guyanatimesgy.com
thursday, february 20, 2014
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GCB’s woes are like those of so many Dear Editor, As was the case with the Guyana team, so it is with the West Indian one; many are the complaints. I see here that members of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) are quite unhappy with the non-selection of even a single Guyanese on the West Indies Twenty20 team against Ireland. This was expected and I have a few comments in this regard. I go back to the selection of the Guyana NAGICO Super50 tournament. One of the appointed selectors objected to a late comer turning up for the team selection. This was objected to by Sheik Mohamed and he subsequently resigned. This kind of thing happened with Sheik more than once. The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) was least bothered and no one took note of the immoral nature of the selection. I know that a
few people from the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) voiced their feelings, but still nothing really came out of the matter and issues went back to normal. I recall what one man said. Apparently privy to inside information, he opined that the team was very disgruntled and that there will be some kind of sabotage. Go back if you care and see who got sick, what the sicknesses were and when they occurred. I may be overly suspicious, but I sense the lack of camaraderie and cohesion in the Guyana squad, even before members departed. Go now to the West Indies team and let us face facts and reality. The coach and captain are not people with great track records. Also, the present coach Otis Gibson is not too good with relationship matters. He was rude to both Shivnarine Chanderpaul
and Ramnaresh Sarwan, and there seems to be a distancing between this coach and a few players. So team selection for the West Indies is hinged on emotions, desires to get even, territorial preferences and prejudice; same with Guyana, where the prejudice seems quite the norm. So a lot of people and local board members are just as displeased with the GCB as is the GCB over the selection choices of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) selection panel with the team selected to represent the West Indies. Overall, local cricket is not stirring the populace. Berbice seems to be in a league all by itself – it is doing great and I am hoping that all Guyana will learn from what is happening in this little county. Sincerely, Fitzroy Wilson
Fairview villagers must be commended
Dear Editor, The Amerindian Affairs Ministry recently handed over a $6.5 million Bedford Truck to the toshaos of Fairview, Region Nine. The circumstances surrounding the conveying of the truck came about after the ministry acknowledged the efforts of the village to save approximately $4 million over the last four years to put towards the purchasing of the truck. Both the village council and the ministry gener-
ously donated their contribution of approximately $2 million each. This approach was quite moving and showed that the villagers themselves were making a genuine effort to help themselves. The vehicle is expected to be used for the transportation of goods from Lethem to Georgetown. Additionally, the decision has also been made to rent the truck at a cost under the circumstances that the renter is responsible for
any damages incurred. It is only fair that those found guilty of mishandling or abusing state vehicles are penalised accordingly. Once properly maintained, this truck will serve the villagers of Fairview for a lifetime. Furthermore, it will be every villager’s responsibility to assist in any way in the caring and maintenance of the vehicle. Sincerely yours, Roy Correia
I am shocked at the horrible treatment of Martin Dear Editor, I am shocked and disappointed at the horrible and inhumane treatment of Fatima Martin, a 19-yearold Amerindian female employed by as a babysitter, based on circumstances that she hit a child. This apparently resulted resulted in physical attacks on the powerless babysitter. The poor and powerless Amerindian babysitter was, however, sentenced to five years in prison. Let me ask an important question here. Is this the kind of justice and protection the Amerindian peoples of Guyana will receive? Should the parliamentary opposition – People’s National Congress (PNC)/A Partnership for National
Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) – be allowed (and I hope not) to run this country? What I do know is that generally the Amerindian communities of our country will never give electoral support to the PNC/APNU and AFC. But is this the reason why Martin, a poor and powerless Amerindian female from a far flung Amerindian community, was jailed for five years without proper legal representation? Many Amerindian communities I have so far informed have expressed profound sadness on the situation of Martin. But while Martin, the baby sitter, was not correct to hit the child, a proper and
professional course of action should have been taken to remedy that wrong by the infant’s parents, and definitely not the application of cruel and uncivilized treatment, which was totally uncalled for. Martin’s unfortunate dilemma is therefore just an indicator of what can happen to us Amerindians should the PNC/APNU and AFC be the government of Guyana. This will never happen. So I am appealing to the Amerindian communities of Guyana to strongly take note and to keep on condemning the parliamentary opposition, which is power hungry. Yours sincerely Peter Persaud
No reason for youths to resort to crime
Dear Editor, Police officers recently detained a 17-year-old boy who was found guilty of stealing approximately 600 pounds of plantain and bananas from a farmer. The matter was subsequently taken to court and the accused was ordered to compensate the farmer a total of $100,000. Many families have over the years relied heavily on farming as their source of income. While some people
choose to maintain a small kitchen garden, others choose to invest their time and energy into producing large extensions of farm land. It is therefore unfair and heartbreaking when a farmer’s hard earned harvest is unlawfully taken from him. During the trial, the young man indicated that he was a school dropout; however this is no reason for our youths to resort to stealing. In fact, there are many ini-
tiatives currently available in Guyana that encourage and offer our youths the opportunity to acquire technical skills which will further enable them to make an honest living. I can only hope that this young man will use this experience to reassess the path that he is choosing to embark on. Yours truly, Joslyn Somerset