for strengthening of the GRA’s mandate in the near future and more particularly the important role the Authority plays as a revenue earner for the state.

In his 2015 budget presentation, on Monday, August 10, Minister Jordan said “The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) contributes the bulk of revenues intended for the Consolidated Fund. As a result of declining external inflows to Guyana, due in part to debt relief given under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), the GRA has assumed added importance over the last decade in generating resources to meet Government expenditure programmes.

This role will expand, in the medium term, as the Government accelerates its programmes and projects to enable Guyanese to experi-

ence the good life,” Unfortunately the GRA noted certain sections of the media taking Minister’s remarks out of context with speculations about retention at the Authority’s top brass, perhaps seeking to besmirch the image of the GRA. The Authority noted that the Minister elaborated on the need to strengthen and enhance the organisational and managerial capacity of the GRA with a focus on reviewing its current operational standards so that they are in line with international best practices; a move that is welcomed by the management of the GRA. Each year the GRA is entrusted with the task of collecting a large portion of the revenue and save for a few shortfalls, it has been adequately prepared to meet the targets set out. The record achievements in revenue collection by the GRA over successive years stand testimony.

In anticipation this year, officers of the GRA’s Planning and Analysis Department and the Ministry of Finance were educated on revenue forecasting by the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre CARTAC).

Sincerely, Public Relations Unit Guyana Revenue Authority

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Foundation bad manners that they don’t realise that the way in which their correction is delivered is itself rude. Use your own good manners to model appropriate communication skills. Pause, look at your child, and say, “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

BY ROBERT MYERS, PHD AND ELIZABETH PANTLEY

T

rying to teach your child not to interrupt can sometimes be an exercise in frustration. Telling them there’s a time to interrupt (in case of a fire) and a time to not interrupt (boredom) isn’t enough. But putting these principles into practice is easier said than done, especially for a very verbal or highenergy child. That’s why now is a good time to revisit some basic lessons about good manners and teaching your child to wait their turn to speak.

First of all, set a reasonable expectation. School-aged children have a difficult time holding their thoughts for more than a few minutes. Indicate to her as best as you can that you’ll be with them as soon as possible and then stay true to your word.

To help your child’s interruption habit, develop some ideas for them to occupy themselves with while you’re on the phone or otherwise unavailable. Keep a box full of puzzles, crayons, colourful markers or other quiet toys nearby that they can only use when you have to make a call. Set snacks and drinks on an accessible level so they don’t have to interrupt you for help.

When you need to make a call or have an important conversation with a visitor, head off trouble by saying you’re about to phone someone or have a conversation and estimate how long you expect to talk. Ask them if they need anything before you make your call or have your conversation with your company.

Then do your best to adhere to that time schedule, and excuse yourself from the conversation

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long enough to check on them.

Let them know you’ll be a bit longer if that’s the case and see if they need anything before returning to your conversation.

Reading is a great tool to teach manners and help your child’s interruption habit.

Find several books on the subject then read them together.

Discuss afterwards what your child learned from the story and how they will handle a similar situation in their life the next time it occurs.

As always, children learn what they live. Your child is very unlikely to learn not to interrupt if they hear you, your spouse, or their siblings constantly interrupting each other. Your actions have a strong influence on your child, so be a good role model and ask permission to speak before speaking, and apologise when you inadvertently interrupt.

Handling interrupting from your toddler Whether you’re on the phone, busy on your computer, or talking to another adult, it can be frustrating when your children constantly interrupt you. What’s surprising to learn is that they do it because they always get a response from you when they do! They’ve learned that you are willing to stop what you’re doing to

answer them. Keep in mind that children are so focused on their own needs that they don’t realise that you have needs, too. They can learn how to pay more attention to other people’s needs as well as their own, which will help control these endless interruptions.

Give lessons and examples Teach your children how to determine if something warrants an interruption, as they may have a hard time deciphering when interruptions are justified. Discuss examples of when it’s okay to interrupt, such as when someone is at the door, or if a sibling is hurt.

Coach proper manners.

Teach your child how to wait for a pause in the conversation and to say, “Excuse me.” When she remembers to do this, respond positively. If the interruption is about something that should wait, politely inform your child of this.

Don’t answer the question. Many parents admonish children for interrupting, but in the same breath respond to the child’s interrupted request, which just reinforces the habit.

Watch your manners Parents sometimes jump in so quickly to correct their child’s

Teach “The Squeeze” Tell your child that if she wants something when you are talking to another adult, she should gently squeeze your arm. You will then squeeze her hand to indicate that you know she is there and will be with her in a minute. At first, respond quickly so your child can see the success of this method. Over time you can wait longer, just give a gentle squeeze every few minutes to remind your child that you remember the request.

Create a busy-box Put together a box of activities or games that can only be used when you are on the telephone, working at your desk, or talking with an adult.

Occasionally refill it with new things or rotate the contents.

Be firm about putting them away when you are done. Your child will be look forward to your next conversation, which will be interruption free!

Plan ahead Before you make a phone call or have a visitor, let your child know what to expect. “I’m going to make a phone call. I’ll be a while, so let’s get your busy box ready to use while I’m on the phone.”

Give praise when deserved Catching your child doing the right thing can be the best lesson of all. Praise your child for using good manners, for remembering to say “excuse me,” and for interrupting only for a valid reason. (childdevelopmentinfo.com)

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reasons why your toddler won’t pipe down

BY PAM MYERS, BSED

W

hen your preschooler learns to talk, you’ll be able to enjoy a proper conversation with him. But he may expect that conversation to carry on all day, even when he can see you’re busy. In fact, the busier you are, the more he’ll bombard you with questions and observations – probably the same ones, repeatedly – as though he’s trying to wind you up.

But be assured, he’s not being naughty; he’s just pursuing an instinctive need to chat. Here are some of the factors behind this new and n a t ural d e velopment.

1. Your responses help him feel secure As your young child becomes more independent and adventurous, he needs the reassurance of your presence and encouragement behind him. Your familiar voice and enthusiastic comments serve him well, giving him the confidence to venture further and try more new things.

2. Chatting is an exciting new game Conversation is vital for your toddler’s language development, and it is natural for him to want to try out new words and phrases. He needs your respons-

es as proof that he has said the words right and that they meant what he thought they did. Of course, he won’t be aware of all this subconscious motivation.

You are his sounding board for his practice sessions, so take a deep breath and answer him yet again.

3. He wants to share his discoveries with you The world is like a treasure chest to your youngster. Wherever he looks, he finds new wonders and puzzles, which he wants to celebrate with you.

Perhaps he’s discovered how to open a lid, draw a face, or make a funny noise, or maybe he’s encountered an unusual shape or texture.

However trivial the finding may seem to you, it’s fascinating to him. He’ll also have a constant stream of questions to ask about the perplexing world around him.

4. He wants to understand what’s happening Your child will be starting to take an interest in daily arrangements. If you’re going out, for instance, he’ll want to know where, and whether he’s going with you. If you’re out shopping together, he may want to know what items you’ll be buying and where they can be found. He’ll be keen to help too. Your answers to his questions will reassure him, but he may feel the need to ask them several times over, for confirmation, so take another deep breath.

5.

Conversation makes him feel close to you Your youngster may be driving you to distraction with his constant chitchat, but it is all well-intended. You are his star, the most special person in his life, and conversation keeps him close to you. He hasn’t yet mastered the art of conversation, so he may say anything that comes into his head to keep the communication lines open, and the bond between you, strong and secure. You may be otherwise engaged at that moment, but young children can’t always appreciate such predicaments in adults, and become upset when they don’t receive the response they crave.

Sometimes a hasty nod and smile can save a tantrum.

The toddler stage can be a tough one for parents, but it helps to bear in mind that your child is simply going through the normal, natural processes of growing up.

But it is also a rewarding stage, and one encouraging word from you can make your doting child glow with happiness. (childdevelopmentinfo.com)

news

7

wednesday, may 25, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Govt should proceed with Venezuela Govt tables Telecoms, PUC Bills refugees cautiously – Rohee

A

s Guyana continues to closely monitor the crisis situation in neighbouring Venezuela, former Home Affairs Minister and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee has advised that Government consider all factors when making a decision on the matter particularly as it relates to the refugees.

Speaking at the Party’s weekly press conference on Monday, Rohee said that Government would have to take a holistic approach in addressing the matter.

“We have to be careful that we don’t press a panic button into convincing ourselves that we are going to see a flood of persons coming across the border from Venezuela, in whatever shape, form or fashion,” he stated.

According to Rohee, Government will have to bear in mind firstly, that there was a time when many Guyanese left the shores of this country and went to settle in bordering towns of Venezuela. He explained that there were thousands of Guyanese still living in that part of Venezuela who have since made their lives in the Spanish-speaking country without little or no interference from the Venezuelan Government.

“I don’t recall instances where the Venezuelans have actually chased them (Guyanese) out from the country or prevented them from coming in. Somehow,

Former Home Affairs Minister, PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee

it has always been that culture of cross-border movement between ourselves and Venezuela,” he noted.

The PPP General Secretary went on to say that while the ‘cross-border culture’ as it relates to movement of Guyanese to Venezuela and Venezuelans to Guyana is prevalent, Guyana has to take into consideration the situation currently in Europe with respect to refugees and immigrants from Iraq and Syria going into Europe.

“So in the present-day context and the historical context, we have to exercise great care and caution in relation to addressing this issue,” he remarked.

Moreover, the former Home Affairs Minister outlined that the issue with refugees was never as “black and white” as it seemed. He pointed out that Guyana was not a member of the United Nations High Commission of Refugees or Convention of Refugees,

and that had its own implications.

Last Thursday, when asked whether Government would be willing to accept refugees from Venezuela, President David Granger told Guyana Times that his Administration has not considered this issue as yet.

“We do not have any agreement with Venezuela about other refugees (coming here) and that is not something that we have considered… (but) we have an obligation to accept returning Guyanese if they want to re-enter the land of their birth,” he told this newspaper.”

Moreover, the Guyanese Head of State pointed out that the situation in the neighbouring country was cause for concern, given the territorial controversy between the two countries.

He said too that the issue would also affect the wider Caribbean as well.

“I am deeply concerned about what is taking place in Venezuela; plus Guyana has a special interest because of the territorial question, but I think the whole Region is concerned about what is taking place in Venezuela and we hope that there is not going to be a resort to lawlessness… I hope that a legal and orderly approach is taken for the security of the whole subregion because it will have an impact on the Caribbean as well,” Granger stated.

With the Venezuelan economy deteriorating, it is expected that there would

in Parliament

A President David Granger

be a refugee crisis in the Region as persons from the Spanish-speaking country were likely to flee to neighbouring nations.

Meanwhile, Chief-ofStaff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Brigadier Mark Phillips is reported as saying that he is monitoring the situation in Venezuela and is prepared to protect Guyana’s border if the need arises.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro recently declared a state of emergency as the country experiences economic turmoil following the decline of oil prices on the world market over the past months.

Reports coming out of the Spanish-speaking nation reveal that there is a massive food shortage and limited access to basic healthcare and amenities such as electricity.

Reports of rampant outbursts of looting and violence are also emerging from the neighbouring country.

fter much anticipation and expectation, Government has finally taken the Telecommunication and Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Bills to the National Assembly.

The Bills were tabled by Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes on Tuesday. They were read for the first time.

Earlier this month, Minister Hughes told Guyana Times that she intended to have the proposed legislation presented to the National Assembly before the end of the month.

However, at the time, the Bills were with the Attorney General (AG) Chambers for legal vetting.

The Bills were then handed to Cabinet for final review before presentation to Parliament. GTT currently holds a 20-year plus monopoly over the telecommunication sector and stakeholders, particularly Digicel, have long been calling for this control of the telecoms market to be broken.

The Telecoms Bill, which was first introduced in 2011 and revised in 2013, was with a Special Select Committee in the 10th Parliament and was near conclusion when Parliament was prorogued in 2014. The Bill is among 12 others that were recalled in the 11th Parliament.

Meanwhile, under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance

For Change (APNU/ AFC) Administration, the Telecoms Bill underwent a new set of consultations with the two main players in mobile service and other stakeholders including the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and several NonGovernmental Organisations before it was submitted to Cabinet for review.

Government had even appointed two overseas consultants – Janice Brendman and Geeta Ragubir – to complete the work on the Bill.

The Telecommunications Bill seeks to create a competitive regime in the telecommunications sector. It provides for an open, liberalised and competitive sector that will be attractive to new market entrants and investors, while preserving the activities of the current participants.

By creating this competitive environment for telecommunications, the Bill is expected to result in greater choice, better quality of service and lower prices for consumers. The Bill also specifically addresses the expansion of telecommunication networks and services into unserved and underserved areas, through the institution of a new universal access/universal service programme, in an effort to further national and regional social and economic development. turn to page 12

8 news

wednesDAY, may 25, 2016 | guyana-times.com

IN THE COURTS Essequibo teen to spend 2 years at NOC for wandering

A

14-year-old teen of Queenstown Village, Essequibo Coast, was on Tuesday charged for wandering and ordered to spend two years at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) by Magistrate Sunil Scarce, when she appeared at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court. The matter was tried in camera.

The court was told the defendant during the month of December 2015, at Queenstown, Essequibo Coast, being under the age of 17, was found wondering. She had been missing from her grandmother’s home for some four months and refused to say where she was or who she was with when she appeared in court.

The grandmother and her father were present in court.

The father agreed to have the teen spend two years at NOC; however, the grandmother was not in favour. After the probation report was presented to Magistrate Scarce, the teen was sent to NOC where she was told to further her studies.

The court also heard that out of

55 school sessions, the juvenile only 34 attended.

It was also reported that prior to her leaving home for the past four months, she would pretend that she is going to school by dressing in her uniform but her school attendance record showed that she was absent on numerous occasions.

Labourer fined $45,000 for wounding father, threatening mother

G

anesh Ramanand, also known as “Tractor”, a labourer from Queenstown Village, Essequibo Coast, was on Tuesday slapped with a wounding and threatening language charge.

Ramanand made his first court appearance before Magistrate Sunil Scarce at

the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court where he was charged for threatening his mother, Dhanpat Pitam and wounding his father Ramanand Pirtam. He pleaded guilty to both charges.

It is alleged that on April 16, 2016, at Queenstown Village, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded

Ramanand Pirtam. Pirtam is 80 years old.

The Prosecution’s case stated that the labourer took a piece of wood and hit his father to his right hand causing injuries to his finger.

He pleaded guilty to the offence and was fined $30,000 or an alternative of six weeks imprisonment. The second

charge alleged that on May 21, he threatened to kill his mother, Dhanpat Pitam.

He has previous convictions where he was jailed in the past for similar offences against his parents.

For the threatening language charge, he was fined $15,000 or an alternative of two weeks imprisonment.

Men accused of stealing LM&TC minibus freed

M

agistrate Clive Nurse on Tuesday dismissed the case against four men accused of stealing a minibus, property of the Linden Mayor and Town Council (LM&TC) in March 2015.

The accused: Preston Skeete, Harold Rogers and Shawn Wilson of Central Amelia’s Ward, Mackenzie, Linden and Clifford Hilliman of Dennis Street, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, appeared at

the Linden Magistrate’s Court to answer to the charge of simple larceny.

The four were alleged to have stolen the minibus valued $3.5 million between March 1 and 2, 2015 at Wisroc, Wismar,

Linden.

However, when the case was called on Tuesday, Magistrate Nurse in his ruling found that there was insufficient evidence against the accused, and the matter was dismissed.

Sophia man slapped with drug charge

A

n excavator mechanic was remanded to prison on Tuesday

by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged for possession of cannabis.

Thirty-three-year-old Desmond Rigby of Sophia, Greater Georgetown, is accused of having 173 grams of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking, within the vicinity of the Cuyuni River, in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers told the court that on the day in question, the defendant was found with a

blue Haversack which contained the leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be that of cannabis.

Jeffers further told the court that the accused was then booked and charged for the offence.

It was while in custody, Jeffers stated, that Rigby confessed to the offence, stating “Officer this is me own I just going and drop off this fine shipment.”

The unrepresented man was remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate McLennan and the matter was transferred to the Bartica Magistrate’s Court. The matter will be continuing on June 9.

Desmond Rigby

Eyew tness Questioning...

S

...identity

eems there was a symposium at the Convention Centre to answer the question, “Who are we?” Now this had to’ve been a very high powered session since the five presenters mentioned in one report were all “Doctors”. Not medical doctors since they weren’t discussing “HOW are we”. Most likely doctors in the various “social sciences” – psychology, anthropology, sociology etc... that specialise in matters of identity and such like.

Another clue the symposium was high octane was the newly-installed Vice Chancellor of UG, Ivelaw Griffith vouchsafing that the panellists would be “interrogating old questions”. Now the moment you hear about “interrogating” anything and the words don’t come from the mouth of Police squeezing confessions from unwary suspects, it’s a dead giveaway you’re dealing with heavy intellectual hitters.

The final confirmation of grey matter in abundance was when your trusty Eyewitness couldn’t get a report on what was actually said from the press reports that’re his daily manna. Presumably the reporters from the various media groups are still digesting the nuggets of wisdom – and gold, as we all should know being Guyanese, is a VERY HEAVY metal.

Anyhow, your Eyewitness has already been bombarded for over 50 years – there, you now know!

– with a very definitive answer to the question as to “who are we”. Namely the national motto we adopted at independence that allows no ambiguity – we are “One People, One Nation...with one destiny”. That threw out the old notion we used to run around with, that we were “the land of six peoples”. No baby! We were now one people.

It was like one day you’re living in sin – drinking, carousing and generally carrying on – and the next day you’re baptised. You are now saved and the old you has been exorcised forever. And if we’re one people, we have to be one “nation”, don’t we? So what exactly did these eggheads over at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre “interrogate”?

The fact of the matter is this Eyewitness thinks Government should just get the heck out of the business of “interrogating” who we are. The moment Government gets involved is the moment when inevitably someone’s gonna cry “FOUL”!!! Pointing out that one group or another’s getting the inside track to the funding from the Government.

“Who we are?” is a question best answered by “we the people”...and since the Government’s always run by ONE section of the “people”, COMPARISONS WILL INEVITABLY ARISE. That some folks might be better funded and better equipped to influence the answer to the question, must be countered from within the resources of the “others”.

State “help” doesn’t really help – just infantilises.

....digital books

One letter writer took objection to a telephone company exulting in 4G freedom and splashing over some billboard, “Goodbye Library... Hello World!”. Point the company was making, of course, was we can now download books off the internet so fast, we might as well have the world’s library at our fingertips. And we, therefore, don’t need to sidle into stuffy libraries with musty “paper” books.

Evidently, the writer recently chanced into the New York Public Library and found it chock full of all sorts of bibliophiles. And so, ipso facto, the day of paper books isn’t over! If he’d ambled over from the library at 42nd Street over to Central Park at 59th Street, he’d have seen bigger worthies getting into the horse buggies there. But that doesn’t mean the car industry is dead...is it? The bottom line is there’ll always be innovations in every area of life.

And we have to just adapt if it pushes the envelope in a positive direction.

...roadworks

Your Eyewitness wants to know why Carifesta Ave’s being widened and given a median. It certainly can’t be because of the high traffic density...enough vehicles just can’t get to it.

Is it because they’re planning more SOCU high-speed chases?

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

news

9

wednesday, may 25, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Diamond hospital staff decry Father dies after blow to head from son inhumane working conditions A

The medical facility had no proper systems in place and is insanitary, some staffers said

A

lthough fearful of victimisation, staff of the Diamond Diagnostic Centre on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) believe Government has neglected them, as the conditions under which they work are nothing less than inhumane.

On Tuesday, staff members contacted Guyana Times via telephone, where they relayed the worrying situation, which has left them frustrated.

Guyana Times later visited the hospital, where complaining staff members, for fear of victimisation, asked not to be photographed. They said the situation was sickening, and no one seemed to be listening to their cries.

“The institution is not functioning properly, we

don’t have no proper system in the place… we are not getting anything. We don’t really know what’s going on,” a hospital attendant told this publication.

While they have to deal with insanitary working conditions, the issue of gratuity payment is also of burning concern. Staff members are upset that they continue to be pushed around when it is time for them to receive their gratuity. Staff members who seem most affected include the maids and porters.

One maid said she was due her six-month gratuity since December, but to date, she has not received it.

The situation is the same for many other staff, she said, explaining that most of the staff are employed on a con-

tractual basis and continue to suffer.

“You know when you are a contract worker, and today or tomorrow they lay you off, you have nothing to get and your gratuity is what you are depending on,” a staff said.

According to another hospital attendant, the facility floods continuously, whether or not it rains, as a result of some faulty work done during repairs.

According to staff, they have tried and have failed miserably at seeking to contact the Regional Health Officer (RHO), under whose purview such matters fall.

Her office is located in Triumph on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

“She is supposed to be visiting this hospital on a regular basis, at least on a weekly basis to see the struggle that the staff are facing and we are not getting on to her.

She gave some of us a number, and when we call it, we are not getting through,” staffers said.

When Guyana Times visited the medical facility, most of the staff had already left.

Those who remained to speak with this newspaper said they were “too frustrated” and upset over the situation.

They are hoping that Government through the Health Ministry would work to address the situation.

71-year-old pensioner is now dead after succumbing to injuries sustained at the hands of his son.

The dead man is identified as Rickford Bourne of 732 B Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown. It was reported that on May 19 about 22:30h, Bourne’s son, identified as Kwame Bourne, 36, “lashed” his father to the head following an argument over the television remote and some

money he wanted.

The younger Bourne is reported to be a drug addict.

Information reaching Guyana Times indicates that after the incident took place, the young man casually walked over to the neighbour’s premises where he was confronted by his sister.

Kwame then related what had taken place between him and his father to his sister who subsequently rushed over to her father’s aid.

Upon arrival at the home, the woman saw her father lying in a pool of blood with three wounds to his head.

The injured man was then rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he died on May 24, as a result of the injuries suffered.

The Police have since detained Kwame Bourne, who related to them what transpired between him and his father. He is expected to be charged for murder.

Colombian fined for illegal entry

A

Colombian national on Tuesday appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts slapped with fraud and illegal entry charges.

Forty-eight-year-old Luis Eugenio Marcia Torres of Colombia made his first appearance before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Torres through a translator pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on May 20, at Moleson Creek, Springlands, Corentyne, with intent to defraud, he uttered to a Police Constable, a Colombian passport in favour of himself. The passport contained a forged arrival and departure stamp, having being granted a Republic of Guyana tourist and business visa of the said passport purporting to show that it was issued by the Central Immigration

Luis Torrez

and Passport Office, knowing same to be false.

Torres however admitted to the other charge which read that on April 14, at Charity, Essequibo, he entered Guyana by sea and disembarked without the consent of an immigration officer.

The foreigner was represented by Attorney Paul Fung-A-Fat, who told the court his client arrived in Guyana on April 14 on vacation. The lawyer stated that Torres passed through immigration when unknowing to him, a forged entry stamp was placed on his passport.

According to the lawyer, it was not until Torres attempted to leave Guyana via Moleson Creek that he realised the error.

Fung-A-Fat told the court that his client acknowledged his guilt for overstaying his time in Guyana. However, due to his lack of knowledge of the English language, he fell prey to scammers.

Torres was granted $50,000 bail for the fraud charge and fined $20,000 for illegal entry.

He is scheduled to return to court on June 1.

10

guyana-times.com

wednesDAY, may 25, 2016

News

Soldier killed in EBD crash A young member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) died on Tuesday morning after the motor vehicle he was driving crashed into a parked truck. The accident occurred after 08:00h in the vicinity of the Soesdyke Junction, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Dead is 21-year-old Quee Brotherson of Section C Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

He was a soldier attached to the GDF Special Forces and stationed at Base Camp Stephenson in Timehri.

According to reports reaching Guyana Times, at the time of the accident the young man was driving an army vehicle bearing registration number DFB 1454.

Information received stated that Brotherson was heading to the army base when he reportedly lost control of the

Dead: GDF rank Quee Brotherson

vehicle and slammed head on into the parked truck.

The young man was picked up and rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre in critical condition. He succumbed to his injuries while

receiving medical attention.

There was another GDF rank in the vehicle at the time of the accident, but he escaped without any serious injuries. He remains at the Georgetown Public Hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, Brotherson’s father, Troy, told Guyana Times that when he received the news, the family rushed to the medical facility but learnt that the young man had died. He told this newspaper that based upon information received, his son tried to swerve from another vehicle and lost control of the pick-up.

“The road was wet and he was driving going back into work when he pulled out from behind a car to overtake it, but another vehicle was coming (in the opposite direction) and as he was swerv-

ing from that vehicle, he lose control and slide right into a parked truck,” the man said he was told.

The grieving father could not say exactly what injuries his son sustained, but noted he was bleeding profusely from his nose.

After he succumbed, the body of the GDF rank was taken to the Lyken Funeral Parlour, where relatives, friends and colleagues gathered as the news of his death spread. They were inconsolable as they came out of the parlour after viewing his body.

Brotherson was described as a humble and disciplined individual by both his father and a senior GDF rank under whom he worked. The young man leaves to mourn his father, brothers and other relatives and friends.

Security guard shot – robbed of guns, cash at ECD bank

A

security officer attached to the Roshan Khan (RK) Security Service was on Monday evening shot and robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash.

The robbery occurred at about 19:30h in the vicinity of a popular Le Resouvenir, East Coast Demerara (ECD) bank.

Dameon Pears, a 34-year-

old security guard, was attempting to make a deposit at the bank when he was shot to his knee and relieved of the cash which belongs to a popular supermarket.

According to information received, Pears and another guard arrived at the bank with the cash and upon their arrival; they saw a car parked a short distance

away. It was while they were walking towards the bank that the gunmen pounced.

The gunman’s accomplice also relieved the security guards of two .32 firearms. Crime Chief Wendel Blanhum told Guyana Times that Police are yet to make any arrest but noted that investigators are reviewing the CCTV footage from sur-

rounding businesses.

Last October, another security guard attacked to the security service was shot during a brazen daylight robbery in which gunmen carted off close to $4 million. Garvin Trotman, 29, of Enmore, East Coast Demerara, was shot twice to his right shoulder by three armed bandits, moments after he and his colleagues had uplifted cash from the Dr Balwant Singh Hospital and were en route to the bank. The bandits rode up on motorcycles alongside the RK Security vehicle and opened fire on the guards while demanding the cash.

In that incident, the guards were relieved of the undisclosed sum but not of their weapons.

Everything’s all right...

S

atiricus was relieved. He’d been hearing all this doom and gloom on the economy. And since he’d been seeing with his own eyes folks losing their jobs and businesses just not getting customers, he figured the reports were true.

But now Satiricus’ eyes had been opened and he knew it was all one big mistake.

“How yuh know dat, Sato?” asked his buddy Cappo. “Look wha’ happen to abee sugar workers.

Dem throw 1700 a dem out in de streets, bai!”

“Budday, what you and me see is only a small piece of the picture,” said Satiricus as he looked around the Back Street Bar. “Like how we only see a few of the fellas taking a drink nowadays. It could be other bars are overflowing with people.”

“Well, chap...me na know ‘bout you. Even even me brudder-in-law in Berb-Ice who mo’ rich dan God, complaining,” replied Cappo. “De man na even gi’e he sistah wan present duh she birt’day.”

“Cappo, what you’re doing is taking “anecdotal” evidence and extending it to the whole country,” said Satiricus firmly as he sipped his beer slowly. No gulps nowadays. He had to nurse his drinks since Cappo had no money to stand his round. And his wife had cut back on his pocket money.

“Me na know ‘bout “a neck dote”. Me know wha me feel...and me feelin’ real strain now, Budday...real strain,” Cappo said feelingly. “Is wha’ mek yuh talkin’ suh much schupidness?”

“Is not stupidness, Cappo,” said Satiricus firmly. “The IMF tell the Finance Minister our economy is growing, boy.

Growing. They looking at the big picture....which is the real picture.”

“IMF?” asked Cappo quizzically, “Na Burnt Ham bin call dem “International Mother F***er?”

“That was then,” Satiricus snapped impatiently. He didn’t like when Cappo questioned him.

“Me know dis time na laang time,” conceded Cappo. “But whe’ de IMF find growin’ in Guyana? A na de Finance Ministah bin seh even de drugs na bring in money nowadays?”

“Ah...but that is where the Finance Minister is a big man to admit he could be wrong!” crowed Satiricus. “The IMF tell him we producing more gold, budday! Gold!”

“But na all de prafit fram gold a guh to de country, whe’ de gold company come fram?” asked Cappo the canecutter.

Satiricus was struck speechless. He never did like Cappo arguing with him.

wednesDAY, may 25, 2016

guyana-times.com

News

Wales Estate closure court case

GuySuCo lawyers a no-show – proceedings rescheduled

E

ven though the court case regarding the severance or redeployment of workers attached to the Wales Sugar Estate was heard in chambers of the High Court on Tuesday morning, the court was forced to reschedule the proceedings since attorneys for Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) were a no show.

The matter which was called before Justice Roxanne George at 09:00h, would have heard the arguments from plaintiffs, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) as well as defending statements from the Sugar Corporation.

However, a s GuySuCo’s lawyers were a noshow to the proceedings, Justice George ruled that the matter will now be heard on June 7.

Tuesday’s hearing was scheduled after an interim injunction was granted on May 6 in favour of the unions, which barred the Guyana Sugar Corporation and/or their servants/ agents, from proceeding to implement the decision to sever the employment of workers from the Wales Estate, unless consultations with the workers were held.

Using the injunction, GuySuCo said that it was unable to pay the 106 Wales sugar workers their severance packages even though

11

Sugar operations will end at the Wales Estate in December

these workers on March 22 received letters from the entity, which stated that they would have been paid on May 4.

President of GAWU Komal Chand when contacted on Tuesday told Guyana Times that the Union hopes GuySuCo will honour their agreements and pay the workers.

It was pointed out that the agreement between the workers and the Sugar Corporation was reached before the May 6 injunction was granted. Chand expressed that in the meantime, GuySuCo should give the 106 workers employment as they have been jobless for over a month.

“While the workers have not yet received their severance payments, they ought to provide them with work or pay them in lieu of work,” he noted.

The GAWU President further noted that he was surprised that the Sugar Corporation had started to transfer and sever workers since it was promised that sugar operations would close by year end.

“In the first place we are

taken aback that they are paying workers their severance at that time because the Minister said the factory and cane cultivation will cease in December, so in the first place these workers ought not to have been severed,” Chand pointed out.

The court action was first brought on after GuySuCo began discussions with individual employees of the Wales estate to negotiate severance packages, without informing or involving the unions. Unions – GAWU and NAACIE – are also seeking damages in excess of $1 million for breach of statutory duty owing under the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act, Chapter 99:08, Laws of Guyana.

The judges had granted an interim injunction, restraining GuySuCo from proceeding to implement their decision to sever the employees until the hearing and determination of a summons returnable in Chambers.

One legal expert told this newspaper that if it is agreed that severance is the best option, then negotiations on the severance package, inclusive of its calculations will commence and this must be done between GuySuCo and the two Unions.

Babita Sarjou’s murder

Husband, accomplice for court today

T

he estranged husband of Babita Sarjou and his accomplice are expected to be arraigned today for the woman’s murder, after her skeletal remains were discovered in the man’s Seaforth Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, yard on Sunday afternoon – six years after she went missing.

Anand Narine, the estranged husband, and his accomplice, who were arrested on Saturday, allegedly confessed to the woman’s murder and later led investigators to the spot where they buried her body back in 2010.

It was during the search of the identified spot that investigators came upon what appeared to be a shallow grave. Digging further, they found two bones and a short while after, Police found most of the skeletal remains. Pieces of clothing were also found in the grave.

Police made the dreadful discovery some two days after taking into custody the woman’s husband and another close friend of hers, after informing her mother, Champa Seonarine that

Dead: Babita Sarjou

they were reopening the case.

The statutory 72-hour detention period without charge expired on Monday, but Police moved to the courts and were able to secure an extension. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had earlier revealed that samples of the woman’s remains will be sent to neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago for DNA testing. However, the woman’s relatives were able to identify some belongings found with her remains, including her bag and clothing.

Sarjou, 28, mother of a now 10-year-old son, who used to reside at Timehri Public Road, East Bank Demerara, left her desk and computer unattended at work in November 2010, never to return. Her family and the Police had since been searching for the missing woman.

In early April, Seonarine, along with officials from the Caribbean American Domestic Violence Awareness (CADVA) organisation, had again petitioned for the case to be reopened. Seonarine said all she needed was some closure. The dead woman’s mother at the beginning of the investigations had voiced her belief that her daughter’s estranged husband had something to do with her disappearance.

It was also reported that there were several instances of domestic violence and reports made to both the Kitty and Timehri Police Stations by Sarjou against her husband.

In 2010, during the initial investigations, the Police held her husband for questioning for 72 hours and then released him.

12 news

wednesDay, may 25, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Guyanese must go plastic – Ramjattan ...says less liquid cash means less robberies

I

n light of a number of armed robberies that involved victims who would have just exited commercial banks, the need to carry less cash and more credit or debit cards is again coming to the fore.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan as the most recent public official to call for more persons to ‘go plastic’.

Minister Ramjattan made the call as he was

responding to questions about the role of citizens in the crime fight. The Minister, while speaking at the Golden Jubilee National Symposia Series on Monday at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, said many robberies involving large sums of money would be reduced if business people and others made the switch to plastic.

He noted that some business people “walk around with millions and millions of dollars,” according to GINA.

explained Ramjattan that most of the big robberies that have occurred happened because some persons have “inside information of some car or bag got 10 million, five million or three million dollars.”

As such, he reiterated previous calls for Guyanese to go plastic, but noted that a lot of people don’t want to do this because they seek to avoid tax payments.

The result, he likened to a double whammy, “you’re avoiding taxes, plus you’re getting robbed.”

The Public Security Minister stated his Government will continue to do its part in the fight against crime and touted tools such as surveillance cameras as important.

However, he highlighted that the employment rate must be increased as another way “to get the crime rates down.”

In July 2013, following a spate of armed robberies, then Police Commissioner

Leroy Brumell urged members of the business community to be more security conscious, noting that it’s time to do less liquid cash transactions and utilise ‘plastic’ to transact business.

He had explained that the maximum use of ‘plastic’ will definitely impact on robberies and the violence associated with armed robberies.

In August 2014, then Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh had sought to discourage his fellow countrymen and women from carrying large and bulky amounts of cash.

The Minister had said there is no compelling or legitimate reason for a citizen to be walking around with large volumes of cash to do financial transactions as he pointed to the many alternative options available, including going plastic.

This is not the first time the Minister has sought to

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan

deter citizens from carrying large sums of cash.

Among the policies the former Finance Minister’s Government had introduced was the launch of a $5000 bill which reduced the physical bulk of cash and the move for Government Ministries and agencies to pay their employees via bank orders; a practice which has been

significantly replicated across the Private Sector.

However, the practice of business persons and other Guyanese of moving around with large sums of cash continues unabated and many criminal elements are said to be lurking around commercial banks, particularly in the country’s commercial centres, on the look out for their next victim.

Suriname-bound security guard nabbed with ganja

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security guard attached to a city security firm is expected to appear in the Springlands Magistrate’s Court, Corriverton, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) today on a drug trafficking charge, after he was nabbed at Moleson Creek, Berbice with a quantity of marijuana Tuesday morning.

Members of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit

(CANU), in Corriverton, arrested Gordon Xavier, 48, at Moleson Creek as he was attempting to board the MV Canawaima, which plies the Guyana-Suriname

route.

Reports are that CANU officers observed that Xavier was operating in a suspicious manner and conducted a search on his person

during which they found concealed in a transparent plastic bag in his pocket, 16 grams of the illegal drug.

He was told of the offence and arrested.

Govt tables Telecoms...

At the launch of Digicel’s 4G Internet service earlier this month in Bartica, the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kevin Kelly urged the immediate passage of the Bill, noting that a liberalised telecommunications sector in the country will stimulate competition, which will in turn result in better services for customers.

Kelly added that once the Telecommunications Liberalisation Bill passes,

Digicel will take immediate steps to introduce cheaper services such as Internet rates and international calls as well as the possibility of landline services.

Meanwhile, in a more recent interview with Guyana Times, CEO of GTT Justin Nedd said his company is ready to relinquish its hold on the telecoms sector. He pointed out that this will provide a level playing field for all the players in the sector. “I believe that the sector

from page 7

is already liberalised, though not formally, but once the Bill is passed and assented to law, everybody will have to play by the same rules, report to the same regulator, pay the same taxes and I believe we are ready for that because we have been doing it for decades,” the CEO stated.

When asked about the impending competition that will follows the break of the 20-plus year monopoly that the company has over the sector, Nedd posited that GTT has been competing with its main opponent Digicel for several years on many fronts and so customers can expect only better things.

NEWS

13

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

GRC extends Govt not concerned about helping hand roadside spectators to fire victims … change aimed at accommodating children floats T New jubilee parade route

he recent announcement by the National Commemoration Committee that it would be shifting the initial starting point for the Jubilee Float Parade was to facilitate the children’s float parade despite there being obvious disadvantages in doing so.

Noting that there would indeed be inconveniences as it relates to patrons having an opportunity to view the floats as they move east along Brickdam, Minister within the Education Ministry, Nicolette Henry, affirmed that the main concern of the Government was to cater to the participating children.

Henry was at the time speaking at a news conference on Tuesday morning, where she justified the changing of the route of the parade just two days before the event.

When the question was asked of the Minister how patrons would be able to view the parade since there were limited spots along the route, Henry said the Ministry was aware of this setback, but at this point in time the main concern was creating a “child friendly route”.

Minister within the Education Ministry, Nicolette Henry and event coordinator Lennox Canterbury at the news conference on Tuesday morning

“In terms of being advantageous or disadvantageous, it depends on how you look at it. For us, it is advantageous as it would allow particularly our young people to cover a route that is child friendly,” she explained.

Ten children floats which had participated in the Mash Children Parade are set to take to the streets again on Thursday. Another 27 bands have enlisted to be part of the grand float parade.

Even though the Ministry had a target of 50 floats, Henry clarified that 27 agencies and Ministries have enlisted, but some are featuring more than one band.

In addition, 70 vendors have registered to ply their trade along the parade route after the announcement was made by the Committee that vending would only be allowed on the condition that all stalls are listed.

Underlining another factor that had stimulated the decision to have the route altered, Henry explained that the Stabroek Market Square has the requirements to be the assembly point but it had not always been vacant.

Since the decision was made to have the vendors relocated and given the spaciousness of the Square, all efforts were made to capture

the golden opportunity.

The area surrounding the Market Square is the central hub of transportation, so Henry assured that mechanisms are in place to have traffic congestion reduced and where necessary, roads closed off.

The Minister informed that the traffic department of the Police Force would be on board in directing the traffic on that day, which “is a great opportunity for them to exhibit their skills and capabilities”.

The first float is set to leave the Market Square at 10:00h on Thursday, while the last float is to leave D’Urban Park at 17:30h the latest.

The Ministry also took the time to reiterate the changes as it relates to the sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) on Independence Day. Henry reminded that certain roads would be closed off to facilitate the float parade so candidates are required to arrive at their schools and indicated centres before the parade begins.

One of the many families who were assisted by the Guyana Relief Council (GRC)

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leven families whose homes were destroyed in fires have received assistance from the Guyana Relief Council (GRC).

According to a press release on Tuesday, with the aim of providing basic necessities to the families who were struck by disastrous fires which rendered them homeless, the GRC provided hampers to the head of each individual family.

In all, 47 persons benefited from the hampers that the GRC provided to

the families that lived on the East and West Bank of Demerara, West Coast of Demerara, in Georgetown and in Berbice.

The Relief Council was established in 1986 and is mandated to address disasters in Guyana, relying mostly on volunteers and with a very minimal budget.

It has reportedly catered for 32 families –128 persons total – who were affected by fire and 16 welfare families comprising in total 45 persons since the beginning of the year.

14

guyana-times.com

wednesday, may 25, 2016

News

Norton insists no drug shortage crisis − PPP maintains problem exists

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ublic Health Minister, Dr George Norton is maintaining that there is no major shortage of drugs and/or medical supplies within the public health sector as is being peddled by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Opposition.

Norton was at the time responding to a motion tabled by PPP/C’s Member of Parliament and Shadow Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony. In the motion, the Opposition parliamentarian is calling on the Public Health Minister to launch an immediate investigation into which drugs and medical supplies were not in supply and those that were in short supply (name of the items and the quantities by region) in the public healthcare delivery system.

He also wants the Minister to say what measures have been, and are being taken to rectify this ongoing crisis; the projected timelines for an improvement in the delivery system across the country; and the budgetary implications of these emergency measures, if any; as well as to report on the measures put in place to prevent a reoccurrence.

Addressing the National

Assembly, Dr Anthony outlined the importance of many basic but essential drugs and medical supplies that are needed on a daily basis, but are not available at the country’s main medical facility, Georgetown Public Hospital and many other hospitals across the country.

He noted that instead of providing free medication to the public, doctors within the public health system are now writing prescriptions and asking patients to buy them. He said this was putting additional strain on the citizenry who were now burdened with the cost of drugs and medical supplies because of poor management.

Moreover, the Opposition MP outlined that antibiotics were among those common medications that have been regularly “stock out” over the past year. In addition, he stated that in some hospitals where there were antibiotics available, there were no syringes to administer the dosage.

“For example, at New Amsterdam Hospital (Berbice), there’s a shortage of two ml (millilitre), three ml, five ml and 10 ml syringes. This is a basic, basic requirement so even when

Dr Frank Anthony

they have some antibiotics, intravenous antibiotics, they cannot use it because they don’t have syringes and this, Mr Speaker, is only an isolated case, but in many of the regional hospitals you can find similar situation existing,” Dr Anthony disclosed.

The Opposition frontbencher went on to highlight the shortage of basic drugs to treat common illnesses in Guyana such as “worms”, diabetes, malaria, tuberculosis, epileptic seizure (fits), as well as mental health, pregnancy care and

Public Health Minister Dr George Norton

women’s and men’s health.

“This shortage is a chronic shortage and is as a result of bad management and poor management… something is definitely wrong with what is going… how will you fix this? We are not hearing anything,” the MP asked of the Government.

Anthony further remarked that Government needed to pay more serious attention to the Zika Virus, noting that it was a major public health risk.

The PPP/C parliamentarian also mentioned the controversy with LILAC milk, asking the Health Minister whether the product was recalled and what is the loss incurred from having done so, among other queries.

“The shortages of drugs and medical supplies have serious consequences for the people of this country and we need to put systems in place to ensure that

these things do not reoccur and I’m sure the Ministry will tell us what systems are put in place so far,” Dr Anthony stated as he concluded his presentation.

However, in response, Minister Norton posited that while the sector was facing challenges with the new procurement system put in place, there is no drug shortage crisis within the public health sector.

“I want to say, Mr Speaker, that categorically, there is no crisis in the health sector so far as it relates to medicine and medical supplies… I do concede, however, that we have had shortages of a few medical supplies, but not essential medicines as stated before and steps are being taken to remedy this situation,” the Minister stated.

According to Dr Norton, Government is experiencing teething challenges with the new method of procurement put in place by the coalition Administration.

Additionally, he stated that during visits to the various regions across Guyana, he would have interacted with regional health officials as well as medical personnel, none of whom complained of such any drug shortages.

Furthermore, the Public Health Minister went on to point out the issue of drug shortages was not new but had been prevalent under the PPP/C regime, as he recalled speaking about the issue in the National Assembly while in Opposition. He outlined too that the previous Administration wasted millions of dollars when significant amounts of drugs

would expire.

Nevertheless, Minister Norton disclosed that his Government has taken steps to ensure that there was not a repeat of this situation. “The situation as it stands, where shortage of medical supplies is concerned is a dangerous situation, it is something that we came and met. It is something that we made a commitment that we will change,” he remarked.

According to Dr Norton, among the measures that the coalition will be hoping to achieve are: creating a system where access to medicine and medical supplies will be in sufficient quantity and quality; the issue of expired drugs will be a thing of past, and put in place a system of procurement that will not favour the sole-sourcing process.

The Minister noted that these measures are already becoming reality. On this note, Norton said that the Administration could not support the motion since it would be based on sensationalism and speculation.

Among other speakers on the motion were Jennifer Westford, Yvonne Pearson, Alistair Charlie, Joseph Hamilton, Dr Vishwa Mahadeo and Dr Bheri Ramsarran from the Opposition side, while those from Government’s side included Junior Public Health Minister, Dr Karen Cummings and Jaipaul Sharma.

The motion was turned out after Government used its one-seat majority to vote against it.

wednesday, may 25, 2016

guyana-times.com

15

Around the world

Bill Cosby ordered to stand Venezuela and Jamaica reach trial in sex assault case agreement to improve trade relations

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US judge has ordered actor and comedian Bill Cosby to stand trial on charges of sexual assault.

Cosby, 78, is accused of drugging and molesting a former Temple University employee in his home near Philadelphia in 2004.

The case was reopened last year after more than 40 women came forward with similar accusations. No trial date has been set.

Cosby has maintained that all of the encounters were consensual.

During the hearing, Cosby’s lawyer had a heated exchanged with the judge over Police reading a statement from the accuser, Andrea Constand.

Brian McMonagle, one

Bill Cosby leaves court after the hearing in Norristown

of Cosby’s lawyers, argued that Constand, who lives in Toronto, should have testified in person and called her statement “hearsay”.

“I told him, ‘I can’t talk, Mr Cosby’. I started to panic,” Constand said in the

statement.

She described how Cosby allegedly sexually violated her after giving her three blue pills. She said the pills made her dizzy and made her legs “like jelly”.

Cosby said in a statement read in court that she never told him to stop during the encounter.

More than 40 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault, but in nearly all of the cases too much time has elapsed for charges to be pursued.

The Constand case is unusual in that it fell within the statute of limitations for charges.

Cosby is facing civil lawsuits in other states over the other accusations. Cosby is free on US$1 million bail.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Migrant crisis: Turkey could block EU deal over visas

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urkey’s Parliament will block a deal reached with the European Union on migrants if Turks do not gain visa-free access to the bloc, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned.

The EU says Turkey still needs to meet certain conditions, including changes to its terror laws, something Ankara has refused to do.

The agreement is aimed at halting the mass movement of people into Europe.

Erdogan has also said funds promised by the EU have not yet been released.

There are growing signs

the aim of visa-free travel for Turks by the end of this month will not be met.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met with Erdogan on Monday, said there may not be enough time for it to be completed.

Turkey has repeatedly warned that the whole deal will collapse if this demand is not fulfilled.

“If that is not what will happen... no decision and no law in the framework of the readmission agreement will come out of the Parliament of the Turkish Republic,” Erdogan said at the close

of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul.

Under the EU-Turkey agreement, migrants who have arrived illegally in Greece since March 20 are to be sent back to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if their claim is rejected.

For each Syrian migrant returned to Turkey, the EU is to take in another Syrian who has made a legitimate request.

One of the disputed points for visa liberalisation relates to Turkey’s broad anti-terrorism legislation. (Excerpt

from BBC News)

Israel’s Netanyahu suspected of “criminal conduct”

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enezuela and Jamaica have signed agreements on trade, energy and culture, following high-level deliberations on Sunday between Prime Minister Andrew Holness and President Nicolás Maduro.

During Maduro’s oneday trip, Holness said the two countries agreed to improve trade relations, especially through arrangements under the PetroCaribe Agreement – an initiative that will be led by Minister of Finance and Public Service Audley Shaw.

The Jamaican leader said there was also an expedited agreement on the refinery upgrade project; a decision to strengthen cultural ties, particularly through cooperation with Venezuela’s El Sistema, a world renowned youth orchestra and system of training youth in music.

“We look forward to the continued cooperation and collaboration between our countries, and reiterate our

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness (right) and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a meeting at Jamaica House on Sunday

appreciation to Venezuela for their generosity over the years,” Holness said.

The Prime Minister said the meeting was an indication of the strong ties of history, friendship and cooperation between the two countries. President Maduro last visited Jamaica in September 2015, for the Summit to commemorate

the 10th Anniversary of the PetroCaribe Agreement.

It was also the 200th anniversary of the Jamaica Letter, written by the Great Liberator Simon Bolivar in Kingston on September 6, 1815. On that visit, President Maduro opened the Simon Bolivar Cultural Centre in downtown Kingston. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Colombia launches huge search as 2 more journalists go missing

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wo more journalists have gone missing in a lawless region in Colombia where security forces are already carrying out a huge search for a prominent Spanish journalist, according to President Juan Manuel Santos.

Santos said on Tuesday that two journalists from the right-leaning network RCN are unaccounted for and now also being sought. The two were part of a group of journalists that had travelled to the volatile Catatumbo region to cover the hunt for Salud Hernández-Mora, a

longtime correspondent for Spain’s El Mundo newspaper whose weekly column in Bogotá daily El Tiempo is one of the most read in Colombia.

Authorities were refusing to call HernándezMora’s disappearance a kidnapping, though speculation heightened that she could have been taken hostage by the National Liberation Army, or ELN, one of several illegal armed groups and drug traffickers dominant in the mountainous area bordering Venezuela.

Hernández-Mora, who

has lived in Colombia since the 1990s, had not been seen or heard from since Saturday, when she was spotted arguing with an unidentified man and then hiring a motorcycle to take her to an unknown destination.

Pressure was mounting on Santos, who on Tuesday ordered the head of the Police and army to travel to the area to personally oversee the search. An anti-kidnapping unit was already on the ground but communications are poor and security risks high. (Excerpt from The Guardian)

CDB approves US$3.5M grant to pay Haiti’s catastrophe risk insurance

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, through his lawyers, has denied any wrongdoing

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Zvulun/Reuters]

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been criticised following a state comptroller report that concluded his financial records raise “suspicions of criminal conduct”.

Published on Tuesday, the State Comptroller Joseph Shapira’s report noted that many of Netanyahu’s trips – including several with his family – were funded by foreign Governments, public bodies and businessmen.

Netanyahu did not report any of the trips to Government committees which determine whether the funding can be consid-

ered illegal gifts and thus a breach of Israeli law.

The report focuses on Netanyahu’s travels between 2002 and 2005, when he was the country’s Finance Minister.

“The trips by Netanyahu and his family that were funded by external sources when he was Finance Minister deviated from the rules, and could give the impression of receiving a gift or of a conflict of interest,” the report said.

Netanyahu, through his lawyers, has denied any wrongdoing, and it was not immediately clear whether Israel’s Attorney General,

[Ronen

who is also examining the issue, would launch any criminal investigation.

Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from Jerusalem, said the report raised “a series of questions as to whether or not Netanyahu’s behaviour and... travel expenses fell outside the law”.

“Although the state comptroller’s report fell short of calling for a criminal investigation into Netanyahu, he did hint quite heavily throughout this report that a criminal investigation was the only way to clear this matter up completely,” Tyab said. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

he Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) Board of Directors has approved a grant of US$3.5 million to pay Haiti’s catastrophe risk insurance premium for the coming year.

This marks the fourth year that CDB has provided a grant for the full payment of Haiti’s premiums on earthquake, tropical cyclone and excess rainfall policies.

A news release from the CDB said the approved grant covers insurance for the period June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017.

Given Haiti’s fragility and high vulnerability to natural hazards, the CDB committed to paying its annual Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) premiums, as part of the CDB country partnership strategy for Haiti for the period 20132016.

Haiti and other mem-

In this file photo, people walk among damaged buildings in Portau-Prince, Haiti, after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the country leaving thousands dead and many displaced

ber countries of CCRIF, the world’s first multi-country catastrophe risk pooling facility, benefit from sovereign insurance at affordable rates.

Through CCRIF, countries receive timely, rapid cash payments after catastrophic earthquakes, hurricanes or excess rainfall events, which significantly impact their national economies.

Haiti is still recovering

from the impact of the 2010 earthquake, which caused more than 300,000 deaths, displaced over three million people, and made more than one million homeless.

As of January 2016, approximately 45,000 Haitians were still living in tents and makeshift shelters, with little or no access to water and sanitation. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

16 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016 | GUYANA-TIMES.COM

Union not consulted on diversification Ramsammy’s Ruminations Will we pay public servants plans for Wales – Chand

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he financial challenges of the sugar sector resulted in the recent declaration by the Finance Minister that the industry was “not as sweet” as before.

As such, the call for diversification of Estates has been made to assist in the sustenance of the ailing industry.

However, there has been a lack of consultations with some of the requisite stakeholders on the part of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

This is according to President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Komal Chand, who, in an interview with Guyana Times, on Tuesday, said that GuySuCo has not engaged the Union in discussions on the plans to diversify the industry.

“The Union was not told

by GuySuCo about the nature of the ventures; we were told in January that they would reach us back to inform us about that,” Chand

GAWU President Komal Chand

said.

The GAWU President noted that previous attempts at diversification were unsuccessful.

“GuySuCo went into dairy, aquaculture in the 70s, [but] they all failed and were abandoned and the employment of workers and persons in those ventures [were] very minimal,” Chand expressed.

These sentiments were

echoed by Finance Minister Winston Jordan who on Monday noted that any attempt at diversification has to be realistic.

“Diversification of sugar was attempted in the 1970s, but we have to do more than attempt, we have to be realistic,” the Finance Minister pointed out.

Government, through the Government Information Agency (GINA), announced on Wednesday last that the Wales Sugar Estate would be converted into a factory that would process dairy products and fruit juices among other products. Agriculture Minister Noel Holder had pointed out that the reorganisation of Wales would “create opportunities for local farmers”, and noted that since the lands will no longer be used for sugar cane cultivation, it will be allocated for cattle rearing, and cultivation of a myriad of crops to sustain the operations of the juice plant.

“We can see the land be-

ing used for dairy production, and we can see some land being made available to people in the area so that they could farm and provide milk, provide fruit juices, provide things of that nature, and we would want to see that replicated in other estates,” Holder told GINA. He further noted that the decision presented an opportunity to convert the Estate into a model for others in terms of the sugar industry’s diversification.

Earlier this year, the Government pointed out that finances were “simply not available” to divert funds from the other Estates to keep Wales afloat as this would “seriously jeopardise” the future of the other estates. As such, the Administration had maintained that the decision to close the Wales Estate was final.

In January, Government confirmed that the Wales Estate would cease sugar operations by the end of this year.

according to merit or based on politics and ethnicity?

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n receiving the Commission of Inquiry report (CoI) for the public service, President David Granger stated that lazy people will receive lazy pay. I wondered then if he was calling all public servants lazy because all public servants received little or no increase in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, wages and salary increases were Dr Leslie Ramsammy applicable only for the second half of the year, thereby reducing the annual pay increase to less than five per cent. In 2016, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) has not yet given public servants an increase and the Finance Minister has cautioned public servants and the unions not to expect any large increase in salaries and benefits. I can only conclude that the President and APNU/AFC believe that public servants are lazy.

The Cabinet, even before the ink on their appointment instruments dried, gave themselves a hefty pay increase, with junior Ministers earning even more than senior People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Ministers who had been Ministers for more than a decade. I suppose they earned big pay increases because they were deemed not lazy. Yet after more than a year in Government, they have led Guyana backwards, with an economy that is in a reverse, downward trajectory, crime spiralling out of control, health, education, water and housing in crisis and business has stagnated.

APNU/AFC and their collaborators will insist that Granger was simply using an innovative way of outlining a policy to abandon the traditional across-the-board pay increases in favour of performance-based pay increases. I get it, it is just that Ministers of his Government seem exempt from performancebased remuneration.

My bigger concern is public servants now have genuine fears of whether a pay increase or not will now depend on politics and ethnicity, rather than performance. This is a genuine fear among public servants who now believe that the APNU/AFC is laying the groundwork for coercing political support, punishing those who will not dance to the APNU/AFC music, and for once again, creating an ethnically biased public service, similar to what existed under the People’s National Congress (PNC).

Performance-based pay increases is a legitimate and a sound policy direction. Implemented fairly, it could lead to greater productivity and a friendlier, more efficient and effective public service. But in the wrong hands, such a policy could be used effectively to punish those who refuse to be political activists and thugs and those whose political affiliation are non-APNU/ AFC. It could be used to limit the participation of one or more ethnic groups.

The behaviour of APNU/AFC in the first year of Government reinforces the fear that performance-based policy for pay increases and promotion could be the weapon that APNU/AFC uses to cleanse the public service, not of lazy and inefficient public servants, but cleanse the public service of those they perceived as political opponents. These are not idle fears. In the first year in Government, APNU/AFC has fired hundreds of persons, simply based on their ethnicity and perceived political affiliation.

It is incontestable that the vast majority of persons who have been terminated are persons that APNU/AFC saw as supporters of the PPP. It is equally incontestable that almost 99 per cent of those who were fired were of one ethnic group. Just as happened during the 28 years of PNC authoritarianism, East Indians were targeted and many lost their jobs during APNU/ AFC’s first year in Government.

Moreover, it was exposed during the 2016 Budget consideration in Parliament that more than a thousand new contracted employees were hired since May 2015. These new contracted, high-paying employees followed years of APNU/AFC chastising the PPP for employing public servants as contracted employees. This hypocrisy, as bad as it is, is not the major problem, however. The major problem is that the vast majority of the new contracted employees are from one ethnic group and almost 100 per cent affiliated to APNU/AFC. Public servants in Guyana have reasons to be fearful of a performance-based policy, not because they are opposed to it, but because they know that those who will benefit will be those who give unqualified political support to APNU/AFC. They know that if they do not provide overt support to their political bosses they will not be able to get pay increases. They know that no matter how efficient they are, their ethnicity could be the deciding factor whether they are rewarded or not.

A vicious political culture has taken hold where politics and ethnicity mean more than efficient and effective performance as a public servant. The new policy is the blueprint to create a public service that is a creature of APNU/AFC, rather than a public service of pride, dignity, efficiency and effectiveness. It is an integral part of party paramountcy. (Please send comments to doc_ram@hotmail.com)

17

news

wednesDAY, may 25, 2016 | guyana-times.com

CH&PA cancels 50/50 jubilee housing promotion … no consultation with Board before announcement, to examine financial implications – Chairman

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he Board of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), headed by former Mayor Hamilton Green, has cancelled a special payment plan advertised in March by Minister within the Ministry of Communities Valerie Sharpe-Patterson.

Sharpe-Patterson had announced the special payment plan for this month for persons who are beneficiaries of Government house lots in residential areas that are priced at $3 million and below.

The deal was that persons, who had completed paying at least 50 per cent of the cost of their house lots by May 1, would be given a 50 per cent discount on the balance.

The balance, she had explained, should, however, be paid by the end of May. The deal was part of Government’s move to give back to citizens, all in celebration of the country’s 50th anniversary.

While it is unclear how many persons have so far benefited from this deal, Guyana Times was informed that the Board has recently cancelled the offer.

Contacted on the issue, Green confirmed that the deal was off. He said that there were some lapses in the arrangement, including the fact that the Minister failed to consult with the Board before making the announcement. He said the Board was now examining the deal, giving consideration to all possible financial implications.

Guyana Times was unable to contact Sharpe-Patterson for a comment on the matter.

Conflict of interest

Minister Broomes’ actions threaten impartiality in industry – GGDMA … supports her transfer out of Natural Resources Ministry

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CH&PA Board Chairman Hamilton Green

With the announcement of the deal almost two months back, many Guyanese had jumped on the opportunity. The offices of the CH&PA were immediately flocked with house lot owners, since the payment plan took effect from the very day the deal was announced.

The payment plan was also applicable to the beneficiaries of turnkey homes, in terms of the cost of the house lot, not the homes, it was explained. A house lot for a turnkey home costs $500,000.

Also in commemoration of Guyana’s 50th anniversary, the CH&PA had promised to give 50 persons $300,000 as a subsidy. The beneficiaries of the grants were required to be living within one of the Government’s housing schemes, and the subsidy was to be used to carry out home repairs.

s conflict-of-interest concerns continue to rage over Minister within the Natural Resources Ministry Simona Broomes’ mining concessions and her oversight of the industry, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has now joined the call for the Minister to be reassigned to another Ministry, since her presence in the current Ministry was a clear conflict of interest and posed a threat to impartiality.

Minister Broomes has been at the centre of a raging debate after this publication reported that she was granted a new mining permit on March 4, 2016, just about two months after she was transferred to that Ministry and handed responsibility for the mining sector.

However, the Minister, who has said she transferred her mining interest to her two children, has since denied this and stated that the documentation which was ‘leaked’ was for her daughter, who was also named Simona Broomes.

This publication, however, was able to confirm that the National Identification (ID) number on the application is that of the Minister and not her daughter.

The GGDMA, in its strongly-worded statement, said that the subse-

Minister within the Natural Resources Ministry, Simona Broomes

quent “spin” by the Minister that the permission was her daughter’s hinted at the Minister’s “inability to deal impartially with mining matters and the facts”.

Such actions, it said, threaten the entire industry.

The GGDMA recalled that prior to becoming Minister, Broomes had both positive and negative interactions with members of the mining community.

As such, the Association is arguing that when these pre-existing relationships and “bridges that may have been burnt in the past” within the sector are considered, it would be difficult for the Minister to operate in her post “impartially and without personal bias”.

“No existing miner, in good sense, can refuse a request from the sector Minister for her to be given permission to take gold from their land,” the GGDMA said, adding that it must be recognised that such permissions and all future requests or permissions rest in the hands of the agency under her direct preview.

“It is foolhardy for anyone to expect that in Guyana you can deny the Minister permission and then expect to get an impartial hearing on matters. If somehow the Minister is indeed capable of staying impartial in this regard, the question remains of whether or not she should be put in such a position in the first place, where reasons for her actions can always be defended, even when they are affected by secret or closet biases,” it stated.

Calls for transfer

The GGDMA said it supported the call for the Minister to be reassigned to another Ministry.

“The GGDMA, therefore, is heartened by the comments of His Excellency, President David Granger that he will reassign the Minister if a conflict of interest arises. We declare that there is a clear conflict of interest and call on the President to honour his words. Minister Broomes can serve well in any other

Ministry,” the release stated.

Miners concerned

The GGDMA said that it is being bombarded with calls from miners who have expressed concerns about the clear case of conflict of interest involving the Minister, but are reluctant to voice their concerns publicly for fear of victimisation.

“At our recently-held miners’ meeting, the issue was also raised. Members have since privately contacted the leadership of the Association to express their concerns.

Both miners and mining equipment suppliers have expressed a concern as to their ability to refuse a request from the Minister or her children in mining. For example, should they request credit terms for mining supplies, a supplier would be hard pressed to say no or even complain, since the agency for complaints is headed by the very Minister,” the Association stated.

Already there have been calls from several persons, including the newly-appointed President of the Transparency Institute (Guyana) Inc (TIGI), Troy Thomas and former Government Minister, Dr Henry Jeffrey for the Minister to be reassigned to another Ministry.

They both agree that this could remove the cloud of conflict of interest.

18

guyana-times.com

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016

ARCHIE

ARIES

A well-thought-out strat-

(March 21- egy, along with discipline and April 19) the willingness to make abrupt

decisions, will help your financial situation. Personal updates will pay off. Love is encouraged.

Make travel plans or get TAURUS together with an old friend.

(April 20- Mingling and sharing informaMay 20) tion will help you make a decision regarding a future prospect.

A change of location looks inviting.

DILBERT

Personal responsibilities GEMINI (May 21- and health concerns are best June 20) addressed early in the day.

Refuse to let anyone take advantage of your time or pressure or entice you to neglect your duties.

If you share your feelings, CANCER you will convince people to see (June 21- things your way. Home imJuly 22) provements will make your life better. An unexpected change in lifestyle will be beneficial.

PEANUTS

Visit a destination that LEO gives hope of positive (July 23- change.you Put more energy and Aug. 22) thought into bringing your ideas out in the open and making them work for you

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Exercise your right to voice VIRGO your opinion. If you explain what (Aug. 23- you want to do to someone with Sept. 22) vision, you will receive the help you need to get started.

Spend more time on preLIBRA (Sept. 23- sentation. Update your apOct. 23) pearance and make a point to take better care of your health.

Don’t let an emotional matter drag you down.

Take charge and do things

SUDOKU TODAY’S WORD – GRADING

YESTERDAY’S WORD – PROFOUND

rood roof round odor fond fondu food ford found four

frond fund undo updo upon donor door dour droop drop

tum.

Keep a tight hold of your SAGITTARIUS possessions, assets and per(Nov. 23- sonal information. Don’t trust Dec. 21) anyone using manipulative measures to find out what you are up to. Focus inward, not outward.

(GRADING: GRADE-ing: Leveling off to a smooth horizontal or sloping surface.)

Average mark 19 words Time limit 35 minutes Can you find 28 or more words in GRADING? The list will be published tomorrow.

pond poof poor pouf pound pour prod proof proud rondo

SCORPIO your way. Your unique ap(Oct. 24- proach and bold vision for your Nov. 22) life will help you build momen-

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

If you close a deal or negotiCAPRICORN (Dec. 22- ate a settlement, you will come Jan. 19) out ahead. Positive changes at home can be made based on a good plan and by using extra cash that comes Your intuition will be AQUARIUS fine-tuned.

You’ll recognize if (Jan. 20someone is trying to take adFeb. 19) vantage of you or manipulate a situation that involves you.

Speak frankly to avoid being misinterpreted.

Your power of persuasion PISCES (Feb. 20- will be stellar, but make sure March 20) that you have an ironclad plan in place before you entice others to follow your lead.

A mistake will lead to discord.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016

19

Sensational De Villiers sends RCB to IPL final T

umbling wickets. A high but not out-ofreach asking rate. One specialist batsman at the crease, with only the lower order for company. An atypically dry and grippy pitch provided the conditions for such a situation - usually more common in 50-overs cricket than in T20 - to arise in the first Qualifier of IPL 2016. AB de Villiers was the specialist batsman, and when Iqbal Abdulla joined him in the 10th over of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s chase of 159, they needed 91 to win off 62 balls with four wickets in hand.

The Chinnaswamy sur-

face - still good to bat on, but slower than usual - had torn up the script that the match had been expected to follow. There was no uncontrollable torrent of run scoring from either set of top-order batsmen. Gujarat Lions were 9 for 3 after being sent in. Then in the chase, Royal Challengers lost Virat Kohli for a duck and slipped to 29 for 5. Then, when Ravindra Jadeja had Stuart Binny lbw sweeping - though replays showed ball hitting pad marginally outside off stump they were 68 for 6.

It began drizzling soon after Abdulla’s entrance, with Royal Challengers

SCOREBOARD Gujarat Lions innings (20 overs maximum) AJ Finch c Gayle b Iqbal Abdulla 4

BB McCullum c de Villiers b Iqbal Abdulla 1 SK Raina* c Aravind b Watson 1 KD Karthik†b Jordan 26 DR Smith c Kohli b Chahal 73 RA Jadeja c Gayle b Watson 3 DJ Bravo b Watson 8 ER Dwivedi c Kohli b Watson 19 P Kumar b Jordan 1 DS Kulkarni run out (Sachin Baby/†Rahul) 10 SB Jakati not out 1 Extras: (lb-6, w-5) 11 Total: (all out; 20 overs) 158 Fall of wickets: 1-2 (McCullum, 1.1 ov), 2-6 (Finch, 1.4 ov), 3-9 (Raina, 3.4 ov), 4-94 (Karthik, 13.5 ov), 5-107 (Jadeja, 15.5 ov), 6-115 (Smith, 16.3 ov), 7-145 (Dwivedi, 18.3 ov), 8-145 (Bravo, 18.4 ov), 9-156 (Kumar, 19.3 ov), 10158 (Kulkarni, 19.6 ov) Bowling: S Aravind 3-0-130, Iqbal Abdulla 4-0-38-2

(w-1), SR Watson 4-0-294 (w-2), CJ Jordan 4-0-262 (w-2), YS Chahal 4-0-421, STR Binny 1-0-4-0 Royal Challengers Bangalore innings (target: 159 runs from 20 overs) CH Gayle b Kulkarni 9 V Kohli* b Kulkarni 0 AB de Villiers not out 79 KL Rahul† c Smith b Kulkarni 0 SR Watson c Smith b Jadeja 1 Sachin Baby c Jakati b Kulkarni 0 STR Binny lbw b Jadeja 21 Iqbal Abdulla not out 33 Extras: (lb-7, w-8, nb-1) 16 Total: (6 wickets; 18.2 ove rs) 159 Fall of wickets 1-12 (Kohli, 1.2 ov), 2-25 (Gayle, 3.2 ov), 3-25 (Rahul, 3.3 ov), 4-28 (Watson, 4.5 ov), 5-29 (Sachin Baby, 5.3 ov), 6-68 (Binny, 9.4 ov) Bowling: P Kumar 3.2-0-32-0 (w-2), DS Kulkarni 4-1-14-4, RA Jadeja 4-0-21-2, SB Jakati 3-045-0 (nb-1, w-1), DJ Bravo 3-026-0 (w-1), DR Smith 1-0-14-0

needing 63 from 36 balls. De Villiers was at the non-striker’s end. Abdulla, on 8 off 14, slashed at a gentle, back-ofa-length ball from Dwayne Smith, and missed. Kohli who had struggled to contain his temper right through the game - gestured angrily from the dugout, telling Abdulla to take a single and give de Villiers the strike.

Abdulla steered the next ball to deep point. De Villiers, on 47, faced Smith now.

He stepped down the pitch, Smith shortened his length, and a tennis-style flatbat hit flew to the straight boundary. The next ball was fuller, and de Villiers miscued his lofted hit, skewing it high, with the outside half of his bat. It was a rare mishit in an innings of surfacedefying fluency. It may have been caught at long-off in a bigger ground, but it cleared the leaping Aaron Finch in Bangalore.

It seemed like a sign. This would be de Villiers’ day.

On strike to the first ball of the next over, he shuffled across to off stump even before Shadab Jakati released his left-arm dart. Having covered the line, he quickly sunk to one knee and swung the ball away over the square leg boundary. When Abdulla swatted a mis-hit six of his own later in the over, Royal Challengers had the final in their sights, needing only 35 off 25. They got home with 10 balls left to play, with de Villiers having just enough time to unfurl a couple more spectacular shots, the pick of them a reversesweep off a Praveen Kumar delivery pitching outside leg stump. The win took Royal Challengers into the final,

while Gujarat Lions will have another crack at it when they take on the winner of Wednesday’s Eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Abdulla played a key role with the ball too, dismissing Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch in the second over of Lions’ innings after Kohli had sent them in.

Kohli may have used his leftarm spinner that early simply because two right-handers were opening for Lions, and two left-handers were waiting in the middle order, but he may also have observed that the pitch was unusually dry.

Whatever the case, he had extra cover on the rope and mid-off in the circle for McCullum, and the charging New Zealander failed to reach the pitch of the ball, and sharp turn forced him to slice wider than intended, into the hands of the fielder at long-off. Finch closed his bat-face too early three balls later, and the ball popped up to slip. When Shane Watson bounced Raina out in the fourth over, Lions were 9 for 3, sinking even before the contest had really begun.

Dwayne Smith had swapped batting slots with Finch in Lions’ last game, against Mumbai Indians, and had looked in fluent touch while making a calm, unbeaten 37 to steer them home in a chase of 173. He struck the ball just as well here, in a more difficult situation, picking up a pair of boundaries off Abdulla early in his innings, sitting back and pouncing when he dropped marginally short, and following up with a hooked six off Chris Jordan.

AB De Villiers’ composed knock of 79 from 47 balls combined with Iqbal Abdulla’s responsible 25 ball 33 for the match winning 91-run partnership to send RCB to the VIVO IPL final 2016

But the effect of a poor Powerplay - Gujarat only made 23 in that period rippled through the rest of their innings. Lions’ run rate remained under six an over even after Smith and Dinesh Karthik plundered 16 off the 10th, bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal. It was still under seven when they tonked Abdulla for 17 in the 13th over. Karthik fell in the 14th, middling an attempted fine-leg scoop onto his leg stump, Ravindra Jadeja followed in the 16th, and Smith - having hit two more legside sixes in that time - holed out in the 18th.

The runs still kept coming, Watson conceding 21 and picking up two wickets in an incident-packed 19th, and Lions scored 100 in their last 10 overs.

A total of 158 still

looked inadequate given Royal Challengers’ batting strength, but Dhawal Kulkarni had run a battering ram through their top order within four overs of the chase. First, Kohli played on, trying to cut without moving his feet. Then Gayle, pushed back with a series of short balls, swung across the line of a slower ball and missed.

Then came an all-format jaffa that swerved away from just short of a good length and induced KL Rahul to edge to slip.

Jadeja then got in the act, getting the ball to stop on Watson, who swatted across the line too soon. And when Sachin Baby slapped Kulkarni straight to short cover, Royal Challengers were gasping for air, the Powerplay not yet done. But they still had de Villiers. (ESPN

Cricinfo)

Toronto survive Cleveland rally to take Game 4 T

he Toronto Raptors are for real. They survived a furious second-half comeback from the Cleveland Cavaliers and held on to win Game 4, 105-99, to even the Eastern Conference Finals at 2-2.

Kyle Lowry had 35 points and DeMar DeRozan added 32 as the Raptors outplayed the Cavaliers down the stretch after coughing up an 18-point lead.

LeBron James had 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead the Cavaliers, and Kyrie Irving added 26.

Channing Frye added 12 big points off the bench in the loss.

The Raptors led 13-5 early, but once Frye came in, the Cavaliers went on a 15-7 run to get back into the game.

The Raptors continued to play well, though, and took a 2724 lead after one. Lowry poured it on in the second quarter -- he had 15 in the frame and 20 in the first half -- as the Raptors lead grew to 18 at one point and went into the half with a 57-41 lead.

The Cavaliers came out with purpose in the second half and started making some threes. They cut the lead to seven early in the third, but the Raptors continued to have

Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan had huge games as the Raptors won 105-99 to even the series at 2-2

an answer, especially with Bismack Biyombo continuing his dominance in the paint. The Cavaliers weren't done yet, though. Irving was spectacular in the third, and the Cavaliers cut the lead to nine heading into the fourth.

That's when Cleveland took over. With James and Frye leading the charge while Irving and Kevin Love sat on the bench, the Cavaliers made their first 11 shots of the fourth quarter running a pick-and-roll at the top of the key. They took their first lead at 84-83 with 8:20 left, but the Raptors did trade buckets with the Cavaliers to stay in the game.

After falling behind 96-94, the Raptors went on a 5-0 run to take a three-point lead with 3:23 left. The Raptors came up with two stops and made 2-of-4 free throws to take a 101-96 lead, but Irving hit a three from deep to make it a two-point game. DeRozan answered on the next possession to extend the lead back to four.

Biyombo blocked J.R. Smith on the next possession, then grabbed a huge offensive rebound after a Lowry miss to set up a Lowry bucket with 22.5 seconds left that gave the Raptors a six-point lead that clinched it.

Game 5 is on Wednesday in Cleveland. (SB Nation)

20

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016

Sensei Dunbar and Black Belt Sadella Britton honoured

Cricket and Independence

Lance Gibbs The Master of spin bowling Pt 1 of 2

C

Sensei Winston Dunbar and Sadella Britton (holding trophies) pose with participants in the just concluded Guyana Wado Ryu Annual Junior Championships

C

hief Instructor Sensei Winston Dunbar and nineyear-old black belt Sadella Britton were honoured by the Guyana Wado Ryu Karate Association at the Association’s Annual Junior championships which coincided with Guyana’s Golden Jubilee of Independence celebrations.

Sensei Dunbar and Britton were both presented with trophies with Dunbar receiving the honour for achieving 50 years as a martial arts practitioner while Britton was declared the leading junior karateka over the past year.

The junior competition sponsored by Banks DIH limited was held at the

Sports Club at Thirst Park recently and medals were presented to the top performers.

Britton won the girls 6-9 year category with Zuri Waldron finishing in second position.

In other results, Eric Yang won the boys 5-8 years ‘A’ division with second place being captured by Emmanuel Campbell while Kahalfani McAlister finishing third.

The Boys 5-8 year ‘B’ division winner was Rajkumar Khunder with Justin Oriffield placing second and Allan Lam third.

The Boys 5-8 ‘C’ division was won by Mahir Rajkumar who came out ahead of Anand Persaud

and V. Naraine.

Derangali Naraine won the girls 5-8 ‘A’ category ahead of Tinashe Graig and Vasanna Persaud.

Cyron Nedd secured victory in the Boys 9-11 ‘A’ division with D’anfernee Cush in second spot while Abhinav Singh copped first place in the Boys 9-11 ‘B’ category ahead of D’andre Rose.

The Girls 12-14 division went to Nandanie Kuldip who won over Allicia Benjamin while Shay Britton copped first place in the Boys 12-14 ‘A’ division beating Jayden Craig and Ricky Campbell.

Darren Bobb won the Boys 12-14 ‘B’ division ahead of Chivpersaud Ragnauth and Isack Simpson.

ricket has played a pivotal role in the development of Guyana as a nation long before Independence in May 1966. There are a many outstanding Guyanese cricketers whose contribution to the glorious game will never be forgotten. Today Guyana Times Sport puts the spotlight on the legendary Lance Gibbs in a two part series. Today we examine Gibbs’ early days and the nursery stage of his illustrious international career.

Lancelot Richard Gibbs was one of the most successful spinners in Test cricket history. He took 309 Test wickets, only the second player (after Fred Trueman) to pass 300, the first spinner to pass that milestone, and had an exceptional economy rate of 1.98 runs per over. He was a master of his craft who used his unusually long fingers to turn the ball fiercely and exploited every conceivable change of pace, flight and length.

As a kid Lance kept a collection of cricket clippings and would look out his window to watch Robert

Christiani, who lived a few doors down the street, walk by. One of seven children, he joined the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC), across the street from his home at 150 Crown St, at age 14 and practiced with close friends Colin Wiltshire and Mickey Mortimer. The death of his father Ebenezer while Lance was still young provided an impetus for him to become a professional cricketer to provide for his family.

At DCC, Lance was mentored and inspired by Berkeley Gaskin, a senior official at the club at that time. Starting out as a leg-spinner, he changed to offspin on the advice of former England wicketkeeper Arthur McIntyre, who was coaching in Guyana at that time.

As a leg-spinner he could spin the ball but could not bowl the googly.

Changing to off-spin gave him greater control and variation.

It was also said that young Lance's leg-spin suffered immensely from the bat of his senior clubmate Robert Christiani, which probably made the switch to off-spin a fairly easy decision.

Having to bowl on the small DCC ground without being hit to the boundary too often, and a rigorous training regimen prepared Lance for a successful international career. He used to jog early in the morning and was the first person at practice and the last to leave. He spent a lot of time practicing his catching, with the ball coming at him from different angles.

Lance made his first-class debut in 1954, playing for Guyana against MCC at his home ground of Bourda.

Full name: Lancelot Richard Gibbs Born: 29 Sep 1934, Queenstown, Georgetown, Demerara, Guyana Batting: Right-hand batsman Bowling: Right-arm off-break Relations: Cousin: CH Lloyd Teams: Demerara (FC: 1972); Guyana (FC: 1954-1975); West Indies (Test: 1958-1976);West Indies (ODI: 1973-1975); Warwickshire (FC: 19671973); Warwickshire (ListA: 1968-1973); South Australia (FC: 1969/70); South Australia ListA: 1969); All teams Club: Demerara Cricket Club, Georgetown School: St. Ambrose Anglican Primary; Day Commercial Standard High School Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year: 1967 Warwickshire cap: 1968 Professional Cricketers' Association Player of the Year: 1971 Wisden Cricketer of the Year: 1972

He bowled Denis Compton for 18 to leave the tourists precariously poised at 51/3. Lance also took the wicket of Tom Graveney, but only after a fourthwicket partnership of 402 between Graveney and Willie Watson set up an

innings victory for the MCC. He made his regional debut the same year against Barbados at Kensington Oval. In his second regional game, also against Barbados, he captured six first innings wickets, including Cammie Smith, Sir Garfield Sobers and Conrad Hunte. Several good performances for British Guiana over the next few years earned him selection for the West Indies side against Pakistan in the West Indies in 1958.

He made his debut in the second Test at Port-of-Spain, taking four wickets in the match, and retained his place for the rest of the five-match series, his first five-wicket haul in firstclass cricket coming when he claimed 5/80 in the fourth Test at Bourda. The skilful bowler headed the bowling averages (23.05) with 17 wickets in four Tests.

He toured India in 1957–58, but played in only one Test, in which he went wicket-less. In the tour of Pakistan that immediately followed he took eight wickets in three games.

However, it was the 1960–61 tour of Australia that was to prove a turning point in Lance's international career: he played only in the last three Tests, but took 19 wickets at 20.78: eight at Sydney (including three wickets off four balls), five at Adelaide (including a hat-trick) and six at Melbourne.

He had been omitted from the side for the first two Tests, including the game’s first tied contest in Brisbane where he was the 12th man.

To be continued tomorrow.

21

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Plaisance Secondary blowout Tutorial High, St Joseph High and Bladen Hall pick up wins

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Ethan Fernandes attempting a jumper for Marian Academy during their U-14 game against Bishops’ High

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he National School Basketball Festival, Georgetown and East Coast Regionals’ continued last weekend at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

In the Under-14 category St Stanislaus College blewout Plaisance Secondary 338. Nathan Hackett led the way with a double-double of 13 points, 19 rebounds and an impressive 4 steals while Omario Ganeshbin chipped in 10 points and grabbed 6rebs for Saints. Kelteen Sampson scored 4 points for Plaisance St Roses High edged Tutorial High 9-7. Jaheem Burton scored 4 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for St Roses while Jaden Moses scored 3 points and collected 5 steals for Tutorial.

Marian Academy defeated The Bishops’ High School (BHS) 22-15 behind Corey Graham’s 7 points and 13 rebounds. Timothy Richmond scored 8 points for Bishops.

The Under-16 games saw St Joseph High thrashing Charlestown Secondary 298. Shaquavon Gill and Tahir Meusa guided St Joseph to victory scoring 11 and 10 points respectively. Keoma Henry posted 8 points for Charlestown.

Plaisance High continued their string of impressive performances with a 38-23 victory over Tutorial High School. Nigel Bowen had a near triple-double

with 13 points and 11 rebounds and 8 steals while Andrew Johnson dominated with 20 points for Plaisance.

Zion Gray had 13 points for Tutorial.

Bladen Hall narrowly edge Queen’s College (QC) 23-22. Joshua Gordon’s 14 points and Quacey Shortt 6 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks were enough to steer their side to victory. Luguard Mohan score 9 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for QC. In the Under-19 segment St. Joseph High topped Queen’s College 37-32 in a thrilling contest. Lemuel Grant led all scorers with 16 points for St. Joseph meanwhile Damani Thomas added 9 points and 14 rebounds for Queen’s College.

Plaisance Secondary destroyed Tutorial High 88-35 behind star man Terrence Daniels who had an outstanding game scoring 29 points for Plaisance while Denzel Logan topped scored for Tutorial with 10 points.

Tutorial High defeated Queen’s College 33-30. Zion Gray scored 11 points while teammate Dequan Manning added 9 points for Tutorial.

Damani Thomas scored 11 points and had 7 rebounds for Queens College The Tournament is sponsored by Digicel Guyana, Edward B. Beharry (Champion) and Company Ltd and Banks DIH LTD (Powerade).

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GUYANA-TIMES.COM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016

CPL returns to “iconic” Kensington Oval

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Sid Mallya

he Barbados Tridents will be looking to make home form count as they bid to regain the HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title and will face the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Kensington Oval on Monday, 11 July.

The Tridents have signalled their intent of regaining the title they last won in 2014, by signing up South African star AB de Villiers in the close season who joins an exciting panel which includes fellow Proteas trio Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson and David Wiese, Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik as well as the likes of the hugely influential local trio Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Rampaul. West Indies Under-19 World Cup winner Shemar Springer will also feature in this year’s squad.

The combination of day and night time games is sure to attract a large following to the 15,000 capacity Kensington Oval once more.

Speaking at the announcement of their home CPL fixtures, Sid Mallya, Chairman of the Barbados Tridents franchise, said: “The Kensington Oval is one of world cricket’s most iconic grounds. To be there with a vocal home support behind you is an enormous thrill for the Tridents players and we are fully focused on bringing success back to Barbados this year.

“There is a really positive mood around West Indies cricket at the moment, following the success of the West Indies men, women and Under-19 teams over the past few months, and we are determined to build

on that feel-good factor over the coming months.

“It is an exciting year for all concerned and the chance to spread the game into mainland USA, with matches for all the teams in Fort Lauderdale in the last weekend in July, is a hugely exciting development both for CPL and the game of cricket in general. Barbados is a real stronghold for cricket in the Caribbean and the team will be focused on putting on a show for our fans both at home and on the road.”

The remaining fixtures will be confirmed over the coming week and tickets are on sale now from www. cplt20.com.

Barbados Tridents Home Fixtures (all times local):

July 11 – Jamaica Tallawahs (20:00 Hrs), July 13 – St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots (20:00 Hrs), July 16 – Trinbago Knight Riders (12:00 Hrs), July 17 – St. Lucia Zouks (19:00 Hrs).

Barbados Tridents Squad:

Kieron Pollard, AB de Villiers, Shoaib Malik, Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Rampaul, David Wiese, Robin Peterson, Raymon Reifer, Ashley Nurse, Wayne Parnell, Akeal Hosein, Imran Khan, Kyle Hope, Navin Stewart, Kyle Corbin, Steven Taylor, Shemar Springer.

The Coach is Robin Singh and Assistant Coach is Vasbert Drakes

Stag Elite League…

Julian Wade’s 4-goal haul; Slingerz FC hammer Monedderlust 5-0 — Alpha United defeat Buxton

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Alpha United taking on Buxton United

lingerz FC final game of the Stag Elite League Finale on Sunday night at the National Track and Field Facility, Leonora ended with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Monedderlust. Julian Wade led the way with a four-goal haul as Slingerz FC finished the season as the only team to play unbeaten.

Wade started the rampage early as he netted in the second minute of play leaving Monedderlust in an early predicament. Wade would once again find the back of the net in the 32nd minute giving Slingers a 2-0 lead with thirteen minutes to play in the half.

Slingerz dominated possession throughout most of the game with their quick one touch passing as Monedderlust struggled to maintain a good spell of possession.

The second half picked up right where the first left off and Julian Wade would net his third goal of the evening in the 72nd completing his hat-trick. Three minutes later Monedderlust found themselves in a much

deeper hole when Seon Jackman was sent off after receiving his second yellow card of the evening leaving Monedderlust with 10-men.

Slingerz wasted little time to capitalize on the opportunity as Wade capped off his four-goal haul with a brilliant strike in the 78th to give his side a 4-0 advantage. Clive Nobrega also got a piece of the action after netting in the 88th.

Slingerz complete the season on 40 points as they await the start of the Final Four showdown.

Meanwhile, Monedderlust remain on 6 points and 7th in the table.

In the other match of the double header, Alpha United defeated Buxton United 3-0. Joshua Browne scored in the 14th minute while Anthony Abrams netted a brace in the 38th and 63rd minutes respectively.

The next set of matchups will see GFC face off against GDF FC and Fruta Conquerors FC take on Pele FC, the dates and venue will be announced soon.

Action from the Slingerz and Monedderlust game at Leonora

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016

WINNING WAYS CONTINUE WITH NEW DIGICEL WICB PARTNERSHIP

Stag Elite League…

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Growing the next great Pele FC fined $200,000 for West Indian cricketers abandoning Stag Elite League game B

RIDGETOWN, Barbados – Tuesday, 24 May 2016. Cricket in the West Indies looks set to continue its winning ways with the news that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has inked an exciting new agreement with Digicel.

With rising stars like Carlos Brathwaite, Hayley Matthews and Shimron Hetmyer having made a name for themselves on the global stage with their stunning world-beating performances at the World Championships, the next four years of partnership between Digicel and the WICB look brighter than ever.

As the biggest supporter of cricket across the region for the last 12 years, this time around Digicel will be helping to grow the already massive appeal of the game by sponsoring the women’s and U19s teams – in addition to the men’s senior team.

Another major part of Digicel’s new commitment to West Indies Cricket will be the coaching clinics that will be developed across the Caribbean to find and nurture the cricket stars of the future – as well as a strong mix of branding and advertising at home games, activations, promotional opportunities and more access to the teams. And, for the first time ever, the Digicel logo will also have a presence on all West Indies team’s jerseys at ICC events.

Digicel’s commitment will help the strategic growth of the WICB’s business and provide greater engagement for fans and benefits to Digicel customers. This includes the sup-

Pele FC and Golden Jaguars midfielder Gregory Richardson WICB CEO Michael Muirhead

port of the long form of the game, and the future of Test Cricket, and this will play out with the broadcasting of the Professional Cricket League (PCL) Regional 4-Day Competition set to start later this year.

John Delves, Chief Commercial Officer at Digicel Group, comments; “Our aim with all of our community and sponsorship initiatives is to support our customers and the things that they love and identify with most – and one of those things is cricket. The game of cricket has a long and fascinating history in the Caribbean uniting the people of the islands and the islands themselves through a shared passion and a competitive thrill.”

He continues; “The stunning recent successes of the men, women’s and U19s teams have once again broadened the appeal of the game and excited new audiences. We are delighted to be involved now with all of the WICB teams and particularly pleased to be partner-

ing on the coaching clinics which will help to nurture future champions from the Caribbean.”

Michael Muirhead, Chief Executive Officer at the WICB, says; “As part of the WICB’s plan to expand its commercial business, a key component of this strategy was the renewal of the relationship with our long term and valued team sponsor. The new partnership meets a number of our strategic commercial goals, and we are delighted to be continuing our long association with Digicel. Over the past 12 years, Digicel has demonstrated its love of the game of cricket and has helped to bring new excitement to our passionate fans. This new era sees an expanded level of support for all of our teams and a focus on growing the next wave of Caribbean cricket champions in all formats.”

“In addition, our commercial agency, Pitch International, has been key to this renewal of this new look partnership.” (Windies Cricket)

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he Guyana Football Federation (GFF) stated in a press release that; in matter of Pele FC’s abandonment of Match 52 in the Stag Elite League Finale against Alpha United, the Executive Committee of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has ruled the following in keeping with Article 15.2 of the Stag Elite League Regulation: 1. That Pele Club will be fined a total of G$200,000.

2. Forfeiture of the match

by Pele FC and a 3-0 victory awarded to Alpha United FC 3. Deduction of three points from Pele FC from the Points Standings in the League Pele FC abandoned the match against Alpha United after Gregory Richardson and Omario Williams were

both sent off in the 25th and 27th minutes respectively, both players were sent off for using abusive and threatening language towards the referee.

Article 15.2 states that the Guyana Football Federation shall have the authority to suspend, fine or disqualify any official(s), player(s) or competing teams(s), that breach any Laws of the League or for any action or conduct not in the best interest of football or the Elite League.

Additionally, the Executive Committee has ruled that the club had violated Article 13.5 of the said Regulations and will face disciplinary actions if found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute and will be liable for a minimum fine of

twenty thousand dollars.

Further, the fine indicated earlier ($200,000) must be paid by the 27th May, 2016; failure to adhere to this deadline will result in further disciplinary action being taken against the club.

Pele FC now drops to 5th position with 14 points as GDF now moves into fourth on 17 points. Both sides have one game remaining.

Pele will be looking to turn things around when they face Fruta Conquerors next, as they seek to secure a top four finish. Nevertheless, GDF will be looking to dampen those hopes as they face bottom of the table GFC in their final game. A victory will secure GDF’s fourth place finish and book a final four playoff spot.

GGMC wins domino tournament and trip to Kaieteur

Junior Pan American Championships

Canada whip Guyana 8-0 in final pool match

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he Guyana National Junior Men’s Hockey Team went down to Canada 8-0 in their final pool B match on Monday at the Junior Pan American Championships in Toronto, Canada. Having lost both their first two matches against Mexico and Chile, the bottom of the table clash was dominated by a Canadian side desperate to avoid playing Argentina in the quarter finals. The first three Canadian goals came from penalty corners and a defensive mistake led to a fourth, which caused the Guyanese to lose their composure. Guyana had a better second half, with some Aroydy Branford breakaways leading to penalty corners and several close calls.

However, Canada would add another four goals to seal the emphatic win and book their quarter final spot against pool A runners-up Trinidad & Tobago.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Raphael Trotman hands over the winning trophy to the victorious GGMC team

Aroydy Branford takes on a Canadian defender

In his assessment of the match, head coach Robert Fernandes stated “We did not play well today, we didn’t execute our game plan with the level of intensity that was required and we lost our composure when the goals started to go in. We need to learn from these experiences and build on them to be more competitive in the future.” Guyana’s next match will be its toughest

challenge to date, when they face perennial powerhouses Argentina in their quarterfinal on Wednesday at 10:00 hrs.

In other results from day three: Argentina defeated Puerto Rico 21-0, Trinidad & Tobago defeated USA 5-1 and Chile defeated Mexico 3-2. Local fans will be able to stream the matches live on the www.panamhockey. org website.

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he curtains came down on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) Inter- Agency domino with the finals played Friday last in Georgetown.

Played in the crowded compound of the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC), the home team GGMC) was able to feed off their support to secure their way to the winning trophy and a trip to the mighty Kaieteur.

GGMC’s Roshauna

Williams shared the only “love” while her colleague and teammate G. Daniels was declared the best player after securing the maximum of 18 games.

The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) took the 2nd place trophy and a trip to Lethem while the Guyana Lands & Survey Commission (GL&SC) won the dinner at Cara Lodge prize along with the 3rd place trophy. The Guyana Gold Board (GGB) was also recognized for being the best

uniformed team.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr. Raphael Trotman was present to assist with the presentation of prizes including trophies and medals.

The competition which began on April 13 saw participation from the other agencies within the (MNRE) including the National Parks Commission (NPC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016

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

CPL returns to “iconic” Kensington Oval Pg 22

The historic Kensington Oval is the home of the Barbados Tridents and will host four matches in this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League

WINNING WAYS CONTINUE WITH NEW DIGICEL WICB PARTNERSHIP

NSBF, Georgetown and East Coast Regionals

Growing the next great Plaisance Secondary West Indian cricketers blow-out Tutorial High, St Joseph High and Bladen Hall pick up wins

Pg 21

Pg 23 Digicel has been sponsoring West Indies Cricket for the past 12 years and the partnership will now be extended

Andrew Johnson completing a lay-up for Plaisance in their U-16 clash against Tutorial

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