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INSIDE Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 2070 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Friday, March 14, 2014

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GECOM prepared for local govt polls – Dr Surujbally

See story on page 17

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Vybz Kartel guilty

See story in Times Entertainment

Guyana could soon begin paper production

Ramotar: Opposition playing politics with AML Bill

See story on page 3

President Donald Ramotar surveys a billboard with signatures of those in support of the AML Bill outside the Guyana International Conference Centre shortly before a stakeholders’ conference on the legislation was convened

AFC shuns APNU on future of sugar industry See story on page 7

Plaisance man drowns in Piari Creek See story on page 13

P12

TT investors to tap agriculture investments P13 here Solomon concerned about Amelia’s Ward road P17 works Parliament P17 honours former women MPs, staff

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3 Ramotar: Opposition playing politics with AML Bill News

FriDay, March 14, 2014| guyanatimesGY.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Friday, March 14 from 14:30h-16:00h The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Friday, March 14 from 15:00h-16:30h

WEATHER TODAY

Countrywide: Thundery showers can be expected during the day with heavy rain showers in the evening over coastal regions and near inland locations. Temperatures are expected to range between 23 degrees and 28 degrees Celsius.

Wind: North easterly between 2.22 metres and 2.5 metres per second.

High Tide: 03:16h and 15:32h reaching maximum heights of 2.41 metres and 2.50 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 09:07h and 21:26h reaching minimum heights of 0.78 metre and 0.69 metre respectively.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

LOTTERY NUMBERS K 01 02 06 20 04 09 21

– PSC urges adoption of Barbadian FIU model

BY SVETLANA MARSHALL

P

resident Donald Ramotar on Thursday said the David Granger-led Opposition is playing politics with the anti-money laundering bill even as he called for a more reasoned approach to the legislation by his opponents.

And as a compromise to break the gridlock over the passage of the bill, Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman Ronald Webster is advocating for Guyana to adopt Barbados’ Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) model, but President Ramotar said Guyana should hold fast to the bill as was presented to the House by his administration.

President Ramotar was speaking at the AML Stakeholders’ Consultation on Thursday at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) through its proposed amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act of 2009 is

A section of the audience

follow in the footsteps of the Barbadian Government in which the FIU reports to an authority. Webster made it clear that the PSC is not in support of a politically-appointed authority.

with Section 9(1), the executive functions of the authority are executed by the FIU, which is headed and comprised of other public officers.

Not in support

The AMLA is comprised of 11 drawn from key public sector agencies.

The chairperson is selected from UWI, Deputy Chairperson from the Private Sector while other representatives include the Solicitor General, the Commissioner of Police, the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, the Comptoller of Customs, the Supervisor of Insurance, the Registrar of Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property and the head of the Banking and Supervision Department of the Central Bank of Guyana.

Webster, who was supported by his colleague Gerry Gouveia, stressed that the bill must be passed

However, President Ramotar was not in support of the PSC proposal.

He said before the National Assembly is the AML/CTF Bill of 2013 that is in compliant with standards es-

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President Donald Ramotar delivering the feature address at the AML Stakeholders’ Consultation

seeking to remove the powers vested in the Finance Minister to appoint the Director of the FIU and give it to a committee of the National Assembly.

Additionally, the coalition is pushing for the establishment of an Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) comprising 10 members appointed by the House.

But these are not amendments that the government seems accommodating to.

In an attempt to bring an end to the political gridlock, Webster said Guyana could

tablished by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

He said CFATF is beginning to have “troubles” with the Barbadian Model.

The Barbados AMLA was established under Section 8 of the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (Prevention and Control) Act, 2011.

It is mandated to supervise financial institutions in an effort to prevent money laundering and financing of terrorisms. In accordance

Barbadian AMLA

to avert Guyana being blacklisted by FATF. President Ramotar maintained that the bill should be passed without the opposition sponsored amendments, noting that Guyana and the region by extension can be severely affected economically and socially if the bill is not passed, and secondly, if it is passed with amendments, that will still make the country non-compliant with CFATF standards.

The President alluded to the visit by CFATF Financial Advisor Roger Hernandez, who warned the Opposition of the implications of making amendments to the AML/CTF Act of 2009.

Hernandez said CFATF is concerned with some of the amendments proposed by the main opposition party, as they could make those that were formerly compliant, non-compliant.

Turn to page 7

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Friday, March 14, 2014

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

Sugar: Baby and bathwater

T

he rhetoric has been flying “fast and furious” in the wake of the call by A Partnership for Unity (APNU) for the sugar industry to be converted to produce ethanol and tilapia. Looking at the undisputed sorry state the industry has fallen into, APNU has evidently given up hope that the once number one contributor to the national economy can be saved, much less restored to its once-dominant position.

But in the plethora of polemical missives, we found the statement from the largest sugar union, GAWU, to be a beacon of reason and good sense. With salutary restraint, the union’s statement suggested that APNU might be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. As far as the suggestion on producing tilapia goes, it pointed out that this was not necessarily mutually exclusive with the production of sugar.

We concur. After all, Belize has become a major player in the global tilapia supply chain, but the total hectares it uses are infinitesimal compared to the acreage we have available in sugar. Not too incidentally, Belize continues to be a significant producer of sugar – and at a cost that is far below ours. It might be useful for our politicians from both sides of the Parliament to enquire as to how Belize was able to achieve this feat. And they are members of Caricom to boot.

APNU had adverted to the subsidies by Central Government to GuySuCo that have now become routine, as one of the reasons for calling it a day on sugar. But GAWU made the interesting claim that the monies supplied by the EU, for making the industry more competitive to recompense for their unilateral abdication of the Cotonou Protocol and the subsequent precipitous reduction of sugar prices, have not been fully deployed into the industry. Those funds, amounting to some $3.5 billion by GAWU’s calculation, went into the Consolidated Fund and if the claims are correct, it means that a considerable amount from that source must now be directed into sugar.

But not before some preliminary housekeeping chores are completed, suggests GAWU. There is the matter of leadership that can provide some direction to the troubled GuySuCo – its Board of Directors. The union asserts that there exists in Guyana, the requisite skills sets that can turn the industry around, but suggests that these are not being tapped. Some time ago, the Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon announced that GAWU would be offered a place on the Board so that the corporation could benefit from its experience in the industry.

However, this decision, assuming that it had, in fact, been made by Cabinet, has never been implemented and it is obvious from the recent analysis and proposals from GAWU that this has been to the industry’s loss. GAWU would have been able to identify the experts it alluded to. Additionally, all stakeholders acknowledge that manpower remains one of the largest challenges for GuySuCo. Here again, GAWU’s input can prove invaluable.

As the union suggests, it is rather healthy for all Guyanese to be discussing the future of the very raison d’être of this country: sugar. But the discussions cannot be turned into political football, and this is what GAWU suggests APNU might have done with its “ethanol and tilapia” proposal. As GAWU pointed out, if as in sugar, APNU contends, Guyana will not be a competitive producer of ethanol, what then is the point of even suggesting this route as an alternative to sugar?

This newspaper has long taken the view that Guyana can become a profitable producer of sugar. The decision on the Skeldon Modernisation Project was strategically sound, but the delivered plant and projected cultivated acreage’s performances must be recalibrated.

Even the most successful corporation on Planet Earth, Apple, foundered without the right leadership. We support GAWU’s contention that, in the end, success in sugar must begin there.

Citizens – tired of the dithering in the National Assembly over the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2013 while further blacklisting looms – affix their signatures to a billboard publicly signalling their support for the immediate passage of the critical legislation, during the National Stakeholders’ Meeting at the Guyana International Conference Centre on Thursday (Carl Croker photo)

Open letter to the Housing and Water Minister

Dear Minister, I would like to thank the Government of Guyana for their kind consideration in granting me an allocation of a parcel/plot of land.

Also, I would like to take this opportunity to personally congratulate Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali on his hard work in pushing the housing sector.

From looking, inspecting and analysing the recent

development of the different areas/schemes, especially on the East Bank of Demerara, the Minister has done a remarkable job which is unmatched by his predecessors.

His commitment, dedication and transparency are evident as one looks around at the various housing developments. From feedback from the average Guyanese and my personal experience, he has done an excellent job.

For me, this is a strategic approach by the incumbent Government of Guyana in its development objective.

As Guyanese, once we capitalise and build our infrastructure, whether it’s our roads, drainage, electricity and housing, this initiative would definitely encourage foreign and local investments. This would create jobs and help in the development of our econ-

omy, thus improving our standard of living.

To the Minister, please continue to do the good work. Once again, I thank the Government for this plot allocation. This allocation would give me a jumpstart and further encourage me to make a contribution in building Guyana.

Yours truly, Roy Munian

Why is there so much opposition to the Rodney CoI? Dear Editor, I recently returned from the Moruca Sub-Region, Region One and upon my return to Georgetown I was greeted with the shocking but not surprising news that the People’s National Congress (PNC)/A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Working People’s Alliance (WPA) and Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) are uncooperative with the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the death of Dr Walter Rodney, a world renowned historian, politician and former leader of the WPA. In a letter to the editor in another section of the press on May 4, 2013 under the headline, “No justifiable reason for withdrawal of South Africa award to Burnham”,

Opposition Leader David Granger said this in relation to Rodney’s murder: “The PNC has done everything legally possible, everything humanely possible to refute the allegations made against members of our party as to the involvement (in the murder). We certainly don’t accept it and we have always held out that we are willing to have an inquiry and give evidence at any forum.”

Well, the forum has arrived in the form of the CoI, but it now seems that Granger and his party are trembling and backing off from the inquiry on the basis of an excuse that one of the commissioners is known to the Government.

If the PNC is innocent of

the allegations of involvement in Rodney’ murder, then why is it creating socalled concerns for it not to appear before the CoI to “give evidence”, as Granger had boasted?

I am shocked at the behaviour of the WPA, the party which was co-founded and led by Rodney, for its stance on the CoI on the basis of a lame excuse of objecting to one of the terms of reference of the inquiry. Is the WPA ashamed to say that some of Forbes Burnham’s military henchmen penetrated the ranks of the WPA in the 1970s? Is the WPA’s act a deliberate one not to cooperate with the Rodney CoI, since it is now in bed with the PNC, formerly led by Burnham, who was accused by thou-

sands of Guyanese and the WPA itself for Rodney’s assassination?

It was Eddi Rodney who said, “Today, it is a sad travesty to see former Rodneyites like Dr Rupert Roopnaraine taking instruction from Burnhamite men like Granger. It sickens the stomach to see the betrayal of their leader’s legacy by these former comrades” (May 4, 2013).

The GHRA is a mouth piece for criminals and Guyana’s Parliamentary opposition. In relation to the Rodney CoI, the GHRA can merely be qualified as a political front for the opposition.

Respectfully, Peter Persaud

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

Production of higher quality TT PM leads challengers in rice will increase returns “unity” contest to the rice industry Dear Editor, Guyana has been expanding its rice production and export levels with the assurance of having preferential access to the Venezuelan, European Union (EU) and Caribbean markets.

However, recent changes in the internal rice sector and future trade liberalisation could eliminate or at least sharply reduce Guyana’s continued preferential access to these rice export markets, as we are now seeing.

These growing uncertainties and falling farm prices have alarmed Government and policymakers in Guyana about the efficiency of the local rice sector and whether

Guyana can effectively compete in the world rice market without preferential treatment.

The government and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) should now provide a rice market consultant to conduct a study of rice pricing at different stages of the marketing channel in Guyana to identify opportunities for improving the competitiveness of the rice industry.

At present, a third buyer and supplier of rice will not help the situation as the analysis of the industry costs has indicated that all the farmers were at least breaking even with their production cost at the going paddy price of $3000

per bag.

However, most farmers were not recovering their total costs of input. The millers margins were also about break-even causing the paddy prices to drop.

The estimated milling and marketing cost for both large and small mills was found to be similar.

The “free on board” (FOB) supply cost of both large and small mills is roughly equivalent to the selling price. Overall, the industry appeared to be operating competitively some years ago.

Additional expertise is needed in the long term to develop additional export market for Guyanese rice.

A third party in buying rice

for the export market will not solve the problem.

In the past, with the third buyer, the announcement of a temporary freeze on debt repayments, shipments of contracted rice were put on hold or delayed over problems of payment.

It is hoped that consumers in Haiti and other Caribbean countries will be better serviced by the Guyana rice industry, as some of these countries will look at exporting high quality rice on a reliable basis.

Production of higher quality rice would also increase the returns to the rice industry.

Yours faithfully, Mohamed Khan

New regulation will adversely affect transportation of goods Dear Editor, I have been in the trucking for hire business for over 20 years. I have had an excellent safety record and take my responsibility seriously and in compliance with the law. I was always permitted to carry two persons (owner of goods) with me in the front seat and five porters as deemed necessary in the tray.

It was brought to my attention during the renewal of my goods transportation permit that no vehicle will be allowed to carry porters in the tray. The new regulation states: “Except with the written permission of the prescribed authority and in accordance therewith, there shall not be carried in any motor lorry any persons other than such number as the seating accommodation in the cab of such vehicle would permit.”

I inquired about criteria for written permission and who could be entitled to such permission. A senior officer of the Traffic Division of the Leonora Police Station, West Coast Demerara declared that his instructions are no one will be permitted to be in the tray of any motor vehicle.

What this new regulation is saying is that farmers must get a taxi to take farm workers to the farmland, and fishermen and vendors must do the same in relation to the market.

What this new regulation means is that there will be no more Mashramani, Indian Immigration Day

and Deepavali motorcades, just to name a few.

What this new regulation will create is more avenues for corruption in the Guyana Police Force.

In times like these when the world is struggling to cope with high transportation, fuel and energy costs, Guyana is heading backwards. This new regulation, I believe, will create tre-

mendous economic hardship and difficulty for this entire country.

It will definitely have adverse effects on commerce and our traditions.

The Private Sector Commission (PSC), the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and Guyana Manufacturers and the Services Association

(GMSA) have all been advocating that businesses maximise their resources and become competitive.

This is the time for these organisations to provide proper representation and ensure that in the future any such regulation is properly scrutinised.

Yours faithfully, Colin Woolford

– NACTA poll Dear Editor, When it comes to “uniting all of Trinidad and Tobago”, more voters place confidence in Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, leader of United National Congress (UNC) and the People’s Partnership (PP) than in challengers Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley and/or People’s National Movement (PNM) Vice Chair Penny Beckles.

This is one finding of an ongoing poll being conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) over the last month on various issues.

Dr Rowley and Beckles are in a heated battle for leadership of the PNM and the poll is showing interesting views in that contest. One of them will go up against Persad-Bissessar for the post of Prime Minister.

NACTA has been gathering data from field surveys featuring a match-up between the different political leaders on various issues and on popularity. The findings were obtained from interviews of a total of over 1000 voters, comprising 44 per cent Indians, 37 per cent Africans, 18 per cent mixed, and one per cent other, reflecting the demographics of the population.

They reveal a very close contest between PersadBissessar and either of her potential challengers for the post of Prime Minister and in approval ratings.

However, on the issue of “national unity”, PersadBissessar beats her potential PNM challengers by a huge margin, with PNM sympathisers divided between Dr Rowley and Beckles on who is better capable of uniting the country.

Asked which of the three leaders they feel can unite all of TT, Persad-Bissessar gets the nod from 45 per cent of respondents, Dr Rowley received 28 per cent, Beckles received 16 per cent, and 11 per cent not offering a response.

The poll also asked if each of the three leaders could get much needed cross-cultural support to win a general election. Persad-Bissessar and Beckles each got the endorsement of over half the population.

Only 39 per cent feel Dr Rowley can get cross cultural support, with 44 per cent saying no and 17 per cent unsure of him winning a general election.

The poll has a margin of error of four per cent.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

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Foundation

Do timeouts really work?

BY MELINDA WENNER MOYER

T

his raises another point, which is that parents always need to be aware of what’s developmentally appropriate for their children. Your 18-month-old doesn’t deserve a timeout for not knowing how to share; sharing is a learned skill, and she probably hasn’t mastered it yet. Likewise, few 3-year-olds can entertain themselves quietly for 30 minutes during church sermons or while mom talks on the phone. (Although if mom keeps giving him brief reinforcements during the conversation − shoulder squeezes, winks, reassuring words − she might occasionally get away with it.) And if your 28-month-old isn’t cleaning up her room when you ask her to, it could be that she doesn’t know where to begin, so maybe it would help if you broke your instructions down into more manageable bits. Always ask yourself whether your child’s behaviour is truly defiant or just a consequence of the fact that she doesn’t have the skills you think she has.

So what’s the proper way to initiate a timeout if your child has thrown her high chair across the room

guyanatimesgy.com

again? Calmly and simply. “We recommend stating the behaviour clearly in terms of what the violation was: ‘Now you’re going to have to timeout because you engaged in this behaviour,’ rather than saying, ‘You’re being bad’ or ‘That’s awful’,” Lutzker says. “It’s not supposed to be evaluative; it’s supposed to be factual.” Plus, when parents go into explanatory or pejorative diatribes, they are doing precisely the opposite of withholding attention.

(Christophersen advises parents to keep explanations even shorter: “no hitting,” say, or “time out hitting.”

Then, shut up.)

T h a t

brings us to another mistake parents commonly make with timeouts: They don’t really give time-

outs, Christophersen says.

Instead, they keep fretting over their children, which can turn the timeout from a deterrent into a positive reinforcement. If your daughter cries during a timeout, don’t attend to her; she is understandably upset, but she will learn over time to self-soothe. If she laughs and pretends to be having a blast, don’t yell at her to be quiet.

Just leave her be.

And don’t require her to apologise or fess up at the end of the timeout, either.

“The popular press has been quick and persistent in making up rules for the use of time-out that are not evidence based and, in fact, seem to have no factual basis whatsoever,” Christophersen explained in an article he wrote for the American Academy of Paediatrics’ Developmental and Behavioural News in 2007.

Another common misconception is that you have to physically isolate a child during a timeout. The important thing is

not where your child is but that he doesn’t get to interact with anything interesting, including you. This means that you can initiate timeouts in strollers, cars, chairs, even on the changing table − the key is to withhold attention and eye contact for a certain period of time or as long as the bad behaviour persists. (If you do decide to isolate your child − which may be a good idea if he’s doing something dangerous, like throwing rocks − the rule of thumb is one minute per year of the child’s life.

One study found, however, that for four to eight-yearolds, contingency-based releases, ie, you can be done once you sit still on the chair for five minutes, were twice as effective at improving compliance after two and three weeks than were timebased releases.)

Overall, how well do timeouts work compared to other disciplinary tactics?

In a systematic review of 41 studies published in 2012, psychologist Daniela Owen at the San Francisco Bay Area Centre for Cognitive Therapy and her colleagues at Stony Brook University evaluated how well various types of nonphysical interventions improved children’s subsequent behaviour. (Huffington Post)

Bribing children vs rewarding children for good behaviour:

what's the difference

BY ERIN SCHLICHER

To understand how rewards work, it can be helpful to think in terms of how the work world operates. You do your job and complete the tasks that are required of your position, and your concrete reward is a paycheque.

While there are numerous other ways in which w o r k can be satisfying, the

paycheque is the tangible form of a reward that you receive. For your child, motivation to please parents and teachers might apply more during different phases of development than others, but for the most part, children tend to be externally motivated by things they want or enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, most chil-

dren want to stay i n the good graces of their parents, but if they are given rewards regardless of how they behave, the incentive to practice new skills disappears. As I’ll explain next, James Lehman recommends that parents come up with a list of rewards with their child ahead of time. That way, when your child behaves in the grocery store, he knows ahead of time what his paycheque will be – and so will you.

Pairing James Lehman’s concept of Strategic Recognition and Affection with tangible rewards (the child’s version of the paycheque) is one of the most effective ways to reinforce appropriate behaviour.

This is the use of sincere praise, along with a genuine pat on the back when your child makes progress on something which is difficult for him.

Next, add concrete rewards that are of a currency that your child values to complete the picture. You know what your child likes – maybe it’s video games, television, art supplies, or a sleepover with friends.

Try making a list of incentives that your child can earn on a daily basis, in addition to “bigger ticket” items that he could achieve over time. Again, have your child participate in the creation of this list. (Empowering Parents)

news

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AFC shuns APNU on future of sugar industry − denies supporting calls for closure

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lliance For Change (AFC) Executive Moses Nagamootoo on Thursday lashed out at reports in several sections of the media and from the Government that the AFC had advocated for a closure of the sugar industry.

The AFC's move has effectively isolated the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which earlier this week called for the closure of the sugar industry.

Nagamootoo, who was at the time speaking at an AFC press briefing on Thursday, related that the party had maintained that there should be a transformation in the sugar industry, rather than a complete closure.

The Member of Parliament (MP) said: “The AFC’s call for transformation would ensure the survival and sustainability of the industry based on complete sacking and re-

Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy

placement of the Board of Directors with competent persons”.

He contended that the sugar industry ought to be transformed to make it economically viable. He went on to say that such transformation can be assured through enhanced manage-

ment and a complete retooling of the industry to being about more copious production.

Nagamootoo also stated that the AFC is in agreement with the idea of the industry producing ethanol. This, he noted will bring about increased revenue without a very large production cost.

Nagamootoo blamed the current state of the ailing sugar industry squarely at the feet of the Government.

In his statement, the AFC MP said the Government has reduced the productivity of the industry through “mismanagement, cronyism and downright disregard for the livelihoods of sugar workers”.

It was first reported by an online news site that the AFC had joined APNU in calling for the closure of the sugar industry.

President Donald

Ramotar: Opposition playing...

The President also accused APNU and Alliance for Change (AFC) of deliberately delaying the process from the onset.

He recalled that subsequent to the enactment of the AML/CTF Act of 2009, CFATF reviewed all Caricom countries in 2010 and subsequently issued recommendations in 2011.

In 2012, the Government commenced the implementation of the non-legislative recommendations, but it was in 2013 that the antimoney laundering bill was placed before the House.

Ramotar complained that instead of supporting the passage of the bill during its second reading, the Opposition voted for the bill to be sent to a parliamentary Special Select Committee in May 2013.

Although APNU had indicated that amendments

will be made to the bill, it was only until the night of February 9, the coalition tabled its amendments, the President pointed out.

Blacklisted By this time, Guyana would have already been blacklisted by CFATF after failing to meet its November 28 deadline. In November, CFATF had identified Guyana as a country with significant deficiencies in its AML/ CFT regime.

Since February 9, the Opposition has increased its demands. Ramotar said even when his administration stretched out a hand of compromise in February to facilitate the successful passage of the AML Bill, AFC joined with APNU to increase their demands.

It was pointed out that AFC on numerous occa-

From page 3

sions made its position clear, explaining that it was willing to support the passage of the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill once the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) was established and adequately funded to sustain its operation.

But when the President pitched his proposal to set up the PPC once the Government of Guyana at the level of Cabinet is allowed to maintain its “No Objection” powers, the AFC said that was not sufficient for the passage of the bill.

AFC is now supporting the APNU in the call for the President to assent to the Local Government Bills that he had rejected.

On Thursday, he made it clear that he will not assent to bills that are considered to be unconstitutional.

Ramotar is on record as saying that the views expressed by APNU member Anthony Vieira and MP Joseph Harmon as it relates to the sugar industry are irresponsible.

The President explained that not only will such an action directly affect the economy, but also the jobs of approximately 20,000 workers who directly depend on the sugar industry for a livelihood.

“For them to take an attack to talk about shutting down GuySuCo is extremely irresponsible,” the head of state said.

Ludicrous President Ramotar further stated that it is a ludicrous idea to turn the cane fields into tilapia ponds. He said that the Opposition sees the subsidy provided by the Government to GuySuCo as a benefit rather than as a pay back. He explained that for nearly a century, GuySuCo provided sugar to the Guyanese diaspora at a subsidised cost and he sees nothing wrong with helping a company that contributed in a vast

AFC MP Moses Nagamootoo

amount to the health of the economy.

On that note, the President Ramotar chided the AFC for not opposing the view of the APNU. He noted that the AFC would always talk about being there for the working man and they have not yet decided whether they will oppose the APNU statement.

Also criticising the Opposition was Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, who said the AFC, led by Khemraj Ramjattan, has betrayed sugar workers.

In a press statement Wednesday night, Dr Ramsammy said AFC’s move to endorse APNU’s position on the closure of the GuySuCo, is a clear indication of AFC’s betrayal to the sugar workers to whom they had made several promises during the 2011 elections.

“The AFC and APNU see a future for Guyana without sugar and if they are given an opportunity to determine Guyana’s future, they will close down GuySuCo and deprive thousands of a job and of a living,” he said.

Vieira had said that the sugar industry is failing, has failed and will continue to fail under the stewardship of the PPP/C. “It would be far better if Skeldon was producing alcohol – ethanol. I say that because the canes of Guyana are very vegetative and when you take a long time to harvest and grind, it is better that you produce ethanol,” he said.

He further alleged that the industry was being starved of resources, citing the Albion Estate and the Skeldon project.

8 News

Friday, march 14, 2014| guyanatimesGY.com

Jamaican national to be deported for overstaying in Guyana

A

Jamaican national was fined $50,000 and ordered to be deported as soon as the fine is paid when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday.

Rohan Brown, 27, pleaded guilty to the charge of failing to comply with the regulations of duration of stay in the country.

The defendant arrived in Guyana on September 6, 2013 and was due to leave

on March 5, 2014, a period of six months. He was, however, found in a house in Thomas Street, Kitty, Georgetown on March 12, when CANU ranks carried out an exercise.

The facts of the case stated that he was asked to produce his documents and when he did so, it was revealed that he was overstaying in the country.

Brown, a supermarket manager in Jamaica, who was represented by Attorney

Paul Fung A Fat, pleaded guilty to the charge and told the court that he had been awaiting his mother to post the ticket or the money for the ticket to him.

His girlfriend, an employee of the Health Ministry with whom he was staying, pleadED with the court for the defendant’s released, stating that she was prepared to buy the ticket today for the defendant to be flown out.

Fung A Fat pleaded for a non custodial penalty for Brown since his girlfriend is two and a half months pregnant and was willing to pay for his ticket home.

State Prosecutor Deniro Jones raised no objections to the issue of A non custodial penalty. He was subsequently ordered to pay a $50,000 fine immediately after which he will be deported back to his homeland.

Court warns teen for robbery under arms

A

17-year-old boy on Thursday appeared before Magistrate Ann Mc Lennon to answer to the charge of robbery under arms.

It is alleged that on Wednesday, March 12, being armed with a dangerous weapon, that is a gun, he robbed popular radio announcer Stan Gouveia of one

BlackBerry Curve 9320 valued $30,000, a BlackBerry 9380 valued $40,000, one Beats earpiece valued $25,000, one pair of sneakerS valued $12,500 and a Samsung Drive valued $80,000; all property of Gouveia.

The minor who was unrepresented was issued a warning by Magistrate Mc

Lennon before she subsequently dismissed the case.

The Magistrate told the minor that he was being granted a second chance by the court and he should make the most out of it.

He was then placed in the custody of a Probation Officer whom he will have to report to every week for

the next 12 months. He was also ordered into the Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE) programme to be given job skills training.

Failure to adhere to these orders will see the defendant arrested and once again placed before the courts for breach of court order.

Man placed on bond to keep peace after threatening reputed wife

N

athaniel Nagaloo appeared at the G e o r g e t o w n Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Ann Mc Lennon on Thursday to answer to the charge of using threatening language.

The facts of the case read

that on March 12 in the vicinity of Middle Road, East La Penitance, Georgetown, the defendant made use of threatening language to his common law wife, Devika Singh.

The court was told that the defendant who resides

at 149 Middle Road, East La Penitance threatened to harm the woman if she was ever seen on the road.

Nagaloo was represented by Attorney Paul Fung-AFat who requested a non custodial penalty since his client had no prior convictions, that

it was not such a grave matter and Singh did not wish to give evidence or pursue the matter.

Prosecutor Deniro Jones had no objections.

He was placed on a bond to keep the peace for 12 months and if breached, he will be required to spend three months in prison.

He was also ordered to remove all his personal belongings from the rented home he shared with Singh as soon as he was released and to keep his distance henceforth.

Mendicant remanded on robbery charge

K

wame Bruce, a 36-year-old mendicant was on Thursday remanded to prison when he appeared before Magistrate Ann Mc Lennon charged for robbery under arms.

It is alleged that on Wednesday, March 12, at Smyth Street, Charlestown, Bruce being armed with a cutlass, attacked and robbed Ramondit Ramlall, a pensioner of $7500.

Bruce who was unrepresented, pleaded not guilty to the charge and asked that the Magistrate grant him bail.

Prosecutor Deniro Jones did not object to bail.

Magistrate Mc Lennon refused bail on the grounds that the accused had no fixed place of abode and he was a repeat offender since he was only released from prison on Saturday, March 8.

He was remanded to prison and will make another court appearance on April 3.

Eyew tness Judging Rodney?...

I

...rather than his killers? n a report in this newspaper’s edition for yesterday, the PNC’s David Granger made the astounding declaration that the entire raison d’être of the Rodney Commission of Inquiry (CoI) is misguided. Rather than inquiring into the death of Rodney with the goal of finding out who killed him, the Commission “should be primarily concerned with finding out the truth about Rodney’s intention during the time he died”.

Now why aren’t we surprised? This position, of course, has always been the position of the PNC. In a page one Comment on June 22, 1980, the New Nation had pronounced thusly on the death of Walter Rodney: “WPA VIOLENCE MUST BE CONTAINED – The point needs to be made firmly and emphatically from the very outset that if Walter Rodney was indeed assassinated – and the story as related by his brother seems to suggest otherwise – it was neither planned nor inspired by the People’s National Congress as a party or as a government.

The PNC will never tolerate, condone or encourage violence of any kind, as a means of resolving political conflict – much more the physical elimination of opponents.”

Now that you’ve finished snickering, you can see where Granger’s coming from. Rodney was supposed to be carrying a bomb, with his brother Donald, to blow up the Camp Street Jail and it exploded in Rodney’s lap. After even the most cursory thought on that allegation will show how ridiculous it is: why would Rodney knowingly carry a bomb on his lap while traversing Georgetown’s crater-filled streets in 1980???

But being the unreconstructed PNC acolyte that Granger is, he just can’t see the holes in the PNC’s story. So in his mind, the CoI is presumably supposed to find out whether Rodney was about to bring down the jail by lobbing the bomb over the 12-foot wall. After his goons had broken up WPA meetings and assaulted Rodney, Burnham reminded Guyanese that Rodney had been a champion high jumper at Queen's. “You should see the so-called revolutionary scale the fences, comrades!!!” he’d chortled.

Seems Granger’s determined to prove that Rodney was also a champion shot-put thrower!! Granger also complained that the terms of reference suggest the Disciplined Forces were involved in the death of Rodney.

We wonder why the Government could be so bad minded.

After all, the GDF’s immediate and vehement denial that Gregory Smith was one of its ranks, was only proven to be a lie within days of the assertion!!! And we wonder how he spent so much time away from barracks and an AWOL wasn’t issued for him. ...e tu Rupert?

As we said, we aren’t surprised by Granger’s posture.

After all, he’s frantically trying to save his own a55! After all, when Burnham declared that the WPA leaders must “prepare their wills” and “his steel was sharper”, surely he didn’t appoint Granger as head of the army (of which Gregory Smith was a sergeant) for his good looks.

But we ARE surprised by the position of Rupert Roopnaraine for acquiescing in this travesty. But for a while now, like Brutus of old, Rupert has been sporting a “mean and hungry look”. We can begin to see the method to what we thought was “madness” when Rodney’s old comrade from Queen's – without any prompting and context – blurted out that just before his death, Rodney and the WPA were stockpiling weapons. Every other WPA leader denied this.

What this testimony does is to give the PNC an out, in the forthcoming confirmation that the PNC did in fact assassinate Rodney. That the PNC were merely defending themselves. ...and the pretender Another old timer who’s done a volte face on the Rodney Inquiry is Moses Nagamootoo – since he crossed the floor.

He used to boast he shared the platform with Rodney. He’s sharing one now with Granger. Plus ça change...

news

9

friDay, march 14, 2014| guyanatimesGY.com

Health Minister welcomes ANSA McAL supports World Glaucoma Week recent comments by Social Sector Committee

H

ealth Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran said he welcomes the recent comments made by the Social Sector Committee members following their visit to the Ministry’s multimillion-dollar drug bond at Diamond, East Bank Demerara.

Recently, Committee Chairperson Indra Chandarpal told sections on the media that there is need for the effective management of all systems at the facility to ensure the timely delivery of supplies to the various medical institutions.

Minister Ramsaran said his Ministry recognises and values the work of the committee as it serves as a watchdog body, which ensures value for taxpayers’ money.

“The committee visited the Mahaicony Hospital and their comments were good, but the comments coming out of the Material Management Unit for the Pharmaceutical Warehouse were not as endearing, and this comes against the background of complaints from time to time about inadequacies across the system,” he said.

While acknowledging this, the Minister pointed out that, the Ministry has itself found that there are some management issues and efforts are being made to strengthen capacity.

“We have come across some cases when people make requests, although a specific medication may have been marked nil, it might be out in the quarantine room but not present on the shelves, so they are not in the system so when we do rush, they are supplied but it would have been recorded

Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran

as not available.”

Minister Ramsaran said over recent time, the facility has lost staff, but that still should not justify the situation.

“The facility has a computerised system. It is our suspicion that we need to exploit that system so that we will know what medication is on hand, what are about to be stocked out and it will give us capacity to address another area of weakness that has been identified.”

Not fully utilised

If the computerised system is utilised to its fullest capacity, the Minister said it will also help in the area of contract management, and the procurement process, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.

“With this being done, we will be able to manage our contracts, this is millions of inventory, we need to monitor what comes in and when it comes in, and which provider is delinquent and how do you go after them to ensure that they deliver on time.”

Minister Ramsaran added that a foreign consultant

also pointed this out, hence, training in this area, will be provided.

The Minister, however, noted that in instances where there are complaints from health centres about drugs not reaching them in a timely manner, that is outside of the facility’s purview.

“We would have responded in a fairly good manner in terms of request for drugs at our regional hospitals, but when they get to the region, how quickly they are sent to other locations is a matter that is out of our hands,” the Minister said.

To this end, the Minister said it is up to the regions to do their part with getting the much needed drugs to the other locations.

In the meantime, the Minister said he is awaiting a full report from the Social Sector Committee, and he will be working towards correcting the deficiencies as early as possible.

This multimillion-dollar warehouse, which may very well be the largest of its kind in the Caribbean, meets international standards. It is electronically managed and has all the prerequisites including controlled temperature and fire response mechanisms such as smoke detectors and sprinklers.

The bond is 26,691 feet of active storage and consists of modern racks and refrigeration applications which cater for products such as vaccines and insulin.

Forklifts are used to remove items stored on the higher levels. This facility was funded by donor agencies which gave a total of about $375 million coupled with the Government of Guyana’s contribution of $120 million.

From left to right: Head Nurse of the Eye Clinic, Sister Kunte Bacchus; GPHC Chief Executive Officer Michael Khan; and ANSA McAL Pharmaceutical Division Manager Sunesh Maikoo with the glaucoma posters

I

n observation of World Glaucoma Week, celebrated between March 9 and 15, ANSA McAL Trading Limited in collaboration with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Department of Ophthalmology has created two adult-sized glaucoma posters.

The posters provide basic information about glaucoma for public awareness.

ANSA McAL, through its Pharmaceutical Department, has been involved in glaucoma treatment through the distribution of key glaucoma medications (eye-drops).

The company partners with its international partner, Alcon, so that the Guyanese populace can have easy access to pertinent anti-glaucoma eye drops.

Alcon has a good track record for providing reliable and well-tested medications that provide improved

efficacy in controlling intraocular pressures (eye pressures), an important means by which glaucoma is managed. Newer versions of these eye drops are now available without which reduces side-effects and increases patient comfort.

ANSA McAL will continue to keep on top of newly discovered medications and attempt to have it readily available for the Guyanese populace. This adult-size poster, designed by GPHC Glaucoma Specialist, Dr Shailendra Sugrim, has some basic information about glaucoma for the general populace and it was done in simple language.

There is a plan to have the poster displayed at various public areas and buildings so that the message of glaucoma can reach as many as possible.

Glaucoma Week is an international campaign organised by the World

Glaucoma Organisation and the World Glaucoma Patient Organisation that is dedicated towards sensitising the general public about glaucoma.

The theme for this year’s campaign is Beat Invisible Glaucoma (BIG) campaign.

This campaign was chosen because of the fact that many people suffer with glaucoma and they still do not know it! It is called “invisible” glaucoma because the disease acts silently by causing damage to the optic nerve (the eye nerve which allows us to see the world) without the patient having any notable symptoms.

Once glaucoma is diagnosed at an early stage, treatment can commence, and thereby prevent persons from becoming blind unnecessarily. Glaucoma can be controlled with treatment so that patients can enjoy comfortable vision throughout their life.

10

friday, march 14, 2014

News 551 trained in hydroponics

Pak choi and celery grown in coconut fibre

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ome 551 persons have been trained in hydroponics from July 2013 to March 2014 with the same number of home-based gardens established during this period.

Additionally, 32 new shade houses have been built to accommodate hydroponics in several areas across the country, Shade House Production Projects Manager Kelvin Craig said.

Craig, addressing the launch of Phase Two of the Shade House Production Project at the St Stanislaus Training Centre Building on Wednesday, said the new phase will feature more involvement of partners and beneficiaries.

He noted too that produce from the farm are superior compared to those currently on the market,

Lettuce being grown in paddy and charcoal

Celery being grown in the floating root system using Styrofoam

and phase two will see the project being extended to Linden and other Region 10 communities.

Craig reported that in phase one of the project, the team managed to surpass all the targets set by the advisory board.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy lauded the work of the project members and pointed out that shade houses in Guyana are the best in the Caribbean.

However, he noted that there is a need for enhanced

record taking on the part of farmers. The minister opined that if the farmers keep up to date records, production will grow exponentially.

The Minister related that farmers should also seek to get themselves registered, so that they can be called upon to produce for the export market.

Dr Ramsammy also noted that contrary to popular belief, farmers are among the rich people of the world.

He noted that most investors are not the persons who invest on a large scale, but rather the thousands of small holders across the country.

“Those are the people that keep the economy rolling,” posited Dr Ramsammy.

The project, which started in May, sees the cultivation of cash crops that are unfamiliar to local shores.

The plants are produced in substrate soil, which includes coconut fibre, rice paddy, charcoal, sponge and Styrofoam.

guyanatimesgy.com

Sugar got every body bitter L

ong ago, under Burnt Ham, people never used to get enough water to drink, although this was and still is de land of many waters. Nowadays, people can drink plenty water, wash dem car, plus bathe under a shower two times a day – at least fuh dem who does bathe.

Water was a dry topic under de Pee-Hen-See. Now sugar is a sour topic under de Pee-P-P. Is sheer sugar in de mornin, sugar in de evenin, and sugar at supper time.

Green Jah gon wish fuh some a that sugar when he end up in front a dem Rodknee commishunners.

Is everybody gettin bitter bout sugar. A man go home and call he wife sugar, and she get vex right away and slap he one hard slap pun he mouth. He had fuhget to read de news that day. Even de lil pickney dem asking fuh sweetener instead of sugar when dem eatin breakfuss. That is how tings get bitter wid sugar. It can’t even sweet talk a woman.

And lil pickney don’t want it.

De GA-Woe man bitter bout sugar because he can’t get no GA-Woe people pun de sugar board, and dem don’t get to tek part in de sugar bored meetins. Plus dem can’t get de He-You sugar money whah de guvament get long time now fuh sugar.

Both Rum Jhaat and Nagga Man also bitter bout sugar.

Dem seh de guvament must open a fish pond. Dem seh de guvament must shut down sugar. Then dem turn round and seh dem never seh so. Right now, no body know if is de brown sugar whah got Rum Jhaat and Nagga Man bitter, or de liquid one in de bottle.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie!

Stony Virus bitter bout sugar because he wanna run sugar in de country. De Virus done run down a t-vee station, run down he father money, and run down more money whah he get from a pharma man. Now he wanna run down sugar.

He ain’t satisfy wid guvament runnin down sugar alone.

11 News

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, march 14, 2014

U.S. honours local human rights activist pointed out that her inspiration comes from the courage of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people living in Guyana, a country where adult same sex intimacy and cross-dressing is criminalised and highly stigmatised.

Additionally, she draws inspiration from those who live in abuse and those denied

SASOD’s Zenita Nicholson with her family, friends and colleagues after receiving the 2014 Secretary of State’s International Woman of Courage Award

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ay rights activist Zenita Nicholson was on Wednesday evening honoured with the U.S. Embassy’s Georgetown International Woman of Courage Award for her unwavering commitment towards the justice and equality for all.

The presentation was done at a reception hosted by the Embassy’s Chargé d’ Affaires, Bryan Hunt on Wednesday evening at the University Gardens.

In addressing the gathering, Hunt said Nicholson is very deserving of the award

uals and transgenders.

Hunt continued a review of Nicholson’s work, through her advocacy with government, local politicians and Human Rights Committees which resulted in government pledging its commitment to initiate a national dialogue on decriminalisation of Lesbians, Gays, Bi-sexuals and Transgenders (LGBT) activities.

“Building on that commitment, she has been a visible and effective advocate with politicians, civil society groups, religious communities, and international donors to enlighten that dialogue and

sexual orientation and gender identity at the Organisations of American States (OAS), which went on to urge member countries to follow suite and pay heed to her calls.

In addition, the Chargé d’ Affaires pledged the Embassy’s commitment to work in partnership with local organisations in order to foster social equity and access to essential services for all people of Guyana, while at the same time increase its participation and support for women, LGBT, indigenous and vulnerable populations.

“We have valued the work

Zenita Nicholson receiving the award from U.S. Chargé d’ Affaires Bryan Hunt

since she has committed herself to preserving and prevailing in her quest for equal rights for all people, regardless of their gender and sexual orientation.

“This award is about courage and leadership. Zenita Nicholson embodies these principles and exemplifies the traditions of personal freedom and equality that remain shared values between Guyana and the U.S. The Chargé d’ Affaires went on to recognise the works done by Nicholson, both locally and regionally.

This includes the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities/ PANCAP Global Fund Round Nine “Vulnerable Group Project” and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) through which she has been an energetic and passionate advocate for the rights of women, lesbians, gays, bisex-

to press forward for immediate legislative changes and legal protections for LGBT persons,” the Chargé d’ Affaires noted.

Honour obligations The Chargé d’ Affaires added that Nicholson had even pressed for Government to honour its obligations as a signatory of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). He also recognised her work with the SASOD’s Child Protection Policy and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

Hunt went on to highlight Nicholson’s work regionally which includes her participation in larger coalition of activist organisations from the Caribbean and Latin America.

Further, he added, she successfully lobbied for advanced revolutions on human rights,

that we have been able to undertake thus far in partnership with civil society leaders such as Zenita and we look forward to building on this partnership as we work within the Guyana Government and in civil society to achieve this shared goal,” he stated.

Gratitude Meanwhile, after receiving the award, Nicholson expressed her gratitude to the U.S. Embassy for awarding her for her work, which she noted could not have been done without the help of many people. She thanked her family, friends, co-workers, mentor and many others for their unwavering support.

“Today, I am being honoured for my courage. But truth is, I have no courage; not compared to those who inspire me to advocate for equality, human rights and dignity,” she said. Nicholson

their basic rights. “I know their struggles, and I am very proud to be part of the human rights movement in Guyana, calling for the repeal of discriminatory laws and enactment of laws which protect people from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity,” she said with pride.

The annual Secretary of State’s International Woman of Courage Award was established in 2007 to honour women around the world who have exemplified exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights, women’s equality and social progress, often at great personal risk.

12 news Guyana could soon begin First Lady brings comfort to the unfortunate paper production friday, march 14, 2014 | guyanatimeSGY.com

BY SVETLANA MARSHALL

C

hina Paper and the Agriculture Ministry had extensive discussions ahead of the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on the generation of energy and the production of paper in the Intermediate Savannah.

On Wednesday, China Paper’s officials met with Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy at his Regent Street Office, where the discussions were held.

Speaking with Guyana Times shortly after the meeting, Minister Ramsammy said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed, with another MoA pending. In the MoU, the parties have indicated that lands will be made available in the Intermediate Savannah.

“We have to agree on the first allotment of land and what biomass they will pursue,” the Agriculture Minister said. According to Dr Ramsammy, the company also met with officials from the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

China Paper is a multimillion dollar state-owned Chinese company engaged in production, development and utilisation of forest pulp paper, among central enterprises. Cultural printing paper, coated white paper and special paper are among products produced by the company. China Paper will also be working along with NARI to establish an Environmental Management Plan while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct a survey a process which is expected to take three months.

Additionally, NARI and a

Edmond Forde’s new home at Lot 20 Buxton, ECD (GINA Photos)

T

Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy shakes hands with China Paper executive Steven Jin following their meeting on Wednesday

representative from Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) will help the Chinese company to identify an appropriate plot of land to establish a nursery. The parties also met on Wednesday But China Paper is not the only company that is showing interest in the production of bio-fuel in Guyana.

He disclosed that the DY Patil of India is currently doing preparatory work on its 10,000 acres of land leased to it in the Canje Basin.

Additionally, Bornion Guyana Incorporated (BGI) also was leased 10,000 acres of land in the Canje Basin. The company has also commenced the harvesting of rubber plants at its nursery, along the Linden/Soesdyke Highway.

Within the next two weeks, Bornion’s technical personnel are expected in Guyana to advance its mega farm, however, at its Canje location, paving the way for the production of bio-fuel.

Bornion is a subsidiary of the Malaysian Wee Boon Ping Group of Companies.

Using the allotted land, it is expected to invest US$500 million in the production of bio-fuel. Both Bornion and Patil have already signed a MoU with the Government of Guyana through the Agriculture Ministry.

However, 14 other international investors are in consultation with the Ministry over the production of bio-fuel here, along with the harvesting of crops. (svetlana@ guyanatimesgy.com)

he First Lady Foundation in keeping with its goal of promoting positive family values has recently completed and handed over three building projects on the East Coast Demerara (ECD).

The projects were the construction of a two-bedroom house for Buxton resident, Edmund Forde; the rehabilitation of the staircase and roof for Enterprise resident, Rohit Baichu; and rehabilitation of a staircases for Enterprise resident,

The staircase rehabilitated for Rohit Baichu at Enterprise, ECD

Dr Ramsammy sees red on hot pepper importation

A

g r i c u l t u r e Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy on Wednesday said that hot peppers would be imported in Guyana only “over his dead body”.

Dr Ramsammy, who was at the time speaking at the launch of phase two of the Shade House Hydroponics Project, noted that a while back, he was approached by some investors to import the produce here.

“Why are we going to import Hot Pepper from countries who we can teach how to do the best hot pepper?” questioned Ramsammy.

The Minister also noted that he finds it unacceptable that Caribbean countries import Butternut Squash from the U.S. when it is available in Guyana.

Dr Ramsammy explained that his Ministry has scaled down on the import of broccoli, cauliflower and other foreign produce that are not normally available in Guyana.

Several entities have

Hot peppers grown in Guyana

taken up the initiative to cultivate these vegetables and make them available on the local markets.

In an earlier interview, Dr Ramsammy said “Food security is not just the amount of food we have to eat, but the right kind of food, so nutrition security is an important part of it.”

However, the Minister contended that, besides developed countries, such as those in Western Europe

and North America, no sub-region in the world can compete with the Caribbean in terms of food and nutrition security.

He further maintained that this comes at a cost, part of which is the high food importation bills that Caribbean countries have, noting that the vast majority of what is imported into the region can be produced and supplied here.

“Seven of our countries

Sursattie Harrichand.

Forde is 94 years old. In 2013, First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar was invited to Forde’s 93rd birthday celebration at his residence.

Recognising the tough conditions under which this senior citizen was living, Ramotar submitted a proposal to the eight-member committee responsible for overseeing projects undertaken by the foundation.

This proposal was granted favourable consideration

in Caricom have a per capita food importation bill of over US$500 on an annual basis, when the global average in developing countries is just US$66 per capita.

It means that we are importing more than 10 times of the average citizen in developing countries.

That must be a rejected, we must change that reality and we have the capacity to do so,” he insisted.

Dr Ramsammy said currently, Trinidadians are consuming tilapia imported from China and questioned whether all the demands of that country could not be supplied by countries within the region instead.

According to Dr Ramsammy, Trinidad’s tilapia requirements can, in fact, be met by the aquaculture operators in Guyana.

He said that although operators here have the capacity to produce large quantities, they downscale production because market demand is low.

and plans were finalised for the construction of a 25 by 30 foot house on land owned

by Forde. This house consists of two bedrooms, bathroom, living room and kitchen. All electrical works were sponsored and completed by Gordon Saul.

In a similar manner and within the confines of its available resources, the foundation completed repairs to the houses of Rohit Baichu and Sursattie Harrichand, both of Enterprise, East Coast Demerara.

Baichu, 52, lost both of his legs due to complications re-

lating to diabetes. This has significantly curtailed the movements of this once vibrant fisherman to the extent that he requires assistance to move up and down the stairs of his elevated house.

Cognisant the danger that the steps pose to his son, lifting him from upstairs to downstairs or vice versa, the foundation intervened and renovated the staircase.

The roof of Baichu’s house was also renovated.

In expressing his gratitude to the foundation, Baichu indicated that he could now be easily aided to his wheelchair, which provides for his means of mobility at home and around the community.

Harrichand suffered a stroke some six years ago and this has placed restrictions on her mobility. Both staircases to her home at Enterprise were in dire need of repairs and posed danger to her and other family members, especially at times when they needed to transport her to seek medical treatment and therapy.

With assistance from the foundation, new staircases were installed for the benefit of this family.

In 2014, the foundation continues it work programme which includes reaching out and providing support to vulnerable individuals and groups; the ongoing literacy programme (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate classes, computer classes and library facilities); the Kitchen Garden Project; and the building of core homes/rehabilitation of housing facilities for vulnerable families.

The stairs rehabilitated for Sursattie Harrichand at Enterprise, ECD

news

13

friday, march 14, 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

TT investors to tap agriculture investments here

“Dem Boys Seh” lawsuit

Kaieteur News given time W to respond to claims T

BY SVETLANA MARSHALL

he attorney representing Kaieteur News in the “Dem Boys Seh” lawsuit filed

by Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall was on Thursday given time to file an affidavit in answer.

Nandlall, on March 4, filed an ex parte application by way of affidavit for an Interim Injunction to block the newspaper from publishing defamatory content against him as was done in two editions of its daily column “Dem Boys Seh” days before.

The court document has named the newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief, Adam Harris as the first respondent and Publisher Glenn Lall and the National Media and Publishing Company Limited as the second.

Before acting Chief Justice Ian Chang on Thursday, Attorney Moses Nagamootoo, representing the respondents, requested leave to file a response to the ex parte application. He was given 10 days to do so while Attorney Sase Gunraj representing Nandlall was also given 10 days to reply to the respondents. After these formalities are completed, arguments on the

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall

injunction will commence.

In the affidavit filed

by Nandlall’s group of attorneys, which includes Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos, Sase Gunraj, Euclin Gomes and Ganesh Hira, the Minister is claiming some $30 million for the public embarrassment caused by the two articles.

“The aforesaid libel was calculated to cause and did cause me great public embarrassment, held me up to odium and ridicule and to disparage me as the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs

and Member of Parliament, both nationally and internationally,” he said in court documents seen by this newspaper.

The libellous columns referred to by Nandlall were published on February 28 and March 2 titled “Tax dollars going to Sleep-In” and “Ah Kneel Deh Pun A Hustle” respectively.

The Attorney General is asking for damages in excess of $10 million each for the libel contained in the articles titled “Tax dollars going to Sleep-In” and “Ah Kneel Deh Pun A Hustle”.

An additional $10,000,000 is being asked for aggravated and exemplary damages.

In addition, Nandlall requested an injunction restraining the respondents from further publishing any similar libel concerning him.

“That I now pray that this Honourable Court would grant the following order: an injunction restraining the respondents/ defendants and each of them by themselves, their servants and/or agents or otherwise whomsoever, or howsoever, from further publishing the said or any similar libel about and concerning the applicant/ plaintiff,” the affidavit said.

Plaisance man drowns in Piari Creek

T

he body of a miner was on Wednesday fished out of the Piari Creek, Region Seven, some 12 hours after he went to the area to take a bath and never returned to his mining camp.

Dead is Leon “Dougla” Andrews, 27, of Lot 22 Prince William Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara. Upon his discovery, there were several scratches on his face and chest which leaves family members to believe that foul play was involved.

Andrews has been working with the Rat’s Mining Company for the past five weeks and was last seen on Tuesday evening when he left the camp with his soap and towel.

Guyana Times understands that Andrew did not turn up for dinner, but his colleagues thought that he went to the other camp, thus, they did make it an issue.

It was until the cook woke up about 04:00h to prepare meals when he realised that the young man was not his hammock. He reportedly raised an alarm and contacted the other camp, but was told that he was never there.

As the place got brighter, the workers went down to the creek where they found his long boots, soap and towel along with his clothes, but there was no sign of him. One of the men reportedly went into the water in

Dead: Leon “Dougla” Andrews

search of Andrews and in so doing; he came into contact with the man’s body.

A relative of the dead man stated that it was a norm for all the workers to go down to the creek after work in the afternoons, but on Tuesday, Andrews who did not know to swim, chose to stay behind and went after the rest would have left the creek.

Strange

The man also stated that what was strange, was the fact that his colleagues did not see him afterwards, but none of them raised an alarm since they presumed that he was at another camp. With not much attention, the men reportedly went to bed.

It was when the cook raised an alarm the next morning that the workers realised that something was wrong, thus a search was launched. After the

discovery, the police were called in and the body was transported to the Bartica Hospital Mortuary but was subsequently transferred to the Lyken’s Funeral Home, awaiting a post- mortem examination.

The relative of the deceased also thought that there was a “spiritual” cause for his death. He recalled during the week, another worker was seen praying under a silk cotton tree after which he sprinkled a liquid into the water. He also recalled that a few days back, an alligator emerged from under the same tree and two workers who were in the area took the excavator’s bucket and chopped off its tail with the intention of cooking it, but soon after, both of them took ill. One of them was taken to the hospital where he remains a patient while the other was treated at the camp.

He said the alligator’s tail was never cooked and was disposed of at the same spot his relative met his demise. Ever since Andrew’s death, no one from the company visited his relatives nor did they turn up to see the body when it was pulled from the river. Andrew did not have any children and was described as a very jovial person. He leaves to mourn his two brother and four sisters.

ithin days, the Trinidadian and Tobago (TT) Government will call on investors there to tap into agricultural opportunities in Guyana, Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy told Guyana Times.

The advertisement will be made even as the joint technical team from Trinidad and Guyana determine what crops are suitable for Trinidad farmers to commence with.

Dr Ramsammy and his TT counterpart, Devant Maharaj held a teleconference on Wednesday with the intention of advancing the agreement to develop an agricultural investment project in Guyana’s Canje Basin.

This step will reduce the importation of food in TT from outside of Caricom.

The TT Agriculture Department’s decision to advertise was made after the National Agricultural Research and extension Institute (NAREI) completed soil testing and submitted

TT Agriculture Minister Devant Maharaj

the results to the Trinidadian Government.

Additionally, reports on historical studies conducted on weather patterns within the Canje Basin were also submitted.

“Officials from Guyana and Trinidad have been meeting on a regular basis, to ensure that this MoU [Memorandum of Understanding] is advanced….The Trinidad and Tobago Government would now advance with this agreement now that the soil test-

ing has been completed,” the Agriculture Minister said.

The MoU, which was signed between the governments of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago in September, grants the twin island access to lands in Guyana.

The two countries have agreed that the 10,000 acres of land in the Canje Basin will be used by the Trinidadian investors. Corn, soya, cassava and legumes are some of the crops to be cultivated.

The Agriculture Minister said the finalisation of this agreement will also pave the way for Guyanese farmers to easily access the Trinidad market. Guyanese farmers pay approximately $1000 per acre annually, depending on the geographical area and based on the crop, location and size of the investment, an arrangement will be made with the TT Government as well. Besides, the 500,000 hectares that are under full cultivation, Guyana has 3.3 million hectares of potential agricultural land remaining. (sevtlanam@guyanatimesgy. com)

14

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, march 14, 2014

Regional

Three die in new The Bahamas endorses Venezuela protests Caricom push for reparations

Government supporters say life has improved since the late President Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999

T

hree people have died in fresh protests in Venezuela, this time in the central city of Valencia.

A policeman and two other men were shot dead in separate incidents.

In Caracas, Venezuelan Government supporters and opposition demonstrators took to the streets to hold rival marches.

The marches mark one month since the current protest movement began – on February 12, 2013.

Twenty-five people are now known to have died.

The opposition mayor of Valencia, Miguel Cocchiola, said the city had seen several incidents of violence during the day.

A 42-year-old-man, Guillermo Sanchez, was painting his house when he was shot in the head by pro-government militias passing on motorbikes, said Cocchiola.

Student Jesus Enrique Acosta, 20, was also killed in Valencia. Cocchiola said Acosta was also shot dead by the Government groups,

known as “colectivos”.

The other victim was Army Captain Ernesto Bravo Bracho. The government said he was killed by “criminal terrorists”.

Meanwhile, Opposition demonstrators marched through the streets of eastern Caracas – an anti-government stronghold − denouncing police brutality and the economic crisis.

They called for the release of dozens of jailed activists.

At the end of the protests, activists threw stones and petrol bombs at the police, who responded with tear gas. Several people were injured.

There were demonstrations in several other Venezuelan cities.

Elsewhere in the capital, thousands of government supporters joined President Nicolas Maduro in a “march for peace”.

Maduro said this week that he had managed to defeat a plot to bring down his government, saying a rightwing plot had been neutralised.

“Before Chavez, no-one had anything we have now: access to public health, education and food,” government supporter Marcos Alcayo told Reuters at the march.

Hugo Chávez died of cancer a year ago after more than 14 years in office.

A new presidential election was held last April.

Chavez’s preferred successor, Maduro, defeated Opposition Leader Henrique Capriles by a narrow margin.

One of the protest leaders, opposition legislator Maria Corina Machado, told the BBC’s James Menendez that Venezuela was increasingly united behind the idea of regime change.

“A change of Government as soon as possible: that is what we are proposing, very clearly,” said Corina.

But she denied that replacing a democratically-elected Government amounted to a coup: “We want to go forward, but in the umbrella of our Constitution and by pacific means.”

Maduro said rightwing sectors in the U.S., Venezuela and other countries in Latin America are behind a coup plot.

Last week, Venezuela expelled the Panamanian ambassador and three other diplomats after accusing them of conspiring to bring down his government. (Excerpt

from BBC News)

From left are Barbados Foreign Affairs Minister Maxine McClean, Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, The Bahamas Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell and The Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christi

T

he Bahamas has endorsed an action plan to seek reparations for slavery from former colonisers, including Britain, France and the Netherlands, according to Government officials.

Caricom heads of government have agreed to establish a 10-point plan that would seek a formal apology, some form of debt cancelation and reparations from those nations.

The decision came during meetings over the last two days among the member states in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“We announced in the Caricom meeting that our Commission on Reparations has been appointed and is headed by Alfred Sears and Philip Smith, former members of Parliament,” Foreign Affairs Minister Fred

Mitchell said.

“They are joined by a number of other citizens from across the community. The full list will be announced upon our return.

This issue is one which the local commission is tasked with discussing with the public and in particular, public education. We expect that the local Commission will advise us on the necessity and or efficacy of any legal, political, legislative or administrative decisions that need to be taken.”

Sears, who was contacted for comment, said he had not yet discussed the developments at Caricom with government officials.

As it relates to the Commission, Sears said it has not been fully formed.

He said potential members have been identified, but that list of names must

be reviewed and approved

by Cabinet.

When asked to reveal whose names have been put forward, Sears said, “Some of them are young people to ensure that this work will be carried into the future.”

During a Caricom meeting in July, member states agreed to establish a Caricom Reparations Commission.

In the months following that meeting, Mitchell said no decision had been made to pursue reparations, but Cabinet and the Bahamian people would ultimately make the decision.

However, Mitchell said at the time he was shocked at the “incipient racism and self hatred, which seems to be part of the DNA of some people of African descent”.

(Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

Salvador ex-rebel wins presidency

UWI defends C-section doctor

T

he doctor who performed the C-section which led to the death of a baby at the Mount Hope Maternity Hospital on Carnival Saturday has the backing of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

On Wednesday, the university issued a statement in which it insisted that the proper operating procedures were followed and the doctor was properly qualified to conduct the surgery. It also defended the absence of two of its consultants who are attached to the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA).

The defence came in the face of a barrage of media reports and public debate over whether the doctor who performed the surgery on expectant mother, Quelly Ann Cottle, was qualified to do

TT Health Minister Fuad Khan

so without help from the consultants.

The child died after being cut on the head during the surgery. The NCRHA has since suspended the doctor with basic pay pending a full probe into the matter. Trinadad and Tobago (TT) Health Minister Fuad Khan is also now in the process of establishing an independent team to investigate the matter, having received a preliminary report from the NCRHA. UWI also noted that

the doctor did not need the assistance of the consultants. According to UWI, the doctor, a specialist registrar, was an experienced surgeon who, in “the last two years alone,” has performed “over 100 successful C-sections at the Mt Hope Maternity Hospital, including those for high risk pregnancies”.

Seeking to clarify working protocol, UWI said “standard practice under the Trinidad and Tobago health care system does not require an on-call consultant to be present at the time of a C-section being conducted, unless there is a special need to do so,” adding that with the operating specialist registrar’s experience “the UWI consultant who was on call, and was accessible, was not requested to be in attendance”. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Salvador Sanchez Ceren won the election by a razor-thin margin, the election tribunal said

F

ormer left-wing rebel Salvador Sanchez Ceren has won a tight presidential run-off election, El-Salvador’s electoral tribunal has said.

But his rival has the right to appeal and officials say a final declaration cannot yet be made.

Conservative candidate Norman Quijano had earlier called for a new poll after preliminary results indicated a margin of victory of

fewer than 7000 votes.

Sanchez Ceren would be the first ex-rebel to serve as president.

He became Vice President of El Salvador in 2009, while Quijano was the mayor of the capital, San Salvador.

The election body has already rejected calls from Quijano’s party for a rerun.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced on Thursday that Sanchez

Ceren, a member of the Farabundo Marti Liberation Front (FMLN), had won 50.11 per cent of the vote after a manual count.

Quijano, of the conservative Arena party, won 49.89 per cent, the election body said.

On Monday, the President of the Arena party, Jorge Velado, told reporters he had “proof” that his party had won the presidential election. (BBC News)

15 Around the world FRIday, march 14, 2014

guyanatimesgy.com

Malaysia jet sent ‘pings’ after Russia does not want Ukraine war going missing Warm relations

The BBC’s John Simpson says a “potentially explosive” stand-off looms at a Ukrainian military base in Bakhchisaray

R

ussia’s ambassador to the United Nations has told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that Moscow “does not want war” with Ukraine.

Vitaly Churkin was responding to Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who had asked him if Russians “want war”.

But Churkin gave an impassioned defence of Crimea’s right to hold a referendum on whether to join Russia.

In the east Ukraine city of Donetsk, one person died in violence between rival

protesters, said officials.

Several people were also injured as several hundred pro-Russia protesters clashed with a similar-sized group of Kiev supporters in the city’s Lenin Square, said local health authorities.

Tensions are high as diplomatic efforts intensify ahead of Sunday’s controversial referendum in the mainly ethnic Russian autonomous region of Crimea.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is due to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in London on Friday.

Yatsenyuk told the Security Council that his country was a victim of Russian aggression, but said he still believed “we have a chance to resolve this conflict in a peaceful manner”.

Addressing Churkin directly, he said in Russian that Kiev was “looking for an answer to the question, whether Russians want war” with a country with whom it has “for decades had warm and friendly relations”.

“I’m convinced that Russians do not want war,” he said. “I hope that the Russian Government and the Russian President will heed the wishes of their people and that we return to dialogue and solve this conflict.”

In response, Churkin said: “Russia does not want war and nor do the Russians, and I’m convinced that Ukrainians don’t want this either. Furthermore, we do not... interpret the situation in such terms. We don’t want any further exacerbation of the situation.”

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Egypt ex-PM: presidential poll will be fixed

Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik

O

ne of Egypt’s top politicians, the former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik, has pulled out of the country’s upcoming presidential election, saying it will be fixed in favour of the army chief.

In a leaked recording broadcast by Al Jazeera on Thursday, Shafik described the forthcoming poll as “a comedy show” that no can-

didate other than Field Marshal Abdel Fattah elSisi has a chance of winning.

Shafik had previously said he would back Sisi if he ran for the presidency.

In the recording, however, he said: “I know very well they will fix all the ballot boxes. I have taken myself out of this loop because the election is going to be a

farce.”

“Of course whether other candidates withdraw will depend on the nomination of Sisi. I said if he’s going to run in the presidential election I will not run but I will get my papers ready (and) if he is going to run I will not submit them.

They will fix everything for him… this is going to be a comedy show,” he said.

Sisi, who led the army’s removal last year of Mohamed Morsi from the presidency, has yet to announce his candidacy and the Interim President, Adly Mansour, has yet to set a date for the election.

Shafik narrowly lost his last presidential bid, against Morsi, who was elected in 2012. He was also Prime Minister in Hosni Mubarak’s Cabinet in January 2011, but resigned a month later as protests intensified Mubarak’s rule.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Indian diplomat’s charges dropped

T

he Indian diplomat whose arrest sparked a testy exchange between the U.S. and India won a dismissal of a federal indictment Monday, according to court documents.

Devyani Khobragade was arrested and strip searched by federal agents in New York City in December after federal authorities accused Khobragade of lying on a

visa application about how much she paid her housekeeper. She was indicted on January 9 by a federal grand jury on one count of visa fraud and one count of making false statements.

Khobragade then filed a motion to dismiss the charges, claiming she was “cloaked in diplomatic immunity at the time of her arrest,” according to the mo-

tion.

The court agreed, stating that Khobragade was “appointed a Counselor to the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, a position that cloaked her with full diplomatic immunity”, according to court documents. She was appointed to that position on January 8, a day before she was indicted.

(Excerpt from CNN)

The Royal Malaysian Navy, a Royal Malaysian Navy Fennec helicopter prepares to depart to aid in the search and rescue efforts for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 over the Straits of Malacca in this handout photograph received on March 13

S

atellites picked up faint electronic pulses from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 after it went missing on Saturday, but the signals gave no information about where the stray jet was heading and little else about its fate, two sources close to the investigation said on Thursday.

But the “pings” indicated that the aircraft’s maintenance troubleshooting systems were switched on and ready to communicate with satellites, showing the aircraft, with 239 people on board, was at least capable of communicating after the jet lost touch with Malaysian air traffic controllers.

The system transmits

such pings about once an hour, according to the sources, who said five or six were heard. However, the pings alone are not proof that the plane was in the air or on the ground, the sources said.

An international search is under way over a vast area in the Gulf of Thailand, the Andaman Sea and on both sides of the Malay Peninsula. The U.S., which has sent ships and planes, said the area may be expanding into the Indian Ocean.

“It’s my understanding that based on some new information that’s not necessarily conclusive − but new information − an additional search area may be opened in the Indian Ocean,”

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in Washington.

U.S. defence officials later told Reuters that the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, USS Kidd, was en route to Strait of Malacca, west of the Malaysian peninsula, to continue the search for the missing jet, answering a request from the Malaysian Government.

The Kidd had been searching the areas south of the Gulf of Thailand, along with the destroyer USS Pinckney.

A U.S. defence official said a Navy P-3 Orion aircraft had already searched the Strait of Malacca.

The new information shed little light on the mystery of what happened to the plane, whether there was a technical failure, a hijacking or another kind of incident on board after it took off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing.

While the troubleshooting systems were functioning, no data links were opened, the sources said, because the companies involved had not subscribed to that level of service from the satellite operator, the sources said.

Boeing Co, which made the missing 777 airliner, and Rolls-Royce, which supplied its Trent engines, declined to comment. (Excerpt

from Reuters)

16

friday, march 14, 2014

guyanatimesgy.com

Caribbean & Latin America

Africa

New scrap metal policy for TT Nigeria: N1.6T could be generated

T

T’s scrap metal industry is now regulated through the implementation of a scrap metal policy.

To inform development of the policy, the Trade, Industry and Investment Ministry (MTII) hosted a series of consultations with public and private sector stakeholders, starting in September 2012, to identify critical issues affecting the industry. The stakeholders included relevant Government ministries, public utilities and scrap metal dealers.

Allan Ferguson, president of the TT Scrap Iron Dealers Association, has expressed support for the policy. “The Trinidad and Tobago Scrap Iron Dealers Association has read the Cabinet-approved policy and agrees on some of the recommendations that were presented, and we are willing and ready to collaborate with the Ministry and interested parties to rectify other issues,” he said.

The overall objective of the policy is to strengthen the existing regulatory frame-

work, taking into account international best practices and unique national circumstances, to adequately address the problems plaguing the industry. Its key objectives are to: • Provide contemporary guidelines and regulations to facilitate the operations of the scrap metal industry in TT; • Develop an effective licensing regime for scrap metal dealers; and • Raise operational standards in the scrap metal industry. (Trinidad Guardian)

North America

Wall Street tumbles as Ukraine tensions rise, China slows

U

.S. stocks tumbled on Thursday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 suffering their worst day since early February, on rising concerns over Ukraine and Russia and new signs of a slowdown in China.

Selling accelerated in afternoon trading after Russia launched military exercises near its border with Ukraine, showing no sign of backing down in its plans to annex its neighbour’s Crimea region despite a stronger-than-expected push for sanctions from the EU and the United States.

In an unusually robust and emotionally worded speech, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of “catastrophe” unless Russia changes course.

The CBOE Volatility index, Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge, jumped more than 12 per cent to 16.22. The index usually moves inversely to the S&P 500. A key emerging market exchange-traded fund, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, fell 1.8 per cent to US$38.19. “(Ukraine headlines) are certainly going to be the cat-

alyst but there is more under the surface,” said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

“There is no military solution to this. All it is, is positioning – and let’s be realistic, these Chinese numbers last night were not good.” China’s economy slowed markedly in the first two months of the year, as growth in investment, retail sales and factory output all fell to multi-year lows. (Reuters)

Europe

annually from kaolin in Bauchi

T

he Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), said on Thursday that Bauchi State could generate more than N1.6 trillion annually as revenue from kaolin if properly harnessed.

Mallam Ahmed Waziri, the RMRDC Acting Coordinator in the state made this known in an interview in Bauchi. He described kaolin as a widely used industrial non-metallic mineral, refined from kaolonite.

“The mineral is used as

Asia

raw materials in the production of cement, plastics, rubber paper, paints, ink, insecticides, food additives, chemicals, pencils, detergents, textiles and drugs among others.

“Its major consumers include ceramic, paint, rubber, plastic, pharmaceuticals industries and fertiliser blending plants", “he said. Waziri who quoted a survey conducted by the Nigerian Mining Corporation, said the state has more than 10 million tonnes of kaolin reserves.

The survey said it was deposited mostly in Alkaleri, Kirfi and Toro Local Governments Areas. He said if properly positioned, the state has the capacity of milling 403,200 tonnes of kaolin annually which will generate 1.6 trillion at N4000 per tonne.

He said that as at 2004, kaolin production estimated by the RMRDC was 16,800 tonnes monthly, adding that the figure has doubled due to high proliferation of mining activities in the state. (allAfrica)

China output and retail data adds to slowdown fears

C

hina’s industrial output rose 8.6 per cent in January and February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Retail sales – a key measure of consumer spending – also increased 11.8 per cent from the year before, Government figures show.

The figures were less than analysts had been expecting, adding to fears of a slowdown.

Markets in Asia fell on the news, with both Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai

composite dropping.

Fixed-asset investment, a measure of Government spending on infrastructure, expanded 17.9 per cent. The reporting period includes the Chinese Lunar New Year, which fell during both months.

The data comes as China’s leaders wrap up their parliamentary session, known as the National People’s Congress (NPC). During the session, the Government unveiled plans to push ahead with a pilot programme of privately-owned

banks, in order to help open up the financial sector.

At the start of the NPC earlier this month, China’s Premier, Li Keqiang, announced that the Government was expecting the economy to expand at the rate of 7.5 per cent this year, which is the same target rate as last year. However, he added on Thursday that there was some flexibility on that target for 2014 and that the Chinese Government’s main concern was jobs. (BBC News)

Middle East

Saudi Arabia launches new housing Shell cuts spending in U.S. to scheme to ease shortage lower shale exposure

R

oyal Dutch Shell will cut spending by a fifth and lay off staff at its American exploration and production business, the company said on Thursday, in another sign that oil majors are struggling to profit from the booming U.S. shale sector.

Oil and natural gas pumped from North American shale have proved a boon for many smaller energy businesses, but the world’s biggest oil companies, including

BP and Exxon Mobil, have had less success unlocking the prolific rock’s full potential.

London-based BP announced last week that it is to spin off its onshore U.S. oil and gas assets into a separate business to improve performance.

“Financial performance there is frankly not acceptable... some of our exploration bets have simply not worked out,” said Ben van Beurden, who was head of refining before being promoted to Shell’s

top job at the start of the year.

Oil companies active in North American shale have broad exposure to profit-sapping U.S. natural gas, prices of which fell to their lowest in a decade during 2012 but rebounded as a cold winter depleted gas in storage.

Sentiment on the outlook for the fuel is improving with the prospect of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and increased industrial use, but uncertainty remains. (Reuters)

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

$342.69

$346.97

CAN

$185.59

$187.73

USD

$205.49

$207.93

U.S.

$1335.00

Cambio

$202.67

Gross

$254,331

Net

$236,527

Selling

$262,426

Indicators as on March 13, 2014 Live Spot Gold

USD Per Once

Bid/Ask

$1367.00

$1377.00

Low/High

$1364.29

$1377.90

+4.90

Change

+0.36

London Gold Fix

Mar 13

USD GBP EUR Mar 12

USD GBP EUR

AM

PM

1371.00 821.70 982.30

1368.75 820.50 982.31

AM

PM

1355.75 817.01 977.47

1366.00 822.45 983.65

Indicators Crude Oil

Price Silver

Platinum

US$ per barrel

$107.39 USD per Ounce

$21.29 $1477.00

Change %

-0.59 Change %

+0.52 +0.34

S

audi Arabia’s Government has launched a new scheme to provide housing aid to its citizens, in the hope of ending a shortage of homes which has depressed living standards and is politically sensitive for the Government.

After social discontent prompted uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world in 2011, King Abdullah announced a plan to build 500,000 homes in Saudi Arabia over several years. Some US$67 billion of

state funds were earmarked for the plan.

But the programme has been slow to get underway because of sluggish bureaucracies, difficulties in obtaining suitable land and the complexity of allocating aid. The new scheme, named ESKAN – the Arabic word for housing – and launched by the Housing Ministry last week, aims to break through those bottlenecks.

Saudi families seeking assistance, in the form of statesubsidised home loans or sub-

sidised sales of land or housing units, are being given two months to register on a website. The applications will be considered for three months and the Ministry will then announce who is eligible for aid.

Housing Minister Shuwaish Al Duwaihi was quoted by local newspapers as saying all citizens who submitted requests through ESKAN and met the conditions would be allocated homes within seven months.

(Gulf Business)

Investors' guide

Writing a business plan: Nine essential sections

D

Product or service line

escribe to readers what you are selling and how the product or service will benefit current and potential customers. Provide evidence that your company offers a product or service that serves as a solution to a problem identified by your target market. Information regarding service or product costs, suppliers and any new services which may be added should be included in this part.

Request for funding

Include current and future funding requirements, how that funding will be used and long range strategies that

impact funding requests. Any factors which directly impact your ability to repay your loan should be included, such as acquisitions, sale of the business in future or a buyout.

Financials

Both past financial data as well as prospective financial data will be required by potential lenders. Include the following financial statements for the past three to five years; cash flow statements, balance sheets and income statements. The same statements should be prepared with forecasted data for the next five years.

Appendix

A separate section which should not be included in the main body of the business plan is the Appendix. Proprietary and confidential information may be part of the appendix and as such should not be easily accessed by all individuals requesting your business plan.

Creditors may need access to this information, therefore it should be available on an as-needed basis. Documents which may be included in the appendix include market study details, reference letters, personal and business credit history, patents, permits, contracts and contact information for consultants. (Business Dictionary)

Business concept – Human resource management (HRM)

Last: 16108.89

Changes: -231.19

% Change: -1.41

Open:1641.55

High:16405.07

Low: 16084.10

% YTD: -2.82

52Wk Hi:16588.25

52 Wk Lo: 12471.49

The process of hiring and developing employees so that they become more valuable to the organisation.

Human Resource Management includes conducting job analyses, planning personnel needs, recruiting the right people for the job, orienting and training, managing wages and salaries, providing benefits and incentives, evaluating performance, resolving disputes, and communicating with all employees at all levels.

news

17

friday, march 14, 2014| guyanatimesGY.com

GECOM prepared for local Digicel contributes govt polls – Dr Surujbally to Holi

GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally

W

ith the recent appointment of a new Chief Elections Commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Chairman of the electoral body, Dr Steve Surujbally announced that it is adequately equipped and prepared for the hosting of Local Government Election, should it come up anytime soon.

However, the Chairman noted that all steps towards the election which was last held 20 years ago depend primarily on the go ahead from the Minister responsible for Local Government Elections.

Speaking at a press briefing to officially introduce newlyelected Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield at the Cara Lodge Hotel, the Chairman noted that the organisation has always been in

a state of preparedness for the election, as it is a constitutional requirement.

“Year after year, GECOM has been consistently budgeting for, and Parliament has always approved funds for the conducting of Local Government Elections.

The Commission has again budgeted for the conduct of Local Government Elections 2014, and we are confident that approval will again be given by Parliament,” Dr Surujbally told a group of journalists and stakeholders.

He said the organisation has not yet received word from the Local Government Minister or any other political body concerning the hosting of the elections.

Independent body

Dr Surujbally said the pronouncement made that elections cannot be held by August 1 this year has nothing to do with the independent body. “It is dependent on the passing of and assent to the relevant legislation, followed by consultation with GECOM,” the GECOM Chairman explained. He revealed that the organisation’s draft work plan, which is constantly reviewed, contains a number of statutory and administrative tasks.

These include the demarcation of boundaries for some constituencies, the acquisition of non-sensitive election materials, public education, and claims and objectives, among

others.

The draft work plan also includes the statutory timeframe for the holding of the election.

“In respect of preparations for the conduct of Local Government Election, GECOM is in possession of a draft work plan, which puts the timeframe for the conduct of elections at the 180 days commencing from the appointment of a date, by order given by the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, for the holding of the elections.”

He further explained that the 180 days timeframe will not affect the GECOM’s “Preparedness”, pointing out that it is largely due to the sequential statutory requirements. He further added that it is “merely the Commission and its Secretariat’s response to the statutory requirements for the conduct of the elections.

Demarcation

Expanding on the issue of demarcation of boundaries, Dr Surujbally related that GECOM is still engaged in that process. He said that due to the growth of housing in some communities, the boundries that were established are not static, thus there must be a constant re-visitation to the communities so as to ensure that persons are guaranteed the right to vote at the elections.

The approval by

Parliament of the Local Authorities Act of 2009 provides for Local Government Elections to be held in all 71 authority areas in Guyana using a mixed electoral system of Proportional Representation and First Past the Post.

The system provides the opportunity for voluntary groups, political parties and individual candidates to contest for seats in the municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils.

Under Guyana’s Constitution, Local Government Elections should be held every three years.

However, this has not occurred since 1994.

Opposition parties, international organisations and members of the local Private Sector have been calling for the elections to be held. The most recent attempt was made a few weeks ago by the Parliamentary Opposition.

However, the ruling party through its General Secretary Clement Rohee said the Government would not support the Opposition’s request to hold Local Government Elections by August 1.

According to Rohee, the reasons for disagreeing to the Opposition's requests, among other things, was because such power resides with GECOM only. Many of the 65 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils have been replaced by Interim Management Committees.

Parliament honours former MPs, staff

First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar with the women who were honoured by Parliament on Thursday

T

he Parliament of Guyana celebrated International Women’s Day on Thursday by honouring several women for their outstanding contributions and long service to the institution.

The ceremony was held at the Duke Lodge, Kingston, Georgetown, where women from difference sectors gathered as they were treated to a luncheon. In attendance were First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar, Attorney Sheila Trotman and Education Minister Priya Manikchand.

Delivering the feature address, Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr Nicole Giles said while substantial progress has been made since the first International Women’s Day was held, there is still a lot more work to be done as equality has not been achieved.

“Challenges remain and much work remains to be done,” she said.

Dr Giles noted that the world still struggles with issues such as protection from domestic and gender-based violence, discrimination, career training and small business support, safe and affordable child-care and education.

She added: “On the socio-cultural front, women still struggle against male dominated hierarchal structures to find their place and voices from the classroom right up to the boardroom or even ambassador’s post.”

The Canadian High Commissioner pointed out that her country has been a leader on the world stage in promoting the full participation of women and girls in all aspects of society.

“Strength and courage are not measured by the impact of adversities that define life but rather how adversities are overcome. This is particularly true for women who have chosen to make their contributions in a traditionally

male dominated field, such as politics. The participation of women is critical to the evolution of democracy, sustainable economic development and social cohesion,” she said.

Commendable achievement

Dr Giles disclosed that women make up 21 per cent of the parliamentary seats worldwide; however, she noted that in Guyana, 30 per cent of the legislature is constituted of women, a commendable achievement.

She added that women in politics face a lot of challenges since they have to prove their worth to match up to their male counterparts.

“Women in politics worldwide face a double standard, with their lives being subject to greater scrutiny than those of men in equivalent positions.... Women in politics are also the target of publicity that focuses on their beauty or fashion sense. Extraordinary attention is often paid to appearance rather than any element of their capacity or accomplishments,” the High Commissioner said.

The women honoured for their long-standing service were former Deputy Speaker and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Deborah Backer (14 years); former People's Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) MP Philomena Sahoye-Shury (15 years); PPP/C MP Shirley Edwards (18 years); Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai (20 years); and Parliament staff member Eleanor Coddett, who has 30 years of dedicated service to the public service.

D

igicel on Thursday made its annual contribution to the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabah in support of the festival of colours for the fifth consecutive year.

Phagwah will be celebrated in Guyana on Monday, March 17. In making the contribution, Events and Sponsorship Manger Gavin Hope re-emphasised the need for Guyanese to preserve their culture “as we are a very diverse people with a diverse culture and supporting events like this helps us to do just that”.

It is well known that

Phagwah is a festival that brings Guyanese from all walks of life together in celebration.

Receiving the contribution from Digicel were Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabah executive members Raj Singh and Michael Seeram.

Apart from the monetary contribution, Digicel also presented the Sabah with a quantity of Phagwah powder for the annual Kala Utsav celebration, which will be held at the Everest Cricket Club on Carifesta Avenue on Monday, starting from 15:00h.

Solomon concerned about Amelia’s Ward road works

A deteriorating road at Phase Two Amelia’s Ward

C

oncerns over unsatisfactory rehabilitation works and the deplorable state of roads at phase two and three, Amelia’s Ward, Mackenzie, Linden, are causing residents in the areas to engage officials of the Region 10 Democratic Council.

Councillors as well as Chairman Sharma Solomon said the issue raised will be discussed at the region’s monthly statutory meeting.

He said the works conducted in one of the schemes is to the tune of approximately $500 million dollars and the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) is dissatisfied with the quality of roads and soak aways constructed in both areas.

Solomon stated that the roads are 80 per cent damaged and were constructed without the RDC input.

“We are concerned at the level of the RDC and at the level of statutory, of the works being conducted through the Ministry of Housing in Phase Two and Phase Three Amelia’s Ward.

To date, the region is not with the scope (of works).

We had made application to the Ministry of Housing last year for them to have repre-

sentatives to discuss with the residents and the region, the works that are being conducted in Phase Two and Phase Three,” he noted.

He said although he was informed by the Housing Ministry that the works on roads at Phase Three was completed, to date, there is hardly any good road in the area.

“Phase Three, according to the Ministry of Housing, infrastructural works on the roads was completed and the region is very disappointed and dissatisfied with the quality of works conducted.

Ninety per cent of the roads in that area have already shown signs of deterioration and we have now realised that they have moved back to Phase Two (with upgrade works) and residents have complained that the quality of works are not to their satisfaction,” he stated.

Solomon said because of this reason, the RDC will be hosting public meetings in Phase Two and Phase Three Amelia’s Ward to update and inform residents on what measures will be taken. He also voiced similar concerns over deteriorating roads in Block 22 and Blueberry Hill, Wismar.

Eight GPHC staffers complete sign language training

T

he Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Wednesday presented certificates to eight staff members after they completed a sign language course.

The four weeks programme was administered in partnership with the Guyana

Deaf Association.

According to GPHC Management, Training, and Development Department representative Nicholas Corbin, there was a language barrier at the hospital due to the fact that from time to time, patients visiting the hospital would be deaf and

dumb, thus posing a problem for staffers to understanding their problem.

He explained that more persons signed up for the course but after assessment, they were deemed unfit to sit the final exam.

Meanwhile, course facilitator and head of the Guyana

Deaf Association Lawerence Hallahan said it is a joy to see individuals breaking the language barriers in Guyana.

He said too that he was very happy to have taught the wonderful students.

The staffers were drawn from different departments of the GPHC.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

Friday, march 14, 2014

thursDAY, march 11, 2010 | guyanatimesGY.com

archie

By Bernice Bede Osol

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19) A partnership will face pressure if you encounter a stalemate. If you’re willing to compromise, you will find it easier to reach an agreement.

dilbert

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19) You won’t feel too sociable today. Take a closer look at your current situation and establish the steps you need to take to advance.

Backtracking may be necessary.

Calvin and Hobbes

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) You’ll risk your reputation if you rely on secondhand information.

Someone may pass off fabrication as fact just to put you in an awkward position. Get all the details before you speak out.

Peanuts

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

SUDOKU

Community get-togethers and special-interest gatherings are great places to meet new friends.

Informal activities and events will enable you to share your enthusiasms with like-minded people.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Don’t let others do the talking for you. A colleague may try to present your ideas as his own.

Ensure that you are given the credit you deserve for your accomplishments.

CANCER (June 21July 22) Strategise how you can make personal improvements. Proper nutrition, regular exercise and plenty of enjoyable activities are all vital to your success and physical and mental health.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22) You’ll be extremely convincing today. Make sure you don’t harbour any ulterior motives and that you have thought matters through. You will accomplish a lot if you are a team player.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) You may be a little short-tempered. Just because someone has a different viewpoint, it doesn’t mean you can’t get along.

To avoid embarrassment, cool down before you say something you’ll regret.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23) Take a moment to do something you enjoy.

Perhaps there is a hobby or new friendship you’d like to pursue. Indulge in something that is motivating and inspirational; you deserve it.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22) Be considerate of others today. Avoid criticising others and focus on the positive message you want to convey. If you are pushy, you will put a wedge between yourself and someone you care about.

Thursday's solution GEMINI (May 21June 20) Don’t let stress get you down. Make your home your refuge. Surround yourself with the people and comforts that make you happy. Take time to relax and reflect.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21) Travel delays and other unforeseen problems will plague you. Don’t get frustrated over circumstances you cannot control. Keep a positive attitude and do your best to overcome setbacks.

sports 19

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Tendulkar, Warne, Kallis in line to be voted cricketer of the generation

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S

Sachin Tendulkar

Jacques Kallis

Shane Warne

achin Tendulkar, Shane Warne and Jacques Kallis, the most successful batsman, bowler and allrounder respectively of the recent past, are the leading contenders for ESPNcricinfo’s Cricketer of the Generation award.

The award, to be presented on March 14, will honour the most outstanding cricketer between the years 1993 and 2013, and will cap ESPNcricinfo’s 20th anniversary celebrations.

tor, ESPNcricinfo; Tamim Iqbal Bangladesh batsman; Mahela Jayawardene Former Sri Lanka captain; Gaurav Kalra Senior editor, ESPNcricinfo; Akram Khan Former Bangladesh batsman; Athar Ali Khan Former Bangladesh batsman; Younis Khan Pakistan batsman and former captain; VVS Laxman Former India batsman; Ranjan Madugalle Former Sri Lanka batsman; Sanjay Manjrekar Former India batsman; Suresh Menon Editor, Wisden India Almanack; Andrew Miller Editor, the Cricketer; Mark Nicholas Commentator, writer and presenter; Iain O’Brien Former New Zealand bowler; Mike Procter Former South Africa allrounder; Ramiz Raja Former Pakistan captain; Barry Richards Former South Africa batsman; Mark Richardson Former New Zealand batsman; Osman Samiuddin Sportswriter, the National; Kumar Sangakkara Former Sri Lanka captain; Mike Selvey Former England bowler; Ed Smith Former England batsman; Heath Streak Former Zimbabwe bowler; Mark Taylor Former Australia captain; Sharda Ugra Senior editor, ESPNcricinfo; John Wright Former New Zealand captain; Waqar Younis Former Pakistan bowler.

most ODI runs and ODI hundreds. A complete batsman with no apparent weaknesses, he was the first to score a hundred international centuries, a mark that may never be broken. He is also arguably the biggest icon the game has ever known.

Warne was another cricketer adored by the crowds, both for his charisma and his flamboyant bowling. He made legspin fashionable again, mixing a garguantan legbreak with an array of straighter deliveries, and landing them all with unprecedented accuracy.

He was the first bowler to 700 Test wickets, was Manof-the-Match in the semifinal and final of the 1999 World Cup, and his delivery to bamboozle Mike Gatting in 1993 is perhaps the most famous one in the game’s history.

Kallis is a lower-profile performer than the other two candidates for the award, but he was without doubt the outstanding allrounder of his generation, and prompted comparisons with the greatest allrounder of them all, Garry Sobers.

As a batsman alone, his record bears comparison with the very best - over 10,000 runs each in Tests and ODIs. In addition, he took 577 international wickets with his pace bowling, besides being among the safest slip fielders.

The winner will be announced on March 14 in Mumbai at ESPNcricinfo’s annual awards, now in their seventh year.

The awards recognise the best individual batting and bowling performances in cricket over 2013. Previous winners include Tendulkar, Shahid Afridi, Virender Sehwag, Dale Steyn, Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga.(cricinfo)

Jury

The jury for ESPNcricinfo’s Cricketer of the Generation: * Russel Arnold Former Sri Lanka allrounder; Sambit Bal Editorin-chief, ESPNcricinfo; Habibul Bashar Former Bangladesh captain; Ian Bell England batsman; Rahul Bhattacharya Cricket writer and novelist; Harsha Bhogle Commentator, presenter and writer; Lawrence Booth Editor, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack; Geoffrey Boycott Former England batsman; Daniel Brettig Assistant editor, ESPNcricinfo; Mark Butcher Former England batsman; Ian Chappell Former Australia captain; Aakash Chopra Former India batsman; Ed Cowan Australia batsman; Mike Coward Cricket writer; Tony Cozier Commentator and writer; Martin Crowe Former New Zealand captain; Daryll Cullinan Former South Africa batsman; George Dobell Senior correspondent, ESPNcricinfo; Rahul Dravid Former India captain; Jeffrey Dujon Former West Indies wicketkeeper; Ramachandra Guha Historian and cricket writer; Gideon Haigh Cricket historian and writer; Michael Holding Former West Indies bowler; David Hopps UK edi-

Candidates

Muttiah Muralitharan and Brian Lara also received nominations from a 50-member jury, comprising leading cricketers, cricket writers and commentators, but didn’t make the cut for a place in the final three.

Last November, Tendulkar ended a storied 24-year-career during which he set many of the most coveted batting records, including those for most Test runs and Test hundreds, and for

20

guyanatimesGY.com

friday, march 14, 2014

Young Warriors crowned NBS second division champs

Members of the victorious Young Warriors cricket team enjoy the moment of success in the presence of staff members of the New Building Society Limited

T

he Young Warriors Cricket Club (YWCC) of Cumberland, East Canje, emerged champions of the 2013 New Building Society (NBS) Second Division 40-over cricket competition for teams in Berbice after comfortably defeating Number 71 in the final. The game was played last Sunday at the Cumberland ground. This is the second time the YWCC have won the competition.

Winning the toss and deciding to take first strike, Young Warriors got a start of 31 from Mortimer Fraser and former Berbice Under-19 all-rounder Kevin Ramdeen, after which the latter was clean bowled by Khemraj Sugrim for 10.

Former Berbice Under-19 player, Ishwar Singh joined Fraser and together they put together

a partnership of 43 for the second wicket before Fraser was caught off Khemraj Roopraj for 42. Another Guyana Under-15 cricketer, Sanjay Khan, joined Singh and put on 46 for the third wicket before Khan was caught off Soomdat Singh for 24.

From 120-3 in the 23rd over, Singh continued and together with the veteran Rudolph Baker, 114 more runs were added in the next 14 overs to take the score to 234-3 before both batsmen fell in quick succession.

Baker made 68, which included seven fours and five massive sixes, and Singh topscored with 84, which included three fours and one six.

Their dismissals left YWCC at 250-5 from 38.4 overs.

Former Berbice senior

all-rounder and captain Anil Behary and Kassim Khan hammered 27 runs off the last eight balls to see YWCC ending in a healthy position at 277-5 in their 40 overs.

Beharry ended on an unbeaten 28 with three huge sixes and Khan nine not out. Khemraj Sugrim took 2-72 off eight overs, bowling for Number 71.

Tough chase

Number 71, needing to score almost seven runs per over, began their response with an opening stand of 43 between Fiaz Mohamed (21) and Soomdat Singh (12) in eight overs.

Both fell to Berbice Under-17-left arm mediumpacer Kassim Khan to leave them at 48-2 in the 10th over. There was a recovery however, with Andrew

Seamber and Nazim Mohamed putting on 69 for the third wicket in 13 overs.

Seamber fell to offspinner Ramdeen for 40.

Khemraj Sugrim then joined Mohamed and together they put on 40 runs for the fifth wicket before Mohamed fell for 35 at 1574.

Skipper Manouram Vincent came to the crease and gave his team some hope but got no support from the lower order.

The innings closed at 234-9 with Vincent remaining unbeaten on 55 (2x4s, 3xs), meaning that Number 71 lost by 43 runs.

Bowling for YWCC, Sanjay Khan took 3-41 from eight overs and got support from Kassim Khan and veteran Hubern Evans with 2-41 each off their allotted eight overs.

Vicky Bharosay, manager of NBS Corriverton branch, hands over the winner’s cheque and trophy to Kevin Ramdeen of Young Warriors Cricket Club

At the presentation that followed, Berbice Cricket Board’s Vice-president, Hubern Evans, showered praise on the sponsor and said that this competition is of utmost importance for not only the development of cricket in Berbice, but also for the lives of people.

Anil Beharry, Senior Manager of NBS Berbice branches, said that his company is pleased with the way the competition was run, taking into consideration that over 100 teams participated. He noted that this is the single largest cricket competition in the Caribbean.

Beharry noted that his company is happy to give back to the communities in which they operate, with four branches in the county of Berbice.

The competition feeds the first division clubs with both junior and senior cricketers. Beharry committed his company’s sponsorship for the 2014 competition.

YWCC took away $60,000 and a beautiful trophy, while Number 71 pocketed $30,000. Ishwar Singh was adjudged Man of the Match and Best Batsman, while Sanjay Khan was named Best Bowler.

Several cash incentives were also given for outstanding performances in the preliminary rounds. A special token was given to Soomdat Singh for being the only batsman to score over 500 runs in the competition. The 2014 competition will be launched soon and the tournament is expected to commence in two weeks.

Australian GP: Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel unsure of what to expect in 2014 not ruling out Red

L

Bull title challenge

ewis Hamilton says the new Formula 1 season is the most unpredictable of his career so

R

far.

The Mercedes driver and 2008 world champion is the favourite to win the season-opening race in Australia but says he has no idea how he will fare.

“You had a better idea of where you would be in previous years,” he said.

Unfulfilled talent

Lewis Hamilton won his first Formula 1 world title in 2008, just a year after making his debut.

However, the 29-year-old Briton has failed to mount a serious title challenge since then.

“All the media are talking us up - favourite driver, favourite team. I just don’t know what’s going to happen this weekend.”

F1 has introduced its biggest set of rule changes for a generation, with the advent of high-tech turbo hybrid engines that are restricted by a fuel limit as well as significant changes to the cars.

Hamilton admitted that Mercedes were in a good position after completing the most mileage of any team in pre-season testing and setting competitive-looking times.

But he stopped short of saying

Lewis Hamilton

this was his best chance of winning the title since his championship-winning season six years ago.

“A lot of people are asking that,” he said. “We’ll have better understanding after this first race.

“Last year in testing the car felt good but we didn’t really know where we were. Red Bull looked a little stronger. This year we have done the most mileage and seem to be as quick as anyone.

“So it appears we have one of the strongest packages but you don’t know who is going to go the distance, who is going to come out with the better strategy. It is going to be really

tough.”

World champions Red Bull have suffered a disastrous pre-season testing programme plagued by unreliability and are apparently struggling for performance, especially from their Renault engine.

But Hamilton said it would be foolish to write them off after winning four consecutive world championship doubles with Sebastian Vettel.

“It looks like Red Bull have a great car,” Hamilton said. “Maybe not the engine package just yet but they did a really good run in the second to last day of testing that looked really competitive.” (BBC Sport)

eigning world champion Sebastian Vettel accepts he is “not in the best position” to win Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix but refuses to rule out a challenge for a fifth successive title.

A winter of woe for Red Bull...

Red Bull completed 1,265 miles in the three pre-season tests. Mercedes led the way with 3,090 followed by Williams’ 3,040 and 2,789 by Ferrari Vettel and his Red Bull team endured a torrid time in pre-season testing as they struggled for mileage, lagging way behind rivals Mercedes and Ferrari.

“We’re not in the best position for this race,” he said.

“But the championship is a different story. There’s a long way to go.”

Vettel has dominated Formula 1 since winning his first championship in 2010 but the introduction of major new rule changes for this season promises to make it the most unpredictable for years.

Red Bull’s struggles in pre-season centred around poor reliability and a lack of performance from their Renault engine. ...but Red Bull give you wins Reigning champion Sebastian Vettel has won 34 of the last 77 races for Red Bull - including the last nine in a row Vettel says the team have been working hard to rectify any problems and ensure the four-time world champion is in the strongest position possible to challenge at the front of the grid in Sunday’s opening race of the season.

The German accepts there still remains a degree of uncertainty over just how the Red Bull car will perform on the Albert Park circuit.

But regardless of what happens this weekend, Vettel, who has not been beaten on the circuit since July last year, is adamant that it will not take long for Red Bull to get back to their best. (BBC Sport)

friday, march 14, 2014

guyanatimesGY.com

BBCI renews commitment to Berbice cricket

21

Mo Farah firm on decision to move up to marathon distance

Chief Executive Officer of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc, Omadatt Samaroo (centre), presents the sponsorship cheque to Third Vice-president of the BCB, Julian Cambridge. Sharing the moment are (from left) BCB representatives Ravindranauth Saywack, Bibi Alisa Moonsee and Malcolm Peters. On display are the banners also sponsored by the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (Photo: Avenash Ramzan)

By Avenash Ramzan

I

n a demonstration of its commitment towards sport development, the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) on Thursday renewed its sponsorship of the Berbice Cricket Board’s (BCB) 50over cricket competition, set to bowl off shortly.

At a specially arranged press briefing hosted in the studio of the National Communication Network (NCN) on Homestretch Avenue, Chief Executive Officer of the BBCI, Omadatt Samaroo and several BCB executives joined in launching the 2014 edition of the tournament.

The competition is in its second year, according to Third Vice-president of the board, Julian Cambridge, who explained the format of the tournament during his brief presentation.

“The tournament would be played on a knockout basis by 14 first-division teams with the win-

ners taking home $80,000 and a trophy and the runner-up $40,000, while the Man of the Match in the final would receive $10,000,” Cambridge highlighted.

He added, “The tournament is expected to be of the highest standard with teams like Albion, Rose Hall Town Gizmos and Gadgets, Young Warriors, Port Mourant, Blairmont, West Berbice, Upper Corentyne and D’Edward [among others] taking part.

Players of the calibre of Assad Fudadin, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Raun Johnson and Narsingh Deonarine would be donning full-coloured uniforms to represent their respective clubs.”

Cambridge expressed “profound gratitude” to CEO Samaroo and the management of the BBCI for their involvement in the tournament for a second year in succession.

“We appreciate your investment and as you are fully aware, every tournament organised by Guyana’s lead-

ing cricket board is always well organised and executed. The BBCI, apart from the 50-over tournament, is also donating two trophies for our annual awards ceremony, scheduled for March 22, and would also be sponsoring a Golden Jubilee exhibition,” Cambridge revealed.

This year the BCB is celebrating its 75th anniversary, and according to Cambridge, the exhibition will be held in every secondary school in the county and will feature, by way of posters, the cricketers who played Test matches and ODIs and female West Indies cricketers, along with Berbice cricket records, ODI matches played at the Albion Sports Complex, outstanding administrators of the BCB and the Berbice all-time XI. Samaroo, in delivering remarks on behalf of the BBCI, spoke of the entity’s commitment to not just sport development, but the uplifting of society in gen-

eral.

He said the BBCI has always been supportive of cricket in Berbice, and promised that once the funds are available, it will continue to invest in the game in the Ancient County.

Samaroo also highlighted the company’s many ventures over the past year and its intended sponsporship support for the rest of 2014, noting that the BBCI is not just in the business to collect tolls and facilitate the passge of ocean-going vessels, but to also honour its corporate social responsibility.

Also attending the launch were BCB’s Public Relations Officer Hilbert Foster, former president of the BCB Malcolm Peters and current administrator of the board, Bibi Alisa Moonsee.

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Mo Farah

o Farah insists he has made the right decision to run marathons as he warms up for his London debut by tackling the New York Half Marathon on Sunday.

Ethiopian great Haile Gebrselassie has suggested it is too early for the Briton, 30, to focus on the 26-mile event rather than the track.

“I’ve won medals on the track so why not test my-

self,” Farah told BBC Sport.

“If I’m good in London, then I’ll do it a couple more times - if not I’ll come back to the track.”

Gebrselassie won two Olympic gold medals and four world titles at 10,000m between 1996 and 2000.

He finished third in London on his marathon debut at the age of 31, but went on to claim nine marathon titles - though he never won in London. (BBC Sport)

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friday, march 14, 2014

Regional Four-Day Tournament…..

Ambris’s maiden ton puts Windward Islands in driver’s seat

By Rajiv Bisnauth

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maiden century by debutant Sunil Ambris boosted the Windward Islands to a formidable total on the opening day in round three of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Four-Day Tournament against hosts Guyana on Thursday at the Guyana National Stadium.

Ambris had a dream debut, slamming 114 when the team really needed it.

Keeping him company was skipper Liam Sebastien, who stitched together a 156-run partnership for the fifth wicket to rescue the Windward Islands after they were precariously placed at 107 for four at one stage.

Though he got his century off an outside edge that went to the third man boundary and then survived a caught-and-bowled chance off Christopher Barnwell,

Ambris was in fine touch throughout the day. His innings lasted for 238 minutes from 208 balls and was decorated with 17 boundaries.

At the close, Windward Islands had reached 289 for six with Sebastien unbeaten on 60 and Alston Bobb on four.

Earlier, the visitors’ batsmen had negotiated some quality fast and spin bowling from the hosts before reaching 85 for three at lunch.

Debutant Sunil Ambris was batting on 12 in the company of Romel Currency on one.

The batsmen dismissed were openers Devon Smith, who looked in good touch during his innings of 28, Tyrone Theophile, who was given a life by Assad Fudadin made 42 and Keddy Lesporis without scoring.

The Smith-Theophile partnership for the first

wicket yielded 65 runs, before left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul wreaked havoc with a sensational three-wicket haul to keep the scoring under firm restriction.

Both openers were watchful in their approach after skipper Liam Sebastien won the toss and decided to bat on a surface that had some early moisture.

Guyana’s captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul introduced spin as early as in the first over with off-spinner Narsingh Deonarine, but the Windward Islands openers were watchful in their approach, playing every ball on its merit.

With pacer Keon Joseph and medium pacer Christopher Barnwell able to get only little sideways movement from the track, an all-out spin attack was introduced just after the first hour of play.

Permaul was impressive as he troubled the batsmen with his accurate line and length,and quickly broke the opening partnership when he had Smith, who struck four boundaries in his innings, provided a catch to Assad Fudadin at the short mid-on position.

Theophile was a bit more aggressive in his approach, striking four fours and a six, before he was trapped plumb in front. The visitors slipped further into the abyss when Keddy Lesporis was caught behind by Anthony Bramble.

Currency was dismissed

by Bishoo soon after resumption of play for 15, but the 20-year-old Ambris and Liam Sebastien batted with confidence and picked their areas to score and denied further inroads and by tea the Windward Islands had reached 186 for four.

Sebastien’s entry to the crease was an impor-

Sunil Ambris drives during his innings (Photo: Rajiv Bisnauth)

tant passage of play for the Windward Islands. He settled down to build a partnership with Ambris, who brought up his half-century off 107 balls with seven fours, Upon resumption, Sebastian was put down at first slip by Fudadin, but the pair took the total to 263 before Barnwell removed both Ambris and Lindon James (0) with successive deliveries.

Sebastien was joined by Alston Bobb and brought up his half-century before the pair negotiated the remaining passage of play.

Permaul has so far claimed three for 69, while Barnwell took 2-42 and Bishoo 1-44.

Guyana omitted pacer Raun Johnson and leg spinner Amir Khan from their final eleven, while the Windward Islands left out

Dalton Polius and Mervin Matthew. Play resumes from 10:00hrs today and admission to the venue is free.

SCOREBOARD Windward Islands 1st innings D Smith c Fudadin b Permaul 28 T Theophile lbw b Permaul 42 SAmbris lbw b Barnwell 114 K Lesporis c wk Bramble b Permaul 0 R Currency c Bramble b Bishoo 15 L Sebastien not out 60 L James lbw b Barnwell 0 A Bobb not out 4 Extras: (3nb, 1w, 14lb, 8b) 26 Total: (for six wickets; 93 overs) 289 Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-78, 3-78, 4-107, 5-263, 6-263 Bowling: 23-9-48-0 Joseph 7-0-52-0 (3nb), Barnwell 16-4-42-2 (1w), Permaul 25-5-69-3, Bishoo 21-844-1, Fudadin 1-0-12-0

Camptown FC for two-match tour of Bartica

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ity side Sunburst Camptown FC will travel to Bartica this weekend for a two-match tour beginning on Saturday and concluding on Phagwah night (Monday) at the Bartica Community Centre ground.

In the opening game, the city players will match skills with Mel Ballers in the feature game at 20:00 hrs, while preceding this will be a contest between Potaro Strikers and Five Star Beacon FC at 18:00 hrs.

On Monday night, Camptown will meet Beacon in the second game of the double-header after Mel Ballers would have played Potaro Strikers in the first match at 18:00 hrs.

The Camptown lads will be hosted by Beacon with major support from Sky Launch Restaurant and Bar, while the games are under the organisation of the I Movement Promotions in another collaborative effort to keep the sport of football alive in Bartica.

friday, march 14, 2014

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Diamond Mineral Water Pakistan cycle meet set for Saturday World T20 2014...

best limitedovers side – Afridi

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Flashback! The respective category winners pose with their trophies at the conclusion of last year’s event

oming hot off the heels of a keenly contested Berbice leg of the Cheddi Jagan memorial cycling meet on Sunday last, local riders will resume battle on Saturday in the ninth annual Diamond Mineral Water 11-race programme at the inner circuit of the National Park.

The Hassan Mohamedorganised event will pedal off at 09:00 hours and should be completed by 13:00 hours with the conclusion of the feature 35-lap School Boys and Invitational race, which

will see the country’s senior riders in action.

According to Mohamed, the cyclists are expected to bring their ‘A’ game as they prepare for the Essequibo leg of the Cheddi Jagan memorial race on March 23.

“We can expect a very fast and competitive race because the riders will be looking to get into top shape for next Sunday’s race in Essequibo,” Mohamed related.

The prolific Raynauth Jeffrey, riding for Team Coco (Guyana), is the de-

Jordan stars...

Twice, he found his yorker, he conceded a nicked boundary from the next then sent Denesh Ramdin’s leg stump flying to end a sixthwicket stand with Simmons of 73 from 46 balls. But Jordan spilled boundaries from his last two balls. West Indies were still in it: 17 needed off the last over and Jade Dernbach to bowl it.

Sammy’s flat-bat six left West Indies seven short with two balls left and set up a memorable conclusion: Sammy firstly beaten by bouncer, Dernbach then bowling a wide to leave Sammy needing six off the last ball to win the match, and then bowling what would have been a wide-and-a-half were it not for the fact that Sammy made the mistake of hitting it. “I think we still had a chance if I hadn’t got a bat on that,” Sammy grinned.

As the screams subsided at Kensington Oval, Dernbach

said: “To be honest, we had a pretty clear plan to Sammy.”

He looked so boisterous, a much-maligned death bowler who this time had clung on, but it was hard not to laugh.

England, regarded as no-hopers three-and-a-half hours earlier, now travel to Bangladesh knowing that with fortune in their favour they can beat the defending champions. Such are the small margins of T20.

It was Jordan’s batting cameo that gave England the edge. They entered the last over at 139 for 6, an innings frittered away after Michael Lumb’s T20-best 63 had given them a rapid start. They finished it 27 runs to the good as Jordan struck Bravo for four sixes, two over the offside, then two to leg.

The hometown boy had come good. For England, it was payback time on an investment. For the West Indies, it was galling, an export they could have done without.(cricinfo)

fending champion of the feature 35-lap race, having won last year’s event in a time of one hour, 15 minutes, 0.1 seconds (01h:15m:0.1s).

However, he will have a tough task on hand this time around, as the likes of Alanzo Greaves, fresh off victory in the Jagan race last Sunday, Paul deNobrega, Geron Williams, Marlon Williams and others will look to get some confidence ahead of next Sunday’s race.

A new champion will be crowned in the junior division since last year’s winner

Raul Leal has since graduated to the senior ranks.

Junior Niles is the defending champion of the veterans category, while Ozia McUally in the mountain bikes and Alfie Soonaram in the 12-14 Boys and Girls were also winners.

Marketing representatives of Demerara Distillers Limited, the bottlers of Diamond Mineral Water, are expected to witness the races and assist in the presentation of prizes at the conclusion of the event.

(Avenash Ramzan)

DCB U-15 Inter-zone competition…

East Bank thrash S West Demerara by 104 runs

Shahid Afridi

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ast Bank thrashed West Demerara by 104 runs in their second-round contest of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Under-15 Inter-zone competition at the Everest Cricket Club ground on Thursday.

Batting first, East Bank compiled a solid 259 all out in 49.4 overs. Paul Thomas led the way with 70, which consisted of 11 boundaries.

He got good support from Mark Ramsammy (47) and Sagar Hithiramani (35).

There were 61 extras, which

included 57 wides.

Bowling for West Demerara, Aftab Basdeo claimed 3-6 and Retesh Samaroo 2-43.

In reply, West Demerara managed only 144 in 48.2 overs. Ganesh Jailall topscored with 59, which included eight boundaries, while Aftab Basdeo and Daneshwar Kowlessar were the other batsmen to reach double figures with 14 each.

Among the wickets were Anthony Antonio and Bhojnarine Singh with 4-28 and 2-33 respectively.

hahid Afridi has rated Pakistan as the best limited-overs outfit in the world, but wanted his side to improve their fielding. Afridi is currently undergoing a week-long rehabilitation after suffering a strain during the Asia Cup, but was confident of recovering in time for the World T20 starting next week.

“I can’t see a better [limited-overs] combination in the world than Pakistan because our bowling is good, batting is good but the only mistake we are doing that’s in fielding and fielding is the most essential thing in limited-overs cricket,” Afridi said at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.

Pakistan’s team was set to leave for the World T20 in Bangladesh on Thursday, but Afridi is expected to join

them early next week. “I am recovering well. I am sure I will play at least one warmup match.”

Pakistan’s warm-up matches are on next Monday and Wednesday, after which they open their campaign in a high-profile match against India. “We will do our best, all will join in that effort in the India match. We won the last match against India and I think that will give us benefit.”

Afridi was at his explosive best in the Asia Cup, starring in victories over India and Bangladesh, and was looking at a floating position in the batting order at the World T20. “I think one should be flexible, if there are five-six overs left then I can go up the order but it will depend on situation and overs.”

Sports is no longer our game, it’s our business

friday, march 14, 2014

TOP SCORES

West Indies v England, 3rd T20...

WICB Regional Four-Day Tournament...

Jordan stars on homecoming to lift England T

Ambris’s maiden ton puts Windward Islands in driver’s seat

he last time Chris Jordan batted at Kensington Oval, the ground was being developed for a Caribbean World Cup and he gazed up at the

SCOREBOARD England M Lumb c Bravo b Cottrell 63 A Hales c Simmons b Cottrell 38 E Morgan* c Smith b Narine 18 J Buttler+ c Sammy b Santokie 3 R Bopara not out 6 B Stokes b Santokie 0 M Ali run out (Santokie) 3 C Jordan not out 27 Total: for 6 wickets 165 Extras: (w 7) 7 Did not Bat: J Tredwell, S Parry, J Dernbach Fall of Wickets: 1-98 (Lumb, 10.5 ov), 2-112 (Hales, 12.6 ov), 3-123 (Morgan, 15.4 ov), 4-128 (Buttler, 16.3 ov), 5-129 (Stokes, 16.5 ov), 6-138 (Ali, 18.1 ov) West Indies Bowling: K Santokie 4-0-27-2, S Cottrell 4-0-37-2, S Narine 4-0-341, Dwayne Bravo 3-0-35-0, A Russell 1-0-11-0, Sammy 2-014-0, M Samuels 2-0-7-0.

West Indies (Target: 166) D Smith b Dernbach 0 J Charles c & b Jordan 4 M Samuels b Jordan 15 L Simmons run out Ali 69 Dwayne Bravo c Jordan b Bopara 16 A Russell c Morgan b Bopara 0 D Ramdin b Jordan 33 D Sammy not out 15 S Narine not out 0 Total: for 7 wickets 160 Extras: (b 1, lb 4, w 3) 8 Did not Bat: S Narine, K Santokie, S Cottrell Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Smith, 0.1 ov), 2-4 (Charles, 1.3 ov), 3-28 (Samuels, 4.2 ov), 4-66 (Bravo, 10.2 ov), 5-67 (Russell, 10.6 ov), 6-140 (Ramdin, 18.4 ov), 7-153 (Simmons, 19.3 ov) England Bowling: J Dernbach 4-1-38-1, C Jordan 4-0-39-3, S Parry 4-0-32-0, J Tredwell 4-0-18-0, R Bopara 4-0-28-2.

stands as a teenager with the world before him, wondering if he might play one day for the West Indies. This time, he was an adult in an England shirt and when h e g a z e d at the stands it was not in wonder, but because he was looking to see where his next six had landed.

England, clinging to any encouragement they can find, will look at a feverish five-run win in a dead rubber - the series already won

by West Indies - and wonder if they have found a World T20 talisman. An unbeaten 27 from only seven balls duly pocketed, Jordan followed up with the wickets of Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels in his first two overs and then pulled off a wonderful catch at deep square-leg as Dwayne Bravo fell to Ravi Bopara’s long hop.

James Tredwell oldmanned his way through another parsimonious spell, Bopara conceded only 28 despite spilling 18 from an over, but thanks to another skilful contribution from Lendl Simmons, as ever strong on the cut, when Jordan returned for his final over, the 19th, West Indies were still in touch with 32 needed from two overs and Darren Sammy still lurking in the dugout.

Jordan had shown strength and vitality, now he needed to hold his nerve.

See stor y on page

22

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Veerasammy Permaul bowled an accurate line and length (Photo: Rajiv Bisnauth)

maiden century by debutant Sunil Ambris boosted the Windward Islands to a formidable total on the opening day in round three of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional FourDay Tournament against hosts Guyana on Thursday at the Guyana National Stadium.

Ambris had a dream debut, slamming 114 when the team really needed it. Keeping him company was skipper Liam Sebastien, who stitched together a 156-run partnership for the fifth wicket to rescue the Windward Islands after they were precariously placed at 107 for four at one stage.

turn to page 23

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