Guyana Times December 11, 2017

Psychiatric facility recommissioned

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…at New Amsterdam

Monday, December 11, 2017

Issue No. 3419

PRICE

Road carnage on a deadly Sunday

5 killed in

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE: US$18M scandal

Guyana dealt a “bad card” – former AFC P9 Exec

...as Brazil pocketed US$700M oil signing bonus from Exxon

separate accidents

….2 cops detained See stories on pages 2,5 &10

Govt foolishly tarnished its credentials – Ramkarran P7 ...should have come clean, instead of lying to the public

Dead: Stephen Phillips

Dead: Gavin Crandon

Dead: Abbenna Hubbard

Dead: Damon Baron

Dead: Marvin Dodson

The accident scene at Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara on Sunday night

Berbice businesses laying off workers in preparation for estate closure

Page 3

...new year to bring new economic crisis for Berbice – residents

Govt pushes P15 CJIA expansion completion date to 2018 – additional work needed on South West runway, as delays continue

Elderly taxi driver held at gunpoint, carjacked in P10 Eccles

2 news

monDAY, december 11, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Motorcyclist killed in Berbice accident …cop detained

A

motor cyclist is now dead and the pillion rider critical after their vehicle collided with a car being driven by a police officer in New Amsterdam on Sunday morning.

Dead is Gavin Crandon, 29, of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, while pillion rider Hubert Williamson, 15, of the same area, is said to be in a critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Police, in a statement, said the accident occurred at about 01:20hrs, when motorcar PSS 1890, driven by its police owner who is stationed at Fort Wellington Police Station, was proceeding north along the western carriageway of Main Street in New Amsterdam, but stopped in the centre of the road to negotiate a right turn into Lad Lane. Motorcycle CJ 735, with Crandon and

Dead: Gavin Crandon

Williamson aboard, was proceeding in the opposite direction and collided with the front of the car.

The injured Crandon and Williamson were rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital, where Crandon was pronounced dead on arrival and Williamson was treated and transferred to the

The vehicle driven by the Policeman

GPHC. The policeman is reportedly in custody assisting with the investigation. A breathalyser test determined that he was not under the influence. Eyewitnesses have claimed that both Crandon and Williamson were con-

suming alcohol prior to the incident. According to one eyewitness, the two had sped past the area twice before, and their third journey was fatal.

According to another source, the motorcycle was travelling, “at an extremely fast rate” when the car

The motorcycle involved in the deadly crash

attempted to turn into Lad Lane. Thus it “was unable to hold the brakes, and went straight into the car.”

The eyewitness claimed that the impact of the collision pitched Crandon about fifteen feet away, and Williamson much further.

“Crandon start bleeding from his head and nose right away,” the eyewitness said, adding, “They were coming from a party, and none of them had on helmet.”

Sunday morning’s accident was the second fatali-

ty in Berbice within hours.

On Saturday night, a minibus driver was killed after a car being driven by a police officer collided with the bicycle he was riding along the Rosignol public road, West Coast Berbice.

The police officer, who was using his private vehicle at the time, reportedly told relatives of the dead mini bus driver that he was tired and had fallen asleep at the wheel.

The police are investigating.

(Andrew Carmichael)

Rosignol cyclist killed by speeding Policeman

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West Bank Berbice (WBB) man was killed on Saturday evening after he was struck down by a speeding police officer on the Rosignol Public Road.

The dead man has been identified as 43-year-old Damon Baron, a minibus driver, of Rosignol Village, WBB. Guyana Times understands that the accident occurred around 18:50h.

According to reports, a police constable, attached to the Fort Wellington Police Station, was proceeding south along the eastern carriageway in motor car PWW 5999, allegedly at a fast pace, when the vehicle collided with the rear of Baron’s bicycle.

As a result of the impact, the cyclist fell onto the roadway and sustained injuries.

He was subsequently picked up by the rank and rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital in an unconscious state.

Baron was treated and later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital for further treatment.

However, he succumbed to his injuries around 06:45h Sunday.

Family members, who were at the New Amsterdam Hospital on Saturday evening, related to this newspaper that the man had just parked his bus and was riding his bicycle when he was hit.

They related that after

Dead: Damon Baron

receiving news of the accident, they rushed to the scene and saw Baron lying on the Public Road in a pool of blood. According to family members, shortly after a police pick-up arrived and took the injured man to the hospital.

It was alleged that the Police rank had left the scene after hitting Baron, but returned about 10 minutes after and then transported him to the medical facility.

Hospital sources say that the man suffered injuries to the head.

Meanwhile, the Police Force said that the officer, who was driving his personal vehicle at the time of the accident, was taken into custody where a breathalyser test was conducted on him, but no trace of alcohol was found.

The rank remains in Police custody assisting with the investigation.

news

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monDAY, december 11, 2017 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, December 11 – 12:00h-13:30h and Tuesday, December 12 – 13:30h-15:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, December 11 – 11:35h-13:05h and Tuesday, December 12 – 12:45h-14:15h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Thundery showers can be expected throughout the day, with light rain showers in the afternoon.

Thundery showers are expected to return in the evening. Temperatures should range between 24 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging between East South Easterly and East North Easterly between 1.34 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 11:10h and 23:40h reaching maximum heights of 2.23 metres and 2.22 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 04:33h and 17:10h reaching minimum heights of 0.95 metre and 1.01 metres respectively.

Berbice businesses laying off workers in preparation for estate closure ...new year to bring new economic crisis for Berbice – residents

By Lakhram Bhagirat

W

ith more than 400 persons scheduled to be out of a job come January 1, the county of Berbice is now bracing itself for additional economic hardships since there is a lack of opportunities for employment within the county.

Although the Government indicated that it was holding off on closure of the Rose Hall Estate, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) still went ahead and issued over 400 redundancy letters to workers, leaving them to ponder their next move.

In May 2017, the Government announced

Rakesh Megnauth

Seunarine Persaud

when I get me letter, I want cry but me tek am and went to the meeting. Them man

those who stand to lose their jobs. The business community is already bracing itself for the backlash of GuySuCo’s action.

One businesswoman said that it was really sad to see so many persons lose their jobs while noting that the community was already seeing a decline in spending. She explained that GuySuCo was the only entity that provided jobs for those in the Reliance/Abandon area in East Canje, and the closure of the Rose Hall factory would shift the residents further into poverty.

“It is really sad and it really affecting us, because business gone slow and this Christmas season ah come up and people are depressed now and what little money they got now, they got to provide food. New

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One of the redundancy letters

plans to close the Enmore and Rose Hall Sugar Estates, sell the Skeldon Sugar Factory, reduce the annual production of sugar, and take on the responsibility of managing the drainage and irrigation services offered by GuySuCo. Several protest actions followed this announcement.

Over the weekend, <<Guyana Times>>> visited the Rose Hall area and spoke to many of the workers and the business community about the impact of the callous move by the Corporation. The common concern was the lack of jobs within Berbice and also the age factor of those who lost their jobs.

“I cannot go to any other estate and get work, so me got to look fuh a job. With me age it is hard to get a job,” 45-year-old Rakesh Megnauth told this publication.

Megnauth told this newspaper that he had been employed with GuySuCo for more than 13 years in the Pest Control Department and was in physical pain when he and his gang of over 200 persons received their redundancy letters.

“This place nah got wuk fuh we. Brother, you see

tell the whole of C-Gang that we will get the severance and some ah them man got wife and small children; so tell me what dem go do?” he questioned.

“What will we do?” was the common question from

This businesswoman said “things really hard” and “business slow” in Berbice

Amsterdam hardly got people and work nah deh and it will get harder…it got people with loans and bills and children to go to school; how them go survive?,” the woman asked.

The businesswoman said she would feel sorry and helpless when she thinks about the plight of housewives who are now left to worry about their families.

Meanwhile, Seunarine Persaud related that he felt discriminated against because he was the oldest member of his team and was the first to get his redundancy letter. He explained that he has given 30 years of service to the Rose Hall factory, adding that there were approximately 40 persons in his team with only 11 receiving redundancy letters. turn to page 9

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monDAY, december 11, 2017

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

Human rights of sugar workers

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esterday, the world -- and Guyana -- celebrated Human Rights Day 2017. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and two years later sponsored Dec 10 for the annual commemoration of the day by all member states. It is perhaps ironic that two international covenants on human rights -- the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights -- were adopted by the UN in 1966, the same year that Guyana gained independence and became a member of the UN. As the latter states, “The two Covenants, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights form the International Bill of Human Rights, setting out the civil, political, cultural, economic, and social rights that are the birthright of all human beings.”

But for four thousand sugar workers who were fired in the last two years, during the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Covenants, the high sounding rhetoric rings very hollow.

In the years leading up to our independence, there was a great debate, both internationally and locally, about the utility of the political rights that would be granted on such occasions. The founders of both the PPP and the PNC scoffed that such rights were illusory “bourgeois” rights that simply allowed the working people to cast their ballots every five years. Of what use would be such political rights when citizens were starving to death? Both political and economic rights had to be instituted and enjoyed by the people.

For a country that had been colonised and its citizens’ labour exploited for hundreds of years, it was an article of faith that “economic” rights were fundamental to the “good life” that independence was supposed to usher in. Those who defined themselves as “Marxists”, or even ‘socialists” as Forbes Burnham, leader of the PNC was, were committed to this latter viewpoint. While one may disagree with his specific “cooperative” economic model for advancing those economic rights, his premise was on point.

It is more than ironic, therefore, that the Chairman of GUYSUCO, Clive Thomas, who was one of our most doctrinaire Marxists in our post-independence era, is now enthusiastically throwing sugar workers onto the breadlines.

When the bauxite industry started to experience troubles in the 1970s, Thomas was in the forefront of organising bauxite workers to secure their economic rights. Today, when sugar workers are being fired like buckshot, Thomas is actually the man doing the firing.

The further irony is that the market fundamentalism against which Marxists like Thomas railed in the past but practise today has very few defenders today, even in the bastions of the capitalist nations such as the US. The trenchant criticism against allowing only the market to make decisions is that, ultimately, the making of moral decisions are passed to the market place. Even Adam Smith did not envisage this anomaly: we cannot read his “Wealth of Nations” without his “Theory of Moral Sentiments”.

What deguts Clive Thomas’s advocacy for the closure of the sugar estates without making provisions for alternative employment for the workers is that GUYSUCO is not a “private company”, but is one “owned by the people of Guyana”, of which sugar workers are still members. No one is denying that the sugar industry was facing a cashflow crisis; but the first job of a Government is to act in the best interest of citizens – here, the workers. Even the US intervened when its auto industry faced a cash crunch, by injecting funds into it until it could survive on its own. This was the precise recommendation of the CoI into sugar, of which Clive Thomas was a member, but which was ignored.

The fundamental human right of a citizen is a right to life, and when the Government is the employer, the worker cannot be thrown into circumstances in which he faces certain destitution and almost certain death.

Sugar workers are also humans with rights.

Two Inuit people perform a traditional song and drum dance on Devon Island, in Canada's Northwest Passage. (Photograph by Michelle Valberg, National Geographic Your Shot)

Accountants and auditors in the anti-corruption effort Dear Editor, The current news swirling around the almost US$20 million ExxonMobil signing bonus saga reinforces the important role of accountants and auditors in the anti-corruption effort.

It is rather strange that such a large and relatively suspicious transaction escaped the eyes of accountants at the two ministries involved; the Central Bank, of all places; and worse, the Audit Office.

Credit goes to accountant and attorney Mr Christopher Ram for first sounding the alarm, and to Opposition Leader and Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, for ably and competently following through the audit trail to bring it to the Guyanese public.

It is also a stark reminder that Government Ministers, including the President, need to be financially literate. A good understanding of accounting, auditing, and finance fundamentals will enable these

elected officials to effectively discharge their mandate, in addition to understanding and interpreting financial reporting.

How can accountants and auditors help in this anti-corruption drive? Firstly, accountants are the first set of gatekeepers to ensure that transactions are valid, at arm’s length, are captured and properly recorded according to established standards.

Secondly, as professionals with a duty to protect the public interest, they are bound by rigorous codes of professional and personal ethics, calling for the highest levels of integrity and objectivity.

Thirdly, their key strategic positions within an enterprise or organisation – whether in an internal position or as an external auditor or adviser – mean that they very often have access to highly privileged and confidential information.

A few years ago, the International Federation

of Accountants (IFAC), the global umbrella organisation for the accountancy profession -- which has more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries, representing almost 3 million accountants -- took the lead in anti-corruption and came out with a paper titled “The Accountancy Profession and the Fight Against Corruption.” The Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAG) of Guyana is a member of the IFAC, and so is the Global Institute of Internal Auditors, a chapter of which exists in Guyana.

IFAC urges accountancy bodies worldwide to unite with various professions, including the business community, government agencies, and other organisations, to wipe out corruption. The document mentioned above contains several proposals, one of which advises accountants to develop outlets for building relationships with legislative and regulatory

authorities, the legal profession, and other groups interested in improving the framework for good governance, transparency and accountability.

In addition, the document places responsibility on audit committees to consider the propriety of anti-corruption policies in place, and insist that corrupt acts be reported.

Auditors, too, are advised to promote codes of conduct among practising firms, their clients, and governments to expressly prohibit corrupt activity. The paper goes on to focus on the accounting profession’s individual role in curbing corrupt practices by urging ‘professional skepticism’ when establishing business relationships, and in reviewing transactions.

Within this context, it is mind boggling that almost US$20 million could have escaped a typical accountant’s and auditor’s watchful eyes and ready pen. continued on page 5

These protesters should be commended for their persistence and messages Dear Editor, Matters of importance and serious concern should be given priority to be raised in the National Assembly of Guyana.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, during the final day of the budget debates last week, delivered a structured speech and raised several issues of national concern; let me con-

gratulate him for a job well done.

I have noticed (in one of the daily newspapers on Sunday) a headline on the front page: "PM amused by 12 PPP protesters following him around with recycled placards". After reading the article, I realised that these protesters really leave a serious dent on the egoistic mind of the Prime

Minister .What is more evident is that these protest actions become a national issue, and were raised in the National Assembly.

These protesters should be commended for their persistence and their messages. I want protesters to know that we should continue to protest, because our voices are echoing in the National Assembly.

And while he is condemning the spelling on the placards, we will urge the PM to take his mathematics classes more seriously.

To those protesting, continue to let your voices be heard.

Zamal Hussain RDC Councillor, Region 6

monDAY, december 11, 2017

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News

2 dead in horrific accident at Mahaicony S tephen Phillips, also called ‘Peter Mal,’ of Buxton, ECD and Abbenna Hubbard of Melanie, ECD died when the car in which they were travelling turned turtle along the main access road at Perseverance, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara on Sunday night.

While information about the circumstances surrounding the accident remains sketchy, the Guyana Times understands that the two young people had gone with others at an outing at the Mahaicony Pool, and while on their way back home,

Phillips lost control of the car and it slammed into a tree.

The impact pinned Phillips and Hubbard in the vehicle, and by the time they were extricated from the wreckage they were already dead.

A close friend of the two people explained that he was at home when he heard about the accident.

The duo, he added, had travelled up to Mahaicony where they met other friends, and it is believed that Phillips might have taken a few drinks.

It is also suspected that Phillips might have fallen

Dead Stephen Phillips

asleep, thus losing control of the car and crashing it into a tree.

Hubbard is reported-

Dead: Abbenna Hubbard of Melanie

ly the daughter of the late Dale Andrews, senior crime reporter of Kaieteur News.

The accident scene at Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara on Sunday night

Govt has failed sugar workers & farmers Dear Editor, An opinion poll I conducted (over the last week) for the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) has found sugar workers, rice farmers, and other farmers complaining bitterly about the neglect they have been experiencing under the APNU/AFC Government

that was installed into office since May 2015.

They described the Government as “anti-farming”. They complain that this coalition Government has failed to honour promises – such as to guarantee rice prices, not to close sugar estates, to find markets for rice, protect cash crops from the ravages of flooding or

bad weather, establish agro processing industries, create jobs, etc.

The coalition has been rapidly losing support in farming areas and among Indians because of widespread neglect and perceived race biased policies. The coalition came to power with the 11 per cent (AFC support primarily from Indians)

Accountants and auditors... from page 4

Corruption is now a global problem, common in both developed and developing countries and reaching epidemic proportions across borders. In democratic nations, where checks and balances deter corrupt and other unethical practices, corruption is still prevalent. The impact on business and the wider society is even greater, as it diverts resources from productive to unproductive sectors, and makes a few rich at the expense of others. Corruption also undermines institutions and redistributes wealth to the undeserving.

What this indicates is that, human nature being what it is, no country, and indeed no system, is immune from corrupt practices. Indeed, nations have gone to war, governments have been toppled, companies have been made bankrupt, and whole kingdoms have been lost due to corruption scandals.

The most obvious effect of political corruption is a loss of public esteem for pol-

iticians and political life.

The cynical view that ‘politics is a dirty business’ becomes a reality; people enter politics not from a sense of public service, but in pursuit of personal power and advancement. If left unchecked, corruption weakens the very structures of an organised society as it undermines the forces of law and order and reduces public morale. In the long run, both economic and social developments become crippled, and all suffer.

This disease increases risks and costs to the economy, damages investor confidence, and stifles economic growth. Corruption acts as a strong deterrent to foreign direct investment. With corruption being a scourge to societies, there is now more focus being placed on good governance practices and sound risk management efforts.

It is clear that both the accounting and audit professions have important roles to play now and in the future in preventing, detecting and reporting on corrup-

tion. After all, stakeholders place considerable trust on these highly trained professionals to do so.

Lal Balkaran Past President, Institute of Internal Auditors (Toronto)

joining up with the PNC (40 per cent) to unseat the PPP from office. However, since the change in Government, farming communities and rural dwellers have been facing serious socio-economic issues, including a rise in domestic abuse, (attempted) suicides, joblessness, homelessness, alcoholism, and (internal and external) migration. People also complain about educational neglect, bias in the distribution of scholarships to tertiary institutions, the awarding of Government contracts, and other matters. They also complain that their rural regions are lagging in socio-cultural funding and development.

Farmers, sugar workers, and market dwellers say that the coalition made many promises during the

election campaign to get elected, particularly committing that they would not close any sugar estates and guaranteeing $9000 a bag for paddy. But after getting the sugar workers’ and farmers’ votes, the coalition has repeatedly ignored those promises.

They say Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, Member of Parliament Charandass Persaud, and other AFC leaders misled them into supporting the coalition, but have not come back to look for them or champion their interests after the election. And they also say that the AFC has not been addressing issues affecting them or doing much to benefit them. Farmers and rural people say they have become

poorer since the change in Government.

Businesses have also made a similar charge.

In addition to farmers, people in the urban areas and from around the country also say the Government has been a let-down. They too complain that the government promised to create jobs and raise salaries and instead they have experienced an increase in unemployment, stagnated real wages, and an increase in prices for goods and services.

Voters appeal to the AFC and APNU to implement their promises, saying it is still not too late to take measures to reverse the loss of popular support.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

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Foundation

– showing you care is much easier than you think according to new research

By Heather Wolpert-Gawron

W

ith each click of the mouse or flip of the channel, our society is inundated with headlines focused on natural disasters, sexual harassment allegations, countries on the brink of war, and teen suicides.

While none of this is anything new, the bombardment of these stories is unique to this generation of student. Social media, the 24-hour news cycle, and questionable media sources (or questionable reporting techniques) have become their own newsworthy headlines.

As a result, life can appear dark, far darker than in pre–social media days.

As adults, we bring our prior knowledge of history and our optimism about humanity to help us process and filter this inundation. Our students, however, do not have hindsight to combat their feelings of helplessness. They are surrounded by unfiltered current events – a rapid fire of negativity that can leave them vulnerable and overly anxious. It’s no wonder that teen stress is on the rise.

Nevertheless, our students have to know about the world around them, and part of our job as educators is to prepare them for the realities of the world outside the classroom walls. It’s difficult, however, to walk this precarious high wire of responsibility knowing that we need to expose students to current events and yet still nurture them developmentally.

Teaching current events

So how can we create an honest counter story to the negativity out there without abandoning our responsibility to teach current events alto-

gether? How can we help students see hope through the smog?

Some teachers decide not to tackle current events. But I argue that is a slippery slope toward an uneducated populace. Instead, I propose the following approach in the battle against an overabundance of negative news:

Positive News: This site focuses on challenging stereotypes and sharing what people are doing to tackle the world’s challenges. It’s inspiring and easy to navigate. The menu breaks stories down by society, economics, science, environment, lifestyle, and perspective.

Utilise resources that differentiate informational reading levels

Help students read critically to tease apart the true from the questionable and the false

Look at resources like Newsela to filter news stories not by topic but by grade level, so that articles are suited to your students’ emotional stages.

After all, just because a student is academically ready to read a higher level of text doesn’t mean they’re developmentally ready to do so. Newsela helps to adjust levels so stories are age-appropriate without shying away from particular topics.

Create an archive of resources that focus on more positive stories

Find sources that help students learn about human achievement and accomplishments. Start with Common Sense Media’s list of news sources for kids. Remember, however, that every site has articles that need to be vetted.

Check out these sites for some possibilities for your students: DailyGood: This is a great resource of straightforward pieces with an emphasis on the amazing and interesting.

This site strives also to present news from diverse perspectives.

Yes! Magazine: The tagline for this magazine is “Powerful Ideas, Practical Actions.” It focuses on problems, yes, but also on how people are solving those problems.

Every teacher should be taking this on, and hopefully your school or district has adopted a programme to help teachers achieve this goal. However, there are resources out there to help individual teachers. From PBS to KQED, to Common Sense Media, there are many outlets out there to help teachers tackle this challenge.

Teach students the necessity of unplugging sometimes

And while we’re at it, teach students that unplugging is healthy for their hearts and heads. We all need to detach from the news feed sometimes.

Unplug, recharge, and oxygenate your brain with exercise. Be transparent about what intelligent adults do (or try to do) to keep life in perspective.

We need our students to leave classrooms knowledgeable and critical but also hopeful. We have a responsibility to balance the horrors with the hopeful and the frightening with what is also festive. Help kids focus on the good that is immediately before them. Make your classroom one of positivity so that they have a place to go to feel that the state of the news is not necessarily the state of their own lives. (edutopia.com)

By Susan Krauss Whitbourne, PhD

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ou’re riding on a crowded escalator, and without realising it, your earbuds have dropped out of your pocket and are about to go tumbling into oblivion. Someone taps you on the shoulder and, to your surprise, hands them to you. There was no particular reason for this person to be so helpful and, in fact, they were pretty costly earbuds that almost anyone would want to have. A few days later, you’re in a slightly different situation, where you have the potential to be the person who provides a small favour. A mother is struggling down the sidewalk, trying to juggle her child’s stroller and an armful of loaded shopping bags. You smile at her and offer to hold one of the bags while she regains her grip on them.

Your offer is greeted with the same relief you felt when those earbuds made their way back to you.

Acts of helpfulness to strangers are just one small example of the ways we can be kind to others without exerting a good deal of effort. The variations on how to do this are almost endless. You hold open a door, let someone pass ahead of you in line, stop to let a car enter into the lane of traffic, or say “thank you” to the person at the other end of a customer service phone line. These simple niceties provide the interpersonal oil that smooths the way to make all of life’s little inconveniences that much less stressful. More than that, new research shows that these mini acts of caring can benefit the giver and the recipient.

Before describing the new research on caring's benefits, some context helps shows the origins of this emerging field which, oddly enough, comes from research on the ugliest aspects of human behaviour. Researchers studying prejudice and stereotyping have drilled down from overt acts of discrimination to what they call "micro-aggressions", or the small barbs that make people feel different and inferior on the basis of their gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or nationality (among other qualities). Particularly because outright discrimination is now considered not only hurtful but actually illegal, people who wish to inflict damage on someone from a targeted group resort to these micro-aggression, the subtler forms of discrimination that are harder to pinpoint.

You might have felt to be a target of a microaggresion when, for example, you’ve been cut off while speaking in front of a group by the person leading the group whose social group membership is very different from your own. Perhaps you’ve been part of a workplace watercooler chat when a man makes a disparaging remark about another woman, or a woman lumps all men together as a group who can’t be trusted. Even though the speaker in both cases may say “Of course, I don’t mean you”, it’s hard not to feel the twinge of having been slighted.

Flipping the equation over, a micro-affirmation has the opposite flavour in that it is a comment or action that elevates your humanity and common bonds with others. A concept developed by MIT's Mary Rowe, It’s an act of “kindness’ in that sense, but it’s also a very subtle type of assertion that brings people together rather than differentiating them and disparaging those who are “different.’ Those small acts of kindness provide validation of your shared identity with the people in your world, even if you only inhabit that shared world for a few moments. Over time, these acts build on themselves, because just as you appreciate being the recipient of help, you also feel better about yourself when your helpful actions have clearly made an impact. Leading people to feel that they matter, rather than that they’re unimportant, is the process at the heart of a micro-affirmation. (Excerpt from psychologyttoday.com)

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monDAY, december 11, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

ExxonMobil signing bonus

Govt foolishly tarnished its credentials – Ramkarran ...should have come clean, instead of lying to the public

I

n attempting to make sense out of the situation that involved Government trying to keep secret a signing bonus received from United States (U.S.) oil giant ExxonMobil, columnist and political analyst Ralph Ramkarran strongly feels that the Government has foolishly tarnished its credentials.

In his weekly column, the Conversation Tree, the former Speaker of the National Assembly said he also feels that the APNU/AFC Government should have come clean on this bonus, in order to save itself from the humiliation of having to explain the reason why it kept this matter a secret.

“I have wracked my brain to figure out why so many intelligent people decided to maintain the secrecy since June, when it was clear that the revelation by Christopher Ram suggested that the information was out. Then was the time to come clean and avoid a scandal,” Ramkarran posited.

Ministers of the Government have lied about this issue until the leaked information was reported in the local media, and Ramkarran believes consequences should attend those ministers’ actions. But he recognises that unless there is a mass upsurge, which is unlikely, this action will continue to be defended.

“There is no excuse for the secrecy, and any attempt to defend it is an insult to the Guyanese people,” Ramkarran added, while explaining that politics in Guyana is what he describes is a zero-sum game in which the rules of transparency and accountability are weak, and are not enforced where they exist.

And according to him, no conventions have been established or are entrenched.

Former House Speaker Ralph Ramkarran

“The prevailing wisdom, therefore, is to give the Opposition and the Guyanese people as little as possible; and where possible, nothing. This is the national political culture derived from its core defect -- the politics of ethno-political domination…,” he asserted.

The former House Speaker also explained that in a situation the people are the pawns, and that is the reason why the APNU-AFC coalition, when in Opposition, could have been so strident in defence of transparency and accountability, and can now so “blithely dismiss” such concepts with contempt.

“The Government has foolishly tarnished its credentials. Those were already under strain by its refusal to reveal the contract it had signed with ExxonMobil. It has been recovering somewhat by its promise to reveal the contents of the contract, albeit under intense public pressure,” Ramkarran stated.

He is of the opinion that if Government were to admit it had made an error of judgment in this instance, that admission would go a far

way in putting the matter to rest; but he noted that this does not happen in Guyana’s politics.

“We have to expect more bluster, cross accusations against the Opposition that ‘you were worse,’ and amidst it all, efforts at dismissals or explanations,” the political analyst added.

According to him, none of that would work among “thinking Guyanese.” He said that even when it fades from the news, this episode would remain a stain on the integrity of the Government’s promises about transparency and accountability, and increase cynicism with politics, even among Government supporters.

Ramkarran emphasised that Guyanese are the collective owners of the country’s resources, and the Government merely holds a temporary management responsibility over them.

Therefore, all Guyanese are entitled to know all the relevant details of how it is managing these resources.

“To keep these details a secret constitutes a breach of a sacred trust. Just imagine, we were being deliberately kept in the dark about our own money! How can this be excused?” he questioned.

Ramkarran said this matter is therefore not merely a matter between Government and the Opposition.

While the Government has already tried to justify why it hid the signing bonus received from ExxonMobil, the prominent attorney has said that what the PPP/C Government did in relation to the Guyana-Suriname boundary dispute is totally irrelevant, and the issue is the secrecy over income received by the Government.

“No allegation has been made against the PPP/C

Government that moneys were received by it from CGX and hidden. In this case, moneys were legitimately paid by ExxonMobil to the Government of Guyana as a signing bonus,” Ramkarran added, noting that whether or not ExxonMobil was aware that the moneys were to be utilised for a specific purpose is not an issue.

However, it was the Government that decided that the money would be used to pay the legal expenses to be incurred in relation

to a potential case at the ICJ concerning the GuyanaVenezuela Border controversy. “It hid both the payment and its purpose,” he asserted.

Ramkarran said the Government had two choices, one of which was to hide the money and keep it a secret in violation of all financial practices and perhaps laws (which it did); and two, call in the Leader of the Opposition, deal with the funds in a lawful way, but seek his support in

maintaining confidentiality. Ramkarran feels that Government would never have secured opposition support and confidentiality.

The attorney said Government also had the option of paying this signing bonus into the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), and find a lawful way to save it to utilise later in the manner in which it had intended. turnto page 10

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IN THE COURTS Agricola roadside robbery-murder

Police Prosecutor reads depositions of missing, deceased witnesses

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ong-time Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers late last week appeared at the Demerara High Court, where he read the depositions of three witnesses in the murder trial of Agricola native Jermaine Savory, who is accused of shooting to death Melissa Payne during the course of a robbery on November 5, 2008.

Jeffers, an Inspector of Police seconded from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) chambers to his current post, informed the court that he was the Prosecutor in the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) where several witnesses testified in open court.

Appearing before Justice James Bovell-Drakes and the 12-member jury that was selected to hear Savory’s case, Jeffers read

to Nuienkirk: “Officer is not me do it” after the charge was put to him.

Den Amstel resident Melissa Payne was murdered nine years ago

the deposition of deceased Police Inspector Gerald Nuienkirk, who held the Identification (ID) Parade, where Savory was positively identified. According to the evidence, Savory said

Jeffers also read the deposition of Berkley Payne, the deceased father of the victim who identified her body. He also read the deposition of Kevin Mc Ray, a former Policeman who could not be located by State Prosecutors presenting Savory’s case.

According to the case presented by the State, Savory – in the company of at least one other person, allegedly murdered Payne after the woman and her reputed husband, John Fraser, had stopped at Agricola on their way to Georgetown in an effort to correct a mechanical fault of the Toyota Canter truck, GHH 5399, in which they were travelling. Reports

back then were that while Fraser was attending to the vehicle around 08:30h that morning, armed bandits approached them. Fraser managed to escape, but Payne, from Den Amstel, West Bank Demerara, was eventually shot after refusing to hand over her bag, which reportedly contained some $100,000 in cash and other valuables.

After she tried to escape with her handbag, the bandits had swiftly pursued her and opened fire; they then made off with the bag and her gold chain. Payne subsequently died while being transported to hospital.

Savory is represented by Attorney Maxwell McKay; while the Prosecutors are Mandell Moore and Orinthia Schmidt. The case continues before Justice BovellDrakes this morning.

Charged for death of elderly cyclist

Bus driver to lead defence today

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hief Magistrate Ann McLennan last Thursday found that a prima facie (first impression case) case has been established against minibus driver Seekumar Singh of Soesdyke Back Road, EBD, who has been accused of

driving minibus BLL 3749 in a manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the death of Basil Rambarran, an elderly pedal cyclist, on the Herstelling public road, East Bank Demerara (EBD) on September 19, 2017.

Seekumar Singh was allegedly ‘drunk’ at time of the accident. He had pleaded not guilty to the offence when he made his first court appearance in September, and had been placed on $500,000 bail.

Seekumar Singh

On Thursday, the magistrate, basing her ruling on evidence tendered and witnesses presented by the prosecution during the course of the trial, invited the defendant, represented

by Attorney Lloyd Conway, to lead his defence at the next court date --- Monday, December 11, 2017 (today).

According to Police reports, the minibus driver was heading towards Timehri when the cyclist, who was heading home from work, crossed the road in the path of the oncoming minibus and the collision resulted.

Singh was subsequently arrested when he failed a breathalyser test that determined he had in excess of the legal limit of alcohol on his breath.

The fallen cyclist had succumbed to multiple injuries, according to a post mortem report.

Spank them…

I

…for breaking the law? f there was any need for proof that Khemraj Ramjattan has become even less than a “Christmas blow-blow”, there is his threat to “spank” the policeman who disobeyed his charge to care for the new Chinese vehicles.

Why should a police rank listen to a man who can’t even comment on the President’s unconstitutional intrusion into appointments to the Police Force, when he (Ramjattan) can’t even make a suggestion on deploying the Crime Chief!?

First Ramjattan gushed as to how Blanhum was the best thing since sliced bread, and that he (Blanhum) would be back at work ASAP because of his aforementioned excellence in solving crimes. But after Blanhum was effectively demoted by being posted as assistant to the commander of “A” Division, Ramjattan now claims this is “no big thing”! He obviously means he (Ramjattan) is “no big thing” with the Administration and Police brass. After all, the demotion of Blanhum can only mean Ramnarine thinks Ramjattan’s judgement is flawed! After President Granger’s call for a CoI following the handling of the investigation into the ‘assassination threat”, shouldn’t Ramjattan now demand a CoI into Ramnarine’s stiffing him?

But your Eyewitness wonders about Ramjattan’s righteous indignation at the Policeman’s lapse, which caused him to think of “spanking”. Was Ramjattan going to put the Policeman over his knees for the spanking… or was he going to bend the fellow over and use a “wild cane”? Then again, this spanking business is quite a hit, your Eyewitness understands, in this era of sexual liberalism. Does Ramjattan go in for whips and chains?

And does he have a Dominator’s costume? The mind boggles!!

It also boggles because Ramjattan has been so silent on the “Case of the Buried Bonus”. He’s the Chairman of the “major” coalition partner with the PNC/APNU, so doesn’t he think he owes some explanation to his AFC supporters as to how their Leader could conspire with Jordan to bury US$18 million - AND THEN LIE ABOUT IT!!

Doesn’t Ramjattan’s blood boil and make him rise up in anger to spank Trotman’s bamsie?

But hold it!! Maybe Trotman did tell his Chairman about the loot! After all, they must’ve buried the old hatchet now that they both advised President Granger over coffee and scones that it was okay to reject Jagdeo’s list!

And this brings us to a very serious point: It’s not just Trotman and Jordan who must be investigated; everyone who knew of the deep-sixing of Government funds must face the heat.

That they might’ve been ordered or told about it in confidence is irrelevant. Once they suspected an illegality was being committed, they’re compelled to spill the beans!

Bun dem, not “spank them”!

…for knocking Chinese Only with the PNC!! That’s all your Eyewitness could think when he read Finance Minister Jordan’s reply when asked why Chinese firms are snagging all the big contracts. The question, of course, was prompted by the PNC’s persistent and strident criticisms of the PPP Administration when THEY were using Chinese for projects. The criticism reached a crescendo over the Marriott, which elicited picketing and protests.

This is what Jordan said: “If the Chinese companies are coming and winning the bids, what can you do? Is not to throw up your hands. These firms are bringing a level of technology that we don’t have. They are bringing a level of efficiency that we don’t have. Let’s call a spade a spade. A typical example is the Marriott. At what stage the Marriott would have been today if it was being built by a local company? This is not chastising the local company, this is a reality situation.”

Is Brassington now gonna get an apology?

…for Soylent green?

Your Eyewitness noticed a celebratory occasion involving the patriotic folks running our National Trust.

He immediately wondered what happened to their protest over President Granger (illegally) painting State House green. A negotiation for another colour? Even a slap on the wrist? A spanking?

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

News

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US$18M scandal

Guyana dealt a “bad card” – former AFC Exec

...as Brazil pocketed US$700M oil signing bonus from Exxon

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ven as controversy swirls over the Government’s secretive collection of a US$18 million signing bonus, questions are now being raised over exactly what negotiations took place. This is so as Guyana’s bonus pales in comparison to a US$700 million signing bonus Exxon paid to Brazil.

Former Alliance For Change (AFC) Chairman, Nigel Hughes, noted that Finance Minister Winston Jordan himself had declared that Guyana was de-risked following significant oil finds.

Despite Guyana having the upper hand, however, Hughes noted, it accepted a 2 per cent royalty and now a US$18 million bonus. As such, he questioned the basis upon which the negotiations were conducted. This is even as Government has consistently declared it was working with the best experts.

“One year after general

Former AFC Executive Nigel Hughes

elections, the newly elected representatives of our dear Republic determined that they were possessed of the requisite skills all on their own to enter into negations with the biggest oil company on the planet about the terms of the agreement which were previously agreed,” Hughes stated in an analysis of the situation.

“How is it possible that we all on our own end up voluntarily accepting a

Berbice businesses...

“What about the people with children in high school…?” he lamented.

Persaud is adamant that the Estate has the capacity to continue operations, pointing out that there are canes that have been burnt and just left there to rot. Given the current economic woes being experienced, Persaud said “next year, it will get more heavy” and worsen. He added that businesses in New Amsterdam, the economic hub of the county, were already laying off workers as opposed to hiring for the Christmas season. He questioned whether there was any plan in place for them. Many of the workers are also accusing the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) of doing very little to address their concerns, since the Union is yet to have a meeting with the laid-off workers.

The plight of the sugar workers took centre stage during the Budget 2018 debate in the National Assembly last week. The Opposition accused the Government of having no clear and direct plan for the workers.

“Not one of them, and certainly it is not in the Budget, has advanced an alternative economic activity for those thousands of sugar workers…; that would have been humane; that would have been visionary; that would have been responsible leadership and governance…..I guess if I am looking for those things, Mr Speaker, I am looking in the wrong place and the wrong direction,” Opposition MP, Dr Vindhya Persaud said during her presentation.

She also questioned plans for the women of the industry since they were the ones who would worry more about the

US$18 million bonus and two per cent royalty on a 2.4 billion-barrel field, when we knew the industry experts were saying we were potentially sitting on a 10 billion-barrel field?

“Note that this was after the news of the size of Liza was already in excess of 1.4 billion barrels and counting,” he said.

Zeroing in on the negotiations, Hughes questioned whether Government’s team had a Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) before it went into the negotiations. A BATNA, which increases negotiation power by presenting options, is a common feature put forward by negotiating theory.

“Did anyone bother to conduct the most rudimentary of checks to ascertain what were the underlying principles when assessing signing bonus, especially after you have a find the size of Liza, with the promise it then held?” Hughes also from page 3

loss of jobs.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, during his budget debate presentation, called on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the unions to step in to help the workers to move forward.

However, he failed to lay out the Government’s plan to assist the workers during the transition period. When the coalition Government came into power in 2015, it ordered a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the state of the sugar industry. The CoI made several recommendations for the improvement of the industry.

What the CoI did not recommend was the closure of any of the estates. Since then the Government has been accused of disregarding the important advice of the $51.8 million CoI and going ahead with its own plans for the industry.

questioned.

“Did we collectively bother to find out whether 2% royalty was remotely close to what was acceptable in the industry in 2016? And even US$18 million? For Guyana, this is not a significant sum for the capital assets of some private sector giants, so what was the basis on which these negotiations were conducted? Did we have a "Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) when we embarked upon these negotiations?” he asked.

While he acknowledged the importance of disclosure, accountability and transparency, he noted that the real issues are who negotiated this settlement, and what systems are in place to stop a repeat? Hughes made it clear that Guyana has drawn a “bad card.”

Record-breaking

In what industry experts term record- breaking sums, Brazil was able to attract over US$1.1billion in bonuses at a Petrobras auction in September. An ExxonMobil consortium came in with the largest offer, at $700 million for a Campos Basin block.

Guyana, which had a longstanding agreement with ExxonMobil, renegotiated that agreement after the company’s 2015 oil find in the Stabroek block. In May of that year, Exxon confirmed that more than 295 feet of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman

had been encountered at its Liza 1 exploration well.

Included in the new agreement was a 2 per cent royalty rate; an increase of 1 per cent. But Government has repeatedly pleaded ignorance to reports that it received a US$20 million signing bonus from Exxon.

These reports gained traction after they were exposed

by Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram. Evidence of the shady transaction came to light in a leaked correspondence dated September 20, 2016 and addressed to the Governor of the Bank of Guyana with this subject: “Signing bonus granted by ExxonMobil – Request to open bank account”.

It shows that Finance Secretary at the Finance Ministry, Hector Butts, has requested that a foreign currency account be opened at the Bank in order to receive a deposit in the form of a

‘signing bonus’ to be given

by ExxonMobil.

The letter stated, “This account should not be treated as part of the Bank’s reserves. Instead, the proceeds should be held in the currency of the deposit, that is, United States dollars, and invested in secured interest-bearing securities.”

The missive also listed the signatories to the account: Hector Butts, Finance Secretary at the Finance Ministry; Louise Bouyea, Deputy Finance Secretary at the Finance Ministry; Jawahar Persaud, Accountant General (Acting) at the Finance Ministry; and Jennifer Chapman, Deputy Accountant General at the Finance Ministry. The letter was also copied to Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman.

Condemnation has already flowed in from the Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) and from Christopher Ram himself.

The Government has been slammed for being given opportunity, but refusing, to come clean on several occasions.

After the fact, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman defended the secrecy by saying the money would be used to defend Guyana’s sovereignty in the legal process.

Minister Jordan defended his role in the arrangement by noting that he was not obligated to answer questions he was not asked.

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Army rank dies in Pouderoyen accident

…after struck down by minibus outside popular nightclub

A

Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Lance Corporal is now dead after he was struck down by an intoxicated minibus driver in the wee hours of Sunday, while in front of a popular nightclub at Pouderoyen, West Bank

Demerara (WBD).

The dead man has been identified as 22-year-old Marvin Dodson, of Cross Street, Alexander Village, Georgetown, who succumbed to his injuries while receiving medical attention at the

Georgetown Public Hospital.

According to information reaching Guyana Times, the accident occurred around 03:10h while Dodson was among a group of partygoers who were just outside the bar.

Elderly taxi driver held at gunpoint, carjacked in Eccles

A

s incidents of carjacking continue to increase in and around Georgetown, another taxi driver has fallen victim.

The latest incident has left Police searching for one male and one female suspect who, on Friday last, lured 65-year-old Albert Hunte into Eccles, East Bank Demerara, and made off with his white Toyota Fielder Wagon, HC 6999, as well as a quantity of cash.

Based on information received, on the day in question, Hunte was stationed at the Stabroek Market car park when he received a call from an unknown number around 22:45h, requesting a pick-up at Regent Street and Orange Walk, Bourda, Georgetown.

At the location, the taxi driver received two passengers – a male who sat in the

Dead: Lance Corporal Marvin Dodson

Reports are that minibus BTT 8922, driven by a 31-year-old resident of Schoonord, WBD, was at the front passenger’s seat as well as a female who sat in the back. The duo then indicated that they were heading to Flamboyant Street in Eccles.

When they arrived at the location, the male passenger exited the vehicle and proceeded to the driver’s side.

It was then that the suspect pulled out a gun and demanded that the driver abandon his car.

In fear of losing his life, the taxi driver complied and surrendered to the gunman,

who immediately took control of the vehicle and escaped with his accomplice northerly.

In addition to the vehicle, the bandits also managed to cart off a cellular phone, along with approximately $12,000 in cash.

Hunte is now left counting his losses, which were beyond the value of that which was stolen, given that the vehicle was his source of income.

Police investigations are ongoing.

time proceeding south along the eastern carriageway allegedly at a fast pace, and it slammed into the Lance Corporal.

This publication understands that following the accident, the drunken driver reportedly attempted to flee the scene, dragging the victim’s body along the road as he proceeded.

Dodson was subsequently picked up and rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH), where he was treated before being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital in light of the severity of his injuries.

While in surgery at the Georgetown medical institution, the GDF rank took his last breath.

Meanwhile, the driver of the speeding minibus had stopped a short distance away from the point of impact. As a result of what had transpired, the 31-year-old man was allegedly given a sound thrashing by a group of angry persons who were present at the time of the accident.

Shortly after, he was whisked away by Police Officers and transported to the WDRH for medical attention as well. The Schoonord resident was then taken into custody where he remains, assisting with the investigation. The breathalyser test conducted on the 31-year-old man confirmed that his alcohol level was above the legal limit. The investigation is ongoing.

Govt foolishly tarnished its... from page 7

“I immediately concede that the purpose for which the Government designated the use of the funds ought to have been kept confidential.

Guyana’s discussions with Venezuela and the United Nations are ongoing, and the release of such information could potentially be unhelpful. But the best way to ensure that (news of receipt of this bonus) enters the public domain was not

to hide it,” he added.

The former House Speaker continued, “I have wracked my brain to figure out what led to the belief among highly intelligent people -- many of whom understand their responsibilities as elected officials; understand that these are modern times with independent journalists and commentators; understand that the days when these secre-

cies were possible no longer exist; understand that secrets among so many people cannot be maintained -- to decide on such a foolhardy course of misapplying the funds to a secret account at the Bank of Guyana. It boggles the mind…. The wracking of my brain has produced no hint of potential reasons these intelligent people could advance.”

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Miracle Hands Christmas Village 2017 hosted …at Herdmanston Lodge

B

irthed by local fashion designer and director Carol Fraser, a most interesting annual expo kicked off under the heat of the midday sun on Saturday at Herdmanston Lodge, situated at the corner of Peter Rose and Anira Streets in Queenstown Georgetown.

According to the event coordinator, this social event has been ongoing for several years, and was only recently rebranded as ‘Miracle Hands Christmas Village’.

“A few years ago, I used to celebrate my birth anniversary here, where I used to display my art and I would host a little fashion show and entertainment. So, after five years, I decided to do it again, but with a different name, and I’ve invited some of my colleagues in the fashion, art, designing, and culinary art.

The whole idea is to create an atmosphere where people can come and socialise and source local stuff for gifts for Christmas. You find during this time people are very busy with their home, decorating and so. So now you can just come one spot and they can get anything. Even if they are not interested, they can have a look, collect contact number, and we can deliver it to them,” she explained.

The designer also revealed that Carol’s Designs in footwear and handbags, created from natural fibre and animal skin and leather, are now being branded in Guyana.

She took the opportunity to introduce “Miracle Hands Green Card” which accrues endless benefits to customers upon purchase.

Many other local design-

Scenes captured on Sunday at the Miracle Hands Christmas Village 2017 hosted at Herdmanston Lodge

ers, artists and producers flaunted a line of exquisite jewelry, art, and a wide variety of products made from local materials. The Guyana Natural Fiber Fashion Art Association exhibited locally produced beauty skin and hair products, as well as known by-products of cassava.

One particularly talented jeweller, Seleina Fung, proprietor of “Seleina’s Craft and Things”, boasted unique hand-made designs crafted out of copper wire and local gems. Her business is homebased, from whence she markets and sells her bold jewelry

via social media, even making deliveries to customers.

Miracle Hands Christmas Village 2017 also presented a publicity opportunity for the launching of new products and businesses.

Launching a new formula detergent branded “Nyla’s Blue Sky” was Dasanya Trading, According to proprietor Sandy Ramsaran, this product is soon to take the market by storm.

“Nyla’s Blue Sky” was specially formulated, produced, and packaged in China for Dasanya Trading. It is an advanced formula which con-

GTT hosts medical outreach in Kuru Kururu

T

he village of Kuru Kururu, along the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, has been the first of many communities to benefit from a medical outreach dental programme spearheaded by telephone giant GTT. Villagers braved the mid-morning heat on Sunday at the Kuru Kururu Primary School Annex to benefit from free dental care that was offered by GTT, in collaboration with the Smile Guyana Dental Services, ANSA McAL, and the Rotary Club of Georgetown Central – the latter which donated a bus in which several dentists provided the service. GTT’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Allison Parker highlighted that Sunday’s programme formed part of the phone company’s corporate social responsibility, and according to her, GTT has been leading others in this regard.

“We have teamed up with Dr Theodore from Smile Guyana – aligning with her was quite easy...

We are doing extractions,

GTT’s medical outreach at Kuru Kururu, Linden/ Soesdyke Highway, on Sunday

fillings, cleaning, everything dental for the community. It’s free of charge, and we want to thank all those persons who partnered with us...Colgate, ANSA McAL, Dr Theodore, the Rotary Club of Georgetown Central, and of course GTT, the main driver behind this dental outreach,” Parker observed.

She added that the initiative will continue in the future. “This is something we plan to do going forward. This (Kuru Kururu) is the first community.

This ties in with the mil-

lion-dollar promotion. We initially said 50 children, but the children and their parents came, so we are not going to turn anybody back,” she added. Speaking on why the village was selected, Parker said the village, which has over 6000 residents, is diverse and is situated just outside of Georgetown.

She also reminded the public that the GTT final draw for the MillionDollar Smile promotion is December 18, where 4 million-dollar winners would be chosen.

tains natural oxygen foam to remove stains from white and coloured clothing. It has a negative ion exterior active agent, non-hydronium exterior active agent, softness, optical brightening agent, and lasting perfume. Branded after Ramsaran’s daughter “Nyla”, the soap powder is produced according to European Standards, and Sandy is confident the product has the potential to become the next Guyanese “household” detergent.

Meanwhile, a young teacher with a passion for baking, Christine Douglas, brought to the exhibition her newly founded business, “Cakes Delight”, her way of bringing happiness into the lives of other people.

“It’s something I really love doing: baking and cooking. It makes me happy, and I realized that food and cakes make people happy... and if I can provide some happiness to people, that would be wonderful….so I decided to open as a business,” she told this publication.

Govt urged to build more airstrips in interior – MP says it has potential to advance eco-tourism

O

pposition Member of Parliament Africo Selman has urged the coalition Government to build more airstrips in the hinterland region, so as to create a wider market for international visitors interested in experiencing Guyana’s rich fauna and flora, and advance the eco-tourism drive.

Selman told the National Assembly recently that despite little attention being paid to tourism by the current Government, this sector has the potential to boost the Guyana economy.

“This Administration robbed Guyana of its opportunity to become a top tourism destination by scrapping the Tourism Ministry. What we now have is a Department of Tourism in the Ministry of Business. Both of these areas have vast potential for economic growth, and should not be paired. The rationale for this move will never be understood,” she argued.

While noting the figures quoted in the National Assembly, which show that the growth of tourism is continuing at a steady pace, with visitor arrivals totalling 170,322 between January and September, a 5.7 percent increase over the same period in 2016, she described it as “total deception”.

“Returning Guyanese are not tourists. That is the part that was left out. How many of these arrivals are Guyanese?

What statistics does this administration have to convince us that all these visitors, when they come, visit historical sites?” the Opposition MP questioned the Government.

Selman noted that while a majority of the tourist sites are located in the hinterland,

Opposition MP Africo Selman

people can get there by boat, road or plane. However, she suggested that Government invest in building proper roads close to these sites, building more and better airstrips, and even creating resorts.

In his presentation to the National Assembly, Finance Minister Winston Jordan said several key hinterland roads would be upgraded to facilitate gold miners and loggers, but there was no talk about improving the road network to benefit tourists.

“The state of bridges in the hinterland is another downside to tourism. Which tourist would be comfortable driving across an unstable wooden bridge with no guard rails?

None! People want to see our wildlife, our birds, our flora and fauna,” she added.

According to the Opposition MP, one of the biggest obstacles to tourism in Guyana is the state of the roads. She noted that when it rains, many of the roads in the interior are impassible.

“The tourist from London, the tourist from Canada, the tourist from Australia does not want to be in a small

plane flying from one place to the next. He wants to be on the road seeing and experiencing nature, virgin terrain.

That is how we sell our tourism product,” she opined.

Another huge obstacle to tourism is security, Selman added. “It is well known that we have a lawless interior fuelled by the rough terrain and lack of an adequate fleet of security personnel. I would suggest that the Ministry of Public Security and the Department of Tourism work together to formulate a comprehensive plan to treat with these issues. The Guyana Police Force, first of all, must be brought up to strength.

The availability of ranks and resources is of paramount importance to ensure that tourists are safe and they feel safe. Security officials accompanying tourists to far-flung destinations should be taken into consideration,” she further suggested.

Apart from that, Selman said that, in an effort to have a sound tourism development plan which prioritises regular, safe, and affordable airlift to Guyana, Government would have to start looking at ways to improve collaboration with, and improve receipt of assistance from, private sector companies here.

“Expanding the international airport without adequate, reliable and affordable airlift to encourage the Guyanese diaspora and tourists interested in our tourism product to visit Guyana will be a lost opportunity for this nation. I urge this Government to spend some time focusing on securing adequate, reliable, and affordable airlift services to this country,” she added.

15 Govt pushes CJIA expansion completion date to 2018 News

monDAY, december 11, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

– additional work needed on South West runway, as delays continue

D

espite promises that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion project would be completed by 2017, it seems that only one component of the project -- the northeast expansion of the runway -- will meet that deadline.

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson informed the National Assembly that the northeast expansion of the runway will be completed by December, but all other components would have to be completed by next year.

“Work on the airport expansion project continued in 2017,” he said. “Final completion and commissioning of the facility will take place in 2018, with the newer arrival (terminal) to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.

“The departure terminal is scheduled for completion shortly after. The extension of the runway to the northeast will be completed by December 2017, and completion of the southwest expansion will be completed by December

and the contracting company China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC), it was announced that the project would be continued.

Last year, Project Manager of the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Carmichael Thorne, had been optimistic of the project being completed by 2017. At a project update briefing, Thorne noted that of the US$150 million, only US$37.3 million had been expended to date. Of this amount, some US$33 milAn artist’s impression of the expanded airport at Timehri

2018.”

Patterson noted that one area on the southwest runway had experienced “slippages”. As such, he said, the contractor was asked to do additional work from the foundation upwards to mitigate any safety concerns.

The Minister noted that overall completion of the project is at 77 per cent.

According to Patterson, the departure terminal is 50 per cent completed, while the new arrival terminal

is 70 per cent completed.

The northeast runway, he noted, is 95 per cent completed, while the southern runway is 60 per cent completed. The US$150 million project was scheduled to be completed within 32 months of its commencement in 2013. However, Thorne noted, the deadline was extended to December 1, 2017, since the project would have experienced several delays.

In 2012, Guyana, under the leadership of for-

mer President Donald Ramotar, had secured a US$138 million loan from the China Exim (ExportImport) Bank to fund the expansion and modernisation project, for which the Guyana Government has injected some US$12 million.

However, when the coalition Government came in to power in 2015, the project was put on hold, but following discussions between Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson

lion was spent by CHEC, which included US$1.9 million of local funds put up by the Government of Guyana. As it relates to the works being done, the Infrastructure Ministry’s project manager told media operatives that while the initial plan was for the northern end of the runway to be extended, because of difficulties with the terrain, a decision was taken to extend the runway from both the northern and southern ends, in order to minimise the cost.

Almost one year after

Sod turned for Berbice Passport Office …online processing to commence in 2018

Psychiatric facility recommissioned …at New Amsterdam

T

he Psychiatric Clinic and administrative section of the National Psychiatric Hospital have been recommissioned after the building underwent refurbishing over the past six to eight months.

This followed a collaborative review of the methodologies used to address psychiatric and mental illnesses by the Public Health Ministry and the Pan American and World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO).

Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence and PAHO/WHO Country Representative, Dr William Adu-Krow recommissioned the two-storey building and planted symbolic fruit trees in the hospital’s compound,

equipping it to facilitate ‘in and outpatients’.

“We want to ensure that we can be able to have this place fixed in such a way that you are comfortable to work here, and that it puts you in a good frame of mind to be able to render service to others,” she explained.

The New Amsterdam Regional Hospital’s Medical Superintendent (ag), Vineshi Khirodar noted that before the refurbishment, the staff worked in “adverse conditions” but still executed their duties. She welcomed the work that has been done thus far.

According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), Lawrence explained that

The refurbished building housing the Psychiatric Clinic and administrative building

on Saturday, December 9.

Minister Lawrence told staff present that in 2018, the Public Health Ministry would focus on improving the work conditions and services offered at the Psychiatric Hospital while

while there was a move to lessen the number of institutionalised psychiatric patients, “the refurbishment of the Psychiatric Hospital and its surrounding facilities is meant to ensure the staff is comfortable and per-

Sod turning – Citizenship Minister Winston Felix, along with Ministry of the Presidency’s Permanent Secretary Abena Moore and Mayor of New Amsterdam, Winifred Heywood turning the sod at the proposed site

A

Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence plants a fruit tree in the compound of the National Psychiatric Hospital, New Amsterdam, Berbice

sons within the institution receive adequate rehabilitative care”.

The Minister also added that a new programme would be rolled out during the course of 2018 that would modify the way persons diagnosed with mental illnesses and admitted to the Psychiatric Hospital were treated.

She also announced that the Ministry would be assuming management of all Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) health facilities.

“As a result of that, we will be placing some of the services that you offer here at those facilities, so it’s closer to the neighbourhood, it’s within the community’s reach and people don’t have to pay much transportation costs to get there, and more importantly, we can treat patients on an outpatient basis instead of institution-

alising them,” she explained.

The Minister also recognised the Public Health Ministry’s “focal point in Region Six”, Alex Foster.

He was instrumental in ensuring that upgrading of facilities and the compound was completed. Foster hinted that as time goes by, the National Psychiatric Hospital’s compound would also be transformed.

Dr Adu-Krow, when he reflected on the state of the facility prior to interventions, enthusiastically stated: “The transformation that has taken place here is massive.” He, however, cautioned staff that patients should never be seen as inmates. “We should begin to see this place as a hospital.

We have ‘in patients’ and we have ‘outpatients’. We use the word inmates in other settings.”

fter almost one year since the passage of the 2017 Budget, the Citizenship Ministry is now making efforts to commence construction of a building to house a Passport and Immigration Office in Berbice.

Citizenship Minister Winston Felix on Saturday turned the sod for commencement of the $57.5 million project at Fort Ordnance, East Canje.

Felix said the initiative was birthed from a desire to reduce the lengthy lines at the Georgetown Passport Office. He assured that with construction of the building, quality services will be delivered to persons in the Berbice region.

“It is with your comfort in mind that the improvement of the efficiency within the Immigration Department, as well as the decentralisation of services, is being undertaken at this time,” Felix said.

He also noted improvements made within the immigration sector over the past two years, and added that Government is in

the process of digitising all of its services, including those of the Immigration Department.

The contract for construction of the building has been awarded to M&P Investment Company, and the contractor, Pierre Walcott, said that the project has already started and has provided jobs for 25 persons within the Berbice area. The building is expected to be completed in April 2018.

During his Budget 2018 presentation last Wednesday, Felix said that the decision to decentralise the services is in keeping with the President’s intention to take immigration services to the towns.

He noted that Linden has also been identified to have its services decentralized, and construction is expected to commence there soon as well.

He added that, in addition to online processing, this Ministry would also be seeking to upgrade the passports to 64 pages, and insert a chip in an effort to make travelling less tedious.

16

guyanatimesgy.com

monDAY, december 11, 2017

Regional

With foes absent, Venezuela’s Mexican Opposition socialists to gain from local vote Leader to seek

V

enezuelans voted on Sunday in mayoral races that the ruling Socialist Party is likely to win, deepening Opposition splits and consolidating President Nicolás Maduro’s position ahead of a likely 2018 re-election campaign.

Major Opposition parties are boycotting the elections for 335 municipal mayors around the South American nation of 30 million people, protesting a system they say serves Maduro’s “dictatorship”.

But some small parties in the Democratic Unity coalition have dissented and run candidates, confusing Opposition supporters already disillusioned at the failure to weaken Maduro in months of protests that claimed 125 lives earlier this year.

People wait in line at a polling station during a nationwide election for new mayors, in Maracaibo, Venezuela, December 10, 2017

Under Maduro, Venezuela has endured one of the most profound economic meltdowns in Latin American history.

“If we’re going to change the government, we need to

do it democratically,” said 81-year-old retiree Raul Ocana. “It was a huge mistake to (call for abstention) because if you don’t participate, someone else will participate for you.”

After the Socialists notched surprise wins in October gubernatorial elections, the Government has spent weeks urging voters to turn out in hopes of increasing the Party’s current share of roughly 70 per cent of mayorships amid Opposition abstention.

State agencies have pressured voters to participate in elections this year, particularly in the controversial July 30 vote for the all-powerful Constituent Assembly, which the Opposition also boycotted.

Some Government employees said they were being flooded with text messages urging them to show that they had voted by posting their ID numbers to Staterun websites and to upload pictures of voting centres to social networks. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Government halts US Coast Guard same-sex marriages repatriates 15 in Bermuda migrants to Cuba

T

he ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP), in power for almost five months, has put the brakes on same-sex marriages in Bermuda which had been given the green light by a Supreme Court Judge earlier this year.

One Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) called the Government decision “shameful”.

However, gay couples who have already tied the knot in Bermuda this year will not be affected.

Legislation to replace same-sex marriage with domestic partnerships was passed in the House of Assembly on Friday night after a five-hour debate.

The Domestic Partnership Act 2017 was passed with 24 MPs supporting the bill and 10 opposing it.

Home Affairs Minister Walton Brown, who introduced the bill, said it would provide same-sex couples with a raft of legal rights but prevent any further samesex marriages on the island.

“We need to find a way in Bermuda to fully embrace greater rights for all members of the community,” Brown said.

“But the status quo will not stand. On the ground, the political reality is that if we do not lead, we would have a private member’s bill tabled to outlaw same-sex marriage.

“That bill would pass because more than 18 MPs are opposed to same-sex marriage. If that bill passes same-sex couples have no rights whatsoever. This is tough for me. But I don’t shy away from tough decisions.”

(Excerpt from CMC)

T

he United States Coast Guard says crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter William Trump repatriated 15 Cuban migrants to Bahia de Cabañas, Cuba, on Saturday.

The US Coast Guard said the aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Miami observed a migrant rustic on Wednesday while on patrol about 65 miles southeast of Dry Tortugas, Florida.

Watch-standers at Coast Guard Sector Key West “diverted the cutter William Trump crew who arrived on scene, interdicted and safely embarked the migrants,” the Coast Guard said.

“Illegal migrant ventures at sea are both risky and dangerous,” said Commander Willie Carmichael, deputy chief of enforcement for the Coast

Guard Seventh District.

“The Coast Guard and its partner agencies will continue to maintain a constant presence to stop and prevent illegal migration, and do everything we can to rescue those who put themselves at risk aboard unseaworthy rafts before they end tragically.”

The Coast Guard said about 31 Cuban migrants have attempted to illegally migrate to the US via the maritime environment since the beginning of the 2018 fiscal year, which started October 1, compared to 1934 Cuban migrants in fiscal year 2017.

These numbers represent the total number of at-sea interdictions, landings and disruptions in the Florida Straits, the Caribbean and the Atlantic.

(CMC)

Honduras Opposition requests election results annulment

Opposition Leader Salvador Nasralla formally requested to annul the results of the still-unresolved presidential election [Jorge Cabrera/Reuters]

H

onduras' Opposition Alliance, headed by sportscaster-turned-presidential hopeful Salvador Nasralla, who is vying to unseat incumbent National Party President Juan Orlando Hernandez, has formally challenged the

results of last month's presidential election.

"We're calling for the nullity of the vote count at the presidential level for the scandalous fraud we have found," Nasralla said on Friday as he called for a new count to be completed.

Nearly two weeks after Election Day, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has not officially announced the next president despite results showing a lead for Hernandez.

On Sunday, the TSE said that a partial recount of votes from the disputed presidential election showed broadly the same result as previously, giving the lead to current President Juan Orlando Hernandez, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, at least 14 people have been killed during protests as the country slipped into its most acute crisis since the 2009 military coup.

"The political crisis has reached the legal level, which is normal in all electoral processes," political an-

alyst Gustavo Irias, Director of the Honduran Centre for the Study of Democracy (CESPAD), told Al Jazeera.

"What is unique is that the complaints mark the rejection of the process, with all of the irregularities, especially at the presidential level by the two political Opposition forces," Irias said.

Nasralla, who like Hernandez claimed victory after the election, has called for a vote-by-vote recount of the country's 18,103 ballot boxes with oversight by an independent international commission.

The Liberal Party, whose candidate Luis Zelaya placed a distant third, petitioned on Friday the TSE to nullify the presidential election altogether. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

presidency in coalition

M

exican Opposition Leader Ricardo Anaya said on Sunday he would seek to win the presidency in a leftright alliance after stepping down as head of the conservative National Action Party (PAN).

Anaya resigned as leader of the PAN on Saturday, a day after his party officially joined forces with the centre-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the Citizens Movement party in the “For Mexico in Front” coalition.

If selected, Anaya will likely take on leftist former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and former Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade, who is seeking the nomination for the ruling centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

Meade, who has served in both PRI and PAN Administrations, resigned as Finance Minister in November and PRI officials hope he will help the party

recover from a spate of corruption scandals.

“This corrupt and inefficient PRI Government has been an absolute national disaster,” Anaya said on Sunday, adding that his own party did not make fundamental structural changes during its two presidential terms from 2000 to 2012.

Anaya saw a split in his party in October when former First Lady Margarita Zavala left to launch a bid for the presidency as an independent candidate.

Zavala, the wife of former President Felipe Calderon, said she quit the PAN because the party base had been subordinated to the interests of its leadership.

The left-right coalition on Friday presented its official request with the electoral institute to compete in the July 2018 vote. The group must still pick its leader, with Anaya, who had been leader of the PAN since 2015, considered the front-runner. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Haitian President to address Haitian community in France and Belgium

Haitian President Jovenel Moïse

H

aitian President Jovenel Moïse was scheduled to meet with members of the Haitian community in France on Sunday.

According to Haiti’s Ambassador to France, Vanessa Lamonthe Matignon, the President would discuss matters of interest with Haitians living in the country during a meeting in Paris.

On Tuesday, the Head of State will participate in the Summit on the financing of Climate Action (One Planet) – an event that will be attended by several other Heads of State and Government.

On the aisles of the summit, Moïse is scheduled to meet with his French coun-

terpart, Emmanuel Macron to discuss bilateral cooperation between France and Haiti.

The Haitian President will also meet with officials from the French Development Agency, the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) and UNESCO. He will use the opportunity to introduce the members of Haiti’s Private Sector, who are also in France, to the representatives of the French Patronage, during a meeting with the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF) Moïse and his wife Martine are then scheduled to arrive in Belgium on Wednesday; while there, he will also meet with the Haitian community and Friends of Haiti at a reception in Brussels.

The following day – Thursday, the President and First Lady will meet with King Philippe and Queen Mathilde at the Palais de Bruxelles.

On the same day the President will meet with Neven Mimca, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development.

Moïse is scheduled to return to Haiti on December 16. (Excerpt from CMC)

monDAY, december 11, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the World

Netanyahu: Palestinians must face reality over Jerusalem; protests flare

I

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Palestinians must “get to grips with” the reality that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital in order to move towards peace.

Netanyahu said Jerusalem had been the capital of Israel for 3000 years and had “never been the capital of any other people”.

He spoke amid ongoing protests in the Muslim and Arab world at a US decision recognising Jerusalem as the capital.

Violence flared near the US Embassy in Lebanon, while there were protests in the Palestinian territories; Cairo; Rabat, the Moroccan capital and the Indonesian capital, Jakarta on Sunday.

In Jerusalem itself, a Palestinian was arrested after stabbing and seriously wounding an Israeli security guard at the central bus station.

Speaking in Paris after

17

Violence flared near the US Embassy in Lebanon, while there were protests in the Palestinian territories; Cairo; Rabat, the Moroccan capital and the Indonesian capital, Jakarta on Sunday

talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, Netanyahu said efforts to deny the “millennial connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem” were “absurd”.

“You can read it in a very fine book – it’s called the Bible,” he said. “You can read it after the Bible.

You can hear it in the history of Jewish communities throughout our Diaspora...

Where else is the capital of Israel, but in Jerusalem?

“The sooner the Palestinians come to grips with this reality, the sooner we will move towards peace.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman

forts to combat corruption.

The PSD-led coalition, which holds a strong majority in Parliament, is debating proposed new legislation which the European Commission and thousands of magistrates have said would put the judicial sys-

tem under political control.

Sunday’s protests mark three weeks since a special parliamentary commission began debates on the bill, which the ruling party aims to approve by the end of this year.

The commission is head-

for US Vice President Mike Pence strongly criticised the Palestinian Authority, saying it was “unfortunate” that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was declining to meet Pence on his forthcoming trip to the region.

In Egypt, the country’s top Muslim and Christian clerics have also cancelled scheduled talks with Pence in protest at the US move.

There has been widespread condemnation of President Donald Trump’s decision – announced on Wednesday – to reverse decades of US neutrality on the status of Jerusalem which cuts to the heart of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israel has always regarded Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem – occupied by Israel in the 1967 war – as the capital of a future Palestinian state. (Excerpt

Nobel Peace Prize winner warns nuclear war “a tantrum away”

T

he world faces a “nuclear crisis” from a “bruised ego”, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) has warned in an apparent reference to USNorth Korea tensions.

Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize on Sunday, Ican’s executive director Beatrice Fihn said “the deaths of millions may be one tiny tantrum away”.

“We have a choice, the end of nuclear weapons or the end of us,” she added.

Tensions over North Korea’s weapons programme have risen in recent months.

The open hostility be-

tween US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leadership under Kim Jongun has at times descended into personal attacks this year.

Speaking at the ceremony in Oslo, Fihn said “a moment of panic” could lead to the “destruction of cities and the deaths of millions of civilians” from nuclear weapons.

The risk of such weapons being used, she added, was “greater today than during the Cold War”.

Ican, a coalition of hundreds of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), has worked for a treaty to ban the weapons. (Excerpt from BBC News)

North Korea: Urgent need to open channels, UN says after visit

from BBC News)

Thousands of Romanians protest against proposed judicial reforms

T

housands of Romanians rallied in the capital Bucharest and other cities on Sunday, protesting against plans by the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) to overhaul the country’s judicial system which is seen as undermining ef-

ed by PSD veteran, former Justice Minister Florin Lordache who had to quit in February after a decree on corruption that he drafted, triggered the biggest rallies since the 1989 anti-communist Romanian revolution.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Indian soldier kills 4 colleagues in Chhattisgarh

India’s central paramilitary force are issued with semi-automatic rifles

A

n Indian paramilitary soldier has shot dead four of his colleagues

and critically injured another at a camp in central India, local media report.

The soldier, a member of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), apparently opened fire after an argument.

The incident is said to have occurred about 17:15 local time (11:45 GMT) at the Basuguda camp in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh state.

Police said the man has been detained.

A spokesperson for the CRPF said the officer, 35-year-old Sanath Kumar, opened fire with an AK-

47 assault rifle “following a scuffle with other personnel”.

Kumar is being questioned and an investigation into Saturday’s incident is under way.

A senior state Police Officer, Sundar Raj, told ANI news agency that investigators were trying to determine “what happened, why he did it, and under what circumstances”.

The central paramilitary force is deployed in the region for anti-Maoist operations. (Excerpt from BBC News)

California wildfires: Governor brands fires "new normal"

D

evastating wildfires fuelled by climate change are “the new normal”, California’s Governor has said.

Jerry Brown said vast fires, such as the ones that have ravaged southern California in recent days, “could happen every year or every few years”.

“We’re facing a new reality in this state,” he said.

Brown made the comments after surveying the damage in Ventura County, north of Los Angeles.

Thousands of firefighters have been battling the fires

since Monday.

Brown, a Democrat who has attacked the Trump Administration’s stance on climate change, said: “We’re facing a new reality in this state, where fires threaten people’s lives, their properties, their neighbourhoods, and of course billions and billions of dollars.

“With climate change, some scientists are saying southern California is literally burning up.”

The largest wildfire – known as the Thomas Fire – burned close to 150,000 acres, an area of land rough-

Satellite imagery shows the vast Thomas Fire, north of Los Angeles, which has spread as far as the Pacific coast

ly the size of Chicago, Reuters reported.

On Saturday, firefight-

ers began to make progress in containing the blaze. (Excerpt

from BBC News)

UN official Jeffrey Feltman met top North Korean officials on his trip including Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho

A

top United Nations official told senior North Korean figures there was an “urgent need” to keep channels open to avoid the risk of war, the organisation says.

The statement follows a visit to Pyongyang by Jeffrey Feltman, the highest-level trip by a UN official to the isolated nation in six years.

North Korea says it has agreed to regular communication with the UN. Tensions over the North’s

weapons programme were raised further after a fresh ballistic missile test last week.

North Korea said it was its most advanced missile yet, capable of reaching the continental US. The test was the latest in a series of nuclear and missile tests conducted in defiance of UN sanctions.

South Korea and the US have meanwhile been carrying out large-scale military drills in a show of force. (Excerpt

from BBC News)

Sudan women in trousers: No indecency charges

C

harges of indecency have been dropped against 24 women who were caught wearing trousers at a party near the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

The gathering was raided by morality police on Wednesday.

If convicted, the women could have faced punishment of 40 lashes and a fine for wearing “an obscene outfit”.

Rights activists say tens of thousands of women are arrested and flogged for indecency every year, and laws can be applied arbitrarily.

They say the law in

Muslim-majority Sudan against wearing trousers and short or tight skirts discriminates against Christians.

Traditionally, women in Sudan wear loose flowing robes.

Campaigner Amira Osman told Netherlandsbased Radio Dabanga the public order act violated women’s rights.

“The party took place in a closed hall in a building in El Mamoura [south of Khartoum],” she said.

“The girls were arrested for wearing trousers, despite obtaining a permit from the authorities.” (Excerpt from BBC News)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

monDAY, december 11, 2017

ARCHIE

Make travel plans or set up meetings that will help (March 21you address important matApril 19) ters before the year comes to a close. Personal growth and self-awareness will encourage you to make wise choices.

ARIES

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

dilbert

Dig deep and find out all you can. Knowledge is power, and knowing how to apply it when faced with someone trying to outdo you will help you gain ground.

Participate in festivities GEMINI that will bring you in touch (May 21with old friends or colleagues.

June 20) Express your feelings and offer kind gestures, but don't get talked into something you probably shouldn't do.

Address personal issues before someone complains or (June 21- makes demands. Have a plan July 22) ready to offset an unsavoury choice someone wants you to make. Look out for your best interest.

CANCER

Peanuts

Make plans to get togethLEO er with old friends or to go (July 23- shopping for items you want Aug. 22) to purchase before the year ends. Share your feelings with someone you love.

Get into the spirit of the VIRGO season. Ask questions and (Aug. 23find out how old friends and Sept. 22) family are doing. Showing consideration and generosity toward others will make you feel good.

Calvin and Hobbes

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Keep your facts straight and be honest about the way you feel. Communication will be necessary if you want to avoid a mishap. Ulterior motives are apparent.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Do whatever you can to help those less fortunate.

Your time and effort will be appreciated, and you will discover something or someone that gives you incentive to follow your dream.

Take the time to schmooze SAGITTARIUS with your peers. Being a good (Nov. 23- listener will help you form Dec. 21) advantageous relationships.

Update your image and make love a priority.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

SATURDAY’S WORD

Look at the big picture as well as your expectations. Excessive behaviour will lead to personal and emotional loss. Only take on what you can handle.

solution for LAST PUBLISHED Puzzle Listen to your heart, AQUARIUS not to what others tell you.

(Jan. 20- Someone is likely to offer inFeb. 19) formation that won't apply to your situation or that could end up costing you time and money.

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Listen to what others have to say. The more information you gather, the easier it will be for you to communicate your thoughts, position and contributions.

monDAY, december 11, 2017

19

World Cup bound – Guyanese quintet optimistic of Under-19 title defence

By Akeem Greene

F

ive National youth players, Bhaskar Yadram, Raymond Perez, Ashmead Nedd, Ronaldo Alimohamed and Joshua Persaud left Guyana on Sunday enrounte to St Kitts and Nevis for a West Indies Under 19 preparatory camp ahead of the 2018 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup which will be played in New Zealand from January 13 to February 3.

The camp which runs from today until November 19 is expected to have the selectees in a various fitness drills and simulation matches as they fine tune their preparations of what is expected to be a momentous title defence.

Guyana Times Sport spoke to the five players prior to departure and they expressed confidence of doing well when the world cup bowls off but noted that this camp will be crucial to solidify plans and build team unity.

Yadram, who is arguably one of the most experienced players given his exposure at the First-Class level and being a part of the squad since it commenced its yearlong preparations is ready to play the nurturing role for the new-comers.

“I will basically help them focus on the right stuff when they go out to play and ensure they play positive cricket,” the top-order batsman noted.

Given his knowledge for a youth cricketer, Yadram feels no pressure to perform, adding that he has “full confidence of scoring runs once he occupies the crease for as long as possible.”

Two areas, the 18 year-old feels the team needs to improve on, is their fielding and reducing the amount of extras given away.

Likewise, Persaud, another player who has been a part of the training squad since its inception, is eager to “continue working on key areas which were advised to him at the previous camp. With regards to the world cup, he stated “When I get the opportunity, I want to bat the first ten overs to make sure the team gets a good start and score big runs.”

Ronaldo Alimohamed, Raymond Perez and Bhaskar Yadram saw the amusing side of rechecking their travel itinerary

He added, “with respect to my wicket keeping, I will continue working hard at it since I have seen vast improvements and I will be ready to do the job if called upon in New Zealand.”

Meanwhile, stylish opening batsman Perez says he has no pressure on his shoulders to preform despite being the Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the regional under-19 tournament held in St Kitts where he complied 348 runs from six innings finishing unbeaten on three occasions which meant he averaged a staggering 116 and had a highest score of 77 against the Windward Islands.

“There is no pressure on me, I will continue to do the basics as I did in the tournament and hopefully come out with the same or more runs.”

Assessing areas of focus on the camp, the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) batsman noted he will be seeking to rotate the strike better, adding that that “the pitches in New Zealand are expected to produce high scor-

ing matches so better strike rotation will help the team post more challenging totals.”

Fellow club mate and left-arm spinner Nedd was another MVP of the regional tournament and plans on continue with his consistency.

“I will be sticking to the basics, bowl a good line and length and try to keep a high percentage of dot balls and also look to get some runs down the order.”

The 16 year-old, who had stint in New Zealand playing for Trinidad and Tobago’s Tony Hartford U-17 Academy in January 2015 feels the experience was of great value.

“Playing before in New Zealand helped me to better understand how to play.

The batsmen usually try to sweep so I know I have to take some of the pace off of the ball, and constantly regulate my pace.”

With the support base of his father Garvin Nedd, who is a former National off-spinner and a current Youth coach, Need feels the encouragement and advice has been one of

the main reasons he has reaped tremendous rewards on the field.

Last but certainly not the least is dashing all-rounder Alimohamed, who was not initially in the world cup grooming squad but after he attended a camp in Grenada in October where he was outstanding enough to impressed the team’s management and selectors he was drafted.

Alimohamed captained Guyana to the ‘double’ this year and had his own success with both bat and ball, a trend he is seeking to continue.

“I am mentally prepared for the camp and I hope we jell well as a team so we can be successful at the world cup. I will be seeking to improve on all areas of my game so I can be a real asset to the team come next year.”

The players are expected to return on December 20 for a break after which they leave the Caribbean on December 28 for a one week-camp in New Zealand prior to the start of the world cup.

The defending champions are installed in Group of A alongside Kenya, South Africa and the hosts.

Full Squad: Emmanuel Stewart – Captain (Windward Islands- Grenada), Kirstan Kallicharan – Vice Captain (Trinidad & Tobago), Ronaldo Alimohamed- (Guyana), Alick Athanaze- (Windward IslandsDominica), Cephas Cooper- (Trinidad & Tobago), Jarion Hoyte- (Barbados), Kimani Melius- (Windward Islands- St. Lucia), Ashmead Nedd- (Guyana), Kian Pemberton(Leeward Islands- St.Kitts & Nevis), Raymond Perez- (Guyana), Joshua Persaud(Guyana), Jeavor Royal- (Jamaica), Keagan Simmons- (Trinidad & Tobago), Bhaskar Yadram- (Guyana) and Nyeem Young(Barbados).

Management Team: Graeme West- (Head Coach), Dwain Gill- (Team Operations Manager), Corey Collymore(Assistant Coach), Khevyn Williams(Physiotherapist), Zephyrinus Nicholas(Strength & Conditioning Coach) and Dinesh Mahabir- (Analyst).

Shakib appointed Bangladesh Test Captain S

hakib Al Hasan has been named Bangladesh's new Test captain, starting with the upcoming Sri Lanka tour next month. Mahmudullah will take over the vice-captaincy from Tamim Iqbal while the BCB is yet to announce a new coach.

Shakib takes over from Mushfiqur Rahim who had replaced him in 2011.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan said that Shakib will lead the side in the two Tests against Sri Lanka, but did not confirm his tenure.

"We can't really talk about the exact reason for changing the captaincy. We now want Mushfiqur to focus on his batting and remain pressure-free," Hassan said.

Mushfiqur captained Bangladesh in 34 Tests, winning seven, losing 18 and drawing nine of them.

He was in charge when Bangladesh beat England last year, and then Australia and Sri Lanka earlier this year, though there were plenty of questions about his captaincy. For instance, he was asked not to captain the side in the most crucial part of their

win against England, with Tamim leading the side on the field.

Bangladesh lost seven of the nine Tests they played this year - losing two in New Zealand, one in India, drawing a twomatch series in Sri Lanka 1-1, and drawing against Australia 1-1 at home before heading to South Africa, where they were whitewashed in all three formats. Under Mushfiqur, they lost the two Tests in South Africa by massive margins - 333 runs in Potchefstroom and an innings and 254 runs in Bloemfontein; Mushfiqur's captaincy had come under scrutiny in South Africa, and a decision on his future was expected once the team returned from the tour.

Shakib, who is also Bangladesh's T20 captain, had been rested for those two Tests in South Africa after he had requested for leave following the Australia series at home.

Leading Bangladesh in the longest format will not be new to Shakib but it is something he will

take up after over six years; he led them in nine Tests in the past. His first Test as captain was against West Indies in 2009 before leading the side for seven more matches i n t h e first half o f 2010, and one more Test in August 2011, against Zimbabwe. His exit as captain in 2011 had led t o a controversy after he fell out of favour with the then BCB chief Mustafa Kamal following an acrimonious Zimbabwe tour in August that year.

Bangladesh won only one of those matches overall - against West Indies in 2009 - and lost the remaining eight. (ESPN Shakib Al Hasan’s assignment is Cricinfo)

against Sri Lanka in January

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

monDAY, december 11, 2017

Nedd hails “Sir” Chase for backing WI U-19 duo

N

ational Youth Coach Garvin Nedd lauded the gesture of Henry Chase; CEO of Chase Academy for continuously supporting two of his past students ahead of their West Indies U19 World Cup campaign.

Past students of the learning institute; wicket-keeper/batsman Joshua Persaud and spinner Ashmead Nedd were given pieces of cricket gear by Chase, who has been sup-

Henry Chase

porting the pair since they commenced their academicals at the school some four years ago.

The brief handing over ceremony held at the Boardroom of the Guyana

National Stadium on Saturday afternoon saw both players along with Coach Nedd; father of Ashmead and co-brainchild of the initiative; along with Chase who presented the gifts of gratitude.

Chase told media operatives that he was moved by the fact Guyana had not only one but five players making international strides and as such felt the need to assist in providing his two former students with pieces of gear and clothing ahead of the tour.

Speaking exclusively with Guyana Times Sport Coach Nedd said the idea arose while speaking with Chase regarding the success of students from the academy who continue to excel in the classroom and on the field.

“The idea came from the summer camp held at DCC every year, me and Mr. Chase decided that moving forward we could get some of the young talents to be a part of a scholarship programme, so that how the idea came about”, Nedd explained.

With the team venturing into new and hostile conditions, Nedd said the equipment which also consisted of apparel suited for the

Ashmead Nedd (left) and his father Garvin

cold weather, was expensive and sometimes hard to acquire but thanked Chase for throwing his support behind the two cricketers; who have not let their supporters down.

“Basically we know that the equipment is very expensive, so Mr. Chase helped the guys acquire some gloves and socks among other utility things to help them perform their skills to the best while being prepared for the conditions”.

Speaking about the success of his son who has made great strides locally and regionally in recent time, the ex-Guyana spinner said, “I first must say kudos to him, he has been doing well for the past 12 months. He was selected for the Guyana U19 last year but he didn’t get to play because he was selected for the West Indies U16 team at the same time” “He didn’t do that well in the Regional U17 and we had a chat about what was

happening and his personal skills and he went into the tournament (WIU16) and did well. I think he would make an impact in the West Indies team because of the consistency he has shown over the years and once he can adjust and analyze the situations, while improving his skills; he will make a big impact in that team”. He admitted.

Nedd also spoke highly of Persaud, the young wicket-keeper opening batsman who has copped numerous Regional youth awards for his skills behind the stumps and with the bat and a player Nedd has been earmarking for great things since he was spotted for inter-county cricket by the veteran youth coach.

He pointed out that Persaud had all the right tools coming from the GNIC club where he worked and continues to work closely with Academy Coach Clive Grimmond and expects much of him once he’s given a chance to shine.

Concluding his interview, the former National off-spinner believes that if more support is shown to young sportsmen and women, more progress will be made and Guyana will continue to churn out profes-

sional sport athletes.

“I think what he does is great because our kids need support and speaking as a parent sometimes you can’t reach all the needs and if more people in Guyana come onboard we will see more Joshua’s, Ashmead’s and others coming out of the school systems. We all know academics and sports go hand in hand and it’s important to strike that balance,” he ended.

Both Nedd and Persaud thanked their former headmaster for his continued support in the careers. The two schoolmates now international youth teammates also said they were setting high benchmarks as they will be looking to cement final spots ahead of the World Cup. The five Guyanese selectees for the 15-member World Cup squad who will participate in an 11-day camp in St. Kitts and Nevi; include all-rounders Bhaskar Yadram and Ronaldo Ali Mohamed, opener Raymond Perez, wicket- Persaud and Nedd.

The camp which will get underway from December 10-20 is the final stage of preparation before the squad leaves for New Zealand on December 28. (Clifton Ross)

India flop, Sri Lanka end losing streak batsmen are indecisive with their footwork and therefore shot selection.

Most of India's shots thereafter were borne by an intent to weather that testing period. That resulted in two runs in the first five overs and 11 in the first 10, the lowest in a match involving two Full Members in the last five years.

Of late, Dhoni often consumes too many balls while starting his innings, but India's dire

SCOREBOARD The pitch, a seamer's delight, helped Suranga Lakmal immensely as he dismissed Captain Rohit in his third over (BCCI photo)

L

esser-skilled teams' best chances of competing are in conditions that skew the balance towards the bowlers - spin or seam. In 26 ODIs in 2017, most of which were played on flat surfaces, Sri Lanka managed to win just four. But in Dharamsala, Sri Lanka's seamers, led by Suranga Lakmal, used swinging and seaming conditions to rip through a tentative India batting line-up for 112, setting up a seven-wicket rout that also snapped their 12-game losing streak in ODIs. When Lakmal finished

with figures of 10-4-13-4 to leave India at 29 for 7, it didn't look like the innings would last 38.2 overs. But MS Dhoni shepherded the tail with a calculated 65 to prevent India from the ignominy of falling to the lowest ODI total. Even though India started well in the defense, their total was decidedly under-par as Sri Lanka hunted down the target with 29.2 overs to spare.

In the fresh mountain air of Dharamsala, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers, Lakmal and Angelo Mathews, repeatedly hit the perfect length to

India Innings (50 overs maximum) RG Sharma* c †Dickwella b Lakmal 2 S Dhawan lbw b Mathews 0 SS Iyer b Pradeep 9 KD Karthik lbw b Lakmal 0 MK Pandey c Mathews b Lakmal 2 MS Dhoni† c Gunathilaka b Perera 65 HH Pandya c Mathews b Pradeep 10 B Kumar c †Dickwella b Lakmal 0 Kuldeep Yadav st †Dickwella b Dananjaya 19 JJ Bumrah b Pathirana 0 YS Chahal not out 0 Extras (lb-2, w-3) 5 Total (All Out, 38.2 Overs) 112 Fall of wickets: 1-0 (S Dhawan, 1.6 ov), 2-2 (RG Sharma, 4.1 ov), 3-8 (KD Karthik, 8.5 ov), 4-16 (MK Pandey, 12.5 ov), 5-16 (SS Iyer, 13.2 ov), 6-28 (HH Pandya, 15.2 ov), 7-29 (B Kumar, 16.4 ov), 8-70 (Kuldeep Yadav, 25.3 ov), 9-87 (JJ Bumrah, 34.3 ov),

10-112 (MS Dhoni, 38.2 ov) Bowling Lakmal 10-4-13-4 (w1), Mathews 5-2-8-1 (w-1), Fernando 10-4-37-2, Perera 4.2-0-29-1, Dananjaya 5-2-71, Pathirana 4-1-16-1 Sri Lanka Innings (target: 113 runs from 50 overs) MD Gunathilaka c †Dhoni b Bumrah 1 WU Tharanga c Dhawan b Pandya 49 HDRL Thirimanne b Kumar 0 AD Mathews not out 25 N Dickwella† not out 26 Extras:(lb-1, nb-2, w-10) 13 Total: (For 3 wickets, 20.4 Overs) 114 Did not bat: DAS Gunaratne, NLTC Perera (c), SS Pathirana, RAS Lakmal, A Dananjaya, ANPR Fernand Fall of wickets: 1-7 (MD Gunathilaka, 3.4 ov), 2-19 (HDRL Thirimanne, 6.1 ov), 3-65 (WU Tharanga, 12.3 ov) Bowling Kumar 8.4-1-42-1 (w1), Bumrah 7-1-32-1 (w-2, nb2), Pandya 5-0-39-1 (w-3)

situation fit his template on Sunday. He charged down off his first ball, displaying an intent and a clear plan to negate the swing that no other batsman had.

One of Dhoni's biggest and well-documented - assets is his productivity with the tail.

In Kuldeep Yadav's company, he chose only the errant deliveries to score. He used his typical bottom-hand power to place the ball particularly into gaps through c o v e r,

In his next over, Bumrah also had Upul Tharanga caught at gully, but replays indicated he overstepped.

When Bhuvneshwar Kumar got Lahiru Thirimanne to chop on three balls later, India not only hoped, but believed. They had, after all, produced three wicket-taking balls in 37 balls on a surface that was offering plenty of assistance.

Tharanga, though, quelled their belief with a flurry of sweetly-timed strokes either side of the wicket. India had to set attacking fields, leaving massive holes in the outfield.

Tharanga unleashed several cover drives en route to his 49 before edging to first slip. Angelo Mathews and Niroshan Dickwella then added an unbroken 49 to carry Sri Lanka home, leaving India having to come back from a 1-0 deficit for the second consecutive t h r e e m a t c h series. The s e c o n d ODI is on Wednesday in Mohali.

midwicket and backward square leg. He eventually sliced a lofted drive off Thisara Perera to be last man out, not before making close to 60% of India's runs from No. 6.

With India's opening bowlers also generating appreciable seam movement both ways, it seemed like (ESPN Cricinfo) Dhoni had carried India not too far away from a fighting score. Danushka Gunathilaka, frustrated by the ball repeatedly going past his outside edge, attempted a straight heave off Jasprit Bumrah and was caught behind, the ball missing his intended area by 180 degrees. MS Dhoni who came to India's Such were the margins of error rescue when they were reeling at 29 for 7 (BCCI photo) on this pitch.

sports

monDAY, december 11, 2017 | www.guyanatimesgy.com

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E

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Katchay, who represented Canada at the first-class, OneDay and T20 levels, stated that once Canada doesn’t lose their confidence that they gained at the World Division 3, they will continue to be victorious which will see them elevating to Division 1.

The Canadian side is currently in Barbados for a series of warm-up matches and to intensify their preparations for the seven-day tournament.

According to the 40-year-old Katchay, based on their outing in Uganda where Canada

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emerged as the second best team, just below Oman, they have the ability to head to the World Cup Qualifiers.

With that as their main objective, the former Guyana youth cricketer, feels they have showed great commitment to do well and they should continue in that same manner.

The World Cup Qualifier is slated for next March/April in Bangladesh.

“Obviously, they are on a

road to the big world cup event and I think they should do well at the Division 2 and then at Division 1. Once they keep focusing hard and with this bunch of talented cricketers, I feel very confident Canada can advance to the Qualifier stage,” Katchay reasoned.

The side is replete with experienced players and Katchay has the assertion that could be a psychological factor to come out as the top two teams in Namibia. Veteran and flamboyant all-rounder Rizwan Cheema is one of them and his style in this version, the former skipper should be able to make an impact.

“Yes, with Cheema and the rest of guys still showing great form and willingness to make an impression, I think Canada can be at the World Cup again; having said that, with Canada already featured in World Cup series, I think that should boost this side which has some good youths as well,” the Level

Mark Montfort

Two coach Katchay related.

Meanwhile, Katchay has also thrown his support behind his fellow countrymen Montfort and Heyliger to establish themselves in the side and to perform to the best of their abilities. Montfort played internationally for Canada and Heyliger represented the country but in friendly encounters.

The left-handed Montfort represented Demerara Inter-

county and first-division for Guyana National Industrial Corporation before his migration to North America.

Heyliger, the Essequibian, played for Guyana in regional Under-19 tournament.

Canada last appeared at the mega event in 2011 but missed out in 2015 after they failed to qualify. In addition to his confidence, Katchay mentioned the Canadian cricketers have an excellent coaching staff and they are capable of bringing out the best from the players.

The head coach is former Canada all-rounder Ingleton Liburd and another ex-player Henry Osinde is his assistant while Daulat Khan has taken up the Assistant Coach/Analyst responsibility. Canada is once again skippered by Nitish Kumar, who played in 2011 World Cup as a teenager. The next World Cup event is set for 2019 in England.

National Draughts tourney set for December 17 T

he Guyana Draughts Association (GDA) will be holding their 4th annual tournament at the National Gymnasium on December 17; with five hampers up for grabs.

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President, Jiaram, stated that the match will be contested on 64 square boards with players being informed of the change from the previously used 100 square format.

Games will be played on a

six round Swiss System with the five hampers going to the top five finishers.

Draught players countrywide are eligible to participate with registration being $500. per player starting from 10:00h

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CWI/ Digicel Regional 4-Day Championships 2017-18…

Thomas upstaged Warrican in exciting chase …Rain wins at Sabina Park

Denesh Ramdin

Devon Thomas

A

defiant third firstclass hundred from Devon Thomas and a career-best knock from Akeem Saunders upstaged a destructive spell from leftarm spinner Jomel Warrican to carry Leeward Islands Hurricanes to a draw against Barbados Pride at Warner Park.

And, rain and resolute batting – led by Trinidad & Tobago Red Force captain Denesh Ramdin – ruined Jamaica Scorpions’ bid for victory, leaving them to settle for a draw at Sabina Park.

Hurricanes vs Pride at Warner Park Devon Thomas scored a century for the Leeward Islands Hurricanes and Jomel Warrican had a six-wicket haul for the Barbados Pride to set the stage for an exciting draw as their WPCL match concluded at Warner Park on Sunday.

When stumps were drawn, the Hurricanes needing 311

to pull off a memorable win, were 26 runs short of a famous victory.

Thomas made 103 from 154 balls and featured in partnerships of 48 for the fourth-wicket with Nkrumah Bonner and a potentially match-winning sixth-wicket stand of 108 with Akeem Saunders. However, both partnerships were ended by Jomel Warrican whose six wickets for 89 runs put the brakes on the Hurricanes’ run chase.

Warrican trapped Bonner lbw for 16 and then had Saunders caught Saunders caught by Johnathan Carter for 64. Saunders’ wicket slowed the Hurricanes’ chase which suffered a death blow when Warrican struck again in the

66th over. He induced Thomas to advance down the pitch and was stumped by wicketkeeper Mario Rampersaud, effectively ending the Hurricanes' hopes of victory.

The score was then 264 for 6 but with an additional 47 runs to get from 11 overs, the target was well beyond the Leewards Islands franchise, especially with Warrican in full flow. He subsequently bowled Terrence Ward for 9 and then had the big-hitting Rahkeem Cornwall out caught for 10 to snuff the last vestiges of life from the Hurricanes efforts.

The drama was set up by an enterprising declaration from Barbados captain Shamarh Brooks.

Resuming on 110 for 4 overnight, already leading by

253 runs, the Pride’s Kevin Stoute and Kenroy Williams advanced the score to 168 before Brooks declared setting the Hurricanes a challenging 311 to win.

Williams remained unbeaten on 49, Stoute 32 was the declaration was made.

It would set the stage for an intriguing final day.

Scores: Pride 394 & 163-4 dec drew with Hurricanes 246 & 286-4 Scorpions vs Red Force at Sabina Park Denesh Ramdin was unbeaten on 52 and shared two crucial stands that frustrated the Scorpions before rain halted play for the final time about six minutes after tea.

Red Force – starting the day still 271 in arrears – were reeling on 62 for four, but Tion Webster came to the crease and shared 58 with Ramdin to stem the fall of wickets before he was stumped off legspinner Damion Jacobs for 30.

Ramdin also found stability from veteran Imran Khan and they put on 40 unbroken for the seventh wicket before the rain came and saved the Red Force from defeat.

Windies “A” Team fast bowler Reynard Leveridge was the most successful member of the Scorpions’ attack with 3-23 from 11 overs.

John Campbell was adjudged Player-of-the-Match.

Scores: Red Force 243 & 163-6 drew with Scorpions 535

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

monDAY, december 11, 2017

Windies fighting but Kiwis ahead

T

rent Boult and Tim Southee pillaged 61 runs together at the start of the day, then claimed two wickets apiece, and held one spectacular catch each, as they set off and then perpetuated West Indies' dramatic decline on a rain-interrupted day.

By stumps, New Zealand had a stranglehold on the Test. Their opposition, eight down, and still 158 runs short of the hosts' 373,

9, that Tim and Trent's day-two adventure began.

Getting off the mark with an enterprising uppercut for four over the slips off Shannon Gabriel, Boult tried the shot again next over, and this time fetched six for it. Before long he and Southee were in the middle of a full-scale blitz, Boult hitting five fours and two sixes in his 27-ball 37 not out, while Southee cracked 31 off 39, hitting two leg-

Kemar Roach, who dismissed Neil Wagner third ball of the day (thanks to a flying catch at gully by Shai Hope) claimed the final wicket to finish with figures of 3 for 58, while Gabriel, who also took a day-two wicket, ended with 4 for 119.

It was in the field, and with the ball, however, that Boult and Southee really left their mark on this Test. Gaining more bounce and carry from the surface than West Indies had managed (though it is possible the pitch had quickened up), they began beating edges almost immediately.

SCOREBOARD

Kraigg Brathwaite played responsibly for another half century

were facing a long climb back into contention. Only Kraigg Brathwaite made a substantial score, hitting 66 off 116 deliveries while several batsmen made promising starts and perished around him. Having ended the first day with so much momentum, and even begun day two with a wicket in the first over, West Indies were guilty of failing to apply themselves on a pitch that - while lively was not the challenge their scoreline made it seem.

It was in the eighth over of the day, with New Zealand's score on 312 for

side sixes and a four of his own. They were aided by Seddon Park's modest dimensions, as even mishits proved a challenge to West Indies' fielders. But there was spunk to go with the luck - Boult backing off awkwardly against Miguel Cummins at one stage, only to reach out and blast past point a ball that might have shaved the top of off stump.

New Zealand had begun the day in danger of not making it to 300, but thanks largely to their No. 10 and No. 11, 87 runs were added to the overnight score.

New Zealand 1st Innings (Overnight 286-7) JA Raval c †Dowrich b Gabriel 84 TWM Latham c †Dowrich b Cummins 22 KS Williamson* c †Dowrich b Cummins 43 LRPL Taylor c †Dowrich b Roach 16 HM Nicholls lbw b Reifer 13 MJ Santner b Gabriel 24 C de Grandhomme b Gabriel 58 TA Blundell† b Gabriel 28 N Wagner c Hope b Roach 1 TG Southee c & b Roach 31 TA Boult not out 37 Extras (lb-1, nb-12, w-3) 16 Total (All Out, 102.2 Overs) 373 Fall of wickets: 1-65 (TWM Latham, 19.6 ov), 2-154 (KS Williamson, 49.2 ov), 3-159 (JA Raval, 52.3 ov), 4-186 (LRPL Taylor, 57.2 ov), 5-189 (HM Nicholls, 61.4 ov), 6-265 (MJ Santner, 80.2 ov), 7-275 (C de Grandhomme, 84.1 ov), 8-286 (N Wagner, 87.3 ov), 9-312 (TA Blundell, 94.1 ov), 10373 (TG Southee, 102.2 ov) Bowling Gabriel 25-4-1194 (w-1, nb-7), Roach 23.2-858-3 (nb-1), Cummins 204-57-2 (w-2, nb-4), Chase

13-1-90-0, Reifer 17-8-361, Brathwaite 4-0-12-0 West Indies 1st Innings KC Brathwaite* c Southee b de Grandhomme 66 KOA Powell c †Blundell b Southee 0 SO Hetmyer c & b Boult 28 SD Hope c Taylor b Southee 15 RL Chase b de Grandhomme 12 SW Ambris hit wicket b Boult 2 SO Dowrich† c & b Wagner 35 RA Reifer not out 22 KAJ Roach c Boult b Wagner 17 ML Cummins not out 10 Extras (b-1, w-7) 8 Total (For 8 wickets, 64 Overs) 215 Yet to bat: ST Gabriel Fall of wickets: 1-5 (KOA Powell, 0.6 ov), 2-46 (SO Hetmyer, 13.3 ov), 3-90 (SD Hope, 23.4 ov), 4-112 (RL Chase, 30.4 ov), 5-117 (SW Ambris, 33.5 ov), 6-135 (KC Brathwaite, 40.1 ov), 7-169 (SO Dowrich, 50.1 ov), 8-204 (KAJ Roach, 59.3 ov) Bowling Southee 18-8-342 (w-1), Boult 19-5-67-2 (w2), de Grandhomme 12-140-2, Wagner 15-2-73-2 Position: West Indies trail by 158 runs with 2 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

Tim Southee and Trent Boult enjoying a light moment

Southee took the wicket of Kieran Powell in the first over, having the batsman caught behind for zero.

Boult took longer to make his breakthrough, dismissing the spirited Shimron Hetmyer with a sublime return catch, leaping to his left.

Having tottered to 46 for 2, West Indies then seemed to be regaining their composure while Brathwaite and Hope were at the crease, but when play resumed after a rain delay of almost two hours, more wickets were in store. Hope nicked one to the slips off Southee soon after play re-started, then Roston Chase and Sunil Ambris both departed in quick succession - the latter treading on his stumps to the bowling of Boult, as he played a back-foot shot on the leg side. This was the second time in three innings that Ambris was out hit wicket.

When Southee caught Brathwaite spectacularly on the juggle soon after

- the ball hitting the tips of his outstretch hands at short cover, only to bounce out and then be re-taken just before it hit the turf behind him - West Indies had lost four wickets for 45 runs. Brathwaite had been the player holding the innings together, keeping out the good balls and finding boundaries behind the wicket - though he did have some luck when he was dropped off Boult in the slips, on 14. He left West Indies at 135 for 6 in danger of not making 200. Thankfully, for the visitors, Shane Dowrich struck a belligerent 35 before top-edging a pull off Neil Wagner, and debutant Raymon Reifer moved to an unbeaten 22 by stumps.

Southee returned New Zealand's best figures of the day, his two wickets only costing him 34 runs.

Colin de Grandhomme and Wagner also had two wickets to their name. Mitchell Santner's left-arm spin was not required. (ESPN Cricinfo)

“Helping the youngsters drive me further” – Smith …opener enjoying role as batting mentor

By Clifton Ross

W

ith more than 600 runs in ongoing Cricket West Indies (CWI)/Digicel Regional Fourday Championship; Windward Islands Volcanoes opener Devon Smith said his role is to groom the younger batsmen for the future and believes leading from the front, is the best example.

Smith, the ex-West Windies Test and ODI opener, has endured a phenomenal past four seasons of first class cricket, dominating with the bat to end in the top ranks of the leading run-scorers since the realization of the Professional Cricket League back in 2013/14.

After six rounds in this season’s championships, the left-hander currently sits on 612 runs from just 6 matches with top scores of; 185*, 119*,116*, 41 and 95. His last knock; a second innings 95 which on Sunday morning saw the winless Volcanoes to nearly beating the Jaguars after shifting the condition of the match; leaving the hosts needing 4 runs with the last pair at the crease.

When his teammate; ex-West Indies

off-spinner Shane Shillingford produced a delivery to trap Anthony Bramble lbw for 45, resulting in a tie; Smith’s near century innings was indeed turned out to be a match-saving one and following the match, Smith told Guyana Times Sport his secret to racking up runs, even when under pressure.

“Momentum-wise, I just have to try and lead from the front so the youngsters can follow. In terms of the game we all knew it was difficult, but once we gave them 150 or 160 it was good because the wicket wasn’t the best to bat on or one where you could express yourself.

You have to dig in to get a score and with Shillingford we know the type of bowler he is so it’s about getting runs and putting Guyana on the back-foot,” said Smith.

The plan almost worked too, which resulted in the 36 year-old acknowledging that his half-century was just another produce of his hard work and training done on a consistent basis; something the batsman attributed to his success.

“I love the gym and I love to do plenty running leading up to the tournament just

to maintain because I don’t want to come to the tournament and then try to get fit.

When I come here is just to do the training and the best I can because it’s not about me it’s also about the youngsters; because it’s a young team and helping them drives me to go further,” admitted the opener.

After enduring a very tough tournament this season, not managing a win after six rounds, the Volcanoes got a glimmer of momentum as well as a couple of points for nearly upsetting the defending champs. Smith believed the calm approach during the second innings was the reason for the spirited performance versus the table-leaders.

“I think the difference was more patience when bowling, I think the guys realized that there was a possibility we could go out there and create chances, but overall I think patience was the key in batting and bowling.”

The first this season to 500 and 600 runs, the Grenada-born Smith who has more than 12,000 runs in 1st Class cricket, said despite his voracious appetite for runs and his current form, he’s not thinking

along the line of a West Indies recall.

“People keep asking(about a recall), but my thing is just to go out and play cricket my focus is not really on that if it happens that I get p i c k then so be it, but I’m not banking on getting picked, I just want to try and enjoy my cricket as much as possible”, stated Smith.

The Volcanoes will be facing the Jamaica Scorpions in the last round before the break in a day/night encounter and Smith is happy his team received the momentum boost before the match.

“Last game before the break, we would want to go out and give our all.

Going out to St Lucia we will be looking for a victory, we have a day/night match and we all know the wicket at St Lucia will seam around and we have the bowlers to go out and do the job,” he ended.

Devon Smith made a game-changing 95 in the Volcanoes 2nd innings

MONDAY, december 11, 2017

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

guyanatimesgy.com

CWI/Digicel Regional 4-Day Championships 2017-18…

It’s a tie – Shillingford the main architect with 9 for 83

Pg 23

Umpire Christopher Taylor raises the dreaded index finger to end the match in dramatic fashion as a famous tie (John Ramsingh photo)

World Cup bound

Pg 20

– Guyanese quintet optimistic of Under-19 title defence From left: Renaldo Alimohamed, Joshua Persaud, Ashmead Nedd, Bhaskar Yadram and Raymond Perez prior to departure from the Eugene F Correia International Airport on Sunday (Akeem Greene Photo)

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