Guyana Times Daily

DDL's mid-year profit stands at $804M

Despite sales reduction in one of its biggest markets, the Demerara Distillers Limited and Subsidiaries (DDL) was able to make some $804 million for the first half of the 2014 financial year.

According to the company’s Chairman Komal Samaroo in the Interim Report 2014, DDL’s profit before taxation stood at $1.6 billion, representing 20.11 per cent increase compared to the same period last year when $971 million was recorded.

Samaroo credited the increase to continuous implementation of cost-reduction measures and improved operational margins.

He pointed out that the gross revenue saw a marginal increase as domestic sales grew modestly. Additionally, exports to the North America and the Caribbean also reflected “encouraging growth,” the Chairman said.

However, these positive trends were adversely affected by a decline in European sales, but Samaroo is adamant that the company is poised to regain its lost sales in that market, one of the biggest ones, during the second half of the year.

“We anticipate that economies in the developed countries will continue to improve in 2014 and hope that the local business environment will benefit from political and national consensus on issues which will ultimately advance our economy,” the Chairman stated.

With the company’s con-

tinued exemplary performance, Samaroo anticipated this year will be another positive and profitable one for DDL. The company recorded a 19 per cent increase at the end of financial year 2013, with a $1.569 billion profit after tax. Most of the operating entities within the group have registered improvement in their performance during the year. The group’s turnover increased by 11 per cent to $17.5 billion and the profit before tax was increased by 15 per cent from $1.569 billion to $2.205 billion, which reflected improved margins from cost-reduction initiatives and efficiency drives undertaken by management.

There was a 14 per cent increase in profit before tax of $1.462 billion, while turnover recorded an eight per cent increase of $11.5 billion when compared to the previous year.

The Demerara Shipping

Company Limited also recorded significant growth during 2012 and its performance in 2013 was no less, with a profit of $185 million compared to a $146 million in 2012. However, Distribution Services Limited (DSL) saw a decrease in its profit when compared to the previous year.

On the other hand, Tropical Orchards Product Company (TOPCO) Limited also recorded improved results for the last financial year with a profit before tax of $20.9 million. Additionally, some $853 million was spent to upgrade critical machinery and equipment, which included the acquisition of a new Chilling and Filtration Unit. Meanwhile, the group of companies had budgeted some $1.3 billion to inject in its modernisation plan for this year, which will see upgrades done on machinery and acquisition of new equipment.

DDL’s El Dorado Rum continues to be the people’s choice around the world, winning a number of prizes and awards in various spirit competitions.

The El Dorado 8- Year Old was adjudged the Best Rum and trophy winner in 2013 at the International Wines and Spirits Competition held annually in London.

The El Dorado 21, 15 and 12-Year-Old rums all won gold medals, while the five and three-year-old rums won silver medals. DDL was also named Distiller of the Year for the Americas and the Caribbean.

Bartica IMC, residents differ on “progress” since takeover

BY SVETLANA MARSHALL

The Interim Management Committee (IMC) governing the Bartica Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) said it has made tremendous progress since taking office in 2012, but residents have a different opinion.

The IMC Public Relations Officer (PRO) Sherwyn Downer said in addition to constructing a 48-stall arcade at Mongrippa Hill, the IMC played a leading role in cleaning up a dumpsite that had spiralled out of control. Prior to the massive cleanup exercise, piles of garbage had lined the Byderabo Road, leading up to the dumpsite.

The Byderabo dumpsite is now being manned by Wayne Nurse General Sanitation Disposal Service which is also responsible for the collection of garbage within the residential areas. The IMC on the other hand, clears the streets and commercial zones of unwanted materials. But Downer told Guyana Times there are disgruntled Opposition members who are bent on frustrating the efforts of the IMC.

Dumping garbage

“It is alleged that they are paying persons of unsound mind to frustrate us by dumping garbage on streets and market places,” he explained.

Like many other communities around the country, illegal vending remains a major problem with Bartica being no exception. According to Downer, the number of illegal street vendors has decreased significantly since 2012. There are approximately seven illegal vendors he said, who have all been given warning letters to remove.

But he said the IMC should not be blamed, as he laid the blame at the feet of the Regional Chairman Gordon Bradford. Downer is alleging that the Regional Chairman is encouraging the street vendors.

“Mr Bradford sits with and at meetings at the NDC and supports the call to remove the illegal vendors, low and behold, the Regional

Chairman going and tell the vendors not to move because the NDC has no authority or power to remove them.”

He said the Regional Chairman is creating an atmosphere which could result in a confrontation between the NDC and the vendors. Downer said Bradford should step down as Regional Chairman.

“The IMC is a solutionoriented one. We are not part of the problem. Dismantling of the NDC is a testimony of the Government’s effort to stamp out corruption and there is no better place to start than at the community level,” the PRO said in response to the many criticisms the IMC has received in recent times.

When Guyana Times visited Bartica, there were illegal street vendors in all

scheduled to visit Bartica.

Anjanie Rampersaud, a vendor for more than 30 years, said vendors operating in the Bartica Market located on First Avenue are operating at a loss. She too complained bitterly over the influx of illegal vendors who journey from Georgetown, Linden and other parts of the country to sell in Bartica.

“The street vendors are taking over, they are all over and we have to be in there sitting whole day because we have our bills to pay,” she complained.

According to Rampersaud, “countless” complaints were lodged at the IMC office but to no avail. According to her, these illegal vendors pay the NDC large sums of money to turn a blind eye to the situation. “That can be fair?”

forms. There were tents, minibuses, cars and even carts in which people were selling under or on.

Speaking with this publication on Sunday, Kamal Persaud, a long-standing resident of Bartica, said the IMC upon its installation had promised to clear the avenues and streets of all illegal vendors, but it has failed to keep to it.

She said since 2012, the number of vendors has tripled. “It appears as though they are multiplying; every day you go on the road, there is somebody new, either they selling fish, they selling fruits, they selling grocery or clothes.”

Persaud also alleged that these illegal vendors are often asked to clear the streets only on days when Local Government officials are

She also complained bitterly over the poor state of the market and the piles of garbage lining the commercial areas.

“The market needs a good cleaning, it is nasty and the NDC is not doing anything. Rats and roach are too much, the cleaners they pay to sweep, they don’t even sweep and clean.”

Another resident, Veronica Charles had told Guyana Times that the IMC is the “biggest” problem. “The IMC was forced upon us and I don’t think they know what they are doing because the entire town is filthy, garbage everywhere. They say they are a model, but really they are a disgrace to themselves,” Charles said as she vented her dissatisfaction. (svetlanam@guyanatimesgy. com)

DDL Chairman Komal Samaroo

A long line of garbage leading up to the Byderabo dumpsite before the NDC cleared it

Street vending on a section of First Avenue, Bartica

Communication a major bugbear

… as Guyana Goldfields races to meet start-up deadline

By Jomo Paul

The Guyana Government on Sunday urged Canadian mining company Guyana Goldfields Inc to accelerate preparatory works to meet the June 2015 deadline for its start-up operations. But the company said it has had several false starts and identified communication as being the major bugbear.

gation included Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud; Finance Minister Ashni Singh; Public Works and Transport Minister Robeson Benn; British High Commission Dr Nicole Giles; Chairman of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Clinton Williams; and Deputy Commissioner of the GGMC, Newell Dennison.

President Ramotar said

The company also indicated that it will be getting into underground mining and to this end, it announced that personnel here would be sent overseas to acquire the requisite skill for this particular endeavour. The calls for the acceleration of the project was made by President Donald Ramotar who led a highlevel team to the company’s Aurora Gold Project located at its interior location in Aurora, Mabaruma, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) The President’s dele-

that the project was evidence of the sustained faith that investors have in the economy despite the stalemate in the National Assembly that have helped stall several important projects. He said too that it is important that investment such as these continue even at times such as these.

Referring to the executives, he said: “I want to first of all thank you for the great confidence you have shown in Guyana to invest here, to have this kind of confidence in our country now, particularly for me now, that we

have been hearing so much about no confidence…we have seen the confidence that you have shown in our country.”

He said that the project heralds the creation of jobs and the distribution of wealth among Guyanese, which will in turn lend to the improvement of the standard of living for Guyanese.

“In many ways this is extremely important, because we know for a fact that for us to develop Guyana, and to make it a stronger country, where we can fight against many of the evils that plague many societies that we need investment in our society.

That is important for the creation of wealth, creation of jobs and many other things… we know gold itself is a wasting asset, and therefore we want to invest it in such a way or the wealth that created from it so that a maximum of our people can benefit, that’s why the biggest of our investments is in the social sector” said President Ramotar.

Despite this howev-

er, Violet Smith, Guyana Goldfields Country Manager, explained that she is doubtful of whether the company would be able to beat the deadline but remained confident in meeting it. She explained that though works were moving apace, there was a lot of initial infrastructural “false starts.” As a result, the company suffered several delays and has had to double the capacity of its operations to remain on schedule for the June 2015 deadline.

She explained that one of the major constraints faced by the company at present is the inability to effectively communicate with the outside world. Nonetheless she pointed out that the company will soon be looking to overcome this constraint with the construction of a satellite tower at the base of its operations. She pointed out too that Guyana Goldfields will be looking to make Aurora its primary operation base and locate its headquarters in the area.

President Donald Ramotar, Member of Cabinet, Canadian High Commissioner, Dr Nicole Giles and the executives of Guyana Goldfields Inc

Editor: Nigel Williams

Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

Marketing rice

News of the rice deal struck with Panama on the monthly exportation of 5000 tons of rice to that country is very welcome. This newspaper has been vociferous on the imbalance between our rising production of rice and the anaemic efforts at marketing the surplus for the export trade.

Even a man-in-the-street would be aware that such a state of affairs inevitably results in falling prices for the producers, millers and exporters and hitches in the flow of revenues occasioned by the gap between production and sales,

Once again, we have to point out that this new market was opened up because of the personal intervention of our sitting Head of State, in this case President Donald Ramotar with his counterpart in Panama, on the sidelines of an international meeting.

This was also the case with the Venezuelan rice-for-oil barter arrangement worked out between former President Bharrat Jagdeo and the now deceased Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez. This is ironic in light of the vaunted opportunities claimed to be presented by the removal of governments from market interventions.

During the 1960s, the PPP Government had developed the Guyana Rice Marketing Board (GRMB) to handle the then burgeoning rice production, which resulted from expansion of the acreage under rice, through initiatives such as the Black Bush Polders’ Scheme. All of this had collapsed under the PNC Government by the end of their 28-year illegal rule in 1992.

During that time, under the influence of the US that had installed the PNC into Government, the rice industry was forced into producing the specialty “extra long grain rice” for the premium European markets. This locked us out from many other markets, such as in Latin America, which did not place a premium on such a variety. By the end of the PNC regime, the Europeans had moved on to other arrangements – as they would soon do in sugar.

After a loophole in the EU agricultural regime resulted in a temporary spurt of rice exported to the EU in the late 1990s, the Europeans soon closed this off and placed the issue of marketing rice on our front burner once more. By this time, however, the GRMB had been dismantled under the dictated “night-watchman” role of the state, envisaged by the IMF-imposed policies dubbed the “Washington Consensus”.

Under this dispensation, rice marketing was supposed to be handled by private players – a circumstance, for whatever reason, never really took hold in this country.

And we arrive at the present anomalous situation where the Government has been forced (in the persons of its Heads of State) to secure markets for rice – even as it is blamed for “low prices” and lagging payments. But the Government has not been completely blameless for the angst of the paddy producers. Through a levy of all rice exports the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has been funded to the tune of over $500 million annually to “develop” the industry.

While it has correctly pointed out that the GRDB is not formally mandated to market our rice, it has not been as diligent, for instance, as it ought to be to insist on ensuring through the enforcement of its regulations, that millers do not take paddy producers for a ride.

This could be done by a more rigorous regimen to ensure that moisture content, broken and coloured grains, weights etc are not used to penalise farmers as they presently are. Responsibility for ensuring that farmers are paid on the schedule mandated by law should become the responsibility of the GRDB.

In terms of the explicit marketing of rice for exports, we suggest that a new Rice Marketing Board be constituted and staffed as it was during the early PPP years – dominated by representatives of farmers and millers. The rice levy should go to this institution rather than the GRDB.

We welcome foreign investors in the forestry sector

Dear Editor, Guyana has the most beautiful and durable species of wood in the world. Yet our population at large has little appreciation of this fact.

For a long period of time, the general home builders were only aware of three species – which are Greenheart, Purpleheart and Kabukalli – out of the vast plethora of wood species that we have to offer. If the question was posed to them what is Wamara or a sample was shown, their familiarity would be dim to null.

In recent days, the media and whom-ever are benefiting from the attack and misinformation on the forestry industry and foreign investors for one species of wood are being reckless and are damaging the Region 10 economy and the country at large.

Over the past two to three years, countless individuals and associations have benefited from the high demand for Wamara. This has provided a strong chain of events in

which the first and vital link has been bringing in much needed capital investment to their operation.

This leads to the ability to purchase extracting equipment, which furthers another link to associations and individuals venturing out on their own and demanding a higher price for their produce – all the while, raising the standard and quality of life for many people.

Among the various species of wood, we must understand that Wamara in its beauty and strength proves to be a very difficult wood for our local saw-millers to produce as a value-added lumber.

The recovery is in the range of 20-30 per cent a cubic metre (m3). For example 21m3 of processed lumber that fits in a 40-foot container will take approximately 70m3 of Wamara logs for the set volume.

There’s no way that anyone can make a sustainable profit or stay in business by just processing this species of

wood. Guyana does not have the technology and equipment to make this valuable way forward at this present time.

We cannot jump to conclusions without getting to the nitty-gritty of how the industry functions on a wide scale. For example, the boat/ ship that was reported by a newspaper outlet of transporting logs actually belongs to another Chinese company that is separate from Bai Shan Lin.

This particular company has done an immense job on infrastructure work in partnership with various logging associations from Region 10 which was spearheaded by the Deputy Commissioner of Forestry.

For example, in a short five-month span, a road which previously would take three-four days to truck produce out is now one of the best interior all-weather roadways in the country. A regular road user can now have access up to 110km with a regular sedan.

Abundant trash

Dead Editor,

There has been much talk but little action when it comes to a solution to the problem of pride and managing the litter and garbage problems in the city. First, let’s address the litter. Everywhere you look in Georgetown, there is litter scattered on the ground.

Generally, this is not on the property of ordinary homeowners, but on the common areas adjoining their property such as opens spaces, sidewalks, etc. This could be easily fixed by homeowners taking a walk

around the perimeter of their property and picking up the litter.

Also, the many walkers and runners could help by picking up a piece or two every time they go out.

The merchants in the city need to take responsibility, not for just their property but, for the litter that results from their business that can end up littering a large geographic area around their business.

This can be shopping bags, boxes and big garbage bags filled with shipping material, such as Styrofoam,

that is so light that the wind blows it around that it extends back to a settling pond and is strewn among the trees and bushes.

The issue is the garbage being dumped around the city. Now they must make a decision; take it back home and drive all the way back in again or find a secluded spot and dump it.

The other thing that city council could do, as an organisation, is to encourage their employees to pick up litter and garbage as a side job to the main jobs they do. I believe the city council

A famous quote states that “to those whom much is given, much is expected”. There was the great gold rush, this is our wood rush. Rather than utilising precious time to fly over and take pictures of various log stock piles in several locations in Region 10, the investigators should keep a forum where stakeholders can give their insight of the logging industry. This would be more valuable than making assumptions and falsifying information for the sale of newspapers. We are loggers, if you venture into our domain you will see logs. I can vouch for myself and other stakeholders in stating we welcome foreign investors once we have fair market value for our produce and our business partnership is done in the confines of the law and blessed by the Guyana Forestry Commission.

Sincerely,

Dane Ault MAC Enterprise

and employees need to raise their standards and pride in the city that provides them with their livelihood, while setting a good example for everyone to follow. With the strong and frequent rainfall, littering will always be a challenge, it causes flooding and along with flooding comes a long line of disasters but a challenge that can be met if the Council and its citizens exhibit their pride and rise to that challenge.

Respectfully, R Persaud

A floating sea turtle sculpture named “Alpha Turtle”, featuring a black and white rendering of coral reef structures, is pictured in front of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge in Sydney, August 15 (Reuters photo)

Bai Shan Lin remains committed to sustainable forest activities

Dear Editor,

In light of the recent media coverage in some sections of the media, here is a brief summary of Bai Shan Lin (BSL) International Forest Development Inc’s activities in Guyana.

In 2007-2008, BSL commenced operations in Guyana, purchasing logs from local concession holders. From 2008-2010, we purchased logs from local concessionaires and entered into a joint venture agreement with WAICO.

During 2010-2012, we continued purchasing logs from local concessionaires and entered into another joint venture agreement with Haimorakabra. From 2012-2014, while purchasing logs from local concessionaires continued, we entered into joint venture agreements with Kwebana and Puruni Wood Products Inc.

From 2015-2017, BSL and Sherwood Forests SFEP’s may be converted to Timber Sales Agreement (TSA), provided that all requirements are met and the necessary ap-

proval is granted. We also expect the construction of the BSL wood processing plant and the commencement of log processing. Processing capacity will increase to 100,000 cm3 within three years.

In 2016, we will establish kiln drying facilities and commence veneer manufacturing. In 2017, we also expect the commencement of manufacturing of furniture, end matched flooring, doors, windows, and plywood, etc.

The economic contributions of BSL to Guyana are many. There are interior road upgrades and construction – BSL upgraded approximately 80 km of trails from Kwakwani to Haimorokabra, 100 km from Haimorokabra to Sherwood Forests, and 100 km from the Buckhall main road to the Kwebana forest concession area.

BSL has invested in excess of US$25 million in equipment to support forestry sector in Guyana. Our interior workforce currently comprises 151 Guyanese and 51 non Guyanese.

The company currently injects a monthly average of about US$400,000 in foreign exchange earnings from log exports.

In terms of community development, upon completion of the wood processing plant, the company will provide employment for approximately 300-500 Guyanese workers from the Linden community.

The company will provide these employees with extensive training. The establishment of the factory and commencement of operations will result in increased economic activity in the community together with all its attendant benefits.

The company will continue to work in the best interest of the communities and administration of Region 10. Bai Shan Lin remains committed to sustainable forest activities in compliance with the forest laws and regulations for the benefit of all Guyanese.

Submitted by, BSL International Forest Development Inc

Difficult to grasp value of Chinese investment in daily life

Dear Editor,

With reference to the recent concerns about the Chinese operations in Guyana, particularly Bai Shan Lin, the Kwakwani Natural Resources Organisation (KNRO) wishes to express on behalf of the organisation our position as it relates to this issue.

It is not up to one person or group to decide what is best for any community without allowing those who will be affected by it to participate in the process. Communities and community organisations should be supported to set their own priorities, design their own approaches, create their own solutions, and be responsible for the outcomes.

There needs to be a good understanding of the working realities on the ground with respect to the daily survival mechanisms the ‘small’ man puts in place each day, and support and strengthen what works for them in accordance with the governing regulations.

The KNRO was established in April of 2012. Our relationship with Bai Shan Lin Company began in early 2013. In recognition of the fact that they have all the necessary machinery needed to do logging, our members soon began selling their produce to them. They take the hassle out of the extracting, loading, trucking and looking for a market.

The Chinese buy mostly Wamara logs. Before the Chinese came to Guyana, Wamara was considered a lesser-known species. No one was buying Wamara. This is a widely available and accessible species that was made popular when the Chinese got here.

The Chinese would buy from different small loggers

and accumulate them over a period of time to facilitate preparing the Timber Marketing Certificate (TMC) for a specific amount.

The process involved in the verification of origin of produce does not escape the scrutiny of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC). They have been diligent in ensuring that regulations governing sustainable logging and environmental practices are followed.

Unless you’re doing logging for a living you cannot truly grasp the value of the Chinese investment in daily life. Much needed capital from doing business with the Chinese remains in the community and is spread across several households.

In 2013, the KNRO sold 5445.41 cubic metres of Wamara to the Chinese. In 2014, as at July, it stands at 4197.47 cubic metres, bringing their total to 9642.98 cubic metres.

That amount at US$60 per cubic metre (at the stump) would give us a gross total of G$115,716,000, over an 18-month period. Please note that the majority was not sold at the stump but at the Timber Depot site, for which the price is US$140 per cubic metre.

To date, our organisation has invested close to G$40 million in targeted projects in Kwakwani. Some of what we have been able to accomplish in community projects has been a direct result of doing business with the Chinese.

Some of these projects include conducting seven cleanup campaigns, donating a bus/ ambulance and medical supplies to Kwakwani Hospital, sponsoring a student to attend the Guyana School of

NACTA poll: Overwhelming support for DEA Office, AML Bill and LEAD project

Dear Editor,

An opinion poll conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) in July found overwhelming support for passage of the establishment of a US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Office, the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Bill, and implementation of the revamped US Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) project.

Voters are very pleased that the US and Guyana came to an understanding in implementing the LEAD project to help strengthen democracy and working together to fight drug trafficking. However, some voters complained about US arrogance and bullyism to get its way on the project. The poll also revealed that crime and economic issues (high cost of living) are the leading problems impacting on the nation.

was coordinated by Vishnu Bisram. The results of the poll were analysed at a 95 per cent significance level and a statistical sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points was found. Sampling results based on subgroups (such as Indians or Africans alone) have a larger sampling error.

NACTA, a New Yorkbased group, was founded by Dr Latchman Narain, Vassan Ramracha and other educators – all of whom were involved in the struggle for free and fair election in Guyana. NACTA has no affiliation with any political party.

position parties should pass the bill with 20 per cent saying no 17 per cent not offering an opinion. Many say failure to pass the legislation would impact negatively on the economy.

Queried whether they support the revamped LEAD project that was agreed upon between the Government and the US Embassy, 69 per cent said yes with 15 per cent saying no and 16 per cent not offering an opinion.

Agriculture (GSA), providing primary health care for senior citizens, contributing to the rehabilitation of the UNAMCO road in collaboration with GFC and other stakeholders, constructing interior access roads to two of our concessions, installing pipelines and building water troughs at the primary school, wiring of the IT lab at the secondary school, and donating a refrigerator to the nursery school, to name a few.

Yes, the daily traffic of their heavy machinery within the community and along the Kwakwani to Linden route add to the already deplorable condition of the roads, but so do all the other users of the roads.

Yes, like most other foreign investors, very little (if anything) is given back to the community from which all their wealth is derived. Now that we know – what needs to be done, we can begin to put a plan in place and move forward.

Some suggestions for consideration would be: rehabilitation and maintenance of roads; down-streaming to facilitate value-added – instead of sending these large volumes of wood to be processed overseas, it would be helpful if a modem wood-processing plant could be set up at Bissaruni junction, Kwakwani or some other convenient location in Region 10; and promoting protection awareness of the environment; being more involved in the infrastructural, social and economic development of the community in which they operate.

Yours Truly, Frederick

David, Vice Chairman Bryan Boyle, Secretary

The poll was conducted to determine peoples’ views on issues related to national development. The survey interviewed 580 voters to yield a demographically representative sample (43 per cent Indians, 31 per cent Africans, 16 per cent Mixed, nine per cent Amerindians, and one per cent other races) of the population.

The poll was conducted in face-to-face interviews by several polltakers and

Several NACTA members were involved in polling in Guyana prior to the 1992 elections and subsequently throughout the Caribbean. Messrs Bisram and Ramracha, for example, have been conducting surveys and internationally for 25 years.

Asked whether they support the establishment of a DEA Office in Guyana, 81 per cent said yes, eight per cent said no, and 11 per cent offer no response.

Asked if they support the proposed anti-money laundering bill, almost everyone answered in the affirmative with only 14 per cent saying no. A large majority of voters (63 per cent) feels the op-

Asked what is the most important problem facing the nation, 29 per cent said crime, 19 per cent high cost of living, 17 per cent poor governance issues and corruption, and six per cent drug trafficking and the remainder said other issues like health, ethnic relations, education, infrastructure, power sharing, lack of cooperation among the parties, etc.

Voters were also polled for the approval ratings of the President, Opposition Leader, Government, Ministers and parliamentarians as well as support for a snap election and their preference for President and the projected outcome of an election. The findings will be released in a subsequent report.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

An open letter to the Human Services Minister

Dear Editor,

As The Caribbean Voice gears up for its press conference on September 10 at Cara Hotel to mark World Suicide Prevention Day, followed by the launch of its monthly outreach programme on September 20 and 21 to Black Bush Polder, we are making an appeal to Human Services Minister Jenifer Webster to take leadership in redressing social pathologies that bedevil Guyanese society.

Through her Ministry, the esteemed Minister can spearhead the multisectoral approach by partnering with and supporting NGOs that work in the field in suicide prevention, anti abuse, anti violence endeavors.

Such partnerships would help her Ministry to map the services offered in both scope and location, so that the Ministry can be able to explore possibilities of supplementing where the need is not being filled.

The Ministry should also establish a partnership with the private sector to foster both information dissemination and training programs for responders such as the private sector workforce.

Trainers can be drawn from the tertiary educa-

tional institutions and organisations like the Guyana Psychological Association. And billboards and banners, promoting private business while simultaneously propagating appropriate messages on suicide prevention, anti abuse and so on, can be placed at various locations throughout the country.

Additionally many NGOs and private sector entities have their own buildings with available space that the Ministry can utilise to establish hotlines manned by trained responders. The Caribbean Voice can provide a list of entities with such available building space.

To supplement this, the Ministry can collaborate with religious organisations and institutions and related public sector entities to foster clinical training for pastors, pandits, moulvis and imams.

Also, the Ministry can organise focus groups in various parts of the country to get a feel at the ground about these issues and suggestions for dealing with them. The collective wisdom of people at the grassroots is a tool that can be incisive and viable and once the people are centrally involved getting them to seek

and implement solutions becomes that much easier. Finally, the Minister should take the lead in bringing Guyana into the twenty-first century with respect to attitudes towards mental health issues, to combat the taboos, misinformation, biases and labelling that currently exist. A good start would be to decriminalise suicide. Meanwhile, The Caribbean Voice takes this opportunity to invite the Honourable Minister Webster to our press conference of September 10. We are also inviting the Honourable Minister to have her Ministry join us in our outreach to Back Bush Polder on September 20 and 21. We will be in touch with her to extend formal invitations to both activities.

Sincerely, Norkah Carter

Devv-Ramdas

Daniel

Judy Deveaux

Annan Boodram

Bibi Ahamad

Collis Nicholson

Anna Addie Odyssey

Donna Jennifer Ross

Sharma

Pandit

Daneshwar

Amintnarine

Pandit

Rabindradat

Shoba Jagnanan

Page Foundation

Parenting for Success

Our vision is a Guyanese society where every child enjoys the right to a childhood in a safe and caring family, free from poverty, violence and exploitation.

Successful intervention

Aleesha was just one of many children who suffered from physical and sexual abuse and neglect. Her case, however, was extremely severe. She was only four years old when her mother passed away, leaving the child with an abusive step-father and his brother in a community with no relative to her mother. After a while both males started to sexually molest Aleesha and became physically abusive towards her. Allesha was unkept and dirty outside in the yard and was treated like an animal. Often she went days without being fed a proper meal and was tied up and denied any freedom. She was unable to attend school, and members of the community failed to notice that the child wasn’t attending for several years due to the fact that she never left the yard after the day her mother died. If she was lucky, her step-father would give her scraps of their left-over food to eat. If not, she stole fruit from the neighbour’s tree in order to survive. Aleesha grew up believing that this is how young children live. When Aleesha was nine years old, members of the community began to realise that there was a child liv-

Case Study – Names and places have been changed to protect the persons’ privacy

ing in this enclosed yard like a dog. They were concerned for her safety and her state – after realising that the young girl never left the yard, she went without a bed, frequent food, and rumours had begun to stir about her step- father and uncle’s sexual abuse. One day a concerned community member took the bold step and contacted the relevant authority and without hesitation the child was removed from the home. In a new environment now it was challenging for Aleesha to adapt to the new lifestyle, having lived her life for many years with sex ual abuse and neglect. She didn’t understand what the furniture in her new en vironment was used for –what was a bed? What was a chair? She was unable to eat with a spoon, only with her hands. In addition, she was accus tomed to spoiled food and the food which was pre pared for her upset her stom ach at first. She had no idea how to use a toilet and instead would go on the floor in a corner of

the house. Aleesha’s new carers were well aware of her past situation and this enabled them to be very understanding and considerate of her as they worked on re-socialising Aleesha and teaching her new habits. They taught her how to use the toilet, how to eat correctly with a spoon, how to sleep in a bed, bath, and they even took her to the dentist to fix her teeth. Over time with lots of patience, Aleesha learnt the alphabet, learnt to name her body parts and

were happening in Aleesha’s life would take some getting used to. After years of abuse and survival tactics, it was hard for the child to adapt and so her foster parents required a lot of patience. Everything was going reasonably well until the child turned 11 years. She began to behave very promiscuously due to the sexual abuse that had occurred when she was younger. She started bullying the boys at school to have sex. One day, she was asked to take food

house of her new carer’s father, because he was very sick. While there, Aleesha started to be sexual with the man. He asked her to leave and immediately reported her behaviour to her carer mother. When confronted, Aleesha admitted that she had made sexual advances towards him and unfortunately for the young girl, her carer decided that it was enough.

Several examinations were conducted on the child to assess her psychological state. They determined that she was deeply affected by her abusive childhood and had developed psychological malfunctions as a result of experiences. She was

unable to function in a family home and was placed in an all-girls institution. The institution had a school within the grounds, and so Aleesha began to attend regularly. A ChildLink counsellor started to conduct regular visits to the child. Counselling sessions were conducted to help Aleesha confront and deal with the trauma that she had experienced. During these sessions, the child got the opportunity to look at life when she was abused and to distinguish all the unhealthy acts in her experience. For the first time she was able to connect to her feelings and emotions and link them to some of the behaviours that she presently portrayed. Possible triggers for her unhealthy behaviours were explored and ways to deal with the behaviours were suggested by the counsellor. Together, they followed the Be Safe intervention, whereby Aleesha learned how to protect herself from future abuse in all her environments. She began to understand that her body was hers and nobody else’s, and that she must not allow people to touch her private parts; likewise, she must not touch other people’s private parts.

Aleesha still slipped back into her old ways from time to time; however, she has been showing significant improvement in her behaviours.

Most importantly, she is committed to improving her behaviour and being a better person for herself. She also started attending church and is showing an interest in spirituality. Aleesha began singing in the church choir which she loves and this gives her a sense of belonging where shehas something to do that she loves. Her self-concept is boosted and for the first time in her life she has developed friendships with her peers.

As community members, we have a responsibility to look out for all the children living in our neighbourhoods. Abuse of all forms has long- term psychological effects on children and can take years for them to recover from the trauma. We need to be more aware of child abuse happening right next to us, so that we can put a stop to it immediately.

Please contact us on telephone number 231-7174 or programmes.childlink@networksgy.com for any support you may need on parenting and any other challenges that you may be experiencing with your children.

BK’s JAGS Aviation unveils new Cessna Caravan

“Room for improvement” –President says on CSEC results

History was last evening created within the private sector in Guyana and the Caribbean when a brand new Cessna Grand Caravan 208B EX landed at the Ogle International Airport.

The aircraft is the property of JAGS Aviation, a subsidiary of BK International Group of Companies, owned by Brian Tiwarie. It is the first time in the history of the aviation sector in Guyana and across the Region, that a private company has been able to purchase a new aircraft directly from the manufacturer.

fore heading to Guyana.

Standing at a cost of close to US$3 million, the 2014 CESSNA Caravan has a seating capacity of 13, excluding the pilot’s seat. It is equipped with state-of-the art technology and is fully air conditioned.

Jags Aviation Manager

Brionnie Tiwarie said the aviation sector in today’s world exists to assist people in their various endeavours.

She said as much as her family is thrilled with the arrival of the new caravan, they are even more excited at what it will do for Guyana’s aviation sector and “basic

It was a spectacular event as special invitees and members of the local aviation sector, along with employees and well-wishers were finally able to catch a glimpse of the shining new aircraft.

The caravan, which was expected to land at the airport sometime around 05:00h on Sunday afternoon, received a unique kind of welcome from the Guyana Fire Service, a few minutes after 18:00h, due to a minor delay in Antigua.

But the delay did not mar the impression created by the skilled, talented pilot, Captain Joshua Simms and his two co- pilots, Captains Miguel Benjamin and Damon Woodruff, whose awesome manoeuvre created a breathtaking spectacle in the faded blue sky, much to the amazement of the waiting crowd.

The aircraft flew out of Kansas, US on Sunday,was in-transit in Antigua, be-

communication and travel in support of tourism and mining and other economic activities in Guyana’s hinterland region”, she said.

She said the aviation arm of BK International operating through the recent acquisition,JAGS Aviation Inc also represents the energy, vision and effort of the Tiwarie family.

“We are building on the achievements of the generation before us and we are willing to take the initiatives and invest in diverse sectors like aviation,” she assured the gathering at the Guysuco Hangar at the airport. The family recently purchased JAGS Aviation with all of its assets. She said the company will continue to invest in quality aircraft and the highest standard of operation and customer care.

Tiwarie said the aircraft is evidence of the quality of service her company aims to provide.

“A service that will always be in keeping with the highest industry standard and cutting- edge technology.”

Labour Minister, Dr Nanda Gopaul congratulated the company, noting that it has taken a step in the right direction.

“They believe that Guyana has a place where a local company can operate where the sky is the limit.”

The purchase of the new aircraft, he boasted, is an additional investment to JAGS Aviation Company, and Government welcomes the initiative.

Roraima Group of Companies Chairman, Captain Gerry Gouveia said although there will be a level of “fierce competitiveness” between the two air services, his company, Roraima Airways stands ready to offer its assistance to the budding company through any means possible.

The programme ended with a cocktail reception, during which special invitees were given an opportunity to tour the aircraft.

President Donald Ramotar has congratulated the thousands of students who were successful at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Examinations Council (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE), but said there was room for improvement.

Speaking at a press conference last Friday, the President remarked that while the results may have been satisfactory, there are still some weak areas that need to be addressed.

The President said overall, he was however proud of what Guyana’s students have been able to accomplish in passing the examinations year after year.

President Ramotar noted that the results attained by students this year were much better in comparison to the pass rates that would have been secured

years ago.

He said the Government’s extensive investment in Guyana’s

education sector is bearing fruit and “paying off… the pass rate right across the country, we had a very good pass rate.”

On that note, the President pointed out that the countrywide improvement in the overall pass rates was indicative that parents no longer have to look to send their children to top schools in the city.

He said the pass rates show that students can go to schools that are closer to their respective homes and still be able to attain good results at CSEC and CAPE.

The President urged that the pass rates be used a foundation for improvement and better results would come about.

Students’ performance at CAPE saw a slight decrease in the overall pass rates, Education Minister Priya Manickchand had reported.

Manickchand was at the time announcing the results of this year’s top performers at the National Centre for Education Research and Development

(NCERD) Kingston, Geogetown.

She pointed out that this year there was an 85.07 per cent pass rate when compared to the 86.6 per cent recorded last year.

A total of 798 candidates wrote the exam, with 64 per cent being females. These students were from nine secondary schools and three private institutions. There were some 3465 subject entries. Guyana offered 40 units at this year’s examination, of which 12 units saw candidates attaining a 100 per cent pass rate, counting Grades One to Five. For 25 of the units, students secured a pass rate of 75 per cent or higher with Grades One to Five. No unit recorded a pass rate below 50 per cent.

For the first time, Digital Media was written and secured a 100 per cent pass rate. The pass rate in Pure Mathematics remained steady at 58.59 per cent this year compared to 57.73 per cent the year before.

The brand new Cessna Grand Caravan 208B EX at the Ogle International Airport

Jags Aviation Manager Brionnie Tiwarie speaking at the occasion

Elisa Hamilton Bharti Bhoge

Larissa Wiltshire

OLPF takes distribution exercise to East Bank Essequibo

Residents of the East Bank Essequibo villages of Parika and Vergenoegen recently received a total of 132 laptops from the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) Project.

This follows a few days after 341 were distributed at Tuschen, another East Bank

student said, “In my family, six of us are secondary school students and have to use this laptop. Thank you OLPF, this is a lot!”

Deputy OLPF Project

Manager Azariah Asim said for this year, distribution started in May, and 6152 laptops have been given out

Essequibo village. Maladevi Sookra, a secondary school

thus far. Residents of Parika received 83 laptops while

residents at Vergenoegen received 46.

Nadira Samaroo, another recipient said she was elated to have received the laptop and explained the benefits the device would offer to her daughter and two grandsons.

Another secondary school student said, “I am glad the Government of Guyana introduced OLPF. This laptop will help students with the School Based Assessments (SBAs) and Caribbean Examination Council Examinations (CXC).”

Communication major...

Smith plugged the

for

done at Aurora and Aranka. She said that it would be remiss of a foreign investor

On August 13, 300 residents at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara received laptops and on August 8, 80 residents of Good Faith and Champagne, Mahaicony, Region Five, became beneficiaries.

The OLPF Programme aims to commit families to benefit from the development offered through the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in terms of enhancing skills and gaining access to digital information that would aid in their development. (GINA)

from page 3

to do work in Guyana and not have Guyanese benefit from the work being done.

“If we have a foreign company coming into Guyana, Guyanese must benefit from it, we must have skills transfer” said the country manager, noting that several local contractors have been consulted and are carrying out various jobs for the company.

She said too that the company will be looking to go into underground mining once operations begin. In this regard, she pointed out that persons will be sent overseas to be educated on underground mining since it would be a first for Guyana.

The tour of the Aurora project saw the team being given an overview of the projects being conducted and an extensive visit to several sites where work is being carried out. Presently, the firm is engaged in quarrying and has an elaborate project under way.

Presently, the site for the company’s processing plant has been cleared ahead of its August 20 deadline and work on the construction of the facility is set to commence in the near future. The mine plan for the Aurora Gold Project is designed to produce 3.29 million ounces of gold, averaging 194,000 ounces per year, over an initial 17-year mine life. The Aurora Gold Project has total, proven and probable reserves of 3.48 million ounces of gold.

Eyew tness Robbery...

...in CPL final

This Eyewitness never made it a secret that he’s an avid (even a rabid) fan of the Guyana Amazon Warriors – henceforth the “Warriors”. So when he screams “we wuz robbed!!!!” in the CPL finals, he knows there’ll be the issue of being an “interested party”. But he’ll preface his statements with this caution that’s guided him since he was a stripling. It’s from Dr No. When a thing happened the first time it’s “happenstance”; a second time, “coincidence” but when for the third time – its “enemy action”. So can you blame this Eyewitness – when after seeing the same blatant injustice being meted out a DOZEN times to the Warriors in the match against the Tridents – not conclude we were bloodily well robbed?? And “miffed” is not the word he’s feeling right now. How about “pissed”??

But just in case, you dear reader didn’t see the match – maybe you were on the rocket heading to Mars? – let me not only count the ways in which the dirty was done to us – but also “how”.

The television replays conclusively showed that when it came to calling “wides”, umpire Gregory Braithwaite clearly used a different metric of measurement for the Warriors than the Tridents – IN EVERY INSTANCE, FAVOURING THE BARBADOS TRIDENTS. Was it coincidence that Braithwaite is a Bajan?? Even the commentators were flummoxed at the inconsistencies of Braithwaite “wide” calls.

Then there was the first ball dismissal (if one went by the replays) of Trident Shoab Malik by Santokie – but given “not out” by Braithwaite. The 55 runs he went on to score should’ve been awarded to Braithwaite – who should’ve also gotten Malik’s “man of the match” gift. On the other hand. Warriors Neesham – its big hitter – was given out by Braithwaite on a “catch” when repeated replays could show no contact. It wouldn’t have helped if they could’ve gone to the television umpire, Leslie Reifer. Totally coincidentally he’s also Bajan!

But all of this monkey-business pales into insignificance with the FARCE that was perpetrated at the end of the game. Needing 46 runs with 25 balls with two big-hitting Warriors at the crease – Ramdin and Barnwell, the rains returned. During the Tridents innings there’d been three rain interruptions – so after the covers were removed at worse one thought the overs would’ve been reduced if time was a constraint. The CPL Facebook page announced that the full game would be played...and it very well could’ve been, while all waited. The commentators all expected this. But suddenly, the Tridents were running on the field... grinning from ear to ear.

Somebody – not the rules of cricket – had declared them “winners”. Disgraceful!!

...and crime fight boosted?

The Home Affairs Ministry said it's going to increase the Guyana Police Force (GPF) from 3410 to 4956 – an increase of 45 per cent. Now that’s a massive undertaking, if nothing else. It was interesting that the Opposition leader, David Granger – fresh from being “confirmed as leader of the PNC through “fiddled” arrangements – said that while this is welcome, it should be more “holistic”.

Expanding on his notion of “holistic”, Granger quoted from the Disciplined Forces Commission Report (DFCR) of 2003, of which he was a member. Unfortunately, of the 71 recommendations from the report, Granger cited only three. Number 19, about establishing more Police stations; number 21, that the numbers of Police should be increased and number 26, on increases in salaries. Granger studiously avoided the elephant in the room and in the report – indeed the raison d’être for the entire DFCR: that the “composition of the GPF should reflect the composition of the population of Guyana”.

We wonder why??

...on high seas averted?

Now that the our crime-fighting forces have nabbed the narco-sub that would’ve surreptitiously smuggled drugs across the seas, they should immediately deploy it against the pirates preying on our fisher-folk in Corentyne.

An East Bank Essequibo resident smiles as she receives a laptop

A mother and daughter display their laptop

Further,

need

Guyanese to benefit from the work being

Region 1 CSEC top student credits success to extra lessons

Khary Boyer of North West District Secondary who topped Region One at the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations with 11 Grade Ones and One Grade Two, has credited his success to extra lessons

The 17-year-old who wants to become a Geological Engineer, told Guyana Times that he knew he would have done well as he had spent many nights studying, preparing for the examination.

He said many persons believe that Region One does not have the potential to produce top students, and he wanted to prove them wrong.

“I had expectations I would have done well, I was always a top student and I knew I would have made everyone proud,” the young man said.

Boyer will continue his studies at the University of Guyana in September, noting that he had already gained a scholarship from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.

The Region One top students thanked all his teachers and his parents for their support, noting that it laid the platform for his success.

Boyer is advising students sitting the next CSEC examinations to stay focused and believe in God.

Caribbean Press launches 16 volumes

– Guyanese writers highlighted

“Today is the writer’s day” was one of the opening statements that were made by Professor David Dabydeen, and Guyana’s Ambassador to China at the Caribbean Press Book Launch at the Umana Yana on Friday.

Apart from praising the writers for their dedication in bringing their writings to life, Dabydeen also encouraged other writers to take full advantage of this opportunity that was given to them by the Caribbean Press Publication (CPP) to have their works published and shared with the rest of the world, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

Dozens of writers and members of many other organisations were in attendance to celebrate this achievement by Guyanese writers. There were several readings from the publications launched.

Al Creighton, who is the Chairman of the CPP, said the idea to create the press stemmed from a discussion that had taken place at the 2008 Carifesta that was held in Guyana, by then President Bharrat Jagdeo with Dabydeen and many leading Caribbean writers, including Derrick Walcott, Earl Lovelace and Austin Clark to address the problem of publications in the Caribbean and particularly in Guyana.

The idea of the CPP was thereafter formed. Dabydeen and Ian Mc Donald have been editors, getting the titles of the Guyana Classics going. “David has been the actual electricity behind the series of publications coming out of the Caribbean Press,” Creighton said.

“From time to time there have been launchings of books done by the press; the Guyana Classics series has

of writing that are fundamental to Guyana’s literature and history. These are The Hinterlands by Stanley Niamatali; Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham OE, SC National Assembly Speeches, Volumes II & III; Heads and Tails, by Pearl Lewis; Twenty-five Poems, Guyanese Children Volume I by Reverend Gideon Cecil; My Father’s Wish by Andrew DO Hutson; Collected Poems

made available to the reading public many important titles, titles that are fundamental to Guyanese literature and history which would otherwise have gone out of print are now available through the publication of the Guyana Classics,” Creighton stated.

He added that new writings by mostly Guyanese writers are now being publicised through the Caribbean Press. The event showcased 13 titles and 16 volumes

Simply the Truth

Robin Williams: Suicide

Robin Williams, the fine comedic actor, died on August 11. He committed suicide by hanging. This was a man who brought ‘belly laughs’ to the world as an actor and stand-up comedian.

He came in some pretty good movies like, “Dead Poets’ Society”, “Mrs Doubtfire”, “Good Morning Vietnam”, “Patch Adams”, “Hook”, and so on.

One has to be aware that many of these comedians are manic depressives, a disease that lurks just beneath the laughter and apparent ease with which they deal with people. The generation of laughter in others is brought about by the mask they wear.

The great comedians, including Charlie Chaplin, Groucho Marx, the three stooges, Lou Costello (of Bud and Lou), John Baluchi, Jackie Gleason, Sammy Davis Jnr, John Candy, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, and especially Richard Pryor were all afflicted.

We know that suicide has assumed epidemic proportions in Berbice. We are very aware. As usual, however, no real worthwhile has been done to examine and therefore solve this epidemic.

On February 12 of this year, there were two big workshops on suicide in Berbice. One was in Port Mourant and the other in New Amsterdam. On the same day. As if it was some kind of competition.

I chaired the day-

long workshop in New Amsterdam. My co-chair was Shazeena Seetayah. The event was sponsored and organised by the Regional Health Authority under Dr Vishwa Mahadeo.

It was well attended, and many good suggestions were put forward by concerned people and professionals. There was much good work done and no amount of thanks is enough for those who put their hearts and minds forward.

In the midst of it, there were constant warnings that this should not be like most other workshops on different things. I agreed with these warnings by saying: “If all of this comes to nothing, then we have all failed.”

I did not need to scream or screech this. Sadly, as it turned out, it was just another futile exercise with no concrete outcomes.

I had promised to submit a detailed report on this

day-long workshop, and my co-chair and I worked assiduously for two weeks to gather up the material and then another week to make it all coherent and easily readable.

I delivered on my promise! I still have that report, if anyone is interested. It was never picked up from my rented place. I suspect that the other workshop in Port Mourant suffered the same fate of futility.

And people, especially our young and out females, continue to take their own lives. And we still have no effective systems in place to counsel the survivors of suicides. And we still have no programmes or systems in place to train first responders (medical and Police professionals) to deal with such things. So it continues. But we have this report in “soft” copy in case anyone is seriously interested. I know for a fact that many of the participants in New Amsterdam, were very serious. They were willing to give of what expertise they commanded, and give of their time and resources. The report is entitled: “Suicide and Self-Harm Intervention Initiative.” It contains some really good, implementable corrective measures. Meanwhile, people keep taking their lives and families are left bereft.

If anyone wants to take a look, email me at daizal@ gmial.com.

- 1937-1989 by A F Seymour; The Idyll and the Warrior (Recollections of Edgar Mittelholzer) by Jacqueline Mittelholzer; Bitter; Portia Dodson; Beacons of Excellence by Edgar Mittelholzer; Memorial Lectures – Volumes I, II & III; Duenne, Paloma Mohamed; Anthology of Contemporary Guyana Verse Volume I by Petamber Persaud (ed) and “The Dumb and the Brave” by Churaumanie Bissundyal.

Professor Daizal Samad

Professor David Dabydeen (centre) with some of the writers and their publications

Khary Boyer

A section of the gathering at the launch of the publications on Saturday

Govt says GECOM might be ready for general elections, not local Govt

President Donald Ramotar said that even though the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) keeps insisting that it is

ready for elections, it might very well be more ready for general rather than local

government elections.

The procedure governing the two elections differs from each other. Speaking at a press conference last Friday, the Head of State said that the last time he spoke to an official from GECOM, a period of six months was requested after local government election is called. Even though this request was inconsistent with the Commission’s declarations of readiness for local government elections, the window period sought then, might not apply for general elections.

With regard to the noconfidence motion against the Government that has been sent to Parliament, the President reaffirmed that his Administration is prepared to deal with the consequences of this development and will make a decision when the time is right. This decision includes the possible calling of elections even before the motion is passed.

The ruling People’s Progressive Party /Civic and GECOM have been back and forth on the electoral body’s preparedness for the elections. Only recently, the PPP/C said that GECOM should get its “act together.” Under the chairmanship of Dr Steve Surujbally, GECOM has publicly stated that it was in a state of readiness, but Freedom House has insisted that there were many loopholes within the system.

Regarding the holding of Local Government Elections, General Secretary of the party, Clement Rohee explained that based on information emanating out of GECOM, 585 constituencies have been identified among the 71 Local Authority Areas; however, the party believes that eligible voters might have been omitted from the voters’ list. Rohee said the PPP was not confident that enough groundwork and consultation were done by GECOM to ensure that eligible voters would be correctly placed on their respective constituency list.

“It is our contention that GECOM should do physical verifications within the communities and invite the political parties’ represen-

This riggin ting gone very far

When de Pee-N-C party decide to change dem name, de first time dem put on just a “R”. People wasn’t sure why dem do that. At first, dem seh it mean “reform”, but de only ting dem was reformin was how to get re-elected all de time by thiefin de elections from de Pee-P-P and from de people.

But thankfully, eventually every body realise that the “R” was fuh “riggin”, although it was since in Burnt Ham time that de Pee-N-C was involved in big time riggin by diggin. That is, diggin up dead people name and puttin dem pun de voters’ list.

Well, de Heights man come pun de scene, he become a even bigger rigger than Burnt Ham. Leff, right and centre was sheer riggin. In fact, if de Heights man had live a lil longer, wid de rate at which he was goin, de whole of Guyana woulda been votin fuh he. That is, accordin to de riggin rate whah he had start up wid right after Burnt Ham dead. Some body seh de other day at de Pee-N-C Con Gress that if de Heights man hadn’t join Burnt Ham down below, de voters woulda even out number de whole population by now. That was how high de Heights man coulda reach.

So now here come de Harmy man Green Jah pun de scene. By this time de Pee-N-C was even doin trainin fuh show people how to rig. And Rum Jhaat and de Nagga man was de first two to attend de full programme.

At least Green Jah hands was tied because he coulda never get he hands on de big prize. So he do de next best ting by riggin he own elections and diggin out Linden and Plaisance from de whole ting. Even de wise man Solo man couldn’ta find word fuh describe whah happen.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie! Well, wid de CPL final over de weekend, people now wonderin if Green Jah also do any trainin fuh de Bajan vampire who umpire de game. This riggin ting gone very far!

tatives to ensure that everyone is placed on the respective list, thus allowing for a fair and transparent process whenever elections are called,” he suggested.

According to Rohee, in 2010, GECOM had committed to divide the Diamond New Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara into 14 smaller voters’ lists before placing voters into three constituencies due to the size of the eligible voting population, which totalled 4504 at the time.

But despite this promise, he said the plan was aborted on the request of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR). According to Rohee, the PPP was reliably informed that the lists were compiled.

Meanwhile, when asked about the possibility of talks with the Opposition on the issue of the no confidence motion, President Ramotar

said that, “we have never been averse or close the door to any talks, clearly the ball is in their court on not only the no- confidence motion, but other matters as well. If they want to talk we are ready, in fact, we encourage it and we believe that dialogue is better.” On August 7, the Alliance For Change (AFC) handed over its no -confidence motion against the Government of Guyana to the clerk of the National Assembly. The Motion will be debated when Parliament resumes in October. The motion is a retaliatory move against the Government after it moved to restore sums that were cut from the 2014 national budget by the combined Opposition earlier this year. Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh subsequently tabled for the House’s approval a $4.5B Statement of Excess.

President Donald Ramotar

Times Notebook

Something’s not right

… with this No-Confidence Motion

The country is buzzing with the likelihood of an impending General Election because we now know that the AFC has submitted a No-Confidence Motion to Parliament and the Speaker has indicated that the submission, in the name of Moses Nagamootoo, is in order.

The Leader of the Opposition and APNU indicated they will support the motion. When that happens, there will necessarily be an election almost two years before the time for the next General Election. As unfair as this may seem to some people, it is part of the laws of Guyana.

A No-Confidence Motion

against a President and his Government is no trivial matter and the movers and supporters must demonstrate that they embarked on such a path only after careful consideration and because the country needs to be protected from a Government that is leading it into a downward trajectory and destruction.

The movers must state in writing what motivated them into choosing such an option, particularly since Guyana stands out as a rarity in Caricom for the longest sustained period of economic and social growth and as a country recognised for its embrace of democracy.

A no-confidence mo-

tion to end a Government’s term is a rare event. It occurs when there is clear evidence of mismanagement of the country’s welfare and is necessary to end the term to protect the welfare of the people. It has nothing to do with how popular or how unpopular the Government is.

In America now, almost two-thirds of the people think President Obama is allowing the country to decline, but the politicians do not dare move to end the President’s term. The people see that as their duty at mandated election time.

A no-confidence motion must clearly present the reasons for resolving to end the term of Government be-

fore the constitutional deadline. The motion moved by Mr Nagamootoo is a single sentence that merely resolved that the Opposition has no confidence in the Government. It states no reason for doing so. Normally a motion has a preamble with “whereas clauses” stating clearly why the mover resolves to take the actions as stated in the motion.

What is mind-blowing is that the AFC had indicated for months that they were drafting the motion. After months, the AFC with the media taking pictures from the signing of the Motion at the AFC office to the presentation to the clerk of the National Assembly finally

Coconut forum set for September

Guyana is preparing to host a conference with coconut specialists from Mexico in early September as steps are being made to revive the industry here.

This was announced by Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy, who was at the time speaking at a press conference on Saturday. He said that this venture will be pivotal in the “reinvigorating” of Guyana’s coconut industry.

He pointed out that presently, coconut farmers are not fully knowledgeable about the different varieties of coconut and their benefits. But he said the delegation from Mexico will be engag-

ing them in that capacity.

“We just grow coconut… if you want coconut water, they are special varieties, if you want virgin coconut oil, and coconut water, there are special varieties,” said Minister Ramsammy.

He pointed out that as of recent, the demand for coconut water and virgin coconut oil has skyrocketed and this will be the two major

projects once things get going in the sector.

“We are refocusing attention on coconut water and virgin coconut oil which is attracting a lot of attention, we are getting a lot of requests,” he said.

The Minister noted too that when the industry is developed, there will be some major changes and a lot of attention will be placed on reducing the damage to the environment.

“We are developing the coconut industry that takes into consideration the environmental issues as the industry grows so will the environmental issues.”

The coconut industry in Guyana has been identified as one of the sectors with huge potential for further development. The coconut already exists in Guyana as one of the key non-traditional crops and its production relies on Guyana’s comparative advantages in terms of land, water and labour.

Coconut delivers a very wide variety of products, including coconut water, coconut oil, coconut milk and

dried coconut, which are all in demand regionally and internationally. Guyana, at the beginning of this year had produced between 90 and 100 million coconuts per year, which approximates to some 70,000 tonnes and the world export market for coconut products, is about US$6 billion, while Guyana exports nearly US$3 million in coconut products.

In many of the major coconut-growing countries, coconut is known for its diverse uses including mature coconuts for production of dried copra for coconut oil, while fresh copra for virgin oil besides production of byproducts such as desiccated coconut powder, spray dried milk powder, coconut milk, etc.

Immature, tender coconuts are familiarly called as nature’s packaged drinking water is a preferred refreshing healthy drink, which has many medicinal and nutritional properties.

Other potential by-products of coconut are husk for production of coir fibre and its several products, shell

for production of shell charcoal, shell powder, activated carbon and many ornaments.

Coconut wood is being utilised for making furniture items and building materials such as doors, staircases, etc.

showed us what they submitted to the Parliament.

The whole presentation and its elevation into a media event with smiling AFC members made the whole thing into a joke. It confirms that the AFC thinks that the welfare of our country is a high stake game and political theatrics.

Serious people were waiting eagerly to scrutinise the reasons why the AFC have no confidence in the Government. The AFC’s motion must be one of the rare exceptions when a motion in Parliament anywhere is presented only as a one-sentence resolve clause.

We suppose the AFC and the Speaker, who is also a member of the AFC, will claim that the arguments will be orally presented in Parliament. But what was it that they were drafting for so many months? This seems like a joke, except it is a mighty travesty and an insult to the citizens.

To add insult to injury, APNU had also said it was waiting for the draft from the AFC for months. After waiting for months, they

got the draft motion in the form of a single sentence. They completed the circle of comedy by stating that they needed time to study and to amend the draft. Could persons who needed months to draft a single-sentence motion be trusted with the reign of Government?

Besides rigged elections, the murder of Walter Rodney, violent protests, glass factory that produced no glass, duty-free vehicles that were sold for profit, protection of vested interest as a policy, etc, they have now added to their credentials, or lack thereof, a motion that will stand in the annals of parliamentary democracy anywhere as an insult so injurious to their citizens as to deserve total rejection by the people.

The motion stands as an insult to all reasonable Guyanese and to the tradition of our Parliament. Were it not so injurious, it would be the Guyanese joke of the century!

Readers are invited to send their comments by email or Facebook to times. notebook@gmail.com.

Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy

Guyana is preparing to host a major coconut conference in early September

East Bank four-lane to be fully completed in 2015 – Works Ministry

By Vahnu Manikchand

Despite efforts to have the East Bank Four-lane Extension Project completed by the end of this year, the project has now been set to be fully completed in the first quarter of next year.

Project delays have become a disgusting and frustrating phenomenon in Guyana; however, according to the Works Ministry’s Roads and Bridges Department Manager Ron Rahaman, two of the lots will be completed by this year, but the other will not be finished until the first quarter of 2015.

In an interview with Guyana Times, Rahaman explained that work in Lot One cannot be completed by year- end as was initially projected.

He disclosed that Lot

One, awarded to Dipcon Engineering, is only 40 per cent completed. Works on Lots Two and Three are 64 and 40 per cent completed respectively.

The Engineer noted that Lots Two and Three, with the exception of Diamond High Bridge, are scheduled to be completed by December. The High Bridge, he stated, will not be completed as work has recently begun. Currently, the contractors are working on driving up the piles on the western side of the bridge.

The entire bridge is expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year, along with Lot One. Rahaman went on to explain that work on the second lot, being done by GuySuCo, is progressing well with the second twolane also complete. He pointed out that the split-road de-

sign was done because of efficiency rather than filling the trench.

“At that area, the trench was a bit wider than Lot One so it would have taken a lot more back- filling and big drains so that was the better option in terms of safety and also cost wise,” he said.

One- way traffic Rahaman added that the existing two-lane road will facilitate one- way traffic heading north, while traffic on the new road will be heading south. There will be turn- around access to get onto the other lane at the end of the splitting roads; however, three small bridges will be built for pedestrians and cyclists to cross over to either lanes.

The Engineer disclosed that the delays have caused additional costs to be incurred, but these costs are

not directly related to the construction work, rather to the civil cost; that is, for the salary of a Supervisory Consultant on the FourLane Highway Project, who is being paid on a monthly basis. Also, extra costs had to be added for the construction of concrete drains in the three lots. Monies were not budgeted for this in the contracts.

This delay follows the controversy between BK International, the con-

utility facilities.

Meanwhile, an InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) funded feasibility study is currently being conducted from Grove to Timehri to expand and upgrade the two-lane highway. The intention of the Ministry is to widen the road to include parking and a sidewalk, creating more space and convenience.

In May 2011, Cabinet had given its no-objection to the US$1.6 million contract

ing transport costs and reducing accident rates via the expansion of the East Bank Demerara Main Road between Providence and Diamond from two lanes to four lanes.

The project is divided into three lots and has been awarded to three contractors.

The 2014 budget provided the sum of $13.7 billion to improve roads and bridges network, of which $12.9 billion will be spent

tractor for Lot Two, and utility company, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) and the Guyana Water Incorporated, regarding the relocation of the utility facilities.

The issues encountered were with GT&T; however, the two are currently working together to relocate the

to improve the access road leading to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Government had subsequently obtained US$20 million from the IDB for the East Bank Road Extension Project. The main objectives of the project are to enhance urban and sub-urban mobility and safety by lower-

on roads and $844.2 million on bridges. With the completion of the East Bank and East Coast Demerara FourLane Expansion Projects, the traffic congestion, especially at peak hours will be reduced significantly, thus allowing for a smoother and faster traffic flow.

Dr Ramsammy dismisses calls for scaling down of rice industry

By JOMO PauL

Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy on Saturday dismissed calls made by some rice farmers for scaling down of the industry to better deal with the challenges of surplus and lack of markets, saying that the sector has made exponential growth in the last two decades and now was not the time to stop.

Dr Ramsammy, who was at the time speaking at a press conference at the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) in Cowan Street, Kingston, said it is important for Guyana’s rice sector to continue its upward trajectory.

Pointing to the issue of rice being left over from each successive crop, the Minister said that this is done to facilitate the availability of the produce, not only for export but also for local use.

He pointed out that for a major part of the year, rice production stops; hence, it is necessary for there to be a carry over.

“We can’t get rid of all of our paddy and rice in December so we have zero carry over… so there is a suggestion that we should reduce our production, it will be a big mistake because if all these potential markets come on board, what will we do,” said Minister Ramsammy.

“It’s a dangerous thing to go find markets and don’t have production, because when you reach your production, it will be years before people trust you again… we

have to have a balance,” emphasised the Minister.

Recently, farmers have also suggested a scaling down in the industry, citing payment woes currently affecting the sector, but the Minister dismissed the notion as irrelevant, noting that approximately four per cent of farmers are yet to be paid for produce from the spring crop of 2014.

He challenged the group of rice farmers from Region Two who had recently claimed that 25 per cent of monies owed them by millers are yet to be paid, to produce evidence of non-payment by millers.

“Can you give us the evidence for this, this is what I know…. I can say to all of you today that the outstanding amount is three or four per cent of the $23 billion of pad-

dy…. I would want the group that met with the private sector to submit the names of the 25 per cent of farmers that have not been paid, that’s about a thousand farmers… either they bring it forward or they shut up,” said Dr Ramsammy.

Further, the Minister highlighted that Guyana is set to meet its 2014 export target. He said that by the end of this month, the GRDB would have already exported some 300,000 tonnes of rice and paddy.

“By the end of this month, we have exported close to 300,000 tonnes and since heavy export occurs in September and October, our target of 461,000 tonnes of export will be met,” the Minister said.

Only recently, Dr Ramsammy had called for the establishment of an Agriculture Development Bank as a step toward alleviating some of the financial issues in the agricultural sector.

Advocacy

The Minister, who was speaking at the launch of the Ministry’s 2013-2020 Strategic Plan for the agriculture sector, said that within the strategy, there are provisions for the continued advocacy in the establishment of such a bank to meet the needs of the sector.

The strategy also seeks to advocate the establishment of a revolving fund to serve the needs of the rice sector, in particular.

“The strategy we described has advocated for financial arrangements such as an Agriculture Development Bank, I think that is necessary, but that is a policy direction that the Ministry of Agriculture can advocate, but cannot do. We need a revolving fund arrangement. We need crop insurance, but these are easier said than done because insurance implies premium payments and who will pay the premium… cause when things are going good, nobody wants to hear about a premium,” said Dr Ramsammy.

On that occasion, he had said the inability of the millers to pay can be attributed to the increased production in the sector. Over the last three years, Guyana has seen consecutive increases in the tonnage of rice being produced each crop. Dr Ramsammy said because of this increase in production, millers are now saddled with the responsibility or paying billions more to farmers at the end of each crop when they at times do not have the financing available.

“This is an industry that is used to seeing cash flow of $10 billion-$15 billion… it has suddenly gone to $23 billion in one crop and so by the end of this year, this industry will require a cash flow between $40 billion to 50 billion… that is a massive amount of financing…. Clearly, the resources of the millers and the bankers have stretched.”

Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy on Saturday dismissed calls by rice farmers for scaling down of the industry to better deal with the challenges of surplus production and lack of markets

Drains being dug on the eastern carriage way on the East Bank roads

President Donald Ramotar and other Government officials inspecting works on the second lane in Lot Three

Linden man commits suicide

Relatives of Kerwin Williams, 24, of Block 22, Wismar, Linden, remains in shock after the young man’s lifeless body was discovered hanging in a house located at Block 22, Wismar.

According to reports, only recently Williams had moved into the squatting area.

His body was reportedly discovered by a neighbour who was passing in the vicinity at the time. A sheet was reportedly wrapped around his neck and tied to the ceiling of the small

Kerwin Williams

ECLAC urges Region to strengthen statistical institutions

wooden home where the young man lived alone.

Both friends and family of the young man have expressed shock at his demise and are questioning what could have led to the apparent suicide.

They noted that the young man did not show any signs of having any trouble and appeared to be in high spirits up to Saturday evening, as he went partying with friends in Linden.

William was described as an easy-going person. Police investigations are in progress.

APNU wants wide ranging info

on Bai Shan Lin’s

pacts

… says open to public debate with GFC in Linden

APartnership For National Unity (APNU) spokesman on forestry, Joseph Harmon, has accepted a debate with the Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission James Singh, but has asked that he releases a series of documents related to the agreement with Chinese firm Bai Shan Lin as a precondition to the debate.

Harmon also wants the debate to take place in Linden at a venue that can accommodate around 3000 people and that the media must have full access to the event.

Harmon’s comments were in response to a letter by Singh challenging him on a public debate on Bai Shan Lin’s operations which have come under intense scrutiny over the past weeks.

President Donald Ramotar last Friday said that from reports he has seen, Bai Shan Lin’s operations are above board and he promised to instruct the GFC to hold a news conference to clarify some of the issues being raised in the media.

In his letter, Harmon told Singh he welcomes his offer to provide any information which is needed before the event “and I am very pleased

to know that your subject Minister would permit you, a public servant to publicly debate an Opposition Member of Parliament. It is my hope that this major shift in Government approach to the release of information will be followed in other areas of national life”.

However, Harmon said as a prelude to such a debate, “I would appreciate you providing the Guyanese public with the following information which would help in their understanding of the issues before the event. In the event that GFC is not in possession of the information, I am satisfied that you can access it from other agencies of Government since you will be representing them in this matter.”

Agreements

The information includes: Copies of all agreements between (BSL) and (GFC), BSL and the Government of Guyana; copies of all agreements between (BSL) and other entities involved in the forestry sector for the cutting and exporting of logs; Report on GFC supervision of the aforesaid agreements and GFC opinion on “Landlord” in the forestry sector; copies of investment agreements with (BSL) requiring the company to set up wood-processing facilities in Guyana; copies of any (GFC) report on (BSL) compliance with the agreement for wood-processing facility in Guyana; copies of any documents related to (BSL) export of logs from Guyana to China over the last five years, and a comparison of the said logs reportedly imported into China and if there is a difference in the figures whether GFC can offer an explanation; copies of documents related to duty-free concessions given to (BSL), including any concessions on duty-free fuel over

the last five years; disclosure of any agreements between (BSL) and any official of GFC including any tenancy agreements which provides a personal benefit to any official of GFC; any document relative to the work permits issued to Foreign Nationals on behalf of (BSL) for employment in the forestry sector; any documents relative to the number of Guyanese employed by BSL in the forestry sector.

Harmon said the aforesaid is a preliminary list of information and after further consultation with Guyanese at home and abroad, others may be added.

“I propose a date between the 15th and 30th September 2014. In the meantime, you can proceed to make arrangements for the debate which I request be done in a community where the impact of the operation of BSL is felt most.

"I would also request that the debate be “in the public” and that GFC considers a public space in Linden with suitable seating for about 3000 persons. All media houses should have equal access to the debate and the total expenses associated with the event be met by GFC from its resources,” he said.

Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena has called on the region’s countries to strengthen their statistical institutions to contribute to the global debate on the post-2015 development agenda with more and better information regarding the inequality gaps that remain to be closed.

“This global agenda will require more statistical information that is pertinent and high quality. Inequalities must be measured and the existing gaps in social, economic and environmental matters must be evaluated. To achieve that, it is necessary for States to recognize the importance of strengthening the statistical institutions in each country,” the senior United Nations official said in Santiago, Chile, last Tuesday during the launch of the Thirteenth Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Statistical Conference of the Americas (SCA), a subsidiary body of ECLAC.

According to the Executive Secretary, the post-2015 agenda constitutes a unique opportunity to design a monitoring framework based on robust statistics and indicators that can demonstrate the progress made, and ECLAC’s subsidiary bodies can serve as the intergovernmental forums for regularly reviewing and reporting on this-in particular, the Statistical Conference of the Americas.

Bárcena also indicated that the gaps between Latin America and the Caribbean and other regions of the world appear in areas such as access to financing, trade or technology, and that reliable and up-to-date data is needed to tackle them successfully.

These are some of the challenges that Latin American and Caribbean countries must address in their efforts to produce comparable statistics, both at a national and regional level.

The meeting will conclude today, August 14, and participants include representatives from national statistics institutes as well as international organizations. The Executive Director of Ecuador’s National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC), José Rosero, explained that the SCA’s Executive

Committee, which he currently presides, has the task of forging a second strategic plan to replace the existing one-which covers the period 2006 to 2015and which should be voted upon at the SCA’s eighth meeting, which will take place next year.

Rosero said that “its central themes will surely include the strengthening of statistics institutes and their ability to serve as coordinators of the national statistical system,” as well as aspects related to monitoring the post-2015 agenda. Meanwhile, Pascual Gerstenfeld, Director of the Statistics Division at ECLAC, encouraged par-

ticipants to strengthen cooperation mechanisms like the SCA, and warned that the growing amount of information available today forces statisticians to be very creative and selective so they do not lose sight of their set objectives.

During the three days of meetings, participants will analyze the progress made by the SCA’s fourteen working groups and two task forces, which are dedicated to matters such as follow-up on the MDGs, institutional strengthening, household surveys, censuses and labor market indicators, among other issues.

The meeting also includes a seminar on strategies to take advantage of administrative records for statistical purposes. In that regard, José Rosero highlighted the usefulness of population, housing, business or employment records available in public entities to replace or complement traditional sources of information coming from censuses and surveys.

The Executive Committee’s previous meeting took place in April 2013 in the city of Pucón, in southern Chile, while the Statistical Conference of the Americas held its seventh meeting last November at ECLAC’s headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

The Executive Committee supports the Conference in carrying out its mandates and activities, which are oriented towards spurring progress in the region’s statistical policies and activities. In addition to Ecuador, the Executive Committee members currently include Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Spain and Venezuela.

The Conference itself groups all of the countries in the Americas and also includes some States from outside the region.

APNU MP Joseph Harmon Commissioner of Forest James Singh

ECLAC Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena

Regional

Brazil mourns presidential candidate killed in plane crash

Tens of thousands of Brazilians gathered on Sunday in the North-eastern city of Recife to bid farewell to presidential candidate Eduardo Campos, killed in a plane crash four days ago, as debate swirled about the impact of his death on the October election.

Locals waited hours in line to pay their respects in front of Campos’ coffin and watch an open-air mass attended by a number of Brazilian officials, including President Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. She was briefly booed on her arrival.

Campos, a former governor of the Pernambuco state, was mourned at the entrance of the gubernatorial palace in a ceremony with intense media coverage. “We lost a leader, one of the best governors that Pernambuco ever had,” said Luiza Silva, 58, who criticised the presence of Campos’ political opponents at his funeral.

The death of Campos, who was running third in opinion polls, is expected to upend Brazil’s presidential race as it catapulted his running mate, renowned environmentalist

Larry Howai: Budget to focus on debt reduction

Don’t expect an election budget filled with goodies. Instead, Finance Minister Larry Howai said on Saturday, his Ministry’s focus for the 2014-2015 fiscal package would centre on Government’s commitment to reduce TT’s national debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio. Howai was addressing a special media conference on the 18th floor of the San Fernando Teaching Hospital, Chancery Lane, after a cabinet meeting on the national budget on Saturday evening.

He said that the budget, which will be read on September 8, would “continue to focus on our growth momentum and the initiatives we put in place to con-

tinue to grow. That would be the first order of business.”

Howai said the focus would also be on keeping the commitment to reduce the deficit. He said the trajectory of reducing the budget deficit by one per cent of GDP on an annual basis would be continued as from last year.

The Minister said it was expected that this year’s figures “will come in a little better than originally forecast. We will be better.”

Howai said the day’s discussions were “wide ranging” and “general in nature.” Discussions, he said, mainly focused on revenue and revenue generation, individuals and what could be done to assist them in different phases of their life cycles and housing. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Silva, to

“I have the sense of responsibility and commitment imposed by the loss of Campos,” Silva told

Prime

journalists as she landed in Recife on Saturday. A devout Christian, she said an act of “divine providence” spared her from being with Campos in the private jet that crashed last Wednesday. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Minister Stuart: Repay Revolving Fund

Declaring that selfishness and dishonesty were not values that Government wanted to encourage in Barbados, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart urged people who have borrowed from the Student Revolving Loan Fund to pay the money back.

He made the appeal while addressing the 59th annual conference of his Democratic Labour Party. He told the gathering, which included members of his Cabinet, he was advised that about Bdn$24 million was owed to the fund by defaulters who were “insensitive to the risks to which they have exposed

their guarantors”.

He said this situation would not be allowed to continue and declared: “A word to the wise is enough!” The Prime Minister also defended his party’s decision to make Barbadians studying at the University of the West Indies (UWI) pay part of the cost of their tuition.

He indicated that this did not mean Government was declaring war on the poor, cutting back on opportunities available for people to access university education, repudiating the legacy of former Prime Minister Errol Barrow or undermining the viability of the UWI. (Nation News)

Barbuda rattled by two earthquakes within a week

Barbuda was rattled by a 4.5 magnitude earthquake late on Friday night, the second earth tremor to hit the small Caribbean island within a one week period.

The Trinidad-based Seismic Research Centre of the University of the West Indies (UWI) said the latest tremor occurred at 21:56h local time and occurred NorthWest of the island.

“The event was located at 17.75° north and 62.18° west. The magnitude was 4.5 and depth 19km,” the Centre said in a brief statement, noting that there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The tremor followed a 4.2 magnitude earthquake on

Tuesday that occurred south west of Barbuda. That tremor was located at 17.49 degrees north and 61.98 degrees west and had a depth of 64 km.

“This event was reported felt in St Johns, Antigua,” the Seismic Unit noted.

In recent months, a number of Caribbean countries have been rocked by earth tremors with officials at the Seismic Unit warning regional countries to be prepared for a major quake. The last major earthquake to hit the Caribbean occurred in Haiti in 2010 when the 7.0 magnitude tremor killed more than 300,000 people and left an estimated one million others homeless. (Caribbean360)

Private schools in trouble in Jamaica

Some private high schools will have to close next month as they are unable to stay open without the aid of Government-financed Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) placements, the head of the Jamaica Independent Schools Association (JISA) has said.

“Some of our schools will not be reopening in September,” JISA President Pastor Wesley Boynes told the Jamaica Observer. He attributed this to the Government’s decision not to award any more GSAT places to private/independent schools.

“Some of our schools had initiated developments and investments, based on arrangements for the intake of Government students. So, the decision has obviously created crises in many instances,” Pastor Boynes explained.

Boynes did not state how many of the private schools had indicated that they would close, however, he said: “Some of our members have made arrangements, reconfigured their operations and are moving in another direction. Some will collapse or are on their way

to collapsing,” he added.

In June, Education Minister Ronald Thwaites said that the Government had decided not to place any of the 39,438 students who sat the examination this year in private schools. He said that this would result in savings of $15 million, which would be used to improve the public education system.

However, on a previous occasion, Thwaites had said that the move was triggered by the fact that the number of pupils sitting GSAT has been declining.

(Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Amnesty International says Police killings on the rise in DR

The London-based human rights watchdog, Amnesty International, says the number of killings perpetrated by the Police is once again on the rise while legislation intended to fix the problem stalls and stagnates in Congress.

According to Amnesty, the past six months have seen the number of people killed by the Police rise by 13 per cent compared with the year before, with 87 people dead between January and June this year.

“Fourteen people a month are dying at the hands of the Police in The Dominican Republic. Many of these killings seem to have been unlawful,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty

International’s Americas Director on Friday.

“Clearly, the Government needs to push harder for concrete action to stop these abuses once and for all,” he added. “It’s a tragic state of affairs when the Police, the very people tasked with protecting the human rights of citizens, are the ones committing such terrible crimes, further endangering public security in the country.”

Guevara said crime in The Dominican Republic is “rife,” adding that public security is “a major concern for the population. “However, evidence shows that far from helping to tackle the problem, hard-line policing methods are contributing to escalating violence and crime,” she said. (Excerpt

Marina

the head of the presidential ticket of the Brazilian Socialist Party.

Supporters line up to visit the coffin containing the remains of the late Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos during his wake outside the Pernambuco Government Palace in Recife, August 17

Jamaica Education Minister Ronald Thwaites

Finance Minister Larry Howai

Netanyahu says undeterred by Hamas warnings in talks on ending Gaza war

rime Minister

PBenjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday any deal on Gaza’s future had to meet Israel’s security needs, warning Hamas it faced “harsh strikes” if it resumed firing into the Jewish state.

With a five-day ceasefire due to expire late on Monday, negotiators returned after consultations to Cairo to seek an end to five weeks of hostilities that have killed more than 2000 people.

Both sides say gaps remain in reaching a longterm deal that would keep the peace between Israel and militant groups in the Hamas Islamist-dominated Gaza Strip, and open the way for reconstruction aid to reach the battered enclave.

Late on Sunday, a Palestinian official said Israel’s position in the talks, as presented to them by Egyptian mediators, were a “retreat from what had already been achieved and discussions had returned to square one.”

The official, who was not named, told Egypt’s official news agency MENA that Israel had toughened its stance and had placed “impossible” demands, particularly on security issues. He said the Palestinians would review the situation and would offer their response

Around the world

Tourists missing after Indonesia boat sinks

Ten foreign tourists and five Indonesians are missing after their boat sank as it travelled between islands in the east of the country, while ten others have been rescued, according to search and rescue officials.

The tourist vessel went down on Saturday after being caught up in a storm en route from Lombok island to Komodo island. Those rescued were from New Zealand, Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and France, said search and rescue official

early on Monday. “We are determined to achieve the demands of our people and foremost is ending the aggression and launching the rebuilding process and lifting the Israeli-imposed blockade of the Gaza Strip,” MENA quoted the official as saying.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Lashes for Saudi woman who called morality Police liars

ASaudi Arabian judge has upheld a sentence of a month in prison and 50 lashes for a businesswoman convicted of insulting members of the morality Police during an argument, the local al-Medina newspaper reported on Sunday.

Incidents of heavy-handed behaviour by the morality Police have come under growing criticism on social media from inside the kingdom in recent years, straining relations between Saudi citizens and the official body.

The appeals court in Mecca upheld the sentence, passed by a district court in Jeddah, after the woman was found guilty of “cursing the morality Police” and calling them “liars”, the Arabiclanguage daily reported.

It said the patrol had entered her cafe to check there were no breaches of morality or other laws in the conservative Muslim kingdom, and that some of her employees had then run away because they were breaking immigration rules.

The morality Police, formally called the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, was set up in 1926 to monitor public behaviour in Saudi Arabia, which follows the strict Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam.

It patrols streets and other public spaces such as shopping malls enforcing strict dress codes and 30-minute store closures during Islam’s noon, afternoon, sunset and evening prayers. (Excerpt from MSN)

Ebola crisis: Confusion as patients vanish in Liberia

There are conflicting reports over the fate of 17 Ebola patients who vanished after a quarantine centre in the Liberian capital Monrovia was looted.

An angry mob attacked the centre in the city’s densely populated West Point township on Saturday evening. A senior health official said all of the patients were being moved to another medical facility.

But a reporter told the BBC that 17 had escaped while 10 others were taken away by their families. More than 400 people are known to have died from the virus in Liberia, out of a total of 1145 deaths recorded by the World Health Organisation.

Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah said protesters had been unhappy that patients were being brought in from other parts of the capital.

Police fired warning shots but failed to disperse several hundred people around the Ebola centre in Monrovia

Other reports suggested the protesters had believed Ebola was a hoax and wanted to force the quarantine centre to close. The attack at the Monrovia centre is seen as a major setback in the struggle to halt the outbreak, says the BBC’s Will

Ross, reporting from Lagos. Health experts say that the key to ending the Ebola outbreak is to stop it spreading in Liberia, where ignorance about the virus is high and many people are reluctant to cooperate with medical staff. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Budiawan, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

The nationalities of the foreigners still missing were not immediately clear.

The missing Indonesians were four boat crew members and a tour guide.

Bertrand Homassel, a French survivor, said the boat started sinking slowly after its hull was damaged in a storm on Friday night, and he and several others had to swim a long distance to a volcanic island to save themselves.

“Six people were in

the lifeboat. The others climbed onto the roof of the boat, which had not completely sunk”, he said, speaking from a hotel in Bima on Sumbawa island, where the survivors were taken after being rescued.

“We waited until midday on Saturday. We were five kilometres from the coast – there were many big waves separating us from the coast. “People started to panic... Everyone took the decision to swim to the closest island where there was an erupting volcano.”

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Pope urges “fraternal” dialogue with China, others

Pope Francis made a new gesture of outreach to China and North Korea on Sunday, saying he “earnestly” hopes to improve relations and insisting that the Catholic Church isn’t coming in as a “conqueror” trying to take away the identity of others.

Francis outlined his priorities for the Catholic Church in Asia during a meeting of the region’s bishops Sunday, urging them to listen to people of different cultures but still remain true to their own

Catholic identity.

“In this spirit of openness to others, I earnestly hope that those countries of your continent with whom the Holy See does not yet enjoy a full relationship may not hesitate to further a dialogue for the benefit of all,” he said.

Then deviating from his text, he added: “I’m not talking here only about a political dialogue, but about a fraternal dialogue,” he said. “These Christians aren’t coming as conquerors; they aren’t

trying to take away our identity.” He said the important thing was to “walk together.”

The comments appeared to be a clear reference to China, which severed diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1951. But they could also apply to North Korea, where the church is under tight government control and is not recognized by the Vatican. There are similarly no diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and the Vatican. (Excerpt from Yahoo! News)

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem August 17

monDAY, August 18, 2014 | guYAnAtimesgY.com

3 more in Guyana crash-landing to sue CAL

An attempt by Caribbean Airlines

Limited to prevent three more persons from suing for personal injuries arising from the crash-landing of Caribbean Airlines Flight BW 523 in Guyana three years ago, was denied by a US district court judge last Wednesday in Brooklyn, New York.

In a multi-district litigation, numerous plaintiffs brought suit against defendant Caribbean Airlines Limited for personal injuries arising from the crash- landing of Caribbean Airlines Flight BW 523 in Guyana on July 30, 2011. Plaintiffs were travelling from Florida to Georgetown, and while landing in Georgetown, Flight BW 523 overshot the runway, and plaintiffs sustained personal injuries.

Caribbean Airlines A ruling from a US District Court has allowed three more passengers in the Caribbean Airlines plane that crash-landed here in Guyana on July 30, 2011 to proceed with claims against the airline

Nurney woman “scores a century” not out

Caroline Marline Benn of Nurney Village, Corentyne, on Saturday celebrated her 100th birthday, and to honour the occasion, family, friends and villagers hosted a grand birthday celebration at the Kildonan Community Centre.

Benn, who is fondly called “Aunty Malyne,” was born August 16, 1914 in Nurney Village, a place she holds close to her heart.

She is the mother of three children, two of whom are alive. At a century, she is still vibrant, healthy and well-spoken. Aunty Malyne told this newspaper that she feels blessed on reaching the major milestone. Growing up, she worked at various jobs in and around her community, but disclosed she mostly enjoyed farming and fishing.

The centenarian recalled her younger days, saying it was fun. She said she loved fishing and would go to the trenches to catch fish using her hands and a seine. Even today, she takes a few trips once in a while to catch fish with her grand- children;

however, she uses a hook now, she chuckled.

When asked what was her

their parents, because it is God’s will that allowed her to live to 100.

She also urges everyone to try and observe the 10 Commandments.

The woman, who was in high spirits and was amazingly very active, told this publication that she does not suffer from high pressure, cholesterol or diabetes.

According to Eulaie Mendonza, 78, Benn’s daughter with whom she resides, her mother is caring, loving and blessed with a wealth of experience. While there is not an exact count, she is the grandmother and great-grandmother of many.

She was described as the “Village Mother” as anyone could go to her for advice.

When quizzed about the youths of today versus those of her time, she said while they appear to be smarter

secret to reaching 100, “Auntie Malyne” replied good health, good foods and prayers.

“I would eat a lot of cassava, plantain, eddo and fruits; my favourite is cassava.”

The centenarian noted the importance of praying and serving God. She advised others to eat healthy, worship God and honour

today because of technology, they are lacking in morals and seem to get ill more often.

“People in my time did not get computers and stuff, we were not as smart, but we were well brought up, we could not pass an elder without saying good morning or good day, now you see

brought a motion “to dismiss” in several of the cases, asserting that the Warsaw Convention governed those plaintiffs’ claims and that the treaty’s forum provision deprived the court of subject matter jurisdiction. On May 16, the court issued an “Opinion and Order” holding that the Warsaw Convention does not govern these claims because Guyana is not a party to the Convention. Accordingly, the court denied Caribbean Airline’s motion to dismiss, and granted plaintiffs leave to amend their complaints.

The caption of the Opinion and Order stated that it applied to the claims of plaintiffs Rajendra Persaud, 64, and Prampatie Persaud, 64, from Florida; and Shanti Persaud, 34, and her two children, ages 10 and seven, from Guyana.

(Latif, Maylene Persaud and Scott) consented to inclusion in the then-pending motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. They were inadvertently omitted from the caption in the May 16 Opinion and Order, and the Opinion and Order was then amended to apply to them.

On June 27, this year, Caribbean Airlines requested that the court certify an “interlocutory appeal” from the Opinion and Order’s ruling that the Warsaw Convention does not govern plaintiffs’ claims.

kids barely out of their diapers and they cursing in the streets; we would have gotten a good thrashing.”

Present at her birthday celebrations were members of the Region Six, Regional Democratic Council, Members of the Opposition and Government and numerous well-wishers. They all showered praises and congratulated her. At one point, Auntie Malyne even rose to her feet to join in the singing.

Both plaintiffs Rajendra and Prampatie Persaud have since settled their claims against Caribbean Airlines. The claims of Shanti Persaud and her two children, however, remain active.

Caribbean Airlines had requested that the Opinion and Order be amended to apply as well to three similarly situated plaintiffs Abdool Latif, Maylene Persaud and Ernest Scott, whose claims remain active.

At a conference before Magistrate Judge Joan M Azrack on September 24, 2013, attorneys for the remaining three plaintiffs

Under US law, US Code 1292, a district court may certify an order for “interlocutory appeal” if the court is “of the opinion that such order involves a controlling question of law, as to which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion and that an immediate appeal from the order may materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation. The Court of Appeals “may thereupon, in its discretion, permit an appeal to be taken from such order”, the law says.

After outlining its reasons, US District Court Judge Allyne R Ross ruled on August 13 that Caribbean Airlines has not met its burden of demonstrating that this case presents the “exceptional circumstances” that justify interlocutory review, allowing plaintiffs Latif, Maylene Persaud, and Scott to proceed with their claims. (Trinidad Guardian)

Caroline Benn at her 100th birthday celebration

Vice Chairman Bhupaul Jagroop hands over a present to Caroline Benn

Region 2 capital works programme lags

The lateness in the release of the budgetary allocation for Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) has resulted in the administration being able to complete only 40 per cent of its capital works.

This was disclosed by Regional Executive Officer (REO) Sunil Singh, who said despite the delay in the commencement of projects in the region, the administration is moving apace with work.

This disclosure was made during a recent press conference held by Regional Chairman Parmanand Persaud at his office.

The Regional Executive Officer said there has been a delay in capital works because of the late release of the budgetary allocations, pointing out that all work

commenced in April.

Speaking in the presence of Local Government Ministry Permanent Secretary Colin Croal, the REO the media that the region will do everything in its capacity to “speed up” the process, noting that the projects awarded should be completed by the end of November.

The REO said in speeding up the process, several meetings will be held with contractors as well as to remind them of abiding agreement and contract specifications. The REO noted that the regional administration has been seeking the input of the public in all public projects. He said residents are playing an integral role

in the monitoring and execution of projects.

The REO noted that once a contractor is not abiding by the standard of the contract awarded him, residents should report the breach to the administration.

Singh said he has a special engineering and works team which visits and monitors ongoing projects. The REO noted that the administration is challenged with the cleaning of drainage trenches, pointing out that contractors are not coming forward to bid because of the low prices offered per rod.

The REO said the issue is a serious one and that he is willing to seek additional funds for the contractors.

Caricom moves to harmonise CSME business rules

The Caribbean Community (Caricom) has started work towards creating a harmonised framework within which companies and other businesses can be established and operate in the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).

In a release, the Caricom Secretariat said Caricom Heads gave this mandate to ensure that the

rules for establishing and operating businesses in one country apply throughout the CSME.

The Consultant BKP Development Research and Consulting in consortium with AESA, has been awarded the contract to strengthen the CSME Regulatory and Market Regimes.

The two-year consultancy started last month,

July 2014, with funding through the 10th European Development Fund and is expected to be completed by July 2016.

There are four result areas within the project. In addition to the single jurisdiction, the project will also strengthen the framework for regulating competition, strengthen consumer protection and create the structure for compa-

nies from startup to bankruptcy.

It is expected that systems and practices for business complaints administration and determination of competition disputes will be put in place through the training of staff of national competition authorities. A number of deliverables will also focus on enhancing consumer protection within the CSME.

Commodity prices in Caribbean to remain stable – IMF predicts

After skyrocketing over the past decade, commodity prices have remained stable or eased somewhat in Latin America and the Caribbean since mid2011; and most projections suggest they are not likely to resume the upward trend observed in the last decade.

This is according to a recent paper by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The analysis suggests that growth in the years ahead for the average commodity exporter in the Region could be significantly lower than during the commodity boom, even if commodity prices were to remain stable at their current still-high levels.

Slower-than-expected growth in China represents a key downside risk. The results caution against trying to offset the current economic slowdown with demandside stimulus and underscore the need for ambitious structural reforms to secure strong growth over the medium term.

Many analysts now argue that the upward phase of the commodity “super-cycle” that started in the early 2000s has run its course. According to the IMF, indeed most market futures and analyst forecasts show commodity prices softening further in the near term, reflecting an anticipated increase in commodity supply

along with weaker demand from some of the major commodity-importing economies, notably China.

“While these projections are subject to large uncertainty, there is nonetheless a wide consensus that the period of ever-increasing commodity prices has come to an end. What would this imply for the commodity exporters of Latin America and the Caribbean (“LAC” hereafter)? The Region is highly dependent on commodities and has greatly benefited from the recent commodity boom.”

According to the paper, average annual output growth in the Region increased from less than 2.5 per cent between 1980 and 2002 to more than four percent in 2003-11.

Deceleration

More recently, however, growth has decelerated considerably. Average output growth fell from 4.6 per cent in 2011, to 3.1 per cent in 2012 and 2.7 per cent in 2013. Some observers claim that the recent economic slowdown across the Region is primarily linked to the end of the upswing in commodity prices, raising obvious concerns for the future.

Others have downplayed these concerns, pointing out that commodity prices are still higher than in the mid-2000s, let alone in the

1990s, the IMF stated.

According to the IMF, for most countries in the Region, the outlook is characterised by a sharp decline in the growth rates of their country-specific commodity price indices. The level of these indices is nonetheless projected to remain well above the averages attained during the boom years.

“We then investigate whether it is the lower growth of commodity prices or their still-high levels that will matter the most for output growth in the Region over the coming years. To this end, we use a variant of the dynamic multicountry GVAR model originally proposed by Pesaran, Schuermann, and Weiner, an approach especially designed to model the interactions between many countries.”

Correction models

The IMF said in a first stage, individual vector error correction models are estimated for a large set of countries. These countryspecific models are linked to each other by including foreign variables and, in the second stage, stacked into a global model in which national and global variables are determined jointly.

“Our model specification considers 13 LAC economies, including the 12 largest commodity exporters in

the Region, and includes a broad set of global variables related to commodity prices. The model is estimated on annual data from 1970 to 2013, and used to generate conditional out-of-sample GDP growth forecasts under different commodity price scenarios over the period 2014-19. We also use the model to assess the potential impact of slower-thanexpected growth in China on commodity prices and output growth in LAC.”

The IMF said its quantitative exercise suggests that the end of the commodity price boom implies a significant drag on growth for the commodity exporters of LAC.

“Even if prices were to remain stable at the relatively high levels observed in 2013, the annual average output growth rate over the medium term (2014-19) would be almost one percentage point lower than in 2012-13, and more than 1½ percentage points lower than during the boom years. Projected growth is even a bit weaker when we condition on the path for spot commodity prices suggested by futures prevailing at end-February 2014. Our simulations also confirm that a slowdown in China’s growth represents a key downside risk for commodity-exporting countries across LAC.”

It is not uncommon for someone to feel jealous, it is a natural thing, but the worst thing about being jealous is that it only drags us down. It is important to try and identify what really triggers our feelings of jealousy.

It could be anything from our best friend starting to spend time with other people or one of our children preferring to be with the other parent. It could even be someone else gets the recognition that we deserve at work.

Narine Dat Sookram

We must try to build confidence in ourselves, because our own insecurity is usually a result of jealousy. Many of us may have fears of being rejected by someone close to us or, in some cases when things do not go our way, we lose confidence.

One of the best things we can do for ourselves to build our self-esteem is to behave in the manner in which a confident person would. In other words, make decisions as though we have all of the confidence in the world. This will allow us to eventually get our feelings to catch up with our actions.

Usually when confident people get out of control, it doesn’t break them, because they don’t blame themselves for being short-sighted the odd times.

Another important point is to tell ourselves that we are good enough, even at times when we have messed up, because the key is to look at those situations as an opportunity to learn something new. Nothing stops people with confidence, because this is what they do best.

It is best to do the opposite of what jealous persons would normally do. For example, if someone we ‘like’ is talking to someone else, we’ll be better off to join the conversation in a pleasant way.

Or if another person gets the job that we want, let us be respectful of that person instead of being sneaky and discouraging towards the other person. But rather, congratulate the person and help them to succeed at the new job.

In many cases people might not even realise that their behaviour bothers someone. For example, a boyfriend or girlfriend may be more engaging with other people than we would want, but this does not mean we should assume the worse of them.

Having said that, there are still limits that need to be set so that both parties know what is appropriate and what’s not when interacting with others. Have an open conversation until common ground could be found. Once this is established, start to build that trust and do not let jealous feelings overcome us.

Changing our way of thinking by having a positive view of people is a good step. It is not wise to spend a lot of time worrying about something bad that has not happened yet, and might not happen at all.

With such negative feelings, we are creating a situation where bad things could happen. However if we trust someone, it is not a bad idea to give them that 100 per cent trust, because there are good people out there and they certainly deserve the benefit of the doubt.

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

Region Two Chairman Parmanand Persaud

SUDOKU

It’s time to firmly establish your professional course of action. Put your talents to good use. Your hard work will be wasted if you are not aggressive enough to carry out your plans.

By Bernice Bede Osol

(June 21July 22) (Jan. 20Feb. 19) (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

Enhancing your appearance or getting in shape will help increase your chance to get ahead. It’s how you present what you have to offer that will make the difference.

Someone may be trying to conceal important information. Be alert to unusual or secretive meetings or discussions, and consider the motives of one who is pressing you for information.

You will make lasting and advantageous connections today. Strong communication skills will help you assume a leadership role in an organization or club. Offer your services to those who need them.

(July 23Aug. 22) (Feb. 20-March 20)

Revisit dreams that used to excite you. Doing so will help provide the incentive to make changes that will increase your earning power. Dig deep into your past to discover relevant information.

(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Don’t feel obliged to have a discussion about money if you’re not in the mood. Go over any joint financial accounts or agreements carefully. Refuse to let anyone take advantage of your generosity.

(March 21-April 19)

It’s a good day to plan an event. Get family or friends together for a picnic or barbecue. A potluck dinner will ensure that you don’t end up doing all the hard work yourself.

(April 20-May 20)

Feeling nostalgic for old friends and days gone by will get you in the mood to reunite with people and places from your past. Looking back will help you make decisions that will change your future.

21June 20)

It may seem as if everyone wants a piece of you today. Let them know tactfully that you have your own matters to take care of.

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Do something that will exhilarate you physically and challenge you mentally. Taking your mind off your everyday routine will help you adjust the way you move forward.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

You may have been putting it off, but, sooner or later, you will have to scrutinize your cash reserves. Look for a way to maximise your investments so you can move forward without worry.

23Dec. 21)

You will be unnerved by an emotional encounter. Stay in control and defend your position. If you allow yourself to be bullied, you will lose respect and self-esteem.

Peanuts

Calvin and Hobbes

arCHie

dilbert

Overhand Windball Cricket…

St Anne’s dethroned

Grove and Eccles are the Lower and Central East Bank champions after defeating Saint Anne’s in both the boys and girls finals of the 17th Annual End of School Year Primary Schools

Overhand Windball Cricket Competition at Uitvlugt

In the girls’ game, Eccles batted first and scored 49-1 with Player of the Final Shainica Moses scoring 23 and Brianna Inniss 12. Saint Anne’s were then restricted to 40 -3 with Nasha Boyer making 16.

When Saint Anne’s boys took the field against grove, they shared the same fate as did the girls. Grove, after been invited to bat, scored a record 92-1, after they were 3-1 in the first over. Corvin Griffith hit an unbeaten 55 with included 8 fours and 2 sixes and was also adjudged the MVP of the tournament. Osaie Jacobs chipped in with 25.

Saint Anne’s, in their second attempt to win the finals, were restricted to 43-1

with John Latchan making 13 and Tyron Younge 10.

In other matches, Peter’s Hall boys scored 50-2 with Romario Persaud making 34 and Orwin Hunte 13. Eccles replied with 48-4 with Rawl Gittings scoring 12 and Jonathan Samsundar 11. Joshua Jones grabbed two wickets bowling for Peter’s Hall.

Craig boys chalked up 50-3 against Saint Anne’s with Amari Hunte registering 22 and Kobe Robertson 13 while T Younge took 2-10. In reply, Saint Anne’s reached 51-1 with Younge contributing 19 and J Latchan 17.

Covent Garden boys hit 60- 3 with Brian Mohammed 26, Joshua Thomas 16 and Deno Cupidore 10. Grove in reply made 62-3 with O Jacobs 23, C Griffith 14 and Akeem Smith 10. Jerimaiah Singh took 2-14.

Peter’s Hall boys were restricted to 35-1 with a top score of 16 from Jadan Craig. Saint Anne’s, in re-

ply, hit off the required runs for the loss of one wicket.

Tyron Younge scored 12.

The event was promoted by the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport/National Sports Commission and organised by Sports Officer Alistair Munroe.

Meanwhile, Munroe in a statement extended appreciation to the Management of Uitvlugt Estate, Wales Estate, Rose Hall Estate, National Parks Commission, Mr Cecil Kennard of Bush Lot Farm Ground, Timehri Red Ground, No. 71 Ground Corentyne, Bath Community Centre, Regional Education Officers of Regions 3, 4, 5 and 6 and all the umpires who gave of their service free of charge.

Munroe also made mention of those who provided the equipment for the games and singled out Manager of Stereo Sonic, Roger Gilgeous who he noted assisted with trophies for the 2014 programme.

Guyana Amazon Warriors...

At that stage, CPL even went on to update the fans via social media that the game will continue in full. This update can be viewed on www.facebook.com/ CarnivalT20.

Suddenly, the Match Umpires at this late stage said that they were consulting with the CPL Technical Committee, which is strange in cricket, since the sole decision makers are the Umpires and the Match Referee.

At this stage, the Barbados Tridents Captain and Coach were called and advised about the restart of the game at 20:40h (8:40 p.m.), and both the Barbados Captain and Coach objected to the decision. Further consultations took place between the Umpires, the Match

Referee and the CPL Technical Committee.

After a few minutes, the Guyana Amazon Warriors Team was informed by the Match Referee that the match was ended and Barbados was declared winners based on the Duckworth/Lewis calculations.

It is important to note that the Management of the Guyana Amazon Warriors Team had raised this important issue with CPL officials with regard to the appointment of Umpires and Match Officials for the semi-finals and final of the tournament.

Another key conflicting matter to take note of is the fact that based on the Match Referee’s Game Breakdown Report, the second innings of the match should have been complet-

ed by 19:52h (7:52 p.m.).

But when the rain came and stopped play at 19:54h (7:54 p.m.), only 15.5 overs were completed. This demonstrates that there was a slow over rate by the Barbados Tridents and this was not dealt with by the umpires.

Subsequent to the biased final match, the Management of Guyana Amazon Warriors wrote CPL specifically with regard to the decision taken at the match and intends to vigorously pursue the arguments outlined above.

Meanwhile, the Management of the Guyana Amazon Warriors has expressed deep appreciation for the support demonstrated by the fans throughout the tournament and will keep members of the public updated.

from backpage

St Annes’ girls congratulating the new champions Eccles Primary while their teacher is ecstatic

Lendl Simmons was named Man of the Tournament

England rout India to seal series

Rampant England thrashed India inside three days in the fifth Test to complete a 3-1 series victory. The pitiful tourists were skittled out for 94 in only 29.2 overs as England won by an innings and 244 runs at The Oval.

After James Anderson and Stuart Broad broke through with the new ball, Chris Jordan took four of the last five wickets to kickstart the celebrations in the south London sunshine.

England had earlier plundered a broken India for 101 runs in 11.3 overs to post 486 in reply to India’s first-innings 148, with Joe Root making an unbeaten 149.

Their third successive

victory capped an extraordinary turnaround since the hosts were beaten by 95 runs in the second Test at Lord’s to go 1-0 behind in the series. That defeat took England’s winless streak to 10 matches, following a 5-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia and a first home series defeat by Sri Lanka.

Since then, England have won by 266 runs in Southampton and an innings and 54 runs in Manchester before taking their dominance to even higher levels at The Oval.

India’s total was their lowest at The Oval and the first time they have been bowled out for fewer than 100 since 2008.

“It was an amazing turn-

around after Lord’s,” said England captain Alastair Cook. “India crumbled at the end but that was from the relentless pressure.”

Cook praised coach Peter Moores and assistant coach Paul Farbrace, adding: “We have needed a kick up the backside and they have been brave enough to do that.”

England’s brutal assault with the bat on Saturday evening and Sunday morning left India facing the improbable task of scoring 338 just to make the hosts bat again. And they made a miserable start by losing both openers cheaply before rain forced an early lunch.

Murali Vijay was trapped lbw by Anderson for two and Gautam Gambhir was run

Dhoni hints at quitting

India captain Mahendra Dhoni hinted he may stand down as skipper following his side’s 3-1 Test series defeat in England. The innings-and-244-run loss in the fifth Test at The Oval extended India’s run of away form to only one win in 19 Tests.

Asked if he had taken the team as far as he can, Dhoni said: “Maybe, yes.

“You’ll have to wait and watch. If I’m strong enough or not strong enough, you’ll have to wait and get the news.”

The 33-year-old wicketkeeper took charge of the Test side in 2008 after leading India to the inaugural World Twenty20 title in 2007. He has led India in a

record 58 Tests and overseen a record 27 wins.

India lost only one of Dhoni’s first 13 series in charge, winning eight - a run that saw them top the world Test rankings from late 2009 until the summer of 2011, a period in which Dhoni also led his team to victory in the World Cup.

However, India surrendered their number one ranking with a 4-0 whitewash in England, a result that began their poor run away from home. This latest defeat came in a dramatic slide from a 95-run win in the second Test at Lord’s, which gave the tourists a 1-0 series lead.

But, following a 266run loss in the third Test at

Southampton, India were twice beaten by an innings, failing to reach 200 in five consecutive attempts that culminated in being bowled out for 94 inside 30 overs on the third afternoon at The Oval.

“The last three Tests, we were not up to the mark,” said Dhoni, who has scored 4,808 runs in 88 Tests. “We never competed.

“Today’s batting was a reflection of a loss of confidence. It’s disappointing.

“Right from the start, our batsmen haven’t performedit was the lower order. Later on in the series, when the lower order didn’t perform, we saw there wasn’t enough runs on the board.”

(BBC Sport)

Varun Aaron was run out attempting a second run and the match was ended when Ishant Sharma fended a short ball from Jordan into the air, enabling Moeen Ali to walk in from silly point and take a simple catch.

England had set the tone for another utterly one-sided day in a riotous first hour.

Root completed his fifth Test hundred - and third of the summer - off 134 balls and Jordan made a breezy 20.

Broad, batting for the first time since having his nose broken by an Aaron bouncer, played with no fear as he cut and pulled short balls in a blistering 37 off 21 balls, including five fours and a six.

Broad and Anderson then set about dismantling India’s top order, with Anderson closing to within three wickets of Ian Botham’s England Test record of 383.

SCOREBOARD

England 1st innings

AN Cook* c Vijay b Aaron 79

SD Robson b Aaron 37

GS Ballance c Pujara b Ashwin 64

IR Bell c †Dhoni b Sharma 7

out for three when he set off for a single, turned back and was beaten by a direct hit from Chris Woakes.

After a delay of an hourand-a-half, normal service was resumed.

Anderson had Chesteshwar Pujara caught behind, Ajinkya Rahane was brilliantly caught by Gary Ballance at slip off Stuart Broad and captain Mahendra Dhoni glanced Woakes to short leg. Jordan then took over with three wickets in two overs. Virat Kohli’s wretched series continued when he edged to Alastair Cook at first slip for 20 before Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also fell to outside edges.

JE Root not out 149

MM Ali b Ashwin 14

JC Buttler† c Ashwin b Sharma 45

CR

b

(b 18, lb 3, w 1, nb 11) 33

(all out; 116.3 overs; 535 mins) 486 (4.17 runs per over) Fall of wickets 1-66 (Robson, 20.5 ov), 2-191 (Cook, 57.4 ov), 3-201 (Ballance, 62.5 ov), 4-204 (Bell, 63.1 ov), 5-229 (Ali, 68.6 ov), 6-309 (Buttler, 93.4 ov), 7-318 (Woakes, 94.5 ov), 8-400 (Jordan, 107.2 ov), 9-463 (Broad, 113.6 ov), 10486 (Anderson, 116.3 ov)

Bowling: B Kumar 24-3-86-1, I Sharma 30-8-96-4, VR Aaron 29-1-153-2, STR Binny 12-058-0, R Ashwin 21.3-2-72-3

(3.20 runs per

Fall of wickets 1-6 (Vijay, 4.5 ov), 2-9 (Gambhir, 6.1 ov), 3-30 (Pujara, 12.5 ov), 4-45 (Rahane, 17.5 ov), 5-46 (Dhoni, 18.4 ov), 6-62 (Kohli, 23.2 ov), 7-70 (Ashwin, 25.2 ov), 8-74 (Kumar, 25.6 ov), 9-84 (Aaron, 26.6 ov), 1094 (Sharma, 29.2 ov)

Bowling: JM Anderson 8-3-16-2, SCJ Broad 10-222-1, CR Woakes 7-0-241, CJ Jordan 4.2-0-18-4

Mahela Jayawardene scores 54 in final Test innings for Sri Lanka

ended his Test career scoring 11,814 runs from 149 Tests at an average of 49.84

Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene’s final Test innings saw him reach his 50th half century.

Jayawardene reached 54 in the second innings of the second Test in the twomatch home series against Pakistan before getting out. The 37-year-old will retire from the longer format of the game after the series, which Sri Lanka lead 1-0.

Sri Lanka look set to make it 2-0 as they have Pakistan, who need 271 to

win, at 127-7 at the close on day four.

Jayawardene, who ends his Test career as the seventh highest run scorer in the five-day format, reached his 50 when he swept a four to fine leg off the bowling of Saeed Ajmal.

However, he followed Kumar Sangakkara (59) to the pavilion in the first 30 minutes of play after he tried to hit Ajmal over midwicket but was caught by Ahmed Shehzad.

The former Sri Lanka

captain received a standing ovation from the crowd all the way back to the pavilion. His batting career in Test cricket ended with Jayawardene scoring 11,814 runs from 149 Tests at an average of 49.84. Jayawardene needed to score 90 in his final innings to average 50 in Test cricket and bows out as the only player in the all-time top10 list of Test run scorers not to do so. (BBC Sport)

Mahendra Dhoni is well taken by Sam Robson at short leg off Chris Woakes

India lost only one of Dhoni’s first 13 series in charge

Jayawardene

monday, august 18, 2014

Pakistan tumble towards big defeat

It is hard to imagine what Pakistan would have felt in the morning when Saeed Ajmal got one to kick up from length on Kumar Sangakkara and had him caught at short leg. There would have been the elation of seeing the back of one of the world’s most prized wickets, out for just five runs on the day, after a threatening 107-stand. There would have been a resurgence in belief that Pakistan could, somehow, sneak up on Sri Lanka, cause an upset to square the series and disrupt Mahela Jayawardene’s farewell party plans. Somewhere, there would have been a worry too. About Rangana Herath, who had run through their batting order to pick up nine wickets in the first innings on a flat pitch.

The approach of the Pakistan openers as they set out to chase 271 suggested they wanted to take whatever they could get off the seamers, before the inevitable arrived. Ahmed Shehzad and Khurram Manzoor possibly underestimated the quicks and did not hold their strokes back, sometimes playing and missing. Both were dismissed by Dhammika Prasad before Herath came in to bowl. And his first ball turned and bounced almost chest high for the wicketkeeper, leaving no doubt that the batsmen had little chance. As expected, Herath drove away any thoughts of a Sharjahlike chase by breaking the back of Pakistan battingAzhar Ali, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan - within his first six overs.

A lot depended on the three batsmen if Pakistan were to put up a fight. Azhar was the hero of the chase in Sharjah while Younis and Misbah have excellent records in fourth innings, both boasting of averages in excess of 50. But Azhar did not have a chance against one that turned away and took the outside to Jayawardene, neither did Misbah, who, too, was snapped up at first slip again, taking Jayawardene’s catch-tally to 205. Younis had seen the dismissals from the other end and the turn would have played on his mind, but he was done in by the arm-ball, trapped lbw as he missed a sweep.

Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed have had success against spin during this tour and were nimble-footed during a 55-run sixth-wicket stand that prevented total capitulation. But Shafiq missed one as he stepped out to give Herath his 22nd wicket in the series. With effectively two wickets remaining - Junaid Khan was ruled out - Pakistan were left facing a big defeat.

Run-scoring had been difficult all day and there were more animated reactions from the bowlers than scoring shots. Under grey skies, the three-man Pakistan attack worked tirelessly and found generous help from the SSC surface. Ajmal, who bowled unchanged through the day, dismissed Sangakkara in his second over of the day. He followed it up with Mahela Jayawardene’s wicket - the 10th time he dismissed the batsman in Tests - in his next over before beating Lahiru Thirimanne with a doosra to collect three wickets in a 46-over slog. Wahab

Riaz also picked up three wickets with the old ball. There was no way past Angelo Mathews’ bat though. His unbeaten 43 included plenty of nudges and expansive shots hardly made an appearance - he hit just two boundaries. But his runs - and his partnerships with Niroshan Dickwella and Prasad - were critical in the context of the match as Sri Lanka lost last eight wickets for 96 runs to post 282.

Thus, the role of the Jayawardene-Sangakkara stand had been extremely important. It was the 19th time the two had added more than 100 in Tests, making them the secondmost prolific pair behind Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

The Sunday crowd that had settled in early for Jayawardene’s last Test innings rose to its feet in the second over of the day as the batsman swept Ajmal to the fine-leg boundary and reached his 50th Test half-century. It turned out to be the penultimate scoring stroke in Jayawardene’s 11814-run wide Test canvas as the batsman soon miscued a lofted shot to mid-on off Ajmal. He walked back acknowledging the applause from all, leaving the future of Sri Lanka’s batting, and of the current Test, with the new generation. That Sangakkara also waved his bat to the stands on his walk back to the pavilion raised speculation of it being his last Test appearance in Sri Lanka. As the two left in quick succession, batting suddenly turned into a difficult job. (cricinfo.com)

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka 2nd innings

WU Tharanga b Abdur Rehman 45

JK Silva c Younis Khan b Abdur Rehman 17

KC Sangakkara c Azhar Ali b Saeed Ajmal 59

DPMD Jayawardene

c Ahmed Shehzad b Saeed Ajmal 54

AD Mathews* not out 43

HDRL Thirimanne b Saeed Ajmal 10

N Dickwella† lbw b Wahab Riaz 21

MDK Perera lbw b Wahab Riaz 0

KTGD Prasad run out (sub [Umar Akmal]/Saeed Ajmal) 19

HMRKB Herath b Wahab Riaz 0

UWMBCA Welegedara run out (Wahab Riaz/†Sarfraz Ahmed) 0

Extras (b 10, lb 2, w 1, nb 1) 14

Total (all out; 109 overs) 282 (2.58 runs per over)

Fall of wickets 1-54 (Tharanga, 20.2 ov), 2-79 (Silva, 24.2 ov), 3-186 (Sangakkara, 66.2 ov), 4-189 (Jayawardene, 68.2 ov), 5-212 (Thirimanne, 82.3 ov), 6-247 (Dickwella, 95.1 ov), 7-247 (Perera, 95.3 ov), 8-278 (Prasad, 106.2 ov), 9-282 (Herath, 107.4 ov), 10282 (Welegedara, 108.6 ov)

Bowling: Wahab Riaz 25-376-3, Abdur Rehman 35-397-2, Saeed Ajmal 46-10-893, Ahmed Shehzad 3-0-8-0 Pakistan 2nd innings (target: 271 runs)

Khurram Manzoor c †Dickwella b Prasad 10

Ahmed Shehzad lbw b Prasad 8 Azhar Ali c Jayawardene b Herath 10 Younis Khan lbw b Herath 8 Misbah-ul-Haq* c Jayawardene b Herath 3 Asad Shafiq st †Dickwella b Herath 32 Sarfraz Ahmed† not out 38 Abdur Rehman lbw b Perera 5 Wahab Riaz not out 2 Extras (b 4, lb 6, nb 1) 11

Total (7 wickets; 40 overs) 127 (3.17 runs per over)

To bat: Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan Fall of wickets 1-17 (Khurram Manzoor, 3.4 ov), 2-21 (Ahmed Shehzad, 5.5 ov), 3-31 (Azhar Ali, 10.2 ov), 4-39 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 14.3 ov), 5-50 (Younis Khan, 18.1 ov), 6-105 (Asad Shafiq, 34.4 ov), 7-122 (Abdur Rehman, 37.5 ov) Bowling: UWMBCA Welegedara 7-4-11-0, KTGD Prasad 5-0-19-2, HMRKB Herath 16-1-464, MDK Perera 12-1-41-1

Runs, catches and a looming Test win.. Mahela Jayawardene was set for a perfect farewell. Photo: AFP

Tigers roar to warm-up win vs Grenada

Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah warmed up for the higher intensity battles with West Indies, when they set the Bangladeshis up for a 95-run victory over Grenada with purposeful batting in a 50 overs-a-side tour match on Sunday.

Opener Tamim hit the top score of 91 and all-rounder Mahmudullah supported with 78, as the Bangladeshis posted 322 for six from their allocation of 50 overs in the match at Progress Park about half-hour’s drive outside of the Grenada capital of St. George’s.

Keone George led the way for the Grenadians with 62, but the Bangladeshis’ experienced attack, led by former captain Mashrafe Mortaza, restricted them to 227 for nine in their 50 overs.

The Bangladeshis stumbled to 66 for two in the 15th over, after an opening of 56 between Tamim and Anamul Haque.

But Tamim dominated a third-wicket stand of 88 with Shamsur Rahman and looked set for a confidenceboosting hundred before he was bowled by Josh Thomas in the 29th over, following an 86-ball innings that contained 12 fours and two sixes.

The Bangladeshis slipped to 171 for four when Shamsur fell to Preston McSween in the 33rd over, but Mahmudullah found his captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain stable allies and they punished the Grenadian attack

in the remaining overs.

Mahmudullah, whose 61ball knock included seven fours and three sixes, added 50 for the fifth wicket with Mushfiqur and 101 from the final 50 deliveries with Nasir before he fell to Nelon Pascal from the final ball of the innings.

Mushfiqur made 44 and Nasir made 22; Thomas and Pascal were the most successful bowlers for Grenada with two scalps apiece.

The Spice Islanders knew they were going to struggle, when discarded West Indies batsman Devon Smith, their most experienced player, was bowled by off-spinner Sohag Gazi for four in the second over.

But George came to the crease and gave the innings backbone, striking six fours

and one six from 89 balls, and shared a 64-run, fourthwicket stand with Ronald Etienne.

A handful of the other Grenada batsmen got starts without carrying on – Etienne scored 31, team captain Andre Fletcher, the West Indies limited-overs player, added 29 and Heron Campbell got 23.

Mortaza grabbed 3-44 from eight overs, Al Amin took 2-34 from eight overs and left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak bagged 2-35 from 10 overs.

The first One-day International of the Dhaka Bank Cup Series between West Indies and Bangladesh takes place on Wednesday at the National Cricket Stadium in St. George’s. (CMC)

Manchester City make winning start to title defence

Manchester City began the defence of their Premier League title with a routine win at Newcastle thanks to David Silva and Sergio Aguero goals.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side were rarely troubled by the hosts and took the lead when Silva tucked in following a brilliant back-heel by Edin Dzeko.

Substitute Aguero added a second in stoppage time when he poked in after his initial shot was saved by Tim Krul.

Dzeko had a shot blocked by Krul, who also stopped Samir Nasri’s drive.

That was the sum total of City’s best chances dur-

ing a match in which they did not have to be at their best and their keeper Joe Hart - preferred to summer recruit Willy Caballerowas rarely tested.

Pellegrini was confident enough to leave influential striker Aguero on the bench and for £32m signing Eliaquim Mangala to remain in Manchester.

City got on top of Newcastle from the whistle, with Yaya Toure, the often maligned Martin Demichelis and another newcomer Fernando first to the second ball in dangerous areas without over-exerting themselves.

In attack, Silva, who did not show his true col-

Legend Classic Basketball Tournament…

ours at the World Cup, was back to his brilliant best while Montenegro’s Stevan Jovetic, frustrated by niggly injuries in his first season, was exceptional in his role as roving midfielder.

The 24-year-old played the role of quarter-back in the opening moments, producing a delightful lofted pass for Dzeko who could only strike his effort at Krul, who read the situation.

The Netherlands keeper, who played a starring role in the World Cup quarter-finals, was also called into action soon after when he dived to his right to prevent Nasri’s piledriver from bursting the net.

NA Warriors whip Ithaca Hardliners 82-48 in their own backyard

New Amsterdam Warriors made a meal of Ithaca Hardliners, trashing them 82-48 in their own back yard on Sunday when action in the Legend Classic Basketball Tournament continued at the Ithaca Basketball Court.

Led by a game high 24 points from Randy Richardson, the visitors were off to a quick start and were leading 19-2 at the end of the first quarter. The New Amsterdam boys recorded a further nineteen points in the second quarter as the Hardliners started finding some accuracy to be trailing 14-38 at the halfway stage.

The visitors, already overconfident by that stage of the game, went back to the court and showed only a shadow of what was seen during the first half of the game. Only Theolphus Bess and with some support from Shemroy Mckenzie, ensured that points kept coming for the Warriors.

The third quarter ended 55-24 in favor of the visitors.

The Hardliners wait-

ed until the sun went down and the final quarter began before they showed what they were capable of. Mark David was almost unstoppable while Philip Edwards produced some very good defense work for the home team as they scored twentyfour points in that session.

Bess played a good supporting role for the visitors, scoring nineteen points. Randy Ceaser dunked fourteen and Leon Payne eleven for the visitors.

Mark David scored thirteen for the losing Hardliners while R Edwards assisted with ten in a vain effort.

Action will continue on Sunday when the Warriors meet Smithfield Rockers in a match that will decide who tops the zone.

The competition is being played on a round robin basis and is being sponsored by Ponai’s Pharmacy, A. Ally and Sons and Nand Persaud Rice Mills.

The event is being organised by Vibert Garrett.

Tamim Iqbal

Randy Caesar goes for

World cup finalist Sergio Aguero - rested at the start of the match - showed his sharp instincts for the goal

Youth Olympics 2014… Chelsea Edghill suffers back-to-back defeats in Table Tennis

Guyana’s top table tennis player Chelsea Edghill suffered two defeats on the opening day of competition at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China, on Sunday.

Competing in the Women’s Singles in Group F, Edghill lost in three sets, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 to Natalia Bajor of Polana during the morning session.

Returning in the afternoon to play her second group game, the Guyanese fell 3-0 to Karoline Mischek of Austria, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6.

Edghill now plays Rea Rakovac of Croatia in her final group game today.

The other Guyanese athletes at the Youth Olympics are swimmers Hannibal Gaskin, Britany Van Lange and track athlete Jason Yaw.

Meanwhile, Australian triathlete Brittany Dutton won the first gold of the Youth Olympics as competition kicked off without Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria who withdrew because of the Ebola outbreak in Africa.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Friday they had banned three West African athletes from competing in combat sports and pool

events in China as a precaution after the world’s worst outbreak of Ebola, which has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in the region.

IOC President Thomas Bach said on Saturday that following the move, taken after discussion with the World Health Organisation, the governments of Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone had opted against allowing their athletes to compete in the 13-day multisport event.

Organisers of the second Youth Olympics were also concerned about adverse weather in Eastern China over the fortnight disrupting competition for the athletes, who are between ages 14 and 18. “There is the possi-

bility the city could face frequent rainy days, electrical storms and occasional occurrences of haze and possibly typhoons,” the Nanjing 2014 Meteorological Services Command Centre said.

Dutton escaped the weather and haze concerns early on Sunday morning as the 16-year-old rode a brilliant bike leg to force American Stephanie Jenks in to second on her 17th birthday.

Dutton celebrated her win by taking a selfie with former fencer Bach, who had called on athletes to snap pictures of themselves throughout the Games to promote friendship in competition.

BCB and Guysuco Berbice Estates to honour Test legends

The Berbice Cricket Board’s Special Events Committee headed by Hilbert Foster has joined hands with Guysuco estates based in Berbice, to honour cricketing legends of the ancient county as the board celebrates its Diamond Jubilee.

The BCB had written to the Guyana Sugar Corporation seeking its approval to rename stands, dressing rooms and bowling ends in tribute to several cricketing legends.

Chairman of the SEC and secretary/CEO of the RHTYSC, Hilbert Foster was elated that three of the four estates have to date responded in a positive way and as such, the main pavilion at the Blairmont ground would be named the Roy Fredricks Memorial Pavillion while the pavilion at the Canje Welfare Centre would be named the Leonard Baichan Pavillion.

Former West Indies bat-

ting legend Rohan Kanhai’s name would now be showcased on the main pavilion at the Port Mourant Cricket Ground while his fellow test legends Basil Butcher and Joseph Soloman would be honoured with the two dressing rooms in the pavilion named after them.

The northern run up at the PMCC ground would be named after leg spinner Ivan Madray while

Stag Beer/EBFA Division One League – 2nd Round...

Mocha earn first point; Warriors upset Soesdyke

Mocha Champs finally recorded their first point of the Stag Beer / East bank Football Association (EBFA) when they drew 1-1 with Herstelling Football Club in the feature game on Sunday when second round action continued at the Grove

its way out and for a moment it looked like if it was not a goal but the Assistant Referee Tyrell consulted with Referee Squires who then blew his whistle and signaled to the centre of the field.

Not to be outdone, Mocha responded almost imme-

the southern end would be named in tribute to former test captain Alvin Kalicharran.

John Trim, Berbice first test cricketer, would have his name attached to the Skeldon Estate’s Ground main pavilion. Trim was born in Skeldon.

Foster hailed the management of Guysuco as well as the Personnel Managers at the different estates for their cooperation.

The BCB, he stated, was delighted to honour the cricketing legends and noted that this would be a permanent tribute to some outstanding Berbicians who represented the ancient county, Guyana and the West Indies well in the past. The renaming of the pavilions, which would be done during the Golden Jubilee month of September, should also serve as an inspiration to the present generation of Berbice players.

It was their 10th game of the league for the Mocha boys who continue to show resilience despite their poor showing on the points table. But they have come to the game with a renewed focus in this second and final round and can only get better going forward.

Mocha, who lost to the inform Kuru Kururu Warriors 2-3 the previous week, were not in a mood to continue their winless streak and were dominant against the party crashers, Herstelling who took the lead with a stinging shot off the boot of dapper Under-17 player, Ricky Debydial in the 23rd minute.

Debydial, a nippy forward/midfield player was always nagging at the Mocha defense; his goa was fired in just outside the box with flashing speed that hit the cross bar dipped down over the line and entered play again.

Mocha’s goalie Nicholas Adams did catch the ball on

diately, the alert Sherwin Fordyce pounced on a loose ball from Herstelling just inside their half and worked

while creating some chances at both ends, no more goals materialised. There was no change on the table for either of the teams despite Mocha recording their first point, they remain in 8th place with Herstelling 6th with 8 points.

Kuru Kururu Warriors recorded their second win in as many matches with another hard fought victory, this time they upstaged second placed Soesdyke Falcons 2-1.

Falcons it was that took the lead in the 23rd minute when Colin Mc Lean found the back of the nets. That advantage would last until the 30th minute when Cordell Johnson of KK Warriors netted his second goal in as many matches to even things up.

The combination of Johnson and Rakesh Haimnauth did deliver for the warriors against Mocha one week before and they did the same on Sunday. Haimnauth drilled the go ahead goal in the 41st minute and that turned out to be the winning goal of the match.

KK Warriors move to 16 points and still remain in 5th

his way past two opposing players before slotting the ball past goalkeeper Quazim Yusuf in the 25th minute. Herstelling 1 Mocha Champs 1. There was no letting up by either team for the remainder of the match and

place while Soesdyle Falcons still occupy the second place behind leaders Grove Hi Tech (24 points) with 21 points. It was also the 10th game for both teams. Matches will continue on Sunday at the same venue.

Chelsea Edghill. Photo: Getty Images/File

Playfield.

Cordell Johnson (left) and Rakesh Haimnauth

Ricky Debydial of Herstelling FC

Sherwin Fordyce of Mocha Champs (left) scores the goal that gave his team their first point of the Stag Beer, EBFA league

Hilbert Foster

TOP SCORES

Guyana Amazon Warriors dispute outcome of CPL final

The Management of the Guyana Amazon Warriors Team has taken a decision to contest the outcome of the second Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final played between the Amazon Warriors and the Barbados Tridents on August 16 at Warner Park, St Kitts and Nevis.

This decision was taken following a review of the sequence of events that took place during the game, which started at 16:03h (4:03 p.m.) under overcast conditions.

During the Barbados Tridents innings, there were two rain interruptions – one at the end of 7 overs and the other at 11.2 overs. By the end of the Tridents innings of 20 overs, they had scored 152 runs for 6 wickets.

At the start of the Guyana Amazon Warriors innings, the Duckworth/Lewis calculation sheet was provided as per norm. During the course of the Amazon Warriors innings, rain interrupted the game at 15.5 overs with the Amazon Warriors score at 107 runs for 4 wickets.

After the rain interruption, the covers were removed, mopping up took place, and the stumps were back in position, with the

field and pitch ready for play to resume. This entire process was conducted under the supervision of the Fourth Umpire, who also indicated the restart of the game.

Both Match Umpires then went on the field when the stumps were up and subsequently went back off the field without communicating anything to the Guyana Amazon Warriors Team on the position of the game.

It was clear at that stage that the umpires did not know the new Duckworth/ Lewis calculations, which caused a further delay of more than 30 minutes within the stipulated match time.

At this point, an enquiry was made by the Guyana Amazon Warriors Team Manager with regard to the restart of the game. He was told that information will be provided in two minutes.

After approximately 10 minutes, with no information forthcoming, the Guyana Amazon Warriors Team Manager again approached the umpires and was told that the game will restart at 20:40h (8:40 p.m.) with the full quota of overs to be bowled.

he Guyana Police Force were crowned the new winners of the Boyce and

concluded on Sunday

Police accumulated a total of 455 points to win first place while Guyana Defence Force ended second on 195 points.

The Mercury Fast Lakers club had to settle for third with a total of 114 points.

Christiansburg Wismar were fourth with 102 points while Upper Demerara Schools were fifth with 80 points.

A number of top performances were witnessed in the final and the results will be released in Tuesday’s edition of the Guyana Times.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors were on course to win the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final, but were denied by slow over rate and poor umpiring

Jefford Track and Field Classic which

at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground in Linden.