Guyana Times International

INTERNATIONAL THE BEACON OF TRUTH

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You can also read Guyana Times daily edition online at www.guyanatimesgy.com ISSUE NO. 281

WEEK ENDING february 7, 2016

Sugar workers across Guyana strike ...in solidarity with Wales Estate workers See story on page 20

The Limacol girls were a major attraction in past CPLT20 tournaments

Five teens arrested for 2015 murder of Guyanese man in Lithonia, Georgia Page 3 over cellphone

Leevon Daniels

Ramotar blasts Kaieteur News for spreading Govt must cater for the poorer “fabrications” …“newspaper just trying Guyana among three countries bidding to host this year’s CPL final

Page 55

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class in Guyana - Jagdeo

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to remain relevant”

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Young man shot at Rose Hall ...battling for life at GPHC

By Kristen Macklingam

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young man who lives in the county of Berbice is now fighting for his life at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after being shot by one of four assailants last night (Wednesday).

Saitanya Kishundyal of Rosehall, Corentyne, was returning home from attending a religious ceremony when the incident took place.

This newspaper understands that the incident occurred when the 21-year-old entered his yard sometime around 22:00hrs. He was just about to close the gate when a lone gunman confronted him.

His father, Harrybol, told this newspaper that there were three other perpetrators positioned inside of the yard and they were trying to get his son to open the front door of their house.

However, Harrybol said his son began to scuffle with the gunman and was shot to his abdomen during the struggle.

The armed man then fled the scene as his three accomplices escaped in the dark.

Kishundyal’s parents rushed out

of their house when they heard the shot being fired but by the time they reached their son he was already bleeding profusely and the perpetrators were nowhere to be seen.

According to Harrybol, they own a furniture business and although the cameras installed have footage of the shooting they cannot assist in indentifying the assailants.

“One camera picked up the footage of it but it is not really clear. You cannot see a face or anything to help make out who shot him. It isn’t clear enough to help,” he lamented.

This newspaper was told that police ranks patrolling in the area at the time, arrived at the scene promptly and transported the injured young man to the Port Mourant Hospital for medical attention.

However, that hospital instantly referred the bleeding Kishundyal to the New Amsterdam Hospital and transported him via an ambulance there.

He was admitted briefly before being sent to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for further medical attention.

Investigations are on-going into the matter.

NEWS 3

Five teens arrested for 2015 murder of Guyanese man in Lithonia, Georgia over cellphone

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edia houses in Atlanta, Georgia are reporting that five teens have been arrested and police are searching for a sixth suspect in the shooting death of an aspiring filmmaker found last year along a road in Lithonia, Georgia.

The 27-year-old Guyanese man, Leevon Daniels, of Conyers, was found dead of a gunshot wound at Swift and Main streets on May 6, 2015.

According to Action News 2, Lithonia police announced Tuesday that they have arrested five teens and identified another teen in connection with the case. That sixth suspect is 16 years old.

Police claim the suspects approached Daniels near a sports bar and demanded his cellphone. Daniels then threw his phone at the group, and one person allegedly shot him, police said.

Roosevelt Smith, the chief of police, called the killing “senseless.”

He told Channel 2 a tip led Lithonia investigators to the teen suspects.

“We received additional information that led us into another direction,” Smith said. “And based on the field work, we were able to come up

Leevon Daniels

with the various names of the individuals.”

Daniels didn’t know the suspects, said Smith, who stood next to the victim’s family at a news conference.

“They took away a vital part of our family and we just hope they can take responsibility for what they’ve done,” said Crystal Morris, Daniels’ cousin.

(Excerpts taken from www.ajc.com)

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INTERNATIONAL To contact: Guyana Times International

New York Office 106-15 Sutphin Blvd, Jamaica NY 11435 Email: guyanatimesnyint@gmail.com Tel no: 718-658-6804 Fax no: 718-849-2286 Preferred method of contact via EMAIL Guyana Office Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana.

Tel no: (592) 227-0704, 227-0709.

Fax (592) 225-8696, 227-0685 Email: guyanatimesint@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

That US Presidential Sweepstakes

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ot unsurprisingly, the US is held up as a model for democracy and democratic practices here in Guyana. As the first colony in the Western Hemisphere to break free from the shackles of colonialism to chart a course for the improvement of the lives of its own citizens, she leads where we have to follow, in so many ways.

The US focus on political democracy had been trenchantly criticised during the last century for its supposed neglect of economic democracy, but the alternatives offered by the critics have not fared too well and have largely been abandoned.

Recently, the undoubted economic gains have been exposed as so concentrated in the hands of a few as to make Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette look like radical egalitarians. By 2011, one per cent of Americans possessed 40 per cent of their nation’s wealth and were accruing 95 per cent of the income stream since 2009. Interestingly, the latter development came after the economic collapse of 2008 under Barack Obama, a President, who was widely expected to initiate and implement policies friendlier to the poor.

These developments have precipitated questions about the US political order which permitted such deep levels of inequality, which go against the grain of everything the US republic was supposed to represent. President Obama, admitting that as an individual, there is only so much even the President can accomplish, raised questions as to whether there might need to be more far-reaching change of the political system. This possibility was brought out very starkly in the positions of several contenders for the presidential candidacy of both the Democratic and Republican parties.

These two major American parties have distinguished themselves generally with the Democrats being to the “left” of the Republicans around a central core of issues that gave a wide consensus to American politics up to now. For instance, according to Wiki, “The contemporary centre-left usually defines itself as promoting government regulation of business, commerce and industry; protection of fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion; and government intervention on behalf of racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities and the working class.” These would usually be positions of persons identifying with the Democratic Party. The Republicans would generally be “contemporary centre-right… promoting deregulation of banking, commerce, and industry.” In other words, more “pro-business”.

Against the background of increasing economic and social inequality which led to pressures from both the upper and lower strata, one candidate from the Democratic Party, Bernie Sanders has staked out a position even further left than his major rival Hillary Clinton, who is more in the traditional Democratic mainstream.

Defining himself as “socialist”, Sanders radically suggests he is even left of the “left wing” elements in the Democratic Party, who would have a broad commitment to egalitarianism and the ordinary workers. This is a rather anomalous position in American politics and most pundits initially dismissed his chances of success against Hillary Clinton.

Over in the Republican Party, non-politician billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump seized its conservative right wing agenda, including support of the status quo in the economic system and “family values”. But he tapped into conservative fears by making populist appeals against immigrants in general and Muslims in particular. Trump represents the concerns expressed by philosophers and political theorists against democracy as a mechanism to choose governments: using demagoguery rather than reason to polarise the society and raise fears so as to capture votes.

In the first caucuses of Iowa – where only the parties’ hard core participate – Bernie Sanders came out in a virtual dead heat with Hillary Clinton. His expected win in the upcoming New Hampshire primary – where regular Democratic members vote – should give him the momentum to give the Democratic establishment a shakeup.

Donald Trump lost to a more mainstream Republican Ted Cruz in Iowa by four points, so he is still in the race. Whatever are the eventual outcomes of the selection process, US politics has changed.

A member of the City Constab directing traffic in downtown Georgetown.

The St. George's Cathedral could be seen in the background

More talk on suicide?

By Ravi Dev,

use a mug shot

(What else is there to say on suicides? The following is excerpted from a 2012 piece.)

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ver the years, I’ve thought a lot about the phenomenon of suicide. It’s not I’m morbid. As an Indian Guyanese, I’m not sure how one can avoid such thoughts. With almost 200 suicides annually and more than three-quarters of them being Indians, there’s hardly a week you don’t get a call from some friend or acquaintance about someone they or you know who took their life.

Who hasn’t been touched?

It’s been so ever since I can remember. Friends from other communities would joke: “What’s the name of an Indian cocktail? Malathion!”

But interesting enough when I started looking into the epidemic back in 1997 when Swami Aksharananda and I organised a “Conference on Suicide in Guyana”, I found in the villages of the Bhojpuri belt from where most of us had migrated, suicide had been a rare occurrence. The figures of the 19th century showed that Uttar Pradesh had a rate of 6.3 per 100,000, while in the countries to which we had been exported to labour on the sugar plantations, the numbers had skyrocketed to at least ten times that number. From Fiji to South Africa to the Caribbean, the authorities compiled meticulous records, even as they took no measures to deal specifically with the problem. It was just another factor that convinced them Indian immigration had to continue – to fill the gaps so to speak.

We’ve been highlighting this fact since 1997 to emphasise that whenever the authorities design a suicide intervention programme, they’d have to ensure that the cultural responses of Indians to

the triggering mechanisms for suicide be taken into account. There has unfortunately been a studied refusal to take the hint. In 2011, noting that “multicultural societies require cultural sensitivity in all suicide prevention efforts”, the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) designated the theme for World Suicide Day as: “Preventing Suicide in Multicultural Societies.”

It was emphasised that: “Risk factors for suicide vary across cultural groups.

Knowledge about common risk factors in a society often stems from research in majority populations. However, in a multicultural context we need to be aware that some risk factors may play different roles in the suicidal process as well as in suicide prevention for some minority groups compared to the majority population…

“In addition, other factors that might have a different impact on minorities compared to the majority population are attitudes towards suicidal behaviour and suicidal people (eg taboo, stigma), religion and spirituality, and family dynamics (gender roles and responsibilities).”

It is therefore not surprising that as a result, as is the case in Guyana, “the strategy/ programme is often aimed at the majority population and a specific cultural perspective or focus is missing”.

One problem arising with the traditional approach in dealing with suicide has been its strong linkage with mental health services. It’s not that the latter are failing people, but that they are not always the right service in the first place. If you are deeply distressed and feeling suicidal, then visiting a place seen as dealing with ‘mad people’ would be the last place you’d want to go.

Very few persons who committed suicide sought out

available mental health workers.

The PPP Government made an attempt from 2007 to get ordinary individuals within communities trained in a ‘gatekeepers’ programme to be available to counsel individuals contemplating suicide. But the initiative appears to have been mothballed for reasons that are not clearly apparent.

The Minister of Health, Leslie Ramsammy had confessed that funding had always been a constraint, but we had hoped with the enormity of the problem, this would have been rectified.

In 2012, there was a report of a Peace Corps volunteer working with a local group in Black Bush Polder, the Mibicuri Community Developers. He surveyed the community’s specific conclusions as to why they’ve become the ‘suicide nest’ of Guyana. In descending significance, these were “the inability to cope, domestic-relational problems, parents disapproving of their children’s boyfriends or girlfriends, alcoholism as a pattern, impulsivity, insufficient money to live on or to repay loans, easy access to agricultural pesticides/poisons, poverty/limited opportunities, manipulation to get what they want from parents and Satan/the Devil tempting them to do it”.

These may be compared to some general factors identified by the IASP – for instance depression, unemployment, poverty, oppression, marginalisation, stigmatisation, or racism. We have to connect the specific and general triggering factors, but, more importantly, identify why the particular response is elicited.

Other groups probably face these same challenges, but their response is different.

An effective intervention programme has to answer this ‘why’ and offer alternatives to the “Indian Cocktail”.

NEWS 5

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Lindeners march against Pradoville 2 controversy: suicide, domestic violence Court case commences

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Students march against suicide, domestic violence on Wednesday

olding placards bearing slogans such as “Say no to suicide and yes to life” and “We are the future”, students, teachers, representatives of the Charles Rosa School of Nursing at Linden, representatives of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and others marched on in unison.

“I don’t know what you’ve been told, but suicide is not the cure,” those were the words echoed by hundreds of Lindeners, mainly schoolchildren, who marched through the streets of the town on Wednesday, against the scourge of suicide and domestic violence across the nation.

The march, which was organised

by Lester and Friends, as well as Youths For Change in collaboration with the Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) Department of Education saw schools in Linden being closed for the day to aid in participation.

Scores of Lindeners joined in

the cause, by wearing the theme colour of yellow to represent awareness. Despite constant drizzles, the procession moved off from the Bayroc Community Centre Ground at Wismar and continued across the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge to the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Ground, where a grand concert was held.

The concert was hosted by Linden “Jumbie” Jones and saw an appearance by Lisa Punch as a surprise artiste as well as performances from funny man Chow Pow. One of the organisers of the event, Lester Glenn, said the support was overwhelming and expressed gratitude to all those who pitched in, in making it a success.

He said the event succeeded in establishing its mandate, and hoped that it sent the message across the nation to put an end to the scourge of suicide and domestic violence.

he matter involving the controversial Pradoville 2 State lands was on Wednesday called before Chief Justice Yonnette CummingsEdwards at the High Court.

During the hearing, former Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall represented former President Bharrat Jagdeo, Clement Rohee, Lisa Ramotar, Dr Jennifer Westford, Dr Rajendra Singh, George Hallaq and Nada Hallaq, and submitted an application to raise certain preliminary legal objections.

The matter was adjourned to March 8 for reports so as to ensure that all persons affected by the proceedings were served with copies of the proceedings.

The legal proceedings have begun after a group identifying itself as the Committee for the Defence of the Constitution Inc, which is led by Desmond Trotman, moved to the Court by way of an originating notice of motion to repossess lands they claim have been fraudulently developed

Former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall

at Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara better known as Pradoville 2.

The originating motion accused the former Jagdeoled Administration of appropriating lands in 2010 through the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) without approval for personal purposes.

Speaking to Guyana Times International after the proceedings, Nandlall stated that it was necessary that these proceedings be situated in a context so as to understand their true nature and purpose.

“In my view, they

exemplify the authoritarian philosophy of this Government and they present another irrefutable piece of evidence that we are moving quickly into establishing an authoritarian state where private property is no longer safe and the constitutional rights of the citizens are subservient to this dominant philosophy of authoritarianism.

In these proceedings, one sees the properties of a former President, other top politicians and persons holding significant positions in both the Private and Public Sectors are at stake,” the Attorney stated.

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The cricketing world Failed promises by the APNU/AFC Govt may never see someone like Shiv again Dear Editor, Another of the stalwarts and great champions of the Test match era has called – rather was forced – to call time on his great career that spanned over two decades.

To true connoisseurs of real, attritional Test match cricket at its best, this is an irreparable loss, the end of a golden era.

Shall we see the likes of him ever again? No. They simply don’t make Test match champions of Shiv’s ilk these days!

Hearing news of the Tiger’s retirement brought a lump in the throat of this reader, and I’m sure, the same sinking feeling must have enveloped scores of Shiv’s fans halfway across the cricketing world, here in India.

The reality of Shiv’s departure from Test cricket is yet to sink in fully… that the champion from Guyana and the greater Caribbean has been denied a proper send-off befitting his immense stature, and that Shiv has walked into the cricketing sunset, never to be seen again wielding the willow on the international stage.

Words don’t come easily on such occasions.

Words fail us mere mortals who follow the nuances and intricacies of Test match cricket at its riveting best, when cricketing immortals like Shiv fade away into oblivion. Only memories remain of their profound achievements and immense contribution to the game.

Are we likely to see another such cricketing great again, who carried immense talent so easily on his slight shoulders, who upheld the highest moral principles of sportsmanship even whilst he played it aggressively, to the core of his cricketing fibre and soul? No. Cricket in this age is no more about ‘real’ Test match players who played the game passionately, for the sheer unadulterated bliss it brought them and to the cricketing audience at large. It’s become a hugely commercialised, abbreviated and diluted version of its golden past.

What were my lasting memories of Shiv, the lad from Unity Village, Guyana?

Those etched indelibly – seem so distant in memory, now that his retirement has put Test cricketing timeline in proper perspective – are the infinite battles he fought so valorously, many a time in the company of the sublime genius of the “Prince” of the Caribbean, nay, world cricket, Brian Lara.

Or with only the tail-

enders, or the late middleorder for company at the other end; while he faced, head-on, the full wrath of the unceasing pace barrage (or spiteful spin from champion spinners that made the ball spit like a cobra at the striker’s end), taking blows to his body, and none-too-rare racist jibes and sledging, with unparalleled resolve and clarity of mind, in circumstances that always seemed insurmountable for a team that was on terminal and rapid decline – and way well past its golden age – for the majority of his career.

No one particular innings can be singled out in this unending saga of his immense batting contribution against seemingly impossible odds to his team. All of them were gems in their own right, and together they make a garland of great, in-thetrenches’ Test match innings.

However, his 118 against old foe Australia at Kingston in 2008 stands out like a beacon for the sheer never-saydie spirit of the man, his immense courage to soldier on after being dealt a sickening blow to his head

by Brett Lee. And, who can forget his 104 – again versus Australia – at St John’s, Antigua, when he crafted a brilliant, backto-the-wall 104, and along with Ramnaresh Sarwan, won the day for his team.

Or, his 69-ball century at the Bourda Oval, Georgetown – against who else but the Aussies – was a rare, incandescent gem of an innings that was conjured up under very trying circumstances against a champion bowling side.

This innings of pure counter-attacking genius was a very rare insight onto the cricketing mind of a champion batsman who was more often seen through his career trying to salvage his team’s precarious batting position.

A courageous captain of a ship that was in eternal batting doldrums. And what a champion he was for the West Indian team for over two decades.

It’s very unlikely, nay, impossible, that we shall see the likes of him again on the world cricketing stage, for he was one of a rare breed of cricketers that they don’t make anymore.

Here’s wishing Shiv a long and happy life postretirement. You have given us fans enough cricketing memories to last a lifetime. So long, Shiv.

PVS Sudhakar Rao Hyderabad India

Dear Editor, It is not surprising that once again the APNU/AFC Government has failed to deliver on its promises as outlined in its 2015 Elections Manifesto. The coalition has eroded the confidence of its supporters to such an extent that they are crying foul and vowed never to be bamboozled again. The Manifesto spoke about a ‘phased reduction of VAT within the first 100 days. One of its Canadian financier, T Lilmohan, in a letter to Stabroek News, is claiming that it would be a ‘disaster’ to reduce the VAT rate.

Why did he not object to this before the General Elections? The answer is simple: hoodwink the people to get their votes! Today, rice farmers are faced with severe financial hardships, yet they have to pay VAT on the purchase of tractors, machineries and equipment.

They pay VAT on by-products of rice such as bran. The Rice Sector needs all the help they can get! NOW and not later!

The Manifesto has also failed to deliver on ‘significant increases’ for public servants. This promise was not seen as a breach of the Collective Bargaining Agreement at that time but now the Finance Minister is resolving that breach in a most ‘timely and opportune’ manner!

How convenient for the coalition! Next, the Manifesto promised a reduction of the Berbice Bridge toll which at the end of five years will be reduced to Gy$500. It has so far been reduced by Gy$300. However this year’s Budget has no reduction, so are we to assume that in the next three years, the toll will be reduced by Gy$1400?

Another failed promise!

Then there is the promise of ‘significant increase’ in Old Age pension! The old age pensioners were given an increase of Gy$3875 in 2015, but homeowners suffered a monthly loss of Gy$4166 or Gy$50,000 per annum. This year they were given a ‘princely’ increase of Gy$1200. A simple calculation will show that the to-

tal increase of Gy$5075 will amount to Gy$60,900 and when the Gy$50,000 is deducted then the yearly increase amounts to just Gy$10,900 or Gy$908 per month!

So the homeowners will have to live a ‘Good Life’ with an increase of Gy$908!

So this Government is by implication saying that it is a crime for an old age pensioner to own his home under the “Good Life’ Budget!

Another vulnerable group which lacks the ‘Good Life’ is those poor and destitute people who depend on Public Assistance hand-outs to scrape a mere existence.

This ‘group was given a paltry increase of Gy$800. This is most disgraceful! No wonder we have so many young mothers in the ‘sex worker’ profession and so many ragged children begging in the streets of our towns and City! If we take out just Gy$126 million from the Gy$300 million set aside for the ‘Independence Bash’, we can pay the old age pensioners Gy$20,000 per month and a Public Assistance of Gy$10,000 per month.

A Government is judged by the way it treats its vulnerable and poor citizens, especially the elderly, the disabled, and the poverty stricken.

In conclusion, a budget must be analysed according to how much benefit each spent dollar brings to the citizens and it is a rare phenomenon to see old age pensioners driving motor vehicles and travelling abroad (this is for the rich ones who already have the ‘Good Life’), you would mostly see them at the doorsteps of the various Post Offices, hungrily awaiting their pittances which would soon dissipate!

This Budget has failed miserably to deliver the ‘Good Life’ to its most vulnerable citizens. It is one thing to fail to deliver to the nation but it is an unforgiveable sin to fail to deliver to these impoverished citizens!

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

Think before taking your life Dear Editor, Have you ever felt that your life is in darkness and all you want is some light?

At some point you may feel worthless. The pain is too much, you cry every day and sometimes scream in the pillow to muffle the sound so you can’t be heard.

The agony, the torture, the pain all in your voice as you cried. You feel as if your world has crumbled. No one is there to comfort you and the person you had hopes on left you in sorrow.

Not everyone is brave to overcome their problems and depressions. Because every day a new thought may come to you and make you break down even more.

You’re stressed at home, at work, or at school. You had a long, hard day only to find out in the end, that you are being blamed for someone else’s mistake.

What makes us vulnerable is when we are scared to share our problems with others. We stop trusting, out feelings are sore, we can’t differentiate, we are just frustrated and confused. Our minds are set towards negative thoughts. When we can’t bear it anymore or keep it in any longer, we feel as if we can ease the pain from our misery by causing harm to ourselves.

Those harms will let us focus on that pain. But what you don’t know is that’s a new pain added to our turmoil.

It’s like you start all over again and this time, it’s even worse.

When you are depressed you don’t need to take matters in your own hands. You may not trust anyone, but don’t be afraid. Not everyone will hurt you. Find someone who you can confide in and is willing to help you.

Tell them about your problems. I’m sure they will advise you or maybe take you to counselling.

Taking your life won’t ease anything. It will make matters worse.

Think about your family. How will they feel? They will feel devastated. They will feel helpless. They will feel as if they were not good parents or siblings. They will feel responsible for your outcome.

But you know how I feel? I feel as if you were selfish.

You were selfish, because you think only about yourself.

When you have problems, stay, face them and be brave.

Talk about it. Listen to those who are in it. Question yourself. Ask yourself if what you are doing is the right thing?

Who am I hurting? What did I do wrong? How can I get help?

There are solutions for all our problems. We are not alone. Don’t say that you will never hurt yourself or take your life, always have faith in God (whatever you conceive Him to be). Pray and let him show you the way and make things easier for you.

You don’t need to be rich or poor. Depression can happen to anyone. Depression is when an individual suffers from anxiety problems, disillusions, loss of appetite, inertia, ceases communication, is emotional, always have an unwavering and bleak outlook, and feels all alone. More importantly depression leads to suicide.

Do not do it.

Yours truly, Arianna Khan

The issue of used tyres, cars

Dear Editor, The Budget 2016 calls for the banning of used tyres and old cars in Guyana. As a result some sections of the population are outraged. My solution: have importers take out insurance and extended warranties on these products. Moreover, insurance companies should offer insurance products to drivers based on whether they intend to use old tyres on their very old car. Such insurance would heighten premiums in order to protect policy owner against liabilities caused if products are found to be defective.

Another suggestion is a Bureau of Standards certification for a pre-set number of miles.

This information will be tagged onto the tyre’s history i.e. odometer reading at the time of installation and the drop dead date to replace. History will be used by insurance companies and the legal sys-

tem when the owner/operator of vehicle is sued for causing injuries to person or property.

Taxation and pricing has always been implemented to change behaviour. The same should go for consumer items with less than six months to expiration date. That goes for hair chemicals, recycled building materials, refurbished electronics including smartphones, and extended expiration date on pharmaceutical and medical devices subsequent to analysis of potency.

These insurances and warranties must be fully enforceable in the court of law. So for new or used tyres there is a solution to address demand and supply. I trust the insurance companies are ready to expand their product offerings. If not the government should get into the business as a re-insurer.

Sincerely, Keith Bernard

news 7

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Ban on used tyres: Proposal not Cocaine found in baggage well-thought-out – stakeholders hold of Dynamic International

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he decision by the Government to ban the importation of foreign-used tyres is leaving more questions than answers for vehicle owners and used tyre dealers alike.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan, during his 2016 Budget presentation Friday last, issued a notice of intent to ban the importation of used tyres and to reduce taxes on new tyres to encourage their use.

This ban, he said, will be put into effect “as soon as some procedural hurdles are cleared”.

The Government had said that the ban on the used tyres was a safety measure to reduce the number of accidents on the country’s roadways.

However, many are contesting this theory pointing to Police data.

The question that is now being asked: what exactly does the Government intend to do with the large number of used tyres on the market?

The Police have put speeding as the leading cause of death on the country’s roadways, followed by inattentiveness and drunk driving.

While there are known cases where lives were lost in accidents caused by a tyre ‘blowout’, these cases are extremely isolated.

As such, stakeholders are now questioning the Government’s rationale for arriving at the decision to ban used tyres in a country where affordability is a major factor for most vehicle owners.

New and used tyre dealers who spoke with this publication on the condition of anonymity said that while the plan to move in this direction seemed lustrous, there was no guarantee it would lead to a drastic reduction in road fa-

talities.

One dealer is even contending that the use of new tyres can lead to an increase in accidents.

“I feel that if people have new tyres on their cars, they will think you know my tyres are new, they are good so even if I speed, I won’t get a blowout or so; that, by itself, will lead to more speeding on the road,” the

to outline how it intended to monitor the quality of new tyres which would be imported and what systems were in place to deal with tyre life.

“They only say they banning used tyres, so how they plan on ensuring the new tyres are good quality? How they will know how long people must use the new tyres, because after a

dealer opined.

“Banning used tyres and moving to new tyres doesn’t mean that there will be no more accidents as a result of a blowout, because you have to understand that tyres are made in different grades.

So an importer can go and bring in ‘x’ brand of new tyre which is not of a high quality, while you as a car owner can buy four used, let’s say, Goodyear tyres and they are better than the new ones,” another dealer in both new and used tyres told the Guyana Times International.

Another dealer pointed out “sometimes if you go certain places to buy tyres, they would give you certain quality of new tyres depending on your budget and the country of use. So the new tyres can be of a poorer quality, while the used tyre can be one of the good brands and it will last longer.”

Dealers are now calling on the Government

time, the new tyres will be just like the used ones, so I want to know who will be monitoring the vehicles to ensure that the tyres are changed after a certain mileage or years,” a dealer said.

Warranty

Other questions raised include whether or not vehicle owners will be able to return a new tyre if for some reason or the other it is faulty, and what systems the Government intends to put in place to ensure the rights of consumers are protected.

“The move to new tyres might be a good thing, but, then again, you have to know that if I buy a tyre and it has a problem, can I return it to the dealer? Will they give a replacement or a refund? These are all things they need to let us know, because a new tyre is expensive and people money can’t go down the drain like that,” a driver told this publication.

Miner nabbed with 2kg of marijuana A

miner is expected to face the Courts soon to answer to the charge of having narcotics in his possession after being caught with two kilograms of marijuana in the vicinity of the Ekereku Airstrip, Region Seven.

According to reports, this discovery was made when police ranks conducted a search on the man. They found a quantity of seeds, leaves and stems in a haversack he was carrying at the time.

He was subsequently arrested and is currently

assisting with investigations.

This narcotics find comes on the heels of the police arresting three men during a road block exercise with over five kilograms of cannabis at Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice.

It was reported that

the police intercepted a vehicle when five kilograms, 390 grams of marijuana were found in several bags. The three men who were in the car were then taken into police custody and subsequently charged for possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

Airways after arriving at JFK

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package of cocaine was unearthed in the baggage hold of a Dynamic Airline Flight which left Guyana and arrived at the John F Kennedy (JFK) Airport, NY, on Tuesday evening.

craft upon its arrival in the US. This publication understands that the handler at JFK immediately alerted his supervisors of the find as well as the drug enforcement unit at the US airport.

The cocaine is said

al in the US. US authorities are said to be assisting CANU in its investigations.

It is important to note that of recent, CANU has been successful in intercepting cocaine as persons attempt

In light of this ranks of the Customs AntiNarcotic Unit (CANU) have begun a probe into the operations at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

Reports are the package with the illegal substance was placed into the baggage hold by a local handler and was discovered by a handling staff while clearing the luggage from the air-

to weigh just over two pounds.

Thus far, several handlers have already been questioned about the matter as investigations into the matter continue.

This newspaper also understands that drug enforcement officers are working on the theory that the cocaine has been placed into the holding area and was supposed to be collected by a particular individu-

to smuggle the lucrative commodity through the CJIA in Guyana.

Some cases have been recorded where the illegal substance passed security and ended up on the aircraft but was successfully intercepted at the JFK International Airport.

As a result of this CANU and the Police Narcotics Branch have beefed up their surveillance at the main port of entry.

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PPP members must face Rodney CoI report to be consequences for their handed over soon actions – Jagdeo

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pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has pronounced on the charges brought against his Member of Parliament (MP) and former Public Service Minister, Dr Jennifer Westford, stressing that members must face the consequences of their actions.

Westford and her then Personnel Officer, Margaret Cummings were on Monday placed on Gy$4.8 million bail each when they appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to face 24 charges of larceny by a public servant.

The charges stated that between August 23, 2011 and April 28, 2015, in Georgetown while being employed as public servants by the Government of Guyana, they stole Gy$639,420,000, monies that they received in virtue of their employment.

Police Prosecutor Bharrat Mangru told the Court that Westford acted in her capacity of Minister and signed a number of memorandums for the total sum of Gy$639,420,000 and sent them to the Permanent Secretary of the Public Service Ministry, who in turn approved them.

Questioned about this on Tuesday, the Opposition Leader maintained that Party members who break the law must face the consequences.

“As it unfolds, let me make it clear, people have to submit. Once it is not a witch hunt and there are real issues and the investigations are done professionally, then any member of the PPP who has to face the courts for any wrongdoing, they have to face the consequences,” he told Journalists at Freedom House.

Jagdeo said at some point in time, the former Minister would have to face officials from the Party to give an explanation, but for now, he did not wish to tamper with her defence or prejudice her case. “We have already asked that that be done.”

Further, Jagdeo said his Party was prepared to work with any organisation outside the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU), which he said has not been professional and neutral in its work.

“You have the head of SARU every week saying who should be locked up.

How could anyone have any confidence that SARU will be working impartially.

This is why we cannot cooperate with a SARU, but we will – if there are other

Former Public Service Minister, Dr Jennifer Westford

agencies under the State that are under our laws, designed and mandated to investigate any acts of illegality, then those agencies will see cooperation,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Court was told that the cheques issued by Westford were allegedly made out for the purpose of financing various activities of the Public Service Ministry across the 10 Administrative Regions; however, an investigation revealed that those events never took place, nor were there any documents to show how the money was spent.

The Prosecutor objected to bail on the grounds of the seriousness of the offence as well as the quantum. He further made reference to the former Minister’s status in society, stating that there was a high likelihood of witness tampering if she was released on bail and it was also unlikely that the duo would return to Court.

One of the defendants’ seven Attorneys objected to the Prosecutor’s statement, saying that his clients denied all of the allegations.

He said the Prosecutor was making his statements based on hearsay, and reprimanded him for instigating bias in the Court. He further stated that his clients were currently facing several charges in Court Five, and have been attending all of the sessions and have been fully cooperative with the investigators.

Based on the Attorney’s response, the Magistrate granted the defendants bail in the sum of Gy$200,000 for each charge.

From left to right: Trinidad Senior Counsel Seenath Jairam, Chairman Sir Richard Cheltenham and Jamaican Queens Counsel Jacqueline Samuels-Brown

By Alexis Rodney

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he premature termination of the public hearings of the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (CoI) is set to have a dire impact on the final report scheduled to be handed over next week.

This is according to Chairman of the Commission Sir Richard Cheltenham, who along with fellow commissioners Jamaican Queens Counsel Jacqueline SamuelsBrown and Trinidadbased Guyanese Senior Counsel Seenath Jairam, met with Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams Monday.

The trio have returned to Guyana to complete the final draft of the report, to be handed to President David Granger on February 8.

Speaking to reporters at the Supreme Court Library, where the 66 sittings of the investigation took place over a 17-month period, Cheltenham repeated what he had said back in July 2015.

“The premature termination…. will mean, as I said earlier, the report will not be as thorough and it means, too, that insofar as there were some individuals who were critically commented on in the course of the evidence who did not get a chance to answer, we will be very disinclined to make critical findings of fact in relation to those who were criticized but who did not get the opportunity to answer those criticisms.”

Such individuals include former Crime Chief Cecil “Skip” Roberts, Working People’s Alliance (WPA) leader Rupert Roopnaraine and former People’s National Congress (PNC) leader Robert Corbin, who was also issued with a Salmon letter to appear before the Commissioners.

The sentiments expressed by the Commission now were already articulated last year, when the new Government made a decision to bring an end to the hearing.

Government’s contention has been that too much money has already been pumped into the inquiry and that it was going nowhere.

The commission then, which also had included the legal representatives of various interests, was of the view that the abrupt end would have definitely robbed it of a comprehensive, thorough and fair outcome.

Cheltenham had said that while Commissions of Inquiry were “creatures of the executive”, the move by the David Granger Administration would not speak well for the fairness of the final report.

“The current Administration has determined that the Rodney CoI will have just two days of hearings. We feel obliged that while it is within the competence of

the executive arm of Government to terminate the public hearings of the Commission, that kind of action is not at all unknown following the change of Government, in our Westminster type of Government. It must be remembered that Commissions of Inquiry are creatures of the executive,” the Barbadian Queens Counsel read from a prepared statement.

The CoI, which was convened in February 2014 by former President Donald Ramotar, has had some 66 sittings with a total of 29 witnesses giving evidence; three of whom were still to be cross-examined.

The evidence of those witnesses – retired Major General Norman Mc Lean, former Police Constable Allan Gates and Holland Yearwood were said to be crucial to the investigation.

The chairman had said too that there were adverse evidence provided against many individuals who were alive, who have not been provided with an opportunity to come forward to confront that evidence and comment on it.

He said the decision of the executive to bring to an end the public hearings may well have implications for the thoroughness of the report as witnesses still to testify will not be heard and some of the terms of reference not adequately supported by testimonies so far will remain in that incomplete state.

Lawyer for Donald Rodney, Dr Rodney’s brother and the only witness, Keith Scotland said “history will be unkind to us”, as the commission was very close to the end of the hearing and the premature end would only have opened the new Government to criticism that it had “politicised” the CoI.

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Ministry to investigate GDF Women’s arm Citizenship claims of Cubans bribing immigration celebrates 49 years officers to gain entry into Guyana

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Guyana Defence Force officers celebrating the anniversary

omen of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) were urged to take advantage of training opportunities offered at various Government institutions by their Chief of Staff, Brigadier Mark Phillips.

Speaking at a thanksgiving service at the Army’s Base Camp Ayanganna to mark 49 years of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) on Wednesday, Brigadier Phillips praised the women for the work they have been doing over the years. He urged them to take advantage of what the GDF has to offer.

“We want more of our women soldiers to take advantage of the training opportunities offered by the Guyana Defence Force, that is to attend GTI (Government Technical Institute); GITC (Government Industrial Training Centre), to attend Carnegie School of Home Economics, the Cyril Potter College of Education and of course, the University of Guyana,” Phillips stated.

The Army Chief believes that the women soldiers are no less intelligent than the men; therefore, the GDF is working to reduce gender equality within its ranks.

“I remain confident that as a corps, you, our women officers and

soldiers, will embrace changes that are necessary for the transformation of the Guyana Defence Force.”

The WAC’s establishment came about following Venezuela’s seizure of Ankoko in the Cuyuni River in 1966. As a result, soldiers had to be deployed to secure the borders.

With a limited number of men, women had to be recruited.

Some 56 women were enlisted and commenced training, and on March 12, 1967, they were inducted into the GDF. The thanksgiving ceremony had a packed programme of activities that included prayers, dance, scripture reading and gospel singing.

Police destroy another marijuana field in Essequibo

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ess than a week after Police ranks found and destroyed a quantity of cannabis sativa on the Essequibo Coast, ranks again stumbled upon another field during another drug eradication operation.

According to Police Public Relations Officer Ivelaw Whittaker, ranks received a tip-off on Wednesday and returned to the Onderneeming Backdam, Essequibo Coast.

While there, they unearthed a field under cultivation with approximately 525 cannabis sativa (marijuana) plants. These plants had an average

height of seven centimetres. The ranks destroyed the entire field. No arrests were made, Whittaker added in the statement.

On Saturday last, ranks were conducting a drug eradication operation in the Onderneeming Backdam, during which they found and destroyed a two-acre field with cannabis plants under cultivation. The field contained some 4200 plants at an average height of 30 centimetres. An abandoned camp with 100 kilograms of dried marijuana was also found. Both the field and the camp were destroyed by the Police.

There have been no arrests thus far.

uyana Cuba Solidarity Movement (GCSM) President Haleem Khan is seeking answers from the Government as to why a number of Cubans are being denied entry into the country on arrival at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

Khan, in a letter to the editor, alleges that Cubans visiting Guyana are forced to pay bribes to immigration authorities at the CJIA before being allowed entry into the country.

According to Khan, on arrival, Cuban nationals are forced to pay between US$100 and US$250 or even more before permission is granted for them to be cleared through immigration.

He related that Cuban national Jessica Marrero travelled to Guyana via Copa Airlines CM0254 on January

Citizenship Minister, Winston Felix

6, 2015, on a courtesy visit.

He ensured the necessary arrangements were made for her to be picked up on arrival by a Cuban associate.

“I was informed by the Cuban associate US$200 had to be paid before Marrero’s entry approval could be granted. Enquires were made from a senior immigration officer who stated payment is not required. I then contacted the immigration officer in charge (name

withheld) stating I am responsible for Marrero’s visit. He asked me to wait for a while, without any explanation. Subsequent calls to him in relation to this matter were unsuccessful,” Khan stated. During a visit to the officer in charge, he was informed Marrero had already departed to Trinidad.

When contacted for a comment on the issue, Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix told this publication on Wednesday that “he isn’t aware” of these allegations being made, noting that an investigation would be conducted into the matter.

Felix explained that Cubans did not require a visa to visit Guyana; however, upon entry a return ticket must be produced and the nature of their visit must also be stated to immigration authorities.

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Govt sounds warning to Pouderoyen teen commits suicide delinquent taxpayers

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inance Minister Winston Jordan said Government will be seeking avenues to target delinquent taxpayers. He was at the time presenting Budget 2016 last Friday in the

He said Government will be encouraging GRA to intensify its efforts at undertaking evaluations of tax revenues by impact of exemptions, economic centres and economic sectors.

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan

National Assembly.

According to Jordan, it has been observed that the country’s tax structure is yielding uneven amounts of revenue; an issue that continues to place economic strain on the country’s financial system.

“The numbers suggest that there is a large population of delinquent taxpayers out there, prominent among whom are the self-employed and persons paying contributors’ tax. We are concerned about the failure of both categories to pay their fair share of taxes”, he noted.

“The reason is to enable better targeting of those taxpayers who are not in compliance with the tax laws and to understand the reasons for non-compliance, so that we could help them to do better”, he reasoned.

He said once the evaluations are completed, there should be a determination of the economic value of concessions to the country, align economic centres with geographic regions and gain a better understanding of which industries are not paying their fair share of taxes and why.

According to him, a

simple analysis of tax collections has shown that only three parts of the tax structure are contributing meaningfully to government revenues. They are: income tax, production and consumption taxes, and import duties.

“It is with the need to remedy this situation of revenue leakage that the GRA is being asked to undertake a sensitisation and awareness exercise in order to help taxpayers to fulfil their obligations”, he said.

He said Government is aware that to achieve its goals, it must have the revenues to spend.

“As an independent nation, we must first look to ourselves to find the money to develop our country. Admittedly, we were able to achieve the revenue targets that were set over the years.

We know from this experience that we have the ability to achieve realistic revenue targets using the tax structure and tax rates that we have currently.”

Only late last month, Chairman of the Governing board of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Rawle Lucas said that when communities fail to produce the revenues that reflect their observed level of economic activity, the GRA would have to use its enforcement authority.

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Dead: Kelvin Sukhram

West Demerara family was plunged into mourning after an 18-year-old took his life over the weekend. Dead is Kelvin Sukhram called “George” of Lot 82 Samaroo Dam, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara.

Guyana Times International understands that the young man consumed seven carbon tablets on Saturday evening and succumbed the following day while receiving medical attention at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH).

The young man’s mother, Susan, related that she was unsure what may have prompted her son to take such a drastic step. She said that she was not aware of any problems the young man might have had.

According to the woman, she was in Berbice and returned home on Saturday. When she came home, her daughters told her that the young man said he had something to tell her.

“They said that he get something to tell me and when he tell me is either two things – is either I put he out and he gon know what to do to his self. I said whatever he tell me, I will listen to what he gah say,” she stated.

The grieving woman noted that just before 22:00h, the young man came home and repeatedly called out to her, so she went to him and he began cry-

ing. The young man then hugged her and asked her to forgive him for all the wrong things he had done (drinking alcohol regularly, coming home late and drunk, and quarrelling with her).

The teenager then told his mother that he had drunk seven carbon tablets, but she did not believe him until he threw up and was rolling on the floor crying out in pain. The woman said that they gave him raw eggs to drink and he “brought up” the tablets, but three of them were already melted to tiny pieces.

She added that they then got a car and rushed him to the hospital, where she was told that there was a 50/50 chance of his survival. She further recalled that the following day, she went to the hospital in the morning and bathed her son and cleaned his bed.

She noted that the teenager was in a lot of pain and had lost his eyesight.

“I go hold he and he said “Mommy, me nah see” and open he eyes big and tell hold and I go and hug,” the woman recalled sobbing. She said that after the visiting hour was up, she left with a heavy heart and went home. While she was at home, a Police Officer showed up and told her to change as she had to go with him. By this time, she said her husband and son came in and their faces had changed.

“So I tell them to tell me if me son dead and I start cry out, but them nah say nothing, then me get a phone call and the person say he dead,” the bereaved mother stated.

According to the woman, she was told that her son might have had issues with an individual named “Chris” and that young man had called her home on Saturday night while her son had “taken in”.

She said that he said the two of them were drinking and had an argument, but he left Sukhram alone. The woman recalled too that “Chris” had even gone to the hospital and visited her son, but left without saying anything to him or her.

Harmonious communities, happy homes are important if Guyanese are to enjoy “the good life” – President Granger

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resident David Granger delivered a powerful message of embracing Guyana’s vast cultural and religious diversity at the official launch of the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week 2016 as Guyana joins the rest of the world in observing this initiative.

President Granger called for greater collaboration among all religious and civil society groups to foster social cohesion as he addressed a large gathering at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) in Liliendaal on Monday.

He charged those present to embrace Guyana’s rich cultural and religious diversity and use it as a tool to achieve greatness rather than as a means to promote division.

“Guyana is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious State.

Guyana is proud of its religious diversity. Our diversity is our strength, not a source of weakness,” President Granger said, adding that interfaith harmony is an obligation if Guyana is to advance social cohesiveness.

According to the Head of State, harmonious communities and happy homes are important if Guyanese are to en-

Guyana joins the world in observing World Interfaith Harmony Week

joy the good life. “We cannot be a happy people or enjoy a good life in the midst of discord, distrust; disharmony and social conflict… the causes of most conflicts are varied and seem interminable. Many, however, have arisen out of religious intolerance,” President Granger said.

While States have a duty to support and encourage interfaith harmony, the President said, the mere observance of World Interfaith Harmony

Week will not resolve these disputes, particularly since interfaith harmony cannot be legislated or enforced by the State.

Interfaith harmony “must arise from the volition of our religious and social leaders.

They must be convinced and inspired by the belief that interfaith harmony is both desirable and necessary,” he said.

Though religious freedoms are enshrined in the Constitution of Guyana, which

in itself lays the groundwork for greater religious harmony, the Administration has established the Social Cohesion Ministry to foster greater inclusiveness by all ethnic and religious groups.

President Granger asserted that people who do not have a full understanding of their own religion might be inclined to demonise other groups that they understand even less.

“Guyana is proud of its record of religious toler-

ance. Churches, temples and mosques, in many communities, stand side by side. There have never been religious riots in Guyana. Guyana has been spared the agonies of religious fratricide,” the President said.

Further, he said, as Guyana celebrates its 50th Independence anniversary this year, “it would be a gift to posterity for Guyanese to finally overcome the debilitating divisiveness under which this nation was born…”

During the opening ceremony, prayers and messages of peace and harmony were offered by representatives from the Hindu, Christian, Muslim and Baha’i faiths. Messages were also read by representatives from the main political parties.

World Interfaith Harmony Week was first proposed at the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2010 by His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan. It was unanimously adopted in October of that same year. It started as an initiative to bring together leaders of the Christian and Muslim faiths in dialogue, but was later expanded to include all faiths.

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Cocaine in underwear: Govt must cater for the poorer class National cyclist jailed in Guyana - Opposition Leader for three years

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former national cyclist on Tuesday appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to a drug possession charge.

K w a m e Cumberbatch, 26, of

Lot 54 Durban Street, Lodge, Georgetown, pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that between January 28 and 29, 2016, he had in his possession 194 grams of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones told the Court that on the day in question about 05:30h, the defendant was an outgoing passenger at the Ogle Airport on a Liat flight bound for Barbados.

The Prosecutor said that ranks from the Narcotics Branch were carrying out a routine search exercise and searched the defendant since he was acting suspiciously.

The ranks found hid-

den in the defendant’s underwear 46 pellets wrapped in a ziplock bag.

The defendant was told of the offence, cautioned and arrested. He later admitted ownership of the drug and told the ranks that he had also ingested a quantity

of pellets.

He was subsequently rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where on January 30, 2016, he excreted 16 pellets containing cocaine.

In a plea of mitigation, defence counsel Charlene Fung-A-Fat told the Court that her client was a national cyclist, who took an opportunity to try to help his family. She urged the Court to have leniency in sentencing her client, requesting the minimum penalty.

M a g i s t r a t e McLennan fined the defendant Gy$873,000, which is the street value of the drug, and sentenced him to three years in prison.

Partnership established to thwart spread of Zika virus in Guyana

UNICEF Representative to Guyana and Suriname, Marianne Flach

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ith the recent affirmation by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the Zika virus is now regarded as a public health emergency of international concern, Guyana has taken a step in intensifying its capability of preventing the virus from becoming rampant in Guyana.

This new strategic plan by the Public

Health Ministry, along with officials from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, saw them having consultations with regional and international stakeholders during a conference on Tuesday, during which collaborative efforts to tackle the virus were instigated. The stakeholders furthermore pledged to be in continuous support to Guyana in averting any further case of the virus.

Among the officials at the conference were UNICEF Representative to Guyana and Suriname Marianne Flach; Director General of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Audrey JardineWaddell; Deputy Head of Mission of the Brazilian Embassy Sabinie Popoff; and Programme Manager of the Health Sector Development at Caricom, Dr Rudolph continued on page 21

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pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has called on Government to humanise Budget 2016 by reversing and adjusting some of the measures outlined by Finance Minister Winston Jordan in favour of policies and programmes that will directly benefit the poor, as well as emerging small-scale Guyanese businesses.

As a result, he called for the extension of the ban on the importation of used vehicles from eight to 12 years; a move which he said would benefit the poor and working class.

Jagdeo was speaking with Journalists on Tuesday, where he discussed the impact of the 2016 National Budget, what it signals and means to the country.

The country’s financial plan was read in the National Assembly last Friday by the Finance Minister.

The Opposition Leader said these simple things are bound to affect the poor in society. He spoke of the consequences of the ban on vehicles older than eight years, noting that persons who purchase these types of vehicles are generally poor individuals and those in poor middle class.

“I spoke with some auto dealers who said that this decision will impact a large number of persons, particularly the poor people because most of the vehicles that come in the country now are over eight years old and there is a huge market on these vehicles”.

Based on what was told to him, Jagdeo said many of the persons are even unable to pay the purchase price for these vehicles and have to take them on terms.

“I am asking the Minister of Finance and President Granger to extend this eight-year ban to 12 years so that that group of people can continue to drive their vehicles and not have the additional burden of finding over a million dollars more for acquisition,” the Opposition Leader said.

According to him, some of these measures have been announced in keeping with the concept of a green economy and less

“If the Amerindians have a shotgun in the interior it is not used for pleasure. Many times it is used as a tool to live,” he said, continuing “I want to urge the Government to cut the more than 150 licence fees increase by half”.

He said in his entire familiarity with budgets, in terms of licence fees, this is probably the largest, not only in numbers but in percentage.

Salaries

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo

pollution. He said he has always managed to balance the country’s strong push for a green economy through the Low Carbon Development Strategy, with the need to improve people’s lifestyles and not make their lives more burdensome.

“In Guyana, the per capita emission is less than two tons and is not under any obligation to cut that. The [Intended Nationally Determined Contributions] INDC submitted by this Government has no target to cut the per capita emission. The US and other developed countries have per capita emission of over 20 tons”, he said, seeking to explain that these vehicles are no threat to the environment.

Jagdeo also urged Government to rethink its decision on the ban on used tyres.

“I can understand the need to get better tyres… I am in favour of withdrawing this ban on used tyres and instead strengthen the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to ensure that the quality of used tyres coming into the country is better”.

Other measures

Another issue the Opposition Leader highlighted was the increased prices placed on licences for firearms. He again urged Government to exempt Amerindians and the farmers in this regard.

Jagdeo also spoke of Government’s announcement that it will be increasing the salaries of public servants, but instead will be awaiting the collective bargaining with workers unions. However, Jagdeo related that the Discipline Services does not engage in collective bargaining and while Government is awaiting discussions with Unions before salary increases, the Discipline Services will not fall under that heading. He suggested that the Discipline Services be given their salary increases.

Tax compliance

Meanwhile, with the recent announcement by the Finance Minister that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) will be enforcing stringent measures to ensure tax compliance, Jagdeo said the GRA does not have the capacity to deal with these now.

During his budget presentation last Friday, Jordan announced that Government, through the GRA, will be taking every step to go after delinquent taxpayers, to ensure that they become compliant with the law. The stringent measures will be meted out to persons applying for firearm licences and licences to carry out trade and businesses. These persons, he said, will have to be up to date in their tax payments.

But Jagdeo said Government is implementing these new policies at a time when the financial organisation is marred by controversy, when there is no substantive Commissioner General or acting Commissioner General.

More than that, Jagdeo related that the organisation does not have the facilities to undertake the new policies at this time.

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Regions 1 and 9 to receive housing subsidies

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esidents of Region One (BarimaWaini) and Region Nine (Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo) can expect to receive subsidies from the Government for the construction of houses and the replacement of roofs as a part of a Budget 2016 measure to improve housing in the hinterland communities.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan made these disclosures to the National Assembly on Friday, as he presented the coalition Government’s second financial plan since its assumption to executive office.

The Finance Minister further disclosed that Government budgeted over Gy$644 million to expand the Hinterland Housing Project.

During the Budget presentation, the Finance Minister announced that Government would forge ahead with its programme of establishing cohesive communities in which serviced lots, social infrastructure and amenities including green spaces, parks and recreational facilities are provided to ensure an improved quality of life for all Guyanese.

The Finance Minister reminded that Government expended

some Gy$1.9 billion on infrastructural improvements in housing schemes in 2015, while 74 turnkey homes were built and over 4000 land titles were distributed.

“The high rate of possession of these turnkey homes and lots indicates

Amelia’s Ward,” he disclosed.

Additionally, Gy$4.2 billion has been earmarked to assist in developing the four communities which are to be upgraded to township status: Mabaruma, Bartica, Mahdia and Lethem.

Some of the turnkey homes

that new homeowners are eager to realise their dream of homeownership,” Jordan said, noting that Government would continue with the same zeal towards the housing sector in 2016.

“We will continue with infrastructure works in existing housing schemes, including the installation of electricity and provision for potable water. New housing developments will commence in areas such as Perseverance, Stewartville, Cummings Lodge, Prospect, Williamsburg and

According to the Finance Minister, these investments will realise the decentralisation of key Government systems into these communities as well as provide for the establishment and upgrading of critical infrastructure.

On that note, Jordan declared, “The Government stands steadfast in its pledge to make these imminent towns thriving economic centres.”

The Minister with responsibility for the housing sector is Valerie Patterson-Sharpe.

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Ramotar blasts Kaieteur News for spreading “fabrications” …“newspaper just trying to remain relevant”

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n response to a spate of articles in Kaieteur News since the PNC-led APNU/AFC Government took office, which laid numerous claims of corruption and other irregularities during his administration, former President Donald Ramotar said the Kaieteur News was desperate to retain some “relevance” in the new dispensation and had descended into “wild fabrications”.

Ramotar had recently demanded that Minister of Finance

Tony Yassin

Winston Jordan “bring evidence” to buttress his claims that the audits launched by his government indicated state-

Former President, Donald Ramotar

owned entities violated the law “with impunity”.

The former head of state pointed out the fact that Jordan had asked the Auditor General’s Office to recheck the audits, meant nothing substantial had been found up to now. In addition the Finance Minister, he said, was putting pressure on the AG’s office to go along with his premature conclusions.

In an interview with this newspaper, Ramotar said government officials like Finance Minister Jordan might be reacting to the daily onslaught by Kaieteur News demanding convictions and jail for individuals who the editor and propitiator of KN had fingered even before the elections.

“Take the case of NICIL” said Ramotar, “for years, the KN had been hounding its CEO Winston Brassington for alleged corrupt acts. But even after the audit by Goolsarran could provide no evidence of wrongdoing under the applicable laws, the Kaieteur News would not let up.”

Asked whether the tragic subsequent action by SOCU to place Brassington’s home under surveillance might have also ensued from Kaieteur News’ obsession, the former President said, “We cannot rule that out. As one who occupied the highest office in the land, on many occasions some in the government became rattled by the Kaieteur

News’ manic attacks.”

Concerning the call in the latest edition of Kaieteur News for the government to “correct broadcast legislation” the former President said, “This is typical of that newspaper, which appears not to understand how institutions work. It appears that the KN owner wanted a radio licence but believe it or not, as Bibi Shadick pointed out, he never applied for one. Just because the KN said it wanted something, it thinks government must

Kaieteur News Editor, Adam Harris

jump through hoops to have it done.”

Asked if he had any concluding statement,

Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall

Ramotar said: “That newspaper is fighting for some relevance. This goes back years. It is very sad that that newspaper has now resorted to wild fabrications, which have the potential to damage people who are working to develop our country.”

Over the years, the Kaieteur News unleashed and sustained a series of attacks on NICIL and its CEO, Brassington.

It has since been revealed that the attack by the local tabloid is over Brassington’s decision to take legal action against Royal Investments Inc (RII), part-owned by the newspaper’s publisher Glenn Lall and his close friend Tony Yassin af-

ter they failed to pay an outstanding balance of US$2 million for Guyana Stores Limited.

Since the government assumed office in May last, a forensic audit was launched into the operations of NICIL with the aim of unearthing corrupt practices with hopes of administering consequential penalties.

Upon the completion of the report, the Kaieteur News has been publishing a series of articles alleging corruption against the state-owned entity, using the report as reference.

But interestingly, the relevant authorities are yet to take criminal actions against those the Kaieteur News continue to implicate as corrupt.

18 NEWS

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Goolsarran rubbishes Kaieteur News’ claims on Sanata Complex

State Auditor, Anand Goolsarran

S

tate auditor Anand Goolsarran has rubbished the claims made by Kaieteur News on Sunday that the Queens Atlantic Investment Inc (QAII) had acquired Sanata Complex after the Government had spent US$5 million to clean it up.

Contacted for a comment on Monday, Goolsarran told Guyana Times International that the report was utterly false, adding “you need to find out from Kaieteur News where they got that from”.

The Glenn Lall-owned Kaieteur News on Sunday published a litany of libellous accusations under a front-page banner headline “Govt spent US$5M to rehab Sanata, then sold it to Ramroop for US$3.4M – Audit report reveals”.

In the body of the story, however, the Kaieteur News could not point to any statement in the National

Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) audit report by Goolsarran which even implied that the Government had paid any sum much less “US$5M to rehab Sanata”.

The report could not so state for the simple fact that it is a matter of public record that the cleanup of the Sanata Textiles Complex, inclusive of asbestos removal, was done during the lease and after the purchase when QAII took possession of the Complex and was totally funded by QAII.

The reporter did not adhere to even the scantiest standard of responsible journalism.

All the audit said about the Sanata purchase, which Kaieteur ironically published, was: “By Order No. 40/2010 dated November 29, 2010, NICIL sold 18.891 acres of land and buildings and erections at the Plantation Ruimveldt (Sanata Textiles) to Queens Atlantic Investments Inc. (QAII) for Gy$689 million (US$3.4M).

The note on NICIL’s publication reads: After being advertised for sale but

no proposals were received, in mid- 2007, a proposal was received from QAII for the development of the compound with a US$27 million investment plan.

The proposal was for a lease with an option to purchase. At the time of the proposal NICIL was facing continued vandalism and destruction to the property despite the presence of security. In 2007, following the requisite approvals, a lease was issued and in 2010 having satisfied all the conditions precedent to exercise the option to purchase, the property was

sold at the current market valuation of the property before the improvements were implemented.”

There is nothing in this statement that Kaieteur News could possibly point to, to make its libellous claim that Government had spent any sum to clean up Sanata Complex.

Asked for a comment, Dr Ranjisinghi “Bobby” Ramroop said, “I want to state categorically that after the lease the Government of Guyana did not spend a single cent on the cleanup or any other expense that

went into rehabilitating what was at that time buildings reverting back to a jungle. Glenn Lall has been peddling this misinformation and lie since 2008 when we launched the Guyana Times. At this time, I think he is struggling for relevance and should get some professional help.”

QAII believes that the report is nothing more than a vicious attack on private enterprise in Guyana in general and on the Ramroop group of companies in particular.

State of the Complex on acquisition - At the time of acquisition, the entire Complex was in a state of disrepair: fences had fallen apart; drains were blocked; roads were inaccessible; vegetation was overgrown; garbage was prevalent; equipment and installations were vandalised beyond repair; the buildings were infested with termites, contaminated with asbestos and in a dilapidated state; there was also flooding in some sections despite it being the dry season

NEWS 19

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

“Operational Plan” for revised Food supply, livestock threatened by drought conditions in Region 9 National Tourism Policy

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G

overnment’s N a t i o n a l Tourism Policy is still in its development stages and Finance Minister Winston Jordan’s Budget 2016 presentation to the National Assembly Friday briefly outlined Government’s intention to “develop an operational plan” in order to make the revised policy a realisation.

Some of the areas this policy will target include bird watching, eco-tourism destination (pristine tropical rainforest and flora and fauna); adventure tourism; wildlife watching, and hinterland communitybased tourism.

In 2015, Tourism Minister Cathy Hughes had stated that the policy would have sought to address a myriad of areas including legislation and regulations on tourism investment, incentives and concessions, marketing, product development, human resource development, infrastructure, aviation, and sustainability.

Sports fishing, sports tourism such as motor racing and cricket; yachting and cruise visits along with entertainment and cultural tour-

Tourism Minister, Cathy Hughes

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan

ism were all aspects which Minister Hughes highlighted would improve Guyana’s tourism sector.

In the Budget debate in August of last year, Opposition Member of Parliament Jillian Burton-Persaud had voiced criticisms of the current administration, stating that there was no “concretised and sustainable” vision for the development of the tourism industry.

In December of 2015, Minister Hughes, through the Government Information Agency (GINA) had disclosed that the development of the local tourism sector would be pursued in a “studied and structured

manner.”

To this end, she opined that Guyana must identify itself as South America and should emphasise the magnificence of the Amazon, the Essequibo, many creeks and our dark waters.

This “vision” was expected to be completed

by January of this year.

However, the policy is still being worked on.

Minister Jordan in his presentation noted that the policy and operational plan “will emphasise the role of tourism in providing jobs and economic growth throughout Guyana, but especially in the hinterlands.”

esidents of Region Nine, (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) are worried that a food shortage is imminent if the dry weather being experienced within the Region persists over the next several weeks.

Speaking with Guyana Times International on Monday, an official of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) stated that the dry weather was seriously threatening the lives of the domestic animals in the community along with the Region’s food supply.

The official stated that wells within the area were drying up as water sources continued to become depleted. Guyana Times International was told that many farmers have given up even trying to plant their crops given the absence of rain.

“Currently, we have food, but if the weather stays like this much longer, we fear for our food security. Definitely in the long run, there is no question that we will be facing a food shortage if the weather does not change.”

The RDC member stated that the drought was also threatening the health of the communities, as diseases transmitted by insects may become prevalent. Droughts can shrink bodies of wa-

ter and cause water to become stagnant, providing breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

She added that they were already experiencing several cases of sudden diarrhoea and vomiting.

In addition, the RDC

ways be on the safer side of things.

Several other hinterland communities in other Regions across Guyana are anticipating a decline in agricultural production with the possibility of food shortages if the dry spell persists.

Parched land

official shared that persons needed to be educated about the measures that must be taken in dealing with such situations. She noted that many fires lit had spread and could have ended disastrously if it was not for the quick thinking of others.

Residents are urged to desist from lighting fires in the savannahs as the dry winds act as an accelerant for the fires to spread. The official added that persons needed to be more cognisant of what was happening in their communities, to al-

This newspaper only recently reported that an estimated eight acres of rice at Crane, West Coast Demerara was lost as a result of the prevailing dry weather conditions.

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock stated in reports that the Ministry was working assiduously with the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to institute measures to offer support to Region Nine.

The Minister added, however, that additional efforts and equipment were needed to fight the effects of the drought.

20 NEWS

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Sugar workers across Guyana strike in solidarity with Wales Businessmen just making an investment Estate workers Payback for campaign financing!

in political parties – Govt

…Trotman sees nothing wrong with awarding AFC financier mega contract

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atural Resources M i n i s t e r R a p h a e l Trotman says there is nothing wrong if financiers of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition are awarded with mega-contracts since businessmen typically fund political parties as “their way of making an investment”.

Chairing the postCabinet press briefing on Wednesday, Trotman was at the time responding to burning concerns about AFC financier Lloyd Singh being given a multimillion-dollar contract to develop a wind farm to generate electricity at Hope Estate, East Coast Demerara.

Technically, Singh

is the principal in the Guyana Wind Farm Inc (GWFI), the company which is investing US$50 million into the development of the wind farm. Singh is also a close friend of Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan.

Concerns of “conflict of interests”, “unfair competition”, and “nepotism” have been mounting following the announcement by Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson in October 2015 that Cabinet had given the go-ahead for the project.

Notably, this announcement was made despite no public advertisement or tendering.

Addressing these concerns at the post-Cabinet briefing, Trotman said continued on page 21

V

ital factory maintenance work in the sugar factories across the country and other field works were severely affected, today (Thursday), as the overwhelming majority of sugar workers struck solidly in support of the Wales sugar workers and those aggrieved residents in on-going efforts to “stay the decision” to close the Estate.

Members of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) are engaged in solidarity action which highlights the fact that workers of both Unions will have their livelihoods threatened by the Wales Estate closure.

The solidarity strike proceeded during the day with picketing exercises at the various Estates Administrative offices with placards reading: “No to the closure of Wales Estate”, “Poverty, Destitution, Crime and more Unemployment for communities around

Sugar workers striking at Uitvlugt, on Thursday

Wales Estate”, “APNU and AFC are betraying sugar workers” among others. At Thursday’s picketing exercises, workers also drew attention to the outstanding wages and API matters for 2015.

GAWU, in a statement, said the intention by the Corporation and political authorities to shut down Wales has set in motion justifiable anxiety.

“Of the wider workforce who are increasingly asking: What next?

Who’s next? This unconscionable blow from the authorities has only fed the alienation within the industry and will, most likely, de-motivate this sector of our productive

workforce,” GAWU stated.

According to the union, some 2,500 workers and farmers would be directly affected by the Wales Estate closure. Additionally, it is distressing to contemplate the hardship that will befall the families of those who will join the jobless. “We can only begin to imagine the effects of the economic dislocation that will ensue and the repercussions it would have on the communities of the West Bank of Demerara, especially,” GAWU stated.

The intransigence, so far, displayed by the authorities is a cause for concern for workers not only in the sugar indus-

try but workers generally. When considered against the unjust treatment meted out to the sugar workers over the latter part of 2015, and ignoring essential practices of Trade Unionism, the situation is indeed troubling.

The GAWU and NAACIE urge the Government and GuySuCo not to go down the path of closure of the Wales Estate. “We are sure that is it not beyond available expertise to come up with proposals to save Wales and once more, ensure its viability. We subscribe to the belief that people and their well-being must be given priority attention,” the unions urged.

NEWS 21

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Annandale man stabbed to death Former Agri Minister proves rice is Govt’s business I nvestigations are being conducted into the murder of Ramkarran Mohanlall, 33 years, of Annandale South, East Coast Demerara, which occurred at about 23:05 hrs Wednesday night at Annandale.

Police said its investigations, so far, have revealed that Mohanlall was involved in an argument with another man “during which he was stabbed about his body”.

The Police said he was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

− says Parliament must be irrational to ignore major economic sector

By Devina Samaroo

Ramkarran Mohanlall

RHO for Region Five resigns

A

cting Regional Health Officer (RHO) for Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Mr Gavin Persaud, has tendered his resignation effective March 1, 2016 after serving in this post for the past two-and-ahalf years.

He told this newspaper on Thursday that while he has resigned as the RHO for Region Five, he has not resigned as a medical doctor and plans to serve the people of Guyana as such in the upcoming future.

Persaud said the decision to resign was “seriously thought about”, and due to some personal issues and “external”

Gavin Persaud

reasons, he felt that the best move would be to officially resign from the post of RHO. While Persaud did not expand on what the “external” reasons were

that prompted him to resign from his post as RHO for MahaicaBerbice, sources revealed that he was “under a lot of pressure recently” from higher officials in the Health Sector.

Persaud said that he dedicated his time, skills and energies for many years towards the public and while he does not regret this, it has cost him quality time with his family especially his young daughter.

As such, he intends on spending more time being present in the lives of his family members while continuing to assist in public health services as a medical doctor.

Businessmen just making an...

from page 20

he was not aware of the specific allegations, but generally, in any part of the world, Government officials would, naturally, have friends and affiliates in the Private Sector who may or may not have been awarded with a governmental contract.“There is no government in the world, especially where you have small societies like ours, where some accusation or the other will not be made…I am sure if you go to Trinidad and Tobago or stay right at home and look at the last Government where any friend of any person in any government wins any contract for anything, was it properly won, we don’t know, did that person make any contribution to any political party…but at the end of the day, the Private Sector in every country weighs its options when it comes to elections and most, as we know, support the major political parties,” Trotman stated.

He added that the Private Sector individuals donating monies to political parties was their way of making an investment.

“In a sense, they are saying that we are not going to get involved, but you’ve come to us for assistance so we’ll give both (political parties), some they give more to, some they give less to

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman

and in a sense, it is their way of making an investment and that is the way it is done throughout the world,” he pronounced.

Trotman said the underlying factor was whether or not the company awarded the contract would get the job done.

Referring specifically to the wind farm project, he said, “The important thing is, can it supply power through wind at Hope Beach to the national grid and bring the cost of electricity down and also provide a more reliable supply of electricity to the nation and if those answers are yes and if the contract is done in such a way that it passes public scrutiny, then what should we do?

Say no? I don’t think so.”

At the launch of one of the coalition parties’ headquarters in Kitty on Saturday, Ramjattan admitted to the gathering that the developer of the Hope Estate Wind

Farm Project with whom the new Government has quietly entered in to an agreement had in fact financed the acquisition of the multimillion-dollar AFC headquarters.

“I want to single out a personal friend of mine and from a long, long time since PPP/C days: Lloyd Singh. We were looking for a building and, of course, Lloyd indicated that “Khemraj, I know y’all got to get a building, I know of something”.

And of course, the advance payment on it… “Hey buddy, you don’t bother with that, we got to make this thing work”.

He upped the front-up monies and today we’ve gotten that building… thank you so much, Lloyd,” Ramjattan told the gathering, which included President David Granger, diplomats and several Government Ministers.

Notably, Government has already come under fire for its decision to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fedders Lloyd Construction Company for the construction of the Specialty Hospital.

Ramjattan is a close affiliate and legal adviser of the construction firm.

However, following the immense public backlash, Ramjattan has since claimed that he has no affiliation with the Company.

H

ouse Speaker Dr Barton Scotland’s rejection of an Opposition Motion on the rice industry has sparked wide-ranging debate on whether or not Government is responsible for the issue and former Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy weighed in on the discussion, contending that it is “utterly foolish” of Parliament to ignore a matter of such national concern.

The motion called for a discussion on Government’s support for the rice industry but the House Speaker disallowed the request on the grounds of a Standing Order which read: “Government is not officially concerned with the Rice Industry in Guyana.”

But the former Agriculture Minister was quick to prove the Speaker wrong and in a statement on Sunday, he highlighted at least four reasons why he believes the Speaker’s ruling was irrational.

Dr Ramsammy explained that Parliament is not just about what the government wants but rather, about protecting and promoting the welfare of all citizens. “…since when are rice farmers and their families not the business of the Parliament?” he posited.

He argued that rice is a pillar of the economy, creating jobs and livelihood for many along with earning foreign currency for the country, “since when the economy of Guyana is not the business of our Parliament?”

Former Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy

Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland

Dr Ramsammy reminded that rice is one of the most important export commodities, contributing to reducing the gap in export-import balance.

The former Minister stated simply that rice is Government’s business and that the Standing Order was misrepresented.

Notably, the Official Gazette dated June 6, 2015, shows that Agriculture Minister Noel Holder holds responsibilities for the rice industry and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB).

in the National Assembly.

Concerns were that he went against constitutional conventions and parliamentary norms in favour of the Government and in some cases went as far as attempting to muzzle the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Opposition.

In reviving the attention on the Speaker’s performance, Dr Ramsammy concluded that Dr Scotland’s decision on the rice motion is not impartial based on the Standing Order or on the Constitution of Guyana.

“It reflects APNU/ AFC’s policy. President David Granger and the Minister of Agriculture have explicitly stated that they consider rice as private sector and that Government does not see itself with a role in protecting and promoting the interests of the industry and of the rice farmers and their families. Rice farmers are collateral damage in APNU/AFC’s war to decimate the PPP,” Dr Ramsammy stated.

The former Minister continued to criticise the decision and in doing so labelled the Speaker’s position “callous, insensitive, stupid and discriminatory.”

Spotlight on the Speaker

Commenting on the ruling, Dr Ramsammy expressed that this is just another of the reckless decisions by the Speaker.

“The Speaker is an accomplished Guyanese, but his behaviour as Speaker exposes him as totally a creature of A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC). He does not even pretend impartiality as the Speaker,” Dr Ramsammy stated.

Dr Scotland was previously under the spotlight for his perceived political partisanship in his rulings

from page 11

Partnership established to thwart ...

Cummings, who were all determined to effectively work along with Guyana in executing preventative measures against the virus.

Speaking at the conference, Director of Vector Control Services, Horace Cox informed that new approaches will be undertaken including advanced surveillance at the ports of entry and public education materials being dispensed to persons departing the country.

Additionally, Cox reiterated the importance of persons adhering to advisories issued by the Public Health Ministry and other pertinent organisations.

Further, he reminded the public that wearing long-sleeved cloth-

Programme Manager of the Health Sector Development at Caricom, Dr Rudolph Cummings

ing, using recommended insect repellants, coils and candles and control-

ling the breeding spaces of mosquitoes can help in the prevention of the spread of the virus.

The Ministry has also been efficiently doing its part in controlling the situation by carrying out fogging campaigns in the various regions; distributing treated nets to pregnant women and doing house to house activities to impart knowledge of the virus to the public.

So far, Guyana has only recorded one case of the virus even though the country was listed as one where the virus is a pandemic. However, the victim is said to be recovering in her home and samples sent to Trinidad this week will hopefully prove that she is clear of the virus.

22 NEWS

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Captured! ‘Wanted man’ 4,000 acres of State lands “Brukup” in custody for to open up in Region 9 Bank of Baroda robbery for agri development

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rime Chief, vaded the Bank located tive investigation by poWendell Blanhum on the ground floor of the lice, they were able to has this after- Mon Repos Mall at about arrest one suspect who noon confirmed that 12:50h, and relieved the furnished them with in‘Wanted man’ Shawn female security guard of formation that led to the arrest of two others, inHarris, called “Shawny” her .32 service revolver. or “Brukup” is currently The men then held cluding a tint workshop in police custody where he is being grilled by law enforcement authorities in connection with the robbery of the Bank of Baroda (Mon Repos Branch).

This publication understands that Shawn Harris, called “Shawny” or “Brukup” of Lot 40 Bougainvillea Shawn Harris called "Brukup" Timothy Asher Morrison Park, East Bank Demerara is expected to be charged soon. two female tellers at gun- owner.

Meanwhile, the poIn addition, the suspect is point and relieved them being questioned in con- of an undisclosed amount lice had issued wanted bulletin for Harris and nection with other crimes of cash. including, murders.

After committing the Timothy Asher Morrison.

Thus far, Sean robbery, the four men es- With Harris in custody, Anthony Aaron, 34, of caped in a waiting Toyota police are on the lookout Lot 317 North East La Primo car bearing licence for Morrison and as such, Penitence, Georgetown; plate PNN 8984 that was anyone with information that may lead to the arKennard Jabar, 28, of said to be false.

Lot 88 Freeman Street, Upon receiving the rest of the wanted man East La Penitence, and report, the Police swift- are asked to contact the Eon Campbell, 39, were ly erected road blocks at police on 229-2289, 229strategic locations but 2557, 229-2700 to 3, 226charged for the robbery.

According to infor- the car was not seen. 9941, 225-6411, 911 or mation, four bandits in- However, due to effec- the nearest Police station.

G

overnment has announced that it intends to push agriculture development in the hinterland and is hoping to open up 4,000 acres of state land in Region Nine.

According to a GINA statement, the venture is experimental, and will

This was revealed during the presentation of the 2016 National Budget

by Finance Minister, Winston Jordan.

In other developments for the hinterland, over $598M has been allocated to enhance diversified agriculture in the intermediate and

facilities in Hosororo, Ebini and Bina Hill among others are proposed. This will promote sustainable food production systems that can help maintain the ecosystem and strengthen the capacity for adaptation to climate change, drought, flooding and

be used for sustainable harvesting of surface water for agriculture in the Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo region.

The land will be used for raising small ruminants and cattle, and for rice and vegetable cultivation. Aquaculture is expected to be done as well.

Rupununi savannahs.

Riverine areas are also slated to benefit.

According to Jordan, diversification is being pursued as it is expected to make the agricultural sector more resilient to economic shocks.

“Several training, research and extension

other disasters,” the minister disclosed.

In total, $20.3B has been allocated to the agricultural sector to create an economic environment in which farming and agro-processing operations can grow the economy and create employment.

NEWS 23

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Govt says Stabroek/Ram’s New gun licence fees too claim on contract workers false “exorbitant” – Rohee … inaccurate and misleading – Harmon

By Devina Samaroo

T

T

he A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC) governing coalition has refuted reports of a massive increase in the number of contract employees within the public system as claimed by a Feb 3 Stabroek News report, based on an analysis of the 2016 Budget conducted by the accounting firm of Ram and McRae. The firm is headed by Christopher Ram, who conducted a large number of audits on several government departments last year.

In its review of this year’s Budget – Budget Focus 2016 – Ram and McRae Chartered Accounting firm highlighted that the coalition Government had almost doubled the number of contract employees over the past months.

This revelation comes in light of the fact that the coalition, while in Opposition, had heavily criticised the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration for undermining public servants with massive use of contract workers.

According to the accounting firm, while some government agencies and ministries

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon

under the previous Administration.

The firm outlined that this practice was unhealthy for the country’s democracy and it also placed a strain on Article 38 G of the Constitution, which requires the public service to be free from political influence.

“This is not a problem peculiar to the present Administration.

The abuse started under the Jagdeo Presidency and continued under the Ramotar Administration.

This makes a mockery of the idea of the Public Service Commission and approved appointments,

Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman

have sought to reduce the number of contract workers, there are some that are yet to do so and had even gone so far as to increase the numbers.

One such agency, the firm stated, is the Ministry of the Presidency where the number of contract employees increased from 298 to 505 increasing the wages and salaries bill from Gy$142 million to some Gy$798 million.

Ram and McRae pointed out that it expected a significant reduction in the number of contract employees given the revelation of “ghost” employees

the hallmarks of good human resource management in the public service… We sincerely believe that President (David) Granger has the authority to end this abuse. We look to him to act on the matter,” the firm stated.

However, at the post-Cabinet briefing on Wednesday, Natural Resources Minister and Government spokesperson, Raphael Trotman explained that Government had not mass hired contract workers, particularly at the Ministry of the Presidency.

He said the num-

ber was high because at the time the Budget was being prepared there were several Ministries and State agencies under the Ministry of the Presidency, some of which have since branched out independently.

He went on to say that when the APNU/ AFC Administration took office in May 2015, there was a total of 375 staff at the Office of the President, but this figure was since reduced to 325 as of January 2016.

“Depending on how you look at statistics, you will always have a different view,” the Minister stated.

Meanwhile, in a press statement, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon sought to clarify the “misleading” and “inaccurate” facts. He stated that the Ministry of the Presidency comprised the Office of the President, the Ministry of Social Cohesion and the Ministry of Citizenship, and still included the Public Service Department, along with accompanying departments such as the General Register Office, Immigration, E-Governance, the National Community Development Council and also the Ministry of Natural Resources, which only recently branched off.

He noted that as of January 2016, the Public Service Department, previously the Public Service Ministry, had a total of 50 staff; the Department of Natural Resources, 58; the Ministry of Citizenship, 141 and E-Governance, 69.

Nevertheless, Harmon pointed out that President David Granger had made his plans clear on the reform of the public service in Guyana, noting that that commitment remained.

he proposed hike in gun licences’ fees can have a devastating impact on the economy, not only by robbing citizens of much-needed disposable income, but also by creating a new avenue for underground trading of weapons.

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Clement Rohee made those remarks at a news conference on Monday at the Party’s Freedom House Headquarters, Robb Street, Georgetown.

Rohee was trenchant in his criticism of Government’s move to increase the fees to acquire firearm licences, noting that it was a “lazy” approach to boost revenue collection.

Rohee explained that firearm ownership was critical to the livelihood of a lot of people and now many were going to bear the burden of the steep prices.

He noted that there were generally three categories of people who were usually given priority for gun licences:

Amerindians, farmers and businessmen.

He said Amerindians would need shotguns for hunting and to protect their villages and families from animal attacks; farmers would also need shotguns to ward off wild animals and also to pro-

on Friday, indicated that he saw no issue with the increases.

“Gun licences, I don’t have a problem with gun licences increases; it’s the other increases,” he said.

The National Budget 2016 proposes to amend

tect against praedial larceny and businessmen would need firearms as a means of protection since they were often targeted by criminal elements.

“Not only were they given priority… in terms of fees, for years under the PPP, those fees were never increased…,” Rohee posited.

Notably, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, during a snap press conference following the presentation of the Budget

a raft of legislation to increase the fees paid to obtain various licences, including the Firearms Act to increase the annual fee for firearm licences.

The fee for a shotgun licence is to be raised from Gy$2000 to Gy$5000; for a handgun licence from Gy$5000 to Gy$25,000; for a rifle licence from Gy$5000 to Gy$40,000 and for a dealer’s licence from Gy$75,000 to Gy$150,000.

24 news

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Region 10 Children’s Ambassadors implementing Student Development Programme Costume Competition: Calypso and dramatic poetry set the stage

T

he six Guyanese students who travelled to the United States (US) in August 2015, as participants of the US Embassy’s Youth Ambassador Programme, Caribbean 2015 have recently been implementing their Student Development Programme, and are using the opportunity to raise suicide awareness among students through drama and interaction.

Participant Ashraf Dabie explained that the Guyanese Youth Ambassadors as well as participants from five other Caribbean territories including The Bahamas, The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago participated in a three week cultural exchange in the United States.

This programme, he related, focused on leadership and civic engagement in which students received both theory and practical. Upon completion, the Youth Ambassadors returned to their countries with the responsibility of implementing a project as recompense for the gen-

The Youth Ambassadors and their mentors who are currently implementing the Student Development Programme

erously sponsored opportunity.

“As such, team Guyana designed a project aimed at developing the students of secondary schools outside the capital city, Georgetown, in an attempt to reduce the inequality and lack of participation as well as performance that plague the junior secondary schools in Guyana.

The Student Development Programme is a four-dimensional approach that includes getting better facilities through advocacy, generating extra-curricular activities, giving career guidance and inherently growing student mentor-

ship and involvement in the targeted schools,” he explained.

The project was launched in October 2015 and the first phase which encompasses research, workshops, practical sessions and feedback is expected to be completed by August.

The project is currently being implemented at two schools, the Hope Secondary and the West Demerara simultaneously as they are both junior secondary with evidence of potential.

The Youth Ambassadors expressed that it is their belief their project can assist in the holistic development of

these and that the Project will yield positive result such as an improvement in performances.

The students are also using the opportunity to spread suicide prevention awareness among the students of these schools as a means of tackling the growing issue.

He explained that initially, the project was focused on improving student participation and advocacy, however, as the need arose they increased their focus on suicide prevention by teaching the students ways to tackle depression as well as the other factors of suicide.

President outlines development hindrances

P

resident David Granger called on citizens to redouble efforts to build strong homes, churches and schools in an effort to tackle what he described as the “four horsemen” that are hindering the country’s development and corroding the social fabric of society.

He was at the time addressing the Guyana District of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and Americas at the closing rally of its 2016 Conference held at the National Cultural Centre.

“Together we must work to achieve the national unity we dreamt of 50 years ago. We must enhance the social cohesion we hoped would have been the dividend of Independence; recommit ourselves to building this beautiful country,” the President said.

The Head of State also spoke elaborately on the “four horsemen” obstructing nation building: crime, disease, ignorance, and poverty.

On the issue of crime, the President underlined that strong institutions (homes, schools, and churches) are critical to nurturing the young generation, particularly through the difficult adolescent years and encourage them to stay on the right path.

The Head of State noted that it is also important to address the causes of crime.

The second issue the President believes is hindering Guyana’s development is the proliferation of diseases such as dengue, malaria, gastroenteritis and more recently, Chikungunya and Zika: “We are called to ensure a clean-

President David Granger addressing the Guyana District of the Methodist Church closing rally

er and greener environment, a more sanitary and healthy environment so that we can bring up our children in a healthy country and overcome that horseman of epidemic diseases.”

Ignorance, the President noted, is another factor that must be addressed in order for the country to move forward. He said it is the greatest threat to the country’s development and explained that too many children are failing exams even at the primary level, not being qualified to enter secondary schools, while those who enter are ill-equipped to complete.

“Every year over 4000 Guyanese children drop out of primary and secondary schools.

Many of them are semi-illiterate or completely illiterate. We cannot build a country, we cannot build a new society, we cannot go into another 50 years of Guyanese Independence with a

population which is dropping out of school at this rate,” President Granger stressed.

The President’s drive to ensure that every child, without exception, attends school has given birth to the now overwhelmingly successful ‘Three Bs’ programme, which has already touched the lives of children across the country.

With regard to the issue of poverty, the President said it is the root of inequality which affects a large part of the population; preventing them from getting an education and overcoming diseases and seducing young people into a life of crime.

“Poor people have very few choices… the Government cannot solve these problems alone.

The message I bring today to you is to appeal to the Methodist Church to work with other nongovernmental organisations, other religious organisations to overcome these four horsemen of the apocalypse,” he said.

Meanwhile, the annual conference saw a series of activities over the past week including a health fair in Georgetown.

It brought together members of Berbice, Essequibo, Mahaica, West Demerara, Georgetown chapters of the Methodist Church in Guyana.

Another high point of the conference was the appointment of Bishop Glenna Spencer as the organisation’s new District President.

The conference was held under the theme, “Vision 2300+ Moving Forward, Empowered by the Holy Spirit”.

T

A student performs in the Calypso segment

he annual Children’s C o s t u m e Competition is off to an exciting start in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/ Berbice), with the hosting of the Calypso and Dramatic Poetry segment on Friday.

The stage was set at the Lichas Hall, Mackenzie, as the event, hosted by the Region’s Department of Education got into full gear. It saw participation from all levels of the school system in full view of a welcoming audience. Held under the theme for Mashramani observances this year, ‘Celebration of Diversity, Unity and Sovereignty’, the skilful participants showcased no difference in their display.

In her opening remarks, Primary Deputy Education Officer (DEO), Shivon Greene-Brewster said the event creates the ideal platform for students at the various levels, with an opportunity for the display of various talents.

Stealing the show in the Nursery Dramatic poetry segment was the Half Mile Primary School, with a performance by Chrisanta Branche, entitled ‘Oil in Guyana’.

Meanwhile, Pine Street Nursery’s Akeela Beckles placed 2nd with ‘Guyanese Craze’, followed by Renacia Jones of Blueberry Hill Nursery who came in 3rd with her performance titled ‘Guyana for we’.

In the 5-7 years dramatic poetry category One Mile Primary came out victorious, followed by the Watooka Day Primary in 2nd place.

The calypso segment was also won by the One Mile Primary, as Stephanna Perry put on a thrilling performance with ‘Try your best’. Second Place was copped by Watooka Day Primary’s Nathaniel Pellew with ‘Na badda mi’.

Then it was down to the 8-10 years poetry category which saw the Watooka Day Primary emerging as victor.

Marquise Benjamin’s performance of ‘Is wa going on?’ earned the first place spot. Coomacka Primary came in second with ‘Guyana my country’, performed by Roshanna Torres.

Meanwhile, the Calypso segment was won by the One Mile Primary, with Merissa Neptune’s performance of ‘Celebration Time’.

Second place position was copped by the Wismar Hill Primary as Anna McAlmont performed ‘Better days’.

The 11-13 years dramatic poetry segment saw victory by the One Mile Primary with a performance by Curtdac Nestor entitled ‘Suicidal’.

Second place position was won by Amelia’s Ward Primary’s Andrea Fraser’s ‘A message da youth’.

The Calypso segment saw the New Silvercity Secondary emerging victorious with a performance by crowd favourite Akaila Handy entitled ‘Look around.’ Harmony Secondary came in second place with Tyrese Johnson’s performance of ‘Eating competition’.

In the 14-17 years dramatic poetry segment New Silvercity Secondary’s Shellon Marshall’s performance of ‘Where is your plan?’ came in first, followed by the Christiansburg Wismar Secondary School’s rendition of ‘Suicide made my mama cry’ performed by Ashley Sands.

The Calypso segment saw New Silvercity Secondary on top once again with Shisara James’s performance of ‘A mother’. That was followed by the Mackenzie High School in second place with Stephan Alexander’s performance of ‘Bring back d old time method’.

The Region’s Junior and Senior poetry and calypso competitions will continue at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground on February 4.

It will be hosted with the dance, physical and costume displays and masquerade.

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First Lady to represent Guyana at UN meeting in NY passion and also a vision of how she would like to see the relationship not only between women and girls, [but] women and men, and girls and boys. I think it’s a perspective that we need to assist the First Lady in promoting and as we go towards the UN high-level meeting in New York. I think Guyana will be well represented by the First

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First Lady Sandra Granger is flanked by Dr Martin Oudiit, UNAIDS Country Director (left); Dr Edward Greene, UN Secretary General Special Envoy for HIV in the Caribbean and Dereck Springer, Director of PANCAP Coordinating Unit (right) following their meeting on Tuesday

irst Lady Sandra Granger on Tuesday met with a UNAIDS team to discuss ways of engaging Heads of Governments on reducing inequalities, which affect women, girls and adolescents, to inform Guyana’s agenda for the upcoming high-level United Nations meeting on HIV/AIDS in New York.

The team, which was led by Dr Edward Greene, UN Secretary

General Special Envoy for HIV in the Caribbean; Dr Martin Oudiit, UNAIDS Country Director; and Dereck Springer, Director PANCAP Coordinating Unit, met with Mrs Granger at the Office of the First Lady. The UN high-level meeting is scheduled for June 8-10.

Dr Greene, according to a Ministry of the Presidency statement, said that discussions with the First Lady cen-

tred on gender equality and identifying ways to engage other Heads of Governments on issues related to combating adolescent and teenage pregnancies and violence against women.

“Our agenda was really looking at how we can contribute towards the reduction of the inequalities which affect, especially women and girls in Guyana. The First Lady is going to be champion. I think she has the knowledge and

Lady,” Dr Greene said.

The upcoming meeting seeks to chart a course for the HIV/ AIDS response beyond 2015, towards achieving the objective of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The high-level meeting will comprise plenary meetings and five thematic panel discussions, which will include opportunities for civil society par-

ticipation. The opening plenary meeting will feature statements by the President of the UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary General, the Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS), a person openly living with HIV and an eminent person actively engaged in the response to HIV/ AIDS.

28 news

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Guyanese will be blocked from Creation of Gender obtaining licences if not tax Affairs Bureau underway compliant – Finance Minister

By Shemuel Fanfair

– return of “Burnhamite” approach – Jagdeo

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ll Guyanese citizens must be tax compliant before they can access simple services offered by the Government, including receiving their driver licences or licences to conduct any form of trade and business.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan announced during his Budget 2016 presentation an amendment to the Tax Act to ensure that prior to the issuance of all licences for public use, the applicant must be compliant with obligations to file annual returns and paid, or has made arrangements to pay all taxes due and payable.

This simply means that every single person seeking to acquire a licence to conduct any business must go through a strenuous process to prove to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) that they are tax compliant. Or, if someone is not tax compliant due to financial difficulties, they will be barred from obtaining any licence to conduct business.

Contentions about this new measure are high, with many arguing that this method of increasing revenue

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

collection will only put thousands of Guyanese in the poverty bracket.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo dubbed the measure “an old Burnhamite approach”, used to control people and their access to services and growth in income.

“This is a big brother kind of approach once again. The GRA will now have a primary part in all of our lives once again,” he said.

Jagdeo expounded on the situation, noting that in the older days when this measure was implemented, if one wanted to travel or utilise any service from the Government,

they needed a tax compliance certificate.

“Every single one of you in this country from now on, if you want to have any dealing with the Government, you have to first of all go into the GRA and get a tax compliance certificate and satisfy them that you have paid all your taxes,” he said, noting that the process was torturous.

He added too that it will be challenging for persons residing in rural areas and hinterland regions.

“They will now have to travel long distances to come to Georgetown to get this certificate before they get any service,” he stated.

T

he merger of the Men’s Affairs Bureau (MAB) and Women’s Affairs Bureau (WAB) is said to be underway. Current Administrator of MAB Diego Alphonso related to this publication that staff and expertise of the two units will operate under a singular head, while achieving their relevant objectives.

In December of last year, Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence posited that this unit would begin operations in early 2016. Alphonso revealed that creation of the unit is still a work in progress.

“The paper work and the process still in the making,” Alphonso stated. He related that sometime this year will see the unit commencing its operations. Concern was raised about the needs of either gender being subsumed under the formation of a joint unit.

Head of the Women and Gender Equality Commission Indra Chandarpal while welcoming the merger, cautioned that the issues of men and women must be dealt with equally.

“I don’t see a problem; initially the idea of a Gender Affairs division entailed that you have two desks, one for male and one for female, we have other jurisdictions

Diego Alphonso

where it operates in that way,” Chandarpal said, adding: “What we need to ensure however is that men’s issues are also taken on board because the problems we face in society is not only female so with the one division you can have two desks… each desk, I am sure will continue to do the things they have been doing.”

The gender equality advocate also stated her disagreement with the organisation having a singular director.

“I don’t subscribe to the idea of one director… you need to have separate heads. I think that they should have two different directors because it’s best that way; in terms of the WAB you have a separate person and the MAB you have a separate person.”

Chandarpal opined that one director shouldn’t be

tasked with the implementation of policies for both genders.

“That person would really have to be gender conscious to understand that you can’t take sides.

We all understand the issues affecting each other but I think it would be more suitable if you can have two different persons rather than one,” she remarked.

In responding to these concerns, the MAB head explained that while there would be one head, the two components will still remain. “The work of the Women’s Affairs and the work of the Men’s Affairs will continue simultaneously – so there would be the male component and the female component,” Alphonso said.

Minister Lawrence had stated that this merger is in keeping with world trends – a view which Chandarpal opined had worked in previous times and is appropriate in a Guyana context.

“It had worked in the past, I don’t see why it can’t continue to happen now, when it was set up, they had done good work,” She posited. Chandarpal further opined that counsellors and workers need to be balanced in their thinking in order to properly assess situations by using an objective approach.

Guyanese pensioners demand more to enjoy promised ‘good life’

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nraged pensioners across the political divide in Guyana are up in arms over the provisions available for them in the National Budget 2016 and are bracing themselves for another stormy year.

Their general contention is that a collective 38.7 per cent increase in old age pension cannot be equated with the benefits that were offered through the provision of electricity and water subsidies.

Prior to the presentation of the National Budget 2015, pensioners across Guyana received relief from Government through the water and electricity subsidies, coupled with a monthly pension of Gy$13,125.

In 2014, some Gy$300 million was budgeted for the electricity subsidy programme, where over 8000 pensioners benefited, with other pensioners receiving some Gy$20,000 annually.

Figures released by the then Human Services and Social Security Ministry – now the Social Protection Ministry – detailed that those benefiting include pensioners from Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) and Seven (CuyuniMazaruni).

In Region Two, a total of 1022 persons benefited; in Region Three there were 1104 beneficiaries; Region Four had 3421; Region Five had 780; Region Six had 1681; and Region Seven had 120 beneficiaries those numbers grew

Expressions

Bridget Allen

gradually in previous years.

With regards to the water subsidy, customers of Georgetown were granted Gy$11,880 yearly and customers outside of Georgetown are granted Gy$8976 yearly.

Therefore, a significant portion of the elderly population received approximately Gy$15,700 monthly (pension and subsidies combined).

In essence consequently, pensioners across Guyana only received an increase of Gy$2500 since the new Government assumed office and many have asserted that this additional benefit will not prevail in an economy where commodity prices are rising.

Pensions have been increased to Gy$18,200.

“Salaries don’t increase and pensions don’t increase but everything else does increase. So I don’t know how we supposed to live on money people used to live in five years ago. If milk prices and food prices gone up and we getting pensions we got five years ago; then does that make sense,” expressed Carlton Lopez of Campbelville, Georgetown.

Another pensioner stated, “I don’t really know what increase it is because for me it’s the same thing. Because look, the subsidies we used to receive gone and basically the fancy increase they want say they give we is basically from the subsidy that they take away.

So is the same suffering.”

Arnold Hopkinson of Friendship, East Bank Demerara (EBD) in a disappointed tone said he had expected better from the coalition Government since they had promised to do better than their predecessor.

“All of them are the same, so you just can’t bother with a word they say.

I’ve been around long time, all politicians are the same. They only know about the troubles of the people when they are out of power but when they are in power, they get amnesia, they forget everything they advocated for.

But I expected better from them, but it just goes to prove that they are all the same,” he reiterated.

“Fifty per cent increase they give themselves and this is all they give we?

It’s a disgrace…,” another senior citizen commented under the condition of

Desiree Deyounge

anonymity.

Desiree Deyounge of West Bank Demerara (WDB) noted also that the money is insufficient and that Government should reinstate the water and electricity subsidies.

Bridget Allen, another pensioner, expressed that the pension offered is still inadequate to meet all of her expenses which include food supplies and medical bills.

The A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) over the years have lambasted the former administration for distributing meagre pensions to the senior citizens of the country and had vowed to significantly improve the amount offered.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Four pilots earn their ultimate wings

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ilot ‘wings’, or badges, are a symbol of the hard work, training and dedication required to earn a pilot's license. Aviation wings are issued to pilots who have achieved a certain level of proficiency or training.

Recently, four pilots at Roraima Airways were awarded their ‘wings’ after enduring rigorous training, which included night flying to remote areas in Guyana to save lives. After receiving their wings, they now take up the position as Command Pilots.

In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, Captain Gerry Gouveia Snr, co-founder of Roraima Airways and veteran pilot, said receiving such an award is not a “right” but a “privilege”.

He urged the Command Pilots to be “truthful to self and to the authorities, to be responsible, safe and, most of all, respect their licenses.”

Gouveia also stated that the next step is for the pilots to build their experience.

The Command Pilots

moved to the Academy of Aviation, Farmingdale, NY. At Farmingdale, Prashad secured his private pilot license, instrument rating license and commercial pilot single engine license. He received his instrument ground instructor certification through the FAA in 2010. He has racked up more than 1,200 hours of flight time.

Prashad has worked both in Guyana and the USA. He joined the Roraima flight squad in March 2013 and achieved the rank of Captain in September 2015.

Colin Martin was born Aug. 14, 1977, and grew up in Georgetown. After completing high school at age 17, he joined the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to complete his Officer Cadet training in 1995.

Appointments he held included Platoon Commander, Operations Officer and Company Commander.

He resigned from the GDF as a Major in 2012, after 17 years of dedicated service.

Capt. Martin chose

From left are Command Pilots Terrence Trapnell, Ryan Prashad, Colin Martin, Gerry Gouveia Jnr with Captains Debbie and Gerry Gouveia Snr

Roraima was on May 2014 to Piarco, Trinidad.

Capt. Martin has more than 600 flights, since he was employed, under his belt. He brings a wealth of experience as a senior staff member at Roraima.

One of the highlights of Martin’s job is medical evacuations (medivac).

He is trained specifically

Col Larry London pins a wing on Gerry Gouveia Jnr while his parents look on

are the most recent group at Roraima Airways to receive their pilot badges at the Wings Commission Ceremony at Duke Lodge.

Command Pilots’ profiles

Born Feb. 2, 1985, Ryan Prashad grew up in Georgetown and attended Queen’s College from 1996-2002, after which he attended the Art Williams and Henry Wendt School of Aeronautics.

After graduation, he went on to further his aviation studies overseas at Vaughn College of Aeronautics in Flushing, NY; there he pursued studies for one year then

to do his pilot training at Dean International Flight School, Miami, Florida, where he pursued his private pilot’s license course in November 2011; and Commercial FAA pilot license training (airline single and multi-engine land instrument rated) from March 2012 to April 2012.

In May 2012, his international license was converted into a Guyana pilot’s license after returning to his homeland.

His first flight with Roraima was to Bartica as a co-pilot in June 2012. On December 2013, he began and completed Islander training by Capt. Gouveia Snr. His first command flight with

in night medivac. He is a prodigy of the late Capt.

Alvin Clarke.

As a senior officer, Martin is said to be “an asset” to the flight team at Roraima.

A pilot’s journey

Captain Gerry Gouveia Jnr. is the eldest son of Captain Debbie Gouveia and Gerry Gouveia Snr. He was born in Quebec, Canada, Feb. 5, 1987.

He attended and graduated from the AQ University of Toronto with a BA in political science. He served in the Canadian Armed Forces in Infantry as a commissioned officer as well as

the Air Force as a pilot for a total of eight years.

Gerry Jnr. is the holder of a Canadian and Guyanese commercial pilot license and is a certified Emergency Management Coordinator, as recognised by the Province of Ontario.

Currently, he is a Director of Roraima Airways with specific responsibility for the day-today operations at the Ogle Airport.

The Command Pilot is an ardent martial arts enthusiast. He also enjoys giving back to children, especially to those of the Santa Mission School, of which Roraima is the Patron. He is actively engaged in the medivac night operations of Roraima, having been under the tutelage of Capt.

Clark and also his father, Capt. Gerry Snr. In an interview with this publication, Gerry Jnr. credits his family for his success. He said that he grew up with two “extraordinary pilots as parents” who have allowed him “to witness firsthand the heroism and bravery that we are all capable of.”

“I count myself lucky to have amazing role models throughout my life. My parents and my brother have always supported me in my decisions and guided me throughout my life,” he declared.

Gerry also pointed out that he invested time, energy, and a lot of sacrifice to become a pilot. He added that becoming a pilot is a “long and challenging process” and is just the “first step on the journey”.

“Every time I jump into the cockpit I know I am challenging fate and that I accept the responsibility for people's lives. It is a responsibility I do not take for granted. It is why hours of study and preparation on the ground will

match every hour flown in the sky. As pilots, our mistakes cost lives, so we dedicate our professional lives to ensuring we don’t make any,” he noted.

Regarding receiving his wings, Gerry said that it is “a symbol of professionalism, trust, and honour. It is a privilege that is earned through years of dedication”. He also stated that it is a tribute to all the pilots before him and he will “strive to make them proud”.

The Command Pilot pointed out that it is always his “priority to refine his craft and continuing to strive for high levels of safety and proficiency”.

“My advice to youths is to find your passion. I think the trick in life is finding your hobby and finding a way for it to earn a living. I count myself lucky to have a career where I love waking up in the morning and even when I work long hours I feel extremely satisfied and fulfilled. Get your foot in the door. Apply to the companies that do what you are passionate about. Get into the industry and learn your craft.

And lastly make a plan.

Research what education you will need, seek advice from people in the industry, and make a plan then stick to it,” Gerry encouraged.

A love of flying

Captain Terrence Trapnell was raised in upstate New York in a farming and manufacturing community. In high school, he studied aviation at a technical institute and worked part time in a machine shop. He started as a professional flight instructor at age 18 and earned a 100 per cent pass rate by students at their private, instrument and commercial checkrides.

Before coming to Guyana to volunteer as field director for a humanitarian aviation organisation, Trapnell completed training at Flight Safety International, flew a turboprop in the North East Corridor, and worked a year on a cattle ranch in Australia.

In Guyana, he has organised more than 15 surgical missions and numerous medical outreach teams, including a women’s cancer screening programme, while operating an air-ambulance programme based in the Rupununi district.

He has also conducted initial test landings at ten new airstrips in remote villages of Guyana, while consulting on many more. Additionally, Capt.

Trapnell helped organise the local board, and established Remote Area Medical Guyana Inc, a Guyanese non-profit organisation.

He joined the Roraima flight team in November 2015.

The Command Pilot has been awarded by the National Aeronautics Association for outstanding achievement to public benefit flying. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot license and is a certified flight instructor for instrument and multi-engine airplanes.

In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, Trapnell credits his success to “a love and a passion” for his work.

“Flight training is expensive, and building experience at entry level jobs is often not glamorous. For me it has always been about the process and getting there, much more than the product or end result. Receiving my wings is a milestone that marks a time to look forward to the next challenge,” he expressed.

He explained that “every opportunity and challenge is a chance to learn, build relationships, and develop new skills.”

His next step, after receiving his wings, is to “maintain a high level of professionalism” while he also plans to “learn and work hard to improve, while making time to give back as well.

“To youths I would say make sure you have a passion for aviation starting out, work hard, keep learning, and enjoy every part of the journey.

Prepare as well for the day when you might not pass your medical. There always needs to be a backup plan in case a sudden medical condition, or other outside influence, keeps you out of the cockpit,” he advised.

30 feature

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

The Shaping of Guyanese Literature

Calendars and their literature

By Petamber Persaud

Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of.

Charles Richards Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event. Oscar Wilde

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New Year greeting is one made, communicated or exchanged on meeting someone or addressing a group of people for the first time in a new year – whenever that time falls according to whichever calendar you subscribe.

And there are as many types of calendars as there are ways and languages in which a new year greeting can be expressed. Even in the English speaking world a New Year greeting is sometimes communicated in a non-English language especially if you know the particular phrase for the New Year greeting of the person or group you are addressing.

Come February, New

The National Trust of Guyana’s 2016 calendar commemorating the country’s 50th Independence anniversary

Year’s greetings will still be exchanged between and among peoples of all walks of life, of different religious, secular and social persuasions.

For sure, in February month, the Chinese will be celebrating their New Year and many English language users will be saying ‘xi nian haoguo nian haoxin nian kuai

le,especially to their Chinese acquaintances.

Come March 20, the followers of the Baha’i faithin Guyana will be celebrating their version of a new year.

Come April, Hindus will be celebrating their version of a new year with Holi/Phagwah/ Spring Festival.

Come October, the

Muslins will be celebrating their version of a new year according to the Islamic calendar.

So many calendars.

The basis function of the calendar is to organize units of time in order to meet the needs of a particularschool of thought, be it religious or secular.

This function can be found in calendars since ancient time to modern day:from Egyptian and Sumerian to Babylonian to Zoroastrian calendar to the Hebrew to Hellenic to Hindu to Roman to Badi to Julian and Gregorian.

The Gregorian calendar is a universal calendar now used in the western world for secular purposes and even various world religious festivals are superimposed on this calendar.

Each year, there is significant interest in the calendar to be used in Guyana for the current year, especially calendars printed in Guyana for use in Guyana.

Many of the organizations responsible for such productions take great pride in what is presented to the public.

Of course it is a way of advertising/publicizing the entities, but we cannot deny them that.

All the calendars for local use have some special meaning for everyone. For instance, as the country enacts nationalholidays for Christians, Hindus, Muslims and national/secular holidays like Republic Day andIndependence Day, calendars depicting these events carry interesting literature on many of these occasions.

National calendar showing religious holidays

From the 2016 calendars in my possession, I can get a tour of Guyana, see monuments and sites, gloat at the golden fruits of the earth from the extractive industry, see happy faces of winners, become a tourist to the best locations around the world etc.

All displaying good photography but little written content admitting they were all lazy calendars. Some calendars go the full length (of the year) to ensure there is adequate literature accompanying the photographs, adding or increasing one’s knowledge and pleasure of own those.

One year, there was a local calendar with Guyanese folklore.

Another year there was one with fascinating sto-

ries…all adding something to the literature of this country and the world. I consider the literature on calendars to be an important aspect such an industry.

So calendars will ensure there is a reason to continue exchanging New Year greetings all year round. However those greetings will reverberate from time to time in a more demure, subdued manner – or with much gusto.

Happy New Year.

Responses to this author telephone (592) 2260065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com What’s Happening “An Introduction to Guyanese Literature”

by Petamber Persaud; available at Austin’s Bookstore and from the National Library.

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

feature 31

Discovering the joys of cooking leads Cindy Bahadur down the road of food blogging

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Cindy Bahadur

ood blogger Cindy Yanasha Bahadur’s mission is to help professionals, via her blog, to “make quick, delicious, impressive homemade meals while still keeping up with crazy schedules, and saving hard-earned cash.”

TheUS-based Guyanese provides recipes ranging from traditional Guyanese meals to taking them up a notch by incorporating recipes from other cultures.

Cindy was born and raised in Georgetown, but later migrated to New Jersey, USA. On her blog, www.yanashaskitchen.com, the food enthusiast said she

she started her food blog, which offers a variety of simple, yet delicious recipes that are affordable to make.

“Growing up in a strict Guyanese household, myself and my two sisters had to learn to make roti when we were about 12 years old! We would be responsible for helping cut vegetables, season chicken, maybe turn the dhal ever so often and strain rice. But I didn't really start cooking until I was completing my MBA and working full-time at a marketing company.

My mom and grandma would send food for me each week, knowing I had too much on my plate and

Her favourite recipe is cook-up rice with lamb

was raised by Guyanese parents who ensured that she and her siblings always had a home-cooked meal on the table. She added that she has been an “American for over 25 years, and naturally developed a love for doit-yourself projects and homemade everything”.

She explained that while growing up, her parents always stressed the importance of being educated. “Climbing the corporate ladder isn't just an incredible accomplishment in our house; it's a must!” Cindy stated on her blog.

Knowing how demanding being a career person is, Cindy, who has her Masters and currently works as a senior client partner, noted that trying to whip up a home cooked meal, most of the time, is difficult. That is why

barely had time to cook.

I appreciated their food, but, when I had down time, I found myself trying to re-create my favourite dishes to distract myself from the stress of school and work.

“Once I realised that my food was actually edible, I felt really accomplished. Then, I started experimenting with different flavours and tried making different types of meals: low-cost meals, low-fat meals, easymeals, fast-meals and so on. I was nervous to have anyone try my food at first, so my parents, grandparents, siblings, and boyfriend were my first testers. They were really impressed by my food, which got me really excited about cooking!”

Cindy recalled in an interview with Sunday Times Magazine.

Her newfound passion for cooking gave birth to her blog in November 2014.

Cindy said the feeling of accomplishment when she can create a delicious meal by being inventive is what inspires her. She believes cooking is a form of art. Although she does not think of herself as a creative person, when she cooks she feels “fulfilled”.

“It’s like different parts of my brain start opening up and all of a sudden I'm in a zone where I'm happy and focused, while taking risks and being adventurous at the same time. If I don't cook for a few days, I feel like something is missing. It's a love for food and a love for being able to successfully create my own food that inspires me,” she expressed.

Some of Cindy’s recipes were given to her by family members or she might draw inspiration from tasting someone else’s meals, but most of the time she is reinventing recipes by incorporating different cultures of food into her Guyanese recipes.

Her favourite recipe is cook-up rice with lamb, which she explained on her blog: “Cook-up rice is an amazing Guyanese dish… and one of my favorite dishes ever! I've deviated slightly from the traditional way of making it, simply to save some time and get it in my belly faster - but I've included a disclaimer of how to make it the traditional way if you have more time…”

“I have considered a

career in the food industry, but I was recently employed so I want to see where this role will take me. However, if I can get my blog booming, I may

want to turn to a culinary career, since that is really where my passion is. I never want it to become something that feels like work though, that might

make me end up less passionate about it,” she revealed.

For some culinary inspiration, visit www.yanashaskitchen.com

32 feature

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Addressing the needs of the vulnerable in society

G

uided by its motto, “Creating better tomorrows, by changing lives today”, the Bags of Hope organisation has been working with the people of Guyana by providing aid in the form of clothing and food, as well as training to community leaders throughout Guyana.

The organisation was founded by David and Diana Rambarran, both born and raised in Guyana, who now reside in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, David said Bags of Hope started out of a need to give back to local communities and individuals in Guyana who are adversely affected by the lack of resources, skills and training to build a brighter future.

“We are particularly concerned about the new and disturbing trend of suicide among Guyana's young people. More recently, we have turned our focus on Guyana's youths.

This issue of self-esteem, peer pressure, and lack of adequate coping mechanisms

ligious leaders, equipping them with the necessary resources so that they can address people’s needs in their local area.

“Every summer, we conduct a ‘Mission Experience’ camp in Orealla/Siparuta along the Corentyne River.

There, campers are divided up into teams and participate in various team- building activities all week long.

Although the activities are fun (whether it's building a raft or making a meal), they are designed to teach skills that empower and encourage teamwork.

Campers also participate in daily workshops where counselling takes

said, is based on what Mother Teresa once said: “At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by, ‘I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in’. Hungry not only for bread - but hungry for love. Naked not only for clothing - but naked of human dignity and respect. Homeless not only for want of a home of bricks - but homeless because of rejection.”

Currently, Bags of Hope is in the process

er flat will consist of a kitchen, recreation/ games room, training room, computer room and a dining room. The building is in its first phase of construction.

“My wife Diana and I, having been brought up in the church, were taught the values and virtues of giving to others as children. There is no greater joy that we can have than to see lives transformed! We are forever grateful for the opportunity to give back to a country that has given so much to us. Our lives are truly fulfilled!” David declared.

David would like to thank several individuals and organisations in

Diana and David Rambarran

among our youths are quite alarming.

It seems as if suicides/attempted suicides and youth alcoholism have reached epidemic levels in Guyana, affecting both adults and youths.

We believe that our youths are the future.

This issue needs to be addressed now!” David pleaded.

According to David, over the past five years, Bags of Hope has been

working with youths across the Berbice area.

His goal is to endow youths with the necessary tools to cope with peer pressure, low selfesteem, and other factors that could lead to alcoholism and suicide.

Over the past 15 years, Bags of Hope has worked with communities across Berbice and Demerara to provide training and resources for community and re-

Team building exercises

place and coping mechanisms are taught,” David outlined.

The next Mission Experience camp for 2016 is slated for July 23-30 in Siparuta, Berbice.

The humanitarianpointed out that the most successful empowerment techniques are taught when campers are required to give something tangible to others - taking the focus off of them and doing something for someone else. This, he

of building an “enrichment” centre in Orealla.

This enrichment centre will provide a place where counselling, education, skills training and safe recreation can be held to bring hope to the people of Orealla.

The building is a two-storey concrete building that will house a training centre, dormitory, and recreation centre. The upper flat will consist of dorms and living quarters for a caretaker, and a conference room. The low-

Guyana that have supported Bags Of Hope: Status International Hotel, Pure Diamonds (Mr. Sergio Matos), Vidor Panday, Arjune John, and Pearl Christie (Little Rock Suites), along with other individuals and church organisations that have also contributed to the mission of Bags Of Hope.

Check out Bags of Hope on Facebook for more information, or email information@ bagsofhope.org

Counseling and group discussion in Orealla

art & culture 33

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Compton Babb Jr. enjoys drawing, and is an enthusiastic community leader

Artist Compton Babb

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visionary artist known for his lifelike portrait drawings, Compton Babb Jr. infuses “emotions and life” in his artwork.

Born in Georgetown on Oct. 25, 1981, Compton is the elder son of a sign artist, Compton Desmond Babb Sr., and his wife, Yvonne Jennifer Babb. Compton Sr., who is described as a “hardworking man”, raised his sons in a disciplined household. It was from this humble beginning that Compton Jr. learned lessons of punctuality and determination.

In the late 90s, Compton studied at Burrowes School of Art. Excelling in his entrance exam, Compton was granted exemption to the requirements and early admission to the institution.

Though he was a relatively average student, Compton displayed a remarkable talent for drawing at a very young age. It was at Burrowes that he realised his love for the arts.

By the time he was 16 years old, his portrait drawings and skill level had surpassed his father’s. It was his dream to advance in the arts and allow his raw talent to mature. His decision to pursue art, one he never regretted, allowed

him to develop into a highly skilled and seasoned artist.

“My drawings aren’t just pencil on paper, but emotions and life,” Compton said in an interview with Sunday Times Magazine.

Throughout his years, Compton has created a variety of art pieces for Guyana’s Venezuelan ambassador, the Ambassador of the United Nations, and

the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

Compton was also invited to display his work at the Burrowes School of Art 30th anniversary in 2005; at Carifesta IX in Trinidad in 2006; Carifesta X in Guyana in 2008, and recently shared the winning award for the 50th Independence Day logo (2015).

“I have extensive knowledge and experi-

ence of all forms of art, including portraits (my specialty) and fabric designs. Having held positions at Facts n’ Roses, Designing Company, Giftland Office Max (Graphic Artist and Marketing Manager) and presently at Tagman Media, I tailor my skills to meet the needs of various clients. I am able to interact directly with potential and existing clients and have increased customer satisfaction ratings at several companies. I have been responsible for designing and editing animations, production of multimedia campaigns and designs and illustrations for product labels, cartoons and television,” he outlined.

In addition to his responsibilities as an artist at Tagman Media, Compton contributes in many activities in his community and church life. He attends West Wesleyan Church, West Ruimveldt, and presently serves as the dance director there. Additionally, he volunteers in assist-

ing other church dance groups around the city of Georgetown.

Compton, along with a group of friends, has been instrumental in starting the basketball team, All-Stars, whose main focus is to generate funding for the needy and less fortunate.

The philanthropist is also an active member of the Respect the Game Inc., a charity group that gives back via basketball, and continues to participate in its outreach and community events.

For more info on the artist, email cbabbjnr@ gmail.com

34 history

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Sir James Douglas

J

ames Douglas was born either June 5 or August 15, 1803 in Belmont, Mahaica, British Guiana, the son of a Scottish planter and a woman who is variously described by historians as a “slave”, a “free coloured woman,” or a “Creole”, according to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

His father had two more children with his mother -who was originally from Barbadosand at aged 9, James and his siblings were sent to school first in Lanark, Scotland then Chester, England, the latter where James was to later earn the nickname “Old Square Toes”. At 16, James and his brother were apprenticed to a Quebec company and arrived in Canada on August 6, 1819.

There Douglas became involved in the fur trade, and at just 18 years old he earned

James Douglas with Order of the Bath honours

a reputation for being a hardworking and “sensible young man”.A tall man -more than six feet, and well built, he was also called the, “Scotch West Indian” by those who knew him

in the trade.

Later, his intelligence and experience earned him greater recognition - but his conflicts with the native Indians led him to be transferred to

Fort Vancouver (now Washington State), British Columbia (BC) in 1830.

At first an accountant under the superintendent of the Columbia Department, Douglas took charge of Fort Vancouver in 1838. In November 1839, he was promoted to chief factor.

By 1851, after years of successful involvement in several political issues, he became governor of Vancouver Island (1851-1863).

During that period he was made first governor of the colony of British Columbia (1858-1864).

Upon his retirement as governor in 1864, Douglas was knighted Commander of the Bath. He suffered a heart attack and died at Victoria on August 2, 1877.

Sir James Douglas is considered by many in Canada as the founder of Victoria, which he built up, and the "Father of British Columbia."

He has been honoured with numerous place names and monuments in Canada, as well as a statue in his home village of Mahaica.

Statue of Sir James Douglas at his birthplace Mahaica, Guyana unveiled in 2008. In May 2012, a statue of Sir James Douglas was unveiled on the front lawn of Government House in British Columbia, Canada for that territory’s “Douglas Day”

Astor Cinema, Georgetown 1955 (Photo by Guyana Gallery)

Stabroek Market 1922 (Photo by Guyana Gallery)

Grave of Sir James Douglas at Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria, BC. His tombstone reads the date of birth as August 15, 1803

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Different tune…

…from the Trotter o…Your Eyewitness isn’t talking about pig’s feet – otherwise known as “trotters”… pickled or otherwise. He’s referring to the recently defrocked “Governance” Minister, Raphael Trotman who evidently still holds the Natural Resource Ministry. Well, even there, we don’t really know how much of that is actually his since “I is” Broomes’ been seconded to be his “Junior”. You know how those Eastern Bloc types used to send “political commissars” to their Ministries, where they were the real power holders!

Anyhow, back to the latest utterance of the Trotter on the matter of oil. Previous to now, he put his feet into his mouth (both of them!) when he boasted he’d singlehandedly solved Guyana’s economic meltdown. He’d ask ExxonMobil pay ahead for oil they’d be shipping at the very best five years down the road! We’ve been warned about “counting your eggs before they’re hatched”… but Trotter must’ve been convinced that oil is an “egg” with different teleological premises.

Turns out that Exxon’s in deep financial trouble – and it’s not just that oil’s presently selling at about twice the price it’ll cost them to getting ours out from under the Atlantic. What goes down must come up, some may reason – especially with something that literally makes the (economic) world goes round.

But with a paradigm shift emerging after COP 21 to place “renewable energy” on the front burner (pun intended!) those low prices just might be the new “normal”. But while the Trotter was at COP 21, it looks like Jagdeo was right about suspecting he really wasn’t up to the job.

So Exxon can’t take a chance especially when its bottom line (and image) has taken a hit for hiding data since the 70’s that global warming was real.

And the Trotter now concedes that even though Exxon’s looking to start its second drilling, Guyanese shouldn’t be expecting too much from that quarter for a while. Well…that’s a good start and it shows that maybe there’s hope for the Trotter after all.

N

Trouble is, he shot his load with Ramjattan forming the AFC but was then squeezed out

by Ramjattan who suffered in comparison with the Trotter. And knew it. So the end run with Nagamootoo as AFC’s top draw was just the coup de grace and the Trotter had no option but to return home. With his bête noir Corbin out of the way, he doesn’t have to put up with the daily infighting with Ramjattan and Nagamootoo.

But with bauxite, gold, diamonds and forestry in the doldrums (and no oil), the Trotter should realise he’s going to be the cynosure of a lot of eyes, after today’s Budget. …same song from Muckraker While some people may try…you really can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Especially when the old trick has to do with sucking eggs. It’s probably a genetic thing since both dogs and chickens were domesticated around the same time by ancient man. In this case we have the Mook at the Muckraker who’d complained his old sources concocting dirt on the PPP, Jagdeo and anyone associated with him, have disappeared – now they’re in government.

But does that stop him from smearing new, concocted slime on the above-mentioned folks? Not in this life!! Without skipping a beat, he picked up some other ambitious loser to supply the dirt – the most sleazy being one Goolsarran. This is a snivelling bookkeeper who slaved away in the back rooms of the old PNC government – and went ballistic when he saw what some of his juniors earned under the PPP. So he just told the Muckraker that New GPC didn’t pay dividends on 10% shares held by the govt! What kind of auditor didn’t know those shares were held for the workers. …never sung The question Goolsarran should ask, is whether the Mook’s Guyana Stores ever paid dividends to its government held employees’ 10% shares. But don’t hold your breath!

Star of the week

T

iffani Pamela Bonner is a 17-year-old aspiring television personality who is passionate about communications.

Additionally, she has a passion for singing, the performing arts, baking and pageantry. So far, she has won two pageants one of which was the 2013 Miss Guyana Talented Teen. Now, she keenly eyes the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants. The beauty queen is presently working on her upcoming television show, “Teen talk with Tiffani”, where she will create a forum for youths to voice their opinions and concerns. Her mission is to entertain, inform and educate her viewers. Tiffani describes herself as “pretty straightforward, amiable, determined, confident and assiduous”. She enjoys being surrounded by goaldriven individuals and people who can help her realise her true potential. Tiffani finds joy in bird-watching, baking with her mother,and writing poems. Her inspiration is legendary Jamaican singer, Bob Marley. “I believe that you should never look down on someone unless you're picking them up,” Tiffani declared.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

This week's Crossword

This week's Puzzle

see solution on page 47

Salvaging…

W

…the junior partner

ell, now we know why Nagamootoo’s been rushing over to NY at the drop of a beer bottle to shower accolades on his NY financiers. The party’s new headquarters had to be funded! So take a back seat, Asquith Rose…money talks and a letter writer balks! And if Nagamootoo needed $72M to air-condition and “fix up” the PM’s residence that Sam and Yvonne Hinds had occupied for 23 years, you know he’d insist on (literally) feathering the party’s nest! How’d you keep them down at Whim once they’ve seen the bright lights of Main Street!!?

But it’s not just Nagamootoo and Ramjattan who lusted for the new office…so did their erstwhile partners from APNU. It’s critical for the PNC to have its two layers of cover to hide the characteristic mark of the hyena from the sixties to “slow fyaah; mo fyaah”. The first layer – producing APNU, didn’t fool anyone: even the hicks in the sticks couldn’t see, say, Keith Scott standing up to Granger and Harmon!!

(Quick now…what’s the name of Scott’s “party”?)

So the wooing of the AFC was launched and consummated. Some hicks in the sticks did believe Nagamootoo could do what Scott and Company couldn’t do. They clearly didn’t consider he wasn’t even made dogcatcher in the PPP after 50 years – because he was just a windbag! The PNC could now have its cake-cover and eat it too. It knew Nagamootoo just wanted a big title and the opportunity to mouth off big time. The Cummingsburg Accord was just for the Berbicians: Nagamootoo always knew he was getting Larwah.

But now that Nagamootoo’s been stripped to the buff (power wise, please…the literal connotation assaults the sensibilities!) and shown to be a sheep in sheep’s clothing, how does the PNC keep its cover? It has to make the ABC line that Guyana has a “multiracial” Government, plausible, doesn’t it?

Well…duh! Just don’t make the same mistake it did with Keith Scott and Company.

So the AFC must keep its name (APNU+AFC) and have all the paraphernalia of a party – flag, symbol, “Executive” – and now concrete headquarters. Never mind the said Executive are scared shi*less to hold their “Convention”. Or to ask whatever happened to the Cummingsburg pre-nup, or the Committee, headed by Burch Smith, looking into it?

They’re following the traditional advice to abused wives: “Ah wha yuh guh lef he fah? Think about dem Pickney.”

The said Pickney, of course, being the titles, salaries and SUVs. And the “Daady” gets to open the new house as the PNC keeps its cover. It’s a win-win for all – except Guyana. …Burnham’s legacy Burnham’s claim to fame is he brought independence to Guyana on May 26, 1966. Actually, from the now declassified files of Britain and the US, we now know he actually BOUGHT it by pledging allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the right wing assault on socialism and the progressive left.

Machiavellian that he was, Burnham thought he could outsmart the Americans – but he found out that Faustian bargains aren’t that easily sloughed off.

The Devil always wants his pound of flesh. And so it was, “Independence” became an ironic bitter curse by the 1970s as the economy and society collapsed ignominiously around Burnham’s ears. Folks actually demanded that “the white man” return. Burnham also claimed he’d brought “multiracial unity” to Guyana with some Indian leaders who switched camps from the PPP. It didn’t work then, and it wouldn’t work today.

But the newly-ensconced disciples of the comrade leader will now spend Gy$300 million to convince us “Independence” was an achievement. And not 30 pieces of silver! …education?

Your Eyewitness has cautioned this Government about seemingly spending on education for “Education” sake. In the Budget, Gy$40 billion was allocated to the sector.

But to what end if there’re no jobs created to employ all those “educated” citizens.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

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s the only British colonial territory in South America, British Guiana was probably better known to the outside world than it appears today. Every effort was made by thethen Colonial Office and government to promote British Guiana abroad.

Guiana’s industries as they were - timber, mining, forest products and, of course, sugar added to the rich diver-

world events through the RACS Committee of Correspondence. It prepared the official descriptive catalogues for the British Guiana exhibits and even sent representatives abroad to manage the exposition stands.

In 1851, London hosted the Great Exhibition of Arts and Industries of All Nations, the brainchild of Prince Albert opened in Hyde Park,

British Guiana guide and catalogue to the British Empire Exhibition 1924

sity of exotic flora and rare species of fauna and the anthropology and artefacts of the colony’s aboriginal peoples, made a worthy showcase of the colony’s resources.

The Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society (RACS) was founded in 1844 by planters and men of influence in British Guiana.

The Society was instrumental in procuring and facilitating these

Kensington. The event drew in nearly six million visitors. One of the star exhibits at the London exhibition was the Giant Water Lily or the Victoria amazonica, which was discovered in Guiana by Robert Schomburgk in 1837.

The year 1851 coincided with the first year of Queen Victoria’s reign and the newly discovered water lily was aptly named the Victoria Regia. The water lily was described in the cat-

alogue as “Queen of the Aquatics” and it became the perfect emblem for the Monarch whose domain extended over the oceans - the ‘Flower of the Empire’.

The successor to the 1851 Hyde Park exhibition was the International Exhibition in London in 1862, where once again British Guiana made an appearance. This was followed by the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867.

“Exposition universelle [d'art et d'industrie], for which a British Guiana Catalogue of contributions was published, and again in Paris 1900, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, where 5,000 sq.ft. were designated for the British Guiana stand.”

Eastward to India, British Guiana was represented by Mr. Henry Kirke, the then Commissioner for British Guiana, at the International Exhibition held at Calcutta in December 1883. The Governor and Court of Policy of British Guiana were keen for the representation andplaced an item of $2,000 on the supplementary estimates to defray the expenses connected with the exhibition.

The RACS Committee did everything in its power to forward exhibits to Calcutta, so as to bring the colony of British Guiana and its mode of tilling the land, vividly before the people of Calcutta.

British Guiana also made its mark in the United States, first at the International Exhibition in Nashville Tennessee in May 1887 and then at the World’s Columbian Commission Exposition in Chicago in 1893. John Quelch, the curator at the British Guiana Museum, went to Chicago as the British Guiana Commissioner.

View of the exterior of the Crystal Palace, erected in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition with visitors from different nations in park (foreground). Printed by Stannard & Dixon, 1851

Postcard, by artist Charles E. Flowers, showing the British Guiana pavilion displaying a replica of Kaieteur Falls at the British Empire Exhibition

A set of “TIMEHRI” journals and the “Scientific Journal of Guiana” appeared as one of the prize winning exhibits from British Guiana. The exhibit won a diploma and medal awarded by the Board of International Judges.

The British Empire Exhibition, which was held in Wembley, London in 1924, was one of the last shop windows to show off British Guiana at its best. The British Guiana fully illustrated descriptive catalogue and guide to the exhibition, a tome of 126 pages, encapsulates the essence of the colony, its history, geog-

raphy, places of interest, people and natural resources.

The concluding paragraph of 1924 Wembley catalogue sums up what British Guiana had to offer the nations of the world, and it is still relevant to Guyana today: “Altogether British Guiana presents a rich field of possibilities and probabilities, and not a few certainties to the enterprising capitalist. Unlike most of the West Indian Islands, it is as yet undeveloped save on the coastal belt, the source of the famous Demerara Sugar. There is vast scope in its mineral wealth, in tropical

agriculture of various kinds - Sugar, coffee, coconut, rubber and other plantations - in domestic industries, as yet almost nonexistent, and in the task of improving its means of communication. There is room for millions of new population. When the people come in their numbers, as they must come sooner or later as the other empty spaces of the world fill up, British Guiana will quickly establish a just claim to the title that is at present little more than a pious aspiration – the ‘Magnificent Province’.”

(Text by Wayne McWatt)

38 news

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

T&T man slain, wife clings to life after cutlass attack (Reprinted from the Trinidad Guardian)

T

rinidad and Tobago - A Cascade man was gunned down while his wife was fighting for her life at hospital last night, having been beaten with a brick and chopped by the men who killed her husband. The couple was ambushed at Mt Hololo, Cascade, on Monday night.

The couple’s two children watched on in horror as the men brutally attacked their parents as they walked through a track on the way home but were left unhurt, although they were severely traumatised.

According to police reports Anthony Henry, 35, his wife, Anika Kwanza, 29, and their two children, aged seven and four, had just returned to their home at Casablanca Road, Cascade, around 9.30 pm when they were jumped by two men armed with guns and cutlasses.

The men beat the couple, robbed

them, chopped Kwanza and beat her with nearby concrete blocks, shot Henry and as he lay dying smashed his face in with a concrete block. All this they did while the children stood by watching.

During the attack, police attached to the Port-of-Spain Division responded to reports from residents.

But along the way two of their SUVs crashed near the Cascade River Gardens apartment complex and one officer fractured his arm.

The remaining officers managed to arrive at the scene to find the attackers still rummaging through the couple’s belongings.

The killers shot at the police and ran off into the hills. Police called for air support but the national security helicopter could not help the police find the killers who used the knowledge of the hilly terrain to escape.

GRA steps up anti-smuggling campaign…foreign chicken, mosquito coils seized

U

n-customed goods amounting to almost $20M in revenue has been seized in the month of January by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) as it intensifies its fight against anti-smuggling in and out of the country.

Under the Law Enforcement and

been approved for use in Guyana.

It should be noted that for a number of these offences, the offenders have been identified for the first time. However, in some cases it has been noted that the perpetrators are repeat offenders, and as such in these cases the penalties are lev-

Investigation Division (LEID) of the agency, the pursuit of smugglers has been ‘relentless’ and after acting on information received with the use of coordinated patrols, the multi-million dollar seizure was made possible, says the GRA. According to a press release from the revenue authority, a number of vehicles which were used to transport the now seized items have been detained as well.

This publication was told that the countrywide enforcement campaign has netted a quantity of frequently smuggled items with the most notable items being foreign chicken and mosquito coils which have not

ied as payment triple the value of the duties.

GRA posited that it will continue to put systems in place so as to ensure its enforcement activities are enhanced.

Meanwhile, the effectiveness of this, however, is dependent on cooperation from the public as it relates to sharing information on incidents of corruption and illegal activities that are geared at depriving the state of revenue or results in unfair competition with the local manufacturing sector and legitimate importers.

“As such, persons with information can utilise various methods of providing information to the GRA,” the release added.

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uildings are historical documents, representing not only our architectural heritage, but also the desires, philosophy, technology, art, and even economy of the day. They may even tell us of the supplanting of a culture by a more dominant one, and how much regard a generation or culture had for all earlier one.

As we view the larger public buildings in Georgetown, we see a variety of shapes and forms; some contrasting and others alike. We know that most of these shapes and forms have been imported, and that

considered a fine art, Architectural Styles were invariably derived from the art movement of the day. (Architecture was ranked as the lowest mode of artistic expression, these being in ascending order of ideals - architecture, sculpture, painting, music, poetry).

One such art movement - the Romantic Movement - brought to Britain and Europe the search for originality and self-expression.

This was a time of escapism – brought about by the general distaste with the problems created by industrialism – and the movement attempt-

ecclesiastical or scholastic buildings were to be of the Gothic Style, while business or civic buildings were to be of the Classical Style.

For ecclesiastical (church) architecture, the war did not end here, however. The schism in Christianity in 1054 AD which led to the creation of the separate obediences of Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity, returned and disrupted this compromise in architectural styles: the Catholics aligned themselves with Italy, and adopted the Romanesque (another historical style) for cathedrals and Italian

Classical Style of Parliament Buildings (Photo by David Stanley)

our architecture, like most other things, is influenced by external forces.

But why are particular shapes and forms - called Styles in Architecture - and not others, used for certain buildings? This article introduces the major western derived Architectural Styles in Georgetown and will try to show why these styles adorn our cityscape.

Historic Architecture

The historic buildings in Georgetown are mainly from the nineteenth century, a period in Great Britain and Europe that was marked by the profusion, and confusion, of fashions (or styles or movements) in art.

Architecture being

ed to return to what was thought to be a better way of living: that of the Medieval Period.

Consequently, in Architecture, the Gothic Style of French origin and from the 12th century CE, was revived.

Another major historic style being used at the time, and for different reasons, was the Classical Style from the Greek and Roman eras, which already had a renaissance during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Many reasons were given for choosing one or the other, and there were numerous architects and writers claiming each style to be the correct one.

This war of architectural styles resulted in a compromise in the latter part of the 19th century:

Renaissance (Classical) for churches, whilst the Protestants continued using the Gothic Style for their religious buildings.

City Hall exhibits one of many 19th century fancy-dress styles derived from Gothic Architecture (Photo by Adi Floyde on Flickr)

this requirement for an important civic building, but some other civic buildings do not. For example, City Hall (1889) exhibits one of many 19th century fancydress styles derived from Gothic Architecture, and is reminiscent of many chateaux in central Europe, while the Supreme Court building (1887) has the appearance of another Gothicderived minor style Tudor (English).

Towards the end of the 19th century, there began a breaking away from the use of period styles in Architecture, and the first major new

style, which took its root early in the 20th century and reached its height between 1920 and 1941 in the United States of America, is that termed Art Deco.

The William Fogarty Ltd building (1950) gives us, possibly, our only example of Art Deco Architecture - the scale of the building, the curved corners (giving it an aerodynamic form), the horizontality of the windows, the narrow canopies over the windows (termed eye-brows in Art Deco language) the setback main entrance, the port-holes, are all clues to this style of architec-

Kingston is our first example of this movement in Architecture, the Demerara Bank (1994) on Camp Street is another. Followers of this eclectic style select forms of earlier architecture, and produce a hybrid which they are convinced retains the charm of the country's traditional architecture.

Finally, there is another architectural movement concurrent with Post-modernism – a more contemporary approach to architecture, termed High Tech.

Developed by English architects in the 1970s, High Tech Architecture

Gothic Style of St George's Cathedral (Photo by Adi Floyde on Flickr)

Historic Georgetown

In our city, these agreements have been generally followed for the Christian religious buildings: the Orthodox Christians chose the Gothic Style for St George's Cathedral (1894) for example; and for the Catholic faith, we have Brickdam Cathedral (c.1920s) – except that the tower and steeple were never built – in Romanesque Style, and the Sacred Heart Church (1861-1882) Italian Renaissance Style.

The Parliament Building (c. 1830s) in Classical Style meets

Supreme Court building has the appearance of another Gothicderived minor style - Tudor (English) (Photo by Adi Floyde on Flickr)

architectural style came early in the 20th century.

This is now described as the International Style or International Modern, and lasted between 1918 and the early 1970s.

In Georgetown, the Bank of Guyana building (c. 1966) and the original University of Guyana buildings (1969) can claim this style of architecture. The distinctive features of this style include the plain wall surfaces, the lack of ornamental features (so unlike the City Hall) flat roofs, and the use of mechanical services.

An interesting new

ture.

Incidentally, glassblocks, used on the building only several years ago during a major refurbishment, are another characteristic of this 1930s style.

From about the 1940s, architecture was again in turmoil as there came a reaction from the public, and some architects, to Modernism's rationalist and functionalist ideals. This reaction produced a peculiar style termed Post-modernism, which took firm root from about the 1960s and is still with us.

The new United States Embassy building (1991) in Young Street,

is based on the visual expression of engineering and construction technologies.

The characteristics are exposed structure, exposed service pipes, a smooth impervious skin (usually glass) and large open rooms unimpeded by structural elements. The Demerara Distilleries Ltd head office (1990) in High Street, Kingston may be placed in this category, with its `strange-looking' north and south facades, the structural elements having been exposed.

(By Lennox Hernandez.

Republished from a 2009 Sunday Times Magazine article)

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Exciting boat ride in Wakapoa's savannah

Travel & tourism 41

Village children playing

W

akapoa is an indigenous community in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

It is about 35 miles by river from Charity, a small township.

A scenic journey awaits those who would like to visit the village.

Travelling to Wakapoa begins with an exciting speedboat ride from Charity down the Pomeroon River. As the boat meanders its ways along the Pomeroon River, tourists can enjoy basking in the fresh, cool air while observing the breath-taking nature scenes. Then through bowing trees, about nine miles along the creek, Wakapoa appears.

Upon arrival, visitors are left in awe of the silk cotton tree, one of the Wakapoa’s landmarks, that stands majestically at the entrance of the village.

The community of Wakapoa is said to be made up of several islands on which the residents, who are of Carib, Warrau and Arawak ancestry, live. Most are farmers cultivating cassava, plantain, eddoes and coconuts to sell at the Pomeroon and Charity markets. (Photos by Marco Basir) One of Wakapoa's magnificent landmarks

Serene creek in Wakapoa

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Man fined Gy$75,000 for gun butting Teacher slapped with

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security guard on Tuesday appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to a charge of wounding.

Timothy Warden, 27, of Apartment 6 Shopping Plaza, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that on January 28, 2016, at Mandela Avenue, Georgetown, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded Keon Yapp.

Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones told the Court that on the day in question about 15:45h, the Virtual Complainant (VC) was driving his car when it col-

lided with another car, which resulted in an argument between the VC and the driver of the other car.

The defendant, along with a colleague and a traffic Police rank, approached the VC, who was at the time cursing and requested that he stopped cursing, but he did not.

According to the Prosecutor, the traffic Police cautioned the VC that if he did not stop, he would be taken to the police station. However, the Policeman’s warning annoyed the VC, who started towards the colleague of the defendant reaching for his gun that was around his waist.

The defendant saw this and

pushed the VC to prevent him from getting to the gun.

The VC attempted to assault the defendant, who took out his gun and gun butted him to his head.

As a result of the injuries sustained, the VC was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he received four stitches to the left side of his head.

The defendant, when given a chance to speak, told the Court that he was only trying to protect himself.

Magistrate McLennan fined him Gy$75,000, with an alternative sentence of six months in prison.

fraud charge

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21-year-old Suddie Primary School teacher Rajesh Singh was on Tuesday granted bail for obtaining money by false pretence.

Singh appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court.

It is alleged that on December 16, 2015 at Pomona Housing Scheme, with intent to defraud, he obtained from Baiwattie Persaud the sum of Gy$270,000 by falsely pretending that Yovindra Persaud and Nandram Persaud stole his gold chain and band valued Gy$270,000, knowing same to

be false.

He was represented by Attorney Latchmin Dindyal, who told the Court that his client was a teacher by profession and had a permanent address at Perseverance Village.

In his bail application, the lawyer informed the Court that Singh lived with his parents at Perseverance.

Prosecutor Hemraj Ramsewack objected to bail on the grounds of the seriousness and prevalence of the offence. Bail was nonetheless granted in the sum of Gy$60,000. The case will continue on February 18.

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Jamaica Gov’t announces 1,200 scholarships for Science, Maths teachers (Taken from Jamaica Gleaner)

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i n g s t o n , Jamaica The Jamaican Government has announced an ambitious J$1.6 billion programme which will see 1,200 scholarships being given to mathematics and science teachers by 2021.

Ronald Thwaites, the education minister, said in the House of Representatives today (Thursday), said that it will cost J$412 million in the first year to execute the project.

The education ministry will this month embark on a recruitment drive for mathematics and science teachers.

Thwaites, in a statement to Parliament, said three batches of 200 mathematics and 200 science teachers will get the scholarships.

He told legislators that there is not enough quality science and mathematics

Education Minister, Ronald Thwaites

teachers in the school system.

The scholarships will cover full tuition, boarding support and a stipend to cover books and other supplies.

At the same time, Thwaites said consideration must be given to the payment

of higher salaries to mathematics and science teachers.

Thwaites also said successful candidates will be bonded for at least five years.

“We don’t want the repayment of the bond, we want the service,” Thwaites said.

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Teachers’ Revolving Fund: Education Ministry delaying project – GTU

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ine years have passed since the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) proposed the Teachers’ Revolving Fund project and still there has been no confirmation from the Education Ministry on support for the project.

This was according to GTU General Secretary Coretta McDonald, who in an interview with Guyana Times International on Tuesday, explained that without the Ministry’s support, the Union would be unable to execute the project, which would benefit 20 teachers every year.

The Teachers’ Revolving Fund project is one that primarily focuses on providing teachers with the opportunity to construct houses through the system.

McDonald said that over the years the Union had been waiting for the go-ahead, it was able to accumulate Gy$200 million to fund the project, but complications within the system have obstructed it from depositing the money for the benefit of

Coretta McDonald

the teachers.

She explained that the system would work on a revolving mode, whereby every year 20 teachers from across the Regions would be selected to receive a grant of $2 million to facilitate their housing plans. The teachers are then required to repay this grant after a certain time to cater for the next batch of teachers to be chosen the following year.

However, in order to commence the project, validation was needed from the Education Ministry, but after a number of consultations between the two bodies, this was never given.

“The Ministry is saying that GTU has to run the project, since they do not want to control it, but we don’t have personnel to control the project,” McDonald told this publication.

She related that she suggested to the Ministry that it assign a few persons to work in the GTU to overlook the process and offer professional assistance. Even so, the Union had “never been able to get it off the ground”.

Additionally, McDonald reported that the Union had encountered administrative issues with the bank since it was demanding an unreasonable interest on the $2 million.

“The rate of their interest was unfair to the teachers. It’s not like it’s the bank’s money, it is the Union’s. We are just giving them the money to administrate the distribution process,” she expounded.

McDonald added that if the project had been authenticated since the proposal was made in 2007, over 150 teachers would have been beneficiaries of the housing project.

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Parkinson’s disease “Parkinson’s is my toughest fight. No, it doesn’t hurt. It’s hard to explain. I’m being tested to see if I’ll keep praying, to see if I’ll keep my faith. All great people are tested by God.” – Muhammad Ali, Esquire, Feb 2012.

Anu Dev

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y dad is a great boxing fan and interestingly, so is my Mom, even though she’s the gentlest person you could ever meet.

Unless of course, you’re her daughter and dawdle in bed “after the sun rises”! My dad still recounts with awe, listening over a radio, back in the sixties, of the famous fights between “the Greatest” and his famous rival, “Smokin’ Joe Frazier”.

My cognitive dissonance is palpable when I think of this man who “floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee” when I look at videos of him nowadays.

That is the tragedy of Parkinson’s disease.

On a personal note, two members of my Nana’s family are also afflicted as was a very famous religious figure in my community, who had been one of the most active individuals during his earlier life. So I’m sure most of us have also heard of Parkinson’s disease be-

fore, or “Parkinson’s” as we’re more likely to call it. But what exactly is Parkinson’s?

Well, it’s a movement disorder. It’s due to degeneration of specific cells in the Central Nervous System (our “nerves”) concerned with movement. You might’ve noticed that Parkinson’s patients tend to move slowly, have a tremor and are very rigid. Well that’s because the degeneration of those cells results in our levels of dopamine (a chemical messenger) becoming too low. This leads to a disjunction (a “dysregulation” they call it) in our movement controls. Instead of the normal balance between our “stop” and “go” pathways, the “stop” pathway is working on overdrive, so our brain keeps hitting the brakes even when we’re meant to move.

With something as devastating as Parkinson’s, I’m sure we’d all like to be aware of some of its early warn-

ing signs. Well, tremors or shaking while you’re just sitting around relaxing, your handwriting suddenly getting smaller than normal, trouble walking (stiffness, your feet kind of dragging – “shuffling gait”), stooping, hunching over or a loss of smell might be some early warning signs.

Of course, all of these things could be caused by any number of things – a tremor might be due to medicine you’re currently on and a change in handwriting might be expected if you’ve been doing more typing than writing (I think everyone forgets how to write when school reopens after that 2-month break). But if you’ve noticed a combination of all of these things, it’ll probably be best to consult your doctor to be on the safe side.

While at this time there’s no cure for Parkinson’s, there are some drug treatments used to control its symp-

toms. These aim to increase the level of dopamine that reaches the brain and stimulate the parts of the brain where dopamine works.

Studies have shown that aerobic exercise could be beneficial in slowing the progression of Parkinson’s. Aerobic exercise — like running, jogging and cycling — anything to get the heart racing, really. Aerobic exercise is supposed to release trophic “growth” factors in the brain that help to counter the degeneration of Parkinson’s.

Actually, it’s supposed to counter the normal brain shrinkage that happens to us as we get older as well.

Research into Parkinson’s is ongoing and they’re continuously pushing to make new breakthroughs in understanding the disease — and thereby come up with better strategies on how to treat it.

Just this week, The Gladstone Institutes discovered that those “go” and “stop” pathways control movement via a group of nerves in the brainstem that connects the brain to the spinal cord. Those brainstem nerve cells could overpower the stop signals from the “stop” pathway.

Hopefully this discovery and the others that are sure to follow will pave the way towards better treatment options!

Keep the faith!

The Ghoul strikes

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atiricus was full of admiration. He admired iconoclasts… men who marched to their own drummer and hummed their own tune. Most people thought these kind of people were plain nuts—and even salted nuts—but that didn’t faze them. They only answered to the voices in their heads.

Satiricus was just reading that maverick Ghoul Seh Run’s latest bit of muck he’d made up and leaked to the Pee and See/KFC leaning Muckraker.

Ghoul Seh Run was a bookkeeper during the hard guava Burnt Ham days. He was forced to sell phoulowrie to his staff to keep going. He hated those who didn’t have to sell phoulowrie… yet also worked for government. He didn’t bother to check whether these people were doing better work than him.

But being a bookkeeper, he also checked the books of fellas in private industry who made much more money than he or anyone else in Government. He did this on the side to supplement his phoulowrie sales which in turn supplemented his Government job salary. He hated these business types even more. With all this bookkeeper knowledge how dare they do better than him by only buying and selling??!! He only found life bearable because of the hate he felt for so many people. And that he could take out his anger on his staff.

After finagling his way to foreign for some years, Ghoul Seh Run came back to Guyana and this was when he became an iconoclast. Bookeeper’s weren’t supposed to carry news on their clients.

Something called “fiduciary responsibility”. But back in Guyana, Ghoul Seh Run’s hatred for his betters boiled over because they were now doing better than him. Living even better than Burnt Ham—for whom Condensed Milk had been the height of luxury! These new rich people wouldn’t even give Condensed Milk to their cats!

So Ghoul Seh Run said “to hell with this fiduciary schupidness” when the other fella who hated everybody who did better than he—Mook Lall from the Pee an See/KFC leaning Muckraker— offered him a “small piece” to spill his guts on folks the Ghoul hated. If he didn’t find news in the books, the Mook said he could just make it up!!

And a “small piece” was better than nothing—he could now spill his hatred coming and going!!

A “freck” in his pocket and nasty made-up news about the people he hated. Ghoul Seh Run was in pigs’ heaven!

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Drug shortages will continue despite Gy$6.5B budgetary allocation – Dr Anthony

Inspiration from Nagga Man

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atiricus was depressed with all the bad news spreading like dark clouds around him. There were all the folks thrown out of work at Wales. There were all the folks taking their own lives because they had no hope. There was the spiralling crime wave crashing over his head like a tsunami. There was the slowdown in the economy that was hurting him plenty.

Then he remembered the one thing that always cheered him up – the inspiring words of his leader – the Nagga Man. And since he couldn’t walk into the Office of the Prime Moocher, just like that, he did the next best thing. Satiricus went to the great man’s website to see what he advised about all the challenges that was besetting Satiricus and other Guyanese.

The website, of course, was run by the PM’s shill, Iman – otherwise known as “Shillo”.

Every day, Shillo would sit at the feet of Naga Man and collect the pearls of wisdom that flowed from his tongue. It was on account of these pearls that Nagga Man’s salary had been bumped up to $1.7 million. He had no other “line responsibility”. Occasionally, he would leave his official residence being refurbished at the cost of $72 million and have Shillo drive him to meet his “constituents” in his $$60 million LANDCRUISER. On the website, Nagga Man had moved off the Wales closing after saying, “Oooops!

I misspoke when I promised “NO closing of sugar estates” during the campaign.”

And these were the new Nagga pearls collected and posted by Shillo, the Shill.

“This is the year of our Golden Jubilee, and as depicted by our logo, we take pride in roaring this to the world.

The jaguar is roaring for us a narrative of Guyana – the land of many waters; the land of many ethnicities; a land of diverse cultures.

We say to the world today in the words of our National Anthem that we are “united and free”; in the words of our motto, we are “one people, one nation, one destiny”; and in the preamble our Independence Constitution, that our society is founded upon “the Rule of Law.” A tear rolled down Satiricus’ cheek. This was PRICELESS, MUCH LESS $1.7M! All Guyana’s problems had been solved. He felt like shouting, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty I am free at last!!”

What a man was Nagga Man and his waterboy Shillo, the Shill!

CROSSWORD SOLUTION

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lthough Gy$6.5B has been earmarked for the procurement of drugs under the public health sector in this year’s budget, it still would be insufficient to meet the demands of the health facilities throughout the country and therefore will result in greater drug shortages in 2016.

This is according to the Opposition’s Shadow Public Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony who at a media briefing today stated that the health system in Guyana is ‘really in a crisis’ and this had been forewarned by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) during the 2015 budget debates.

“We warned that we are going to get here but nobody took us seriously because instead of having the Ministry of Heath centrally procuring the drugs they have now put the drugs’ budgets into the regions and the regions , we told them then, they don’t have the capacity to be able to procure drugs for the system…we are told by various reports in the media that more than Gy$600M went back last year, that is people were not able to buy the drugs from these regions…when you look through the budget from the actual and the revised figures, millions of dollars have gone back while poor people in this country cannot get access to drugs,

Dr Frank Anthony

it is the same thing they are doing in this budget,” Dr Anthony lamented.

He argued that while the APNU+AFC coalition can boast about pumping Gy$6.5B into the public health sector for purchasing drugs this is not an actual feat, because when that figure is disaggregated of the total sum there will be Gy$3B allocated for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

The Shadow Public Health Minister explained that of the remaining Gy$3.5B almost Gy$2B has been allocated to service all 10 administrative regions in the country

and this is far from enough to cater for the needs of the masses.

“When you go region by region you can see how little these regions are getting, imagine when you break it down, what it is turning out to be it is about GYD $3,000 per person for the year. That obviously is not enough in some of these regions. So while we might boast about an allocation it is how you have disaggregate it, and what it is that you’re buying and how you are going to be buying it,” he declared.

Dr Anthony reiterated that the 2016 budget will result in the creation of “a lot of hardships for ordinary people” in Guyana since the Gy$6.5B will not be enough to provide drugs for the entire country throughout the year.

“I would like to ask the minister (public health) is whether it exists now because that would guide what you buy and how you buy because we are hearing that they are buying things that are unnecessary while the things that are necessary are not being purchased. Added to that and compounding that is the way they are procuring and that is an additional problem, so we have a serious problem in terms of allocation for drugs, and what would be bought during this year,” Dr Anthony added.

What the Norway team should know…

By Lomarsh Roopnarine

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ast week, a team from Norway headed by that country’s ambassador to Brazil and Guyana, Aud Marit Wiig, arrived in Guyana to hold a series of meetings and field visits to project sites in the interior region. The core of meetings and visits revolved around whether or not Norway will continue the Guyana-Norway environmental agreement/pact from 2009 to 2015 for another five years.

While the pact is extended for another five years, it is expected that Guyana will have to demonstrate a more sound environmental stewardship to earn a huge sum of money (at least US$200 million) to limit forestbased greenhouse gas emissions and protect its rainforest to reduce climate change. The destruction of the rainforests is one of the main causes of climate change. Tropical deforestation contributes to about one-fifth of all carbon emissions according to various environmental websites.

Now, on the Guyana side, there was Raphael Trotman and there was Joseph Harmon, among others, and then there was this: Individuals who were leading the talks from Guyana with no practical experience in environmental issues before and after they became Ministers. The team’s first excuse is that the regime has been in power only for eight months which is inconsistent with the 100 days manifesto and promises. Worse still is that nothing new was said at the meeting.

Trotman and his team simply repeated what has been said all along, that is, to practise sustainable development. You would think that the team would show some spine since the new regime is moving away from the dependence on agriculture to the extraction of mineral resources in the interior region to generate growth and development.

At best, these individuals do not only represent but also add to the institutional weaknesses that have

permeated and plagued the environmental sector since Guyana returned to the global economy in the mid-1980s.

Moreover, much has been said about the conflict of interest in appointing Simona Broomes to manage Guyana’s natural resources. The regime has pushed this brewing matter to a legal team for advice, and so far, the public has not received any new information.

Do we have to chalk this one up for experience?

What is also worrying is that Guyana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Guyana Forest Commission (GFC) are supported by a host of international agencies: Britain Overseas Development Administration, Global Environmental Facility, United Nations Development Programme, Canadian International Development Agency, German Technical Assistance Agency, InterAmerican Development Bank, World Bank, World Wild Life Fund and the Smithsonian Institute.

Guyana is also a signatory to many international environmental conventions and I know a few professional individuals who are preparing to come to the country to help out.

Yet, the country has been struggling to control its forest resources effectively.

The reason for this predicament is that Guyana’s environmental sector is: (1) under-staffed, under-funded and under-trained; (2) undermined by the lack of updated technologies and resources; (3) void of a comprehensive plan on land use and supervision of resources; (4) corrupt and inefficient and (5) notorious for foot-dragging.

Meanwhile, forests are exploited through unrestrained logging, skidding, careless mining practices as well as the creation of unplanned new forest communities, especially in the Northwest region. The loss of trees and forests tends to have adverse effects on streams and wetland

buffer systems, water and air quality, biodiversity, wildlife and human health. That said, the Norway team must realise the impact of their demands on Guyana to protect its forest.

Foremost is that environmental colonialism and the structural adjustment programmes so associated with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank must be avoided. The strings attached to their funding have to be realistic and liberal while the Guyana Government has to be transparent, including on how the funds are spent throughout the course of agreement.

More seriously is that the Norway team have to understand that Guyana does not only comprise forests but also a coastal region that houses over 90 per cent of the population of 750,000. Forests comprise about two-thirds of Guyana but what happens in the coastal region also affects the forest region.

High rates of crime, corruption, suicide and a plethora of other challenges have prevented Government from delivering at desirable levels.

That the first five years of agreement between Guyana and Norway to protect Guyana’s rainforest and reduce emissions has produced mixed results is directly related to the challenges listed above and polarised politics. The Government must bring these facts to the table so that funds could be diffused to those areas.

Of paramount importance is that the forest belongs to Guyana and that Guyanese should be placed in positions of leadership so that they will have the experience to become leaders of their own environment.

Using this approach will provide an opportunity for Guyana to build a future that will be free from the exigency of learned dependence and dependent development. Guyana must not bow to unrealistic demands since the ball is essentially in the field of the Guyanese team. Can the Guyana team deliver? (lomarsh.roopnarine@ jsums.edu)

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Sonakshi Sinha goes scuba diving in Australia

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he says her body feels “battered” due to long working hours, but actress Priyanka Chopra says she is loving her job and is excited about the premiere of the second season of her international TV show “Quantico” on March 6.

“17 hours!! What is happening! Thank god I love my job! Body feeling battered… Need a good Zzzzz. Love ya world!

Quantico March 6,” tweeted Priyanka.

The former Miss World, who is one amongst the many global names who will be a presenter at the much coveted Oscar awards ceremony, has garnered international fame for her lead role as Alex Parrish in American TV series “Quantico”.

Back home, the actress was last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus “Bajirao Mastani” and will next be seen playing the role of po-

lice officer Abha Mathur in Prakash Jha’s directorial “Jai Gangaajal”.

Priyanka says that maintaining femininity in uniform was one challenging task for her.

“When you are playing a tough character, when you are dressed in a uniform it becomes very difficult to maintain femininity and that was very important to me.

“Prakash-ji and I discussed that as a woman, it’s very important to celebrate womanhood and yet at the same time be in a position of author-

ity and that’s how Abha is, which is very different from how we see tough women,” the actress said in a statement.

“When they do action sequences, women somehow tend to lose their femininity. It’s beautiful that Abha is extremely feminine and very graceful but at the same time not someone to be taken for granted. She is very graceful and dignified and I enjoyed playing her,” she added.

“Jai Gangaajal” revolves around a woman IPS officer, who is brought in a well oiled system of the powerful, as she is thought to be weak, pliable and easy to manipulate.

However, things become difficult for them when she comes into confrontational mode.

“Jai Gangaajal” revisits the dusty heartland of central India and examines the society-police relationship. (Indian Express)

Versatile actor Deepti Naval turns 59

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ne of the most famous names of the parallel films in the 80s and the winner of this year’s Screen award Deepti Naval turned 59 today. When asked about her birthday plans, the versatile actor said “it used to be celebrations earlier but now I like spending the day quietly. I am sure few friends will drop in. No matter you throw a party or not they always come.”

Naval who is known for playing sensitive and ‘close to life’ characters is currently working for a TV serial Meri Awaz Hi Pechaan Hai and few plays including Ek Mulaqat with Shekhar Suman. “Not much projects in line up except a TV serial and few plays,” said the actor who made her debut in 1978 with Shyam Benegal’s Junoon in 1978.

During the time when most of the celebrities are active on social media and enjoy voicing their opinion on social issue on various platforms, Naval chooses to stay away from them. “I had a Twitter handle. It was created by my nephew. But I don’t go on it. Kya krna hai twitter pe jaa ke. I had a Facebook

page and used to post sometimes. But have stopped that also,” said Naval whose FB post on actor Raj Kiran whereabouts made news few years ago.

Raj Kiran was found in a mental asylum in US. When asked about Raj Kiran, Naval said “nobody knows exactly. That’s the sad part of the industry.”

The actor, however, chose not to speak about the protest against the Censor board and the FTII row on her birthday. “It’s been a busy morning and would not like to comment on such issues today”. (Indian Express)

Script is real hero of ‘Udta Punjab’: Vikramaditya Motwane

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i l m m a k e r Vikramaditya Motwane says the script of his next production “Udta Punjab”, which stars Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor Khan, is the “real hero” of the film.

Talking about the film, Motwane of Phantom Films, said: “The real hero of ‘Udta Punjab’ is the script.

Shahid, Kareena and Alia were all attracted to the story and agreed to

do the film.”

The movie focuses on the drug problem in Punjab, and it is told through four different stories from four different perspectives.

Motwane said of the

Abhishek Chaubey directorial: “‘Udta Punjab’ is a brilliant film. Just watch it, you will know by yourself.”

The thriller is slated to release on June 17.

(Indian Express)

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ootera’ actress Sonakshi Sinha, who is gearing up for the release of Force 2 opposite John Abraham, recently visited Australia and did scuba diving.

The actress, who is often seen going to places, explored the underwater life while scuba diving and got her pictures clicked while doing so.

She also bought a camera to shoot under water.

She posted a collage of her picture on Twitter.

She wrote, “Of the blue beyond and selfies with starfish! Love my little diving adventures… The ocean makes me happy!”

From posing with star fish to swimming around with turtles,

Sonakshi’s underwater journey seemed to be fun. (Indian Express)

Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia celebrate their love on fourth anniversary

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ctors Riteish D e s h m u k h and Genelia Deshmukh, who are described by their friends as the “sweetest” and most “adorable” couple in Bollywood, on Wednesday completed four years since their wedding. Genelia says her husband is “the best”.

A string of B-Town celebrities congratulated the couple, while Genelia posted on her social media accounts: “Happy Anniversary

E

ven at 80, his spirit akin to an 18-yearold!

Veteran actor Dharmendra says he cannot stay away from the camera and is thinking of making another film with his sons Sunny and Bobby Deol.

Dharmendra has shared screen space with his sons in films like “Apne” and “Yamla Pagla Deewana”.

Asked when the three of them will be seen together on the silver screen again, Dharmendra said: “I cannot stay away from the camera… We are thinking of some

Riteish… Cheers to the world we made, which we call our own. Forever is a long time but I want it only with you. My husband is the best.”

The 28-year-old also posted an image in which Ritiesh can be seen holding her with much love and care.

Riteish feels lucky to have Genelia in his life, and posted: I must have definitely done something right in my previous life. I better be good this time because I want you in my next.”

scripts with Sunny and Bobby. We are thinking… because without this, we can’t stay and hopefully we come with a good script again.”

Dharmendra, who was here to promote Sunny’s forthcoming film “Ghayal Once Again”, added that “if we three are there and a real script is there, then nothing else is needed.”

Which film of his would Dharmendra like to remake or make a part two of?

“If you start thinking to make some sequel, it’s a bit difficult.

Whatever (films that) left an impact on my

The couple have starred together in movies like “Tujhe Meri Kasam” and “Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya” and married in 2012. They also have a one-year-old son Riaan, while Genelia is said to be expecting a child again.

Here’s what B-Town tweeted on their anniversary: Ken Ghosh: Happy Anniversary Genelia and Riteish, Live long and prosper!

Huma Qureshi: The loveliest sweetest couple Genelia, Riteish.

Stay blessed! Love always.

A y u s h m a n n Khurrana: Happy anniversary Riteish and Genelia! The sweetest couple ever. Have a good one.

Sangeeth Sivan: Congratulations Riteish and Genelia. Wishing you many many years of happiness and joy.

(Indian Express)

people (audience) that film would require to be more strong. I have to make it stronger…

And doing that is very difficult,” the “Loha” actor said.

Talking about his favourite Sunny Deol film, Dharmendra said: “The first film by Sunny ‘Betaab’ is my favourite film… My son lives the roles, he doesn’t (just) act it.”

Directed and written by Sunny, “Ghayal Once Again” is produced by Dharmendra.

The film, which also stars actress Soha Ali Khan, is slated to release on Friday.

(Indian Express)

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

People are too quick to get divorced: Catherine Zeta-Jones

C

atherine ZetaJones says people are “too quick” to divorce. The Welsh beauty, 46, said marriage is a long road and one needs to keep working on it, reported Female First.

“You’ve got to keep the home fires burning. It’s a long road and I think people today are so quick to throw in the towel.

You have to give it your best shot and not give up when the first problem arises,” Zeta-Jones said.

Telling the success behind her marriage to Michael Douglas the actress said, “It was great.

H

Just the two of us at one of our favourite restaurants, laughing that we haven’t killed each oth-

er yet – and that we’re still alive! Fifteen years is a long time,” she said.

(Indian Express)

one other than Jackman, 47, reported Digital Spy. “I do think you would want to figure out how to tell more Wolverine stories. So either we would try to entice Hugh to come back and eat more chicken and work out for a few months, or we

would have to figure out a creative way to move forward.

“Honestly, I can’t imagine anybody else playing the part, and there’s not too many characters I can say that for,” Kinberg said.

(Indian Express)

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irector Bryan Singer and producer Simon Kinberg said recasting “Wolverine” in the future seemed to be kind of impossible.

Actor Hugh Jackman, who has been playing the clawed mutant since 1999, expressed that he won’t be back to reprise his role as Wolverine after “The Wolverine 3”, “X-Men Apocalypse”.

The duo said that they couldn’t imagine that the iconic character would be played by some-

Kate Winslet on Titanic end: Jack could have fitted on that door

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any fans have questioned Jack’s death in the final moments of “Titanic” and now Kate Winslet, who played Rose in the doomed romantic classic, has accepted that the character should have saved

Rose’s life by staying in the cold water, which leads to his death.

The ending has bothered ‘Titanic’ fans for nearly 20 years with some of them sharing a theory, saying that Jack could have actually shared the door with-

alle Berry is the first and only AfricanAmerican woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress and she said the fact that no other woman of colour has won in the category since then is “heartbreaking.”

The 49-year-old actress had given an emotional acceptance speech about the importance of her Best Actress win for “Monster’s Ball” when she became the first black woman to win the award.

Berry said 15 years back she felt sure that her victory was a big win for all actors and actresses of colour, reported ABC News.

“Honestly, that win almost 15 years ago was iconic, it was important to me, but I had the knowing in the moment that it was bigger than me,” the X-Men star said during a panel at the 2016 Makers Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

“I believed that in that moment, that when

I said, ‘The door tonight has been opened…,’ I believed that with every bone in my body that this was going to incite change because this door, this barrier, had been broken.

“And to sit here almost 15 years later, and knowing that another woman of colour has not walked through that door, is heartbreaking.

It’s heartbreaking, because I thought that moment was bigger than me. It’s heartbreaking to start to think maybe it wasn’t bigger than me.

Maybe it wasn’t. And I so desperately felt like it was,” Berry said.

The diversity issue has become a hot topic in recent weeks after Academy Awards voters failed to nominate a single African-American or minority actor at this year’s Oscars.

The actress has joined actors such as Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will Smith, George Clooney, and Spike Lee, who have all spoken out about diversity in Hollywood.

Berry also noted that she believes that Hollywood is not producing “truthful” films because of the lack of diversity onscreen. (Indian Express)

Ryan Reynolds injured back in gym workout

spawned a thousand “never let go” jokes, reported Entertainment Weekly.

“People are always so excited to see Leo and myself in the same space, which, you know, at the end of the day, that’s so lovely, isn’t it?”

R

yan Reynolds had to crawl home from a gymnasium on his hands and knees after injuring his back during an earlyhours workout.

The Hollywood hunk was in training for his role as a muscle-bound

superhero in new movie “Deadpool”, and he put himself through a punishing fitness regime to get in shape for the part.

However, on the very first day of his workout program he was left in agony after putting his back out while exercis-

ing alone in a gym at dawn, close to his home in New York City.

“On the first day I put my back out. (I was doing squats) then (the) next thing you know, I’m lying on the floor.

It’s 6am, the gym’s empty and I haven’t even got my phone… I crawled. I couldn’t move, so I literally crawled on all fours, two blocks home…

“The last time I trained for a film like this was five years ago.

It’s a big difference.

Now, I mean… You start to wonder if you even still have abs under there,” he said. (Indian Express)

Hugh Jackman gushes over wife her lover’s life.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Winslet shot to fame after playing one of the most-loved on screen couples Jack and Rose in the 1997 blockbuster, set against the backdrop of Titanic tragedy.

In the climax as the ship sinks Jack and Rose find a piece of door floating. Jack helps Rose climb on it but it starts sinking when he tries to fit himself on it.

He then decides to save

out it sinking.

When TV host Jimmy Kimmel asked Kate Winslet about the theory, the actress said, “I agree! I think he could have actually fitted on that bit of door.” Such is the lure of the romance that fans go crazy on social media whenever DiCaprio and Winslet share a frame.

The actors were recently seen hugging each other at the SAG Awards on Saturday, and their hug that

Winslet told Kimmel.

“It’s been 20 years, and people still get such a kick out of it. It’s really quite endearing. And we do laugh about it. We were giggling about it last night. I was like, my god, can you actually believe that people just get so overwhelmed by the Jack and Rose thing.”

Apart from “Titanic”, the two stars have worked together in 2008 domestic drama “Revolutionary Road”.

(Indian Express)

H

ollywood superstar Hugh Jackman’s wife is “the greatest thing” that has ever happened to him. The “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, 47, is still head-over-heels for his wife Deborra Lee Furness, 60, after more than 20 years of marriage, reported Femalefirst.

“It gets better and better, I can honestly say that. She’s the greatest thing that ever happened to me. “She was the star and I had this major crush on her.

Everyone did. The whole crew had a crush on her and I was so embarrassed by that, I didn’t talk to her for about a week. I had a dinner party and I invited her over and about 20 other people.

“And she said, ‘What’s the matter,

have I annoyed you? You’re not talking to me anymore. What have I done wrong?’ and I said – I’d had a couple – and I said ‘oh look, I’ve got a crush on

you, I’ll get over it.’ And she went, ‘Oh really,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, this is bad.’

And she goes, ‘Yeah, I got one on you. too.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, great!’ So that was it.” (Indian Express)

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

IPL owner Dr Mallya Sir Viv backs new T20 “studying” CPL model league to take off

By Avenash Ramzan

I

ndian business tycoon, Dr Vijay Mallya, owner of the famed Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), is in discussions with officials of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (Hero CPL) regarding his involvement with the “Biggest Party in Sport.”

Chief Operations Officer of the Hero CPL, Pete Russell, during a wide-ranging interview with Guyana Times International Sport on Wednesday, confirmed that talks are ongoing between the two parties ahead of the start of the fourth edition of the League.

“We’re in discussions with Dr. Mallya, who is very much involved with the RCB team, and we’re hopeful at some point that he may be involved in CPL, whether he would be involved in CPL as an owner or just involved in another capacity, but that’s an ongoing discussion,” Russell stated.

He added, “Again, for us it’s great that we have all these people interested in owning teams in the Caribbean Premier

Dr Vijay Mallya

League, and the fact that they’re IPL owners. I think it is more testimony to the fact that they like what they see and they want to be part of it. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re more IPL owners down the road.”

Dr Mallya, speaking to the Mumbai Mirror last month, said he was “studying the CPL economics”, but denied suggestions he was on the verge of purchasing the CPL franchise, Barbados Tridents.

Dr Mallya, the chairman of the UB Group, indicated that he had met with CPL officials, but had not bought any interests in the Caribbean T20 domestic league.

He told the newspaper that until he “understood the CPL, which is very different from the

IPL”, he would not be engaging in any deal.

“I have not bought any CPL team. I am currently studying the CPL economics. I understand that the Barbados team is owned by CPL itself and is not a franchise,” Mallya told the Mumbai Mirror. “I am categorically telling [you] that I have not done any deal.

I met the CPL organisers to understand the model.

Just because I am studying the model, all kinds of rumours spark off.”

CPL has already attracted Indian business interest, with Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who owns the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise, taking over control of Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel last season.

Dr Mallya already has significant interests in several sports entities. He is part of a consortium which owns Formula One team Force India and his UB Group also owns Indian “I-League” professional football clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

The UB Group is a multibillion-dollar company based in Bangalore, and is India’s largest beer producer. (aramzan@guyanatimesgy. com)

D

UBAI, United Arab Emirates – West Indies icon Sir Vivian Richards likes the potential of the inaugural Pakistan Super League and says the tournament has the ability to take off once it attracts the right mix of players.

Sir Viv, one of West Indies’ greatest ever captains and finest batsmen, is serving as mentor for Quetta Gladiators – one of five teams in the latest global Twenty20 championship which runs from February 4-23.

“I have been involved with Big Bash for three years and I have been involved with Indian Premier League (IPL) for one year and Caribbean Premier League (CPL) too, so this is an extension,” Sir Viv said.

“So I believe that with the magnificent cricketers that you have in this region this could get better. It depends on the individuals who are part of the team themselves and I do believe there is enough personnel here for this league to be a success.”

Several West Indies players are set to feature in the tournament.

Superstar opener Chris Gayle and all-rounder

Former West Indies captain Sir Vivian Richards.

Dwayne Bravo will turn out for Lahore Qalandars while the much soughtafter all-rounder Andre Russell and leg-spinner Samuel Badree are on Islamabad United’s roster.

West Indies T20 captain Darren Sammy has signed with Peshawar Zalmi with batsman Lendl Simmons expected to feature for Karachi Kings.

Sir Viv, who led West Indies in 50 of his 121 Tests without ever losing a series, said the tournament would lend to the rich tradition of Pakistan cricket.

“I have always enjoyed Pakistan cricket.

Even though we as the West Indies team had success then, there was one team whom we always found problematic

and that was Pakistan,” Sir Viv said.

“Maybe you don’t have the players in form as you would like to, but certainly Pakistanis are always filled with magnificent talent.”

Sir Viv was quick to point out that his role in the PSL would not be a coaching one but more as a motivator.

“It is not about strokes. I am here basically to try and instill as much confidence as possible,” said the 63-yearold, a former West Indies coach.

“T20 cricket is all spontaneous, not the things that we have on a regular basis and so it is tough to coach. What I am here for is to inspire and pass whatever information that is necessary.” (CMC)

Butt, Asif, Amir could play in this year’s CPL

S

Salman Butt

Mohammad Asif

alman Butt and Mohammad Asif, who recently returned to competitive cricket after serving five-year bans for spot-fixing, have been registered for the Caribbean Premier League’s player draft, which will take place on February 11. The spot-fixing bans on Butt and Asif were lifted in September, and they made their comebacks in Pakistan’s domestic cricket in January.

Mohammad Amir, the other player banned for spot-fixing in the Lord’s Test of 2010, made his Pakistan comeback during their recent tour of New Zealand. His name is also on the CPL draft list.

Pakistan will be the most represented overseas nationality at the CPL draft, with 37 players including Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik. There will be 34

South African players in the draft, including Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir and Vernon Philander, 23 Australians, including Brad Haddin, Michael Hussey, Chris Lynn and Shaun Tait, and 20 Sri Lankans, including Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga, Lahiru Thirimanne and Ajantha Mendis.

In all, 289 players – 157 from West Indies and 132 from overseas – have been registered for the draft. This total does not include the six players – Faf du Plessis, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Kumar Sangakkara, Shane Watson, and one other name set to be revealed ahead of the draft – who will take one ‘marquee’ spot in each of the six CPL teams. Of the 157 West Indians, 16 have been retained by their teams ahead of the draft.

(Cricinfo)

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Chanderpaul was not forced to retire, says WICB S

T JOHN’S, Antigua — The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is refuting a suggestion that it forced veteran cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul to retire from international cricket so that he can play in the inaugural Masters Cricket League (MCL) T20 currently underway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Chanderpaul is claiming that a No Objection Certificate issued to him by the WICB contained a threatening clause which forced him to call time on his international career.

WICB issued NOCs to four players, including Chanderpaul, to facilitate their participation in the MCL, a tournament approved by the International Cricket Council for players who have retired from international cricket.

“I was given a No Objection Certificate by WICB with a clause in it that I retire on the 23rd,” Chanderpaul told ESPNcricinfo.

“If I didn’t announce my retirement they would have taken it back.”

However, the WICB said the NOCs were granted on the basis that the players were “well aware of their decisions to retire from international cricket and therefore allowing them to be eligible for participation in the inaugural tournament.”

The other players who were granted NOCs are Tino Best, Krishmar Santokie and Fidel Edwards.

The WICB statement made little reference to Best, Santokie and Edwards, but listed Chanderpaul’s series of low scores in his last Test

matches.

“Kindly advise by 4:30pm Eastern Caribbean Time on Saturday 23 January, 2016 in writing if you have retired from International cricket,” stated the note from the Operations department of the WICB to the players.

“Should you not indicate by the deadline we will be forced to revoke any NOC issued for the tournament.”

The 41-year-old was sacked last May after playing against England in the Caribbean where he scored 46 and 13 runs in the first Test, one and seven in the second and 25 and 0 in the third.

Chanderpaul is expected to turn out for leaders Guyana Jaguars when the WICB Professional Cricket League (PCL) resumes next week. (Jamaica Observer)

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Pakistan launches high-octane Super League in UAE

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U B A I : Pakistan is set to launch its first franchise-based Twenty20 league in the UAE today (Thursday) as its cash-strapped cricket board seeks to boost revenues and reverse the national team's slide in the game's shortest format.

The long-awaited first edition of the Pakistan Super League follows two previous attempts that fell through over a lack of sponsorship and the suspension of international cricket at home in the wake of a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team almost seven years ago.

With Pakistan's once-dominant Twenty20 side sliding to a lowly seventh place in world rankings following their recent series loss against New Zealand, organisers are keen for local talent to hone their skills alongside the world's best

From left, former cricketers Ijaz Ahmed, Mohammad Akram, Ramiz Raja, Dean Jones, Mushtaq Ahmed, Moin Khan and Wasim Akram pose at the start of the Pakistan Super League draft in Lahore on December 21, 2015 (AFP/File)

players including Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen and Shane Watson.

Featuring 69 local and 29 foreign stars, the five-team, 24-match league will be held from February 4-23 across two stadiums in Sharjah and Dubai — Pakistan's “home away from home” since the 2009 terror attack.

The teams were sold to private consortiums for a sum of US$93 million across 10 years, with US$200,000 salaries for top-tier players and relatively handsome paydays for middle-tier and emerging talent.

The winning side, meanwhile, will bring home US$1 million.

Former captain and

TTFA boss: Association not affected by funding cut

TTFA PRESIDENT: David John-Williams.

P

ort of Spain - The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) will not be directly affected by the recent decision by FIFA to cut funding to the CONMEBOL and CONCACAF confederations respectively according to president David John-Williams.

The governing body for world football cut funding to both confederations in an announcement on Monday, due to a spate of corruption allegations which culminated in last year’s scandal which saw 41 individuals and entities charged in the US on a variety of graft-related offences.

John-Williams told the Express yesterday that the TTFA does not fall under that funding umbrella.

“COMNEBOL and CONCACAF are confederations and we don’t receive funding from them,” he said. “We receive our funding from FIFA and our funding has been cut because we have not been compliant, and that’s what we’re working on. So, it does not affect the TTFA directly, they are confederations and FIFA have a separate funding for confederations as opposed to the national associations.” (Trinidad Express)

legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram said the league was vital for Pakistan to match the fast-rising standards of other Twenty20 teams.

“Look at where Indian cricket is now because of the Indian Premier League,” he said, referring to the

brash, glitzy tournament first launched in 2008 whose model has been emulated by other leading teams including Australia and the West Indies.

“By rubbing shoulders, by competing against and by sharing the dressing rooms with high profile players all the Indian players have benefitted and I envisage the same in the PSL,” added Akram, who is the bowling coach for Kolkata Knight Rider team in the IPL owned by Shah Rukh Khan.

“We have been struggling to match other teams,” agreed Shoaib Malik, a former captain who was part of Pakistan team which lost a Twenty20 series in New Zealand 2-1 last month.

“The PSL provides a launching pad for the future generation of

players as four emerging players in each team will learn a lot which is good for the future of Pakistan cricket,” he added.

Not everyone is as optimistic, with organisers privately admitting that in order to be viable the tournament will need to return to Pakistan for greater gate and TV revenues, while rampant piracy puts a question mark over the profitability of kit merchandising.

With lower salary caps than leagues elsewhere, it will also need to steer clear of the ever-present threat of fixing that has hit its predecessor leagues in India and Bangladesh, resulting in bans for the likes of international stars Shanthakumaran Sreesanth of India and Mohammad Ashraful of Bangladesh. (Taken from AFP)

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Grass track series starts February 28 at Ogle

CPL Draft set for next week — record number of players registered B

I

Ten races are carded for the first day of the series on February 28 at Ogle

t will be a day of skills, thrills, spills and daredevilry on February 28 when Sheik Yaseen Promotions in collaboration with Corona Beer stages the Corona Extra Grass Track Championship Series 2016 at the Ogle Community Centre ground, East Coast Demerara.

The event will be the first of six days of racing during the year, with other events planned for Berbice, Enterprise, Linden and Essequibo, before riders return to the Ogle Community Centre for the grand finale.

Action will speed off at 11:00h, and accord-

ing to coordinator, Sheik Yaseen, riders from Bartica, East Coast, Georgetown and Berbice have so far been confirmed to compete in the first installment of the series.

Yaseen explained that while the top six riders in each category will be rewarded, all the participants will be given points based on their finish, which will ultimately be tallied on the final day to determine the overall champion of the different divisions.

The coordinator further stated that the aim of the event is to revitalise grass track racing in Guyana, noting that on the first day, there will

be two races for persons with “regular bikes.” In order to be entered into these races, participants would be required to strip their machines of parts that are deemed to be hazardous.

A total of 10 races are carded for the first day.

Apart from the expected thrilling showdown among the bikers, there will also be the launch of the Guyana Grass Track Hall of Fame, with seven persons set to be honoured for their contribution to the sport.

They are Terrence Clarke, Brian McIntosh, Kevin Jeffrey, Stanley Ming, Mazar Mazarally, Mahesh Premsukh and Victor Pires.

GCB acquire 3 lawn mowers to assist in ground maintenance

RIDGETOWN, Barbados - Organisers of the HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) are reporting that a record number of local and international stars have registered for the Player Draft scheduled for February 11 in Barbados.

Players from 14 nations have entered the Draft for the fourth CPL which takes place June month end until the beginning of August.

Among the assembled overseas stars is a 34-strong South African contingent headed by prolific top order batsman Hashim Amla, leg-spinner Imran Tahir and fast bowler Morne Morkel.

Sri Lanka will have 20 representatives in the frame including legends Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lasith Malinga who will be looking to join their compatriot Kumar Sangakkara.

There will be 23 players from Australia in the Draft, including the experienced Brad Haddin, Brad Hodge and Michael Hussey and 11 New Zealanders, including the likes of Nathan McCullum.

A seven member Bangladesh contingent features Shakib Al Hasan one of the world’s finest all-rounders while seven players from Afghanistan are in the mix.

“Some of the leading names in world cricket have signalled their intentions to join the biggest party in sport at the CPL, so this year’s competition is sure to be our most exciting to date,” declared Director of International Cricket for CPL, Tom Moody.

“Outside of our ‘marquee’ players, there are international players of the highest standard including a host of World champions, and a myriad of players who continue to entertain and enrich the global game”.

The list of West Indies talent in the

frame for the six franchises this year includes stars of the calibre of Chris Gayle, West Indies World T20 captain Darren Sammy and Lendl Simmons.

Darren and Dwayne Bravo are set to join the number one ranked T20 international bowler Samuel Badree, as well as Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard.

“It is without doubt our most competitive roster and it is exciting to see such a high standard across the established and emerging nations around the world,” said Moody.

“That players from 14 nations have entered the Draft illustrates the global reach of the CPL, and with a sizable increase in the West Indies contingent which is up by over one-fifth this year, it is clear that the T20 game is growing from strength to strength.”

A statement released by CPL on Tuesday says it is also expecting interest from North America as players from Canada and the USA, who recently competed in the Nagico Super 50 competition, aim to book one of the six coveted places.

Two players each from England, Ireland and Scotland and one from the Netherlands will be the European representatives vying to secure a place in the CPL. Sixteen of the 157 West Indies players to register have already been retained ahead of the draft, leaving 141 eligible for selection on draft day.

“This is 25 more than the 116 who vied for spots at last year’s Draft and represents a 22% increase,” said the CPL statement.

“Coupled with an 18% increase in international player registration, this is further illustration of the CPL’s growing stature as one of the foremost tournaments in T20 cricket”. (CMC)

T&T futsal team to meet Honduras in semi-final playoff

T

GCB officials pose with the newly acquired lawn mowers

he Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has acquired three John Deer motorised lawn mowers to assist in the development and maintenance of pitch squares and grounds in a number of area associations.

According to a press release, this aspect of development is perceived as critical in the GCB’s lateral cricket development structure, which encompasses the human resource empowerment (such as players, coaches, tutors, scorers, umpires Match Referees and other cricket per-

sonnel), facility development (such as club structures, nets, pitches and grounds) and the meaningful interaction processes between the two – human resource personnel of established facilities.

The GCB has conducted a countrywide ground assessment and analysis, and found the upkeep of grounds to a highly suitable standard to be a major challenge to ground authorities, with one of the main reasons the being inaccessibility of appropriate equipment.

It has been observed

over the years that the needed regular maintenance of a number of facility grounds posed a challenge, especially during the period where sponsorship was not as readily available as in the years of West Indies dominance of world cricket.

The lawn movers which will be used to upgrade and maintain a number of area association grounds, are expected to add value to both the visible appearance of pitch squares and outfields and to outfields’ cricket effectiveness.

HONDURAS next: The national futsal players upon their return from the CFU qualifiers. They will square off with Honduras on the court in May to determine who will move to the CONCACAF Championships. (Trinidad Express photo)

P

ort of SpainTrinidad and Tobago’s national futsal team were drawn to face Honduras in the semi-final playoff round in the CONCACAF section of qualifying for the Futsal World Cup which will be held in Colombia in September.

The matches against

Honduras will be played in Costa Rica on May 5 and 6, and the winners will then move on to the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers, the 2016 CONCACAF Futsal Championship which is carded to be held from May 8-15.

The eight-team tournament will feature two

groups of four, with the top two teams in the group moving into the semi-finals and sealing a place in the World Cup. So far Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Cuba and Curaçao have already qualified for the final round. (Trinidad Express)

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Guyana among three countries bidding to host this year’s CPL final

Guyana has become known for hosting sold-out games ever since the CPL began in 2013

By Avenash Ramzan

G

uyana is among three countries which have an interest in the hosting of the final of the 2016 Hero Caribbean Premier League (Hero CPL) on August 7, according to Chief Operations Officer of the League, Pete Russell.

CPL 2016, slated for six weeks, will bowl off on June 29, and according to the initial scheduling, Guyana will host four preliminary games, the first of which is tentatively set for July 5.

News broke last year about Guyana being among the front-runners to host the semi-finals and final, and Russell,

during an exclusive interview with this publication on Wednesday, said the South American nation, which has attracted sold out crowds for all games to date, is certainly in the running to host the championship game.

“The final is obviously the jewel in our crown.

There are currently three countries who are inter-

ested. We’ve had discussions; it’s our duty to make sure we have discussions with all the countries that are involved in CPL,” Russell pointed out.

He added, “This is a very special year for Guyana; we realise that and we want to be a big part of that, so for us we’ve had very positive discussions about what we can do. Obviously, from my side it would be wrong for me to say that we haven’t discussed whether the semis or final couldn’t be played here. But that’s a matter for the government, and how they view it.”

The Chief Operations Officer added that dis-

cussions were held with top officials of the government of Guyana during his visit here to help in laying the groundwork for the Guyana leg of the tournament.

“We’ve talked to them about a number of issues and opportunities.

Obviously, this is a massive year for Guyana with the Golden Jubilee celebrations, so CPL very much wants to be part of that so we’re trying to find a way of being a key part of that, as the year progresses,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Russell also indicated that unlike previous years, matches could be held in territories outside the

Caribbean.

“We have looked at Florida as probably the next destination, and we want to play games there. We believe that Guyana should play some its games there, [in fact] all of the teams should play games there.

So we’re in discussions with USACA [United States of America Cricket Association] and the ICC [International Cricket Council] and we hope to confirm that we can play games there,” Russell divulged.

CPL 2016 will get rolling on February 11 in Barbados with the highly anticipated Player Draft. (aramzan@guyanatimesgy.com)

Meusa leads Trophy Stall chess A

fter three rounds of action in the season-opening Trophy Stall chess tournament, Wendell Meusa, has assumed pole position with an unblemished record. Competing at the National Resource Centre last weekend, Meusa won all his games to surge to the top of the table with three points.

He is closely followed by Loris Nathoo, who chalked up two wins and a draw, and is on 2.5 points. Eight players are locked on two points each, and they are Anthony Drayton, Davion Mars, Roberto Neto, Ron Motilall, Frankie Farley, Kristoff Persaud, Taffin Khan and Maria Thomas.

Seven players have one point each, and they are Gabriel Ferrer, Errol Tiwari, Rashad Hussain, Kenrick Brathwaite, Jessica Callender, Ghanshan Allijohn and Jason Wills.

Owen Mickle has 0.5 point, while Aslam Hussain and John Wong are dwelling in the cellar position without a point.

The remaining four rounds of the

Loris Nathoo

seven-round Swiss system competition will be contested this weekend at the same venue.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 7 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Fernandes finishes second in Canada’s twin events Prior to that, Fernandes had defeated New Zealand’s Amanda Landers- Murphy 1210, 11-1, 16-14 in a hardfought contest in the first round.

A few days later, the England-based Fernandes was back in action, com-

Nicolette Fernandes

By Avenash Ramzan

G

uyana’s squash sensation Nicolette Fernandes has started 2016 in fine style, advancing to the final of back-to-back competitions in Canada, but stumbling at the last hurdle, finishing runner-up on both occasions.

The 32-year-old, who is currently ranked number 24 in the world, finished second best to England’s Victoria Lust in the Granite Open in Toronto, a competition that took place on January 18-22.

Fernandes, who was seeded sixth in the tournament, lost in straight sets to fourth seed Lust,

who chalked up scores of 11-6, 11-2, and 11-4 in the 45-minute game.

The Guyanese had advanced to the final on the back of a gritty performance in the quarter-finals, where she defeated Deon Saffery of Wales in a five-set thriller, which lasted 77 minutes, by far the longest match of the tournament.

Saffery, who had to compete in the qualifiers to enter the main draw, took the opening two set 118, 11-9, before Fernandes stormed back to win the next two sets 11-7, 11-3.

With all to play for in the final set, Fernandes churned out an 11-9 scoreline to book her place in the final.

peting in the Winnipeg Winter Club Open from January 28-31. The final was a showdown between the top two seeds- number one Emily Whitlock of England and number two Fernandes.

Whitlock copped the title with a straight-set win,

winning 11-8, 11-7, and 114.

Fernandes had earlier blazed through to the final, winning all her games in straight sets. In the first round, she toppled Canada’s Anika Alexander 11-2, 11-2, 11-6, before beating Cyrielle Peltier of

France 11-4, 11-5, 12-10 in the quarter-finals.

In the semi-finals, Fernandes defeated Canada’s Hollie Naughton 11-5, 11-3, 11-6. Prior to the two tournaments, Fernandes was ranked 28 in the world. (aramzan@ guyanatimesgy.com)