Guyana Times November 9, 2014

Guyanese reject No-Confidence P Motion 14

… but NACTA says PPP/C will win at polls Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 2309 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

November 9, 2014

No-Confidence Motion will halt development

Page 9

...pushed by "wild men" – Govt officials

Sattaur fears for life ... says Glenn Lall had killed before, can kill again

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

P7 Shah’s third novel released in London Every student can become a top achiever – Chief Education Officer says failures unacceptable P7

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Canadians NGO steps forward to help little Emannie P10

Hundreds graduate in various disciplines on Saturday when the University of Guyana (UG) held its annual convocation on Saturday evening (Carl Croker Photo)

Mother of four Prorogation could lead killed in Mocha to much-needed talks accident

Monday’s parliamentary sitting…

… time not right for rash dissolution of Parliament – Dr Luncheon hints

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Historian sheds new light on P17 Jonestown massacre

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NEWS

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BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Sunday, November 9 from 05:30h-07:00h The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Sunday, November 9 from 05:50h-07:20h

Weather: Sunny with thundery showers during the day. Cloudy skies are expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly to East North-easterly at 4.02 to 2.68 metres per second.

High Tide: 05:38h and 17:48h reaching maximum heights of 2.63 and 2.72 metres.

Low Tide: 11:23h reaching a minimum height of 0.62 metre.

The above-normal high tide advisory is in effect until Tuesday, November 11, 2014. Residents of coastal, low- lying and riverine areas are advised to take necessary precautions against possible flooding.

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Prorogation could lead to much-needed talks

… time not right for rash dissolution of Parliament – Dr Luncheon hints

WEATHER TODAY

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Monday’s parliamentary sitting….

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By Michael Younge

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decision to prorogue sittings of the National Assembly could see much-needed time provided to politicians and parliamentarians to sort out their differences in the interest of fast-tracking a suite of critical legislation that would positively impact Guyana’s future while safeguarding the developmental gains made.

This is the core sentiment being expressed by Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, who is insisting that there are no real benefits to be procured from immediately passing a No-Confidence Motion against the Donald Ramotar Administration on Monday.

Dr Luncheon, speaking during an exclusive interview on Television Guyana (TVG)/Channel 28’s Under the Microscope Programme, Dr Luncheon stressed that the abandonment of a series of legislative reforms contained in Bills which are before Parliament was unnecessary and a slap in the face of the thousands of Guyanese who would benefit from them.

He said if the Opposition was willing to put their political and party interests ahead of a suite of measures linked to safeguarding the livelihoods of thousands of Guyanese, then President Donald Ramotar would be within his constitutional right to act on behalf of the citizenry which elected him to give leadership.

Dr Luncheon maintained that the issues before the Parliament were not “runof-the-mill issues”, arguing strongly that there was need for normalcy to return to the legislature with the aim of dealing with the people’s business first.

He referred to the Anti-

Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill, the Education Bill, the reformed Telecommunications Bill, and several other critical legislative measures which needed to be dispatched ahead of any No-Confidence Motion debate.

“This is neither the time to put these issues on the backburner… nor the time to forego all that we have gained in the 10th Parliament. These are issues that we have to take to finality. This 10th Parliament that ends in 2016 is the place and forum where these matters have to be pronounced on definitively,” he insisted.

Statesmanship

Dr Luncheon advised that politics was about making the impossible possible as he commended President Ramotar for demonstrating maturity and statesmanship as well as patience in his engagements with the Opposition.

The Cabinet Secretary is also standing by the President’s proclamation that should the Opposition press ahead with the controversial No-Confidence Motion without dealing with the public’s business that he either prorogue or dissolve Parliament.

“Nothing in what the President said took him outside of democracy or the Constitution. The President, like many of us, wants a return to post- recess parliamentary normalcy. But the President is not unaware that there are those on the other extreme who believe that we should pull the plug and break up everything and end the Parliament with immediacy,” he explained.

But he warned that nothing would be solved by walking away from the Parliament or moving the

Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon

No-Confidence Motion without attempting to address the core differences between the two sides in the 10th Parliament.

“Are we ready, have we exhausted all political and commonsensical possibilities and we in the Government are saying ‘hell no… we have not’,” he posited.

More time

Dr Luncheon said more time was needed for the possible cutting of deals, compromises, and necessary concessions to be made.

When questioned on how would prorogation help in this respect, the Head of the Presidential Secretariat argued that should President Ramotar exercise this option, then a mechanism could be established to continue dialogue outside of Parliament.

He rejected any notion that the prorogation of Parliament was a dangerous development and an attempt by the President to avoid the No-Confidence Motion. Dr Luncheon also dismissed arguments that it was an affront to democracy or the

gagging of the people’s elected representatives.

In fact, Dr Luncheon said the prorogation of Parliament could only run up to a maximum of six months and the amount of time chosen is up to the discretion of President Ramotar, if he chooses to go this route.

On the other hand, the dissolution of the Parliament by the NoConfidence Motion would be permanent and could halt and stop everything.

“Pulling the plug is the death of all options,” he advised and signalled a failure to try to resolve the differences between the two sides.

If prorogation of the Parliament was exercised and no results were had, the Head of the Presidential Secretariat said that the next option could possibly be the dissolution of Parliament, which would pave the way for fresh elections.

Pressed further as to whether it would be possible for the holding of General Elections and Local Government Elections concurrently, Dr Luncheon advised that the latter may not be possible.

Dr Luncheon advised that the President will make the best decision in the interest of the people and his Government on Monday and every day thereafter.

“The door is not closed until the door is closed,” he said as the PPP/C Government believes and stands firmly on the premise that political dialogue, once held in a mature manner, can avert any crisis.

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Editor: Tajeram Mohabir 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

Rogue newspapers

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rom England comes news that the eighth newspaperman from the now defunct News of the World (NOTW) has been sentenced to prison for his role in invading what was described by the judge as "the substantial privacy" of numerous public figures and some of his own employees.

Ian Edmondson, a former News Editor, admitted conspiring to intercept voicemail messages of these persons. Fast on the heels of that story was the report than a former Editor of another newspaper, the Sunday Mirror, had also pleaded guilty to a similar charge.

In the case of the 168 year-old NOTW, which had the largest circulation in Britain, its owner Rudolph Murdoch had ruthlessly built a news empire by creating a culture of sensationalism and aggressive news gathering tactics that broke all the rules of professional journalism.

His employees, who are now trooping into prison, were driven to gather salacious and embarrassing titbits on personalities - and even ordinary citizens - to boost the sales and profits of their newspapers.

When, after sturdy denials the phone interceptions were revealed, those involved were not only brought before the courts but the Government launched a massive official Inquiry into media ethics and standards, which resulted in the eponymous Levenson Report. The role of the media and press was reevaluated in light of modern telecommunication capabilities and strict guidelines were established under a regulatory body that would replace the Press Complaints Commission.

A second part of the Inquiry has been deferred until the ongoing criminal charges against the transgressors for NOTW have been completed.

In Guyana we have had the case of one newspaper, the Kaieteur News, under the direction of its owner Glenn Lall introducing the Murdoch practices into Guyana to boost the sales of his newspaper. As with Murdoch and NOTW, he encouraged a no-holds barred style of journalism that included paying off Policemen, and we recently learnt, the routine tapping and taping of the phones of his reporters.

Individuals being interviewed or having conversations with Kaieteur News reporters never knew that their calls were being intercepted by Lall.

In the instant case, the Attorney General of Guyana was having a private conversation with a Kaieteur News reporter, who happened to be a childhood friend. While the AG was very expansive - and more than a little indiscreet in his comments - he was so because he felt he could let his guard down in a private conversation. But what was very revealing in the tape of the conversation, made public by Glenn Lall, was the reporter repeatedly expressing the suspicion that his boss Glenn Lall was secretly recording the conversation.

In the case of some purported e-mails of Kurshid Sattaur, Glenn Lall has actually boasted about intercepting them.

This newspaper in the past has expressed concern about the impact of the yellow, sensationalistic style of journalism practiced by Kaieteur News on the image of the country at home and abroad. In the instance of the latter hundreds of thousands of tourists from the expatriate Guyanese populace were dissuaded from visiting their native land, resulting in the loss of billions of dollars in revenues. More insidiously, businesses were also scared away.

We called for the establishment of a self-regulatory Media Monitoring Unit, that would have the 'teeth’ to sanction outfits like the KN that crossed the lines of professional journalism.

The government did not listen and it was no surprise when Kaieteur News slid downwards from generalised yellow journalism to conducting directed smear campaigns against individuals such as the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, who was about to launch an audit of his "sketchy" business practices.

The Government has dragged its feet and now the precipitous slide in sketchy journalistic practices have hit a new low. We hope that, as occurred in England, a Commission of Inquiry is launched into Guyana media practices in general and Kaieteur News' in particular.

The rot must be stopped.

People walk under stands with balloons placed along the former Berlin Wall location at East Side Gallery, which will be used in the installation 'Lichtgrenze' (Border of Light) in Berlin (Reuters)

The transition to digital television

Dear Editor, It is good news for television broadcasters and viewers that finally Guyana has moved along the path to Digital TV, with the recent approval of the final draft of the roadmap that outlines the process of transition from analog to digital television broadcast.

I am pleased to see that there is expected to be more public consultations, particularly involving broadcasters who would have a significant role and would be impacted by this transition from analog to digital TV broadcasting.

One of the greatest challenges in making the switch lies in the fact that consumers will discover their old analog televisions, and even the newer digital televisions,

depending on the digital broadcast standard chosen, will no longer receive overthe-air television.

Consumers will be forced to buy an external tuner (called a converter box) that receives DTV signals directly and converts them to analog for the existing television.

Alternatively, the user may purchase a new TV with a built-in digital tuner suitable for the chosen broadcast standard. The Government will need to make a decision as to who will cover the cost of the new infrastructure.

Will it be Government subsidized or will the viewer be required to bear the full cost?

For the broadcaster, Digital TV encoding allows stations to offer higher definition video and better

sound quality than analog, as well allowing the option of programming multiple digital subchannels (multicasting).

However, it provides these advantages at the cost of a severe limitation of broadcast range. Digital signals do not have ‘Grade B’ signal areas, and are either 'in perfectly' or 'not in at all'.

Further, since most stations use UHF channel allocations, their actual broadcast range will be less than before the switch.

Additionally, broadcasters may find that they will be forced to give up their individual transmission facilities, instead becoming content providers, submitting their content to a single service provider to be bundled into a digital program

stream, which would then be transmitted to the television viewer.

This method immediately puts the broadcaster at the mercy of the service provider, despite whatever legal protections will be built into the final act.

With all these considerations, it is heartening to note the transition period runs from 2016 to 2020, and I hope the actual switch occurs nearer to 2020, as there are significant discussions to be had with all interested parties, and significant investments must be made to facilitate this switch, therefore both viewers and broadcasters alike must feel they receive value for their money.

Sincerely, Annalisa Ally

Nagamootoo doesn’t come over as bright as I thought

Dear Editor, Views expressed by Moses Nagamootoo, newspaperman now lawyer, member of the Alliance for Change, Presidential hopeful, formed the basis and the headline, “AFC warns of move to govern without Parliament”, in another newspaper.

Nagamootoo expects that the President, rather than have his Government face the AFC’s No Confidence Motion in the National Assembly will, by proclamation, prorogue the Parliament. The remit of this, claims Nagamootoo, would be “an extra-Parliamentary dictatorship”.

Continuing to elaborate, Nagamootoo is reported as saying that were the President to prorogue Parliament, that would amount to “an underhand method” of dealing with the No Confidence Motion.

Nagamootoo observed that for the President to prorogue the Parliament is for him “to meander, to duck,

to hide and to avoid the Motion”.

So I was troubled that the Head of State would, as Nagamootoo observed, be involved in underhand action to prorogue the Parliament. I asked a University of Guyana (UG) law student, who told me that Nagamootoo needs a refresher course in Constitutional Law. I was told by this law student that our Constitution clearly provides that our President may, at anytime, prorogue Parliament.

I researched my newspaper clippings and I’ve noted that Nagamootoo, in the past, said that our Constitution is the supreme law of our country.

I would like therefore to be corrected if I’m wrong, but if by law the President may, at anytime, prorogue Parliament, and as Nagamootoo has observed that, if the President opts to prorogue Parliament, the result would be an “extra-Parliamentary dictator-

ship”, then it must mean that such a situation is Constitutionally permissible, and that flowing naturally from Nagamootoo’s reasoningn this is what the framers of the Constitution intended.

This is the effect of Nagamootoo’s utterances.

The law student told me that if the President issues a proclamation to prorogue Parliament, the President would be constitutionally entitled to so do and his proclamation would be perfectly lawful.

By doing so, is the President avoiding the AFC’s No Confidence Motion? The President himself gave the answer. His Excellency said if the combined Opposition is going to use their one-seat majority in continued Opposition to his party’s majority in the National Assembly, he will either prorogue or dissolve Parliament. The President laid his cards on the table.

If the President were to prorogue the Parliament

it would be a mark of his politically astuteness. It would occur to a discerning public that the PPP/C, with a proud history dedicated to working class political struggle, would not be recorded for posterity by defeat on a No Confidence Motion. It is just simply a matter of practical politics. All’s fair in love and war.

I thought it a little more than exaggerated, but more hypocritical, that the present configuration in the National Assembly, Nagamootoo is reported to have said that if he was the President he would confront the No Confidence Motion head on.

In other words, Nagamootoo suggested that President Ramotar should put his neck on the block and invite the AFC/APNU executive to chop it off.

Nagamootoo doesn’t come over as bright as I thought.

Yours truely, Romaine DeAbreau

NEWS

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President and high-level team visit Kaikan Govt, Broward College sign

Commander of the Armed Forces, President Donald Ramotar at Eteringbang, Region Seven where he made a brief stop-over

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resident Donald Ramotar on Thursday met with residents of Kaikan, a border community in Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) and familarised himself with community matters.

The Head of State also discussed with residents of the Amerindian community, ways and means of improving their district.

The President was accompanied by Guyana Defence Force, (GDF) Chief-of-Staff,

Students of the Kaikan Primary school and other residents gather to meet with President Donald Ramotar and team

Brigadier Mark Phillips and acting Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud.

The President and team addressed how to improve the relationship among the residents and members of the disciplined services stationed in the community.

Kaikan has benefited from numerous Government interventions such as a tractor, plough, chipper, solar panels, school feeding and uniform programmes and better education and health facilities.

Residents will shortly be benefiting from the distribution of the Government’s $10,000 education grant.

In the 2014 National Budget, money was allocated for the upgrading of the water supply system in Kaikan.

Meanwhile, President Ramotar also stopped briefly at the GDF base at Eteringbang, which is close to the border with Venezuela.

Shah’s third novel released in London

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yhaan Shah’s third novel A Death in the Family, was recently released in London, UK,

by British publishing house Cutting Edge Press.

In this novel, Shah moves away from the broad sweep of Guyana’s history and politics that informed her second, Weaving Water and returns to a more intimate family setting.

The idea for the story derives from that situation common to many families where hurts and misunderstandings lie just below the surface of their relationships.

These can often erupt when families gather for occasions like weddings and funerals when emotions run high and in A Death in the Family this is

what happens when the head of a family, Ahmad Ally, dies.

For his daughters Maryam and Dee, and his son, Khalil, the finality of the funeral brings to the fore the pain of their difficult relationship with a father who was a strong and domineering figure in their life.

The mysterious death of their mother at a young age is also cause for deep hurt within her family, and the suspicion that the late Ally’s bigotry about a brother-in-law who is gay could have caused her untimely death creates tension that culminates in an explosive family quarrel.

The family’s relationship settles into new patterns when calm is restored and they move forward and fill the void left by

by local artist Bernadette Persaud. The design features a detail from Persaud’s 1995 painting The Architecture of Time, Man and God. There will be a Guyana launch of both novels Weaving Water and A Death in the Family soon.

Both books are available at Alim Shah on Regent Street and in print and e-book formats from Amazon.com.

Shah’s first novel A Silent Life, won the Guyana Prize for the Best First Book of Fiction in 2007.

the deceased father with a new outlook and a better understanding.

As with her previous novels, the cover art was done

research, exchange pact

Public Service Minister Jennifer Westford

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he Public Service Ministry and Broward College in Florida, USA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which sets out a framework for collaboration between the college and educational, research and other institutions in Guyana.

The MoU was signed during the formal opening ceremony of the first Guyana Trade, Tourism and Investment Expo held in Florida, October 30 to November 1.

Public Service Minister, Dr Jennifer Westford signed on behalf of her Ministry while the college’s Provost and Senior Vice President, Dr Linda Howdyshell signed on its behalf.

The MoU said “The parties recognise the value of linkages across national boundaries to further the goal of creating responsible citizens in an increasingly interdependent world

and desire to strengthen and expand the mutual contacts, and also to improve the effectiveness of cooperation, according to international understandings and the laws of Guyana and the USA.” The agreement also states that as the purposes, goals and missions of the parties are common and compatible in many areas, their institutions, students and related specialised agencies and departments will derive significant benefits through activities of mutual cooperation and the sharing of information and experience.

“The parties will realise educational, research and development cooperation in several ways including exchange of educational programme materials; development of educational projects of mutual interest; mutual participation in conferences and forums; engagement in projects of common interest in collaboration with international organisations, NGOs, and Governmental institutions in Guyana,” Minister Westford explained.

Dr Howdyshell said that collaboration under the MoU would seek to enable students from Guyana, including the University of Guyana to enrol in specialised seminar courses offered at Broward College; create educational exchange opportunities for faculty and students from each institution; and explore the development of Broward College courses leading to Associate degrees on the campus of the University of Guyana.

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Foundation

Lung cancer Africa sets up

“Smoking I find the most ridiculous of all the varieties of human behaviour and practically the only one that is entirely against nature. Can you imagine a cow or any animal taking a mouthful of smouldering straw then breathing in the smoke and blowing it out through its nostrils?” – Ian Fleming, Goldfinger

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Anu Dev

ovember is “Lung Cancer Awareness Month”! This semester we covered the Respiratory System and everything that could go wrong with it. And whenever we cover an organ system, I’m always blown away by how intricately organized the undergirding system is. Everything in the body is arranged so perfectly so that everything is in balance- our homeostatic mechanisms keep everything in check! Talk about "clockwork"!

But even with all of its feedback mechanisms there to keep things running smoothly, we still need to take care of our bodies. We need to eat right, drink enough water, exercise and generally use a bit of common sense. For example, with ALL of the information around about how bad smoking is for our OVERALL health, people

still START smoking. Why? This isn’t way back in the day when there was no research done about the effects of cigarette smoking on the body- when know that it completely messes up your organs- inside and out.

But while the smokers might be quite happy to do whatever it takes to die of lung cancer, they’re actually harming non-smokers as well. Me and you. Secondhand smoke - smoke inhaled by non-smokers from smokers around them contains over 4,000 carcinogenic (cancer-causing) chemicals. So when you light up a cigarette, you’re not just taking risks with your health, you’re playing games with the health of everyone around you.

You’re putting your spouse, your children and your friends - even neighbours, at risk.

And even if you choose to go and smoke in another room or before everyone gets home, smoke lingers.

Smoke can stay in the air for up to 2 ½ hours- just because you can’t see it or smell it anymore doesn’t

mean it’s not there still.

Once smoking becomes a habit, it can be really difficult to stop. Cigarettes contain nicotine, an addictive substance. But you can still ‘kick the habit’. There are nicotine patches, nicotine gum, different alternatives designed to help people give up smoking.

Seeing the amount of information out there about the dangers of smoking and to consider the type of treatment you’ll have to undergo to get a handful of extra years if you get lung cancer, it really is mindboggling that anyone would choose to start smoking.

I mean sure, in movies they make the heroes and heroines who smoke look like they’re so cool, taking a drag on their cigarette and casually punctuating the ends of their sentences with a puff of smoke.

But movies also make their action heroes look incredibly cool while they’re shooting and killing and stabbing.

Car chases in movies look super cool, but normal people are just collateral damage as the hero slams

into their vehicle while chasing down the bad guy.

Just because something is portrayed in a positive light in movies doesn’t mean you should go ahead and try it out for yourself.

Like everything else when we're persuaded "we have to do something"... scratch it and you'll find there's a business angle that's pushing the "something" on us. In this case, cigarette companies.The largest cigarette companies that make billions with their "killing sticks" are generally from the US or Britain. But when their own governments pointed out the dangers of smoking and insisted on warning labels, they simply switched to pushing their "goods" - actually "bads" to the third world - and women. Meaning us. Watch out for those ads!!

So do the right thing, don’t start smoking. Your life's worth much more than a couple packs of cigarettes.

Smoking isn’t the only cause of lung cancer but it sure is the biggest one out there.

crisis fund

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op African business leaders have established an emergency fund to help countries hit by the Ebola outbreak.

A pledging meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, raised US$28.5 million to deploy at least 1000 health workers to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Experts say that if the disease is to be speedily contained, it needs to be tackled in these three countries.

Nearly 5000 people out of about 14,000 cases have been killed by the virus, most of them in Liberia.

Speaking at the end of

Ebola deaths 4961 (Up to November 4) Deaths – probable, confirmed and suspected (Includes one death in US and one in Mali) • 2766 Liberia • 1130 Sierra Leone • 1054 Guinea • 8 Nigeria • 1 Spain Source: WHO the Addis Abada meeting, African Union Chairman Dlamini Zuma said the resources mobilised would be part of a longer term programme to deal with such outbreaks in the future.

The Chairman of Telecommunications giant Econet Wireless, Strive Masiyiwa, said that several companies had pledged money to the emergency fund – to be managed by the African Development Bank.

The Ethiopia meeting took place as Liberia was reported by the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) on Friday to have seen a significant reduction in the number of new cases.

It warned, however, that Ebola was still on the rise in Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Chris Stokes, the head of MSF's Ebola response, told the BBC that the decrease in the number of cases in Liberia presented an opportunity for health workers to

step up their work.

Don't touch Ebola is spread by direct contact with contaminated body fluids. Blood, vomit and saliva can all carry and spread the deadly virus.

The relatives of sick patients and the healthcare workers who care for them are at highest risk of infection, but anyone who comes into close proximity potentially puts themselves at risk.

For that reason, contact should only be for essential medical care and always under the full protection of the right clothing.

The virus can't breach protective gear, such as gloves, mask/face shield, a full body suit and tough rubber wellington boots, but too few have access to state-of-the-art kit, and some do not use it properly.

One of the most shocking symptoms of Ebola is bleeding. Patients can bleed from the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and rectum. Diarrhoea and vomit may also be tainted with blood.

A big infection risk is cleaning up. Any laundry or other clinical waste should be incinerated. Any medical equipment that needs to be kept should be decontaminated.

Without adequate sterilisation, virus transmission can continue and amplify.

Minute droplets on a surface that hasn't been adequately cleaned could, in theory, pose a risk. And it's unclear how long the virus could sit there and remain a threat. Flu viruses and other germs can live two hours or longer on hard environmental surfaces like tables, doorknobs, and desks.

Soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitisers readily disrupt the envelope of this single-stranded RNA virus, and decontamination with dilute bleach is effective and readily available even in remote settings. (BBC News)

NEWS

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sunDAY, november 9, 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

Mother of four killed in Mocha accident Every student can become a top achiever A

– Chief Education Officer says failures unacceptable

Region Six top student Bharti Bhoge

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hief Education Officer Olato Sam has lamented the deficiencies in the education system, pointing out that corrective measures will be put in place, but warned that there will be no place for negligent teachers.

Speaking at the Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) Department of Education Regional Awards Ceremony for outstanding students, the Chief Education Officer said the nation’s children deserve better and no less will be expected of teachers.

A stern looking Sam said education managers have a key role to play in improving students’ performance, as they are the gatekeepers of quality education.

He called on them to lead by example, and Berbicians to demand that they do, noting that in this way, the region will be able to take its rightful place among the best regions of the country.

“We need to get beyond the more fundamental and basic expectations. Our leaders in the education system must be very firm that we a not tolerate shabby attendance, we will not tolerate shabby punctuality patterns and we will not tolerate unpreparedness on the part of our teachers.”

He said if these problems are fixed, the region will be on the road to positive change.

“Teachers must be at the forefront of all attempts to inculcate a new standard, driven by a result-orientated mindset, where teachers demonstrate a high level of competence in relation to their respective content areas.”

Chief Education Officer Olato Sam

The top 10 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) students along with the top Grades Two, Four, Six and Nine performers of the region were honoured for their outstanding performance.

Also awarded at the ceremony held at the St Francis Community Developers auditorium was Port Mourant Secondary for being the top performer at the Secondary School Certificate Programme (SCCP) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE).

Awards were also given to retirees and long-serving teachers, among others.

All can do well

The Chief Education Officer told the gathering of more than 200 that every student can become a top achiever if the right elements are in place for them to succeed.

“I eagerly await the day when the Vryman’s Ervin Secondary and Canje Secondary can produce and all the other low performing schools in the region can create a level of educational output that create more balance within the structures of the education system in Region Six.” Regional Chairman David Armogan said while he is pleased with the region’s performance at the 2014 CSEC examinations, there is room for much improvement.

The top two students from Skeldon Line Path Secondary were among the national top four while nine students from the region were placed among the top

50 in the country.

“We have to be able to ensure that all of our schools in the region are performing at a level above 50 or 60 per cent; only then we can say that we are achieving good results.”

He said though there were excellent individual performances, there is need for improvement in the general performance of the region.

Seven schools in the region recorded 75 per cent pass rates counting Grades One to Three, but overall, the region recorded a 61 per cent pass rate when scores of Grades One to Three are taken into consideration.

Armogan was also critical of some poorly performing primary schools, noting that it is an indictment on teachers when students leave the primary level unable to read.

The high point of the event was the presentation of awards to the region’s top CSEC performers.

Bharti Bhoge of Skeldon Line Path Secondary, who scored 17 Grade Ones, topped the region while her classmate Tessyia Ketwaroo placed second with16 Grade Ones.

In at third was Natasha Alladin of J C Chandisingh Secondary with 15 Grade Ones while Lakram Jaggai of Skeldon Line Path Secondary copped the fourth spot with 13 Ones.

The other top students are Arleena Budramm, Yogetta Ghansam, Minroy Punwa, Devindra Dukhi and Abdusalm Hussain of Tagore Memorial Secondary and Celisa Singh of New Amsterdam Multilateral.

mother of four has become the latest road fatality after she was struck down by a motor car on the Mocha, East Bank Demerara (EBD) access road on Friday evening.

The woman has been identified as Carol StephensDawson, 44, of Barnwell North, Mocha Village, EBD. According to information received, the woman was walking aimlessly in the middle of the access road in the vicinity of the Fourth Bridge when she was stuck and pitched into a nearby trench. Due to the darkness of the area, after being struck, it took several minutes to locate her among the bushes.

She was subsequently rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where she was referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital for further medical attention, but died on her way to that medical institution.

She reportedly sustained injuries to the head with several broken bones about the body.

Jean Dawson, the moth-

Carol Stephens-Dawson years ago

er of the dead woman, told Guyana Times that she was at home when she received the news of the accident. She admitted that her daughter would often suffer seizures which would see her walking aimlessly on the roadways.

The mother said she was made to understand that her daughter was in the middle of the road when she was stuck down.

“A motorbike de coming in the road and a car was going out… after the motorbike man see she in the middle of the road, he swerve but the car had no time to save she,” the elderly woman said.

After the hit, StephensDawson was flung into the

air and landed in a nearby trench, the woman told Guyana Times. She also noted that she did not get a chance to see her daughter, but was made to understand that the car that struck her down ended up taking her to the hospital.

Stephens-Dawson worked several jobs before she started to experience a mental breakdown. Two of her children who reside in the US are expected to arrive in Guyana by Monday.

She lived with another son at Mocha.

Stephens-Dawson was described a peaceful woman and despite suffering from seizures, she troubled no one. The Police in a release stated that they are investigating the fatal accident while noting that the driver of the motor car is in Police custody assisting with investigations.

The woman leaves to mourn her four children, mother and four siblings.

Her body is at the Lyken Funeral Home and is awaiting a post-mortem examination.

Scout Association marks 105th anniversary, mourns passing of member

A

s scouts from across the country gathered to celebrate the 105th anniversary of the Scout Association of Guyana (SAG), this year’s observance was dedicated to longserving member Assistant District Commissioner-Cub Scouts Marcia Jennifer Dey, who died on Saturday.

SAG President and Chief Scout Ramsay Ali said the passing of Dey was a major loss to the Association and to scouting across Guyana.

He noted that her handson approach and dedication to the scout movement contributed significantly to its growth and development.

Reflecting on her passing, SAG’s Chief Commissioner Zaida Joaquin said Dey was not only a scout, but a sister, friend and mother.

Dey, she said, was very active in the movement and led contingents to a number of Caribbean Cuboree events. She was a member of the Association for well over a decade.

More than 350 scouts across the country participated in this year’s anniversary observance. Fourteen groups with scouts ranging from seven to 19 years

Scouts march through the streets of Georgetown in observance of SAG’s 105th anniversary

old camped out at SAG Headquarters on Woolford Avenue. They took part in a rally through the streets of Georgetown on Saturday then competed with each other in a series of games.

The Association also held its annual ‘BBQ and Lime’ where members of the pub-

lic took full advantage of the tasty treats while being entertained by the games.

This, year the Association will be honouring long-serving members and those who have made sterling contributions to the growth and development of scouting in Guyana.

8

NEWS

SunDAY, november 9, 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

Sattaur fears for life ... says Glenn Lall had killed before, can kill again

W

hile the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is reviewing the file submitted by the Police on the allegations of threats made against Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur by

Crime Chief Leslie James on October 15. The DPP returned the file to the Police requesting clarifications on various aspects of the allegations.

The Police then included the information requested by the DPP and returned the file on October 22.

The coward...

Kaieteur News Publisher Glenn Lall, Sattaur said he remains ever vigilant, but yet fearful for his life.

The Office of the DPP on Friday confirmed that it is giving due attention to the file on the matter of abusive language and threats allegedly made to Khurshid Sattaur by Lall.

The file was initially sent to the DPP’s Chambers on October 14 and returned to

Fearful

“This individual has shot and killed a man. He has confessed to killing a man, if I’m afraid for my life? Of course! Since the threat was made I was fearful and to this day I still am. He has killed before and remains free, what is there to make me believe he would not kill me? Nothing, I tell you nothing,” said Sattaur.

Sattaur has accused Lall

...of Guyanese politics avid Granger, in a fit of bombast, squealed that President Ramotar was "cowardly" for threatening to prorogue Parliament if the Opposition went ahead with their threat to move their No-Confidence Motion against the Government! Can you believe this??

If you agree "politics is simply a continuation of war by other means” – as Granger does with a vengeance – why shouldn't the President use a weapon at his disposal?? After all, the Opposition's been threatening to use their nuclear-tipped No-Confidence Motion for months!!

"Nuclear-tipped" because since they have the numbers in the Assembly, they can bring down the Government, just by their hand-picked Speaker counting their "yeas"! Can't get a more powerful weapon in democratic politics than that, can you?? Trouble is, the wankers were so pleased with themselves when the AFC stumbled over their power after a throw-away comment by Nagamootoo – that they never thought to ask what weapons the President might have.

And just like their No-Confidence Motion, the right to prorogue Parliament wasn't something the President had "up his sleeve". They're both spelled out in the Constitution as clear as day. You just had to look. It's just that Nagamootoo and the rest of the Opposition never read past their "No-Confidence" power.

We can excuse Nagamootoo, because he just got out of law school – and at his advanced age, not much could've stuck in his ancient grey cells. But what about Ramjattan?? Is he so occupied with representing Badal and Fedders-Lloyd in Parliament, he has no time for reading. Or is the drinking getting more out of control?

Anyhow, Granger's just projecting his own lack of a vertebral column when he calls the President "cowardly". What's more cowardly than giving his word to the President on the Linden electricity tariff increase, after the President flexed on pensions – and then welshing?? Granger's cowardice was even more palpable because his party had just whipped the AFC in Linden and taken back their votes that'd crossed over!

He didn't have to cave in to AFC provocations in Linden.

But he did so because of an even greater act of cowardice. The Linden votes had been wooed back

by Aubrey Norton and colleagues. Granger was so petrified of a PNC leader with a following - like Norton – re-entering the PNC's leadership corps, he panicked!!

The bard said: “A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once." Granger has died so many times after 2011, he has to be a Zombie. One who wants to make Guyana into a "Land of the Living Dead". ...of Saffon Street Another coward in Guyana is the fella who plays "big and bad" but broke down and bawled like a girl.

Through trembling and tremulous lips he said the AG "threatened" him!! The AG reminded all of us that he was a "Queens boy".

Well, with all due respect, when this Eyewitness went to school in South Ruimveldt around the same time as the AG, he and his friends used to joke about "Queens girls" – of both genders!! What kind of man would bawl like that at the thought of the AG coming at him!!

Well we all know what kind of man – but since we've already been politically incorrect and put down girls' pugilistic prowess, we won't talk about the "antiman".

But when you think about it, that's just what Lall is, isn't he?? Everything that a man isn't – an "antiman"!!! We hope he's going to come out from the several closets he's hiding in. ...hiding behind lies We wonder why all these so-called "defenders of the media" behind the Muckraker and Lall have ignored this fact: Lall admitted hacking into Sattaur's e-mails. And even in his edited versions, he admits no release of KN financial info was ever made!!

D

GRA Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur

Kaieteur News Publisher Glenn Lall

Eyew tness

of issuing grave threats to him on the phone following the publication of a story in which he (Lall) was implicated in a scam to rob Government of import duty on two luxury SUVs. “Glenn Lall, I recognised his voice, called me from an overseas number and threatened to expose me.

Threatened to deal with me in a matter, as if I’m a thief and he’s going to do this thing because I am using my office to deal with the matters I normally deal with.

“He threatened to use his newspaper to expose me; I don’t know what wrong I am doing. If I am trying to do the Government’s work…. I don’t know why people should be upset, if they are doing wrong things,

they should be subject to the laws as well,” explained the GRA Head.

The GRA's Commissioner General reference to Lall having killed a person before was one of the most egregious example of vigilante murder and occurred in McDoom some 20 years ago.

It would seem that this killing, which somehow led to no sanctions against Lall, set into train a pattern of excesses by Lall that continue to this day with the latest charge of tax fraud.

On January 20, 1994, in Mc Doom, according to the Stabroek News, "Glenn Mohan Lall, the vigilante", now the publisher of the Kaieteur News shot and killed 30-year-old resident Kenny France. He was never arrested nor were any charges ever brought against him.

Undisputed

The undisputed facts are that on that fateful Thursday, Lall and three friends were driving on the East Bank Public Road when he (Lall) "spotted" one Oclive Marshall in a yard. continued on page 9

NEWS

9

sunDAY, november 9, 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

No-Confidence Motion will halt development ...pushed by "wild men" – Govt officials

By Jomo Paul

A

s the date for the debate on the impending No-Confidence Motion draws closer, Government officials have expressed their disappointment in A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) for supporting the motion, which, if tabled and passed, will “abruptly” bring to a halt the development of Guyana.

Speaking on a Television Guyana (TVG) special feature of "Under the Microscope", Education Minister Priya Manickchand, Presidential Adviser Odinga Lumumba and People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament Manzoor Nadir collectively issued a sound warning to the Opposition parties APNU and Alliance For Change (AFC) of the impending deleterious consequences.

Manickchand registered her particular disappointment in the Leader of the APNU, David Granger and Co-chair, Dr Rupert

Roopnaraine for the stance taken on the No-Confidence Motion given their previous disposition.

She contended that APNU’s eagerness to support the motion is one sure way to halt the development of the country, placing their own needs before those of the country.

Power-Hungry

Manickchand posited that given APNU’s previous positions on the passage of the No-Confidence Motion, it would now seem that the party has been “outfoxed” by the AFC and tricked into joining the bandwagon that will ultimately cripple Guyana’s development.

“I am disappointed in Mr Granger... very, very disappointed in Mr Granger. I always expected wildness from AFC, they are wild people, that is my view of them. They are hungry for power, hungry for personal kudos, so they will do wild things. They are the people, Robert Corbin, in my view, referred to as "wild

President Donald Ramotar

men". So they don’t disappoint me; this is behaviour expected from them. But I do, I did expect more from Granger and Roopnaraine, more statesmen-like behaviour… and by that I don’t mean not quarrelling and fighting with the PPP, but doing it in a constructive way that doesn’t bruk up the whole country,” said Manickchand.

The Education Minister went on to say that the path chosen by the Opposition reeks of immaturity in that other methods could have

Sattaur fears for...

from page 8

Lall felt that Marshall was one of the individuals who had attempted a burglary at his home. He stopped his car and demanded that Marshall accompany him to the Police station – the nearest one was at Ruimveldt, five minutes away.

Fearing that he would be beaten by Lall and the other men, Marshall’s aunt, Pamela France, demanded that she be allowed to accompany him to the station.

By this time, a number of villagers had gathered and the aunt demanded Police identification, as Lall had claimed to be a Rural Constable, but Lall could not

provide such identification.

At this point, Lall whipped out his .38 weapon and that demanded Marshall enter the vehicle. Lall also spoke roughly to the aunt who remonstrated with him and her husband, Kenny France, protested that he could not speak to his wife like that.

It was then that Lall shot France in the “chest" and the man fell down dead. Lall and his friends then drove off and he later claimed that the shooting was "an accident".

Lall’s account was however bitterly disputed by the widow and the dozens of villagers on the scene. Stabroek

News reported that the Police took a statement from Lall, but this was never released to the media.

Similarly, the Police never released their findings from their investigation into the fatal incident, including how far away was Lall from France when the fatal shot was fired.

Dishonest

Even though Lall had claimed he was a Rural Constable, it was later revealed that he was only sworn in at a date subsequent to the killing of France. But even as a licensed firearm holder or a Rural Constable,

been resorted to that would not result in a developmental standstill.

She said: “Let us say we go back to an election today, tomorrow, next week and the people of Guyana say, 'You know what? Y’all ain't learn y'all lesson. Go back in there and learn how to govern together in the interest of this nation.' Are we going to call an election year again or the following year… the No-Confidence Motion, if it were to be passed, if it were to be debated… would bring an end to everything. It is going to bring an abrupt end to everything. The Education Bill goes down the drain… forget trying to break this monopoly for the telecommunications sector and all the other laws that are pending.”

Further, the Minister posited that "these are new times for Guyana… Guyana is a very young nation… this is the first time we have this configuration in Parliament… navigating this kind of configuration was never going to be

easy.”

She contended that the current state of affairs with respect to the National Assembly is a “test to see who loves Guyana and who doesn’t”.

For his part, Nadir posited that the reason offered by the AFC for tabling the No-Confidence Motion has changed just as surely as the weather does.

The former Tourism Minister pointed out that in its initial stages, the AFC had claimed it was as a result of an alleged abuse of the Treasury by Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh.

However, over time its reasoning has grown insidiously to encompass a whole body of other wild accusations riddled with inaccuracies.

Using the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill (AML/CFT), Nadir posited that “too often, we have been giving in, giving in, giving in because we have the in-

terest of the nation at heart and we want to build consensus going forward”.

He quickly added that though this has been done, no compromise has been met to secure the passage of the critical piece of legislation.

Similarly, Lumumba posited that the No-Confidence Motion is plain “evil”, contending that it is just an infantile plot by the Opposition to grab the reins of authority and power.

“As to the no-confidence vote, if the President decides, we shall go there Monday, fine, if he decides to take any other option, it will be the option that it allowed under the Constitution.”

President Donald Ramotar has already indicated that should the combined Opposition proceed as planned and move ahead full force with the No-Confidence Motion against his administration, he will either prorogue the National Assembly as he is allowed to within the framework of the Constitution.

the law is very clear that the manner in which Lall shot France was criminal by law.

Lall left freely after killing France, even though he was never under any attack or harm. But even if he were, these have been increasing calls for a fresh investgation into the killing to determine whether Lall should be charged with murder.

Guyana’s law provides

that whenever there is death, and there is some doubt as to the cause or who caused the death, although there was none in this case, a Coroners’ inquest must be held. But even a Coroner’s inquest was not held on the case.

There are reports that Marshall's aunt and his mother who lived in New Amsterdam, were both back-

tracked to New York, where they are both living.

However, this is not a civil case and does not need civilians to institute proceedings.

It is the duty of the police to do this and since there is no statute of limitations on murder, Governmeent and the Police may soon have to answer why this investigation is not being re-opened.

Variable

10

sunday, november 9, 2014

guyanatimesgy.com

News

Canadian NGO steps forward to help little Emannie

O

ne day after Guyana Times carried a story of a lad in need of urgent life-saving surgery, a Canadian organisation, the Caribbean Children Foundation (TCCF) has stepped forward to help.

Emannie Melvin was born on October 28 with a rare brain defect – part of his brain protrudes through a hole in his skull.

The condition is believed to be Encephalocele, although local doctors have not been able to confirm such. TCCF immediately contacted Guyana Times for the baby’s medical records with the intention to immediately forward them to Sick Kids, Toronto.

Sick Kids is one of Canada’s most research-intensive hospitals. The hospital is affiliated with the University of Toronto and is the largest centre dedicated to improving children’s health in that country.

However, Felisha Melvin, the baby’s mother, is having difficulties obtaining the records.

Melvin told this newspaper that when her son was born, the doctors “scanned” his brain. Additionally, a few days ago, the baby’s brain was scanned again,

both at the Georgetown Public Hospital and the St Joseph Mercy Hospital.

Melvin said she did not even receive the records from Emannie’s first checkup when he was born. She is desperately trying to collect the records so they can be sent to the TCCF as soon as possible. A registered Canadian charity, TCCF, since it started in 2000, has helped a large number of Caribbean children get the care they need.

S

Gratitude

The sooner the baby’s records are made available to TCCF, the better it will be for Emannie and his young mother. The overwhelmed mother has expressed sincere gratitude to the TCCF for reaching out to her. Melvin is also pleading with the hospital to release Emannie’s records quickly so that they can be sent to Canada before it is too late.

Melvin is desperate to help her child, whose father abandoned them after the child was born.

“He said he ain’t able with stress, and I have to keep me stress with me by meself,” Melvin related.

Even though the man has

Little Emannie Melvin

abandoned her, Melvin, who said they were not married and had only been together for a short time, does not regret the moments she had with him.

Melvin now lives with her mother and has the support of her sister-inin raising little Emannie.

Although what they have is not much, she is grateful for what she has because she knows God will guide her through everything.

According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Encephalocele is a rare type of Neural Tube Defect

(NTD). The neural tube is a narrow channel that folds and closes during the third and fourth weeks of pregnancy to form the brain and spinal cord.

Encephalocele is a saclike protrusion or projection of the brain and the membranes that cover it through an opening in the skull and happens when the neural tube does not close completely during pregnancy.

The result is an opening in the midline of the upper part of the skull, the area between the forehead and nose, or the back of the skull.

The CDC estimates that each year about 375 babies in the United States are born with Encephalocele.

Babies with Encephalocele are vulnerable to nervous system and other health problems.

Generally, surgery is performed during infancy to place the protruding tissues back into the skull, remove the sac, and correct the associated craniofacial abnormalities. Even large protrusions can often be removed without causing major functional disability.

Hunky

atiricus was both pleased and taken aback. In the "correction" of his comments on Burnham's Police enforcement squad, the former Attorney General explained he'd called them "hunky" and not "monkey". Now Satiricus' blood had boiled in righteous indignation when he'd first read the report in the Stabber News. He's rushed over to his own Editor and demanded an explanation as to why he hadn't reported this slight on our nations guardians of the peace and defenders of justice??

The Editor said he'd look into it. That was his standard response. But before Satiricus could say "Monkey Mountain", there it was - the G-TUCE had penned a missive to the self-same Stabber News to protest the denigration of our men in Khaki and Black. Satiricus could see the pen of Lincoln the Loud in the letter - and no wonder. The TUC unions existed only on paper - and Lincoln had lots of time on his hands. But he didn't put his name. Such a modest fella.

Lincoln the Loud admitted he hadn't listened to the testimony, but by golly he didn't need to!! Just by looking at the former AG, he knew that man was a racist! Lincoln had a ra-dar for ra-cists! And that's why he was always writing this interminable letters to the press. Satiricus had become quite agitated. He could just see pickets in the streets - well "one-man pickets such as were "supporting" Mook Lall's quest for justice. He prayed that race riots wouldn't break out in the City!!

And so it was the AG when made his "hunky" comment and the Stabber had apologised. (Not as abjectly as Satiricus thought necessary - since they'd brought Guyana to the edge of a race war - and more importantly had upset Lincoln the Loud.) Satiricus was pleased. But also taken aback since, he wouldn't have associated Burnham's goon squad with the word "hunky". So were they like, say, Kayne West or P Diddy??

His Editor, who was around the same age as the former AG told Satiricus that back in those days, "hunky" meant "hulking". Like "hulking big brutes".

Ah!!

DeSinco Trading launches Christmas promotion T

he much-anticipated Christmas season is quickly approaching and DeSinco Trading has already filled their sack of promotional goodies for their loyal customers who have been stalwart supporters all year round.

A release said starting from today customers can become winners with DeSinco’s “Kerrygold Krazy Khristmas Kash Promotion”, which is the first of its kind for the distribution giant (see advertisement on this page).

“Be one of many lucky persons who will win crazy cash this Christmas by just using delicious Kerrygold milk!

"Simply enclose an empty sachet of any 800g Kerrygold Milk powder or two-empty sachets of any 400g Kerrygold Milk powder in an envelope along with name, telephone number and address and enter in drop boxes located at Kerrygold retailers countrywide,” the company said.

Customers will be required to tune into a local radio station for the

11 Youth Challenge Guyana stimulating interest in science news

Kerrygold Krazy Khristmas Kash show.

An entry will randomly be selected and a call will be placed to the telephone number attached.

“That could be you!!! You must answer your phone saying, ‘Kerrygold Milk – Purely Delicious’ and you will win $20,000 instantly!

It’s that easy!”

Throughout the month of December, customers can also get instant prizes with purchases of Kerrygold Milk as DeSinco will be giving away gifts this year from its “Grab n Go Christmas Bag” in several outlets.

“With your proof of purchase of Kerrygold Instant Milk Powder, you get to instantly grab a prize from the Christmas bag in participating outlets.

“Kerrygold Milk has been popular in Guyanese households for over 10 years and the brand continues to be a fierce competitor on the market, especially after the recent launch of their line of Kerrygold Instant Milk powder.

"Come celebrate this Christmas with us!” the release added.

sunDAY, november 9, 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

YCG Education Programme Manager Nandinie Sanchara

Y

outh Challenge Guyana (YCG) E d u c a t i o n Programme Manager Nandinie Sanchara said educating a new generation in natural sciences and Mathematics is a long process which should begin at an early age.

The YCG Programme Manager made the comment as the group pushes its Inquiry-Based Science Project, which seeks to get students more interested in Science and Mathematics.

Sanchara said reports have showed that the number of students who write the science subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examinations and

the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) have been declining every year.

Also in primary schools, though students may not indicate much interest through their grades or class-oriented assignments, they have generally been quite enthused and curious about how things are put together, created or work.

Sanchara said more needs to be done to encourage the blossoming of children’s interests in the sciences in Guyana.

Such classes have become too routine, and there is not enough practical experiments and research being done in the schools to show students there is more to the subject than what they see, and thus drive their interest.

The Inquiry-Based Science Project aims to change that.

This Project involves the establishment of a science centre which will host equipment to practise experiments and texts that are student-oriented and fun to read.

Other resources that the centre will have are science kits, teaching manuals, science-based videos that are quite illuminating and specimens of various organisms for students to study or sim-

ply appreciate.

The centre will be grounded at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) which has been collaborating with YCG

need for a successful class on whichever science topic they may be looking at in class.

The YCT Education Programme Manager also told Guyana Times that they have arranged for various

Youth Challenge Guyana logo

to develop the centre and will be enabling teachers to change their approach to science subjects, making them more practical.

Training will be available in December for teachers. Sanchara stated that they hope the subsequent teaching and classes will be more active and fun for students.

Teachers will be able to go to the centre and borrow whatever equipment, texts or other resources they may

mentors related to sciences to be part of the project, not totally integrated but on call whenever a school may need an expert to talk to students about their present science topic of study.

Such an initiative will encourage students to think towards the future and towards a career in science.

Sanchara said the Science Project started in 2013 when YCG had adopted four schools in Regions Four and Six.

12 NEWS

SunDAY, november 9, 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

Simply the

Truth

Security and law enforcement T

he Guyana Police Force often comes in for great negative criticism from all quarters.

Sometimes those negatives are justified; mostly they are not. My

experience has been that for every unscrupulous law enforcement officer, there are five who try as much as they can to resist the temptations that are offered up

by the very people who are deeply negative in their condemnation.

But many of our cops refuse.

Those that refuse to be bribed are then subject to negative criticisms

for following the law which they are sworn to uphold. It is like this: if they take a bribe from some reckless fool, they are condemned for it. If they refuse and exact legal penalty from perpetrators, they are condemned just the same.

These are the men and women on whom we call when there is trouble! We expect them to place themselves in harm’s way for our sake since that is their job (as we tend to say). They are there, indeed, to serve and protect. And oftentimes, all they want back from us is respect. Sometimes, even thank you.

We depend on law enforcement officers to maintain some kind of order in the chaos that visits our Nation every minute of every day. And that chaos is often of our own creation. This is not only true on our roads and in our communities, but also in our houses. The domestic violence and child abuse.

The rapes within and outside of what passes for marriages. The drunk and disorderly behaviour everywhere. These cops often stand between us and the monsters that we can often be and often are.

Every now and then, someone pipes up about “Police training.” And it could be that the Government spends some of our taxpayer dollars to improve training facilities and methodologies. It could be so. If they do, then we can find ways to make that money work better.

For instance, we can design a more scientific aptitude test for new recruits. At this point, we have the CXC requirements, and we depend on the intuition of training officers who interview potential recruits. It would take some work to have a psychological evaluation, but it is not too hard to

do. This is the start. We interview, choose, and train.

The training needs to be much more than skill at arms, drills, vehicular training, etc. We do have the “classroom aspect” and much of this is done well. But we could expand our training (without taking away from the normal training and without adding time to the training regimen).

We can have intense sessions on things like oral communication and mannerly conduct; written communication; fundamentals of law; first responder training; conflict resolution and domestic violence; information technology; dealing with survivors of suicide; managing at-risk youth; and so on.

When I was Director of the Berbice Campus, we did all of this in a week – for free! Everyone gained. The greatest beneficiaries were the members of society. The course programs still ought to be at UGBC, unless they have been thrown away like so much useless trash. I am confident that the great expertise and experience of the retired cops can be engaged or re-engaged, even for free!

It does not stop there.

Each and every police station and outpost must be furnished with “connected” computers.

It allows every station to know what is transpiring elsewhere in the country because the communication links are there!

And do remember that our cops will now be trained in the use of IT. We could also design a modern technology-based tracking system that measures how each and every law enforcement officer is performing: where, how, in what disciplines. This includes current ranks that can be rotated for training upgrades. The rotation could or should be done in such a way that there is not too much

Professor Daizal Samad

interference with regular duties.

With the new tracking system in place, we can now identify officers for advanced training and academic development. I know MANY cops who are as bright as anything. Let them perform on the job and up they go!

The rewards for measurable excellent performance on the job (or on academic self-development) would be immediate rewards: increased salary and promotion.

Of course, those who are not up to snuff will be left behind or dropped completely.

However, with this kind of training, upgrade, tracking and reward system, our law enforcement officers will now have tangible personal, promotional and monetary incentives to reach for excellence.

A similar but modified system of training can also be developed for the Community Policing Group and other security agencies. In many ways, this is all logical and obvious; however, it takes the will to strive to be better.

None of this is the stuff of genius, but we need to have the humility to take on board some of this. Take it all. Modify it all.

But let us begin the work. Please, although polite please does not seem to work.

13

sunDAY, november 8, 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

14

sunday, november 9, 2014

guyanatimesgy.com

News

Guyanese reject No-Confidence Motion Younge’s Take

… but NACTA says PPP/C will win at polls

A

n opinion survey conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) last month found a large majority of the nation opposed to the NoConfidence Motion proposed by the Alliance For Change (AFC), which is supported by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), saying another election to resolve the parliamentary impasse may not result in a significantly different composition of Parliament.

Voters overwhelmingly say they want the three parties to focus on critical issues (like money laundering,

Do you support the no confidence motion to hold new general elections?

Do you think the election results will be significantly different from the 2011 outcome?

crime, job creation, development, suicide, as well as Chikungunya and other health-related matters) impacting on the nation, rather than on acquiring or retaining political power.

A majority is against holding fresh elections, saying President Donald Ramotar should be allowed to complete his term, but some favoured early elections and even predicted that the President will obtain a majority.

A huge majority of the voters think the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) will win re-election, but they are divided over whether the party will win with a majority, or with a simple plurality and/or whether it will lose any seat.

Voters believe APNU will run second in new elections and the AFC third, losing several of its seats, enhancing the PPP/C’s chances of winning a majority.

Nearly a third of the voters believe the PPP/C will regain its majority support (it

What do you think is the most likely outcome of a snap election?

lost this due to the AFC in 2011), and a third saying it will garner only a plurality, with a fifth saying APNU will win a plurality because of the division in the traditional PPP/C base.

Less than one per cent said the AFC will win a plurality, with many expressing the feeling that the AFC will pull enough votes from the PPP/C’s traditional base to enable APNU to win a plurality.

Public anger

The findings also reveal that African and Mixed voters are upset with APNU Leader David Granger for allowing himself to be manipulated and led by the AFC, rather than taking an independent leadership position on several issues, particularly on the NoConfidence Motion.

Indian and Amerindian voters are upset with the AFC for teaming up with APNU, and they plan to punish Khemraj Ramjattan at the next election for what

they describe as an “unholy alliance”.

Simultaneously, many Indians express anger with the PPP/C for “neglecting them” and attending to the interests of PNC supporters, but they are more upset with the AFC than with the PPP/C, saying the AFC misled them, citing policy positions it took that were against theirs and the nation’s interest.

The poll randomly interviewed 610 voters to yield a demographically representative sample (44 per cent Indians, 30 per cent Africans, 16 per cent Mixed, nine per cent Amerindians, and one per cent other races) of the population.

The poll was conducted by face-to-face interviews and was coordinated by Dr Vishnu Bisram, a pollster, newspaper columnist, and educator in New York. The results of the poll were analysed at a 95 per cent significance level and a statistical sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points was found.

Sampling results based on sub-groups such as Indians or Africans or Amerindians have a larger sampling error.

Asked if they approve of the Opposition’s No-Confidence Motion to bring down the Government and hold a new General Election, 57 per cent said “no”, with 26 per cent approving of it, and 17 per cent not offering a response.

Asked if they think the results of new elections will be significantly different from the 2011 outcome, 52 per cent said “no”, with 37 per cent saying “yes”, and 11 per cent saying “not sure”.

Asked what they think will be the outcome of a snap election, 30 per cent said the PPP/C will regain its majority, with an additional 34 per cent saying the PPP/C will win, but with a plurality.

Some 21 per cent believe the PNC will win a plurality and an additional two per cent said PNC will win a majority, with less than one per cent saying the AFC will win the election.

The remaining 12 per cent expressed no opinion or were uncertain about the outcome.

The survey also polled voters to obtain the approval and favourability ratings of President Ramotar and Opposition Leader Granger, popular support for the parties in the event of a General Election, as well as support for aspiring presidential candidates of the AFC.

Lessons learnt but lost

S

ince the collapse of News of World in 2011, the regional and global media landscape has been redefined with a new debate ensuing about the role of ethics, and respect for privacy in journalism.

This debate was sparked by one of the world’s biggest media scandals surrounding phone hacking, bribery of high ranking state officials, including policemen, and payment to private investigators to access confidential information by hacking emails and computer databases.

Research shows that probes in the United Kingdom and internationally into the operations of one media conglomerate revealed the extent to which some media houses – their publishers, editors, and senior journalists ¬¬– would go to broadcast and publish “exciting, sensational, damaging, confidential...” news about celebrities, Governments, prominent personalities, and even ordinary people.

The truth is, the news being broadcast or published, by the media entities related to the News of the World Corporation did not had to be true or factual. It only needed to be believable, consistent, and fearlessly reported under the guise of “freedom of the press” and the new cliché that is being bandied around, the “public’s interest and right to know”.

The entire scandal, which started to unravel around 2002, has left many lessons to be learnt by those who consider themselves sensational journalists, tabloids and political provocateurs. There are also lessons for the wider society of responsible journalists and media owners as well as ordinary citizens.

The first lesson to be learnt is that the agenda setting theory is true.

The media does set the agenda for the public by telling, through its news published and broadcast, what issues to think, how to think about them and what to do about them.

The media therefore, is a very powerful weapon in any modern democracy even if it is privately owned and can be used to topple Governments, incarcerate innocent people, and create social and economic terrorism.

The second lesson is that there is no excuse for tapping, recording or intercepting the private communications of citizens regardless of the story that the media is pursuing. In fact, the News of the World scandal showed that it is criminal by virtue of journalistic ethics and legislative measures.

In other civilized societies, those media houses that have attempted to claim that this practice was being done in the interest of the public are languishing in jail or are on the breadline because there is no tolerance for invading the privacy of people and betraying their trust through the publication and broadcast of information not intended for public consumption.

Thirdly, the bribery of public officials and more so lawmen to breach the confidential oaths that they have taken by media houses and their representatives is unethical. The News of the World scandal showed just how dangerous such a practice could be.

Sadly, sections of the media in Guyana appear not interested in the multiple of lessons that could be learned from the collapse of that news entity. Instead, it appears that the Opposition-controlled Kaieteur News continues to act in an irresponsible and unscrupulous manner like the disgraced journalists attached to the News of the World.

That local news agency’s attempt to blackmail and intimidate the government with the dissemination of an illegal recording purportedly between a senior reporter there and a Government Minister is distasteful.

Further, that newspaper’s admission that all of the conversations of its journalistic staff are recorded is shameful. It would be telling to establish whether the recordings include the reporters’ private communication with ordinary citizens and officials.

It would be telling to establish what sort of equipment was been used to ensure that these recordings are done and whether there was interception of the networks established by the Telecommunications Networks locally.

Additionally, it is important to establish whether the journalistic staff gave permission for this to be done and whether they know the extent to which the communications on their phones are done.

Another important piece of information would be whether these reporters are engaged in illegally recording conversations that they are having whether officially or privately with officials and citizens without their knowledge.

The revelations that the Kaieteur News was also able to access confidential emails sent purportedly between the Attorney General and the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority are appalling. This resembles the patterns used by News of the World to access confidential information to support its scandalous publication.

A wider probe must be occasioned to ascertain the extent of the violations of privacy, breach and access of confidential information, illegal recording and interception of communication, allegations of email hacking and other unscrupulous journalistic practices at the Kaieteur News.

The public is watching and sections of the media can no longer use “freedom of the press” and “self regulation” to hide operations akin to those of the collapsed News of the World Corporation.

news

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sunDAY, november 9, 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

Historian shedding new light on Jonestown Massacre ly happened, in the context that it happened in.

The bestselling author said too that many writers and Historians simply write on what they know: there is no true study of History and the times or era in which that piece of History may have occurred. Writers simply try to show “how smart they are”.

Challenge

However, Guinn said he likes to pick things that are a challenge, and “going all over the world to put history together” is definitely challenging.

“One of my first books was about Bonnie and Clyde,” Guinn shared.

Persons had viewed them as outlaws; however, when one looks at the decade they were born into and grown up in, with the Depression in America in the 1920s-1930s, one can understand more of what drove their actions and why they got famous, “even for things they didn’t do”, remarked Guinn.

The Historian said that Go Down Together, one of Jim Guinn’s first historical book, on the infamous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde

T

he 1970s are known for quite a number of tragedies and successes that persons can highlight but when asked about that era in relation to Guyana, the Jonestown Massacre comes to the tongue of many persons, foreigners and Guyanese alike.

This look into what is still one of the world’s greatest massacres is timely, as Guyana is currently hosting Historian Jim Guinn and photographer Ralph Lauer, who have joined hands to resurrect and re-evaluate the story of what exactly happened in Jonestown on November 18, 1978.

Lauer is a renowned photographer who will be assisting Guinn in his study with pictures of the persons they would be meeting and the places that Jim Jones would have been influenced by.

Lauer says that of course the massacre would have occurred ages ago, but the people they have met and will meet will carry much significance as the story is told

with the pictures alongside it.

To assist with this will be the pictures of the area, different now but it can still tell a story of what happened when people are able to give that landscape its story.

Guinn, a best-selling author and publisher of history books, has written 17 books thus far and wants to make the Life and Times of Jim Jones his 18th.

He shares with Guyana Times that he was once an award-winning investigative journalist, so it should be no surprise that most of his books seem centred on infamous outlaws or persons known for their notorious acts.

Guinn said he has read a total of 83 books on the Jonestown Massacre, noting that he believes it still needs to be looked into.

He said he has not come to Guyana to simply gloss over the tragedy and highlight a horrific time in Guyana’s history, but also to shed light on what tru-

it was due to the lack of true investigation or thoroughness that the information portrayed in books is not holistic.

“People all over the world remember (the Jonestown story) though they don’t know the real story.”

The Historian said he wanted persons to truly know what the history is, the real history of what happened.

“I feel that if I find the things that happened during the 1970s, I can make persons remember and understand what happened then.”

Guinn said he consciously chose the Jim Jones story to study as he wanted a tragic event that persons still think about and was not thoroughly looked into.

He said it was “not fair” to the Guyanese people, the country, or the people who followed Jim Jones that they are thought of as foolish or crazy or classified from that one incident that happened ages ago.

The award-winning in-

the home of Jim Jones in the United States, or what was Jones’ home in 1931 when he was born.

Poor family

Award-winning investigative journalist and historian Jim Guinn

vestigative journalist recognises that persons are influenced by their environment, their society, and their way of life; the geopolitical climate also plays a role in what one thinks and one does.

The Historian started his research in the fall of 2013 and has travelled to

Guinn said he has found that Jim Jones was brought up in a poor area within Indiana in a lot of snow and with not much going for him as his family was poor, so it was interesting to trace his life from that boy during that hard era and place to the charismatic, extremely persuasive and suave man that mingled with persons of affluence such as Governors, presidential candidates, not to mention Roslyn Carter, the First Lady of the United States of America.

In the novel on Jim Jones, Guinn said much emphasis will be placed on Guyana and what Guyana was like during that time, being where the incident occurred and because the happenings then (internationally and locally) were push and pull factors in what developed into the massacre. (turn to page 17)

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SunDAY, november 9, 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

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Minister Manickchand thankful for support A

17

sunDAY, november 9, 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

Enmore business burglarised

– during distribution of cash grant

A

s the distribution of the “Because We Care” $10,000 Cash Grant came to a close in Georgetown on Saturday and in most of the regions, Education Minister Priya

very difficult.

“For the last five to six weeks, we have been out every single day serving people...the staff whom you never get to see have been working incredibly hard

change a voucher for goods in the manner that the uniform voucher programme is currently operated; and if en-cashing, what was the preferred location (choices ranged from the banks, Education Minister Priya Manickchand

Manickchand thanked all for their support.

These include the teachers, schools and regional support personnel from the Departments of Education, Parent-Teacher Associations, and officers from the Central Ministry.

She thanked them for their time and commitment to seeing this programme through to the end.

On Saturday, the Minister expressed these sentiments at the Cummings Lodge Secondary School to parents and guardians who came to uplift their “Because We Care” vouchers.

She said that if not for the dedication of these hardworking people, the process of serving the thousands of families would have been

to make sure you get your money.”

She added that the Ministry plans to continue to work very hard to ensure that children get a quality education.

More than 700 parents of children from the Cummings Lodge Secondary School uplifted vouchers today. In the meantime, 16 additional schools in the city were serviced at 10 locations. Some $97 million was distributed.

The “Because We Care” $10,000 Cash Grant Programme was launched on October 11 in Bartica.

More than 55 public consultations were held where the following issues were examined: Whether parents would prefer to be able to receive cash or ex-

Historian shedding...

from page 15

Jim Jones had developed a rapport with the ruling administration in the late 1970s which had worked to both their advantages in gaining the support of the people and in Jones’ case, the support of the Government.

Guinn said the Government was overwhelmed with the promises Jones had made regarding the people in the hinterland and the development of the area into an actual settlement. Jones’ many connections within America’s Administration would have been an added attraction that he could have sold his project on.

The historical writer shares that there is still a few persons from that time who either knew of Jones or dealt with him. Guinn said the few officials were particularly helpful, highlighting certain aspects of that time.

One critical feature in the Jonestown Massacre, Guinn mentioned, was the July referendum of 1978.

This referendum allowed the Government perpetual

governance of Guyana for a time as there was a mass breakdown in society and Jones was worried about the Government’s continued support as he would not exactly be needed, particularly with the Government getting direct assistance from the USA as well.

Guinn tells Guyana Times that The Life and Times of Jim Jones is proving one of the hardest books he has ever written as every other book had central characters, but Jones had so many different personalities, he has had to backtrack a number of times to be sure of the factors that may have influenced Jones’ actions.

He shared that he has met persons who insisted that Jones was a great man as he helped them one way or the other.

However, Guinn said that it was still quite difficult to make the connection between the massacre and the man who people say helped them tremendously and still think highly of after the massacre.

Mobile Money, Western Union/Bill Express, the Post Office and Money Gram).

Almost unanimously parents chose to receive cash as opposed to goods and an overwhelming majority chose to be able to encash at Western Union/Bill Express money services.

Where geographically, there is a limitation of financial services, different arrangements shall be made.

young Enmore, East Coast Demerara businesswoman is counting her losses after bandits invaded her store on Wednesday evening and carted off millions in items.

The bandits gained entry to the building at Lot 88 Log Wood, Enmore by drilling a hole in the back concrete wall. The men then took 59 mobile phones, two laptop computers, cellular phone cards, and an undisclosed sum of cash.

Speaking with Sheik Mohamed, the owner’s father, he stated that they closed the business about 19:00h on the night in question and when he returned to the store the following morning about 09:00h, he saw the hole in the wall.

Upon checking, he realised that the items mentioned above were missing.

He immediately contacted the Police who arrived on the scene and dusted the area for fingerprints.

He said based on information received, the Police went to the home of a suspect, but the man managed to escape. This, he disclosed, was sloppy work from the Police as he thought that they should have arrested the man.

He also noted that the premises did not have security guards nor surveillance cameras. Persons in the area, he related, claimed that they did not see any unusual movements or heard any unusual sounds. The walls, he added, are thick concrete and the men had to use some device to drill the hole to gain entry, but yet no one heard the noise.

The Police, he said, are continuing their investigations. Guyana Times understands that the store was burglarised last year.

During that robbery, the bandits took away 81 mobile phones. Some persons were arrested but subsequently released for that matter.

18 NEWS

SunDAY, november 9 , 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

Humphrey’s Bakery cycle event ends in controversy – after “Fishy” blocked from participating

B

ased on reports of an internal issue between the Roraima Bikers Club and the club’s former cyclist Marlon “Fishy” Williams, the feature 30-lap race of the 17th annual Troy Humphrey memorial cycling extravaganza was called off, resulting in a premature end to the event on Saturday.

Guyana Times Sport was informed that based on the issue surrounding Williams and Roraima Bikers Club, the organiser of the event was not eager for Williams to participate in the race.

However, after it was disclosed that Williams was not allowed to compete; only three cyclists started the race, while the others stayed at the starting line

Prize winners of Saturday’s 17th annual Troy Humphrey memorial cycling extravaganza and members of the Humphrey’s family

in solidarity.

The race was eventually called off after the cyclists refused to clear the inner circuit of the National Park.

Meanwhile, prior to the confusion, eight races were successfully completed.

The Category Four 20-lap race was a heated contest, with Micheal Anthony coming out on top.

He won ahead of Mark Harris and Mario King.

Anthony also won two of the five prime prizes, while Harris won two and Raul Leal claimed the other two.

The Junior/Juvenile fivelap contest went to Romello Crawford, who crossed the line way ahead of Andrew Hicks and Christopher Griffith. Linden Blackman was the leading Over-50 Veteran. Following him to the line were Virgil Jones and Lancelot Rose in that order.

In other results of the day, Ozia McAullay was the top Mountain Bike rider, defeating Keon and Seon Budhan in their clash.

In the lone BMX race, Jeremiah Harrison won

ahead of Deeraj Garbarran and Alex Leung. Ruling the roost in the Under-50 category was Junior Niles who relegated Jaikaran Sookhai to second and Wilbert Benjamin third.

In the Win and Out contest, Geron Williams was the champion rider ahead of Hamzah Eastman and Raynauth Jeffery.

Toshawnna Doris won the female race ahead of Ronella Samuels. A number of Roraima Bikers Club riders received cash incentives.

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sunDAY, november 9, 2014 | guyanatimesGY.com

20

sundAY, november 9, 2014

guyanatimesGY.com

Bravo puts crisis behind to sign for Renegades

Dwayne Bravo

A

ll-rounder Dwayne Bravo has put aside his West Indies contracts wrangle and put pen to paper for Melbourne Renegades in the upcoming T20 Big Bash League starting here next month.

One of the most sought after personalities in the T20 format, the Trinidadian will turn out for the Renegades for the second straight year after playing their two final games of last season.

Bravo, the West Indies

one-day captain, was at the centre of the recent bitter pay dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players Association, representing the aggrieved players while on the tour of India.

Currently in South Africa playing in that domestic T20 League, the Ram Slam, Bravo said he was looking forward to his stint with the Renegades.

“I’ve always had a great relationship with Melbourne as a city and although it was a short stint in BBL/03, I had a great time with the Melbourne Renegades,” Bravo said.

“I’m really excited about linking up with the team again this season. The Renegades have added a strong mix of talent in the

off season which is really important in this format.

“With Aaron Finch as captain, I know everyone will be working hard to get the wins on the board. It’s a good feeling to be back in red again.”

Bravo is a free-scoring lower order batsman whose medium pace has been effective in the T20 format.

He has been a key member of Indian Premier League side Chennai Super Kings who helped to the capture of the Champions League Twenty20 last month.

Renegades coach Simon Helmot, who worked with Bravo while attached to Trinidad and Tobago during the Caribbean Premier League, says the player would be an asset.

“You can’t overstate the importance of someone like Dwayne to a team, especially in the T20 arena,” Helmot said.

“He’s simply one of the best T20 all-rounders in the world. We can’t wait to have him back in red at Etihad Stadium.”

Bravo has taken over 200 wickets in Twenty20s and averages 27 at a strike rate of 125.

Suarez inspires Barca win

Luis Suarez created both goals for Barca

S

ubstitute Luis Suarez inspired Barcelona to a first La Liga win in three matches as they came from behind to beat Almeria 2-1.

The former Liverpool striker created second-half goals for fellow substitute Neymar and Jordi Alba to move Barca.

Thievy Bifouma gave Almeria, without a home win all season, a surprise lead with a counter-attacking goal.

Lionel Messi, who needs two more goals to break the La Liga scoring record, hit the crossbar in both halves.

The victory moved Barcelona briefly to the top of the table before Real Madrid thrashed Rayo Vallecano 5-1 to restore their two-point advantage.

Suarez and Neymar had been surprisingly left on the bench following successive league defeats by Real Madrid and Celta Vigo but

came to the visitors’ rescue to save them from a third successive league defeat for the first time since 2003.

Suarez, who returned from a four-month ban for biting against Real a fortnight ago, squared for Neymar to tap home with 17 minutes left before the Uruguayan played Alba through for the winner on 82.

He also struck a shot against the crossbar in an impressive 45-minute cameo.

Messi equalled Raul’s Champions League scoring record of 71 goals with two against Ajax in midweek, but was unable to break Telmo Zarra’s scoring record of 251 goals on a frustrating afternoon.

He has now failed to find the net in three successive league games as he remains one goal behind Zarra’s tally. (BBC Sport)

21

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Gayle slams hundred for Lions

sunday, november 9, 2014

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A

n astonishing hundred from Chris Gayle fired Lions to an easy ten-wicket win over Warriors in the South African Ram Slam Twenty20 League.

The left-hander smashed an unbeaten 108 off just 55 balls as Lions, set 145 for victory, motored to their target with 34 balls remaining at Buffalo Park in East London.

Gayle smashed ten fours and seven sixes, dominating the unbroken opening stand with Alviro Petersen who was a spectator with 29 not out from 35 balls.

England’s Craig Kieswetter had earlier gathered an unbeaten 82 off 64 balls to guide Warriors to 144 for six off their 20 overs.

The opener stroked eight

fours and three sixes, holding the innings together as wickets fell around him.

Gayle then started in high gear, smashing two sixes and a four off the first over of the innings by off-spinner Simon Harmer which cost 19 runs.

He also took a turn in seamer Rusty Theron plundering two fours and a six in the bowler’s second over which leaked 17 runs, as he brought up his half-century off just 21 deliveries.

Gayle slowed his tempo en route to three figures with the second fifty requiring 30 balls. He raised victory for the Lions by clearing the ropes with Harmer, with the second delivery of the 15th over.

At SuperSport Park, Darren Sammy and Andre Russell produced cameo all-round performances as Knights beat Titans by 35 runs.

Russell pummelled 48 from 21 balls with eight fours and two sixes to power Knights up to 179 for seven off their 20 overs.

Openers Rudi Second (44) and Gerhardt Abrahams (41) weighed in strongly while Sammy finished with three for 21 from his three overs, including the wicket of Russell.

In reply, Titans were held to 144 for five, with Sammy smashing a four and a six in a 17-ball 23 while opener Dean Elgar plodded through the innings for an unbeaten 65 off 64 balls.

Russell proved economical, taking one wicket and conceding just 20 runs from four overs.

22

sundAY, november 9, 2014

guyanatimesGY.com

St Pius one step closer to retaining Pee Wee title from back page

– to face Stella Maris in Sunday’s finale After a slow start to the competition, in which they played to two drawn encounters, St Pius somehow found a way past the preliminary stage, and after Saturday’s commanding performance, they have suddenly become the favourite to once again lift the title.

History would show that sporting success has come by those players or teams clicking at the right time, a scenario that St Pius has aptly demonstrated with sound technique and tactical nous.

The 2013 champion school was led by a rampant Raymond Austin, who blasted in five goals to lead the demolition of Tucville. Austin,

who demonstrated his versatility by playing up front in the first half and defence in the second, blasted the nets in the 2nd, 4th, 9th, 24th and 29th minutes. Skipper Selwyn Jones scored the other goal in the 11th minute, while Keion Marques in the 21st netted for Tucville.

The other semi-final was not that straightforward, as Stella Maris and South Ruimveldt battled long and hard in regulation and extra time without piercing the brickwall defence of their respective goalkeepers.

Both teams came close to breaking the deadlock, but the goalkeepers equalled to the task, pushing their bodies

to the limits in ensuring their teams stayed alive in the competition. As it turned out, the Stella Maris boys were better at the penalty shootout, sinking three to South Ruimveldt’s solitary strike.

In the other games to determine positions 5-16, F.E. Pollard defeated St Angela’s 2-0; West Ruimveldt defeated St Margaret’s 3-0; Enterprise edged Ketley 2-1; Smith’s Memorial defeated Marian Academy 3-1; East La Penitence defeated St Stephen’s 14-13 on penalties after a 2-2 draw; and Green Acres needled North Georgetown.

The competition, a collaborative effort of Courts (Guyana)

Part of the action between South Ruimveldt (yellow bibs) and Stella Maris

Inc., Banks DIH Limited and

the Petra Organisation, will

conclude on Sunday.

Double win for Young Achievers – local females suffer back-to-back defeats

Guyana’s female team (left) in action against their French Guiana counterparts on Saturday

Y

oung Achievers, playing as Guyana male A team, chalked up a double win, but the local ladies suffered back-to-back defeats as action in the Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF)/Tradewind Tankers International Club Festival continued at the National Gymnasium on Saturday.

In the male segment, Young Achievers defeated French Guiana 3-2 in a tense encounter on Friday night, while they local lads stunned their Port Mourant Training Centre (Guyana B) 3-1. The females, on the other hand, stumbled to a 3-0 loss against Suriname on Friday evening, before losing to French Guiana 3-1 on Saturday.

On Friday, Young Achievers defeated French Guiana 27-25, 20-25, 32-34, 25-20, 15-13, while they got the better of Port Mourant Training Centre 25-17, 2522, 20-25, 25-23.

Guyana females went down to Suriname 23-25, 20-25, 15-25, while they lost to French Guiana 2325, 25-15, 12-25, 17-25. Up to press time on Saturday, the third game of the day between Suriname and French Guiana males was in progress when a power outage halted proceedings.

The competition was slated to go deep into Saturday evening to determine the semi-finalists of the two categories. Action is slated to wrap up today at the same venue.

sundAY, november 9, 2014

guyanatimesGY.com

BCB/Carib Beer T20 cricket…

Albion, Universal Solutions Bermine clash in final today

Veerasammy Permaul

A

lbion Community Centre will have the advantage of familiarity with conditions, but Universal Solutions Bermine would still be a tough nut to crack when they clash in the Carib Beer first division T20 final today at Albion.

The match is scheduled to start at 17:30 hours and it will be the first official Berbice Cricket Board T20 competition club match played under lights.

Jeremy Gordon

Looking at the two teams, Albion will certainly start as favorites, more so since they will be at full strength.

Their all-spin bowling attack will be spearheaded by West Indian ‘A’ leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, West Indian leftarm spinner Veerasammy Permaul and the West Indian Under-19 and Berbice left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, as well as off-spinner West Indies all-rounder Narsingh Deonarine.

Their batting lineup is also very impressive and will be led by Guyana wicketkeeper/batsmen Anthony Bramble, who has tal-

lied 282 runs so far in the competition at an average of 70.2. Deonarine, the hard hitting Jonathan Foo, opening batsman Kandasammy Suruinarine and Veerapen Permaul are all expected to lend support with the bat.

The seemingly outnumbered Universal Solutions Bermine are a determined team and is expected to do their best not to be rolled over easily and could even surprise Albion in this short-

Kevon Boodie

ened version of the game.

Their batting line-up will include Essequibo batsman Kevon Boodie, who, even though he missed the team’s last two matches, is still eligible to play having appeared in two preliminary games, as well as former Guyana Under-15 batsmen Leon Williams, Berbice all-rounders Devon Clements and Romario Shepherd, former Guyana Under-19 all-rounder Joemal La Fleur, Keion De Jesus and all-rounder Damien Vantull.

The opening pace attack of Canada and former Guyana cricketer Jeremy Gordon, along with Shepherd and the first change Guyana Under-19 pacer Niall Smith, could be a handful.

Devendra Bishoo

They will be backed up by their own battery of off-spinners Stephen Latcha, Clements, La Fleur and Kevin Pelew, who have all done well in the competition so far.

Meanwhile, the third place playoff between Young Warriors and West Berbice is expected to get started at 13:30 hours.

The umpires for the final are Imran Moakan and Omedat Samaroo with Moses Ramphal the standby, while the third place playoff will be officiated by Moses Ramphal and Orvin Archer.

23

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

november 9, 2014

guyanatimesgy.com TOP SCORES

Adams win MACORP golf tournament

The top performers with MACORP officials after Saturday’s tournament

C

arlos Adams blazed the golf course at Lusignan to win Saturday’s MACORP Medal Play golf tournament in an electrifying performance. Adams shot a net 62 and a gross of 88.

Parmanand Persaud continued his impressive run in the season, taking second position with a net score of 65, while Richard

Haniff was third with net 65. Brignanand Harry (net 66), Munaf Arjune (net 66) and Pur Persaud (67 net) rounded off the top sixth position.

On the distaff side, Christine Sukhram returned to top form, winning ahead of the other three competitors with a net of 69.

The Ladies Best Net

was won by Sukhram, while Nearest-to-thePin was Maurice Solomon.

Avinda Kishore recorded the best gross.

At the presentation ceremony, President of the Lusignan Golf Club, David Mohamad, expressed gratitude to MACORP for once again sponsoring the tournament and for maintaining their long-term com-

mitment to the club.

MACORP’s Managing Director, Jorge Medina, said that his company was always willing to work closely with the Lusignan Golf Club and promised to sponsor the tournament again in 2015.

Golfers will be in action again today in the Citizens Bank/Banks DIH Limited GT Beer Golf Classic.

St Pius one step closer to retaining Pee Wee title – to face Stella Maris in Sunday’s finale

By Avenash Ramzan

I

The St Pius lads are hunting a second successive title after their commanding win in the semi-final on Saturday

n a display indicative of a champion team, St Pius stormed into the final of the Courts Pee Wee football competition with a 6-1 drubbing of a hapless Tucville side in the semi-final on Saturday at the Banks DIH ground, Thirst Park.

The reigning champs would now face Stella Maris in Sunday’s final at the same venue after the latter school defeated a game South Ruimveldt 3-1 on penalties after a nil-all stalemate in the other semi-final. turn to page 22

Winner Carlos Adams (right) receives his trophy from MACORP’s Managing Director, Jorge Medina

Johnson to lead Guyana against Leeward Islands

W

est Indies Test batsman Leon Johnson has been appointed skipper of the Guyana Jaguars team to face the Leeward Islands in the opening matches of the West Indies Cricket Board’s Regional Four-day competition, starting on Friday at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.

The Guyana Cricket Board on Saturday released the 13-man squad that includes one of world cricket’s premier batsmen, Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Johnson will have fellow Test batsman Assad Fudadin as his deputy, while the Coach is Esaun Crandon and the Assistant Coach is Rayon Griffith.

The full squad reads: Assad Fudadin, Rajendra Chandrika, Leon Johnson, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Raymond Reifer, Anthony Bramble (wk), Christopher Barnwell, Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Ronsford Beaton, Vishaul Singh and Trevon Griffith.

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