Guyana Times Daily

GPHC gets first emergency specialist P17

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 1961 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Guyana among world’s top destinations to visit in 2014 See story on page 15

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

“Too many lil’ boys P2 driving” Granger P3 warns against Venezuela’s economic blockade GTI P9 graduates 394 skilled persons for workforce Republic P14 Bank honours CSEC Right Start Account holders

Lindener Cliff Wilson poses with his daughter and Courts Managing Director Clyde de Haas on Friday shortly after becoming the latest million -dollar winner as part of the Courts Guyana Inc “Become a Millionaire” promotion. Seven lucky customers will win a total of $8 million until December 28. To qualify, customers must shop $5000 and more to get a chance to enter the competition. Additionally, 12 consolation prizes ranging from the latest gadgets to household appliances and electronics will be given away weekly (Carl Croker photo)

Venezuelan airline to ply Guyana route

See story on page 7

Four Guyanese charged for US$50M Ghana cocaine bust See story on page 17

Digicel wins Corporate Citizens of Americas P14 award

One dead, two injured in Marias Delight P17 accident

2 news

saturday, november 23, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

“Too many lil’ boys driving” – Dias urges tougher enforcement of traffic laws

By Samuel Sukhnandan

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ounder of Mothers in Black Denise Dias is calling on government to make road safety a national priority, in order to reduce the increasing number of road accidents here, while lamenting that too many “lil’ boys” were being licensed to drive trucks and busses.

Dias, in a recent interview, told Guyana Times that while the current administration has made some steps to curb the issue, a more concerted effort is needed for real results.

Dias asserted that unless the matter is addressed in a holistic manner, the issue will continue to be a serious problem. She believes that there are many loopholes in the system, which contributes to unsafe roads.

According to her, the laws are not being enforced enough, and there continues to be high levels of corruption (bribery), among other issues. “How can we avoid the bribery and corruption? Its there and it’s blatant,” she said.

Reports have indicated that Guyana is losing many young people – especially men between the ages of 18-25 – to drunk driving. “And imagine we have youngsters behind the wheel who never had any experience, but they are driving our loved ones in buses and cars.” There continues to be a high number of drivers who have not gone through driving

school, or have even taken the driver’s examination.

On that note, Dias referred to the accident which occurred on the Coverden, East Bank Demerara Public Road that saw Rupesh Bhagwandin, 20, being charged with causing death by dangerous driving. Bhagwandin was driving the sand truck that crashed into a route 72 minibus, killing four persons on the spot. According to Dias, there are many more young drivers like Bhagwandin, who have little experience in driving, but are taking up driving jobs in taxi services, driving minibuses and trucks.

Need for retesting

The Mothers in Black founder is also calling on government to move swiftly to have minibus and hire car drivers retested. “Let them do the test over. I know people are going to be crying and wailing and saying no, but unfortunately, it’s getting more and more on people's doorsteps… where we got this can’t happen to me attitude, but it can happen to any family in Guyana, I think that everybody that drives a public vehicle should be called back in and retested, because I know for a fact that many of those people have bought their driver's license.”

Dias said a system should be developed, whereby drivers, when renewing their licences, would have to retake the

opportunity to advise the public about dangerous and drunk driving and the consequences.

Breathalyser progamme

Mothers in Black founder Denise Dias

test, in order to be issued a new licence. She noted that computerising the system will help to achieve many of these goals, noting that the judicial system is currently inundated with cases of speeding.

It is a known fact that during the Christmas season, the number of road fatality increases. Dias is therefore pleading with drivers, especially young people, that if they go out to party, they should take a reliable taxi or minibus operator, rather than drive home alone.

“Don’t say it can’t happen to you, it can, it happened to my daughter and many people,” she added.

Young people are needed to develop Guyana and the country cannot afford to lose more young people to accidents caused by careless or drunk driving. Using a mobile phone while driving continues to be a huge issue, not only in Guyana, but throughout the world, she said. With the upcoming race meet slated to take place at the Guyana Racing Circuit, Dias said the organisers should use the

When asked whether she believes that the breathalyser programme of the Guyana Police Force is as effective as it should be, Dias said in some cases it has been effective.

However, she thinks that a proper structure should be put into place. She explained that in most cases, drunk drivers are out in the evening and suggested that more police presence is needed during that period.

This, she said, is something that has been lacking. According to her, with a computerised system in place, the resources earned from speeding tickets and other fines, the police could be given extra incentives for catching drunk drivers and it could possibly help to curb the culture of police collecting bribes. Dias noted that a lot more has to be done generally in order to curb the increasing number of deaths caused by road accidents. This, she, said will need a more collective approach with a larger investment made towards the sector, especially in the area of traffic control.(samuelsukhnandan@ guyanatimesgy.com)

APNU riled about unavailability of water on ferry service

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Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Region Two Councillor Prince Shepherd said the unavailability of drinking water on the Transport and Harbours Department ferry service is unacceptable.

Shepherd, who is a frequent user of the facility, raised the matter at a recent Regional Democratic Council (RDC) statutory meeting held the region’s boardroom, Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast.

Region Two Chairman Parmanand Persaud on listening to the APNU councillor, instructed RDC Clerk Sunil Singh to write the Transport and Harbours Department, requesting that it provides drinking water on the two state-of-theart ferries plying the Good Hope-Parika route.

People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) councillors said the passengers should be thankful for the facility as it provides traveling at a reduced cost.

They pointed out that under the People’s National Congress (PNC) administration, persons had to use umbrellas on the ferry.

PPP/C councillors are of the view that the cost to travel to Regions Two and Three has been reduced significantly, as such, passengers can afford to purchase their own water on the boat.

Canteen facilities are avail-

APNU Region Two Councillor Prince Shepherd

able on the boat where bottled water is sold.

However, the APNU councillor, who seemed determined on having the Transport and Harbours Department provide water for the travelling public free of cost, stood up again and called for drinking water to be provided on the ferries.

Region Two Vice Chairman Vishnu Samaroo then suggested that the RDC write the transport department on the issue. With that suggestion, the APNU councillor showed signs of relief and took his seat.

Essequibians are very thankful to the government for introducing the Chinesemade vessels, pointing out that they have been of great benefit to them.

Wanton disposal of garbage worries Region Two chairman

BY INDRAWATTIE NATRAM

R

egion Two Chairman Parmanand Persaud said the wanton dumping of garbage in the

waterways by residents in the Pomeroon-Supenaam areas is a cause for concern.

Persaud made the observation during the Regional Democratic Council’s (RDC)

statutory meeting for the month held recently in its boardroom at Anna Regina.

According to Persaud, the careless dumping is causing a serious problem for contracted trench cleaners, and warned that it can cause serious flooding during the rainy season.

The chairman told councillors that he has received several complaints from residents of Sparta about the dumping of garbage, including carcasses in the main drainage trench.

The chairman said an excavator machine had to be sent to the area to clear the waterway because of the careless disposal of refuse.

Puran Brothers Garbage Disposal Service is responsible for collecting household garbage from Supenaam to Charity at a small fee from residents.

Persaud said the services of Puran Brothers should be utilised and proper management of garbage disposal should be maintained at all times. He called on residents to desist from dumping garbage in the waterways, on road parapets, on the sea wall and in the Atlantic Ocean.

News

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday, November 23 from 08:30h to 10:00h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday, November 23 from 07:40h to 09:10h.

WEATHER TODAY

saturday, november 23, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Granger warns against Venezuela’s economic blockade

Countrywide: Heavy rain showers are expected to prevail during the day, with partly cloudy skies in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East to north-easterly between 1.34 and 1.79 metres per second.

High Tide: 07:40h and 19:55h reaching a maximum height of 2.31 metres and 2.36 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 13:28h reaching a minimum height of 0.94 metre.

wednesday, november 20, 2013

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RV Teknik Perdana, the vessel which was seized by the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela PC 23 Yekuana vessel when it was conducting seismic surveys in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone

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mid the recent fallout over the seizure of a seismic vessel and ongoing chatter about the Essequibo, Opposition Leader David Granger on Friday issued a warning to the government to safeguard Guyana against the peril of a renewed Venezuelan position to block economic development in the Essequibo.

Granger said his coalition, A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), strongly believes that the move by the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela PC 23 Yekuana vessel to seize RV Teknik Perdana was intended to bar economic development in Essequibo. At the time, the vessel was conducting seismic surveys in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone on October 10 when it was intercepted.

The leader of the opposition said the seizure was unlawful; in particular, the unwarranted use of force goes against the Charter of the United Nations.

Granger suggested that Venezuela’s action is consistent with past occurrences as he alluded to the ‘Essequibo Annexation’. “The Venezuelan government, under President Raúl Leoni Otero (19641969), placed an advertisement in the Times newspaper of London on June 15, 1968 to the effect that the Essequibo belonged to Venezuela and that it would not recognise economic concessions granted there by the Guyana govern-

ment,” Granger explained.

He further stated that President Leoni had also issued Decreto No 1.152 on July 9, 1968 claiming a ninemile wide belt of sea along Guyana’s entire Essequibo coast. Additionally, President Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodriguez (1969-1974) had blocked Guyana’s attempt to permit petroleum exploration rights in the Essequibo to DEMITEX, a German company.

“Mazaruni obstruction”

In flipping back the pages of history, the opposition leader alluded to the “Mazaruni obstruction” when President Luis Campins prevented the development of the Upper Mazaruni Hydropower project.

Granger explained that “he issued a communiqué in April 1981 stating that, because of “Venezuela’s claim on the Essequibo territory”, it “asserted the rejection of Venezuela to the hydroelectric project of the upper Mazaruni.”

In supporting the Venezuelan government position, Foreign Minister José Alberto Zambrano Velasco wrote a letter giving the President of the World Bank an ultimatum to refrain from financing the Upper Mazaruni Hydro-Electric Project.

In 1978, President Carlos Andres Perez Rodriguez had indicated Venezuela’s willingness to financially support the hydropower Project, when he visited Guyana. But

at the same time, Rodriguez made known his country’s geopolitical interest in gaining access to the Atlantic from the Orinoco delta by offering to reduce the territorial claim to about 31,000 square kilometres in return for the Essequibo coast.

“President Pérez then signed the Treaty between the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the Republic of Venezuela on the Delimitation of Marine and Sub-Marine Areas on April 18, 1990 with Prime Minister Arthur Robinson. Both states sought to project their own economic interests without resorting to a more appropriate multilateral mechanism by consulting Barbados, Grenada and Guyana which the determination of maritime boundaries warranted. Venezuela sought a strategic Salida al Atlántico and Trinidad and Tobago sought access to new areas of potential hydrocarbon resources.”

Despite Venezuela’s generosity, Granger pointed out that the country has never altered its maritime strategy or policy relating to the Essequibo. “Its quest for access to the Atlantic Ocean is critical to understanding last October’s Yekuana incident,”

he posited.

APNU is also calling on Venezuela to comply with Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations for the Pacific Settlement of Disputes and to desist from resorting to force in the Guyana-Venezuela matter. The coalition is also calling on the PPP/C to adopt a bipartisan approach regarding all territorial matters, as it emphasises the importance of a Border and National Security Commission.

“APNU further calls on Guyana’s diplomats to remain awake and alert so as not to sleepwalk into another economic blockade.

Guyanese must not be mesmerised by the mirage of Venezuelan magnanimity.” APNU Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Debra Backer said, as Venezuela attempts to command naval power, Guyana must remain resolute. While APNU, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) share different views, all parties must work together to safeguard the integrity of the nation. She stressed that Guyana must has a solid position – a collective position to guard against aggression by Venezuela.

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guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, november 23, 2013

Views Editor: Nigel Williams Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134 Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

Agents of change

T

here comes a time in any society when crucial and important decisions have to be made regarding its future.

In our developing state, Georgetown has yet to show signs of any attempt at moving from an agrarian state to a modern urban one, as most still seem to cling to a traditional way of life that includes rearing chickens, goats, pigs and cattle, and manoeuvring horse carts without regard for laws that demonstrate an attempt at restructuring our society into one that is more of a metropolis – some laws of which were written since colonial times.

News reports or letters to the editor decrying roaming animals, horse carts that obstruct travel, unhygienic “bottomhouse” rearing of farm animals, and primitive sewerage and trash disposal systems pop up from time to time, but genuine and stringent efforts to improve the surroundings remain lacklustre and stuck in a seeming malaise. We appear to enjoy wallowing in our underdeveloped communities.

Yet we clamour the apparent development of the foreign world, going to any extreme to be a part of it and deriding the backwardness of our disordered society once the foreign metropolis is attained.

We settle in to follow the laws and rules of the foreign territory that demand (as many of our own laws do) no roaming animals, no chicken pens, no throwing certain objects into sewerage systems and no indiscriminate and hazardous-to-the-public burning of garbage, among other laws that manifest themselves in that ordered society we crave.

When that perceived bastion of modernity, the U.S., was developing, there came a time in its history when a national reformation saw the implementation of a movement that sought to improve neighbourhoods and communities, and provide hardworking residents with proof that their struggles and sacrifices were for the enjoyment of living in safe, clean and decent neighbourhoods.

Despite the inevitable opposition to the then government’s many other policies, individuals within communities looked beyond politics to realise that their political views were of little relevance to what should constitute a right to a healthy, secure and respectable neighbourhood in which to live.

No doubt there are lots of differences – and parallels – between these two developing states, but the basic point is that the realisation of communities, as agents of change to themselves, for themselves, whether led by religious or nongovernmental groups and irrespective of political persuasion, helped transform an agrarian and industrial society with its attendant social and environmental ills into societies that generally possessed secure and clean neighbourhoods and communities.

Of course improvements in economic well-being is one general factor that played a role in the transformation, but developing economies also have to specifically focus on improving neighbourhoods in order to encourage and maintain safe and clean communities.

As evidenced in China and India, rapid development and increasing economic wealth does not automatically ensure clean communities and decent neighbourhoods. Residents themselves, along with government policies and active municipalities must collaborate to improve their social environments.

As experienced by Americans at the beginning of the 20th century, self-help communities, with government assistance, are essential in ensuring comfortable neighbourhoods that put quality of community life ahead of political partisanship.

We here in Guyana need not reinvent the wheel. Others have proved urban reform can happen and must if residents want to improve their quality of life, and the state hopes to improve the well-being of its citizens.

Such reform does not necessarily have to begin with governments. We are part of the problem with what is going wrong with our city, and we are also part of the solution of what can be done to correct it, if we can think without the prejudice of politics.

Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Guyana, Ambassador Robert Kopecky and staff from the delegation joined the Mangrove Restoration Project team members in a mangrove planting exercise at Wellington Park, East Berbice on Friday, November 22. Two hundred mangrove seedlings were planted (Javin Singh photo)

Maintaining a clean city Dear Editor, With Christmas just around the corner, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has made mention of its intentions to soon tidy the city, with aims of maintaining this initiative.

I, however, on the other hand can’t seem to bring myself to understand why it is that we continuously have to address this matter of garbage in the city.

Proper hygienic behav-

iour starts at home. As one man rightfully stated, one does not have to be rich to ensure clean surroundings.

We simply need to change the way we think and put those changes into practice.

People who embrace cleanliness will always promote and maintain a clean environment.

Recently, a campaign was launched to minimise the littering in the city and to confront and chastise

those who were caught littering. This campaign saw a few individuals get prosecuted before it soon after collapsed.

Too often people can be seen discarding remnants of food and food boxes out of vehicles. Perhaps we should consider having some kind of waste disposal system mandated in vehicles, particularly those used to facilitate public means of transportation.

The garbage situation during the coming Christmas season has been predicted to increase by some 60 per cent. Regardless of the number of bins placed around the city, we will continue to face this problem unless people themselves see the need to change their bad habits.

Yours truly, Ashook Mohamed

The importance of family planning Dear Editor, A recent incident required the need for social workers from the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) to intervene and rescue a toddler who was left unattended at a home in Charlotte Street, Georgetown. The toddler was found playing with a knife in what one would consider an unhygienic and germ-infested environment.

Many are furious at how irresponsible young adults these days can be, particularly mothers. Being a parent is no easy task since it requires great responsibility, and people who are not ready to accept this level of responsible need to exercise the necessary precautionary measures.

Over the years, family planning programmes have offered women several methods of contraception to choose from. The use of contraception helps women to

better plan their pregnancies and therefore minimise fertility rates.

Family planning helps couples to determine when it is convenient to have a baby.

There are several parameters that must be considered before a child is brought into this world.

Personally, I have noticed that irresponsible parents are those who encounter unplanned pregnancies.

They often fail to consider the availability of resources and other conveniences necessary for having and raising a child. Many times these situations can lead to

abortions, frustration and even violence.

A stable relationship, adequate earnings, proper living conditions are just some of the factors that need to be considered when having a child. No child should be brought into this world if they can’t be given the care and attention that they require.

In some countries, child protection services act promptly to matters of unfit parents who are seen as more of a threat than a guide to a child.

Matters of this nature should not be taken lightly. We must take the initial step of educating and further promoting the importance of family planning.

Additionally, a better system needs to be put in place to address individuals who are unfit to raise a child.

Sincerely, Imtiaz Hosein

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, november 23, 2013

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

Make it mandatory for The inconvenience of stray animals cyclists, skaters to wear helmets

Dear Editor, My sympathy goes out to a 15-yearold boy who recently met with an accident while roller skating on the road. He is cur-

rently admitted at the Georgetown Public Hospital and is said to be in a critical condition. I wish him a speedy recovery.

Roller skating is becoming quite popular in Guyana, but while it can be considered as a fun activity, it also poses a danger especially to those individuals who decide to roller skate on public roads and who are poorly equipped with safety gear.

Recreational activities are a huge part of a child’s life and contribute greatly to their development. However, we must encourage our children to utilise the facilities that are made available to them.

Additionally, community parks and other parks need to be maintained by the relevant authorities in order to encourage and promote use of the facility.

Parks are available for all forms of recreational activities inclusive of cycling and skating.

I strongly suggest that it should be mandatory for cyclists and skaters to wear helmets and other safety protection gear.

Additionally, we need to ensure that we teach our children to demonstrate carefulness when playing.

Sincerely, Hansraj Jaikissoon

The need for drug rehabilitation Dear Editor, Drug addiction has been an existing issue in Guyana for quite some time and I must commend the Guyana Salvation Army for the role it has played in assisting addicts to get the treatment and attention they deserve.

Recently, on behalf of the Guyana government, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh presented the Salvation Army with a cheque valued $5 million to aid in the upholding of the drug rehabilitation programme offered by the institution.

Battling with drug addiction is no easy task for an addict or for the family and close friends of an addict. These individuals have deteriorated both mentally and physically and often find great difficulty in recovering. They can easily encounter a relapse if not monitored properly.

The Salvation Army continues to offer support and counselling to those who find difficulty in staying sober and overcoming their challenges.

Additionally, I urge people to be considerate and

kind to homeless people who roam the streets. Many of them are hungry and would often do irrational things just to get something to eat.

These individuals should not be abused and tantalised.

I encourage public spirited citizens to continue to make contributions to the Salvation Army, particularly at this time of the year where members can be seen scattered around the city collecting charity for a good cause.

Yours faithfully, Ramah Roopnarine

Dear Editor, A report from the Home Affairs Ministry stated that approximately 482 animals, two times the number of the previous month, were captured by the Stray Catching Unit.

This is a commendable effort on behalf of the unit.

However, we need to reconsider our approach. If our intentions are only to catch and impound stray animals, then we will soon encounter an even bigger problem of accommodating these animals.

Stray animals such as cats and dogs often cause a mess when they rummage through bins and

other sources of garbage.

Additionally, they are also carriers of many diseases and it is often suggested that they be put down.

Livestock, such as sheep, goats and cows, are considered extremely valuable animals that are often reared for their meat, while donkeys and horses contribute greatly to labour assistance.

The owners of these stray animals need to be chastised. Their punishment for poorly managing and controlling their cattle needs to be a severe one or they will not be inclined to practise better cattle management.

Additionally, it is a requirement by law for cattle owners to brand their animals so as to allow for easy identification. Many owners fail to comply with this much needed prerequisite.

I urge the relevant authorities to address this matter urgently, placing more emphasis on the owners themselves. We must strive to minimise animals on the roadways, because while some can be displeasing to the eye, others can cause serious road accidents.

With regards, Corrine Myles

People of unsound mind should not roam the streets Dear Editor, Just recently, a man of unsound mind bearing a cutlass found his way inside the Soesdyke Primary School compound and proceeded to terrorise the teachers and students. Fortunately, no one was harmed.

Attempts by police to confine the vagrant were futile and it was only until he attacked an officer that he was subsequently shot.

Many have questioned how

this mentally unstable man managed to find his way into a school’s gated compound.

Evidently, many vagrants can be seen wandering the streets of Georgetown and quite a few can sometimes be seen idling in front of schools.

This is a serious matter that needs urgent attention.

No one can ever really predict the behaviour of these sometimes mentally unstable vagrants and so we should not risk having them

in such close proximity, particularly to our children.

Though not all of the vagrants on Guyana’s streets may be of unsound mind, it is still imperative that we remove them from society.

I strongly recommend that the relevant authorities establish a safe facility where these individuals can be accommodated and fed.

Sincerely, Joel McKay

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saturday, November 23, 2013

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guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation

How to be a great best friend (Continued from Friday)

Be trustworthy. If they tell you a secret, make sure to keep it. Never tell someone a secret your friend wanted you to keep. Don't even leak it out to someone you know you can trust. A secret is a secret. * Know the difference between a harmless secret and a dangerous secret. Dangerous secrets not only threaten your friend's life, but it can also affect you as well. Despite the fact that your friend may not want people to know about her secret, it's best to tell your parents or a trusted adult about this. Keep in mind that your friend might have told you her secret because she is tired of keeping it to herself and she is silently asking for help. * Keep your word. If you say you're going to do something, do it.

Follow through with it. You know what they say: Talk is cheap. Let your best friend know that if you say you're going to do something, you don't ever back away. * Don't gossip about your best friend. Don't say anything that might turn into a rumour. For example, if they had a crush on a cute guy/ girl, they'd probably be embarrassed if you told someone. Make sure you know your best friend is okay with it if you do tell other people. Things like this are sometimes hard to do, but if you want a solid friendship you have to be willing to do them.

Be loyal. Stick up for your friend when they need it. Respect those times when they need to stick up for themselves. Trust your friend and allow yourself to be vulnerable with them.

Through ups, downs, and disagreements, you'll still try to work things out and be their friend, truly demonstrating your loyalty. * Say "no" when you need to while still being

their friend. A friend of integrity is of great value. Tell them respectfully when you think they're wrong. The journey of life is about learning from your mistakes, not always needing to be right. * If you don't learn to say "no" to your friend, it'll hurt your friendship more than improve it. Not only may your friend grow too reliant on you, but you'll also feel strained and angry.

When you two fight, try to work things out so everyone is happy. Don't say mean things, whether it is right in their face or through a text. Apologise, but understand that it may take some time to get over what's happened. Let them cool down and talk to you when they are ready. * Never leave the problem alone and pretend it doesn't exist. It will not fade, and it will eventually pop up again later. It's best to solve the problem while it's small before it grows bigger and more painful. * If you two need help solving your

problems, ask your parents or a trusted adult to help.

Come through in the clutch.

When your friend really needs something done, or a favour, be there for them. Help out. Think of how much they'd appreciate it. You never know when you'll be stuck between a rock and a hard place and might need someone (a good friend, maybe?) to bail you out.

Stick up for your best friend.

Sitting and watching your best friend get picked on or teased is definitely not going to earn you a brownie badge!! If your best friend is getting seriously bullied and you're scared you'll get hurt if you get involved, then get help from a teacher or parents. If you can stick up for them without getting harmed yourself, make sure you do so. Imagine how you would feel if you were being picked on and a friend told everyone to shut up and clear off. * If you or your friend consistently has problems with another person, try not to be

childish or immature about it. Don't prank them or embarrass them; sadly, that will only make things worse.

Tell an adult what's happening, or simply ignore them. People hate being ignored and eventually lose interest in you.

Spending time together

Spend time together. Hang out on the weekends or plan activities together every now and then, do some homework together, and chat during break at school. You don't have to live in each others' pockets, but make sure you spend some quality time together with your best friend to make the friendship grow and become stronger. * Know that you'll probably have to sacrifice some of your time and maybe effort to be with your best friend. It should feel like something you want to be doing, even when it's hard. * Invite other people to hang out with you. Being best friends doesn't mean you have to isolate yourselves from other people. Sometimes, it's nice to be alone; you don't need anybody else to have fun together. Other times, your enjoyment is increased by including other people into the fold.

Learn to listen. Nobody likes a best friend who just talks and talks, but never listens. If you're a chatterbox, try to develop good listening skills. Whenever your best friend says something, listen carefully and say something. Don't just say "yeah" and move on. Don't interrupt or fidget continually while they're talking to you.

If they ask for advice, listen carefully and give them the best advice you can. It'll earn you respect and of course, make them come to you more. (WikiHow)

Identifying bullying

M

ost children have been teased by a sibling or a friend at some point. And it’s not usually harmful when done in a playful, friendly, and mutual way, and both children find it funny. But when teasing becomes hurtful, unkind, and constant, it crosses the line into bullying and needs to stop. But how do you identify this behaviour or label it, when the person is your friend?

Bullying is intentional tormenting in physical, verbal, or psychological ways. It can range from hitting, shoving, name-calling, threats, and mocking to extorting money and possessions.

Some children bully by shunning others and spreading rumours about them. Others use social media or electronic messaging to taunt others or hurt their feelings.

It’s important to take bullying seriously and not just brush it off as something that children have to “tough out” or “your friend is just rough-housing with you”.

The effects can be serious and affect children’s sense of safety and selfworth. In severe cases, bullying has contributed to tragedies, such as suicides and school shootings.

Why children bully

Children bully for a variety of reasons.

Sometimes they pick on children because they need a victim — someone who seems emotionally or physically weaker, or just acts or appears different in some way — to feel more important, popular, or in control.

Although some bullies are bigger or stronger than their victims, that’s not always the case.

Sometimes children torment others because that’s the way they’ve been treated. They may think their behaviour is normal because they come from families or other settings where everyone regularly gets angry and shouts or calls each other names.

Some popular TV shows even seem to promote meanness — people are “voted off”, shunned, or ridiculed for their appearance or lack of talent. (Excerpt from kidshealth)

news

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saturday, november 23, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Opposition wants Venezuelan airline to ply better pay hike for Guyana route V public servants T

he main opposition, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has condemned the proposed five per cent increase for public servants, stating that the government and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) should negotiate for a better package.

Addressing the media on Friday at his Hadfield Street, Georgetown office, Opposition Leader David Granger said the government and the GPSU should return to the negotiation table to make provision for an acceptable increase in wages and salaries for public servants.

“APNU strongly condemns the arbitrarily imposed five per cent increase in salaries for public servants, unilaterally announced by head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon,” Granger made clear.

According to APNU, the paltry increase for nurses, teachers, policemen and women, prisons and fire of-

APNU leader David Granger

ficers, civil servants and soldiers, is unacceptable from the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration.

APNU also condemned the move by the government to impose the increase, noting that it is a breach of the collective bargaining agreement signed between the government and the GPSU. According to Granger, the Donald Ramotar administration has ignored the un-

ion’s request for conciliation, as he alluded to the 25 per cent increase demanded. This apparent meagre five per cent increase, he said, comes at a time when Guyanese are faced with increasing financial responsibilities.

“Factors such as the high rate of inflation, high rate of income tax, high rate of VAT of 16 per cent and NIS deductions, all contribute to making the five per cent increase next to meaningless.”

APNU is now calling on Labour Minister, Dr Nanda Gopaul to invoke a compulsory arbitration process to resolve the issue.

Quizzed as to what the APNU considers an acceptable increase, the opposition leader said the coalition is in support of GPSU’s proposal for a 25 per cent increase.

“We are not in support of the business of inserting ourselves in the negotiating process, we respect the right of the government and the Guyana Public Service Union to negotiate, but the five per cent is out of order.”

Gold heist accused further remanded

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he persons remanded in connection with the El Dorado Gold company heist made another court appearance on Friday before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Two other charges were laid against the mastermind, Neville Chandrawattie.

Chandrawattie pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated between October 1 and November 8, at Port Kaituma, he was in possession of a.32 Taurus pistol when he was not the holder of a firearm licence. It was also alleged that between October 1 and November 3 at Port Kaituma, he had in his possession two rounds of .32 ammunition. Chandrawattie also denied this allegation.

He was represented by Attorney Latchmi Rahamat who told the court that her client denies any knowledge of the firearm. She also made a bail application.

Special Prosecutor, Attorney Glenn Hanoman objected to bail, stating that Chandrawattie cooperated with police in locating the other co-accused and it may very well be in the interest of his own safety that he remains in police custody.

Attorney Tajenarine Ramroop, who represented one of the co-accused Anil Diaram, made an application for bail, stating that his client is not a flight risk.

Special Prosecutor Attorney Hanoman objected to bail, stating that other charges are likely to come,

one of them being robbery/ murder.

Diaram, Chandrawattie and Amirullah Kuturatullah were all further remanded to

prison. Co-accused Kenneth Garraway was granted bail in the High Court The matter stands adjourned to November 29.

e n e z u e l a ’ s CONVIASA Airline will today fly its non-commercial inaugural flight to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

Today, the airline will mark the beginning of its twice-weekly commercial flight plying the Puerto Ordaz/ Georgetown route with the flight to the CJIA. According to a statement by the CJIA, this enterprise comes on the heels of the Fifth Meeting of the Guyana-Venezuela High Level Bilateral Commission, which was held in Guyana on August 30, whereby the Venezuelan government agreed that the CONVIASA Airline will commence two weekly flights by mid-November, with a final connection between Puerto Ordaz and Caracas.

“This one-off flight is scheduled to depart from the Manuel Carlos Piar Airport, Puerto Ordaz at 10:00h and will be transporting Venezuelan gov-

Venezuela’s CONVIASA Airline will from today operate a twice-weekly service to Guyana

ernment officials and staff of CONVIASA, Venezuelan civil aviation authority officers, members of the Venezuelan media and other special guests,” the CJIA said in its statement.

A welcome ceremony is planned and Transport Minister Robeson Benn, CJIA CEO Ramesh Ghir, and officials from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority and Guyana Tourism Authority will be on hand to receive their Venezuelan counterparts.

CONVIASA is an airline with its headquarters on the

grounds of Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, Venezuela, near Caracas. It is the flag carrier and largest airline of Venezuela, operating services to domestic destinations and to destinations in the Caribbean and South America. It plans to add destinations in Europe to its network. CONVIASA is under the authority of the Aquatic and Air Transport Ministry. On April 3, 2012, the European Union banned CONVIASA flights from its airspace, but removed it on July 10, 2013.

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saturday, november 23, 2013| guyanatimesGY.com

Berbice man remanded on narcotics charge

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31-year-old man was on Friday remanded to prison after he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to the charge of possession of narcotics.

Pooran Ramoo, of 81 Number Three Settlement, Blairmont, Berbice, pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on November 20 at Blairmont, he had in his possession 2.36 kilograms of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

According to the facts, on the day in question, police, acting on information received, stopped and searched a red motor car. In the truck, they found a red bag and the driver was questioned about it. He told the officers that he was given the bag by Ramoo who told him to take it to Georgetown.

The police set up a sting operation and instructed the driver of the motor car to call Ramoo to have him come uplift the bag. When the defendant came to uplift the bag,

the police, who were in hiding at the time, were able to arrest him and he was subsequently taken to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters. There, the bag was searched in his presence and 2.36 kilograms of cannabis were found.

Attorney James Bond made an application for bail on behalf of his client and it was denied. The matter was then transferred to Court Three, before Magistrate Judy Latchman. There, the matter was adjourned to December 3.

Brothers refused bail for assaulting peace officer

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wo brothers were refused bail after they appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday, to answer to charges against them.

Teffon Sampson of 44 Supply, East Bank Demerara pleaded not guilty to the charges which stated that on November 17, he supplied to Tiffany Peters, a prisoner in the custody of the East La Penitence Police Station, one cellphone and on the same day he unlawfully and maliciously damaged a mesh valued $10,000, property of the East La Penitence Police Station. It was also alleged that on November 17 in the Georgetown Magisterial

District, he unlawfully assaulted Neighbourhood Police Officer Grant who was acting in the execution of his duties.

He pleaded not guilty to this charge as well.

Deandre Sampson also pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on November 17 in the Georgetown Magisterial District, he unlawfully and maliciously assaulted Neighbourhood Police Officer Grant who was acting in the executive of his duties.

According to Prosecutor Bharat Mangru, on the day in question, Teffon went to the East La Penitence Police Station to visit his girlfriend, Tiffany Peters. Teffon then

went to the northern side of the building where the lockups are situated. He then ripped the mesh and threw a grey Nokia cellphone into the washroom area where it was picked up by Peters.

He was seen by a police officer who tried to arrest him, but he assaulted the said officer. Teffon’s brother then come to his assistance and assaulted the officer.

The brothers were both represented by Attorney Clyde Forde who made applications for bail, stating that neither of the defendants was a flight risk.

Bail was refused and the matter is set to return to court again on December 17.

Eyew tness Seeing the light...

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...on Burnham

ony Vieira wrote a letter defending the nonsense he’d spouted about the use of the state media in an earlier letter. (He obviously has lots of time on his hands since he’s unemployed.) We’re not going to deal with his fulminations about the opposition demands in that area.

We all know he’s desperately trying to get back into Parliament by scoring some brownie points. But David Granger will have none of it.

The fella’s just too erratic.

What we’d like to talk about is Vieira biting the hand that fed him for so many years – that is, Forbes Burnham’s long dead hand. That’s unpalatable from several angles. After all, when Tony’s father’s sugar estate at Versailles was nationalised, he became “redundant”.

Even the Burnhamite regime couldn’t justify retaining the loud-mouthed and uncouth younger Vieira, whose father had kept him in the backdam. One can understand a father’s concern.

Tony Vieira and Rex McKay, however, later were allowed to import television equipment, illegally snatch content from U.S. satellites and rebroadcast it in Guyana. But for a fee – you had to buy Vieira’s black box.

Burnham gave these two fellows a monopoly – no one else could get permission – to make money illegally. Illegality to the second power!

First, stealing from the American satellites and secondly charging people for it.

And here it is, Vieira now says Burnham was ruling through an illegal constitution! Gasp!!!

Has Vieira just discovered this? Was he, like Saul, on his way to Damascus (well, Georgetown, which is dirtier than ancient Damascus, is equivalent) and heard a voice from on high and then saw the light?

Is he now willing to follow through with his epiphany? Which would be to admit that his ownership of Channel 28 was based on an illegality? And return the money which he got when he “sold” it. You can’t sell something you got illegally, can you? His title was null and void ab initio and all that!

Vieira, who seemed to have become a constitutional lawyer since he saw the light and heard voices, didn’t stop with that criticism of Burnham. He now claims Burnham, the legal genius, made a mistake to include the clause permitting the formation of a government by a party with a plurality of the votes.

Thing is....Vieira was here all the time since 1980, eating from Burnham’s hand. Why didn’t he point out the “flaw” to Burnham?

Ahhh...he hadn’t been on the road to Damascus then.

...on the roads

We’re quite taken by the announcement that there’ll be “cross-overs” constructed on Mandela Avenue. We were wondering when somebody would wake up to realise that all our “highways” – not to mention “roadways” – pass through heavily populated villages and neighbourhoods. And that people have to cross the said thoroughfares all the time. As it is now, people have to dart over whenever they see a break in the traffic.

This is a hazardous undertaking in the best of circumstances – not dissimilar to playing the game of “chicken” or “Russian Roulette”. We know that there is some loan that’s facilitating the Mandela innovation – but somebody in authority better seek some funding to have crossovers built on the East Bank Highway – in every village.

With the build up of traffic in this corridor, Russian Roulette doesn’t even begin to suggest the risk factor. It’s more like jumping off the lighthouse in Kingston.

...on Barbados’ fall

We’ll freely admit we’re human. So we’re just a wee bit guilty of the frisson of schadenfreude we felt at the news that Barbados’ credit rating has been downgraded once more. Standard and Poor’s now have it a BB minus. We do hope that their fall from the giddy heights they used to sneer at Guyanese doesn’t give them nosebleed.

“Schadenfreude”, in case you forgot, is that pleasure you get at the misfortunes of others.

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saturday, november 23, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

GTI graduates 394 skilled persons for workforce

Valedictorian Colin Quintyn collects one of his many trophies from GTI Chairman Norman McLean

The 2013 graduates of the Government Technical Institute (GTI)

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he Government Technical Institute (GTI) on Thursday graduated 394 students in a range of technical and clerical fields.

Addressing the occasion at the National Cultural Centre, Education Ministry Technical Co-ordinator Melcita Bovell praised the graduating students.

“Some of you are sitting here because you made a wise decision, some of you are sitting here because your parents made a wise decision, and some of you are sitting here because other persons within your community gave you that push. For whatever reason caused you to enter the Government Technical Institute today, we are all very proud that you have reached this milestone.”

Bovell, who delivered the feature address at the exer-

cise, noted that the scales have begun to fall from the eyes of the world as it pertains to technical education. She said the time has come when the world is recognising that technical education is necessary if it is to develop to a place where it can serve humanity well.

Technical education

She pointed out that Guyana will not be left behind as government is absolutely sure that technical education is critical to the country’s development and is not only prepared to spend significant sums in building and expanding technical education institutes and programmes across the country, but is also prepared to nurture from an early age, students in technical vocation.

The Education Ministry has moved to foster this

process by introducing the Secondary Competency Certificate Programme (SCCP) in 70 of its secondary schools. This is to ensure there are persons leaving secondary schools at a level one position, so that later they can enter into government technical institutes and move further up, right to level five, she explained.

Government is also seeking to move technical education to a place where percentage passes at an institution will not be an issue, and in so doing, is introducing the Competency Based Education Training (CBET) within the technical institutes.

Government is also moving to implement previous training assessment where a student presents his/her portfolio at an institute, is tested and certi-

fied and is also moving to offer Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ). GTI Chairman Norman McLean urged that the next bold step be taken to make GTI into a polytechnic institute. McLean noted that the graduating class was a decrease from a high of 72 per cent pass rate to 58 per cent, a decline of 14 per cent.

Principal Carl Benn reported that of a total of 678 students who wrote the 2012-2013 Guyana Technical Education examination administered by the Education Ministry, 398 were successful, reflecting a 58 per cent pass. One hundred and eighty-nine students were referred in one or two subjects and 95 or 14 per cent failed three or more subjects.

The principal disclosed that an analysis of the per-

formance of each department revealed that the Science Department was the most improved, gaining a 74 per cent overall pass rate against a 33 per cent in 2012.

Areas of weakness

He said the areas of weakness for the students are mathematics and management. On a high note, the institution gained five out of eight awards at the National Awards Ceremony hosted by the Education Ministry. These were for technical diploma in building and civil engineering (Colin Quintyn), ordinary diploma in science (David Duncan), elementary certificate in telecommunications (Javid Armstrong), technician certificate in electrical engineering Part 11 (Michael Hunte) and ordinary diploma in commerce

(Sheneza Moore.)

Council for Technical and Vocation Education Training (CTVET) Chairman Clinton Williams urged the graduating students to be courageous, honest, to have the right attitude, and in all things, strive for excellence as they go forward. The valedictorian was Colin Quintyn, from the Building and Civil Engineering Department, who gained distinction.

Several awards were handed out, including several to Quintyn. The Sport Woman of the Year 2012/2013 Award went to Tesha Grimes and the Department of the Year Award went to the Science Department. Awards were also given to the best graduating students from each department and to the outstanding first year performers.

OAS wants unit to deal with transnational crime

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rganisation of American States (OAS) Secretary General José Miguel Insulza has reiterated his call to the hemisphere to move towards the creation within the institution of an entity to coordinate the fight against transnational crime.

He made the call during the opening of the fourth meeting of ministers responsible for public security in the Americas held in Colombia.

In his speech, the secretary general called on member states to follow the mandate of the Summits of the Americas, reflected again in the “Pledge of Chapultepec”, (Spanish version) which recommended the establishment of an Inter-American Commission against Transnational Organised Crime, headquartered at the OAS. The goal of this entity, he added, must be “to be responsible for the ongoing coordination of inter-American cooperation in this field and, at the same time, to serve as a complement to an agency coordinating operations in the field of intelli-

be adopted”.

In the same vein, Secretary General Insulza asserted that despite their obvious necessity and usefulness, “some of the main conventions have not been signed or ratified by all states in the region and often technical agencies do not liaise with political bodies.”

Ratification

OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza

gence and prosecutions”.

“I hope that this proposal will be considered and concretised because even today, in the second decade of the 21st century, the interAmerican system does not have a technical-political body dedicated to organising and coordinating collective efforts to address the growing threat of transnational organised crime,” he said.

With regard to MISPA IV, he said that “there are decisions that should be adopted at some point and that this is the place where they can

In this regard, he indicated that “it is essential to achieve the ratification by all member states of the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials (CIFTA) a crucial tool for the control of illicit arms trafficking. The advances made in the area of conventional arms marking are not enough if we don’t accept, in this area as well, the need for having binding legal instruments for all.”

The OAS leader recalled that the main focus of MISPA IV, which takes place until tomorrow in the Plaza Mayor Convention Centre

of Medellin, Colombia, is hemispheric coordination against organised and common crime, with special attention paid to three issues: regional cooperation strategies to prevent and address threats to public security; joint research, in particular that done by crime observatories; and hemispheric networks and platforms for police information sharing.

To make progress in these areas, the OAS secretary general said it is necessary that police institutions be able to count on comprehensive management systems that include at least three key aspects. “First of all, strategic direction aligned with the state’s public security policies. Second, improved process management that adapt to national realities. Third, improved human resources’ training and management,” he added.

Codes of ethics

He therefore proposed the development of codes of ethics for police institutions so that they guide the thoughts and actions of

their members; the development of strategies that contribute to meet the needs of police personnel; and the implementation of internal initiatives for social action to the benefit of staff and their families.

“Police education is at the heart of the transformation of police forces. The challenge is to implement plans for the development and professionalisation of the police field and that provide the men and women in law enforcement institutions with capabilities and skills that allow them to cope effectively and efficiently with the old and new forms of crime,” he said.

The secretary general noted that while the inter-American system has weaknesses in the area of security, it has also made significant progress since the holding of MISPA I, which took place in Mexico in 2008. “In the five years that have passed since our first meeting in Mexico City, the public security issue has become a fundamental pillar of the activities of the OAS. MISPA has been institution-

alised and the capacities of response capabilities of the various agencies have increased,” he said.

In this regard, he noted that the inter-American system has a large network of institutions and conventions relating to security and, as examples, he mentioned the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD); the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE); MISPA itself; the Meeting of Ministers of Justice or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA); the Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará InterAmerican Convention on Violence against Women (MESECVI); the Meeting of Ministers of Defence; the Follow-up Mechanism to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC); and CIFTA, in addition to programmes of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), and the World Bank to support the security efforts of member states.

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saturday, november 23, 2013

News

Guyanese observe Teerath in New York

BY VISHNU BISRAM

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uyanese-American Hindus observed the annual festival of Kartik Snaan or Teerath by fasting and performing special pooja on the morning following the full moon last weekend (Saturday and some did so on Sunday).

There were special rituals thanking the Lord for protecting the environment and making peoples’ lives safe. Rituals were performed on the shoreline in Queens and Brooklyn.

During Kartik, Hindus also worship Ganga Devi, the goddess who presides over the holy rivers and ocean, representing the divine in the form of water. The cold temperature made it difficult for people to take the full ritual bath,

as is the norm in Guyana, although most simply immersed their feet in the water.

Special Ganga puja was performed and offerings made. Guyanese Hindus and other nationals in Florida also performed puja on Teerath. Karthik in America had almost the same customs, rituals and practices (where feasible) as in Guyana.

Kartik Snaan is viewed as the culmination of months of intense and sustained prayer and devotion for Hindu that began in August and included the observance of Diwali on November 3 as well as Dussehra (Navratri).

Kartik represents a time when Hindus reaffirm their commitment to environmental awareness and pro-

tection, especially at a time when the environment is being polluted.

Pandits stress that the land should be used wisely for the sustenance of life.

Kartik is an effort towards spiritual purification with the focus being on prayers, fasting, abstinence and other acts of piety. Kartik is a time to cleanse oneself and to ensure that something is given back to the goddess of the sea.

Alternative

Kartik literally means “to have a bath in the river or the sea”. But it is not possible to take a bath in the ocean during the cold wintry season. So many people settle for an alternative of praying at home. The holy river “Ganges” or the deity “Ganga Mai” is the main de-

ity worshipped at the festival.

It is believed that the Goddess of Water, Ganga Mai, came unto Earth on the day and so Hindus seek her blessings by performing special prayers devoted to her and taking a dip in the sea, believing that the Ganges water is mixed with the rest of the bodies of water, and as such, by taking a dip at any ocean, their soul become cleansed.

The bath normally takes place in the holy Ganges or Yamuna or some other holy water. Hindus believe all the water bodies are connected and so they take a bath at any body of water that is accessible. Ever since Hindu Indian indentured labourers came to Guyana and parts of the West Indies, Karthik or Teerath has been observed with puja conducted on any shoreline.

At the oceanfront, Guyanese prayed and chanted special mantras, sang bhajans, and made offerings as part of Kartik celebrations. They also burned incense and other religious paraphernalia. The offerings included rice, perfume, fruits, mohanbhog, clothes and food.

Giving back to Earth

The pandit explained that people make offerings to give back to the Earth what has been offered to them. In the Teerat puja, the Mother of the Sea is asked to protect her children and the land from disasters.

As in Guyana, devotees shared the puri, lapsey, mohanbhog and food with others who came for a bath.

But unlike in Guyana, students were not excused from school attendance. Instead of the ocean bath, many Hindus bathe in a mixture of Ganges water and made offerings at home. It is believed that those who took a bath in the holy Ganges are washed of their sins. Some people poured Ganges water in a bucket of water and took a bath. The symbolic observance is one of devotion, charity, purification and self-control.

Mook Lall runnin like when lil rat see big cat

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e Kocheur thief a headline as if was dem own. Dem kinda barefaceness is whah de headitor accustom to. Ever since he start drinkin soup and kissin and lickin bamzee fuh a livin, from Burnt Ham time, he ain’t change. Is de same kinda barefaceness whah he continue wid under de Heights Man. Now that he got a Mook fuh a bass man, wid out de “b”, nutten ain’t change.

But de headitor like to blame de Mook fuh every ting whah deh in de mud paper. He can’t blame de Mook fuh thiefin a headline this time though. After all de Mook does thief much bigger tings like G-PEE-Hell transformer fuh de Regent Multiplex Mall and pumpkins fuh export, especially on full moon nights.

In any case, de Mook gone in hidin since dem happenins pun Main Street. De police ain’t askin questions bout de Courts light up. Dem askin questions bout de happenins pun de other side of de street. That is when de Mook get nervous and run like when lil rat see big cat.

One of dem boys who seh dem is boys, but dem is not boys, done tell people bout de Mook movements. De Mook stop he from sendin official photos, but he seh he ain’t get stop from sendin any ting else. So he send out de Mook official travel itinerary.

De Mook got perfect timin to arrange all de happenins pun Main Street just before de Bahamas meeting wheh he know Guyana woulda get blacklisted. So de Mook decide to pack all de black money whah he been hidin, mek a list of all de suitcases whah he put dem in, and then jump pun a plane. That is de Mook own version of blacklist.

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

But if de Mook tink he can give de New York judge any of dem suitcase, he waste a whole thought! He gon gotta come back right hey and answer how come a man been to a 50th (+ 10) birthday party and then disappear, then another man disappear right after!

Community-based CEBO workshop opens on Monday

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he Caricom Secretariat in collaboration with the government of Guyana and financial support from the United Nations Development Programme is implementing the Creativity for Employment and Business Opportunity (CEBO) project in Guyana.

According to a release, CEBO is a tool to engage, inspire and create entrepreneurial interest and action among young Caricom nationals in and out of school and from all walks of life.

It addresses psychological and social development

issues and makes the link between entrepreneurship, the dreams and aspirations of young people and regional integration.

The Caricom Secretariat in collaboration with the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry and participants who were trained as facilitators of the CEBO, will be hosting a community-based CEBO workshop from November 25-30 at the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry’s Music School, Brickdam, Georgetown. The opening ceremony begins at 10:00h on Monday.

nEWS

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saturday, November 23, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Outsource2LAC emerging as UG students urged to be innovative business thinkers foremost outsourcing event in Latin America, Caribbean

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Guyana Youth Business Trust Director Ramesh Persaud during his presentation on Wednesday

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uyana Youth Business Trust Director Ramesh Persaud has urged University of Guyana (UG) students to be innovative business thinkers, who create products and services to fulfil needs and seize opportunities in society.

He issued the call during a panel discussion to mark Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 18 to 24) held at the Education Lecture Theatre, UG Turkeyen Campus on Wednesday.

Some 130 young people

benefited from the discussion as their minds were opened to how they could create their own income generating activities; instead of seeking employment after they graduate.

Those students interested in entrepreneurship were also encouraged to seek assistance from the Guyana Youth Business Trust for their business start-up needs. The trust made another presentation to the Linden Technical Institute on Thursday.

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2013 is being held un-

der the theme “Take a step forward”.

The Guyana Youth Business Trust is a local non-governmental organisation that offers start-up business financing, entrepreneurial development training and business monitoring and supervision.

The trust was established on February 24, 2000 and has been successfully serving young entrepreneurs in the creation of enterprises, which is an impetus for job creation and overall development.

he third annual Latin American and Caribbean Outsourcing and Offshoring Forum (Outsource2LAC), brought together representatives of leading global services industries in the region with potential clients from Asia, Europe and North America.

More than 500 businesspeople from the global services sector, trade promotion professionals and government officials participated in the meeting, which was held in Buenos Aires November 20-21.

During the event, participants held more than 1000 one-on-one business meetings in fields that included digital animation, virtual education, pharmaceutical research and development, architectural design and engineering design, among others.

“Our region is increasingly recognised internationally for the great variety and quality of the global services it offers, and Outsource2LAC has become a key resource for this market,” said InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), Trade and Investment Unit chief Fabrizio Opertti.

“Our geographic location,

IDB Trade and Investment Unit chief Fabrizio Opertti

time zone, and our growing number of creative and innovative companies, give us a competitive advantage,” he added.

The event’s first day was marked by panel discussions on issues relevant to the global services industry, such as “nearshoring and reshoring”, incorporating services into the value chain, the importance of strengthening human capital, and opportunities for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Panelists included Accenture, India Chairman Avinash Vashistha; Mexico’s Softtek President Blanca Trevino; Google Argentina, General Director

Lino Cattaruzzi; Full Circle Animation, Trinidad and Tobago representative Camille Abrahams; global service industry sourcing expert Eric Simonson; and Balseiro Institute of Argentina, Nuclear Services Manager Viviana Ishida, among others.

The forum included a special presentation on ConnectAmericas, an online platform that the IDB is developing with Google’s support, that will offer SMEs in the region easy access to potential clients, suppliers, investors in the LAC region and the world; up-todate information on international trade processes, including e-learning materials and access to a vast database of trade statistics; and information on the financing opportunities available to support international trade transactions.

The second day of Outsource2LAC 2013 was devoted to more than 1000 matchmaking sessions between suppliers and buyers of global services. The forum was organised by the Integration and Trade Sector of the IDB, Argentina’s Foreign Ministry and Fundación Exportar, the ministry’s export promotion agency.

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guyanatimesgy.com

News Republic Bank honours CSEC Digicel wins Corporate Citizens of Americas Right Start Account holders award

Digicel Haiti Foundation’s CEO Sophia Stransky and head of Projects, Rachel Pierre Champagne

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The awardees (seated) with their parents and bank staff after the ceremony on Thursday

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epublic Bank on Thursday honoured five of its top Right Start Account holders’ who excelled at the 2013 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination during a simple ceremony at its head office, Promenade Court, New Market Street, Georgetown.

The five recipients of

the Academic Achievement Award are Akash Jairam, Akeila Wiltshire, Ciecil Cox, Reshma Ramdahin and Jubilante Cutting.

The bank’s Water Street operations manager, Celine Davis admonished the recipients to continue along the positive path and make their individual journeys into adulthood.

“Indeed, by your exceptional performance, you, our distinguished awardees, have made us, your bankers, extremely proud and we commend you for a work well done,” she said.

The awardees received a Right Start gift certificate valued $20,000 and a special Republic Right Start Gift. The bank in a press

release said it holds fast to its vision for customer relations through the core value of customer focus, which allows the bank to reward and recognise the outstanding performance of its five Right Start holders.

Attending the ceremony were parents and guardians of the awardees and supervisory staff of the bank.

SASOD renews call for end to corporal punishment

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he Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is urging the authorities here to abolish corporal punishment in all settings, particularly in schools and to take steps to strengthen and expand awareness programmes in order to promote positive and alternative forms of discipline.

SASOD made the call during its oral presentation and responded to questions based on its February 2013 written submission to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Guyana’s Commitment to the United Nations Human Rights Council to abolish corporal punishment earlier this week.

At the meeting with the committee, SASOD was represented by member Collis Augustine, Advocacy and Communications Officer Schemel Patrick and Secretary Zenita Nicholson.

The meeting discussed the necessity to strengthen dialogue with civil society partners, other stakeholders and more conservative groups on the issue of corporal punishment in schools.

According a statement by the gay rights group, discussions were also centred on the need for these groups and individuals working to

tection issues.

In January 2013, SASOD, along with three other civil society groups – Red Thread, Family Action Consciousness Togetherness (FACT) and Artistes In Direct Support (AIDS) – made a joint submission to the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child that focused on “Sexuality and Gender Issues Affecting Children in Guyana” as the state’s record was under review.

Communications Officer Schemel Patrick

create change to continue to advocate and to demonstrate why it is imperative for the government to comply with United Nations children’s rights standards on corporal punishment.

In recent times, SASOD said it has been increasingly focused on children’s issues in Guyana, noting that in December 2012, it launched its Child Protection Policy, which echoed its commitment to ensuring that the rights of Guyana’s children are respected and protected, as well as to provide a framework to assist all representatives in carrying out their duties to safeguard children’s welfare and promote awareness of child pro-

Recommendation

In its concluding observations, the UN committee recommended that Guyana address discrimination against children based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

In May 2013, SASOD led the Guyana Equality Forum (GEF) in its observance of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) under the theme “Children are Our Future” to keep a local spotlight on the Special Select Committee of the National Assembly that is currently holding consultations on the abolition of corporal punishment in schools, and the need to create a safe and enabling environment for children, regardless of

sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

Reiterating its position for the banning of corporal punishment in schools, the group said it continues to work with other civil society groups advocating for an end to all forms of violence, abuse and discrimination against children.

Today, SASOD said as part of the Guyana Equality Forum (GEF), it will be hosting a mural painting exercise at the Georgetown Seawall, between Vlissengen Road and Pere Street, commencing at 15:00h.

Also collaborating with the GEF are the interim Guyana National Youth Council, Youth Challenge Guyana, Youths For Guyana and the Guyana Girl Guides Association.

Childcare and Protection Agency Director Ann Greene and UNICEF representative to Guyana Marianne Flach are expected to make remarks.

The GEF is observing Universal Children’s Day under the theme “Speak out against violence, abuse and discrimination of children”.

“We expect attendance from a wide cross-section of civil society, governmental and international partners,” SASOD said.

igicel was named a winner at the 2012/13 Corporate Citizens of the Americas (CCA) Award Wednesday night at a glittering gala in Washington, DC. The CCA awards are an initiative from The Trust for the Americas with support from the Organisation of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and AES Corporation.

Digicel was named the winner in the Vulnerable Communities Category for its Digicel Foundation education programme in Haiti which sees it on track to build 150 schools by 2014 and deliver training to over 600 teachers who each received more than 450 hours of training, mentorship and professional development.

Other winners on the night were IBM Latin America for its “Corporate Service Corps” programme in the Economic Opportunities Category and CEMEX for its “Comprehensive Assisted Auto Construction” programme in the Citizen Security Category.

The Trust for the Americas is a non-profit organisation affiliated with the Organisation of American States (OAS). It was established in 1997 to promote public and private sector participation in social and economic development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its initiatives, implemented through local partner organisations, seek to improve access to economic opportunities for vulnerable communities in the hemisphere. To this end, the trust also promotes social inclusion and good governance.

Commenting on the Digicel Foundation’s work in Haiti, Digicel chairman and founder, Denis O’Brien, said “We are deeply committed to helping the people of Haiti to build a brighter future for themselves. Our education programme in Haiti sees

between 80,000 and 90,000 children being given the opportunity to receive a muchneeded education and teachers receiving proper training and support. We would like to thank the Trust of the Americas and its partner organisations for this kind recognition of our efforts.”

Digicel Group Limited is a leading global communications provider with operations in 31 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. After 12 years of operation, total investment to date stands at over US$4.5 billion worldwide. The company is renowned for delivering the best value, the best service and the best network.

Digicel runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel foundations in Jamaica, Haiti, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams and individuals, including the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt and Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel also sponsors the West Indies cricket team.

Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and its markets comprise: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Nauru, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and Vanuatu. Digicel also has coverage in St Martin and St Barts in the Caribbean.

15 News

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, november 23, 2013

Guyana among world’s top destinations to visit in 2014 N

ational Geographic Traveler magazine has named Guyana on its annual Best of the World list, featuring 20 destinations plus a bonus readers’ choice destination to visit in 2014.

The list reflects what is authentic, culturally rich, sustainable and superlative in the world of travel today. The destinations are featured in the December 2013/January 2014 issue of Traveler magazine, available on newsstands on December 3, and online at travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/ best-trips-2014.

“Our annual Best of the World list doesn’t reflect hot spots drawn from celebrity sightings or travel statistics,” said National Geographic Traveler magazine Editorin-Chief Keith Bellows.

“It reflects the expertise and experience of National Geographic Travel’s huge network of global travel experts. If you want to explore places worth visiting now, this is a great place to start.”

National Geographic Traveler magazine Editorin-Chief Keith Bellows

The destinations featured in the 2014 Best of the World list are Alentejo, Portugal; Arbil, Iraq; Bolaven Plateau, Laos; Cacao Trail, Ecuador; Cape Verde; Cathar Country, France; Córdoba, Argentina; Derawan Islands, Indonesia (readers’ choice); Guyana; John Muir Trail, Scotland; Liechtenstein; Nahanni National Park, Canada; New Orleans, Louisiana; Northern Territory, Australia; Nyungwe

National Park, Rwanda; Puglia, Italy; Ranthambore National Park, India; Riga, Latvia; Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Sochi, Russia.

National Geographic Traveler magazine’s global community of writers, editors and explorers selected 20 of the destinations, and for the first time, a readers’ choice submission was also included.

National Geographic Travel is the travel arm of the National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest non-profit scientific and educational organisations, founded in 1888.

National Geographic Travel creates meaningful and engaging travel content and experiences through National Geographic Traveler magazine; National Geographic Expeditions; travel books; maps; apps; digital media; and travel photography programmes.

National Geographic

Traveler (eight issues per year) is the world’s most widely read travel magazine and has 14 international editions. It is available by subscription, on newsstands in the U.S. and Canada, and digitally for tablets. National Geographic Expeditions, the travel programme of the society, offers a variety of unique travel experiences led by top experts to more than 60 destinations across all seven continents.

Travel opportunities include family and student expeditions, active adventures, private jet trips and voyages on the six expedition ships in the National GeographicLindblad fleet, as well as photography workshops, expeditions and seminars.

The National Geographic Travel digital group offers inspiring and authoritative digital travel and adventure content such as trip ideas, photo galleries, blogs and apps. National Geographic Travel Books bring readers curated travel advice and inspiration.

Jamaican businessman to be given home burial Mingo, 21, of Lot 39, Third Street, Alberttown, was shot about 04:00h on Saturday morning, moments after he walked out of the Main Street night club.

It was reported that two armed men opened fire on Mingo and two of his friends, Joseph Barker and Earlson Murray, as they entered their motor vehicle.

Mingo was reportedly hit several times about the body Dead: Patrick Forbes

Dead: Denzil Mingo

ore than one week after Jamaican businessman Patrick Forbes was shot and killed in Orange Walk, Georgetown; the police are still to make an arrest, but preparations are in place for his body to be flown to his homeland to facilitate his burial.

The body of Forbes is expected to leave the country over the weekend, but his close associates claim that if the post-mortem was performed earlier, he would have been already laid to rest.

An autopsy was performed on Forbes’ body on Friday by Dr Nehaul Singh, who gave the cause of death as multiple gunshot injuries. A few days after his execution, his close associate, Denzil Mingo, an ex-soldier was killed in a similar fashion in front of a city night club.

The killings have spurred a number of speculations, leaving the public to believe that the murders are connected. It was reported that Mingo might have been

involved in the Jamaican execution and he (Denzil) was killed in an act of revenge.

Earlier in the week, Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell indicated that the police were trying to ascertain whether there is a link between the two executions.

They are yet to make a pronouncement on this matter.

Forbes, the Jamaican businessman, was shot in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, but succumbed to his injuries about 19:00h the following day. The 36-yearold businessman of Lance Gibbs Street, Queenstown, was among a group of persons on Orange Walk, when gunmen opened fire in his direction.

Forbes was hit several times in the abdomen and right thigh with bullets fired from a .32 pistol. He operated a boutique at Forshaw Street, Georgetown.

About 19:00h on Tuesday last, Forbes dropped off a friend and went to play dominoes at Orange Walk. The Jamaican was previously shot eight times a few years ago in his home country.

M

and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital. Barker was struck about the body and was admitted to the hospital.

It was further reported that Mingo had an argument with another man prior to his death inside the night club. Mingo will be laid to rest on Sunday, but again, no one was taken into custody for the murder of the ex-soldier.

IDB, CIFAL announce winners of road safety case study contest

T

he Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Training Centre for Local Actors (CIFAL-Curitiba) of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) announced the three winners of the firstever call for university case studies on road safety in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

The award was created as part of an effort to reduce troubling road accident fatality rates in LAC, where there is a regional average of 17 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants compared to less than 10 in 100,000 in high-income countries. The call promotes establishing academic processes for the creation, expansion and dissemination of roadway safety knowledge.

The winners were announced at the First Assembly of the Network of Universities on Road Safety (RUSVEI) held on November 18 and 19 at the National Technological University in Buenos Aires.

The winners are Ana Paula Camargo Larocca, Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo; Denise Martins Chagas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; and Juan Guillermo Villegas Ramírez, Universidad de Antioquia.

Financed by the IDB, the call for case studies was coordinated by CIFAL-Curitiba.

The selection committee included judges from universities in the region, as well as International Automobile Federation (FIA), Johns Hopkins University and the National Road Safety Agency of Argentina. The winning case studies will be published in an IDB Technical Note in early 2014.

“The call for proposals is not just an attempt to curate quality research on the issue of road safety” said IDB Chief Transport Division Néstor Roa. He added: “It also builds on the expectation that universities will influence future leaders in the public and private sector alike, and that an emphasis on road safety in academia will come to guide future decision makers in the fields of vehicle manufacture, urban planning and education. We aim not only to improve roadway fatality statistics, but to reform community approaches to roadway transportation in general.”

This call for proposals is aligned with the IDB’s Road Safety Strategy, the World Health Organisation’s Decade of Action for Road Safety and the United Nations’ goal of reducing road accident fatalities by 50 per cent by 2020. The call was open to all researchers, professors and university students focusing on road safety at any university in the IDB’s 26 member countries.

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saturday, november 23, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Africa

Caribbean

TT ranked 10th in world for electricity connectivity

T

T has been recognised in the World Bank’s latest Doing Business report for significant regulatory improvements in its cost of electricity connections. The country is ranked 10th among 189 economies worldwide for its ease of electricity connectivity, according a report posted online by InvestTT. Electricity connectivity can be one of the greatest barriers for new and expanding

businesses. According to the 2014 report, “in 2013 the cost to connect a single warehouse to a power supply ranged from an average of US$19,112 in South Asia to US$38,500 in Sub-Saharan Africa”. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the average cost was just under US$25,000.

With TT’s new regulatory changes, the country’s capital contribution costs have decreased due to resolution of

the free rider issue. Several other improvements benefiting new and expanding businesses were also put in place.

The country’s effort to address the issue began in 2006 with the establishment of a working group of various businesses by the Regulated Industries Commission (RIC), the official regulator. Multiple recommendations were put in place between 2009 and 2013.

(Trinidad Guardian)

North America

How Africa’s natural resources can drive industrial revolution

T

he economic performance of Africa in the last few years has been remarkable. The continent has consistently defied the global trend.

Five years after the global financial system came perilously close to collapse, the global economic outlook is still uncertain. In Europe, GDP is still below pre-crisis levels and unemployment is at a record high. Recovery in the United States, although stronger, remains weak by historic standards, and even

China, which has done so much to drive global growth, is slowing down.

Yet, in what some might call an unexpected twist, average growth in Africa over the last decade has been more than five per cent. Of the 10 fastest-growing global economies, seven are in sub-Saharan Africa. But how will this economic spike be sustained?

How do we ensure we continue along this trajectory?

It is the world’s appetite for Africa’s rich natural resources which, up to now, has been the

major driver of this stellar record. And it is this same appetite that will provide both the opportunity and the solution for Africa to sustain these economic achievements.

While not all African countries are commodity rich, the continent has 12 per cent of the world’s oil reserves, 40 per cent of its gold, and 80 per cent to 90 per cent of its chromium and platinum. Africa is also home to 60 per cent of the world’s underutilised arable land and has vast timber resources. (CNN)

The United Arab Emirates capital slapped a five per cent cap on annual rent hikes in January 2008 after surging demand drove rents higher and inflation with them.

“Many are paying rents under-the-market rates, so in some cases rents may go up. But with more supply now and competition it is laid more open to market forces,” said Matthew Green, head of research at property services firm CB Richard Ellis.

Prime residential rents for new leases in Abu Dhabi were flat in the second quarter of this year after growing eight per cent in the first quarter, whereas secondary residential rents continued to fall, according to property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle. Demand growth driven by government spending and regulations to reduce commuting from Dubai has been partially offset by continued additions to supply, Jones Lang said. (Arabianbusiness)

JPMorgan reaches US$4.5B Middle East deal with investors Abu Dhabi scraps five per cent annual rent cap J

PMorgan Chase & Co has said it agreed to pay US$4.5 billion to settle claims by investors who lost money on mortgage-backed securities before the collapse of the U.S. housing market.

The bank reached the agreement on Friday with 21 institutional investors in 330 residential mortgage-backed securities trusts issued by JPMorgan and Bear Stearns, which it took over during the financial crisis, according to

the bank and lawyers for the investors. The deal still has to be accepted by seven trustees overseeing the securities holdings, the parties said. The settlement does not include trusts issued by Washington Mutual, which JPMorgan also acquired.

The deal is separate from the preliminary US$13 billion settlement JPMorgan has reached with the US government that would resolve a raft of actions over residential mortgage-backed securities.

“This settlement is another important step in JP Morgan’s efforts to resolve legacy related RMBS matters,” the bank said in a statement. The bank said it believes reserves it has built will cover the expense of “this and any remaining” mortgage securities litigation. The 21 investors include BlackRock Inc, Metlife Inc, Allianz SE’s Pacific Investment Management Company, the TCW Group and Bayerische Landesbank.

(Al Jazeera)

Europe

A

bu Dhabi has decided to scrap a five per cent cap on annual rent increases, the emirate’s top decision making body said, opening up a property sector where many are paying below current market rents.

The Abu Dhabi Executive Council issued a decision to cancel the extension of the annual five per cent rent increase rate as of November 10, the official news agency WAM reported late Thursday.

German business confidence Oceania improves as growth continues Buffett theory shown up by Air New Zealand G

erman business confidence improved in November, a survey has indicated, amid rising optimism about the economy.

The closely-watched Ifo survey of business confidence revealed an above-expected rise in November, reaching its highest level since April 2012.

The index, based on a survey of 7000 firms, rose to 109.3, compared with 107.4 in October. The news comes as official figures confirmed that the

German economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the third quarter.

Strong domestic demand for goods helped to drive growth. A healthy labour market, moderate inflation and wage increases boosted household spending and contributed to a 0.7 per cent increase in domestic demand, the Federal Statistics Office said. The Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, believes the country’s steady growth will be maintained as

domestic demand strengthens and the global economic environment improves.

Some analysts are expecting 0.5 per cent growth in the final quarter. Angela Merkel’s government has forecast growth of 0.5 per cent overall for 2013, and 1.7 per cent growth in 2014. Rebalancing the rise in business confidence reflects a three per cent rise in capital investment in the third quarter, particularly in construction. (BBC News)

Market statistics Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Cambio Rates

Fixed as at July 24, 2013 Calculated at 94% purity

Bank of Guyana Cur

Buying

Selling

GBP

$332.68

$336.85

CAN

$194.61

$196.85

USD

$205.49

$207.93

U.S.

$1335.00

Cambio

$202.67

Gross

$254,331

Net

$236,527

Selling

$262,426

Indicators as on November 22, 2013 Live Spot Gold

USD Per Once

Bid/Ask

$1243.70

$1243.40

Low/High

$1240.50

$1248.20

Change

+1.30

+0.10%

USD GBP EUR

AM

PM

1241.75 766.75 918.59

1246.25 768.96 920.83

AM

PM

Nov 21

USD GBP EUR

1248.50 775.76 929.64

Price Silver

Platinum

London Gold Fix

Nov 22

Indicators Crude Oil

US$ per barrel $110.08

USD per Ounce

$19.83 $1381.00

Change % +1.84

Change %

-0.78 -0.29

A

mong the many things Warren Buffett is famous for is his view that airlines are a lousy investment. Just last May, he was at it again.

Speaking at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in the Midwestern city of Omaha, Buffett said investors had been pouring money into airlines and airline manufacturers for 100 years with terrible results.

“It’s been a death trap for investors.”

But the New Zealand government has proved the socalled Sage of Omaha wrong, says Rob Mercer head of private wealth research at Forsyth Barr.

“The government’s investment in Air New Zealand has put to rest the outdated statement from Buffett to never invest in airlines,” said Mercer, who has followed Air NZ since

it listed on the NZX in 1989.

“It’s all about creating a sustainable business in a volatile environment where you can manage volatility better than anybody else and create an average return that beats the average cost of capital,” he said.

“That’s what Air NZ has done,” he said. Even during fuel price spikes, it remained profitable while many others were not. (NZ Herald)

Investors' guide

How to value a company in three steps (conclusion) Step 3: Market value

“Google” similar companies to see what they are selling for. Find three or four similar companies in size, offering and market share and find a maximum, minimum and average value among the list.

Finding the market range, gives a viable benchmark for comparison.

Also, what is the perceived demand for what the company has to offer? Do they have a significant market share? Is there room for growth? How does the company maintain

a competitive advantage or is it just a matter of time before competitors start taking their share?

Conclusion

Valuing a company on your own can be a daunting task – consider bringing in professionals to help crunch the numbers and get into the details. If a business is for sale, look for a third party accounting firm to have confirmed and compiled the financial statements. If it is a much smaller business, ask your accountant

to take a look.

Most importantly, realise that looks can be deceiving and the company being evaluated has its own sense of value that may far exceed any calculated book value. Gather the facts on all that you can, and make educated guesses.

Proper valuation sets up realistic opportunities return on investment. Keep in mind that an aged rock star that fills a coffee house may produce a higher return on investment than one with an empty stadium. (Business Dictionary)

Business concept – Overhead

Last: 16064.77

1240.00 768.71 921.25 Changes: +54.78

Open: 16008.71

High:16068.78

% Change: +0.34 Low: 15976.72

% YTD: 22.59

52Wk Hi: 15721.00

52 Wk Lo: 12471.49

1. Resource consumed or lost in completing a process, that does not contribute directly to the end-product. Also called burden cost.

2. Accounting: A cost or expense (such as for administration, insurance, rent, and utility charges) that (a) relates to an operation or the company as a whole, (b) does not become an integral part of a good or service (unlike raw material or direct labour), and (c) cannot be applied or traced to any specific unit of output. Overheads are indirect costs.

news

17

Saturday, november 23, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

GPHC gets first emergency specialist H

Open Doors Centre urged to expand operations

T

he local health sector is celebrating another milestone as Guyana received its first emergency medicine specialist, who will be looking to improve the services of the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Dr Zulficar Bux underwent three years of training at the GPHC under the supervision of professionals from the Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, U.S.A. He has been recently appointed head of the hospital’s A&E Unit.

Dr Bux said prior to his training, he recognised that there is a need for improved medical care in emergency medicine and an emergency medicine specialist will be helpful in this regard.

As such, he decided to pursue training through a scholarship from the Vanderbilt University in 2010.

The doctor pointed out that emergency medicine has a prominent place in Guyana, noting that over the years, emergency training has improved at the GPHC in the areas of patient management, and correct and timely diagnosis.

“I’m going to be the leader for the rest of the emergency room with the guidance of the professionals from

Dr Zulficar Bux

Vanderbilt. The idea though, is to move this process forward and to make sure it doesn’t fall apart. However, the entire change in the emergency room will not be done just by me, I just here to guide and assist the rest of the residents and work as a team to actually improve the services of the emergency room,” he stated.

Dr Bux will be graduating today with an end to see the process through. Vanderbilt’s Chairman, Dr Corey Slovis is in Guyana. The senior doctor stated that having developed the new specialty is a momentous and fortunate occasion for Guyana.

Slovis said the changes will not come over night and persons need to be patient and let the process takes its course. “Emergency medicine is a specialty that cheats death but deals with securing a patients airways and breathing and making sure their heart is stabilised, and in Dr Bux, you have a leader to mentor this facility. You should be proud of what you accomplished.”

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt Emergency Department Medical Director and leader for the Vanderbilt/GPHC collaboration, Dr John Paul Rohde explained that Dr Bux will be the first of many bona fide and well trained specialists in emergency medicine.

He pointed out that the programme is becoming a regional one as it includes collaboration with Trinidad, Antigua and other Caribbean countries.

Dr Rohde also disclosed that funding for these trainings is provided by several agencies such as the GPHC, the Health Ministry, the Vanderbilt University and Project Dawn. “The cost to us wasn’t important as long as we could help develope another country’s emergency medicine. At first, it was a favour, then an obligation and now, it’s an honour.”

Four Guyanese charged for US$50M Ghana cocaine bust

F

our Guyanese and one Ghanaian pleaded guilty on Friday to charges related to the seizure of a ship carrying tens of millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine, a senior legal official said.

Ghanaian authorities impounded the Guyanaregistered MV ATIYAH on Tuesday and arrested the five when they discovered the vessel was carrying 400 kilos (880 pounds) of cocaine worth around US$50 million, according to a statement by the Ghana Narcotics Control Board (NACOB).

The five men were charged by a High Court judge with several offences, including engaging in a criminal conspiracy and transportation of narcotics without authority, said an official, who was in court.

“The case was adjourned for three weeks, because the full results of the substance (tests) have not been brought back from the laboratory,” the official said. The men, who were remanded, told the court they could not afford a lawyer, he added.

The vessel was monitored at sea and intercepted with the illegal cargo by anti-narcotics officers working with the Ghana Navy once it entered the country’s territorial waters, NACOB said, without giving further details.

The MV ATIYAH was previously called “Island Princess”. Reports reaching this newspaper had suggested that the trawler left Guyana on October 22 empty.

The vessel is believed to have been registered as a fishing trawler in James Town, a suburb of Accra, and part of the boat was customised to haul the cocaine.

Guyana Times understands that the Custom AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) has been working with its counterparts in Ghana to garner information on the bust.

This publication further learnt that CANU is presently hunting for a Guyanese living in the city in whose name the boat was registered. The plumber by trade, who is also a carpenter, is not known to CANU and it is believed that other

persons are connected.

Back in 2009, the “Island Princess” was found drifting off the coast of Grenada by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) after days of no contact. At the time the “Island Princess” disappeared, it was believed that Mahendra “Sunil” Singh, Ryan Chin, Rickford Bannister and Titus Buckery Nascimento were part of the crew. The bodies of Singh, Chin and Nascimento were later recovered at various locations in the Essequibo River with several gunshot wounds. Later, Prince and Rohan “Jango” Paul, to whom the vessel was contracted, denied that the vessel had any drug links. He had offered $5 million for information that could lead him to the vessel, which he felt could have clues as to what happened to the crew on board.

In recent years, Latin American drug cartels have increasingly used West Africa’s coastal states, including Ghana, as transit points for drugs being smuggled to the lucrative European market.

ealth Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Joseph Hamilton is urging the management of the Open Doors Centre to expand its services from just offering skills training to persons in Georgetown.

Hamilton made this comment on Friday, while addressing an induction ceremony at the centre for a new Management Committee. He said the last national census indicated that some seven per cent of the total population was disabled and this number may have increased.

According to him, the Open Door Centre is among the group of institutions that must be prepared to cater for the needs of this group of people.

Hamilton said for too long, differently-abled persons have been treated as people in need, even though they prefer to be treated as independent persons.

The centre, he said, has the responsibility of making these persons productive citizens with equal opportunities.

The Health Ministry official noted that in light of all that has been happening, there is a dire need for the institution to expand its services.

This, he believes, is necessary, given the current challenges facing the institution, in terms of accommodating more persons, who are willing to pursue skills training.

Must be vibrant

“The Open Door Centre must become vibrant, viable, and sustainable and expand its wings,” he added. However, besides this issue, Hamilton said other key areas must be addressed.

The first issue to be addressed is upgrading the value of certification provided by the institution. Hamilton said the Open Door Centre must look to achieve accreditation for all of its courses, so as to make it easier for persons leaving the institution to get jobs in the various skills area. At present, the centre only caters for 35 students.

The institution which was previously located at Durban

Health Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Joseph Hamilton

Street, Georgetown, is now located in the Health Ministry’s Disability and Rehabilitation Division compound at B Field Sophia, Georgetown.

Hamilton also encouraged the centre’s management to devise a plan to extend the institution and present it to the Health Ministry for consideration.

He noted that when the institution was first established, its aim was to look at expanding into other communities and regions across Guyana.

However, the centre has not even moved to expand its current intake of students. He also urged the management team to present their plan in time for the 2015 national budget.

Improving operations

Meanwhile, Health Ministry, Deputy Permanent Secretary Trevor Thomas, who also delivered remarks, urged the management committee to look at new ways of improving the centre’s operations.

Thomas said while the centre has managed to make significant contributions to society, it has a far way more to go to achieve its true goals and objectives.

The deputy permanent secretary noted too that the institution is not only required to deliver a curriculum, but to meet the demands of emerging challenges. He pointed out that funding is necessary, but noted that where there are limited resources; the centre can look

Health Ministry Deputy Permanent Secretary Trevor Thomas

at ways and means to garner additional financial resources to execute its mandate.

Thomas said the Management Committee must look to empower persons who are differently-able and this must done through teamwork.

The new Management Committee comprises Jerry Simpson from the Council for TVET, Ganesh Singh of the National Commission on Disability, Delmar Tobin of the Private Sector Commission, Dionne McKenzie of the David Rose School for the Handicapped, Renate Jordon of Diamond Special Needs School, Colin Marks of the Sophia Development Council, Leon Walcott of the Guyana Council for Persons Living with Disabilities, Disability and Rehabilitation, Beverly Nelson of the Health Ministry, Arthur Lewis of the Open Door Centre and Assistant Chief Education Officer Patrick Chinedu.

The Open Doors Centre offers technical and vocational training to the differently-abled students in four core subject areas: electronics and electrical installation, information technology, carpentry and joinery and garment construction.

The institution was established in 2001 and currently caters for some 35 persons within Georgetown. After completion of each course, students are given a 12-week attachment to various public and private sector agencies.

One dead, two injured in Marias Delight accident

O

ne man is dead, while two others are nursing injuries at the Charity Hospital after the minibus in which they were travelling turned turtle on Friday evening in the vicinity of Marias Delight. The accident occurred about 10:00h.

The dead man identified only as Sarfraz was believed to be in his late 30s and hailed from Pert Village, Essequibo Coast. The names of the two injured men were not immediately available.

Guyana Times understands that Sarfraz was the driver of the bus and the other men were passengers.

Information surrounding the accident remains sketchy, but this publication was told that the driver might have been under the influence of alcohol and might have lost control of the bus while he was negotiating a turn.

The wrecked minibus after the accident As a result, the minibus reportedly skidded off the road and toppled several times before it came to a halt.

Sarfraz was pinned and had to be pulled from the wrecked vehicle, which was righted by

residents.

The men were rushed to the Charity Hospital where Sarfraz was pronounced dead on arrival.

More details in a subsequent publication.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, November 23, 2013

thursDAY, march 11, 2010 | guyanatimesGY.com

archie

By Bernice Bede Osol

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19) The way you present what you have to offer will go over well. Put a push on anyone causing delays. Answer questions with confidence, facts and figures. Gains can be expected.

dilbert

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19) Do your own thing.

Joint efforts will be costly and ineffective. Trust in your abilities and make the changes that will best utilise your skills and help you achieve your desires.

Calvin and Hobbes

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Take pride in what you do, and you will draw attention and support. Money or an important message will come through an unusual source. Reason and practicality will be required.

CANCER (June 21July 22) Stick to your game plan. Talk is necessary, but following through will get you to the finish line.

Make romance a part of your day. Share feelings and make personal plans.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22) Step back and observe what’s going on around you. Remove yourself from a situation in order to avoid being coerced into something you don’t care to do. Don’t fold under pressure.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) Good fortune will come through negotiation and personal talks. Say what’s on your mind, and you will spark interest and gain the respect of someone who is very special to you.

Peanuts

SUDOKU

ARIES

LIBRA

(March 21-April 19)

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Socialise and have fun with friends. Mulling over your plans for the future will help you put things in perspective, allowing you to make choices and put your plans in motion.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Get involved, be a participant and show interest in partnerships that can help you accomplish your goals. Love is in the stars, and a serious discussion will lead to happiness.

Not knowing which way to turn will leave you in an awkward position.

Overreacting and making assumptions must not be allowed to result in you making a sudden and costly move.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22) Keep your personal thoughts a secret until you know where everyone else stands. Take the initiative to help someone you love, and you will get something very special in return.

Friday's solution GEMINI (May 21June 20) Refuse to let anyone take you for granted. Focus on home, family and your personal happiness. Don’t labour over what you cannot change.

It’s what you can do that will count.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21) Fix up your residence or set a new budget in motion that will help you afford a luxury item you’ve been wanting to add to your home. You deserve a treat.

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, november 23, 2013

JUNGLE FEVER

19

Entertainment

at Palm Court this Saturday

P

ulse Entertainment will on Saturday evening host one of its concept parties called “Jungle Fever” at Palm Court, Main Street, Georgetown.

The night club is expected to be transformed into a jungle once again creating the right atmosphere with the right aroma to bring out the concept.

If you have the eye of the tiger, then come and roar.... Body painting and much more will be available to excite patrons.

Come feel the rumble in the jungle as Pulse entertainer, DJ Ryan steams things up on the dance floor with his excellent selection of music, ranging from soca to chutney and dancehall.

The Pulse girls from Thriller Fallen Angels will also be there in their jungle

wear to entertain patrons to the fullest.

Admission to the event cost $1500 before 23:00h, while ladies in jungle wear will be admitted FREE before 23:00h.

A tiger never changes it stripes.....

Come unleash your wild side!!! Lighting effects, music and decor will be provided by Pulse Entertainment.

Rihanna concert likely for August 2014

Young rider ready for on Sunday N

T

he final leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships will be held on Sunday at the South Dakota Circuit, which will see racers from across the Caribbean and North America competing for top honours.

As part of the Guyanese delegation, a young man who will be racing for the first time is excited and optimistic that he will do well. Kevin Persaud could possibly be the youngest super biker in Category “B” in this year’s meet.

He is 14 years old and hails from Alexander Village. He was born to Narendra and Ambika Persaud and is the younger of two children. He attended the West Ruimveldt Primary School and is currently a fourth form student of Queen’s College.

His childhood was fun, have being around his dad, who is known as the best mechanic in the country, and more so, he has been around motorcycles. He is a lover of motor racing and would become excited about going to the circuit to watch same.

He was encouraged to be a part of motor racing after he indicated his interest to his father. As a result, his team manager took him under his stewardship and he has been doing well since.

Since it is the first time he will be on the big tract with some of the big boys, he expects to go out and have fun and, more so, gain experience. He is optimistic that he will defeat at least one overseas rider.

The young super biker says that he has no fears since “I’m young and my blood is very hot”. After the first international meet on Sunday, he hopes to continue to “ride hard” and be the best Caribbean Super Bike champion in the next five years.

His greatest inspiration and role models are international rider Marc Marquez and Guyanese super biker, Stephen Vieira. His advice to young men who want to be a part of motor racing is that “practice makes perfect” and without dedication and team work, you are heading nowhere. “I suggest you start from a small bike and move up gradually”.

His plans for the future include attending riding school in the United States and furthering his racing career.

On Sunday, the young man will be riding a blue and white 2005 Yamaha 600 and will be sponsored by B&M Trading, West Side Carwash, his father, and a close friend.

egotiations between management of the Hits and Jams team and the manager of international recording artiste Rihanna are well underway, which can possibly see the songstress performing in Guyana in August, 2014.

Guyana recently witnessed the Redemption Concert which featured R&B artiste R Kelly and Guyanese will soon have the opportunity to see John Legend live in concert at the Guyana National Stadium at the commencement of the New Year.

With him performing here, it will definitely make way for others to visit the land of many waters to thrill their fans. Critics says that pulling off a Rihanna concert will take a lot out of the promoters but with more than 20 years in the entertainment industry, Hits and Jams Entertainment without a doubt can do so with the necessary backing.

Rihanna’s concert in Guyana will be a major boost that will possibly see people

from around the Caribbean and South America visiting this country to be a part of history in the making.

Since this little sunkissed beauty touched the international music scene in 2004, rising to stardom and now being described as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, she has proudly owned her Bajan and Guyanese roots.

Recently, at an event, the Directors of Hits and Jams, Kerwin Bollers and Rawle Ferguson used the opportunity to speak with Rihanna and her team about a possible concert in Guyana. During the talks, the melody queen also indicated her interest to perform in Guyana.

It was also gratifying to discover that Rihanna and her family are still very much in tune with Guyanese culture and are proud of their heritage. If talks go well, Guyanese brace yourselves for one of the biggest concerts to hit Guyana.

Anuradha Paudwal live in concert on December 1

B

ollywood singing sensation, Anuradha Paudwal is heading Guyana’s way and will be performing live on December 1 at the Guyana National Stadium.

The event is promoted by Beats Entertainment Inc and will see the playback singer being accompanied by one of her students, Sachin Sharma. The event is titled “Shrandajali – a tribute to the legend”.

The evening will also see performances by Shakti Strings Orchestra and a live band from Mumbai, India and the songstress will be performing hits by Lata; Mohammed Rafi; Kishore Kumar; Jagjit and many more.

Anuradha Paudwal was

born in a Maharashtrian Brahmin family in Mumbai as Alka Nadkarni, she studied at Xavier’s College. Her singing career started in 1973 with the movie, “Abhimaan” in which she sang a Shloka (a Sanskrit verse).

In the same year, she also made her Marathi film debut with “Yashoda”. In 1974, she released a record of non-film Marathi songs or “bhav geeten” which became very popular.

In 1976, she got her break as a playback singer in Hindi films with Kalicharan and her first solo was in the movie, “Aap Beati”. She also occasionally sang songs for composers Rajesh Roshan (Udhar

Ka Sindoor), Jaidev (Dooriyan, Laila Majnu), Kalyanji Anandji (Kalaakar, Vidhaata), and Usha Khanna (Souten, Sajan Bina Suhagan).

Anuradha gained recognition with her popular numbers for the movie, “Hero”, for composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Her collaboration with LaxmikantPyarelal produced more success with songs for Meri Jung (“O Mere Kwabon Ke”), Batwara (“Thaare Vaaste Re Dola-Tu Maaro Kaun Lage”), Nagina and many more.

Ram Lakhan saw LaxmikantPyarelal giving three major hit songs to Anuradha. Their association ended with Tezaab, where she sang two good num-

bers for them – “Kehdo Ki Tum” and “Hum Tumko Dilbar Kyon Maane”.

Most of her duets have been with Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, and Mohammed Aziz. She sang a few songs with Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi and also with her female co-singers; Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy and Sadhana Sargam.

Tickets for the event cost $15,000 for VVIP; $5000 for VIP; $2000 for back seating and $1000 for standees. The concert starts at 18:30h but gates will be opened from 15:00h. Lighting and sound will be provided by Crown Vibes international.

20

sport

YELLOW PAGES

Rain ruins cricket games

saturDay, november 23, 2013

dentistry Dentures provided in 72 hours from as low as $4500. Contact Dr B Stuart, 209B Charlotte St, Lacytown. Tel: 225-5034

EDUCATION SAT/AP/CXC/IGCSE English classes, personalized tutoring. Phone: 6124821 after 4pm, 274-0437 after 7pm.

flowers Available: Fresh long-stemmed roses, fresh dried and silk floral arrangements, gift items, bridal boutiques and wreaths. Nesha’s Flowerland. 78 Church Street (opposite St George’s Cathedral). Tel: 227-3553/225-3315

FOR SALE 1 stall stabroek market phone: 718757-8031, 658-0145 Mecury in large quantities, 99.9999% purity in grey flask.

Phone: 219-4535 60FT Antenna (Mass) for Radio, TV, Cellular, with cables, brackets, sky light $500,000 227-3939, 621-4000 73” 3D TV Mitsubishi Like new $450,000 227-3939, 621-4000 DIESEL Generator silent 28 kva SDMO John Deere engine, missing Fuel Pump, Panel, Avr MAKE OFFER 227-3939, 621-4000 CLARKE forklifts 2000, 3000, 4000 Lb, lifting capacity MAKE AN OFFER TEL: 227-3939, 621-4000 Generac Generator 15 kva, portable, $500,000 cash or credit available Tel: 227-3939, 621-4000 Diesel Generator, 3 cylinder Lister pitter (England) key start, 15 kva, $650,000 cash or credit Tel: 2273939, 621-4000 Chicken Hatchery (Robbins), 28,000 eggs capacity fully ready, $ 5.5 million or CREDIT available TEL: 2273939 621-4000

GOLDSMITH R.Sookraj & Gift Shop for the best in hand made jewellery ,(made to order) Phone: 612-2125/223-6156

health Are you suffering from abnormal behaviors, addictions, stresses, or psychosomatic sickness? Feeling suicidal, low self-esteem, loneliness, unloved, anger, conflicts and relationship problems? For appointments call 592621-0552. 12:00pm -6:00pm, Email: healthworldhc@gmail.com

immigration Immigration & Visa Services We handle all Canadian, USA and UK immigration and visa matters. Self sponsorships, holiday/ visitor’s visas, work permits, students visas, family, class, immigration forms, embassy enquiries, appeals for refused cases, US green card lottery, business class waivers, pardons, etc.

Get your visa approved. High success rate. Balwant Persaud & Associates.

Certified Immigration Consultants, 68 Sixth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown (Between Cummings & Lights Sts) Tel: 225-1540, 622-8308, 655-3105.

Email: balwantpersaud@yahoo.ca

KEY CUTTing Professional Key Shop, 125 Carmichael Street, Georgetown.

Phone: 225-3923, mobile: 6213249. We cut any type of key, service and repair all types of locks. Get your extra key today.

lAND FOR SALE Promising gold and diamond mining land for sale in different areas.

Phone: 699-3992.

LOST One Dog which answers to the name Zion. Colour Cream/White/ Brown about 1 foot tall. Last seen on Wednesday, November 13, between Success & LBI, ECD. If seen please call on numbers 619-8086, 699-7077, 220-3183.

MEDITATION Learn transcendental meditation and reduce stress & anxiety, develop full brain potential, increase creativity and intelligence, concentration, focus and memory, be healthier & happier, increase energy vitality and longetivity, enjoy more success in life, improve relationships and develop higher states of consciousness, a technique that works for everyone, for next introductory lecture. Contact Ashoke phone 233-6921, 6093701, email: kashokejp_68@yahoo.com or Sherlock phone 2252243, 614-9726 optician

Da Silva’s Optical. For Your Eyes Only, Look Better See Better. Phillip A Da Silva OD, Shannon L Da Silva OD, Natalie Da Silva OD. 248 South Road, Bourda. Phone: 227-3529, Linden: 444-6376, Corriverton: 339-3536, Meten-Meer-Zorg: 275-0322, Grand Cayman Islands: (345) 943-1515 for the perfect trendy touch.

property for sale PRIME COMMERICAL PROPERTY, AT BUSY JUNCTION CUMMINGS AND MIDDLE STREETS IN ALBERTOWN, 3 LOTS WITH BUSINESS, (NUT CENTRE) PRICE NEG. TEL 621-4000, 227-3939

powerful protection. Private and confidential. Phone: 674-2112.

Cleansing of spiritual problems of all kinds. Powerful Ifá protection against evil. Get help to overcome problems with love, relationship, legal, sexual, pregnancy, business, sickness, jobs, enemies, work, money. Call 10am - 4pm. Tel: 592690-1824. Email: anew-life@live. com Dutch Spiritual work. Unite lovers, get rid of evil, enhance prosperity, good luck baths and charm bowu guards, etc. Phone: 220-0708, 612-6417, 687-5653

TO let

Small business space suitable for technician shop, taxi base, etc.

Phone: 691-7164, 231- 2619.

Business place for rent , Plantain Walk ,Vreed –en Hoop.

Phone:649-0707.

House at Lamaha Gardens. Hot & cold water, AC, etc. Phone: 2194535.

Two modern apartments at Campbellville, hot & cold water, etc Phone: 219-4535 One house located in Lamaha Gardens, hot and cold water. Call 219-4535 EXECUTIVE TWO STOREY BUILDING 3 BEDROOMS WITH ALL MODERN CONVENIENCES FURNISHED/ UNFURNISHED, MEADOW BROOK GARDENS, MR NARAINE. PHONE: 696-8230 Two-bedroom self contained apt.

Caneville, Grove. PHONE: 669-1954 Two modern apartments at Campbellville, hot & cold water etc.

Call: 219-4535 Recently constructed bond with house and office space on the same lot, centrally located in Broad Street, ideal for business or manufacturing.

Phone: 623-0425, 609-2876

1 flat concrete house at Parfaite Harmonie. Phone: 643-4740 Lot 48 Light Street, Alberttown.

Contact Ram on 619-4483, 6017883 or 227-1454, 226-6325.

1 property at reasonable price, located in Bareroot, East Coast Demerara. Phone: 612-6417.

HILUX SURF 4 DOORS, minor parts needed, sold as is $750,000 TEL: 227-3939, 621-4000 Nissan Maxima, fully powered needs repairs sold as is $300,000 cash 227-3939, 621-4000 Stretch limousine, Lincoln Town car, fully powered $6.5 million or credit available Tel 227-3939, 621-4000 Mitsubishi 3000 GT sports car, fully powered, $1.7 cash or credit available TEL: 227-3939, 621-4000 Toyota Hilux extra cab, pick up $3.m. Phone: 264-2682.

Titan (hardly driven) $3.5M neg.

Phone: 691-9984 JUST ARRIVED: TOP QUALITY RECONDITIONED VEHICLES; TOYOTA PREMIO; TOYOTA ALLION; TOYOTA COROLLA AXIO; TOYOTA NOAH; SUZUKI SWIFT; MERCEDES BENZ C200 COMPRESSOR; BMW 318i; COROLLA AE100 WAGON; HONDA CRV; LAND CRUISER (FULLY LOADED); MAZDA PROCEED; TOYOTA HILUX 4WD EXTRA CAB PICKUPS - 3RZ, 5L, SOLID DIFFERENTIAL; MITSUBISHI CANTER TRUCKS 3, 3.5 TONS OPEN TRAY; 2 TONS 4WD; 3 TON DUMP TRUCK; NISSAN ATLAS 2-TON TRUCK. PRE-ORDER YOUR UNITS EARLY AND GET THE BEST PRICES. FULL AFTER SALES SERVICE AND FINANCING AVAILABLE. DEO MARAJ AUTO SALES, 2 CHIMNEY ROAD, CHATEAU MARGOT, ECD. 6240762, 220-5177. A NAME AND A SERVICE YOU CAN TRUST. One 450 Honda ATV. Phone: 6263817 Toyota Hilux 172 diesel extra-cab pick-up, 4x4 manual (5-speed transmission) a/c, p/s p/w p/l, winch, off road front bumper, KC lights, side baranka bars, bush-ready, Old Man Emu, rear leaf springs, lifted Old Man Emu shocks, snorkel, bed liner.

Phone: 623-0425, 609-2876

One experienced production manager to work in Furniture Factory and one AutoCAD/draft person.

Contact 657-1414

Gas station land. Size: over one acre Phone Ms Liverpool on 625-7582, 681-9293.

Urgently needed! One plot of land in Parfaite Harmonie, Herstelling and Eccles. Phone: 675-7292

VACANCIES One customs clerk with at least three subjects CXC including English Language, mathematics. Applicant must be computer literate. Please submit application before the October 11, 2013 to email: windsortechhomes@gmail.com or call 669-6874 or 682-3481

Dutch healing and upliftment, for clearing of land, dredging and ground work (strictly interior operation). Phone: 662-1247.

spirituality Suriname astrology palmist and Djuka healer. The most powerful spiritualist in the world. Are you suffering from the following problems? (any religions) love, marriage, family, health, business, husband and wife relationships, property, court, children, promotion, visa, pregnancy, education, depression, job, sexual, jealousy, enemy, money, drinking, also you can have all evil forces destroyed such as black magic, witchcraft, voodoo, obeyah, etc, and gives

LEROY TRIDENT car 250 CC, 4 doors, power window, $495,000 cash or credit TEL 227-3939, 621-4000

BODYWORK MAN TO SPARY MOTORCYCLE, HANDYMAN TO WORK IN STORE, MAID GO AND COME CLEANING ONLY (UNDER 30 YRS) APPLY GUYANA VARIETY STORE Tel 227-3939

EXECUTIVE TWO STOREY BUILDING 3 BEDROOMS WITH ALL MODERN CONVIENCES, MEADOW BROOK GARDENS, MR NARAINE. PHONE: 696-8230

services

Trike Can-Am style motorcycle, 200cc new, unregistered $450,000 neg or credit TEL 227-3939, 6214000

WANTED

One two storey house at lot 93 Atlantic Gardens, ECD; upperflat-3 bedrooms, kitchen and bath; lower flat-2 bedrooms, kitchen and bath.

Call 592-619-4483, 592-656-7471

1 three-building centrally located downtown in Thomas Street, South Cummingsburg, Georgetown, recently renovated, fully air conditioned, ideal for office with spaces for boardroom, or any other business. Immediate possession. Phone: 609-2876.

VEHICLES FOR SALE

Classified Ads $5+VAT per word

Call: 226-9921

One female babysitter, between 40 & 45 years, must be from Georgetown, be able to work flexible hours and some weekends, applicant with a sound secondary education may apply. Phone: 614-5711, 9am- 3pm

R

ain forced the abandonment of the second day’s play in the Demerara Cricket Board’s three-day trial match on Friday at the Everest Cricket Club ground.

Persistent overnight and early morning showers left sections of the ground under water, preventing the possibility of play on day two.

Today is the final day and play is schedule to start at 09:00 hours, weather permitting. On the opening day on Thursday, Christopher Barnwell scored an unbeaten 105 to guide his team to 358-9against Leon’s Johnson’s XI. The game is being used to select the best possible team to represent Demerara at the upcoming Guyana Cricket Board senior intercounty four-day competition, slated to begin on November

28.

Meanwhile, the semifinals of the Demerara Cricket Board’s Over-40, 20/20 competition sponsored

by Raj Singh Insurance Brokers and Trophy Stall has been rescheduled for next Wednesday.

The matches were planned for Friday at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) and the Enmore Community Centre (ECC) grounds. However, both venues were unplayable due to wet outfields.

The games have been rescheduled to next Wednesday with Lower East Coast Bulls and West Bank Demerara Mavericks playing at the DCC ground and Upper East Coast Tigers and West Coast Demerara Seals meeting at the ECC ground. Both matches will commence at 13:00 hours.

Goodwill table tennis at Enmore today

T

he table tennis section of the Enmore Community Centre Cricket Club will stage a goodwill tournament in the auditorium of the club today.

According to coordinator Brother Jai Hatim, the event will serve off at 14:00 hours with players from Enmore and Ogle set to test their skills against each other.

Each team will comprise 10 players. Vice-president

of the Guyana Table Tennis Association, Dr. Pradeep Balram, who was instrumental in helping the club obtain a tennis table a few months ago, is expected to be among the racquet wielders on the Ogle team. Hatim, who was a dominant force years ago, will lead the Enmore unit.

Hatim said a day of heated rivalry is anticipated, and he is urging residents of Enmore and surrounding areas to come out and witness the action.

England collapse to Australia at the Gabba

E

ngland suffered a calamitous second afternoon as they collapsed from 82-2 to 136 all out to hand Australia total control of the first Test.

Having earlier dismissed the hosts for 295, England lost six wickets for nine runs in 10 extraordinary overs as a rampaging Mitchell Johnson ran amok through the wreckage of their top order.

Only Michael Carberry with 40 offered any meaningful resistance as Johnson (4-61) and the excellent Ryan Harris (3-28) made the most of some ill-judged strokeplay and feeble defence.

By the close, Australia had added 65 without loss to lead by 224 runs with three

full days left in which to push for victory.

Not since Melbourne in 1990, when they lost six wickets for three runs, have England fallen apart in such dramatic fashion.

Three years ago at this ground they ceded a first innings deficit of 221 runs before piling on 517-1 in their second to save the match in style.

But their batting today does not appear to have the form or depth it did in that record-breaking campaign.

They have failed to pass 400 in their last 17 Test innings and, barring a meteorological miracle, are likely to go to Adelaide for the second Test behind in an Ashes series for the first time in seven years. (BBC Sport)

SCOREBOARD Australia 1st innings 295 England 1st innings Cook c Haddin b Harris Carberry c Watson b Johnson Trott c Haddin b Johnson Pietersen c Bailey b Harris Bell c Smith b Lyon Root c Smith b Johnson Prior c Smith b Lyon Broad c Rogers b Siddle Swann c Bailey b Johnson Tremlett c Lyon b Harris Anderson not out Extras (4-b, 2-lb) Total (all out; 52.4 overs) Bowling: Harris 15-5-28-3,

13 40 10 18 5 2 0 32 0 8 2 6 136

Johnson 17-2-61-4, Siddle 11.4-3-24-1, Lyon 9-4-17-2 Fall of wickets: 28 (Cook), 55 (Trott), 82 (Pietersen), 87 (Carberry), 87 (Bell), 87 (Prior), 89 (Root), 91 (Swann), 110 (Tremlett), 136 (Broad) Australia 2nd innings Rogers not out Warner not out Extras (5-lb) Total (for no wicket; 22 overs) Bowling: Anderson 5-116-0, Broad 5-1-13-0, Tremlett 4-2-8-0, Swann 6-1-22-0, Root 2-1-1-0

15 45 5 65

saturday, november 23, 2013

guyanatimesGY.com

21

Jeffrey receives sponsorship ahead of CMRC G

roup Four driver Kevin Jeffrey has received corporate support from Farm Supplies Limited, the official dealer of DOOSAN heavy duty equipment in Guyana, ahead of Sunday’s highly anticipated Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) at the South Dakota Circuit.

During a simple ceremony, Jeffrey’s deal with the company was formalised in the presence of Managing Director Renger van Dijk and Uwe van Dijk.

Jeffrey will race under the DOOSAN brand for what is anticipated to be a thrilling day of races, start-

ing at 08:00 hours.

Jamaica’s Doug “Hollywood” Gore is expected to be the star attraction with his Audi TT, touted as the fastest car in the Caribbean at the moment. However, he will face a stiff challenge from the Guyana’s top racers Jeffrey, Andrew King and Mark Vieira, who will no doubt look to exploit home court advantage.

When action revs off, Guyanese drivers, riders and go-karters will throw down the gauntlet to their counterparts from Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the

Group Four driver Kevin Jeffrey (right) with Managing Director of Farm Supplies Limited Renger van Dijk and Uwe van Dijk

Cayman Islands, United States of America, Canada and Suriname in what is anticipated to be an electrifying day of daredevilry.

Other high profile drivers and riders slated to compete are Doug Maloney and Mark Maloney of Barbados, along with the Guyanese brigade Raj Singh, Danny Persaud, Ryan Rahaman, Irfaan Kalamadeen and Joel Neblett.

The sponsors of the CMRC are: Seaboard Marine, Banks DIH Limited, GT&T, Rent-ATent, Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, CCS, Prem’s Electrical,

King’s Jewellery World, Valvoline, Nabi, Marsha Mining, John Fernandes, E.C.Vieira Investments, Mohamed Roshandin, NTN, New Thriving, Versus Auto Sales, TVG, Bounty Farm, Castrol, Hilton Quan, Trophy Stall, Readymix Concrete Limited, Extreme Motorsports, GTM, Ricks and Sari, Friendship Oxygen Limited, Automative Arts, Hand-inHand Insurance, Beharry Group of Companies, Kaylees Service Station and Jiffi Lubes among others.

Admission to the venue is $2,000 (adults) and $1,000 (children).

KMTC plans Boxing Day meet Victoria Kings KO tournament concludes this evening

T

he Kennard Memorial Turf Club (KMTC) will host a race meet on Boxing Day (December 26) at the Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, Berbice, race track.

According to a release from the club, eight races are billed for the day with over $6 million in prizes to be distributed.

The feature race will be for horses classified A and Lower and will run a mile for $1.5 million.

Other events billed for the day are the D3 maiden and E Lower for $600,000 over seven furlongs; the Three-old West Indies bred median and Guyana bred open will run a mile, also for

Cecil Kennard

$600,000.

The J3 and K, G1 and Lower, Two-year-old Guyana and West Indies bred and J1 and Lower races will run over six fur-

longs. The winning for those four races are $150,000, $400,000, $400,000 and $200,000 respectively.

The final race for the day is the I and Lower, over seven furlongs with the winner collecting $250,000.

The races will be run under the regulations of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority and entries will close on December 15; no late entries will be accepted.

Horses can also be entered through Roopnarine Matadial or Ivan Dipnarine on 331-0316, Cecil Kennard on 623-7609, 225-4818 or 226-1399, Isabella Beaton on 693-7812 or Dennis DeRoop on 325-3301 or 6099143.

V

ictoria Kings and Ann’s Grove will clash in the final of the Victoria Kings/Healthy Choice Promotions four-team knockout football competition this evening at the Victoria Community Centre ground.

The four teams drawn from the East Coast Demerara Football Association were Bakewell Buxton Stars, Ann’s Grove United, Golden Stars and Victoria Kings.

In qualifying for the final, Ann’s Grove brushed aside Bakewell Buxton Stars 3-0, while in the feature game, Victoria Kings edged Golden Grove 3-2 in a thriller.

In the opening game, Winston Pompey was the star player, scoring all of Ann’s Grove goals in the 14th, 27th and 64th minutes.

Victoria Kings had to dig deep to conquer a very competitive Golden Grove team, which included guest players Dwain Jacobs

and Quacey McCulley. Kings dominated the first half and within the first 15 minutes they were already 2-0 up, compliments of goals from Reuben Morris and Alden Lawrence.

In the second half, Golden Grove played very compact football in the middle and was rewarded with goals from Carlos Kingston in 57th minute and McCulley in the 84th minute.

Lawrence separated the teams however, scoring the winning goal in the 93rd minute.

Tonight’s final will start at 20:00 hours, while the third place game will commence at 18:00 hours. Over $100,000 in cash and prizes will be presented after the final. The first and second prizes will be $50,000 and $20,000 respectively along with trophies.

Among the sponsors of the competition are the Sport Ministry, DeSinco Trading, Palace De Leon Hotel, and Lloyd Lester.

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guyanatimesGY.com

saturday, november 23, 2013

Champs again!

Jason Yaw won the 400 metres Boys’ Under-18 in record-breaking fashion to complete a sprint treble

- North Georgetown retains title

By T reiston J oseph

N

orth Georgetown (District 11) repeated as champions when the 53rd National School Athletics, Swimming, Cycling and Teachers Championships ended on Friday evening at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.

North Georgetown amassed 65 points to win the overall championships, in the process becoming the most successful district in the championships’ history with 14 titles, breaking the deadlock with Upper Demerara/ Kwakwani (District 10), who has 13 titles.

Upper Demerara/ Kwakwani (District 10) finished second with 62

points, while Corentyne (District Six) occupied third with 53 points.

Cuyuni/Mazaruni (District Seven) and West Demerara (District Three) tied for fourth with 48 points apiece, while East Georgetown (District 12) was sixth with 47 points.

East Coast Demerara’s (District Four) Jason Yaw was unstoppable, earning himself a sprint treble by winning the Boys’ Under-18 400 metres in a record breaking time of 49.9s, while North Georgetown’s Avon Samuels won a sprint double by claiming the Girls’ Under-18 400 metres, also in a record breaking time of 1:00.2s.

District 11’s Jevina Sampson won herself a

Selwyn Foster

Cassey George

sprint treble, claiming the Girls’ Under-16 400 metres in 59.7s, while Jamal Johnson of Upper Demerara/Kwakwani won a distance triple by copping the Boys’ Under-16 3000 metres in 9:54.3s.

District 10’s Cassey George also won a sprint treble by claiming the Girls’ Under-16 3000 metres in 11:06.5s, while District Four’s Andrea Foster notched up a distance treble as well in the Girls’ 3000 metres.

North Georgetown won the swimming championship, placed second in track and field, fifth in the teachers championship and second in the cycling championship that allowed them to win the overall title.

saturday, november 23, 2013

guyanatimesGY.com

23

Banks Beer Cup opener switched to GFC - inundated GCC ruled out

By Rajiv Bisnauth

A

fter heavy overnight and early morning showers on Friday left the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground under water, organisers of the third annual Football Association (GFA)/Banks Beer Knockout Cup were forced to switch today’s scheduled double-header and opening ceremony to

neighbouring Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground, Bourda.

The persistent showers had the GFA executives contemplating all possible options during the course of Friday, and after careful consideration, the decision was made to host the games at GFC. The verdict was made late on Friday evening after a GFA executives meeting.

Sarfaraz retains tabletennis title in Berbice

Winner Gibran Sarfaraz (right) receives his prize from Souvenir Ramdyal

By Andrew Carmichael

G

ibran Sarfaraz successfully defended the Men’s Singles title on Sunday when the second annual Souvenir Ramdyal table-tennis championships were held at GuySuCo’s Port Mourant Training School on the Corentyne.

Sarfaraz, who lost his left arm a few years back, took just 13 minutes, 15 seconds to dispose of Rono Joseph in straight sets (114, 11-9, 11-8) in the final.

Unlike the first year of the championships when the two players met in the final and the outcome was through a fifth set, Sarfaraz easily won the first set and had little difficulty taking the second, as he led the entire game. In the final set, Sarfaraz led 4-1 before Joseph started to play more attacking.

Joseph stormed back to level things at 4-4 and then took a 6-4 lead. However, Sarfaraz won the next five points to prove his dominance but was forced to play two championship points.

Earlier, the champion was stretched to the limit in the semi-final against Stephan Sankar, winning it 11-3, 9-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, while Joseph made his way into the final by disposing of Joshua Lalbachan 11-5, 116, 11-6.

The Men’s Open Singles had 20 entries and started with Levi Nedd losing to Richard Bacchus 11-7, 11-8, 11-8, while Lalbachan got pass Ryan Anderson 11-6, 11-6, 11-3. In quarter-final action, Sarfaraz beat Kistoff Sukhoo11-9, 11-4, 7-11, 116, while Joseph dominated Marlon Daniels 11-7, 11-6,

10-12, 11-4.

The other two quarter-final matches saw Lalbachan putting away Bryton Murray at 11-6, 11-6, 11-7, while Sankar got the better of Bacchus 9-11, 12-14, 114, 7-11, 11-6.

In the Womon’s Open category, former national champion Desiree Lancaster was flawless on her way to victory. Playing in a round-robin format, Lancaster won 11-3, 11-3, 11-5 against Joyce Conway; 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 against Petal Burnette; and 11-6, 11-4 11-7 against Angeli Persaud, who lost at 11-5, 11-5, 11-10 to Burnette.

Persaud however, had the better of Conway 115, 11-3, 11-4. Conway also lost to Burnette at 11-2, 110, 11-3. In the third place playoff, Burnette got the better of Persaud 11-5, 115, 12-10.

Only John Andrews and Rawlin Mangar registered for the 11 and Under category. Andrews won in straight sets.

Joshua Butts used up all five sets against Gordon Conway to take the 15 and Under category, winning 6-11, 11-5, 11-1, 9-11, 1412. In the semi-finals, Butts won from John Andrews 115, 10-12, 11-7, 11-4, while Conway got pass Shariq Hoosain 11-3, 11-5, 11-2.

The highly anticipated 18 and Under Open category saw Joshua Lalbachan and Kistoff Sukhoo playing the final, which ended 5-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 9-11 in favour of Sukhoo, who had earlier gotten pass Symeon Matthews 11-7, 11-5, 11-6.

Lalbachan had earlier prevailed over Stephan Sankar 12-10, 10-12, 7-11, 11-9, 1412.

The GCC ground under water on Friday (Photo: Rajiv Bisnauth)

The tournament will kick off with defending champions Camptown taking on Essequibo in the opening fixture at 18:00 hours, while Pele will oppose Topp XX from 20:00 hours.

However, just before the four teams take the field to begin rivalry in the competition there will be an opening ceremony where all the teams scheduled to compete

in the year-end extravaganza will participate in a march pass.

The tournament started two years ago with Alpha United being the inaugural champions, carting off $3 million. Last year’s tournament was won by Camptown and they received a first prize of $4 million.

As was the case in 2012, the champion team will re-

ceive $4 million, while the runner-up, third and fourth placed finishers will collect $2.5 million, $1.5 million and 1$ million respectively.

A new addition to this year’s tournament is the monetary incentives for all the teams, including $250,000 each for the losing quarter-finalists, $150,000 each for those knocked out at the second round and $100,000 each for teams

booted at the first round.

There will also be individual prizes for the Most Valuable Player, highest goal scorer, best goalkeeper and most discipline team.

The most outstanding coach will pocket $100,000 cash.

Each association will also receive 20 percent or a maximum of $250,000 as gate receipts after expenses from all games played in their jurisdiction.

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

saturday, november 23, 2013

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CRICKET: AUSTRALIA 295 AND 65-0 V ENGLAND 136; PAKISTAN 176-4 V SOUTH AFRICA 170-4

Champs again!

- North Georgetown retains title See story on page

22

The North Georgetown athletes celebrate after becoming the most successful district at “Nationals.”

Their successful defence ensured they cop their 14th title, one more than Upper Demerara/ Kwakwani (Photos: Treiston Joseph)

Georgetown leg of Guinness Street football starts Tuesday

By Avenash Ramzan

T

he Guinness Street Football Challenge will resume next Tuesday with 32 teams competing in the Georgetown leg of the tournament, which was launched on Friday afternoon where key stakeholders outlined the format of the four-week, nine-day event.

At the launch at Banks Sports Club, Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste outlined that the tournament will bring the usual excitement that it has generated over the last five years. He said Banks DIH Limited, through its Guinness stout, is honoured to be the pioneers of the tournament, which is aimed at “creating unity in the communities.”

While spectators will be able to indulge in several promotions, Baptiste added that a new addition to this year’s event is a skills segment for individuals of every team. He noted that each team will select one player to be entered into a skills tournament, with the winner receiving

- skills segment added to this year’s event

Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste (third left) and director of the Petra Organisation Troy Mendonca lift the championship trophy, while other officials of Banks DIH and the referee council display the other trophies up for grabs. From left are Wayne Griffith, Brian Choo Hen, Troy Peters and Mortimer Stewart (Photo: Avenash Ramzan)

prizes and the opportunity to represent Guyana at the Caribbean skills competition next year. Players will be required to perform “doving” among other novelties.

This model was introduced during the Caribbean

final in St Vincent and the Grenadines earlier this year, according to Baptiste.

The competition will feature 32 teams battling in eight groups of four. During the group phase, the teams will compete in a round-robin

format with the top two advancing to the Round of 16, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

The tournament will run from November 26 to December 21 with the playing venues being Demerara

Park, Albouystown Recreation Centre, National Cultural Centre Tarmac, Burnham Court, California Square and the National Park for the final.

One of the organisers, Troy Mendonca of the Petra

Organisation said this is the first of many more zone competitions to be held before the national competition is hosted to decide which team will represent Guyana at the Caribbean Street Challenge next year.

Zone competitions will be held in Berbice, East Coast, West Demerara, Linden and Bartica in the coming months with the top two teams advancing to the national playoff. The champion team of the Georgetown zone will receive $500,000, while the runner-up will collect $300,000, third $200,000 and fourth $100,000.

All the other teams will receive participation stipends of no less than $10,000. The ballweavers of Leopold Street are the defending champions. Also present at Friday’s launch were Banks DIH Communications Manager Troy Peters, Outdoor Events Manager Mortimer Stewart, Banks Beer Brand Manager Brian Choo Hen and referee council representative, Wayne Griffith.

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