Guyana times international

INTERNATIONAL

‘It wasn’t me’ THE BEACON OF TRUTH

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You can also read Guyana Times daily edition online at www.guyanatimesgy.com

ISSUE NO. 330

WEEK ENDING January 29, 2017

...Nagamootoo distances himself from Chronicle’s See story on ‘scandalous attack’ on Acting Chancellor page 21

Man accused of murdering Guyanese in T&T arrested Page 3

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo inspects a guard of honour on his arrival at the Police Officers' Annual Conference on Thursday in Georgetown

US Ambassador to Guyana not affected

by President Trump’s envoy recall Page 28

Killed: Khemraj Persaud

Governor Cuomo announces approval of first offshore wind project in NY Page 4

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NEWS 3

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

British expert is now advisor to President Granger on security issues

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ritish Senior Security Sector Reform Advisor, Mr. Russell Combe, who will serve as the Advisor to the President under the United Kingdom’s (UK) Security Sector Reform Programme (SSRP), on Wednesday, met with Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, where he was assured of Government’s commitment to ensuring the crafting and implementation of the fiveyear strategic report, which the advisor will produce at the end of his one year placement in Guyana.

Mr. Combe is from the Olive Group, which was contracted by Engineering, Design, Construction, Management (AECOM), on behalf of the United Kingdom Government.

According to a MOTP release, during the meet-

From left: Mr. Nick Forwood, Director- Strategic Defence and Security Management Services and Defence; Engineering, Design, Construction, Management (AECOM), Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon and Mr. Russell Combe, Senior Security Sector Reform Advisor.

ing, Minister Harmon reminded that this US$4.7B programme was scrapped in 2009 by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Administration after the British Government had

requested to have oversight of the programme, to ensure that there was ‘value for money’.

The former Government saw this request as a move to intrude upon Guyana’s

sovereignty.

However, the British Government had said that the then Government had submitted a different proposal — one which had focused on police modernisation rather than

employing a holistic approach to reform, as was originally requested. The intention of the British was to build a workable basis for improving national security, while reducing crime in Guyana by 2011.

Mr. Combe, whose office will be housed at the Ministry of the Presidency during his one-year stay in Guyana, in an invited comment, said that his posting here will see him looking at the needs of the security sector through all the stakeholders and will be working closely with the Head of State.

“One of the recommendations that needs analysis [done in 2016] is that there should be a security advisor to the President, imbedded in his office and that was successfully bid for by AECOM, which is the company with which

Olive Group has partnered for the provision of such services. My terms of reference are, in short, to deliver a review of security sector requirements for the President,” he said.

Questioned on the stakeholders he expects to engage with over the next year, Mr. Combe said, “The Police would be a very important instrument of the security sector, the Guyana Defence Force, the Ministry of [Legal Affairs], the [Guyana] Prison Service, and everybody who is involved in providing security to the people of Guyana.”

The five year strategic plan, Mr. Combe said will give the Government a reasonable time frame to be able to implement some, if not all, of the recommendations that will be made.

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WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

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EDITORIAL

The Trump Doctrine

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onald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States last Friday, in the bitter chill of winter, and unlike most of his predecessors’, his words matched the weather. Taking the road never travelled, he eschewed the usual soaring rhetoric and words of reconciliation to his just defeated opponents. Instead, he emphasised the central theme of his campaign: he was going to rebuild an America from the “carnage” wrought by his predecessors and the establishment that stood with him on the stage.

He emphasised his presidency would be different in form and substance. On the foreign policy front he explicitly disavowed a role for the US to be the “world’s Policeman” and reiterated the isolationist line from his campaign: “From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first. America first,” Trump said. “For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidised the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military; we’ve defended other nation’s borders, while refusing to defend our own; and spent trillions of dollars overseas, while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We will follow two simple rules: Buy American, and hire American.”

This position is consistent with that taken during the campaign – where he was even more explicit in naming several European countries – and will have certainly caused some headscratching across the Atlantic with the US NATO allies. Most likely alluding to Russia, Trump said his administration will abandon the imposition of US values on other nations – presumably including those promoted by the LEAD programme here: “We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world. But we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow.”

But the implied laissez faire on ideology does not extend to Islam: “We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones. And unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth.” The word “eradicate” is very strong and implies a total war that will take this battle even into the home – both within and without America.

Abandoning the commitment to free trade that his predecessors had placed at the centre of their foreign policy programme, Trump insisted: “Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs.” Relations with China will definitely be re-evaluated to prevent these “ravages”.

Even though he might not have come out of the traditional US conservative movement, on the domestic front he embraced their central value of a smaller and less intrusive government, but with a populist focus: “…we are transferring power from Washington, DC, and giving it back to you, the people. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.

That all changes starting right here and right now. Because this moment is your moment. It belongs to you.”

But Trump was not speaking to all who were watching: his constant reiteration to “Americans”, “the American people” and “citizens” were code words to invoke the nativist fears he had exploited during the campaign on immigrants, legal and illegal.

He also invoked the premises of American exceptionalism: “No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again.”

We live in interesting times.

Sunset in Berbice, West Berbice, Guyana. (Photo by Girendra Persaud)

Governor Cuomo announces approval of first offshore wind project in NY

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overnor Andrew M. Cuomo earlier this week disclosed that the Board of Trustees of the Long Island Power Authority voted to approve the nation's largest offshore wind farm, and the first offshore wind farm in New York. The approval of the South Fork Wind Farm, a 90 megawatt development 30 miles southeast of Montauk, is the first step toward developing an area that can host up to 1,000 megawatts of offshore wind power.

According to a statement from the Governor’s office, the wind farm, which is out of sight from Long Island’s beaches, will provide enough electricity to power 50,000 Long Island homes with clean, renewable energy, and will help meet increasing electricity demand on the South Fork of Long Island.

The vote comes two weeks after Governor Cuomo called on LIPA to approve the wind farm project and announced an unprecedented commitment to develop up to 2.4 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 in his regional State of the State address on Long Island. The 2.4 gigawatt target, which is enough power generation for 1.25 million homes, is the largest commitment to offshore wind energy in U.S. history, helping to bring this valuable resource to New Yorkers at a scale unmatched in the United States.

"New York leads the nation in pioneering clean energy innovation, and this bold action marks the next step in our unprecedented commitment to offshore wind, as well as our ambitious long term energy goal of supplying half of all electricity from renewable sources by 2030," Governor Cuomo said.

"This project will not only provide a new, reliable source of clean energy, but will also create high-paying jobs, continue our efforts to combat climate change and help preserve our environment for current and future generations of New Yorkers," he added.

The LIPA Board approved a contract submitted by Deepwater Wind for the South Fork Wind Farm after a year-long process engaging the private sector for the best available clean energy generation ideas and detailed cost modeling. Other elements of LIPA’s South Fork energy portfolio include transmission enhancements and additional clean energy solutions such as battery storage and consumer electricity demand reduction.

The LIPA Board approved a 20-year pay-for-performance Power Purchase Agreement, allowing the utility to only pay for delivered energy without taking construction or operating risk. Advancing technology and innovation reduced the projects all-in wind energy price to be competitive with other renewable energy sources.

In addition to the approval for the South Fork Wind Farm, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is con-

tinuing to develop an Offshore Wind Master Plan outlining the State’s commitment to developing cost-effective offshore wind resources in federal waters off the coast of New York. The Master Plan, to be released in late 2017, will show how additional New York coastal sites may be developed responsibly and will set capacity targets and commercial operation dates for each site. The state will continue to work closely with coastal community members, the fishing and maritime industries, environmental advocates and other stakeholders to identify additional offshore wind energy sites to be included in New York’s Offshore Wind Master Plan.

Tom Falcone, LIPA’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are confident this is the first step to developing the tremendous potential of offshore wind off Long Island’s coast and meeting

Governor Cuomo’s Clean Energy Standard. This project is the right size, at the right location and demonstrates how smart energy decisions can reduce cost while providing renewable energy and clean air for all of Long Island.”

John Rhodes, President and CEO of NYSERDA said: “New York is leading the nation in developing offshore wind to provide clean, renewable energy and I applaud LIPA’s approval of the South Fork Wind Farm. Offshore wind has great potential to help us achieve our ambitious clean energy goals under the Clean Energy Standard and Reforming the Energy Vision as well as the Governor’s 2.4 gigawatt goal, and this project will reduce our carbon footprint and protect the environment for generations to come.”

NEWS 5

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Major shakeup expected in AFC’s leadership structure …as top guns vie for leadership positions

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lliance For Change (AFC) Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo and former party leader Raphael Trotman will be vying against incumbent Leader Khemraj Ramjattan for the highest position in the minority partner in the governing allianceat its National Executive Conference (NEC) this weekend.

Though the Constitution of the AFC stipulates that an office holder should not hold the same position for more than two consecutive terms, Ramjattan will be running for a third term – having been appointed as leader since 2012. Even though he has argued against a third term for former President Jagdeo Ramjattan has since claimed that the AFC constitution is not mandatory.

But Trotman, who is one of the founders of the AFC, strongly objected to the notion of one member holding the same position for more than two consecutive terms.

“The constitution says it ought to rotate and I believe that we should, unless there is some extraordinary situation. The delegates will of course, have a right to choose. But I believe that we should try to adhere to the constitution unless the delegates feel otherwise,” the AFC Executive Member explained.

Trotman, who also aided

in the crafting of the party’s constitution, noted that the spirit of the constitution was to ensure that the leadership is constantly rotated.

“So definitely, it does not say ‘shall’ like the constitution, but I believe the intention of the framers of the AFC constitution – and I was certainly one of them – was to ensure that there was movement. And we should do our best to ensure that we honour the spirit of the (AFC) constitution… I believe that this is something the delegates would have to ponder and make a decision on,” he stated.

This position was also supported by Attorney-atLaw Chris Ram, who claimed he was there when the constitution was drafted and even assisted in the process.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has since observed that the differenc-

es among the party’s senior members regarding the interpretation of the AFC constitution points to the “implosion” of the AFC. Meanwhile, Nagamootoo, Ramjattan and Trotman are also contesting for the post of AFC Chairman, which is currently vacant following the resignation of Nigel Hughes.

Nagamootoo is currently acting Chairman.

Also vying for this spot is Executive Member Catherine Hughes.

Vice Chairman is being contested by Nagamootoo, Trotman, Hughes, Valerie Garrido Lowe and Audwin Rutherford.

Additionally, David Patterson is being challenged for the General Secretary post by Michael Carrington, Alison Mohamed and Marlon Williams.

A major shakeup in the AFC’s leadership structure

is expected at its NEC which will be held at the Vreed-enHoop Secondary School on January 28.

At the NEC, the AFC will also appoint its 12 National Executive Committee members from a total of 73 nominees.

In addition to the 12 elected members of the National Executive Committee, each Regional Management Committee and overseas chapter, along with Women For Change and Youth For Change are entitled to send a representative to the Executive Committee meetings. In addition, the Executive Committee can co-opt up to five members if the need arises for additional representation in particular areas.

The party has an electoral college system comprising of 275 delegates which are allocated as follows: Region One

(Barima-Waini) – 10 delegates, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) – 20 delegates, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) – 15 delegates, Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) – 75 delegates, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) – 20 delegates, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) – 40 delegates, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) – 10 delegates, Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) – 10 delegates, Region Nine (Upper TakatuUpper Essequibo) – 10 delegates, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) – 20 delegates, Women For Change (WFC) – 10 delegates, Youths For Change (YFC) – 10 delegates, USA Chapter – nine delegates, Canada Chapter – six delegates, Caribbean Chapter – six delegates and United Kingdom Chapter – four delegates.

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Airport taxi drivers in Guyana should be trained how to treat visitors

Dear Editor, As it relates to certified taxi drivers at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), I must firstly state that there are many decent, pleasant, respectful and elegantly dressed drivers who help to market our country to tourists and visiting Guyanese from abroad. They are key pioneers of our impression to the world and in many cases, have helped to enhance our reputation.

However, there are those who bring shame to Guyana by indulging in vulgarity and abusing passengers (asking for a small piece) at this prestigious airport. I am extremely disappointed by the following: On Tuesday, January 10, 2017 I was at the airport and I was very dissatisfied, shocked and embarrassed, upon picking up my mother, to observe the behaviour of a taxi driver dressed in his uniform speaking loudly to other taxi drivers in the presence of incoming foreigners.

He was clearly trying to make a spectacle of himself but his ignorance may have caused potential investors to be turned away by this simple action.

With his mentality for stupidity and the others going along with him, I asked a question to myself: “Don’t they know that they represent our nation?” We must remember that when people visit countries, the first impression that they get is from our peoples.

Once I returned from foreign and I took a taxi with a young man who was passionate to drive me down. As our destination was Light and Charlotte Streets, Georgetown, I realised that he took a route through Albouystown, Charlestown and Princess Street. In my mind, I thought he could have taken the Mandela Avenue into Brickdam route where I could have seen some places of interest (1763 Monument, National Cultural Centre, etc) and also observe the infrastructure of the capital city. I was saddened that a man who should be marketing our country, decided to drive on roads with pot holes, bumps and no traffic signs. After I

got to my destination, I paid him his due without a tip. On another occasion, I and my family arrived at the airport and we needed a minibus to carry all of us home with our luggage. As I was asking, one minibus driver said that “you need to pay double”. I simply told him that he could not work in such an institution and take advantage of a customer and I refused to pay him such a price as man of discipline and as a patriot.

Following that statement, he refused to take me and my family and all the other taxi drivers said that they would not; I believe there arose a conspiracy which made me believe that they were all working together for each other to get their way by abusing passengers.

I began to imagine the level of disrespect and hustle that other Guyanese and foreigners face at the hands of such deceitful taxi and bus airport drivers. It must be reasonable to mention that after this incident occurred, the management of the CJIA sanctioned and suspended the bus driver. Later, a senior official of the Airport called and apologised sincerely for the ordeal.

I wish to advise the Public Infrastructure Ministry and the management of the CJIA that courses or classes can be given to the drivers on courtesy, respect and hospitality as they are expected to behave with certain decorum and class.

I wish to reiterate that they are many elegant and decent drivers at present, but they are the few who operate with hooliganism that need to be sanctioned. It would not be a bad decision to bring back the intelligence system, as our nation needs to be proud and shine for the Caribbean and the entire world.

I believe that tourism will play a major role in the development of Guyana. I am calling on the board of the CJIA, the Ministry of the Presidency, the Tourism Ministry, and the Public Infrastructure Tourism to look into this matter urgently.

Yours sincerely, Roshan Khan

Other leaders are quite capable of leading the AFC Dear Editor, The leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Khemraj Ramjattan continues to justify that the AFC constitution is silent about a third term and therefore it’s his democratic right that a Third Term “ought” to be bestrode upon him at the National Conference; however, this argument can be extended further because the Alliance For Change falls under the Friendly Society Act under the Constitution of Guyana, where there is no provision for Third Terms.

Ramjattan has done a splendid job as leader for the Alliance For Change, so I remind him that his contribution was outstanding, but it’s time for others to contribute towards the development of the party and the mentality that without Ramjattan, AFC would be dead.

That will never happen because there are other leaders who are also capable and who could take the party into the future.

As it relates to the Rotation Principle, most successful governments with democratic principles remove its leaders after two terms, that is the norm Worldwide except for the countries with dictators who refused to move and misused their countries’ constitution to remain continually and, my friend, you are not Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the Zimbabwean Dictator for life, so let the harmony of the Party continue and brotherhood as we host a successful National Conference.

Yours truly, Pradeep Bacha

Govt has violated the general principles of granting scholarships Dear Editor, President David Granger is reported on in the State Media as saying “there is nothing corrupt about the granting of scholarships to Ministers Annette Ferguson and Nicolette Henry.” Along the same vein, I also have the Brooklyn Bridge to sell.

First of all, the President and his Cabinet have violated the general principles of granting scholarships in the public services by not acting impartially to all groups, persons, and organisations when these scholarships were distributed. This 2016 scholarship-gate was a giveaway fest for party members. Even the professionals in the Public Service Ministry Training Division expressed private disgust at the level of political interference to one of my friends and they all voted for the Coalition. The line between professionalism and unprofessionalism continues to be crossed every day by this Government; it is like they cannot help themselves and act professionally and within the rules for once.

Secondly, the President is not being fully truthful with the public with this statement because he is fully aware once these Ministers commence their programme of studies, they will not be able to give an honest effort in delivering service to the public. They cannot be “sucking cane and blowing the whistle” at the same time. They are either Ministers or students during this period, but undoubtedly they cannot be both since a Minister is a full-time effort.

Thirdly, this act of doling out these funds to these Ministers evidently represents a failure to protect and spend public funds in the best interest of the nation. This act of having the Minister with one foot in and one foot out

is nothing but public fraud, public waste and misappropriation of public funds by the Granger government. Any high school child will know that this act by the Administration is public corruption.

The duty of a minister is to fulfil their mandate in good faith and with a full obligation to the citizens of Guyana.

How can a Minister who is busy doing an assignment for a school project be able to offer the Guyanese people top service in the middle of a seawall breakaway? That Minister will never be 100 per cent on the job and what is the most important role of a Minister – making decisions. So we can expect many clumsy and ill-thought decisions by these Ministers in the ensuing period.

In conclusion, this scholarship situation is nothing but a wanton abuse of the rules and the misuse of public office for private gains for selected persons.

This is an immoral commitment of State funds for Government officials that bind the taxpayers in a relationship that has very little value for money for them and all the benefits for a select few. The mere fact that these scholarships were offered to sitting Ministers illustrates that they are gaining financially from a transaction that comes into direct conflict with their responsibilities to the Government and people of Guyana. So this last minute whitewash statement to justify the act cannot and will not erase the black mark concerning this unethical abuse of the Treasury. We must reject and combat these immoral acts of abuse by the Granger administration on all fronts.

Sincerely, Surujdai Lilmohan

Guyana’s justice system continues to deteriorate Dear Editor, Comments like those offered by the Finance Minister in his 2017 Budget with respect to the progress on the reforms in the judicial system has to be rejected on all fronts since it is constructed in an environment of massive mental delusion.

The Minister was quoted as saying “the Government continues to place the highest priority on the maintenance of a strong justice system, given its role in upholding our civil liberties and maintaining the rule of law.”

Where is this strong justice system that the Minister is alluding to? Thus my use of the word delusional because such a system does not exist in Guyana, has not for a very long time, and the justice system continues to deteriorate under this Granger government with these public measures of witchhunt and harassment of the top judicial official by the politicians.

We have a strategic problem in the judicial system, it is a third-rate deliverer of justice, especially if you are poor and cannot raise “bail money”. The Finance Minister in his 2017 Budget introduced a G$1.6 billion IDB Project that is aiming to provide: Alternative sentencing interventions Strengthening of probation services Design and implementation of restorative justice programme Implementation of case management and court scheduling system Training of judges and magistrates in the use of alternatives to pre-trial detention Law reform My immediate response to this latest act of public squander is – here we go again. Guyana has spent some G$10 billion by way of foreign donor projects on Justice Sector Reforms and Citizen Security Programmes since 2007 and it has mostly come to naught. Guyana is still a crime infested society that has a judicial system that still has thousands of cases in the backlog piles, unresponsive to the needs of the accused and

actively violates the human rights of dozens of innocent men and women in a remand system that is totally malfunctional.

There is no social justice for the poor and the working class in Guyana; not under Anil Nandlall and now ten times worst under Basil Williams because of serious legal administrative issues.

Under Anil Nandlall, an Amerindian victim, one Mr Justin John, languished in jail for seven years because the prosecutorial system was unwilling to deliver justice in a timely manner. Today under Basil Williams, it is an even worst situation with dozens more such active cases leading a President to make irrational decisions with a methodology that resembles “ine-mini-mini-mo” to release prisoners from an overcrowded prison system. Good try, but there is a better way, put the people in front of judges and magistrates. But if the Granger administration is playing petty politics with judicial appointments, then the only option they have is “ine-mini-mine-mo” and this is a classification of how dotish the judicial system has descended these days under David Granger.

It is unfortunate that after all these years, our policy makers do not understand that development is not how much money we spend, but how much of that money actually benefits the intended beneficiary. Where is the change for the poor and the working class that was promised at WHIM in 2015?

It is up to the Independent Media to ask the tough questions of the DPP, Attorney General and the Public Security Minister and their “Kabaka” himself so that this trend of denying justice to the working class reduces. This is not how the poor and the powerless must be treated. It is just plain wrong.

How many more poor people, who cannot afford to raise bail, will be forced to languish unjustly in jail for years because the DPP, the Police and those tasked with Judicial Reforms in the Granger government are failing to do the job that they are paid to do?

Yours faithfully, Sase Singh

news 7

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

G$28B lawsuit against GRA

Govt says Banks DIH fighting “a lost cause” A

ttorney General Basil Williams declared Banks DIH Limited will be fighting a lost cause against the country’s tax authority, guaranteed that all efforts will be exhausted to ensure not a dime comes out of the national treasury to refund the beverage giant, which has filed a G$28B lawsuit against the GRA to be given the same tax treatment as its competitor DDL. Williams at a press conference on Wednesday contended that the time has passed for the beverage company to take any actions against the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), even in light of the extravagant tax write-off granted to the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) last year.

“You must always remember in tax matters, there is a statutory limitation, you can’t sit on your rights and hope that the cost keeps increasing and then you come 10 years later. You have three months within which you must bring an action,” the Attorney General asserted.

Moreover, Williams argued that he was wrongly named co-defendant in the matter because the settlement of

Banks DIH Limited

tax cases falls outside of his jurisdiction.

“The GRA is an independent institution and not a Government department so the Attorney General whose remit is to represent the Government departments and the aspects of Government sectors, Ministries, etc, would not come under that,” he explained.

Nonetheless, given that the legal proceedings filed by Banks DIH could result in a significant depletion in the Treasury’s balance, the Attorney General said he would lend his assistance to ensure the GRA wins the case.

“I will give all and every assistance that is necessary in protecting the Government’s cof-

fers, the taxpayers’ coffers,” he stated.

GRA’s take

Meanwhile, the Guyana Revenue Authority in a statement late Wednesday evening stated that Commissioner- General Godfrey Statia has indicated that the tax body was served with a Writ of Summons dated December 16, 2016, by Banks DIH Ltd. The statement added that the beverage company is seeking declarations that Consumption Tax paid for periods 2001 to 2006 were paid under a mistake of law. Alternatively the Company seeks an Order for repayment by the Government of Guyana of the said taxes. To date the Company has not

filed its Statement of Claim in the matter, the GRA said.

According to the revenue authority it will respect the Court’s jurisdiction by not litigating issues of law in the public domain.

Lawsuit

Banks DIH on December 16, 2016, filed legal proceedings against the Attorney General and the GRA, claiming over G$28 billion in repayments in light of the G$3.8 billion tax write-off granted to its competitor, the DDL. DIH paid some G$12.8 billion in taxes over the period 2001 to 2006. But in light of the DDL tax write-off last year, the beverage giant calculated that it should have only paid some G$3

billion.

The company argued that the Government would be “unjustly enriched” if it retained the approximately G$9 billion (the difference between the paid amount in taxes and the net figure Banks DIH estimated it should have paid).

In this regard, Banks DIH claims that it is entitled to some G$9 billion plus 10 per cent interest compounded over the period 2001 to 2006 resulting in a total of some G$28 billion after taking into account the settlement figure payable by DDL of G$1.5 billion.

In 2002, a legal challenge was launched by DDL against the GRA over its assessment by the Commissioner General of consumption taxes owed by that company in a sum exceeding G$1 billion, for the period January 2001 to September 2002.

It was eventually quashed by the High Court on February 1, 2005. The GRA appealed that decision in the Court of Appeal.

On July 31, 2008, the Court of Appeal dismissed this appeal on the ground that the Commissioner General had used a wrong formula for the calculation of

the consumption taxes.

The Court prescribed a formula to be used.

In 2009, the Commissioner General, utilising the court-recommended formula, assessed DDL’s consumption tax liabilities for the period 2001-2007 (since after 2007 Consumption Tax was abolished with the introduction of Value Added Tax). The newly assessed liability of DDL for that period was some G$5.3 billion.

Again, DDL filed legal proceedings challenging this assessment.

According to the records, the GRA then retained an external Senior Counsel and was steadfastly defending this challenge when the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC) coalition assumed office.

Instead of continuing to defend Government’s case against DDL, the beverage company was granted a G$3.8 billion tax write-off, having only to pay G$1.5 billion.

Therefore, after about 15 years of litigation, with DDL having the use of several billion dollars of State funds, interest-free, the APNU/ AFC Government settled for G$1.5 billion.

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WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Guyana’s law school will be opened to the region - AG Williams Nandlall had also raised concerns over the accreditation of the school and the quality of education to be offered.

But the Attorney General assured on a number of occasions that the Council of Legal Education will be governing the operations of the local law school, and that the institution and its programmes will be accredited and recAttorney General Basil Williams and representatives of ognised across the enUCC/LCA signing the Memorandum of Understanding tire Region. for the establishment of the law school in Guyana It was pointed out s he gears up to ed that Guyana will not that the cost would be discuss the ambi- be subjected to the zoning incredibly cheaper givtious venture of es- regulations. tablishing a law school in Williams will be at- en that students facGuyana with the Council tending the Meeting of tored in living expenses of Legal Education, the Executive Committee in addition to their tuition Attorney General Basil of the CLE in Jamaica be- when they were studying Williams explained that tween January 27-28 and abroad.

Assurances were also the local law school will among the agenda items not be subjected to the will be discussions on the given that the lecturers zoning regulations ap- establishment of the law contracted will be of high standards to ensure that plied to other law schools school in Guyana.

He said this discussion the students are offered in the Region.

The Attorney General would fall under “other quality legal education.

It is also the vision of told media operatives business”. the partners involved for during a press conferThe Guyana the school to go beyond recently ence onWednesday that Government training students to be the JOF Haynes Law signed a Memorandum School – to be established of Understanding (MoU) called to the bar.

Deputy Vice in Guyana – will not be with two law institutions Chancellor of the zoned as the other legal out of Jamaica for the University of Guyana institutions in the Region establishment of a law Dr Barbara that are operating under school – which is expected (UG), to eliminate the difficul- Reynolds expressed the the CLE. “Everybody in the ties faced by law students hope that the law school Region it (the law school) across the Caribbean in will broaden the horizons will be opened to,” he stat- pursuing their furthering for students studying law.

Dr Reynolds stressed ed. their studies in the legal that there is not sufficient The three law schools field.

The two law schools study of the law from an operating under the CLE are categorised into differ- are the University College academic perspective as ent zones, whereby stu- of the Caribbean (UCC) opposed to a practical perdents who reside in terri- and the Law College of spective.

Meanwhile, the tories within a particular the Americas (LCA). zone can only study at the Former Attorney Attorney General hopes schools which fall under General Anil Nandlall that the law school will has since expressed con- become operational next their zones.

But when asked cerns over these two insti- year in order to accommoby Guyana Times tutions, contending that date Guyanese law stuInternational, the they are “virtually un- dents desirous of pursuing their legal studies.

Attorney General indicat- known”.

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Cops hunting 2 over disappearance of EBD woman

Missing: Shonette Savory

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he Police are now on the hunt for two suspects who are wanted in connection with the disappearance of Shonette Savory; the Prospect, East Bank Demerara (EBD) woman who went missing in August 2016.

Patrick Kissoon, called “Pato” and Ritesha Rahaman, called “Tesha” are wanted by the Police for questioning in relation to the disappearance.

The 37-year-old woman went missing from her residence at Lot 222 Last Street, Prospect,

EBD, and was never heard from since.

According to information, on the day of her disappearance, the woman who lived alone left home with the intention of buying credit for her prepaid meter.

She reportedly returned, topped up her meter and then left again.

An unknown man who lives in the area reportedly told Savory’s family members that he spoke to her when she was headed out – he was the last to hear from her. An inspection of her home revealed that the woman did not take any important document or items, which indicated that she intended to return. Numerous attempts were made to contact the mother of one, however her cellphone kept going to voicemail.

In December, during the course of their investigations, Police had removed the shack to inspect its concrete flooring after receiving infor-

Wanted: Ritesha Rahaman

mation that the woman was buried there, however they came up empty handed.

The shack belonged to a man who resided at Belle West, West Bank Demerara (WBD) and who Savory was last seen with.

The man reportedly went missing after Police revealed that he was wanted for questioning.

However, since then, no other information emerged and Savory’s family members are still in distress as to what happened to her.

Guyana passport drops on visa-free index within a year

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u y ana has dropped within a year on the Arton Capital’s Passport Index ranking.

The ranking index recently released its updated list, targeting 199 countries.

It noted that Guyana’s passport allows its citizens to visit 74 countries without a visa.

According to the latest statistics, Guyana is ranked at 103 out of 199 countries and states from around the world. This is a step down from 2016, when Guyana wasranked at number 99 out of 199 countries.

Back in 2016, Guyanese citizens did not need a visa when travelling to 73 locations. While Guyana has added one more destination, the country’s drop indicates the rise of other countries who gained even more visa-free travel destinations.

The highest ranked South American nation is Brazil. Listed at number 40 with 143 destinations, Brazil jumped three places higher than the 2016 list.

In comparison to Guyana’s continental neighbours, only two other South American nations are ranked lower.

These are Bolivia, at number 116 with 67 destinations; and Suriname, at 109 with 70 destinations.

Barbados is the highest ranked Caribbean state, topping the region at number 50 with 132 destinations.

Following closely are The Bahamas at 53 with 129 destinations; Antigua and Barbuda, at 56 with 124 destinations and St Kitts and Nevis, at 57 with 123 destinations. Trinidad and Tobago was ranked at 59, with 121 destinations.

The index noted that German citizens enjoy the most powerful passport in the world, as they are allowed

visa-free access to 158 countries. The United States missed the top 10, with 156 destinations.

The country that beat them and rounded out the top 10 was the United Kingdom, also with 156 destinations.

The lowest ranked passport on the list is the Afghanistan passport, which grants visa-free travel to 23 destinations.

The Passport Index ranks 193 United Nations member countries and six territories. The territories – Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and the Vatican – amount to a total of 199 states.

Territories which are annexed to other countries and do not issue their own passports are excluded and not considered as destinations.

The ranking is exclusively for countries which issue passports, regardless of whether they enforce independent visa policies or not.

Their data is compiled alternatively from proprietary research or from official information provided by Government agencies.

To determine the rank of each passport, a three-tier method is applied; firstly, a Visa-free score (VFS) is used which includes visa-free (VF) and visa on arrival (VOA). The VF portion of the country’s score is then compared against the VOA. In instances where there is a tie, such as in the instance of the UK and the USA on this year’s index, the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index (UNDP HDI) is used as a tie breaker. This index measures and compares the countries’ perception globally.

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WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Cops reviewing Rio girls charged for overstaying, forgery footage of South F Ruimveldt Supermarket robbery

The Chinese owned Convenience Supermarket at South Ruimveldt that was robbed on Wednesday

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our men pretending to be customers tied up and robbed the proprietor of the Chinese owned Convenience supermarket at South Ruimveldt, Georgetown on Wednesday morning.

The men, one of whom was armed with a handgun, entered the supermarket at about 09:35h, locked its doors and held the proprietor and cashier at gunpoint as they demanded cash.

The Chinese national proprietor handed over a small amount of cash that he acquired from the morning’s sales but the men demanded more.

This newspaper was told that the unsatisfied bandits took the proprietor to the upper flat of the building and threatened to shoot him if he did not hand over more money. He was gun butted and beaten about the body as the bandits made their demands.

Guyana Times International was told that the man then handed over close to a G$1 million more in cash after which the men made good their escape.

When this publication visited the supermarket, the establishment was closed to the public as Police ranks were seen taking statements from the employees and a few customers who were in the supermarket at the time of the incident. One man recalled that he stopped at the supermarket to purchase an item but realised the door was locked.

This, he stated, was abnormal, noting that since the supermarket opened about a month ago, it always opens on time. Nevertheless, he said that he saw movements but at that time, he did not know that a robbery was in progress.

It was after the men rushed out of the doors, he realised what was happening. Soon after, an employee ran out of the building and raised an alarm. This newspaper understands that the gunmen took close to G$1 million in cash and other items.

The Police are reviewing the surveillance footage that was taken from the supermarket. No arrests were made.

Guyanese woman busted with cocaine at CJIA to be charged soon

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woman is now in the custody of the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) after she was intercepted at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), on Tuesday evening with a large quantity of cocaine in her possession. She is expected to be charged soon.

According to reports, ranks of the narcotics branch stationed at the Airport arrested the woman who was on a flight headed to Toronto, Canada.

She was found with four parcels of what was suspected to be cocaine in her suitcase.

The parcels were con-

fiscated and weighed, and amounted to 4178 grams, as such, she was arrested and taken into custody as ranks continue with their investigation.

Meanwhile, ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in Berbice conducted a number of raids in the Fort Ordinance Housing Scheme, East Canje, where a quantity of suspected cannabis was discovered concealed in a red washing tub.

The drugs were weighed and amounted to 7748 grams. Two suspects are said to be in custody assisting with the investigation.

our Spanishspeaking women made their appearance before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Courts on Wednesday, to answer to a series of immigration charges.

The women were arrested on January 20, during a raid conducted at the Rio NightClub.

It is alleged that the first accused, Valine Ferreira of the Dominican Republic, with intent to defraud, conspired with persons between November 12, 2016 and January 20, 2017 to forge a Guyana immigration arrival stamp and a tourist visa in her passport, purporting to show that they were issued by the Guyanese immigration department.

It is also alleged that on November 12, 2016, the accused, at Springlands, Corentyne, made her entry into the country and did not present herself to Guyanese immigration officials. The defendant pleaded guilty to both charges and was fined G$30,000 for the latter and G$50, 000, with an alternative of six weeks’ imprisonment for the conspiracy charge.

The four women who appeared before the court on Wednesday

Next, YasminBaeza,29 , of Havana, Cuba, pleaded guilty to the charge which read that between November 29, 2016 and January 20, 2017, she overstayed her time in Guyana.

The second charge stated that between December 30, 2016 and January 20, 2017, she conspired with persons to forge an immigration arrival and departure stamp in her passport purporting to show that it had been issued by Guyanese immigration authorities.

She also pleaded guilty to this charge and was fined G$30,000, with an alternative of four weeks in prison for overstaying and G$50, 000, or six weeks’ imprisonment, for the charge of conspiracy.

Carmen Martano, the third defendant, a na-

tional of the Dominican Republic, allegedly conspired with persons to forge an arrival and departure stamp. She had also overstayed her time in the jurisdiction and was fined G$30,000, with an alternative of four weeks imprisonment, and G$50,000 or six weeks in prison for the former charge after she entered a guilty plea.

Finally, another Dominican national,33, was fined G$30,000, with an alternative of four weeks in prison after she pleaded guilty to a charge which stated that between November 12, 2016 and January 20, 2017, she overstayed her time. She also allegedly conspired to forge arrival and departure immigration stamps on her passport and was

required to pay a fine of G$50,000 or with an alternative of six weeks’ imprisonment after entering a guilty plea.

According to the prosecution, these matters came to light after the women presented their documents and checks were made with the Guyana immigration authorities, subsequent to the Police raid at the city nightclub.

The defence counsel for the women argued that his clients, none of whom spoke English, had legitimate expectations when they had presented themselves to persons dressed as immigration officials to stamp their documents and in no way could have known or suspected that the said stamps were not genuine. He further stated that the women were willing to pay the fines imposed and requested to return to their countries of origin, as soon as possible.

After considering the prosecution’s evidence and the defence’s case, Chief Magistrate McLennan ruled that defendants would be escorted to the nearest port of exit after they comply with the imposed fines, or they will serve their time.

Body of missing fisherman found floating in Pomeroon River

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he partially decomposed body of missing fisherman Collin Nickleson was on Wednesday morning found floating in the Pomeroon River, in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

The body was recovered from the river by detectives attached to the Charity Police Station.

Reports are the body was immediately autopsied and it was revealed that the 63-year-old man died as a result of drowning.

The post-mortem was conduct-

ed by Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh at the Suddie Mortuary.

Nickleson, a fisherman of Buxton, East Coast Demerara, went missing on January 23. His son, Collis Nickleson, identified his father’s body on Wednesday.

Collin Nickleson was last seen at Charity. Reports are on January 23, another fisherman reported to the Charity Police Station that Nikleson had fallen overboard from a fishing vessel.

This newspaper was told that the man related to Police that at about 21:00h he was in his fishing boat when he heard someone saying that a man fell overboard from another boat.

He said he then learnt that it was Nikleson, who fell overboard from “Big Bird” wharf. The fisherman had journeyed to Charity to work on a fishing vessel.

Following the autopsy, the body was then handed over to family members for burial.

10 news

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29 , 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

GECOM Chairmanship

Jagdeo still to decide if he will compile second list I t would be a challenging task to compile a second list of six nominees for the post of the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) as potential candidates would not want to risk the humiliation of being publicly discredited by the President David Granger.

This is according to Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, who was at the time defending the qualifications of the six individuals he submitted as the nominees for the vacant position, following widespread consultation with civil society.

“Imagine when you look at these six persons that I have sub-

mitted, these are people who have distinguished themselves in their field, they are solid professionals. If as qualified as they are, the President does not find them as fit and proper then whowill want to put up their names and suffer the public humiliation of being classified as unfit and improper. People don’t want to go through that sort of thing and they would be reluctant to do so,” he explained.

Jagdeo will decide whether or not he will embark on creating a second list of nominees following the meeting between Attorney General Basil Williams and his predecessor Anil Nandlall to find a

middle ground regarding the different interpretations of the Constitution of Guyana, relative to the appointment of a new GECOM Chairperson.

During a news conference on Monday, Jagdeo expressed hopes that this meeting will actually achieve an amicable solution to the impasse between Government and the Parliamentary Opposition regarding this issue of national importance.

“We may just be going through a perfunctory exercise and at some point in time he will do as Basil Williams is saying he has the authority to do, to install someone of his choice, I hope that

we do not get to that because that would lead to major contention in Guyana,” Jagdeo stated.

President Granger, during an engagement with media operatives, announced that he has rejected the list of six nominees submitted by the Opposition Leader for consideration for the appointment of a new GECOM Chairman following the resignation of Dr Steve Surujbally from that post in November last.

Granger argued that the names submitted by the Opposition Leader did not meet the constitutional requirements. Afterwards, the President officially informed the Opposition Leader of his rejection and requested that a second list be submitted.

Jagdeo subsequent-

ly requested a meeting with the Head of State to clarify the interpretations of the Constitution as he believed his nominees were constitutionally suitable for the post – especially in light of the widespread consultations he hosted prior to compiling the list.

After a prolonged period, President Granger finally responded, indicating that he will appoint his Attorney General to engage with any member of the Opposition on the matter. In his letter, the President did not offer any clarity on his interpretation of the Constitution nor did he explain why the nominees submitted were “unacceptable” as he claimed.

Already both Attorney General Basil Williams and Vice President Khemraj

Ramjattan had signalled Government’s intention to activate a clause in the Constitution to allow the President to unilaterally appoint a GECOM Chair.

However, many view such a move as dangerous as it alters the democratic process regarding the appointment of a person to be tasked with overseeing the elections process in the country.

But Jagdeo contends that Government’s interpretation of that clause is also erroneous.

If Government moves ahead to unilaterally appoint a GECOM Chairman, Jagdeo has made it clear his intention to challenge such action.

He already indicated his preparedness to take the issue to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

Cop to stand trial in High Court for conspiring to commit murder

Police Sergeant Leon Lindo

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olice Sergeant Leon Lindo was committed to stand trial in the High Court for conspiring to commit murder after he was last year accused of conspiring to kill MFK Trading owner, Mohamed F Khan.

He appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman who told him that a prima faciecase was made out against him.

She added that the court was satisfied, given the evidence provided, that the accused con-

spired to commit murder, and as such, he would be tried in the High Court.

However, before the ruling was handed down, Lindo told the court that he was innocent of the allegation, calling prosecution witness and murder accused in the matter, Lennox Wayne a “liar” for accusing him of such actions.

An investigation was launched by the Police after Wayne, called “Two Colours”, provided them with a statement in which he claimed that he and Lindo conspired to murder Khan.

The 54-year-old Khan had earlier escaped another execution when a gunman, who turned out to be Wayne, shot him in his abdomen after he had just returned to Guyana following a brief holiday.

Wayne had claimed that he was contracted

by Lindo to kill Khan for a fee of half a million dollars.

However, there was a falling-out between the two after Lindo failed

Dead: Mohamed F Khan

to honour his end of the bargain when the execution failed.

Following the execution attempt, the businessman went missing; however, a month later his dismembered body was found wrapped in a bag with his skull some distance away.

Lindo, who has been a serving member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for 23 years and a father of three, has always maintained his innocence during the PI at the Magistrates’ Court.

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WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Man accused of murdering Guyana’s Public Commission Guyanese in T&T arrested Procurement to be fully operational soon

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fter nine months on the run, the suspect in the murder of Guyanese national, Khemraj Persaud, is now in police custody.

The Trinidadian national was arrested as he pulled into a service station at Duncan Village, San Fernando, on Monday night. He was held by head of Anti-Crime Operations, Inspector Don Gajadhar, who had him under surveillance as he awaited the arrival of back up from the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) and Homicide Region Three.

According to reports, around 7 pm on Monday, Gajadhar spotted the suspect who, lived in the area and was believed to have fled to Venezuela after the murder. He was seen exiting a heavily tinted vehicle and entering a supermarket in Duncan Village.

Gajadhar kept him under surveillance as he called for back up.

However, before help could arrive, the man exited and drove off. The officer continued to follow the man as he pulled into

Killed: Khemraj Persaud

the service station, a safe distance behind him.

As the suspect waited by the pump to fill his tank, the RRU arrived and together with Gajadhar, apprehended the man.

He was arrested and handed over to SgtRamjag of the Homicide Division.

Persaud, 30, was shot to death at Duncan Village, La Romaine, on April 25. His friend, Guyanese Sean Boodhoo, with whom he shared an apartment, was also shot, but survived.

The two men were employed in construction work in T&T. Persaud was also an avid cricketer and represented many

local cricket teams in the eight years he spent in Trinidad According to a police report, the suspect, while visiting a relative in the apartment building where Persaud and Boodhoo lived, reportedly urinated on a washing machine the men used.

An argument ensued when Boodhoo, who witnessed the act, chastised the suspect. Persaud who was inside the apartment came out and tried to quell the disturbance.

However, the suspect went to his parked vehicle, took out a gun and opened fire, hitting both men.

Persaud was shot twice in the head and died on the spot. Boodhoo was shot in the chest.

Persaud’s body was flown back to his Berbice home for burial, ten days after he was murdered.

Generous Trinidadians responded overwhelmingly to an appeal from his fellow Guyanese national and friend Kumar Shivpersaud, who said Persaud’s family was very poor.(Trinidad Guardian)

T&T woman stabbed to death, attacker kills self

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urder victim Christine Joseph was stabbed at least 50 times, and had tried to run away from her attacker.

And when she collapsed her killer inflicted a fatal slash wound to her throat.

This was the finding of pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov who performed an autopsy on her body on Monday at the Forensic Sciences Centre.

Alexandrov said that Joseph’s body bore multiple stab wounds mainly on her upper body.

Gasparillo resident Christine Joseph, who was killed on Monday.

Her throat was slit from ear to ear, with the wound extending to the back of her neck, Alexandrov said.

“We classify this type of homicide as ‘committed with brutality’,”, the forensic pathologist told the Express.

Joseph, 21, was discovered dead in the home of her estranged boyfriend Keyon Roberts, 31, on Monday. Roberts’ body was found burnt outside the house near a teak field.

Alexandrov said that Roberts became “a living torch” since he sustained

T

Members of the new Public Procurement Commission pose with President David Granger in October, shortly after their appointment

he Public Procurement Commission (PPC) is one step closer to taking up its responsibility of issuing contracts for public projects, as it has begun seeking out the services of some critical personnel.

The Commission, which was finally established in October 2016, has not yet begun its work of issuing contracts, since according to Government, there still was some “in-house” work that needed to be done. In the meantime, Cabinet continues to give its “no objection” to contracts.

The Commission is now seeking applications from persons to fill the positions ofSenior Auditor, Accountant, Engineer and Accounting Assistant.

Earlier this month, Minister of State Joseph Harmon had said that the recently-established PPC was not yet ready to carry out its mandate.

He said the Commission had indicated that it would be ready some time in January to execute its mandate, as there were still some critical appointments to be made.

In October 2016, after months of promises, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government installed the five-member Commission.

Following the swearing-in ceremo-

ny, President David Granger said the PPC was an institution mandated by Guyana’s Constitution, which seeks to ensure the fair, equitable and transparent execution of works and procurement of goods and services, according to law.

He said the members were now charged with the constitutional duty of the Commission.

The Guyana Constitution stipulates that the Commission shall consist of five members who shall have expertise and experience in procurement, legal, finance and administrative matters, and that the President shall appoint the members of the Commission after such members have been nominated by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and approved by not less than twothirds of the elected members of the National Assembly.

The President said that the PAC of the National Assembly was responsible for the selection of the members of this Commission and this bipartisan process of selection was a demonstration that– however intractable political differences might seem – the bases for political agreement and consensus on matters of national interest should always be sought.

Jordan sounds warning to businesses hoarding foreign currency third degree burns to 90 per cent of his body.

He died of painful shock within minutes of being burnt, Alexandrov said.

The bodies were found by Roberts’s relatives who live close to them at Parforce Road Extension.

Joseph’s mother, Roxanne Joseph, said her daughter had suffered for years from physical abuse from Roberts and she took out a protection order against him last year.

She said that her daughter left Roberts in December, but on Sunday she met with him and said they were

attempting to rekindle their relationship.

Roxanne Joseph said that a sister and the grandmother of Keyon Roberts, told her they were sorry for what happened to her daughter.

Joseph said: “I went up to his brother and sister and they didn’t know what to say.

As a mother I told them I was sorry this happened and I believe it could have been prevented. She said that was sorry for what her brother did. His grandmother told me the same thing.

I can’t say anything bad about his family. What’s done is done”.(Trinidad Express)

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inance Minister Winston Jordan has warned of attempts to lower the value of domestic currency by exporters, who he said, are hoarding foreign currency. According to Jordan, these practices have the potential to destabilise Guyana’s economy.

Minister Jordan, who made these remarks during the commissioning of the new Citizen’s Bank headquarters last Friday, said some exporters have been withholding sales of foreign currency from the system. He noted the possibility that this was being done to provoke depreciation in domestic currency.

Jordan also noted

that some exporters and importers are conducting mutual foreign exchange transactions, outside of the exchange market structure.

“Some companies have been seeking to pay for export and repatriate profits earlier than required in the business cycle, thus creating a demand for foreign currency. Aggravating this untenable situation is the action of some net foreign exchange earners, who are demanding foreign currency from the market, while hoarding their foreign currency holdings,” the Minister stated.

“Some companies are even purchasing foreign exchange to facilitate trade for their counter-

parts outside of Guyana, while a few exporters and importers are conducting foreign exchange transactions bilaterally, outside of the foreign exchange market.”

Jordan went on to assure the public that foreign exchange demands can currently be met with what is in the system. He was adamant that this was the case, despite the reduction in export earnings from sugar, rice and timber.

According to the Minister, the foreign reserves of commercial banks totalled US$315 million at the end of 2016. This is roughly the same level as in 2015. Jordan noted that continued on page 14

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WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Bollywood club Convicted gang member gives evidence owner appears − claims Prosecution’s information inaccurate in Court over when he pled guilty A TIP charge

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Bartica massacre trial

Eladio Pereza

ladio Pereza, 34, of Lot 7 Providence Public Road, East Bank Demerara, was on Wednesday remanded to prison after he faced Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan charged with Trafficking In Persons (TIP).

He denied the charge which read that between March 16, 2016 and January 20, 2017 at Bollywood Club, in Providence, he harboured females for the purpose ofsexual exploitation.

The defendant has only been living in Guyana for two years and is the owner of the abovementioned club.

According to his

Attorney, many Spanishspeaking persons stay at the club which has a residence section, and the Virtual Complainant was one of those persons.

The prosecution’s facts revealed that eight victims were rescued after ranks of the CounterTrafficking in Persons Unit, acting upon information, conducted a raid on the club.

The prosecution is ready to present six witnesses, who are willing to testify against the defendant, and as such, objected to bail based on the nature of the offence and the fact the Cuban is a flight risk. The man was remanded to prison until January 25.

s the Bartica Massacre trial continues at the High Court, a convicted member of the infamous gang that carried out the February 17, 2008 attack has stated that co-accused Mark Royden Williams, called “Smallie”, was not there on the day ofthe massacre.

This claim was on Monday expressed in the evidence-in-chief of Michael Caesar, called “Capone”, who on December last was sentenced to 1080 years after he pleaded guilty to 20 counts of manslaughter in massacres at Lusignan and Bartica.

In a twist of events however, Caesar under cross-examination, told the court that some of the Prosecutor’s facts as stated at the time when he entered his guilty plea, “were not true”.

Led by Mark Williams’ Defence Attorney, Roger Yearwood, the convicted witness told the court that seven gang members travelled to Bartica and another later joined them before they carried out the attack.

These members, according to the Caesar were fellow convict Clebert Reece, who is Caesar’s first cousin; Rondell “Fineman” Rawlins; Dwane Williams; Chung

Boy; Mud-up; Uncle Willie; and a “high complexion” person.

The jury once again heard an account of the shooting at the Police Station where guns were stolen and of the robbery at “Vulture’s” business place where two safes containing a variety of items, including gold were retrieved.

He further testified that in 2009, he was nabbed by authorities in Suriname, who handed him over to local Police.

Led further by Attorney Yearwood, Caesar told the court that he did not know Mark Williams before they appeared together at the Magistrates’ Court. The convicted man further claimed that he did not see co-accused Dennis Williams at the time of the Bartica attack, nor had he heard of other accused, Roger Simon, before he was charged.

Prosecutor’s cross-examination

Meanwhile, lead Prosecutor, Diana Kaulesar sought to discredit the entire account of the witness on the grounds that he is a “good friend” of Mark Royden Williams, called “Smallie”, and that the story was an attempt to testify on his friend’s behalf. Caesar, howev-

er, denied these suggestions, noting that Williams was a stranger to him.

It was under cross-examination that he noted that he never told the court that the facts surrounding his pleading guilty last year were not true.

Prosecutor Kaulesar then grilled the witness as to why he elected to testify now that the defence is calling its witnesses.

The witness responded that it was only Friday that an Officer at the Prison informed him that he was scheduled to testify on Monday.

Mark Royden Williams is also a co-accused in the Lusignan massacre in which Caesar had entered guilty pleas for manslaughter.

When the co-accused Caesar had pleaded guilty for that massacre, Prosecutor Kaulesar had noted on January 26, 2008, the accused, along with other men, had entered Lusignan through Buxton backlands and decided to start raiding a number of houses to get cash, but they came up empty-handed after barging into several houses.

Kaulesar had also highlighted Caesar’s claim that he was never in possession of a firearm and that he never killed

any of the victims.

Caesar was on December last sentenced to 45 years in each of the eight counts of the Lusignan indictment, while he was sentenced to 60 years in each of the 12 counts of indictment in the Bartica massacre, resulting in a 1080-year sentence. He will have to spend at least 40 calendar years in jail before he can attempt to acquire parole.

Co-accused, Clebert Reece who was the boat driver that transported the gang to Bartica was sentenced to 420 years for the Bartica attack. Reece and another gang member, Dwane Williams, had identified Mark Williams and Dennis Williams as being part of the gang that executed the Bartica attack. It was after the Prosecution rested its case, that witnesses for the defence have testified that the two Williams were not present at Bartica during the attack. All the while, the majority of witnesses have noted that third accused, Roger Simon, was not there during the Bartica massacre. The trial continues today before Justice Roxanne George, SC, at the High Court.

(Shemuel Fanfair)

Several detained in relation to Kaneville fire …relatives say they desperately tried to save 7-month-old but heat was too much

Dead baby: Romain Levi Seth

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seven-month-old baby perished on Monday morning after his home was allegedly set on fire by a suspected arsonist, who had threatened to burn down the house after the owner made a report against him and his cohorts. The police have since detained several persons for questioning in relation to the incident.

The charred remains of seven-monthold Romain Levi Seth were pulled from the ru-

ins hours after the fire was extinguished by firefighters at Lot 462 Third Field, Kaneville, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

The remains were found in the same area where the child was left sleeping when he was put to bed by his grandmother on Sunday evening. The fire reportedly started about 02:00h in the same bedroom after an explosive device was hurled through the window by a young man whose name was provided to the Police.

This newspaper understands that the young man and his friends had threatened to set the house alight after the owner, Michelle Menez, had made a report to the Police Station about their marijuana business close to her home.

The young men were reportedly arrested, but were later released by the Police. It was upon their release that they threatened to kill each

member of the house and accused Menez of being a Police informant. When this newspaper visited the scene on Monday, a pair of rubber slippers suspected to be that of the arsonist was left behind.

The owner of the house, who is the dead child’s grandmother, and the mother of the dead baby were at the Grove Police Station.

The mother, Holly Seth, who was in tears told Guyana Times International that she left her only child with her mother, since she had to run some errands with her brother. When the fire started about 02:00h, she had not returned.

The grieving mother explained that she received a call from her niece who informed her that her house was on fire. At that moment, she was not aware that her son had perished.

“It was until I reach

home and enquire about my son, they tell me that he burn up…” she cried.

At the scene of the fire, an aunt, Yonette Walters, said she received a telephone call from her daughter who informed her that her house was on fire.

“I was at work, so I called my boss and tell him my house on fire and I rushed home… when I reach I see it was my sister’s house instead…

I enquire what happen and all they tell me is that Romain get burn up… My sister was crying bitterly and I comfort her,” the woman stated.

She also confirmed that at the time of the fire, her sister was at home along with eight children. Walters explained that her sister attempted to save her grandson from the inferno, but the heat was too intense. She, however, managed to save the others.

A teenaged relative

The ruins of the wooden structure after the blaze

who resides next door recalled feeling heat and upon looking through the window, she realised that her aunt’s house was on fire and immediately raised an alarm.

By that time, portions of the wooden structure were already engulfed in flames.

Persons in the area and other family members formed a bucket brigade and attempted to control the blaze un-

til the firefighters arrived on the scene. The distraught teenager recollected her aunt crying out for Romain and it was then they were told that the baby had burnt to death.

The Police and the Guyana Fire Service have launched an investigation into the fire.

Several persons were detained for questioning.

(Bhisham Mohamed)

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Bid Protest Committee rules against Education Ministry on juice contract

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ocal juice company Tropical Orchard Products Company (Topco) has won its appeal to the Bid Protest Committee over the Government’s decision to award its supply contract to another company – from Suriname.

Topco, which is a subsidiary of Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), was a long-time supplier of juices to the Guyana Government for its national school feeding programme. That is until the Education Ministry, the procuring entity, deemed its bid for a continuation of the contract unsuitable, based on past performance.

According to the Committee, which is based at the National

Topco has won its bid protest

Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), the Education Ministry failed to make known that past performance was a criterion for selection beforehand.

“The non-disclosure

of past performance as an evaluation criterion in the solicitation documents prevents and precludes the procuring entity from belatedly relying on such criterion in the evaluation and deter-

mination of the bid,” the Committee stated.

It went on to note in its review that “The procuring entity failed, refused and/or neglected to consider only such evaluation criteria as set

forth in the solicitation and tender documents contrary to sections 5 (3), 39 (2) and 39 (4) (c) of the Procurement Act, Cap 73:05.”

As the Committee deemed the Ministry to have breached this law, it went on to order that the Ministry annul its evaluation of the tenders. The Committee stated that this was because the Ministry’s evaluation committee “used an unlawful procedure to assess the bid of (Topco)”.

The evaluation committee has a specific remit from which it should not deviate. Firstly, it must only use the evaluation criteria that are in the tender documents to evaluate the bidders.

Secondly, using these criteria, it determines the lowest evaluated tender.

“Thirdly, it conveys its recommendation to the procuring entity in a timely manner. No scope is given to the evaluation committee to use any criteria other than what is set out in the tender.”

The Bid Protest Committee went on to rule that “pursuant to section 53 (5) of the Procurement Act, the procuring entity is ordered to compensate the Complainant for the cost of the preparation of its bid”.

The bidding was done by restricted tendering.

The other six bidders were Caribbean International Distribution Inc, Guyana Beverage Inc, Banks DIH Holdings, Topco, ANSA McAL Trading Ltd and Continental Foods Inc. Topco’s bid, G$506.6

million, was the lowest one of all. Citing issues with performance such as expiration dates being breached and spoilage, the Ministry wrote Topco a letter to inform the company that it had been unsuccessful.

Despite Topco responding and asking for its bid to be reviewed in accordance with the criteria set out in the bid documents, Government did not reply. This stance continued until Topco complained to the Bid Protest Committee, after which the Education Ministry revealed it had felt compelled to invite the juice company.

At the hearing, which was held on November 29, 2016, Topco requested that the Ministry annul its decision against Topco and re-evaluate the company’s bid according to the bid documents. In addition, a request was made for a full refund of its registration fee. Present at the hearing was the Education Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Delma Nedd.

After Topco lost its bid last year, Government awarded the contract to supply boxed juices locally to Caribbean International Distribution Inc (CIDI), a subsidiary of Rudisa Beverages Company of Suriname. It is a decision that was criticised as Topco was a local company providing employment to many. Topco sources its raw materials for juice from local farmers.

It was only June of last year that the Bid Protest Committee was set up. The Topco case is one of its first.

Jordan sounds warning to...

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan

in 2016, the Bank of Guyana had sold approximately US$30 million to commercial banks to smooth out spikes during seasonal demand.

“Indeed, for the period November to December 2016, the Central Bank sold some US$12 million to the bank cambios to ensure adequate flows

from page 11

of foreign exchange to the market. The Bank of Guyana will continue its interventions in the market as warranted.”

Jordan also called on those involved in the practice; exporters, importers and cambios, to be responsible and heed the entreaties of the Government. He also had an ominous warning; failure to do so would result in the Government taking decisive action.

Recently, there have been reports that there is a shortage of foreign currency in Guyana. The report had cited complaints from those in the business sector. This, however, has consistently been denied by Jordan and Central Bank Governor Gobind Ganga.

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Granger defends decision to grant full scholarships to sitting ministers

Junior Education Minister, Nicolette Henry

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eeks after it was revealed that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition has been secretly expending millions of dollars for several of its Ministers to benefit from full-scholarship programmes, President David Granger has pronounced that his Administration had done nothing wrong.

Speaking with reporters on the weekly televised programme ‘The Public Interest’, which aired its first segment for the year on Friday evening, the Head of State posited that he has always supported the academic development of persons, even those holding office.

“Somebody may want a Bachelor’s degree and assistance would be provided for that person to be upgraded. I don’t think anything is wrong with that,” the President asserted while adding that scholarships are granted to personnel within other public service agencies such as the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force so that the officers can perform better.

To this end, the Head of State pointed out that he is not necessarily concerned about scholarships being granted to persons holding office within his Administration, since he believes that with higher qualifications, officers of the State can improve their performance. This practice, the President outlined, occurs throughout the public service.

“I don’t know the grounds for these specific cases but I would say that on the face of it, it is not a corrupt transaction; it is a legitimate means of career development and I think any form of enhancement of a person’s education should be more considerable,” he stressed.

Moreover, President Granger added that his

Administration is committed to ensuring that citizens get more academic qualifications.

In midst of the consideration of 2017 Budget Estimates last month, it was revealed that Junior Education Minister Nicolette Henry and Junior Infrastructure Minister Annette Ferguson are among several Government officials who received millions of dollars to pursue their studies in the United States and the United Kingdom respectively.

Henry is doing her PHD in Public Health to the tune of G$3.36 million, while Ferguson is benefiting from a G$3.38 million scholarship in Public Policy Management.

Additionally, Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine’s daughter, Alicia, is benefiting from a G$2.58 million scholarship at a university in the UK. She is studying psychology.

Other notable beneficiaries are former Chief Education Officer Olato Sam, who is studying Education Policy in Jamaica, costing some G$946,000 and a Guyana Chronicle Board Director Tabitha SaraboHalley who is currently pursuing Public Policy Management studies in the UK to the tune of G$3.4 million. Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate 2014 top student Elisa Hamilton is also a beneficiary of the Government scholarships programme, but unlike the others, hers’ was publicly announced.

These revelations came about just over a month ago after Minister of State Joseph Harmon submitted a list of names of all the persons benefiting from Government scholarships in response to a request made by Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira.

Harmon had disclosed to the National Assembly that Government has provided full scholarships to nine persons at the PHD Level, 75 at the Masters Level, 186 at the Bachelors Level, and 704 at various local institutions.

Questions on the issue have since been raised regarding the process used to select the beneficiaries of the programme and why Government did not, in the interest of transparency, disclose that it is funding the studies of some of its Ministers.

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Man burns to death as fire razes Diamond home

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The house and minibus after the blaze

family is now gripped with the reality of losing a home and a close relative after a fire swept through a Diamond, East Bank Demerara home in the wee hours of Monday.

The fire, which reportedly started in the garage of the Lot 796 Third Avenue, Block X, Diamond, home resulted in the death of 59-yearold Thakur Singh. His charred remains were discovered about 06:00h on Monday by members of the Guyana Fire Service.

It is believed that the fire originated from an unattended kerosene stove that the man was using in the garage about 03:00h and quickly engulfed the five-bedroom wooden and concrete house.

When Guyana Times International visited the area on Monday, Jetendra

Singh, owner of the house, recalled that he woke up about 03:00h on Monday and as he opened his bedroom door, he was greeted by thick smoke, so he immediately alerted his wife to get the children out of the house. In an attempt to see if it was possible to extinguish the blaze, he ran into the lower flat of the house but the heat was too extreme.

He managed to exit the building, along with his son, while his wife and daughter went towards the back verandah. As he checked the garage, it was already engulfed in flames as well as the wooden flooring of the house and at that time, he knew that there was nothing he could do to save any household items.

“I went back for my wife and daughter…It

had a black tank at the back, so I managed to climb on it and asked my daughter to jump and I catch her…I took her to a safe place and went back for my wife also.”

He confirmed that his uncle, who had been living with him for some time, was in the garage when he retired to bed.

He could not say, however, if the man was under the influence of alcohol. “As a matter of fact, I didn’t even hear a scream from him during the blaze,” Singh recalled.

Meanwhile, while he could not estimate his losses, he noted that if the Guyana Fire Service had responded in a timely manner, his house could have been saved. He added that as soon as he realised that the house was on fire, he contacted the Fire Service but was told the firefighters were battling another fire at Kaneville.

“The firemen came here like one and a half hours after the fire started…if they de come in 1015 minutes, most of the building could have been saved,” Singh related.

Apart from losing his house and his uncle, a minibus was also destroyed by the blaze.

Fire officials are continuing their investigations.

Chandarpaul presses need for national conversation on domestic violence

Head of the W&GEC, Indra Chandarpaul

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hile the issue of domestic violence continues to rear its head in society, drastically changing the lives of women and their families, the Women and Gender Equality Commission (W&GEC) said that there was need, now more than ever before, for stringent measures be taken to help save women’s lives.

And while the solution could not be found in any one entity, Government has been urged to take leadership in this regard.

The Commission is once again calling for a national discussion – something that has already occurred in the past, but produced few tangible results.

The situation seems to have become a normal part of society, while little is being done to address it from the root.

It has raised questions about Government’s plan of action for these cases, which are more often than not swept under the carpet.

W&GEC Head Indra Chandarpaul, speaking to Guyana Times Internationalon Monday, said the Commission has made numerous recommendations both to the previous and current Administrations, yet nothing much has

been forthcoming. These recommendations were made to former Attorney General Anil Nandlall, along with the Chancellor and other lawyers.

“We have spoken to then Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence and we have said that the dilemma we are faced in our country is that when things are happening in the relationship, they have no one to turn to and unless Government can provide a medium which when people’s relationships are turning sour, there is somewhere they can go and get some help…

Because at the end of the day, relationships will always have problems, but the resolution of these matters is the issue, because there is no institution and entities to facilitate these people who are faced with these problems,” Chandarpaul said.

“So we only hear when they kill each other; when they do things as you are referring to, which cannot be condone.

As we talk about it, we keep hearing that more and more women are violated.”

She said “we have to take a stand as a country”, noting that she has been making this call since the new Government came into power, discussing the need to set up counselling centres where people who are affected by interpersonal relations can have somewhere they can go to seek help.

“Because this is not only the job for the Government, but for everyone – civil society, faith-based organisations, Government, everyone must get involved,” the women’s right activist said.

Domestic abuse victim, Shondell Williamson

She noted, however, that Government must be able to bring the population on board, acknowledging that there was a national problem, inviting everyone to come together to find some solutions to domestic violence.

According to Chandarpaul, the W&GEC has been doing its best to educate persons, completing its access to justice programme and lending an ear to the views of the people, particularly those who have been affected. But at the end of the day, she said the Commission was not designed to implement, it could only make recommendations and initiate actions.

Last Thursday, Shondell Williamson, 26, of Peter D’Aguiar Street, New Amsterdam, was doused with acid by the father of her two children, Alfred D’Yonge.

This newspaper was told that the couple shared an abusive relationship for several years, and it was only recently that they separated. D’Yonge and Williamson have two children together, ages three and nine.

Williamson’s case is the latest in a slew that has taken the country by storm.

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‘It wasn’t me’ P

Nagamootoo distances himself from Chronicle’s ‘scandalous attack’ on Acting Chancellor

rime Minister M o s e s Nagamootoo, on Thursday, distanced himself from the “perceived scandalous attacks” launched by the Guyana Chronicle Newspaper on Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh, in relation to some of his most recent decisions handed down.

“As Prime Minister with responsibility for the State Media, I want to say this: While I will not interfere with editorial discretion, I want to disassociate myself from the perceived scandalous attacks in the Chronicle Newspaper against the Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, who will less than a month from now, demit his substantive post as Chief Justice at the end of a distinguished career,” Nagamootoo said.

Nagamootoo who is currently acting President was delivering the feature address on Thursday morning at the opening of the Police Officers’ Conference said that Government does not encourage attacks on the Legislature and

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Retired Justice Claudette Singh, Chief Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan after the opening of the 2017 Annual Police Officers Conference.

the Judiciary as it is not “Government’s policy or decision to besmirch the character of any judicial officer.”

He added that the attacks will not be condoned, however well-meaning or veiled, to impugn the integrity of judicial officers.

Prime Minister Nagamootoo boasted that the government has been leading the way in ensuring the independence of both the Legislature and the Judiciary and making them financially and administratively au-

tonomous.

Various stakeholders, including the Parliamentary Opposition, have recently called out the Stateowned Guyana Chronicle for what they refer to as “an obscene and libelousif not dishonest- campaign” against Justice Singh.

In particular, Senior Counsel (SC) and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran over the weekend, in his conversationtree.org blog, slammed the Judiciary,

Bar Association and general public over their silence on the recent attacks, saying “if not arrested now, they will only get worse”.

According to Ramkarran, the alarming developments cannot be ignored and are in fact unprecedented in their savagery.

Ramkarran noted that “this open, blatant and shameless intimidation is not meant only for this Chancellor (Carl Singh)… It is a message to the next Chancellor and Chief Justice who

will be appointed shortly, and for the entire Judiciary, to toe the line.”

Ramkarran said that “What is worse is that a lawyer, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who has responsibility for information and the power to stop the Guyana Chronicle since it started its disgraceful campaign several weeks ago, has allowed it to continue… The only conclusion is that the Guyana Chronicle’s rampage against the Chancellor, and subversion of the Judiciary, is official Government policy.”

Ramkarran observed too that his successor as

Speaker of the National Assembly in 2011 in the person of now Natural Resources and Environment Minister Raphael Trotman — an Attorney-at-Law “who also should know better, abandoned principle, joined the bandwagon and threatened that Cabinet will ‘note’ the Chancellor’s decisions”.

He said the Chancellor, apparently acting with restraint and dignity, has not summoned the Guyana Chronicle and the Attorney General before the Court of Appeal to answer charges of contempt, as he ought to have done.

600% land rent increases for MMA farmers were necessary – Trotman

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n light of protests by Region Five (MahaicaBerbice) farmers over the Mahaica/Mahaicony/ Abary-Agricultural Development Authority’s (MMA-ADA’s) approved increases, Government has recently claimed that 600 per cent increase for land rental and drainage and irrigation services, is not exorbitant.

Speaking at the post-Cabinet press briefing late last week, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman reiterated Agriculture Minister Noel Holder’s long held view that the current fees cannot facilitate the financial operations at the Ministry’s sub-agency.

“The Minister of Agriculture has been repeatedly saying to Cabinet that the fees currently charged cannot sustain the operations at MMA,” Trotman noted.

Trotman further claimed that the increases were necessary to fix broken and missing equipment in areas under MMA’s preview.

“We need to be clear-

Farmers protesting the 600 per cent increase for land rental and drainage and irrigation services

ing sluices. There are repeated complaints at Trafalgar and elsewhere of flooding – pumps are being vandalised, parts missing [and] have to be replaced and it was felt that there had to be some adjustment,” the Minister told media operatives.

Minister Trotman justified the cumulative increases based on the monthly price per acre.

Among the changes include new drainage and irrigation charges for profit to Rosignol village moving from G$2500 per year to G$8000 per year, representing a G$5500

increase.

Additionally, farms lands that fall in the Mahaicony/Abary Rice Development category will see farmers now paying G$7000 over G$1241 from last year’s fees. The cost per month of former amounts to G$666 per month while the latter accrues G$583.

“By no stretch of the imagination can we call these exorbitant and I believe everyone in the industry knew that prices were unrealistic and could not be sustained and whilst they had to be raised, we don’t consider G$416 for an acre of land to be unreasonable,”

the Minister further explained.

MMA General Manager Aubrey Charles told this newspaper late last week that the cumulative fee of increases, which amount to G$15,000, will only be paid by farmers who benefit from all of the services offered by MMA.

Protest

However, a group of irate Region Five rice farmers on Tuesday protested the move on the basis that they cannot afford to pay G$15,000 per acre of rice land, noting that they were previously paying G$3500 per

acre.

Meanwhile, the Rice Producers Association (RPA) had vented its vexation over the MMAADA’s reported refusal to meet with RPA’s representatives to discuss Government’s decision to increase rates for land users.

RPA’s General Secretary, Dharam kumarSeeraj, who is also an Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) had told the media these increases, if allowed to be implemented, would bring a great burden to the farmers in the rice industry, noting that they will not

be able to cope. He added that “no one” in the agricultural sector supports the proposal.

However, the Agriculture Ministry last week described the protest actions as ‘unfortunate’.

The Opposition has since confirmed that it will be moving to lay a motion in Parliament to review these increases.

These latest increases come against the backdrop of farmers receiving reduced earnings for their paddy following the end of the lucrative PetroCaribe (rice-for-oil) deal with Guyana and Venezuela.

The deal, which saw rice farmers receiving premium prices for their produce, was cancelled by the Bolivarian Republic in 2015 amid increasing tensions between the two countries. Since then, many rice farmers, especially those in Region Five have reiterated calls for Government to implement various subsidies, including fuel and heavy-duty equipment, to assist them in remaining in the field to maintain their livelihood.

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WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

President underscores importance of providing employment for youths

Cuban dentist appears in Court on conspiracy, other charges

t their first General Council Meeting for the year 2017, leaders of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) placed much emphasis on the need to develop employment opportunities for young people.

Addressing the gathering at the meeting held at the party’s headquarters, Congress Place, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, on Saturday under the theme “PNCR – Vanguard of a Green Economy”, PNCR Leader, President David Granger underscored the importance of providing employment for the young people of Guyana.

“Despite the challenges, we have to find employment for the young people of Guyana. We have to develop the village economies; we have to start producing things at the village level,” Granger asserted, as he called on village leaders to take rebuilding of the village economy seriously. The Head of State committed Government’s support for such initiatives.

Noting that it was imperative that employment be found for the young people of Guyana, the President said also that Regions must focus on education.

During his feature address, the Party’s Leader also placed focus on the family, noting that society was founded on the family and the family was sacrosanct while urg-

Cuban dentist appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman on Monday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with forgery, overstaying and conspiracy.

Eileen Aguilla, 29, currently of Lot 47 Bel Air Park, Georgetown, answered to the first charge which stated that between September 13 and 14,2016, she, with intent to defraud, conspired to forge arrival and depar- Eileen Aguila, (left) was Monday slapped ture immigration stamps with three immigration charges for Guyana, purporting “ignorance” as she had no knowlthey were issued by local edge that she was being deceived immigration services.

The second charge stated by another Cuban, who inserted that she, on January 18, 2017 at the stamps for US$200, informMoleson Creek, Berbice, present- ing her that she was granted a ed the passport with the fake three-month extension.

However, Police Prosecutor stamps to a Guyanese immigration official when she attempted Shawn Gonsalves objected to to leave Guyana for Suriname, bail on the grounds Aguilla was not Guyanese, so she was a flight knowing same to be false.

The final charge stated that risk.

She was placed on G$150,000 between August 16, 2016 and January 18, 2017 at Georgetown, bail each for the first two charges, she failed to comply with condi- and G$50,000 for the third tions under which any permit charge. The second charge was had been granted – that is, she transferred to Chief Magistrate overstayed in Guyana for the Ann McLennan, who fined the defendant G$75,000. said period.

Magistrate Latchman reThe woman pleaded guilty to the first two charges; howev- quested that Aguilla’s passport er, she denied the last charge be lodged at the Cuban Embassy.

The defendant told the court against her. After her explanation to the court and an apology, that her documents for employMagistrate Latchman changed ment were currently with the Ministry of the Presidency and her guilty pleas to not guilty.

The defendant said that she as such, no deportation order was before the court because of was issued.

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PNC General Secretary, Oscar Clarke

ing party members to protect and preserve the family.

Moreover, President Granger assured the Council that the PNCR was committed to the coalition Government. “The PNCR is committed to coalition politics; we are better together.”

Speaking on the Diaspora, he added that “the Diaspora is vital to the PNC; it is a vital component. I trust the Diaspora and I believe in the Diaspora.”

On the other hand, Party Chairman Basil Williams, SC, highlighted the developments that the Granger-led Administration has undertaken to date and the path ahead for further development. He also called on citizens to be cognisant and take advantage of opportunities that were being made available.

“We must take up the many opportunities for employment that our pursuit of

a ‘Green Economy’ together with the imminent ‘on-boarding’ of our oil and gas industries will bring,” Williams pointed out.

Following the formal opening, plenary sessions examined the Party Leader’s address, the General Secretary’s Report and plans for the party’s 60th anniversary. A motion giving full support to the Government in the action that was taken to repossess the Red House, a National Heritage building, was presented to the General Council by the Vice Chairperson of the National Congress of Women (NCW), Carol Smith-Joseph.

Meanwhile, the following day, the PNCR sought to refute claims that senior public servants were “requested” to attend its General Council Meeting.

In a statement on Sunday, the party responded to an article published in the Sunday, January 22, 2017 edition of the Guyana Times under the caption: “PNC General Council Meeting: Granger assures commitment to coalition Govt …as senior public servants express displeasure at being requested to attend.”

According to the PNCR, the General Council of the PNCR is an institution of the party that comprises only members of the PNCR. To this end, the statement outlined that “No Senior Public Servants were or are ‘requested’ to attend.”

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‘Secret’ MoU with T&T Man dies as car crashes company could result in into utility pole many being jobless if pursued

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- says Dr Ramsaroop

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The Skeldon Sugar Factory

he clandestinely inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) based D Rampersaud and Company Limited (DRCL), to pursue the possible development of an ‘Integrated Sugar Cane Processing Facility’ at the Skeldon Sugar Estate, reeks of political involvement, rife with dishonesty on the part of the ruling Administration and will lead to more persons being placed on the breadline, if pursued as proposed.

Dr Peter Ramsaroop, who also functions as the Economic Advisor to the Opposition, gave this dire analysis of the project as guided by the provisions of the MoU and points too to the clandestine nature of the transaction with a company that has no experience in the sugar industry.

Car parts dealer

In fact, Dr Ramsaroop speaking to this newspaper following its exposure of the deal inked in December last with DRCL and the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) said, “D Rampersaud and Company Limited have no past performance on any of the components in the MoU. The most they have is in repair of power generation equipment.”

The company’s website asserts a five decade history not in the sugar or any of its related industries, but rather in automotive and automotive accessories – meaning cars and car parts.

The political activist and local businessman observed too that, “the company is basically a Trinidadian auto parts company that diverted into engineering over the years.”

Notably too is the fact that the local witness to the MoU is none other than a local car dealer in the person of proprietor of Auto Fashions Store Noel Rupie Shewjattan of Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown.

In an invited comment, Dr Ramsaroop questioned “how can GoInvest sign such a MoU with a company to look at sugar production, make rum or ethanol, etc in Guyana… The last time any Trinidadian company managed sugar was in 2007 when the industry was abolished and thousands were out of work.”

Guyana Times this past week broke the news of the secret deal inked between GO-Invest and the Trinidadianbased company to pursue a project to realise power generation, ethanol production, rum production, solar power production, and construction of liquid bulk terminal – all utilising the US$200 million Modern Skeldon Sugar Factory, inclusive of all of its assets

and cane lands.

Dr Ramsaroop said that the MoU is a monumental failure on the part of GO-Invest – Guyana’s premier Government agency to solicit and accommodate Foreign and local direct investment.

He has since chided the approach taken by Government with regards the Skeldon Sugar Factory – a project which to date represents the single largest investment made by any Administration locally.

No Experience

Dr Ramsaroop, in seeking to bring home the point of the company’s complete lack of experience for the proposed task, questioned “where it is that this company has or had anything to do with Sugar, Rum, Power Production or Fuel Grade Ethanol experience?”

A search of the company’s Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago headquarters, boasts of a third generation family business established about 50 years ago, initially providing a wide range of automotive parts and associated engineering services.

Breadline

Calling for an integrated approach towards the resuscitation of the of the sugar industry in Guyana, Dr Ramsaroop noted that the coalition A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration is without a plan “with their best bet being to give away the US$200 million Skeldon Sugar Factory to a company that has no skills.”

This approach, he warned, was part of a revenge campaign by the ruling Administration against sugar workers placing them on “the breadline, since most of them did not support them…

Political revenge is not the way to go here.”

He noted that under the ousted People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration, the plan was to invest in a more refine sugar approach to the value added sugar crystals that are in more demand around the world and move to ethanol production by 2016.

Ramsaroop, a long-time advocate of biofuels said, “We would have seen more jobs being created as we expanded the sugar industry not shut it down.

Brazil is the second largest producer of fuel grade ethanol… The PPP/C plan also called for an integrated approach by building the deep water harbour and the road to Brazil… These integrated approaches would have seen Guyana propel with the sugar industry,” the Economic Advisor said.

father of one was in the wee hours of Sunday killed after he reportedly lost control of his car and crashed into a utility pole at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara.

Dead is 32-yearold Sankar Seenauth, also called “Chiney”, of Lot 151 GAC Old Road, Timehri , EBD. Information reaching Guyana Times International revealed that the man overtook another vehicle and soon after lost control of his motor car, slamming into the utility pole.

He was reportedly trapped in the driver’s seat of the mangled car and had to be pulled from the wreckage by public-spirited citizens, who were awakened by the impact of the crash.

According to information, Seenauth might have sustained a broken neck and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre.

A sister- in- law of the dead man, when contacted, told this publication that they received news of the accident about 1:15h. She explained that the young man left

Dead: Sankar Seenauth also called “Chiney”

home about 01:00h, but did not tell them where he was heading.

She explained that one of his brothers informed them that “Chiney” was involved in an accident and without hesitation, she, along with his parents and other relatives, rushed to the scene.

As they arrived, the injured man was lying on the ground, motionless.

He was bleeding from the head. The now dead man operated a sandpit on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway.

Attempts to speak

with the parents of the dead man proved futile.

Meanwhile, one eyewitness claimed that Seenauth was speeding. “He passed me like a jet, but as he attempted to get back into his lane, like he misaveraged and went too close to the parapet and is then he collided with the pole,” the man related.

After crashing into the pole, the car was propelled into the air before landing on its four wheels, the eyewitness recounted to this newspaper.

“People rushed out their homes to assist… he was pinned and we had to wrench out the driver’s side door, but when we realise he was trapped we went to the passenger’s side and pulled him out from there.”

Seenauth was already dead, the witness said.

The wrecked car was taken to the Madewini Police Station and a probe was launched.

Seenauth leaves to mourn his parents, son, four siblings and other relatives.

Govt hoping to continue dialogue with stakeholders on GuySuCo’s future

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ays after being blasted by the Opposition Leader over secrecy with a deal struck with a Trinidadian company for a possible takeover of the lucrative Skeldon Sugar Estate, President David Granger is adamant that a consultative consensus is required in determining the way forward with the heavily indebted and cashstrapped Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

The President posited that Government wants to make the sugar industry viable once again, but would only embark on such a path through consensus with the relevant stakeholder. To this end, he underscored the importance of having dialogue, which he added will ensure a path that will be acceptable by the Guyanese people.

“The Government’s position is that we should seek consensus; that is why we have embarked on talks with members of the Opposition and Civil Society,” he stated during this week’s ‘The Public Interest’ programme.

President Granger continued that the Administration is cognisant of the fact that sug-

ar is one of the oldest industries in Guyana and remains a large employer, notwithstanding too that it also occupies a large portion of the country’s land space.

At the same time, he pointed out that Government is mindful of what has transpired in the industry over the years. He further opined that financial issues at Skeldon has brought the industry to the state it currently is in, and his Administration is now focused on saving the jobs of the persons working in the sector.

Nevertheless, the Head of State explained that while Government will not be going into discussions with any prejudice, it does however want the sugar industry to cease being a burden

to Guyanese taxpayers.

“We’ve been doing our best, we’ve been bailing out sugar spending billions of dollars every year and we believe this burden on the country should be brought to an end. So in all good faith, we have sought dialogue with the Opposition and the unions and we would like them to bring up ideas, we would like civil society to bring up ideas so we can arrive at a consensus that all Guyanese can be satisfied with,” the President said.

Even as he touted a consensus approach, the coalition Administration came in for some bashing last week from the Opposition, Leader Bharrat Jagdeo blasting Government over the deal with the Trinidadian company.

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Guyana hoping to push for further enhancement of ‘single economy’ …at upcoming CARICOM meeting

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ollowing his assumption of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Chairmanship at the beginning of 2017, President David Granger will be pushing to further enhance the ‘single economy’ within the Region.

The Guyanese Leader assumed the chairmanship as per the Rotation Schedule for the Chairmanship of the Conference of Heads of Government, and his first task as Chair would be hosting the 28th Inter-sessional Meeting of Caricom Heads of Government, slated for February 16 and 17.

At that meeting, Granger said he would

be building on the work of the founders of the movement and his pre-

decessor, Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit.

“I’m not a lone wolf; I’m not going to bring about some miraculous

change. I would like to continue their work to build the economy of the Caribbean,” the President told reporters on “The Public Interest” programme.

On this note, he highlighted the importance of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), noting that once they get the single economy right, the success of other forms of regional cooperation would follow.

President Granger continued that with the existing challenges in the Caribbean – Trinidad having faced some challenges because of the collapse of oil prices, Barbados under some stress and similarly Suriname – many of these countries have turned to Guyana as a place for investment.

“There’re nearly 20

Surinamese companies operating in Guyana; the Barbadian company is in the Rupununi; Trinidad has a lot of experience in petroleum, and so my thrust will be in the economy and I’d like to move more quickly towards building that Caribbean Single Market and Economy – it’s all about the economy,” the Guyanese Leader posited.

In preparation of the Inter-sessional Meeting of Caricom Heads of Government, President Granger earlier this month met with Secretary General of the body, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and a delegation from the Secretariat, which included Advisor to the Secretary General, Neville Bissember and Executive Director, Human Resource Management at the Caricom Secretariat, Charmaine AtkinsonJordan.

Also at that meeting were Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge and Head of the Caricom Unit in the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Charlene Phoenix.

In his New Year’s message to the Community, the Guyanese Head of State placed people at the centre of the integration movement, and pointed to the actions that were being taken to ensure they were secure and safe, and equipped for the 21st Century economy and society.

Cops probing 4 rapes in 1 week at Berbice

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he Police Sexual Offences Unit in Berbice, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) is investigating four alleged instances of rape committed on females in the region over the past week.

Reports are the offences were committed at Corentyne, New Amsterdam, East Canje and Fort Ordinance.

One of the instances is a father who reportedly raped his 13-year-old daughter.

In another incident reported to the Police, a 13-year-old girl was found wandering on the Corentyne Highway and was taken to a nearby Police Station. During investigations, it was revealed that she was sexually assaulted by her uncle. She was subsequently committed to the

New Opportunity Corps (NOC) on a charge of wandering. Police have since launched a search for the uncle.

At Stanleytown, New Amsterdam and Fort Ordinance a mother two teens was also raped.

M e a n w h i l e , Divisional Commander Assistant Commissioner Ian Amsterdam, said that an investigation has been launched into all the incidents. “We have a couple of rape cases reported to us over the past week and we are investigating.

“A lot of the rapes that have been committed were committed by persons who are trusted by family. Once it is reported then we deal with it in an appropriate way,” the Commander said.

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Citizens’ Bank opens G$2.6B headquarters in Georgetown

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itizens Bank on Friday commissioned a spanking new structure at the corners of Camp Street and South Road, Georgetown, to the tune of G$2.6 billion.

According to President David Granger, it is indicative of how stable the economy is.

However, the Head of State also reminded indigenous banks of the importance of ensuring that their policies are designed with Guyana’s economy and small enterprises in mind.

“Indigenous banks have a vital role to play to ensure that financial services become more inclusive. Banks have an obligation to be responsive to the needs of all sectors of society and they have a duty to micro and small-scale enterprises.”

He stated that these groups have tradition-

clones of foreign banks.

They should seek to transform the character of their operations by aligning their services to meet the needs of local businesses.”

T h e building, which sits at the corner of Camp Street and South road, was reportedly constructed Citizens Bank on Friday commissioned a spanking new structure at the corners of Camp Street and with a 90 South Road. In photo, First Lady Sandra Granger cuts the ribbon while President David Granger, per cent loFinance Minister Winston Jordan, Chairman of Citizens Bank, Clifford Reece, Managing Director Eton cal work Chester and General Manager Frances Paris share the celebrated moment (Marceano Narine Photo) force. It will serve as the ally felt excluded and excluded financially, this Citizens’ Bank for bebank’s new headquarmarginalised by banking creates social exclusion ing different; noting systems. He stated that and increases poverty.” that when it started it ters.

Some of the bank’s when these groups are He commended extended its services to geographic areas that features include state previously had no access of the art alarm systems, sprinklers and elto financial services.

“Today, Guyana’s in- evators. It has a drive Automatic digenous banks ought through not to try to become Teller Machine (ATM)

and features LED lights throughout the building.

Some of the local companies who were contracted to assist were Cummings Electrical (electrical installation) and MMC Security Services (alarm systems).

Industrial Fabrication supplied the steel used to construct the bank.

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson was also commended for his input as a Quantity Surveyor.

In addition, Sheldon Williams was cited as the Chief Architect.

With concrete piles in its foundation and a 60 per cent composition of reinforced glass and concrete, this imposing structure will serve as the new headquarters for Citizens Bank.

Guyana Times International understands that the structure took three years to design and construct. The branch reportedly has an employee base of 75, though Citizens’ Bank collectively employs 147 persons.

US Ambassador to Guyana not affected by President Trump’s envoy recall Man stabbed to death during

President Donald Trump

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hile newly elected President Donald Trump has announced a major shakeup in his country’s foreign diplomatic force, the position of United States Ambassador to Guyana held by Perry Holloway will not be affected.

Shortly after Trump was sworn into office as the 45th President of the United States, all foreign ambassadors, who were politically appointed, were fired.

But Ambassador Holloway, who was sworn in as his country’s diplomatic representative in Guyana in September 2015, will be retained as his appointment was not political.

According to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the US Embassy in Guyana, Amanda Cauldwell, Ambassador Holloway is a career foreign service diplomat.

“In the American State Department, there are two different ways

a person can become an ambassador. The ambassadors Trump said that would have their last days, those were the politically appointed ambassadors,” she explained.

Cauldwell said Ambassador Holloway came up in the Foreign Service and worked his way until he reached the highest level of American Foreign Service.

P r e v i o u s l y , Ambassador Holloway served in the Department of State as Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy Bogota, Colombia (20102013); Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy Asuncion, Paraguay (2009-2010); Director, Narcotics Affairs Section, US Embassy Bogota, Columbia (20072009); Deputy Director, Narcotics Affairs Section, US Embassy Bogota, Colombia (2005-2007); Andean Counterdrug Initiative Coordinator, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Washington, DC (2004-2005); Director, Narcotics Affairs Section, US Embassy Guatemala City, Guatemala (20002003); General Services Officer, US Embassy Quito, Ecuador (19972000); Administrative Officer, US Consulate Tijuana, Mexico (19941997); General Services Officer, US Embassy San Salvador, El Salvador (1992-1994); Ambassador’s Staff

robbery attack at Bus Park

A Ambassador Perry Holloway

Assistant, US Embassy Bogota, Colombia (19901991); and Consular Officer, US Embassy Bogota, Colombia (19891990). Before joining the Foreign Service, he was a manager of Radio Shack stores in Georgia and South Carolina.

A m b a s s a d o r Holloway earned a BA in Foreign Languages from Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a MA in International Business Sciences from the University of South Carolina, and a MA in National Resources Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, DC. He is the recipient of three Senior Foreign Service Performance Awards, eight Superior Honour Awards and two Meritorious Awards from the Department of State.

tattoo artist was on Friday evening stabbed to death during an alleged robbery in the vicinity of Demico House, Stabroek Market, Georgetown.

Raul Rodrigues, 40, also called “Tattoo Man” of Lot 64 Leopold Street, Georgetown, was attacked and stabbed once to his chest by two men during the robbery.

Reports are Rodrigues, who is also a mason, was consuming alcohol in Leopold Street, Georgetown earlier in the day but reportedly left to collect his child’s mother, who was getting off from work at 20:00h.

However, Guyana Times International understands that while walking in the vicinity of Dairy Bus Park, he was attacked by two males where he was stabbed.

In an attempt to escape from his assailants, he collapsed in front of Demico House. The perpetrators reportedly relieved him of an iPhone he was carrying at the time.

He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) where he reportedly died while receiving medical attention.

A n n a s t a c i a Rodrigues, a sister of the dead man told this newspaper that she was at home in Campbell

Dead tattoo artist: Raul Rodrigues

Street, Albouystown, when she received a telephone call informing her that her brother was stabbed. As she was hurrying out, another friend told her that he was dead and that the family must rush to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the medical facility, she was restricted from seeing her brother although she pleaded with the security guards to be allowed to see him.

“About an hour and a half later, they come out and tell us that he was dead,” she related. Again, she requested to see her bother but that request was denied.

However, she returned to the Police Station on Saturday morning where she was told that someone was arrested for the murder.

“The Police tell me that they arrested a man, but they could not say if he was the one who stabbed my brother, but

they tell me that investigations are continuing,” she noted.

Nevertheless, she recalled that her sister was also stabbed and killed six years ago but no one was ever charged for the murder. She however, vowed to seek justice for her brother this time around.

While at Rodrigues’ house, her mother fainted several times as she cried out “they kill him… they kill him… no body nah do nothing to save he life.”

Meanwhile, the mother of the dead man’s child reportedly told Police that she left work and was heading to the minibus park when she saw someone lying on the ground and upon checking, she realised that it was Rodrigues. She noted that from all indications, he was already dead.

The Police in a release stated that Rodrigues was involved in an altercation with two men when one of them armed himself with an object and dealt him one blow to the region of his heart.

This newspaper understands that a 28-yearold minibus conductor was arrested and is being questioned in relation to the murder.

Rodrigues leaves to mourn his mother, siblings and three daughters.

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any of the Chinese indentured immigrants who came to Guyana, then British Guiana, became citizens and worked as shopkeepers, laundry, restaurant and supermarket owners or workers, and merchants in the import and export business. Many of their descendants became civil servants and professionals.

Today, Sunday Times Magazine highlights a few ‘landmarks’ of Chinese heritage that also remind us of their invaluable contributions to the country.

St. Saviour’s Church

St. Saviour’s Chinese Church – formerly a branch of St. Philip's Church, St. Saviour's Church –

the “old” St. Saviour's Church was laid Aug. 14, 1874 to provide a place of worship for the Chinese community of Georgetown where services could be conducted in the Chinese language by a Chinese catechist. A chancel was added in 1911.

In June 1921, on St. John's Day, a dispensation was granted to the Freemasons of Silent Temple Lodge (Chinese) to hold its first Divine Service at St. Saviour's Church. The present St. Saviour's Church was dedicated by the archbishop of the West Indies, Dr John Alan Knight on Sunday, Oct.14, 1951.

ties were now transferred from the Chinese Association to the Chinese Sports Club at Thomas Lands. In 1963, it was decided that membership of the club should no longer be restricted to Chinese but should be opened to all races. The club's name was also changed to Cosmos Sports Club.

By 1984, most of the Chinese members of the club had migrated, and it was decided to merge Cosmos Sports Club with the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club and to rename the club the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club.

The Chinese Sports Club

Founded in 1927 by a Chinese immigrant’s son, Joseph Clement (J.C) Luck, Central

The Chinese Sports Club (Cosmos) start-

Central High School

The now St. Saviour's Church

taken over by the government.

J. C. Luck served as principal of the school from 19271956, as did two of his children: Stella Lowe (1956-1961) and Joseph Rudolph (Rudy) Luck (1972-1974).

J. C. Luck's youngest son, Donald Luck, was the school's first and only Guyana Scholar in 1950, at a time when only one Guyana Scholarship

per year was awarded.

J. C. Luck also started the Central Book Shop next door to the school to supply its students and those of other schools, with textbooks.

The Windsor Forest Monument

The Windsor Forest Monument was erected in 1986 by the Guyana-China Friendship Society, to commemorate the coming of the first

Chinese immigrants to Guyana on the Glentanner from Amoy in China. They were all assigned to work on the West Coast Demerara at Windsor Forest (105), Pouderoyen (103) and Union (1).

Nine had died on the journey to Guyana.

The monument still stands today. (Research done by Marlene Kwok Crawford and Rosemarie Choo-SheeNam) (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

The Windsor Forest Monument

was raised to the status of a Parish Church of the Anglican Diocese on Jan. 1, 1939 when it was given its own priest, the Reverend E. C. Lampriere. The word “Chinese” was omitted from the church’s name to become simply St. Saviour’s Church, but it still continued to be the focal worshipping building for the Chinese community.

The church is situated at Broad and Saffon Streets, Charlestown in Georgetown, on land formerly owned by a Frenchman named Pierre Louis de Saffon, (1724 – 1784) who had fled to Guyana to escape arrest after he killed his brother in a duel over a woman at the time when duelling was banned in France.

When Saffon died in 1784, he was buried on his La Penitence estate in what is now the churchyard of St. Saviour's Church, with the Saffon Monument marking his grave. In his will he left his money to a fund for the upkeep of poor orphans up to the age of 16.

The cornerstone of

ed informally in 1924, and when it acquired its own sports pavilion and ground at Thomas Lands in 1931, it formally began as an offshoot of the Chinese Association at Lot 3, Brickdam, where billiards and other indoor games and meetings were still held.

In 1932, it was decided to amalgamate with the Narcissus Tennis Club of La Penitence, which had been started in 1909 comprising Chinese lawn tennis players.

Cricket, tennis, hockey and basketball were the club's main outdoor games, but the club shone at hockey. In 1961, eight of its members were selected to tour with the national hockey team which won the first and only Quadrangular Hockey Tournament between British Guiana, Trinidad, Jamaica and Barbados. By 1974, it had the leading hockey team in Guyana, winning all the hockey tournaments that year.

In May 1945, a larger pavilion was built and all indoor activi-

High School was one of the best private secondary schools of its time.

It became a government-aided secondary school in 1969 and it became fully governmentowned in 1976 when all secondary schools were

Original wooden Central High School house built on the same land where the school stands today

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bearing this surname are the descendants of Fung A-Pan, an immigrant on the Whirlwind in 1860, and Fung A-Man, who arrived on the Arima in 1865. There are also other Fung families whose surname is equivalent to the Mandarin name Hung which in Hakka dialect is pronounced Fung.

Fung-A-Fat: The family traces its ancestry to the Hung clan, this surname being made famous by the exploits of Hung Hsiu-ch’uan, Heavenly King of the Taiping Rebellion. The Hakka pronunciation of Hung is Fung and thereby generated the inscription Fung for the family. One of the immigrants to British Guiana was Hung Kung-fat, a passenger on the Dartmouth in 1879, whose name was transformed into Fung-A-Fatt and from whom the family name is derived. Most of the descendants are now known by the simpler spelling Fung-A-Fat and some others have resumed the use of the root Hakka sur-

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name Fung.

Hing: The Hing family name is derived from different immigrants including Phang Hing, U-Hing (on the Chapman in 1861), and Wong A-Hing.

Low: Also written as Lau, Lowe and Loh, this Cantonese name is commonly associated with Liu, one of the top ten Chinese surnames. The descendants of Lau Shiu-t’ong are known by Low. Low-A-Chee: Lau Un-che (also written Lau Yun-chay) was a native of Thong Kun who traveled aboard the Dora in 1860. He married Mary Kok and had seven children who carried the surname Low-A-Chee.

For more information on other Chinese surnames, visit the National Library and ask for “Cane Reapers – Chinese Indentured Immigrants in Guyana” by Trev Sue-A-Quan. The helpful staff there will be happy to assist you. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

A Chinese immigrant's view (illustrated) of exploitation on a sugar estate

he following is a listing of a few surnames of Chinese in Guyana who trace their ancestry to the original batch of indentured immigrants during the period from 1853 to 1879.

This list includes the names of some of the original immigrants and their descendants who are known at the time of printing (2003). The spellings of the names are those that have become the more generally acknowledged versions although variations in spelling do exist.

Chee-A-Tow: An immigrant from Poon Yu who arrived on the ship Bucton Castle in 1865, Chee A-Tow was allotted to Plantation Peter's Hall.

He became a shopkeeper and acquired property and land at Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara, in the 1880s where he raised a family of 16 children.

Chung-A-Ming: Family history has it that the original immigrant Chung-A-Ming arrived in the 1870s and was given the personal name James. He married an Indian girl named Lakia and had two sons, Richard and Thomas James Chung-AMing. James opened up a liquor store, hotel and grocery in the Corentyne district. Some of his descendants are known by the surname James.

Foo: This surname can be derived from different Chinese written characters that have Fu as the Mandarin equivalent. Some people with the Foo surname are descended from Tong Foo. Fung: There are several families with the surname Fung: the Cantonese version of the Mandarin surname Feng, which is among the top 50 Chinese surnames. Among those

Thomas James Chung-A-Ming, dressed in a white suit and standing ahead of the horse, was the owner of the bus company serving the Corentyne area. This photo was taken in front of his house (Les Bovell)

Confucius Institute at University of Guyana

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o promote Chinese culture in Guyana, the Confucius Institute at University of Guyana (CIUG) was founded.

The Institute was officially established on May 19, 2014 at the University of Guyana, Turkeyen Campus,and is a joint undertaking with UG, Dalian University of Foreign Languages (DUFL) and Hanban (Confucius Institute Headquarters).

CIUG, as a window for the Guyanese people to know China, provides Chinese teaching for different types and

and employees with tailor-made Chinese contents. Meanwhile, Chinese cultural activities are shown for cultural exchanges between Guyana and China.

In brief, the aim of CIUG is in the service

of teaching Chinese language and understanding Chinese culture for the Guyanese people from all walks of life. It is the official Chinese language teaching and cultural centre as well as Chinese related information centre in

Guyana.

For more information visit Confucius Institute at University of Guyana - CI/UG on Facebook or http:// ciug.uog.edu.gy (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

Writing in Chinese at a past exhibition held by CIUG

levels of schools, communities and educational exchange organisations between China

and Guyana and cooperate with the government and companies for training their officials

Students learning Tai chi, an ancient Chinese tradition that is practiced as a graceful form of exercise

Learning how to eat with chopsticks

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Karin (center) with her 2006 Aurora Award for 'Best Long-Form Work in English'

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anadian-based Guyanese novelist Karin Lowachee was born in Guyana, and moved to Toronto, Canada when she was two. She has written three highlyacclaimed award-winning science fiction novels and continues to receive rave reviews for them.

Her first novel “Warchild” won the 2001 Warner Aspect First Novel Contest. Both “Warchild” (2002) and her third novel “Cagebird” (2005) were finalists for the Philip K. Dick Award (an award given for distinguished science fiction). “Cagebird” won the Prix Aurora Award in 2006 for Best Long-Form Work in English and the Spectrum Award also in

2006. Her second novel “Burndive” debuted at #7 on the Locus Bestseller List.

Karin’s books have been translated into French, Hebrew, and Japanese, and her short stories have appeared in anthologies edited by Julie Czerneda, Nalo Hopkinson, and John Joseph Adams. Her fantasy novel, “The Gaslight Dogs”, was published through Orbit Books USA in April 2010.

“I’ve been writing stories in some form or another since kindergarten and began to think about doing it as a career around Grade 5 or 6. In high school I became more conscious of it, and by university it was definitely a

'The Gaslight Dogs' book cover

goal I was driven to attain. Looking back on it, writing is the only thing that I can remember doing my entire life, consistently and without need of outside encouragement.

I’ve always loved writing and it’s the only thing I can sweat blood over without too much complaint. I have many different interests but writing is my passion. It’s the endeavour that encourages my education, exploration, and edification all in one,” she said in an interview with Orbit Books.

The writer’s inspiration comes from “the world or the universe.”

She is fascinated by people, places, and ideas, and writing is her way of making sense of it all, or examining things that particularly interest her. A lot of writers inspire her as well, from across many genres. Film, history, art, psychology, they have always been an inspiration too. Karin is also inspired by a desire to get better.

Every book she tackles is a conscious attempt to become a better writer, not just to tell a different story.

Commenting on the hours she spends writing, Karin said, “I'm not a quantitative person. For me it's quality and working when the time is right (unless you're under a contract and deadline of course). This doesn't mean that I write purely on inspiration. I believe you need discipline for the long haul of novel writing and waiting solely on inspiration is a road to nowhere.

Sometimes I write

in my mind for a day; other times, when I'm on deadline or fed up of planning/researching, I will be back and forth from my computer for 12 hours.

That being said, writing isn't the only thing in my life and I believe it's healthy to get my head out of the world of it and do other things. All the things that go into a book, for me, have as much to do with my development as a person as well as the development of a plot.”

Additionally, the writer also uses music as an inspiration. It is a “muse” for her. She would usually write with it on. For Karin, certain types of music will help the mood of a scene. For instance, in fight scenes, she usually plays harder music. She believes that the lyrics and vocalists have a lot to do with mood as well. The lyrics go with a theme, or the psychology the characters are going through at the time.

For some writers the publishing process can be a tedious one, however, Karin is gathering as much experience as she gets and applying this to better her narrative skills. “I love the entire publishing process from the nitty-gritty development of the book, to the editorial conversation, to the artwork and the production and everything that follows after. I don’t find any of it tedious, probably because I’m still grateful that I get to experience it in the first place and I’ve consistently worked with truly fantastic individuals, even

Award-winning novel, 'Cagebird'

when editors or publishers change. I love telling stories that are important to me and being published allows me to reach a wide audience (many of whom contact me and constantly surprise me with their dedication and creativity).

There is nothing that isn’t exciting about that!”

The author’s most recent short story “Gold Mountain” was released in 2016. “Gold Mountain” is about a widow named Jules, who meets a Chinese hermit in the mountains of southern British Columbia, during the time of the gold rush and the building of the railroad. Her husband died on the mountain but she has no proof, so she goes searching.

What she finds instead is a man who draws power from the very nature that killed her husband.

“My ancestors, like

Lin in the story, left China for a better life in the ‘west’. Instead of settling in Australia or North America, mine went to South America.

But the story, regardless of where they might have landed, is similar. I wanted to explore that. I was also inspired by research into the Shaolin and their dedication and connection to healing and nature...” she explained in an interview with https://airshipambassador.wordpress. com.

Karin’s advice to fellow writers is: “Just write.

If you don’t discipline yourself to do that, nothing else is going to matter.

And read a lot of everything good.”

Visit www.karinlowachee.com for more information on her books or download the app GREAT JONES STREET to read her short stories.

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Is oil Guyana’s curse?

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am one of the six nominees for the GECOM chairmanship who has been rejected by President David Granger as not being a “fit and proper person” for the job.

All the textbook advice on how best to deal with rejection states that you must understand that it is not your fault per se, but that the person doing the rejecting is rejecting “something particular” that doesn’t work for them.

The negative criticisms that have followed the rejection of the list of nominees are positioned within the context of the behaviour of the Granger Administration which follows a pattern of PNC bullyism and executive lawlessness that were the hallmarks of the Burnham dictatorship.

Every one of us

Ryhaan Shah knows what would have happened had the PPP/C Government ever rejected a list of nominees presented by the PNC leadership at any time during their 23year governance. There would have been hell to pay for any misinterpretation or misrepresentation of the law in any way or measure.

Even if he presents reasons why he finds the nominees unfit and improper, Granger has already shown his hand publicly and appears fixated on the erroneous view that Guyana is still operating under the 1980 Burnham Constitution.

Given this, it is more than a little certain that he will find no “fit and proper person” on any list presented to him

by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

Granger’s sycophants and supporters are colluding with him to ignore the letter of the law as he manoeuvres to get to a place where he will likely choose a candidate with the “something particular” that he wants in a chairperson.

The dangers inherent in such a move are obvious and no one can be faulted for suspecting that the “something particular” Granger wants in the next GECOM chair would be a willingness to set the stage for PNC rigged elections in 2020 and onward.

The sheer bravado of Granger’s unilateral and undemocratic moves heightens suspicions that he has been assured of his and his Government’s re-election. This just has to be done with some appearance of legitimacy and since the AFC Indian Guyanese support has decamped, that fig-leaf will not be available to help the PNC slip back into power. They therefore have to look to other means available.

It speaks volumes that they appear absolutely unconcerned that the 2017 Budget hike in fees and taxations makes them with the electorate and could contribute to their loss at the 2020 polls if the elections are free and fair.

With sugar and rice

production declining, with manufacturing down, and with a 33 per cent revenue loss in the forestry sector, Guyana appears to be already suffering from the “oil curse”, even though a drop of oil has not yet been drilled from those seabed reserves off our coast.

Economic planning calculated on future oil earnings to the exclusion of every other possible revenue earner is very risky in a world that is turning to alternative energy sources. However, it appears that the promised returns are too attractive to forgo.

The Washington Post report about Granger having met with ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson only serves to intensify suspicions.

Since the Guyanese public knows of no such meeting since Granger took Office, there is speculation that the meeting must have occurred before the May 2015 general elections.

Either way, the secretiveness of the meeting plays to fears of deals having been struck that are not in Guyana’s best interests.

The report’s reference to the PPP/C government as “leftist” indicates the politics in play that, as in the 1960s, makes a PNC Government more politically favourable to the US. A Huffington Post report is even more damning and posits that with Tillerson set to become the US Secretary of State, he could help “Exxon profit from Guyana’s resources under the patina of rule of law”.

The PNC enjoyed dictatorial rule through rigged elections from 1968 to 1992 because it suited US Cold War interests to keep the PPP out of Office. Could oil be Guyana’s curse this time around?

With Tillerson part of what is already a Trump Administration, Guyana’s best ally, should Granger get his way with a unilateral choice to the GECOM chair, could well be the US media which takes its government watchdog role very seriously.

The US might also find itself without willing British and European allies to influence future elections in Guyana, given that President Trump seems likely to redraw the world map of US alliances. That new world headed by an unorthodox President in the White House might be in Guyana’s favour.

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(Continued)

A

bout 60 species of mammals have been recorded from the district ranging from Mouse Opossums to Dolphins. One of the rarest is the Two-toed Anteater or Silky, of which

three have been seen, the last individual in the Colony House at the Penal Settlement.

The mammals of British Guiana possess a unique historical interest, from a taxonomic point of view, for most of Linnaeus' original collections came

Map showing location of the Kartabo research station. Its first location was at Kalacoon (Photo from “Zoologica: Scientific Contributions of the New York Zoological Society From the Tropical Research Station in British Guiana Volume III”)

from this region, and thus we find that the most of the forms are the types of their respective genera.

Nearly 450 species of birds have been recorded, of which breeding notes have been made on one hundred and thirty-five species. This is probably the largest number ever recorded from so limited an area.

Over 100 species of reptiles and amphibians have been collected, their brilliant but evanescent colouring painted, and the embryology and life history of many worked out.

Only the fishes which have been taken inshore in weir and nets have been studied. These number about 75, and in diversity and strangeness of form, food and habits, are an assurance of intensely interesting future work in this field. Collections have been made of the land travelling forms of study of their adaptive swim bladders.

Among the insects, ants, and termites or wood

Aerial view of North Road, looking East

Chinese Meeting Hall, Peter’s Hall, 19th century (BBC Library Service)

ants, are the only groups which have been studied with any thoroughness. Professor William M. Wheeler, who is the acknowledged authority on ants, collected over 200 forms in two months, within a short distance of the laboratory, and actually secured 64 species from a single tree of medium size. In the cleared compound of the laboratory, he found every genus of fungus-growing ant known in the world.

During two seasons' work, Mr. Alfred Emerson has discovered 70 species of wood ants, within a halfmile of the Station. Fifty of these are new to science.

A most remarkable series of 100 kinds of guest insects were collected, some modified to an astounding extent. The castes of soldiers, workers, kings and queens, the nests, fungus disease and parasites, wing development and general habits of many of these species have been recorded in notes, drawings and photographs.

Although no work has been completed in other groups of invertebrates, yet a hasty resume" of butterflies and moths shows that out of a possible 44 families, representatives of 39 have already been secured.

Besides the research work carried on by members of the Staff, specimens have been gathered in particular cases for immediate study elsewhere. Usually, however, requests for indefinite collections, desired for study at some future time, have been refused, for this is intended more especially as a Station for workers in the field, and not a collecting medium.

Dr. Schultz of John's Hopkins is working on the embryology of Red Howling Monkeys; Dr. Reese of the University of West Virginia on Alligators, and young Electric Eels have been sought for Dr, Dahlgren of Princeton.

Several collections of live animals and birds have been sent to the New York Zoological Park, including a Two-toed Sloth, several Cocks-of-the-

William Beebe in British Guiana (1917). He operated the station from 1916 to 1924. Owing to the difficulty of transportation during the First World War, there was a lapse in 1917, but work resumed in 1918.

By the 1940s Kartabo had suffered deforestation and a new station established in Venezuela. He died in Trinidad in 1962. Beebe is described as a pioneer in the field now known as ecology

Rock, a Hacka, Electric Eels, Bushmasters, Ferde-Lance and a young Red " Baboon."

We have already delved more deeply into the wild life of Kartabo, than corresponding work carried on in any tropical area of equal size, and yet the more we study the living things about us, the more we realize what a vast labour confronts us and our successors.

We have hundreds of sheets of manuscript, thousands of photographs, coloured plates and moving pictures, but only the satisfaction of a little thorough and truthful work accomplished, keeps us from discouragement at the immense fields of investigation still lying ahead.

While most of the work of the Station will be brought out in scientific publications of the New York Zoological Society, yet the Director has felt it an equal duty to set forth some of the more popular aspects in magazines and books, such as the essays in " Jungle Peace " and in the later series in the " Atlantic Monthly," beginning with "A Tropic Garden" which deals with the Georgetown Botanical Gardens.

Eighty-six contributions from the Station, both technical and popular, have already been published.

These, then, are some of the serious activities of the Station, its raison d'etre, present and future.

But it is impossible to con-

vey in words the joy of life in such a place as this; the wonderful sunrises and the indescribable sunsets, the full moon glowing through bamboo filigree, recalling Japan, and the wandering little storms, each with its rainbow or sometimes two; the hard work and the hard play — the evenings of violent scientific argument, others of the reading of poetry, or to tales of travel or war. The nights — dreamless and of absolute healthy repose, in preparation for days all too short.

The only regret, always present, ever more real, is the hopelessness of understanding more than a fraction of the problems which confront us. Each strange habit or character, song or colour is no sooner studied and interpreted, than a hundred others rise to take its place.

If after all our labours we can add a single stone to the edifice of human understanding of the great world of Nature about us, if we can bring any of our fellow human beings in the world to a greater appreciation of the beauties and wonders of this splendid country, I, and the generous gentlemen of the Zoological Society who are making our Laboratory possible, will feel that we have been more than repaid. (Source: Timehri: The Journal of the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society of British Guiana, Vol. III, August 1921)

The Kartabo Research Station circa 1920s. (Photo from “Zoologica: Scientific Contributions of the New York Zoological Society From the Tropical Research Station in British Guiana Volume III”)

34

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

The need for students to be well-rounded

S

omething that has been hammered into our brains for as long as we can remember is that we have to learn to work in teams. We’ve been told that we have to be able to compromise and communicate with each other, but why is this important? Why must we suffer through a seemingly needless barrage of group exercises during our school careers?

The answer is rather simple. No one can exist as an island, and while, yes, I’m sure certain tasks can be accomplished singularly; a greater many have been vanquished through joint efforts. Group exercises throughout high school serve to cultivate this type of attitude in students. It hopes to teach students that they cannot accomplish everything by themselves, and that they can even achieve higher standards when working with others.

However, often times you find that students do not take this away from these group projects. They see them as burdensome, irrelevant and just difficult to do on a whole. Yet the skills that are gained from these simple projects are carried on throughout life. For example, after doing many group projects throughout high school, it becomes easy to identify

the type of person you can depend upon to do a particular task, and the type of person who will procrastinate, do subpar work, or do nothing at all.

And while, some argue that in the future they will be able to choose whom they work with, this skill of being able to discern types of people will become pertinent when selecting partners.

Something that’s important for students to do is to use group projects as an opportunity to get a feel of what it’s like to work at different levels within a group. Don’t always be the group’s leader. In the future, you will probably have to work under someone (or even a team of people), and you will have to be able to interpret their directions and follow them exactly. You will have to get accustomed to listening and complying with instructions even if you do not believe they’re the best idea, and you will have to learn when and how, (if at all) to air your opinions. Similarly, don’t always be a subordinate.

There will be times when you will be placed in charge of a team, and you will have to be able to multitask and check up on everyone.

You will have to learn to communicate with those working under you, you will be expected to make major decisions, and you

Peoples’ power…

Ashley Anthony

will be held accountable for the actions of the group.

If you don’t learn such skills early, in the future, a similar situation could become unnecessarily stressful, because you aren’t accustomed to the responsibility of being in charge.

Lastly, working in groups can actually help you with your individual work. By being around persons you are exposed to their thoughts and ideas, and may even begin to adopt some of their healthy work ethic. This can range from something as simple as always bordering your assignments to becoming more serious about deadlines. The multitasking skills that you develop as a group leader can be applied to your own life, as you try to manage schoolwork, family, friends, voluntary work, club activities, sports and other hobbies.

Remember, universities nowadays look for highly rounded students, so it could be very important to learn how to balance all of these areas of life.

…in US? ow sweet it is!!” some of the old activists from the Cold War 60’s still surviving must be chortling, as they note the ascent and coronation of Donald Trump as President of the US of A – and the consternation of the old elites who were their nemesis back then. The USSR was the enemy, of course, and anyone who could even remotely be a ‘fellow traveller’ was fair game for the CIA. Today, the “Agency” has come in for stinging rebuffs from their new Commander in Chief.

To be fair, the FBI had done the same persecution within the US following the witch hunt of Senator McCarty in the 50’s. But while the lives of hundreds of Americans – including several in Hollywood – it could not match the thousands who were actually killed in the Third World, to “roll back the Red menace”. Today, the new President has made the normalisation of relations with Russia his number one priority… and thereby making at least half of the 17 “Intelligence” agencies redundant! Oi vey!!

But there is one anomaly which is the archetypical elephant in the room that is being ignored – the foundation of the democratic order that’s the basis of America’s exceptionalism – each man counts equally with every other man.

Especially when it comes to the ballot.

How can government by the people stand when the votes of the people don’t have the same weight?

Back in the beginning of the 60‘s, we had a constituent system for electing governments. This resulted in the popular vote not exactly matching the votes the individual parties collected. Because the supporters of the PPP were more widely dispersed in the constituents, that Party’s seats garnered were far greater than the PNC’s, who were concentrated in urban areas. So the Americans and the British changed the system to the PR we still have so that the PNC could get into office. The CIA funded some riots that persuaded the PPP to go along.

But now in the US we have an analogous result – Hillary Clinton

“H

received three million more votes than Donald Trump – but yet she lost the elections! Why? Because the “Electoral College” device rewards dispersion of votes – much as our old constituency system did!! So your Eyewitness has a question: if the Establishment’s teedoff with Trump and they have the CIA on their side… Are they going to insist that America gets one-man-one vote all the way to deciding who’s President?

Power to the people!!! No Dictator!! …in Guyana Reading some of the responses to Justice Chang’s ruling on who can make foundational changes to the Constitution, it’s either some lawyers don’t keep up with developments in their field or they just want to protect the status quo.

As your Eyewitness has pointed out, Justice Chang must be complimented for moving away from the old, liberal, procedurally driven perspective on interpreting constitutions – especially in Britain. There, we know, even though democracy was supposed to place sovereignty in the hands of the people, the designed procedure only places a pencil in the hands of the people to select their REPRESENTATIVES to Parliament every five years!

And then makes PARLIAMENT sovereign – not the people! Well, even though Brexit has started the process of re-examining that situation in Britain, our Constitution has always insisted that substantively, we the people are sovereign. And there are certain things, only we the people can decide – not our representatives – who we know to our cost – are invariably self-serving.

Remember the 50 per cent raise?

But those in power will always resist this assertion of power by the people.

They’d rather be our sovereign rulers! …in Georgetown Your Eyewitness is still amazed at how these parking meters have been imposed on the people of, and visitors to, Georgetown – even though no one, excepting the Gang of Four, agrees to them.

We know where sovereignty resides in Georgetown!

35

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

By Petamber Persaud

The Shaping of Guyanese Literature

Part II

I

n Part One, we had a peek at non-Indian non-Guyanese writers who attempted to explore the Indian presence in Guyana. We also had a peek at the Indian presence/experience through the eyes of a handful of Indo-Guyanese writers who experienced indentureship and others who were first and second generation descendants privy to firsthand accounts of that scheme.

Non-Indian Guyanese writers also attempted to explore the Indian presence/experience, some with a nominal degree of success. Edgar Mittelholzer was the first of this lot with “Corentyne Thunder” (1943) followed

by Wilson Haris in “The Far Journey of Oudin” (1961) and Roy Heath in “The Shadow Bride” (1988).

Despite the increasing focus on the Indian presence by a cross-section of writers, the issue of Indian identity remains a complex one, a grave concern to and a major theme for writers down the ages.

Literature can be used for self-identity, self-representation and selfpropagation, among other functions. The early Indian writers were well aware of these functions of literature, making optimal use of them, even though their work was not given due regard until long after the country’s independence in 1966.

(Even then their work was grudgingly accepted into the mainstream.)

It must be noted that

Gaiutra Bahadur

Khal Torabully

the ranks of the early writers was infused with generations of songwriters composing protest songs. According to Gaiutra Bahadur, those protest songs were remonstrating against the ignoble label ‘coolies’.

Those songs were the ties that bind.

So the early writers had the task of erasing the dark connotations associated with the word ‘coolie’. But that was only part of an enormous, psychological task. However, they did leave a legacy of a protest platform on which their descendants could build. And their descendants did that and more; they reclaimed the word as a badge of honour, in tribute to the resilience and fortitude of their ancestors.

From whence came the dark connotations.

They came through our literature and were found firstly and mostly in official reports and letters and colonial documents like “The Coolie his rights and his Wrongs” by Edward Jenkins. In that corpus of literature, all

Indian immigrants were tarred with the same brush as coolies, filtering into common usage, exacerbating the stigma.

Even into the 21st century, the word ‘coolie’ is still being issued forth with much venom and bile.

As early as 1894, Joseph Ruhomon was among the first Indian to deal with the indignity. Ruhomon was the first Indian intellectual given birth to an Indian intellectualism in the early 20th century. Although he was already wearing the labels of ‘East Indian Christian’, ‘Indianness’ and ‘East Indian Creole’, he was trying to wipe out the stigma. Ruhomon was magnanimous in his approach, coining the word ‘Guyanians’ long before the word ‘Guyanese’ was given birth and institutionalized.

Joseph’s brother, Peter, also had to go to great lengths to deal with the word. Peter Ruhomon used a page of references in his magnum opus, ‘Centenary History of East Indians in British Guiana, 1838 to 1938’, published in 1947, to set the record straight. It would be useful to note that this groundbreaking work was started in 1930.

Many other writers supported the erasure of the word as being used in a derogatory manner.

And the (post-colonial) writers approached the word from a different perspective, reclaiming the word ‘coolie’ as a badge of honour, wearing it as a symbol of the courage and persistence and patience and suffering and the trials and tribulations and the triumphs of their ancestors.

Rajkumari Singh, the first established Indian woman writer, was out in front with the new perspective with her essay, ‘I am a Coolie’, first published in “Heritage 2” (1973). Singh did not only talk, but she acted, extolling the ‘Coolie Art

'Coolie Woman' by Gaiutra Bahadur

Form’ through the British Guiana Dramatic Society.

Then there were writers like David Dabydeen who produced a telling collection of poetry, “Coolie Odyssey” (1988). In that odyssey, Dabydeen extolled the virtues of the ‘Coolie Mother’.

Even the Indian academics weighted in on the subject. In 2000, Dale Bisnauth published “The Settlement of Indians in Guyana 18901930” where he notes “[f] or most, at least during the period of this study, a new Indian-Guyanese identity, though latent, had yet to be grasped or acknowledged”. In the same book, he mentions a ‘Coolie Hotel’.

In the new millennium, at a ‘Symposium On The Literature Of The Asian Diaspora: The Caribbean’ staged by the University of Warwick, Centre for Caribbean Studies, in 2007, I met Khal Torabully who was working on the principles of ‘Coolitude’ (my computer does not recognize this word), 100 years behind

Joseph Ruhomon

its cousin ‘Negritude’.

In 2014, Frank Birbalsingh, writing on his pet interest, found enough evidence to produce a significant work “Indian Caribbean Cricketers and the Quest for Identity”.

Also in 2014, Gaiutra Bahadur produced a majestic and magisterial work “Coolie Woman”.

From this framework, we will move into other frames of mind and other frames of our literature.

Responses to this author telephone (592) 2260065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com What’s happening: Under production: a compilation of biographies of Indo-Guyanese writers.

Under production: an anthology of IndoCaribbean poetry.

For further information, please see the aforementioned contacts.

(Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

36

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

This week's Crossword

“Alternative facts”…

T

This week's Puzzle

see solution on page 47

…in a Bizarro world

hen your Eyewitness was a callow youth, he confesses that he was addicted to comics. If the truth be told, even though he doesn’t flip through the “hard copies” any longer, he cannot miss their iterations on the big screen! (But Batman taking on Superman??!!C’mon now!!) Anyhow, there used to be a character “Bizarro” who lived in a world where everything was opposite to the reality on Earth.

On the first day after President Trump’s swearingin, your Eyewitness thought he’d been transported to the world of BizarrohtraE (“Earth” spelt backwards!).

After the White House announced that Trump’s crowd at his inauguration was BIGGER than Obama’s, the Press contradicted him with what they thought was incontrovertible evidence – pics of the two events.

And suggested the Trump machinery was spreading “falsehoods and lies”. “Not so!!” insisted Trump’s spokesperson, they were just offering “alternative facts”!!

Imagine that!! Reality is whatever you chose to say it is!! We know in this ‘post-modern’ world, there’s no single truth, since this is always socially constructed.

Truth is “relational” and “perspectival” and all that!

But your poor Eyewitness thought those only referred to “social truths” – like whether “white is beautiful” and suchlike. But certainly not to the facticity of comparing crowd shots to judge their magnitude!

But on reflection, your Eyewitness should’ve seen this coming… even though it’s a few decades late, Orwell did predict this in his classic, “1984”. In this Brave New World, “War is peace. Freedom is slavery.”

And most germanely, “ignorance is strength”!! But on this basis, let the word go forth – Guyana’s ahead of even the US in this new semantical twist of “Double Speak” in the Brave New World.

Weren’t we told, our treasury was too bare for a 10 per cent raise for Government workers, but not for a 50 per cent raise for Cabinet Ministers? The meaning of “bare” has to be parsed from your perspective!

More recently we’ve seen the disjunctive “or” – up to now indicating a change or inflection point in what preceded it in a sentence – declared to be a “conjunctive” which simply adds more of the same to what precedes!! One wonders then as to why even use it?? Wouldn’t it have been simpler to simply state that only judges need apply for the GECOM job? But we have to remember we are now in the Brave New World of htraE!! Complex is simple!

So we shouldn’t quibble when Public Security Minister Ramjattan (the twice and future leader of the AFC) declares there’s no spike in crime, or Finance Minister Jordan insists there’s no foreign currency shortage.

They’re just offering “alternative facts”!! …on Women’s March Who woulda thought!! The Women’s protest to Donald Trump’s election turned out to be the BIGGEST ever in the history of the US!! Even the White House didn’t offer some “alternative facts”! All across the US the sea of pink hats made their point. But hold it.

What was their point, again?

Well, there was the point made that America doesn’t really need a “Groper in Chief” right now!

Or someone who delighted in grabbing women’s privates (we can’t be more graphic like the US and British papers – we’re still Victorian, thank you!) while sticking his tongue down their throats.

But broadly that Trump be used as a lightning rod for highlighting “women’s” issues. But who decides that? We can’t forget while Clinton beat Trump 54 to 42 per cent with women voters, Trump reversed the stats among WHITE women.

And in the three states that decided the election — Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan — that margin was enough to send Trump to the White House.

Yep! Women do have power. But it ain’t monolithic! …on Mexican rice markets We’ll soon be coming on to two years since PM Nagamootoo, promised “massive” Mexican markets that were “keen for our rice”.

With not even a grain contracted, what are the “alternative facts” to “massive” and “keen”?

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

travel & tourism 37 Aerial view of Kato (Photo by Sarah K)

K

ato is located in Region Eight, known for its natural beauty and its stunning nature scenes, all vital aspects of village life.

Made up of a close-knit, selfsufficient community that cherishes its indigenous heritage, the village of Kato includes government buildings such as the nursery and primary schools, a guest house, a police outpost, medical facilities and school dormitories.

Neighbouring is Paramakatoi.

Just outside of Kato (Photo by Thea Shahrokh)

Welcome sign at the entrance of the village (Photo by Marco Basir)

Waterfall on the Chiung River, minutes away from Kato (Photo by Sarah K)

Pathway leading to the village (Photo by James Gabbert)

38 art & culture

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Art inspired by nature and culture

A

Darshani Kistama

rtist Darshani Kistama is inspired by nature and her “commitment” to her religion, which is a central theme in most of her artworks.

“Nature is my number one inspiration. I am influenced and inspired by the magnificence and splendor of the natural environment. However, due to my commitment to

my religion, I am often driven to produce works that are closely related to my culture, that is Hinduism,” the artist said in an interview with Sunday Times Magazine.

Darshani is a graduate of E.R.Burrowes School of Art. Her minor at the institution was art and major was in textile designs.

She recollected that

'Untitled'

since childhood she “always loved looking at the different forms of artwork and the various techniques used in creating those masterpieces”.

“For as long as I can remember, I have always loved to draw and paint. I cannot remember a time when I didnot have a pencil or pen in my hand. I guess my love and appreciation for art also stems from my late grandfather who has always been a big fan of paintings,” Darshani recalled.

For the artist, music always sets a mood in helping her be creative.

Whether it is soft slow songs or fast rhythmic tunes, Darshani gets inspired.

According to Darshani, art challenges her to better herself.

For her, it is not just about paint and canvas, but a connection to her feelings and dreams.

She would ask herself, “How do I bring those things to life on a canvas?” and then challenge herself to be better every time she picks up a brush/pallet knife.

She also pointed out that she enjoys painting still life objects.

Otherwise, she would often find herself painting landscapes or art inspired by her religion.

“I want to raise awareness that life is a beautiful, colourful dance of revealing and concealing what we think, feel, say and do in any given moment.

While some artists prefer displaying works that are intellectual and mysterious, you would find that only a few in an audience would actually understand what they are looking at.

“What I try to do is to not only help my audience understand what they ‘see’, but to effectively communi-

cate a story to them that would touch them in one way or the other. I believe painting becomes just another way of telling a story or expressing your feelings, there is no need to read a book or caption, just walk into a gallery and phase through different feelings, different moods and different stories. The beauty of painting is that it is immediate to an audience,” the artist expressed.

Darshani displayed her works at Umana Yana in 2016 as a graduate of Burrowes; at Night Cap in September 2016 when it launched its first art exhibition; and more recently at the inaugural Guyana Coconut Festival, where she placed in the top ten for a painting she displayed at the event.

Currently, Darshani is working on establishing a small business, Touch of Art. She also intends to further her studies by pursuing a degree in art at a foreign University.

“I think art should be encouraged in more primary and secondary schools, as well as setting up more art exhibitions and workshops to expose children to the different types of art there is. I think it is a good way for kids to show their true potential and a way for them to learn to be creative in their own way, as well as to look at something with a different perspective,” she noted.

Darshani encourages young and aspiring artists to “paint what you feel; everyone may have their own different techniques and skills, which makes

'Mixed Feelings'

Hand-painted bottles

The artist (left) doing bridal henna design

Textile prints

them unique at what they do, but stay true to yours; donot give in to discouragement and always try to excel yourself in whatever form of art you wish to pursue.”

In addition to paint-

ing, the artist spends time recycling wine and liquor bottles by hand-painting beautiful designs on them, transforming them into functional, artistic pieces for homes. She also

does henna designs.

For more information on the artist, visit Touch of Art on Facebook or her website at darshanikistama.tk.(Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

By Peter Halder

T

he pastime games for children in Guyana in the 1940s were unique and unusual. They were the legacy of custom and culture. Four such that were popular were Zootal, Mariddle, Cush and Cock-a-Delo.

Zootal was a game played with sticks. It was played with two, three or four players. The first thing was for each player to obtain two slender sticks, about half inch in circumference. Sapodilla, mango, genip, guava or other fruit and nonfruit tree limbs of that circumference were sought. One long limb was just what the doctor ordered. Its leaves and stems were plucked off.

The limb was then broken to provide two pieces, one about five inches long and the other about two feet. Next, a round hole about five inches in diameter was dug in the open ground of a yard.

Each player placed his/her small stick across the hole firmly. One end of the long stick was then placed in the hole under the small stick while the other end was grasped firmly with both hands. The player, standing still with legs firmly grounded, then gave a sudden, but deliberate and strong “voops” with his long stick sending the small stick in the air and as far away as possible.

Noting where it landed, the player used the long stick to count the distance, in a straight line, placing it at the edge of the hole and counting to the small stick saying: “Aery, Dory, Tilya, Chowry, Zampa, Zig, Zootal.”

Each call was a length of the stick.The amount of calls for each player was tallied. The one that “voopsed” the small stick the furthest, by the tally, won the game. It required both skill and strength. It was played for buttons. Each player staked one button per game. The buttons were placed near the side of the hole. The winner took all.

Another popular pastime after school was Mariddle. Several children would sit on steps.

The one who was posing the riddle stood on the ground in front of them.

It was all about fruits.

For example, the riddler would say:“Mariddle, Mariddle, Marie. My father had a tree. It used to bear a kind of fruit.

The skin outside was painted light brown

Youths playing a game in the 1900s

and flesh inside was painted reddish brown.

The chairs inside were painted black. What kind of fruit did my father’s tree bear?”

The boys/girls sitting on the steps would think and think and think.

The riddler would ask: “You give up?” Some said yes and others said no. One boy raised his hand. “Well, what fruit it is?” questioned the riddler. “It is a sapodilla,” said the boy smilingly.

“You guessed right,” said the riddler. It was then the winner’s turn to pose a riddle. And so the game continued.

It was played for fun, but it educated children about fruits and vegetables.

Then there was Cush, a game played for stakes which were always buttons. It was played in an open space, like a yard. It was usually played by two or three players. First a line, measuring about four feet was drawn on the ground using a piece of slate, glass, brick or stick.

Ten paces were then counted from the line.

There a circle, about 12 inches in diameter, was drawn. The game was played for two buttons each. The buttons were all placed in a pile behind the line.

To start the game, each player stood in the circle and played a button to the line. They then picked up their buttons. The one whose button was nearest to the line played first. He pitched a button to the line again. The others followed suit. The one closest to the line, continued the game. He picked up all the staked buttons behind the line, held them carefully between his fingers, toed the line and threw them into the circle. Whatever stayed in the circle was won by him. Those that fell outside or bounced and went outside were picked up by the next

player. He toed the line and played them into the circle. Whatever remained in the circle was won by him. If any were outside the circle, the next player would take his turn. And so it would

continue until all the buttons were won.

The game would restart using the same method. The game was also called “lyng” since the circle was sometimes called a “lyng”.

feature 39

Cock-a-Delo was the equivalent of hide and seek. The children would gather in the yard. The one electing to do the first hiding would say breadfruit leaf, for example. He would announce a leaf that was hard to find so as to give him enough time to find a difficult place to hide.

The rest would run out of the yard, think where a breadfruit tree grew, run to that yard, climb the tree and pick a leaf.

He would then run back and begin to seek where the hider was secreted. He could be anywhere - up a tree, under a house, in an wide, empty steel drum, on top or in a latrine, behind or inside a clump of bushes and so on. Once found, the person holding the leaf, would go

to the hider, touch him with the leaf and say, “Cock-a-Delo”. The hider would examine the leaf to see if it was a breadfruit tree leaf and say, “I surrender”.

However, if it was not, the finder would have to skip one month of games for being dishonest. The game was not only fun, but educational. No one knew the derivation the term “Cock-a-Delo”. All they knew was that it was a fun word. Sometimes it was called just “Delo”.

The game taught children about trees, leaves and being honest.

The pastime culture of children growing up in Guyana, then British Guiana, in the 1940s was unique and quaint, but fun-filled.

40

F

rom a very young age, Chelsea Fung always knew the importance of giving to those who are less fortunate.

Her belief is that “these values and principles are symptomatic of the environment and family” in which she was raised. Over the years, Chelsea has mostly helped with fundraising events of the Rotary Club of Demerara and Help & Shelter. She also serves as the Secretary of the Grant-A-Dream organisation, which made its most recent donation to the well-deserving Buxton Youth Developers.

Through the company she co-owns, RED Entertainment, Chelsea and her colleagues donate part proceeds from every event they host to organisations such as Red Thread Women’s Organisation, Help & Shelter, East Le Penitence Children’s Theatre Workshop, among others. Notably, RED Entertainment’s humanitarian efforts involved the coordination of a campaign raising support for Haiti after the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew on October 5, 2016. This campaign was led by a collective that included Red Thread, Help & Shelter, Rotary Club of Demerara, the Lion’s Club of Durban Park, the University of Guyana African and Caribbean Studies Research Unit and others. Chelsea has completed her Master’s degree in Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto, Canada. After graduating in 2015, she continued as a co-owner of RED Entertainment as the lead person of administrative and logistical management.

Additionally, Chelsea has entered into the environmental consultancy world and recently completed a project with the World Wildlife Fund Guianas. Simultaneously, she is now working on expanding the team with RED Entertainment in Guyana and also applying for consultancy research projects in Toronto. Currently residing in Canada, Chelsea’s future plan is to gain more experience in the environmental field in Toronto and continue to grow RED Entertainment in Guyana. She expects that in the near future her experience gained in Toronto will be beneficial to Guyana’s increasing need for environmental expertise. She also plans to continue her “current brain-divide” between Toronto, Canada and Guyana. The humanitarian and academic encourages youths to “not take your education for granted and absorb as much as you can from your years as a student. Some more advice comes from a few Chinese proverbs that I researched which resonated with me and will share in the spirit of the beginning of the Chinese New Year in January 2017: ‘A word spoken can never be taken back; learning without thought means labour lost; thought without learning is perilous; and a friend to everybody is a friend to nobody’.”

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Star of the week

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

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Girmitiya family

hile I am enamoured neither of travel nor mega gatherings, in the case of the some Indian Diaspora events, I rouse myself to participate every decade or so.

They do allow renewal of acquaintances and keeping tabs on lifetrajectories. My first was the “East Indian Diaspora Conference” at Columbia University in 1988, which commemorated the 150th anniversary of Indian Indentureship in the West Indies. Up to then I had been plodding away in corporate America, and as the Indian Guyanese community grew in Queens, becoming involved in religious and social activities there.

The Conference brought together Indians from across the Caribbean in general, and academics in particular. I discovered academics were more political than politicians.

Maybe it was that struggle to get tenure? The Indians from Jamaica and some of the small islands – especially Martinique and Guadaloupe – were a revelation and brought home both the facticity of our adaptation and retentions of our originating culture, in our new circumstances.

Lifelong friendships were born.

The following year, I became an organiser of the First Global Conference of People of Indian Origin, through an Indian Guyanese from Queens who had connected to the Indians who had migrated directly from India. Before that the twain had never met. That experience brought home the distance we had travelled culturally and religiously since our forefathers had left India in the previous century. But there were still commonalities. It was at one of the joint meetings that a Pandita from Trinidad and myself insisted we were “People of Indian Origin” and not “Non-Resident Indians”.

The Conference itself at the Sheraton in MidManhattan – and the “Political Participation Panel” I co-chaired, corroborated my initial reaction that the PIO’s from the “indentured” countries and the NRI’s marched to different drummers. We organised a break-out session with leaders from Fiji, Trinidad and Guyana, who, not so coincidentally had

all been removed from office. All were to be returned to office within the next decade. My biggest takeaway was an impromptu “mauj” session at my home in New Jersey, when Bollywood filmi songs and dhall/ rice and bhagee bridged across all differences!

Lifelong friendships were sparked and I learnt a new word from the Indian Fijians – Girmitita, people of the agreement (the indentureship contract).

Returning to Guyana and deciding to remain after the 1992 elections, I worked with youths in the Hindu community. In 1993, I attended the 100th Commemoration of Swami Vivekananda’s attendance at the World Congress of Religions in Chicago.

The Commemoration was held at the Washington Sheraton and drew thousands of delegates from India and the Diaspora.

Vivekanand was respected by all. One Narendra Modi of Gujrat with whom I shared a panel, was just another face.

More lifelong friendships were sparked.

I went to India in 1997, and spent 21 intense days in Bangalore discussing and analysing Hinduism and its relevance and applicability in a world that had been conscripted by modernity with hundreds of individuals from India and the Diaspora.

The differences and commonalities in religious practices between the Girmitiyas and the Indians were again highlighted.

On this trip, I practically circumambulated India.

More lifelong friends.

Out of contacts made at the 1993 event, the World Hindu Conference was held in Trinidad in 2000 and brought together several old friends once again on the same platform. Narendra Modi was there, came over and stayed at the Tower Hotel and asked to see a symbol of our sacrifice here. I took him to the Enmore Martyr Monument. With our sacrifices, he said we had made Guyana our “Punya Bhumi” or Sacred Land, while India was our “Matri Bhumi” or “Mother Land”.

After a trip to Europe in 1991 with some NRI GOPIO Executives, I decided my field of activity from theirs was different and moved on. When in 2003, the BJP Indian Government initiated the annual “Pravasi Bharatiya Divas” (Overseas Indian

By Ravi Dev Day), I never attended even though I had met several of those who were now in Government, back in 1997. The event was too much like a Mela – too may photo-ops and awards and not enough discussion and debate on Girmitiya issues.

Until the PBD 2017, organised by Narendra Modi.

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WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Minister Harmon hails Trio remanded over Guyana-China relations robbery charges

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C

hina’s new Ambassador to Guyana, Cui Jianchun, on Wednesday met with Minister of State Joseph Harmon at the Ministry of the Presidency to discuss areas of collaboration and mutual interest between his country and Guyana.

This is the first meeting between the Minister and the Ambassador, who was accredited by President David Granger on January 4, 2017 and who replaced Ambassador Zhang Limin.

Among the issues discussed were several infrastructural projects aimed atcollaboration for the development of Guyana’s ‘green’ agenda, as well as other areas of cooperation inclusive of trade, education and capacity building, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

Minister Harmon, in welcoming the Ambassador to Guyana at the Ministry of the Presidency, said the two countries have enjoyed cordial, friendly relations for many years and it is his hope that this can be further advanced through his appointment.

“China has been a generous friend to Guyana since the early days.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon in discussion with Ambassador Cui Jianchun at the Ministry of the Presidency, on Wednesday

Throughout all of it, it has always been a great relationship and it goes beyond projects and opportunities and that is something that is important to us…

This is an exciting time for you as Ambassador and we see a long and fruitful relationship between our countries,” Minister Harmon said.

Minister Harmon said that the Government is focused on working with international partners for the development of the country’s vast resources. “For too long we have heard about our potential. We are at the point of transitioning from potential to reality and that is the job we have as the Government. We have simply heard about it for too long… We must now

create a country of realities for our younger generations,” Minister Harmon told the Ambassador.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador has committed to exploring ways in which the Government of China can collaborate with the Government of Guyana for the good of the peoples of both countries.

As the countries celebrate 45 years of diplomatic ties this year, the Ambassador noted that this is an opportune time for the exploration for the development of partnerships on projects and opportunities, which can solidify the relationship between the two nations. “We can use the anniversary as an opportunity to do something for both countries,” he said.

hree men, all of the East Bank of Essequibo, were sent back to jail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan when they appeared before her charged with the offence of robbery under arms.

Calvin Reid, Raymond Reid, and Leron Blaize, of Salem, East Bank Essequibo, all denied the allegaCalvin Reid, Raymond Reid, and Leron Blaize tion.

It is alleged that ued G$150,000, 4 ounces brought against him. on March 24, 2016 at and 5 pennyweights of Blaize, 27, who was Arrow Mountaintop, raw gold valued G$1.1 unrepresented, told the Essequibo, while be- million, a pair of long court that he had been ing armed with a gun, boots valued G$4000 and living in the interior for they robbed Carlotta one torch light. the last four years.

Harris of one yellow Police Prosecutor Raymond, 25, and metal chain valued Calvin, 24, who are Neville Jeffers opposed G$50,000, a yellow met- brothers, were both rep- to bail owing to the graval ring valued G$40,000, resented by legal coun- ity of the offence. yellow metal earrings sel.

He told the court that valued G$30,000 and The Attorney told the the number two accused one cellphone valued court that the number was presently on remand G$80,000, a total value one accused, Raymond, a for possession of narcotof G$200,000. part-time miner and bas- ics.

The second charge ket maker for his famBlaize is also charged against them read that at ily business, was not with a similar offence the same day at the same at home when Police and was also on remand. location, they robbed Officers visited his home He further stated Gavin Andrews of three to arrest him. She ex- that the Reid brothers pennyweights of raw plained that upon his were both employed by gold valued G$30,000, return, he was told of Trim, one of the Virtual and one G-Shock watch what had transpired and Complainants (VCs), valued G$30,000, a total reported to the Police during the time of the value of G$60,000.

Station where he was ar- robbery. As such, bail And the final charge rested and charged with was denied and all defenstated that on the same the present offence. The dants were remanded to day at the same location, number two accused, prison and will return to they robbed Caleb Trim Calvin, denied any in- the Kaikan Magistrate’s of a Stephen shotgun val- volvement in the charge Court on March 21, 2017.

Opposition Leader urges Govt to rethink MMA/ADA “horrendous” land increases

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s the fallout continues over the impending Mahaica-MahaiconyAbary-Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) increases for land rental and drainage and irrigation ser-

vices, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has registered his concern over the threat to livelihoods that the changes may bring.

In this light, he called on Government to rethink its decision on the

increases, which in the main amounts to 600 per cent.

“I would urge the Government to reverse the horrendous increases that they have placed on the backs of the farmers and the cattle rearers

in Region Five (MahaicaBerbice),” Jagdeo told media operatives at a press conference on Monday.

The Opposition Leader further noted that this move would “decimate” the commu-

nities and their livelihoods. He suggested that residents and farmers across the political divide would be affected by the increases. “Agriculture is the lifeblood of that region, mainly rice and cattle rearing. There are communities that support PPP as well as communities that support APNU – this decision will harm all of those people. They are already operating marginally and this can push them into bankruptcy,” the Opposition Leader added.

“If you have 200 acres of rice land, suddenly your yearly fee to MMA will go to G$3 million. For cattle farmers who have to find close to G$4000 from roughly G$700 per acre. People need fairly large amounts of acreage to sustain animals,” Jagdeo stressed.

Last week, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) farmers protested the increases, but Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, who updated the media on Cabinet’s discussions claimed that increases were “not exorbitant”.

In fact, he expressed that he was repeating Agriculture Minister Noel Holder’s long-held view that the most recent MMA-ADA fees could not continue to facilitate the financial operations at the Ministry’s sub-agency.

Trotman had further added that the increases were necessary to fix broken and missing equipment in areas under MMA-ADA’s preview.

Minister Trotman had also justified the cumulative increases based on the monthly price per acre. Among the changes are new drainage and irrigation charges for profit to Rosignol villages moving from G$2500 per year to G$8000 per year, representing a G$5500 increase.

Additionally, farmland that falls in the Mahaicony/Abary rice development category will see farmers now paying G$7000, an increase of G$1241 from last year’s fees. The cost per month of the former amounts to G$666 per month while the latter accrued G$583.

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

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nce considered an exotic plant in the garden, many designers have discovered that bamboo is versatile in the making of jewellery and other fashionable accessories.

Local designing business Dis Is De Place has creatively transformed simple pieces of bamboo into elegant jewellery.

From pendants to earrings, the bamboo accessories perfectly complement any outfit.

Dis Is De Place, launched in 2013, is a business which creates and markets handmade jewellery and craft made

by skilled Guyanese and West Indian craftsmen.

The emphasis is on ‘upcycled’ sustainable products, which are ecofriendly and well-priced.

Notably, the business aims to help local craftsmen and women access a steady income and an acceptable level of empowerment.

This week Sunday Times Magazine features a collection of chic jewellery made from bamboo collected locally by Dis Is De Place.

For more information, call 220-4147 or visit Dis Is De Place on Facebook.

fashion 43

44

K

waimatta is a scenic village in the North Rupununi, Region Nine, where indigenous villagers hold true to their traditions.

Kwaimatta means “the place” and started out as an out-station of Kwaimatta Ranch. A few vaquero (cowboy) families used to reside nearby, and eventual-

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Aerial shot of Kwaimatta landscape

ly it grew large enough to become a satellite of Massara, a village which is also found in North Rupununi.

The village of Kwaimatta is located just six miles from Karanambu Lodge, North Rupununi region.

The people in Kwaimatta speak Makushi and welcome visitors to expe-

rience their traditional lifestyle.

There is a health post, primary school, village office, teachers’ quarters and a hot meal kitchen in Kwaimatta.

Villagers in Kwaimatta engage in farming, fishing and hunting activities.

(Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

Aerial view of North Rupununi, in the vicinity of Kwaimatta Road to Kwaimatta

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

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46 news

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

EMPTY CITY STREETS

…motorists boycott parking meters

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he first few days of paid parking in Georgetown have passed, and a tour of the city has revealed that drivers were playing it safe and were avoiding using spacesdemarcated for parking meters.

At locations such as Republic Bank and Muneshwers on Water Street, in addition to Hand-in-Hand and the Bank of Guyana on the Avenue of the Republic, the parking meters were standing stately; however, the parking lots of these enterprises were conspicuously empty.

When this publication spoke to one taxi driver plying his trade along the Avenue of the Republic, the man revealed that he had bought a prepaid parking meter card; however, he was uncertain how to use the card or whether the parking meter was even working.

The same uncertainty was evident with another motorist who parked in front of the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre on Carmichael Street.

This development can be traced back to the review of the contract which was carried out by the Finance Ministry last year. According to the review, the parking meters may have an adverse effect on business-

Trumped

S

The parking meter outside Hand-in-Hand

reasonable profit positions. M&CC [The Mayor and City Council] has to provide some justifications of how the parking and other fees were derived,” the review had stated. At present, the price is set at G$50, plus Value Added Tax (VAT) for every 15 minutes.

This means that motorists will be charged G$200 for every hour spent parked. The least amount of time which can be purchased is 15 minutes.

Fee increases

Meanwhile, this newspaper spoke with two young hire car us-

day. I don’t know how I will manage. I don’t even have car and I got to bear the expense of parking meter. So I don’t know how I will make out,” the woman related.

Another taxi commuter related her disheartening experience.

The young mother of one related that as it was raining heavily one morning and she was accompanied by her daughter, she decided to take a taxi. She related that the driver demanded G$800 to take her from central Georgetown to the Kitty Public Road. Upon her enquiring why, she said

The parking meter outside Republic Bank on Tuesday

es as customers may change their spending patterns.

The absence of a feasibility study was a sore point with the Finance Ministry team, which reviewed the parking meter contract. In its review, the Ministry pointed out that there was some uncertainty about how aspects such as the fees were arrived at.

“The prices appear outlandish since it is apparent that no feasibility study was done to determine break even and

ers who, on condition of anonymity, revealed the impact of the parking meters on the pockets of Guyanese in a short period of time. According to one user, the taxi driver she hired asked for more than the usual fare of G$500 a trip.

“I went to the bank at Regent Street and me come out to take a taxi to Ruimveldt side. I normally pay G$500, and now the driver charge me G$700. When I asked him why the increased fee, the man tell me parking meter start to-

that the driver pointed to the fact that the price of gasoline had increased and taxi drivers would soon have to pay for parking.

“I explained to him (that) taxi drivers do not have to pay for parking at designated parks.

However, he insisted that they were waiting for some meeting to be held to determine whether taxi drivers will have to pay too. I gave him G$600 and told him thanks. I refuse to be exploited by anyone.”

Much to be desired

Meanwhile, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) held a meeting with representatives from Smart City Solutions Incorporated (SCSI) on Monday at the Union’s headquarters on Woolford Avenue. According to GTU General Secretary Coretta McDonald, the meeting, however, left much to be desired.

“Our fear is that while we are dialoguing, teachers have to pay. We would have thought that while we are having consultations, our teachers would not have to pay for parking spaces,” she said.

She related, however, that the company informed her that it would have to confirm such a measure with the M&CC. She said that another meeting was scheduled for next week.

According to the General Secretary, having a vehicle is not a luxury for some, but actually a necessity. Pointing to the fact that even teachers at the nursery school level drove, she stated that this was an unfair situation when teachers’ salaries have remained inadequate and the cost of living in Guyana was already high.

“You are rolling out parking meters in Guyana, what (they) take into consideration outside of having consultations with various entities?” she queried. “I’m not sure that this was well thought-out.”

Dialogue will continue

Members of the GTU also held a vigil on Tuesday evening, to signal their discontent with the parking meters. That vigil took the crowd to the residence of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who is currently acting as President.

atiricus was transfixed. He and the fellas were looking at the inauguration of Donald Trump on the big-screen TV at the Back Street Bar. The joint was packed, even though it was a work day. Satiricus had told his editor he was going to do a report on how ordinary Guyanese reacted to Trump’s election. As he bought beers all around for the fellas, they chuckled as he told them the paper would pay since he was doing “research”.

“Suhres’arch me, den,” said Bungi, as he quaffed his beer from a mug. He had decided to try the draft beer the Back Street bar had introduced, since it was free courtesy of Satiricus.

“Well, what do you think of Trump?” asked Satiricus. “Feel free to comment on anything about him.”

“Yuh gat fuhrespec’ wan maan who can gatwaan wife a’ ‘ee side and two in de crowd!” grinned Bungi. “If me lef’ me wife an’ she see me, ah murdahguh happen!”

“Fair enough,” replied Satiricus. “Even though I know you joking, I think lots of Americans see him as a “macho man” and voted for him because of that.”

“Me nah bin a joke!” came back Bungi’s quick retort. “Suhwha you t’ingHari?”

“About the wives or Trump?”Hari wanted to know. “I like Ivana for the daughter she produced! Classy!”

“OK, fellas, how about we stick to Trump?” said Satiricus in resignation. “I still have to write a story, you know.”

“Well… write that Guyanese like Trump because he is a ‘wife man’?!” said Hari.

“He’s like a real Caribbean man!”

“How about what he said?” asked Satiricus desperately.

“Budday, palitishan does seh all kindat’ingdemna mean,” noted Bungi.

“Trump seh ‘ee ah talk to all American people. But de only people who come fuh hear ‘e ah white people.”

“So what about you, Hari?” asked Satiricus, as he ordered another round of beer.

“I like Trump for one main reason,” said Hari with a smirk. “All those Guyanese who like to “play American” when they come back to Guyana, will find out who is the “real American” now!”

They clinked glasses and bottles all around as Trump came off the podium.

After a meeting with the protestors’ representatives, the Prime Minister later came out and addressed the crowd. He explained that while he did not have all the answers for them, he would raise the matter with Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan.

“The answer is not to turn our backs on you (teachers). You have issues, we have to listen to the issues and if you can’t solve these matters now, work together to find some solution.”

“Parking meters are

new and came at a time when all these (economic) difficulties are being experienced. (But) it’s not easy for a government to come down on a municipality.” Nagamootoo said that the Government could not just step in, as it was trying to allow the M&CC autonomy. He said that if the Council could not get money, Central Government would have to “carry it like a baby”.

With this, Nagamootoo promised that dialogue would continue.

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WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Unfit and Improper?

J S

atiricus was puzzled. He knew he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the room – any room! – but he couldn’t understand what the argument was all about on this GE-CON Chairman. As usual, he and his cohorts were fortifying themselves at the Back Street Bar and having been there for some two hours, their tongues had been well lubricated for wagging.

“I thought if there was going to be any argument,” Satiricus offered, “it was going to be over still calling the person ‘ChairMAN’ rather than ‘ChairWOMAN’ or ‘ChairPerson’!”

“Well, this GECOM thing stated before the MILLION WOMAN March, you know!” chuckled Hari. “But maybe that’s why Jagdesh put in that lady on his list?”

“Me jus’ waansomebadyfuh tell me wha’ mek only wan judge “fit an’ prapa” fuh count abee vote,” demanded Bungi, whose voice was beginning to slur, just a wee bit.

“It’s not just the counting Bungi,” said Satiricus. “I think they want somebody who can stand the pressure when the votes counting – and the losing side wants to make trouble.”

“So you do know what the fuss is all about,” Hari pointed out. “Well, not really,” answered Satiricus. “I’m not sure why Prezzie think only a Judge can withstand pressure!”

“Damn right!” exploded Bungi. “Yuh know how much pressha me tek when me fetch t’ree ton cane pan me head ev’ry day fuh twenty year??!!”

“You even see those lawyers begging Judges every day to let their clients off?” asked Satiricus.

“That’s pressure!”

“It’s called ‘pleading’!” snickeredHari. “But it’s a different kinda pressure when people marching in front your house, because the counting not going their way,” explained Hari.

“A’right me andastan’ dat,” confessed Bungi.

“But wha’ mek only wan judge nafriken people when dem a march?”

“Bungi’s right, you know Sato,” said Hari looking at Satiricus, who still sported his puzzled look. “The fella who survived GECON for the last ten years is a Vet. THEY never have pressure.””Budday!” exclaimed Bungi. “Yuhevah cut aff wan Pit Bull nuts?” They clinked their bottles. “Everybody face pressure and are fit and proper,” said Satiricus.

CROSSWORD SOLUTION

Cervical Cancer: The importance of early screening

Anu Dev

anuary is “Cervical Cancer Awareness Month”, and I was very pleased when my mom told me there were several activities and media releases in Guyana to sensitise women about this scourge.

In my gynaecology rotation, one of the questions we got asked by different doctors was, “What’s one of the most preventable types of cancer?” And the answer was always the same, “cervical cancer”.

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable types of cancer. That’s because there is both a sensitive test for detecting pre-cancerous lesions – the Pap smear – and there’s an effective method of dealing with HPV, one of the most prominent risk factors for the disease.

But before I go into that, perhaps an anatomy refresher might be necessary. Where exactly is the cervix?

Well it’s actually the lower part of the uterus (womb) and it connects

“Encouragement to all women is – let us try to offer help before we have to offer therapy. That is to say, let’s see if we can’t prevent being ill by trying to offer a love of prevention before illness.” -Maya Angelou the cavity of the uterus to the vagina. In nonpregnant women, it’s about one inch long and roughly cylindrical. And during labour, it dilates to allow the baby to pass through – it’s the body part that people are usually dramatically shouting about in movies when they’re yelling, “She’s 10 centimetre’s dilated! She’s gonna have this baby right now, on the subway!” Or you know, wherever the plot needs the woman to give birth.

In all types of cancer, the problem is when cells deviate from their fixed growth patterns and their appointed job descriptions, and they start growing uncontrollably – this can happen in the lungs, in the colon and in the cervix.

In cervical cancer, the cells don’t suddenly make the switch from normal to cancerous growth – there’s a stage in between. This

in-between stage can be picked up on a Pap smear and intervention can be made before the cells have a change to progress to the cancerous stage.

We’re all well aware about the link between smoking cigarettes and lung cancer, but what factors can increase your risk of cervical cancer?

Well, for starters, cigarette smoking also increases your risk of getting cervical cancer – it’s a twofold risk increase compared with non-smokers, actually.

As an aside, smoking also increases your risk of developing bladder, stomach, mouth, throat and a whole host of other cancers. Yeah, as far as vices go, that’s a pretty bad one to have.

The other risk factor I’d like to mention is HPV infection. Certain strains of the HPV virus, HPV 16 and HPV 18, are associated with the development of cervical cancer. In fact, it is

believed that a woman must be infected with HPV in order to develop cervical cancer.

There are currently vaccines like Gardasil and Cervarix that are available to prevent infection by HPV, and by extension, prevent cervical cancer.

C u r r e n t recommendations for screening for cervical cancer via Pap smear are for women aged 21 to 65 to be tested every three years.

So if you’re due for a Pap smear, make sure you get one. The Guyana Cancer Foundation has announced that it is offering free Pap smears for 100 underprivileged and under-insured women. If you’re not vaccinated against HPV, talk to your doctor about getting vaccinated. This is one type of cancer where we have the tools and the know-how to try to prevent it before it even gets a foot in the door.

Hearing on Red House set for February 3rd

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he High Court hearing on the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre (CJRC) controversy – popularly known as Red House – was brought forward by some 17 days and will now be called on February 3.

President David Granger’s order to revoke the lease for the CJRC to occupy Red House was on December 30, 2016, challenged by former Attorney General Anil Nandlall on behalf of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre Incorporated (CJRCI) – the organisation with oversight of the activities of Red House.

The court documents seen by Guyana Times Internationalordered all items, property and artefacts stored at Red House not to be interfered with or removed until further ordered. The ruling was handed down by Chief Justice (Ag) Yonette Cummings-Edwards and the matter will be heard again on February 20.

Attorney General Basil Williams and Commissioner of Lands

The Red House which houses the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre

and Surveys Doorga Persaud, listed as defendants, were granted leave to file an Affidavit in Answer within 21 days.

Persaud, however, is no longer the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys.

Guyana Times understands that to date, the Attorney General has failed to file this Affidavit.

The CJRCI, the Applicant, would have then been required to file an Affidavit in Reply within 14 days.

Among the reliefs sought in the proceedings are a declaration that the lease to CJRCI is val-

id, binding and in force; and a declaration that the revocation or threatened revocation of the said lease is unlawful, illegal, contrary to and in breach of CJRCI’s fundamental right not to be deprived of its property that is, its 99-year lease hold-interests as guaranteed by Article 142 of the Constitution; damages for breach of contract and breach of constitutional rights.

CJCRI is seeking in excess of G$1 million for breach of Government’s lease agreement.

H o w e v e r ,

Government is maintaining that the lease is invalid on the basis that there is no evidence that the President of the day had sanctioned it.

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has since contended that there is no need for the President’s signature on the lease once it was signed by the Commissioner of the Lands and Survey Commission of the day.

The Research Centre was established in 1999 to promote research into and publish materials on the life, work and ideas of Dr Jagan.

The prime land on which Red House sits was leased to the CJRCI for 99 years at the cost of G$12,000 per year.

Government wants to repossess the land with the intention of transferring the National Trust of Guyana to that building.

The ultimate aim would be to transform Red House into a space to recognise all past Presidents of Guyana.

48 Bollywood

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

New mommy Kareena Kapoor Khan gets a glamourous makeover

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ew mommy of Bollywood, Kareena Kapoor Khan, looks like a million dollars anytime, anywhere. But after giving birth to son Taimur Ali Khan, the actor went in for a makeover and is looking even more glam, if such a thing was possible. With a new haircut to boot, Kareena is looking every inch the star that she is and we have pictures to prove it.

Actually, Kareena had earlier promised to be back on her feet within days of her delivery. “Knowing me, don’t be surprised if I head

straight from the hospital to a shoot. I think I’ll definitely be fully back at work one month after my baby is born,” Kareena had said in an interview.

And with her public appearances, Kareena is just living up to her words.

Kareena along with husband Saif and her girls Amrita Arora and Malaika Arora Khan was seen at ace director Karan Johar’s party on January 25 to celebrate his recently launched biography, An Unsuitable Boy. In fact, if the reports are to be believed

the actor would start shoot of her next film, Veerey Di Wedding in May this year. The film will also star Sonam Kapoor and we already know how well these two gel together, thanks to Karan’s gossip show, KoffeeWith Karan. The film, which is directed

by Shashanka Ghosh of Khoobsurat fame, also stars Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania.

Kareena gave birth to a baby boy Taimur Ali Khan in December.

The actor was quite active throughout her pregnancy. First she made debut with her baby bump on the ramp of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) last year and soon will take to the fashion runway once again as a showstopper at the grand finale of the upcoming Summer/Resort 2017 edition of the gala.

This will be her first ramp walk after her delivery. (Indian Express)

‘I aspire to make the best film of my career’ - Subhash Ghai

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ilmmaker Subhash Ghai, known for iconic films like Saudagar, Karma, Ram Lakhan, Taal and Pardes, and more in a career spanning more than four decades, now wants to make his best film.

At a conference on the tenth anniversary of his Whistling Woods International school here on Tuesday, the ‘showman’ of Bollywood, said: “First, I am a writer-director and I aspire to make a film that can be regarded as the best film in my career. This is a big challenge which I have thrown to myself.”

“Slowly I am aging and this challenge is becoming tougher for me. But I am working on a subject and very soon I will be announcing my next project,”

added the filmmaker who turned 72 on Tuesday.

Ghai feels nowadays new-age filmmakers have more opportunities to showcase their talent.

“Today, the one who wants to become a filmmaker can show his talent through a short film. They can shoot a film from the mobile and can upload it on YouTube. Therefore, there are so many chances for today’s generation. I believe that a filmmaker who is able to make a good short film, has a great chance to make a feature film too,” he said.

“At present, we have so many technologies, but you only need to tell a good story.”

Among recent films, Ghai is particularly impressed with Aamir Khan’s Dangal. “I liked ‘Dangal’ because this is my kind of movie. We call this format as ‘Pan Cinema’, where target audience can be a kid or an older person. A film should deliver a message, have emotions and which can show a direction. ‘Dangal’ did that. It doesn’t have a star cast, it has a great characterisation. Even Aamir who is a superstar portrayed a character,” he said.

(Indian Express)

‘Kaabil’ audience reaction: Hrithik Roshan impresses viewers

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rithik Roshan and Yami Gautam’s‘Kaabil’ landed on Wednesday morning and while the reviews were mixed, audience members who watched the film went away impressed with Hrithik’s performance.

However, the film saw low occupancy in the theaters on the first day of its release. The morning shows saw 40% occupancy on Wednesday. Now, whether it was a result of the movie releasing midweek or was it clash with

Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees is still unknown.

Those who walked out of the theatre were all praises for Hrithik Roshan who has played the role of a visually impaired man in the movie. “It is a decent watch.

Hrithik and Yami shared a good on-screen chemistry. Hrithik has given a strong performance after a long time and Yami looks adorable in the movie,” said a viewer.

“The pairing of Hrithik and Yami was a pleasant change for us.

The two look amazing together. It is a heartwarming story of two people who are in love with each other. Ronit Roy has also done a great job.

A nice movie altogether,” said another viewer.

The movie managed to hit the right chord with moviegoers. Apart from Hrithik’s strong performance, the music of the movie has left an impact on the viewers. A member of the audience said, “After a long time, we have listened to some meaningful songs and that too in apt situations. It was a no-nonsense movie.”

This Sanjay Gupta film, produced by Rakesh Roshan has received a positive reaction until now. With Raees in competition, it remains to be seen how much money the movie will make on its first day. (Indian Express)

Salman Khan to begin shooting for ‘Kick 2’in 2018

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alman Khan has his hands full with multiple projects. The actor has wrapped up Kabir Khan’s Tubelight after which he will start shooting for his first dance drama with Remo D’souza. And now, we have great news for all his fans. If reports are to be believed, the 51-year-old actor has given a go ahead to ‘Kick 2’, which will be shot in 2018. While Salman is onboard, the actor has reportedly demanded changes in star cast, which means Jacqueline Fernandez, RandeepHooda and Nawazuddin Siddiqui might be ‘Kick’ed out of the film.

As per the report in DNA, “He (Sajid Nadiadwala) has finished writing 80 per cent of the movie. He has sounded Salman out about the script and the actor loves it. They’ve decided to work on the film from the middle of 2018.

All the other characters would be different.”

The music of the film will be composed by Himesh Reshammiya, which has given birth to a few more speculations that Iulia Vantur, Salman’s rumoured girlfriend, will be lending her voice for one of the songs in the film.

Recently, the singer-actor launched a song with Iulia Vantur.

A source of SpotboyE revealed, “Iulia could sing a romantic number in ‘Kick 2’. She had already worked with Himesh for the single ‘Every Night and Day’

from his album. She has been working really hard on her accent as this could be her first Hindi song.”

Salman’s Kick (2014) was a huge hit and of course, the second one is expected to be the same.

The film is a remake of Telugu film with the same title, starring Ravi Teja and Ileana D’Cruz.

And as the speculations about the film have been rife since ever, the fight for leading lady is on. Salman will also appear in Varun Dhawan’s ‘Judwaa 2’, directed by David Dhawan. (Indian Express)

Shah Rukh Khan celebrates Republic Day 2017 with jawans

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hah Rukh Khan must have spent a lifetime in Mumbai but he has not forgotten the Delhi’s Punjabiness.

The actor, who was in the national capital, to promote his film Raees, celebrated Republic Day with jawans and bhangra dancers and believe it or not, the actor has just nailed the performance.

The 51-year-old ac-

tor looks extremely happy and was living in the moment. He matched step to step, beat to beat, making you think if any other actor can do the dance with such a grace and class. Taking to Twitter, SRK shared the glimpse of Republic Day celebration. Along with the video, he wrote, “Celebrating the Republic Day with army jawans full Punjabi

style.”

In another video, the actor is celebrating with

BSF Jawan. “Dancing with joy because all of u are loving Raees.” SRK

has been quite active for promotions of Raees, whether over social media or practically too.

He plays the character of a boot-legger, which earlier was rumoured to be somewhat similar to Abdul Latif.

The film, directed by Rahul Dholakia, released earlier this week is doing well at the box office with 80% of occupancy in theaters across the na-

tion. Apart from Shah Rukh, the film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Mahira Khan in pivotal roles.

After Raees, Shah Rukh will appear in Imtiaz Ali’s untitled next with Anushka Sharma and also will start shooting for his next with Raanjhanaa fame, Anand L Rai. (Indian Express)

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It’s surreal: Director Damien Chazelle on bagging 14 Oscar nominations for ‘La La Land’

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ndian-origin British actor Dev Patel has received an Oscar nomination for his acting in “Lion”, which is set in India and Australia. He will be vying for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the 89th Academy Awards, to be held here on February 26. Other nominees are Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”), Jeff Bridges (“Hell or High Water”) and Michael Shannon (“Nocturnal Animals”).

The nominees were announced on Tuesday by actor Terrence Howard.

Patel, who lost the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role award to Aaron Taylor-Johnson at the 74th Golden Globes, had told IANS earlier: “I would be lying if I say that awards are not amazing. Awards can really change someone’s career. You get recognition. You might get scripts that you didn’t get earlier. But I never took up a project thinking about a golden statue.”

“Lion”, based on SarooBrierley’s best-selling autobiography “A Long

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ctress Nicole Kidman says she loves her maternal nature. The 49-year-old actress, who shares an adopted son and daughter with exhusband Tom Cruise, and two biological daughters with her current husband Keith Urban, said she enjoys the challenges of motherhood, reported Female First.

“There is just the joy of being a mother; whether it’s being an adoptive, biological, or foster mother, or a mother figure. Keith’s always saying I’m so maternal. I like that. I am the eldest child in my family and

Way Home”, is a true story about an Indian boy who falls asleep on a train only to wake up and realise he is miles away from home in a strange land where he does not speak the language. He experiences many challenges before getting adopted by a couple in Australia. Years later, he sets out to find his lost family. The drama, directed by Garth Davis, will release in India on February 24. (Indian Express)

so a lot of times the eldest child wants to take care of everybody. “But I have had to learn that I can’t take care of everybody. But a strong pull in my life is my maternal force and I love it. I think when you reach a certain age you go, ‘I wish I had more children’,” Kidman said.

Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman has clarified her comments on US Presidentelect Donald Trump, saying she believes in democracy and the American constitution. The 49-year-old actress has faced flak when she had discussed the 2016 presidential election results with BBC 2’s Victoria Derbyshire in an interview, in which she had said that now that Trump’s elected, “we as a country need to support whoever’s the president because that’s what the country’s based on.”

The Hawaiian-born Australian actress came under fire on social media for her pro-Trump comments. Now, in a recent interview, Nicole Kidman has clarified her previous statement, reported People magazine. (Indian Express)

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s Damien Chazelle’s La La Land swept the 89th Academy Awards nominations on Tuesday by becoming the only third movie in the Oscars history to bag a record 14 nods, the director described the moment as “surreal”.

The 32-year-old filmmaker, who wrote and directed the candy-colored love story, was in Beijing when he learned about the news, according to The Hollywood Reporter. La La Land equalled the record 14 nominations of All About Eve in 1959 and Titanic in 1997.

The movie, about two artistes who fall in love while trying to make their respective career in Hollywood, bagged nominations in all the key categories including the best picture, best director and best actress and actor for its leading stars — Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.

“It’s really unbelievable. Just after it was announced, my girlfriend got a text message and told me how many nominations we’d gotten, and I really thought she was just kind of saying what she hoped would happen. It took me so long to believe it — I had to ask her literally three times before I actually believed her. We’re all at this ho-

tel in Beijing to promote the movie, so we quickly ran down the hall to Ryan’s room and barged in. He had Emma on Facetime on his phone, so we just kind of screamed in each other’s faces for a few minutes,” Chazelle said.

Chazelle is happy for his film’s crew as the director said, “I’m extra delighted that they’re getting this kind of spotlight.”

When asked about getting recordtying nominations, he said, “It’s surreal and it’s hard to put into words. I’m a little speechless. I love both of those films so much, so it’s obviously an honor. But the biggest honor of all is that so many people that I got to make this movie with — that made this movie come to life — have gotten recognized for it.”

“That really just means the world to me. I’m just beaming with pride for them because I was able to witness firsthand what an extraordinary group of people this really was, these artists who came together, in every department, to make this movie a reality. I was so lucky to be surrounded by them and they really brought so much to this project”, added Chazelle. (Indian Express)

Meryl Streep receives 20th Oscars nomination

Emma Stone would love to do theatre again

E

mma Stone says she wants to star in London’s West End. The La La Land star, who appeared in “Cabaret” on Broadway in 2014, said she is eager to now tread the boards in London’s theatreland, reported Female First. “I would love that. I’m looking. I definitely would love to do theatre again, I don’t know if I’d be able to do a musical any time soon just because maintaining the voice is pretty tricky but, my god, I’d love to do theatre again very soon,” Stone said.

The 28-year-old actress said that while her voice may not be able to take the strain of a musical, there are a lot of plays she would be eager to appear in. “I’ve already done my dream musical, ‘Cabaret’. That was my dream. I really don’t have any others that I’m dying to do.

Really, honestly my voice can’t take it but straight plays, there’s like a million of those I’d love to do,” she said.

Emma Stone has revealed that she had a meltdown while shooting for the Dirty Dancinginspired scene in the film Crazy, Stupid, Love. The 28-year-old actress discussed one of the most memorable shots from the 2011-romcom where co-star Ryan Gosling had to lift her into the air, copying Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey’s classic scene, reported

People.

“When we do Crazy, Stupid, Love, I know that we’re gonna do the Dirty Dancing lift. I don’t know, however, that I have an internalised phobia of being lifted over someone’s head at the height of about 6 feet,” Stone said, while appearing on “The Graham Norton Show” alongside Gosling. Earlier on the show, Stone said that she had broken both her arms after her childhood gymnastics instructor had dropped her. (Indian Express)

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eryl Streep has become the first star to be nominated for 20 Oscars as she received a best actress nod for her role in Florence Foster Jenkins.

Already a three-time Oscar-winner, Streep, has been nominated in the best actress category for her role as tone-deaf opera singer alongside Ruth Negga for Loving, Isabelle Huppert for Elle, Natalie Portman for Jackie and Emma Stone for La La Land.

The 67-year-old

star received her first Academy Award nomination for “The Deer Hunter” in 1979 in the best supporting actress category, which she lost out to Maggie Smith for her film California Suite.

She won her first ever Oscar for “Kramer vs Kramer” in 1980.

This nomination comes after Streep’s fiery, politically-charged Golden Globes speech against US President Donald Trump.

Streep, an ardent supporter of Trump’s ri-

val Hillary Clinton, took the President down in her scathing acceptance speech, without naming him and cautioned against powerful people using their position to “bully others”. The actress was described as “over-rated” by Trump.

“Meryl Streep, one of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood, doesn’t know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes. She is a Hillary flunky who lost big.”

Earlier, a photo of Meryl Streep impersonating US President-elect Donald Trump had been floating around on social media, especially after her speech at the Golden Globes where she took pot shots at Trump without naming him.

In the photo from June 2016, she is seen with a lot of foundation on her face, making it look orange and white paint under her eyes, pouting and closing eyes to resemble like Donald Trump.

(Indian Express)

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GAPLF begins year with Novice Competition

Romario Gonsalves

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he Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPLF) will get their 2017 calendar season underway with their Novice/Junior Championships, slated for the Thirst Park Ground on February 5.

As the GAPLF recently held their elections, the new administration intends to keep to deadlines set, specifically for this event with the registration closing today and late registration attracting a fee of $500 until January 30, with no registration accepted after.

To make the competition more accessible to Berbice lifters, the Federation will be in the ancient coun-

ty at the Hardcore Barbell Club on January 30 to collect forms.

Weigh-in for the first lift is billed for 07:00h-08:30h and the action beginning at 09:00h.

Young, up and coming powerlifting star, Romario Gonsalves, has already begun hitting the gym, pushing his body to the limit in a bid to cop the title and start the year off positively.

Gonsalves, who was battling the flu coming down to the end of 2016, said he has fully recovered and has been managing his studies as well, but has been training hard over the last few weeks for this competition.

Anti-doping tribunal's verdict on Russell expected on January 31

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he anti-doping tribunal hearing West Indies allrounder Andre Russell's case is set to deliver its verdict on January 31.

The independent tribunal is looking into whether he breached the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) code by being negligent about

spite several reminders over phone, email and through written letters.

Still Russell failed to file his whereabouts on January 1, July 1 and July 25, 2015.

In his defence, Russell told the tribunal that he had not been properly trained to file the whereabouts. And

The delayed verdict has kept not just Russell, but also various T20 franchises waiting in anticipation.

Although not contracted with the West Indies Cricket Board, Russell is one the most valuable players in the various Twenty20 domestic leagues across the world.

Andre Russell has continued to play while awaiting a verdict from the JADCO tribunal (Photo: Cricket Australia/Getty Images)

filing his whereabouts three times between January and July 2015.

If found guilty, Russell faces the danger of being banned for two years.

According to the WADA code, if an athlete misses three tests in a 12-month period, it amounts to a failed dope test.

The charge was pressed by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) last March.

JADCO said Russell had been negligent about filing his whereabouts de-

considering he was busy fulfilling various cricket commitments he had authorised his agent and travel agent to file his whereabouts on his behalf.

The three-member tribunal comprising Hugh Faulkner, Dr Marjorie Vassell and Dixeth Palmer, a former Jamaica cricketer, was due to deliver the verdict in December. But no reasons were offered by the tribunal in public behind the delay.

Kolkata Knight Riders (IPL), Sydney Thunder (Big Bash League), Islamabad United (PSL), Nottinghamshire Outlaws (NatWest T20 Blast) and Jamaica Tallawahs (Caribbean Premier League) are some of the teams he has represented, and he has been the most valuable player for more than one team and tournament.

(ESPNCricinfo) Nagraj Gollapudi is a senior assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Guyana’s Geron Williams all set for Sunshine Gran Prix in Tampa

By Romario Samaroo

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uyana Overseas Rider of 2016, Geron “Lone Rider” Williams is on a different journey for this season of cycling as he looks to take over the longer version of the sport.

In an interview with Guyana Times International Sport, the Guyanese speedster related that, like every year his schedule of balancing work and his career as a rider as well aspersonal life is always busy.

However, he is expected to take to the United States of America circuit which sees him competing more than once on a weekly basis, far more than what is afforded on the local arena.

But this year, according to the cycling star, will bring about a change in focus for his New York based club, CRCA/ Foundation who will be aiming to tackle the longer races such as one day classics and stage races, rather than criterion racing which is a shortened form of road racing.

Williams was adamant to highlight the efforts made by DeSinco Trading and his club CRCA/Foundation who made the trips possible and gave him the opportunity to wear the Guyana colours. The wellspoken cyclist also praised the unwavering support from his family, especially his mother, father and sister who continue to motivate him and encourage him with their presence at all of his races.

While January is usually a slow month for Williams, he is nevertheless preparing for the journey ahead, taking into consideration his diet and gym time to remain in competition shape prior to pedal-off which he hopes will be in February. Williams pointed out that he will like to make an immediate impact on the local scene.

“January is usually a slow month for me as I prepare to begin my season. With my training schedule taking shape and form slowly coming around, I’m looking forward to starting my campaign locally

Geron Williams

in February providing there are races,” Williams stated.

The following month, Williams will be heading to Florida where he is eyeing to compete in his first major event, the Sunshine Gran Prix in Tampa. “Early March I am hoping to head to Florida where I would be focusing on building up to my first major event which is the Sunshine Grand Prix scheduled to take place in Tampa Florida,” the Foundation rider pointed out.

On the domestic arena, “Lone Rider” has indicated his priority, pending his schedule, in winning the National Championships, a title that paper thinly eluded him in 2016 and captured by Shaquel Agard.

“I’m planning to return to Guyana to compete at the National championships.

The annual Independence Three-Stage is an event I would also like to attend providing my schedule allows it,” Williams said.

Generally, the natural-born cyclist is looking to improve on his overall career with some outstanding performances that could see him taking title after title on both the domestic and international circuits.

“Like every year I’m looking to aim to improve on my overall cycling career, by adding creditable and outstanding performances. Not forgetting to focus on my own personal growth on and off the bike” Williams highlighted.

Guyanese trio confident of doing well at Blind Cricket World Cup in India

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Ganesh Singh bats while kneeling on the ground (BBC photo)

anesh Singh, Leroy Phillips and Kevin Douglas have overcome the challenges of acquiring funds to get to the blind cricket world cup in India and will depart tomorrow (Thursday) for the United States of America en route to India.

About a week ago there were doubts of them making the trip but thanks to the kindness of Corporate Guyana and the National Sports Commission it is now possible for them to get there as experience player Ganesh Singh informed this newspaper.

“At this point time we are somewhat at ease because we have secured most of the funding so far through a number of private sector individual and citizens themselves. I must mention a few, who have made some significant contribution- RadeshRameshwar of Kares Engineering Group, Times Media Group-Dr. “Bobby” Ramroop,

the National Sport Commission (NSC) and Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).”

The Guyana Blind Association did not reach the required target but was still able to fund the players’ airfare to get to the event. Nevertheless, Singh predicts a good showing from the Guyanese players.

“We (the Guyanese players) are considered senior players and a lot depend on us, so you could expect good performances.”

Singh is also hopeful of West Indies chances at the World Cup. “Although we have limited or no funding to have development programmes or training, we have an abundance of talent and I am sure the team is going to do well.”

The West Indies are due to arrive in India on January 28 and will open their campaign against defending champions, India on January 31. The final is set for February 12.

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GHB President rolls out 2017 calendar of events

Guyana is looking to have an impressive showing at the Pan Am games this year

By Romario Samaroo

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resident of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) Philip Fernandes, spoke to Guyana Times International Sport and

J

laid out a host of activities that the Board will be looking to complete as the year progresses at both the indoor and outdoor levels.

According to Fernandes, the year will

begin when the GHB collaborates with Bounty Farm Limited and Antonio’s Grille to host the traditional Bounty/ Antonio’s Grille One Day Outdoor hockey tournament this Sunday at

'Ultimately we want success' - Jimmy Adams

immy Adams, the newly appointed director of cricket for West Indies, wants to create a structure that will feed, sustain and guarantee not just success, but also a certain standard of cricket all through. According to Adams, the former West Indies captain and wicketkeeper, having a competitive domestic structure will not only groom young talent, but also not allow international players to "relax".

Adams said he was in no rush to achieve this. First, he said, he wanted to sit down and discuss his vision with the WICB's new CEO, John Gray, who takes over from February, as well as the future head coach, a position that has been lying vacant since the board removed Phil Simmons last September.

"I don't want to say anything premature," Adams told Line and Length Network, a Barbados-based TV station, in Antigua earlier this week.

"Ultimately we want success. We want a structure that guarantees a certain standard of cricket even if you are not winning every day. But you know with what we have, from grassroots to youth cricket to first-class structure, you know the standard will be within a certain range. In terms of sustainability, that becomes critical. We want to see the first team, men's and women's, winning, but I would also like to underpin that with a structure that would guarantee a certain standard of cricket going forward."

Adams, who joined Kent in 2012 as head coach, left the county last October.

He said he saw similarities in the challenges at Kent and in the Caribbean, especially in the lack of resources.

"There are certain similarities with cricket in the Caribbean. We have challenges with resources here that tend to affect almost every decision we make, and trying to find the best way to hurdle those challenges and have the mindset that you can make it enough with whatever you have to create a quality cricket team."

Of the many challenges in front of Adams, one of the bigger ones would be sorting out the damaged relations between the WICB and some of the senior West Indies players who do not play in the domestic tournaments. One of the controversial decisions taken by his predecessor, Richard Pybus, was making it mandatory for all players to play

in the domestic tournaments in order for them to be selected for West Indies.

Many senior players have objected to that measure and have declined WICB contracts.

Adams, who is also the outgoing president of the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA), did not reveal whether he subscribed to such a decision, but disagreed with the view that such players had "abandoned" domestic cricket.

"I don't think anybody has abandoned anything. I think everyone's individual circumstances are different and I respect decisions people make. It's not an exact formula, but at the end of the day, you want to see the strongest possible competition in terms of players' development. If you can do that, it is the last building block before we take players to the international level, in terms of the upward movement. For those who are already playing international cricket, a strong domestic structure ensures there is no time to relax, which I think is a good thing."

Adams did point out that at all times he would like to see the best players contest in the regional competitions.

"Part of a strong domestic league is having the best players available. However you look at it, you are always looking to get the best players in a competition to guarantee standards. From that point, it's good to have a regional tournament. A dedicated block of time for a 50-overs tournament is critical, since preparation process can flow into tournament play, which is very important.

I wasn't of a fan of one-day cricket on a Wednesday and four-day cricket on a Friday, but if guys can dedicate a block of time specifically for 50-overs, T20 and four-day cricket, that's the best approach possible."

Adams said his vision was a shared one: to make West Indies competitive once again. That, he said, was the main reason he returned home from Kent. "I share a common vision, not just with the people I'm employed to but also the people of the Caribbean. We'd like to see West Indies cricket strong again. I know we have been through some lean years.

To share the vision - good competitive cricket coming out of West Indies - is something we all want to see and hopefully I can play some role in helping the region to achieve that."(ESPNCricinfo)

the National Stadium, Providence.

The event which began back in 2009 is now a tradition that is maintained at the start of the hockey season. The GHB President pledged to have more attention placed on outdoor hockey in 2017 having admitted that outdoor hockey did not benefit from the same fortunes as the indoor version in 2016.

In the month of February, the GHB will be venturing into their second division league; again this league will be an outdoor version of the game. Fernandes articulated that this division is integral to the development of the sport as it provides the next generation of players who will be taking over the sport as the years go by.

A lot of young prospects will be aiming to make a good showing at this competition in order to catch the eyes of their club selectors and hopefully be drafted to the senior team.

Also in February, the GHB will be introducing the first ever Under 14 four-a-side indoor league. This is particularly important for the GHB because this will be the future of the sport and potentially identify the prospects for the next two editions of the Pan American Games.

The competition which will be held across various schools auditoriums in the country, according to Fernandes was

strategically planned for February as it fits into the international calendar of events.

In his explanation of the competition, Fernandes said the Under 21 will feature in the Pan American Games, then the Under 18 will move up and it is nice to have a new crop of athletes coming; beginning with the Under 14s.

This competition will run into March and April.

In March, the action will see the first division league taking shape with the top guns preparing for the competition that will be before them when they clash in two indoor tournaments in May. The ladies league will also be played in March.

In July, the GHB will be hosting a coaching clinic as well as the junior summer camp which will run into August.

October and November will feature the two most anticipated tournaments of the calendar year as the GHB hosts the GTT indoor tournament and the Diamond Mineral Water Indoor Hockey Festival.

Both of these events are expected to take place at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue with the Diamond Mineral Water International Festival featuring teams from the region and North America.

Stiff competition will be expected from the various clubs across the country with Hikers and

GCC renewing their rivalry for the top club in the country. GCC Pizza Hut women have had the upper hand over the Woodpecker Hikers of recent while the Pepsi Hikers remained undefeated in 2016, GCC Bounty will be aiming to change that this season.

Old Fort, Saints and Phoenix are all ready to take up the challenge and bring the competition to their opponents and hopefully secure a few titles.

A number of young players have already been earmarked to step up and take the game by the collar. Among those expected to light up the year are JamarjAssanah, Ato Greene, Aroydy Branford and Shane Samueles as well as Robert France for the Pepsi Hikers while the likes of Eric Hing, Devin Hooper, Rahim Oliver, Dwayne Scott and the Fernandes brothers are those who shall be leading their sides.

In the ladies Division, the Xavier sisters, Rebecca and Gabriella, KerensaFernandes, Vanessa Pires, Tiffany Soloman, Aliyah Gordon, as well as Dacia and Tricia Woodroffe are the girls who will be spearheading the attack for Pizza Hut GCC as Woodpecker Hikers have Laticia Chung, Nicole Eastman, Kenisha Wills, Maria Munroe and others to take them to more silverware this year.

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