Guyana times september 27, 2017

Border controversy

Guyana looks P15 forward to successful resolution – President Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Eco flips oil licence months after receiving concession guyanatimesgy.com

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Issue No. 3344

…as French oil giant snaps up majority shares Page 3

Berbice teen's murder

Wake-up call for communities – Ann Greene …as 13-year-old laid to rest

PRICE

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE: President’s land gift

National P9 Assembly must be consulted on land offer – former AG Sussex Street drug bond

Procurement Commission called to investigate scandal P10

See stories on pages 7&11

Commuters stranded again as DHB connecting post breaks Page 14

Wanted man nabbed with cocaine at Leguan P9 Arsonist succumbs after ingesting P12 poison

Wales severance

…Evening News video editor injured, bike damaged New Demerara River bridge

Govt altered contract to favour Houston-Versailles location – Teixeira Page 2

...Dutch consultant warned location's cost would be higher

Workers send petition to President P15

– matter still to be called in High Court Primary School Teachers’ Jeopardy

Region 10 dethrones P15 Region 4, Georgetown smashed

2 news

wednesDAY, september 27, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Govt altered contract to favour Houston-Versailles location – Teixeira ...Dutch consultant warned location’s cost would be higher

T

he Houston-Versailles location identified for the new Demerara River bridge is among the primary reasons the project is pegged at an astronomical US$170 million – not including the supporting road network and other hidden costs.

Dutch consultant LievenseCSO, who was hired to undertake a feasibility study for the new project with an initial design, found that by moving the bridge to the HoustonVersailles location some 2.2 kilometres north of the current Demerara Harbour Bridge, it will in fact attract significantly more traffic when it comes to oceangoing vessels.

More traffic

In order to allow for smaller vessels such as trawlers, the bridge will as a result have to be constructed with a clearance height of 17.5 metres, close to 60 feet above the high tide wa-

nying road network in order to use the bridge.

Altered contract

An artist’s impression of the vehicular flyover at Versailles, West Bank Demerara

ter level.

The consultant has documented in the findings of the feasibility report, “the main conclusion regarding river traffic is that the location strongly influences the river transit numbers”.

According to the findings, if the bridge will be positioned at Houston, the number of trawlers passing will be high.

But, with a bridge at the New Hope location, the number of oil tankers would be minimised and no trawlers at all would pass under the bridge, the consultant

said.

As a result of the 17.5m elevation in the bridge, the approach roads will have to be constructed with an ascending angle of at least six per cent.

This means the height of the bridge necessitates a lengthy approach road complete with vehicular flyover, instead of what currently obtains at the existing bridge.

The price tag identified in the feasibility study will include only a first phase for the approach roads meaning Government will have to foot the bill for the accompa-

This past week the political Opposition again questioned the rationale behind the selection of the HoustonVersailles location.

People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Chief Whip Gail Teixeira told media operatives that information coming to light suggested that the company had been asked to amend the Terms of Reference of the contract in favour of that location.

Teixeira was at the time speaking during a press engagement at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.

According to the PPP/C Chief Whip, “in fact, part of the change in Terms of Reference, which we have not seen, or the contract, or the Terms of Reference of the contract that this Dutch company had, that in the process the Government

started to change what the feasibility study would look at.”

Teixeira pointed out that the feasibility study – as was the case with the prefeasibility study undertaken under the previous Administration – was commissioned to research three sites.

This, she said, has not been contested and is in fact the official pronouncement on the project; “however, at some time in this process, the Government amended, seems to have amended what were the terms of the contract for the feasibility study”.

The parliamentarian told media operatives that the consultant was instead directed to focus on the Houston-Versailles location, and “there are many questions why that would have been so”.

According to the PPP Chief Whip, there is no evidence of any public disclosure that the contract had either been terminated and renewed, or the original contract amended.

Opposition Leader and former President Bharrat Jagdeo has publicly said the location was chosen in order to have the bridge land at

a property owned by coalition financier Stanley Ming in order to see Government paying him yet-to-be disclosed ‘compensation’.

Jagdeo has also railed against the cost of the project which the consultant pegged at US$170 million.

The hidden costs, however, have also been raising eyebrows in recent weeks, such as the likely US$80 million that will have to be added to the overall price tag for the accompanying road network.

Even more hidden costs that are expected to see the price skyrocketing even further and will in fact reorient the entire Demerara shipping passages.

According to the Dutch consultant, in case the bridge is positioned at Houston, it would affect the nautical procedures between the present harbour limit and the existing bridge alignment.

In the case of the river channel used by oceangoing vessels, a bridge at Houston will mean that the nautical procedures and ‘lead lines’ in the harbour area shall also have to be redesigned to ensure safe shipping.

200 day-care facilities registered, 53 licensed

The Bacchus Play School, one of the childcare facilities that were licensed in Region Two

M

ore than 200 daycare facilities have been registered to date across the nation.

The registration and licensing of these facilities are part of the Social Protection Ministry’s Early Childhood Development Programme.

This was disclosed by the Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), Ann Greene, in an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI).

The CCPA has been working tirelessly to monitor and boost the level of service provided by early childhood/daycare facilities.

The Social Protection Ministry has been highlighting the importance of adequate documentation for early childhood/day-care centres. To this end, the agency has been working to ensure the licensing of these facilities. The centres are required to first register, and once having met the necessary criteria, the facilities are then licensed.

The standards outlined

for accreditation entail completion of a registration form provided by the CCPA, possession of a valid police clearance, a food handler’s certificate, and medical certificate.

These documents are then submitted to the CCPA for the approval.

The criteria were framed by the Guyana Fire Service, and the Buildings and Public Health Unit under the Georgetown Mayor and City Council. Implementation is a statutory requirement of the Childcare and Development Services Act of 2011. The Act was assented to by President David Granger and gazetted in September 2015.

In May this year, for the first time, 13 childcare facilities were registered in Essequibo, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), and as recent as July, another 13 childcare facilities were registered and licensed in Linden, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice). The CCPA will be visiting Berbice in the coming weeks to complete evaluation for registering and licensing.

3 Eco flips oil licence months after receiving concession news

wednesDAY, september 27, 2017 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, September 27 – 09:00h-10:30h and Thursday, September 28 – 10:30h-12:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, September 27 – 08:15h-09:45h and Thursday, September 28 – 09:25h-10:55h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Thundery to light rain showers can be expected throughout the day, with clear to partly cloudy skies in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging from East North-easterly to East South-easterly and Easterly between 0.89 metres and 3.12 metres.

High Tide: 08:47h and 21:04h reaching a maximum height of 2.22 metres at each scheduled high tide.

Low Tide: 02:15h and 14:36h reaching minimum heights of 0.87 metre and 1.06 metres respectively.

SATURDAY, September 23, 2017

LOTTERY NUMBERS N

06 10 11 19 21 24 18 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

DAILY MILLIONS 03 09 12 16 18 LUCKY 3 3 6 5 Afternoon Draw

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04 05 06 07 11 17 21 DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

…as French oil giant snaps up majority share

F

rench firm Total E&P Activities Petrolieres is the latest foreign oil company to convert its interest in Guyana’s blooming oil resources into action. The company has signed an agreement with a shareholder in Guyana’s Orinduik Block that is likely to see it establishing a foothold locally.

Recent reports had indicated that the Orinduik Block, which is just a few kilometres from Exxon’s discoveries in the Liza and Payara fields, had the potential to produce as much as 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

A recent seismic survey was commissioned by majority shareholder Tullow and Eco Atlantic.

The A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government in fact handed out petroleum blocks to operators Tullow and Eco when it took office.

That Petroleum Prospecting Licence and Production Sharing Agreement with the joint venture team of Tullow Guyana BV and Eco (Atlantic) Guyana Inc for a concession of 1801 square kilometres in the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana which was issued in January 2016.

However, months later, Eco sold 25 per cent of its 40 per cent shares.

According to Eco Atlantic (Guyana) on Tuesday, the French company signed an option agreement that allows it to buy a 25 per cent working interest. This would make Total a major player in the Block, as Tullow owns 60 per cent and Eco, 40.

“Pursuant to the Option Agreement, Total will make an immediate payment of US$1 million for the option at its sole discretion, to Farm-in to the Orinduik Block for an additional payment in cash of US$12.5 million to earn the 25 per cent Working Interest,” the company said on Tuesday.

The exercise of the option must be made within 120 days of completion of processing of the 3D seismic survey, the company said, adding that the Seismic Data Report was completed on September 5 and processing is expected to take two to three months. It also noted that the option fee is repayable in the unlikely event that the Seismic Data Report is not provided to Total by June 1, 2019.

According to Eco, once the transaction has been completed and has received all regulatory approvals, Total will be a 25 per cent shareholder in the enterprise, while Eco will have reduced its standing to 15

Map showing the Orinduik Block

per cent. Tullow, the operator, will retain its 60 per cent share.

“In the event that the option is exercised, each party will pay its pro-rata working interest from that date forward. With exploratory wells offshore Guyana expected to cost circa US$35 million, Eco’s participating interest is anticipated to be approximately US$5.25 million per well.”

“It is, therefore, projected that this transaction, if fully executed, will thus provide adequate funding to meet Eco’s share of the costs to drill at least two wells on the Orinduik Block as well as recover the costs of the

expanded 3D seismic survey.”

In a statement on the deal, Eco Atlantic President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gil Holzman stated that the deal validated both the potential of the Orinduik Block, but it also validated

Eco’s long-term strategy – to identify highly likely prospect assets, arrange favourable Petroleum Agreement terms and partner with world-class companies.

“In the event that the option is exercised by Total, the deal proceeds will recoup all our expenses on the expanded 3D programme and fund us for drilling a minimum of two wells based on current well costs,” Holzman said.

“We have approximately US$4 million in cash currently and once the option is exercised, Eco will be in a very strong position to be fully funded through the next few years which is expected to include several drill programmes. This deal is also expected to introduce into Guyana yet another significant global player and we look forward to working with Total (and) Tullow in the years to come.”

The lesser known Orinduik oil block has been under the administration of Eco Guyana and Tullow, after they signed a 10-year Petroleum Prospecting Licence and Production Sharing Agreement with Government last year.

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guyanatimesgy.com

wednesday, September 27, 2017

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

Jealousy, covetousness, and envy

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nvy has been defined as the desire for that which is not yours and the begrudging of the individual who really possesses it.

And the object of the coveted possession may not be merely material possessions, but could cover a wide-ranging cornucopia of desirability, ie, good looks, a job, academic achievements, social popularity, ability to overcome difficult circumstances and advance despite inhibiting constraints, among a plethora of others.

The twin sins of envy and covetousness have destroyed many relationships and laid waste to lives and the quality of lives of those victimised because of the greed, envy, and covetousness of others.

According to philosopher and student of human behaviour Lansing, “covetousness is the desire of that which is not yours and is presently unattainable as it belongs to someone else or lies outside of your ability to get.” But he should have clarified “… to get except by nefarious or criminal means”.

Commenting on the negative emotion of jealousy, Lansing posits: “People get envious in a relationship once they really feel that someone else is trying to destroy, steal, or take over that romantic relationship. A lady will get jealous when she thinks her guy is spending as well much time with or around an additional woman. A man will get jealous when he sees an additional guy flirting with his girlfriend or wife.”

Victims of those who are covetous, envious and/or jealous often revert to defensive emotion that seeks to protect the victimised individual from the actions of those who do not choose to suppress their negative emotional traits. Some become depressed and withdraw into themselves, while others react in multiple other ways, sometimes even leading to violence.

In the Biblical Book of Proverbs, jealousy is deemed as ‘the rage of a man’. Those who possess the negative emotional traits of envy, jealousy, and covetousness are often irrational and, most times, act with vindictiveness and spitefulness toward their victims.

The psychological attachment to things coveted and the envy of the possessor by the covetous can have dire consequences and afflict the object of desire, as well as dependants; such as the instance of a spurned lover burning down the house of a woman, who is cremated alive with her children. Thus, these emotions can become lethal if acted upon.

A blog on the website of the popular Greg Gardner posits: “Covetousness will be the emotional desire for and attachment to something that isn’t yours and is presently unattainable. The Bible clearly forbids us to covet our neighbour’s wife. Once we allow a psychological attachment and desire for someone which has reserved himself or herself to another person, we’re strolling on a very treacherous floor.

“You can say that it’s covetousness that produces envy.

When a partner starts to covet an existence outside of his relationship, he is certain to provoke his spouse to jealousy.

When a lady starts to covet a man currently married, she will provoke that man’s spouse to jealousy.

“Covetousness is a signal of discontent. If you are beginning to appear outside your marriage for a happy existence, plainly, you have to get assistance with your relationship. This discontent often provokes other people to jealousy, which only compounds the problem.”

Discontent with one’s lot could be a precipitator for striving for enhancement of one’s life and lifestyle, or it could induce one to harm the object of their desire; or to wrest the coveted article by violent or criminal means.

Rancorous feelings toward someone emanating from envy and/or jealousy of that person, or greed and covetousness for the possessions of someone else, can lead to situations of conflict that could very well be avoided if one tries to be content with his/her lot and endeavour for their own upward mobility through their own efforts.

Envy, greed, jealousy, covetousness are bitter fruits of discontent that could poison one’s entire life and inhibit one’s capacity for enjoyment of life and the zeal to achieve to one’s optimum potential for personal growth and development.

Even worse, the innocent victims of their desires are the collateral damage of their egomania and psychoses.

El Salvador National University students perform during a protest against the Government, which uses the military to control crime in San Salvador, El Salvador (Reuters/Jose Cabezas)

Is the world suffering from refugee fatigue?

Dear Editor, In a country called Myanmar (formally Burma), 450,000 Rohingya people, equivalent to almost half of Guyana’s population, have been forcefully expelled from their country of birth.

The overwhelming majority of the refugees are children.

The Rohingya people are now living in camps seething in squalor, disease, lack of sanitation and clean drinking water, no medical supplies nor schools. The living conditions in the make shift camps are unfit for human habitation. Yet the world sits on its hands and watches. In the meanwhile, trillions are being spent on arms and weapons of mass destruction.

The Rohingya must do without an electric bulb and shelter over their heads forever. In contrast, their fellow human beings could not do without it for three days!

And as far as the world is concerned, the Rohingya

refugee crisis is a Burmese problem.

There is a stubborn refusal to recognise that this is another manifestation of mass hatred that has reared its ugly head once again as it did in Rwanda, Bosnia, Kampuchea and Burundi among other countries where unarmed civilians were targeted because of their race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, or ideology.

The destruction of the Rohingya community is a most shameful and shameless episode in human history. Why? Is the world suffering from refugee fatigue?

Political leaders in the developed world who are about to face an election or who have just done so are afraid of the nationalist, xenophobic backlash as was just manifested in the German elections where the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) have won 90 seats in the Bundestag – the German Parliament – for the first time?

The utter indifference and cynicism displayed by the industrialised countries and even those in BRICS is most astonishing, if not disappointing.

From all indications, it appears that the Rohingya people have been disqualified from any consideration because they are considered poor, uneducated, unskilled and dispossessed. That they are part of the human race appears to be irrelevant.

It is wishful thinking to expect the poor developing in the South to come to the rescue or offer to impactful help to the suffering Rohingya people.

Financially, they just can’t afford it.

The expulsion of the Rohingya population from their homeland has been described in certain quarters as ‘ethnic cleansing,’ but to understand the sudden emergence of this human tragedy global developments must be taken into consideration.

The authorities in Burma, having assessed the

international climate and considered it favourable to move against the Rohingya people at this time, appeared to have made a well calculated and well-timed move, knowing that with the international community distracted by so many problems they stood the chance of getting away with the atrocities meted out against an ethnic minority of its own populace.

The Burmese military surmised that India would not lift a finger in defence of the Rohingya people due to the fact that that country has its own economic and geo-strategic ambitions in the region.

Bangladesh has neither the economic, financial, institutional nor administrative capacity to deal with a human crisis of this magnitude.

How will the world respond?

Yours faithfully, Clement J Rohee

Mr Boodram should refrain from stifling my voice (Pt 2)

Dear Editor, My recent letters on suicide generated two responses entitled: “The suicide rate reduction is real,” and “It is the walk, not the talk that makes the critical difference”, from Annand Boodram, the Executive Director of The Caribbean Voice (TCV).

The catastrophic social, economic and political dynamic is the generator of abnormal quantities of stress which largely pushes Guyana’s suicide rate over the global average. Editor, stress has the amazing ability to induce and or exacerbate mental illness, alcoholism, copycatting, relapse, impulsivity and an assortment of personality disorders, etc. Moreover, stress alters the hardwiring in

multiple neuronal circuits in augmenting suicidal responses by unleashing depression, hopelessness, and anxiety, etc. Stress even diminishes the ability to cope.

My view remains pivotal to effectively tackle the suicide problem from multiple angles, plus added benefits on domestic violence; mental illness and alcoholism can be derived when stress is given centre stage attention.

Mr Boodram is now up against the wall. It would be hard for him to go anywhere without accepting that stress largely propels the magnitude of the suicide crisis in this country and this has to be addressed through a simultaneous reduction of stressful inputs into the brain which translates into

lowering the unemployment rate, lowering the crime rate, curbing cruelty and ending dysfunctional politics etc, in conjunction with the administration of multifaceted therapies. It makes no sense whatsoever to deny stress centre stage attention. I have tied together these very ideas and explain them in two letters to the editor and also in the model I have developed. Surely, Mr Boodram will benefit from this model which I will release in the near future.

I must thank TCV for its contributions to the Guyanese people.

However, I must point out that Mr Boodram’s uneven behaviours force me to question whether his talk can really translate into a mean-

ingful walk.

I would like to remind Mr Boodram that his actions influence the nature of this rebuttal. And it would be wise for Mr Boodram to embrace my proposal which embodies that stress robustly drives the bulk of suicide in multiple ways by disrupting homeostatic brain functions. I am confident that such knowledge will guide our efforts in developing novel approaches to combating this human tragedy from multiple angles. With this, I urge Mr Boodram to refocus his attention on stress as the key propeller to the suicide scourge, not copycatting.

Sincerely, Dr Annie Baliram

guyanatimesgy.com

wednesday, September 27, 2017

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Important information being communicated properly to citizenry Dear Editor, Every now and then, I observe press releases, letters to the editor and some grand announcements emanating out of the Georgetown City Council, regarding some pie in the sky ideas, like the Council getting involved in cardboard recycling, or putting drones over Georgetown to monitor the city’s activities or building a petting zoo on Merriman Mall, but I hardly ever see thoughtful, genuine and important information being communicated properly to the citizenry.

Citizens of Georgetown would be clearly more absorbed and attentive to information that affects and impacts on their daily lives, to details of significant things that the city has done as opposed to grand plans that might never see the light of day, but most of all citizens would like City Hall to listen more and talk less, as they could only properly carry out their duties if they know what the citizens want, as opposed to pushing things down the throats of citizens like the infamous Parking Meter

Project.

Consequently, I would wish to raise a few concerns and to ask a small number of questions that are of burning interest to Georgetown residents and hope that their Public Relations Officer would respond with verity and alacrity.

Could someone in the Council say why it took more than 10 years to purchase a stun gun for the Council’s Abattoir, while they inhumanely bludgeoned animals to death all the while? Whether anyone in the Council was

sanctioned for purchasing an incomplete stun gun set, and why did they not just purchase ammunition and packing rather than another complete set?

I would like to know when the Town Clerk will make available for public scrutiny the signed and approved minutes of the previous Council meeting that approved the awarding of the contract through a sole sourcing method, to Smart City Solutions or their affiliated shell companies such as National Parking Systems.

Could a list of individ-

uals and companies who were granted waivers of interest on outstanding property rates without the fiat and or knowledge of full Council be published, and also what are the legal justifications for such waivers?

Could the citizens be told whether the beauticians, barbers and cosmetologists who operate in the shantytown arrangements on Merriman Mall are licensed and accredited to do so?

Could we be told when the Council will stop masquerading with their own

old broken down refuse collecting equipment and those of three small contractors and acknowledge that they are not up to the task, pay the two major contractors and have them clean up the city?

Could the citizens be told of the total cost of the many, many overseas travels by the Mayor, the Councillors and the Town Clerk, and what tangible benefits will be derived by the citizens as a consequence of these jaunts?

Sincerely, Nadine Jerrick

Lack of antenatal HIV testing in the hinterland is a travesty Dear Editor, I read with horror the fact that pregnant women in the hinterland of Guyana are not receiving HIV tests. Before anyone accuses me of making that up, please note that that is one of the official findings of a study on the condition of Indigenous women and children in 12 hinterland communities that was conducted by UNICEF in collaboration with the Government of Guyana, as quoted in an article from the Public Information Ministry (http://gina.gov. gy/study-on-vulnerable-indigenous-groups-handed-over/).

Now, I’m not sure what the specific reason for this deplorable situation is – if it’s a lack of availability of HIV testing kits, some breakdown in communication or transportation of said kits into the interior, lack of trained counsellors,

or some other issue – but what I do know is that this is a completely unacceptable state of affairs.

Antenatal HIV testing of pregnant women has been recognised for over two decades as one of the best ways of preventing the vertical transmission of HIV. While HIV prevalence rates in Guyana have thankfully never reached epidemic levels, a recent report – Health @50 done by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) last year – revealed that HIV infections were on the increase, compared to previous years.

The situation for people in the hinterland is especially concerning as there are already fewer resources and facilities in that area, compared with the coastal regions of Guyana (a fact corroborated in the report cited above). In fact,

research project after research project have clearly and repeatedly described the increased vulnerability of women and girls in the interior regions to sexual abuse and predation, trafficking, violence, and other societal ills.

It is beyond alarming then, to hear that pregnant women in the hinterland are not receiving HIV tests on a regular basis.

To repeat, this research was conducted in multiple communities, and this finding was provided to the public by a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist on staff at the UNICEF. I hope to soon be able to receive a copy of the report so I can review in its entirety, but I am compelled to write now to call for an

immediate remedying of this appalling state of affairs and to demand that systems be put in place immediately to ensure that there is never any recurrence.

I know, from personal experience seeking HIV tests in Guyana over the years, that consistent availability of testing kits has been a problem, even on the coast. However, I had been reassured by a previous Public Health Minister.

Dr George Norton, that this situation had been resolved and I hoped that the authorities at the Public Health Ministry were sufficiently committed to safeguarding the health and wellbeing of pregnant women and infants; universally rec-

ognised as especially vulnerable groups, to ensure that such a basic but critically important service, such as antenatal HIV testing, would have been carried out in an exemplary manner. This report reveals that is clearly not the case and that the delivery of basic primary preventive health care seemingly remains beyond the capability of these entities.

I realise there are regional bodies with responsibility for these matters, in additional to the national Ministries and HIV/ AIDS Secretariat; all of them bear culpability for this massive failure, in my opinion. I noted also that the Indigenous People’s Affairs Ministry was the one that the report was

handed over to; however accountability for solving these and the other problems highlighted by the report requires collaborative work by multiple agencies and arms of Government.

Indigenous women and children, and others living in the hinterland of Guyana, deserve to have access to quality healthcare, just like all Guyanese. I acknowledge the challenges posed by our terrain but I also know that alcohol, Coca Cola, chips, and sweets are accessible in every community in Guyana. So too should be HIV testing kits!

Outraged citizen, Sherlina Nageer, MPH

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wednesday, September 27, 2017

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I

t would be simpler if all child abusers followed a pattern and were easy to recognise. The truth is that child abusers come from all walks of life. They can be parents, other family members, teachers, coaches, and family friends. Virtually anyone who has access to a child is in a position to mistreat the child. Fortunately, the vast majority of people don't.

Sometimes, people who abuse kids can show some behavioural signs. For example, parents who abuse their children may avoid other parents in the neighbourhood, may not participate in school activities, and might be uncomfortable talking about their children's injuries or behavioural problems.

Adults who sexually abuse children typically know the kids beforehand.

Rarely will a sexual abuser pick a child at random.

The abuser may use this relationship to his or her advantage, telling the child to keep the relationship a secret or warning that the child will be hurt or in trouble if he or she tells anyone.

Many times, people who abuse children were themselves abused as children.

This cycle of abuse can be hard to break and can pass down for generations within a family.

Signs of abuse

It's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the ordinary scrapes and scratches of childhood and a physical sign of child abuse. Multiple bruises or those that keep coming back, black eyes, and broken bones are certainly red flags, but other signs —

Foundation

like a child's emotional health — are also telling.

Here are some ways that children who are being abused might react: Being sad or angry.

Children who are being abused may act withdrawn, fearful, depressed, have low self-esteem, or engage in self-harm. The most depressed children might contemplate suicide or attempt suicide. Other children become bullies and have problems man-

aging their anger and other strong emotions. Many have nightmares or trouble sleeping.

Relationship troubles. Those who are abused usually have trouble developing and maintaining relationships. They are often unable to love or

trust others, especially adults, whom they can be fearful of. A telling sign that something's just not right is when a child fails to seek comfort from a parent or other caregiver who is an abuser.

"Acting out" or engaging in risky behaviour.

Children who are being abused sometimes act out in class and are disruptive.

They may lose interest in activities they once loved or lose focus on their schoolwork — and their grades suffer. Drug and alcohol abuse, as well as sexual promiscuity, are also common.

Other children might not act out in the typical ways, but will avoid going home after school or doing any activity that would cause them to spend time alone with the abuser.

In addition to children who are being abused, those who witness abuse (but are not the victims themselves — like siblings) sometimes show similar signs.

But just because a child is showing these signs, it doesn't necessarily point to abuse. Children who are going through stressful situations, like parents' separation or divorce, a family move, or the loss of a friend or family member, may undergo a change in their mood or disposition. (Excerpt from kid-

shealth)

guyanatimesgy.com

Ashley Anthony

news

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wednesDay, September 27, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Murdered Berbice teen laid to rest to help him to be reformed from his evil ways... If we as a community do not take firm serious action to prevent a reoccurrence of what has happened here, it will continue.”

The funeral service for 13-year-old Leonard Archibald

T

he Berbice, Region Six teen who was raped and murdered was on Tuesday laid to rest.

Leonard Archibald, 13, went missing last week Sunday, after riding ahead of his three sisters he was accompanying home from a birthday party in the neighbouring village.

He was captured and sodomised and when he lost consciousness, he was bound and thrown into the Berbice River along with his bicycle. The two men of Sisters Village, East Bank Berbice have since admitted to the heinous act.

At Tuesday’s funeral, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) Chairman David Armogan called on residents to take back their communities from rogue elements, who have been terrorising residents mostly as a result of drug use.

According to Armogan, social problems have led many youngsters and even adults to turn to drug use, which in term makes them commit acts that are mostly illegal.

He said child abuse is one issue but the bigger picture will be to look at the root cause. Many at this point in time are focusing on the symptoms of the problem rather than the cause.

He referred to that as surprising the sore while the disease remains.

Nevertheless, Armogan called on all to condemn the act which resulted in Leonardo’s death.

Armogan said the entire country was shocked at the

events which unfolded and which led to the discovery of the missing teen’s body.

“Our region should not be known for these kinds of things. Our region should be a peaceful region where people are free to walk around and people are free to move as they like. I do not think it had anything to do with the fault of the child or the fault of the parent. I think the parent did all that that they can to protect their child and the child did all he can to protect himself but in the circumstances, there was a depraved mind. I believe that a normal human being cannot commit such a crime,” Armogan said while suggesting that the alleged perpetrator must be a “depraved man.”

Meanwhile, President David Granger expressed condolences to Leonard’s mother, Abigail Archibald, his siblings, other relatives, and friends.

In a statement from the Office of the President, the Head of State said he was deeply saddened to learn of the death of 13-year-old Leonard Archibald, under such tragic circumstances.

Meanwhile, also speaking at the funeral service was Social worker Rickford Ward, who called on all to unite in the fight to make the community safer. He said that the community allowed the situation to develop until murder was committed, noting that they did nothing when they should have been acting.

“We all should help to protect our children and also

Armed robbery

Magistrate sets October trial date for 5 co-accused

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he trial of the five men accused of executing an armed robbery on a West Demerara man is set to commence on October 23. This was disclosed by presiding Magistrate at the Vreeden-Hoop Magistrate’s Court, Christel Lambert, on Monday.

According to the prosecution, Shadradi King, Ravi Doodnauth, Kwesi McKay, Deon Gittens and

Vishanan Mathews are the five defendants who carried out the robbery with aggravation committed on Marvin Chung at the Malgre Tout Public Road, West Bank Demerara (WBD). The robbery occurred on August 12, 2017, but all five men have denied any involvement in the crime. They were all granted bail pending the outcome of the matter.

On this note, Ward called on the Social Service Ministry to get into action.

Young Leonard was laid to rest in the neighboring village of Lansdale and leaves to mourn his mother,

father and nine siblings.

The men who have since confessed to luring, sexually assaulting and killing the teenager are expected to appear in court sometime this week. (Andrew Carmichael)

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wednesday, September 27, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

WCD hit and run

Causing death accused granted $300,000 bail T he man who allegedly struck and killed Mohammed Ashraff of Lot 155 East Meten-MeerZorg, West Coast Demerara (WCD) was Tuesday granted bail for the offence of causing death by dangerous driving when he appeared at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Courts.

The accused, Asif Azeez denied the accusations when the three charges were read to him by Magistrate

Christel Lambert.

He denied that on September 20 at MetenMeer-Zorg Public Road, WCD, he drove dangerously thereby causing the death of the 61-year-old man.

He further denied that on the same day at the same location, he failed to render assistance to Ashraff. The third charge stated that the accused failed to stop after the accident.

Magistrate Lambert

granted bail in the sum of $300,000 for the causing death charge and placed the defendant on self-bail for the other offences.

He is expected to reappear in court on October 31, 2017.

The body of Ashraff was discovered about 06:30h in a shallow drain with head injuries suspected to be from a vehicular accident.

The 26-year-old Azeez of Seafield, Leonora, WCD,

was later arrested after CCTV footage showed him placing the deceased in the shallow drain after hitting him.

He reportedly told investigators that he was proceeding east along the northern carriageway of the MetenMeer-Zorg Public Road in motor car PMM 321 when the vehicle suddenly veered south and he struck an object but failed to stop.

“Cash Money” found with ganja

A

E s s e q u i b o Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) man, called “Cash Money” was on Tuesday nabbed at a bar with a quantity of marijuana.

Reports are the man was at a popular bar named Cus-Cus, located at Henrietta village on the Essequibo Coast, when ranks swooped down on him based on information received. The man, who

was recently released from jail, attempted to escape when he noticed ranks approaching him.

He was subsequently arrested and a search revealed four small Ziploc bags containing leaves, seeds and

stem in his right side front pants pocket.

He was then taken to the Anna Regina Police Station where the illegal substance was weighed and amounted to four grams. Charges will be instituted soon.

Alternative facts…

O

…on history ne letter writer to the Chronic – who’s also a weekly columnist – made an astounding claim.

Now, in and of itself, this isn’t surprising since it would appear – with the coming of Trump as the leader of the “free world” – this is the age of excesses. Especially when it comes to fact claims. In fact, we’ve now added a new term to our vocabulary – “alternative facts”. Forget the old exhortation about giving “just the facts!”, today it’s a matter of saying whatever serves your purpose and call it “alternative facts”.

So, we come to just ONE of the alternative facts offered by this columnist Braithwaithe in his letter with a caption that was pretty much a letter in itself: “In the absence of anything innovative, the PPP offers lies.” To wit, that “in the pre-independence years…(The PPP) took us down into the shadows of a racial civil war for power, that has divided this country to date.” Wow!! And here it is, just last week. a columnist had reminded us of the now declassified files from the US and UK archives from that era. They leave no doubt about who were responsible for that “civil war”!

But we notice when anyone associated with the PNC refers to that tragic period, somehow they develop a severe case of amnesia about those files. Now dear reader, you don’t have to take the word of your Eyewitness about these files – just hit “Guyana declassified documents” in your Google search engine. There they’ll be – laid out in a tedious trail of memos, letters and records of meetings.

And what are the revealed facts?

Firstly, the US wanted to oust Jagan and the PPP after their embarrassment with Castro, Cuba and Communism and after Jagan’s 1961 visit to Washington to beg JFK for aid, his goose was cooked. It’s all there in black and white… out of the mouth of Kennedy and his “best and brightest” advisers. The CIA was called in and worked with our Trade Union movement to burn down the town in 1962. The CIAsupported public service strike of 1963 was supposed to bring Jagan down to his knees but he rode out that storm.

That Cuba helped with oil shipments to keep the electricity supply going might’ve ended the strike, but it just fortified the US resolve to oust the PPP. That Jagan called the sugar belt strike in 1964 which resulted in widespread ethnic violence was the occasion for the war, not the cause! Like the Greek tragedies of yore, Jagan’s fate was sealed since 1961.

The US and Britain were the Gods that controlled us like puppets on a string!

…on oil contract Civil Society activist Christopher Ram’s clearly a fella on a mission to salvage his credibility for tying bundle with this bunch of incompetent reprobates before the last elections.

Good for him. Unlike some, he’s at least conceding he can make errors of judgement. Not like that other prolific letter writer GHK Lall, who’s now blaming the Guyanese people, rather than the Government, for our miseries.

“We have it too good!” the man says in a letter to the Stabber. One wonders why we elect governments and pay Ministers those multimillion-dollar alaries – not to mention all the perks!! But if the truth be told, Lall’s the one who’s having it GOOD. He doesn’t say he’s now head of the Gold Board!!

Ram’s latest expose is something your humble Eyewitness had been asking for months now: How is it that Trotman could’ve had the royalty changed in the Exxon contract and not touch the rest of the objectionable clauses.

But he’s being kind…it’s not that Trotman didn’t know.

He’s just playing stupid!! …on meats Maduro’s being mocked for distributing rabbits to be reared to provide protein for hungry Venezuelans. So what’s wrong with rabbit stew that Europe loves? China loves dog meat!!

There’s no accounting for taste, no?

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

News

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wednesDAY, september 27, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

President’s land gift

National Assembly must be consulted on land offer – former AG … says offering foreigners land without due process is Executive arrogance

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Former AG Anil Nandlall

resident David Granger’s proclamation that Guyana could offer land to hurricane hit victims in the Caribbean has not gone down well with former Attorney General Anil Nandlall.

According to Nandlall, the President cannot assume the responsibility of offering Guyana’s land to foreigners without due process. This process, Nandlall reminded in a statement on the matter, is consultation with the people’s representatives.

“The President cannot arrogate unto himself the power and authority to of-

fer Guyana’s land mass to foreigners without a word of consultation with or approval of the real owners of these lands – the citizens of Guyana. This issue was discussed with no Guyanese whatsoever.”

It noted also “it was neither raised in nor debated by the Parliament of Guyana.

(Neither) the Opposition Leader nor anyone else was informed or consulted in any manner whatsoever. Are we so unimportant in the President’s mind?

From whence has President Granger derived the authority to offer our patrimony and our sovereign territory to foreigners?”

Nandlall acknowledged that persons affected by the hurricane should be assisted by the Government and pointed out that it was the People’s Progressive Party that had called on the Government to render assistance. But pointing to the thousands of Guyanese still awaiting land, Nandlall affirmed that the President owed the Guyanese people their

President David Granger

input in the decision.

“Significantly, this President has personally revoked over 50 fifty-yearold leases of our rice farmers in Region Five and taken away from them, rice lands from which they earn their livelihood; actions that our constitutional court has declared to be unconstitutional and unlawful.”

This is a reference to the ruling against the Government in the matter of leases which were revoked by the President last year.

The applicants sought justice in the courts and last month, Chief Justice Roxane George, SC, ruled

against the President’s revocation of rice farmers land leases. Deeming it unconstitutional, she also ruled that the farmers are entitled to compensation from the State, amounting to the sum of $300,000.

“Against this factual backdrop, how can this President, who has not held a press conference locally for nearly one year in Guyana, hold a press conference in New York and offer our most important national asset to foreigners without even offering us the courtesy of a consultation.”

President Granger, speaking to members of the local media on the side-lines of a United Nations summit in New York, made the proposal to give the victims of Hurricanes Irma and Maria land in Guyana. According to Granger, this form of humanitarian contribution could be pursued as Guyana has the most land mass in the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

“We are the largest Caribbean Community state and we have to consider our land space as being the hinterland of the Caribbean.

We have to sit down and speak to other Caricom states to see how this gift could be utilised to give the Caribbean people a better life in the wake of these disasters,” he had related.

With Category Five winds and rain, Hurricane Irma was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean.

It has completely devastated Barbuda and affected jurisdictions such as St Maarten, St Barts, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos, and the British Virgin Islands.

Wanted man nabbed with cocaine at Leguan

A

24-year-old Leguan man, who was wanted by Police, was nabbed with 20 grams of cocaine.

Reports indicate the Police was tipped off that the wanted man, Melroy Moore, was a passenger in a speedboat enroute to Leguan Island, Essequibo River. As

such, a party of Policemen went to Success Sea dam and waited for the arrival of the boat. Upon seeing the Police, Moore hurried off the boat and attempted to run but the ranks gave chase and nabbed him.

A subsequent search on his person revealed a transparent plastic bag contain-

ing a substance suspected to be cocaine in his right-side pants pocket. He was taken to the Leguan Police Station where the suspected cocaine was weighed in his presence and amounted to 20 grams.

Moore was reportedly wanted for an offence similar in nature.

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guyanatimesgy.com

wednesday, September 27, 2017

News

Sussex Street drug bond

Procurement Commission called to investigate scandal

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he Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has for the second time approached the Public Procurement Commission (PPC), this time calling for an investigation into a contract inked between the Public Health Ministry and a known financier of the coalition Administration for the use of a Sussex Street, Albouystown house as a storage bond for drugs and medical supplies.

The formal request was made by former Minister within the Finance Ministry, Juan Edghill, who on Monday wrote to PPC Chairperson Carol Corbin, indicating that the political Opposition was demanding “a definitive pronouncement specifically addressing if this award was done in a fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective manner according to our procurement laws.”

The former Government Minister wants the Procurement Commission to investigate specifically how a contract for a bond for the storage of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies was sole-sourced from an entity that did not own and/or operate such a facility and further “how was the company’s primary director, Larry Singh, made aware that a drug bond was needed”.

Given the argument presented by the Health Ministry in defence of the contract –Edghill is also looking to ascertain “who made the decision to sole source and under what circumstances; what was the emergency referred to by the Minister”; and how Linden Holdings Inc was engaged to ink a contract.

Among the other concerns listed in the request for an investigation, the Member of Parliament is questioning why the contract stipulated rental of “office space” and not rental of a pharmaceutical bond and whether the price was fair in terms of market value for similar facilities.

A Cabinet Sub-Committee investigation had recommended the contract be re-negotiated since there were other facilities which could provide the service at a cheaper cost.

Living on the wild side

S

The Sussex Street, Albouystown house that was used as a storage bond for drugs and medical supplies

The Member of Parliament, in his list of queries to the PPC Chairperson, also questioned whether taxpayers were in fact receiving value for money on the $14.5 million monthly arrangement.

The Public Health Ministry had also indicated that the facility adhered to World Health Organisation/Pan American Health Organisation (WHO/ PAHO) standards for facilities used for the storage of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies; as such, compliance has been listed among the concerns.

Edghill is also asking the Procurement Commission to investigate what breaches took place in the procurement process and to identify any recommendations for remedial action and preventative measures for its re-occurrence.

On August 23, 2016, an unsigned copy of the contract was released to the public which illustrated that the rental contract was, in fact, for “office space” and not a bond for the storage of pharmaceuticals.

Edghill recalled that the issue with the Sussex Street bond facility came up for the first time in the National Assembly on August 8, 2016 when the Committee of Supply examined the

supplementary provisions requested by the Government for money for several State agencies and projects.

After multiple questions were asked and concerns raised in mid-August 2016, Minister Raphael Trotman, according to reports from the Department of Public Information, disclosed that a sub-committee was appointed by President David Granger and comprised himself as the Chairman, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon. The committee, after a review, recommended that the contract be renegotiated.

During the debate on the 2017 Budget in December 2016, a parliamentary delegation accompanied by the media visited the bond and found condoms, lubricants and some unused refrigerators, but no pharmaceuticals and medical supplies.

With no further action by the Government, on January 16, 2017, following the news of Minister Volda Lawrence taking responsibility of the Public Health Ministry, the PPP/C repeated its call for the ‘drug bond’ contract to be rescinded.

To date, the Ministry continues to rent the Sussex Street facility.

atiricus was very upset. His wife’s cousin, Manga, had emigrated to Venezuela back in the long, hard guava season of the Burnham years. After years of hard work, the fella thought he could just relax and “throw back”, but it was not to be. Here it was, Chávez and Maduro seemed determined to follow in Burnham’s track, and brought Venezuela to its knees. And sent the fella and family scurrying back to Guyana.

“But you know what was the final straw for Manga?” Satiricus asked his buddies as they settled into their usual routine at the Back Street Bar. “Wha’?” asked Bungi, grinning. “Dem cyaan stan’ fuh eat beans an’ rice eve’y day?”

“That’s the problem!” exclaimed Satiricus. “They can’t get even beans and rice so Maduro gave them rabbit bunnies to rear and eat!”

“But what’s wrong with rabbit?” asked Hari as he picked out a piece of “crekete” cutters and plunked it into his mouth. “Bungi like rabbit!”

“Yeah, wha’ wrang wid rabbit?” demanded Bungi.

“Yuh evah eat roti wid stew rabbit? Ummmmm!” Bungi smacked his lips.

“That’s disgusting!” said Satiricus. “Manga’s kids treated the rabbits like pets. How could you eat your pet?”

“I don’t know about that,” said Hari as he popped another piece of crekete into his mouth. “Didn’t your kids treat that goat we ate last Christmas like a pet?”

“That’s different,” said Satiricus firmly. “The goat wasn’t a real pet like a rabbit.”

“W’at about da turtle soup yuh bin cook?” asked Bungi. “De turtle na bin yuh neigba pet?”

“OK, fellas, I get the point,” admitted Satiricus.

“But you can’t force people to eat things they don’t want to.”

“Budday! W’en yuh hungry, yuh can eat rope and soap!” exclaimed Bungi.

“So if you’re hungry, you could eat rat meat?” demanded Satiricus.

“W’en dem bu’n de cane fiel’,” answered Bungi with a grin. “W’a yuh t’ink abee a do wid dem roas’ rat??”

wednesday, September 27, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

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News

Berbice rape-murder

Wake-up call for communities – Ann Greene

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s Guyana observes Child Protection Week 2017, the country remains in outrage over the recent case where a teenager was lured away, sexually assaulted and murdered in Sisters Village, East Bank Berbice.

In light of this, Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) Director Ann Greene has spoken out against gruesome attacks on minors, noting that it was a wakeup call for communities. This is as the Agency is of the belief that persistent intervention by residents in the area could have prevented the fatal outcome.

Reports revealed that 13-year-old Leonard Archibald, of Brothers Village, was allegedly sodomised and dumped into the Berbice River while still alive, by two allegedly known child predators residing within the area.

Reports are residents in proximity to the location of the attack recalled hearing screams, but failed to report the incident.

In an interview with Guyana Times on Tuesday, Greene indicated that the CCPA has commenced consultations relating to the matter and in doing so, the Agency has met with the family of the now dead teen.

Given the reluctance to alert the authorities despite being alarmed by the screams, the Director posited that the tragedy could have been averted.

On that note, she lamented, “We could’ve gotten a better outcome for this child had the community been more involved and understand their roles and responsibilities. If you know of a predator in your community, that person must be identified, monitored and

CCPA Director Ann Greene

pushed to the criminal justice system.”

Responding to comments that reports were made, all of which were to no avail, Greene argued, “Even if you say you reported to the Police, you best keep reporting this thing until action is taken. Here is where people can come out and stand up at the Police Station demanding action.”

Adding to her calls for intervention at the community level, the CCPA

Hadfield Street chopping

Victim refuses to give evidence, duo freed

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wo men who allegedly chopped a market vendor to his head were both set free after the victim refused to offer evidence against them.

Twenty-year-old Jenel Watlers of Castello Housing Scheme, Georgetown, and 31-year-old Osmond Brummell of Werk-enRust, Georgetown appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Judy Latchman.

They both denied the charge brought against

them which stated that on September 18, 2017 at Cross and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown, they unlawfully and maliciously wounded Wesley Payne.

According to Police Prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves, Payne was seated at his stand the day he was attacked.

He was reportedly approached by the defendants and an argument ensued between the three.

Brummell allegedly pulled out a cutlass and dealt Payne one chop to his

head while Walter attacked the Virtual Complainant (VC) and began punching him to his abdomen.

The VC was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was treated and sent away.

The matter was reported and the two men were both arrested and charged with the offence.

However, in court on Tuesday, the VC told Magistrate Latchman that he did not wish to offer any evidence in the matter.

Director is also urging families to be more vigilant as it regards the welfare of their children. In fact, she noted that they

must not only go into protective mode for the females, but attention must be paid to the males as well.

With the Berbice incident in mind, Greene reiterated that it was a wakeup call for communities and thereby emphasised the need for families, and by extension members of communities to be more invested in the protection and well-being of children, and to even be persistent when necessary.

As such, she underlined, “We got other children out there and we

got to use “out of evil might cometh good”. It is a wakeup call for other communities. You know something, you best say something. You best keep reporting until action is taken. You have a responsibility to keep the children in your community safe.”

Meanwhile, the warning by the CCPA Director coincides with this year’s theme for Child Protection Week, “Partnering with families and communities for positive outcomes for children.”

12 news

wednesDAY, september 27, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Parika fire

Arsonist succumbs after ingesting poison

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ust one day after setting his home on fire, 49-year-old Mohan Persaud succumbed while receiving treatment at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) having ingested a poisonous substance following the incident.

At the time of his demise, the Parika Backdam labourer was under Police guard at the medical institution, suspected to be the perpetrator behind the arson of his family home.

Police investigations revealed that Persaud had returned home from work on Sunday in an intoxicated state, which resulted in a confrontation between himself and his wife. The dispute then ended

Dead: Mohan Persaud

with the man threatening his wife, saying, “‘I will teach you a lesson,” relatives said.

Just after midnight, the woman was awakened by the smell of smoke and discovered that their two-storey wooden home was engulfed in flames. It was only after the family managed to escape the inferno that the labourer indicated that he had consumed a poisonous substance.

As such, he was rushed to the WDRH at about 01:00h on Monday.

The 49-year-old man leaves to mourn his wife and three children, who are now homeless as a result of the fire which burnt their house to the ground.

Police have since confirmed that the fire was intentionally set.

What remains of the Parika Backdam house

Jordan promises intervention in Mackenzie-Wismar bridge issue

F

inance Minister Winston Jordan has made a promise to Lindeners, to relay their concerns to Government as it relates to issues surrounding the deplorable state of the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge at Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Lindeners on Sunday sought the intervention during a ministerial outreach to the mining town.

Linden Municipal Councillor Lennox Gasper and Regional Councillor Gordon Callender were adamant during the outreach, stating that im-

mediate attention should be given to the almost 50-yearold bridge. Through upclose photos, Councillor Gasper recently brought to fore the eroded state of the centre span of the bridge.

The bridge, which serves as the lone link between the Mackenzie and Wismar shores, appears to be severely corroded. The photos which were shared over 100 times on social media renewed calls by citizens for attention to be given to the said bridge. Councillor Callender, who spoke very passionately on the issue during the

outreach, noted that the bridge is presently in a terrible state and on the verge of collapse, as he asked that the issue of the urgent repair of the bridge be taken to Parliament.

“Every other week, monies are spending on that bridge, for some part. It must stop!” the Councillor said, as other residents in attendance chimed in with loud applause. He also made calls for large timber and container trucks to cease use of the bridge, until the situation is repaired, as he pointed out that those sorts of vehicles

are responsible for further damages and deterioration of the structure’s integrity.

Callender suggested those vehicles utilise pantoons or sea cranes in the meantime or until a new bridge is erected. After listening to the concerns raised, Minister Jordan noted that the issue is very “frightening”. He said while he was aware of a design for the construction of a new bridge across the Demerara River, he was unsure as to what point it is currently at and promised to relay concerns to Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson.

“I will ask them to have a team of engineers to come and inspect the bridge...,” the Minister said.

Meanwhile, Councillor Gasper sought answers on how soon the bridge could be returned to the municipality of the Linden Mayor and Town Council (LM&TC), stressing that the Council is currently in serious debt.

Jordan said he had issued instructions for the bridge, currently managed by the Linmine Secretariat and LM&TC to be returned to the municipality. In response, former Chief Executive

Officer (CEO) of the Linmine Secretariat, Horace James, said there were concerns over the capacity of the past Council to continue the bridge project and a formula which would mean more benefit for the municipality was arrived at.

According to James, all information was passed on to the present Council and the municipality was included on the bridge committee. In the meantime, James said continuous regular maintenance is being carried out at the bridge so as to ensure that it stays in regular operation.

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wednesDAY, september 27, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Child Protection Week Govt still on course for constitutional reform – Trotman CCPA targets community

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espite the delay, Government is insisting that it remains committed to constitutional reform. This is according to Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman.

Trotman, who was at the time addressing attendees at the recent University of Guyana’s ninth round of Tain and Turkeyen Talks, affirmed that it was a campaign promise the Government intended to keep.

“The Government of Guyana has made efforts to keep this matter on the front burner; we did make a manifesto promise for constitutional reform. We have worked on the Constitutional Reform Consultative Commission Bill, which is a large measure taken from the 1998 bill which was crafted during the Seventh Parliament,” Minister Trotman explained.

“I believe that it is all of our responsibility – Government, Opposition, civil society, academia, youth, women – all of us, we all have that equal responsibility. And (the Bill) is now with the review com-

lic consultations.

The Bill allows for President David Granger to appoint two constitutional law experts. Eleven of the other members will be nominated by the parliamentary parties; trade union movement; organisations representing Guyanese youths; the Guyana Bar Association; the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers; Christian, Muslim, and Hindu organisations; and the National Toshaos’ Council.

Cummingsburg Accord

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman

mittee of Parliament,” he continued.

The move to have the Bill debated at a Parliamentary Select Committee level is seen as a major step to assist with constitutional reform, something that the coalition Government promised during its election campaign, to deliver.

According to the draft bill, the Consultative Commission will be made up of 15 members. The establishment of this Commission will allow for some 100 countrywide pub-

The agreement made in the Cummingsburg Accord regarding constitutional reform was bolder, affirming that: the President should be elected by a majority of electors; there should be separate elections for the presidency and National Assembly; executive powers should be shared between the President, Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

The political Opposition, led by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, as well as British High Commissioner Gregory Quinn have been critical of the slow pace of enacting constitutional reform.

awareness

H

aving recognised the need for community involvement in ensuring the welfare of Guyanese children, the Social Protection Ministry, through the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), has launched its annual Child Protection Week with this year’s events targeting awareness, particularly within communities.

The Week, which kicked off on September 25, will see the staging of a number of public sessions with the aim of zooming in on awareness at the grassroots level.

While speaking with Guyana Times on Tuesday, CCPA Director Ann Greene expressed delight in the execution of yet another Child Protection Week. In doing so, Greene outlined what could be expected during the Week.

“Generally, the activities are to heighten the awareness level of child abuse.

We want the public to be more involved, understand and change their behaviour and attitude towards child abuse,” relayed the Director.

In order to achieve this mission, she indicated, “We want to give you information, to bring you aware of

Essequibo teens charged for smoking ganja

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wo teenagers from Onderneeming Sandpit in Region Two (Pomeroon- Supenaam) were on Tuesday charged for smoking cannabis.

The duo made their first appearance before Magistrate Ester Sam at the

Anna Regina Magistrate's Court.

Travis Francis, 17, a labourer, and Keron Chappel, 16, also a labourer, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

According to the prosecution, on September 23, 2017, they were caught

smoking the illegal substance. During the first hearing, Chappel was released into the custody of his aunt, and Francis was granted $3000 bail. The case will be called again on October 14, 2017.

A public awareness session being hosted in observation of Child Protection Week 2017

the plight of children who suffer abuse.”

The CCPA Director went on to underline the theme of Child Protection Week 2017 “Partnering with families and communities for positive outcomes for children”, noting that it was formulated based on recent reports of threats against children in Guyana. “…the reason why we came up with that theme is because of recognising that enough is not being done at the community level and the events of the last couple of days with that young man (Berbice teen raped and murdered) says it, that we are right on target. So, it is a fitting theme for Child Protection Week this year.”

The Director underscored that the Agency was reliant on a productive partnership with families and, by extension, the community, thereby emphasising the need for education to ensure the necessary interventions.

“Communities need to be much more conscious and aware that they have a responsibility for the safety of

the children. We need much more assistance for the families and communities. Child protection starts with the family. For us, the community is our eyes and ears. We know of a child being abused when somebody tell is because we are not there in every community,” the CCPA Director conveyed.

With that, she stressed that activities would commence at the community level. Thus far, several awareness sessions have been conducted in and around Georgetown. These include public awareness booths being set up at various hotspots, outreaches conducted at medical centres and sessions being hosted in schools.

The staging of the Child Protection Week aligns with the overall mandate of the Agency which is to prevent, reduce and alleviate the effects of abuse and neglect of children by the provision of effective services, reflecting their rights, particularly among communities and within their family circle.

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wednesDAY, september 27, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Commuters stranded again as DHB connecting post breaks …Evening News video editor injured, bike damaged cause this is the afternoon peak hour and we will do our best to ensure it is rectified as soon as possible,” Adams explained in an earlier interview.

About 17:15h, the post was fully repaired and the Bridge opened to vehicular traffic. However, since the incident occurred around peak rush hour traffic, vehicles were backed up a long way and the congestion lasted until late evening.

“My life flashed before me”

Demerara Harbour Bridge General Manager Rawlston Adams

Aggrey Halley following the incident

By Lakhram Bhagirat

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ersons using the Demerara Harbour Bridge were subjected to an unplanned closure, at approximately 15:30h on Tuesday when a connecting post broke off resulting in the integrity of the structure being compromised.

Demerara Harbour Bridge General Manager Rawlston Adams said that a connecting post broke at span 31-32. The broken post would have seriously affected the integrity of the structure so it had to be replaced immediately.

Adams, in an interview with Guyana Times, explained that the engineers would often use the re-

traction time to make minor repairs and change the damaged posts on the Bridge, but there was no indication that the particular post needed to be changed.

“This one just broke and because of the severity of the breakage, we can’t delay it until tomorrow’s (today’s) retraction so we have to intervene immediately.

These are metal structures and they can fail; they can show a crack and fail during normal operations when vehicles are transiting the Bridge,” he explained.

He said that the repairs would take approximately one hour, but lamented the traffic build-up on the East and West Banks of the Demerara River.

“That from experience would tell us that there would be a serious backup of traffic on the East Bank (Demerara) and on the West Side (West Bank Demerara), be-

Meanwhile, Evening News Video Editor Aggrey Halley, who was on the Bridge at the time, said that his life flashed before his eyes when his motorcycle, CJ 1810, began tumbling down the high span on the DHB and came to a stop after it slammed into a canter truck, GPP 6619.

“Around 3 pm (15:00h), I was heading east on the Bridge when a lorry was heading in the opposite direction. Because of the weight, the plate lifted up like about two feet and I was pitched from my bike and began to roll down the high span,” he explained.

The traumatised man added that it all happened so quickly that all he could have done was try to move out of the way of oncoming traffic after he stopped tumbling down, to preserve his life. He further related that after he stopped tumbling, the bike continued skating and slammed into the canter truck damaging both vehicles.

“There was no bridge person-

The Demerara Harbour Bridge

nel on site when this happened although there is a security hut there. It took them about 10-15 minutes to come to the site and all the while the Bridge was moving up and down causing the traffic to stop,” Halley explained.

The father of one related that his motorcycle was purchased three months ago and was his only mode of transportation for his family. He added that he lived in a remote area of the Schoonord Housing Scheme on the West Bank of Demerara and transportation was quite difficult to access.

Halley sustained several bruises about his body, his shirt was

torn and he has a sprained right ankle, limiting his movements thus hindering his productivity.

He says he is in tremendous pain.

“I could have died there, because there was traffic on both sides and I was in the middle of the Bridge. I have a young child and all I could have thought about is my family and being safe. The Demerara Harbour Bridge need to be more proactive in ensuring the safety of their users,” Halley urged.

Meanwhile, the General Manager of the DHB has scheduled a meeting with Halley for today.

15 Ramsammy’s Ruminations news

wednesDAY, september 27, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Border controversy

Guyana looks forward to successful resolution – President

…remains committed to UN process

P

resident David Granger has reiterated his Government’s commitment to the course of action outlined by former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon regarding the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy.

He made this clear during his meeting with incumbent Secretary General, António Guterres on Monday.

In a special interview in New York earlier Tuesday, the President said that the engagement with Guterres offered an opportunity to seek clarification and to be updated on the progress that has been made thus far.

“Yesterday’s meeting was largely what you will call a situational report and a commitment on the part of Guyana to remain engaged…

We will continue to exchange views with the intention of bringing this matter to a successful closure,” President Granger is quoted as saying by the Ministry of the Presidency.

Before demitting office last year, the former Secretary General, in his assessment on the way forward, declared that the matter would be referred to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) if significant progress was not made by the end of 2017.

Moreover, Guyana has been cooperating fully with the

President David Granger exchanges a handshake with UN Secretary General António Guterres

Secretary General’s Personal Representative, Norwegian diplomat Dag Nylander, who has been working closely with the Guyanese and Venezuelan Governments.

In his address to world leaders at the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, President Granger explained that Guyana remained imperilled as a result of Venezuela’s claims to its territory. “Guyana warns the world, through this Assembly, that peace will be at stake in our Region if justice does not become ascendant, not only within Venezuela, but also in respect to its border controversy with Guyana,” he said to

the Assembly.

For decades, Venezuela has laid claim to nearly twothirds of Guyana’s landmass – the Essequibo.

The border controversy, which was not on Venezuela’s front burner for several years after being first officially mooted in 1962, was reignited by the country, when US oil giant ExxonMobil began exploratory works in the Stabroek Block offshore the Essequibo.

With Guyana on the verge of becoming a lucrative oil-producing nation, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro issued a decree purporting to claim the majority of Guyana’s waters.

The decree was seen as a flagrant violation of international law and was inconsistent with the principle that all States should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other States.

In an effort to defend its sovereignty, Guyana made it clear to the Venezuelan Government that the Essequibo and its offshore waters belong to Guyana, and strengthened its push for judicial settlement of the issue, as the Good Officer Process had yielded little result. The border between the countries was set by an international tribunal in 1899, in an award the parties, including Venezuela, had agreed would be the final settlement. Since the belligerence from Venezuela, moves have been made by the international community, including the UN Secretary General, to push for a peaceful resolution of the issue.

President Granger and President Maduro had met with the former UN Secretary General for the first time in September 2015 to discuss the controversy.

It was decided by Ban that the two countries would return to the Good Officer Process for a period of one year. However, if no progress is made by the end of this year, the matter would be referred to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Primary School Teachers’ Jeopardy

Region 10 dethrones Region 4, Georgetown smashed

The winning team from Region 10

T

he Education Ministry in association with Hodder Education out of the United Kingdom hosted its second Primary School Teachers’ Jeopardy Competition at the Pegasus on Tuesday and defending champions Region Four was dethroned by Region 10.

Prior to the actual competition, Hodder Education representative Teeka Chunilall said that they were proud to partner with the Ministry to host the competition. He noted that Hodder was one of the largest publishers in the world.

Meanwhile, National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD) Director Jennifer Cumberbatch called for greater collaboration between students and teachers in the form of introducing more games, as a learning activity, in the classroom.

She urged the teachers present to use the competition as a reference for organ-

ising activities that are more exciting so they could capture the attention of the students.

Competition

The second annual Primary School Teachers’ Jeopardy Competition saw an overconfident Georgetown team being destroyed by the calm team out of Region 10 in the final jeopardy round.

Teams from Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, 10 and Georgetown took part in this year’s competition. The Primary School Teachers’ Jeopardy Competition started in 2016 when the Education Ministry teamed up with Hodder Education. The eight teams of three members each were subjected to a preliminary round with the teams with the top three scores advancing to the final round.

Region One was represented by

Jocelyn Albert, Ingrid Harris and Althea Forde; Region Two by Yasmin Katim, Martin Samaroo and Dhaneshwari Indranie; Region Three by Chevon Washington and Rakesh Ramsamuj; Region Four by Pravina St Davis, Melinna Matthews and Shamiyah Shawh; Region Five by Verla Alfred, Felicia Booker and Valencia La Rose; Region Six by Nisha Deroop, Roger Wilson and Pamela Mootoo; Region 10

by Cehryl Wills, Fernand McCloud and Pamela Cummings; and Georgetown represented by Wendy Johnson, Kitindi Austin and Winston Noel.

At the end of the preliminary round, Georgetown had 2600 points, Region 10 had 1900 and defending champions Region Four 2800 points. The Region 10 team then took over the lead.

The final Jeopardy category was Education Month with the question being the theme for Education Month 2016 – requiring the contestants to write the complete theme.

At this juncture, Region 10 had 7900 points while Georgetown had 6900 and Region 4 4400. They wagered 900, 6900 and 4000 points respectively. Then came the decisive moment with none of the teams getting the correct answer, which was “Each Child Matters: Stakeholders Unite for the Enhancement of Education”.

This resulted in Region Four being dethroned and Georgetown walking away with no points.

All participants of the competition were awarded small tokens and a certificate of participation.

APNU/AFC is drowning in a cesspool of lies – drowning in the belly of corruption

T

he A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) is drowning in a cesspool of outlandish, clumsy and instantly exposed lies. They are drowning because that cesspool is a consequence of a belly of corruption.

Every day, there is another lie and, every day, there is another corruption exposed.

Last week, in a published commentary (see my FB page), I referenced the mindboggling corruption of a sole-sourced contract for the Dr Leslie Ramsammy Demerara Harbour Bridge feasibility study. Since May 2015, there has been an unprecedented proportion of large contracts that have been sole-sourced. Sole-sourcing is now not only a common practice, it is APNU/AFC’s preferredmethod for procurement.

Having been exposed by diligent work by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and Gail Teixeira, the PPP Parliamentary Whip; Minister Patterson, a senior member of the APNU/AFC Cabinet, tried to respond by blatantly lying.

He informed the Guyanese people that the $146 million sole-sourced contract was paid for by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). He now admits that the IDB was not involved in the Demerara Harbour Bridge feasibility study, insisting he got his bridge wrong and that he was referring to the Wismar Bridge. The Wismar Bridge assertion is now also proven false. We should not be fooled, it was a deliberate, just-plain stupid lie, seeking cover from the IDB. Minister Patterson had hoped that by invoking the IDB, the sole-sourcing scandal will have international imprimatur and reduce public scrutiny. Not only has he been caught blatantly lying again, he also owes the IDB an apology for assaulting its integrity.

Minister Patterson’s clumsy ruse, using the IDB for cover, failed to rescue his APNU/AFC colleagues. They have been caught red-handed once again, for the umpteenth time, with their hands in the bag. When will they learn they cannot live for a sustained period in a cesspool of lies? They are presently lying about procurements, sugar, rice, gold, oil, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), harassment of political opponents and public servants, Amerindian landtitling, the politicisation of the Judiciary and the security forces, constitutional bodies like the Local Government Commission and the Integrity Commission, etc.

The Demerara Harbour Bridge IDB lie is truly clumsy, but it is also a manifestation of the gross and unfathomable level of incompetence that paints this Government. Incompetence, unfortunately, is a staple for APNU/AFC. Just as we can identify a stupid lie, another corruption every day, we can also identify another example of incompetence each and every day, just as frequent as blackouts and medicine shortages.

The recent cancellation of the contract for the construction of the Diamond Vehicular Overpass is a prime example of incompetence. Patterson explains that the cancellation of the contract to build Guyana’s first vehicular overpass was because the land where the overpass would have ended on the western end was sold by “somebody” before the APNU/AFC took over the Government in 2015. I do not know if this is true or not, but it does not matter.

What matters is the frightening incompetence surrounding this contract. For a vehicular overpass to be constructed, some kind of feasibility study must have been conducted. For a Government to embark on a tendering and contracting process, they must have known where the overpass would be constructed and whether the land was available. This was done, for instance, with the Berbice Bridge. The PPP knew from the feasibility study that the land where the bridge was to be constructed involved a number of house lots occupied by residents. Those lands were acquired and Moses Nagamootoo was the lawyer representing Government. This was done before any tendering and contracting process to build the access road. It is a simple, basic and well-known requirement. But for APNU/AFC, this is too complicated and way beyond their competence level.

The fact is that their incompetence is so stark they cannot wiggle out of the cesspool they are drowning in.

Making lying about everything an integral component of its governance blueprint is political malfeasance. We will soon hear President Granger lying in his justification of his delay in the appointment of the GECOM Chairman. Minister Norton will soon lie as he justifies the redirection of Basic Needs Funds to support his political work in the Amerindian community in 2018. APNU/AFC is drowning Guyana in its belly of corruption, nothing less.

16

guyanatimesgy.com

WednesDAY, september 27, 2017

News

Wales severance

Workers send petition to President – matter still to be called in High Court

The letter that the workers sent to the President in late July

By Shemuel Fanfair

A

fter almost nine months since the shutdown of the Wales Sugar factory, several employees are coping with life without having being paid their severance benefits. This matter was filed by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) in the High Court some five months ago but is yet to be called up for proceedings in which legal arguments would be heard on both sides. Sugar worker Vishnu Jailall, on behalf of his fellow unpaid employees, sent a signed petition to President David Granger, in late July urging him to ensure that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) meets its legal obligations to

provide the aggrieved workers with their severance benefits.

In the letter, Jailall contended that the payments should be paid as the Corporation had made the workers’ jobs redundant. In the petition signed by over 30 other cane cutters and transporters, the former employees observed the benefits the sugar production has given to the country. They cited the challenges they have faced, since they had not taken up employment at Uitvlugt.

“We have peacefully requested our severance pay and our Union has applied for same legitimately but the Corporation has refused to pay us the same. This is a breach of law,” a section of the petition stated.

President Granger in a responding letter to the petition in early August acknowledged the concerns of the workers and observed that Agriculture Minister Noel Holder would have tendered a response to the former employees.

“I have forwarded the request to the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Noel Holder, for his attention.

The Minister will examine the request and respond to you,” an excerpt from the President’s August 8 letter stated.

However, in an interview with Guyana Times earlier this week, Jailall explained that Minister Holder has not followed through with the President’s commitment.

Several workers had their service transferred to Uitvlugt Sugar Estate but the remaining workers were promised severance payments; some since December 2016 and others by February 2017. After this period elapsed, GuySuCo contended that all of the workers who requested severance were paid. As such, the workers who did not agree to accept their severance within the stipulated timeframe have not been paid and were supposedly “left in the wilderness”, as described by GAWU’s General Secretary, Seepaul Narine.

Workers formerly attached to the Wales Estate have long contended that they cannot be compelled to travel beyond 10 miles from their previous working place

Sugar workers signed a petition calling on the President to intervene in their severance matter

and had demanded severance. However at a community-level meeting between Wales residents and several Government Ministers, including Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan told the worker earlier this year that Government had no money to pay the severance to which the workers are entitled.

In May, Guyana Times reported that attorney for GAWU, Ashton Chase SC, compiled and filed documents for the matter regarding the non-payment of severance packages to hundreds of sugar workers to be

called up at the High Court.

This situation was deemed unusual as GAWU had filed a number of court actions, none which, it noted, had taken such lengthy periods of time before being called up for hearings, whether at the preliminary stage or for full trials.

“It is not normal for matters to take so long; we don’t know what is the reason.

We would all like [the case to be heard] immediately.

Workers are being affected and it’s in the interest of all to get it called,” the GAWU General Secretary told this publication last month.

The Wales Estate closure was rationalised by

Government as a cost-saving measure due to billions of dollars that was allocated to the declining sugar industry. Since then, the scaling down of other estates across the country has been announced. Many stakeholders had however called for social impact studies to be carried out to assess how communities across the sugar belt would be affected by the closures. Some estimates have pegged a figure of some 10,000 sugar workers being directly affected by estate closures, in addition to their family members and the local economies that depend on the sugar industry.

Army must prepare to counter Former St Vincent Opposition Leader plans to run in next election US ‘threats’ – Maduro

S

V

enezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro called on his army Tuesday to ready their weapons to defend the country in an escalating war of words with US President Donald Trump.

Maduro joined his army top brass at a military exercise near the northern city of Maracay, where he reminded them of their obligation to defend the country.

“We have been shamelessly threatened by the most criminal empire that ever existed and we have the obligation to prepare ourselves to guarantee peace,” said Maduro, wearing an olive green uniform and a military hat.

Maduro’s speech came two days after Trump signed a decree adding a raft of top Venezuelan officials to a travel ban encompassing eight countries that Washington says pose a security threat.

The US in August

t Vincent and the Grenadines’ former Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace has signalled he still has political life, declaring plans to contest the next general election.

Last November, the veteran politician who led the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) in the last three

general elections handed over the reins of the party to Goodwin Friday.

However, he held on as Member of Parliament for East Kingstown and has announced that he will be going after the seat for a sixth time.

Eustace, 73, made the announcement on his party’s New Times programme

on NICE Radio.

He promised to discuss that and other issues at a later date. In reaction, political rival Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves scoffed at the idea, warning that the United Labour Party’s Senator Luke Browne would give Eustace a sound beating at the next poll. (Caribbean360)

Caricom calls for new approach to dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro

banned American financial institutions from lending new money to Venezuela’s government or its state oil company PDVSA. It has also imposed financial sanctions on Maduro and about 20 top officials.

Last week, Trump told the UN General Assembly that the US was ready to act to restore democracy to

Venezuela, after months of deadly protests and economic chaos.

Maduro has tried to consolidate control, including through a new Constituent Assembly that has wrested power from the opposition-dominated legislature, a move heavily criticised by the international community. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

C

hairman of the Caribbean C o m m u n i t y (Caricom) grouping, Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, Tuesday called on the region to re-think the “whole process” for dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster.

Mitchell, along with Caricom Secretary General Irwin la Rocque and the president of the Barbados-based

Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr Warren Smith, toured several areas devastated by Hurricane Maria when it slammed into Dominica last Monday, killing at least 27 people and causing widespread destruction estimated at billions of dollars.

He said that given the situation where the Caribbean has been hit by several hurricanes in the recent past, it

is not now a question of if, but when.

“A lot of the things Dominica is going through today, probably should not have to go through it. There should almost be a system that takes off automatically. I am convinced that we have to do more than we have done,” he told reporters in the presence of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.

(Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

wednesDAY, september 27, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the World

Saudi King issues decree allowing women to drive

S

audi King Salman on Tuesday ordered that women be allowed to drive cars, state media said, ending the conservative Islamic kingdom’s status as the only country where that is forbidden.

The royal decree ordered the formation of a ministerial body to give advice within 30 days and then implement the order by June 2018, according to state news agency SPA. It stipulated that the move must “apply and adhere to the necessary Sharia standards”, without providing details, and said a

Saudi activist Manal Al Sharif, who now lives in Dubai, driving her car in the Gulf Emirate city on October 22, 2013, as she was campaigning in solidarity with Saudi women

majority of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars had approved its permissi-

bility.

Saudi Arabia has been widely criticized for being

the only country in the world that bans women from driving, despite ambitious government targets to increase their public role, especially in the workforce.

Women in the kingdom are also bound by law to wear long robes and a headscarf and require the consent of a male guardian for most legal actions.

The kingdom has been opening more areas for women through the government’s modernising reforms, which have sparked tensions with influential clerics upon whose support the ruling family relies. (Reuters)

Dominica seeking US$100M agreement with World Bank

P

rime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said Tuesday he is negotiating with the World Bank for US$100 million in loans and grants to help the island undertake recovery work following the passage of Hurricane Maria last week.

Speaking at the daily news briefing, Skerrit said that the Washington-based financial institution has already agreed to US$64 mil-

17

lion in loans and grants “and I am negotiating for them to take it to US$100 million.

“They have asked me to come to Washington to further negotiate this package.

I told them I would come if they will take it to 100 million, so we are trying to push them to take it to US$100 million in a combination of grants and loans,” Skerrit told reporters.

He said that the island

had received US$19 million from the Catastrophic Risk Insurance Policy and deposited at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) and that a number of governments and agencies have been making commitments since the hurricane struck the island last Monday.

He sought to reassure citizens that food supplies were being received and would be

distributed throughout the island as he urged people with transportation to assist in getting the supplies to needy communities.

Skerrit said he was sending a letter to the University of the West Indies urging that it does not take any action that would hamper the Dominican students there from continuing to pursue their education. (Excerpt from Jamaica

Brazil revokes decree opening Amazon reserve to mining

T

he Brazilian Government has revoked a controversial decree that would have opened up a vast reserve in the Amazon to commercial mining. The area, covering 46,000 square km (17,800 square miles), straddles the northern states of Amapa and Para.

It is thought to be rich in gold, iron, manganese and other minerals. From the moment President Michel Temer signed the decree in August opening the reserve to commercial mining, it was widely condemned.

Activists and celebrities voiced concern that the area could be badly compromised.

One Opposition senator, Randolfe Rodrigues of the Sustainability Network party, said at the time that it was the "biggest attack on the Amazon in the last 50 years".

Following the criticism, the government revised the decree, prohibiting mining in conservation or Indigenous areas.

But a court later suspended the measure altogether, saying any change to the reserve's status had to be considered by the Brazilian congress. On Monday, the government decided to scrap the decree.

It said it would reconsider the issue in the future, in a wider debate.

"Brazil needs to grow and create jobs, attract mining investment, and even tap the economic potential of the region," said the Mines and Energy Ministry in a statement.

The BBC's South America correspondent Katy Watson says this is a victory for environmentalists and a climb-down for the Government. (BBC News)

Tillerson to meet Cuba's Foreign Minister in Washington as tensions climb

Observer)

Angola swears in Joao Lourenco as President

President Joao Lourenco takes over from Jose Eduardo dos Santos, left, who ruled Angola for almost four decades

J

oao Lourenco has been sworn in as president of Angola, becoming the first new leader in the oil-rich southern African nation in almost four decades.

Lourenco, 63, took over on Tuesday from Jose Eduardo

dos Santos, who ruled the former Portuguese colony for 38 years.

The Portuguese news agency Lusa said thousands of people were on hand for the inauguration, which ended with a military pa-

rade and a 21-gun salute.

The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) has governed since Angola's hard-fought independence from Portugal in 1975, with Dos Santos taking power in 1979.

The party won 61 per cent of the vote in August, a sharp drop in support from the previous election in 2012 as the country remains in the grip of an economic crisis prompted by the fall in oil prices.

"Employment, poverty alleviation, promotion of opportunities and business policies will be implemented," Lourenco said, adding he would govern for "all Angolans".

Opposition parties boycotted the inauguration after denouncing "irregularities" in the election, saying the ballot was marred by unfair media coverage and suppression of Opposition voters.

The election commission dismissed the opposition complaints. This month UNITA, the main opposition party, dropped its threat to refuse to attend parliament over its complaints, while the Constitutional Court dismissed its case alleging election flaws.

Lourenco will be Angola's first head of state to be constitutionally limited to serving two five-year terms. (Excerpt

from Al Jazeera)

Japan's PM announces snap election amid NK crisis

P

rime Minister Shinzo Abe will send voters to the polls more than a year ahead of schedule after announcing snap parliamentary elections in Japan.

Abe plans to dissolve the lower house on Thursday, according to a senior legislator of Shinzo's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), setting up for a vote that could take place as early as October 22.

The Prime Minister, whose ratings have risen to about 50 per cent from about 30 per cent in July, made the announcement amid threats from North Korea's government, who launched two missiles over Japan's northern island of Hokkaido in recent weeks.

"There does seem to be a feeling that he is a strong leader, a safe pair of hands, this is a time to rally around him, so he does seem to be

using that opportunity," Al Jazeera's Rob McBride reported from Tokyo.

Opposition parties have criticised the vote as a way for Abe's to avoid recent scandals, including allegations of cronyism, which representatives promised to address on Thursday.

The Prime Minister's plan to dissolve the lower house this week would "rather conveniently for some perhaps, [put] all

these allegations on hold for a few weeks", said McBride.

Despite Abe's recent popularity, an LDP internal survey showed that seats for the Prime Minister's party and coalition partner Komeito could drop to 280 from 323 in the election, as reported by Nikkei newspaper on Saturday. Reforms enacted last year will reduce the number of lower house seats to 465 from 475. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson listens to remarks at the Security Council meeting on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction at the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, US, September 21, 2017

U

S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez later on Tuesday, the Department of State said, at a time of heightening tensions between the old Cold War foes.

Their meeting in Washington comes ten days after Tillerson said the United States was considering closing its embassy in Havana, in response to alleged incidents causing physical harm such as hearing loss and nausea in US personnel.

Cuba has denied any involvement in the incidents, which have threatened its already fragile detente with its northern neighbour.

Rodriguez last week urged the US not to politicise the matter and to cooperate

with the investigation.

The US is also expected to soon issue more restrictive regulations on trade with and travel to Cuba, following President Donald Trump’s announcement in June that he was partially rolling back the detente agreed by his predecessor Barack Obama with the Communist-run island.

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week, Trump called Cuba “corrupt and destabilising” and said he would not lift the US trade embargo on the Caribbean nation until it made “fundamental reforms”. Cuba described his comments as “unacceptable and meddling”.

Tillerson and Rodriguez are scheduled to meet at 1700 ET. (Excerpt from Reuters)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

wednesDAY, september 27, 2017

ARCHIE

ARIES

Nurture important rela-

(March 21- tionships by taking the time April 19) to listen to complaints or re-

quests carefully and doing your best to accommodate the ones you love. Hard work will bring rewards.

Take time to think mat-

TAURUS ters through before you make a (April 20- move. Acting in haste will leave May 20) you in a precarious position that

dilbert

could influence how you get along with your peers.

Changes at home or to GEMINI (May 21- your lifestyle should be made June 20) to encourage less spending.

Look for ways to cut your overhead and ease the stress you’ve been feeling.

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

Forge ahead with what’s most important to you, and start making the necessary adjustments to achieve your aims. Talk to the people you feel are best suited to helping you reach your goals.

A personal change should be based on your needs and not the product of you trying to appease someone heading in a different direction. The less said, the less interference you’ll encounter.

You are best off thinking VIRGO matters through and coming (Aug. 23up with alternatives that can Sept. 22) help smooth over any differences you have with those you live or work with.

Do what you can to get LIBRA (Sept. 23- ahead. Working on your own Oct. 23) will be your best choice. Take

care of your personal and financial obligations before it’s close to impossible to do so.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

Talk is cheap. If someone SCORPIO promises you something, get (Oct. 24it in writing. A change of heart Nov. 22) will open a door to new opportunities. Celebrate with someone you love.

Ease into anything you SAGITTARIUS want to pursue. Getting all (Nov. 23- the facts and considering how Dec. 21) you can take care of delicate matters without disrupting plans or a relationship will be essential.

A little fix-me-up will do CAPRICORN you good. Whether you make (Dec. 22- physical changes or you alter Jan. 19) things at home, the results will lift your spirits if you stay within budget.

solution for LAST PUBLISHED Puzzle Personal changes can be AQUARIUS made, as long as you are rea(Jan. 20- sonable in your expectations Feb. 19) and practical about what you are trying to accomplish.

Listen to someone who loves you.

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Personal improvements PISCES (Feb. 20- can be made. Set your sights March 20) on your goals, and start making them come true. A financial gain looks promising.

Romance is highlighted.

WEDNESDAY, september 27, 2017

19

Stokes arrested after

nightclub incident E

ngland's Ben Stokes and Alex Hales will play no part in the fourth EnglandWest Indies ODI after the all-rounder (Stokes) was arrested in Bristol.

In a statement on Tuesday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed Stokes was held overnight by police following an incident in the early hours of Monday morning, before being

released under investigation without charge.

Hales, who was with Stokes, has voluntarily returned to Bristol in order to help police with their enquiries. There is no suggestion that the Nottinghamshire player is guilty of any wrongdoing.

The ECB confirmed neither player would be available for Wednesday's match at The Oval.

Both Stokes and

Hales were absent as England began training in London on Tuesday.

According to reports, neither man will be considered for the fifth ODI on Friday.

England played the Windies in Bristol on Sunday, with Stokes scoring 73 runs as the hosts secured a 124-run win to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their ODI series, with two games to play.

The timing of

the incident is notable with England set to announce their Test squad to tour Australia on Wednesday.

Stokes is currently vice-captain in the five-day format to Joe Root, while Hales has been considered an outside shot to fill the uncertain batting slots in England's line-up.

England director of cricket Andrew Strauss was quoted by ESPNCricinfo as saying: "I went to

see Ben last night [Monday] down in Bristol. I will be addressing players this afternoon after practice.

"We will obviously be launching our own investigation into the circumstances surrounding this. The Ashes selection will be going ahead as planned."

Stokes was arrested and cautioned for abusive behaviour in 2011, and was sent home from a Lions tour in 2013 for "contravening conduct obligations".

An Avon and Somerset Police statement, released after the ECB confirmed Stokes' arrest, appealed for witnesses to "a disorder in the Queens Road or Clifton

Ben Stokes (left) and Alex Hales will miss today’s ODI after they were arrested in Bristol

Triangle area of Bristol at around 2:35am" on Monday.

The police statement read: "A 27-year-old man suffered facial injuries and was taken to the Bristol Royal Infirmary for treat-

ment.

"A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and has since been released under investigation while enquiries continue." (ESPN

Turbo Knock-out Darts champions football tournament attracts 16 teams Fitzgerald, Chandro Cricinfo)

create history in Brazil G

– out-of-Georgetown teams included Co-Director of the Petra Organisation, Troy Mendonca (centre) receives the sponsorship cheque from Guyana Beverage Inc General Manager, Robert Selman while Brand Manager Samuel Arjoon (far left) and GFF President Wayne Forde (3rd left) look on

A

s the Petra Organization seek to rejuvenate football in Georgetown, they have now partnered with the Guyana Beverage Inc. (GBI) through their Turbo energy drink brand to host a knock-out tournament.

At the launch ceremony which took place on Tuesday afternoon at the soft drink company’s headquarters in Diamond, East Bank Demerara, co-director of Petra, Troy Mendonca paid homage to the company which he noted has been avid supporters of football in Guyana.

“The Guyana Beverage Inc. coming on board with this tournament is a shot in the arm for football in Georgetown,” Mendonca said. He pointed out that this partnership bodes well for his organization’s attempt at rejuvenating football in the city.

He revealed that 16 teams will be participating in the tournament with 11 coming from Georgetown, two from West Coast of Demerara, two from East Coast of Demerara and one from Linden.

Meanwhile, GFF President Wayne Forde singled out the company for its “continued sterling contribution to football development over the years” as he noted that it brings him pleasure to see the partnership with the Petra organization bear fruit with

the “Turbo Knock-out” competition.

Forde expressed hope that the sponsorship of the tournament will encourage other corporations to come on board and help with the nurturing of the sport. He also underscored the fact that the Petra organization continue to be a beacon in the sport and noted that the GFF cannot do it alone; he wished the parties good luck in advance for the tournament.

General Manager of GBI, Robert Selman noted that his company’s continued support of sports in Guyana is their way of giving back to the community as they (GBI) want to ensure that the youths are kept gainfully occupied.

Brand Manager of Turbo, Samuel Arjoon in his brief remarks noted that sports plays an important role in the lives of society and revealed that the Turbo brand is pleased to be a part of this investment as they are contributing to the development of sport through the sponsorship.

The tournament is set to begin on Wednesday, October 4, with the venues to announced at a later date.

The Turbo Knock-out competition comes on the heels of the highly successful Corona Beer Invitational cup which was won by Police FC recently.

Making history: Sudesh Fitzgerald became the first non-Brazilian darts player to win the Men’s Open title

uyana’s darts team returned on Tuesday following a successfully campaign at the 2017 Professional Darts Corporation’s (PDC) World Championship qualifiers held in Palmas, Brazil, winning titles in the open and Mixed Doubles categories.

Led by national champion Sudesh Fitzgerald, the team which consist of; Luiz Miguel RamirezMerlano, Terrence Joseph, Lallchand Rambharose and Victorine Chandro returned on Tuesday afternoon at the Eugene Correria International Airport, Ogle, where along with Guyana Darts Association (GDA) President Sheik Yassen engaged in talks with media operatives.

Fitzgerald, a national champion almost a decade now, became the first non-Brazilian player to win the coveted Brasilia Professional Championship Open title; beating off the likes of Bruno Rangel (2nd), Kevin Jacob (3rd), world ranked Diego Portela (4th) and Sven Costa Schneider.

The local marksman then paired up with Chandro to claim the Mixed Doubles title before Fitzgerald teamed up with Ramirez Merlano to finish in second place of the Men’s Double category of the competition.

Yassen said during his remarks that the team did exceptionally well despite facing pressure as being visitors. He also added that he hopes this tournament can be used as a steppingstone towards getting boxes ticked ahead of the 2018 tournament.

Fitzgerald stated that the team did well despite facing numerous challenges prior to the competition and was hopeful that the relevant persons will come onboard for future assignments as the fraternity needs as much exposure and support to do well in the days ahead.

20 GKF/ Senior National Karate Windies Women begin 2021 WC Championship 2016… campaign against SL Women Karatekas put GUYANATIMESgy.COM

WEDNESDAY, september 27, 2017

on impressive show

W

est Indies Women begin their bid for direct qualification to the ICC Women’s World Cup 2021, when they host Sri Lanka Women for a series of three One-day International and three Twenty20 Internationals next month.

The three ODIs to be contested October 11, 13 and 15 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad will form part of the new round of matches in the ICC Women’s Championship which will be contested between the leading eight women’s teams in the

World – the Windies and the Sri Lankans, along with Australia, recently-crowned World champions England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa from now until March 2020.

Following the conclusion of the ICC Women’s Championship, the top three ranked teams plus the hosts (New Zealand) automatically qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2021. The remaining four teams will have a second chance to qualify through the ICC Women’s World Cup 2021 qualifier.

The three T20Is on October 19, 21 and 22 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua will also be critical for the two sides, as they also look to prepare themselves for the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Tournament to be staged in November next year in the Caribbean.

The Windies Women are the defending World champions in the T20 format and will be looking to get themselves geared up for a purposeful defence of the title on home soil.

Sri Lanka Women to West Indies 2017

Schedule of Matches

October Sun 8 Trinidad & Tobago Women vs Sri Lanka Women – National Cricket Centre, Trinidad (9:30 start) Wed 11 1st ICC Women’s Championship One-day International –Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad (9:30 am start) Fri 13 2nd ICC Women’s Championship One-day International – Brian Lara Cricket Academy (2 pm start) Sun 15 3rd ICC Women’s Championship One-day International – Brian Lara Cricket Academy (9:30 am start) Thu 19 1st Twenty20 International – Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua (6:30 pm start) Sat 21 2nd Twenty20 International – Coolidge Cricket Ground (6:30 pm start) Sun 22 3rd Twenty20 International – Coolidge Cricket Ground (6:30 pm start)

Karatekas pose after a successful senior championship at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Sunday

S

enior martial artists Roger Peroune and Nyota Rodrigues were among the top performers when the Guyana Karate Federation (GKF) held its 2016 Senior National Karate Championships at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Sunday last.

Peroune, a 4th Dan black belt finished in first place of Male 18+ Kata category while Rodrigues another senior martial artist placed first in the similar category for females. Rodrigues then teamed with Loren Black and Christina Chaves as part of the Shotokan Karate Dojo’s team who won the women’s Kata team event.

In the men’s Kata team event, Peroune, Malcolm Francis and Patrick Gurahoo emerged winners of that category. Other first place winners included; Tashana Wong (Female 14-17 Kata), Trevon Miller (14-17 Kata), Timothy Chand (14-17 Kumite), Joel Kellman (Male 18+ -67kg Kumite), Roland Fanfair (Male 18+ -84kg Kumite).

The tournament, according to GKF President and senior instructor Sensei Amir Khouri was used as a measuring stick as to further assess fighters for upcoming tournaments, while helping those senior fighters to further get in shape in a bid for the 2020 Olympics.

National T20 team keen on fitness ahead of ABCA tourney T

he Guyana T20 team, which is slated to wing out to Antigua for the 2nd annual Antigua/Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA) Tri 20 tournament, began preparations with an arduous Yo-Yo assessment at the Leonora Synthetic Track on Tuesday.

With the competition bowling off from October 6, the Leon Johnson led side got together for another tough morning of exercise routines geared towards heightening the team’s physical standards.

Used to evaluate an individual’s ability to endure repeated periods of vigorous activity followed by short active breaks, the intermittent fitness exam saw players being pushed to their physical limit as fitness continue to be a priority in local cricket.

With stamina also being main criteria for the coaches, a number of sessions on sprints and dashes were also conducted on the synthetic track for the first time, under the eyes of head coach Esuan Crandon

Some of the players preparing for their Yo-Yo tests

West Indies’ latest addition Raymon Reifer going through his sprints at Leonora on Tuesday

with assistance coaches Rayon Griffith and Clive Grimmond.

Speaking with Guyana Times Sport following one of the exercises, Crandon said with the players already training on a weekly basis, it was important to use the Leonora venue as it provides a mirroring environment similar to the one’s used by the West Indies during their physical assessments.

The coach said the assessments which were carried out were important for all the cricketers especially for those who are contracted by the West Indies and Guyana. “The training is for the entire franchise; the CGI contracted players,

GCB academy and West Indies contracted players, it’s basically to assess them and see where they are.”

Thanks to the ongoing sessions which occur weekly, most of Guyana’s players who have not played any international cricket have gotten very fit under the guidance of Crandon and Griffith, both of whom have been instrumental in Guyana’s success over the past four seasons.

With a lot of firepower in the side, Guyana will carry a star-studded team to the competition and according to the coach he expects that players, especially those who have been on international duty or had good Caribbean Premier League (CPL) outings, to put on sterling performances during the T20 tourney.

Meanwhile, Griffith during a few brief remarks said that from a physical standpoint he was pleased with the progress of the players but added that he would like to see a bit more development in the fitness area, something he believes will ultimately be better for

his players in the long run.

Among the top performers of the Yo-Yo exam were pacer Raun Johnson who was at one time the only man running the test, vice-captain for the T20’s Veerasammy Permaul, Jamaican Ramaal Lewis, left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, Tagenarine Chanderpaul and the skipper Johnson.

In addition to the Guyana T20 players, current West Indies Test players Raymon Reifer, Vishaul Singh and Shimron Hetmyer were also present at the session on Tuesday.

Training continues today at the Everest Cricket Club ground from 09:00h.

The Guyana squad for the T20’s: Robin Bacchus, Gajanand Singh, Leon Johnson, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Jonathan Foo, Anthony Bramble, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Veerasammy Permaul, Steven Jacobs, Ronsford Beaton, Romario Shepherd, Ricardo Adams, Christopher Barnwell and Ramaal Lewis

Wednesday, september 27, 2017 www.guyanatimesgy.com

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21

sports

CLASSIFIED ADS

The Skewer

A

skewer is the opposite of a pin, and in many ways a much more “forceful” tactic. With pin, the “lesser valued” piece is in front, shielding the more valuable piece from capture. The piece doesn’t want to move because of this, but it usually takes more attackers to exploit and possibly win the pinned piece.

With a skewer, however, the “better” piece is the one being attacked and so it must either sacrifice itself or move aside”, allowing an undefended or at least valued teammate to be captured. In our diagramed example, the Bishop on a4 is Jessica Clementson “skewering” the Queen and Rook, which works because the Bishop would be happy to capture the Rook even at the cost of losing itself, while the Rook on g1 is skewering the King and Knight along the g-file.

Like the pin, the skewer is a “straight lines” tactic (only being possible along ranks, files and diagonals) and so it is only executed by the Queen, Rooks and Bishops. The skewer happens most often in open-board positions (like our example here) and is most effective when the opponent’s pieces are loose (undefended).

Here black recognized the chance for a skewer tactic due to the awkward position of the white Rook on a2. Black played 1...

Rxc4!, forcing 2.Qxc4 and then 2...Bd5! – skewering the Queen and Rook and coming out ahead a minor piece at the end of the combination.

An Infamous Rook Ending Tactic Think of a backyard barbeque every time you think of a skewer!

Skewers are used to cut through multiple pieces of meat and vegetables for a tasty grilled treat!

A skewer tactic cuts through enemy pieces in a similar fashion.

Our next “tasty skewer” comes at the expense of the black King and Rook. This common tactical idea occurs as the climax of many Rook ending puzzles. We have jumped to the end of the position to display the trick clearly: White plays 1.Rh8!, freeing the a8-square and threatening to Queen the pawn. Black must capture a7 to avoid this, and white wins with 2.Rh7+, skewering the King and Rook!

Though the full combination is slightly more complex, you may recognize this tactic from the movie “Searching for Bobby Fischer”. The end result of this puzzle is right up our alley! Both sides are going to promote their pawns, but the white player gets the upper hand in the end by Queening with check – instantly skewering the King and Queen along the longest diagonal of the board, the h1-a8 diagonal!

1.a6 h2 2.a7 h1=Queen 3.a8=Queen+ black King moves anywhere, 4.Qxh1, winning! Note that the moves were all forced because if black tried to avoid this skewer by moving the King in advance, white’s promoted Queen would prevent black from doing the same by guarding h1 along the diagonal. Watch out for this idea in your games!

Better Hope edge Enmore in thriller

I

The victorious Better Hope U-15 team

n an even contest, Better Hope U15 had the better of Enmore U15 in their encounter of the East Coast Cricket Committee U15, 40 overs competition played at the Better Hope Community Centre on Saturday.

Winning the toss and electing to field, Enmore sent Better Hope packing for 65 all out in 24 of their allotted 25 overs as the game was reduced due to early morning showers.

Batting for the home team, Better Hope, Chris Balgobin top scored with 16 as M. Singh and A. Mohamed picked up 2 wickets each bowling for Enmore.

In the run chase, Enmore was bundled out for 58 in just 16.3 overs. Batting for Enmore, Mahendra Dayaram top scored with 14. Bowling for Better Hope, Vishnu Seecharran picked up 3 for 9 off 5 overs, and Shamal Graham picked up 2 for 10 off 5 overs.

Grove extend unbeaten...

from page 22

On resumption, Friendship responded with a goal of their own on 51 minutes, Ethan Mc Lennon firing across goal to beat Usher Jones in goal for Grove. It was only the third time that Jones conceded in 12-matches.

Paul Fields made it a 3-1 game in favour of Grove when he scored in the 62nd minute, it was the final score; Grove stands large and in charge on 36 points having won every single match to date.

Diamond Untied continues to enjoy a huge season at both the Under-11 and 17 levels when they recorded their fifth win to jump into the fourth place position with a solid 3-1 win over Highway United, formerly Circuitville Jaguars.

Diamond’s Captain Teon Forde led from the front again when he opened the scoring in the 29th minute and ten minutes later, the advantage was doubled on account of an own goal which was scored by Highway United’s Michael Williams.

Highway United was able to pull one back in the 62nd minute thanks to a Mellon Josiah effort but Diamond restored the two goals cushion in the 76th minute when

Anthony Roberts

Forde converted his second of the match.

Despite the loss, Highway United remain just ahead of Diamond United on goal difference both having

recorded 5 wins each along with a similar amount of loses with one draw each.

Kuru Kururu Warriors has maintained their encouraging run by recording their seventh win in 10-matches by needling Mocha Champs which have only themselves to blame for squandering numerous opportunities.

The Warriors netted the lone and winning goal on half hour through an Anthony Roberts strike to seal full points and consolidate the Warriors’ second place position on the points table. It was also the Linden Soesdyke Highway based side’s 29th goal of the league, the most scored by any club.

Matches will continue on Sunday at the same venue.

Team

P

W

L

D

GF

GA

GD

Points

Grove Hi Tech

12

12

0

0

27

3

+24

36

K.K Warriors

10

7

2

1

29

12

+17

23

Highway United

11

5

5

1

20

12

+8

16

Diamond United

11

5

5

1

12

23

-11

16

Soesdyke Falcons

9

5

4

0

21

8

+13

15

Agricola

10

5

5

0

15

15

0

15

Herstelling Raiders

9

3

5

1

11

29

-13

10

Friendship

12

3

9

0

3

20

-17

9

Mocha Champs

11

1

10

0

2

17

-15

2

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

WEDNESDAY, september 27, 2017

“Works will commence in no later than 7 days” – Forde

– GFF’s National Training Centre closer to reality

He continued; “Our projection is that it will take a little over two years before we have a completed facility. I can assure you that it will make a tremendous impact on how football is operated in Guyana. This is considered phase one and it is expected to be completed in the middle to end of January [2018].”

By Michelangelo Jacobus

T

he Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has officially announced the start of Construction of the FIFA Forward Programme, which will be known as the National Training Center (NTC).

The revelation came from GFF’s President, Wayne Forde who was speaking at a press conference at the GFF Secretariat in Campbellville, Georgetown

Johannes Van Krimpen

on Tuesday morning.

“We are doing a site visit this afternoon [Tuesday af-

GFF President Wayne Forde (centre) flanked by GFF 2nd Vice President Bruce Lovell (left) and GFF 3rd Vice President Rawlston Adams

ternoon]. With Greenfields there, we are going to look at the existent situation, a few ‘I’s need to be dotted and a few ‘T’s need to be crossed but it’s very likely that works will commence in no later than seven days” Forde stated.

While phase one of the project is focused on the construction of the surface and the goal-nets, the GFF is also pushing for the lighting system to be included at this stage. The reason for that is so the federation will have usable facility while the constructions of the other edifices are underway.

Forde used the forum shed some light on the pro-

cess of awarding the contract to Greenfields; “we are all aware that FIFA would have gone through several changes within its developmental arm over the past couple of years and the new management at FIFA Development wanted to have a situation where a single contractor is responsible for the entire works associated with the construction of the artificial turf. Greenfields is the sole contractor for this phase of the work but their sub-contractor will be Nabi and Sons. We wanted to ensure we cleared the air on that because many of you would have covered the press conference where the signing

of that contract between the GFF and Home Designs and Engineering Associates took place.”

Importance of National Training Center

The President underscored the importance of the National Training Center pointing out that the ultimate goal is to develop athletes and football in Guyana.

The facility will have added amenities as Forde intimated that it will include a gym, while the committee is considering a “cool down pool.” This is in addition to the construction of dorms which will accommodate lengthy encampments.

GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power U-17 League – East Bank

Grove extend unbeaten run

Cost

With respect to the total cost of the venture, Forde could not give a final figure as he noted that tweaks will be made to the plan as the project moves along; however, the GFF top man did disclose that the federation has access to US$750,000 annually from FIFA.

Future Endeavours

Plans are in the pipeline for more synthetic surfaces in other member associations of Guyana after the completion of the first one at Providence.

“Other members we are targeting would be Linden and then the third member we are looking at will

be the Rupununi Football Association. And thereafter we will reevaluate the situation and prioritize the next three members in line” Forde explained.

Greenfields

Meanwhile, Greenfields representative Johannes Van Krimpen said that the surface will be built to the highest standards, as they must contain the quality and criteria mandated by FIFA. The Dutch entity was officially selected by FIFA to build the then Goal Project following the conclusion of the International Tender Process.

Greenfields edged out fellow Netherlands firm Edel Grass after the bidding process was narrowed down to two companies. Founded in 2003, the company has installed more than 2500 pitches across the globe.

They have also received the FIFA Preferred Producer for Football Title as well as similar accolades from the International Hockey Federation and the International Rugby Board.

Old student donates to alma mater

– Diamond, K K Warriors cash in

G

rove Hi Tech kept their unblemished record intact with another fine display when they defeated Friendship All Stars 3-1 to notch up their 12th win in as many

A Highway United player and Teon Forde (right) battle for possession

Grove Hi Tech’s Donnell Mc Lennon takes control against Friendship All-Stars

matches on Sunday last when second-round rivalry in the East Bank Football Association leg of the GFF/ NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power National Under-17 Intra Association

League continued at the Grove Playfield.

Also securing wins were Diamond United which toppled Highway United also by a 3-1 score-line while Kuru Kururu Warriors needled Mocha Champs in the other match that was played.

Grove, which only conceded a pair of goals in the first round (8 matches) conceded their first of this round with the Friendship side looking threatening in spurts but the home team played a composed game to record yet another win in continuing their impressive run of form.

Tyrese David opened the scoring on 25 minutes, Friendship proving to be tough opponents. Despite dominating play, Grove was only able to double the score one minute to half time when defender Kevin Padmore fired a powerful shot from outside the area that rocketed into the back of the nets.

TURN TO PAGE 21

Manniram Shew hands over the trophy to sports coordinator Patrick Gordon. At centre are Colin Sutton and Peter Campayne

O

ne of Guyana’s oldest secondary schools, Central High, will stage its annual Inter-house athletic championships at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground, Camp Ayannganna, today (Wednesday).

Central High has the honour of producing among others, former Guyana and West Indies fast bowler Colin Croft and track star

June Griffith.

During a simple presentation at the school on Monday, former student and sports enthusiast Manniram Shew handed over a trophy to be contested for the champion boy for today’s championships.

Also present at the handing over ceremony were two of Shew’s school mates, Colin Sutton and Peter Campayne.

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, september 27, 2017

23

England vs West Indies Royal London ODI Series

Windies in ‘must-win’ territory again – Stokes, Hales suspended

M

uch of this series has been played amid mizzle and murk but there is a much bigger cloud hanging over England now. Ben Stokes’ arrest in the small hours after England had thumped West Indies in Bristol means both the fourth ODI and the Ashes squad announcement will be overshadowed by the off-field indiscretion of a star player.

There could be far-reaching consequences but, in the very near term, England will have to replace two key members of their first-choice XI (Alex Hales, who was with Stokes, has also been ruled out of the fourth ODI).

Eoin Morgan admitted the disruption had not been ideal - the news breaking while England were training - but will hope his players can remain focused on their attempts to seal the series.

In normal circumstances England would feel confident against a West Indies side who they have beaten in

14 out of 15 completed ODIs - as Liam Plunkett suggested in the wake of taking five wickets to help them go 2-0 up in the series. Moeen Ali’s carefree hundred down the order once again demonstrated England’s strength in depth but, without their most-experienced opener and game-breaking allrounder, they look a little less secure in their overdog status.

For a while in Bristol, as Chris Gayle marched ominously towards what would have been his first ODI hundred in 30 months, West Indies were in with a shot at chasing 370. Gayle was then run out and they quickly ran out of steam, as Plunkett and Adil Rashid rounded the innings up.

This format looks to be West Indies’ weakest suit, with the block-and-bash formula that serves them so well in T20 exposed over longer innings. Stuart Law, West Indies’ coach, has already begun looking to-

West Indies need an improved bowling performance if they are to win (Windies Media Photo)

Chris Gayle will be the trump card again

wards next year’s World Cup qualifier and will be hoping for a few improved individual performances to help instill confidence. It has been a bumpy old tour for West Indies but they still have a chance to level this

series if they can surprise an England team suffering a self-inflicted wound.

Jason Roy will come straight in for Hales, having lost his place to Bairstow earlier in the summer.

Compensating

for Stokes’ absence will be more difficult: Jake Ball and Tom Curran provide bowling options while Sam Billings has also been added to the squad. While, West Indies will hope Kesrick Williams is fit

again after a back spasm and could otherwise be unchanged.

The surface at The Oval appeared firm and true with a touch of grass left on - so likely to be full of runs. The Champions Trophy saw England and Sri Lanka pull off 300-plus chases there earlier in the season. A clear, warm(ish) day in the capital should ensure the game goes off without delays.

England squad; Eion Morgan (captain), Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, David Willey, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Tom Curran, Jake Ball and Liam Plunkett West Indies squad; Jason Holder (Captain), Jason Mohammed (Vice Captain), Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Miguel Cummins, Chris Gayle, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor and Kesrick Williams. (ESPN Cricinfo)

Archery Guyana looking to grow with Heritage Games

O

nce again Archery Guyana’s collaboration with the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs concluded with a very successful archery competition at this year’s Heritage Games at the Everest Cricket Club Ground.

During the Heritage

12 Division.

Saturday’s qualifying rounds began with the Toshaos shoot-off with Joel Fredericks, Aubrey Samuels, David Henry, Colin Adrian and Lennox Shuman taking to the line. Thirteen males eventually made it to the Semi-finals, while 3 ladies, 3 Youth Males

Sport Minister, Dr George Norton taking the first shot to start off the finals on Sunday

Games, there was the obvious interest from patrons coming from near and far. There was an overall total participation of 53 competitors, most of whom were in the Men’s division; 35 for the Men’s Division, 10 for the Ladies Division, three for the Youth Male 12-17, two for the girls Under 12 Division, and three for the boys Under

and 3 Under 12 children shot straight to the finals.

The 13 qualifying men through to Semi-finals were: Ivor Williams, Joel Fredericks, Lennox Shuman, Colin Adrian, David Henry, Winston Baird, Roy Shuman, Nyron Pearson, Calisto Martin, Deon Andrews, Horacio Barboza, Oswald Hussein,

and Shawn Raphael. The 3 Ladies through to finals were: Brenette Gordon, Aliyah Gordon and Samantha Paulino. In the Youth Male Division the 3 boys through to the finals were: Joshua Sandwell, Keon Kattow and Michael Hing and the 3 for the Under12 Division were: Paige Fernandes, Dolphlundren Shuman and James Marco.

Sunday’s exciting Semifinals and Finals began with the first arrows being loosed

by Minister of Social Cohesion Dr George Norton and Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs Valerie Garrido-Lowe.

For the Men’s and Ladies finals, targets were set at 3 different distances (10, 15 & 25m). After which each archer had to shoot at 3 moving targets rolled along the ground. The 3 Men’s Finalists were Ivor Williams of Moruka, Region 1 (29pts), Winston Baird of Campbelltown, Region 8 (23pts) and Horacio Barboza of Intac, Region 8 (17pts). Only Ivor Williams was able to hit the moving target, drawing loud applause from the crowd.

The ladies saw mother and daughter Brenette and Aliyah Gordon of West Demerara, Region 3, vying for the top

Some of the winners of the Archery competitions: Ivor Williams, Michael Hing, Aliyah Gordon, Paige Fernandes, James Marco, Brenette Gordon (behind Marco), Winston Baird and Horacio Barboza

spot, as Samantha Paulino of St Ignatius Village, Region 9 was unable to compete in the finals, which automatically earned her 3rd place with 0 points. Aliyah came out on top with 8 points to her mom’s 1 point.

The Youth Males 12-17 which was hotly contested was won by Joshua Sandwell of Pakuri, Region 4 who scored

7pts, followed by Michael Hing of Georgetown, region 4 with 4pts and Keon Kattow of Pakuri.

In the Children’s (under 12) category which was shot at 15m distance, Dolphlundren Shuman of Pakuri, Region 4 gained an automatic 3rd place, as only James Marco and Paige Fernandes were present at the final. Paige Fernandes of

Georgetown, Region 4 gained 16 points to win 1st place while James Marco came in 2nd with 1 point.

Archery Guyana is happy to have been a part of the Indigenous Heritage Games for the third year and looks forward to working with the Ministry in the coming years and in the future development of this most exciting sport.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

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

guyanatimesgy.com

England vs West Indies Royal London ODI Series Pg 23

Windies in ‘must-win’ territory again – Stokes, Hales suspended Pg 19

Darts champions Fitzgerald, Chandro

create history in Brazil The national darts team pose for a photo following their return from Brazil on Tuesday

Archery Guyana looking to grow with Heritage Games Pg 23

The three Toshaos Joel Fredericks, Colin Adrian and Lennox Shuman loosing the first arrows to start off the competition

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