Guyana times november 8,2017

GCCI, CDB host 5-day bee management seminar P13

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

Issue No. 3386

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

PRICE

Teacher in brutal attack dies

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Teen arrested with illegal gun, ammoP11

Page 9

…cop in custody as investigation intensifies

Fire guts Corentyne boutique

Page 2

$80 vat included

Babita Sarjou’s ex-husband, P8 accomplice to face judge, jury

“We are learning Page 7 lessons from other oil producers” – Trotman …maintains Guyana can have both green economy, oil sector

Rehab works

Stabroek wharf vendors to be relocated opposite Parliament P12

No-show witnesses delay murder trial P8

ExxonMobil donates $10M to Guyana’s hurricane relief efforts Page 9

Skeletal P10 remains found in Enmore

ExxonMobil Guyana officials Carlton James and Kimberly Johnson-Brasington look on as Country Manager Rod Henson hands over the $10 million cheque to Minister of State, Joseph Harmon and CDC Director General, Colonel (retired) Chabilall Ramsarup. Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman also witnessed the presentation at the Ministry of the Presidency on Tuesday morning

911 system receives over 200 prank calls in 2 days – Commander …Police to go after pranksters Page 2

Sectoral Committee report finds

Patients forced to share beds in Maternity Ward

Page 3

…paediatric unit lacking sufficient ventilation

Region 2 Vice Chairman dissatisfied over slow pace of P13 projects …says contractors not working according to bill of quantities

2 news

wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

911 system receives over 200 prank calls in 2 days – Commander …Police to go after pranksters

T

he Guyana Police Force (GPF) is reporting that operators of the newly-relaunched 911 emergency system received more than 200 prank calls

in just 48 hours.

However, A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara) Commander, Assistant Commissioner Marlon Chapman has since

vowed to go after the pranksters and make an example out of them.

On Friday, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan recommissioned

the system, and at the ceremony, he sounded a stern warning to pranksters revealing that the new system has the capability to trace calls and pinpoint locations

so that the Police could go after the perpetrators.

Speaking with Guyana Times on Tuesday, Commander Chapman said that the Police were in the process of getting the names and numbers of those who are making the prank calls.

“We have received over 200 prank calls since we launched the system and this is affecting the real emergencies, because we have to determine the pranks. But we are investigating the callers and investigations are ongoing.

Very soon we will determine who those persons are and then actions would be taken against them,” Chapman said.

The GPF commissioned the 911 Emergency System at the Brickdam Police Station in Georgetown, with plans to take the new system to 52 other locations within the country to promote better Police response while enhancing crime-fighting efforts.

Some 46 officers have been trained to operate the system, which has been commissioned to respond to calls from citizens across Guyana and prompt Police response.

A Division Commander Marlon Chapman

In addition, citizens can send text messages to 911 instead of calling and the operators can render assistance. The system has been reintroduced, and would be supported, with the assistance of local phone companies GTT and Digicel, after several years of non-operation.

Ramjattan had stated that a holistic approach was taken towards ensuring that the new 911 emergency system did not repeat the poor service that was provided in the past.

Fire guts Corentyne boutique

The charred interior of the boutique

A

n early-morning fire ripped through a clothing establishment located in Number 78 Village, Corentyne, Berbice on Tuesday, leaving the business owner counting millions of dollars in losses.

The now gutted building housed the Indulge Boutique, which was owned and operated by Rajeshwar Ramdass, a well-known entrepreneur in Berbice.

According to information reaching Guyana Times, the fire started during intense rainfall around 04:00h. This was as the heavy winds and downpour resulted in sparks emanating from nearby electrical wires which quickly spread to the building.

Ramdass, who resides

in Springlands, Corentyne, several villages away from Number 78, was only informed of the incident after his establishment was already engulfed in flames.

The 46-year-old told the media that by the time he arrived at the scene after receiving a call from residents within the area, it was too late to salvage anything.

This publication understands that firefighters arrived shortly after a report was made, but they had no water and as such, were forced to break one of the main pipelines in the village to extinguish the blaze.

The Guyana Fire Service has since launched an investigation.

news

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wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

Sectoral Committee report finds

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Patients forced to share beds in Maternity Ward

Wednesday, November 8 – 08:30h-10:00h and Thursday, November 9 – 09:00h-10:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Wednesday, November 8 – 07:30h-09:00h and Thursday, November 9 – 08:20h-09:50h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika and Supenaam departure times - 05:00h, 11:00h and 16:00h daily

WEATHER TODAY Thunderstorms and heavy rain showers are expected to prevail throughout the day, with more thunderstorms in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging from Easterly to East North-easterly between 2.23 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 07:17h and 19:31h reaching maximum heights of 2.56 metres and 2.61 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 00:46h and 13:04h reaching minimum heights of 0.46 metre and 0.73 metre respectively.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2017

LOTTERY NUMBERS M

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10 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017

DAILY MILLIONS 01 03 11 16

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…paediatric unit lacks sufficient ventilation

A

visit by a parliamentary delegation to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) has revealed less than ideal conditions for new mothers, at both the maternity and paediatric wards.

Back in May, a visit and review of the hospital by the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Social Services found that the Maternity Ward sees and treats more patients than beds can accommodate. As a result, new mothers continue to have to double up in the beds in order to accommodate each other.

The Committee, which was led by Member of Parliament, Dr Vindhya Persaud, was debriefed by department head Denise Marks, who reported that there are 23 beds in the pre-natal unit; nine beds with four monitors in the labour room and six beds with six monitors in the delivery room. All of this is overseen by a staff complement of 51 midwives.

This was juxtaposed with the fact that the ward not only caters for pregnant mothers from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), but also from regional hospitals around the country. The Committee related that Marks informed them of the need for the hospital to have a ward catering to Region Four mothers only.

“In response to an inquiry on whether the staff complement was adequate, Ms Marks stated that there was a need for more midwives. She suggested a total of 102 was adequate. In addressing constraints faced by the department, she stated that there was a need for the Maternity Ward to have its own Electrocardiogram (ECG) machine, ultrasound machine and about 15 monitors in total,” the committee recorded.

In its recommendations for the maternity unit, the Committee advised that the ward should have no less that 102 midwives. It also urged that the ward be outfitted with an ECG machine, 15 monitors and an ultrasound machine.

The Maternity Ward is not the only department experiencing issues with overcrowding. On the same visit to the GPHC, the parliamentary team found that the Accident and Emergency Unit (A&E) of the hospital was also grappling with cramped space. It also had issues with shortages of staff and drugs, along with the poor maintenance of equipment.

According to a report from that visit, Head of A&E, Dr Zulficar Bux revealed that the Unit has 18 beds and a staff of 16

The new Maternity Ward

doctors assisted by nurses.

These beds, the reports noted, are expected to cater for 60 to 100 patients.

The doctor had also revealed that these 16 doctors see between 100 to 200 patients per day, including referrals. There have been cases, the report revealed, where elective surgeries we’re cancelled due to overcrowding.

Paediatric Ward

The Paediatric Ward, where the new born babies are kept, monitored and given post-natal care, was also highlighted in the report. While they observed that the ward was clean and child friendly, the Committee was informed that it lacked fundamental equipment like air conditioning units and sufficient fans.

Dr Seepersaud, head of the unit, informed the parliamentary delegation that this causes the ward to be humid, which is detrimental to both staff and patients. The Committee was also informed of other is-

sues including malfunctioning equipment, prolonged repair time and shortages of medication and equipment.

Even though the ward is the only one in the hospital that performs Paediatric Cardiology, it was noted that it has been operating without its full complement of staff, especially those who work as specialists. “(Seepersaud) stated that there is need for nurses to be specialised in nursing care, specifically related to paediatric care. However, she noted that there is a baby care foundation programme that aids the department in achieving its mandate.”

The parliamentary com-

mittee recommended a number of changes to the Paediatric Unit. These include the installation of air conditioning units in the ward and for technicians to be trained and in place to maintain the equipment.

It noted the importance of clear policies to be developed for the department, as well as for the nurses to be trained in paediatric care.

The committee also recommended that a cardiac unit be established for children cardiology.

“The quality of equipment, machinery and instruments should be taken into consideration when making purchases for the department,” the Committee also urged. “The issues of drug and staff shortages and other medical supplies should be addressed urgently.”

Earlier this year, the new Maternity Ward was opened to the public. In consideration of instances when two mothers were made to share one bed, the multimillion-dollar unit was supposed to help alleviate this issue.

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Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

A frightening lesson

T

he events that unfolded following the unilateral appointment of the new Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) have attracted much debate; for and against. Many arguments have been made regarding constitutionality or lack thereof through interpretation and/or misinterpretation. While that will seemingly continue unabated, one certainty is the said appointment was clearly an act of bad faith.

This conclusion is based upon information in the public domain, which alluded to the establishment of a bipartisan committee to “search” for a suitable candidate if the third list of nominees were to be rejected. It is believed that this mechanism was proposed by the Government and while it might have been advised about it not being catered for within the confines of the Constitution, it remained a natural option. None have since disputed this gentleman’s agreement between the leadership of both sides of the political divide.

That anticipated political compromise offered much optimism for consensus to effect arguably the most important appointment of an office holder in our society. More importantly, with the redrawing of conspicuous political lines following the 2015 General Election and the ensuing further polarisation of major factions of society, one would have expected adherence to good faith through the Administration’s own proposal as reported.

The third list was rejected and the thought of the bipartisan committee were immediately suppressed by the announcement of the now infamous unilateral appointment. That brief public proclamation not only demonstrated scant regard for constitutional processes, but shattered expectations for bipartisanship, scuttled the democratic process, evaporated any semblance of trust in the Government and further widened the dividing line among Guyanese.

In other words, that announcement has driven a stake into Guyanese hopes for this government-led bipartisanship, the place where the onus would naturally fall. On deeper examination, it exposes an extended charade during which the public was convinced that 18 CVs were being vetted which necessitated time. None can necessarily argue with such scrutiny given the importance and magnitude of the office in question.

However, it was subsequently revealed by the appointee that he was told of his appointment a few hours before his primetime nighttime swearing-in.

That exposed any sense of believability in the prior extensive vetting process. Firstly, in the context of how matters unfolded, should the public believe that scrutiny of the 18 CVs actually took place or was it just a mechanism to create such an expectation?

Secondly, within the said context, should the public believe that the current Chairman was not in the reckoning since the beginning of the process? Thirdly, shouldn’t the public believe they were taken for a ride which ended up outside the Constitution? Fourthly, in light of the total abandonment of the proposed bipartisan committee following the third rejection, should the Administration be believed on any matter especially regarding the GECOM appointment?

In addition and still on believability, the new Chairman did not qualify based upon the detailed criteria demanded by the Head of State; criteria that legal luminaries and political pundits blasted as unconstitutional. Another obvious question is why would the Head of State, who convinced the public of being meticulous in his deliberations and who appeared to have wanted all the bases covered, make the decision that is fraught with controversies? Clearly if vetting actually took place as claimed, then, based upon the foisted parameters, there is no way the current Chairman could have taken the oath of office.

What does this mean? Simply that democratic norms and enshrined processes are no longer guarantees in what should be a democratic society. How else can it be stated when there is a blatant disregard by the Administration for the voices of reason in society? The frightening consequences of such disregard have been known publicly by those who are vociferously warning of a returning autocracy. Many are with authentic memories of such in the past and their warnings are for the signs to be heeded.

History will reveal the existence of an autocracy for almost three decades for those with related believability issues. None can doubt the ominous signs of one anew given the suppression of democratic procedures with one example being the unilateral appointment of the new GECOM Chairman. With these two in mind, the believability factor for a return to authoritarian rule is extremely high. Is this the hidden lesson of the said unilateral appointment? Is the lesson now a reality? Many seem convinced.

A climber stands atop the jagged peak of the Täschhorn in the Swiss Alps. National Geographic ‘Your Shot’ photographer Ben Tibbetts was in the same group that climbed the 14,734-foot mountain. “We set off under a fine starry sky, but before it even got light it started snowing... making for a long day out”

Guyana must not become another Kenya (Pt 2) Dear Editor, The first free and fair elections held that year in Kenya came at a heavy cost with 5000 dead and 25,000 displaced.

The Kikuyus allied with the Kalenjins butchered the Luos, Luhas and Kambas.

As far as the Kikuyus were concerned, free and fair elections though agreed to was not expected to displace Kenyatta’s KANU party. But as elections go, the old guard in KANU was eventually replaced by new faces.

Ten years later, a National Rainbow Coalition combining leaders from several tribes, led by Mwai Kibaki, dethroned the KANU Party in free and fair elections held in 2002.

Kibaki was elected President.

Kibaki’s style of governing rings a familiar bell in the present-day Guyanese context.

He was deemed an old school politician with a preference for delegating. He had a magisterial, elitist rather than an activist approach to governance, while keeping himself aloof and above the fray. The populace was kept at a distance.

These perceived deficiencies notwithstanding Kibaki

were known to have a steely side to his governance style.

This was reflected following the 2007 elections when he claimed victory and swore himself in in the wee hours of the morning even before the final results were announced.

Those elections were mired in controversy and were followed by widespread riots and killings.

The results were close: 4,584,761 votes went to Kibaki’s National Unity Party while 4,352,993 for Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement.

Kibaki ran a minority Government which included the remnants of the KANU party.

Elections in Kenya have been on a roller coaster since then, with amoeba-like alliances taking shape year after year.

This year’s election was no different. Two newly formed electoral alliances; the National Super Alliance, led

by Odinga and the Jubilee Alliance led by Kenyatta, reflected three main characteristics of Kenyan electoral politics.

First, the old KANU and KADU parties had been replaced by alliances; second, the decades long battles between the Kenyattas and Odingas continued; and thirdly, the tribal demarcations remained intact much the same as in Guyana save and except in the latter’s case it was the racial demarcations that remained intact.

We now know the outcome of the October 26, 2017 election which was boycotted

by Odinga’s alliance but gave Kenyatta’s, 99 per cent of the total votes cast.

Odinga’s alliance’s call for electoral reforms is not much different from Guyana’s political Opposition’s call.

There are important lessons to be learnt from the Kenyan electoral experience.

Boycotting an election can prove to be a complex step with a host of factors to be considered. Any decision in that direction has political implications for the short-, mediumand long-term.

Both Kenya’s and Guyana’s elections have been characterised by fraud and violence especially during the 1968-1992

period. Compounding this deficiency is the perennial polarisation and voting along ethnic lines.

Already, widespread fears are being raised in Guyana about rigged elections in 2020. This fear has been fuelled by the People’s National Congress Reform’s decision to pick a Chairman for GECOM outside the Carter Center Formula, buttressed by that party’s crooked elections track record.

In the circumstances therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the road towards the 2020 elections is fraught with grave dangers, since both the ruling A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change and the Opposition People’s Progressive Party have begun girding their loins for big battles ahead.

Who will win the war will depend on the correlation of social and political forces at the national and international levels at that given point in time.

Sincerely, Clement J Rohee

Favourable resolutions to difficulties Dear Editor, The news media all reported about President David Granger’s meeting with officials of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU). The President’s swift response was surprising to say the least and served to convey the impression that the Administration was concerned about the plight of the nation’s teachers. The interest shown by the State must have been pleasing to the eyes and ears of our teachers who play a tremendous role in moulding and training the nation.

But I have long learnt and strongly believe that the devil is in the details. And it is with that in mind that I have examined what the nation’s

teachers have gotten from the President’s intervention. Well, from what is reported, they will receive an interim pay rise of between six to eight per cent. If one is guided by the Public Sector imposed pay rises, it means that no teacher earns more than $299,000 per month. While the President speaks about an educated nation, seemingly in terms of the teachers’ pay packet, scant attention is paid. We are told this is an interim arrangement. But this tune seems familiar. Oh yes, the same thing was told to the public servants in 2016.

Then with the usual two card trick, the teachers and the public are told that a task force will be established to examine

the Union’s concerns and requests. Again, another familiar song is being sung. Our nation is now more than at any other time in its history has a bevy of task forces, committees, Commissions of Inquiry and other such like. The reports which emanated from those exercises lie idly, gathering dust on our leaders’ shelves. Let me hope that the teachers’ task force does not follow its predecessors. Furthermore, the task force, as far as I can see, will only make recommendations which the Administration is not bound to accept. Certainly, the matters of concern could have been settled over the bargaining table. But all in all, one can expect that it’s another

smoke screen.

In light of the President’s meeting with the teachers’ union, he is now duty bound to engage the sugar workers and public service unions alike.

Both have large segments of workers employed by the State, that have legitimate grouses with the Administration’s approach to them and their representative organisations. I hope the President in similar haste engages the workers and unions concerned towards finding favourable resolutions to their difficulties. Anything less Mr President would be seen as discriminatory.

Yours faithfully, Patricia Persaud

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Appointment of The AFC and other parties in Justice Patterson APNU are like an abused spouse should be quashed

Dear Editor, Just around ten days ago, I penned a piece which was published in your newspaper on the 26th Oct, 2017, captioned “The AFC is sleepwalking into an immediate oblivion” where I cited, among other things, the fact that the AFC was not consulted on such an important national issue as the appointment of the GECOM chairman and that the AFC has no nominee representative as a commissioner of GECOM as the bases for my assertion.

Fast forward just nine days later and no other than the President of Guyana who heads a coalition with the AFC under the APNU-AFC government not only publicly confirms in unabashedly unequiv-

ocal words that the AFC is irrelevant but goes further by saying that the AFC is without the capable leadership Guyana needs.

Granger speaking at the 5th Biennial Conference of the People’s National Congress Reform – North American Region being held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States made two important statements.

First, he said of the PNC that “(n)o other party at this time or in the future can give Guyana the quality of leadership …”.

Second, “(t)he PNC is the face of the future…”. It could not be any clearer and I need not say anything else to advance this contention any further. None other than President Granger has closed this case.

It is, however, interesting that Granger denigrates the quality of leadership capacity of the AFC since its leaders hold positions as ministers of government which includes none other than his son-inlaw Dominic Gaskin who is an executive member of the AFC. This is the part where young people would write “LOL” and #iwouldashame #iwouldastoptalktomyfatherinlaw. On Granger’s statement questions now need to be raised whether the AFC leaders are the best persons to hold ministerial positions in the government.

It is also interesting that Granger in those very statements also disregarded publicly the other parties which

form the APNU. Nevertheless, after reading those statements, the AFC and the other parties which comprise the APNU will shamelessly tuck their tail between their legs and say “no is not true” and/ or “he didn’t mean that” like an abused spouse who always makes an excuse for the abuser in a relationship which almost always ends in tragedy.

The AFC and the other parties in the APNU are irrelevant and without the quality of leadership Guyana needs – Granger said so.

Sincerely, Charles S Ramson Attorney-at-Law Former Member of Parliament

Recognising what is at stake Dear Editor, President David Granger demonstrates an immaturity in several of his decisions that appeared to be designed to impose his “one-man-will” on a “750,000-person” nation. The last time I checked, President Granger at his political peak secured 4506 votes more than the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) candidate. So why is he operating like he won 78 per cent of the votes similar to the numbers the People’s National Congress (PNC) declared for itself in 1985.

In an economy that is crumbling today, his entire organisation has been pushed behind the eight-ball. Therefore, he cannot automatically count on the commitment of 207,200 voters that voted for him in 2015. Actually, any astute political mind will tell you that it is now a foregone conclusion that if Granger stands for office in 2020, he will not get more than 200,000 votes in the 2020 elections. Two reasons – that five per cent from the PPP is now well entrenched back into the PPP fold thanks to the superb grassroots political work of President Jagdeo. Secondly, although that 10 per cent called the rational middle might not automatically vote for the PPP, they have totally abandoned the AFC and have little interest in the ideas coming from the PNC (coalition, call it

what you want, it is the PNC). Actually, today the PNC is right back where it was in 2006 at its natural strength of 35 per cent of the population.

So listening to Granger’s comments while he was in Atlanta is a stark reminder that the PNC is out of political options, save and except for compromised elections. That is why Patterson is so vital to 2020.

It is important that all Guyanese reject this 1970/1980’s line of thinking from Granger. Guyana was fortunate in the past to have a “President Hoyte” who was wise enough to put an end to all the selfish political opportunism practices by a few that were nothing else but antiquated and antedated.

I am not here giving the PPP a free pass. We all know the PPP did much wrong in their style of governance, but there is a fundamental difference I am seeing between Granger’s term and the PPP’s terms – the PNC’s appears willing to tamper with the electoral process, they are grossly incompetent at growing the economy and they are unprepared to seek help, and most worrisome is that the PNC seems very willing to engage in ethnic and racial suppression.

For a country like Guyana to grow economically, it needs ethnic calm and racial stability. Unfortunately, the Ministry of

the Presidency appears to be one of the lead perpetrators of this instability. As a retired politician, I find myself asking how have we arrived at this point and what can we do to stop it.

First off, we must all call for a timeout and it must be led by President Granger. He must stop this vulgarity and rule the country like a leader, not a tribalist. He must stop operating like a “Vulgarian-in-Chief” on the public service appointments, on the application of the rule of law and most importantly, on the social cohesion process. He must trust all the Guyanese people and engage and collaborate more. If he does good, the people will embrace him but so far the people are judging him by his actions and he comes across as aloft and bigoted.

Yes, he may lose at free and fair elections, but he must be the bigger man and recognise what is at stake here – Guyana, not the PNC or PPP. For 50 years this nation has suffered economically and politically, so much so that we have more Guyanese outside of Guyana rather than inside, so why would you want to rule the country in such a manner to continue to push our brightest and best out of the country every day?

Regards, Sase Singh

The real Zulfikar Mustapha

Dear Editor, A few persons contacted me assuming the Muhammed Mustapha who signed a letter appearing in sections of the media was me. To clear up any misunderstanding, I felt it necessary that I share my position on the matters raised in the letter in order for the public to know my views.

The letter appearing under the title “Still a chance for APNU/AFC regime to come good” made interesting reading and had me wondering from which story book it came. It seems, from the letter, that the ‘author’ is living in a fool’s paradise completely disconnected from the realities of our times.

He begins arguing that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) was not able to convince 51 per cent of the electorate to vote for that party. But the letter writer seems to forget that the 2015 elections results were disputed and currently action by the PPP/C has been stymied in the Judiciary. One has to wonder why this is so. Certainly, if the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) were so confident of itself and its vic-

tory, it would join the calls for the Elections Petition matter to be heard in a speedy manner. Clearly, it’s not farfetched to imagine that the Administration does not want the Guyanese people to know about how it truly won the polls. Many persons were deceived by the propaganda and the APNU/AFC promises of the moon and stars. But today, two and half years down the road, what have Guyanese gotten? Many promises have been dashed, heavier tax burdens placed on our backs, we see a contracting economy and face all-round hardship.

Mr Mustapha then says the PPP/C Councillors are engaged in corrupt practices at the Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) Regional Democratic Council (RDC) level. But wasn’t it just a few weeks ago, two AFC leaders in the region came to blows over the payment for contracts which from media reports were not free of corruption. Moreover, the RDC and the Tender Board are bi-partisan and, therefore, awarding of contracts and decision-making involve all the political parties. Thus in this respect, if there are indeed

corrupt practices, it could very well involve a cross-section of Councillors. It seems the letter writer is merely huffing and puffing and serving propaganda ends.

The author also says that the PPP/C was aware that the PetroCaribe rice deal would have come to an end in 2015.

This is a matter that former Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy has conclusively and effectively debunked. The fact that the lucrative contract was ended was in no small part due to the aggressive posture adopted by the APNU/AFC towards Venezuela. But Mr Mustapha, a persistent question is: what happened to the promised $9000 per bag of paddy? Also, what happened to the highly-touted Mexican rice market? Weren’t those to make the farmers lives better? Today, the stark reality is there for all to see, farmers are hard-pressed to meet their obligations, if at all, and rice production has contracted significantly eroding the nation’s foreign exchange earnings and placing the lives of thousands connected to the rice industry to face an uncertain future.

While Mr Mustapha decries about putting our eggs in one basket, he did not go on to indicate that this is exactly what the APNU/AFC is seeking to do. Today, our traditional industries which provided and still provide employment, helped us to weather the storms in rough times, and made no small contribution to development and progress are being deemed as curses. And all we hear is oil, oil and more oil. The fact remains there are many unanswered questions surrounding oil and assumptions being made seem far-fetched. Remember Mr Mustapha, all that a glitter is not gold.

We continue to see blunder after blunder committed by the Administration which have reversed years of progress and in that process made our people’s life worse off. All the talk about a ‘Good Life’ has all but vanished and replaced with a sense of hopelessness, despair and uncertainty.

Sincerely, Zulfikar Mustapha (real me) PPP/C Member of Parliament

Dear Editor, Lying on one’s CV about one’s employment history is a cardinal sin, especially from a person who is supposed to embody the qualities of honesty, integrity and impartiality.

This has now been excused by Justice Patterson as ‘a slip of the pen’.

The Grenada Newsletter dated June 13, 1987 indicated that Justice Patterson was the Chief Justice in the Maurice Bishop case whereby 17 persons were convicted. The question before him then was the status of the Grenada Supreme Court. It would seem that he acted as Chief Justice is this single instance. However, this should have been stated in his resume. The CV should have indicated the period of employment and the fact whether he was acting or not in that capacity. The President should have questioned this omission; it is a grave error for Justice Patterson to simply state the he was the Chief Justice of Grenada. Furthermore, is it not strange that the newly appointed Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman could not recall when and for how long he was the acting Chief Justice? How could he fail to recall such a high profile case, as Maurice Bishop’s case?

Furthermore, when Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo submitted the lists,

the President would normally take weeks to ‘study’ the various CVs, but in this instance he just took a few hours to find that Justice Patterson was ‘fit and proper’ for the job. Why this insane haste to appoint and swear in Justice Patterson? Does it not seem as though the President already made his decision and the submission of the CV a mere formality?

If a man is suffering from amnesia and cannot write a proper resume, is he ‘fit and proper’ to be the Chairman of GECOM? Therefore, this is not only about the unconstitutionality of the appointment but about a false CV. Two weeks after his appointment, Justice Patterson wants us to believe that his pen slipped. No his pen did not slip, it failed to write the fact that he acted as Chief Justice.

He cannot even find a ‘fit and proper’ excuse. Is there a guarantee that his pen will not ‘slip’ during his tenure as the Chairman for GECOM? In conclusion, the appointment of Justice Patterson should be quashed or Justice Patterson on his own volition should do the honourable thing and resign immediately!

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf RDC Councillor, Region Six

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conclusion

By Debbie Pincus

Don’t blame: If your child is being bullied, don’t blame her for what’s happening. Don’t ask, “Well, what are you doing to make the children pick on you? You must be doing something.”

There is often no reason for a child to be picked on, other than that they are in the line of sight of another child who wants to taunt or hurt them. There is no justification for bullying. Blaming your child will only make them shut down – or worse, blame themselves for what’s happening. Instead, let your child know that it’s not them – anyone can be a target. It’s often just a case of wrong place, wrong time, and any kind of difference or vulnerability can do it.

The best way to help your child not be a target is to help them practise not reacting from fear or anger.

Have open conversations: Talk with your child about your own experiences. Really empathise with them and their situation by being authentic with them. It’s okay to say, “I feel so sad when I hear what you’re going through. I’m here to help you.” Do your best to have the kind of relationship where you keep the lines of communication open. Encourage them to talk to other adults in their lives who they might be close to, as well – sometimes an aunt, friend or teacher can give advice and say things that you might not be able to say because you’re too close to the problem.

Strategise with your child

You can help your child by having problem-solving conversations around bullying, and coming up with strate-

guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation

gies together. Here are a few you might suggest to your child: Teach your child not to react out of fear: Often, children feel shocked and paralysed when someone calls them a cruel name or hurts them. If they stand there and take it, get upset and lose control, or start crying, the other children will have what they want – a reaction. Let your child know that reacting out of fear or anger is going to set them up for more of the same: either way, it’s just going to fuel the fire. I think the simplest way to change the dynamic is to make the bully feel uncomfortable with their own behaviour. As a general rule, children should try to avoid hitting or fighting back verbally or physically – this often will only cause the bullying to escalate.

Tell your child to say something that’s short, simple, and neutral but that doesn’t necessarily egg on the other person more, and then leave the scene.

Have some slogans ready – and then walk away: One simple phrase like “Cut it out” or “Stop” or “I’ve had enough” or “Not funny” can be very effective when your child is being bullied. Encourage them to find a way to say something that feels right to them.

They don’t need to insult the other person back or get reactive to it. Above all, they don’t want to get into a fight with the other child because that’s just going to feed it. Walking away—and not engaging with the child who is bullying them—is one of the best ways to defuse this situation.

Ignore the bully: As hard as it is for children in this situation, tell your child to try to ignore bullying by either pretending they don’t hear or by keeping a straight face and not reacting to the taunts. It’s often very effective for

children to act as if they are uninterested in the insults and to simply refrain from responding to them. You can practise with your child at home, too, by role playing the situations they face at school. Help them practise not showing anger or fear.

Use the buddy system: Tell your child that there is strength in numbers; when your child is with a friend, it makes it harder to be isolated or targeted by bullies.

Talk to an adult: Encourage your child to go to his school guidance counsellor, a teacher, or a school administrator when she is being bullied. It is the duty of school officials to hold anyone who is bullying another student accountable. Explain the difference between “tattling” and “telling”. Tattling is done for the purpose of getting somebody else in trouble, and telling is done because something is going on that’s not okay and an adult needs to know.

Telling is done to protect oneself and to protect others.

When it’s time to step in

If things have escalated to a point where you need to step in and take more official action, tell your child you’re going to help him and work with him so the situation doesn’t become worse. Remind him that it is his right to feel safe at school. Decide on the best way to do that together without overreacting or jumping in too quickly. Listen to your child carefully, hear the whole story, ask him how he sees it, and ask what would be most helpful to him. Children need to know that someone more powerful than the bully is on their side and can put a stop to the bullying – and often, that someone is you.

(Excerpt from empoweringparents.com)

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8 tips for raising a mentally strong child

he world is full of challenges.

Being mentally strong is a fundamental part of facing these challenges. It’s important to raise our children to be mentally strong so that they feel capable of facing these challenges.

Mentally strong children are able to approach problems in a productive way, recover from failures with efficiency and face difficulties in a competent manner. If you want your child to be able to confront challenges you should help him develop his mental strength.

What is mental strength?

Mental strength depends on resilience, self-esteem, confidence and self-efficacy.

Helping children develop their mental strength requires an approach that integrates the following: • The substitution of negative thoughts for more realistic thoughts • Emotional control • Productive behaviour, even in less than favourable circumstances Strategies for the development of mental strength in children Teaching specific abilities to correct bad behaviour When a child misbehaves we have an excellent opportunity to teach them specific abilities, such as the ability to resolve problems, control impulses and exercise self-discipline. These abilities will help the child learn to behave in a productive manner, to face circumstances and difficult setbacks and to resolve their problems.

Letting children make their own mistakes Your child will learn very valuable life lessons if you let them make their own mistakes. The job of a parent is not to protect their children from error, but rather to teach them that mistakes are part of the learning process, so you shouldn’t feel ashamed or uncomfortable about it.

Parents and educators should teach children to learn from their mistakes and urge them to try again, learning from the failures made the last time. Besides, you have to allow natural consequences to happen, as long as it’s safe, and talk to your kids about how to avoid that same mistake from repeating itself next time.

Keeping negativity from them It’s hard for children to feel mentally strong when they are humiliated or when they are taught to expect bad outcomes. Encourage your child to think realistically and

positively. Realistic thoughts help to strengthen optimism as the child learns to find opportunities and trust in his own abilities.

Helping the child face fear If a child avoids the things he is afraid of, he’ll never have the opportunity to gain confidence in his own ability to deal with the stress this type of situation causes.

Furthermore, every child has their own fears. The solution is to accompany and help them gain the necessary confidence in themselves to face their fears.

When children successfully face their fears, they gain confidence, learn to get out of their comfort zone and discover the satisfaction of having achieved something for themselves.

Allowing the child to feel uncomfortable Though it can be tempting to help a child when he is struggling against uncomfortable feelings, to rescue him from every difficulty will only reinforce dependency. If the child feels frustrated, bored or angry, you have to give him a chance to resolve the problem independently.

Children can build their mental strength when they successfully learn that they can cope with their emotions.

Affirming the child’s personal responsibility Gaining mental strength implies accepting personal responsibility. In order to do this, you need to allow the child to explain his actions, but without using excuses or blaming others for what he’s done.

Teaching abilities of emotional control In order to build up children’s mental strength, they need to be conscious of their emotions. It’s not about suppressing your feelings, but about teaching them to choose the healthy ways to deal with those feelings.

When children understand their feelings and know how to deal with them, they are better prepared to face challenges.

Being a role model of mental strength There is no better way to teach than to do so through examples. It’s not enough to just talk to a child about what he has to do, you have to show him. It’s helpful to talk to them about your personal goals and explain to them what you’re doing to become better.

Demonstrating mental strength in your own life is the best way to teach a child to be strong. (exploringyourmind.com)

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wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

“We are learning lessons from other oil producers” – Trotman …maintains Guyana can have both green economy, oil sector

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman

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atural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman is adamant that contrary to the prevailing criticisms that Government is being ill-advised and is, in fact, not adequately preparing Guyana for an oil and gas sector – the Government is watching and learning from other nations.

The Minister was at the time speaking during the opening of a geosciences technology workshop, organised by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), on Monday.

According to Trotman, the Government is pursuing technical cooperation engagements like these, which can provide information with a nexus between the technical and the straightforward.

He acknowledged the importance of not only considering geological developments, but economic and commercial trends. Given the size of investment needed, Trotman said that understanding the geological occurrences in other oil-producing nations was especially important.

“Owing to the dynamic nature of the earth’s surface and the continental crust that we reside on, many structural changes have occurred that have allowed us to draw parallels with other onshore and offshore (oil) basins and to observe the successes and failures as we continue on this journey.”

He told the gathering at the Marriott Hotel that just recently a local team attend-

ed an oil producers’ conference in Trinidad, where the importance of learning from locations with similar geology and its role in successful exploration were greatly highlighted. “When there is a thorough understanding of geology and how it affects production, we can ensure optimal resource planning, efficient utilisation, and maximum recovery and successes.”

Trotman noted that Guyana would have the task of not only preparing legislative and institutional frameworks to efficient-

Block, since ExxonMobil’s 2015 oil find in Guyana. In May of that year, Exxon confirmed that more than 295 feet of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs was encountered at its Liza 1 exploration well.

In late June 2016, Exxon’s drilling results at Liza 2 revealed more than 58 metres of oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs in Upper Cretaceous formations. The well was drilled to 5475 metres at 1692 metres water depth. Drilling results confirmed recoverable resources to be between 800 million

Exxon’s operations in the Stabroek Block

ly manage the oil and gas sector in Guyana, but to also mentally prepare for the changes that petroleum production would bring.

He was also adamant that Government remained committed to its green state development, alongside the oil sector and to the youths.

This is despite Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, an economist, pointing out the obvious; the contradiction of having a “green economy”, that is based on renewable energy, while making plans for oil to become a major economic player.

“We are committed to managing our energy sector within the ambit of a green economy,” the Minister expressed. “And, of course, our youth are very important to us and will be more so in the next decade.

There has been a flurry of activities in the Stabroek

and 1.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Data from the Liza 2 well test is being assessed.

The company had announced that it made its third significant discovery in its drilling explorations offshore Guyana. Its partner, Hess Corporation, had noted that the Liza 3 exploratory well’s net value could be US$6.2 billion based on calculations from the Bank of Montreal (BMO) Capital Markets.

Drilling on the Payara well began on November 12, 2016, with initial total depth reached on December 2, 2016. In January of this year, the oil giant had announced it had struck oil in its Payara-1 well, targeting the same type of reservoirs as the well’s Liza counterpart.

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres. Esso

Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (Exxon’s subsidiary) is the operator and holds a 45 per cent interest in the Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds a 30 per cent inter-

est, and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds a 25 per cent interest.

The lesser-known Orinduik oil block has been under the administration of Eco Guyana and

British company Tullow, after they signed a 10-year Petroleum Prospecting Licence and Production Sharing Agreement with Government last year.

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wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Babita Sarjou’s ex-husband, accomplice to face Judge, jury

Murdered: Babita Sarjou

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hardanand Narine and alleged his accomplice Darryl Pronton were on Tuesday committed to stand trial in the High Court for the murder of 28-year-old Babita Sarjou, whose body was dug up from a shallow grave in her ex-husband’s yard in May last year – some six years after she went missing.

Following the conclusion of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI), the two-murder accused heard that a prima facie case has been made out against them and as

such they were committed to stand trial before a Judge and jury at the next sitting of the Demerara Criminal assizes.

They were committed

by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the presence of their representing Attorney’s Ronald Trotman and Hubert Rodney.

Narine, also called “Anand” of Lot 51 Seaforth Street, Campbellville, Georgetown; and Pronton, called “Yankee” of Lot 54 Broad Street, Charlestown, were charged in May last year with the brutal murder of Sarjou.

The charge against the two alleged that on November 4, 2010, at Campbellville, Georgetown, they murdered the mother of one.

Babita Sarjou went missing in November 2010 after she left her mother’s Timehri, East Bank Demerara home to meet her son and estranged husband to view the annual Diwali

Murder accused: Shardanand Narine

Murder accused: Darryl Pronton

motorcade at the Kitty seawall.

According to Sarjou’s mother, Champa Seonarine, after her daughter failed to return home, she assumed that she must have stayed with her husband.

The following morning however, Narine called Seonarine’s residence and enquired of Sarjou’s whereabouts, explaining “the little bai (Sarjou’s son) want talk to his mother”. Narine had initially told investigators that Sarjou never showed up for their meeting

that night.

A report was then lodged at the Kitty Police Station and Seonarine was told that Narine had already lodged a report at the station, claiming Sarjou could not be found and he was there to ‘clear his side’.

For years, the case remained inactive as investigators hit a stumbling block. The case was however reopened in 2016 after Police received information of what may have happened to Sarjou.

Narine, who was released after Police had no

No-show witnesses delay murder trial

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s the trial of Vigilance, East Coast Demerara resident Michael Britton nears its end, the absence of the final witnesses is hindering the prosecution from closing the case.

Britton stands accused of murdering miner, Refford Williams at 10 Miles Backdam, Port Kaituma, North West District, Region One (Barima-

Waini).

The trial was scheduled to resume on Tuesday after a brief adjournment last week, where it was disclosed then that the two witnesses would appear.

However, when the 12-member jury and attorneys for both the prosecution and defence appeared for proceedings, the trial was delayed due to the absence of the wit-

Accused: Michael Britton

nesses. Guyana Times was told that the authorities have encountered difficulties in getting the two witnesses, who reportedly reside in the interior, to travel to Georgetown to attend the High Court proceedings and give their testimonies before Justice James Bovell-Drakes.

Nevertheless, the Judge adjourned the matter to

continue this morning.

According to reports that surfaced at the time of the incident on July 25, 2013, Britton, also called “Rasta Man”, reportedly used a piece of metal pipe to carry out the gruesome act on Williams who was also known as “Kamarang”. He met his demise by way of blunt trauma in addition to a ruptured spleen. Reports back then had also stated that after an intense argument between the two miners, Britton allegedly retrieved the metal pipe which he used to inflict injuries on Williams.

State Counsel Mandel Moore is leading the prosecution while the accused is being represented by defence counsel Ronald Burch-Smith in association with Keoma Griffith.

solid evidence against him, was picked up in 2016 and taken back into custody for further interrogation, during which he reportedly confessed to killing her and subsequently led investigators to the spot where he buried Sarjou aback his home.

After hours of digging in Narine’s yard, the team led by Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, dug up a skull, several bones, a pair of high-heeled shoes, a brassiere, and bits of clothing, all belonging to the dead

woman.

Pronton was allegedly implicated in the murder by Narine who also revealed to Police that he paid his friend some $50,000 and a promise of a trip to Trinidad in exchange for him to kill the woman.

Pronton reportedly carried out the act when Sarjou boarded Narine’s car by strangling her to death.

The duo reportedly then took the woman back to the Campbellville residence, where they buried her body in a shallow grave.

2 nabbed for alleged rape of Berbice schoolgirls

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wo male suspects, ages 22 and 23, are presently in Police custody assisting with investigations regarding the alleged drugging and rape of two teenagers on October 31, 2017 in Berbice.

This is according to acting Police B Division (Berbice) Commander, Linden Alves, when this media house made contact with him on Tuesday.

According to information received, on October 30, 2017, the mother of one of the 14-year-old girls – who is a vendor – was plying her trade when she received a call from her daughter’s school informing her that the teen had been involved in an altercation.

However, the mother reportedly told Police that her daughter did not return home until the following day with visible marks of violence about her body.

Upon being taken to the hospital, it was revealed that the 14-year-old had been raped.

When she was questioned by her mother, the young girl explained that on the day she was sent home from school (October 30), she and another friend left together. However, they were stopped by two

young men who offered to take them home.

The teens reportedly accepted the offer, but instead of taking the duo home, the men drove to a nearby bar and encouraged the girls to consume alcohol.

When they became inebriated, the suspects allegedly took their victims to a house a short distance away from the bar and raped them.

A report was made at the local Police station the very day. However, the teen’s mother explained to media operatives that Police were slow to act on the matter.

As such, when contact was made with Alves three days ago, it was then revealed that the issue had never been relayed to the Commander since the day that the report was made.

Alves has since assured that investigations are ongoing and that action will be taken against the ranks who failed to have the matter adequately handled.

Guyana Times has also been reliably informed that the relatives of the other teen involved in the matter have agreed to have the matter settled privately with the accused.

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wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

ExxonMobil donates $10M to Guyana’s hurricane relief efforts S

upport from corporate Guyana continues to swell, with oil giant ExxonMobil stepping up with a donation to the country’s hurricane relief efforts for its Caribbean neighbours that were devastated by the storms in recent months.

At the handing over Tuesday morning, President David Granger said that the Government of Guyana welcomed the $10 million donation from ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess and CNOOC Nexen, which he said would go a long way in helping the affected countries and their citizens to recover from the devastation experienced during the current hurricane season, which ends on November 30.

The donation was hand-

ed over to Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, who holds responsibility for the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), just before the start of this week’s Cabinet meeting at the Ministry of the Presidency.

Minister Harmon, in brief remarks after receiving the cheque, expressed appreciation on behalf of Government to all members of the Private Sector, including ExxonMobil, that have made resources available to the CDC to support the relief efforts.

“On behalf of the CDC and the Government of Guyana, we would like to thank ExxonMobil for giving so generously and contributing to the disaster relief efforts of the Civil Defence Commission. We are all aware of the dam-

age, which was done by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and we believe that this is an excellent demonstration of your social corporate responsibility and corporate consciousness that you have come forward without even prodding to give this generous donation,” he said.

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil Guyana’s Country Manager, Rod Henson, said that the company considered its community relationships an essential element of its business and added that in times of crisis, it is important that resources are combined.

“We have worked with the CDC before. They do a fantastic job and so we are happy to help in this effort, [which will go a long way in helping thousands of per-

Teacher in brutal attack dies …cop in custody as investigation intensifies

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he 22-year-old woman who was the reported victim of a brutal beating over the weekend and was said to be in an “unresponsive” state at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) has now succumbed to her injuries.

Dead is Kescia Branche, a mother of one and a teacher attached to the Richard Ishmael Secondary School. Branche resided in Cummings Lodge, Greater Georgetown.

The teacher reportedly succumbed to her injuries at around 17:00h on Tuesday while receiving medical treatment at the GPHC. Additionally, two persons, including a Police Constable, have been detained for questioning as the authorities continue to probe the incident.

Police A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara) Commander, Assistant Commissioner Marlon Chapman, confirmed that two persons were in custody assisting with investigations. He noted that this development is as a result of the CCTV footage provided by the

Dead: School teacher Kescia Branche

Newtown Night Club, where the teacher was partying last Saturday night.

The Police said the rank is under close arrest and cooperating. The unconscious body of the Richard Ismael Secondary School teacher was found in the vicinity of Princes Street and Louisa Row, Georgetown on Sunday morning and was rushed to the GPHC where she remained in an unconscious state, hooked up to life support machines.

Her father, Alfred Branche, told <<<Guyana Times>>> on Tuesday that he is still trying to determine what happened to his daughter. He confirmed that

the mother of one died as she was receiving treatment for severe injuries and made an appeal to anyone who may have information to come forward. She died with her twin sister at her bedside.

Kescia, who resides in Cummings Lodge, Greater Georgetown, was last seen on Saturday evening, when she left for a night out with her friends. The Police is seeking the public’s assistance to determine what may have transpired resulting in the brutal beating of the young woman.

A source close to the investigation revealed that detectives were on Monday reviewing the CCTV footage at the popular Newtown nightclub where the woman was seen partying and came across evidence of the Officer interacting with the deceased. Kescia and a friend, who is also in custody, left in a vehicle driven by the Police Constable according to the source.

Branche’s body is at the GPHC’s morgue awaiting a post-mortem examination as Police investigations are ongoing.

ExxonMobil Guyana officials Carlton James and Kimberly Johnson-Brasington look on as Country Manager Rod Henson hands over the $10 million cheque to Minister of State, Joseph Harmon and CDC Director General, Colonel (retired) Chabilall Ramsarup. Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman also witnessed the presentation at the Ministry of the Presidency on Tuesday morning

sons who have been left affected by the hurricanes],” he noted.

Additionally, Senior Director, Public and Government Affairs at ExxonMobil Guyana, Kimberly Brasington added that the United Statesbased oil giant remained supportive of efforts, which could improve the lives of persons, particularly those who have been left in vulnerable positions.

“We are committed to providing support and assistance for disaster relief and recovery efforts to affected Guyanese. We want to do our part to help ensure storm victims have the support to recover and rebuild,” she said.

CDC Director General, Colonel (retired) Chabilall Ramsarup was also present for the handing over of the cheque.

Earlier this year, the company supported the CDC’s work in post-flood relief and recovery efforts in Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) and Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) to the tune of $5 million.

The more recent con-

tribution is made in support of the Natural Resources Ministry in line with the company’s and their partners’ commitment to a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programme, from which the funds are being allocated.

Tuesday’s donation from ExxonMobil brings the total donation from corporate Guyana to the cause to $25

million.

The effort will be further boosted by a Hurricane Relief Concert, which will be held this Saturday at D’Urban Park. The concert will feature a line-up of popular Trinidadian artistes, including Patrice Roberts, Ola Tungi, and Orlando Octave alongside several of Guyana’s best performers.

10 News

wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Skeletal remains found in Enmore

Time machine S

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olice are investigating the discovery of skeletal remains suspected to be that of a human which was unearthed at a residence on Enmore Estate Road, East Coast Demerara.

According to information reaching Guyana Times, the discovery was made by the occupant of the home sometime around 14:30h on Sunday afternoon.

This publication understands that the 48-year-old man, who has been occupy-

ing the property for some four months now, was at the time cleaning the home when he stumbled upon the decomposed remains.

However, it is yet to be determined whether or not the remains belong to a human. As such, the findings were taken to a city parlour where DNA testing and further examinations are to be conducted.

Meanwhile, persons residing within the area have indicated that they are aware of the incident and while they are of the belief that the remains belong to a dead person, no suspicions where proffered as to who it can be.

However, a villager told this newspaper that the residence at which the remains was found, once housed a private school.

Investigations into the matter are ongoing.

atiricus was all confused for a while. He’d been reading about Prezzie’s speech in America and he had this weird feeling he was transported back in time. It was just like how his father had described Burnt Ham riling up his supporters during the bad old days in the sixties. He himself wanted to hear how his leaders Nagga Man and Rum Jhaat explain Prezzie’s speech, so he wasn’t worried about the ribbing he’d be getting at the Back Street Bar. “Budday!!” exclaimed Cappo, as he spied Satiricus and signalled for another beer. “A ‘War Break’ yuh know!!”

“What are you referring to?” asked Satiricus, pretending ignorance of what Cappo was referring to.

“Yuh na hear wha’ Prezzie tell ‘e ole soulja fr’en’ dem in de states?” asked Bungi sceptically. “An’ yuh ah wuk a newspapa?”

“Oh that?” Satiricus replied with raised eyebrows.

“Well is your PPCEE start the whole thing when they didn’t let Prezzie be heard.”

“Da na true, Sato,” complained Bungi. “Ev’ry t’ing bin a’rite till Nagga Man seh how de PPCEE dem a terra-ris!”

“Da wha’ me seh!” said Cappo. “War Break!! Nagga Man declare war!!”

“But Sato, why would Prezzie say so bluntly the tactics from 1964 will be used to get the Pee an’ See back into power?” asked Hari as he took a swig of his beer.

“Why you asking me?” demanded Satiricus. “I’m still waiting for my leaders Nagga Man and Rum Jhaat to explain.”

“Well Nagga Man ole enuff fuh know how Pee an’ See tek ovah de guvment in 1964 – riot!!” said Cappo. “An me hope ‘e rememba wha happen to de Pee an’ See padna right afta!”

“But befo’ Burnt Ham kick out ‘e padna, dem bin p’epare fuh rig de elekshan,” pointed out Bungi. “Yuh t’ink Nagga Man guh larn sense?”

“Not when he’s more in the air than on the ground,” said Hari. “$20 million worth of flying!”

Satiricus clinked bottles with his friends, sadly.

Region 8 man slapped with rape charge

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Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) man was on Tuesday charged with having sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl and appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Jacob Stanislas, of Monkey Mountain, Region Eight, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and denied the allegation against him.

The charge stated that between October 1 and November 1, 2017 at Monkey Mountain, the 20-year-old had sexual relations with a 13-year-old.

According to Stanislas’ Attorney, Tiffany Jeffrey, her client was having a consensual relationship with the young woman.

However, her family mem-

bers gained knowledge of such and reported the matter to the Police, which is the only reason Stanislas is being brought before the courts.

The man was released on $250,000 bail and as a condition of his bail, he was ordered to stay 50 feet away from the teen.

The case will continue on November 21.

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wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Cocaine in hammocks PI commences uments and her item was placed in a transparent bowl. Collison returned later that day with a bank statement from Citizens Bank and an ID card belonging to her mother.

The documents were

By Kizzy Coleman

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he Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the alleged trafficking of narcotics case against 26-year-old Tiffani Collison of Guyhoc Park, Georgetown, has commenced at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before the Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

The Customer Service Officer (CSO) at DHL Express where Collison attempted to ship the cocaine laced hammocks was the first to take the stand. She testified that she was approached by the accused who expressed her desire to have four hammocks shipped to the United State (US).

She reportedly told the CSO that the recipient of the hammocks, Keith Brown, who was at the time in Guyana, was being sent the hammocks as a gift.

Collison was told by the CSO that the items would be shipped and that she would receive a call when this is done. However, her documents were requested – her Identification Card (ID), TIN Certificate and a recent proof of address.

The accused reportedly

Accused drug trafficker Tiffani Collison

told the Customer Service Officer that all utility bills which would serve as a proof of address were in her mother, Nora Barton’s name.

The Officer testified that she enquired whether Barton would be able to proceed with the transaction and was told no. Collison, however, later agree to get documents from her mother to have the transaction done.

As such, she was asked to fill out a security form which would allow the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) to inspect the item.

The accused then left to acquire the relevant doc-

Teen arrested with illegal gun, ammo

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anks of the Guyana Police Force have arrested a 16-yearold East Coast Demerara (ECD) resident after he was found in possession of an illegal gun along with matching ammunition.

It was reported that after receiving certain information on Monday evening, ranks went to a

house at Chateau Margot, ECD, around 21:30h and conducted a search.

They subsequently found a .32 pistol with one matching round of ammunition in a black case in one of the bedrooms.

The 16-year-old suspect remains in Police custody and is assisting with the investigation.

documented by the Officer, the shipping fee of $35,000 was collected and the accused was told that the item would be shipped.

The item was placed in a box and sealed in the presence of Collison after which

she left. The Customer Service Officer testified that the box was sent to another department where it was later inspected by CANU. The defendant surrendered to Police after a wanted bulletin was issued for

her arrest, after CANU discovered that the hammocks were laced with 6.742kg of cocaine. She was later charged and remanded to prison for the offence.

The PI will continue on November 21.

12 NEWS

wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Rehab works

Stabroek wharf vendors to be relocated opposite Parliament

One of the grocery stalls on the wharf

Another section of the wharf

ity Hall would be relocating the vendors on the Stabroek Market wharf to the area west of Parliament building following the removal of The Island Snackette and Pizzeria to facilitate repairs to the dilapidated structures, which pose a potential risk to everyone who occupies it.

The vendors are expected to be relocated before the end of November, according to City Hall.

Town Clerk Royston King, at a previous statutory meet-

cated fell within a site which is described under the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01, as a council area. The M&CC said that the proprietors of the demolished shop “had been informed by the Council that they were required to vacate the said area and had been given reasonable and sufficient notice to so do”.

However, the owner, Anthony Forde, had said that he had never been given notice to vacate and that the late Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham gave him permission

C

ing, told the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) that notices have already been served to the owners of The Island Snackette and Pizzeria to remove their building. However, the owners requested an extension of time until the end of November, and that was granted by the M&CC. The spot identified for the vendors’ relocation is next door to the now demolished “Dread Shop”. In May of last year, City Hall dismantled the popular shop after the Council noted that the area where it was lo-

A view of the dilapidated wharf

An artist’s impression of the rehabilitated Stabroek wharf vending area

to remain at the site when the former leader held the portfolio of Prime Minister. Forde, through his attorney Nigel Hughes, filed an injunction in the Court of Appeal, but City Hall feigned ignorance and went ahead with the demolition.

Following the demolition, The Island Snackette

and Pizzeria, formerly K&VC Snackette, was left standing, but now it has to move after City Hall won a court case against the owners as well as the proprietor of Lance Photo Studio. The photo studio owners have until November 26 to remove.

Dilapidated wharf

Approximately $400 million is to be spent on rehabilitating the dilapidated Stabroek Market wharf. The portion of the stelling which faces the Demerara River is an eyesore for the thousands who use the speedboat service every day, with several parts of it collapsing over the years.

However, the rapid deterioration of the structure has not deterred persons from vending there.

At a statutory Council meeting, it was stated that following the repairs, the wharf would be rehabilitated to function as a mall, completed with a boardwalk and entertainment area. The existing vendors there would have first preference following the rehabilitation, but they would be required to pay a higher rental for the stalls.

When Guyana Times visited the vendors on the wharf, they expressed a willingness to relocate to facilitate the rehabilitation.

“We will move, but they have to make sure that we are the first to come back here when they done…because of the condition of the place we don’t get plenty business but once them done the place would be more better,” one of the vendors, Shanta Persaud, related.

She told this publication that she has been vending on the wharf for a number of years.

In addition, to vending, the area is also used as a wholesale hub for plantain, pumpkin, coconut and banana farmers who would transport their produce from different regions to Stabroek.

However, the area is also a safe haven for drug addicts and vagrants who occupy the dilapidated stalls and would quite often pounce on persons accessing the goods sold in the area.

Mayor Patricia Chase Green told this newspaper that the project was expected to begin early next year with help from the Public Infrastructure Ministry. The Ministry is responsible for the infrastructural works while the M&CC will be responsible for the vendors.

There were 318 stalls on the wharf, but that number has dwindled over the years.

13 GCCI, CDB host 5-day bee management seminar news

wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

…highlights opportunities for honey, wax production

one’s independence, persons should not be envious of those with more money or bigger operations.

“Don’t envy people with money, understand that they create jobs and they do the same things like anybody else. We got a thing in this country like if someone is getting on in life and do-

ing very well, you pull them down. If you go about life narrow, hateful, don’t care, and got a bad disposition, you ain’t going no place.

Change your perspective,” Boyer asserted.

He further encouraged the group to implement the knowledge and skills garnered from the training in

their small apiary operations.

Some of the areas to be covered throughout the seminar include installing wax foundation, types of hives and honey extraction methods. The project’s target groups are unemployed persons and vulnerable groups, youth and women.

Region 2 Vice Chairman dissatisfied over slow pace of projects A section of the participants who have been benefiting from the bee management training seminar

A

s the Private Sector continues to implement measures to encourage opportunities for small business growth, an apiculture training seminar is currently being held, focusing on entrepreneurship in bee management.

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) with the financial and technical support of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), through its Caribbean consultancy services network is implementing a threeyear project on improving the capacity of micro, small and medium-sized business in Guyana. One of the recognised sectors in the project is apiary or the bee in-

dustry.

The workshop, which began on Monday and will run until Friday, will see 25 potential beekeepers (ages 18-45) being introduced to principles of managing honey and wax production.

GCCI President Deodat Indar highlighted the opportunities for employment, and noted that small and medium sized businesses represent a significant portion of Guyana’s economy.

“Although there a lot of big businesses, the small and medium sized businesses represent 60 per cent of Guyana’s economy; so the GCCI will be implanting 15 sub-projects over the next three years targeting the micro, small and me-

dium-sized enterprises.

Through this programme, the GCCI will provide technical assistance and support thorough workshops, seminars and organisational attachments,” he pointed out.

Indar further explained that participants would be exposed to understanding market trends and sales and basic accounting records.

Meanwhile, Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman Eddie Boyer, in his address, responded to and rejected the assertion that “big businesses” were at odds with small business operations. He told the gathering that while unemployment hampered

…says contractors not working according to bill of quantities

R

egion Two (PomeroonSupenaam) Vice C h a i r p e r s o n Nandranie Coonjah is dissatisfied with what she described as the “snail’s pace” at which contractors are working on projects within the region.

Coonjah during an interview with Guyana Times said she is disappointed with the minimum amount of work qualified contractors are doing and explained that often they are not hon-

ouring the deadlines specified in their contracts. This attitude, she said, is causing a negative effect on the region’s economy since it is hampering development.

Coonjah, who serve as the Chairperson for the Works Committee within the region said at present, staff at the Charity Oscar Joseph and Suddie hospitals are inconvenienced since works at those medical facilities are delayed.

She added that despite

several interventions from the regional administration, the contractor is still behind schedule. This, she said, is creating extra burdens to both staff at the medical institutions as well as residents.

Another project she is concerned about is the Golden Fleece bridge. That project, she explained, was awarded since May 2017, and to date, it has not been completed.

14 news

wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

UG launches psychology programme for the 1st time

A

s of January 2018, persons will have the opportunity to attend courses for psychology at the University of Guyana (UG), following the launch of the programme on Monday evening at the institution’s Turkeyen campus.

In a feature address, Minister within the Public Health Ministry, Dr Karen Cummings said the inauguration of the programme demonstrates the efforts being made by the university in assisting Government’s agenda to address mental

health issues.

“The Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Public Health has embarked on a rigorous programme to address mental illness in Guyana. For the first time in the Ministry of Public Health, a mental

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative Sylvie Fouet

health unit has been established, a number of interventions have already been conducted countrywide as we seek to build capacity within our public health system,” the Minister explained.

She noted that the launch of the programme indicates that the university is fulfilling its mandate of developing the human potential to tackle mental health issues.

According to the Department of Public Information, the programme seeks to increase the number of mental health providers available to evaluate and treat psychological conditions, reduce the high rate of suicide and also increase awareness, prevention, support, and compassion for those suffering from mental illness. It also provides professional growth and development for those currently in the mental health workforce, under-graduate and graduate-level clinical psychology training.

It was highlighted that the development and enhancement of competence in the assessment, evaluation, and treatment of psycholog-

sistance will be provided.

Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Ivelaw Griffith noted that the programme is testimony of the university’s effort to aim high. He added that the programme is one that the institution had envisaged for over 30 years; which led to several professors undertaking a preparatory psychology course.

The psychology programme will offer a certificate and diploma, a

A section of the gathering attending the launch

ical problems would not only increase the level of professionalism of the field but reduce the burden of mental illness among the general population.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative Sylvie Fouet explained that the support offered to the university is simply the planting of seeds for tomorrow to sustain the programme.

She thanked Caribbean Network of Psychological Associations (CANPA) for their support in the initiative, noting that though there may be difficulties as the university launches its psychology programme, as-

Bachelor’s degree in general psychology slated for September 2018 and a Masters in clinical psychology which will be set aside for June 2018.

Those also present during the launch included Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Engagement, Professor Michael E Scott; Dean of The Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr Emanuel Cummings; President of the Caribbean Network of Psychological Associations, Professor Omowale Omuleru Marshall; and Deputy Vice Chancellor PACE, Professor Paloma Mohamed.

News

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wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Ramsammy’s Ruminations Victoria Village celebrates Granger’s explicitly 178th anniversary chilling, frightening promise to restore Burnham’s legacy

L

ike a majority of Guyanese, I am frustrated, livid and frightened by explicit promises being made by leaders of the People’s National Congress (PNC) to PNC supporters to restore the legacy of Forbes Burnham – the legacy of usurping and keeping Dr Leslie Ramsammy power through rigged elections and dictatorship.

This week, President David Granger gave his clearest, most unambiguous, most explicit promise that his mission is to carry on from where Forbes Burnham left off in 1985.

He does not disguise his contempt for Desmond Hoyte.

He speaks of Burnham as God. In a PNC conference for North American supporters this week, he gave the clearest declaration that, like Burnham, he knows how to stay in power. Burnham stayed in power for more than 20 years, not by winning elections, but by blatantly rigging elections.

Granger is now openly, explicitly connecting the dots for PNC activists and supporters – he and the PNC are determined that Guyana return to the Guyana of 1968 to 1992; not a Guyana of prosperity, but of rigged elections.

Power matters, not prosperity.

He makes it clear that his mission is to ensure the PNC never gives up power and that the only way to do so is to adhere totally to the rigging legacy of his hero. His words are chilling and horrifying: “You have to ask yourself how the PNC gained office in 1964. Ask how the PNC remained in office and what it did to do so. Ask yourself how the PNC regained office in 2015 and ask yourself how would the PNC retain office in 2020”. This is as explicit as anyone could be.

There is no room for misinterpretation. Everyone of the PNC activists knows exactly what he was speaking of.

Unfortunately, we know too. We know that the PNC gained power in 1964 after years of violence and making governing impossible in Guyana in the early 1960s. We know that in spite of creating greater levels of poverty, destruction of Guyana’s economy, they stayed in power by massive rigging of elections. We know that they regained power in 2015 by promoting years of crime and violence through a strategy of “slow fyah, mo fyah” to make Guyana ungovernable. We know they have hijacked the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to rig the 2020 elections.

This makes people angry, mad and frightened. Too many people still remember the horrifying and dehumanising experiences of the period 1964 to 1992. Not only did people live in a punishing dictatorship, many were physically and mentally maimed for life and many lost their lives.

But notice that in speaking directly to the PNC North American Conference, he spoke of the PNC, not the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC). This too was an explicit declaration – the AFC and the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) were used, just as the United Force (UF) was used in 1964. Having gained power with the support of the WPA and AFC in promoting violence and mayhem in Guyana, both the WPA and the AFC are now materially dead, just like the UF after 1968. Just like the leaders of the UF were usurped into the PNC, so now the WPA and the AFC have been totally immersed into the PNC. Granger and others now rarely talk about APNU/ AFC. They have returned totally to the PNC brand. Clive Thomas, Rupert Roopnaraine, Raphael Trotman, Moses Nagamootoo and Khemraj Ramjattan have become nothing less than card-carrying PNC sycophants.

Granger announced James Patterson’s appointment as Chairman of GECOM before he went to the North American PNC supporters. This was strategic – he wanted to show them that he has done what Burnham did – fully hijacking GECOM, transforming it to a loyal PNC creature, just as Justice Bollers and the Elections Commission were after 1968 and until 1992. But as much as Guyanese are dismayed and frightened, Guyanese have no intention to allow Guyana to return to those humiliating and dehumanising years. The Guyanese people are united to fight the PNC. We will stand strong and ensure that GECOM cannot rig the 2020 elections.

A cultural performance by a local group at the flag-raising ceremony

T

he Victoria Youth D e v e l o p m e n t Organisation on Monday evening hosted a flag-raising ceremony to commemorate the 178th anniversary of the village.

The community, former-

Some villagers at the flag-raising ceremony

and charged villagers to reshape their focus. She also stressed the importance of agriculture and women’s involvement in those activities within the community.

“It is time to refocus our energies towards rees-

Social Cohesion Minister, Dr George Norton

Minister within the Public Health Ministry, Dr Karen Cummings

ly known as Northbrook, was the first to be bought by freed African slaves in 1839 after they gained their freedom.

Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr George Norton, in the feature address, commended the youths for efforts made to recognise the 178th anniversary and encouraged them to continue to work towards the development of the village.

“This evening, we celebrate the purchase of this village and those who struggled and pooled their meagre earnings to make it possible. I appeal to you ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, youths, do not let the struggle of your forefathers, the struggle to ensure a brighter future for you and your future generations to come. Let us not allow the struggle of your forefathers to go in vain,” Dr Norton said.

He noted that team-effort was pivotal for the slaves to achieve the purchase of the village and urged residents to adapt such principles.

“I want to urge you to become more cohesive. To break down the barriers that exist among the gender difference, among the age difference, the socio-economic difference, and let us all come together in whatever way we can to make Victoria a place that we all would be proud of.”

Minister within the Public Health Ministry, Dr Karen Cummings highlighted that the village was once an economic hub

tablishing a viable village economy for the welfare of our people. Let us redesign the village economy in line with the current national

economic development programme,” the Department of Public Information (DPI) quoted Dr Cummings as saying.

The 178th anniversary celebration saw a number of cultural performances and presentations by villagers and Government officials, before concluding with the hoisting of the National Flag.

In 1839, 83 ex-slaves from five nearby estates – Dochfour, Anns Grove,

Hope, Paradise, and Enmore – pooled their resources and bought Plantation Northbrook for 30,000 Guilders. As a result, each of the 83 owned one lot of land.

After its purchase, the village was renamed Victoria, presumably in honour of England’s Queen Victoria, though some suggest it might have been named after the victory of the slaves in gaining their freedom.

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wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

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wednesDAY, november 8, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

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guyanatimesgy.com

wednesDAY, november 8, 2017

ARCHIE

You’ll tend to be impulsive when it comes to work and (March 21personal matters involving April 19) others. Don’t say or do anything you’ll regret. Remember, the sweetest revenge is your own success.

ARIES

Make plans to rearrange TAURUS your living space to be more (April 20- conducive to working on the May 20) projects you want to do from home. Your productivity will be enhanced.

dilbert

If you want something, GEMINI (May 21- go after it. Stand up for your June 20) rights and be willing to work hard to get ahead. Don’t wait for someone else to make the first move.

If you want something, push for it. Consider what you can of(June 21- fer as incentive. Relationships July 22) can make or break your mood.

Concentrate on love and romance, not on interrogation and blame.

CANCER

Peanuts

Don’t share information that

LEO may jeopardize your position (July 23- or give someone the wrong imAug. 22) pression. Discretion is in your best interest. Curb poor habits and excessive behavior. Selfimprovement is encouraged.

Get together with people VIRGO you have worked with in the (Aug. 23past or people you have lost Sept. 22) touch with over the years.

Reconnecting will bring back memories and inspire you to make life-altering decisions.

Calvin and Hobbes

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Concentrate on doing your job and getting things done properly and on time. The less time you have to think about an emotional situation, the better off you’ll be. Make excellence a priority.

Improve your workspace or make room for something that will add to your pleasure, comfort and assets.

Personal gains and growth are within reach. Strive for perfection.

Move money around or SAGITTARIUS do your best to finalize a (Nov. 23- deal, settlement or contract.

Dec. 21) Interactions with institutions will move much quicker if you are pleasant and accommodating.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

solution for LAST PUBLISHED Puzzle

Partnerships are predominant, and dealings with pending issues can be easily facilitated with compromise, understanding and creative solutions. What transpires will lead to personal or financial gain.

Business trips and meet-

AQUARIUS ings should be handled with (Jan. 20- grace and charm. Don’t let anyFeb. 19) one downplay the sacrifice and

contributions you have made.

A passionate response will help you take charge.

RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” is not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed. To contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe, write to Word Game, Kathleen Saxe, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Take care of financial matPISCES ters. Move money around (Feb. 20- and take advantage of tax inMarch 20) centives and investments.

Personal gains are highlighted, along with negotiations and settlements. Celebrate with someone you love.

wednesDAY, november 8, 2017

India clinch T20 series in I

ndia pipped New Zealand by six runs in a rain-truncated Twenty20 thriller to win the three-match series 2-1 in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

Put into bat after steady rain had reduced the third and final match to an eightover shootout, hosts India posted 67-5 at the Greenfield International Stadium.

New Zealand wobbled early in their chase of a

modest target and eventually managed 61-6 in a contest which stood out for disciplined bowling and some exemplary catching from both sides.

Earlier, India managed only seven runs in the first two overs as Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner bowled with tremendous discipline.

Tim Southee wrecked the Indian top order in his first over, dismissing open-

SCOREBOARD India Innings (8 overs maximum) RG Sharma c Santner b Southee 8 S Dhawan c Santner b Southee 6 V Kohli* c Boult b Sodhi 13 SS Iyer c Guptill b Sodhi 6 MK Pandey c de Grandhomme b Boult 17 HH Pandya not out 14 MS Dhoni† not out 0 Extras (lb-2, w-1) 3 Total (For 5 wickets, 8 Overs) 67 Did not bat: B Kumar, JJ Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, YS Chahal Fall of wickets: 1-15,

2-15, 3-30, 4-48, 5-62 Bowling Boult 2-0-13-1, Santner 2-0-16-0, Southee 2-0-13-2, Sodhi 2-0-23-2 (w-1) New Zealand Innings (target: 68 runs from 8 overs) MJ Guptill b Kumar 1 C Munro c Sharma b Bumrah 7 KS Williamson* run out

(Pandya) 8 GD Phillips† c Dhawan b Kuldeep Yadav 11 C de Grandhomme not out 17 HM Nicholls c Iyer b Bumrah 2 TC Bruce run out (Pandya/†Dhoni) 4 MJ Santner not out 3 Extras (b-4, lb-1, w-3) 8 Total (For 6 wickets, 8 Overs) 61 Did not bat: TA Boult, TG Southee, IS Sodhi Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-8, 3-28, 4-28, 5-39, 6-48 Bowling Kumar 2-0-18-1, Bumrah 2-0-9-2 (w-1), Chahal 2-0-8-0, Kuldeep Yadav 1-0-10-1, Pandya 1-0-11-0 (w-1) Result: India won by 6 runs Series result: India won the 3-match series 2-1 Player of the Match: Jasprit Bumrah (India) Player of the Series: Jasprit Bumrah (India)

19

Starc takes 2 hat-tricks in same game

Jasprit Bumrah defended 18 runs in the last over beautifully

ers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma off successive deliveries with Santner taking both the catches.

Virat Kohli made 13 off six balls before Boult took a catch in the deep off Ish Sodhi (2-23) to send back the India captain.

Manish Pandey topscored for India with 17 before falling to a spectacular piece of fielding by Santner.

Pandey had hit Boult towards long-on where a sprinting Santner dived to take the catch but realising momentum was taking him across the rope, the fielder threw the ball to Colin de Grandhomme who was nearby to complete the dismissal. Like their opponents, New Zealand too lost openers Martin Guptill and Colin Munro cheaply and never really got going.

Wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals, leaving New Zealand needing 19 runs off the last over from Hardik Pandya but managing only 12.

Jasprit Bumrah (29) was the pick of the Indian bowlers while de Grandhomme top scored for New Zealand with 17 not out. (Reuters)

Mitchell Starc bowls Simon Mackin to take his first hat-trick of the match (Getty Images)

M

itchell Starc became the first bowler in nearly 40 years - and the first in Australia - to claim two hat-tricks in the same firstclass match when he blasted out Western Australia's last three batsmen to claim outright points for New South Wales against Western Australia at Hurstville Oval.

Having gone wicketless in the second innings up to that point, Starc had

Jason Behrendorff caught behind and then bowled David Moody with the last two balls of his 15th over, then returned to have Jon Wells caught at slip by the captain Steven Smith with the first ball of his 16th.

This hat-trick followed another on day three of the Sheffield Shield match, when he had dismissed Behrendorff, Moody and Simon Mackin.

Starc's feat was the first instance since Amin Lakhani

Kenya’s Olympic marathon champ suspended for doping K

enya's Olympic marathon champion Jemima Sumgong has been suspended for four years for doping.

The 32-year-old was found to have taken banned blood booster EPO in an out-of-competition test in her home country.

Sumgong, who also tested positive for a banned substance in 2012, won the London Marathon in 2016 before claiming gold in Rio, becoming the first Kenyan woman to take the title.

Her ban runs from 3 April, when she was provisionally suspended.

EPO, also known as erythropoietin, is a hormone that can increase endurance and, in athletics, is used mainly by long distance-runners.

Between 2011 and 2016, more than 40 Kenyan track-and-field athletes failed doping tests.

Among those sanctioned was Sumgong's former training partner Rita Jeptoo, 36, who was banned for four years following a positive test for EPO in 2014.

Earlier this year, Sumgong was one of a number of Kenyan athletes who welcomed a new initiative to eradicate doping, agreeing to be monitored by doctors appointed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and Athletics Kenya.

"It will be easy for us now to communicate with these doctors before we take any medicine when the need arises," she said at the time. (BBC Sport)

Jemima Sumgong

managed to do the same for a Combined XI against the Indian tourists in a match at Multan in 1978. Overall only seven other bowlers have taken two hat-tricks in the same match, and only one Australian T.J. Matthews doing so against South Africa at Manchester in 1912.

Matthews' feat is also the only time two hat-tricks have been taken by a bowler in the same Test match.

(ESPN Cricinfo)

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

wednesDAY, november 8, 2017

Canadian team satisfied with Guyana Softball Cup 7 experience

By Ravi Madholalll in Toronto

D

espite his expression of disappointment skipper of the Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL), Ravin Babulall stated the team showed great character in executing their duties with the white ball at the 2017 Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) Guyana Softball Cup 7 three-day tournament.

Babulall mentioned the OSCL will have to include the white ball in one of its three annual tournaments (20, 15 or 10-over) in 2018 so the players can be more equipped to compete at

The Canadian team before the start of Guyana Softball Cup 7 at the DCC Ground these mega softball events in which the white ball is used.

According to the Babulall, OSCL side featured in three matches at the preliminary round stage but only contested in two games with the other one being a walkover. They were beaten by Speedboat by 80 runs and then they went down to Boots XI by 60 runs.

Babulall declared that doesn’t resonate well for the Canadian combination but feels better preparation is of paramount importance to compete on the international stage.

“Yes, we are disappointed with the results without a win, even though we had a good team; the white ball needs to use more in Canada if we want to make an impression at these white ball softball tourna-

ments,” he commented.

In the Open Category, Speedboat pulled off a thrilling four-run victory over new comers Boots XI in the championship game that played last Sunday night at the Demerara Cricket Club ground, Georgetown while Floodlights retained their trophy in the Masters Division having humbled nemesis Regal Masters team also at the same venue.

Speedboat took home G$800, 000 while the veterans pocketed G$600, 000.

Babulall also lamented that the playing fields in Guyana’s capital were also at their disadvantage being a bit small comparing to those in Canada.

“I think the grounds in Guyana are too small for this kind of soft-

ball competition and we are accustomed to playing at big grounds was a main downfall; I think we played well having bowled out Speedboat XI really showed that we had a team that could have been victorious,” the Canadianbased Guyanese, reckoned.

He also related that since the OSCL may not get all its good players to attend to tournament overseas, he will still be committed to have players representing the League to participate in upcoming tournaments like Florida Cup (March), Orlando Cup (March), New York Cup (July) and back to Guyana (November) in 2018.

“I think going out there and put in some good performances were certainly commendable by the players who were willing but we will use the experience gained in Guyana for in other tournaments next year.” Babulall, who featured for Three Counties/ Wakenaam this season, stated.

Some of the players turned out for the OSCL side Travis Blyden, Steve Ramdass, Roy Gonsalves, Bharrat Lachman, among others, all who represented various teams at OSCL competitions, while former Guyana first-class opening batsman Azeemul Haniff came in as a guest player. Babulall thanked the players for their commitment and the OSCL executives who toured with the team.

sports

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Baba is specialised in name and date of birth reading, patra reading and book opening. He is an expert in removing black magic, enmity, bad luck and gives permanent protections. Solutions will be given to love, health, marriage, business, sexual problems and much more. Call him on 660-1938 or 618-6569. Take that number again: 660-1938 or 618-6569

Business upliftment, marriage problems, pregnancy, remove blockage impotent and many more. Tel: 6121608, 683-5228 Surinamese spiritualist. Resolving all problems. Money, love, blockage etc. Call 651-9663/600-7719.

MEDITATION You are invited to attend an introductory lecture on transcendental meditation on Nov. 9, 2017 at 5:30 pm at John’s Place 114 Garnet St, Newtown, Kitty, obliquely opposite Kanhai’s electronics. T.M is world renowned for easy and effortless stress reduction with over 600 science studies documenting the benefits from mental protection, health, relationship and peace.

Contact: Ashone Kumar (certified treacher) 609-3701

Zugzwang Zugzwang: A German word meaning "moveneed," literally translated as “move compulsion”. This is a situation where every move a player could make causes him/her to lose (or at least worsens their position).

Local marksmen Braithwaite and Persaud stand out in CSF

Jessica Clementson

I

f either player had the ability to pass their turn at will, only moving when it was convenient – numerous positions in chess would become “stuck”, reaching a figurative stalemate.

You can see that if black could “pass the turn” in this position, and white were forced to move again (following the last move, 1.Kc6 with 2. Kb6 for example) black would escape after 2.Kb6 with 2...Kc8! and “run” to the other side of the board – waiting to “pass” again at just the right moment.

If black could continue this pattern of only moving when he/she wanted to, the game would never end.

Black's last move pinned the f1-Bishop (meaning the Bishop is attacked but can't move see Lesson 10) to the King on g1. Black's move effectively ends the game, and here's why: White has no choice but to move 2.Kh1, allowing the immediate 2...Rxf1#. This is a perfect example of Zugzwang, as white's only legal move is losing on the spot, yet if a player could “pass the turn”, white's King remain perfectly safe, forever shielded by the pinned bishop on f1; therefore, the game would never end.

Mahendra Persaud and Lennox Braithwaite shot their way into the top 10 list of marksmen

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ahendra Persaud and Lennox Braithwaite shot their way into the world top ten after showing their skills in the recently concluded Commonwealth Shooting Federation (CSF) Championships held at the Belmont Shooting Centre in Brisbane, Australia.

The pair of veteran Guyanese riflemen did well against other world ranked snipers with Persaud shooting 72.4 at 900yds and 68.4 at 1000yds, attaining a Grand Aggregate score of 394.24 V’s for his eight spot. Braithwaite, a former West Indies Full-bore individual champ, shot scores of 72.5 at 900yds and 70.6 at 1000yds, ending with a grand aggregate score of 394.40 V’s; thus retaining his sixth place that he held following the completion of the CSF’s Stage 2.

The Guyana NRA Executive Council praised the performances of the pair while President of the West Indies Fullbore Shooting Council (WIFBSC), Major John Nelson sent a congratulatory message to Persaud and Braithwaite which read, “On behalf of the WIFBSC and the region’s shooting family, it gives me great pleasure to extend heartiest congratulations to Mahendra and Lennox on your very fine performance in finishing in the top ten of the recently concluded individual championship at the CSF matches in Belmont, Australia. Very well-done gentlemen you both did us proud.”

Both Persaud and Braithwaite are now scheduled to return home where they will continue their training in preparation for Commonwealth Games 2018. The GNRA also extended its appeal to corporate Guyana and the government for a bit more assistance regarding the support of local shooters.

Top 10 shooters: 1st-David Luckman England rifle team- 399.39 2nd Petrus Haasbroek South African rifle team- 399.32 3rd Jim Bailey Australian rifle team- 398.42 4th Parag Patel England rifle team- 396.38

taxi services

5th Jim Paton Canadian rifle team- 394.41

GR Taxi, 24 hours. Phone: 2257878, 219-5000 or 227-2100

6th Lennox Braithwaite Guyana rifle team- 394.40

VACANCIES Job opening for Cosmetologist, Esthetician and Barbers at Nalini’s Hair Salon. Contact us via email at nalinissalonandspa@gmail.com.

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7th Ben Emms Australian rifle team- 394.38 8th Mahendra Persaud Guyana rifle team- 394.24 9th Brian Carter New Zealand rifle team- 394.23 10th Jacobus du Toit South African rifle team- 393.37

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GUYANATIMESgy.COM

wednesDAY, november 8, 2017

South American 10K 2017…

Forde, Thomas tentative for Panama Yadrams assist newly reformed East Strikers CC Bhaskar Yadram and his older brother Kamesh Yadram (second and third from left respectively) handing over the gear to the youthful East Strikers

Cleveland Forde and Cleveland Thomas are the two athletes who have been identified by the AAG for the possible trip to Panama

H

aving finished first and second in the first two legs of the South American 10K Classic Road Race, Cleveland Forde and Cleveland Thomas could be heading to Panama this weekend.

The third and final leg of the South American 10K Classic Road Race is set for Panama on Sunday November 12 and the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) has decided to send two athletes.

However, the AAG is currently looking at travelling and accommodation costs, if the association is to send the two athletes, Cleveland Forde and Cleveland Thomas will be their first choices.

The trio of Cleveland Forde, Cleveland Thomas and Winston Missigher made clean sweeps of the first two legs in Suriname on October 28 and again in Guyana last Sunday.

The “Little Kenyan” as Forde is called took first place on both occasions finishing with times of 34 minutes 5.08 seconds and 33 minutes 42 seconds respectively.

Meanwhile Thomas finished second consecutively with times of 33 minutes 51 seconds and 34 minutes nine seconds while Missigher came in third on both occasions with 34 minutes 21 seconds and 34 minutes five seconds.

There is a chance for

Guyana and Forde to create history by winning all three legs and one can only hope that Forde gets that chance to etch his name in the annals of athletics.

With the two spots almost certain for Forde and Thomas it will be Missigher who won’t be making the trip despite repeatedly churning out admirable results over the years.

Missigher who came third on both occasions told Guyana Times Sport that he would be gutted at missing out on the Panama trip as it is too expensive for him to go into his own pocket.

However, should he receive sufficient sponsorship he would do his best to represent his country.

D

uring the finals weekend of the annual Enterprise Sports Club’s Busta T20 Festival which was played last Sunday at the Enterprise Community Centre Cricket Club ground, Kamesh and Bhaskar Yadram presented a quantity of cricket gears to the recently re-established Lusignan East Strikers Cricket Club.

The East Strikers comprising of seven players below the age of 19-years old finished a credibly fourth in the 16-team annual tournament which ended on Sunday November 5 with home team Enterprise Busta “A” being crowned champions.

After the tournament’s second semi-final on Saturday afternoon which Enterprise “A” won by the wide margin of 160 runs, the Yadram brothers presented a bag, a bat, a pair of batting pads and two helmets to the young East Strikers club of Lusignan, East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

East Strikers recently began playing competitive cricket and made it to the final of the ECD U-19 tournament but lost to established team, Buxton U-19. They also featured in the recent ECD second di-

vision competitions with good enough returns that enabled them to make their first division debut in the Busta Championship.

With the kind assistance, captain of East Strikers Hiradeo Jailal said that the club will continue to improve on the field while giving the youths a reason to stay off the streets. Jailal, said that they are extremely thankful for the gifts and the opportunity to play in the tournament while wishing the Yadrams, who grew up at the Enterprise Sports Club, best of luck in their future endeavours.

Seventeen year-old Bhaskar is a member of the West Indies U-19 World Cup squad that are preparing to defend their title next year and has played two Regional First Class Four Day games for the Guyana Jaguars this year. His older brother, Kamesh played at the youth level for Guyana and also professionally in Trinidad and Tobago and is the captain of the East Coast Demerara franchise team in the Cricket Guyana Jaguars semi-professional league. Their sister Kavita also represented the Golden Arrowhead at Regional cricket.

BCB/U-15 Inter Zone Competition…

Upper Corentyne win, Lower Corentyne eliminated

B Elite League “Big 4” Playoffs set for this weekend Flashback! The Victoria Kings (green) beat Monedderlust FC in May earlier this year to secure a play-off spot

A

fter months of uncertainty due to a number of factors, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) will run off the “Big Four” play-offs of the GFF/ Stag Elite League Season II on Friday November 10 and Sunday November 12.

This was confirmed by GFF Competitions Director, Ian Alves on Tuesday.

The semi-finals are slated for Friday while the final will be played on Sunday. The teams that are vying for the championship trophy are; the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) FC, Fruta Conquerors FC, Victoria Kings FC and Buxton United FC. GDF finished top of the table with 27 points while Fruta Conquerors were just behind on 25, Victoria Kings third with 14 and Buxton United closing out the “Big

Four” on 13 points.

Meanwhile, Daniel Thomas of Fruta Conquerors FC spoke to Guyana Times Sport exclusively on Tuesday and pointed out that due to the uncertainty of the playoffs being run off, the club was unable to properly prepare.

He pointed out that it is hard for players and coaches to train without any clear objective as well as motivation. Another thing that affected the club was the failure to sign players during the September transfer season as more often than not the potential signees were afraid to commit to the club due to the cloud hanging over the Elite League.

While Fruta Conquerors are missing some key players, the likes of Eon Alleyne, Jermain Junior, Solomon Austin, Jeremy

Garrett and Ryan Hackett are still around and are more than a force to be reckoned with.

Thomas revealed that most of the younger players would be given a chance to represent the club over the coming weekend and he stated that Fruta will be going out there looking for nothing less than a win.

The “Big Four Tournament” will have a total of three million dollars up for grabs with the prize money distributed as follows: 1st Prize – $1,500,000., 2nd Prize – $700,000., 3rd Prize – $500,000., and 4th Prize – $300,000.

The venues and fixtures for the “Big Four” play-offs will be announced sometime in the coming days.

(Michelangelo Jacobus)

erbice Cricket Board’s Under 15 Inter Zone action continued last weekend in Berbice with matches played at Port Mourant and Albion Development Community Centre ground.

At the Port Mourant Community Center, Upper / Central Corentyne defeated Western Berbice by 19 runs in a closely contested match.

Batting first, the Upper Corentyne scored 243 for 9 from their 50 overs with skipper Jonathon Rampersaud scoring a magnificent 72 while Mahendra Gopilall contributed 48. Rampertab Ramnauth scored 14 and J Sandia 20.

For West Berbice, B. Lakeram took 3 wickets for 66 runs, S. Roopnarine 3 for 57 and D. Joseph took 2 for 47 with the ball.

In their reply, Western Berbice fell short of the target by 19 runs as D. Joseph came back to stroke 44 and was supported by S. Shaffie with 32.

In the bowling department for Upper Corentyne, J. Rampersaud took 4 for 57 and was supported by M. Pottaya with 3 for 49, and J. Sandia

who took 2 for 31.

Over at the Albion Community Center, New Amsterdam/Canje defeated Lower Corentyne by a massive 225 runs in their game. Batting first, NA/Canje scored 255 with Zeynol Ramsammy scoring 89, Tomane Caesar 77 and Avishkar Persaud 21.

Bowling for Lower Corentyne, Leon Cecil, P Gamesh, R Goderdhan abd T Mahnal took one wicket each.

In their reply, Lower Corentyne was bowled out for 30 runs in 11 overs. J Persaud took 6 wickets while Niquan Samuels took 2.

With 2 wins, Upper Corentyne is leading the points table, while Western Berbice and NA/Canje are tied on one win each. Lower Corentyne have lost both of their matches and will look to defeat Upper Corentyne in their final match to save face.

The competition continues on Saturday November 11 when Western Berbice will battle New Amsterdam/Canje at the Blairmont Community Center and Lower Corentyne engaging Upper Corentyne at the Jai Hind Ground in Albion.

guyanatimesgy.com

wednesDAY, november 8, 2017

23

Turbo Knockout Football…

Rampant Police seeking semi-final spot

– Grove Hi-Tech face Pele test

Young Lloyd Anderson (yellow) hopes he can once again be the rock in Pele’s defence

G

uyana Police Force Football Club (FC) will hope to dispel much of the unknown of Kuru Kuru FC and seal their semi-final spot in the inaugural Turbo Knockout

Football tournament when the first round of quarter-finals is held this evening at the Ministry of Education Ground, Carifesta Avenue.

In recent tournaments, the lawmen have announced

themselves as the team to beat in the city which makes it a difficult task to for the Soesdyke/Linden Highway unit to stop.

Police in their lone match hammered West Demerara’s

Eagles United 6-0, as key marksmen Junior Gordon, Travis Jones and Kester Dundas all were on target. Confident and experienced captain Dwain Jacobs along with forwards Quincy

Unbeaten Jaguars not taking peaking Hurricanes lightly – Crandon

By Clifton Ross

G

uyana Jaguars Head Coach Esuan Crandon said the table leaders are looking to maintain their winning streak and break a psychological barrier when they face the Leeward Islands Hurricanes in the 3rd round of the Cricket West Indies/ Digicel Regional 4-day tournament from Thursday.

Guyana got off to a dream start this season, having beat Jamaica Scorpions and the Windward Islands Volcanoes convincingly in the opening two rounds but will now prepare to settle an old score with the Hurricanes who were the only team to beat them twice last season.

While speaking exclusively with Guyana Times Sport on Tuesday, Crandon pointed out that while the Jags have their tails up going into round three, they will not be underestimating the Hurricanes.

“Leewards beat us twice last year, they have been improving over the years and they already have a good start this season because they’re second place. Apart from Guyana, Leewards is a difficult team to beat so we have to play and well on a consistent basis, it’s just about working hard and executing our plans and we can come out on top,” explained the Coach.

Sitting steady in the number one spot after their two wins, the defending champs

Sherfane Rutherford

went into battle without a few of their big players which meant the younger generation had no choice but to step up. Keemo Paul responded with his maiden First Class ton while Sherfane Rutherford showed his class in both departments, something Crandon said he’s proud of.

“It’s always good to see young players coming in and performing for us, these guys have worked hard over the years they went through the academy set up; only a few games under their belt and we have seen match-winning performances from both of them. It’s a good sign for the future of Guyana’s cricket and it’s about improving for both of them, I hope their hard work continues to pay off in the future,” Crandon stated.

Although the flawless start is what any coach would want from their team, the ex-Guyana pacer is nev-

ertheless focused on ensuring his team hit their full strides as early as possible and admitted that more needs to be individually and as a unit. “It’s a good start for us, we got two wins in the first two games but we have not been our best or played to our full potential, but at the said time we have been able to win games.”

He continued, “Kudos to a good team effort, at the end of the day we have a bunch of guys who like to fight hard so regardless of what position we find ourselves in we are able to come out and get ourselves in a good position to win games. Areas of improvement are guys having starts and not being able to convert it, playing faulty shots and putting down some easy chances and we need to work on the fielding but these young guys been pulling their weight and hopefully everyone can come off at the right time.”

While the younger players have shown their hunger to perform well at this level, Crandon said he was in support of his two senior batsmen; skipper Leon Johnson and Rajindra Chandrika both of whom showed glimpses of form but have not found their feet fully. “It’s always important for the senior guys to score runs, the season is young yet, we have eight games to go and Johnno would have had the half-century in the first game but nothing in the last but it’s a long way to go still.”

Holder, Rawle Haynes and the crafty Kwadjo Garnett will all add to a powerful firing unit.

For Kuru Kuru, much will be dependent on their captain Cordel Johnson and the promising Omarion Savoury to spring any surprises against Police when their clash gets underway from 18:30h.

In the second match of the night which is slated to commence at 21:000h, Grove Hi-Tech will be licking their lips against an inexperienced Pele unit.

Many stalwarts of the Pele FC are more of the past and their young brigade have managed to perform credible but this East

Bank unit could be too much to withstand. The likes of Darrhan Persaud, Akosi Jarvis will lead Pele’s offensive line while the youthful exuberance of Lloyd Anderson and company will hope to keep the backline from being breached.

For Grove, their attacking options come from a long list lead by Domini Garnett, Joel Dick and Lloyd Mathews.

Teams are hunting a championship purse of $500,000, while the runners-up will receive $250,000. The third place team will receive $125,000 and fourth place finisher will have to settle for $75,000.

Gayle, Pollard turned down Pakistan tour – reports claim Esuan Crandon wants his team to continue their growth from strength to strength as the rounds progress

With both batsmen having played Test cricket, the Coach believed the pair need to just focus in order to score the big runs. “It’s not about technique; it’s about holding a focus and executing their plans well. Shot selection has been a problem for both of them but I’m confident these guys will bounce back, they have been in these positions before and they know how to get out and our coaching staff will also continue to help them get better,” Crandon said.

Concluding his interview, the Coach opened up about wanting more competitiveness from the Jaguars as they move forward in the competition, with emphasis being placed on both individual and team improvements. He also added that the encounter against the Hurricanes will be important for Guyana as they will need to psychologically rid themselves of the last season’s two defeats at the hands of the Hurricanes.

The Jaguars and Hurricanes will lock horns from Thursday at the Warner Park Ground, St Kitts.

Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard

W

indies batting star Chris Gayle was reportedly among six players that turned down the invitation to play for the regional team in a three-match T20 tour originally scheduled for Pakistan later this month.

According to report the tour will be postponed due to smog which currently affects the city of Lahore, but some also players pointed to a commitment to the upcoming Bangladesh T20 tournament and continued to voice security concerns despite the successful Sri Lanka T20 vs World XI game, which was played at the Gaddafi Stadium last month.

The Asian country has desperately sought to get cricket back on local soil as the country has been blacklisted as venue following a 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team. In fact, the Windies had been scheduled to tour Pakistan in two T20 matches in March of this year, but the matches were called off as the players and West Indies Players Association (WIPA) voiced security concerns regarding the tour.

While several players seemed to have been more willing to give the Lahore tour a chance this time around reports indicate that Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo were not among them.

(Sportsmax)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Unbeaten Jaguars not taking peaking Hurricanes lightly – Crandon Pg 23

Keemo Paul brought up his maiden First-Class century in only his fourth match during the Jaguars' opening game this season against Scorpions at Providence (John Ramsingh photo)

Turbo Knockout Football…

Rampant Police seeking semi-final spot Guyana Police Force FC (blue t-shirts) from the first day of the tournament have looked the most dominant team

– Grove Hi-Tech face Pele test

Pg 23

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