Guyana Times International May 04 2018

Pat Holder, one of the founding members of GMR&SC passes away

Page 46

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Govt to look into concerns of Cyber Crimes Bill

WEEK ENDING May 6, 2018

ISSUE NO. 395

See story on page 3

‌following mounting pressure from civil society

Taking Shape

The Management of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) tested a section of the upgraded Departures terminal with the checking in of Caribbean Airlines passengers on May 3,2018. The remaining airlines will be using the section later in the week. The counters in the upgraded area have increased to 32 from 20. (CJIA photos)

2nd pirate attack leaves 1 dead, crew members missing Page 5

APNU/AFC Govt leading country on downward trajectory - PPP MP Page 14

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Govt to look into concerns of Cyber Crimes Bill …following mounting pressure from civil society

By Ramona Luthi

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ttorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams on Thursday stated that the sedition clause of the controversial Cyber Crimes Bill will be looked at, while highlighting that there’s no rush have the bit of legislation passed.

According to clause 18 of the Bill, persons commit an offence of sedition when they “attempt to bring into hatred or excite disaffection towards the government.”

“We will look at it.

We will take it to the cabinet. Just like how it took two years [to have it drafted], what’s the rush?” Williams questioned.

Nevertheless, he maintained that there is no reason for the concerns expressed as the sedition clause has al-

ways been a provision within our country’s criminal law.

In response to questions posed regarding stakeholders, as well as their own party within the Coalition Governmentthe Alliance For Change (AFC)- rejecting the specific clause in the Cyber Crimes Bill, Williams said they were negligent.

“Everyone had ample time…The AFC also had representatives in the Special Select Committee… The fact that there has been no objections for well over two years when everyone who’s saying no now had representatives there.

They were all negligent.

It’s poor leadership,” the AG posited.

AFC Leader Raphael Trotman was quoted in the media saying that he will not support the sedition clause in the Bill.

He said “I can say that

Attorney General (AG), Basil Williams

as presently constructed, I, as Leader of the AFC, cannot support Clause 18.1 in the Bill and will therefore be urging for an amendment, and if none is forthcoming, I will vote against it.”

Laid in the National Assembly in 2016, Guyana’s Cyber Crimes Bill had catered for, inter alia: illegal access to

a computer system; illegal interception; illegal data interference; illegal acquisition of data; illegal system interference; unauthorised receiving or granting of access to computer data; computer-related forgery; computer-related fraud; offences affecting critical infrastructure; identity-related offences; child

pornography; child luring; and violation of privacy among a slew of other offences.

A Special Select Committee had been working on the Bill for the past few years and their report on the Bill was presented recently. That committee was composed of Williams, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, Education Minister Nicolette Henry and parliamentarians Michael Carrington and Audwin Rutherford.

The Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) was represented by Chief Whip Gail Teixeira and Parliamentarians Clement Rohee, Anil Nandlall, and Gillian Persaud-Burton.

Opposition Leader Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has since spoken out against the section of the Bill that entrenches sedition

while outlining that his party’s support for the Bill was not expressed by their presence at the Select Committee.

On Wednesday, the Guyana Press Association made calls for the removal of the offence of sedition from the Cyber Crimes Bill because of the danger it presents to free speech.

Prior to that telephone giant GTT, via a correspondence, expounded similar concerns.

The most recent criticisms over the move to include the sedition clause within the Bill came from the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI).

GCCI while expressing support for the Bill itself called on the “legislators to remove Section 18 (1) A of the Cyber Crime Bill” so that it remains free of the “oppressive and archaic charge of sedition.”

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EDITORIAL

The promised “Good Life”

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he PNC-led APNU/AFC coalition Government is now well past the halfway point of its term of office, in which it promised to deliver “the good life” to the citizens of Guyana.

Sadly, by its own measure, that promise has receded even further under this regime, which is characterised more than anything else by the disjoint between its rhetoric and its actions.

The rhetoric for achieving the “good life” was captured in its “joint manifesto”, in which the goals were stated right up front.

It began with the need for “healing and reconciliation”, and stated quite clearly this meant: “to acknowledge, embrace and celebrate our ethnic diversity”. It was an acceptance that the plural nature of our society, characterised by ethnic blocks, had led to challenges and ruptures that needed to be “healed and reconciled”. However, the Government’s PNC-dominated APNU block’s immediate miniaturising of its AFC partner — which had given it a tenuous claim to bridging the ethnic divide — dimmed hopes of that “healing and reconciliation”. The hard line against a rapprochement with the PPP effectively destroyed those hopes.

The second goal was “good governance”. This did not so much focus on how the PNC-led APNU/AFC coalition would actually utilise the institutions of government, as increasing the space for citizens’ participation in governance. In other words, it did not equate “good governance” with “good government”. But even by its sophistry, it has failed. To slip into a 21st century law on “cybercrime” the 13th century criminal common law of sedition, which forbids any criticism of the Government that might precipitate “disaffection” towards it, certainly does not deliver the promised “increase in the civil liberties of our people”. The less said about “eliminating corruption and Government waste” the better.

But it is the failure on its goal of “industrialisation and jobs” that the PNC-led APNU/AFC coalition has failed to deliver the good life. While most citizens might not — like the Marxists — scoff at “bourgeois rights” like “civil liberties”, they would overwhelmingly agree that for them, at a minimum, the good life is achieved through their own efforts, by having jobs. “Industrialisation” of our economy, which was founded to produce primary products during the colonial period, has been the mantra of every government since independence.

The first PNC government, between 1964 and 1992, rejected the then dominant “industrialisation by invitation” model, seized control of the economy, and attempted to squeeze profits from the agricultural sector through levies and export controls, to achieve that goal via “import substitution”; but ended up destroying the primary-productive sector without any industrialisation. Its present incarnation is yet to even suggest an “industrialisation” policy, and has emphasised taxing businesses without offering them incentives for industrialising the economy. In the meantime, the primary producing areas have been squeezed through political vindictiveness trumping economic rationality: throwing 7700 sugar workers into the streets, and conceding the loss of the lucrative Venezuelan rice markets.

In its articulation of the third goal of “Fair taxes”, the fundamental muddle of the PNC-led APNU/AFC coalition’s thinking is revealed, and it guarantees that any hoped-for ‘good life” is sure to recede farther with every passing day. The APNU/ AFC promised the “fair taxes” would allow the pay checks of ordinary citizens to “go further” and allow “businesses to grow”.

One would assume that this implied the Government would cut taxes significantly, but this was never done. Income taxes remain the same, while the 2% reduction of VAT is insignificant.

Under the goal of “fair taxes”, the PNC-led APNU/AFC coalition also guaranteed a “safe and secure society” – which is certainly what citizens envisage as part of the “good life”. Did they mean they would spend the “fair taxes” to increase security? But why confine taxes to security? Is not all Government spending funded by the taxes on citizens and businesses? Even the loans borrowed by governments have to be eventually paid from taxes.

But even security has not been bolstered. Whither the “good life”?

CFATF JUDGES & PROSECUTORS CONFERENCE: Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque (3rd from left), President David Granger (4th from left), Secretary General of the Commonwealth Baroness Patricia Scotland (5th from left), First Vice President and Prime Minister, Hon. Moses Nagamootoo (6th from left), Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon Basil Williams SC, delegates participating in the conference among others pose for an official photograph.

Addressing domestic violence

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ithin the last four months alone, seven women have been killed by their partners in what can only be described as monstrous acts, while three more unfortunate victims were brutalised at the hands of their partners. Recent statistics point to a disturbing reality: incidents of domestic violence by an intimate partner in Guyana rose from 74.8 percent in 2011 to 89 percent in 2017, with females accounting for upward of 80 percent of the victims. The highest number of these crimes occurs in Region Three, Essequibo Coast and Islands; Region Four, Demerara/Mahaica; and Region Six, East Berbice/Corentyne, which account for roughly three-quarters of the reported incidents of genderbased violence. The majority of the victims are between the ages of 16 and 45 years of age.

The United Nations (UN) statistics show that one in three women around the world experiences violence in her lifetime, often at the hands of

Women Executive Director Phumzile MlamboNgcuka highlighted effective interventions, and reiterated that the pandemic of violence against women and girls can end, but it will need commitment and investment, nationally and internationally. The Women and Gender Equality Commission has also acknowledged that one of the major challenges to efforts to prevent and end violence against women and girls worldwide is financing. As a result, they pointed to the glaring reality that resources for initiatives to prevent and end violence against women and girls are severely lacking.

According to UN Women, when world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, they recognised that ending violence against women and girls was a pre-requisite for the achievement of the development agenda. Goal 5, on gender equality, includes a specific target to end all forms of violence against women, including trafficking, other forms of

someone she knows, loves and trusts. The term ‘violence against women’ means any act of genderbased violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life” (Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, UN General Assembly, 1993).

In the wake of the country’s most recent occurrences, a top Government official acknowledged that the issue of domestic violence is not something that can just be tackled from a law enforcement perspective; rather, it requires intensified inter-agency collaboration. It was highlighted that many of the issues which lead to domestic violence include socialisation, or the lack of it. Consequently, there was a call for closer collaboration with the religious leaders, educational institutions, and parents, to address the underlying issues. While we acknowledge that this is a step in the right direction, Government also needs to intensify its push to end the scourge by increasing funding for new and existing programmes.

In her statement for International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2016, UN

sexual violence.

Despite this, the body pointed out that the resources dedicated to addressing the issue still do not match the scale of the challenge; it also emphasised that allocating adequate resources to prevent and address violence against women is not only a legal obligation and a moral imperative, but a sound investment too. While we know that women are not the only victims of domestic violence — men, children, the disabled, and the elderly can also become victims — we also know that the wealthy as well as the poor can become victims. In fact, domestic violence doesn’t distinguish between victims, nor does it distinguish between perpetrators.

It is clear that, as a society, we need to intensify our focus on changing cultural norms and existing attitudes which promote the acceptance of, and even encourage, violence against women. It is also glaring that the battle will require intensified interagency collaboration. While we must acknowledge the work done to address these issues (Sexual, Domestic Violence 2017-2021 action plan, the Ministry of Social Protection’s community based programme etc) an integral part of the fight to eradicate domestic violence is adequate funding.

NEWS 5

WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018| guyanatimeSinternational.com

T&T Archbishop: 2nd pirate attack leaves 1 Refugees should dead, crew members missing be welcomed A

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rchbishop Jason Gordon is advocating for Venezuelan nationals seeking refuge to be welcomed, treated with dignity and integrated into this country.

In an obvious reference to the recent deportation of 82 Venezuelans following the confirmation of Presentation College students at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, San Fernando, yesterday, Gordon said they were not coming

and the Vicar General made a very powerful statement in the front of the Catholic News first page. ‘Mercy. Let us be merciful to those who come.’ And that’s the best of who we are,” he said.

“The real question is not about the refugees. The real question is what kind of Trinidad and Tobago we want to be? Do we want to be a selfish, self-centred country that only wants to grab for itself for what we can get for ourself?

Archbishop Jason Gordon prays for Michael Thorne, of Presentation College, San Fernando, during the Holy Sacrament of Confirmation at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help RC Church, San Fernando, yesterday.

Also in picture is Thorne’s sponsor Angostura chairman Dr Rolph Balgobin. (Trinidad Guardian)

here to “sponge off of us” but because they are facing a crisis.

“We need to integrate them and we need to accommodate them and help them through this process.

They are going through a very difficult time in their country and we should be hospitable,” Gordon said.

However, he said T&T people have lost their sense of hospitality.

“We have become very eccentric and we have become people who are very stingy with what we have, because lifestyle has been more important than other things for us.”

Acknowledging that T&T also has serious social problems, he said, “I would hate to think that our generation would be the generation to throw away the values of our parents.”

He agreed with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who in his response to the United Nations criticism over the deportation noted that “we are not a refugee camp.”

However, he said, every nation in the world has been accepting refugees.

“I was not here when this all happened

“Is that who we want to be? Check me out of that. I don’t want any part of that.

I believe in a country that is Trinidad and Tobago, that has been incredibly generous and that is what I want to see more.”

He added, “Refugees have been welcome throughout the whole of history. We cannot be the first people to decide that we do not want to welcome them.”

In order to find a way to deal with the large influx of Venezuelans, Gordon suggested that all agencies, including the church, unite and formulate a plan to integrate all the refugees. He said the Venezuelans must be properly screened and processed to ensure no drugs and guns are being brought into the country.

Gordon said he intends to speak with the Vicars today about how the church can help and work with the refuges.

“It cannot be left to one group or one community,” said Gordon, adding T&T must find a way to integrate Venezuelan children into schools and find work for the adults.

lmost one week after pirates attacked four boats on the Atlantic Ocean, displacing 16 fishermen most of whom are feared dead, another attack was reportedly staged on Wednesday evening in the vicinity of Matapica Canal, Suriname, leaving one fisherman dead, while his crew members have gone missing.

The identity of the dead man is yet to be ascertained.

According to information received, Suriname law enforcement officers are presently at the scene where the attack reportedly occurred.

Meanwhile, four bodies were recovered on Wednesday following last Saturday’s piracy attack.

One of the bodies located

The bodies were reportedly hidden away in the thick Wai Wai mud flat on Suriname’s grounds.

They have since been transported to Parimaribo.

This newspaper un-

derstands that the decomposed bodies bore several signs of marks of violence.

On Saturday last, four boats were attacked by pirates in the Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of Wia Wia bank.

A total of approximately 20 fishermen were reportedly robbed, beaten and thrown overboard. At least four managed to swim to shore and reported the incident to Dutch law enforcement officials. The names of the missing men have not been officially released.

So far, the authorities in Guyana are actively trying to pursue the pirates of the first attack who, based on information provided, are suspected to be Guyanese.

Moreover, reports reaching this publication indicate that arrests have been made in connection with the first attack, however this is yet to be confirmed by law enforcement officials.

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The crude methods the PNC For 2020 polls a national debate is needed used to rig elections in the past may not be possible now among candidates on Dear Editor, Last year an email was sent from Basil Williams, Chairman of the PNC, to Amna Ally, Joseph Harmon, Winston Felix and Raphael Trotman. In that email, he reminded them of some decisions that were taken by the PNC’s Elections Committee in preparing for the next elections.

In it he spoke about their throwing on some mega parties to attract young people. A lot of money will be spent to bring artistes from the Caribbean and further afield. He is, no doubt, working on the assumption that by doing these ‘feel good things’, they will be able to shore-up their flagging support.

In fact, he was explicit. Their disrespect for their supporters knows no bound. It is rooted in their philosophy that, give them a sport and they will forget their own conditions.

Note that they are planning ‘a Carnival’ in May for Independence. This is the plan kicking in. Foreign artistes and huge parties are being planned.

The ‘oil’ money is being spent in

advance.

He also had some other measures to deceive the Guyanese people, including temporary removal of some taxes and relaxation of the 2 a.m. curfew, until after elections.

So, if they can succeed in postponing the elections for two years, as was done in 1990, then, with oil money, they hope to intoxicate the country with parties.

They believe that that would make their supporters forget the abominable performance of the regime and make them stay with this corrupt and incompetent regime.

In passing, it is interesting to note the persons who the email was addressed to. Is this the rigging team?

The first step in the rigging ‘process’ is to postpone the elections and to splurge. They hope that that would serve as the explanation for an APNU ‘victory’ if they succeed in implementing their scheme.

However, they should put in their equation that the PPP/C is not in the mood for any postpone-

ment, they could be putting the country in a constitutional crisis.

Secondly, the crude way that they used to rig ‘in’ the past may not be possible now. The PPP/C is going to work hard to block every loophole, to prevent rigging.

The new measure that was used in 2015 was bogus statements by poll. It would be hard for them to repeat that stunt in the next elections.

They are using ‘their influence’ in the judiciary to frustrate the hearing of the Elections Petition case. That would expose them and their plants operating in GECOM. This is disgraceful.

The PPP/C is working to deal with all their shenanigans. It needs the support of all democratic and peace loving people to stop the riggers.

Amna Ally’s call is just a ruse to implement their diabolic plan.

Let us ensure that they don’t succeed, and in so doing win back democratic government.

Sincerely, Donald Ramotar Former President

Decision was made to protect US businesses Dear Editor, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, is reported by sections of the media on April 26, 2018 to have told the workers of Rusal: “The good news, however, is that the US reduced the sanction on RUSAL after realising that it will also affect thousands of workers, such as the 500 working in Region 10”.

It seems that Minister Trotman is seeking to outshine his colleague, Minister Ramjattan, who is known to regularly put his foot in his mouth.

To say that the US Government was not aware of the thousands of workers employed

by Rusal prior to its imposition of sanctions is downright laughable. Certainly, a well-endowed nation as the United States would be aware of the ramifications of its sanctions prior to its imposition. It is because of the harshness of those consequences that sanctions were pursued by the Trump Administration in the first place.

Based on several reported instances, it is my view that the

re-looking at the sanctions by the US Government has nothing to do with its empathy for Rusal’s workers, whether in Guyana or elsewhere; but has more to do with implications for US businesses.

As former US President Abraham Lincoln famously said: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”

Yours faithfully, Patricia Persaud

Worst examples of political persecution seen in Guyana for decades Dear Editor, The recent charges laid against former Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh and former NICIL CEO Winston Brassington are the worst examples of political persecution seen in Guyana for decades, and reek of desperation on the part of the military dictatorship Government anxious to protect its stranglehold on power in the runup to the 2020 national elections.

Several prominent stakeholders in society, including the leadership of the Private Sector and other civil society organisations, have already expressed outrage at the obviously politically motivated charges laid against Singh and Brassington. These charges are a clear example of political persecution. Both Singh and Brassington are well known for their high standards of professional integrity and competence. These men were also highly regarded by former Presidents Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar, who both spoke about the professionalism and integrity displayed by these two former officials throughout their respective tenure in office.

The charges are designed to besmirch the character of these two professionals, and persecute them because of their service in the former PPP/C Government. This kind of harassment is reminiscent of, and worse than, the atrocities during the pre-1992 PNC dictatorship. During that time, political opponents were singled out for harassment and persecution, simply because they were viewed as belonging to the opposite political side. Acts of persecution were also perpetrated in order to distract domestic and international attention from the substantive issues of the day.

In recent times, the APNU/ AFC coalition Government has been embarrassed by a succession of scandals in which its officials have been reported to have been caught involved in obviously corrupt practices. These practices would rock any democratic government, but this APNU/ AFC Government is apparently unembarrassed by the mounting evidence of corruption under its watch – committed, facilitated, or condoned by its high-ranking

members. The reason it is so unfazed is because of its willingness to use the weapons of fear, intimidation, and brute force, in order to hold on to power at all costs.

Everybody knows that what the Government is doing is wrong, but nobody is prepared to come out publicly and say it, because they know that if they do, the Government will target and victimise them.

The result is that fear stalks the land. We live today in a climate of fear and intimidation, at the mercy of a brutal and uncaring military dictatorship. Gone are the days when you could speak badly about a Government official, and not have to worry about doing so. Today, if you speak badly about anybody in Government, you immediately have to be fearful for your life and livelihood. I understand that they have even taken to Parliament a law making it illegal to speak badly online about the Government. If that is not evidence of dictatorship, then I don’t know what is.

Sincerely, Concerned citizen

key economic issues

Dear Editor, After Guyana’s 50-plus year history, the politics of the nation has an opportunity to move from politics based on race to politics focused on economic development. There are a number of reasons why the state of the economy and economic development will be more of a prominent feature as we continue to develop as a nation.

The principal one is the nation’s opportunity to experience an accelerated increase in growth in coming decades, if properly handled. Hence it now becomes more important to go beyond who benefits economically while a particular party is in office, to an orientation which asks and addresses whether the party that will be voted into power is capable of maximizing the economic benefits for the nation as a whole.

This orientation becomes vital as our population continues to remain small and the personal development of each successive generation progresses.

Government’s role is to provide the correct BALANCE of investment in both the productive sectors that generate income for the nation and the non-productive support & enabling sectors of the economy, such as health care, infrastructure, schooling and the legal system. Poor governance and corruption will hinder the nation’s ability to achieve this developmental balance efficiently, as determined by debt levels, transparency in fiscal governance, and the strength of economic growth.

In addition, the social indicators of criminal activity and citizen satisfaction will be leading indicators as to where the nation will place internationally in its progress towards First World performance, as measured by various international organizations. Good economic management is the order of the day, as Guyana continues to compete on the international stage for resources and foreign direct investment. We must ensure that each citizen has a promising outlook for the future, and the limited capital resources we have must bring clear returns that allow for long-term sustainable development that can capitalize on our limited human resource capabilities. In the productive sectors, some of the key considerations going forward are the following: 1. Will sugar rebound and reduce unemployment while fostering growth in the economy?

2. Will the nation choose and develop with international business partners who provide healthy and stable levels of return on our investments? This is a question that impacts the oil, rice and bauxite industries directly in

the near and medium terms.

3.

Will regulatory strength be added to the fishing, mining and forestry sectors that allow for long term sustainable investment and the continued development of the sectors? This is also another immediate concern.

4. How well diversified is each revenue stream, and how much risk has been reduced during the nation’s development?

Our nation’s ability to access international financial markets at low rates will help clarify progress made in this area, and will reflect the perception of the level of country risk associated with Guyana.

In 2020, a national debate among presidential candidates covering such key economic areas of development (both productive and enabling non-productive sectors) should be required, thus allowing the nation’s citizens to better understand the ability of each candidate and their team to govern effectively. Also, it will make clear what each candidate’s approach to these pressing issues has been and will be going forward. Candidates should also have the opportunity to address new special circumstances such as national security in such a public debate. This will allow the country as a whole to hold each subsequent administration clearly accountable for their actions and performance while in office. The vote of the nation in 2020 should grab the opportunity to transition to a clear, competitive structure wherein each political party will be judged not only on their historical performance, but also on what they plan to do and how they plan to responsibly accomplish their goals while eliminating corruption.

Measuring an administration’s performance while in office using such unbiased economic and social measures will show clearly what they have and how they have accomplished the nation’s development. By using such an open and transparent forum, citizens will also be able to better determine the strength of new political parties and those parties’ ability to set a clear vision for how they will govern. This is becoming more important as more citizens become independent voters with less traditional party bias. This would shift the historical norm in our political system, and make the electoral process more competitive going forward. With such an increased electoral competitive landscape, the citizens of Guyana would benefit from improved governance and improved economic development.

Best regards, Jamil Changlee

news 7

WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Bandits chop, terrorise Cheddi Jagan centenary T&T pastor and family stamp finally launched -escape with jewels, vehicles

...President, PM, Ministers no-show

BY SAMUEL SUKHNANDAN

T An investigator at the scene (Trinidad Guardian)

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og-tied, gagged and bleeding heavily, a La Romaine pastor begged Jehovah God to spare his life after bandits stormed his home, chopping him and his son before stealing two vehicles, jewellery and cash totalling more than $.5 million early yesterday.

For three hours, Pastor Junior Anderson, his wife Anna, 66 and son Michael, 32, were held under siege while the robbers smashed their home seeking a vault which did not exist.

Anderson, 66, who heads the World Outreach Life Changing Pentecostal Church in Palmiste, San Fernando, suffered chops to his head and right foot and remains warded in a stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital.

His son Michael suffered eight stab wounds and a chop to the head while his wife Anna, 66 suffered a swollen finger during the brazen robbery at their La Bel Air, La Romaine home.

Anderson, who survived quadruple bypass surgery and vascular surgery four years ago, was known for his charitable works in south Trinidad. He was in the process of rebuilding a home for a young family as well as supporting sporting groups in his community.

During an interview at their home yesterday, Anna said she and her husband were asleep around 1.37 am when they heard Michael screaming.

“We ran out of the room and saw a man on the bed struggling with Michael. He was bawling ‘Where the money?

Where is the vault?’”

Anderson rushed to his son’s aid but the robbers dealt him two chops.

They then used a bed sheet to tie up the family. Anna said she begged the robbers to take everything but to leave her

family alone.

Lying at the foot of the bed, Anna said she could feel her husband’s blood spilling on her leg.

“He was losing a lot of blood. My mouth was stuffed and I kept trying to talk to him so I would know if he was okay. He mumbled back to me. He kept conscious throughout the entire ordeal,” Anna said.

During this time, the men ransacked the three bedrooms, overturning furniture, emptying drawers and smashing the plastic-panelled walls. They stole $3,000 in cash, a gold chain with cross pendant valued at $15,000, a diamond ring valued at $20,000, a gold bera valued at $10,000, a gold ring valued at $2,000, $10,000 in perfume, a DVD player worth $300, two cellular phones worth $2,000 and two JVC televisions worth $8,000. They had time to sift through a shoebox of jewellery sorting out gold and costume jewellery. They also bagged up the pastor’s jeans and tee-shirts.

The robbers turned off all the lights while they packed up the valuables so the family was unable to see their faces.

The robbers parked their car near to the couple’s home and despite trudging through the bushes with their stolen loot, they were neither seen by neighbours nor picked up by surveillance videos. They escaped in the family’s Toyota Corolla, licensed PCT 8756 and valued at $190,000 and a Kia Sportage (PDC 9991) valued at $273,000.

Police believe the men had the family’s home under surveillance before attacking yesterday.

They entered by prying open a burglar-proofed door at the side. The men are believed to be professionals who also broke into another house at Esperance recently.

Investigators have several leads into the incident.

Insp Don Gajadhar is heading investigations.

he commemorative stamps to mark the 100th birth anniversary of late President Dr Cheddi Jagan were launched on Wednesday at the Ministry of the Presidency, but senior Government officials were a no-show.

Some close relatives of Dr Jagan and staff of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre (CJRC) were the only ones present for the launch of the commemorative stamp. They included Dr Jagan’s sister, Dr Barbara Jagan and other relatives, including Dr Dionne Jagan-Fries and Dr Kyle Jagan.

Also in attendance were other representatives from the CJRC; the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC); the Guyana Philatelic Society, and the Ministry of the Presidency.

However, not a single senior Government official, Minister of Government nor a representative from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), the Party he founded, were present for this auspicious event.

Hydar Ally of the CJRC said he was representing the Centre and not the party. He reflected on the life and work of the late President and expressed his gratitude. “It was his steadfast determination and resolve to free his people from the yolk of colonialism and poverty that really distinguished him from others of his time. He played the leading role in the struggle for Independence,” he

Relatives of the late President pose for a picture at the unveiling ceremony

said.

On the sidelines of the event, Ally was asked whether he deemed the absence of Government officials a slap in the face to the legacy and work of the late President, and he responded in the negative. “I don’t see it that way in any kind. We have a good relationship with the Centre and the Party,” he explained.

Ally did say, however, that the CJRC was disappointed that the stamp was not launched at the appropriate time.

Lieutenant Colonel Francis Abraham, the Office of the President’s Director of Protocol, who chaired the event in the small Mazaruni Room at the Ministry of the Presidency, also reflected on Dr Jagan’s legacy.

With the clear absence of members of the PPP, the Government was questioned on this matter, but responded in a press statement on Wednesday evening that Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and oth-

er PPP executive members were invited not by the Government but the CJRC to be part of the event.

According to the Ministry, as part of the agreement with the Centre, Zulfikar Mustapha, Hydar Ally, Indra Chandarpal, Komal Chand and Neil Kumar were invited whereby they would have been provided with printed invitations by the Ministry of the Presidency. However, none of them turned up.

However, Jagdeo had said that neither the PPP nor the Opposition was invited to attend the event.

P u b l i c Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes had announced last month that the GPOC would be issuing commemorative stamps to celebrate the late President’s 100th birth anniversary, following an arrangement with the Research Centre. However, on the day of Jagan’s birth anniversary, March 21, the

Research Centre did not receive the stamps from the Post Office.

Following questions, the GPOC referred the media to the Ministry of the Presidency. President Granger later said that Cabinet had taken a decision that commemorative stamps, which are national symbols, must adhere to national criteria. It was, however, argued that the GPOC is a statutory body corporate managed by a Board of Directors and possesses its own persona.

The four collectable stamps, two printed in black and white and two in colour, feature portraits of Dr Jagan at various stages throughout is his political career.

Printed on them is the text “Dr Cheddi Jagan, Man of the People, former President of Guyana” and also included are his birth and 100th birth anniversary dates, March 22, 1918 and March 22, 2018. The limited edition stamps will be available at all post offices today.

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Press body calls for removal of sedition clause in Cyber Crimes Bill

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cross the globe, World Press Freedom Day is observed on May 3 annually and this year the day is being observed under the theme “Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and the Rule of Law”. In observance of this day, the Guyana Press Association (GPA) is calling on all media practitioners to take a stand against those in authority as they see to wield influence on content disbursement.

“The GPA is cognisant that in our society, lines of power, authority and decision-making in the media are blurred by shared interests, goals and objectives. In this regard, the Association is of the firm position that editors and other media

managers need to stand up to those in authority and influence who seek to impose restrictions on freedom of expression because of their dislike of the opinions of others,” the GPA said in a statement.

The GPA pointed to the recent silencing action by the Government when the decision was taken to fire colum-

nists Lincoln Lewis and David Hinds from the Guyana Chronicle.

Additionally, the Association said it has observed the increasing frequency in the manipulation of stories to fit political agenda of the behind the scenes actors while pointing to the recent actions of Government attempting to interfere in the free press.

“Over the months we have had reports of Government officials calling media houses to demand sources from reporters, to demand that media outlets refrain from providing coverage to other public officials and threatening to call the Police to remove reporters from public meetings,”

the GPA noted.

The GPA believes truly independent media is vitally necessary to guard against human rights abuses, electoral malpractices, lack of transparency and accountability and gender-based inequalities.

The Association also urged the Government and Opposition to discuss and arrive at a consensus to delete from the proposed Cybercrime legislation

provisions that will amount to institutionalisation of criminal defamation.

“Those provisions, we contend, must be removed because they are not in accordance with the global shift towards the removal of criminal defamation from the law books of several countries including a number of them in the Caribbean. Guyana will be retrogressing instead of progressing by entrenching the criminalisation of freedom of expression if certain sections in the Cyber Crimes Bill are enacted into law,” the statement said.

The GPA noted that World Press Freedom Day 2018 also allows them the opportunity to call on media workers and Guyanese of all walks of life to zealously guard against fake news operations, especially on the Internet.

The GPA’s statement concluded that it will seriously consider whether, in the interest of the promotion of high quality journalism, they shall have to name fake news outlets in an effort to protect unsuspecting members of the public from being duped or adversely influenced by fabricated content.

Meanwhile, Guyana has been elevated five places up on the Reporters With Borders World Press Freedom Index. Guyana is now at 55 compared to 60 in 2017. The GPA said it welcomes the improved ranking with some reservations, pointing out that there are still significant hurdles to be crossed before Guyanese can feel that an improved ranking really matters.

Additionally, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said a free press is essential for peace, justice and human rights for all adding that it is crucial to building transparent and democratic societies and keeping those in power accountable.

“It is vital for sustainable development.

Journalists and media workers shine a

light on local and global challenges and tell the stories that need to be told. Their service to the public is invaluable. Laws that protect independent journalism, freedom of expression and the right to information need to be adopted, implemented and enforced. Crimes against journalists must be prosecuted. On World Press Freedom Day 2018, I call on governments to strengthen press freedom and to protect journalists.

Promoting a free press is standing up for our right to truth,” the Secretary General said.

The UN General Assembly proclaimed world Press Freedom Day in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference.

According to the UN, the theme of the 2018 celebration highlights the importance of an enabling legal environment for press freedom, and gives special attention to the role of an independent Judiciary in ensuring legal guarantees for press freedom and the prosecution of crimes against journalists.

At the same time, the theme addresses the role of the media in sustainable development, especially during elections – as a watchdog fostering transparency, accountability and the rule of law.

The theme also aims to explore legislative gaps with regard to freedom of expression and information online, and the risks of regulating online speech.

Within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the contribution of journalists and media workers is most associated with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 of peace, justice and strong institutions. In order to reach this goal, effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels must be developed, and press freedom is essential for this.

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Activist calls for more education to address rising levels of domestic violence in Guyana

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or Guyana to reduce the incidence of domestic violence, which eventually results in fatalities and disrupted homes, education must be provided at every institution to inform people about the magnitude of this type of abuse.

These were the sentiments shared by women’s rights activist, Joy Marcus, of Red Thread, who addressed this issue in light of the high domestic violence rate, which Guyana has faced over the past few months.

Speaking with Guyana Times International on Monday, Marcus noted that a different approach was essential, given the fact that the rate of domestic violence was still on the rise despite many initiatives that were established in the past.

“The thing is that despite a lot of work that has been done by individuals,

by Government and by organisations, domestic violence is still a phenomenal project. There is need for a lot of educational work on domestic violence. We think that everybody knows about it, but that’s not really true. A lot of people experiencing this still think today that it’s a norm and that it’s something that has to happen,” she explained.

The activist noted that the issue should be dealt with in the household where young children, especially boys, should be educated on the topic of domestic violence. Thereafter, further sensitisation should be done in schools to ensure that moral actions are created.

“In spite of all that has happened, there’s still a lot to be done. We need to look at it from the household. It must be felt from all [of] the institutions that are set up to deal with it – the police station, the court, Social Protection (Ministry), Child Care and Protection Agency, and

all the other institutions,” Marcus said.

“As parents, we need to start teaching our children to be respectful of women so that when they grow up, they must understand that these are not acceptable behaviour. I think that once that happens, we should have some more work in the school as well about domestic violence,” she added.

Emphasis was also placed on the fact that many Guyanese were not completely aware of the Domestic Violence Act, which consists of laws and regulations that specifically focus on domestic vio-

lence victims.

“I think one of the main things is that a lot of people still don’t know about the Domestic Violence Act. Persons in domestic violence situations need to be aware that there is more than just a law and what the Police will do in terms of taking actions. They need to know that there is a place that they can go and we need to advocate the Act.” Marcus stated that if people were not aware of the Act, then they were more than likely to return to an abusive household or relationship, which can

later prove to be fatal.

Along with increased education in learning institutions, she believes that formal dwellings should be set up whereby victims can escape threatening situations and restart their lives. Residents of the communities should also report instances where women are being subjected to violence by their spouses.

“We should have places where victims are able to live on their own and get back on their foot along with counselling and the support that is necessary. A lot of times when you’re in that situation, you can’t even think, especially when you have children. And most of the time, you would put aside yourself and think about the children. They think about where they’re going to go after they leave. They should be able to know that they can go somewhere, so it’s important to have these institutions established.

“The thing is that we all have to understand that domestic violence is all of our business and that we cannot wait for it to happen to us before we take action. I think that people in the community should know that if it is happening to a person, it is not just affecting that person but everyone residing there,” she added.

These actions should be made along with the efforts that have been made in the past to reduce domestic violence.

For 2018 so far, it was reported that seven Guyanese women were killed while three were brutalised at the hands of their partners. Most of these cases stemmed from domestic violence.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan on addressing the issue had stated that dealing with domestic violence required inter-agency collaboration rather than just law enforcement.

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Top Cop post: ‘I’m prepared LGE 2018: AFC mandates and ready if called upon leader to respond to Granger to serve’ - Williams

Assistant Commissioner Paul Williams

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rime Chief, Assistant Commissioner Paul Williams has expressed confidence in taking up the most senior job within the Guyana Police Force, saying that he is prepared and ready if given the chance to serve as the next Police Commissioner.

Williams told a media conference on Monday that he believed he was qualified and capable. He was responding to questions posed to him by the media. Williams was one of the eight persons who were recently interviewed for the position, following the retirement of Seelall Persaud.

“I’m ready for any position. Thirtyone years of service is long, and I came through the ranks from a constable to Assistant Commissioner of Police. I’ve walked the ranks, I’ve walked around Divisions, departments, everything, so whatever it is, wherever I’m being placed or whatever challenge comes before me in this Guyana Police Force to

serve this nation, I’m prepared for it,” he stated.

Pressed further on whether he wanted to be the next Police Chief, Williams said, “I think among the eight Assistant Commissioners that would be the desire of all of us.”

He nevertheless stated that “the Commissioner of Police is the President’s choice and whatever God says, that’s it. I’m not worried.”

The others interviewed for the position include: David Ramnarine, Clifton Hicken, Leslie James, Lyndon Alves, Marlon Chapman, Nigel Hoppie, and Maxine Graham.

Ramnarine has been acting in the capacity of the Top Cop for quite some time now, and there has been speculation that he may cop the title.

In November of 2017, when asked whether Williams is likely to take up the mantle, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, who was then acting in the capacity of Public Security Minister, offered no direct reply.

Harmon, however, had hinted at the possibility of a female assuming the position of Top Cop when he outlined that while there was a line of succession in the Guyana Police Force, female officers were also to be considered when deciding on a Police Commissioner.

In so doing, he noted, “You don’t just look at the male ranks in the Police Force; we have female officers as well.

And, therefore, if it is that a female officer is to be the person, then so be it.”

Nevertheless, as mandated by the Constitution, the President will have consultations with the Opposition Leader, on the names for the Top Cop position and the Deputy Commissioners of Police.

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he Alliance For Change (AFC) held its second National Executive Committee (NEC) Meeting for 2018 on Tuesday where a decision was taken to have its leader, Raphael Trotman respond to President David Granger in a “prescribed manner” on the issue of Local Government Elections.

The AFC late Tuesday evening said the meeting was held at the Georgetown Club and was attended by members of the NEC, representatives from all the administrative regions and Diaspora representatives, including persons from Grenada who represented the AFC’s Caribbean Chapter.

According to the party, Trotman reported to the meeting that on April 30, he received a response to the AFC letter dated February 26, 2018, which was sent to leader of the A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), President David Granger. The AFC letter outlined a number of matters, including the issue of the approach to Local Government Elections and the response from Granger proposed “a certain course of action.”

“The NEC deliberated on this matter and mandated the leader respond to His Excellency in a prescribed manner. This will be done in the coming days and following the dispatch of that communication, the AFC will make a more detailed statement on the issue,” the AFC in a statement said on Tuesday evening.

Last month, after months of uncertainty, AFC Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan said the party will be going into the LGE with the APNU under one ticket.

“We have made a decision that we are going as a coalition. We have to thrash out a number of issues prefera-

AFC Leader Raphael Trotman

bly in relation to candidacy candidates, and a number of other things,” he told the press, while noting that the AFC has noticed some unfortunate developments in the Georgetown municipality.

Ramjattan was referring to the attitude of APNU Councillors, including Town Clerk Royston King towards AFC members, which he claimed is “bothering us.” The AFC Chairman indicated that statements in this regard have been made and will be officially raised through communication with APNU officials.

In mid-January, Trotman had announced the possibility of the party breaking away from the APNU for this year’s LGE. The AFC leader went as far as to reveal that there was a strong opinion of body within the party that the AFC should go alone, which may have been prompted over delays with reviewing the Cummingsburg Accord.

The AFC has, of recent, come under fire for the perceived submissive role it played when it joined forces with APNU. In 2017, top leadership of the AFC had decided to revise its governing agreement with APNU.

Alexander Village killing

Psychiatric evaluation of GDF rank completed …prosecution gets report

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he psychiatric report on the mental capacity of Orwain Sandy, who in April reportedly murdered his reputed wife, Reona Payne, has been completed by Dr Bhiro Harry of the Mental Health Unit and was handed over to the Court.

When the matter was called on Wednesday before Magistrate Judy Latchman, the prosecution revealed that they were in receipt of the psychiatric report, which was handed over to the Court. However, the contents of the report were not disclosed.

Sandy’s lawyer, James Bond requested additional time to conduct an independent evaluation on his client. This was granted, and the matter was adjourned to May 24, 2018.

Sandy was further remanded.

During Sandy’s first appearance, he appeared distraught and was crying throughout the court proceedings.

At that time, his at-

Murder accused Orwain Sandy and his reputed wife, Reona Payne in happier times

torney had requested for a mental health examination to be carried out.

The charge against the defendant stated that on March 31, 2018, while in the vicinity of First Street, Alexander Village, Georgetown, he murdered Payne.

Guyana Times had previously reported that the couple were in their car proceeding along First Street when a heated argument reportedly ensued.

During the argument, Payne exited the vehicle

and Sandy reportedly pursued her and shot her once, causing her to fall to the ground. He then reportedly stood over her and shot her 13 more times. The man then left the scene of the crime and turned himself in to the Police. Payne and Sandy reportedly dated some years ago, but later married different persons. However, a few years later, they left their spouses and resumed their relationship.

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2 dead in Linden Highway collision

…1 hospitalised

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Police Corporal and a former athlete lost their lives tragically on Tuesday morning when the motor car in which they were travelling slammed into a lorry on the LindenSoesdyke Highway.

Dead are Theon Hope, 24, of Lamaha Park, Georgetown; a Police Corporal, who was stationed at Eve Leary and 25-year-old Quason

Anthony, a former athlete of Lot 8366 Bent Street, Georgetown.

According to reports, both men, along with two others including the driver of motor car PNN 1278, Rishawn Pierre, 23, of D’Urban Street, Lodge, were proceeding to Georgetown on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway at 07:30h when the accident occurred.

Guyana Times

International understands that Pierre was speeding and while proceeding north in the vicinity of Loo Creek, he collided with the rear of motor lorry GWW 8443 with trailer TWW 8912 which was heading in the same direction carrying lumber. One of the logs reportedly went through the motor car.

Public-spirited persons assisted to pull the

Dead: Theon Hope

The wrecked motor car after the accident

men from the wrecked motor car, but by that time both Hope and Anthony had succumbed to their injuries.

The third injured man, Jermaine Samuels, 20, of Lot 71 Haley Street, Wortmanville, who was in the right rear seat, reportedly received head injuries, and was in stable condition at the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC).

However, Pierre was taken into Police custody, where he is said to be assisting ranks with the investigation.

When this publication visited the homes of the two dead men, their families were too distraught to speak.

The father of

Dead: Quason Anthony

Anthony’s fiancée was seen in tears while other relatives seemed to be at a loss for words. Anthony was a father of one.

Relatives of Hope declined to comment as they were still trying to come to grips with the horrific news.

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Telephone giant raises concern about Man found guilty of sedition clause in Cyber Crimes Bill sexually assaulting 9-year-old be the first time the Government has faced flak over implementing policies without consulting relevant parties first.

“As interested parties that store such data, they should be consulted in the process.

Legislation that affects the relevant stakeholders should have their input prior to the passage of legislation.”

Recommendations

U

GTT CEO Justin Nedd

rging the removal of the offence of sedition from the Cyber Crimes Bill 2016 because of the danger it presents to free speech, GTT has waded into the debate on the unpopular clause.

In correspondence seen by this newspaper, the telecommunications company raised objections to the proposed Bill. It also cited examples where similar pieces of legislation were discarded by the respective Governments.

“The offence of sedition seeks to limit the press and freedom of speech against the Government and should be struck from the draft as it would limit freedom of speech and thought of the people,” the correspondence dated April 25, 2018 stated.

“The Opposition of St Vincent and the Grenadines publicly struck out against it.

This will limit the development of the freedom of the press in Guyana.”

Questioning whether any service providers were consulted prior to the Bill’s preparation, the company stressed the need for such consultation. It would not

Questioning whether Guyana had a cybercrime unit, GTT cited similar circumstances in Jamaica. The company also noted that there should be a section in the Bill that addressed the liability of service providers.

“What about the passage of the Data Protection Act?” the company queried. “In other Caribbean countries, the passage of the Data Protection legislation was needed as auxiliary legislation to support the efficiency of cybercrime [laws].

“There should be a clause that speaks to

the violation of privacy as noted at Section 16 of the draft of cybercrime legislation in Trinidad and Tobago.

There should be a clause in the draft that speaks to limiting the use of the data, taking as precedence from the draft of the Cybercrime Bill of St Vincent and Grenadines clause 25.”

Laid in the National Assembly since 2016, Guyana’s Cyber Crimes Bill had catered for, inter alia: illegal access to a computer system; illegal interception; illegal data interference; illegal acquisition of data; illegal system interference; unauthorised receiving or granting of access to computer data; computer-related forgery; computer-related fraud; offences affecting critical infrastructure; identity-related offences; child pornography; child luring; and violation of privacy among a slew of other offences.

A Special Select Committee had been working on the Bill for the past few years and

GTUC General Secretary Lincoln Lewis

their report on the Bill was presented recently. That committee was composed of Attorney General Basil Williams, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, Education Minister Nicolette Henry and parliamentarians Michael Carrington and Audwin Rutherford.

The Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) was represented by Chief Whip Gail Teixeira and parliamentarians Clement Rohee, Anil

A

s cases of child sexual abuse remain prevalent in Guyana, another offender, Morris Fernandes, was on Monday found guilty by a majority jury for the offence that was committed between October 1 and October 31, 2016 in the county of Demerara.

The girl was just nine years old at the time of the incident, which involved Fernandes rubbing her vagina. For this, he was indicted by the State for sexual activity with a child under age 16.

The offender was out on bail prior to Monday’s verdict, which was returned after more than two hours of deliberations. The jury was split 10-2 in favour of a guilty verdict, and the jury foreman announced the panel’s decision just before sunset.

Justice Jo-Ann Barlow

presided over the trial.

Her sentencing was, however, delayed so as to facilitate a probation report on Fernandes that was requested by his attorney, Lammy Singh.

When Fernandes heard the guilty verdict, he did not show much emotion at first, but later on he appeared to be in disbelief and even attempted to walk out of the prisoner’s dock to engage in conversation with a female relative. However, Police ranks swiftly prevented him and he was escorted into custody where he was later allowed to speak with family.

The State was represented by Prosecutors Abigail Gibbs and Narissa Leander. Fernandes was remanded to prison. He will know his fate when the matter concludes on May 15, 2018 at the Sexual Offences Court.

Bridging of Kurupukari River to commence soon – Patterson

The offending clause in the Cyber Crimes Bill

Nandlall, and Gillian Persaud-Burton.

According to clause 18 of the Bill, persons commit an offence of sedition when they “attempt to bring into hatred or excite disaffection towards the government”. These provisions have, in fact, excited worry among social media users. They took to the medium in their numbers to register concerns that their freedom of expression would be trampled upon.

PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo has also vehemently denied his party supported the Bill. Meanwhile, Government’s explanation for the clause has been to say it falls under national security.

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ne year after it was announced that the Kurupukari ferry crossing will be bridged, Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson has said works will commence soon.

The construction of a new single or dual lane fixed bridge – approximately 600 meters long – at the Kurupukari ferry crossing, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) will soon commence.

According to Minister Patterson, systems are already in place and works should begin soon.

Currently persons travelling the Linden/ Lethem trail have to cross the Essequibo River, at Kurupukari, by a privately-operated pontoon service.

Kurupukari Village is located along the Lethem– Georgetown trail, about five hours from Lethem.

In February 2017, the Public Infrastructure

Ministry had said it was gearing up to commence construction on the first phase of the Linden-Lethem Road project, which will be funded through the United Kingdom Government under its UK Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) programme.

In September 2015, former UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced a £300 million investment in vital new infrastructure such as roads, bridges and ports to help drive economic growth and development across the Caribbean region. Guyana was named among nine Caribbean states to benefit from the grant.

The first phase of the project, which spans from Linden to Mabura, covers approximately 122.5 kilometres of road and the construction of the bridge across the Essequibo River at Kurupukari.

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APNU/AFC Govt leading country on downward trajectory - PPP MP

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eeks after declaring that Guyana was on its way to amassing exorbitant debt levels, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Irfaan Ali has once again condemned the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration’s handling of the economy, con-

tending that Government is continually plundering public funds.

“Since taking up office in 2015, the APNU/AFC Government continues to plunder the nation’s coffers [by] outstripping private investment to satisfy their growing budget deficit and unruly profligate spending habit,” Ali highlighted on Tuesday.

He also contended

that market securities were in decline, noting that these were critical sources of foreign currency. Market securities are debts which can be redeemed within a year and can be in the form of stocks or bonds. Ali, a former Minister under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, stressed that his party’s successor

Opposition MP Irfaan Ali

was leading the country on a downward trajectory, which could cause the collapse of the nation’s financial system.

Ali further observed that even private enterprises were continuing to record large deficits, coupled with shrinking contributions to net domestic credit. It was pointed out that from a fiscal point of view, Government deficits and total debt continue to proliferate.

“When assessed, growth in total debt outstripped [Gross Domestic Product] GDP by more than 119 per cent points,” he stated.

Ali had observed last month that based on estimates, the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio, using the 2018 GDP forecast of 3.8 per cent, would now be 73 per cent. He noted then that Government was increasing the country’s total debt by more

than 28 per cent. It was observed then that the Administration was refusing to adhere to calls by international observers for the country to reduce large-scale borrowing.

Highlighting the threats to job creation and supporting sectors such as forestry, agriculture and construction, the PPP executive pointed out a range of outcomes if these industries continued to suffer a decline.

From rising non-performing loans, there could be a high tax burden, low growth rate and low disposable income. According to Ali, the economic decline will see high unemployment as businesses will opt to downsize their operations owing to high interest rates and low demand, coupled with depreciation of foreign

exchange.

At the end of December 2017, the Finance Ministry’s Public Debt Annual Report showed Guyana’s total debt, inclusive of external and domestic debt, stood at US$1.66 billion or 45.2 per cent of GDP. Earlier this year, Government secured a US$900 million line of credit from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to develop the areas of agriculture, banking and finance, human development, energy, and rural development.

The funds are also expected to go towards developing new co-generation capacity for the sugar estates’ operations and for the national electricity grid. Finance Minister Winston Jordan had explained that the IsDB financial arrangement has a resource envelope of US$900 million that is potentially available, from which the Government can borrow.

However, some observers, including Ali, were of the opinion that these decisions will lead to a “massive” increase in debt.

In April 2018, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo opined that Government was, in fact, “pawning our futures”.

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Ministry of Labour should be a separate ministry – Burton

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hile criticising Government for its handling of matters concerning outstanding wages and salaries owed to workers by employers, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Gillian Burton-Persaud used the opportunity to call on Government to reestablish the Labour Ministry to look at specific issues in relation to the many delicate challenges facing workers and trade unions.

Burton-Persaud, who was one of the key speakers at the annual May Day rally which was held at the National Park on Tuesday, told the hundreds of workers in attendance that there is need for Government to fulfil their part of the bargain since many contractors claim the reason for non-payment is because

they (the contractors) are yet to be paid for work done for the Government.

“The Minister needs to advise the Government better as it relates to its adherence to the Collective Bargaining process, negotiations and workers’ rights. We have seen too much bungling in these areas. I therefore support the call for the Ministry of Labour to be a separate Ministry,” she asserted.

The former trade union leader and Opposition spokespersons on labour in the National Assembly said the ‘sorry state of our economy’ signals to the trade union movement that there is a lot of work to do. In delivering a passionate speech, Burton-Persaud said it cannot be business as usual.

Further, the MP called on workers to stop succes-

sion planning, and activate that plan into flight mode. “The time is now for workers to impose upon delinquent leaders the need to shape up or ship out. Workers must no longer accept mediocre representation from union leaders,” she added.

Burton-Persaud said her party, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and its leaders will not stand idly by and allow the rights of workers and the democracy of citizens to be trampled upon.

“Therefore, we stand in solidarity with every Guyanese worker regardless of sector, gender, race, ethnicity, religious, political or cultural persuasion in ensuring that your rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of choice,

President David Granger, along with several Ministers, including Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, being greeted by Guyana Teachers Union members

the right to work so as to provide a decent life for yourself and family remain intact and is in no way threatened or taken away by anyone.”

Support for Ministry

The Member of Parliament’s call for the re-establishment of a Labour Ministry was supported by General Secretary of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) Lincoln Lewis.

But he went a bit further to request of BurtonPersaud and her party to table a motion to the National Assembly seeking the re-establishment of the Ministry.

“Labour is prepared to work with you to bring this to fruition and hopes you take this commitment in the spirit of solidarity. Labour also holds out optimism that Minister (Basil) Williams would be able to use this experience in impressing on his Administration the wisdom of having a Ministry of Labour and the benefit of treating labour as a social partner consistent with Article 38 and 149C of the Guyana Constitution.”

Lewis argued that with the absence of that Ministry, not only does it signal the value Government places on a country’s most valued resource but also communicates to allies and foes of Guyana that Guyanese

Head of the GPSU’s Women Advisory Committee, Karen Van Sluytman

are not considered pivotal to the country’s development. He said this was also reinforced with the country’s non-attendance to International Labour Organisation (ILO) conference for the past three years.

“Where we know better and different we must continue to act accordingly for development of society requires of us staying the course. Employment remains a sore issue. Too many are unemployed, under-employed, and the retired who need to be productively engaged are too being deprived. We note the statistics of the Guyana Labour Force Survey,” the outspoken trade union leader added.

Importantly, while Lewis said that the effort of gathering scientific data is commendable, he said it must make real

the science through action. “Meaning must be given to data being collected beyond collection and making findings public.”

As such, he said Guyana needs a policy for the creation of decent jobs.

“We had the Feed, Clothe and House Programme and the Structural Adjustment Programme that gave rise to systems being put in place to make these possible with the trade union playing a meaningful role, and the Ministry of Labour being the institution that coordinated and developed policies that impacted the role of the workers in the process, ensuring laws to protect workers and compliance with international standard based on the country’s obligations to organisations Guyana is affiliated with,” he added.

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37 persons trained in oilspill response Minister of State Joseph Harmon

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inister of State Joseph Harmon on Saturday said Guyanese can be assured there are strong measures in place to protect their shoreline in the unlikely event of an oil spill. He was at the time speaking at the closing ceremony of the OilSpill Response Training Course, which was held at the Splashmins Resort, Linden/Soesdyke Highway. This training course marks the culmination of the Incident Command System (ICS) Workshop for Oil-related Disaster Preparedness, which commenced on Monday last.

Minister Harmon explained that while an oil spill is unlikely to occur, this exercise is a necessary part of ensuring that the country is prepared for all eventualities as the oil and gas sector is developed. It brought together important stakeholders such as the Guyana Energy Agency; the Ministries of Natural Resources, Legal Affairs, Public Infrastructure, Agriculture, Public Health and Foreign

Affairs; the Guyana Defence Force; the Guyana Marine Conservation Society; the Guyana Revenue Authority; the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission; and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority along with ExxonMobil.

“I trust that we will never have to get to this point [the point of an oil spill], but the fact that we are preparing for it, we are prepositioning equipment, we are training people and we’re putting them in various parts of the country, speaks to our ability to plan for these events,” the Minister said. The workshop was organised by the Natural Resources Ministry in collaboration with the Civil Defence Commission and ExxonMobil, which provided the instructors. A total of 37 participants undertook to workshop and were awarded with certificates after they gave a practical demonstration of the skills and training they received over the past few days.

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WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Govt moves to Guyana moving towards countrywide Parliament for additional ban on plastic bags by 2021 funds to fight border case

By Jarryl Bryan

Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge

By Samuel Sukhnandan

O

ne month after Government formally filed legal proceedings against neighbouring Venezuela at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to finally confirm the legal validity and binding effect of the 1899 Arbitral Award, the coalition has moved to Parliament, seeking millions to pay legal fees.

This request comes at a time when Government is yet to state how much of the US$18 million it received from ExxonMobil in the form of a signing bonus has been expended for this same case.

That money is said to be sitting somewhere in the Central Bank in a private account.

According to Financial Paper Number Two of 2018, the Government is requesting G$488,000,000 to meet the estimated cost in 2018 of representing Guyana at the ICJ, including payment of legal fees. While G$300 million was listed as voted provision, G$788,049,000 in supplementary provision is now being sought.

Asked to provide an explanation as to why this amount is being sought, Vice President and Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge disclosed that that sum will cover the cost for retaining lawyers to do whatever it is that is needed to be done during the course of 2018 in terms of this border case.

“We don’t know exactly how much it would cost, because we don’t know how the court process will unfold. It depends in part on what the court requires. They may look at it and decide to ask us to do this or that…and we might have to go and get somebody else to supplement the information,” he explained.

Greenidge said Venezuela may also choose to appear or not appear, and that too could affect the budget. “So it’s a little difficult to say exactly what will be required; that is why it is an estimate. So we may find at the end of the year that it is less or more. You pay lawyers by time, so it’s very much dependent on them.”

The Minister had said US$15 million of the entire bonus had been set aside for

legal fees, but Government might need to find more money as the case progresses.

Greenidge said Cabinet has decided that, as the need arises each year, the money would be transferred from the special account at the Bank of Guyana to the Consolidated Fund to “meet the estimated expenditure” for the lawyers.

Meanwhile, the Government has disclosed that the team which represented Guyana in the matter against Suriname in 2007 has been retained. That team is headed by Paul Reichler, a partner in the Washington office of law firm Foley Hoag LLP. There is still no word on which other firm has been hired.

Minister Greenidge has, however, said Government may disclose their entire legal team in eight weeks’ time, depending on how soon the entire arrangement is finalised.

The Minister is also not too keen on divulging that information yet, especially since Venezuela is still to decide whether they will challenge the matter.

“When the entire arrangement is tied up, we will let you know…You got firms, and the individuals may not all be free all the time. At the moment, we have recruited three firms, and may likely recruit more, based on the need to do so.

Some may be hired part time, as well to do research and so on,” he added.

Guyana’s application to the ICJ follows a decision by UN Secretary General António Guterres to choose the ICJ as the next means of resolving the controversy that arose as a result of the Venezuelan contention that the Arbitral Award in regard to the frontier between British Guiana and Venezuela was null and void.

According to Guyana’s application to the World Court, for more than 60 years, Venezuela had consistently recognised and respected the validity of the binding force of the 1899 Award and the 1905 Map agreed by both sides in furtherance of the Award.

Venezuela changed its position formally in 1962, as the United Kingdom was making final preparation for the independence of British Guiana.

The court document further noted that while Venezuela has never produced any evidence to justify its belated repudiation of the 1899 Award, the neighbouring country has used it as an excuse to occupy territory awarded to Guyana in 1899, to inhibit Guyana’s economic development.

The UN Secretary General’s authority to choose the ICJ as the means for resolving the controversy is rooted in the Geneva Agreement of 1966, negotiated just before Guyana attained independence.

T

he Guyana Government is making serious moves towards a ban on the use of plastic bags in Guyana, a move that, while it may have a blow-back effect on businesses, can move Guyana ahead in its environment protection plans.

According to Minister of State Joseph Harmon at a post-Cabinet press conference on Friday, the ending of the use of plastic bags across Guyana is on the Government’s agenda. He explained that plastic is a problem across the world and Guyana, for its part, was not exempted from the consequences of this pollution.

“Cabinet agreed that the matter had to be addressed if we were truly committed to the tenets of our green state development strategy… It was further agreed that the Government would adapt and institute measures to minimise the use of plastic and propose appropriate legislation to give effect to these measures,” the Minister explained.

According to Harmon, a Cabinet memorandum was prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

This memorandum, he noted, is slated to be examined

by Cabinet within a week. He explained that the memorandum details the phasing out of plastic. Providing a timeline, Harmon was optimistic that the ban could be pulled off by the year 2021.

“The intention is not going to be immediate, but they are basically going to get people,

over time, to wean themselves off of plastics. There are six supermarkets that have indicated willingness to work with the EPA that they start to reduce… the use of plastic bags.”

“The important thing is that it’s these single use plastics, the things that you use one time and then throw it away, it’s the single use plastics that are initially targeted. The six supermarkets that came on board, we want to commend them on their initiative,” he said.

It had recently been announced that the EPA would be partnering with supermarkets in Georgetown to minimise the use of plastic bags, as part of Earth Day 2018. Guyana Times International was informed of this partnership by the Director within Technical Secretariat, Sharifah Razack.

The Director had noted that six major supermarkets in Georgetown, as well as their subsidiaries, have expressed their willingness to participate in the drive to reduce the us-

age of plastic bags.

Those supermarkets include Bounty, Mathais, Survival, Budget, Distribution Services Limited (DSL) and Massy. It is understood that these supermarkets will use boxes, reusable bags and biodegradable bags to pack their customers’ goods. They are also urging persons to walk with their bags, so as to curb the plastic situation in Guyana.

Pollution

The implementation of this new initiative comes at a time when Guyana happens to be one of the countries in the Caribbean that is mostly affected by plastic pollutants.

In Guyana, plastic articles, specifically plastic bags have been the reason for clogged drains, trenches and canals and often times result in flooding over the years. As though a precursor to banning plastic, the Government took a decision to place a ban on Styrofoam back in 2016, after much contention.

Revenue body recovers millions lost in heavy-duty machinery scam

T

he Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has managed to collect millions of dollars since it cracked down on the heavy-duty vehicle racket, which was discovered in 2017.

GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia said that the Authority went out of its way to make it known that it was prepared to visit the interior locations where persons were using heavy-duty vehicles.

“We sent our officers out there, so they would be able to take the necessary photographs and then proceed to register those vehicles. But there has not been a great response in this regard,” he stated.

The GRA boss said that the Authority has been going from village to village, house to house, and actually levying fines. “There has not been a great type of a response as we should have seen,” he explained.

Nevertheless, once these persons are found culpable, the GRA would apply a conveyance charge of G$150,000 in addition to the taxes required on each of these vehicles.

It was reported that the

GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia

State has been losing billions annually over excavators and other heavy-duty machinery and equipment that were not registered. This was first discovered during 2017.

Statia reminded that this scheme has been on GRA’s radar for some time now. He outlined that exercises were carried out, monitoring vehicles that had been moving within the country, especially excavators and draglines, but when checks were made, there was no record of them in the system.

“It was on the cards for a little while, but then what we found is that there was one particular excavator that was

imported and we could not have found it, it was cleared and we could not have found it until now. And now that we have gone through additional transactions,” he noted.

The GRA Head had pointed out the problem was as long as these machinery and heavy-duty equipment were not registered, the Authority would be in a position to find or trace them.

“It is not only with the heavy duty…Heavy-duty [machinery] has just been on the forefront for us…so when these excavators go into the interior, if they are not registered then, they cannot be traced.”

Further asked about the scale of the scheme, the GRA Head had said that it was not all importers of heavy-duty machinery and equipment who were involved in the racket.

Heavy-duty equipment and machinery are utilised by most sectors in Guyana. The mining sector and Government are the biggest importers of these.

Statia pointed out that “somewhere along the line, the system went lax and allowed these excavators to be roaming free without numbers and without registration. We need to regularise them.”

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WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

“Speak out and get out” …Minister Broomes urges victims of domestic violence

M

inister within the Natural Resources Ministry, Simona Broomes has issued an urgent call to women in domestic violence situations to “speak out and get out”, noting that often times, as is being shown, the abuse ends in death.

The Minister, currently assigned to undertaking development activities in Linden, made the call on Friday, after visiting 38-year-old Onika Kingston who was seriously burnt about her body with hot rice water by her reputed husband, Leslie Woolford on Thursday.

Kingston, of Silvertown, Wismar, Linden, remains a patient at the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC), where she was admitted after suffering first- and second-degree burns to approximately 28 per cent of her upper body, including her back, chest, and arms.

The incident occurred at the couple’s home after an argument ensued. Woolford who then rushed to the Police station to report what transpired has since been taken into custody. During the visit, Minister

Broomes offered words of encouragement to the mother of five and wished her a speedy recovery, as she posited that justice would be served. Issuing an encouragement to women, the Minister noted that she too has had challenges in life as a woman, but noted that she has always stood her ground.

“Had I not, maybe I would have been just like another woman,” she said, adding that abuse was a topic many women did not want to address.

“I’m saying to women, we have to have the strength to walk away… to find independence in ourselves,” she said.

The Minister said while she understood that women may want to stay because of their children, children were not happy in abusive relationships. Often, she said, in these situations, the father ends up in jail and the mother dead, leaving the children behind. As such, she urged women to mobilise and draw strength in each other to break the cycle, noting that there was no excuse for the level of violence being meted out to Guyanese women.

Minister Broomes noted that initiatives

Minister within the Natural Resources Ministry, Simona Broomes and Region 10 APNU Party Chairman Deron Adams during the visit to the hospital

such as “Girl Power” were started in Linden to empower women. She pleaded with women to look for the signs of abuse, and urged them to be strong and not encourage such behaviour.

“I still think as women, we need to put our bars and put it a bit higher…the question is, ‘are you going to stay there and die?’…the time in Guyana, it is sickening to see what is happening,” she noted, as she questioned, “Where are the voices of all the

women organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations” at this time?

“I want to move motions … I would really want to see us as women in Guyana raising the bar and pitching, not only pitching our voices but ensuring that we put an end to it, that we put a stop to it.”

She said in some places women were abused by men, who were then charged by Police, but the women would refuse to give evidence against

the men. In such cases, she said “maybe” the laws could be pushed so that men are charged regardless.

The Minister noted, however, that she was happy that Magistrates were putting just sentences in place for perpetrators. “I want to continue to support the judiciary system and these judges that are taking control and looking at this matter and dealing with it in the way that it needs to be dealt with. That is a positive sign for me,” she said.

Broomes further stated that she was appalled by the level of rape in society, noting that through the movement and via social media, many Linden women have reached out to her with regard to rape, which she said is an issue people are “covering up”. She called on leaders, Police and all sectors to play a part in making a difference, adding that a women’s forum is being planned for Linden. She also pointed to the need to ascertain the level of domestic violence and reports, as that would assist in pushing for various policies and institutions.

The Minister also spoke on the issue regarding the Linden Town Week pageant scandal as she urged women to speak out and make reports.

She opined that contestants should not be the ones to go out to seek sponsorship. “A lot of women have contacted me over this story also in Linden to say how many years it is happening. And so, at all levels in society and more so Linden, I think we got to come together to deal with it. I have engaged the church. We had a wonderful prayer session with women,” she noted, adding that she would be going back into schools to speak with girls.

She said sessions were also being organised for men, through the ‘Be the one’ campaign, since they too needed to be heard. The Minister posited that a difference could be made with the help of all stakeholders.

“I want to encourage the women that domestic violence is something you should not accept, speak out and get out; don’t compromise with it, don’t hold it, report it to the Police, bring it to the authorities and let us push for action,” Minister Broomes said.

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WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Guyanese urged to support local products

By Jarryl Bryan

“B

uy local” was a prevailing theme of the ‘Uncapped’ agro processors expo as it got under way on Sunday. There were several local exhibitors urging locals to support local items while reminding supermarkets of their local obligations.

The ‘agro-processors exhibition and marketplace’ held at the National Stadium had the backing of several companies, including Sterling Products, Edward B. Beharry and Sons, Banks DIH and Exxon Mobil. This publication caught up with several agro processors.

According to Rihanna, a representative of the National Milling Company of Guyana, (NAMILCO), the onus is on Guyanese to buy local.

NAMILCO’s products are stocked across Guyana, and she stressed the importance of consumers paying attention to what they buy.

“We have a new product, the Vanilla cake flour. We have free samples. Right now NAMILCO is coming up with these health products. We are promoting healthiness. We have the whole wheat flour in a packet, and we also have multi-grain and wheat germ.

“We have roti mix and polouri mix. The polouri mix is quick and easy for customers to make a fast meal. The roti mix, to make work easier, you just have to add water to get that perfect roti. We want you to support local,” she said.

Noting that there is foreign flour on the local market, she urged customers to read labels in-

Scenes from the Uncapped exhibition

tently. Pointing to the importance of adhering to expiry dates, she stressed that NAMILCO provides quality. Added to that, she noted, is the inclusion of recipes on the packages.

Other products

The Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) was also out in full force. This Government entity’s booth featured several sections of produce, ranging from packaged plantain chips to packaged coconut cream and honey — all stocked by the Guyana shop, itself stocked by agro processors.

Explaining the process, a representative noted that to be a supplier to the Guyana Shop, products must be agro-processed, and the supplier business must itself be registered in Guyana. In addition, each processor must have a valid certificate of inspection from the Government Analyst—Food and Drugs Department and a valid food handler’s certificate.

“We are displaying here the (products) offered by GMC, par-

ticularly the Guyana Shop, where we have all the local agro processed products in Guyana. We have most of the agro processors here, but some couldn’t make it.

So we’re supporting,” the representative said.

“Most of them have their own farm, but some of them would buy from other farmers and process it — slice it, fry it, and package it. And then they bring it to us. These are things we sell every day, including cassava breads, cassareep, and honey.”

At another booth, exhibitors hailing from Essequibo had packaged coconut water on sale for G$300 a bottle. Roosters Coconut, the company selling the beverage, use coconuts reaped at its very own farm.

Farzad Ally, a representative of the company, related. “I do distribution and sales. I recently joined the company, but they’ve been in existence before. We have our own factory, we do our own bottling, our labels. And we do ex-

port.”

Value of the Expo

Dr. Vishnu Doerga, a former President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), was there in his capacity as the face of Action Coach Guyana — a company that not only offers complementary entrepreneurship training, but also professional support services for business owners looking to grow their companies.

Doerga noted the importance of events such as Uncapped to give agro-processors a chance to shine.

According to the businessman, it provides a platform to introduce consumers to the products and brands of agro-processors. Doerga urged consumers to actively support local producers.

“The consumers in our country have a lot to do with this. They have to start getting serious and buy local products. And if the product is not up to standard, you tell the persons their packaging is not where it’s supposed to be,

their product quality needs to improve,” Doerga urged.

“Go into the supermarket you buy from and ask the supermarket owner, ‘Why you aren’t stocking local products?’ If you keep buying foreign products, the supermarket owners are going to continue stocking foreign products. So consumers have a lot to do in moving Guyana and its agro-processors forward,” he explained.

It is understood that the GMSA had collaborated with the Government and private enterprises in order to host the first ‘Uncapped’ last year at the Sophia Exhibition Complex. That threeday exhibition had also featured a food festival that saw some 60 exhibitors and thousands of patrons.

This year, there was a noticeable crowd at the National Stadium. It is expected that Uncapped will be held in other regions of the country throughout the year.

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WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

QC students call for major rehabilitation of school

S

tudents and teachers of Guyana’s premier learning high school are contending that some of the school’s facilities are in a deplorable state.

Queen’s College (QC), a prominent learning institution, which churns out outstanding students at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) examinations, is said to be in need of a facelift to its archaic structures.

Guyana Times International was informed that some of the structural components of the institution require rehabilitations so as to make it conducive for academic purposes. Presently, one of the main concerns is the condition of the

Science laboratories, which have been described as “grimy”.

Sources at the school have revealed that with respect to the quality of students that are produced every year, the institution requires at least one state-ofthe-art laboratory.

“Structurally, we think that the lab should be done over. In terms of the quality of students and the calibre of the examination practical component, we definitely need a state-of-the-art lab because this is not conducive to lab experiments,” a source stated.

It was revealed that in the past, moderators dispatched to the school would comment on the state of the laboratories which are being utilised by the students.

“It’s not that we are totally responsible for the practical part. We have an external moderator that has to come to check how the labs were conducted. Every year they come to check how we’re conducting our labs and they’re always comments about how they thought

the lab was much better than it is.”

While it was stated that they try to make do with the necessary resources that are available in the laboratories, the walls and other sections are unadorned with diagrams due to the fact that the walls are gradually crumbling.

“We’re not complaining about the facilities, but we know that it can be better so that the lives of the children can be made easier because many times their spirits are daunted when they come to the lab. It’s not really an excitement to come to the lab because it’s a bit outdated.”

Additionally, the school field is invaded with shrubs and unwanted bush-

es for the past three years which makes it impossible for the athletes to train.

As such, the inter-house sports are usually held at the Guyana Cricket Board (GCC) ground.

“Most of our exceptional athletes have been missing their field for the last three years. We had to have sports at GCC rather than use our field,” they stated.

For the vast number of subjects that are being offered by the institution along with the growing population, additionally classrooms are also a necessity.

Meanwhile, this publication was told that majority of the support that the institution has received over the years was from the alumni chapters, which are located in different parts of the world. The refurbishment of computer labs and supplying of equipment in the past are courtesy of these chapters which have been listed as the driving forces behind the functioning of the school.

WCD/EBE Road project substantially completed J

ust over three years ago, works commenced to upgrade the two-lane West Coast Demerara/East Bank Essequibo (WCD/EBE) road. This project has now been “substantially” completed, with just some road markings and traffic signs’ installation to the done.

Speaking with Guyana Times International, Senior Projects Engineer attached to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Kester Hinds, who has oversight responsibility for the G$9.2 billion project, explained that the road expansion project is about 98% complete.

“The project is substantially completed.

There are just a few little road markings, installation of the road rails and the traffic signs to be installed. So those are the only things that are outstanding. All construction works have been completed,” Hinds told this newspaper.

Head of the Public Infrastructure Ministry’s Works Services Group (WSG), Geoffrey Vaughn, had last week told this newspaper that since the project is in its final stage, a recent decision was made to reissue the practical completion certificate to the contractor.

“The consultant is looking at any remedial works that need to be done before we can do the handover. As you know, most of these contracts would have a one year defects liability pe-

riod, so there is still that defects liability period that we have to look at to see that the road is operating at what it has been constructed for,” Vaughn explained.

The G$9.2 billion (US$44.3million) contract for this project was awarded to Jamaican company Surrey Paving and Aggregate (SPA) Limited, which has partnered with BK International. The contract was signed in November 2014, and works commended in January 2015.

In addition to the two-lane upgrade, the project, which has a 36-month timeline, also includes pedestrian facilities in the form of sidewalks, and in some sections, facilities for cyclists will be made.

There is also a road safety sensitisation aspect to the project.

According to Hinds, these few works — installation of rails and traffic signs — could not have been completed,

since there were some procurement issues.

Hinds went on to explain that the January 1, 2018 deadline for the project had to be extended due to the setbacks and delays experienced as a result of the relocation of the utilities, and the influence of inclement weather.

“Some of the setbacks included delay in the relocation of utilities, and of course rainfall would have contributed to some of the delays as well. And in the early phase of the project, there was some delay in the contractor acquiring all the resources to execute the project,” Hinds explained.

According to Hinds, while construction works did not go over the G$9.2 billion budget, the delays and extension of time can have financial implications. To this end, he noted that the Ministry and the contractors are trying to iron out the issue to have all the extra time addressed within the contract.

called for the workers to get all of their severance pay. We have called for to Government to give help on your electricity bill and water bill as we did when we were in Government to the bauxite workers when they were going through difficult times. We have called for training,” Teixeira asserted.

She noted that the unemployment of the 10,000 workers after the closure of the several estates across Guyana has resulted in an extreme

impact on the country.

Additionally, the lives of the workers have been greatly affected, especially the women and those that have to provide for their families without the possession of an income.

“What this Government has done to the sugar workers and all workers of the country is something that no Government has done and that is, destroying an industry and sending home thousands of workers. The impact is

enormous on the country,” she stated.

The Opposition has stated that they will continue to support the former sugar workers of all the estates that were closed.

Some Venezuelans who migrated back to Guyana in light of the economic crisis were also assisted with hampers during Saturday’s proceedings, while relief was also given to former Skeldon sugar workers a few weeks ago.

Works being done on the WCD/EBE road

Calls for Govt to provide relief to fired sugar workers have fallen on deaf ears – PPP

By Rupadai Seenaraine

O

ver 100 sugar workers who were rendered jobless upon the closure of the Wales Sugar Estate were assisted by the Opposition People’s Progressive Party last Saturday.

The fired sugar workers received grocery hampers as a measure of lending support in times of despair.

The affected workers were visited by Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira and Opposition Members of Parliament, Bishop Juan Edghill and Anil Nandlall, who expressed that this is the party’s approach in providing support to the former sugar workers in their difficult times.

Bishop Juan Edghill noted that while the workers are willing to work, they are unable to do so due to the fact that they have been terminated from their service to the sugar industry.

He said to the gathering of sugar workers, “You want to work. You were working. The reason why you’re here today is because you’re unable to work because your services have been terminated. This is an act of solidarity. We are standing with you in an act of solidarity in your time of need, in your time of difficulty [and] because of all that is happening.”

Also speaking to the gathering was the Opposition Chief Whip, who explained that pro-

posals were made to the Government in the past to have mechanisms in place to assist persons in obtaining employment in another trade.

However, there has been no effective action on the part of the administration to address this issue.

Some of the requests also included to have the lands available for the workers to utilise.

Additionally, calls were made to give the workers their complete severance that they were entitled to, rather than a portion of it.

“We (the Opposition) have called for a number of things for the Government to do for months now. It has fallen on deaf ears. We have called for land to be distributed. We have

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B

y the time East Indian indentured labourers arrived in British Guiana in the 19th century, Indian fashion had already begun to be influenced by the-then British rulers of India.

According to fashion historian Toolika Gupta, writing for the BBC News, the outward propriety of Victorian England,uncomfortable with the bare-breasted look of Hindu women in their saris of earlier times, led to a blouse being worn underneath, though in southern India, even in colonial times, some did not cover their upper body.

In fact, she writes,

WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

it was the wife of Satyendranath Tagore (the famous Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore’s brother) who popularised the modern sari [with its draping and inner piece, called a “choli” or “ravika”], after she was reportedly refused entry to clubs for wearing the sari fabric over her breasts.

It is this British enforced design and draping that remains an emblem of Indian sari culture both in the north and south of India today,which was brought over to British Guiana during indentureship.

It would be hard to imagine the British freely allowing women without the undershirt of

Indentured East Indians in various apparel (no date) (From the Asian American Writers’ Workshop website)

their sari to make the journey and arrive in British Guiana in such ‘impropriety’.

Anglicizing, which included discarding the caste system by rounding up all women, children and men regardless of caste, had begun from the time they arrived at the British Guiana immigration depot at Garden Reach, Kolkata.

Gupta observes also that, “At the height of the Victorian era the British and Indian fashions rather resemble each other…”

It would not be long after, with the Christianisation of many Hindus and Muslims, that many other British Guiana indentured im-

migrants began wearing western/British clothing altogether.

Among Indian men, the dhoti was at the time the traditional mode of dress. About four to six feet long, white or in colour, the dhoti was worn long or short.

It was worn for centuries among Indian men, with many regional variations. In the southern part of India, men would pull up the dhoti and pleat the top around the waist, where it ended just below the knees.

Among the Muslims, it was the influence of the 16th and 17th century Mughal empire that “gave birth to garments like the salwar kameez ” today, Gupta notes, as Muslim women covered themselves and often wore divided garments.

The salwar kameez also spelled shalwar kameez has also become emblematic of India, especially the North of India, in the region of Punjab where it is known also as the “Punjabi suit”.

The word salwar (or shalwar) is said to come from the Persian word for “pants”, while the kameez may have derived from the Latin word camisia, which in turn became Arabic qamīs (Urdu kamis) then “chemise” in English.

The salwar kameez also comes with the dupatta (often loosely worn scarf or shawl) which today, Hindu women view either as necessary to cover their heads when at a temple or among elders, or simply a fashion accessory. Muslim women may wear their hijab with the outfit.

There are several kinds of salwar kameez: the traditional salwar kameez is the baggy style pants and full sleeve tunic, while the Churidar salwar kameez is more shape-fitting in the legs, with an ankle closing and a longer length to create a “spiral shape look” at the bottom.

The Patiala salwar kameez began as a male garment for the Patiala maharaja but was later copied by women. It is similar to the traditional outfit but with more pleats and a “big fall” at the back.

The other type of salwar kameez is called the Anarkali, which for women, is a kurti or kurta (a loose fitting dress, shirt or tunic that falls just above or somewhere below the knee) worn with the slim fitting spiralbottomed pants of the Churidar.

In older times, kurtas were first designed for men to wear with pyjamas (a loose trouser tied at the waist) and kurtis were designed for women to wear with loose pants.

Nowadays ladies also wear kurtas.

Today, the kurta is considered longer, and usually falls below the knees, while the kurti is short, the length ranging from below the waist to the thigh.

Guyanese Hindus and Muslims especially, have continued wearing these traditional fashions over the centuries, while also taking their cue from international contemporary Hindu and Muslim fashions. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Labour’s lost…

N

…love

o…your Eyewitness didn’t mix up the Bard’s play, “Love’s labours’ lost”. That had to do with a king and his three friends who decide to focus on their studies and not to get distracted with “love”. But being yesterday was “Labour Day”, he decided to reflect on the heady days of yore when Labour was strenuously wooed by the politicians.

And why today, they barely rate a second glance.

In case you’ve forgotten, dear reader, the very existence of our country is due to “LABOUR”. And yes, it should be capitalised for exactly that reason.

The Europeans who “discovered” our neck of the woods soon discovered they quickly wilted under the local conditions when plundering our wealth.

Not to worry…they quickly solved their problems by first purchasing African slaves to supply the labour – from chiefs of warring tribes who were only more than willing to get some quick baubles from the Europeans. Later they ended that system and freed the slaves when they discovered they could get the work done even more cheaply with indentured servants from India and China!!

So we’re all about LABOUR, right? So where do the politicians come in? Well during slavery, the slaves used to rebel periodically and create quite a ruckus – not to mention razing factories and profits and such like. After slavery, when the factory owners just couldn’t shoot the workers willy-nilly, the workers realised the value of withholding their labour. When conditions got to dread – like with wages or working conditions, the workers would now STRIKE en masse!

The difference from the old rebellions of slavery was that now the owners had to read “the riot act” before shooting them down!! So, after a while, the workers learnt that up in England the white workers formed something calls “Unions”, which rioted until the Government had them BARGAIN with the employers for better wages and conditions. So like monkey see; monkey do, we formed trade unions here!!

Like sharks smelling blood in the water, it wasn’t long after, fellas who used to BEG the powers that be for a piece of the (political) action, realised if they linked up with the trade unions, they could instead BARGAIN for that piece of the action.

“Politicians”, who had LEVERAGE, were born!!

And so, lo and behold the trade unions became the womb that produced all the early politicians – both from the PPP and later the PNC. But like the sharks they were genetically related to, the politicians soon turned the table on unions, after they got into office.

And we reach the present when the unions are so passé, the Government of the day wouldn’t even give unions the time of the day!! …direction But seriously folks…isn’t there something the unions can do to reverse their descent into irrelevance? Your Eyewitness thinks so! All they have to do is get back to first principles: do what they started out to do on behalf of workers in the first place!! Remember? They’ve got to get out into the streets and riot when workers’ rights are being violated!!

Look at what just happened to sugar workers – the folks whose labour during slavery and indentureship made this country possible, to begin with. The employer, GuySuCo, arbitrarily fired 5700 of them!! Why weren’t there riots?? GuySuCo also demanded sugar workers forget about the CONTRACTED clause forbidding having workers being sent to work more than 20 miles from their homes!! Why no riots??

The answer, of course, is trade unions have become just like Government Ministers who retire into their airconditioned offices and send out press releases! Imagine the workers who pay their salaries are left to starve…and they tap away at computer keyboards!

No wonder labour’s lost relevance. …champion Was a time only a decade ago, under the Socialist banner, when labour seemed to be just about to conquer all in our region – including Latin America.

But with Lula in jail and Maduro in the air, it’s all gone to channa.

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By Akeem Greene

W

e are quite certain that most persons are aware of the correlation between the Yadram name and cricket in Guyana, and now at the Windies youth level. However, many may not be unaware of the contributions of Kavita Yadram towards the development of the sport.

According to Kavita, “cricket runs in the blood” as grandfathers Shaeed and Jaimangal all played for Enterprisethe community of residence- and then followed her father Seemangal and his brothers Khandi and Latchman, who is now a National Under-15 coach. Her mother Shameiza is also an avid supporter of the game.

and throw back the ball which they would ask me to do for them. From that I started to try bowling to them then I started to ask for my batting”, Kavita recollected.

“Kamesh, I think he is more technically correct when playing his shots and playing his game in general but Bhaskar Yadram is more of the power hitter”, she added.

The big turning point came when the wrote the National Grade Six Assessment Examination and gained a spot at Bladen Hall Multilateral, which had a female team ; Kavita was soon appointed captain and won numerous wind ball competitions.

Making the bold step to play with the leather ball, the all-rounder joined

Kavita with her brothers

Her younger brothers Kamesh and Bhaskar both went unto play for Guyana at the youth level, with the 18 year-old Bhaskar going even further, by playing at the First-Class level and also for the Windies Youth team at the ICC World Cup, earlier this year.

It was clearly not surprising that the 24 year-old had a genetic fondness for the sport, for which she represented the country at both youth and senior level.

“It started as my brothers trained in our yard and had little or no one to field

feature 33

tional.com

the Police Sports Club and it was no looking back. Called to play for her East Coast Association team, she secured a spot on Demerara Under-19 and the national team as the Vice-captain in 2011 and the senior team two years later.

“I think there are only a few words that can describe the feeling of playing for Guyana and those words are amazing, proud, special and fantastic”, she conveyed.

Sailing on the high of playing regional cricket, which allowed her to be im-

Kavita Yadram

printed with the picturesque views of Caribbean neighbours and which exposed her to different cultures, she also managed to earn player-of-the match in 2014 , with a top score of 55 against St Lucia in Dominica.

However, it was not always high-fives and smiles. “2016 was not my best year. I was training and putting in so much work but was just not getting the result I was looking for”.

When moments of defeat loomed, Kavita said it was her parents who kept her and brothers afloat.

“I must say thanks to God for giving us such loving, caring and humble parents. They played a big part in our game where they will leave their jobs to come out and support us whenever we are playing and always try their best to get whatever gears we need”.

“They would always sit with us at home and talk to us on discipline towards the game and other people, also my dad would sit and draw out the field, showing us how to set the field when bowling or when we would be the captain of a side. We always look at our parents as our first role model. My parents are one in a million God has given to us and we love them dearly.”

Jovial Enterprise

The Enterprise Busta Sports Club is always an electric atmosphere when cricket is being played, it could be simple as softball but the community comes out

in full support.

“Life in enterprise is just cheerful, joyous and very welcoming.

Enterprise is a cricketing community where every corner in the village you go you will see someone with a bat and ball playing cricket in the streets. We love cricket in Enterprise and we are very proud of our cricketers that came out from our village.”

Off Field action

After playing her last regional tournament in 2016 on home soil, a new chapter, which is still being written, started . She got married to Hansraj Sookdeo and soon after brought into the world, Vihaan Sookdeo, what is hoped to be another cricke t star.

Instead of suiting up with bat and pad, her new tool, is a pen, inking the future of country’s cricket in her role as the Technical Development Officer of the Guyana Cricket Board, a job she fully enjoys.

“I enjoy administrating cricket and getting involved with the youths in primary and secondary schools and dealing with the players. I always tell myself after playing cricket I want to do or be something within cricket, which I am grateful I got that opportunity to do so and I grabbed it with both hands.”

The Administrator ended by giving a word of advice to other females who may want pilot a similar path.

“I would like to say to all you women out there who may or may not want to be involved in sports is go for what you want to achieve in your life and always remember the sky is the limit. You must work hard to achieve your goals in life no matter what your choice may be”.

(Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

34 feature

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of East Indian Arrival G uyanese, will on Saturday, May 5, 2018 observe East Indian Arrival Day ; an occasion commemorating the 180th anniversary of their arrival, bringing with them their ancient customs, food and culture from India.

Under a system of agreement, an order in the Council of Britain was passed on July 12, 1838 making provision for indentured immigrants to travel to Guyana for a term of five years.

On January 13, 1838 the Whitby left the shores of India with 249 immigrants on board and arrived in Guyana on the 5th May 1838 after a voy-

in Georgetown on May 4, 1845, and ten persons died on the way. Next ship was the ‘Success’, which arrived on July 21, 1845 with 231 passengers, 14 died on the way. Next was the ‘Nester’, which arrived on December 26, 1845 with 233 persons and brought 500 bags of rice.

On February 2, 1846 ‘Manchester’ then the ‘Thetis’ followed by the ‘Tamerlane’ the ‘Martin Luther’ and ‘Troy” in succession, then the ‘John Wickliffe’, the ‘Bussorary Merchant’, the ‘Aurora’, ‘Lady Mekennaway’ and lastly the ‘SS Ganges’, which docked in Georgetown on April 18, 1917. Bringing that period,

the same ship were considered as ship brothers and sisters-“Jahaji”.

A further contributing factor to unity was that everyone came with an inter-faith mind of mainly Hindus and Muslims and there was also a belief that the caste system has been lost through the crossing of ‘Kaala’ Pani (Black Water). Through the years the community spirit has manifested itself in various situations-forming groups singing Ramayan, Bhajanas reading of the Holy Quran and observing the various festivals and holi days etc.

The plantation owners and the colonial administration feared the unity of

A European indentured ‘indented’ contract. The jagged indented top indicates this is the bottom half of the indenture contract

age of 112 days. Five immigrants died during the voyage. The Whitby proceeded first to Berbice and landed 164 passengers at Hilbury, East Bank Berbice, nearly 12 miles from New Amsterdam.

East of the capital, the same day it returned to Vreed-en-hoop, West Demerara and landed 80 passengers. Out of the 244 immigrants that came with the Whitby they were 233 men, 5 women and 6 children. The first man to step on shore in Berbice was Anant Ram while in Demerara the first man to disembark was Nutha Khan.

On January 29, 1838, the Hesperus sailed from Calcutta sixteen days later than the Whitby, with 165 persons on board. It arrived at Port Georgetown on the night of May 5th 1838, 13 immigrants died during the voyage including two persons who fell over-board. Out of the 152 immigrants that came on board the Hesperus, were 135 men, 6 women and 11 children.

On January 26, 1845 ‘Lord Hunger’ left Calcutta with 162 passengers on board, the ship arrived

79 years- 238,979 indentured labourers journeyed from India to Guyana to work under colonial administration. They were distributed to various locations on the coastland of Guyana.

The plantation system and conditions were not favourable at all. The immigrants worked from sunrise to sunset and were so poorly paid that they were just able to exist. They slaved and provided luxurious living for their masters. They brought with them a rich culture and heritage together with a language.

The indentured immigrants were disciplined and found satisfaction in honest and productive work. They were kind, hospitable and generous and they lived contented lives.

They made tremendous sacrifices so that their descendants would be able to enjoy a better standard of living.

The foremost characteristic of the struggle of the East Indian immigrants against indenture and plantation system was their unity. Their unity had been forged on shipboard. Those who came on

the workers and used several techniques to destroy it. By January 1830, there was evidence that the Indian labourers were being mistreated. Far more significant were the uprisings, which frequently led to tragic deaths of immigrant workers protesting illegal wages, bad conditions and the exploitation of their women.

There were eight main disturbances on sugar plantations leading to shooting by colonial police from Devonshire Castle in 1872 to 1948 at Enmore.

At Vreed-en-hoop, West Bank Demerara an English nurse Betsy Ann

The immigrant ship Hesperus

testified that she had witnessed the flogging of immigrants with the cat-o-nine tails, and another woman Elizabeth Caesar witnessed the flogging of immigrants under the manager’s house after which, salt pickle was rubbed on to their backs.

Figures show that one out of every five immigrants was brought before the courts; not for offences of a criminal nature but for resistance to a plantation system, which was supported by the judiciary and colonial administration.

There were no trade unions until recent times.

The East Indians have contributed in a significant way to build Guyana’s economic and social structures. It was indeed the unity of principle and action among East Indians that brought overwhelming success to our dear land of Guyana. (Adapted from an article by Shan Razak; 2013 Guyana Times newspaper) Origin of indentureship Most of us know that ‘Arrival Day’ is about the ‘arrival’ of ‘indentured servants’ to labour on the sugar plantations after the abolition of slavery - first the Portuguese (1935), West Indian Africans (1835), Indians (1838), and, finally, the Chinese (1853).

But exactly what is an ‘indentured servant’? It is actually one of a series of arrangements in which individuals were pressured by various devices - which

were enacted into ‘law’ - to provide their labour under controlled and specified conditions.

‘Indentured labour’ was but one of various guises under which individuals across the globe were conscripted to provide labour in the development of the ‘capitalist’ mode of production that developed as Europe began to exploit the worlds it had ‘discovered’ – and more germanely, conquered – after 1492.

There were indentured labourers from Europe starting from the 17th century long before the Indians from India.

Indian indentureship In India, which the British East India Company conquered between 1657 and 1818, the British passed laws that changed the rules on land taxes and crops that should be cultivated. Consequently, millions died from famine and pushed off the land to become the excess labour that could be exported to other parts of the empire as needed.

Under the new racism, Indians were also lower intrinsically to whites.

Indentured Indian labour was first used within India in the tea plantations of Assam, and then to the newly acquired French islands of Reunion and Mauritius.

After the abolition of African slavery in the British Empire in 1834, rather than moving to

‘free labour’, as was promised, they introduced ‘unfree’ indentured labour by law. The contracts of the indentureds were structured to keep them bound to their employer so that if they were not in the fields, they had to be either in jail or hospital. Infractions of their contract were subjected to criminal penalties, and these were applied liberally.

In Fiji, the descendants of the Indian indentureds call themselves ‘GIRMITIYA’ - people of the agreement by which they were bound to the new world.

The indenture contracts formed a partnership between the traveller and the ‘master’ to exchange years of service for a promise of future compensation like acres of land, livestock, clothing, room and boarding during the time of service.

The terms of this contract were between servant Patrick Larkin and Master Thomas Blood.

The Indian Indenture contract

Below is an example from Mauritius of the indenture contract that Indians were made to sign before embarking on the ship for the colonies at the beginning of indentureship. The terms were to be copied by all the countries such as Guyana and Trinidad, which received indentured labour later.

(Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

East Indian lodgings

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An Indentureship Story

By Lakhram Bhagirat

P

o n g a v a n u m Munsammy or w as she is lovingly known is a 91-year-old former estate worker, who even in her old age, enjoys an active life and is dependent on no one.

Auntie Chalma came into the spotlight a few

Leonora Pasture home, she was sitting on the bridge, over the small gutter, overlooking the road and “taking breeze”.

At 91, most elderly people would complain about constant aches, pains and lack of mobility but that is not

me back to a different era, she beautifully explained how her father and mother were hardworking and respected people within the Indian community and how she and her siblings fought internal battles to prove their how hardworking they were.

Auntie Chalma explained that because of

Auntie Chalma and her best friends

years ago when she was honoured as the oldest surviving worker of the Leonora Sugar Estate and since then, she has enjoyed national recognition.

Born on February 17, 1927 to indentured immigrants Andikan and Chinganie at Leonora Pasture, West Coast Demerara, Auntie Chalma remembers growing up in a logie with her two siblings and their parents. When the Sunday Magazine caught up with Auntie Chalma at her Lot 21

the case with Auntie Chalma; she is still able to move briskly, tend to her flower garden and make meals for herself.

She lives alone and despite her daughter, Golin Singh, living in the same yard Auntie Chalma insists on doing everything for herself, as long as she is able to.

Chatting with Auntie Chalma with our backs to the setting sun and faces caressed by the soft Atlantic breeze, she related how different it was while growing up in the early 1900s. Taking

Auntie Chalma’s beloved garden

her old age she is unable to hear properly and urged me to speak louder. She began sharing her story even without my prompting.

She explained that while growing up, there was the unmatched level of camaraderie among everyone within the then tiny village of Leonora.

“When me bin a lil gyal when anybody got dead here nobody does go wuk. Them does stay home and take care of the dead and same thing with wedding but today everybody ah do dem

own thing and nah talk to mattie (one another),” she said Struggles Auntie Chalma’s life, like most people in the early 1900s, was categorized by constant struggles. At 12 years old, during the Great Depression following the First World War, life became so tough that her parents began looking for a suitor for her. It was then she was introduced to the only man she ever loved Munsammy called Tambie.

Mere months after they were married and embarked on a new chapter and moved Cane Grove on the East Coast of Demerara.

Tragedy would force Auntie Chalma and Tambie to move back to Leonora after their first born mysteriously died and they were unable to cope. When they returned they set up their life once again and she then birthed six children and now lives to see four generations.

Taking us back to her earlier life, Auntie Chalma says she worked hard to provide for her children. Golin explains that her mother worked hard and they were able to buy cattle but as life was getting better for them, their life took an unexpected turn.

Tambie became an alcoholic and began selling out their tools and other thing just to get money for him to buy alcohol. He would soon pass away and Auntie Chalma worked tirelessly to provide for her children.

“Dem days lang time bin hard, everybody bin a wuk and plant and suh not like now.”

Golin explains that her mother enjoys the life she currently lives but adds that she is slowly losing some of the memories she had.

Auntie Chalma begins everyday by waking up at the crack of dawn, picks flowers from her

Auntie Chalma's 84th birthday

bountiful garden, showers and goes to her altar where she thanks god for every moment she gets. She enjoys practicing Hinduism and goes to Mandir every Sunday morning.

Now Auntie Chalma just takes everyday as it comes and enjoys every moment.

“Ayo young people got to live together more and nah be selfish.” (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

Auntie Chalma and her daughter Golin

36 feature

takes us back in time W hile growing up we heard many stories of how life on the plantations was for our fore parents; we shared with our elders the customs passed on by their parents and we listened keenly to the struggles they went through, so that we can now live a free life. For the younger generation, that freedom is taken for granted and the struggles not really appreciated because all we did was hear about them, we never felt nor witnessed the whippings and constant abuse at the hands of the colonial masters.

In effort to educate

the younger generation and also highlight the struggles of the indentured workers, Kishore Seunarine birthed the idea of “Echos from the Plantation.” The movie came about in 2014 when, the director made a research presentation at his office as a speech and one year later he used that speech as an opening monologue for a play staged by Nirvana Humanitarian Foundation INC USA. While performing the monologue both in NYC and Toronto, Sewnarine noticed tears in the eyes of the audience as they related to the story. After

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the production, many asked if he can record the monolog and post it up to YouTube.

While it caught his ears, it did not satisfy his artistic desire. He had been acting since 1977 and to slap together a YouTube video with stock footage from the internet was not sounding good to him.

As such, he committed to making a movie.

He began writing the script in 2016 and the scenes were shot it in 2017. The scenes were shot in Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo.

In one of the scenes, the village of India was built from scratch in Mr. Kishore Seunarine birthed the idea of “Echos from the Plantation”

Perseverance Estate on the Essequibo coast.

The logie and slave ship were also built at Bola Sawmill in Hubu.

The primary reason for this production is to celebrate/commemorate the 180th anniversary of the arrival of Indians in Guyana.

Because of that intention, the movie focuses on the first batch of

Indians only. There are many other elements of the Indian history in Guyana, but many of those elements happened later in the saga.

Plot

The movie is centered around a Guyanese American young lady who returns home to visit her grandfather ; the story unfolds from there .

The cast of the film is primarily young people of all ethnicities.

“The young ones are the ones who are responding in a positive manner. They are inspired. Some of these traditions are family traits that came down and when they came in the 1800 they were coming with the caste system and they (Colonial Masters) selected the workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is because these were agriculture workers and the British selected the agriculture workers to plant sugar cane,” he said.

“Echos from the plantation”- a movie that portrays the livelihood on Indians on the Sugar Plantation was released on Saturday at the Nirvana Humanitarian Foundation at MetemMere-Zorg, West Coast Demerara for the commemoration 180th Anniversary of the arrival of East Indians to Guyana.

(Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

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38 Feature

T

wo hundred and fifty labourers had sailed from Kolkata (then Calcutta) India on The Whitby to arrive in British Guiana on May 5, 1838. Four died along the 96-day journey. Highbury, their first point of entry, is a small village at the culmination of an annual trek by those commemorating the arrival of East Indians in Guyana.

According to some accounts, many of those who returned to India after their indentureship period at Highbury had ended, returned with substantial wealth; paving the way for the Indian indentureship era in Guyanese history, and, according to most scholars, saving the colony from ruin and abandonment.

After the labour vacuum left by freed slaves began to have a disastrous effect on colonial industry, particularly the sugar industry, the owners of Plantation Highbury along with a few others including John Gladstone, from Liverpool, England, sent to India for workers to tend their investments.

Henry Davidson, Aeneas Barkly, whose only surviving son Henry Barkly would become the 4th governor of British Guiana (1849-1853), and D.C. Cameron, were the British owners of the plantation. Aeneas Barkly died during the apprenticeship period, and his son Henry took over his father’s affairs.

One hundred and seventeen labourers, including 11 females, arrived at Plantation Highbury on the East bank of the Berbice River to begin their period of indenture on the colony. Their indentures were dated from Dec. 29, 1837.

According to some

accounts, by January 1839, a visit by a Justice Macleod to Plantation Highbury found that 15 males and two females had since died, and some 10-15 were on the “sick list”. The surviving labourers were described as “cheerful and contented”. By November 1839, mortality rates at the plantation included 17 males and one female, with 12 on the sick list.

Others had run away several times, despite reports of the good treatment of coolies on the plantation.

Official colony records stated that 22 persons from the original first batch had died on Plantation Highbury, either from drowning, excessive drinking, dysentery or gangrene, to name a few, while two had run away. Colony records also note that the Highbury Pln labourers reared the most livestock than anywhere else on the colony; both for their own food and to sell.

In January 1843, Davidson wrote to Lord Stanley that “the first-class ship “Louisa Baille”” was returning to India with a batch of former indentured workers from Highbury estate. This was after a flurry of letters from colony governor Henry Light to Lord Stanley in England, conveying the increasing uneasiness of the workers who were still in the colony awaiting their journey back home after serving out their contracts.

Colony records estimate that 81 Highbury labourers returned to India on the “Louisa Baille”, while nine chose to remain on the colony.

There were also eight women, seven boys and two girls on the return trip, of which all but

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two children were born on the colony. Between the 81 labourers, the group was returning

with some $8,536, while four of the nine remaining had no savings at the time.

But Plantation Highbury was not the original name of the estate, nor were its British owners its original landlords. The estate initially belonged to the Berbice Association, a Dutch association formed in 1720 similar to the East India Company (of Hindustan) to expand cultivation within the colony and which was a substantial slave owner on the colony.

The Berbice Association, though with allegiance to Holland, were proprietors who governed the territory and could sell lands, described as lots or grants, to private owners willing to establish plantations. The association also retained lands on which they established what they called “model estates”. These model estates, known as “Society’s ground” or “Society’s Plantations”, are also referred to as “Colony Estates” on some maps.

When the colony was captured by the British, there were four such estates under the association, and an agreement was made be-

Sandvoort, then a large coffee estate in Canje.

tween the two sides that these were to be treated as private rather than government property.

These four estates were called Dageraad, St Jan, Dankbaarheid and Sandvoort, and remained association property until November

1818 when they were sold to Cameron, Davidson and Barkly, partners of the English company Davidson’s, Barkly & Co. The partners in this purchase then divided the properties among themselves. Cameron, along with a friend, took

Sandvoort would later be divided into two; of which one half was converted into a sugar estate named “Lochaber” after the Scottish headquarters of the Camerons.

The other three plantations remained with

Barkly and Davidson, though Dageraad, a sugar plantation, after a period was handed over to the government as a leper asylum or colony.

St Jan, originally a coffee plantation, and Dankbaarheid , a sugar estate, were united and renamed Highbury, after Barkly’s place, Highbury

Grove, in Middlesex (then an English county) near London.

In addition, according to the book “Frustrated Peasants, Marginalized Workers: Free African Villages in Guyana” by Wazir Mohamed, sometime between 1847 -1848, 100 acres of Crown Land in Highbury were communally purchased by former slaves. Between 1853 and 1880, writes Walton Look Lai in his book “The Chinese in the West Indies, 18061995: A Documentary History”, Highbury Plantation also indentured Chinese workers.

Position of Arrival Day monument

One note of unease from some members of the East Indian

Community is the fact that the construction of the Indian Arrival Day monument, in the pipeline, should be sited at Highbury, where the first batch of Indian immigrants actually arrived, instead of Palmyra. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

FEATURE 39

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Labour Movement

Pay day on Sugar Estate, Demerara.

No date. (R.P. Kaps Jeweller, Georgetown)

I

n the sugar belt of colonial Guyana, the Man Power Citizens' Association (MPCA) was formed under the leadership of Ayube Edun, a goldsmith and publisher of the Guiana Review newspaper, and Mr C.R. Jacob, a successful merchant and member of the existing Legislative Council. Its general secretary was Harri Barron. All three of these people had certain prominence in the struggle for greater political rights for East Indians, and Jacob was not only a merchant but also president of the East Indian Association.

The MPCA was officially registered on November 5, 1937, and it concentrated its energies on organizing primarily among workers in the sugar industry. At the same time, the British Guiana Workers League also solicited members within the industry with emphasis on factory and clerical workers.

The sugar strikes of the early and middle 1930s occurred without there being in existence any organized union to direct them. Although, as we have seen, the British Guiana Labour Union had some influence, it had little formal organization outside the city of Georgetown.

Not until 1936 was the Man Power Citizens’ Association (MPCA), which concentrated its principal attention, at least in the beginning, on organizing the sugar workers, established.

The MPCA grew rapidly. By 1939, it claimed 10,000 members and 20,000 by 1943. When a new wave of strikes broke out in 1938, the MPCA became involved in negotiating an end to them, although it had not formally called any of the walkouts. The Sugar Producers’ Association denounced the MPCA for making the workers “more and more truculent."58 Ashton Chase wrote of the MPCA: "The brilliant start was due to the absolute confidence which the sugar workers reposed in the inspiring leadership of Mr. Ayube M. Edun, the founder/president. . . . Previous to its formation, Mr. Edun had established himself as an undoubted champion of the rights of sugar workers by pungent articles in the ‘Guyana Review’ and later in the ‘Labour Advocate’ of which he was the editor and pro¬prietor.”59 Chase also noted: The Sugar Workers saw in the MPCA their long awaited saviour. ...

In comparison with the other Unions it was a giant among pygmies. . . .

Two contributing factors to this were firstly, the fact that it was operating in an industry that then and even now is the mainstay of the economy.

...

Secondly, the rate of subscription was nominal. . . . This reflected a poor financial status and the Union's inability to even make a pretense at servicing branches. With all its large membership it was not until 1953 that its bank balance reached the $ 1,000 mark and then only after overseas assistance had been received.60

The Turbulent History of Organized Labor in Guyana—Part I

The most important strike in

Ashton Chase observed. “The MPCA started off on the same plane as its predecessors. Its first objects showed that it was established to represent the cause of its members and endeavour to obtain their just, equitable, economic, political and social rights from the state and their employers.”62 Although the membership of the MPCA was concentrated to a large degree among the East Indian sugar workers, in its early years it also organized a number of other groups.

By 1949 it had collective contracts with both the Demerara and Berbice bauxite firms, most of whose employees were of African descent— and had a virtually closed shop arrangement with the former. It also had a collective agreement with the Board of Control of the Mahaicony Abery Development Scheme, a semiofficial government rice growing enterprise. It like-wise had union members in the government’s Public Works Department, although those workers had recently established their own un-ion, and the MPCA members had been transferred to a new Sawmill Workers Union, headed

by Theophilus Lee.63 The MPCA's penetration of the two bauxite companies came as the

ployer resistance, but after a partial strike in December 1946 and the intervention of the government Labour Department, an agreement was signed between the Demerara Company and the MPCA in December 1946.

However, this did not end company resistance to the union. Several local union leaders were dismissed by the company, precipitating a further strike in April 1947, which was not finally settled until October of that year, when a new collective agreement was signed between the MPCA and the company, providing for a wage increase and improvements in working conditions.

Subsequently, without any major conflict, the second bauxite company, the Berbice Bauxite Company, also recognized the MPCA as the bargaining agent for its employees.

Some time later, through a friendly arrangement with the national leadership of the MPCA, its bauxite miners’ locals broke away to form their own independent union.

As the country’s largest union, the MPCA in its early years won the friendly attention of many middle-class people who had sympathy for organized labor. These included Cheddi Jagan, who joined

culmination of a struggle of the workers in the Demerara Company to establish a union. Starting in 1942, the British Guiana Labour Union had sought to establish a branch there but faced strong resistance from the employer, and. as a result of a strike in 1944, its local there had disappeared.

The bauxite workers then turned to the Man Power Citizens’ Association to help them establish a local union. It also met strong em-

the union soon after returning home from studying in the United States and who in 1945 became treasurer of the MPCA. However, he was removed from that post within a year, for reasons that we shall note subsequently. ( Excerpts from A History of Organized Labor in the Englishspeaking West IndiesBy Robert J. Alexander, Eldon M. Parker, The Leonora Incident of 1939 by Tota Mangar) (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

Cultivating sugar cane circa 1900

this period was that on Plantation Leonora, which broke out in February 1939. Although the MPCA leaders sought to intervene, the plantation management refused to allow them to come on-to the plantation grounds.

Police who were called to “protect" the plantation ended up firing on the crowd, killing four and wounding several others. Finally, Ayube Edun was able to talk with the strikers at a nearby Hindu temple, and the following day the workers returned to their jobs.

The tragic results of the Leonora strike perhaps helped convince the Sugar Producers’ Association to change its strategy. On May 2, 1939, the SPA agreed to recognize the MPCA “for purposes of collective bargaining, giving it the right to negotiate in any case of dispute, and to hold meetings on the plantations." After this decision, the Man Power Citizens’ Association grew rapidly and for several years was the genuine representative of the country’s sugar workers.

Plantation Barracks for the East IndianDemerara American Caribbean Line Cruise

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WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Jagan and WI Pan Africanism

By Ravi Dev

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e noted CLR James saw Cheddi Jagan’s vacillation, in 1958, and refusal to clearly state his personal position – as the leader of the PPP — on the WI Federation as trying to have it both ways: maintaining the support of his mainly Indian base while signalling he was “principled” for not accepting a toothless British WI Federation. In his 1956 address to his rump PPP, he accepted Burnham had taken most African support after the 1955 split.

But we want to suggest Jagan’s seeming vacillation arose out of his acceptance of a premise by the leaders of the West Indian islands – including Burnham: that

it was an act of “betrayal” for Indians to be concerned their interests might be swamped in such a federation, where the overwhelming majority would be of African heritage. For Jagan, the “Simonpure” Marxist, according to James, the betrayal was one of their “class interest” over race/ethnic/communal interests, and as such was indefensible. Two decades later, when he raised the issue of “racial discrimination” against Indians since 1964 while discussing a coalition with the PNC, Jagan was speechless when Burnham enquired slyly, “What is the socialist content of race, Comrade?”

But for the leaders of the Caribbean,

the “betrayal” stemmed from another source – one which still animates them in the 21st century: that the West Indies are part of the Pan-African nation; and, as such, groups such as Indians should concede supremacy to “African” concerns.

The irony, of course, is CLR James and Burnham, along with some others, such as Manley of Jamaica, also defined themselves as “Marxists”, but they still accepted the Indian “betrayal” thesis based on race/ethnicity.

In Jagan’s defence, the reality is from the last decades of the 19th century, “the Negro Question/ Problem” had been on the agenda of all “progressive” thought because of the patent lack of progress for that group after the end of slavery in the British colonies (1838) and the US (1865). There was – and still isn’t – a comparable analysis of the “Indian Question in the WI”. WEB Du Bois (18681963), for instance, had set the ball rolling for Africans and participated in the First Pan-African Conference in London in July 1900, organised not so incidentally by a Trinidadian, Henry Sylvester. Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) had launched his own Pan African “United Negro Improvement Association” (UNIA) in 1917.

Du Bois drafted the Conference’s “Address to the Nations of the World”, which declared: “The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the colour-line”. Three years later, he was to explain this meant, “the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea”. In 1933, Du Bois, who had moved to the left, wrote the seminal: ‘Marxism and the Negro Problem’. By then the Marxist CLR James would have moved from TT to England, and by 1938 had written “The Black Jacobins” to address the “negro problem” from a mobilisation standpoint.

His TT childhood friend, Malcolm Nurse, would have become George Padmore, who joined the Communist International

(Comintern) and in 1929 moved to Moscow. He quit in 1934 in disgust with what he considered S ta l i n ’s equivocation on “the negro Question”, and returned to London.

In 1945, he, Guyanese Ras Makkonnen, WEB Du Bois, Moody of the League of Coloured People (LCP) et al convened the third Pan African Congress in Manchester, England, which was attended by Eric Williams, Grantley Adams, W Arthur Lewis, along with Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta – all of whom went on to leadership positions in their homelands with the ideas of that Pan African Congress to guide them. Burnham, in London from 1945, was a member of the LCP, which was given the task of circulating the papers of the Pan African Congress.

Jagan never appreciated this Pan African background of WI leaders, and very poignantly — when in 1957 he and Burnham attended Ghana’s Independence celebration — he strenuously attempted to have a meeting with Nkrumah and the WI leaders to breach their divide. The meeting never came off, but on his return he discovered one was convened by Padmore, by now PM Nkrumah’s assistant, with Burnham, Manley, Adams, CLR James and Patrick Solomon and other WI leaders.

Pledging their support, they convinced Burnham to come out in an anticommunist line against Cheddi Jagan, whom they feared would create an “Indian state” in the West Indies. Burnham did so declare on his return to Guyana, and was ensconced in power in 1964.

WI leaders turned a blind eye to his excesses against Guyanese Indians for over two decades.

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WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

– Guyana’s Linguistic Heritage

by Petamber Persaud

(excerpt of an interview with Harry Hergash, Georgetown, Guyana, September 2013.

Hergash was among the first batch of students of the University of Guyana. He was taught Hindi by his parents then studied the language at the Hindu College, Cove and John.

Hergash’s publications include, ‘A Collection of Indian-Guyanese Words & Phrases and their meanings’) PP I’d like to start this discourse by quoting a few words of commendation

by Harry Persaud and cited in the book: ‘Words are essential symbols expressing multiple experiences, values and customs in the daily lives of a people, hence, we come to know the construct of a culture and its reality by its language usage’. There is a whole lot being said in these few words. But I know you

have your own reasons for writing this book....Let’s hear those reasons.

HH Yes, there are several reasons but the driving force to a large extent is tied up with what Dr Persaud said there in his commentary on the book. I believe language is an essential part of a people’s cultural heritage and in Guyana as far as I know the Indian ancestral language or if I may say languages because there was more than one language brought to Guyana PP Namely.

HH Like Bhojpuri, Bengali...Also if we look at the Southern languages – we have Telegu PP I hear of a Madrasi language; how does that fit into the picture, if it’s a language?

HH My feeling is that Telegu and Madrasi are southern languages which fall within Dravidian group of languages - there were called Madrasi because in those days Madras was a

Presidency under the British and the people from South India came from the [state] Madrasi Presidency; today Madras is a state in South India but in those days it was a presidency - the British had three presidencies around that time so I think it was an all encompassing term for the languages.

PP Oh, here’s something of interest – my wife comes from a Madrasi lineage and she still uses some of the more colourful words HH That’s interesting, now that you mentioned this, allow me to jump ahead - I am doing something else looking at [the novel] ‘Hendree’s Cure’ with the permission of the author, Moses Nagamootoo.

To tie that with the impetus for writing this book – the words and phrases and the language have been in a decline to an extent where I have to say the Indian ancestral language is in danger of becoming extinct.

PP There are still a handful of speakers here….

HH Which you may be able to count on the fingers of one hand. But such speakers are mostly overseas. In the case of the South Indian languages, they are almost completely gone. Just a few words existing and those few words are not as well established into the Guyanese creolese as the North Indian dialects. Incidentally several of the languages that came were grouped together and called Hindustani; it wasn’t called Hindi or Bhojpuri as we are now hearing from scholars. Bhojpuri was only one of the many dialects that came from North India Now you would know from history that the North Indians were the majority of recruits who came [to Guyana as indentured labourers] so it is not surprising that their words and phrases have dominated the scene. Now there is a danger in that although some words like mamu and cha cha have a greater usage in the wider society their usage within the Indian community is dying out.

PP Danger? I’d look at it as fortunate - if the wider society is using some of those words (and many such words are in currency in the foods and songs we consume) But let’s take a closer look at this decline.

Allow me to return to the text, page 12 ‘However, in their [Indian immigrants] struggle for survival and acceptance, they were unable to unsure the continuity of their ancestral languages/ dialects’. Were there other subtle factors that caused the decline?

HH There are a number of factors and it is interesting and I am hoping in the near future to ventilate my thoughts on that. But one of the reasons is the snobbery associated with the use of the English Language and the looking down upon the Indians who could not speak proper English – that was a major factor.

I remember when I was studying Hindi...

PP In Guyana?

HH Yes, Hindi was being taught in the temples in the evening and many people passing on the road would make noise and mockery.

But there were far more compelling reasons, for instance, the language did not have currency to be accepted

in society, and social mobility depended on the use of English.

PP So there was nothing to gain by retaining such a language?.....

HH Another example could be found in that the dialects that came were not literary languages, there were not written and at the time the Brahmins were the educated class and they perpetuated Sanskrit and not Bhojpuri ...

PP Let me get this right before moving on. I am under the impression that all the languages came out of Urdu.

HH Urdu is a combination of languages. It is a beautiful language. In fact, Bollywood uses Urdu, the songs are generally Urdu.

PP We have touched on the decline of those languages and dialects. Let’s now look at the continuance or areas where language has survived.

HH The survival is in doubt except if there is an attempt to perpetuate it.

PP How can we do this?

HH I really don’t know.

What I do know is that the language has survived in Suriname and to a certain extent in Trinidad. And there could be a revival in Guyana ....

PP Before we continue – is it important for the language to have a revival, is it important for the language to survive.

HH I think and I may be a bit controversial here, I think, in the future, that India and China will be two of the major powers of the world. And I know that India is involved on many fronts in Guyana. So it would seem to me, wise, not only from a cultural heritage point of view but from an economic standpoint to perpetuate the language.

I know in Canada, in the provinces which are having a lot of trade with China, and in other parts of North America, Chinese language is gaining prominence. So it seems to me because of the global importance of those two superpowers will play in the future, I think it is advisable to know something of those two languages.

PP Let’s focus on the book and the Hindi language. Let’s look at the more entertaining part of the book – the glossary - at some words that have gained currency in the mainstream, mindful of something you wrote under the heading ‘a historical perspective’ and I quote,

‘Some African friends of my parents and my paternal and maternal grandparents also knew and spoke Hindi’.

HH Let me start with one that is used and misused by almost everyone in Guyana – ‘aapan jaat’ which is used now to mean – voting for your own kind or race.

PP I know what ‘jaat’ means so it was puzzling to me its place in the combination. So let’s hear what the complete phrase means.

HH I touched a bit on Bhojpuri and a bit on Standard Hindi which is the grammatical Hindi. In Hindi ‘your’ would be ‘aapan’; the difference in Bhojpuri will be ‘apan’ – so the last ‘a’ is placed before the ‘n’ while in Hindi, it goes to the end. ‘Apna’ is Hindi, ‘apan’ is Bhojpuri.

Now that is ‘your’. ‘Jaat’ refers to your community, loosely it has becomes race.

Although that is not the strict translation of ‘jaat’; a whole lot of people will take objection to the use of ‘jaat’.

The problem with the word ‘jaat’ in particular is that if it is not pronounced correctly, then it has an indelicate meaning which I would not want to use publicly. Now this is an interesting piece because very often people would say it doesn’t really matter how you transliterate a word when you write the Hindi version in English but it does matter...for instance, in Creolese, there is a tendency to drop the ‘h’... now if you add the ‘h’ to ‘jaat’, it gives a completely different meaning than ‘community’ or if you want to say ‘race’.....

There is also the difference between the short ‘a’ and the long ‘a’. Let’s look at ‘bal’ as oppose to ‘baal’. If your say ‘bal’, it comes out as ‘strength’ but if we say ‘baal’, it’s ‘hair’. In the Hanuman Chalisa, which is one of the religious books, there is a request: give knowledge, strength; now if you change ‘bal’ to ‘baal’, then you’d be asking the Lord or Deity for ‘hair’ .....

Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@ yahoo.com What’s happening: Check out the Guyana Book Foundation, 66 New Garden & Anaira Streets, ‘Matching Fund Project’ between May 2 and July 20, 2018, for all levels of books at concessionary price. For further information, please call 227-4942.

WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018| guyanatimeSinternational.com

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Pat Holder, one of the founding members of GMR&SC passes away

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ne of the founding members of Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) and a true icon of motorsport in Guyana, Pat Holder passed away at a city hospital at the age of 84 on May 2, 2018.

Pat actively participated and provided his services to motorsport in Guyana for 43 years in succession, from 1955 to 1998.

His career in racing started at the young age of 14 with bicycles where he was the “A-Class” champion and was selected to represent British Guiana, as Guyana was named back then, in Suriname.

Unfortunately, or fortunately for us in motor sports, Pat’s cycling career hit a road block when he suffered a near fatal motorcycle road accident in 1953.

Upon his recovery, he turned to motorcycle racing with his brothers Billy and Clive. Pat raced in the 50 cc classes early on, and then eventually moved up to the 250 and 350 cc classes as the years went by, riding Victoria, Ducati and Yamaha bikes.

After much success in bike racing, Pat turned his attention to power boat racing in 1960, starting off with a 40 hp engine. At his

first race event, having very little knowledge of power boat racing, Pat lost all of the races of the day, with the exception of the final race. Pat’s luck had gotten him into the news and he was then known as a champion.

Pat also competed in rally racing in Barbados, Trinidad and Suriname several times!

Additionally, he participated in endurance racing, dexterity events and even horse riding.

In the ensuing years, Pat became more involved in the organizational aspects of motor sports and served as the president of the GMRC / GMR&SC from 1983

Bitter sugar ending

S

atiricus was looking forward to the coming week.

It was the merry month of May, and it was made merrier for Satiricus because it had two public holidays when he and the fellas could make merry.

Even though he hadn’t ever joined in on the Labour Day March, he decided to wear his red shirt to the Back Street Bar just to get a rise out of the fellas who’d be waiting for him there.

“Eh, eh!! Like yuh run out a shut, or wha’?” shouted Bungi on espying Satiricus sauntering down to their table.

“Naah! I’m just trying to get into the Labour Day mood early,” said Satiricus as he eased into his seat.

“You!! Lay-ba Day!!” Cappo hooted. “Since w’en yuh eva lay-ba?”

“It’s not easy lifting up these beer bottles every day, you know!!” grinned Satiricus.

“But seriously, fellas,” said Hari. “I think we should all go to the Labour March in town this year.”

“Well, me and Cappo guh go beca’se abee wa’n fuh sapport abee canecutta friends who get knack aff,” said Bungi. “Wha’ yuh gu guh fa?”

“This might just be the last year we’ll get to see sugar workers in town,” said Hari seriously. “By this time next year, I think the entire industry will be gone.”

“Hey!! We don’t know about that!” protested Satiricus, who didn’t like the way the gyaaf was going.

“Sato,” said Bungi. “Pick sense fram nansense. Me t’ink Hari rite!”

“An’ yuh leadah Nagga Man an’ Rum Jhaat ca’se all dis,” Cappo interjected bitterly.

“That’s not fair!” said Satiricus. “They didn’t know the Pee ‘n See woulda do that.”

“Nah because daag ah play wid yuh he nah guh bite yuh,” said Bungi. “Especially w’en de bad daag bin jus’ want yuh food.”

“But Nagga Man and Rum Jhaat couldn’t do anything,” said Satiricus pleadingly.

“W’en wan man mek ‘eself suga-cane, he mattie does suck am,” said Cappo.

“So I have some advice for your leaders, Sato,” said Hari.

“What’s that?” asked satiricus.

“When man done suck suga-cane, he does dash peeling pan ground!” said Hari with a grin.

S

to 1987. During those years, Pat played an essential role in having the headquarters of the GMR&SC established at the COSMOS ground, where it stands to date.

As the years went by, he continued to serve as the chief starter for circuit events at the South Dakota Circuit up until 1998, when he passed the position on to his nephew and apprentice, Suren “froggy” Singh.

From there, he retired to the club house, attending almost every circuit race event. In honor of his contributions to motor sport in Guyana and to the GMR&SC, the club house at South Dakota Circuit was renamed after him a few years ago.

Pat Holder’s contributions to motorsport in Guyana and to the GMR&SC will never be forgotten and his legacy will continue to live forever in the hearts and minds of those he touched in his 84 years, and of course, in the motor sport community that he helped to build from the start.

(Adapted from articles by Avery Gomes, Stephan Sookram & Calvin Chapman)

Old folks’ advise

atiricus was feeling quite good about himself.

Even though the fellas had urged him to check out the labour march in town, he’d steadfastly refused. Satiricus figured Labour Day was intended as a reward for those who laboured all year long. Like himself!! And was therefore intended as a day of rest.

In his case, lying in his hammock and gently swaying away under his mango tree in his backyard. Duly rested, he ambled over to the Back Street Bar. “Look! De lazy man come out fram ‘e hammick!” said Bungi, as Satiricus eased into his seat.

“Sato, yuh na shame yuh na march ‘gainst yuh wuk-place?” asked Cappo as he slid a beer towards Satiricus.

“Let me tell you in your own words, friend,” said Satiricus after he took a long swig, “Don’t mind how bird vex, it can’t vex with tree.”

“Like you think about job security, in the hammock Sato?” observed Hari as the other two fellas gaped at Satiricus.

“Budday…I have to feed my children – not to mention my wife Caustic!!” smiled Satiricus. “Can’t afford to lose my job right now, you know.”

“Well me na guh tell yuh nuttin,” said Cappo.

“Ev’ry fowl does feed pan ‘e own craw!”

“Since everybody giving you old people advice, you mind if I give you some?” asked Hari in his usual careful manner.

“Sure! Go ahead!!” replied Satiricus amiably. “I know I will hear it whether I like it or not!!”

“You always complaining about how your editor overworking you, Sato,” said Hari. “When man mek ‘eself sugar, he mattie does suck am!”

“But Sato, yuh mean all abbe fr’en dem get fyah fram GuySuCo,” said Bungi. “An’ yuh na t’ink yuh sh’u’d support dem?”

“Yes, Sato,” interjected Cappo in support. “If yuh finger get sore, nah tek am and throw way am!”

“Well, let me tell you something my leader Nagga Man taught me,” said Satiricus “’E nah good to shove yuh foot in every stocking.”

“Especially since HE already stuck his foot into his mouth!” grinned Hari. “Do fuh do nah obeah!”

Another nail…

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…in democracy’s coffin

ou’ve got to hand it to the PNC: they’re leaving no stone unturned in their drive to reinstitute over Guyana the dictatorship first established

by Forbes Burnham. But then, the present leader of the PNC – David Granger — did say publicly and repeatedly that his mission is to continue the “legacy” of the PNC’s “founder-leader”. And like Burnham, he does seem to like covering his excesses with legal fig leaves.

This time, it’s through reaffirming the ancient common law charge of “sedition” and seditious libel via the supposedly 21st century “Cybercrime” Bill just laid in the House. This charge goes all the way back to 1275, when – as the saying goes – if the King speaks, no dog barks. The statute outlawed “any false news or tales whereby discord or occasion of discord or slander may grow between the king and his people or the great men of the realm.” Violations were punished by the King’s council sitting in the “starred chamber”.

By 1606, Coke of the infamous “Star Chamber” made the tort into a crime, both against private persons and the Government. Truth was not a defence, as was the case under the 1275 statute, and led to the maxim “the greater the truth the greater the libel.” The point being the “peace in the realm” by not questioning actions of the ruler trumped all individual rights.

But what makes it really bare-faced of the PNC government to try to slip this ancient law through the back door is that even England, where the law originated, abolished it in 2009 on the ground that it violated the modern right of citizens to freedom of expression. Now, if the citizens are trying to overthrow the Government, that’s a horse of another colour; not the Trojan Horse for persecution Basil Williams just hauled into the House.

In the US, for instance, all the way back in 1918, after the end of WWI, they explicitly restricted sedition to “wartime”, and in fact made it specifically against acts of “aiding and abetting” the enemy.

But here, Basil Williams, harking to his master’s voice, says we’re not to worry, even though the Bill insists: “A person commits an offence of sedition if the person… transmits or circulates by use of a computer system or any other means, a statement or words…that bring or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in Guyana”!!!

Now, if this becomes the law of the land, your Eyewitness could be charged right NOW. You did feel that frisson of “disaffection towards the Government” after reading the above, didn’t you? …against financial probity When, in 2012, the PPP arranged a Chinese loan of US$130 million for CJIA’s modernisation after their VP’s visit, the Opposition severely criticised the Government. The AFC even suggested the expansion was totally frivolous and should be abandoned. After they took over in 2015, however, the Government did a complete volte face and totally embraced the project. It soon became clear why.

The PPP had a very comprehensive plan, which included both lengthening the runways and completely redoing the terminal buildings to First World standards. Most noticeable were the eight boarding bridges directly to the planes. But the PNC government increased the contract to US$150 million – WHILE REDUCING ALL FACETS OF THE ORIGINAL PLAN!! The number of gates, for instance, has been reduced from 8 to 4; shops will now be outside the terminal, and will have to be constructed by the owners!!

Yet Minister Patterson insists the Government is getting “value for money”!! The question is: Compared to what??

The ants-nest Durban Park Stadium?? Whose pockets are being filled? …on multi-religious commitment The state-run Chronic announced that when the first phase of the CJIA expansion is completed – the departures area – Caribbean Airways will “christen” the facilities.

But will it then be “halaal”??

FEATURE 47

WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018| guyanatimeSinternational.com

"Arrival" is not

By Ravi Dev

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n May 5th, the nation commemorates Indian Arrival Day. The holiday is officially designated “Arrival Day”, putatively to recognize all the other immigrant groups that were brought by the planters to labour on the sugar plantations after the abolition of slavery. These groups would then include the Portuguese and Chinese as well as Indians but there has not been any noticeable participation by the descendants of these industrious and hardy pioneers since the holiday was ushered in back in 2004. In 2016, President Granger – leader of the PNC-led coalition announced that the Arrival day of the immigrants other than Indians would also be recognized – but not as Public Holidays.

In the run-up of the efforts to have the day officially recognised, we had predicted this outcome not merely because May 5th was the specific day Indians arrived in Guyana -Portuguese landed on

should Africans celebrate an occasion that resulted in the undercutting of the bargaining power for their labour? Whether the group that was used as scabs were Indians or Portuguese (as I have argued) to break their seminal 1847 strike, the argument needs to be addressed. There are several ripostes apart from pointing out that because of the loss of preferential prices from England in 1846, if wages were not cut the entire industry would have had to be shuttered and hydrologically the Guyanese coast would have ceased to be viable.

Sugar planters were not in any position to give the old wages and this was the case in all the islands and is why some many Barbadians and other small islanders migrated as indentureds to Guiana after the abolition of slavery.

Firstly, the occasion is not mandated to be “celebrated” but to be “commemorated”. This is not an idle semantic distinction.

Occasions are commemo-

Landed At Demerara, Guyana, South America, East Indian Immigrants, Engraving 1884. (Getty Images)

a palpable ethos of overcoming in the African Guyanese community.

The arrival of Indians – especially because of their relatively large numbers and the decision of most of them to remain - has impacted on the rest of Guyanese society in profound ways and other groups can reflect on these to commemorate Indian Arrival Day. In the economic realm, apart from the early undercut-

Group of Coolie Immigrants – British Guiana. No date (Raphael Tuck & Sons, England)

May 3rd and Chinese on January 12th - but because the latter two groups, especially the Portuguese, never demonstrated any collective inclination to remind themselves or the nation that they had arrived as immigrants to this nation.

Whatever the reasons for this self-induced amnesia, it may be time for the government to alter the omnibus appellation that probably forcibly reminds these communities of a circumstance they would rather not deal with. Trinidad also initially ushered in an “Arrival Day” holiday but soon changed it to “Indian Arrival Day” without raising any fuss.

But whether we call the holiday “Indian Arrival Day” or “Arrival Day”, there is still the objection originally raised by ACDA and some others as to why

rated in a manner intended to inculcate some value into the participants, related to the occasion. It is from this perspective that we have been criticising some events in Mashramani, which we feel do not serve to promote the values necessary for the authentic realisation of Republican status.

“Holocaust Day”, which has been proposed by ACDA as a holiday (and supported by the Select Committee on Holiday in 2004) is meant, I am sure, to commemorate and not celebrate one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the world – the uncountable deaths of so many Africans during the Middle Passage. I believe that the way that ACDA has been commemorating the event over the past few years is most touching and appropriate and inculcating

ting of wages, the Indian’s immigrant drive for material accumulation has been transmitted to their descendants and has influenced how they exploit economic opportunities in the present. This is not unique: when African Guyanese emigrate to the US, they exhibit these same immigrant values and stand out in their new communities.

Maybe the same resolve and wherewithal can be reinforced right here through activities and events on Indian Arrival Day. A similar argument can be made for dealing with the political consequences of the demographic changes precipitated by Indian Arrival - about which ACDA has been very vociferous in highlighting..

But there is a deeper level at which the whole society might deal with the

question of arrival. After all, every group that now inhabits this land of many waters came from somewhere else.

It is taught to us from our earliest lessons in Primary School – but we seem to forget as soon as the school doors close – that even the Amerindians came across the Bering Straits. So in the most mundane geographical sense, we all arrived by merely setting foot on this

land. We have posited before, however, that “arrival” can also be looked at from an aspirational perspective: arrival becomes not a “where” but a “what”. What is it that each one of us, individually, sectionally and collectively want to become?

When we have achieved that, then and only then we would have “arrived”.

As a start, I believe that we all want to live in

dignity and in peace. On May 5th, let us therefore at least spare a thought as to what we can do as citizens and as groups to create the conditions in this land of immense possibilities to move us closer to that goal.

Arrival can thus become a notion that can bring us together rather than divide us as it does presently.

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WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

I have been body-shamed Harshvardhan Kapoor reveals what quite a bit: Sonakshi Sinha he’ll gift Sonam on her wedding

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ctor Sonakshi Sinha, who has often been bodyshamed, says it is important for the audience to rise above looks and delve deeper into an artiste’s work.

Sonakshi is all for the fact that one’s work speaks for itself.

The actor, who walked the ramp in a recent event in an orange floor-sweeping gown, on Tuesday told IANS, “We should tell the audience and honestly that is something I have advocated since the starting of my career.”

“I have always been projecting a very strong body image. Being true to yourself… I have been body shamed quite a bit but moving ahead of that because that is what I have always be-

lieved in…That it’s not how you look but how you do and about how many people you reach out to,” she added.

While the media here waited for a conversation with the actor, who had flown in from Kuala Lumpur to be a part of the event, there was chatter about Sonakshi’s weight loss and “sculpted body”.

Don’t such comments and questions on weight annoy her?

“I have been answering questions on my weight loss for so long that I have become indifferent to them. There are certain things that seem odd at the moment, but I am kind of used to it,” said Sonakshi.

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“And it’s okay, it’s part of my profession. These are very basic things that people are interested in, which is why they ask. They are I guess, the most obvious questions,” added the actor, who will next be seen in Happy Phirr Bhaag Jaayegi, Kalank and Dabangg 3.

(Indian Express)

Karisma Kapoor: Salman Khan still considers Kareena a child

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ctor Karisma Kapoor says that superstar Salman Khan, with whom she shares “a very longstanding relationship”, is closer to her than her younger sister Kareena Kapoor Khan. During an appearance on the show Entertainment ki Raat@9 – Limited Edition, she talked about her bond with Salman.

“Salman is closer to me than Kareena. We have shared a very longstanding relationship.

For Salman, Kareena is like a little sister and he still considers her to be

a child,” Karisma said.

Karisma and Salman were among the 1990s’ favourite on-screen couples, thanks to their films like Andaz Apna Apna, Biwi No.1, Jeet and Judwaa.

And now, the audience likes to watch Salman and Kareena together on the big screen.

They have given hits like Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Bodyguard. Karisma also had a part in Bodyguard.

“I was the voice of Chaya in the movie, Bodyguard.

It was my voice who used to trouble Salman’s character in the movie,” she

said.

Asked what kind of movies she would like to do, the Coolie No. 1 star said: “After starring in all the ‘No.1’ movies, I would like to be a part of Mummy No.1, if anyone makes it. This movie will describe every mother’s role and I will be happy to play a part in it. For now, I share a great bond with my son and daughter. I would like to tell everyone that my daughter and I even share the same clothes now,” she said.

Karisma was last seen in 2012 film Dangerous Ishq and had made an appearance in Bombay Talkies (2013) too as herself. She will also be making a cameo in Shah Rukh Khan starrer Zero along with other actors such as Alia Bhatt, Rani Mukerji and late actor Sridevi among others. (Indian Express)

arshvardhan Kapoor launched the trailer of his upcoming film, Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, in Mumbai on Wednesday.

On the sidelines of the event, he also shared happiness about the upcoming wedding of his sister Sonam Kapoor with Anand Ahuja on May 8, next week. The Kapoor and Ahuja families had on Tuesday confirmed the wedding date through a joint statement.

When Harshvardhan was asked about how he was preparing for his sister’s big day, he expressed excitement and said, “I am really happy that she is getting married, and Anand (Ahuja) is a great guy. But I am just focused on the film.”

The youngest Kapoor was also asked how he was planning to manage his film’s promotions which are coinciding with his elder sister’s

wedding. He said, “The wedding is on the 7th and 8th. After that, I get into promotions, so I think, I have enough time for both.”

So what is he going to gift Sonam and Anand?

He jokingly said that with the kind of movies he is doing, he doesn’t get paid too well, and so, would only be able to give her a lot of love.

“A hug… That’s a joke. A lot of love. I am broke. Have you seen the kind of movies I am doing? They don’t pay very well (laughs). So, I don’t

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nushka Sharma turned a year older on Tuesday with husband Virat Kohli by her side.

The much-sought-after couple was in Bengaluru as Kohli had a match

against Mumbai Indians there and Anushka took a break from work to be with him. The day became even more special with Virat’s team Royal Challengers Bangalore winning the match. Post-match, the two celebrat-

have anything to give her, but a lot of love”, the actor said.

Bhavesh Joshi Superstar is scheduled to release on May 25. It is the story of a superhero in the making, and how every human being is a hero in their own way. The makers of the film suggest that the film is not the quintessential superhero action film, but a story about everyday issues that happen around us and are not spoken about. It is essentially a vigilante film.

(Indian Express)

ed together and the Sui Dhaaga actor shared a photo from the celebration.

She thanked the “bestest, kindest, bravest man in the world” for making the day a memorable one for her.

Earlier in the day, Anushka revealed her big plan for the coming year.

She will be building an animal shelter outside Mumbai so that her ‘fellow living beings’ get “equal rights, equal care and equal love.” In her post the actor wrote, “This has been my calling for years now and my dream is finally coming true. I will seek your time, support and advice to make this home a place that looks after fellow living beings with utmost care and compassion – all in due course of time.

Until then, I seek your blessings and your prayers.”

On the work front, Anushka has Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju releasing on June 29 and she is currently busy filming Sharat Katariya’s Sui Dhaaga and Aanand L Rai’s Zero. (Indian Express)

Concept of gender swap really appealed to me …says Farah Khan on ‘Veere Di Wedding’ song Tareefan

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horeographer-filmmaker Farah Khan had fun working with Kareena Kapoor Khan and Sonam Kapoor on the song from the film Veere Di Wedding. She says she loved the gender swap concept of the song. Veere Di Wedding also features Swara Bhasker and Shikha Tilsania.

Farah worked with them on “Tareefan.”

“This is the second music video that I’m doing after ‘Bluffmaster’s ‘Ek main aur ek tu hain’ and I really think we have taken this one to the next level,” Farah said in a statement. Directed by Shashanka Ghosh, Veere Di Wedding

will release on June 1. The film is presented by Ekta Kapoor’s home banner Balaji Motion Pictures and is a romantic comedy. It is co-produced by Sonam’s sister Rhea Kapoor, Ekta and Nikhil Dwivedi.

“The concept of a gender swap really appealed to me. We made the boys the decorative pieces in the song with the girls being the heroes here. It was so much fun working with some truly empowered and enlightened women like Rhea, Ekta, Kareena, Sonam, Shikha and Swara,” she added.

The song is sung by Badshah. “It is

a fun and lively song, I got the privilege to work with such amazing ladies…

Hoping this is my latest Bollywood hit and all my fans enjoy it,” he said.

Talking about the film at the trailer launch, Sonam Kapoor had said, “I don’t think a film like this has been made before. It is entertaining and has everything from romance to drama.

And why can’t a female headline a com-

mercial film that is about girls which has a story? Things might change if this film works, I hope it brings about a change in the roles that are written for us.”

Produced by Ekta Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor, the project will head to the theatres on June 1 this year. (Indian Express)

Hollywood 49

WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Five Hollywood movies you should watch in May

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ast month ended with an explosion that was Avengers: Infinity War. What was supposed to be the biggest Marvel movie became the biggest film in history. It had the highest opening for any film in both domestic (US) and worldwide markets.

Avengers: Infinity War also became the film to have the biggest opening this year in India. May has many Hollywood releases that might end up giving it tough competition. Here are five Hollywood movies that you should watch in May.

mysterious woman. The film is a thriller and has a fine cast with names like Simon Pegg and Max Irons (son of Jeremy Irons). Directed by Vaughn Stein, Terminal will release on May 11.

Deadpool 2

Isle of Dogs

Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animation film Isle of Dogs has already earned a lot of praise from critics. The film has been praised for its humour, animation and story. Isle of Dogs has a 90% rating at Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus being, “The beautifully stop-motion animated Isle of Dogs finds Wes Anderson at his detail-oriented best while telling one of the director’s most winsomely charming stories.” It will release on May 4.

Tully

Charlize Theron returns in comedy film Tully directed by Jason Reitman.

The film also stars Mackenzie Davis and Mark Duplass. Tully premiered at

Sundance Film Festival this year and has received positive reviews with a 93% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The synopsis reads, “A new comedy from Academy Award®-nominated director Jason Reitman (“Up in the Air”) and Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno”). Marlo (Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron), a mother of three including a newborn, is gifted a night nanny by her brother (Mark Duplass). Hesitant to the extravagance at first, Marlo

Helen Mirren and Danny DeVito to lend voices in Disney’s ‘The One and Only Ivan’

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ctors Helen Mirren and Danny DeVito are all set to join Angelina Jolie in Disney’s next titled The One and Only Ivan. The veteran actors will lend their voices in the upcoming animation film, which is an adaptation of the Newbery Medal-winning book, written by Katherine Applegate and illustrat-

The One and Only Ivan was hailed as the best book of the year by Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Amazon, demonstrating it is a true classic in the making.

The story revolves around Ivan who does not remember life before the mall. But when a baby elephant enters and Ivan finds himself

comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising, and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully (Mackenzie Davis).” Tully will also release on May 4.

Terminal

Margot Robbie has quickly established herself as one of the best young actors of Hollywood. She has to her credit some challenging roles like Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad and Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. In Terminal, she is playing the role of a

Everyone’s favourite foul-mouthed anti-hero will be back sooner than you think. True to the spirit of the original, both Deadpool 2 trailers have mocked everyone from Superman’s moustache in Justice League to Thanos. All the original characters return, and there are a hell lot of new additions, including a new villain in Josh Brolin’s Cable. There is also a certain X-Force with members like Domino, Teenage Warhead, and others. Deadpool 2 will release on May 18.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story will tell us about Han Solo before he met Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa in the original Star Wars. While Alden Ehrenreich essays the main role, Donald Glover plays the role of Lando Calrissian. The movie also stars Emilia Clarke and Woody. Joonas Suotamo is playing the role of Chewbacca. Solo: A Star Wars Story will release on May 25. (Indian Express)

Dwayne Johnson on collaborating with John Cena for ‘The Janson Directive’: Excited to go on this journey

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WE wrestlers-turnedactors John Cena and Dwayne Johnson are teaming up for the film The Janson Directive. Cena, 41, will star in the project while Johnson and Dany Garcia are executives producing it through their Seven Bucks Productions. Johnson shared the news of Cena’s casting on his Instagram page and congratulated him.

The actor posted a video in which he mentioned, “I have got some great news. There’s a project I have been working on since years now. Myself and the production company Seven Bucks Productions have partnered with Universal Studios to make a movie called The Janson Directive.”

He continued, “The cool news is this, I found my star, is gonna be my good buddy John Cena. Known John for years he is so excited to play the role I am so excited for him… I am so excited to go on this journey with you.”

“Congrats man and I’m excited to go on this journey with you.

Thank you for your commitment to the role and remember, as your producer if you screw up, I’m coming to set and dropping the People’s Elbow on you. And you know first hand how devastating my elbow drops can be. Congrats my friend and let’s go make a good one,” he wrote along with the video.

Johnson was earlier attached to star in the action-thriller but due to his busy schedule, he decided it was best move along as a producer. Based on the best-selling novel by ‘Jason Bourne’ author Robert Ludlum, the film follows Paul Janson (Cena), a former Navy

SEAL who now works as a corporate security consultant. Janson becomes a target himself when a rescue operation goes horribly wrong.

James Vanderbilt is adapting Ludlum’s novel for the big screen from a story he co-penned with Akiva Goldsman, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Producers on project include Ben Smith and Jeffrey Weiner of Captivate Entertainment; Hiram Garcia of Seven Bucks Productions; Vanderbilt; Brad Fischer and William Sherak of Mythology; and Goldsman of Weed Road Pictures.

(Indian Express)

Tom Cruise is doing the most difficult stunts he has ever done: Mission Impossible Fallout director ed by Patricia Castelao.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the details of the characters to be played by Mirren and DeVito were not revealed.

Thea Sharrock is directing from a script by two-time Independent Spirit Award-winner Mike White who has also worked on Pitch Perfect 3 and The School of Rock. Published by HarperCollins in 2011, the book centres on a silverback gorilla named Ivan (Sam Rockwell) who lives in a cage in a shopping mall along with an elephant named Stella (Jolie) and a stray dog called Bob.

taking care of her, he begins to rediscover his previous life and concocts a plan to take the baby elephant away from their abusive owner.

Brooklynn Prince is also a part of the voice cast in the movie which is being said to be a live-action hybrid.

Bryan Cranston, Ariana Greenblatt, Ramon Rodriguez, Indira Varma and Eleanor Matsuura are a part of the live-action part of the movie.

On board as producers are Oscar and threetime Golden Globewinner Jolie, the late Allison Shearmur and Brigham Taylor. (Indian Express)

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ission: Impossible Fallout director Christopher McQuarrie has revealed that Hollywood star Tom Cruise will do his “most difficult stunts” in the upcoming film. The director said the movie will not only be high on action sequences but will also have a much deeper story.

“Without question the biggest and most difficult stunts that he’s ever done. Some of the most challenging stunts he’s ever done. But, also, a much deeper story. A much more emotional story,” McQuarrie told Collider.

Meanwhile, Tom Cruise recently revealed that Mission: Impossible Fallout is the ”most challenging” movie he has ever made. The Top Gun star, known for completing many of his own death-defying stunts, had broken his ankle in August 2017 during a

roof-jumping stunt while filming for the movie in London.

Mission: Impossible Fallout has been directed by Rogue Nation and Jack Reacher director, Christopher McQuarrie. Fallout is the sixth instalment in the franchise. Tom Cruise had earlier shared the movie posters and teasers on his official Instagram account, where he was

seen doing some intense action sequences, Ethan Hunt style. Henry Cavill’s character, August Walker, who plays one of the antagonists in the film also delivers some solid punches. The awe-inspiring action, a Tom Cruise who never gets older, and a mysterious (and stunning) woman were the best takeaways from its trailer, which was released during the Super Bowl in February this year.

Mission: Impossible Fallout surely looks like a big screen popcorn entertainer, loaded with all the good things that make the MI a successful franchise. MI6 features Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris, Henry Cavill, Vanessa Kirby, Sian Brooke and Angela Bassett in pivotal roles.

(Indian Express)

50 sport

WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Lady Jags end CFU challenge series winless

Braithwaite signs for Kent campaign W

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he female national football team commonly called Lady Jags lost to host Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, to end their campaign in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Challenge Series without a victory.

It was a 1-3 defeat at the Ato Bolton Stadium by the host, who are coached

by Jamaal Shabbazz, Guyana’s former national men’s coach.

The home side took the lead compliments of Shenika Paul in the 12th minute. The Guyanese equalised in the 64th minute through a penalty conversion, as Mariam El-Masri sealed the shot. However, the Trinidadians retook the lead via Karyn Forbes in the 75th. The score line was then sealed, as Jonelle Coto netted in the 88th minute to end their group campaign with a perfect record. For the Lady Jags,

their other two results were stalemates against Grenada, which was a scoreless match; and then a 2-2 result against Suriname.

The ladies will now prepare for the CONCACAF Caribbean Women’s qualifier, set to kick off on May 5. For the first round of the regional qualifying tournament, the member associations will be sorted into three groups of five and two groups of four teams.

The final round of Caribbean qualifying will be disputed July 21-29 among the first-round group winners. The top three finishers of the final round will qualify for the October 4-17 championship, being held in the United States.

Additionally, three teams will qualify directly to the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, plus the fourth-place finisher to an intercontinental playoff.

est Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite will join Kent for their first four matches of the T20 Blast.

The 29-year-old hit four successive sixes off Ben Stokes to help his side to victory against England in the World T20 final in India in 2016.

He will make his Kent debut against Surrey at The Oval on Friday, 6 July.

Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and New Zealand bowler Adam Milne have also been signed by the Spitfires for the competition.

Milne will be available throughout while Stoinis is set to succeed Brathwaite and join up with the county from the end of July.

"I'm delighted to be joining Kent for my first taste of county cricket," Brathwaite said.

"I have a good relationship with (Kent captain) Sam Billings, having played in the same team at the IPL and BBL."

Carlos Brathwaite played for Sydney Sixers in Australia's Big Bash last winter

New Zealand weighing offer to play in Pakistan

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ew Zealand Cricket (NZC) is weighing up a request from the PCB to play in Pakistan later this year. Pakistan are currently scheduled to “host” New Zealand for a full tour of the UAE, comprising most likely of three Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is, in October-November.

“NZC has received a request from

on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March that year put paid to that. The attacks led to Pakistan cricket moving away from the country - a situation that remains largely unchanged.

Cricket has begun to trickle back to the country, amid presidential-style security in Lahore and Karachi.

Since Zimbabwe visited for three

Martin Guptill was run-out after a mix-up with Kane Williamson

the PCB chairman for New Zealand to play in Pakistan,” a spokesman for the New Zealand board said. “At the moment NZC is doing due diligence on the request and consulting with security providers, the government, and the players. We will respond to the PCB when this process has been completed.”

New Zealand have not played Test cricket in Pakistan since their tour in 2002 ended in dramatic and tragic circumstances. Scheduled to play a twoTest series, the tour was cut short after one Test. On the morning the second Test was due to start, a massive bomb blast outside the hotel the teams were staying at killed 15 people, including 11 French engineers. The New Zealand team was not thought to be a target.

The tour was immediately cancelled, with the team flying back home that very day. New Zealand did, however, come to Pakistan the following year to play an ODI series.

They were also scheduled to tour in December 2009, but the terror attack

ODIs and two T20Is in 2015, Pakistan has played host to four Pakistan Super League matches, three T20Is against an ICC World XI, one T20I against Sri Lanka and three T20Is against the West Indies last month.

Pakistan are also due to host Australia in the UAE this winter for a limited-overs series, but a CA spokesman confirmed no part of that series would be played in Pakistan. “The safety and security of Australian players is our number one priority,” he said.

“From an Australia team perspective, we are not contemplating moving our current bilateral-tour arrangements from taking on Pakistan in the Middle East, when they host the next series.”

New Zealand and Australia are the two Full Member sides who have gone longest without touring Pakistan.

Australia last arrived in Pakistan two decades ago in 1998, playing three Tests and five ODIs. New Zealand have not visited the country since their limited-overs series in 2003. (ESPNcricinfo)

Sport 51

WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018| guyanatimeSinternational.com

England cement white-ball IPL: Belligerent top order rise with No.1 ODI ranking gives Daredevils enough to edge out Royals E ngland's burgeoning status as a white-ball team has been confirmed by their ascent to the top of the latest ICC one-day rankings, with India slipping to No.2 on the list.

England's ascent to the top spot was cemented by two impressive away victories this winter - they beat Australia 4-1 in January before seeing off New Zealand 3-2 in March.

However, they owe much of their rise to the removal from the permutations of their dismal run of form in 2014-15, when they won just seven out of 25 ODIs and bombed out of the World Cup at the group stages following an infamous defeat against Bangladesh at Adelaide.

That 2014-15 season, which also featured the removal of Alastair Cook as ODI captain in the wake of a losing tour of Sri Lanka, is now widely recognised as a watershed moment for English cricket.

Eoin Morgan's appointment as captain was unable to salvage their World Cup campaign, but England's form in the subsequent home summer was revelatory. Against New Zealand at Edgbaston, in their first completed fixture of the post-World Cup era, England posted their first 400-plus total in ODIs, and have made 300 or more in 27 of their 60 completed innings.

England, who last

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Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes struck rapid fifties (Photo: Getty Images)

topped the ODI rankings in January 2013, have gained eight points and moved to 125 points.

India, who were at the top before the update, have lost a solitary point and are in second place with a total of 122 points.

South Africa, who were second, have dropped down to third place after losing four points, from 117 to 113, leaving them nine points adrift of India and only one point ahead of fourth- placed New Zealand.

The remaining places remain unchanged, confirming that the current top 10 ranked sides are the ones who will be playing at next year's World Cup in England.

However, there have been some significant changes in points.

World champions Australia have lost eight points to go down to 104 in fifth position and are only two points ahead Pakistan, last year's Champions Trophy winners, who have gained six points.

In other changes, Bangladesh (93 points) have gained three points, Sri Lanka (77) have lost seven points, the Windies (69) have lost five points, Afghanistan (63) have gained five points, Zimbabwe (55) have gained four points and 12th-placed Ireland (38) have lost three points.

In the T20I rankings, led by Pakistan, there is no change in the top seven places but Afghanistan are now ahead of Sri Lanka in eighth slot.

Latest ODI rankings 1. England 125 (+8) 2. India 122 (-1) 3. South Africa 113 (-4) 4. New Zealand 112 (-2) 5. Australia 104 (-8) 6. Pakistan 102 (+6) 7. Bangladesh 93 (+3) 8. Sri Lanka 77 (-7) 9. Windies 69 (-5) 10. Afghanistan 63 (+5) 11. Zimbabwe 55 (+4) 12. Ireland 38 (-3) (ESPNCricinfo)

Another Windies slip ...Regional side suffer second blow to international standings; crash in ODI rankings

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ONDON, England (CMC) – West Indies have taken a second blow to their international ranking in as many days, after slipping in the One-Day International ratings announced Wednesday by the International Cricket Council.

The two-time World Cup winners remained ninth in the latest rankings, but lost five points to plunge to 69 points and flirt dangerously close to minnows Afghanistan in 10th on 63 points.

Afghanistan, who beat West Indies in the final of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe recently, gained five points to enhance their standing.

The Windies were forced to take the route of the qualifiers for the first time ever after they failed to make the top eight in the rankings by the September 30 cut-off date last year.

And while they entered the tournament as heavy favourites, they never quite got the measure of Afghanistan, losing a warm-up, a Super Six match and the final to the Phil Simmonscoached unit.

West Indies endured a wretched run in ODIs last year, failing to win a single series, while winning just three of 23 matches.

They suffered a 3-0 whitewash when they hosted England last year March

and were beaten 4-0 in a five-match series when they undertook a reciprocal tour last September.

New Zealand also swept the Caribbean side 3-0 last December to ensure they ended the year on a losing note.

West Indies will play at least four one-day series over the coming months in preparation for the World Cup and will be targeting strong results in order to improve their ranking.

They take on Bangladesh in three ODIs in the Caribbean in July, travel to Dhaka for a reciprocal five-match series later in the year before also taking on India in similar five-match away series.

West Indies will then host England in five ODIs early next year.

England, meanwhile, gained eight points after the results from the 201415 season were discarded, and have now overtaken India as the top-ranked side on 125 points.

India are three points behind in second with South Africa slipping to third after losing four points to be on 113.

The remaining places are unchanged with New Zealand fourth on 112, Australia fifth on 104 after losing eight points while Pakistan are sixth on 102.

Bangladesh (93) lie seventh and Sri Lanka (77) are eighth.

elhi Daredevils had a lot of things different about them against Rajasthan Royals in their second meeting of the season - the captain had changed, the batting order was different and they'd posted a massive score batting first. It was a raincurtailed game again, but this time they managed a different result too to rise above Mumbai Indians at the bottom of the table.

Defending 150 in 12 overs, Daredevils came under a brutal attack from the promoted Jos Buttler, whose 18-ball fifty helped Royals smash down more than half the required runs with six overs and ten wickets still in hand.

with full control; the teenager, not the tallest of men, frequently stayed put in his crease and followed rising short-ofa-length deliveries with just his hands to comfortably clear the infield, in the 'V'. In the middle of all that, he mistimed a full toss and offered a return catch in the third over that Kulkarni couldn't hold on to. It took a change in pace - the legspin of Shreyas Gopal to get Shaw as he tried to hit another one through the line. He had made 47 off 25.

Pant has taken a couple of balls in the mid-riff this season while attempting to play the hook shot. Essentially, his falling over into the off side when

But a middle-order slide engineered

by Amit Mishra and Trent Boult saw Daredevils pull things back.

Earlier, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant had combined to put up 166 of the 196 runs Daredevils made in 17.1 overs.

When he lost the toss, Iyer said conditions would be easy and "not dewy" when his team went out to bat. Just over 20 minutes later, the ground staff were pulling the covers on to keep the outfield dry. The rain reduced the game to 18-overs-a-side.

Colin Munro faced his first ball against Royals this season, but when his inside edge against Dhawal Kulkarni was taken by Buttler, it became his second duck against them.

Royals, who had replaced Rahul Tripathi with Ben Stokes at first slip, barely found another edge after that.

First, they got acquainted with the middle of Shaw's bat, which often met the ball above waist height but always

the ball is pitched short has put him in trouble often.

It's not something he has tried to remedy, though. After copping one on the body from a Stokes bouncer, the left-hander continued to get inside the line of the ball when it was pitched short and even managed a six on one instance as he tried to avoid flicking the off stump with his back leg. He made 24 runs behind the square region.

The rest of his runs came where they usually do - through the covers and at cow corner. Pant hit at least three boundaries through the off side that couldn't have been more than five yards away from the closest fielder.

They were just as helpless on those occasions as they were when he slugged three sixes on the leg side. In his 50th T20 match, this innings of 69 off 29 was the perfect tribute. (Excerpts from ESPNcricinfo)

52 sport

Guyana’s Beaton suspended WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

from bowling in international cricket

By Akeem Greene

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i n d i e s ’ R o n s f o r d Beaton failed an independent assessment which resulted in him being suspended from bowling in international cricket.

The fast bowler had been reported with a suspect bowling action during the second One-Day International against New Zealand in Christchurch on December 24, 2017.

According to an International Cricket Council (ICC) release on Tuesday, which stated “in accordance with the Regulations, Beaton’s international suspension will also be recognised and enforced by all National Cricket Federations for domestic cricket events played in their own jurisdiction”.

However, with the consent of Cricket West Indies (CWI), Beaton may be able to play in domestic cricket events played in the Caribbean

under the auspices of the countrys’ cricket board.

“The player can apply for a reassessment after modifying his bowling action in accordance with clause 4.5 of the ICC Illegal B o w l i n g Regulations”.

In an invited comment, CWI Director and Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Secretary Anand Sanasie told this newspaper that from the level of the GCB, they would be exploring options of assisting the promising fast bowler to be rehabilitated.

“Yes, we will. We are in the process of discussing with the West Indies cricket board the process moving forward; the West Indies cricket board has an established process with assisting such individuals in the rehabilitations,” Sanasie conveyed.

mitted to working with Ronsford during this period of remedial work, which will hopefully accelerate his successful readmission to the professional game.”

Dropping the ball

CWI also gave an update in which it stated that Beaton would “therefore join the fast bowling camp, now on in Antigua as part of his remedial programme; following which he will undergo a reassessment process, which if successful, he will be allowed to participate at the international level.”

CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams said: “We are fully com-

Pundits of the sport had suggested various rationales for Beaton’s action when it was first reported.

Many felt it was “the system who had failed him” by not noticing the irregularities sooner, given the scope of cricket he played.

Beaton played for West Indies Under19s and West Indies A, and was also called up for the Afghanistan Twenty20s earlier in 2017, although he failed to play a match.

Most notably, former captain, Sir Vivian Richards, had vented that someone in the current Windies setup should have picked up on the fast bowler’s

suspect action before he reached the international level.

In response, Sanasie stated, “I would not like to comment on that, because I am not technically qualified to identify people with such actions.

I know he has been playing throughout in our territory and he has to be reported before such action can be taken.”

He added, “To the best of my knowledge, only when he was an Under-19 cricketer there was some sort of report and that was dealt with, because he went to testing in Australia which he passed.”

On the flip side of the news, the Guyanese bowler’s suspension came on the same day that the ICC confirmed Pakistan off-spinner Mohammed Hafeez was allowed to resume bowling following a reassessment.

The promising fast bowler has just begun an international career many hope would be long-lasting

Federer to return at Guyana triumph Mercedes Cup in June at Pennsylvania

Relay Festival

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Switzerland’s Roger Federer poses with the trophy as he celebrates winning the 2017 final against Croatia’s Marin Cilic

oger Federer will return to action at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart in June after a lengthy break from the sport, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) said on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old world number two opted to follow the same plan as last year, when he missed the European claycourt season, including the French Open, before making a comeback in Stuttgart.

“Excited to announce that I will be coming back to Germany for the Mercedes Cup in June,” Federer said.

“Looking forward to seeing you at the

grass courts in Stuttgart!”

Federer lost to German Tommy Haas in Stuttgart last year but the Swiss went on to win his ninth title at Halle before marching to his eighth Wimbledon triumph.

Defending champion Lucas Pouille, Canadian Milos Raonic, Next Gen ATP finals winner Hyeon Chung and Australian Nick Kyrgios will also compete at the Mercedes Cup from June 11-17.

Federer, 20-times grand slam winner, is also expected to bid for a record 10th title at the Halle Open starting on June 18. (Reuters)

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Some of the girls of the Campbellville Secondary School

ix females of the New Campbellville Secondary School, Georgetown who represented Guyana at the Pennsylvania Relay Festival emerged victorious after they were placed to compete in the four by 400 relay event.

The team which consisted of Princess Browne, Binka Joseph, Thenica Thompson and Malika Abrams won from a field of athletes, which included teams from the United States of America, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago among others.

The girls competed in the Secondary/High school category and according to overseas based

Guyanese of the Transparency Envision Non-governmental Organization (NGO), Mark Webster, the athletes performed and represented Guyana and the sport well.

Participation was also given from a team which comprised of the Technical Institutes across Guyana which placed third in the same relay event. There was also participation from the Fort Wellington Secondary.

The Pennsylvania relay festival is an annual event that attracts teams from countries across the globe. Many athletes use this platform to catapult their athletics career.

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WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2018| guyanatimeSinternational.com

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