Guyana Times, Monday August 20, 2018

Local farmers urged to be competitive at Agriculture Expo P10 Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Monday, August 20, 2018

Issue No. 3661

PNCR elects Volda Lawrence as first female chairperson Annette Ferguson – Vice Chair Page 3

Dr George Norton – 2nd Vice Chairman

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Overseasbased PNCR group propose renaming of P7 CJIA – motion did not receive support; Opposition MP comments

2 arrested P2 for allegedly discharging loaded firearms

Newly elected PNCR Chairperson, Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence (right) and Vice Chair, Junior Public Infrastructure Minister Annette Ferguson moments after being elected to lead the party (Dexter Ceres photo)

SPU releases $2B to GuySuCo for operational expenses

Page 2

…says bond facility not obtained to facilitate payment of debt

Jagdeo warns: “Guyanese being fed false hopes”

Page 9

– maintains US$5000 per household unrealistic

Masked gunmen terrorise Mahaica family during home invasion Page 9

Pensioner killed in Pomeroon boat mishap Mon Repos home goes up in flames, 2 homeless Georgetown M&CC kicks off 175th P9 anniversary with church service

President should seek unbribable Ministers – Jagdeo P11 ...says Granger’s comment on Top Cop search disparages losing candidates

2 news

mondAY, august 20, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

SPU releases $2B to GuySuCo for operational expenses

– says bond facility not obtained to facilitate payment of debt

Albion Estate

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he Special Purpose Unit (SPU) of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) has announced that almost $2 billion has been disbursed to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) for operational expenses of its three estates (Albion, Blairmont and

Blairmont Estate

Uitvlugt).

The SPU has said the release of these funds is in keeping with the plans of the coalition Government to make the industry viable and to safeguard the future of the more than 11,000 workers.

The SPU’s statement comes after GuySuCo’s Chief

Executive Officer, Dr. Harold Davis, Jr, told sections of the media that GuySuCo is slated to receive proceeds from the initial $17 billion the SPU has secured from the $30 billion bond facility.

Davis claims that GuySuCo had requested a substantial amount to advance its strategic plans, but

Uitvlugt Estate

monies received so far have catered only for wages and fuel expenses; and no other monies have been received.

The SPU said on Sunday that the monies from the bond facility will be used to purchase equipment for production of plantation white sugar, including the purchase of nine tractors, and

Essequibo residents decry service provided by GPL

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esidents of Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) are frustrated with the services offered by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) since the region is plagued with very long periods of unscheduled power outages.

The residents are even more frustrated since they are left in the dark without any explanation from GPL or the Government as to when the new power plant at Anna Regina will be completed to provide them with uninterrupted service.

Regional Chairman Devanand Ramdatt told Guyana Times that he is very disappointed with the Public Infrastructure Ministry for not updating the region as to when the new power plant at Anna Regina will be completed and become operationalised.

As such, he is calling on

The new generator

Government for answers as to the present state of affairs at the Anna Regina Power Station which is way beyond schedule.

The Region Two economy is struggling since the businesses are tremendously affected.

The Regional Chairman said the staff at the power station, especially the engi-

neer, Michael Haley, is trying his best to keep the old system working but he is now facing a lot of difficulties with the standby generators which do not have the capacity to operate around the clock.

An Essequibo Coast rice miller explained that the Government need to do something urgently since

the current crop is almost ready to be harvested and as such, the millers will be forced to use their standby generators which will be more costly for them.

Due to the weather pattern, millers will have to use their dryers instead of the sunlight for drying their paddy which will depend heavily on electricity.

to address the co-generation plants’ operational expenses.

“The monies obtained from the bond facility were not obtained to facilitate the payment of debt, as was ventilated time and again by the Minister of Finance and stakeholders,” the SPU has said.

GuySuCo is yet to complete its procurement process for the mentioned capital items. Therefore, SPU has said, GuySuCo is not in a position to draw down on additional secured funds.

Earlier this year, the NICIL was mandated to seek financing for the downsized Corporation, targeting retooling, diversification and improved agriculture. This was being pursued even as work was being done to privatise and divest the four estates -- Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales.

Through local financing arranged by the Republic Bank Limited, NICIL has managed to successfully negotiate a bond facility for $30 billion, with significant input from the Finance Ministry.

The NICIL has requested $17 billion in the first tranche. “We will receive the remainder on request. It was structured in this manner for it not to incur unnecessary costs,” the statement added.

GuySuCo must submit its applications for financing to the SPU, and those are to be vetted to make sure they meet the approved criteria of the bond holders before financing is disbursed. Two disbursements have thus far been made, one for $880 million and another for $1.1 billion.

The SPU has said it must be noted that half of the bond amount would be provided for in local currency, while the remainder would be disbursed in United States dollars (USD).

With support from the Government by means of a sovereign guarantee, SPU Head, Colvin Heath-London, has been able to secure this funding spoken about. The benefit is a 4.75 per cent rate of return, which represents a tax-free bond.

NICIL, through its SPU, took control of the Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales estates when Government decided to close operations earlier this year in order to maintain the viability of the sugar industry.

Guyana’s Opposition Leader, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo, has raised several concerns over the issuance of the multi-billion-dollar bond.

An economist by training, Jagdeo has said the general perception was that Government was raising $30 billion to spend on GuySuCo, on the remaining three estates. However, the memo tells a different story, as it has stated explicitly that the $30 billion agreed to would instead go to long-term projects.

Jagdeo has also said that when spending of the $30 billion bond begins, it will substantially increase the demand for foreign currency and put pressure on the country’s reserves. He has said that from all indications, there has been an unbelievable shortage of currency at the Central Bank, and utilising this bond will contribute to this shortage.

Since announcement of the bond, concerns have been raised about Government’s vision for the industry and the genuineness of its actions thus far, since that very $30 billion could have gone into restructuring the industry while keeping all of the estates open and GuySuCo’s workforce employed and engaged.

2 arrested for allegedly discharging loaded firearms

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wo men were taken into Police custody after they reportedly discharged loaded firearms indiscriminately on Sunday morning in the vicinity of Farm Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara. The incident was reported to the Police at about 06:30h.

Ranks from the Providence Police Station responded to the report and upon their arrival at the location, two cars were seen parked at the location.

During a search of the ve-

hicles and the drivers, the Police found two live .9mm rounds, one in each car.

The Police also found two spent shells of the same calibre next to one of the vehicles but there were no signs of any firearms.

The two men, ages 30 and 21 of Herstelling Housing Scheme, and of Farm Squatting Area respectively, were arrested and are assisting with the investigation.

The men are not licensed firearm holders.

news

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mondAY, august 20, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, August 20 – 13:00h-14:30h and Tuesday, August 21 – a night retraction at 01:30h and a day retraction from 13:30-15:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, August 19 – 11:50h-13:20h and Tuesday, August 21 – 13:10h-14:40h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Light to thundery rain showers can be expected in the morning, followed by sunny weather in the afternoon.

Partly cloudy to clear skies can be expected in the evening, with temperatures expected to range between 21 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East South-easterly to Easterly and East Northeasterly between 1.34 metres and 5.36 metres.

High Tide: 11:45h reaching a maximum height of 2.09 metres.

Low Tide: 05:09h and 17:37h reaching minimum heights of 1.03 metres and 1.14 metres respectively.

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PNCR elects Volda Lawrence as first female chairperson Annette Ferguson – Vice Chair Dr George Norton – 2nd Vice Chairman

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oud cheers erupted in the wee hours of Monday morning at Congress Place, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, as longstanding party member Volda Lawrence was officially declared Chairperson of the People's National Congress Reform (PNCR), creating history in the party as the first woman to hold the post.

After a late start due to power outage, voting got underway about 11:00h on Sunday – the final day of the PNCR’s 20th Biennial Delegates Congress – and concluded around 19:30h.

Thereafter, the tallying process commenced and according to some members, even senior party executives, it was a gruelling process.

At about 01:00h on Monday, the votes were tabulated and Lawrence emerged victorious in front of former Chairman, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams; and bypassing fellow contender, Minister of State Joseph Harmon.

Lawrence, who is the Public Health Minister, secured 346 votes; while Harmon got 287, and Williams secured 183 votes.

The newly elected chairperson told the media that the result was not a surprise to her since she was expecting to be victorious. In her first address as PNCR Chairperson, she said she brings “heart for the people” as she pledged to work with the party.

“I pledge to walk the walk and to talk the talk to ensure that we remain in Government… I also pledge to work with our leader and leaders to ensure that we address the needs of our people and we all work together in unity,” she asserted.

Lawrence further committed to the party’s Leader, President David Granger, who was re-elected after his position was unopposed, to use women power to support his Government’s policies.

“To our leader, I will walk side by side with you and I will bring the women with me and we will carry you,” she said.

President David Granger addressing the Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence (left) and gathering after the results were announced Junior Infrastructure Minister Annette Ferguson share a celebratory hug

Sunday’s election was a historic one within the PNCR since not only was a female chairperson elected for the first time but the party’s also voted for a female Vice Chairperson in Junior Public

positions of the party is a reflection of his and Government’s commitment to gender equality. This, he noted, is evident to the fact he appointed for the first time female Senior

post as rivals, they are colleagues in his Cabinet and thus understand their duty to build a better country.

“There are no victors, there are not victims… At the end of the day, we are one

Comrads of the PNCR join in celebration with the newly elected chairperson Volda Lawrence on Monday morning at Congress Place

Infrastructure Minister, Annette Ferguson, who secured 260 votes while Dr George Norton was elected the 2nd Vice Chairman with 242 votes.

Notably, Norton was not at the Congress when the results were announced.

Ferguson told reporters that she was grateful for the win. “From the time I was encouraged to enter [the race] I knew I would win... And to double today's victory, it’s my birthday so I want to first of all thank God,” she posited.

Meanwhile, President Granger said the election of these two women to the top

Counsels and this year’s national awardees were dominated by females.

The PNCR Leader, in his charge to the newly elected members, reminded them that while they are party members, they are also members of Government and therefore have a duty towards the country first.

“I mention the holding of high office in party and in Government because in the final analysis its Guyana that counts,” he added.

The Head of State further stated that while the three Ministers were contending for the party’s chairmanship

party and we are all working towards a common goal,” the President told those who braved through the long night, urging them to remain faithful to the party over the next two years and beyond as they work to lead Guyana to the promise land.

In addition to these newly elected members, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan was re-elected as the party’s Treasurer, as his position was unopposed.

Meanwhile, the votes for the Central Executive Committee will be tallied later today.

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mondAY, august 20, 2018

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

Crafting a Constitution for Democracy in Guyana

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fter commemorating “Emancipation Day” in grand style, the PNC held its Biennial Congress in preparation for the 2020 general elections. But it is clear it has lost its narrative on constitutional change.

In Guyana, even after the abolition of slavery, there was certainly no assumption the freed slaves could vote: the British constitutionally denied the freed Africans the opportunity to control the governing structures.

There had to be a period of tutelage, they insisted, before the responsibility of governance could be exercised “responsibly” by the “natives”. Thus, in Guyanese history, we note a long and painful process by the disenfranchised to win the vote, and a determined rear-guard action by the British to deny it.

In 1891, the British instituted major constitutional changes when they altered the franchise and relaxed the qualifications to vote for the elected officials to the Combined Court. The new rules enabled the new and growing Coloured/African middle class to gradually outnumber the planters in the Combined Court.

The British Government initiated this change because, at that point, its interests diverged from that of the planters; but it was obvious even then that the potential for a new challenge to British Imperial aims had been created.

In 1928, when the Coloured/African middle class showed they may have had an agenda of their own, the British switched gears and imposed a Crown Colony form of government, wherein the Governor could effectively outvote the elected representatives. As late as 1947, only about 10% of the population was counted as “the people”; after 1953, it became everyone over twenty-one; and finally, in 1968, it was changed to include everyone over eighteen.

A second problem arose when, after emancipation, the country became what would today be called a “culturally plural society”. J.S. Mill, speaking from a Britain sure of its “British” national identity, could pronounce with finality that the free institutions of democracy were ‘next to impossible in a country made up of different nationalities’.

There are undoubtedly countless issues that the constitutional institutionalisation of democracy would pose for Guyana, but the most important would be to deal directly with the implications of the ethnic divisions in the society, to answer the question, “Who are the people who would govern?”

On another question of how “the people” are to rule, the classical Greeks tried “direct democracy”, where, facilitated by their small numbers, every citizen could vote on every issue in one gathering. If more than fifty percent of the citizens voted for one particular position, then that became the position of “the people”. Majoritarian politics was born.

This direct method of voting had to be abandoned in favour of “representative democracy,” due to the larger number of citizens and their wider geographical dispersion in the countries that resuscitated the democratic form of governance twenty-two centuries later. The representatives were supposed to represent those who elected them.

However, even though the circumstances were different, the majoritarian principle was retained, and it was accepted because the British people saw themselves more or less as one. In plural societies like Guyana, it presented new challenges.

If one such faction – such as the “ethnic” groups of Guyana -- forms a majority, then this poses a grave danger to democracy in that society -- a “tyranny of the majority”.

In this situation, a minority would never have the opportunity of becoming the majority, and would have to go along with that majority ad infinitum. Thus, in such plural societies, where one ethnic group can produce an entrenched majority, “majoritarianism”, a procedure for implementing democracy, becomes an obstacle to the substance of democracy – all citizens feel that their opinions will be taken into account when decisions that affect them are made.

Before the 2015 elections, the PNC had insisted on the need for constitutional change to incorporate a more “inclusionary democratic” approach to governance. Yet, today, they insist the inclusionary goal has been reached under the old constitution. Quo vadis?

President David Granger greets a member of the public during the church service to commemorate the 175th anniversary of Georgetown which was held at the St George’s Cathedral on Sunday

Another failed promise in the APNU/AFC manifesto Dear Editor, Despite teachers being labelled supporters of the coalition Government, President David Granger and cabinet are reluctant to adhere to the demands of the Guyana Teachers Union.

A joint manifesto of the APNU/AFC coalition Government before the 2015 elections, “Our Vision for Unity, Stability and Development”, was a promise for a good life for all Guyanese. Notably in the manifesto, under the Education section, the coalition Government highlighted that education is key to social transformation, and they have several strategies aimed at boost-

ing this vital sector.

Two critical strategies the manifesto mentioned are: that the Government would develop appropriate non-monetary benefits for teachers, and increase emoluments (salaries) with improved working conditions for teachers.

After election to Government in May 2015, the GTU submitted its multi-year proposal for wages’ increases to the Ministry of Education, subject Minister Nicollete Henry failed to represent the teachers’ issues, and after two years, on the 29th October 2017, President David Granger intervened to avert a strike with a delayed tactic of setting up a

High Level Task Force to investigate and make the necessary recommendations to the MoE. This High Level Task Force, which included senior Government Ministers, failed to negotiate a reasonable package for teachers’ wage increases.

This failed negotiation can demonstrate and expose the level of incompetence in terms of negotiations that exists in the APNU/AFC coalition Government.

Teachers are the heart of the education system in any country of the world; the influence of teachers extends beyond the classroom and well into the future.

Teachers are the persons who shape a nation’s future, so it is imperative that the APNU/AFC coalition Government STOP stalling the negotiations and increase their salaries and other allowances immediately. Teaching is more than imparting knowledge; it is inspiring change.

We must compliment GTU President Mr Mark Lyte and the union for standing up against this selfish Government, and urge that the teachers support the GTU in this struggle, especially those teachers in Region Six, to ensure that their goal is achieved.

Sincerely, Zamal Hussain

No government can succeed when their main objective is spite Dear Editor, The closure of the sugar estates was based purely on spite; that is the sure prognosis of all right-thinking Guyanese, but The PNC see things differently.

They are of the opinion that, by closing the sugar estates, they would be hitting The PPP the hardest. They were of the mistaken belief that, by shutting down the estates, they would sound the death knell of the PPP/ C’s stronghold. Kill sugar, they opined, and we would have their supporters with their begging bowls crying for help at the PNC’s doorstep.

However, with that vin-

dictiveness and spite, the PNC/AFC made the following major blunders: 1. They were exposing their lying and deceitful selves before an audience they had faithfully promised that they would never do such a thing.

In fact, they lied to the people, telling them that they need to be aware of the PPP, they are the party who would close the sugar estates, and the party who should be the object of their fear.

Well, as it turned out, the people are now well aware of which party betrayed their trust and which constitutes the enemy.

2. By deceiving the peo-

ple in such a horrible way, they played right into the hands of the PPP. The PPP gets those disaffected voters from the Coalition; in essence, they were strengthening PPP support in the Sugar Belt.

The hurt, the blatant deception, did hit the people hardest, which caused many of them to vow never to vote for the Coalition again.

To verify my story, I urge you to go into the sugar areas, and the same sad story greets you as each worker tells you over and over again, “We were deceived... them fool a-we. Never again! Never would we vote for this PNC-dominated Coalition

again.”

3. With the rise in the worldwide use of the brown crystals as a natural sweetener, sugar is a sure foreign exchange earner.

The industry in Guyana was at the quarter million mark and rising when this Government took control of our economy.

This was a sure sign that better days were ahead. However, with the sudden closures, there was a drastic decline in production, where the industry is barely able to sustain 100,000 tons. The associated results are a shortfall in foreign earnings and a drop in the economy. continued on page 5

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Stop selling poison in schools Do the UNEP and WWF wish

Dear Editor, I strongly condemn vendors for selling poison to Guyanese schoolchildren in the form of soft drinks and energy drinks. These should be banned immediately.

With this in mind, I commend Government Member of Parliament (MP) John Adams for presenting a motion, on behalf of the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Social Services, that schools should be “discouraged” from selling soft drinks in their canteens.

I am going further to say it should be prohibited.

But that motion is too soft, because it is not enough to discourage this practice. It must be outlawed completely.

In his presentation to the National Assembly as Chairperson of the committee, Adams disclosed that the ministries of Education and Public Health were selling aerated drinks in schools.

He said it was his committee’s hope that the Education Ministry would be able to do something to “restrict” canteens from selling such beverages.

While I support the committee’s position on this issue, I respectfully disagree with Adams’s choice of the words “hope” and “restrict” while making his presentation in Parliament. I believe the slow poisoning of our children in schools is far too important to be dealt with by merely hoping for a restriction. It is time to get out of dreamland. The Ministry of Education has to ban this evil now.

Adams’s committee also recommended to Parliament that schools promote the sale of “healthy, wholesome and nutritious foods” to encourage healthy eating habits, and also that physical education be mandatory in schools.

That is good, but our children’s good health depends on how quickly the nation

can move on from making recommendations to actually implementing them.

In this age of information technology, people literally have at their hand’s reach countless sources of information about the poisonous effects of soft drinks and energy drinks on consumers’ waistlines and teeth. These beverages are packed with sugar and harmful chemicals, and regular consumption causes multiple health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, asthma and obesity, including flare-ups in temper due to the excess in sugar content and other poisons.

Many are sold in cans that are coated with the chemical endocrine disruptor Bisphenol A (BPA), which is linked to heart disease, obesity, and reproductive problems. The artificial brown colouring in soft drinks is made using chemicals which, in US Government-conducted studies, caused lung, liver, or thyroid cancers, or leukemia in laboratory mice and rats.

The average can of these poisonous beverages has 17 teaspoons of sugar and a huge number of useless calories. Drinking them greatly increases the obesity risk in children, and constantly erodes their dental enamel.

Those with artificial sweeteners are worse; artificial sugars are linked to numerous illnesses and diseases, including cancer.

Consuming these poisons can cause an addictive adrenaline rush, followed by a sharp downward mood swing, because the intake of harmful chemicals saps the human body of energy. The addictive highs followed by energy-depleting lows caused can take consumers of these beverages on a roller-coaster ride that eats away their mental well-being, especially children. They also reinforce bad eating habits.

No government can succeed...

from page 4

4. Sugar is the life blood of Guyana; on it every other foreign earner revolves.

Sugar is a pivot on which Guyana’s foreign earnings revolve. The sugar industry is the largest entity in the productive sector, and to kill sugar means that the entire economy would collapse also. This is the sorry mistake this Government has made.

The stark reality is:

you cannot run a government on sheer spite, it was bound to yield horrendous results. In three short years, this Coalition has supervised the demise of sugar as well as every other economic sector of this country. This is the backward platform that this administration is built on.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

These beverages are poison, pure and simple. With all the information available today from credible sources about the serious harm these drinks can do to a human body, especially the body and brains of a growing child, it is obvious that Guyana has to ban the sale of these drinks to children in the schools. What more do we need? What is the problem?

In my opinion, no one should be permitted to drink these beverages, but just as in the case with alcohol and cigarettes, a multitude of foolish people will insist that they have a right to consume them, although these persons know beyond a shadow of doubt that by doing so they are poisoning themselves. Let the adults poison themselves with them if they want to, but leave our children alone.

The House of Assembly should ratify the motion raised by MP Adams and his committee and move to implement the recommendations without undue delay. I commend PPP/C MPs Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo and Alistair Charlie who made contributions on the motion.

I urge both sides of the House to ensure that the recommendations of Adams’s committee are implemented swiftly. I also call on them to move on to even stronger action by implementing an outright ban on these poisonous beverages in schools and hospitals.

Once again, compliments to MP Adams’s committee for being behind the presentation of this motion in Parliament.

Sincerely, Roshan Khan Sr

to be part of this subterfuge?

Dear Editor, I have noticed a recent release from the Government announcing "Hinterland Consultations on the Green State Development Strategy starts this week". The release stated that team experts from the GoG's Department of Environment and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the assistance of the World Wildlife Fund Guianas (WWF), will be holding meetings in Regions 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, and 10 between August 16 and September 12, 2018. The schedule of meetings was listed.

It is interesting, when one examines the schedule of meetings, that firstly three townships and one NDC which are not in the interior were included, while certain interior locations were omitted. Secondly, the planners of these meetings seem to be unfamiliar with the geography of Guyana, as meetings are not being coordinated to ensure efficient use of time and money incurred in holding these consultations.

However, most interesting is that 8 of the 15 identified communities will be going to the polls on November 12, 2018. One wonders if the UNEP and the WWF are aware that these meetings will be part of the Government’s election campaign strategy for the Local Government Elections.

From the media, I am aware that the UNEP has been assisting the Government since July 2017 on the Framework of the

Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) and Financing Mechanism. l am aware that there is a Green State Development MultiStakeholder Expert Group, although the members of this body have not been made public. l am aware that the GSDS, much touted by the Government for the last 3 years, is still to be developed, and that US$ 1.5 million of REDD+ money is funding the completion of the GSDS. I am also aware that not one Government Minister has been able, in the National Assembly or in the media, to articulate the Government’s vision of what the GSDS will contain for Guyana and its people. In fact, ask any Minister what is the GSDS, and one gets a lot of “hot air” and generalities. Worse yet, ask the how the GSDS will mesh with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and their eyes gloss over.

Having abandoned the

Low Carbon Development Strategy of the PPPC Government -- which had gone through rigorous consultations and dialogue in every interior community and coastal area over a 2-year period, and was brought to the National Assembly and debated -the Government has, over the last three years, failed to hold any consultation at the community level on its Green State Development Strategy.

So the readers must forgive me for being cynical that the timing of these consultations on the GSDS is conveniently coincidental with the upcoming LGE on November 12, to allow the Government to use these consultations to do the PNC election work.

Do the UNEP and the WWF wish to be part of this subterfuge? I certainly hope not.

Regards, Gail Teixeira, MP

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Foundation Summertime activities for kids

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on-smoking adults have a higher risk of dying from serious lung disease if they grew up with parents who smoked, according to US research.

The researchers said childhood passive smoking was “likely to add seven deaths to every 100,000 non-smoking adults dying annually”.

The study of 70,900 non-smoking men and women was led by the American Cancer Society.

Experts said the best way to protect children was to quit smoking.

If participants lived with a smoker during adulthood, there were other health implications, the study found.

Smoke exposure of 10 or more hours every week increased their risk of death from ischemic heart disease by 27 per cent, stroke by 23 per cent and chronic obstructive lung disease by 42 per cent compared to those who lived with non-smokers.

The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Participants were questioned about their exposure to smoking throughout their lives, and then their health was tracked over the next 22 years.

Dr Nick Hopkinson, medical adviser to the British Lung Foundation, agreed, saying: “Passive smoking has a lasting impact well beyond childhood.

“Unfortunately, stop smoking services in the UK are being cut. We need to make sure that everyone, especially parents of young children and pregnant women who smoke, get the help they need to quit.”

Lifelong risks

Children whose parents smoke are known to be at risk of asthma and poor lung development. This study shows that the effects of childhood smoke exposure persist into adulthood, resulting in chronic obstructive lung disease.

‘Smoke outside’

Hazel Cheeseman, of campaign group Action on Smoking and Health, said: “This latest study adds to the compelling case to take smoke outside to protect chil-

dren from harm.

“The best way to do this is for parents to quit.”

She referred to data on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England urging improved funding in this area.

Children whose parents smoke are known to be at risk of asthma and poor lung development. This study shows that the effects of childhood smoke exposure persist into adulthood, resulting in chronic obstructive lung disease.

While the researchers focused on mortality risks, they emphasised that childhood second-hand smoking may also increase chronic illness and healthcare dependency in later life.

Dr Ryan Diver, one of the report’s authors, said: “This is the first study to identify an association between childhood exposure to second-hand smoke and death from chronic obstructive lung disease in middle age and beyond.

“Our findings provide further evidence for reducing second-hand smoke exposure throughout life,” he added.

(BBC News)

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dgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) had tried many jobs — from ranch hand to pencil sharpener wholesaler — before he found he could earn a living writing. Burroughs, born in Chicago, is best known for creating “Tarzan” — one of the most memorable fictional characters of all time. It has been 100 years since Burroughs first introduced readers to his jungle hero and to “John Carter” — a hero whose adventures take place in a very different setting — the planet Mars.

Burroughs’ stories about Tarzan and John Carter were first serialised in pulp fiction magazines in 1912 and then published as books. Though Burroughs didn’t start writing until he was 35 years old, he managed to write more than 90 novels before his death in 1950. And while his work is the stuff of adventure, fantasy, and science fiction, he also served as a war correspondent during World War II. Prompt for grades 3-5 (Level II): Fasten your seat belts When planning for a vacation or a visit to a new place, people often look up information about where they are going.

They might read about the place in a book or on a website, or look at a brochure. A travel brochure is like a commercial. It is brief. It has information you need and it is written and designed to grab your attention.

Edgar Rice Burroughs didn’t write travel brochures, but he got readers’ attention with his science fiction stories about Mars that were written like travelogues. In a travelogue, you get to read all about what happens on a trip!

Take a look at some real travel brochures. Then get ready to write one of your own — for a trip to Mars! Your travel brochure can be about the real Mars and full of facts about the red planet.

Or your brochure can be a work of fiction, filled with imaginary places to visit and things to see and do. If you write about the real Mars, be sure to include the Burroughs Crater in your brochure. (A large crater on Mars is named for the author.) And if you write about a Mars in your imagination, write it from a Martian point of view and use the real Martian name for Mars — whatever you think that might be. (Burroughs called the Mars in his book Barsoom.)

Things to include in a travel brochure • Brief summary of the setting, with highlights of important places • Location, including a map • Geography • Major cities, well-known places • Historic sites and landmarks • Recreation and outdoor activities—parks, sports, water • Entertainment • Climate and overall weather conditions • Transportation • Arts and culture, including museums, theatres, places to visit • Languages and local dialect • Food that the area is known for • Pictures/graphics (readwritethink.org)

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mondAY, august 20, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Overseas-based PNCR group proposes renaming of CJIA – motion did not receive support; Opposition MP comments

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport is still under construction Chair of the Atlanta Chapter of the PNCR’s North American Groups, Carol Trim-Bagot

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he Atlanta Chapter of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) party’s North American groups has moved a motion at the PNCR Congress that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Guyana’s main port of entry, be renamed the Burnham-Jagan-Timehri International Airport (BJTIA).

The motion, carried in the name of the Atlanta Chapter’s Chairwoman, Carol Trim-Bagot, suggests that the airport should be named after both of

Guyana’s independence architects, particularly the late President Linden F S Burnham.

The motion is also claiming that the late PNCR leader Forbes Burnham was executive President and leader of the country at the time the airport was constructed. It noted that the former Timehri International Airport was named after Guyana’s indigenous peoples.

Further, the motion is saying that the idea of renaming the CJIA is to keep the importance of the two founding fathers. It stated Burnham’s commitment to the people of Guyana is equally important to the

Guyanese community and the Caribbean.

The Atlanta Chapter’s motion has reportedly claimed that Burnham also played a major role in the political, social and economic development of Guyana, although the airport was renamed Cheddi Jagan International Airport to honour the contribution of Jagan to Guyana.

A source close to the party told this newspaper that the motion was sent to a special committee for further consideration, but it may neither be passed in the current congress nor at the committee, as it did not receive popular support at the congress.

Pensioner killed in Pomeroon boat mishap

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pensioner was on Sunday killed after the boat in which he was travelling collided with another at Grant Good Intent, Lower Pomeroon River. The dead man has been identified as 78-year-old Allan Handy, also called “Saga” of the same area.

Based on information received, at about 16:00h, the now dead man left his son’s home in a wooden paddle boat and was heading home when a boat powered by a 90HP outboard engine came into his path.

The captain of the boat,

a security guard of Grant Hope, Lower Pomeroon, told the Police that as he navigated a turn, he felt as if he struck something and immediately slowed down.

As he turned around, he saw the elderly man going down in the water and as he looked closer, he saw the damaged boat.

He immediately raised an alarm. The dead man’s relatives rushed to the scene but there were no signs of Handy.

A search party was established to look for the man’s body. After a few hours, the man’s body was

recovered from the river in the vicinity of where the accident took place.

A distraught captain claimed that due to the high boat bow, he could not have seen clearly in front of him and as such, he did not see Handy.

He was taken into custody and is assisting with the investigations. The man’s body was taken to the Suddie Public Hospital Mortuary where it awaits a post-mortem examination.

The boat and engine are reportedly owned by the Love and Faith Ministries.

Mon Repos home goes up in flames, 2 homeless

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rakash Ramdeo’s small, flat, wooden structure in Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara was completely destroyed by fire on Sunday at about 22:00h, and at least two people have been left homeless.

Ramdeo told Guyana Times that the fire started in his kitchen when the kerosene stove exploded as he was about to use it, and within a few minutes, the building was engulfed in flames.

He said he attempted to put out the blaze, but received minor burns to the head for his efforts.

He therefore safely exited the house, which he occupied with his wife, a former head teacher, and called out for assistance. Neighbours responded and the Fire Service was called in.

Ramdeo estimates his losses to be close to $1.5 million, as he was not able to salvage any household items.

Strangely, however, the

man claimed that his wife ran away when the fire started. He was questioned

by Police and taken to the station to assist with further investigations.

Neighbours, however, related that the man and his wife would have frequent verbal disputes. They also allege that Ramdeo had threatened to burn down the house on several occasions.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are continuing.

The source noted that top stalwarts of the party have already viewed the motion as one that could lead to much controversy in the country, and this is not something the party is looking to create, as renaming of the airport is not an important matter.

Laughable

Nevertheless, Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira, a long-serving PPP executive member, who offered her view on the issue, said the idea is laughable and insensitive on part of the PNCR party and its members.

Making it clear that she was speaking on her own personal behalf, and not

on behalf of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Teixeira said if the PNCR Congress agrees to the proposal, only then would her party be able to officially make a statement on it. But she said that if such a decision were to be made, she does not believe it would get popular support from the Guyanese nation.

In March 1997, following the death of President Dr Cheddi Jagan, the then President, Samuel Hinds, decided to rename the airport in Jagan’s honour.

The proposition to rename the airport was made in the Parliament (National Assembly) by then Minister of Amerindian Affairs,

Vibert De Souza.

De Souza noted that it would be a fitting tribute to a man who had spent his life committed to the betterment of Amerindian people and fighting for the freedom and unity of all Guyanese.

A plaque bearing the new name was unveiled on May 21, 1997 by then Prime Minister Janet Jagan.

The CJIA (airport) is currently undergoing modernisation and expansion at a cost of $150 million. The runway is expected to be extended to about 10,500 feet, and the expansion is going to provide a new terminal building with a few boarding bridges, elevators and other additional amenities.

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mondAY, august 20, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Nandlall claims AG deliberately subverted court directive – as order issued to bring Judicial Review Law into force in 2019

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ormer Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has accused his successor, Basil Williams, of blatantly disobeying a court order issued by Chief Justice Roxane George ordering him (Williams) to activate the Judicial Review Act by July 31, 2018.

Williams has now moved to issue a commencement order to bring the Judicial Review Act into force at the beginning of next year. The Judicial Review (Commencement) Order 2018 was made on August 15, gazetted on August 16, and published in an Extraordinary Edition of the Official Gazette. It has listed January 1, 2019 as the day in which the Judicial Review Act will come into effect.

This decision by the AG was made even though the Chief Justice had handed down a decision after a court matter was filed by Nandlall seeking the activation of the Act. Nandlall has said this move by Williams has deliberately subverted, frustrated, and made a mockery of the law and the judicial system. “This must be one of the most striking examples of a Government’s avoidance of public scrutiny and accountability in recent history anywhere,” he opined.

Nandlall has said that only the AG himself can explain the reasons for his actions. “I remain absolutely flummoxed at what he intends to gain by these unwarranted and untutored shenanigans. Maybe it is ego, or just a morbid fear of what this Act will do to his Government,” he added.

Nandlall had, on Friday,

Shaking up…

W …the political tree

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall

filed contempt of court proceedings against Williams for refusing to comply with the High Court ruling, which ordered that he activate the Act. Nandlall had warned of the court proceedings and had accused the AG of avoiding being served a court order.

In fact, in the contempt of court proceedings filed, Nandlall had outlined in his grounds that since the Appeal Court’s decision, there have been three attempts by separate Court Marshalls to serve Williams with the order since last week’s ruling, but on all occasions, they were unable to do so.

In two instances, the marshalls left the Order of Court with two employees at the Minister’s office; while on the other occasion, the court officer was told that AG Williams was in a meeting.

The National Assembly had approved the Judicial Review Bill since October 2010, and it was assented

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams

to by the then President one month later. However, the Act, which allows Guyanese to seek legal remedies against any public official or any statutory agency, could not have been activated without the Civil Procedure Rules, which took effect in February 2017.

There have since been no steps taken over the past year to implement the Judicial Review Act. As such, Nandlall filed a lawsuit in May, asking the court to compel his successor to activate the law. Chief Justice Roxane George has granted the request and ordered the Minister to activate the Act. Williams, however, contending that the Act needed to be fine-tuned before implementation, turned to the Appeal Court to have the lower court’s ruling stayed; but Justice of Appeal Rafiq Khan dismissed the stay of execution application, saying that the Minister was trying to frustrate and obstruct the operationalisation of the

Judicial Review Act. “By filing the Contempt of Court proceedings, I have placed the matter entirely in the hands of the Judiciary.

Therefore, it is now a matter for the Judiciary to institutionally determine whether it will condone such flagrant violation of, and utter disrespect for, its own Order and process,” Nandlall said, while noting that the court must demonstrate its ability to enforce its own orders.

And while the Bar Council of the Bar Association of Guyana had welcomed the High Court ruling that compels the AG to implement the Act, the former AG said, the silence of the Bar as a collective in face of the entire travesty does not auger well. “I have done my part,” he stated.

The Bar Council had said the implementation of the Act remedies a lacuna in the new Civil Procedure Rules of 2016, which contain procedures contemplating remedies under the Act. “In the absence of this Act, litigation in this vital area of the law has been stymied and fraught with a number of procedural hurdles, some of which were laid bare in the recent CCJ’s ruling in the case of The Medical Council of Guyana v Jose OcampoTrueba, CCJ Appeal No. 2018/001, where the Honourable Court declared that prerogative remedies were no longer available in Guyana,” a statement from the Council had detailed.

The legal body had outlined that it had previously raised the matter of the implementation of the Act at a meeting with the AG during a July 22, 2017 meeting, and then again by way of letter dated November 15, 2017, requesting the urgent implementation of the Judicial Review Act. The Association noted that the implementation of the Act is of vital importance to good public administration in a democratic society, allowing citizens ample remedies against the State, and levelling the playing field.

The Association has said it looks forward to the speedy implementation of the Act.

ith the demise of the AFC, another third foot is about to be dropped in the political arena.

The outspoken ex- Vice Chairman of the National Toshaos Council, Lenox Shuman, has finally given a date for the launch of the second Indigenous political party. Let us not forget that, try as it might to shake its original name – the Guyana Amerindian Party – by changing it to “Guyana Action Party”, it remained to the end an Indigenous Peoples’ party in the eyes of Guyanese.

And it’s important that Shulman reflects on why both the AFC – which insisted it was the vehicle for “change” in the Guyanese political morass -- and the GAP have both disappeared. And have no doubt about this: they HAVE disappeared. Although, like when you have an amputated extremity you still get a feeling it’s still there, leaders like Ramjattan and Allicock still “get that feeling” about their party. It’s called the “Phantom Limb” effect in the first instance, and your Eyewitness suggests that the latter be called the “Phantom Party” effect. The phenomenon is worse when a dead meat party suffers from the “Phantom Party” effect!!

First of all, Shulman should have no guilt about forming an “ethnic” party. If, for the past sixty years, both the PPP, PNC and every other party in Guyana did their darndest to be “multi-racial” yet remained ‘ethnic”, surely there must be a good reason for this!!

And the reason is that there’s nothing in and of itself bad about “ethnic” parties. The problem pops up when the ethnic parties pretend they’re national and represent ALL the peoples of our land. Like President Granger just declared at the PNC’s Biennial Congress!

With the AFC -- notwithstanding Ramjattan’s protestations -- they got mostly African votes in their electoral first foray in 2006, because that community was fed up with Corbin and wanted to try another leader – Trotman. In 2011, the tables were turned, with the PPP getting stale and the PNC revitalised as APNU. Shulman should be happy with the two, or at most three seats, he might capture from his Indigenous base. But he has to stay the course with his commitment to “non-coalescing” with bigger parties.

Once again, your Eyewitness has to repeat his earlier advice to Shulman: Resist spending all your time and resources trying to woo “other ethnics” into your party. It’s a waste of time, and doesn’t do anything for your people in the end. Stay in the centre, and negotiate with the Government of the day to improve the lot of Indigenous peoples.

And know that there will be a continuous pressure to buy or steal your MPs by the aforesaid Government!

…the PNC (not Guinness) Bar

Just after jumping on their high horse and denying they were imbibing high-end liquor to their gills at the expense of us poor taxpayers, during Parliamentary lunch breaks, the PNC MPs and Ministers became so sloshed at the Georgetown Club after their Biennial Congress that they became embroiled in a multi-vehicle smash-up outside the Club!! So, dear reader, if you’re wondering how such a smash-up could occur within feet of the Club’s premises, then (thank goodness) you don’t know enough about the disorienting effects of driving under the influence (DUI)!!

Only recently, President Granger lashed out at ordinary PNC members at an Emancipation function for hanging out at “Guinness Bars”. They’d be pissing away their money. Your Eyewitness guesses that it’s OK for upper rank PNCites to hang out at the Georgetown Club and at the Parliamentary Dining Room and get sloshed. After all, it’s no strain on THEIR wallets – it’s all on us, baby!!

But if Policemen have to pay for their crashed cars, what about sloshed MPs??

…Lusignan Prison

Used to be the Camp Street Jail was always in the news! But right now Lusignan and its seizures of contraband have seized the moment.

So, was the garlic found in the latest bust to be used for warding off vampires?

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

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mondAY, august 20, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Jagdeo warns: “Guyanese being fed false hopes”

– maintains US$5000 per household unrealistic

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s the conversation and debates continue in relation to how the revenues from oil should be spent, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has opined that Guyanese are being fed false hopes.

Warning citizens not to be fooled by the proposal being touted that every household would get US$5,000 annually, he has described this as far from becoming a reality.

A former President himself, Jagdeo noted that the debate has now shifted from whether there are enough resources to fund such a proposal to how much should be given out.

“I am so unhappy that we have shifted…the debate to how much we are giving out, rather than whether we have money to give out from 2020,” Jagdeo stated.

Warning that this is just another false hope be peddled with the probable intention of garnering political support, Jagdeo has said that monies accumulated from oil alone cannot deliver on that promise.

He explained that if 200,000 households were to benefit from US$5,000 annually, that totals some US$1 billion, but Guyana will receive less than that.

“That is over 300 percent of what we are collecting.

How could US$1 billion be 2 to 5 percent of total revenue? And that is in the newspaper and nobody challenges it,” he declared.

“It is just like people are just saying these weird things and (they pass) off for analysis and good economics; and there is a whole debate surrounding it. Just look at the numbers!” he admonished.

Jagdeo reminded that, given the expenses to be repaid to ExxonMobil for oil production, along with the need to service the Natural Resource Fund, there will be no money to give out.

He noted that it could take as much as five years before Guyana starts to see major earnings when oil production starts in 2020.

This is based on projections that 75 percent of revenues would cover most of the cost of production, including a US$460 million pre-contract cost.

“That’s why most people believe we are not getting big bucks until 2025.

That’s when you start getting more money, not 2020!

I pointed this out already,” he stated.

Jagdeo noted also that, in the early years, Guyana

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

is projected to collect some US$300 million.

He is in favour of conditional cash transfers as a means of improving the livelihoods of Guyanese, as opposed to simply distributing money when oil revenues begin to flow. “I support conditional transfers.

We’ve done that before, and we need to help poor people,” he said.

Asked to elaborate on the Opposition’s utilisation of conditional cash transfers while in Government, Jagdeo referred to a $50 million partnership with the Guyana Bank for Trade

and Industry Limited (GBTI) on the Women of Worth (WoW) programme.

This, he said, was an initiative through which single-parent women could receive interest-free loans.

He suggested that as a means of introducing concessional transfers, pensioners could also be given a tiny amount every month, to enable them to get tested for diabetes, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases, to reduce the

cost burden on the health sector.

The Opposition Leader has put forward other issues he had with the idea of cash transfers, and recommended that portions of the oil revenue be injected into education and job creation.

He said, “What about the years when oil prices sink so low…for long periods, like it has happened in some countries, and people….think they’ll get this money all the time? We have to help them create jobs, we have to help them with education.”

He continued: “So why not put the money into paying for scholarships? We take $100 million or $50 million and we put it to help our kids who do well go to the best universities around the world; and upgrade our university to a topnotch university with a global standard by bringing in new lecturers. That sort of thing would help us in the long run.”

Jagdeo’s comments have resulted directly from the proposal made by Working People’s Alliance (WPA) executive member Professor Clive Thomas that the

Government should make annual cash transfers to every household when it begins to receive its net inflow of revenue from oil production.

Alliance for Change (AFC) Leader Raphael Trotman has not outrightly rejected the proposal, but has said it is possible for such a plan to be structured so that Guyanese receive benefits.

“We want to ensure that our young people have educational grants. We want to ensure the people who receive cash transfers are registered in our tax system and have paid taxes; and not (now) turning up (to) say, ‘I am here to collect’,” Trotman suggested.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan has also stated that the monies could be used to improve various sectors in education, health, youth, and small business development.

“I would rather hear more debate about using our resources to create opportunities for people, so that they themselves could have lasting incomes as opposed to short-term incomes,” he said.

Masked gunmen Georgetown M&CC kicks off 175th terrorise Mahaica family anniversary with church service during home invasion

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President David Granger and other officials at the church service on Sunday

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resident David Granger on Sunday morning attended a Special Thanksgiving Service to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the City of Georgetown, which was held at the St George's Cathedral.

The President was joined by Vice President and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan; former Prime Minister and Mayor of Georgetown, Hamilton Greene; Minister within

the Public Health Ministry, Dr Karen Cummings; and Mayor of the City of Georgetown, Patricia Chase Green.

In observance of the anniversary, the Georgetown Mayor and Town Council will be embarking on a week of activities, dubbed ‘City Week’ with the aim of fostering a closer relationship among employees through sports, cultural, and other forms of social entertainment; providing

an opportunity for the business community to showcase locally produced items and for the Council to form alliances with other critical stakeholders and improve the Council’s corporate image.

Commencing with the church service on Sunday, the activities will run until August 25 and include an art and craft exhibition on Main Street, a health fair and the Mayor’s Ball and cocktail reception.

Mahaica, East Coast Demerara (ECD) family was on Saturday evening attacked and terrorised by five masked gunmen in a three-hour ordeal that ended when the bandits confiscated their cash and jewellery.

Fruit vendor 56-yearold Lalawattie Basraj of Belmont, Mahaica, ECD, her husband Anand Basraj and their 15-yearold daughter Khenwattie Basraj, along with Nimawattie Deodat, are still traumatised by the ordeal.

Based on reports received, the five armed men invaded the premises at about 19:50h while the occupants of the two-storey wooden-and-concrete house were in the lower flat of the building.

The suspects reportedly gained entry onto the premises by scaling a fence. They then broke into the lower flat of the house and held the victims at gunpoint, binding the hands and feet of their victims before demanding cash and jewellery in a spree of terror.

Farmer Anand Basraj

attempted to put up a fight, but was instead dealt several blows to his head.

Upon seeing this, his wife reportedly handed over about $400,000 in cash, along with cell phones, jewellery and a laptop computer to the armed men.

Afterwards, the suspects made good their escape in an unknown direction.

After realising that the men had left, the oc-

cupants managed to untie themselves and raise an alarm.

The Police were also contacted.

The injured farmer was taken to the hospital where he was treated for the injuries he sustained to his head.

The police have launched an investigation into the incident, but no one has as yet been arrested.

10 news

mondAY, august 20, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Local farmers urged to be competitive at Region 6 Agriculture and Commercial Expo

Locally bottled valued added farm produce

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s part of Government’s vision to showcase local businesses and particularly those involved in agro-processing, a oneday exhibition was held on Saturday evening at the Albion Sports Complex titled “Regional Agriculture and Commercial Exhibition”.

The event, which was organised by the Region Six Regional Democratic Council (RDC), was held under the theme, ‘Maximising

the potential productivity of out immense diversity in East Berbice Corentyne’.

Speaking at the exhibition, Regional Executive Officer Kim WilliamsStephens explained that one the main objectives of the initiative was to bring awareness of economic activity and development in communities in the region.

“Many of us live in communities and we are not even aware of some of the

economic activates that are there and so today would give us that opportunity so that we can see the prudential that we have in our villages and as a whole in East Berbice Corentyne,” the REO said during her official welcoming to the Exhibition.

She also reiterated that the exhibition also helps to showcase local produce. “In showcasing at the same time it will attract business and also local and foreign investors. This will help not only in the development of the community but the entire region.”

Both small and largescale entities were on display, stretching from Orealla located 50 miles up the Corentyne River to Mara situated 25 miles up the East Bank of Berbice.

Agencies such as the Agriculture Ministry highlighted its various arms such as the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Guyana Livestock and Development Authority (GLDA), the

Some of the packaged items Guyana exports

Fisheries Department and the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).

The Business Ministry

was also represented by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).

Addressing those in attendance, Regional Chairman David Armogan explained that it was the first such exhibition to be organised at a regional level but promised for it to be an annual affair.

The Chairman stressed the need for local farmers to take advantage of local markets and urged them to pay more attention to nontraditional crops.

The Caribbean Community (Caricom) imports almost US$14 bil-

despite the availability of markets in the world, we have not been able to access the most high-priced markets.”

As such, he noted that one of the reasons for this, is due to the cost of production and the other is because of the lack of standard.

“To be able to supply international markets these days, you have to subscribe to certain standards of which we in this region and Guyana are yet to meet.”

Armogan also urged farmers to get into commercial agriculture and stop fo-

Locally grown onions and other farm produce

lion annually. Guyana, he said, is strategically positioned to take a substantial part of that money in food which is imported into the Caribbean.

“Guyana is blessed with an abundance of land and fresh water and Berbice more than any other part of Guyana is blessed with great abundance of land; you know we have the Canje Creek as our fresh water source.”

Sadly, he noted in the agriculture sector, the focus has been on primary production and the prices on the world market make the local marker vulnerable. Speaking specifically of rice, he said there is need for farmers to become more competitive.

“One of the problems in this region is that we produce at a very high cost and

cusing on subsistence agriculture. “What we have here are farmers with small plots of land utilising the labour of their entire family circle to plant half an acre to be able to sustain their family; that is subsistence agriculture.”

He said Guyana will not be able to develop its agricultural capacity if it continues along that line. Noting that most of the land in the region is now under rice cultivation, Armogan said there is now need for farmers to move into other areas of production.

The Chairman commended the farmers on the quality of their produce which they had on display and also commended those in agro-processing, stating the quality of packaging is as good as many of the items imported from other Caribbean countries.

11 President should seek unbribable Ministers – Jagdeo news

mondAY, august 20, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

...says Granger’s comment on Top Cop search disparages losing candidates

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he search for a substantive Commissioner of Police continues, as President David Granger has said he is seeking someone who is unbribable.

This publicly-expressed characterisation is, however, not sitting well with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, who feels that the comment will leave room for judgment to be passed on the unselected candidates. On Thursday at his weekly press conference, he had this to say: “The first thought that crossed my head is that he’s (Granger’s) taking a very long time to find an un-bribable commissioner. What is he saying about the candidates who are there? In a way, it’s disparaging to the people there; and whoever he selects, people will feel that the other candidates were bribable, that’s why they were not selected.”

Jagdeo opined that the

Head of State should really be applying the “un-bribable” requirement to members of his own Cabinet.

“If the President had applied this same criterion to his Cabinet, he might not have a Cabinet today.

He should focus on un-bribable ministers; but, again, this is another lame excuse on the part of the President for the long delay that we have seen in appointing a substantive Commissioner of Police,” the Opposition Leader pointed out.

Last week, President Granger told members of the media that among the qualities the new Police Commissioner should possess are integrity, intelligence and impartiality.

Article 211 (1) of the Constitution vests the President with the authority to appoint the Commissioner of Police and every Deputy Commissioner of Police; but only after “meaningful consultation with the

President David Granger

Leader of the Opposition, and (with) the Chairperson of the Police Service Commission, after (that) Chairperson has consulted with the other members of the Commission.”

Now that the Police Service Commission has been reconstituted, President Granger had promised the process will

$108M rehab for Steve-N

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otor Dredge Steve-N is expected to undergo some major rehabilitation works over the coming months.

This was revealed by State Minister Joseph Harmon, who said Cabinet has approved awarding of the $108.1 million contract to the Guyana National Industrial Company Incorporated (GNIC Inc) for docking and rehabilitation of the dredge.

The Steve-N dredge, reputedly the largest vessel owned by the Maritime Administration

Department (MARAD), had last undergone rehabilitation in 2016.

Reportedly in critical need of repair, the dredge had then been out of operation for some eight weeks after it had been drydocked, and repair works took close to a month before completion.

After some two months in the shipyard, it had been fully repaired and brought up to specification.

The scope of works carried out on the Steve-N two years ago included: fabrication works to the hull, hopper and ballast tanks;

repairs to propulsion system: propeller shafts, propellers, bushes and rudder; sandblasting and painting of hull, hopper and main decks; electrical works, including installation of three 35,000 BTU air conditioning units; removal and installation of two generators; installing an echo sounder system; and mechanical repairs to hopper doors, suction drag head pipe, dredge pump pipe, and valves in engine room and pump room.

Those works back then were also carried out by the GNIC.

move forward.

He has also noted that he has already spoken with the Chairman of the new Police Service Commission, Paul Slowe, on the matter.

“He has just been sworn in, so he has to now meet with his colleagues of the Police Service Commission and review the potential candidates before he can consult with me.

I told him that I am ready at any time, because such [appointments] are prohibited from proceeding without the consultations,” the President said recently.

PSC Chairman Paul

Slowe has said he would be consulting with his fellow Commission members before approaching the President with any recommendation for an official Top Cop. He, however, noted that the PSC would be looking for a competent candidate, one who can earn respect not only within the Force, but outside as well.

Former Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud went into pre-retirement leave back in February, and officially retired two months later.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Administration, David

Ramnarine, has since been acting in the post.

He and seven other Assistant Commissioners have each been interviewed for the post.

The other ACPs are: Crime Chief Paul Williams; ACP – Operations, Clifton Hicken; Force’s Finance Officer, Nigel Hoppie; ‘A’ Division Commander (ag), Leslie James; substantive ‘A’ Division Commander Marlon Chapman, who is currently on leave; ‘B’ Division Commander Lyndon Alves; and, for the first time ever, a female contender in ACPAdministration II, Maxine Graham.

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14 news 3-day consultation, training concludes at Nappi mondAY, august 20, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

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Minister Raphael Trotman’s donation of footballs and nets

o n s e r v a t i o n International Guyana, with support from the Ministry of Natural Resources, concluded a three-day consultation with three villages.

The initiative, which commenced in Parshaou and Hiowa and ended in Nappi Village, North Rupununi,

was aimed at developing a management plan for the recently constructed and handed over Nappi Reservoir.

The reservoir, a Ministry of Natural Resources’ innovation, was built to provide water during the extreme dry season in the Rupununi.

This initial phase involved in-depth engagements

with residents of sister villages Nappi, Hiowa and Parshaou, with the objective of establishing a consensus on how the water catchment area should be used while exploring challenges and opportunities that exist.

The management plan will be completed within six months and will encompass: knowledge and information, education and awareness, engagement and roundtables, training and capacity- building, sustainable financing, monitoring and evaluation.

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, MP, who had given a previous undertaking to be present, shared that while the Government, through the Natural Resources Ministry, had pioneered the project and will continue to provide support, the intention is not to give directives on how it should be managed, since the residents are direct beneficiaries and they should be

Some of the residents who took part in the Nappi consultation and training

the ones to determine how the resource could be used to enhance their livelihoods.

Many useful suggestions were proposed by the community leaders and residents for the use of the resource beyond providing fresh water for cattle and ruminants; such as agriculture, aqua-culture, tourism and

sport fishing.

A donation of footballs and nets was handed over to the community by Minister Trotman to build sport capacity and promote community cohesion.

The Nappi Reservoir was, in 2017, constructed by the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of

Natural Resources and Cataleya Energy Limited, in direct response to drought experienced in Rupununi in the previous year.

It has the capacity to hold 4.5 million cubic metres of water, and is expected to be used as a model for the construction of future reservoirs in Guyana.

Nereid’s Rally 2018 cancelled

T

he 6th International Nereid’s Rally, which was on schedule for a September 13 staging at the Hurakabra River Resort, has been cancelled until further notice.

Scheduled to host 15 yachts, the international rally has suffered the sudden, short-notice withdraw-

al of 11 yachts, resulting from the widespread publicity of recent media headlines in the local press.

These headlines have found their way into the international media, and on to specialist websites upon which cruising yachts rely for their information; and less than a week ago, into

a major Washington Post story reporting on boats (not yachts) belonging to Trinidad & Tobago being attacked from Venezuela offshore Trinidad.

The Washington Post story unfortunately reports that: “In April, masked men boarded four Guyanese fishing boats floating 30 miles

off the coast of the South American nation”.

The story reports that “David Granger, the President of Guyana, decried the attack as a “massacre”. The story further reports that “Guyanese authorities linked the story to gang violence in Suriname”.

A release issued by the Nereid’s Rally organiser, stated, “Sadly for Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, whose offshore seas are traversed by

the International Nereid’s Rally, (they) have been labelled in the minds of yachtsmen as a place where piracy occurs and where they do not belong. It is to be appreciated that the owners of the majority of these yachts are “live aboards”.

Kit Nascimento, who for the past 20 years has been intimately involved in the identification, planning and development of Bartica and the Essequibo River as a Caribbean yachting desti-

nation, and who is a representative of the organisers of the international rally, expressed “his huge disappointment and frustration at this setback to the progress we have made in making Guyana and the Essequibo River a place where yachts are welcomed and can safely sail to enjoy themselves, and at the same time enjoy Guyana.

One yacht, for instance, had already requested a booking for its crew and friends to visit Kaieteur Falls”.

Nascimento went on to say, “It is particularly frustrating, because what he calls ‘criminal attacks on small fishing boats’ offshore Suriname and Guyana have been blown into ‘piracy on the high seas’, which is entirely untrue and misrepresented of the reality”.

He went on to say that he hopes to work closely with the Ministry of Tourism and the Guyana Tourism Authority to address this challenge with which a vital tourism event for Guyana is now unfairly confronted.

It is worthy of note that, in the recent Regional Tourism Consultation Workshop at which Regions were challenged to name their flagship projects, the Region 7 Chairman, Mr. Gordon Bradford, had identified “yachting” as the flagship project for Bartica.

15

monDAY, August 20, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

VOX POPULI

What the people say

I SAY...

The revealed cost used at every sitting of the National Assembly by parliamentarians for meals is reportedly some $700,000.

We are asking the public their views on the issue, given this disclosure by Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs.

Anita Doobay

Kester Whyte

“I believe that it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money. Indeed, however, both the Opposition and preposition is not contributing much to the public lately, for example teachers raise of payment etc... Nothing much is being done but they're winning and dining with the most expensive food at the end of the day. They are not even taking into consideration what's been happening out here in the public. Coming down to the disclosure of the amount of money being spent for the "meals", it a good thing that it’s revealed so the public is aware of what's happening around us.”

Godfrey William

“Quite frankly and fairly, the questions to be asked by the Opposition leader are these: 1) What were the costs to feed the parliamentary staff during his terms as President and President

Donald Ramotar’s term in office?

2) Where did he get his information from as it pertains to his claims of the expensive alcohol usage 3) And were there any alcohol served in the parliamentary lunch lounge during the PPP/C terms in office?

You see as a former President and Leader of the Opposition, he should have first-hand information on these occurrences in Government, but to be irresponsible in his assertions and accusations is doing a great disservice to the citizenry of the Republic and the press should hold him accountable to his recall speech and divisive political bantering.”

Dalon Chapman "Seven hundred thousand dollars seems like a lot of money to feed that amount of people. But it depends on the breakdown. If they can show how all the money is spent, it might be more believable in a way."

Filincia Tinnie

“I just want to know if all of the ingredients that’s used to prepare those meals are rare or have to be brought from heaven.”

Denisia Liddell "I think there is no need to spend so much money on food just for one sitting, instead they could use it and feed the homeless or the needy kids.

Just saying."

Ian Campbell

Dan Rahim “This is the better life that was promised to us by the coalition Government.”

David Headley

“That would mean one meal per member would cost some $10,000. I want to know what does that meal include…”

Frederick Minty “The monies look and sound big in our eyes and ears but when you consider the amount of persons who need to be fed and the length of time spent during a sitting, it is actually reasonable. Many of us keep simple activities and cry about the monies spent to execute such activity; Parliament is a major event which caters to many persons for a lengthy period. Guyanese just need to get real and think rationally about the situation.”

“I find it to be absolutely insane; and the reason why people believe the Government is out of touch with the country.

That food budget would make more sense if it was over a very long period on multiple events but sadly that doesn’t appear to be the reality and with things like the dispute over teacher's salaries and other endeavours that could use those kinds of funds, only sours the issue. The current Administration needs to pull themselves up and correct this immediately.”

“As usual, anything involving the Government's – both past and present – is enormously exaggerated and with this elaborate $700,000 spent on meals whenever there is National Assembly, speaks loud volumes of the disregard the "people in power" have for the populace. Given that the monies they spend and elaborately consume are collected in taxes from our mere salaries, this 'meal cost' if I may say epitomises the heartless, inhumane misappropriation of funds. Basically the working man is a scrap of meat. He shall be worked to a pulp to support the fat pigs/big boys.”

Eon Newlon “They deserve to wine and dine and feast upon rare delicacies? Do you know how stressful it is coming up with ideas, much less finding the solutions to fix issues in a Cabinet that needs lots of repairs ? It’s very stressful.”

16

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mondAY, august 20, 2018

Regional

Ecuador tightens entry rules C’bean think-tank conducts poll on US presidential pardon for Garvey for Venezuelan migrants

T

E

cuador has brought in new rules to stop Venezuelan migrants entering the country without a passport, leaving many stranded in neighbouring Colombia. Thousands of Venezuelans fleeing their country’s economic and political crisis have been crossing into Ecuador from Colombia using only identity cards.

Most are heading south to join family members in Peru and Chile. Colombia has protested against the move, saying vulnerable people will be trapped on its side of the border. In a separate incident, residents of a Brazilian town attacked a Venezuelan migrant camp on Saturday and drove the occupants back across the border.

Venezuela has suffered for years from high inflation and the chronic shortage of food and medicines. More

There are long queues of Venezuelan migrants at the border crossing near Ipiales

than a million Venezuelan migrants have entered Colombia in the past 15 months, according to official estimates, and more than 4000 have been arriving at Ecuador’s border every day.

Many migrants, who have been walking or hitching rides for weeks and are exhausted by the time they reach the frontier, only carry ID cards. Early on Saturday, about 300 Venezuelans were

lined up at the Rumichaca border crossing outside the Colombian city of Ipiales, and many said they had no passports to gain entry to Ecuador.

Gabriel Malavolta, a 50-year-old mechanic, left Venezuela three days ago aiming to make the overland route to Lima, Peru, through Ecuador. He has a passport but his fiancee, Yenny, had only an ID card.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Tense calm on Brazil-Venezuelan border after anti-immigrant riot

F

earful Venezuelan immigrants lined up in smaller numbers to enter Brazil on Sunday at the only border crossing between the two countries one day after violent protests by Brazilian residents drove hundreds back across the frontier.

The Brazilian army, which reinforces security at the Pacaraima border post, said 1200 Venezuelans, including women and children, fled back into Venezuelan on Saturday when residents went on a rampage after the stabbing and beating of a local shop owner.

The angry demonstrators destroyed tents used by

Venezuelans to camp out in the street near the bus station and set fire to belongings the immigrants left behind.

The outburst was triggered by the severe beating of a shop owner by four alleged Venezuelan immigrants on Friday, the state government said. But police declined to comment and had still not found the suspects on Sunday.

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have poured over the border into Roraima state over the last few years, fleeing economic and political turmoil in their country.

The influx has overwhelmed the state’s social services

and brought a rise in crime, prostitution and disease, and has sparked incidents of xenophobia, Brazilian Government officials say.

A Reuters photographer who crossed into Venezuela on Sunday morning to the border town of Santa Helena de Uairen said the streets were crowded with thousands of people seeking to leave the country but fearful of a hostile reception in Brazil. Venezuela’s Government said the attacks on its citizens were fuelled by xenophobia and called on Brazil to protect the immigrants and their belongings. (Excerpt from Reuters)

he Washington, DCbased Institute for Caribbean Studies (ICS) has resurrected the notion of a presidential pardon for Jamaica’s first national hero, Marcus Garvey.

In a message posted on its website, on Friday, the ICS gives viewers two options regarding the proposed pardon: “Option 1: Ask President Trump for a pardon (this assumes Garvey did something wrong); or option 2: hold out for exoneration (this assumes Garvey did nothing wrong).”

In January 2017, Caribbean American Congresswoman Yvette D Clarke, who had taken the lead, with 17 other members of the United States House of Representatives, in calling on then outgoing President Barack Obama to posthu-

Marcus Mosiah Garvey

mously pardon Garvey, had expressed disappointment with Obama’s non-action.

On his last day in office, Obama granted commutation of sentence to 330 individuals, with Garvey not included.

Garvey was convicted for mail

fraud in the US in 1923.

“While the exoneration and/or pardon of the Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey remains elusive, unresolved and unfinished business, we must continue our education and organising efforts in the pursuit justice for the legendary icon,” said Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, told the CMC. She said it was important that “we build upon the efforts waged over the years, most recently in pursuit of a presidential pardon, and that we continue to maintain and elevate the integrity of” Garvey’s contributions to American history. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

A solar farm opens in St Lucia

S

t Lucia now has a three megawatt (MW) solar farm that is expected to meet five per cent of the island’s electricity demands.

The facility at La Tourney, Vieux Fort, at the southern end of the island, was officially opened by Former United States President Bill Clinton, St Lucia’s Prime Minister Allen Chastanet, former President Figueres of Costa Rica and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) last week.

The project is expected to change St Lucia’s energy landscape significantly and provide the impetus for more renewable energy

initiatives, particularly in achieving the goal of getting 35 per cent electrical generation from renewal sources by 2020, a Government statement said.

Managing Director of the St Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) Trevor Louisy said it’s part of government’s new policy to facilitate the use of renewable energy.

Approximately 20 million gallons of fuel is used to produce electricity annually.

The solar farm is expected to reduce the volume of fuel purchased by about 300,000 gallons annually.

GRUPOTEC, an interna-

tional firm with extensive, worldwide experience in developing solar plants, undertook the engineering, procurement and construction of the facility. The Rocky Mountain Institute and global energy and engineering advisory firm DNV GL is assisting with project development, bid evaluation and contract negotiations.

The Clinton Climate Initiative, brainchild of President Clinton, provided technical assistance for the project. The foundation has been supporting the Caribbean in other areas such as confronting HIV/ AIDS in particular. (Excerpt from

Caribean360)

Barbadians off to study in China

Rising murder level a bugbear to T&T’s economy

T

he murder level in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) continues to be a source of great concern to most of the population. At August 8, 2018, the murder level was 332 as compared to 296 people the same time last year.

That is a 12.1 per cent increase above last year and therefore, if we project this 12.1 per cent increase for the entire 2018, one would arrive at a murder level close to 554.

The highest murder level for the period 1956-2017 was in 2008, with a murder toll of 500. With a projected murder level of 554 for 2018, it means that policy makers will have to overhaul the existing menu of strategies as they have failed. It must now become business unusual.

The relationship between

the murder level in T&T for the period 2008-2018 and the index of productivity or output level for the same time period indicated that the murder level increased while output level fell – assuming 2018’s productivity level was the same as 2017. In terms of actual manufacturing capacity utilisation, which is an indication of the proportion of the manufacturing sector in use at any one time, Figure 2 (on next page) indicates that after 2014 when the murder level began to increase, there was a decrease in the manufacturing capacity utilisation rate from 70.8 per cent to 65 per cent. With a rising murder level, the business sector will definitely incur additional costs as they try to protect both their businesses and themselves. In an environ-

ment in which the consumer already has a decline in their incomes due to a higher unemployment level, passing on any part of this increase in cost to the consumer can result in a reduction in spending by consumers.

The high murder level has also forced many firms to employ immigrant labour as security. Generally, these “security” officers typically cannot stop an armed robbery, but they add to costs and firms employ them to give customers “a sense of safety.”

Meanwhile, the appointment of Gary Griffith as Commissioner of Police may signal a change in the Government’s intentions and a deeper sense of purpose by bringing in a brighter, more charismatic person. (Excerpt from

Trinidad Guardian)

Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China in Barbados, Yan Xiusheng (second right); with Education, Technological and Vocational Training Minister, Santia Bradshaw (fourth right); and Campus Oversight Coordinator for the Software Engineering programme, Dr Sylvia Henry (right); along with the students who will be travelling to China to complete a segment of their Bachelor in Software Engineering degree

E

ighty Barbadian students to date have been the recipients of Chinese government scholarships. This was revealed by Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China in Barbados, Yan Xiusheng. He addressed Friday’s award ceremony for the 2018 Chinese Government scholarship winners at the Chinese Embassy.

Ten individuals were awarded scholarships this year to pursue studies at the graduate and undergraduate levels in subjects including Mechanical engineering, Civil engineering, Animated cartoons, International relations and Diplomacy, Artistic de-

signing as well as International trade.

The Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China in Barbados stated he was impressed with the 2018 scholarship winners. He further said, “The progress made in educational cooperation has become a prefect showcase of people to people exchange between China and Barbados and a vivid epitome of our bilateral relations, featured by friendly cooperation.”

Highlighting other areas where Barbados and China have partnered in the area of education, the Ambassador outlined that “the Confucius

Institute at Cave Hill Campus has offered training courses to more than 2500 persons since its establishment some three years ago”. He pointed out that the Chinese government has made a presentation of BDS$9 million teaching materials” in 2017 and has offered an aid of BDS$45 million to implement two local agricultural projects in education.

The Ambassador additionally used the occasion to share that “the first batch of 20 students at UWI-China Institute of Information Technology are about to spend two years in China for study and internship.” (Excerpt from Barbados Advocate)

mondAY, august 20, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

17

Around the World

'Huge disaster': Deadly Kerala floods displace over 800,000

Fresh quake rocks Indonesia's Lombok island

Thousands of army, air force and navy troops, along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), are undertaking the search and rescue operations

M

ore than 800,000 people have been displaced in Kerala, as the death toll from the worst flooding to hit the southern Indian state jumped to at least 370, with losses to infrastructure pegged at almost US$3 billion.

As the rains subsided on Sunday, relief efforts focused on rescuing those marooned in isolated places for days and airdropping supplies to others, police and of-

ficials said.

Kerala has been lashed by torrential monsoon rains since the end of May, triggering landslides and flash floods that have swept away entire villages. Incessant downpours since August 8 have killed more than 190 people and left thousands more stranded.

"In a matter of three to four days, we have been able to move nearly 850,000 people to shelters," TM Thomas Isaac, Kerala's finance min-

ister, told Al Jazeera.

"I think the total number of displaced persons, including those who have been moved to relatives' or friends' houses, would be well over 1.5 million," he added in a phone interview from Alappuzha, Kerala.

On Sunday alone, 22,000 people were evacuated from their homes, but a large number of people continue to voluntarily live in flooded houses. "We saw many people whose ground floors of

their homes were knee and waist-deep in the water," said Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas, reporting from Andoor.

"They are living upstairs because they want to stay where they are," he said, "So, the overall figure of people whose homes have been flooded and have been affected by this disaster is in the millions," Thomas added. "It really is a huge disaster in this part of India."

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

New Pakistan PM Khan calls for austerity; wants bullet-proof cars sold

P

akistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan called on Sunday for the rich to start paying taxes and said the country will begin an austerity drive to reduce debt, a campaign he will kick-start by selling his office’s fleet of bullet-proof cars.

In his first address to the nation as premier, Khan set out his vision for a “New Pakistan” and spoke at length about the need to reshape the country by introducing an Islamic welfare system, reducing poverty and slashing high debt levels.

“We have formed a bad habit of living on loans and aid from other countries,” said Khan, speaking under a portrait of his hero and Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah “No country can prosper like this. A country must stand on its own feet.” Khan, 65, a former cricket leg-

end, was sworn in as Prime Minister on Saturday after his party swept to power in last month’s election.

A firebrand populist, Khan’s appeal has soared in recent years on the back of his anti-corruption drive, which has resonated with young voters and the expanding middle class in the mainly-Muslim nation of 208 million people.

But Khan has inherited a host of problems at home and abroad, including a brewing currency crisis and fraying relations with Pakistan’s historic ally, the United States.

Khan did not shed any light on policy plans to deal with the currency woes that analysts expect will force Pakistan to seek another International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. Instead, Khan focused on debt and said former central bank governor Ishrat Husain would lead a task-force to

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, speaks to the nation in his first televised address in Islamabad, Pakistan August 19, 2018.

Press Information Department (PID)

drive austerity.

Criticizing what he called the colonial-era mindset and lavish lifestyles of Pakistan’s ruling elite, Khan announced he would

live in a small three-bedroom house instead of the palatial Prime Minister’s residence. (Excerpt from Reuters)

The hardest-hit region was in the north of the island, which has suffered hundreds of aftershocks

A

strong earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Lombok Sunday, triggering landslides, damaging buildings and sending people fleeing just two weeks after a tremor killed more than 480 people there.

The 6.3-magnitude quake, centred in East Lombok, struck at a relatively shallow depth of seven kilometres (four miles) and was felt across the island, officials said.

It was the third major quake in less than a month to rock the island, after deadly tremors on July 29 and August 5 and numerous aftershocks.

"The earthquake caused people to panic and flee their houses," national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told Metro TV. "There have been no reports of death or (serious) damage but people are traumatised." At least one person suffered minor injuries while two more fainted from shock, he added.

Landslides were reported in a national park on Mount

T

Government sources conceding the Access to Justice and Community Service (Ajacs) programme had become too difficult to deliver.

While humanitarian support will continue, the ending of this governance programme is highly symbolic, suggesting Britain has accepted that the Syrian opposition, which it has backed since the early days of the

civil war in 2012 to 2013, is facing imminent defeat from a combination of Syrian regime forces and Russian airstrikes. The Government said the scheme had been kept under review because of the high risk, difficult conflict environment to ensure the benefits justified the risks, acknowledging the scheme had become too difficult to deliver as the balance

between potential gain and risk shifted.

It said over recent months that the situation on the ground in those regions had become more difficult. Instead, the focus in northern Syria is now on basic lifesaving needs, providing medicines and medical equipment and water and sanitation support. (Excerpt from The Guardian)

(Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

China Police crack US$1.1B Internet gambling ring: Xinhua

Britain to stop funding Free Syria P Opposition as Assad closes in he UK Government is to end funding to a scheme to support the Syrian Opposition, deeming the programmes now too risky to operate as the final rebel-held areas face imminent attack from Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

Funding to support the operations of the Free Syria police force is set to come to an end in September, with

Rinjani where hundreds of hikers had been briefly trapped after the quake in late July. The park has been closed since then.

Local disaster mitigation agency spokesman Agung Pramuja said several houses and other structures in the district of Sembalun, on the slopes of Mount Rinjani, collapsed on Sunday after being damaged by the previous two quakes.

The structures included checkpoints once used by trekkers climbing the mountain, Pramuja said, adding that the exact number of damaged buildings was still being checked.

Residents said the latest earthquake was felt strongly in East Lombok. The tremor was also felt in the island's capital Mataram and on the neighbouring resort island of Bali.

The latest tremor comes two weeks after a shallow 6.9-magnitude quake on August 5 damaged tens of thousands of homes, mosques and businesses across Lombok.

At least 481 people died and thousands were injured.

olice in eastern China have busted a 7.8 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion) online gambling ring and arrested 56 suspects, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The suspects are accused of making illegal profits of 650 million yuan from the Philippines-based platform, which had more than 114,000 users, Xinhua said, citing Police in Jiangsu province.

The investigation into the gambling website was launched in January 2016 after a tip-off, the report said, adding that four of the prime suspects were traced through bank card informa-

tion.

Calls to Police in Jiangsu seeking comment went unanswered. Casino gambling is illegal in mainland China, with budding punters having to travel to the special administrative region of Macau that borders southern China’s Guangdong province.

Fifty suspects in the online gambling case were arrested in Shanghai, Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong, Xinhua said, while another six returned to China from the Philippines and handed themselves in. They are now being transferred for prosecution. (Reuters)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

mondAY, august 20, 2018

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

You can spin things in your favor if you think matters through and execute your plans with precision.

A celebration will encourage you to spend more time with a loved one.

If you want to make a difTAURUS ference, go about it the right (April 20- way. Put more muscle into May 20) your work instead of talking a lot and expecting others to do the labor.

dilbert

Changes at home will imGEMINI (May 21- prove your relationship with June 20) a loved one. Altering your lifestyle and sharing your feelings will open a window of opportunity that you didn't expect.

Expand on one of your ideas

CANCER and consider forming a part(June 21- nership with someone who can July 22) help you advance your inter-

Peanuts

ests. Don't let an individual with a negative attitude stand in your way.

Get together with old LEO friends or colleagues but avoid (July 23- any situations that could lead Aug. 22) to indulgent behavior or involve someone who tends to be a bad influence.

Step outside your comVIRGO fort zone and attend an event (Aug. 23that can help you get ahead.

Sept. 22) Networking and signing up for courses will help you discover new interests and meet new people.

Calvin and Hobbes

Find a way to bring about LIBRA (Sept. 23- positive change to your community or environment.

Oct. 23)

Addressing issues of concern will help you understand the challenges involved and how to deal with them.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

TODAY’S WORD -- AFFIANCED

Look for the good in everySCORPIO one and learn through obser(Oct. 24vation.

Creative endeavors Nov. 22) and making changes at home that suit your lifestyle are favored. Distance yourself from excessive individuals.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

(AFFIANCED: uh- FYE-onst: Betrothed.)

Average mark 22 words Time limit 30 minutes can you find 30 or more words in AFFIANCED? The list will be published tomorrow.

YESTERDAY”S WORD -- VECTORS verso vert vest veto vote voter escort cero core

corest cost cote cove cover covert covet crest tore

trove over overt recto rest rose rote rove score

scoter sect sector sore sort store stove stover strove

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

solution for last published puzzle

Take a break, visit a place you've never been or set up a meeting. A money matter should be resolved before you invest in something new.

Talk to someone in an auCAPRICORN (Dec. 22- thoritative position and find Jan. 19) out your best options. Taking care of contracts, money matters or health concerns will help eliminate stress and ease your mind.

Put more effort into how AQUARIUS you look and feel. Set up a (Jan. 20- routine that is geared toward Feb. 19) a healthy lifestyle. Make plans to discuss your goals with a loved one.

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Keep your emotions tucked away somewhere safe.

You don't want to appear vulnerable if someone is trying to take advantage of you. Avoid joint ventures. You are better off doing your own thing.

monDAY, AUGUST 20, 2018

19

India in total command after Pandya's 5-for "I

s he a batsman who bowls?" "Is he a bowler who bats?"

"What is Hardik Pandya?"

In the lead-up to the third Test, it seemed Pandya was the man responsible for the 0-2 scoreline for India.

Pandya seemed to be paying the price for ill-conceived comparisons with Kapil Dev early on in his career. What is Hardik Pandya, they all asked?

Pandya to Virat Kohli is the bowler he wants to go to when the lead bowlers are losing intensity in Tests. He is the batsman who will sell his wicket dearly. Pandya had done each of those in the series so far, yet he came into the Trent Bridge Test under pressure. His moment to justify his selection came when Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah had bowled long spells to drag India back into the contest after a horrible start with the new ball. R Ashwin was injured, and India needed a bowler to hold one end up.

Pandya did way more, taking five wickets in 29 balls, making sure the hard work of Ishant and Bumrah didn't go to waste.

Pandya, Ishant and Bumrah combined to bowl England out in a session, the third time they have crashed to this ignominy in

Hardik Pandya leads his side off after his 5-for

their last 24 Tests. Despite a start of 46 for 0 before lunch, having taken India's four standing wickets for 22 before that, England crashed to a 168-run deficit thanks to that disastrous session. In the final session, with the mind free and under no pressure, against a demoralised bowling attack, India went on to unleash their range of stroke-play to score at four an over and take their lead to 292.

The real hard work had been done before Pandya came on to bowl, but not even his harshest critic will begrudge him that moment of glory. The come-

back for India began when they finally went to Ishant after lunch. Until then, Mohammed Shami and Bumrah had sprayed the ball around. Post lunch, Ishant settled into a Testmatch length just outside off. The ball was at a stage where it has started swinging this series. Alastair Cook drove loosely in the first over. Got four. Did that again two overs later. Was dropped. Then pushed at the best of the lot, and the faint edge went for the first of five catches for debutant Rishabh Pant.

The next ball produced the worst shot of the in-

nings. Keaton Jennings had been given a largely untested start for the third time this series. Bumrah was going wide on the crease and angling short balls across him from over the wicket. India were only looking for some control on that run rate, but he managed to poke at one he could have left well alone. Two wickets in two balls.

Now began an unusual form of attack. Unless it is reversing, a lot of Test cricket between right-arm quicks and right-hand batsmen is about the threat of the outside edge. Bowlers keep bowling good length out-

Ramdhani impresses at CAREBACO International

side off to test the batsmen's technique, every now and then slipping an inswinger or a straight ball to chance an lbw or a bowled dismissal. The pair of Ishant and Bumrah, though, bowl predominantly inswing, looking for bowled and lbw dismissals. One of the pitfalls of this is runs to leg, but when they get it right, it becomes mentally taxing in that you have to play at every ball.

And Ishant and Bumrah got it right this time. They got the field from their captain, and they were at the batsmen throughout their spells of seven and eight overs. What made it more mentally challenging for the batsmen was that both the bowlers displayed they had the ability to threaten the outside edge, which had the batsmen unsure of whether to play or not. Amid all this, when Ollie Pope saw a ball too straight, he failed to keep up with the movement and tickled one down to Pant down the leg side.

The duo had brought India back with 14 overs for 40 runs and three wickets, but it had come at the cost of long spells from each of them. While all this was happening, Ashwin was off the field, nursing a hip injury. Shami had been off colour. India needed someone to keep the intensity going. England's middle order was capable of a fast break.

India went to Pandya. Now was his chance to earn his keep.

With the first ball he bowled, Pandya began to do so. Short of a length, wide on the crease, holding its line

against the angle, taking the edge of Joe Root's bat for a low catch to second slip.

KL Rahul claimed the catch, the umpires referred it upstairs with a soft signal of out. At the first replay, the crowd booed Rahul because it seemed the ball might have bounced, but this was not evidence enough to overturn the soft signal. There wasn't any more. Having marked a fresh guard, Root was asked to walk back. He did so shaking his head in dissent.

At 86 for 4, England began to play too many attacking shots. Instead of trying to wave over the period, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow began playing with hard hands. Both fell soon, Stokes to Shami and Bairstow to Pandya. With Chris Woakes, Pandya changed the plan and bounced him for a tickle through to Pant.

The rhythm Pandya had hit was too good for Adil Rashid and Stuart Broad.

Some late hitting from Jos Buttler cut down the lead a little, but it was still too big for England to be able to attack in the second innings the way they have been doing all series long.

India batted with swagger. A couple of edges went into gaps. Even before you blinked, the lead swelled to 200. Even Cheteshwar Pujara raced away to 22 off 18 before slowing down.

Just to tease England further, the sun came out in the final session, telling them what could have been if they had shown the technique to last that middle session. (CRICINFO)

SCOREBOARD

G

uyana's Badminton Champion Priyanna Ramdhani was all show on Saturday at the CAREBACO International competition when she silenced a Surinamese crowd by defeating their best Under-19 player and tournament favourite, Imani Mangroe, in straight sets 21-9, 21-7 in the Under-19 Girls Singles semi-finals.

And in so doing, she booked her spot in the finals.

Ramdhani had lost to Mangroe at last year’s CAREBACO competition in Trinidad & Tobago, but on this occasion she came on very strong with impressive game play, executing precise shots which saw the opponent scrambling on court to return.

Ramdhani’s commanding game play was due to lots of intensive training at the Guyana Olympic Association’s (GOA’s) Gym under the tutelage of Theodore Henry two times a week, and her on-court development was due to the one-month training Camp she attended in Guatemala in the early part of 2018.

She also trained very hard three times a week at Yonex Badminton Club, and is very dedicated to her self-improvement.

In the Under-19 Girls Doubles, Ramdhani teamed up with Chequeda De Boulet of Trinidad to defeat the Surinames pair of Erisa Bleau and Chaista Soemodipoero 26-24, 21-15 in the semis; and again she booked her spot into the finals.

She was scheduled to be playing for Gold in the Girls Singles and Girls Doubles titles on Sunday.

India 1st innings – 329 England 1st Innings AN Cook c †Pant b Sharma 29 KK Jennings c †Pant b Bumrah 20 JE Root (c) c Rahul b Pandya 16 OJ Pope c †Pant b Sharma 10 JM Bairstow †c Rahul b Pandya 15 BA Stokes c Rahul b Mohammed Shami 10 JC Buttler c sub (SN Thakur) b Bumrah 39 CR Woakesc † Pant b Pandya 8 AU Rashid c †Pant b Pandya 5 SCJ Broad lbw b Pandya 0 JM Anderson not out 1 Extras 8 (b 4, lb 1, nb 2, w 1) TOTAL 161 all out (38.2 Overs, RR: 4.2) Fall of wickets: 1-54 (AN Cook, 11.6 ov), 2-54 (KK Jennings, 12.1 ov), 3-75 (OJ Pope, 19.1 ov), 4-86 (JE Root, 24.1 ov), 5-108 (BA Stokes, 29.2 ov), 6-110 (JM Bairstow, 30.1 ov), 7-118 (CR Woakes, 30.6 ov), 8-128 (AU Rashid, 32.1 ov),

9-128 (SCJ Broad, 32.5 ov), 10-161 (JC Buttler, 38.2 ov) BOWLING: O M R W ECON WD NB Mohammed Shami (10-2-561), JJ Bumrah (12.2-2-37-2), R Ashwin (1-0-3-0), I Sharma (9-232-2), HH Pandya (6-1-28-5) India 2nd Innings S Dhawan st †Bairstow b Rashid 44 KL Rahul b Stokes 36 CA Pujara not out 33 V Kohli (c) not out 8 Extras 3 (lb 3) TOTAL 124-2 (31 Overs, RR: 4.0) Yet to bat: AM Rahane, RR Pant †, HH Pandya, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, I Sharma, JJ Bumrah Fall of wickets: 1-60 (KL Rahul, 11.2 ov), 2-111 (S Dhawan, 23.2 ov) BOWLING: JM Anderson (7-224-0), SCJ Broad (4-0-25-0), CR Woakes (8-1-19-0), BA Stokes (71-30-1), AU Rashid (5-0-23-1)

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

monDAY, AUGUST 20, 2018

G/T leg of the “Frank Watson” U15 Tournament…

Santos victorious on opening day

T

Derron Niles (L) and Kevin Mullin

he Georgetown leg of the Pele Alumni “Frank Watson” IntraAssociation U15 Tournament got underway on Saturday at the Tucville Ground with three matches that saw victory for Santos FC and the other two matches being

drawn.

Looking strong, Santos FC made easy work of Beacons FC in their 4 – 0 win in the first match of the day.

Two goals apiece came from two national U15 players -Kevin Mullin in the 9th and 24th minutes, and Derron

Niles in the 12th and 30th respectively.

The Beacons’ strikers were relentless in their attempts to score, but special mention must be made of Santos FC’s Goalkeeper, Christopher Harris, for a very good day at the office with some very memorable saves.

The second match, East Veldt versus Masters Academy, was competitive with some good plays from each side, but ended on a two-all scoreline. Masters Academy was first to hit the back of the net with a goal from Michael Oie in the 24 minute. This was countered in quick succession by East Veldt’s Rolan Apple, and a follow-up of another goal in the 50th minute. Not to be outdone, Oie stuck again in the 55th minute, to create a level score of a match played

Vera’s Finally wins Guyana Cup again

in bright sunshine.

The final match of the day between Riddim Squad and Black Pearl ended in a stalemate, despite the best efforts of both teams to register a goal.

Preceding the delayed start of the tournament, there was a brief opening ceremony, including a march past featuring the five teams present and remarks

by Chairman of the Interim Management Committee of the Georgetown Football Association–Interim Management Committee (GFA-IMC), Trevor Williams and Second Vice President of the Guyana Football Federation, Rawlston Adams.

In extending best wishes for the tournament to the participants, Williams said the GFA-IMC is happy to commence the tournament: “We are very happy and proud to have football being played. It is our goal to ensure that the game continues at all levels in Georgetown, and that the Association remains a very competitive and organised unit in Guyana’s football.”

He expressed his best

wishes to the teams, and urged them to be “ambassadors of fair play” as they exhibit their skills and talent

that the GFF has embarked on. I would like to join Mr. Williams and encourage you to play in the spirit of the

in exciting football.”

Adams acknowledged the primary sponsors – Pele Alumni – for collaborating with the GFF on this youth tournament. He also expressed appreciation to the GFA-IMC for organising the tournament, and urged other sponsors to come on board: “We are extremely happy that this tournament has commenced. This tournament will give you, the players, a chance to showcase your talent so you can possibly be integrated into the larger national programme

game -- Fair Play. Finally, I would also like to take the opportunity to encourage other sponsors to come on board and support the development of football at all levels,” he declared.

The tournament features 10 clubs: Masters FC, Santos FC, East Veldt FC, Tavel Foundation FC, Fruta Conquerors FC, Pele FC, Riddim Squad FC, Black Pearl FC, Beacons FC and Ordis FC. The next matches are scheduled for Tuesday at the same venue.

Cincinnati Masters…

Bertens upsets Halep to win title Fans pose with Vera's Finally, its owner, and the Banks DIH Trophy which is being handed over

V

era’s Finally of the Jumbo Jet Stables has successfully defended the Guyana Cup which it first won last year.

Piloted by Jockey Colin Ross, Vera’s Finally completed the 1600m race about four lengths ahead of TNT of the Nand Persaud Stables.

It was a close battle between TNT and She’s Charming for second place, but it was Jockey Y Drapaul from TNT that prevailed to take the million-dollar second prize.

The fourth place went to Good Will Boy of the Jagdeo Stables.

The race, feature event of the day, had a first prize of $2 million.

Ten races were carded, and saw one million dollars up for grabs as the first prize in the 3-year-old Guyana bred race, which was run over a distance of 1100m.

Not This Time, ridden

by Jockey Richmond, returned to take revenge and live up to its name. The second place went to Perfect Return, ahead of The Final

Line.

Meanwhile, the 2-yearold race saw She is Perfect of the Mahaicony Stables winning ahead of Princess Tasha and Ebony Princess.

The top prize was $350,000.

The I Class event run over a distance of 1400 metres saw Storm Bird of the Habibula Racing Stables taking the top prize of $800,000 under the command of Jockey Colin Ross.

The second place went to Keep on Swinging, with Settling Star running third ahead of Red Region.

Other results saw Miss Angilie, piloted by Jockey Ajai, winning the L Class, with Touch the Cash, Puppy Tail and She is a Princess finishing in that order.

The L Class for Colts and Geldings, over a distance of 1400 metres and with a top prize of $200,000, was won by Red Region, with the day’s Champion Jockey Colin Ross on board. Plane Land, Catch a Glympse and Touch the Cash brought up the rear.

The J Class race was won

by Storm Bird, and was another win for Jockey Colin Ross, as he rode away from Keep on Swinging, Settling and Red Rocket; while Miss Olympic, with Jockey Paul Delph, won the J3 event.

Second place went to Pick a Chu, ahead of King Stanley and Guvna Ground.

Other winners were Isn’t She Charming, ridden by R Appadu, winning the H2 and Lower race; and Gold Again, also ridden by Appadu in the L Class for non-winners.

Paul Delph got sweet revenge in the final race of the day when he piloted Miss Olympic into first place to see Jockey Colin Ross bring in Party Time third. The second place went to Not this Time.

The day saw in excess of $20 million being presented to winners, with the Banks DIH Trophy going to the Jumbo Jet Stables for winning the Guyana Cup. The champion stable was the Singh’s Racing Stable, while the champion horse was Storm Bird.

Kiki Bertens defeated Simona Halep for the second time in five meetings

K

iki Bertens held off a championship point to upset world number one Simona Halep and win the Cincinnati Masters.

The 26-year-old world number 17 came from behind to defeat Halep 2-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 in two hours and five minutes.

Romania's Halep, 26, has now lost three finals in Cincinnati having previously missed out in 2015 and 2017.

"I cannot find the words for this moment," said Bertens, who becomes the first Dutch winner at a singles WTA/ATP hardcourt tournament since 2006.

Bertens' victory - the biggest of her career - ends a nine-match winning streak for Halep, who triumphed at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada, last week.

It also marked her 10th defeat of a top-10 opponent this season as she beat French Open champion Halep for the second time in five meetings.

A clinical Halep dominated the first set, taking just half an hour to take the opener 6-2.

And despite the second set quickly swinging in the favour of underdog Bertens, who opened up a 4-1 lead, she then scored just two

points as Halep levelled the score at 4-4.

The set went to a tiebreak and, after scoring four points in a row, Bertens later saved championship point before taking the set.

The Dutchwoman once again went 4-1 up in the decider, as Halep conceded 10 successive points, before closing out the match.

"I was a little bit tired, but it was an amazing week," said Halep.

"Kiki really deserved this title. I have lost three finals here but maybe I'll be able to win one in the future."

(BBC Sport)

sports

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A

massive turnout witnessed Sparta Boss, Uprising, Plaisance and North East La Penitence securing spots in the knockout round of the Guinness Cage Street-ball Championships, which continued on Saturday at the Haslington Tarmac.

Uprising brushed aside Beterverwagting (BV)-B 3-1, with David Wilson recording a brace in the third and 12th minutes, while Phillip Williams accounted for the other goal in the sixth minute. Edun Fraser’s seventh-minute goal was the only opening allowed the opposition.

North East La Penitence defeated Victoria Church Yard by a similar scoreline, as Keifer Brandt fired in a hat-trick. He scored in the fifth, eighth and 10th minutes, while Shemar McPherson scored the opposition’s consolation goal.

Sparta Boss held firm to sink the Haslington Hypers 2-0. Jermin Junior was among the goals again, scoring in the fourth and ninth minutes.

Meanwhile, Plaisance stunned Belfield Warriors

1-0 on penalty kicks, after normal time ended the game scoreless. It was a cagey affair, and it played into the hands of the Plaisance unit.

The results for the other matches are displayed below.

The round of 16 stage and quarterfinal round will kickoff on Saturday 25th at the same venue.

Among the entities who’ve pledged their support to the event are: Banks DIH under its Guinness and Power Wine brands, Queensway Security Services, the Gaming Authority, Clark’s footwear giants Chetsons, E-Networks Inc., KSM Investments, Yhip’s Bakery, Brass Aluminum & Cast Iron

Complete Results

Broad Street-0 vs Avocado Ballers-0 Broad Street-0 vs Avocado Ballers-0 Broad Street won 2-0 on penalty kicks North East La Penitence-3 vs Victoria Church Yard-1 North East Scorer Keifer Brandt-5th, 8th and 10th Victoria Church Yard Scorer Shemar McPherson-3rd Leopold Street-0 vs Paradise-0 Leopold Street won 1-0 on penalty kicks Back Circle-1 vs Melanie-B-1 Melanie-B won 2-1 on penalty kicks Tiger Bay-1 vs Albouystown-0 Deon Alfred-9th Hustlers-3 vs Victoria Eagles-0 Stephon Reynolds-6th and 9th

Foundry (BACIF), Ray’s Auto Sales, Y.K. Investments, Trophy Stall, Express Shipping, Woodpecker Products, National Sports Commission, ‘C’ Division of the Guyana Police Force, Jai Signs & Auto Designs, Give Another Chance Foundation, Julius Variety Store, and C & C Prestigious Styles.

Andrew Holder-13th Alexander Village-1 vs Ol Skool Ballers-1 Alexander won 2-1 on penalty kicks Sparta Boss-2 vs Haslington Hypers-0 Jermin Junior-4th and 9th Vryheid’s Lust-0 vs Buxton Diamond-0 Vryheid's Lust won 1-0 on penalty kicks Blazers-2 vs Melanie-A-0 Delroy Deen-6th Ralph Pollard-10th Plaisance-0 vs Belfield Warriors-0 Plaisance won 1-0 on penalty kicks BV-B-1 vs Uprising-3 Uprising Scorer David Wilson-3rd and 12th Phillip Williams-6th BV-B Scorer Edun Fraser-7th

MYO Karate Club host inaugural grading

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he Muslim Youth Organisation of Guyana (MYO) hosted their first ever Karate grading exercise on Saturday, and seven of the 27 registered members displayed their kata. Four gained their yellow belts, while two were promoted straight to orange and one youngster gained a purple upgrade.

Since their formation in the 1960s, the Muslim Youth Organisation of Guyana have focused on youth development mainly in the form of sports. Cricket has, however, been the dominant sport, having mostly male teens and adult participants.

The Organisation’s executives wanted to have a feature sport to capture a younger population along with female participation.

In March this year, in collaboration with the Guyana Karate Association, MYO embarked on a new challenge -- a Shotokan (tradi-

Participants displaying their achievements following the grading exam

tional) Karate Club.

Housed at the organisation’s complex at Woolford Avenue in Thomas Lands, Georgetown, the Karate Club boasts a safe, comfortable and clean environment, is geared to teach discipline and respect for all, and caters for both males and females from as young as five (5) years old.

Classes are held on Wednesdays and Fridays

from 4pm to 5pm, and are taught by the President of the Guyana Karate Association herself, Sensei Nadia Rohoman, a third Dan black belt who has represented Guyana on both local and international levels in previous years.

Executives of the Muslim Youth Organisation of Guyana urge more females to learn to defend themselves by partaking in the

Karate Club. Registration forms can be uplifted from the venue or from any of the organisation’s executives.

Specific persons of contact are Nadia (684-5411), Kadir (670-8207) and Ralph (6254330).

These persons can also be contacted via their Facebook page facebook.com/myoguyana or email myoguyana@ gmail.com

22

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monDAY, AUGUST 20, 2018

Russell unhappy with pro-Guyana crowd at Tallawahs' home game

J

amaica Tallawahs captain Andre Russell voiced his displeasure with the decision to shift more home games away from Sabina Park, after his side's first loss of the season to Guyana Amazon Warriors in Florida. The noisy and at times hostile atmosphere of about 4000 fans was overwhelmingly in favour of the visiting Warriors during a 71-run win over the designated

home team.

"Honestly, I'm very unhappy at the moment," Russell said after the game. "The guys fought tonight ... but based on tonight's game, it wasn't like a home game. It didn't feel that way.

"Every boundary, every wicket it was going Guyana's way. [Shimron] Hetmyer came out, he

played some good shots and just the crowd being in his back, it kind of gave him that pump and it shouldn't be like that. I think we should have that home advantage where a guy hits a boundary, he hears silence.

Right? If that's how home advantage is supposed to be in these conditions, then you have to wonder. You hit a four, you hit a six, you're not hearing nothing because a Guyana crowd is

out here and they want to see Guyana do well."

According to Russell, his fielders were under pressure almost from the start of the match. When Samuel Badree struck with the seventh ball of the night to trap Chadwick Walton lbw, a hush fell over the ground before it became lively once more in the next over as Hetmyer hit his first two

boundaries off Imad Wasim on his way to becoming the youngest centurion in CPL history at age 21. The Warriors eventually bested the previous CPL-best total at the venue to make 209 for 7.

"Honestly, these are little things that get me upset from the second over," Russell said. "Guys saying stuff to you on the boundary. I don't want to field on the boundary because

guys are pressuring you.

It shouldn't be like that.

When I go to Guyana, then I expect that.

"Guys were upset. I was upset. When I got off the field, I was throwing shoes, everything all around the changing room, things that fans don't need to see but that's how upsetting these things can be. You want to know that

the crowd is behind you in your home game. So if we go to Barbados and we see a sea of blue, then we expect

that. But you're playing a home game, you want to feel that home advantage. You get a wicket, you hear that loud cheer.

It gives the bowler energy even if you're tired."

The Tallawahs have now lost four of five matches in Lauderhill since the CPL's first matches in Florida in 2016. Russell is expecting the hostile environment his side experienced on Saturday night to be no different on Sunday when the Tallawahs take on Trinbago Knight Riders, considering that TKR has historically had by far the biggest group of travelling supporters attending CPL matches in Florida.

He even joked about Tallawahs players trying to pick out their traveling family members in the crowd since they may be the few Tallawahs fans in attendance. But the Tallawahs pulled off a CPL-record chase in the first week of the season at Queen's Park Oval and Russell is optimistic that they can prevail over TKR again "We got the two points before and I know that we can get it again here," Russell said. "I know it's gonna be loud. It's gonna be a lot of Trinbago colours

t o morrow but I hope that we can see some yellows and we can identify our family and friends and we can actually give them something to cheer for tomorrow."

Even prior to the match against Amazon Warriors, Russell told ESPNcricinfo of his ambivalence towards playing home games away from Sabina Park after the Tallawahs had won their last two matches in front of near capacity weeknight crowds of 15,000. Speaking on the eve of the matches in Florida, the Jamaican allrounder made it clear there was no doubt that if the Tallawahs want to main-

tain a true home-field advantage then a Jamaican franchise should be playing in Jamaica.

"Florida is based on a lot of culture, a lot o f different countries and nationalities," Russell told ESPNcricinfo.

"So I hope that we can get the support that we really want. It won't be like playing in Jamaica where the crowd is behind the Tallawahs and the Tallawahs only. You're gonna have a lot of people here coming out to support Guyana while some supporting us while some come out just to watch the games. Their heart is not with the Tallawahs."

However, Russell and his Tallawahs team-mates may be stuck playing more matches away from Sabina Park for the foreseeable future due to an agreement struck by their owner with the city of Lauderhill.

Kris Persaud, whose Worldwide Sports Management Group took control of the Tallawahs in 2017, has a contract with the Lauderhill venue, guaranteeing at least three international cricket events per year at the stadium.

It's the key reason why this year's CPL matches at the venue were designated as Tallawahs home games as opposed to neutral site matches shared amongst the six teams. (cricinfo)

Mohamed’s Enterprise/ExxonMobil futsal

Figgy Green Jags clinch title in nail-biter

F

iggy Green Jags emerged from the fifth annual staging of the Mohamed’s Enterprise/ExxonMobil Futsal tournament on Saturday night $600,000 richer and sporting the winners’ title after a hard fought showdown against Germans United at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) hard court.

The tournament’s highest goal scorer, Colwyn Drakes, led with a hattrick for the eventual champions, which saw the weight of the match being shifted on many occasions.

Within seven minutes of the start of the tournament, Germans had already taken a 2-0 lead when Ryan Noel scored a scorcher from long range before Andre Mayers sneaked one in after a goal-

keeper’s fumble.

John Charlton pulled one back for the Jags, but Germans regained their two-possession lead when Tyrese McAllister found the back of the net to make it 3-1.

In the second half of play, the two teams became engaged in an all-out battle, matching each other goal for goal; and the last two minutes of play were most eventful. With five minutes remaining on the clock, Drakes scored two goals, and with one each coming from Donovan Francis and John Waldron, the Jags were propelled into the lead.

Germans keeper Tevin Crawford subsequently scored a penalty in the 33rd minute, but soon after missed another penalty kick which would’ve put

John Waldron preparing to take a shot

the scores level.

Jags were at that stage leading 6-5, but Orlanzo Thurman stepped up to the plate for Germans and scored two

goals with just over a minute left in the game. This placed the Germans ahead 7 – 6, and Waldron’s equalizer with 30 seconds on the clock brought the game to a

deadlock.

That is when Drakes sealed his Most Valuable Player (MVP) performance with the shot of the night to complete his hat-trick

and steal victory on the regulation time whistle.

The Jags’ win meant Germans United had to settle for the runner-up prize of $250,000 cash.

Meanwhile, in the third place playoff contested earlier, one goal separated winners Goodfellas from Quiet Storm, as the former claimed the $100,000 third prize in an 11-10 showdown.

Quiet Storm pocketed $50,000 for their fourth place finish.

The tournament was sponsored by Mohammed’s Enterprise, ExxonMobil, Bakewell, Cell Smart, Power Producers & Distributors Incorporated (PPDI), Stag Beer, Dragon Stout, Sankar’s Auto Works and Bumper to Bumper Services.

guyanatimesgy.com

monDAY, AUGUST 20, 2018

23

Hero Caribbean Premier League

TKR get sweet

revenge against Tallawahs

T

Darren Bravo of Trinbago Knight Riders plays the ball through the offside

rinbago Knight Riders have bounced back from their loss against the Jamaica Tallawahs (JT) to register a four-wicket win of their own. Decision came down to the final ball of the match on Sunday.

Playing at the Central Broward Park in Florida, TKR won the toss and turned the tables by giving JT first strike. Tallawahs, led by two entertaining half centuries from opener Glen

David Miller of Jamaica Tallawahs hits six

Phillips and David Miller down the order, set a target of 184 for victory, with the loss of only five wickets.

Contrastingly, two half centuries from Colin Munro and Darren Bravo, and a much needed cameo from skipper Dwayne Bravo, were instrumental in the chase.

Imam Wasim had an eventful first two overs with the removal of Sunril Narine without scoring and Chris Lynn for two. Lynn misjudged a run and found himself far from home. TKR were in trouble at 16-2.

Oshane Thomas picked up the wicket of Brendon McCullum for eight, as he mistimed a shot outside off and was caught at backward point.

With the score on 28 – 3, Munro and Darren Bravo made a tremendous recovery with a 107-run partnership. Darren contributed an even 50 and got out, while Lynn had four sixes and four fours in his 51-ball stay of 67.

The left-hander Bravo hit five sixes in the 35 balls he faced before being bowled by Wasim. Dwayne entered with the equation being the TKR needing 48 runs from 18 balls. Like his little brother, he slammed five max-

imums in his 11-ball 36.

With 21 required from 12, Russell struck in the penultimate over when he bowled Munro down the leg side. Javon Searles was the new batsman, and he gave the strike to the captain, who blasted the final ball of Russell’s over over the rope for six. TKR now needed seven from the final over.

Searles missed the first delivery, got a leg bye on the second, then the skipper got out going for a big shot over point and was caught by Kennar Lewis. Ball four was a dot and the fifth was a wide, decreasing the equation to five runs needed from two balls.

Thomas’s second attempt at the delivery went for two, and now Tallawahs were set to secure victory with two lower order batsmen in the middle and three runs to get from one ball. Searles cut one short and wide outside the off in front of square, and that ball ran away to the boundary for the win.

Earlier in the evening, bowling first seemed to work out fine from the first over for TKR, who struck through man-of-the match Khary Pierre when he trapped Lewis lbw for 1.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Phillips got to work right away on his knock of 80, with Steven Taylor joining. Two overs later, Tallawahs were set back with the loss of Taylor for eight, and Pierre was having a magnificent start to his spell.

Ross Taylor then entered with the score on 26 – 2, but found himself back in the dugout after putting just seven runs on the board. A full delivery on leg from Fawad Ahmed got a top edge as Ross went for a big sweep and was caught by Dwayne Bravo in first slip. JT were now 47 – 3.

When Miller arrived in the middle, Tallawahs’ strike rate got a significant boost with Phillips batting aggressively at the other end. The two shared a 112-run fourth wicket partnership, the backbone of the innings.

Tallawahs reached their first 50 in nine overs, gently

SCOREBOARD

Jamaica Tallawahs Innings (20 overs maximum) K Lewis lbw b Pierre 1 GD Phillips † c & b DJ Bravo 80 SR Taylor c ScantleburySearles b Pierre 8 LRPL Taylor c DJ Bravo b Fawad Ahmed 7 DA Miller not out 72 AD Russell (c) c DJ Bravo b Ali Khan 2 R Powell not out 1

Extras 11 (b 1, lb 1, w 9) TOTAL 182-5 (20 Overs, RR: 9.1) Did not bat: Imad Wasim, K Santokie, A Zampa, O Thomas Fall of wickets: 1-5 (K Lewis, 1.3 ov), 2-26 (SR Taylor, 3.3 ov), 3-47 (LRPL Taylor, 8.2 ov), 4-159 (GD Phillips, 18.2 ov), 5-170 (AD Russell, 19.2 ov) BOWLING: Ali Khan (4-0-50-1), K Pierre (4 -0-19-2), Fawad Ahmed (4-0-23-1), SP Narine (4-0-420), DJ Bravo (4-0-46-1)

Dwayne Bravo of Trinbago Knight Riders catches Ross Taylor of Jamaica Tallawahs

accelerated to reach 100 in 15 overs; then demolished the Knight Riders’ attack in the remaining five overs, plundering 83 runs in the process.

Phillips played a well-preserved innings, reaching the half century mark in 46 balls; while Miller, the aggressor, registered a 26-ball 50. The opener scored all around the park, even switching it up

in the process. However, one too many gifted his wicket to Dwayne Bravo, who had him stumped after bowling wide to avoid the trick shot. His innings was laced with only two fours and an equal amount of sixes.

Miller continued the onslaught, and was left unbeaten on 72, with 54 runs having come in boundaries – five

fours and the same amount of sixes.

Russell entered in the final over, but was not able to launch an attack, being dismissed for 1 by Ali Khan.

Rovman Powell came to the middle, and took a single to give Miller the strike; and he finished the innings in style with a huge six back over Khan’s head.

monDAY, AUGUST 20, 2018

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