Guyana times 22 october 2017

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

Issue No. 3369

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Int’l body warns against Granger’s growing dictatorial powers

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

GTU accuses Govt of P9 breaching labour laws

Page 3

...calls Patterson’s secret appointment an assault on democracy

Massive turnout at GTT, GCF Cancer Awareness walk/run

Page 2

Teacher charged for slapping, P8 beating student Pregnant mother charged with P8 assault

Hundreds of participants showed up for the GTT/GCF inaugural Breast Cancer Awareness 5K/10K walk and run, held in Georgetown on Saturday. In this Carl Croker photo, you will see thousands of persons gathered at Parade Ground after the walk and run where balloons were released in remembrance of the lives lost to the disease

PPP to take to the streets against illegal GECOM appointment Corentyne rice Bar Association demands farmer loses President give reasons for rejecting lists $22M in fire Page 5

GECOM saga

Page 7

– says it’s the only way to determine whether unfit candidates were submitted

Page 10

– arson suspected

Govt defends Special P18 Purpose Unit – claims it has best interest of sugar workers at heart

Brazil Police arrest 108 in major antipaedophilia operation P17

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news

SUnDAY, october 22, 2017 guyanatimesGY.com

Massive turnout at GTT, GCF cancer awareness walk/run

By Vahnu Manikchand

H

undreds of people turned out for the Guyana Telephone Telegraph (GTT) and the Guyana Cancer Foundation (GCF) ‘Pinktober’ breast cancer awareness 5K/10K Walk Run on Saturday

morning to show their support for Guyanese women living with and those who would have survived cancer.

The event was the signature activity under the ‘Pinktober’ initiative – a month-long activity aimed at increasing awareness of

breast cancer and pushing for more actions to be taken in the fight against the phenomenon. ‘Pinkotber’ is being celebrated under the theme “Together we can make a difference.”

The inaugural Breast Cancer Awareness 5K

walk and run, and 10K run saw the turnout of more than two thousand participants. The event kicked off from Middle and Waterloo Streets and proceeded into Church Street, then into Irving Street unto Lamaha and then Camp Street into

These differently able persons were cheered on as they made it across the finish line at Saturday’s breast cancer awareness walk/run

Parade Ground where balloons were released into the sky in remembrance of the lives lost to the illness.

Speaking at the event, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GTT Justin Nedd thanked the participants for showing up and for their continued contributions towards the ‘Pinktober’ initiative.

“This is the largest crowd seen at a walk in Guyana and that is because cancer is something that affects each and every one of us. We all know someone who was or is affected by cancer or who knows someone that was or is,” Nedd stated.

He further told Guyana Times that the tremendous turn out is a representation that Guyanese care for and

International believes everyone has a role to play in the ongoing fight.

“As we observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2017, we are provided with an important opportunity to highlight one of the most critical health issues impacting women around the globe today. There could not be a more fight-fitting theme for today’s event than “together we can make a difference,” he said.

According to Ramcharitar, through the support of Government, NGOs, private organisations and humanitarians, his company will continue to join efforts in Guyana to fight against cancer and to continue to save lives.

“With technology, sci-

These two young girls received trophies from Managing Director of JSL International, Javid Ramcharitar for participating in the 5K run

support cancer victims.

“It’s really all about love and we are really showing our love by being here. This is something that we will absolutely continue to do,” assured the boss of the telecommunication giant.

Meanwhile, founder of the Guyana Cancer Foundation, Bibi Hassan, also expressed appreciation to the masses of participants. She said she hopes that each of them will take something away with them, whether it’s to inspire hope for a survivor or even to share knowledge and raise awareness within their communities.

“Let us unite to fight against breast cancer, spread hope, strength and courage… and ultimately eradicate breast cancer in Guyana,” urged the cancer advocate.

Another major sponsor of the walk/run was JSL International, which donated the medals and trophies to winners of the 5K walk and the 5K and 10K runs.

Managing Director of the US-based company, Javid Ramcharitar, noted that the impact of cancer on society is phenomenal and JSL

ence, medical-breakthroughs coupled with motivation, selfless perseverance and determination by each one of you, today gives us hope that we will be able to save much more lives in Guyana – one woman at a time, each day, every day,” he resounded.

He further called on Guyanese to draw attention to healthier choices, educating each other, sharing information about resources that are available, highlighting the importance of early screening, self-breast examinations and improved medical and support services.

While the outpouring of support shown at Saturday’s event was overwhelming, Ramcharitar urged that this response be reflected in combating efforts throughout the year.

“Let us renew our hope, our vision, our faith and our conviction and draw the strength and resilience of our Guyanese people to welcome the day when all Guyanese women are subjected to not only early detection but initiatives for the prevention of breast cancer.” turn to page 9

news

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, October 22 – 05:30h-07:00h and Monday, October 23 – 05:00h-06:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Sunday, October 22 – 05:25h-06:55h and Monday, October 23 – 05:55h-07:25h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Thundery to heavy rain showers can be expected throughout the day, with thunderstorms returning in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging from Easterly to East North-easterly and East South-easterly between 2.68 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 05:39h and 17:48h reaching maximum heights of 2.65 metres and 2.71 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 11:25h and 23:46h reaching minimum heights of 0.55 metre and 0.45 metre respectively.

SATURDAY, October 21, 2017

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SunDAY, october 22, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Int’l body warns against Granger’s growing dictatorial powers

...calls Patterson’s secret appointment an assault on democracy

T

he International Centre for Democracy (ICD) has called on Guyanese from all walks of life – at home and in the Diaspora – to put aside differences to work in solidarity to stop the consolidation of a dictatorship in Guyana since the country is poised to return to the pre-1992 days.

The clarion call came over the weekend in response to the secret appointment of Justice (rtd) James Patterson which the ICD says “may also be interpreted as a lack of political will by the President to involve the electorate and the Opposition, in what alternatively, ought to have been a transparent process.”

The ICD has since publicly called on the international community “to sanction President Granger and the Guyana Government for their blatant violation and disregard for the Constitution and for promoting dictatorship, racism and division among Guyanese.”

According to the International Democracy watchdog body, “we believe that since President Granger has declined to provide a legally sound justification for having declined the three lists comprising of 18 candidates nominated by the Opposition, his sudden appointment of Justice (Retired) James Patterson to the seat is not merely undemocratic, but wholly obstructive to the principles of inclusive governance.”

The body, in a missive, voiced its belief that the way the new Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has been appointed creates an environment of suspicion and distrust in Guyana, “a country that is already highly polarised... It also generates wider suspicion since there is still a very strong view among the Guyanese people at home and in the Diaspora that the 2015 elec-

President David Granger

tions were not entirely free and fair.”

The International Centre for Democracy has since registered its objection and condemnation of the undemocratic process that President Granger took in appointing the GECOM Chairman saying “the unilateral appointment of Mr Patterson as GECOM’s Chairman is a crippling blow to democracy in Guyana and worse further polarise our people.”

According to the ICD, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has displayed patience and conducted wide consultation with both political and civil society and that the three lists submitted by the Opposition Leader contained names of distinguished Guyanese professionals and that each of the three lists contained names of persons qualified to be the chair of GECOM. “The arbitrary rejection of the three lists of candidates submitted by the Opposition as provided for

by Article 161 (2) of the Constitution breaches both the law and the spirit of the Constitution. It also demonstrates a lack of respect for well-qualified Guyanese professionals and render the appeal of the President for qualified Guyanese to return home a hallow request.”

The first list of names was submitted in December last year by Jagdeo and in-

Newly appointed GECOM Chairman, Justice James Patterson

cluded Major General (retd) Norman McLean; Attorney and Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram; Business Executive Ramesh Dookhoo; Governance and Conflict Resolution Specialist, Lawrence Lachmansingh: Rights Activist Ryhaan Shah; and Professor James Rose.

This list was rejected by the President after the Opposition Leader submitted for consideration former appellate Judge BS Roy, former High Court Justice William Ramlall, former Magistrate and now practising Attorney Oneidge Walrond-Allicock, Attorneys Kashir Khan and Nadia Sagar, and former Guyana Defence Force Captain and businessman Gerald Gouveia for the post.

This was also rejected before Jagdeo on August 25, submitted a third list containing Joe Singh, a retired Guyana Defence Force Major General,

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

who previously served as GECOM Chairman; former long-serving Magistrate Krishenndat Persaud; Attorneys Teni Housty and Sanjeev Datadin; pilot and biodiversity advocate Annette Arjoon-Martins; and Adventist pastor and agriculturalist Onesi La Fleur.

Subsequent to the resignation of former GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally in February 2017, a collaborative engagement mandated by Article 160 of the Constitution was initiated between President Granger and the Leader of the Opposition, with the purpose of filling the vacant seat.

Since 1992, the appointment of the Chairman has been guided by the wellknown Carter formula, whereby the Leader of the Opposition chooses six candidates and the President chooses one of the candidates as the Chairman. turn to page 10

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guyanatimesgy.com

sunDAY, october 22, 2017

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

Editorial

Darkness at Noon D

arkness at Noon is a 1940 novel by Arthur Koesler about the consolidation of the Soviet dictatorship

by Stalin after his “Great Purge” or “Great Terror”, between 1936 and 1938, when over 600,000 people were brutally killed. The title is thought to be an allusion to the unnatural darkness that occurred at midday in the story of Christ's Crucifixion.

In Guyana, President David Granger chose to bring Guyana to the edge of an abyss of political darkness on Diwali Night, the darkest night of the year, when he unilaterally declared his choice of the Chairman of GECOM. Of all the days of the year, there was no reason for him to choose to make this announcement on this sacred day, and to a large section of the country that was engaged in symbolically “removing darkness”. He must know that that section of Guyana was most oppressed during the PNC’s first stint at running the state, and its members are very sensitive about the return to those “dark days”, as they refer to those times.

After all, in the estimation of most domestic and international observers of the Guyanese scene, the rigging of elections represented the greatest darkness into which our country was plunged by the PNC in the postindependence era. To buttress their illegitimate and illegal rule, the PNC regime became increasingly authoritarian and willing to use violence against those who opposed their high-handed actions. The economy then inevitably collapsed because of the PNC’s predilection for appointing only party loyalists to run national institutions -- including the 80% of the economy they had nationalised.

“Free and fair” elections became the rallying cry to mobilise the Guyanese people during the darkness of the PNC’s rule, between 1968 and 1992. The people understood that the rigging of elections was at the root of all the ailments that had befallen Guyana. Therefore, when the international community finally responded to the cries of the beleaguered Guyanese people, that community insisted on instituting mechanisms to minimise the risk of electoral rigging by future regimes as the sine qua non of the return of freedom and “light”.

The rigging, which started in 1968, had been facilitated by ex-Justice Sir Donald Jackson, a former Chief Justice who was the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission up to the 1978 referendum. His successor, Sir Harold Bollers, another former Chief Justice, oversaw the rigged 1980 and 1985 elections.

It was not surprising that, among the changes instituted to ensure ‘free and fair” elections, the Carter Centre proposed the extant criterion for appointing the GECOM Chair be broadened to include “any other fit and proper person” from that of “being qualified to be a Judge”, who would be chosen by the President from a list of six names submitted by the Opposition Leader.

In 1992, a former diplomat, Rudy Collins, was the Chairman of GECOM. All succeeding Chairs came from the latter criterion.

The rationale for the Opposition Leader to have a meaningful input in the selection of the GECOM Chair thus goes to the heart of the need for the electoral process in an intensely divided polity to be legitimised by the competing parties. President Granger’s unilateral action to choose his own candidate will act as a stake in the heart of procedural democracy in Guyana. That this person is a Judge -- which the President initially insisted was demanded by Article 162 (2) of the Constitution -- simply demonstrates that he is determined to have his way, irrespective of the highest law of the land, the Constitution.

Chief Justice (ag) Roxanne George-Wiltshire’s decision on the matter -- which may appear to support him -- has already been challenged in the courts, and the President should have had the courtesy not to pre-empt a co-equal branch of Government. His precipitate action can only be evaluated against the background of his other unilateral acts, which suggest that his promise to follow in the footsteps of the dictator Burnham was no hyperbole.

These young ladies posed for Guyana Times photographer Carl Croker after participating in the Breast Cancer Awareness 5K/10K Walk and Run, in Georgetown on Saturday morning. The event was held as part of GTT and the Guyana Cancer Foundation ‘Pinktober’ activities

Granger's unilateral decision on GECOM Chair unacceptable Dear Editor, A statement released by the Ministry of the Presidency on Thursday (October 19, 2017) sought to explain the basis on which President David Granger moved to unilaterally appoint the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in the person of retired Justice James Patterson.

The statement from the Ministry of the Presidency said: “The Head of State placed reliance on the ruling of the Honourable Chief Justice, Madame Roxanne George-Wiltshire, in the exercise of his decision to reject the third list, dated August 25, 2017, which stated ‘the Proviso to Article 161 (2) which permits the President to act independently to appoint a

person of the Judicial category to be the Chairman of GECOM, that is a person who is presumptively fit and proper’.”

Yes, the proviso in the Constitution states that if the Leader of the Opposition fails to submit a list, as provided for, then the President can appoint a judge or former judge, or qualified to be a judge in Guyana or the Commonwealth.

However, the statement from the Ministry of the Presidency is a blatant misrepresentation of the ruling from the Acting Chief Justice, Roxanne George, in the case of Marcel Gaskin, businessman and brother of Granger’s sonin-law, Dominic Gaskin, vs. the Attorney General of Guyana.

The Chief Justice, in her ruling, said: “While the applicant (Gaskin) has not applied for a determination of this issue, it was raised by the Bar Association in its brief, which was filed and served on all parties. “…it does appear to me that failure to submit a list as provided for speaks to the provision of an acceptable list, as discussed earlier. If, by not choosing any of the persons listed, the President thereby finds the list unacceptable, the proviso to Article 161 (2) would apply, and the President should then go on to appoint a judge or former judge, or person who would qualify for appointment as a judge in Guyana or the Commonwealth to the post of Chairman of

GECOM. “But all of this in in effect academic, because more than one list has been sought and provided.”

The Acting Chief Justice made clear that the President cannot rely on the proviso in the Constitution, because more than one list – a total of 18 names – was submitted by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

So how can the Granger-led APNU+AFC Administration expect the Guyanese people to accept the basis he used to make a unilateral decision on an issue as big and as important as the GECOM Chairperson?

Regards, Arnold Sanasie

President’s behaviour should never be tolerated Dear Editor, President David Granger has built a reputation of being unable to play a fair game. He can’t be trusted. And he is unfit to run a democracy.

Obviously, democracy is on a death spiral under his leadership.

His unilateral appointment of the 84-year-

old James Patterson as GECOM chair is illegal, unconstitutional, undemocratic, abusive, lawless, uncivilized, and disrespectful to the people of this country.

Such immoral and uncivilized actions by Mr Granger have paved the way for political persecution and election fraud

reminiscent of the Forbes Burnham era.

Mr Granger is bursting with ignorance and arrogance, which are typical symptoms of despots.

There are no kind words to describe such a reckless man. History is repeating itself. Mr Granger’s behaviour should never be tolerated. Guyanese deserve

better.

At this time, I stand with the parliamentary Opposition in whatever course of action it takes in its fight for democracy in this country. Mr Granger and the APNU/PNC/AFC should never be allowed to trample our democratic rights.

Annie Baliram

5 PPP to take to the streets against illegal GECOM appointment NEWS

SunDAY, october 22, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

... Jagdeo vows to fight to ensure free and fair elections in 2020 ...calls on all Guyanese to support protest actions

T

he People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has formally endorsed the plans of its leadership in relation to Head of State David Granger’s unilateral appointment of Justice (rtd) James Patterson as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and will soon be taking to the streets as part of measures to ensure the conditions for free, fair and transparent elections are restored and met, “both constitutionally and in the composition and practices of the institutions and persons tasked with this vital role.”

Opposition Leader and General Secretary of the PPP, Bharrat Jagdeo, held a high-level meeting with parliamentary Opposition members, Regional Democratic Councillors, members of the PPP Central and Executive Committees and the three Opposition-appointed GECOM Commissioners.

The Party has since formally endorsed Jagdeo’s initial pronouncement on “the

unilateral appointment of retired Justice James Patterson as Chairman of GECOM by President David Granger, at night on 19th October, 2017, and, the response to this undemocratic, unlawful, unconstitutional act by the President, and, the extent of the ‘non-cooperation’ actions announced by the Leader of the Opposition in his press statement on the evening of October 19, 2017.”

Among the measures endorsed by the Party’s leadership, the PPP will “launch picketing exercises, petitions, appeals, vigils, marches and other peaceful forms of protest to highlight the issues relating to the undemocratic, unilateral, and illegal appointment of the Chairman of the GECOM.” The measures were announced as part of an official party policy to adopt a policy of critical non-participation in the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) governmental activities through-

out the length and breadth of Guyana.

As it relates to the Party’s participation in the National Assembly, the Party has officially stated that it will continue to fight “in some aspects of the National Assembly and at the GECOM, to protect the integrity of the electoral machinery by undertaking meetings, in and out of Guyana, with the representatives of foreign countries and international institutions, to expose the extent and import of constitutional violations by the Granger APNU/AFC regime.”

Among the measures adopted by the Party’s leadership is to “challenge by court action in the courts and at the Caribbean Court of Justice, as necessary, the steps undertaken by President Granger to subvert and thwart the spirit, letter, and intent of the Constitution.”

The Party is expected to also roll out a countrywide sensitisation campaign as it relates to “the ongoing threat

to democracy and the Guyana Constitution and to resist the stealthy move to an authoritarian state; undertake meetings countrywide to sensitise the Guyanese people and to use other means, including social media and the media, to the reasons, for non-cooperation, and on the progress of the campaign.”

The Party also intends to brief and consult civic society bodies which participated in the consultations and which produced the 18 individuals whose names were submitted by the Leader of the Opposition to the President for the post of Chairman of the GECOM between December 2016 and August 2017, even as it consistently and regularly engage with national and regional stakeholders to hold Government accountable and ensure that democracy is not derailed.

The political party has already pulled out of participation in the Border Commission which was slated to meet this week following

Guyanese are left with much to be worried about

Dear Editor, President David Granger has acting in breach of the Constitution, in light of the ruling given by the Acting Chief Justice, Roxanne George, by unilaterally appointing a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). And the Guyanese people are also witness to his posture on adhering to constitutional provisions.

In addition to the unilateral decision, the consequences of which he will be held responsible, Granger’s own comments expose his disposition on respecting Guyana’s Constitution and upholding its provisions.

According to an article from an online news outlet, Granger was asked why one of the 18 persons nominated by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, was not selected.

In response Granger said: “Taken as a whole the list was unacceptable to me and that is all I need to say in accordance with the Constitution.”

Having already disregarded the ruling of the Acting Chief Justice with his unilateral appointment of a GECOM Chairman, Granger’s comment represent a further disregard of her ruling, as it relates to the need for him to explain why he rejected all 18 persons nominated by Jagdeo.

In the case of businessman Marcel Gaskin vs. the Attorney General – where he asked the court to interpret the Constitution, relative to the appointment of a

GECOM Chairperson – four questions were put to the court.

One of those questions was whether the President is required under the Constitution to state reasons for deeming each of the six names on the list submitted by (sic) the President as unacceptable. The Acting Chief Justice, in her ruling,

said: “The answer is hereby declared to be in the positive – Yes.” Editor, when the Guyanese people see that President Granger has unilaterally appointed a GECOM Chairman and has ignored the Acting Chief Justice’s ruling – that he should give reasons for rejecting the list of nominees

from the Opposition Leader – we are left with much to be worried about.

Regards, Cedric Lord

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

a recent flare-up in relations between the two countries.

The Opposition Leader on Thursday last met briefly with the Head of State, who informed him that the third list of nominees for the post of GECOM Chairman was unacceptable and that Justice (rtd) Patterson would be appointed.

The President formally rejected the third list on Thursday and immediately swore in Justice (rtd) Patterson who was himself notified only hours earlier.

The Opposition Leader subsequently met with media operatives and announced that the Party would be embarking on a countrywide campaign of non-cooperation with Government.

Following Friday’s high-level meeting, the Party formally communicated its formalised scope of intended actions. Meanwhile, the Party also responded to the

women’s arm of the Alliance For Change which was on Friday critical of Jagdeo’s threats.

According to the PPP, “we have also noted the sycophantic ramblings of the AFC apologists in their response to the Leader of the Opposition... So desperate to prove their loyalty to the APNU, the AFC accused the Leader of the Opposition of an unpatriotic stance of non-cooperation and civil disobedience and promised to hold him personally responsible.

The Party in its formal statement said “the Leader of the Opposition shall not be intimidated by the corrupt cowards of the AFC whose only interest in governance is their personal well-being and enjoyment of the perks of office.”

According to the Party, it “has been down this path before in similar situations in the past, and, we, as a party and our supporters, have prevailed and we overcame with the restoration of democracy on October 5, 1992.”

The Party has since called on “all Guyanese, both as individuals and institutions, to become fully acquainted with the issue of the unilateral appointment of GECOM Chairman Patterson; the repeated assaults on democracy; and support the exercise of the right to freedom of speech and peaceful protests in consistent interventions to protect Guyana’s democracy.”

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SunDAY, october 22, 2017

Page

P

Foundation away, or as soon as possible. It’s no wonder that tomorrow never comes for some of us, because every day we’ll keep saying tomorrow.

It’s all a matter of doing things systematically a certain way and eventually that becomes your habit – for good or bad.

And when you come down to it, aren’t we all the sum of our habits? People don’t really know what is in our minds – it’s not beliefs that count in the end but action.

Take a quiet moment

Anu Dev

eer pressure is always been around – and like all “pressures” can not necessarily only be emanating from outside. Sometimes no one is actively pressuring us, we just feel pressured because we think, “Everyone else is doing it, why shouldn’t I?” For most persons, the desire to just fit in is really powerful – that’s why there aren’t so many hipsters around, I guess! So people can end up doing all sorts of things that they really wouldn’t have liked doing if left to their own devices.

And it’s not always huge things like feeling pressured to use drugs or alcohol - it can be things like choosing to only listen to the type of music your friends do, or to put off studying so you don’t look like you’re ‘trying too hard’ so you’ll be one of the ‘cool kids’. And it’s a slip-

guyanatimesgy.com

pery slope. What started off as just deferring homework becomes not doing homework at all, and then to skipping classes to avoid being grilled. Before you know it, you’ve not only blown the exams, but developed some very bad habits.

But the influences that our peers have on us don’t always have to be negative. If we’re surrounded by classmates or co-workers with good study and work ethics, we could be influenced to adopt a similar work ethic.

If we’re surrounded by people who are always

striving to be better and to do better, we could be motivated to do as they do- to be better workers.

So maybe instead of surrounding ourselves with ‘slackers’, we need to choose our companions wisely, to choose people that can have a positive influence on us instead of those who might lead us down paths that might be bad for us. And we will discover that positive people can also be fun people!

But we don’t always have to be reactive, we should also try to become positive influences to the people around us. There

are always people who will look to you as an example of what should be done- your son or daughter, a younger sibling, even a friend.

So take the time to think about the type of person you want to be today, 5 years from now, and even 10 years from now and evaluate whether you are that person now or if you’re even on the path to becoming that person. It’s nice to make plans and to decide that you’ll start working on being that person next week or tomorrow, but the truth is you have to start right

E

veryone knows that doctors are really important when a kid has cancer. But did you know that friends are really important, too?

If your friend has cancer, there's a lot you can do to help. Being sick can make a person feel alone, especially if he or she is in the hospital or missing a lot of school.

Your friend needs you. The most important thing you can do is visit and stay in touch.

Here are some other things you can do to help your friend: Be yourself. It's normal to be scared when someone you care about has cancer – you may not know what to do or how to act. You may wonder, does my friend want to see me? Will my friend be different?

You may feel guilty for being healthy or feel angry at your friend's cancer. You may also want to pretend it's not happening. That's normal too. Your friend probably feels the same way.

The more time you spend with your friend, the more you'll relax. He or she may look different or get tired more often but is still the same person you know and care about. Try to have fun and act the way you usually do when you're together.

Learn the basics. It helps

to think about whether the things you do, or the things you want to do are things that you truly want or whether it’s what everybody else is doing. Don’t be afraid to flow against the tide, to be your own person, to captain your own destiny.

Go out and find your own music, find your own sense of style and read whatever books you enjoy. There’s a whole world out there to experience, so why limit yourself to only what everybody else is doing?

to understand a little about cancer and what your friend is going through. In medical terms, cancer is the abnormal growth of cells that causes illness in the body. It is not contagious and no one caused your friend to get cancer.

It's OK to talk about it. You probably have a lot of questions about what is happening. It's OK to be curious and want to learn more – you can ask your parents, the doctors in the hospital, your friend's parents, or other adults you trust. Your friend and your friend's family may want to talk about the illness and the treatment. …but listen to your friend. There will times that your friend won't want to talk about cancer. He or she may just want to play and hang out with you the way you used to.

Sometimes, a joke or a funny story about school is just what the doctor ordered! Try to listen and sense what your friend needs. (And remember what we said above: It's OK to be yourself.)

Offer to help. Don't wait until your friend asks for help. Offer something specific to help your friend. For instance, "I'll bring home your assignments from school." Or make a plan to hang out and do homework together. (Excerpted from Kids Health)

news

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sunDAY, october 22, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

GECOM saga

Bar Association demands President give reasons for rejecting lists

– says it’s the only way to determine whether unfit candidates were submitted

By Jarryl Bryan

T

he Guyana Bar Association has become the latest body to condemn the unilateral appointment by President David Granger of a Chairman for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

In a statement on Saturday, the Bar Council of the Association expressed deep concern regarding the appointment of the elderly Justice (ret’d) James Patterson. Patterson, who did not feature on any of the lists Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo submitted, was sworn in on Thursday night after a brief meeting between Jagdeo and the President.

Noting that no President of Guyana from either of the major parties has made a unilateral appointment of a GECOM Chairman in more than 25 years, it expressed fear that the appointment would lead to loss of public confidence in the electoral process.

“The Bar Council expects that, in keeping with the ruling of Chief Justice George in the matter of Marcel Gaskin against the Attorney General, the President will provide reasons for the rejection of the 18 names submitted to him by the Leader of the Opposition as prospective

President of the Bar Association, Kamal Ramkarran

candidates for appointment,” it also stated.

“The Chief Justice ruled that reasons are required to be provided so that it is known why there is a rejection. Her Honour said that this is in order that the President may properly move to apply the proviso to Article 161(2) of the Constitution, which allows the President to appoint persons from the judicial category only.”

According to the Association, the President’s power to make a unilateral appointment to the office is limited by the Constitution.

And this power is only applicable when the Leader of the Opposition fails to submit a list as provided for by the Constitution.

“It should be obvious therefore that Guyanese cannot satisfy themselves that there is an objective and lawful basis for the President’s unilateral appointment of Justice James Patterson to that office unless publicly stated reasons for the rejection of the 18 persons found by the President to be unfit to hold the office of Chairman of the Elections Commission are provided.”

“Only if clear and detailed reasons are provided which show cause why each of the 18 rejected persons is unacceptable to the President for appointment to the office of Chairman of the Elections Commission would it be possible to establish that the Leader of the Opposition failed to submit a list as provided for by the Constitution,” the association added.

The Association pointed out that the Chief Justice’s ruling stated that reasons are required can be considered as part of the laws of Guyana until it is challenged and set aside by a higher court. Thus, it urged that the Constitution be considered in light of that decision.

Legal challenge

On the same day Patterson was sworn in, Jagdeo had vowed to oppose the appointment while hosting a press

conference. In light of the former President’s utterances, it is only a matter of time before the appointment is challenged in the courts.

According to the Bar Association, it expects that the reasons for rejecting 18 candidates prior to unilaterally appointing Patterson will be provided, in line with the Chief Justice’s ruling.

This, the Association noted, is “to avoid the necessity of further litigation on its part.”

“The Chief Justice also ruled that while the President is immune from suit, his decisions and actions are not.

Thus, whether in the exercise of his discretion there has been compliance with the Constitution is justiciable,” the Association noted.

AFC

Nor was the Alliance For Change (AFC) spared. The coalition partner had announced on Friday that it supported President David Granger’s decision to appoint Patterson. According to the party, the President’s move was one that “averted a looming constitutional crisis.”

Chief Justice Roxane George, SC

turn to page 14

8 news

SunDAY, october 22, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

IN THE COURTS

Teacher charged for slapping, beating student

A

teacher found herself before the court on Friday after she reportedly struck a student repeatedly, leaving scars on his body.

Selena Samuels denied the charge when Magistrate Leron Daly read it to her at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The charge alleged that on October

16, 2017, she unlawfully assaulted Richard Stephens.

The court heard from the Virtual Complainant’s (VC’s) father who stated that the child was taken to a washroom in the school where he was repeatedly slapped and beaten by the accused.

Marks of violence were observed by

relatives and the child was taken to a medical officer where he was examined. It was then that he revealed what transpired.

As such, the matter was reported and the teacher was charged with the offence. She was granted $10,000 bail and is expected to return to court on October 23. (Kizzy Coleman)

Pregnant mother charged with assault

T

wenty-three-year-old Kenesha Weeks of Lot 33 Durban Street, Georgetown appeared on Friday before Magistrate Leron Daly to answer a charge of unlawful assault.

The pregnant mother of one denied that on October 9, 2017, at Norton Street, Georgetown, she unlawfully assaulted Niota Eastman.

The facts of the matter were not revealed in court,

Man fined for assaulting woman

S but Attorney Paul Fung-aFat made a successful bail application for the defendant on ground that she is currently pregnant with her

second child.

Bail was set at $10,000, and Weeks is expected to make her next court appearance on October 23, 2017.

ylvan Edwards, meanwhile, appeared before Magistrate Leron Daly, charged with unlawfully assaulting Nia Blair on October 18, 2017 at Cornhill Street, Georgetown.

He admitted to committing the offence, and was fined $10,000 or two weeks’ imprisonment for default.

Defence of the indefensible…

G

…at GECOM

ECOM? It’s now definitely GEGON! And your Eyewitness isn’t even alluding to Lowenfield and his $100M radios and $14M pliers! That’s small potatoes in the grand scheme of things - like stealing the entire country for the next 28 years! Your Eyewitness was so gobsmacked at Prezzie’s action on the GECOM Chair, he decided to wait a day before putting pen to paper (so to speak!)

But the day’s wait and cooling down made your Eyewitness realise, he shouldn’t have been surprised at Prezzie’s unilateral declaration on the GECOM Chair.

After all, didn’t the man announce almost immediately on the assumption of office his goal was to continue “the Burnham legacy”?

And the “what’s the legacy?”, you ask? Didn’t he anoint Hamilton Green with oil and unguents and shower him with honey and myrrh? (Well, actually, with a retroactive PM’s pension based on Moses’ rates - and not the Moses with the stone tablets!) That was setting right Hoyte’s banishment of Burnham’s right-hand (with a stick!) man.

The GECOM Chair? Burnham had a sense of humour and a long memory. The two Chairs he selected were Judges who he had to literally bow and scrape before, when he was an ordinary lawyer. He couldn’t enter their stratospheric zones - them being connected directly to the white ruling class and all.

They were both knighted, weren’t they? Sir Donald Jackson and Sir Harold Bollers!! Well, just like he rode his horse and whipped some of the coloured elite from the Civil Service at Hope Estate, it amused him to turn these “high and mighty” men into toothless poodles who would subvert the very laws they swore to uphold!! Burnham operated on the Machiavellian principle - everyone has a price.

Well, Prezzie might’ve been just a Lieutenant back in the sixties but he had to have seen how Sir Jackson jackknifed to allow the 1968 elections to be rigged. And so on and so forth in 1973, 1978, 1980 (Bollers) and 1985.

So Prezzie knows that while James Patterson may be a straight up fella and all that, when the chips (or ballots) are down, he will know in which direction to look. And insist whatever shenanigans are committed aren’t in his remit to monitor. Judges do work in strict accordance with the law, don’t they? At least that’s the way Jackson and Bollers played the game.

But Prezzie wasn’t as cold as Burnham when informing Jagdeo of his choice. Burnham used to just call Jagan, enquire of the weather and hang up. He would then chuckle to his underlings, “Meaningful consultations!!”

Prezzie called over Jagdeo to State House and spent 5 minutes with him!!

…by AFC

And talking about “toothless poodles” and folks having “a price” brings Public Security Minister and VP Khemraj Ramjattan to mind!! His titles might be equivalent to a “Sir”, no? Anyhow asked what he thought of Prezzie’s dictat, the man jumped to attention faster than the loyal lieutenant he is and avowed it was all hunky dory to him!! All he was concerned about was AFC’s Leader Trotman (who replaced him) wasn’t in the pic, even though he was told ahead of time. Just Prezzie and Harmon.

Ramjattan can be sooo insensitive! Has be forgotten Trotman’s a newlywed? Jeez!! Anyhow, Harmon did stand up for him after the Georgetown PNC - which IS the PNC!! - panned him for his performance as Public Security Minister. As far as they were concerned, Ramjattan was just “performing” and not doing!! So was Ramjattan’s fervent and fervid support for Prezzie’s Constitutional traducing a quid pro quo for Harmon taking care of his back?

He sure needs that support, since he didn’t sign no Nassau Accord!

…on Local Government Commission

Two years on, the government finally appointed the LGC which they’d jumped up and down and held their breath for, when they were in opposition.

Aaah…the things you do for power!!

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

news

9

SunDAY, october 22, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

GTU accuses Govt of breaching labour laws – calls for review of lunch break restrictions; student-to-teacher ratio

T

he Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has called for the Education Ministry to retract a memo that was circulated to schools, suggesting that teachers supervise children during their lunch break.

This was ventilated during a recent press conference held by the union.

According to GTU President Mark Lyte, the memo sought to take away the lunch break allotted to teachers by right.

Lyte called for the memo to be retracted, noting that it is a breach of the labour laws.

“Because this is now incorporated in a memo, we recognise that schools are now asking teachers to supervise via a rota (rotation) system. We are saying that this is a direct violation of the labour law which says that our teachers and all workers in general are required to have breaks,” he explained.

“I want to highlight specifically that the breaks allow our teachers to get the necessary opportunity to recuperate from the mental and physical stress that they go through managing children for a session. So if this is taken away, we believe it would have a serious impact on the mental state of our teachers. We’re asking the Chief Education Officer to retract this memo,” he declared.

Chief Education Officer, Marcel Hutson

Zeroing in on a section of the memo, which allocates 20 students to one teacher, Lyte also repeated calls for this to be reviewed.

Lyte denounced this development as attempts to frustrate teachers and the union that represents their interest.

“We also have in that memo a specific mention to the number of students expected to be supervised by one teacher; 20 students to one teacher. Now, even in the classroom, this is not realistic. In our school system, we do have classes as large as 30 to 35 students. I was told of one recent situation where a teacher was managing 71 students in one class. We want to know why the Ministry is reluctant to reduce the class sizes for proper management,”

Lyte added.

The GTU has, for some time, been calling for a reduction of the student-to-teacher ratio implemented by the Ministry of Education. It has been argued that reducing the ratio would make classes more manageable, and learning more effective.

The ratio had, in a Memorandum of Understanding, been listed as 15 students to one teacher for nursery. For Grades One and Two, it was listed as 20-to-one, while Grades Three to Six carried a 25-toone ratio. In the case of secondary schools, the ratio is listed as 25 pupils to one teacher, while it is 15 pupils to one teacher in practical instructional centres.

GTU General Secretary Coretta McDonald had previously said that classroom teaching would be more effective if there were smaller class sizes, which would benefit both teachers and students.

McDonald reported that in the Education Act, it was passed that there be a reduction of students in one class, but the GTU is calling for these figures to be further broken down, to effectuate advanced teaching techniques.

According to McDonald, it is known that when students enter a class, there is

GTU President, Mark Lyte

a combination of different personalities; various lev-

els of learning capabilities, ranging from ‘highflyers’ to ‘weak’; and a number of necessities that each possess.

As such, she had said that the task of meeting these requirements to ensure each student is equally catered for is thus left to the teachers to manage. She had pointed out that, in most instances, this poses a challenge.

In addition, McDonald alluded to situations wherein parents have complained about their children not receiving ample attention from their teachers, since their books were not being

GTU General Secretary, Coretta McDonald

‘marked’ frequently and they were lagging behind.

Massive turnout at GTT...

Also present at the awareness walk/run was Telecommunications Minister, Cathy Hughes, who told this newspaper that the success of the event has made her emotional.

She gave a “hats off” commendation to the organisers especially GTT, whom she said really did more to highlight this importance cause.

“Women really need to feel empowered to check and ensure good health for themselves and for their families, and this is what we’re out here to celebrate and raise awareness for.

Most importantly, I want to ‘big up the men’; there are

so many here today on this walk and they are supporting the women. Guyana is really great; I’m reminded of that fact, that we really are just one!”

On the other hand, US Ambassador Perry Holloway and his wife also joined the walk to show their support of the cause. Ambassador Holloway told the participants in a brief speech that the only way to make cancer a thing of the past for future children and grandchildren is through education and awareness, through events like this, by giving our time as carekeepers, caregivers and giving money to help

from page 2

with research.

Meanwhile, Guyana Times caught up with a survivor, Hazel, who has been cancer-free for the past five years. Her message to Guyanese women is to get their breasts examined.

“Get it checked, have the strength to do what you need to do because early diagnosis can save your life. I want to tell people that everything has a stage, everything has a side effect but we have to have the willpower to fight. So this morning I’m encouraging women to get out there and do your test, accept your struggle and move on,” she stated.

10 news

sunDAY, october 22, 2017| guyanatimesgy.com

Corentyne rice farmer loses $22M in fire – arson suspected

Rice farmer Marvin Duncan

By Andrew Carmichael

A

78-year-old rice farmer of 135 ‘A’ Mibicuri South, Blackbush Polder, Corentyne is now contemplating his next move after losing an estimated $22 million in a fire which gutted his two-storey wooden and concrete home on Saturday morning.

The house was occupied by Marvin Duncan, 78, and his 65-year-old wife Claudette, who operated a grocery store and liquor parlour. No one was said to be at home when the fire started, prompting the suspicion that arson may have been the cause of the blaze.

According to Duncan, he and his wife had left their Lot 35 ‘A’ Mibicuri South, Black Bush Polder home at about 07:30h on Saturday morning and within 10 minutes of leaving he received a telephone call stating that his house was on fire.

Visibly devastated, the man disclosed to this publication that before making his way back to Black Bush Polder, he made a visit to the Whim Police Station seeking assistance in making contact with the Fire Service but

the closest one was not available. However, contact was made with the Corriverton Fire Station which immediately dispatched firefighters to the scene. They did not manage to save the building since it was already gutted by the time they arrived at the scene.

Duncan estimates his loses at $22 million. The elderly rice farmer, who also owns a grocery shop in the bottom flat of his house, said the shop sold everything for the community and the parlor was popular in that part of Black Bush Polder.

He is of the belief that someone deliberately set the fire to the three-bedroom, wood and concrete structure.

Duncan, a rice farmer for approximately 30 years, noted that he suspected arson to be the cause of he and his wife currently being homeless.

The elderly man revealed that he recently had a confrontation with an individual (whose name was given) about being a bad influence towards the younger generation within the village. He accused the man of providing illegal drugs to the community and confronted the now suspect about this issue.

However, after the confrontation between the two, remarks and derogatory slangs would be meted out to Duncan whenever the young man was around.

According to him, the young man seemed to be very furious while they were making their way out of the village on Saturday morning as he stood next to a bus shed.

Duncan said from all indications the fire was started at the back of the building where he had a room with a bed. He is of the opinion that someone threw something flammable through the win-

Why not Joe Singer?

S

The house engulfed in flames at Black Bush Polder

dow which was left open.

He further explained that they did not light the stove before leaving home.

Reports are that the blaze was first seen in the area of the bedroom which also housed washroom facilities.

Eyewitnesses say the fire quickly engulfed the building even before they could make

attempts to form a bucket brigade. Reports are there were three drums of fuel which further assisted the fire.

Duncan is bent on continuing his rice farm in which he cultivates 30 acres.

He is currently preparing for the 2018 spring crop.

The fire service and Police are conducting investigations.

Int’l body warns...

The Carter formula has become enshrined into the Constitution and is part of the law of Guyana.

During the process that started with the resignation of Dr Surujbally, President Granger changed the process, insisting that only he could determine who is “fit and proper”.

He also insisted initially that all the candidates nominated by the Leader of the Opposition must be a person who was a Judge or a person qualified to be a Judge.

The ICD has since observed that not only has the President unilaterally changed the requirements, he ignored the ruling of the Chief Justice, a ruling that confirmed the President was acting in contravention of the Constitution. The Chief

from page 3

Justice had provided a ruling after a citizen asked the courts for an interpretation of the constitutional requirement for selecting the Chairman.

The International Center for Democracy maintains that the rigid adherence to the formula and the process is critical to generate confidence and trust in the electoral process.

“The behaviour of the President in disavowing both the Carter formula and the Constitution is an assault on Guyana’s democracy... The assault is even more egregious since the Chief Justice of Guyana offered the courts interpretation that was consistent with the practice since 1992 and with how the Leader of the Opposition today and in all instances in the past interpreted the Constitution,” the international body stated.

atiricus was still in shock. He was relaxing in his hammock after a humungous dinner, reading about how Prezzie had gone ahead and picked his own man for the Elections Chair.

Why? The picking had taken so long, Satiricus was beginning to wonder whether it was really for the “Electric Chair”. After all, the fella who last occupied the Chair always had his hair standing straight up!

Satiricus started to doze, and suddenly he was reading Prezzie’s diary!

Dear Diary, People are saying I should give reasons for picking Batterson for the Elections Chair, and why I rejected the last list. What is the matter with them?

Does a General give reasons to his troops when he tells them to charge into machine gun fire from the enemy? What do they think this is? A democracy?

But you know, dear Diary, I have to tell you everything. When I was doing history research, I was so frustrated that leaders did not record reasons for their decisions.

So why Batterson? There are two reasons. First: for the same reason I have been selecting so many geriatrics for top positions -- to make me look young by comparison. Secondly: because just before 2020, when he steps down because of “health” reasons, we will go through the whole list rigmarole with the Opposing Leader and elections will be delayed.

Then I will pick my real choice: Who Dunnit.

And why I rejected the last list? Let’s start with that smug Joe Singer. I hated him from the start at Queen’s because of his “Hip” name. Then he did better than me in Army School in England. And was promoted before me every time in the army, finishing up as a Major General and me just a Brigadier.

But the bitterest pill, Dear Diary, was when Hite picked him to be Chief of Staff ahead of me!

Imagine, me just an ‘advisor’ who was never asked for his advice!”

And that is why no Elections Chair for him.

news

11

SunDAY, october 22, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

Urban unemployment to spike in Caribbean, Latin America – labour conditions deteriorated due to low regional economic growth, but signs of recovery exist

OUR MORAL VACANCY

By Ryhaan Shah

T

he news reports coming out of Guyana state: “Thousands took to the streets across the country to protest the unilateral installation of Justice James Patterson, age 84, as GECOM Chairman, a move by President David Granger that contravenes Article 161 of the Constitution of Guyana, which deals with the procedures that govern the selection of the chairman. The protesters represent every race, ethnicity, creed and political persuasion, and they vow to continue their protest action until democratic norms and the rule of law are restored to their country.”

That report is pure fantasy of course. Such a protest will never happen, because there is at the heart of Guyana a moral vacancy that moved in over 50 years ago with the advent of race politics. The battle lines are drawn, and there as yet has been no situation grave and critical enough to drive us to put aside partisan interests and act in unison for the good of our country.

Were there any moral suasion, Justice Patterson would have simply refused the appointment and insisted that Granger follow the rule of law. Instead, he is willing to accept the chairmanship, even though it casts him in the role of being a poodle of a PNC Government. Does age, then, bring no wisdom, no wish to leave a legacy of decency for future generations? If there was any question about our moral vacancy, Justice Patterson’s decision removes all doubt.

The unilateral appointment of the GECOM Chair was a natural progression for Granger, who, as a Burnham devotee, has vowed to oversee the resuscitation of the failed policies of the PNC dictatorship. He stated publicly that winning the 2015 general elections was an act of God, and it is clear that he intends to complete the mission started by the PNC founder/leader.

From his very first day in office, he simply shoved aside the Cummingsburg Accord, and has since proceeded to fulfil the PNC diktat of using Government as a weapon to exact vengeance on the party’s enemy, Indian Guyanese.

The “coolie” taunts hurled at Indian Guyanese by PNC supporters after their elections victory were a mere taste of what has now become Granger-approved pejorative language within the public service. This is a clear indicator of what is to come, and Granger is neither shy nor ashamed about this.

In fact, just hours before he installed Justice Patterson in the GECOM chair, he was lighting Diwali diyas and referring to them as symbols of the triumph of light over darkness and of good over evil. Then in a volte-face worthy of the worst, he did the deed and returned Guyana to the darkness of another PNC era.

The die is cast, the fix is in, and every move will be made by the Granger Government to rig Guyana’s electoral system in order to keep itself in power.

The PPP Opposition, if they are savvy politicians, must have had some inkling of the forces that were aligned against them to bring about this state of affairs. They, too, are rightly criticised for lacking moral authority, since, as a Government of 23 years, they conducted state business with more than a little arrogance, and faced their own share of corruption allegations.

Because of their conduct, the PNC could actually put a positive spin on its actions, and thus allay any doubts that might arise from the more moderate among its supporters.

Even this unconstitutional move by Granger, which clearly indicates a return to PNC dictatorial tendencies, might not be enough to bring about a national crisis of conscience, thus making our moral vacancy complete.

Oil has replaced the Cold War as the reason for external interference in Guyana’s affairs, and oil will not save us.

Granger, with all his cursing out of sugar, rice, timber, gold, etc., could be setting the stage for the real curse to be visited on Guyana: the oil curse.

His Government already condones thievery from the national coffers. Oil will simply make the thievery bigger, and with the agricultural and business sectors already being pushed to the wall, the country could become heavily dependent on oil earnings.

Venezuela is in the throes of the oil curse, brought on by continuously low oil prices. It should be a lesson learned, but Granger and his Government are too dizzy at the prospects of the millions of barrels and the millions of dollars that will flow to them and them alone.

They have cleared the way for that eventuality, and Thursday, October 19, 2017 goes down as yet another day of infamy in Guyana’s history. It marks the return to PNC darkness.

A

ccording to the latest estimates, the rate of urban unemployment in the Caribbean and Latin America could reach 9.4 per cent on average this year, which represents a 0.5 percentage point increase from the 8.9 per cent recorded in 2016.

However, a joint report from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) outlines that the low economic growth experienced by Latin American and Caribbean countries in the last few years will continue affecting the region’s labour market performance in 2017.

ECLAC and ILO released the newest edition of their joint publication Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean (No 17, October 2017), which sums up labour dynamics in the region during the first half of this year and analyses the characteristics of the transition made by young people (one of the groups most affected by the labour deterioration) from the educational system into the labour market.

According to both United Nations organisations, during the first half of 2017 two trends were observed: while the deterioration of some labour indicators such as the employment and unemployment rates persisted, a slower pace of deterioration was noted, which could point to “a light at the end of the tunnel.”

The figures released in the report show a 0.3 percentage point decline in the rate of urban employment – the proportion of the working-age population that is employed, and a 0.9 point increase in the rate of urban unemployment between the first half of 2016 and the same period of 2017.

The report adds that, as in previous years, the regional trend is particularly influenced by the weak performance of Brazil’s labour market, although after several years of contraction, a very slight economic growth upturn is forecast for that country in 2017 and its employment indicators are starting to stabilise. In other countries of the region, labour market performance has generally been more favourable, especially in Central America, the study indicates.

ECLAC and the ILO sustain that weakness in the region’s labour markets is also reflected in the quality of employment. In six of the eight countries with available information, the creation of self-employment was more dynamic than the creation of salaried jobs during the first half of 2017. Stagnation in the cre-

ation of formal employment is also observed in several countries of South America (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay), while in Central America and Mexico, this variable showed greater dynamism. Finally, the real wages of formal jobs rose in six countries (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Uruguay), while declining in two others (Mexico and Peru).

With regard to young people, the document explains that this group generally faces structural problems to insertion in productive employment and decent work.

The study analyses the profile of young people who study and work according to their age group, finding some important differences. For example, among adolescents 15 to 19 years old, a great proportion of students work to contribute to the economy of their household. In contrast, in the subgroups of between 20 and 24 years and between 25 and 29, among those who

combine work and studies, young people who are fully inserted in the labour market and carry out post-secondary studies as a key tool for upward labour mobility predominate.

The document also addresses the progress made and the policies implemented in the region to foster a better transition between education and work and increase the employability of young people. These focus both on aspects related to supply (training, career and employment guidance, transportation subsidies, care allowances, etc) as well as demand (wage subsidies, incentives for enterprise creation), along with improved systems for employment intermediation systems.

While the report had no specific information relating to Guyana’s labour situation, last year the Bureau of Statistics released the findings of the 2012 Census, which placed the country’s unemployment rate at 12.5 per cent. It added that when further disaggregated by

gender, the unemployment rate for males was recorded as 10.6 per cent and females at 16.7 per cent.

Prior to the Census, the most recent unemployment rate was 10.7 per cent from the 2006 Household Budget Survey (HBS), an intercensal survey.

Moreover, it was noted that Guyana has not executed a labour force survey in recent times. In all instances of executing a nation-wide survey, Cabinet’s approval has to be first given and requisite funding approved and disbursed.

As a consequence and as a second-best approach, labour force data has been sourced from intercensal Household Budget Surveys or Censuses since the Census of 1991.

Every Census and National Survey has therefore carried an economic activity module which has allowed on-going estimates and generation of key indicators on the labour force at intermittent periods over the past 25 years.

12

SUNDAY, October 22, 2017

guyanatimesGY.com

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14 news

SunDAY, october 22, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Man fined for threatening to kill mother of his alleged child

A

man who threatened to kill a woman after finding out that the child he thought he fathered with her turned out not to be his, was on Friday brought before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Augustus Liken admitted to Magistrate Leron Daly that he used threatening language towards Kewana Barker on October 12, 2017 in Georgetown.

According to the man, the Virtual Complainant

(VC) bore a child who he thought he fathered.

However, only recently was the truth revealed to him which caused him to become enraged.

As such, he and the VC were involved in a bitter ar-

gument and he threatened to kill her. The matter was reported to the Police and the accused was charged.

Magistrate Daly fined him $10,000 or a default of two weeks imprisonment.

Bar Association demands... from page 7

Noting that the AFC claimed each list fell short of the constitutional requirements for the post, the Bar Council expressed regrets that the AFC did not provide legal submissions that defined the precise legal reason each of the list fell short.

“Unlike the Bar Council, the AFC did not seek to provide assistance to the Chief Justice by providing legal submissions in that regard so that the precise legal reason each of the lists fell short of what was required by the Constitution could be publicly known,” the association added.

The lists

The first list, submitted in December of last year, had contained the following nominees – Governance and Conflict Resolution Specialist Lawrence Lachmansingh; Attorney and outspoken anti-corruption advocate, Christopher Ram; retired Major General Norman McLean; Business Executive Ramesh Dookhoo; businesswoman Rhyaan Shah; and History Professor James Rose.

The second list, submitted in May 2017, read as follows: retired Justice of Appeal BS Roy; retired Justice William Ramlall; former Magistrate Oneidge Walrond-Allicock; Attorneys Kashir Khan and Nadia Sagar and Captain Gerald Gouveia.

The third list of nominees contained former GECOM Chairman and Major General (rtd) Joseph Singh, Attorneys Teni Housty and SanjeevDatadin, vocal conservationist Annette ArjuneMartins, Onesi La Fleur and Krishnadatt Persaud.

Businessman and engineer Marcel Gaskin had moved to the High Court in March of this year, to challenge the constitutionality of President Granger’s reasoning behind his rejection of the list of nominees. In July, Chief Justice Roxanne George, SC, overruled the President’s interpretation of the Constitution regarding the appointment of a Chairman for GECOM, finding that there is no particular preference for the appointment of persons within the Judiciary.

In her determination, Justice George found that there was no valid argument to support the idea that the Chairman should be a Judge, former Judge or person eligible to be a Judge, and noted that persons from each category are equally eligible for the post.

She had also found that Granger is required to give reasons for his rejections and that his failure to do so could be subject to judicial review.

To date, Granger has not provided details on why the 18 nominees were unfit for the GECOM Chairmanship.

Younge’s Take Granger’s game plan

P

resident David Granger’s decision to unilaterally appoint an 84-year-old retired Judge as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has not only thrown this country deeper into a political crisis, but has laid the foundation for higher levels of mistrust, distrust, and divisiveness in our society.

By refusing to select any of the nominees put forward

by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, and abandoning the negotiation process altogether, the President has clearly demonstrated his lack of confidence in the entire mechanism, as outlined in the Constitution, to find a solid and mutually acceptable candidate for the top post. His actions have also laid bare his political psyche and philosophy while demonstrating how much respect he really has Michael Younge for negotiating in good faith.

The truth is that President Granger never intended to accept any nominee put forward by Mr Jagdeo, regardless of whether they were super qualified as adumbrated by the Constitution, or ‘fit and proper’. He had always intended to select a candidate who would no doubt do his bidding at the level of the Commission.

No one wanted to say it, but I am saying it now. It is my firm belief that President Granger and the APNU/AFC (A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change) coalition intend to influence the inner workings of GECOM in order to manipulate the outcome of future elections. There can be no other explanation for the haste in making the unilateral appointment in the dark of night.

He knew exactly whom he wanted to be the next GECOM Chair, but was only stalling for the right time and right excuse to unilaterally impose his choice on the populace.

President Granger knows fully well that the PPP would cry foul if he made a unilateral appointment. He knows, too, that such a move would see the resurfacing of fears about rigged elections and electoral fraud, which would legitimise the propaganda being spread by the PPP. Mr Granger knows that making the appointment independently would also see his nominee being subjected to all sorts of criticisms from the public, as it would be alleged that he is being handpicked for the post because he is loyal to the President and politically close to the coalition. So why did the President do it anyway, even though the move does not make political sense? He did it because time was of the essence, and he is unsure about the future of his coalition and its ability to win any upcoming elections freely and fairly. He did it because he is cognisant of the fact that his coalition’s appeal and reputation are haemorrhaging away with every new scandal and misstep made in office. He acted out of desperation and a desire to hold on to power. The President played the last trick in the PNC book after panicking. It was a tactical move in order to preserve the interests of the PNC and its allies.

President Granger’s game plan is now in motion. Guyanese should prepare for his minions and public relations gurus to somehow blame the PPP and Jagdeo for his actions. He will refuse to quash the appointment, and members of his cabinet would arrogantly stand by him. There will be attempts to downplay this situation, and there will be calls for normalcy as well as a return to the status quo. This must not be allowed to happen.

Guyanese must strongly condemn the President’s action because it undermines the political trust and freedoms that many have fought and died for over the last five decades. Every thinking citizen must demand a reversal of Justice Patterson’s appointment, and a return to the negotiation and consultative processes which involve Mr Jagdeo.

The PPP must maintain its declaration of non-cooperation with the Government. If necessary, the party must refuse to attend any engagement with the President. Its members must lobby wide and far, while educating all Guyanese on the politics behind what Mr Granger did and its context, given the party’s history of being skillfully cheated out of power.

There must be no participation by the PPP on any committee set up to look at constitutional reform. Mr Jagdeo must take the matter to Court, if he can. A campaign to expose all the malpractices that are taking place at GECOM must be launched. Strange things have been happening at GECOM since Mr Lowenfield’s tenure began.

Also, citizens must bring pressure to bear on the President, in order to secure the integrity of future ballot boxes.

That an erudite lawyer like Mr Patterson would allow himself to be chosen for this job in those circumstances is telling, to say the least. He should have declined the offer, but now it’s too late. If, however, he suffers a change of heart, he is free to resign. He must understand that GECOM needs strong leadership, and someone who commands the trust and admiration of both the President and Opposition Leader is necessary. He cannot serve without having Mr Jagdeo’s confidence.

The PNC has never accepted publicly that it rigged elections in the 70s and 80s. Its leader, Mr Granger, does not like talking about that particular topic, because it causes him discomfort; but many Guyanese know it happened, because their votes were stolen.

2017 must be the year to strengthen our country’s democratic resolve by safeguarding the integrity of our elections machinery from fraud and manipulation. As a nation, we must resist every attempt made by politicians to manipulate the outcome of our polls via the unilateral appointment of personnel who could make major decisions that can decide who governs this nation in the long term.

news

15

sunDAY, october 22, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Declaration of Lethem as a town

Status marks transformative moment in Lethem’s economic development – President

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resident David Granger said the elevation of a community like Lethem to township status is a transformative and defining moment in the country’s history, which will serve as a catalyst for economic development for the region.

The Head of State was speaking at the ceremony to mark the official naming of Lethem as a Town in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) on Friday. He also called for cooperation at all levels of Government and administration, regardless of political affiliation for the good of the region.

President Granger urged residents of Lethem and the region to work together and to take steps to share in the growing economic bonanza when he officially declared Lethem a town at the ceremony.

“Calling Lethem a capital town is not cosmetic or superficial; this is an important part of our development. People may not realise it now but this will be a transformative moment in Guyana’s history. We want to see this capital town become a source of public service,” he said.

Speaking of the need for cooperation, President Granger explained that the administration of Region Nine takes place at four levels; internationally, particularly in terms of bilateral relations with Brazil and other neighbouring countries; at the level of the Regional administration, at the municipal level and at the level of Central Government.

“All four levels, all four strata have to work together. Who wins if this region is divided? Who will gain and who will feel pain? If we work together, all of us will thrive… We have plans and those plans are aimed at developing quality services to all of your people. Lethem must become an attractive destination for business; for tourism,” the Head of State said.

Speaking to the ‘green’ development agenda, President Granger reminded residents of the region of the unmatched natural beauty of the Rupununi and the tremendous potential it has for a thriving eco-tourism industry that could catapult the region’s economy.

“All of this is possible if we adopt a policy of cooperation, regardless of our political affiliation, instead of confrontation… There is nothing that this Administration will do to prevent you from taking any reasonable step to improve the economic conditions of this region. We are not going to obstruct you, we will assist you,” President Granger said.

Since taking Office, the President has created four new towns including Mabaruma, in Region One

Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan; Social Cohesion Minister, Dr George Norton; Minister of State Joseph Harmon; President David Granger; Mayor of Lethem Carlton Beckles; and Chairman of Region Nine Brian Allicock in Lethem for the declaration of township status

(Barima-Waini); Bartica, in Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni); Mahdia, in Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) and of course, Lethem, as part of his push towards the creation of economic centres in each region. However, Mahdia has not yet been officially declared a town. President Granger explained that citizens must move away from the “compound” mentality, which the country inherited from colonial era, and become thriving communities.

To accomplish this, he said each region must be administered by a capital town, which serves as the economic centre and make public services accessible to citizens.

Meanwhile, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan said Government is resolute in its commitment to guaranteeing citizens a good life. “You must have access to Government services just as those residing in Georgetown… Much remains to be accomplished.

This requires continued commitment to realising better governance, management and administration,” he said.

Regional Chairman of Region Nine, Brian Allicock, in his remarks, said he is proud of the strides the region has made over the years. He informed that they are in the process of putting together a plan of action in which various aspects of development will be incorporated, particularly in the areas of housing and infrastructure. He also used the opportunity to call for greater support for the security forces stationed in the region.

Additionally, Mayor of the new town, Carlton Beckles, said Lethem will drive the development of the entire region by attracting the much-needed investment, especially since they already have a rapidly developing industrial zone.

He also informed that residents will soon see a housing boom in the region with over 500 acres of land having been identified for housing development. “There is

a direct correlation between your personal development and that of your community.

Therefore, to continue your journey of personal development, you must have com-

munity development,” he said.

After the official ceremony, President Granger unveiled a plaque, which is erected in a central area in

the community called the Declaration Park to officially declare Lethem a town. He also received the symbolic key to the town from Mayor Beckles.

First Lady Sandra Granger; Minister of State Joseph Harmon; Social Cohesion Minister, Dr George Norton; Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes; Business Minister Dominic Gaskin; Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock; Minister within the Natural Resources Ministry Simona Broomes; Minister within the Communities Ministry Valerie PattersonYearwood; and Minister within the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry Valerie Garrido-Lowe were also present at the event.

Guyana’s Ambassador to Brazil, George Talbot and several other dignitaries

from the State of Roraima in neighbouring Brazil, as well as hundreds of residents and school children also turned out to witness the historic event.

Meanwhile, one of the major co-sponsors of Lethem Town Week activities was the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), which was the first commercial bank to establish presence in Lethem back in 2006.

Since then, GBTI has played a major role in the development of Lethem, providing loans for not only the region’s housing development and but to several businesses within its industrial site.

The bank recognises its social corporate responsibility by sponsoring community events, such as football tournaments, the Rupununi Expo and other youth development initiatives.

16 news

SunDAY, october 22, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

GECOM chair and darkness

P

resident Granger just dropped the other foot on the “Affaire GECOM Chair”. To be fair, that foot had been up in the air since early January, when he rejected Opposition Leader Jagdeo’s first list. At that time, he said the applicable Art 161 (2) mentioned the word “judge” four times, and therefore it had to mean only a “judge” was “fit and proper”.

That qualification for being a “judge” to fill the position was the criterion during the routinely rigged elections of 1968. The clause “or any other fit and proper person” was added in 1992 to create a wider pool, but drew a blank from the President.

Even the empirical facts that only one of the GECOM Chairs since 1992 could have been a Judge -- and that he himself had been proposed as a candidate without his objection -- did not deter the President from his insistence for a judge.

Ravi Dev Two months later, in March, the President apparently relented when he expanded on “qualities that the candidate to be Chairman of the GECOM should possess.”

Among the requirements were, inter alia, that the individual must not be an activist of any form (gender, racial, religious, etc); that the person must have no political affiliation; and that the person should have the general characteristics of honesty, integrity, faithfulness, and diligence.

The Opposition Leader duly submitted a second list in May, in which he included a retired Justice and three lawyers who were “qualified to be a judge”. A month later, this second list was also rejected by the President, even though some were “Judge-qualified material” and not “activists” or “politically affiliated”. Presumably, they lacked the “general characteristics of honesty, integrity, faithfulness, and diligence.”

But the President soon explained he had actually applied another test: “Every member of the list suggested must conform to the criteria, and you cannot put on the list a person who does not conform.” In other words, one bad apple would spoil the entire list. But the President magnanimously expanded: “I’m prepared to work with the Leader of the Opposition for as long as it takes to have somebody selected who fits the criteria, satisfies the Constitution, and is one that the people of Guyana could be happy with.”

In the meantime, a concerned businessman took the matter to the High Court for a definitive judicial pronouncement on the criteria to be applied by the President and the Opposition Leader, to conform with Art 161 (2), which was delivered orally in July.

Issuing a declaratory order, the Chief Justice (ag) said the Opposition Leader’s nominees did not have to be Judges or be qualified to be Judges; and the President “ought to” (not “shall”) provide reasons for the rejection of names, since this would assist the Opposition Leader in selecting nominees.

President Granger replied, however, “The Chief Justice gave an appointment based on her perception of the law, and I will continue to act based on my perception of the Constitution…” The President was rejecting the Court’s pronouncements as binding on his actions.

The Chief Justice, however, went on to invoke the caveat to Art 161(2): to suggest that if the President rejects all the names, he can go on to select anyone he deems to be “fit and proper”. This question was not placed before her, and legal commentators deemed it “dicta”, and non-binding.

Meanwhile, in August, the Opposition Leader submitted a third list, which included a former GECOM Chair. This last list was rejected by the President on Diwali Night, October 19th, when he unilaterally appointed the 84-yeal-old former Justice James Patterson. The President had declared just the night before that each person should “light a light” to remove the darkness that can envelop so many areas of our personal and collective lives. It appears he was only giving lip service to the words he had uttered, since even the Chief Justice has advised the need for “dialogue and compromise”. He had wanted a judge from the beginning, there was never going to be “a compromise”. He actually “outed” a light, and enlarged the darkness enveloping the Guyanese people.

The Hindu leaders gathered at State House have now to feel a sense of betrayal.

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SunDAY, october 22, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Brazil Police arrest 108 in major anti-paedophilia operation

P

An analysis of the performance of 3 major commercial banks - spanning the period 2009-2016

T

oday I bring into focus three major commercial banks out of the six that operate within the industry. Ideally, however, I would have liked to analyse all six individually, but I was restricted to three because the financial information for the period under review was not readily available in the public’s domain. Nonetheless, despite this limitation, today’s presentation sought to provide some meaningful insights with respect to the performance of the banking system within the framework of a comparative analysis conducted for three major commercial banks within the last seven years.

Discussion and analysis

Measuring the size of each bank in terms of its asset base, Republic Bank accounts for 32.4 per cent of total commercial banks’ assets; GBTI accounts for 21 per cent, and Citizens Bank accounts for 10.7 per cent of total commercial banks’ assets.

Republic Bank

From the data presented above, we have observed that RBL’s total assets grew by 69 per cent, from $89.3 billion in 2009 to $151.6 billion in 2016. Reserve and retained earnings grew by 903.5 per cent, from $1.6 billion in 2009 to $16 billion in 2016. Loans & advances grew by 150.6 per cent, from $23.3 billion in 2009 to $58.4 billion in 2016. Nonperforming loans grew by 1,657 per cent, from $436 million in 2009 to $3.56 billion in 2016; and profit after tax grew by 48.46 per cent, from $1.8 billion in 2009 to $2.7 billion in 2016.

GBTI

GBTI’s total assets grew by 82.6 per cent, from $54 billion in 2009 to $98.4 billion in 2016. Reserve and retained earnings grew by 183 per cent, from $4.9 billion in 2009 to $13.7 billion in 2016. Loans & advances grew by 248 per cent, from $13 billion in 2009 to $45.5 billion in 2016. Non-performing loans grew by 726 per cent, from $1.4 billion in 2009 to $11.8 billion in 2016; and profit after tax grew by 106.15 per cent, from $1.0 billion in 2009 to $2.043 billion in 2016.

CBI

CBI’s total assets grew by 140 per cent, from $21 billion in 2009 to $50.2 billion in 2016. Reserve and retained earnings grew by 236 per cent, from $1.7 billion in 2009 to $5.6 billion in 2016. Loans & advances grew by 179 per cent, from $10.4 billion in 2009 to $29.2 billion in 2016. Non-performing loans grew by 1,150 per cent, from $613 million in 2009 to $7.7 billion in 2016; and profit after tax grew by 22.5 per cent, from $391 million in 2009 to $479 million in 2016.

Conclusion

Having examined key financial indicators of the three commercial banks, one bank – namely, Republic Bank -- stood out in regard to its management engaging in prudent financial management of the institution; and by extension, given the nature of banking, prudent lending practices as well. This notion is supported by the fact that – when you look at the data -despite GBTI’s total assets would have grown by 82.6 % and RBL’s by 69%, RBL remained much more highly capitalised and sounder than GBTI, given that RBL’s reserve grew by 903.5 per cent while GBTI’s grew by 183%. Albeit, RBL’s nonperforming portfolio remained relatively low, at $3.5 billion in 2016, when compared to its growth from 2009 by some 1,657%. This suggests that the bank took a slightly more relaxed approach to lending during the period under review.

But this outcome could also be attributed to the deteriorating performance within the macroeconomic environment.

Looking at GBTI and CBI, on the other hand, though their NPLs grew at a lower rate than RBL’s, they both account for a larger portion of the NPLs relative to the size of their total loans and advances’ portfolio. This outcome could be explained by two reasons: the first is evidenced by reckless lending or excessive risk-taking, and thereby weakening the financial soundness of both institutions from a liquidity and capital base standpoint.

Finally, correlating the banking sector’s performance to that of the macroeconomic environment, in 2009, the economy was characterised as a more robust economy, experiencing progressive growth in key economic sectors. The confidence level was much higher when compared to 2016, a period characterised, from all indicators, as an undeforming economy.

(For comments, questions and responses on articles featured in this column, readers can reach the author at jbinsights@outlook.com).

olice in Brazil say they have arrested 108 people in the biggest operation ever against paedophiles in Latin America.

Suspects were arrested in 24 states and the capital, Brasilia. Justice Minister Torquato Jardim said those detained were part of a ring that shared pornographic images of children through computers and mobile phones.

The operation comes at the end of a six-month investigation, which involved US and European immigration officials.

Investigators have found more than 150,000 files containing disturbing images.

They were accessed through the dark web, a part of the Internet not reached by most search engines.

Among those arrested were retired Policemen, civil servants and people in charge of football youth clubs.

Minister Jardim said the paedophiles use sophisticated techniques to evade Police investigations.

"They store their illegal, criminal photos in a computer of someone in another part of the country or even abroad," he said. "And often the people storing the content are unaware," added Jardim.

The operation initially targeted suspects of sharing ille-

gal paedophile material.

But after seizing dozens of computers, mobile phones, CDs and hard drives, investigators found out the criminal group was also producing pornographic material to distribute on the Internet.

The files contained disturbing images of babies and young children being abused.

Some of the children and teenagers denounced their own parents or other relatives to officers taking part in the operation. It is not clear if the paedophile ring operated independently in Brazil or if it was connected with other criminal networks abroad.

(BBC)

18 news

sunday, october 22, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

Govt defends Special Purpose Unit – claims it has best interest of sugar workers at heart

O

GuySuCo is one of the largest land owners in Guyana

bservers have raised concerns regarding the work of the Special Purpose Unit (SPU) charged with divesting the assets of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo); but Government has come out in defence of the SPU’s work.

At a post-cabinet press briefing on Thursday, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, adamant that Government has the in-

terest of sugar workers at heart, said the head of the SPU has been appointed, and has started work in regard to the unit’s mandate.

“There are certain things which have to be done, like valuation of property and so on… He (head of unit) is also receiving expressions of interest from various companies… The key element in all these proposals -- and what we have always asked for -- is consideration of the workers and their families.

That is critical, and we put the lives and livelihoods of the Guyanese workers above any other interest.”

It has recently been announced that Colvin KeithLondon would head this Special Purpose Unit (SPU).

The Unit has been tasked with the divestment of GuySuCo’s assets, inclusive of its lands; and it is understood that Keith-London would be based at the Kingston Headquarters of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

The Unit was first announced by the Agriculture Minister when he presented to the National Assembly a policy paper on the future of the sugar industry. The announcement had come at a time when Government was actively engaged in downsizing GuySuCo, with workers being made redundant if they fail to comply with the merge to other estates.

It is understood that, on November 11, 2017, some 250 sugar workers attached to the East Demerara Sugar Estate (Enmore) will be officially made redundant.

GuySuCo only recently announced plans to retrench 2,500 more workers by the end of this year.

These will add to those hundreds from the Wales estate who were made redundant last year. According to reports, this will be the single largest planned layoff in decades.

Vehicle for corruption

At a recent news conference, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo made it clear that established procedures for the divestment of State assets are being ignored. More worrying, according to him, is the absence of valuations of the assets put on the chopping block by the Special Purpose Unit.

He explained that the structure included a unit

staffed by technical personnel who reported to the Privatisation Board, comprised of representatives of the labour movement, the Private Sector and consumers – who then made recommendations to the Cabinet on privatisation undertakings.

“Deals will be made there with no valuation of the assets, and one day we wake up and all of it is gone…

This means (the assets) will go from the Special Purpose Unit to a few ministers, and then to a buyer, without valuation... How can you sell an asset without doing a valuation? This Special Purpose Unit is a vehicle for corruption,” Jagdeo said.

Conducted under the ‘Sugar Industry Privatisation and Diversification,’ the outfit has been soliciting proposals from companies or persons, either individually or as part of a joint venture or consortium, “with an interest in the privatisation and/or diversification of Skeldon, Rose Hall, Wales and East Demerara (Enmore) factories.”

The Special Purpose Unit’s request for letters of interest is identified as the first step in the process of finding and shortlisting buyers or investors.

The entity has noted, too, that in order to increase transparency, it is partnering with a suitably qualified international financial services firm ‘to provide technical and financial advisory support in the process leading to a successful privatisation and diversification of the sugar industry.’

Jagdeo, however, observed that the special purpose company was moving ahead with sale of the assets, and drew reference to the special purpose company that was established to construct the $1.4 billion Durban Park project – a project for which the Auditor General is now unable to find its records.

He recalled that when the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) took office, there was a conscious decision taken to revamp the privatisation process at the time.

The former President noted that in the privatisation white paper that was prepared and taken to the National Assembly, “we created a structure for privatisation of State assets.”

sunDAY, october 22, 2017

19

Digicel Cancer Awareness Cycle Meet 2017…

Red hot defending champion confident of repeating J

amaul John is confident of defending his Digicel Cancer Awareness Cycle Meet title today when the cycles are sent on their way on the outer circuit of the National Park in the annual event organized by the Evolution Cycle club and sponsored by Digicel in observance of Cancer Awareness Month.

Guyana Times Sport spoke to John on Saturday in an exclusive interview and the defending champion acknowledged that he will be facing competition from a field of top quality riders but pointed out he gained more confidence after prevailing in last weekend’s 80-mile road race.

In terms of fitness, John pointed out; “I’m not up to scratch at the moment, my fitness could be better, I’m about 80% fit but I’ll be going out

Flashback! Jamaul John won last year’s feature race ahead of Raul Leal

there to give it my all.”

Among John’s closest challengers the likes of Geron Williams, Raynauth “Obeah Man” Jeffrey and Raul Leal will be ones to look out for but John is prepared for the competition as he has a plan that he aims to execute for the successful defense of his title.

The tenacious youngster

will be aiming to make his break away in the early stages of the race as he noted that this will make it easier to be with the peloton thus the fi-

nal sprint won’t be out of his reach.

Last year John held off Team Evolution’s Raul Leal in the final sprint to the finish line winning the feature 35lap race in a time of two hours 54 minutes and 11.72s.

This will be the sixth edition of the meet while the Evolution Cycling Club will be organizing the event for the third consecutive year.

The route will be the outer ring of the National Park and will see cyclists heading north on JB Singh road then west on to Carifesta Avenue before turning south on to Camp Street and east on to Thomas

Lands to complete a lap. The start/finish line is on JB Singh road halfway between Thomas Lands and Carifesta Avenue.

Registration begins at 07:00h while the first race at 07:30h will be contested among staff members of the telecommunications giant, Digicel covering a distance of one lap.

Immediately following will be a 5-lap race for mountain bikes and novice categories. The feature event will comprise of the following four categories: Seniors, Juniors, Veterans Under-45 and Veterans Over-45.

The Veterans’ race will

finish after 20 laps and those who are confident that they can compete in the senior category will be allowed to continue after crossing the line.

Those veterans desirous of continuing are asked to notify the race marshal before the start. The Senior and Junior categories will race over a distance of 35 laps.

The entrance fee for the feature race is $2,000 except for the mountain bikers and novices who will pay $1,000.

All proceeds from the entrance fees and donations will go towards the Cancer Institute of Guyana.

(Michelangelo Jacobus)

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guyanatimesGY.com

sunDAY, october 22, 2017

Persaud gave Everest Masters crushing win T

he Guyana Foundation (UK) are in the latter stages of their Guyana tour and went down to Everest Masters in their latest cricket match on Friday.

The visitors comprising of doctors, mentors and mem-

bers of civil society who reside in England are in Guyana to pass on positive messages through the spoken word and brochures. They have engaged the locals in various sporting activities including pools, dart and cricket where they speak

to their opponents and spectators on alternate life-styles.

In their game against Everest Masters at the home of Everest at Camp road, the visitors made 189 for 8 from their 30 overs after having first strike. Navindra Singh played

Basil Persaud collecting Man of the Match award from Krish Nath

wonderfully well for 82 while Navin Persaud chipped in with 38 and Patrick Khan 22.

The home side’s bowling was led by former Guyana First Class player Rohan Sarjoo who

took 3 for 22. Also on the ball were Johnny Azeez with 2 for 31 and Rakesh Gangaram 2 for 17 for Everest Masters who then raced to 192 for 1 for the easy nine-wicket win.

Essequibo boy, Basil Persaud rolled back the years with an attractive unbeaten century hitting 13 fours and two sixes to finish on 101 not out. Persaud was well supported by former West Indies U-19 player Hemraj Garbarran with 57 not out (7x4; 2x6).

Coordinator of Guyana Foundation (UK), Krish Nath presented Basil Persaud with a medal for being Man of the Match while his side also presented their hosts with a plaque in honor of former life member of the club David Selochan.

In turn, Everest presented UK team with a plaque also in recognition of their visit to Everest Cricket Club.

sports

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21

Defending Guyana Open Champions Joann Deo (left) and Avinash Persaud will be defending their titles this year

T

he Lusignan Golf Club’s (LGC) annual exciting Guyana Open Invitational Golf Championship is set for November 4 and 5 with a large field of overseas participants expected.

In addition to the best of the best golfers from the USA, Canada, and Suriname over the years the 2017 edition will attract participation from Colombia, Argentina, Fiji and Trinidad and Tobago. What’s more, this year’s two-day classic will include special participation of three schools in an inaugural Guyana Open Putting Contest that will see Queens College, The Bishops’ High and St. Roses High competing for the title.

The LGC is encouraging everyone from newcomers to seasoned golfers to come out and support the event. The club in a media release stated “We are thrilled to see that participation of overseas golfers is at an all-time high and we remain committed to the creation of new and exciting programs focused on allowing new golfers to participate in such an exciting event. We are also proud to have our golfers wear a pink ribbon on the final day in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and we will make a donation to the Guyana Cancer Institute.”

Registration closes on October 30th and golfers are encouraged to register early as there is a limit to the number of participants.

Dozens of prizes, trophies, and the fame of becoming the Champion Golfer of the

Guyana Open Invitational Golf Championship 2017 are all at stake. The Guyana Open 2017 will feature 7-time Guyana Open Champion Avinash Persaud and 2-time Guyana Open Women’s Champion Joaan Deo, defending their respective titles against stiff competition.

With a host of sponsors rallying to support the event, it promises to be one of the most spectacular tournaments ever held at the lovely Lusignan Golf Course. Another first for a Guyana Open is that the Guyana Motor Racing Club will this year partner with the Lusignan Golf Club to display several race cars for fans to inspect and take close-up photographs.

Tee-off on each of the 2 days is 06:00h and all are invited to be part of this historic activity in the life of Guyana’s only golf club.

Admission is free, and early bird fans will receive a free raffle ticket to win one of several gate prizes compliments of the sponsors. To be eligible, fans must be in before 14:00h each day.

The LGC are expressing gratitude to the following; Abdools & Abdools, American Home & Beauty Supplies, Ansa Mcal Trading, AR Printery, Aracari Resort, Assuria General Insurance, Banks DIH, Beepats, Brewsters, Cevons Waste Management, Continental Group of Companies, Crown Mining, Escape Therapy, Fab Cakes & Cupcakes, Grand Coastal Hotel, Massy Group

Oasis Café, Pritipaul Singh Investments, Regal Stationery and Computer Centre, Southland International, and the

Chilean Embassy.

You are also encouraged to visit The Guyana Open 2017 facebook page for more details.

22

guyanatimesgy.com

sunDAY, october 22, 2017

Pan American Indoor Championships 2017…

Argentina, USA take gold T

he USA Women’s team kept up their impressive form to

secure gold and a spot at the 2018 World Cup with a 2-1 victory over a resilient

Argentine side while the Trinidad and Tobago Men stunned Argentina to take

gold.

While parts of the twin island republic of Trinidad

Trinidad and Tobago Men controlled the game from the opening whistle

and Tobago are seriously affected by flood their male hockey team brought joy to their faces with a dominant performance in the final of their men’s gold medal fixture against Argentina to win 7-0. The Trinidadians who had been impressive throughout the tournament continued their outstanding form as they completely stifled the Argentines while hitting them constantly on the counter attack.

Mickell Pierre and Akim Toussaint were the stand up guys for the Trinidadians with a brace each. Pierre opened the scoring in the third minute and added another in the 20th while Toussaint’s goals came in the 11th and 34th minutes respectively. The other goals came courtesy of captain Solomon Eccles in the 23rd, Marcus James in the 28th and Aidan de Gannes in the 36th minute.

Earlier in the women’s final, the USA held their nerve to win against the stubborn Argentines as Ali Campbell buried a direct penalty in the 35th minute to win it for the north American side. In the first

Having secured the lone spot for the 2018 world cup, Popper maintained that that her team will keep working hard as a unit now that they have first hand experience of the type of competition that the game brings.

Host nation Guyana ended the tournament with losses for the men and women’s teams respectively. The men came up against former champions Canada and were impressive in the first half, however as has been the case throughout the tournament their concentration fell away in the latter stages and Canada capitalised on this to win 5-2.

Robert France opened the scoring in the first minute of the game to get the sizable crowd on its feet but Canada’s Jonathan Roberts soon equalised seven minutes later.

Devohn Nohrona Texeira then edged Canada ahead in the 18th minute before Andrew Stewart brought Guyana level in the very next minute. That was the last sight of goal for the Guyanese as Gurtej Dhaliwal in the 29th and Roberts with two in the 34th

USA had a perfect final and deserve their glory

half the Argentines kept the Americans at bay whilst initiating attacks of their own which simply were not good enough. However, in the second half Katie Gerzabek netted in the 31st minute before Emma Yanzi equalised just three minutes later.

Speaking to Guyana Times Sports after her side’s victory an emotional Sammy Popper said, “It’s amazing, we have been working for this for so long and to see it actually happen is incredible and I’m so proud of everyone on the team”. Popper who was USA’s standout player through out the tournament noted that it was her teammates and all the supporters back home who kept her inspired.

and 40th minutes sealed the bronze medal for the Canadians.

Meanwhile, in the women’s bronze medal fixture Uruguay defeated Canada 3-2 with Camila de Maria netting a brace while Maria Viana Ache scored one goal.

The goal scorers for Canada were Kathleen Leahy and Alison Lee. The Guyanese ladies in their first outing of the Pan American Championships had to settle for sixth place as they were beaten 3-1 by Trinidad and Tobago.

The tournament MVP for the males went to Guyanese born Jonathan Roberts of Canada while the female accolade went to Ali Campbell of the USA.

guyanatimesgy.com

sunDAY, october 22, 2017

…after familiar Windies collapse

Zimbabwe captain, Graeme Cremer led from in front with four wickets at Queens Sports Cub

O

nly Shai Hope stood firm for West Indies on the first day at Queens Sports Club as Zimbabwe's bowlers consistently chipped away to bowl West Indies out for 219 and ensure the hosts had the upper hand at the close. For much of the day, West Indies and Zimbabwe both threw punches in an engaging back-and-forth contest, but the Zimbabwe spinners came to the fore after tea with seven wickets in the session. West Indies collapsed from 174 for 3 to 219 all out, and Hope was left stranded on 90 not out.

It was Sikandar Raza's offspin that prompted the start of West Indies' collapse in the afternoon sunshine. He had Roston Chase caught via the inside edge by Craig Ervine at short leg - the second of four smart catches Ervine would take in the position - to break a 64-run partnership after tea.

That was West Indies' last combination of any substance.

Graeme Cremer quickly had Jermaine Blackwood stumped, and Sean Williams then made the most of helpful conditions to nip Shane Dowrich, Jason Holder and Devendra Bishoo out in quick succession: a spell of 3 for 2 in four overs for him. The ball had gripped and turned almost from the very first over of spin this morning, and continued to do so as Cremer made short work of the West Indies tail to finish with 4 for

64.

Yet, despite the turn on offer this isn't (yet) a bunsen burner of a track - as Shai Hope showed. Playing straight and generally in front of the wicket, he profited particularly from the cover drive.

He saw the shine off the new ball and once he got in, he stayed there. His only shot in anger came immediately after the final drinks break of the day, when he thumped Raza over wide long-on for the first six of the innings, and just the second of his entire Test career so far.

Hope received solid support from Powell, who had gone 29 consecutive innings

without a fifty before this one.

Powell was made to graft today by some determined bowling from the hosts, eventually reaching his fifty from 118 deliveries.

It took an inspired piece of fielding from Ervine at short leg - and a judicious use of a review - to finally dismiss Powell. Ervine spotted Powell shuffling well outside off to sweep and pre-emptively started moving to his left at short leg, taking a tumbling catch to his left. It was his first of four catches - only the second time a Zimbabwe fielder has taken four catches in a Test.

After overnight rain and

SCOREBOARD West Indies 1st Innings KC Brathwaite c †Chakabva b Jarvis 3 KOA Powell c Ervine b Cremer 56 KA Hope c †Chakabva b Mire 16 SD Hope not out 90 RL Chase c Ervine b Sikandar Raza 31 J Blackwood st †Chakabva b Cremer 1 SO Dowrich† c Masakadza b Williams 11 JO Holder* lbw b Williams 8 D Bishoo c Ervine b Williams 0 KAJ Roach lbw b Cremer 0 ST Gabriel c Ervine b Cremer 0 Extras (b-3) 3 Total (All out, 82.5 Overs) 219 Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-35, 3-110, 4-174, 5-179, 6-202,

7-212, 8-218, 9-219, 10-219 Bowling Jarvis 14-2-40-1, Mpofu 14-4-28-0, Mire 7-0-22-1, Cremer 23.5-3-64-4, Raza 11-142-1, Williams 13-4-20-3 Zimbabwe 1st Innings H Masakadza not out 0 SF Mire not out 17 Extras (lb-2) 2 Total (For no wicket, 5 Overs) 19 Yet to bat: BRM Taylor, CR Ervine, SC Williams, Sikandar Raza, MN Waller, RW Chakabva †, AG Cremer*, CB Mpofu, KM Jarvis Bowling Gabriel 2-1-2-0, Holder 1-0-9-0, Bishoo 1-1-0-0, Chase 1-0-6-0 Position: Zimbabwe trailing by 200 runs with 10 wickets in hand

overcast conditions for much of the day, the sun burned through the clouds in the afternoon, seemingly raising Zimbabwe's spirits in the process. Hope eased past fifty, from 121 deliveries. His teammates, however, had no an-

swer to Zimbabwe's gaggle of spinners.

After West Indies' capitulation, the hosts had a tricky five-over period to negotiate before the close. Hamilton Masakadza was content to block out almost everything

23

that came his way but Mire showed no such restraint. He opened his Test account with a glide through gully, and then put an emphatic stamp on proceedings with a towering six off Chase's offspin in the final over of the day. (ESPN

Cricinfo)

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2017

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Pg 22

The USA women played unbeaten to take gold and their berth at the 2018 World Cup

Argentina, USA take gold

Trinidad and Tobago are the champions of the Pan American Indoor Hockey 2017 and have qualified for the 2018 World Cup

GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, News Hotliine: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 225-7761 Sport: sport@guyanatimesgy.com Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 SALES AND MARKETING - lezas@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC.

October 22, 2017

Star Times Bollywood:

Media obsessed with link-up rumours, says Jacqueline Fernandez Page 14

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Kamarang Great Falls

Page 8

2 Sunday Times Magazine

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OCTOBER 22, 2017

Feature

Early Years of Transportation in Essequibo

By Isahak Basir, CCH

T

he Dutch occupancy of Essequibo began in the early seventeen century even though this territory had changed

its name at certain periods, from Maracro Coast to Arabian Coast in the early 19th century.

The Dutch established Fort Island in the Essequibo River as their command cen-

tre, and communicated to those in Essequibo by boats.

Several human manipulators and oars propelled these huge wooden boats.

The ordeal from Airy Hall to Fort Island by such

a boat can take about three hours. A huge silk cotton tree – a Dutch landmark – identifies Airy Hall, parallel to Plantation Adventure.

This point of embarkation was prominent up to 1872.

Adventure stelling

The revolutionary Damon of 1834 was marching towards this point with his protestors when they were slaughtered at Plantation La Belle Alliance.

The upheaval by disrupted sugar workers in 1872 at Plantation Devonshire Castle was also involved in a march to Airy Hall, but was stopped at Queenstown and persuaded to return, where six sugar workers were killed; the first time indentured workers were killed in Guyana.

senger boat services travelled the route. The MV BASRA was replaced by The SS ORANJE, a grave design of engineering. For the two and half hour-drive to Parika, passengers had to endure the jolt of the steam engine, and the heat in second class was very much unbearable that death was inevitable.

Another vessel by the name of The MV HASSAR was used when The MV NORTH COTE or The MV LUCKANANI was ocMV Malali on the Essequibo River

Under British rule, the transport route from Essequibo to Georgetown was from Airy Hall to Boerasirie Creek where the railway ended. By 1900, the Good Hope Stelling was established, as well as the telegraph cables, which used Morse code as the means of sending telegrams, laid from this point across Wakenaam, Leguan and Parika.

The Dutch had a command centre at Capoey in the Pomeroon, but that closed in 1943. Several Dutch graves are still visible in the area, and a police station is located at that point.

From Good Hope Stelling to Parika, a ferry named The MV BASRA travelled that route. This ferry was unique since it was propelled by huge wooden paddles attached to a large steel barrel at the stem of the one-deck flat Jerry.

In the early 1900s, Adventure Stelling was established, and several pasSilk cotton tree at HOFT VON ORIE

cupied elsewhere.

The MV HASSAR capsized at Wakenaam Stelling in 1952, when the captain made a faulty mooring. The first and second-class systems in all our trains and ferries were abandoned when the PPP government built three new ferries; The MV MALALI was earmarked for Essequibo in 1961.

Another apartheid culture ended when the Demerara ferry The MV CARR, which travelled the Linden route, was overtaken by the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, built in 1968.

However, time and civilization have not eliminated some important signs of history. Both Dutch and British landmarks are still visible in Essequibo. The tall palm trees at Golden Fleece estates, Anna Regina, and the 300-year-old silk cotton tree at Hoft Von Orie foreshore, still in existence, were used as navigation aids to guide sugar punts. (Photos by Marco Basir)

guyanatimesgy.com

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine

3

Times Focus

By Ann Wood

W

hen one thinks of collecting British Guiana stamps, their mind may immediately be drawn to the British Guiana 1856 1c Magenta, which sold for US$9.4M in 2014 and is considered the “world’s most expensive stamp”. However, there is only one person who can fill in that space in his British Guiana stamp collection and that is currently Stuart Weitzman, an American shoe designer.

Even Queen Elizabeth II (QEII), a stamp collector of British Guiana stamps, is missing the 1c Magenta in the Royal Philatelic collection.

So, what about the rest of us? Should we just give up on collecting British Guiana stamps, which happens to be a very desirable country to collect? Of course not! There are many British Guiana stamps within our grasp that one can purchase for minimal prices and still satisfy the need to say, “I am a British Guiana stamp collector.”

In 1952, following the death of King George VI, new issues of British Guiana stamps were ordered all with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and these stamps have many unique types which can make a very interesting collection.

This is a good era to start a British Guiana collection because millions of these stamps were printed and are very easy to find.

While some of the larger denominations of this set sell for high prices, several of the smaller denominations can be purchased for as little as GYD$50-$100, depending on the condition of the stamp and if it is ‘mint’ or ‘used’.

Below is a complete set of this pictorial issue which contains great scenes from British Guiana and a left-facing portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. 1 cent. General Post Office, Georgetown 2 cents. Botanical Gardens 3 cents. Victoria Regia Lilies

4 cents. Amerindian Shooting Fish.

5 cents. Map of the Caribbean 6 cents. Rice Combine-harvester 8 cents. Sugar Cane Entering Factory 12 cents. Felling Greenheart 24 cents. Mining for Bauxite 36 cents. Mount Roraima 48 cents. Kaieteur Falls 72 cents. Arapaima 1 dollar. Toucan 2 dollars. Dredging Gold 5 dollars. Arm of British Guiana

Scott # 253-67

These stamps were issued in1954 and printed by two different printers - Waterloo and De La Rue, with the latter being more expensive varieties. The printers have distinguishing colours or measurements or perforations on these stamps that make them unique. All the stamps in this set are perforated 12.5 x 13 and the watermark is multiple crown & script CA, watermark upright. There is also a subset of nine of these same stamps that was printed in 1963-65, Scott 279-87 with multiple crown & block CA. Even though these stamps look alike there are several varieties and hunting for them can be rewarding since ones with errors are valued much higher in stamp catalogues. For example, let’s look at the 3 cents red brown & olive, Victoria Regia Lilies stamp with a catalogue value of GYD$50 used.

As you can see stamps can have many characteristics, such as watermarks, perforation, colour, size, printer, topic and much more that make stamp collecting even more interesting and sometimes profitable. For example, the “clubbed foot” and “weed flaw” errors price is GYD$12,000 in the 2017 catalogue.

The varieties in this set are numerous and there are even more unlisted ones. You can find this type of information in stamp catalogues at

1954 3cents red brown & olive, Victoria Regia Lilies stamp (Scott # 255)

the Guyana National Library.

I encourage you to collect British Guiana stamps. You can start your collection with this QEII era or with any British Guiana stamps.

The King George V, King George VI and even the Queen Victoria eras also have affordable

stamps.

The QEII era stamps and many other British Guiana stamps will be on display at the Guyana Philatelic Society GUYPEX 2017 Stamp Exhibition at the Georgetown National Library on November 9-10, 2017.

Clubbed foot error

Weed error

4

Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Feature

The participants of the YAN Conference and Service Day Project

Members of YAN, as well as Berbice participants, planning for group presentations during the Conference

By Ashraf Dabie

F

ocused on creating opportunities for persons with disabilities, the U.S. Embassy Georgetown, through its Youth Action Network (YAN), turned its attention to Berbice with a mission of empowering youth leaders within the county to better serve the disability community.

This initiative took the form of a two-day Conference and Service Day Project, which was hosted last weekend and made possible by a collaborative effort between YAN and the St. Francis Community Developers in Port Mourant, Corentyne.

A group of over 20 volunteers attached to YAN, the official youth arm of the U.S. Embassy Georgetown, journeyed to Berbice where approximately 30 youth leaders from various communities and organisations across the county were anxiously waiting to share their knowledge and leave a lasting impact.

The weekend kicked off with a conference which provided a platform for discussions on the rights of persons with disabilities and more so highlighted the responsibilities of citizens in serving the disability community.

Disability rights’ activist, Ganesh Singh, outlined

the provisions laid out in the Disability Act of 2010, which speaks to the fundamental rights that should be afforded to each individual living with disabilities in Guyana.

In his presentation, Singh, who is also the Public Relations Officer for the Guyana Council of Organizations for Persons with Disabilities, underscored that individuals within this community are not exactly ‘disabled’, but are severely restricted by the lack of necessary facilities which significantly limit their abilities. As such, he noted that each community holds a massive responsibility in catering for persons with dis-

abilities.

Echoing similar sentiments was Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Embassy, Amanda Claudwell, while relaying the basis of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.

It was underlined that the ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability and offers protection against injustices, similar to those brought on by race, religion and sexuality.

Moreover, this Act particularly zooms in on the imposition of mandatory accessibility requirements for public conveniences and even seeks to address reasonable accommodations which must be put in place to cater for employees with disabilities within each working environment.

These provisions being established pave the way for Guyana to follow suit in creating specific accessibilities to allow for persons with disabilities to be well integrated into community life.

The conference culminated on a high note with the participants taking a stance by offering solutions for difficulties faced by the disability community throughout the country. Six groups presented on ways in which

Busy creating a child-friendly space at the Community Rehabilitation Centre

youths and non-governmental organisations can tackle the concerns affecting those with disabilities, focusing primarily on the lacked of access to education, information, and employment opportunities as well as accessing conveniences, sports and recreational facilities along with preventing and protecting against stigma.

Effecting positive change and fostering inclusivity for persons belonging to the disability community, the young enthusiasts, comprising of both the Georgetown and Berbice delegations, assembled at the Community Rehabilitation Centre in Corentyne as they took on the Service Day Project.

At the rehabilitation centre, the only one of its kind in Berbice, the group ventured into four undertakings: the construction of a concrete walkway to allow for easy access to the institution; installation of electric upgrades; beautification of the compound; and the building of recreational facilities while creating a childfriendly space.

After taking on these initiatives, the team managed to transform what was evidently a deteriorating facility into a welcoming environment, conducive for the

rehabilitation of persons, primarily children living with disabilities. Without doubt, the upgrading of the Corentyne Centre was the ideal way to conclude the two-day experience, setting the pace for the participating youth leaders to embark on similar endeavours within their respective communities in Berbice.

Since its establishment in July 2013, the Youth Action Network continues to stage their signature Conference and Service Day Project annually. Just last year, YAN hosted a trafficking in persons’ public awareness forum in Georgetown as a part of its initiative.

However, this year marked the second time the Youth Action Network turned its attention to Berbice, with the first being in 2015, when the Conference was aimed at building the capacity of youth to take on leadership roles within their communities.

It is the hope of the U.S. Embassy and its youth arm that the seeds planted during this two-day experience will have lasting impact, so much so that the county will see specific measures being enacted to adequately cater for the disability community.

Volunteers constructing a concrete walkway at the Community Rehabilitation Centre

guyanatimesgy.com

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 5

Feature

L

ife can sometimes throw us a curve ball, but the will to overcome obstacles can be brought to the surface when we are faced with challenges. This is true of two exemplary women who have fought and beaten breast cancer.

her sister disclosed for the very first time that she too had been battling cancer in her left breast for just about two years.

Three weeks after returning to Guyana and seeking a second opinion, Rosie underwent a lumpectomy. The initial report was that it was a cyst that had developed in her breast, but after a biopsy was conducted, Rosie was called in by the medical pracRosaline Clarke titioners – she was strongly Because of her strength, urged not to come alone. Yet, her determination and her ever the brave soldier, Rosie positive outlook on life, went by herself, but she atRosaline Clarke embodtests that she was not alone ies the spirit of a true as, she said, her faith and cancer warrior and resolve in her “God and stands as a prime Rosaline Clarke Saviour” walked beside her. example that breast The news was not good: Rosie had develcancer is no match for a woman like her.

Known to most as ‘Ms Rosie’ or ‘Sister oped cancer in her breast. Two options were Rosie’, this mother of three learned some placed on the table - remove the lump or reyears ago that all of her siblings have been move the entire breast. Rosie had a huge directly affected by cancer, two of which she decision to make. She opted to remove her helplessly watched as they were consumed entire breast and avoid the rigors of chemotherapy she had learnt of from her elby the disease.

Rosie’s personal journey with breast can- dest sister’s experience with the treatment. cer began just one year ago while on va- Rosie has since started her treatment using cation in the United States visiting her the “five-year pill”.

In a press release from GTT, the tele97-year-old mother. It was on the third day after arrival that she “felt a sharp pain” in communications company said it celebrates her left side breast. At first, she thought it this warrior spirit that lives on in Rosie. The was most likely a muscle strain caused by company also commends her unrelenting the luggage she had been hauling around, desire to live in victory.

While faced with the overwhelming but after an examination, found that there was a lump in her breast. Rosie’s eldest sis- temptation to fall into worry and depression, ter, who was present at the time, encour- Rosie continues to beat the odds and has inaged her to remain calm. It was then that stead thrown herself thoroughly into serv-

ing her community through her local church, the Open Bible Church in Queenstown.

There, she serves as an usher and Sunday school teacher and assists in many of the church’s programmes to the immediate and surrounding community. There, she too receives much support through prayer and fasting with other members and the leadership of the church.

“I wasn’t afraid… I wasn’t scared,” Rosie recalled the initial days of her journey and battle against cancer. Her philosophy is: “Belief kills and belief cures”. This warrior chooses to believe in the power of God to heal her completely.

Rosie spends much of her time reading and doing research geared towards educating herself about the disease. On any given weekend, you can find Rosie with her Sunday school children at their book club.

On weekday afternoons, Rosie’s time is spent with her granddaughter on the veranda of her Albert Street home in Georgetown.

Mitzy Gaynor Campbell

er die from cancer, she knew that she would have to fight the hardest battle of her life.

She could not just allow this disease to continue robbing her family of their rich history and cultural heritage.

This 2015 recipient of the National Award, the Golden Arrowhead of Achievement, Mitzy fought cancer head on and has lived to tell her story. Twenty years later, she continues to serve as a beacon of strength and hope to all who know of her battles.

Currently, her main desire is to ensure that all women not only get themselves screened, but to be educated on reproductive health and contraceptives. With eight children and 10 grandchildren, she knows the importance of Planned Parenthood.

(Information and photos by GTT)

At the heart of every warrior is a resilient spirit that refuses to give up and this is exactly what Mitzy Gaynor Campbell does – refusing to surrender to breast cancer.

From a young age, Mitzy had always been a fighter. She knew that she was strong and she wanted everybody to know it. So, when cancer came knocking at Mitzy’s door in 1998, she knew that there was only one thing she could do, fight.

Fight was exactly what she did. After Mitzy had seen four of the women in her Mitzy Gaynor Campbell speaking at GTT launch family and even her maternal grandmoth- of its Pinktober event earlier this month

6 Sunday Times Magazine

OCTOBER 22, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

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OCTOBER 22, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 7

Feature

A

t the time of emancipation, public health services in the Caribbean were all but non-existent. Many of the larger sugar estates made some provision for the care of the sick (it was in the planters’ interest to keep their slaves fit and healthy), but medical expertise was in short supply and when the estates closed there was little to take their place.

The passing of the Public Health Act in Britain in 1848, however, made health the concern of the state, and this sea change was reflected in the Caribbean colonies, as health services were introduced in the second half of the nineteenth century.

and his determination to make the asylum a place of humane care.

Robert Grieve Grieve graduated MD from the University of Glasgow in 1861, and LRCS Edinburgh. He was born in Lilliesleaf, in the Scottish Borders, on March 4, 1839, the eldest son of James, a surgeon.

Between 1861 and 1862, Grieve served as an Assistant Surgeon in the Royal Navy, taking part in actions against Taiping Rebels near Shanghai.

In 1862, Grieve entered into private practice at Howden, Yorkshire. In 1870, Dr Grieve spent some time in Darmstadt, Germany where he provided surgical assis-

Robert Grieve as a young scholar (caribbeanpress.org)

London.

In 1875

he

was

The Asylum Journal for 1882. Berbice [British Guiana]: printed for the Asylum Press, 1882 [FCO Historical Collection]

The Asylum Journal is a remarkable testimony to the advanced and enlightened state of care provided for the mentally ill in British Guiana. Written by Dr Robert Grieve (18391906), medical superintendent of the public lunatic asylum at Berbice, it documents his dedication to the welfare of his patients

tance at the Orangeries Hospital during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). For his outstanding services, he was awarded a German War Medal for non-combatants.

Between 1870 and 1875, Grieve worked as Medical Superintendent of the Metropolitan Asylum Hospital at Hampstead,

appointed Medical Superintendent of the Public Lunatic Asylum in Berbice, British Guiana, where he stayed for nearly ten years. As a Superintendent, Grieve implemented a number of reforms and successfully introduced humanitarian treatment of the patients at the Asylum. His time

in Berbice was well documented in The Asylum Journal, which Grieve authored, published and distributed between 1881 and 1885. In 1886, he was promoted to the post of Surgeon General and transferred to the capital of Guyana, Georgetown, where he devoted another decade to the amelioration of sanitary conditions in the colony.

After contracting syphilis while operating on an infected patient, Grieve was forced to retire and left Guyana on April 19, 1894. On his retirement he was appointed CMG (Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George) for his outstanding and valuable services.

Grieve returned to his native Scotland and resided in Lasswade, Midlothian for some time. He died on November 15, 1906 in Barton on Humber, England.

Berbice asylum At the asylum, Grieve adopted a policy of non-restraint of inmates whenever possible, introduced occupational therapy, had the asylum wards decorated in bright colours and adorned with pictures and flowers and arranged a programme of activities and entertainment. There was a weekly dance and a weekly band concert.

Patients could work on the farm, in the carpentry workshop, in painting and decorating, in tailoring or shoemaking or in the asylum

bakery.

The Asylum Journal was printed by patients at the asylum’s own printing press. In the journal, as well as reporting on these activities, Grieve gives mortality, sickness and discharge rates and includes features on recent developments in medical knowledge, on public health issues in the colony and on his own findings from observation of his patients.

He observed that admissions to the asylum were notably higher for people not born in the colony, attributing this partly to the fact that native inhabitants were more likely to be looked after at home by family members and partly to the recent lone immigrant’s sense of alienation and rootlessness in an unfamiliar environment.

Crime or insanity According to The Caribbean Press’ The Asylum Journal, on the morning of February 15, 1881 at daylight a report was brought to the asylum that an attempt had been made to steal two of the boats belonging to the institution. This was true and the boats were found at the Canje Bridge where their passage had been arrested by a man that had been an attendant and who recognised them.

The account this man gave of the matter was as he was passing the Canje Bridge he saw the two boats being drifted up the stream in charge of a [man] who was naked and asked him where he was taking the boats to.

The man responded: “I am taking them up the Canje to a wood-cutting grant I have there.”

The attended told the man this could not be true as they were the asylum’s boats and ordered him to stop at once, at the same time calling out for the assistance of the Police. The man proceeded to jump from the boat into the river and, swimming ashore, disappeared in the bush.

The boats were found properly lashed together and several articles of clothing belonging to an officer of the asylum were con-

cealed. On examining the place from which the boats were taken, it was seen that the iron chain with which one of them was made fast had been broken through apparently by a blow from a brick.

This reads like an account of an ordinary theft distinguished only by its audacity.

The fact of the thief being naked has no significance in this country where most burglaries are committed by persons clothed only in nature’s vestments. That a man should attempt to carry off two boats by trusting to the current of the tide and without oars might in countries where crimes are neither so stupidly nor audaciously committed and where detection is more certain, have raised suspicion, here it was not considered so very extraordinary.

The thief knew he was stealing and also tried to avoid capture, still in the strict sense of the word he was no thief at all, as it afterwards turned out the whole thing was the act of an undoubted madman.

On February 22 a patient was admitted to the asylum from the Colonial Hospital Berbice and in his papers it was stated that he had on the morning of February 15 left the hospital naked and was brought back on February 19 by the police having found his way in the same condition to his brother’s house at Glasgow - a village about two miles from New Amsterdam.

This was the individual who stole the boats; he is now and was then maniacal [exhibiting extremely wild or violent behaviour]. He talks freely of his exploit and says he was commanded from heaven to do it.

The lessons to be learned from this case are firstly that the actions of the insane are not always purposeless and, secondly, that “mad doctors” may sometimes be right when they ascribe the performance of what seems a well-planned criminal act to insanity. (Information from www.kingscollections. org; www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk; http://caribbeanpress.org)

8 Sunday Times Magazine

OCTOBER 22, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

Travel & Tourism

Kamarang Great Falls

K

amarang Great Falls, also known as Kamarang Meru or just Great Falls, is located in a remote western corner of Guyana, which is rarely accessed by travellers thus we seldom see images of this magnificent waterfall.

This cascading beauty has one main, vertical plunge with smaller steps, at least in the upper part of the falls. Below it, the Kamarang River flows in a deep, misty gorge.

The large volume of the Kamarang River - one of the principal tributaries of

the Mazaruni River- is one of the many impressive features of this waterfall.

Kamarang Great Falls is a thunderous plunging waterfall of a bit over 500 feet in height isolated in a sheer walled gorge that has thus far proven very difficult to access.

Aerial shot of the Falls (Photo by Mark Strohm on Flickr) Cascading beauty (Photo by Otto Salonen)

Travelling on the Kamarang River (Photo from www.gofurthertravel.com)

Children bathing where the Mazaruni and Kamarang rivers meet

Breathtaking view of Kamarang Great Falls (Photo

by Mark Strohm on Flickr)

guyanatimesgy.com

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 9

Health

Are You Storing Food Safely?

W

hether putting food in the refrigerator, the freezer, or the cupboard, you have plenty of opportunities to prevent foodborne illnesses.

The goal is to keep yourself and others from being sickened by microorganisms such as Salmonella and E. coli.

Keeping foods chilled at proper temperatures is one of the best ways to prevent or slow the growth of these bacteria.

These food storage tips can help you steer clear of foodborne illnesses.

Storage Basics Refrigerate or freeze perishables right away.

Foods that require refrigeration should be put in the refrigerator as soon as you get them home. Stick to the "twohour rule" for leaving items needing refrigeration out at room temperature. Never allow meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, or produce or other foods that require refrigeration to sit at room temperature for more than two hours—one hour if the air temperature is above 90° F. This also applies to items such as leftovers, "doggie bags," and take-out foods. Also, when putting food away, don't crowd the refrigerator or freezer so tightly that air can't circulate.

Keep your appliances at the proper temperatures. Keep the refrigerator temperature at or below 40° F (4° C).

The freezer temperature should be 0° F (-18° C). Check temperatures periodically. Appliance thermometers are the best way of knowing these temperatures and are generally inexpensive.

Check storage directions on labels. Many items other than meats, vegetables, and dairy products need to be kept cold. If you've neglected to properly refrigerate something, it's usually best to throw it out.

Use ready-to-eat foods as soon as possible. Refrigerated readyto-eat foods such as luncheon meats should be used as soon as possible.

The longer they're stored in the refrigerator, the more chance Listeria, a bacterium that causes foodborne illness, can grow, especially if the refrigerator temperature is

Ensure fridge and freezer temperatures are correct before storing foods

above 40° F (4° C).

Be alert for spoiled food. Anything that looks or smells suspicious should be thrown out.

Mold is a sign of spoilage.

It can grow even under refrigeration. Mold is not a major health threat, but it can make food unappetizing. The safest practice is to discard food that is moldy.

Be aware that food can make you very sick even when it doesn't look, smell, or taste spoiled.

That's because foodborne illnesses are caused by pathogenic bacteria, which are different from the spoilage bacteria that make foods "go bad."

Many pathogenic organisms are present in raw or undercooked meat, poultry, seafood, milk, and eggs; unclean water; and on fruits and vegetables. Keeping these foods properly chilled will slow the growth of bacteria.

Following the other recommended food handling practices (clean your hands, surfaces and produce, separate raw foods from ready-to-eat foods, and cook to safe temperatures) will further reduce your risk of getting sick.

Refrigeration Tips Marinate food in the refrigerator.

Bacteria can multiply rapidly in foods left to marinate at room temperature. Also, never reuse marinating liquid as a sauce unless you bring it to a rapid boil first.

Clean the refrigerator regularly and wipe spills immediately. This helps reduce the growth of Listeria bacteria and prevents drips from thawing meat that can allow bacteria from one food to

spread to another. Clean the fridge out frequently.

Keep foods covered.

Store refrigerated foods in covered containers or sealed storage bags, and check leftovers daily for spoilage. Store eggs in their carton in the refrigerator itself rather than on the door, where the temperature is warmer.

ly frozen and cooked is safe. Food that is properly handled and stored in the freezer at 0° F (-18° C) will remain safe.

While freezing does not kill most bacteria, it does stop bacteria from growing. Though food will be safe indefinitely at 0° F, quality will decrease the longer the food is in the

Refrigerator/freezer thermometers should be monitored. Refrigerator/ freezer thermometers may be purchased in the housewares section of department, appliance, culinary, and grocery stores. Place one in your refrigerator and one in your freezer, in the front in an easy-to-read loca-

er comes back on. If the freezer thermometer reads 40°F or below, the food is safe and may be refrozen.

If a thermometer has not been kept in the freezer, check each package of food to determine its safety. You can't rely on appearance or odor. If the food still contains ice crystals or is 40 °F or below, it is safe to refreeze or cook.

Refrigerated food should be safe as long as the power was not out for more than four hours and the refrigerator door was kept shut. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs or leftovers) that has been above 40°F for two hours or more.

Tips for NonRefrigerated Items Check canned goods for damage. Can damage is shown by swelling, leakage, punctures, holes, fractures, extensive deep rusting, or crushing or denting se-

Magnified image of Listeria

Check expiration dates. A "use by" date means that the manufacturer recommends using the product by this date for the best flavor or quality. The date is not a food safety date.

At some point after the use-by date, a product may change in taste, color, texture, or nutrient content, but, the product may be wholesome and safe long after that date.

If you're not sure or if the food looks questionable, throw it out.

The exception to this is infant formula. Infant formula and some baby foods are unique in that they must be used by the use-by date that appears on the package.

Freezer Facts Food that is proper-

freezer. Tenderness, flavor, aroma, juiciness, and color can all be affected. Leftovers should be stored in tight containers. With commercially frozen foods, it's important to follow the cooking instructions on the package to assure safety.

Freezing does not reduce nutrients. There is little change in a food's protein value during freezing.

Freezer burn does not mean food is unsafe.

Freezer burn is a foodquality issue, not a food safety issue. It appears as grayish-brown leathery spots on frozen food.

It can occur when food is not securely wrapped in air-tight packaging, and causes dry spots in foods.

tion. Check the temperature regularly—at least once a week.

If You Lose Electricity If you lose electricity, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. Your refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours if it's unopened. A full freezer will keep an adequate temperature for about 48 hours if the door remains closed.

Once Power is Restored…

You'll need to determine the safety of your food. Here's how: If an appliance thermometer was kept in the freezer, check the temperature when the pow-

vere enough to prevent normal stacking or opening with a manual, wheel-type can opener. Stickiness on the outside of cans may indicate a leak. Newly purchased cans that appear to be leaking should be returned to the store for a refund or exchange.

Otherwise, throw the cans away.

Don't store food, such as potatoes and onions, under the sink. Leakage from the pipes can damage the food. Store potatoes and onions in a cool, dry place.

Keep food away from poisons.

Don't store non-perishable foods near household cleaning products and chemicals.(U.S. Food and Drug Administration)

10 Sunday Times Magazine

OCTOBER 22, 2017

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guyanatimesgy.com

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 11

Home & Cooking

Recipe of the week

Clever Ways to Decorate + Organise With Tension Rods

N

ot only are they budget-friendly, stylish and easy to install, but tension rods won’t leave a permanent mark on your walls. Although we normally associate tension rods with holding up our bathroom curtains, there are so many creative uses for these versatile bars in your home.

Ingredients: 2lb potatoes, peeled and cut into rough 1-inch chunks 2 quarts peanut, vegetable, or canola oil 2 tsp salt 1tbsp corn starch or potato starch 1/2 tsp granulated sugar Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Place potatoes in a bowl of cold water and agitate for 10 seconds. Transfer to fine mesh strainer and allow to drain for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in large wok or frying pan. Fry potatoes, stirring them with a wire spider until light golden brown and tender, about 4 minutes, adjusting flame to maintain oil temperature. Transfer to a paper towel-lined bowl and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low.

Transfer 1/4 of the potatoes to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until broken down into rough 1/4 to 1/8th inch pieces, about eight 1-second pulses. Transfer to a mixing bowl and repeat with the remaining potatoes, working in three more batches.

Add salt, starch, sugar, black pepper to taste, and any flavourings if desired. Gently mix with your hands to combine. Shape into cylinders about 3/4-inch wide and 1-inch long.

Reheat oil and add Tater Tots. Allow to fry for 1 minute, then gently agitate with a metal spider to separate them. Continue to cook, adjusting flame to maintain heat, until golden brown and crisp, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer to a paper towellined plate to drain. Season immediately with salt. Serve hot.

Free up valuable space under your sink by installing a tension rod across the inside of a cabinet to hang all your spray cleaners.

Greatest Cooking Tips To save time in the kitchen, chop up a lot of fresh garlic at once and store it in the fridge covered in oil for up to seven days (no longer). Garlic can also be stored in oil in the freezer for several months.

Pre-chop an array of vegetables and store them in plastic containers in the fridge. Not only does this make meals faster but encourages you to snack on and eat more vegetables in your meals.

Look for potatoes that have a smooth skin and no sprouts.

Stay away from those with wrinkly skin or soft spots.

Store your potatoes in a cool dark spot away from your onions, and don't store them for months on end: preferably a couple of weeks.

When making mash potatoes, cook the potatoes in milk for extra richness; cook the potatoes with several peeled garlic cloves, then mash with garlic as usual.

Keep your purses and bag collection under control with this hack. Install a tension rod in a small section of your closet and hang each bag by its handle with an S-hook. You'll be amazed how much space this will save.

What kid wouldn't love their very own indoor playhouse? Create this low-cost version in a closet or corner by installing two curtain rods — one on the back wall and one slightly lower toward the entrance — then hanging a sheet or curtain over the rods to create a removable, house-shaped hideout for the kiddos.

Home Help When your child's artistic efforts end up all over your new paint job, scrub lightly with a damp sponge sprinkled in baking soda.

Deodorize the soft, cushy places around your house — including the dog bed — by sprinkling surfaces with baking soda, letting it sit for 15 minutes, and then vacuuming it up.

Not everything you wear gets dirty after you've worn it once. Jeans can be worn several times before they need a cleaning (and same goes for your bra).

Remove towel mildew: First, take it outside, brush off the spores, and sun-dry the item for about three hours. Then, pre-soak with a bleach and water solution (check the care tag to be sure it’s safe), and machine/hand wash.

Small tension rods + designer cloth napkins = custom cafe curtains you can make in 10 minutes or less! Simply slide a handful of curtain clip rings along the length of a tension rod, hang the rod in the center of your window, then clip up the napkins.

12 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Puzzles

Crossword

ACROSS 135 Revamping

1 Rattler's defense

140 Basket willow

6 Thin coating

141 Become less intense

10 Immobile class 142 No-goodnik

15 Spy mission

143 Conical abode

20 Love in a gondola

144 Video-game pioneer

21 Dragon puppet

145 Surrenders territory

22 Bauxite giant

146 Sign up for

23 Carve a canyon

147 Turn back the clock 24 Quarried

148 Exam option 25 Dewy

149 Apply oneself 26 Greenish-blues

150 Uris or Spinks

27 Bandleader Count - 151 Organic compounds

28 Spread rapidly

30 Hard rain DOWN

32 Went on a voyage 1 Siren 33 Turnpike

2 Sheik colleague

35 Apple remnant

3 Banned thing (hyph.)

36 Write a bad check

4 Threat ender (2 wds.)

39 Fish catcher

5 News services

40 Kg. and lb.

6 Cauliflower bud

41 Linden or Holbrook

7 Old war story

42 Spanish surrealist

8 Memory jogger

46 Ames inst.

9 Parking nuisance

47 Play the ponies

10 Violin string

48 Hack's customer

11 Walrus hunters

51 "-- up, dudes!"

12 Snake plate 53 Gigantic bird of myth

13 Highway expense

54 Took effect

14 Like polyester (hyph.)

56 Baroque composer

15 Concrete reinforcer

57 Attribute responsibility

16 Destroyed data

59 Bass or alto 17 Blackjack

61 Teasingly (2 wds.)

18 Garfield's victim

62 Kemo Sabe's friend

19 Not e'en once

63 Rembrandt paintings 21 Brunch selection

64 Returned the favor

29 Gave a ticket

65 An eye for an eye

31 Fairy tale huffer

67 Fed. or state inst.

34 Use a charge card

68 Bullring shout

36 Emu relative

69 Trial balloon

37 The heat -- - 72 North Dakota state tree 38 Racetrack

73 Pack animals

41 Sings with closed lips

76 Had poison ivy

43 Soprano's rendition

80 Ecol. bureau

44 Focal points

81 Kon-Tiki Museum site 45 Chilled

99 Burnoose wearer

82 Chiang -- -shek

47 Nota - 100 Capsule

83 Corduroy rib

48 Diller's husband

101 Sanskrit dialect

85 A Knute successor

49 Did something 102 Shrivel 86 Gloriole

50 Sorority letter

103 Haggard novel

88 Picked up the tab

51 Like potato chips 105 Invent

92 Vexation

52 Graceful and slim 106 Relieved sigh

93 Not home

55 Waldheim or Cobain

107 Gives in to gravity

94 Summer in Quebec

56 Witticism (2 wds.)

109 Sad look (2 wds.)

95 Fodder grasses

57 Odds giver 111 Busybody

96 Encroached upon 58 Reside

114 Inventor -- Geiger

99 Fill with consternation

60 Fuel cartel

102 Made a tapestry

62 Notify

103 Clay-target sport

64 Made cloudy

104 Light sources 66 Clipper or cutter

108 Dogie catcher 67 No-see-ums

109 Like a tablet

69 Finger count

110 Time can do it

70 Prefix for "center"

111 Harley competitor

71 Malone of "Cheers"

112 A hundred percent 74 Approved 113 Undivided 75 Pivot

115 Medieval tale

77 Fumble for words

116 Koan discipline

78 Historical period

117 Gunpowder holder

79 Sunrise to sunset

118 Radar screen image 81 Desperado

120 Diligent insect

84 What Hamlet smelled (2 wds.)

121 Crony

87 Cop's rounds

123 Mil. rank

89 River in France

124 Keeps in stitches?

90 Icicle locale

125 k.d. -- of country music 91 Levees

127 Wyoming range

93 Mr. Sandler

129 Type of computer

97 Uncluttered

131 Long-gone gallantry (2 wds.)

98 Joie de vivre

KATHLEEN SAXE

WORD GAME TODAY'S WORD -- MIGRAINE (MIGRAINE: MY-grane: A severe recurring headache.)

Average mark 44 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 63 or more words in MIGRAINE? magi main mane mange manger mangier mare margin marine

mean mien mine miner mini mirage mire miring image

imagine gain gainer game gamer gamier gear germ gnar

grain gram grim grime grin rage rain ramen ramie

rang range rani ream reaming regain reign rein remain

rime ring ager aiming airing airmen amen amir anger

arming name namer near earing earn emir enigma engram

RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of "s," such as "bats" or "dies," are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a "d" or an "s" may not be used. For example, if "bake" is used, "baked" or "bakes" are not allowed, but "bake" and "baking" are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

115 Day- -- paint

116 Gentle breeze

119 They have jaws 121 Bother

122 Vouch for

123 Dig and hoe

124 Peevish temper

126 Falcon's home

127 Gridiron deal

128 Peace Prize name

129 Caused (2 wds.)

130 131 132 133 134 136 137 138 David- -139

Beyond the fringe It has two heels Movie terrier Watch's face Alpine goat Wind indicator -- facto Tibet explorer Alexandra Pulls down Solution on Pg 13

guyanatimesgy.com

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 13

Tech

Tech tip

T

Y

ou probably use your earbuds all day — during your commute to work, work itself, and your commute home. As many times as you pull them in and out of your bag, you probably don't think often enough about keeping them clean. Unsurprisingly, earbuds can transmit bacteria from person to person if they're shared, and in some cases can even cause ear infections. Clearly they need to be kept clean, but what's the best way?

Obviously you can't just toss your earbuds in the dishwasher to clean them. Here are a few suggestions on how to properly clean earbuds: Use a gentle cleaner, like soap and warm water. No need to go too heavy-duty here; try a mix of dishwashing detergent and water.

Use a gentle cloth with just a small amount of the soap mixture. Too much soap could leave a residue on your earbuds, and too much water, well that goes without saying.

If there's a lot of dirt or dust in the metal part of your earbuds, try brushing them with a dry toothbrush to dislodge the dust.

Some earbuds, like Apple's In-Ear Headphones, come with removable (and replaceable) silicone covers, so try removing them and cleaning those separately.

Never submerge them in water. You'll damage the wiring. Ditto for running them under the faucet, even for just a second.

Remember to only clean your earbuds when they're detached from your device!

Crossword Solution

he new iPhone X will drive Apple's smartphone sales to a new record, according to one Wall Street firm.

GBH Insights started coverage for Apple shares with a "highly attractive" rating, predicting the company will report better-than-expected iPhone unit sales next year.

"We believe the iPhone X product cycle could be the strongest iPhone product cycle to date," head of technology research Daniel Ives wrote in a note to clients Monday. "While supply chain issues will elongate the iPhone X upgrade cycle well into FY18, we believe seeing the 'forest through the trees' will translate into this super cycle upgrade being a major growth catalyst for Apple (and its investors) over the coming year."

The iPhone X will be available on Nov. 3 at a base model price of US$999.

Ives initiated a price target range of US$190 to US$200 for Apple shares, representing 24 percent upside at the midpoint to Friday's close.

"In addition to a more robust upgrade in terms of form/function on iPhone X, we believe iPhone units will benefit from a massive iPhone installed base that is ~2 years old (or older)," he wrote.

He estimates there are more than 350 million users with an iPhone that is at least 2 years old, which is a big upgrade opportunity

for Apple. He cited the firm's October survey, which revealed 93 percent of iPhone owners who plan to upgrade their phone during the next year will buy another iPhone.

"The last time we saw pent up installed base demand and consumer feedback mirroring (or close to) this was around the iPhone 6, which ultimately became a critical and unprecedented successful launch period for Apple," he wrote. "Our model assumes Apple sells more iPhones in the 12 months following the iPhone X and iPhone 8/8+ launch than the peak iPhone 6 upgrade cycle."

Ives predicts Apple will sell 265 million iPhones in fiscal 2018 versus the record 231 million iPhones in fiscal 2015.

Apple is one of the market's best-performing large-cap stocks this year. Its shares have rallied 36 percent through Friday versus the S&P 500's 14 percent gain. (CNBC)

Tech news

F

acebook is making a new push into the payments space by expanding its partnership with PayPal. Facebook Messenger users can now send and request money directly in the app via their PayPal accounts.

Facebook Messenger and PayPal initially partnered last year to enable customers to link their accounts and use PayPal to shop on Messenger. The new announcement expands the

partnership into peer-topeer payments.

At the moment, the peerto-peer payments system is only available in the U.S., where PayPal has over 2.5 million accounts that are already linked to Facebook.

Additionally, PayPal customers can now use a customer service chat bot in Messenger allowing them to reset passwords, handle account inquiries and helping with payment issues in the app.

Facebook has been working on bringing payments to its platforms for some time, and this latest push makes it a competitor to other peer-to-peer payments options such as Apple's new Pay Cash, Square Cash, Snapchat's payments and PayPal's own Venmo application.

The company had more than 218 million customer accounts worldwide as of Sept. 30, and 99 million in the U.S. as of Q2.

Tech news

G

oogle, a company that's built everything from a search engine to a self-driving car, will now try its hand at a city neighborhood.

Sidewalk Labs, an urban innovation company owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, is teaming with Toronto to begin planning a neighborhood designed as a model for urban life in the 21st century.

Sidewalk Labs will invest $50 million in an initial phase of planning and pilot testing. Alphabet has also pledged to relocate Google's headquarters in Canada to the new neighborhood, called Quayside, which is on the Toronto waterfront. Google has roughly 1,000 employees in Canada.

Sidewalk Labs plans to do everything from reduce pollution, commute times and landfill waste to improve the weather. It envisions reducing the impact of wind, increasing shade on sunny days and blocking rain due to smart building design and tree planting.

In an ambitious proposal, Sidewalk Labs promised to make the weath-

er more comfortable to enjoy the waterfront. It also believes it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 73%, potable water consumption by 65% and landfill waste generation by 90%.

Sidewalk Labs describes the neighborhood as being built not from the ground up, but from the "internet up."

There will be high-speed communication networks, as well as long-range, low-bandwidth connectivity. The latter

is critical for placing sensors in public spaces and buildings to report environmental data such as carbon monoxide, noise, vibration and temperature.

Leaders from Google and the Canadian government said that they hope the model will scale to additional land ripe for redevelopment along Toronto's waterfront, and all over the world. (CNN)

14 Sunday Times Magazine Bollywood/Hollywood

J

acqueline Fernandez, who was romantically linked to her “A Gentleman” co-star Sidharth Malhotra, is unfazed by link-up rumours and says media is obsessed with it.

When “A Gentleman: Sundar, Susheel, Risky” released in August, more than the film, people were interested in what was cooking between the two actors.

They even shot “the longest kiss in Bollywood” for the film.

Asked if Jacqueline would stop acting with Sidharth, she told IANS in a recorded response, “If that was the case, then I wouldn’t be working with a lot of costars because link-up rumour is something that the media is obsessed with. So no, that doesn’t mean that you stop working with people because of that.”

On the contrary, she believes in joining forces with them again. “It’s important to continue working with them because you know yourself that they (rumours) are not true. You can’t do according to what people say about you, think about you, how people judge you because that would be the wrong way to lead your life,” said the actor, who once dated filmmaker Sajid Khan.

“So, Sid (Sidharth) and I are extremely good friends.

We have worked together twice now... in Brothers and A Gentleman...,” she added.

She is open to working with him again “if the right script comes along”.

Right now, she has every reason to celebrate.

While 2017 hasn’t been good for the Hindi film industry in terms of business as even big budget films like superstar Salman Khan’s

Taylor Swift's new track 'Gorgeous' is out!

T

“Tubelight” and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Jab Harry Met Sejal” couldn’t create fireworks at the box office, her film “Judwaa 2” is spinning gold.

She doesn’t want to take the entire credit for its success. “Every character and actor did their job very well in the film. It’s a joint effort of everyone in making the film a success,” said Jacqueline.

The David Dhawan directorial, backed by Fox Star Studios and Sajid Nadiadwala, is a reboot of the 1997 Salman Khanstarrer “Judwaa”. “I think when a film does well, the entire industry benefits. Of course everyone who is a part of that film also benefits. It’s good to be a part of a film that helps the entire industry and its economy,” she said about the action-comedy film. (IANS)

Shahid Kapoor announces his next film O

n the occasion of Diwali, actor Shahid Kapoor on Thursday announced the title of his upcoming film – “Batti Gul Meter Chalu”.

The movie will be directed Shree Narayan Singh of the “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha” fame.

“Let’s celebrate the festival of light with the hope that soon electricity will be a right and not a privilege for all. ‘Batti Gul Meter Chalu’,” Shahid tweeted alongside a video revealing the title of the film.

The project is produced by T-Series and

KriArj Entertainment.

Shahid will next be seen alongside Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh in filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus “Padmavati”. The film is slated for release on December 1. (Hindustan Times)

A

guyanatimesgy.com

OCTOBER 22, 2017

green pant suit worn by Deepika Padukone at the on-going Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival attracted all the wrong attention. The actor, who is considered a fashion icon, wore a blingy green outfit to the closing ceremony of the event, only for Twitter to poke fun at her.

Deepika was styled by Shaleena Nathani, whose name was also mentioned in some of the hateful comments. Her makeup was done by Anil C and hair by Namrata Soni.

In 2016, her look at the MTV Europe Music Awards was labelled as ‘Bollywood Blunder’.

From calling her ‘Poison Ivy,’ a “Batman” villain, to ‘hideous,’ Twitter didn’t hold back. @reshmi_me1 said: “Replying to @ pinkvilla @deepikapadukone She is looking horrible.. Unfortunately”. (Hindustan Times)

aylor Swift just dropped her new single 'Gorgeous', and like any of Taylor’s songs on the Reputation album, the lyrics are major catchy and full of meaning.

After taking to Instagram to tease the new single with three posts - one featuring the intro of the track where a baby voice says 'gorgeous' - Taylor released the song and a video with the lyrics, just like she did for 'Look What You Made Me Do'.

While Swift fans were excited about the release, they were also very excited to find the hidden messages in the track. Unlike 'Look What You Made Me Do', Swifties cannot agree on who the lyrics are about. Some people think that 'Gorgeous' is clearly about Taylor's new boyfriend, Joe Alwyn - but

many seem to disagree, saying it's actually about her ex, Tom Hiddleston.

The star was spotted filming the new video in North London over the weekend, shooting scenes in Kentish Delight, a kebab shop in Kentish Town before getting on a night bus around Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square.

She also shot a few scenes inside Alwyn's local pub and cycled across the Millennium Bridge.

A source believed to be close to the pop star told the Telegraph: "The video shows Taylor on a night out. All of the locations are places she has been to with Joe. Reputation is out November 10 nationwide. (Glamour)

Michelle Williams was 'suicidal' in Destiny's Child

M

ichelle Williams has revealed how she suffered from depression when she was a member of Destiny's

Child.

She says being part of one of the biggest girl-groups of all time left her feeling "suicidal."

Michelle was a member of the group between 2000 and 2005, alongside Beyonce and Kelly Rowland.

And she says Beyonce's dad, Matthew Knowles (who was also the group's manager), was unable to understand why she was struggling.

"For years, I'm in one of the top-selling female groups of all time suffering with depression," said Michelle on US TV show, The Talk.

"It got really really bad to the point of being suicidal."

Michelle says she told Matthew Knowles about her problems, but he was unable to understand why she would be depressed as they had recently signed a multi-million record deal.

She says he asked her if perhaps she was just "tired."

"He wanted me to be grateful, which I was, but I was still sad," she added.

"I was at that place where it got so dark and heavy because sometimes you feel like 'I'm the provider, I take care of people, I'm not supposed to be feeling this way - what do I do?'

"I wanted out."

Michelle told the TV show she had been inspired to speak out by Demi Lovato, who has been open about her own mental health problems.

Since the group split, Michelle has released four solo albums, won MOBO awards, appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and starred in lead roles on stage including The Colour Purple, Chicago and Aida. (BBC)

Ed Sheeran talks about substance abuse and his accident

E

d Sheeran is reportedly opening up about how substance abuse factored into his hiatus from music.

According to The Daily Mail, Sheeran recently sat down with talk show host Jonathan Ross to discuss his accident and how he managed to avoid the dark side of fame.

Sheeran said that after he recently crashed his bike he didn't even realize he had broken both arms in different places.

"The thing is, when it happened, I got up and was like, 'That hurt' and then cycled to the pub," Sheeran said. "Went home, went to sleep and then woke up at five o'clock in the morning in a lot of pain.

And then went to the hospital."

The spill resulted in the cancellation of shows for the Asia leg of his world tour, but Sheeran said doctors told him if he didn't take the time off he might never be able to play the guitar again.

The 26-year-old musician has said he's cut down quite a bit on the booze, which helped him shed some pounds.

Sheeran said becoming famous also exposed him to the harder stuff.

"All the pitfalls that people read about, I just found myself slipping into all of them," he said. "Mostly like, substance abuse."

The "Shape of You" singer said he took action to deal with the temptation.

"I never touched anything," Sheeran said. "I started slipping into it and that's why I took a year off…"

The music helped him, Sheeran said.

"I focused on work and I can't work under the influence," he said. "I can't write songs under the influence, I can't perform under the influence so the more I worked the less [that happened]."

The star also credited his girlfriend and former high school crush Cherry Seaborn with helping him stay on the straight and narrow.

"It's all fun to begin with, it all starts off as a party and then you're doing it on your own and it's not, so that was a wakeup call and taking a year off," Sheeran said. "I've rekindled with a girl I went to high school with and we live together now and I think that was a real help grounding me." (CNN)

guyanatimesgy.com

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 15

16 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Fun Times

Archie

You’ll find it difficult to sit still. A physical challenge will (March 21- help ease stress. Don’t take April 19) out your frustration on someone you love. Look for a positive alternative.

ARIES

Make a point to be congeTAURUS nial. Getting along with the (April 20people around you will help May 20) improve your day and relationships with others. Honesty is essential, but so is kindness.

GEMINI (May 28June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Dilbert

Peanuts

Emotional difficulties will take charge when you address relationships that are already on shaky ground. Being truthful and demanding the same in return will help alleviate uncertainty and added stress.

Expand your interests.

Attend a conference or trade show, or plan a trip to somewhere exotic or unfamiliar.

What you discover will have an impact on your future.

Bide your time. Patience will help you execute your plans at the best possible moment, leading to far greater success. Focus on personal growth and physical improvement.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Put more passion behind whatever you choose to do.

Show some backbone and prepare to be successful at whatever you want to pursue.

Believe in yourself and your capabilities.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

A gain is within reach.

Something you least expect will put you in a good position to reap rewards and get ahead financially and professionally.

A partnership looks inviting.

Do whatever it takes to SCORPIO help someone who has helped (Oct. 24- you in the past. Your sincere Nov. 22) gesture will make a difference to your relationship and how things move forward.

Put your energy into love, SAGITTARIUS romance or doing something (Nov. 23that will make you feel good Dec. 21)

about your appearance and capabilities. A change will do you good.

Refrain from lending mon-

CAPRICORN ey or possessions. If you want (Dec. 22- to spend money on something Jan. 19) or someone, choose to invest in

Calvin and Hobbes

yourself or one of your ideas.

Walk away from unpredictable situations.

Put some muscle behind AQUARIUS any changes you want to (Jan. 20bring about. A chance to alter Feb. 19) your current direction or income looks promising. Aim for financial security. Romance is highlighted.

PISCES Take care of any respon(Feb. 20- sibilities early in the day. An Mar. 20) emotional issue regarding a friend, relative or loved one will need your undivided attention as the day progresses.