Guyana Times - Monday, November 5, 2018

Over P 1,600 to graduate from UG this week 2

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 3737

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Monday, November 5, 2018

BBCI offers Govt lifeline on Berbice Bridge toll hike guyanatimesgy.com

PRICE

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Amerindian land titling P11

Page 3

…says 40-year contract period means no increases

2 Berbice health centres sit as white elephants Page 13

$80 vat included

AG report shows evidence of gross corruption – Ali

Only 5 demarcations completed since 2015 – Govt admits P12 X-ray, ultrasound depts not functioning at Skeldon Hospital

Page 9

…contractors paid in full, remedial works incomplete

HSS National Diya lit to usher in Diwali Page 10

Persons enjoying the ambiance at Rahaman’s Park, Greater Georgetown on Sunday evening when the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh-Hindus for Selfless Service ushered in the Festival of Lights, Diwali, with the ceremonial lighting up of the National Diya (Adam Baksh photo)

GRA failed to resolve hundreds of seizure cases – AG Page 2

Local democracy key to realising P7 ‘good life’ – Harmon

LGE 2018

GECOM to move election materials to LAAs this P12 week Agri Minister admits Region 5 farmers traversing P9 near impassable roads ...blames farmers for deterioration

2 news GRA failed to resolve hundreds of seizure cases – AG mondAY, November 5, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

...to go after offenders for fines, tax liability

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he Audit Office of Guyana, having put the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) under the microscope, has revealed in its 2017 report that, as at the end of that year, the tax collection agency had failed to close almost 300 files pertaining to the seizure of goods.

The Audit Office report notes that, in 2016, a total of 181 files in regard to seizures from preceding years remained open. For the year 2017, the Audit Office report notes, GRA failed to close 118 files out of 361. It was found that, of these files, two were awaiting legal action and the others had pending sale of seized goods and disposal of assets.

Besides these factors, the GRA was also awaiting the payment of fines estimated at a total of $18.2 million.

Sections 223 to 227 of the Customs Act require that a file be opened and updated until the matter is closed.

This usually includes the prosecution of the accused.

“The Head of the Authority explained that the Law Enforcement and Investigation Division (LEID) have managed to close 1,222 investigation files, which (leaves) a balance of 299 files to be closed, as (is) required by law. These files are pending sale of seizure, destruction of goods, and payment of Customs duty, taxes and fines,” the report stated.

“LEID will continue to make efforts to close these outstanding investigation files. In addition, LEID will

to pay $36 million in taxes.

Meanwhile, the GEA had said in April that it has seized in excess of 9000 gallons of gasoline and diesel in the first quarter of the year, with its inspectors having visited 3191 sites and collected 8339 fuel samples.

Relative to fuel smuggling statistics in 2017, a total of 11,000 gallons of illegal gasoline and diesel were

seized in 29 discoveries in 2017, following 12,882 site visits and 33,891 samples collected. This resulted in six convictions, while compensation was accepted from four individuals in the sum of $1,237,000.

The GEA has said it has taken a relentless approach against smuggling, and will be working in close collaboration with its sister agencies

to minimise these activities.

Over the past year, the GRA has recouped billions of dollars in taxes from seizures and auctions, not only of illegal fuel, but also from breaches in motor vehicle concessions and IDAs; and from commonly smuggled items, which include alcohol, foreign chicken, and mosquito coils.

Over 1600 to graduate from UG this week Guyana Revenue Authority Head Office at Camp Street, Georgetown

continue to locate the offenders regarding payment of the outstanding tax liability and fines, in an effort to have the investigation files closed and dispose of goods in a timely manner,” the Audit Office documented GRA as saying.

The Audit Office also noted that several matters are pending legal advice and are presently in the court system.

Auditor General Deodat Sharma has recommended that the GRA continue in its efforts to ensure seizure cases are addressed promptly, all outstanding revenue is promptly collected, and files are closed in a timely manner.

The Auditor General has also warned that delay in processing seizures can result in goods deteriorating, inhibiting efforts to effect their sale and bring in revenue.

GRA has had an active year in relation to seizure

of contraband, having only last month seized more than 80,000 litres (17, 597.5 gallons) of smuggled fuel on a vessel. The discovery was made by officers from the LEID. The officers intercepted the ship, MV Plumrose, with a quantity of liquid that was later tested and confirmed to be hydrocarbons in the form of diesel fuel.

During a search of the vessel, the officers discovered that even though the intended use of the vessel was for “fishing purposes”, the MV Plumrose was converted for fuel transport.

In April, authorities detained shipping vessel ‘Jubilee’ after it was discovered with over 200,000 gallons of suspected smuggled fuel when it entered the Georgetown port. Its officials had failed to disclose to Customs officials that it had fuel, until checks were made.

The company eventually struck a deal with the GRA

M

ore than 1600 students are expected to graduate at the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen Campus’s 52nd Convocation, to be held on November 10 at the National Cultural Centre.

For the first time in the history of the University, the certificates, diplomas and degrees will be awarded at three ceremonies held on the same day. The increase in the number of ceremonies, from two last year, according to the University, is due to the large number of graduating students and the desire to avoid having very long ceremonies, while still maintaining the personal touch whereby each graduand crosses the stage and shakes the hand of the Chancellor.

The first ceremony will be held at 09:00h, and will feature the faculties of agriculture and forestry, earth and environmental sciences, and education and humanities, with the graduation address delivered by Professor David Phoenix, Vice Chancellor of London

South Bank University, one of the leading British universities with which UG is developing relations.

The second ceremony, for the faculties of engineering and technology, health sciences and natural sciences, will be held at 13:00h.

The feature address will be delivered by Guyana-born Professor Norman Munroe, Director, Office of Student Access and Success and of the Center for Diversity in Engineering and Computing at Florida International University.

The largest of the three ceremonies will be held at 17:00h, and it will involve the Faculty of Social Sciences and the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (SEBI), the two largest units of the University. The keynote speaker will be Attorney-atLaw Kamal Ramkarran, a University of Guyana alumnus of the Class of 1997, who is a partner at Cameron and Shepherd.

The more than 1600 students will graduate with master’s, bachelor’s and as-

sociate degrees; diplomas and certificates. The ceremonies will honour graduates from 116 academic programmes in UG’s eight academic units.

This year marks the first time that students will graduate through SEBI since the launch of the School in 2017. The prospective graduates would have been third-year students in the Faculty of Social Sciences, pursuing programmes that were transferred to SEBI. Notably, also, will be the graduation of the first batch of students from 12 different programmes offered at the University.

At the Berbice campus convocation, where more than 200 students will graduate on November 17 at the University Square at Tain, the keynote address will be delivered

by University of Guyana alumna from the Class of 2016, paediatrician Dr Bibi Areefa Alladin-Karan, a Berbician who is a lecturer in the School of Medicine and a practitioner at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

news

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mondAY, November 5, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, November 5 – a night retraction at 03:00h and a day retraction from 14:30h-16:00h and Tuesday, November 6 – a night retraction at 03:30h and a day retraction from 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Monday, November 5 – 14:55h-16:25h and Tuesday, November 6 –15:30h-17:00h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny intervals can be expected throughout the day, interrupted by light rain showers in the mid-morning to early afternoon. Partly cloudy skies can be expected in the evening, with temperatures ranging between 21 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging from South South-easterly to Northwesterly between 1.78 metres and 4.91 metres.

High Tide: 14:59h reaching a maximum height of 2.67 metres.

Low Tide: 08:32h and 20:56h reaching minimum heights of 0.61 metre and 0.52 metre respectively.

saturDAY, novemBER 4, 2018

LOTTERY NUMBERS L

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FREE TICKET

20 Bonus Ball

DAILY MILLIONS

01 10 20 21 22 LUCKY 3

1

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Afternoon Draw

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PAY DAY

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…says 40-year contract period means no increases

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ith just a week to go before toll increases are slated to go into effect, the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) has made a major offer to the Government.

The Company has offered Government a chance to extend the life of the contract to spare commuters toll increases.

In correspondence to Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, BBCI Finance Controller Stephen Rambajan requested a meeting with the Minister on the Board’s behalf and in the public interest to discuss the terms of this offer.

According to the offer, BBCI is seeking an agreement to extend the contract period to 40 years. This extension, according to Rambajan, will make it unnecessary to implement the toll increases the company announced on October 16, 2018.

“We believe that such an extension, with full Government support, will provide BBCI the opportunity to approach its lenders to re-negotiate terms and conditions of the various debts.

If these negotiations with the lenders are successful, it will provide much-needed relief to the cash requirement burden and, therefore, the need for toll increases at present and in the future.

“We are convinced that this proposal will allow the tolls to remain as is and provides opportunities for toll reduction in the near future, removing the need for Government subsidy to the tolls and maintenance of pontoons,” Rambajan stated, adding that BBCI would withdraw the toll hikes once a mutual agreement is reached. The letter has a stipulation that the meeting take place before November 11. The increases are to take effect from November 12.

Cabinet to consider offer

Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE

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BBCI offers Govt lifeline on Berbice Bridge toll hike

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DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

Speaking to Guyana Times on the particulars of the offer, BBCI Communications Consultant Kit Nascimento on Sunday revealed that after the correspondence was sent, he was informed the offer would be taken to Cabinet.

“We’ve written to Minister Patterson … to find a solution to the issue of the tolls and we’re pleased that he has responded saying that he is forwarding it to Cabinet for consideration,” Nascimento revealed.

Meanwhile, he also reiterated that the BBCI’s last meeting with Patterson in October did not address the tolls. According to Nascimento, the Minister was only prepared to address maintenance of the pontoons and not the tolls.

Recently, the BBCI announced toll increases that

The Berbice River Bridge

would take effect from November 12, in a bid to raise money and avoid defaulting on loans. The increases were announced by BBCI Chairman, Dr Surendra Persaud, during a press conference.

Persaud told the media that the Bridge Company was formally informed by Minister Patterson that Government would not agree to its previous requests for an increase.

Patterson had called a hasty press conference right after the news of the increase broke. There, he had informed the press that all options, including the legal route, to stop the increases, will be considered.

The Government has been resolute in saying it will not agree to toll increases and has instead pointed to its servicing of the Bridge’s pontoons as a way it is mitigating the crisis. BBCI has maintained that this arrangement is not sufficient for it to meet its financial obligations.

Last week, BBCI Vice Chairman Paul Cheong came out swinging at the Government, noting that the Company was bound by its Concession Agreement under the Berbice River Bridge Act in implementing the tolls charged. The Company, he said, has no alternative but to honour the Toll Adjustment Formula prescribed in the agreement.

According to the Vice Chairman, respective Governments (previous and present) have violated their contractual obligations to implement an annual toll adjustment, which would have resulted in small incremental adjustments instead of the current burdensome level.

The current level of toll adjustment is entirely the fault of the Government not the Company, he noted, adding that prior to and since taking office, this Government has refused to meet with the BBCI in spite of three requests to do so. The power and the privilege to review

or amend the Concession Agreement rest entirely with the Government.

The Government has come in for its share of criticism of its handling of the matter.

Outspoken political activist and former Presidential Advisor Ramon Gaskin, a trained economist, is suggesting a total buyout of the Bridge by Government so as to resolve the issue.

Overseas-based economist, Professor Tarron Khemraj also believes that Government should buy over the Berbice Bridge in its entirety. He said the Bridge was now financially unsustainable, as compared to when the proposal for its construction was implemented.

While several financial analysts have recommended the Government buy out shareholders, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) had urged the Government to have a sit-down with the BBCI to find a solution for the toll increases.

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guyanatimesgy.com

mondAY, november 5, 2018

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

Diwali: A National Guyanese Festival

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omorrow night will be the darkest and longest one of the year. To us in Guyana, who are near the equator, the lengthening is not as significant at those for countries nearer the North Pole. In India, for instance, from where almost half of our population originated, at this time, early man would have reaped his crops and prepared for winter. Lights were lit to celebrate the harvests and also to mark the gradual lengthening of the days and the return of light.

This was the birth of Diwali, that joyous festival in which God -- in the female form of “Mother Lakshmi”, the giver of wealth and light -- is worshipped. Food was wealth to early man, and one can understand why She is worshipped at this time. Hindus are very clear about the need for man to acquire wealth: it is his duty, for without wealth man cannot take care of any of his mortal obligations. But even more important than acquiring wealth is its distribution for the upliftment of society. The Hindu is exhorted to “earn with a hundred hands; give with a thousand”.

The first prayer uttered by the Hindu upon awakening, while looking at his open palms, is: “Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth) is on the tip of my fingers; Saraswati (Goddess of knowledge) is in the middle, and Govinda (The God of protection) is at its base.” Man, then, is responsible for earning wealth; but, to do so, he must acquire knowledge. Armed with wealth and knowledge, he will be able to protect him/ herself, family, community and country.

This acquiring of knowledge is one of the “lights” that Diwali reminds us must be lit. In Guyana today, there is much ignorance abounding; and because of this, society suffers. The knowledge of how we can make our society more harmonious is available; many countries also had similar challenges, but worked successfully to address them. Is there a Guyanese who really does not have the “information” that the leaders of all the groups of Guyana must cooperate for the development of our country? But information must be validated through action to become “knowledge”; and until we all choose leaders who are prepared to work together for the common good, we are all ensuring our dark nights will only lengthen.

But Diwali also suggests another message -- for the individual. When the nights were getting longer, early man would have seen that the individual lights did not make a difference, but, together, the sun could be evoked. Let there be light! And this is what we also have to do in Guyana. In addition to selecting leaders who have the interests of all the people at heart, individuals also have to light their own lights to eliminate whatever darkness that confronts them.

Is it a problem with a neighbour? A co-worker? Then do what it takes to resolve the problem; that will be “lighting a light”.

But the actual festival of Diwali has also come down to us with other practices that are of immense value to creating a more cohesive society; the process is as important as the content. There is a complete and most thorough cleaning of the home by all members of the Hindu family, to welcome Mother Lakshmi into that home. There is also the cooking of sweetmeats and creating of diyas (fast disappearing) which all help to bring the family closer together. The sharing of the sweetmeats with neighbours and friends spreads that closeness far and wide in the community.

In multi-ethnic and multi-religious Guyana, it is a welcome development that groups other than Hindus are participating in this festival of Diwali, which can play such a positive role in nation-building. The Hindus themselves have increasingly begun to take the festival into the public space, where the rest of the country can be engaged. The Diwali Motorcade has long been a feature in Guyana’s cultural heritage, and has been joined lately by the “National Diya”.

Let us all celebrate tomorrow!!

A dancer performing a cultural piece at the ceremonial lighting up of the National Diya, at Rahaman’s Park, Georgetown on Sunday evening

Khashoggi's body parts transported in suitcases – report …corpse of Saudi Journalist was dismembered and put into five suitcases after he was strangled, Turkish daily reports

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amal Khashoggi’s body was dismembered and put into five suitcases after he was strangled upon entering Saudi Arabia’s Consulate in Istanbul last month, according to a report by a Turkish pro-Government newspaper.

Citing unnamed officials, Sabah reported on Sunday that the suitcases were then taken to the Saudi Consul-General’s residence near the consulate the day the Journalist – a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MbS – was killed on October 2.

The officials said that Maher Mutreb, Salah Tubeigy and Thaar al-Harbi were the three key figures from a 15-member hit squad reportedly involved in dismembering Khashoggi’s body and removing it from the premises.

Mutreb was a direct aide to MbS, while Tubeigy was the head of the Saudi Scientific Council of Forensics and a colonel in the Kingdom’s army.

Al-Harbi was reportedly promoted to Lieutenant in the Saudi royal guard last year for bravery in the defence of the crown prince’s palace in Jeddah. Sabah’s report came 48 hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he believed that the order to kill the Journalist came from the “highest levels” of the Saudi State.

Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from Istanbul, said on Sunday the latest information added detail to the picture being formulated by Turkish Prosecutors who say Khashoggi was strangled and dismembered soon after entering the building.

Simmons said that Mutreb,

Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, right, entered Turkey through Ataturk Airport in Istanbul on October 2 [Sabah via AP]

a senior intelligence official, appeared to be leading the operation, while Tubeigy has experience in forensic pathology.

CCTV footage shows the three individuals travelled in a number of vehicles from the Consulate to the ConsulGeneral’s residence 200 metres away after Khashoggi’s murder about 15:00h.

Less than two hours later, Mutreb is seen leaving the residence, according to the footage.

It is at the residence that they reportedly disposed of the body parts, although it is unknown how this was done.

“This is a looming question.

No one knows where the body went,” Simmons said. “One Turkish official is reported saying that there was acid used to dissolve the body; there’s another report that the well shaft was used in the garden of the Consul-General’s residence – it is unclear,” he added.

“There is a real concern now that the Saudis aren’t being open enough with the Turkish investigators. Furthermore, on a political level, [there is] a big concern that world attention is beginning to wane somewhat on this whole case and wheth-

er or not the US is prepared to take firm action against the Saudis that Turkey wants to see.”

With a joint Turkish and Saudi probe into Khashoggi’s fate making little progress so far, Erdogan on Friday called on Saudi Arabia to answer outstanding questions concerning the 59-year-old’s killing.

“We must reveal the identities of the puppet masters behind Khashoggi’s killing,” Erdogan wrote in an opinion piece published by US newspaper The Washington Post.

“Dismembered and dissolved” Also on Friday, Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Erdogan and a friend of Khashoggi’s, said the team that killed the Journalist cut up his body in order to dissolve for easier disposal. “According to the latest information we have, the reason they dismembered his body is to dissolve it easier,” he told Hurriyet newspaper.

“They aimed to ensure no sign of the body was left.”

A senior Turkish official has told Al Jazeera the Journalist’s body was dismembered and dissolved in acid, without offering evidence.

Riyadh initially denied Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate, but, following intense international pressure and after changing the narrative numerous times, the Saudi Prosecutor admitted that Khashoggi was killed in a “premeditated” manner.

Still, Turkish officials have accused the Saudis of failing to answer questions regarding the case. Two of them relate to the identity of a “local collaborator” to whom Saudi officials claimed to have handed over Khashoggi’s remains, as well as the identity of the person who ordered the killing.

On Wednesday, a senior Turkish official said the Saudi side appeared unwilling to “genuinely cooperate” with Turkey’s investigation.

“The Saudi officials seemed primarily interested in finding out what evidence the Turkish authorities had against the perpetrators,” the official told AFP news agency on the condition of anonymity.

“We did not get the impression that they were keen on genuinely cooperating with the investigation.” The Saudis have also launched their own investigation, vowing to “uncover every stone” and “punish” those who are responsible.

A spokesperson for Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party said on Wednesday Khashoggi’s killing could not have been made possible without orders from someone in a senior position.

Omar Celik told reporters in Ankara that Turkey would not let anyone cover up Khashoggi’s killing, adding that it was not possible for Saudi officials to still not know the body’s whereabouts.

(Al Jazeera)

guyanatimesgy.com

mondAY, november 5, 2018

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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

2019 budget should cater for a livable pension of savings, contributions by relatives, remittances from overseas, etc. in order to meet a livable amount.

Pensions are not increased in an objective manner, rather, each year it is increased by an incremental percentage, and this is known in the financial literature as Incremental Budgeting. It is the view that Zero-Based Budgeting should be applied to determine a livable pension. In so doing, and keeping the best practices, it should be addressed upwardly each time a new budget is formulated.

The way forward is to do a Means Test, whereby on a monthly basis, an estimated amount is required, for example for food, transportation, medical, utilities, accommodation. An estimated minimum monthly amount should be approximately $30,000 of which the major expenditure will be medical, food and transportation. A reduction in monthly water rate from 1 October is noted. That being said, the decision makers will be unable to meet this amount in 2019 due to insufficient funds for this financial activity, and that is understandable.

Hence, the way forward, is to attain this $30,000 over a 2 year period, assuming that there is not a significant in-

crease in the price indices for food, transportation, etc.

When one looks at the upper levels of pensions being paid of over one million dollars per month without queries, the question of why pay the lowest level such a meager amount arises. We must move away from this incremental approach and do a Means Test to determine a livable pension each year.

It would be failing on my part if I did not mention the commencement of the pensionable age of 65 years.

According to the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) data, Life Expectancy in Guyana is 63.6 years for a male and 69 years for a female, a total average life expectancy of 66 years. Guyana was ranked at 130 in 2017, in 2018 its ranking is now 135.

It is the expectation that the authorities should have an early review on the life expectancy and to consider lowering this pensionable age to, perhaps 63, based on the authentic global statistics.

After all, our pensioners also deserve a ‘good life’, and time is running out.

We have earned the right to receive pensions

Dear Editor Currently in Guyana, Corporation Tax for non-commercial companies is 30 per cent; 40 per cent for commercial companies and 45 per cent for telecommunication companies. These rates should be abolished by creating a single reduced

Dear Editor, Our pensioners, who have given yeoman service to this country are now being paid a pension of $19,500 per month. I am motivated to write about the pension being paid to citizens 65 years and older, with the view that the governmental authorities do a meaningful review of this pension for the 2019 Budget.

Under the current Administration, in September 2015 the old-age pension was $17,000 and in 2018 it had increased by $2,500 to $19,500. It can be argued that over the three years, there was a 15 percent increase, however, is this a significant increase to the pensioners?

The Government has been working towards creating an environment which is supportive of socio-economic development, with the objective of ensuring a ‘good life’ for all.

If we are striving for a ‘good life’ for all, certainly the pension being paid is insufficient and should be addressed as a major priority.

This pension, like other pensions globally, should be the minimum amount in ensuring that a pensioner can live comfortably, and it is expected that it will be subsidized by the pensioner in the form

Dear Editor, Can the Ministry of Social Services kindly advise the Old Age Pensionersboth Old Age and National Insurance Scheme (NIS)along with those persons who receive Public Assistance, as to what time of the day their pension is due so that they can report to the Post Office and other areas on the same day that it is payable It can be frustrating, having us wait at the Post Office as early as 07:00h on pension days and not to be paid on most occasions until after 11:00h. Then at 12:00h, the Post Master or Pay Clerk goes to lunch and resumes payment at 13:00h.

Remember, as we get older we try to beat the weather by travelling in the cool-

er hours. There are no reasons for me to believe that pensions cannot be made available at 09:00h at the Post Offices on the greater Essequibo Coast; the Charity and Aurora Post Offices.

Our Pension must not be seen as a hand out or gift, we have earned the right to receive same.

I had written about the inadequate seating accommodation at these Offices, particularly on pension days, but it is good that I can say that has been addressed.

I am hoping that these long hours of waiting will be significantly reduced.

Sincerely, Archie W Cordis Essequibo Coast Pensioner

Yours sincerely, John Seeram

Re-emergence of unpopular uncultured PNC policies (Pt 2) Dear Editor, We have witnessed the recent chaos on Nomination Day, with its the many justified ensuing Court battles, which the circumstances signal are likely to continue at the highest judicial decision making authority. The continued disappearances of the Chief Executive Officer at key events and activities during the preparation for the Disciplined Services balloting, clearly points to the realities of the trial and error approach, and much heightened incompetence.

On Monday October 29th, 2018, the Secretariat’s CEO, Mr. Lowenfield, held a briefing with the Political Parties in preparation for the Disciplined Services voting, scheduled to take place on Friday November 2, 2018. Only heaven knows, why, even up to that point, he could not provide a schedule of events with clear timelines regarding where and how some key elements would take place.

He promised that he would subsequently deliver further details, which speaks of lack of coordination at the highest echelon of GECOM. Approximately eight thousands persons are list-

ed as registered to vote on Friday, but at the time of the briefing, parties were yet to confirm their final voting numbers. This information is particularly relevant, given GECOM’s report that a great percentage of the voters would be allowed to vote without ID cards, based on the internal Folio positions.

Lowenfield announced that there are 1674 polling stations countrywide and the Chief Election Officer also said that GECOM successfully trained some 10, 700 polling staff whom he expects to run the Local Government Elections.

There is still the need, however, for the assurance of the nation, regarding the evaluation mechanism employed to ensure the readiness of the persons the Secretariat claims to be sufficiently trained. This is particularly relevant since many of the Returning Officers under whose authority these persons will be functioning, have proved to be deficient in their preparation.

This is a serious matter, because it is open knowledge that the Commission is constitutionally tasked with the responsibility of hiring all GECOM staff, and

there has been the usurping of many elections functions under the current system.

The public is and will be questioning this process further, as we understand that there are many ‘phantom staff members’, who have been allowed to infiltrate the system for clandestine reasons.

It is clear that like Nominations Day approximately ninety percent of the staff selected to work on D-Day, will be retained and employed by GECOM for future elections work. The path followed by GECOM is resulting in a retrogression to the dark days when the PNC had all of the Election staff fully under their control. This, no doubt, is a recipe for countrywide resistance towards the necessary remedy of an acceptable balance.

We advocate for the transparency of employment practices at GECOM and the use of electronic methodology as an approach to strengthening the validation of results of elections in Guyana. Bring in the United Nations Now! Sincerely, Neil Kumar

Reduced taxation needed in Guyana rate for corporation tax set at 25 per cent which creates fairer taxation as high corporation taxes are burdensome to companies.

I am also advocating that the lower rate (28 per cent) and the higher rate (40 per cent) of income tax be unified and set at 25 per cent

as high taxation discourages people from paying their fair share of taxes.

While these reductions in taxation to 25 per cent will lower Government revenue, it is believed that our revenue from the discovery of oil can vastly offset this loss.

It is time for the PNC led APNU/AFC Government of President David Granger wise-up and not squander this magnificent opportunity to do the right thing.

Yours faithfully, Sean Ori

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MondAY, november 5, 2018

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By Kareem Farah

W

hen I first started teaching high school Maths, I followed the common “I do, we do, you do” pedagogical formula to stay afloat. Each day I used a simple framework: Opening: Get everyone’s attention Direct instruction: Deliver a 10-20 minute lecture to the whole group Guided practice: Work through a problem as a whole group Independent practice: Give the students an assignment to work on individually Closing: Administer an exit ticket to assess learning I worked tirelessly to make sure the class would operate like a well-oiled machine. But I would always stumble at the same point in the process: the lecture. I would dread the beginning of every class period. Once the lecture began, it quickly became clear that I was only talking to a small percentage of the students in front of me. Most found the lecture to be too fast to understand or too slow to keep them engaged.

I would employ a litany of procedural tricks to stimulate engagement, all of which were bandages that couldn’t repair a fundamentally flawed structure.

The lecture is the problem In business, a bottleneck is defined as a point of congestion that leads to inefficient production and an increase in associated costs. For years, my traditional model of teaching was largely ineffective because my lecture was a major bottleneck in the production of student learning.

Let’s first address the inefficiency of a lecture. The lecture is a bottleneck for several reasons – one size does not fit

Foundation all in learning; there’s no replay, rewind, or fast-forward button in a lecture; and a large group of students are all dependent on one teacher to access learning.

A basic principle of good teaching is recognising that each student is truly unique.

Students learn content in a variety of ways at sometimes vastly different paces.

However, when class begins in a traditional classroom, these highly diverse students are frozen. Students ready to

move forward must patiently wait for the teacher to deliver the content, even though they may not need it. Meanwhile, students with skill deficiencies and truancy issues must compliantly listen to a lecture that does not address their needs as they wait to inform the teacher that nothing made sense. If a student misses all or a portion of the lecture, the opportunity is lost.

The lecture is not only inefficient but also strips students of the opportunity to develop 21st-century skills that are critical to succeeding in adulthood. When students have to

wait for a lecture to move forward, they become conditioned to believe that learning happens to them. The responsibility to access, internalise, and apply new information largely falls on the shoulders of the teacher. The students are not given the freedom to become self-directed learners who are responsible for managing their own time.

The advantages of blended learning In my classrooms now, I build instructional videos to

replace my lectures. To do so, I simply take the very same PowerPoint I would previously have used to lecture and record over it using a screencasting programme. While it was initially intimidating, creating instructional videos is pretty simple and does not require much tech savvy. I then upload my video to a programme (eg, Edpuzzle) that allows me to embed questions to use as checks for understanding. You can watch my lesson “Independent vs Dependent Variables” to get a sense of how these videos work and what they look like.

Once the lecture bottleneck is removed, teachers have the opportunity to rethink many of the other rigid constraints that have defined most instructional delivery models. Without this bottleneck, teachers can facilitate classrooms where students pace themselves, where they have to show mastery in order to progress, and where discussions between the teacher and an individual student are targeted and data driven, based on that student’s needs and capabilities.

In lecture-free classrooms, students no longer need to work at a predetermined pace that has been established without regard for their unique needs. Moreover, lessons don’t need to be chunked to fit arbitrary scheduling demands that require each lesson to be the same length.

Instead, teachers can facilitate a self-paced environment where students are always appropriately challenged and teachers differentiate for all students.

Once a self-paced environment is established, teachers can move to mastery-based grading. It is the expectation of uniform pacing that forces teachers to give students partial credit and completion grades. When the lecture bottleneck is removed and students have the freedom to self-pace, teachers have the flexibility to expect mastery before students move forward.

Teachers can use the entirety of their class time facilitating discussions around revisions, reassessments, and reflection as students tackle road bumps on their journey to authentic understanding.

The result is a data-driven and student-centred classroom that honours the importance of personalising learning to meet the unique needs of each student. After restructuring my classroom, I saw major shifts

in student learning and self-efficacy. Not only were students mastering more skills than before, but they were able to reflect on their journey through the learning process.

More importantly, there was a noticeable decrease in anxiety and increase in confi-

dence. Students were no longer stressed about coming to class because they knew they were going to pick up where they left off and were confident they would be given the time they needed to truly internalise the content. (edutopia.org)

By Robert Taibbi

Tom complains about his boss because he feels trapped in his job. Your son complains about his science project because he feels overwhelmed. When you’re feeling trapped and can’t see other options, when you feel anxious or hurt and lack the skills to solve the problem, or the courage to act, you fall into complaining.

W

e all complain at times.

Kids complain about their friends who didn’t talk to them at lunch, the teacher who was mean, the little brother who is always in their stuff, the science project that is so stupid. And we adults complain about our boss’ attitude, the work schedule, or… about our partner always complaining.

But for some folks, complaining seems to be a way of life. It’s their default communication, from their opening comments when they hit the door at 6 till they finally fall asleep (and then complain the next morning about how poorly they slept), they never seem to stop.

Being around such chronic complainers can be draining, annoying, frustrating. Why can’t they stop already?

They probably can’t for a few reasons. Like most problems, there’re other problems afoot driving it. Here are the common sources: We complain as way of relieving stress This is what most of us are doing when we are complaining – we’re venting, saying to those close to us who we can drop our guard with, about life’s stressors that have been building up inside us. So, our kids complain about the mean teacher, we rant about our boss and the schedule, yap to our best friend about the sorry state of our life. Just by getting our disappointments, frustrations, angst out and feeling heard, we feel better.

We complain because we are depressed The glass is always halfempty, the skies are always gray, we’re stuck at the bottom of a well with no way out. Depression saps our energy, makes us see only all that not good, we expect only more of the same and develop a why-bother stance.

We complain because that is all we feel we can do.

We complain because it is part of a family or relationship culture This is fuelled by all of the above, but here we are talking about role models from childhood where parents were always complaining, creating a steady negative climate that we take into our own psyche.

We’re also talking about couples or families who have developed for a lot of good reasons a hyper-vigilant, hyper negative you-and-meagainst-the-world stance where the world truly feels unsafe, where others are out to get you and can never be trusted. Complaining for them isn’t complaining but merely commenting on the obvious.

(Excerpt from psychologytoday.com) to be continued

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mondAY, november 5, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Local democracy key Incumbent Wakenaam NDC to realising ‘good Chairman confident of LGE victory life’– Harmon P

Minister of State Joseph Harmon

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inister of State, Joseph Harmon on Saturday assured the residents of Bartica, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) that Government would continue to strengthen local democracy so that all citizens could enjoy ‘the good life’.

Minister Harmon was at the time addressing Barticians during a community outreach held at Tarzie’s Square, in the town.

“We are here because we believe that local democracy can only be strengthened if you have democratic renewal and democratic renewal starts with regular Local Government Elections,” Harmon said.

“If you have representatives within your community that do not perform, you get the opportunity to say goodbye and welcome new ones, this is what we believe in and very early in our administration,

President David Granger said that we are going to have democratic renewal in our communities… The previous Administration disbanded over 38 local democratic organs and in their places put IMCs (Interim Management Committees) and Bartica was a casualty of that high-handedness,” Minister Harmon continued.

While in Bartica, Minister Harmon led a walkabout where he met with residents of the town.

He also engaged members of the business community.

Also present at the community meeting were Social Protection and Social Cohesion Ministers, Amna Ally and Dr George Norton respectively.

Minister Ally, through the Public Education Transport Service (PETS), an initiative of President Granger, distributed 30 bicycles to schoolchildren in Bartica.

Meanwhile, Dr Norton announced that Government would soon complete a playground in Bartica and a synthetic track was earmarked for the town.

“We can bring back Bartica and put it on the sports map where we really deserve to be … this Government is so much concerned with the state of affairs of our youths that only recently we signed a contract for two synthetic tracks … the next track should be in Bartica,” Norton stated.

r o p o r t i o n a l Representative (PR) candidate of the Sans Souci-Melville constituency in the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) of Wakenaam, Sheikh Ahmad is confident that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) will garner gains in the Essequibo island district at this year’s Local Government Elections (LGE).

As the November 12 date draws closer, the PPP/C representative told Guyana Times on Sunday that various candidates and representatives would continue meeting with potential constituents to convince them that their Party was the most suitable for their local representation.

He told this newspaper that he expected the Party would secure a return to victory as it had done since the 1994 LGE were held. After the LGE resurfaced in 2016, the PPP/C secured 15 out of 18 seats, having won eight of nine constituencies. The Party opted to withdraw from Constituency Two, Rush Brook/Maria Johanna this time around owing to discrepancies in the list of candidates for the area.

Nevertheless, Ahmad, who took over the NDC chairmanship in January, believes that his Party has the platform that will draw residents to cast their votes in its favour.

“Our plan is for no new taxes and we want to continue to work with the drainage and irrigation system to enhance farming in terms of coconut, rice, plantain, cat-

tle and to continue to work with community centres and grounds to enhance sport and sporting facilities,” the incumbent Chairman observed.

Ahmad, who is also a farmer and businessman, told this newspaper that he would continue working with fellow farmers on the island with a view of having more input from them as they would have first-hand knowledge of the issues that arise in the agricultural sector. To this end, the politician said that he would place special focus on the areas of marketing, production and quality.

He highlighted that his island has good drainage networks owing to an excavator that the Council obtained in 2010. The incumbent Chair outlined that every year the NDC was guided by its Work Programme whereby 26,000 rods of trenches and drains were cleaned and maintained, while kokers were also kept in working condition. Ahmad, however, stressed that many of the roads on Wakenaam were in a deplorable state although he was hopeful that Central Government would provide the NDC with a grader to level the roads ahead of overall road works.

“There are 10-12 miles of deplorable roads on the island,” he stressed.

He committed to working with various levels of Government to ensure that he advocated for the rights of his constituency. This comes even though the rul-

Incumbent Wakenaam NDC Chairman Sheikh Ahmad

ing party at the central level is the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC).

However, at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) level in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), the PPP/C controls the majority, which has been advantageous to Wakenaam.

“It wasn’t an easy task to work with Central Government as it was tough at first, but somehow found a working relationship with the Region and with our subventions, we have been able to achieve assistance for works,” he noted, referencing the recent breach of the sea defence and consequent flooding on the island which saw a multi-stakeholder approach being utilised to address the issue.

Ahmad said that residents were very optimistic in supporting the Party’s candidates on his belief that they would garner the majority on the Wakenaam NDC. “We have been in the field working and we have shown the concern of caring and providing services for everyone despite your nationality, race or political affiliation. We have been a diverse Party, which has put our support to every person that has asked us for help.

We reach out to them and that’s why we should be the persons returning to run the NDC,” the PR candidate stressed.

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Lease revocation challenge

Former President testifies in Red House case A s the trial on the Red House lease revocation challenge concluded last week, former President Donald Ramotar testified before acting Chief Justice Roxane George, SC, that while he did not put his own signature on the lease granted to the Cheddi Jagan Research Institute (CJRI), he granted approval, instructing the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys to sign the document.

Although Ramotar has immunity under the 1980 Constitution, as his lawyer, Anil Nandlall highlighted, the Attorney called him to the stand. The former Head of State stressed that the Research Institute was granted approval to operate in the building since the year 2000.

Justice George set December 17, 2018 to hand down her decision in the matter of the Institute challenging President

Red House is located in Kingston, Georgetown

David Granger’s revocation of its 99-year lease that former President Ramotar said he approved in 2012.

This was some 12 years after the body was incorporated as a company under the Companies Act, and operated at Red House.

Both Attorney General Williams and Attorney Nandlall, his predecessor,

presented closing addresses to the court.

Williams opined that the President of Guyana was required by law to signify approval of a land transaction while Nandlall countered that the law did not require the President to issue written approval. Nandlall added that Parliament, in making the

relevant statue relating to lands, said the President should sanction but did not express how the President should exercise that sanction.

Ramotar, who was the long-time General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, was also a founding member of the Institute along with Dr Cheddi Jagan’s wife, former President, the late Janet Jagan and their daughter Nadira JaganBrancier.

Ramotar outlined that the Institute aimed to preserve the work and memory of Dr Jagan, who served as President from 1992 until his death in 1997. In late December 2016, President Granger, under the coalition Administration, gave the occupants of Red House 48 hours to vacate the premises.

This led to much public uproar and a subsequent legal challenge.

Boondoggle…

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…on contracts ne of the greatest failures of this PNC-led Government has been their abysmal monitoring of contracts for executing their work programme.

There isn’t a day that goes by when there isn’t a nasty revelation of billions paid to contractors for work done so shoddily it invariably costs more to fix the mess. Remember Durban Park “Jubilee Park” that was going to be built by a newly formed Homestretch Development Inc (HDI) – involving Rupert Roopnarine? They spent $550 million of money collected from the public, for which they never accounted; then had to be bailed out with another billion dollars paid from the Public Treasury to new contractors and the MPI! And it’s still falling apart!

Then, of course, there’s the Indian Arrival Monument in Berbice, built by that new contractor from Linden, which fell down like the walls of Jericho without even a bugle being blown!! The Auditor General’s Report for 2017 of course revealed poor or non-existent monitoring of so many contracts the Government might well have plastered the structures with $5000 notes to save themselves some time!!

And now they’ve grandly announced that from the 1st January next year, they will be awarding 20 per cent of all Government contracts to “small contractors”!! That’s less than two months away!! Now, if the Government can’t monitor all these massive contracts to ensure performance, how will they ensure they’ll get value with these fly-by-night “small” contractors?? And the answer, sadly, is “value for money” is furthest from the minds of the PNC-Government officials when they’re doling out these contracts. Rather, it’s all about money for the boys and money for their pockets. It’s the “20 per cent boondoggle”!!

They didn’t even bother to check if the proposal is legal – and were pulled up short by Mrs Corbin of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC). She explained that the law governing procurement will have to be changed to allow this dramatic move. She also pointed out that this 20 per cent Government contract reservation for “small business” is a form of “affirmative action”. In the US, which laid the way in this policy area, 10 per cent of Government contracts were reserved for Black and minority-owned businesses TO RECTIFY HISTORICAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THEM. Your Eyewitness figures the present PNC-led Government want to make their SMALL CONTRACTORS INTO REAL CONTRACTORS, after they failed in their first iteration to make the “small man into the real man”. But, in the US, these “minority contractors” had to first show they had the capability – especially equipment and skills -- to do the job! Is the Government going to demand this? And most crucially, the US Government didn’t pussyfoot around insisting that standards be adhered to.

Knowing here you have to be “born PNC”, will party cards be necessary?! …and singing for suppers Even the friends of Nagamootoo – few as they are – have bemoaned how far he’s willing to debase himself for the few pieces of silver thrown his way! Imagine this man – even while acting as President of the Republic – could bring himself to write: “History would record that this APNU+AFC Coalition Government has opened its huge, generous heart to sugar workers”!!! While fired sugar workers in his native Berbice are at best kicking paddy on the roads.

But Nagamootoo quoted from a commentary your Eyewitness made a year ago about the “70 companies” his Government boasted were lined up to buy the closed estates! Your Eyewitness made the point that if the buyers went into sugar and succeeded, they’d make the Government look stupid. But if they diversified into “other crops”, cane cutters wouldn’t necessarily become farmers.

Now that there have been only FIVE bids, we’ll soon find out, won’t we? …and Nagamootoo’s ignorance Your Eyewitness had analogised the highly skilled cane cutters to Ballet Dancers in “Swan Lake”. Nagamootoo claimed the comparison was to “dancers at an opera”.

Doesn’t he know the difference between Ballet and Opera? How uncouth!!

Then he took exception to describing cane cutters’ motion as “practiced”. Guess he doesn’t know “practiced” can be an adjective! How untutored!!

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

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mondAY, november 5, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Agri Minister admits Region 5 farmers traversing near impassable roads …blames farmers for deterioration

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armers in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) continue to struggle with not only the increased cost of rentals on their leases, but traversing roads that are difficult and in most cases impassable.

At the same time, those 2346 farmers have racked up a cumulative debt of nine hundred and seventy-two million, two hundred and thirty-six thousand, two hundred and seventy-two dollars ($972,236,272) to the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) for land rental for the years 2016 and 2017.

This breaks down as follows: 1632 farmers, for the year ended December 31, 2016, owed the MMA/ADA five hundred and sixty-three million, six hundred and ninety-four thousand, two hundred and forty-three dollars ($563,694,243); while 1526 farmers, for the year ended December 31, 2017, owed that entity four hundred and eight million, five hundred and forty-two thousand, and twenty-nine dollars ($408,542,029).

These prevailing challenges facing the farmers were confirmed by Agriculture Minister Noel Holder in written responses tendered in the National Assembly in an-

swer to questions posed by People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament Dharamkumar Seeraj. This PPP/C MP had asked the Minister to provide information on what assistance Government has been giving farmers for farm and market access roads in the MMA/ADA scheme and across the rice belt.

In response, the Agriculture Minister had said there are 30 miles of all-weather road and 760 miles of fair weather access roads for which the MMA/ ADA was responsible to maintain each crop.

Holder cast blame on the

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder

with rainfall throughout the seeding and harvesting seasons, having noted that repairing dams during the rainy season is near impossible. “...the MMA/ADA has procured materials valued $6 million (crusher run, loam and white sand), which is being used by the Authority for (effecting) repairs to the critical sections of the all-weather road. Also, 80 miles of fair weather access (roads) were repaired to enable farmers to harvest their crops,” Holder had responded.

minimum wage. He contended that this resulted in discontent and complaints.

Sankar had reasoned that financial problems sweeping farming communities could lead to dire societal effects, including an increase in alcohol consumption with its concomitant social problems.

Farmers are paid by millers according to the grade of paddy produced, ranging from A to C. However, for the last few years, farmers have been paid between $1500 and $3000 per bag of paddy. This

farmers for causing deterioration of “all the roads” by means of their machinery which is used to maintain and harvest crops. This, he said, is coupled

AG report shows evidence of gross corruption – Ali …highlights lax procurement procedure

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s shocking instances of administrative oversight continue to be highlighted by the Auditor General’s 2017 report, Member of Parliament Irfaan Ali has expressed concern over the state of affairs.

Ali, who chairs the Public Accounts Committee that has to examine the AG reports and call officers to account, noted on Sunday that the 2017 report was littered with discrepancies and corruption for that fiscal year.

“In the education sector, as it relates to the supply of dietary items under the Kato Breakfast School Feeding Programme, Region Eight, prices paid were significantly higher when compared to prices of similar items previously purchased by the Region. In total, $33.6 million was expended on items whose prices were grossly inflated.

“Similarly, under the $2.1 billion school feeding programme, 11 schools in Region Seven and Nine, could not account for $52.1 million, a repeated misdemeanour that was highlighted in the preced-

ing Auditor General Report.

Hence, at the Ministry of Education Tender Board level, procurement irregularities continued uninterrupted.”

He also highlighted parts of the report, where it was revealed that 40 contracts totalling $15.9 million were awarded without the requisite tender board approval, of which 35 were awarded to one contactor at a total value of $12.8 million.

“Moreover, numerous instances of overpayments were recorded. For example, two contractors, with respect to the installation of water distribution line and system, and night-lighting system at the synthetic track and field facility, received $4.114 million and $4.767 million respectively in overpayments,” Ali noted.

“In another instance, the contract for the construction of a chain-link fence at the One Mile Primary School, Wismar, which was awarded by the Regional Tender Board for the sum of $12.583 million, received an overpayment of $727,000.”

Opposition MP Irfaan Ali

Moving on to the Education Ministry’s Department of Culture, the PAC Chairman pointed to the AG’s findings that six vehicles not registered as property of the Ministry were used to uplift 4351 litres of diesel valued $788,773 from Guyoil’s Regent Street location.

The fuel, he noted, was uplifted on 13 instances. And he observed that based on the AG’s report, in excess of one ‘45 gallons’ drum was uplifted on each occasion on average.

This is compounded by the

fact that checks by the auditor could not confirm the basis on which the quantities of fuel were uplifted.

“Under the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, three vehicles were sold. The first, a Toyota pickup, was sold for $50,000. The vehicle was never advertised; hence no bids were received. The second, a Nissan Frontier Pickup, again, was sold for $50,000, notwithstanding the highest bid for the vehicle came in at $500,000. The buyer, however, didn’t participate in the bidding process.”

“The third, a Toyota Coaster bus, valued at $950,000, was sold for $301,000, to the third highest bidder of seven. Interestingly, the highest bid came in at $1.1 million. Similarly, under the aforementioned Ministry, $201 million couldn’t be accounted for due to missing payment vouchers. Of the total, $38.2 million was under the sub-category of National and Other Events, Dietary and Refreshment and Meals,” Ali noted.

The state of one of the dams the rice farmers must use at Onverwagting, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice)

He also outlined that several million dollars have been spent on assisting farmers through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and the Water Users Association (WUA).

It was noted that the RDC had spent $31.4 million on upgrading dams in Region Five, while the Water Users Association had spent $4.7 million on upgrading dams.

The MMA/ADA had, in 2017, increased land rental rates, but this development was met with widespread condemnation from farmers and the PPP/C. Rice magnate Beni Sankar had commented last year that the increases would not help to ease the challenges farmers were facing, as many producers who did not cultivate 25 bags per acre did not clear the

has been coupled with challenges such as paddy bug infestation. Several farmers on the Essequibo Coast recently had to burn 100 acres of rice which were overtaken by paddy bugs.

Meanwhile, Region Five rice farmers have protested the increases in land rental rates.

In March, a group of irate farmers had gathered outside the Agriculture Ministry, where they vented their frustration over the hikes. The Agriculture Ministry announced the increase in land rent from $3500 to $15,000 per acre, which represented a 600 per cent increase; and other rates have been hiked from $1000 to $7000.

The MMA/ADA has also stated that the fee was implemented so that it could take care of drainage and irrigation. Minister Holder, in his response, said farmers owed more in land rental before the 2017 increases.

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11th annual Medical Scientific HSS National Diya lit to usher in Diwali Research Conference opens T

The New GPC booth at the 11th annual Institute of Health Science Education’s Guyana Medical Scientific Research Conference on Sunday

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he Institute of Health Science Education (IHSE) was on Sunday called upon to focus on research programmes that could provide equal opportunities for health care across Guyana.

The call was made by Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), Dr Karen GordonBoyle, as she delivered opening remarks at the 11th annual Guyana Medical Scientific Research Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

She said it was heartening to see that the Institute was supporting local research, and challenged the medical practitioners in attendance to learn how persons’ history and places of birth can limit their ability to achieve optimal health.

Dr Gordon-Boyle said the Public Health Ministry has embraced the “life course ap-

proach to health”, since it recognised that social, geographic and cultural factors, throughout the life course, influenced adult health.

She said a life course approach was being used in research on social inequalities in health to investigate how experiences and exposures at different stages accumulate and create the social inequalities in morbidity and mortality observed in middle and old age.

According to her, it has been observed across the administrative regions that there are epidemiological patterns of diseases that reflect social inequalities.

“Why is it that a young man or woman in Region One was found to have vastly higher rates of cholelithiasis [the formation of gallstones] than their counterparts in another region. What is it they are being exposed to

there?” the Department of Public Information (DPI) quoted her as asking.

She said these social inequalities and morbidity patterns were a stark reminder that with the planning of health-care delivery, “the human being must be the person in mind”.

She also reminded the doctors of their Hippocratic Oath which includes solidarity in the delivery of health services.

IHSE Director, Dr Alexandra Harvey said the Conference was geared at carrying out research at the local level so that Guyanese from all walks of life could benefit. Since the last Conference last year, she said the Institute has introduced various initiatives to promote the research aspect of its mandate. She encouraged all doctors to “fly the flag of local research”.

he Festival of Lights, Diwali, was on Sunday night kick-started at Rahaman’s Park, Greater Georgetown with the annual lighting of the National Diya.

The lighting up of the 21foot Diya is a spectacle being hosted for the fourth consecutive year by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh-Hindus for Selfless Service (HSS).

Themed “Atma Deepo Bhava” (you become the light), this auspicious event aims to represent the Hindu community’s continuous message of oneness and national unity.

Showcasing white and purple lights, the structure comprises five smaller diyas to signify five days of Diwali celebrations as is customary in India where the celebration originated.

The red, black, gold, white and green of the five diyas represent the colours of Guyana’s flag and like they do on the flag represent – endurance, zeal, wealth, the many waters of our beautiful country, and agriculture.

The concept behind the Diya’s design is oil being poured into the Diya by the calasha as is the custom on Diwali night.

In attendance at the event were heads of leading Hindu and other religious organisations; the Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Venkatachalam Mahalingam; Indian rights activist and former ROAR parliamentarian Ravi Dev; Public

Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, V. Mahalingam; Indian rights activist, Ravi Dev among the gathering on Sunday

Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, young leaders and the general public.

High Commissioner Mahalingam reflected on the celebration in his homeland and gave a little insight on how Diwali was celebrated there.

the same breath called for it to be larger in years to come.

“I’m calling on all of you to be the light of good intentions and selfless service; we did achieve our purpose, but we want it to continue to grow in years to come,” Seenanan said in his brief

A section of the gathering at the National Diya Light-up at Rahaman’s Park on Sunday evening

The Commissioner thanked HSS for not allowing the celebration to be forgotten and further wished the Guyanese community a happy Diwali.

Delivering remarks on behalf of HSS, Karamchand Seenanan, a senior member, applauded the event, but in

remarks.

Guest speaker at the event, Dhanrajie Haimraj of HSS, who was recently awarded a Medal of Service for her voluntary work in Guyana, asked for the concept of purity to be observed. turn to page 15

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Amerindian land titling

Only 5 demarcations completed since 2015 – Govt admits …32 extension applications pending

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ollowing concerns of the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government has been dragging its feet over Indigenous land titling, it has been disclosed that only five demarcations have been completed under the current Administration. This number is in disparity with the overall 93 villages that have been demarcated overall.

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock made this admission via written responses to the Opposition in the National Assembly last week. Allicock also admitted that some 32 villages have pending applications for extensions.

Minister Allicock had previously revealed that only 26 per cent of the Amerindian Land Titling Project had been completed.

This prompted members of the PPP/C side of the House to call out the Government for being unable to issue new land titles since taking office in 2015. In the written responses presented by the subject minister, he revealed that US$2.9 million out of a US$10.7 million agreement for the implementation of the Amerindian Land Titling and Demarcation Project was spent. This project, which concluded in 2016, came under the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

Allicock further outlined that US$1.4 million or 53 per cent of expenditure was spent on demarcation while another 43 per cent was spent on grievance redress mechanisms, information management and project management. However, it was during a sitting before members of the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources in May when the subject Minister

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock

observed that no new titles or extensions were issued.

As such, the PPP/C asked the Minister how many communities applied for titles or extensions and he responded that only five demarcations were completed under Government’s tenure.

These included a 2015 application for Batavia, which was completed in 2016, and completed demarcations of Tuseneng, Chinoweing and Paramakatoi, as well as Four Miles, which had been in the process of being demarcated. When further questioned on those communities awaiting demarcation during the period under review, the Opposition was told that 10 villages have not been demarcated. Minister Allicock’s explanation was that consent was not provided by these villages.

He also noted that some 32 villages have applied for extensions to their original demarcated areas while six villages have applied for recognition to be demarcated as village entities. In total, 93 villages have been demarcated. The Minister said in his written responses that as time progressed, each demarcation case would become “more difficult and complex”, since mining concessions which were allocated over time have infringed on “rights, title and interests”

of the Indigenous.

Questioned on how the remaining funds for the project will be allocated, Allicock said that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) sent an intermediate extension request for December 31, 2018 to the Ministry of the Presidency to allow for consultation.

Members of the National Assembly were also told that stakeholder consultations started with the Ministry; Indigenous NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs); UNDP and the National Toshaos Council (NTC) on October 11 to chart the way forward and determine, among other things, the extension deadline.

The Kingdom of Norway provided the US$10.7 million for the project in 2013 under the PPP/C Government for the project.

The NTC has repeatedly criticised Government

for failing to issue the titles, although Government had said that it needed an extension on the life of the project. Opposition Member

of Parliament and former Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai had argued strongly that from the information provided on the proj-

ect, it seemed that the land titling process was at a standstill. Allicock had denied that the Government was dragging its feet on the matter.

GEA hosts “Express Your Energy” forum for Region 2 youths

GEA officials along with students and teachers who participated in the “Express Your Energy” activity hosted at Cotton Field Secondary School, Region Two

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nergy conservation was farthest from the minds of the 60 students of Grades Five and Six

who attended the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) “Express Your Energy” activity on Friday in the au-

ditorium of Cotton Field Secondary School, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). turn to page 15

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X-ray, ultrasound depts not functioning at Skeldon Hospital

LGE 2018

GECOM to move election materials to LAAs this week T

he X-ray and ultrasound machines at the Skeldon Hospital have been grounded for the past two months, and several air conditioning units are not operable at that medical facility.

This is according to Director of Regional Health Services, Jevaughn Stephens, in response to questions posed by councillors at the Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) Regional Democratic Council (RDC) meeting last week.

Stephens said an electrical problem has affected the smooth functioning of the Skeldon Hospital. According to him, the Skeldon Hospital, in the past, received power from the Skeldon Sugar Estate to power its heavy-duty equipment, but since the

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he Guyana Elections C o m m i s s i o n (GECOM) will begin moving election materials during this week, with six days to go before Local Government Elections (LGE) on November 12.

GECOM Registration Officer Clairmont Mingo said the Commission would begin moving ballot boxes and other materials to the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs) in the coming week.

GECOM, in collaboration with the Guyana Press Association (GPA), facilitated an interactive voter education session with the media fraternity on Saturday.

“All these materials will be checked at the locations to ensure that they are correct, efficient and that they are also adequate,” Mingo is quoted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) as saying.

Mingo added that an elaborate and comprehensive training programme for all categories of workers was conducted, including ongoing training of polling day staff. “All are expected to discharge these duties with the highest degree of impartiality, honesty, transparency and accuracy,” Mingo said.

GECOM Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward reiterated that the Commission would be declaring official

results from the LGE one day after the November 12 poll closed.

Ward said preliminary results were expected to be announced three hours after the close of polls. She added that results would be disseminated live on television stations in LAAs as well as GECOM’s social media pages.

Ward said final results for smaller LAAs were anticipated by midnight, November 12 and the following day, November 13, for larger LAAs. This year, candidates from 80 LAAs consisting of 595 constituencies will be contesting the LGE through a mixed electoral system of proportional representation and first past the post.

closure of the estate, this is no longer possible.

“We had to take off some of the services, because the building used to get power from GuySuCo (Guyana Sugar Corporation) and we are no longer getting power from GuySuCo. We did an assessment and decided to put it on GPL (Guyana Power and Light) grid; that is what is taking the time,” Stephens said.

“If we connect the equipment to the grid presently, we will be running a serious risk. Every day, we keep calling GPL,” he explained.

The hospital has since been transferring its emergency patients to the New Amsterdam Hospital, situated 50 miles away.

Region 6 Chairman David Armogan, in response,

said the situation needs to be tackled with more urgency. He said a generator could be rented in the interim to power the heavy-duty equipment.

Armogan said he has been receiving numerous reports from persons who had gone to the Skeldon Hospital and could not be treated because the X-ray machine was not working. Many other patients had to be sent to other facilities because doctors could not get an ultrasound.

Armogan noted that the situation must be addressed with a great degree of urgency. He has promised the Regional Administration’s intervention to see whether the GPL would give priority to that hospital’s application to be hooked up to its grid.

WCD water woes resolved after weeks of waiting

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fter more than three weeks without potable water in several villages on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD), residents have confirmed that the issue has been resolved.

Guyana Times was informed that water supply resumed as per normal and the scheduled timings were extended, for additional hours. Many persons were elated at this outcome, since they were now accessing clean water to perform household chores and for drinking purposes.

“After it was published in Guyana Times, we got

back the water now and it is normal in the community. The pressure is okay and the timing for the water, they fixed that. Instead of having the water cutting off for a certain period, the water is continuous. We’re getting it all the time,” a resident said over the weekend.

It was reported last month that several villages on the WCD were deprived of potable water and villagers were sourcing water from trenches. Some days, a few households were fortunate to have access to very low-pressure water.

“Late in the night then, you might be lucky to get it very slow and maybe early in the morning like 03:30h, but it just dripping so that can’t really do anything,” an affected person had

complained.

One of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) representatives told this publication last week that hundreds of per-

sons from her district were affected by the unreliable water supply from the utility company, Guyana Water Inc (GWI). Although they have been without potable water

in the past, this has been the longest period of poor water supply. ‘‘The entire village was without water. The residents have to go by the trench to dip water to do their chores. They have a pump station in Vergenoegen and since we’ve been having this problem. We write GWI and they replied that they will fix the problem, but the problem is getting worse,” the Councillor said.

“The water is not clear.

It’s reddish, sometimes it’s muddy and sometimes you can’t use it, because it is causing itching on the children and the adults as well.”

Meten-Meer-Zorg was also facing the same issue, but the water supply was restored about one week ago and has since been consistent.

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3 years after being built

2 Berbice health centres sit as white elephants …contractors paid in full, remedial works incomplete

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Plegtanker Health Centre

wo health centres in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) located respectively at Number 76 Village, Corentyne and at Plegtanker, East Bank Berbice -- have not been opened three years after they were constructed.

Director of Regional Health Services, Jevaughn Stephens, has said the facilities have not yet been handed over to the Region Health Department, since the contractors responsible for their erection still have remedial works to carry out on the structures.

However, those contractors have been paid in full, although the facilities are not functional.

The issue was raised last week when the Region Six Regional Democratic Council (RDC) met for its statutory meeting.

Vice Chairman Dennis DeRoop bemoaned that after the RDC had budgeted for the facilities, and after their construction had been approved, persons cannot benefit from their existence, even though they were built.

He noted that while the building sits at Plegtanker, there is no medical facility for the people on the East Bank of Berbice. The

Plegtanker Health Centre was built from allocations in the 2015 budget, and the Number 76 Health Centre was built from allocations in the 2016 budget. In excess of $13 million was spent on the two health centres.

“Why are we spending this money and we are not delivering services?” DeRoop asked. “We are not utilising these places,” he lamented.

Regional Chairman David Armogan disclosed that he had recently visited both facilities. “Bush is taking over the buildings,” he asserted. “Even the compound is not being cleaned.

It looks like a building that is just left to go (into decay). It doesn’t look like a health centre, and something that we are serious about,” Armogan noted.

Director of Regional Health Services, Jevaughn Stephens, explained that after both facilities had been completed, the projects were referred to the Public Works Department for remedial work. Plumbing and electrical works have also not yet been completed, Stephens added.

“Government had passed out upgraded ‘minimum standards for health centres’, and we shared that with the

engineers. It has to do with the type of seats and all that is required; and we have already procured furnishing for both facilities, and our staff is trained and ready to take over those facilities,” Stephens said.

Stephens has said that as soon as the Regional Engineering Department hands over the buildings to the Health Department, the Health Department would be able to put both health centres into use.

Calling this response “ridiculous”, Armogan questioned when the contractors were asked to carry out remedial works. “This is totally unacceptable!” he said. “We can’t come three years after and say the reason why it was not opened as yet is because there were structural deficiencies. That should have been identified weeks after the building was completed,” Armogan declared.

Plegtanker residents, meanwhile, have explained that it costs them up to $10,000 to get to the New Amsterdam Hospital, while the facility has been a white elephant for years.

Haridai Tambron, a resident of Plegtanker for 41 years, said construction of the health centre commenced in 2015. According to Tambron, residents in the community have to travel to either the New Amsterdam Hospital, some 20 miles away, or the Sisters Health Centre, situated thirteen miles away.

Plegtanker resident Nandika Tomby explained that it is very expensive to take sick persons to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

“We does have to hire a car

to reach out…it does take like three hours to reach out.

Sometimes we got to pay $10,000 or $12,000 to hire a car to go to the hospital in New Amsterdam.”

Several Plegtanker residents have said they eagerly await the day when the facility would be opened.

Number 76 Village Health Centre

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mondAY, november 5, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Draft Code of Conduct for Minibus Operators up for discussion

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temming from a recent meeting with the Business Ministry (MoB), the United Minibus Union (UMU) now has at its disposal a draft of the Code of Conduct for Minibus Operators.

This was last week related to this newspaper by President of the UMU, Eon Andrews, during a telephone interview. Andrews said he expects to again meet with the Business Minister by November 25, to make any changes to the draft which may be necessary, and to have it implemented.

According to him, the UMU and the MoB collaborated to produce the document, but “there are some adjustments we may need to make”.

He explained, “Well, the Ministry has agreed to what is there, but if there is any little adjustment we need to make, we can do that quickly; and then it will be put forward by the union, endorsed by the Ministry”.

The importance of having a standard code of conduct set for those operators -- since the system is

pected to come on stream by 2020.

He explained that the sector would reel in tourists and other important persons who would, at some time, have need to use public transportation, whose operators are presently unprepared to be the ambassadors they ought to be.

The UMU had initially announced plans to establish a Code of Conduct for currently “out of control” -was reiterated by Andrews during a previous interview.

Andrews disclosed that some of the areas the Code of Conduct is intended to address are: operators’ mode of dress; general conduct, such as not overloading buses, not playing loud and lewd music, not driving under the influence of alcohol; and the way operators speak to passengers.

Andrews pointed out that, as promised, the UMU had meetings with representatives of the various bus routes, and according to him, they all endorsed the draft Code of Conduct.

Andrews had, last month, assured that after the draft was created, representatives of the various minibus routes would be summoned to meet with the Business Ministry and the UMU, and those representatives would inform their drivers of what is expected of them.

Andrews had said the Code of Conduct was extremely vital, especially with the potentially lucrative oil and gas sector ex-

“If we should do this daily, then Diwali will become a daily festival for us ... we have weaknesses as human beings that will lead us to corrupt our values, but let Diwali remind all of us to let virtues triumph in all of us ... you and I,” Haimraj added.

The festival ‘Diwali’ in Sanskrit has a literal meaning of ‘a row of lamps’. This festival usual-

Although some passengers have welcomed the initiative, others have been more concerned about the drivers living up to what is expected of them.

In relation to this concern, Andrews has assured that a hotline would be implemented to facilitate passengers making reports of breaches made by transportation providers in this regard.

GFC updates Linden stakeholders on Forest Law Enforcement Agreement

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he Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) recently engaged small concession owners and other stakeholders of Linden, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice), in an exercise intended to update the forestry sector in Guyana on the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Agreement.

During that engagement, which was hosted at the Watooka Complex, the stakeholders were treated to presentations delivered by Deputy Forest Commissioner Gavin Agard and Technical Officer of the FLEGT Secretariat, Ruslin Richards.

Richards in her address, noted that the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) is a key element of the European Union’s (EU’s) Forest Law and Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. She explained that a VPA with

HSS National Diya lit to usher...

“Purity that we talk about is referring to cleansing the outsides as well as the insides...we pray to God as creator of this universe to take away the greed and to replace it with everything that is auspicious in us as humans,” Haimraj said.

She encouraged getting rid of all impure practices and cautioned against corruption in Guyana.

Bus Drivers back in August, when plans were revealed to increase minibus fares by $20 for 10 operating routes.

The announcement to set a standard code of conduct for public transportation operators was well received by passengers, as far too many commuters would have vented their anger on social media at the ruthless behaviour of drivers in the different routes.

from page 10

ly falls between the middle of October and the middle of November, although this is decided upon by the Hindu lunar calendar.

The most popular tradition of celebrating Diwali is filling little clay lamps (diyas) with oil and wick and lighting them in rows all over the house; this reflects the rich and glorious past of culture and teaching to uphold the true values of life.

Lights and diyas are lit to signify the driving away of darkness and ignorance, as well as the awakening of the light within one’s self.

Diwali is viewed as a time for family gatherings and food as well as a celebration that reminds us of our original virtues; the light of which brings joy and hope.

Diwali celebrates victory over evil or darkness and the coming of a new year.

The light refers to following a path of virtue such that our thoughts are always pure in heart, and the darkness refers to negative thoughts which bring about hurts and sorrow.

Additionally, apart from the spectacular display of the National Diya Light-up, there was a cultural evening of dances, skits and music to portray the significance of the national holiday.

the EU would facilitate increased market access for Guyana’s timber into the lucrative EU market, and she outlined requirements that would make stakeholders FLEGT compliant.

“We need to meet social, environmental and fiscal requirements which everybody is already familiar with but, truthfully, everybody isn’t up-to-date with. So some of the social requirements include ensuring that we meet those requirements set out by our labour laws, our occupational safety laws, and so on. Like wearing protective wear, paying at or above minimum wage, ensuring we are complying with NIS (National Insurance Scheme),” she told stakeholders.

Richards added that while many stakeholders are struggling to meet re-

quirements, strides have been made, and the GFC is prepared to aid stakeholders in ensuring that they are compliant.

Deputy Forest Commissioner Gavin Agard updated the attendees on the progress of the National Forest Inventory.

“A National Forest Inventory is a big undertaking, and it’s going to take at least four years (to be completed). We have started some preliminary works, and by the end of this year we will have a design, a methodology, a print-out showing where we plan to do the samples…..

For the people in Kwakwani, one of the big areas where the inventory will take place is possibly Whykoken Concession,” he said.

This inventory, he said, would clearly indicate what tree species and diameter

classes are available in each concession allotted. Agard pointed out that the Timber Grading Rules have been revised, and training will commence soon to update all GFC Officers and stakeholders.

He said Government has approved the realisation of a Consolidated Stockyard where logs and lumber will be purchased and resold at a fair price. However, talks are still ongoing in regard to how soon this will be implemented.

Outreaches similar to this one held in Linden were conducted during the week in areas such as Kwakwani and Ituni in Region 10; Anna Regina and Charity in Region Two; Bartica in Region Seven; Corriverton and Canje in Region Six; and Georgetown in Region Four.

Region 6 students benefit from pure water project

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he Rotary Club of New Amsterdam (RCNA) has commissioned its seventh Public Schools Pure Water Initiative, benefiting thousands of children in the East Berbice-Corentyne (Region 6) area.

The RCNA, in collaboration with the Bank of Nova Scotia, has commissioned the clean water system at the All Saints Primary School in New Amsterdam.

This project ensures that water goes through a filtration process before being stored in tanks for use afterwards for drinking or cooking purposes.

Current President of the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam, Rafeek Kassim, is quoted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) as assuring that the RCNA would continue to carry out projects that would positively impact young people in the East Berbice-Corentyne area. He also thanked the management and staff of the Bank of Nova Scotia for coming on board the project.

Also present at the ceremony commissioning this Public Schools Pure Water Initiative were Regional Chairman David Armogan; Manager of the Bank of Nova Scotia’s New Amsterdam Branch, Vibert Jones; Representative of the

Students testing the newly installed water supply system in the school’s compound

Department of Education – Primary Level, Lalchand Sadick; teachers and students of the school, and members of the community.

A number of other entities have committed to coming on board with the

RCNA to continue this initiative. Cumberland, Fort Ordnance, Sheet Anchor, St Theresa’s, and Edinburgh Primary schools, along with the Canje Secondary School, have already benefited from this project.

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VOX POPULI

Ethnic Relations Commission message on Local Government Elections 2018

I SAY...

Public opinion on reforming the current security system at New Opportunity Corps (NOC) Aaliyah Pompey “The first thing that they should do is to secure the building properly and they must also get some male teachers.”

Shaunell Wilson “All they need is better security on and around the facility’s premises. From my recollection of the stories I read about the breakouts, it seems as if no security personnel were stationed at the area where the delinquents escaped through.Why not?

More security is all I say, or if they have enough, they need to do their jobs.”

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ear brothers and sisters of Guyana, as you are aware, our nation is in the process of another important elections, specifically Local Government Elections to be held on November 12, 2018.

Many of our citizens, either from Parliamentary and other political Parties, independent groups or ERC Chairman John Smith as individual candidates, are engaged in the process to become elected representatives within the various Municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils while thousands of others will be executing their constitutional and democratic right to vote for those of their choice.

Campaigning is a natural and integral part of the process for the purpose of bringing awareness to programs and polices of those who seek these public offices. These campaigns, whether through public meetings or personal interactions, in addition to its primary objective of awareness, unfortunately hold the potential for statements which are counterproductive to the fostering of harmony, to be enunciated.

If that potential were to be realized, then the challenges it can pose to our society, as what regrettably obtained in the past, need no explanation or convincing.

It is in this context that the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), with a constitutional mandate for the promotion of harmony and good relations, as agreed by the various political Parties within our country’s Parliament, seeks your assistance for you to do your part and to encourage all to keep the campaigns and other interactions, including social media, free of any utterance which can impact negatively on national harmony and good relations amongst Guyanese.

Guided by lessons on elections from our history, the ERC believes that the assistance sought from you is extremely important given it’s a task it cannot accomplish on its own. Among other things, a campaign free of hate, racial and all other forms of incitement is most desirable and essential to the efforts of building and sustaining a cohesive nation with a common destiny.

The promotion of harmony, while constitutionally mandated to the ERC, is a vital process that requires the efforts of all of us. The Chairman, Commissioner and Staff of the ERC encourage that the campaign, the electoral procedures on November 12 and the period following be proliferated with respect and tolerance in a demonstration to ourselves and others that while we will disagree in the process, it is not a reason for hostility through hated.

Let us together use this opportunity and challenge ourselves to remove whatever barriers of togetherness and humanity that confront us as we endeavor collectively to promote harmony, unity and good relations. Elections must not be a process that divides us.

Let us also use this opportunity to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood and to make foremost the welfare of this land that is home to all of us; our Guyana.

The ERC takes this opportunity to extend best wishes to all the candidates who continue to dedicate their time to become representatives of the various constituencies; to all the staff and volunteers involved in the process and to you whether you are eligible to cast a ballot or not. Peace, during and after the process is in the hands of all of us.

What the people say

Dan Rahim “I hate to say this, but you people really don’t know what is going on in that place…the security issue is one problem, but there are many others that need to be looked into along with that issue.”

Kester Whyte “First, they need to identify every possible weakness with their security and structures, by going through the building plans; carrying out basic checks and even speaking to staff and inmates. Next, they can go over past escapes to see how they did it and what resources were used. They can also survey the surrounding areas for weaknesses and make improvements there as well. From this, they can start improving security and allocating a budget if that means more guards, electrified fences, tracking hounds, etc.”

Lester Glenn “I would say that they need to have more guards at the facility.”

Denisia Liddell “I think there should be better security systems in place. Also, staff from the Ministry of Social Protection can visit often to conduct talks to encourage the youths.

They can also have various programmes to keep them occupied.”

Sosheana Bhagwandin “The fact that juveniles escaped due to a compound that is not fenced properly, should be the first thing to be corrected.

Supervision of these youths should be strengthened and discipline should be enforced when they’re recaptured. Cameras and alarm systems should be put in place to avoid future mishaps. Also, additional able-bodied security personnel should be added to the compound while they execute their chores to closely monitor and observe their behaviour, so as to disrupt any premeditated getaway plan.”

GEA hosts ‘Express Your Energy’ forum...

But learn about energy conservation they did to jump start GEA’s activities for Caricom Energy Month (CEM) 2018.

The students represented six primary schools that were selected by the Regional Educational Office: 8th of May Primary, Sparta Primary, CV Nunes Primary, Taymouth Manor Primary, Queenstown Primary and Suddie Primary. The exuberance with which the students and their teachers, who joined in to support their pupils, conveyed their interpretation and knowledge of energy sources, sustainability, energy conservation and energy efficiency through artwork/pictorial illustrations, word search and conservation tips caused a few spectators to flock the

windows of the venue.

From its conception in 2012, the activity has targeted primary school students and was hosted this year by the GEA, in collaboration with the Hinterland Electrification Company (HECI) through the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB)-funded Public Awareness Project – “Promoting the Benefits of Renewable Energy Technologies and the Rational Use of Energy”.

District Education Officer (Primary) Shondelle Hercules, who made remarks on behalf of the Regional Education Officer, said that the timely initiative which was educational and presented in a fun format was enjoyed by both students and teachers.

Meanwhile, Primary Officer Netram Doobay said that “… the activity, even though it focused on energy, demonstrated extensive curriculum integration as the tasks the students had to complete exposed them to Social Studies, Grammar, Science, Art and would even aid them in composition writing…”.

He too expressed gratitude to the GEA and HECI for remembering Region Two and choosing to have their students benefit from the exercise.

The activity was a non-competitive one; therefore, students were not judged or ranked based on their illustrations. Rather, each student (and teacher) was awarded tokens of appreciation as an honor-

from page 11

ary ‘Energy Champion’. The energy-themed tasks pupils completed were word searches, listing of energy conservation measures and using art to depict renewable energy sources.

The main aim of “Express your Energy” was to tap into the creativity of future energy champions – children, by allowing them to express their views and perspectives on energy-related matters in a non-competitive environment.

In keeping with the promotion of sustainable energy development, CEM 2018 (November 1-30) is being celebrated under the theme “Clean Energy, Good Governance and Regulation: Generating Growth and Resilience.”

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mondAY, november 5, 2018

Regional

Brazil's next President declares N Korea welcomes Cuban war on 'fake news' media President to Pyongyang

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or Brazil’s right-wing President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, attacking critical press outlets almost daily on social media is not enough. Once in office, he vows to hit their bottom line.

With half a billion dollars in public-sector marketing budgets coming under his discretion, the fiery former Army Captain is threatening to slash ad buys with adversarial media groups, striking at the financial foundations of Brazil’s free press.

After a campaign in which Bolsonaro dismissed investigative reporting as “fake news” invented by a corrupt establishment and his supporters went after individual journalists, the threats are sending a chill through the country’s newsrooms.

Asked in a TV interview last week if he would respect press freedom even for his favourite foil, newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, Brazil’s largest circulation daily, Bolsonaro’s answer was curt.

“That newspaper is

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Brazil's new president-elect, Jair Bolsonaro, waves to supporters as he watches airplanes performing near his condominium at Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 31, 2018

done,” Bolsonaro said in a tense TV Globo interview.

“As far as I’m concerned with Government advertising — press that acts like that, lying shamelessly, won’t have any support from the federal government.”

While public funds are just a fraction of revenue at most major media groups, the prospect of a President out to punish unfriendly coverage has put many reporters on edge.

Several seasoned Journalists working for Brazil’s biggest news organisations told Reuters in re-

cent weeks they have started to throttle back their criticism, fearing backlash from a Bolsonaro government — and violence from his supporters.

Brazilian press watchdogs said there has been an escalation of threats and aggression against reporters.

Investigative journalism group Abraji began tracking the incidents in Brazil’s most polarised election since the return to democratic government in 1985 after two decades of military dictatorship. (Excerpt from Reuters)

J$5M worth of marijuana seized at Port of Kingston

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he Police seized more than half a tonne (1000 pounds) of marijuana at the Port of Kingston on Friday.

The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) said 15 packages containing the drug were found in a container during a routine patrol of

the port.

“When investigated, the packages were found to contain parcels of vegetable matter that was field tested to be marijuana weighing 1156.2 lbs with an approximate street value of J$5,781,000,” said JCA. The matter is current-

ly being investigated by the Border Protection Division of the Jamaica Customs Agency and the Jamaica Constabulary ForceNarcotics Division.

No arrest has been made in conjunction with the seizure. (Jamaica Observer)

Barbados sailing into bumper cruise season

uban President Miguel Diaz-Canel was due in Pyongyang on Sunday, North Korea’s State media reported, describing the visit as a “historic event” highlighting the “invincible friendship” of the two allies.

The visit comes amid stalled talks between North Korea and the United States and only days after Washington imposed fresh economic restrictions on Cuba.

Washington’s ties with Havana were fully restored in 2015 after more than half a century of enmity, but have deteriorated since President Donald Trump took office.

Communist Cuba is one of North Korea’s few remaining allies.

“The Korean people warmly welcome the visit to Pyongyang by Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez,” said an editorial carried by the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper.

“His current visit... is a historic event which powerfully demonstrates invincible friendship and unity and comradely friendship,” it added.

The paper featured a separate profile and photo of Diaz-Canel, who took office in April in a historic transition of power on the Caribbean island, succeeding

Raul Castro, who took over from his elder brother Fidel, father of the 1959 revolution.

No further details were given on the itinerary of his visit.

Fidel Castro visited North Korea in 1986 to meet founder-leader Kim Il-Sung, and Pyongyang held three days of official mourning when Castro died in November 2016.

North Korea sent a delegation led by Choe RyongHae, a senior aide to its leader Kim Jong Un, to Havana for Castro’s funeral.

Cuba in the past has flouted international sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme. (Excerpt from AFP)

Trinidad: Angostura execs' wild spending exposed

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amning claims of high-level mismanagement, wild spending and improper procurement practices involving top company officials which were made by low-level employees, sparked an in-depth audit into the operations of State-owned Angostura Holdings Ltd. The company, which has an asset base of over TT$3 billion, is one of the top performing subsidiaries of the CL Financial empire acquired by Government after CLF was unable to pay its debt from the 2009 bailout of the com­ pany. Its shares were also used by the Government to support the National Investment Fund in raising TT$4 billion to offset the national budget deficit.

The NIF bond is supported by some of the strongest CLF companies, with a collective market value of approximately TT$7.9 billion, including shares of Republic Financial Holdings Limited, One Caribbean

Angostura distillery at Laventille

Media Limited, West Indian Tobacco Company Limited, Angostura and Trinidad Generation Unlimited. The Government said the initial offer was oversubscribed and plans on second venture next year.

Since news of the Angostura investigation broke; however, people and organisations which invest-

ed in the NIF remain anxious about the outcome of the probe, according to one big investor. But there has been silence from the Finance Ministry and other Government Ministries on the matter, although Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has been on a recent campaign denouncing white-collar crime.

(Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Jamaican comedian to receive Marcus Garvey Lifetime Achievement Award

Serenade of the Seas was one of the ships docked in Barbados on Saturday (Picture by Insight Digital)

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arbados is sailing into a bumper cruise season with 77 ships due to make over 400 calls at the Bridgetown Port from October 2018 to April 2019 period.

Seven ships will be making inaugural calls during the six-month season, the largest being the <<Anthem of the Seas>>>

due to dock on January 13, with a passenger capacity of 4180 and a 1300-member crew.

The arrivals should better last year’s record when 818,752 passengers passed through the Port. The elevated projections for this year are the result of anticipated bustling port activity that will see as many as

seven ships berthed on one day in December, while on other days four or five ships will be in port at the same time.

Homeporting is also in for a boost with 165 homeporting calls expected, 42 of them by two new ships, the Marella Celebration and the Marella Explorer.

(nationnews)

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Oliver Samuels

he Washington-based Institute for Caribbean Studies (ICS) says it will bestow the Marcus Garvey Lifetime Achievement Award on Jamaican comedian, actor and playwright Oliver Samuels during its 25th Caribbean-American Heritage Awards Gala, on November 16.

“For his outstanding body of work and for bringing ‘Brand Jamaica’ to the performing arts locally and internationally, Samuels will be awarded the Marcus Garvey Lifetime

Achievement Award at the Caribbean American Heritage Awards Gala, which has as its theme, “A Celebration of Excellence and Service”,” said Dr Claire Nelson, ICS’ Jamaica-born founder and President.

She said Samuels was “widely considered to be one of Jamaica’s thespian luminaries”.

Born on November 4, 1948, in Harmony Hall, St Mary, Jamaica, Samuels grew up on a banana plantation, where his father worked as a casual labourer and his mother sold items on the estate.

“His involvement in drama began at the age of seven, when he and the other children on the plantation would sing and recite poetry on Friday nights,” she said. “It was to be the beginning of a lifetime love for all things dramatic for the poor boy who made good by adopting his mother’s belief that with hard work he could make it out of poverty.”

Trained at the Jamaica Theatre School from 1971 to 1973 where he participated in various productions, Samuels has appeared in no fewer than 13 national pantomimes, playing major roles, Nelson said. (Excerpt from CMC)

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guyanatimesgy.com

Around the World

Bahrain opposition leaders get life term over Qatar spying case

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ahrain's appeals court has sentenced three senior members of the country's Opposition movement to life in prison over charges of spying for neighbouring Qatar, according to a statement from the Public Prosecutor.

The verdict against Sheikh Ali Salman, who headed the now-outlawed al-Wefaq movement, as well as Sheikh Hassan Sultan and Ali al-Aswad came on Sunday, months after their acquittal by the high criminal court in June.

Sultan and al-Aswad were tried in absentia.

The trio was sentenced for "acts of hostility" against Bahrain and "communicating with Qatari officials... to overthrow constitutional or-

Sheikh Ali Salman is currently serving a four-year sentence in a separate case [File: Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP]

der", the Public Prosecutor's statement said.

The latest ruling can be appealed.

Salman is currently serving a four-year sentence in a separate case – "inciting ha-

tred" in the kingdom, which has seen mainly Shia protests against the Sunni monarchy since 2011.

In November, Salman and two other members of al-Wefaq were charged

with working for Qatari intelligence with the aim of overthrowing the Bahraini Government.

Rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have declared Salman and other jailed Opposition Leaders prisoners of conscience.

Sima Watling, Amnesty International's campaigner on Bahrain, told Al Jazeera from Beirut that the verdict was "absurd".

She said that Salman had phone conversations with the Foreign Minister of Qatar in 2011, urging Doha to mediate in Bahrain's political crisis, and the interaction was used six years later as a proof for spying charges.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

China motorway toll crash: At least 15 dead in Lanzhou

M

ore than a dozen people have been killed after a lorry lost control at a toll station in northwest China.

Dozens more were injured when the vehicle collided with a line of waiting cars in Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu, on Saturday.

The cause of the 31 vehicle pile-up is under investigation.

However, according to China's Xinhua news, the lorry driver told authorities his brakes failed as he travelled down a hill towards the toll station.

Xinhua puts the death toll at 15, with another 44 people injured.

The crash comes less than a week after 13 people were killed when a bus plunged off a bridge and into a river in Chongqing , south-western China. (BBC

News)

The serious accident was a result of faulty brakes, according to the lorry driver

T

A firefighter walks in the mud in the aftermath of a flood in Casteldaccia near Palermo [Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters]

F

ficials opened an investigation to find out if houses built near the river complied with safety norms.

In another incident, a 44-year-old man was found dead in his car near Vicari, also in the Palermo region, while a passenger in the car was missing.

In the town of Cammarata near Agrigento, a popular tourist destination for its ancient Greek temple ruins, the fire department said its divers were working to recover the bodies of two people swept away while driving on a road. (Excerpt from Al

Jazeera)

China also came out in support of "Pakistan's efforts for improvement of Pakistan-India relations and for settlement of outstanding disputes between the two countries"

C

hina on Sunday said it supported Pakistan's "quest for peace through dialogue" to settle the outstanding disputes with India and backed Islamabad's engagement with the Nuclear Suppliers group (NSG).

According to a joint statement issued after Prime Minister Imran Khan's talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, China backed Pakistan's efforts to improve ties with India to settle "outstanding disputes", without directly mentioning the Kashmir issue.

"China appreciates Pakistan's quest for peace

through dialogue, cooperation and negotiation, on the basis of mutual respect and equality, and supports Pakistan's efforts for improvement of Pakistan-India relations and for settlement of outstanding disputes between the two countries," the joint statement said.

In recent years, China has refrained from taking a public stance on the India-Pakistan ties, expressing hope for resolution of the disputes through dialogue. On the Kashmir issue, China's oft repeated stand was that it should be resolved peacefully through dialogue. (Excerpt from Economic Times)

Trump and Obama make duelling stops in US campaigns' closing rush

12 killed in Sicily Macron hails New as death toll in Caledonia vote to Italy floods mounts “remain French”

loods in Italy have killed 12 more people in the southern island of Sicily, taking the week's death toll past 30, according to authorities.

The latest deaths on Sunday include nine members of two families, who were spending a long weekend in a country home near Palermo that was overrun by water from a rapidly swelling river.

Among the victims were three children, aged one, three and 15.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called the disaster "an immense tragedy", while of-

China backs Pakistan's “quest for peace through dialogue” with India

he French archipelago of New Caledonia in the South Pacific has voted to remain part of France in a much-anticipated referendum on independence, according to official results.

About 56 per cent of voters rejected secession in Sunday's poll, with turnout above 80 per cent among the more than 174,000 voters registered to take part in the ballot.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the "majority" of New Caledonians had declared they wanted the territory to "remain French".

The archipelago, a cluster of islands home to about 270,000 people, is situated nearly 17,000 kilometres southeast of France.

"Voters were allowed to make a sovereign choice, with full knowledge of the facts and the relationship between New Caledonia and France," Macron said in a televised statement from the Elysee Palace in the French capital, Paris, on Sunday.

"I am proud we have finally passed this historic step together," he added.

Commenting on initial results released earlier on Sunday, Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas, reporting from Sydney, Australia, said the vote was pointing towards a "victory for those that said New Caledonia was much better off economically as part of France".

"France gives about US$1.5 billion a year to New Caledonia, that's about 15 per cent of its GDP, that would have been missed," Thomas said.

"There was concern, too, that an independent New Caledonia would quickly fall under the sphere of influence of China, which has an increasing footprint right across the Pacific," he added.

"Other Pacific island nations receive a lot of Chinese money in terms of aid projects and infrastructure but in return, Beijing expects political favours."

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

R

epublican Donald Trump and Democrat Barack Obama made duelling appearances on Sunday, trying to whip up turnout in the last 48 hours of a campaign in which polls show dozens of US congressional and gubernatorial races as too close to call.

The current and former presidents are still the most popular figures in their respective parties and their appearances are designed to stoke enthusiasm among core supporters in the late stages of a midterm congressional election widely seen as a referendum on Trump’s first two years in the White

House.

Opinion polls and election forecasters have made Democrats favourites on Tuesday to pick up the 23 seats they need to capture a majority in the US House of Representatives, which would enable them to stymie Trump’s legislative agenda and investigate his Administration.

Republicans are favoured to retain their slight majority in the US Senate, currently at two seats, which would let them retain the power to approve US Supreme Court and other judicial nominations on straight party-line votes. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Coptic Christian attack: Egypt Police “kill 19 attackers”

N

ineteen Islamist militants accused of carrying out a deadly attack on Christians in Egypt have been killed by Police, the Interior Ministry says.

They died in a shoot-out after Police pursued "fugitive terrorist elements" into the desert area west of Minya province, the statement said.

Seven Coptic Christians were killed in an attack on two buses near a monastery in Minya on Friday.

The Islamic State (IS) group has said it carried out

the attack.

It was the latest in a series of attacks by extremists on Egypt's Coptic Christian minority.

The Ministry said security forces had exchanged fire with "terrorist elements" they were pursuing, although it did not say exactly when the firefight happened.

The Ministry posted images of bodies and a tent in which the militants were said to have been hiding.

Guns, rifles and propaganda can be seen next to the bodies. (Excerpt from BBC News)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

mondAY, november 5, 2018

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

dilbert

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Put more time and effort into important relationships. Consider ways you can make improvements to how you treat others and take care of your needs.

The changes you want to make will come easily once you get started. If you put a little backbone behind your plans, you will excel. A personal matter should be dealt with privately.

A change of pace will lead to a better position and improve your relationship with your peers. Physical achievements look promising and will improve your outlook and appearance.

Think twice before you take on something that is physically impossible. Your desire to please someone will backfire if you cannot live up to your promises.

Offer only what’s feasible.

Making a couple of changes at home or work will give you a sense of accomplishment. Don’t let someone’s insecurity or jealousy ruin your enthusiasm. Be grateful for what you have.

Get serious about your personal goals. Make a todo list and get started. What you accomplish today will encourage those around you to take note and offer praise.

Emotions will flare up LIBRA (Sept. 23- quickly if someone is critical Oct. 23) or pushy. Look for the good in every situation and focus on being and doing your best.

WORD GAME TODAY’S WORD — ESCALATE (ESCALATE: ES-kuh-late: To increase, enlarge or intensify.)

SUDOKU

SATURDAY’S WORD — TRIUMPHS must pish pith prim prism purism purist push hump hurt shim ship shirt shrimp shut

sirup smith smut spit sprit spur spurt stir strip strum stum stump suit sump

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Take an innovative approach to life. Changes you make will encourage you to work hard to achieve your dreams. Channel your energy into making precise yet doable plans.

Get to the bottom of SAGITTARIUS things. Speak from the heart (Nov. 23- and find out where you stand.

Dec. 21) Question anyone giving you the runaround, and prepare to move forward with or without others.

Average mark 34 words Time limit 45 minutes Can you find 47 or more words in ESCALATE? The list will be published Monday. this thrum thump thus trim trip truism trump rump rush rust ruth mirth mist mush

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

solution for LAST PUBLISHED puzzle AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Be careful when dealing with sensitive issues. If you aren’t prepared to prove your claims, you are best off sitting tight and letting things settle down.

Put more time and effort into how you carry yourself and present your ideas. A financial gain will result if you make changes that will lead to a more efficient lifestyle.

Don’t feel you must embellish your plans to get others to pitch in. Your enthusiasm and hard work will draw attention, elicit suggestions and attract a potential partner.

MONdAY, november 5, 2018

19

Premier League…

Man City trash Southampton to go top M

anchester City cruised to victory over a sorry Southampton side to return to the top of the Premier League.

City took just six minutes to open the scoring as Wesley Hoedt smashed an attempted clearance of Leroy Sane’s cross into his own net, before Sergio Aguero doubled their lead by tapping in Raheem Sterling’s cross.

David Silva slammed home their third from Sane’s flick-on after 18 minutes but Danny Ings did pull one back from the spot after Ederson brought him down in the area.

Sterling then netted either side of the break to complete an impressive personal performance, while Sane added a late sixth to cap off a fine afternoon for Pep Guardiola’s men.

Both of the England forward’s goals were assisted

by Aguero, as the Argentine first crossed for Sterling to stroke in, before a slide-rule pass enabled the 23-year-old to finish emphatically.

Sane’s goal came deep into injury time, firing past Alex McCarthy following a lightning counter-attack with Southampton legs tiring.

Guardiola’s side have now won eight of their past nine matches across all competitions, although

McCarthy helpless, but before then the Blues had seen a number of dangerous attacks break down.

The home side eased off after this early blitz, which

out a Chelsea lead given to them by Spanish forward Morata’s clever shot-on-theturn.

Palace’s hopes of securing a crucial point van-

Raheem Sterling has now contributed to 11 goals in nine Premier League outings this term

Ings’ penalty was the first league goal they have conceded in six games.

Liverpool had moved above City after their draw with Arsenal on Saturday evening but the Reds held on to top spot for less than 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Saints are now seven Premier League games without a victory and lie 16th.

Free-scoring City

City’s thumping win marked the 12th time that Guardiola’s side have scored five or more goals in a single Premier League game since the Spaniard arrived at the club - no other team has done so on more than six occasions in the same timeframe.

And they threatened from the off, as

Alvaro Morata has scored in back-to-back league games for Chelsea for the first time since November 2017

Southampton had already been warned of their hosts’ attacking quality several times, before Hoedt’s attempted clearance ended up in his own net.

Aguero had already spurned one good chance before he turned in Sterling’s cross for his 150th Premier League goal, after the England forward and Bernardo Silva linked up classily.

David Silva then added his side’s third in the 18th minute, his powerful volley from Sane’s flick-on leaving

saw them enjoy 81% of the possession in the opening 20 minutes, with a fifth straight league win over Southampton already in the bag.

Morata double helps Blues go second

Alvaro Morata scored twice to sink Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge and help lift Chelsea above Liverpool into second spot in the Premier League table.

Andros Townsend’s superb low finish had cancelled

ished when they conceded two goals in five second-half minutes.

Substitute Eden Hazard marked his return from a back injury by delivering the free-kick for Morata to fire his second before Pedro put the game out of Palace’s reach.

While unbeaten Chelsea stay two points behind leaders Manchester City, Palace remain three points above the relegation zone after a seventh defeat in 11 league games.

The headlines will be about Morata - the former Real Madrid and Juventus forward has now scored five Premier League goals plus another in the Europa League this season.

Yet the return of Hazard added much needed energy and flair to a team that had struggled to open up Palace in the opening hour.

Having missed the previous three league and cup games with a back injury, the Belgian made up for lost time. He replaced Willian in the 64th minute with the score locked at 1-1.

Ninety-one seconds after his introduction, Chelsea were back in the lead after Palace’s defence failed to deal with Hazard’s free-kick into box allowing Morata to drill home.

Five minutes later it was 3-1, Pedro - who had delivered the pass for Morata to break the deadlock in the first half - with an unstoppable finish after Marcos Alonso’s low cross.

Since arriving in the summer of 2017, Morata has struggled to convince his critics he is a consistent goal source for Chelsea.

Yet his tireless performance against Palace could well win him a few more admirers even though he missed a chance to complete his hat-trick in the closing stages after being sent clean through by Hazard. (BBC Sport)

UFC 230: Cormier submits Lewis to set up potential Brock Lesnar fight T

Daniel Cormier is unbeaten in 15 heavyweight fights

wo-division world champion Daniel Cormier cemented his position as one of the best pound-forpound fighters by dominating Derrick Lewis at UFC 230.

His win in New York could set up a bout with Brock Lesnar, who has not competed inside the octagon for two years.

Despite conceding height, reach, weight and power advantages to the challenger, twotime Olympic wrestler Cormier dominated the contest.

He submitted his man early in the second round via rear-naked choke.

It was arguably one of the most straightforward wins of the 39-year-old’s recent UFC career, as he extended his undefeated record as a heavyweight.

But Cormier acknowledged that he felt the challenger’s power during the contest and paid tribute to fan favourite Lewis, who came into the contest with the most knockouts in UFC heavyweight history.

“Everything he did had unbelievable power,” he said.

“What a guy Derrick Lewis is. I truly do appreciate him. It was an honour to share the octagon with him.”

One man who was at that level a few years ago is Lesnar. The WWE superstar won the UFC heavyweight title in remarkable fashion back in 2008 in only his fourth professional fight when he stopped UFC legend Randy Couture at UFC 91.

He lost his title to Cain Velasquez in his third

defence, then retired from MMA after being stopped by Alistair Overeem in December 2011.

A comeback at UFC 200 in the summer of 2016 saw him defeat Mark Hunt, only to have the result ruled a no-contest after it was found he had tested positive for the banned substance clomiphene. Now with his suspension served, the path is clear for Lesnar to return.

Cormier says he wants to retire on his 40th birthday on 20 March next year, but before he does, he hopes to face Lesnar in a dream bout that would earn him the biggest payday of his sporting career.

On Friday, Lesnar won the universal title in the scripted world of WWE, where he has performed for the majority of the past six years.

Addressing Lesnar down the camera lens with a big grin, Cormier said: “Brock Lesnar - when you come, bring that brand new WWE title so I feel like being a WWE champion, too. Let’s go.

“Bring that belt if you’re going to come to my house.” (BBC Sport)

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

MONdAY, november 5, 2018

Stand-alone ICC Women’s World T20

Bangladesh topple Ireland in 1st warm-up – Ahmed, Alam and Garth top performers

Sanjida Islam on the go during her matchwinning innings against Ireland at Providence on Sunday night

Bangladesh celebrating the dismissal of Kim Garth, who was run out for 34 (John Ramsingh photos)

By Brandon Corlette

T

he first of the five ICC Women’s World T20 warm-up matches to be played in Guyana commenced in calm and cool conditions prevailing at the National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Bangladesh won this encounter by six wickets, chasing Ireland’s 84 comfortably.

Opting to bowl first under cloudy conditions, the Bangladeshi women got off to a perfect start, with opening bowler Jahanara Alam removing the experienced Ireland batter Clare Shillington for 2 in the third over of the match. Maintaining their accuracy, the Bangladeshi bowlers conceded only 23 runs in the power play.

The 17-year-old Irish batter Gabby Lewis made her way to the crease, and hit Bangladesh captain Salma Khatun for a boundary with the fifth ball she faced. Wrist spinner Rumana Ahmed was intro-

duced at the Pavilion end, where she troubled the Irish batters with her tempting deliveries. Her first victim was Rebecca Stokell, who was stumped brilliantly by the efficient Bangladeshi wicketkeeper Shamima Sultana for 5.

Wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals, as Ahmed removed the Irish skipper for 1. The Bangladeshi women bowled a disciplined line and length around the offstump line, causing the Irish women great difficulty to score briskly.

Gabby Lewis, who looked threatening, was the only Irish batter with a strike rate over 100, but she was removed for 15, which included two boundaries.

Number seven batter Kimberly Garth looked to rebuild the innings and take her team to a respectable total, but her teammates offed little support. Garth was the top-scorer with a stroke-filled 34 from 35 deliveries, which included three fours and

the only maximum in the innings.

Garth dumped fast bowling all-rounder Lata Mondal over deep square leg boundary in the sixteenth over, but Medium-pacer Alam, returning for her second spell, dislodged Garth stumps in the final over of the innings.

The best Bangladeshi bowler on show was 27-year-old leg spinner Rumana Ahmed, who grabbed 3-9 in four overs. She had an economy rate of 2.2, inclusive of a wicket maiden bowled to Irish captain Laura Delany. Medium pacer Jahanara Alam bowled a consistent line and length to end with 2 for 11 in three overs.

In pursuit of Ireland’s 84, the Bangladeshi women encountered minor hiccups. They blazed away in the power play to amass 37 runs, but after the power play, wickets came in proverbial bunches for the Irish bowlers.

The run-out of Bangladeshi opener Shamina Sultana sparked a mini-collapse influenced by all-rounder Kim Garth. Bowling the seventh over, Garth’s second delivery removed Ayasha Rahman for a fluent 25. Continuing her brilliance, she struck with her fifth and sixth deliveries, finding herself on a hat trick. Faragana Hoque and Sanjida Islam, however, ensured that Garth and Ireland cause no further damage. The duo saw their team to victory with an unbeaten 48- run partnership, with Hoque completing the chase with a boundary.

Kimberly Garth returned figures of 3 for 4 from her two overs.

Bangladesh, finishing on 86-4 with 32 balls to spare, won the first warmup match by six wickets.

In addition to the practice match, the two teams engaged in a super over match for practice purposes.

The super over, bowled by Ahmed, saw Ireland batting first and scoring 5 for 2, losing Shillington and Lewis.

Bangladesh easily chased the target, finishing on 8 in the super over.

Rahaman and Islam were the notout batters.

Prior to the official matches scheduled for Friday, the Bangladeshi women have gained confidence ahead of their first encounter.

South American 10K…

Forde takes 2 in 2!

I

Kenisha Pascal poses with her accolades won in the Senior Women’s category

t was an emphatic finish in the National Park.

With a massive crowd cheering on Guyana’s best distance runners, they sprinted through the Park’s twists and turns in hopes of emerging victorious in the second leg of the South American 10K Road Race.

The Guyana leg of this race is often associated with piercing sunshine, but weather conditions this time remained favourable throughout the 10K event, with the skies being overcast and sunshine less than threatening. The athletes seemed to thrive in this weather, with the pack of top runners staying banded together for much of the race, which stretched

from Carifesta Avenue, with a U-turn at UG, onto the JB Latchmansingh Road, with a right turn into Thomas Lands, and into the National Park.

The Kitty Public Road proved to be the true test for the competitors, as the group slowly disbanded, with the usual suspects looking to forge ahead. At this point Jonathan Fagundes led the race, with Cleveland ‘Little Kenyan’ Forde expectedly foot-to-foot behind; but, in his usual nature, Forde was content to lag behind.

His transformation was, however, evident when the racers took their first turn into the National Park. It was as if the distance stalwart had

suddenly become a sprinter, racing past one competitor at a time in order to get ahead. It was here that the gauntlet was thrown down, as Winston Missigher mounted a challenge to his longtime rival. Unlike their last 10K meet on home soil, Missigher was unable to match strides with Forde, and the Little Kenyan took the second leg of the South American 10K in 33.07s, with Missigher close behind in a time of 33.09s.

Rounding off the top trio was Cleveland Thomas with 34.18s.

Jonathan Fagundes eventually ended on 34.51s, but the

Cleveland Forde crossing the finish line in yet another 10K win ahead of colleague Winston Missigher

Other winners included:

Male 40-49 Masters 1st Francis King Suriname 2nd Adrean Thomas Guyana 3rd Neville Chabrol Guyana

Male 50-59 Masters 1st Curtis Cox Trinidad & Tobago 2nd Gary Hartog Guyana 3rd Ivelaw Archibald Guyana Male 60+ Masters 1st Llewellyn Gardner Guyana 2nd Gladstone Hopkinson Guyana 3rd Maurice Fagundes Guyana Female 35+ Masters 1st Carla Benjamin Guyana 2nd Carla Adams Guyana 3rd Norath Gonzales Paraguay

true class act in the race was 19-year-old Rekie Williams, who was initially entered in the junior category but proved himself to be among the top performers with a fifth place run of 35.08s.

The female senior category held similar excitement, with Grenadian Kenisha Pascal taking top honours, but being closely trailed by Guyanese Sheama Tyrell and Kezra Murray who finished in second and third respectively.

Aaliyah Moore and Tia Azore finished of the women’s seniors’ top five.

In the junior category, Daniel Harvey of the Running Brave club strutted to a win ahead of Morvin Hamilton, Devon Giles and Murphy

Nash, who finished second, third and fourth respectively.

Over in the female juniors, Leyanna Charles took the top spot, with Lisa Douglas, Sherrilyn Woolford and Tiah Tornhill finishing in the runners-up spots.

The top trio in the men’s division will now set their sights on Panama, where the third leg of the three-part race will conclude. Forde, Missigher and Thomas are currently leading the competition, having finished in exactly that order in the first leg, which was hosted in Suriname. There, Forde won in a time of 33.52s; Missigher was close behind, with a time of 33.53s, and Thomas finished on 33.54s.

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he Theatre Guild came alive on Saturday when the Stage of Champions III was hosted. Surinamese Wendel Setropawiro claimed the Open title, while Stefeni Tjon-A-San and Emmerson Campbell both dusted aside the competition to each complete a three-peat. Both Tjon-A-San and Campbell went home $100,000 richer for winning their segments.

Setropawiro, winner in the heavyweight class, was

way ahead of the competition, and flexed his way to the Mr ‘Stage of Champions’ overall title. But before winning the overall pose down of the Champions of Champions against Marlon Bennet (154), Shawn Roberts (light middleweight), Caerus Cipriani (welterweight) and Jejpaul Sammy (bantamweight), Setropawiro had a very close battle against local muscleman Jermin Jones.

Setropawiro claimed the

$200,000 first prize, while Bennett was adjudged the second place finisher and Roberts cashed in on the third place finish.

The judges awarded the Men’s Physique Showdown Trophy to 2018 CAC bronze medalist Emmerson Campbell, with the Suriname pair of Rudolph Gerowcosta and Randal Haakmat placing second and third in the 10man line-up.

In the Ms Bikini seg-

ment, Tjon-A-San upstaged Jawelle Singoojojo and Priscilla Calor in the four-woman category.

Second and third place finishers, in the Bikini and Physique classes earned $40,000 and $20,000 respectively.

The organisers of ‘Stage of Champions’ dubbed the event a success, and have declared that they would look to raise the profile of the fourth edition of the fixture in 2019.

2018 GCB Female Franchise U-17 Secondary Schools T20 League…

GUYANA Wins for Essequibo, East Bank OF THE

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s the 2018 GCB Female Franchise Under-17 T20 League continued with Round Five being staged at the Bush Lot and Enterprise Grounds, Essequibo dismantled Upper Corentyne, while East Bank thrashed West Berbice, and Lower Corentyne humbled East Coast.

At Enterprise, Upper

Corentyne won the toss and elected to field. Essequibo then took advantage of the well-prepared surface, scoring 78 for 2 from a match reduced to 10 overs due to early morning showers. Number three batter Lisa Charles, who took the crease in the fifth over, scored an aggressive 40 from 14 balls against the Upper Corentyne attack, which saw Briteny Mc Allye

being the lone wicket-taker.

In reply, Upper Corentyne struggled to 47 from 10 overs, with no player scoring more than five runs. Analesia D’Aguiar and Onicia Stoby were the most instrumental bowlers, grabbing 2 for 8 and 2 for 11 respectively, while Lalitha Patterson took 1 for 8. Essequibo eventually won the match by 31 runs.

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GUYANATIMESgy.COM

MONdAY, november 5, 2018

Gutsy Persaud retains Guyana Open title

A

vinash Persaud added yet another Guyana Open Championship to his growing portfolio of golf achievements, as he became the 9-time Male winner following his dominant performance in the 2018 Guyana Open Championship, which concluded on Sunday at the Lusignan Golf Club.

At the end of the 1st day’s play, Persaud had already created history by being the first golfer to gross 1

under par at the Lusignan Golf Course in a Guyana Open tournament. Oozing supreme confidence ahead of the Open, Persaud maintained firm control of the competition when action resumed early Sunday morning.

Reigning Ladies Champ Christine Sukhram was likewise in the spotlight, as she also managed to ward off threats to reclaim her title as the best grossing female

Avinash Persaud and Christine Sukhram

in her tussle with two of Guyana’s best female golfers.

The ‘A’ Flight – Handicap 0 – 9 in which Persaud was fixed had a number of top golfers vying for his crown. He faced the likes of Mohanlall Dinanauth, Richard Haniff and others, but the master golfer emerged winner of his category by five strokes, to complete an emphatic win.

In the Female category, Joaan Deo, Shanella Webster and defending champ

Sukhram, who have each previously won the Guyana Open Female Champion spot, were closely placed at the end of day one, with Deo in first place, Webster second and Sukhram 3rd.

The champ somehow found the fortitude to stage a brave fight-back, and she bettered her arch-rivals to emerge with the best Gross Score of the Ladies Handicap group.

BCB Pepsi 50-Over First Division cricket…

Turbo Knockout Football tournament commences tonight Shepherd, Swammy superb as Tucber Park humble West Berbice

– Rahaman, Campbell shine for Rose Hall Canje

By Brandon Corlette

G

Flashback: Turbo Manager Samuel Arjune (centre) hands over the C/ship Trophy to Camptown FC Captain Lezhan Lord, who is flanked by MVP Richie Richardson (3rd from left)

T

he second annual Turbo Knockout Football competition gets underway this evening at the Ministry of Education Ground on Carifesta Avenue with a double-header scheduled to kick-off at 18:30 hours.

In what is expected to be an intriguing opening encounter, Pele Football Club will go head-to-head against the Mocha side Riddim Squad.

In the feature showdown of the night, Elite

League top-runner Western Tigers will take on Northern Rangers from 20:30 hrs.

The Petra-organised tournament then resumes on Wednesday evening with another two matches: Santos meeting Buxton United in the curtain-raiser, while inaugural runners-up Police Football Club wrap up the night when they battle Beacon United.

These matches are scheduled to be contested at the same times and venue as those of the previous contest.

The other teams slated to participate in the competition include defending champions Camptown Football Club, Mahaica Determinators, Buxton Stars, Grove HiTech, Pouderoyen, Fruta Conquerors, and Den Amstel.

Camptown, in 2017, carted off $500,000 for triumphing over Police in the tournament’s final, while Pouderoyen FC won the third place showdown against Grove Hi-Tech.

uyana Jaguars player, Tucber Park Cricket Club (TPCC) skipper Romario Shepherd, playing in the Pepsi First Division tournament staged by the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) -- his first club match this season, even as the tournament approaches its conclusion -- stroked a brilliant 88 against a West Coast Berbice side.

His compatriot Leon Swammy copped 6 for 17 as TPCC won the encounter by 123 runs.

In this match, played at the Bush Lot Ground on the West Coast of Berbice, Tucber Park, batting first under riveting sunshine, posted 188 all out, with superstar Romario Shepherd rocketing the ball to all parts of the ground as he plundered the bowling.

Compiling a scintillating 88, Shepherd was the main contributor with the bat. Nial Smith, batting at number 9, scored a brisk 20; and Garfield Benjamin chipped in with 15.

K Joseph, K Ramoo, A Dutchin, S Adams and S McPherson picked up two wickets each for West Coast Berbice.

Chasing 189 for victory, West Berbice were sent packing for a paltry 65. They had come prepared to face the wrath of Shepherd, but the show belonged to Leon Swammy. The Guyana Under-17 fast bowler ripped the heart out of the West Berbice batting line-up, finishing with caKwesi Mickle

reer best figures of 6 for 17.

The consistent off-spinner Kwesi Mickle picked up 3 for 23 to polish off a complete team effort.

Rose Hall rises

Over at the Port Mourant Ground on the Corentyne, an exciting contest took place between Rose Hall Canje Community Centre (RHCCC) and Police. On a slow and dry track, RHCCC took first strike and managed to score 119 all out, with the power-hitting Michael Campbell scoring a solid 40, while the experienced Ameer Rahaman chipped in with an attractive 20.

The most successful bowler for Police was Michael Tyndall, who grabbed 3 for 25 with his aggressive leftarm spin.

Michael is the older brother of former Guyana Under-19 speedster Sylus Tyndall.

The law enforcers’ reply got off to a nightmare start, with the deadly duo of Michael Campbell and Ameer Rahaman returning with the ball to destroy the Police batting order. The Police were bowled out for an embarrassing 82, with T Drakes top scoring with 35 and G Grant scoring 25.

The off-spinner Rahaman had magical figures of 4 for15, while fast bowler Campbell swung the ball brilliantly to end with figures of 4 for 25. Rose Hall Canje Community Centre (RHCCC) defeated Police by 37 runs.

This is the Rose Hall Canje team’s first time playing in a First Division tournament, and they competed brilliantly throughout the tournament.

Leon Swammy

guyanatimesgy.com

MONdAY, november 5, 2018

23

Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya usher India home in low-scoring scrap W

est Indies’ nextgen T20I stars, who were plucked out the Caribbean Premier League 2018, were tipped to challenge India more than their ODI and Test sides had done. Their batsmen cobbled only 109 for 8, but their bowlers, led by debutant quick Oshane Thomas, ambushed India’s top order and ran them close, before Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya, also on debut, ushered the hosts home.

Krunal, whose first touch with the ball was a fumble to the boundary in the game’s first over, hit the winning runs with an eye-catching chip over extra-cover. He had also played a part with the ball, claiming the wicket of his IPL team-mate Kieron Pollard while conceding only 15 runs.

It was anybody’s game when 21-year-old Thomas and his captain Carlos Brathwaite pinned India down to 45 for 4 inside eight overs. Thomas set the speegun on fire - like he had done at the CPL and in the ODI series ripping out both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan with 147kph inswingers. It was the third time in three innings on this tour that he had nailed the stumps of Dhawan.

Brathwaite then dug the ball into the pitch and had Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul holing out for 1 and 16 respectively.

Thomas continued to hit speeds north of 145kph, leaving Karthik

and Manish Pandey ducking and weaving. At one point, Brathwaite even deployed Pollard at forward short leg.

Karthik and Pandey saw him and Brathwaite off, putting on 38 for the fifth wicket off 45 balls.

Left-arm spinner Khary Pierre, who like Krunal bowled constricting lines, gave India further jitters, when he beat Pandey with dip and turn, drawing a return catch. At that point India needed 27 off 30 balls.

While Karthik simply defended tightly

or knocked the ball into the gaps, Krunal was more adventurous; even venturing a reverse-sweep off his third ball. They ultimately sealed the game with five wickets and 13 balls to spare in India’s first-ever T20I at home without MS Dhoni.

West Indies’ T20I lineup was dripping with flair and depth - they had hitters until No. 10 - but their troubles at the top set them up for failure. In the absence of their gun openers Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis, West Indies used a make-shift opening pair in Shai Hope, who wasn’t even in the T20I squad in the first place and was later added as the injured Andre Russell’s replacement, and Dinesh Ramdin, who had laboured to 24 off 30 balls in his most recent game as an opener, in the CPL final ear-

lier this year. Before that, Ramdin had opened only twice in competitive cricket - both occasions came in 2007.

He was uncertain against the swing of left-arm quick Khaleel Ahmed, but it was Umesh Yadav, who had got a game in place of the ill Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who found Ramdin’s Dinesh Karthik saw India to another win

Krunal Pandya and Dinesh Karthik saw India to a tight win

outside edge. In the next over, Hope was involved in a farcical mix-up that might break Youtube hit

counters. After he clipped the ball away to the right of short midwicket, Rahul hunted it down but lobbed the ball over wicketkeeper Karthik’s head. Both Hope and Shimron Hetmyer were dashing towards the non-striker’s end by the time Pandey swooped in from backward point and effected a run-out, despite colliding with Karthik.

Hetmyer then flickered briefly before Jasprit Bumrah bounced him out with a 141kph short ball that was aimed at the armpit. Pollard, West Indies’ most experienced batsman,

was all at sea against both swing and spin, as he tiptoed to 14 off 26 balls, before Krunal sent him off with a kiss.

It turned into a fullblown collapse when Darren Bravo, Rovman Powell and Brathwaite all fell to Kuldeep Yadav. At 63 for 7 in 14.5 overs, West Indies were in danger of being dismissed for a sub-100 total, but Fabien Allen ( 27 off 20 balls) and Keemo Paul (15* off 13 balls) helped their side avoid that ignominy.

Thomas’ blistering pace then made their total of 109 look bigger but not big enough. (ESPNcricinfo)

3

SCOREBOARD

West Indies Innings (20 overs maximum) SD Hope run out (Rahul/ Pandey) 14 D Ramdin † c †Karthik b Yadav 2 SO Hetmyer c †Karthik b Bumrah 10 KA Pollard c Pandey b Pandya 14 DM Bravo c Dhawan b Kuldeep Yadav 5 R Powell c †Karthik b Kuldeep Yadav 4 CR Brathwaite (c) lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 4 FA Allen c Yadav b Ahmed 27 KMA Paul not out 15 K Pierre not out 9 Extras (lb 2, w 3) 5 TOTAL (8 wickets, 20 Overs, RR: 5.45) 109 Did not bat: O Thomas Fall of wickets: 1-16 (D Ramdin, 2.1 ov), 2-22 (SD Hope, 3.1 ov), 3-28 (SO Hetmyer, 4.4 ov), 4-47 (KA Pollard, 9.2 ov), 5-49 (DM Bravo, 10.1 ov), 6-56 (R Powell, 12.3 ov), 7-63 (CR Brathwaite, 14.5 ov), 8-87 (FA Allen, 17.6 ov) BOWLING: UT Yadav (4-0-36-1), KK Ahmed (4-1-16-1), JJ Bumrah

(4-0-27-1), KH Pandya (4-0-151), K Yadav (4-0-13-3) India Innings (target: 110 runs from 20 overs) RG Sharma (c) c †Ramdin b Thomas 6 S Dhawan b Thomas 3 KL Rahul c Bravo b Brathwaite 16 RR Pant c Bravo b Brathwaite 1 MK Pandey c & b Pierre 19 KD Karthik † not out 31 KH Pandya not out 21 Extras (b 4, lb 5, w 4) 13 TOTAL (5 wickets, 17.5 Overs, RR: 6.16) 110 Did not bat: Kuldeep Yadav, JJ Bumrah, KK Ahmed, UT Yadav Fall of wickets: 1-7 (RG Sharma, 0.6 ov), 2-16 (S Dhawan, 2.5 ov), 3-35 (RR Pant, 5.4 ov), 4-45 (KL Rahul, 7.3 ov), 5-83 (MK Pandey, 14.6 ov) BOWLING: O Thomas (4-0-212), KMA Paul (3.5-0-30-0), CR Brathwaite (4-1-11-2), K Pierre (4-0-16-1), KA Pollard (1-012-0), FA Allen (1-0-11-0)

Ali-Mohamed, Scott among stars in GCA/NBS 40-Over tourney Ronaldo AliMohamed

T

he Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA)/New Building Society’s 2nd Division 40-Over tourney played this past Saturday at venues across the city saw top performances coming from a number of local players.

At the Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO ) Ground, the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) boys handed Ace Warriors a 5-wicket defeat, thanks to Renaldo Ali-Mohamed’s blitz of 62 from a meagre 17 deliveries, with six sixes and five fours taking his side to 143 for 5 within 13 overs.

M a r l o n Persaud (17) and Timothy McCalmont (35) chipped in with useful

knocks in support of Ali-Mohamed.

Batting first, Rawle Enmore (20), Mortland Ward (28), Davindra Lall (20 unbeaten) and Miguel Parks (19) steered the Ace Warriors to 142 all out. Seamer Bernard Bailey, with 2 for 24, and hauls from Gavin Singh (3-27) and Chetram Persaud (2-17), completed a good bowling performance for the winners.

At the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) Ground, National spinner Steven Sankar made a defiant 40 as the home team were mowed down for 106. Leon Allicock (3-28) and Darshan Persaud (2-16) shared five wickets as GYO recorded a good win.

DCC had some glimmer of hope when Windies U-19 pacer Qumar Torrington (225), ex-West Indies U-19 left-arm spinner Ashmead Nedd (2-20), and Xaiee Smith (2-23) produced good returns; but were unable to stop Persaud from hitting a match-winning 41 to take GYO to 110-7, which caused GYO to win by 3 wickets.

The main attraction of the tournament was provided by Jeremiah Scott, who blasted a 42-ball ton at the Malteenoes Ground to take his side past the Diplomats. The

16- year-old clobbered nine sixes and 7 fours as MSC racked up 196 for 5 in 20 overs, after rain had reduced the match by some overs.

Veteran Marcus Watkins smoked five sixes and two fours in his 46, as Andre Foster did the damage for Diplomats, snaring 3 for 36.

Diplomats, in reply, folded for a paltry 75 for 9, with Mortimer King (17) and opener Anthony Fraser (16) being the main scorers.

MSC bowling saw Wayne Bollers taking 2 wickets for 2 runs.

Watkins returned to grab 2 for 20, while Nkosi Barker took 2 for 19 and Ntini Permaul took 2 for 21, as they all starred with the ball.

Jeremiah Scott

MONdAY, november 5, 2018

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Stand-alone ICC Women’s World T20

Bangladesh topple Ireland in 1st warm-up Page 20

– Ahmed, Alam and Garth top performers BCB Pepsi 50-Over First Division cricket…

Shepherd, Swammy superb as Tucber Park humble West Berbice – Rahaman, Campbell shine for Rose Hall Canje

Bangladesh had lots to celebrate after winning the toss at Providence on Sunday (John Ramsingh photo)

South American 10K… Page 20

Reckie Williams (in blue) often took the lead ahead of his much more experienced counterparts

Page 22

Forde takes 2 in 2!

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