Guyana times daily august 24 2013

75 GLOW girls complete empowerment camp P9

P9

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 1870 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Phillips to lead GDF when Best retires See story on page 3

– promoted to brigadier along with Bruce Lovell

Cuba cops most of CBU awards See story on page 14

The Caribbean Broadcasting Union on Thursday night at the Princess Hotel presented awards to several of its members at the conclusion of its annual conference held here over the past four days (Carl Croker photo)

“Clever smuggling” GGDMA sinks govt revenue wants foreign collection at exchange for Corriverton sale of gold See story on page 19

See story on page 2

PRICE

$60 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE: P3 APNU urges inquiry into education system Cocaine in GRDB rice shipment

Venezuelan caught P7 with fake container seals P10 New U.S. DCM assumes duties here

P13 New board for Berbice health authority

ECLAC P17 underscores importance of region improving ties with China

2 news

saturday, august 24, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

“Clever smuggling” sinks govt revenue Three arrested collection at Corriverton for

BY SABATINI DANIELS

G

uyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur has said revenue collection at its Corriverton backtrack office had plummeted significantly due to what he described as “clever smuggling”.

As such, the GRA has intensified anti-smuggling measures in the area to trap Guyanese who trade in Suriname, and evade taxes.

Uncontrolled smuggling of goods and drugs from Suriname to Guyana has been a long-standing problem. Some businesses in Berbice have also complained about not being able to compete with other businesses that engage in smuggling as well as fisherfolk who said smuggling of shrimp and fish has threatened their livelihoods.

Income

In an exclusive interview with Guyana Times, Sattaur disclosed that when measures commenced about two years ago to improve revenue collection, income at the office in Corriverton moved from an average of about $5 million per week to about $25 million. However, he noted that this has decreased drastically since a high-level of tax evasion is currently taking place.

“As time progressed, business people became wiser and more adept in evading taxes, and as such, they introduced very innovative and ingenious ways to continue to evade paying taxes,” Sattaur

said.

The tax chief noted that presently the GRA is at the level where it is collecting about the same amount of taxes as two years ago. “We are coming down to the $5 million per week instead of where we had it a while about $25 million in taxes, this shows that smuggling is continuing to happen at a high level.”

Upsurge

He pointed out that although smuggling appears to be on an upsurge, the agency is aggressively taking steps through enforcement activities to tackle this issue, noting that he is cognisant that the GRA might not be unable to halt smuggling altogether.

Despite the decrease, he said the GRA is not giving up on its efforts of operating in Corriverton, explaining that it continues to collaborate with the customs authority in Suriname and fair-minded business people in the community. “There are a lot of people in the Corriverton community who are reporting a lot about these activities, so we do have information that we are using effectively to deal with this problem.”

He said from time to time, the agency’s information officers visit the location or sometimes they intercept trucks that are travelling from Corriverton with large quantities of goods, which have evaded taxes. Included in some of these goods, he added, are chickens, cigarettes, alcohol and other high valued items that have a sig-

GRA Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur

nificant amount of taxes attached. Boat owners who ply their trade at the Guyana/ Suriname border were also made to report to customs at Corriverton and Nickerie, with valid customs clearance for the boats, as part of a wider initiative with the authorities in Suriname to curtail smuggling activities.

Sattaur emphasised that persons must have a valid licence to import certain products such as tobacco and poultry products; hence, if they arrive in the country without this permission, they are liable to be seized. This is in response to reports of persons submitting forged documents at the Guyana/Suriname border in a bid to defraud the tax system.

Earlier in the year, Berbice fisherfolk had called on authorities to intervene

and for mechanisms to be put in place to stem the influx of fish and shrimp smuggled from Suriname being sold on the local market, since they said it was threatening their livelihoods. Meanwhile, legitimate businesses have constantly complained that smuggling and tax evasion are hurting their business, especially since they have to pay VAT. Observers believe that a more comprehensive way of dealing with the issue of smuggling at the backtrack route is to regularise the crossing. However, government back in 2010 declined a proposal by then Suriname’s Justice Minister Chandrikapersad Santokhi to regulate backtrack travel between the two countries.

Backtrack

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee had said following a bilateral ministerial meeting between Guyana and Suriname on crime and security, the government had noted the plans of the Surinamese government to regulate the backtrack operations. “… At this time, the status quo remains in place, but both countries will continue to discuss this matter in the future.”

When he was asked to specify what objections Guyana had with the proposal, Rohee said, “We don’t have a specific objection, we have a number of concerns and those concerns have been discussed internally within the corridors of the government.”

He noted that both

Suriname and Guyana are sovereign states that would make decisions based on national interest, within the context of international relations.

“Guyana, as a sovereign state, has taken the decision that the status quo must remain in place until such time as we determine that the situation will change.”

He added that this “position is influenced by a number of concerns which is of national interest to Guyana”.

Free movement

Suriname had said then that it was working on regularising the backtrack route as the two countries are Caricom members and facilitates the free movement of persons under the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME). Suriname said it did an examination of the “phenomenon” and it was found that on a daily basis, there are approximately 350 to 400 persons using the route between the two countries.

“Our view [is] that these two nations are two Caricom nations and Caricom has designed a policy on the movement of persons and movement of goods which should be very liberal and should be free,” Santokhi had said.

He said there should be some control mechanism and their view is that the backtrack route on the Surinamese side should be institutionalised. The backtrack crossing is not only a passage for goods, but drugs, guns and criminals. (sabatinid@guyanatimesgy.com)

marijuana possession

T

hree persons were arrested on Thursday afternoon after a quantity of cannabis was discovered in their possession at High Dam, Angoys Avenue, New Amsterdam.

Police acting upon information received went to High Dam, Angoys Avenue, New Amsterdam where three men were standing and passing around a small parcel among them.

A police rank who was in the area went up to them, identified himself as a police officer and one of the men dropped the parcel to the ground, which raised suspicion.

The policeman picked up the parcel and upon opening it, he saw that it was empty, but upon a closer inspection, he saw a black t-shirt on the ground among them and proceeded to conduct a search.

In the process of searching the jersey, a small transparent plastic was seen which contained a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis.

When questioned, the men denied having any link with the illegal substance. They were told of the offence, cautioned and arrested.

The men were then taken to the New Amsterdam Police Station where the suspected cannabis was weighed in their presence and amounted to 16 grams. Investigations are continuing.

News

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday, August 24 from 05:30h to 07:00h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday, August 24 from 06:20h to 07:50h.

WEATHER TODAY

Countrywide: Heavy rain showers are expected during the day, with clear skies in the evening over coastal regions and near inland locations. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East south-easterly to easterly at 4.02 to 3.57 metres per second.

High Tide: 06:28h and 18:43h reaching maximum heights of 2.75 metres and 2.72 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 00:01h and 12:19h reaching minimum heights of 0.43 metre and 0.52 metre respectively.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

LOTTERY NUMBERS M 09 02 03 13 24 15 04 FREE TICKET

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013

Daily Millions

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07 17 20 22

LUCKY 3

0

5

12 14 15

saturday, august 24, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Phillips to lead GDF when Best retires – promoted to brigadier along with Bruce Lovell

C

olonel Mark Phillips has been chosen to lead the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) when Rear Admiral Gary Best demits office next month, the Government Information Agency (GINA) has reported.

Phillips and Best’s current deputy, Colonel Bruce Lovell, who is also due to retire soon, have both been promoted to the rank of brigadier and a special badging ceremony is slated for Monday.

In a statement, GINA said President Donald Ramotar – the commanderin-chief of the armed forces and defence board chairman – has approved the promotion of Phillips, as well as Lovell, to brigadier.

“He has identified the brigadier as the chief-of-staff designate and chairman of the Joint Services Coordination Council, to assume the command and control of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) on the retirement of Chief-of-Staff, Rear Admiral Gary Best on September 20, 2013.”

The badging ceremony for Brigadiers Phillips and Lovell will be held at the Office of the President on Monday, August 26, at 15:00h. In addition, the swearing-in ceremony of the new chief-of-staff will take place at the Office of

GDF Chief-of-Staff designate, Brigadier Mark Phillips

Colonel Bruce Lovell has also been promoted to brigadier

the President on Monday, September 16, at 10:30h.

Only last week, Best was promoted from commodore to rear admiral.

Phillips had attended and successfully completed the 50th Advanced Course in Hemispheric Defence and Security at the Inter-American Defence College during the academic year 2010-2011. The Inter-American Defence College, at Fort McNair, Washington, DC, is an international educational institution operating under the aegis of the Organisation of American States. It provides a multidisciplinary, graduate-level course of study for

senior military and civilian officers. This rigorous oneyear course provides a comprehensive understanding of governmental systems, the current international environment, the InterAmerican system, and security issues affecting the Western Hemisphere and the world.

The Advanced Course in Hemispheric Defence and Security prepares senior military officers and civilian government officials from the OAS member states to assume strategic advisory positions related to defence and security, and to work on security and defence strategy and policy development at the highest levels of deci-

sion-making.

Phillips hails from the mining town of Linden, where he attended the Christianburg Primary School and the Christianburg Wismar Secondary School (Multilateral School) prior to joining the Guyana Defence Force in December 1980. Upon graduating from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in the United Kingdom in 1981, Colonel Phillips served the GDF in several junior and senior level appointments over the last 30 years.

Prior to attending the Advanced Course in Hemispheric Defence and Security, Colonel Phillips held the appointments of Colonel Administration and Quartering, and Colonel General Staff in the defence headquarters of the GDF. Colonel Phillips was Guyana’s head of delegation to the Inter-American Defence Board from 2008 to 2009, and at present is Guyana’s non-resident military attaché to Venezuela.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Management from the University of Guyana (1998), and a Master’s Degree in Public Sector Management from La Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic (2000).

APNU urges inquiry into education system

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– says call not an attack on govt

Draw De Line 04 11

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

APNU spokeswoman Malika Ramsay, APNU Chairman David Granger, Opposition Chief Whip Amna Ally, and APNU Vice Chairman Dr Rupert Roopnaraine at the press conference on Friday

T

he A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has called for a national commission of inquiry into the state of the education sector.

The call was made on Friday at the coalition’s weekly press conference at its head office on Hadfield Street. APNU Chairman David Granger pointed out that the position taken is not an attack on the government. He said the call was not sudden nor was it based upon from the recent National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC); and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) re-

sults.

In his statement, the opposition leader said Guyanese children are not adequately equipped with the necessary attitudes and abilities to thrive in adulthood and the world of work.

He noted that there was sufficient evidence for a formal investigation to be conducted into the entire public education system, adding that the Education Ministry was fully aware that for the past decade, “discipline and performance” in the country’s public schools have been unsatisfactory.

“APNU, therefore, calls for the establishment of a national commission of inquiry in order to determine:

first, why results at three levels – CAPE, CSEC and NGSA – continue to be unsatisfactory; what obstacles to good education still exist, especially at primary and secondary levels; and third, what is the way forward to achieve higher standards and better results. Only in this way, by finding out the truth about what is happening in the public education system, could we expect Guyana’s children to receive a sound education,” the opposition leader said.

Granger added that the APNU’s continuous calls for commissions of inquiry to be held are just a means to get information and they do not have to be expensive or elaborate as the ones held previously. “A commission of inquiry is not meant to be expensive… we can have a one-man inquiry, for example, inquiries are conducted very frequently in the government service… we can have one single retired jurist to conduct the inquiry.

Turn to page 7

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guyanatimesgy.com

Saturday, august 24, 2013

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

Editorial

Conquering the digital divide

I

n January 2010, former President Bharrat Jagdeo announced on the occasion of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) landing its under-the-ocean fibre optic cable from Miami via Trinidad and Tobago-Suriname that the government of Guyana would be bringing in its own fibreoptic cable, but overland via Brazil. GT&T had split its cost with Suriname and the cable installation and related marine services were provided by Global Marine Systems Limited (GMSL), the largest independent provider of submarine cable installation in the world.

The government’s cable was the consummation of discussions that had gone on between then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Jagdeo, and its landed cost at Lethem was the same as GT&T’s US$30 million cable, landed at Georgetown. The government justified its decision by promising to bring governance into the 21st century through the increased and enhanced communication possibilities opened up by the fibre-optic cable. The plan was eminently sensible because one of the major problems with governance in Guyana was the problem of communication between government departments that were scattered across 83,000 square miles of terrain that was not even connected by a modern road network.

Between GT&T and the government’s cables, it was projected that the citizenry, the private sector and the government were all going to enjoy the benefits of the new connectivity. However, behind the decision to bring in the fibre-optic cables was a premise that went far beyond the gain in connectivity – it was posited that the connectivity would spur developments in the information technology sector that would directly lead to growth in the economy.

This had been asserted in 2000, by no less than the United Nations (UN) through its secretary general Kofi Annan, who had asserted this direct linkage between access to information technology and development. It was part of a wider discussion in development circles about the existence of a “digital divide” between the developed and developing countries, especially in terms of access to the Internet.

The Internet as a portal to an unlimited knowledge base and its facilitation of the sharing of that knowledge became the holy grail that would lead to quantum leaps in the development drive. The government’s fibre-optic cable was also intended to fill the gap between the commercial connectivity facilitated by GT&T and the large segment of the population too poor to access it. In addition to connecting governmental facilities, it was announced that those who could not afford the commercial plans would be accommodated.

To access the Internet, signals transmitted in the fibre, a computer is necessary and this is where the government’s One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) fitted in. Announced at the same time by then president Jagdeo as the fibre-optic cable from Brazil, 90,000 internet-ready laptops were to be distributed to “family members, especially teen males, participating in community groups focusing on economic development, capacity building and education. Collaborating with project partners was the primary target of OLPF laptop distribution.

This primary OLPF participant is expected to bring the computer experience and learning to their family. By 2011, the laptops were being distributed along with the training necessary for their use.

The connection of the fibre-optic cable from Brazil to its complementary branch along the populated coastland and around Georgetown has unfortunately been delayed because of several factors. The main one has been an underestimation of the hurdles presented by the virgin forest and rivers that have to be traversed by the cable. We have witnessed the same challenges posed to the completion of the road to Amaila Falls.

What this latter experience teaches us is that, while we must try to leapfrog development by exploiting advanced technology, we cannot ignore our simultaneous need to master intermediate technology such as demanded by our geography. But in jumping across the digital divide, Guyana is now poised to exploit the information technology synergies.

President Donald Ramotar being garlanded upon arrival by a little lass on Friday at the Cotton Tree Primary School, Region Five for a community meeting on land regularisation (GINA photo)

Improving business security Dear Editor, The members of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) are all engaged in the drafting of plans to help businesses detect and prevent potential security threats. And two of the things they want to combat are those of petty theft and dishonesty.

According to the chamber, businesses should ensure that their employees are all well compensated for their services and operate in a comfortable environment so that workers would likely develop a sense of loyalty. With loyalty, an employee feels a sense

of belonging to and responsibility for the well-being of the company.

While I do believe in this kind of philosophy, I also believe, that irrespective of salary, work relations and accommodation, workers must be governed by a sense of industry, integrity and general well-being. An employee must not be coerced or cajoled into being a person of trust. This should be a human trait that is self-inculcated.

If any employee is not satisfied with any particular aspect of a job, this should be discussed and then an appropriate recourse should be taken. It may mean that the

employee has to go.

This is better than having that person on the job, where too many things are likely to go wrong. An employee who is not happy is not an excuse for being caught in error, whether a personal malfunction, or simply colluding with outsiders.

The idea that companies should transfer large sums of cash via cash transit security services is a most natural and splendid one. This transfers the risk to the security services and any loss would be covered under insurance in the risk of an unforeseen incident.

But there is more to it.

It is likely to rule out col-

lusion from the inside and these people are professionals – most of them are wellsuited for the job. They have experience in crime-fighting and they have the weaponry. Companies must learn not to be penny wise and pound foolish.

This will help, but I do think that we must still comb the streets at all times.

Even if there is some kind of inside betrayal, the policing system must allow for effective interception. We cannot go on just seeking to evade criminals – we have to get them off the streets.

Yours truly, Trevor Jacobs

Crackdown needed on unlicensed boats, operators

Dear Editor, I am very perturbed that we have this bad culture of doing the right thing only after a lot of damage would have already been done.

There is no second guessing – water travel has really increased in Guyana and it is only now that a lot of people are becoming aware of many things.

I never knew that the laws for operating a boat with an engine on Guyana’s waterways are the same as the laws for operating a vehicle on the road. I have many friends who captain boats and they will say same the same. Just as

the vehicle and the vehicle driver both have to be licensed.

The only exceptions to the licensing rule for boats are paddle boats or boats being propelled by an engine less than 5HP in capacity, but still the operator has to be licensed.

From experience, this does not obtain and it is difficult to monitor. However, we need to keep in mind that of recent, there have been far too many fatal accidents on our waterways.

The thing that bothers me is the attitude of the people concerned. Officials had visited many areas of con-

cern several times, advising operators and boat owners to put their operations in order, but to no avail.

These people generally would ignore the warnings and had more recently been asking for more time to comply. So they realise now, even if belatedly, that they have been doing wrong.

Those who persist in a noncompliant manner must now face the appropriate penalties.

Over the last 20 months or so, close to 50 persons have died in riverine and coastal accidents and last year death toll of 25 last year represents the high-

est in the last decade. This should really wake up all those who are operating on the waterways.

What we have to do is to keep monitoring both systematically and randomly.

We cannot take things for granted. We have to also apply the force of the law when guilty parties are unearthed.

If the commuters can be very co-operative, it would help. They need to file reports on boats and captains – any flouting the laws must be exposed.

Regards, Kandasia Williams

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURday, august 24, 2013

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

Change the way we deal Rally against crimes in with abusers of women mining camps Dear Editor, Some of the women who are battered just do not have the money to go to get that medical corroboration of abuse.

The next thing is the fear of women to report instances of abuse.

One neighbour recently said of a victim that she used to put up with a lot. Abusers seem to believe that they must not be reported and they know that

their partners fear retribution for reporting.

When incidents of this nature come to the attention of the police, the officers must do a little extra work.

Look at the abuser’s family ties and get details of employment, financial situation, resources, character, mentality, maturity and stability.

Bail should be denied to most abusers and it must not be seen as a right, but

as a privilege. If I had my own way, I would lock away women abusers and when they are released, if this so happens, I would go for orders of restraint.

This is a society where men think they can act bad and get off. It is time to stop this and start making a change in people’s thinking.

Yours faithfully, June Gittens

Dear Editor, There seems to be a lot of thievery going on in mining operations.

Many people make a good living buying raw gold from mining workers.

They then take this gold and sell it. It is a well established operation.

Some have become very rich by virtue of selling this gold.

No wonder there are so many crimes being committed in the interior where gold mining operations are being conducted.

The entire public must rally against this criminality.

If this kind of spirit can catch on, then more criminals will be caught, and potential criminal activities will reduce.

This is why even when two people make up, irrespective of the nature of the crime, the court must mete out some form of punishment to the guilty party. Crime is more than something personal and private.

The interior is difficult where law enforcement is

concerned. Many get the idea that they can go and work for good money there and do what they want to do.

Mine owners must play a part in helping to fight crime in the interior. They must recruit only those with a clean record and they must be willing to call in the law when someone steps out of line.

Yours truly, Miner Name withheld by request

Dear Editor, I am engrossed with the project to teach the Arawak language as part of Amerindian Heritage Month activities. I firmly believe that we have been moving too slow in this area of culture.

In Australia, the first school to teach in an indigenous language was set up by German missionaries in Adelaide in 1838.

However, this innovative education programme was short-lived.

Currently though, after a recent federal par-

liamentary report, there is the proposal to make a major shift in the way the nation understands and recognises indigenous languages.

I think that we should acquaint ourselves with the phenomena of language and culture – they are intimately related. Both phenomena are unique to humans and have therefore been the subject of a great deal of anthropological, sociological, and even icon study. Language, of course, is determined by culture.

The converse is also true.

Early anthropologists, following the theory that words determine thought, believed that language and its structure were entirely dependent on the cultural context in which they existed.

So with the spotlight soon to be on Amerindians – their lives, culture and development, I am hoping that activities will be observed with intellectuality, particularly anything that is touched by language.

Sincerely, Adrian Seymour

Cricketing academies are An important aspect of most welcome Amerindian Heritage Month

Dear Editor, This country is really doing a lot for its young people. If they squander what is being handed to them, they have no one to blame but themselves. This is how I am thinking as I am reading about the 13th edition of the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club’s cricket academy that was just launched.

In this regard, I join the club president in challenging the participants to make full use of the opportunities being offered to them. According to him, the young cricketers are being heavily invested in and they grab the opportunity to make something of their lives in sports and otherwise.

Many cricketers will be good, but to actually make a living out of the game may

not be possible. The entire West Indies team can only accommodate 11 players at any given time. So that is why I compliment the organisers for instilling other values at these camps. Things like discipline, responsibility, leadership, self-respect, schooling and education are all very well emphasised.

These camps can encourage attendants to think about related cricketing careers. Right now scorers, umpires, coaches, writers etc all represent opportunities where cricket is concerned. Many of these can be part-time work as well.

Historically, as a county, Berbice has done very well at cricket. There is the proof in the historical billboard, at Port Mourant boasting its test players – John Trim, Clayton Lambert, Basil Butcher, Narsingh

Deonarine, Joseph Solomon, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Ivan Madray, Brandon Bess, Roy Fredericks, Devendra Bishoo, Leonard Baichan, Assad Fudadin, Sewdat Shivnarine, Veerasammy Permaul, Rohan Kanhai, Mahendra Nagamootoo and Alvin Kallicharran.

Maybe doses of history will be good for these sessions too. They actually start at eight in the mornings and go to just after four in the afternoons. They are geared for young cricketers, male and female, between the ages of 10 and 19 years old.

Like I said, this is for the young and the entire thing calls for a big investment of time, effort and money. So it must not be taken for granted.

Regards, Selwyn Deane

Those who use defective scales must be punished Dear Editor, The perpetrators of defective scales must be dealt with severely. This act is very parasitic and it smacks of deceit. If an ounce is taken off from every pound, it means that these people are taking 17 pounds and making 17.

They are robbers as such.

They know the rules and yet they break them. If it is that they are not making enough from their line of business, then they can leave and go try something else. I am so fed up hearing excuses of this sort, as if they can be of any justification.

I am calling on those who are supposed to be looking into scales, weights and

measurements to get going with inspections on a regular basis at the markets so as to curb this nonsense.

I also ask that errant vendors be placed before the court. They know what they are doing and only via prosecution will this practice come to an end. Then as for buyers, they need to challenge the vendors when they have doubts. If indeed they can prove some form of malpractice, they themselves can file their reports.

If they take a laid back approach, the evil will become very entrenched.

Fighting this kind of crime is not that difficult. If vendors can be exposed for cheating, their businesses can be se-

verely hampered.

Yours, Fiona Francis

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saturday, auGust 24, 2013

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Foundation

Children and exercise – the inactivity time bomb

BY FERGUS WALSH

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he UK is facing an inactivity time bomb. Research suggests half of seven-year-olds don’t get enough exercise. The outlook is even worse for girls. While nearly two out of three boys do an hour’s physical activity a day, for girls it is around one in three.

The results come from the biggest UK-wide scientific analysis of primary school children’s activity.

Many previous studies were based on survey results whereas this research, by University College London’s Institute of Child Health, recorded the activity of 6500 youngsters for a week.

Each wore an accelerometer – a gadget which measures both the duration and intensity of exercise. The observation that children are not getting enough exercise is hardly new. But this research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, gives perhaps the most accurate picture yet of the scale of the problem at primary school level.

It is especially concerning because children tend to do less exercise as they get older. If two-thirds of girls are not

active enough at the age of seven, then that proportion will get even higher – unless action is taken.

So how do you motivate children to be active? Clearly school sports are vital. But parental input is crucial. Seven year olds today face more distractions, more incentives to be sedentary, than any previous generation. For many of them,

the computer tablet, apps or smartphones are a part of daily life. Sadly, many regard playing outside as a dull alternative to using their thumbs to control a computer game.

From my experience there is limited value in telling them that they need to do exercise to be healthy – the concept of future heart, bone or weight problems cuts little ice with your average primary or secondary school child.

Two things are crucial. First is making physical activity routine – part

of daily life. Walking to school is one obvious example. Parents who set an example and do exercise tend to have more active children. The second is finding a sport or activity which engages your child. Getting children more involved in sport was one of the legacy aims of the 2012 Olympics.

The Change4Life campaign is aimed at encouraging people of all ages to lead healthier, more active lives.

Its motto, “Eat well, move more, live longer”, pretty much sums up the aim of the campaign. It already has half a million members and is doing another recruitment drive linked to the start of the new school year.

Using apps and email messages, it encourages children to take several small steps that will help lead to a permanent improvement in their health.

This includes breaking down the perhaps daunting task of being active for at least 60 minutes into 10 minute chunks, plus suggestions for games which will tempt children away from their screen.

From today’s research such campaigns are vital if primary school children are to be motivated to lead an active life. (bbc.co.uk/news/health)

guyanatimesgy.com

Daddy blues: Dealing with postpartum depression... as a dad

By Mike Spohr

N

o one says “women’s postpartum depression” because postpartum depression is widely understood to be a woman’s problem. In reality, though, many men also experience depression after the birth of their children. Some people may find the concept funny, but paternal postpartum depression is a very real problem, one I experienced after the birth of my second child in 2011.

The exact causes of postpartum depression in women isn’t entirely known, but many blame it on hormonal changes.

Hormonal changes aren’t the only potential cause of postpartum depression, though.

Many theorised causes of post-

partum depression, like anxiety and difficulty adjusting to such a large life change, are ones that men face, too.

I didn’t experience depression after my first child, Madeline, came home from the NICU, but I definitely felt anxiety, pressure, and stress.

Suddenly, I was getting much less sleep, no longer free to go out when I wanted, and responsible for the well-being of a tiny person who, in Madeline’s case, had special needs. Many men are unaware of just how monumental a life change becoming a parent is, and understandably find themselves depressed as they try to adjust to this new status quo.

I may not have experienced depression when Madeline came home, but I did following the birth of my second child, Annabel. There was one huge reason for this. Madeline unexpectedly passed away at seventeen months from prematurity related causes, and Annabel was born in the shadow of that tragedy. This, as you can imagine, was an incredibly difficult experience, but I didn’t anticipate the depth of feelings I would experience after Annabel’s birth. Though I dearly loved Annabel, I felt guilt and sadness over taking care of a baby girl who wasn’t Madeline. Irrational as it may have been, I felt like I was betraying Madeline somehow by being another little girl’s daddy. In addition to all of that, I was anxious over the possibility that something tragic might happen to Annabel.

Thankfully, I was able to speak to a therapist whose counsel helped me greatly, and soon I was able to cope with all I was going through.

Most fathers don’t have to deal with issues like those, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot to adjust to as well. If they need help, they should get it. My hope is that in time paternal postpartum depression will become more widely understood so men will feel more comfortable admitting to what they’re feeling. As I said earlier, some people may find the concept of paternal postpartum depression funny, but it’s not.

It’s deadly serious and should be treated as such. (babyzone.com)

News

7

saturday, August 24, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Cocaine in GRDB rice shipment

Venezuelan caught with fake container seals A

s investigations continue into the cocaine discovered in a Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) rice shipment in the Dominican Republic, a Venezuelan national was taken into custody after he was caught with at least four fake shipping container seals, officials at the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit confirmed.

The seals, when checked, matched those that were on the container which had the 69 kilograms of cocaine. Several persons have also been questioned in connection with the cocaine bust, including custom officials. Guyana Times was told that the suspect travelled to Jamaica when the container was there and followed it after he was informed that it had left for the Dominican Republic.

Guyanese law enforcement officers are trying to ascertain whether the cocaine was placed in the rice in Guyana.

The Liberian-registered ves-

sel was scheduled to leave the Dominican Republic for Caracas when authorities there uncovered the cocaine.

Immediately after the discovery was made public, the board of directors of the GRDB had an emergency meeting to assess the situation.

Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur on Friday disclosed that his agency was forced to review its operational procedures not only to prevent drugs smuggling but to assure some level of security in the system.

Speaking with this publication on Friday, the GRA boss stated that from all indications the normal procedures were followed which meant that when the vessel was loaded, members of the Drug Enforcement Unit were present at the wharf and conducted the normal examination.

“Understand these things are loaded onto a ship through a process that hardly permits

Diagnosis

APNU Vice Chairman, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, in response to a question asked about using a task force as opposed to a commission of inquiry, explained that inquiries are held under the commission of inquiry act and have a legal foundation, which gives more strength to

the recommendations being implemented.

“The reason we need a commission of inquiry is that so we can arrive at a diagnosis of this entire situation… what we attempted to do really, is establish an objective basis for remediable action until we can get a diagnosis on which we can all agree,” Roopnaraine said.

Granger also stated that APNU prefers an independent body to conduct the investigation and make recommendations. He said they do not want an internal task force

through a process and not in container… From the stage where the paddy is loaded onto the trucks to the point to go on a ship, it is conducted in a manner that would give a high assurance that these products are not contaminated with the rice itself,” Sattaur explained.

He said large amounts of paddy and rice left Guyana at any given time and it would be virtually impractical for GRA to be involved in every stage. “We use what is called a risk profiling that determines which exporters are high risk which further tells who should be put under greater scrutiny and ultimately whose shipment should be put through a thorough investigation.”

That profile system, the GRA boss noted, is based on past experience with the shipper. “I have not done the investigation as yet to determine what profiling we have given this exporter,” he added.

raised by the opposition leader include: violence in school, employment of local teachers, teachers’ behaviour, school attendance, and non-performance of hinterland students.

However, the major issue highlighted is the poor performance of the hinterland students.

The coalition expressed concern over the problems in the school system, stating that “education apartheid” is materialising. “It is evident that private schools seem to be performing consistently better than public schools. Schools

on the coastland have been achieving better results, on average, than schools in the hinterland. It is evident also that of the 16,811 candidates who sat the NGSA this year, only 173 students who comprised the top one per cent were placed in the best secondary schools. Over 80 of the 173 students were from private schools around the country,” Granger pointed out.

The opposition leader further stated that no students from the Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, PotaroSiparuni and Rupununi re-

gions or the Mahaica-Berbice region were qualified among the top one per cent. Granger said some students performed so poorly at the examinations that they are regarded as “functionally illiterate”.

He encourages all Guyanese to work together for the improvement of primary and secondary education. “APNU remains fully committed to ensuring that all children can receive the quality education which will help them to attain the ‘good life’ to which they are entitled.”

The cocaine that was found in a shipment of rice aboard the Liberia-registered cargo ship

thorough investigations to be carried out, because it is sent down a chute… it is also not conducive to have it scanned, because it is not loaded into a container, but rather placed in a truck and some sort of receptacle is used,” the commission-

APNU urges inquiry into...

An inquiry is designed to get information, it doesn’t have to have a panel of six judges or cost a 100 million grand,” Granger stated.

er general said.

He added that as a result, persons engaged in illegal activities are manipulating the system thus there is need for review. Sattaur added that in the case of this shipment, sources gave information to

the relevant authorities so that they can engage in some kind of inspection, which was not done, noting that when information is given, it is used and ultimately the desired results are garnered.

On the other hand, the commissioner general explained that the discovery and the reports have taken him by surprise, claiming that they were not informed directly but via the press.

He added that the GRA has the responsibility to check and scan goods, and remains committed to ensuring that all exports are free from contaminated substances, so it has been working with various agencies, including the Guyana Forestry Commission and Fisheries.

In response as to why the shipment of paddy was not scanned, Sattaur explained that GRA has a good relationship with GRDB since it ships rice and paddy in bulk.

“The shipping is done

From page 3

from the ministry, which will likely “sweep the dust under the carpet”.

Student performance

Granger, in substantiating his call, further explained that through Parliament, they can correct these problems in the education system by making changes to budgetary allocations, making calls for policy changes, and ensuring that the necessary agencies are fully staffed and allocations are adequate to help solve this problem. The issues

8 news

saturday, august 24, 2013| guyanatimesGY.com

Haslington man acquitted of wife’s killing

C

ourtney Farley, the Haslington man accused of killing his wife, was on Friday freed after the jury returned a majority verdict of not guilty of manslaughter against him.

Farley was indicted with the January 7, 2010 murder of his wife, Melanie, at their Haslington, East Coast Demerara home. The accused had pleaded not guilty to the indictment when it was read to him on Wednesday last at the High Court. The short trial into the woman’s murder commenced after a 12-member jury panel was selected before Justice Navindra Singh.

State counsels Teshana Lake and Natasha Backer, the prosecution team, had only two witnesses to call; and, as such, completed their case in one day.

The prosecution’s case

was that on January 2, 2010, the couple had an argument during which Farley began pelting his wife with ornaments. He then picked up a cutlass and charged towards her, but she ran out of the house onto the landing where she closed the door from outside. The accused then pushed open the door from the inside, causing the woman to trip on the rail and fall over. This was attested to by the prosecution’s star witness, Annetta Bhagot, the deceased’s cousin who was living with the couple at the time.

However, in the accused’s caution statement, which he gave to Corporal Bajan Singh, the prosecution’s other witness, he said it was his wife who attacked him first, accusing him of having an affair. Farley said his wife was approaching him with a

cutlass when Bhagot intervened and put her out of the house. He further claimed that he thought the woman had gone downstairs and so he opened the door.

No-case submission

After calling its two witnesses, the prosecution closed its case. On Thursday, defence attorney Keavon Bess made a no-case submission, stating that his client should not be called upon to lead his defence, since the prosecution has failed to establish a case of murder or even manslaughter against him.

In his ruling, the trial judge said that from the evidence presented, three scenarios of what transpired can be deduced. He added that there was enough evidence for the jury to de-

termine which scenario occurred and overruled the no-case submission.

The judge ruled that a case was made out for manslaughter and not murder; hence, he called on the accused to lead his defence. Farley elected to do by remaining silent.

On Friday, both the defence and prosecution made their closing addresses to the jury after which the presiding judge summed up all the evidence presented to the panel, which then retired to deliberate on a verdict. After about two hours in the deliberation, the panel emerged with a majority verdict of not guilty of manslaughter. After the court was told of the jury’s decision, Justice Singh informed the accused that he was freed and can go home.

Farley happily left the court.

Dispute between neighbours ends up in court

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wo neighbours whose ongoing dispute descended into bottle throwing declined to pursue the matter when they were brought before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Friday.

It was alleged that on

August 21 at Roxanne Burnham Gardens, Sheldon Tennant, 21, threw bottles to the annoyance and danger of Deinisia Anthony, 18, who also threw bottles to the annoyance and danger of Tennant. They both pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Tennant was represent-

ed by Attorney Paul Fung-AFat who told the court that his client has no priors and works in construction.

Attorney Dexter Todd, who represented Anthony, told the court that the dispute has been going on for a while.

Magistrate Azore asked

both parties if they were going ahead with the matter. They both said no, stating that it was a misunderstanding.

The matter was dismissed as no evidence was offered, and the neighbours were free to go.

Labourer remanded after breaching restraining order

A

man who breached a restraining order was remanded

on Friday by Magistrate Fabayo Azore on a charge of threatening language af-

ter the virtual complainant revealed the breach.

It is alleged that on

August 20 at Stevedore Housing Scheme, Martin Clean made use of threatening language to Alicia Moses whereby a breach of the peace was occasioned.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge read against him at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Clean, who was unrepresented, told the court that he is a 39-year-old labourer and has a fixed place of abode at 427 South Ruimveldt Housing Scheme. He also stated that Moses is the mother of his three children.

There were no objections put forward by the prosecution initially and just as the magistrate was about to grant the defendant bail in the sum of $25,000, Moses interjected and told the court that the defendant should not be granted bail, since she has a restraining order against him.

Moses told the court that she has to spend nights at other persons’ homes, because she is too afraid of the defendant to sleep in her home. She said he jumps her fence to get into her yard.

The prosecution then asked Magistrate Azore to refuse bail, since the defendant breached the order which is a serious offence.

The defendant was remanded to prison. The matter was transferred to Court One for September 18.

Eyew tness No mystery...

K

...in Specialty Hospital opposition

hemraj Ramjattan does not seem to have learnt anything from the sordid example of his Alliance For Change (AFC) Chairman Nigel Hughes and his conflict of interest mess with the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project (AFHEP). Here it is that Hughes’ entire political career has crashed and burned because he thought he could hide his playing of both sides against the middle from the ordinary people.

But truth will come out – sooner or later. And when people find out they’ve been played for suckers, they’re not going to take it lying down. In the old days, leaders like these would’ve been drawn and quartered. It’s a good thing we’ve moved on. Now they just won’t ever vote for them and you’re leaving them up the creek without the proverbial paddle. And so we arrive at Ramjattan raising the matter of the Specialty Hospital, once again.

Just as how people are foaming at the mouth at Hughes for denying them cheap electricity while he was pocketing big bucks – not to mind peddling influence – by working for the builder of the hydro project, Ramjattan is going to be in sh*t’s creek with this hospital that Guyanese desperately need. And while poor and rich people are dying for lack of treatment by expert doctors with specialised equipment, Ramjattan has reportedly pocketed the big bucks by the firm that didn’t win the bid to build the hospital.

But we want to raise another point with these guys who are lawyers and on the rules on conflict of interest.

Do these fellas think they’re a law unto themselves??

Don’t rules apply to them?? In the case of Ramjattan, he takes on a client who wants a contract to build the hospital and then pushes the client’s case in the Parliament of Guyana!!! He brings up this cockamamie idea that the contracted company won’t be able to build the hospital. And of course, his client can. Ah...Ramjattan is such a disinterested individual!!

But we want to know...Doesn’t the Guyana Bar Association have some code of ethics or something? I know if doctors mess up ethically – like fondling a client who’s under sedation or other such depraved acts – the action will be drastic. Like throwing them out on their ears. What about lawyers? Does the Guyana Bar Association enjoy the snide jokes and winks that always accompany the word “lawyer”?

We’d thought Ramjattan would’ve laid low for a while...but for him to bring up the Specialty Hospital once again means his clients, who’ve apparently paid him already, want their pound of flesh. Unfortunately, the flesh will be coming literally from very ill Guyanese people. And it’ll be more than a pound.

....in the Dilscoop effect

By the time you dear readers get to this snippet, we’d have known who our Guyana Amazon Warriors are playing. But I’ll tell you what. Your humble Eyewitness is still basking in the glow of their Thursday night deconstruction and demolition of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel. We know it has become a cliche to talk of the Warriors “melting” the Steels. But we have to point out that it takes such a high temperature to melt steel that the flame gets blue. And looks cold.

And that’s what the Warriors performance on Thursday night looked like: cold and clinical. This was professional cricket at its best – from sending in Trinidad to bat to hitting the winning runs with 20 balls to spare. And it was the same professionalism by the back office that brought in Lasith Malinga and Tillakaratne Dilshan (and his Dilscoop) at the eleventh hour. As is my practice, your Eyewitness will put his neck on the block that Jamaica won last night and we’ll conquer their crocodile tomorrow.

...in praise of Doodnauth Singh

Doodnauth Singh’s greatest hour was when he swore in Janet Jagan to the presidency when the forces of anarchy were about to take over the state. May he rest in peace.

NEWS

9

SATURday, august 24, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

GWI outreach targets 75 GLOW girls complete empowerment camp errant customers T

he Guyana Water Inc (GWI) said it has achieved positive results from its countrywide customer outreach programme, “GWI’s Community Connect”.

On Friday, August 16, the utility service provider conducted the exercise in the community of Cane Grove, Mahaica, offering customers, who are unable to travel to the local GWI office at Bachelor’s Adventure, the opportunity to make water service payments, query outstanding bills, report leaks and apply for new service connections.

In excess of 400 customers visited the GWI Community Connect booth stationed within the local NDC office, with the majority making payments towards their service charges.

According to a release from the water company, GWI’s Chief Executive Officer Shaik Baksh noted that he is encouraged by the response at Cane Grove.

“Community Connect is vital to our current countrywide revenue drive so we are relieved that customers are making use of our outreach activities to resolve billing queries and honour their service charges,” Baksh said, adding “our aim is to provide customers with a wide range of options for bill payment. In addition to customer services locations and payment vendors such as Surepay, customers in ru-

GWI Chief Executive Officer Shaik Baksh

ral areas like Cane Grove are encouraged to utilise Community Connect to ensure their payments are received on time.”

A similar outreach activity was conducted earlier in August in the Bare Root Community, East Coast Demerara, with in excess of 300 GWI customers in attendance. This activity also received positive feedback from customers who indicated that it was convenient to have GWI officials in the community to address complaints and queries from customers.

During these outreach activities, GWI customer service representatives also conducted door-to-door visits, reminding customers about overdue bill payments and querying about the quality of their service.

“Our objective is to avoid disconnecting any customer’s service for non-payment,” stated Baksh.

“We are reaching out to as many customers as possible in areas where revenue collection is low to ensure customers have the opportunity to make payments and avoid service disconnection.”

The chief executive officer urged customers, especially in rural areas, to attend all future community connect activities which are scheduled for East Bank Demerara, Berbice, West Coast Demerara and Linden.

Customers attending will have access to all the services available at GWI customer services locations as Community Connect is intended to function as a mobile GWI office, providing customers with added convenience.

The utility’s countrywide disconnection campaign continues indefinitely as customers with any outstanding arrears are urged to make payments to avoid service disconnection. The campaign also targets customers with illegal connections and those who reconnect their service after disconnection.

GWI has commenced removing the entire service connection of repeat offenders who have consistently reconnected their service connections. Customers with large arrears can access “GWI’s Wallet-Friendly Payment Plans” at Community Connect events.

Guyana Women Miners Organisation President Simona Broomes interact with some of the girls at the camp

U

.S. Peace Corps volunteers organised Guyana’s third Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) camp at the KuruKuru Cooperative College, Linden-Soesdyke Highway from August 12 to 19.

Approximately 75 young girls, ages 13 to 17 from across Guyana participated in activities that focused on teamwork, building selfesteem, goal-setting, decision-making, and creating healthy relationships and lifestyles. U.S. Ambassador D Brent Hardt visited the

The Peace Corps (Guyana) Gender and Development Task Force seeks to address issues of gender-related to equality, human rights and access to services; to build capacity and efficacy among women to improve the quality of life for all genders; and to serve as a resource group for all volunteer work related to gender and development issues.

Camp counsellors and junior counsellors underwent training so that they could facilitate an environment that allowed staff and

GLOW, the Peace Corps volunteers collaborated with the Culture, Youth, and Sports Ministry and local non-governmental organisations, including Red Thread, Linden Care, Hope for All, and Family Awareness Consciousness Togetherness (FACT).

They also received support from Wings of Hope, Fenix Airways, Skywest, Bruster’s Ice Cream and other local businesses. Prominent women leaders, including Simona Broomes of the

U.S. embassy, local groups conduct medical outreach in Rupununi U.S. Ambassador to Guyana D Brent Hardt making a presentation at the girls’ camp

U.S. embassy officials attending to this wheel chair-bound lad

T

he United States (U.S.) embassy’s Humanitarian Assistance Programme (HAP), in collaboration with the Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana (AOAG), St Joseph’s Mercy Hospital, and Health Ministry community officers, conducted a medical outreach in Amerindian communities of Rupununi, Region Nine from July 30 to August 6.

The Amerindian Affairs

Ministry hosted the event through the village councils, which were able to treat over 200 people as part of the medical services offered in the villages of Yupukari, Karanambu, Massara, Kwatamung, Rewa and Surama.

The volunteer medical team provided outpatient clinical services, donated reading glasses and conducted assessments, and provided treatment for special-needs patients.

According to the U.S. embassy, medical outreaches are one of the continuing commitments of the U.S. embassy, working with the government of Guyana through the Health Ministry to provide medical assistance to the people of Guyana.

The recent medical outreach and donation is the latest in a series of activities undertaken by the U.S. embassy’s Humanitarian Assistance Programme.

GLOW girls on August 13, as part of the week of leadership activities.

According to a U.S. embassy release, during Ambassador Hardt’s interaction with the participants, he emphasised the importance for young women to take steps to embrace their potential as future leaders and strong women. He encouraged them to use the skills they learned at the camp to make a difference, not only in their own lives, but also in the lives of members of their communities.

“The United States is dedicated to supporting the development and empowerment of women and young girls in Guyana and views it as a crucial aspect of social and economic development,” the release stated.

Camp GLOW, a worldwide young women’s empowerment camp, was organised by the Gender and Development Volunteer Task Force of the U.S. Peace Corps in Guyana.

campers to grow and learn together. During the camp, the girls were encouraged to participate in sessions, lead discussions, and to be openminded and supportive towards one another.

Unique experience

Some of the campers said the opportunity was unique, as they felt comfortable in their environment and were able to let their voices be heard.

One camper stated, “Camp GLOW helped me to understand myself, to be the best you can be… I now know what it feels like to glow from the inside.” Each girl was challenged to share their knowledge, take on a leadership role, and organise community service projects. Another camper said, “I won’t hesitate to help my community and empower young people, I am determined to go back home and be a great role model.”

To ensure the success of this mission and Camp

Guyana Women Miner’s Organisation (GWMO), Melcita Bovell from the Education Ministry, Dwynette Eversly of The Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre, Imarah Radix of the S4 Foundation, Ingrid Goodman of Patoris, and successful, female professionals from the U.S. embassy and Peace Corps Guyana were invited to share their experiences in a series of inspirational talks with the girls.

Currently, Camp GLOW Guyana is looking to expand its network of community partners and to increase its sustainability so it can continue to empower and inspire young Guyanese women for years to come. Anyone interested in learning more about Camp GLOW Guyana or would like to participate next year, can visit http:// www.campglowguyana. org or e-mail guyanagad@ gmail.com for more information.

10

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, august 24, 2013

News Culture Ministry pays tribute to late Keith Booker F

ormer Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry Permanent Secretary Keith Booker has passed away and the ministry has hailed his distinguished service to Guyana over the years.

Booker died on August 16. He was a youth development specialist, lieutenant colonel in the Guyana National Service (GNS), musician, raconteur, cricketer, churchman and cultural adviser.

Born on December 10, 1943, the ministry said the long list of titles Booker wore is still incomplete.

“He was both a public service administrator and a proud but quiet activist/ elder in the African East Coast Village Movement, this is also testimony to his distinguished contributions to the country’s national development,” the ministry said.

According to the ministry, coming with a wealth of hands-on experience in youth development, sport

Keith Booker

and cultural issues, Booker, though an executive administrator, used his competence to advise the ministry’s professional officers on matters related to their responsibilities. He served the ministry after a career with the national Young Men Christian Association (YMCA) and the Guyana National Service (GNS), assisting in transitioning the GNS into the aegis of the very ministry.

The ministry said Booker superintended many initiatives in culture, youth and sport, inclusive of CARIFESTA preparations and the earlier conceptualisation and construction of the ministry’s national sports infrastructure.

As Professor, Vibert Cambridge has observed: “The arc of Keith Booker’s career as a public servant was closely connected with initiatives associated with development, especially those associated with building national cohesiveness through youth and cultural engagements.”

Both Minister Dr Frank Anthony and Permanent Secretary Alfred King commend the advice and initiatives of Booker, with King acknowledging his late predecessor as his mentor, even before he (King) administered the prestigious President, Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG). King recognised the rich legacy of public service Booker has rendered to

the nation.

Another long time friend, Allan Fenty, recalled meeting Keith Booker on the very first GNS boat on its maiden trip to the Kimbia Centre.

“Keith Booker was indeed a great storyteller, a musician in his spare time, as well as a proud folkoriented culturalist, who coined and used words like ‘bang-gam-ary’ and ‘ting-amerry’.

“I’m old enough to have seen Keith mix and enjoy exchanges with his close friends of distinction, including Clive Lloyd, our cricketing great, Director of Culture James Rose and Samuel Small, veteran educator,” Fenty noted.

To the wife, family, colleagues and villagers of Keith, the ministry expresses its sincere condolences. Wake and funeral service are scheduled for Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara next Wednesday and Thursday.

Amaila pun everybody mind

D

e Lunch Man hold press conference and seh de Amaila hydro project dead. Then de prezzi went to Skeldon and seh de guvament lookin fuh other partners fuh continue de project. After that, Rum Jhaat seh de guvament still got a window of opportunity fuh rescue de whole ting. So neither de guvament nor de opposition know what goin on.

A man name Hunte who couldn’t even run a bank – except run it down – tell de guvament to sell out shares in Amaila. Hunte sound wuss than de bad word that rhyme wid he name. De only ting he know is how to sell out.

De Stabber seh de project in a dilemma. De Kocheur seh de project is a risk. De only risk de Bell Crier see is to believe de Kocheur and de Stabber. That is what gon put people in a dilemma, not de Amaila.

De Amaila project ain’t even start, but it done do good – it send No Gel Hugly into hidin. Rum Jhaat seh not even a protest de KFC or FLAPNU could get he to organise. No Gel neighbour seh he busy countin de money that Sithe pay he. Plus he gotta count Cat Hugly money too. Then de two of dem gon have to count one another money.

Even Rum Jhaat busy countin money because he seh he ain’t tekkin leff. He want to match what No Gel was gettin and even mek some more. And since he gettin it good from de Feathers people, he gon have to mek plenty noise fuh dem.

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

Well, Feathers might be a soft ting, but Rum Jhaat gon have to go hard at de guvament. So look out in de Stabber and de Kocheur!

Pakistani Muslim scholar to New U.S. DCM assumes duties here hold classes at ACIC B

T

he Anna Catherina Islamic Complex (ACIC) and Madrasa Nooranie will be offering a three-month educational programme on Islam.

According to the ACIC, Pakistani Muslim scholar, Maulana Qari Muhammad Mujahid will be conducting a series of classes and other educational activities at the ACIC, as well as teaching Urdu as a language to both Muslims and non-Muslims.

The ACIC noted that, while in Guyana, Maulana Mujahid will also be associated with activities and programmes organised by the Guyana United Sadr Islamic Anjuman (SADR). The classes are for both male and female and are based on the Ahle Sunnatwal Jamaat, Hanafi Mazhab. It will cater for classes in Tajweedul Quran, Urdu language, ba-

Pakistani Muslim scholar, Maulana Qari Muhammad Mujahid

sic Islamic foundation courses and Imams training programmes.

Maulana Mujahid, who is a Sunni (Hanafi) scholar, is a great boost to the Muslim community in

Guyana. He will be based at the ACIC, but will travel extensively throughout Guyana. Maulana Mujahid, who has been in Guyana prior to Ramadan, is a graduate from Kanzul Iman College of Lahore, Pakistan and is a qari (reciter of the Quran) and a Maulana (Muslim scholar).

Meanwhile, the school is operated by the ACIC, in association with SADR. It was founded by the late Maulana Noorul Hadi Haleem of Pakistan and opened in 2005. Urdu is historically associated with the Muslims of the region of Hindustan. It is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan, and an official language of five Indian states. Apart from specialised vocabulary, it is mutually intelligible with another register of Hindustani.

ryan D Hunt has arrived in Guyana to assume duties as deputy chief of mission at the United States (U.S.) embassy in Georgetown. He has replaced, Thomas Pierce.

In a release, the embassy said prior to his appointment, Hunt served as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from July 2011 to July 2013, handling bilateral relations with the countries of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

Hunt is a career foreign service officer with extensive service in South Asia and Africa. He served as counsellor for political affairs at the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan from July 2009 to October 2010; principal officer at the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan from July 2006 to July 2009; and as political officer in Islamabad, Pakistan from August 2004 to July 2006.

From 1996 to 2002, Hunt

served in several African countries. He was the political officer at the U.S. embassy in Maputo, Mozambique from August 2000 to August 2002; consular and commercial officer at the U.S. embassy in Gaborone, Botswana from September 1998 to August 2000; and political, economic, and consular officer at the U.S. embassy in

Bissau, Guinea-Bissau from September 1996 to July 1998.

Hunt has also served in the U.S. as deputy director for regional and security affairs in the State Department’s Africa Bureau from October 2010 to July 2011 and as desk officer for Angola in the State Department’s Africa Bureau from September 2002 to August 2004.

Deputy Chief of Mission Hunt has received various Department of State awards, including the Superior Honour Award, Meritorious Honour Award and Franklin Award. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the American University School of International Service. He was doing graduate work in international development at the Elliot School of Foreign Affairs at George Washington University at the time when he joined the Foreign Service.

Hunt speaks Portuguese, as well as limited German and Urdu.

son about 05:50h on Thursday morning and after a few minutes as he was going down the stairway, he fell to the ground.

Guyana Times understands that the teenager’s cousin, who was with him at the time in the upper flat of the building, ran down the stairs and informed his mother that Diaram drank poison. After collapsing, he was rushed to the Skeldon Hospital where he

was transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital, but before he reached the medical institution, he took his last breath. Upon arrival at the medical facility, he was pronounced dead on arrival.

His body was examined by police ranks, but no marks of violence were found. The body is at the hospital’s mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.

New U.S. DCM Bryan D Hunt

IAC deeply saddened by former AG’s passing Skeldon teen commits suicide

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he Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) said it is deeply saddened at the passing of former Attorney General and Senior Counsel Doodnauth Singh.

Singh, who also served as chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was lauded both locally and internationally for his various achievements, especially for the dis-

tinguished legal luminary he was.

“The IAC would like to recognise the immeasurable contribution he would have made to Guyana and the legal profession and the inspiration he has been to many.” The IAC said it is not unmindful of how often the wisdom and guidance of Singh, who was one of the country’s finest advocates, was sought by his peers and

by those who endeavoured to try and emulate him.

“The IAC believes that Guyana, more so the legal fraternity, has now been made poorer following the demise of this outstanding son. The IAC takes this opportunity to extend its deepest sympathy to his wife, family, relatives and colleagues.” Singh passed away Wednesday evening at the Balwant Singh Hospital.

T

he circumstances surrounding the death of a teenager at Line Path, Skeldon, who committed suicide on Thursday after ingesting a poisonous substance, remains sketchy.

Sunil Diaram, 16, of Lot 536, Block 19, Line Path, Corentyne, Berbice, died moments after he reportedly drank the substance.

According to information received, Diaram drank the poi-

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New board for Berbice First tranche of subventions paid out to 65 NDCs, municipalities health authority T H ealth Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran has installed a new management board at the Berbice Regional Health Authority (BRHA), charging the new members to be more vigilant in Region Five.

In the past, the BRHA had been focusing mainly on Region Six. Dr Ramsaran in welcoming the new faces of the 12-member board, thanked those who served on the previous board.

The new board is chaired

by Rose Hall Town businessman Poonai Bhigoog, and includes Region Six, Regional Executive Officer (REO) Paul Ramrattan, Region Five Vice Chairman Rion Peters, Avia Lindie of the Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Development Association (BCCDA) and Hamant Narine of the Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce.

Dr Zulfikar Bux of the Georgetown Public Hospital is one of the senior medical personnel on the board.

The others are Dr Vishalya Sharma and Dr Vishwa Mahadeo, who is the chief executive officer.

Minister Ramsaran said the board will be incomplete

Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran

without nurse’s representation, and on that point, he noted that the nurse’s representative on the board is Wanetta Scipio. Trade unionist Ram Mangru sits on the board as the workers’ representative, while former New Amsterdam Mayor Barbara Pilgrim is also part of the board.

“Barbara is a well known person in the community who has returned home to serve and I welcome the fact that she has taken up the appointment. If you noticed, we have included the private sector,” the minister told media operatives.

Dr Ramsaran asked the board to make special efforts

to reach out to the Education Ministry to help propagate the message to reduce noncommunicable diseases.

“We need to look at the policies of the school canteens. All of this is in preparation to try to change the profile of diseases in Guyana, but that will not be the only function of the board, members will have to interact with the grass root people.”

The health minister said too that one of the first tasks of BRHA will be to look at the proposed budget for the Region Six health sector.

“I am hoping that whatever is done by this new board will take into account Region Five. If you noticed that we have included someone from the regional administration and also someone from the private sector in Region Five.

“I am pleased with the performance of the last board, however, I will like to see more visitations to health facilities which include health centres by board members, and also I will like to see management committees being set up at all the health centres in Regions Five and Six.”

he Local Government and Regional Development Ministry has handed over the first tranche of subventions to the neighbourhood democratic councils (NDCs) and to five of the six municipalities.

The ministry’s Permanent Secretary Collin Croal during a press conference on Thursday disclosed that a total of $97.5 million has been paid out to the 65 NDCs and $22.5 million to the municipalities of Anna Regina, Rose Hall, New Amsterdam, Corriverton and Linden.

Meanwhile, the ministry, thus far has awarded 40 per cent of its capital budget and the regions, about 30 of their capital programme.

Croal explained that most of the regions have disbursed their advance mobilisation payments for several contracts. He said as well that there are currently several awards being made at the National Procurement Tender Administration Board, and as such, the percentage of awarded contracts will move steadfastly during the month of

September.

Local Government and Regional Development Minister Ganga Persaud also advised that the regions’ 2014 budget preparations are moving smoothly and that all the regions have met the Finance Ministry’s August 19 deadline for the submission of estimates for Budget 2014.

He said that these estimates have gone through a lengthy scrutiny procedure at the level of the regions and the central ministries, with regards to the different work programmes.

GRA recommences Tax Hotline service

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he Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is urging member of the public to make full use of its Tax Hotline service which has re-commenced with immediate effect.

Persons who wish to have their tax questions and queries addressed can contact the GRA tax specialists using the Tax Hotline 2276060, extension 1201, 1202, 1203 and 1204. According to GRA, this service can be accessed from 08:00h-16:30h Monday to Thursday and on Friday from 08:00h to

15:30h. After hours persons can leave a detailed messaged, including a contact number and a tax specialist will return their call.

GRA Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur noted that this feature was temporarily suspended during the transitional period of the agency’s consolidation. Additionally, taxpayers and all other stakeholders are urged to take advantage of this and all other available facilities. Moreover, taxpayers are asked to note that the GRA’s tax specialists can

also be contacted via email at gravat@gra.gov.gy.

Earlier this year, the GRA also made the decision to extend its service hours.

With this increase in time, taxpayers are now able to access services during the busy lunch hour period.

The GRA has apologised for any inconvenience the break in services may have caused. The authority said it is constantly working to improve its services to taxpayers and is looking forward to offering even better facilities in the future.

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News

Cuba cops most of CBU awards T

he Caribbean Broadcasting Union on Thursday evening held its annual awards ceremony at the Princess International Hotel, East Bank Demerara, with Cuba copping the most awards, in television and radio broadcast.

ICRT Cuba took away the awards for the best educational or cultural television feature with its “Castillo De La Real Fuerza” production.

The best regional awareness television feature award also went to ICRT Cuba for “Por El Mar De Las Antillas”.

Cuba also walked away with the best television drama award. Awards for radio broadcasts in the drama, documentary, regional

awareness, and youth and children’s issues categories were also awarded to Cuba.

The best documentary television programme award went to CVM Jamaica for its “Unmasking Motty” programme.

The best news feature for television award went to Great Belize Productions Limited, Channel Five for its news item titled “Support Continues to Flow for Decriminalisation of Marijuana Possession”.

The best investigative television reporting prize went to CCN TV 6 out of Trinidad and Tobago for “Diesel Dossiers”. The most outstanding television magazine programme award went to CITN Cayman 27

for its 20th anniversary special “Daybreak” show, while the best sports feature went to Great Belize Productions Limited for “A Paraplegic’s Olympic dream – Jerome Flores”.

The best televised health and environmental feature, as well as the best youth and children’s issues feature awards were handed over to CCN TV 6 for its “Low Sperm Count” and “Silencing The Crime” features.

The awards ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who assisted in presenting the prizes. Also present were CBU executives, including the union’s president, Shida Bolai and other members as well as broadcasting stake-

holders.

The awards presentation formed part of the activities to complement the CBU’s 44th Annual General Assembly, which was held from August 19 to 23.

The AGA was hosted in Guyana under the theme “The business of broadcasting in the digital age”, which saw broadcasting entities from a number of countries in the region convening to discuss matters relevant to working in the technological age.

Next on the agenda for the more than 80 delegates are visits to Guyana’s tourist destinations to experience its flora and fauna, followed by a visit to Peru.

Bolivia prison riot TT man stabbed, thrown leaves at least 15 dead in dry river to die

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A fire that broke out at the jail took almost two hours to put out

A

riot at a jail in eastern Bolivia has left at least 15 people dead and more than 50 injured, officials say.

The head of police, Alberto Jorge Aracena, said many of the bodies had been burnt.

He said fighting broke out early on Friday between inmates at the maximum security area of the Palmasola jail in the city of Santa Cruz.

“There was a fight for control in two cellblocks in the prison,” said Aracena.

He said prisoners in one of the blocks had exploded

a metal propane tank in another block around dawn.

Local media reported that shots had been heard after the explosion. A fire that broke out shortly afterwards took almost two hours to put out.

Aracena said the authorities had brought the situation under control.

Another government official, Celso Parada, said the gas explosion had caused many injuries.

“I saw some 60 injured inmates. Some of them were badly burnt,” he said. (Excerpt

from BBC News)

Kamla, Rowley agree on measures to deal with Trinidad crime

P

rime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley have agreed on a number of initiatives to stem the rising crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago, with the government insisting that “crime is everybody’s business”.

The meeting followed the recent murders of several people, including two 16-yearolds, in a section of the capital earlier this month.

In an address to the nation following the meeting on Thursday night, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said that no political party, no individual government can solve crime alone.

“This is neither a party nor a political issue. The fight against crime should be something that unites us, not divides us. It will take the

collective efforts of the government, all other political groups, the protective services, non-government organisations, businesses and citizens.

“Crime is everybody’s business and we cannot end it if we put partisan interests ahead of the good of our country.”

Dr Rowley told reporters that the opposition is committed to working with the government in the fight against crime and reiterated that a collaborative approach was needed.

“We are saying that this matter requires urgent action; we will not put any political impediment in the government’s way in treating with the loss of security and loss of opportunities for people in East Port of Spain or anywhere else,” he said. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

ven with heightened police patrols in East Port of Spain, criminals attacked a man as he walked along a street, stabbing him in the back and then tossing him into the East Dry River in broad daylight on Thursday.

Paramedics had to drive off a road, down onto the concrete riverbed to attend to Garnet Stapleton, 28, who lay in a water-filled channel.

Stapleton, of Maracas, St Joseph, was walking along Town Council Street, at about 13:00h, near a row of leather craft shops, when he met three men and an argument began among them.

Suddenly, one of the men

struck Stapleton in his head with a glass bottle which broke. His attacker began stabbing him in the back with the broken bottle, and Stapleton was then thrown over a wall into the dry river and left for dead.

A passerby who saw what happened alerted officers from the nearby Besson Street Police Station, who called for an ambulance before heading to the scene.

The ambulance drove down into the dry river, and for a few moments the two paramedics and four officers, stood over Stapleton who lay motionless as his blood stained the ground. (Excerpt from

A

man accused of physically and verbally assaulting another appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Friday.

It was alleged that on August 21 at Guyoil Gas Station on Sheriff Street,

Calvin Phill unlawfully assaulted and made use of abusive language to Reaz Ahmad. He pleaded not guilty to both charges read against him.

The VC declined to go ahead with the matter, so Magistrate Azore dismissed the case.

Mason granted bail for attempted break and enter

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mason appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to the charge of attempted break and enter on Friday.

It was alleged that on August 22 at Kitty, George Khan attempted to break and enter the dwelling of Ravendra Pooran with intent to rob him. Khan pleaded not guilty to the charge read against him.

The defendant was unrepresented and told the court that he is 39 years old with a fixed place of abode at 71 Second Street, Alexander Village, Georgetown.

There were no objections to bail put forward by the prosecution, and Magistrate Azore granted the defendant his pre-trial liberty in the sum of $75,000. The matter was transferred to Court One for September 9.

Haitian president hopes for stronger economic ties with the Bahamas

Trinadad and Tobago Today)

Paraguay’s president gets more powers

A

week after being sworn in, President Horacio Cartes of Paraguay has won new powers from both houses of parliament to deploy the military to tackle unrest in the country.

On Thursday, the senate gave its backing to the move, the day after the lower house had done so.

The move is primarily aimed at fighting armed rebels from the Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP).

They have been blamed for a series of attacks in the north of the country.

The Colorado Party and its allies in congress wasted no time in agreeing to a request by President Cartes to send troops to fight the leftist rebels without first declaring a state of emergency.

The request follows an attack last Saturday blamed on the EPP in San Pedro re-

Assault case dismissed

Haitian President Michel Martelly (left) and Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie pose for a photograph. Martelly was a guest at the prime minister’s 70th birthday bash

T

President Horacio Cartes

gion, north of the capital, Asuncion.

The attack involving the kidnapping of security guards took place on a cattle ranch owned by a Brazilian national.

Four bodies were found by policemen who attended the scene. The body of a fifth guard was found later.

The police officers were then ambushed, and one was reportedly injured, allegedly by the EPP. (Excerpt from BBC News)

he government of The Bahamas plans to forge greater economic ties with Haiti, Prime Minister Perry Christie said on Wednesday.

Haitian President Michel Martelly said this could help stem the flow of illegal immigrants from Haiti to The Bahamas by providing more jobs.

Martelly said he has asked Christie to send a delegation of Bahamian entrepreneurs, as well as the ministers for trade and foreign affairs, to identify areas for investment in northern Haiti.

“The people who are coming here, they are looking for jobs,” Martelly told reporters during an interview at the prime minister’s home on Christie’s 70th birthday.

“And I have proposed to

the prime minister to invite a delegation of entrepreneurs to visit Haiti so they can see the opportunities.

“It would be [to] both of our advantage on the immigration issue where they would no longer have to take the boats and come here looking for jobs.”

Martelly said furniture and agricultural products made in Haiti are normally exported to The Bahamas through Miami, Florida.

He said if The Bahamas can access direct imports from Haiti, it could lower prices on these goods and benefit both countries.

The president said the large numbers of Haitians seeking illegal entry into other countries is a major concern for his administration. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

15 Around the World

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, august 24, 2013

Obama: Chemical warfare Deadly blasts strike Tripoli grave concern in Syria T U

.S. President Barack Obama has said the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria in an attack on Wednesday is a “big event of grave concern”.

Obama said the U.S. was still seeking confirmation such weapons were used, but if proved true the situation would “require America’s attention”.

Meanwhile, Syria’s main ally Russia has said there is growing evidence that Syrian rebels were behind the attack.

The opposition says hundreds died in a government

Reports on extremely distressing footage, which continues to emerge, include that of a Syrian filmmaker

assault outside Damascus.

But despite calls from many different countries,

there is no sign yet that the Syrian authorities will allow a UN inspection team

to visit to investigate the claims.

Unverified footage shows civilians – many of them children – dead or suffering from what appear to be horrific symptoms as a result of Wednesday’s attack.

Also on Friday, UN agencies said the number of children forced to flee Syria had reached one million.

The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, and children’s fund, UNICEF, described the figure as “a shameful milestone”, and said a further two million children were displaced within the country. (Excerpt from BBC News)

wo powerful explosions just minutes apart killed at least 45 people in Lebanon’s main northern city of Tripoli on Friday, hospital sources told France24. Some 358 others were wounded, the health minister said.

The first blast rocked the city centre near the home of outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati, although his office said he was not in Tripoli at the time. The second struck near the city’s port, close to the home of former police chief Ashraf Rifi, a security source said.

Footage aired on local TV showed thick, black smoke rising over the city and bodies scattered beside burning cars in scenes reminiscent of Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war.

The blasts hit amid rising tension in Lebanon as a result of Syria’s civil war, which has sharply polarised the country along sectarian lines and between supporters and opponents of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Tripoli, a predominantly Sunni Muslim city, has seen frequent clashes between Sunnis and Alawites, a Shiite offshoot sect to which Assad belongs. But Tripoli itself has rarely seen such explosions in recent years.

Attacks have become increasingly common in the past few months against Shiite strongholds in Lebanon, particularly following Hezbollah’s open participation in Syria’s civil war. (Excerpt from France24)

Woman, 23, gang-raped in Mumbai Anti-military protesters

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olice have arrested one man and identified others in the alleged gang rape of a 23-yearold female photographer in the Indian financial hub of Mumbai, police said Friday.

The incident is the latest shocking report of sexual assault to make headlines in the South Asian nation.

“We have made one arrest so far, but all the accused have been identified,” according to the city’s police commissioner, Satyapal Singh, who earlier said five men took part.

The attack took place Thursday evening in a deserted area of the Shakti Mills district in Mumbai, Singh said.

Police in Mumbai have arrested one person

The unidentified female victim and a male colleague were on assignment in the area for a print publication when some of the men approached them and asked whether they had permission to take photographs, Singh said.

The attack unfolded from there, he said, without providing a full account of events. The victim is in a stable condition in Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai, hospital authorities said.

Singh said police have a “strong lead” in the case without giving further details. They released sketches of five men they said were suspects in the case. (Excerpt from CNN)

Bo rejects “insane” wife’s testimony

F

ormer top Chinese politician Bo Xilai has dismissed his wife’s testimony that implicates him in corruption, claiming she is insane. Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, testified that a rich Chinese entrepreneur bought gifts for the family to gain favours.

Gu Kailai was herself convicted last year of the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. The scandals involving Bo’s family, which used to be one of the most elite in China, have captivated the country. Despite the fact the tri-

Bo Xilai in court

al is thought to have a predetermined outcome, Bo has launched an unexpectedly vigorous defence.

Analysts say the court hearing is as much about getting rid of a popular politician as it is about crimi-

nal wrongdoing – and Bo is widely expected to be found guilty.

The trial is set to continue for a third day today, Xinhua news agency reported.

Bo, who used to be the Communist Party chief in Chongqing, is accused of bribery, corruption and abuse of power. Video footage and written testimony from his wife was posted on the court’s official microblog. In it she said she felt Neil Heywood was a threat to her son, Bo Guagua. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Egypt urged to reopen Gaza crossing

O

fficials from the Islamist group Hamas are urging Egypt to reopen the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian authorities closed the crossing point this week after more than 20 Egyptian policemen were killed near the border by suspected militants.

Thousands of Palestinians, including students and medical patients, wanting to leave or enter Gaza have been stuck.

Hamas deputy foreign minister, Ghazi Hamed, told the BBC it was “a humanitarian issue”.

Some 1200 people were using the crossing each day while the former Egyptian

President Mohamed Morsi was in power. However after he was removed by the military on July 3, the number fell to about 50 a day.

Since the attack near the Egyptian border town of Rafah on Monday, it has been completely closed.

Hamas, which has close ideological ties with Morsi’s Muslim

Brotherhood, has governed Gaza since 2007. It has an uneasy relationship with Egypt’s new military-backed government.

Cairo has repeatedly accused Hamas of interfering in Egyptian affairs and has accused Palestinians of supporting Islamist militants in the increasingly restive Sinai region. (Excerpt from BBC News)

march in Cairo

T

h o u s a n d s of Egyptians protesting against military rule have gathered in several areas of Cairo after Friday prayers, despite tight security.

Security and military forces deployed around the capital, closing off traffic in some major thoroughfares and in the city centre.

Anti-coup protesters have called for more than 20 rallies across Cairo and Giza.

In the southern Maadi district, several thousand protesters marched from the Al-Rayan Mosque to Arab Square. They chanted “coup, coup” and “down with military rule”.

Al Jazeera’s D Parvaz, reporting from Cairo, said protesters ended the march before it reached the National Research Centre as they said they had re-

ceived a threat from local residents who had gathered and blocked a street.

The rallies were seen as a test of whether supporters of the deposed President Mohamed Morsi can keep up their pressure despite an intensive security crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, from which he hails.

Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from Cairo, said photos of Morsi were almost absent at Friday’s protests.

“When we spoke to the protesters they said this was a deliberate attempt to widen support among Egyptians for the protest movement. A lot of people say this was not just about Morsi but about a coup and a fear that any democratic advances in Egypt would be taken away by the military,” he said. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

U.S. soldier who killed Afghan villagers gets life without parole

A

n American soldier was sentenced on Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing 16 Afghan civilians in a nighttime rampage last year, an attack for which he later apologised and called an “act of cowardice”.

Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has admitted to slaughtering the villagers, mostly women and children, in attacks on their family compounds in Kandahar province in March 2012.

Bales pleaded guilty to the killings in June in a deal that spared him the death penalty, and a sentencing jury of six military person-

nel deliberated less than two hours on Friday before deciding he should spend the rest of his life in prison.

Bales, who appeared in court in blue military dress, showed no emotion as the verdict was handed down, but his mother cried and rocked back and forth.

Both sides made closing arguments on Friday morning at the conclusion of sentencing proceedings at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma in Washington state.

“He wiped out generations and he ruined lives forever,” said prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Jay Morse. “He should be known by one official title from this day until the day he dies: ‘inmate’.” (Excerpt from Reuters)

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Africa

Caribbean

Evan Williams set to build Forget the wine, South Africans New Kingston corporate hotel thirsty for craft beers

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enowned architect and proprietor of one of Kingston’s leading restaurants Redbones, Evan Williams, is all set to begin construction on a new corporate hotel to be situated in New Kingston.

The project is expected to come in at around US$7 million.

Speaking with Caribbean Business Report earlier this week from his company Design

Collaborative’s headquarters on Renfrew Road, Williams said: “The idea was born in 2006 when I thought with all the nearby amenities, New Kingston would be a great location for a corporate hotel. So I applied for a mixeduse development approval (a basement with recreational facilities and two floors of structured parking).

“I wanted a structure with a floor for offices and two

floors of accommodation with a roof. It would also have a café and pool.”

It took Williams four years to get approval with the local authorities objecting, claiming the building was “too dense” and conceptually not popular for the vicinity.

Williams is of the view that the planning regulations for New Kingston are a little antiquated. (Jamaica Observer)

been a target of criticism from Wall Street and Silicon Valley as the company’s share price stagnated and rivals Apple Inc and Google Inc led a mobile computing revolution that has upended the global technology industry.

Ballmer’s planned exit comes just weeks after the company announced a major reorganisation and delivered an earnings report that showed across-the-board weakness in the business, including dismal sales of the

company’s new Surface tablet and a lukewarm reaction to the crucial Windows 8 operating system.

Activist investing fund ValueAct Capital Management LP said in April that it had taken a stake in the company and shortly after began agitating for a change in strategy and a clear CEO succession plan. There are no obvious candidates to succeed Ballmer at the company that has only had two CEOs in its 38-year history. (Reuters)

T

he Western Cape might be South Africa’s wine capital – renowned around the world as the home of some of the country’s most famous labels – but not far from Stellenbosch’s fertile vineyards there’s another drink brewing up a storm.

Inspired by an international boom for local, independent

microbreweries, the business of craft beer has also taken off in South Africa recently, as growing numbers of small producers are experimenting with styles and techniques to satisfy a rising thirst for new flavours and novel brews.

“There is a massive demand,” says Dan Badenhorst, co-founder of Devil’s Peak

Brewing Company, just one of the several microbreweries to come out of Cape Town in recent times. “We started off in a garage, from there we bought our own 500 litre system and now we are in this new 1500-litre system,” he adds. “Constantly, our biggest challenge has been keeping up with the demand.” (CNN)

Middle East

Prince Alwaleed’s Four Seasons Microsoft CEO Ballmer to retire appoints new CEO he luxury hotel chain ment of Smith had followed 91 properties in 38 countries within 12 months co-owned by Saudi an extensive global search by and more than 60 projects unArabia’s Prince Kingdom Holding and Four der development. Smith, 56, North America

M

icrosoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer unexpectedly announced his retirement on Friday, ending a controversial 13-year reign as the head of the world’s largest software company and sending the company’s shares up seven per cent. Ballmer, 57, a close friend and confidant of cofounder Bill Gates since the company’s earliest days, took over as CEO in January 2000.

During his tenure Microsoft’s revenues tripled but he’s long

T

Alwaleed, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, has appointed a new company head.

Allen Smith, current CEO of Prudential Real Estate Investors, will become president and CEO of Four Seasons, from September 23.

Commenting on the announcement, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, said the appoint-

Season’s other long-term shareholders, Cascade and Triples.

“We have enjoyed a strong relationship over 20 years as the company has evolved and grown, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with our friends at Cascade and Triples to support Allen as CEO,” Prince Alwaleed said.

The luxury hotel chain has

will take over the helm after 26 years, including five as CEO, at Prudential Real Estate Investors (PREI), one of the world’s largest real estate investment managers.

Under his leadership, PREI expanded its global presence to 23 offices worldwide and US$53 billion in real estate assets under management, including many hotels.

(Arabianbusiness)

South America

Europe

Brazil’s central bank commits German budget surplus jumps in US$60B to prop up currency razil’s central bank has ing reais in the currency mar- keep the exchange rate from first half of year announced a US$60 bil- kets. slipping further,” said Andre

O

fficial figures show Germany’s budget surplus rose to 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first half of the year, boosted by higher tax income. The government pulled in 321.4 billion euros in taxes, 3.8 per cent more than a year ago thanks to its steady employment rate.

The German Federal Statistical Office, Destatis, said the surplus was 8.5 billion euros (£7.3 billion;

US$11.3 billion) in the period between January and June.

The figure was higher than the surplus for the same period a year ago. For the whole of last year, Germany’s budget surplus was 0.2 per cent of GDP. Budget surpluses are rare among European countries. Many have deficits of more than three per cent of GDP, despite a European Union limit of that level.

In a statement, Destatis said: “The budgets of central

Market statistics

Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Cambio Rates Bank of Guyana

Cur

government, state governments, local government and social security funds benefited from a generally good employment situation and a stable economic development in the first half of 2013 compared with other European countries.”

The agency also confirmed a preliminary estimate of German GDP of 0.7 per cent growth in the second quarter, giving an annual growth rate of 0.9 per cent. (BBC News)

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

Buying

Selling

U.S.

$1335.00

GBP

$318.96

$322.96

Cambio

$202.67

CAN

$194.20

$196.44

Gross

$254,331

USD

$204.99

$207.43

Net

$236,527

Selling

$262,426

Indicators as on August 23, 2013 Live Spot Gold Bid/Ask

$1397.80

$1398.80

Low/High

$1367.70

$1401.40

Change

+21.70

+1.58

USD GBP EUR

AM

1374.50 880.30 1028.59

Aug 22

AM

Price Silver

US$ per barrel

Change %

$109.90 USD per Ounce

+0.08 Change %

24.08

+0.90

$1537.00

+2.00

PM

1377.50 885.74 1030.60 PM

Last: 15010.51

% Change: +0.31

Open: 14986.78

High: 15025.56

Low: 14931.24

% YTD: +14.55

52Wk Hi: 15658.43

52 Wk Lo: 12035.09

GBP EUR

lion plan to prop up the value of the national currency.

It comes as the Brazilian real nears a five-year low against the U.S. dollar.

The real and other emerging market currencies have fallen steadily over the last three months on speculation of higher U.S. interest rates.

The central bank said it would spend US$500 million a day on Mondays to Thursdays and US$1 billion on Fridays buy-

The Monday-to-Thursday interventions will target currency swap markets – financial derivatives used by companies and investors to hedge their currency exposure – while on Fridays, the central bank will buy the national currency directly in return for U.S. dollars.

The interventions will run up until December. “This shows the firm determination of monetary authorities to

Perfeito, chief economist at Gradual Investments in Sao Paulo.

It is the first time the central bank has pre-announced daily interventions in this way since 2002 – a time when markets were speculating over a possible Brazilian debt default, following the financial collapse of neighbouring Argentina and with the imminent election of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

(BBC News)

Investors' guide

How to become a real estate agent A ccording to Salary. com and the American Bureau of Labour Statistics, real estate agents – also known in some states as real estate brokers – earn anywhere from US$36,000 to US$93,000 annually depending on the type of properties they sell. Though some of the success attainted by highearners can be attributed to revenue acquired through commercial property sales, few real estate agents at any level succeed without a solid network of buyers and sellers at their disposal. And the surest way of cultivating these relationships is by word-of-mouth – referrals that are often based on the agent’s knowledge of state and local laws related to

properties within the area and their willingness to provide some of the enhanced services mentioned above.

States vary wildly on almost every aspect of real estate licensing, including the level of education required to obtain a licence, the type and breadth of the examinations, and whether continuing education courses will be required for licence renewal once an agent becomes licensed. In the same way, fees also vary from state to state, as does the valuable potential of reciprocity for those looking to offer services in more than one state.

Each state has its own set of requirements for obtaining a real estate licence.

Depending on where you live,

Business concept – Order

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a Google search for the term “regulations real estate agent [state]” (with [state] personalised to reflect your state) will provide the appropriate licensing department.

In addition, many larger firms will be members of either the National Associate of Realtors (NAR) or the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), and expect their agents to adhere to a strict code of ethics and standards of practice – another huge benefit to the consumer. Both organisations provide a wealth of information as well as continuing education courses to satisfy the annual requirements for maintaining a real estate licence in certain states. (Business Dictionary)

Commerce: A confirmed request by one party to another to buy, sell, deliver, or receive goods or services under specified terms and conditions. When accepted by the receiving party, an order becomes a legally binding contract.

Banking: An instrument (such as a cheque or draft) through which its maker or issuer (drawer) authorises a bank or other financial institution to pay the stated sum to a named holder (drawee or payee). Such instruments are transferable by endorsement, and thus are negotiable instruments.

news

17

Saturday, august 24, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

ECLAC underscores importance of region improving ties with China O

ver the past decade, China has become a key partner for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Trade between the region and the Asian country increased 22 fold between 2000 and 2012, albeit with a deficit for Latin American countries.

Speaking at the opening of the seminar “Doing business with China: the Latin American experience”, at the Santiago headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena said: “It is important to open a debate on how to improve the quality of relations between Latin America and China.”

At the meeting, which was also attended by Chinese Ambassador Yang Wanming, CAF Development Bank of Latin America Executive Vice President Luis Enrique Berrizbeitía, and Institute of the Americas President Charles Shapiro, Bárcena reiterated China’s importance in the world context, as it is the largest exporter of goods (11.2 per cent of the global total); the second largest manufacturing producer (19.8 per cent of the total); number two recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (nine per cent of totals); and the third largest foreign investor (six per cent of the total).

Trade relations

Bárcena pointed out that Latin America and the Caribbean has significant assets for its trade relations with China, such as improved macroeconomic indicators, reductions in poverty and unemployment, a growing middle class, and its endowment in natural resources.

However, there is significant asymmetry between the region’s trade and investment flows with China.

According to Bárcena, “In 2011, Latin America and the Caribbean’s share of world trade was close to, but remained below, levels achieved by Asia in 1985.”

Such asymmetries can

ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena

also be seen in the investment rate in Latin America and the Caribbean (22.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)), compared to more than 40 per cent of GDP in developing Asian countries. In addition, 2011 saw developing Asia export 3.3 times as many mediumand high-technology goods as South America.

In terms of investment, Latin American and Caribbean exports to China are dominated by raw materials, while China’s imports to the region are mainly manufactured goods (especially high-technology products). For Latin American and Caribbean countries, China’s economic growth, urbanisation and burgeoning middle class in the next few decades may trigger high demand for fuel, minerals, and food. This represents an opportunity to incorporate value and technology into natural resources.

Exports, growth

According to Bárcena, despite the limitations, Latin American trade with China has been positive for the region, as it has boosted exports and growth, reduced exposure to less dynamic industrialised markets, pushed up commodity prices, and increased the availability of low-cost Chinese manufactured goods.

However, there have been costs, such as reprimarisation, caused by the recovery in the primary sectors of the region’s economies in recent years. For Bárcena, the greatest challenge is achiev-

ing structural change in which investment and productivity are increased, using more technological innovation and productive chains: “The main challenge for Latin America and the Caribbean is to transform and diversify the export pattern to reduce the dependency on raw materials.”

She added that achieving this aim would require making use of South-South trade and investment opportunities, as well as continuing to forge closer links between Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia-Pacific.

Against this backdrop, she said China was implementing structural change from an investment-intensive economy to one based on consumption and internal demand.

Dialogue

On August 21, ECLAC also hosted the academic seminar “Trade relations between Latin America and AsiaPacific: challenges and opportunities”, organised by the Latin America -Asia Pacific Observatory, as a joint initiative of the Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) and CAF Development Bank of Latin America.

The seminar included a forum for Asian and Latin American academics and experts to analyse the growing economic ties between Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

For ECLAC International Trade and Integration Division Director Osvaldo Rosales, Latin America must closely monitor AsiaPacific’s trade agreements and be much more proactive in terms of cooperation with the region’s countries.

The meeting also afforded an opportunity to further biregional relations, and culminated with an academic forum with the main aim of connecting specialised institutions and academics from the two regions, with a view to increasing efforts to encourage dialogue.

The forum will have its own section on the website of the Latin America-Asia Pacific Observatory, which will feature the names of participating institutions and academics.

Water disruption for several West Bank villages

S

everal West Bank Demerara villages will be without water from Monday, the Guyana Inc (GWI) has advised.

In a release, GWI customers at L’Oratoire Well Station, Recht Door Zee, Onderneeming, West

Minster, Parfaite Harmonie, Schoonord, Canal Number One, Bagotville, Nismes and La Grange, West Bank Demerara will experience service disruption from August 26 to 30 to facilitate urgent maintenance.

Affected customers are

urged to make preparations, including storing water in light of the necessary disruption. GWI regrets any inconvenience caused.

For updates, customers can contact GWI’s Customer Services Call Centre on 2278701/03/04.

Women miners pleased with action taken against alleged TIP offenders

T

he Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) on Friday expressed satisfaction that legal actions have been taken against those accused of human trafficking. In less than a week two women have been charged and placed before the courts for two different cases of trafficking. Additionally, on Friday, an arrest warrant was issued for a policeman who was charged with human trafficking and rape.

During an interview with Guyana Times, GWMO President Simona Broomes said the organisation is pleased that the Guyana Police Force is pursuing the TIP cases. “We have worked hard, we have put our lives at risk to go into the interior and bring out those who were trafficked. So we are happy that investigations are bearing this kind of fruit,” Broomes stated.

On Friday, Magistrate Fabayo Azore issued an arrest warrant for Police Corporal Huford David who was charged with human trafficking and rape.

David, 36, of Sisters Village, East Bank Berbice, was scheduled to appear in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Friday to answer to the rape charge; however, he was a no show. He is accused of raping a 14-year-old girl, one of two he allegedly trafficked to Kumakuma Creek, Mazaruni River.

According to police reports, between January 1 and January 31, the police officer trafficked the 14-year-old and her sister to Kumakuma Creek for the purpose of exploitation. When the matter was

Wanted for trafficking: Police Corporal Huford David

called in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on April 25, Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry denied David bail, remanding him to prison. However, he subsequently secured bail in the High Court. The 14-year-old was among four girls rescued from Tiger Creek Backdam, at Puruni, Region Seven by members of GWMO.

Forced prostitution

The first woman charged with trafficking this week, Ann Maria Carter was remanded to prison on Monday on one count of human trafficking. She was also charged with one count of assault causing grievous bodily harm. It is alleged that between March 14 and April 1, Carter recruited, transported and harboured a 17-year-old girl for sexual exploitation. It is also alleged that during the same period, she unlawfully assaulted the teenager causing actual bodily harm. Carter pleaded not guilty to both charges. Carter’s victim was

also rescued by GWMO from Puruni earlier this year.

On Thursday, Sequila Glywn was remanded to prison by Magistrate Fabayo Azore for two counts of trafficking in persons. It is alleged that on May 15, at Issano in the Essequibo Magistrate District, she transported a 26-year-old female from Georgetown to 14 Mile Issano. It is also alleged that between May 15 and July 7, at Issano, Glywn trafficked a 16-yearold girl from the North West District. She pleaded not guilty to both charges read against her. The young women were allegedly forced into prostitution. The matter was brought to the attention of the police by the GWMO. The matter was transferred to Court One for September 20.

Both the 26-year-old and the 16-year-old also implicated two policemen in their abuse, alleging that the law enforcers had raped them before they arrived at Issano as a trade-off for giving Glwyn free passage. The matter was sent to Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Bibi Shalimar Ali-Hack for advice. It is unclear, however, if the DPP has returned her recommendations to the police. Attempts to contact Crime Chief Seelall Persaud proved futile.

The two young ladies, along with three others – a 14-year-old, an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old, were rescued by GWMO in July. All the girls were promised domestic jobs in the interior, but upon their arrival, were forced into prostitution and worked at bars for little or nothing.

Security contracts for regions being retendered

T

he Local Government Ministry is currently in the process of retendering regional security contracts to meet the new minimum wage standard that was recently implemented by government.

Local Government and Regional Development Minister Ganga Persaud, speaking at a press conference at the ministry on Thursday, explained that the security contracts had earlier been tendered and several bids were received.

He said that during the evaluation process though, a few ambiguities were found in several of the documents.

It was also realised that the bids did not cater for the new $35,000 minimum wage per month that government implemented in July. Minister

Persaud said the re-tendering process is expected to close by August 27, and the ministry will be seeking to move swiftly through the evaluation process and award the contracts.

The retendering of the contracts was necessitated

by Roshan Khan’s security firm, RK’s Security Service, pulling out of a number of the contracts, saying they were negotiated before the new minimum wage was implemented. Khan had also been forced to reduce the hours of work for some of his guards. Government recently implemented the new labour law, which mandates a five-day, 40-hour working week and a minimum wage increase. The law took effect on July 1.

Khan, the CEO of RK’s

Security, had said that enough time was not allocated to the security companies to deal with the new rule and its repercussions on business. The CEO had called for a renegotiation of the contracts or for government to pay the company the difference. Khan emphasised that his company supported the new minimum wage increase, but pointed out that it could lead to bankruptcy if caution is not taken in its implementation.

Khan had said that for the security business to operate at a minimum profit margin, the contracts needed to be revised to at least $300 per hour and possibly $500 to ensure a positive business environment for both the employers and employees.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

Saturday, august 24, 2013

thursDAY, march 11, 2010 | guyanatimesGY.com

archie

By Bernice Bede Osol

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19) All work and no play will cause problems in your personal life. Make plans that will keep important relationships warm, vibrant and stable. A settlement or contract will bring in another income channel.

dilbert

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19) Make a point of relying on past experience, especially where money matters are concerned.

Lending and borrowing will lead to problems.

Invest in yourself and your abilities, not someone else.

Calvin and Hobbes

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Look over contracts and make a commitment to someone you want to have in your life for a long time.

Your options are plentiful, but your choices should be specific.

CANCER (June 21July 22) Steer clear of anyone making impulsive and inappropriate choices. Focus on something you enjoy doing and you can develop a service or product that can lead to extra income.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22) Be prepared to make alterations that ensure the safety of the people who depend on you. Your unique way of helping others will be rewarded in an unusual and generous manner.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) Added discipline will help you conquer whatever challenges you meet along life’s path. Adding a bit of force to get what you want will pay off. Taking action will only increase your options.

Peanuts ARIES (March 21-April 19)

SUDOKU

Keep your thoughts and emotions in check. Now is not the time to start a war.

Avoid being taken advantage of and use diplomacy when handling arduous situations. You need to be tough but fair.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Participate in any activities or ventures that arise today, and show everyone what you have to offer. You will impress even the most skeptical individual, giving you many new channels in which to operate.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23) Change is inevitable, but acceptance will enable you to move in a direction that is better suited to your needs as well as your skills. Express your ideas and intentions in clear, concise language.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22) Learning will be key to making new acquaintances and finding unusual opportunities. You’ll be especially prone to altering the way you do things at work, with positive results.

Friday's solution GEMINI (May 21June 20)

SAGITTARIUS

You can make a difference if you act on behalf of someone or something you believe in. Your interaction with someone influential will lead to an interesting relationship.

Stick close to home and make a point to listen rather than dictate.

The choice you make now will determine how your peers and loved ones will receive you.

(Nov. 23Dec. 21)

news 19

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GGDMA wants foreign exchange for sale of gold

saturday, august 24, 2013

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he Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has proposed that miners be paid up to 50 per cent of the value of gold sold to the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) in foreign exchange. The association is also calling for an excise tax of five per cent on imported fuel.

These proposals were made when the association met with President Donald Ramotar, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud on Wednesday.

The association pointed out that the gold board has been in existence for more than 25 years and miners in the past were allowed up to 100 per cent of their gold sold in foreign exchange.

“November 2011, GGB informed miners that foreign exchange is not available.

GGDMA is urgently requesting that foreign exchange be made available to assist the small- and medium- scale miners, during this crisis of falling gold prices, for them to import much needed spares and machinery,” the association pleaded.

The excise tax on fuel was among five key issues raised by the GGDMA executives.

It was explained that fuel accounts for 25-30 per cent of the production cost to miners. Against the background

of falling gold prices and the high cost of fuel, lubricants, spares and replacement parts, the association said the five per cent excise tax should be implemented on imported fuel from legitimate oil companies in the Caribbean region.

There was also a call for the government to assent to tax waivers on the importation of 4x4 four-door open back vehicles. “These vehicles are still being deemed as luxury items/vehicles and attract heavy import duties.

These vehicles are necessary for safe travel, over sometimes impassable roads, in the hinterlands of Guyana for miners, including female miners, as they transport rations, spares, and personnel to and from their work sites. The four-door vehicles will also provide an additional form of security to miners,” GGDMA explained.

Threats

Turning its attention to crime, the GGDMA said criminal activities within mining districts are taking a toll on the industry. The increase in crime, violence, murders illegal firearms, narcotics, trafficking in persons and other illegal activities are posing serious threats to the industry, the association explained. The mining association has raised concerns about the lengthy period before approval for non-nationals’ work permits,

firearm licences and permits, or the establishment of private security services by miners.

“GGDMA is also requesting the appointment of a commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC). GGMC needs a confirmed commissioner to manage and give direction to the mining industry, especially the gold and diamond sector, in this critical time of falling gold prices, rampant illegal mining, and the upsurge of criminal activities in the hinterlands of Guyana,” the association said as it proposed the appointment of the acting commissioner, Rickford Vieira.

Environment-conscious

The GGDMA said it remained committed to executing its duties within environmentally friendly systems.

Currently, it is in discussions with the GGMC and the Natural Resources and

Environment Ministry on reducing the amount of mercury used to recover gold via mercury-free technology. Further, improving the recovery rate of the sluice box, alternative recovery systems, and reclamation and rehabilitation systems remain on the table for the miners’ association.

Over the past 31 years, the GGDMA has aided in the transformation of the gold industry, which moved from a declared production of under 10,000 ounces to a record 438, 645 ounces in 2012. A declaration of more than 460,000 ounces is anticipating at the end of 2013. If this target is achieved, it will be the highest gold declaration ever, surpassing the combined declared production of OMAI and local miners in 2001 of 456,000 ounces of gold. About 300, 000 ounces of gold have been declared thus far.

Undoubtedly, the mining industry continues to make an overwhelming contribution to the economy of the country. “The small and mediumscale gold and diamond mining industry contributes to the economy by providing jobs [for] skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers – directly to about 15,000 and indirectly 100,000 to 150,000, providing a source of income and employment in the interior, where there are a few government or private sector jobs,” the association noted.

Teen killed on Number Five Village Public Road

A

lad has become the latest road fatality after he was struck down on the Number Five Public Road, West Coast Berbice on Friday, as he attempted to cross the road.

Kenroy Reynolds, 14, of Lot 50, Number Five Village, West Coast Berbice was reportedly struck by a speeding car and flung some 100 feet from the point of impact before landing on the roadway. He reportedly sustained a broken neck among other injuries.

The police in a release stated that investigations thus far revealed the driver of a motor car was proceed-

ing along the road way, when it is alleged that the child attempted to cross the road and was struck down. “He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Fort Wellington Public Hospital,” the release added.

Carlyle Stephney, an uncle of the dead teenager explained that his nephew was sent to the shop by another relative to purchase flour and cigarettes when the accident occurred.

He explained that he was in his yard preparing for another funeral over the weekend when he heard a loud sound and instantly got the impression that someone was

struck down. Stephney said when he went out to inquire what happened, he and saw people running to the scene and as he was heading in the direction; he was informed that the victim was his nephew. Stephney remembered that his sister was also struck down in the same area about 10 years ago at that point, noting that he froze as he got closer to the scene. After a while, he was revived by persons who threw water on him.

He said his nephew’s head was bleeding and his body badly damaged. Reynolds was picked up by other relatives who were assisted by a

friend and taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. The distraught uncle revealed that the child’s mother died about four years ago and his smaller brother passed away when he was much younger.

The now dead teenager stayed between his great grandmother’s house and another uncle. He attended the Number Five Primary School and was a second form student of the Fort Wellington Secondary. The driver of the motor car was taken into police custody and is assisting with investigations.

Man accused of stealing firearm denied bail

A

man was remanded by Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Friday after he was charged with simple larceny.

It is alleged that on July

31 at Lombard and Sussex streets, Julian Winter stole one .38 Tarsus pistol, along with seven .32 rounds of ammunition, valued a total of $106,000, property of Toolsie Persaud Limited.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge read against him.

Prosecutor Ramsahoye Rambaju objected to bail on the grounds of the nature of the offence and the likelihood

the defendant will not return to court, if granted bail, since he has other matters pending regarding the said firearm.

The matter was transferred to Court One for September 9.

Friendly gambling leads to larceny charge

A

man was brought before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to the charge of simple larceny.

It was alleged that on August 21, at Georgetown, Orlando Jones stole one BlackBerry smartphone valued $69,000, property of Randolph Thom. He pleaded guilty with explanation.

The defendant told the court with tears in his eyes and his voice breaking that he is a working man and has known the VC for some time, since they are gambling buddies. He said on the day in question, he and Thom were gambling and he won $5000. He said he won a second time, but Thom did not have any money to pay him, so that was when he told him that he will keep the phone until he

has the money to pay him.

He stressed that the VC knows him well and knew that he had no intention of keeping the phone permanently. Jones also said he has never been in trouble with the law before, and feels “messed up” over what happened.

Based on Jones’ explanation, Magistrate Azore entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

The magistrate then asked the

VC if he would go ahead with the matter and he responded in the negative. Thom said he told the police at the station that he just wanted his phone back. The VC added that he has not yet got it back. When asked where it was, he said the phone was still in police possession.

The matter was dismissed against Jones, and Magistrate Azore ordered the phone returned to the VC.

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guyanatimesGY.com

SATURday, august 24, 2013

Russell powers Jamaica Tallawahs into LCPL final ...dispose of Barbados Tridents by seven wickets; face Guyana Amazon Warriors tonight

G

reat power-hitting at the “death” from Andre Russell put the Jamaican Tallawahs into the final of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League against the Guyana Amazon Warriors tonight after they disposed of Batbados Tridents on Friday night.

With the Tallawahs needing 15 from the last two overs, Russell dispatched Azhar Mahmood’s first three balls of the penultimate over for sixes, piling on an unbeaten 29 from a mere six deliveries. This platform for Russell’s explosion was laid

by Man-of-the-Match Kumar Sangakara, who made an undefeated 50, and Chadwick Walton, who muscled 45, as the side easily reached their target of 149, ending with 152-3 in 18.3 overs.

Earlier, Barbados made 148-6 with Shoaib Malik (49) and Raymon Reifer (36) being the principal scorers.

Jamaica took control of

the game from the inception, dismissing the dangerous Dwayne Smith for one in the second over. The next over fast bowler Jason Holder, sent up the order as a pinchhitter, was caught behind for five as they were restricted to 6-2.

However, Malik and Reifer, who played some wild swipes, settled down and repaired the breach. Steadily they mounted a fight with Malik leading the way with his clean six-hitting. The 102-run third wicket stance added respectability to the Tridents’ total but two wickets shifted the momentum back in the Tallawahs’ favour.

Reifer was the first to be dismissed, run out for a 43ball 36, which was dotted with three fours. The next ball, last ball of the 17th over, Malik was caught was caught

by Chadwick Walton for 49 from 47 balls; his inning included three sixes and a four.

Kieron Pollard came in a played a brief explosive innings, hitting 13 from five balls, before he was freakishly run out, backing up.

Subsequently, some good running and a few crucial boundaries by Mahmood (14 not out) and Kyle Mayers (12 not out) pushed the total to a challenging 148 on the slow wicket.

In reply, Mayers dropped a simple catch off a strike from Walton before a run was on the board. The next over Walton punished Mahmood when he slapped him away to the backward point boundary in his first over.

In Mahmood’s second over, he had the talismanic Chris Gayle caught at midwicket by Pollard for three, stunning many in the crowd.

Mayers must have rued his dropping Walton because the batsman exploded on Malik, whom he was dropped off in the first over.

Sri Lankan batsman

Sangakara also joined the party with a cut for four off Holder and a charge to Malik for six. The pair took control of the game with relative, causing some unsportsmanlike behavior from Tridents captain Pollard, who directed a throw to the head of Walton in the 10th over when the score was 79-1.

When the score was 87 Walton attempted a run off a wide and was run out for 45 by wicketkeeper Jonathan Carter; he faced 40 balls, striking five fours and a six.

With Walton’s dismissal, the gap between balls to runs ratio increased, as the Barbados Tridents bowlers stemmed the flow of runs by keeping new batsman Danza Hyatt mostly on strike.

The Tallawahs raised three figures in the 15th over while the Barbados Tridents’ horrid catching continued, this time Reifer dropping Sangakara on 43.

Hyatt’s scratchy in-

nings came to an end when Pollard took a well judged catch on the long on boundary with the reintroduction of Mahmood.

Andre Russell, who was whacked in the field earlier,

took some revenge with the bat, taking 10 runs off his first two deliveries. With this Holder unraveled under the pressure as the Tallawahs required 15 from the last two overs.

SCOREBOARD Barbados Tridents innings D Smith lbw b Bernard 1 R Reifer run out (Russell/ Gayle) 36 J Holder c †Baugh b Philander 5 Shoaib Malik c Walton b Gayle 49 K Pollard* run out (Russell) 13 Azhar Mahmood c Gayle b Philander 14 K Mayers not out 12 Extras: (lb10, w8) 18 Total: (6 wkts, 20 overs) 148 To bat: J Carter†, A Nurse, R Emrit, Shakib Al Hasan Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-6, 3-108, 4-108, 5-133, 6-148 Bowling: V Philander 4-0-28-2, D Bernard 4-0-21-1, A Russell 3-031-0, M Muralitharan 3-0-26-0, N Miller 3-0-18-0, C Gayle 3-0-14-1

Jamaica Tallawahs innings C Walton run out (†Carter) 45 C Gayle* c Pollard b A Mahmood 3 K Sangakkara not out 50 D Hyatt c Pollard b A Mahmood 12 A Russell not out 29 Extras: (b4, lb4, w5) 13 Total: (3 wkts, 18.3 overs) 152 Did not bat: J Blackwood, CS Baugh†, DE Bernard, VD Philander, NO Miller, M Muralitharan Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-87, 3-117 Bowling: S Malik 2-0-190, A Mahmood 3.3-0-37-2, J Holder 3-0-22-0, R Emrit 2-0-19-0, Shakib Al Hasan 1-0-8-0, K Pollard 4-0-220, A Nurse 3-0-17-0

England crawl towards Butler in for LCPL long haul safety against Australia P

A

conservative batting performance steered England towards safety in the final Test against Australia and lifted their chances of ending the Ashes series undefeated on Friday.

The hosts scored only 215 runs in 98.3 overs on a soporific third day to move within 46 runs of the follow-on at 247-4 in reply to Australia’s 492-9 declared.

Joe Root found some form with 68 and Kevin Pietersen made a patient 50, but there was another failure for captain Alastair Cook, who was caught behind for 25.

Ian Bell ended the day unbeaten on 29, alongside debutant Chris Woakes, who drove the first ball of his Test career through the covers for four on his way to 15.

With significant rainfall forecast for Saturday, England’s approach should ensure they salvage the draw they require to win the series 3-0.

But after an underwhelming performance from the home side with bat and ball, it looks as though Australia will finish the series in the ascendancy and carry more momentum into the return series down under, starting in November.

England’s openers, who survived a testing period on Thursday evening to reach 320, advanced to their highest partnership of the series - 68 before Cook perished.

The skipper, who is averaging only 27 for the series, had just survived a reviewed appeal for leg before wicket from Ryan Harris, but fell in the fast bowler’s next over when he hung his bat out and nudged one through to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

Root’s half-century, which included 11 boundaries, owed a lot to his decision to play forward more often than in previous innings, where a tendency to stay on the back foot to the seamers had frequently brought about his downfall.

This time it was Nathan Lyon who took Root’s wicket, the 22-year-old Yorkshire batsman falling into a trap that had been set by Michael Clarke and top-edging a sweep to Shane Watson at short long leg.

Jonathan Trott scored only two boundaries as he ground out 40 off 134 balls in a particularly torpid period before tea.

His quest for a first halfcentury of the series was thwarted by Mitchell Starc who trapped him lbw in front of leg stump with the first delivery with the second new ball.

Pietersen’s 133-ball half century was his second slowest in Tests and featured only four boundaries.

On his home ground, the Surrey batsman found off-spinner Lyon particularly difficult to get away, but it was Starc who eventually removed him when a thin edge off a full delivery flew low to Watson at slip.

Woakes, brought in to replace Jonny Bairstow at number six, drew one of the biggest cheers of the day when he creamed his first ball for four to evoke memories of David Gower, who did the same on his debut in 1978. (BBC Sport)

SCOREBOARD England 1st innings A Cook* c †Haddin b Harris 25 J Root c Watson b Lyon 68 J Trott lbw b Starc 40 K Pietersen c Watson b Starc 50 I Bell not out 29 C Woakes not out 15 Extras: (b9, lb5, w4, nb2) 20 Total: (4 wkts, 116 overs) 247 To bat: MJ Prior†, SCJ Broad, GP Swann, JM Anderson, SC Kerrigan Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2-118, 3-176, 4-217 Bowling: M Starc 26-560-2, R Harris 23-9-41-1, J Faulkner 12-3-29-0, P Siddle 21-6-46-0, N Lyon 26-841-1, S Smith 8-3-16-0

ort of Spain, TRINIDAD – Hollywood actor Gerard Butler has said his involvement with the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is for the long term after he arrived in Trinidad to watch the climax of the inaugural event.

Scottish-born Butler, whose list of movie credits includes 300, Reign of Fire and Olympus Has Fallen, has secured an equity stake in the Jamaica Tallawahs, and ahead of his side’s semi-final clash with the Barbados Tridents he confirmed his desire to remain involved as the tournament goes from strength to strength.

“Absolutely (it is a long term commitment),” he said.

“I did not do this just to be in it for a couple of weeks.I did it because I hope this new league is a long-term league and that it keeps going and keeps building so it is an investment you hope will build, but also (because) it is an excuse to come out here (to the Caribbean) to a place I love.”

Butler is one of several high-profile names to become involved in the Limacol CPL with fellow actor Mark Wahlberg taking an equity stake in the Barbados Tridents while Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is involved with the Antigua Hawksbills and is also a tournament sponsor.

“A bit of rivalry (with Mark Wahlberg)?” said Butler. “Absolutely. At one point we were going to invest in the same team and then we thought it would be better to keep it separate – ‘You take Barbados and I will go with Jamaica.’

“He recently Tweeted ‘We are unbeaten’ and I wanted to Tweet back ‘Not any more, because we took you down (with a six-wicket win at Sabina Park on 17 August).’

“We have had a laugh about it and I am so glad he

Jamaica Tallawahs and Gerard Butler

got involved in this as well and I think more will follow without it becoming ridiculous. I think Hollywood will take more of an interest in this and hopefully around the world.”

The 43 year-old actor explained his involvement with the tournament began with a conversation with his friend Ajmal Khan, the Founder and Chairman of the Limacol CPL. “He (Ajmal) said there is a chance to create this whole new league, make it really exciting, bring in outside players and it will be the biggest party in sport because it is going to be in the Caribbean, (so he told me) ‘Think about it and you could get involved in that.’

“I thought ‘You know what, for me it is all about things that enrich your life experience.’ I want to get involved in different things so I thought how cool it would be.

“And Jamaica, for me, I have visited there a lot, I have a special affection for that place and they have Chris Gayle, so I thought that would be the one to get involved with.”

Butler attended Thursday night’s first semifinal between the Trinidad

& Tobago Red Steel and the Guyana Amazon Warriors, a match won by the Warriors by seven wickets, and he said he could see immediately why the tournament has taken off to such a great extent.

“I see the excitement,” he said. “I ask people ‘What was it like before?’ and they say ‘It was always fun but now it is a really fun.’ It is much bigger, it is more exciting, it is just more. It feels like it is becoming the European Champions League of the Caribbean.

“I went to the (Red Steel/ Amazon Warriors) game and it was a carnival atmosphere… among the people there was a lot of competition but it was a lot of fun and everyone was having a good time.”

During his stay in Trinidad Butler has taken the opportunity to meet the Jamaica Tallawahs players and staff and was impressed with what he found.

“They are awesome.

Chris Gayle came up to me last night at the (hotel swimming) pool and said ‘We were wondering if it was you.’

“There are a lot of personalities in there but they are very warm and humble and a lot of strong and good play-

ers. I am excited and I really feel like I got behind the right team.”

Ahead of his side’s semifinal date with the Barbados Tridents, Butler was convinced his side had the right stuff to lift the inaugural title, something only time would tell.

“I do not THINK (they will win),” he said. “They will. That is how it is. I think they have got what it takes.”

Having made a movie about football, based on the true story of the United States of America team that beat England in 1950, is there scope for a movie about cricket and would he like to be involved?

“Absolutely, I think it would be great to make a cricket movie as you could come at it from many angles, whether it be the sport angle, the dramatic part of that, or somebody from another place that should not be where he is.

“There are a lot of ideas you could put into a great cricket movie. I know Brian Lara wants me to play him so I think there is a possibility there,” he joked.

The inaugural LCPL ends tonight at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. (CPL)

SATURday, august 24, 2013

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21

& Field to be contested at JADCO disputes claim Track IGG second leg in Suriname of poor drug testing A

David Howman

Asafa Powell

ingston, JAMAICA - The Jamaica Antidoping Commission (JADCO) is disputing a claim by a former official that its drug testing programme was inadequate.

In a statement Thursday night JADCO said it viewed with ‘deep concern utterances by various persons in the public sphere in their attempt to discredit the work of JADCO, its commissioners, the Government of Jamaica and the success of Jamaican athletes.’

The Commission was reacting to an allegation from its former executive director Renee Anne Shirley which has caught the attention of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

JADCO said its procedures and processes were “in keeping with international standards”.

They had been reviewed by “... quasi-judicial bodies like the Jamaica AntiDoping Disciplinary Panel and Jamaica Anti-Doping Appeals Tribunal, and judicial body outside of Jamaica, the Court of Arbitration for

Sport, which as recently as this year found them beyond reproof,” JADCO said.

Shirley had accused Jamaica’s politicians and administrators of ignoring her warnings that the positive tests returned by Asafa Powell and four other athletes were a “disaster” waiting to happen, saying: “They believe Jamaica does not have a problem.”

She said that between February 2012 and the start of the London Olympics in July, JADCO carried out just one out-of-competition test.

However JADCO said local athletes were tested in June 2013 at the National Senior Athletics Championships and none of those selected to be members of Team Jamaica to the recent IAAF World Championships returned adverse analytical findings.

The statement reported a steady increase in the number of In-Competition and Out-of- Competition tests conducted locally.

JADCO said it carried out 504 In-competition and

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372 Out-of-competition tests in the four-year period between May 2009 and July 2013.

WADA director General David Howman Wednesday called on the Jamaica government to investigate Shirley’s claims.

“Our normal approach if we have issues falling into the category of either complaint or concern is to try to work with the particular signatory” Howman said.

“If nothing happens, we can ask our board to declare any of the signatories noncompliant”.

JADCO said it had been working closely with WADA, who had visited in July last year and “expressed satisfaction with the development of JADCO” and its new commissioners.

“JADCO will continue to collaborate with WADA to improve its systems, and is assured that Jamaican athletes face no threat of being barred from participation in the next Olympic Games or other international events,” the statement added. (Caribbean360)

Jamaica says its drug testing programme can stand up to scrutiny

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ingston, JAMAICAJamaica’s Minister with responsibility for sport Natalie NeitaHeadley says the country’s drug testing programme can stand up to scrutiny in the face of threats from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Neita-Headley’s declaration follows comments from the Wada director general David Howman urging the Portia Simpson Miller government to investigate claims by the former executive director of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission that its drugs-testing programme was inadequate.

Renee Anne Shirley had accused Jamaica’s politicians and administrators of ignoring her warnings that the positive tests returned

by Asafa Powell and four other athletes were a “disaster” waiting to happen.

“A lot of things are unfortunate, but we have very little control over people and their personalities,”

Minister of Sports Natalie Neita-Headley

said Neita-Headley who declined to comment directly on Shirley’s comments.

“I think what is important is that the programme can stand up to scrutiny.

That is what is going to be important and if we do have shortfalls that we seek to address them. The sports programme is more important than any person or personality.”

Writing in this week’s Sports Illustrated Shirley chided the Jamaican government for what she deems its failure to seriously deal with doping control.

In a statement released Thursday night, JADCO said it carried out 504 Incompetition and 372 Outof-competition tests in the four-year period between May 2009 and July 2013.

JADCO says it has also been working closely with WADA. “We were doing well in sports long before we knew what supplements were. We were doing good in sports long before anybody was ordering anything on the internet. Jamaica is a sporting destination and we will continue to be so,” NeitaHeadley expressed.

“Nevertheless, we remain committed to ensuring that all is in place and that we reach the ideal of ensuring that we are always compliant with what world standards are.” (Antigua Observer)

thletics will feature in the second leg of the Inter Guiana Games (IGG) in Suriname later in the year, according to president of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) Aubrey Hutson, who recently returned from the World Championships in Russia.

Hutson, in a telephone interview with Guyana Times Sport, revealed that trials for the meet are expected to be on September 7.

“There will be the trials for the Inter Guiana Games on the seventh because we suppose to make our final submission of team on the 15th (September) the meet will be on the second leg of the IGG in Suriname,” Hutson revealed.

Meanwhile, Hutson expects the AAG to end the 2013 year with a packed scheduled, declaring that the World Championships was an eye opener for him.

Aubrey Huston “Our season is running real late when we are suppose o be wrapping up now but we are expected to have a packed closing programme.

“Things are going to happen, I just came back from world’s (World Championships) and I didn’t

realize the amount of planning and money that goes into events like these and we are a far cry away but for our National Seniors I want to fix money to every event possible which shouldn’t cost more than one million dollars,” Hutson indicated.

Hutson also acknowledge that the AAG has been going through a bit of a rough patch but expects to end 2013 on a high note.

“We are going through our own teething process but things are going to happen and I expect that we’ll close the year with a bang,” Hutson stated.

Hutson also revealed the AINLIM and Courts 10k will be on September 15 and 22 respectively. However, he did not reveal a date for National Senior Championships, saying that the AAG is looking at their calendar of event to stitch in a date for the meet.

Shehzad, spinners sink Zimbabwe

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imbabwe had their moments where they stretched Pakistan with a confident start in their chase of 162, but tackling the spinners in the middle overs was always going to be the bigger proposition.

Pakistan’s spin trio - led

by Shahid Afridi - put the stranglehold on the scoring with regular wickets and the hosts found the target rapidly slipping away from them.

Once the required rate neared an improbable 12, the final passage of play turned tepid.

In both innings, Pakistan found the going tough in the first half of the innings but clawed back in the second.

Ahmed Shehzad weathered a sluggish start with a solid half-century that set the base for Shahid Afridi to play his natural game and push Pakistan to a competitive score. The Pakistan seamers struggled to contain the openers, but following a few quiet overs of spin, the momentum shifted. Brendan Taylor was looking to play himself into some form, after a poor series against India, and he didn’t have the time or an attacking partner at the other end to help his side reclaim the edge.

After being put in to bat, Pakistan lost their first three wickets inside nine overs, all off questionable shots.

Tendai Chatara accounted for the first two, and his second wicket to get rid of Mohammed Hafeez was made possible thanks to a brilliant reflex catch by Taylor. That catch was a good example of Zimbabwe’s fielding in the early part of Pakistan’s innings, but they couldn’t put enough pressure on Pakistan in the second half.

Pakistan progressed to a less-than-satisfactory 57 for 3 after ten overs, but the turning point in the innings came in the 12th over. It was Elton Chigumbura’s first and he leaked 17, which included a pulled six by the debutant Sohaib Maqsood and two swept boundaries by Shehzad past short fine leg. Pakistan ensured they maintained that momentum till the end of the innings, picking 75 runs off

Shahid Afridi and his team-mates celebrate a wicket

six beginning from the 12th.

Maqsood looked promising in a stand of 55 with Shehzad, pouncing on anything short from the seamers. After pulling Chigumbura over deep square leg, he tried to clear the straight boundary the following ball but was done in by an impressive running catch

by Vusi Sibanda.

Shehzad’s knock was vital in giving Pakistan a base

to build on, which was crucial given the under par scores from the rest of the top order. He managed only one boundary in the first ten overs and began to open up in the company of the confident Maqsood. He was caught on the edge of the long-on boundary for 70, attempting a second six. Afridi, sent in at No.6, made a cameo 23 to give the bowlers a solid

SCOREBOARD Barbados Pamela Lavine c T Sanford b K Cohen 4 Kycia Knight+ c C Henry b V Watts 25 Kyshonna Knight b C Nation 15 Shaquana Quintyne LBW V Watts 20 Deandra Dottin c C Henry b S Taylor 8 Danielle Small c T Sanford b S Daley 6 Charlene Taitt run out (S Daley) 16 Hayley Matthews not out 2 Total: 105/7 (20 Overs) Did not Bat: Shakera Selman*, Shanna Thompson, Shamilia Connell Extras: (4lb, 4w, 1nb) 9 Fall of Wickets: 1-20, 2-39, 3-69, 4-71, 5-78, 6-91, 7-105 Jamaica Bowling: Vanessa Watts 4-0-17-2, Karla Cohen 4-0-33-1, Shanel Daley 4-09-1, Chedean Nation 4-0-241, Stafanie Taylor 4-0-18-1

Jamaica Stafanie Taylor* lbw S Selman 32 Natasha Mc Lean c Kycia Knight b S Selman 44 Jodi Ann Morgan run out (H Matthews) 1 Shanel Daley not out 14 Chinelle Henry run out (S Selman) 5 Chedean Nation not out 2 Total: 106/4 (16.5 Overs) Did not Bat: Tameka Sanford+, Karla Cohen, Vanessa Watts, Roshana Outar, Alecia Bookal Extras: (2lb, 5wd, 1nb) 8 Fall of Wickets: 1-79, 2-81, 3-85, 4-101 Barbados Bowling: Shanna Thompson 2-0-24-0, Deandra Dottin 2-0-22-0, Shakera Selman 4-0-18-2, Pamela Lavine 1-09-0, Shaquana Quintyne 4-016-0, Charlene Taitt 1-0-60, Hayley Matthews 2-0-7-0, Danielle Small 0.5-0-2-0

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saturday, august 24, 2013

guyanatimesGY.com

Stuart urges participants to utilise knowledge gained at ECCB academy

By Rajiv Bisnauth

T

he East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB) concluded its five-day cricket academy with former West Indies fast bowler Colin Stuart urging participants to utilise the knowledge they gained for their personal development, and more particularly, the development of the game.

Fifty aspiring cricketers graduated from the academy, which concluded on Friday at Lusignan Community Centre ground.

Stuart, delivering the feature address, advised the participants to share the acquired knowledge with fellow students and members of their respective communities. He told the participants that the diverse topics that were discussed during the academy will help them become more rounded individuals.

Apart from the fundamentals of cricket, the participants, 10 of which were females, were lectured on the history of West Indies cricket, laws of cricket, intricacies of the scoring system, road safety, drugs and sport, the importance of education, the dangers of tobacco, food and nutrition,

leadership and sportsmanship, HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancy, social etiquette and grooming, discipline, and sports injuries.

“It’s a well-rounded programme with very relevant topics and I want to salute the ECCB for choosing these topics,” Stuart observed.

“You the participants can become a better individual, just put what you have learnt into practice” the 39-year-old concluded.

ECCB president Bissoondyal Singh stated that the academy has been an important resource for potential cricketers on the East Coast of Demerara. He urged the participants to aim high and strive for excellence in their future endeavours.

“Put what you have learnt into practice. Go into your schools and communities and preach what you have learnt; that’s all part of your development. You were very fortunate to be part of this programme, so share the knowledge you have gained,” Singh advised.

Singh added, “I am delighted today with the role this annual cricket academy has been playing. You

Seated from left: Judister Rampersaud, Latchman Yadram, Colin Stuart, Bissoondyal Singh, Raymond Barton and Davteerth Anandjit.

Behind are the participants of the East Coast Cricket Board’s 13th annual cricket academy with their certificates and trophies after the closing ceremony at the Lusignan Community Centre (Rajiv Bisnauth photo)

were not only taught the art of playing cricket but the dangers of using illicit drugs, the benefits of being fit, your personal hygiene, discipline, commitment and dedication, food and nutrition, discrimination, these are all facts of life that if put carefully into practice will make you better citizens of our dear beloved country.

This academy aims to mould the leaders and cricketers of tomorrow and we hope that you all capitalise on the lessons learned over the past five days.”

He expressed thanks to the facilitators for their time to “help mould the minds of the young ones.”

Singh also lauded the parents for making “a pre-

Cycling season continues today at National Park

cious investment” by sending their young ones to engage in such a meaningful activity.

Coordinator Judister Rampersaud said the participants responded well to what he described as “a well structured programme.” He stated that apart from the practical and classroom sessions, the youngsters were

Homer wins Girls’ 14’s Consolation final in SVG

Afruica Gentle

Jamaali Homer

uyana’s junior tennis players competing in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Wilson Junior Open in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) suffered mixed fortunes in two finals on the penultimate day of competition at the Grassroots Tennis Centre in Kingstown.

Jamaali Homer, a debutant at this level of competition, walked away the victor in the Girls 14’s Consolation finals. She defeated home girl Shania Williams in a three-set thriller: 4-1 2-4 4-1.

Homer leaped into the air after winning the final point. This is her first major title in her short career.

Her joy was shortlived however, when she returned later in the afternoon to play in the final of the Girls 14’s Doubles competition,

teaming up with compatriot Afruica Gentle.

Playing against the top seeded Benn sisters from SVG, Amarlia and Gabrielle, the Guyanese juniors showed great skills and finesse to grab the first set easily at 6-2.

The second set was a more closely contested affair with the Vincentian sisters eking out the vital break in the 12th game to claim the set 7-5. The Guyanese duo came close to winning the title only to lose in a closely contest third set super tiebreaker 11-13.

Even though they lost in the final and were a bit dejected, the Guyanese were still very appreciative to have been given the opportunity to compete at one of the more highly rated junior tournaments in the region.

The Guyanese players return home this weekend.

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Flashback! Winners of the first edition of the Unitech Awning cycling meet in 2011

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he inner circuit of the National Park will be buzzing with activity today with the staging of the third annual Unitech Awning 11-race cycling programme.

The action, which is set to pedal off at 09:00h, is being held in memory of the late Continental Cycle Club rider, Noel Persaud, popularly known as “Pokan.”

The day’s proceedings

will mirror those of the regular 11-race programmes at the same venue, with the feature race being the 35-lap School Boys and Invitational.

The experienced Junior Niles is set to defend his title, having won last year’s gruelling race in a time of one hour, 25 minutes, 24 seconds (01:25:24).

He also won the Veterans Under-50 five-lap event in 11 minutes, 55 seconds,

while Alanzo Ambrose and Mario King are the reigning champions in the Juveniles and Mountain Bikes respectively.

Other races carded for the day include the 12-14 Boys and Girls, Veterans Over-50, Veterans Over-60, BMX Open, 6-9, 9-12 and 12-14 years.

Among the top riders expected to compete during the day are Niles, Alanzo Greaves, Robin

Persaud, Warren McKay, Paul DeNobrega, Raynauth Jeffrey, Marlon Williams, Enzo Matthews, Albert Philander, Mario King, Shaquille Agard, Hamzah Eastman and Michael Anthony.

Persaud’s son, Ray Persaud, the Managing Director of Unitech Awning, will be on hand to assist in the presentation of prizes to the outstanding performers at the conclusion.

equipped with handouts to keep for future reference.

Avin Gangadin and Tameshwar Motiram were the participants who made presentations on behalf of the group, and they expressed pleasure at being part of the activity. Each participant received a certificate of participation and a trophy.

saturday, august 24, 2013

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23

Hemraj pleased with progress made at Sagicor HPC …“best place” for an aspiring professional cricketer to be

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ational batsman, Chanderpaul Hemraj, believes the Sagicor High Performance Centre (HPC) is the best place for any young cricketer committed to improving his trade and becoming a professional in the sport.

The elegant left-hander made the disclosure moments after returning home from his stint at the Sagicor HPC at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus in Barbados.

The 19-year-old touched down in Guyana on Friday after completing the first phase, which started on June 1 this year. Hemraj and national First-Class fast bowler Ronsford Beaton of Essequibo are the Guyanese on the 2013-2014 batch of young players at the Centre.

The duo will rejoin their counterparts from the other Caribbean territories next month when the programme resumes.

The players selected are below the age of 25, and come from the six cricketplaying territories of the Caribbean. According to Hemraj, the experience so far has been nothing short of enjoyable.

“The best place a young cricketer would want to be, especially to become a professional cricketer, is at the Sagicor HPC,” the middleorder batsman, who has played three First-Class matches for Guyana, admitted.

He added, “Over the short period of time the coaches were able to assess every department of my game and make the necessary adjustments where needed, and also help me to improve in areas where I was lacking. I am pleased with the way my batting has been going and the progress I have made so far. Also, I have been working on my bowling and it has

By Avenash Ramzan started to come along well.”

The former national youth player is also enthused about the fact that the programme not only centres on cricket, but also provides an avenue for the participants to develop critical life skills.

“Fitness has been intense throughout, but once you have a focused mind and practice routinely you get accustomed to it. We also had to do some academic work, so it isn’t just about the cricket. Additionally, after the course has been successfully completed we will be awarded a Professional Cricketer certificate. My overall experience so Ronsford Beaton far has been an ing forward it. This means enjoyable one and I am looking forward to a lot to me because as you the next three months,” the can see, the HPC was able Strathavon, Cane Grove, to produce quality players East Coast Demerara, resi- over the years who went on to play Test cricket, like dent pointed out.

Meanwhile, efforts to [Veerasammy] Permaul for contact the 20-year-old example.”

Permaul, the West Indies Beaton for a comment on Friday proved futile, but the left-arm spinner, is among right-arm fast bowler did four Guyanese who have indicate to this publication previously passed through earlier this year that he will the HPC programme.

The others are fast bowlseek to use the stint as an avenue to improve his crick- er Brandon Bess, who was called up by the West Indies et.

“It’s a big step in my selectors to play a Test cricketing career,” he said match against South Africa back then. “As you know, while being part of the proGuyana does not have the gramme in 2010, and openkind of facilities and coach- ers Rajendra Chandrika and ing that you would get at Trevon Griffith.

Beaton has appeared in the HPC, so I’m really look-

Blood tests caused Baird’s slow time at World C/ships, says coach – off to college on full scholarship

By Treiston Joseph

A

fter World Junior silver medalist Kadecia Baird failed to move past the first round of the recently-concluded World Championships in Russia, her Coach Nicola Martial attributed her performance to the fact that she was blood tested.

Baird, who finished seventh in her heat, clocked a slower-than-usual time of 53.73s in the 400m.

However, with the athlete returning to home in the U.S.A, Martial related the experience of the 400m athlete to Guyana Times Sport, saying “Kadecia’s performance is not what we expected, upon arrival on Thursday (August 8) she had to be drug tested.”

“The amount of blood they took from her affected her ability to recover by Saturday (August 10). I

Kadecia Baird

think Kadecia was in shape to run very fast but being tested less than two days before she competes threw her off. It’s just a lack of experience on such a big stage,” Martial said in an exclusive interview.

With the event in the rear view, Martial noted that only exposure can allow Baird to perform better, revealing that “The more Kadecia competes on this level the better she will become. In the next two years I am looking for-

ward to better performances. Next year she has her final World Juniors, the World Relays and many big competitions.”

Meanwhile, with Baird, 17, going off to college, Martial expects the Central American and Caribbean gold medalist to mature as an athlete.

“I am so proud of everything she has accomplished. The gold at CAC, the silver at the World Junior Championships and her many records in high school but going away to college will help her to mature and get ready for even tougher competitions,” Martial predicted.

Baird will be going off to college on a full scholarship that will provide her with a higher level of training, making her a fine prospect for Guyana at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

Chanderpaul Hemraj (left) and West Indies Test opener Kraigg Braithwaite prepare for a fitness ride during the first stint in Barbados

14 First-Class matches, five List A and five T20 games for Guyana, while Hemraj has three First-Class matches under his belt.

Current batch

Apart from Hemraj and Beaton, the current batch of Sagicor HPC entrants includes Test discard Adrian Barath of Trinidad, fast bowler Quinton Boatswain of Montserrat, West Indies opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite of Barbados, opener John Campbell of Jamaica, wicketkeeper Shai Hope of Barbados,

all-rounder Akeal Hosein of Trinidad, wicketkeeper Steven Katwaroo of Trinidad, all-rounder Kyle Mayers of Barbados, allrounder Dalton Polius of St Lucia, all-rounder Raymon Reifer of Barbados, batsman Tyrone Theophile of Dominica and batsman Hayden Walsh Jr of Antigua.

Commenting on the announcement of the new batch in May, Sagicor HPC head coach Graeme West said he was very excited about the prospects of transforming a new group of players.

The HPC programme has been broadened to focus more on developing the mental prowess of the players in addition to the standard rigorous training in skills development and fitness required for high performance athletes.

The players will also benefit from specialised training in a number of other areas including their roles as ambassadors, personal development, anti-doping, anti-corruption and media skills. The 2013 programme will conclude in December this year.

Saturday, august 24, 2013

TOP SCORES

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

England 247-4 (Bell 29*, Woakes 15*) trail Australia 492-9 dec by 245 runs; Pakistan 161-5 ( Shehzad 70, Afridi 23*) beat Zimbabwe 136-5 (Taylor 32*, Afridi 3-25) by 25 runs

Russell powers Jamaica Tallawahs into LCPL final ...dispose of Barbados Tridents by seven wickets; face Guyana Amazon Warriors tonight

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Andre Russell

Kumar Sangakara

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