Guyana Times - Monday, April 1, 2019

Govt focused on creating a more equitable society through education – President P11

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

Issue No. 3881

THE BEACON OF TRUTH monday, april 1, 2019

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High alcohol use by teens in Region 2 – Commander

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Elections voters’ list

Enhance scrutiny P9 at polling stations, not remove names – Jagdeo

See story on page 11

Speaker should not permit dual citizens in National Assembly – Ram Page 7

…MPs should resign or renounce out of “political morality” – WPA executive

Local producers urged to pursue accessing more export markets

15-year-old nabbed with 1445 grams P10 ganja

Page 13

Venezuelans set up P14 burning barricades over lack of power, water

Patrons purchasing local products at the UncappeD Marketplace Expo 2019, which was hosted on Sunday at the Guyana National Stadium under the patronage of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA). The event was sponsored by ExxonMobil

Sick Chinese men air-dashed from Region 1 still …but Health Minister rules undiagnosed out Swine Flu Teen chopped, stabbed, shot in Albouystown Page 3

Page 10

Arsonist P10 sets Linden snackette on fire 29 criminal cases disposed of during P8 January Demerara Assizes

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monday, april 1, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

news

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monday, april 1, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Monday, April 1 – a night retraction from 03:00h and a day retraction from 14:30h-16:00h and Tuesday, April 2 – a night retraction from 03:30h and a day retraction from 14:30h-16:00h.

Sick Chinese men air-dashed from Region 1 still undiagnosed

…but Health Minister rules out Swine Flu

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Monday, April 1 – 14:20h-15:50h and Tuesday, April 2 – 15:05h-16:35h.

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

WEATHER TODAY

Early-morning sunny weather is expected to give way to sunny intervals, with sunny weather returning in the late afternoon. Clear skies are expected in the evening, with overall temperatures ranging between 20 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly to North North-easterly between 2.23 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 14:33h reaching a maximum height of 2.28 metres.

Low Tide: 08:08h and 20:31h reaching minimum heights of 1.02 metres and 0.87 metre respectively.

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Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence

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ore than 24 hours have passed since the eight Chinese men were medevacked to the Georgetown Public Hospital, but they remained undiagnosed.

However, as health officials continue to run a battery of tests, Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence, in a statement to the media on Sunday morning, ruled out the suspected H1N1 diagnosis.

The men were airdashed to the capital city on Saturday afternoon after they fell severely ill at Matthews Ridge, Region One (Barima-Waini) and were experiencing symptoms related to the H1N1 virus commonly called “Swine Flu”.

Guyana Times was told that the symptoms the men displayed included fever, cough, headache, body aches, respiratory issues and unstable vital signs.

One man has already died from the symptoms he experienced.

Reports are that a medical team from the Mabaruma Hospital had been deployed to the Matthews Ridge area following reports that some persons were exhibiting signs and symptoms of the deadly disease. About 14:30h on Saturday, four ambulances filled with medical staff, who were all suited up with protective gear, arrived at the Eugene F Correia International Airport to receive the men.

Some were seen coughing and needed assistance from the plane to the ambulances. All eight persons are Chinese who were working with Guyana Manganese Inc in Region One. This publication was told that on receiving reports of the men’s condition, officials at Georgetown Public Hospital began taking precautionary measures by quarantining an area for the eight patients.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Public Health Minister said that specialists were still conducting “a battery of tests to identify the virus blamed for the manganese miner’s death and the hospitalisation of eight

A patient being readied for transport after making his way from the plane to an ambulance at the Eugene F Correia International Airport on Saturday

others, including a solitary Guyanese who is an employee of the Guyana Manganese Inc (GMI) firm.”

According to the statement released by Minister Lawrence, “there is no determination (as yet) of what the ailment is, but all the patients displayed similar symptoms including pain, fever, headache and respiratory distress.”

She noted that the deceased worker was ailing for days before seeking medical attention at the Matthews Ridge Hospital last Thursday. He died Saturday.

When contacted on Saturday afternoon, Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud had said that it was too early to presume that the men have “swine flu, dengue, or any other deadly disease”.

But even as the hospital is yet to diagnose the men, Regional Health Services (RHS) Director, Dr Kay Shako has also denied that the men were suffering from Swine Flu. Just a few months ago, in January, Minister within the Public Health Ministry, Dr Karen Cummings, said that the re-emergence of the H1N1 virus in the Caribbean Region was cause for great concern among public health officials throughout the Region, but Guyana has already been on heightened alert since the discovery of the H1N1 virus in neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago.

At that time, the Ministry had voiced its call for each person to practise good hygiene – wash hands frequently with soap and water or use an alco-

hol-based rub and to cover mouth and nose with tissue when sneezing or coughing.

Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth and avoid close contact – you are expected to be about six feet away from a person suffering from the H1N1 virus.

Persons are being advised to drink plenty fluids, stay at home and rest to treat the fever and see your primary care physician should they contract the virus.

Health-care workers are asked to ensure that they practise infection control and use personal protective equipment.

Some of the symptoms of Swine Flu are: fever (but not always); chills; cough; sore throat; runny or stuffy nose; watery, red eyes; body aches; headache; fatigue; diarrhoea; nausea and vomiting.

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MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019

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, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

Uncompromising politics

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f there is one overriding characteristic of the David Granger regime, it is his refusal to compromise with any of the political forces both inside and outside of his coalition.

In this regard, he was acting in accord with the posture of the PNC established by its founder, Forbes Burnham. In the negotiations with the AFC to coalesce for the 2015 elections, there were great expectations aroused with the signing of the Cummingsburg Accord that the position might have changed.

But these hopes were soon dashed after the elections. Even the WPA, which was the only credible group that coalesced earlier with the PNC to become APNU, constantly complained about the lack of consultation in crafting governmental policies.

This hardline refusal to compromise is best illustrated by Granger’s actions in choosing a new GECOM Chair following the retirement of Steve Surujbally. First, he insisted that only a judge qualified for the slot, even though Art 161 (2) had been specifically altered to add to that requirement “or any other fit and proper person.” He even dubbed the Chief Justice’s ruling as her “perception”, and insisted he was entitled to his. Finally, he refused to select a nominee from three lists of six names submitted by the Opposition Leader in accordance with the above act, which was designed to encourage a compromise between him and the Opposition Leader on the selection of this key figure.

The matter is with the CCJ, but Granger’s move has made the matter moot before the next elections.

His handling of the successful NCM in the National Assembly has further reinforced -- if at all that were needed -- Granger’s inflexible position. There were several opportunities wherein he could have flexed with the Opposition Leader on enforcing the constitutionally sanctioned elections date without recourse to the courts; but, not surprisingly, that was a road not taken, and we have a country at its most severe level of polarisation since the 1964 ethnic violence.

Back in 2012, as the polarisation of politics was becoming intensified both quantitatively and qualitatively in the US, political scientists Amy Gutman and Dennis Thompson offered some very salutary advice to our political elites in their book, “The Spirit of Compromise: Why Governing Demands It and Campaigning Undermines It”.

“If politics is the art of the possible, then compromise is the artistry of democracy. Unless one partisan ideology holds sway over all branches of government, compromise is necessary to govern for the benefit of all citizens. A rejection of compromise biases politics in favour of the status quo, even when the rejection risks crisis.

“Compromise is difficult, but governing a democracy without compromise is impossible. Why is compromise so hard in a democracy when it is undoubtedly necessary?

Much of the resistance to compromise lies in another necessary part of the democratic process: campaigning for political office. Though valuable in its place, campaigning is increasingly intruding into governing, where it is less helpful. The means of winning an office are subverting the ends of governing once in office.

It is only a slight exaggeration to say that in (Guyana), “every day is election day in the permanent campaign”.

“Resistance to democratic compromise can be kept in check by a contrary cluster of attitudes and arguments — a compromising mindset which favours adapting one’s principles and respecting one’s opponents. It is the mindset more appropriate for governing, because it enables politicians to more readily recognise opportunities for desirable compromise. When enough politicians adopt it enough of the time, the spirit of compromise prevails.

“In general, compromise is an agreement in which all sides sacrifice something in order to improve on the status quo from their perspective, and in which the sacrifices are at least partly determined by the other sides’ will. The sacrifice involves not merely getting less than you want, but also, thanks to your opponents, getting less than you think you deserve. The sacrifice typically involves trimming your principles. We call these defining characteristics of compromise mutual sacrifice and wilful opposition.”

A hint to Beneba.

This young lady displays her locally-made costume jewellery at the UNCAPPED Marketplace exposition 2019, which was held at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday. The exhibition is hosted yearly by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA)

Some of Khashoggi's killers received training in US – report …projects under intelligence and defence partnership between US and Saudi on hold after killing, writes columnist

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ome members of the Saudi hit team that killed Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi in his country's consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul received training in the United States, according to a new Washington Post column.

Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), entered the building on October 2, 2018, to obtain documents necessary for his forthcoming marriage. He was killed inside the Consulate by a team of Saudi operatives in what has been described as a "premeditated murder".

His body is yet to be found.

According to the reporting by Washington Post's David Ignatius, which included interviews with more than a dozen US and Saudi sources who requested anonymity, some of the special-operations training that members of the hit team received in the US might have been conducted by Tier 1 Group, an Arkansas-based company.

The training, part of a wider intelligence and defence partnership between the US and Saudi Arabia, was conducted under a State Department licence, said the Post, for which Khashoggi was a columnist. It has not resumed since.

A US project to help modernise and provide training to the Saudi intelligence service is also on hold, pending State Department approval of a licence, according to the newspaper.

The intelligence project, developed by Culpeper National Security Solutions with help from some prominent former CIA officials, involved Ahmed al-Assiri, the Saudi Deputy Chief of Intelligence who is under investigation by Saudi Arabia for his alleged involvement in the Khashoggi murder.

According to the Washington Post, Tier 1 Group and DynCorp are owned by affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, a privately-owned in-

Jamal Khashoggi was killed after entering the Saudi Consulate in Turkey on October 2 [File: Ola Salem/Al Jazeera]

vestment group in New York. The company did not confirm or deny whether any of the 17 Saudi nationals sanctioned by the US in connection with the Khashoggi killing had been trained under the Tier 1 contract.

The article said that with several of these partnerships now suspended, the future of the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia is "on hold", pending answers from the Riyadh.

"The bottom line is that unless the Crown Prince takes ownership of this issue and accepts blame for murderous deeds done in his name, his relationship with the United States will remain broken," Ignatius wrote.

Calls for open trial

Saudi authorities have charged 11 unnamed suspects over Khashoggi's murder, including five who could face the death penalty on charges of "ordering and committing the crime".

The CIA has reportedly concluded that Prince Mohammed ordered the killing, which officials in Riyadh deny.

But United Nations human rights expert Agnes Callamard said earlier

this week that Saudi Arabia's secretive hearings for the 11 suspects fall short of international standards and should be open to the public and trial observers.

Callamard, who leads an international inquiry into the killing, called on the Kingdom to reveal the defendants' names and the fate of 10 others initially arrested.

UN Director at Human Rights Watch Louis Charbonneau said the Saudi criminal justice system has "an abysmal record", marked by defendants being held for long periods without charge or trial and often denied lawyers.

Charbonneau added that Saudi authorities should open the Khashoggi murder trial to UN observers, international activists and media, and countries whose diplomats observe that the trial should speak out publicly.

"We can't enable the Saudi Government to turn it into a kangaroo court that conveniently finds a bunch of people guilty while whitewashing the possible responsibility of top Saudi officials," he said. (Al Jazeera)

guyanatimesgy.com

monday, april 1, 2019

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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

Guyanese must unite and stop APNU/AFC bullyish behaviour Dear Editor, Overwhelming precedence in the Guyana Legislature (Parliament), provides evidence of the understanding, acceptance and practice regarding how the term “majority” has been applied and used for decades. Legitimate expectations of likewise application are, therefore, expected by all Guyanese and concerned stakeholders in the case of the No-Confidence Motion (NCM), which has been brought to the forefront of judicial considerations, review and rulings.

The term “majority” is used 15 times in Guyana’s Constitution – Chapter 1:01, without any qualifying measures being described by the term “absolute”. It is, therefore, a consensual acceptance of our columnists, and by most Guyanese citizens, that where such meaning is implicitly conferred in the Constitution, it is represented by the actual percentage of persons who have to be voting as a part of

the specific requirement or decision.

In such instances, the contents of the proviso to Section 164 (2) (b), includes an apt example where it states: “(a) and is supported at the final voting in the Assembly by the votes of not less than twothirds of all the elected members of the Assembly it shall not be necessary to submit the Bill to the vote of the electors”. It is the accepted understanding that the provided numbers where stated in the Constitution define the applicable consideration.

The use of the “absolute” qualifying criteria in the NCM matter by two of the learned Appeal Court judges, appears to have been implicitly applied in arriving at their recent Appeal Court decisions, which seems to run counter to foregoing approach. Although the Opposition will have to accept the surprising ruling and seek redress at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), justice

does not appear to have been done.

There is no doubt that the rulings are irrational to the general public, and further confounds previous decisions made on 33 greater than 32 principles, including the decision to establish a Government. The situation creates a further conundrum regarding what situation the Speaker of the Legislature would be required to implicitly apply, where there are no specific qualifying numbers for votes.

It is indeed sad and difficult for Guyanese to accept the recent decision and the implied disrespect of the Appeal Court to the ruling made by Chief Justice (Ag) Roxanne George. The fact that the Appellate Judge Rishi Persaud dissented and endorsed the Chief Justice’s “ruling”, adds to the distressing situation and justifies the decision of the Opposition to move to the CCJ.

Beware of Hamilton Green Dear Editor, I refer to a letter written by one Hamilton Green in a section of the media on March 22, 2019, calling for solutions but offered none. He put forward the ludicrous argument that “the Carter Center’s continued involvement in our political affairs is anathema”. My caution to the Guyanese nation is – beware of these political dinosaurs like Hammie.

They preach love today but behind their words are the minds of the real enemies of the people. These people are the banes to democratic progress in Guyana.

Here we have Hammie talking down the Carter Center which saved Guyana in 1992 from the intellectual authors of dictatorial rule. These odious people who put out their thousand man group of thugs in front of the Elections Commission building on Croal Street in 1992 with clear instructions to seize the building, burn all documents and equipment as a means to suppress the results which reflected the will of the people. If it was not for that call from President Carter to then President Hoyte who then did the legal thing and instructed the GDF to mobilise and supplement

the Police, these thugs might have made Guyana into another Equatorial Guinea, a nation that is resource rich but with the majority of the people living in absolute poverty.

So I write this letter in support of the work of the Carter Center. I believe our friends from the Carter Center can best serve the masses of people of Guyana by expanding their operation in 2019 Georgetown since we have a band of people in power who only respect the rulings of the court when it goes in their favour and who are doing everything within their power to frustrate the mandate of the Elections Commission by setting themselves up to be unprepared for General Elections? It is now almost 100 days since the no-confidence vote and the GECOM Chairman has done very little to offer any leadership to improve its preparedness for elections in the event that the CCJ overturns the Court of Appeal’s decision.

This is the Guyana we have today where a small cabal of PNC leaders think they have a legal transport over all of Guyana, so much so that they can unilaterally decide to drive a wedge between our people by hiring 16 of the 17

permanent secretaries from one group with the clear purpose of excluding all the other three groups (Guyana is a land of 4 major groups). To rub salt into the wounds, they have extended this ethnic supremacist action into ensuring that 85 per cent of all the heads of department in the public service are from the same group of people. One PNC leader who said she is “only hiring PNC people” confirmed this strategy and look what they have now done to Valmiki Singh, another competent head of department who was also sent packing.

In such conditions, there is an important role for the Carter Center to ensure that our diversity is best served with stronger internal control systems unlike what Hammie dished out to the workers of the Guyana Stores Ltd on the picket line back in the days with the hockey stick gang and the House of Israel thugs.

My message to the youths of Guyana – beware of Hamilton Green, he is nothing but a wolf dressed up as a sheep.

Regards, Sasenarine Singh

However, the interpretation of two other Judges Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Dawn Gregory was reflected in their decision to vote against the passing of the NCM, which was passed in the National Assembly with a clear majority when 33 members voted for the motion and 32 voted against. The Speaker ruled that the motion was passed and on the night of December 21, 2018, the then Prime Minister and the then President accepted that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government has fallen.

From an examination of the basis on which the number of parliamentary representatives is decided by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), it is established that each parliamentarian represents a specific number of citizens. In context, when a vote is taken on behalf of a representative number of citizens by parliamentary representatives, 33 will always be greater than 32 when is reflected accumulatively. This argument substantively mitigates against the issue of 34 votes is a majority, and the two ‘supposed

I will take the liberty of going first, as is the prerogative of anyone who frames rules for games; Article 106 (7), notwithstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and hold an elections within three months or such longer period as GECOM or the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by two-thirds of the votes of all elected members of the National Assembly determine and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office after the election

Editor, I expect that change is what President Granger wants and no doubt a Medal of Service will be due my way (I am ineligible for Silk). In fact, I quite expect David Granger to be the ‘man to beat’ at this game, for he has been playing it quite effectively for some time on his own; Granger’s masterpiece in altering Article 161 (2) by addition of “…provided that if the Leader of the Opposition submits or fails to submit a list as provided for, the President shall appoint a person who holds or has held office as a

duct elections at short notice, the public announcement that the organisation will be proceeding with house-to-house registration is presumptions and contemptuous. It must be clear that the court, as the guardian of the Constitution, must grant effective orders which must ensure compliance with the Constitution.

The massive countrywide protest that took place in Guyana on March 22, 2019, is a clear indication that things are not going to be usual. It is of note that the Government now wants things to go back to normalcy, when they did everything abnormal following the rulings of the Speaker and the Chief Justice. It should not be allowed as we await the decisions of the CCJ. The People’s Progressive Party has demonstrated genuine leadership and harnessed strong and positive support of several civil and fair-minded organisations who are fully preparing to struggle for immediate free and fair elections. Guyanese must unite and stop the current APNU/AFC extant bullyish behaviour.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

Framers of our Constitution were very precise Dear Editor, I do not understand why even distinguished lawyers are having protracted arguments about the fact that our Constitution does not use the word “absolute” in describing the type of majority required for the successful passage of a vote of no-confidence.

I hold neither a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) nor a Legal Education Certificate (LEC). What I do hold is a rare Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics and Law from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, where I was taught Constitutional Law by the once Honourable Dr Kenny D Anthony and where I developed a passion for research.

When my good friend,

Return to rational thinking and respect for rule of law Dear Editor, Let’s play a game. I did not invent it but the parameters and rules have been set by Guyana’s Court of Appeal (21). In this game, players add a single word to an Article of the Constitution then make an argument that this is what the framers intended. It seems a simple and innocuous enough premise and should the recent addition of “absolute” be upheld by the Caribbean Court of Justice, we can expect decades of fun and fees for the legal luminaries in the jurisdictions that subscribe to that court.

to be’ imminent judges ruling based on other extraneous consideration is a serious matter that will further divide our nation.

The CCJ is now tasked with the responsibility to make the decision which takes into consideration all relevant factors, with non-partisan consideration and reflective of applied precedence within the meaning of the law for Guyana’s jurisprudence. The context must ensure that justice is done within the meaning of the law, but with the respect of all the Guyanese people. Applicable to the foregoing purports to ensure that we get free and fair elections earliest. The CCJ is asked to uphold the NCM vote contrary to the two unpopular Appeal Court decision for in the eyes of the public, it cannot be denied that the NCM vote is valid and it is highly anticipated that the CCJ will do what is right.

It must be noted that the existing Voters’ List is valid until April 30, 2019, and the list must be used to hold the constitutionally required General and Regional Elections. Since the mandate of GECOM presumes its purpose and readiness to con-

Judge or …”

Editor, now that the Court of Appeal let us know the game exists and is viable, I look forward to a future of great uncertainty and never-ending chaos as we play ‘Words with Granger’, to the detriment of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. I would much rather be playing ‘democracy’ and a return to rational thinking and respect for the rule of law.

Respectfully, Robin Singh

Nigel Hughes, came up with what he has described to me as his “new math” theory of the half-man, I immediately began a marathon of sleepless nights of legal research which yielded much fruit. In the course of this research, I came across the simple explanation of why the word “absolute” is not used in the Constitution.

The simple reason is that it is not necessary. The

framers of our Constitution were, unusually for lawyers, very precise and verbosity was anathema to them.

There was no reason to say “absolute majority” because this is defined in the rest of the Article. The majority of a vote by “all elected members” is, by definition, an absolute majority.

Regards, FE Alleyne

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MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019

Page Foundation Autism Spectrum Disorder What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a difference in the way a person’s brain develops. People with ASD are born with it and their problems usually begin in the first couple of years of life. They may have trouble with communicating and relating to others.

Part 2

These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Bodily-Kinaesthetic Intelligence. Does your child: • Excel in more than one sport?

• Move various body parts when required to sit still for long periods of time?

• Have the ability to mimic others’ body movements?

• Enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together?

• Have a hard time keeping hands off objects?

• Enjoy running, jumping, or other physical activities?

• Show skill in activities that require fine-motor coordination, such as origami, making paper airplanes, building models, finger-painting, clay, or knitting?

• Use his body well to express himself?

What’s it like to have Autism Spectrum Disorder?

ASD affects different people in different ways.

Some people can’t speak or learn traditionally. Their behaviour may seem strange; they may avoid other people; they may pace and move their bodies in unusual ways, like flapping their hands. They may repeat lines from TV shows or movies.

People with less severe ASD are able to talk and learn. But they may have trouble: expressing feelings. They may seem cold and distant. understanding the feelings of others.

They may ignore or misunderstand how other people might feel or behave in a situation. reading social cues. They might not understand body language or facial expression; they stand too close; they ignore signs of boredom or frustration. handling sensory information. Loud noises, bright lights, or crowds may bother them. handling a new routine. It might be hard for them to sit in a different seat or having a substitute teacher.

Some might get super-focused on a single topic or hobby, some of which may be unusual (apple varieties, World War I).

What causes Autism Spectrum Disorder?

No one knows exactly what causes ASD. It probably has something to do with DNA – the genes passed down from your parents – and other things, like infections or toxins that change the way the brain develops.

Problems during pregnancy and around the time of birth raise the chance of getting autism.

Vaccines do not cause autism.

How is Autism diagnosed?

A parent may think that something is wrong and tell the doctor. Maybe the child is old enough to speak but doesn’t. Or a kid doesn’t seem interested in people or plays in unusual ways.

If the doctor suspects autism, a team of experts (which may include doctors, a psychologist, speech therapist, occupational therapist, and a special education teacher)

Multiple Intelligences

will evaluate a child.

How is Autism Spectrum Disorder treated?

There is no cure for autism, but treatment can make a big difference. The sooner treatment starts, the better. With therapy, people with autism learn language, improve in school, and build social skills. Many kids with ASD are in special education classes or get special education services.

A treatment programme might include: speech therapy to help with talking and language skills occupational therapy to help with everyday tasks, like dressing and playing behavioural therapy to help improve behaviour social skills training to help with relating to others special education to help learning medicine to help with things like sleep, paying attention, and hyperactivity

How can I help a friend with Autism?

People with ASD have a very wide array of signs and symptoms. Some people with ASD do not feel that they have a disorder and don’t want to change. They’re proud of who they are and they want to be accepted, even though they may have different strengths and weaknesses than most other people.

All people deserve respect. But people with ASD may be teased, bullied, or left out because they’re different. Bullying and teasing are never the right way to treat other people, but it may be hard to be a friend with someone who has ASD. People with ASD often don’t understand playful jokes or sarcasm. You may need to be very clear and factual when you communicate with someone who has ASD. Try to be patient and kind. Remember how hard it might be for the person with ASD to understand how to be a friend. Stand up for classmates who are bullied. Tell adults, so they can help protect kids who are bullied. (Excerpted from kidshealth.org)

Interpersonal: perceiving the moods, feelings, and needs of others. It includes salespeople, teachers, counsellors, and those we have come to call the helping professions.

These questions can determine if an adult has a strength in Interpersonal Intelligence: • Have people always come to you for advice?

• Have you always preferred group sports to solo sports?

• Do you usually prefer talking to other people about a problem, rather than figure it out on your own?

• Do you have at least three close friends?

• Do you prefer social activities over individual pursuits?

• Do you enjoy teaching others what you can do well?

• Are you considered to be a leader, either by yourself or others?

• Do you feel comfortable in a crowd?

• Do you prefer to spend your time with others than alone?

These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Interpersonal Intelligence. Does your child: • Enjoy socialising with friends?

• Seem to be a natural leader?

• Empathise easily with others, which leads to giving advice to friends who come to him with problems?

• Seem to be street-smart?

• Enjoy belonging to organisations?

• Enjoy teaching other kids – either peers or younger ones?

• Have two or more close friends?

• Serve as a magnet for social activities with others?

Intrapersonal: turning inward with a well-developed self-knowledge and using it successfully to navigate oneself through the world.

These questions can determine if an adult has a strength in Intrapersonal Intelligence: • Do you regularly spend time alone meditating, reflecting, or thinking about important life questions?

• Have you attended counselling sessions or personal growth seminars to learn more about yourself?

• Do you have a hobby or interest that you keep to yourself?

• Have you set goals for yourself regularly?

• Do you have a realistic view of your strengths and weaknesses?

• Would you prefer spending time by yourself rather than with many people around you?

• Do you keep a diary or journal to record the events of your inner life?

• Are you either self-employed or have you given serious consideration to starting your own business?

These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Intrapersonal Intelligence. Does your child: • Show a sense or independence or a strong will?

• Have a realistic sense of her abilities and weaknesses?

• Do well when left alone to play or study?

• “March to the beat of a different drummer” in living and learning?

• Have a hobby or interest she doesn’t talk about much?

• Have a good sense of self-direction?

• Prefer working alone to working with others?

• Accurately express how he is feeling?

• Learn from failures and successes?

• Have good self-esteem?

Linguistic: using words, either orally or written, in an effective manner. This intelligence is associated with storytellers, politicians, comedians, and writers.

These questions can determine if an adult has a strength in Linguistic Intelligence: • Have you always enjoyed books and given them importance?

• Do you hear words in your head before you speak or write them?

• Do you enjoy talk shows more than television or movies?

• Do you enjoy word games, puns, rhymes, tongue-twisters, and poetry?

• Do you have a highly developed vocabulary and enjoy knowing words that other people do not know?

• In your own education, did you enjoy subjects related to words and ideas, such as English and social studies, more than math and science?

• Have you enjoyed learning to read or speak other languages?

• In your speech, do you refer to information that you have read or heard about?

• Have you been praised, recognised, or paid for your writing?

• These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Linguistic Intelligence. Does your child: • Write better than average for her age?

• Enjoy telling stories and jokes?

• Have a good memory for names, places, dates, and other information?

• Enjoy word games, either visually or auditorally?

• Enjoy reading books?

• Spell better than other children the same age?

• Appreciate rhymes, puns, tongue twisters?

• Enjoy books on tape without needing to see the book itself?

• Enjoy hearing stories without seeing the book?

• Have an excellent vocabulary for his age?

• Communicate thoughts, feelings, and ideas well? (Excerpt from childdevelopmentinfo.com)

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monday, april 1, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Speaker should not permit dual citizens in National Assembly – Ram …MPs should resign or renounce out of “political morality” – WPA executive

D

espite recent court rulings that persons holding dual citizenship status should not be parliamentarians, the Guyana Government is preparing to return to the House with all 33 members, some of whom have dual citizenship.

Chartered Accountant and Attorney Christopher Ram has said he believes the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland, should not allow these dual citizen parliamentarians back in the House.

In an interview with Guyana Times on Friday, Ram said the action by the Government to return with dual citizens to Parliament is “disgraceful, unbelievable (and) contemptuous. It shows (utter) contempt and disregard for the Constitution by people of the stature of Carl Greenidge (Foreign Affairs Minister); (so) it’s hard to say how much lower we as a country can get,” Ram said.

The attorney argued that Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, as well as the Court of Appeal, has ruled that the Members of Parliament with dual citizenship should not be in Parliament.

Article 155 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana states: “No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who (a) is, by virtue of his own act, under

Attorney Christopher Ram

any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.” In this regard, the attorney pointed out, he believes the Police should be summoned to ensure the laws are upheld.

“They have committed a criminal offence, because to swear to an oath falsely is a criminal offence, and this is something maybe the Commissioner of Police (Leslie James) ought to be looking into,” Ram declared.

He pointed out that if an ordinary person breaks the law or operates in a similar manner, that person would be dealt with by the relevant authorities, and the politicians should be treated no differently.

“You (are) violating the Constitution, the most scared document of our country. It’s almost as if you

Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland

don’t care; you smile and walk in. And if I were the Speaker (of Parliament), I may not have allowed them into the place; and he really ought not to,” Ram posited.

The attorney maintained that the Speaker of the National Assembly has ultimate power in the Public Buildings, and those Ministers are demonstrating gross disrespect towards him by pushing the Constitution aside for what he described as “selfish reasons.”

Despite the Court of Appeal last week upholding a January High Court ruling that it is illegal for persons holding dual citizenship status to be sitting in the National Assembly, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, on Friday said all Members of Parliament

WPA Executive Dr David Hinds

(MPs) on the Government’s side will return to the National Assembly until a final ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is handed down.

Resign or renounce

Meanwhile, during a recent town hall broadcast hosted by Globespan 24x7, Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Executive Dr David Hinds noted that, in the interest of “political morality”, dual citizens in the National Assembly should make a choice between renouncing their dual citizenship and resigning from the house.

He labelled as ‘politics’ the fact that the coalition Government would pick and choose which parts of the recent Court of Appeal ruling it would adhere to (that the no-confidence motion against it was not validly

passed), and which to delay acting upon (that dual citizens cannot be Members of Parliament).

“I think this is politics.

They will accept the part that says they remain in office, because that’s power.

They will ignore the other part and say, ‘We’ll wait until the CCJ rules and then we’ll decide if we renounce citizenship or not’.

“Politicians think about power and what that means for them. Political morality doesn’t figure in too much…

I think political morality say’s that they should either renounce their citizenship or resign,” he said.

According to David Hinds, the Constitution is clear about dual citizenship.

However, he said, what some would call duplicity is actually politics.

But Economist Sase Singh, who also appeared on the talk show programme, noted that the line has to be drawn somewhere. He pointed out that dual citizens are not irreplaceable, and that the best thing may be for them to step aside and give youthful members of their electoral lists a chance.

Singh was critical of the fact that despite Guyana’s population being largely youthful, the majority of its parliamentary representatives are geriatrics.

“I know they say politics has its own morality,” Singh said. “But there is a mini-

mum benchmark, and what I’m seeing from those who are holding this dual citizenship is a sense of duplicitousness. How can I trust someone like that, who basically says, ‘Okay, I will wait’? Can’t they express intent, to say they are commencing the process to give up their citizenship in the interim?”

The next sitting of the National Assembly has been scheduled for April 11.

Duplicitous

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday accused the coalition Government of being duplicitous for accepting the Appeal Court’s ruling that the no-confidence motion was invalid, but not adhering to the court’s ruling that dual citizens are illegal in the National Assembly.

In the meantime, he posited that the Opposition will not be attending sittings of the National Assembly until the CCJ hands down its ruling on the vote of no-confidence.

The matter has been set for May 10.

At present, the People’s Progressive Party has three MPs who have dual citizenship. They are Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira, who is a Canadian citizen; and Adrian Anamayah and Odinga Lumumba, who are both US citizens. turn to page 11

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monday, april 1, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

29 criminal cases disposed of during January Demerara Assizes

T

he January 2019 Assizes in Demerara came to an end last Friday when Justice Navindra Singh held the Goal Delivery. At the end of this session, a total of 29 cases were completed.

The first session for the year began on January 8 with a total of 260 cases listed to be heard before presiding Justices Singh, James Bovell-Drakes and Jo-Ann Barlow.

Of these 29 matters heard, 28 were presented in the High Court of Demerara by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), while one was nolle prosequi (not prosecuted).

Of these 28 cases presented, 13 were for the offence of murder, one was for the offence of manslaughter, and 14 were for sexual offences. There were six guilty pleas, seven convictions, nine not-guilty verdicts by jury, five formal verdicts of not guilty, and one hung jury.

Of the 28 cases presented in the High Court, 12 were prosecuted by State Counsel Tuanna Hardy, Abigail Gibbs and Teriq Mohammed before Justice Navindra Singh. Of these 12 cases, 10 were murder trials, which saw four accused pleading guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter and

being sentenced to 14, 16, 12 and a half, and 20 years’ imprisonment respectively.

In another three murder trials, the juries returned unanimous verdicts of guilty, and the accused were respectively sentenced to 30 years, 100 years and 80 years imprisonment. One of these accused was found guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter. The other three murder cases saw the accused persons being acquitted.

In the one case for manslaughter before Justice Singh, a no case submission was upheld.

Additionally, there was one case in which the accused was charged for engaging in sexual activity with a child by abusing a position of trust. That accused was sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment after he was

found guilty by a unanimous jury.

Meanwhile, a total of 13 sexual offences cases were prosecuted by State Counsel Lisa Cave, Seeta Bishundial and Sarah Martin in the Sexual Offences Court before Justice Barlow.

In three of those sexual offences cases, the trial judge directed the juries to return formal verdicts of not guilty, because the complainants did not attend court or testified that they did not wish to proceed with the evidence against the accused.

In another case, the accused pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment; while another accused was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment after he was, by the jury, found guilty of two counts of having engaged in sexu-

al activity with a child family member. Five other cases resulted in the accused being acquitted by jury verdicts of not guilty.

There was also one hung jury in a case of rape of a child under 16 years. In two other matters, the juries returned guilty verdicts for both accused, and probation reports were ordered to be presented on April 5, when the two accused will be sentenced.

Additionally, State Counsel Tamieka Clarke and Tiffini Lyken completed three murder trials before Justice Bovell-Drakes.

In two of these matters, the accused were both acquitted by jury verdicts of not guilty. While in the one other case, the accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.

For the one matter that was nolle prosequi by the DPP, the accused was indicted for attempting to commit murder, discharging a loaded firearm with lntent, wounding with lntent, unlawful possession of ammunition and setting fire to a public building. The indictment was nolle prosequi pursuant to a Court Order granted on October 13, 2017 by a High Court Judge and entered on October 17, 2017, but which was never served on the DPP. Nevertheless, the April Criminal Assizes in Demerara will commence on Tuesday April 2, 2019.

Justices Singh and BovellDrakes will return to preside over this session, and will be joined by Justice Brassington Reynolds. The April session has a total of 259 cases listed to be heard.

On the other hand, between January and March, the DPP appeared in six matters before the Court of Appeal. The State was represented by Assistant DPP Dionne Mc Cammon, Assistant DPP Teshana Lake, and Senior State Counsel Natasha Backer, Orenthia Schmidt and Narissa Leander.

Of these six appellants, two had their applications to appeal against conviction and sentence dismissed; one other was granted his application for extension of time to appeal, while one appellant withdrew her application to appeal against her conviction and sentence.

The State was allowed its application to appeal against an acquittal in a murder case, while the Appeal Court reserved its decision in one appeal against conviction and sentence.

Meanwhile, the Demerara Full Court sat five times during these three months. Three applications were withdrawn, while two appellants were allowed their applications and had their convictions and sentences set aside.

Moving on…

Y

…from confrontation

our Eyewitness is beyond ecstatic today at the news he just received from the DPI! He’s practically jumping into the air and clicking his heels!! Moses Nagamootoo decided to make a stand against the PNC’s scuttling of the promises they’d made in the Cummingsburg Accord! Imagine that!! Who’d have thought he’d grow a pair after four years of humiliation and denigration?? But there it was, in black and white, on the DPI’s website, run by his loyal water boy.

The first demand was he be put back in charge of “governance” – covering the entire gamut of governmental activities, rather than just being in charge of a DEPARTMENT peddling propaganda. And even there, the President’s PRO outfit dwarfed his two-bit operation.

The worst mortification was having to personally write that weekly column in the Chronic, in which he had to sycophantly simper praises to President Granger. He pointed to the last one he wrote in yesterday’s edition, wherein he had to quote Granger at least four times!!

The second demand was on the related Cummingsburg promise to have him CHAIR Cabinet meetings, rather than having him sit in and twiddle his thumbs. He wasn’t even allowed to report on his work to Cabinet, since he wasn’t running a Ministry but just a Department!! Now he’d probably be able to get back at those snotty PNC Ministers who snickered when he attempted to get a word into any discussion.

But most of all, he insisted that Constitutional Reform begin immediately. He emphasised that it was a promise to the people, and he was a man of his word.

Your Eyewitness is sure it had nothing to do with the fact that, in the Manifesto, the constitutional change emphasised that several powers of the president would be hived off and passed on to the Prime Minister. Which just happened to be Nagamootoo.

To demonstrate that he was a “son of the soil” and a “man of the people”, Nagamootoo declared he would not be so ostentatious in public displays of his high status. He’d cut down the number of outriders that heralded his approach from twelve to eight!! He allowed that, sadly, he couldn’t reduce his whopping multi-million-dollar monthly salary, because then the Government would have to reduce the newly-conferred super pension of Hamilton Green. He didn’t want to embarrass that elder statesman, to whom he felt the PPP was very vindictive not to have awarded an Order of Roraima. He’d helped rectify that, hadn’t he?

Finally, he announced he’d apologise to those 7,000 fired sugar workers whom he’d led up the garden path!

Can’t believe this, dear reader?? Well, this is April Fool’s Day, isn’t it?

…with the new math

Finance Minister Jordan has a droll sense of humour, but he keeps it well hidden, doesn’t he!! Take his “announcement” that GDP growth for last year was 4.1 per cent, and even exceeded the optimistic 3.4 per cent he’d projected back then. I know you thought, dear reader, that the man was off his rocker – but he anticipated April Fool’s Day! After all, sugar has tanked – even the Chronic’s article on Jordan’s projection quotes the CDB as saying it’s shrunk by 30 per cent.

Bauxite is flat, with the Trump’s Deripaksha sanctions causing RUSAL not to ship for six months.

Production at Guyana Goldfields, the largest producer, has shrunk and precipitated a shakeup in that company.

Businesses have reported a slowdown in sales; yet President Granger – probably using the same new math that Jordan used -- says they don’t know what they’re talking about!!

You don’t know what “new math” your Eyewitness is talking about? It’s the same one that was used to decide that 33 isn’t greater than 32!!

So each sector shrank, and yet the economy’s growth increased

…with house to house

Even with a 60 per cent approval rate for the 72,000 who applied for US visitors’ visas, that means 43,000 were out in 2018 just to one destination.

If the same number of persons are out of the country this year during HtH registration, what’s their voting fate??

Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com

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monday, april 1, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Elections voters’ list

Enhance scrutiny at polling stations, not remove names – Jagdeo

O

pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo believes that there is no need to remove the names of Guyanese who are overseas from the Official List of Electors (OLE), saying that enhanced scrutiny at the polling stations can prevent any attempt at illegal voting.

Speaking at his weekly press conference last week, Jagdeo pointed out that it would be unconstitutional to remove people’s names from the voters’ list, especially if those persons are overseas for short-term visits.

“You cannot remove people’s name from a list if you’re simply abroad because what if you abroad for two or five months?

Then you will lose your rights to vote, because your name would not be on the voters’ list,” he argued.

However, the Opposition Leader noted that his party – the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) – is not interested in working out a deal with the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition Government either.

He made this statement recalling that for the 1997 elections, the PPP had done that with the then People’s National Congress (PNC) Opposition, which is the leading party in the APNU alliance, and ended up losing two years of its term in office owing to litigation filed by the PNC. “PNC and PPP agreed to use voters’ ID as identification absolutely necessary for voting. The same PNC, after losing elections, filed a case that the use of ID is unconstitutional and the elections were vitiated. We lost two years of our term, not because there was fraudulent elections, but because the arrangement we made with PNC was deemed unconstitutional. So we’re not interested in making no arrangements like that, so they can go challenge it

again,” he asserted.

Moreover, he also ruled out using immigration records to cleanse the OLE, saying that it would not properly reflect the movement of Guyanese, since persons leave through the Suriname ‘Backtrack’ route and through Lethem as well.

Instead, Jagdeo suggested that a parallel list be prepared in addition to the OLE, which would still have the names of overseas Guyanese.

“So each Presiding Officer will have the Official List of Electors and they would have a list of the immigration records of people who have been abroad for over three months,” he noted.

This way, according to the Opposition, if someone from the immigration list shows up to vote, then an alarm should be raised and that person will be thoroughly vetted and scrutinised before being allowed to vote.

“Enhance scrutiny so you don’t have to worry about people aboard voting. So that was what we suggested (as to) how you address it. Not by removing people’s name from the OLE; that would be unconstitutional. (You) can’t remove them just like that, but have to enhance the safeguards that they don’t vote,” he reasoned.

Extra polling agents

Further, Jagdeo, a former Head of State himself, said he had also suggested to President David Granger that monies be set aside to hire extra polling agents, in addition to those appointed by the parties, and to have an observer in each of the 2200 polling stations to lessen the chances of illegal voting and ensure that those eligible to vote are able to do so.

“Besides, GECOM (Guyana Elections Commission), themselves, have been arguing how robust their system with the Presiding Officer is. So,

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

you would not have people, even with their names on the list and they may be abroad, they wouldn’t be able to vote and that would work well with us because we don’t steal no votes,” the Opposition Leader noted.

Jagdeo’s comment on the issue of overseas

Guyanese voting comes on the heels of Government’s spokesperson, Minister of State Joseph Harmon last week saying Guyanese living overseas who usually return home to vote during local elections may not get the opportunity to do so at the upcoming polls.

Harmon said that once

overseas-based Guyanese were not here to register during the house-to-house registration exercise, then they would not be included on the voters’ list and as such, would not be allowed to vote at the next elections.

“It’s not a matter of dis-enfranchising anyone.

Our laws do not provide for overseas voting save and except those persons who are in the employ of the State and are in the embassies, and so on, abroad. So persons who are Guyanese residents abroad, at the time of house-to-house if you are not here, then certainly your name cannot be on the list. That is why house-to-house is so important,” he asserted.

Only last week during a meeting with the GECOM Chairman, Retired Justice James Patterson and the Commissioners, officials from the US-based Carter Center suggested,

among other things, that a list of non-resident persons be generated to use on Election Day to identify substitute voters and/or illegal voters.

GECOM has already rolled out its 2019 work programme, which includes the conduct of house-to-house registration, something which has been a topic of contention between the Opposition and Governmentnominated Commissioners at the elections body.

Nevertheless, the Commission had voted to go ahead with House-toHouse registration, which Chairman Patterson had indicated would conclude in November. In fact, he informed the Head of State in a letter that polls could not be held before late November 2019 and the elections body needed some $3.5 billion to prepare for the hosting of elections.

10 news

monday, april 1, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Teen chopped, stabbed, Arsonist sets Linden shot in Albouystown

snackette on fire

…owner thankful fire only caused external damage

A Dead: Christopher Mansfield, called “Gully Bop”

W

hile playing a game of football in the Georgetown ward of Albouystown on Sunday morning, 18-yearold Christopher Mansfield, called “Gully Bop,” of Lot 66 Barr Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, was reportedly chopped, stabbed and shot by three youths on bicycles who attacked him.

According to the dead teen’s mother, Natasha Mansfield, her son had left home very early Sunday morning to play football, something he often does.

“At 6 something, a guy came to me with a bicycle and say something happen to my son. I went with him. When I went to the corner of Cooper Street, I saw my friend running out of her yard with a sheet. I told the bicycle man to stop, and (I) ran behind her; and when I ran behind her, I see my son lying down flat with sheets, stab up holes, and a car was there and the car take me to the hospital,” the grieving mother said.

The visibly distraught woman explained that she is still in a state of shock, and is

The teen’s mother, Natasha Mansfield

trying to come to grips with the fact that her eldest child is now dead.

“My son tried telling me something, but I just can’t hear what he got to say... he just died. And I am asking the Guyana Police Force (to) let them look to the crime rate whereby these youths in Albouystown are with guns! Underage children with guns! I asking them to put something in place in Albouystown!

“My son is gone, and I don’t have nobody that could pay me back for him. He is never a child that had gun, cutlass; fight nobody, stab nobody. No! And I am just asking them: I need justice for my son! Justice!” she told Guyana Times.

The woman noted that her son had been a jovial individual. She admitted that he had previously been charged for marijuana possession, but she said those charges were dismissed for lack of evidence.

“He would trouble people and got them cussing. The people would come and complain to me. I would come out and say, ‘Man, is elderly peo-

ple; have respect.’ Who know, they could talk. I never give people a bad face when they come and tell me about my son. But he was a nice child to me.”

Christopher Mansfield leaves to mourn his mother, his two younger sisters and two younger brothers.

According to the Police, three “identifiable males” were involved in the incident.

According to Police, armed respectively with a cutlass, a knife and a gun, the suspects approached the victim on bicycles, and then proceeded to attack him. During the altercation, the suspect who was armed with the gun shot the teen to the right side of his abdomen, and the injured youth barely managed to seek refuge in a nearby yard before he collapsed.

Mansfield was taken to Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His body is at the GPHC mortuary awaiting a Post Mortem Examination. Four persons are in Police custody assisting with the investigation.

(Kristen Macklingam)

shopkeeper is counting her lucky stars that her business was saved after it was allegedly set afire by an ar-

sonist.

Reports are that Jackqaline Payne of Lot 265 One Mile, Wismar, Linden, closed her snackette which she operates at the One Mile Public Road, Linden, at about 20:30h on Saturday and went to visit a friend in the area.

A short while after, the 55-year-old woman received a call from the Guyana Fire Service’s Linden Branch informing her that her shop was on fire.

According to the police, the woman arrived at the scene moments after being notified and in the presence of the law enforcement officials and fire attendants and she went into the shop to assess the damages.

However, Payne was beyond grateful to learn that only the outside of her snackette was damaged as a result of the quick action by the firefighters.

Meanwhile, the police said that when the

scene was visited by detectives, it was observed that kerosene was used to start the fire.

A plastic bottle which was used to store kerosene was found one foot away from the shop.

Additionally, the police noted that several persons were questioned about the incident. Investigations are ongoing.

15-year-old nabbed with 1445 grams ganja

A

15-year-old student attached to a secondary school in Georgetown was on Sunday taken into custody after he was found to be in possession of

more than three pounds of cannabis.

Based on reports received, the young man was observed by Police ranks in Albouystown, Georgetown, acting in a suspicious matter.

The Policemen, who were on patrol, reportedly went in pursuit of the young man who ran into a house as they approached him.

He was eventually nabbed and during a search in the green haversack he was carrying, three transparent plastic bags were unearthed with the illegal plant.

He was taken to the Ruimveldt Police Station where the illegal plant was weighed and amounted to 1445 grams. An investigation is underway.

NEWS

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MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt focused on creating a more equitable society through education – President

P

resident David Granger, on Saturday, said that the Government puts emphasis on gender parity and is fostering equality in the society through education. The President made these remarks when he joined First Lady, Sandra Granger and several women leaders at Delices Appetisantes, an afternoon of conversation, cultural presentations and dining in observance of Women’s History Month, which was held in the Baridi Benab at State House. The event was hosted in collaboration with the Ministry of the Presidency’s Department of Social Cohesion. The First Lady was the patron of the event.

“It is my belief that if woman were economically independent, if they were educated and if they were empowered, we would not have this sort of domina-

tion and domestic violence that is taking place in this country. So, I call upon you my sisters, to move the process along by ensuring that your girl children particularly, can get to school that they are protected from abuse, that they are given education and that they can take control of their lives,” President Granger is quoted by the Public Information and Press Unit within the Ministry of Presidency as saying.

The president also recalled that since making a request for a school bus for his 70th birthday in 2015, the Government has now established the Public Education Transport Service (PETS) and boasts a fleet of 29 buses.

The First Lady echoed these sentiments, noting that she too believes that empowering women enhances their quality of life as well

President David Granger delivers his remarks at Delices Appetisantes, which was held in the Baridi Benab at State House

as that of their children and families.

“Girls and our women have to be educated and independent and to know their power; to know how they are going to spend their money

and to know how they are going to make the demands that come with that power and that comes with that sisterhood; then is when we will really start to see women moving forward,” Mrs.

Granger said.

The First Lady noted that women who endure domestic abuse often do so because the man is the one who earns in the relationship and if the man goes to jail, the woman

worries about the wellbeing of herself and her children.

“My husband and I talk often about education, and we also talk about the burdens on women, particularly single women who are parents of children and struggle to get them to school and to put a roof over their heads and feed them… “We have to look at enforcing new legislation …charge the man and find some programme where he can continue to support the family while getting some kind of counselling and training” she said.

A number of representatives from Public Health Ministry along with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Resident Representative, Sylvie Fouet and representatives from other Government and non-governmental organisations also attended the event.

High alcohol use by teens in Region 2 – Commander

T

oo many youths are involved in alcohol consumption and it seems to be an issue which continues to go undeterred in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) which will result in negative impacts in their education and by extent, their future.

This is according to Commander of G Division (Essequibo Coast- Islands), Khali Pareshram, who told this publication that there is a high use of alcohol among teenagers, specifically those still attending secondary schools, in his division.

Although they may not be consuming alcohol on the schools’ premises or during

instruction periods, a number of youths appear to be resorting to drinking as part of their recreational fun, outside of the classrooms.

He explained that perhaps it could be due to the culture of some families and friends who believe that “a little alcohol” during celebrations would not harm children in any way, however, this is far from the truth.

Once a child becomes exposed to alcohol from early stages, chances are, that individual during the adolescent stage would continue along that line and in adulthood could become an alcoholic.

According to Commander

have a role to play in practising the same with regard to their children.

“Like any other issue that has to be addressed when children are concerned, this needs a multi-stakeholder approach. Not just the police or organisations but families, neighbours, communities etc. That’s the main way of curbing issues that affect our youths,” he stated.

Drug use

Commander of G Division, Khali Pareshram

Pareshram, there are sensitisation workshops ongoing at various learning institutions across Region Two geared at educating

students about social ills, crimes, traffic violations, and healthy living. But parents and guardians also need to be aware that they

Touching on the topic of drug usage and abuse by students in secondary schools, the Commander noted that while there is involvement in Region Two, it is not prevalent.

In fact, in relation to illicit substances, the youths who are involved appear to be focused on using cannabis and not ecstasy or other harmful drugs.

“Yes, there is some involvement of substance abuse and usage of illicit substances but when the teachers notice this or are suspicious of this with their students they report what they have observed. In those cases, it is primarily instances where these students are smoking cannabis. However, like I said, through a multi-stakeholder approach we are targeting this matter and expect to see positive results,” the Commander said.

(Kristen Macklingam)

Speaker should not permit...

The lone Alliance For Change (AFC) MP who holds dual citizenship is Business Minister Dominic Gaskin. He was born in the United Kingdom of Guyanese parentage.

On the other hand, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) members who have dual citizenship are Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge; and Minister

of Public Service, Rupert Roopnaraine.

The issue concerning persons with dual citizenship in the National Assembly surfaced after former Government MP Charrandas Persaud voted in favour of a no-confidence motion which was tabled by the Opposition and passed in the National Assembly.

Government supporter Compton Reid has chal-

FROM PAGE 7

lenged the validity of the vote cast by Persaud in the National Assembly on the basis that he breached Article 155 of the Constitution, which debars MPs from having dual citizenship.

It was this case that brought the issue to light, and the courts in Guyana eventually ruled that dual citizens are not permitted to sit as parliamentarians in Guyana.

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MONday, APRIL 1, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Local producers urged to pursue accessing more export markets …as UncappeD Marketplace Expo 2019 deemed successful

T

he UncappeD Marketplace exposition 2019 has been deemed a success by sponsors and Government. This brainchild of the Guyana Manufacturing Services Association (GMSA) saw hundreds of patrons at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday and allowed exhibitors to showcase and sell the products, all locally made.

Speaking with Guyana Times at the event, Business Minister Dominic Gaskin said that the event is in its third year and continues to get better.

“I am very, very pleased to be here and to walk through and actually see the progress that the local producers have made over the years in their products and their display and their packaging, their labelling and in their enthusiasm for actually selling their products, the confidence that they have that this is a good product, you try it.

It is very good…the quality of packaging, I think three years ago a lot of things were in plastic bags with a little printed thing pasted on to it, a whole lot more professionally packaged products, now they can stand next to any imported product on the shelf in our local supermarkets,” the Minister said.

He stated that these are all very positive steps for local producers to take and now the next stage is for them to begin accessing more export markets instead of sticking to the local one.

Export market, he noted, is not easily gained but “we want, as a Government, to work with them, work with the Private Sector, the GMSA, who has really brought it to what it is today. We would like to continue working with them and see how we can encourage some of these producers to get their markets out of Guyana. It takes a lot of work but I have spoken to a number of them, some of them are already exporting, speaking with businesses outside of Guyana to market their products, so the will is there”.

He noted that the local producers need “some encouragement” to continue and make the necessary commitment in pursuing international markets because the domestic market (in Guyana) is not big enough for the “real growth and development” needed in the country’s agro-processing sector.

“We have to export and this is a very good start. The UncappeD programme, I have nothing bad to say about it. It is an excellent programme,” Minister Gaskin added.

Meanwhile, Senior Director of Public and Government Affairs at ExxonMobil, Deedra Moe told this publication that her company is proud to be a sponsor of the UncappeD initiative once again in partnership with the GMSA because the oil giant company

The Garden Centre Plant Shop displaying an array of beautiful plants at UncappeD Marketplace 2019

A vendor selling his produce at UncappeD on Sunday

believes that it is important not only to do business and develop the natural resources in Guyana but to also be a member of the community.

“So we hope that this type of initiative continues to highlight the wonderful small business owners that are here and help them to actually build capacity and work together and network and continue for others to be able to support the locals.

This is the third year it has been in existence… there seems to be a continuing growing interest. This time I see more plants and fruits and vegetables, a variety of different things, jewellery, so it is just not kind of like barb-que sauces and the spices, it is kind of pretty robust across the board,” she added.

One exhibitor, Jennifer Spencer, of the Women’s Agro-Processor Development Network Group that represents a number of groups spearheaded by females in the agro-processing field, stated that she was more than

pleased with the turnout at the event on Sunday.

“We’re basically participating because we still want to bring awareness, about local products and the benefit of using it. We participated in all the UncappeD before. It has been so successful for all of us, well to the point where we got new clients every time.”

Another exhibitor, who had a wide array of flowers for sale at UncappeD Marketplace 2019, Patricia Chin, told this publication that such an initiative is the perfect opportunity to showcase what Guyanese can do and offer to both locals and the international community.

“On display, we have ornamental plants, kitchen herbs, some fruit trees, cacti, succulents and we have soil, the different types of soil that you use in the different types of plants. So we can focus on caring the flowers and plants so we can restore the garden city. It’s a good event,” she added.

Some patrons viewing and purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables from the booths at UNCAPPED Marketplace 2019

14 NEWS

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt appoints Juvenile Justice Committee – PPDI, Prison Sentence Board also appointed

G

overnment has finally approved the appointment of a Juvenile Justice Committee, a necessary component of plans to integrate alternative sentencing and avoiding the criminalisation of youths.

This announcement was made by Minister of State Joseph Harmon, who was at the time holding a post-Cabinet press briefing on Friday. According to Harmon, the Committee was approved by Cabinet after a proposal from Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan.

According to the Minister, the Committee will comprise of William Boston as Chairman and 11 other members. Harmon laid out the terms of reference of the Committee, which will include ensuring that the Juvenile Justice Act is implemented.

“The objectives of the Committee are to support the implementation of juvenile justice legislation, especially on issues related to the creation and accreditation of diversionary programmes and to ensure compliance to the required standards set up in the

child rights convention and its supporting guidelines.”

The Juvenile Justice Bill was passed last year, repealing the 1931 Juvenile Offenders Act and the Training Schools Act. An important part of the bill is that it abolishes offences like truancy and wandering.

The draft bill was conceived in 2004 under the former Administration, with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Last year, the Government had announced that it would establish juvenile courts throughout Guyana.

It has been opined that having these specialised courts will ensure speedy disposal of sensitive cases.

PPDI

Also being approved and gazetted was the Board of Directors of the Power Producers and Distributors Incorporated (PPDI).

According to the gazetted notice, the PPDI Board will serve with effect from March 1, 2019, to February 28, 2021.

Returning to head the company is Mark Bender as Chairman and Arron Fraser

as Vice Chairman. In addition, its membership will include Stephen Fraser, Amanza Walton-Desir, Verlyn D E Klass, Paul Chan-A-Sue, the Permanent Secretary of the Public Infrastructure Ministry and representatives from the Parliamentary Opposition and Guyana Power and Light (GPL).

GPL’s interconnected system is fed with power by the Power Producers and Distributors Inc (PPDI), which replaced Wärtsilä, a company from Finland, which for two decades maintained over a dozen engines for the utility company.

Prison

Also, the Guyana Prison Service Sentence Management Board was approved for a period of one year with effect from February 1, 2019. The Board is to be chaired by prominent educator and former University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) President Dr Melissa Ifill.

Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels is also listed as a member, as well as Marielle Bristol, Sylvia

The Board of Directors of the Power Producers and Distributors Incorporated (PPDI) is among the new Boards that were approved

Conway, Rabindra Chand, Mahendra Thakurdat, Stanley Boodie, John Fraser and Shireen Andrews as Secretary.

As of January 2017, there were a total of 2043 inmates in Guyana’s five jails, although the largest one – the Camp Street Prison – was subsequently gutted in a fire. At the time, the Georgetown prison had 963 inmates, 521 of whom were on remand; Lusignan had 153, of which 32 were remanded, Mazaruni, 360, and Timehri, 130 inmates including 28 remand inmates.

All of the aforemen-

tioned prisoners were male, while New Amsterdam had a male prison population of 352 and a female population of 85. 150 of those men and 31 women were on remand.

When it comes to prisons, much reform is needed. In 2016, a fire raged through the Camp Street Prison and claimed the lives of 17 prisoners. Afterwards, a Commission of Inquiry, which cost the treasury some $13 million, was ordered by President David Granger.

According to the report compiled by the Commissioners, a combina-

tion of being overcrowded, uncomfortable and unhygienic confinement are ideal conditions for epidemics, for gangs to prosper and to propagate discontent.

Moreover, the CoI found that reducing numbers in prisons to manageable levels is the single most important priority for establishing safe, humane and purposeful prisons. In the wake of another fire the very next year, which gutted the wooden section of the Camp Street Prison, the need to reduce the prison population was further emphasised to the Government.

Venezuelans set up burning barricades over lack of power, water

A

ngry Venezuelans set up burning barricades near the presidential palace in Caracas and in other parts of the country on Sunday in protests over constant power outages and shortages of drinking water in the wake of two major blackouts this month.

The situation has fueled frustration with the government of President Nicolas

Maduro and frayed nerves as schools and much of the nation’s commerce have been interrupted by problems with public services for nearly three weeks.

Protesters, some carrying rocks and their faces covered, burned tires and tree trunks along a stretch of downtown Caracas as they demanded Maduro improve the situation.

“We’re here fighting for

water and power, we’ve gone twenty-some days without water,” said Yofre Gamez, 32, an informal vendor.

“They put the power on for two hours, then turn it off at night, it comes on the next day for half an hour and then it goes off again we’re tired of this.”

A Reuters witness heard shots ring out as Gamez spoke.

A burning barricade during a protest against the Government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela on Sunday

Demonstrators reported that one woman had been injured by gunfire, which they attributed to pro-government gangs. Reuters was unable to confirm who fired the shots.

Similar protests took place in other parts of the country, including the central state of Carabobo, where demonstrators burned tires and blocked roads, according to witnesses.

In some Caracas neighborhoods, residents simply waved flags and chanted anti-government slogans.

Venezuela suffered a week-long nationwide blackout starting on March 7 that left hospitals unable to attend to the sick and businesses giving away perishable food before it rotted.

The power went out again on March 25 and has

been intermittent since.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said in a statement on Sunday that school activities, which were called off for most of last week, would remain suspended. Business hours will run only until 2 p.m., he said.

The government has offered a variety of explanations for the blackouts, ranging from Washingtonbacked cyberattacks to opposition-linked snipers causing fires at the country’s main hydroelectric dam.

Critics insist it is the result of more than a decade of corruption and incompetent management of the power system, which the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez nationalized in 2007.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized

by most Western nations as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state, has called on residents to organize at the neighborhood level to demand better services.

Guaido in January invoked the constitution to assume the interim presidency, arguing that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was fraudulent and that he usurped power when he was sworn in for a second term.

Maduro calls Guaido a puppet of the United States, which he says is seeking to force him from office through a coup.

Washington has levied crippling sanctions against Maduro’s government in an effort to push him from power. He has hung on in large part thanks to the continued loyalty of top military commanders. (Reuters)

15

NEWS

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

VOX POPULI

I SAY...

What the people say

What are your thoughts on the violent beating of 3 students at the New Amsterdam Technical Institute by a colleague?

Vickanand Deokie “Bullyism in schools should not be tolerated. I think that's what the matter stemmed from in the first place. These matters should be dealt with by targeting what leads to the final problem. For that, I believe those who were bullying the child should not have done so. Nevertheless, he was wrong to hit them and that's where teachers should start acknowledging these problems. Many times, they just brush them aside.”

Arif Fareed “The three students were wrong to ridicule and embarrass the other boy about his mother and food, that’s provocation and the boy only reacted to defend his honour, Bullyism in high school leads to mental and emotional scars, I say he is right to stand up to the bullies.”

Wendy Hernandez “The idea of violence in schools is one which most parents especially are concerned about. And the fact that these three boys were beaten is just a disrespect to the law and the school's administration. Our children should not be vulnerable to these kind of treatment, especially in public schools.

I suggest expulsion for the attacker since one he did it one time he can do it again."

Dalon Chapman “I think the incident is alarming but it goes to show just a bit of what is happening in schools these days. Counselling is needed.”

Amosie Adolphus “Well I think it is terrible and the student should be expelled from school.”

Stacy Jackman “I believe that they should suspend all of those involved in the matter, perhaps suspend them for a few days or a week, and then when they return, they should also be made to serve community service or something like that. It’s said that the three who were assaulted have been bullying the other one so to be fair, all four of them should be punished.”

Daniel Graham “Since they are students, you probably cannot have them locked up, but I believe they should be expelled for that, given the level that their issue escalated to. Also, they should be given some form of community service to serve if they cannot serve time in jail.”

Russia airline co-owner dies in private plane crash

T

he co-owner of Russia’s second biggest airline died when her private plane crashed in Germany, the firm says.

Natalia Fileva, one of Russia’s richest women and the major shareholder in S7, also known as Siberia Airlines, died when the plane crashed while landing at Egelsbach airport near Frankfurt.

Another passenger and the pilot also died in the crash, German media quoted local authorities as saying.

The cause of the crash has not yet been identified, S7 said.

The jet crashed while landing near Frankfurt

The private jet was flying from Cannes in France.

It disappeared from radars at 13:22 GMT (15:22 local time), according to flight tracker Flightradar24.

Ms Fileva, 55, had wealth valued at $600m (£460m) according to Forbes magazine.

“The S7 Group holding team expresses deepest con-

dolences to the family and significant others,” the company said.

Russian and international authorities would investigate the crash, S7 added.

Meanwhile two other people died when a police vehicle travelling to the scene of the crash collided with another car near the airport. The three police officers in the police car suffered serious injuries, DPA reported.

S7 is the main competitor in Russia to Aeroflot. It has 96 aircraft that fly to 181 cities and towns in 26 countries, the company’s website says. (BBC) News

16

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019

Regional

T&T Top Cop unhurt after vehicle crashes during high-speed chase

T&T Police Commissioner Gary Griffith

P

olice Commissioner Gary Griffith was involved in a vehicular accident on Saturday,

but luckily he suffered no injuries.

Griffith's official vehicle collided with another vehicle driven by a civilian as his security detail chased after a driver who had been driving in a reckless and dangerous manner.

Social media users were first alerted about the incident following a 50-second clip being circulated via WhatsApp. Confirming he had not sustained any cuts or bruises in the accident which occurred at about 13:30h in the vicinity of the T&T Yacht Club, Glencoe, Griffith said his security detail observed the driver of a B13 Sentra "driving in and out of the

traffic, going on to the shoulder, and driving above the speed limit".

Pursuing the vehicle which had been proceeding in a westerly direction, Griffith said one of his advance security vehicles then turned on their siren and activated the flashing blue lights in a bid to stop the driver.

However, "Whilst in pursuit, they came into contact with another vehicle, and then that vehicle actually spun out of control and crashed into the vehicle I was in which was at a standstill in the traffic. We weren’t moving and it hit us.”

The officers were unable to arrest

the reckless driver since they rushed to assist the civilian who was driving the car which they crashed into.

Griffith said they had been reviewing video footage in an effort to obtain information which would lead to the arrest of this motorist.

Defending his officers, Griffith said there would be times when the officers would need to go above the speed limit and employ certain measures to detain a suspect or when responding to a distress call.

Meanwhile, relatives of the civilian involved in the accident told CNC3 news that they are very disappointed with how the police han-

dled the victim. He was identified as 27-year-old Shakeel Forbes from Carenage. When relatives contacted Guardian Media shortly before 6 pm, they said Forbes was yet to be attended to by a doctor at the St James health facility although he arrived there after 1 pm. They said the officers at the scene of the accident showed no interest in taking Forbes to the hospital and were uncooperative when they visited him at the health centre. The officers said they will speak with Forbes after he has seen by a doctor. Guardian Media informed the police commissioner who promised to contact the family. (T&T Guardian)

Dismay after Trump moves to Brazil Judge overturns ban on coup’s celebration cut aid to Central America

the aid being redirected elsewhere.

US officials say the immigration system at the border with Mexico is already at breaking point yet the administration wants to increase the number of asylum seekers sent back over the border fivefold - from 60 a day to 300.

There has been a huge increase in asylum seekers fleeing violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

The three nations are where most of the migrants on the US southern border come

from.

President Trump has also said he is likely to close the border if Mexico does not do more to stop migrants crossing. "We are carrying out the President's direction and ending FY [fiscal year] 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle," a state department spokesperson was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency, declining to give further details.

According to the Washington Post, at stake is nearly US$500 million in 2018 funds plus millions more left over from the previous fiscal year. A Reuters source put the overall figure at about US$700 million.

In 2017, Guatemala received over US$248 million while Honduras received US$175 million and El Salvador US$115 million.

"I've ended payments to Guatemala, to Honduras and El Salvador," Mr Trump told reporters on Friday. (BBC) News

er members of the SDTF were on mobile patrol and saw the man near his home at Rushworth Street in San Fernando. The man, 37, on seeing the approaching police, allegedly dropped the bag in his hands and began to quickly walk away.

On checking the bag, police, among them PCs Loutan, Guerra, Narace,

Siewsankar, Williams and Henry, said they found marijuana and cocaine.

The incident happened near the San Fernando Girls’ Government Primary School which is next to the San Fernando Boys’ Government on Crichlow Street.

The marijuana weighed 440 grammes and the cocaine, 20 grammes. (T&T Newsday)

Migrants from Honduras are among those trying to enter the US through Mexico (Reuters photo)

U

S opposition politicians and aid agencies have questioned a decision by President Donald Trump to cut off aid to three Central American states.

Trump ordered the suspension of aid payments to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to push their Governments to stop migration into the US. Critics say the decision will hurt programmes that already aim to persuade people to stay at home.

Congress may seek to stop

A

Brazilian judge has overturned a ban on commemorations of the 1964 coup overthrowing the democratic government.

Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro had planned to mark the anniversary of the start of military rule on Sunday.

On Friday a judge said the event would not be compatible with "democratic reconstruction".

But the appeals judge allowed the government's argument that Brazilian democracy was strong enough to support a "pluralism of ideas".

Judge Maria do Carmo Cardoso said commemorating the coup was not rewriting history, nor hiding the truth.

"I see no violation of human rights, particularly as similar demonstrations took place in the barracks in preceding years, with no negative consequences," she said.

Friday's injunction had

President Jair Bolsonaro's approval rating has plunged this month following several political scandals

been granted after protests from politicians, activists and the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, which said the planned celebration "sounds like an apology for the practice of mass atrocities".

Bolsonaro defended it earlier this week, stating the aim was to remember the era rather than commemorate military rule itself.

The BBC's Americas regional editor Candace Piette says Bolsonaro, a former army captain, believes the coup was in fact a democratic revolution called for by the people and the press.

The president, who was elected in October, is a divisive figure who has sparked controversy with racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments.

Several military units have already held events marking the coup anniversary and protests against Sunday's events are planned in several cities.

No one has been held accountable in Brazil for the deaths and disappearances during the 21 years of military rule.

In 2014 a national truth commission found that 434 assassinations were carried out in the years after the 1964 coup, as well as arbitrary detentions and cases of torture of political opponents. (BBC) News

Border row pitches T&T man arrested near 2 Mexican President into schools with ganja, cocaine deep water with Trump

P

olice from the Southern Division Task Force (SDTF) arrested a man, a stone’s throw away from two primary schools in San Fernando, allegedly with cocaine and marijuana inside a plastic bag.

Police said at about 5.30 pm on Thursday, Sgt Dinoo and Cpl Bahadur with oth-

Several candidates vie to replace C'bean-American public advocate

S

everal candidates have already emerged to replace Caribbean American New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams as the representative for the 45th Council District in Brooklyn, New York.

Nine candidates, including a significant number of Caribbean-born and Caribbean Americans, have announced that they are best suited to represent the district that comprises East Flatbush,

Flatbush, Flatlands, Marine Park and Midwood.

More than 188,000 people live in the district, of which about 61 per cent are either Caribbean American or African American, according to reports.

The candidates are: Trinidad and Tobago-born Anthony Alexis; Jamaicanborn Rickie Tulloch; Monique Chandler-Waterman, the daughter of Jamaican and Barbadian immigrants; Jovia Radix, the daughter of

Barbadian and Grenadian immigrants; Farah Louis, the daughter of Haitian immigrants; Louis Cespedes Fernadez, the son of Cuban immigrants; Anthony Beckford; Xamayla Rose; and Adina Sash.

Alexis has been supervising city-funded senior centers in Brooklyn since 2016.

Before working with seniors, he began working for the New York State Assembly in 1997 and later for the New York City Council. (CMC)

US President Donald Trump

D

onald Trump’s threat to shut the US border if Mexico does not halt all illegal immigration has exposed the limitations of the new Mexican government’s strategy of trying to appease the US president as he gears up for re-election.

Amid a surge in migrant detentions at the southwest US border, Trump on Friday said he would close the 2,000mile (3,200-km) frontier, or sections of it, during the coming week if Mexico did not halt the flow of people.

Casting the government under leftist President

Mexico’s President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as the villain in his struggle to curb illegal immigration to the United States, Trump returned to a signature theme of his 2015-2016 presidential election bid.

His words were a slap in the face to Lopez Obrador, who has refused to answer back to provocative comments from Trump. Instead, the Mexican leader has worked to cement his powerbase by combating poverty with welfare handouts and lambasting his predecessors as corrupt.

On Friday, Lopez Obrador again said he would not quarrel with Trump, invoking “love and peace” and repeating his commitment to curbing migration.

However, for former Mexican foreign minister Jorge Castaneda, Mexico faces “incredibly damaging” consequences if Trump does order “go-slows” at the border, which would pitch Lopez Obrador into uncomfortable new territory.

“He’s totally unfamiliar with international affairs.

He’d prefer not to have to worry about these things,” Castaneda said, noting that the U.S. president had tested many governments.

“Nobody’s been able to find a way to manage Trump. It’s a mess.”

Staunchly non-interventionist in international affairs, Lopez Obrador shows little interest in diplomacy.

He has often said “the best foreign policy is domestic policy.” (Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019

17

Around the World

Ukraine election: Comedian leads Zuzana Caputova becomes presidential contest – exit poll Slovakia’s 1st female President

A

comedian with no political experience has won the most votes in the first round of Ukraine’s presidential elections, according to exit polls.

They said Volodymyr Zelenskiy - who played the President on TV - received 30.4 per cent of the vote, with current leader Petro Poroshenko second on 17.8 per cent.

The two - who have expressed largely pro-EU opinions - are set to take part in a run-off election next month.

Ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko Volodymyr Zelenskiy cast his vote in Kiev appears to have been eliminatZelenskiy is aiming to turna wish to be new and different. ed on a projected 14.2 per cent.

His extensive use of social The Interior Ministry saidhis satirical TV show Servant of the People in which he portrays media appealed to younger vothundreds of electoral violations ers. an ordinary citizen who becomes have been reported, but foreign Zelenskiy’s readiness observers said the vote appearedPresident after fighting corruption into reality. to speak both Russian and to be mainly smooth.

Ukrainian, at a time when lanHe has torn up the rulebook A total of 39 candidates were on the ballot paper, and withfor election campaigning, stag-guage rights are a hugely sennone receiving 50 per cent, theing no rallies and few inter-sitive topic, gained him support top two will go forward to theviews, and appears to have noin Ukraine’s largely Russianstrong political views apart fromspeaking east. (Excerpt from BBC News) run-off on April 21.

Zuzana Caputova framed the election as a struggle between good and evil

A

nti-corruption candidate Zuzana Caputova has won Slovakia’s presidential election, making her the country’s first female Head of State.

Caputova, who has almost no political experience, defeated high-profile diplomat Maros Sefcovic, nominated by the governing party, in a second round run-off vote on Saturday.

She framed the election as a struggle between good and evil.

The election follows the murder of an investigative journalist last year.

Jan Kuciak was looking into links between politicians and organised crime when he was shot at home alongside his fiancée in February 2018.

Caputova cited Kuciak’s murder as one of the rea-

sons she decided to run for President, which is a largely ceremonial role.

She won 58 per cent of the vote, with Sefcovic trailing on 42 per cent.

Her opponent was nominated by the ruling Smer-SD party, which is led by Robert Fico, who was forced to resign as Prime Minister following the killings.

Caputova gained national prominence as a lawyer when she led a case against an illegal landfill lasting 14 years.

Aged 45, a divorcee and mother of two, she is a member of the liberal Progressive Slovakia party, which has no seats in Parliament.

In a country where samesex marriage and adoption is not yet legal, her liberal views have seen her promote LGBTQ+ rights.

The opponent she defeated, Sefcovic, is Vice President of the European Commission. (Excerpt from BBC News)

China will continue to suspend extra Pope in Morocco: tariffs on US vehicles, auto parts Protect “multi-

C

hina’s State Council said on Sunday that the country would continue to suspend additional tariffs on US vehicles and auto parts after April 1, in a goodwill gesture following a US decision to delay tariff hikes on Chinese imports.

In December, China said it would suspend an additional 25 per cent tariffs on US-made vehicles and auto parts for three months, following a truce in a

trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

The State Council, or Cabinet, said Sunday’s move was aimed at “continuing to create a good atmosphere for the ongoing trade negotiations between both sides”.

“It is a positive reaction to the US decision to delay tariff hikes and a concrete action adopted (by the Chinese side) to promote bilateral trade negotiations,” the State Council said.

The Government also said it would announce separately when the suspension would end.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that trade talks with China were going very well, but cautioned that he would not accept anything less than a “great deal” after top US and Chinese trade officials wrapped up two days of negotiations in Beijing.

US Treasury Secretary

Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were in the Chinese capital for the first face-to-face meetings between the two sides since Trump delayed a scheduled March 2 increase in tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

The talks are set to resume next week in Washington with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Algeria’s President appoints caretaker Government amid turmoil

Protesters of the Algerian community of Paris attend a demonstration against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on the Place de la Republique in Paris, France, March 31, 2019

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika named a caretaker Cabinet on Sunday, as he grapples with a political crisis following weeks of pro-

tests demanding he end his 20year rule.

Serving Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui will head the Administration, private

Ennahar TV reported.

Seeking to defuse the demonstrations, Bouteflika had said on March 11 he was dropping plans for a fifth term.

But he stopped short of stepping down immediately, to wait for a national conference on political change. That further enraged protesters.

Algeria’s army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah, renewed a call on Saturday for the Constitutional Council to rule on whether the ailing 82-year-old Bouteflika was fit to rule, opening up the possibility of a managed exit.

Salah kept his position as Deputy Defence Minister in the reshuffle, State TV reported.

Bouteflika, who has rarely appeared in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, kept his title as Defence Minister.

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets of Algiers for more than a month, complaining of corruption, nepotism and economic mismanagement which they say has tarnished Bouteflika’s 20-year rule.

But two opposition leaders have supported the army initiative.

Several close allies, including some members of the ruling FLN and union leaders, have abandoned Bouteflika.

Political sources said the appointment of a caretaker Government might be a signal that Bouteflika could resign, given pressure from the military and protesters.

The UN Secretary-General said on Sunday he welcomed efforts toward a peaceful and democratic transition in Algeria. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Severe thunderstorm in Nepal leaves 25 dead, hundreds injured

O

ver two dozen people were killed in a severe thunderstorm that swept through parts of southern Nepal late on Sunday and hundreds more were injured, police and officials said.

Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in a tweet said 25 people had been killed, and around 400 were injured.

“Helicopters have been kept ready for immediate rescue and relief,” Oli said in his post. He offered condolences to the families of the victims.

Rajesh Paudel, the top bureaucrat of Bara district, where the storm hit, said the death toll may increase as rescuers were still trying to reach many of those affected.

Bara is located about 62 km (39 miles) south of Kathmandu, and borders India’s eastern State of Bihar.

Pre-monsoon thunderstorms are common in Nepal during the spring season, but are rarely of an intensity that causes high casualties.

Police officer Sanu Ram Bhattarai said rescue teams

religious” Jerusalem

had been dispatched to the affected villages, but reaching the victims was difficult at night.

Television channels said the storm and accompanying heavy rainfall, uprooted trees and electric and telephone poles, crushing some people to death. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Morocco's King Mohammed VI invited the Pope for the sake of "interreligious dialogue" according to Moroccan authorities [Youssef Boudlal/Reuters]

P

ope Francis has joined Morocco's King Mohammed VI in saying Jerusalem should be a "symbol of peaceful coexistence" for Christians, Jews and Muslims on the first day of a visit to the North African country.

The spiritual leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics was invited by King Mohammed VI for the sake of "interreligious dialogue", according to Moroccan authorities.

He is expected to celebrate mass at a Rabat stadium with an estimated 10,000 people attending as well as visiting a church-run social services centre and meeting with Catholic priests and other Christian representatives on Sunday.

In a joint statement on Saturday, the two leaders said Jerusalem was "common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions".

"The specific multi-reli-

gious character, the spiritual dimension and the particular cultural identity of Jerusalem... must be protected and promoted," they said in the declaration released by the Vatican as the pontiff visited Rabat.

Improving relations with other religions has been a priority for the Argentine pontiff, whose papacy has been marred by clergy facing a wave of child sex abuse allegations.

Addressing thousands of Moroccans who braved the rain to attend the welcome ceremony, Francis said it was "essential to oppose fanaticism".

He stressed the need for "appropriate preparation of future religious guides" before meeting trainee imams later on Saturday.

Catholics are a tiny minority in Morocco, where 99 per cent of the population is Muslim. The king is revered across West Africa as "commander of the faithful". (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

DILBERT

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

Take your time. The harder you press to get things done, the longer it will take. If you let things unfold naturally, everything will fall into place.

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

Knowing what you want will be half the battle. If you hesitate or give someone the upper hand, you should expect to be left behind.

Focusing on your goal should be priority No 1.

CANCER

Don’t wait for someone else to do things for you. Be the master of your destiny and take pride in what you do. Partnerships will work only if you can maintain equality.

(June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU TODAY’S WORD — MAVERICK (MAVERICK: MAV-er-ik: A dissenter.)

cede cense code coed cone once need node noes

nose encode dense does done donee dose scend scene

sconce scone secco second seed seen send sonde sone

A change will do you good. Distance yourself from your troubles to help put situations in perspective. Don’t let anger turn into a costly mistake.

Put more thought into your relationships and how you can improve emotionally taxing situations.

Surround yourself with supportive, positive people and you’ll do better in all walks

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Express your thoughts and ideas with someone who shares your goals. A positive change to the way you live and with whom you associate will lead to personal success.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

It’s up to you to bring about positive change. If you let someone dictate what you can and cannot do, you will end up having regrets.

Be a leader, not a follower.

Time limit 40 minutes

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

SATURDAY’S WORD — CONCEDES

Emotional spending will get you into trouble.

You cannot buy love and you shouldn’t feel that you must impress others. Just be yourself and do your own thing.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Average mark 29 words

Can you find 44 or more words in MAVERICK? The list will be published tomorrow.

Protect your personal information. Don’t play with fire when dealing with financial matters. Bide your time and make decisions and changes based on facts.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Look at all your options and choose what’s doable. If you take on too much, you won’t be satisfied with the results. Set a goal and stick to it.

Rely on methods that have worked for you in the past. Make adjustments at home that will help you reach your goals. Arguing will be a waste of time.

Take a break and rethink your next move. Call on people who owe you a favour or can help you reach your goal. A joint effort will lead to greater opportunities.

MONday, APRIL 1, 2019

19

Bairstow, Warner feature in record stand as RCB slump again

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ith their third straight opening century stand, with the highest ever opening partnership in IPL, and with rapid centuries of their own, Jonny Bairstow and David Warner consigned Royal Challengers Bangalore to their third straight loss.

The 232 chase fell on Virat Kohli’s shoulder early in the innings, as Mohammed Nabi removed the top order, including the big scalp of AB de Villiers in the first four overs. Kohli crawled to 3 off nine in the Powerplay, but was out soon after. At one point, RCB slumped to 30 for 5, and it was game over.

The Warner-Bairstow demolition Sunrisers reached the IPL final last year without Warner. This year, without Kane Williamson, their captain and IPL 2018’s highest run-getter, they’ve put on three century opening stands. On Sunday, the demolition mantle was taken over

by Bairstow, who scored his second T20 century and first in the IPL, off 52 balls.

Kohli opted to bat because he expected the pitch to be slow in the first innings.

He opened the bowling with Moeen Ali, and immediately saw Bairstow go after him.

The second ball was swept for four to begin the boundary barrage. While Warner made room for deliveries that were outside off for punches and drives, and walked across to swat and nudge the others on the leg side, Bairstow main-

21 deliveries to go. From there, he struck Siraj and Umesh for sixes, and ran several singles and doubles even after he had batted through a hot Hyderabad afternoon.

With a single on the last ball of the 19th over, he had six balls to face and seven to get to century. By steering a low full toss past short third man for four, Warner showed the original celebratory leap for his fourth IPL hundred.

Siraj’s 0 for 38 were the most economical figures of the innings.

The Nabi and Sandeep damage

Jonny Bairstow and David Warner celebrate after Bairstow’s hundred BCCI

ly targeted the leg side right throughout.

In the Powerplay, Bairstow hit Mohammed Siraj for consecutive fours in the fourth and sixth overs when he went short or wide.

There was a hint of the openers slowing down when 16-year-old debutant legspinner Prayas Ray Barman conceded only six off his first over, the seventh of the innings, but they didn’t take long to line him up. Bairstow tore into Barman off his next.

He followed an inside-out six over the covers with two fours on the leg side to bring up a 28-ball half-century.

Bairstow even hogged the strike from there for the rest of the partnership, with plenty of swipes and lofted sixes on the leg side, mixed with technically-correct drives and

punches when required.

Bairstow was equally punishing off Colin de Grandhomme, dispatching two slower short balls for six. Exactly three overs after Warner brought up his 32-ball fifty in the 13th over, Bairstow reached his century with a couple off Barman.

He celebrated the milestone the way Warner does - with a running leap and helmet in his hand. His first 50 runs saw more runs through fours (nine) than sixes (one), but his acceleration from 50 to 100 featured four sixes and only three fours.

Barman returned to bowl the 16th, and conceded 20, the most expensive over of the innings. Bairstow fell soon after, but the damage had been done. Warner was on 70 off 42 balls then with

With that stiff a target, Royal Challengers opened with Shimron Hetmyer instead of Moeen but the move didn’t work. Nabi struck off the last ball of his second over when Parthiv chipped a full toss to cover for 11. Hetmyer struck Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six next over but stepped out as soon as Nabi returned and was stumped

by Bairstow for 9. De Villiers averted Nabi’s hat-trick but was out trying to loft over cover, only to be undone by flight and turn.

All eyes were on Kohli now, especially Sandeep’s.

The swing bowler had already dismissed Kohli five times previously in the IPL and made it six in only 42 balls overall in 10 innings, although with an innocuous delivery. Kohli drilled a full delivery from outside off straight to cover and with him gone for 3 off 10, the vis-

itors’ hopes were dashed. To add to their misery, there were three run-outs, but all while they were trying to delay the inevitable.

Barman and de Grandhomme’s 51-run stand helped lend some respectability. De Grandhomme struck a

3

six and two fours off Rashid Khan in consecutive overs while Barman tried rotating the strike to keep the partnership run rate over sixan-over. That, however, only narrowed the margin of another humiliating loss for Royal Challengers. (ESPN cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD

Sunrisers Hyderabad Innings (20 overs maximum) JM Bairstow † c Yadav b Chahal 114 DA Warner not out 100 V Shankar run out (Hetmyer/†Patel) 9 YK Pathan not out 6 Extras (lb 1, w 1) 2 TOTAL (20 Overs, RR: 11.55) 231/2 Did not bat: MK Pandey, DJ Hooda, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, B Kumar (c), Sandeep Sharma, S Kaul Fall of wickets: 1-185 (JM Bairstow, 16.2 ov), 2-202 (V Shankar, 17.3 ov) BOWLING MM Ali (3-0-29-0) UT Yadav (4-0-47-0) YS Chahal (4-0-44-1) M Siraj (4-0-38-0) P Ray Barman (4-0-56-0) C de Grandhomme (1-0-16-0) RCB Innings (target: 232 runs from 20 overs) PA Patel † c Pandey b Mohammad Nabi 11 SO Hetmyer st †Bairstow b Nabi 9 V Kohli (c) c Warner b Sharma 3

AB de Villiers b Nabi 1 MM Ali run out (Nabi/Sandeep Sharma) 2 S Dube c Hooda b Nabi 5 C de Grandhomme run out (Kumar/Shankar) 37 P Ray Barman c Hooda b Sharma 19 UT Yadav run out (Shankar/ Rashid Khan) 14 M Siraj not out 3 YS Chahal c Hooda b Sharma 1 Extras (b 4, nb 1, w 3) 8 TOTAL (19.5 Overs, RR: 5.69) 113 all out Fall of wickets: 1-13 (PA Patel, 1.6 ov), 2-20 (SO Hetmyer, 3.1 ov), 3-22 (AB de Villiers, 3.4 ov), 4-30 (V Kohli, 6.1 ov), 5-30 (MM Ali, 6.2 ov), 6-35 (S Dube, 7.3 ov), 7-86 (P Ray Barman, 15.1 ov), 8-103 (UT Yadav, 17.3 ov), 9-109 (C de Grandhomme, 18.3 ov), 10-113 (YS Chahal, 19.5 ov) BOWLING B Kumar (3-0-25-0) M Nabi (4-0-11-4) S Sharma (3.5-0-19-3) S Kaul (3-0-16-0) Rashid Khan (4-0-25-0) V Shankar (2-0-13-0)

Hamilton wins in Bahrain after Leclerc loses power and lead

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ewis Hamilton took victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix, his first of the season, but it was a win the British driver largely inherited after a heartbreaking mechanical problem for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

The Ferrari driver had a marvellous run under the floodlights of the Sakhir Circuit from pole and looked on course to win until an energy recovery system failure severely curtailed his pace. He finished third. Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, was second while Sebastian Vettel could manage only fifth after a spin late in the race. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fourth.

Leclerc took the extra point for the fastest lap, and Hamilton’s win puts him just one point behind Bottas who leads the world championship.

Ferrari looked strong across the meeting and Leclerc had done everything required for the 21-year-old to take his debut win until Ferrari’s power unit proved fallible.

Hamilton, up

Following Vettel’s spin his Ferrari suffered a huge vibration before the front wing shattered and forced the car up into the air

against it all weekend, skilfully ensured he remained in the mix throughout and drove a very strong race, including pressuring Vettel into an error.

It had been a tense and at times dramatic encounter and Hamilton expressed his sympathy for Leclerc.

“It was extremely unfortunate for Charles,” he said.

“We have a lot of work to do.”

This is Hamilton’s 74th career victory and the third time he has won the Bahrain Grand Prix, having won for Mercedes in 2014 and 2015.He was dis-

appointed with his second place to Bottas at the opening round in Australia, when he lost the lead to the Finn off the start and then suffered damage to the floor of his car.

Mercedes had been outpaced by Ferrari across practice and qualifying, with Hamilton noting his team were lacking straightline speed to the Scuderia in particular. He was pleased to come within three-hundredths of Vettel’s time in qualifying and had been optimistic that he could challenge in race pace, but he and Mercedes know that

this was an unlikely win.

The opening laps feature some furious vying for position. Vettel made a lightning start to jump Leclerc who was slow off the line into the first corner, and the Monegasque, struggling for grip, also fell to Bottas who had already passed Hamilton and made it to second. The Finn locked up on lap two, however, lost the place to Leclerc and Hamilton promptly came back at his team-mate to retake third.

Third placed Charles Leclerc shows his disappointment.

Photograph: Lars Baron/Getty Images With the front runners settled the Ferraris opened up a two-second gap to Hamilton but Leclerc was in no mood to play second fiddle to Vettel. Having chased the German down, he had found the grip he needed and swept past to retake the lead on lap six. Vettel fought back but Leclerc held his nerve and the place. It was a marvellous display of confidence and commitment from the young driver.

Hamilton was able

to stay with them, holding his gap to the front to three seconds and closing hard on Vettel. Leclerc and Hamilton pitted on lap 14, with Hamilton opting for the soft rubber and committing to a two-stop, while Leclerc took the medium, retaining the faint possibility of making it a one-stop race.

Vettel pitted one lap later for the medium tyre but Hamilton on fresher rubber had made the most of the undercut and when Vettel emerged the British driver had taken second place. The differing strategies left the race intriguingly poised but Hamilton was soon struggling with a lack of grip due to rear tyre wear and was chased down by Vettel who passed him with ease on lap 23.

In front Leclerc was in command, stretching his lead to eight seconds by the halfway mark. Ferrari appeared in control. With the decision to take the soft rubber having not paid off Hamilton made his second stop on lap 35 to take the medium tyre. Vettel fol-

lowed him a lap later and then Leclerc.

With the Mercedes working the medium rubber far better, Hamilton went at Vettel round the outside of turn four and Vettel, attempting to defend, lost the rear and spun. It damaged his tyres and front wing which subsequently came off and he was forced to pit, dropping down the field. It appeared to be an unforced error, similar to the ones that were so costly last season.

The drama was far from over, however, when Leclerc, with the win seemingly in his hands, lost his turbo energy recovery on lap 46 and was easily caught and passed by Hamilton on lap 48, from where he went on to take the flag under a late safety car.

Lando Norris was an excellent sixth for McLaren in front of Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo. Pierre Gasly in the Red Bull was in eighth, with Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon also impressive in ninth. Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez was 10th. (The Guardian)

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GUYANATIMESgy.COM

MONday, APRIL 1, 2019

Premier League: Liverpool regain top spot with late Alderweireld own goal

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he clock was ticking towards the 90-minute mark when the final, decisive blow sparked those euphoric scenes. Liverpool were just a few minutes away from a result that – who knows? – was threatening to be a grievous setback in the race for the Premier League title.

But then the ball was aimed high towards Mohamed Salah at the far post and what happened next, put bluntly, changed everything.

Suddenly it did not seem quite so important that Salah had seemed like he was weighed down by the expectations. Hugo Lloris, the Tottenham goalkeeper, had not been able to hold on to his header. The loose ball bounced against Toby Alderweireld, the nearest defender, and start trickling towards the goalline. Alderweireld still had the opportunity to spare himself but, almost in slow motion, kicked the ground with his attempt at a recovery.

How important might this own goal be in the next six weeks? And what an incredible moment of fortune to put Jürgen Klopp’s team back on top of the table.

Every team that wins the league needs a bit of luck along the way and Liverpool certainly had it here if the mind went back a few minutes to the sight of Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-Min springing a two-on-one breakaway. Fortunately for Liverpool, the one they held back was Virgil van Dijk, who concluded it would be bet-

Mohamed Salah runs off to celebrate after Toby Alderweireld’s last-minute own goal at Anfield

ter to let Sissoko take aim and blocked out the pass. It was a brilliant decision. Sissoko’s shot was wild when, at that stage, Liverpool were facing a defeat that could have had heavy consequences.

No wonder Anfield celebrated as it did a few minutes later. For Liverpool, it was almost imperative they won this second-versus-third encounter. More than that, Klopp’s players needed to demonstrate they were in the right frame of mind for whatever comes next. They did just that, eventually – but, boy, they played with the emotions of their supporters before everything fell into place. The second half for Liverpool was threatening to be an ordeal.

As for Salah, the irony is that he, more than anyone, seemed to be the

player afflicted by the occasion. Salah has not scored for eight games, by far his longest drought in Liverpool’s colours, and there can be no doubt he is currently going through the most difficult phase of his time at Anfield. If anything, he seemed too keen to put that right, meaning there was a hint of desperation about his play, especially in those moments after Lucas Moura had scored with a 70th-minute equaliser. As it turned out, everything worked out for him in the end. Yet the point remains: if Liverpool are to win their first title since 1990, they desperately need Salah to get whatever is troubling him out of his system.

Not that it particularly mattered for Liverpool in the first half, when they played with such determination and flair, when the full-backs are so

attack-minded and the mentality, always, is that when they are winning they should go for more goals rather than settling for what they have.

Those forward surges from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson meant Liverpool were often operating with auxiliary wingers.

It was such a problem for Spurs that Lucas, who was primarily operating as Harry Kane’s strike partner, spent long spells doubling up as a left-sided midfielder to restrict the space for Alexander-Arnold. Still, though, the full-back took it upon himself to have a prominent role in Liverpool’s attack while, on the other side, it was Robertson’s inclination to do likewise, 16 minutes in, that led to Firmino’s goal.

Robertson’s delivery was so inviting for Firmino it would have been almost impertinent for the Brazilian to pass up the chance. Hugo Lloris’s kick had put gone far enough, intercepted by Georginio Wijnaldum inside the Tottenham half, and Kieran Trippier committed the full-back’s sin of standing off Robertson, allowing the left-back to line up the trajectory of his cross without anybody closing him down. Firmino had found a gap between two of the opposition centre-halves. Robertson’s cross picked him out superbly and Firmino did the rest with a downward header to put the ball past Lloris.

As bad as Tottenham’s record is

on this old ground, the reality is that Mauricio Pochettino’s side needed only a draw to register their best points total from the Premier League era. They could also be encouraged by some erratic moments from Alisson. Yet it must have been concerning for Pochettino that his players could not do more in the first half to examine the Liverpool goalkeeper. Dele Alli was not influencing the game in the way that would usually be expected of him. The same applied to Christian Eriksen and it was rare to see Harry Kane being so ineffective. Something had to change and Pochettino acted at half-time by instructing Danny Rose to take up a more advanced position, with Jan Vertonghen taking up the left-back role. Pochettino, serving his touchline ban, was in contact with his coaching staff via a mobile telephone and, if nothing else, he saw a significant improvement from his team.

The equaliser came after a quickly taken free-kick from Kane to Trippier and a key touch from Eriksen that allowed Lucas to fire in from a central position. After that, Liverpool had to go for a winner and perhaps that is why they were so open at the back, Sissoko let them off the hook, leaving the stage set for the hosts’ moment of good fortune. (The Guardian)

Vintage Dhoni turns the tables as Royals fall to 3rd defeat

A

v i n tage MS Dhoni innings - one that ended with a three sixes off the last three balls - tipped Chennai Super Kings from par score to winning score as they staged a comeback to beat Rajasthan Royals by eight runs in Chennai. A part of Dhoni’s unbeaten 75 off 46, his highest score at home, was built in partnership with Suresh Raina after the pair had been united on 27 for 3 after Ajinkya Rahane had put them in. But it was at the end that Dhoni turned it. With Dwayne Bravo, who would later defend 12 off the last over, Dhoni put up 56 in 29 balls as Royals conceded a match-defining 67 off the last four overs.

Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, and Jofra Archer played crucial knocks, but Royals’ own collapse at the start of the chase compounded meant they had too much to do at the end.

Royals’ dream start

Super Kings got only one of the first two overs.

Jofra Archer had hit Ambati Rayudu on the forearm before closing the wicket-maiden off by having him fend one to the keeper. Short of a length fast bowling still seemed the optimal strategy and Shane Watson was cognizant of this, getting boundaries off Dhawal Kulkarni and Ben Stokes on the back foot. His indulgence was short-lived though. Having just pulled Stokes for six, he guided an upper-cut straight to short third man two balls later.

Kedar Jadhav also perished in an attacking haze shortly afterwards - two pull shots for fours off Stokes, out third ball throwing his hands at a wide ball from Kulkarni.

At 27 for 3, Royals had Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni to bowl at in the last over of the Powerplay, and Super Kings’ senior-most batsmen looked vulnerable. The length of attack remained the same, Archer attacking Raina’s ribs with a leg gully and getting him hopping and fending.

When Dhoni took strike, his back foot defence rolled back onto the stumps, only for the bails to remain in place. Then, things got easy.

Royals hand it back

Royals chose to save Kulkarni’s remaining over for the slog overs, meaning the pressure was immediately relieved with five straight overs of spin. Shreyas Gopal and K Gowtham were reasonably economical to start off, but Raina grew increasingly more confident and took them on. When the bowling change came about, it was Jaydev Unadkat and like most teams have done, Super Kings went after him straight away.

Dhoni flat-batted a slower ball for his first boundary and Raina tickled one fine later in the over.

But Royals got some openings. In his next over, Unadkat bowled Raina a ball after he’d survived a run-out attempt, and in the next over, Gowtham dropped Dhoni - a difficult chance - at extra cover. The 61-run stand had done enough to put Royals on the defensive and with a well-set Dhoni surviving that chance, Super Kings looked set for a

big launch.

Dhoni time

Kulkarni returned in the 18th over to a completely different life. All the pressure was on him and dew had begun setting in. He bowled two high full tosses, one a wide, one a no-ball, and a low one for the free-hit that Dhoni drilled for six over extra cover. The moisture had damaged the ball, prompting a third change on the evening, but to inaugurate it, Kulkarni was taken for ten in two by Bravo. Twenty-four runs came from that over, whereas he’d conceded 13 in his first three.

On either side of that over, Archer conceded 15 off 12. An under-confident Unadkat w a s

handed the f i n a l over and after being hit for six over his head by Jadeja, he was forced to contend with vin-

tage Dhoni for the last three balls of the innings. Each of those was short, each flat-batted in a different direction.

And each one a six. Twentyeight runs came off that over.

Chahar delivers again

For the third game in a row, Deepak Chahar bowled out his four overs up front at less than five an over. On Sunday, he strung two wickets to that economy rate those of Ajinkya Rahane a n d Sanju Samson.

W h i l e sticking mostly to his preferred corridor line and moving it either way, he got assistance from the two-paced pitch and had both of them caught off the thick outside edge. Shardul Thakur capitalised on it as well from the other end and with Jos Buttler’s wicket, Royals were 14 for 3 with their top three run-getters all back in the dugout.

No comebacks allowed at Chepauk

MS Dhoni goes over extra cover

Super Kings went with two left-arm spinners against a team that had only one left-handed batsman. But the dew made them ineffective - Ravindra Jadeja and debutant Mitchell Santner went for a combined 49 off their four overs. Incredibly, Imran Tahir still managed to extract turn and was his usual menacing presence in the middle overs. His 2-23 in four had

cut short a dangerous-looking Rahul Tripathi innings and with Steven Smith’s wicket, the door seemed to have shut on Royals’ chase at 94 for 5.

But Ben Stokes, getting only his seventh 30-plus score in 26 IPL innings, kept them alive long enough to wait for the seamers late in the innings. When Archer joined him, there was an immediate surge of aggression: from needing 56 off 23 when he came in, Royals brought the

3

equation down to 12 off the last over, a 19-run 18th over from Dwayne Bravo the main catalyst in that.

Archer had hit him for two sixes in that over, but Bravo returned to regular service in the 20th. He got Stokes to chip to extra cover first ball, conceded only a leg-bye off the next two, and kept Archer to a single off the fourth ball. In the end, Archer, Royals’ best player on the day, was unbeaten on 24 off 11. (ESPN cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD

Chennai Super Kings Innings (20 overs maximum) JAT Rayudu c †Buttler b Archer 1 SR Watson c Archer b Stokes 13 SK Raina b Unadkat 36 KM Jadhav c †Buttler b Kulkarni 8 MS Dhoni (c) † not out 75 DJ Bravo c Kulkarni b Archer 27 RA Jadeja not out 8 Extras (lb 1, nb 1, w 5) 7 TOTAL (20 Overs, RR: 8.75) 175-5 Did not bat: DL Chahar, SN Thakur, MJ Santner, Imran Tahir Fall of wickets: 1-1 (AT Rayudu, 1.6 ov), 2-14 (SR Watson, 3.4 ov), 3-27 (KM Jadhav, 4.5 ov), 4-88 (SK Raina, 13.4 ov), 5-144 (DJ Bravo, 18.3 ov) BOWLING DS Kulkarni (4-0-37-1) JC Archer (4-1-17-2) BA Stokes (3-0-30-1) S Gopal (3-0-23-0) K Gowtham (2-0-13-0) JD Unadkat (4-0-54-1) Rajasthan Royals Innings (target: 176 runs from 20 overs)

AM Rahane (c) c Jadeja b Chahar 0 JC Buttler † c Bravo b Thakur 6 SV Samson c Raina b Chahar 8 RA Tripathi c & b Imran Tahir 39 SPD Smith c sub (DR Shorey) b Imran Tahir 28 BA Stokes c Raina b Bravo 46 K Gowtham c Raina b Thakur 9 JC Archer not out 24 S Gopal c Imran Tahir b Bravo 0 JD Unadkat not out 0 Extras (lb 2, nb 1, w 4) 7 TOTAL (20 Overs, RR: 8.35) 167-8 Yet to bat: DS Kulkarni Fall of wickets: 1-13 (PA Patel, 1.6 ov), 2-20 (SO Hetmyer, 3.1 ov), 3-22 (AB de Villiers, 3.4 ov), 4-30 (V Kohli, 6.1 ov), 5-30 (MM Ali, 6.2 ov), 6-35 (S Dube, 7.3 ov), 7-86 (P Ray Barman, 15.1 ov), 8-103 (UT Yadav, 17.3 ov), 9-109 (C de Grandhomme, 18.3 ov), 10-113 (YS Chahal, 19.5 ov) BOWLING DL Chahar (4-1-19-2) SN Thakur (4-0-42-2) MJ Santner (2-0-26-0) RA Jadeja (2-0-23-0) Imran Tahir (4-0-23-2) DJ Bravo (4-0-32-2)

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sports

2019 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship…

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Guyana among 16 teams vying for World Cup qualification

T

he Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) on Friday, announced that Puerto Vallarta, Mexico will host the 2019 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship, scheduled to take place May 13-19, 2019.

The 2019 edition of the biannual CONCACAF event, which will be held with the support of the Municipal Government of Puerto Vallarta, will have the participation of the 16 best national beach soccer teams in the region. The two best-ranked teams in the competition will also ensure qualification for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Paraguay 2019.

“We are very excited to bring the seventh edition of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship to Puerto Vallarta,” said CONCACAF General Secretary Philippe Moggio.

“This will be the fourth time that this great destination stages a top tour-

nament that serves as springboard for Beach Soccer development, while providing fans with an opportunity to witness the passion, dynamic style and outstanding performances of the best from our region.”

“Bringing a World Cup qualify-

ing competition to Mexico is very relevant, in many aspects, including the support to our local teams, the promotion of a tourist destination that offers great attractions such as Puerto Vallarta and this modality of the most popular sport in our coun-

try, without leaving aside the economic benefits and the quality of the sport that promotes healthy coexistence among Mexican families,” said the Mexican Football Federation President Yon de Luisa.

The official draw to divide the participating teams into four groups will take place on April 8 live from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

In the last edition of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship in the Bahamas, Panama overcame Mexico in the final, to win its first Beach Soccer title.

Teams: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Bonaire, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States and US V i r g i n Islands

Paul weighs in on Ashwin’s Mankad, wouldn’t do it again W

hile Windies all-rounder the then 17-year-old.

Keemo Paul believes there Big-name players laid into him for is nothing wrong with a the decision, James Anderson, Eoin mankad, even after it was complet- Morgan, and Stephen Flemming called by Ravichandran Ashwin in the ing the Mankad, ‘disgraceful’.

Indian Premier League recently, it is Paul has transitioned into being a something he probably would never do very handy all-rounder, for whom the again.

Windies believe the future is bright, Paul, on the way to helping the but while the Mankad was withWindies under-19 team to a famous in the rules and he felt he was right World Cup title in 2016, ran Zimbabwe’s in completing it, in an interview with Richard Ngarava out in the last over of ESPNCricinfo, the Delhi Capitals IPL a game that sent the W i n d i e s player, said you shouldn’t look for it through to the knock- again. out stages. “”At first, it was definitely tough,” The rePaul had said. sponse to the “I just locked myself away. game-changI saw it on BBC. I read a lot Keemo Paul ing wicket of comments on social mewas not dia. I took it hard. I cried a pleaslot. And wondered if I did the ant right thing but my coaching for staff and everyone else supported me very well,” he said.

Paul said the comments, especially from established cricketers, crushed him.

Title 101: Federer dismantles Isner to win Miami Open

R

oger Federer captured his fourth Miami Open title with an emphatic 6-1 6-4 win over defending champion John Isner.

The 37-year-old world number five broke in the opening game and took the first set in 24 minutes.

In his 50th Masters final, the Swiss fourth seed produced some typically sublime groundstrokes and wrapped up the match in an hour and three minutes.

It is his 28th Masters title and the 101st overall for a player who has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles.

Following his victory at the Dubai Championships, Federer becomes the first two-time champion on the ATP Tour this season, ending a streak of 19 different winners in 2019.

Isner came into the first meeting between the pair in Miami having not dropped a set throughout the tournament, winning nine of the 10 sets in the process by tie-break.

Roger Federer won 19 of his first 20 points on serve

Federer had won all four of their previous matches on hard courts and asserted his dominance from the outset.

Seventh seed Isner had treatment on his left foot at 4-3 down in the second set but the match was soon brought to its conclusion as Federer improved his overall record against the angular, 6ft 10in (2.08m) American to six wins in eight matches. (BBC Sport)

“After I did it, after seeing all the comments, I was definitely devastated you know,” Paul said. “But after the coaches supported me a lot, especially Corey Collymore, he came to me and said don’t worry it is in the rules and you don’t have to worry. That’s when I started to gain confidence again. After reading all the comments and stuff, I just wanted to lock myself away and forget about it.”

Interestingly, Paul would play against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe as the Windies attempted to qualifier for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, and faced a hostile crowd because of it.

Now fully recovered from the dev-

astation, the medium pacer said the hostility motivated him to do well.

“Definitely I believed what I did was right. I was only 17, I came down hard on myself, kept wondering if I did the right thing. That was just instinct.

Now I have matured more and I don’t think I will probably do it again,” he said.

Ashwin ran out Jos Buttler in the IPL earlier this week, but had made no secret of the fact that he had no problem in doing so, since batsmen routinely get an unfair advantage in stealing quick singles by being down the track when the bowler runs up. (Sportsmax)

CROSSFIT GAMES 2019…

J

ust a few scenes from this year’s Crossfit Games which was held on the National Park’s Tarmac on the final Sunday of March.

22

MONday, APRIL 1, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

Forde calls on nation to reap benefits of Gold Cup qualification

Q

ualifying for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification was the collective achievement of everyone who has contributed to Guyanese football, and it will take a further joint effort to reap the full benefits, according to GFF President Wayne Forde.

“Qualifying for the Men’s CONCACAF Gold Cup is an achievement that belongs to the entire nation. I want to dedicate this mo-

ment to everyone in Guyana who loves football; anyone who has ever coached a team, played the game, managed a club; any organisation, company or person that has sponsored or supported football; and anyone who has ever contributed at administrative level.

This is our collective victory; it could not have been achieved without you. So many great football servants have gone before us, and we stand on the shoulders of those giants,” he declared.

Forde also mentioned, “It is truly a very humbling experience for me to be at the helm of the sport at this time, and to share this extraordinary accomplishment with the other dedi-

cated members of the GFF Executive Committee, who contribute in equal measure to the intense work and many sacrifices this qualification campaign demanded of us all. I feel a deep sense of pride for the sport in particular, which has had its challenges both on and off the field for many decades.”

He went on to say, “The sum of all tourism promotion and advertising cannot surpass the global visibility that the CONCACAF Gold Cup will bring to Guyana.

When our boys walk out on to the pitch for their first game, the millions of people that will be watching either live or on television around the world - will Google “Guyana”. I would like to

call on all our stakeholders, from politics to business, to appreciate the magnitude of this opportunity and to work with us to embrace its potential.”

The release further added, “What action those fans around the world take after that Google search will be vastly influenced by what pops up, so let’s

give them good content and a good impression of our nation: its beautiful landscape and wildlife, its investment opportunities, i t s

GFF President Wayne Forde

people, its sporting talent, and its culture. Let’s show our country in the best possible light.

“There is still a tremendous amount of work required (to be done) in order to lay a robust and lasting foundation for the sustainable development of our sport. We are finally moving in the right direction, but we need everyone on board as one team to achieve lasting success. The GFF cannot overhaul football without the help of corporate Guyana, the Government of Guyana and other key stakeholders. A well-run sport will produce well rounded men and women. Guyana wins when football wins.”

Milo Schools Football 2019 Christianburg-Wismar, Lodge storm into semis

T

Midfield action between ChristianburgWismar and Vergenoegen Secondary

he semifinal fixtures for the Milo Schools Under-18 tournament are now set in stone following an afternoon of exhilarating football.

Christianburg-Wismar Secondary continued their spotless streak with yet another convincing win. Meeting with the aggressive Vergenoegen Secondary, who plowed their opponents in

the round of 16, the Linden outfit schooled their East Bank Essequibo counterparts with a 4-1 victory.

An error by a Vergenoegen player saw ChristianburgWismar being awarded a free kick in the 18th minute, and captain Andre Mayers had no trouble sinking in the goal. The Linden advantage only pro-

voked the Vergenoegen players, who opted for a gritty attack, which proved fruitful in the 35th when Jamar Levans caught the Christianburg-Wismar goalkeeper slacking and slipped one past him for the equalizer in the 35th.

Their celebrations did not last long, as front runner Tyrese Lewis handed his team the advantage once again in the 38th.

Despite Vergenoegen employing crafty tactics in order to keep themselves between Christianburg-Wismar and the goal, they could not. Lewis returned in the second half with fresh determination, and after being held off by his opponents for a while, the youngster netted two back-to- back goals in the 70th One goal was the difference between Lodge Secondary and St. John’s College in the final quarterfinal game. Whilst Lodge still has a blemish streak in the 2019 tournament, St. John’s College continued to fight valiantly to advance.

St. John’s could be credited for

Resolute defending: pursued, stripped, redistributed

their ability to restrict the usually high scoring Lodge outfit, but they could not find the right formula to produce a goal of their own. The lone goal of the day came after a free kick, which was taken by Lodge’s Dorwin George in the 17th. The lone goal granted the Lodge side their admission into the semifinal.

The semifinal is slated

for April 7 at the Ministry of Education Ground, Carifesta Avenue. The semifinal fixtures will see a battle between two top guns: Wismar- Christianburg and Annandale Secondary. Lodge Secondary will take on the underdogs President’s College in the second fixture. On the other hand, the final is expected to be run off on April 14.

61st Seniors Caribbean Table Tennis Championship…

Dominican Republic steal the spoils – Guyana finish 2nd

By Timothy Jaikarran

T

he final day of action in the 61st Seniors Caribbean Table Tennis Championship culminated on Sunday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Homestretch Avenue, as team Guyana did fairly well to finish second in the competition on 750 points behind winners, Dominican Republic, who finished on 1530 points.

Starting off the day in the women’s singles main draw, team Guyana showed no signs of fear in the early stages of the best of seven games. In the first matchup Guyana’s very own Natalie Cummings defeated Jamaica’s Dadrian Lewis 3-0 as she won 114, 11-9 and 11-7. Also winning in their respective categories were Trenace Lowe who defeated Janae

Team Guyana pose with Director of Sport Christopher Jones and Men’s Coach Sydney Christophe following their campaign

Lewis of Barbados 3-1 and Jody Ann Blake also winning against her Bajan opponent 3-1.

But, despite three Guyanese qualifying for the next round, it was Trenace Lowe who stood out among the rest to book her spot in

the semifinal against Dominican Republic’s Esmerlyn Castro.

However, Lowe was no match for Castro as she lost 4-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-6, and 11-7) to settle for third in the competition, while in semifinal two, Daniela Fonseca of Cuba was

also able to seal her spot in the finals as she defeated Dominican Republic’s Eva Brito 4-2.

In the final it was an intense battle as the CubanDominican Republic show had the fans on the edge of their seats. But it was Fonseca who walked out victorious in the end 4-3, after seven strenuous rounds to take the gold.

In the men’s singles main draw, out of the seven Guyanese participating only Shemar Britton was able to qualify for the semifinal.

Britton battled it out with Puerto Rico’s Hector Berrios in a one sided affair to lose 4-1 and settle for third. In the matchup Berrios came back to win the first round 11-8 but managed to hand Britton the

second round 11-8. However, with the match tied on 1-1, Berrios dug deep and dominated the Guyanese winning the other three rounds 11-7, 11-9 and 11-10, to survive Britton’s scare in the last two rounds. Heading into the finals Berrios duked it out with Emil Santos of Dominican Republic who easily defeated the Puerto Rican 4-0 winning 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 and 11-10 to give Dominican Republic another gold medal.

Coming in at third overall was Barbados on 640, Cuba 600, Puerto Rico 310, Jamaica 250 and Trinidad & Tobago on 70. Guadeloupe, Martinique, St Vincent & The Grenadines and St Lucia finished without scoring any points in the competition.

The 62nd Seniors Caribbean Table Tennis Championship will be held in Havana Cuba in 2020.

guyanatimesgy.com

MONday, APRIL 1, 2019

23

CWI Women’s T20 Blaze…

Giddings’ fiery spell helps Guyana clinch thriller over Jamaica – Smartt hits 44, Thompson grabs 3-16 Rashada Williams is bowled! Team Guyana enjoy the moment

Story and Photos by Brandon Corlette

T

he Guyana Women’s Cricket Team could not contain their ecstasy, and literally jumped for joy when they registered a nail-biting 20-run win over Jamaica in a Blaze T20 match played on Sunday before a small but very vocal and partisan crowd at the National Stadium at Providence in Demerara, Guyana.

It means that the Guyanese have now won consecutive matches in this T20 Blaze tournament, since the previous game they played resulted in defeat for the Windward Islands Team.

In this encounter, Jamaica won the toss and elected to field first under clear skies at the National Stadium at Providence.

The Guyanese openers Sheneta Grimmond and Tremayne Smartt started in positive mode, adding 61

runs in 9.4 overs.

Grimmond was the first dismissal when she was out caught

by Corrine Howell off the bowling of off-spinner Vanessa Watts for 25 scored from 27 balls. She had stroked one four and hit two sixes into the leg-side off the bowling of Stafanie Taylor in the ninth over.

Shemaine Campbelle partnered Tucber Park player Smartt, but 17 runs later, Smartt missed out on a well-deserved half-century when she was out bowled playing back to Vanesa Watts. Smartt made 44 runs from 36 balls, which contained three fours and two sixes.

Smartt hit fast bowler Chinelle Henry into the red stands, and repeated the six-hitting feat by smashing Stafanie Taylor over wide long-on.

Guyana’s middle order failed after Campbelle fell for 11 from 13 balls, out caught at backward point by Chedean Nation off the

bowling of Jodian Morgan at 85-3.

Shabika Gajnabi (10), Erva Giddings (09), Akaze Thompson (03) and Cherry Ann Fraser (05) all fell cheaply. On the final ball of the innings, Plaffiana Millington was run-out, leaving Melanie Henry (02) unbeaten as Guyana finished on a par 114-8 in 20 overs.

Guyana scored 114-8 and successfully defended the small target when they bowled out Jamaica for 94 on the back of Erva Giddings’ impressive player of the match 3-13 in four brilliant overs.

In hot pursuit of the small target of 115, Jamaica ran into an Erva Giddings roadblock and lost their first wicket in the second over. The ever consistent Erva Giddings castled the stumps of Jodian Morgan (01) when she failed to deal with a Giddings in-swinger.

Natasha McLean hit two cracking fours, but Giddings got the final laugh when she shattered the stumps of Natasha McLean at 15-2 in 3.4 overs. McLean was out for 12 from 10 balls, but Stafanie Taylor anchored the innings. From the non-strikers end, Taylor watched Chedean Nation (01) get bowled by Plaffiana Millington at 18-3.

Giddings, who bowled her four-over spell on the trot, then got her third victim in Rashada Williams (00), whose furniture she destroyed, smashing the stumps at 19-4. At the halfway stage, Jamaica were reeling at 40-4, with Taylor on 20 from 33 balls.

Stafanie Taylor, batting at number three, found a reliable partner in Chinelle Henry. The pair added 49 runs before Henry

Stafanie Taylor was the glue of the innings with 48

was bowled by Akae Thompson for 12, with the score on 68-5. The game, however, remained in the balance, since Jamaica captain Stafanie Taylor remained the key.

Tameka Sandford (07) was Thompson’s next victim at 87-6, as Guyana had the small crowd behind them. The game changing moment came when Stafanie Taylor was bowed by off-spinner Sheneta Grimmond for an innings defying 48 from 57 balls.

It was celebration time at Providence, as the Guyana U-19 Female Team in the dressing room celebrated that wicket as a World Cup win. After Taylor departed at 89-7, Jamaica lost all hope and were bundled out for 94 in 18.4 overs as Guyana danced to a 20run win.

‘Player of the match’ Erva Giddings had 3-13 in 4 overs bowling 15 dot balls, while Akaze Thompson had 3-16 in 3.4 overs bowling 13 dots. Sheneta

Grimmond finished with 2-18, while Millington, opening the bowling, had 1-12 in three overs.

Speaking after the match, Erva Giddings, who has won player of the match awards in back-to-back matches, said it was a great feeling to defeat a big team like Jamaica.

The 33-year-old added that she got the ball to swing.

“Our game plan was simple: bowl the ball in the right areas”, Giddings disclosed. She said the runs Guyana posted were insufficient, “but we still had belief to win”, Giddings explained. Jamaica batting collapsed twice in as many matches: when they were bowled out for 95 against Barbados, and now being bowled out for 94 by the Guyana team.

The next match for the Guyanese will be against Windward Islands on Tuesday April 2, 2019 from 19:00h local time at the National Stadium at Providence.

CWI Women’s T20 Blaze

Matthews, Dottin star in Barbados’ 7-wicket win

By Brandon Corlette

T

he Barbadians continued their unbeaten streak on Guyanese soil with a hard fought, seven-wicket win over Windward Islands in a match played on Sunday at the National Stadium at Providence. Batting first, Windward Islands scored 131-4 in 20 overs, while Barbados ended on 133-3, with Hayley Matthews following up her 3-18 in this match with a shot-filled 45.

Deandra Dottin chipped in with an unbeaten 42 that led the Bajans to their third win in the T20 Blaze.

It was the second match of the day at Providence.

Windward Islands captain Afy Fletcher won the toss and elected to bat first. The Windward Islands openers had a steady start, with Stacy Ann Adams and Nerissa Crafton adding 22 runs.

Barbados captain Hayley Matthews, who has been among the wickets in the T20 Blaze and topped the charts in the Super50 tournament, got the first break-

through when she removed Adams, out stumped by Windies wicket-keeper Kycia Knight for 16 off 19 balls, which included two boundaries.

Captain Afy Fletcher then partnered Nerissa Crafton, and the duo added 68 valuable runs for the second wicket partnership.

That partnership slightly frustrated the Barbadians, who employed seven bowlers to break it. Aaliyah Alleyne thus conceded 17 runs in her over, which included 10 wide deliveries.

Matthews brought herself into the attack, and removed Fletcher out caught to give herself (Matthews) her second wicket. Fletcher made 26 from 27 balls, cracking four boundaries.

Another wicket ‘bit the dust’ with the score on 90 when the well-set Crafton was out stumped for 23 from 30 balls, hitting two fours and one six straight down the

ground.

Windward Islands found themselves at 90-3 in 12.4 overs, but the experienced Juliana Nero was occupying the crease with Akeira Peters. For the first time, Barbados has shown blemishes in the field, dropping catches twice in

Peters was run out for a run-a-ball 12 with the score on 121-4. The Windward Islands finished on 131-4 in 20 overs after opting to bat first; Juliana Nero joined Afy Fletcher and scored 26 runs, hitting two fours and one six.

Bowling for the Barbadians, Matthews finished as the lone wicket taker with 3-18 in four overs, bowling 15 dots. t h e In reply, Barbados eighteenth got off to a great start, over bowled with captain Hayley Matthews hitting classy by Shakera Selman. boundaries. Matthews domIn the peninated the 56-run opening ultimate partnership with Danielle Small after she hit nine o v e r , Akeira boundaries and smashed one six over long-on off pacer Pearl Etienne.

Matthews scored 45 from 27 balls before she was out caught in the ninth over.

Small, who struggled during the entire innings, was dismissed for 16 from 28 balls, hitting one Muscled away for a Hayley Matthews maximum (Brandon Corlette photos) four and

one six. Kycia Knight fell for six at 67-3 in the eleventh over, but Deandra Dottin and Kyshona Knight consolidated with a match winning 66 runs.

D e a n d r a Dottin was her usual aggressive self, smashing two sixes and hitting four powerful boundaries in her unbeaten 42 from 29 balls.

Kyshona Knight ended unbeaten on 20 from 22 balls playing the supportive role as Barbados won by seven wickets with seven balls to spare.

Nerissa Crafton had 2-22 bowling for Windward Islands as the Bajans ended on 133-3 in 18.5 overs.

The fourth round matches will continue on Tuesday April 2, 2019 when

Barbados will play Trinidad and Tobago from 9:00h, Leeward Islands and Jamaica will meet from 14:00h, while Guyana will play Windward Islands from 19:00h.

Windward Islands’ Juliana Nero top-scored with an unbeaten 26 for her team

MONday, APRIL 1, 2019

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

guyanatimesgy.com

CWI Women’s T20 Blaze…

Giddings’ fiery spell helps Guyana clinch thriller over – Smartt hits 44, Thompson grabs 3-16 Jamaica

Tremayne Smartt top-scored for the Guyanese

Page 23

Catch me if you can Campbelle; Erva Giddings jumps for joy

Milo Schools Football 2019

Christianburg-Wismar, Lodge storm into semis

VIVO IPL 2019…

Match #13 Time: 10:30h

Page 22

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