Guyana Times Daily

Christmas Village opens on Main Street on Friday P17

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 1973 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Thursday, December 5, 2013

PRICE

At next sitting of House

$60 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Govt to retable antimoney laundering, firearm bills QAII cops Business of the Year Award See story on page 3

Policemen in P7 Orange Walk murder case should be disciplined – PCA chairman Carol Sooba appointed town clerk P7

"Romancing the Fort" expected to be memorable experience P9

Queens Atlantic Investment Inc (QAII) Technical Coordinator Parmanand Samaroo receives the Business of the Year Award (large category) from President Donald Ramotar at the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) 124th Gala Dinner and Awards presentation at the Pegasus Hotel on Wednesday. The award was presented in recognition of the company’s demonstration of good overall performance in the areas of financial growth, customer satisfaction, internal processes investments, employee relations, development and corporate citizenship. Also in photo is Kit Nascimento, the MC for the event (Aggrey Halley photo) (Full story in Friday's edition)

Corruption Perception Index flawed See story on page 9

“Lots going P10 on” to divide Kanhai’s wealth – daughter Body with P12 missing testicles found on sea wall

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ThursDay, december 5, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

News

thursDay, december 5, 2013| guyanatimesGY.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Thursday, December 5 from 05:30h to 07:00h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Thursday, December 5 from 05:50h to 07:20h.

WEATHER TODAY Countrywide: Thundery showers are expected during the day with heavy rain showers in the evening over coastal regions and near inland locations. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees and 27 degrees Celsius.

Wind: North easterly between zero and 1.94 metres per second.

High Tide: 05:58h and 18:13h reaching maximum heights of 2.69 metres and 2.81 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 11:46h reaching a minimum height of 0.55 metre.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

LOTTERY NUMBERS E

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FREE TICKET

Daily Millions

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LUCKY 3

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Draw De Line

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DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

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At next sitting of House

Govt to retable anti-money laundering, firearm bills – firearm bill to be piloted by attorney general

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overnment will be re-tabling the antimoney laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/ CFT) and the firearms amendment bills, among several pieces of legislation voted down by the combined opposition when the House meets again next Thursday.

Speaking specifically on the AML/CFT bill at his weekly-post Cabinet briefing on Wednesday at the Office at the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown, Cabinet Secretary, Dr Luncheon said the re-tabling of the bill is the only course open to government after the pronouncement by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) on November 21.

He told media operatives that government will not be daunted by the fact the bill was turned down twice by the parliamentary opposition, who had claimed that the amendments to the bill were incomplete.

“We are not going to let the spectrum of an unfavourable welcome prevent us from going back again... it doesn’t matter, we are going back to Parliament.

If they say we got to put it on the roof, we are going to have to put it on the roof, if they say we got to put it down in the drain, we will put it down… We are interested in having that

Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon

amendment bill enacted and I can safely say that whatever is presented to us in the context of its reintroduction are obviously interventions that we have to consider,” Dr Luncheon said.

Following the voting down of the anti-money laundering bill by the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) last month which caused Guyana to miss the CFATF deadline, the country was blacklisted.

However, Guyana was given until February next year to get its affairs in order and pass the bill as CFATF has warned its members against possible money laundering and financial terrorist risks

here.

Meanwhile, the firearms amendment and evidence amendment bills initially presented by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, but snubbed by the opposition, will also be retabled. The APNU and the AFC had indicated that they are not prepared to work with the home affairs minister.

Dr Luncheon said these bills will now be re-tabled by the attorney general.

The Cabinet secretary also disclosed that the government will be introducing new bills such as the

Summary Jurisdiction Procedure Bill.

“Essentially that provides, you, errant traffic offenders, with the option of paying your fines in Georgetown regardless of wherever the offence for which fines were being levied occurred,” he explained.

Also engaging the House’s attention are the three financial papers and the accompanying appropriation bill. The first financial paper deals with constitutionally enabling the statement of excess provisions; the second paper looks at the Contingency Fund and the advances from that fund; while the third paper covers applications for provisions to meet expenditures for fiscal year 2013.

Meanwhile, there will be the second reading of the Procurement Amendment Bill, which allows government to retain involvement in the process of procuring goods and services.

Dr Luncheon also noted that government anticipates the sitting of the parliamentary select committee dealing with the two telecommunication bills, before the next holding of the National Assembly, to elect a chairperson.

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Views 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

Cultural respect

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hen The Hindu newspapers, described as one of the world’s largest English-speaking newspapers, pledged to no longer refer to tribal communities in India as “primitive”, it was hailed as significant since the term is still widely being insensitively used in that country and global media to describe certain groups of societies.

The word “primitive” is a word in India’s educational, political and social systems that some have considered necessary to be removed in its present context when speaking of tribal people.

It is often in use when discussing tribes that are considered less technologically and materially advanced, or more traditional than the so-called modern societies. It is in fact, a belittling expression that continues to encourage prejudice toward these traditional groups and does a great disservice to the various tribal communities.

According to the movement “proud but not primitive”, which campaigned for the ban, no media should be using the word to describe India’s tribal peoples, as it is derogatory and dangerous. Such a word leads to assumptions of their way of life as inferior and out of touch with today’s world, which in turn leads to the thinking that they must be ‘developed’ and brought in line with today’s world.

The movement’s concept of removing words that promote discriminatory behaviours and thinking is not new. In the U.S., certain words that encourage racial stereotyping have also successfully been removed from media and educational systems, as well as in political and most social circles.

As the movement declared, there is need to change the way others think, talk and write about tribal peoples, to ensure their ways of life and rights are respected. Such an approach should be considered not just in India, but around the world.

In Guyana, the removal of the word “reservation”, recently being used to describe Amerindian villages or areas, is also necessary since it encourages the idea of American Indian reservations, of which the squalor of the majority of these is well-documented and acknowledged.

Indeed, American Indians were forced onto areas created and labelled reservations by the American government, after the tribes were defeated in bloody battles that some have later even called genocide – something that has been glorified in the modern Hollywood culture of the U.S. That is certainly not the case here in Guyana, historically or presently.

On U.S. Native American reservations, its government provides housing subsidies, free healthcare and welfare cheques (prompting many outsiders to believe in the “myth of prosperity” which then spreads resentment), leading to the development of what some tribal leaders have called a “culture of dependency” among the tribes within these reservations.

Such an idea is an insult to our indigenous Guyanese who, as the recent Amerindian Heritage Month has revealed, are holding their own as independent communities; receiving benefits from the government just like other Guyanese fishing, agricultural or mining communities, to name a few, do.

If we must imitate Americanisms, care should be taken to understand the context and history of such words since, as is obvious, the word “reservation” is a clear injustice to our indigenous societies here.

Like the word primitive suggests backward societies, “reservation” helps to maintain a dangerous idea that our tribal communities are corralled and depressed, and completely dependent on government. The continuing vibrancy of Guyanese tribes attests to the fact that they are neither depressed nor living in the type of poverty inherent in American reservations.

In fact, as the Rupununi Christmas Fair and the upcoming Rupununi Music and Arts Festival suggest – just two of the many cultural activities among indigenous communities – Guyanese tribal communities are thriving in their dynamic cultures, and their villages are anything but similar to what is a “reservation”, a word being bandied about in some quarters.

As one Indian tribal elder is quoted as saying, “For us Adivasis (tribal people of India), every tree is like a house.

That is what the forest is for us. We are not backward, it’s just another way of life.”

President Donald Ramotar flanked by Education Minister Priya Manickchand and Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Registrar, Dr Didacus Jules with the region’s top Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) students (GINA photo)

BJP ahead in India elections Dear Editor, This is a follow up to your editorial, “India Elections” (Guyana Times, November 8). A series of state elections, dubbed a mini “general election” is ending this week in India. The outcome is a foreboding or likely precursor of what will happen in the May 2014 general elections.

Many Guyanese Americans are following the campaign for the assembly elections for five key states, the last set of elections before general elections. Several groups of Guyanese just returned from India on tours and they informed me that growing numbers of people are dissatisfied with the Congress government at the centre.

Many Indo-Guyanese and other Indian Americans I surveyed are hoping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins the election with many of them focusing attention on Delhi, which votes on Thursday. Opinion polls show the BJP ahead in all of the states, as well as for the national election, with much credit going to BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi – the focus of much of your editori-

al – who is enormously popular around the country as I found in my travels.

But there are several factors impacting on the outcome, not to mention apathy.

In all the states, the most compelling issues are corruption and inflation with people viewing politicians as self serving and arrogant.

People generally tend to vote against incumbents but may give the BJP another chance in states it is governing because of the scandals that have been plaguing the ruling Congress at the centre.

A third party has entered the fray that could upset the predicted outcome –the anti-Congress vote is split with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

It is the first time the party is being tested in an election and it has decided to contest only in Delhi, and it has been attracting huge crowds because of its anti-corruption and pro-women positions.

In Delhi, the AAP is running second with some analysts saying it is third.

Delhi is a small state compared with others, being allocated only seven members of parliament (MPs), but it is a critical state. In previ-

ous elections, whichever party controlled Delhi controlled the national government.

The Congress has been in charge of Delhi for the last 15 years and the federal government for the last 10 years.

AAP promises to root out money power and deliver clean and efficient governance in Delhi and devolve power to the local communities.

Guyanese I spoke with like Delhi because it has been transformed from an urbanlike village to a sprawling, glitzy metropolis with skyscrapers similar to parts of New York. It also boasts a fine network of roads and flyovers and a metro rail service used by almost a million daily. But traffic congestion is still a problem because it has millions of vehicles and motorcycles on the road.

The city used to be plagued by power outages.

But in recent years, there has been a steady flow of electricity although businesses still retain back up power generators. Progress is credited to the Congress, although it was the BJP that had laid out the development plan when it governed Delhi for over a decade.

It is noted that in 1998, the BJP lost to the Congress because of runaway onion prices. And now, it is the Congress’s turn to feel the heat on high food inflation, including the shortage of onions. In India, governments are known to collapse when onions were scarce – a staple in the Indian diet.

The late Indira Gandhi was known to campaign with malas made of onion hung around her neck. Her daughter-in-law, the Italian born Sonia, did the same in 1998 against the BJP and won a landslide. Congress is now feeling the ire of voters in Delhi. The same anti-Congress perception obtains in other states like Mizoram, Chatisgarh, Madya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The mood in India is antiCongress. But the Congress is known to come back from being down as happened in 2009. And there are reports of computer chips being manipulated to produce desired outcomes. So anything could play but in a fair election, BJP should come out on top.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

The PCA cannot deal with a matter if a complaint has not been lodged Dear Editor, I refer to a letter written by one Curtis Charles which appeared in your newspaper of November 25. Charles seems not to understand how the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) functions.

On receipt of a complaint by the PCA, it is sent to the commissioner of police for an investigation to be carried out after which a report with relevant statements are forwarded to the PCA to consid-

er whether or not the rank against whom the complaint was made should face disciplinary action.

If it is so decided, then the matter is sent back to the commissioner of police for a disciplinary hearing. If the rank is found to have been at fault, the matter is referred back to the PCA for a recommendation as to the appropriate penalty to be imposed. The PCA does not have its own team of investi-

gators. Therefore, each complaint has to be forwarded to the commissioner of police for an investigation and report, which often takes some time.

If there is delay in determining a complaint, this would be because the relevant report has not been forwarded to the PCA. Where there has been a delay in forwarding the reports, reminders are usually sent to the commissioner of police.

Where a complainant has

not heard from the PCA after lodging a complaint, he/she should get in touch with the PCA. He/she would then be informed of the status of the complaint. The numbers are 226-1399 and 226-2095.

The PCA cannot deal with a matter where a complaint has not been lodged with it.

Sincerely yours, Cecil C Kennard Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority

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thursday, december 5, 2013

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

GCC and GFC Dear Editor, I have noticed that the Kaieteur News is particularly critical of the fact that discussions are in progress for a Bourda Sports Academy to be created at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) and the Georgetown Football Club (GFC).

I have looked at the investments made by the NEW GPC INC and, every time I do, I stand amazed at the standards that the company creates and goes for. I am also always impressed with the insight for investment, and the success that comes about once that company is involved.

The success is continuous, to such a point that it evokes enormous jealousy, especially in opposing political elements, and the weaklings in business. The opposition always sees something sinister with things good for

Guyana, and with any large investment or project. They are so regular in their attacks and criticism, that they become boring and blind to that fact. Or they just do not wish development under this current government?

One, Cobeer Persaud wrote a letter in the Kaieteur News, dated December 4, and suggested that the sale be made public. Well, look, I will support this, but let us be realistic, name any other person or company with the capacity to make the GCC or the GFC something truly magnificent and noteworthy, with an academy for sports.

Some may want the place for the real estate value and investment, but I believe that the NEW GPC/CPL OPCO can truly make something extraordinary of this project, where it becomes an academy of sport in excellence, and an example in the

Caribbean, where Guyana can be also noticed on the map.

If we are not careful, the GCC and the GFC will rot and fall and the vying internal political entities of power at the clubs will continue quarrelling, seeking court interventions and civil manipulations. It is the opinion of this writer that they are all corrupted and have personal ambitions.

I think it is time the GCC and GFC be made into a grand historical stadium with service and class. I truly believe the NEW GPC/ CPL OPCO can do this.

Within corporations are persons with talent and vision, albeit, capital, who can make true success, especially of failure.

Sincerely, Roshan Khan

Essequibians are bracing for more prolonged blackouts Dear Editor, The constant blackout returned to paralyse the entire Region Two from Friday, November 29 at 07:00h to Saturday, November 30 at 01:00h and Essequibians are bracing themselves for more blackouts during the Christmas season.

More than 10 years ago, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) board of directors directed the manager and management of the Anna Regina Wartsila power plant to begin reducing blackouts, not just talk about it.

But it is still here with us. It very much is on the Essequibo Coast almost every day or night. We were the first in the country to receive a Wartsila power plant with the commitment to stabilise our electricity.

GPL did not meet the stabilisation commitment goal after the 10 years.

As experts predict an in-

crease in blackout along the Essequibo Coast, this provides a critical un-protective barrier for businesses and customers. It became clear years ago that GPL Warsila at Anna Regina, energy producing really had so much in common and had through the years, so short changed.

When the power plant goes down, our light goes out and you feel it everywhere. We are faced with the same reality every year that there are natural and governmental forces that work against us. We Essequibians need to put all the differences aside and really begin to speak with a shared voice.

It is just a lack of knowledge of how critical this region is to the nation’s security. To solve the numerous problems we face with our businesses, the government has to find common ground that will be the basis for solutions. In today’s changing

business, political and environmental landscapes, we know it is imperative that we work together with all interested parties to make sure this region is protected and sustained with a regular power supply.

The government needs more natural approaches and engineering solutions that include harnessing the power efficiently, for example, the Warsila here has a capacity of output, but has never produced the output generation.

The electricity power plant operates inefficiently because of fuel supplies not being on time, inadequate maintenance or failure to correct some fault. As a country we need to understand that electricity is not just a big expense, it’s an important investment that will yield returns from generations to come.

Dear Editor, Residents of Cotton Field and the township have been flooded over the past week. Their businesses, cash crops, fowls and animals were all under water because the pumps were not working on schedule at the Anna Regina koker.

The internal drains and trenches within the township have been clogged for almost five years without any maintenance because the Anna Regina Town Council backhoe, which was bought for $20 million in 1996, had its fuel pump stolen by a security officer.

This backhoe is now lying in the council’s compound as a white elephant, for years, and long before the first flood in 2005. Continuing rainfall throughout the years and floodwaters have damaged taxpayers' properties and businesses suffered losses.

Another issue is that the town council and the regional administration are challenged by a lack of qualified personnel, while the infrastructure is threatened.

There is serious infighting between the regional

chairman, the Water Users Association and the Interim Management Committee (IMC) as to who should maintain drainage within the township.

While the infighting continues, the people are made to suffer. We see the need for high-level, integrated thinking about issues that will affect us for the next 10 years with flooding, as climate change and global warming are here on us.

Action must be swift.

There is a certain urgency to clean the clogged trenches and internal drains because we are facing challenges today that other coastal regions will not face for another 25 years or 30 years.

Many schools, including the Anna Regina Multilateral, public buildings, churches, community centres, businesses and the Anna Regina markets had to be closed because of the flash flood.

On November 29, the multilateral school had to be closed. At 16:30h, the students from interior locations, Wakenaam and Bartica were left stranded because the dormitory had

to be closed, the kitchen was flooded and the students had to seek shelter at nearby residents overnight, as there was no other arrangement in place for them.

Over the years, the government has made massive investments in the region. The millions of dollars spent on sea defences, river defences, pumps, drainage and irrigation systems, education and roads.

There has been investment in training for Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and town council officers to create favourable conditions for efficient management of the region. But we the taxpayers have never gotten real benefits from these investments.

What these central government and local government bodies fail to do to avert this flash flood will have lasting consequences on the national government and they won’t be able to turn back the clock of losses.

Response to Stabroek News article of December 3, titled: “Natural Resources Ministry co-opting of EPA staff jeopardised programmes” Flooding a consequence of infighting between chairman and town council Dear Editor, The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry (MNRE) wishes to clarify a number of subject matters which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2012 Annual Report has highlighted.

The annual report served as a reporting mechanism against its work programme which identified both achievements and challenges for the year 2012. In light of this, the MNRE has recognised the challenges and has since implemented and recommended a series of actions to address these matters.

With regard to staffing, the agency wishes to advise that at present, 98 per cent of the staff positions under its various programmes have been filled. The newspaper could have presented this updated information to the public, had it taken the time to verify this with the agency.

According to the article, a number of staff was assigned by the MNRE to its head office. The agency would like to further clarify this statement by explaining that the former director of the Natural Resource Management Division (NRMD) is currently the commissioner of the

Protected Areas Commission (PAC), while the coordinator of the Pick It Up campaign is currently housed at the ministry to better facilitate coordination among its sister agencies.

As it relates to the current Environmental Management Division, MNRE has since given its no objection to split the division into (1) Permitting and (2) Compliance divisions; both of which have independent directors and staff to manage their affairs.

In addition, the MNRE and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in August 2013 signed a grant agreement for the drafting of the agency’s Compliance and Environmental Regulations in support of the EPA’s Act (1996) to give the Compliance Division more teeth and to strengthen the overall capacity of the EPA. The MNRE has recognised and recommended that there is a need for an inhouse legal officer because of the number of cases engaging legal attention in the courts. As such, the ministry has given the agency permission to recruit a legal officer, who has already been hired, thus strengthening the ca-

pacity of the EPA to take actions against persons who infringe on the EPA Act. The newspaper article reported on the agency conducting extensive monitoring assessments in 2012, which have only continued to increase in 2013. As a result, the ministry has endorsed the proposal for the EPA to establish a Water Quality Unit for which new testing instruments are being procured.

The MNRE has recognised that there is an increasing demand for the services of the EPA and that it has been somewhat lacking in capacity to effectively achieve its mandate. For that reason, MNRE has since engaged with the EPA and an international consultant to draft a proposal to (1) investigate means to strengthen the EPA, (2) improve cost recovery mechanisms and (3) improve staff retention.

The EPA encourages Stabroek News to continue to show interest in its valuable work towards addressing environmental compliance in Guyana.

With kind regards, Natural Resources and Environment Ministry

Yours faithfully, Mohamed Khan

Yours faithfully, Mohamed Khan

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Page Foundation Public Social phobia speaking (continued from Wednesday)

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s the body experiences these physical sensations, the mind goes through emotions like feeling afraid or nervous.

People with social phobia tend to interpret these sensations and emotions in a way that leads them to avoid the situation (“Uh-oh, my heart’s pounding, this must be dangerous – I’d better not do it!”).

Someone else might interpret the same physical sensations of nervousness a different way (“Okay, that’s just my heart beating fast. It’s me getting nervous because it’s almost my turn to speak. It happens every time. No big deal”).

What fears are involved?

With social phobia, a person’s fears and concerns are focused on their social performance – whether it’s a major class presentation or small talk at the lockers.

People with social phobia tend to feel self-conscious and uncomfortable about being noticed or judged by others.

They’re more sensitive to fears that they’ll be embarrassed, look foolish, make a mistake, or be criticised or laughed at.

No one wants to experience these things. But most people don’t really spend much time worrying about it.

How it can affect someone’s life With social phobia, thoughts and fears about what others think get exaggerated in someone’s mind.

The person starts to focus on the embarrassing things that could happen, instead of the good things. This makes a situation seem much worse than it is, and influences a person

to avoid it.

Some of the ways social phobia can affect someone’s life include: Feeling lonely or disappointed over missed opportunities for friendship and fun. Social phobia might prevent someone from chatting with friends in the lunchroom, joining an after-school club, going to a party, or asking someone on a date.

Not getting the most out of school. Social phobia might keep a person from volunteering an answer in class, reading aloud, or giving a presentation. Someone with social phobia might feel too nervous to ask a question in class or go to a teacher for help.

Missing a chance to share their talents and learn new skills. Social phobia might prevent someone from auditioning for the school play, being in the talent show, trying out for a team, or joining in a service project. Social phobia not only prevents people from trying new things. It also prevents them from making the normal, everyday mistakes that help people improve their skills still further.

Selective mutism Some children and teens are so extremely shy and so fearful about talking to others, that they don’t speak at all to certain people (such as a teacher or students they don’t know) or in certain places (like at someone else’s house). This form of social phobia is sometimes called selective mutism.

People with selective mutism can talk. They have completely normal conversations

with the people they’re comfortable with or in certain places. But other situations cause them such extreme anxiety that they may not be able to bring themselves to talk at all.

Some people might mistake their silence for a stuckup attitude or rudeness. But with selective mutism and social phobia, silence stems from feeling uncomfortable and afraid, not from being uncooperative, disrespectful, or rude.

Why do some people develop social phobia?

Children, teens, and adults can have social phobia. Most of the time, it starts when a person is young. Like other anxiety-based problems, social phobia develops because of a combination of three factors: A person’s biological makeup. Social phobia could be partly due to the genes and temperament a person inherits. Inherited genetic traits from parents and other relatives can influence how the brain senses and regulates anxiety, shyness, nervousness, and stress reactions.

Likewise, some people are born with a shy temperament and tend to be cautious and sensitive in new situations and prefer what’s familiar.

Most people who develop social phobia have always had a shy temperament.

Not everyone with a shy temperament develops social phobia (in fact, most don’t).

It’s the same with genes. But people who inherit these traits do have an increased chance of developing social phobia.

Behaviours learned from role models (especially parents). A person’s naturally shy temperament can be influenced by what he or she learns from role models. If parents or others react by overprotecting a child who is shy, the child won’t have a chance to get used to new situations and new people. Over time, shyness can build into social phobia.

Shy parents might also unintentionally set an example by avoiding certain social interactions. A shy child who watches this learns that socialising is uncomfortable, distressing, and something to avoid.

Life events and experiences. If people born with a cautious nature have stressful experiences, it can make them even more cautious and shy.

Feeling pressured to interact in ways they don’t feel ready for, being criticised or humiliated, or having other fears and worries can make it more likely for a shy or fearful person to develop social anxiety.

People who constantly receive critical or disapproving reactions may grow to expect that others will judge them negatively. Being teased or bullied will make people who are already shy likely to retreat into their shells even more. They’ll be scared of making a mistake or disappointing someone, and will be more sensitive to criticism.

The good news is that the effect of these negative experiences can be turned around with some focused slow-butsteady effort. Fear can be learned. And it can also be unlearned, too. (Kids Health)

for children (continued from Wednesday)

BY ANDRIES SMIT Q: How can parents help children develop good pronunciation?

A: There are several games for pronunciation which are suitable for all ages and are incredibly fun.

Q: How important is it to develop public speaking skills?

A: If you can’t communicate, what can you do? Public speaking skills do not solely encompass standing on a stage and delivering a speech. They include answering questions in a job interview, asking for directions, arguing your case for a refund in a shop, delivering presentations in the classroom and at work. We all need to speak in public to survive, but as we grow older, we become

more self-conscious and are afraid to speak up. By learning young and sowing the confidence in childhood that self-consciousness will have no room to settle in.

Q: What about shy children?

A: It is even more important to teach public speaking skills to shy children.

Good public speaking/ communication is a skill – skills are learnt. With patience and good guidance all children can learn public speaking. It takes time and practice, and laziness is the only obstacle. Lazy parents and lazy children are the main cause of bad communication skills.

As a parent, you will need to be proactive in helping your children develop an interest in public speaking. It is unlikely they will come home and demand you enrol them in a club, or practice with them at home, just as it is unlikely they will demand you only provide them with healthy home cooked meals and fewer fizzy drinks. But their future success depends upon their ability to communicate well.

Statistics show the fear of public speaking is the greatest human fear in the world. Many people will fight lions and snakes and bathe with scorpions before standing up in front of an audience. Your child is the same, though they may not be honest about it. You have to really show them the benefits of making the leap in confidence to try and try again. You also need to teach them that the world does not end if they make a mistake. What’s the worst that can happen..? People laugh at you – but only because they themselves are too scared to stand up and do it. But you can always turn mockery into admiration if you try and try and try… and make it fun! (publicspeakingforkids.org)

news

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thursday, december 5, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Policemen in Orange Walk murder case Carol Sooba appointed should be disciplined – PCA chairman town clerk

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olice ranks who failed to attend court to testify, as in the case of the Orange Walk shooting incident, which saw the shooter walking scotch free, should be disciplined, if not, face criminal charges.

These were the sentiments of Police Complaints Authority (PCA) Chairman, retired Justice Cecil Kennard on Wednesday during a telephone interview.

Justice Kennard said it is sad that despite the fact that sufficient evidence was gathered for the case, the police ranks did not show up in court.

“If it is a case where the police ranks all teamed up and decide not to give evidence in the case, then I think that they should be charged with conspiring to defeat the course of justice.”

First, he said the police will have to determine if that was the case.

He added that this is one of the issues that have been hampering the judicial system over the years, but will take some time to correct unless something drastic happens.

The retired justice also highlighted that another sad affair was the missing footage of the shooting which was supposed to be presented in court.

Once there is no video evidence presented by the state and more so by the investigating officer, it is a clear indication that the entire proceeding was planned, he added.

Lack of evidence

Freed cricketer, Carlyle Barton

Dead: Shawn Nelson

However, Kennard explained that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) would have had the evidence in her possession when she reviewed the case, and as such, should recommend that charges be reinstituted against the shooter Carlyle Barton.

However, there might not be anyone to read the charges to since the cricketer hurriedly left the country. He said that Barton was charged with an indictable matter whereby he was not required to plead, noting that the charges can be reinstituted.

has been taken and justice must be served. He said, to date, no one from Nelson’s family has visited his office.

There were rumours that the cricketer would have paid a hefty some to “get off” and soon after it happened, he left the country.

Months after Barton was charged for the murder of Shawn “Red Man” Nelson on Orange Walk, Georgetown earlier this year, he was freed, owing to the absence of witnesses, among them police detectives.

Magistrate Fabayo Azore discharged the case at the preliminary inquiry (PI) stage, saying that a prima facie case was not made despite there being video evidence of the cricketer – Carlyle Barton – when he allegedly shot Nelson, with whom he had a long-standing friendship.

Appeal the case

He encouraged the family to appeal the case and set up a meeting with the DPP if they are not satisfied with the outcome. His office, he added is always open to give advice, he said.

Kennard said that a life

Magistrate Azore announced that she was forced to set him free, owing to the lack of evidence since the witnesses failed to show up.

Barton made his first court appearance on May 28 before Magistrate Sueanna Lovell and was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which stated that on May 27 at Orange Walk, he murdered Nelson.

The matter was then transferred to another court where the PI had commenced.

As the PI continued, several prosecution witnesses did not show up to testify, which brought a halt to the proceedings and forced the case to be adjourned.

The entire shooting incident was captured on surveillance cameras and based on the evidence, the cricketer was charged with the man’s death. The surveillance recording that was uplifted from a nearby business was reportedly not presented in court.

On the day of the shooting incident, Nelson had left his D’Urban Street home and was walking to his Robb Street job when he was shot.

He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries the following day. After driving away from the scene, a panicked Barton crashed his car a number of times on his way home. Barton later surrendered to the police in the company of his lawyer.

A

fter acting as town clerk of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) for some 16 months, the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry has confirmed Carol Sooba in the post.

Sooba received her confirmation letter on Monday, December 2. Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon made the disclosure on Wednesday during his post-weekly Cabinet briefing at the Office of the President.

During her stint in the post, Sooba was bashed by the City Mayor Hamilton Green with support from councillors aligned to the mayor, who claimed that she was not qualified to act in the post.

But despite the criticisms, Sooba told Guyana Times on Wednesday during an interview that her appointment comes as no surprise.

“To have gone through that I would have expected it to be unconscionable that I should not continue,” Sooba added.

The town clerk said that she was battling many issues, as it relates to her confirmation, having to put up with battles with the mayor and running the administration of the M&CC. However, she said now that she is confirmed, she will focus her energies in helping to fix the many issues affecting the city. With the primary objective of moving Georgetown forward, Sooba said she will working to restore the dilapidated M&CC building, in addition to addressing the garbage prob-

lem.

She also expressed a willingness to work closely with the city mayor, once his plans are in keeping with the Municipal and District Council Act. However, despite Sooba’s optimism, a majority of M&CC staff was taken aback as word spread of her appointment.

Earlier this year, Sooba applied twice for the position of town clerk, but Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green who sat on the panel on both occasions said Sooba was the least qualified.

Initially, six persons had applied for the post including Sooba; however, junior Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker had said no one had qualified. During the ministry’s second attempt, four applicants were interviewed, including Sooba, but the result was no different.

Chase-Green made it clear that the panel did not recommend Sooba for the position, noting that her behaviour during the interview was uncouth. Now, the deputy mayor is contending that the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry is sending the wrong message to young professionals who are pursuing higher education.

However, Sooba said that Chase-Green was not qualified to sit on the panel.

Sooba remained firm on her position that she has the requisite experience, while alluding to the public service rule, stating that after acting in the position for more than a year, it is only fair that she should be given the position.

8 news

thursday, december 5, 2013| guyanatimesGY.com

Vessel busted with cocaine in Ghana was sold – alleged owner reportedly told CANU

T

he alleged owner of Atiyah, formerly called Island Princess, which was intercepted in Ghana with over 400kg of cocaine, has reportedly told Custom Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) officials that he had sold the vessel to an Africa businessman months before the bust.

Speaking with Guyana Times, a member of the drug enforcement unit said he is confident that the accused is not the real owner of the vessel, but rather one of his close associates who owns a fishing business on the West Bank of Demerara.

The official stated that after the boat was intercepted, the alleged owner of the vessel was called in, but initially he told CANU that he never travelled to Africa and claimed that his passport was stolen.

After CANU produced a photo of him in Africa, he changed his story and told the officials that he was there to conduct business, noting

that the buyer of his boat had owed him some money, thus he went to collect it.

With the various stories told, CANU officials have detected several loop holes and have been monitoring the individual. The drug enforcement official added that another boat called Caricom, belonging to the same group of individuals, was intercepted with cocaine a few years ago in the Caribbean.

The official explained that at least four persons were charged and pleaded guilty for the 400 kilos (880 pounds) of cocaine worth around US$50 million. He said that once Ghanaian officials would have charged and remanded the person, it simply means that they have closed the case, and as such, CANU will have to continue the investigations here.

He said the businessman, whose name the fishing firm is registered in is under CANU’s watch as he is believed to be connected to the

Ghana bust.

It was reported that the vessel was monitored at sea and intercepted with the illegal cargo by anti-narcotics officers working with the Ghana Navy.

Reports reaching Guyana Times had suggested that the trawler left Guyana on October 22 empty.

The vessel is believed to have been registered as a fishing trawler in James Town, a suburb of Accra, and part of the boat was customised to haul the cocaine.

This newspaper understands that CANU has been working with its counterparts in Ghana to garner information on the bust.

This publication also learnt that CANU is presently hunting for a Guyanese living in the city in whose name the boat was registered.

Back in 2009, the Island Princess was found drifting off the coast of Grenada by the U.S. Drug Enforcement

Agency (DEA) after days of no contact.

At the time the Island Princess disappeared, it was believed that Mahendra “Sunil” Singh, Ryan Chin, Rickford Bannister and Titus Buckery Nascimento were part of the crew. The bodies of Singh, Chin and Nascimento were later recovered at various locations in the Essequibo River with several gunshot wounds.

Later, Rohan “Jango” Paul, to whom the vessel was contracted, denied that the vessel had any drug links.

He had offered $5 million for information that could lead him to the vessel, which he felt could have clues as to what happened to the crew on board.

In recent years, Latin American drug cartels have increasingly used West Africa’s coastal states, including Ghana, as transit points for drugs being smuggled to lucrative European markets.

Alleged Moblissa murderer appears in court

T

he alleged murderer of a mother and her teenage son, both from Moblissa, Linden appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday.

Twenty-year-old Orin Rodrigues stood silently in the dock before Chief Magistrate Priya SewnarineBeharry were he was slapped with two counts of murder.

It was alleged that on November 30 at Moblissa, he murdered Molly James, 34, and her son Aaron James, 15. Rodrigues was not required to plead to the indictable charge.

According to Prosecutor Vernette Pindar, on November 30, Sunita Vergares, Molly James’ 13-year-old daughter, was washing clothes by the creek

Murder accused Orin Rodrigues being escorted to the court lockups

when the accused came up to her and placed a knife to her neck then had sexual intercourse with her.

Molly then made a report to the police station about the incident which resulted in Rodrigues becoming annoyed.

The accused returned to the make shift camp that night around midnight where he stabbed the 34-year-old mother and her son to death, before making his escape.

Acting on information, the police went back to the crime scene where they arrested the accused and cautioned him. Rodrigues took the ranks to the place where he had hidden the murder weapon then gave a written confession.

The matter was transferred to the Christiansburg Magistrate’s Court where it will be heard before the presiding magistrate on January 8, 2014.

Eyew tness Cutting noses... ...spiting sports hey say when a bear’s caught in a trap (the ones with the iron clamp) it’ll chew off its own foot trying to escape. The owner of the MuckrakerKN has long been caught in a trap...one stronger than iron. It’s a trap of envy and jealousy – at the success of someone who used his privatised company to create a world-class diversified corporation, while he ran his likewise privatised company into the ground.

But because he bilked a newspaper from a starry-eyed innocent, what he’s actually chewing and spitting out is the opportunity for Guyana to transcend the crutches imposed by the People’s National Congress (PNC) and to finally soar.

By defining every businessman who doesn’t toe his line as a crook, and Guyana as a crime-infested backwater, the Muckraker has effectively deterred countless potentially game-changing business opportunities.

Take his latest target – the makeover of the venerable Bourda into a world class stadium and sport venue that could’ve rekindled its vintage glory. Other grounds have done it – Sabina in Jamaica and Kensington in Barbados immediately spring to mind. It’s not that the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) – the club that runs Bourda – hasn’t tried to go down that route. They have, but they just couldn’t put together the financial and marketing plan that would attract the necessary capital.

In their latest attempt, some GCC executives approached the local owners of the T-20 Limacol Caribbean Premier League (Limacol CPL). You know – the same fellas who pulled off what every sport expert in the Caribbean (which means every Caribbean citizen) said couldn’t be done: run a successful cricket tournament in the Caribbean. There were all sorts of reasons for the negativity: Where was the money going to come from? How would we travel from island to island when the airlines were non-functional? Where were the organisers going to come from! And so on and so forth...But it was done because professional businessmen – such as the owners of the Guyana franchise and overall sponsor – had the wherewithal to run a professional cricket tournament.

The fly in the MuckrakerKN’s owner’s ointment, however, was that the local owner was the one and the same person whom he hated for the latter’s success. His rage just went from “boiling” to “explosive”.

Trouble is, the explosion drove the businessman from the table. We’re sure he can find less hostile environments for his plans for Guyanese sport. As for the MuckrakerKN’s owner – his rage will then move to “ballistic”.

We wonder what he’ll bring down crashing then.

T

...stymieing development At the tail end of a long and boring disquisition on money supply and inflation – yet, really (does the Stabber actually pay these fellas for wholesale cogging from textbooks?) –”Donkey Cart” economist Tarron Khemraj declared: “Conflicts result when Guyanese read that large swaths of land were given to an Indian investor, but no one knows the terms.”

Now if this isn’t racial incitement from the recent abscondee from the Alliance For Change (AFC) camp into A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), we don’t know what is. It’s the same language the AFC had deployed to put APNU on the back-foot on the Linden electricity issue.

Then, the AFC stood on the sidelines and watched APNU’s members of Parliament (MPs) provoke mayhem and worse. As for the matter of land “given”...even Dr Rupert Roopnaraine had the integrity to ask about land “given” to a Chinese company as well as to the Indian one.

If Khemraj wasn’t such a “Donkey Cart” economist, he’d know the Chinese and Indians are seeking resources in agriculture and mining, among other things...in Africa and Latin America.

It’s not a “race thing”. ...rule of law Dr Henry Jeffrey has to be wearing blinkers. What else could explain him talking about breaking the rule of law in Guyana and bashing only the government. Even APNU’s Linden MPs admitted they broke the law at Linden.

Or could it be Dr Jeffrey wants to return home to the PNC?

news

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thursday, december 5, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

"Romancing the Fort" expected Corruption Perception to be memorable experience Index flawed

BY MICHAEL YOUNGE

F

or an organisation that claims to want to shed light on public sectors, to make them more transparent, the local arm of Transparency International (TI), Transparency Institute Guyana Inc (TIGI) does not live up to its own standards.

The media has heard that the rankings are based on two things: information gathered in surveys and “expert” opinion from the likes of the World Economic Forum, Global Insight Country Risk Ratings and the World Bank.

The TIGI website unfortunately has very little information that is useful.

Nowhere in their website do they have links to the source data and their surveys are unpublished. Is this the transparency they are talking about?

The Essequibo River at sunset

E

ver thought about a romantic dinner at an old colonial fort in Guyana, filled with live entertainment and good conversations with friends and family, then here is the opportunity.

The Tourism Ministry on Saturday will be hosting Fort Island Dinner and Show under the stars of the Essequibo River on Saturday, For only $10,000, guests will enjoy live entertainment and lots of fun with special guest appearance and performance by Dave Martins and Friends.

“Nothing rivals the setting and uniqueness of a new dining experience; this exclusive epicurean event combines a generous serving of history and cuisine presented a stone’s throw away from the ruins of the historic Fort Zeelandia – join in Romancing the Fort,” the ministry said.

Almost-private dinner

The fort, which sits high atop a promontory on the grounds of Fort Island, dates to the 1800s, now, by night, it is the backdrop for an almost-private dinner under the stars – only a few tables will be set on the lawns of the Court of Policy amid native flora and stone remnants of the buildings that once protected the island from advancing marauders.

“It is a spectacular setting, looking out over a vast expanse of the Essequibo River, under a blanket of stars,” Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali opined.

The rocky bluff of the island with its wild vegetation complements the manicured grounds of the Court of Policy, resonating with history, a perfect setting for this inaugural event.

“Book this special dinner for $10,000 per person (including return transportation and tours) and you’ll get to spend time amid the ruins with family and friends, soaking up the unique experience while making memories of your own,” the ministry said.

Tickets are available at the tourism and housing ministries and the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana.

Flawed assessment

The remains of Fort Zeelandia

Those travelling to Fort Island for this special occasion will assemble at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara at 14:00h and will then depart for Parika to be whisked away for the fivehour island experience; returning to Georgetown by midnight.

About Fort Zeelandia

Fort Zeelandia is located on Fort Island, a fluvial island of the Essequibo River delta in the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara region of Guyana. The current brick fort was built in 1743 for the Essequibo colony, replacing an earlier wooden fort built in 1726, and is among the oldest structures in Guyana. The fort replaced Fort Kyk-Over-Al as the capital of Essequibo in 1739.

From the beginning of the 18th century, the commanders of Essequibo recommended that the location of the colony’s administrative centre be removed as a result of the relocation of the Dutch settlers on the fertile banks of the Essequibo River.

In 1726, it was resolved that a fort should be constructed to protect the planters and the interest of the Dutch West India Company (DWIC). In 1726, Leslorant, an engineer was sent from the Netherlands to construct a horn work with wooden redoubt and a strong palisade of the northern point of Vlaggeneiland (Flag Island). In August 1738, Laurens Storms van

Gravesande, the secretary to Commander Gleskerk, inspected the fort and reported that the structure was falling to pieces.

He recommended to the directors of the Netherlands that a new fort of brick be built to defend the interest of the DWIC. Construction of the fort commenced in 1740 and with the labour of enslaved Africans, the structure was completed in 1743. Brick was baked on the spot and mortar and trass were imported from Barbados and the Netherlands.

The entire complex was however completed in 1749 as construction was delayed as a result of the shortage of building material and labour. The completed structure was then christened Fort Zeelandia after the County of Zeeland in the Netherlands, from which many of the original settlers had originated.

The Lozenge shaped design of the fort, submitted

by Gravesande, is similar to other forts constructed in West Africa during that period. Fort Zeelandia consisted of a redoubt of 50 square feet, with walls thick enough to endure the heaviest ordnance.

There were two stories; the lower served as a warehouse for provisions and a safe powder house while the upper floor housed the soldiers, with a room for the non-commissioned officers.

Twenty portholes, consisting of two and three pounders were found on each storey.

Many studies conducted have shown that the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is a flawed assessment.

The World Bank, one of CPIs source materials, has even criticised the CPI as a method of ranking corruption, saying “changes in sample base and methodology have complicated year-to-year comparisons” while “survey respondents in different countries describe corruption in different terms”. The fact that the CPI is used to show progress in fighting corruption as well as compare it to the rest of the Caribbean is exactly how TIGI and critics of the government are using the CPI. It is used as a political tool to attack the government.

The World Bank report goes on to state that the methodology used by the CPI is also flawed. “There are two

main problems: (1) Previous survey results have an impact on new survey results and (2) because indexes combine several measurements, it is difficult to set one number that accurately reflects a country’s level of corruption.”

The report goes on to state that a cyclic system easily develops where reports are based on a previous year’s report and actual efforts implemented to fight corruption are ignored.

The World Bank, however, is not the only critic of the CPI. Alex Cobham in an article for foreign policy stated that “The index corrupts perceptions to the extent that it’s hard to see a justification for its continuing publication.”

Criticises

In his article, Cobham roundly criticises the CPI for using none evidence-based information to guess at what corruption exists. This has been an issue that even Transparency International has recognised. As an example of how skewed the CPI is, in 2010, the CPI ranked Brazil as 69th, however, that year’s Global Corruption Barometer showed that a larger percentage of Americans pay bribes than do Brazilians. The surprising thing is that the CPI and the barometer are both published by Transparency International. How is it that the reports cannot agree?

Does this not ring an alarm?

What about the source data? For the CPI, Guyana only exists in four of the 13 source data used. The fact that countries are being compared to each other when less source material is available is ludicrous.

The data within those four data sources are also

unreliable. For example, the World Economic Forum, one of the data set used, claims that Guyana has a better railway system than Serbia, a country with over 4000 km of railway lines. This incorrect data has been present in the World Economic Forum reports for many years now.

This is a clear example of the cyclic issue that the World Bank warned about. This is an indication of the data used to measure corruption.

One of the saddest parts of the use of the CPI is donor countries’ attitude. Recently, the British high commissioner stated that the UK would pull funding from Guyana based on the “perception of corruption”. This is an incredibly grave statement that even TI warns against, stating that bad rankings should not incite punishment.

Decisions

The World Bank also warns that “international donors use perception-based composite governance indicators to make decisions on vital investment and aid”. It goes on to state “that there is a bona fide risk that important decisions are being made on the basis of inaccurate measures”.

The media is faced with a tremendous task of analysing the CPI. However, most only use it as face value which causes the perception of corruption to rise again. If critical analysis to the methodology of the CPI is not undertaken by opinion makers, they will become complicit in doing more harm than good. It takes an extra amount of work, and journalists are under pressure to deliver. However, checking the source material is a foundation of good journalism.

Family spat lands housewives in court

O

n Tuesday, two women appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where they were counter charged for assaulting each other.

Gloria Kelman of Lot 8 Thomas Street, Kitty, Georgetown, and Stacy De Freitas of 151 Sixth Street, Albertown, Georgetown, both pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on December 2, at Thomas Street, Kitty, they both un-

lawfully assaulted each other.

According to the facts, the two parties are related and on the day of the incident, De Frietas went to Kelman’s home to secure a door. There she was confronted by Kelman and the two had an altercation resulting in Kelman receiving injuries. The prosecution also stated that Kelman had to seek medical attention.

Attorney Paul Fung-AFat entered an appearance on behalf of Kelman and

stated that she is a housewife with six children. He went on to say that the matter stemmed from a disputed family property.

De Freitas was unrepresented and told the court that she too is a housewife.

There were no objections to bail raised by Prosecutor Bharat Mangru and they were both placed on their own recognisance and were bonded to keep the peace.

The matter was transferred to Court 10 for December 6.

10

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thursday, December 5, 2013

News

“Lots going on” to divide Kanhai’s wealth – daughter A

lmost one month after businessman Deryck Kanhai went berserk and killed four persons, including two policemen and two staff of a taxi service, a close relative on Wednesday disclosed that the man’s string of businesses are at a standstill.

The reason for this is not known, but according to information received, family members are still at loggerheads as to the ownership of the string of businesses.

Guyana Times understands that Kanhai’s lawyers are in the process of sorting out the shares. An aggrieved daughter, who travelled from the U.S. to attend her father’s funeral, stated that there are “lots going on”, but did not go into detail, stating that she wished not to divulge more on the matter.

Kanhai owned several businesses, including a hotel at Bartica, several dredges, among others. The man’s daughter also disclosed that “money is not everything and people have to realise that that they have lost a loved one in the most tragic way possible”.

She reiterated that her fam-

Deryck Khanai

ily sympathises with the relatives of those who were slain by her father.

Not discussed

Asked whether the family had considered using some of Kanhai’s wealth to compensate the families of those he killed, the daughter said: “It was never put forward by the families as an option. We are poor and I don’t know if or who spoke about compensation… I will have to enquire from other family members and only then we can comment, but as of now, we are not thinking about that.”

On November 13,

about 13:30h, Kanhai armed himself with a gun and discharged several rounds indiscriminately at Middle and East streets, Georgetown. As shots rang out, passersby took cover and police ranks raced to the scene. Kanhai retreated into his home above the taxi service. An initial attempt at storming the building was met by a barrage of gunfire. Two wounded ranks, Lance Corporal Sherwin Pantlitz and Lance Corporal Michael Forde were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where they later succumbed.

Police subsequently stormed the building and Kanhai was fatally shot, bringing an end to an almost three-hour standoff.

A dispatcher at the Crown Taxi Service and a driver were also killed in the pandemonium.

Sad day

Immediately after the devastating incident, the government and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) expressed condolences to the relatives of those killed in the shooting. Prime Minister

Samuel Hinds said it was “especially a sad day in our nation’s recent history. Many of you may have heard by now four persons have been killed by one of our fellow citizens who began shooting at persons in the vicinity and at policemen who confronted him.

He was eventually shot fatally by policemen”.

APNU also in a statement said it strongly condemns the violence and calls on those responsible for public safety to take all necessary steps to put an end to the upsurge of violent crimes that present a challenge to law and order in civil society.

“APNU remains committed to working with all relevant government agencies to ensure that all Guyanese can enjoy a good life in safe and secure communities,” the coalition said in a statement.

There were other outcries by members of the public and various private sector bodies calling for the gun laws to be re-examined and put back on the table for a passage, in a bid to restrict certain persons from becoming gun owners.

Bad eye does lead to bad mind, and bad mind does lead to bad talk

A

big problem wid some people is that dem does get bitter and jealous when dem can’t get dem hands pun tings whah other people got, or do whah other people can do.

Dem does spend dem whole life watchin people, wantin tings whah belong to other people, and wantin to do tings whah other people doin.

Old people call it bad eye. Mahendra Ramkellawan call it “dem a watch meh”. Whatever name people call it, it ain’t got cure. De bad eye does only get badder, especially when people ain’t tekkin dem on. Dem bad eye de former prezzy, but de former prezzy busy doin big tings here and overseas, and he ain’t got time to even hear whah dem sayin. That does mek dem bad eye people burn. No matter whah bad eye people do, dem can’t get better than de people who dem bad eye.

Thief man does thief because dem bad eyein whah other people got. Even when dem come outta jail, dem does thief again and end up in de jail again. Wid bad eye people, dem mind does be in jail. Dem walkin free, but dem in prison. Bob Marley call it “mental slavery”. When yuh mind in prison, is a more terrible ting than when yuh body in prison.

Mook Lall is a man who can’t get certain people outta he mind. But no matter how hard he try, he can’t be like dem. He bad eye lead to bad mind, and he bad mind lead to bad talk. But just like bad eye ain’t got cure, mookness ain’t got cure either. A mook does be a mook fuh life.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie! So is a soup drinker, which is whah Mook Lall headitor is. And dem boys who seh dem is boys seh soup is not de only ting de headitor drinkin! After all, de only ting worse than bein a mook fuh life is wukkin fuh a mook fuh life!

U.S. embassy visiting Joshua LIAT redoubling efforts for House Orphanage today holiday season

Youth Action Network (YAN) members at an outreach activity last Saturday

T

he U.S. embassy’s Youth Action Network (YAN) and staff will today visit the Joshua House Orphanage to intermingle and spread Christmas cheer to the some 60 children there.

The visit is part of activities to mark International Volunteer Day. Last Sunday, YAN members spent time doing creative arts, reading, and playing games with the children, after which they were treated to early Christmas presents donated by the U.S. embassy and YAN members.

YAN volunteer Dennis

Glasgow said “this is an afternoon well spent. The warm feeling I got around those kids just reminded me of the reason why I love volunteering”.

Another volunteer Blossom Dublin echoed similar sentiments.

“Volunteering always gives an unusually purposeful feeling! We had a great time at the Joshua House!”

International Volunteer Day is a celebration of young people serving as agents of change in their communities and towards global peace and sustainable human de-

velopment.

It provides a chance for volunteer-involving organisations and individual volunteers to promote their contributions to development at local, national and international levels.

Established in July 2013, under the theme “Ready to Serve, Ready to Lead”, YAN gives motivated youths an opportunity to participate in networking and training activities to enhance their leadership skills and professionalism, as well as to promote their involvement in volunteerism.

L

IAT Cargo and Quikpak Services are redoubling efforts this holiday season to move extra bags and packages throughout the airline’s Caribbeanwide network.

LIAT’s executive manager of Cargo and Quikpak Wilbur Edwards in a release announced that the Cargo and Quikpak division was already accepting and delivering extra bags, packages, presents and other personal items to LIAT’s many destinations.

“Just take your excess bags to the nearest airport location, where our staff will help you with the pro-

cess and show you our very competitive rates,” Edwards said.

“We offer airport-to-airport deliveries and a doorto-door service,” remarked Edwards, who advised this season’s procedures were designed with customer convenience as the primary consideration.

In a move to help passengers move through the airports more efficiently during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, LIAT placed an embargo on excess baggage from December 3 to January 14, 2014.

High passenger loads during the Christmas sea-

son and the space and weight limitations of both Dash 8 and ATR aircraft are the main reason for a return to the seasonal policy.

The free baggage allowance for all LIAT services is one piece at a maximum of 50 lbs or 23 kgs. In addition, passengers are allowed one piece of cabin baggage at a maximum weight of 15 lbs.

LIAT will only accept one piece of excess baggage per customer and the total weight of the excess bag cannot exceed 50lbs. All excess baggage will incur excess baggage charges and will be transported on a standby basis only.

11 Environment

guyanatimesgy.com

thursday, DEcEMBER 5, 2013

Water conservation this Christmas

Microplastics “pose toxic threat to marine biodiversity”

T

T

he festive end-of year season is here again.

House-cleaning is well on its way, decorations are out, and the usual hustle and bustle of the season is quite evident. It is also a time that provides you with a great opportunity to be mindful of your actions and how they can affect our health, pocket and the environment.

As the end of 2013, the ‘International Year of Water Cooperation’ draws near; it is a good time to reflect on how invaluable water is to our health and prosperity.

It is necessary for everyone to work together to ensure that this precious resource is conserved and protected, because how we treat it could very well affect quality of life in 2014 and beyond. Here are some tips to help you do your part:

While you’re eating:

* Avoid food waste: Food waste tends to increase in the holiday season. This impacts our water resources indirectly – all the water and resources put into the growing, manufacturing, and selling of our food goes to waste if the food ends up in the bin. * Plan your meals properly and thaw meats naturally, well in advance, instead of placing them in water to thaw. * Create a compost pile with certain food scraps instead of using a garbage disposal. * Consider rinsing over a tub when washing vegetables and fruits for dinner; you can reuse the water for your holiday plants. * Use more homemade juices. This takes less water to make; take what you need and avoid wastage. * Eat more vegetables and less meat. Did you know that it takes approximately 50,000 litres of water to provide you with one pound of beef? * Don’t run the tap

when washing dishes.

Plugging the drain, filling the sink with soapy water, and scrubbing and rinsing from there can reduce how much water you use cleaning all those holiday pots, pans, and dishes.

While you’re cleaning/washing:

* Use damp newspapers instead of water to clean your window, they give a much better shine and uses far less water. * Soak your flowers down for a while and then fill up a tub or large container and rinse them.

I t ’ s much m o r e effective than washing directly under the pipe. * Save water (and make that pile of laundry disappear a little faster) by only washing full loads every time, and using the appropriate setting on your machine to the size of the load you’re washing. * Sun-dry your laundry as far as possible instead of drying in the washing machine.

While you’re shopping:

* Take your own reusable bottle with water when you go shopping and

avoid buying small bottles of water which will also increase the amount of waste you produce. * It might seem outlandish, but waterefficient appliances can make great gifts!

Reusable water bottles, lowflow showerheads and even a rain barrel could also be a great gift to help your loved ones conserve water. * Consider dry flower or fruit arrangements instead of filling large vases with water for fresh flowers. * Use reusable wrappings for gifts such as a tea towel, table cloth, or scarf – this saves energy and waste products as well as water, and is a practical part of the gift as well.

At this period of the

year, many persons take the opportunity to do renovations, repairs or even upgrade items within their home. Ensure water conservation and protection is on your to-do list. Repair or replace all leaking pipes, invest in low-flow shower heads and toilets and a buoy for your outdoor storage tank. Remember, less than one per cent of the water on earth is fresh, so it’s not as abundant as you might think!

You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O EIT Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, Georgetown; or email us at eit.epaguyana@gmail.com.

iny particles of waste plastic that are ingested by shoreline “eco-engineer” worms may be negatively affecting biodiversity, a study says.

So-called microplastics may be able to transfer toxic pollutants and chemicals into the guts of lugworms, reducing the animals’ functions. An estimated 150 million tonnes vanishes from the global waste-stream each year.

The findings have been published in the academic journal “Current Biology”.

“We are losing a large volume of plastic and we know it is going into the environment and the assumption being made by policymakers is that this material is non-hazardous, it has got the same ranking as scraps of food,” explained co-author Mark Browne, an ecologist from the U.S.-based National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis.

“The research we have done really challenges that,” Dr Browne added, referring to the findings of lab work carried out by colleagues at Plymouth University, UK, led by co-author Professor Richard Thompson.

“Our findings show that the plastic itself can be a problem and can affect organisms.

“Also, when particles of plastic go into the environment, what you find is that they accumulate large quantities of pollutants that are banned. So you have these particles themselves but also a load of nasty chemicals.”

Important role

The team found that the tiny bits of plastic, which measure 1 millimetre or smaller, transferred pollutants and additive chemicals – such as flame-retardants

– into the guts of lugworms (Arenicola marina).

This process results in the chemicals reaching the creatures’ tissue, causing a range of biological effects such as thermal stress and the inability to consume as much sediment.

Dr Browne explained that this had consequences for the surrounding ecosystem.

“If the animals are not able to eat as much, then there is a change in the function of the organisms and there is an impact on the semblance of the species found in an area,” he said.

He added that the worms had earned the nickname “eco-engineers” as a result of their ability to eat organic matter from the sediment and prevent the build-up of silt.

“Through that process, it produces burrows and changes the whole assemblage of animals that live around it,” Dr Browne observed.

“This is quite considerable because if you look at the total biomass of a shoreline, about 32 per cent can be made up from these organisms.”

He told BBC News that it was the first study of its kind to highlight the toxic risk posed by microplastics to marine organisms.

“For about 40 or 50 years, we have been finding very large concentrations of chemicals in animals. Then they started to find animals with larger concentrations of pollutants and plastics, so researchers began to establish this correlation.

“But no-one had actually shown whether chemicals could transfer from plastic when they are eaten by animals and accumulate in their bodies and reduce important functions that maintain their health.”

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thursday, December 5, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

CMM donates medical equipment Nine held after ganja bust at Crabwood Creek to New Amsterdam Hospital

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ine persons including four teenagers were arrested on Wednesday following a raid at a house in Crabwood Creek, Berbice, which led to the discovery of three pounds of marijuana.

According to reports received, officer-in-charge of Springlands Police Station, Cadet Officer Jermaine Dufu led a team of police ranks to a house at Grant 1806 Crabwood Creek,

where a search was conducted and the illegal substance was unearthed.

The substance was found at strategic locations around the yard in several buckets. Further checks revealed that the seeds, leaves and stems were wrapped neatly in plastic bags. The men were told of the offence, cautioned and arrested.

The illegal substance was taken to the

Springlands Police Station where it was weighed in their presence and proved to be three pounds of marijuana.

Investigations are continuing and the men are expected to be charged shortly.

The police have launched several initiatives to dent the drug trade in Crabwood Creek since it is believed that illicit drugs pass through Moleson Creek on a high scale.

Body with missing testicles found on sea wall New Amsterdam Hospital Medical Superintendent, Dr Vishayla Sharma exchanges a handshake with CMM representative, Dr James Cort on receiving the equipment

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he Caribbean Medical Mission (CMM) on Monday donated a quantity of medical equipment valued some US$200,000 to the New Amsterdam Hospital to aid in its shoring up of services to Berbicians.

The items which included a cardiac monitor, laryngoscopes and an orthopedic bed were handed over

by CMM representative, Dr James Cort to Medical Superintendent, Dr Vishayla Sharma following a request from Dr Sharma.

The presentation was witnessed by Berbice Regional Health Authority (BRHA) Chief Executive Officer, Dr Vishwa Mahadeo; New Amsterdam Hospital Chief Executive Officer Allen Johnson; and Region Six Vice

Chairman Bhoopal Jagroop, among others.

CMM is comprised of Caribbean-based doctors and nurses in the U.S. Dr Cort told Guyana Times that when Dr Sharma was told of the CMM’s impending annual visit to Berbice, she immediately thought of the medical instrument and supplies the hospital needed to improve its services.

“We have been able to satisfy her need and beyond,” Dr Cort said.

Region Six Vice Chairman Bhoopal Jagroop expressed gratitude to the visiting team for the kind gesture, pointing out that the equipment is of significant help to the medical facility.

“Dr Sharma did not make this request for herself, but

as a representative of the region, she requested it for the region and on behalf of the regional administration I want to thank her for this as we are heartened that her request has been met,” he said.

More than 20 gynecological and general surgeries have been performed at the hospital by the CMM team since they have been visiting the hospital.

The team has also carried out several medical outreaches and formal lectures in the ancient county.

Dr Sharma also praised Dr Cort for the kind gesture, and noted that the experience gained by the junior doctors at the New Amsterdam Hospital working with the visiting team has assisted them greatly in widening their knowledge.

Anna Regina businessman died from broken neck, fractured skull – autopsy

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n autopsy performed on Anna Regina businessman Timor Gossai,30, who was discovered dead in a pool of blood in front of the house he was staying at on Friday, has indicated that he died from a broken neck, ribs and a fractured skull.

The post-mortem examination was performed by government pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh on Tuesday.

Gossai, who was discovered by some Anna Regina Market vendors, is suspect-

Dead: Timor Gossai

ed to have slipped and fallen from the veranda on the upper flat of the house.

The businessman, who owns two restaurants at Parika, was on the Essequibo Coast with the intention of opening a new restaurant there when he met his demise. His body bored no marks of violence.

The body of the businessman was laid to rest on Wednesday, with hundreds bidding him farewell. He was described as a kind individual.

GPL scheduled to complete line maintenance next week

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he Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) said it is scheduled to complete all Transmission and Distribution (T&D) works, inclusive of line maintenance and generation planned maintenance activities by December 14.

According to GPL’s Network Manager Shaun Hamlet, technical staff is

working around-the-clock to complete all maintenance works for the holiday season.

This is to ensure that the company delivers the highest quality of power supply to its customer base, a release from GPL states.

The company is also appealing to customers to conserve electricity. “Simple actions such as turning off

appliance(s) when not in use will result in savings.”

To learn more on energy conservation and demand side management, GPL encourages customers to visit the company’s website at www.gplinc.com, click the energy conservation/demand side management icon to read more on conservation methods.

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he naked body of a man with his testicles missing was found on Wednesday morning at the Kingston sea wall aback of the Criminal Investigation Department, Eve Leary, Georgetown.

The body was discovered by a passerby who subsequently alerted the police.

The unidentified man from indications was tortured. It appears as though the man

might have been killed and taken to the seawall as investigators have ruled out drowning.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the man, whose body was discovered about 12:10h. The body also bore marks of violence.

The victim is of African descent, fair in complexion, appears to be in the midforties and about five feet,

eight inches tall. The body was taken to the Lyken’s Funeral Parlour awaiting identification and post-mortem examination.

When Guyana Times visited the scene, Criminal Investigation Department members were busy conducting their investigations while curious onlookers turned up to get a glimpse of the body.

Caricom hails CDEMA as a regional champion

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aricom Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque has commended the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) for their work in comprehensive disaster management.

In a message for the launch of the Caribbean Disaster Management (CDM) Strategy 20142024, which was held in Jamaica on Tuesday evening, Ambassador LaRocque referred to the organisation as a regional champion and broker for comprehensive disaster management, the Caricom Secretariat said in a release. He said since its inception, CDEMA has played a sterling role as the region’s premier organisation for disaster risk management.

Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque

“Due to the efforts of CDEMA, there is now political awareness and support for disaster management and in particular the CDM strategy and framework across the region, which has to date been through two it-

erations, corresponding to two implementation periods” Ambassador LaRocque said.

He used the opportunity to encourage support for CDEMA’s call to recognise the critical linkages between investment in the strengthening of the resilience of Caricom countries and communities and reducing social and economic losses from hazard impacts.

He also encouraged participants to take ownership of the new CDM strategy and to use the opportunity presented by the CDM conference to participate in the development of an implementation plan that would guide the roll out of the strategy and the achievement of the regional results to which it spoke.

Caricom heads to zero in on ICT at next confab

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he Caricom heads of government have decided that Information Communication Technology (ICT) will be one of the major topics to be discussed at the upcoming intercessional meeting in February.

This was disclosed by Caricom Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque in a message at the opening ceremony of the 12th Caribbean Ministerial Strategic ICT seminar, hosted in Jamaica on Tuesday.

The ceremony marked the beginning of an ICT Week which is being held

from Monday, December 2-6 by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) in collaboration with the government of Jamaica.

The secretary general also outlined that there would be a special meeting led by the Caricom lead head of government for ICT , Grenada Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell on January 14, which would be preparatory for the heads of government discussions in February.

LaRocque also said that during the recent national consultations for the

Community Strategic Plan, ICT emerged as a priority area for the region in every member state. He said all governments of the region have identified ICT as a key pillar and enabler for their country’s socio-economic transformation and development.

“It would be terribly remiss of us if we do not daily, constantly seek ways in which to move ICT to the place of key enabler and catalyst for all we seek to accomplish as a region and as a people” Ambassador LaRocque said.

news

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thursday, decEMBER 5, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Bygeval elevated to A-List school Caricom attorneys

discuss implications of Myrie ruling

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he Education Ministry on Tuesday commissioned the Bygeval Secondary School, located at Chelsea Park, Mahaicony, Region Five, as an A-List school.

Government invested a total of $49 million to upgrade the school and provide the necessary equipment, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.

Among the works done were physical rehabilitation and electrical works on the entire school and extension to the agriculture department.

In terms of equipment, four new computers and five central processing units (CPUs) were installed in the information technology laboratory while the home economics, science and industrial technology laboratories were ful-

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Education Minister Priya Manickchand about to sample some of the foods in the food and nutrition department

The Bygeval Secondary School, located at Chelsea Park, West Mahaicony, Region Five

ly outfitted with the necessary equipment. The allied arts department also benefited from sport gear and the library was enhanced with reading materials.

The school currently has 38 teachers out of the required 39: 12 trained graduates, two untrained graduates, 14 trained teachers and 10 untrained teachers.

It currently offers 24 subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) namely biology, chemistry, physics, integrated science, human and social biology, agriculture science (double award), principle of accounts and business, office administration, economics, information technology, home economics, management, food and nutrition, geography, social studies, Caribbean history, English A and B, Spanish, mathematics, mechanical engineer, technology, building technology, technical drawing and visual arts.

Great history

The students of grades seven, eight, nine, 10 and 11 also received the relevant text books in various subject areas. Minister Manickchand told the large gathering that the Bygeval Secondary School has a great history, and Region Five is a very special region to Guyana, as it produces the most cattle.

According to the education minister, it is now deemed as one of the most developed regions as it relates to education delivery.

The school topped Region Five at this year’s CSEC with Oma Devi Nanku, obtaining 12 subjects, including six distinctions, one grade one and five grade twos. Minister Manickchand explained that becoming an A-List school depends on the quality of teaching and learning and Bygeval has proven itself in both areas.

“We give you the opportunity to learn and to be tolerant, but coming here and having an education is not enough… We want for you to be able to think independently and weather you chose to become a lawyer, doctor, teacher and nurse or engineer, you must give back and serve your country and community,” Minister Manickchand urged the students.

She said the ministry will continue to support the school to ensure that it continues to excel, but called on stakeholders including parents and teachers to assist in the process.

Significant event

Meanwhile, Regional Education Officer Owen Pollard stated that the occasion showed the interest that government places in the education system in Guyana.

Pollard said for many years, the cream of the crop was sent to Georgetown because of lack of accommodation in schools in the region, hence, the event was significant.

Owen reiterated that Region Five is capable of producing the highest level of education in the country, and with two A- List schools now, students will have access to

further quality education. He urged the students to care the facility so that they and the children to come can benefit.

Headmistress Cheryl Dos Santos, who provided an overview of the school, stated that the event symbolised the effectiveness of the school to produce quality education. In a school which

produced students of calibre such as former President Bharrat Jagdeo, Dos Santos said the bar has been set and the school has seen great improvements over the past years with commendable passes at CSEC, especially in the areas of mathematics, English language and business subjects.

She highlighted that the school’s aim for excellence goes beyond academics as the students also participate in many regional sport, debate and essay competitions and excelled. She commended government for the support the school has been receiving, which has enabled them to be more equipped.

Students and teachers were also presented with Toshiba laptops from Nanku, the school’s 2013 top student. Recently, the Rosignol Secondary School also in Region Five was commissioned as an A-list school, and a new wing was commissioned at the Fort Wellington Secondary School, to accommodate 150 grade seven students.

aricom Legal Affairs Committee (LAC) has discussed the implications for the community and member states on the recent Caribbean Court of Justice ruling in the matter involving Jamaican, Shanique Myrie.

The LAC, which comprises attorneys general and legal affairs ministers of the community, met by videoconference on November 29 and received a brief on the case officially entitled Shanique Myrie vs the State of Barbados (defendant) and Jamaica (intervener) [2013] CCJ 3 (OJ).

According to a release, the committee discussed the requirements for implementation and several members reported on on-going discussions and steps being taken at the national level.

Attorneys general identified certain issues which would benefit from further review and policy decisions at the community level, particularly to ensure harmonised procedures to be implemented by member states.

The committee, under the chairmanship of Barbados’ Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Adriel Brathwaite, also recommended two important instruments for signature by the heads of government. The attorneys general for Dominica, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines also participated, with authorised representatives Grenada and Suriname, and delegations from Anguilla, Belize, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

The LAC approved the Protocol Amending Article 83 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. Article 83

provides the authority of the Caricom Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) to administer the Common External Tariff (CET).

The CET is one of the fundamental elements of the Caricom trade in goods regime, which requires member states to maintain a CET on goods imported from nonCaricom countries. The protocol seeks to clarify the authority and flexibility of the COTED in administering the CET. The LAC also approved the agreement establishing the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy.

This agreement stems from a mandate of the heads of government and has been negotiated for several years.

The vision of the Caricom Common Fisheries Policy is effective cooperation and collaboration in the conservation, management and sustainable utilisation of the fisheries resources and related ecosystems in the region. It is intended to secure the maximum benefits from those resources for the Caribbean peoples and for the region as a whole. It is a framework document, which provides for the future elaboration of further protocols on specific areas.

Attorneys general reviewed draft protocols concerning the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) economic union and contingent rights, and a revised agreement establishing the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) which will be considered further prior to the upcoming 25th intersessional meeting of the conference of heads of government, to be held in February 2014 in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

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thursday, December 5, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

Medical radioactive material Venezuelan outage “was sabotage” truck “stolen in Mexico”

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truck carrying medical radioactive material has been stolen in Mexico, the UN’s nuclear watchdog says.

Mexico told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the truck was carrying a “dangerous radioactive source” used for cancer treatments when it was stolen on Monday. The radiotherapy source was being taken from a hospital in the northern city of Tijuana to a waste storage centre. It was stolen near

the capital, Mexico City.

Mexico’s Nuclear Security Commission said that at the time of the theft, the cobalt-60 teletherapy source was “properly shielded”.

But the commission warned it could be “extremely dangerous to a person if removed from the shielding, or if it was damaged”.

Local media reported that the truck, a 2.5-tonne Volkswagen Worker, was stolen by armed men at a petrol station in Tepojaco, on the outskirts of Mexico City

on Monday morning. BBC world affairs correspondent Rajesh Mirchandani says Cobalt-60 could theoretically be used in a so-called “dirty bomb” – an explosive device that could spread radioactive material over a wide area – although there is no official suggestion this was the purpose of the theft.

Mexican police are currently conducting a search for the truck and its contents and have issued a press release to alert the public to its potential dangers. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Jamaica, TT ink agreement on immigration, trade issues

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amaica and Trinidad and Tobago have signed an agreement outlining a path to improve free trade and free movement between the two countries.

“I think we have... created a platform for addressing not only the issues which brought this meeting together, but for a wider set of considerations, both in our bilateral relations, and in the relations within the wider Caricom (Caribbean Community),” Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Minister

Winston Dookeran said in a statement.

He said he had also extended an invitation to his counterpart, Arnold J Nicholson to visit Port of Spain by the end of the first quarter of 2014 for further consultations, having recognised the need to follow up on agreements coming out of the last two days.

Dookeran had been invited to Kingston for talks

by Nicholson after Port of Spain had refused entry to 13 Jamaican nationals last month that had escalated

into a threat of a trade war between the two Caricom member states.

Jamaica had been critical of the decision and the Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a warning to nationals travelling to Trinidad and Tobago, saying it was also concerned at this development and was continuing to interface with the relevant authorities in Trinidad and Tobago on the matter, particularly in light of the Shanique Myrie ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

In Grenada, nutmeg heads up an economic revolution

Earnest Mitchell shows visitors around his farm in Grenada

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innamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger are often key baking ingredients. But on the island of Grenada they are

also central ingredients in a burgeoning economic revolution. The world’s second largest exporter of nutmeg, holding 20 per cent of the market, this ‘Spice Island’ is now betting on agriculture to become an additional engine for an economy looking to diversify away from the usual sun and sand tourism and also shore up food security for its inhabitants.

While Latin America as a region is rich in water and arable lands (the region play’s home to around a third of the planet’s reserves), the small island nations of the Caribbean, such as Grenada and its neighbours, have to deal with the added challenge of a highly hostile climate, including

hurricanes, severely limited freshwater supplies – which worsen further during the dry season – and a rising sea level.

Now smallhold farmers on this island paradise, situated some 125 miles off the Venezuelan coast, are leading an initiative to refocus Grenada’s economic profile with a project which has also caught the attention of other governments within the region. Earnest Mitchell is just one of this next generation of local farmers.

“I’m thinking of doubling my production next year,” he explained with pride while showing visitors around his small farm perched high in Grenada’s fertile mountain region. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

Witness protection law passed in St Vincent

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onday proved to be a significant day in the parliament of St Vincent and the Grenadines, with the successful passage of the Witness (Special Measures) Bill 2013.

Legal Affairs Minister and Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, piloted the bill, with lively contributions coming from Senators Vynette Frederick and Dr Linton Lewis for the opposition, with Senators Jomo Thomas and Camillo Gonsalves for the

government, respectively.

The bill seeks to make provisions for the protection of witnesses in criminal proceedings. It comprises of four parts, 29 sections, and a schedule.

According to Gonsalves, the bill is one of several bills that have come before the House over the past dozen or so years to amend procedural law and substantive law, aimed at strengthening the criminal justice system to enhance citizens’ protec-

tion. The bill also affords protection of all rights to all, including those who are to be charged for criminal offences.

Gonsalves noted that “several loopholes exist in our criminal laws”, with a huge number of crimes committed are transnational. He noted that the greatest contributor to organised violence; one of the greatest impulses to organised violence is drug trafficking and its allied money laundering. (Excerpt from Caribbean News

Now)

Venezuela is no stranger to power cuts, despite its oil wealth

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enezuela’s president has said he has proof that Monday’s massive power cut in the capital Caracas and other cities was caused by “right-wing” saboteurs.

Appearing on state television, Nicolas Maduro showed a picture of what looked like a cut conduc-

tor cable. He said the saboteurs’ aim was to destabilise the country ahead of local elections scheduled for this weekend.

Caracas’ metro ground to a halt and people had to be led out of shops and offices – but power was later restored.

Government opponents

say poor maintenance was the likely cause of the blackout. Power cuts are common in Venezuela, especially in the inland states, but they rarely affect the capital.

Speaking on state television, Maduro said that “we always face these attacks by the right-wing fascists”.

“They wanted to make me, as president of the republic, decree a state of emergency and suspend the elections.

“Whoever made this criminal attack wanted to leave our Venezuela without electricity for 24 to 48 hours... thinking that would convince people not to continue with the revolution.”

He earlier tweeted that the outage had been triggered in the same place as a blackout in September.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Early adjournment in Kartel case as rumour of his freedom sparks court rush

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here was no evidence taken Tuesday in the Vybz Kartel murder trial due to the unavailability of witnesses, which resulted in an early adjournment.

The adjournment came after lead prosecutor Jeremy Taylor told the court after the two o’clock resumption that he was unable to secure witnesses for the matter. The afternoon’s early adjournment mirrored that of an early morning break to facilitate the defence meet-

ing with experts from telecoms giant Digicel, who are to give evidence in the matter before the Home Circuit Court.

During the morning sitting, attorney Tom TavaresFinson applied to the court for an early adjournment to see if the defence lawyer could meet with the Digicel experts as the meeting, originally scheduled for Monday afternoon, did not take place. Justice Lennox Campbell granted the morning adjournment and said

that the director of public prosecutions should get involved in the matter to get the case going.

Minutes before the matter was scheduled to resume in the afternoon, a large crowd of boisterous people – including scores of students – converged on the Supreme Court building where the trial is being held along King Street, chanting, “The Worl’ Boss free” and ‘dem free the Worl’ Boss”, referring to Vybz Kartel. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

St Lucian opposition leader denies “passing the mantle”

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eader of the parliamentary opposition in Saint Lucia, former Prime Minister Stephenson King, has denied “passing on the mantle” of leadership to the new political leader of the United Workers Party (UWP), Allen Chastanet.

Questions in this respect have been prompted by a remark by a local television reporter covering an event on November 13, launching a programme of activities to mark the UWP’s Golden Jubilee. The event was intended to outline the par-

ty’s plans to host a series of events and projects to be undertaken during the celebratory period, as well as to trace the progress of the party over the last five decades.

However, according to the local reporter covering the occasion, any lingering questions about the support of former UWP leader Stephenson King for new party leader Allen Chastanet were put to rest at the event.

“King introduced the leader saying that, after 32

years of serving the UWP, he is passing on the mantle to Chastanet,” the reporter said. Caribbean News Now caught up with King this week during a short break in South Florida and he explained that the UWP finds itself in something of a conundrum, given that the new party leader, Chastanet, does not have an elected seat in the House of Assembly and cannot therefore be appointed the official leader of the parliamentary opposition – a position that King still holds. (Excerpt from

Caribbean News Now)

Brazilian homeless man sentenced over Rio riots

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homeless man in Brazil has been sentenced to five years in jail for his role in riots in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year.

Rafael Braga Vieira was convicted for carrying bottles containing ethanol, which can be used to produce petrol bombs. His lawyers say he had cleaning products, and that he will appeal.

He is the first person in Brazil to be sentenced over the violence that marred the widespread

protests. Rafael Vieira, 26, was arrested outside an abandoned shop in Rio de Janeiro’s city centre on June 20, after a demonstration attended by more than 300,000 people.

As he has a criminal record for theft, the judge in Rio ruled that he would not be allowed parole.

Four other people arrested around the same time in Rio remain in jail waiting to find out whether they will be acquitted or convicted.

The protests began

at the end of May in Sao Paulo, against a rise in public transport fares.

But they soon spread across the country, covering a wide range of issues.

The rises in Sao Paulo and many other Brazilian cities were revoked after two weeks of protests.

But by then the demonstrators were venting their anger at corruption and the high cost of preparation for next year’s World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. (Excerpt from BBC News)

15 Around the world

guyanatimesgy.com

thursday, dECember 5, 2013

Ukraine unrest: Former Shot Hezbollah commander buried presidents back mass protests

Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko (left-right) are pictured watching a football match together in September

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kraine’s three previous post-Soviet presidents have given their support to mass anti-government protesters.

In a statement, Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko expressed “solidarity” with peaceful rallies.

Thousands of protesters remain camped in Kiev’s Independence Square, and are continuing to block the

main government’s building.

They are angry at the government’s last-minute decision not to sign an association deal with the EU. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Wednesday visited protesters on Independence Square, saying that “the gates of the European Union are still open”.

Meanwhile, Russia –

which wants Kiev to join the Moscow-led Customs Union – has urged the West not to interfere in Ukraine.

“We express solidarity with the peaceful civic actions of hundreds of thousands of young Ukrainians,” the three former presidents said in a statement. They condemned “the excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators” and called on all sides to refrain from further violence.

They urged protest leaders and the government to engage in “open dialogue”, taking into account “the European aspirations of the Ukrainian people”.

Ukraine’s special police, Berkut, has been widely condemned for beating protesters on Independence Square last Saturday. A number of people were injured as the police cleared the protest camp – known as Maidan. (Excerpt from BBC News)

After health law woes, Obama returns focus to middle class, poor

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eeking to recover from the bungled rollout of his healthcare reforms, President Barack Obama went back to basics on Wednesday with a renewed focus on government policies that benefit the struggling poor and middle classes.

“The combined trends of increased inequality and decreasing mobility pose a fundamental threat to the American dream, our way of life, and what we stand for around the globe,” he said.

With his job approval ratings sinking, Obama sought to promote some of the ideals he has championed throughout his presidency.

The Democratic president cast his political agenda in terms of a broad fight to improve economic opportunity in ways that benefit all Americans.

“We have to relentlessly push a growth agenda,” Obama told a supportive crowd at a community centre in one of the capital’s poorest neighbourhoods. “A

relentlessly growing deficit of opportunity is a bigger threat to our future than our rapidly shrinking fiscal deficit.”

He challenged Republicans in Congress to do more than say ‘no’ to initiatives including raising the minimum wage or expanding health coverage: offer alternatives and set aside a preoccupation with cutting government spending. “You owe it to the American people to tell us what you are for,” he said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

French lower house votes to fine prostitutes’ clients

People demonstrate on November 29 in Paris against a bill that would punish those who use prostitutes

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he lower house of the French parliament, the National Assembly, approved a bill on Wednesday that would impose a €1500 fine on those caught paying for sexual services. The bill is expected to go before the upper house for consideration in early 2014.

Lawmakers voted 268 in

favour and 138 against on a bill that would introduce some of the most restrictive legislation on prostitution in Europe, a radical departure from France’s traditionally tolerant attitude.

Those seeking to pay for sex will now face a €1500 (US$2000) fine, while the act of soliciting itself will no longer be punished.

Women’s Rights Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, who has pushed for the reform, argued that prostitution in any form is unacceptable and has said the aim of President François Hollande’s Socialist government was to suppress the trade altogether.

Proponents of the reform point to a rise in human trafficking as a key reason for more restrictive legislation. Some 90 per cent of France’s estimated 20,000 to 40,000 prostitutes are victims of Nigerian, Chinese and Romanian trafficking networks, the government says.

Those figures represent a dramatic jump from just over a decade ago, when only one in five prostitutes was foreign.

But the proposed reforms have prompted street protests, and some prostitutes say the law will rob them of their livelihoods. (Excerpt from

France24)

Hassan Lakkis

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rowds of mourners in the Lebanese town of Baalbek have turned out for the funeral of Hassan Lakkis, a commander in the Shia militant group Hezbollah.

Lakkis was shot in the head at close range at about midnight on Tuesday

outside his home in a town near Beirut. Hezbollah blamed Israel for his death but Israel has denied the accusation.

Little is known publicly about Lakkis, but he was reputedly close to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an expert in weapons manufacturing. He was buried in his home town of Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold in eastern Lebanon, on Wednesday.

Lakkis was killed a day after Hassan Nasrallah said Saudi Arabia was behind last month’s bombings outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut.

Iran is a major backer of Hezbollah, which has sent fighters to Syria to back the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Assad comes from the Alawite sect, a heterodox offshoot of Shia Islam.

Saudi Arabia is Sunni Muslim and has been supporting some of the rebels in Syria.

Hezbollah fighters have been instrumental in helping Syrian government forces cut off supply lines to the rebels and regain control of key places like the border town of Qusair and the Khalidiya district in the city of Homs. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

George Osborne announces £1B-a-year spending cuts

T

he chancellor, George Osborne, and the chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, have written to their cabinet colleagues to tell them the government will reduce central departmental spending by over a £1 billion a year over the next three years (2013-14 to 2015-16).

To lock in this lower level of spending, budget reductions of 1.1 per cent will also be made across departments’ resource budgets over the next two financial years, 2014-15 and 2015-16,

delivering savings of more than £1 billion each year.

News of the reduction comes before Osborne delivers the government’s autumn statement today.

In addition to existing under spends, departments are expected to identify further efficiency savings and to continue exercising strong financial discipline across all areas of their budgets.

Health, schools, aid, local government, HMRC and the security services will be exempt from these reductions.

The Defence Ministry

will be given exceptional flexibility to keep its expected under spends of £800 million and roll them over to next year.

Earlier on Wednesday it emerged that the coalition has to raid its school capital budget to find cash to build new school kitchens and fulfil its pledge to let all primary school children aged five to seven receive a free school meal, a pledge announced by Nick Clegg at his party conference in September. (Excerpt from The Guardian)

Autopsy blames impact and fire for Paul Walker’s death

“F

ast & Furious” star Paul Walker may have initially survived a horrific car crash but died moments later due to a combination of injuries from the impact and the resulting fire, according to a coroner’s report.

The one-page preliminary report released by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office Wednesday listed the cause of the actor’s death as the “combined effects of traumatic and thermal injuries.” An autopsy concluded that Roger

Rodas, who was driving the red Porsche Carerra GT, suffered “multiple traumatic injuries,” but it was not clear in the report if he was still alive when the car burst into flames soon after the wreck.

Since two different doctors did the separate autopsies, the difference in the description of their injuries does not mean there deaths were significantly different, Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter told CNN. It is not known how

long each man lived after the crash as the fire began, Winter said. That information may be included when full autopsy reports are released in several weeks, he said.

The coroner confirmed what many witnesses told investigators: Rodas was the driver in the crash; Walker was the passenger of the high-performance Porsche that clipped a light pole and a tree before erupting in flames on a Southern California street Saturday afternoon. (Excerpt from CNN)

Biden calls for trust with China amid airspace dispute

U

.S. Vice President Joe Biden, visiting China as a dispute over a new Chinese air defence zone rattles nerves around the region, said on Wednesday that relations between Washington and Beijing had to be based on trust.

Beijing’s decision to declare an air defence identification zone in an area that includes disputed islands has triggered protests from the United States, Japan and South Korea, and dominated Biden’s talks in

Tokyo on Tuesday.

The United States has made clear it will stand by treaty obligations that require it to defend the Japanese-controlled islands, but it is also reluctant to get dragged into any military clash between rivals Japan and China. Biden told Chinese President Xi Jinping he believed Xi was a candid and constructive person.

“In developing this new relationship, both qualities are sorely needed,” Biden said during a meeting in

Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.

“Candor generates trust.

Trust is the basis on which real change, constructive change, is made.” Xi said the international situation and regional landscape were “undergoing profound and complex changes”.

“Regional issues keep cropping up and there are more pronounced global challenges such as climate change and energy security. The world is not tranquil,” he added. (Excerpt from Reuters)

16

Thursday, DECember 5, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Africa

Caribbean

CEO of TT chamber: Clean up security industry

C

atherine Kumar, CEO of the TT Chamber of Commerce, on Tuesday called for legislation to clean up the local security industry.

She was commenting on last week’s fatal robbery in which security officer Bert Clarke was killed when bandits attacked a Sentinel Security Services vehicle on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway.

“Over the last 10 years or so stakeholders got togeth-

er and drafted legislation together with the government to deal with security in TT,” said Kumarwhen as she addressed a Fraud and Criminal Behaviour Seminar at the Chamber’s headquarters in Westmoorings.

“Given what is happening in crime, there is an upsurge of security firms in TT and not all of them follow proper practices so the legislation was going to call for better practices

among all the private security firms.

“That legislation has not gone anywhere really but now the government must take it up as an urgent issue.” She said the legislation should cover the scope of the entire security industry. “The legislation would deal with training if necessary, before someone is given a firearm what they should do,” she said.

(Trinidad Guardian)

North America

Ethiopia’s Mines Ministry signs agreement with Chinese firm for Ogaden gas reserves

T

he reserves have attracted international investment on multiple occasions, but nothing has yet been realised The Mines Ministry (MoM) signed a petroleum production sharing agreement (PPSA) with Chinese firm Poly GCL Petroleum Investment Ltd, for the Ogaden basin’s Calub and Hilala gas reserves, Fortune learnt.

The area, which was first

identified as a potential natural gas reserve in the 1930s, has repeatedly attracted the attention of foreign investment, but nothing has been realised thus far.

About a dozen companies have obtained licences for the fields after the presence of gas was confirmed in 1972

by Tenneco – a U.S. company.

This has created an extensive collection of seismic and other data on the area, which is es-

timated to hold 76 million cubic metres of natural gas.

The companies that have gathered the information include Malaysia-based Petronas Carigali, Soviet Petroleum Exploration (SPE), Hong Kong-based PetroTrans and Chinese company Zhoungyan Petroleum Exploration Bureau (ZPEB).

The latter drilled eight wells in two different sites in order to ready them for exploitation. (allAfrica)

U.S. trade gap narrows in October Asia India, Japan eye joint tenders as oil exports surge

T

he U.S. trade gap narrowed in October, as rising sales of oil pushed U.S. exports to a record high, the U.S. Commerce Department has said.

The trade deficit shrank to US$40.6 billion (£24.8 billion) from US$43 billion in September, a drop of 5.4 per cent. Exports were up 1.8 per cent, while petroleum exports rose 9.3 per cent as the U.S. promoted domestic oil production. The increase broke three

months of falling exports.

Imports rose by just 0.4 per cent while oil imports were 1.5 per cent higher.

The figures showed U.S. exports to China hit a record high as its trade gap with the Asian power narrowed. Exports to Canada and Mexico also reached a new high, but imports from the European Union increased and the U.S.’s trade deficit with the EU hit a record.

Analysts say the small-

er trade deficit, which was broadly in line with expectations, would help the U.S. economic recovery. It suggests American firms are selling more products abroad while buying less from foreign competition.

In the U.S., the domestic oil boom has been due mostly to fracking, a new technique used to get oil from shale deposits in locations such as North Dakota and Texas. (BBC News)

Europe

EU fines banks over rate-rigging

T

he European Commission has fined eight banks – including RBS – a total of 1.7 billion euros (£1.4 billion) for forming illegal cartels to rig interest rates. The cartels operated in markets for financial derivatives, which are products used to manage the risk of interest rate movements.

Two of the eight, Barclays and UBS, were excused their financial penalties for revealing the cartels’ existence. The Commission said it

was shocking that competing banks were in collusion.

UBS and Barclays stood to pay the largest fines of 2.5 billion euros and 690 million euros, but avoided paying anything because they assisted the investigation.

A number of banks were engaged in the rigging of interest rate products intended to reflect the cost of interbank lending in euros, while another group fixed prices for products based on the Japanese yen.

The rates are used to set the price of trillions of dollars of products, including mortgages. Some were involved in both markets and more than one cartel, including RBS, which was fined a total of 391 million euros (£325 million).

Aside from RBS, Barclays and UBS, the other organisations involved were Deutsche Bank, which received the biggest fine of 725.36 million euros, Societe Generale, JP Morgan, Citibank and the brokers RP Martin. (BBC News)

Market statistics Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Cambio Rates

Fixed as at July 24, 2013 Calculated at 94% purity

Bank of Guyana Cur

Buying

Selling

GBP

$336.07

$340.28

CAN

$192.66

$194.88

USD

$205.49

$207.93

U.S.

$1335.00

Cambio

$202.67

Gross

$254,331

Net

$236,527

Selling

$262,426

Indicators as on December 4, 2013 Live Spot Gold

USD Per Once

Bid/Ask

$1243.30

$1244.30

Low/High

$1217.90

$1252.90

Change

+19.00

+1.55

USD GBP EUR

AM

PM

1213.00 741.13 892.57

1227.50 750.08 905.50

AM

PM

Dec 3

USD GBP EUR

1219.00 743.07 898.50

Price Silver

Platinum

London Gold Fix

Dec 4

Indicators Crude Oil

US$ per barrel

$112.62 USD per Ounce

$19.72 $1366.00

Change %

+1.04 Change %

+0.54 +10.00

Last: 15889.77

1217.25 741.95 896.09 Changes: -24.85

Open: 15906.85

High:15960.36

% Change: -0.16 Low: 15791.29

% YTD: 21.26

52Wk Hi: 15721.00

52 Wk Lo: 12471.49

for cheaper LNG

I

ndia and Japan are stepping up the pressure for cheaper liquefied natural gas (LNG) with potential joint tenders as two of the world’s biggest gas buyers try to ease the pain of high prices and rising demand.

Asia is already the top destination for LNG supplies and economic expansion, nuclear plant shutdowns in Japan and South Korea and the shift toward cleaner-burning gas in smog-choked Chinese cities are

boosting demand even higher.

But that demand has helped push LNG prices to near record levels and now buyers such as India and Japan are trying to find ways to cut their soaring gas import bills.

India and Japan signed an agreement in September to study joint procurement of supplies and now the two countries will hold meetings to work out the details of joint purchases.

“It is a very serious move,

which means when you float a tender, maybe Japan and India could combine and can float a joint tender and see what price comes,” said India’s oil secretary Vivek Rae. “Details are being worked out, this was agreed to at the ministerial level. They (Japan) have designated some Japanese corporation to work on their behalf, we will designate GAIL,” Rae said, referring to India’s biggest gas pipeline operator. (Reuters)

Middle East

Single Gulf currency launch date “false”, says council

T

he Gulf Monetary Council has dismissed media reports claiming a date has been set to launch the single currency for Gulf countries.

Press reports earlier this week suggested that four countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will announce the single currency by end of this year.

It was claimed that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,

Bahrain and Qatar were planning to press ahead with plans without the UAE and Oman.

But in a statement, the Gulf Monetary Council said: “The Monetary Council affirms that the reports by some newspapers and websites over the date of the issuing of the single Gulf currency are completely false, not based on accurate information nor reliable sources.”

The Monetary Council is

mandated with placing regulations for the establishment of the Gulf Central Bank and completing the establishment of the Monetary Union.

Leaders of the six GCC countries are set to hold summit talks in Kuwait on December 10-11. The GCC countries have been discussing a currency union similar to the Eurozone for more than 15 years. (Arabianbusiness)

Investors' guide

How to invest in a company

H

ow to invest in a company is one of the most basic investment skills to master for those with funds under their management. Perhaps the easiest way for publicly traded companies is to purchase their stock via the stock market where they are listed. For this, you will need to open up and fund a stock brokerage account with a broker that handles transactions on the public exchange where the stock is listed.

Furthermore, if the company you wish to invest in is based in a foreign country, you might also need to perform a foreign exchange transaction to sell your domestic currency and purchase the foreign currency in order to invest in

that company. An easier alternative for U.S. based stock investors can be to purchase American Depository Receipts or ADRs for the large foreign companies that list their stock in the United States.

Of course, how to invest in a company that is not publically traded is quite another matter. If the company is soon going to make an initial public offering or IPO, then it may be possible for sizeable investors to be included on a subscription list for the offering managed by the investment bank involved. Since IPO stock can often rise substantially shortly after becoming publicly traded, this investment strategy might turn out to be quite lucrative for those who can

participate.

Some companies are so small or tightly held by the founders that, while they have taken the time to incorporate, they do not yet wish to have their stock become publically traded or listed on a major stock exchange for some reason. To obtain funding, such companies might offer interested investors the opportunity to make private loans or participate in some other form of private investment opportunity that involves profit sharing. Such companies can be approached to see if they might accept new private investors, and they could also be open to accepting financing from venture capital firms.

(Business Dictionary)

Business concept – Criterion A standard by which something can be judged or decided. In a typical context, there is more than one criterion under consideration and thus the plural ‘criteria’ is more commonly encountered.

news

17

thursday, December 5, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Christmas Village opens New fares announced for on Main Street on Friday Route 32 by minibus unions – passengers urged to adopt “pay as you enter” policy Area

Vreed-en-Hoop

Georgetown

Parika

Vreed-en-Hoop

$100.00

$140.00

$300.00

Best Road

$100.00

$140.00

$300.00

New Road Crane

$100.00

$160.00

$300.00

$120.00

$180.00

$200.00

Hague, CI, Anna Catherina

$120.00

$180.00

$160.00

Leonora, Uitvlugt

$140.00

$200.00

$140.00

Zeeburg, M/Zorg, De Kinderen

$160.00

$200.00

$140.00

Zeelugt, Tuschen, Vergenoegen

$180.00

$260.00

$120.00

Philadelphia, Barnwell, Ruby

$200.00

$300.00

$120.00

Farm, Orangestein, Parika $300.00

$400.00

$100.00

Short Drops

$100.00

$100.00

(Junction] Harlem, Windsor Forest, Den Amstel

President Donald Ramotar (right) and acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali (third left) with other officials inspect the preparations for the opening of the Christmas Village on Main Street, Georgetown on Friday

M

ain Street in down town Georgetown will be transformed into a miniature Christmas Village, shrouded in a unique atmosphere with thousands of lights, holiday trees, and the delicious smell of Guyanese Christmas goodies on Friday.

From the grand opening on Friday, all the way through to December 29, the area along the Main Street Avenue will reflect the original Christmas Village charm, with a holiday shopping atmosphere with more vendors, a Christmas market and an event space.

The Main Street affairs begins at 17:00h for a spectacular presentation of cultural performances, caroling and delectable displays depicting the dishes, infusions, creations and colours of the true Guyanese Christmas; these include local fruit juices, mauby, sorrel and gin-

ger beer (compliments of Nicky’s), pepperpot, garlic pork , black pudding, spices (compliments of Mattai’s ) and much more!

The Tourism Ministry in a release said Santa and his elves will also be there to usher in the festive season and to connect with family and friends in this season of sharing. This festive holiday event will also include seasonal musical entertainment on all of the weekends in December, to add to the festive spirit of the season.

After the grand opening, the exhibition along the avenue will be opened from December 13 – 29 and will make available to patrons Christmas black cakes, beverages, arts and crafts and will also feature a children’s entertainment area. There will also be special giveaways, the ministry said.

Guyanese are being urged to come out in their

numbers to participate in this annual event organised by the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry with support from companies including Giftland, Courts, GT&T, Ashmins, ANSA McAL, Banks DIH, China Trading and Corona.

According to the subject Minister Irfaan Ali, events like these certainly add a special flair to the Christmas season, and create the atmosphere for Guyanese to enjoy their favourite Christmas delicacies, traditionally sought after during this time of the year.

More importantly, he said, it creates a wholesome environment for family and friends to gather.

Visitors gathering to commemorate and share the Christmas Village spirit can rest assured of safe and secure parking, the minister assured.

$100.00

The new fare structure for Route 32

T

he United Minibus Association and the Combined Road Transportation Association have decided to implement a new fare structure for Route 32, with immediate effect.

The announcement was made in a joint statement by the two bodies. The statement said the unions met on October 10 and November 12, during which they embarked on a cordial relationship and agreed to speak with one voice on all matters relating to minibus service providers, commuters, and other stakeholders.

According to the bodies, during the meetings, which were held at the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry, many concerns common to minibus opera-

Cabinet approves multimillion-dollar contracts

C

abinet on Tuesday approved in excess of $550 million in contracts, raising no objections to a total of eight contracts in six sectors. This was disclosed by Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon at the post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday.

A contract of $49.9 million was approved in the energy sector for supplies and generators for the Mahdia and Port Kaituma power systems.

A contract to the tune of $135.9 million was approved for the Public Works Ministry under the Maritime Administration Department for docking and the rehabilitation of a motor vessel. A further $107.5 million was allocated under the Housing and Water Ministry for the supply and construction of a potable water well in Providence, East Bank Demerara. Providence and surrounding commu-

Contracts have been approved for supervision of road works

nities are home to several new and developing housing schemes which the well will serve.

The agriculture sector received approval for a $123.8 million contract for the provision of consultancy

services for the design and supervision of works on access roads in Regions Three, Four, and Five. These roads include Parika’s paved roads leading to Namrick cross dam and the Ruby paved roads; the Laluni all-weath-

er road running from Kuru Kururu to Laluni; and the Onverwagt all-weather road.

In the health sector, two contracts were granted; one to the value of US$124,000 is for the servicing of general electrical and health equipment at the Georgetown Public Hospital, while the other contract of $21 million was awarded for the provision of security services at the said institution.

Cabinet also gave its noobjection for two contracts under the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry for the total cost of $87 million for the completion of the synthetic track and field facility at Leonora, West Coast Demerara. The first contract approved in the sum of $69.8 million, was for land filling and landscaping works, while $17.2 million was approved for the construction of an access road to the east of the facility.

tors were raised. These issues include the contentious and arbitrary fare increases Route 32 commuters have to bear, mostly in the evenings.

“We have, therefore, jointly agreed on a fare structure for the Route 32 buses, which will be displayed in the buses, with the passengers paying upon entry. Commuters are urged to board only buses that display the new fare,” the statement said.

The bodies also agreed upon the introduction of the “pay as you enter” requirement. This system requires commuters to pay before they enter a minibus or as soon as they enter. The “pay as you enter” policy is the norm in many countries, including the United States

and Canada.

The United Minibus Association and the Combined Road Transportation Association also disclosed that they are looking to review the rates of all the routes “in the nottoo-distant future”.

“Even though we can support our members increasing bus fares, the organisations are committed as a unit in consultations with the ministry to arrive at a consensus, in good faith, that will benefit all stakeholders and the nation as a whole,” the statement also mentioned.

The meeting to change the Route 32 fares was lauded and facilitated by the Commerce Ministry’s emissary, Derrick Cummings.

CXC officials meet Guyanese principals, teachers

C

a r i b b e a n Examinations Council (CXC) executives on Wednesday met with Guyanese principals and teachers from across all 10 administrative regions to discuss issues and concerns they may have.

Superintendent of Examinations Saudia Kadir said the stakeholders meeting attracted more than 300 educators, including those from the hinterland regions of the country. “We have the principals’ meeting with the registrar, pro-registrar, and the senior assistant registrar of CXC to discuss issues they may have with the curriculum and the administration of the CXC examinations,” Kadir stated.

She said the participants of the forum were asked in advance to submit their questions and concerns and one of the main issues was the new e-marking system CXC is hoping to introduce.

Teachers wanted answers

“in terms of how the process of e-marking will work and whether it will be the same... process as the current marking system.”

The forum also saw regional education officers and other education officials attending. Other questions raised included the penalties for examiners and accreditation. Guyana is hosting the annual governance meetings of CXC, which is headquartered in Barbados, and an awards ceremony for the regional top performers.

The meeting of the School Examinations Committee (SEC) will be held today and the 45th meeting of the council, CXC’s highest decisionmaking body, will be held on Friday. Among the major agenda items for discussion at the council meeting are the report on the administration of the 2013 examinations, the registrar’s report to the council, the 2014 budget, and CXC Strategic Plan and Priorities 2014-2020.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

thursday, december 5, 2013

thursDAY, march 11, 2010 | guyanatimesGY.com

archie

By Bernice Bede Osol

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19) Present ideas and share your thoughts about future investments. Your sincerity and know-how will capture interest and help you close the year with a bang. Celebrate with the one you love.

dilbert

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19) Demands will put you in an awkward position.

Do whatever needs to be done and move along.

Lowered vitality can be expected. Complete what you started and get some rest.

Calvin and Hobbes

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Say little and do more.

Your actions will be your ticket to success. Follow through with your promises, and you will be able to collect what you deserve in return.

CANCER (June 21July 22) Social activity should include co-workers. The information you gather while conversing with your peers will be advantageous. Shopping for bargains will lead to worthwhile purchases. Romance is highlighted.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22) Encourage others to share your adventure.

Planning something that will inspire and excite you will also earn you a reputation that is sure to please. Look, see and do.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) Get busy and get things done. The more you do without the help of others, the greater the rewards and satisfaction. Love is on the rise, and you will impress someone special.

Peanuts

SUDOKU

ARIES

LIBRA

(March 21-April 19)

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Delays will set in while dealing with colleagues or peers. Counter any negativity you face with a suggestion, a solution and a smile. Don’t shun change; it’s your best option.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Put partnerships and romance first. Check out what everyone else is doing and follow suit if it will help you get what you want. Socialising will have its benefits.

Travel will be in your best interest. This is a wonderful time for you to learn about new cultures and traditions. Getting together with friends or meeting new people will be inspirational.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22) Take any opportunity you get to visit new places.

Romance is in the stars, and travel will do wonders for your love life. A makeover or image update will turn out well.

Wednesday's solution GEMINI (May 21June 20) Business partnerships can be prosperous. Don’t be afraid to make changes. Pick up last-minute items that you’ve been meaning to purchase before the year comes to a close.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21) Look after family obligations that require thought and change.

Educational pursuits or picking up new skills should be considered.

Scouting for profitable prospects will pay off.

news 19

YELLOW PAGES thursDay, december 5, 2013

dentistry Dentures provided in 72 hours from as low as $4500. Contact Dr B Stuart, 209B Charlotte St, Lacytown. Tel: 225-5034

EDUCATION SAT/AP/CXC/IGCSE English classes, personalized tutoring. Phone: 6124821 after 4pm, 274-0437 after 7pm.

flowers Available: Fresh long-stemmed roses, fresh dried and silk floral arrangements, gift items, bridal boutiques and wreaths. Nesha’s Flowerland. 78 Church Street (opposite St George’s Cathedral). Tel: 227-3553/225-3315

FOR SALE 1 stall stabroek market phone: 718757-8031, 658-0145 Mecury in large quantities, 99.9999% purity in grey flask.

Phone: 219-4535 60FT Antenna (Mass) for Radio, TV, Cellular, with cables, brackets, sky light $500,000 227-3939, 621-4000 73” 3D TV Mitsubishi Like new $450,000 227-3939, 621-4000 DIESEL Generator silent 28 kva SDMO John Deere engine, missing Fuel Pump, Panel, Avr MAKE OFFER 227-3939, 621-4000 CLARKE forklifts 2000, 3000, 4000 Lb, lifting capacity MAKE AN OFFER TEL: 227-3939, 621-4000 Generac Generator 15 kva, portable, $500,000 cash or credit available Tel: 227-3939, 621-4000 Diesel Generator, 3 cylinder Lister pitter (England) key start, 15 kva, $650,000 cash or credit Tel: 2273939, 621-4000 Chicken Hatchery (Robbins), 28,000 eggs capacity fully ready, $ 5.5 million or CREDIT available TEL: 2273939 621-4000

GOLDSMITH R.Sookraj & Gift Shop for the best in hand made jewellery ,(made to order) Phone: 612-2125/223-6156

health Are you suffering from abnormal behaviors, addictions, stresses, or psychosomatic sickness? Feeling suicidal, low self-esteem, loneliness, unloved, anger, conflicts and relationship problems? For appointments call 592621-0552. 12:00pm -6:00pm, Email: healthworldhc@gmail.com

immigration Immigration & Visa Services We handle all Canadian, USA and UK immigration and visa matters. Self sponsorships, holiday/ visitor’s visas, work permits, students visas, family, class, immigration forms, embassy enquiries, appeals for refused cases, US green card lottery, business class waivers, pardons, etc.

Get your visa approved. High success rate. Balwant Persaud & Associates.

Certified Immigration Consultants, 68 Sixth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown (Between Cummings & Lights Sts) Tel: 225-1540, 622-8308, 655-3105.

Email: balwantpersaud@yahoo.ca

KEY CUTTing Professional Key Shop, 125 Carmichael Street, Georgetown.

Phone: 225-3923, mobile: 6213249. We cut any type of key, service and repair all types of locks. Get your extra key today.

lAND FOR SALE Promising gold and diamond mining land for sale in different areas.

Phone: 699-3992.

LOST One Dog which answers to the name Zion. Colour Cream/White/ Brown about 1 foot tall. Last seen on Wednesday, November 13, between Success & LBI, ECD. If seen please call on numbers 619-8086, 699-7077, 220-3183.

MEDITATION Learn transcendental meditation and reduce stress & anxiety, develop full brain potential, increase creativity and intelligence, concentration, focus and memory, be healthier & happier, increase energy vitality and longetivity, enjoy more success in life, improve relationships and develop higher states of consciousness, a technique that works for everyone, for next introductory lecture. Contact Ashoke phone 233-6921, 6093701, email: kashokejp_68@yahoo.com or Sherlock phone 2252243, 614-9726

powerful protection. Private and confidential. Phone: 674-2112.

Cleansing of spiritual problems of all kinds. Powerful Ifá protection against evil. Get help to overcome problems with love, relationship, legal, sexual, pregnancy, business, sickness, jobs, enemies, work, money. Call 10am - 4pm. Tel: 592690-1824. Email: anew-life@live. com Dutch Spiritual work. Unite lovers, get rid of evil, enhance prosperity, good luck baths and charm bowu guards, etc. Phone: 220-0708, 612-6417, 687-5653

property for sale PRIME COMMERICAL PROPERTY, AT BUSY JUNCTION CUMMINGS AND MIDDLE STREETS IN ALBERTOWN, 3 LOTS WITH BUSINESS, (NUT CENTRE) PRICE NEG. TEL 621-4000, 227-3939 1 flat concrete house at Parfaite Harmonie. Phone: 643-4740 Lot 48 Light Street, Alberttown.

Contact Ram on 619-4483, 6017883 or 227-1454, 226-6325.

1 property at reasonable price, located in Bareroot, East Coast Demerara. Phone: 612-6417.

One two storey house at lot 93 Atlantic Gardens, ECD; upperflat-3 bedrooms, kitchen and bath; lower flat-2 bedrooms, kitchen and bath.

Call 592-619-4483, 592-656-7471 EXECUTIVE TWO STOREY BUILDING 3 BEDROOMS WITH ALL MODERN CONVIENCES, MEADOW BROOK GARDENS, MR NARAINE. PHONE: 696-8230 Gas station land. Size: over one acre Phone Ms Liverpool on 625-7582, 681-9293.

LEROY TRIDENT car 250 CC, 4 doors, power window, $495,000 cash or credit TEL 227-3939, 621-4000 HILUX SURF 4 DOORS, minor parts needed, sold as is $750,000 TEL: 227-3939, 621-4000 Nissan Maxima, fully powered needs repairs sold as is $300,000 cash 227-3939, 621-4000

Mitsubishi 3000 GT sports car, fully powered, $1.7 cash or credit available TEL: 227-3939, 621-4000 Toyota Hilux extra cab, pick up $3.m.

Phone: 264-2682.

Titan (hardly driven) $3.5M neg.

Phone: 691-9984

TO let

2 bedroom apartment – central Georgetown. Couple/Small family.

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Top CSEC, CAPE students future of the Caribbean – president

P

resident Donald Ramotar on Friday met with the visiting delegation from the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), as well as students from the region who excelled at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) examinations.

The head of state told the top students who will be receiving their awards, that they are the future of the Caribbean, and that they should see this achievement as just a beginning. He said that the economies of the future will require highly educated, multi-skilled people, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

He explained that some of the most rapidly developing countries of the world such as China, have done so, primarily as a result of the investment made in developing the human capital.

“It is not the size of the country, but the quality of the people that will propel growth and development,” President Ramotar stated.

He informed that in Guyana, 30 per cent of the financing in the national budget goes towards the social sector and in that sector, the largest allocation goes towards improving the quality of and access to education.

Meanwhile, CXC’s Registrar, Dr Didacus Jules said that an important part of the awards exercise is to expose students to whichever country the activity is being held. He too echoed the sentiment that the top students represent the es-

sence of Caribbean possibilities.

“By giving them this exposure, we want to bring home to them the magnitude of their personal responsibility that lies on their shoulders. They will be the ones that will create the innovations that will propel the Caribbean to a place of competitive advantage,” Dr Jules pointed out.

He informed the president that CXC is working to facilitate the Education Ministry’s request to include a Portuguese curriculum, noting that the examination body regards the ministry as an important partner.

The students were also given the opportunity to ask the president questions on topical and developmental issues after which he was presented with a painting from Dr Jules entitled “Patterns of Nature”.

This year, Guyana copped five of the eight regional CXC awards offered. These are: Overall Outstanding Achievement won by Yogeeta Persaud of the Anna Regina Secondary School; Most Outstanding in Humanities won by Rafena Mustapha of Saraswati Vidya Niketan; Most Outstanding in Sciences won by Cecil Cox of Queen’s College; Most Outstanding in Business Studies won by Sasha Woodroffe of Queen’s College; and Most Outstanding in Technical Vocational won

by Zimeena Rasheed of Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School. The other awardees are from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

The award ceremony is scheduled for today at the National Cultural Centre (NCC).

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Man kills friend who violated him while asleep

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n Angoy's Avenue man pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter when he appeared before Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes on Monday in the Berbice Assizes.

Wayne Wright Courtney Telford, 48, is on trial for killing Michael Kissoon, also called “Prickle” and “Red Man”, 37, also of Angoys Avenue on April 11, 2011.

Telford, who was indicted with the capital offence, pleaded guilty to the lesser count when the case was called on Monday.

State Prosecutor Renee Singh told the court that three weeks prior the incident, the accused would normally notice blood around his anus every morning when he wakes up. She said Telford and Kissoon would normally sleep on a sponge under a shed at a house in Angoys Avenue, New Amsterdam.

On the day in question, the accused got up around 06:00h and felt pain in his behind, and when he checked, he found blood. She said about one hour later, while soaking his clothes to wash, he overheard Kissoon telling a man, referred to as a “Junkie”, that he had anal sex with the accused while he was asleep.

This, she said, was in a cau-

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A

tion statement that the accused gave to the police.

Singh said Telford waited until Kissoon was asleep later that morning, armed himself with a cutlass and chopped him to death.

She said one eyewitness Denise Gomes, who lives in the same building and also rents Telford a room, in her account of what transpired, said “I ask him what happen an he say that he jus F up Michael. When ah ask he why he do it, he say ‘because he dose basteristes me in me sleep’”. Gomes said she then peeped through the door and saw Kissoon lying in a pool of blood on a mattress.

A post-mortem performed by government pathologist, Dr Vivekanand Bridgemohan revealed that Kissoon died of shock and haemorrhage from multiple incise wounds.

Attorney Charlyn Artiga, who appeared for Telford, told the court that the accused is currently being treated at a clinic and asked for time to have a probation report before the court makes a decision. She also requested a psychiatric evaluation of the accused.

The case comes up again on December 18 before Justice Gregory-Barns when both reports should be presented.

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thurday, december 5, 2013

Taylor double-century sets up New Zealand

Ross Taylor hardly played a shot in the air during his maiden double-century (AFP)

A

maiden double-century by Ross Taylor ensured New Zealand cashed in on the platform laid by the top order to declare the innings on 609 for 9 soon after tea on the second day of the Dunedin Test.

Their seamers then consistently troubled the West Indies batsmen, snaffling out the openers cheaply, to leave the visitors with a tough task of saving the Test against a superior bowling attack.

New Zealand’s position of ascendancy was, however, established by their batsmen, led by Taylor, after they were put in on a green pitch. All through his unbeaten 217, Taylor maintained a measured approach, keeping the lofted shots out while rotating the

strike.

After surviving a few nervous moments in the first session - he could have been run-out in the fifth over of the day, an edge fell short of second slip in the tenth over and a bat-pad chance flew past the short-leg fielder - he settled into his innings. Not many boundary opportunities were available with a deep point in place, so he was happy to turn the strike over in the company of BJ Watling, with whom he shared an 84-run stand.

Taylor hit only five boundaries in the first three hours - one of them, a powerful pull off Tino Best that took him past 150 - after 13 boundaries on the first day, but caught up immediately after drinks with four boundaries an over. The first

ball of Shannon Gabriel’s 28th over was pulled to the square leg boundary before three shots - one drive and two cuts - found the backward-point boundary, comfortably beating the fielder in every instance.

New Zealand strode past 500 despite two quick wickets early in the second session. Watling scored a useful 41 off 84 deliveries before a rising delivery from Best caught the shoulder of the bat to fly into the hands of second slip and Tim Southee was dismissed in the next over, caught at first slip off a quicker delivery from Narsingh Deonarine.

Ish Sodhi, however, ensured there was not going to be a quick end to the innings with a confident 35 that included an exquisite cover drive off Best and lofted shots off the spinners.

He added 76 for the eighth wicket before getting a thick leading edge back to the bowler to give Deonarine his second wicket.

West Indies showed some

Darren Bravo works one away to the off side (AFP)

semblance of control bowling tighter lines on second day, despite a higher percentage of short balls. The few times they pushed the lengths up,

SCOREBOARD NEW ZEALAND 1st Innings (overnight 367 for three) P. Fulton c Edwards b Sammy 61 H. Rutherford c Deonarine b Shillingford 62 A. Redmond c Samuels b Best 20 R. Taylor not out 217 *B. McCullum b Sammy 113 C. Anderson c wkpr Ramdin b Best 0 +B.J. Watling c Edwards b Best 41 T. Southee c Bravo b Deonarine 2 I. Sodhi c and b Deonarine 35 N. Wagner run out (Bravo/Best) 37 Extras (b10, lb10, nb1) 21 TOTAL (9 wkts declared) 609 T. Boult did not bat Fall of wickets: 1-95 (Rutherford), 2-117

(Redmond), 3-185 (Fulton), 4-380 (McCullum), 5-385 (Anderson), 6-469 (Watling), 7-472 (Southee), 8-548 (Sodhi), 9-609 (Wagner) Bowling: Best 34.1-5-1483; Gabriel 27.5-4-148-0; Sammy 23.1-4-79-2 (nb1); Shillingford 46-7-138-1; Deonarine 22-0-76-2 Overs: 153.1 WEST INDIES 1st Innings K. Edwards c Fulton b Boult 0 K. Powell c wkpr Watling b Southee 7 D.M. Bravo not out 37 M. Samuels not out 14 Extras (lb8, nb1) 9 TOTAL (2 wkts) 67 Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Edwards), 2-24 (Powell) Bowling: Boult 8-5-7-1; Southee 7-1-15-1; Wagner 6-2-270 (nb1); Sodhi 3-0-10-0

they put doubts in the batsmen’s minds. However, with Darren Sammy not being able to bowl after he picked up a hamstring niggle early in the day and the spinners being ineffective, they appeared short on resources.

Best bowled aggressively as usual, but his preference for shorter length meant his only weapon to trouble the batsmen was his pace. He did hustle Brendon McCullum with a rising delivery on the body, which took the batsman by surprise, and resulted in a loose cut shot off the next delivery. But it was a fuller delivery in the next over by Sammy that marked the end of an aggressive innings from McCullum, who went forward to defend only to see the ball cut back through the gap between the pad and the bat to hit the off stump.

McCullum had only added four to his overnight score and was out for 113.

McCullum’s departure fired up West Indies

and Best got an immediate reward by getting Corey Anderson caught down the leg side. In his next over, he let out a cry of disappointment as an edge off Taylor’s bat landed short of Sammy at second slip. The captain had to ask the bowler to calm down.

But once the seamers tired out, the bowling attack was rendered ineffective and New Zealand picked up runs at ease, going past their previous best innings total of 543 against West Indies.

The New Zealand bowlers then showed how damaging the new ball could be by getting it to dart around.

Kirk Edwards poked at an angled Trent Boult delivery after a few came in and edged it to second slip, while Kieran Powell was set up in a similar manner by Tim Southee. Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels played and missed a few, but managed to survive until the end of play with West Indies trailing by 542. (Cricinfo)

Warriors rally from 27 down to top Raptors 112-103 – Pistons snap Miami’s 10-game win streak, 107-97

O

A K L A N D , California - Thirty minutes after fueling Golden State’s largest fourth-quarter comeback in more than 50 years, Klay Thompson pointed to a halftime speech by teammate Jermaine O’Neal as the difference.

It turns out the Warriors’ backup big man knew just what buttons to push.

Thompson made four 3-pointers during the dramatic fourth, Stephen Curry added a pair of shots from beyond the arc down the stretch and the Golden State Warriors rallied from 27 points down in the second half to beat the Toronto Raptors 112-103 Tuesday night.

Oracle Arena erupted at the final buzzer after being a den of silence for much of the

game. Team owner Joe Lacob and general manager Bob Myers ducked into a private room and let out a loud shout while the Warriors celebrated the NBA’s biggest comeback this season while jogging off the court.

Afterward, all anyone wanted to talk about was O’Neal’s pep talk. ‘’(He) gave a great speech at halftime,’’ Thompson said. ‘’Honestly, that was what was our turning point. It wasn’t in the fourth quarter or the third quarter. It was at halftime.’’

No one would reveal what O’Neal said.

Golden State’s comeback from 18 points down after three quarters was its biggest since storming back from a 19-point deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 126-124 on

Stephen Curry

Feb. 9, 1962.

Warriors coach Mark Jackson, never at a loss for words, could only smile. ‘’This being my third year here, there has not been a bigger win,’’ Jackson said.

‘’We were not sharp, we were not crisp and we allowed (Toronto) to get it going. To our credit, we began to defend.’’

Thompson finished with 22 points and seven assists,

nearly matching Curry’s 27 and 10. David Lee added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors.

Toronto led 75-48 with 9:20 left in the third quarter when Golden State began inching back.

The Warriors trimmed the gap to 88-70 heading into the fourth then stormed back behind an onslaught of 3-pointers.

Meanwhile, it was just a game, not a playoff series.

Still, Brandon Jennings finally got a long-awaited win over the Miami Heat.

And he made the two biggest plays to get it done.

Jennings made a deep, well-covered 3-pointer to snuff out one Miami rally with 4:09 left, then stole the ball from LeBron James to set up another score two min-

utes later, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Heat 10797 on Tuesday night to snap the NBA champions’ 10-game winning streak.

Kyle Singler scored 18 points to lead seven Detroit players in double figures, Andre Drummond had 18 rebounds - more than any three Heat players combined - and Greg Monroe and Rodney Stuckey each scored 16 for the Pistons. ‘’We had a lot of good performances from a lot of people,’’ Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. ‘’Then we just held our composure because we knew that at some point they’d make a run. Brandon made that big 3 and we were able to hold on. When Brandon hit that big 3, it kind of settled us down a little bit.’’

thursday, DECEMBER 5, 2013

guyanatimesGY.com

21

Some local sponsors have skewed Eion Katchay vows to be view of what sponsorship entails, good cricket coach says La Rose

By Treiston Joseph

S

ome Guyanese sponsors have a skewed view of what sponsorship really is, according to veteran Journalist Alan La Rose, labeling the practice nepotism.

“Sponsorship in this country I say it unapologetically… nepotism is the hallmark of sponsorship in Guyana,” La Rose opined.

La Rose’s also criticised a number of organisers and corporations, along with the authorities for allowing such to occur in the realm of sports in Guyana.

“See we have a situation in this country where corporate Guyana is giving…you might want to call it sponsorship but I think it’s a little support. Sponsorship is much more than that, whereby they give something to get back mileage or they give something due to their commitment to society in giving back something.

They give something but not meaningfully.

“It is only done because I know you or you know me but if I go with a programme showing you how you should benefit with

Alan La Rose

mileage and what not, once they don’t know you they really don’t look at it and that has plagued sports over the years,” La Rose noted.

La Rose added: “We have a situation here in Guyana like no other in the world, whereby the mandate for the development, promotion and advancement of the sport is not being taken care of by the federation, the elected body… it is now thrown into the hands of the individuals who are obviously into it for profits, they are business-

men,” La Rose stated. “…they are securing sales for matches. So they have already been paid for games that are not even played as yet,” La Rose dissected.

What is sponsorship in the eyes La Rose: “Coincidentally as we speak of sponsorship, Pepsi sponsored football in Jamaica and outfitted all the teams… we have seen in recent times in Guyana in school football players using bibs which is a no-no in football and this baffles me to know that people supposedly knowledgeable of the sport still endorse these no-no’s of wearing of a bib.

“Bib is a no-no in competitive football but because a company is spending their money you see a big company’s name on a bib on a player and that is a no-no in football. It is for training, not for competitive football and we see it at Pee Wee, we see it at school football and you might see it at senior football the way are things are going. Do like Pepsi and sponsor all the teams so with every outfit you see the Pepsi name across it… that is sponsorship,” La Rose emphasised.

GCB senior Inter-County fourday tourney bowls off today

T

he Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior Inter-County fourday tournament bowls off today with Berbice playing the President’s XI at the Everest Cricket Club ground and Demerara opposing Essequibo at the Enmore Community Centre ground.

The tournament was originally scheduled to commence last Thursday.

However, consistent rains had left venues waterlogged, leaving the organisers with no alternative, but to reschedule the three-round tournament.

The tournament forms part of Guyana’s preparation for next year’s regional competitions.

This year, the GCB has included a President’s XI, increasing the number of teams to four. The competition is of utmost importance to the GCB since it is being used by the senior selectors to pick the best possible Guyana team.

Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and Hand-in-Hand Insurance joined forces with the GCB as co-sponsors of the tournament.

Round two is scheduled from December 10 and will see Demerara playing Berbice at the Enmore Cricket Club ground and the President’s X1 opposing Essequibo at the Georgetown Cricket Club

Anthony Adams

Vishal Singh

ground.

The final round is fixed from December 15 where Demerara will face President’s XI at the Uitvlugt Community Centre ground and Essequibo will oppose Berbice. That game is tentatively scheduled for the Demerara Cricket Club ground.

Demerara squad reads: Leon Johnson (captain), Christopher Barnwell (vice-captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Trevon Griffith, Rajendra Chandrika, Chris Pattadin, Derwin Christian, Steven Jacobs, Amir Khan, Totaram Bishun, Trevon Garraway, Randy Knights, Zaheer Mohamed and Paul Wintz.

Essequibo team reads: Anthony Adams (captain), Royan Fredricks (vicecaptain), Kevon Boddie, Ricardo Peters, Avenish Persaud, Herry Greene,

Mark Tryll, Parmesh Parsotam, Rajiv Balgobin, Rovindra Parsaram, Kemo Paul, Keanu Harry, Dellon Heyliger and Gilford Moore.

President’s XI team reads: Vishal Singh (captain), Shemroy Barrington (vice-captain), Robin Bacchus, Ryan Ramdass, Seon Hetmyer, Shaquille Williams, Jason Sinclair (wk), Romario Shepherd, Collis Butts, Steven Sankar, Kellon Carmichael, Andre Stoll, Dominique Rikhi and Seon Daniels.

Berbice team reads: Sewnarine Chattergoon (captain), Devendra Bishoo (vice-captain), Anthony D’Andrade, Assad Fudadin, Kandasammy Surujnarine, Eugene LaFleur, Jonathan Foo, Royston Crandon, Rajiv Ivan, Devon Clements, Anthony Bramble, Krisendatt Ramoo, Raun Johnson, Keon Joseph

By Ravendra Madholall in Toronto

G

uyanese Eion Katchay is confident about becoming a good cricket coach in Canada, an aspiration long overdue since his migration to North America almost a decade ago.

An athletic cricketer during his days for both Guyana’s youth team and Canada, his advocacy for a better cricket structure is paramount.

His remarks came following Canada’s early elimination from the just-concluded T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Abu Dhabi.

He is a member of the Islanders Cricket Club at the Toronto and District Cricket Association Elite tournament and was satisfied with his all-round performances, despite their failure to make it to the playoff.

His representation for Canada at the international level was reasonably successful but he feels he can be more instrumental by imparting his cricketing knowledge and expertise from the under-15 stage. He is about to begin his level one coaching programme.

“I want to become a cricket coach; I think I have what it takes to be one especially a good one as well; I love cricket and I think it is time to give back something to it; I have already started off with my club and the players appreciated what I had been doing during this year’s competition,” Katchay, 35, related.

The right-arm fast bowler was a member of the victorious Guyana Under-19 team in 1997 at the West Indies Cricket Board regional youth tournament which was held in Guyana; he represented the senior team soon after.

Eion Katchay

He stated that the experience he gained playing on the regional scene was invaluable and that spurred him to continue with the game since his arrival in North America. He first played for Victoria Park Cricket Club.

“As soon as I came up here I began playing cricket professionally and had the aim of making the Canada’s team because I was confident of doing it; I really enjoyed the game but I think the guys at the administrative level will have to ensure the young cricketers can be more involved and just take away the political part from the game,” the former Demerara Cricket Club and Everest first division player indicated.

He reckoned that they have a responsibility and they must work in harmony for the betterment of Canada’s cricket.

He was apparently angry after Canada once again failed to make the 2014 International Cricket Council T20 World Cup in Bangladesh from midMarch to early April. They won two of their stipulated seven matches in Abu Dhabi, and it was a clear indication of poor preparation.

“I think they prepared poorly for this big event;

yes, insufficient turf practice may have contributed to the early knockout but again I think it came back to the preparations and proper organisations of the people who [are] responsible for the game in Canada,” Katchay, who is a right-handed batsman as well, pointed out.

Katchay recommended that Canada have a second string team to tour various destinations and gain the exposure which can be vitally important for the development of the game. He reasoned it will generally help the game and further bolster the players’ confidence for international assignments.

“Yes, I think they should have “A” team tour and that be beneficial for the country if they really serious of making an impression on the international stage; no doubt talent and but just a matter of getting the right ideas and put into practice on a consistent basis,” Katchay divulged.

Like Katchay, many cricketers who have worn the Canadian colours, lamented the sub-standard cricket played over the years and feel the continued, political affiliation can be detrimental. He is optimistic however that there are the resources to improve the standard of the game but the necessity and strategy must be implemented now.

According to Katchay, the winter weather is part of the problem which most of the time keeps the players indoor but he felt the influx of overseas players from around the world can be great for the steady participation that will ultimately lift the spirit of the sport generally.

With the number of sponsors who have come board over the years the popularity of the game continues to rise.

All Seasons Racing Service holds slim lead after first round domino completion

R

ecently-crowned F&H countrywide dominoes champions All Seasons Racing Service took an early lead when the specially arranged threeway aggregate tournament, featuring International Six and Canal Six, got underway on Tuesday night.

Using their Robb Street home advantage, All Seasons scored 81 games to edge International Six on 80 and Canal Six, on 72.

In a hotly contested game, played at the former German Restaurant, International Six (67) led the eventual winners by two games at the end of the penultimate sitting with Canal trailing on 60. The sixth

and final sitting however, saw All Seasons marking 16 games to International Six’s 13 and Canal Six’s 12.

Frankie Seaforth led the way for the winners with the maximum 18 games and got excellent support from David Benneth (16), Errol Seaforth (15), Wazim Hack (13) and John Freeman (13).

The top markers for International Six were Intikab “Carbie” Ali with the maximum 18 games, Edmund Sammy with 14 and 13 each to skipper Manniram “Packer” Shew and Martin Permaul.

Parmananad Rambarose (15) and Ramesh Ramoutar (13) were the best players

for Canal Six, whose Kedar Seopaul was the lone lovebird.

The tournament, which is sponsored by All Seasons Racing Service and its proprietor Raymond Ali, will see the winner s and first runner-up receiving trophies. There are also prizes for the three top players in the winning team, the best two in the second and the top in the third.

Action continues on Friday with the second round at the Everest Cricket Club pavilion, Camp Road, while the third and final leg is set for Sunday at 14:00h at Ernest Shop, Canal Number One, West Bank Demerara.

22

guyanatimesGY.com

thursday, december 5, 2013

Little Diva FC to host tournament next year

W

Members of the Little Diva FC pose with sneakers they received from a well-wisher recently

ith little or no female football played in Guyana in the recent past, the newly formed Little Diva Football Club will embark on what it calls “an ambitious venture” by organising and staging a tournament for female Under-24 players.

The club is hoping to host the tournament during February 2014, closer to the Mashramani day celebrations.

The organisers are hop-

ing to attract participation from teams in Linden, West Demerara, Berbice, East Coast, East Bank and Georgetown to compete against Little Diva FC. According to president of Little Diva FC, Lawrence Griffith, “female football has been struggling to survive in Guyana and to date the ‘Lady Jags’ is the only representative team to participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. For us to have meaningful local represen-

tatives on national team there is a need for the females to play regular and competitive football.”

It was Griffith’s idea to form the Little Diva FC so that prospective female players can an avenue to train and enhance their skills, while at the same time, fulfill their desire to represent Guyana in the future.

With this is mind, Griffith is calling on wellwishers to partner with the

club to pull off the proposed tournament.

“A budget is being prepared in the interim and will be available by weekend,” Griffith assured.

Meanwhile, the Little Diva FC will recommence training today at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground, Bourda, commencing at 16:00 hours.

Additionally, the club has been invited to participate in a tournament in Lethem during the Easter weekend.

Hing wins second stage of GNRA shoot

N

ational handgun captain Dale Hing shot his way to a comfortable position at the end of the second round of the Guyana National Rifle Association (GNRA) handgun section’s end-of-year championships following the Practical Pistol Shoot held last Sunday at the Timehri ranges.

Hing finished with an overall combined score of 209 points in the two-stage competition. The first stage was won by David Dharry with Gordon Richards finishing second, Hing, third, Ryan McKinnon, fourth, and Azaad Hassan, fifth.

Hing won the second stage followed by McKinnon, Hassan, Hemant Narine and Dharry respectively.

The combined stages results were: Hing, 209 points, McKinnon, 158 points, Dharry, 142, Hassan, 136, and Gordon Richards, 123 points.

The first round leaders, reigning Caribbean fullbore shooting champion Lennox Braithwaite, female shooter Vidushi Persaud and Hemant Narine, who held the top three positions, slipped down the order and only Narine remained in the overall top five.

Dale Hing

The final leg of the championships, an Action Pistol match is scheduled for this Sunday at the TSU range at Eve Leary.

The overall championship will be determined by the combination of points for all three events and the standings so far read: Hing in the lead followed by Dharry, Richards, Narine and McKinnon. The winner will be declared on Sunday.

The presentation of prizes for the handgun and fullbore championships will be presented during the GNRA annual presentation ceremony to be held during this month at a date and venue to be finalised.

champion Shabazz donates to K&S tournament Defending Khan suffers defeat … former champ Meusa takes lead in senior national chess championship

Former Golden Jaguars’ coach Jamaal Shabazz (right) and co-director of the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation Aubrey “Shanghai” Major display the balls and bibs

F

ormer head coach of the Golden Jaguars, Jamaal Shabazz, made a generous contribution to the Kashif and Shanghai’s Secondary School football tournament, set to kick off on Sunday.

The Trinidad-based football coach has presented a quantity of balls for the tournament, while he has made available some playing bibs for schools in Linden, which had requested Shabazz’s assistance.

Shabazz made the presentation to co-director of the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation, Aubrey “Shanghai” Major, who expressed appreciation for the

kind gesture.

The champion school in the tournament will pocket $1.2 million, 75 percent of which will be used to finance a project identified by the school. The second, third and fourth placed finishers will receive $750,000, $500,000 and $250,000, 25 percent of which will be used for a project at those schools.

The Most Valuable Player will be the recipient of a laptop, as well as a onemonth stint with a top club in Trinidad and Tobago.

Admission to the games will be $500 and the participating schools are Wismar/Christianburg, Wisburg, New Silver City

and McKenzie High School of Linden; St George’s, Lodge, East Ruimveldt, North Georgetown, Queen’s College, Dolphin Secondary, Charlestown Secondary, Christ Church and Queenstown of Georgetown; Waramadong Secondary of Region Seven; Leonora, Stewartville, Uitvlugt and Patentia of West Demerara; Bladen Hall, President’s College, Ann’s Grove and Annandale of East Coast Demerara; Ash Education Trust of Berbice; and Friendship of East Bank Demerara.

The tournament will conclude on New Year’s Day 2014 with the grand final.

Clash of the titans! Reigning champion Taffin Khan (left) and former champion Wendell Meusa study the board during their encounter

F

ormer national senior chess champion Wendell Meusa last weekend delivered a stunning blow to reigning national champion Taffin Khan, defeating him in a clash that lasted more than three hours in the Vita Malt Plus 2013 national senior chess championships.

Playing at the Ocean Spray Hotel in Kitty, Khan also drew his previous encounter with former junior national champion,

Anthony Drayton. Both matches have severely dented the scores of the defending champion and are a telling indicator of his loosening the grip on the title he has held for the past three years.

After three rounds played last weekend, Meusa now sits on top of the table with the maximum three points, while Glenford Corlette and Errol Tiwari follow with two points apiece.

Drayton and Khan are

on one and a half points each, while Roberto Neto and Davion Mars have scored one point each so far.

Rashad Hussain, who entered the competition following the withdrawal of Neil Khan, is yet to score. Hussain’s entry means four junior players are now competing in the senior championship.

The competition will conclude this weekend when the national champion will be crowned.

thursday, DECEMBER 5, 2013

guyanatimesGY.com

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Guyana has the capacity to produce world class cricketers, says WICB director – Kumar calls for better administrators of the game

By Rajiv Bisnauth

D

irector of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Baldath Mahabir believes Guyana has the capacity to produce top class cricketers, especially batsmen.

Mahabir made the comment on Tuesday evening during his feature address at the 16th Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Awards ceremony that took place at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) pavilion.

“Guyana has the capacity to produce top class cricketers, especially batsmen.

Your country and its people have the talent and passion to excel, these raw uncut cricketing genes exist in every village in Guyana, sit with your stakeholders and plot your short, medium and long term development plans; find the genes, polish them and empower them, fill them with self belief and self esteem and explore Guyana talent to the world,” the WICB director stated.

He said the authority should acknowledge cricket for what it is, since the sport has the ability to be a huge agent of social, as well as, economic transformation.

“Allow the game to strive and prosper; do your best to provide an enabling environment that will allow this game to flourish,” Mahabir said.

The WICB director spoke about the importance of history and the need for unity among local cricket administrators. He said that the local cricket administrators must work together in the best interest for the development of the game to ensure the careers of several talented young Guyanese will be better.

“Any structure that would allow the talents of Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Joe Solomon, Roy Fredericks, Clive Lloyd, Lance Gibbs, Alvin Kallicharan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, just to name a few, to not prosper must have much inherent good; there is no need to destroy this to create a new mechanism”.

Better administration

Meanwhile, Director of Sport Neil Kumar said that there is urgent need for better administration of the game locally. Kumar indicated that since Guyana has an extremely rich history in the game, there should be a general effort to resolve the outstanding issues that continue to affect the game.

Acting President of the GCB Faizul Bacchus provided an overview of Guyana’s cricket in 2013 and told the gathering, that the board has a comprehensive programme for the new year in an effort to improve the ail-

Baldath Mahabir

ing standard of Guyana’s cricket.

GCB Secretary and WICB Director, Anand Sanasie, provided the closing remarks.

Awardees

West Indies A team middle-order batsman Leon Johnson was named Cricketer-of-the-Year.

On the distaff side June Ogle won the Female Cricketerof-the-Year award while the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club was voted Club-of-the-Year.

Veerasammy Permaul won the Senior Regional Cricket-of-the-Year, while Christopher Barnwell collected the trophies for Outstanding Performance in Regional T20 and Senior

Anand Kalamadeen hands over a trophy to NEW GPC INC Marketing Manager Trevor Bassoo for the company’s outstanding contribution to the development of cricket through sponsorship

Domestic Cricket.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul was named Junior Cricketer-of-the-Year and received the Roy Fredericks trophy. He was also named Most Valuable Player in the Regional Under-19 tournament. The young Chanderpaul, who is currently in Bangladesh with the West Indies youth team also, received two other trophies – in recognition to the selection to the West Indies Under-19 team and to record the Highest Individual score in the Regional Under-19 tournament.

Ronsford Beaton copped the Most Improved Player trophy, while Ronaldo Mohamed received a trophy for outstanding performance in the Regional Under-15 tournament.

Shimron Hetmyer and Gudakesh Motie received award in recognition to their selection to the West Indies Under-19 team. Motie also received the award for been the highest wicket taker in the Regional Under-19 tournament.

Narsingh Deonarine, Permaul, Assad Fudadin and Johnson were recipients

of a trophy in recognition to the selection to the West Indies A team.

Special awards were handed out to Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Anand Sanasi, Chetram Singh, Terry Holder, Calvin Roberts, Hardat Thomas and Ryan Banwarie.

Also NEW GPC INC, Hand-in-Hand Insurance Company and Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) were recognized for their outstanding contribution to the development of cricket through sponsorship.

Guinness Street Football- Georgetown leg…

Four doubles highlight latest round A

ction in the Georgetown leg of the sixth annual Guinness Street Football competition continued on Tuesday evening with another eight teams recording victories at the National Cultural Centre tarmac.

Highlighting the latest round of play were doubles from Quason Winter of Stevedore Housing Scheme, Nigel DeCamp of Norton Street- West, Jermaine Scott of Bent Street and Shem Porter of Alexander Village.

In the opening game of the night, North Sophia defeated Festival City 3-1 on penalties after they played to a nil-all draw, while North East La Penitence outplayed Back Circle 3-0 with Calvin Moore (fifth minute), Carl Tudor (20th) and Alwyn Moore (30th) being the goal scorers.

Stevedore Housing Scheme won 5-4 on penalties against Norton StreetWest after a three-all

Shem Porter

stalemate at the end of regulation time. Winter scored for Stevedore Housing Scheme in the 10th and 11th minutes, while Fitzroy Witherspoon scored in the ninth.

DeCamp was on target for Norton Street-West in the seventh and 21st minutes, with Dillon Legal adding the other goal in the 24th minute.

The match between Berlin Massive and North-

Last Entrance was also decided on penalties with the former winning 3-2 after a 2-2 draw at the end of regulation time.

Devon Charles gave Berlin Massive an early lead after just 44 seconds, but Shawn Goodluck and Orin Massiah pushed North-Last Entrance into the lead with two unanswered goals in the first and fourth minutes.

However, Sherwin Cadogan ensured Berlin Massive equalised and forced the game to penalties by scoring in the 15th minute.

Broad Street needled Laing Avenue 1-0, while Tucville had a similar result against Riverview.

Jimmy Gravesande and Dennis Edwards netted for Broad Street and Tucville respectively, both in the ninth minutes.

The Bent Street boys were 4-2 victors over Durban Street with Scott’s double in the first and fifth

Devon Millington

minutes leading the victory charge. Desmond Cotton (20th) and Michael Stuart (24th) contributed to Bent Street’s success.

Chris Galloway and Jamal Nicholas scored for Durban Street in the ninth and 14th minutes respectively.

In the final game of the evening, Alexander Village and East La Penitence played to a 2-2 draw, and

in the penalty shootout, Alexander Village emerged 3-2 winners.

In the game, Porter scored in the 22nd and 24th minutes for Alexander Village, while Jermaine Weekes and Devon Millington found the small goal in the 10th and 23rd minutes respectively.

Fixtures Meanwhile, the competition will continue this evening with another eight games at the Burnham Court on Middle Street starting at 19:00 hours.

Cross Street will take on East Front Road, followed

by Albouystown A against Sophia South and defending champions Leopold Street against Castello Housing Scheme.

Island All Stars will do battle with West Front Road prior to the intermission, while Kingston and South Ruimveldt will clash when the action resumes.

Norton Street-East will tackle Queen Street-Tiger

Bay, followed by Globe Yard against Albouystown B and Hope Street- Tiger Bay against California Square.

The competition has attracted 32 teams battling in eight groups of four. During the group phase, the teams will compete in a round-robin format with the top two advancing to the round of 16, followed by the quarterfinals, semi-finals and final.

The champion team will receive $500,000, while the runner-up will collect $300,000, third $200,000 and fourth $100,000. All the other teams will receive participation stipends of no less than $10,000.

Zone competitions will also be held in Berbice, East Coast, West Demerara, Linden and Bartica in the coming months with the top two teams advancing to the national playoff. The winner of the national playoff will earn the right to represent Guyana at the Caribbean Street Challenge in July 2014.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

TOP SCORES

Sports is no longer our game, it’s our business

West Indies 67-2 (Bravo 37*, Samuels 14*, Boult 1-7) trail New Zealand 609-9 dec (Taylor 217*, McCullum 113, Best 3-148) by 542 runs

Guyana has the capacity to produce world class cricketers, says WICB director – Kumar calls for better administrators of the game See story on page

23

June Ogle collects the Female Cricketer-of-the-Year trophy from Director of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Baldath Mahabir INSIDE TODAY’S SPORT

GCB senior inter county four-day tourney bowls off today

GCB Secretary and WICB Director, Anand Sanasie hands over the Cricketer-of-the-Year trophy to Leon Johnson (Photos: Rajiv Bisnauth)

Bevan appointed new Chairman of Caribbean Premier League

K

ingston, Jamaica – The board of The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) announced the appointment of Richard Bevan as Chairman of the CPL with immediate effect.

Richard Bevan is a leading figure in the world of sports administration with over 20 years’ experience working within elite level sport. He is the current Chief Executive of the League Managers Association (LMA) in the UK, having previously held the role of CEO at the English Professional Cricketers Association (PCA).

He was a founding Director of the Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA) and continues to be a Trustee of the Team England Players’ Partnership.

Commenting on behalf of the board, Mr. Damien O’ Donohoe, CEO of The CPL said; “I am delighted that Richard has taken on the role of Chairman of The CPL board. Richard has huge experience in the business

Taylor double-century sets up New Zealand See story on page

20

Richard Bevan

of sport and a track record in leading organisations through significant growth and expansion. His knowledge of international sports administration, especially in cricket, will be of huge value to The CPL as we look to build on the successes of our first year. The CPL is very honoured to have him lead the team.” (CPL)

Tino Best is pumped after removing Corey Anderson

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