Caribbean Times International

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

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ISSUE NO. 127

CANADA EDITION

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WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014

Guyana’s President ready to meet with Opposition

– Ramjattan admits concern about mounting APNU’s platform See stories on pgs 5,6,9,10 &14

Free bus ride in TT from Mayaro to S/Grande Page 7

Young Jamaicans encouraged to commit to country’s development Page 18

Trinidadian team to Page 6 finalise agriculture land deal with Guyana soon

TT’s Agriculture minister Devant Maharaj (TT Guardian file photo)

Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar meets with members of the Special Forces at GDF’s 49th Anniversary which was held on Sunday in Georgetown, Guyana (President Donald Ramotar Facebook page)

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NEWS

www.caribbeantimesinternational.com | WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014

Sir Shridath Ramphal for book launch in Toronto

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ORONTO, CANADA: Sir Shridath Ramphal, Commonwealth Secretary General, 19751990, will be in Toronto on Friday, November 21, 2014 at the Radisson Hotel Toronto East, 55 Hallcrown Place, Toronto, Ontario, M2J 4R1, to launch his book “Glimpses of a Global Life”.

The event will be from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the Toronto Room.

Sir Shridath was educated at King's College London and at Harvard Law School.

He worked as the Chancellor of the University of Warwick from 1989 to 2002, at the University of the West Indies until 2003, and also

served as Chancellor of the University of Guyana.

A recipient of numerous awards and honours from several countries, international bodies and academic institutions, including Knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen of England, he has served with distinction the people of his

nation, the Region and the wider international community in a multiplicity of roles.

Sir Shridath received the honour of membership of the Order of the Caribbean Community in the first conferment of 1992. He also served as Cabinet Minister in the Guyana Government.

In spite of his high in-

ternational standing and involvement in international affairs, he remained loyal and dedicated to the issues of development in his Caribbean homeland.

An invitation is extended for all to attend this event as well as providing an opportunity of meeting Sir Shridath in person.

JMMB reports operating revenue growth of Ja$4.98 billion

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I N G S T O N , JAMAICA: The Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Group on Monday said it posted an operating revenue of Ja$4.98 billion, reflecting a 19.9 per cent increase over the January to September period last year and explained that the growth is largely attributable to the expansion of the group through acquisitions.

The company -- which operates in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago -also reported a net profit of Ja$1.26 billion for the period despite earnings per share falling to Ja$0.74, when compared to the previous period.

But that, JMMB said, was a result of a corresponding increase of operating expenses from Ja$2.34 billion to Ja$3.48 billion.

According to the company, the increase in the operating expenses was largely due to costs associated with the full expansion of the group, through the acquisition of Intercommercial Bank Limited (IBL) in Trinidad and Tobago, which accounted for Ja$715.1 million.

"This expansion is in keeping with the JMMB Group's strategic direction to become a regional integrated financial services provid-

A section of JMMB’s offices at Haughton Terrace in Kingston.

er; as a result, JMMB Group has embarked on a series of integration activities; continues to institute process reengineering and other operational efficiency initiatives; as well as actively manage its operating expenses and further enhance revenue growth," the company said in a news release on Monday.

"Operations in the Dominican Republic continue to produce positive results, contributing Ja$274.9 million to the group, while

operations in Trinidad and Tobago contributed Ja$121.3 million to the group's earnings," JMMB added.

The group also said its Net Interest Income (NII) showed positive growth year-overyear, moving from Ja$2.41 billion to Ja$2.70 billion, an increase of Ja$289.6 million or 12.0 per cent. "This was attributed to the expanded business line coupled with effectively managing the group's investment portfolio and cost of funds," the re-

lease said.

"Other operating revenues that contributed to the group's performance included gains on securities trading; foreign exchange margins from cambio trading; and commission income which saw a 17.5 per cent, 112.8 per cent and 34.8 per cent growth, respectively, driven primarily by volume increases and taking advantage of market opportunities," the company added.

In addition to the oper-

ating expenses attributed to the acquisition of IBL, other expenses amounting to Ja$420.9 (37 per cent of the operating expenses) moved upwards due to costs associated with integration, growth in subsidiaries in the regional markets, increase in asset tax and normal inflationary increases.

"This increase in operating expenses was reflected in the corresponding increase in the group's efficiency ratio, which moved to 69.6 per cent when compared to 56.3 per cent, in 2013," JMMB said.

The group said that as it seeks to maximise on the synergies to be derived from the integration of its newly acquired entities, it will continue to streamline measures to ensure that the growth of revenue outperforms operational expenses.

"The company continues to exceed its regulatory capital requirements, with its capital to risk weighted assets ratio standing at 14.4 per cent, when compared to the Financial Services Commission benchmark stipulation of a minimum of 10 per cent. Additionally, at 12.8 per cent (2013 - 11.9 per cent), the company's capital to total assets ratio also bettered the FSC benchmark of six per cent," JMMB said.

(Jamaica Observer)

Spain eyes investment opportunities in TT P O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: “Trinidad and Tobago has many investment opportunities to offer particularly in the tourism sector, however the package of incentives/ advantages for investment in Tobago’s tourism Sector needs to be marketed more aggressively,” said Jose Maria Fernandez Lopez de Turiso, Ambassador of Spain to TT during a recent courtesy visit with Vasant Bharath Minster of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communication.

The ambassador, who

took up office in January , is eager to increase investments from Spain in TT. “The potential for Trinidad and Tobago is absolutely unlimited as you enjoy comparative advantages, such as cheap energy and a safe environment,” he said Bharath, who noted that “over the years there has not been much Spanish investments into TT’s economy” agreed that discussions need to be held with potential Spain investors “to present the investment environment, incentives and opportunities available to them.”

The minister identi-

fied the key sectors targeted for diversification and the inherent opportunities. He also told the ambassador of the strides TT has made in the 2015 Doing Business Report as one of the only country in Latin America and the Caribbean among the top 10 improvers in the world, making it easier to do business in TT. The ambassador extended an invitation to Bharath and a delegation from TT to participate in a Tourism Fair in Madrid in February to market investment opportunities in TT. (TT Guardian)

Trade Minister Vasant Bharath, left in talks with His Excellency Jose Maria Fernandez Lopez de Turiso, Ambassador of Spain to TT.

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EDITORIAL

The role of the Army

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he Army’s role as a key institution of the State, and indeed its sine qua non, predates the modern State system. In 1965, just before Guyana was to be granted independence, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) was launched. It absorbed the colonial Volunteer Force and the newly formed and racially representative Special Services Unit (SSU) and included several young officers that had been trained in England.

One of those officers, David Granger, is the present Leader of the Opposition in Guyana.

Following the Opposition defining the Administration as a “minority Government”, they launched nationwide protests against the Government’s prorogation of Parliament. With the heightened Opposition rhetoric there have been some disturbing calls for the Army to “take sides”.

The GDF’s role need to be reexamined. When it was launched, it was seen as a “modernising force” that would assist in transforming a tradition bound society. Then Prime Minister Forbes Burnham, in fact, explicitly broadened the reach of the ethos of the Army by forming a plethora of state organisations modelled on the GDF. The Guyana National Service (GNS) was the prime exemplar of this thrust and was led by officers generally seconded from the GDF or (less infrequently) the Guyana Police Force (GPF). It’s ranks consisted of youths from across the country – including students from the University of Guyana, and they were to be trained almost identically to the army.

The aim was to instil discipline” for the transformation of the society. There was also a Guyana People’s Militia (GPM) that acted as a reserve GDF force. To emphasise their function, the organisations were lumped together as the “Disciplined Forces”. There were several civilian affiliates of the then ruling PNC that also received military “disciplining” training.

The role and function of the Disciplined Forces were subsumed within the larger vision of the creation of a “Cooperative Republic” that was fundamentally socialist. Starting in 1989, however, then People’s National Congress (PNC) Leader Desmond Hoyte, signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that in effect conceded the co-operative experiment had failed.

The economy was reorganised along free enterprise lines as most of the previously nationalised “commanding heights of the economy” were privatised by the Hoyte regime and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP-C) Government that succeeded it.

However, there was never an explicit deconstruction of the role of the Disciplined Forces and the reformulation of a new guiding vision.

In 2003, a Disciplined Forces Commission (DFC) was established to examine primarily the question of the ethnic composition of the forces, but it took a more comprehensive approach and its 164 recommendations was quite far reaching.

Unfortunately the report became lost in the parliamentary approval process and while it was subsequently approved, most of its recommendations, especially those of its composition remain unimplemented.

There were, however, several ad hoc initiatives, the most notable being the dissolution of the GNS and the GPM. In the years since, there were sporadic calls for the reintroduction of the GNS to deal with problems manifested in the youth population.

While the calls were couched in the language of “training” the youths and getting them off the streets, there is definitely an undercurrent of the old desire to “instil discipline” into them. There were also persistent demands for “reform” of the GPF because of a number of problems that became manifest. But while there were several studies conducted, until this year, there were no institutionalised program of change.

With the GDF, however, while the “cooperative socialist” innovations – such as officers swearing to the political leader of the country – have been jettisoned, the institution has been left to muddle along. This is unsettling for an organisation operating on “Standard Operating Procedures”.

This leads to confusion, which needs to be clarified in light of the present provocative statements by the Opposition.

O, Beautiful Guyana As Guyana celebrates Tourism Month, Guyana Times takes a look at some of the iconic destinations here: The majestic Mount Roraima, Guyana’s highest peak, lies in the Pakaraimas in the northwest of the country. The mountain, the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana, is among the oldest geological formations on earth and features many unique examples of flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world (Rainforest Tours photo)

‘Mental illness is taboo where I come from’ -Trini Zaida Baig honoured in U.S.

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: For more than half her life, Zaida Baig lived in fear.

She was afraid to go beyond her home, except for work and to buy food. The Middletown, Pensylvania, USA woman was afraid to socialise or to make friends.

But mostly, she was afraid someone might see into the depths of her depression and isolation and learn a secret she hoped no one would discover — that she suffered from schizophrenia. She didn’t want anyone to know she heard voices in her head, voices that distorted her perception of what was real and what wasn’t.

“Mental illness is taboo where I come from,” said Baig, who grew up in Trinidad.

Decades after relocating to the United States, something happened that would change her life.

Baig walked through the doors of the Family Service Association of Bucks County to seek help. A team of therapists, psychiatrists and nurses came to her aid, giving her the medical and mental health attention that lifted her out of her depressive state. That was five years ago.

On Thursday, the 64-year-old woman, once burdened with social phobia, stood in front of nearly 200 people with a cheerful grin and proudly held up an award presented in her honour.

“I am a new person,” Baig said as she accepted the Family Service Association’s “Family of the Year” award at the Bucks County group’s annual luncheon.

FSA members also recognised Bucks County Technology Park in Lower Southampton as the “Corporate Citizen of the Year” and Soroptimist International of Indian Rock as the “Family

Builder of the Year”.

In the last year, FSA staff members have worked with more than 22,000 Bucks County residents to resolve issues in their lives. The dozens of services the group provides include mental health support, medical services and in-school counselling. The FSA also runs the Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter in Bristol Township and operates an emergency hotline call centre.

“This organisation epitomises the best of America’s nonprofit, human-serving sector,” said Susan Dreyfus, Thursday’s keynote speaker and the CEO of the National Alliance for Children and Families. “They are not just sitting back waiting for someone else to solve issues. They are pulling the community together and solving problems together.”

The president of the FSA Board of Directors, Michael Mattie, highlighted some of the nonprofit’s accomplishments over the last year. Among them, he said is the FSA’s expansion of its presence in schools, where agency counsellors work with at-risk students.

“It’s sometimes difficult for parents and children to get to our offices, so we are trying to increase access,” he said.

FSA also operates a teen centre at the Oxford Valley Mall, where mental health experts have been able to connect with teens who are dealing with anxiety, depression and homelessness.

The group has been able to extend its reach this year, thanks to the volunteers and employees who staff the organisation’s new call centre, which is home to the contact helpline, the Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Housing link, which is the point of contact for people facing a housing crisis in the county.

“Together, the call centre associates are dealing with some of the most fragile people in our community, as they provide caring support and connection to resources these callers need to rebuild their lives,” Mattie said.

Baig also reminded people that FSA’s doors at 4 Cornerstone Drive in Middletown are open to those who need help and she encouraged people not to be afraid to disclose their mental problems.

FSA CEO Audrey Tucker said the group was delighted to honour Baig and called her a “hero” who exemplifies the successes that can be achieved through working together.

Baig’s words of gratitude were plentiful.

“I was once afraid of all the rejection that would come from what I have,” she said of the schizophrenia. “For the first time in my life, I’m able to talk about what I have. Now, I’m a better person, and I’m a better citizen.”

In addition to helping to treat Baig for schizophrenia, FSA also paired her with a nurse who taught her how to manage her diabetes. She was taught how to monitor her blood glucose levels and how to use insulin to help regulate those levels.

“Family Services taught me everything I didn’t know about,” Baig said.

Gone are the days when she lacked motivation to get out of bed. Now, she said, she takes joy in the simple accomplishments in life — going shopping in a mall, hanging out with friends and taking walks.

Glancing at the elegant decor of Ivyland’s Spring Mill Manor and the group of supporters by her side, Baig said, “It’s an honour and a privilege to be here today; I’ve come a long way, and now, I feel free.”(TT Express)

News WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014

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Study underway in Guyana’s Jamaica to select local Opposition divided crops for biofuel production on rally…

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: A study is underway to select local crops for biofuel production, in an effort to expand Jamaica's sources of energy supply.

Manager for renewable energy and energy efficiency at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), Dr Peter Ruddock, said the company is continuing its research to extract biodiesel from plants, so as to reduce the importation of fuel.

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) 'Think Tank' recently, Dr Ruddock said the PCJ has signed partnership agreements with Bodles Agricultural Research Station and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute for the experimental cultivation of select crops for biofuel production.

"We are also procuring an oil press, which will press the seeds out to get the oil which we can test," he noted, adding that the company is also in dialogue with the Jamaica German Automotive School (JAGAS) and the University of Technology (UTech).

"I figure that within the next year or two we should have some very good data, which will establish the whole value chain of doing this biodiesel research," Dr Ruddock said.

He said, too, that investigations were being carried out on the locally grown jatropha and castor. "We have been trying to get the best strains for Jamaica. The strains have come from all over

– Ramjattan admits concern about mounting APNU’s platform

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RUDDOCK… within the next year or two we should have some very good data

the world and we want to see which of them will produce the best yields with local conditions," Dr Ruddock said.

Following the selection of plants, he explained that the other phases will be harvesting, extracting the oils, engine tests and establishing a retail market with Petrojam Limited, which supplies the country with a full range of petroleum products.

"That hopefully will displace some of the imported diesel," he added.

According to Dr Ruddock, a biodiesel association, including all the players in the industry, will be established to ensure economies of scale and that the country benefits.

"We have had a number of meetings involving people from the universities, the players in the

fast-food business, anybody who has an interest in biodiesel, so that we can get the economy of scale," he said.

The PCJ manager noted that benefits and savings will be derived, once biofuel is produced locally. "If it is locally produced versus being imported, I recognise that we could have some savings that could be derived, even if it is just the saving of our precious export dollars," he added.

The PCJ is responsible for undertaking the development and promotion of Jamaica's energy resources in support of the National Energy Policy and Vision 2030, the country's longterm national development plan which aims at enabling Jamaica to achieve developed country status by 2030.

(Jamaica Observer)

EORGETOWN, GUYANA: A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Leader David Granger is seemingly balked by the recent decision made by the Leadership of the Alliance For Change (AFC) not to send Khemraj Ramjattan nor Moses Nagamootoo to a recent APNU rally at Square of the revolution.

Speaking to Guyana Times on Friday evening, Granger said that he was “looking forward to the attendance or either Ramjattan or Nagamootoo” at the party’s post prorogation rally last Friday.

The rally was organized to demonstrate public discomfort with the recent move by President Donald Ramotar to exercise power granted to him under Guyana’s constitution and prorogue parliament for six months.

AFC Vice Chairman Nigel Hughes and General Secretary David Patterson were the lone AFC members to mount the APNU platform on Friday evening.

However, there were other AFC members such as Trevor Williams, Cathy Hughes and Valerie GarridoLowe, along with a few identifiable AFC supporters at the rally.

Granger explained that he saw the attendance at the rally as an “internal AFC matter” declining to offer any suggestions as to why, Nagamootoo and Ramjattan declined to be a part of the rally.

“If he came he came, we just hoped that the leader of the party would show up,” Granger said in a very low tone during the telephone interview with Guyana Times on Tuesday evening.

The APNU Leader contended that what is important is that the AFC was represented at the APNU organized rally.

Meanwhile, according to reports carried in other sections of the media, Ramjattan declined to mount the APNU platform because he believed it goes against his ethics as a politician.

The AFC Leader reportedly contended via a social media platform that “the liberal democratic nature of the AFC allows a subjective decision to be made by leaders and members of the Party on particular issue of impor-

AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan

tance to them”, adding that “it is a sort of conscience vote on the matter”.

Ramjattan also stressed that he believed that his presence at the rally would have been used as material for the spread of propaganda by persons within the leading Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and those that are loyal to that party.

“I personally felt that knowing how it will be spun and twisted by the propagandists in the PPP/C, it would not be wise to attend. My presence there also would have been inconsistent with my personal position that I will not want to be on an opposing party’s platform.Ramjattan was quoted as saying.

The AFC had maintained that it believed that it was necessary to join the APNU’s platform which was organised to protest the President’s decision to prorogue Parliament.

The party on Tuesday in a press release downplayed the concerns raised by sections of the media about its decision to send only African-Guyanese representatives to the rally instead of its most vocal East Indian politicians.

(Excerpted from Guyana Times)

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www.caribbeantimesinternational.com | WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014

Trinidadian team to Guyana’s President ready finalise agriculture land to meet with Opposition deal with Guyana soon …dispatches invitation letter

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: Trinidad and Tobago Agriculture Minister is expected to lead a delegation to Guyana before the end of this month, with the hope of finalising the agriculture land deal between the two Caribbean nations.

According to Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, his ministry is currently working out the dates for the delegation to travel and meet.

During that meeting, it is expected that the two ministers will conclude where the visiting team’s interests are, and will allow for both countries to decide on the locations for the land.

“The land will most likely not be at one location, given the fact that the location of land will depend on the crops they are interested in.”

Minister Ramsammy said he was happy to see that very critical steps were being concluded now under this deal.

“It is important for people to realise that while these two governments made that agreement under the Jagdeo Initiative, we are strong in ensuring that the two governments play a facilitating and accommodating role for the private sector.”

The minister pointed out that the economy of Guyana at this time is driven by the private sector.

“All of our governments have persisted with the notion of the private sector driving the economy. Agriculture has always been almost in control of the private sector…and therefore this agreement is focused on utilising the private sector to take advantage of the initiative for us to advance Guyana and CARICOM’s agriculture.”

The minister pointed out that this proj-

ect will pattern the Santa Fe rice project in Region 9, which can be considered the first and largest agriculture project under the Jagdeo Initiative.

In the interim the Minister said, he has been advised that the Trinidadian partners have already sought to mobilise investors to utilse the ten thousand acres of land that Guyana had agreed and continue to have interest for Trinidad to develop.

“The two ministers have been meeting over a period of time that resulted in the MOU in early 2013. This MOU has been featured in the budget debates in Trinidad in 2013 and 2014. There are a number of things we have done as part of that agreement.”

Further the Trinidadian government undertook to mobilise its private sector to come to Guyana and make use of the land provided as it was partly intended to produce crops for products which that country at present imports from outside the Caribbean.

“The intention is to use Guyana as an export base to Trinidad and Tobago so whilst technically it will still be importing, it would be doing so from businesses owned

by Trinidadians, and therefore retain the regional movement of integrating the economy.”

Last September, Guyana and Trinidad signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the release of land to investors and farmers of the twin island republic. The agreement addresses several areas including programmes and activities, core areas of cooperation, monitoring and coordinating mechanism, mutual responsibility, commitments and rights and obligations. (GINA extract)

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: President Donald Ramotar has signalled his preparedness to meet with the combined opposition – A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC) to discuss several pertinent matters relating to the prorogation of the National Assembly.

This was confirmed by Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira who late Tuesday afternoon confirmed that the President has taken steps to dispatch a letter to both Opposition parties to that effect.

The Presidential Advisor explained, in a synopsis, that the letter’s content details that the President is now ready to meet on dialogue and steps should be taken to have tripartite discussions as soon as possible.

However, when contacted, AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan claimed that he was not in receipt of the invitation from the President. While this is so, sectors of society are doubtful that there will be any talks between the President and the Opposition. If there are talks, the fear is there will be no consensus.

This is largely due to the fact that the Opposition “has resolved that there will be no extra parliamentary engagement with the President on the matters which were before the National Assembly”.

The two parties have also accused President Ramotar of being

Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar

insincere in the issuance of the prorogation Proclamation, contending that there was enough time for the President to engage the Opposition previously.

Guyana’s Private Sector and several labour organizations have already expressed a willingness to serve as mediators in the ongoing conflict and parliamentary dispute between the Government and Opposition that led to Parliament’s suspension on November 10.

These organizations have also expressed support for dialogue as a means of settling the differences between the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), AFC, and the main opposition parliamentary party APNU.(Guyana Times)

News WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014

Seminar launched in Guyana with focus on development and LCDS

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: A two-day seminar was launched on Tuesday at Guyana International Conference Center with the aim of addressing a wide range of topics with respect to the Low Carbon Development.

Representatives of the Forestry Sectors from international and regional countries such as Spain, the Netherlands, the USA, the UK, Panama, Suriname, Guatemala, and several others, will conduct the seminar with local forestry representatives with the aim of improving the forestry standards and management worldwide.

“During the course, we hope to set the scene for continuing the sharing of ideas, experiences and research, to increase the knowledge and understanding of actions in the Guyanese Forest Sector”, Chairman of Guyana Forestry Commission Board, Inderjit Ramdas stated.

At the event, Head of the Guyana Forestry Commission James Singh highlighted several of Guyana’s achievement, such as being recognized as a source of legally harvested forest products, guaranteed accuracy in log tracking schemes and more importantly, having one of the lowest rates of deforestation in the world.

However, aside from

Natural Resources and the Environment Minister Robert Persaud addressing representatives at the seminar at the GICC

the appraisals, Singh mentioned that the forest environment is recognized for its complexity and dynamic structure, especially in the areas of the trade of forest products and the forever increasing requirements of consumers and international importers.

Additionally, Natural Resources and the Environment Minister Robert Persaud spoke highly of Guyana’s Forestry Sector as he reminisced of Guyana’s inability to reach its full potential, which, he said, is mostly because of the political atmosphere within the nation after Guyana was released from Britain’s rule.

Nevertheless, as the government is eager to foster development and well on its way to extend the country’s resources, they remain sound on

maintaining safe environmental practices.

Persaud also highlighted Guyana’s constantly low deforestation rate while experiencing rapid growth in the mining sector, noting that he wants all Guyanese to benefit from the country’s wealth.

Also addressing the seminar was the EU Head Delegation to Guyana Robert Kopecky who spoke briefly on the details of the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) and the Volunteer Partnership Agreement (VPA).

The EU adapted the FLEGT action plan in 2003 in a response to the illegal loggings with the aim to counter the trade of illegally harvested timber. The VPA is a binding agreement with the EU and 6 timber producing countries that ensures timbers produced are legally done and in compliance to the laws of the country.

Basically, EU FLEGT is an initiative aiming to put a halt to illegal lumber from entering the European Union, thereby promoting sustainable forest management. Therefore, VPA with the EU, which has up to September 2015 to be negotiated, will gain Guyana an open access to the European markets for legally produced timber.(Guyana Times)

Man steals woman's phone in Jamaica, demands sex or Ja$8,000

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: A man who stole a university student's cellular phone and demanded that she have sex with him or give him Ja$8,000 in exchange for the return of the device was Monday sentenced to six months in prison.

Thirty-eight-year-old Nigel Henclewood of South Avenue, Kingston 3, was sentenced by Senior Magistrate Judith Pusey after he pleaded guilty to simple larceny and extortion in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court.

The court heard that he told the complainant that she should not stress herself if she could not find the money to pay him as she could give him "a little piece" and spend the night in exchange for the return of her iPhone 4s, valued at Ja$70,000.

Henclewood's co-accused, 24-yearold Massara Williams of North Arena, Kingston 3, also faced similar charges but pleaded not guilty and was remanded for trial on December 8.

The men were held in a sting operation on November 8, sometime after 4:00 pm at a wholesale in Cross Roads, Kingston and were initially charged with larceny from the person and possession of an offensive weapon.

The complainant told the court last Friday, when the matter was first mentioned, that her phone was stolen at

Taylor Hall on the University of the West Indies' Mona campus.

She said when she called her phone a man who, turned out to be Henclewood, answered and told her that he wanted Ja$15,000 to return the phone after telling her that she would have to give him "a ting" because the phone is expensive.

The complainant said she later contacted the police and plans were made to arrange a sting operation.

The complainant said she called back Henclewood and told him that she only had Ja$8000 and he told her, "Mi nuh wah put yuh through nuh stress, you can give me a little piece and you can sleep over and spend the night".

On Monday, before the sentence was handed down, Henclewood told the court repeatedly that Williams was not involved but the magistrate told him to worry about himself as he was not Williams' lawyer.

When asked why he should not be sent to prison he said, "I was on the campus doing some business and I saw the phone under a chair, no one was near to it".

"It's not yours, leave it alone," the magistrate said, before handing down the sentence of six months each on the two charges. The sentences are to run concurrently, so he will only spend six months in prison.(Jamaica Observer)

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Free bus ride in TT from Mayaro to S/Grande

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Early dismissal: (Left to right) Renaldo Jackman, Carli Joseph, Jasmin Mohammed and Renelle Joseph all students of Ortoire RC School wait for transport on the Manzanilla/Mayaro Road as school dismissed early as a nearby river rose to flood level after heavy rain on Tuesday.

O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: There is a bit of good news for commuters affected by the massive damage to the Manzanilla Main Road caused by recent flooding, as from Tuesday, the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) will be providing bus transportation to the public free of charge via three of the corporation’s buses, from Mayaro to Sangre Grande.

PTSC Deputy General Manager (Marketing and Communications) Carl Ramdeo told TT media on Tuesday, “the PTSC is committed to ensuring we provide a reliable source of transportation in this period of severe flooding.”

The PTSC in a media release on Tuesday said the service is intended to provide the residents of the affected communities with transportation to conduct their daily business and also for students to attend classes.

“The PTSC is honoured to assist the affected citizens in their time of disaster, to restore their lives to normalcy in the shortest possible time frame,” the release noted.

The schedule is as follows: - at 5 am, 6 am and 7 am the buses will leave Mayaro en route to Sangre Grande via Rio Claro and passing through Biche and Plum Mitan - at 5.30 am a bus will

leave Sangre Grande en route to Rio Claro via Biche and Plum Mitan - at 3.30 pm, 4.30 pm and 5.30 pm a bus will leave Sangre Grande en route to Mayaro via Plum Mitan, Biche and Rio Claro.

At Mayaro the buses can be accessed at the various bus stops and at Sangre Grande at the bus terminus.

Ramdeo said the buses will be 33 seaters and 45 seaters and the service will continue once the area continues to be affected and flood waters continue. He noted that they will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments as necessary, including possibly increasing the number of buses. (TT Newsday)

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Diamond-Grove Housing Scheme a bustling, thriving community in Guyana

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : What was once a dense sugarcane field and swamped area is now a beautiful and thriving community.

The Diamond-Grove Housing Scheme is located approximately 11 miles from Georgetown and is home to over 40,000 people from all walks of life.

The community has seen an explosive growth in the number of people, houses, and businesses over the past decade.

On its journey to ‘Township’, diverse businesses have sprung up throughout the community, such as small grocery outlets, Internet

cafes, minimarts, video game shops, barber shops, taxi services, and Chinese restaurants, among others.

There is also the popular G3 building at the entrance of the scheme which accommodates a pharmacy, an auto sales dealer and a state-ofthe-art gym. Practically everything you need, you can find it in this community.

The community also has its own Police Station, Fire House, and public and private schools from primary to secondary schools.

It has definitely undergone a rapid transformation from a quiet neighbourhood to a bus-

tling hub of activity and commercialism.

Residents no longer need to rush to the capital city to do their banking transactions. Three commercial banks have opened their doors for business in Diamond.

In addition to the banks, there are many other developments including a gas station and food court, a Courts branch, supermarket, general stores, small boutiques, technological stores and a Moneygram outlet, to name a few.

There is also the Diamond Diagnostic Centre which serves as a great relief for residents who used to travel to Georgetown to seek

medical attention.

Shawn Hamid reminisced when he was a little boy residing on the outskirts of the popular cane field. He spoke in awe of the drastic transformation he witnessed throughout the years.

“When I move into this scheme in early 2000, in here didn’t had water or light or roads.

Up to Second Bridge had road, everywhere else was track,” Hamid said.

Hamid, a taxi driver in his 40s, was proud to say he was the first taxi driver in the scheme when it opened.

Indeed, when the community initially saw its first few houses, the infrastructure was in a

terrible state. The roads resembled those “bush roads”. They were basically mud tracks, with numerous potholes.

Mohanie Keyman who has been living in the community for over 13 years said the roads have really improved since she moved in.

“When we move in here, we were the third house to put up in Avenue B and the roads really improved.”

Nevertheless, there are still several streets that need maintenance.

Taxi drivers have complained about the appalling conditions of the roads, particularly through 6th, 11th, 17th and 19th avenues.

Sharmilla, another resident who resides a corner away from the tarmac, mentioned that her street was in a terrible state due to the many trucks bringing in materials to build homes.

However, the matter was resolved after a team from the area raised the concern with the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).

But while the new Diamond-Grove Housing Scheme has seen so much progress in a short time, residents in neighbouring Caneville appear to be the treated as the step child. (Guyana Times)

Report card suggests Caribbean must work harder at exports

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RIDGETOWN, BARBADOS: Exports from the Dominican Republic and Jamaica to Europe are trending up, but the Caribbean as a whole has earned a less than stellar report card from the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA).

Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of CEDA, assigned grades ranging from a Bto an F in giving the report card on various areas of export-related performance in the region at the Caribbean Exporters' Colloquium 2014 held last week in Bridgetown under the theme 'Building Economic Resilience in the Caribbean'.

Coke-Hamilton was incisive in her presentation Tuesday to the event's first session titled 'Making the Grade: An Examination of the Region's Export Performance'.

For overall economic performance, the region earned a Bgrade with economic growth offset by high fiscal and external debt.

Economic growth for the region is projected at 2.5 per cent for 2014, down from three per cent in 2013, Coke-Hamilton said. Regional GDP for the area was US$132 billion, with the Dominican Republic having the largest share, followed by Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Barbados.

Total exports for the region stood at US$51 billion, with services representing 62 per cent.

Other grades included a Bfor conformity to international standards and a sub-par D

James Moss-Solomon participating at the Caribbean Exporters’ Colloquium 2014 in Bridgetown, Barbados last week.

grade for innovation.

Export diversification is another concern. "We still rely on what we did 50 years ago, and we have to get beyond that," Coke-Hamilton said.

The role of the private sector in the Region's economic development earned a C grade. Branding and intellectual property rights, as well as access to finance both earned C- grades.

"Our banks tend not to ascribe value to an idea," CokeHamilton said. The result is that businesses need to look at non-traditional providers for capital and investment.

For global logistics and shipping, the region performed

at a satisfactory level with a grade of C+ with easy accessibility from the Region to locations like Miami, New York, and London.

But the worst-performing area was intra-regional logistics and shipping, which received a failing grade of F. "If we don't address it, everything else becomes, frankly, theoretical," Coke-Hamilton said.

But despite the mediocre report card, the Region may have a brighter future, according to panellist Ashish Shah, director of the division of country programmes at the International Trade Centre.

"I stand convinced that the

turning point has come. The report card is a very good C, in my view," and could soon improve to a B+, Shah said.

"To succeed in trade you have to be able to compete and be able to out-compete your competitors," Shah said, adding that the focus on small and medium businesses (SMBs) is most important.

Professor Victor Bulmer Thomas, honorary professor at University College, London and professor emeritus of London University, noted the danger of looking at Regionwide statistics, as they are heavily influenced by the performance of one country.

"Everything is about

Trinidad and Tobago," Bulmer Thomas said.

He analysed 27 individual territories in the region by looking at their economic performance. The top-rated country for the Region, he said, was Cuba, which received a top score of five, followed by Haiti at four.

Cuba benefited from having access to all sorts of special arrangements, Bulmer Thomas said. One example was that the country gets Chinese tourists "in numbers that other countries can only dream of".

The export-led growth message had been received "loud and clear", across the Region, Bulmer Thomas said. But there has to be a "much greater effort" put into the measurement or metrics.

Other participants in the session included Ambassador Mikael Barfod, head of delegation of the European Union to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, who moderated the discussion, and Vassell Stewart, president of the Caribbean Agricultural Business Association.

The day had a total of four sessions. The second session was titled 'Clearing the Hurdles: Key Issues Affecting Caribbean Private Sector Competitiveness', while the third session was 'The Role of the Private Sector in Regional Economic Development'. The fourth session was 'Branding and Intellectual Property Rights - The Counterweight to Volume'. (Jamaica Observer)

Range Resources oil production up 15 per cent

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, T R I N I D A D : Australia’s Londonlisted Range Resources Ltd (RRL) production out of TT continues to increase following successful drilling operations, the company said in a release. “Since the last reported production figures

there has been a five per cent increase from 564 barrels of oil per day (bopd) to 592 bopd.

This represents nearly a 15 per cent increase in production since January,” the company said.

The increase in production, the company said, is a result of “continued develop-

ment drilling and successful workover operations. Two shallow development wells in the Morne Diablo field have been successfully drilled since September 30, to depths of 807 and 1,111 feet and are now producing.” Operations continued without any significant health, safety, security

and the environment (HSSE) incidents.

RRL CEO Rory Scott Russell said: “We are now seeing the start of results from our investments in our TT production projects, staff and rigs. We look forward to seeing steady progress with production continuing to ramp

up in the coming months. We expect to complete a number of additional shallow development wells by the end of the year by which time we will have several rigs drilling in parallel, as well as continuing to progress with our workover programme.” (TT Guardian)

News Sick flood victim hails TT hero soldiers

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Rescued: David Harrikissoon

ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: Kidney patient Dave Harrikissoon told a harrowing story on Monday of being trapped by raging flood waters and being helped by soldiers who took him to safety aboard a military truck.

The truck was the only vehicle capable of pushing through the water that destroyed portions of the ManzanillaMayaro over the weekend.

Harrikissoon was one of the three kidney patients marooned in Mayaro since Thursday as a result of the floods and who needed dialysis treatment in order to live.

On Saturday, the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment was contacted by area politicians to rescue the patients, and get them to their appointments at the Sangre Grande District Hospital.

The three patients— Harrikissoon, 51; Hillary Ambrose, 56; and Alvin Ferreira, 60—eventually received treatment at the hospital’s Dialysis Unit.

Harrikissoon who lives at Bel Air Road, Mayaro, on Monday recounted his rescue and praised the soldiers for their compassion.

He said: “I was supposed to go for my dialysis treatment on a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I had missed Thursday because the house was flooded and we couldn’t get out. I was feeling a bit good then.

The father of two said: “I went back home and one of my relatives (Wesly Mohammed) contacted the councillor, Brinsley Maharaj, to get help. He was trying to get help for us along with (People’s National Movement candidate for Mayaro) Clarence Rambharat at the Mt Hope Hospital. I didn’t really want to go there.

“We were told to wait for transport in Mayaro.

We went by Republic Bank for about 9 a.m. but it was a long wait.

The truck did not reach till noon. I left there at 12.15 p.m. to be exact.”

The hospital contacted Harrikissoon’s wife and mentioned there were two machines still available but by the time that call was made, Harrikissoon was already on his way with Ambrose and Mohammed.

Harrikissoon said the journey to the hospital took about two hours and the ride was uncomfortable. He eventually made it to the Sangre Grande Hospital where he was treated. He returned home at around 8 o’clock that night.

He said: “I was very grateful. The ride up, though it was not all that nice, was appreciated. While going up I was thinking, once I reach there (the hospital) I will get through without problems. I was planning my Sunday meal because as a kidney patient there are some things you cannot eat. So on Sunday, I would take a break and eat just a bit in moderation.

“The ride back was shorter even though, the soldiers had to stop and move cars that were stuck in the flood out of the way to pass through.

I enjoyed the experience. The soldiers, at no time did they complain.

They held your hand, they handled your bags.

Normally you would not think of soldiers as being compassionate because they always have this rough picture painted about them, but they were very nice to us.”

Private Hugh Hamlet, Private DanePaul Ferdinand and driver Private Jason Hankey were commended for their efforts by the patients’ families.

Transportation is being arranged on Tuesday for the patients’ next dialysis appointment. (TT Express)

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Speaker Trotman asks Commonwealth to intervene in Guyana’s crisis G

EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The Speaker of the National Assembly on Friday urged the Londonbased Commonwealth Secretariat to intervene in the dispute spurred by the President’s decision to prorogue Parliament.

“The Guyana Parliament, as a Member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, urges you to use your good offices, together with the entire weight of the Association, to in-

tervene so that we could have a return to normalcy,” Raphael Trotman wrote in a letter to Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma.

“I invite you to send a delegation to Guyana to engage all sides of this disagreement so that this unhealthy situation may be brought to a speedy and peaceful end,” Trotman continued.

President Donald Ramotar prorogued Parliament, putting

himself in a position to effectively run the country alone for the next six months.

Though Guyana’s Constitution gives the President the authority to prorogue Parliament, “the framers of our Constitution could never have intended that such authority would be used arbitrarily, or as a shield by a … government against the majority of the elected members of Parliament,” Trotman told the Commonwealth.

“There is grid-lock as

the majority of Members of the National Assembly are indicating that there will be no dialogue with the Executive unless or until there is revocation of the prorogation and a resumption of sittings of the National Assembly,” the Speaker said.

He noted, however, that “the President has indicated publicly that he is prepared to re-convene the Parliament if accommodations could be arrived at; presumably after dialogue.”

(Fox News)

Ganja decriminalisation brings 'war on drugs' to Jamaica

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ROLLES…international drug control is going through puberty HETZER… the world is looking at Jamaica to be a pioneer in drug reform in the Caribbean

INGSTON, JAMAICA: Jamaica’s decriminalisation of ganja has placed the island in the centre of activities related to the 'war on drugs', ahead of the critical United Nations General Assembly (UNGASS) where fire works is expected when the issue is discussed in 2016.

Last week, two of the leading organisations preparing the ground for changes in the rules governing drug control, spent several days in Jamaica and addressed a symposium on "The International War on Drugs: The Road to UNGASS 2016" held at the Mona Visitor's Lodge in Kingston.

Hannah Hetzer, policy manager, the Americas for the New York-based Drug Policy

Alliance (DPA) said Jamaica was now one of the countries the world was looking at after two major developments -the decision by the government to decriminalise small amounts of ganja and the Mario Deane case in which the young man was jailed for having a ganja spliff and subsequently beaten to death in a cell at the Barnett Street police station in Montego Bay, St James.

"The world is looking at Jamaica to be a pioneer in drug reform in the Caribbean," Hetzer told the Jamaican media, underscoring the country's important role in the Caricom Commission now studying marijuana reform.

"We are seeing an increasing momentum towards drug policy reform in the Americas,

especially where marijuana is concerned," said Hetzer who worked on the successful campaign to get ganja legalised in Uruguay, the first country to do so.

In this regard she credited developments in the U.S. where up to last week the states of Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia (Washington DC) had joined Colorado and Washington in legalising medical marijuana.

She argued that the Caribbean, led by Jamaica, could get in "the forefront of a trend in a world in which legalisation was becoming the preferred option to prohibition". Jamaica could also emerge as a leader in medical marijuana research, she said, adding that products from ganja were being used to treat vari-

ous medical conditions including epilepsy; multiple sclerosis; nausea; chemotherapy and post traumatic stress disorder, among others.

Visiting Jamaica for the occcasion also were: Scott Bernstein, Open Society Foundations; Wanda James and Jeff Wells, Cannabis Global Initiative; Lisa Sanchez, Mexico Unido contra Delincuencia and Pien Metaal, Latin America Drug Law Reform. Big guns from the Jamaican ganja lobby and the UWI in attendance included Paul Burke; Delano Seiveright; Dr Henry Lowe; Dr Lloyd Waller; Dr Donna Hope; Dr Suzette Haughton; Nikky Hanson; Dr StacyAnn Wilson; Dr Chris Charles; Clyde Williams; Dr Andre Haughton and Dr Kadamawe Knife.

(Jamaica Observer)

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“It’s not our party’s policy to boycott businesses” - Granger

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : Opposition Leader David Granger has disassociated A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) from calls made by coalition member Lurlene Nestor for supporters to boycott businesses not compliant with the coalition’s “mandate”.

On Saturday, Nestor called on supporters to boycott businesses if they fail to take an anti-Government stance on the move by President Donald Ramotar to prorogue Parliament.

Granger, in a response on Sunday, told Guyana Times that APNU has taken no such decision. “It is not a policy of the APNU,” he said.

Questioned about the likely impact such a call may have on the coalition, Granger said he cannot respond to every statement made on social media, maintaining that Nestor’s call was inconsistent with the position of the coalition.

Nestor, a former People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Member of Parliament (MP), had announced that APNU had begun an operation under the slogan “Operation Sus-Out and Boycott”.

On her Facebook page, she explained that the coalition will be asking businesses across Guyana to place banners or placards on their premises that would read “We say no to PPP/C Dictatorship”.

She noted that failure to erect the slogan in a prominent place would result in an immediate boycott orchestrated by APNU. “We give them by Monday to get this notice up, failure to have this visible notice will result in us not buying from them, we did it before and we can do it again… we talking to the big ones from Courts, Bounty, Banks, DDL, Fish Shop, all market stallholders and vendors, all businesses on Regent Street, Water Street. We talking to every business from the largest to the smallest,’’ she explained.

APNU General Secretary Joseph Harmon also distanced the coalition from Nestor’s statement, contending that the APNU

Opposition Leader David Granger

member was speaking for herself.

“That is not the official position of the party,” he told Guyana media. Though attempts are made, he said, the party cannot, at all times, curb some of the enthusiasm expressed by members and supporters.

The matter surrounding Nestor’s calls to boycott the commercial sector will be discussed in full during the coalition’s shadow Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Harmon said.

Local businesses have strongly condemned calls by the APNU politician for its supporters to boycott their businesses.

In a strong response, Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman Ramesh Persaud expressed disgust at the call, saying that it would be an attack on businesses.

He said the Commission will not stand idly by while sections of the business community are victimised or punished because of their political affiliations and choices.

“We will not stand idle and allow our businesses to be victimised by the political process; we will take all legal action necessary to protect our businesses,” he said.

Meanwhile, Head of the Mahaica Chamber of Commerce, Chaum Basdeo, in an invited comment, said: “Businesses have to remain neutral and not be caught in politics. We have to be careful of the line we thread on.”

A representative of Georgetown Chamber of Commerce said the Executive will discuss any possible threat to businesses and private investment.

(Guyana Times)

On a mission to transform social enterprises in Jamaica

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: The Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI) is on a mission to transform 10 social enterprises, which are heavily dependent on funding and donations from third parties, into successful businesses.

SEBI — an initiative of the Jamaica National Building Society Foundation in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) — started in 2012 and is aproximately one year shy of its December 2015 end date. By then, SEBI's project manager Jennifer Sharrier told the Jamaican media on Monday, the social enterprises should either be making a profit, raising income or breaking even.

"What we recognise is that many of these organisations really don't recognise what businesses do and how to operate in a competitive marketplace," explained Sharrier. "So what our programme is doing is helping them understand business, understand the fundamentals of business.

"We don't want people to support them just because they have a social cause; we want people to support them because they have a business with a social purpose," the project manager continued. "We want people to recognise that the product and services they offer are of a very, very high quality."

The 10 groups were selected from a batch of 90 applicants to be a part of the business development and technical capacity building

Pauline Smith (centre), founder and executive director of Network of Women, one of the 10 social enterprises under the USAID-funded Jamaica National Building Society Foundation’s Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI), makes a point on Monday. Listening attentively are (from left): Jennifer Sharrier, project manager SEBI; Dyntie Davis, manager Superior Crafts and More; Charmaine Lewis, founder and director, Dress for Success Jamaica; and Darcy Williams, executive director Mustard Seed Communities.

programme, whose purpose is to work with social enterprises, which are organisations that are committed to the development and sustainability of the social and economic wellbeing of communities, groups and individuals.

Sharrier said that from the outset they were looking for projects that were innovative, inspiring and were going to be impactful.

Sharrier disclosed that because these organisations are so heavily dependent on donations, "if they are not careful, many of these organisations may not be around in the next couple of years".

On Monday, representatives from four of the 10 groups sat down with reporters and editors. One of them, the Mustard Seed Communities, now emphasises food security by using the eggs and fish

they produce primarily for the 400 children for whom they care.

"What we are saying is if they can increase their capacity, they can actually sell to the marketplace and the income that they generate goes back to the support of the children," Sharrier said.

According to Dyntie Davis, manager of Superior Crafts and More, one of the other groups participating in SEBI, the organisation is now looking at ways to move beyond just repairing furniture to building custom items for sale.

SEBI is helping some of Jamaica's underserved groups improve their quality of life by creating opportunities for existing and potential social enterprises, helping them develop business plans, assisting with the implementation of these plans and also providing training.

Admitting that only 10 groups were selected because this was what the US$1 million in funding allowed in terms of resources, Sharrier said the JN Foundation is looking at ways to make SEBI sustainable, so others will be able to benefit.

Since some of the groups are start-ups while others are existing businesses, they require varying levels of support, so Sharrier was unable to provide specific dollar values to how each group has benefited so far. However, there are three areas that are addressed under SEBI. "It is broken down into three key areas: it's to help organisations become efficient businesses, to create enabling business environments, and to create awareness, interest and support for social enterprises," Sharrier said. (Jamaica Observer)

Airlines announce strategic partnership

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: Surinam Airways and Eastern Air Lines Group on Monday announced a strategic partnership between the two airlines, encompassing cooperation in the areas of operational support, maintenance, and training.

The partnership will eventually include mutual support in sales and marketing.

“We are very pleased and honoured to partner with Surinam Airways, and to support each other as we grow our airlines.

Surinam Airways is an excellent operator with a breadth of experience and we expect to share best practices and find common areas of cost reduction and operational support.” said Ed Wegel, president and CEO of Eastern Air

Surinam Airways and Eastern Air Lines Group on Monday announced a strategic partnership between the two airlines, encompassing cooperation in the areas of operational support, maintenance, and training

Lines, in a statement on Monday.

“Surinam Airways is delighted to be in a partnership with the new Eastern Air Lines. We believe this is an effective way for our airline to extend its reach by cooperating with Eastern at

its Miami base of operations. We look forward to our teams working together to find operational synergies between our two airlines,” said Ewald Henshuijs, CEO of Surinam Airways.(TT Express)

WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014

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TT government to reexamine social programmes

Preparations being made for implementation of fiveyear AML plan - Nandlall

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: In keeping with the seven-point action plan established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to address the strategic anti-money laundering deficiencies within Guyana’s legal framework, the government has accelerated the implementation of nonlegislative measures.

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall said continuous training was being facilitated as part of the menu of measures.

“Continuous training of the relevant agencies that have a role to play in discharging obligations under the AML/CFT [Anti-Money Laundering/ Countering the Financing of Terrorism] regime; this includes the supervisory authorities; the reporting entities; the Police Force; CANU [Customs AntiNarcotic Unit]; the FIU [Financial Intelligence Unit]; the SOCU [Special Organised Crime Unit]; the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions]; the Judiciary, and the Magistracy,” he explained.

Additionally, preparations are well underway for the implementation of a National AML/CFT fiveyear plan. Preparations are also being made for the provision of periodic reports showing typologies and trends.

These mechanisms will

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall

be used to analyse the reports and guide the investigation process. It is anticipated that the nonlegislative measures, hopefully, will be successfully implemented early next year.

“As regards the Bill to be enacted, obviously Parliament will have to resume sittings before it can be enacted. Whenever Parliament resumes, government will accord the enactment of this legislation its highest of priority,” Minister Nandlall said in response to a question posed on the status of the Bill in light of the prorogation of Parliament.

According to him, if the Bill is not passed by October 2015, then blacklisting of Guyana and the catastrophic consequences which flow from there is a virtual certainty.

“My appeal has always been that this is a matter of national importance that is simply too vital to

be the subject of political gamesmanship. If this Bill is not enacted within the stipulated time, history and the people of Guyana will judge harshly those who are responsible for its non-enactment.”

In October, FATF indicated that Guyana made a high-level political commitment to address the loopholes within its anti-money laundering regime by working with both the international financial watchdog and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).

As part of the sevenpoint action plan, Guyana is required to adequately criminalise money laundering and terrorist financing. Additionally, the country is mandated to establish and implement adequate procedures for the confiscation of assets related to money laundering, establish and implement an adequate legal framework for identifying, tracing and freezing terrorist assets and establish a fully-operational and effectively functioning FIU. Effective measures for customer due diligence and enhanced financial transparency would also need to be established, in addition to strengthened suspicious transaction reporting requirements. Finally, Guyana is required to implement an adequate supervisory framework.

(Guyana Times)

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O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: President of the TT Contractors Association (TTCA) Mikey Joseph says government should re-examine its social programmes and the impact they have on the labour market. He made the comment during the TTCA’s 46th Annual Awards and Banquet ceremony at the Hilton Trinidad, Port-of-Spain, on Saturday, as he complained that some of these programmes were only contributing to the dwindling labour supply.

He added that it makes no sense for the government to boast about full employment on one hand when contractors continue to have challenges in sourcing labour. Offering a solution, Joseph suggested that technical and vocational skills be taught at the secondary school level. “We are of the view that technical/vocational education and training should be implemented in all secondary schools if we are to have a knowledgebased, skilled and innovative society.”

Overall, Joseph called for an entire package of legislation to be implemented so the construction industry can be operated efficiently. The leg-

Contractors Association president Mikey Joseph, left, presents the Contractor of the Year trophy to John Connon, managing director of NH International, at the Annual Contractor Awards and Gala Banquet hosted by the TTCA at the Hilton Trinidad, St Ann’s, on Saturday.

islation includes: the Procurement Bill, a national building code, contractor registration and licensing legislation and a lien act. Referring specifically to the Procurement Bill, he said there was need for it to be reintroduced in the Parliament, passed and assented to. While the bill is not perfect, Joseph said it “is a very unique piece of legislation that was developed in large measure, by the citizens of this country through civil society and the private sector, who have contributed over 70 per cent of its contents. “The bill has already been through both Houses of parliament in the last sitting

and was fully accepted in the Senate so there should be no reason for this legislation to fail at this point,” he said.

The procurement bill includes a section for public money, according to joseph it states: “The Bill will require that all parties to a transaction involving public money for the acquisition of property and services or the disposal of public property to ensure that their conduct, processes and documentation conform to the objectives of: • Economy, efficiency and competition, • Ethics and fair dealing, • Promotion of national industry and • sustainable development. (TT Guardian)

Guyanese businessman making strides in US – Jonathan Brassington connects health-care, financial services firms to their customers

BY ROGER VOZAR

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: When Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jonathan Brassington started LiquidHub with Cofounders Robert Kelley and Leighton Yohannan in 2001, they envisioned it as a scalable alternative to Accenture or IBM. Coming to Internet professional services, they were able to selffund the venture and generate sales immediately.

“We already had a stellar reputation as a rising star at the Philadelphia technology community and we were able to get out of the gate very quickly and get our first few clients, then use tradition bank financing,” Brassington said.

There were bigger opportunities out there, and investment capital has helped LiquidHub become a global player

with a footprint reaching New York, Boston, San Francisco, Charlotte and Amsterdam and development centres in India.

By adjusting strategy to address market demand, LiquidHub has doubled annual sales in the last three years to reach US$125 million and was named one of America’s most promising companies by Forbes in 2014.

Companies commonly face a choice between steady, sustainable growth with internal capital or seeking outside funds to accelerate the process. Brassington said that it was key to LiquidHub’s founders to first build a business that was financially sustainable in and of itself.

“Fundamentally, we thought that we could continue growing our core business with the operating Cash flow of the existing business, but to accelerate growth

es.

LiquidHub CEO Jonathan Brassington

and scale having some investment power on the balance sheet would be advantageous. So that drove a shift in strategy,” he said.

Brassington said LiquidHub recognised it could go from being a niche player to competing with the top tier companies in the industry.

“We’re still a majority employee owned company,” Brassington said.

Investment capital has been used to fund key acquisitions to expand LiquidHub’s services and footprint.

“There are complementary capabilities areas and intellectual property strategies we wanted to pursue, and we felt that having a robust balance sheet made a lot of sense,” he said.

While LiquidHub has the ability to broaden its focus and build on the other 10 per cent of its business that services retail, media, telecommunications and other industries, Brassington said the short- term strategy is to continue to concentrate on healthcare and financial servic-

Digital customer engagement in particular was a sub-specialisation that made sense for the rapidly growing firm.

Although LiquidHub services clients in a broad spectrum of industries, 90 per cent are in healthcare and financial services. Originally, “Industry agnostic”, Brassington said LiquidHub recognised that specialisation to provide deep expertise in certain industries that could provide advantages in the market place and give value to customers.

Rapid growth presents challenges to manage scale and take care of associates. Brassington said that has been one of the more difficult areas liquidHub has had to address.

From its start in Philadelphia, LiquidHub has expanded into a highly distributed workforce.

As associates are added, LiquidHub works to utilise its experience while knitting everyone together in a common culture, vision and set of operating principles.

LiquidHub has established a meritocracy culture where ideas from an entry- level associate have equal opportunity to rise to the top.

Another way LiquidHub fosters its culture is in bringing staff together around charitable endeavours.

Team members in various business divisions work in a very distributed way with clients, but a charitable bike ride for multiple sclerosis, for example, can bring 40 employees across practise areas together for training.

“These types of things are the underpinnings of a strong and vibrant framework to presents LiquidHub.” (Smart Business Philadelphia)

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WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014 | www.caribbeantimesinternational.com

Guyana bets on Gridlock as Cocorite residents hydropower to protest road closure in TT boost economy P

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The government plans the construction of a hydroelectric plant in Amaila Falls as part of a push to harness the country’s up to 7000 MW in hydropower potential, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said on Monday to mark the start of the Caribbean Community’s annual Energy Week.

Hinds said in a statement that the Amaila Falls Project is in line with the low-carbon de-

velopment strategy pioneered in 2010 by then-President Bharrat Jagdeo.

That approach entails “promoting economic development by protecting the country’s tropical forest to aid in addressing global climate change,” the Prime Minister said.

“Guyana’s hydropower potential is estimated to be over 7000 megawatts, and in addition to the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, development of other hydro power sites is being pursued,” Hinds said.

He also mentioned the Memorandum of Understanding Guyana signed with Brazil looking to explore “low impact options for the development of the Mazaruni River and the export of energy” to the Brazilian market.

Caricom Energy Week is intended to “increase awareness” about economic and sustainable development in the Caribbean region. (Fox News)

ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: Plans are on stream to build an interchange at the insection of the Western Main Road and the Diego Martin Highway to alleviate traffic woes in west Trinidad.

Director of Highways Roger Ganesh said so on Monday as the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure had to reverse its decision to close off the west-toeast bowtie of the Western Main Road in Cocorite earlyon Monday. The decision came after fiery protests began around 5 am on Monday. It lasted several hours.

Ganesh said the interchange, which is expected to start in June next year, would take two to three years to complete. He also dismissed claims that there were no consultations with residents, saying even before the Diego Martin Highway extension was constructed, several discussions were held on the new traffic changes in west Trinidad. Burning piles of debris, angry residents said the intersection was used by thousands of drivers and people who live in Cocorite Terrace, Waterhole, Harding Place,

Cocorite residents block the eastbound carriageway of the Western Main Road to protest the closure over the weekend of the west-to-east bowtie of the Western Main Road in Cocorite early on Monday

Nile Street and environs, and Fort George.

As a result of the protest, thousands of drivers, commuters and schoolchildren heading into Port-of-Spain sat for hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic, stretching as far back as Carenage and Petit Valley. Sue Richardson, who lives in Westmoorings, and whose son attends Holy Name Prep School, Port-ofSpain, said the traffic situation was very frustrating. She said she normally drops off her son just in time for the 7am assembly, but on Monday he arrived at school just after 8 am.

Some protesters, who

shouted obscenities and with arms flailing, accused the government of being underhanded by not consulting with them before any decision was taken. One of the protesters, Ricardo Herbert, said residents had no choice but to take action. “Some 30,000 households would be affected,” he said. “There are also two hospitals in the area and the Lady Hochoy Home, which would also be affected, a lot of business on the left and the right. “We ask that it not be blocked off. This is a safe turnoff. It has been here since 1963, when the highway was built.

He explained that blocking the turnoff meant

a long drive for those who needed to turn east. “What they do now is taking us all the way down to Four Roads (Diego Martin), which is a mile down and a mile up, and now we have to endure the traffic both on a morning and on an evening to go in and out of our homes,” Herbert said.

The residents, however, praised National Security Minister Gary Griffith who they said was instrumental in the reopening of the roadway.

National Security Minister Gary Griffith, who arrived just after the protest began, said no unlawful act would be condoned. He said: “I listened very carefully to what the residents had to say and some of them were very passionate in their views.

But blocking the road and preventing hundreds of other drivers is not the answer and I made that very clear, apart from which, there may be people with medical issues who were caught in the traffic.” He said: “Citizens should not resort to taking the law into their own hands.

This sort of action is tantamount to disrespect and could have dire consequences.” (TT Guardian)

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Stakeholders slam Roopnaraine for outrageous attack on press freedom

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : President Donald Ramotar has chastised A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) Co-chair, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine after he called on the coalition’s supporters to boycott state media houses namely, the National Communications Network (NCN) and the Guyana Chronicle.

The call was also extended to the privatelyowned Guyana Times.

According to reports, Dr Roopnaraine urged the hundreds of Guyanese assembled at the Square of the Revolution, for an APNU rally on Friday evening to squeeze those media entities financially through a boycott so they would be destroyed.

He also reportedly called for them to be burnt.

Dr Roopnaraine is

quoted as saying, “We understand the manipulation and the nastiness of their threats and we will act on it… do not buy the Chronicle or the Guyana Times and when you see Channel 11 comes on, change it.”

President Ramotar, in an invited comment, told Guyana Times that he thinks “it is a pity” that the remarks came from Dr Roopnaraine when he represents a party that claims to champion the cause for press freedom.

The President, who is also the Information Minister, explained that it is very sad that Dr Roopnaraine has taken that stance with respect to the coverage of issues

by Guyana Times.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Anil Nandlall said Dr Roopnaraine’s remarks with respect to the free media is unwarranted and quite “unfor-

A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) Co-chair, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine

tunate”, noting that it can only be considered an attack on the freedom of the press.

“It is quite regrettable that a senior politician like Dr Roopnaraine and the major Opposition in the country continue to make such unfortunate statements regarding press freedom. Press freedom is a constitu-

tional, guaranteed fundamental right and an integral pillar of our democracy, this call can only be construed as an attack on freedom of the press,” Nandlall told Guyana Times.

Nandlall, who has been an avid supporter for press freedom in the past months, noted that the press has a guaranteed right to publish articles that are accurate and go hand-in-hand with established journalistic ethics.

“The attack is not only against a State media, but a private media as well. The State is entitled to disseminate information about public business and the public is reciprocally entitled to receive that information.

That is the essence of freedom of expression.”

The Minister called on those persons who would have freely called

for freedom of the press to be respected in the past to sound their voices at this present time since it is only right for them to do so.

“Is it that the Opposition construes freedom of expression to embrace media outfits that report in favour of them as the only media outfit entitled to free expression? Are they saying that only one set of political views must permeate this land,” questioned the Attorney General.

At the Opposition “rally” at the Square of the Revolution to protest President Donald Ramotar’s prorogation of Parliament to salvage the last hope of crafting a programme to move Guyana out of the politics of conflict, Dr Roopnaraine of the WPA called for citizens to boycott Guyana Times.

From what was said

by Dr Roopnaraine, it is clear that though the democratic tradition demands competing views be expressed through the press so that citizens can make informed decisions, Dr Roopnaraine would now stifle views that differ from his.

This is a most ironic position to be expressed at an event organised

by Dr Roopnaraine’s new political comrades to complain that the President’s prorogation of Parliament stifled the Opposition’s “democratic right” to express their views through their “noconfidence” motion.

The few hundred supporters of PNC/APNU – and possibly some from the AFC – gathered under the shadow of National Hero Cuffy, cheered Dr Roopnaraine’s call to stifle freedom of the press.

(Guyana Times)

Mansoor a Caribbean man P

ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: While a steady stream of prominent mourners filed past the casket of late banker, Michael Kelvin Mansoor, they paused, hugged and conveyed condolences to his wife Maureen and children, Allan and Natalie.

Despite the inclement weather, they had gathered for a “celebration and thanksgiving for the life of Mansoor” on Monday morning at St Finbar’s Roman Catholic Church, Diego Martin.

Mansoor, an accountant by profession and chairman of the Regional Eminent Persons Selection Panel and executive chairman CIBC First Caribbean International Bank, went to meet his maker on November 11.

A common thread

among the speakers, including son Allan Mansoor, who delivered the eulogy, was Mansoor was a Caribbean man who shared a burning passion for the development and upliftment of the Region and its people.

Among those present at the farewell for Mansoor were One Caribbean Media (OCM) chairman Sir Fred Gollop, who had flown in from Barbados; Anthony Sabga and his son, A Norman Sabga, chairman of the ANSA McAl Foundation; former chairman of the Integrity Commission Ken Gordon; Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley; and The University of the West Indies St Augustine Campus principal Prof Clement Sankat, along with a slew of businessmen and entrepreneurs.

They were joined

Procession: Pallbearers including Allan Mansoor, left, son of the late Michael Kelvin Mansoor, and singer Richard Pierre, third from left behind Mansoor, bear the casket carrying Mansoor’s body after Monday’s funeral service at St Finbar’s RC Church, Diego Martin.

by Archbishop Joseph Harris, Bishop Jason Gordon, who delivered the homily, and Fr Clyde Harvey.

Dipping into his trea-

sure trove of memories, Allan Mansoor said despite his father’s stellar accomplishments, he was simply “Daddy” and his mother Maureen felt

Mansoor was “a prince among men”.

During the homily, Gordon made reference to the book of Revelation (Apocalypse). He spoke

about John, author of Revelation, and his message to the church at Ephesus.

“We must heed the call of God. We must be able to push through the system of God’s incredible love. We have to love God. Let us recognise an incredible journey and we will be able to embrace God,” said Gordon.

Asked to share his sentments, Anthony Sabga, who was supported by his wife Minerva, said: “It was a great loss.

He was like a brother. I will miss him.”

Mansoor was also a former independent senator in the third and fourth Republican Parliaments in Port of Spain, from 1987 to 1995.

CIBC FirstCaribbean named its headquarters in Warrens, St Michael, Barbados, after him last year. (TT Express)

Graver penalty wanted in Jamaica for people who rape to cure STDs

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: The Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) wants the Sexual Offences Act to include provisions to deal with men who “intentionally and maliciously” have sex with virgins, including children, as a cure for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

According to Children’s Advocate, Diahann Gordon Harrison, it is a well

known myth, in some quarters, that if a man has a sexually transmitted disease, he stands a good chance of being cured by having intercourse with a virgin.

Harrison noted that there is a greater probability of finding a virgin within the child population, than the adult population.

“In fact, some may argue that the younger the child, the more likely that he or she will fit

Children’s Advocate, Diahann Gordon Harrison

the bill,” she noted.

She pointed out that the Child Care and Protection Act is “already partially akin to this school of thought”, as it speaks to a person being charged or convicted of committing certain sexual acts against a child, being required to submit to medical examination and testing for the purpose of ascertaining whether such person is the carrier of a communicable disease.

However, she says that a new provision is needed in the Sexual Offences Act with a graver penalty, if it can be proven that the disease has been passed on to a child by a perpetrator in those circumstances.

A news report in the Jamaican media in April 2012, stated that children, as young as four years old, had been treated for gonorrhoea, syphilis, herpes and

HIV at the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, after being raped by close family members including their fathers.

They were among over 7,000 Jamaican children who reportedly had been sexually assaulted over the previous four years, according to complaints received by the Office of the Children's Registry (OCR).

(Jamaica Observer)

News Antigua commits to helping increase shipping revenue in Jamaica

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne says his country will collaborate with Jamaica to increase the Caribbean region's market share of the lucrative global shipping industry, through ship registration services.

Browne pointed out that although the Maritime Authority of Jamaica's (MAJ) counterpart agency in Antigua was contributing in a significant way to that country's treasury, through ship registration, he would like to see the contribution increase exponentially and as such, collaboration with other Caribbean territories would be explored.

"I am quite sure we can continue to co-ordinate our efforts and I'm sure that there are many opportunities to be exploited for our mutual benefit," he said.

The prime minister was speaking during a visit to the offices of the MAJ on November 13, ahead of delivering the keynote address at the Caribbean Maritime Institute's graduation ceremony at the Jamaica Conference Centre.

Meanwhile, Director General of the MAJ, Rear Admiral Peter Brady, said Jamaica looks to Antigua and Barbuda for expertise in ship registration, as that country

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Jamaican judge elected to International Court of Justice

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Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston

currently holds the number two position in the Caribbean behind the Bahamas.

It was further explained that under the Maritime Authority's developmental mandate, the ship registry is to be used as a means of generating income for the economy.

Jamaica currently has 145 international vessels on the register and 833 domestic vessels.

The top three Caribbean registers are included among the top 35 in the world. They are the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda and St Vincent and the Grenadines. With that distinction, however, the Caribbean region collectively accounts for just six per cent of the global fleet. (Jamaica Observer)

INGSTON, JAMAICA: Jamaican jurist, Patrick Lipton Robinson has been elected on Monday to serve as a judge in the International Court of Justice.

His nine-year tenure begins in February 2015.

His eventual election broke a deadlock in the United Nations General Assembly and the fifteen-member United Nations Security Council.

Both bodies are required to record a majority vote for the winning candidate.

However, over the course of the elections, Robinson consistently received more than a two-thirds majority of votes in the General Assembly, while Argentina’s candidate Susana Ruiz Cerutti received the required majority in the Security Council.

The deadlock between the Security Council and the General Assembly was ultimately resolved following Cerutti's withdrawal last Wednesday.

This allowed for Robinson election.

He received a total of 185 votes in the General Assembly and 15 votes in the Security Council in the elections on Monday.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has congratulated Robinson.

"Judge Robinson’s elevation to this high office marks a historic moment, not only for Jamaica but for the entire Caribbean," she said.

"The overwhelming support that he received throughout the rounds of voting from the UN membership is a reflection of the excellence of the Jamaican candidate, and the high regard with which the country is held in the international arena.”

Foreign Affairs Minister AJ Nicholson, said the "impressive outcome" is an indication of

Jamaican jurist, Patrick Lipton Robinson (UN.org photo)

the level of respect that Jamaica enjoys for its "principled and balanced foreign policy" and the result of an effective and strategic campaign waged by the Foreign Ministry and its overseas Missions.

Robinson is the only Jamaican and the second Caribbean national to serve on the International Court of Justice since its establishment 70 years ago.

Judge Robinson will join four other candidates from Australia, Morocco, Russia and the United States of America, who were also elected to serve on the Court. (Jamaica Gleaner)

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No word on any Cabinet NEW GPC affirms number one status in region changes in TT – as US FDA conducts inspection

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Some of the members of the Cabinet at the retreat held in Tobago

O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: There was no confirmation last Friday on whether any changes to Cabinet portfolios or other government framework would be undertaken as a result of Friday's lengthy government retreat in Tobago. The Cabinet met at a private session at the Magdalena Grand Hotel to assess its status and future direction as TT moves towards a general election next year. Members met in the morning and

began a second session from 3.30 pm into the late evening.

Participants also included former ministers such as MP Collin Partap. Communications Minister Vasant Bharath, who said on Wednesday the session was meant to reassses the government's position and see "what works and what doesn't work,” was unavailable to speak about the outcome of the retreat. People’s Partnership officials had said recently some changes to the Cabinet

had been expected after the 2015 budget debate was over, but couldn't confirm if this would happen after the retreat.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar opted out of a CCTV launch at Scarborough where she was scheduled to speak last Friday, in order to attend the evening retreat session. National Security Minister Gary Griffith, who attended in her place, spoke briefly and returned speedily to the Magdalena session. (TT Guardian)

Ebola treatment centre in Jamaica near completion

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Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St James

INGSTON, JAMAICA: Construction of the Ebola Treatment Centre at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James is “progressing smoothly” with the facility expected to be completed in a few weeks, the Health Ministry has reported.

Acting Permanent Secretary, Dr Kevin Harvey who toured the site on Saturday indicated that he was pleased with the progress of the construction.

Dr Harvey was accompanied by representatives from the Jamaica Defence Force, Civil Engineers from the Ministry of Health, the Director of Health

Systems Planning and Integration in the Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organization.

The Treatment Centre is a four-bed facility which includes other areas for triaging, sanitizing of patients and staff and sterilization of equipment and supplies.

Dr Harvey said the next step will be to provide training for the staff who will be working at the Treatment Centre as part of preparation for any possibility of Ebola reaching the island.

“The staff will be trained as part of the exercise to be conducted by the Cuban experts who are slated to be in the island this month. The

Western Regional Health Authority will also be assigned some of the Cuban health care workers who are slated to arrive in the island this week and who have been trained in Ebola management in Cuba,” Dr Harvey said.

A temporary Ebola isolation and holding area has also been established in a building on the compound of the facility. The area has already been equipped.

The Treatment Centre in the Western Region is one of two that have been established in the island to manage any possible case of Ebola. The other is located at the National Chest Hospital in Kingston.

(Jamaica Observer)

EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : Testing in the quality control laboratory The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) recently completed a comprehensive current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) inspection of the NEW GPC INC facility located at Farm, East Bank Demerara.

The inspection was conducted from September 1 to September 4. NEW GPC currently exports Over-the-Counter (OTC) drug products and dietary supplements to the United States market.

The inspection culminated in continued clearance for the company to export its products to the United States.

The US FDA periodically inspects foreign companies that export product to the United States to assure compliance to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 21, Parts 111, 210 and 211.

Compliance to these regulations is essential in assuring that only safe and effective products are manufactured and exported to the United States.

The recent inspection of the NEW GPC facility covered many areas, which may have included procedures for procurement, inspection, testing and approval of materials, requirements for manufacturing equipment, product specifications, warehousing,

Testing in the quality control laboratory

storage conditions, stability of products, and management of product traceability after distribution or sale.

Additionally, various systems established to drive continuous improvement were examined, such as training, complaint handling, and changes related to products and systems.

The final inspection report supported and validated NEW GPC’s compliance and commitment to US regulatory standards, assuring safety to all users of its products.

In an effort towards continuous improvement and excellence, the company is focused on expanding the Quality Assurance and Quality Control Departments by investing in state-of-theart testing equipment.

The new instrumentation is being used to test incoming components, raw materials and finished drug prod-

ucts conforming to the British Pharmacopeia and the United States Pharmacopeia.

“The company is proud to meet or exceed the requirements of all of its international importers, in the United States, as well as other global markets,” NEW GPC General Manager Ravie Ramcharitar said.

“With global standards becoming increasingly rigid, NEW GPC is committed to making future capital investments in its manufacturing and inspection facilities to maintain compliance,” he said.

“The NEW GPC Board of Directors thanks the management team and staff for maintaining the high standards necessary to be considered a world class facility. NEW GPC would also like to thank its loyal customers for their continued support,” he added. (Guyana Times)

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Hundreds flock to College Fair in TT - 27 schools from Canada represented at the fair

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O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: Hundreds of persons flocked 13th Annual College Fair organised by the Embassy of the United States of America and the High Commission of Canada on Saturday at Hyatt Regency Hotel, Wrightson Road, Port-of-

Spain to get information on potential future universities.

Forty-four schools from the U.S., 27 schools from Canada, three regional schools and nine local schools were represented at the fair.

Stephen Weeks, Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Embassy said he was surprised at

the large number of students who came to the fair.

“A lot of people are really interested in the U.S. and Canadian schools.

They came prepared to ask a lot of important questions. “There are a lot of smart kids who want to go to university.

The colleges want these kinds of students on their

campuses. They bring a lot of diversity, their unique culture and a new energy,” Weeks said.

Some of the frequently asked questions included how to find the right University for them, issues surrounding the SAT exams, and financial assistance.

One issue many students raised as a point of

concern was funding for tuition. Weeks said there were many opportunities for financial aid for international students.

“First of all, do your homework. By that I mean get good grades and do well academically. Then you can find all the resources yourself,” he said.

While Weeks ac-

knowledged that there are limited job opportunities for students in certain specialised fields, he still encouraged students who study at institutions abroad to return home and build the sectors and institutions so that Trinidad becomes more diverse in both the private and public job market. (TT Newsday)

Young Jamaicans encouraged to Guyana: multimillion-dollar Davis commit to country’s development Memorial Hospital clinic opens

(Back, from left) Curator of the Hope Zoo Orlando Robinson; Kimesha James, administrator; Kenny Benjamin, executive chairman, Hope Zoo Preservation Foundation; and Danville Walker, managing director, Jamaica Observer, celebrate the third anniversary of the current management of the Hope Zoo, St Andrew, with students from Hillel Academy, Kingston College and Ardenne High School at a luncheon held at the Zoo on Saturday

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: Corporate titan and executive chairman of the Hope Zoe Preservation Foundation, Kenny Benjamin, challenged students on Saturday "to cultivate good work ethics, good home-grown values, simple decency, and to commit to country in everything you do".

Benjamin, who hosted more than a dozen students to lunch at the

Serengeti restaurant, Hope Zoo, spoke to his journey from his native India to Jamaica over 40 years ago. He said: "In this country I became a man... What this country has taught me over the years is that nothing is impossible if you put your heart, sweat, and sometimes tears into making it happen."

"The restoration of the zoo is a commitment of love and dedication from me to my coun-

try. As a people, each and every one of us has a responsibility to protect the less vulnerable among us, including the environment that we continue to destroy daily. We should have in the forefront of our minds that for every tree that is cut down, two more are planted to replace that one. That is part of our responsibility in nationbuilding, and I want you as young people to define what you can and will do; what will be your contribution, your legacy... what will be your solutions to the many challenges that face us today?"

Benjamin closed his remarks by "posting an ad": Wanted: A commitment to country A buy-in to the development of the country A commitment to school, volunteerism A recommitment to Brand Jamaica "I am posting this ad," he explained, "because I believe that we all have a responsibility to make this country great".

(Jamaica Observer)

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The dental clinic at the Davis Memorial Hospital in Durban Backlands

EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The Davis Memorial Hospital (DMH) on Sunday commissioned a dental clinic at its Durban Backlands, Georgetown location, with the aim of broadening the service it provides to the public.

The new clinic was commissioned

by President Donald Ramotar. It will be managed by two dentists. The facility has three rooms, two of which were specifically designed for treatment and the other for hygiene services.

Additionally, the hospital was the recipient of approximately 200 dental kits from two overseas universities.

Delivering the feature address, President Donald Ramotar recalled memories he had of the medical institution, particularly when it was first opened.

On behalf of his government, he thanked the staff and management of DMH for the excellent service they provide to the Guyanese people and for now introducing a new service at the facility.

“We will continue to work very closely with you, so we can continue to enhance the quality of health services for all the people in our country,” President assured.

The Head of State pointed out that while health was seen as important, dental health has not been given the due recognition it deserves.

“In my view, it has possibilities of preventing many of the oth-

er sickness that people developed later on and from that point of view, I would love to see us doing more to lift the consciousness of people on the importance of health,” he stated.

President Ramotar went on to say that his Administration has been in sync with the development of people since the bulk of its annual budget goes to the social sector, so that they can touch the lives of as many people as possible. He added that the clinic is a wise investment as government believes that the most important factor for development of any country is the quality of its people.

“There is no better way in enhancing the quality of people than by investing in education, health, housing and water… and that is where we are going,” the President explained.

Meanwhile, DMH Chief Executive Officer Beverly BraithwaiteChan said that with the addition of the dental clinic, patients of the hospital can look forward to “exceptional service from our highly-trained dental staff”.

Following the ceremony, President Ramotar along with hospital officials and the Guyana Conference of Seventhday Adventist Church members were given a tour of the facility.

The commissioning of the dental facility comes as the institution celebrates 60 years of offering health services to Guyanese. As part of the celebration, DMH has planned several ac-

tivities throughout the month of November.

These include dental outreaches in schools and the special communities to help children become more dental hygiene conscious.

In addition, the Dr Pogue Memorial Charity Fund was launched by the children of the founder of DMH. The charity will be using its funds to support the hospital community outreach work and the less fortunate members of the local Seventh-day Adventist community as well as other communities.

To start the charity off, the family of the late Dr Pogue donated Gy$1 million. Pamela, one of Dr Pogue’s daughters, said that her father would have been very excited to see all the arrangements to celebrate his work.

“His dream was to have a place where healing and God can walk hand in hand and he was so proud to be a part of Davis Memorial Hospital. He would have been so humbled and honoured by this celebration and by the page he takes in you history books,” she noted.

Pamela added that Guyana will always be a cherished place in the memories of their family.

Donations were also given throughout the day

by President Ramotar and other persons who gathered for DMH anniversary, as they celebrate with the Guyana Conference of Seventhday Adventists, 60 years of medical missionary work in Guyana.

(Guyana Times)

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Japan and Caricom to strengthen ties New GPHC ward

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: A meeting between Caricom foreign ministers and their Japan counterpart, Fumio Kishida, ended on Saturday with an agreement to “strengthen the bond between Japan and Caricom.” A communique issued at the end of the meeting at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Tokyo also said they agreed to co-operate in the areas of sustainable development, including overcoming vulnerabilities particular to Small Island Developing States (Sids). The ministers also agreed to deepen and expand bonds founded on exchanges and friendship and “co-operation

in addressing challenges confronting the international community.”

According to the communique, the Caricom ministers expressed their “concern over the issue of the issue of graduation from concessionary funding based on the narrow measurement of GDP per capita and underlined the importance of expanding this measurement to include a vulnerability index.”

Kishida spoke of his government’s intention to “promote assistance for Japanese language education at the UWI.” The meeting also agreed to use sports to foster friendship and mutual understanding.

Caricom ministers wel-

comed Japan’s interest in investing in projects to supply clean energy and ICT. The meeting stressed the need for reform of the United Nation’s Security Council “to reflect the geographical realities of the 21st century.” The meeting also reaffirmed “the importance of mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in development planning and international co-operation initiatives.” The ministers agreed to continue close co-operation on the climate change issue.

Acting Permanent Secretary Frances Seignoret represented Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran at the meeting. (TT Guardian)

Medical marijuana licence for tourists proposed

- American ganja tester says Jamaica could earn US$10 million annually

commissioned to ease overcrowding

Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran along with GPHC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael Khan among staff of the facility cutting the ribbon to commission the unit

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Friday commissioned the southern section of its Gy$94 million new wing. The facility, which is equipped with 39 beds, will be used to house patients in the instance of overcrowding in the hospital.

This section of the unit was established at a cost of approximately Gy$38 million and has separate areas for the

housing of male and female patients.

GPHC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Michael Khan, during the commissioning ceremony, noted that this section of the building will be utilised for patients from the general and orthopaedic wards.

He also noted that the northern section of the unit, which is equipped with 57 beds, bringing the total number of beds to 96, has been identified for the housing of emergency patients

when there is overcrowding at the Accident & Emergency (A&E) unit, along with other medical patients.

However, this section has not yet been commissioned, as part of it has been identified as the isolation unit set up by the hospital in preparation for the Ebola virus threat.

Also present at the brief ceremony were Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran and several staff of the hospital. (Guyana Times)

Improved transportation for Tobago

P David Lampach (left), chief executive at US-based Steep Hill Halent, looks on as his chief strategy officer Scott Cathcart (second right) explains to Science and Technology Minister Phillip Paulwell (second left) how the company’s QuantaCann2 machine, that tests cannabis potency, works. At right is scientist Dr Donald Land. Occasion was the Scientific Research Council’s Biennial Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston last week.

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: An American marijuana tester believes Jamaica could earn US$10 million (J$1.1 billion) annually from charging tourists a licence to consume medical ganja.

"Jamaica is already a cannabis tourist destination," said David Lampach, chief executive at US-based Steep Hill Halent Labs, in his address at the Scientific Research Council biennial conference on November 12 in Kingston. "You can capture tourist dollars while also honouring conventions. If 5.0 per cent of tourists pay US$100 you can earn US$10 million a year in tax revenues."

The figures are anecdotal, but showcase one aspect of potential revenue from a regulated ganja industry. Lampach was one of many ganja experts who spoke at the two-day conference held under the theme

'Green Gold: Medicinal Ganja and other natural products (A potential source of Wealth)' at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.

He said that although the plant remains illegal, tourists can gain legal exemption on medical grounds. As a result, they would "enjoy the Jamaica cannabis experience in comfort" without fear of violating the country's laws. He added that Jamaica can utilise the case study of Nevada, the U.S. state which earns tax revenues from medical marijuana tourism. The state decriminalised the drug but it still remains illegal.

"When a medical cannabis patient arrives in Nevada they show their identification with a medical cannabis doctor's recommendation and sign an affidavit, pay a fee and are legally permitted to consume cannabis while in state," he said. "A simi-

lar framework could occur in Jamaica to capture tourist dollars and also honour the country's international treaty obligations."

Steep Hill Halent is a licensed laboratory that tests the potency of medical ganja. The business of ganja gained legitimacy amid the relaxation of laws in the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington followed by Maryland, Oregon, and Alaska.

The Jamaica government in September drafted legislation to fast-track the decriminalisation of small quantities of ganja, whilst also modifying the Dangerous Drugs Act, in order to set rules for the cultivation and use of medical ganja and industrial hemp.

In 2011, the medical marijuana industry in the United States was worth US$1.7 billion. It is projected that by 2016 it will grow to US$9 billion. (Jamaica Observer)

ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: A new and improved Tobago airport by the end of 2015 and 18 more buses were some of the assurances given to Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Orville London by Transport Minister Stephen Cadiz on Thursday.

London spoke of the projects during a media conference held following a meeting between

the THA and the Cabinet at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort, Lowlands, Tobago.

He reported Cadiz informed him that the airport will be ready by the end of 2015 and the improvements will meet the minimum demands of international carrier Virgin Airlines and others. He stressed that Tobago needed to be more competitive and most competing destinations had

better airport facilities.

Cadiz addressed the media conference and reported that the designs for the airport terminus had been completed and they should award the contract by mid-January 2015. He explained this will be phase one which will be remedial works and the refurbishment of the existing terminus and it should be completed by the third quarter of 2015. (TT Newsday)

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O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: Trinidad-born artiste Errol Renaud was honoured in Australia with the Outstanding Contribution To The Entertainment Industry Achievement Award 2014 on November 7.

The award is given by Celebration of African Australians Inc and the presentation ceremony was held at Sydney’s Parliament House, in New South Wales.

Renaud said: “African Australians are honoured for their contribution in various fields to Australia.

We have iconic African Australians in sports, medicine, law and entertainment.

Several others are captains of industry, entrepreneurs and celebrities. In addition, many serve the government and the community in various capacities.

“The aim of Celebration

Trinidad-born artiste Errol Renaud 'celebrate'

of African Australians Inc (Celebrate) is to celebrate, appreciate and showcase the contributions of African Australians to our collective growth and prosperity. This is a flow-on from the United Nation’s proclamation of 2011 as the International Year for People of African Descent.” “In New South

Wales, several African Australian legends, superstars and icons will be honoured by 'Celebrate' this year. In addition to honorariums, 'Celebrate' will also showcase the luminaries on its Web site and its sub-domains.”

Renaud is renowned as a pioneer of Caribbean music in the Australian, Asian and Pacific re-

gions. He initially went to Australia with Amral Trinidad Cavaliers during their world tour more than 34 years ago.

Renaud has performed in more than 25 different countries in the Caribbean, Australia, Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific, including places like Canada,

Germany, India, Japan, Egypt, China, and Cuba for the Festival del Caribe (festival of fire).

Renaud has released six CDs, plus two singles. His new and seventh CD is due for release in December 2014.

He is currently based in Sydney, Australia playing gigs and touring with his band Caribbean Soul. Among the 100 most-influential African Australians to receive honorariums are living legends, superstars and celebrities, icons, including but not limited to sporting heroes, outstanding community leaders and members, leaders of industry and entrepreneurs, professionals, academics and stalwart scientists.

Renaud said that among the objectives of 'Celebrate' are to honour, recognise and celebrate the contributions of Africans to all spheres of the Australian society, including but not limit-

ed to: social, economic, political, and community engagements; to establish honorarium and present awards to distinguished, influential and outstanding African Australians; to acquire properties for the purpose of establishing community development centres, social or business bureaus for purposes that supports the objectives of the association; to organise educational, media and community development projects; to organise exchange programmes for cultural, business, tourism and educational exchange between Australia and Africa; to facilitate training, capacity building and empowerment projects for Africans and African-Australians; and, to collaborate with businesses, professionals, government and non-governmental organisations in order to achieve these objectives.

(TT Guardian)

One of Guyana’s finest architectural structures

Parliament chambers where portraits of Arthur Chung - Guyana's first executive president, L F S Burnham Guyana's first appointed president, and Dr Cheddi B Jagan - Guyana's first elected president, are hung.

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The Public Buildings, commonly referred to as the Parliament Building, is the building in which the National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana and its Committees meet.

The Public Buildings is considered to be one of the finest architectural structures in Guyana. Located in the heart of the capital city of Georgetown, close to Stabroek Market and the Demerara River, the two-storied brick building features a low dome, two wings and a portico. The building was constructed in 1832 according to the plan of architect Joseph Hadfield and was formally handed over to the British co-

lonial legislature on 5 August 1834.

Over the years, the building housed the Parliament Chamber and various public administration offices and ministries.

Today, most offices in the Public Buildings relate to parliamentary matters and are directed by the Clerk of the National Assembly.

However, there are still limited facilities for Members of Parliament.

The Parliament Chamber, the room in which debates of the National Assembly takes place, is located on the top floor of the eastern wing of the building. The Chamber is arranged according to the Westminster tradition, continued on page 21

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Ras Bobo Naturall chants positivity K INGSTON, JAMAICA: Migrating to Jamaica was an easy decision for up-and-coming reggae singer Bobo Naturall. In fact, the St Kitts-born artiste said he grew up on a diet of Jacob Miller, Bob Marley and other of the genre's stalwarts.

He now calls Bull Bay in St Thomas home.

"Jamaica is really the home of reggae music, so the decision to

come here was not very hard. After doing several shows in New York, I knew that the time was now. I had to come to Jamaica and put in the grass root work if I wanted to be recognised in the business," he said.

Bobo Naturall is currently promoting his four-track EP Love and Live. The self-produced set was released in June.

"It's cultural, conscious, positive, and uplifting," he said, of the

Bobo Naturall

project.

In addition to the ti-

tle track, the EP comprises Rastafari Loving,

Dread Natty Dread, and Everything's Irie.

The 40-year-old said there is a need for positive music as it impacts society.

"More positive music can uplift and build the youths instead of the constant overload of inappropriate, negative, violent utterances. Musicians should understand that music teaches the nation whether it be good or bad, so it is the respon-

sibility of ones and ones to sing music for Jah," he said.

Bobo Naturall, who spent part of his years in Brooklyn, feels it is only a matter of time that he will get his big break.

"I'm serious about my music. Hardworking, ambitious and motivated. Is like Jah speaking to I. Coming forward to Jamaica and sitting in, really giving me a strength," he said.

(Jamaica Observer)

For the love of spiders One of Guyana’s finest...

from page 20

- Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal instructor in zoology at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: Most two-year-olds run away from spiders, but Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal was playing with them at that age. Now an instructor in zoology at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, she’s sought after by international Web sites to share her expertise in the field of arachnology.

Sewlal has been featured on the popular site livescience.com in recent months, as she shared her knowledge on Black Widow spiders for an article on types of spiders and spider facts, published on November 4.

Last year, Sewlal discovered five new species of spiders in Trinidad which she intends to document. Without flinching, she shared a story, smiling, about a room she stayed in once where there were tarantulas crawling on the ceiling. She

Dr Jo-Anne Sewlal has been featured on the popular site livescience.com. Last year she discovered five new species of spiders in Trinidad which she intends to document.

hasn’t named the five new spiders which she discovered throughout the island and did not want to reveal exactly where they were found while researching for her thesis, and pursuing her doctorate. She believes the discovery is important because it could help boost TT’s eco-tourism market for nature lovers. Sewlal usually goes into deeply-forested areas to find the spiders for her research.

Her love of spiders began as a toddler when she was staying with her grandmother in Point Fortin. She was mesmerised by a house spider that was coming down from the roof on a silk thread.

“My grandmother was fearless with animals. She was cleaning one day and a spider dropped down on a dragline of silk, so I was looking at it and she went on to explain that if you touch it, it would go back up and if you give it a little time it would come back down. So she left me playing with it and it was basically like an automatic yo-yo,” she said during an interview with the TT media at the Department of

Life Sciences.

Sewlal would forget her fascination with the creatures for a while when she attended secondary school at Princes Town West Secondary. However that first interaction at her grandmother’s house would still inspire her to study zoology and last year, she graduated with a PhD. She decided to specialise in arachnids in the Eastern Caribbean after she met now-retired professor of entomology Dr Christopher Starr.

“UWI had just finished hosting the American Arachnological Society meeting.

That was the first time it was held outside of America and the host, Prof Starr, came with a poster...a spider with a rasta cap.

He was explaining about spiders and that there’s nobody doing work on spiders and their ecological importance.”

Sewlal initially began to study birds, but soon realised she did not have the same enthusiasm for them, especially after seeing the scratches that her supervisor had to endure when trying to trap them for research.

While going through her options she noticed that the spider section in the manual she had to choose from was very small and her love of the creatures helped her to cement the decision.

Sewlal admitted that a lot of people are shocked by what she does for a living but said after she teaches them about spiders they are usually happy because she is able to help them understand which spiders pose a threat to human health.

She is also able to help people understand that spiders are not scary and added that people just need to understand how spiders think.

Trinidad may not have any seriously deadly spiders, but this is why we need to protect our borders especially when importing things like fruits and vegetables, as new species could be introduced if there are not proper quarantine facilities, she said. Sewlal says there are at least 53 spider families in TT and about eight more could be discovered, based on those found in Venezuela.

Sewlal also finds time to educate people about biodiversity throughout the Caribbean.

“One of my other passions is public awareness, so when I go to the other islands I always tried to get an interview done by the mass media, to let them know first of all that I’m not nuts, because they will see me with a net, and what I am doing and how it is going to contribute to their biodiversity. So I just use whatever I can to help educate people,” she said.

She also edits the Environment Tobago Newsletter.

Sewlal just cannot explain her love of spiders and why she is so comfortable with them but vows she will never stop learning about them. (TT Guardian)

Parliament Building

with government and opposition members facing each other across wooden tables.

Members of the party obtaining the most votes in a general election form the government and sit to the right of the Speaker. Members of the opposition parties sit to the left of the Speaker. Members of Parliament sit in assigned seats, which reflect to some extent the party’s hierarchy. There is a public gallery behind a rail, opposite the Speaker’s chair, with a seating capacity for 72 persons. Seating is also available for the media and for special guests.

Adjacent to the Parliament Chamber is a Lobby where Members of Parliament can discuss matters privately and make telephone calls. Behind the Lobby, there is a Committee Room where Parliamentary Committees meet and where refreshments are served to Members during a suspension of a National Assembly Sitting. In the centre of the Committee Room is a large table made of the local greenheart wood, a gift from Willems Timber and Trading Company Limited. The table was in the centre

A section of the beautiful ceiling in the Chamber

of the Parliament Chamber when it was used by the British Colonial State Council in 1953 and then by the Senate from 1961 to 1964. It was moved to the Committee Room when Guyana’s Legislature again became unicameral (consisting of a single legislative chamber) in 1964.

One of the most striking features of the Chamber is the ceiling, coffered and painted in 1875 by the Italian artist, Cesar Castellani.

The chamber also features an

elaborately carved Speaker’s chair made of teak wood, an independence (1966) gift from the Government of India; a table and three chairs for the clerks; and a Sergeant-at-Arms’ chair, an independence gift from the British House of Commons; two paintings of Arthur Chung, Guyana’s first

The main stairs curve around massive columns

ceremonial President (1970-1980) and of Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, Guyana’s first executive President (1980-1985); and a gilded clock, depicting the rays of the sun, a gift from the Demerara company Limited (1954).

The Members of Parliament lounge area which formerly housed the Registry Department has been converted to a modernized lobby, kitchenette and offices for Members of Parliament. The renovation commenced in 2004 and was completed in 2005. On the upper floor, four new rooms were constructed for use by Chairpersons of Committees and two large offices for use by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and the Leader of the Opposition Party, respectively. On the lower floor, a large lobby was created for Members of Parliament dining room and a kitchenette for the preparation of meals and snacks during sittings of the National Assembly and Committee Meetings. (Parliament of Guyana Facebook page)

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O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: Just imagine feasting on aromatic barbecued meat, curried coconut crayfish, or even sauteed worms. On the side, you might try cassava bread, savoury farine “rice” or plantain pastelles. And for dessert, perhaps some sweet cassava pone, washed down with delicious, creamy, hot creole cocoa, or local fruit wine.

These are just some of the recipes in a new book called Kunuwaton, which celebrates the Amerindian influences in TT cuisine. The word “kunuwaton” means culture in the Karina language of one of Trinidad’s First Peoples. The book is by Dr Satnarine Balkaransingh, with recipes by Jassie Singh and Ricardo Hernandez.

The book takes us on an educational journey to the culture and cuisine of some of Kairi’s (Trinidad’s) indigenous Amerindian descendants—the Santa Rosa First Peoples of Arima.

“We are spiritual beings with a human body, and to deny this is to deny yourself the essence of your being, and therefore your good physical health and

sound mind,” says medicine man Cristo Adonis, who says all good health must first be based on a spiritual approach—and an understanding of local herbs and the specific needs of individual patients, among other necessary knowledge.

The book Kunuwaton shows the Amerindian roots of many dishes which we might have otherwise ascribed to other cultures. It also shows how Amerindian tastes mixed with Spanish, African, East Indian and other influences to produce some of our favourite local dishes. In recipes like stuffed arepas, for instance, or pastelles, both Spanish and Amerindian influences are there.

We learn that the precursor to pastelles was probably the early Amerindian “tamales” or corn-paste pies, stuffed with any variety of meats and vegetables, and made by resourceful Amerinidan women as a portable, convenient fast food for their menfolk on warring expeditions in canoes.

There is a saltfish and tomatoes dish, which many may have previously ascribed to the African peoples brought here, rather than to the

First Peoples of Santa Rosa chief Chief Ricardo Hernandez, left, helps prepare cornmeal to make pastelles for the cookbook Kunuwaton. PHOTO: W WATSON

Amerindians. As for barbecue—the current First Peoples “pyai” (medicine man) Cristo Adonis shares his recipe for authentic Carib “boucaneed meat” on page 71; and there’s another more recent barbecue recipe, involving slow roasting for up to six hours over an open pit.

There are recipes for roasted tomato salsa, stewed beans, and even stir-fried worms—which are really the larvae of bumblebees.

And the book teaches us that all of our root crops—cassava, yam, potato, sweet potato, tania,

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: Often times the words ‘nun’ or ‘sister’ is used interchangeably to describe a member of a religious community of women who has voluntarily decided to dedicate their life to serving all other living beings.

These women voluntarily choose to leave mainstream society and live their lives in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent; typically one living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

This life might either be a contemplative and cloistered life of meditation and prayer for the salvation of others or an active vocation of both prayer and service, often to the needy, the ill, the poor and or the uneducated.

In an effort to understand the life of a nun, the Guyana Times spoke to a young Sister of Mercy, Sister Roslyn Bacchus, who recently took her first vows and is well on her way to fulfilling her dream of becoming a nun.

In defining a nun,

Sister Roslyn Bacchus, a temporary professed

Bacchus stated it is “… someone who gives their all to God and the people of God, whether it be the community or the environment…to show love, compassion and mercy to all”.

Hence, the average week day of a nun entails greetings, prayers, mass, the execution of their respective ministries, and helping each other as best as they can.

On Sundays there is mass after which Bacchus spends a little more time with the boys of the Bosco Academy.

Bacchus, a young, pretty woman, revealed

that persons constantly question her choice of becoming a nun, but it is something she always wanted to be.

After attending Saturday lessons held by the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Plaisance for the less fortunate in the neighbourhood, Bacchus was inspired by the nuns’ “actions and love for the people”.

Currently, Bacchus is in her second year of ‘discerning’ as a ‘temporary professed’. After entering the convent in 2009, where she became a candidate, she took her first vows in September

dasheen and eddo—have been worldwide staples in First Peoples’ diets for a long, long time.

They knew how to farm sustainably, and lived from cultivating the natural abundance of Kairi (Trinidad), with no imports except for goods they traded with mainland and other Caribbean island Amerindian tribes.

The author, Dr Satnarine Balkaransingh, is an economist by training but is better known as an Indian classical dancer, choreographer, and cultural researcher.

2013 becoming temporarily professed, upon which three years of discerning are necessary to ensure this is the path she wants, and only then will she be allowed to take her final vows.

To completely become a nun, Bacchus will have to take three vows: one of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

Then for the Sisters of Mercy, a religious community of nuns, she will take a fourth - the vow of service to the poor, sick, and the uneducated.

They serve through education, health care, social services and ministries that further social, political, economic and spiritual wellbeing.

Within these ministries they, together with their co-workers and those they serve, endeavour to model mercy and justice and to promote systemic change according to their ideals.

The Community of Mercy includes Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Associates, Mercy Corps Volunteers, and Mercy Companions. (Excerpted from Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

He is the current artistic director of the Kathak Kala Sangam, an Indian dance/music/ singing group formed in 2009. Dr Balkaransingh has done much research into links between TT festivals and those of India.

His new research interest into the Amerindians or First Peoples, he says, was sparked by work of the late Peter Harris.

Peter Harris was a senior research scholar at UTT’s Academy for the Arts from 20062010, who was working on a history of the First

Peoples when he died, says Balkaransingh— who was clearly much moved by this research.

Balkaransingh also met Patricia Harris, whom, he says, is “the most knowledgeable academic on the Santa Rosa First Peoples community.”

He consulted her on the rituals and festivals in the book.

The book’s recipes have all been developed by chef Jassie Singh, with lots of input from Chief Ricardo Hernandez, Merlene Hernandez (the Chief’s wife), and other members of the Santa Rosa First Peoples community, explains Balkaransingh in the book’s acknowledgements.

Whether you’re interested in experimenting with specific recipes, or just curious about TT First Peoples’ culture, Kunuwaton is a friendly place to start.

K u n u w a t o n — Culture and Cuisine of the Santa Rosa First Peoples of Arima, Kairi by Satnarine Balkaransingh, Jassie Singh and Ricardo Hernandez will be available at local stores including Nigel Khan in Trincity Mall and Jadoo’s in Arima. (TT Guardian)

Celebrating Sam Selvon’s greatness in TT

Errol Sitahal in character as Sookdeo from A Brighter Sun at the Bocas Lit Fest South on the weekend.

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: The life and work of one of TT’s most famous writers, Samuel Selvon, who died 20 years ago, was celebrated on Saturday at the NGC Bocas Lit Fest South.

For the second year, the Bocas Lit Fest South was staged over two days at the Southern Academy for Performing Arts (Sapa) in San Fernando.

Professor emeritus Kenneth Ramchand spoke about Selvon’s indelible contribution to literature in his pre-

sentation, The Other Selvons.

It was Ramchand who found a Canadian publisher to republish An Island is a World in the early ’90s.

When Selvon came home to write his autobiography, Ramchand showed him an advance copy of the reprint which moved Selvon to tears.

He told Ramchand: “This is the real me. That is my favourite novel.”

Selvon, however, died before completing his autobiography. (TT Newsday)

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GEORGETOWN, GUYANA: Enjoy a quiet and scenic tour of Mahaica, a community on the left bank of the Mahaica River; some 26 miles from the city.

Abundant fruits make meals easy to come by for this butterfly

Mahaica backdam

Mushrooms or toadstools - better known as “jumbie umbrellas” grow on a fallen log in the backdam

Mango trees, cherry trees, coconut trees and many others reflect the agricultural aspect of Mahaica

Trevor The Corn Man in Jamaica Recognising the fight - Diabetes educator receives award

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K

Trevor ‘Corn Man’ Lindsay lifts the boiled corn from the steaming pot and readies to place it in the husk. A drizzle of Chiffon margarine and three pieces of dried coconut and the corn is ready to be eaten.

INGSTON, JAMAICA: On a Tuesday in Trench Town and Trevor Lindsay aka Corn Man is spotted on the corner of Collie Smith Drive and

Spanish Town Road stirring his pot of corn. It's a fascinating watch: the stir, the lift, the placement in the husk, a drizzle of Chiffon margarine and finally three pieces

of perfectly placed dried coconut.

Delicious Jamaican street food, and at Ja$70 per corn definitely worth a try.(Jamaican Observer)

O R T - O F S P A I N T , TRINIDAD: Former president of the Diabetes Association of Trinidad and Tobago (DATT) Zobida Ragbirsingh has received the inaugural Regional Award from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).

The award recognised Ragbirsingh for her tireless efforts in the fight against diabetes and her dedication shown in improving the lives of people living with the disease in this country.

In presenting the award to Ragbirsingh last August in Barbados, Sir Michael Hirst, president of IDF, called her a model and inspirational volunteer.

“It is an enormous

privilege to present this award to her,” he said.

Ragbirsingh, who was pleasantly surprised at receiving the award, said her only regret was that her husband was not around to see her receive it.

“He died last year from complications of diabetes,” she said.

“This award belongs to him and the Diabetes Association.”

Ragbirsingh was a nurse who now admits that as a student she found the subject on diabetes to be dull; until her husband was diagnosed with the disease.

Ragbirsingh also started a camp for children in which they are taught about managing the disease and administering their own insulin from their peers.

“In the years that I served as president of the Diabetes Association, I pushed for more education on the disease.”

Even though Ragbirsingh is no longer at the helm of the Association, she serves as the chariperson of its Princes Town branch.

Carlton Phillip is the Association’s current president.

R a g b i r s i n g h will like to see the Diabetes Education and Awareness Programme for Students (DEAPS) in more schools across the country in a standardise way, so that everyone is on the same page.

“My dream is also to see the diabetes educator course come through at the universities in this country.” (TT Express)

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Friendship

By Narine Dat Sookram brand”. Additionally, she hopes to create an entire African-inspired line of items including clothing, bags, shoes and much more.

Check out Rhoda Doxa on Facebook for more information.

(Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : Under her label Rhoda Doxa, designer Deborah Kehinde aims to add a fresh flair to the fashion industry.

A third year medical student at the Texila American University, Kehinde mentioned that her designs were inspired by her African heritage.

“My inspiration to design and create a line of my own came from a vacation I had during the summer holiday. I went to Germany and while shopping there I was in-

spired by the different designer shops and the pieces on display. Many persons would also compliment my combinations and my style of dressing…So I decided it was time for me to pursue my dream of designing and start my own clothing line,” she recalled in an interview with Guyana Times.

Kehinde strives “to bring African heritage to modern fashion” not only through clothing but art and craft as well.

“I have always loved designing. As a young child, I remember cut-

ting polythene bags and making them into little outfits,” the young designer reminisced.

Through her new line, Fumilayo, named after Fumilayo Kuti, the first woman to drive in Nigeria and a “strong, powerful woman”, Kehinde wishes to demonstrate that women can and should show their strength through their clothing.

Kehinde plans to work on other collections, which will fulfil her dream to “design all types of clothing and become a worldwide

F

Deborah Kehinde

Trinidad: The Wiz lacked that bit of magic

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: It had all the makings of an excellent piece of theatre. The production team was led by two of TT’s theatre greats: director Mervyn de Goeas and choreographer Linda Pollard-Lake. The cast featured a number of faces who have consistently shone in the spate of musical theatre productions mounted on the Queen’s Hall stage ever since the hall reopened in 2002.

The Proscenium Theatre Company has earned a reputation for attracting and mobilising the country’s best theatrical talents. The libretto was nominated for the Best Book of a Musical award at the 1975 Tonys, and the score took home award for Best Original Score. The Wiz could have been brilliant. And there were moments of brilliance.

Billed as a tribute to the late Trinidadian Broadway giant, Geoffrey Holder, Proscenium’s production stayed true to Holder’s artistic prodigy with particular regard to costume design. Holder received the Tony Award for the Best Costume Design as well as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding costuming for the 1975 production of The Wiz. Forty-odd years later, de Goeas’ design and Gloria Pembreton’s costume construction would surely place this production on similar standing.

Diahann White’s (Aunt Em) warm, alto voice set the tone for what was generally very

good solo singing throughout the evening. Justin Zephyrine’s (Scarecrow) soulful voice almost captured the Motown mood, and Maurice Morancie’s (Tinman) rich baritone nearly reminded me of the men’s voices filtered out of LPs throughout my childhood on easy Sunday mornings.

Jeannine Clarke’s spirited rendition of Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News was true to the feel-good, good-news essence of that gospel number.

Far too often though, the singing was reminiscent of the 1990’s R&B of Toni Braxton and Boyz II Men, in and of itself good music, but not quite in the style of R&B’s funk, disco, and gospel antecedents. This was particularly true of Tishanna Williams’ pleasant and powerful singing voice.

The ensemble similarly comprised clearly competent singers, but their voices were too sweet, too delicate, too soulless for soul music. As a result, the ensemble did not provide the quality of vocal support the soloists needed in order to sustain the energy in signature pieces such as Ease on Down the Road and Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News.

The dialogue seemed stilted throughout, as though the actors never got quite comfortable with the rhythms of African American Vernacular English.

The words were clearly enunciated, but sometimes at the expense of the sense of the line, with the result that humorous bits of dialogue were lost, though the per-

formance garnered more than the occasional chortle. More critically, the actors’ inconsistent use of African American Vernacular English meant that it became caricatured through being relegated to fillers like, Hmm girl and Amen. This betrayed one of the greatest achievements of The Wiz, which, along with earlier works like A Raisin in the Sun, elevated the place of this language variety and its speakers.

The audience was very receptive to inter-textual references to aspects of local culture: The Mighty Sparrow’s Congo Man while an evil act is being done; the imitation of allegedly-corrupt politicians and football officials in Keino Swamber’s representation of the Gatekeeper.

Here too some mental fodder: mightn’t it have been more authentic, a more genuine act of appreciation, to remain true to the work as it was written, or are we only able to sing praises in the voice of the chantuelle? When does adaptation become compromise?

The Wiz is the first in a triptych that Proscenium has dedicated to local playwrights and practitioners who have had international impact. A praiseworthy project, and one that I hope grows in strength as the series continues. The company certainly has the potential to produce outstanding work, as they showed us in previous productions of Rent and Little Shop of Horrors. (TT Guardian)

riendship can be a good thing, but let’s not confuse ourselves in any way as to what a friendship really is. For example, love and friendship are two different things.

It is not uncommon that friendship is the first step to an intimate relationship.

Not always do we have some people in our lives that we consider as very good friends.

They are always there for us whenever we need them. Friends are people with whom we can share our secrets.

They help us out, not take advantage of us.

Friends help us out with our social issues and personal issues. If we were to live our lives without having friends, then our lives would be lonely and there would be nobody to turn to when we have a problem.

Therefore, we’ll have no one to talk to and no one to help us. Everyone needs friendship or at least someone to talk to. These are the basic things in life that make us human.

Some people may argue though that friendship is only important to people who are weak and that strong individuals rely on themselves.

Though there can be some truth in this, I’ll let the readers decide for themselves.

Friendship may influence our lives as teenagers. For example, when teenagers have a good friendship, it can help them feel a sense of acceptance and confidence, which can also help to pave the way for the development of other social ties.

Last week, I wrote an article about bullying.

The way I see it, when a teenager feels part of a group, he/she would probably not be affected by negativity and bullying or for that matter, any other forms of rejection.

But most importantly, when teens feel accepted in a group, there is that less chance of them engaging in the bullying of others.

Depending how we look at it, friends can have a positive influence on both social and personal aspects of a teenager’s life.

The reason being friends often share common goals which can encourage a teen to make good choices. A teen can also get back on track with his/her plan for the future when things are not going so well for them.

There is no doubt that the teenage years are usually stressful. That is why having a person to trust, is important to help teenagers deal with the uncertainty that is a ‘normal’ part of growing up.

Having friends can also be an outlet for excitement and in some cases, help teenagers find healthy ways to have fun outside of the home setting. There are both positive and negative outcomes with friends.

For example, healthy friendships can encourage pastimes that do not involve risk of crime or harm, but on the other hand, with unhealthy peer influences, a teenager may easily engage in negative behaviour.

For questions, comments and feedback, email them to mcnarine@rogers.com.

Bollywood

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WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014 | www.caribbeantimesinternational.com

Kill Dil: movie review Jackie Shroff's wife Ayesha receives threatening messages, files fresh FIR

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tory: A contract killer wants to reform for love; but wait, will the ones who order him to kill, allow him to listen to his dil?

Review: Shaad Ali's Kill Dil is inspired by countless Hollywood movies that showcase

the protagonists romancing the gun. Here too, the two heroes Dev (Ranveer Singh) and Tutu (Ali Zafar) are orphans who are raised by a local Delhi don, Bhaiyyaji (Govinda).

Brought up against the backdrop of bullets instead of lullabies, the

chaddi-buddies drop out of primary school and grow up to become contract killers. With mafia killings being a regular feature of the Indian city underbelly, the trigger-happy twosome goes about their work without remorse. (TOI)

ctor Jackie Shroff's wife, Ayesha has registered a fresh FIR with the Bandra police after she received threatening messages from an unknown number.

"Yes, a fresh FIR has been registered by Ayesha Shroff after she received some threatening calls from unknown numbers," said an officer at the Bandra police station.

Ayesha had earlier this month filed a complaint against her former business partner, actor Sahil Khan, saying that he cheated her of close to Rs.5 crore. (TOI)

Salman Khan thanks fans for Arpita's wedding wishes

Aishwarya Sakhuja: I am not allowed to wear heels with Rohit

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ishwarya Sakhuja is all set to tie the knot with her longtime beau, TV producer Rohit Nag, on December 5. The actress met Rohit on the set of a show that she anchored in 2008. She was quite impressed that the associate producer had been keeping track of her work. "Rohit knew that I had gone for a beauty pageant through newspapers. He liked my personality and recommended me for a reality show. We later bonded on the set over Govinda films, where I realised I shared a great comfort level with him.

Within three-four months, I decided that he was the man for me," she reveals.

Adding that Rohit was instrumental in bringing a balance in her life, she says, "I have always hated men who flirt, drop cheesy lines, and Rohit was nothing like that. There is never a dull moment with him. Besides, we both come from modest backgrounds. We are aware that we might have highs and lows in our career, so we manage

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alman Khan has been receiving wishes for his sister Arpita's wedding from his fans and the superstar has thanked them for the blessings.

Arpita's wedding to businessman Aayush Sharma that will take place in Hyderabad Tuesday has created a buzz

to balance things in life."

Since Aishwarya is 5'8" inches tall, she laughs when we ask her about the height issue with her beau. She says, "I am not allowed to wear heels when I am with him, ever." (TOI)

Bigg Boss 8: Gautam Gulati becomes the King

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ay 58 in the Bigg Boss house will welcome a new era, as a King will rise to his throne. The Bigg Boss house will no more be the same old home of the notorious housemates. Instead, the contestants will find themselves being ruled over by a dictator!

As the contestants finish breakfast, the luxury budget task for the week, 'Gautam City' is introduced by Bigg Boss. As the name suggests, captain Gautam is assigned as the strict dictator of the Bigg Boss house which is now converted into Gautam's kingdom. As his privilege, Gautam is provided access to a specially designed luxurious fully-equipped room through which he will rule the house. He is also given the

special privilege of choosing two royal guards by his side. As per the rules, Gautam is given the authority to handcuff the housemates if he wants to punish them and can also take away their food. The unpopular dictator is also allowed to do whatever he wants in the house and it is a strict rule that no one in the house can address him by name but only as 'Your Highness' or 'Your Majesty'.

To cement Gautam's stand as the dictator of the house, Bigg Boss has covered the house with multiple posters of Gautam all over the house along with a special status of Gautam in his famous shirtless avatar. When the contestants notice the posters and the statue, they are horror struck because the posters depict words such as 'My City My Rule', 'Karo Ya Maro', 'Mera Sheher Mera Kahar' written on them.

But accepting them as a by-product of the task, the contestants become wary about Gautam's moves. A delighted Gautam is over the top and jumps into action as he chooses various tasks to raise the entertainment levels within the house. And that is how Gautam City is formed in all its glory.(TOI)

on Twitter. It is trending on the microblogging site and the big brother appreciates the love from his fans.

"Thank u for all the blessings n good wishes. Wil tweet sm pics frm the wedding later. Arpita n ayush thank n appreciate it," Salman tweeted Tuesday.

Arpita had also shared a photograph of her pre-wedding celebrations.

"Wedding madness from last night (Monday)!,' she captioned the picture in which she is seen getting mehendi done on her hands.

Bollywood celebrities like Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Dharmendra and his wife Hema Malini, Karan Johar and David Dhawan will reportedly attend the wedding that will take place at Taj Falaknuma, the luxury heritage hotel of the Taj Group located in the old city.

(TOI)

Exclusive: Both of Sunny Deol’s sons to make their Bollywood debut soon

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t has been known for a while now that Sunny Deol's elder son Karan will make his acting debut. The film is likely to start around mid-2015. However what is truly interesting is that Karan's younger brother Rajveer, who is currently studying acting in London, will also be launched shortly.

Both youngsters are chips of the old block and qualify high on looks.

Don't forget their grandfather Dharmendra was one of the 10 best looking men in the world in his heydays.

A chance meeting with the super-shy Karan gave us a little peek into their world.

The 20-something youngster, who was helping his father in the making of 'Ghayal 2', has stopped work on it and has started taking keen interest in his launch.

When asked what genre of films he is best suited to, Karan, who's often found gesticulating with his hands, displays amazing wit. Smiling, he says, "Besides films and

acting, the Deols have carried on the lineage of short temper. All of us at home are short-tempered people. So, obviously, it has to be action roles."

Besides playing football, Karan has picked up the art of writing poems from his grandfather Dharmendra. "But I don't write in Urdu like him, I pen my thoughts in English and Hindi," confesses the youngster, who, according to his friends, is a very good actor.

"I have seen his acting tapes, he is great with Shakespearan

plays. I have seen him doing a monologue from Hamlet," says a close friend.

Interestingly, Karan's younger brother Rajveer, who is currently studying acting in London, is more like their father's cousin Abhay Deol and is likely to do films that have 'Uncle Abhay's' sensibilties. "Rajveer has Abhay's bent of mind when it comes to cinema whereas my leaning is more towards mainstream. I love all kinds of movies.

Sometimes I go all alone and watch films," concludes Karan. (TOI)

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www.caribbeantimesinternational.com | WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014

Jolie's 'Unbroken' premiere Arnold Schwarzenegger makes audience gasp in Oz rules out 'Junior' sequel

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ngelina Jolie's movie 'Unbroken,' based on the subject Louis Zamperini, has drawn positive reaction at its world premiere in downtown Sydney, Australia.

The 137-minute film's one particularly shocking maritime moment and the unrelenting visceral wartime brutality that punctuates Zamperini's tale of survival made the audience gasp audibly, Fox News reported.

The often-intense film is based on the international bestseller 'Sea biscuit' by Laura Hillenbrand and is among the last high-profile Academy Award-eligible films to open Stateside.

The project is set to release on Dec. 25 in the U.S. (TOI)

Bill Cosby faces new rape allegations

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ill Cosby's problem doesn't seem to end as another rape accuser has come forward to blame the actor for drugging and raping her on two occasions decades ago.

Accuser Joan Tarshis posted on a website that it took her about 20 years to admit this to anyone, the New York Post reported.

Tarshis said that but during those

years as she grew into adulthood, she watched Cosby be praised by everyone from Presidents to Oprah to the Jello Corporation.

She continued that it all made her ill despite knowing first-hand that there was something "unbalanced" about the 77-year-old actor.

Tarshis added that she was 19-years-old in autumn of 1969 and Cosby seemed to take a liking to her, and so she was invited back a few times.

The accuser added that she was sickened by what was happening to her and shocked that this man she had idolised was now raping her.

Cosby has been besieged by accusations of multiple sexual assaults during his decades-long career that have resurfaced in the last couple of weeks.

(TOI)

Brooke Shields regrets marrying Andre Agassi

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odel-turned-actress Brooke Shields says that soon after her marriage to former tennis star Andre Agassi, she realised it was a mistake.

The actress and Agassi split in 1999 after being married for two years, but Shields feels she always had relationship doubts, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"It hit me all of a sudden - I knew I had made a mistake. For the next two years we saw very little of each other.

I was working on my show, 'Suddenly Susan,' and he was playing at various tournaments.

"He alienated me when he lost and was on to the next tournament after he won. We were drifting apart," she wrote on her biography.

Andre confessed he'd been "addicted to crystal meth" since their dating life began, but she says she had always hoped to work things out.

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he said.

The father-of-five added that he was expecting the movie , which also starred Emma Thompson, to be much better than it actually was when it was released. He said: "I've had great successes and a lot of things that went in the toilet and failed.

There's no science to the whole thing".

"You read scripts and think it's a great idea, and then when you see it and realise that it's not quite how you envisaged it, you move on," he added. However, Schwarzenegger, who will reprise his Terminator character in 2015 in 'Terminator: Genisys', confirmed there will be a 'Twins' sequel.

He said: "They're doing a 'Twins' sequel, to be called 'Triplets'. I've read the first draft. There's rumblings of a new 'Running Man' movie, so it's a great honour to be asked back." (TOI)

is thankful for everyone's patience and un-

derstanding and that she never expected others to take advantage and profit from her condition.

The 28-year-old actress said that she's disappointed with those who lulled her into a false sense of security only to find out they really are only interested in selling her privacy to the media.

Bynes also took to Twitter saying that she is straight up doesn't believe in harming a soul.

(TOI)

Amanda Bynes apologizes for wanting family dead

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manda Bynes recently apologized for saying earlier that she wanted to murder her father and wanted her family dead because they control her money.

The 'Mean Girls' star said that she is sorry for trusting people who clearly were not her friends and capitalized on her illness, CNN reported. She stated that that she was sorry for any pain she caused her family and others and

Madonna to collaborate with Kanye West for new album

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adonna has joined hands with Kanye West on one song for her new album, it has been re-

vealed.

An insider spilled the beans that the 37-year-old rapper and American singer hit it off at the 'Keep A Child Alive' ball and have been in touch ever

"I was the one who had supported him unconditionally when he told me (after we started dating) that he was basically bald and had been wearing hairpieces most of his adult life. Why would this have been any different? I would have been his biggest advocate and supporter," she shared. (TOI)

Selena Gomez dines with mystery man inger Selena Gomez was spotted in an allblack ensemble with a mystery in a restaurant here.

The 22-year-old, who is facing a four year rollercoaster romance with singer Justin Bieber, looked happier than ever as she enjoyed the company of a mystery man on Saturday night, reports dailymail. co.uk. The singing sensation wined and dined at an Italian restaurant. (TOI)

ctor Arnold Schwarzenegger says there won't be a sequel to the 1994 comedy ‘Junior’, which was critically panned at the time of release.

The movie, starred the 67-year-old as Alex Hesse - a research geneticist who falls pregnant after taking an unapproved fertility drug, a role which he doesn't want to revive, reports contactmusic.com.

"There's certain movies that we went a little overboard. The fact of the matter is, this is life.

You make movies and do things. Some of the stuff is successful, and some stuff go down the toilet,"

since, the Daily Star reported.

The source continued that West had already written some songs that according to him would be perfect for the 56-year-old singer.

The source added that the 'Stronger' hitmaker wanted to produce some classic songs for the Queen of Pop.(TOI)

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egendary British rock band Pink Floyd has shot to the top of the British charts with its new album 'The Endless River' after a hiatus of 20 years.

According to the Official Albums Chart, this is the band's sixth British number one. The last time they topped the charts was back in 1995 with live double album, 'Pulse'.

They released their first record, 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' in 1967, which reached number six in the British charts. The latest score was announced Sunday.

The album has been created by using 20 hours of unreleased material that the band wrote, recorded and produced with Rick Wright for Pink Floyd's 14th and last studio album, 'The Division Bell'.

Singer and guitarist David Gilmour said the album was a tribute to Floyd keyboard player Rick Wright, who died in 2008. Wright appears on the record

posthumously.

'The Endless River' is the third album after co-founder Roger Waters left the band in 1985. The two previous albums were 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason' (1987) and The Division Bell (1994). Gilmour has announced that this would be the last Pink Floyd album. (TOI)

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WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014 | www.caribbeantimesinternational.com

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Art of the Jester (2014)

E O R G E T O W N , GUYANA: A “case of visual and verbal imagery engaged in dialogue” is the description of Stanley Greaves’, AA, latest series of 24 paintings being exhibited at Castellani House.

A mirror of the literary mind viewed from Greaves’s prospective, the series proves a complex one as described by the artist: “The paintings showed the evolution of visual language where visual complexity, illustrative mode in the earlier series was shunned in favour of presenting a single dramatic moment or image as symbolic interpretation.”

In a drive to connect with his surroundings by committing visual memory and experience of colours, textures, shapes and forms in images created in his paintings and sculptures, Greaves sought to “create paintings based on reading novels to deepen” his experiences.

According to Greaves, novels written by Sir Wilson Harris, a Guyanese author, have “provided [him] with a link to understand-

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: Natalie LueFung doesn't look like someone who has ever had to struggle. In fact, her coiffed tresses, perfect nails, effervescent smile and regal demeanour scream privilege.

But the entrepreneur and success coach will tell you that she didn't always have it together; in fact, as a youngster, she grew up in foster homes and faced homelessness.

"I was homeless at 15 and I had my first child at 16. I would go to my friends' houses and stay until night then sleep over because I had nowhere else to go," she told the Jamaican media.

Born in Kingston, Lue-Fung became a child of the system early, spending her pre-teen years with her first fos-

ing the nature of the at the Sacred Heart Primary and impact of the land- St Stanislaus Secondary Schools.

Greaves later left to study art scape on life forms and its impact on [his] own at the University of Newcastle-onway of seeing/sens- Tyne, where he graduated with a ing the place of things/ BA (Hons) in Art and a Diploma events in [his] work in Art Education. Greaves also atand by extension in tended Howard University where he gained a MFA and helped de[his] cosmos”.

The series was ac- sign the first Arts and Craft complished by reading Syllabus for the Caribbean Exam novels and in reacting Council.

Notably, the artist is known to “text painting until the end”. While read- for his work across several art dising, Greaves would ciplines where he has won prizes make notes about pos- nationally, regionally and intersible themes, themes nationally. Not to mention, his pothat presented him ems where he has linked poetry with an image (but not to art just as he linked literature a complete composi- to art in Dialogue with Wilson tion) which would de- Harris.

Dialogue with Wilson Harris, velop as he painted.

A semi-abstract ap- celebrating the 80th birth anniproach was thus uti- versary of Greaves, is currently lised moving away ongoing at Castellani House, lofrom “detailed planning cated on Vlissengen Road. The to a more organic” style where exhibition will continue until 29 “intuition provided direction and November 2014. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine) drive”.

“I [would] begin with an image, which as it developed, provided clues for composing the rest…,” Greaves explained.

Work on Dialogue with Wilson Harris originated in the 1960s, however, intensive work was not done until 2011 while reading the several novels and relating events, which allowed for the completion of the series in 2014.

Very talented in several areas, Greaves studied art in the Working Peoples’ Art Class led by E R Burrowes, after which Greaves taught for a few years Artist and the Mother of Space (2014)

ter family in St Andrew when her parents couldn't care for her.

With an above-average IQ, Lue-Fung has earned over 40 scholarships, has three university degrees from Morgan State University in Baltimore, USA, and is a successful businesswoman, leading over 3,000 people across different states in the U.S. and other countries in the world with the company, Skylife, a travel club focused on network marketing.

The success coach, a past student of The Queen's School and Immaculate Conception High, is a professional tourist who works hard for her money, and with her network marketing company, manages to travel as often as five times each month.

"If I'm going to live,

I'm going to live a full life. The travel club existed long before me.

It's been in existence for nine years. There are registries in the US as well as other parts of the world, so I registered in Maryland where I was a consultant in my regular job. I was senior manager of a partnership, then I saw an opportunity to travel with my kids. It was an opportunity for them to travel and make money as well, so I started building," Lue-Fung said.

"I was trained on how to dress, walk and dine.

I needed spiritual coaching and lifestyle coaching and now I want to help people to manage the negativity around them, and leverage negative influences to get positive outcomes."

Lue-Fung will host a local seminar in January

called Women Who Win, which will be put on by Women's Improvement Network.

Her advice to women undergoing challenges is to simply keep overcoming and proving people wrong.

"Don't enter into transactional relationships, because you place a value on yourself that will be hard to get out of.

Don't sit down waiting for someone to give you a fish; you will likely be helped if you ask someone to show you, rather than beg. Everything in the universe is conspiring to take you to the next level," she said.

She added: "Don't go out there seeking someone to tell them how sad your story is. Don't sit and talk about yourself and your story, because it may just be the first chapter. If I had done

Georgetown To Omai (2011)

Arawak Bowl of Numbers (2013)

Natalie Lue-Fung

that mine would end up being about whining.

Look at things you want to achieve and that's your next chapter. There is never going to be a time when I'm not overcoming a challenge or going to another level, because I want more. I'm appreciative but I want more."

For her success, she thanks her foster mothers Henrietta

(June) Daley and Sheila Lutjens, "as even when I didn't have the strength, they pulled me along".

She maintained that failure is never an option and if you accept negativity from people, then you have failed yourself.

"Be flexible and get up with an attitude knowing you're going to win, because you were meant to win," she said.

(Jamaica Observer)

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www.caribbeantimesinternational.com | WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014

Sarah tops the National Essay Competition in TT

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Winners of ACTT's 4th Annual Essay Competition. At centre right is Sarah Jadoonanan.

O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: The Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago (ACTT) which recently hosted its 2nd National Quiz on Quality Assurance in Higher and its 4th National Essay Competition during its Quality Assurance

Month, last week held a prize giving ceremony to celebrate the winners on their success.

The ceremony was held at the San Fernando City Hall. The participants won prizes such as kindles, iPads, vouchers and cash prizes.

Winners of the

2nd National Quiz on Quality Assurance in Higher were Holy Faith Convent, Couva (1st place winner), Cowen Hamilton Secondary School (2nd place winner), Naparima College (3rd place winner) and Fyzabad Anglican Secondary School (4th place winner).

Winners for the 4th National Essay Competition were placed into two categories of Tertiary level and Secondary (form five and form six).

Winners of the tertitary were, Darcel Bernard, School of Accounting and Management (1st place), Ariea Anthonia

Cobham, COSTAATT, San Fernando (2nd place), Avelana Phillip, COSTAATT, Port of Spain (3rd place) and Special prize given to Charissa AnnaLise Modeste of the University of Trinidad and Tobago.

Winners of the Secondary sixth form essay competition were; Sarah JagoonananCowen Hamilton Secondary (1st place), Vandana Riasha Mannah- Lakshmi Girls (2nd place), Vandana Meenavali RamadharNaparima Girls’ High (3rd place) and special prize awarded to Neelam RamkaranLakshmi Girls’ Hindu College.

Winners for the Secondary fifth form competition were; Joshua ParrisSt Stephen’s College (1st place), Inool Wahid Nabbie- ASJA Boys’ College, San Fernando (2nd place), Faith MatamoroMiracle Ministries Pentecostal High School (3rd place) and special prize to Vanita RamnarineLakshmi Girls’ Hindu College.

Delivering the opening remarks was Chairman of the ACTT, Dr. Michael Dowlath.

San Fernando City Corporation's Deputy Mayor Junia Regrello also brought greeting on behalf of the city corporation. (TT Express)

Holt gets posthumous award

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John Holt

INGSTON, JAMAICA: Organisers of the 12th Caribbean Hall of Fame Awards broke ranks by posthumusly honouring John Holt at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in St Andrew recently.

Garnett Reid, chairman of the organising committee of the Caribbean Development for the Arts, Sports and Culture Foundation (CDASCF), said "this was a special case".

"We were planning to honour him. We regretted that he had been ignored over the years and then he died in the midst of our work. We had to make a decision, and the decision was that we would go ahead and honour him, anyway," Reid told the Jamaican media.

According to Reid, Holt's name would have been missing from its Hall of Fame list despite his tremendous contribution to the development of Caribbean music and his popularity among reggae fans worldwide.

"I am sure his huge fan base, as well as his peers in the music industry, will appreciate this,"

Reid added.

Holt, 69, died in the Wellington Hospital, London, on October 20.

The evening saw 21 awards being handed out. Recipients included entertainers Beres Hammond, Rita Marley, Beenie Man, Etana, Tarrus Riley, Queen Ifrica, Ronnie Butler (The Bahamas), Trinidadian calypsonian David Rudder and veteran singer Gem Myers.

Juliet Cuthbert, Grace Jackson, and Andrew Price each received an award for their contribution to sports. Playwright Patrick Brown, designer Bill Edwards, actor Paul Campbell, film-makers Lennie Little-White and Barbara Blake Hanna, storyteller Amina Blackwood Meeks, dancer Patsy Ricketts, floral designer Paula Tai Chun-Hissman and producer Kanhai Condiso were lauded for their contribution to the field of arts and culture.

Started 25 years ago, the Caribbean Hall of Fame Awards goes to regional nationals for outstanding works in their respective fields.

(Jamaica Observer)

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WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014 | www.caribbeantimesinternational.com

TT Wilson on World Cup Guyana’s Jeffrey is umpires roster new Caribbean motor racing champ on debut P O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: TT umpire Joel Wilson has been congratulated for being selected to officiate at next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup which will be staged jointly by Australia and New Zealand.

The selection of the 47-year-old Wilson marks another stage in his remarkable development into a worldclass umpire whose performance on the international stage has impressed players, fans and his colleagues on the Emirates International Panel.

On Sunday, the TT Cricket Board (TTCB) extended their best wishes and congratulations to Wilson for his latest accolade and said they looked forward to his appearance in the tournament.

TTCB president Azim Bassarath said: “Joel Wilson stands out among the present crop of um-

TT umpire Joel Wilson

pires for his fairness and technical capability in reaching his decisions.”

The TTCB chief, himself a former umpire, said he was full of admiration for Wilson who he portrayed as a shining beacon for the entire umpiring fraternity and an example to follow. Bassarath said that Wilson had placed TT on the international map by demonstrating that he was just as competent as any other umpire

currently sitting on the Emirates International Panel and was worthy of being nominated to officiate at the 2015 ICC World Cup. Wilson and Peter Nero are currently the two TT umpires from the region on the elite panel which also includes Gregory Brathwaite of Barbados, and Nigel Duguid of Guyana.

Bassarath said it was a measure of the high standards of umpiring in TT that both Nero and Wilson could emerge to be ranked among the world’s best.

Wilson made his First Class umpiring debut in 2008 and has to date officiated in 15 One-Day Internationals and 16 T20s.

He joins a celebrated list of top-notch umpires who are expected to officiate in the 11th ICC World Cup including Billy Bowden, Simon Taufel, Aleem Dar and Nigel Llong. (TT Guardian)

Badree cleared in fixing probe

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Samuel Badree

O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: West Indies leg-spinner Samuel Badree has been cleared of any spot or match-fixing allegations, one day after his name was disclosed by the Supreme Court in India as part of the Justice Mukul Mudgal committee report that probed allegations of betting and spot-fixing in the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Badree on Friday denied the claims outright.

And according to reports out of India, three cricketers (Badree among them) whose names were inadvertently taken by Justice TS Thakur in the 2013 IPL corruption case in the Supreme Court had been cleared by the Mudgal committee.

“It has been confirmed by a reliable source close to the case that the three cricketers were not party to any wrong doing and that their names had been emphatically cleared by the committee report,” the ESPN Cricinfo website reported on Monday.

The story continued: “The names of three current cricketers were taken by Justice Thakur along with those of “non-playing” individuals whom the court went on to issue notice to in regard to findings in the report. There was no context or reference made regarding the reasons for naming the cricketers. Within a few minutes, the cricketers’ names appeared on Twitter and were picked up and flashed by most television news channels across India. The

court then asked the media present to withhold the names and though the names were removed from screens in a short while, by then had already been in wide circulation. “ According to international and Indian media websites, the International Cricket Council chairman N Srinivasan, his sonin-law Gurunath Meiyappan, Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra, IPL CEO Sundar Raman along with three cricketers Stuart Binny, Badree and Owais Shah were all named in the report submitted to the Supreme Court. Reports suggested that the names of the three players-three of six named in the reportwere inadvertently released.

On Friday, Badree told the TT media: “I have no part in matchfixing or spot fixing and as a matter of fact, in that season I played one game with Rajasthan Royals and I am very confused about how my name was in that report, especially without even being told about it prior to reading it on the internet this morning. I am waiting for further information because I don’t even know what context my name was mentioned in. I am strongly against any kind of match-fixing or spot fixing.” (TT Express)

Kristian Jeffrey waves the chequered flag after one of his victories

By Treiston Joseph

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : Kristian Jeffrey is the new individual champion in the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) group four category after picking up two wins on Sunday during the final leg of the championships at the South Dakota Cirucit.

Jeffrey, who came into the event with the lead, maintained the top pole position with, skilled and expert driving to win the title.

The Stag Beer sponsored driver, won two out of his three races while finishing third in one. Barbadian Stuart Maloney won the other CMRC group four event.

Jeffrey’s final race

was drama filled in the first three laps, trailing Maloney in an intense duel before, Maloney lost control on turn one and came off the track allowing Jeffrey to power away easily.

Earlier in the day, Jeffrey had his luck as well as his car was fortunate to miss a pile up crash that took his father Kevin Jeffrey out of action for the day.

“It’s phenomenal, I didn’t really expect it, I got to give all the praises to my team, the guys have been working everyday 24/7, I also need to thank Stag for coming onboard with me, the support they gave me for this race meet was unreal,” Jeffrey told this publication after his final race that he won comfortably.

Meanwhile Kevin Jeffrey was proud of his son, “I’m really proud of him, I was chasing the championship for a while but now I can live it through him and hopefully this starts a new era,” the elder Jeffrey stated.

Jeffrey along with Mark Vieira will now have a chance to put Guyana’s motor racing on the map when they participate in the champion of champions in December.

In Super Bike action Nikhil Seereeram and Matthew Vieira had even success with both winning on the day.

Seereeram was more successful however, grabbing the important victories in the CMRC category.

(Guyana Times)

J’can Chung endures 108mile Gran Fondo Italia series

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: Dennis Chung (right) competes in the gruelling 108-mile Gran Fondo Italia series in Coral Gables, Florida. The event was held on November 8 & 9.

Formerly known as Gran

Dennis Chung

Fondo Giro d'Italia, the series is described as a blend of Italian atmosphere, cycling history, and Italian partnerships.

It was founded by Italian Matteo Gerevini in 2009.

This year three events in the USA and one in Brazil made up the Gran

Fondo Italia schedule.

Chung is the chief executive officer of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica, and a Jamaica Observer columnist.(Jamaica Observer)

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Ninvalle named Jack, Shaka applaud TT to AIBA Exec govt on grassroot plan − becomes first member from English speaking Caribbean

By Treiston Joseph

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Steve Ninavlle is now the first official from the English speaking Caribbean to be named to the executive body of the World Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA).

The world body of boxing had its congress over the past two days in Jeju, South Korea where Ninvalle was elected.

Ninvalle’s election was viewed by the Caribbean as a huge victory for the sport, “the holding today was an extremely proud moment for us in the Caribbean, we are happy that Steve has won a major victory and the boxing federations and associations

President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Steve Ninavlle

should be proud because this in itself starts a new trend for boxing in the Carbbean and it will certainly take us further in the game,” President of the Grenadian Boxing Association Ralph James toll Guyana Times Sport.

Vice President of the Bahamas Boxing Association Alwin Sergeant also played

up the importance of Ninvalle’s election.

“This has been a tremendous victory for the Caribbean, in fact the Americas have finally decided and realised that without the Caribbean they can’t go forward, so Steve’s victory is a victory for Caribbean boxing… I think it goes beyond boxing; it’s a victory for Caribbean sport…

I will put it this way, round one; mission accomplished,” Sergeant stressed.

Meanwhile Ninvalle highlighted that his election to the executive body simply means that “the voice of the Caribbean will be heard in the inner chambers”.

The AIBA executive body is made up of 20 persons from around the world and makes most of the decisions for boxing.

(Guyana Times)

P

O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: Former national footballers Shaka Hislop and Kelvin Jack are today applauding government’s decision to invest TT$32.6 million towards the development of grassroot football in TT. The athletes who represented this country at the Fifa World Cup Germany in 2006, said once this initiative was sustained, this country would never be in short supply of proven talent from which to draw.

They believed this move would always ensure that the standard of football to be witnessed at varying levels was delivered with the

continuing to receive financial assistance,” the minister said.

Jack commended the state for taking the initiative, but believed such a programme needed ten times that amount.

“But if that is what they can allocate right now, so be it. But without a doubt they would need more money than that. That’s only 3.2 million pounds. It’s a lot of money, but it isn’t a lot of money if you know what I am saying; if you want to go the way of development.

He added, “They needed to have the right people running it. That’s the crucial issue here.

The right people must be running these programmes; people who

the request, said Jack, local football would surely progress.

“The problem is that TTFA is not interested in tapping into that knowledge. You have all these players here—the only players that have ever gone to a World Cup final— and you haven’t used it (their knowledge). They (TTFA) went on a trip the other day overloaded with staff. Sheldon Phillips brought his dad (Lincoln Phillips) on board as goal keeping coach.

Hislop, an ESPN football commentator and newly appointed Fifa influential International Football Association Board (IFAB) board member said, too often, local football and the fi-

Young Jamaican athletes benefit from grassroots clinic

Kelvin Jack, left, congratulates T&T teammate Shaka Hislop after Hislop’s outstanding performance against Sweden in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

K

Javon Smith of Spalding High clears a hurdle during a training session at the Digicel/MVP Grass-roots Athletic Clinic held at the St Catherine Sports Complex in Montego Bay.

INGSTON, JAMAICA: Athletes from central Jamaica benefited from a recent Digicel/MVP Grassroots Athletics Programme major clinic, telecoms company Digicel is reporting.

The major clinic followed three pre-clinics, one in each county, with more than 500 young athletes training under the guidance of the nation's top track and field coaches, a news release said.

"I had a great time at the camp, especially because I learnt a lot more about hurdling," said Marvin Williams from St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS).

"I learnt about the dis-

tance between the hurdles and how to properly approach and position my body while going over the hurdle. All of this will help me to be a better athlete."

Similarly, Tavia Thompson of Newell High was pleased with the training she received in the hurdles, but also expressed renewed interest in the throws.

"I tried the javelin at the Boys' and Girls' Championships and placed eighth, but since getting the guidance from one of the top coaches in the island at the clinic, Coach Linval Swaby, I have been thinking that I want to try again," Thompson said.

Twenty-five out-

standing athletes were presented with sneakers from Nike as well as sectional prizes from Digicel and other sponsors. Of the 25 athletes 11 were from schools located in central Jamaica, including Garvey Maceo, Lennon, Spalding High, Newell High, STETHS, Vere Technical High, Clarendon College and Munro College.

"These clinics -- being part of our grassroots programme -were designed to reach our aspiring athletes where they are and hone their skills under the guidance of the best coaches in the country," said Digicel's Marketing Director Peter Lloyd.

(Jamaica Observer)

approval of the national community and admired the world over.

Finance Minister Larry Howai, during his 2014/2015 budget presentation, said the state made significant progress in establishing and enabling framework, comprising infrastructure, management and coaching, talent building, welfare of elite athletes and sport tourism.

“We are building on the existing infrastructure: the technical framework to support the development of football throughout the country has been put in place at an annual cost of TT$36.2 million; the five multi-purpose stadia have been or are now being upgraded; and community sporting groups and national governing bodies are

understand football; people who (are) qualified in coaching football; people who are good at imparting knowledge.

It’s brilliant that the money is there to do it, but they need to put the right people in place to run this programme or else it’s not going to be successful.”

Asked if he believed the time had come for the former Soca Warriors to get involved in the sustained development of TT football, Jack responded affirmatively.

Depending on which of them would be interested in getting involved, he said, TT had a lot of knowledge to gain from this type of engagement.

Should these calibre of players be approached and accede to

nancing of it is focused on the top tier of our game, in particular, the national team.

Hislop added, “Our planning for World Cup 2018 should have started a decade ago. I think the development and this announcement buys into that thinking.

“We have to start developing. We have to start preparing our young athletes at the earliest possible level, because I feel it’s such a steep learning curve and we are already at a disadvantage to most nations simply because of our country’s size and the player pool that a population of 1.5 million can afford. We have to do other things and I think this is a significant step in that direction,” he said. (TT Guardian)

sport

31

WEEK ENDING November 20, 2014 | www.caribbeantimesinternational.com

14 players sign contracts for South Africa tour

S

T JOHN’S, ANTIGUA: 14 of the 15 players offered match/tour contracts for the upcoming Test tour of South Africa have signed and returned the contracts, West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) confirmed late Tuesday.

However a WICB statement says Darren Bravo has written to the Chairman of Selectors Clive Lloyd requesting not to be considered for the Test series due to personal reasons.

A replacement for Bravo is expected to be named soon.

“The WICB extends its best wishes to Bravo as he seeks to address his personal matters and looks forward to his return to the game” the WICB statement said without elaborating.

The players were required to respond to the WICB by 5:00 pm

East Caribbean Time on Tuesday.

“The WICB thanks the players for their timely and positive responses and looks forward to a successful tour of South Africa” the statement added.

West Indies and South Africa will play

three test matches, three T20 Internationals and five One Day International matches starting next month and running until the end of January.

SQUAD: Denesh Ramdin (Captain), Sulieman Benn, Jermaine Blackwood,

Kraigg Brathwaite S h i v n a r i n e Chanderpaul, Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel, Christopher Gayle, Jason Holder Leon Johnson, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton.

(Jamaica Observer)

Roger Daniel claims TT’s Guinness, Petra team up in Guyana for “Guinness in the Street” first CAC medal

P

Took Bronze: Roger Daniel

O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: Shooter Roger Daniel earned Trinidad and Tobago’s first medal at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Veracruz, Mexico, when he picked up bronze in the men’s 10m air pistol final at the El Lencero Police Academy on Monday.

Daniel shot his way to 175.8 points to trail Cuba’s Jorge Grua (201.2) and Maurillo Morales of Mexico (196.8), who took gold and silver, respectively. The top three maintained their position from the qualifying round where Daniel amassed 570 points over six rounds to Morales’

571 and Grua’s 573.

Meanwhile, swimmer Abraham McLeod gave himself a shot at a medal when he finished second in heat one of the men’s 50m breaststroke in a time of 28.92 seconds.

In table tennis action, TT again had mixed fortunes. Curtis Humphreys rebounded from an opening round loss to Guatemala’s Hector Gatica to whip Miguel Sarmiento of Honduras, 11-2, 11-7, 11-9.

In doubles action on Tuesday, Humphreys and Dexter St Louis won their two matches comfortably.

Humphreys would later team up with Quashie to capture their mixed double match against Simon

Tomlinson and Yvonne Foster of Jamaica by a walkover. But they were beaten by Heber Moscoso and Analdy Lopez of Guatemala, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9 in their second mixed doubles match.

TT’s cycling trio of Quincy Alexander, Jude Codrington and Kwesi Browne narrowly missed out on medal slot in the men’s team sprint when they covered their three laps of the track at the Xalapa Velodrome in 45.957 seconds for fifth place.

In the men’s Keirin, Browne finished runnerup to Suriname’s Jair Tjon to grab the second automatic qualifying berth aEl Lencero Police Academy on Mondaynd advance to the final.

Codrington, who rode in Heat 2 and failed to finish made it to the repecharge, but did not face the starter.

TT’s national men’s hockey team suffered a heart-breaking 3-2 loss to Cuba on Tuesday after getting past the Dominican Republic 4-3 on Sunday. Jordan Reynos put TT ahead in the 14th minute and Shaquille Daniel made it 2-0 four minutes later to see them go in at the half holding the advantage. However, three second-half goals within a five-minute span saw Cuba steal the win. (TT Express)

From left: Aqua Mist Brand Manager Errol Nelson, Petra Organisation’s Troy Mendonca, Guinness Branch Manager Lee Baptiste and PRO Troy Peters at the launching

By Treiston Joseph

G

EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The seventh edition of the “Guinness in the Street” football tourney for Georgetown was launched on Monday at the boardroom of Banks DIH, Thirst Park.

The best street footballers will converge when the final preliminary games are played at Banks’ Demerara Park.

At the launching on Monday, Guinness Branch Manager Lee Baptiste said the tournament this year will be bigger with the total prize money being in excess of Gy$1 million.

The first-place team will win Gy$400,000, while second, third

and fourth will receive Gy$200,000, Gy$150,000 and Gy$75,000 respectively.

Going with the theme “Who will be made of more”, Baptiste was confident that the tournament will be another exciting edition.

“I think with persons realising the type of exposure you are getting from the Caribbean championships, it caused the more teams to participate, which is great and our satisfaction comes from watching these guys achieve at the Caribbean level,” Baptiste stated.

Further, Baptiste, who dubbed last year’s edition the best for this particular type of football, revealed that there will be a fair play award

worth Gy$50,000 for the most disciplined team.

The individual skill competition will also be back for the second time in the tournament for persons in or out of the competition, with the first-place prize money being Gy$20,000.

Mendonca noted that the tournament had 51 entrants as they had to play two preliminary rounds in order to arrive at their final 32 teams.

As per usual, the tournament will be a round-robin knockout with the top two teams going through to the knockout stages.

Aqua Mist will be part of the tournament as Brand Manager Errol Nelson welcomed the opportunity to hydrate the players. (Guyana Times)

Kaliese Spencer cops Caribbean Sports Journalists Award

K

INGSTON, JAMAICA: Commonwealth Games champion Kaliese Spencer and the men's 4x200m team that set a world best at the IAAF World Relay Championships in the Bahamas in May were the only Jamaican winners in the first Caribbean Sports Journalists' Association (CASJA) annual awards.

Spencer, the 400m hurdles champion at the Commonwealth Games, as well as the IAAF Diamond Trophy winner, was named the Top Sportswoman, polling five of the six votes

by a six-member panel comprised of Olympians Tonique Williams and Ato Boldon, former World Cup footballer Shaka Hislop and three track and field journalists from around the Region.

Yarisley Silva of Cuba, the pole vault gold medallist from the World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland, ended second in the female vote.

G r e n a d a ' s Commonwealth Games 400m champion Kirani James won the Top Sportsman award by getting three of six votes, edging Jamaican World

Spencer... 400m Commonwealth Games hurdles champion and IAAF Diamond Trophy winner

Boxing Association (WBA) Super World featherweight boxer champion Nicholas

'Axeman' Walters (two votes) and six-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt of Jamaica

for the top award.

The Jamaican men's 4x200m team of Nickel Ashmeade, Warren Weir, Jermaine Brown and Yohan Blake which set a new World best of 1:18.63 minutes won the award for Team of the Year.

Trinidad and Tobago's Soca Princesses, who are one win away from qualifying for next year's FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada was named the Female Team of the Year.

Despite winning gold in the 400m hurdles at the IAAF World Junior Championships

in Eugene, Oregon, and gold in a World Youth best time in the 110m hurdles at the Youth Olympics in China, Jamaica's Jaheel Hyde was named runnerup in the male Rising Star category behind Guadeloupe's Wilhem Belocian, who set a World Junior best 12.99 seconds to win the World Junior Championships 110m hurdles.

Commonwealth Games 400m champion Stephenie-Ann McPherson was also runner-up in the female section to Barbados' jumper Akela Jones.(Jamaica Observer)

www.caribbeantimesinternational.com

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

INTERNATIONAL WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 20, 2014

Guyanese Garraway thrilled to complete Level 11 coaching course

By Ravendra Madholall

T

ORONTO, CANADA: Former Guyana fast bowler Trevon Garraway said he is thrilled to complete the Australia Level II coaching course recently in Toronto which is organised by Ontario Cricket Academy.

The five-day programme was conducted by International Cricket Council (ICC) Developmental Officer for the North American Region, Tom Evans, with assistance from other reputable coaches such as Mathews Betsey, Darren Holder and Steven Ryne.

Garraway, who has featured in 12 First-Class matches for his native country, spanning from 2005 to 2009,

did his Level I since 2008 with the West Indies Cricket Board and is aspiring to complete the Level III soon rather than later.

“Yes, definitely I am thrilled and delighted to complete my Level II certification and it is also an honour to do it with Australian Tom; looking forward now to do the Level III soon,” the 30-yearold Garraway related.

According to the ex-Essequibo senior Inter-county skipper, he always wishes to give back something to the game and feels gaining more knowledge about cricket is also encouraging to become a full-time qualified coach.

“Cricket has given me a lot and I am enjoying playing it still; now I feel privi-

Trevon Garraway

leged to give back to the game; I still want to represent country again too and that is why

I have been consistently playing in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Canada,” the right-arm bowler informed.

Since his inaugural trip to Canada in 2008, Garraway has played professionally, representing various clubs at the annual Toronto District and Cricket Association Premier and Elite competitions, the Scarborough Cricket Association and Brampton/ Etobicoke League tournaments as well.

The performances were excellent and that propelled Garraway to keep thinking of wearing Guyana’s colours again at the highest level.

Before the commencement of his stint in Canada in early May, Garraway played for Yorkshire Cricket Club in

Trinidad and had done well.

He represented Victoria Park Cricket Club at the Premier Division, but his success was modest.

Garraway’s continued involvement in softball cricket at the Ontario Softball Cricket League annual competition in the East End Conference A category for Gt Bannas Cricket Club is a manifestation of his love and passion for cricket.

“I enjoy my game in Canada again both hard and softball, definitely I would be back here next year to be part of the action; competitions are exciting and stiff and my game is improving in all aspects generally,” Garraway, who plays for Demerara Cricket Club in Guyana, explained.

Reggae Boyz defeat TT to take TT’s Strike Squad commemorates Silver Jubilee 2014 Caribbean Cup

P

M

Members of Jamaica’s national senior team, the Reggae Boyz, celebrate after winning the Caribbean Cup on Tuesday in Montego Bay as a dejected Khaleem Hyland, who missed the last penalty for Trinidad and Tobago, makes his way off the pitch.

ONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA: Jamaica were crowned champions of the Caribbean Football Union Caribbean Cup after outscoring Trinidad and Tobago 4-3 on penalties in front of a vociferous home crowd at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Tuesday.

After neither team was able to find the target during 90 minutes of regulation plus 30 minutes of extra time, goalkeeper Andre Blake gave Jamaica the ideal start in the shoot-out when he saved the penalty of Trinidad and Tobago captain Kenwyne Jones.

Jermaine Taylor, Jobi

McAnuff, Demar Phillips and captain Rodolph Austin, who was named man-of-the-match, were on target for the Reggae Boyz, who were winning their sixth title. Teenager Michael Seaton was the only Jamaican player to miss from 12 yards.

It was a courageous effort from the Boyz, who were the better team for much of the game, as they created the better scoring opportunities, but just couldn't find the target.

It was Jamaica's first win since lifting the trophy under the guidance of coach Theodore Whitmore in Martinique in 2010.

The Boyz have now qual-

ified for the eagerly anticipated special edition of the Copa America Centenario, which is the 100th anniversary of the South American Championships. Under a special arrangement, six teams from CONCACAF plus the 10 South American nations will participate.

The Boyz had earlier qualified for next summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup, and after plummeting down the FIFA rankings to 113th, their gutsy performance proved the ideal response, giving German coach Winfried Schaefer his first title since being appointed head coach. (Jamaica Observer)

ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: The 1989 Strike Squad will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the end of their dream of qualifying for the Italy World Cup in 1990 on Wednesday with a courtesy call to the President Anthony Carmona as well as a series of promotional events.

The Strike Squad will also host a Walk for Peace, Love and Unity on Saturday starting at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Portof-Spain at 9 and members of the public are invited to come out and support.

Speaking with TT media on Tuesday, ex-national defender Brian Williams expressed great pride to be part of local football history.

“It’s a great achievement.

After November 19 (1990) we want to give back our knowledge. Everyone who played that day (vs USA) is alive and most of us are coaching or involved in the sport we love.

We set a foundation and we want to extend our appreciation to the public for all the love they’ve showed us,” he said.

The dreadlocked former defender said he is proud to see the national women’s team on the cusp of creating history by qualifying for the 2015 World Cup in Canada.

“We feel great being part of the foundation and keeping the dream alive - the dream of football in general,” he said.

Asked whether he feels regret or disappointment 25 years later for missing out on the World Cup in Italy, Williams admitted that he still gets emotional thinking about it but says he has no regrets.

“I won’t say regret. Not playing in the World Cup was a disappointment because players always want to play at the highest level and the World Cup is the highest level. Our victory though is when the present men and women’s team win,” he said.

The ex-defender turn coach said the Soca Warriors 2006 qualification was a source of great pride to him and being the smallest country in the world to ever achieve that feat still makes him proud.

The 1989 Strike Squad: Clayton “JB” Morris (captain), Philbert Jones, Hutson “Baba” Charles, Marlon Morris, Dwight Yorke, Marvin Faustin, Russell Latapy, Colvin Hutchinson, Paul Elliott Allen, Leroy Spann, Leonson Lewis, Kerry Jamerson, Kelvin Jones, Earl “Spiderman” Carter, Dexter Francis, Floyd “Ninja” Lawrence, Michael “Brow” Maurice, Brian Williams, Maurice Alibey, Ricky Nelson, Errol “Yankee” Lovell, Everald “Gally” Cummings (Coach), Neville Chance (Assistant Coach), Oliver Camps (Manager), Dr Rawle Sylvester (Team Doctor), Ken Henry (Trainer) and Lester Osuna (Physio). (TT Newsday)

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