Caribbean Times International

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ISSUE NO. 138

CANADA EDITION

Dr. Narendra Singh appointed Chief of Staff at Humber River Hospital

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WEEK ENDING March 12, 2015

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Dr. Narendra Singh

Large turnout at Babu Jaan reflects growing political awareness Page 10 of Guyanese - President

Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar addressing the large gathering on Sunday at Babu Jaan to commemorate the death anniversary of the late President, Dr Cheddi Jagan and Mrs Janet Jagan

Jamaica attracts US$700m in FDI

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TT’s finance centre joins hands with Canada’s Page 10 financial services

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Dr. Narendra Singh appointed Chief of Staff at Humber River Hospital

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O R O N T O , CANADA: On February 25th the Board of Directors of Humber River Hospital announced that Dr. Narendra Singh had been appointed as the Hospital’s new Chief of Staff. Dr. Singh has been a member of the Medical Staff at Humber River Hospital since June of 1999, most recently serving as Chief of Pediatrics and Interim Chief of Staff. His appointment as Chief was effective on March 1st.

As Chief of Pediatrics, Dr. Singh’s leadership played a vital role in Humber River’sPediatric Program being named one of the top performing hospitals in Ontario for Pediatric Patient Experience in the justreleased National

Research Corporation Canada (NRCC) Patient Experience Survey. The Program achieved a perfect 100% Positive Score for overall care – an outstanding achievement considering the NRCC Survey results are based on the perceptions of patients who received care in the Program.

Outside of Humber River Hospital, Dr. Singh is the founder and driving force behind Guyana Help the Kids (GHTK), a charitable organization based in Toronto dedicated to reducing infant mortality in Guyana.

Along with several of his medical colleagues at Humber River Hospital, other partners from McMaster, Sick Kids and Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, as well as financial

Dr. Narendra Singh appointed as the Hospital’s new Chief of Staff at Humber River Hospital

support from many organizations and individuals in Ontario and beyond, GHTK has significantly modernized neo-natal care in Guyana.

Aside from the assistance that Humber River Hospital has provided to GHTK, it has been in-

strumental in working with the Vishnu Mandir and Dr. Doobay in the establishment of the very successful dialysis program in Guyana. This affordable program is now the largest, most successful dialysis program in the country and has saved countless patients that would otherwise have died from Kidney failure.

As a result of the fund raising effort and selfless contribution of Dr. Narendra Singh and the entire supporting team over the past five years, there is now a fully equipped technologicallyadvanced Level 3 NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at the Georgetown Public Hospital and

Level 2 NICUs at the four Regional Hospitals in Guyana.

In an effort to evaluate the ongoing processes objectively and to ensure that the various interventions have benefited infant mortality, GHTK has embarked on other specific research projects, the first included “The impact of an infection control policy on the incidence of nosocomial infections and mortality at GPHC (Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation).”

GHTK has already demonstrated a 40% drop in neonatal mortality and infections in the NICU at GPHC during the first year, Dr. Singh concluded.

As Chief of Staff of Humber River Hospital Dr. Singh will serve as Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee and will work closely with the Senior Management Team to further enhance the quality of patient care already provided by the hospital’s medical staff.

Dr. Singh will also play a vital role in the hospital’s transition planning work as it prepares to move to its’ new facility this coming October

18th. Designed from the ground up to be Lean, Green and Digital, this ground-breaking building, North America’s first fully digital hospital, has redefined how acute care hospitals in Canada are planned and constructed.

Throughout the entire process, the care, and caring, of patients has been paramount. The result: a hospital facility that connects patients and families with their health information and their care team like never before. It has become a model for healthcare planners, and governments and healthcare organizations from around the world have come to Ontario looking to learn from their experience.

Dr. Singh will help lead the hospital’s medical staff of over 600 physicians through these final months as they prepare for life as doctors in a new hospital unlike any other on the continent. The hospital’s website has much more information available to readers at www.hrh.ca/ redevelopment.

Congratulations to Dr. Singhas he assumes his new responsibilities at Humber River Hospital.

PetroCaribe not dead

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: The Venezuelan Government, amidst its own cash flow turmoil, has committed to strengthen the PetroCaribe agreement with Jamaica, regardless of the price of crude oil.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year warned Caribbean and Latin American countries that have co-operation agreements, such as PetroCaribe, with Venezuela, that it could mean trouble for their economies if the South American country's external liquidity problems get worse.

But minister of science, technology, energy, and mining, Phillip Paulwell told the Jamaican media that Venezuela had made it clear at a special heads of state meeting in Caracas last week that its agreement with Jamaica was on solid footing. He represented Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller at the meeting.

Among the critical arrangements put on the table at the meeting was a bilateral agreement to speed up the expansion of the state oil refinery, to phase out the use of heavy fuel oil.

He noted that this ties into the Government's 360 megawatt project, which will see three plants generating power using ethane, LNG, and coal.

"The JPSCo now uses heavy fuel oil and diesel substantially for the generation of electricity. These new plants won't be using those products. They will be looking at ethane, LNG, and in one instance it could be coal," Paulwell said.

Paulwell said so far, the Jamaican Government has sold clinker, valued at more than US$20 million, under the trade compensation mechanism. The trading of clinker represents the repayment of a portion of the island's oil debt to Venezuela, which stood at approximately US$2.5 billion up to the end of 2013.

Carib Cement Company supplies Venezuela with the material, which is a common element of Portland cement.

The provisions of the PetrocCaribe economic zone are to be finalised at the 10th anniversary summit of the agreement, to be held in Jamaica later this year. (Jamaica Observer)

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EDITORIAL

US-Venezuela contretemps

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he week before last Christmas, US President Barack Obama signed legislation into law allowing him to sanction Venezuelan Government officials, who in their estimation were involved in a crackdown on anti-Government protesters.

This Bill was intended to offer additional options to turn the screws on the Maduro regime that went beyond those utilised since 2002, when the US via the efforts of the International Republican Institute (IRI) assisted the Opposition in a short lived coup against Hugo Chávez.

Venezuela sits on the world’s largest reservoir of oil and the leftist Chávez regime had ousted a Government that had continued the friendly relations forged with the US even before WWII. As in most Latin American countries, several of those Governments had been dictatorships and all were oligarchies ruling over a poverty stricken majority.

Chávez’s populist urge to “redistribute the wealth of the country to the poor” led him to remove control over its oil industry

by American multinationals and this had not gone down well with the US. Only last October Exxon had won a US$1.6 billion award against Venezuela for seized assets.

The December bill authorised sanctions that could freeze the assets of and ban visas for anyone accused of carrying out acts of violence or violating the human rights of those opposing the Venezuelan Government.

Maduro defiantly said at the time that sanctions was a “crazy” path for the US to take. He had demanded that the US reduce its diplomatic staff from 100 to 17, the same number allowed to Venezuela by the US. In the preceding summer, the State Department had already imposed a travel ban on Venezuelan officials who were accused of abuses during street protests that left 43 persons dead.

Yesterday, the other foot dropped in the escalating tensions between the two countries when the Obama Administration utilised the recently enacted law to impose sanctions on seven Venezuelan officials for alleged human rights violations, calling the country’s actions a threat to national security.

According to a White House statement, the sanctions target “Venezuelan officials past and present who violate the human rights of Venezuelan citizens and engage in acts of public corruption”.

They will have their “assets and their use of US financial systems blocked.

It is ironic that these increasing pressures against Venezuela, which could lead to all-out sanctions – even though this move is unlikely – are being applied at a time when the 55-year-old economic embargo and sanctions against Cuba are being loosened.

Critics also say that the US may be playing into Maduro’s hands since his own crackdown against critics might have been intended to provoke just such an action. Sanctions by the US would rally Maduro’s lower class base, which has recently become somewhat alienated because of economic hardships, in a patriotic movement against “Yankee imperialism”.

From a Guyanese standpoint, we are caught in a delicate situation. The new rice deal with Venezuela signed last week should remind us of the credit facility and rice-for-oil barter arrangement that is so crucial for our burgeoning rice industry.

While the Venezuelan Government of Maduro indicated to local office of Exxon their displeasure over the drilling for oil that has commenced off our Essequibo Coast, analysts believe that this might merely be pro forma since his Opposition has savagely attacked his regime for continuing Chávez’ more conciliatory approach to the border controversy.

It is not in our interest for the tensions between Venezuela and the US to move beyond the diplomatic arena. But it may be also the right time for the Government, as it has signalled, to move more expeditiously from the UN Secretary General “good offices” process to a judicial settlement at the World Court.

On this issue there is bi-partisan agreement, since the latter process had also been proposed by the People’s National Congress (PNC).

New Castle, St. Andrew Jamaica (Our Jamaica photo)

Jazz under the sun in TT

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: When this group of jazz-loving friends decided 13 years ago to take the chance at producing a festival scaled jazz event, little did they know that what they were doing was creating what would evolve into an annual tradition.

The “Jazz Artistes on the Greens (JAOTG)” has over the years developed into what is considered to be the only true jazz festival in the region as the other major events advertised as jazz festivals offer more pop, funk, hip-hop and reggae music than jazz.

The JAOTG on the other hand, always presents signature jazz singers and musicians who perform from contemporary and middle-of-the-road jazz to classic jazz standards, experimental jazz, Caribbean jazz featuring the steelpan and also fusions of soca and much more.

This insistence on offering true jazz at the JAOTG has served the producers well since the event always attracts what can be considered a large turnout. This is because jazz music fans look forward to the evening, one because of the quality of performances expected and two, because of the atmosphere created at the venue by Production One Limited.

Jazz music enthusiasts prefer to enjoy live performances in an interactive setting where they are free to express their appreciation for the music in whatever way they feel. They also like being able to sip on their personal choice of beverage and nibble on what they like, when they want to, so therefore the open air setting of the JAOTG is perfect.

The 2015 edition of the JAOTG takes place on March 21 at the WASA compound, St Joseph from 3 p.m. The lineup includes American steelpan

jazz fusion artiste, Jonathan Scales alongside his group, Fourchestra; local jazz guitarist, Clifford Charles and friends; former Digicel Rising Star winner, Kay Alleyne and Bajan saxophonist, Arturo Tappin.

One may observe that there is an absence of any of the elders of the local jazz circuit in the line-up of the JAOTG this year, Production One member, Nigel Campbell told the media that this is because of the direction in which the festival is being driven. He said more young people have been attending the event in recent years and Production One wants to build on this.

“More young people have been coming out to the event of late and we wanted to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

Remember, we are a private business not a Government supported agency and therefore we have to turn a profit to stay in business. Since we moved to the Greens at WASA, we have had to rebuild our audience because we lost some people when we made the move from UWI. We had to make the move.”

“We have not forgotten our roots or abandoned our core supporters both the patrons and the artistes. We are seeking to expand the event and when we have gotten to a certain place, we will have a greater mix of artistes. The line-up of artistes this year will deliver a really good mix of jazz that everyone will enjoy and appreciate,” Campbell said.

More than the music the JAOTG offers the chance for a good old lime in which patrons are invited to walk with their beach/lounge chairs, blankets and even large rugs and spread them out and relax. Coolers and food are welcome, in fact encouraged by the producers who are also providing a full service bar and food court offering from

local culinary favourites to international cuisine.

“The idea is for everyone to be as comfortable as possible.

We will have a bar and food court, but patrons can bring their own food and drinks because we know some people will have a preference, especially in the wine they wish to drink. There is this one guy who comes with a small table every year that he sets up with fruit, wines and other foods.”

“There will also be a Production One concession booth where we will have among other things, CDs from the artistes performing and also other Caribbean jazz music including pan jazz. Other concession booths will have other items on sale. To make things easy for the patrons we will have a mobile ATM machine and also the facility for the vendors to have Linx,” Campbell said.

Jonathan Scales is an American pannist and composer who has thus far recorded and produced five albums, the most recent being Mixtape Symphony, released in 2014 on Ropeadope Records. The album features guest performances

by Victor Wooten and Howard Levy. Since 2007, Scales has recorded and performed with Victor Wooten, Howard Levy, The Duhks, Roy “Future Man” Wooten, Jeff Coffin, Jeff Sipe, Casey Driessen, Oteil Burbridge, Kofi Burbridge, and Yonrico Scott.

Whenever you ask what’s his passion Trinidadian jazz guitarist Clifford Charles with eyes glinting declares,” It’s music or nothing”. Charles has performed at some of the top jazz festivals in the Caribbean including the Jazz Artists on The Greens, We Beat Jazz, Jazz Point, Tobago Jazz Festival and St Lucia Jazz Festival. He has shared the stage with Randy Crawford, Joe Sample and the Drifters. (TT Express)

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Canada-Guyana Medical Rowley supports The Partnerships Coalition (C-GMPC) Antigua over TT hosts Fundraising Auction

Commonwealth secretary general post

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: The Opposition PNM is supporting Antigua’s proposed candidate for the post of Commonwealth secretary general and has called on the Prime Minister to withdraw TT’s proposed candidate, Planning Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie.

PNM leader Keith Rowley made the call at a media briefing on Monday at the offices of the Opposition, Port-ofSpain.

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran last week confirmed there was no decision on the post at the Caricom leaders’ Intersessional meeting in the Bahamas last month.

Leaders were scheduled to discuss whom— among three Caribbeanborn candidates including Tewarie—to support for the post.

Rowley claimed on Tuesday Tewarie was “relatively unknown in the region and Commonwealth as a diplomat, had no experience in diplomacy and Commonwealth affairs and is a poor candidate”. He claimed the only Government supporting Tewarie was TT’s and called on the PM to withdraw the “unsuitable candidate.”

On Tuesday, Dookeran said he couldn’t substantiate if only TT was supporting Tewarie or who else was, since that was a discussion being done by the leaders.

Ron Sanders

Rowley claimed nine of the 12 states were supporting Antigua’s Ron Sanders. In a statement after the media briefing, Rowley said the PNM fully supported Sanders whom he said was the quintessential regional man. He said if TT didn’t have a superior candidate it should have backed another who had support so when TT needed support on other things, it would receive it.

Accusing Government of nepotism and cronyism on the candidate issue, he said TT’s candidate for the African, Caribbean and Pacific secretary general post Dr Hamid Ghany failed “spectacularly to be elected last year.

Rowley also called on the Prime Minister to clear the air on “what’s happening “in Chaguaramas. He said 75 acres were given to a COP member who’s now forming a party.

Last year, Rowley complained (now ex— COPer) Joe Pires got land there.”“And now we’re hearing all kinds of developments in Chaguaramas,” Rowley added.

He said the C h a g u a r a m a s Development Authority said the Chaguaramas Convention Centre wasn’t being sold but was being leased. He said leases were for 30 years in some areas but the CDA was “trying to fool people” by saying “lease” when the issue was “disposal of assets,” He said the PM, recently answering a question on it, didn’t give terms of the lease. On plans for a PNM march in Chaguaramas, Rowley said the PNM would await information on the land issue before finalising its action.

“This Government is a kleptocracy who came to get what TT has to offer,” he claimed.

Rowley expressed concern about SIS Ltd using Caroni lands, slamming Lands Minister Jairam Seemungal on that and the Commissioner of State lands.

Saying state institutions were failing, he said he’d waited two years for the police regarding the Emailgate probe and also hadn’t heard anything on a probe of racist placards in a PNM march a couple years ago. He voiced similar concern about the judiciary on recent events where former AG Anand Ramlogan had claimed victory in an Emailgate judgment. He said the public was tired of issues concerning the PM, President, judiciary, Police Commissioner and Integrity Commission.

(TT Guardian)

Jamaica attracts US$700m in FDI

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: Jamaica attracted US$707 million (J$81.3 billion) in foreign direct investments (FDI) over 12 months ending September 2014, according to the recently published Quarterly International Investment Position report from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ).

The preliminary FDI inflows for the period

largely reflected new equity inflows for infrastructure and tourism projects, stated the BOJ. "Furthermore, the inflows of new equity FDI is an indication that foreign investment projects are still in the expansion phase as opposed to the saturation phase when FDI inflows would have largely reflected reinvested earnings," added the BOJ.

The FDI of US$707 million reflects the rise in stock of direct investment liabilities to US$13,333 million from US$12,626 million a year earlier, according to tables in the report.

The annual flows, however, still trail levels prior to the 2008 Western financial crisis which averaged US$800 million per annum. (Jamaica Observer)

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The Canada-Guyana Medical Partnerships Coalition (C-GMPC) on February 28, 2015, held its annual fundraiser and silent auction. This activity raised Gy$5,694,498 (Five million six hundred and ninety four thousand four hundred and ninety eight dollars) Guyanese dollars which will support the establishment of the Family Medicine For Guyana Inc. Family Medicine for Guyana Inc. is a registered Guyanese charity whose main purpose is to support the work of the inaugural Family Medicine Residency Program for Guyana. This program is a collaborative effort between the Universities of Ottawa and Guyana, the Institute of Health Sciences Education and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation to build on the endeavours of the Governments of Canada and Guyana to improve primary health care delivery in Guyana.

Specifically, it will support the development and delivery of an inaugural family medicine residency training programme that will see 18 family medicine specialists providing compre-

High Commissioner of Canada to Guyana, Dr Nicole Giles delivering remarks at the Fundraiser and Silent Auction

hensive, patient-centred, community-based care, and another 30 residents in training by the year 2020.

The Canada-Guyana Medical Partnerships Coalition is an informal grouping of the numerous Canadian-Guyanese medical outreach groups working to identify and address health care needs in Guyana.

Established in 2014, by the High Commission of Canada with the support of the Ministry of Health, the C-GMPC is intended to promote a culture of working together to explore and benefit from synergies among the different medical programs to ensure coordination and force

maximisation of resources. The Canada-Guyana Medical Partnerships Coalition has grown to 12 Canadian-Guyanese notfor-profit organisations that deliver medical outreach programs and 40 medical professionals, with more joining every month. The Medical Partnerships Coalition has helped its members identify and access possible sources of funding, and discover common challenges in the implementation of health care improvement interventions.

Warm thanks are extended to all the companies and partners who have supported us and contributed to this event being a success.

Dominica PM wants more debate on marijuana issue

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OSEAU, DOMINICA: Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says he is not completely sold on the idea of decriminalising small amounts of marijuana as regional countries debate the issue.

Speaking on the state-owned DBS radio, Skerrit asked what would be done with the “excess’ if the authorities agree to enact legislation allowing for the use of small quantities of the illegal drug.

“What do you do with the excess, and you don’t want to be encouraging the trafficking of this drug to other countries and what would be your relationship with the rest of the world?”

He said, in Colorado in the United States where the drug has been decriminalised concerns are being raised by many other states “about the amount of marijuana coming from Colorado to their own states and is creating a problem for them.

Prime Minister Skerrit said it is not just about legalising the drug, but

“it is about having a serious discussion and allowing different views to contend and let us see what is the best way forward.

“But I think it is important for us to look at taking small steps with regards to the marijuana issue,” he told radio listeners.

Last month, Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart said that Caribbean leaders had established a committee to examine all issues of the marijuana debate since regional countries would not want to wake up one morning and have to be importing marijuana from the United States where the product has been decriminalized in some states.

He acknowledged that the region was being spurred forward by the developments unfolding in North America.

But Prime Minister Stuart was clear to indicate that “this is not to say that we [are] going to blindly rush into legalising marijuana”. (CMC)

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www.caribbeantimesinternational.com | WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015

PM sees big potential for nutraceutical industry in Jamaica

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I N G S T O N , JAMAICA: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller has pointed to significant possible economic benefits from the development of the nutraceutical industry in Jamaica. Mrs. Simpson Miller was speaking at the formal launch of the industry at Hope Gardens on Thursday.

The Prime Minister outlined that thousands of new jobs can be created through mass cultivation and employment in labs and processing plants, noting that there is the potential for increased revenue from the greater earning power of new workers. Mrs. Simpson Miller also pointed out that “there will be more foreign exchange through greater exports and the development of medical tourism.”

It is against that background that the Prime Minister said that her Administration has moved to formalize and support the industry. “This is

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller (left), converses with National Director General for Science and Technology, Professor Errol Morrison, at the launch of the National Nutraceutical Industry, at the Hope Zoo in St. Andrew

an integral part of a national strategic approach for ensuring economic growth, development and job creation.”

In this regard, the National Commission on Science & Technology is leading an effort to regularize and develop a sustainable industry.

Prime Minister Simpson Miller also revealed that an Industry board will work to facilitate, nurture, monitor, assist and empower small and large businesses to realize the remarkable potential. She emphasized that all the relevant government agencies must

adopt a streamlined and focused approach to providing assistance and support to the industry. These agencies include the Scientific Research Council, Government Chemist, the intellectual Property Office, the Business Development Corporation, the Bureau of Standards and JAMPRO. “We must examine the existing institutions and reposition them to be responsive to the needs of this nontraditional industry,” Mrs. Simpson Miller added.

The Prime Minister also informed that a partnership was being established with the Jamaica 4H Movement to engage Jamaica's youth.

“Some 85,000 young people in 4H Clubs across the country (Jamaica) will benefit from the opportunities along the value chain,” the Prime Minister said. The partnership will focus on the establishment of green houses and gardens and strengthening 4H programmes within some correctional insti-

tutions.

With the launch, Jamaica will be joining more than 50 countries that officially recognize nutraceuticals as a national industry. In fact, the launch represents the start of a new system to encourage, regulate and monitor production locations, processes and products to ensure that they meet national and international standards.

The Prime Minister commended Professor Errol Morrison and Dr. Henry Lowe for the groundbreaking work they have already done to enhance the development of the industry. She also recognized the practitioners and stakeholders who have pushed ahead despite the odds.

The global nutraceutical industry is projected to be valued at Ja$600 billion by 2018.

Notably, there are 160 plants known and declared worldwide as having medicinal properties. Of that number 86 are endemic to Jamaica.(JIS)

Former Guyanese soldier executed

By Gomatie Gangadin

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : Political activist Courtney Ewing Crum was on Tuesday evening

executed at the end of Third Street Diamond, East Coast Demerara while urging residents to vote at the upcoming elections.

In a statement police

said that at about 20:00h Crum-Ewing, 40 years, of Golden Grove, EBD, was walking along the roadway at Third Street, Diamond, EBD, when a car with four men drove up from which

shots were discharged at him, after which the men escaped.

Crum-Ewing was hit to his body and was taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where he was pronounced dead on arrival, the police statement read, adding that investigations are in progress.

Ewing Crum, an ex Guyana Defence Force soldier, grabbed attention some months ago after being the lone protester outside of the Ministry of Legal Affairs calling for the resignation of the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, after the taped conversation between Minister and Kaieteur News’ reporter, Leonard Gildharie went viral.

According to the now dead man’s mother, she was out when she received a call from her daughter explaining that her son

was just shot dead.

“My daughter called me and tell me that the Police call her and tell her that her brother get killed.

I don’t know anything else.

Oww… I don’t know anything else,” the woman cried.

His stepfather, who spoke to the Guyana Times related that he was in central Georgetown when he too received a call from a relative informing him that Ewing- Crum had been shot.

The man noted that it was only on Tuesday midday that he last saw him alive and he was in good spirits.

The family is contending that the shooting was orchestrated and the man was taken there and killed since according to the stepfather, Ewing Crum had never before ventured into that area and it was a puzzle to the family as to

how he ended up in such a place.

Attorney at law, Nigel Hughes, who was on the scene immediately after, claimed that according to reports he received, Ewing Crum was in the street with a public announcement system encouraging voters to head to the polls on May 11 and vote when a silver-white Toyota 212 pulled up and four men exited the vehicle and approached the now dead man.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre.

M e a n w h i l e , Commander of ‘A’ Division, Clifton Hicken, who was present at the scene, told the media that detectives have received information with regards to the license plate number of the car and road blocks were set up. (Guyana Times)

Hunting ban in TT to be lifted soon P ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: The two-year ban on hunting will be lifted in October following the completion of a national wildlife survey, Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar announced on Monday.

“The survey is the first of its kind, and has been established to take advantage of the moratorium on hunting to collect data that would allow for a better understanding of the state of our wildlife resources,” PersadBissessar said at a political meeting in Barrackpore.

She said the survey was designed to “ascertain baseline data on game mammals in Trinidad and Tobago, and

with subsequent surveys, provide the basis for monitoring trends in population levels through trained community persons and retraining local hunters to collect data on species and their habitat.”

“A hunting moratorium was implemented in October 2013 for a period of two years. In October 2015 the ban expires and following consultation with (Environment and Water Resources) Minister Ganga Singh, I am happy to announce that it is our intention that hunting will be reintroduced at the end of the moratorium in accordance with the data and findings,” she said. (TT Newsday)

News WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015

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Guyana launches public - private partnership to support alternative energy in rice industry

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: On Friday the first test run of a gasifier producing alternative energy using rice husk was conducted in a rice mill on the Essequibo Coast.

This is part of the future transformation within the rice industry.

As part of the Low Carbon Development Strategy, Guyana has embarked on a programme for alternative energy sources and for the reduction of Guyana’s dependency on fossil fuel.

This approach is not only from a cost perspective and the instability of fossil fuel prices, but also a programme to reduce carbon emission.

The agriculture sector is designed to ensure we play a significant part in Guyana’s carbon footprint successes.

In this regards, the Government of the Republic of Guyana (GoG) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on May 25, 2011, to provide support as Guyana im-

plements its climate initiatives and Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). Under phase II activities it is proposed to carry out technical studies in various sectors including the rice sector to achieve energy efficiency, cost reduction and reduced carbon emission.

During initial studies, TERI identified that the energy cost component in direct expenses is over 35% in rice mills.

The cost of energy accounts close to US $15.50 per metric tonne of paddy processed. It is mainly due to the use of diesel for power generation.

Some rice mills are using wood as fuel to meet thermal energy demand, but minimal use is made of rice husk. Because the rice husk is not used, it becomes an environmental problem of enormous proportion.

Energy management and conservation is an important tool to help the rice industry to meet its critical objectives for short - term and longterm goals. Enhanced energy efficient technologies for design and ret-

On Friday the first test run of a gasifier producing alternative energy using rice husk was conducted in a rice mill on the Essequibo Coast, Guyana

rofits of rice mills have been identified to im-

prove energy efficiency, lower the industry’s de-

pendence on fossil fuel, reduce the environmental impact, reduce carbon emission and lower cost of production.

Energy efficient studies were conducted at six rice mills to date and a best practice was developed for each rice mill. In this second phase, energy audits are being offered cost-free to all rice mills.

During that process a pilot case study to use gasifier (or) conventional boiler/turbine combination to produce power as co-generation to meet its heat and power requirements was installed.

From the pilot project we derived a bankable model, which can allow major rice mills to go in for cogeneration plant investment.

Ramlakhan and Sons Rice Mill at Ex-mouth, Essequibo Coast, was the first to take the initiative and purchase a gasification plant. The plant arrived late last year and the installation and successful testing have recently been completed.

The rice husk will fuel the gasifier and the gases emitted are cleaned of

solid particles, tar/carbon and water/moisture, and directed into the combustion chambers of a 250 kW powergen set, replacing 70 % of the diesel required to run the genset.

Mr. Ramlakhan said it will greatly reduce his energy cost and improve his viability in a time when rice prices on the international market are on the decline.

This will also allow him to keep paying a competitive price to the farmers for their paddy, thus also enabling them to remain profitable.

This is a true Public Private Partnership, as we continue to look for innovative ways in keeping the momentum of the positive growth in the rice sector.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Agriculture is working with other rice millers for an across the board conversion to gasification.

In addition, the first rice cereal factory and rice flour factory will be established in Guyana.

Guyana is already finalising market for rice flour. (GINA)

UWI students seek Jamaican Diahann Gordon appointed National Rapporteur removal of Returning Officer in TT on Trafficking in Persons

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- 1st in Caribbean

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: Children's Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison has been appointed as the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons.

This appointment, according to the Ministry of National Security, makes Jamaica the first Caribbean nation to embrace this approach.

In making the announcement Tuesday, the Ministry said this move can only serve to enhance Jamaica's anti-trafficking profile and exhibits the seriousness with which the Government regards the issue.

One of the primary functions of the National Rapporteur, as noted by the Ministry, will be to create a more objective reporting system on the issue of trafficking in Jamaica.

In addition, the National Rapporteur will, inter alia, have the authority to obtain from the relevant authorities, including the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Trafficking in Persons, TIP Unit in the Jamaica Constabulary Force, any information necessary to carry out her stated duties; to conduct independent examinations/investigations of reports of alleged instances of human trafficking

Children's Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison (File photo)

where the need arises; to report on violations, wherever they may occur, of the rights of victims, as well as discrimination, threats or use of violence, harassment, intimidation or reprisals directed at persons exercising these rights; and to provide an analytical overview of the situation in trafficking in an annual report to the Government.

These powers of the National Rapporteur are consistent with internationally accepted best

practice and are parallel to National Rapporteur mechanisms in other jurisdictions, the Ministry said.

The Ministry added that the Government is confident that the independence attached to the Children's Advocate by virtue of statute, coupled with the fact that the Children's Advocate already has a direct reporting channel to the Houses of Parliament, makes this appointment a good fit. (Jamaica Observer)

O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: Two days before the University of the West Indies (UWI) Guild Elections, a group of concerned students at the (UWI) is seeking the removal of the Returning Officer of the Guild of Students Nigel Thomas, who the students found to be unfit to hold the position.

In a press release issued by a group of students, they stated that Thomas has started the election process with total disregard for the Guild Constitution, and the rules of how the elections should be executed as outlined in the constitution.

In addition, they also stated that according to a story that was published in a newspaper, Thomas was arrested for obstructing a passageway in the past, and was fined a fee of TT$600 for breaking the law.

The statement went on to say that the Returning Officer has taken it upon himself to create rules that prevent certain students from contesting positions in

the elections.

Speaking with the TT media, Public Relations Officer for the UWI Guild of Students, Nikolai Edwards said that he could not agree with the group because if the allegations toward Thomas were true, he should not be implicated for this, because at that point he was a student.

Edwards emphasised that Thomas has an excellent relationship with Administration and he do not think it compromises his ability to carry through a proper election on behalf of the Guild of Students.

When contacted Returning Officer of the Guild of Students Nigel Thomas said he was not aware of the statement made by the group of students, or could not verify who were the students. However, he said he was not surprised by the remarks made by the group of students because of the up-coming elections.

The annual UWI Guild elections on the St Augustine campus, takes place on Thursday from 8am to 8pm. (TT Newsday)

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www.caribbeantimesinternational.com | WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015

Wind, biomass and hydro sources Head of human rights in St Vincent defends cheaper than solar energy decision to sue media — Jamaican technocrat

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: More and more Jamaicans have been making the switch from oil-powered sources to solar energy in recent times, but a technocrat in the Climate Change Division of the environment ministry revealed on Monday that energy generated from wind, biomass and hydro sources outrank that which comes from the sun.

The preference for solar among the general population, he reasoned, had to do with the fact that it doesn’t require the type of longterm studies that wind, hydro and biomass do; so where solar loses in terms of cost, it wins in terms of ease of set-up and installation.

“People do go towards solar a lot because it’s famous.

It’s been around for a while [and] it’s very easy to deploy [but] solar might not be the first place Jamaicans should look,” technical officer in the division Gerald Lindo told Jamaican media.

He based his conclusion on the results of tender documents submitted to the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) bidding to supply some 115 megawatts of electricity to the grid.

Of a total 20 bids received in 2013, Blue Mountain Renewables LLC, Wigton Windfarm Limited and WRB Enterprises Inc were chosen as preferred bidders.

Gerald Lindo, technical officer in the Climate Change Division of the Environment Ministry, addressing the Jamaican media on Monday

Blue Mountain and Wigton were to supply 34 and 24 megawatts of wind, respectively, while WRB was to provide 20 megawatts using solar PV. “If you look at the results of the last renewable energy tender, for instance, or at the bidding documents the OUR prepared, or some of the studies that the Ministry of Energy did, you’d see that solar is the most expensive renewable form of energy that we have available in Jamaica today.

It’s beaten by biomass, it’s beaten by waste-to-en-

ergy, it’s beaten by hydro, certainly, and it’s beaten by wind,” Lindo said.

“The results of the last one showed that the two cheapest ones were two wind plants (which will cost) close to 13 or 14 cents. The solar plant, the third-placed measure, was somewhere around 17 or 18 cents,” he added.

The high cost relative to wind and hydro-electricity notwithstanding, Lindo said there is a place for solar in the island’s renewable energy mix.

“If we’re getting to the 20 per cent target that the Ministry of Energy has set, then even after

you exhaust the cheaper forms of renewable energy you will need solar to make up that 20 or 30 per cent.

So solar will have a role [and] it is good that the price continues to drop,” he said.

Also on Monday, Lindo and his colleague technocrats — Albert Daley, head of the Climate Change Division; Dr Orville Grey, technical officer in the division; and Jeffrey Spooner, head of the Meteorological Services of Jamaica’s Climate Branch agreed that Government’s planned 360 MW fossil fuel plant was a good idea.

Asked if the move was in line with Jamaica's stated objective of cutting carbon emissions to mitigate the effects of global warming and climate change, Lindo referenced the age and inefficiency of existing plants and the risk they pose to carbon pollution and human health.

“The things that we’ve had in place, beyond the fact that they are way past their sell by dates, so to speak, they burn heavy fuel oil, which ranks high in terms of emissions; not just emissions with global warming potential, but emissions which harm human health... so if we replace what we have with what is planned, it will reduce Jamaica’s emissions by quite a bit.

It will reduce cost as well,” he said. (Jamaica Observer)

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INGSTOWN, ST VINCENT: President of the Human Rights Association (HRA) Nicole Sylvester is defending the decision to sue three media houses, saying the legal action should not be regarded as an anti-human rights stance.

"It is absolutely not.

It is very critical because of what was at the stake and crux of the issue, that I disclosed -- that is what the allegation made -- the whereabouts of a witness who was in a witness protection programme," Sylvester told the Caribbean media.

Attorney Kay Bacchus-Browne has filed the lawsuits on behalf of Sylvester against Star FM, a radio station owned by the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP), as well as the Searchlight and The Vincentian newspapers.

The lawsuit comes after the media houses accused Sylvester, an attorney, of disclosing the whereabouts of a female in a witness protection programme during a murder trial some years ago.

Sylvester said she decided to sue because the media houses refused and/or failed to apologise as requested.

Hans King, press secretary to Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, trade unionist and political activist Joseph "Burns" Bonadie, and WE FM, a privately owned radio station, apologised for broadcasting the allegation and settled with Sylvester,

paying her an undisclosed sum of money.

"I never knew the location of the witness in the first place. I pursued cross-examination of the witnesses and I said, and I will say again, because the statement that was served on me said the location of the witness," but Sylvester said.

"Nowhere did I speak about the address of the witness. It was said that I disclosed their whereabouts. And on that basis I had to draw the line, because I respect the rights of a witness in a witness protection programme, and I will certainly not tolerate that message being sent out," she told the Caribbean media.

"Certainly, Hans King apologised, "Burns" Bonadie apologised, WE FM did as well, and as a result of that, a certain settlement was arrived at. The issue is live with Searchlight, Vincentian and Star FM and I will not comment on those issues, because that matter is sub judice," she further said.

Sylvester said all the parties involved were given an opportunity to apologise and avoid a lawsuit.

"I didn't want anyone to save me. What I did not want as president of the Human Rights is to allow the Human Rights Association to be tarnished by saying that this is what the president did. And I certainly will go down defending the rights of human rights," Sylvester told the Caribbean media.

(Caribbean news)

Guyana to secure additional 10,000 2000 lb great white shark back ton rice deal with Venezuela in Bahamas waters G

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ASSAU, BAHAMAS: A great white shark weighing 2,000 pounds (908 kilos) returned on Friday to the waters of the northern Bahamas where a GPS device attached to the marine predator confirmed it had roamed before, the nonprofit OCEARCH organization said.

The ocean research group confirmed via a Twitter post that the nearly 14.5-foot (4.4-metre) female shark named Lydia has been tracked for just over two years.

Lydia has travelled some 34,500 miles (55,500 kilometres), since she was first tagged near Jacksonville, Florida on March 3, 2013.

She carved her niche in history last year when her

arrival in the UK made her the first great white shark on record to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

Referring to her record crossing, a National Geographic report states: “Researchers had suspected great whites could make such a journey, but none had previously been documented doing so.

“The shark now also holds the distinction of traveling the farthest of any known great white. This champion swimmer blew past the previous record holder, a female that swam from South Africa to western Australia and back—crossing the Indian Ocean both ways, for a total of 12,427 miles in 2004.”

(Caribbean360)

EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is in the process of securing a new deal with neighbouring Venezuela for the export of an additional 10,000 tonnes of rice this year.

Farmers had raised concerns over lucrative rice markets and General Manager of the GRDB, Jagnarine Singh said the board is trying to do just that.

As he prepared to travel to Venezuela on Tuesday to sign a contract for the exportation of close to 260,000 tonnes of paddy for 2015, Singh told Guyana Times in a telephone interview that last year Venezuela bought 250,000 tonnes of paddy from Guyana.

He explained that while the Government is bent on

holding on to the preferential markets in Venezuela and the Caribbean, the excess has to go to international markets.

“When we have supplied the preferential markets the excess has to go Nicaragua and other Central American countries, North America, Europe and other parts of the international market,” Singh said.

However, farmers are not happy with the prices offered on the international market.

As previously reported, Rice Producers Association (RPA) President Leekah Rambrich disclosed that there are “more than enough” markets available for Guyana to sell its produce.

The Agriculture Minister, along with RPA General Secretary Dharamkumar Seeraj and Guyana Rice

Development Board (GRDB) General Manager Jagnarine Singh visited Panama in August 2014, during which time the agreement was concluded.

While it is expected that the contract will continue throughout this year, further discussions still have to be made for a contract renewal for 2015, which will see 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes of rice being exported to Panama annually.

In 2014, Guyana produced a record breaking 635,000 tonnes of rice. However, last year October, Agriculture Minister Leslie Ramsammy declared that the amount of rice exported up to that point was 401,000 tonnes and he was confident that rice exports for 2014 would surpass 500,000 tonnes. (Guyana Times)

News WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015

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Ramotar, Jagdeo dent Guyana’s Opposition’s “change” campaign …say Granger wants Guyanese to relive Burnham’s legacy

By Michael Younge

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: President Donald Ramotar and former President Bharrat Jagdeo on Sunday put a significant dent in the combined Opposition’s social and mass media “change” campaign, aimed at mobilising Guyanese and young people in particular to shift their voting patterns in support of the newlyformed coalition.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Executives decried the Opposition’s elections campaign strategy, saying it utilised a wide range of mechanisms to get youths to become disinterested in the socio-economic and political history of Guyana while painting a picture for seniors that there has been no progress in Guyana.

Ramotar, the party’s Presidential Candidate for the upcoming May 11 General and Regional Elections, told a mammoth crowd at Babu Jaan, Corentyne, Berbice, which gathered for the annual Dr Cheddi Jagan memorial ceremony, that the Opposition

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

wants to rewrite history.

He said the Opposition wants to erase the realities of what Guyanese endured under the then People’s National Congress (PNC) Administration, which was led by Forbes Burnham and Desmond Hoyte for more than two and a half decades.

He insisted that the recently-selected Presidential Candidate for the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU-AFC) coalition, David

Granger was on a mission to reintroduce Burnham’s ideology and leadership tactics.

Ramotar made it clear that over the last three years that his Administration has been in Government, the Opposition, led by Granger, played all of their cards strategically with the aim of frustrating and undermining development while trying to appear as though they were concerned with transparency and accountability.

The PPP/C Presidential

Candidate said that Granger and his Prime Ministerial Candidate, Moses Nagamootoo, appeared bent on a mission to undo all of the progress made by the current Administration, as a result of their personal ambitions and their hope that the ideology and practices of Burnham could be reintroduced once they got power in a new manner.

“Their problem is not the lack of involvement or the lack of consultation. Their problem is that they want power for themselves. They want to run this country as if it is their personal property and that is what we must stop them from doing on May 11, this year,” the Guyanese President said to loud applause.

He explained that the sabotage and non-cooperation displayed by the Grangerled parliamentary Opposition parties were characteristic of the style of politics practised

by Burnham, who was his close associate.

He remarked that the PNC had been changing its name and hiding because it wanted

people to believe that it was a new force and each time they were for change and transformation.

Jagdeo took the analysis further, as he pointed out that Granger and the AFC are now engaged in “vintage Burnhamism”, explaining that Guyanese appreciate the changes brought by the PPP/C over the years to the democratic fabric of Guyana’s socio-economic profile and governance.

He noted the Opposition’s 2015 elections campaign is aimed at discouraging Guyanese from remembering their past and understanding the difficulty that the Jagans, Ramotar and he himself have had to endure to further develop Guyana, moving it away from bankruptcy to the point where it has been revitalised.

“Ramjattan’s been around for donkey years….

Nagamootoo….Greenidge….

Granger …Carberry…

Clarke…Sharma. They are not change,” he warned as he called out some of the leading members of the recentlyformed Opposition coalition.

(Guyana Times )

Jamaica sees TT's Dr Tewarie: fuel and other subsidies will be tackled in time growth in forest lands P – survey

Jamaica’s Minister of Environment Robert Pickersgill

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: The amount of land classified as forest in the island has increased by a net figure of 1,394 hectares, according to a 2013-2014 survey conducted by the Forestry Department, taking the total to 441,000 hectares.

This, even as the acreage that was once under forest cover has reduced in favour of buildings and infrastructure.

The Minister of Environment Robert Pickersgill made the announcement on Tuesday at a press conference at the Forestry Department's head office on Constant Spring Road.

"If this trend continues, we expect that in 10 to 15 years the secondary forests will result in a greater proportion of disturbed broadleaf forests," Pickersgill said.

(Jamaica Observer)

O R T O F SPAIN,TRINIDAD: Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development, Dr Bhoe Tewarie, says he believes that this might be a good time for the Government to begin the process of dismantling the range of subsidies maintained by the State, particularly, the fuel subsidy, but stressed that no decision has been taken to reduce or dispense with the fuel subsidy.

In a recent interview with TT media, he said, “This may well be a good time to limit the subsidies to the TT$45 range where we are pegged but it is not a decision that has been taken.” He was asked to respond to the recommendation by the most recent mission of the Washington DC -based International Monetary Fund (IMF) which visited Trinidad and Tobago from January 19 to 26, 2015, on its latest Article 1V Consultation.

At the end of its week-long visit, the mission praised the Government’s handling of several current economic issues as well as the global energy crisis caused by the decline in oil prices but for the umpteenth time called on the Trinidad and Tobago administration to cut back on the fuel subsidy, a call Trinidad has ignored or vigorously rejected in the past.

In a press statement issued in Port-of-Spain on January 28, 2015, on the conclusion of their mission, the IMF team leader, Elie Canetti, said, “We reiterate our advice to scale down fuel subsidies, and note that the fall in global energy prices provides a unique opportunity to do this.

"These Article 1V consultations are an obligation of membership in the IMF and are carried out each year in all member countries.

During the visit, the IMF team meets with the Minister of Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank, oth-

Trinidad’s Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development, Dr Bhoe Tewarie (TT Newsday file photo)

er senior government officials as well as the Leader of the Opposition and an Opposition team. The mission also chats with trade unions, some of the major business chambers and organisations and Civil Society groups.

The IMF website states that “End-ofMission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board.

This mission will not result in a board discussion."

"Pressed for a clear statement on the issue, Dr Tewarie said, “We acknowledge the wisdom of the IMF advice but there are serious issues to consider, which is what would be the consequence of this on the transpor-

tation system in terms of the cost of goods and services for those citizens least able to address an increase in costs."

Pressed further and choosing his words carefully in response, he said the Government knows this is an issue that must be addressed “and the question is how to engage it with the least fallout and how to ensure that those who are least able to bear the consequences of any difference in policy in the fuel subsidy are helped to manage their situation.” So will this be addressed by this Government or left to be dealt with by a succeeding administration? Dr Tewarie responded: “It may well be a second term project”, indicating that he is confident the current administration will still be in power and have the responsibility for managing Trinidad's economy after the 2015 General Election constitutionally due by September 2015.

Dr Tewarie added, “It is not that we do not know that we have to address the issue of subsidies there but in the strategy that we have put forward we have said that we are going to look at a 15 percent reduction in State enterprises and Statutory Corporations and we are going to look at a 15 percent reduction in the ministries that can afford such a reduction because not all ministries you can slash 15 percent off like that – it’s going to cause a problem. So we are going with that and with the price of oil at TT$45 (at the time of the interview) and with our budget focused on that we could not perhaps agree at this point that is where we would start.

We have no problem with that but while a government is a business, it is not a corporation and you cannot run a government like a corporation.

There is something called political management. (TT Newsday)

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TT’s finance centre joins Jamaica Gov’t pushes ahead with expansion of Montego Bay Free Zone hands with Canada’s financial services S

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: Chief Executive Officer of the Trinidad and Tobago International Financial Centre (TTIFC), Varun Maharaj, says he is very confident that a partnership between the TTIFC and the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA) will be a successful one.

The two organisations officially entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on January 20, and formalised it on Wednesday during the opening session of the twoday Caribbean Investment and Finance Forum hosted

by Latin Finance Magazine and the TTIFC at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad.

Maharaj said the essence of the MOU is to address education in financial services, risk management and using Trinidad and Tobago as a gateway into Latin America in terms of infrastructure financing for a lot of the large investors in Canada. It deals a lot with the management of risk and the diversification of risk,” he said.

Janel Ecker, President and Chief Executive Officer of the TFSA, added “In the global environment that financial companies operate in we have to be very, very interconnected and I think this gives us an opportunity, given the fact that we have a number of well known Canadian institutions — three of our banks have been here since the 1800s — so we have deep ties within the Caribbean region and this gives us an opportunity to build on that both for Trinidad and Tobago but also for our Canadian financial companies.”

Maharaj said it was also important to note that Trinidad and Tobago’s Financial Institutions Act was patterned after the financial legislation in Canada, “which is why you have such an affinity of Canadian banks for Trinidad.”

Questioned about the progress of the TTIFC in terms of the number of firms which had been expected to be attracted to Trinidad when the TTIFC was established during the last administration, Maharaj pointed out that the TTIFC was conceived during the international financial meltdown and that was followed by a hiatus but that the whole thing was re-ignited in 2010 and within 18 months the TTIFC had been pursuing a strategy with a great deal of alacrity “and you have seen the sort of traction that we have been able to achieve — to create 1,000 jobs in the industry. We hope that within the near future, may-

be within the next ten to fifteen years, we will be able to multiply that probably by ten, perhaps 15 times.”

Ecker added that two Canadian banks had consolidated their operations in Trinidad and Tobago, observing that “They don’t make those decisions lightly. I think you can see those as a signal, a symbol, of their confidence and the fact that the value proposition does have meaning or they wouldn’t have made those decisions.”

She said the recent decision by some international banks to end corresponding relationships with banks in the region was simply a reflection of decisions made in the normal course of business to reflect changing market conditions. “What is happening in financial companies in many, many, markets is that as the economic changes ebb and flow they adjust by responding to that, so I wouldn’t say they are withdrawing from the region because they are not. Have they been making changes to reflect market realities? Absolutely, yes they have. One of the reasons why they are so stable as global companies is because they know how to do that.

When to expand, when to draw back a bit, but I think you are looking at companies which have been here since the 1800s. There have been a lot of ups and downs in the last 200 years, so I think they are very capable of withstanding any economic pressures or headwinds that the Caribbean might want to throw at them.”

Regional leaders have been expressing concern at a recent trend in which they say foreign banks have ended their corresponding relationships with banks in the region after deciding that the Caribbean is an area of high risk for financial services. The issue was one of the major topics of discussion at the recent 26th Intercessional meeting of Caricom Heads of Government in the Bahamas and the heads agreed to the establishment of a Committee of Finance Ministers to work with the Caribbean Association of Banks on a plan to address the concern and the reason why the Caricom region was being labelled, unfairly, they claimed, as a high-risk area for financial services.

In his address to the opening of the Latin Finance forum on Wednesday, Finance Minister Larry Howai hoped that issue would be given attention at the conference and participants would share the region’s urgency in reversing that perception.

(TT Newsday)

T JAMES, JAMAICA: The Government is pushing ahead with plans to construct 63,000 square feet of space in the Montego Bay Free Zone, which will provide additional facility for the expansion of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector.

Minister without Portfolio, Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, Dr Morais Guy, said the Port Authority of Jamaica, the parent company of the Montego Bay Free Zone, “is close to commencing construction.”

He was addressing the free zone’s 30th Anniversary Open Day activity on March 5.

Noting that the BPO sector is on course to doubling its size over the next five years, Dr Guy implored the Montego Bay Free Zone Company to put the necessary procedures in place to attract more investors to Jamaica and the west.

“The investment opportunities provided through this facility engenders high levels of productivity, which is integral to the economic development of the country. With Jamaica

Jamaica’s Minister without Portfolio, Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, Dr Morais Guy

being ranked as the leading outsourcing location in the English-speaking Caribbean, the free zone is a perfect place for investment to establish contact shelters and shipping facilities to meet the local and international markets,” Dr Guy

said.

The Minister pointed out that the successful operation of the free zone has impacted greatly on the social fabric of the Jamaican society as well as the western region. (Jamaica Observer)

14-year-old TT held with stolen car

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: Police intercepted a stolen car in Laventille shortly after midnight on Tuesday and arrested two teenagers, one of them 14-years-old.

At around 12.05 a.m Corporal Morales along with a party of officers attached to the Inter-Agency Task Force was on mobile patrol at Rose Hill, Laventille when they in-

tercepted the stolen vehicle.

The occupants,ages 14 and 19 of St John Road, Laventille and Rudolph Charles Link Road, Laventille were arrested and taken to the Central Police Police Station. PC Lightbourne is investigating.

At around 12:40pm, on Monday, PC Balkaran and a party of officers attached to the Inter-Agency Task Force were on mobile patrol along Upper

St. Barb’s, Laventille when a man was observed acting in a suspicious manner. The officers had cause to stop and search the man who had in his possession one gramme of marijuana and aGT Pistol with nine rounds of 9mm ammunition.

The man was arrested and charged for the offences of possession of marijuana and possession of firearm and ammunition. (TT Express)

Large turnout at Babu Jaan reflects growing political awareness of Guyanese - President

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The increased political awareness of what is going on in Guyana was evident by the massive attendance on Sunday at the memorial to mark the death anniversary observance of the late President, Dr Cheddi Jagan and Mrs Janet Jagan .

President Donald Ramotar, following the observance at Babu Jaan, Port Mourant, was asked to share his thoughts on the now traditional event, during an interview with the “In Perspective” television programme in Berbice.

He opined, “It was the biggest turn out at Babu Jaan that I have seen since Dr. Jagan passed away. It reflected very clearly that there is a growing political awareness of what is taking place in our country. People came there to give their support, to give their solidarity to the PPP because they understand what

is taking place”.

Noting the fact that Guyana is two months away from General Elections, the president said, “It also shows that Dr. Jagan’s influence and his life’s work in our country still capture the imagination of masses of Guyanese. People are aware of the tremendous role this man played in the history of our country”.

Asked about the wide cross section of Guyanese who turned out in their thousands for the event, President Ramotar said the PPP/C has never allowed itself to fall into the mould of being a party for one group of people. He explained, “We always had national policies, we have always been making national appeals, and that is now coming out more and more to the fore. It is now beginning to show that we are crossing a lot of barriers, from the composition and support of the crowd, the membership of the party”.

The PPP/C, the president emphasised, is the only national party in Guyana that reflects very strongly the demographics of the Guyanese society. He added that whilst the other political parties pay lip service to the ethnic realities, his party “works constantly to ensure that we have that”. “For instance”, he said, “the opposition talks about not going into ethnic politics, but all the time they are counting the ethnic politics, you heard (Moses) Nagamootoo mentioning that he will deliver 11% of the Indian votes to (David) Granger to the APNU. This shows that they are beginning from an ethnic position all the time”.

The President reiterated that the PPP/C has, and will continue to welcome those who are supportive of efforts to advance Guyana’s development and that of its citizens, regardless of race, colour, creed, social standing or religion. (GINA)

WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015

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'Math Counts', says Guyanese Voters J’can Education Minister expect close contest between Alliance K and PPP/C – NACTA INGSTON, JAMAICA: The Ministry of Education is observing National Mathematics Week, which commenced on Sunday with a church service held at Swallowfield Chapel in St Andrew.

Other events being held under the theme ‘Match Counts’ include the Mathematics Exposition on the grounds of the University of the West Indies, Mona on Thursday. More than 3,000 primary and high school students are expected to visit the booths of scores of exhibitors to view the application of mathematical skills in various industries or commercial activities.

In addition to the expo, the week includes the staging of the Mathematics Teacher of the Year Award on Tuesday and a workshop for teachers of mathematics. Regional and school-based activities to promote the teaching and learning of the subject will also be held.

In his message to mark National Mathematics Week, Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites said the purpose of the obser-

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Jamaica’s Education Minister Ronald Thwaites

vance is to promote popular awareness and appreciation for the integral role math plays in daily lives. An understanding of mathematical principles, he added, enables people to think critically and to make sound decisions based on important information.

He noted that there is some element of mathematics in all occupations.

“For example, a medical doctor has to measure a person’s temperature; a tile layer has to measure the size of the floor to decide on the number of tiles needed; a market vendor has to weigh

her produce in order to price it; a teacher has to count the number of children in her class so as to print adequate quantities of test paper,” he explained. “And if you are a sportsman or sportswoman, you have to be able to calculate your performance scores to know how well you are doing,” he added.

The Ministry of Education has set a target for 85 per cent of students in the gradefour age group to master numeracy skills by 2018, a news release said Sunday afternoon.

(Jamaica Observer)

Ganja activist turns up at UNC meeting in Trinidad ...makes appeal to TT PM to legalise marijuana

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The unnamed man held up his poster during the feature address of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar

O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: A passionate pro-marijuana supporter turned up at the United National Congress’ (UNC) Monday night forum in Barrackpore, with a message.

During the feature speech of Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar, the unnamed

man moved to the front of the audience packed into the hall of the Khanhai Presbyterian Primary School.

And while the PersadBissessar knocked the Opposition Peoples National Movement and lauded her Peoples Partnership government, the man held high a poster addressed to her, reading “Ganja,

Legalise Weed Tanty Kamala”.

Each time PersadBissessar made a point, the man cheered and pointed to his sign. His message was not acknowledged, and the discrimination of marijuana, who was recently done in Jamaica, was not a topic addressed by Persad-Bissessar.

(TT Express)

EORGETOWN, GUYANA: An opinion poll conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) in mid-February showed a close outcome for the May 11 general elections. Voters give the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) a slight edge over the A Partnership for National UnityAlliance For Change (APNU-AFC) coalition to win the elections.

Overall, voters feel the formation of the APNU-AFC alliance has enhanced the PPP/ C’s chances of retaining power, as some half of those who had planned to vote for the AFC have abandoned ship opposing any alliance with APNU, of which the People’s National Congress (PNC) is a key member.

Without the alliance, the AFC would have made in-roads in PPP/C strongholds in Essequibo, East Bank Demerara and West Coast Demerara, although it has lost support on the Corentyne and West Berbice.

The poll found that had the alliance put either Ralph Ramkarran or Moses Nagamootoo (the coalition’s Prime Ministerial candidate), as Presidential Candidate, it would have probably swept

the elections.

Disgruntled PPP/C and AFC supporters fear the return of the PNC (even as part of an alliance) to power, placing greater trust in Ramkarran and Nagamootoo, than in PNC Leader David Granger, to lead the alliance.

A majority of voters also express fear of the return of certain PNC individuals to power who were tied to abuses in the past and of the return to power of the PNC itself. A majority fears a repeat of what took place between the PNC and the United Force (UF) during the 1960s.

Asked which party they think will win the election, voters are almost equally divided among the PPP/C, the alliance, and “too close to call”, giving the PPP/C a slight advantage. The closeness of the contest in terms of voters’ expectation of the outcome suggest a very tight race.

However, more voters did say they have been better off under the PPP/C Administration than under the former PNC regime that governed between 1964 and 1992.

The younger voters pointed out that they did not experience PNC rule, but they said they were informed by their

seniors of the difficulty life during that era and do not wish a repeat of that kind of governance.Asked if they have any concern or issue with the PNC returning to office, 56 per cent said yes, with 39 per cent saying no, and five per cent not offering a response. Many expressed the view that times and the world at large have changed, and they don’t think the PNC would repeat its past abuses and dictatorial rule if it recaptures power.

Those concerned about a potential return of PNC to power are primarily supporters of PPP/C and AFC, whereas those not concerned are traditional PNC supporters.

The findings of the poll are obtained from interviews with 620 voters (42 per cent Indians, 31 per cent Africans, 17 per cent Mixed, nine per cent Amerindians, and one per cent other races) of the population.

The poll was conducted in face-to-face interviews and was coordinated by New York-based pollster Dr Vishnu Bisram. The results of the poll were analyzed at a 95 per cent significance level with a statistical sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points. (Guyana Times)

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Jamaica cannot sit in the middle of the pack — Ambassador Moreno

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: United States Ambassador to Jamaica, Luis Moreno, reckons that a reduction in tariffs on US products could double Jamaica's trade relations with the US over the next 10 years.

The Ambassador, who was speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce reception for the installation of its new president Ron McKay entitled 'Beyond Our Borders' at the Knole Great House on Thursday, stated that Jamaica must lower its barriers to trade, streamline the bureaucracy and business systems in order to boost relations with the US. "To compete regionally and globally, Jamaica cannot sit in the middle of the pack, it must be an attractive place to do

From left: South African High Commissioner to Jamaica, Mathu Joyini, with United States of America Ambassador to Jamaica Luis Moreno, and AMCHAM President Ron McKay

business," the recently elected Ambassador told the audience. "Jamaica must fully embrace the strategic importance of trade. Trade will be the key to defeating econom-

ic stagnation and this is why I am challenging everyone across the island tonight."

Over the last 30 years, the US Government has provided preferential

market access to Jamaica under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI).

As part of the initiative, Jamaican companies can export products including fresh and fro-

zen seafoods, ornamental horticulture, medical and surgical supplies duty-free to the US market.

Currently, approximately 25 per cent of Jamaican exports enter the US market dutyfree under the CBI, while other preferential trade agreements see over 85 per cent of Jamaica's US exports enter duty-free.

Moreno stated that while he understands the role tariffs and customs duties play in government finances, reducing trade barriers and generating growth go hand-inhand.

He noted that in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, trade and investment must be the economic and commercial priorities of Jamaica, while adding that both domestic and international private sector invest-

ment must remain on the Jamaica's agenda.

He added that in a few weeks, Jamaica will see the groundbreaking of the Florida-based WRB Enterprises' 20 megawatt Clarendon project, anticipated be the largest solar-powered generating facility in the Caribbean.

Ultimately, he said, it is up to Jamaica to make the case for companies to invest, in showing the world that this is a safe, secure and profitable destination to do business.

"I give you my commitment that we will reach out to the American business community -just as we have for the Jamaica Investment Forum next week, and I will personally promote Jamaica as a destination for American investment," he said. (Jamaica Observer)

IT graduates charged to help develop Guyana G

EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : Young persons are being encouraged to take up the challenge of developing Guyana with Prime Minister Samuel Hinds saying that it is not only Government that has the challenge of

building Guyana.

“That is a challenge worth taking up,” Hinds told graduates of a Information Technology programme at Port Mourant Community Centre Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) last

Wednesday.

The 30 persons of different age groups had successfully completed studies in an Information Technology (IT) training programme.

However apart from that group a similar group also received certificates at

the Crabwood Creek Community Centre also on the Corentyne on Wednesday.

The six-week programme was an initiative undertaken by Government through Basic Needs Trust Fund and was executed at a cost of Gy$2 million. It included introduction to basic office ethics, Introduction to computers, Microsoft office which included; Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Publisher, Power Point Access along with basic Mathematics and English. Sexual reproductive health was also part of the programme.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni

Singh who delivered the feature address at Crabwood Creek and at Port Mourant said the IT certificates enhance ones marketability on the job market. “Even though we are celebrating the individual accomplishments of those who are receiving their certificates, what we really are celebrating is the laying of another brick in a master foundation that is being constructed by this government for the future of Guyana.”

He said that master plan is one that is driven by the direction in which it is anticipated the world will be going. Minister Singh explained that one of the realities is that of tech-

nology is the direction in which the world is going.

It is being used in communication and also to conduct business.

At Crabwood Creek, the Finance Minister told graduates that today many of us take for granted that fact that we go around with a device in our hands from which we can communicate with persons in any part of the world.

He noted that there were days when it took about one year to send a letter and get a reply when the mail was taken by boat.

It was the third of such programmes to be implemented at Port Mourant while plans are afoot to have another one commence. (Guyana Times )

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Former Guyana President says Caricom not doing enough to fight climate change … missing opportunities to tap into funding

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : Former President Bharrat Jagdeo has described as tragic, the seeming lack of interest by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) on climate issues, noting that the Secretariat needs to be more aggressive to encourage member states. Speaking on the issue of global climate finance during an interview with Guyana Times, Jagdeo said the Region is distracted by miniscule grants and loans and have failed to grasp the bigger picture.

“I find Caricom’s lack of interest on climate issues so fascinatingly tragic that we will run after small sums of money, Gy$5 million here and there and sign up for a loan from the IMF [International Monetary Fund] or the World Bank

for Gy$10 million, and jump through 100 hoops to get to that money, and we are missing big opportunities here to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the Caribbean for climate finance.

“The Global Climate Fund just raised Gy$10 billion, there is a lot of bilateral resources, we are not even prepared mentally, much less physically, or through feasibility studies or national strategies.

“It doesn’t even find place on the agenda for many of these countries, Jagdeo said, while pointing to the work Guyana has done to craft a Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and garner financing through a deal with Norway for US$250 million.

“On the Caricom agenda, climate change is treated as a step child and the

Caricom Secretariat needs to push the issue more because there is a large pool of money,” he noted Asked whether he would be willing to provide assistance to Caricom in this regard, Jagdeo stated, “They have my time at their disposal, anything that will be good for this Region and good for Guyana, I will dedicate my time to working on.”

According to him, this commitment was made before and even without being asked, he has attempted to represent the Region’s concerns. “When I go to those international fora, although I’m no longer President, I carry a Guyana and Caricom perspective to try to keep at least the Region in the limelight and to highlight our concerns,” he said.

He noted that once efforts have been initiated and a strategy developed,

Former President of Guyana Dr Bharrat Jagdeo during the interview

the Region can work together to source financing.

Caricom officially opened a Climate Change Centre in August 2005, to coordinate the Region’s response to the issue.

The Centre is the key node for information on climate change issues and on the Region’s response to managing and adapt-

ing to climate change in the Caribbean.

It is the official repository and clearing house for regional climate change data, providing climate change-related policy advice and guidelines to the Caricom Member States through the Caricom Secretariat.

In this role, the

Centre is recognised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and other international agencies as the focal point for climate change issues in the Caribbean.

It has also been recognised by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) as a Centre of Excellence, one of an elite few. This reputation is a major honour for the Centre, and it should be a great source of pride for the people of the Caribbean as well.

Jagdeo also noted that the Caribbean is highly susceptible to the dangers of climate change and could in extreme circumstances have its entire existence wiped out.

(Guyana Times)

TT’s Rowley hires Ramesh for E-mailgate defence

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley last week revealed for the first time his private conversation with former Integrity Commission chairman Ken Gordon in the E-mailgate affair.

He also said he had hired Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj to defend him against the impending lawsuit to be brought by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in the matter.

Speaking at a public meeting in Marabella, Rowley said after he had gotten a thread of emails bearing similar addresses as those of Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar, then attorney general Anand Ramlogan and two other politicians, Suruj Rambachan and Gary Griffith in 2011, he took them to then president George Maxwell Richards.

Richards, in turn, forwarded the e-mails to the Integrity Commission.

After six months had elapsed, Rowley said he tried to find out the status of the investigation, but when he called for the chairman of the Integrity Commission he did not reach him.

He said while on the way to his home, Gordon returned his call and asked him if the matter he wanted to discuss was urgent.

It was in that scenario, Rowley said, that he went to Gordon's home

tends to call the DPP and the Chief Justice as his defence witnesses.

Rowley also called on the police to reopen the

Marabella Trainline resident Ronald Williams make a point to PNM leader Dr Keith Rowley during a walkabout in his community last Wednesday

and asked him one question.

Whether the matter was being investigated? He said Gordon's response was no.

In May 2012, Rowley referred to 31 e-mails in Parliament which outlined a criminal plot to bug the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, an offer of judgeship to the DPP and a plot to harm an investigative journalist who was probing the circumstances relating to the passage of legislation which favoured two political financiers in the Secton 34 matter.

Rowley said on Monday that Ramlogan and former sports minister Anil Roberts were among those who were quick to accuse him of fabricating the e-mails.

He said he would have been stupid to fabricate the e-mails and then take them to the President and ask for a probe.

Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams on Tuesday confirmed that the police service had received a "voluminous" file from US e-mail service provider Google Inc. and that they were in the process of analysing the information.

On Monday, at a political meeting in Brazil Village, East Trinidad, Persad-Bissessar signalled her intention to sue Rowley for defamation in relation to the E-mailgate allegations.

Rowley said on Monday he was prepared to defend himself and had only last Wednesday retained Persad-Bissessar's political adversary, former attorney general Maharaj, to lead his legal team, and intended to call another, former prime minister Basdeo Panday, to see if he was willing to also represent him.

He said if the lawsuit becomes a reality he in-

case involving official Judiciary documents being found in a lawyers’ office and launch a criminal probe into how judg-

ment in default was entered against him in a defamation lawsuit filed by Ramlogan.(TT Guardian)

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‘100 houses a week’ distribution sparks HDC rush in TT

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: The rush for houses is on following the announcement by Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal that 100 houses are to be distributed a week till December 2015.

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) along South Quay, Port of Spain was packed to capacity on Monday morning as scores of people hearing about the distribution of houses flocked to the office to apply for housing and to query the status of their applications.

From as early as 7.30 a.m., a large crowd gathered outside the entrance of the HDC requesting that their files be updated. Some wanted to collect application forms while others had appointments.

HDC’s corporate communications manager Maurisa Findlay told TT media that many people thought by putting additional information on their file they would have a stronger chance of being allocated a housing unit.

“We’ve been processing ap-

People line up outside the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) headquarters on Monday at the corner of South Quay and George Street, Port of Spain, to check on the status of their housing applications following last week’s announcement

by Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal that 100 houses are to be distributed a week until December 2015

plications and checking on accounts since before 8 this morning. This has been going on since Friday since the announcement by the minister,” she added.

Last Thursday, Moonilal announced that starting this

Saturday to the end of this year, 100 homes will be delivered. He added that this move was not an election gimmick.

Findlay however said even before the minister’s announcement more than 100 homes were being given out a

week.

“We distribute houses every day. Every day we distribute about 30 houses. There is nothing new to what’s happening here but what we see is an amalgam of interest,” she said.

She went on to urge applicants: “Even though the minister has made this announcement, coming to the HDC in droves as we’ve seen here would not change the fact that you still have to go on to the database. You have to be processed and you have to be qualified to be allocated. If you come you will hear the same information that you heard last week which is you are updated, that you are on a database and we rely on the random system to ensure that you are allocated.”

Findlay noted though that the Corporation will be seeing everyone who comes in to the office and that all customer service representatives will be on hand to deal with the influx of applicants.

“We’ve filled up every single wicket that we have in our customer service area. We’ve

had additional staff and all our staff are on board. Today we are not having any lapses during lunch or any coffee breaks or that kind of thing, even our allocations manager is at the front counter,” she said.

One applicant, 55-year-old John La Foucade, said he has been waiting for a house from the HDC for the past 30 years.

He made his way to the HDC on Monday morning after word of the minister’s announcement spread.

“Nothing has changed.

Since I applied I’ve never gotten more than a reply that my application is on file. They told me the same thing today, that my application is not selected yet,” he said.

“I feel that I have little or no hope of getting a house and I just want someone to help.

I wrote the Prime Minister and the Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal but nothing has happened,” the father of three said, adding that he believes the lottery allocation system being used by the HDC is unfair. (TT Express)

Farmwork programme in Jamaica under threat - Canada seeks to cut foreign workers

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INGSTO N, J A M A I C A : Canada is reportedly pushing to have more of its nationals employed under its farm-work programme, which could see the number of Jamaicans being recruited to do seasonal work in the North American country being drastically reduced.

Derrick Kellier, the minister of labour and social security, while admitting in Parliament that there are clouds on the horizon, said Jamaica and other Caribbean countries are pushing back against

the proposal.

"The truth of the matter is they are wanting to get more Canadians involved in the actual farmwork situation there because of their own social problems," Kellier said.

"That would mean that they would then limit the amount of people who would then come from the Caribbean countries, not just Jamaica ..., (but) it has not been finalised. We are still in discussions about all of that because of the longstanding agreements that we have fulfilled (at) our end of the bargain for

nearly 60 years now. We are still in dialogue and we are hoping that no change will be made so as to impair our people," Kellier added.

Pearnel Charles, the opposition spokesman on labour, brought the matter to last Wednesday's sitting of the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament, saying "a number of people who have travelled may not be permitted to go back".

"The farm-work programme is almost a jewel to many people in Jamaica," Charles said,

a view which was shared

by Kellier who said it is not only important to the Jamaican economy but also to the families of the seasonal workers.

"We are standing our ground on it and we hope that not because of their own domestic election problems they want to make these changes," Kellier said.

The minister said he recently attended a meeting in Trinidad for the seasonal agricultural-workers

programme which was attended by representatives of the Canadian government as well as farm operators.

"There are issues that were raised there.

We came to no final decisions because we, from the Caribbean, made a very strong push back on them to get some more information before they can sign off on any directive where the programme is concerned," Kellier said.

Prime Minister Portia

Simpson Miller, speaking in the Budget Debate last year, said 14,000 Jamaicans were employed in the overseas work programme last year, and that based on the liaison service in Canada and the United States (US), that number was projected to increase to 16,000 in 2014-2015.

Kellier said that close to 8,000 Jamaicans are currently in Canada working under the farm-work programme.

(Jamaica Gleaner)

CDB in moves to lend more for housing development in Guyana

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EORGETOWN,GUYANA: The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says it is now revising its “Housing Sector Policy and Strategy” so as to better assist regional countries deal with their housing problems, particularly for low and lower middle-income segments of the population.

The CDB said that recent studies suggest that the housing deficit in Latin America and the Caribbean stands at between 42 and 51 million units in a region that is estimated to grow to 160 million households by 2020. “This unmet demand, compounded by changing settlement patterns, has resulted in insufficient housing provision, as evidenced by informal settlements, particularly in urban areas,” the CDB added.

It said that although data on housing in Caribbean countries are not readily available, surveys of living conditions suggest that significant pockets of substandard housing still exist, especially among lower quintiles of the population. The CDB said that one step towards the revised policy was a recent workshop held in Guyana last month,

the basis of which was two studies it commissioned that separately assessed, CDB’s involvement in the housing sector and work being undertaken by selected borrowing member countries (BMC).

The CDB said the workshop discussed the findings of these two studies as well as a presentation on the challenges, opportunities and successes of affordable housing solutions for low income households and provided an opportunity for participants to exchange views and experiences on the housing sector in their respective countries.

She warned that without the necessary enabling environment in place, the actual construction of housing units will not have the desired maximum social, economic and environmental development impacts. “Therefore, in order to maximise the impact of our interventions, and to facilitate an appropriate, holistic response to the…housing challenges, establishment of an enabling environment has become a critical consideration for the Bank,” Cross Fenty said, the Bank’s Director of Projects, Michelle Cross Fenty. (Guyana Times)

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Jamaica highly vulnerable to effects of climate change, says official

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: Dr Orville Grey, technical officer in the Government’s Climate Change Division, says Jamaica is highly vulnerable when it comes to the effects of climate change.

“Small and developing states such as Jamaica have a very important status of being particularly vulnerable.

We are ranked highly in terms of our vulnerability,” he told the Jamaican media.

According to Grey, there tends to be insufficient information on the region to direct climate change adaptation efforts. He said reports do not readily highlight the problems affecting the Caribbean.

He highlighted sea surface temperature, which affects the coral reef, as a climate change issue that is making a

Dr Orville Grey, technical officer in Jamaica's Climate Change Division

significant impact on the island.

“We are accustomed to losing our corals through warming of the ocean, so we say coral bleaching,” Grey said.

He explained: "With the anticipated projections, we are looking at almost total loss of our corals. For us in the Caribbean, our coral reef is significant not just from the perspective of tourism, but also from the perspective of liveli-

hoods, especially when you consider our fish.”

He noted that most of the fish we like to eat are located in and around the coral reef.

“With the projections we have right now, we are talking about more that 50 per cent loss of coral reefs in the region.

So you can imagine what that impact is in terms of GDP…It’s not just fish but also tourism.”

Due to an anticipated sea level rise, Grey posits that several industries will be gravely affected as a vast majority of infrastructure lies on the coastline. In fact, he said 60 per cent of the population is currently living within three to five kilometres of the coastline.

“We have been doing recordings, we have measurements that we can clearly show where sea level rise is actually taking place. (Jamaica Observer)

Non-energy sector in TT earns $13b since 2010

Chief executive officer of Sandals Resorts, Adam Stewart, left, his father, Sandals chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart, and Tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim at the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) dinner and awards ceremony at the Hyatt Regency (Trinidad) Hotel, Port of Spain, last Thursday.

P

ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD : The non-energy sector has earned TT$13 billion in revenues for Trinidad and Tobago since 2010.

The figure was disclosed last Thursday night

by Trade Minister Vasant Bharath, who spoke at the annual awards dinner of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association.

Awards were presented in the categories of Innovator of the Year, Most Successful Market Entrant, and Manufacturer of the Year.

“Large Manufacturer of the Year” was awarded to ABEL Building Solutions Ltd and

Angostura Ltd was “Innovator of the Year”.

TTMA president Nicholas Lok Jack complained that the main constraint now facing local manufacturers was a shortage of workers.

“This is impacting negatively on our ability to expand our business,” he said, drawing applause from the audience.

In response, Bharath said that the Government had begun talks with the TTMA and the Chamber of Commerce to take “non-productive labour out of the make-work sector”.

“We have started the diversification in earnest,” Bharath told the audience, boasting that

Trinidad had recently been ranked by the World Bank in the top ten among 85 countries for reforms in ease of doing business.

The feature speaker for the evening was Adam Stewart, 34, who is the chief executive of the Jamaica-based Sandals Resorts International.

Stewart gave a history of the company, revealing that his father, Gordon “Butch” Stewart, had started the hotel in 1981 mainly to earn foreign exchange for the family’s appliance distribution firm.

Noting that Sandals had been voted the world’s best resort 20 years in a row, Stewart said, “We as a company believe we can train Caribbean nationals to provide world-class service.” His father’s guiding credo, Stewart revealed, was: “Find out what the customer wants and exceed their expectations.”

Sandals employs over 13,000 Caribbean people and now has resorts in seven Caribbean countries. “We’re no longer in competition with the hotel down the road,” Stewart said. “We’re in competition with ourselves.”

He said Sandals had plans to expand beyond the Caribbean, and called on the banking sector to finance the company’s entrepreneurial efforts. (TT Express)

Guyana urges OAS to act on campaign finance reform …as Ambassador Karran makes petition for ASG post

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : G u y a n a ’ s Ambassador to the U.S. and the Organisation of American States (OAS) Bayney Karran earlier this week made his petition to become the next Assistant Secretary General (ASG) of the hemispheric body.

He also used the occasion to lobby for campaign finance reform – something which the body had been working on Caribbean countries to implement. In Guyana efforts to have such reforms in place have been stymied giving rise to a dubious group coordinated by Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall – Funding a United Committee for Opposition Presidency (FUCOP).

Opposition leaders have all denied ever drawing down from the fund, claiming that they do not know what FUCOP is or how it came into being.

In a release the OAS said that the Permanent Council of the organisation received presentations by the two candidates proposed by the member states for the position of Assistant Secretary General.

The election of the Assistant Secretary General is scheduled for March 18, the same date on which the next Secretary General of the Organisation will be elected. According to the rules, new candidates can be presented until the same day of the election. The order of the presentations was determined by lottery.

Karran who is running against, Belizean Nestor Mendez to replace the current SG, Albert Ramdin referred to the basic pillars of the OAS-democracy, human rights, security and development- and how he would seek to strengthen the role of the OAS in each of these areas.

On the issue of democracy he stated that the capacity of the General Secretariat must be enhanced to monitor, anticipate and head off potential threats to constitutional order in member states, by refining early warning systems.

“We need to support efforts aimed at campaign finance reform, constitutional reform and institutional strengthening while at the same

Guyana’s Ambassador to the OAS Bayney Karran makes a point during his presentation

time increasing our assistance for election processes and for the promotion of good governance,” he said.

Karran also added“If elected as Assistant Secretary General, I would work closely with member states to find ways to raise more resources and to channel them into low-cost, highimpact development programs, with emphasis on education,” he asserted.

Speaking of the pillar of multidimensional security, the Guyanese diplomat encouraged extending the organisation’s work to ensure that public security is addressed more comprehensively.

Ambassador Karran also referred to the strengthening of the Inter-American human rights system and highlighted that the General Secretariat should exert efforts to ensure that the system is improved and strengthened.

The Ambassador of Guyana’s vision for the future of the OAS includes strengthening dialogue and collaboration with member states and greater synergies with financial institutions and with subregional groups.

He also proposed creating a program of dialogue and consultation between the various subregional groupings to promote understanding and consensus on issues of common interest.

Karran also included specific initiatives related to the modernisation and management of the OAS, including increased mobilisation and efficiency of resources; strategies for increased effectiveness and co-

ordination in monitoring the implementation of mandates emerged from the Summits of the Americas; the establishment of the Office of an Ombudsman; a re-evaluation and re-articulation of the role of the OAS national offices; promoting an initiative to create a more dynamic relationship with Permanent Observers; addressing issues of representativeness, transparency and trust in the field of human resources; and institutionalising the mechanism of regional coordinators, which “has been considered a valuable tool to manage negotiations and to facilitate consensus building”.

Following the initial presentation of the candidate of Guyana, the representatives of Ecuador, Venezuela, El Salvador, Chile, Brazil, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, Mexico, Suriname, Nicaragua, Colombia, Dominica, Canada, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Peru, Barbados, the United States and Bolivia took the floor during the exchange with Ambassador Karran.

For his part the Permanent Representative of Belize to the OAS, Nestor Mendez, highlighted that the OAS is today faced with a “golden opportunity, a unique moment”, one that comes only once every decade.

To transform the Organization and build on the basis of the consensus around the Strategic Vision, said Ambassador Mendez, the input of everyone will be needed. (Guyana Times)

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Visiting Saudis hold project talks with THA P

ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: A Saudi Arabian team which leaves TT on Tuesday after exploring local business potential has visited Tobago and will be dealing further with Tobago House of Assembly (THA) chief secretary Orville London on matters of interest to them there.

London said the group had indicated projects of interest to them in Tobago and both sides will have further contact on this. Group spokesman Shazaad Mohammed, vice president of the TT Saudi Arabia Chamber of Commerce (TTSACC) which brought the team to TT, said on Monday the group is particularly interested in beach front hotel investment in both Trinidad and Tobago. Mohammed said it was incorrectly stated in last Sunday’s media that the group visited the Chaguaramas Convention Centre since they did not go there.

He said they went to the Chaguaramas Golf Course and other places in TT, “but not the Convention Centre,”

Members of the Saudi Arabian team and the TT Saudi Arabia Chamber of Commerce (TTSACC) visit the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port-of-Spain

Mohammed said. He said the group wasn’t interested in the Convention Centre, but in beach front hotel development and other matters.

The team, which spotted TT on the Trade Ministry’s “InvesT&T” Internet link, said they partnered with the ministry on the visit. He said they selected TT out of countries in the region due to its stability and since it was an oil producing state like Saudi Arabia. They are inter-

ested in forging ties on higher education, the petrochemical sector and government sectors.

They were brought to TT by the newly-formed group TTSACC, headed by TT national Umar Khan and Mohammed, who is based in Canada and Saudi Arabia, but has TT roots, he said.

He said he also carries the title Ambassador for Peace. Mohammed said the group was on a “friendly cultural and tourism exploration vis-

it” to get a feel of things here and the business potential. Head of the team was General Kheder Alzahrani, who is special adviser with the Ministry of Interior Affairs, as well as special adviser with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a member of the Caribbean Dawah Association.

He said they met the Housing Minister (Roodal Moonilal), Legal Affairs (Prakash Ramadhar), Science and Technology

(Fazal Karim) and met acting Foreign Affairs Ministers (Bhoe Tewarie), the Public Utilities (Nizam Baksh) and Works Minster (Suruj Rambachan) on Monday. They also met the head of UWI Prof Dr Clement Sankat and held discussions on possible collaboration there and at the UTT. Mohammed said the most important issues in any future venture was the establishment of direct air links between

TT and Saudi Arabia since there are none and strengthening diplomatic links since they said the TT mission which handles Saudi Arabia is in Uganda. Mohammed said there has been no commitment from government on any ventures at this time, but another delegation will visit TT next month.

From what the group had seen, and on what it might be particularly interested in, Khan said the group is indeed interested in various aspects but a brief will have to be done on their visit and translated from English to Arabic and examined in Saudia Arabia before they can say exactly what they’re eyeing.

The team went to Tobago last Saturday to examine the island’s tourism potential and visited various sites including the reefs with glass bottomed boats.

London said the group had given details of and identified what they were interested in Tobago and he had also given them additional information but nothing had been decided yet. (TT Guardian)

Jamaican Guyana’s President Ramotar blasts among nine Opposition detained by Bahamian G authorities

By Andrew Carmichael

N

ASSAU, BAHAMAS: Bahamian authorities say they have detained nine people including one Jamaican on board an 18-foot vessel off the West end Grand Bahama coast.

They said the nine people, including one Bahamian and six from the Dominican Republic, were detained by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force patrol craft, P 129 on Monday.

“The Defence Force vessel was alerted by Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) officials to a vessel in distress off West End. The nine occupants were found aboard the vessel by Defence Force marines and subsequently taken into custody, according to an official statement issued.

It said that while the eight foreigners including a Lithuanian national would be interrogated by police and immigration officials, “the Bahamian national is expected to be charged with human smuggling”.

The Coast Guard said that it had also rescued four members of a 100-foot Haitian freighter than ran aground near Lynard Cay, southeast of Marsh Harbour, Abaco on Sunday.

“No one was hurt during the incident and the vessel was re-floated without further incident.” (CMC)

EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) on Sunday launched its re-election campaign at a massive rally, which was also used to honour the life of the party’s founder, Dr Cheddi Jagan at Babu Jaan, Port Mourant, Corentyne.

The Party will be going to the polls with President Donald Ramotar as its Presidential Candidate and former Foreign Affairs Ministry Director General Elisabeth Harper as its Prime Ministerial Candidate.

The launch at the memorial pilgrimage for the late Dr Jagan was seen as fitting, given the long and dedicated struggle for a better Guyana.

Currently, Guyana is observing the 18th death anniversary of Dr Jagan, credited for the return of democracy to post-independence Guyana.

In promising to return with the largest victory for the PPP/C in the history of Guyana at the May 11 polls, President Ramotar said that over the last three years the policies that have been implemented by his administration were those that Dr Jagan would have implemented had he been alive. Ramotar’s three years in office were very challenging, with the Opposition’s stranglehold on

The massive crowd of supporters that turned out at the PPP/C’s campaign launch and memorial ceremony for its Founder-Leader, Dr Cheddi Jagan at Babu Jaan, Port Mourant, Berbice

the National Assembly, cutting budgets, blocking legislation and stymieing the implementation of several projects, including the Amaila Falls Hydro Project; the Specialty Hospital and the Modernisation of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

According to the Head of State, despite the challenges presented by the joint parliamentary Opposition over the past three years, he did not compromise on principles.

However, he noted that it was the same when Dr Jagan was alive.

“I take comfort in the fact Cheddi Jagan had to fight against tremendous odds.

And so, today, I am not worried about the actions of the

Opposition. Those who claim that they have nothing to apologise for,” Ramotar told supporters. The President said over the past three years he did not have an Opposition that was patriotic and interested in the development of Guyana. “I had narrow-minded people who seem to believe that they can make things bad in our country and drive us back to the time when we had to line up for a quarter pint of oil … in the hope that it will change their political fortune. That is what I had to deal with over the last three years.”

Ramotar explained that he was forced to prorogue Parliament because at the last elections, thousands of Guyanese could not have

voted because they did not have their source documents.

“I prorogued Parliament to allow GECOM (Guyana Elections Commission) to have a second round of registration and more than 7000 new voters came on the list who should have been on the list for the last election. I prorogued Parliament, because I wanted to appeal to the Opposition once more for reasoning,” Ramotar explained.

He said elections in Guyana were not constitutionally due until the end of 2016, and if he wanted, he could have prorogued Parliament again, and when that prorogation period was up, keep doing it until elections were due. (Guyana Times)

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Former President Jagdeo urges end to race-baiting politics in Guyana …blasts AFC for taking “ethnic count”

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : F o r m e r President Bharrat Jagdeo on Sunday rolled back the years to when he was on the campaign trail, delivering a stinging speech at the ceremony to mark the 18th death anniversary of the founding leader of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Dr Cheddi Jagan, at the Babu Jaan crematorium, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice.

He urged an end to race-baiting politics, saying that while the Opposition had been criticising the PPP/C on racism, the Alliance For Change (AFC) has already done an ethic count promising to deliver 11 per cent of Indian votes to hand A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) a majority.

Amid thunderous rounds of applause and rousing chants, the crematorium site was transformed into a sea of enthusiasm, as the former Guyanese leader delivered from the stage. His call was in no way different from the line-up of speakers at the event, who all sought to inspire the thousands gathered, to “re-elect the PPP/C to

office so that it could continue the progress of the country”.

Back in February, saying that APNU will easily win 40 per cent of the votes at the upcoming elections, Prime Ministerial Candidate of the APNU-AFC coalition, Moses Nagamootoo, told a gathering at New Amsterdam that the AFC could give the David Granger-led coalition the other 11 per cent Indian votes it needs to clinch a majority.

At the last elections, the AFC under an Indian Guyanese leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, won 10.3 per cent of the votes mainly from Indian-dominated Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne).

In 2006, the AFC had secured a similar percentage of votes but under the leadership of Raphael Trotman, most had come from the APNU Africandominated constituency. Conceding that the AFC cannot compare itself with APNU in terms of electoral strength, Nagamootoo – who was hand-selected as Presidential Candidate by AFC’s Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan – said an electoral alliance was the way to go.

Nagamootoo was deliberately selected by Ramjattan who arbitrarily jettisoned the “presidential candidate rotation principle” to select the Indian Guyanese AFC Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo, over the Chairman, Nigel Hughes.

Meanwhile, Jagdeo, who was quite jubilant in his delivery, pointed out to the massive crowd of Guyanese from various racial and cultural backgrounds, that the founding leader, Dr Jagan, would have carried out his functions in a much similar way to that of the current administration. Dr Jagan, considered the “father of the nation”, passed away on March 6, 1997 at the Walter Reed Medical Centre, Washington DC, after suffering a serious heart attack some three weeks earlier.

“We come from a philosophy where Cheddi Jagan believed in ensuring that the PPP/C remains in and above the fray. People’s gender, religion, and race don’t matter to us. If you are part of the PPP family, we embrace you because we believe that this country will change when only all the people benefit and we have

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo pays tribute to the late PPP/C Founder-Leader, Dr Cheddi Jagan

no apology for that,” Jagdeo said firmly, above a booming response from the crowd. He said the founding leader’s vision for Guyana remained strong.

But what attracted a more thrilling reaction was the former President’s lambasting of the Opposition, AFC and APNU, who in their bid to oust the current administration, signed the “Cummingsburg Accord”, a move that he related will be to the greatest disadvantage of the AFC. He described as “naïve and desperate”, the move by the junior political Opposition party to join forces with the People’s National Congress

Jamaica PM drafts plan to eliminate gender-based violence

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Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller

INGSTON, JAMAICA: Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said the Government, through the Bureau of Women’s Affairs and with support from UN Women, has crafted a draft National Strategic Action Plan to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence

in Jamaica.

She explained in her message for International Women’s Day, celebrated March 8 each year, that the action plan is a comprehensive multi-sector plan and provides specific priority areas towards eliminating gender-based violence, and

allocates responsibilities to key players for achieving these.

According to the Prime Minister, “Women’s full participation in decision-making and economic life across all sectors is essential to building sustainable livelihoods, a stronger economy and improving

the quality of life for all in families, communities and the wider society”.

She said “the Government is working assiduously to ensure that our women and girls are empowered to participate in every area of our society and contribute holistically to the development of our nation.”

While Simpson Miller celebrated Jamaica’s ranking in a recent International Labour Organization Survey as having the greatest proportion of women managers and business leaders, she urged citizens to end all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls.

“I appeal to everyone to play their part to cause an end to all acts or practices of violence against women and girls, and gender-based violence, even as we seek to ensure a society that is safe and secure for all,” she said. (Jamaica Observer)

Reform-dominated APNU and its leader David Granger, whom he said still strongly embraced the Burnhamite philosophies of the ageold political unit.

“It must be naivety and desperation on the part of the AFC to link up with APNU, because they have betrayed all those people who were misled to believe that Ramjattan and Nagamootoo really cared about them. They care for themselves.

They have secured vice president and the Prime Ministerial positions for themselves”.

He continued that the progress made under the current administration

has even caused some 48,000 of the 51,000 Guyanese to return to their homeland although they were awarded visas by the US Embassy in Guyana. “And I am thinking we did a great thing for Guyana, because in the past nobody would have come back, but because of this government and the changes here, people don’t want to stay there, they spend holiday and they come back. We have insulated our economy, we have made it strong – have had continued growth over the last seven years; we are doing well in spite of the global recession,” Jagdeo said.

(Guyana Times)

TT Bus drivers back on the road

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: Bus drivers have resumed work even as branch president of the Port-of-Spain Transport and Industrial Workers’ Union (TIWU) Marcus Grannum said they are yet to come to a final agreement with the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) management on wage negotiations.

“Things were put forward on the table, and we are waiting on an answer to be taken back to our members to let them know what is the position. Even though we have not made a final agreement, drivers have started working since the last meeting we had with the Minister of Labour and PTSC management regarding negotiations.

We have to meet again today (Monday) to come to some sort of agreement,” he said.

PTSC Deputy General Manager (Marketing and

Communications) Carl Ramdeo told TT media on both sides there were some agreement to most of the issues raised by the union, and hopefully on Monday they would come to a final decision.

He said they have not heard anything from the union since the last meeting. However, he said after the meeting they were close to signing off on the agreed issues.

Ramdeo said they expected the services to run out on Monday unless something totally different happened over the weekend.

Ramdeo indicated that they have contributed their part on the matter and await a response from TIWU. Last week thousands of commuters had to seek other means of transportation to reach their destination, as the workers’ union continued to negotiate with PTSC for better wages. (TT Newsday)

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Canadian envoy confident GECOM will deliver free, fair elections

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : The Canadian Government is confident that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will deliver free and fair elections come May 11, which will hopefully put an end to the political stalemate in Guyana.

This is according to Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr Nicole Giles who was at the time addressing Rotarians at the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam’s Annual World Understanding and Peace Dinner on Saturday at the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce building, Rose Hall Town, Corentyne.

Noting that during an election period emotions can easily supersede mutual respect, the

High Commissioner said Canada was eagerly looking forward to seeing Guyana continue on its development path as she linked fair elections to development.

“There is a strong correlation between free, fair and peaceful elections and the progressive development of a country.

We hope that the election will help to unlock the political stalemate that has sometimes characterised politics in Guyana over the past few years, and allow Guyana to continue to progress on the path of peaceful development,” she noted.

The High Commissioner added that Canada was committed to working with the Government of Guyana, GECOM, all political parties and civil society to support free, fair and

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr Nicole Giles

Trinis crowd first UK Higher Education and Skills Fair

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: British education is available in Trinidad and Tobago at 12 local institutions, and students need not travel overseas, but the international experience enables critical thinking versus regurgitation, according to Teocah Dove, a 2013 — 2014 Chevening graduate.

Dove, aged 26, has been named a recipient of the Queen’s Young Leader Award, and is due to receive it in June at Buckingham Palace. Dove addressed students at the first United Kingdom Higher Education and Skills Fair held last Thursday in the ballroom of the Radisson Hotel, Port-ofSpain.

She urged students to strive to achieve the prestigious global post graduate Chevening scholarship, offered to students with leadership potential, at top UK universities.

She advised the students, “don’t label yourselves; where you came from does not define who you are, and what you will be”.

Dove said she had not attended a “privileged” high school, but made her mark by doing well at secondary level before going onto COSTAATT and obtaining two undergraduate degrees from the University of Greenwich, while studying locally.

On the Chevening scholarship programme, she pursued a Masters degree in Gender and International Relations from the University of Bristol. Dove, who lives in Enterprise, Chaguanas and attended Excel Education Centre, and later Chaguanas Comprehensive High said, “it is not what school you passed

for, it is what you make of yourself.” Noting that she came from Enterprise, and still lives there, some students quickly identified themselves with her. Hundreds of Sixth Formers from schools across Trinidad last Thursday flocked to the event. By 10 am, over 500 students had already registered to enter the fair which opened at 9 am, leaving those conducting the registration exercise overwhelmed.

The attendance prompted UK High Commissioner to TT, Charles Moore to tell the TT media he was delighted with “such a huge turnout.”

Twenty-two institutions, including the 12 local institutions that offer a British university education, had open booths which provided a mixture of undergraduate and post- graduate studies, and scholarship programmes.

Head of the Political and Economic Division at the British High Commission in TT, Fiona Grant, told the media that based on their records, over 13,000 students from TT were currently engaged in British Education programmes at home and abroad.

The records also show that over 2,000 Caribbean students were in the UK on scholarship programmes, she said adding that the numbers studying for British qualifications in homebased countries in the region was much larger.

Based on records available, she said over 13,000 students from TT are studying both at home and abroad for UK qualifications.

The higher education and skills fair, Grant said, will be replicated in Barbados and Jamaica. (TT Newsday)

peaceful elections as the democratic expression of the will of the Guyanese people.

World Understanding and Peace Day coincided with Rotary International Anniversary on February 23. This year Rotary International celebrated its 110th anniversary. High Commissioner Giles said Rotary has a link with understanding and peace because of the Club’s motto of the advancement of international understanding and peace.

Peace and understanding are needed as people around the world over continue to be caught in humanitarian crises, conflicts, disputes and disasters which result in considerable loss of life. These conflicts and disputes are often driven by insecurity, inequal-

ity, illiteracy, unequal access to resources and the violation of basic human rights – all of which threaten to erode peaceful progress and development. “One example of this is Russia’s ongoing military aggression in Ukraine, which has already cost the lives of more than 5300 people.

Another example is the barbaric actions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, including last week’s abduction of at least 90 people in Syria.”

There are a collection of important actors that respond to and provide invaluable assistance in times of crisis.

Unwavering dedication and a service oriented approach to work is one of the distinguishing marks of Rotary, the High Commissioner noted. (Guyana Times)

EU pumps US$2m in Caribbean labour project P

ORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD: (ILO) — A US$2 million (1.7 million Euro) project, signed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) with funding from the European Union in December 2014, was formally launched with the Caribbean Employers' Confederation (CEC) and the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) at the 9th Caribbean Ministers of Labour Meeting in Nassau, Bahamas.

"The ILO is very pleased to be involved in this project to support both regional and national social dialogue, with members from organisations representing employers and workers, as well as government representatives. We see this project as ensuring policy coherence contributing to regional economic and social integration," stated Giovanni di Cola, Director, ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean.

Last month a planning meeting was held in Port of Spain, comprising five board representatives, each from the CEC and the CCL, as well as members of the ILO Office DWT and Office for the Caribbean.

At this meeting a schedule of activities was agreed on which will run during the first 12 months of the project.

The activities will serve to strengthen workers' and employers' organisations to engage more effectively in social dialogue at the regional level. The aim of the project is to enable consultation and exchange of information

CHEN ... initiative should lift cooperation between Caribbean governments, labour, and businesses to a new level

between representatives of governments, employers and workers on issues of regional interest relating to economic and social policy, and to contribute to policy setting in regional forums pursuant to the EPA's Social Chapter.

The project, which is financed under the 10th European Development Fund, is aimed at strengthening the implementation of the CARIFORUMEU Economic Partnership Agreement, particularly those aspects relating to core labour standards (freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; the effective abolition of child labour; and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation), as well as to deepening regional integration.

The project will focus on reinforcing the human and institutional capacity of the CEC and the CCL,

to contribute to the effective implementation of the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed in 2008.

"As President of the Caribbean Congress of Labour, I am truly proud to be at the start of the implementation of the EUfunded programme, at the end of which we will see greater participation of CARIFORUM Civil Society in regional development and integration processes. The opportunity is great as both labour and employers work together for the advancement of the region," said David Massiah, President, CCL. The project "Support to facilitate participation of CARIFORUM Civil Society in the Regional Development and Integration Process: Challenges to CARIFORUM Labour, Private Sector and Employers to fulfil their EPA obligations" will run for three years. (Jamaica Observer)

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“Fight for your rights,” Ramotar urges Guyanese women

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : P r e s i d e n t Donald Ramotar last Wednesday evening called on women to support each other regardless of race, colour, creed or political persuasion in pursuit of their rights, as he delivered the feature address to a gathering at State House to commemorate International Women’s Day. Speaking to the hundreds of women, invited guests and a few men gathered at his official residence, President Ramotar urged women to remember the sacrifices of those who had gone before and their struggles for equality.

He noted that the early leaders of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) awakened the consciousness of Guyanese to the need to mount a special struggle for the rights of women. He read an article, which was written by the late Party co-founder and former President, Janet Jagan, on October 1, 1944 and

printed in the Argosy Newspaper. He said that the article which focused on the need for adult suffrage for women and the obstacles they faced, “captured a vision that we still embrace today”.

The President lauded the achievements of Mrs Jagan and recalled her struggle for human rights for all. He added that he was proud to be part of a political party that has scored many firsts for local women, these included the first election of a woman to political office.

The achievements of the first Chief Justice, Chancellor and first female Caribbean Court of Justice Judge, Desiree Bernard were also recalled by the President.

The struggle for women’s rights is also one for justice and all must have equal opportunity to be educated, President Ramotar emphasised. He added that he was also proud of the fact that Guyana has attained universal nursery and primary educa-

Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar (centre) with women honoured for their contributions at a State House ceremony to mark International Women’s Day

tion and was very close to achieving the same at the secondary level.

He added the time would come when all were judged not by gender, but by their ability. The rights of women, it was also noted, are enshrined in the Constitution and ratified by international conventions such

as the “Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women”. Gender based violence must be stopped, the President stated, saying “I know we can do better as a country”.

The Domestic Violence Act enacted in 1996 was also mentioned by the Head of State

as were the Women’s Affairs Bureau and the Men’s Affairs Bureau along with the revised Sexual Offences Act, all of which give females some of the protection they may need. Women, the President also reminded, are often at the forefront of community development and holding leadership positions,

and these facts “must be celebrated”.

The Head of State spoke out against politicians who were aspiring to return to office and urging the public to forget the past, when many of them trampled on the rights of Guyanese.

The women were also addressed by Home Affairs Minister and PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee.

Following brief remarks

by Chairperson of the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO), Indra Chandarpal, PPP/ Civic’s Prime Ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper reflected on the theme of the observance, “Make it happen” and commended the WPO and other women’s organisations, as well as some men, for their work in advancing women’s rights. Several women were also honoured and presented with tokens of appreciation for their contributions to the struggle for human and women’s rights. (Guyana Times)

Jamaica moving to reclaim global 13 Trinis back home After pirogue drifts dominance in reggae to Venezuela..

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I N G S T O N , JAMAICA: For decades, the sound of Jamaica has been reggae, the infectious, uniquely syncopated music that transformed the small Caribbean island into a cultural powerhouse.

But the genre's success has taken it far beyond its roots, and now many in Jamaica worry that reggae-lovers abroad are forgetting the motherland where it was born.

"Reggae was given to the world by Jamaica so nobody can or ever should discourage anyone overseas from making this music. But we think there should be acknowledgment that reggae was created in Jamaica," said Michael "Ibo" Cooper, a musician who is chairman of the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association.

Around the world, music festivals celebrating the sounds made famous by reggae patron saint Bob Marley and followers who developed the faster, brasher derivative of dancehall are more likely to be headlined by bands from places like California or France than by nativeborn Jamaicans. Aside from albums by the late Marley or his progeny, few of the top-selling reggae CDs or downloads come

Jamaican singer Melbourne Douglas (Photo: AP)

from Jamaican artists.

To get a stronger foothold in the information age, Jamaican officials and reggae industry insiders are brainstorming ways to better capitalize on Jamaica's exuberant music culture and help protect what some claim is local intellectual property.

After years of only piecemeal support, the government increasingly is viewing reggae and other cultural enterprises as a hoped-for economic engine on the island.

Officials are hashing over the creation of a certification mark to designate "authentic reggae" — a sort of "Good Housekeeping Seal" — to encourage the use of Jamaican musicians, pro-

ducers and merchandise.

They also hope to defend Jamaican reggae by having the UN's culture organization add it to a global list of "intangible cultural heritage " such as Argentina's tango and China's Peking opera. The Paris-based agency says the island's government has yet to apply for inclusion on the list of more than 280 cultural traditions.

Rob Bowman, a music professor from Canada's York University who has researched intellectual property and Jamaican music, said that while population numbers mean reggae's biggest markets always will be overseas there's no reason why more revenue streams from for-

eign commerce shouldn't flow back to Jamaica.

A country of fewer than 3 million people, Jamaica has had remarkable success originating influential musical forms such as ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall.

Musicologists say production innovations and the discovery of "toasting," reggae deejays chanting over a beat, directly inspired hip-hop.

Jamaican artists say sustained support from the government could give the local music industry a much-needed boost and help prepare musicians to get a greater slice of the international market. There's high hope for emerging artists like Chronnix, the most prominent member of a burgeoning scene dubbed "reggae revival" whose young artists are building their careers with a savvy understanding of social media.

Jamaica celebrates "reggae month" each February.

This year, events included workshops on intellectual property for up-and-coming musicians. The island's biggest university also recently hosted an international reggae conference, where the global business of reggae was a featured topic. (AP)

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: Some US$4,000 was spent to safely return home 13 Trinidad and Tobago citizens whose vessel Daviann drifted into Venezuelan waters.

The group were found last Monday by the Guardia Nacional near the Los Monjes Islands.

A charter was hired for their return.

Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie told journalists that the effort to return the 13 saw collaboration between the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Venezuelan Embassy to Port of Spain as well as the militaries of both countries.

The Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance were also involved in getting the 11 men and two women home.

Tewarie said identifying the members of the ill-fated excursion was the key issue.

According to the Acting Foreign Affairs Minister, the trip back from Venezuela cost taxpayers US$4,000, he said a charter was necessary to address the passenger exchange in the most uncomplicated way.

The commercial vessel was then met in Trinidad and Tobago’s waters by the Coast Guard Just last month, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro spoke about improving the relationship between both countries, Venezuelan Ambassador, Coromoto Godoy said this was the perfect example Accompanied by a strong police and coast guard presence, immigration Authorities boarded the vessel when it docked at Chaguaramas.

The group was then taken into the quarantine area for processing.

According to the Minister, following their interviews, Immigration Authorities will assess the need for criminal charges to be levied.

(TT Express)

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: Sixtyeight-year-old master artisan George Tancredo scaled more than 15 feet up the tall balata tree, as agile as a man quarter his age.

Harnessed by thick steel rope and spiked shoes, he continued to score the bark, high on the trunk of the tree, into a pattern of converging ridges that would allow the milky resin to drip through the narrow channels and down into a collection bottle at the base of the tree.

Commercial balata latex harvesting started in Guyana’s Kanuku Mountains region in the late 1880s. Tancredo was barely out of school when he started working in the then thriving balata industry.

Back in 1976, two companies had been operating in the Rupununi since the late 1950– 1960s, training and employing young men and

school leavers to harvest the resin from the balata trees in the forest, for export sales as insulation or vehicle tire components. However, by the 1980s, the balata industry was in decline due to the emergence of cheaper, synthetic alternatives, forcing Tancredo, and others like him, to seek new sources of income.

While he was still at school, Tancredo had been inspired by his school teacher, Patrick Abrahams, who ran after-school classes in handicraft, especially miniature sculptures which he first taught using bees wax and then moved on to balata. Tancredo and a few others in the village of Nappi, who had by then practiced and developed their artistic skills into a recognized craft form, looked into transforming their craft into their livelihood.

“Finding colours to

Members of Nappi Balata Artisans

make the sculptures realistic was a problem,” disclosed Tancredo. “It took me years to find how to make colours, before it became possible to buy some in Lethem.

I learned from the Wai Wai craft, from deep South Rupununi, how

to make red dye from Annatto fruit picked from the tree, then I accidentally discovered the use of clay mixed with coconut oil for orange and brown, potato starch for violet, and kerosene oil for black,” he recalled.

In the absence of re-

sources and markets, Tancredo’s creativity stretched to inventing his own tools for his craft. Clipped bicycle spokes, butter knives, deliberately twisted scissors, are all now firmly established as essential items in the inventory of ‘specialist tools’ used by the current balata artisans in Nappi.

As sales advanced, orders began to build for the balata artisans in Nappi. Tancredo’s reputation started to spread, as his craft evolved from miniature sculptures to ‘scenes’ of local and Amerindian life; images of the animals in the forest; and later to chess table and pieces; even Noah’s Ark, complete

Smithsonian Museum in Washington and, through the initiative of a British volunteer, a permanent display of some of George Tancredo’s work has been housed at Castellani House art gallery, in Georgetown, for the past 15 years.

Due to a combination of challenges, NBA collapsed by mid-2000.

Currently, less than a handful of persons remaining in Nappi can practice this traditional art. Among them is Julita Fredricks, the only female balata artisan, who learnt the craft from her husband.

In 2014, the NBA experienced a surge in revival among the surviving members. Renewed interest in balata sculptures has led to increasing orders from private and public sectors including the Protected Areas Commission who is responsible for the management of National Parks such as Kaieteur Falls, among other natural attractions.

Regular orders in manageable quantities have been streaming in; the growth of tourism in the Rupununi alongside improvements in road, transportation, and communications infrastructures, as well as banking services have reduced some the obstacles the group has for accessing markets.

Growth of events

Tancredo’s Noah's Ark

with Noah’s family and several pairs of animals, inspired by a drawing he saw in a bible.

The first Nappi Balata Artisans (NBA) group was formed with support from Conservation International (CI) in 1995. With two main USbased distributors supplying primarily to CIWashington customers, the group achieved solid growth in that market, while at the same time developing a national market in Georgetown.

The work of NBA members was soon on display alongside major world artists, in various locations including the

such as the Rupununi Christmas Fair, Rupununi Business Forum and Expo, the rodeo and the 3-Nation Frontier Festival in Brazil have all helped increase the profile of this unique art form and the amazing skills of the people engaged in the craft.

Today, far from the bustle of markets and cities, the Nappi Balata Artisans can still be found practicing their art using simple traditional methods and experimenting with producing new animals, forest scenes and local culture imagery. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

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TT Film Festival calls for movies

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O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: The call for submissions for the tenth edition of the TT Film Festival (TTFF), which takes place from September 15 to 29, is now open.

A release from the TTFF said it seeks to highlight excellence in filmmaking through the exhibition of fiction and documentary feature and short films made in TT, the Caribbean and its diaspora. The Festival therefore accepts submissions from Caribbean filmmakers, Caribbean filmmakers in the diaspora, and international filmmakers with films from or about the Caribbean or its diaspora. Submissions must have been produced after January 1, 2013.

The Festival screens films of different lengths in various digital formats.

Films screened in competition are eligible for one or more jury prizes. There are also several people’s choice awards.

All awards come with a cash prize.

All submissions must be made online, via the ttff visitor page at

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: In an effort to help in the development and empowerment of youths in Region Two, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport is presently facil-

Jamaican model takes on Donald Trump

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vp.eventival.eu/ttff/2015.

There is no submission fee.

The TTFF stressed that the deadline for all submissions is May 15. The deadline will be strictly followed.

Filmmakers are urged not to submit films that do not fulfill the stated criteria.

The TTFF seeks to make all screenings at the Festival TT premieres.

Occasionally, however, the Festival considers films that have already been shown publicly in TT. Please contact us directly if you have a film that falls into this category, at submit@ ttfilmfestival.com.

If you have any other questions, visit our FAQ page at www.ttfilmfestival.com/submit/faq.

The TTFF reserves the right to determine the eligibility of the submissions to be screened at the Festival, the appropriate venues and time slots for the screening of films, and to use excerpts of the films for publicity purposes. All films submitted must have applicable clearances and the Festival will not be held liable.

(TT Guardian)

INGSTON, JAMAICA: The lawsuit brought by Jamaican model Alexia Palmer against American business tycoon Donald Trump and other principals at Trump Model Management agency has taken a new twist.

The Jamaican media has learned that the Trump Model Management has filed a motion to dismiss its initial response to a suit brought in October by Palmer.

This was confirmed by the New York law firm representing Palmer.

They, however, declined to give any further comment on the matter.

Pulse, the Jamaican modelling agency which discovered Palmer and still represents her, also declined to comment.

"Pulse cannot comment at this time as the matter is in court. Also, there are confidentiality issues," said Cooper in a statement to our queries.

Palmer, who has appeared in a number of fashion glossies including Vogue and Teen Vogue and has lead campaigns for Chanel and Iman cosmetics, filed the suit against Trump's

itating life skills workshops.

As part of its 2015 youth development and skills building programme, the ministry is having a four 6-week training programme,

to be held in selected Region Two communities.

Presently, there is a cake decoration and pastry making training programme at Little Red Village, Onderneeming

Palmer created history becoming the first Jamaican model to appear in the fashion bible Vogue without being signed to an international agency

agency alleging that she was stiffed out of more that US$200,000 in salaries.

Palmer claims that Trump's company lied to the federal government by documenting on her work visa application that her annual sal-

ary would be US$75,000.

However, it is being reported that between 2011 and 2013, all the 5-foot 10-inch model received from the agency was US$3,880 after they deducted their standard 20 per cent fee and other miscellaneous expenses.

These 'fees' are said to be grooming costs which included walking lessons, a visit to the dermatologist, a constant supply of makeup as well as limousine rides.

In their initial response, the Trump organisation noted that the expense deductions are standard and that the US$75,000 figure was more of an estimate rather than an actual contractual obligation.

Trump Model Management was founded in 1999.

She was discovered

by Pulse as a teenager in 2010 through their Caribbean Model Search.

She would go on to place in the top three of the fashion model section of the search, which was won by Hanna Lettman.

Palmer created history becoming the first Jamaican model to appear in the fashion bible Vogue, without being signed to an international agency.

Test shots of her wearing her Dunoon Technical High School uniform were submitted by Pulse and became the basis of her selection for her first Vogue shoot.

(Jamaica Observer)

Ladies in Little Red village being taught cake decorating

Learning pastry making

Sand in Essequibo. The training programme is for young people 16 to 26.

There are 15 females, some of whom are single parents, who are currently involved in the training, which is being held at the community centre in the village.

This is the first time the young people in Little Red village are involved in such a training programme since the community was opened

by Food For The Poor Guyana Inc. The training is presently done by a resource person who lives within the area.

Little Red on the Essequibo Coast was built by Food For The Poor in 2009 in collaboration with the Roetheli

family of the USA. This community is the first of its kind in the country. Prior to the establishment of the village, the area was known as Sandpit and was very bushy. This programme by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport will significantly influence those in the village who are participating to learn a life skill and be able to earn an income.

In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, Herald Alves, a youth worker with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, who is managing the programme, said at the end of the training programme the young peo-

ple will be provided with certificates of participation. He added that there would be an exhibition to display the works of the young people in the community.

“The participants are very excited because it is the first time they are part of such a programme. They even want it to go on for another month, something that is being considered presently. When we are through with this programme in Little Red Village, we will focus on Wakapoa. There the tie-dying classes will be kept,” Alves outlined.

The training in Little Red village will conclude March 14, 2015. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

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Joy Bartlett, general secretary of NUGFW

O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: To commemorate International Women’s Day which was celebrated around the world on Sunday, the Women’s Executive Council of the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) held its Action Arts magazine launch and presentation awards at Trincity Mall, Trincity, last Friday.

Joy Bartlett, general secretary of NUGFW, said the Action Arts campaign was borne out of the Public Services International’s (PSI) activism to eliminate violence against women and children. The 16 days of activism is recognised globally from November 25 to December 10

each year. The PSI programme of activities in the Caribbean is headed by the SubRegional Secretariat under Sandra Massiah, Bartlett said.

Last year, from February to July, the women’s council hosted a competition through its Action Arts Programme with the theme “Elimination of Violence Against Women/ Girls and Gender -Based Violence.”

The objective of the competition was to highlight and encourage dialogue through art work, writing and film, to express the impact of domestic violence on women and children, who are most vulnerable.

The competition was open to both primary and secondary schools in

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Myrna Hague performing at Simply Myrna held at the Courtleigh Auditorium on Saturday night

INGSTON, JAMAICA: Headliner Myrna Hague thrilled the capacity-size crowd with an enticing performance at the Courtleigh Auditorium on Saturday night.

The event was the fifth staging of Simply Myrna.

"It's been an exciting five years for me-- at times challenging, at times transformational, at times building a new me," Myrna Hague told the Jamaican media.

Also on the concert bill were veteran Jamaican balladeers Dobby Dobson, AJ Brown, Carifolk Singers and noted pianist Marjorie Whylie.

Hague said for the next year's show she is contemplating coming with something new.

"Y'know, you would like to keep it fresh, you don't want to keep doing the same thing over and over again," she said.

Gracefully, the hostess opened her first of many appearances and charmed her audience with ‘The Way We Were’ followed by ‘I Wanna Kiss You All Over’, ‘Heatwave’, and ‘Only Love Set You Free.’

Later she was joined by Whylie on ‘Save The Day’, ‘Sunlight Seduce

Midnight’ and ‘Let's Fall In Love’.

Then it was time for smoothed-voice crooner Dobby Dobson, who delighted the fans with ‘Wonderful World’, ‘Sweet Dreams’, the Alton and Eddie love anthem Muriel, and of course his signature tune ‘Loving Pauper’.

But it was not over for Dobson who performed a fabulous duet with Hague of ‘You Raise Me Up’. Accompanied by famed guitarist Rupert Bent, she completed that set with ‘If I Ruled The World’.

The concert resumed after a brief intermission with the Carifolk Singers performing ‘Chouconne', 'Wheel And Tun Mi’, and ‘Dip And Fall Back’.

The hostess returned with a tribute to the late John Holt on ‘Only A Smile’ as well as ‘Sediotida’ (accompanied by Whylie) and ‘Moody's Mood For Love’, which provided the intro to A J Brown, who performed it in tandem with Hague.

Taking full charge of the stage, A J rocked the auditorium with ‘Love People’, ‘Father Friend’, ‘When You Love’, ‘Now That You Found Love’ and ‘Time To Say Goodbye’.

The curtain came down the grand finale rendition of ‘Diamonds On The Sole of Her Shoe’. (Jamaica Observer)

- Guitarist Dave Baksh is of Guyanese heritage

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: Rock music enthusiasts who are fans of the popular punk rock US band Sum 41 may recall the epic guitar solo in the song “In Too Deep”. Did you know that the guitarist Dave Baksh has Guyanese roots?

Both of Baksh’s parents are Guyanese: his father hails from De Willem on the West Coast of Demerara and his mother from Georgetown. Baksh is a Canadian musician, singer and producer.

In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, Baksh said he visited Guyana a while back and learnt a lot about his family during his visit.

“It helped me appreciate my life and what my parents went through to become the people they are today. I remember being very proud of them when we got home and realized how much they

TT. Bartlett said the NUGFW has taken the challenge of looking beyond the collective bargaining process to find ways of making a positive impact upon the lives of members, potential members and their families.

She emphasised that violence against women is a grave and heinous issue that adversely affects us all and NUGFW has taken up the campaign to stand up for the victims of abuse.

“Our partners have also taken a united stance with them as they also have vested interest in the well being of their clients,” Bartlett said.

She said the NUGFW’s executive council and its partners were proud to take the campaign for “The Elimination of Violence against Women/ Girls and gender-based Violence” to another level.

The Action Arts magazine is a compilation of the art work, poems and essays that were submitted during the competition.

Also attending and giving support to the Women’s Executive Council was Sen James Lambert, president general of NUGFW and vicepresident of the Senate.

(TT Newsday)

Dave Baksh

had accomplished since moving to Canada. My parents have told me quite a bit about Guyana as well, mostly memories of growing up and a lot about the political climate while they were living there,” Baksh recalled.

Baksh reminisced how he took up the guitar. He and his older cousins were in bands and Baksh was eager to play music with them.

Once he inherited the “town guitar”, which was passed from musician to

musician where he lived, Baksh found a “peace” when he played. That ‘peace’ he still experiences today when he plays the guitar.

“It’s a moment where you can focus on one thing and make it perfect,” he declared.

Prior to Sum 41, Baksh played in a few rock bands. “Some might say it was tough, but the true believers in this line of work enjoy the work and we were working 24 hours a day seven days a week. We were somewhere between free men and slaves as far as society was concerned. In those bands we played out a lot, those were great days for rock and roll music. You could go and play a show anywhere and be in front of at least 20 people. A lot of the people I played with still play music today,” Baksh remembered.

The guitarist mentioned it was a great experience playing those

bands. He also learnt a lot about his playing, himself and the people around him. Most importantly, he learnt that “doing something you love gives purpose and purpose is a wonderful thing. In most cases purpose drives you to better yourself and help others around you”.

In 1998, Baksh joined Sum 41 but left the band in 2006. “I felt we weren’t having fun anymore. The show was becoming like a vaudeville. I like routine, but I like changing the routine as well.

Nothing seemed fresh anymore,” he disclosed.

According to Baksh, the rock band he is part of, The Organ Thieves, picked up where he, as a guitar player, had left off.

The guitarist advice for those who have rock bands in Guyana is: “Keep developing the scene, it is important to maintain a future for rock and roll in Guyana.

Dave on his guitar

Tour your surrounding countries independently.

It is important for people to know we can play more than Tradewinds’ cover songs (no disrespect to the Tradewinds).

Music saved me from my

anger, my impatience and my inability to comprehend my own mind.

My best wishes to you all and I hope to see you play sometime while I'm there!” (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

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From test tubes to intricate glass trees, Guyanese Andrew Thom finds a multipurpose career

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EORGETOWN, G U Y A N A : Skilful in the ancient art of glassworking, Andrew Thom is a modern day glassblower who creates remarkable items with just his hands and a blowtorch.

He shapes molten glass, turning and blowing it, often into works of art.

Glassblowing is an old glasswork technique that uses a blowpipe and

The finished swan he made in his workshop

furnace, today’s methods, usually utilise compressed propane and oxygen, and its crafters are known as lampworkers.

Speaking with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, Thom described himself as a scientific and artistic glassblower.

“I describe myself as a scientific glass blower because I make test tubes, and artistic because I create various glass ornaments. I have been doing this for the past 24 years and enjoy every moment of it,” Thom revealed.

After high school, Thom attended the Government Technical Institute. He graduated from the institution but could not get a job.

A neighbour noticed this and asked Thom if he would like to learn something different. Thom

The glass blower can also shape the glass into names for ornaments

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O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: This is a promising year for new releases in fiction, poetry and non-fiction from the Caribbean literary world and its diaspora. Two of the four books are written by authors who live and work in Trinidad, while the other two are written by Caribbean-British writers.

A Caribbean story can flourish anywhere, to different depths, and this rich quartet of upcoming titles proves that, based on the strength of their promise alone.

The Lost Child

by Caryl Phillips (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, March 2015) The work of KittitianBritish novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer Caryl Phillips delves into the experiences of African diaspora peoples in the United Kingdom, the Caribbean and elsewhere, rendering their lives in complex and imaginative relief. His newest novel, The Lost Child, is a bold and ambitious undertaking: a response to Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Reconfiguring

the personages of Cathy and Heathcliff, Phillips’ fictionalising is also investigative, asking questions of bloodlines, origins and the nature of family life. Works of art that alter the perspectives from which we view an inherited landscape are crucial. When powerfully done, they resonate with the resolute strength of Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea. In Phillips’ immense storytelling hands, the thwarted tale of Cathy and Heathcliff is primed to exist discretely and successfully outside of the realm of its source material.

The Whale House and Other Stories

by Sharon Millar (Peepal Tree Press, April 2015) Despite co-winning the 2013 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for The Whale House, Sharon Millar continues to be one of Trinidad’s better-kept literary secrets.

Thankfully, the publication of her first book, a short story collection which contains that Commonwealth prizewinner, should serve to put Millar more solidly on the local and regional

readily accepted.

“That was when he introduced me to Mr Denny, a glassblower. He is now in the US and about 90 years old.

Mr Denny was very instrumental in teaching me glassblowing techniques and helping me to excel in it. Also, when I became employed by the Institute of Applied Science and Technology, which has the largest glassblowing workshop in the country, I received further training and was able to develop my skills,” Thom recalled.

Through a scholarship, Thom attended the Technical University of Nova Scotia in Canada, studying glassblowing.

When he returned to Guyana, he registered his business, Creative Glass Works, in 1993.

Unfortunately, the business could not be established because of lack of funding.

“I never had the funding to do so, or anyone willing to invest in it.

I am doing the artistic aspect of it as a hobby.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to showcase my talent in Antigua at the Go-Invest- Guyana on Show exhibition, and also at GuyExpo,” he not-

map—not just on its periphery, but in the centre of its orbit. Millar’s prose is sharp and carefully wrought, a testament to her time spent studying creative writing formally in the MFA programme at Lesley University. The Whale House is a tale of human grief set against nature’s majesty; if it is any indication of the collection’s strength, then Millar’s book launch at the 2015 NGC Bocas Lit Fest will be one of the itinerary’s highlights.

The Strange Years of My Life

by Nicholas Laughlin (Peepal Tree Press, April 2015) Laughlin, programme director of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, editor of Caribbean Beat magazine and the Caribbean Review of Books, and codirector of the Woodbrook arts space Alice Yard, wears a vital abundance of literary hats. It might surprise even betterread, book-club attending Trinis to learn that Laughlin’s own work as a poet is illuminating, and arguably as vital as his ceaseless contributions to the local and regional arts atmosphere.

Thom demonstrating glass blowing at last year's GuyExpo

ed.

It is impressive to observe Thom at work. He artistically uses florescent tubes to make vases, animal-shaped ornaments, and even writes out names in glass.

At his home, in a humble workshop, Thom fires up his blowtorch during his leisure time, to create artistic ornaments. He recently made an elaborate glass tree for a client, which was applauded as being distinct and artistic.

In his workshop, Thom demonstrated for Sunday Magazine how he makes a swan. He stretched and blew the heated, supple glass until it took a swan-like shape. He then mixed red food colouring in water and filled the ornament. Thom moulded the glass expertly and effortlessly, creating a swan.

It was a spell-bounding process.

“I do make glass ornaments for clients and I am planning on estab-

lishing my own business.

I consider my talent a gift because it comes so easily to me. The tree I did for a client took me about two days to complete. Grateful to my neighbour and Mr Denny for helping me develop my talent, I am now willing to impart what I know to all those interested. If I get the funding or resources, I can start a glass blowing programme,” he declared.

(Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

The Strange Years of My Life is an emotional and symbolic organisation of his poems, spread across several years of writing and travelling. Writing for The Operating System, UKbased Trinidadian poet Vahni Capildeo also describes Laughlin’s writing as vital, in the ways that it “brings Caribbean lyric consciousness right up to date, without being overtly political.”

Elements of the personal, framed as a political, private carnival of the self are at work, echoing throughout these poems.

Their print publication is a long-hoped-for delight.

Long Time No See

by Hannah Lowe (Periscope Books, May 2015) In her first fulllength poetry collection, Hannah Lowe focused on the extraordinary and misadventure-marked life of her father, a halfChinese, half-black Jamaican immigrant known amongst his gambling cronies as “Chick.”

The poems in Chick revealed the gaps in understanding between father and daughter, the vacancies of affection marked by a dan-

gerous, uncertain profession and an unsteady home life. Long Time No See, Lowe’s forthcoming book, turns the reader’s attention towards the same story, told this time not in verse but as a memoir. It’s especially interesting to see if this narrative will cut closer to the bone, in its reformatted structure. Lowe’s memoir raises questions about multiple ways of telling a difficult and essential truth, and hints

at being as emotively riveting as its poetic predecessor.

Other Caribbean titles to look out for: Leaving by Plane Swimming Back Underwater by Lawrence Scott (Papillote Press, March 2015) Burn by Andre Bagoo (Shearsman Books, April 2015) The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson (Penguin Press, June 2015) (TT Guardian)

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Queenstown Village from plantation to one of the better developed communities of Essequibo

By Isahak Basir, CCH

Role model

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: With the exception of Aurora and Danielstown, on the Essequibo coast, Queenstown is more prominent in its locationforits sandy terrain, life-saving “raft” for indentured Indians and indelible landmarks of history.

Queenstown, with a population of seven thousand people, is midway of 32miles of Essequibo road. It is bordered by a popular cremation site, the Capoey Lake and an old Dutch compound, formerly at Capoey compound.

This pioneering village of the local government system came into being in 1840, when several village leaders pooled their cash and purchased several sections of land.

Originally, of some 55 sugar plantations in Essequibo, Queenstown was cultivating coffee and cotton.

The present Anglican church, Saint Bartholomew, was erected on the foundation of the coffee complex owned by the whites at the time.

The church, unique for its architecture, is a replica of a slave ship that brought slaves from Africa.

On the western side of Saint Bartholomew church, a symbolic pot is well preserved. This cast iron, round boiling pot is about four feet in diameter and can store about 100 gallons of water.

Villagers claim that this pot was used to cook food for the enslaved workers.

By Narine Dat Sookram

Interior of the St Bartholomew Anglican Church in Queenstown

Historically, in the episode of slavery, the Muslim Fulani tribe was brought to Queenstown, where they built the first mosque in Guyana. Its people were referred to as “Fula Maan”.

The village was under white ownership for 40 years and the estate owner’s mansion still stands today in Cow Dam. The name “rescue raft”, known in Queenstown, came about when sugar estates on Essequibo were rapidly closing down and dire hardship befell the hundreds of displaced indentured Indians.

It was Queenstown and Danielstown that kept the markets of Zorg, Hampton Court and Affiance alive. The markets were loaded with corn bread, cassava products, pone and black pudding.

At Hampton Court market, on Fridays at around 2pm, a mule by the name of Corn Bread would forcefully breakout from the stable and invaded the market in search of corn bread.

Queenstown came in the limelight when it produced some brilliant academics, all of whom flourished in education, banking and legal fields.

Some of those persons were the Ellis’, Bacchus’ and the Bostons.

The village, which is the base for one of the four NDCs in Region Two, always celebrated its anniversary with pomp and splendour, supported by home-coming overseas villagers.

Under European landlordism, Queenstown had a popular horse racing ground known as Talligin Race Ground, where every two months,horseracing, supported by several estate owners, would attract thousands of sugar workers. The race ground was closed in 1938 when a stipendiary magistrate by the name of Verasammy dismantled the last stable.

Queenstown farm workers gave solidarity to hundreds of marching indentured Indian sugar workers from Devonshire Castle on the way to Onderneeming

Immigration Office when they were advised to turn back from Queenstown.

That industrial action caused several sugar workers to be shot dead at Cabbage Dam in 1872, where there is now a monument at Devonshire Castle.

Another historic event in Queenstown was a visit by the legendary Jamaican freedom fighter, Marcus Garvey in 1938,which lead to an area identified for communal farming. This area is known as the Garvey Trail.

Massive erosion by sea in the late nineteen century resulted in the original road relocated inland between Capoey Police Station and estate Le Union, leaving many relics on the foreshore.

Queenstown is now a thriving community with fuel stations, hotels, sawmilling operations, cottage industries, modern restaurants, good road signs, well-paved streets and much more. It is a village of good standing and is considered an “icon” of development.

Once on the St Lucian Pigeon Island

K

INGSTON, JAMAICA: History spoke across the time continuum, aided in the present day by our knowledgeable guide Denise Murray, as the Jamaican media toured the historic St Lucian Pigeon Island site, as part of our recent tourist checklist.

The journey into the past of this preservation site proved a worthwhile learning experience.

There was, of course, the crash course in Caribbean history about the island originally being an Arawak habitation, then a base for

Ruins of one of the colonial buildings, remnants of Pigeon Island’s historic past. The island was originally inhabited by the Arawak people but British Admiral George Rodney wrested control in 1778, and made the isle a fort.

French pirate François Le Clerc, before being conquered in 1778 by British Admiral George

Rodney, who made the 40-acre hilly expanse a fortress christened Fort Rodney, which today re-

calls a bygone era with ruins of stone buildings.

The afternoon outing to Pigeon Island (so named because in days of yore, pigeons were used to carry messages to the mainland) made for an endurance test, too, as there were hiking trail treks to platform lookout spots, flights of stairs to ascend to former gun barracks, and hillsides to descend for beachside refreshments to wrap up the day.

Take a pictorial gander as history intersects with jaw-droppingly beautiful vistas of an island paradise. (Jamaica Observer)

E

very one of us can surely benefit from having a role model to look up to. The key point though is to choose someone we know to help us become the best version of ourselves. A role model with good mentorship abilities can surely help us to grow as a person.

Usually role models can give us good advice and share some of their success stories with us. For those who would like be an inspiring person, then the key will be to associate with someone of similar values.

This means that we must do our homework, meaning we must try to figure out why we admire those people and how we are influenced by their actions.

Making a list of things that are important to us will surely help us to achieve our goals once we engage with role model. For example we need to know what kind of life we want to live and the kinds of things we want to achieve in life.

The whole idea of considering a role model is to encourage us to become a better person. So as we start to consider how we can choose a good role model, we must first try to develop faith in our own selves first, because having confidence in ourselves will give us the abilities to become whatever we choose.

In many cases, we really don’t have to look too hard, because there are always great role models that exist around us that perhaps have a profound impact on us.

I personally would suggest to consider a role model who has a sense of purpose. In other words a good role model would be someone who knows him/herself well. Never seek a mentor who seems perfect, but doesn’t have a sense of purpose.

Basically never take someone as a mentor who pretends to be someone they are not. This will result in a lot of disappointments. The ideal role model person would be someone who makes us feel good about being who we are.

Having a mentor doesn’t make us any different.

The idea behind having a role model is to have someone to inspire us to improve our lives.

Therefore, if for some reason, we are not achieving our goals, then it’s a good sign that we should be looking for a different one.

Another thing to consider is someone who interacts well with others. They should communicate well with people, because it’s easy to understand things when people can communicate well.

Sometimes some people take big risk and get lucky by being successful, but these are the ones I suggest to keep an eye out for. It’s better to choose a role model who has gained their position through hard work.

These are the more reliable ones that can help us achieve our goas and motivate us to become good role models ourselves for the people in the world around us.

For questions, comments or feedback, send them to mcnarine@rogers.com.

Bollywood

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015 | www.caribbeantimesinternational.com

Actor Aditya Pancholi arrested for creating ruckus at a pub in Juhu

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ollywood actor Aditya Pancholi was arrested by the Santacruz police early on Sunday on charges of assaulting a bouncer at a Juhu based hotel.

The incident took place around 12:30 am.

Pancholi had visited the Sea Princess Hotel's pub late on Saturday.

Police officials said that the actor took objection to English songs being played at the pub. He asked for Hindi numbers to be played. This led to an altercation between the actor and the DJ. "A bouncer, Mandar Patole, was escorting him out of the pub when Pancholi hit him on the head with a mobile phone. He also

roughed up four colleagues of the bouncer," said Padmakar Chavan, senior inspector, Santacruz police station.

Patole had to be taken to a hospital and sustained five stitches on the head. Pancholi was hauled to the police station and booked on

charges of assault under relevant provisions of the IPC. Officials said the actor was allegedly sloshed.

Later, at around 12.30 pm, the actor was produced before a holiday court which sent him in judicial custody till March 20. Pancholi later applied for bail. He was released on a bail of Rs 50000 cash, even as the court asked him to surrender his mobile phone used in the crime.

Pancholi also shouted slogans in the courtroom and poked fun at lawyers before the magistrate entered.

Aditya Pancholi has had clashes with the law in the past as well. (TOI)

Row over depicting Assembly building in movie 'Dirty Politics'

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epiction of R a j a s t h a n Assembly building in filmmaker K C Bokadia's political thriller 'Dirty Politics' has not gone down well with some of the MLAs, with BJP MLA Ramlal Sharma expressing serious concern over it.

The issue echoed in the Assembly as the BJP MLA wanted to know from Speaker Kailash Meghwal as to who had given the permission to shoot the Assembly from outside.

During the Zero Hour, Ramlal Sharma expressed serious concern, saying that "it puts all MLAs in an awkward situation".

"In the morning my son asked me if I was going to the same Assembly which is shown in the 'Dirty Politics' and I felt embarrassed," Sharma said.

Responding to this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister R S Rathore assured the House that if the Assembly was wrongly depicted in the

movie action would be taken after watching it.

'Dirty Politics', a Hindi movie, written and directed by K C Bokadia and starring Mallika Sherawat, is loosely based on the Bhanwari Devi case in which an ex-Congress Minister and ex-MLA were in jail and facing court trials in Jodhpur. (TOI)

Irrfan and Nishikant Kamat come together for Madaari

H

aving produced both box office hits and critically-acclaimed films like 'Tanu Weds Manu' and Shahid, Shailesh Singh is on a roll.

He has managed to get two very talented people together again for Green Light Entertainment, Dore Films and Saptarishi Cinevision Productions' 'Madaari' that is being presented by Bharat Shah. Irrfan will be essaying the lead role in this film, which will be directed by Nishikant Kamat.

The last time this actor-director duo worked together was on Mumbai Meri Jaan, a film that not only went on to win notices, but also set a perfect chemistry between the actor and director. Ask Irrfan his views on working with Nishikant, and he says, "During Mumbai Meri Jaan, I developed a deep

bond with Nishikant. Since then, I've been eagerly awaiting for an opportunity to work with him. Hence, when a good subject like Madaari came up, I instantly agreed." Nishikant adds, "Irrfan and my association goes back a long way; we actually did TV together first. Post Mumbai Meri Jaan, we had to wait for the right script to work with each other again. Apart from being a friend, he is a legendary actor and I have definitely learnt a lot from him."

Shot across the length and breadth of India — Mumbai, Shimla, Dehradun, Delhi, Jaisalmer and Hyderabad, among other places — this IrrfanNishikant film is a hard-hitting social thriller, with a strong emotional connect. It also stars Jimmy Sheirgill and has an enviable ensemble cast.

Shailesh Singh, who apart from being a producer on Madaari is also co-producing Hansal Mehta's next, Aligarh, says, "It's exciting that we have two talented individuals coming together for Madaari. We had a blast shooting the film and full credit goes to my co-producers Irrfan, Shelija Kejriwal, Sandeep Singh and Anil Patil. We'll commence post production shortly and are aiming for a July-August 2015 release." (TOI)

Karan Patel to marry Ankita Bhargava on May 3 2015

M

arriages are made in heaven and this phrase holds true for popular TV actors Karan Patel of 'Yeh Hain Mohabbatein' and Ankita Bhagava, who are all set to tie the knot on May 3, 2015. Ankita, who was last seen in 'Ekk Nayyi Pehchaan', says that it was love at first sight.

"Karan first saw me on January 13, 2015 and it was love at first sight for me. He later told me that the moment he saw me, he thought of me as his wife. He then approached my parents for the marriage and then they got in touch with my uncle. After this, all the wedding formalities like matching the kundali and all started. Everything worked smoothly and went like flowing water. We were destined to be together," said the actress.

Talking about the wedding plans, Ankita shared, "We will be having a roka ceremony this Saturday. The wedding

will take place on May 3 2015. It will be a destination wedding. We are not disclosing the destination name right now but we will have a big reception party in Mumbai once we are back."

When asked about the rumours of her being the reason behind Karan and Kamya's break-up, she says, "Trust me, I have never heard such a ridiculous story. There is no truth to it. Kamya

and Karan broke-up in December and we met around mid January.

These are just baseless stories."

Describing Karan's qualities, Ankita says, "I really like the way he is with my parents. They always wanted a son and finally they have found one in Karan. He is just like me. Our thoughts, values, the way we are brought up just match."

(TOI)

Neetu Kapoor posts a picture of Ranbir Kapoor with Deepika Padukone

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n Thursday, Neetu Kapoor surprised her 50, 000 followers when she posted a picture of her son Ranbir Kapoor with his former flame, Deepika Padukone, from Ayan Mukerji's blockbuster, ‘Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani’, with the cap-

tion 'A Happy Joyous Colourful Holi to all my Insta Buddies !!!!'

The still from the popular Holi song, ‘Balam Pichkari’, sent fans of RK and Dippy into a tizzy, with some prophesising that the former lovebirds will eventually reunite while others claimed

that Neetu 'aunty' was sending an `indirect message' to her son's live-in partner, Katrina Kaif.

This isn't the first time RK's mummy has whipped up an Insta surprise. In the past too, Katrina was cropped out of a family photograph of the Kapoors during the celebrations of RK's cousin, Nitasha Nanda's birthday.

While Neetu Kapoor couldn't be reached for a comment, Rishi Kapoor retorted, saying, "I imagine it is Holi thus a picture of revelry and that's a song her son has sung.

Don't overstretch your imagination!" We won't.

And hopefully, Katrina too will look at the larger picture.Like we said, bura na mano, Holi hai!

(TOI)

Lara joins 'Fitoor' cast

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ctress and former beauty queen Lara Dutta has joined the cast of Abhishek Kapoor's 'Fitoor', and she's glad her daughter has given her a thumbs up for her look in the movie.

"New day, new movie!! Happy to join the cast and crew of 'Fitoor' for Day 1!

Daughter has passed her verdict on my outfit so I'm good to go," tweeted Lara, a mother to three-year-old daughter Saira with husband Mahesh Bhupathi.

In 'Fitoor', which also stars Katrina Kaif, Rekha and Aditya Roy Kapur, Lara is reportedly playing the part of an art curator. (TOI)

26 hollywood Mirren reigns on Broadway J Lo's shells-out $25k Helen as Britain's Queen Elizabeth for flawless skin N J www.caribbeantimesinternational.com | WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015

ennifer Lopez's beauty secret has been revealed which includes the CACI non-surgical facial lift treatment. An insider unveiled that the 'Boy Next Door' actress spent around 25,000 dollars on the wrinkle eraser treatment as she got impressed with its results, the Daily Express reported.

The CACI, a non-invasive facial treatment is like a workout of the facial muscles that concentrates on the areas with wrinkles and lines,

such as the jaw-line, mouth and eyes, and with this skin's ability to neutralise bacteria is enhanced and protects the skin against daily damage. The CACI facial toning system involves a to-

tal of twelve treatments with 75-minute each, but there is a smaller handheld version of it known as the CACI Microlift is available which is just for ten minutes.

Dean Nathanson, Managing Director of CACI International said that their noncrystal CACI Mircolift and first limited edition Swarovski crystal Microlift has fabulously favoured by the customers, sold out within days of launch, and has various price nationwide.

(TOI)

Bradley Cooper's girlfriend hopes to get engaged soon

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uperstar Bradley Cooper and longtime girlfriend Suki Waterhouse are reportedly planning to take the next step in their relationship. The model is excited to get an engagement ring, reported Us magazine.

"Suki says she's been warming him up to the idea of marriage and he's starting to get excited about it," a source said.

"It's up to Bradley to pop the question, of course, but she hopes it happens soon," the source added.

The 'American Sniper' actor, 40, and Waterhouse, 23, began dating in March

2013, and made their first Hollywood appearance together at the star's 'American Hustle' NYC premiere that

December. Cooper was previously married to actress Jennifer Esposito from December 2006 to November 2007. (TOI)

Experienced pilots back Harrison Ford's aviation skills post near-death crash

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arrison Ford, who recently survived a near death plane crash, has received positive reviews of his aviation skills from experienced pilots and mechanics.

According to expe-

rienced pilots, the motor skills of the 72-yearold actor are good and the actor is thorough and professional when it comes to inspecting the planes he flies before takeoff to make sure they are airworthy,

TMZ.com reported.

Other pilots said that the proof of Ford's flying abilities were validated on a Venice golf course as he laid it down as safely as possible, without an engine.

(TOI)

time and get my hair redyed and bleached, was not my thing at all," he said.

The star plays Peeta Mellark in the movies.

After having spent so much time with them, he admitted he will miss his co-stars.

"I'm going to miss just being with everyone that much. We are all still close and see each other on a fairly regular basis.

When you are filming, it's 12 plus hours a day for months at a time.

It's kind of sad, because you had such a great time making them, now it's coming to a close.

But also, I think everyone is ready to move on to the next stages of their careers and lives and everything." (TOI)

Josh Hutcherson hates his hair in 'Hunger Games'

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ctor Josh Hutcherson is glad to have finished working on 'The Hunger Games' movies because he hated the blonde hair he has in the films.

The 22-year-old actor said he is pleased to have finished shooting the four blockbuster movies because it means he can get rid of his previous locks, reported ABC news.

"I'm excited to shed the blonde hair! That's the thing that I was like, 'Get out of here!' Having to do touch ups all the

early a decade after winning an Academy Award for her role as Britain's Elizabeth II in "The Queen," Helen Mirren is ruling over Broadway in 'The Audience,' a new play about the monarch's weekly meetings with her prime ministers.

Mirren said she has huge empathy for the 88 year-old royal she plays in the British import that premiered in London and opened on Sunday at New York's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

"Both times, for the film and now the play, I had to do a lot of research and the more research I did really, the more respect I gained for her," Mirren, 69, said ahead of the opening.

The queen's weekly meetings with her prime ministers are private, so 'The Audience' is an imagining of the conversations and relationships Elizabeth has had with eight of the 12 British leaders who served during her more than 60year reign.

Mirren, a multipleTony nominee, admits it is difficult to imagine what Elizabeth's world is like. But the newspaper USA Today said her Elizabeth defends the monarchy and "deftly

reconciles her sense of entitlement with a deep humility and empathy."

In the play, which does not run chronologically, Mirren is shown as a older queen reassuring a doubtful John Major, played by actor Dylan Baker, that is he is up to the job. In the next scene she changes into the young Elizabeth, holding her first meeting as queen with the formidable Winston Churchill (Dakin Matthews).

The play, written by Peter Morgan who also penned 'The Queen,' and directed by Stephen Daldry, lets audiences listen in to her conversation with a depressed Gordon Brown (Rod McLachlan.) They hear her playful, friendly banter with Labor Prime Minister Harold

Wilson and watch as she soothes a testy Margaret Thatcher.

With each scene the queen's age changes along with her costumes and hairstyle.

"Even if she's not the real royal deal, this is still about as close as most of us are going to get to a cozy tete-a-tete with the best loved of the regal Windsors," said The New York Times newspaper.

Mirren also appears alongside younger versions of the monarch, showing her reluctant to move into Buckingham Palace and her early annoyances with royal life.

"It's obvious who the real ruler is when it comes to Broadway.

Mirren's crown is safe," said The New York Post newspaper. (TOI)

'The Simpsons' co-creator Sam Simon dies at 59

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hilanthropist Sam Simon, one of the creative minds behind the popular animated series 'The Simpsons', has passed away due to terminal colon cancer.

He was 59.

Simon died on Monday at his home here, his foundation, the Sam Simon Foundation, confirmed the news via Facebook, reported Time.

"It is with much sadness that we must let you know that Sam Simon has passed over," the announcement read.

Simon was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2012, and was told he had only three to six months left to live. He survived that diagnosis.

Simon had said in an interview earlier that he was able to stay positive despite his diagnosis.

He reportedly said he was planning to donate USD 100 million of his fortune to charity, mostly to animal organisations.

A graduate of Stanford University, the director had nine primetime Emmys to his name.

One was for his work on 'The Tracey Ullman Show', where fellow "Simpsons" co-creators Matt Groening and James L Brooks also worked, while the other awards were for 'The Simpsons'.

Simon left the show in 1993, just four years after it debuted on Fox, but remained in the credits as an executive producer and continued to earn money from the show thanks to home video sales deal.

He also wrote episodes of 'Taxi', 'Cheers' and 'It's Garry Shandling's Show' before landing 'The Simpsons'.

Simon largely retired from the entertainment business while only in his 30s after realising he was financially set for

life a few years later.

He was a staunch advocate for animal rights.

Since 2002, Simon had self-funded, at the annual cost of several million dollars, the Sam Simon Foundation, dedicated to rescuing and retraining stray dogs who would otherwise be euthanized.

According to him, the foundation aimed to 'rescue dogs' and 'train them to be service dogs, (to help) people with disabilities', primarily the deaf.

The show's showrunner, Al Jean, paid tribute to his late colleague on Twitter. "@thesimpsons #everysimpsonsever Just heard terrible news of death of @simonsam. A great man; I owe him everything," Jean tweeted.

(TOI)

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015 | www.caribbeantimesinternational.com

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The Ireng River, also known as Rio Mau, forms the border between Guyana and neighbouring Brazil. It is accessible from the Guyana side south of Lethem, located on the border with Brazil.

Boat trips along the Ireng River and its tributary, the Rio Takatu, are ideal for birding enthusiasts and even

campers.

Ireng is considered the most picturesque of Guyana's many rivers.

Orinduik Falls and Takagka Falls are some of the waterfalls along the Ireng River. Another spectacular waterfall on the river is the almost 100-metre (close to 330 feet tall) Kurutuik Falls.

(Photos copyright to Michael C. Lam. TheMichaelLamCollection.com)

Spectacular view of the Ireng (Photo by David Stanley)

Camping on the bank of the Ireng River

Downriver at Orinduik

Caribbean arts conference seeks sustainability, connectivity

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: The visual arts conference Tilting Axis: Within and Beyond the Caribbean—Shifting Models of Sustainability and Connectivity, was held in Barbados last weekend and was dedicated to forging infrastructure between several independent art organisations and museums operating across the Caribbean, US, EU, UK and China. The conference organisers, in a press release described it as “a game-changing development for sustainable economic development in regional visual art.”

The two-day conference took place February 27- 28, bringing together the diverse leaders of these visual art development organisations to negotiate strategic regional and international alliances for the formalisation and further development of infrastructure, production and markets for Caribbean art.

The conference was organised by the Fresh Milk Art Platform Inc, where the event was held, in collaboration with ARC Magazine, Res Artis and the Pèrez Art Museum, Miami.

Tilting Axis was supported by the Prince Claus Fund, the British Council and the Davidoff Art Initiative.

Among the more than 30 invited participants were Annalee Davis, founding director of the Fresh Milk Art Platform (Barbados); Holly Bynoe, co-founder and editorin-chief of ARC Magazine (St

Participants at the conference Tilting Axis, held in Barbados from February 27-28

Vincent and the Grenadines); David Codling, director arts, Americas, British Council (Colombia); Deborah Anzinger, artist and director of Kingstonbased visual art initiative NLS (Jamaica); Nicholas Laughlin, co-founder of TT-based backyard space, Alice Yard (TT); Malaika Brooks-Smith-Lowe, co-founder and director of Groundation Grenada; Marsha Pearce, senior editor of ARC Magazine and Sunday Arts Section writer (TT); Joscelyn Gardner, artist (Barbados); and Versia Harris, Artist and Fresh Milk volunteer (Barbados).

According to co-organisers Holly Bynoe and Annalee Davis, the conference seeks to create opportunities for visual artists living in the Caribbean and provide professional and economic development in the region through formal collab-

orations between key art organisations and foundations across the Caribbean and beyond. The conference also aims to build and redefine relationships around cultural exchange between the Global North and the Global South.

“It is not just about contemporary art. One of the tasks we have undertaken at the Pèrez Art Museum Miami is the building of Caribbean art histories in the consciousness of the American public. We see the Pèrez Art Museum as strategically placed to undertake this,” said Tobias Ostrander, chief curator of the Pèrez Art Museum Miami.

From the conference, a strategic action plan for continued collaboration was developed after a reflection on the twoday discussion.

“In creating markets for contemporary art in the

Caribbean, we are developing the ecosystem and all the underlying components that drive that market: the environment for artists to make great work; art writers, researchers and funders to help make that work accessible to the public; international museums and galleries to show the work; advisors and dealers to get the work placed in collections.

One of the mandates issued to the participants of the Tilting Axis conference is to tighten strategic networks in their home countries. The organisers of the conference also expect to expand the invited participant list for the next meeting which will take place in 2016.

“Many of us working in the region have been speaking with one another, in some cases for many years, but today is the first time that artist-led initia-

tives have come together from the Dutch, Spanish, French and English territories to meet physically in the Caribbean,” said Annalee Davis in her welcome address.

Mario A Caro, president of Res Artis of Amsterdam, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaborations to be developed between members of Res Artis, a worldwide network of art residencies, and organisations in the Caribbean. “It is clear that the cultural sector in the Caribbean is undergoing exciting and, at times, dynamic changes, and many of these have to do with relationships being established with new partners around the globe.

The increase in the mobility of artists through art residencies, both into and out of the region, is one critical factor.”

Holly Bynoe said, “The meeting of professionals who are actively engaging and challenging collaborative strategies acknowledges the changes rippling across the Caribbean, and reaffirms the critical value of innovative emerging networks.

“As more eyes are turning to look at this space, we need to be cognisant of what they are seeing, and consider how and what we want them to experience. Tilting Axis aspires to become a conduit; supporting the professionalisation of artists and formalising engagements, leading to greater visibility and accessibility of contemporary Caribbean art."

(TT Guardian)

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www.caribbeantimesinternational.com | WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015

A creative fusion of fabric results in Guyanese designer Marlon Agrippa’s most fashionable collection yet.

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: Infusing linen, tulle, satin, and Indian cotton, Agrippa was able to design his most admirable collection

so far.

“The focus of Pure Complement was for the male to complement the female rather than competing with her while flirting around a theme, ‘water’, which in itself spoke of purity and allowed for much thoughtfulness and a deep sense of humanity and decency,” the designer said in an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine.

Agrippa is not only a fashion designer but also an interior decorator who enjoys the art process of transforming a simple house into an extraordinary home.

For more information on this collection, call 592675-4268. (Photos by Helio Phoeli) (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

TT Biographies in focus

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O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: When book clubs go fishing—literarily speaking—for their next book club choice, chances are they will settle on a safe catch like the latest novel that’s has managed to rise to the top of some best seller list. That’s why the Sunday Arts Section (SAS) Book Club is looking at new and innovative ways to tackle your book club choice. This month’s choice might just surprise you.

We started the year with some innovative inspirational books: 'The Late Starter’s Orchestra' by Ari L Goldman and 'Your Life Calling' by Jane Pauley.

Both highlight ways to redefine your life, especially in middle age.

February featured The Marshmallow Test: 'Mastering Self Control

by Walter Mischel'.

In March, we’re taking the plunge with biographies, the perfect choice for a book club.

Don’t say you’re not fond of biographies, because that will just prove that you’re not as up to date as you think when it comes to biographies.

Biographies now feature some of the most innovative and exciting writing that literature has to offer.

Gone are the days when biographies felt like a longer version of an encyclopedia entry with a boring timeline of facts beginning with where someone was born followed by the highlights of that person’s life—not to mention a splash of background information about the famous person’s ancestors that we really don’t care to know.

The whole emphasis in biographies has changed from timeline facts to a thematic focus that puts a person’s life in perspective clearly and creatively while showing readers the significance of a person’s life in a particular period of time and how that life impacts on our own lives today. Biographies are

bridging the gap between past and present in new and innovative ways.

Authors of biographies are now capturing their subjects in a way that makes them feel like they have been lifted from the pages of great fiction literature.

You’ll also find that biographers are no longer limited to historians.

Journalists are writing more biographies as well.

Once you get hooked on biographies you’ll want to read more of them so this month we give you the top ten list of favourite biographies. In the meantime, the SAS Book Club choice for March is Stokely: A Life, by Peniel E Joseph. This is the definitive biography on Trinidadianborn, American civil rights organiser Stokely Carmichael, who later changed his name to Kwame Ture and became a PanAfricanist leader.

What is most interesting about this biography is how Joseph, a historian, pays close attention to Ture’s Trinidadian roots. You don’t have to have a keen interest in the Black Power Movement of the 70s or even history in general to appreciate this biography.

In many ways, this is a book about fashioning a leader and understanding the role cultural roots play in creating that leader.

This is a book about how leaders find their voice and how that voice is defined by roots.

There are questions about Ture’s life that make fascinating book club discussions.

Consider this: Stokely Carmichael carved a place for himself among the “holy trinity” of the American Black Power Movement along with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X—so why did Malcolm X and Martin Luther King reach legendary status while Stokely Carmichael’s name faded in the background? Answer that question in your book club. (TT Guardian)

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015 | www.caribbeantimesinternational.com

Roadmap critical for TT women sport P

ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: One of the ways in which International Women’s Day is celebrated is through the recognition of women’s achievement in sport. A gender roadmap for sport is critical toward improving female involvement in sport in TT. Over the years our female athletes have excelled with great distinction on the local, regional and international sporting stage.

Some of our most outstanding female athletes over the years have been: • the 1979 Netball team which were joint World Champions with New Zealand and Australia, • Debbie O’ Connor, Sabrina Cassie (badminton), • Giselle Salandy and Ria Ramnarine (boxing), • Louise Browne, Ann Browne-John, Merissa

Aguilleira and Anisa Mohammed (cricket), • Maria Nunes (golf), • Elizabeth Gibson, Beverly Corbie, Olivia Bennett (tennis), • Jennylyn Branker, Rheann Chung, Verna Edwards, Aleena Edwards (table tennis), • Carolyn Bart, Yesenia Luces, StaceyAnn Siu Butt (hockey), • Cheryl Ann Sankar (Taekwondo); • Siobhan Cropper (swimming), • Shantol Ince (paralympic swimming) • Maria Gooding (triathlon) • 2014 senior national football team, • Kelly Ann Baptiste, Fana Ashby, MichelleLee Ahye, Cleopatra Borel (track and field) • Lynette ‘Granny’ Luces, Tonya Nero (distance running) A key mission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is en-

couraging gender equity through women’s participation in sport. The IOC Olympic Agenda 2020 is focusing on encouraging International Federations (IFs) and National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to increase the number of women to 50 percent of athletes taking part in the Olympic Games as well as encouraging the overall participation of women in sport.

To meet the mandate of the IOC a strategic plan on women and sport has to be developed.

Firstly, a situational analysis should be conducted to provide a status report on the number and extent of women and girls involvement in sport across several variables: ethnicity, religion, social class, geographical location and disabilities.

The Ministry of Sport and the TTOC are signatories to the Brighton

Declaration for Women and Sport 1994. Several other Caribbean countries including Barbados and Jamaica are also signatories.

The spirit of the Brighton Declaration 1994 was the strategic development of programmes across all continents to increase women participation in sports.

In addition, women involvement should extend beyond the field of play into other areas such as administration, coaching, and officiating.

The Ministry of Sport promotes ‘Women and Girls in Sport’ with an annual festival in various sporting disciplines.

Additionally, the TTOC constitution reinforces the objectives of the Brighton Declaration in its constitution by promoting “equality of participation of men and women in sports” (TTOC constitution 2012).

A critical question that has to be answered is whether or not the ‘Women and Girls in Sport’ programme is yielding its desired results? Does it need revamping and rebranding to be more attractive?

How are the outcomes of the programme measured and what data exist to analyse the outcomes with stated objectives? How much of the Brighton Declaration have been implemented?

Who is monitoring and what is being monitored?

In the US, Title IX, 1972 was introduced to ensure that sex was not used to discriminate in the access and distribution of resources. As such Title IX necessitates equal access to sporting facilities to men and women and both male and female athletic abilities be given equal attention. Is there need for a similar measure as it re-

lates to state funding?

The Prime Minister’s ‘Gender Budgeting’ proposal can ensure that future state funds allocation for sports takes into account gender dynamics.

The question of data is critical if any strategic development is to take place as recommended by the Brighton Declaration.

For instance, is there both quantitative and qualitative data that speaks to the meaning that females across different age groups, ethnicities, social class, geographical locations and religions associate with sports?

A clearly defined strategic plan with proper implementation and evaluation mechanisms can ensure sustained female participation in sport and continued successes of female athletes well into the future. (TT Guardian)

Guyana rout Barbados to start NACRA 15’s title defence

By Treiston Joseph

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EORGETOWN, GUYANA: The Guyana national ruggers probably had added motivation with President Donald Ramotar as their lead supporter for their opening game in the North American Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) 15’s tournament as they handed Barbados a 48-22 drubbing at the National Park rugby field.

Avery Corbin opened the scoring for Guyana in the 15th minute before Raj Edwards found his way in the end zone five minutes later for the equalizer.

However, Guyana

The successful Guyanese team

continued to score try after try as the Guyanese ended with a comfortable halftime lead of 17-5.

The second half was

much of the same story as the scoring outburst by the “Green Machine” had the huge crowd in a frenzy.

Even fresh legs in the second half did not slow the momentum of the Guyanese ruggers as they kept pushing the

pace of the game, out muscling and out hustling their Bajan visitors.

The game ended with two tries each by Blaise

Bailey and Jamal Angus, four conversions by Captain Ryan Gonsalves and a try apiece by Avery Corbin, Claudius Butts, Theo Henry and Richard Staglon..

Raj Edwards (two tries), Stephen Millar (one try), Jerren Clarice (one try) and Mykyle Walcott (one conversion) were the scorers for the visitors Barbados.

Guyana will face Trinidad and Tobago in their next encounter on April 11 in the twin island republic.

Victory against Trinidad will allow Guyana to play the winner of the North Zonce championships for the 15’s title.

(Guyana Times)

C’Bar’s 15-y-o clocks Age-Group World Record 45.69 secs over 400m

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: The final day of the Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association (JAAA) National Carifta Trials was highlighted on Sunday by some super fast performances, chief among them a stupendous 45.69-second clocking by Calabar's Christopher Taylor in the boys' Under-18 400-metre event at the National Stadium.

Running out of lane seven, the impressive Taylor blew away the field and sent the moderate crowd into a frenzy with the sub-46-second clocking. The 15-yearold's dazzling performance also saw him achieving the Age-Group World Record, pulling

down Grenadian Kirani James' previous record of 45.70 seconds.

"I am really comfortable and elated about my performance today (Sunday). My coach just gave me the instruction to come out here and qualify for the Carifta Games, so I am really surprised with the time...to get 45, wow," an amazed Taylor told the Jamaican media.

With the Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships a few weeks away, Taylor added that fans can expect some faster times, but quickly pointed out that he does not intend to push himself too hard.

Taylor won ahead of Devaughn Ellington (47.34sec) of Petersfield High and Leonardo

Ledgister (48.20sec) of St Elizabeth Technical.

Junelle Bromfield of St Elizabeth Technical High School ran away with the girls' equivalent in 53.30 seconds, ahead of Sanique Walker (54.53sec) and Satanya Wright (55.24sec) also of St Elizabeth Technical.

Kingston College's Akeem Bloomfield then followed suit in the boys' Under-20 event, clocking a superb 45.41 seconds to win ahead of Terry Thomas (47.05sec) of Greater Portmore and Robin Black (47.18sec) of St Elizabeth Technical.

The girls' equivalent was won by Aleesha Kelly of Hydel High, who was later disqualified for lane violation. The race was awarded to Tiffany

James of Papine High with a time of 53.49 seconds, while Dawnalee Loney (53.59sec) of Camperdown High and Yeaschea Williams (53.75sec) of Dinthhill Technical were promoted to second and third, respectively.

The sensational Jaheel Hyde of Wolmer's Boys once again clocked another blistering time of 13.22 seconds to win the Under-20 110-metre hurdles event. The 18-yearold was euphoric and applauded the performance after crossing the line ahead of Calabar's Seanie Selvin (13.42s) and Marvin Williams (13.68s) of St Elizabeth Technical.

Hyde's time which was run in a positive wind

speed of 0.1 metres per second, was unofficially below the champs record of 13.24 seconds set in 2013 by Omar McLeod of Kingston College.

The start of the race had some anxious moments which led to the disqualification of Shaquille Shaw of Kingston College and Odario Phillips of Camperdown who both false-started.

Hyde got away cleanly and was quickly ahead of the field, but he had to withstand a challenge from Selvin half-way through the race, before pulling away.

World Youth record holder Yanique Thompson, now representing GC Foster College, won the girls' equivalent in a time of

13.63 seconds in a positive wind speed of 2.0 metres per second.

The 18-year-old Thompson though not at her peak, did just enough to get the better of Jeanine Williams (13.64sec) of Immaculate Conception, and Holmwood Technical's Owenieka Watson (13.95sec).

Janeek Brown of Wolmer's Girls, who finished second in the Under-18 event last year, turned the tables on her opponents. Brown won in a time of 13.43 seconds in a positive wind speed of 0.9 metres per second, ahead Safiya Thompson (13.45sec) of St Jago and Nicolee Foster (13.61sec) of Holmwood Technical.

(Jamaica Observer)

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www.caribbeantimesinternational.com | WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015

USA condemns TT to eighth

Guyanese Phillips, McKenzie, George, Hooper on their way to Carifta

Kenisha Phillips walks away with the girls’ 200 metres win (Treiston Joseph photo)

By Treiston Joseph

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TT’s Nicholas Triston Grant and Italian Augustin Nunez challenge each other for the ball at the FIH World Hockey League Round Two qualifiers in Chula Vista Olympic Training Centre, San Diego, California, on Saturday. TT lost 2-1.

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O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: TT’s national hockey team ended at the bottom of the eightteam standings, following a 5-3 loss to USA in their seventh spot playoff when the FIH World Hockey League Men’s Round Two qualifiers concluded at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Centre, San Diego, California, on Sunday.

Beaten in their five previous matches in the competition, by Russia (6-1), USA (7-1) and Canada (3-0) in Pool B round-robin play as well as 12-2 by Ireland in the quarterfinals, and 2-1 by Italy in the losers semifinal, the Solomon Ecclescaptained TT squad was hopeful of ending the tournament on a high.

However, the Americans, had other ideas and took early control with a goal from Tyler Sundeen in the 12th minute to lead 1-0 at the end of the first quarter while five minutes into the second quarter, Christian Linney made it 2-0 which his team took into the half.

TT, managed to pull a goal back in the 41st minute, but American standout, Pat Harris restored his team’s twogoal cushion with a 45th minute goal.

Shaquille Daniel provided TT with some hope when he cut the lead to 3-2 in the 54th minute, but within seconds, Harris got his second of the match for the host to lead 4-2.

Three minutes later, Daniel also notched his second for the world 30th ranked TT to trail 4-3, but hopes of a late rally

were dashed with Harris completing his hat-trick two minutes after which his team ran down the final minute of regulation time to seal seventh spot.

In the battle for fifth spot, Chile got the better of Italy 2-0 via penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw.

Thomas Keenan put the Europeans ahead in the 35th minute, but Nicolas Renz drew the South Americans levels, and in the shoot-out, Ricardo Achondo and Felipe Eggers converted for the winners while Keenan, Daniele Cioli and Alexis Berczely were off target for Italy.

Last night, in the finals, Ireland came up against Austria, with both teams already assure of qualification to the Hockey World League semi-finals (Round Three), where coveted berths at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games are up for grabs, while Canada and Russia met for third, and the other available spot to the next round.

This after Ireland blanked Canada 2-0 and Austria outlasted Russia 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 regulationtime draw on Saturday night.

Malaysia, Poland and Japan have all qualified for the HWL semifinals thanks to top three finishes at the event in Singapore (SIN) earlier this year.

The remaining qualifiers involving host South Africa, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, France and Switzerland flicked off Saturday in Cape Town until March 15.

(TT Guardian)

EORGETOWN, GUYANA: On the second day of the Carifta Games trials, a number of athletes stated their claim to the national team with exceptional performances at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Ground, Camp Ayanganna.

Up and coming sprinter Kenisha Phillips was the star of the day on Sunday, clocking a blistering 200 metres time to qualify

for the girls’ under-18 200 metres in 24.6s.

The 13-year-old is one of Guyana’s most talented athletes and left the Running Brave club to top Carifta representative Avon Samuels who finished second in 25.1s.

Linden’s Compton Caesar continued to underline his rise to superstardom, with a brilliant 200 metres under-18 winning performance of 21.6s.

Cassey George who qualified for the girls’ 1500 metres on

Saturday won the girls’ under-18 800 metres in 2:23.5s.

Running Brave’s Matthew Mckenzie also qualified for the games, clocking a blistering 9:36.1s to eclipse the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) mark of 9:40.0s.

Meanwhile, the boys’ under-20 200 metres had a disappointing end when both the top athletes of the race failed to finish.

Jason Yaw cramped out in the preliminaries

while Tevin Garraway cramped out in the final to allow Linton Mentis to win it in 21.8s ahead of Kareem Purch, 22.0s and Quacy Clemenson, 22.2s.

Claudrice McKoy was dominant in the girls’ 3000 metres, upsetting Carifta bronze medallist Andrea Foster to win the event in 10:40.6s.

Natricia Hooper also qualified for the triple jump event with a leap of 12.26 to out leap her competitors.

(Guyana Times)

Jamaican Young Boyz inch closer to Under-17 World Cup play-off

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Jamaica’s Tajea Brown (right) moving away from Guatemala’s Victor Valdez during their CONCACAF Under-17 Championship match on March 2. Brown scored a brace against TT on Sunday

AN PEDRO S U L A , HONDURAS: Jamaica defeated fierce rivals Trinidad and Tobago (TT) 5-1 in their Group A CONCACAF Under-17 Championship at the Estadio Francisco Morazan on Sunday and moved a step closer to World Cup play-off berth.

Goals by Peter Vassell (39th), Nathaniel Adamolekun (45th+3), Tajea Brown (80th, 85th) and Donovan Dawkins (90th) pushed Jamaica to their second win in four

games.

They moved to seven points, the same as second-placed Honduras, who were scheduled to play leaders the United States of America (USA) in a later kick-off. The USA lead with maximum nine points.

The Young Reggae Boyz moved three points clear of Guatemala, who were held goalless

by Cuba, who moved to three points.

Following their impressive 5-1 whipping of Caribbean neighbours

TT, Jamaica has improved their goal difference to plus three, just behind Honduras with plus four, ahead of their late kick-off.

Jamaica's Head Coach Andrew Edwards made three changes to the starting team, once again switching goalkeepers -- bringing in Jahmali Waite for Akeem Chambers.

Javain Brown made a return to the team at left back after serving a suspension, while Nicholas Nelson replaced Dawkins up

front.

The Jamaicans made their intentions quite clear from early and were quicker to the ball, but they could have fallen behind in the eighth minute had Tekay Hoyce not mis-hit his shot.

Adamolekun was fouled by goalkeeper Levi Hernandez in the 20th minute and Canadian referee Drew Fisher pointed to the spot but later changed his decision after his Caymanian assistant signalled offside. But Jamaica would take the lead in the 39th minute courtesy of Vassell, who fired home from just outside the box.

That lead was shortlived as US-based Noah Powder pulled TT level with a beautiful free kick in the 42rd minute.

But Adamolekun restored Jamaica's advantage in added time of the first half, lobbing the advancing goalkeeper Levi Hernandez for his third goal of the championship.

Substitute Tajea Brown, who came on in the 67th minute for Nelson, grabbed a brace in the 80th and 85th minutes, before another substitute Dawkins put the icing on the cake in the 90th minute, turning in a Brown pass. (Jamaica Observer)

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015 | www.caribbeantimesinternational.com

Ja's elite athletes for UWI Invitational meet

OSCL president promised exciting year after AGM - Tour to Guyana on later this year…

By Ravendra Madholall

T University of the West Indies (UWI) Track and Field Invitational Meet Director Grace Jackson

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INGSTON, JAMAICA: A number of Jamaica’s elite athletes are expected to be on show at the 14th staging off the University of the West Indies (UWI) Track and Field Invitational Meet, which is set for March 21.

This was announced at a launch held at the Principal's Council Room at the university's Mona campus a short while ago.

Meet Director Grace Jackson was reluctant to name specific athletes, opting to wait until after registrations are closed.

It was however revealed that all UWI athletes - which include sprint hurdle bronze medallist Hansle Parchment among others - once healthy and in the island, will be competing.

Discus thrower Frederick Dacres has confirmed his participation.

The UWI Invitational meet is a marquee event on the calendar of many top athletes. (Jamaica Observer)

O R O N T O , C A N A D A : C a n a d i a n based Guyanese Albert Ramcharran expressed strong optimism that the Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL) is set to run off another exciting 2015 season which begins in May at various venues across the Greater Toronto Area.

He made this declaration on Sunday at the Agincourt Community Centre in Scarborough where the OSCL held its Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Ramcharran also took the opportunity to state that a team will be part of the annual Guyana’s Softball Mini World Cup which is slated for late October.

“We will definitely have another successful and exciting year; in 2014 we had a great tournament and no doubt me and my executives would want to see that happen again for the betterment of softball cricket in Ontario,” Ramcharran mentioned.

According to the OSCL leader, some 25 teams are expected to participate in this year’s various competitions inclusive of 20, 15 and 10-overs while a junior under-16 tournament should take place as well.

Since the formation of the League 20 years ago, Ramcharran has been one of the found-

OSCL executives at Agincourt Community Centre following the conclusion of the AGM on Sunday. Sitting: President Albert Ramcharran, left, and Vice-President Terry Mathura

ing members and he was elated to explain that the league has seen tremendous growth.

“I have been around since the inception of the League, and I can say that we keep improving all the time and my gratitude goes out to you the members of different teams, spectators and executives, who worked tirelessly to be where we at the moment,” Ramcharran pointed out.

One of the major successes for the League in 2014 was the continuation of the 10-10 competition after it was formally

introduced in 2013 and it has garnered greater interest.

“Like any cricketing tournament, the shortest format is always fascinating and exciting; we thoroughly enjoyed the 10-10 version in 2014 and I can guess the teams enjoyed it too and having said so because more teams already asked to participate in that tournament too,” the businessman related.

Apart from the softball competitions in Ontario, a team would be selected after the com-

pletion of the season to be part of the Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association 20over Mini World Cup. OSCL could not have sent a team at last year’s tournament owing to players’ unavailability but Dant Cricket Club did feature under the banner of the OSCL. They dominated from the commencement to conclusion last year triumphing in all three versions, 20-, 15 and 10-overs.

“Hopefully, we should have all the players available for this year’s

tour to Guyana; we will have a good side to compete like Dant done last year; I am just asking the players early to state their interest so we can have enough time to prepare,” stated Ramcharran, The OSCL was also invited to the forthcoming Florida Cup Mini 20over World Cup but is faced with players lack of commitment and financial challenges as well to make the trip possible but again Ramcharran assured measures would be put in place for the 2016 event.

TT’s Bovell III, Borel set sights on Rio 2016

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ORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year 2014 George Bovell III and Cleopatra Borel are both setting their sights firmly on the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Speaking on Friday night, after the First Citizens Sports Foundation’s Sports Awards at Queen’s Hall in St Ann’s, the 31-yearold Bovell III, asked about his plans for 2015, replied, “getting back to basics, building a great foundation for 2016, towards the Olympics.

That’s what really matters.

“That’s what we all look towards, the ultimate goal,” said the lanky swim ace. “It will be nice. If it happens it happens, if it doesn’t,

then I wouldn’t be too upset about it.”

Looking back at his season last year, the 2004 Athens Olympic Games 200-metre individual medley bronze medallist stated, “there were some real struggles for me in 2014. The Commonwealth Games, I was over-trained. When I was in the World Cup, I was swimming very well, then I was in Asia and I got pneumonia. I did some competitions with the pneumonia.”

He continued, “some of the hardest racing I’ve done in my career just came down to will-power. The CAC was a very memorable one for me. I think I might be the first person to win three in a row - three Games, three consecutively.”

Borel, the 2014 Commonwealth Games

TT's Sportsman of the Year 2014 George Bovell III

shot put silver medallist, was unable to attend Friday’s ceremony due to a training stint in Cuba.

Her mother Marcelle Borel, who collected the trophy on behalf of her daughter, noted, “she worked hard and when you work hard, you expect good results.”

She added, “we are always cheering her on.

We are her worst and her best critics. So if she’s good, we compliment her.

If she’s bad, we tell her.”

About her daughter’s plans for 2015, Borel (senior) stated, “she’s looking to do her best in all events, and looking forward to 2016. So her goal is the Olympics (as well as) Pan Am Games 2015 and World (Championships).”

The Pan Am Games will take place from July 21-26 in Toronto, Canada while the World Championships will be staged in Beijing, China from August 22-30.

Sir Hilary Beckles, pro vice-chancellor and campus principal of the Cave Hill campus (Barbados) of the University of the West Indies (UWI), delivered the feature address at Friday’s ceremony.

“In the last year, at my campus in Cave Hill, we have done something historic and unique,” he revealed. “We have rolled out a Masters Degree in Sports Science, and this degree is designed to fit into the routine, movements and cultures of our athletes.”

And, in his address to the gathering, chairman of the First Citizens Sports Foundation Dr Keith Clifford highlighted the events which the Foundation undertook last year, and also mentioned that the group plans to forge partnerships with academic in-

stitutions, both local and abroad.

Hall of Famer Florrie Kelshall (hockey) was recognised at the show, while a number of sporting persons who died in 2014 were remembered, including Rodney Wilkes (power lifting), Rawle Barrow (sailing), Kevon Carter (football), Benedict Cayenne (track and field) and cyclists Clinton Grant, Hilton “Barracuda” Mitchell, Kent Luces, Roger Smart and Ronald Dickie senior.

Entertainment was provided by the husband and wife duo of Ian “Bunji Garlin” Alvarez, who opened the show with his 2015 track “Our Time” and Fay-Ann LyonsAlvarez, who closed the 75-minute long ceremony with her 2015 hit “Raze”.

(TT Newsday)

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

INTERNATIONAL WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2015

TT’s Thompson earns silver at Winter Equestrian Festival

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O R T - O F S P A I N , TRINIDAD: Sixteen-year-old Trinidad and Tobago show jumper Amber Thompson recently placed second in a class of over 50 competitors at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, United States.

Riding a thorough-

bred jumper named Vertigo, Thompson competed in a Speed class at heights of 1.15 metres and jumped an excellent clear round, beaten into second place by a rider with a marginally better time.

That class was Thompson and Vertigo’s third for 2015. One week before, riding in a

Speed class at 1.10 metre heights, she had achieved a clear round, placing seventh. The following day, she rode in the Classic (with immediate jump off) and finished fourth in a large class, riding two clear rounds and losing by time in the jump-off round.

Vertigo and Thompson will be in competition once more this Saturday. They are training with the Millar Brooke Farm of Canada.

Amy, Jonathan and Ian Millar have all ridden internationally for Canada, and in fact, Ian Millar, fondly known as “Captain Canada,” is the most decorated Canadian equestrian.

(TT Newsday)

Bolt to run the 200 metres at the Athletissima Diamond League

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AUSANNE, SWITZERLAND: Sprint legend Usain Bolt, the Olympic and World Champion, is set to run the 200 metres at the Athletissima Diamond League meeting on July 9.

It will be the Jamaican's second big race of the summer, with the six-time Olympic champion also down to line up in the 100 metres at the Areva meeting in Paris five days earlier.

Bolt has yet to finalise the remainder of his summer programme before the World Championships in

Beijing from August 22 to 30.

The world-record holder in the 100m and 200m, will race the 200

metres for the fourth time in Lausanne.

He holds the meeting record of 19.58 seconds, set in 2012. (CMC)

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