Guyana Timed Daily

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Salma Majeed

Issue No. 1793

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Islamic school tops at NGSA See story on page 13

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

IDB to hold seminar on P9 development challenges in Caribbean Christian Pile

Housing Ministry launches 1000 homes initiative See story on page 3

Martelly P9 to launch Caribbean aid for trade strategy

Halito P11 boutique hotel opens

Williams P12 defends Bank of Guyana's role in countering money laundering

President Donald Ramotar joins Housing Minister Irfaan Ali in launching an ambitious housing project on Friday at Perseverance, East Bank Demerara. Also in photo are Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh; PSC Chairman, Ronald Webster; GCCI President Clinton Urling; and several other officials (Carl Croker photo)

Roraima, Kabalebo Pillion rider killed sign tourism in Mandela promotion MoU Avenue crash See story on page 2

See story on page 2

Child abuse reports P12 highest on the East Coast

2news

saturday, june 8, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

Pillion rider killed in Roraima, Kabalebo sign tourism promotion MoU Mandela Avenue crash investigations, the car was proceeding along Mandela Avenue when the motorcycle with licence plate number CG 4759 collided with the rear of the car as it was turning into an access street.

The driver of the car is in police custody, assisting with investigations.

Only child

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Tavel “Tavo” Gilbert at age 15

he pillion rider of a motorcycle met his demise on Friday morning while the rider is hospitalised after the bike slammed into the rear of a car on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown.

The accident occurred about 09:00h.

Tavel “Tavo” Gilbert, 22, of 3723 North Ruimveldt, Georgetown reportedly sustained a broken neck, arms, and legs; a puncture to his head; and other injuries about his body. He succumbed at the Georgetown Public Hospital. The driver, Marvin Messiah, 23, of North Ruimveldt, Georgetown was admitted to the male ward.

Reports reaching this newspaper revealed that the accident occurred in the vicinity of the Rico Enterprises Car Wash and Internet Café. Guyana Times understands that as the driver of the motor car bearing registration number PNN 7257 was making a right turn into Pineapple Street, the speeding motorcycle slammed into it. As a result of the impact, the two men on the motorcycle were flung into the air and landed on the roadway, while the motorcycle ended up in a nearby culvert.

In a release, police spokesman Ivelaw Whittaker stated that based on

At the home of the deceased, his mother, Donna Cole, who was visibly shaken by the shocking news, related that she received a telephone call from someone informing her that her only child was injured during an accident.

She stated that she broke down, but was consoled by an aunt who encouraged her to be strong. Soon after, she noted her telephone rang and she was told to make her way to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

When she arrived at the medical facility, the nurses did not allow her into the room since the doctors were trying to resuscitate her son. After a few minutes, a nurse came to her and related the horrific news. At that point, she asked to see her son’s lifeless body which she later described as being bloody from head to toes. The sight was so graphic that she fainted. The grieving mother explained that her son left home about 8:30h with his friend with the intention of earning a day’s income by helping him to clean clogged drains.

Cole added that her son returned from the interior in April and would “help out” his friend.

She expressed her sadness upon losing her only child, noting that he was very pleasant to all he met. The distressed woman added that his body is at the Georgetown Public Hospital mortuary and a post-mortem examination is scheduled for Monday.

From left standing: RK’s Security chief executive Roshan Khan, Guyana Tourism Authority Director Indranauth Haralsingh, Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Clinton Urling, acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali, Private Sector Commission Chairman Ronald Webster and an official witness the signing of the agreement by Roraima Managing Director, Captain Gerry Gouveia and Kabalebo Nature Resort’s Karl Dawson

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abalebo Nature Resort of Suriname and the local Arrowpoint Nature Resort, owned and operated by the Roraima Group of Companies, on Thursday evening signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote the services and products of each other’s resort.

According to acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali, Guyana and Suriname have been engaging in talks to develop a shared market plan, which aims to sell and promote the two countries’ tourism industry. This venture is one such measure discussed by the tourism ministers, which will strengthen partnerships between the two countries in this regard.

Roraima and Kabalebo announced the historic collaboration at a simple ceremony attended by several members of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), as well as other officials.

The acting tourism minister, in addressing the event, said Guyana will always be one step ahead and

ready for any challenges that are placed before the tourism industry, while alluding to the country’s unique offerings that set it apart from the other tourist destinations around the world.

Ali said himself and the Surinamese tourism minister have engaged in several deliberations on ‘twining’ the countries and this new initiative by the Roraima Group of Companies and the Suriname resort is a step in that direction.

The minister explained that tourists do not just want to experience the usual sand-and-sea tourism, and want to get in touch with nature and that is what gives Guyana an opportunity to be one of the best nature tourist destinations.

The minister said most times tourists want to reconnect with the beauty of nature. Guyana’s wildlife and flora provide the stunning vistas and experience upon which such tourism would thrive.

Ali said that the countries will not only seek to sell and promote their tourism industries but also aim to be the “cream of the crop”. “… eco tourism is not only a growing business, but it is sustainable and is growing fast,” he said. In his remarks at the ceremony, Roraima Group of Companies Managing Director, Captain Gerry Gouveia said Guyana’s tourism is a vision that has been in the making for the last 20 years. He said the venture is a bona fide initiative and something the rest of the Caribbean can only imagine when it comes to the two countries’ rich and natural diversity.

“These products will sell the countries like never before and the government has given its full support and we are very appreciative for this,” Gouveia stated.

Gouveia said marketing is a big challenge for both Suriname and Guyana, and this new initiative will bridge the gaps.

News

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saturday, june 8, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

bridge openings

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday, June 8, from 14:30h to 16:00h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday, June 8, from 16:40h to 18:10h.

Weather

Countrywide: Thundery showers are expected during the day, with clear skies in the evening over coastal regions and near inland locations.

Temperatures are expected to range between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East north-easterly at 4.02 metres per second.

High Tide: 03:58h and 16:24h reaching maximum heights of 2.58 metres and 2.47 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 09:59h and 22:09h reaching minimum heights of 0.63 metre and 0.75 metre respectively.

wednesday, June 5, 2013

LOTTERY NUMBERS D 05 07 10 18 19 24 12 FREE TICKET

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Friday, june 7, 2013 Daily Millions

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03 08 11 12 14 15 18 DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

Housing Ministry launches 1000 homes initiative By: Sabatini Daniels

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he Housing Ministry through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) on Friday launched its 1000 homes project at the Perseverance New Housing Development, targeting single parents and low income earners.

The project was launched with support from the private sector, whose members turned out in their numbers at the event. Delivering the feature address, President Donald Ramotar said providing easier access to housing to Guyanese remains a core objective of his government. He underscored that while it is important to have a strong and growing economy; it is also essential to ensure that the people of the country benefit from it. He said government has recognised that access to housing is one of the main ways to make this possible and his administration has been feverishly working towards providing more housing to its people.

“The investment that we have been putting in has been big; last year alone, the investment was some $3.36 billion in investment on the East Bank of Demerara that excludes many other areas.”

He stated that this is a big jump since from 2004 to 2011; it invested some $1.38 billion. Ramotar said the project is yet another initiative by government to fulfil its 2011 manifesto promises. He highlighted that in the manifesto, the administration had promised that it would deliver 30,000 houselots to Guyanese by 2016.

Exceeding target

“Last year in pursuit of that goal, the Central Housing and Planning Authority delivered some 7940 lots… they exceeded their target by 22 per cent...

President Donald Ramotar speaking at the launching of the 1000 homes project at the Perseverance new housing development

the target for last year was 6500 lots, and they also managed to process 4177 titles which is a 12 per cent increase of the target of 4000 that they had.”

Ramotar said too that the administration has delivered on its promise to make access to finance affordable, citing government’s support of low income housing programmes under which tax incentives are given to the banking sector to promote lending for home owners.

In the same breath, he added that the government will continue to work with stakeholders to further improve access to financing specifically for the construction sector.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said the national housing programme is an outstanding example of public policy, private sector response and household effort being brought together to develop and transform the country. He also echoed similar sentiments as the president, stating that the government is on a vertical move to ensure that the financial sector is prepared and enthusiastic about lending for homeownership as it is important.

“We have taken deliber-

ate policy position… introduce a special low-income housing window with the commercial banking sector which will see corporate taxes removed for the income generated by commercial banks on loans that are lent for low income housing development,” he said.

Low interest rate

He said due to this, banks are able to offer lower interest rates to borrowers and potential borrowers for low income housing developments, as a result of which millions of dollars are lent to thousands of Guyanese at subsidised rate, which they then in turn use to build their homes.

He stated that the lowincome window alone has seen billions of dollars injected into the Guyanese economy. “In the first quarter of this year alone, 366 persons accessed this facility and a total of $690 million was disbursed under this facility alone… accumulatively at the end of March, there were 3408 borrowers from the financial system… the total amount disbursed by the banking system was $9.3 billion” The finance minister

added that building homes does not disappear into thin air but rather it purchases construction materials, from the business community and creates jobs, thus creating a multiplier effect.

Dr Singh lauded the private sector for its willingness to lend credit which has grown over the years, adding that for the first quarter of this year, private sector credit has grown. “In total credit from the commercial bank to the private sector has increase $161.6 billion at the end of December to $163.5 billion at the end of March growth of 1.2 per cent in first quarter of this year, building on sustain growth year after year for the last several years.”

Housing Minister Irfaan Ali said the project is in keeping with government’s thinking and President Ramotar’s commitment made in his first Independence Day address.

“He said housing would form the bedrock through which the transformation of Guyana will take place… when he made a promise to move from land ownership to homeownership and making homeownership easier and less cumbersome.”

The New Perseverance Scheme is located on East Bank Demerara, five miles from the city and will be available in two designs: low and moderate income. The initiative was launched under the theme “Transforming the dream of homeownership into a reality: Home ownership made easier”.

Within six months, the area is expected to be transformed with 1000 homes, adding to the “turn key” initiative which started in 2011, to boost the housing sector. The New Building Society has been a key partner since then.

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guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, june 8, 2013

Views Cultural cricket 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

Bribery W

orldwide, an estimated one trillion US dollars get siphoned off through bribes every year, according to the World Bank. Public office is abused for private gain when an official accepts, solicits, or extorts a bribe. It is also abused when private agents actively offer bribes to circumvent public policies and processes for competitive advantage and profit. Public office can also be abused for personal benefit even if bribery does not occur, through patronage and nepotism, the theft of state assets, or the diversion of state revenues.

Recently the Home Affairs Ministry launched the ipaidabribe website – an online forum that gives citizens a chance to report anonymously on corruption in the public sector. It was reported that already a total of G$6.4 million was allegedly paid in bribes since the launch of the website.

While this website may be considered a very small measure in the overall scheme of things to tackle corruption, it is still a useful mechanism and will certainly complement other initiatives already in place to address the issue. We should mention that president Donald Ramotar and his predecessor, Bharrat Jagdeo, have always insisted that those with evidence of corruption and abuse of public office should come forward so that the necessary action can be taken against those found to be culpable.

It is no secret that, almost daily, Guyanese citizens have to ‘pass something’ in the process of seeking a public service of some kind. But this is not only a problem in Guyana. Corruption is a global phenomenon found in all countries, especially in the developing world.

The World Bank explains that a small side payment to obtain or speed up a government service may seem a minor offence, but it is not the only cost. “Unchecked, the creeping accumulation of seemingly minor infractions can slowly erode political legitimacy to the point where even non-corrupt officials and members of the public see little point in playing by the rules,” says the bank.

That said, corruption is not just a problem in government or public service. The private sector suffers too, where corruption erodes corporate identity, undermines confidence between business partners and can destroy the reputation of once trusted companies. Therefore, the contribution of the private sector in fighting corruption is essential.

In the book, Fighting Corruption in Public Services: Chronicling Georgia’s Reforms, Philippe Le Houerou explains that there is ample evidence that corruption holds back countries’ economic development and erodes their citizens’ quality of life. He points out that in many countries, administrative corruption imposes a heavy burden on citizens’ and firms’ time and resources, creates dissatisfaction with public services, undermines trust in public institutions, and stifles business growth and investment.

“Often, administrative corruption is seen as endemic, a product of traditional local culture, and – as such – inevitable. In turn, political leaders often use citizens’ perceived tolerance of corruption as an excuse for inaction,” he states.

In reference to Georgia’s experiences, Le Houerou points out that the vicious cycle of ostensibly endemic corruption can be broken, and if sustained with appropriate institutional reforms – can be turned into a virtuous cycle. But there are many useful lessons that could be adapted and applied in other countries facing comparable challenges in tackling pervasive administrative corruption as in the case of Guyana.

The book (referred to earlier) takes a case-study approach to chronicle how transparency and integrity in specific public services – traffic police, tax, customs, electricity distribution, higher education, issuance of Identity documents, property and business registration, and municipal services – were improved.

In particular, it highlights the critical importance of toplevel political will, which enabled the prompt implementation of a strategy characterised by mutually reinforcing reforms for corruption prevention, detection, and enforcement in a wide range of public services. It also talks about the need to have institutional reforms in order to ensure the sustainability of Georgia’s anti-corruption results by putting in place a robust system of checks and balances.

According to the World Bank, building strong institutions is a central challenge of development and is key to controlling corruption. Well-functioning public management systems, accountable organisations, a strong legal framework, and independent judiciary, and a vigilant civil society protect a country against corruption. Institutional strengthening, therefore, should be at the core of a country’s anti-corruption strategy.

The members of the Maasai Warriors cricket team pose following their Twenty20 match against an international side, the Ambassadors, in Laikipia National Park. The Warriors are made up of players from the Maasai tribe, who play exhibition matches to highlight issues in rural communities

Attorney-at-law says passport office policy decision is unlawful

Dear Editor The decision of the relevant functionaries at the passport office to not issue passports to any applicant who has changed their name by way of deed poll is unlawful.

A number of applicants who have sought to be issued with a new passport under their new name after having duly changed their name via deed poll have been refused.

The relevant functionaries have mentioned that

a number of persons of Guyanese nationality have either been deported from or have committed offences in other countries and return to Guyana to change their name and be issued with a new passport in their new name and travel once again under the veil of anonymity.

While this is indeed a possibility, a citizen of Guyana is entitled to change his/her name to a name of his/her own choosing.

Once he/she duly changes his/her name under the provisions of the laws of Guyana he/she is also entitled to be issued with all national identification documents in whatever name he/she so chooses.

Until the legislators have changed the law in relation to the legal entitlement of a person to change their name then this decision is unlawful and a denial of their right.

A possible solution to the quagmire is to just in-

clude the former name on the passport under the caption “formerly known as” so the history and record, criminal or otherwise, of any Guyanese travelling to a different country can still be captured in the system of that foreign country.

If this policy decision is not changed forthwith I may be compelled to take appropriate legal action.

Yours truly, Charles Ramson Jr

Parents should support the School of the Nations arts festival in July Dear Editor, I am hearing a lot about what to do during the upcoming holidays. I am seeing and hearing numerous advertisements for all kinds of camps and summer programmes, but I am not getting anything much as regards the arts.

In fact, I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that School of the Nations has gone ahead and done something in this regard.

The institution has already organised for a team, of four theatre professionals from the U.S. to offer a three week theatre arts workshop in July.The U.S. team will work alongside a local team so as to develop the workshops.

Arts is universal and

this kind of exchange and intermingling of skills between the two parties will benefit both the American professionals and our own Guyanese counterparts. We can do with some help and exposure where the arts is concerned.

The University of Guyana has come a long

way where arts emphasis is concerned. It may be a bit early for it to say what is on offer for the holiday break.

But I do ask that something come on board for our many students.

There is indeed a paucity of arts specialists in Guyana. Many high schools do not have a very healthy

programme in this area. So, UG can start with something along the lines of stimulating our schools to shore up in this area. I hope also that many parents will jump at what School of the Nations is offering.

Yours faithfully, Hannah DeFlorimonte

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013

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

A special group should be appointed for reporting on maternal deaths Dear Editor, Like the head of the presidential (HPS) secretariat, I am not pleased with the sloth with which reports regarding maternal deaths in Guyana are being forwarded for appropriate scrutiny and action, by relevant bodies.

The occasion that sparked the response from the HPS is the recent death of a mother and her unborn child at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Whoever holds immediate sway in this matter should mandate for a quick

and detailed report to be submitted.

Certain sections of the media have gone haywire with what might have obtained. This again is enough to suggest a little independent look into the incident.

It seems as though the government is too lenient on soft people. This can come over as practising some kind favouritism.

I call for some deep investigations into these two incidents.

If we are talking accountability, then we must

do what is most vital in a democracy. We must respond to cases where one side of, or one party in an issue is being left untended.

As for maternal deaths, the vast majority of women, who succumb during pregnancy and childbirth, are usually from the poorest and the most marginalised in society.

Maternal mortality involves a complex mixture of clinical, infrastructural and social issues and will require a multifaceted approach if we are to see

meaningful reductions occur. That includes thoughtful attention to appropriate technologies for low-resource countries and careful practices in health institutions.

One of the eight millennium development goals of the United Nations (UN) members worldwide is to improve maternal health.

Guyana needs to be a positive marker here.

Yours sincerely, John Hardine

Distance education is a viable option Dear Editor, Canada has agreed to help Caribbean youths gain greater access to post-secondary education.

This will be through a distance learning partnership with the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Guyana can tap into this as well.

Many people still think that distance education is inferior to regular college programmes. This is not necessarily so and sometimes the reverse can be true. Each situation must be assessed individually.

But this is not my task here in this letter. My aim is to just to show the two sides of this issue. We cannot escape the fact that distance learning comes as a blessing to students, who want to study further, while continuing with jobs, or who might not be able to attend a full-time course for various reasons.

In distance learning, there is no direct contact with faculty, there can be over-dependence on technology, there is often lack of discipline, and it can get boring and lonely. Also,

not all desired courses are sometimes available or taught and some programmes are not valued by employers.

I guess it boils down to what the individual wants and where he or she is in terms of life’s position. It also has to do with the institution and the students themselves. Many students do their law degree via distance education from London.

On the more positive side, distance learning allows greater flexibility, is less costly overall, is con-

venient and students can pace themselves. So I leave the choice to the individuals themselves and only as that they do plenty of research before embarking.

Many Guyanese have done their post-grad work at UWI and many have tapped into the university’s distance programmes, of which there are quite a few. I think that some thought along the lines of distance education will be most appropriate.

Yours truly, Virgill Vieira

Many bad business practices still prevalent Dear Editor, Bad business practices have become very entrenched in Guyana. I remember a few cases where businesses were raided and expired items were removed and destroyed.

There was no word on what was done with those who were guilty of displaying and selling these expired items. I do not know if this campaign has gone into sleep mode, but it would appear so. I still see many entities with expired items and they even have the nerve to display them on special bargains.

The Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission (CCAC) is now monitoring the return policy on goods and is seeking to have local businesses comply with the new law.

I may never be able to press my legal right as a shopper. This is because many businesses do not issue receipts. I am now wondering what is the VAT issue in these cases. It is a real shame that even many groceries operate with a

mere handwritten list and a calculator. I call on CCAC to start checking on this.

It can get even more ridiculous, as some places do not even stick to their advertised business hours.

Some of them, on slow days, simply lock up. I want to know what are the applicable rules for these kinds of things.

Also, now that CCAC is seeking to educate businesses on the return policy, whereby consumers have up to seven working days to return a purchased item from any store, it should try and inform business owners, proprietors and operators regarding their legal responsibilities to the public. Many of these people think that they are doing the people a big favour.

Some of them have little by way of comfort. They sell through a one square foot hole and consumers can barely see where and how items are stored.

What I find very annoying is that many consumers are allowing for these kinds of things to take root

in society. They should really challenge when they feel offended or that there is some kind of wrong being committed. They should report on anything untoward.

I call on the public to help root out bad habits in businesses. A concerted effort is definitely needed.

Respectfully, Charlene Daley

Why no police action yet in Kitty acid attack?

Dear Editor, I am a resident of Kitty and the truthfulness of these statements must be checked out.

I am saying this, as regards the acid attack victim, that is, the Kitty woman, who was badly burnt when a corrosive fluid was thrown on her. She has made a number of accusations, and even if these are mere accusations, and they are left uninvestigated, then it looks very bad on the police force, and overall, it paints a bad picture of Guyana.

The minister of home affairs recently chided the Guyana Police Force for some sloppy work. He also mandated investigations regarding torture at some of the prisons. So, to be on the safe side, if I were at the helm of any of the subsidiary levels in the force, and this current issue happens to come under my pur-

view, then I would get going on this case. The matter calls for some investigation and also it warrants a response from the force.

Over the last weekend, I did notice a lot of police, biking around and I really felt good. Police must be allowed to do their work. I wish we can have enough personnel to traverse the land as much as possible.

The presence of these officers in uniform is really a deterrent where crimes are concerned.

If this noise-making accusation in Kitty is causing a problem, then the police on patrols should verify it.

I am really looking forward for more explanations.

In the meantime, I would like to live in peace and harmony with my neighbours and everyone in Kitty.

Yours respectfully, Name withheld

Should bail be allowed for rape suspects?

Dear Editor, Should an alleged child rapist be allowed out on bail? This is a stirring question all over the world.

In England, a man late last month who was accused of raping a five-yearold girl was handed a bail reprieve. He later, while out on bail, was accused of raping a three-year-old girl.

In Guyana, a farmer who allegedly raped his 13-yearold stepdaughter was arrested, but then released from custody without any charge being instituted.

In this case, a doctor examined the victim, a first form student and confirmed

that she was sexually violated. The police have sent the file to the director of public prosecutions for advice.

There is a second set of evidence that is worth looking at. The girl’s younger brother is probably truthful when he said that he witnessed the ordeal.

It is time that some kind of legislation be put in place to protect these young ladies. We may want to blame the mothers of these children, but they may not be at fault at all.

Yours faithfully, Simone French

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SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013

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Foundation

Celebrating children’s achievements great and small

BY PEARL KIM-KREGEL

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hen adults consider what builds children’s self-esteem, what usually comes to mind are bigger achievements in a child’s life, such as making the cricket team, winning a science contest, or being in a school play.

However, when we spoke with a group of fifth and sixth graders, all of whom have identified learning disabilities, we learned some interesting facts.

We asked the children to talk about things they do, or have done, that they feel really great about. They started off by listing typical school achievements, such as getting good grades, doing well in math, or “acing” a test. It’s no surprise why these accomplishments improve their self-esteem.

I would.” * “Getting my homework done on time.” * “Actually completing a social studies project.” * “Making a new friend.” * “Knowing your friends will like you even though you go to special education class.”

We found that children with learning disabilities don’t take academic or social achievements for granted. Those kinds of accom-

Advice to teachers

The fifth and sixth graders also talked about simple acts of fairness and kindness by their teachers. These were actions that would help the self-esteem of any children but especially one with learning disabilities. For most of us, these actions may seem to be instinctive. However, it’s wise to remind ourselves every now and then, as they can sometimes be forgotten or

Small successes in school

But the children also told us about smaller, perhaps less noticeable, successes in school. These are successes other children naturally assume will happen or ones adults might not acknowledge: * “Finishing a school year so I can relax during the summer.” * “Making it to the fifth grade because I didn’t think

plishments often don’t come as easily as they do to other children and, for this reason, makes them a greater cause for celebration. After all, it’s the smaller, “quieter” successes in life that can add up to a lot, especially when it comes to the self-esteem of children.

ignored in the daily life of a classroom: * “Taking the time to explain things.” * “Not yelling.” * “Giving plenty of compliments and ‘put ups’ (opposite of ‘put downs’).” * “Recognising children’s good ideas.” * “Teaching that everyone’s brain is different and

guyanatimesgy.com

How you can help to improve your child’s academic intelligence

BY BENJAMIN UGOJI

we all learn differently.”

Everyday accomplishments

Finally, the children talked about things they do at home, after school, or on the weekends that make them feel good about themselves. Such simple, everyday accomplishments help build self-esteem by reinforcing children’ special talents and interests, and by connecting them to family and friends: * “Knowing cool skateboard tricks.” * “Eating dinner with my family.” * “Taking care of my dog when he’s sick.” * “Feeding my parakeet.” * “Building my bike from scratch.” * “Drawing well.” * “Being a good singer.”

In the end, the children we spoke with didn’t necessarily ask for awards or certificates for their successes. Rather, they wanted a simple acknowledgement for all the everyday things they succeed at and do so well – accomplishments other children might brush off as too easy, or acts adults might not even notice. By recognising and celebrating such small, everyday successes with children, parents and teachers can reinforce resilience and self-esteem in immeasurable ways. (www.greatschools.org)

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hat does that have to do with me? It could be the question going in your mind. Alternatively, you may be of the opinion that your child’s intelligence has nothing to do with me. If you are an advocate of intelligence being the effect of nature only, you need to think again.

As parent’s we are the first teachers our children have.

What made me say this?

This is because as your child grew up before they went to school they learnt a lot from those around them as well as from their immediate environment – home, school, church and play group as the case may be. Therefore, you a parent/carer have a lasting influence on your child’s academic attainment. In his book You can teach your child intelligence David Lewis wrote that there is a link between attitude self-image, motivation and problem handling skills that a child has, and understanding the dynamics of these attributes can help to boost your child’s intelligence.

This article is to suggest some of the ways to help unlock your child’s intelligence based on leveraging the ideas from the above propositions.

How can I as a parent/ guardian tap into this idea?

If you want to improve your child’s development overall in his/her intellectual capacity you have to seek to develop all the three aspects – attitude, self-image and motivation. These will help improve their problem handling skills. It requires identification of problem and soundness of strategies developed and used (problem solving).

What is my stake in this?

Attitude. Seek ways to improve your child’s attitude to school work. For example, behaviour you put up as a parent /carer to show that you have a positive attitude towards your child’s schoolwork.

Prompt them concerning any homework they have at school in case they have forgotten.

Recently, I have developed a strategy of asking my children if they have any homework from school in case they have forgotten. This is a sign to them that I care about their homework.

Self-image. What is your child’s self-image like? Does he see himself/herself as a good or poor student in a particular subject? Your behaviour towards them can help them to gain confidence, which in turn will boost their self-image. In this instance, you need to be an encourager in every respect. Model the behaviour you want to see in them in your thoughts, words and deeds.

Motivation. How can you motivate your child to be more passionate and enthusiastic about novel and unfamiliar tasks? A child’s motivation comes from the child’s desire to meet certain goals in life. For example, how can you motivate your child to become a better learner? There is link between attitudes, self-image and a child’s level of competence with problem solving skills.

Problem handling skills This is the ability to see and solve problems. How can I improve this aspect of my child’s life? * Develop strategies to get them involved in detail and big picture thinking. * Create a platform for a game that will help them to use both hemispheres of their brain to become more creative and innovative.

Some other practical tips Be involved in your child’s learning journey. * Create a conducive environment in the home which will enable your child to explore their environment as well develop new skills to sharpen their intellect, For example, books and games to develop both hemispheres of the brain * Does he / she have homework to do, keep track of the submission date (s) as the case may be * Do they need help with any subject and what are the practical ways that I can help * Endeavour to attend the parent’s evenings and follow up area(s) of concern raised by the teacher * Find ways to help your child to develop private time to study and seek ways to make it efficient and effective * You as a parent/carer can develop new skills so as to support your child in their learning journey * Communicate with your child and school by checking their planner at least every week to see if there is valuable information you need to attend

news

Govt to improve hinterland education – Manickchand G

overnment is looking at ways to tackle the quality of education being delivered at hinterland schools, as a result of few pupils from those areas making the top 100 performers list of the National Grade Six Assessment examinations this year.

Education Minister Priya Manickchand told media operatives on Friday that there are plans being made to help improve the quality of education being delivered to students at these schools.

Manickchand admitted that the ministry continues to have trouble with teachers in training re-

Education Minister Priya Manickchand

turning to their communities at the end of their studies, and it is even harder to get teachers from the coast to migrate to those areas. “Whether

teachers want to go back to the region... they may be some who may not want to, but we do have to work at addressing that presently,” she explained.

The education minister said it was a work in progress, and government was doing its best to improve the delivery of education in the hinterland, while ensuring that children have equal opportunities to an education. “We have to work on the quality of education we are delivering...that is something we are addressing,” she asserted.

Manickchand explained that despite this situation the local education system

has generally improved.

One notable example of this is Guyana increasing the percentage of trained teachers in the school system from 30 per cent to 70 per cent. However, this does not necessarily mean that the increased complement is addressing quality, the minister noted.

She revealed plans to have schools equipped with more resources to aid in this regard.

Despite these challenges, government says it has been able to achieve Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Two to provide universal primary education to all the nation’s children.

Nutrition Day health fair held in Bush Lot

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he Health Ministry Food Policy Division hosted a health fair in celebration of Caribbean Nutrition Day on Thursday at Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice.

Guyana began its commemoration of this day in 2004 with a now-annual programme of activities.

The objective of Caribbean Nutrition Day is to promote healthy eating and active living in populations using a promotion-based approach.

The theme of this year’s Caribbean Nutrition Day was “Healthy Eating and Active Living: Creating an

Enabling School/ Work/ Community Environment”.

The theme places emphasis on the role of a healthpromoting environment, which facilitates the development and maintenance of a healthy lifestyle.

This year’s health fair was held at Latchmansingh Primary School in Bush Lot. The fair began with a programme, which was chaired

by Food Policy Division nutritionist Abigail Caleb.

There were brief remarks by the headmistress of the school, Monica FraserCarmichael, education officer Sherry Grant-Whyte, a

dance and poem by students of Latchmansingh Primary, along with a health talk by Caleb.

After the programme, the students were invited downstairs to view the booths which were set up. They were soon engaged with games and activities which taught them how to keep active.

There were five booths from various companies and ministries. Each booth had its own activity or display.

There were food tasting, educational nutrition games, and public education materials on eating healthily. Blood pressure and random blood

sugar testing were done by Bush Lot Health Centre and Fort Wellington Hospital.

The Education Ministry Allied Arts Department had a physical education segment along with practical demonstrations and a physical education competition for the children.

The fair was attended by students and teachers of Latchmansingh Primary School Grade Six classes, along with students from Bush Lot Nursery and their teachers. The fair was a success and there will be another in the first week of July.

Nations University to graduate first batch of MBA students

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he first batch of students of the Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) programme that the Australian Institute of Business (AIB) operates in collaboration with Nations University in Guyana will graduate on June 11 in Georgetown.

Two of the leading academics from the AIB, Professor Emeritus Kevin O’Brien and Professor Rod Oxenburry will be attending and speaking at the graduation ceremony, which will be held at the Savannah Suite,

Pegasus Hotel, commencing at 19:00h.

Twelve persons will be graduating with the MBA degree, while three others will receive the graduate diploma in management, and one person will receive the graduate certificate in management.

Those graduating include bank managers, entrepreneurs and persons working at Caricom, the Health Ministry, Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Digicel, Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Laparkan,

and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA).

The students started their MBA studies in October 2011. Nations University is now on to its fifth MBA intake. More than 110 persons have joined the programme to date, a release from the university said.

One aspect of the MBA is the production of a research paper on a local issue. Five of these studies were of such quality that they are in the process of being considered for publication by a variety of international research

journals.

Meanwhile, on June 10 at 17:30h, there will be a public meeting about the MBA programme, also to be held in the Savannah Suite of the Pegasus. The public is invited to the meeting and persons interested in attending may call 2265781 or 227-4623.

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saturday, june 8, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

NDIA monitoring flooding in farming communities

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ational Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Chief Executive Officer Lionel Wordsworth said his agency is currently monitoring several farming and residential communities across the coast, as it seek sto prevent flooding.

Wordsworth told Guyana Times on Friday that while the rainy season has caused some flooding in a few areas, the NDIA has been able to reduce this in specific areas and is moving to prevent any such occurrence in other areas.

The NDIA head added that pumps have been set up in agricultural areas such as: Canal Polder Number One, West Bank Demerara; Mahaicony; Pomeroon; East Bank Essequibo, and other areas along the East Coast Demerara. The authority, he said, is also working to clear the channels in Three Friends, Berbice and Lima, located on the Essequibo Coast. Mobile pumps have also been dispatched to some communities including Windsor Forest and La Union, West Coast Demerara.

However, this newspaper understands that a few cattle farmers in ar-

NDIA CEO Lionel Wordsworth

eas such as Mahaicony and Berbice have been affected by the rainy season, as most of their lands are inundated. While admitting that the issue is one the NDIA is currently confronting, Wordsworth said that the situation is being closely monitored and will be addressed in a matter of days. All mobile pumps of the NDIA are in full use and all kokers are operational, to help drain floodwaters from these areas.

The NDIA head highlighted that the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) is at a manageable level and the authorities are working to maintain that, so as to prevent any further flooding.

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saturday, june 8, 2013| guyanatimesGY.com

Barbados national charged for overstaying

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Barbados national was charged for overstaying his welcome in Guyana when he appeared before Magistrate Fabian Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Friday.

Kwittie Atwell, 53, of Lot 388 Canje Street, Prashad Nagar plead

guilty to the charge which states that he exceeded the time he was permitted to stay in Guyana.

Police reports state that the defendant came to Guyana on April 4, 2007 during the Cricket World Cup but was not stamped in; however, he was given a wristband which allowed him to stay

Man fined for larceny A

man was fined for larceny from the person when he appeared before Magistrate Fabian Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Friday.

Kenneth Lynch, 28, of Lot 119 Third Street, Alexander Village, Georgetown, pleaded guilty to the charge which states that on June 6 at Georgetown, he stole one BlackBerry smartphone valued $50,000, a SIM card valued $2000, and a memory card worth $4000, property of Angela Abdool.

According to reports, on June 6, the virtual complainant (VC) was on the public road using her cellphone when the accused approached from behind and snatched her phone. Abdool then held on to Lynch, but he managed to escape. She

raised an alarm and police who were in the vicinity gave chase.

Lynch was apprehended at Riverview, Ruimveldt and a search conducted on his person revealed the cellular phone with SIM and memory cards. The defendant and the cellphone were identified by the VC. The accused was taken in to custody and charges implemented.

Lynch admitted to the offence and told the court that he was abused and trafficked while growing up. He appeared earnest in his apology to the VC who was present in court and asked for her forgiveness.

The prosecution had no objections to bail, and the magistrate fined Lynch in the sum of $50,000 with the alternative of three months incarceration.

for six months. After the six-month period, he continued to live and work in Guyana without extending his stay. On June 4, his landlord reported to the police that the defendant is a national of Barbados who overstayed his time. He was then arrested and charges were laid against him.

Atwell stated that his wife is a Guyanese and he had matters to address in Guyana. He indicated that he had commenced the process of getting the documents upgraded.

The magistrate sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment, with the alternative of paying $40,000.

Visually-impaired man who tried to hire hitmen gets bail

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Louchan

visually-impaired man charged with inciting to commit a felony of murder was on Friday granted bail when he appeared before Magistrate Fabian Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Louchan (only name), 55, of Lot 4 Greenidge Park, East Bank Essequibo, was charged with attempting to incite Benschop to commit a felony of murder on May 10 at East Street, Georgetown.

The prosecution reported to the court that on the day in question around 14:00h, the accused went to the office of Benschop in East Street and he asked him to hire two men to kill two men who had caused him bodily harm last year. The defendant also indicated that he was willing to pay $100,000 cash for the job to be executed. The matter was then reported, and a sting operation was set up after which the defendant was found, told of the allegation, arrested, and later charged with the offence.

The defendant was represented by Attorney Dexter P Todd, who in his application for bail, informed the court that his elderly client’s health has been deteriorating since he has no access to his medication. He added that his client’s wife has been taking care of him and Louchan has been suffering since he did not have her assistance in prison.

Political activist Mark Benschop, who is the virtual complainant in the matter, appeared in court and asked that the case be dropped against Louchan, because he could not understand the sluggishness of the prosecution. He questioned why after one month the case file is yet to be sent for advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Benschop expressed his disappointment at the lack of progress and stated that a matter of such magnitude deserved a more aggressive approach.

Benschop further stated that he had discussions with the family members of the defendant and his son who agreed Louchan should get a second chance not to have to serve prison time. He stated that he was also taking the accused’s health into consideration and forgives him. It was the wish of Benschop that the defendant be sent home so that he could reconnect with his family. He added that he hoped that Louchan would apologise for the embarrassment caused.

The prosecutor did not object to bail, but stated her wish to seek advice first from the DPP to determine the way forward.

After much consideration, the magistrate granted bail in the sum of $150,000 and the defendant is to return to court on June 10.

Eyew tness Whipping up...

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...racial hysteria

he hypocritical and unctuous Alliance For Change (AFC) is back with what they do best: whipping up racial hysteria while they claim to be “above it all”.

In any democracy with institutions to prevent inter-racial hostilities, the AFC would’ve been long censured. We can now see why they slashed funding for the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC). And it has nothing to do with the staffing: the individual they objected to has long departed.

Now all of us know that at the basic “ethnic fear” is that one group will dominate the others to such an extent that we might’ve well never have left slavery and indentureship.

Fears about who will “own” the economy is one of those fears. The group that does this will have the others like “servants”.

In Guyana there has been a persistent myth pushed

by AFC’s strategist Freddie Kissoon and other members of their cabal – “Indians own everything in Guyana”. Kissoon even attempted to make this plausible by stating Indians actually owned “98 per cent” of the country. Somebody should do a proper study on this.

But back to the racial incitement. Still glowing from their stoking of the racial flames at Linden, AFC’s Khemraj Ramjattan accused the government of “favouring” an Indian company Surendra Engineering, when the latter was awarded a licence to “prospect” for gold in the interior. The government, of course, quickly refuted this malarkey by quoting the relevant and quite widely known regulations on “prospecting licences”.

It’s pretty much open season to anyone, domestic or foreign, who can show financial wherewithal and aren’t on Interpol’s watch list. But that’s not the AFC’s point, is it? If they possessed some info that would’ve debarred Surendra from getting the licence, they could’ve easily objected when the full-page ad was placed in the Muckraker Kaieteur News. They could’ve also objected when the Canadian companies Iamgold or Guyana Goldfields received their actual mining licences. But their game was a different one: fanning the flames of racial hostility.

They know that the Surendra prospecting licence will be interpreted by non-Indians who’ve bought their “Indian economic dominance” claim, as “Indians now dominating gold”. They did the same thing with some Chinese enterprises. They know there are old fears of Chinese also dominating business.

Guyanese have to reject parties like the AFC that are funded by those countries that fear the new China and India and the other members of BRICS (Brazil, Russia and South Africa). Let’s become independent at last.

...economic stagnation

We were reminded Friday morning about the opposition’s budget chops, bringing the modernisation of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) to a grinding halt. Yesterday, we bemoaned how Caribbean Airlines (CAL) was treating us...and we didn’t even know the half of it. Do you know they’re now having a flight to New York depart from CJIA at 6am? This means Guyanese passengers have to check in at 3:00-4:00h. Leave home at 1:00-2:00h... when all civilised human being are in bed.

And guess what? The flight goes to Trinidad and Tobago, even though CAL is now our flag carrier – to pick up Trinis who can fly out at 10:00h!! So what does this have to do with the opposition’s airport chops? Everything. The opposition says we don’t have enough traffic to justify the expenditure? This is the old chicken and egg conundrum, isn’t it? Do we wait till we have “to go” to build a toilet?

How can we become a hub for, say, northern Brazilian flights? How do we convince the big international operators that the one-plane Guyana traffic is just the tip of an iceberg. Not by slashing the CJIA expansion.

....reparations

Now that Britain has compensated the victims of their Mau-Mau torture programme in Kenya, can reparations be far behind? Let’s get it on!!

NEWS

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SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

IDB to hold seminar on development Rohee, anti-drug challenges in Caribbean bosses hold more talks W hile Latin America and the Caribbean face complex development challenges including crime, low growth rates and lagging educational achievement, scholars and policymakers will gather at the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) for a seminar to examine recent policy-relevant findings that can assist the region in reaching its vast potential.

The seminar, “Development Challenges in Latin America: What Are

the Issues?” will take place June 13-14 at the IDB’s headquarters in Washington, DC at 9:00h. The fourth annual gathering of the Bank’s Development Challenges Network will bring together experts on development economics from government as well as academia. Seven sessions over two days will address topics including links between educational achievement and growth, alcohol consumption and crime, innovation policy and environmental

taxes.

Other issues to be discussed include the impact of financial integration, the implications of behavioural economics for tax policy and how the analysis of trade policy must take into account the greatly varying characteristics of firms within as well as across countries. The following are only a few of the insights to be presented: Banking integration does not synchronise countries’ business cycles. In fact, it can have the opposite

effect.

There is strong evidence that tax and age-based restrictions on alcohol availability reduce crime, but this cannot be said for restrictions on locations and hours. Policies to foster innovation can be largely negated by the unintended consequences of a corporate income tax. Low educational achievement as measured by national and international tests explains much of Latin America’s slow growth in comparison to other regions.

Martelly to launch Caribbean aid for trade strategy

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he Caribbean Regional Aid for Trade (AfT) Strategy will be launched in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Tuesday, the Caricom Secretariat said in a release.

Haitian President and Caricom Community Chairman Michel Martelly will be joined by World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General Pacal Lamy and Caricom Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque at the ceremony on Tuesday morning.

President Martelly will deliver the feature address with Lamy, Ambassador LaRocque and Haitian Trade and Industry Minister Wilson Laleau making remarks.

Aid for Trade refers to the flow of development finance from developed countries and multilateral funding agencies to developing countries to enhance their participation in

Haitian President Michel Martelly

the multilateral trading system. The Caribbean strategy, which was developed with the assistance of the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), aims to create consensus within Caricom on priori-

ties for ensuring growth and a more diversified regional economy. It presents a coherent approach to obtaining funding and provides a framework for collaboration among Caricom member states and international development partners (IDPs) or investors with an interest in providing support for the region’s development.

The IDB, along with the International Trade Centre (ITC), the WTO and the Caribbean Export Development Agency, all have collaborated with the Caricom Secretariat for Tuesday’s launch under the theme “Turning market access into market presence”.

The programme for the launch includes two panel discussions following the speeches. The first is entitled “Consideration of the key elements of the Regional AfT

51 murders recorded at the end of May – police

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total of 51 murders were recorded at the end of May, police said, adding that an overall decrease of one per cent in serious crimes was also achieved in comparison to the same period in 2012.

The total number of reports of serious crimes made between January 1 and May 31 was 1604 compared to 1621 for the same period in 2012.

Some of the offences monitored are murder, robbery under arms, robbery with violence, larceny from the person, break and enter and larceny, burglary, rape and kidnapping. According to a police statement, a total of 51 murders were recorded at the end

of May, the same figure for the corresponding period in 2012.

Of the 51 murders this year, 23 were of the disorderly type, nine were committed during armed robberies, one was execution type, and four were domestic related, while the other 14 are so far undetermined.

At the end of May, robbery under arms overall had decreased by 14 per cent, with 372 reports compared to 432 for the same period in 2012.

The statistics indicate a decrease of 11 per cent in the number of armed robberies involving the use of firearms; and a 19 per cent decrease in armed robberies where instruments other than firearms were used by the perpetrators.

Omission

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he Guyana Times in an article on Friday, June 7, 2013 inadvertently omitted pertinent words mentioned in the presentation of United Nations Representative Khadija Musa.

She stated that during British colonial rule, authorities signed a treaty that the waters from Lake Victoria must be controlled by Sudan **and Egypt**. However, as **East Africa** became gripped by the effects of climate change and began to experience irregular rainfall, it was realised that two countries cannot have 90 per cent control over a single natural resource. The newspaper regrets the omission.

In relation to traffic, there has been an increase of 10 road fatalities at the end of May in comparison to the same period in 2012, with 46 fatalities from 43 accidents in 2013, compared to 36 fatalities from 35 accidents during 2012. The period January 1 to May 31, saw reductions in relation to the other categories of traffic accidents – serious, minor and damage.

So far, pedestrians have been the main road users affected with 11 such persons having lost their lives at the end of May 2013. In addition, nine motor cyclists, nine pedal cyclists, seven drivers of motor vehicles, one pillion rider and nine passengers of motor vehicles also lost their lives. Speeding continues to be a major contributing factor to fatal accidents and was the cause of 35 of the 43 fatal accidents recorded at the end of May. Traffic enforcement by the police during the period January to May resulted in a total of 35,843 cases being made against errant motorists, of this total, 9196 cases were for speeding. Two road fatalities have been recorded so far in June 2013, from two accidents.

Strategy”, and will draw on presenters from the Caricom and Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) secretariats as well as the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI), the WTO and the Geneva-based International Trade Centre (ITC).

The second panel will look at “Moving from strategy to reality” and will feature participants from the IDB, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Trade Mark of Southern Africa, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Caribbean Export Development Agency and the European Union (EU).

– sign plan of action pact with Russia

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ome Affairs Minister Clement Rohee and his two top drug enforcement officers continue to hold talks in the Russian capital of Moscow during the 30th International Drug Enforcement Conference.

In a statement on Friday, the ministry said that as a follow-up to previous engagements, Rohee held bilateral talks with the police colonel general, deputy director of the federal drug control service and the chief executive of the operational investigative department, all of Russia.

During this meeting which was also attended by Crime Chief Seelall Persaud and head of the Customs Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU) James Singh, the two countries signed a “Plan of Action” to facilitate further training and the sharing of information in relation to investigations and operations.

Minister Rohee also

met with representatives of the Netherlands to discuss training opportunities and capacity building for law enforcement officers and intelligence sharing with law enforcement agencies in Guyana.

Bilateral discussions were held with the delegation from India, which offered assistance in the form of training, counter-narcotics and technology.

According to the ministry’s release, the Guyana Police Force has previously benefited from training courses in India and this latest offer in the area of counter-narcotics will further serve to enhance Guyana’s ability to fight the scourge of narcotics.

Both countries agreed to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as a framework for formalising the cooperation between their respective law enforcement agencies.

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saturday, june 8, 2013

News

GCAA expects final report on CAL crash in 60 days A lmost two years after a Caribbean Airlines 737-800 slid off the end of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport runway, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is optimistic that it will be in receipt of the final report within 60 days.

GCAA Director Zulfikar Mohammed told Guyana Times that the report is presently being reviewed by the investigative team comprising GCAA Aviation Safety Regulations Director Paula McAdam, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and officials of the Trinidadbased aircraft.

The first draft of the report was completed last November and submitted to the NTSB in Washington, DC, USA for review and advice.

Crash investigators believe excessive speed and other suspected lapses in landing procedures caused

The CAL aircraft after the crash the Caribbean Airlines plane to skid off the runway on July 30. Nobody was killed in the accident, but terrified passengers scrambled out of the wreckage to safety.

Preliminary findings by investigators suggested that the pilot might have erred in the mishap, rather than experience mechanical or other system malfunctions. The twinengine Boeing aircraft was at the time carrying 163 passengers. It landed

too fast and too far down the runway. Reports were that the cockpit crew of Flight 523 did not convey to the air traffic controllers on approach that they were experiencing difficulties.

Caribbean Airlines Flight 523 overran runway six at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, and several of the 163 passengers aboard were injured.

The aircraft, a Boeing 7378BK, had flown from the John F Kennedy Airport,

New York to Georgetown, with a stopover at the Piarco International Airport, Port of Spain, Trinidad. After touching down on a rainy day, the plane crashed through the perimeter fence. The aircraft went over a road before stopping 100 metres and breaking into two.

The majority of the injured were treated at Diamond Diagnostic Hospital and then transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where 35 passengers were treated for leg, back and neck injuries.

Trinidad’s Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar flew to Guyana to assess the situation, since the government of Trinidad and Tobago owns Caribbean Airlines.

A passenger later sued the airline seeking damages for her injuries, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and loss of earnings and earning capacity.

There have been a number of other suits filed by Guyanese who were on that flight.

No time to clean up de **ity

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ust when it look like some good tings gon happen in de **ity, de mayor fuh life Green Ham gone at it again and mess every ting up, including heself. So now de mayor in a lotta mess, just like how de streets dem lookin.

De mayor fuh life got time to call press conference and talk out de little brains he got left, do a lotta interviews wid de reporters, turn up to all de events he get invited to and drink coconut water, but no time to clean up de **ity.

And accordin to de town clerk Carol Sober, de mayor got time fuh call all kinda meetins at de council just to talk politics and scheme how he gon remain as mayor till he dead. But he still ain’t got no time fuh clean up de **ity.

It look like de public relations officer job at de council change to letter writin officer, because every time yuh read de papers de mayor publishin letter. Is whole day de LWO and de mayor fuh life writin letters, but no time to clean up de **ity.

Now de mayor fuh life gone and complain how de guvament owe de **ity council rates and taxes. But de guvament damn right not to pay any taxes because, de mayor can’t account fuh any ting at de council, not even de Japanese money that he get a long time now.

De local guvament minister plan to call he own press conference, and de minister might tell de mayor fuh life that he gon pay off all de guvament taxes when de mayor wife pay off she taxes that she owe fuh donkey years!

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

De minister also seh he gon advertise some vacancies at de council, because de people who holdin certain positions not qualified...and de mayor is one of dem!

Anna Regina IMC to go after errant vendors

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he Anna Regina Interim M a n a g e m e n t Committee (IMC) has vowed to take strong action against those vendors and stallholders who owe the council in excess of $7.4 million.

The IMC said at its statutory meeting on Thursday that vendors from Anna Regina and Bush Lot markets owe the council $7.4 million in arrears fees for the rental of stalls and tables. The IMC noted the situation is a serious one and as such tough actions will be taken against those stallholders and vendors in default.

The council said everything will be done to ensure the outstanding fees are paid.

Meanwhile, council-

lors of the IMC in April had called for a list to be submitted with the names of the defaulting vendors and stallholders. At the May statutory meeting, a list was submitted, which detailed the amounts owed by the individual vendors.

The IMC council has decided that credit for the rental of stalls or tables will not be tolerated and fees will have to be paid in advance to the council.

One councillor Rajendra Prabhulall called on the council to be strong in taking action and to serve demand letters to vendors and stallholders to recover every dollar owed for market fees.

The councillor said the council cannot afford to have such large outstanding fees and quot-

ed the markets by-law 11 (1) dealing with “Payment of rent by stallholder”: “ The tenancy of every stall shall be on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis and the rent thereof shall be payable in advance.”

Former Mayor Sammy Rampersaud also joined with Prabhulall in saying the matter is serious, and called for the by-laws of the markets to be enforced in an effort to collect outstanding fees.

The council has taken a decision and has instructed Town Clerk Diana Chritchlow to send notices to the defaulting stallholders and vendors.

Persons in receipt of the letters and failing to abide by the by-laws of the markets will face penalties.

PPP/C holds Region Three conference

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he People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) successfully concluded its Region Three conference last Sunday at the Leonora Secondary School.

Central Committee member Robert Persaud delivered the feature address at conference, focusing on the strengthening the party to meet new and emerging

challenges and redoubling of efforts to accelerate the development of Guyana.

Also gracing the conference were Central Committee members Irfaan Ali and Komal Chand. The conference was attended by a large number of delegates from party groups across the region and included debates on a number of important issues.

Mohammed Pasha, Nazir Ahamad, Parmanand Kusial, Aston Narine, Bibi Shadick, Jaideo Sukhdeo, Paul Ramrattan, Philbert Gajhadar, Chandroutie Sarran, Julius Faber, Krishna Samlall, Milton Dookie, Narda Husain, Yaidat and Mohamed Haroon Hussein were elected as the new Regional Committee of the party.

NEWS

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SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Halito boutique hotel opens

General Manager Ronald Van Dijk at the cocktail party launch of the hotel

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alito Hotel formerly Cara Suites located at Middle and Waterloo streets, Georgetown was formally launched Thursday evening.

According to General Manager Ronald Van Dijk, during the opening ceremony, the Halito is the only boutique hotel in Guyana offering a more personalised service.

“The Halito promises to offer a selection of vintage European, intertwined with Caribbean style luxury

rooms and suites,” said Van Dijk. He noted that the hotel by next year, would embark on a US$1 million expansion programme, which will cover the construction of a pool, gym and conference hall, with a European-style full glass exterior and open planned interior.

The general manager said for the past 19 years, the Halito has been offering its services through the Cara Suites brand, pointing out that the new brand means

improved services with a décor of modern design and vintage French lines.

The hotel hosts 16 lavishly furnished rooms, comprising studio, standard and Halito family rooms, with executive and presidential suites. “The uniquely personalised boutique rooms, all fashioned with work space, free Wi-Fi, 32” flatscreen television, an equipped mini-bar and kitchenette, bathroom amenities, hairdryer and much more… all with the intention of providing optimal service and boosting Guyana’s tourism sector by offering personalised hospitality services.”

He continued: “The hotel offers 24 hour security with inroom safe and 100 per cent smoke-free rooms and views of the city with easy access to central locations for tourists and business activities.”

Dijk, a native of Holland, has over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry, managing his own Dutch beach resort hotel/ restaurant, a food and beverage distribution company and a 375 fleet car rental service.

Additionally, he has managed the worldwide distribution of American films for prestigious companies such as Paramount, Universal Studios, Viacom and United Pictures.

Captain to be charged for Cuyuni boat accident

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s the Maritime Administration D e p a r t m e n t (MARAD) continues its investigations into the boat mishap that resulted in four men losing their lives at Matuk Falls, Cuyuni on May 25; the captain is likely to be charged shortly.

This is according to Captain Steven Thomas, who explained that police are addressing the criminal aspect of the investigations, while maritime authorities are looking into the breach on the basis of regulations that govern speedboat operations.

He added that based on investigations, they have identified four charges to be instituted against Junior Lyte, the captain of the boat at the time of the mishap. One of the most serious charges, he revealed is being an uncertified captain.

The other charges, he noted have to do with operations.

The captain further stated that once the preliminary report is presented to MARAD, it will be made known to the public as to what really transpired on the day of the tragic incident. To date, no authentic information with respect to the boat capsizing is available.

The four men who perished after the boat capsized were Clive Welcome, also called “Basil” or “Bazzo” of First Avenue,

Dead: Junior Bandoo

Bartica; William Patoir of New Amsterdam Berbice; Junior Bandoo of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo; and Shawn Robinson of New Amsterdam, Berbice.

Three days after the mishap, the bodies of Welcome, Patoir and Bandoo were recovered while Robinson was recovered almost one week after. Immediately after the mishap, MARAD officials in light of this accident established a board to investigate whether the rules and regulations pertaining to speedboat operations have been adhered to.

There were also reports that not all of the passengers were wearing life jackets at the time of the accident. Those who were equipped with life jackets were the ones who were saved. Of recent, there have been concerns of how miners risk their lives by not wearing life jackets, and this is a phenomenon that occurs across the country.

On the day of the acci-

Dead: Clive Welcome

dent, the boat with seven men on board capsized in the Matuk Falls, Cuyuni area.

The boat was reportedly captained by Lyte, who was assisted by Welcome. Lyte, David Prass and Maurice Hopkinson were all rescued by another boat.

In January, 10 persons perished after the boat they were travelling in collided with another at Crab Falls, Mazaruni River, Region Seven.

According to reports, the boats were travelling in the opposite direction just below Crab Falls, 25 miles upstream from Bartica when tragedy struck, all of the passengers onboard the two vessels were tossed into the deep waters. The boat was travelling out of Puruni and had 12 passengers, 10 of whom were discovered dead. The boat was propelled by a 200-horsepower outboard engine and was reportedly split in two.

12 news Child abuse reports highest on the East Coast saturday, june 8, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

– 17 boys sexually molested in first quarter

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here is a high incidence of child abuse on the East Coast Demerara with some 170 cases being recorded in the first quarter of this year, the Child Protection Agency (CPA) has said.

Thus far for the first quarter of this year, the CPA has received 1039 cases of child abuse, with East Coast Demerara, Region Four recording the highest number, 170; East Bank Demerara recorded 89 cases; North Georgetown 106; and South Georgetown 94 cases.

The statistics for the rest of the regions are: Region One, 25 reported cases; Region Two, 46; Region Three, 213; Region Five, 76; Region Six, 105; Region Seven, 17; Region Eight and Nine seven each and Region 10, 91.

According to Human Services Minister Jenifer Webster, of the 1039 reported cases, the agency has confirmed that abuse has been perpetuated on 345 boys and 466 girls. In the case of the boys; 69 were physically abused; 17 sexually; 195 were confirmed cases of ne-

Human Services Minister Jenifer Webster

glect; 17 abandoned and 12 witnessed instances of abuse.

Seventy-two girls were physically abused; 120 experienced sexual abuse; 30 verbal abuse; 211 neglected; 18 abandoned and 15 witnessed abuse.

The collective action of the professionals along with concerned community members is vital to developing and implementing strategies that will result in the recognition of, reporting, and prevention of maltreatment of children. The Human Services and Social Security Ministry is hoping to break the cycle of children’s ill-treatment in

2013, seeking to foster greater community involvement on tackling the seriousness of child abuse.

According to Minister Webster, this is one of many initiatives the ministry has embarked upon in 2013, through the Childcare and Protection Agency, to further advance the fight against child abuse countrywide.

Minister Webster speaking on the National Communications Network’s programme, Minister’s Forum, said just last week, the ministry held dialogue with several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), faith-based organisations, and other partners on the areas that are critical to tackling the problem. She said it is quite important for the ministry to work with these partners as they are on the ground and many of them have knowledge of cases of abuse. “Our intention also is to support them in terms of having an integrated approach to the whole issue of child protection and looking at multi-disciplinary involvement of the key

stakeholders,” she said.

She said that an integrated approach to tackling child abuse is important in ensuring Guyana meets its international requirement as it relates to child care and protection. “At the level of the international requirements, as it relates to the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child, for which Guyana is a signatory, we are required as a country to provide and to keep statistics of cases of child abuse, and it is important that we collaborate, and that the NGOs on the ground also share their data with us in a more methodical way so that we would have one national data base as it relates to the number of cases we have reported in Guyana,” Minister Webster pointed out. “There are a lot of NGOs out there who are doing a lot of good work, and we need to form greater partnerships with them in this regard so that we do not duplicate, and at the same time we achieve one overall objective and that is the protection of our children,” she said.

13 graduate from GDF’s leader sergeant course

Guyana Defence Force Chief-of-Staff, Commodore Gary Best affixes a badge of rank on one of the sergeants at the graduation ceremony held at Drill Square, Camp Ayanganna, Thomas Lands

GDF Chief-of-Staff, Commodore Gary Best presents the Best Graduating Student trophy to Jamaine Fraser

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batch of 13 sergeants of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) graduated Thursday afternoon from the army’s leader sergeant course. The soldiers were charged by chief-ofstaff, Commodore Gary Best to uphold the principles of the organisation and to let

its values be their guide.

Best urged them to maintain a high standard of integrity, professionalism and good conduct in their professional lives.

It was a historic day for the army as the 13 sergeants trained under the Leader Sergeant Course Number

One at the Sergeant’s Academy graduated at a ceremony held at Drill square, Camp Ayanganna.

The sergeants are Jamaine Fraser, Adesini Benjamin, Herschel Gilead, Mark Cyrus, Ralph Osborne, Robert Adams, Esther Charles, Robert Chisholm, Mark Critchlow, Shibekie Benjamin, Dornford Wray, Elvis Haynes and Paul David, and received their badges of rank after having successfully completed the six- month’s leader sergeant’s course.

Jamaine Fraser was adjudged the Best Graduating Student while Mark Cyrus received the Chief of Staff’s Leadership Star.

Sergeants are considered the backbone of the military, and this course has been designed to develop leaders at the middle management, equipping them with the knowledge, skills and attitude to serve in the GDF.

Commodore Best, during a charge to the sergeants, stated that even as another chapter of history in the force is recorded, they must serve with the qualities of being loyal to the country, its Constitution, laws, their seniors and fellow soldiers.

He said that it is important for them therefore to know what the force expects of them as a leader, and what is required of them, the complex maze of military standards, leaders, procedures, customs, rules and culture.

“Your new badges of rank are testament that you have demonstrated to training staff, that you possess qualities of being honest in your personal and professional lives, and therefore, the force only expects the best from you,” he said. He urged the soldiers not to become involved in activities that will discredit them, their family, the army or their country.

The leadership of the force has high expectations of the ranks; as leaders, sergeants are always expected to do the right thing and survive when unsupervised.

He charged them to be truthful and honest throughout their career which will contribute to the strength of command in the senior Non Commissioned Officers’ corps and the force as a whole.

“Be effective leader sergeants, place the good of the organisation above personal agendas, and be accountable for your actions, under the scope of your delegated authority and function accordingly,” he urged.

Williams defends Bank of Guyana’s role in countering money laundering

Bank of Guyana Governor Lawrence Williams

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ank of Guyana Governor Lawrence Williams has dismissed as inaccurate certain comments made in the media, calling into question a seeming lapse in opportunity on the part of the bank to capture instances of money laundering in the local system.

The media referred to several figures within commercial banks who claimed that the Central Bank is in a position to detect suspicious transactions even if unreported by commercial banks since there are legal provisions allowing the Central Bank to have regulative functions of all transactions in the commercial banking system.

Gross misrepresentation It suggested that the Central Bank never moved against any of the transactions that may have been recorded by the commercial banks. However, in a dispatch to the media, Williams noted that the statements are a gross misrepresentation of the role of the Central Bank in detecting and prosecuting illegal financial transactions.

Commenting on the statements, Williams pointed out that the true functions of the bank in this regard are clearly explained in the relevant provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act Number 13 of 2009.

The act states that reports of suspected money laundering and terrorist financing should be made to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which was established by Section Nine of the act. Lawrence mentioned that Section 18 of the act places the burden and obligation on reporting entities, including commercial banks.

In accordance with the provision of the act, commercial banks must report all suspicious transactions to the FIU, Williams stated. He explained that upon receipt of such reports, the

FIU has the responsibility of analysing and forwarding these reports to the competent authority which in this case is the director of public prosecutions (DPP).

This is providing that the bank finds sufficient and reasonable grounds to suspect that a transaction did involve money laundering or terrorist financing.

Role of the bank However, Williams explained that the role of the Central Bank is very different, putting to rest assumptions that the Central Bank did not enjoy the support of the existing legislative framework. According to the act, the Central Bank has supervisory authority with the mandate of compliance oversight over some of the reporting entities, including commercial banks as listed in the act’s schedule.

Detailing the scope of the supervisory authority duties as mentioned in Section 22, Lawrence said it includes the supervision and examination of reporting entities to ensure that they are conducting their businesses in compliance with the provisions of the act.

The Central Bank is also responsible for ensuring that reporting entities implement adequate controls aimed at preventing criminals from using the financial system to launder funds and facilitate terrorist financing.

Commercial banks “Further, commercial banks are not required by the act or by any other piece of legislation to provide to the Central Bank information on its transactions, and as such, the Central Bank is not privy to all transactions that occur in the commercial banking system as was stated in the editorial,” Williams related.

Guyana had previously passed two pieces of antimoney laundering legislation which were found to have contained numerous loopholes. This proved extremely difficult for the FIU to affect an arrest or prosecute anyone if caught red-handed. The old laws stipulated that commercial banks report all suspicious financial transactions, but this was not done, owing to several reasons. Some heads of commercial banks claimed that the laws did not offer any protection to informants, stating that there was the real risk of banking officials being targeted within hours of reporting suspicious transactions.

news

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saturday, june 8, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Islamic School tops at NGSA

Navindra Persaud

Ashtmi Natasha Deo

Brandon Chanderban

Zane Ramotar

Abdur-Ramhman Sattaur

Divya Jagroo

Daniel-Baldeo Thorne

Renee Bisnauth

By Vahnu Manikchand and Ruqayyah Boyer

in the top 10 and was very happy that all his hard work paid off.

The young man scored 547 marks at the examinations.

The young man believes that he deserves the position as he anticipates his future at Queens College, where he will continue to strive for excellence. Pile said in preparing for the exams, he would go home from school and study with the help of his mother and father and was assisted by his teacher, adding that his success could not be possible without the will of Almighty God. He remarked that he hopes to one day become an astronomer and thanked his teachers for all they have done in preparing him for the exams.

At number three, Navindra Persaud, expressed excitement at his achievement, noting that he studied really hard to gain the position he got. The 11-year-old said he prayed a lot and was heavily support by his teachers. Taking the third spot, the Mae’s Under 12 student disclosed he is aspiring to become a doctor or a cricketer just like his role model, Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Persaud’s advice to other students who want to excel academically is to work hard, never quit and pray.

not make it. In preparation for exams, Deo recalled the efforts she put into studying and all the hard work she did and sacrifices she made The fifth position was awarded to another Mae’s Under 12 student, 11-year-old Brandon Chanderban, who described his feelings as euphoric. He noted that he underwent vigorous preparations for the exams and was assisted by his parents and teachers. With aspirations of becoming a lawyer, the lad said he can now relax after months of tedious hard work. Chanderban explained that the assessment was not difficult and he is overwhelmed that he emerged successful.

The young lady added that she is still trying to come to grip with her achievements, noting that she can now relax until school reopens.

Abdur-Ramham Sattaur was surrounded by friends and teachers when Guyana Times visited the Al Ghazali Islamic Academy.

The lad said he was excited and ecstatic when he received the news of being placed eighth in the country. He added that the exams were “tricky”, noting that the questions were not too hard or too easy, but some of them were “tricky”. Sattuar said he worked hard before the exams and had to study a lot; however, he does not mind it because it helped him to make the country’s top 10. While he does not have any aspirations, the lad noted that he is very fond of science.

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leven-old Salma Majeed of ISA Islamic School gained 548 marks to cop the top spot in this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), bringing prestige to her school and satisfaction to parents and teachers who worked tirelessly in preparing her for the examinations.

Pile of Mae’s Under 12 scored 547. Several other students from the school made it into the top 100.

Surrounded by family members, teachers and classmates, Majeed said she is happy to have achieved this milestone because she worked really hard and always tried her best.

Ecstatic The ecstatic 11-year-old pointed out that she does not have any particular weakness, but noted that her two favourite subjects are science and social studies.

She thanked her family, friends and teachers for being supportive. Majeed is advising other students aspiring to achieve success, to always try their best and do not back off when faced with difficulties. She noted that she is looking forward with great anticipation to working even harder in her secondary school years.

Meanwhile, her proud and emotional mother was speechless at the news and was still trying to come to grips with it when she was approached to comment about her daughter’s success. She noted, “I didn’t expect this, she always used to do good and tried her best, but this is beyond our expectations, but we are happy about it.”

Christian Pile, 11, of Mae’s Under 12 copped the second spot

Tears of joy Ashtmi Natasha Deo, 11, came in at four. She broke down in tears of joy when asked to comment about her success at the exam, noting that she never expected to perform this well, but was very grateful nevertheless. She said her parents were the driving force behind her success and credited her teachers at Mae’s Under 12. The aspiring doctor/musician noted that her success is somewhat bittersweet because of the fact that some of her friends did

Hard work Zane Ramotar in at number six and also of Mae’s Under 12 expressed his elation at the news.

He stated that he worked hard to attain the space and was assisted by his father with his studies.

Ramotar disclosed that he worked a lot of past exam papers. The lad thanked his teachers and parents for being supportive, noting that he is looking forward for his tenure at the country’s top secondary school. Ramotar said that he aspires to be a pilot and will work even harder to achieve this.

Exceeding her expectation, Leshanna Bindah from Stella Maris Primary School related that while she knew she would be placed in the top spots, she did not expect to be in the top 10.

Bindah was placed seventh in the country. She said that preparations for exams were filled with sleepless nights and tiresome work with hardly any spare time. Bindah, an aspiring doctor, said the exams were not hard except for English, which she noted, proved to be a little difficult.

Sacrifice When this newspaper broke the news to 11-year-old Divya Jagroo, who copped the ninth position, she began screaming, her fellow classmates surround her outside of the Graham’s Hall Primary School. Jagroo was placed ninth in top 10 along with three other persons. She told Guyana Times that the news is very rewarding since all of her hard work has paid off. “Before exams, it was a bit difficult because I had to go bed late and I had to make sacrifices like stop watching TV and gave up playtime to study.”

The aspiring doctor pointed out that she always wanted to go to Queens College and can do so now while adding that the most difficult subject during the exam was mathematics. The elated girl quickly called home and related the news to her parents.

Daniel Baldeo-Thorne, 10,

Leshanna Bindah

said preparing for exams was tough, especially for the subjects that he does not like, nevertheless he studied and it proved beneficial for him as he was placed 10th among the country’s top performers. The aspiring astronaut thanked God, his teachers and parents, more so his father for their support. The New Guyana School student noted that his father was the one who pushed him, even though he would not want to study.

Topping Region Six and also placing ninth is Renee Bisnauth of Cropper Primary.

Her father, who is a high school teacher, said he expected his daughter to do well and getting 540 marks at this year’s examinations came as no surprise to him. Bisnauth got the news of her success, but did not believe until her teachers confirmed the information. “I was surprised and excited when belief started to step in.”

Serious study According to her father, it was only about a month before the exams that Renee started to study seriously. “But before that she was always doing well in class.” Renee copped the first place at the National Spelling B Competition in 2011 and went on to represent Guyana in St Kitts where she finished fourth.

She said apart from school, she attended lessons conducted by her class teacher for one hour on school days. The free lesson, she said focused on revising most on the work that was done in class during regular school time.

Her biggest thanks however go to her former Headteacher Leroy King, who according to her took a special interest in her educational development. According to Renee’s father, King lent him some old exam papers to help Renee with her studies when he retired in January. “That certainly did help,” he said.

During the last month for the examinations, the top student said she got up at 5:30h and studied for one hour. The evening was used to do home work.

One of the first family member to learn of Renee’s achievement was her mother Dian, who told Guyana Times after learning that the results were going to be out today was on the Internet waiting on the results, and at 14:15h, her wait was over. “I am proud at my daughter’s achievement,” she said.

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SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

UNICEF concerned about child killings in Jamaica A

ILO launches pilot programme on HIV/AIDS in Antigua and Barbuda

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The UNICEF representative says “the killings of several children, in close succession, is a tragic reminder of the violence being meted out to children on a daily basis”.

he United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has condemned what it describes as the “unrelenting violence” against the nation’s children, saying that a total of 16 children were murdered over the first four months of this year.

The UN body made particular reference to last week’s spate of child killings, which included the beheading of four-year-old Natasha Brown.

“The killings of several children, in close succession, is a tragic reminder of the violence being meted out to children on a daily basis,” said UNICEF Representative Robert Fuderich. Natasha’s head and body were retrieved from a sinkhole last week Tuesday, a day after she went missing. A woman said to be the ex-

spouse of her father has since been charged with murder.

On the same day, the nude body of 17-year-old Avia Hutchinson was found with multiple stab wounds at 89 Maxfield Avenue in St Andrew.

There were signs that she had been raped. Two days later, the body of eight-year-old Tamera Laing was found in a pit toilet in March Pen, St Catherine.

On Thursday, UNICEF cited police statistics, which showed that 40 children were murdered in 2012.

It also pointed to the latest data on child abuse from the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR), which point to the wider problem of children being persistently subjected to abuse of all forms. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

ntigua and Barbuda has signed a memorandum of cooperation for the launching of the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) sixmonth pilot work place programme on HIV and AIDS. Thursday’s signing between the National Security and Labour Ministry, the Labour Department and 12 participating businesses could see a change in attitude towards HIV/AIDS in the work.

Speaking at the event in the conference room of the Inland Revenue Department, ILO consultant Madhuri Supersad said the adaptation of such a national policy could push efforts closer

towards achieving “zero new infections, zero deaths, zero stigma and discrimination.

“If we want to get to zero, we can no longer play a minor role in the national response to HIV and AIDS,” Supersad said. “In these times of reduced global resources to the HIV response, it is imperative that we seek to prevent infections, since we will never have the resources to be able to treat our way out of the epidemic. “It is also imperative that we recognise that we can reach about half of our population with prevention education and training and behavioural change intervention in an incremental and sustainable manner if we focus on our workforce.”

(Excerpt from Antigua Observer)

Ecuadorian and UK ministers Ganja worth J$560K found to discuss Julian Assange buried on beach in Jamaica

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Julian Assange at Ecuador’s embassy in London, where he has been for almost a year

he UK government has agreed to meet a senior Ecuadorian minister to try to reach an agreement over the future of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Ricardo Patino, Ecuador’s foreign minister will travel to the UK later this month on the eve of the first anniversary of Assange’s dramatic arrival at the Ecuadorian em-

bassy in London.

He will meet Assange, and his offer to hold talks with the UK foreign secretary, William Hague, has been accepted. The Australian has been inside the embassy since June 19 last year and has since been granted political asylum.

He is wanted for questioning in Sweden over allegations of sexual offences by

Mexico rescues 165 kidnapped migrants near U.S. border

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he Mexican army says it has rescued 165 migrants kidnapped by a criminal gang at least two weeks ago. The migrants were trying to cross to the U.S. illegally but were taken hostage in northern Tamaulipas state by a gang who demanded cash from relatives.

Most of the victims were from Central American countries. The migrants were probably betrayed by human trafficking gangs who were paid to get them into the U.S., a Mexican government spokesperson said.

Instead of taking the group across the border, they handed them over to another criminal organisation that operates in northern Mexico.

The kidnappers had been phoning relatives of the victims and demanding further money transfers, said government spokesman Eduardo Sanchez.

The operation took place on Tuesday, in the municipality of Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, but has only now been reported. The army was alerted to the presence of heavily armed men at a property in the area, said Sanchez.

When it stormed the property, it found 165 people, including two pregnant women and eight children. The victims are from El Salvador (77), Guatemala (50), Honduras (23), and Mexico (14) and there is also a citizen from India. (Excerpt from BBC News)

two women, which he denies.

Assange fears he will be extradited to the United States for questioning over the publication by WikiLeaks of confidential information if he travels to Sweden.

Patino will arrive in London a few days before the anniversary of Assange’s arrival at the embassy. (The Guardian)

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ore than 100 pounds of ganja was found buried on a beach and lead lists believed to be used in the lottery scam seized during a joint operation on the St Thomas/St Andrew border early Thursday.

The contraband was

The Bahamas needs U.S. help on crime, says PM

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he Bahamas needs additional help from the United States of America to effectively deal with criminal deportees from that country, Prime Minister Perry Christie said on Wednesday.

Christie said the United States’ policy of deporting people who commit crimes is a major issue for The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean. He said the issue came up at a meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Caribbean leaders in Trinidad last week.

“When I was at the office in Miami two days

ago, I was given a list of a dozen young persons who the Americans are waiting on The Bahamas to agree to be returned to The Bahamas because America is expelling them,” said Christie outside the House of Assembly.

“What happens is that these people who are exposed to criminal practices, they come home.

“Obviously some of them don’t even know about The Bahamas because they left as a child, but because the Americans have this policy, they have to come here and we cannot resist their coming here. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

seized during a five-hour operation, which began about 04:00h, in Grants Pen, St Thomas and Bull Bay, St Andrew.

Reports are that 112 pounds of ganja, with an estimated street value of J$560,000, was found buried on a beach behind a house in

Grants Pen. Additionally, lead lists, sheets with telephone numbers and other personal data believed to be used by scammers, were found at a St Andrew home following the search of several residences. Ten people, including a woman, were detained during the search.

(Jamaica Observer)

Rape suspect buried alive in Bolivia

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man suspected of rape has been buried alive by villagers in the southern highlands of Bolivia. Police had identified the 17-yearold as the possible culprit in the rape and murder of a 35-year-old woman near the municipality of Colquechaca.

The chief prosecutor says more than 200 furious local people seized Santos Ramos and buried him in the grave of his alleged victim. He says residents blocked roads into the village to stop police arriving.

A reporter for a local radio station, who would

only speak anonymously for fear of reprisals, told the media that Ramos was tied up at the woman’s funeral.

He said mourners threw him into the open grave alongside the woman’s coffin and filled the grave with earth.

Colquechaca is a town of about 5000 inhabitants some 207 miles (333 km) south-east of the Bolivian capital, La Paz. Correspondents say lynchings sometimes happen in isolated, poorer parts of Bolivia, where police and other authorities are scarce. (BBC News)

15 Around the World

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013

UN launches record US$5B Poaching problem: Number of elephant orphans rises aid appeal for Syria

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos said one in three Syrians are in need of ‘’urgent humanitarian assistance’’

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he United Nations has launched a record US$5.2 billion aid appeal to fund operations in Syria and neighbouring nations, saying the number of people affected by the country’s conflict is set to spiral.

The figure presented at an international conference

in Geneva on Friday represents a sharp increase from the $3bn the global body had previously estimated it would need this year, of which only US$1.4 billion has so far been pledged.

“The figure for the new appeal is both an expression of the alarm about the situ-

Two French journalists confirmed missing in Syria

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rench President François Hollande demanded the immediate release on Friday of two French radio journalists missing in Syria.

“We have indeed lost contact with these two journalists, but we do not yet know the exact circumstances,” Hollande, on a threeday visit to Japan, told a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “I demand the immediate release of these journalists because they do not represent any nation. These are men who have worked so the world can get information.

Journalists must be treated as journalists,” Hollande said.

The two missing journalists have been identified as Europe 1 radio correspon-

dent Didier François, 53, and freelance photographer Edouard Elias, 22. French business daily “Les Echos” reported that they were abducted by four armed men near Aleppo in northern Syria along with their fixer and their driver, and that the driver was later released.

According to Hollande’s office, the two men were intercepted at a check-point.

“They disappeared, we must be careful. We don’t know who took them, sometimes opposition groups do such things,” a source in the president’s entourage said.

French foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said François and Elias could have been kidnapped “given that they were in an area where the situation is extremely dangerous”. (Excerpt from France24)

ation facing Syrians and an absence of a political solution,” said Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN’s refugee agency.

A total of US$3.8 billion is needed to help refugees who have spilled across the country’s borders to escape fighting in their homeland, the UN said. “By the end of the year, half of the population of Syria will be in need of aid,” said Edwards.

Governments of neighbouring countries such as Jordan and Lebanon will receive some of the funds to cope with the influx of refugees, and economic pressures the war has placed on them over the past two years. The call shines a spotlight on the UN, which has been accused of not doing enough to resolve the conflict so far. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

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n elephant orphanage in Kenya is seeing an upsurge in orphaned elephants brought there because of the poaching crisis occurring across Africa, the founder said Wednesday.

Dame Daphne Sheldrick, who runs the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi National Park, said Kenya must pass stricter laws to punish those who poach elephants for their ivory tusks. Sheldrick said it would be economic sabotage if Kenya does not prevent poaching deaths, because of the tourism it will lose.

“Unfortunately the demand for ivory in the Far East, particularly China, has pushed the price of ivory up too far,” Sheldrick said as a dozen orphaned elephants bathed in dry mud nearby. For village resi-

Kenya’s elephant orphans

dents who have little earning potential, the lure of a poaching payday can be tough to resist, she said.

That’s why Kenya must enact “very draconian sentencing” for poaching crimes, so that it’s not worth it for villagers to kill elephants or

rhinos, she said. The Kenya Wildlife Service has long urged Kenyan lawmakers to increase the penalty for poaching, but so far the penalties have remained low.

Will parliament pass stricter laws? Even Sheldrick is not sure. (Excerpt from Yahoo News)

Queen officially opens BBC’s new Broadcasting House building

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he Queen of England has officially opened the BBC’s rebuilt Broadcasting House, creating a memorable TV moment when she appeared behind the newsreaders on air. She had earlier made a live broadcast on BBC Radio 4, in which she said it was a “great pleasure” to see the BBC’s new central London headquarters.

During a tour of the building, she met many of the BBC’s biggest names.

The Duke of Edinburgh had also been expected to attend, but was admitted to hospital on Thursday for an operation. Crowds gathered outside the building, which flew the Royal Standard, to await the arrival of the Queen, who wore a powder blue coat and hat.

BBC Trust chairman

The Queen officially opened the BBC’s rebuilt Broadcasting House headquarters in central London with a live message on Radio 4

Lord Patten and BBC director general Tony Hall met the Queen and escorted her on the first part of her visit. She started the tour, her first visit to the corporation’s recently ex-

panded headquarters, by visiting BBC Radio 1 and meeting presenters including Nick Grimshaw, Trevor Nelson and Sara Cox. She then visited the station’s famous Live

Lounge to watch a live performance by The Script, whose lead singer is Danny O’Donoghue, also wellknown as a judge on BBC One show The Voice. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Russia can replace Austria Kerry to return to Mideast North and South Korea bicker over dates and next week in further in UN Golan monitoring venues for peace talks peace push, say sources force – Putin

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ussia is ready to replace peacekeepers from Austria in the Golan Heights, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, after Vienna said it would recall its troops from a UN monitoring force due to worsening fighting in Syria.

Austria, whose peacekeepers account for about 380 of the 1000-strong UN force observing a four-decade-old ceasefire between Syria and Israel, said it would pull out after intense clashes between Syrian government forces and rebels on the border.

“Given the complicated situation in the Golan

Heights, we could replace the leaving Austrian contingent in this region on the border between Israeli troops and the Syrian army,” Putin said at a televised meeting with Russian military officers.

“But this will happen, of course, only if the regional powers show interest, and if the UN secretary general asks us to do so,” he said.

Russia, a long-time ally and arms supplier to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been trying along with Western powers to bring the warring sides in Syria together into talks on a solution to the more than twoyear-old conflict. (Excerpt from Reuters)

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.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to return to Israel and the Palestinian territories next week for his fifth visit to the region in barely two months to extend his push for a revival of peace talks, sources on both side said.

A senior American official indicated in March that Washington would try to breathe new life into the peace effort for two months and would move on if it proved fruitless.

Kerry said earlier this week that time was running out to resume negotiations, which broke down in 2010 over the barbed issue of continued Jewish settlement building in the occu-

pied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israeli and Palestinian sources said they expected to see Kerry on June 1112, adding that exact details of the trip had not yet been worked out and the timing could still change.

Both sides have expressed pessimism in private over the chances of any resumption of negotiations, with Israelis and Palestinians primed to blame each other for any failure. Speaking in Washington on June 3, Kerry warned that this might be the last chance to secure the so-called “two state solution”, with independent Palestinian and Israeli states living side-byside in harmony. (Excerpt from Reuters)

N

orth and South Korea are arguing about where to hold peace talks scheduled for Sunday, as their mutual interest in mending relations clashes with mistrust stemming from years of animosity.

A South Korean suggestion that officials meet in the truce village of Panmunjom, straddling the heavily armed border between the two countries, came hours after Pyongyang said it favoured holding talks in its border city of Kaesong on Friday.

South Korea had suggested high-level talks in Seoul, but North Korea said it wanted lower-level talks first because the countries’ “relations have been stalemated

for years and mistrust has reached the extremity”.

Two officials with Seoul’s unification ministry, which deals with North Korean matters, said South Korea made the latest proposal through a cross-border Red Cross communications line newly reopened by the North. Pyongyang did not immediately respond to the offer, but even the restoration of the line signals an easing of tensions. The line, used for exchanging messages on humanitarian and other issues, was shut down by the North in March during a week of animosity marked

by North Korean threats of war and South Korean vows of counterstrikes. (Excerpt from The Guardian)

16

SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Caribbean

Africa

Region can grow with green Is Kenya being shaped into economy – Rambarran Africa’s flagship tax haven?

T

he Caribbean has earned an unenviable reputation as one of the most natural disasterprone and high debt regions in the world, Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran said when he addressed the International Conference for Science and Technology for Economic Diversification at the Hilton Hotel.

“The brutal reality is that the Caribbean must find new sources of growth in a very uncertain external

environment,” Rambarran said as he highlighted three potential areas where the region could improve its growth and economic diversification with the support of science and technology.

He said the first potential area is the Caribbean Sea where science and technology can help capture economic opportunities likely to arise for a healthier marine environment through promotion of responsible fisheries and aquaculture, adop-

tion of green technologies and reduction of fossil fuel use.

Rambarran said harnessing the potential of marine-based renewable energy – wind, wave and tidal – and improving the understanding of deep-sea minerals ecosystems are possible new revenue streams.

He said another area for potential growth is using the green economy to reduce the region’s vulnerability to climate change. (Trinidad Guardian)

North America

T

he global tax haven system is a network with many parts, and the more parts, the more extensive and powerful the network. Thirty years ago, there were a handful of relatively small tax havens, serving a small elite. Today, there are more than 80, and they are a parasite on the mainstream, public economy. There is now mounting evidence that elite financial interests are planning to create a new tax haven – to add another node to

the global spider web.

This time it is on the African continent, which already gives far more to than it receives from the world economy. According to a recent report from the African Development Bank and Global Financial Integrity, Africa has already lost in the region of US$1.4 trillion in illicit financial flows between 1980 and 2009. If successful, this hub will be a key mechanism to extract even more wealth from some of

the world’s poorest countries.

Until now, there hasn’t been a major tax haven in mainland Africa. Attempts have been made in the past to create one – always at the behest of huge, Western financial institutions, be that Barclays’ efforts in Ghana or the bungled attempts in Botswana – but we may now be looking at the most serious attempt to date. Kenya, it seems, may be in the sights of the tax haven capital of the world: The City of London. (allAfrica)

Asia

U.S. economy adds 175,000 jobs in May Japan says no panic over

U

.S. employment rose by slightly more than economists had predicted during May. The latest U.S. non-farm payrolls show that 175,000 jobs were created last month. But the unemployment rate increased slightly to 7.6 per cent.

Shares had mostly fallen in the run up to the figures, as investors worried that a strong report could lead the Fed to slow its bond-buy-

ing programme. That programme has fired up a rally in the U.S. equities market this year.

In early afternoon trade on Wall Street on Friday, the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq were all ahead by about one per cent.

“Both the number of unemployed persons, at 11.8 million, and the unemployment rate, at 7.6 per cent, were essentially unchanged in May,” said

the Labour Department in a statement. May was the third month in a row that non-farm payrolls increased by less than 200,000, stoking fears that the U.S. government austerity might be harming the economy.

The spending cuts were highlighted in the latest jobs report as the federal government cut 14,000 jobs. There were also job cuts in manufacturing. (BBC News)

yen spike; few policy options

J

apan’s government showed little concern on Friday to a spike in the yen, but the calm response masks a lack of solid policy options should the recently floundering currency surge further.

The yen marked its biggest one-day climb against the dollar in three years on Thursday, underscoring the fragility of the

early benefits from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s aggressive reflationary policies.

Stock and currency markets in recent days have taken back a significant chunk of the feel-good effect of “Abenomics,” a policy prescription of sweeping fiscal and monetary expansion aimed at breaking years of deflation and reviving the

world’s third-biggest economy.

But as the market moves reflect a global fall by the U.S. currency rather than any Japanese factors boosting the yen, Tokyo officials had little choice but to watch the market and hope for calm. Indeed, the yen has not rebounded to levels that would cause real pain for Japan Inc. (Reuters)

Middle East Europe Vodafone pays no UK corporation Qatar’s Barwa to sell US$7.1B assets to cut debt tax for second year running

V

odafone paid no UK corporation tax for a second year running last year as the world’s second-largest mobile phone company benefited from tax breaks related to a multibillion-pound investment in spectrum licences and infrastructure. With revenues of nearly £45 billion last year, Vodafone reported underlying earnings of £13 billion, and a global profit of more

than £3 billon. The UK business generated more than £5 billion in revenues and £1.2 billion in underlying earnings.

The company paid £2.6 billion in tax to other nations last year, but its UK corporation tax bill was zero.

According to the annual report, published on Friday, it did pay £24 million in respect of tax recalculated for previous years. UK levies

Market statistics

are minimal at Vodafone because the company is allowed tax breaks on the cash it invests in buying spectrum and in network equipment, and on the £300 million a year in interest its UK operating company still pays on money raised to buy spectrum at the 3G airwaves auction 13 years ago. Vodafone’s tax payments are notably lower than the cash it distributes in dividends. (The Guardian)

Cambio Rates

Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Bank of Guyana

Fixed as at January 7, 2013 Calculated at 94% purity

Buying

Selling

U.S.

GBP

$310.58

$344.58

Cambio

CAN

$161.50

$181.42

Gross

$312,663

$205.58

Net

$290,776

Selling

$322,632

Cur

$198.42

USD

$1645.25 $202.17

Indicators as on June 8, 2013 Live Spot Gold

Indicators

USD Per Once

Bid/Ask

$1384.60

$1385.60

Low/High

$1376.90

$1418.50

Change

-29.10

-2.06

June 7 USD GBP EUR June 6 USD GBP EUR

London Gold Fix AM 1410.00 905.53 1065.12 AM 1399.50 906.12 1066.69

Crude Oil Price Silver Platinum

US$ per barrel

Change %

$103.04

+0.55

USD per Ounce

Change %

$21.69 $1501.00

-0.90 -26.00

PM 1389.00 894.08 1049.92 PM 1400.00 905.68 1063.43

Q

atar has stepped in with US$7.1 billion of financial support for its ailing property firm Barwa Real Estate, buying some key assets to help the company reduce its debt pile.

Qatar Diar, the real estate arm of the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund, owns 45 per cent of Barwa, according to Reuters data and is stepping in after Barwa notched up liabilities of about QR37 billion (US$10.16 billion) at the end of 2012 due to over-

expansion. Its profit plunged 46 per cent in the first quarter.

“The sale proceeds will be directed towards extinguishing the company’s debts, reducing financing costs and improving the company’s financial position,” Barwa said in a bourse statement on Thursday.

Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, is investing billions of dollars to bolster its infrastructure ahead of hosting

the 2022 soccer World Cup. Much of that involves propping up a property market which is yet to recover from oversupply that saw prices slump in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Last month, Barwa unveiled plans to build a US$5.5 billion island off the coast of Doha, featuring luxury villas, a water park, and five floating hotels to house soccer fans expected to flock to Qatar for the soccer World Cup in 2022. (Arabianbusiness)

Investors' guide

What motivates entrepreneurs?

S

ome entrepreneurs continuously struggle to bring a single idea or product to market while others seem to be able to do it almost effortlessly, time and again. Household names like Steve Jobs, who achieved a legendary level of success with Apple, Pixar and NeXT, serve as examples of these global business auteur. But there are exponentially more men and women who successfully and continuously launch thriving businesses that may not achieve the same level of global recognition but re-

main highly profitable just the same.

How do they do it? Given the repeat success many enjoy, you can pretty much count luck out. And while a wide range of leadership abilities go into the mix, at the core is an innate drive toward success.

The greatest challenge for a serial entrepreneur is figuring out how to rekindle the initial hunger, passion and dedication that fuelled their first venture.

To do so, many surround themselves with connections who’ve supported them in

the past, often leaning heavily on trusted partners for crucial financial, professional and emotional support.

To continuously draw from these people, the entrepreneur must inspire an organic dedication among his or her followers. Often viewed as optimistic and idealistic, the entrepreneur possesses a level of commitment and a vision that are easily observed. They’re inventive, aggressive, confident, tireless, highly (and often severely) competitive, and possess an intense level of focus. (Business Dictionary)

Business concept – Paradigm

Last:15248.12

Changes: +207.50

% Change: +1.38

Open: 15044.46

High: 15255.58

Low: 15044.46

% YTD: +16.36

52Wk Hi: 14887.51

52 Wk Lo: 12035.09

Intellectual perception or view, accepted by an individual or a society as a clear example, model, or pattern of how things work in the world. This term was used first by the U.S. science fiction historian Thomas Kuhn (1922-96) in his 1962 book The Structure Of Scientific Revolution to refer to theoretical frameworks within which all scientific thinking and practices operate.

news

17

saturday, june 8, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

NGSA crème de la crème to Over 1000 more laptops get free laptops distributed in Region Four – marked improvements seen among boys

By Vahnu Manikchand

T

he 173 top students – the top one per cent – of this year’s National Grade Six Assessment will receive a laptop computer, Education Minister, Priya Manickchand announced on Friday as she unveiled this year’s results. She also mentioned that the performances of the male students have improved significantly.

Speaking at a news conference, Manickchand disclosed that President Donald Ramotar is “extremely proud” of all of the students and had asked her to announce the laptop reward.

Some 16,811 students wrote the examinations.

The minister said 80 male and 93 female students comprised the top one per cent. Of these, four are from Region Two; 21 from Region three; 41 from Region Four; nine from Region Six; one from Region Seven; 10 from Region 10; and 87 from Georgetown.

Pleased with results

Manickchand said that she is pleased with this year’s results, as once again Guyana’s children have emerged successful at the examination while maintaining consistency. “We see our investment in equitable distribution of services paying off and we have seen that not only children in Georgetown are doing well but children across the country also… from Cropper Primary in Region Six, Leonora in Region Three, students from Region Two and Region Seven all in the top one per cent,” she highlighted.

The minister continued that her ministry had worked assiduously to ensure that every child in Guyana has access to primary education and in doing so, the country has attained Millennium Development Goal Two, which is universal access to primary education.

Manickchand added that the ministry now has to work on the quality of education that is being delivered in schools. “We have a number of children sitting in the classrooms and efforts have to be made in improving what and how we are teaching,” said the minister, pointing out that Guyana is not the only country struggling with this problem, which is more prevalent in the developing world.

Trained teachers

She went on to say that the Education Ministry has also been working to ensure that there are sufficient trained teachers in the schools, revealing that the country has increased the percentage of trained teachers from 30 per cent to 70 per cent which has increased the performance of children.

The minister emphasised that focus needs to be placed on the resources available to offer exemplary education in Guyana.

On this note, she disclosed that there are several initiatives being undertaken and some yet to be adopted that will improve the performance of students especially in the hinterland and coastlands of Guyana.

She also revealed that from September, every primary school pupil will have the four main subjects’ text-

books to take home along with the appropriate reading books.

The NGSA was written on March 25 and 26.

The 16,811 candidates also wrote the National Grade Two and Four Assessments in 2009 and 2011 respectively. The results from each of the three assessments were added to calculate the overall marks of the students.

According to the ministry, this is how the marks were calculated, “Five per cent of each candidate’s Grade Two score in mathematics and English, and 10 per cent of the Grade Four score in the same subjects, were added to 85 per cent of each candidate’s score in those subjects. The combined scores in mathematics and English were added to the scores gained in science and social studies.”

Top 10

The highest possible attainable scores were 134 in mathematics, 146 in English, 138 in social studies and 142 in science, taking the highest possible obtainable score to 560; however, the top mark attained was 548. Twentyseven students have placed in the top 10 category.

The majority of the regional education officers have obtained the results from the ministry and while most schools have collected their respective results, the remaining can do so on Monday.

Two hundred and fortyone candidates from schools in Regions One, Two, Five, Six Seven, Nine and 10 have been qualified for admission into President’s College. (vahnum@guyanatimesgy.com)

Health Ministry receives medical equipment from U.S. embassy

T

he Health Ministry oon Friday received a quantity of equipment including intravenous (IV) stands, surgical instrument stands, surgical instruments and other items intended to benefit operating theatres, emergency rooms and admission rooms.

The items presented are worth over US$112,000. It is anticipated that the items will help to boost the Health Ministry’s capacity to provide quality health care to Guyanese, not only on a daily basis, but also in the event of natural disasters.

Additionally, the equipment will support the ministry’s goal of providing a higher standard of care for patients, said the Government Information Agency (GINA).

United States Ambassador Brent Hardt presented the items on behalf of the embassy’s Humanitarian Assistance Programme to Health Minister Dr Bheri

Ramsaran at the Materials Management Unit (MMU), Diamond, East Bank Demerara.

While expressing gratitude for the items donated, Minister Ramsaran indicated that while the Health Ministry has such equipment, there are instances when they need replacing and as such the donation was timely.

The minister also recalled the official opening of the MMU, which was made possible through support from the U.S. government. He said the MMU is one of the most modern storage facilities in Guyana and it aims at positioning the Health Ministry to provide better services.

Ramsaran disclosed that the MMU recently procured a new refrigerated truck which seeks to ensure that the medical supplies are transported under acceptable standards.

He noted that there are still some challenges with getting the right dates for drugs that are about to expire.

Nevertheless the Manager of the MMU Marcia John and her team are dedicated to using the computerised inventory system so as to reduce wastage of medical supplies, he explained.

Ambassador Hardt noted that the U.S. has enjoyed a close relationship with the Health Ministry for many years, most significantly under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and through the U.S.’ contributions to the Global Fund. Hardy said the embassy’s interactions with the ministry and several civil society organisations have had a positive and lasting impact on Guyana’s health system, adding that this is evident in the enhanced capacity of the country’s laboratory services.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds interacting with One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) beneficiaries from Goedverwagting and its environs

M

ore than 1000 additional Guyanese are recipients of laptops through the government’s One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) initiative.

On Friday, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds joined the OLPF team to distribute the laptops to residents at Hope, Mahaica, Enterprise, Plaisance, Goedverwagting/ Liliendaal and Bourda, Region Four.

At Mahaica, 90 laptops were presented, followed by 126 at Enterprise, 185 at Plaisance, 493 at Goedverwagting/Liliendaal, and 158 at Bourda in Georgetown. During his interactions with the recipients, the prime minister said that the government was pleased that it could bring this programme to Guyanese to ensure that they have an opportunity to become computer literate and familiar with Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Bridging the digital divide

The prime minister attributed the OLPF project to former President Bharrat Jagdeo, who, during his tenure, recognised the need and importance of exposing the Guyanese population to ICT. “These days, almost everything has some IT aspect to it, and it also prepares the way for a programme of egovernment where all citizens could be able to get into a government system and do much of the work/interactions they need with government offices via the computer and the Internet,” the PM said.

PM Hinds recalled that over the last 25-30 years, ICT has developed rapidly,

Prime Minister Hinds presenting a laptop to Ronald Thomas in Plaisance

and in this regard the government has commenced the installation of a fibreoptic cable that would allow for more accessibility to the Internet.

In recognition of the attainable changes ICT can bring, the prime minister said that “the life we live is a reflection or indication of one’s ability to provide goods and services and the ability to share it with others”.

Apart from urging the recipients to care for the laptops, Prime Minister Hinds encouraged them to do their best in their classes, particularly since being competent in ICT offers many opportunities for both adults and youths.

Several of the recipients praised the government for the initiative, noting that the device will better their lives and enable them to stay in touch with their relatives and friends, and most importantly, assist their children in their learning process. The OLPF is a national initiative aimed at bridging the digital divide, by pro-

viding access to information technology, the Internet, training and skills development to families across Guyana that will enable them to become part of the global information and knowledge highway, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.

Come September 2013, government will complete installing the infrastructure network, inclusive of fibre-optic cables that will realise free Internet access, along with highspeed delivery of e-government content to all. This has the potential to facilitate dramatic increases in social and economic welfare, and to catalyse major transformative changes in Guyana.

In May, this current phase of distribution commenced with a target total of 6000, and during the ensuing weeks, the OLPF secretariat staff members have been out in various areas in Region Four distributing laptops to recipients.

Canadian cocaine mule gets three years

A

Canadian citizen was sentenced to three years for possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Friday.

Johall Abram Muaget, 41, pleaded guilty to the charge that on June 4 at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), he had in his

possession 2.615 kilograms of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

According to Prosecutor Steven Telford, the accused was an outgoing passenger at the CJIA about 12:40h on Tuesday when ranks of the narcotics branch conducted a search of his baggage.

A total of 2.615 kilograms of cocaine was discovered concealed in his suitcase in what appeared to be a false

bottom. He was then arrested.

The accused, who was born in Guyana, was unrepresented by an attorney and admitted to the facts presented by the prosecution.

He, however, asked that the chief magistrate be lenient with him.

The chief magistrate sentenced Abram to three years of incarceration and $30,000 fine.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, june 8, 2013

thursDAY, march 11, 2010 | guyanatimesGY.com

archie

By Bernice Bede Osol

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19) The chances of achieving what you want are high. However, it would be best to steer clear of entanglements with people who have no real interest in your objectives.

dilbert

CANCER (June 21July 22) Chances are you’ll feel better spending a small surplus on something the entire family can enjoy.

Don’t give in to selfish whims.

AQUARIUS

LEO

(Jan. 20Feb. 19)

(July 23Aug. 22)

Honour your commitments, even if you have second thoughts about them. Stand by your word – it will pay off in the long run.

Your sphere of influence is likely to be much bigger than you realise.

Friends might do things for you unasked, in hopes of earning your approval.

Calvin and Hobbes PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Do your job to the best of your ability. If you resist the temptation to cut corners, which could be high, you’ll be able to take justifiable pride in what you accomplish.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) Be grateful for any financial benefits that come your way through the kindness of another, even if you were expecting something bigger.

Peanuts ARIES

LIBRA

(March 21-April 19)

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Don’t discount your judgment when it comes to handling a risky endeavour, even if a know-it-all associate attempts to cast doubt on your ideas.

Any proposal presented to you must be screened with exceptional care and patience. Don’t act until you understand and have access to all the pieces.

SUDOKU TAURUS (April 20-May 20) If you do something nice for a friend or an associate, try to do so without incurring a sense of obligation. Allow your good deed to stand on its own two feet.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22) Although your insights are likely to be clear, your methods could leave a lot to be desired. Do your best to execute your ideas with care and rigor.

Friday's solution GEMINI (May 21June 20) You may need to take a calculated risk to advance an important objective. It’s OK to be bold, just don’t be brash or impulsive.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21) You’ll know exactly what you want done, but might not be able to clearly convey your thinking to others. Concentrate as best as you can on communicating your ideas.

news 19

YELLOW PAGES

Chinese leader Xi Jinping set for Obama summit

saturday june 8, 2013

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C

hinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in California for summit talks with U.S. President Barack Obama. The two-day meeting, at a private estate, is the first between the two since Xi became president in March.

The informal setting is seen as a chance for the leaders of the world’s largest economies to build a rapport amid a slew of high-stakes issues. Cyber espionage is expected to top the agenda, with North Korea, Asian security and trade also key topics.

U.S. lawmakers and human rights groups have also urged Obama to call for the release of 16 high-profile prisoners, including jailed Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo.

Xi’s U.S. stop is the fourth leg of a trip that has taken him to Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Accompanied by his wife, folk singer Peng Liyuan, he arrived at California’s Ontario International Airport on Thursday.

“New perspective”

The summit, at the sprawling Sunnylands estate in the Mojave Desert, is expected to begin on Friday afternoon and include a private dinner between the two leaders. Further talks will be held on today.

The meeting comes months earlier than expected – Obama and Xi had been expected to meet at an economic summit in Russia in September. “I have the impression that both sides are willing to re-examine their premises, and to see whether they can achieve a relationship based on some perspective that goes beyond the moment – in other words that

China’s president arrives in California for talks with Barack Obama, seen as a chance for the two to build rapport on a number of high-stakes issues

goes beyond solving immediate problems,” former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told the BBC. Ahead of the summit, White House officials told reporters hacking would be raised, amid growing concern in the U.S. over alleged intrusions from China in recent months.

Last month the Washington Post reported that Chinese hackers had accessed designs for more than two dozen U.S. weapons systems, citing a confidential Pentagon report. The U.S. also directly accused Beijing of targeting U.S. government computers as part of a cyber espionage campaign in a report in early May. China denies any role in state-sponsored hacking – earlier this week its internet chief said China had “mountains of data” pointing to U.S.-based cyber attacks.

Trade issues are also expected to be a priority, as is North Korea – which conducted its third nuclear test in February. Beijing – Pyongyang’s nominal ally – is seen as the only nation capable of bringing meaningful pressure to bear on the communist state.

Other topics up for discussion may include territorial

disputes in Asia and human rights in China. Activists and relatives have urged the U.S. president to raise the issue of the “China 16” – a group of individuals detained on political or religious grounds.

As well as Liu, they include human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng and Chen Kegui, the nephew of the blind activist who took shelter in the U.S. embassy in Beijing last year and later left for the U.S., Chen Guangcheng.

In China, Chen Guangcheng’s mother and brother, Chen Guangfu, received passports on Friday after months of waiting.

When asked if he thought the approval was linked to the summit, Chen Guangfu told Reuters news agency: “Lots of people on the internet are saying that.”

Analysts see the informal talks as a welcome departure from the more formal protocol adopted in U.S. talks with former Chinese leaders.

Xi is said to have developed a warm relationship with Vice-President Joe Biden after the latter’s China visit in 2011. He also has ties to the U.S., having spent time in an Iowa town in 1985 as a part of a Chinese farming delegation. (BBC News)

Saudi prince sues Forbes after it says he’s only worth US$20B

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audi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has sued Forbes magazine for libel in a British court, alleging its valuation of his wealth at US$20 billion was short of the mark

by US$9.6 billion, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.

The prince, a grandson of Saudi Arabia’s founder and nephew of King Abdullah, had attacked the U.S. magazine’s ranking of world billionaires as flawed and biased against Middle Eastern businesses after he was ranked number 26 in this year’s list.

An official at the High Court in London confirmed that Prince Alwaleed had filed a defamation suit against Forbes, its editor Randall Lane, and two of its journalists on April 30.

Details of the claim were not immediately available.

Through his Kingdom Holding Company, Prince Alwaleed owns large stakes in Citigroup, News Corp and Apple Inc, among other companies. He is also owner or

part-owner of luxury hotels including the Plaza in New York, the Savoy in London and the George V in Paris.

This year’s Forbes World Billionaires list was published on March 4, and the following day Kingdom Holding said the valuation process used “incorrect data” and “seemed designed to disadvantage Middle Eastern investors and institutions”.

The public spat attracted a lot of comment, but Forbes stuck by its estimate of Prince Alwaleed’s wealth and published an in-depth article in its March 25 issue entitled “Prince Alwaleed and the curious case of Kingdom Holding stock”.

The article gave details about how Forbes had arrived at the figure of US$20 billion and criticised what it described as a lack of transparency by Kingdom Holding in detailing its assets.

The article also described Prince Alwaleed’s marblefilled, 420-room Riyadh palace, his private Boeing 747 equipped with a throne, and his 120-acre resort on the

edge of the Saudi capital with five homes, five artificial lakes and a mini-Grand Canyon.

The High Court official in London said the two journalists named in the defamation claim were Kerry Dolan, the author of the article, and Francine McKenna, who was credited with additional reporting.

No date has been set for a court hearing in the case, which is in its very early stages, the official said. The law firm Kobre & Kim, which the Guardian said was acting for Prince Alwaleed in the suit, declined to comment. New York-based Forbes could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Guardian article quoted the magazine as saying: “We’re very surprised at claims that Prince Alwaleed has decided to sue Forbes, particularly if he has done so in the United Kingdom, a jurisdiction that has nothing whatsoever to do with our recent story which raised questions about his claims about his wealth.” (Yahoo! News)

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GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013

Fudadin, Edwards hit big tons

England’s Cook wary of Australia

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ASSETERRE, St Kitts – West Indies A, responding to Sri Lanka A’s 472 all out, reached 496 for five in their first innings at the close of the third day of the first four-day “Test” at Warner Park on Friday.

West Indies batsmen Kirk Edwards and Assad Fudadin recorded huge centuries while Guyanese batsman Leon Johnson is unbeaten on 80. Edwards, of Barbados, reached 189, while Fudadin of Guyana, piled on 145.

The other WI A batsman to contribute was Barbadian Kraigg Brathwaithe with 37.

Scores: SRI LANKA A 472 (Chathuranga de Silva 109, Dimuth Karunaratne 101, Ashan Priyanjana 65, Kithruwan Vithanage 62, Udara Jayasundara 57; Nikita Miller 6-141) WEST INDIES A 496 for five (Kirk Edwards 189, Assad Fudadin 145, Leon Johnson 80 not out, Kraigg Brathwaite 37 )

Alastair Cook

E

Kirk Edwards

Leon Johnson

Sharapova seeks secret to beating Serena

M

aria Sharapova says she will have to “try something different” when she faces world number one Serena Williams in today’s French Open final.

Williams is on a 30-match winning streak and thrashed Sara Errani in 46 minutes in the semifinals.

Defending champion Sharapova, who battled past Victoria Azarenka in three sets, last beat Williams in 2004 and has lost their past 12 matches.

“I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t bother me,” said the Russian.

“I don’t think that it would be a pretty competitive statement if I said it didn’t. I would love to change that around.

“Obviously whatever I did in the past hasn’t worked, so I’ll have to try to do something different and hopefully it will.”

Sharapova, 26, has won just one set in their past 11 matches and lost in straight sets on the Madrid clay only last month.

“I don’t feel like I have taken my chances and opportunities [against Williams],” said the second seed.

“When she is up all the time, whether it’s a break or if she feels like she’s constantly getting second serves or is able to rip every ball because there’s nothing on your ball – she does extremely well when she’s in that position. Why shouldn’t she?

“Against a player like her, the few chances that

you have can change that around, because they put a little bit more in their mind than if they’re just steamrolling.”

Williams, 31, has certainly appeared to be powering towards a second French Open title, 11 years after her first.

“It would be awesome for me,” said the American.

“I don’t think there’s anything that can describe how happy I would be.

“But right now it’s still a dream. I still have another match to play, hopefully to win, so two people are still fighting for the championship.”

Despite that overwhelming 13-2 head-to-head record against Sharapova, the top seed is not taking anything for granted, say-

ing: “It’s a different time, a different era, just a different match.”

Williams has found Roland Garros the toughest of the four Grand Slam tournaments to conquer, but came through her biggest test this year against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals.

With a 16th major title beckoning, she remains wary that her superb run of form could end at any time.

“That can happen on any day,” she said. “That’s why every day that I’m doing well I try to do the best I can.

“And when I’m not, I just try to fight through it, because my forehand, my backhand, my serve, anything could happen.” (BBC Sport)

ngland captain Alastair Cook insists Australia are still a major threat, despite their miserable build-up to the Champions Trophy.

Australia suffered the embarrassment of being bowled out for 65 in a 243run defeat to India in Cardiff on Tuesday.

But Cook maintains that will count for nothing when his side meet Australia in today’s Group A opener at Edgbaston. “Those warm-up games are irrelevant. You’re remembered for what happened in the actual tournament,” Cook said.

“You want to find form as a team, but if you don’t find form you’re not going to be remembered for what happened in the warm-up games.”

England’s 2-1 ODI series defeat to New Zealand means they also go into the competition on a negative note. Cook accepts that, like Australia, his team have not fired ahead of the one-day international tournament, which is contested between eight teams and runs until June 23.

He added: “Just like what happened against New Zealand, we didn’t play as well as we could have done, but that will count for nothing now.

“In the ideal world, we’d have beaten New Zealand in that series. That would have been ideal preparation, so

we haven’t been quite on the money that way.”

After the Champions Trophy has finished, The Ashes get under way at Trent Bridge on July 10 in the first of five Test matches between England and Australia.

Cook feels the significance of the Champions Trophy means that Saturday will have no bearing on the upcoming Test series.

He said: “The Champions Trophy is such an important event in itself.

“Clearly playing Australia in the first game, with the Ashes coming up, everyone’s going to talk about that.

“But both sides will be seeing it as needing to win to get the tournament off to a good start rather than anything else, which is later in the summer.”

England (from): Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler (wk), Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, Jimmy Anderson, Ravi Bopara.

Australia (from): George Bailey, Nathan CoulterNile, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Phillip Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Clint McKay, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Shane Watson. (BBC Sport)

Keane hat-trick helps Ireland win qualifier

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obbie Keane marked his record 126th cap for the Republic by hitting a hat-trick in the World Cup qualifying win over the Faroe Islands in Dublin on Friday.

Keane, 32, fired in an early opener from Aiden McGeady’s cross before he wasted a clear opening as the minnows frustrated the dominant hosts.

Seamus Coleman provided the cross for Keane to slot home the second goal 10 minutes into the second half.

Keane then netted from close range to complete a memorable treble.

It was a perfect start for the Republic and Keane, who passed Shay Given to become the country’s most capped player.

Robbie Keane

McGeady sent in a low cross and the LA Galaxy striker neatly stroked the ball beyond keeper Gunnar

Nielsen and into the bottom corner after just five minutes.

The Republic were stifled

for the remainder of the first half as the visitors packed their defence in a simple gameplan of damage limita-

tion.

Keane was guilty of poor finishing on 26 minutes, a well-worked free-kick putting the skipper clear on goal but he hesitated before a weak shot was saved by Nielsen.

Neilsen also tipped over a powerful volley from Keane and kept out efforts from Jonathan Walters and the impressive McGeady.

Wes Hoolahan, who was making his first start for the Republic, headed over from a McGeady cross three minutes after the restart.

The Norwich midfielder started the move for the first goal and he was again involved as the Irish doubled their lead after 55 minutes.

Hoolihan’s pinpoint pass put Seamus Coleman through on the right and

the full-back’s first-time cross was slid in by the alert Keane.

The Faroes created a rare threat on goal when Atli Gregersen’s header from a free-kick landed on the roof of the net.

Keane chalked up a 59th international goal as he completed his hat-trick on 80 minutes with a simple sidefoot finish past Nielsen from substitute Conor Sammon’s lay-off.

Simon Cox cut inside before blazing over as the Irish eased to victory, although they would have wanted a few more goals to boost their goal difference.

The Republic have moved up to third in the group after second-placed Austria beat Sweden 2-1. (BBC Sport)

SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

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Nadal wins epic semi, meets Ferrer in Sunday’s final P

“Cricket needs stronger player associations” – Marsh

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afael Nadal won a stunning heavyweight clash with world number one Novak Djokovic to reach his eighth French Open final.

The seven-time champion, 27, saw off Djokovic 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 9-7 in four hours and 37 minutes.

Nadal will play compatriot David Ferrer in Sunday’s final.

The 31-year-old fourth seed Ferrer beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 It will be his first Grand Slam final since he beat Djokovic at Roland Garros last year, having missed seven months with a serious knee injury.

Friday’s first semi-final had been the focus of attention ever since the draw paired Djokovic and Nadal in the same half, and it did not disappoint.

While not quite matching the five hours and 53 minutes of their 2012 Australian Open final, there was drama every step of the way.

Nadal failed to serve out

the match in the fourth set and Djokovic let a 4-2 lead slip in the fifth, before the Spaniard proved the stronger as the decider headed past one hour and 20 minutes.

“It’s very, very special for me,” said Nadal. “I want to congratulate Novak, he’s a great champion and he will win here at Roland Garros one day, I’m sure.

“Serving for the match at 6-5 in the fourth, I was serving against the wind, so I knew it was going to be a difficult game. I was ready for the fight. In Australia 2012 it was a similar match – today it was me [that won].

That’s the great thing about sport.”

World number one Djokovic said: “It’s been an unbelievable match to be part of, but all I can feel now is disappointment. That’s it.

I congratulate him, because that’s why he’s a champion.

“That’s why he’s been ruling Roland Garros for many years, and for me it’s another year.”

With the temperature pushing 30C, Nadal’s fearsome forehand had dominated the early stages, helping him to break at 3-3 and go ahead early in the second.

Djokovic would prove to be at his most dangerous when behind, however, stringing together a brilliant four games to level and letting out an almighty roar after one rasping forehand.

The two tournament favourites landed blow after blow on each other, with Nadal responding superbly to dropping the second set by breaking at the start of the third when a line call went against Djokovic.

Nadal closed it out after a brisk 37 minutes, interrupted only when Djokovic headed off court with the trainer, and the champion twice led by a break in the fourth against the apparently fading top seed.

Meanwhile, it ends a run of defeats in his first five Grand Slam semi-finals that only Britain’s Tim Henman

has exceeded with six.

Ferrer will be a huge underdog against seven-time champion Nadal, but he did a magnificent job of subduing France’s number one and his 15,000 compatriots inside Court Philippe Chatrier.

If the spectators were hoping for a repeat of the five-set thriller they had just seen between Nadal and Djokovic, they were to be disappointed.

Ferrer reeled off six of the first seven games as a wayward Tsonga, playing in his fifth major semi-final, coughed up error after error.

He fell 4-0 down and went long when he finally earned a break point in game five, the set slipping away in 33 minutes.

A comeback looked on the cards when Tsonga finally strung some winners together, firing one down the line for 2-0 in the second set, but it only heralded another run of mistakes.

(BBC Sport)

NSC to host over 300 training camps

Flashback! Youngsters from the 2012 Teach Them Young cycling programme strike a pose at the National Park

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s part of its efforts to promote and develop sports in Guyana, the National Sports Commission will stage approximately 300 training camps across the country during the month of August.

The “Teach Them Young” programmes, which are held annually, will focus on cricket, swimming, cycling, tabletennis, basketball, volleyball, chess and football.

According to NSC, youngsters interested in being part of the camps are required to contact the respective coordinators of the various disciplines.

For cricket, camps will be held at the Enterprise and Enmore Community Centres and the Helena Number Two grounds, with the coordinators being Latchman Yadram (229-6286 or 6478714), Herman Persaud

(643-3033) and Rajan Tiwari (652-9570).

National cycling coach Hassan Mohamed is the point person on the cycling programme, and he can contacted on 2260703 or 6230736.

The table-tennis camp, which will be held at the National Gymnasium/Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, will be conducted by national coach Linden Johnson and

those interested can contact him on 621-7630, while the swimming programme, which will be hosted at the Colgrain Pool, will be conducted by Cuban coach, Isabel Maria Couso Fals with support from five other local coaches.

Camps will also be held in Essequibo, Berbice and Linden, while interior areas will also have similar such activities.

Jamaica increases funding for drug testing of athletes

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I N G S T O N (Jamaica),The Jamaican government has signalled its commitment to the worldwide fight against doping in sports by announcing a 16 million Jamaican dollar budget for drug testing of athletes and says the figure represents a significant increase.

The money, a 14 percent hike, will be used by the Jamaica Anti-doping Commission (JADCO) to conduct in and out of competition testing and pub-

Natalie Neita Headley

lic education programmes, Natalie Neita Headley, minister with responsibility for

sports said.

“We will continue to implement measures, through JADCO and other related agencies, that will foster dope-free sport at all levels,” said Headley while making her contribution to the 2013/14 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives Thursday.

The sport minister said that since last year, the government has almost tripled the budgetary support to JADCO to guarantee the integrity of Jamaica’s anti-doping system.

The increase in allocation allowed the commission to increase the number of tests conducted in the 2012/13 financial year by 110 percent over the previous year, the Minister said.

“The government supports the principle that sport is the expression of one’s true self and the realisation of one’s own unique natural potential,” said Neita Headley.

“Being successful in sport requires the right attitude, practice, time and effort.

The giving of one’s best is good enough.” (IANS/CMC)

aul Marsh believes international cricket must be more accommodating to player associations if the sport is serious about eliminating the threat of corruption.

Marsh was announced the new executive chairman of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) this week and takes charge of the organisation at a challenging time. Last month its departing Chief Executive Tim May lost his position on the ICC cricket committee resulting from a voting process FICA has questioned.

Corruption scandals

Since that vote, both the IPL and the Bangladesh Premier League have been plunged into corruption scandals and the sport’s image has taken a serious hit.

Marsh said it was unfortunate that FICA, which represents players associations in all Test-playing countries except India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe, no longer had an official voice within the ICC at a time when administrators and players needed to build stronger links than ever.

“The thing that I find ironic about it is that right now more than ever, with everything that’s going on in the game, it needs strong player associations,” Marsh told ESPNcricinfo. “The game, if it’s serious about ridding itself of these corrupt practices, should be embracing player associations.

The reality is that there’s nobody in the game that has a better relationship with the players. That’s our role here. We have the opportunity to play a very strong leadership role around anti-corruption but those who are running the game have to embrace us in that space.

Role of FICA

“FICA potentially has a very, very important role in educating the players and individual player associations already take on that role. But we can take a far greater role there. Lord Condon in his report identified that many years ago and if you talk to the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit they say the same thing, that player associations are important to this. Players are increasingly coming to us and reporting things they have seen or approaches that have been made to them.”

The lack of player associations in India and Pakistan has limited FICA’s ability to have a truly worldwide influence and that is not a situation Marsh expects will change any time soon. Instead, he believes the organisation must focus its attention on strengthening some of the smaller and less robust player associations that already come under its banner.

“To get associations in

Paul Marsh

India and Pakistan has been on the FICA agenda for as long as I have been involved,” Marsh said. “But the reality is you’re not going to get a player association up unless the players want it and they’re going to be prepared to fight for it. Unfortunately the Indian and Pakistan players don’t want it, so we’re wasting our time trying to get them to want something they don’t want.

“What we have to do is focus on making sure that FICA and each of the player associations is as strong as they possibly can be, because not one of us as individual player associations has had anything given to us over the journey. We’ve had to fight for everything we get. We have got four very strong player associations at the moment and we need to focus on building up the other three members.”

Marsh will take on the FICA position effectively as the group’s figurehead and spokesperson, while also retaining his existing job as chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association. Ian Smith, who has served as legal director of England’s Professional Cricketers’ Association, will become FICA’s chief operating officer.

Immediate priorities

Effectively the two men will share the responsibilities previously handled

by May, who stepped down this week after 16 years in player advocacy. Marsh said other immediate priorities for FICA included making Twenty20 leagues more accountable for the non-payment of player wages, which he said had become “a significant issue”. And he said that without an official voice at the ICC table, FICA would have to pursue other methods of making itself heard.

“Unless the attitude towards FICA changes we’re going to become more and more vocal around these types of issues,” Marsh said. “What we want is what’s best for the game. We’re not going to just sit back and take the lack of respect and take the refusal to hear our voice lying down.

That is not going to happen.

We will continue to be strong in voicing our views.” (Cricinfo)

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GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NAMS and CWSS confirmed for Sir Garfield Sobers cricket tourney – teams call on corporate Guyana for support

By Rajiv Bisnauth

T

he New Amsterdam Multilateral School (NAMS) of Berbice and the Christianburg Wismar Secondary School of Linden have confirmed their participation in the 27th annual Sir Garfield Sobers Under-19 international schools cricket tournament to be held in Barbados from July 8-26.

This is the first time a school from Linden will be participating in the tournament and according to the manager of the team Sherwin Graham, school officials and coach are looking forward to support from corporate Guyana in a bid to make this an historic event for the country and the young cricketers of Linden.

“Our youngsters are eager to go and compete in

Sherwin Graham

Barbados due to the lack of cricket in Linden,” said Graham during a telephone interview on Friday. “The boys are excited by their selection and are desperate to go and represent their country,” he added.

On the other hand, this will be NAMS third year in the tournament. Last year they finished seventh out of

20 teams and in 2011 they were the highest placed Guyanese team, ending in fifth out of 25 teams.

Coach and former Guyana Under-19 player and Physical Education teacher Andrew Williams is expecting better results this time around.

“We have a group of excellent young cricketers and I am positive of better results this time around” Williams told this publication on Friday.

Graham and Williams said the players are looking forward to support from corporate Guyana, since most of the players cannot afford the individual fare to go to Barbados.

According to Williams the school will be holding a series of fundraising activities to assist in offsetting expenses for the tour-

nament. A school fair is planned for June 29, while there will donation sheets and raffle.

The NAMS squad consists of a number of players who have represented Berbice at the Under-15 and Under-19 InterCounty competitions: Leon Andrews, Martin Singh and skipper Parmanand Narine.

The school has produced a number of talented cricketers including Shawn Pereira, Hakeem Hinds and Shailendra Shameer who went gone on to play the game at the national level.

The Linden team will be captained by Linden and Demerara U-19 player Stephan Browne.

Named after the renowned Barbadian cricketer and national hero Sir Garfield Sobers, the annual tournament attracts school

teams under 19 years to compete with the local, regional and international counterparts.

Since 1986, the Sir Garfield Sobers International Schools Cricket Tournament has given school boys the rare opportunity of playing in an international tournament.

To date this tournament has groomed the likes of retired West Indies captain, Brian Lara, Darren Ganga, Roland Holder and other notable players such as West Indies’ Sherwin Campbell and Philo Wallace, Dale Benkenstein of South Africa, and Chris Adams and Alastair Cook of England.

Schools from the United Kingdom, the Caribbean and Barbados will participate in this tournament.

Christianburg Wismar

Secondary School squad reads: Stephan Browne (Captain), Julian Fortune, Ray Peters, Lawrence Browne, Phillip Benjamin, Cleylon Benjamin, Shyon Vigilance, Deron Wilson, Dave Charles Jr., Delon Williams, Tryon Rowland, Mark Hermanstine, Stephan Chapman and Jamal Lynch. The team will be coach by Dellon Peters and Andrew Richmond.

New Amsterdam Multilateral School squad reads: Parmanand Narine (Captain), Martin Singh, Gavin Moriah, Kwesi Mickel, Kassim Khan, Joel Seitaram, Colwyn Burnette, Suresh Dhanai, Derrick Narine, Kevon Jawahir, Nick Ramsaroop, AkshaI Humraj, Devendra Baldeo and Elon Shultz. The team will be managed by Tamesh Mohabir.

West Indies make a meal of low Scotland record shock win over Croatia target to win by two wickets

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ONDON – West Indies made heavy weather of a paltry target but held their nerve in the end to beat Pakistan by two wickets and make a winning start to their ICC Champion Trophy campaign on Friday.

Chasing 171 for victory at a sun-bathed Oval, West Indies crashed from a comfortable position of 78 for two in the 17th over, to 143 for seven in the 37th, before recovering to reach their target with just over nine overs remaining.

Tail-ender Kemar Roach (5 not out) sealed victory with a square-driven boundary in the 41st over.

Left-handed opener Chris Gayle top scored with 39 while Marlon Samuels and Kieron Pollard both got 30, but it was a crucial 22run, eighth wicket partnership between vice captain Denesh Ramdin (11 not out) and Sunil Narine (11), that put the Caribbean side within touch of victory.

Left-arm seamer Mohammed Irfan was the best Pakistan bowler with three for 32 from his nine overs while off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (2-38) and leftarm pacer Wahab Riaz (242) picked up two wickets apiece. Earlier, Pakistan were propped up by captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s unbeaten 96, as they laboured to 170 all out off 48 overs after being sent in.

They were tottering at 15 for three in the seventh over after Man of the match Roach, who finished with three for 28 from ten overs, produced an incisive burst to rock the innings.

Opener Nasir Jamshed chipped in with 50 but mystery off-spinner Sunil

Narine, with three for 34 from his ten overs, kept the brakes on Pakistan’s scoring and ensured there was no major recovery.

Roach struck with the last delivery of the day’s first over when captain Dwayne Bravo dived in front first slip to snap up left-hander Imran Farhat for two, with as many runs on the board.

The right-arm speedster then bowled Mohammed Hafeez off his pads for four with the score on 14 in the fifth over and completed his rout by having Asad Shafiq caught at third man by Ravi Rampaul without scoring, with only a run added.

Pakistan, however, rebounded through Misbah and Nasir Jamshed who put on 90 for the fourth wicket to steady the innings. Misbah faced 127 balls, struck five fours and three sixes while Nasir counted five fours off 95 deliveries.

The right-handed Misbah survived a torrid time up front from Roach, overcoming an lbw review and then a dropped catch by wicketkeeper Ramdin before he had scored, to unveil a defiant innings.

Nasir reached his halfcentury with a single to deep point off off-spinner Marlon Samuels but lasted just two more deliveries before holing out to Rampaul at long off in the next over by Narine.

When Narine prised out Shoaib Malik three balls later without scoring, it triggered a slide where Pakistan lost six wickets for 33 runs, to plummet to 138 for nine in the 41st over.

Irfan then stayed with Misbah in a crucial 32-run last wicket stand, to give their side a fighting chance, before striking twice early

in the Windies reply, to put Pakistan on top.

The 31-year-old had Johnson Charles caught at fine leg for nine, hooking at a short one in the third over before removing Darren Bravo without scoring after the left-hander edged a lifter behind.

Struggling at 15 for two, West Indies were lifted by Gayle and Samuels who added 63 for the third wicket.

The left-handed Gayle faced 47 balls and hit four fours and a six – a straight hit off Irfan – while Samuels cracked three fours off 57 balls.

Both were looking relatively untroubled when Gayle missed a doosra from Ajmal and lost his middle stump in the 17th over and Ramnaresh Sarwan lasted

just two deliveries before edging a lifter from Wahab behind for one.

When Samuels was deceived in flight by Hafeez and stumped in the 26th over, the Windies were up against it at 94 for five.

Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, who made 19, attempted the first repair job by putting on 43 or the sixth wicket, to once again leave the contest an open affair.

The usually big-hitting Pollard curbed his aggression to hit three fours and a six in his 58-ball knock but with the momentum swinging the Windies way, edged a rising delivery from Wahab behind.

Bravo followed quickly in the next over before Ramdin and Narine saw the Windies to the brink of victory with cool heads. (WICB)

SCOREBOARD Pakistan innings Farhat c DJ Bravo b Roach 2 Jamshed c Rampaul b Narine 50 Hafeez b Roach 4 Shafiq c Rampaul b Roach 0 Misbah-ul-Haq* not out 96 Shoaib Malik c DJ Bravo b Narine 0 Kamran Akmal† c †Ramdin b Narine 2 Wahab Riaz run out (DJ Bravo) 6 Saeed Ajmal run out (Pollard/ Rampaul) 2 Junaid Khan c Gayle b DJ Bravo 0 Mohammad Irfan c DJ Bravo b Rampaul 2 Extras: (lb1, w5) 6 Total: (all out, 48 overs) 170 Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-14, 3-15, 4-105, 5-106, 6-110, 7-128, 8-136, 9-138, 10-170 Bowling: K Roach 10-4-283, R Rampaul 10-0-39-1, DJ Bravo 9-0-29-1, M Samuels 5-0-17-0, S Narine 10-134-3, K Pollard 4-0-22-0

West Indies innings C Gayle b Saeed Ajmal 39 J Charles c Wahab Riaz b Mohammad Irfan 9 DM Bravo c †Kamran Akmal b Mohammad Irfan 0 M Samuels st †Kamran Akmal b Mohammad Hafeez 30 R Sarwan c †Kamran Akmal b Wahab Riaz 1 K Pollard c †Kamran Akmal b Wahab Riaz 30 DJ Bravo* lbw b Saeed Ajmal 19 D Ramdin† not out 11 S Narine c †Kamran Akmal b Mohammad Irfan 11 KJ Roach not out 5 Extras: (lb 10, w 5, nb 2) 17 Total: (8 wkts, 40.4 overs) 172 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-15, 3-78, 4-81, 5-94, 6-137, 7-143, 8-165 Bowling: Mohammad Irfan 9-0-32-3, Junaid Khan 7.40-36-0, Saeed Ajmal 10-138-2, Wahab Riaz 10-1-42-2, Mohammad Hafeez 4-0-14-1

S

cotland gave their best performance in several years to beat the world’s fourth best team on their own turf on Friday.

It was a display full of self-belief, guts and quality from Gordon Strachan’s men to record their first win of the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Robert Snodgrass scored the crucial goal, latching onto a loose ball to prod it past Stipe Pletikosa.

Croatia pressed for an equaliser, but failed to bring out a save of any note from Allan McGregor.

The contrast between this Scots performance and those that have preceded it was remarkable, with Russell Martin, James McArthur and Alan Hutton perhaps the pick of a heroic bunch. Of course, it comes much too late to make any impact in the group, but it ensures Scotland will be in pot four for the draw for Euro 2016 and gives the Scotland management team something concrete to build on for the future.

They set the tone in the opening stages with some confident passing and dogged closing down to ensure the Croatians were unable to seriously threaten McGregor’s goal.

The same could be said of Pletikosa – the home keeper barely touching the ball before his side found themselves a goal down after 26 minutes.

The goal had a touch of fortune about it, but Scotland will feel they were rewarded for their endeavour, as Shaun Maloney’s attempted pass broke off a Croatian leg and the ball fell kindly for Snodgrass, who stretched to nudge it past Pletikosa.

The keeper took an accidental boot in the face as Snodgrass beat him to the ball and required lengthy treatment before continuing, but he was rattled, much like the rest of his team-mates.

That good Scots work was almost undone, though, when Grant Hanley was short with a pass-back, forcing McGregor to take evasive action to deny Mario Mandzukic and when the ball broke to Sammir, Hanley breathed a sigh of relief as he lifted the ball over the bar.

There was further concern for the visitors as Ivica Olic sold Alan Hutton a beautiful dummy, but Russell Martin dived in and forced Olic to shoot wide and moments later the Norwich defender performed further heroics to keep a Darijo Srna shot from crossing the line.

Olic and Barry Bannan both blazed fierce shots just off target at the outset of the second half, but Croatia missed a fantastic opportunity to level the match after an hour’s play.

Olic fired in a terrific cross from the left, which was begging to be tapped over the line, but Mandzukic arrived a fraction of a second too late to get the crucial touch. Croatia continued to see more of the ball, but Scotland’s work ethic was phenomenal, closing down their opponents while retaining their shape and making it extremely difficult for the home side to create clear-cut chances.

Indeed, McGregor didn’t have to dirty his gloves for the remainder of the match as the Scots held on for their most momentous win since the 2007 victory over France in the Parc des Princes. (BBC Sport)

SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

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Greaves cops first place in USA T

GASP national qualifier set for tomorrow

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uyanese cyclist, Alonzo Greaves, currently in the United States of America on a onemonth training stint, on Thursday emerged with a first place finish in the WS United Category One race.

It was Greaves best performance since journeying to the USA at the conclusion of the National Sports Commission’s Independence Three-Stage last month.

Greaves, speaking to this publication from his location in the USA, said he was elated with the victory, noting that he was confident of coming out victorious.

Apart from the top podium spot on Thursday, Greaves also copped fourth in the CRCA Open Category 1-3; 12th in the Floyd Bennette Category 1-3; 18th in the Bound Brook Criterium Pro-1 and 52nd in the Tour of Somerville Category Pro-1.

The 23-year-old Roraima Bikers Club representative, who finished fourth overall in this year’s Three-Stage, will be action again this weekend, as he is slated to participate in another two races.

Roraima Bikers Club rider Alonzo Greaves as he competes during one of his five races so far

Greaves said he is enjoying the experience so far, and is eager to develop on what he has learnt when he returns to Guyana next weekend. This is Greaves’ third visit to the USA to participate in cycling training/ competition.

He informed that he would be back in time to challenge local counterparts in the Guyana Cycling Federation’s National

Championship, which is billed for the end of June.

Greaves has been in tremendous form this season, winning an unprecedented eight races so far in 2013.

His trip was made possible by Digicel, Bounty Farm, Spads Inc., Toucan Industries, Kevin Jeffrey and family, Café Sol, Compton Persaud, Roraima Bikers Club, Linden Dowridge and George Humphrey. (Avenash

he Guyana Association of Scrabble Players (GASP) will tomorrow stage the pre-qualifying tournament for the Courts – sponsored national championship, which is slated for June 29 to July 1 at the Bank of Guyana rooftop.

Tomorrow’s qualifying competition will be held at the Malteenoes Sports Club pavilion on Thomas Lands, with the top 10 finishers joining GASP’s top 15 ranked players in the national championship.

Admission to the qualifier is free with action set to start at 10:00 hours. GASP has extended an invitation to even the “avid home-player” to turn up and be part of the qualifier and possibly earn a shot at the national title.

The national championship is sizing up to be very competitive with not much separating the top five players. Two-time defending champion, Abigail McDonald, is the highest ranked players with 1984 points, followed by Leon Belony (1948), James Krakosky (1914), Moen Gafoor (1912) and Fred Collins (1866).

The other 10 players already through, in order of rankings, are Colin Chichester, Orlando Michael, Ruby Cummings, Wayne Cave, Devraj Deonarine, Maurice Munro, Julian Skeete, Anand Mohabir, Robert Williams and Grace Hercules.

Apart from being $50,000 richer, the

Two-time defending champion Abigail McDonald is leading the rankings heading into the “nationals”

national champion will earn the right to represent Guyana at the World Scrabble Championships to be held in Prague, Czech Republic, on December 3-8, 2013.

Prizes will be given to the top five finishers and the best newcomer. In addition, several novelty prizes such as the highest game score, highest single play and most “bingoes” will be up for grabs.

Fruta Conquerors U-13 tournament kicks off today

RBAC to participate in T Trinidad Open championships Heat sputter late, fall in game Ramzan)

he annual Fruta Conquerors Under-13 football competition will kick off this weekend with games at the Tucville ground.

In the opening game to-

T

he Running Brave Athletic Club (RBAC) will be heading to Trinidad and Tobago to participate in Trinidad’s National Open championships slated to start from June 21.

Speaking with coach of the club, Sham Johnny said the team is expected to field a seven-member team at the competition namely: South American under-23 bronze medalist Stephan James, three-time Carifta gold medalist Jevina Straker, local sprint queen Alisha Fortune, distance athlete Cleveland Thomas, sprinter Neisa Allen, jumper and 400 metres athlete Natrina Hooper and middle distance athlete Devon “Scooby” Barrington.

Johnny in a telephone interview with Guyana Times Sport expects the team to do well as the main aim of the team is to lower the personal records while indicating the level the athletes are at.

“First off we are looking to improve our personal performances and secondly we are looking for qualifications for the World Championships…we are about 85 to 90 per cent ready and we hope that within the next two week can get up

day at 12:30h, GFC will take on Northern Rangers, while an hour later Alpha United will face Riddim Squad. In the final game of the day from 14:30h, Fruta Conquerors will challenge

Western Tigers.

Two games are billed for Sunday with Renaissance tackling Pele at 09:30h, followed by Santos versus Camptown at 10:30h.

one to Spurs

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Jevina Straker

Alisha Fortune

there once the weather permits.

“We want Stephan (James) to qualify we know he can do it will be a tough task but the competition will be good,” Johnny told this publication.

With Fortune in the twilight of her career, Guyana Times Sport questioned Johnny on the expectation of the 37-year-old sprinter.

“Basically I think for her this is just seeing where she is at and if she can still compete at a high level but I won’t say it’s her last try it’s just to see where she is so we can make a decision on the way forward for her.

Johnny added: “She

(Fortune) is still giving us good reactions and good times during training which we think is good her strength and fitness right now is high so we got to go with her and we got high hopes for her,” Johnny expressed.

Meanwhile, with Carifta three-time 1500 metres gold medalist Straker making the jump to the big leagues, Johnny hinted that the top middle distance talent might surprise her skeptics.

“We have great expectations for Jevina especially at the 1500 metres we expect her to go 3:30 or even high 3:20’s because her repetitions has been good and consistent,” Johnny noted.

IAMI – LeBron James had a tripledouble.

Dwyane Wade played like his painful knee was not so painful anymore. And the Miami Heat spent most of the night holding a lead. Then they missed a bunch of shots, and started throwing the ball away.

Simple as that, the challenge of repeating as NBA champions got much tougher.

James finished with a sensational final stat line, 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists. But the Heat needed more, from their fourtime NBA MVP along with everyone else, after managing only 36 points after halftime and falling to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals 92-88 on Thursday night.

One stat may have told the story better than any other. Tony Parker had four field goals in the fourth quarter alone for the Spurs; Miami’s starting unit combined for three field goals in the pivotal period, in which the Heat were outscored 2316. ‘’The fourth quarter was the difference,’’ James said.

‘’And I could see it on a few of our guys’ faces. ... We played some really good basketball in the closing quarter, and we had some mental mistakes. And there’s only a couple of teams that you can’t have mistakes against, especially in the fourth, and San Antonio is definitely the number one team.’’

To beat the Heat, opponents have to clamp down on the Heat, and that’s exactly what San Antonio did. When Miami scores 90 points, it has gone 73-12 this season.

When it doesn’t score 90, the record is 5-9. ‘’We just tried to contain them,’’ said Tony Parker, whose 21-point night was capped by a beat-the-shotclock jumper in the final moments to seal the win for the Spurs. ‘’Tried to pack the paint and tried to force them to take outside shots.’’

It worked. Miami was 1 for 8 on shots outside the paint in the fourth quarter, 0 for 5 from 3-point range. ‘’We looked like a team that came off a sevengame series,’’ Wade said. ‘’I thought we got some shots we wanted, but we were a little careless at times as

well.’’

The Heat finished the game shooting 44 per cent, and were 8 for 25 from 3-point range. They were far from at their best offensively, and forced only four turnovers all night – a horrible sign for a team that feasts upon getting easy baskets off their opponents’ mistakes. ‘’Well, it’s pretty clear,’’ Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ‘’There were plays to be made, and our offensive inefficiency going down the stretch, most of the fourth quarter probably hurt us more than anything.’’

Up by three entering the fourth quarter, Miami shot 5 for 18 in the final 12 minutes. Chris Bosh, who finished with 13 points, was 1 for 5 in the fourth quarter.

Wade had 13 points in the first half, just four in the second half.

The Spurs, who were off for nine days before the finals, looked far more rested to close out the game. The Heat looked very much like a team that had to grind out a seven-game series against Indiana to win the East title. (Yahoo! Sport)

SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013

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Heat sputter late, fall in game one to Spurs

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IAMI – LeBron James had a tripledouble. Dwyane Wade played like his painful knee was not so painful anymore. And the Miami Heat spent most of the night holding a lead.

Then they missed a bunch of shots, and started throwing the ball away.

Simple as that, the challenge of repeating as NBA champions got much tougher.

James finished with a sensational final stat line, 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists.

Assad Fudadin

SEE FULL STORY ON PAGE 23

San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) makes the final shot of the game against the Miami Heat during the second half of Game 1

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