Guyana Times - Wednesday, October 24, 2018

P13 Yesu Persaud’s life achievements celebrated

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

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 3725

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Court orders GECOM not to strike off “fraudulent” names from LGE list

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Singh, Brassington challenge

AG no-show in court, case delayed P10

Page 3

“Is frustration mek I choke the woman and take her things” – man tells court P8 2 years after loan approved

Road linking ECD with P9 EBD yet to commence

…decision another blow to Guyana’s democracy – PPP Attorneys-at-Law Anil Nandlall and Adrian Anamayah with some of the residents who said that they were tricked into signing the Alliance For Change (AFC) backer’s form leaving the Berbice High Court on Tuesday (Andrew Carmichael photo)

BBCI toll increase

Tax collection up, but gold declarations down Region 2 farmers forced to destroy 1000 acres of rice overtaken by bugs

FITUG slams Govt indecisiveness, petty politicking

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…says bridge was a wise investment

Page 9

Teachers’ wages impasse P9

GTU still uncertain about timeframe for signing new pact

Page 11

CAPAM delegates impressed with Guyana’s Smart Classroom P14

Guyanese Bishop charged for P7 killing T&T wife

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BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, October 24 – a night retraction at 04:30h and a day retraction from 14:30h-16:00h and Thursday, October 25 – 05:00h-06:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Wednesday, October 24 – 15:55h-17:25h and Thursday, October 25 – 16:30h-18:00h.

Court orders GECOM not to strike off “fraudulent” names from LGE list

…decision another blow to Guyana’s democracy – PPP

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny intervals can be expected throughout the morning, with sunny skies dominating in the afternoon. Clear skies can be expected in the evening, with temperatures ranging between 21 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly to East North-easterly to Northeasterly between 2.23 metres and 4.91 metres.

High Tide: 04:07h and 16:20h reaching maximum heights of 2.71 metres and 2.79 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 09:56h and 22:16h reaching minimum heights of 0.50 metre and 0.39 metre respectively.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2018

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

Attorneys-at-Law Anil Nandlall and Adrian Anamayah with some of the residents who said they were tricked into signing the Alliance For Change backer’s form

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he People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has come out swinging against Tuesday’s dismissal of a case that sought to compel the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to remove names from a backers list; noting that underhand tactics were used during the hearing.

According to the Party in a statement, the Police report that was submitted to Berbice High Court Judge Navindra Singh contained several pieces of inaccurate information and misrepresentation of testimony from residents of Whim/Bloomfield.

Noting that electoral democracy and citizens’ right to vote for a party of their choice suffered a blow with the ruling, the party gave another example of the Police being “unable” to locate several members of the Nagamootoo family.

“It would be recalled that the Judge ordered a Police report into (the) allegations.

The persons who were present in court explained to the media after the court hearing that the report did not accurately reflect what they said to Police Officers who interviewed them,” the Party stated.

“This was confirmed by officials of the PPP/Civic who were present when these interviews were conducted by the Police. Significantly, the Police in the report claimed that they were unable to locate Abraham Nagamootoo, Mavis Nagamootoo and other members of the Nagamootoo family and other AFC [Alliance For Change] candidates who were implicated in the statements given by the residents.”

According to the Party, it was left in no doubt that the Police investigation, and the ensuing report, were perverted by and contaminated with political interference. Even so, the report still contained damning revelations.

“For example, all of the persons interviewed and whose names are on the AFC list of backers made it clear that they did not know they were signing a document supporting the AFC; that they (don’t) support the AFC and that they all requested that their names be removed from

those particular lists.

“This finding is repeated 12 times in the report and on each occasion, these persons asserted their support for the PPP/C. Worse yet there is one person who said he did not sign at all. In the end, no matter how much you turn it or twist it, the bottom line is these AFC candidates have 50 persons who are on public record saying to the world that they are not supporting the candidates they are supposed to be backing.

The Party noted that despite all of this, however, the court still refused to interfere with this violation of these persons fundamental right to support a political party of their choice, by removing their names from those lists.

Police report

It was after reviewing the Police report that Justice Navindra Singh dismissed the court case brought against the Chief Election Officer of (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield and the Returning Officer for

Bloomfield /Whim, Orlando Persaud.

In the Fixed Date Application, PPP/C Candidate Shafraz Beekham had claimed that he and 49 others were misled by AFC representatives into signing as nominators on the AFC’s Lists of Candidates.

Justice Singh had ordered the Police investigation to determine whether the claims were valid on October 11, 2018, the investigative report was presented by the Judge to the Court on Tuesday and after careful review.

In dismissing the matter after a look at the police report, Singh indicated that there was no evidence of fraud, trickery or threat. As such, the Judge noted that there was no basis to ask the Chief Elections Officer to ‘strike out’ the names of the nominators from the AFC’s Lists of Candidates.

It had been reported previously that at a meeting between GECOM Commissioners on September 25, 2018, it was determined that the deadline for the submission of statutory affidavits to remove names that were fraudulently added to lists would be at 23:55h on

Justice Navindra Singh

September 26, 2018.

That was before these electors reportedly received a hard time from Returning Officers who allegedly refused to remove person’s names from the list when requested.

This is despite the fact that these persons complained of either being tricked into signing the lists or their signatures even being forged.

To compound the matter, the CEO was allegedly out of touch, absent from his office and could not be reached personally or by telephone to give any directions to the offending ROs after 14:30h on September 26. At a press conference afterwards, Lowenfield later claimed he was with his lawyer.

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

Crime situation

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t is no surprise that the security forces are receiving severe blows for its ineffective response to the crime situation gripping the country at present.

Over the past few days, bandits have been creating havoc in communities across the country and citizens are expressing a deep sense of fear that they could be pounced upon at any time. We have seen the most brazen attacks recently which left many businesses and ordinary citizens wondering when the authorities would be able to get a firm grip and arrest the situation once and for all.

To begin with, the Government, in particular the Public Security Minister, seems incapable of dealing with the crime situation. To date, in spite of a number of brazen attacks, the authorities are just making promises to citizens that the security situation in the country will improve. The bottom line is citizens are losing patience with the Government, particularly the sector that is responsible for ensuring citizens enjoy some level of comfort and safety. Citizens are demanding more from those elected to serve their interests and it is only reasonable that they fulfill those expectations.

As recent as Monday, gunmen robbed a coconut vendor, who operates a 24h stall at Bourda Market to sustain himself and his family. Also on Monday, bandits beat and hijacked the car of a Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara man, who works taxi as a part-time job to supplement his family’s income.

Also on Sunday, armed bandits pounced on a La Penitence, Georgetown contractor in another brazen robbery attack, carting off with the man’s valuables.

Also this weekend, a Bachelor’s Adventure, East Coast Demerara (ECD) shopkeeper was shot after he was attacked by six armed men. In Berbice, there are daily robberies as reported in the press.

These most recent cases should serve as a reminder that criminal elements are not afraid of carrying out their criminal acts and certainly the security apparatus of the State should take this into consideration.

From all indications, it seems the bandits are now acting with impunity as there is no fear whatsoever for the law enforcement officers. This could be due to the fact that the Government has been sending mixed signals in relation to its position on crime.

Further, it must be noted that the Administration has taken a laid-back approach to dealing with the crime situation. Many are asking where is the crime prevention plan that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change boasted about during the May 2015 General and Regional Elections campaign. Certainly, the statistics so far in relation to serious crimes are worrying and underscore the need for urgent action by the Public Security Ministry and the relevant law enforcement agencies.

Government must provide the resources needed to fight crime; that is, more patrol vehicles, manpower and so on. Additionally, there is dire need for the Police to step up efforts as it relates to more intelligenceled policing. Building better community relations will certainly go a far way in helping them to be successful in this regard.

At present, the general perception is that Government is powerless, ineffectual, and out of their league in fighting crime. We are almost midway of 2016, and the situation does not look as if it is improving, especially as it relates to the number of armed robberies taking place. We urge the Government to revisit the issue of the increasing crime rate and take the necessary action that will hopefully result in some sense of order and decency.

Participants attending Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) conference, on Monday, were afforded the opportunity to view the various aspects of Guyanese culture at an exhibition showcasing locally made jewellery, ceramics, pottery and paintings that spotlighted the country’s diversity held at Umana Yana

Khashoggi murder planned days ahead, says Turkey’s Erdogan

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he killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was planned days in advance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told MPs from his ruling party.

He said Turkey had strong evidence Khashoggi was killed in a premeditated and "savage" murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018.

He also called for the suspects to be tried in Istanbul.

He demanded Saudi Arabia provide answers about where Khashoggi's body was, and who had ordered the operation. The Saudi kingdom has provided conflicting accounts of what happened to Khashoggi, a US resident and Washington Post contributor.

After weeks of maintaining he was still alive, the authorities now say the 59-year-old was killed in a rogue operation.

Erdogan's address coincided with the start of an investment conference in Saudi Arabia that has been overshadowed by the Khashoggi case. Dozens of government and business leaders have pulled out, but Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appeared at the event on Tuesday.

Many world leaders have condemned the murder of the prominent Saudi critic and demanded a full investigation. US President Donald Trump says he is not satisfied with the Saudi explanation but he has also highlighted the kingdom's importance as a US ally.

CIA Director Gina Haspel has been sent to Turkey to review the matter.

What did the Turkish President say happened?

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Saudi

nation-

Jamal Khashoggi

als, Erdogan said, arrived in Istanbul in three teams, on separate flights, in the days and hours leading up to the murder.

A day before the killing, he said, some members from the group travelled to Belgrad forest, near the consulate – an area searched last week by Turkish Police looking for the body.

He also described how the team had removed the hard drives from the consulate's surveillance camera system prior to the arrival of Khashoggi, who was visiting to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage.

A man who looked like Khashoggi, wearing his outfit, glasses and a fake beard, was among a group who left the consulate the same day as the killing, the President added.

On Monday, CNN broadcast images appearing to show that Saudi operative leaving the consulate.

President Erdogan confirmed 18 people had been arrested in Saudi Arabia over the case.

He told MPs from his ruling AK party the 18 should "be tried in Istanbul", adding that "all those who played a role in the murder" would be punished.

What did he say about the Saudis?

Erdogan called for an independent commission to be set up but said he was confident in King Salman's full cooperation. He did not mention the crown prince, widely seen as the most powerful figure in the kingdom.

Many believe he ordered the killing, although the Saudis deny this.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says Erdogan's speech was notable as much for what it left out as for what it left in.

There was no mention of the much-discussed audio tape from inside the Saudi consulate which Turkish media say reveals gruesome details of the murder.

Trailed as something that would expose "the naked truth", the speech fell well short of many people's expectations, our correspondent says.

Where do the Saudis stand?

King Salman chaired a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, after which a statement said that Saudi Arabia would hold to account those responsible for the killing, whoever they might be.

State media also said the king and the crown prince had held a meeting in

Riyadh with members of the Khashoggi family, including Khashoggi's son, Salah bin Jamal.

Erdogan also spoke to family members by phone on Tuesday, offering condolences and saying he would do all he could to solve the murder.

Saudi Arabia has given conflicting accounts up to now, initially saying Khashoggi had left the building alive, then later saying that he had been killed in a "fist-fight" inside the consulate.

On Sunday, the Saudi Foreign Minister acknowledged Khashoggi had been murdered but said the leadership had not been aware of the "rogue operation".

"The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority," Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News.

"There obviously was a tremendous mistake made, and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up."

He said that Saudi Arabia did not know where the body was. An unnamed Saudi official told Reuters news agency on Sunday that Khashoggi had died in a chokehold after resisting attempts to return him to Saudi Arabia. His body was then rolled in a rug and given to a local "cooperator" to dispose of.

President Erdogan demanded in his speech on Tuesday for this individual's identity to be revealed. In addition to the arrests, the Saudis say they have sacked two of the crown prince's aides and set up an organisation, under his leadership, to reform the intelligence agency over the killing.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

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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

Paying severance to sugar workers is not a favour, it is the law Dear Editor, Thursday, October 18, was another day of shame, disgrace and infamy for Guyana. The President, the Prime Minister, and the APNU+AFC Ministers and MPs treated sugar workers as if they were not part of Guyana, while embracing a small group of counter-protesters organised by APNU/ AFC to intimidate and harass peaceful sugar workers.

They also ignored a group of Rastafarians protesting for the decriminalisation of marijuana.

APNU/AFC's dishonesty and hypocrisy know no bounds. It has been almost a year since more than 4,500 sugar workers were fired when three estates were closed. The Government paid them just about half their severance some four months later. Now, coming up to almost a year since they were retrenched, APNU/AFC has still not paid them the other half.

There are also another 2,500 workers who were retrenched earlier, after Wales Estate was closed. Some of those are yet to be paid their severance, two years later. Last week, confronted in person, and under pressure from protesting sugar workers, President Granger promised them they would be paid as soon as Parliament meets again. Parliament met on Thursday, October 18. There was a notice of a Supplementary Budget to be considered by Parliament on October 30.

That Supplementary Budget is for $7.5 billion, about $2.4billion of which is intended to pay the sugar workers who are owed severance.

Thursday, October 18, also revealed huge advertisements in the daily newspapers, costing millions of dollars, with the Finance Minister gloating that APNU+AFC is doing a favour by paying sugar workers their severance. It is gross dishonesty for APNU+AFC to beat their chest and huff and puff as if they are doing the sugar workers a favour.

Paying the severance is neither a favour to sugar workers nor is it any sort of generosity. Paying the severance will end the egregious violation of the law. In fact, the payment should now include interest owed on the late payments.

If an advertisement costing millions had to be made, it should have been to apologise to the workers and their families. Hopefully, the Opposition would insist that

the President and his ministers apologise to the workers.

Many of those workers were on Thursday present in front of Parliament. The President came to speechify in Parliament, but ignored the workers, drove past them, never acknowledging them. The Prime Minister, too, walked past the workers, never even signalling that he had noticed them. This is the man who, not so long ago, had deemed himself the "champion of sugar workers".

Not a single APNU+AFC Minister, not a single APNUAFC MP, chose to acknowledge the sugar workers. They were invisible at the least, and less than human at worst.

But, disgustingly, several of Granger's Ministers and MPs graced the presence of a loud and intimidating group organised by APNU/ AFC to harass and intimidate the sugar workers. They even infiltrated a group of Rastafarians who were there to peacefully advocate for the decriminalisation of marijuana.

The Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, and his MPs acknowledged the presence of both the sugar workers and the Rastafarians. They engaged them in discussion, and offered their solidarity. These Jagdeo-led PPP MPs showed their humanity, identifying with their Guyanese sisters and brothers of different races, different political affiliations and ideas. In contrast, Granger, Nagamootoo, and the APNU/AFC MPs ignored sugar workers and Rastafarians, only acknowledging their own organised APNU/AFC protesters.

Worse, on the day that the President came to speechify in Parliament, his Ministers and his MPs, aided and abetted by the Speaker, refused to treat the severance for sugar workers as an urgent matter.

The Leader of the Opposition and his PPP MPs wanted to consider the severance issue, and to go through all the stages for the Supplementary Budget, so that the workers could be paid without further delays. This would have been the morally right thing to do, ending the breach of the law.

Nagamootoo was the one who moved that the Parliament suspend business to accommodate the speech by the President, while further delaying payment for the workers.

Now we learn that, while APNU/AFC are playing games with another stupid election gimmick, the pay-

ments cannot be made until the Parliament meets again, on October 30, to pass the Supplementary Budget. This means that the severance payment is not likely until closer to year-end. If they are honest and care much about these sugar workers, there is no need to wait until Parliament meets again.

Further, not all workers will receive their severance payments. The workers from Wales, many among the protesters, will not be paid the long-overdue severance.

The law has been breached.

The violation continues in spite of the President's promise to end the breach this week.

Shamefully, APNU/AFC is forcing poor workers and their families to wait a little longer.

It is even more shameful because the President today boasted that he and his Government are keeping the promise of the "Good Life" for every Guyanese.

Respectfully, Dr Leslie Ramsammy

DPI should be reformed

Dear Editor, In 2008, while I still worked in cricket, there was a trial match at Bourda, Georgetown; Sewnarine Chattergoon walked out to bat in short pants, the journalist seated next to me in the Cricket Board’s viewing gallery, shouted down “Disgraceful! I will take your picture and put it in the papers” to which Chatts replied “Calvin Roberts, do what you want, nobody don’t read Chronicle anyway”.

The laughter that followed was absorbed with good nature by the now deceased Roberts, but the truth of that off the cuff statement has always stayed with me; seeing Imran Khan’s letter of the October 22, 2018, entitled ‘Jagdeo’s criticism of Court of Appeal ruling can be viewed as attack on Judiciary’ brought those memories flooding back. Here was the former West Indies Press Officer – now Guyana’s first Director of Public Information and Columnist – in the aforementioned Government controlled Chronicle newspaper

reduced to using his official title to ensure publication of base drivel in reputable publications.

Editor, the DPI and those responsible for the publication of the national newspaper are not the first to use it for propaganda; they may however be the first to know how ineffective they have rendered it as medium of communication. The DPI would be better served putting his efforts into informing the public on specific aspects of Government policy and how these would impact their lives; why for example the Government continues to expend $1.5 billion a year on an entity called the ‘People’s Militia’ when no one has any idea of who the People in this Militia are and what functions do they have that make them different form the regular Army?

Why this money should be spent on them (PM) instead of on severance pay for sugar workers or salary increases for teachers? Why is the nation being plummeted into debt at precisely the time we should be exercising

the most fiscal caution? Why all of the established pillars of our economy are crumbling due to neglect while we await the saving gush of oil? Why our President has seen it prudent to write to oil company executives to inform them that His Minister of the Presidency has “no reason” to meet with them?

Yes, DPI, we the people who pay your salary have many questions, and you Sir, have been remiss of our needs.

Editor, any Government Administration would see the value of having a Director of Public Information, but that would be based on actual dissemination of reasoning behind decisions and policy of Government, to take such an office and cheapen it with the behaviour of a Shill is to waste an opportunity to do good work for one’s country and its people. I urge my friend to reform his office and seek to redeem his professional career in the remaining few months of this administration.

Respectfully, Robin Singh

Making a substantive difference at the LGE 2018 Dear Editor, We recently had an experience with our Neighborhood Democratic Council – Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, as it relates to garbage collection. On Tuesday, October 9, 2018, we contacted our NDC for their scheduled disposal days and was elated when we were informed that Wednesday is the weekly scheduled pickup day for our community. We were advised that since pickups are not timed, it would be best to leave the secured garbage bags on the parapet for remov-

al. On Wednesday, no garbage was picked up. After numerous calls and a visit, the garbage was finally collected on Friday, October 12, 2018.

Sadly, and in most communities, it is a norm that if the scheduled garbage disposal day passes, it is expected for residents to wait for the next scheduled pick up day the following week. This is unacceptable. This is a regular garbage disposal issue with many NDCs. Too often, the excuses are not practical.

With Local Government Elections (LGE) scheduled for

November 12, 2018, I plead with our local representatives to address this issue as it is one of many critical subjects and the only acceptable solution lies in electing policymakers who are responsible and share the view of serving and protecting the public’s interest. Further, making tough public policy decisions and holding the Council responsible for their mandate.

This poses a serious health concern and it affects all of us.

Let’s all act affirmatively and make the necessary choices that will lead to a timely reso-

lution of this problem.

Yours sincerely, D Jodhan

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Foundation

Teaching children about boundaries

By Rae Jacobson

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or most parents setting boundaries for young children’ behavior is second nature: No hitting. Don’t interrupt. We don’t grab toys out of other children’ hands.

But as they get older, and social interaction gets more complex, it’s not enough to just learn the rules. They need to learn to set boundaries for themselves and respect those of others. And that takes being able to recognise what others want and need – and express what they want and need, too.

“Boundaries are essentially about understanding and respecting our own needs, and being respectful and understanding of the needs of others,” explains Stephanie Dowd, a clinical psychologist, “and for that to work, we need to be putting a big emphasis on helping children develop greater empathy and self-awareness.”

Why is empathy important?

For some parents, the idea o f

…why empathy and self-awareness play a major role

teaching children who haven’t quite mastered the art of tying their shoes to be more empathetic might seem a little absurd. But you can help them slowly build an awareness of others. Children may not grasp the subtleties of what it means to be empathetic, but they don’t need to.

“You’re not going to sit down with a four-yearold and say, okay, this is what empathy means,” says Rachel Busman, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute. “What we want is for children to start developing that awareness of how others are feeling, and begin using it as a kind of guide for how to behave.”

And at the same time, we want to help children get comfortable with articulating their own feelings and setting limits, even as they respect others’ limits.

That takes practice.

How to help children develop empathy

“Empathy is something we think of as being very adult,” says Mandi Silverman, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute. “But in reality, by age three most children will instinctually show concern for a crying friend,

or realise when someone has a “booboo” and want to give it a band-aid.”

Younger children often learn best by experience, she explains, so parents should start by addressing problem behaviours when they happen. “Social skills coaching is always best when you can do it in real time,” she says, “They’re more likely to remember what to do in that situation and be able to replicate the behavior next time it comes up.”

Luckily (or not), most children offer ample opportunities to practice intervening in the moment. For example, “How do you think Mark felt when you took his toy away?”

If your child grabs a reluctant friend, you could encourage him to think about how his friend might be feeling, and why asking before touching is important.

“It’s important to ask before touching someone else, because that person might not be feeling well, or they could be in a bad mood and not want to play just then.”

Sometimes children’ egotism can be a helpful tool, says Dr Busman. “Ask your child to think about how he feels when his sister won’t let him play with her friends, or won’t share her dessert.

Then ask how he thinks she’d feel if he did the same.”

Using your child’s feelings as a mirror for others can help create perspec-

tive – and give him a chance to link actions to the feelings they cause.

Rules work both ways

One way to help children understand why it’s important to follow rules is to see them as reciprocal.

People are in charge of their own bodies, and it’s not okay to touch them if they don’t want you to, just like it’s not okay for someone to touch you in a way you don’t like.

Sometimes things that seem fun to you are not fun for the other person. “A kid might want to jump on his friend’s back because that sounds fun,” suggests Dr Busman, “but if he doesn’t take time to ask if the friend is okay with that, and doesn’t make sure he’s ready, someone is likely to end up getting hurt.” And that person could be you, too.

Listening when people are talking, especially when they’re giving instructions or asking us to do something, or not do something, is how we stay safe and make sure other people are safe, too.

If people aren’t listening to you, they won’t know what you need or want, (childeither.

mind.org)

Managing problem behaviour at home

….A guide to more confident, consistent and effective parenting Part 2

Creating effective consequences Not all consequences are created equal. Some are an excellent way to create structure and help kids understand the difference between acceptable behaviours and unacceptable behaviours while others have the potential to do more harm than good. As a parent having a strong understanding of how to intelligently and consistently use consequences can make all the difference.

Consequences to AVOID Giving negative attention: Children value attention from the important adults in their life so much that any attention – positive or negative – is better than none. Negative attention, such as raising your voice or spanking – actually increases bad behaviour over time. Also, responding to behaviours with criticism or yelling adversely affects children’s self-esteem.

Delayed consequences: The most effective consequences are immediate. Every moment that passes after a behaviour, your child is less likely to link her behaviour to the consequence.

It becomes punishing for the sake of punishing, and it’s much less likely to actually change the behaviour.

Disproportionate consequences: Parents understandably get very frustrated. At times, they may be so frustrated that they overreact. A huge consequence can be demoralising for children and they may give up even trying to behave.

Positive consequences: When a child dawdles instead of putting on his shoes or picking up his blocks and, in frustration, you do it for him, you’re increasing the likelihood that he will dawdle again next time.

Effective consequences: Consequences that are more effective begin with generous attention to the behaviours you want to encourage.

Positive attention for positive behaviours: Giving your child positive reinforcement for being good helps maintain the ongoing good behaviour.

Positive attention enhances the quality of the relationship, improves self-esteem, and feels good for everyone involved. Positive attention to brave behaviour can also help attenuate anxiety, and help kids become more receptive to instructions and limit-setting.

Ignoring actively: This

should be used ONLY with minor misbehaviours – NOT aggression and NOT very destructive behaviour. Active ignoring involves the deliberate withdrawal of attention when a child starts to misbehave— as you ignore, you wait for positive behaviour to resume. You want to give positive attention as soon as the desired behaviour starts. By withholding your attention until you get positive behaviour you are teaching your child what behaviour gets you to engage.

Reward menus: Rewards are a tangible way to give children positive feedback for desired behaviours. A reward is something a child earns, an acknowledgement that she’s doing something that’s difficult for her. Rewards are most effective as motivators when the child can choose from a variety of things: extra time on the iPad, a special treat, etc.

This offers the child agency and reduces the possibility of a reward losing its appeal over time. Rewards should be linked to specific behaviours and always delivered consistently.

Time outs: Time outs are one of the most effective consequences parents can use but also one of the hardest to do correctly. Here’s a quick guide to effective time out strategies.

Be clear: Establish which behaviours will result in time outs. When a child exhibits that behaviour, make sure the corresponding time out is relatively brief and immediately follows a negative behaviour.

Be consistent: Randomly administering time outs when you’re feeling frustrated undermines the system and makes it harder for the child to connect behaviours with consequences.

Set rules and follow them: During a time out, there should be no talking to the child until you are ending the time out.

Time out should end only once the child has been calm and quiet briefly so they learn to associate the end of time out with this desired behaviour.

Return to the task: If time out was issued for not complying with a task, once it ends the child should be instructed to complete the original task. This way, kids won’t begin to see time outs as an escape strategy.

By bringing practicing behavioural tools management at home, parents can make it a much more peaceful place to be. (childmind.org)

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wednesdAY, october 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

BBCI toll increase

FITUG slams Govt’s indecisiveness, petty politicking …says bridge was a wise investment

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he impending toll increases to use the Berbice River Bridge has attracted the attention of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), with the Union on Tuesday rapping the Government for its less than mature approach to resolving the matter.

On Tuesday, FITUG stressed that Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) supplies the entire country with agriculture produce and thus, higher tolls would result in higher prices for groceries.

The Union noted the seriousness of the situation, from both the economic point of view and the future of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), which has shares in the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI).

“We recognise too that the BBCI has been seeking for some time now to engage the Administration on measures to avert what is now impending,” the Union observed.

“Sadly, we have heard from the Bridge [Company] that its attempts, on several occasions, have simply been ignored. It seems, from all appearances, the Government is unconcerned about consequences of its stonewalling.”

“In recent days, we have seen the Administration engaging in an active media campaign, which has its political hints, in denouncing the BBCI proposed increases. On this score, we urge the coalition, which had promised to halve the tolls, to end its childish propaganda games and get serious in ad-

dressing a matter which has several serious consequences.”

The Union noted that the coalition Government was elected to lead and should therefore demonstrate genuine leadership by sitting with BBCI executives without further delay and engaging in sober discussions on measures to avoid the toll rise.

“It is time for the Government to get serious and end its petty politicking. The substantial hike will impact a large number of Guyanese whether they are required to traverse the bridge or not. Berbicians will be gravely affected.

Already the region is reeling from the loss of thousands of jobs occasioned by the Administration’s short-sighted decision to close Rose Hall and Skeldon estates.”

“The toll hike, we see, will put the region’s economy into a further tailspin.

It comes on the heels of the draconian increases in fees for Government services, the taxing of essential items, and the several other measures which have served to push the cost-of-living higher than the moon as it is. As we see it, no man, woman or child would be spared, and the already high cost-of-living will jump astronomically.”

Migration The Union noted with concern that the likely hike in the cost of goods and services may very well be out of the reach for many in a region which has been hit hard

The Berbice River Bridge

by the policies of the coalition Government.

“The situation could very well force many to migrate outside of the region in order to cope with the new circumstances of life in the region.

Given the region’s importance to the agricultural sector, among other things, this will do the country no good.

Moreover, given the dearth of job opportunities in many towns and villages, such tolls hikes could very present a new host of problems for residents.”

“For those of us who may not be required to utilise the bridge, we should not think that we will not be unaffected. With the large quantity of agricultural produce coming from Region Six, the new toll costs will be passed on to us in higher prices for the food we purchase. For our nation’s workers, confronted by an already too high cost-of-living, such increases would only add to the nightmare of contemporary life in Guyana.”

Wise investment FITUG also noted that

Guyanese Bishop charged for killing T&T wife

“G

od is good,” uttered Bishop Melroy Corbin as he was escorted from the Chaguanas Magistrate’s Court where he appeared charged with the murder of his wife.

Corbin, 45, of Lamont Street, Longdenville, cried during his appearance before Senior Magistrate Adrian Darmanie in the First Court.

The charge alleged that on October 13, 2018, he murdered his wife Pastor Alisa Ali-Corbin, 42, at their home.

They lived in the same compound at the St Michael Divine Healing Tabernacle.

It is alleged that they were arguing when he stabbed his wife multiple times in the face. Corbin then allegedly ran off while Ali-Corbin was taken to hospital where she died.

Corbin, however, was arrested by Police the following morning at a friend’s house in Sangre Grande.

Corbin was subsequently charged by Corporal Jane Stephen-James following investigations supervised by ASP Lucia Winchester and

Dead: Pastor Alisa Ali

Insps Learie Figaro and Darryl Coorie of Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region 3.

Asked by the Magistrate whether he had an attorney, Corbin said he would be asking his mother to arrange representation for him. He was remanded and the matter has been adjourned to November 20.

According to local reports sometime around 22:30h on the night in question, AliCorbin reportedly got into an argument with Corbin, who allegedly stabbed her multiple times to her face and upper body.

The now dead wom-

Murder accused: Melroy Corbin

an’s children, upon hearing the commotion, ran into her bedroom and found her bleeding from stab wounds.

Ali-Corbin's daughter and son-in-law rushed her to the Chaguanas District Health Facility where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Meanwhile, it was reported that after committing the gruesome crime, the suspect ran out of the house and up towards Gill Street.

Eyewitnesses told investigators that he then flagged down a passing car and escaped. He was arrested the following day by Trinidadian Police. (T&T Guardian)

the Berbice Bridge was a wise investment and brought to Guyanese people and especially Berbicians, who for some time had complained about the inefficiencies of the ferry system.

“The advent of the bridge brought us as Guyanese closer together and the now critical link opened several doors for our economy.

While FITUG cannot agree with a hike to the tolls and we noted that similar sen-

timents came from both the Government and the parliamentary Opposition, at the same time, we cannot be deaf to the dire straits the BBCI has found itself.”

From media reports, the Union said, it is aware of the large indebtedness the company has to its investors including NIS. “This further heightens our concerns that should the status-quo remain and the Bridge in unable to reach its obligations, our workers, without a doubt, stand to be affected.

Some workers could be doubly affected as their pension savings, which have been invested in the bridge, could also be lost. This for us is simply unacceptable.”

Increases The increases were announced by BBCI Chairman, Dr Surendra Persaud, during a press conference recently. According to Persaud, they were formally informed

by Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson that Government would not agree to their previous requests for an increase.

As per the increases, cars and minibuses will now be charged $8040; pickups, small trucks and four wheel drive vehicles, $14,600; medium trucks, $27,720; large trucks, $49,600; art trucks, $116,680; freight, $1680 and boats passing through the river will be charged $401,040.

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

Since the announcement, several key stakeholders have been calling for Government to buyout the private investors’ shares in the BBCI to bring a permanent resolution to the issue.

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wednesdAY, october 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

“Is frustration mek I choke the woman and take she things” – man tells court

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well-known character to the Police found himself back in the court of law on Tuesday after being slapped with three counts of robbery that he committed on a family while they were relaxing on the Georgetown Seawall.

Christopher Niles, of Fourth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown, admitted to one of the three charges that were read to him in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday.

The first charge stated that Niles robbed Bibi Mangru of a purse valued $20,000, which also contained $20,000, and a

Samsung Galaxy cellular phone valued $35,000 while she was at the Kingston, Georgetown Seawall on October 20, 2018. Niles admitted to the offence after it was read to him by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

The two other charges stated that on the same day and said location, the 24-year-old man also robbed the Virtual Complainant’s daughter, Mahoni Mangru, also of her purse, $50,000 along with her cellphone.

Mahoni’s husband, Tekchan Balgobin, also fell victim when the unemployed defendant took his valuables worth $90,000 while using

personal violence while committing the robberies. He denied these charges.

However, the prosecution is contending that on October 20, 2018, the family was on the seawall when the elder Mangru saw the defendant riding past her on a bicycle and he then stopped a short distance away from where she was sitting and started to assault her daughter. Upon seeing that, the woman allegedly went to her daughter’s rescue only to be assaulted too, by the man who has had previous brushes with the law. They were subsequently relieved of their valuables by Niles,

who later made good his escape on his bicycle.

Niles, after admitting to taking the woman’s purse, told the court that the family drove behind him, hit him off his bicycle and took the purse he had stolen.

Further, he told the court, “Is frustrated, I frustrated mek I jump off my bike and choke that woman and take away she things and ride away.”

For the charge to which he admitted, Magistrate McLennan jailed him for 18 months.

The trial for the other two charges will begin on October 31, 2018.

Throwing…

I

…(night) shade t would appear the “Director of Public Information” is of the view that the only “information” to be directed to the public should be his cussing out of the PPP in general and Jagdeo in particular. But the fella’s so inept, clumsy and bungling, he always opens himself – and his boss Nagamootoo – to ridicule, with the shade he tries to throw. Instead of throwing (night) shade – which is deadly – he throws boomerangs that just come right back to hit him right on his kisser!! Ouch!!

Take his last “op-ed” column – which he inserted in the Chronic: “Dismantling Jagdeo’s welfare state”.

Obviously, he thought he was clever to play on the term “welfare state” to suggest that the PPP passed on benefits only to friends and family. Well, that was the song the AFC and their boson buddy (they thought!!)

PNC, sang before the elections, didn’t they? They conducted 50 “forensic” audits to show the alleged “thiefin’”, didn’t they?

NOT A SINGLE PERSON HAS BEEN CONVICTED!! Now you’d think this would shut them up, wouldn’t you? The proof of the crime being the “jailing” and all that!

But no!! The wankers – led by Nagamootoo and his water-boy, the DPI – have intensified the shade throwing. But then what’s left? They can’t point to any accomplishments of the Government that may convince folks to vote for them. Their plan, therefore, is to paint the PPP as black as possible to scare their supporters who’re having second thoughts, back under their tent.

But the water-boy didn’t realise when he used the “welfare state” accusation against Jagdeo, he was just reminding folks of the “welfare state” the PNC/AFC created in just three years. This makes whatever the PPP did in 23 years, look like tiddlywinks!! Since we don’t have space for all the handouts to friends and family, let’s just mention a few.

Fifty per cent raise to Ministers? $1 billion? D’Urban “Jubilee” Park? Another $1billion? ANSA Pharma” $600 million? Bottom House Warehouse? $260 million?

Oil sell out? Shorting Guyana out of at least US$600 million in bonus for signing? $54 billion in spending unaccounted for as per the Auditor General in only two years!! Forty-two top end SUV’s – including five for GECOM? $800 million?

The lesson we hope the water boy learns in that people in glass houses shouldn’t try to throw shade.

They leave themselves exposed in their nakedness.

And it ain’t pretty!! …Ramjattan under the bus Poor Ramjattan! Here he’d read the signals correctly when he predicted if the AFC hitched up to the PNC, they’d become dead meat” – and yet he allowed his blind ambition to blind him to the ways of the PNC. So here he is in the throes of what can only be called a total breakdown from all the flack that’s been coming at him from every direction.

He demanded and got the portfolio of “Home Affairs Minister” – which was renamed “Minister of Public Security”. But since then it’s been one continuous illustration of the caution – “Be careful what you ask for”!! The “serious crime” rate just wouldn’t go down and all that he could do was back up the ridiculous statistics issued by the Police to convince folks that they were hallucinating! Then there were the jailbreaks…one every year since he took over the portfolio from Rohee whom he’d crucified.

Once, they say is “happenstance”; twice is “coincidence”, but thrice? That has to be enemy action!!

And it’s all because the PNC left him out to hang! …money away?

The PPP contracted to rebuild CJIA with eight departure gates for US$138 million. The PNC-led Government hiked that to US$150 million for TWO gates. Now they had to fork out another $346 million for another two gates?!

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

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wednESdAY, october 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Teachers’ wages impasse

Region 2 farmers forced to destroy 1000 acres of rice overtaken by bugs GTU still uncertain about

timeframe for signing new pact

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An Essequibo Coast rice farmer lights his field afire

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aving already faced reduced prices for their paddy and increased production costs, farmers in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) are encountering even more challenges since they say they were forced to destroy over 1000 acres of their rice at State Farm, which lies aback of Dartmouth on the Essequibo Coast.

Guyana Times understands that in their bid to prevent a complete annihilation of the crop, some of which was badly damaged, the farmers set the crops on fire due to ‘Blast and Bug’ infestation on Tuesday.

This publication was told that over 10 farmers, who rented the farmlands from Caricom Rice Mills Limited, said due to heavy rainfall for the past three crops, the land had to be prepared under water. It was stated too that the little sunlight that prevailed was blamed for the bug infestation as this was the “ideal weather” pattern for the breeding of bugs.

The farmers said they are appealing to Government to assist them to return to the land as they are afraid of losing everything since many of them have loans with commercial banks and other lending institutions.

Most of the rice farmers are in the business for over 20 years and said they never experienced such challenges in the industry.

They claimed that a test was done on a plot to assess the damage, which reportedly found that more than 95 per cent of the grains were damaged. It was stated further that for the remaining portions, it will not be feasible for them to reap and transport their produce to

the rice mills. Some of the farmers even complained of sleepless nights owing to their losses and debts.

“How can we explain to the banks; where are we going to find the money to repay the loans, how can we take care of our families, our children have to go to school,” were the cries of the farmers.

They united and are calling for Agriculture Minister Noel Holder to meet with them to sort out solutions regarding how their livelihood can be sustained.

It was only last month that the Region Two farmers accused Government of “turning a blind eye” on the industry, when they were engaged by Anna Regina Deputy Mayor Darshan Persaud. They claimed that the current Administration was not doing enough for rice farmers, saying this would have a great impact on one of the main sources of food and foreign currency earner to the country. Following the recent destruction of the crop, the farmers say they are desperately seeking an intervention.

Persaud had told Guyana Times that the complaints of farmers extended to accusations that millers were taking out 24 per cent of the earnings as dockage fees which translates to about $1200 per bag of paddy. When looking at the expenses for cultivation, many farmers said they were not in a financial position to plant the next crop.

Farmers had also said that even though Regional Executive Officer Rupert Hopkinson was seen “boasting on Facebook about developments of parks and recreational facilities in the region”; there was much need for the servicing and maintenance of the regional machinery. They had explained that this is vital in the maintenance of farm to market roads, trenches, dams and other key areas in the agricultural sector. Regional Chairman Devanand Ramdatt had noted that more than 80 per cent of the region’s 50,000 plus residents are directly or indirectly connected to the rice industry.

lmost two weeks after the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and the Education Ministry made a commitment to sign the agreement to end the teachers’ salary impasse, there is still a high level of uncertainty.

General Secretary of the GTU, Coretta Mc Donald told Guyana Times on Tuesday that discussions are still ongoing on the new proposal made by the Government.

“As it is right now, the offers that are on the table, some of them have been favourable, some have not been favourable and there are still talks ongoing right now,” she said.

The GTU official said the fact that the agreement has not yet been signed, indicates that there is still some tallying up to be done and the GTU is prepared to get the best possible deal.

McDonald noted also that arbitration has not been ruled out and there is no definitive plan as to what would be the next move, only to scrutinise the offer.

“We are hoping that maybe by the end of this week, we are going to have those little bits and pieces tidied up and the two parties would have a clear understanding of what exactly the document entails

GTU General Secretary Coretta McDonald

so going forward after signatures would have been placed there, nobody would want to cry foul,” Mc Donald explained.

She said there were some issues that needed clarification, some of which have not yet been settled. Once that is resolved, an agreement could be inked.

Disappointment

However, she stated her disappointment with the fact that the GTU should have done more work to get a better outcome. She feels that had the Union prolonged the discussions, the figures being mentioned now would not have been on the table.

Following a six-hour long discussion between the two parties, the GTU agreed to a 12 per cent increase for 2016 and eight per cent increase for 2018. “The agreement has not yet been signed so the possibility exists that changes could happen,” she added.

A 40 per cent salary increase for public school teachers was initially proposed for the year 2016. For the year 2017, the Union was hoping to have bargained for a 45 per cent increase, which would then increase to 50 per cent for the remainder of the years indicated in the agreement (2018-2020).

It recently changed its demands and said it was willing to accept a ‘substantial’ payout from the Government.

Infighting

Mc Donald has debunked claims that there is an infighting within the executive of the GTU, particularly her and the GTU President Mark Lyte.

She said people have set out to paint a bad picture of her, saying that she is a supporter of the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and taking directives from former President Bharrat Jagdeo, and Lyte being a supporter of the Government. continued on page 13

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wednesdAY, october 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Singh, Brassington challenge

AG no-show in court, case delayed

Former Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh and former NICIL Chairman Winston Brassington

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he High Court challenge to the misconduct in public office charges against two officials of the former Government was delayed and rescheduled to early next month after Attorney General Basil Williams was a no-show for submissions.

The Court was told that the AG had to attend Cabinet at the time the matter was slated to be heard on Tuesday and could not appear in Court although the hearing was fixed almost one month ago.

Former Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh and former National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Chairman Winston Brassington are challenging their misconduct in public office charges that were brought against by the Special Organised Crime

Unit (SOCU).

Their challenge came up before acting Chief Justice Roxane George, SC, in chambers at the High Court on Tuesday. It was expected that open court proceedings would have continued, but this was not the case on Tuesday. Justice George adjourned the matter to November 1, 2018 when the AG’s side should be responding to submissions by the applicants. This was according to lawyer for the applicants, Anil Nandlall, who told reporters that prior to Tuesday’s hearing, the AG’s Chambers were always represented by a team of the Solicitor General and other lawyers.

“Hopefully, he shows up or someone authorised by him shows up who is prepared to do the arguments because the case is fixed,” Nandlall noted

on Tuesday.

The defendants, who were released on $6 million bail each, denied the charges levelled against them by SOCU earlier this year. The men are accused of selling various properties at prices the State now contends were grossly undervalued. The charges relate to the sale of several plots of land on the East Coast of Demerara to National Hardware Guyana Ltd for over $598 million; the sale of land to Scady Business Corporation for $150 million, and to Multicinemas Guyana Inc for $185 million.

Another set of charges was later filed against Singh and Brassington, over the sale of the former Sanata Textiles Complex to Queens Atlantic Investment Inc (QAII). This, like other charges, was also challenged in the High Court.

It was alleged that between October 26 and December 20, 2010, the men acted recklessly when they agreed to the sale of the Sanata Textiles Complex to QAII. According to the charge, the 18.976-acre property was sold for $697.8 million, but it was valued at $1.04 billion.

However, according to privatisation documents published by NICIL, the property was valued at $245 million by the Government’s Chief Valuation Officer, but QAII paid $809.5 million for the property – more than three times the Government’s val-

Breakdown

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Attorney General Basil Williams uation as Guyana Times had reported.

At the last court hearing, the acting Chief Justice heard further arguments from Attorneys representing Singh and Brassington where Nandlall disputed the application of the British common law principle to Guyana’s laws, having cited conflicts with this country’s Constitution with the definition of a public officer. He had observed that the particulars of the offence for which the men were charged had “no reference” that Singh and Brassington are public officers, saying that this was a fundamental defect.

He had stated that it would be a worrying development for citizens to face charges for having accepted a lower valuation where the lower valuation was calculated by Government’s own Chief Valuation Officer.

atiricus was distraught. It was if his whole world was collapsing around him. How could he go on when the centre wouldn’t hold? For a decade now he’s been trumpeting Rum Jhaat as one of his leaders he looked to for guidance. Now he was throwing his hands up? What would he tell the fellas at the Back Street Bar he was entering?

“Hey!! Look who the breeze just blew in!” said Hari as Satiricus pulled a chair to sit down. “Like you were looking for those escaped prisoners!”

“Naah…they recaptured one,” Satiricus replied as he grabbed a beer. “Quick work, eh?”

“De Jhaat bin seh how ‘e wuk a gyam headache,” pointed out Cappo slyly. “Suh ‘e headache gaan dong wan lil bit?”

“Well, the man has a lot of stress, you know,” said Satiricus pleadingly.

“Stress, me ass!” responded Bungi rudely. “Na he aks fuh de security wuk? An’ now ‘e seh ‘e na know wha’ fuh do?”

“Ole Harry Truman said, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” said Hari in his usual mild manner. “Why doesn’t Rum Jhaat resign if he can’t do the job?”

“Well, the Government didn’t give him the funds to fix the prison system,” said Satiricus. “That’s why Lusignan’s so crowded.”

“Sato, na ta’k schupidness!” said Cappo as he put down his beer bottle firmly. “When wan baatle a get full up, you can put in less in, yuh know.”

“What?!” asked Satiricus.

“Cappo mean if de jail a get full up,” interjected Bungi, “wha’ mek Rum Jhaat na wuk wid dem judge an’ magistrate na fuh put all dem small bai waa t’ief mango in jail?”

“Well, he was too busy making sure the bars close by 2am, you know!” laughed Hari.

“But tell me, Sato,” demanded Cappo, “Ah wha’ mek Rum Jhaat seh dat beca’se suga’ worka sev’tance, dem nah get fuh fix de pris’n?” “’E tek ‘e ey an’ pass suga worka!” exploded Bungi. “Dem bin done put money fuh fix Mazaruni!”

“Rum Jhaat is out of his league,” said Hari, looking at Satiricus. “Lil’ boy nah climb ladder an’ tu’n big man!!”

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wednESdAY, october 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Tax collection up, but gold declarations down

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he Auditor General’s 2017 report shows while the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has collected more taxes than was anticipated, revenue inclusive of rent and royalties has declined due to lower gold declarations.

In the end of year budget and reconciliation report, it noted that the projected revenue for 2017 was $186 billion. Instead, Government actually collected $195 billion in current revenue. This includes duties, levy, personal income and withholding taxes.

The highest earnings came from the internal revenue category. Personal income tax collection grew by $2.5 billion. This, according to the Government, is because substantial arrears payments were recovered from self-employed persons through various initiatives. One of the initiatives GRA has been trying is a tax amnesty.

In September of this year, GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia had disclosed that billions of dollars were collected as of the end of August through the implementation of the amnesty.

According to Statia at the

time, GRA had managed to collect over $5 billion so far and this figure may increase.

Statia also reminded that this was the last extension that will be granted to the amnesty, while encouraging defaulters to pay.

The tax amnesty worked by allowing taxpayers who file and pay all principal taxes on or before June 30, 2018 to have all their interest and penalties waived, while those who filed and paid all principal taxes between July 1, 2018 and September 30, 2018 would have 50 per cent of interest and penalties waived.

At the end of the previous amnesty which ended in June 2018, it was announced that $3 billion was raked in, but this number had subsequently climbed. The final amnesty ended September 30.

“Amounts totalling $15.837 billion were estimated to be collected from customs duties, trade and other taxes, fees, fines and licences for the period under review while actual collections paid into the Consolidated Fund totalled $18.890 billion,” the report also states.

“This represents a posi-

to lower than projected vehicular imports. The increased collections in some categories, the AG went on to note, were able to cushion the shortfalls from gold and other categories of collections.

Gold

Gold declarations take a downward spiral

tive variance of 19 per cent, equivalent to $3.053 billion.

Notwithstanding the positive performance, there were substantial shortfalls for the revenue categories of Export Duties, Stamp Duty, Overtime Fees, Warehouse Rent and Charges and Liquor Licence totalling $48.806 million,” the report notes.

The GRA was also able to recover $950 million from 27,000 suspicious Income Tax returns, after reviewing them.

But Value Added Tax (VAT), royalties from gold declara-

Sophia man slapped with manslaughter charge

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31-year-old labourer accused of killing 26-year-old Seon Harry was on Tuesday hauled to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where he faced a manslaughter charge before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

The charge against Darrius Barrington of Lot 634 A Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, stated that on October 18, 2018 at South Sophia, he unlawfully killed Harry.

Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers told the court that on October 18, 2018, the now deceased man and the accused were involved in a heated argument, which escalated into a scuffle. According to the

Prosecutor, during the scuffle, Harry dealt the accused three chops about the body. In retaliation, the accused, who was also armed with a knife, inflicted one stab wound on Harry. Both men were taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where Harry was pronounced dead.

Defence Attorney Lawrence Harris, in a bail application, told the court that his client was not a flight risk, further stating that his client was attacked by the now deceased, which resulted in him being fatally stabbed. However, the Chief Magistrate remanded the father of three to prison. The case will continue on

November 5, 2018.

Guyana Times had previously reported that on Wednesday, October 17, 2018, the now dead man had borrowed the accused’s bicycle, which he returned after midnight. This resulted in the two having a brief but heated exchange of words.

The following day, October 18, the now dead man armed himself with a cutlass and dealt the accused several chops while he was hanging out with his friends.

The accused sustained chop wounds to his head, abdomen and arm. In retaliation, the injured man dealt the deceased one fatal stab to his body.

tions and rent also declined significantly.

Excise taxes, which are applied to imported and manufactured goods, also saw a downturn. According to the Auditor General, the reduction in excise taxes was mainly due

It was reported in May of this year that the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) projected total declarations to be 800,000 ounces, including Canadianowned Guyana Goldfields projected to declare 200,000 ounces and Troy Resources, its main competitor, 100,000 ounces.

Additionally, the GGB had projected that purchases would be 96,000 ounces for the first quarter of 2018, while also anticipating foreign sales to amount to 88,208 ounces with US$111.5 million in revenue in the same period.

When it was laid in the

National Assembly in August, the Finance Ministry’s Midyear report had recorded contractions in several of the traditional sectors, including mining. Finance Minister Winston Jordan, in addressing the National Assembly about the country’s economic performance, had admitted as much.

He had noted that the gold sector suffered a decline of 9.1 per cent. This is equivalent to a decrease of 288,114 ounces in gold declaration. The report also revealed that this represented a 19.4 per cent shortfall, below the original projection set by Government.

The Minister in his report also noted that there are a number of downside economic and fiscal risks to the economy, both domestic and external, which can frustrate the achievement of the various revised targets.

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wednESdAY, october 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Linden assault saga

Taxi driver granted bail, Cop to face departmental charge

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inden taxi driver Kevin Grant was on Tuesday released on $30,000 bail when he appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse at the Linden Magistrate’s Court on charges of assaulting a peace officer in the execution of his duties and resisting arrest. The incident is alleged to have occurred at the Wisroc/Amelia’s Ward minibus park, Mackenzie, Linden, on October 8, 2018, while the officer was executing his duties. Grant denied the charges and the matter was adjourned until November 14.

Meanwhile, the Police Officer, Tquian Barnes, is also expected to be charged departmentally for the alleged assault of Grant. The advice to charge for both parties came from Police Legal

Advisor Claudette Singh.

Police had launched an investigation after the parties were both questioned in relation to the incident. The incident which was recorded on video showed both parties involved in an altercation, with Grant being physically assaulted by a rank after apparently resisting arrest. Based on investigation and statements obtained from the parties involved legal advice had been sought, with the videos also being presented in the file.

The incident unfolded in full view of the public and was reportedly sparked after the taxi driver who was being accosted by ranks attached to the Mackenzie Police Station for a minor traffic violation failed to report to the Mackenzie Police Station.

Single-use plastics consultation in urban areas wraps up

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ountrywide consultations for the ban of single-use plastics in Guyana have been completed, and the Department of Environment has noted that recommendations are to be made from these findings.

This is according to the Stakeholder Management Coordinator of the Department of Environment, Aretha Forde, who told this publication on Monday that citizens from several populated areas across the country were engaged in discussions that will determine whether or not the plastics are banned.

Some of these areas include Anna Regina, New Amsterdam, Rose Hall, and Linden.

“We’ve done the consultations in a few urban areas. What the team would have done is to go out to these areas -like Anna Regina. They went to New Amsterdam, Rose Hall and Linden, because that’s where most of the centers of

commerce are in any case,” said Forde.

She also mentioned that the Solid Waste Department of the Georgetown Municipality had forwarded their opinions on the impact which single-use plastics pose on the environment.

“We would have done the Georgetown consultations as well. City Hall would’ve offered from their perspective the impact of the ban on single use plastics,” she said.

Single-use plastics are everyday items which are made of plastic and are disposed of after being used once, with the common ones being bags, straws and bottles.

Solid Waste Director Walter Narine had stated last August that after the consultations are completed, Cabinet would be engaged to determine if the bill would be passed for the ban to be imposed.

“After the consultations, they’ll take the $15 million, which is the estimation

to go back to Cabinet; and if it’s all favourable, then they would roll out the legislation and regulations and put them in place,” Narine said during that time.

Many persons are pushing for the ban to be implemented so that the surroundings can be rid of these plastics. It is believed that a large quantity of waste being disposed on a daily basis is made up of single-use plastics.

On the other hand, others are concerned about the alternatives if these items are no longer used. A replacement of these would cost more, but it is assured that they will last for a longer period of time, and this also means that there will be less garbage pollution.

With the large sums of money being spent to collect garbage in the city, City Hall is contemplating charging a fee for every barrel of waste that is collected. This service is currently free in the Georgetown area.

Restaurant employee slapped with fraud charge

U

retha Persaud of Lot 8 Princes Street Lodge, Georgetown on Monday appeared before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman to answer a fraud charge detailing that on October 19, 2018, at David Rose Street in South

Ruimveldt Georgetown, while being a clerk at Royal Castle, she fraudulently embezzled $2,200.

According to the facts presented to the court, the defendant was seen removing a sum of money while at the point of sale. She

was approached by another employee, who told her what she had observed, and a search conducted on the person of the defendant unearthed the sum of $2,200 in the pants waist of the defendant. The matter was reported, and the defendant

was charged.

Persaud denied the charge, and Police Prosecutor Quinn Harris did not object to her being placed on bail.

Magistrate Latchman has placed Persaud on $20,000 bail. The case will continue on October 24.

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wednESdAY, october 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Yesu Persaud’s life achievements celebrated

T

he life and achievements of local business tycoon and philanthropist, Dr Yesu Persaud, is being celebrated as the University of Guyana (UG) kicks off a lecture series in his honour.

The lecture series will highlight Dr Persaud’s seminal contributions to Guyana through his audacious authenticity in business, entrepreneurship and civic contributions.

The work of the local business tycoon, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, spans many continents, two centuries and several successful business ventures, while his civic and philanthropic work has been and continues to be highly impactful.

At Tuesday’s launch of the inaugural symposium, a long list of close associates of Dr Persaud lined up to speak and reflect on the various aspects of his life to a packed gathering.

Recalling his childhood on the Diamond Estate, retired Major General Joe Singh spoke of the challenges Dr Persaud faced growing up and the resilience displayed on his journey to become one of Guyana’s top entrepreneurs.

“Growing up on a sugar estate at that time, experiencing all of the challenges that is associated with a stratified society, the colour-bar, discriminatory employment practices and poverty, it would have been a miracle if the young Yesu Persaud envisaged that he would rise to the zenith of the business world. Many in his position would have given up… His ambition to

Yesu Persaud shares a light moment at Tuesday’s inaugural symposium alongside UG’s Vice Chancellor Ivelaw Griffith; and Deputy VC on Philanthropy, Alumni and Civic Engagement, Paloma Mohamed-Martin

rise above his circumstances through education and qualifications was complemented by his adaptability, his versatility, his courage, his loyalty and commitment, and his deep spiritual and family values,” Singh stated, as he read excerpts from Dr Persaud’s autobiography Reaching for the Stars – The life of Yesu Persaud.

The Guyanese icon is currently working on his second book, a continuation of his autobiography. Dr Persaud’s entrepreneurial skills is evident in the highly successful Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), which produces the international-award winning brand – El Dorado Rum. The company’s current Chairman, Komal Samaroo, who has worked under Dr Persaud for several years before becoming his successor in 2014, reflected on the leadership style and visions of the business tycoon.

After achieving a business miracle when he took over a bankrupted DDL and

transformed it into a successful company, Dr Persaud was the brain behind the first-ever Indigenous private bank – Demerara Bank Limited, which he still chairs – and also paved the way for small businesses to thrive in the country with the establishment of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development

(IPED), which finances and trains entrepreneurs.

While Dr Persaud was a trail blazer in Guyana, his impeccable work was far-reaching with impacts on both the Caribbean and Latin American regions.

Highlighting this aspect of his work, former Barbadian Senator, Maxine McClean, described Dr Persaud as a true exemplar of a committed entrepreneur and businessman, adding that his contributions in business, banking, civil society and philanthropy clearly demonstrates his business acumen and civil consciousness.

McClean, who is also a professor, further noted that much can be learned from Dr Persaud’s work.

“We need to utilise the full essence, the wealth of information that really dwells in your contribution because in the end of the day, what this country, this Region, this world can learn from your experience, your

success, your contribution is capturing a wide-ranging foci,” says the Barbadian Professor as she calls on institutions to draw on his wealth of contributions.

Among the other speakers, who highlight key aspects of the life of Guyanese icon were: Professor David Dabydeen; Chief Executive Officer of IPED, Ramesh Persaud and local businessman Stanley Ming.

Over the years, Dr Persaud has collected a number of national and international awards for his work and contributions including: the Gandhi Organisation Plaque for his contribution in promoting Indian culture in Guyana; the Glory of India Award and Certificate of Excellence by the India International Friendship Society in 2005 and the following year, he was honoured in India with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman for his outstanding contributions in business and Indian history and culture.

Nationally, Dr Persaud is the recipient of Guyana’s Cacique Crown of Honour for the development of new industries in Guyana in 1983 and the Golden Arrow of Achievement for his work in developing and expanding the distillery industry in Guyana. In addition, he also received the Pepsi Cola International – Slice and the Caribbean Network Enterprises Inc inaugural Indo Caribbean Male Lifetime Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievements in New York.

Moreover, the diversity of his contributions, the calibre of his leadership and the values he laid down as the sine cos for success in business, good governance and democracy, and philanthropy have all been recognised by tertiary educational institutions such as University of Warwick, University of the West Indies (UWI) and more recently University of Guyana (UG). (Vahnu Manikchand)

GTU still uncertain about...

from page 9

She said they have been in agreement with most of what has been discussed so far.

“The only difference between Coretta McDonald and Mark Lyte is that Mark Lyte is very soft-spoken and Mc Donald is very aggressive. We don’t have time to be bothered by that…. that cartoon of that same situation being peddled which appears in a newspaper maybe was intended to sow a seed of discord among the ranks of the GTU and members. They have not succeeded.”

Mc Donald who was addressing teachers during the period that saw them on strike had said the nation’s educators had received more under the PPP Administration than what they currently get under this coalition Administration.

“If we look at what transpired under the PPP Government when they were in power and what is transpiring now… remember we didn’t want the five per cent.

We made noise about it. But with the five per cent we got a whole lot of non-salary ben-

efits,” she said, to loud applause from the large gathering of teachers.

She continued, “For the first time in the history of this country, our teachers were able to get clothing allowance, duty free concessions, and allowances for additional qualifications. While the PPP Government was in power — and you know I don’t want to sound political, but we have to make the comparison because of all the untruths they peddling out there…”

But the GTU General

Secretary argued that while her points are valid, the Constitution provides the right for individuals to have freedom of association.

“If you check what has been happening in the trade union movement, every time you stand up against the Government of the day you are being identified with the Opposite. When are we going to get to the issue before us? And the issue before us is better working conditions and improved salaries for teacher said that is all we have been fighting for.”

14 News

wednESdAY, october 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

76 graduate from pest control CAPAM delegates impressed with Guyana’s Smart Classroom applicators programme

The Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board Pest Control Applicators’ graduating class of 2018

I

n observance of Pesticides Awareness Week 2018, the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB) of the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday graduated 76 Pest Control Applicators (PCAs) from the basic and intermediate levels of the programme.

Pesticides Awareness Week 2018 is themed, “Increase food safety, Reduce dependency on Pesticides, Adopt Integrated Pest Management (IPM)”.

The Board is tasked with the responsibility for licensing, registration, training, inspecting and enforcement of the laws related to pesticides, and executes these activities with the aim of ensuring sound chemicals management in Guyana, reduced human health and environment risk, and increased food safety in agriculture production.

At a ceremony held in Georgetown, PTCCB Chairman and lead trainer for the pesticide handling course, Dr Leslie Munroe said that the basic pesticide applicator course aimed to educate persons on the responsible management of pesticides and toxic chemicals.

He noted that this initiative also aimed to get the message across that pesticides were most effective if used properly.

Dr Munroe explained that the law prescribes that all persons dispensing pesticides and other toxic chemicals ought to be certified and the PTCCB has agreed to provide three levels of training for everyone.

While delivering the feature address, Permanent Secretary of the Agriculture Ministry, Delma Nedd echoed similar sentiments as she noted that “we need to put a halt to the manner in which we use pesticides”.

Further, Nedd highlighted some of the dangers which this practice posed to individuals, especially the

young, and also reminded of the dangers of applying pesticides to enclosed spaces with people present.

Triecia Garnath of the PTCCB acknowledged the efforts of the Board as an important driver in ensuring the proper management of pesticides and toxic chemicals. She challenged the graduates to utilise the knowledge gained to educate others and to contribute to the ongoing effort across Guyana.

At Tuesday’s ceremony, three graduates were given special prizes for the highest score at the intermediate levels of the programme.

This year marked the sixth annual Pest Control Applicators graduation ceremony.

Information Technology Coordinator Marcia Thomas (centre standing) addressing the delegates of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) on how the Smart Classroom works

D

elegates of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) were impressed after a demonstration of how Guyana’s Smart Classrooms work.

The delegates are currently in Guyana for the 12th Biennial Conference.

They were given a handson tour of the operations of one of the classrooms by the National Centre for Educational Resource Development’s (NCERD) Information Technology (IT) Coordinator Marcia Thomas. The IT Coordinator informed the delegates that the smart classroom was

born out of a need to meet the needs of the people, especially those in the hinterland regions. Thomas explained that it is also in keeping with Guyana’s green agenda since the room is powered by solar energy.

Many of the delegates were amazed by the system which can effectively contribute to the education process for a large population.

Thomas explained that prior to the system’s implementation, teachers were trained to effectively deliver lessons to their students using the new technology. She also indicated that the teacher conducting the lessons has full control of every student’s de-

vice.

“With the help of the e-Governance unit, we have started connecting all the schools in Guyana. So, every child will have access to education. Every day we have master teachers in here teaching, every child who missed school can into smart class Guyana and pull up that lesson,” she is quoted by the Department of Public Information as explaining.

Thomas also highlighted that shortly, an application (APP) will be launched to further enhance the smart classroom. This APP will provide access to hundreds of textbooks, free of cost, for students.

“Persons need to take climate change seriously” – Lt Col Craig

A

cting Director General of the Civil Defence Commission, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig urged stakeholders to be more proactive in the

fight to mitigate climate change.

On day two of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM)

A section of the gathering at the 2018 Biennial Conference on Tuesday

2018 Biennial Conference, with focus being placed on climate change, the CDC head said, “this is not the time to sit back and wait” on the impacts of climate change, measures need to be “in place to ensure that we reduce the impact.”

“Having a conference focusing on climate governance is critical because the changes that are necessary need to come from the policy level and also be operationalised,” he said.

The acting Director General also remarked that while there are policies and plans tabled, the implementation of these is faced with challenges. He explained “For us to have satisfactory implementation, you must have the governance sys-

tems in place at all level,” adding that the key to this is at the individual level.

“Persons need to take climate change seriously; persons need to take disaster risk management seriously and start working on reducing their risk on an individual level, that’s the only way we would be able to withstand the impact of climate change.”

Lieutenant Colonel Craig told the Department of Public Information that the sessions have been “enlightening” with “very useful information” being shared among representatives of Commonwealth nations.

He noted that the Conference presents an opportunity for public servants to learn about different

strategies and tools being used by the international community and utilise what is applicable to Guyana.

The Civil Defence Commission head disclosed that he hopes to see “positive social change” after the conclusion of the conference, adding that participants should “take away important messages, important tools and go back to their organisations and start implementing those systems.”

CAPAM 2018 continued with sessions on integrating risk management processes in decision making, balancing climate action and economic growth, and strategies for developing policies and engaging citizens on day two.

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wednesdAY, october 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Ramsammy’s Ruminations 7 termite-infested hotel rooms storing medicines, Diamond warehouse half-empty

A

fter three-and-a-half years of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC), most Guyanese feel our Government is rotten to the core. Nothing exemplifies the rotten, corrupt, incompetent and uncaring core of APNU/AFC more than the report that medicines are being kept in termite-infested, humid and hot hotel rooms, while half of a Government-owned, i n t e r n a t i o n a l - s t a n d a rd warehouse at Diamond, East Bank Demerara is empty.

People were stunned by the report that medical supplies were simply thrown into seven termite-infested, hot rooms at the Ocean View Hotel. Incompetence or corruption?

When did the Ocean View Hotel rooms become "medical bonds"? Who Dr Leslie Ramsammy certified these rooms as suitable for warehousing medical supplies? When did the Ministry contract these rooms? Was the need for more space to store medical supplies ever advertised? How much is the Public Health Ministry paying for the use of seven rooms at Ocean View? Where is the contract for the use of these rooms? The Auditor General could not answer any of these questions. All he could say is that there are seven rooms which are termite-infested, no temperature control, in which medical supplies were dumped and there was no way to verify what was in the room. This is simply shameless, naked corruption.

While the daily newspapers and TV newscasts have highlighted this glaring corruption, there are many other questions yet to be asked. Why the need for extra space to store medical supplies, when just down the road, there is a half-empty, international-standard warehouse owned by Government? What is happening at the Diamond Medical Warehouse? If they tell us that Diamond is filled to capacity, we should really worry. First, if it is filled to capacity, why do we still have such chronic shortages of medicines across the country? If it is not full, why did we have to use termiteinfested hotel rooms not far away? MPs and the media must demand to view the warehouse to verify the status at Diamond. My information is that the bond is only halfutilised, just as it was when the Sussex Street "medical bond" was contracted at the princely sum of about $15 million per month.

Does this mean that at a time when APNU/AFC has buckled under pressure to end the contract by yearend for the Sussex Street "Medical Bond", that this bond, too, is finally now fully utilized? The Auditor General's Report appears to describe the Sussex Street "Medical Bond" that is not at full capacity and improperly used. But let us not forget that the Sussex Street "Bond" was only an excuse to be generous to one of APNU/AFC's friends and that the official explanation given by the Prime Minister was that the "bond" was needed to avoid traffic on the East Bank Demerara.

In the Auditor General's Report 2017, there are ugly examples of how warehousing medical supplies provides opportunities for corruption. The misuse of the Sussex Street 'medicine bond" is simply mind-boggling. This misuse adds to the shameful corruption of paying a donor and friend of APNU/AFC more than $400 million since July 2016.

Basically, the Auditor General confesses exasperation that things have just been thrown into the "bond", without any proper system of packing or cataloguing. Is the Ocean View rooms now another generous outreach to a friend?

These corrupt contracts to warehouse medicines and medical supplies appear even worse considering this Government turned its back on the opportunity to use an international standard warehouse at a cost dramatically less than what APNU/AFC is incurring for the Sussex Street "bond". For more than a decade, before 2015 and until 2016, the Health Ministry utilised a real medical warehouse owned by the NEW GPC for free. When the owners asked for a nominal payment for the continued use of this warehouse, the Government refused and ended up with a makeshift, unacceptable "bond" they were willing to pay rent and other charges amounting to $15 million per month, far in excess of what they would have paid for the continued use of an internationally certified warehouse. But at the time, there was also adequate space available at Diamond.

The latest Auditor General's Report, the 2017 Audit, is a catalogue of corruption in Guyana. That the Auditor General's Report 2017 contains evidence of corruption is not breaking new grounds. But the Auditor General's Report 2017 exceeds all previous reports in terms of the levels of corruption. Almost every page of the Auditor General's Report 2017 has some evidence of corruption. Since its release in the Parliament two weeks ago, the newspapers have been highlighting some sensational examples of the corruption that appears to have Central Government's stamp of complicity.

2 years after loan approved

Road linking ECD with EBD still to commence

T

wo years following the signing of a concessional loan with the Government of India, construction is still to commence on the new road linking the East Coast of Demerara with the East Bank of Demerara.

The road, which will link Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) to Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD), is intended to reduce congestion by providing commuters with an alternative route, with construction scheduled to begin in late 2016.

However, although it was announced by Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson that works were set to commence at the end of 2016, it was now being reported by the Ministry

that the project was still in the preparatory stage.

The project reportedly has three distinctive stages: stage one – detailed project report preparation; stage two – construction supervision and stage three – post-construction/defects liability period.

The final report of stage one, which is being undertaken by an Indian company called RITES Limited for the sum of US$1,321,000, is expected to be submitted in April of next year, with actual construction expected to start that July.

This stage had commenced in April 13, 2018 and to date the consultant (RITES) has submitted the inception and feasibility reports. The Public

Infrastructure Ministry in a statement on Tuesday disclosed that the “new road will also integrate other local distributor roads on the East Bank Demerara with the road network of Georgetown and East Coast Demerara corridor while simultaneously improving the connectivity with the Ogle Airport”.

According to the Ministry, “this is consistent with the Transportation Policy Proposal of the Greater Georgetown Development Plan (2001-2013) aiming to link the road networks on the East Coast Demerara, East Bank Demerara and the capital city”. Currently, the East Bank Highway is the only exit route available to residents who live in

Georgetown, ECD and EBD. Since these areas are below sea level and prone to flooding, the importance of an alternative route in the case of any major natural disaster was also outlined.

The design will allow for a new alignment (approximately 15 kilometres long) which will connect the ECD to the EBD at the aforementioned limits.

It will also allow for the integration with the existing road network via a number of connector roads with Aubrey Barker Road, Haags Bosch Road, Mocha Arcadia Road and Diamond Access Road.

According to the Ministry, “Based on submissions thus far the approximate budget is 104 million United States dollars (US$104,000,000).”

16

guyanatimesgy.com

wednesdAY, october 24, 2018

Regional

Calypso icon “Mighty Shadow” dies at age 77 Hurricane Willa bears

L

egendary Trinidadian Calypsonian Winston “Mighty Shadow” Bailey passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 77.

Bailey, who had been ailing for some time, suffered a stroke last weekend and his family confirmed that he died in hospital in the early hours of Tuesday morning, days before he was set to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies for his contributions as a composer.

Among his hits were “Bassman”, “Pay the Devil”, “Poverty is Hell”, “What’s Wrong With Me”, “Feeling the Feeling” and “Yuh Lookin’ For Horn”.

Tributes have been pouring in since the news of his death broke.

Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley said Bailey had “revolutionised the calypso world with his haunting sound and unique delivery which he crafted

The “Mighty Shadow” died in hospital days after suffering a stroke

and perfected in an impressive catalogue of work spanning several decades”.

Bailey was awarded the prestigious Hummingbird Silver Medal in 2003 for his contribution to music in Trinidad and Tobago, and also won the Road March title twice, as well as the Calypso Monarch.

Minister of Communications Stuart Young added that Bailey brought “something different” to the calypso/soca genre. “From the way he dressed and danced to the layered lyrics he sang. Shadow’s songs were in many ways a commentary on us as a people but also a rallying call for us to reflect and perhaps change those characteristics he felt didn’t work for us,” he said.

“His contribution to the cultural landscape is remarkable and immeasurable. Trinidad and Tobago has lost a unique voice.” (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

T&T floods: Unite to help those in need – President

T

rinidad and Tobago President Paula-Mae Weekes says now is not the time to ascribe blame for the flooding that has taken place but a time to come together and help those affected by it.

However, when things are rectified, Weekes said, citizens need to do everything humanly possible to ensure that we do not have a repeat of the “catastrophic events and the chaos recently experienced”.

Weekes made the statement in a press release issued on Monday on the devastation caused by flooding over the weekend and the emergency response and relief efforts since then. The recent flood devastation along the east-west corridor, central and south-east Trinidad, affected thou-

Trinidad and Tobago President Paula-Mae Weekes said she “looked on with mounting horror and grave concern at the immediate and after-effects of last week’s deluge”

sands. Rain continued on Monday bringing more anxiety.

The President said she “looked on with mounting horror and grave concern at the immediate and after-ef-

fects of last week’s deluge”.

“Whether caused by an act of God, omissions or commissions of institutions or individuals, or any combination thereof, this is not the time to ascribe blame,”

Weekes said.

“It is the time for us all to come together as a nation to render whatever assistance we can to those in such desperate need. Many of our individual and corporate citizens have led the way in extraordinary demonstrations of bravery, compassion and generosity. We thank and commend them and let us all follow suit to whatever extent we are able.”

Weekes said the selflessness displayed by citizens was also a cause for hope.

Meanwhile, various countries have reached out to Trinidad and Tobago offering assistance, as food shortages, higher food prices and unusual health threats may be looming.

down on Mexico

M

exico braced Tuesday for the impact of Hurricane Willa as the Category 3 storm barrelled toward its Pacific Coast with what forecasters warned would be potentially deadly force.

Willa was a maximum Category 5 hurricane on Monday, but lost strength as it moved toward landfall – expected on Tuesday afternoon or evening, the US National Hurricane Centre said in its 1500 GMT update.

Nevertheless, the NHC warned, "Willa is expected to be a dangerous hurricane when it reaches the coast of Mexico." It was on course to slam into Mexico between the states of Sinaloa and Nayarit, somewhere around the resort town of Mazatlan.

The NHC said aircraft data showed the core of the storm was currently sweeping over the Marias islands, where Mexico has a federal prison.

The Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to questions on whether it had

evacuated the 1,000 inmates housed there or what other emergency measures were in place for the penal colony.

In Mazatlan, a tranquil beach town with turquoise waters, the hotels that line the coast were largely empty as workers nailed plywood over the windows.

Residents were stocking up on food and water, but there were no signs of shortages so far. Willa has maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometres (125 miles) per hour, the NHC said.

It is expected to dump 15 to 30 centimetres (six to 12 inches) of rain on parts of Sinaloa, Nayarit and Jalisco states, with some areas getting up to 45 centimetres.

The Hurricane Centre said that large storm swells off the coast are also "likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions."

Willa was located about 205 kilometres SouthSouthwest of Mazatlan, churning North-Northeast at nine kilometres per hour.

(Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Caribbean Development Bank and UWI sign historic MoU

(Trinidad Guardian)

Public Sector layoffs begin in Barbados

D

ays after Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced plans to cut up to 1500 government jobs, public servants have started going home. Head of the Civil Service, Dr Louis Woodroffe confirmed in a government statement issued yesterday evening that the process began last Friday and is expected to end today.

It was on October 14 in a televised address to the nation that Mottley said no more than 1500, mostly in tempo-

rary positions, would be laid off in the weeks to come as her Government continues to execute its International Monetary Fund(IMF)supported economic recovery and transformation plan which includes restructuring the public service and reducing expenditure.

The Head of the Civil Service stressed that every effort was being made to ensure “a smooth process according to established principle of last in, first out, and that these of-

ficers who have made a valuable contribution to the public service and Barbados are treated fairly”.

Acknowledging that the layoff process is one of the most challenging aspects of any restructuring process, Woodroffe said the Government was making every effort to ensure that public officers are given the necessary support to assist them in going forward.

That includes opportunities for retraining to allow

them to provide services to Government, including, the digitizing of Government records, as recently announced

by Prime Minister Mottley.

It is also anticipated that some of the displaced workers will find employment in the upcoming projects. A second phase of layoffs – up to 1000 more – is expected to be carried out in the next fiscal year at statutory corporations, according to Government economic advisor Dr Kevin Greenidge. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

IDB to provide more than US$50M per year for investment projects in Jamaica

T

he Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is making more than US$50 million a year available for investment in a number of projects in Jamaica, through its investment arm, IDB Invest.

IDB Invest General Manager, James P Scriven, who made the disclosure on Friday, said that tourism, infrastructure, transportation, ports, roads, as well as the financial sector, are the areas identified to benefit. He said the funds will be made available over “a cou-

ple of years”.

He was speaking at a luncheon hosted by the IDB's new Executive Director for Caribbean countries, Ambassador Selwin Hart, at the organisation's headquarters in Washington, DC. Scriven told the Caribbean Ambassadors and IDB officials in attendance that IDB Invest is taking keen interest in Jamaica and its development, noting that the funds being made available will support key growth projects.

Meanwhile, he affirmed the

IDB Group's commitment to supporting investments for projects within the wider Caribbean.

“We have over US$300 million that we will loan to various projects in the Caribbean, as we feel the IDB needs to pay more attention and give more financial support to the Caribbean,” he informed. He noted that the Bank had employed staff in all the Caribbean countries where it has a presence, in order to ensure that the necessary groundwork for the expansion of IDB

Invest can take place.

Jamaica's Ambassador to the United States and Chairman of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Caucus of Ambassadors, Audrey P Marks, welcomed the announcement of IDB funds to be made available for projects in Jamaica.

Ambassador Marks said that as Chairman of the Caricom Caucus of Ambassadors, she is pleased that IDB Invest is looking to help finance a number of projects throughout the region. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Professor, Sir Hilary Beckles, UWI Vice Chancellor, (left); and Dr William Warren Smith, CDB President (right) sign an MoU to support a stronger partnership between the two institutions, while Diana Wilson Patrick, General Counsel, CDB (centre) looks on

T

he Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and The University of the West Indies (UWI) have signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focused on promoting institutional strengthening and evidence-based decision making for economic and social policy issues relevant to the region.

The CDB said the MoU supports a stronger partnership between the two institutions on programmes and projects. It covers shared priorities such as promoting youth development and community inclusion through sport, improving implementation capacity and developing joint training and educational programmes.

CDB President Dr Warren Smith hailed the agreement as a vital step that will allow for deeper collaboration and coopera-

tion on critical issues facing the Caribbean.

UWI Vice Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles described the CDB as a valued partner in advancing the development of the region, which is the primary mandate of the University.

CDB and the UWI have ongoing partnerships that support the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, including projects in areas such as climate adaptation and mitigation, gender equality, and education and training.

In 2013, the Bank approved a US$13 million project to support the expansion and rehabilitation of the UWI’s Open Campus locations in St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

It also invested in the development of UWItv and in 2018, approved funding to enhance the UWI’s new Faculty of Sport. (Excerpt from

Caribbean360)

17

wednesdAY, october 24, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the World

US confirms withdrawal from nuclear arms treaty with Russia

T

he US national security adviser, John Bolton, has confirmed that the US will withdrawal from the landmark intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty (INF) after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior Russian officials.

Speaking in Moscow, Bolton said that Russia had been violating the treaty for years and that rising powers such as China meant that it was a “new strategic reality out there”.

Bolton also said that China’s cyber-attacks against the United States made Russia seem like the “junior partner”. He did not go into detail. The INF was a “bilateral treaty in a multipolar ballistic missile world”, Bolton said, adding that no formal steps had yet been taken but that the US would exit the treaty “in due course”.

The treaty, concluded in 1987, barred the United States and Russia from deploying missiles with a range from 500 to 5500km, and largely was credited with

A

President Vladimir Putin and John Bolton during a meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow on Tuesday

banishing nuclear missiles from Europe.

Bolton avoided directly answering questions from press about whether “we’ll soon be seeing US missiles in Europe”, saying only that the single country constrained by the INF treaty was the United States.

Bolton also announced that Putin would meet with Donald Trump for talks when the two leaders are in Paris next month for the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, marking the formal end of World War I. It will be the first meeting

between the two presidents since their controversial Helsinki summit in July, and just their fourth meeting in person since Trump became President. Russia played up the meeting, with a Kremlin aide saying the talks would be “a full-fledged meeting.

There will be serious preparations.”

Bolton met with Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday, where he came to explain the US exit from the INF. The Russian leader joked that the US seal showed an eagle carrying olives branches and arrows. (Excerpt from The Guardian)

UN warns half Yemen's people could soon be on brink of famine

T

he United Nations aid chief sounded the alarm at the Security Council on Tuesday that half the population of war-torn Yemen – some 14 million people – could soon be on the brink of famine and completely relying on humanitarian aid for survival.

“There is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen: much bigger than anything any professional in this field has seen during their working lives,” UN aid chief Mark Lowcock said.

He described the scale of what was being faced in

Oldest intact shipwreck known to humanity found in Black Sea

Yemen as “shocking” given that only two famines had been declared in the world in the past 20 years – Somalia in 2011 and a localised famine in South Sudan last year.

A proxy war is playing out in Yemen between Iran and Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing Government forces fighting the Iran-allied Houthi group.

Iran has denied supplying weapons to the Houthis.

Lowcock said the United Nations currently coordinates the delivery of aid to some eight million people in Yemen

and that the humanitarian crisis has been deepened by an economic crisis and continued fighting around the country’s key Hodeidah port.

Yemen traditionally imports 90 per cent of its food.

He appealed for a humanitarian ceasefire, protection of the supply of food and essential goods across the country, a larger and faster injection of foreign exchange into the economy through the central bank, increased humanitarian funding and support, and for the warring parties to engage in peace talks. (Excerpt from

Reuters)

n ancient Greek trading ship dating back more than 2400 years has been found intact at the bottom of the Black Sea off the Bulgarian coast, according to researchers, who hailed it as the world's oldest known shipwreck.

The ship, which is lying on its side with its mast and rudders intact, was dated back to 400BC – a time when the Black Sea was a trading hub filled with Greek colonies.

"A small piece of the vessel has been carbon dated and it is confirmed as the oldest intact shipwreck known to mankind," the British-

led Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project said in a statement on Tuesday.

This type of ship has previously only been seen in an intact state on the side of ancient Greek pottery such as the Siren Vase held by the British Museum.

The team, which includes British, Bulgarian, Swedish, US and Greek marine archaeologists and maritime scientists, said the vessel was found at a depth of more than 2km.

The water at that depth is oxygen-free, meaning that organic material can be preserved for thousands of years. The Greek ves-

sel is one of more than 60 shipwrecks identified by the project, including Roman ships and a 17th-century Cossack raiding fleet.

In addition to dozens of shipwrecks, they found the remains of an early Bronze Age settlement underwater near the former shore of the Black Sea. During the three-year project, researchers used specialised remote deep-water camera systems previously used in offshore oil and gas exploration to map the sea floor.

A documentary on the project will open on Tuesday at the British Museum.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Saudi Arabia pledges US$6B to Pakistan amid economic crisis

S

audi Arabia has agreed to give Pakistan US$3 billion for a period of one year as the South Asian country faces an economic crisis marked by a mounting balance of payments deficit and dwindling foreign currency reserves.

The Gulf kingdom also pledged an additional loan worth up to US$3 billion in deferred payments for oil imports, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The agreement came during a visit by Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan to Riyadh, where he met King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Khan also attended a high-profile investment conference that opened in the Saudi capital on Tuesday.

"It was agreed Saudi Arabia will place a deposit of US$3 billion for a period of one year as balance of payment support," Pakistan's Foreign

Pakistani PM Imran Khan attends the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh

Ministry said.

The additional deferred payment facility for oil imports will be in place for three years, which will be reviewed thereafter, the Ministry stated. Pakistan's Government, led by the cricketer-turned-politician Khan, inherited a mountain of economic challenges when it came to power in July.

Pakistan is currently facing a balance-of-payments crisis – with a nearly US$18 billion deficit, accord-

ing to the latest figures by the State Bank of Pakistan, while its Public Sector debt stands at US$75.3 billion – which is 27 per cent of Pakistan's gross domestic product.

Pakistan has a close economic and strategic relationship with Saudi Arabia, which is home to at least 1.9 million Pakistani expatriate workers. The kingdom tops the list of countries with the highest remittances sent to Pakistan. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Taiwan train crash driver NASA photographs rectangular iceberg disabled speed controls

Sunday's crash was Taiwan's worst rail disaster in decades. Authorities say five of the train's eight carriages ended up on their side

T

he driver of the train that crashed in Taiwan on Sunday killing 18 people has said he turned off its speed-control system before the accident.

He told a court he had disabled the system after earlier in the day it had slowed down the train because of a fault.

Prosecutors accuse the driver of negligence for failing to switch the system back on.

The deadly crash is the territory's worst rail accident in 27 years. A total of 366 passengers were on the train when all eight of its carriages derailed. At least three children are among

the dead. The train came off the rails while moving at almost 140km/h (87mph), nearly twice the speed limit imposed due to a curve in the track, officials said.

Prosecutors questioned the injured driver on Tuesday before he was returned to hospital.

According to officials, the

driver said he had switched off the speed control system after a failure slowed down the train earlier in the journey. The Puyuma Express 6432 service derailed close to Xinma station, near the town of Su'ao, about 70km from the territory's capital Taipei. The driver "did not have the assistance of automatic speed monitoring and braking and should have taken necessary reactive measures, knowing there was a big curve ahead, instead of hitting the brake near the platform that led to the derailment", Yilan district court was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

Video of the crash site on local television shows passengers breaking windows to escape the carriages. (Excerpt from BBC News)

N

ASA has released a striking photo of a rectangular iceberg floating in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica. The US space agency said the object's sharp angles and flat surface suggested it had recently broken away from an ice shelf.

The edges are still pointed, and have not yet been worn down by the ocean waves.

The picture was taken last week by scientists on a NASA research plane. Such objects are not unknown, however, and even have a name - tabular icebergs.

These are flat and long and form by splitting away from the edges of ice shelves.

Kelly Brunt, a glaciologist with NASA and the

University of Maryland, said the process of formation was a bit like a fingernail growing too long and cracking off at the end.

They were often geometrically-shaped as a result, she said. "What makes this one a bit unusual is that it looks almost like a square," she added. This particular 'berg came from the crumbling Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula.

It's difficult to tell exactly how big the iceberg is from the photo, but experts said it was probably more than 1.6km (one mile) across. And, as with all icebergs, the part visible on the surface comprises just a small fraction of the object's mass – in this case about 10 per cent. (BBC News)

18

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wednesdAY, october 24, 2018

ARCHIE

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dilbert

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CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Listen to what others have to say, but when it’s time to make a choice, do what you feel is best for you.

Put some muscle behind your actions.

There is no room for anger today. Focus on what needs to be done and follow through with determination. A personal improvement can be made.

If you want to advance, you must put forth the energy required to make the higher-ups notice your efforts. Nothing happens overnight. Patience will be required.

Compromise will go a long way when it comes to forming solid relationships.

Plan activities with family, youngsters or a loved one to brighten your day.

Keep your life simple and affordable. Don’t buy into expensive fads or what someone is trying to coerce you into doing. Avoid manipulative people and arguments.

Don’t feel obliged to pay for someone else. Offer suggestions, advice or solutions, but don’t take charge.

Physical changes will make you feel good. Romance is on the rise.

Weigh the possible conLIBRA (Sept. 23- sequences before you make a Oct. 23) change. Keep an open mind and consider what others are doing and why they are doing it. Don’t let your emotions take the reins when a quick decision is required.

WORD GAME TODAY’S WORD — FINESSED (FINESSED: fih-NESD: Handled with skill or grace.)

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S WORD — QUAVERED

rave read reed revue rude rued dare dear deer

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

Getting along with others will be half the battle.

The other half will be maintaining consistency and fairness. Make love, not war.

Expect the unexpectSAGITTARIUS ed. Think on your feet and (Nov. 23- don’t skip a beat. Headway Dec. 21) can be made if you are quick to react and physically fit.

Strength and courage will be necessary.

Average mark 17 words Time limit 25 minutes Can you find 22 or more words in FINESSED? The list will be published tomorrow.

quad quaver queer urea uvea aver veer eared evade ever

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

Set the stage for what you want to do. Your determination and dedication will lead to new beginnings and positive changes.

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

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Don’t let your emotions get away from you when making big decisions.

Situations will get blown out of proportion quickly if you don’t set some ground rules.

Concentrate on bringing your ideas to fruition. If you can concoct a plan, idea or service, you can turn it into a reality. Changes can be made if you put in the effort.

wednesdAY, october 24, 2018

19

Sri Lanka top order inflicts heaviest ODI defeat on England

S

ri Lanka have inflicted upon England the heaviest defeat - in terms of runs - in their ODI history to clinch a morale-boosting victory in Colombo. Despite not having won any of their five most recently completed ODIs, Sri Lanka took advantage of a fine batting track and a slightly under-strength England attack to produce a vastly improved performance with the bat.

And, after their top four all scored half-centuries - the first time since 1998 each of Sri Lanka's top four had passed 50 in the same ODI innings - in producing their highest-ever ODI total against England, they had them three down within 10 balls of their reply to all but settle this match as a contest.

While the weather had the final word - of course it did; it's been the most consistent performer in the series - and prevented the possibility of England being bowled out within 27 overs, the fact that Duckworth-LewisStern Method was utilised to ascertain the result should do nothing to dilute the chasm that was the margin of victory: 219 runs is a thrashing. Only 21 times has an ODI been decided by a larger run margin: about half of those results were from games between Full Members and Associate Members.

There will be those who suggest England were punished for a certain amount of complacency ahead of this game. And it is true, in resting their captain, Eoin Morgan, and opening bowler, Chris Woakes, to provide opportunity for other players, they took decisions they may well not have done had the series not

this performance. Sam Curran conceded four fours in his second over - including three in succession to the admirably aggressive Samarawickrama who drove both over and through the field sweetly - and,

quite a few cutters in a bid to stem the flow of runs) in a spell that cost 8.80 runs an over. While Wood bowled with decent pace - he touched 90 mph at times - he conceded five wides and seven fours as

SCOREBOARD

Dhananjaya de Silva dismisses Ben Stokes

already been decided ahead of this match.

It is true, too, that some of England's fielding dipped way below the standards they have set in recent times. Certainly Tom Curran's dropping of Dinesh Chandimal, at midwicket, was uncharacteristic and expensive (Chandimal had 6 at the time), while Moeen Ali also missed a relatively straightforward chance offered by Akila Dananjaya in the last over of the Sri Lanka innings. Not since the defeat in Scotland in June have England looked so offcolour.

But to focus on England's lapses would be to fail to recognise the marked improvement in Sri Lanka's performance. In thrashing their highest total in this format since they scored 377 against Ireland in June 2016, they passed 300 for only the

second time in their 31 most recent ODIs. Given a fine start by Niroshan Dickwella and Sadeera Samarawickrama, who provided Sri Lanka's first century opening stand since July 2017, Kusal Mendis then thrashed his first ODI halfcentury since June 2017 (24 innings ago) before Dinesh Chandimal made his first ODI half-century in 18 innings.

While Dickwella contributed the innings he had been threatening all series and Samarawickrama produced his maiden ODI half-century, it was, perhaps, the form of Mendis that may prove most relevant. He is expected to play a crucial role in the Test series but came into this match having scored 0, 0, 0 and 5 in his four most recent ODI innings.

As it was, he struck the ball admirably cleanly in hitting

six sixes - including two eyecatching drives back over the head of Ben Stokes and two in successive deliveries from Tum Curran - in reaching 50 from just 30 balls.

It may prove an important innings for Chandimal, too.

His struggles to bat at the tempo required in modern ODI cricket have been a feature of his recent innings but here he reached 50 at a strike rate better than a run a ball for the first time since The Oval in June 2016. His final score - 80 - was his highest in ODIs since August 2016.

None of Mark Wood, Liam Plunkett or the Curran brothers - playing international cricket together for the first time; the first time brothers had played international cricket together for England since Adam and Ben Hollioake did so in 1999 will have given their World Cup selection much of a boost with

Sri Lanka Innings (50 overs maximum) N Dickwella † c Root b Ali 95 S Samarawickrama b Ali 54 LD Chandimal (c) c Roy b TK Curran 80 BKG Mendis c Stokes b Plunkett 56 MD Shanaka c Roy b Rashid 18 NLTC Perera c Hales b TK Curran 11 DM de Silva not out 19 A Dananjaya not out 18 Extras: (b 4, lb 3, w 8) 15 TOTAL (50 Overs, RR: 7.32) 366-6 Did not bat: PVD Chameera, CAK Rajitha, PADLR Sandakan Fall of wickets: 1-137 (S Samarawickrama, 19.1 ov), 2-168 (N Dickwella, 25.4 ov), 3-270 (BKG Mendis, 38.2 ov), 4-300 (MD Shanaka, 41.3 ov), 5-328 (LD Chandimal, 45.3 ov), 6-328 (NLTC Perera, 45.4 ov) BOWLING: MA Wood (8-055-0), SM Curran (6-0-46-0), TK Curran (8-0-71-2), MM Ali (8-0-57-2), AU Rashid (100-52-1), LE Plunkett ( 5-0-44-1), BA Stokes (5-0-34-0)

like his brother, conceded well over seven an over throughout his spell.

Plunkett, meanwhile, looked a little rusty - his average pace dropped below 80 mph (to be fair, he bowled

England Innings (target: 352 runs from 26.1 overs) JJ Roy b Rajitha 4 AD Hales c Mendis b Chameera 0 JE Root c Samarawickrama b Chameera 10 JC Buttler (c) † c †Dickwella b Chameera 0 BA Stokes c Perera b Dananjaya 67 MM Ali c Chandimal b Dananjaya 37 SM Curran c Sandakan b de Silva 2 AU Rashid b Dananjaya 4 LE Plunkett lbw b Dananjaya 5 TK Curran not out 1 Extras (lb 1, w 1) 2 TOTAL (26.1 Overs, RR: 5.04) 132-9 Yet to bat: MA Wood Fall of wickets: 1-4 (JJ Roy, 0.6 ov), 2-4 (AD Hales, 1.2 ov), 3-4 (JC Buttler, 1.4 ov), 4-28 (JE Root, 7.2 ov), 5-107 (MM Ali, 18.2 ov), 6-121 (SM Curran, 21.1 ov), 7-122 (BA Stokes, 22.1 ov), 8-129 (AU Rashid, 24.2 ov), 9-132 (LE Plunkett, 26.1 ov) BOWLING: CAK Rajitha ( 5-0-21-1), PVD Chameera (60-20-3), NLTC Perera (2-018-0), DM de Silva (4-0-181), A Dananjaya (6.1-0-19-4), PADLR Sandakan (3-0-35-0)

Sri Lanka rediscovered their fluency in dramatic fashion.

The 107 England conceded in the first 15 overs was the most scored off them since South Africa made 111 in February 2016. (ESPNcricinfo)

Dybala hands Ronaldo winning return to Manchester United

T

here was a time when Old Trafford would lap up these nights. Manchester United versus Juventus: it was an occasion, not just a football match. Except those were the days when the players in red could hold their own against even the most accomplished opponents. The days when it felt like anything was achievable and the European Cup felt like an obsession for the man staring out from the home dugout.

It feels very different now. This defeat was another demonstration of how far England’s biggest club have dropped away in the postFerguson years and, ultimately, the side now managed by José Mourinho came up so short it must have been a chastening experience for those supporters who remember better times.

The home team team did, in fairness, improve in the second half, emboldened by the kind of sporadic carelessness from their opponents

Juventus’ Paulo Dybala leaves David de Gea sprawling in the Manchester United goal as he gives his side the lead

that would have felt almost inconceivable during the long periods when Juventus spread their feathers, peacock-style, and assumed control due to a goal from Paulo Dybala, the game’s outstanding performer.

Paul Pogba struck a post and,

by the end, United had enough of the ball in promising areas to cling to the belief that they might have saved themselves. Yet the story of this match was of one team that is very much a work in progress facing another set of players who give the

impression they are completely in tune with one another. United survived a mauling from Cristiano Ronaldo – even if he did set up the game’s decisive moment – but it was a night that provided the compelling evidence that, for the modern United, it is a long way back.

They found out here why Juventus had begun the season with 10 successive victories. Massimiliano Allegri’s side arrived at Old Trafford with a four-point lead at the top of Serie A, on course to win their eighth Italian title in a row, and the seen-itall-before expression that you might expect from a club that regards their record in the European Cup, as twotime winners yet seven-times beaten finalists, to be an affront.

The beauty of this team is that it has no apparent weaknesses. Two of those losing finals have come in the previous four seasons and, for long spells, this was a display that embraced all that rich experience and knowhow. They looked, in short,

a cut above their opponents. And then, of course, they had a player wearing the No 7 shirt like a fashion statement, with a blur of orange in his boots and the look on his face, as always, that he fancied himself as the nearest thing in football to The Fonz.

On the previous occasion Ronaldo came back to Old Trafford it was with Real Madrid in 2013 and Sir Alex Ferguson, always scheming, had the idea for the public announcer to change the order in which the players’ names were read out. Ronaldo was ushered in last, as “the magnificent number seven”, because Ferguson wanted to crank up the pressure on his former player just before kick-off. For a while, it looked like a brilliant ploy and Ronaldo did, indeed, struggle initially to cope. Until, that is, he scored the goal that knocked out United and signalled Ferguson’s final involvement in the Champions League. (The Guardian)

20 Chris Gayle's absence is background noise for realist Jason Holder GUYANATIMESgy.COM

wednesdAY, october 24, 2018

J

ason Holder has called for a focus on the present as West Indies cricket grapples with Chris Gayle's availability for next year's World Cup, and has urged the younger players in the squad to make full use of their opportunities in India.

"What I say is, Gayle is not here," Holder said ahead of the second ODI. "We've got a pretty young core group of players. Regardless of what happens after this tour, that is too far and beyond at the present time. I'm just focusing on what we have to do and that is to play cricket here in India with the squad that we have selected. We've got young Chandrapaul Hemraj and obviously Kieran Powell at the top of the order. Hopefully these guys can get us off to a really good start. " Ambati Rayudu returned to international cricket after more than two years during last month's Asia Cup but the batsman, who has been publicly backed by the management, doesn't think that he was ever out of the race for a spot in the team.

"I don't think No. 4 is new to me because it's a position I've played a lot in and there's nothing new they've asked me to do. They've asked me to go out and play my game. Even before the IPL, it's not that I wasn't in contention. It was just I had a few injuries and wasn't fit.

"IPL is a good platform to

come back strongly, specially fitness, and I think I've done that. And I had to do. In terms of fitness, I'd been working on it, not only now but right from my injury so the yo-yo test didn't have any bearing on how I was preparing. I'm happy that I've cleared the test. [Lately] I've been going to the NCA for a week and then coming back, so there have always been these small pockets [where I've worked on fitness]."

During the first ODI, Gayle was at the inaugural Afghanistan Premier League, where he won the title with Balkh Legends shortly after retiring from List A cricket for Jamaica with a century. At the time, Holder had said he would welcome Gayle into the team at the World Cup and that the veteran would not have

played in the qualifiers if he did not have West Indies' best interests in mind.

But Holder's appeal to the youngsters to focus on their game rather than their place in the team adds weight to the words of head coach Stuart Law, who told ESPNcricinfo that senior players like Gayle and Andre Russell have been told that World Cup selection will come down to performances, and suggested that extra room for them in terms of criteria is not yet a given.

"Dre Russ and Chris - Chris has given us his programme for the next three months. I think he and Russ have been told that it'll now be down to performance, which is what selection should be based on. You're talking about two special cricketers there though,

" Law said, "so whether or not they get extra room to move remains to be seen.

But for me, you need players with good experience leading into a World Cup, guiding the youngsters how to play. We're lucky to have Marlon Samuels here. And his job on this tour is to show these kids how to go about a game.

"Who knows what the future holds. But yes, leading into the World Cup, this tour and the Bangladesh tour you've got to be pretty settled and you go into the England series with the full ODI squad.

We'll still be thinking about different positions and how we go. It's an opportunity for some to keep scoring runs and taking wickets - can't ignore it.

"If you have a batsman scoring hundred, and an 80 not out, all of a sudden their name's up in our minds. A bowler coming in taking a fourfor, or a five-for in a couple of games, their name's up in minds. So at the moment it's all about opportunity. " In keeping with that philosophy, West Indies fielded two debutants - Hemraj and Oshane Thomas - in the first ODI and have two uncapped players in Obed McCoy and Fabian Allen available in the reserves, among a few other inexperienced players.

But while they hope to give

everyone a run in the XI, it is unlikely that the batting order that made 322 in the last game will be changed, particularly on a pitch where India are likely to pick three spinners and form is going to be handy.

"I had a look at the wicket," Holder said. "Definitely, there is no grass on it. As we have seen, spinners tend to do pretty well here. Our spinners didn't do as well as we would have liked in the last game.

Credit to the two Indians who played outstanding knocks. I felt [Devendra] Bishoo came into his own in the second spell. He got the wicket of [Virat] Kohli, which is crucial for his confidence. It's important for him to be a bit more expressive and look to take wickets. [Ashley] Nurse just needs to just build more pressure and take one or two wickets in the middle overs.

The wicket might suit a little bit of spin. Hopefully, whoever is picked delivers." (ESPNCricinfo)

Federer survives scare to beat Krajinovic in Basel opener

T

op seed Roger Federer showed signs of ring rust in his first match at the Swiss Indoors on Tuesday but still had enough in the tank to push past unseeded Serbian Filip Krajinovic 6-2 4-6 6-4 and reach the last-16 in Basel.

Playing in front of his home fans Federer struggled to find his usual precision, racking up 38 unforced errors, but still managed some produced his usual array of dazzling winners i a contest which stretched just past the two-hour mark.

Next up for the world number three, an eight-time Basel champion, is Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, who beat Australian John Millman 7-6(3) 6-2.

In-form Russian seventh seed Daniil Medvedev also reached the last 16 by defeating German Maximilian

Roger Federer

Marterer 6-3, 7-5.

Medvedev, winner of this month’s Japan Open as a qualifier, faces unseeded Italian Andreas Seppi next after he served up the day’s only bagel en route to beating Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel 6-0 6-4.

Australian teenager Alexei

Popyrin claimed his first main draw victory on the ATP Tour as the qualifier got the better of a tussle with compatriot Matthew Ebden, winning 7-6(4) 6-4.

His prize could be a clash with second seed Alexander Zverev if the German gets past Dutchman Robin Haase.

(Reuters)

Coleman, Kipchoge shortlisted among IAAF Male Athlete of the Year race

C

hristian Coleman, Eliud Kipchoge and Noah Lyles are among a 10-man shortlist for the IAAF Male World Athlete of the Year.

Sprint star Coleman backed up a stellar 2017, which included World Championship silver in the 100 metres in London.

The American became the world indoor record holder and world indoor champion in the 60m, while also posting the world-lead time and finishing as Diamond League champion in the 100m.

Kipchoge enjoyed a standout year, winning the London and Berlin Marathons – the latter triumph seeing him make the biggest improvement in the men’s marathon world record since 1967.

Coleman’s compatriot

Christian Coleman

Lyles went unbeaten in his five races over 200m, including the Diamond League final, and posted a world-lead time.

Kevin Mayer also makes the shortlist after breaking the decathlon world record, as does European pole vault champion Armand Duplantis and worldlead 800m runner Emmanuel Korir.

Timothy Cheruiyot, Luvo Manyonga, Abderrahman

Samba and Tomas Walsh complete the list.

After a process combining votes from the IAAF Council, the IAAF Family and the public, the finalist will be presented at a Monaco awards ceremony on December 4.

On Monday, the likes of Caster Semenya and Dina Asher-Smith were shortlisted for the Female Athlete of the Year prize.

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21

14-member lawn tennis team depart for Cup of Guianas today

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Under -12 player Menikshi Jaikisson receives the sponsorship cheque from a Zico Engineering representative

O

n the eve of their departure from Guyana to head into competition, the lawn tennis team’s spirits were high as the players got in their final knocks at the preparatory camp before heading to Suriname today.

A team of 12 players and two coaches will venture to neighbouring Suriname to compete in the Cup of Guianas, where they will be defending their 2017 title against Suriname and French Guiana.

Guyana Times Sport caught up with one of the coaches, Shelly Daly-Ramdyhan at the National Racquet Centre, as she spoke on her expectations for this year’s competition.

“I am very confident that the team will do well; the kids are excited and ready to defend the Cup” was the Coach’s first comment regarding the

competition.

However, she did express that the short preparation period had posed a difficulty for the team, stating, “I’m not too pleased with the time that we had in terms of our preparation. I know the kids are a little concerned about that, but, nevertheless, during our training, I said to them we will compact all the work into a month.”

The Coach noted that under the guidance of herself and her colleague, the team were able to pull through and put in the right amount of work to ensure that they are ready for the tournament.

“I think that we were able to do that, so it’s now to take that training into the competition and see what happens,” DalyRamdyhan stated.

Now with the tournament

looming around the corner, it is expected that the young players would be experiencing a bit of jitters. On this note, Coach Daly-Ramdyhan explained that the task was now upon the Coaches and other chaperones to keep the participants as calm as possible, so that any feeling of doubt or nervousness would not interfere with their level of play.

“As it is now, everybody is relaxed. We try to keep them in that relaxed mode as long as we could; hopefully, when we get there and they’re all settled in and reality kicks in, we’ll try to keep them calm,” she stated.

“I think they’ll be fine,” DalyRamdyhan stated, expressing her confidence in their abilities.

The afternoon’s activities were made even better as two more corporate entities added to the list of sponsors who have

contributed to the athletes’ trip to Suriname. The Guyana Lawn Tennis Association expressed gratitude to P&P Insurance Brokers and Zico Engineering for their timely support of the sport.

The 14-member team will depart today for Suriname and will get into competition mode from Thursday. The athletes will be playing to defend Guyana’s 2017 title from Thursday to Saturday.

The team: Under-12 -Hayden Mentore, Rashida Hardy, Ricky Romascindo, and Menikshi Jaikisson; Under-14 – Vadeanand Resaul, Saskia Akilah Jones, Jeremiah Kalekyezi, and Nandanee Ramdyhan; Under-18 – Heimraj Resaul, Afruica Gentle, Viraj Sharma, and Kalyca Fraser.

The Coaches are DalyRamdyhan and Orande Dainty.

Marooners snatch victory NOT Hurricanes RECEIVING –from elegant half-centuries from Ottley and Kirton YOUR

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he Carlos Braithwaite-led Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) Marooners continued their brilliant tournament when they defeated a rusty-looking Leeward Islands Hurricanes outfit. Marooners defeated the Hurricanes by eight wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis method at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Monday.

Batting first, the Hurricanes crawled to 2099 in their 50 overs. In the second over of the match, Khesan Ottley removed Montcin Hodge for a duck.

Captain Devon Thomas and young Keacy Carty batted together until the 12th over when the latter was removed by Jermaine Levy for 26. Thomas, along with Jahmah Hamilton, continued to play positive cricket until he lost his wicket to the impressive off-spinner Jon-Russ Jagessar for 46 runs in the 22nd over.

Thomas’s innings was the top score for the Hurricanes, as the right hander smacked four boundaries and one maximum. Hamilton, who was featured in the West Indies Test matches in India, looked set for a big score, but was stopped by

Marooners celebrate after taking a Hurricanes wicket

Jagessar who continued his wicket-taking ways.

The lone centurion for the Leewards Hurricanes this season, Rakeem Cornwall, was removed two balls later in the same Jagessar over.

Five of Hurricanes batsmen reached 20 but failed to make significant contributions. Opening bowler Jermaine Levy bowled brilliantly, capturing 4-48 in his 10-over spell and Jagessar snaring 3-38 in his 10-over spell. Ottley was the other bowler with wickets to his

name, as he had 2-29 in 10 overs, bowling two maidens.

In Marooners’ reply, they were required to chase a revised target of 169 in 41 overs owing to the inclement weather as they cruised to victory with opener K Jorn Ottley stroking 67 and Nicholas Kirton scoring 65.

Opening the bowling with spin, Cornwall had Amir Jangoo with only nine runs to his name as the first wicket fell for 36 runs in the eighth over.

Marooners encountered no further hiccups until Ottley finished the bulk of the job scoring 67 from 94 balls with four fours and one six. Kirton and Jonathan Drakes saw their team across the line as they were left unbeaten on 65 and 21 respectively. Cornwall and Orlando Peters were the lone bowlers with one wicket to their names.

This encounter between Hurricanes and Marooners was the final preliminary match of this edition of the Regional Super50 Tournament with the finals to be played promptly.

(Brandon Corlette)

Nicholas Kirton bats during his half-century

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

wednesdAY, october 24, 2018

Annandale school St Rose’s to close out Guyoil 3rd round A

nnandale Secondary soared to their third straight win in the Guyoil/Tradewind Tankers Under-18 football tournament as the third round of competition came to a close on Monday evening.

The evening’s schedule had two intense games lined up, and they did not fail to deliver on a rain of goals and fight-to-the-death battles for the victory.

Game one saw Annandale Secondary and St Rose’s clash. The odds were in Annandale’s favour, given that they have won both games in the previous rounds. St Rose’s, however, are now finding their footing after stumbling in the first round.

Annandale began their campaign early in the game, with their first goal coming off the boots of Collin Hendriques in the 13th minute. Two minutes later, the Captain, Jamar Harrigon joined the scoring party.

Hendriques returned in the 18th minute for his second, taking the score to 3-0. But that was not the end of the goals in the first half. Omari Glasgow showed up with

The Annandale striker controls possession of the ball with St Rose’s players (green bib) in hot pursuit

his first in the 27th minute while his teammate Ron Robinson jotted his name down on the scorecard in the 32th to finish the half at 5-0.

With an already commanding lead, the Annandale boys seemed to slow down in the second half, with their shots surprisingly being scooped up by the Rose’s goalkeeper. However, this did not bar them from scoring as Glasgow netted his second in the 45th minute. The

pendulum briefly swung St Rose’s’ way as Ravon Bailey managed to make a breakthrough for his team saving them from a scoreless defeat. His first came in the form of a successful penalty and minutes later in the 57th minute, Bailey caught the Annandale goalkeeper over-anticipating the shot, which resulted in his inability to block the goal.

Before time could expire, Jerome Harrigon and Rondell Maxwell each found

the back of the St Rose’s net to push the final score to 8-2.

Annandale Captain Jemar Harrigon reflected on both his individual and the team’s performance, noting: “I don’t think I did how I should have, but on behalf of the team, we played really good.”

Admitting that the team

are working on maintaining their agility in the second half, Harrigon further noted that their training sessions were paying off.

“Getting eight goals really feels great ‘cause the training sessions we have been putting in were really good. But the changes we made really made a difference today too,” he said.

Additionally, the youngster is looking forward to better performances from his team for the remainder of the tournament. “The next game I feel is a more competitive game, but every game I feel we should come out on top in this competition.”

The other match

o f the evening featured Queenstown and Dolphin Secondary in a highly-competitive match-up. Both teams have suffered similar fates in the competi-

tion, losing by large margins to the front runners. As a result, both Dolphin and Queenstown were hungry to put their first win on the board.

Both sides were cautious at the beginning, but a goal from Kieron Dazzell of Dolphin ignited the players. Eight minutes after Dazzell’s goal, Kester Stewart of Queenstown netted his team’s reply, pushing the score to 1-1. The first half soon expired and the second saw refreshed players with the same objective; however, neither of the teams were able to bring their plans to fruition as they constantly missed the target. They eventually settled for sharing the points for the 1-1 draw.

T h e G u y o i l / T r a d e w i n d Tankers Petraorganised tournament will continue this Sunday at the Ministry of Education Ground, Carifesta Avenue.

Sol backs GMR&SC’s “Ignite”

S

ol Petroleum Group has announced its partnership with the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) for the much-anticipated “Ignite” motor racing meet, which is scheduled for November 10-11 at the South Dakota Circuit at Timehri.

Sol representative Thandi Bryan confirmed the partnership by handing over the company’s contribution on Monday.

The GMR&SC, in a statement, confirmed that the partnership with the petrol distributors represented the company’s faith in the organisation and by extension, the fact the event has been gaining a lot of traction.

“Ignite” is expected to see the culmination of the 2018 season of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship for Groups One to Five as well as the Superstocks (bikes) and SR3 radicals along with the local classes.

Sol's Thandi Bryan (left) hands over her company's sponsorship to GMR&SC's Surica Singh during a simple presentation

The overseas aspect of competition will see drivers from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Canada.

Among the local competitors are Mark Vieira, defending Group Four champion Andrew King, Danny Persaud, Rupee Shewjattan, Rameez Mohamed, Chet Singh, Shiraz Roshandin, Matthew Vieira, Raviero Tucker, Team Mohamed’s (Superbike champions), Kevin Deodass, Anand Ramchand and Adrian Fernandes.

Among the sponsors for the event are ExxonMobil, BM Soat, Noble House Seafoods, Stag Beer, Air Services Limited, Guyoil, Palm Court, Hand-inHand, Ramada Hotel, Survival Supermarket, Club 704, Sheriff Security, EC Investments, Prem’s Electrical, Nexus Machinery, Mohamed’s Enterprise, Choke Gas Station, Japarts, R Kissoon Contracting, E-Networks,

Miracle Opticle, Bikers’ Bar, Samaroo Investments, Innovations America and SuperBet, Agriparts, Mobil1 and KGM Security Service.

Tickets for the packed 27race two-day meet are on sale for $2500 (adults) and $1000 (children) at the GMR&SC’s Thomas Lands office. On Saturday, there will be the time trials beginning at 10:00h in all the classes followed by official races in the Street Cross Motorcycle, 125cc Motorcycle, Street Tuner, Choke Starlet Cup and Sports Tuner, which will be 10 laps each from 13:20h.

The feature race on Saturday will see 20 gruelling laps in the first highly-anticipated clash in the SR3 Radicals Cup. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the exciting racing fans’ hunger for scorching action will be well-satisfied with a packed 19-race programme set for November 11.

guyanatimesgy.com

wednesdAY, october 24, 2018

23

2018 Regional Super50 Tournament…

Dominant Jaguars, jaded Scorpions to clash in first semi

T

he Regional Super50 leaders, Guyana Jaguars will clash with the Jamaica Scorpions in the first semi-final in this edition of the Tournament on Thursday, October 25, at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.

This much-anticipated encounter is scheduled for a 14:00h start.

With rain spoiling the Jaguars’ last match, they are seeking to build momentum

against a weary Jamaica Scorpions team who have lost their last two matches.

Scorpions have suffered a 39-run defeat against the Barbados Pride, with their most recent loss being against the promising United States of America team, who inflicted a massive 74-run defeat.

On the other hand, Jaguars are on 29 points having played eight matches, with two rainaffected games, for five wins

Ramphal and friends assist BCB with over $200K in gear

Brian Ramphal hands over gear to BCB Senior Coach Winston Smith in the presence of the other donors and BCB President Hilbert Foster

A

s a ripple effect of their unwavering dedication to the sport of cricket, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) continues to attract assistance from equally benevolent patrons in their quest to better the cricketing world in the Ancient County.

The most recent of these donations was a collection of cricket gear to the tune of $200,000. The charge on the donation was led by Brian Ramphal with the support of his cousins – Raj Mathura, Sham Mathura and Michael Rampersaud – who all reside abroad. The donation will be utilised in the BCB’s countywide Coaching Programme and preparation of inter-county teams.

Ramphal, who earlier this year donated $1 million to Berbice cricket for several programmes, was this time supported by his cousins.

BCB President Hilbert Foster, during the presentation ceremony at the St Francis Training Centre, hailed the support of Ramphal and his friends on behalf of Berbice cricket. Foster noted that Ramphal came on board with the Board, on the advice of former Board Secretary Oscar Ramjeet and donated $1 million of his personal funds.

Ramphal’s funding was used to host a two-day Training Programme for 40 Pre-Level One Coaches, Double Wicket Tournament, Annual Award Ceremony and the publication of educational posters.

A 30-page magazine will also be published in early December as part of Ramphal’s sponsorship. The BCB President noted that Ramphal, along with Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh, has been the largest donor to the BCB in

2018, by virtue of achieving the seven-digit mark.

Both overseas-based donors were introduced to the Cricket Board by Ramjeet, who served as the Board Liaison Officer in the United States. The Board’s success on and off the cricket field over the past eight months has been achieved because of great support of sponsors, local and overseas.

The Foster-led administration in February of 2018 inherited a meagre $42,865 in the BCB bank account and through an aggressive and well-planned marketing drive, has been able to raise over $8 million worth of cash and contributions for Berbice cricket.

Administrator Angela Haniff stated that the donated gear would be used by the BCB Coaches in coaching outreaches while young cricketers who did not have their own gear would readily have access to them at trial matches.

Haniff noted that the Board was grateful to Ramphal and family for the contribution, and pledged to make sure that the gear was used for the intended purposes.

Ramphal stated that he was honoured to assist Berbice cricket as he was very impressed by the vision, achievements, accountability and hard work of the current administration. He noted that he was a strong follower of the legacy of Berbice cricket despite not being a Berbician.

Ramphal stated that he was satisfied that the funds were well used, and pledged to work along with Berbice cricket in the future. He expressed confidence in the future of Berbice cricket under its current leadership.

and a loss against arch-rivals Trinidad and Tobago Red Force. Experienced regional campaigner Christopher Barnwell leads the batting charts for the Guyana Jaguars with 255 runs in six innings at an average of 63.75 with a good strike rate of 93.75.

Brilliant Barnwell has two half-centuries to his name, including his unbeaten 99.

Barbadian Raymon Reifer has proved to be very effective with the bat this season for the Jaguars, scoring 217 runs at a formidable average of 72.33.

The consistent left-handed Reifer has three half-centuries to his name, striking at 83.14.

Trevon Griffith has 207 runs in the seven innings he batted, with two half-centuries to his name. It has been a great return this season for the Guyanese opener. Guyana Jaguars will be hoping for one of these fine batsmen to score a century as the lone Jaguars centurion Chanderpaul Hemraj is currently on international duty in India. With the class that Captain Leon Johnson has, his numbers in this tournament have proved wrong.

He will be eager to score, as he has had an ordinary Super 50 Tournament thus far, scoring only 107 runs at an average of 21.40, with his highest score being 37.

In the bowling department, consistency is the one word that describes the impressive Ramaal Lewis’s bowling, as he leads the Jaguars bowling chart with 12 wickets. His off-spinning service will be required in the semis, since his economy rate is below four.

However, it is Clinton Pestano, who had a dream tournament with the ball. Pestano, who has a bowling strike rate of 32.5, is second on the Jaguars bowling chart with 11 scalps, including the infamous hat-trick against Trinidad.

Skipper Johnson has counted on Pestano to pick up wickets this season and he will be called upon in this semi-final. Seasoned leftarm spinner Veerasammy Permaul and pace ace Romario Shepherd will offer support in the bowling department.

Meanwhile, Scorpions

have 21 points, but they are low on confidence, especially since that upset they were handed by USA, but they may have a good day against the Jaguars. Having played eight matches, Scorpions have won four and lost three with the other being rain-affected.

Axed West Indies Test batsman Jermaine Blackwood is having a scintillating tournament having scored 315 runs in eight innings at an average of 45. Blackwood also scored a masterful century this season along with two half- centuries.

The underrated Andre McCarthy has also been amongst the runs with 298 runs beneath his belt at an astonishing average of 49.67.

Classy opener John Campbell has 242 runs, but has struggled to find his groove with the bat in his last two innings.

Campbell has three halfcenturies, striking the ball at a daunting rate of 94.16.

The likes of Chadwick Walton and Brandon King will be looking for scores alongside their names since they failed miserably, with the bat averaging 10 and 24 respectively. Veteran leftarm spinner Nikita Miller is expected to take wickets.

Miller has been the leading Scorpions bowler with 11 wickets, and speedster Jerome Taylor has led the pace attack with eight wickets.

The Guyana Jaguars will be looking to overcome the Scorpions in the first semifinal, with CCC Marooners challenging Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the second semi-final, which will be played on Friday October 26, 14:00h Eastern Caribbean time. (Brandon Corlette)

wednesdAY, october 24, 2018

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

guyanatimesgy.com

14-member lawn tennis team depart for Cup of Guianas today Page 21

The full contingent of players and Coaches pose for a photo with a P&P Insurance Brokers representative after being presented with the sponsorship cheque

Sol backs GMR&SC’s “Ignite” Page 22

2018 Regional Super50 Tournament…

Dominant Jaguars, jaded Scorpions to clash in first semi

Page 23

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