Guyana Times Daily

Ranks of the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) honour Assistant Commissioner George Vyphuis during

at the TSU Drill Square, Eve Leary on Wednesday (Carl Croker photo)

Jagdeo will have last laugh – Rohee ...

says no one leader has

BY MICHAEL YOUNGE

People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) General Secretary

Clement Rohee has urged critics of former President Bharrat Jagdeo to be “on the lookout”, hinting that he will have “the last laugh” when he breaks his silence on the slew of attacks and allegations that have been made by the Opposition and its media agents.

Rohee has also strongly maintained that the party stands firmly in support of the former President and his successor President Donald Ramotar as he condemned attempts being made by external forces to create factionalism and division within the ruling party’s camp.

“... at some point in time, Jagdeo may break his silence to deal with the political barnacles. It is to be assumed that he will have much to say and to expose. What he will say is anybody’s guess, but this much we can expect; instead of saying things to divide the party or to undermine President Ramotar, as some want to believe, Jagdeo will certainly have the last laugh,” Rohee stated.

“They just can’t take it,” he said, referring to those who are hurling a barrage of attacks at the party’s leadership because of the notion being peddled that Jagdeo has too much influence within its ranks and the country generally when compared to the sitting President.

He said that critics were attempting to “weaken” the

grip on party

PPP/C, including in this category, ex-executives and leaders, who are dragging the party through murky waters and mud in the public domain.

“These masqueraders blame Ramotar for Jagdeo’s abiding political influence in the country, while they blame Jagdeo for damaging the party’s political fortunes, pretending to have the party’s interest at heart. And as if this was not enough ‘the core leadership’ of the party is accused of succumbing to the personal ambition of Jagdeo,” the General Secretary said.

Self-explanatory

He said the party remains proud of the accomplishments made under Jagdeo’s tenure, saying that the track record of the PPP/C is sound and self-explanatory.

Rohee has also rubbished accusations that any one leader has a grip on the party’s throat.

“Neither the General Secretary, the President nor former President can impose a policy initiative on the party’s leadership because simply of the positions they hold,” Rohee argued, stating the make-up of the party makes this “impossible”.

He reminisced on the tenure of the party’s founders, Dr Cheddi and Janet Jagan, pointing out that it was defined by both internal and external struggles as debates and discussions were always intense on a wide range of issues.

Bitter Rohee admitted that the criticisms from ex-party comrades who were either expelled or alleged that they were “driven out” are not new. He said some of these leaders are merely bitter and have proclaimed themselves to be the “true ones” because they chose to leave, while deeming those who had the “staying power” and commitment to remain in the struggle as “sycophants”, “subverted” and “stilled”.

He cited the alliance between some Oppositionaligned media houses, their news editors and senior journalists that launch “scurrilous and baseless attacks against the PPP/C” with the aim of turning the minds of Guyanese against the party and Government.

Rohee said there is little or no criticism of the Opposition because the aim is to weaken the ruling party, but this will not occur.

“These developments are not unique to the PPP/C... a tour of the political landscape would show it strewn with political has-beens, wannabes, failed presidential aspirants, victims of red carpet fever, political charlatans and narcissuses,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the General Secretary reminded Guyanese that while it is natural that the party’s members would support views they themselves find attractive and inspiring by various leaders, any attempt to deviate from core PPP/C ideology is dangerous.

“Those individuals would eventually form themselves into factions and cliques. When this happens, such developments pose a danger to the unity and solidarity with the party. It can be more damaging when factions become organised with the party structure, thus the necessity to guard against factionalism and cliquism within the party,” he said.

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

Home Affairs Clement Rohee

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

Building tourism

While there is still much work to be done, the evidence shows that this country’s tourism sector is moving forward. More persons are looking for something new to experience and enjoy and they are realising that Guyana is the place where they can have this experience.

The Tourism Ministry and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) have already developed some niches in order to diversify this country’s tourism product such as nature-based tourism, bird watching, sport fishing, yachting, community based tourism and agro tourism.

So far for the year 2014, the good news continues to roll in. The visitor arrivals to this country tell an encouraging story and the authorities and all stakeholders involved in the sector must continue to build on these successes.

There has been an exponential increase in the number of persons coming to these shores. In 2013, Guyana was named one of the three countries in the Caribbean to record a double digit growth with a 13.3 per cent increase in arrivals. According to the GTA’s records, last year, there was an average of 2630 tourists per month. This year, a 15 per cent increase in arrivals is projected.

Tourism is one of the sectors in which Guyana has a strong comparative advantage given our vast and diverse endowment of nature, our geographical location, and the advantage of a large diaspora market.

The sector has the potential to drive Guyana’s economy forward, and the current administration must be given some credit for ensuring that the necessary investments are made and partnerships are created to ensure the further development of the sector. Guyana’s premium hotel room stock will be given a significant boost with the opening up for commercial operation of the five-star Marriott Hotel. This is the first major international brand to come to Guyana in over 40 years.

The Government has announced that it will soon be rolling out a number of programmes with specific focus on institutional capacity strengthening, marketing and product development aimed at accelerating the growth of the tourism sector.

In this year’s budget, funds are allocated for the establishment of a hospitality institute aimed at ensuring that Guyana produces world class personnel for moving the industry forward. There is certainly a need for more work to be done in the area of training and capacity building if our services sector is to respond effectively.

The Tourism Ministry and the GTA have been engaged in offering some short-term training which is done on a limited basis. We believe that training and capacity building in the tourism sector should be done in a more rigid, and comprehensive manner and should be continuous catering to the needs of every related sector.

We had pressed the need for Guyana to be given more publicity, both at the regional and international levels, in order to attract more visitors to the country; and we are pleased that there is some progress in this regard.

Guyana has been participating at European tradeshows which attract the highest numbers of nature and adventure travellers, and for the first time this year, Guyana will be participating at trade shows in Latin America. As a side, the diaspora market is also a huge one. There are several Guyanese residing abroad and wish to return home for vacation or to invest; and the returns would be great if we target this market in a more aggressive manner.

In the coming years, there could be more packaged tours being offered to the potential tourists. We understand that the Tourism Ministry will partner with airlines and local tour companies to promote the ‘Backpack Tour’ for university students across the Caribbean, allowing them to experience the wonders of Essequibo in four days.

The Tourism Minister spoke recently about the development of the yachting industry and plans for a Sail Guyana Rally this year. There is need for more of such excellent plans aimed at raising the profile of Guyana’s unique tourism brand.

Leguan does not only have grass cutters

Dear Editor,

As someone born and raised on the island of Leguan, I was abhorred that the Honourable Member of Parliament Moses Nagamootoo would assume that the hard working people of my community can only cut grass and therefore are undeserving of Government funds that can be used to create job opportunities!

The Member of Parliament was at the time participating in the

Budget debate which started on Monday.

I do not know if Nagamootoo has ever visited Leguan, so I will personally extend an invitation to him to come and experience the hospitality of Leguan and to see that cutting grass is not the only activity that engages the people of this Essequibo Island.

In addition to the small businesses and cottage industries that form part of the local economy, there are seven op -

erational rice factories which support Guyana’s macro economy. These industries function on skilled persons, many of whom are part of the island’s cultural fabric; skills that have been passed from one generation to the other.

Perhaps the Member of Parliament has forgotten that the rice sector contributed five per cent to Guyana’s GDP last year. If Nagamootoo is interested in learning about his own country, one that

he proposes to represent at one of the highest offices in Government, that is, through the National Assembly, I am sure that my fellow islanders will gladly oblige.

We the people of Leguan are hardworking and hospitable. I can only hope that the Member of Parliament would learn a thing or two from us “grass cutters”.

Yours truly, Acklima Akbar Leguan resident

There is no handout to rice farmers

Dear Editor,

Keith Scott in his budget presentation has called the $500 million allocation to the rice sector an unnecessary handout to farmers and the rice industry. I disagree with Scott’s opinion that the allocation of $500 million to the rice sector is a handout to rice farmers. I reject outright any assertion that the rice farmers do not deserve any support.

The PPP/C Government will stand with rice farmers and we will continue to build a strong rice industry. The rice industry contributes about five per cent of GDP in Guyana and accounts for more than US$240 million in export

earnings.

More than 40,000 people directly depend on the rice industry for livelihood and the industry provides employment for more than 20,000 people. In terms of food security, rice has helped to secure Guyana’s status as a food-secured country.

Scott is politically motivated and I can understand that he has to try to find a political slant. In retrospect, I am certain Scott would regret his words. However, Scott should know that the PPP/C Government assisted farmers last year in securing more affordable fertilisers that saved the industry almost $800 million. This

year, we have already begun negotiation to procure about $800 million worth of fertilisers that will help to keep cost down for farmers. We hope that this injection will help save about $1 billion overall in fertiliser acquisition costs. This injection of funds will assist in ensuring that cost of production is further reduced. In addition, we will procure a number of laser levellers to locate in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six to help increase yields.

Further, we will expand our research facilities to introduce higher yielding seed paddy. This year, we will spend about $70 million to opertionalise the

Number 56 Seed Facility and to introduce a larger storage capacity for the industry. Therefore, I reject completely the notion that the $500 million allocation to the industry is a handout. We will strenuously reject all efforts to cut the rice allocation.

Scott has revealed a sinister intention of APNU and I call on the RPA and rice farmers to reject this position. I call on the AFC to demonstrate that they are no poodle of APNU and to join me in rejecting Scott’s handout shame.

Yours truly, Dr Leslie Ramsammy Agriculture Minister

A Division Commander George Vyphius poses with his family after his farewell parade at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown (Carl Croker photo)

Sincere remorse must bring sincere forgiveness

Dear Editor,

Has Eusi Kwayana now validated the astuteness of the extended Rodney family, which wanted to avoid “entrusting defense of human rights only to political parties” so specified to the PPP/C Government’s formation of the Rodney Commission of Inquiry (COI)?

That faceless WPA statement which subsequently authorised WPA “members” to also testify later came only after Mr Kwayana’s letter was published. Does it mean it’s unsure leaders will abstain? As members, they may, or may not, give them the space and time to later select which hat to wear presently hung in the PNC’s main bedroom, cosmetics and all.

For sure the rhythm of the drums will beckon, enchant and influence those who are with enough spirit to attend all bedecked in their best flounce off dress.

Bet ambition’s sunshine from UG is with deft teflon sheen at the COI. Now that it’s each man for himself to avoid any blame and complicity in their leader’s death, what can be expected?

Should Dr Rodney’s family take comfort that the

WPA has relieved itself on them before the big event?

The magnificence of Dr Walter Rodney springs from the fact that his excellence was not motivated by race, but rather the resolve to reunite all unlike some with partisan interests surrounding him.

His secret agreement with Dr Cheddi Jagan intended to eventually merge the WPA with the PPP. Since it was an open secret that Dr Rodney did not trust some in the WPA the merger was apparently only known within his very tight inner circle! Who were they?

The task of merging the WPA with the PPP would have crushed those who found it repugnant and unacceptable. How they resolved this problem was destined to become historic. Since by his own race he was automatically and officially prejudged guilty, he became both the threat and prime target by the same reason for his elimination from within the WPA and “outsider PNC”.

A Rodney dead was better off serving both the WPA and PNC which motivated their collusion. With him out of the way, the WPA residue expected, the ongoing WPA momentum, not point-

ing to them, to still easily cruise them into political power, regardless. That they were all wrong was only due to their own miscalculations in 1980 repeated again three decades later in APNU.

How accurate or not was the keen historian’s analysis not to trust everyone in the WPA when he picked his beloved brother Donald for the fatal ride? Did later events prove his suspicions valid? Three strikes and you are out by the rules of the game in baseball.

First strike was open collusion in changing the original PPP/C Government parliamentary motion to investigate Dr Rodney’s acknowledged brutal “assassination”, watering it down to his “death”. Did he die in his sleep? The unbending PPP/C instead abstained from their own motion authorising the ROI’s formation.

Again, and behold, second strike came just before the 2011 election when the WPA, just a skeleton, awoke in stride to reveal they had stockpiled weapons…for what purpose and why was this information being revealed at that time? No answers came.

Third and final strike culminated three decades later in 2011 when the over-

whelmingly black WPA again misfired by its shocking WPA-PNC unholy alliance subsuming themselves under APNU. Some believe it was skilfully engineered to reunite all Afro Guyanese contesting the 2011 elections.

What it accomplished was an awakening of all those latent suspicions of active complicity in Dr Rodney’s brutal murder. Nevertheless the majority of those black voters who had followed Mr Rafael Trotman into the AFC in 2006 were recovered into the PNC in 2011 when Mr Khemraj Ramjattan became leader.

Mr Rafael Trotman, unable to campaign in the 2011 elections miraculously recuperated to become APNU’s preferred Speaker. Questions arose geometrically about the open WPAPNC ties concerning the assassination?

Since both may have conspired to be rid of Dr Rodney, could either risk going into government alone without surety of silence when they both were due “equality” of future spoils? During what time period was the WPA required to become mutually and publicly acceptable to the PNC by necessary cleansing?

Was the WPA’s skeletal resurrection another step towards the future APNU alliance to be lead by Mr David Granger with whom they had good reasons to feel comfortable? Was the WPA’s public admission about its arms buildup to become their baptismal sacrament for mutual payback in an APNU Government? Did the hidden relationships require public accommodation and consolidation with the weakened negligent PPP/C Government on the brink?

“Equality” of closure (or lack of it) in their separate decisions and testimonies contributing to the RCOI findings will almost certainly define both the PNC and WPA. An automatic pardon is guaranteed for full confession and expires after the RCOI. Never in doubt were Dr Rodney’s noble motives and decisions for all Guyanese regardless of race.

With the WPA’s master ethnocentric ideologue in queue to bare his soul it could also herald a new beginning. WPA’s Dr Clive Thomas’s earlier tell off letter to its APNU partners which recorded complaints about systematic lack of performance and the possibility of continued servic-

es rendered behind closed doors being discontinued was actually intent on making the story very clear to busybody nosey neighbours (we readers) and giving public notice of their future intentions.

‘Sitira gal’ wants to ensure that when she lifts up her petticoat and wind down the dam like a Buxton boor, everyone knows why. Even a considerably youthful Mr Kwayana, Buxton’s own black beauty stallion, must have certainly witnessed Sitira’s great grandmother as a skilful youth on that same dam. But he is yet to bravely reveal any record where he (wink) disapproved.

Now in old age, he can get so very upset about the President and his Old Years frolic, all without any relevance to the COI, but noteworthy still recorded in his letter.

Who can still be in doubt to wonder if karma and The Creator still decides everything? Sincere remorse must of necessity be followed by sincere forgiveness where necessary with the complete truth established during the COI.

Yours sincerely, Sultan Mohamed

Priya Manickchand has earned the right to make that statement

Dear Editor,

In a highly politicallycharged environment where bashing the President and Ministers of Government seems to be the trend of the day, I am not at all surprised that the comment made in Parliament by Education Minister Priya Manickchand, is being demonised by members of the Opposition and their political lackeys.

There is nothing in that comment to apologise for, as I firmly believe the Minister has earned the right to make that statement.

Before becoming Education Minister in December 2011, the Honourable Priya Manickchand served as Human Services and Social Security Minister from September 2009. During her tenure, she passed seven crucial pieces of legislation addressing the needs of children.

These include: The Protection of Children Act; The Adoption of Children Act; The Status of Children Act; The Childcare and Development Services Act; The Custody, Contact, Guardianship and Maintenance Act; The Childcare and Protection Agency Act; and the Sex Offences Act.

Additionally, Minister Manickchand established

a Childcare and Protection Agency; expanded Legal Aid Services from being accessible in the capital city alone to six of the 10 regions; conducted a countrywide sexual violence campaign and passed a modern Sex Offences Act which revolutionised the way sex offences are viewed and treated in Guyana.

There is no doubt that the Minister is very passionate about the subject that was being raised by MP Volda Lawrence.

In 2010, in a report carried in another section of the press, Proprietor of the CNS TV Channel 6, Chandra Narine Sharma was questioned by police ranks at Eve Leary after he was invited there following reports received by the Ministry of

Human Services and Social Security’s Child Care and Protection Department.

Following a bout of questioning he was taken to the Brickdam lockups where he collapsed and was subsequently hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Earlier in the day, formal reports were lodged against Sharma at the Brickdam Police Station and Eve Leary Headquarters after the reports had been made to the Child Protection Agency.

That arm of the Human Services and Social Security Ministry commenced investigations of its own and unsuccessfully sought to remove two young girls from their home facilitated by Sharma adjacent to his business

place, located at Robb and Wellington streets.

Sharma has since retained the services of Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes who escorted him to Eve Leary.

The action came in wake of revelations that a 13-yearold girl in a sworn affidavit signed by a Justice of the Peace and Commissioner of Oaths to Affidavits, dated April 12, 2010, recounted allegations sexual molestation.

I have a lot of respect for House Speaker Raphael Trotman, for I believe he really tries to be fair and objective in his rulings, despite the obvious pressure he gets from his colleagues on the Opposition side. But not on this ruling!

As former Human

Services Minister, Priya Manickchand has been closely monitoring the plight of the alleged victims, and I am sure she perhaps now feels frustrated that justice for these children is being delayed and denied, hence the outburst.

We have an APNU Member of Parliament who was arrested for stealing electricity like a common criminal, and another who’s father is accused of the most heinous crime of raping three innocent children.

At the time, Jaipaul Sharma may not have known about the circumstances that have his father before the court, but with the sworn affidavit, long before he made the decision to accept APNU Leader, David Granger’s of-

fer to be part of his team in Parliament, he must have known about this.

Perhaps the Honourable Speaker may be overlooking the fact that members with shady backgrounds and those whose relatives are before the courts, charged with criminal behaviour, should decline to serve as lawmakers in the National Assembly. Surely we need to have more civility in Parliament, but political leaders must accept full responsibility for appointing members to the National Assembly whose personal or family background compromise their credibility to serve this nation.

Respectfully, Harry Gill

You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Page Foundation

How to raise a healthy child of divorced parents

BY SHANNON PHILPOTT

Although divorce can be stressful for the entire family, children in particular may struggle with feelings of abandonment, stress, sadness and anger. By fostering a positive environment for your child, you can raise a healthy child of divorced parents.

Deter blame Children often play the blame game when coping with their parents’ divorce. Your child may feel she is to blame, although she is not. Liana Lowenstein, a Toronto-based child psychotherapist, suggests giving your child a simple but honest explanation about the divorce. It’s important for the children to understand that marriage issues are about the parents, not the children. Lowenstein recommends providing this explanation when the entire family is together so that children can see their parents as a united front.

Listen actively

Your child will experience a variety of emotions during the separation and divorce. Be available to listen, and allow him to express his emotions. Reassure the child that feelings of sadness, anger and guilt are very real and normal reactions. Prompt open discus-

sions with phrases such as “You can tell me anything and I won’t be mad at you” and “Tell me more about how you are feeling.”

Reaffirm your love

When parents divorce, children may think that because their parents stopped loving each other, they will stop loving their children. It’s important that you tell your child often that you love her. Reiterate that the love between a parent and child lasts forever, and that both parents will never stop loving her even if they are no longer married and living in the same household.

Be consistent Structure and consistency are key when the household seems in disarray during a divorce. Lowenstein recommends setting up a regular visitation schedule so that children feel secure and reassured that they will see both parents on a regular basis. Because divorce is such a stressful time of change for the entire family, do your best to keep your child in the same activities, sports and school as before the divorce. It also helps to make sure that each home contains familiar items, such as toys, games, school supplies and photos of family members, to help your child feel secure in both environments. Be consistent with rules and routines

in both households. Try to agree on bedtimes, discipline and privileges so that your child sees minimal differences between mom’s house and dad’s house.

Stay in contact

Even if one parent lives far away from the child, it’s important to communicate regularly with children dur-

Behavioural problems in children of divorced parents

BY BECKY SWAIN

Parents seek to insulate their children from the negative effects of divorce, but it’s normal for children to experience stress related to some of the intense emotions they might experience during this time. A common response to stress for some children is to exhibit behavioural problems, although children differ according to their developmental level and coping skills in how stress influences their behaviour. An awareness and active monitoring of problems can help you to provide the loving support your child needs.

ing and after the divorce to maintain a healthy relationship. Set up regular times for phone calls, video chats or emails to talk about the child’s day, activities, feelings and thoughts. Regular contact with both parents will reinforce your love and support during this difficult time for your child. (everydaylife. globalpost.com)

Regressive behaviours

Preschool children might demonstrate regressive behaviour in response to a divorce. Your little one might remind you of a bottle of glue as she adheres securely to you to ensure your continued presence, says paediatrician William Sears at AskDrSears.com. Other common regressive behaviours include thumb-sucking and bed-wetting. Problems with your preschool child’s sleep pattern might include

waking several times during the night and refusing to sleep in her own bed.

Sadness

Your child might experience grief related to the changes in the family, and feelings of hopelessness related to possible fantasies about reconciliation between you and your former spouse. If your child appears tearful and withdrawn, or no longer enjoys spending time in preferred activities, she might be experiencing normal feelings of sadness that diminish with time and your support. If those symptoms do not abate, or are accompanied by self-injury, sleep problems, poor appetite or anger, contact your child’s paediatrician or a mental health worker to share your concerns, recommends Helpguide.org.

Anger

Problems with anger are more prevalent in schoolage children, who might feel overwhelmed, helpless and frustrated about the event that has transformed their world. Children might feel angry with themselves for not saving their parents’ marriage, or feel angry with their parents for disrupting the family and home environment. When your child feels overwhelmed by anger, you might observe tantrums, aggression and inappropriate behaviour at school. When unresolved anger is associated with school truancy, alcohol and drug use and a pattern of oppositional behaviour, contact a mental health worker to receive support and treatment for your child.

Monitor changes

Behavioural changes are normal and typically temporary for your child during this time. Continue to monitor your child’s progress, and remember that all children respond to stress differently. If the changes in your child’s behaviour escalate, or if the observed changes interfere with enjoying daily activities, consult with your child’s paediatrician to explore a plan of action for additional support.

(everydaylife.globalpost.com)

Works Ministry rushes to seal sea breaches

Contractors of the Public Works Ministry on Wednesday rushed to seal the sea breaches at Hyde Park, Parika and Mosquito Hall, Mahaica, which had caused severe flooding in residential areas

When Guyana Times visited Parika just after noon on Wednesday, contractors were finishing up works at Hyde Park, where there was a breach caused by the erosion of the exiting earthen embankment. This had resulted in floods affecting residents along the bank.

The contractors built a wooden wall facing the river and compacted dirt on the inner side to act as a sea defence.

While the water in the area had receded since the day before, residents in the area were still feeling the effects of the previous day’s floods. Shop owner, Mohamed Hakiem, related to this newspaper that when he left home on Tuesday morning, there were no floods, but upon his return, the bottom flat of his house and the yard were flooded.

The man said there was

approximately 12 to 14 inches of water in his kitchen while his yard had about one feet of water. He said he suffered a lot of losses because of the floods.

Hakiem mentioned that his refrigerator stopped working, along with the some other appliances such as his vacuum cleaner and electrical sewing machine. In addition, several items from his shop were damaged.

“Lot of losses”

“I suffer a lot of losses with this flood,” the man stated. He noted that on Tuesday, the sea defence officials were at the site and had erected a makeshift defence to prevent additional flooding from that night’s high tide, and to also drain the flood water.

The man disclosed that while the water had receded within two hours, the damages it had caused left residents counting their losses.

Hakiem recalled that there was a similar incident years ago in the area; however, it was not this devastating.

Meanwhile, another resident, Bernadette Russell, told this newspaper that

her property was also flooded. The woman pointed out that the water had swept through the bottom flat of her home, reaching the front of her yard. According to the woman, she went out early Tuesday morning and upon her return around 07:00h after receiving a call that her yard was flooded, she found about two feet of water in her home. The woman said all the items that were on the floor in her home had gotten wet.

Floating

“When I got home, there we stuff floating around in the yard and the house too. My kitchen even had coconut husk that washed

where and tried to get the dog which was in the yard out of the water. In the nine years she had lived in the area, she never experienced anything like that before.

Structural works were also done at the Mosquito Hall/Lancaster area where there was a huge breach on the inner side of the wave wall in the area. Residents had complained about the damages caused by the 3.18 metre high tide which resulted in the collapse of a large section of the defence. The residents had also cried out that not only were they affected by floods, but also incurred losses due to the damage of crops.

The Public Works

in,” she added. The woman pointed out that her freezer is not working and several music speakers were damaged, along with some electrical wires, fairy lights and clothes.

Russell noted that her husband was home at the time; however, he was in the upper flat and unaware of what had transpired below. When he came down sometime later, she continued, he saw water every-

coast causing an elevation in waves and consequential overtopping in some areas.

“The Ministry continues to monitor all vulnerable areas and undertakes preventative maintenance and emergency repairs on critical sea and river defences where necessary,” the statement said. It added that the Sea and River Defence Force Account Unit has mobilised to undertake emergency repairs on the river defences at Mosquito Hall, East Coast Demerara and Hyde Park. At Mosquito Hall, structural repair works will be carried out to remedy cavities and structural undermining of sections of the existing wave wall which have developed during this spring tide period.

Ministry said on Tuesday that during the spring tide period, the highest tide was experienced on March 31 at a height of 3.22 metres. However, it noted that gusty winds coincided with the high tides, along the

Additionally, the Ministry said it will be executing upgrading works to the earthen embankment and adjacent façade drains at this location.

“It should be noted

that major reconstruction works have been scheduled for Mosquito Hall/ Lancaster under the 2014 Sea Defences Capital Programme. A tender was publicly advertised for works at Mosquito Hall and were opened on February 2014. The Ministry is currently awaiting award of the contract,” the statement said.

The Ministry reiterated that all vulnerable areas along the coast will continue to be monitored and preventative maintenance measures carried out as required.

“The public should take note that spring tide advisories are published with a list of vulnerable areas during all spring tide periods. The Ministry will continue to advise the general public on critical developments with regard to the implementation of sea and river defence works in coastal and riverine communities.”

The repaired defence at Hyde Park, Parika

Bernadette Russell’s flooded yard on Tuesday

Mohamed Hakiem picking up items in his flooded shop

Trio charged for fighting in public place

Three men were placed on a bond to keep the peace on Wednesday by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry after being arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts for engaging in a

fight in a public place.

Delmar Booker of Lot 20 Corentyne, Berbice; 23-year-old Astell Williams, a conductor of Lot 1238 Gauling Place, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown; and Erwin Jones, a vendor,

all pleaded not guilty to the charge against them.

It is alleged that in the month of March at the Route 41 Minibus Park in Georgetown, the three defendants engaged in a fight in a public place.

Jones and Williams were represented by Attorney Paul Fung-A-Fat who pleaded with the Chief Magistrate to grant his clients bail.

The defendants were then placed on the bond.

Eyew tness Snake-oil salesmen...

...in Bagotville

Your humble Eyewitness is aware what they say about the kind of bedfellows politics make. But “strange” is not the word that describes what’s going on between the WPA and the PNC nowadays.”Grotesque”, “sick”, or “nauseating” might come closer. Might.

Back in the day, in the face of extreme pressure coming down on the Guyanese people, there was talk about a “national government” to deal with the exigencies of the moment. The PPP proposed the PNC be included because they did represent a significant section of the Guyanese people.

“Over our dead body!!!” responded the WPA. The PNC was not only part of the problem, they said, it WAS the problem. They couldn’t be part of the solution. And that was the end of that. The PNC, of course, promptly arranged for the WPA to have a dead body – several, in fact.

It’s a sign of the times that over this weekend, the Cuffy 250 Movement that WPA survivor David Hinds has been pushing had Carl Greenidge as their main speaker at a meeting over in Bagotville. Now, especially the young folks have to understand the context of this meeting to appreciate its historical irony.

The meeting was all about how to fix African Guyanese problems. We’d have thought that before you start fixing a problem, it’d be best to find out its cause or causes. “Causes” pretty much continue to act out in new guises as situations change – while the original cause remains disguised. Before the PNC built its dictatorship, African Guyanese had been doing very well, thank you, considering all the obstacles in their way.

In politics, they’d built a village movement that was the proving ground for politicians from that community. Economically, the quest for education saw them more than holding their own in the professionals. Their early entry into skilled labour on the sugar factories, led them to dominate the new skills needed to run engineering concerns such as shipbuilding and bauxite processing all the way up to producing alumina. Culturally, the black consciousness movement had gone a far way towards removing “mental slavery”.

The community was ready to make a quantum leap at independence. So what happened? The PNC happened, that’s what.

The same Greenidge going on about “Restoring Economic Vitality to African Communities” like a snake-oil salesman, was one of the architects of the destruction of that economic (and other) vitality.

...in the beginning

The snake-oil salesman in the beginning, of course, was LFS Burnham. Driven by naked ambition he used the community out of which he came, simply as a tool to further that ambition. With his nationalisation of the “commanding heights of the economy”, he placed his confidants in charge of all the institutions that employed “his people”. Trouble was, the criteria for employment became loyalty to the Kabaka, rather than competence for the job.

So, it should surprise no one when the competent members of the community either emigrated or quit in disgust. Carmichael, who headed Sprostons the shipbuilding company, was a good example. Refusing to do the bidding of Burnham, he left for Barbados and the company eventually collapsed – and with it jobs for the highly skilled personnel.

There’s all this talk about reviving the National Service, because it took youths who might stray from the straight and narrow. If all the companies Burnham took over were run professionally, there would be no need to “make work”. There would’ve been real work. Overall, the Public Service expanded to over 100,000 persons.

So when the economy imploded, they were all getting “white mouth”. Thanks to people like Greenidge.

...now

But David Hinds should be ashamed of himself for being part of an initiative that he knows is once again designed to further the ambitions of the political elite, who cares not a whit for the ordinary African Guyanese. And he calls himself a “Rodneyite”!!

Webster bemoans lack of care for elderly – as Govt mulls legislation to protect them

By Gomatie GanGadin

Human Services and Social Security Minister Jenifer Webster has stated that the National Commission on the Elderly under the Ministry will soon brainstorm proposed legislation for the protection of the elderly.

Her comments come against the backdrop of the murder of several elderly women in recent times. While the nature of this legislation is not yet known, Webster told the National Assembly during her budget debate that the need has arisen and the Ministry remains committed to seeing the realisation of the legislation. Webster also expressed condolences to the families of the two elderly women who were murdered just days apart last week, while emphasising the need for leaders to take a stand against the injustice meted out to the elderly citizens of the country.

best practices while capacity-building workshops will be held to ensure that the best patient care assistance is given by the care providers at the facility.

Additionally, she mentioned that plans are in the works to partner with several state-based organisations. These partnerships, she noted, will seek to establish several centres for the elderly in various communities across the country.

“Mr Speaker, just a few days ago two elderly women were targeted by criminals and have subsequently lost their lives within the confines of their own homes. At least one of the victims was raped. This is horrific. We cannot condone this sort of violence within our society any longer and as leaders, we must, by our actions, send a strong signal that this will not be tolerated in our society” – Human Services and Social Security Minister Jenifer Webster

In the early hours of March 25, a former staff of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council was found dead in the bedroom of her North Ruimveldt, Georgetown home. Joyce Lewis, 75, of Lot 3630 Christiani Street, North Ruimveldt, was suspected to have been robbed, raped, and strangled.

Nandlall sues Stabroek News, Ram over ‘libellous’ letter

Attorney General Anil Nandlall has sued Guyana Publications Inc, publishers of Stabroek News and Columnist Christopher Ram for $20 million each over a letter back in March which he said libelled him.

The letter, which was published in the March 19 edition of the newspaper captioned: “It is the President’s duty alone to appoint three members of the Judicial Service Commission”.

tion against Ram and the Stabroek News if they did not apologise for what he has deemed “libellous” claims written by the former in a letter.

According to Nandlall, the letter made several allegations, which alluded that he is incompetent and guilty of dereliction of duty as the principal legal adviser to the President and the Government of Guyana.

embarrassment, and humiliation, both locally and internationally. He added that they have also brought disparagement to the offices of Attorney General, Minister of Legal Affairs and Member of Parliament, all positions he holds. The Attorney General’s attorney demanded that a retraction of the libellous letter be published, along with an unreserved apology.

Rights of the elderly

The Minister in calling for the rights of the elderly to be upheld and spoke of the injustice the elderly also face at the hands of their family members. Reports indicated that their pensions are taken away and they are then abused. She noted that too often the elderly are taken to the hospitals on the pretext of accessing health care and subsequently abandoned there.

Webster said the responsibility for these elderly citizens is then left on the Human Services and Social Security Ministry. As a result, the National Commission will be assiduously working to make the Palms Geriatric Home a model for elderly care, with the focus on establishing the

Several days later, on Saturday, March 29, the body of Yvonne Adams, 72, was discovered by neighbours at approximately 16:45h, inside the bedroom of her home located at South Amelia’s Ward, Mackenzie. She was found with the cord of an electrical iron wrapped around her neck and parts of her body bore marks of violence. Adams, who lived alone, was reportedly last seen by neighbours on Thursday evening.

1080 stray animals impounded in first quarter

he Home Affairs

TMinister said some 1080 animals were impounded in the first quarter of the year by its various stray catcher units.

In a release, the Ministry said the animals comprised 87 horses, 434 cows, 291 goats and 268 sheep.

The Georgetown Unit accounted for 450 animals and the Berbice Unit accounted for 630. According to the release, 69 animals were impounded in A Division, 630 in B Division, 198 in C Division and 183 in D Division.

“The Georgetown and Berbice units conducted operations on the main roadways along the East Bank of Demerara in A Division, the West Coast Berbice and Corentyne in B Division, the East Coast of Demerara in C Division, the West Bank and West Coast of Demerara and the East Bank of Essequibo, in D Division.

“The Ministry wishes to remind cattle owners to ensure that their animals are branded so as to facilitate their smooth redemption when they are impounded.”

The Ministry said fail-

ing in this respect, would be a contravention of Section 8 of the Cattle Stealing Prevention Act, Chapter 9:03 which states:

“The owner of every horse, mare, gelding, colt, filly, mule, pony, ass, buffalo, bull, cow, ox, steer, heifer and calf shall cause it to be branded in the manner hereinafter provided within six months of its birth, or within 28 days after becoming owner of it, and everyone who makes default in so doing shall be liable to a fine of not less than $7500 nor more than $15,000,” the release concluded.

It was written by Ram. In his statement of claim submitted by Senior Counsel, Ashton Chase, Nandlall is seeking damages in excess of $10 million from each defendant for alleged libel contained in the letter and aggravated damages in excess of $10 million.

He has also applied for an injunction restraining the newspaper from republishing the alleged libel.

Nandlall had earlier threatened legal ac-

Nandlall, through his Attorney Sase Gunraj, wrote letters to both Ram and Stabroek News Editorin-Chief Anand Persaud, asking them to apologise for making such allegations. In the identical letters, which were sent to this publication, it is stated that the allegations made by Ram “are not only libellous, but are reckless and accentuated by malice”.

Nandlall further stated that the allegations have caused him great public ridicule, odium, contempt,

Stabroek News EditorIn-Chief Anand Persaud had responded to Nandlall saying: “It is my view that the letter complained of: ‘It is the President’s duty alone to appoint three members of the Judicial Service Commission’, published in the March 19th, 2014 edition of the Stabroek News constitutes eminently fair comment on a matter of public interest in relation to a senior public official. There shall therefore be no retraction or apology by Stabroek News.”

Over 15,000 to sit NGSA

Approximately 15,500 students will sit the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) to be held on April 16 and 17 at centres across Guyana.

In a release, the Education Ministry said four subjects will be assessed, namely English language, mathematics, science and social studies.

Each subject will consist of two papers. English Language and science will be administered on April 16 and mathematics and social studies on April 17.

Timetables for the candi-

dates were prepared and distributed in March to schools across the country.

Seminars are being held to train supervisors and invigilators in the administration of all examinations and to enlighten them on the new procedures for these examinations.

To date, training has been concluded in Region Seven (Kamarang and Bartica), Region Eight (Paramakatoi), Region Two (Essequibo), Region Nine (Lethem) and Region 10 (Linden).

Seminars will be conducted in all the other regions

prior to the administration of the NGSA.

Other logistical preparations are ongoing in the various Regional Education Departments for the successful administration of the examinations. The Education Ministry wishes to advise that all cellular phones and other electronic devices will be disallowed in the exam.

“We are therefore asking candidates to leave such devices at home. Any candidate found with such devices during the examination will be disqualified,” the Ministry said.

Human Services and Social Security Minister Jenifer Webster

Cows in Guyana continue to be a road nuisance

Attorney General Anil Nandlall Stabroek News Editor-inChief Anand Persaud Columnist Christopher Ram

Grade Six students as they prepared to sit the National Assessment examination last year (file photo)

Poll findings drive APNU on outreach blitz

Desperate to regain ground after its secret poll revealed that the combined Opposition would lose its one-seat majority should there be a snap election, the coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has embarked on countrywide outreaches to whip up its support base.

In recent weeks, APNU has crisscrossed the country – even going to People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) strongholds to spread its message.

A well-placed source told

Guyana Times that the adverse poll findings is the reason why the Opposition has not agitated for a snap election.

For the month of March alone, led by it Leader, Retired Brigadier David Granger, APNU has conducted outreaches in Port Mourant, a community wellknown for its resolute support of the PPP/C, and even more recently in Bartica and La Parfaite Harmonie.

There were also several other outreaches in the hinterland and on the East Coast of Demerara.

The source further related to this publication that the poll was undertaken by a University of Guyana (UG) lecturer attached to the Social Science Faculty with ties to the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).

The source further contended that the poll found great discontentment among the supporters of the Opposition as a result of its inability to undertake any substantial projects or changes during its time in the National Assembly, since the general elections in November 2011, which saw

the combined Opposition winning a one-seat majority.

In an earlier interview with this newspaper, the source had said that the findings of the ‘secret’ poll may have clearly exposed the combined Opposition’s insecurity regarding any snap election called by the Government. President Donald Ramotar has since demurred on calling for a snap poll. Recently, PPP/C General Secretary Clement Rohee said citizens were not ready for elections.

Evidently seeking to gauge the firmness of President Ramotar’s support, the Opposition pitted former President Bharrat Jagdeo, even though he had written off any consideration of a “third term”, against him.

Among other things, the findings of the poll had indicated that while former President Jagdeo was the most formidable candidate, Ramotar’s support was just as impressive. If he were the candidate, the PPP/C would still emerge victorious in securing the Presidency/ Executive with 45 per cent of the votes.

In the first instance, APNU would secure 37 per cent of the votes and the Alliance For Change (AFC), four per cent. In the second, their support would rise marginally to 38 per cent for APNU and five per cent for the AFC, giving the PPP/C a clear victory whether the presidential candidate was Jagdeo or Ramotar.

In both instances, APNU’s presidential candidate identified on the poll was present PNCR Leader Granger.

The source, who provided Guyana Times with the polling data, said the Granger faction of the PNCR absolutely refused to place Carl Greenidge as a possible candidate on the poll.

The two have been locked in a bitter battle for control of the PNCR.

Assie still wanna be on 69 wid he hot seat in de lock up

Is only de other day de Bell Crier realise that Assie gotta hot seat. And that Assie had mek a lil boy head get hot wid he hot seat. Nuff people seh that it look like Assie had a hot seat from a long time now. But although this pubic knowledge was public, de Bell Crier was in de dark all this time.

But de Creator had seh let there be light and there was light. And then de Good Book seh that whah ever is done in de dark does come to light. That is how people find out bout de man who does plant pumkin night time.

Now every ting bout Assie deh in de public plain like day light. And whah ever Assie does do in de dark, he gon now do in de lock up. All this time, Assie been showin he hot seat pun 69. De 69 people was happy. Assie was happy.

Even de Pee-Pee-Pee-C was happy doin Assie hot seat wid 69. Was only when Assie put he hand pun a lil gyal fuh de sake of de lil boy that tings start to get outta control. Well, de lil gyal decide that she ain’t tekkin chance wid Assie hot seat.

She complain to de pullice. Well, that was whah Assie was hopin woulda happen. Any body anywhere in Guyana must know that if yuh put yuh hand pun a lil gyal like how Assie do, de pullice farce gon get involve. And Assie know de pullice don’t waste time to use dem baton. So Assie end up waitin fuh de pullice because is a long time since he get lock up. That is because Assie ain’t friken pullice baton like Harding. If any ting, Assie seat too hot fuh de pullice baton.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling… friend tell friend… mattie tell mattie! De last time Assie was in de hands of de pullice, de magistrate put he fuh do wuk pun de road. But de road too bright fuh Assie hot seat. So Assie gon still be on 69 wid he hot seat in de lock up.

Suspected thief caught at Better Success, beaten by residents

Residents living in the quiet village of Better Success on the Essequibo Coast are calling for an increase in police patrols in their community, as a result of the significant increase in robberies in the village.

Thus far, four families were reportedly robbed of poultry, furniture, a bicycle and even their pet dog. The robberies were not reported to the police.

Residents claimed that young boys of the village are involved in the thievery. One villager said the community is filled with youngsters who roam and loiter around the area. The villager who wished to remain anonymous claimed that the young boys would use drugs, especially at nights, and this impairs their judgment.

The villager related that two nights ago, a suspect-

ed thief was caught, beaten and then released after he broke into a nearby shop. The alleged thief was caught before he actually began searching for items to steal.

One family who was viewing television in their living room on Tuesday night was also visited by a thief.

A member of the family said they heard an unusual noise coming from outside the house and when they called out, a neighbouring family informed them that a thief was lurking around their home. Neighbours were then alerted when the thief ran into the washroom for refuge. When the thief was cornered, he said he had entered the yard for a drink of water.

Many persons from the community are fearful, saying they are under constant attack.

Results of a secret poll have shown the combined Opposition losing its one-seat majority. This has pushed APNU to embark on an aggressive outreach campaign

$413M to CPGs is too much – Felix

APartnership for National Unity (APNU) Shadow Security Minister Winston Felix has said the $413 million allocated to Community Policing Groups is too much, calling on the Government to reform the “spoiled” body.

Felix was making his contributions to the budget debate on Tuesday night when he made the comments. “The Community Policing Groups [CPGs] are being spoiled by the Government, while the Joint Services must continue to suffer through another year without any increases in remuneration,” Felix, a former Police Commissioner, said.

He said the budget is devoid of any consideration of increases of salaries and allowances, although it is without a doubt that public sector non-contractual workers must exist on meagre wages and salaries which are at subsistence level and are insufficient to put three meals on the table. Felix added that although it is common knowledge that public servants are allegedly corrupt, they are not culpable for their actions.

With regard to the CPGs, Felix said although some of them are functional, oth-

The Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) is deeply concerned over the recent incidents where children died allegedly at the hands of their mother; where a number of senior citizens, predominantly women, were murdered and the continuous cases of suicide.

According to a release, the IAC said with regards to the latter, it is gravely concerned that it is seemingly becoming unconfined to adults as some children are unfortunately taking their own lives.

With regards to suicide, the IAC has in the past repeatedly expressed its concern over such incidents and called for a national intervention and to declare the current situation of suicide

ers are underutilised with the vehicles assigned to the groups in varying areas “parked under people’s houses”.

Vigilantes

He stated that from all indications, these groups have become the police force, in that in some areas, in particular Corentyne, these groups have become vigilantes, as the police in those areas are under-resourced. On that note, Felix underscored the Government’s apparent inability to properly dispense resources given to the Guyana Police Force. The former Commissioner posited that the Police Force’s “inability to investigate narcotics export in various forms of concealment” is unacceptable, adding that “the Government always claim they need more information, the information is right there”.

Felix went on to bemoan the lack of surveillance equipment for the Police Force to adequately carry out their mandate, maintaining that if such systems were in place, the force would have been more equipped to complete investigations. He further attributed the lack of such systems to the sustained growth in the area of drug trafficking. “Members of the public are fed up and disgusted by the failure of the police to prosecute and bring to justice the offenders.”

The Shadow Home Affairs Minister maintained that there has been little or no change in the Police Force’s code of conduct over the years “I see no change setting in place in the Guyana Police Force… when the police cannot solve a crime, we eventually hear of allegations of brutality or torture,” Felix said.

In a recent statement,

a national priority.

The IAC would like to reiterate this call and to note that despite some mechanisms to provide assistance, there has been a deficiency in this regard by public entities and private organisations.

The organisation once again urged the Ministries of Human Services and Social Security, Health and Culture, Youth and Sport, to collaborate in an effort to derive a meaningful plan of action which will lead to the provision of education and related counselling with the aim of reducing, and hopefully, eliminating incidents of suicide.

On the matter of the deaths of senior citizens allude to, the IAC calls on the relevant authority to work

the Community Policing Organisation of Guyana (CPOG) expressed gratitude to the Government for the $413 million allocation. According to the CPOG, the sum will provide additional and necessary resources, mainly to groups and divisions to further enhance efforts to provide security and other services to communities. This allocation has significantly increased from the sum of $19.5 million, which was allocated in 2013. This has come at a time when the CPOG is in the process of restructuring by dividing traditional police divisions into smaller community policing divisions.

Greater efficiency

“This is to reduce the span of control of the divisional executives, resulting in greater efficiency within divisions. This budgetary allocation will enable the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide more vehicles and equipment, as well as additional training to members of the CPOG,” the release concluded.

Community policing in Guyana commenced in the year 1976, with the objectives of harnessing the energies of willing members of communities across Guyana in support of the work of the police; achieving a crimefree society; and being responsive, together with the police, to the needs of the communities in respect of maintenance of law and order. Later, the objectives were expanded to embrace development of youth clubs, health consciousness, road safety, environmental enhancement and any other activities of benefit to the community. The membership of CPOG currently consists of 268 groups with 4244 members.

Vieira didn’t have belly for sugar – Dr Gopaul

By Svetlana MarShall

No one can compensate the sugar industry for its enormous contribution to the development of Guyana, Dr Nanda Gopaul told the National Assembly on Tuesday as he defended the Donald Ramotar Administration’s move to inject $6 billion into the ailing industry.

In reminding the House of the enormous sums injected into the country’s economy, the Labour Minister, who said sugar was “near, dear and close to his heart”, said sugar production dates back to more than 300 years.

He said during the 1970s when the price of sugar soared, millions of dollars were extracted from the industry and used in a number of areas for the development of Guyana. “In fact, the money was misused,” he told the House.

“No one can ever compensate that industry for what it has extracted,” he added.

But like many other industries, the Labour Minister said the sugar industry has had its ups and downs, but emphasised that the industry will rise again. Due to its current downward spiral, APNU Executive Anthony Vieira had opined

that there be a shift from the production of sugar to ethanol and aquaculture, but this suggestion was ruled out by Dr Gopaul.

Not authority

He told his sitting members on the opposite side of the House that Vieira has no authority to speak on the sugar industry.

“He didn’t have the belly, Sir, to continue with sugar when faced with hardship, he closed down his estate, put workers on the breadline and never continued,” Dr Gopaul lamented as he took his colleagues back in history.

He added: “Mr Vieira is in no position to lecture the industry on improvement, he has a failed record, he is a failure in terms of the sugar industry.”

The Labour Minister went on to bash the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), accusing the party of steering the sugar industry downhill and now throwing the blame on the Government. He said in 1990, the PNC was responsible for the management and supervision of the Skeldon Sugar factory, but it “created enormous problems instead”.

Nevertheless, he said if the political parties at the level of the National Assembly have interest in the sugar industry, they will collectively vote for the provision of the $6 billion grant to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). But from across the floor, APNU members shouted, “Lets assent to those bills; lets look after RUSAL.”

Like Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, Dr Gopaul believes that the sugar industry will recover before the end of 2014. He warned the Opposition that moves to cut the $220 billion budget, in particular funding for GuySuCo, would result in a reduction of votes.

“Cut the budget and you will cut your votes and seats,” he warned the Opposition.

assiduously to swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice.

All Guyanese must be able to live freely without having their security compromised. Further, the IAC calls on the authorities and all religious and non-governmental organisations to work to identify and address the circumstances which may lead to someone taking his/her own life.

“The IAC urged these organisations to endeavour to be cognisant of what’s happening in their communities so that relevant assistance, including counselling, can be extended to mitigate these societal circumstances. The IAC stands ready to support any initiative/programme that will result in meaningful changes in society,” the release concluded.

APNU Shadow Home Affairs

Minister Winston Felix

Labour Minister, Dr Nanda Gopaul

thursday, april 3, 2014 | guyanatimesgy.com

Negligent Camal Home officers to be disciplined – Webster

BY SVETLANA MARSHALL

Disciplinary action will be taken against officers of Camal International Home in Corentyne, Berbice, for neglect of duties.

The Corentyne orphanage came into the spotlight in December 2013, following allegations of maltreatment of orphans residing at the institution. Human Services and Social Security Minister Jenifer Webster while debating the 2014 National Budget in the National Assembly, said disciplinary action will be taken against those officers who failed to execute their duties in accordance with the Public Service Rules.

This recommendation emanated from a committee which was appointed by Webster to investigate the allegations, which were made by three teenage girls who were charged for wandering.

Operational Standards

The Minimum Operational Standards stipulate that children’s “homes must ensure that all children within their care are protected and their rights respected”. The Human Services Minister did not specify whether the home had breached the established standards; she simply outlined the recommendations tabled by the committee. In addition to the institution of disciplinary actions, it was recommended that a management committee be established to review and have oversight responsibility for the operations of the home. Additionally, that managerial body will be tasked with the responsibility of developing and implementing procedures that would protect the rights of children residing at the Corentyne orphanage.

Training was also recommended for officers operating within the home. Minister Webster said it critical for persons operating in orphanages to be acquainted with the relevant laws for the protection and

rights of children in Guyana. Personnel will also be recruited to assist the children with their homework and assignments.

The three girls, who were sentenced to four years at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) on the charge of wandering, had said they were forced to run away to evade the verbal and physical abuse they often received at the home. The girls ages 11, 13 and 15 also alleged that they were starved of food on many occasions.

Despite the minor glitches, Minister Webster said there were many successes in 2013 and this trend is undoubtedly rolling over to 2014 with women and children reaping the benefits.

Pointing to 2013, she said the Child Care and Protection Agency worked diligently and prevented 2432 children from being separated from their families while another 519 children were removed from situations.

“Like similar agencies around the world, the agency in 2013 performed admirably to meet the increased demand for services to children and their families,” Minister Webster said, positing that the Government will continue to provide alternative care options for children while giving parents the necessary financial support to prevent the unnecessary separation between themselves and children.

Approximately $382.5

million has been budgeted for the delivery of effective Child Care and Protection Services. With the use of this grant, the agency’s 2000 parents in all 10 administrative regions will be trained in foster care. Additionally, greater emphasis will be placed on monitoring the 19 privately-managed children’s homes in Guyana.

Additionally, regulations for the Child Care and Development Services Act 2011 will be completed shortly, paving the way for the registering and licensing of day care facilities and the privately-managed homes and orphanages.

TELL Campaign

“It will be a requirement that all facilities operate at the minimum operational standards or cease operation,” Minister Webster said. Also the “TELL Campaign” and “Breaking the Silence” activities will be expanded, educating children around Guyana on childhood sexual abuse.

Meanwhile, in the area of human trafficking, the fight continues, the Human Services Minister said. According to Webster, repeated assessments have revealed a low prevalence of Trafficking In Person (TIP) in the country.

However, considering the potential impact of the crime on the safety of Guyanese, the Government through the Ministerial Task Force will continue to work with its partners to

develop strategies and programmes aimed at combating trafficking in persons.

TIP investigations are conducted by the Guyana Police Force, with all matters reviewed by the Police Commissioner or an authorised officer.

“For the year 2013, there were 20 alleged victims, nine reports, three convictions and six cases which were brought before the courts. One case was dismissed. The three convictions pertained matters in 2012. With respect to the three cases in 2013 which were not brought before the court, no charge was instituted based upon the legal advice provided by the Director of Public Prosecutions,” Minister Webster reported.

Financial aid

Amid allegations that the Human Services Ministry has failed on numerous occasions to offer support or work along with the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO), Webster said her Ministry has never rejected any alleged TIP victim, but has rendered support in the form of financial aid, the provision of housing, food and clothing; together with training opportunities and job placement.

But Minister Webster had caused eyebrows to raise with her colleagues bowing their heads when she said “It was not meant to be a living wage.” Her remarks had sent the House into an uproar. After minutes of fumbling and the signs of uncertainty in her presentation, Webster discontinued the topic and moved on to Gender Equality and Empowerment. She attempted to rebut claims by Alliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament (MP), Dr Veersammy Ramayya, who had earlier lashed out at Government over the meagre increase given to pensioners in this year’s budget.

From May 1, pension will be increased from $12,500 per month to $13,125, with approximately 42,500 senior citizens benefiting. (svetlanam@guyanatimesgy.com)

MV Makouria back in operation on Monday

The Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) has injected approximately $135 million into rehabilitation works on the MV Makouria, which is expected to be back in operation on Monday.

The vessel – on dry dock for 30 days – plies the Parika/ Bartica route. According to T&HD’s General Manager Marclene Merchant, significant parts of the vessel underwent major repairs, including its hull, internals and super structure.

“We also did works on

the shafts, propellers, rudders, rudder stocks and everything pertaining to brushings,” Merchant said. A new canteen was installed as well.

“The plumbing system has been remedied, and we have repaired all domestic and sanitary pipelines… all defective electrical works were also corrected,” the T&HD General Manager added.

“I must say the works were done to our satisfaction.” EC Vieira Investment Limited was contracted to carry out the works.

Dr Anthony unveils packed programme to keep youths in check

Amid the increase in youth-related crimes, Government will initiate a series of programmes to channel the energies of youths in the right direction, Culture, Youth, and Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony has said.

Dr Anthony was at the time addressing the National Assembly during the ongoing budget debate. A National Award Scheme, courses in Fashion Design and Photography, and the launch of a filmmaking programme are among the initiatives slated to be implemented this year.

He told the House that the National Award Scheme will complement the President’s Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG) Programme, which creates opportunities for young people to live positive lives.

The criteria for the scheme will be published shortly, giving the public the chance to nominate progressive young people for awards.

Over at the ER Burrowes School of Art, the new courses in Fashion Design and Photography will be woven into the school’s syllabus, in addition to a course on Art Appreciation. According to the Culture Minister, the school continues to make a positive contribution to Art in Guyana.

Cultural calendar

Additionally, the second Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition under the patronage of President Donald Ramotar will take place in November, the Minister announced, saying that it will be one of the marquee events for the cultural calendar in 2014.

In the area of drama, he told the House, the National Drama Festival is becoming a cultural staple, boosting drama development in Guyana. He pointed out that this year, 43 plays will enter the competition, 42 of which were written for the festival. Additionally, in an effort to enhance film production in Guyana, the Ministry will later this year launch a programme to teach film making in Guyana. “We recognise the need to tell our own stories by producing our own films. We are hopeful that this programme will eventually grow into a full-fledged film school.”

The Culture Ministry will also be working closely with the Catholic Community to host a Documentary Film Festival.

Minister Anthony revealed that by September, the four cultural and art institutions along with the film programme will be merged into an Institute of the Creative Arts. “This could allow us to manage our programmes more effectively, and to offer some core cours-

es on Guyanese culture in each faculty.”

Besides cultural and artistic programmes, the Government has implemented initiatives that have helped youths over the years to build upon their natural talents. These include the National Training Programme for Youth Employment, the Apprenticeship Programme, the Board of Industrial Training Programme, and the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme in the hinterland.

Digital database

Turning his attention to the Walter Rodney National Archives, Dr Anthony said the Ministry has been placing special emphasis on digitalising its holdings, pointing out that two projects are currently ongoing. The first creates a searchable digital database of all indentureship records, while the second captures digital images of the records.

Meanwhile, the National Trust has set aside approximately $12 million to enhance the appearance of several landmarks: the 1763 Monument, the ruins of Fort Zeelandia, and the windmill at Hog Island. The roof of the historic St Peter’s Church in Leguan will also be rehabilitated by the Trust.

The Culture Minister informed the House that approval for Guyana to accede to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage and the Convention on Intangible Heritage has been granted. These conventions are expected to create avenues for technical and other assessments to be done in the area of heritage protection. Government in this year’s budget made an allocation of $854.5 million for the execution of capital projects within the sector. Dr Anthony believes that this allocation signals the ruling party’s continued commitment to the development of young people and the sustainability of Guyanese culture.

Human Services and Social Security Minister Jenifer Webster

The refurbished MV Makouria

Culture, Youth, and Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony

Rodney inquiry has no sinister motive

– President tells WPA

Amid its fierce objections to some aspects of the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Rodney Commission and the presence of Senior Counsel Seenath Jairam as a Commissioner, President Donald Ramotar has assured the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) that the inquiry has no ulterior motive.

“You have my fullest assurance that this Commission of Inquiry is not driven by a political agenda, neither is it inspired by a sinister motive. It is intended to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of one of Guyana’s brightest stars, a man who has won international acclaim for his prodigious scholarship as well as his social, political and working class activism, and coincidentally but fundamentally, one whom you once embraced as your leader, a brother and a comrade,” Ramotar told the WPA leaders in a letter.

In a statement on Sunday, the WPA had complained that the President did not respond to the letter sent to him since March 7. It added that it certainly is not conducive to the national reconciliation and political healing, which had been the last position of the Rodney family and the WPA, as enunciated in a joint statement in 2005 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Dr Rodney’s assassination.

“WPA states again that our party was not consulted on the creation of the Terms of Reference for the

Commission of Inquiry. As far as we have been aware and based on the President’s pronouncements and on remarks of leading spokespersons of the PPP and the PPP/C Government, the Terms of Reference was the creation of the Government of Guyana in consultation solely with the Rodney family. According to the Government spokespersons, the Rodney family had insisted on the exclusion of political parties from the process. In the absence of any denial by the Rodney family to the Government’s contention, WPA must accept the Government’s position as factual.”

The WPA said it is not one of the organisations which the Commissioners saw fit to meet on their recent support-building exercise, “even though it has historically been for over three decades the leading voice calling for an inquiry into the assassination of Walter Rodney”. The party said it should not be forgotten that it was the

in letter

People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) which abstained on its own motion in Parliament in 2005 which sought to establish a CoI into Rodney’s death. The motion was supported by the WPA, the now defunct Rise, Organise and Rebuild Guyana (ROAR) and the People’s National Congress (PNC).

However, in his reply, Ramotar said it was never his intention to convey the impression that the party’s letter was ignored.

Absence of reply

“You must have observed that I made several public pronouncements which were all carried prominently in the media in which I specifically attempted to address the concerns raised in your letter. Additionally, I instructed the Attorney General to issue a statement on behalf of the Government of Guyana and to do a television programme specifically to address the concerns which you and other stakeholders have raised with me, as well as publicly. The statement was issued and the television programme was aired.”

The President told the WPA that the decision to launch the inquiry stemmed from a request made to him personally, by Dr Patricia Rodney.

There have been calls for such an inquiry, immediately after the death of Dr Rodney from many quarters, including, the PPP; public commitments of both Presidents, Dr Cheddi Jagan

and Bharrat Jagdeo to hold such an inquiry as well as a Resolution of the National Assembly.

According to the President, at the time when that request was made and after relating to him past experiences in relation to this matter, Mrs Rodney insisted that she does wish neither the ToR nor the selection of the Commissioners to be the subject of any consultations with political parties in Guyana.

Deliberate judgement

“In the exercise of my deliberate judgment, I accepted her request. In the circumstances and for those reasons, I tasked the Head of the Presidential Secretariat and the Attorney General with the responsibility to liaise with the Rodney family in respect of the formulation of the Terms of Reference. I am aware that the said Terms of Reference were crafted after weeks of consultations with the Rodney family.”

The President explained that the selection of the Commissioners was done exclusively by the Head of the Presidential Secretariat and the Attorney General.

As regards the ToR, he said it was felt that it is imperative that it be so crafted, to as far as possible, recreate for the benefit of the Commissioners, the political atmosphere and environment which existed in Guyana at the time when Dr Rodney was killed.

“Indeed, it would have been myopic and self-defeat-

ing if the inquiry was circumscribed by its own Terms of Reference from venturing beyond June 1980. It is a fact of public notoriety that Rodney’s death was not an isolated event, but has its genesis in series of events beginning with his public and political activism after his refusal of employment at the University of Guyana, which culminated with the fateful events on June 13th, 1980.

“I really do find it more than passing strange that the party which Dr Rodney led and whose membership was so closely connected with these events would now want to prevent them from being investigated. I expected the opposite. Indeed, it is my hope that all the public statements which were made both prior and subsequent to the death of Dr Rodney by the leaders of the Working People’s Alliance at the time, including the numerous pamphlets and publications of Dayclean will be considered by the Commission,”

the President said.

Additionally, he said it is his sincere hope and expectation that “every WPA leader, member and supporter who may have relevant information will appear before the Commission. I have no doubt that this information will greatly assist the Commission in discharging its mandate.”

Jairam

On the issue of Jairam, who the Opposition said represented a conflict of interest, owing to his appearance as the lead counsel for the Government in the budget cut case, Ramotar said he considered this view as one without merit.

Government has been on record saying that Jairam has no interest in the outcome of the inquiry, noting that the Senior Counsel has a long distinguished legal career at the bar of many jurisdictions in the Caribbean and at the Privy Council, London, appearing for citizens, and Governments alike.

“He has served on numerous tribunals. He acted as a High Court Judge in Trinidad and Tobago. The Government regrets this unfortunate attempt at tarnishing Mr Jairam’s steller professional reputation.”

Government also advanced that KV Jairam, LLM, Barrister-at-Law, and brother of Mr Jairam SC, served as a Member of Parliament for the People's National Congress (PNC) when that party was in Government.

A modern Police Force needs honest men – Vyphius

BY BHISHAM MOHAMED

Retiring A Division Commander, Assistant Commissioner George Vyphius said the modern Guyana Police Force that is being crafted requires honest men who would not be bought or sold.

He challenged the members of the force to brace themselves as the organisation embarks on its modernisation programme.

On this score, he urged them to continue to study and understand their respective roles as to the changes ahead since they are living in a technologically advanced world.

“I am positive that our strategic plan to those modern changes will be a success and more so, with the new leadership of the Guyana Police Force, the officers who are around have the capabilities in moving the strategic plan and make the modernisation work.”

The Assistant Commissioner also called on junior ranks to act within the confines of the law to gain more public support as he underscored the dam-

age done to the image of the force because of “rouge” ranks and allegations of widespread corruption within the body.

“I called on the junior ranks to display a high level of honesty, trust, respect and let courtesy be their hallmark as they serve the public.” As the commander of the “Division that never sleeps”, he charged his successor to be on alert since the division is not a straight road.

No easy task

He charged those who believe manning A Division is an easy task to think twice, noting that it is a complex division based on its composition. He urged his successor to be open-minded as he prepares to take over.

A Division, he added, has a lot of activities that have to be monitored on a constant basis, referencing to the frequent protests and demonstrations and more so, the number of social activities where the police are called upon to provide security. One of his major achievements, he said was ensuring

waiting to collect their passports.

“We were still in the building with people hustling and bustling to collect passports… it was chaotic; it was disastrous; it was real bad… but with the intervention by the then Commission of Police, myself and a team, worked and set out deadlines.”

tomed to going home early were able to see “brightness” when they discharged from work.

a trouble-free Regional and General Election in 2011, despite all the odds.

As he leaves, Vyphius said his most memorable time in the Guyana Police Force was at the Immigration Office. He recalled the first day at the Immigration Office, he was given the task to manage the facility, and to him, he did his best. He recounted that when he took over; applicants were still at the office at 21:00h and 22:00h,

Vyphius related that they set a period of three months to get rid of the 100,000 backlogged passports, which they accomplished. He reminisced that persons had to wait for at least two months to collect a passport, but eventually under his command, they were able to reduce that period to one month, which was further reduced to two weeks.

“During that time, we were dealing with the machine readable passports and border management control system which made the process more tedious, but we have worked as a team and was able to accomplish our mission.”

He also posited that because of their work at the Immigration Department, staffers who were not accus-

“Because of the changes, the Immigration Department stand out as one of the best department of the Guyana Police Force,” Vyphius said, claiming that the time to collect a passport has been significantly reduced to seven days and with more technology at their disposal, it can be reduced further.

Award of Excellence

He noted that it was during this time, the Chief Immigration Office received an Award of Excellence from the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce (GCCI).

Meanwhile, the Assistant Police Commissioner was given a grand send off with a well-uniformed parade. He was hailed as a man of dignity and compassion and a “no nonsense” commander, with an excellent relation with the public.

He was friends to many who assisted the force from time to time in a number of generous donations, in-

cluding in the forms of pumps and mattresses. He also served as the General Secretary for the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) and even led one Guyanese to the Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Commander Vyphius joined the Guyana Police Force on July 1, 1977. He holds a diploma in Social Work from the University of Guyana and has participated in a number of training exercises in Jamaica and U.S.

Vyphius was promoted to Lance Corporal in 1983 and in the same year, he was given a spot on promotion as Corporal. He was then promoted to Sergeant in 1984, Inspector in 1991, Assistant Superintendent in 1995, Superintendent in 2003, Senior Superintendent in 2005 and finally Assistant Commissioner in 2008. He also held several posts, including head of the Felix Austin Police College and the Beat Centre in 1979 and 1980 respectively. He also held the post of Public Relations Officer and Police Welfare Officer.

President Donald Ramotar

Dr Walter Rodney

Assistant Police Commissioner George Vyphius addressing the gathering at his farewell parade on Wednesday

Regional

Venezuela tackles food shortage with ID card system

Battling food shortages, the Venezuelan Government is rolling out a new ID system that is either a grocery loyalty card with extra muscle or the most dramatic step yet towards rationing in Venezuela, depending on who is describing it.

President Nicolás Maduro’s Administration says the cards to track families’ purchases will foil people who stock up on groceries at subsidised prices and then illegally resell them for several times the amount. Critics say it’s another sign the oil-rich Venezuelan economy is headed toward Cuba-style dysfunction.

Registration began at more than 100 Governmentrun supermarkets across the country on Tuesday and working-class shoppers – who sometimes endure hours-long queues at the stores to buy cut-price groceries – are welcoming the plan.

“The rich people have things all hoarded away, and they pull the strings,” said Juan Rodriguez, who waited two hours to enter the Government-run Abastos Bicentenario supermarket near downtown Caracas on Monday, then waited three hours more to

check out.

Rigid currency controls and a shortage of US dollars make it increasingly difficult for Venezuelans to find imported basic products such as milk, flour, toilet paper and cooking oil.

In January, more than a quarter of basic staples were out of stock in Venezuelan stores, according to the central bank’s scarcity index. The shortages are among the problems cited by Maduro’s opponents who have been staging protests since mid-February.

“Secure supply”

Reflecting Maduro’s increasingly militarised discourse against opponents he accuses of waging “economic war”, the Government is calling the new programme the “system of secure supply”.

Patrons will register with their fingerprints, and the new ID card will be linked to a computer system that monitors purchases. The Food Minister, Félix Osorio, said it will sound an alarm when it detects suspicious purchasing patterns, barring people from buying the same goods every day. But he also said the cards would be voluntary, with incentives such as discounts

and entry into raffles for homes and cars.

A local consumer watchdog, the National User and Consumer Alliance, invoked the spectre of Cuba’s struggling economy and called the ID programme rationing by another name. It predicted that Venezuelans without cards would soon be barred from shopping at state supermarkets.

After five decades of rationing basic goods for Cubans, President Raul Castro’s communist government is phasing out subsidised foodstuffs as it opens the island’s economy to private enterprise. Cubans most dependent on the rationed goods say that in

recent years their monthly quotas provided only enough food for a couple of weeks.

Until now, Venezuela’s restrictions on purchases have been toughest in its cities on the border with Colombia. Venezuelans can make a killing by buying goods at below-market prices and smuggling them into Colombia for sale at higher prices.

Defenders of Venezuela’s socialist Government say price controls imposed by the late President Hugo Chávez help poor people lead more dignified lives, and the United Nations has recognised Venezuela’s success in eradicating hunger.

(Excerpt from The Guardian)

Chile assesses damage after massive quake, tsunami

Chilean authorities on Wednesday were assessing the damage from a massive earthquake that struck off the northern coast, causing a small tsunami, but the impact was mostly limited, according to early indications.

Thousands of people who evacuated the country’s low-lying coastal areas returned home on Wednesday morning after authorities called off a tsunami alarm.

The 8.2 magnitude quake that shook northern Chile on Tuesday killed six people and triggered a tsunami that pounded the shore with two-metre (seven-foot) waves.

Authorities evaluated the damage on Wednesday as the ocean waves receded and daylight showed the full extent of the outcome.

Mines in Chile, the world’s number one copper producer, mostly said they

were functioning normally, and oil refineries reported normal operations.

The arid, mineral-rich north is sparsely populated, with most of the population concentrated in the port towns of Iquique and Arica, near the Peruvian border.

In Peru, the earthquake led to temporary power outages and evacuations in some southern towns, but

did not cause serious damage or injuries.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet visited the affected area on Wednesday. She declared a disaster zone, promising troops and police reinforcements to maintain order while damage was repaired after landslides blocked a number of roads.

Local television showed

smaller fishing vessels badly damaged and overturned in Iquique. Although the tsunami alert was called off, the navy warned that high waves and strong currents could continue, and ports in the area remained closed.

More than 900,000 people were evacuated from the coastline along Chile on Tuesday, according to the Government’s emergency office, in a move that local media reported took place in a largely orderly fashion.

Meanwhile, Chile’s army has been deployed to Iquique after some 300 inmates escaped from a women’s jail following the earthquake.

More than 100 prisoners have returned, many of them voluntarily, since fleeing the jail in the chaos that followed Tuesday evening’s quake. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Jamaica: Church leaders still opposing flexi workweek

Despite assurances from both sides of the political fence in Jamaica that freedom of worship will not be threatened under the proposed flexi workweek arrangements, local churches are insisting that the law needs to be specific in outlining the employee’s right to a 24hour day for worship.

Church leaders are insisting that, as it now stands, the proposed law allows for freedom of worship but this is not specific enough, as the employer can still determine what days of the week the employee can be off work.

Contrary to popular belief, the church officials said they are not opposed to flexi

work arrangements as it does have some benefits.

However, “in the real world” employers will have the upper hand, and could insist that employees work on the day they want off for worship. In the current religious culture, many Jamaicans assemble for worship either on Sabbath, which is observed

from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday or on Sundays. But the proposed law, which was tabled in Parliament last week, will do away with the two-day weekend, and will allow for all seven days of the week to be potential work days. Under the new law, employees would still be entitled to two days off per week. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Mexican Knights Templar drug lord “Kike” Plancarte killed

Mexican security forces say they have killed one of the leaders of the Knights Templar drug cartel.

Enrique Plancarte, known as Kike, was shot dead during an operation in the central state of Queretaro on Monday. His identity was confirmed by fingerprint tests and the analysis of old and recent photographs.

The death of Plancarte is being seen as another coup for the Government of Enrique Pena Nieto in the fight against the drug cartels.

Last month, Mexican marines killed another Knights Templar leader –Nazario Moreno, known as The Craziest One.

But the most significant development in the fight against the powerful drug cartels was the arrest, in February, of Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman. Guzman, the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, was considered the world’s most wanted drug lord. He had been on the run since escaping from a high security prison in Mexico in 2001. Plancarte had been living for at least a month in a simple house in the town of Colon, in Queretaro state, according to residents.

Mexican security forces had been monitoring his movements and stormed the house on Monday night. Plancarte was taken by helicopter to a hospital, but died of his injuries. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Argentina launches Falklands currency note to mark anniversary

Argentina has launched a new 50peso currency note featuring a map of the Falkland Islands to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the invasion of the British archipelago.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said the Falklands were “NATO’s military base” in the region. British troops regained control of the archipelago after a 74-day war in which more than 900 people died.

Argentina claims sovereignty of the islands it calls Las Malvinas.

The new note is worth just under US$7. On one side, it displays a map of the islands in the white and blue colours of the Argentine flag.

“We live in a changing world. I have end-

less confidence that we will recover these islands,” Fernandez said during a ceremony at the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace.

“The colonial enclaves always end up being recovered, sooner or later,” she added.

Fernandez said that Britain had installed longrange missiles on the islands, which represented a potential threat to South America.

“The British Government does not reveal what the military budget is for the Falklands. That is a pity in a country where 20 per cent of the young people are unemployed.

“It would be good if England was less dedicated to war and more to its own people,” said Fernandez.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Food shortages are among the problems cited by those who have been protesting against Nicolás Maduro’s regime since February

The country appears to have escaped significant damage

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said that the bodies of more than 100 soldiers were still to be identified by the Red Cross

Fort Hood shooting: one reported dead and more injured at Texas army base

At least one person died and several were injured during a shooting incident on Wednesday at Fort Hood, an enormous U.S. army base in Texas that five years ago was the site of the worst mass killing on an American military installation.

The base was placed on lockdown just after 16:30h, and remained sealed off more than two hours later as facilities were searched and casualties taken to medical facilities. “All personnel on post are asked to shelter in place,” the base urged on its Twitter feed. The First Calvary Division, which is based at Fort Hood, sent a Twitter alert telling people on base to close doors and stay away from windows. About an hour later, the base issued a statement confirming the incident: “There has been a shooting at Fort Hood, and injuries are reported. Emergency

crews are on the scene. No further details are known at this time.” Bell County sheriff’s office lieutenant Donnie Adams said the office had dispatched deputies and troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety to the nearby base after receiving reports of an “active shooter”. FBI spokeswoman Michelle Lee said its agents were also dispatched to the scene.

The Associated Press quoted a senior U.S. defence official as saying one person, believed to be the shooter, was dead. In a later statement, Fort Hood said its directorate of emergency services had an initial report that a shooter was dead, but that the report was unconfirmed. Casualties were being treated at the Carl R Darnall Medical Centre on the Fort Hood base, and at other local hospitals. President Obama, in Chicago on a fundrais-

ing tour, expressed sorrow that tragedy had once again struck the base. “We’re heartbroken that something like this might have happened again,” he said. Obama promised to ‘”get to the bottom” of the latest incident. “Obviously this reopened the pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago. We know these families, we know the service to their country and the sacrifices that they make.”

In 2009, Fort Hood was the scene of the worst mass shooting ever to take place at a military base in the U.S. The massacre on November 5 took place at a processing centre where troops preparing to deploy to Afghanistan were receiving medical checkups. It left 13 people dead and more than 30 injured. The gunman, Nidal Hasan, a former army psychiatrist, was convicted by a military court and sentenced to death in August. (The Guardian)

Ukraine crisis: Viktor Yanukovych decries Crimea ‘tragedy’

Ukraine’s deposed President Viktor Yanukovych says Russia’s annexation of Crimea is “a tragedy” and he hopes it will become part of Ukraine again.

In an interview with the Associated Press and Russian channel NTV, he also said he gave no orders to open fire on protesters in the capital, Kiev.

Yanukovych fled Kiev after protests in which more than 100 people died. Meanwhile, a top NATO Commander says Russian forces could seize swathes of Ukraine in three to five days.

Moscow is believed to have massed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s eastern border in recent days, causing alarm in Kiev and the West.

General Philip Breedlove, NATO’s top commander in Europe, said all the elements were in place for a rapid advance, including armour, mechanised units, helicopters, fixedwing aircraft, and all the lo-

Ukraine’s deposed President Viktor Yanukovych said that had he been in power, he would have tried to prevent Crimea’s annexation

gistics needed to back them up.

Russia annexed Crimea in southern Ukraine last month following a controversial referendum branded illegal by Kiev and the West. The peninsula has a majority ethnic Russian population.

Moscow has insisted it has no intention of invading Ukraine. Yanukovych, now

in Russia, said he would try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to return Crimea to Ukraine.

“Crimea is a tragedy, a major tragedy,” he said.

“We must set such a task and search for ways to return to Crimea on any conditions, so that Crimea may have the maximum degree of independence possible... but be part of Ukraine.”

(Excerpt from BBC News)

A military police officer stops a car at Fort Hood, Texas, after a shooting on the army base

thursday, april 3, 2014| guyanatimesgy.com

Man dies after bottle-lashing

Afather of one is now dead after he was struck with a bottle to his head while consuming alcohol at his friend’s home at Zeelugt, West Coast Demerara.

The incident occurred about 15:00h on Tuesday. Hours after the incident, Mahendra Singh, 38, also called “Fat Boy”, formerly of Zeelugt, West Coast Demerara was found in a semi-conscious state at his employer’s home at Lot 76 Public Road, Philadelphia, East Bank Essequibo.

Moments after the discovery, Singh was picked up and rushed to the Leonora Cottage Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His head reportedly bore a gaping wound.

According to information received, Singh was at a friend’s house when an argument broke out between them during which the suspect who is now in police custody, picked up a bottle and struck Singh to the head. After the incident, Singh went to his sister’s home where his wound was attended to, and subsequently left for his employer’s home.

Police in a statement

er visited them on Tuesday morning about 06:00h, but after spending some time, he left and went to his friend’s home where the drinking started.

The woman said about 14:45h, he returned home and warned against having his friend at her house, claiming that he was struck to the head with a rum bottle.

After seeing blood oozing from her brother’s head, she took a pair of scissors, cut around the wound and dressed it.

In tears, she explained

hospital. While he was at their home, the sister said the man received a telephone call presumably from his wife who alerted him that the man might be dead.

“We jump in his vehicle and went to the house… there we see meh brother lying on his face and was not moving and I start scream, knowing he dead.”

The sister added that they reported the matter to the Parika Police Station and upon arrival, the police advised them to take him to the Leonora Cottage Hospital where they pronounced him dead.

Ishwar Basdeo, a son of the dead man’s employer, said the man left their home on Monday and did not return until Tuesday evening, in a drunken state. He said after he reached home, he retired to bed.

His father, he noted upon getting up on Wednesday morning, found the man lying on his face, but despite him trying to find out what had happened, the man kept moaning with pain. It was then that his father decided to collect one of the man’s sisters.

After he left, it was then

said they have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Singh whose motionless body was discovered about 05:30h on Wednesday.

Police investigations thus far revealed that during Tuesday, Singh and another man were imbibing at a house at Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara (WCD), when an argument started between them. During the argument, he was allegedly struck to the head with an object.

However, the dead man’s sister, Babita (only name given) said her broth-

that she gave him money to catch a bus after he said he wanted to go to Philadelphia.

Another sister, Anita (only name given) told Guyana Times that about 06:00h, her brother’s employer, Ramdat Basdeo turned up at their home and informed them that her brother was found on the ground, and was not responding. He offered to take her to the hospital.

Anita said she was confused and thought that instead of the man coming to collect her, he could have taken her brother to the

that the man might have taken a turn for the worst.

“He was alive… my father asked him what happen, but he de moaning,” Basdeo said.

The young man also noted that his father was detained by the police for questioning.

The police are awaiting the report from the post-mortem examination as they continue their investigations. Singh leaves to mourn his three sisters and a son. His body is at the Ezekiel’s Funeral Home awaiting a post-mortem.

Student accused of burglary granted bail

Astudent of the Essequibo Technical Institute was granted bail for the offence of break and enter and larceny when he appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce on Wednesday at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court.

Andre John, 20, of Richmond Village, Essequibo Coast, pleaded not guilty to the indictable

charge after an application was made by the prosecution for summary disposal. According to the police, the defendant on March 31, at Richmond, broke and entered the shop of Narda Mahendranauth and stole $15,000 in cash and $4400 in Digicel phone cards.

The defendant, who was unrepresented by an attorney, stated that he was at the store but stole nothing.

He told the court that he works in the interior but also attends the Essequibo Technical Institute.

Prosecutor Krishnadatt Ramana had no objections to bail and informed the court that none of the items were recovered. The matter was then adjourned to April 29 for statements after John was granted bail in the sum of $40,000.

Mainstay farmer jailed for three weeks for beating villager

Thirty-eight-yearold Vijay Anand Naipaul of Mainstay, Essequibo Coast was jailed for three weeks after he was found guilty of the offence of assault. The farmer appeared at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday before Magistrate Sunil Scarce.

The court heard testimony from the virtual complainant (VC) Soamdatt Ramantan that on February 16, the defendant slapped him while he was on his moving motorcycle at Mainstay backdam. Ramantan then

fell off the bike and the defendant proceeded to inflict several blows with the man’s own motorcycle helmet to various parts of his body.

Naipaul, in his defence, claimed that the VC fell and sustained his injuries in the fall. Magistrate Scarce rejected the defendant’s version of events and informed him that he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of his guilt. Scarce then asked the defendant whether he wished to say anything in mitigation before he was sentenced and he respond-

ed in the negative. After he was again prompted by the Magistrate, the defendant said he was a father of two and had no previous convictions.

In handing down his ruling, the Magistrate stated that the defendant’s acts were wilful and deliberate and there was no lawful excuse for them. The Magistrate further said that he considered the mitigating aspects of the case. The farmer was not represented by any attorney. The prosecuting official was Krishnadatt Ramana.

APA gets 150,000 euros grant from EU

The European Union (EU) and the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) have signed a grant agreement for a total of 150,000 euros ($41.8 million).

This support forms part of the ongoing work programme being implemented by the EU and the Government of Guyana on the national roadmap for EU FLEGT, the EU said in a release.

The aim of this project is to support the active participation of the Amerindian communities in the FLEGT VPA development process in a manner that supports the national roadmap and builds synergies with the ongoing efforts of the National

Technical Working Group, the coordinating body for EU FLEGT in Guyana.

This highlights the continuous commitment of the EU and the Government of Guyana to assure, in partnership with the Guyana Forestry Commission, the active participation of all stakeholders in the VPA process.

The FLEGT VPA negotiations formally started with the first negotiation session held in Georgetown on December 5, 2012. The process is planned to culminate with an agreement by September 2015.

The VPA aims to promote sustainable forest management by further promoting

forest legality and securing access to European markets for legally-harvested and sustainable Guyanese forest products.

This specific project will build the capacity of identified Amerindian village councils and villagers, indigenous peoples’ organisations and civil society to become actively engaged in the FLEGT VPA discussions at the local and national levels, as well as to enable their effective participation in the development and implementation of the FLEGT VPA in Guyana.

The project will focus on Regions Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and 10, and will have a duration of 24 months.

Man remanded on cannabis possession, rape charges

Aman was remanded to prison after being brought up on two separate charges before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Thirty-two-yearold Clifton Anthony, of Lot 89 Bagotville, West Bank Demerara, was Wednesday refused bail after he pleaded not guilty to the charges of rape and cannabis possession.

It is alleged that the defendant on March 28 at Port Kaituma, lured

a six-year-old schoolgirl with sweets and raped her. The child, who the man allegedly threatened to ensure her silence, subsequently went home and told her parents. The child has been hospitalised.

The matter was held

“in camera”. The prosecutor objected to bail owing to the nature of the offence and the tender age of the child.

For the second charge of cannabis possession, it is alleged that the defendant, on the same day, had in his possession 10

grams of cannabis.

Defence Counsel Paul Fung-A-Fat told the court that his client is a businessman in Port Kaituma and the father of one child. Fung-A-Fat explained that the cannabis was found in the shop, but his client was not there at the time and was unaware that the narcotic was present in the shop.

Bail was refused by the Chief Magistrate and the defendant is expected to make another court appearance on April 30 for statements.

The house in which Mahendra Singh was found dead

Dead: Mahendra Singh

Manickchand says refusal to apologise is not rudeness

“My refusal to apologise was not born of arrogance or rudeness or out of a lack for authority,” Education Minister Priya Manickchand said in a statement on Wednesday.

She has been banned by Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman from speaking during the ongoing budget debates. Trotman on Tuesday instructed Manickchand to apologise to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member Jaipaul Sharma after she shouted comments from across the floor when APNU's Volda Lawrence was expressing the need for young girls and women to be protected from men who often get away with statutory rape.

Impossible to apologise

Her refusal to apologise has resulted in her being barred from the 2014 National Budget debates.

In her lengthy statement via social network, the Education Minister said the Speaker of the House in his reprimand was genuinely trying to uphold the high standards laid out for the budget debates.

Manickchand said she was not referencing to the sitting member of the National Assembly, but made it clear to whom she was referring.

While apologising for the disruption she caused in the House, she said “I found it impossible to apologise for making the remark.”

Justifying her move, the Education Minister said she is aware of alleged sexual abuse of women and children by (name given) not once but many times.

The last matter she said

was brought to the attention of the public in April 2010 by the late Member of Parliament (MP) Everall Franklin and a “very brave journalist”.

“Four young girls detailed to the nation how someone raped them repeatedly when they were between the ages of seven and 11 years. They spoke to me personally about how they were repeatedly raped,” the minister alleged.

Allegation

While reiterating that she did not want to offend the Speaker of the House or to be seen as a disrespectful individual, she could not have simply apologised.

“My refusal to apologise was because I felt like I would be betraying and abandoning the victims of rape and child rape (pedophilia), generally simply because it was at that point, inconvenient for me to stand on the side of those victims,” she explained.

Manickchand said she would not abandon the victims of rape simply to make the National Assembly happy. The Education Minister and former Human Services

Minister recalled that Public Works Minister Robeson Benn had advised her to apologise, but it was then she justified her actions.

“I explained to him that victims have said to me many times that they believe they will almost always be left alone and asked to forget what happened, not talk about it, because of the perceived need for and importance of preserving family relations…”

It was emphasised that the destruction caused by “hushing up” this kind of behaviour is evident.

Sad

Nevertheless, she said Tuesday’s incident has left her sad, but at the same time strengthened in her resolve to talk about the issue of rape. She asked the question: “When is it a convenient time to expose rape and pedophilia?”

The Education Minister said while she was scolded for heckling, she said in the last Parliament, a Government member had loudly heckled, accusing someone of “thiefing” a whole school.

“These kinds of heckles are allowed and seen as fitting and even adding to the spirit of the debate. But a heckle informed by charges of serial child rape and known to the nation immediately embarrasses and hurts…”

She then asked whether this reaction was because Guyanese see rape and child sex abuse as taboo and “not things to expose and talk about openly?” According to Manickchand, the behaviours reinforce the culture of hushing up and shaming the complainant

MP Vanessa Kissoon stable after sickle-cell attack

APartnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Vanessa Kissoon was on Wednesday evening rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital after she took ill during the 2014 budget debates.

Kissoon, the Region 10 representative, is said to be suffering from sickle-cell disease (anaemia); however, it was not clear whether this was the cause for her sudden illness.

After becoming ill sometime around 18:15h, she was assisted by medical doctor and fellow MP Dr George Norton, who accompanied her along with the medical team on standby at Parliament Building to the Georgetown Public Hospital. She was reportedly having trouble breathing.

Giving an update on the parliamentarian’s condition, APNU Leader David Granger said Kissoon is in a stable condition and will be returning to the National Assembly today.

Questioned about the cause of her illness, the Opposition Leader noted that he does not want to

APNU MP Vanessa Kissoon

speculate since he is not a medical professional. “I am not a medical person, I can only assume that it is a temporary change in her condition but Dr Mahadeo has indicated that it has been stabilised,” Granger said while referring all medical questions to Dr Norton.

Meanwhile, Dr Norton confirmed that it was a sickle-cell attack; however, he could not have said what provoked the sudden attack.

During last year’s budget debate, former APNU MP Richard Allen had collapsed in the National Assembly after complaining about feeling unwell and suffering from a fever. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he received medical attention and was diagnosed with hypertension.

Allen subsequently resigned from the National Assembly and was replaced by MP Renita Williams. Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that causes chronic anaemia, periodic episodes of pain, among other complications, including shortness of breath.

This disease is caused when the red blood cells become rigid and shaped like crescents, or sickles, rather than being flexible and round.

This change in shape prevents red blood cells from getting into small blood vessels which results in the tissues not getting enough oxygen and the lack of oxygen can cause pain and damage in the arms, legs, and internal organs.

Govt, U.S. Embassy hold talks on LEAD Project

BY ALEXIS RODNEY

President Donald Ramotar and U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, D Brent Hardt last week held talks on the controversial Leadership Education and Democracy (LEAD) Project.

The U.S. Ambassador, Brent Hardt through his Public Affairs Officer Albert Razick, told this publication

Local poultry farmers crying foul over smuggled chickens

Local poultry farmers and shop owners are crying foul that the smuggling of chicken meat from neighbouring Venezuela has caused a significant decline in their business operations in the North West District (NWD).

Poultry farmer, Rajesh Tirbani, told Guyana Times that he operates the R & S Poultry Farm located at Swan on the Linden Highway, which for the past five years, has been one of the major distributors in the NWD.

He revealed that he used to send a shipment of 12,000 pounds to NWD; however, sometime last year, his business began to decline, and as such, he began to investigate since he knew there

was high demand for the meat there.

It was then he discovered persons were smuggling chicken from the neighbouring country and selling it at Port Kaituma. According to Tirbani, he made the discovery in October last; however, the illegal activity had begun a few months prior. The man noted that the smuggled meat is bought by some shop owners to resell to business persons who are in the food business. He said only chicken meat is being smuggled and is solely distributed in the Port Kaituma area.

The man said that a lot of chemicals are used on the meat. “These chickens are about less than 42 days old and what happen

is that they use chemicals to breed these chickens so that they can get about five or six pound chickens,” he explained.

The businessman said he has several regular customers who are suffering also since the smugglers retail the meat at almost half the price businesses sell in the interior.

Tirbani said he saw when the boat comes and off-loads the meat. “I see when the chicken comes, who they distribute it to. I even see when they changing the packet. The boat does come every other day, so I see this,” the man related.

However, he noted that he does not know who the smugglers are. The worried businessman added that

sales from his business have dropped tremendously from what it used to be.

Tirbani noted that one consumer (name given) would take about 4000 pounds while others take about 2500 each; however, this has been significantly reduced.

Small-scale poultry farmers in Port Kaituma are also affected by this illegal activity, Seecharran said.

“It is interfering with the whole poultry industry,” the two men said during the interview. The businessmen are calling for Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy to look into the matter as they cannot make reports to the police as they (police) are benefitting from the illegal activity.

that the two men met last Thursday. According to the U.S. Embassy Spokesman, Ramotar was accompanied by Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues–Birkett and Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira.

He described the discussion as fruitful. “The discussions were positive and constructive, and the parties agreed to meet again as soon as feasible to continue the dialogue with a view to finding a mutually agreeable way forward within the framework of our longstanding cooperation through USAID [United States Agency for International Development] on democracy and governance,” Razick said.

He said the ambassador reaffirmed the U.S.’s interest in active Government engagement in and support for the programme, which has among its aims the enhancement of consensusbuilding in the National Assembly, the strengthening of citizen’s engagement with the National Assembly, supporting civic and voter education on local governance and local government elections, and expanding women and youth participation in civic processes.

Since its introduction, the ruling administration has had several reservations over the US$300 million project, includ-

ing issues with its design and implementation. U.S. Government had informed that the USAID Project is intended to address the lack of compromise and consensus, which have dogged the work of Parliament since the 2011 elections.

The USAID LEAD programme will be implemented by the International Republican Institute (IRI). It also has a primary objective of supporting Guyanese stakeholders’ effort to promote effective and responsive democratic institutions.

Late last year, the programme, which is expected to last for some two years, was halted because of its rejection by Guyana’s Government. The administration had said that its inputs were not included in the final product.

Opposition Leader David Granger had also expressed disappointment over the halting of the project.

He said while the Opposition was not a key party in the discussions on the way forward, it remains supportive of the thrust of the LEAD Project and the role it could play in strengthening the local government system through enhanced public education.

The Opposition had also denied being part of meetings with the U.S. Embassy officials here to discuss components of the project.

Education Minister Priya Manickchand

SUDOKU

New possibilities or positions in the workplace are coming your way. Other people are impressed with the efforts you have put forth. Be prepared to make a career move.

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

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(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

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A small change can boost your spirits. Consider making improvements at home. Ask a friend or family member to pitch in, and it will help you form a closer bond.

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(Nov. 23Dec. 21)

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Nadal impatient for return to favoured clay courts

Rafa Nadal is eager to get back to his favored clay after what he called a “good but not fantastic” start to the year with two titles and two runners-up spots, the world number one said on Wednesday.

Spaniard Nadal, 27, won on the hard courts in Doha at the start of the season before a back injury wrecked his chances in the Australian Open final at the end of January.

He returned to take the title on clay in Rio de Janeiro the following month and reached the final of last week’s Sony Open hard-court event, where he was beaten 6-3 6-3 by second-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

He will be bidding for a ninth title at the Monte Carlo Masters later this month before more clay events at Barcelona, Madrid and Rome and then the French Open starting at the end of May, where he is also chasing a ninth trophy.

Nadal said he was “more pleased than sad” about his performance on the Miami hard courts but admitted that Djokovic had been much the superior performer.

“In the Miami final

I was not at the level of Djokovic, obviously he was quite a bit better than me,” Nadal said at an event organized by new sponsor Banc Sabadell.

“But it was important for me in terms of confidence for the clay season,” he added.

“As always I am coming into the clay swing with the maximum level of hopeful anticipation and I am eager to do well and eager to start training on clay.

“I think I have started the season quite well, not fantastic but good.

“I have a favorable history on clay but history doesn’t help you much in the present.

“The only thing I can do is try to work hard and get to the clay season well prepared in tennis terms and in good physical and mental shape.”

Forty-three of Nadal’s 62 singles titles have come on clay, including eight at the Barcelona Open, two in Madrid on red dirt and seven in Rome. He has 13 grand slam singles titles and a record 26 Masters crowns. (Reuters)

Spurs beat Pacers 103-77 for 18th straight win

San Antonio is steamrolling its way into the playoffs. Indiana can’t even figure out what’s wrong.

And a game that might have been billed as an NBA Finals preview just a week or two ago demonstrated just how wide the disparity is now.

Tony Parker scored 22 points, Boris Diaw added 14 and the Spurs broke the franchise record with their 18th consecutive victory, 103-77 over the Pacers on Monday night.

“Great streak right now, this was a good win for us tonight,’’ Tim Duncan said. “To continue the streak, all that is good. We’ll worry about a couple of things, staying healthy, finishing the season strong and hopefully going into the playoffs with the confidence we’re playing with now.’’

It seems nothing can derail the Spurs (58-16) right now.

On a night Duncan went 3 of 10 from the field and Manu Ginobili managed only

six points and two assists in 16 minutes, San Antonio’s Big Three added one more line to its already impressive resume by breaking the franchise record on the 18th anniversary of the only previous 17-game winning streak in Spurs’ history.

About 75 minutes before tip-off, the Spurs bluntspeaking coach, Gregg Popovich, told reporters that sometimes when a team

wins a lot, it just needs to get “slapped.’’ Popovich’s players followed a different tack - taking control early, fending off every challenge along the way and wrapping it up late. The result: San Antonio handed the Pacers their worst home loss of the season and dropped them percentage points behind Miami for the Eastern Conference’s top seed. (Yahoo! Sports)

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Rafael Nadal

Serena Williams loses to Jana Cepelova in Family Circle Cup

World number one Serena Williams suffered a shock defeat by Jana Cepelova in the second round of the Family Circle Cup in South Carolina.

The defending champion, 32, lost 6-4 6-4 to the Slovak, 20, who is ranked 78 in the world.

Williams, who won the Sony Open last weekend, failed to recover after losing the first five games.

Venus Williams made it into round three of the Family Circle Cup

“Obviously things didn’t go great, but she was a great counter-puncher and hit a lot of balls back,” Williams said.

Cepelova had never previously beaten a top-15 player, but held her nerve to pull off the biggest win of her career.

Venus Williams, the 2004 champion, lost seven consecutive games at one stage, but reached round three with a 6-3 0-6 7-5 win over Barbora Zahlavova of the Czech Republic.

Sixth seed Eugenie Bouchard of Canada beat Russia’s Alla Kudryavtseva 6-2 6-0, while Australian seventh seed Samantha Stosur had to battle to beat Yaroslava Shvedova of

Man United can eliminate Bayern Munich – Moyes

Manager David Moyes believes Manchester United have a “great opportunity” to eliminate Champions League holders Bayern Munich after a 1-1 draw in their last-eight first leg at Old Trafford.

“We know we’ve got to score a goal in the second leg. We have to do something about it,” said Moyes.

“But we’ve given ourselves a great opportunity.”

Bayern Munich will be without midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger for the second leg after he was sent off.

With Thiago Alcantara also ruled out after sustaining knee ligament damage in the weekend’s draw with Hoffenheim and Javi Martinez suspended, Moyes’s Bayern counterpart Pep Guardiola will be forced to change his midfield before the return in Bavaria on 9 April.

The former Barcelona coach revealed he had spoken to referee Carlos

Velasco Carbello after the match to complain about Schweinsteiger’s second yellow card for a foul on Wayne Rooney late in the game.

Schweinsteiger gestured that he believed Rooney dived to draw the decision, but his manager refused to go as far.

When asked if he agreed with the decision, Guardiola said: “Absolutely not.”

“He is a very good referee. He made a very, very good game, but it is unfair,” he added.

“To win the Champions League you have to solve and overcome everything. In football this kind of thing happens.”

While Manchester United’s Premier League title defence has been disappointing, they have performed better in the Champions League, winning their group and recovering to beat Olympiakos 3-2 on aggregate in the last round. (BBC Sport)

Russia 6-3 5-7 6-1.

Eighth seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania was knocked out by Brazil’s Teliana Pereira who won 3-6 6-3 7-6.

Masters will not suffer without Tiger Woods, says Matt Kuchar

World number 11 Matt Kuchar says the Masters will not suffer despite the ab sence of Tiger Woods next week.

Four-time champion Woods will miss the Masters for the first time in his ca reer after having surgery on a pinched nerve in his back.

“It’s the Masters,” said Kuchar, who was eighth at Augusta last year. “It’s still the greatest golf tourna ment.”

Woods aggravated his back in March’s WGCCadillac Championship af ter withdrawing from the Honda Classic.

Australia v WI, Women’s World T20, semi-finals, Mirpur

West Indies hope to end Australia jinx

The 38-year-old, who will be absent from the Masters for the first time in 19 years, won his maiden Augusta title in 1997 and also claimed the Green Jacket in 2001, 2002 and 2005.

Kuchar added: “Certainly, the Masters will not suffer. It’s definitely exciting.

“I think everyone wants Tiger to be healthy and playing well and in contention. Most guys dream of taking Tiger down, battling him down the stretch at the Masters. We won’t have that chance this year but we’ll still have a chance to don a Green Jacket.”

“We experienced a year without him. He is the centre of the PGA Tour sphere.

“He attracts the most eyeballs, the most attention, but there are a lot of great players out here and I think the Tour held on quite well, stayed pretty healthy, while

Cink, the 2009 Open champion, said that the sport had enjoyed high-quality tournaments in the past without Woods, citing his absence in 2008 while he recovered from knee surgery.

Cink said: “It will be a little different without him, but it’s still a great tournament.

“We played, back in 2008, a lot of majors in a row without him and they were still great tournaments, and the Masters will be great.”

One of Woods’ former coaches, Hank Haney, believes the 14-time major winner will have to adapt his swing when he does return to action.

“Knowing the way he thinks and reacts, he’s going to find the easiest way that he can to swing with his back, which will probably mean he makes some changes to his swing,” Haney told the Golf Channel. (BBC Sport)

his is a repeat of the semi-final in Sri Lanka, which Australia won by 28 runs on their way to securing the trophy, and of the final of the 2013 World Cup, where they once again came out on

Here, Australia made a

top spot in the group, but a wake-up call is not always a bad thing before the business end of a tournament.

A final piece in Australia’s jigsaw may well have been replacing Delissa Kimmince with Elyse Villani who made an unbeaten 90 - her first international half-century

losing start to their title defence against New Zealand before notching three wins on the bounce to finish top of their group - but only on net run-rate ahead of the rapidly improving South Africa, who had Australia 56 for 4 when they met.

West Indies went the other way, winning their first three matches to ensure themselves of progress to the knockout stage before falling to a defeat against India, which meant they conceded

- to set up victory against Pakistan.

It is no surprise to see Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin at the top of West Indies’ run-scoring: they have 236 runs between them while the rest of the batting has 194. Dottin also has four wickets in seven overs to her name and her performance can so often set the tone for West Indies. “She is always very dangerous,” said a wary Meg Lanning. (Cricinfo)

(BBC Sport)

Serena Williams

David Moyes

Stafanie Taylor

Deandra Dottin

FIFA World Cup 2014: Venues may not be ready for start of tournament

Infrastructure may not be “totally ready” for the start of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil because of building delays, admits Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke.

Two stadiums - in Porto Alegre and for the opening game in Sao Paulo on 12 June - are still not finished.

But Valcke insisted there is “no way” that fixtures will be postponed.

“If you want me to summarise, we are not ready. We have two stadiums where there is still work to do,” he said.

Preparations for the World Cup have been beset by problems with a construction worker falling to his death last week at Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians, which is due to host the opening match between Brazil and Croatia.

That took the number of fatalities at the site to three after two died in November

following a partial collapse of the stadium. A total of eight men have already died working on World Cup stadiums.

Elsewhere, Porto Alegre’s local mayor had previously said the city may drop out if additional funding was not found to build facilities for media, sponsors and fans. The city’s Beira Rio stadium is due to host five matches during the tournament.

But Valcke said: “For Porto Alegre, an agreement was made between the different parties in the city to make sure the temporary facilities would be financed, so it is now more the implementation of these decisions.

“In Sao Paulo, it’s sad because a worker died a few days ago and the result is that the work has been stopped inside a stadium where there are a number of things to do.”

Valcke, who visited

Brazil last week, added:

“There is no way we can postpone the opening game. We have a match schedule and it will go until 13 July so there cannot be any delay.

“Maybe there will be things which will not be totally ready at the beginning of the World Cup but the most important thing for the 32 teams teams is the training camp and fields, all of this will be there to ensure you have football.

“Then we have to make sure television can get the international feed [of games] and we have to have all the telecommunication systems in place for the media, all the structures you need when you move from a normal stadium to a World Cup stadium.

“You have no choice, you have to make sure that if you are not getting 100% you have 99.99% and that’s what we are working on.” (BBC Sport)

Barcelona transfer ban: Fifa issues 14-month sanction

Barcelona have been given a 14-month transfer ban for breaking rules on signing international players under 18.

The Catalan club cannot buy players until the summer of 2015 after the world governing body, Fifa, imposed a transfer ban for the next two windows.

The Spanish champions have also been fined 450,000 Swiss Francs (£305,000) and have confirmed they will appeal.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has been sanctioned by Fifa for the same breaches.

Barcelona, who will still be allowed to sell players, are hoping to sign a new goalkeeper at the end of the season, with the longserving Victor Valdes leaving the Nou Camp at the end of his contract.

The four-time European champions have been linked with Borussia

Monchengladbach keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, while they agreed a deal to sign 17-year-old Croatia midfielder Alen Halilovic last week.

Any appeal against the ban must be lodged within three days and is not likely to be heard until April.

"FCB will present the corresponding appeal to Fifa and if necessary will submit the resulting resolution to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)," said a statement on the club's official website.

Should the case reach CAS it would raise the possibility that the club could still sign players this summer if the ban is not imposed until a final decision is made.

The RFEF has been given a fine of 500,000 Swiss Francs (£340,000) and told to "regularise its regulatory framework and existing system concerning the in-

‘

Jamaican Invasion’ boxing card

Boxers to arrive this evening

The Jamaican contingent of boxers and officials will touch down on local soil this evening to honour their ring date with Guyanese on Saturday evening on the “Jamaican Invasion” boxing card at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

According to a source close to the Guyana Boxing Board of Control, the organising body of the five-fight card, the delegation, which includes four boxers from the Land of Reggae, is slated to arrive in Guyana at 21:00h.

This publication was also told that all systems are in place for Saturday’s showdown, with action set to get

Badree

Wunderway at 20:00h sharp.

A maximum of 32 rounds of boxing is carded for the night.

The night’s action will be headlined by what is touted as a mouth-watering showdown between Guyanese Dexter “The Kid” Marques and Jamaican Rudolph “Cutting Edge” Hedge, who will square off in a 12-round title fight.

Both pugilists have expressed confidence of outdoing each other, but when they enter the ring on Saturday all the thrash talk will count for nothing if skills, dexterity and tactical acumen are a no-show.

At stake would be the World Boxing Council (WBC)/ Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) Flyweight belt, currently adorning the waist of Marques.

In the main supporting clash, Mark Austin of Guyana will trade punches with Devon Moncrieffe of Jamaica in an eightround Junior Middleweight encounter, while the other three fights are all fourrounders.

Romeo Norville of Guyana will take on Jamaica’s Kemahl Russell in a Super Middleweight clash; hometown boy Quincy Gomes will face Toriano Nicholas of Jamaica at Lightweight, while in an all-local showdown, David Thomas will confront Richard Williamson at Super Lightweight.

Admission to the venue is $3000 (ringside) and $1500 (stands).

Saturday’s card has received corporate support from Fly Jamaica, Digicel, Banks DIH Limited, GUYOIL, Courts, Giftland OfficeMax, Guyana Tourism Authority and Top Brandz Distributors. (Avenash Ramzan)

now world number one

est Indies’ leg-spinner Samuel Badree has moved up a place to replace teammate Sunil Narine as the numberone ranked bowler in the latest Reliance ICC Player Ranking for T20I bowlers.

The latest update was released on Wednesday, a day after the group stage of the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 came to an end.

ternational transfer of minors in football" within a year.

Fifa rules state that international transfers are only permitted for players over the age of 18 - unless the player in question meets one of three qualifying criteria.

Under-18s can move to a club in a different country if their parents move there for non-footballing reasons, if they are from another nation within the European Union or European Economic Area and aged between 16 and 18, or if they live within 100km of the club.

A Fifa investigationcentred on several players aged under 18 who were registered and played for the club between 2009 and 2013 - found that Barcelona and the RFEF were guilty of a "serious" infringement of the rules in relation to 10 players. (BBC Sport)

Four sides-India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and defending champion West Indies-have now made it to the semi-finals to be played on 3 and 4 April in Dhaka. The final is scheduled to be held on 6 April, also in Dhaka.

Badree is currently the

third highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 10 scalps from four matches, at an average of nine and an economy rate of 5.62.

Badree’s efforts have helped him gain 109 rat-

ings points to finish on 855, 45 ratings points ahead of teammate Narine. Before the start of the tournament, Badree was behind Narine by just one ratings point. (ICC

Serena Williams loses to Jana Cepelova in Family Circle Cup

World number one Serena Williams suffered a shock defeat by Jana Cepelova in the second round of the Family Circle Cup in South Carolina.

The defending champion, 32, lost 6-4 6-4 to the Slovak, 20, who is ranked 78 in the world.

Williams, who won the Sony Open last weekend, failed to recover after losing the first five games.

"Obviously things didn't go great, but she was a great counter-puncher and hit a lot of balls back," Williams said.

Cepelova had never previously beaten a top-15 player, but held her nerve to pull off the biggest win of her career.

Venus Williams, the 2004 champion, lost seven consecutive games at one stage, but reached round three with a 6-3 0-6 7-5 win

over Barbora Zahlavova of the Czech Republic.

Sixth seed Eugenie Bouchard of Canada beat Russia's Alla Kudryavtseva 6-2 6-0, while Australian seventh seed Samantha Stosur had to battle to beat Yaroslava Shvedova of Russia 6-3 5-7 6-1.

Eighth seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania was knocked out by Brazil's Teliana Pereira who won 3-6 6-3 7-6. (BBC Sport)

Media Release)

Samuel Badree

Rudolph Hedge

Devon Moncrieffe

GCB U-15 Inter-County Tournament….

Batting collapses undermine

President’s XI, Essequibo

– Demerara, Berbice in control after day one

Defending champi-

ons Demerara and Berbice are firmly in control after day one in the second round of the Guyana Cricket Board-organised Igloo Ice-cream-sponsored under-15 Inter-county tournament on Wednesday.

First innings batting collapses undermined the President’s X1 and Essequibo, resulting in both teams surrendering first innings points.

At stumps across at the Wales Community Centre ground, President’s X1 batting a second time were 472, still trailing their first innings deficit by 28 runs.

After winning the toss and opting to field, Steven Kalamudin produced a fiery opening spell, snaring 5-19 in just six overs to rock the President’s X1 for an insignificant 56 in 29.5 overs. Kris Ramnarine supported Kalamudin with 2-2.

Stephon Wilson (11) and Khemchand Hardyal (10) were the only batsmen with any significant contributions.

Due to the playing conditions, Berbice were entitled to eight additional overs after the President’s X1 failed to bat out their allotted 38 overs. They reached 129-7 in 46 overs, with Dinishwar Budhoo topscoring with 36. He received support from Alex Algu (24), Kris Ramnarine (17), Kevin Sinclair (15) and Kevon Anderson, 10 not out.

Junior Phillips was the main destroyer for the

President’s X1 with 4-29. Demerara/Essequibo Game

Over at the Enmore Community Centre ground, Essequibo are facing a heavy defeat after being reduced to 35-5 batting a second time, and faced with a huge first

innings deficit of 149 runs.

The batsmen at the crease are Orlando Jailall on three and Vishal Singh, who is yet to score.

A familiar batting collapse twice has given the

defending champions total control. Essequibo were bowled out for 52 in 33 overs in their first innings, before Demerara replied with 2012 in 43 overs.

Only Orlando Jailall offered any resistance for the boys from the Cinderella County with 22, but failed to find support from his other colleagues.

Colin Barlow (3-3), Anthony Antonio (3-5) and Ashmead Nedd (2-17) were the main destroyers for Demerara.

Kurt Lovell (70*) and Alphius Bookie (66*) then stroked unbeaten half centuries in Demerara’s reply. Skipper Bhaskar Yadram supported with 29.

Nedd and Barlow have so far claimed 3-12 and 2-7 respectively. Play resumes today, the final day at 09:30h at both venues. (Rajiv Bisnauth)

Scotiabank/Pepsi Schools Football Academy BHS record first win;N/A Multi lose 2-0

Berbice High School (BHS) inflicted a 2-0 defeat on pre-match favourites New Amsterdam Multilateral School (NAMS) as second- round action in the Scotiabank/Pepsi Schools Football Academy Berbice leg commenced Wednesday at the Esplanade Park in New Amsterdam.

BHS were clearly the better team and throughout the first half of the game, made several attempts at scoring, but were thwarted through excellent goal-keeping from Tavell Simpson.

Strikers Derryck Taylor, Mustapha Nicholson and Shamar Arrindel created plays after receiving passes from either of the two midfield players, Aaron Trotz or Rawl Bourne and converted them into goal-scoring opportunities, but were never able to score as Simpson was at his best.

Shamar Morris, playing as a defender for NAMS was almost useless. The overweight player was nothing more than an object on the

field as he seldom made the strikers think and got past him effortlessly on every occasion.

Simpson continued his dominance in the first half and ensured the teams went in scoreless.

On the resumption, things changed and Trotz ,who was playing in the midfield decided to approach the goal himself after dribbling past the defender Rashad Davis, and opened the scoring.

Twenty minutes later Bourne took a corner shot that was awarded to BHS and made a fast, flat pass which Arrindel directed between the uprights just as flat to take the game away from NAMS.

The corner was awarded after Arrindel attempted to score, being five feet away from the goal line and at the centre of the goal. The shot was sent to the goal post and rebounded to Taylor, who just guided the ball straight to the goal -keeper who had already given up hope. A

ECCB 40-over Competition

late reaction caused the corner to be awarded.

NAMS arrived with only 11 players and were thus unable to substitute their tiring players.

The team was also without assigned coach Keith O’Jeer.

Organizers of the tournament have assigned coaches to each participating school. This is the second game played by NAMS without a coach.

Technically, NAMS lacked coordination during the game and despite some efforts by Ronaldo Cassiano and Nkrumah Smith, the side never posed a challenge apart from the goal -keeping. The Berbice leg of the tournament continues on Thursday with Canje Secondary coming up against Vrymens Erven Secondary School (VESS) at the same venue.

Despite their loss to Tutorial Academy in the first round, VESS will start as favourites.

Better Hope again defeat Ogle

Better Hope stunned Ogle once more as the East Coast Cricket Board’s 40-over competition continued last weekend. This time, Better Hope ‘B’ took the challenge to Ogle in a rain-affected match played at Ogle.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, Ogle posted a challenging 149 off 28.5 overs of their allotted 30 overs . Batting for Ogle, Khemraj Dindial made an unbeaten half century to place Ogle in a commanding position.

Excellent bowling by Better Hope troubled Ogle early in the match. Ogle lost two wickets in the first two

Park Rangers prevailed over Wellman, while Azad Azeez starred as Wolf’s Warriors thrashed Tony’s XI in quarter-final action last Sunday in the Trophy Stall- sponsored softball tournament at the Cyril Potter College of Education ground.

Wellman, batting first, rattled up 208 off their 20 overs with Lloyd Rooplall scoring 45 and Samlall supporting with 36.

Mark Fung and Ricky Persaud took two wickets each. Park Rangers then raced to victory at 2093 off 17.4 overs, thanks to Ron Ramnauth’s brilliant 109. Fung made 45 and S. Massiah 36.

Wolf’s Warriors then demolished the youthful Tony’s XI by 136 runs. Led by Azad Azeez with a blistering 97, Wolf’s Warriors

posted a challenging 232-8 off 20 overs.

A. Nizamudin scored 45 and Amrit Rai chipped in with 29, as K. Jailall took 3-46. Tony’s XI were bowled out for 96 with A. Zamin snaring 4-19 and Dharam Persaud 2-29.

Success Masters defeated Frontliners by 60 runs in their clash. Success, batting first, did well to score 201-8 off 20 overs. K. Ramnauth led the way with 65, while Raghunandan Narine took 2-36 for Frontliners, who replied with 141 all out. Rudy Rodrigues topscored with 36 as R. Mayors snared 4-23. In the other game of the day, Trophy Stall A overcame Country Side by 46 runs. Trophy Stall A raised 213-8 off 20 overs, thanks to scores of 53 from S. Budhu, 35 from M. Dutchin and 34 from J. Deosaran. R. Gomes

picked up 3-44 for Country Side, who got to 167-9 when their overs expired. L Karim made 37 and Ramlakhan 25. S.Budhu took 3-31.

Meanwhile, Floodlights and Parika Defenders will square off on Friday night from 18:00h at the DCC ground to decide the fourth team to advance to the Masters semi-finals, set for Sunday.

In the Open semi-finals, Wolf’s Warriors will take on Trophy Stall A, while Regal will play Farm from 09:00h to see which two will take on Smith’s XI and Die Hard of Essequibo from 13:00h the same day to decide who will make it to the grand final slated for April 13.

The Masters semi-finals will be played at DCC on April 12 under floodlights. The finals of all the categories are set for April 26 under floodlights at the same venue.

overs, but managed to recover. Bowling for Better Hope, Kevin Kowlessar picked up 2 for 11 and Roy Persaud 2

for 15. At the start of Better Hope’s innings, Ogle managed to make early inroads into the batting line- up giving them a glimmer of victory, but excellent batting by Bharat Samaroo and Sunil Seeraj took Better Hopeto victory.

Better Hope completed their run chase in 24 overs for the loss of five wickets. Batting for Better Hope, Bharat Samaroo scored an even half century, while Sunil Seeraj supported with a knock of 44.

Bowling for Ogle, Khemraj Dindial returned with the ball to capture 3 for 15.

From Mecca to Mackenzie set to entice Linden fans

By Treiston Joseph

Basketball is slowly regaining its popularity, especially after the recently concluded Road to Mecca National Club Championship which was held in Georgetown. However, with fan support gaining traction and with Georgetown fans coming out to support their teams, the final six teams in the tournament will now head to Linden for return matches with over $250,000 up for grabs.

In what is being called 'From Mecca to Mackenzie', organizer of the games Edison Jefford revealed the

notion behind the return games.

"The initial idea behind it is to carry the rivalry from Georgetown to Linden to really see if the Georgetown teams can dominate in Linden.

"The Georgetown fans came out in their numbers and we want to generate that same atmosphere in Linden to test Georgetown in Linden's back yard," Jefford told Guyana Times Sport

Dyna’s Ravens will play the Retrieve Raiders in the feature game, which was the final of the Road to Mecca, while Bounty Colts will Battle Amelia's Ward Jets,

the game which was the third place playoff.

Pacesetters will also take on Kashif and Shanghai Kings in a pre-game encounter with action tipping off from 19:00h at the Mackenzie Sports Club Hard Court.

Jefford also mentioned that he expects a tremendous turnout and so very good basketball in the rematches.

Kirk “Chow Pow” Jardine is also expected to host the event and bring entertainment value to Linden, while the basketball will be a showcase of some of the most talented athletes in the nation.

Steven Kalamudin Ashmead Nedd

Bharat Samaroo

Confident West Indies take on Sri Lanka

World Champions

West Indies will face Sri Lanka in the first semi-final of the ICC World T20 tournament on Thursday night at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.

West Indies finished second behind India in their Super 10 group. They lost the opening match to the India but rebounded to beat Bangladesh by a large margin of 73 runs, defeat Australia in a thrilling contest and Pakistan by a record 84 runs.

First ball on Thursday is 7pm (9am Eastern Caribbean Time/8am Jamaica Time).

On the eve of the match, skipper Darren Sammy spoke to the media about his team’s plans for the upcoming match.

“Whenever we play tournaments, on that given day we always focus on that opposition. Cricket is not about what happened before. We defeated them in the World T20 back in 2012 and in the warm-up game here earlier but they have been playing some good cricket and they are good opposition. We have a lot of respect for them. At the same time we know what we have to do to win. We will focus on the way we have to play and look to improve on the areas that need improvement. We have been peaking at the right time and showing that team spirit and never say die attitude and have a good semi-final like we had at the last tournament,” Sammy said.

“No team has ever defended the title before. When we left the Caribbean,

we had that as the motivation factor for us. In the last World Cup, the mantra was: One Team, One Goal and the mission was to win the World Cup. This year the mantra is the same: One Team, One Goal, but the mission is to retain the title. It’s something that no team has done before and we are very confident that we can do it. Once we play the brand of cricket that we played in the last three games, there is every possibility that we can. But this is cricket and with 20/20 being the shortest format it is about seizing the momentum and we have a fair idea what the Sri Lankans bring to the table.

“We know what we will come up against. This bunch of players in my dressing room, we’re very confident. Whenever things get tight we still have the belief that the players out there can do the job. We are determined. We broke down this journey into phases and it started against Ireland in the Caribbean. We have

Lalta Digamber 20/20 cricket…

taken several steps to reach the semi-finals and we now have two more steps to take. We are now in the semi-finals and we will focus on that step ahead of us tomorrow.”

Sammy was at the helm when the Windies lived up to their favourites tag and won the ICC World T20 two years ago in Sri Lanka. In this tournament, he has led his team’s batting with two match-winning knocks against Australia and Pakistan.

The bowling has been led by experienced leg-spinner Samuel Badree, who is the third-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. He is now the Number 1 ranked bowling in the ICC World T20 rankings.

“We have Number 1 and 2 in our line-up with Sunil Narine and Badree, and Krishmar Santokie has done his bit for us very well. We are aware of the threat of the Sri Lankan batsmen but they must be aware of the threat we bring. They know once West Indies turn

up West Indies are dangerous,” Sammy noted.

“We stress a lot on unity and togetherness. When you are batting and the guys in the dug-out believe in you and once you’re there, they know you will come through for the team, moments like this, when your team-mates rally you on. When you succeed, you see the excitement and satisfaction, that is motivation. Team spirit and unity and is the most important aspects in any set-up. Once we play with that passion the celebrations automatically come out,” Sammy added.

“For me, it’s about enjoying what I do and giving the best for the team. I have really worked hard and the last four years at the helm haven’t been a bed of roses. But I just keep on enjoying what I do for West Indies and it’s good to see the performances coming consistently and enjoying those phases. It has always been about West Indies. It has never been about Darren.”

(WICB Media Release)

Independence SC, Zeeburg to contest final

The Lalta Digamber sponsored 20/20 cricket competition will culminate on Sunday with Independence SC and Zeeburg battling for top honours in the final.

Playing in the semi-final last Sunday at the Harbour Bridge ground, Independence SC prevailed over Canal Number Two in a high-scoring game, which was decided by a Super Over. After the two teams ended level on 214 runs after their allocation of 20 overs each, Canal Number Two made 16-0, to which Independence SC responded with 17-1 with a ball to spare.

In the actual game, Independence SC, inserted to take first strike, piled up 214-7 with five of their

batsmen making solid contributions. A. Singh and A. Bharat topscored with 38 each, while S. Dhanpaul 25 (2x4s, 2x6s), S. Bissessar 24 (4x4s, 1x6) and J. Payton 20 (1x4, 2x6s) all chipped in with useful runs.

Chien Gittens and Feroze Karrimullah bagged

2-28 and 2-31 respectively for Canal Number Two, who replied with 214-9 when the overs ran out.

Gittens crowned an excellent all-round performance, topscoring with 67 from 25 balls. His innings included nine fours and three sixes.

Avinash Sookdeo made 38, Karrimullah 28* and Budhan Baksh 26. Bowling for Independence SC, Thakur Persaud was outstanding, picking up 4-24 from his quota of four overs. Prior to the semi-final, Canal Number Two had defeated Invaders by four wickets in a quarter-final match-up, while they also prevailed over Wales CDC by seven wickets in a warmup game. Below are the summarised scores from those

Local pugilists perform creditably in St Lucia; win two golds,one silver

Athree-member boxing team on Tuesday returned to Guyana with two golds and one silver from a tournament in St Lucia.

Ron Smith and Delon Charles won gold in three fights ,while Bert Braithwaite won silver in his three bouts between Friday to Sunday.

President of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association, Steve Ninvalle, was proud of all three fighters and noted the bouts were like a “war”.

Overall, Guyana brought second in the tournament, while the host nation was first and Martinique third.

“I’m pleased with the performance; we got two golds out of three and we got second as well. Ron Smith has not been getting much exposure, but he has done well; so has Delon Charles.

“All three fighters did well and Braithwaite lost hard to his opponent,” Ninvalle told Guyana Times Sport

‘Padlock’

locks out Berbice riders again, as Trojan dominate

Andrew ‘Padlock’ Green of Trojan Cycle Club (TCC) completely demolished a field of 23 to take the ‘People’s 40-miler’ in Berbice on Sunday.

Green, who rode most of the distance with team-mate Andrew Hicks, chalked up his second win for the month when he crossed the finish line at Main and Alexander Streets.

The event, which started at Marks Bridge, New Amsterdam, went through the town and onto the East Berbice Highway before anyone made an attempt to break away. Green, Hicks, Wasim Hassnu, Syborne Fernandez, Curt LaRose and Brian Harris were successful on the first breake. However as the wheelers went onto the Corentyne highway, Green and Hicks made a further break and got away from the first pack.

games.

Warm-up: Wales CDC 99 all out from 18.2 overs (Chabiraj Ramcharran 4-13) versus Canal Number Two 101-3 in 12.4 overs (Chien Gittens 37, Chabiraj Ramcharran 34*, Mahendra Pratadji 23, F. Bacchus 2-25).

Quarter-final: Invaders 159-9 from 20 overs (S. Jairaj 50, K. Ramsundar 36, R. Baker 23, Chien Gittens 3-11, Chabiraj Ramcharran 3-40) versus Canal Number Two 160-6 from 19 overs (Dyanand Roopnarine 33, Narendra Persaud 45*, Dhanpaul Roopnarine 48*, S. Jairaj 2-16, R. Baker 2-28).

Meanwhile, Sunday’s final will bowl off at 13:00 hours at the Harbour Bridge ground, West Demerara.

With the more seasoned and experienced riders at the back of the race, Green and Hicks took the advantage and increased their lead.

The seasoned riders did not seem too keen on joining their colleagues ahead as Ray Millington and Romello Crawford played a cat –andmouse game until Wilbur Benjamin started to get away. They all went behind him and caught Hassnu, Fernandez, LaRose and Harris in the vicinity of the Tain Campus.

Benjamin, Crawford and Millington continued and took with them this time LaRose and Everal Mundy.

Meanwhile, Green and Hicks increased their lead and were separated only by a sprint to the finish line.

Millington from Flying Ace Cycle Club (FACC) outsprinted former national up-

right sprinter Benjamin to take third place. Crawford, who is known for his sprinting ability had to settle for fifth, as the cyclists pounded their pedals for the final 200 metres.

Mundy finished ahead of LaRose from Continental. When the last pack came with one place still available, team-mates Hassnu, Fernandez challenged each other with the latter being successful.

Green picked up four sprint- point prizes, Hicks two with one each for Millington and LaRose. In the female race over a distance of eight miles, National School champion Cristol Lambert (TCC) outsprinted former national female champion Marica Dick to take the category. Dick, who is licensed under the TCC, rode the race wearing FACC colours; none of the club officials however,could give an explanation.

The female U-16 category was dominated by TCC as Deancae Welch won from Shenika Teixeira.

The first beginner to cross the finish line was David Sampson.

Organizer of the event and Coach of FACC, Randolph Roberts, noted that competition among the clubs in good for the sport, adding that without competition they would not be able to improve. He urged riders at every level to get involved in the sport.

Meanwhile, before the start, cyclists observed one minute of silence for the late Attorney-at-law, SC Marcel Crawford, who was an ardent fan of the sport and who had represented Berbice and Guyana during his younger days.

Chien Gittens

West Indies finished second behind India in their Super 10 group

Limacol Caribbean Premier League 2014 draft takes place today

The Limacol Caribbean Premier League (LCPL) has confirmed an impressive list of more than 225 players registered for the 2014 Draft, which will take place in Kingston, Jamaica today (see ad on this page).

The number includes some 120 overseas players, more than five times the number that entered the 2013 draft.

107 players in the region, from up-and-coming youngsters to established Windies internationals, will go into the draft alongside big name stars from eleven nations, including Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and, for the first time, England. The six International Franchise Players (IFPs) chosen by the teams will include three returning stars and

three newcomers to the CPL. International cricket’s most successful bowler ever, Muttiah Muralitharan (Jamaica Tallawahs), CPL 2013’s leading run-scorer, Shoaib Malik (Barbados Tridents), and New Zealand’s Ross Taylor (Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel) will all return to their 2013 teams, while the top wicket-taker in T20 Internationals, Saeed Ajmal (Antigua Hawksbills), record-breaking New Zealander, Corey Anderson (Guyana Amazon Warriors) and Australian T20 specialist, Brad Hodge (St Lucia Zouks), will all make their CPL debuts.

Vying to join the six IFPs in the Biggest Party in Sport will be global stars like Shahid

Afridi, Kevin Pietersen, Kumar Sangakkara and Daniel Vettori.

Big-hitting Afridi will feature alongside 26 of his Pakistani compatriots, while 13 New Zealanders are in the Draft.

11 Sri Lankans will go into the Draft, while Australia has the largest overseas contingent, with 32 players.

South Africa seamer, Vernon Philander, who tasted Limacol CPL success last year, is hoping to return alongside 22 other South Africans.

England internationals, Simon Jones, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Owais Shah, will line up alongside former teammate, Pietersen, in the Draft.

They will be joined by Bangladesh pair, Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, Zimbabwe spinner, Ray Price, Irish World Cup hero, Kevin O’Brien, Netherlands World T20 star, Tom Cooper, and Afghanistan captain, Mohammad Nabi. CPL 2014 will give cricketers from across the Caribbean the opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the world. Up and coming cricketers, such as Nicolas Pooran and Jason Holder, will enter the Draft alongside Windies test stars like Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Tino Best, and current World T20 players, Samuel Badree, Dwayne Smith and Krishmar Santokie.

Tennis: J Cepelova beaT s Williams 6-4 6-4; man UniTed 1, bayern 1

Chris Gayle and Kevin Pietersen

Christopher Barnwell