Guyana Times - Sunday, August 12, 2018

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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 3653

Sunday, August 12, 2018

PRICE

2018 Mid-Year report

Revenue for State agencies on downward spiral – Ali Page 3

...projects $22.8B deficit for public entities

27 foreign women detained after ‘strip club’ raid "No sugar crop, no co-gen production" – SECI Chairman Page 12

Page 2

Grove/Diamond bus park removal

City Hall’s move ridiculous, visionless – minibus association Page 7

Guyana Amazon Warriors continue winning streak

$120 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE: Charity Market Wharf

P11 RDC to approach Govt for assistance …as wharf continues to rapidly deteriorate

La Grange P2 taxi driver beaten, robbed during home invasion

CGX names P17 exploration well to honour Indigenous people

Nobel prize winner VS P18 Naipaul dies

Armed P9 bandits rob Albouystown family “Persons with P16 disabilities can shape their own future” – Minister Lawrence

Elated Guyana Amazon Warriors fans celebrate as their team continues its winning streak during the first set of home games at Providence Stadium on Saturday

Jagdeo denies making derogatory remarks about Amerindians ...says “desperate politicians” are making false claims

Page 9

Teen hospitalised after mistakenly drinking acid P17

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NEWS

SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

La Grange taxi driver beaten, 27 foreign women detained robbed during home invasion after ‘strip club’ raid

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41-year-old taxi driver of La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD) was on Friday evening robbed and assaulted after three men invaded his home; two of whom were armed with guns. According to reports, Reshi Pasha of Doctor Dam, La Grange, WBD, had just returned home at about 23:10h when the bandits pounced on him.

Guyana Times understands that the taxi driver had just parked his car in his yard and was proceeded towards the front door when he noticed the three men.

According to the Police, Pasha ran to the back of the yard but was followed by

two of the bandits.

The taxi driver then tried to run around the other side of his house, but was confronted by the third bandit who was armed with a handgun.

The suspect then dealt him several lashes to his face and took him at gunpoint to his door where he demanded that Pasha open it. At that time, the victim’s mother who resides in the same house, saw the commotion and opened the door which gave all three bandits the opportunity to enter the house. While one of them held Pasha and his mother at gunpoint, the two others ransacked the house

and carted off $230,000, a gold chain valued $200,000, an electronic tablet valued $20,000 and his cellphone valued $45,000.

The bandits then made good their escape through the front door. Meanwhile, the taxi driver was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WRDH) where he was treated for his injuries.

A report was made and the Police have launched an investigation.

Meanwhile, Pasha’s neighbour told this newspaper that he did not realise what had occurred until Saturday morning. He noted that there has been an upsurge of robberies in the area.

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anks in A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara) on Friday evening swoop down on an illegal bar on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) where they found some 27 female foreign nationals. The raid occurred from 21:50h to 23:55h at the Bikers Bar located at Lot 22 Covent Garden Public Road, EBD. Public Relations Officer of the Police Force, Jairam Ramlakhan said in a statement on Saturday that the Police were acting on a report received that a ‘strip club’ was being operated at the road front bar when they visited the establishment.

A search was carried out at the premises and during the two-hour period, 27 female foreign nationals were found in the building. The females have since been detained and are assisting with the investigation.

The ranks also picked up

The Bikers Bar located at Lot 22 Covent Garden Public Road, EBD

the owner/operator of the facility, who resides at Nutmeg Street, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

In addition, a case of liquor was also seized and lodged since there were no licence granted to operate “any business whatsoever” on the

premises.

There was a supermarket operated by Chinese nationals at the premises prior to the opening of the bar.

Bandits had robbed the Fresh Mart Supermarket back in 2016 of close to a one million dollars in cash and valuables.

news

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SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Sunday, August 12 – 05:30h-07:00h and Monday, August 13 – 05:00h-06:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, August 12 – 05:00h-06:30h and Monday, August 13 – 05:20h-06:50h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Early morning light cloudy skies with light showers are expected, with light showers continuing in the afternoon. Partly cloudy skies are expected in the evening, with temperatures expected to range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: South Easterly to East North-easterly and North easterly between 1.34 metres and 4.91 metres.

High Tide: 05:03h and 17:30h reaching maximum heights of 2.85 metres and 2.76 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 11:03h and 23:21h reaching minimum heights of 0.37 metre and 0.45 metre.

2018 Mid-Year report

Revenue for State agencies on downward spiral – Ali ...projects $22.8B deficit for public entities

T

he 2018 Mid-Year report, which was laid in the National Assembly, is characterised by disturbing projections for important public enterprises. This is according to Opposition Member of Parliament Irfaan Ali. According to Ali in a statement following the document’s release, a number of such enterprises have had their projected income revised downwards, thus reflecting a worsened financial status than expected.

His examples included the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), two of the agriculture sector’s most important public enterprises.

“Failed public enterprises are the hallmark of incompetence and mismanagement,” Ali stated. “GRDB now projects to post a deficit of $279.5 million for this fiscal year, in stark contrast to the budgeted $8.5 million surplus that was projected.”

“Guyana Post Office Corporation is expected to record an overall deficit of $25.9 million for 2018, against a budgeted surplus of $0.8 million. Revenues are anticipated to decline by $41.9 million, while operating expenses and capital expenditures are expected to increase by $4.1 million and $11.1 million, respectively,” Ali also noted.

When it comes to the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL), Ali noted that this entity is now projected to record a deficit of $9 billion,

To finance this deficit, $21.5 billion is anticipated to be sourced domestically, up from $7.8 billion that was originally projected.”

Sectors

PPP MP Irfaan Ali

down from $5.5 billion that was initially projected by Government.

A downward projection also holds true for the Guyana National Printers Limited (GNPL), which anticipates ending 2018 with a deficit of $77.8 million. This is a reduction from a budgeted surplus of $3 million, as total revenues are anticipated to be $3 million below budgeted and total expenditures, $81.6 million above.

“GuySuCo now anticipates closing the fiscal year with a deficit of $11.5 billion, a worsening from the budgeted deficit of $5.2 billion that was previously projected by the Honourable Minister,” Ali also noted.

“Further, in Budget Speech 2018, (Jordan) projected an overall deficit of $10 billion for all public enterprises, down from $12.9 billion that was recorded in 2017. This, however, in 2018 Mid-Year report, was revised to a whopping $22.8 billion deficit, by end 2018.

Interestingly, the MidYear report admits that “weak institutions within Government continue to hamper the quality and delivery of Government programmes.

Institutional strengthening has been identified as a priority for budget agencies to accelerate across all sectors.”

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

Turn to page 7

SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2018

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guyanatimesgy.com

SUnDAY, august 12, 2018

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

Editorial

Institutions for growth

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hree years into its term, the People’s National Congress-led Government clearly accepts market fundamentalism as its guiding economic mantra. This is dangerously reductionist. In every country, production and productivity are functions of the right mix of three institutions – the market, the State and the community.

Markets function through competition using prices as the mechanism to coordinate our production and consumption – they is based on self-interest which can get out of control. It is very efficient mechanism from a production point of view – people will produce to make a buck. But one of the premises for its success is there should be enough people willing to take the risks, etc, to make that buck (entrepreneurs). What do we do when there aren’t? This Government seems to believe we hold our breath?

The State also coordinates our activities – through command and coercion. It is supposed to be acting for the common good. The State passes laws and makes regulations that affect our economic activity every day. In Guyana, the State determined that car items should have taxes and duties that amount to 100 per cent. That decision of the Government determines, to a large extent, the transportation habits of Guyanese.

Our communities also structure our activities – through voluntary cooperation engendered by close personal ties and relationships. They work through trust. This has been a most neglected aspect in our development efforts. Let’s take the rice industry. A crucial feature of rice cultivation is the control and allocation of water. In Asia where there has been intensive cultivation for centuries, the communities have evolved intricate local, non-Government sanctions and rewards that ensure the most efficient use of water. These lower costs but are missing in Guyana.

The task of governments is not to stand on dogmas but to tailor the right mix of these three institutions to suit their concrete conditions. The Western countries developed via a high level of dependence on markets but let us not forget that their governments and communities played and continue to play crucial roles. They took hundreds of years to get where they are. Japan, on the other hand, because of its unique societal values, depended much more on the role of the community and trust. Their development to catch up with the West took one century. Without question, State and markets also played crucial roles but compared to the West, the State played a much greater role in guiding and fostering development. After WWII, we have seen that Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore take only a half a century for their development to catch up – but again, not relying totally on market mechanisms and determining their unique institutional mix of markets, State and community to coordinate their economic activities. China has done even better since 1978. This is what we have to have the courage to do in Guyana.

The cause of our underdevelopment is to some extent strategic rather than structural. Korea and Singapore were right where we were 50 years ago, if not behind us, not only statistically but structurally. Look where they are today.

Their Governments, as catalysts, set strategic goals and then did what was necessary to back into them. They explicitly tied assistance to selected private industries based on their commitment and ability to export. This strategic decision had two significant and faithful results that differed from the “import substitution strategy”. Firstly, the assisted firms were subjected to the market discipline of the competition of international trade. This was the most intense competition and ensured that efficiencies and productivities had to be raised to the highest levels. The second benefit, of course, was that the exports brought in foreign exchange and there was no need to ban anything to save foreign exchange.

In summary, markets may successfully orient individual agents to allocate resources efficiently but they are not sufficient to coordinate individual actions over a long period of time and, most importantly for our purpose, towards desired social goals such as specified rates of growth.

Markets can also fail spectacularly. Market orientation is not sufficient to generate market coordination toward collective prosperity. This is where the catalytic function of the State comes in.

St Lucia Stars Franchise co-owner, 17-year-old Ronak Pandya (left) along with other team officals during the nail-biting game at Providence on Saturday

Amazon Warriors will bring together our people like no other event

Dear Editor, After being at Providence, East Bank Demerara, I wish to point out the seminal contribution the Guyana Amazon Warriors are making to our national development. First there is the matter of “national cohesion” of which we have heard so much during the past three years. But who has done more for national cohesion than the Warriors, during that time?

Once again, they have created such a positive buzz in our country that the doom and gloom threatening to put us into a national depression has been dissipated like a bad morning mist. This time it was young Shimron

Hetmyer from Canje who provided the sparks during the first game at Providence to light up and lift up the spirits of the fans in the jampacked stadium. But every year during the last five years, in every game, one or more Warriors have done the same with bat or ball, to make them the most consistent team in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). And if those past five years are any guide, the Warriors will bring together our people like no other event to give expression to the aspirational exhortation of our national motto, “One People, One Nation, One Destiny”!

But while allowing our people to actually experience

that there are more that bind us together than divide us, a tremendous achievement in itself, the Guyana Amazon Warriors have brought so many more benefits to Guyana. According to the research agency SMG Insight, the Guyanese economy received a shot in the arm of US$14,183,035 in 2017 for the four pool games. This year the number will expand significantly because of the larger number of games.

But that direct cash injection is just the tip of an iceberg, with almost 500 jobs created and over 5000 hotel rooms booked cumulatively. A big part of that iceberg is the publicity for tourism since more than 19 million

persons saw the very best of our people in living colour!

I was also very impressed with the professionalism with which the event was organised and executed: it was flawless and should give lie to the report in the NYTimes about Guyana being a sleepy backwater.

I am writing this because as a Guyanese, I have become very tired of the negativity about our country. And when something like the CPL and GAW dispel that negativity, it shows us that things can be different if we put our minds and shoulders to creating positivity.

Sincerely, Jenifer Semple

Ministers should “temper” expectations Dear Editor, Almost every Minister in the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change coalition Government has been talking about how oil and gas will benefit Guyanese people. This kind of talk is continuing, although some of what has been talked about is nowhere near fact.

This is why I find the statement from Finance

Minister Winston Jordan very surprising. On August 10, 2018, the Minister is quoted by sections of the media as saying, “I think we should work at tempering expectations.” Where was this recognition when Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman said an onshore supply base will be erected at Crab Island, in the Berbice River, by the end of 2017 and will create

600 jobs? It is now August 2018 and nothing has happened.

Where was this recognition when Minister David Patterson talked about a natural gas project that will create 200 jobs, when ExxonMobil itself said there is no completed feasibility study on natural gas? Where was this recognition when Minister David Patterson told people on

the Essequibo Coast that they will get free cooking gas? These are only a few of the things that people have been told to expect.

If Finance Minister Winston Jordan is serious about “tempering expectations”, maybe he should start by taking to his colleagues.

Regards, Baldeo Mathura

guyanatimesgy.com

SunDAY, august 12, 2018

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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

Register sex offenders and Don’t leave teachers hanging enact a ‘3 strikes’ law Dear Editor, The word of Corretta McDonald, the General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) – in November 2015, she updated the nation to the fact that the agreement arrived at with the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government will be coming to an end in December 2015 and there is a need for a new agreement with the People’s National Congress (PNC)-led Granger Government.

Since then, she and the GTU leadership have failed to secure a new agreement from the Granger Administration.

There is a perception that the leadership of the GTU is dominated by PNC supporters and followers. By extension, this translates to the school of thought that these negotiations since November 2015 between the leadership of the GTU and this PNCled Granger Government amounts to the PNC-led Government negotiating with itself. Is this why after three years, the GTU leadership has failed to secure a collective bargaining agreement and resolve the de-bunching issue?

The last time the GTU did any serious industrial action in defence of the teachers’ cause was in April 2015 under the previous PPP Government and I welcome there belated call for industrial action in the pre-September 2018 school term; something must give – teachers cannot live on hot air.

Not once over the last three years under this PNC-led Government, has the GTU leveraged industrial action as a tool to take the teachers any closer to the “good life” although it has been treated much worst in the three years after May 2015 compared to the three years before May 2015.

When one reflects on the actions of the GTU leadership today, it exposes how these actions have played a major role in the destruction of the economic well-being of teachers, just like they did in the late 1970s when the then Burnham Government stifled the voice of teachers too.

Since April 6, 2018, the Cabinet of Guyana was given the report from the HighLevel Task Force that was set up by the Government to charter a course on the teach-

ers’ wages and benefits issues.

It has been four months and President Granger continues to give lip service to the burning issues affecting teachers.

Yet this same President and his Government can easily find GY$1 billion and more to travel around the world on mostly international jaunts.

That same billion can increase every teacher’s salary

by GY$7900 per month.

Guyana’s future is intertwined with the quality of our teaching profession. Is the leadership of the GTU under some sort of political injunction to serve the PNC more than it should serve the teachers of Guyana? The time is now for the GTU to act and these calls for industrial actions from the ordinary teachers must be supported as the Christmas term (September to December) approaches. It is time for the GTU leadership to decide who is more important, those 12 or so political masters at Congress Place or the 9000 teachers in the official system. Corretta McDonald must act!

Regards, Sasenarine Singh

Positive things are happening in all 10 regions Dear Editor, The Aurora primary and nursery schools were recently built at a cost of about $120,000,000 followed quickly by the new building to house the Police Station that is soon to be commissioned.

There are many sea defence projects in the Good Hope/ Pomona Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC); likewise also the soon to be constructed stelling at Supenaam for the speed boats to moor. In addition, many streets are being upgraded, the street lights that is being installed is an illustration of the commitment the coalition Government

– the A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change) have been making towards the development of the country.

From my reading and information gathered from the various newscasts and talking to people who reside in other regions, a lot of developmental work is taking place in their regions also. The subject Ministries, and by extension the Government, must be commended.

A lot has been done, but there is more to be done. We are certainly on our way, yes we are beginning to see that bright light at the end of the tunnel; irrespective of which

side of the political divide you stand, you will have to agree that positive things are happening in all ten administrative regions of Guyana.

Sincerely, Archie W Cordis

Dear Editor, For more than two decades, I have written letters to the media and spoken on national television about the urgent need to register sex offenders and post signs outside the homes of criminals released after serving jail time for sex crimes against adults and minors.

During that time, I have also advocated tirelessly for the enactment of a ‘three strikes’ law to impose automatic sentences of life imprisonment on the third conviction for serious crimes by persistent offenders.

The issue of a registry of sex offenders is a hot issue again because a poll conducted in June and July by The Caribbean Voice found that Guyanese overwhelmingly support the establishment of such a registry. I am not at all surprised because it makes good sense.

I commend The Caribbean Voice for conducting the poll and also for initiating a petition for the Government of Guyana to do whatever is necessary to establish a national sex offender’s registry. I hope this petition will get so much support that Government will be forced to respond quickly and positively.

There is no doubt in my mind that this should also be a regional movement.

That is why I support the move by The Caribbean Committee Against Sex Crimes (CCASC) to start a petition in St Lucia as a pilot project to press for a sex offender registry for the entire Caribbean.

In fact, I strongly advise President David Granger

to follow the example of Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell who announced last December that his Government will enact legislation to register convicted sex offenders and establish a special victims unit.

Many developed countries, including Canada, the USA and New Zealand register sex offenders, so why not us? America even has Megan’s Law, which forces convicted sex offenders against children to notify local Police of any change of address or employment after release from custody.

Registered convicted pedophiles in the USA also have notices identifying them as Child Sex Offenders posted outside their homes, and their passports are stamped with a special marker to alert people when they travel.

I believe Guyana should set the standard in the Caribbean for dealing with sex criminals.

The names, photographs and personal data of sex offenders should be published in all media and on all community bulletin boards as a social service. The Police also need to use social media to oust sex criminals by creating a website or Facebook page identifying wanted or convicted offenders.

I believe that Guyana should also follow the lead of the USA’s Megan’s Law and enact laws to put a special stamp on each page of the passport of every convicted sex criminal so that wherever they travel in the world, people will be warned.

I know ‘bleeding hearts’

will squirm at my suggestions, but powerful action is absolutely necessary.

The bleeding-heart brigade might say these perverts are all sick. If they are sick, then put them away for a long time. In many cases, little can be done for them other than castration. This is why the holy books have spoken about castration or death sentences for sexual offences.

We also have to be careful not to allow foreign sex criminals to slip into Guyana secretly to do their dirty deeds. I know that Interpol sends out ‘green notices’ about registered sex offenders and the US Department of Justice will partner with any nation to share sex offender data, provided there are laws in place to allow this. Guyana has to take full advantage of such opportunities.

I want to point out that while announcing plans to establish a sex offender’s registry in Grenada, Prime Minister Mitchell said: “We have also heard the overwhelming cries of our people and we are, therefore, pushing to enact the necessary legislative changes...”

This statement tells me that patriots like me who are fighting for a lawful, peaceful and united Guyana have to raise our voices and create a massive outcry to get the necessary changes to cut crime in Guyana. Only the ‘overwhelming cries of the people’ will spur our leaders into action.

Sincerely, Roshan Khan Snr

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Foundation This is goodbye

Ashley Anthony

B

y this time next week, I will already be off, stepping into a new chapter of my life: college.

Considering this, after much deliberation, I have decided that this will be my last article.

Writing for Guyana Times has been a transformative experience. When I started some two years ago, I could not have imagined that one small column every Sunday would eventually become such a part of my life. Foremost, the column provided me with a platform with which I could articulate my thoughts on things that I was passionate about: whether it was art, science, or social issues.

My initial intention when I started this column was to provide a perspective that might not be represented much else – that of a student.

I tried to centre my articles on school, CSEC and CAPE examinations, and careers in the Sciences. There were two major reasons I wanted to do this. The first was to humanise myself, and other “top students”. I, and they, know that we are just normal teenagers. Yet, it appeared to me that the public perception was one far from the reality of the situation. We were seen as unapproachable, as “robots”, and we were accused of being one-dimensional. I wanted to

guyanatimesgy.com

show people that top students were people just like them, that we had normal social lives, and that we faced the same anxiety and uncertainty when it came to examinations and results.

This leads into the second reason I tried to centre my articles on school. I wanted to provide advice for those who were facing examinations. I know that the time can be incredibly stressful, and I think we have become obsessed with the “secret to success”. Every time there are examinations, reporters rush to the houses of the top students eager to learn of their habits to report to others, as if you the reader were to follow this exact regimen you would

have the s a m e results. I wanted to speak directly to young people to remind them that everyone is different, and that they shouldn’t necessarily get caught up in what everyone else is doing or did. Essentially I wanted to explain that what works for one person might not for another. This is a point which I think is not stressed enough. You as a student need to take the time to figure out what works for you and stick to that. If that’s studying one hour every day of the week, or if it’s studying five hours straight

on the weekends, it’s your process. Young people need to take agency and responsibility over their future. They need to be working for themselves, and not to compete with others or to please their parents/society.

Of course, there was only so much that I could write about school. And after time, as my audience grew, I began to become more confident in writing about social issues. I became I suppose, in some ways an activist. Writing this column forced me to become more attuned to societal problems: both in Guyana and the rest of the world.

Ultimately, I think this helped me to grow as a person. I had to begin to read more widely so that I could develop an informed opinion.

Having a platform to present these thoughts made me feel even more empowered, almost like I had some ability to effect change.

The idea that I, at 19 years old, have the access to effect change; to make a difference in people’s lives is astounding, and humbling.

I am so grateful that a few hundred words published in a paper on a Sunday could make a difference in someone’s life.

Even if it is just one person, I am happy.

During the next few months, I will dedicate myself wholly to University and adjusting to living in a new country. Perhaps I will begin to write again, but for now, this is goodbye. Thank you all so much for your support, and thank you to Guyana Times for what has been an amazing two years.

CANI ushers in World Youth Day with conference

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A few intrigued youths at the exhibition

s Guyana joins the rest of the world in observing International Youth Day today, the Come Alive Network Inc (CANI) on Saturday held its sixth annual conference at the Promenade Gardens, Middle and Waterloo Streets, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown, for youths to usher in the special day.

Several youth-based organisations attended the event, along with businesses and excited young persons who seized the opportunity to sign up for jobs with Teleperformance on the spot.

University of Guyana (UG) Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith along with British High Commissioner Gregory

Quinn were also there to mingle with youths of all ages.

Guyana Times caught up with a few persons who exhibited their projects and organisations during a mini exhibition at the Gardens.

Vice President of the Enterprise Youth Development Group (EYDG) said their focus is to raise awareness as to how they can build and make their community better, through youths. He said, “Currently we are spearheading a mental health awareness project. When most persons hear mental health they think the person is crazy. We are there to let them know that it’s actually stress and depression which comes into play and affects us mentally.”

Founder and President of Sustainable Youth Network Guyana, Travis Bruce said the fairly new organisation seeks to be the local hub in promoting sustainable development goals. “I believe in Guyana the sustainable development goals can do so much more and with young people we decided to come together with our same interests and passion to push for the goal so by 2030 we can have a better life for Guyanese.”

A young developer, Shemar Spencer, officially launched his new application (APP), Swopp at the “Just Youth It” conference.

This is the fifth year that the CANI has hosted the “Just Youth It” conference, although they were founded in 2012. Annually the network has been involved in distributing footwear, back packs and stationary supplies to children within villages across the country.

Founder and Executive Director of CANI, Ryan Hoppie informed that hundreds of school supplies will be donated this year with the help of over 70 volunteers.

Conversations on safe spaces were discussed during the forum, in keeping with this year’s World Youth Day theme, with the intent of building and developing same.

Hoppie told Guyana Times, “Come Alive (Network Inc) has created a platform for young people to network with each other, network with the Private Sector and Government as well as fellow peers to be able to create new products”.

He said the conference is aimed at giving youths a ‘voice’ and ‘platform’ through the awakening of true potential.

World Youth Day is being held this year under the theme ‘Safe spaces for youths’.

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SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Grove/Diamond bus park removal

City Hall’s move is ridiculous, visionless – minibus association

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he move made by City Hall to remove the Grove/Diamond route 42 buses, along with short drop car drivers, to facilitate the vendors of the Stabroek Market Wharf area, was described as “ridiculous” and “visionless” by the President of the United Minibus Union (UMU), Eon Andrews.

Andrews during an interview with Guyana Times on Saturday said the move was also irrational as it was clearly not thoroughly thought through.

“I think it was ridiculous. I think it is visionless because I know a couple of years ago there was a plan to put these persons (vendors) who were on that wharf north of the Digicel place where they had an Outpost so that they can do the necessary repairs. The postponement of that has caused the situation to worsen and now people could have died because of that thing breaking off,” head of the UMU posited.

President of the United Minibus Union, Eon Andrews

He went on to say that the recent move by the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has not only affected the drivers but is also a burden to the said vendors who will be using the area.

“They ran wildly and cage off that place like if they putting animals in some cage, because it has to be with the condition of that road. I don’t see how vendors are going to feel comfortable because any lil driz-

zle it’s going to be flooded,” Andrews said.

“It is either corruption, mismanagement, thoughtlessness and probably not feelings for anybody but themselves,” he added.

He even stressed that the Council should have at least informed the drivers of their intentions to remove them, prior to displacing them.

He added that City Hall’s recent cry for help to the Public Infrastructure Ministry is unwarranted, since the project falls under their premise and they are completely responsible for its present state, since they would have procrastinated in doing the necessary repairs.

This newspaper understands that the minibus drivers have planned strike action for the coming week.

Short drop car operators who are also affected have already protested and were able to come up with a solution with the Mayor and City Council. The drivers

Revenue for State agencies...

And the strength of these institutions is not helped by revenue loss from the sectors they oversee.

Despite the economy growing by 4.5 per cent in the first half of 2018, the report notes that traditional sectors, such as sugar and rice, have seen decline in their performances, with contractions of 30.6 and 3.8 per cent respectively.

The gold sector also suffered a decline of 9.1 per cent. This is equivalent to a decrease of 288,114 ounces in gold declaration. The report also revealed that this represented a 19.4 per cent shortfall However, despite these

issues, the report indicated that growth in the economy was more broad-based than in 2017, with robust performances in the agriculture, fishing and forestry sectors of 3.4 per cent. Other crops, fishing, livestock and forestry industries all experienced growth over the same period, with the latter two growing by a commendable 29.1 per cent and 18.1 per cent respectively.

Growth of 8.2 per cent was also recorded in the services sector, and 13.4 per cent in the construction sector. This significant increase in the construction sector is attributed to higher building imports by 24.7

from page 3

per cent.

Meanwhile, production in the bauxite industry reached its highest level since 2013, surpassing 2017 by 21.1 per cent. This has led to a revision of the forecast growth of the industry upward from 23.3 per cent to 29.9 per cent. There was also growth in other mining of 31.2 per cent, driven by the production of diamonds and other stones, which increased by 13.3 per cent and 45.5 per cent respectively.

In addition to that, the Government has also revised its growth rate for 2018 to 3.7 per cent, which is close to the initial rate of 3.8 per cent.

have agreed to pay a $1500 fee to M&CC to use the area.

Guyana Times was told that the car drivers will be given a lane to operate in at the park.

Meanwhile, the minibus

drivers who have been displaced have since signalled strike action over the matter if proper intervention are not made next week.

Meanwhile, most of the displaced drivers have been

plying their trade along Lombard Street.

This move currently causes a major backup in the flow of traffic within that area, especially during the peak hours.

8 news

SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

Minibus driver jailed for causing death by dangerous driving

T

wenty-five-yearold minibus driver Jamal John has been sentenced to four years, two months’ imprisonment

by Senior Magistrate Judy Latchman on a causing death by dangerous driving charge.

John, of Lot 53 Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge, was on Thursday found guilty of causing the death of 50-year-old pedal cyclist Desmond Grandsoult in December 2017.

The prosecution contended that on December 18, 2017, at Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, John drove minibus BTT 8476 in a manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the death of Grandsoult.

During the eight

Jailed: Jamal John

months’ trial, two persons who were passengers of the minibus when the accident occurred gave evidence. One of those eyewitnesses said the accused was indeed going at uncontrollable speed, and passengers had admonished him to slow down, but he had ignored those

admonitions.

The facts presented to the court stated that, on the day in question, the minibus was proceeding south along Vlissengen Road at a fast rate when Grandsoult, who was proceeding in the same direction in front of the minibus, attempted to cross the road and the accident resulted.

It was reported that the left front side of the minibus collided with the rear of the pedal cycle, and Grandsoult fell on the roadway and was run over by the bus. The driver then swerved into a trench.

The injured man was picked up in an unconscious state and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was

admitted to the High Dependency Unit, but died while receiving treatment.

John, meanwhile, had reportedly fled the scene, and the Police had issued a wanted bulletin for his arrest.

Before handing down sentence, Magistrate Latchman told the court that if John had been driving at a moderate pace, he would have seen the deceased.

She declared that John had been inattentive to his driving, and had failed to exercise care, courtesy, consideration, caution and commonsense while using the roadway.

The matter was prosecuted by Police Prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves.

Man paid to drill water wells charged for fraud

F

orty-one-year-old Shizam Mohan of Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara was on Friday arraigned before Georgetown Magistrate Judy Latchman on three fraud charges.

The accused, a father of two, denied that on May 30, 2018, while

on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, he, being solely entrusted by Pashon Bharat with the sum of $310,000 for the purpose of drilling a water well at Long Creek, fraudulently converted the money to his own use and benefit.

He also denied the allegation that between May

20 and 24, 2018, at Orange Walk, Georgetown, while being solely entrusted by Omwati Bharat with the sum of $110,000 for the purpose of drilling a well at Long Creek, he fraudulently converted the money to his own use and benefit.

And then he denied the allegation that on the

same day, he was also given $10,000 by John Bharat for the purpose of drilling a well at Long Creek, but fraudulently converted the money to his own use and benefit.

He was placed on $300,000 bail, and the case was adjourned to September 7.

Mo’ money…

T

…mo’ problems

he debate continues to swirl around Clive Thomas’s suggestion that the Government dole out some of the funds from the coming oil bonanza as cash payments directly to Guyanese citizens. He’d give $1 million annually to each family. The suggestion was accepted by his party – the WPA – a member of the APNU combine, as its official position. Those members said they’ll be canvassing people – especially the “poor and the powerless” -- on the suggestion!!

Canvassing poor folks to find out what they think about getting a million dollar paycheck every year for doing absolutely nothing?? What the heck do they expect those people to tell them?? That they don’t think it’s such a good idea?? It just shows you how unrealistic these ivory tower types are!! What they should do is look at studies that have been conducted on the subject – and not by academic types, but by those that experienced the experience of suddenly getting cash injections.

The best study your Eyewitness saw – actually heard, since it was set to music – was done and presented by Notorious B.I.G, the Brooklyn rapper. He summarised his findings in the title to his song “Mo Money; Mo problems”!

And this is what your Eyewitness would like to expand on today, since it’s clear that Thomas and crew don’t have the slightest clue about what’s it like to have come into money.

Let’s sample Notorious’s observation on the downside of affluence: “Now, who's hot, who not?/ You tell me who flopped, who copped the blue drop?/ Whose jewels got rocks?/ Who's mostly Dolce down to the tube sock?/ The same old pimp, Mace” The most potent message, of course, is that the song was released and became a megahit AFTER Notorious was gunned down on the West Coast in a rapper war!

The money, according to B.I.G., will be blown on all the bling and luxuries the advertising world convinces us we MUST have to be SOMEBODY. And that’s what the poor want, don’t they? If it was Dolce back in ’97, it’s still them in 2018, even if they just used drones to carry their handbags down the runway this year! And they, or their replacement “pimps” - will still be calling the shots!

What Thomas and crew refuse to acknowledge is the role of culture in determining what we’ll do with the windfall. Have our poor been exposed to the notion of “deferred gratification” beyond just telling them “don’t spend it all in one place”??

What incentive will the poor have to engage in the drudgery that is their “work” when they know another $1 million is in the mail to buy more Dolce and Gabbana??

…but no power

Imagine you’re manager of a furniture store, but you’re told you’re in charge of just barstools while another fella handles household, office and all other furniture. What does that say about what your boss thinks of you? Well, Raphael Trotman’s just been told he’s still Minister of Natural Resources - even though the new OIL sector - which dwarfs every other “natural resource” - has been snatched from him and given to a fella with even less experience in oil!! What does that say about what Granger thinks of Trotman?

After the elections, Trotman appeared to be Granger’s fair-haired boy – explained by the former’s revelation of a discussion in “Nassau” between him, the leader of the AFC, and the latter as leader of the PNC. But it would seem this may not have gone down well with the die-hard PNC types, who wouldn’t have forgotten the “presumptuousness” of Trotman – who was recruited into the PNC by Desmond Hoyte – to walk out when he wasn’t made leader!!

…denied to public servants!

Government workers were stung when they got a measly 1-10% raise after the elections, compared to 50% for Ministers. The Government’s now making up by issuing a dress code for them.

Your Eyewitness understands it’ll be pyjamas!! RIP!!

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

news

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SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Jagdeo denies making derogatory remarks about Amerindians …says “desperate politicians” are making false claims

O

pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on Saturday denied making any derogatory remark about Guyana’s first people after a clip from his last press conference began making the rounds on social media in order to give that impression.

In a statement to the media, Jagdeo said it was brought to his attention that the Government and its cohorts have been circulating a clip from his last press conference with the claim that he had made derogatory remarks about “our Amerindian people”.

“The audio of two words everybody (cut short by me) and people taken out of context is being used to substantiate this false claim,” the statement said. When the recording is played at a slightly faster pace, it gives the impression that something derogatory is being said.

But Jagdeo also said,

done in the presence of the entire media corps, including all the newspapers, and not a single person there thought he had made a derogatory statement.

He went further by stating that there was an extensive question and answer session and the matter never came up. The only remark he made about Amerindians

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

“The truth is in the context of my criticism of the AFC for its lack of credibility and betrayal of Guyanese and the consequent loss of political support for that party. I said, “It is an avalanche, it’s not trickles, it’s a deluge -everybody (cut short), peo-

ple who believed that they stood for something that was different have now seen the true nature of the AFC.” The discussion had absolutely nothing to do with Amerindians”.

Jagdeo reminded that the statement he made was

Teens on bail for rape of 11-year-old

T

hree teenage boys were on Friday placed on a total of $150,000 bail when they appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan charged for raping an 11-year-old girl.

It is alleged that the accused: a 14-year-old, a 15-year-old and 18-yearold Caozuyag Menuy, while in the vicinity of Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara be-

tween October 1 and October 31, 2017, had sexual intercourse with a girl who is under the age of consent.

According to the prosecution’s case, the boys allegedly held the child down and molested her, and the matter was reported to the Police after the child informed her parents about what had transpired.

Defence attorney Paul Fung-a-Fat, in an application for bail for the boys, asked that the Magistrate be lenient and grant bail in a reasonable amount.

Bail was granted in the sum of $70,000 for the 18-year-old, while the 15-year-old and the 14-yearold were each placed on $40,000 bail. The case will continue on August 24.

at that press conference was done at the commencement of the media engagement.

He urged people to look at the entire press conference, particularly the beginning, where he spoke extensively about the struggles of Indigenous Peoples.

“Only warped minds or desperate politicians (and there are many around now)

would think that after a lifetime of struggling for greater respect, rights and development for our Amerindian brothers and sisters, I would resort to the use of a word that I find personally reprehensible,” the statement said.

He said he would address this issue further at his upcoming press conference.

10 news

SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Stabroek Market robbery

Accused bandits each released on $1.5M bail A

lmost a month after three market vendors were remanded for breaking and entering the L. Seepersaud Maraj & Sons Jewellery Store in the Stabroek Market and stealing $22 million worth of gold and diamond jewellery, they were successful in petitioning the court to be placed on bail; and Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan has placed each accused on $1.5 million bail.

The accused: Tyron Marks, 31, of Lot 107 Eccles, East Bank Demerara; Clifford Rodney, 66, of Lot 265 One Mile, Linden; and Albert De Freitas, 54, of Leopold Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, were remanded when they

Clifford Rodney

Albert Defreitas

Tyron Marks

had made their first appearance before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

According to the prosecution’s case, between July 2 and July 3, 2018, the men broke and entered the jewellery store located in the Stabroek

Market.

The men were represented by defence attorneys Pamela De Santos, Kezia Williams and Adrian Thompson respectively. These defence attorneys, in their bail applications, each informed the court that their clients were beaten by Police to confess to the theft.

Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers had objected to the men being placed on bail, and had informed the court that the men have pending matters of a similar nature before the courts, while citing the serious nature of the offence and the value of the items.

The court was told that during a video interrogation with investigators, two of the men admitted to cutting into the store’s safe to gain access to the items.

Reports are that on July 3, 2018, when the owners and employees of the jewellery store arrived at the Market, they realised the store had been robbed. Upon checking, they discovered the entire store ransacked, and the vault torched open.

In a press statement, the owners had said the robbery was the work of “highly-skilled thieves.”

According to the owners, they had consulted with several security specialists and others trained in ironwork and welding, and were informed that it would have taken no less than five hours for

the vaults to be cut open. It was further revealed that the owners had spoken to two City Constables, who claimed that checks were done earlier in the Market, but nothing was discovered.

Additionally, the stall was secured with an alarm system that was being monitored by the MMC Security Force.

Meanwhile, Crime Chief Paul Williams headed to the scene a team that was able to collect fingerprints from one of the heavy-duty safes in which the jewellery was secured.

Meanwhile, the robbery has yet again raised concerns about security at the market.

Only recently, the City Constabulary named Stabroek and Bourda markets as popular criminal hotspots where consumers are attacked and robbed on a daily basis. These offences are suspected to be gang-related.

Chief Constable Andrew Foo has stated that the Markets have been on their radar for quite a while now in light of the increase in criminal activities there.

Foo explained that at the Stabroek Market, since it is a transportation hub, persons entering and leaving public transportation are the main targets. With respect to Bourda Market, most of the incidents occur among vendors and shoppers in the rush hours, when sales are at a peak.

Cricket fever

S

atiricus was still smiling at the thought of his Warriors’ first victory. What a sight it was!! Every seat in the Stadium filled – but suddenly emptied, as their occupants spontaneously jumped to their feet, arms in the air, and screaming in unison!! How sweet it was!!

As he hurried over to the Back Street Bar, Satiricus knew he’d been taught that winning wasn’t everything.

And it was how you played the game.

“But damn!! Winning is better than losing!!” he said aloud emphatically as he reached the table where the fellas were already seated.

“Ah wha’ yuh win, Sato?” asked Bungi as he pushed a beer towards Satiricus. “Latto?”

“No! I wish!!” said Satiricus as he took a long pull of his beer. “I’m talking about our Warriors’ win Thursday night!!”

“Yeah! Da bin good!” agreed Cappo. “Me hope dem win tonite.”

“Of course they’ll win!” said Hari. “I put my black tongue on them!!”

“With that kid Hetmyer on his streak, we don’t need that black tongue!” joked Satiricus. “Maybe you can put it on me for this week’s lotto!”

“Ta’king ‘bout luck,” said Bungi, “Me cyaan believe dem people run out ah beer!”

“Budday! Yuh see dem fella sid-dong nex’ to abee drink beer?” asked Cappo. “Dem mek abee look like lil bai!!”

“Well today, we’re going to the mound,” said Hari. “I hear they have unlimited beer there!”

“For free?” asked Satiricus hopefully.

“Nutten na free in life, Sato,” advised Cappo. “’Cept de free ball when dem bowl no ball!!”

“Well, me know how me ca mek some free money,” said Bungi. “Yuh waan bet de Warriah dem win again tonite?”

“You know we don’t bet against our own team,” said Hari. “It’s bad luck!”

“Here you go again with the ‘luck’ business!” complained Satiricus. “Our boys don’t need luck; they have us backing them from the stands!!”

“Abee a de 12 maan!” chuckled Cappo.

“Let’s drink to us!” said Hari, raising his beer bottle.

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SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

Charity Market Wharf

Avoiding the resource curse

By Ryhaan Shah

A

lready, most of us are very concerned at what we see as mismanagement, corruption, and the overblown expectations of the Granger Government with regard to the oil and gas industry. This despite the many warnings sounded and the valuable lessons that can be learned from countries that have successfully managed large natural resource wealth.

The phenomenon known as the paradox of plenty is particularly associated with non-renewable resources such as oil and gas. What brings on the resource curse is arguable: whether it stems from greater volatility as dependence on the major revenue earner becomes linked to swings in global markets; whether from weak institutional infrastructure; or whether it stems simply from a sharp rise in corruption and mismanagement of a weak or compromised Government.

There are grand failures, such as Nigeria, where the oil industry is wracked by corruption and mismanagement. Analysts contend that whereas oil was expected to add value to the average Nigerian, it has actually become a cost, because of the irresponsibility of the officials tasked with managing the sector.

Guyana seems headed in this direction, and appears unwilling to learn from countries that are managing their wealth with due diligence and prudence.

Canada has the world’s second largest oil reserves, and is the third largest producer of aluminium and diamonds. The country implements and applies strict regulations, and much of the oversight of royalties, taxes, incentives, permits and licensing is done through provincial bodies. The National Energy Board, which oversees regulations, also answers to Parliament.

Chile, which is the world’s top producer of copper, has -- like Canada -- managed to stave off the resource curse by ensuring full transparency through the regular publication of information by the Finance Ministry on both the operations and revenues earned, along with comprehensive oversight of royalties, taxes, production values, and environmental assessments.

Since large reserves of oil and gas were discovered in Norway in the 1960s, the country introduced a novel approach to managing such wealth. Each year, Norway sets aside its oil earnings and takes out 4 percent to be used for public services.

This prevents wealth concentration, currency appreciation, and mismanagement and corruption by public officials; and other countries, like Israel, Chile and Colombia, have adopted similar measures.

Botswana, the world’s largest producer of diamonds, has also managed to avoid the resource curse, and uses a three-pronged approach to its wealth management. With vision and foresight, Botswana pursues economic diversification, divests revenues to make the country less susceptible to global market volatility, and invests surplus revenue in the country’s development. Botswana continues to be one of the least corrupt of African countries, and remains largely conflict-free.

Already in Guyana, nothing like transparency, providing information to the public, and getting ready to establish strict regulations and oversight is being done. In fact, it’s just the opposite, and the Green Paper with proposals to establish the Sovereign Wealth Fund tabled in the National Assembly does nothing to dispel the grave concerns.

Government’s track record on diversification, for instance, is non-existent. It shut down three sugar estates, making over 6,000 jobless, without ever considering how the estates could be diversified to ethanol or other production to make them profitable.

Another case in point is the newly appointed head of the allimportant Department of Energy, Dr Mark Bynoe. There was no transparency in this selection. He was handpicked by Granger, and we are being assured that his woeful lack of qualifications and experience in the oil and gas sector is to be bolstered by paid expertise at an additional cost to taxpayers. Note, also, that final decisions will rest with him.

Where there should have been a global, transparent search for the best candidate for this crucial post, the PNC Government has anointed a party loyalist who will basically toe the line. This is the Burnhamism that wrecked Guyana, and it does nothing to instil confidence in Government’s handling of the oil sector thus far.

Government’s top economist, Professor Clive Thomas, proposes that, come 2020, each household should be given one million Guyana dollars annually to spend as they please.

This might well be the PNC’s campaign strategy for re-election in 2020: to literally buy votes; and there is a substantial body of citizens who would welcome such handouts. For lower-paid workers, who do not earn a million a year, why would they bother to work at all?

Most Guyanese would much prefer that, like every other country with wealth earned from non-renewable resources, the earnings be prudently managed and invested in long-term development projects that would provide gainful employment for everyone.

RDC to approach Govt for assistance …as wharf continues to rapidly deteriorate

W

eeks after being instructed by the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) to write the Public Infrastructure Ministry requesting emergency support to rehabilitate the Charity Marketing Centre Wharf, Regional Executive Officer Rupert Hopkinson said he is yet to do so.

During the last RDC meeting, Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt asked Hopkinson to again write Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson on the importance of Government’s intervention, noting that emergency works are needed to fix the piles on which the massive concrete structure rests.

When contacted on Saturday, Hopkinson said the situation remains the same and he is yet to write to the Minister requesting Government’s assistance.

He did not relate when he would dispatch the letter but did say that the region cannot afford to undertake a project of such magnitude.

Business owners in the

The Charity Market Wharf

region are contending if mechanisms are not urgently put in place to save the 38-year-old facility, the entire structure would soon collapse into the Pomeroon River, taking with it millions of dollars in goods and other valuables, not to mention priceless lives.

The waterfront is an important hub for many to ply their trade throughout the week, while thousands of customers utilise the services that are being offered. Businesses housed inside the Charity Marketing Centre serve residents in the far north corners of Guyana, and if this building

should collapse due to negligence, great financial losses would be incurred as well as deprivation of much needed services.

About a year ago, a study was done by local engineers, who recommended immediate replacement of all the piles upon which the structure rests. An examination of the underside of the structure reveals that all the piles are seriously rotted and only a few are providing support to the building.

During a visit to the wharf earlier this year, Regional Chairman Ramdatt told this publication that the region had, last

August, communicated with the Public Infrastructure Ministry about the structure and the urgency for remedial work to be conducted thereon.

At the moment, the green heart pillars supporting the wharf are rotten and shaking; and despite repeatedly being cautioned, over 30 folks continued to vend on the wharf.

“We have gotten reports that heavy-duty trucks are driving on top the structure.

The structure, as it is, cannot withstand weight, and it can very well collapse. We have been educating persons about this, but still reports indicate persons are driving on it in the nights,” the Regional Chairman had explained.

During interviews, many vendors declared that they depend on vending to support their families, and have called on the relevant authorities to take their plight into consideration. The Charity/Urasara Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) placed bars in an effort to block vehicles from traversing the wharf, since the situation was too dangerous.

Body found floating in Canal No 1 trench

T

he body of a male of East Indian descent was spotted by a resident floating face down in a waterway running from east to west at Canal Number One, West Bank Demerara on Friday at about 11:00h.

Fished out therefrom, the body was clad in an orange T-shirt, a pair of

cream three-quarter cargo pants, and a black hat.

The Police were summoned, and according to information they supplied, no marks of violence were evident on the body.

It is presently at the Ezekiel Funeral Home, awaiting identification and a post mortem.

12 news

SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

“No sugar crop, no co-gen production” – SECI Chairman

By Jarryl Bryan

W

ith the divestment of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) ongoing, times have changed for Skeldon Energy Company Incorporated (SECI). Once assured of its bagasse supply from sugarcane production, the company must now find new ways to generate power for the Berbice grid in order to survive.

In an interview with Guyana Times, SECI Chairman Lloyd Rose spoke of this dilemma and the company’s efforts to overcome it.

One of the challenges the diversification initiative faces is the weather and the effect it has had on supplies.

“We have not gotten off the ground with that initiative, the weather being a factor,” he explained. “That has impacted the ability to supply the (materials). So the weather is now clearing up.

And we are moving towards receiving starting sometime this month. We are engaged with a number of interested suppliers including the community.”

“So the exercise is now wrapping up and in any event we are now concluding some remedial repairs and maintenance works on the boilers. So we are on the up, but not there yet,” the Chairman noted.

Rose explained that his-

Media operatives during a tour of the Skeldon plant last year

torically, the SECI factory used the excess bagasse that GuySuCo produced when it grinds the sugarcane gleaned from the fields. This is indeed historical, as sugar production has slumped dramatically owing to the current downsizing of the industry.

“The GuySuCo people have informed us that they, at the moment, have no surplus of the bagasse. But that is at the moment. Of course, as they ramp up their production and get uneven yields, there will be a surplus. But for now, there is no surplus.

We’re hoping that situation will change when they commence and they’re well into the crop, which is scheduled to commence the beginning of September.”

“What that means is there is no sugar crop, there is no production. There is no co-gen plant operation. We’re trying to move beyond that, in the context of no sugar production, whether it has to do with out of season or whether it has to do with Skeldon not operating at all as a sugar factory. We’re trying to move to a point of performing irrespective of bagasse and sugar production. But if

the sugar is there, we’re all set up to receive it.”

As the saying goes, one must crawl before one leaps.

And with the co-gen plant not producing what it has the capacity to; Rose explained that active efforts are being made to restart interim operations. This means attaining other biomass supplies in the short-term. In the long-term, Rose has hopes of crops being produced specifically for energy.

“Therefore the quest to get other bio mass (like) rice husk or more particularly, the firewood, to continue the operation of the plant. So that is the interim position.

Ultimately, depends on what outcomes there are to the divestment process.”

“Ultimately, the next stage is energy crops, which are cultivated specifically to feed the co-gen plant.

So there are two stages envisaged with this move. But all of that will be moderated with the outcome of the process of divestment. We’re not waiting, so we’re proceeding apace.”

Timelines

On the matter of timelines, he noted that they

plan to have limited operations with the firewood by next month. He noted the importance of waiting for the rainy season to come to an end.

“We’re preparing for that right now. And we should have a ramp up of the ability to supply because of the changing weather. So at the end of the rainy season, being as it is, we’re hoping to get there.”

“Now if by any chance there is going to be a second crop at Skeldon, we’ll be prepared and ready to use it… but we’re moving beyond that and our operation will be based on the firewood and biomass, no later than September. And we hope to wrap that up, as we go forward.”

When renewable energy comes up, the risk that the national grid could become unstable when such energy is integrated into it is usually cited. However, Guyana has for almost a decade been successfully integrating renewable energy into the grid as a result of the Skeldon Cogeneration Plant, which was established by the previous government.

But in June 2017, the cogen plant was described as a ‘ticking time bomb’ that required US$2.5 million to restart the 30MW bagasse-fuelled component of the facility, and an additional US$17 million in order to fix other deficiencies.

SECI, a special purpose company owned by the Government’s holding company, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited and the Guyana Power and Light, purchased the Co-generation Plant from GuySuCo for an announced price of US$30 million.

Scenes from

13

SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Hero CPL Match 4 at Providence‌

14 news

SUnDAY, august 12, 2018| guyanatimesgy.com

New GuySuCo CEO takes up post tomorrow

N

ewly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Dr Harold Davis, will officially take up the post on Monday.

The Agriculture Ministry (MoA), in a statement on Saturday, said Davis is tasked with modernising the three remaining sugar estates, which are the production centres. This process will entail transforming infrastructure, agricultural and other practices, and retooling the factories at Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt. The MoA noted that one of the key focus areas for the new CEO will be to increase the competitiveness of GuySuCo with the production of high value sugars.

A precursor to this will be increasing sugarcane yields to beyond 70 tonnes cane per hectare. A land development programme has already re-commenced under Dr Davis’s watch as Agriculture Director, and this is being conducted in a very technically sound manner. In addition to attracting high quality skills to support the modernisation of GuySuCo, improving the capacity of the workforce through training and development is a high priority item on Davis’s agenda.

“In terms of the process for achieving his goals and objectives, focus will be on the establishment of a sound, highly skilled management team with a range of relevant expertise. The production centres – estates -- are the core of the business, and strong teams will be built around providing the requisite support to achieve and

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

I

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder and new GuySuCo CEO, Dr Harold Davis

surpass the 147,000 tonnes production target by 2021,” the statement related.

The MoA has said that in an effort to create and deliver more value, co-generation facilities will be constructed and the factory at Albion Estate will be upgraded to produce plantation white sugar. Additionally, consideration will be given to the expansion of production at Blairmont Estate to accommodate increased production of direct consumption sugars, among other things.

Feasibility studies on co-generation have been completed for two factories, and a further study will be conducted on the third estate. The first co-generation project would commence on Albion Estate within the planned period, the statement indicated.

This approach is guided by GuySuCo’s new ‘Sustainable Business Model’, which focuses on achieving a triple bottom line (TBL) – economic/financial, environmen-

tal and social -- and ensures more accountability in all three areas, while adding more structure around becoming a more environmentally sensitive business as well as cost reduction.

Davis takes over the reins from Bhim, who was one of the members of the Interim Management Committee (IMC), established in 2015.

Meanwhile, a new GuySuCo board is yet to be named. The life of the previous board expired since February of this year, and a new board with Special Purpose Unit (SPU) Head Colvin-Heath London was gazetted. It however subsequently emerged that the old board was still in effect amid reports of a split at Cabinet over the new board’s composition. There has since been much confusion over the matter.

Over 5000 sugar workers from Enmore, Rose Hall and Skeldon were dismissed from their jobs following the downsizing of the sugar industry.

n many parts of the world, the Indigenous Peoples are seen as a very vulnerable and marginalised group.

More often than not, their rights are trampled, and they have little or no input into the developmental process.

However, the United Nations have recognised the need for inclusivity of Indigenous populations, and protection of their rights. To this end, the United Nations Assembly, in 1994, designated August 9th each year as the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.

This year’s celebrations will be held under the theme “Indigenous peoples' migration and movement". Movement of Indigenous peoples has been associated with the loss of traditional lands, or restricted access to resources due to development and other pressures. Many therefore migrate to urban areas in search of a better life, including access to education and employment. The disadvantage of such migration, though, is associated with loss of traditional customs and practices (knowledge). During this year's observance, focus will be placed on exploring the challenges and way forward to revitalise Indigenous Peoples' identities, and encourage the protection of their rights within or outside their traditional lands.

Recognising the contributions of our Indigenous Peoples in Guyana As global issues of biodiversity conservation increase due to habitat destruction, climate change, and increased demand on resources due to human population growth, there is need for more acknowledgement and recognition of the sustainable way of life of Indigenous Peoples. For hundreds of years, many traditional customs and practices have innately promoted wise use of rainforest and freshwater resources. As avid hunters and gatherers, they have proven themselves to be most knowledgeable of the natural world.

Traditional hunting and fishing methods continue to be used to this day, which clearly support sustainable use and conservation efforts in stark contrast with the conservation impacts of present day methods involving the use of high-powered firearms and fishing seines, for example.

Today, while many Indigenous communities have adapted and incorporated some of these methods for hunting and fishing, the principle of sustainable and wise use of resources remains at the forefront.

However, due to lack of job opportunities, the threat of over-exploitation and overharvesting of resources is becoming a challenge.

Success stories in Guyana Here, in Guyana, there are some success stories to be proud of. The people of the Rupununi, predominantly Makushi and Wapishana Indigenous nations, have stood firm in promoting their traditional customs at the village level. They have been strongly engaged by governmental and nongovernmental agencies in conservation efforts. Not surprisingly, our Indigenous Peoples of the Rupununi are closely associated with the successful management and protection of the Iwokrama Rainforest and the Kanuku Mountains. Also, in the Deep South Rupununi, the Wai-Wai community of Konashen is the first 'community-owned' Conservation Area in Guyana -- an officially Protected Area under the Protected Areas Act of 2011.

The Shell Beach Protected Area in the North-West District in Region 1 of Guyana also has strong ties with the Indigenous communities present there -- the Awarak, Carib and Warrau nations. Their traditional way of life continues to support the protection of this region's unique ecosystems and the diverse biodiversity which they support.

Indeed, the importance of recognising, respecting, and better engaging the Indigenous Peoples of our country is vital in our quest for sustainable development.

Addressing underlying challenges From a biodiversity conservation lens, Guyana's obligations to the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) include working towards achieving several Aichi Targets, one of which speaks specifically to Indigenous Peoples and, more specifically, the preservation of their traditional knowledge.

Aichi Target 18 states that, by 2020, the traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of Indigenous and local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and their customary use of biological resources are respected, subject to national legislation and relevant international obligations; and are fully integrated and reflected in the implementation of the Convention with the full and effective participation of Indigenous and local communities at all relevant levels.

With this target in mind, a Darwin Project (UK-funded) titled 'Integrating Traditional Knowledge into National Policy and Practice' is underway, and seeks to work collaboratively with the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples' Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Protected Areas Commission, and local Indigenous NGOs such as the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB), the Kanuku Mountains Communities Representative Group (KMCRG) and the South Central Peoples Development Association (SCPDA).

The project aims to provide policylevel guidance, capacity development, and research-led experience for the incorporation of traditional knowledge into local biodiversity conservation decision-making, monitoring, and policy development. The project thus has been targeting communities associated with the established Protected Areas in Guyana.

Recognising the underlying challenge being the lack of Indigenous communities’ members’ input in decision-making, a communication approach of participatory video dialogue is being trialed. Participatory video involves community members sharing their views and opinions relative to issues that affect them, and providing recommendations to relevant stakeholders - without those stakeholders even coming to them.

To learn more about this project, please visit our website at: http://projectcobra.org/ cobra-project/traditional-knowledge-andconservation-in-guyana/ and follow us on Facebook at Project COBRA.

You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O ECEA Programme, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email us at: eit.epaguyana@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

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SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

The Green State Development Framework on the coverage of Guyana’s Financial Sector appears to be deeply flawed

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ast Sunday, August 05, 2018, an article appeared in the print media with the caption “Coverage of Guyana’s Financial Sector deemed poor…Nation has fewer bank branches per capita than its regional neighbours – report.” The report being referenced therein is the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), prepared by the United Nations in partnership with the Ministry of the Presidency.

It was thus cited that coverage of the financial sector is still poor. The report noted that Guyana has “fewer bank branches per capita than its neighbours, Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname (8.4 per 100,000 in Guyana versus 13.0 in Trinidad & Tobago and 11.1 in Suriname).” The report also noted “fewer ATMs per capita (16.7 per 100,000 people in Guyana versus 41.0 in Trinidad & Tobago and 47.8 in Suriname).” It was acknowledged, however (in the report), that Port Kaituma and Lethem are the only hinterland communities with bank branches.

While it is correct to say that there are indeed fewer bank branches across the country, the analysis upon which such position was arrived failed to consider some other critical elements. To this end, the analysis is deemed to be deeply flawed, as the following sections seek to highlight these other important considerations that were omitted from the analysis, as it would appear.

Population Size (Area) GDP (2017) GDP Per Capita (2017) Guyana 750,000 83,000 sq.

US$3.68 US$4,900 miles Billion Suriname 563,000 63,251 sq.

US$3.32 US$6,000 miles Billion Trinidad & 1,370,000 1,980 sq. US$22 Bil- US$15,351 Tobago miles lion Looking at the data illustrated in the above table, Guyana is 42 times larger than Trinidad in its Geographic size; or, put differently, a country with the size of Trinidad & Tobago can literally fit in Guyana 42 times. Secondly, Trinidad’s population is more than one and a half times the size of Guyana’s population; Trinidad’s GDP of US$22 billion is almost six times Guyana’s GDP of US$3.68 billion; and Trinidad’s GDP per capita of US$15,351 is about three times Guyana’s GDP per capita of US$4,900.

Suriname, on the other hand, is smaller than Guyana in terms of size by 19,749 sq. miles with a smaller population in comparison to Guyana’s of 187,000 less people, a slightly smaller GDP (by US$360 million) but with a higher GDP per capita of US$6,000 (largely because of its smaller population) when compared to Guyana’s. These are extremely critical elements highlighted herein, and they ought to have been considered in such an analysis, but the GSDS seemed to have ignored them, and this therefore inherently led to a flawed conclusion. It is in these respects that it is considered imprudent to compare Guyana’s financial sector coverage with two neighbouring countries with completely different economic dynamics and status relative to Guyana.

Moreover, citing the National Development Strategy (Guyana) document, recognition has been given to the fact that Guyana is very poorly supplied with roads. As such, “the transport system affects the country’s social and economic development in many ways. For example, it increases production costs, and as such, constrains our national competitiveness, particularly in the mining and forestry sectors. It also inhibits the country’s capacity to fully utilise those natural resources that are not located on the coastland. Therefore, by limiting communication between those who live on the coastland and those who inhabit the hinterland, the country is effectively divided into two almost unbridgeable cultures. There is also a restriction to the coastal population’s penetration of the hinterland regions, and this, as such, forces coastlanders to live in a cramped and crowded manner on the coast, struggling and competing for land space and other amenities, while more suitable areas are available farther south”.

(This discussion will be continued next week; and for simplicity, the author will explain what is GDP and GDP per capita as well).

(For comments, questions and responses on articles featured in this column, readers can reach the author at jbinsights@outlook.com).

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SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

“Persons with disabilities can shape their own future” – Lawrence

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ublic Health Minister Volda Lawrence on Friday said there is hope for people living with disabilities, as they, too, have the ability to shape their own future, especially if the opportunities are made available to them.

She was delivering feature remarks at the closing ceremony of a two-week capacity building programme for orthotic and prosthetic technicians at the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre. The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), and the Public Health Ministry, and was facilitated

by United States-based non-profit organisation Prosthetika.

Over the past two weeks, 25 transtibial, transfemoral, congenital and bilateral amputees were evaluated and fitted with the prosthesis; a move that brought life-changing experiences to the recipients. The prosthetic limbs and orthotic devices were all made by the technicians at the centre. The recipients range from age 18 to age 65.

“For far too long, this section of persons with disabilities have been stigmatised, to the point that persons

themselves with disabilities deem themselves worthless and failures of society,” the minister is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying. She added that the mindset of persons must change.

“We in society have to first accept that these people are not stowaways; that they are humans too, and they still can make a contribution to society.

So kudos to all of you who have been fitted!” she declared.

Chairperson of the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, Col. Randolph Storm, said the capacity training was very much needed at the organisation. Local technicians are now capable of providing improved services to the communities they serve. The workshop, he said, played an integral role in the institute’s mission of providing specialised rehabilitative care for persons throughout Guyana.

“Because we are aware of our impact on the lives of these persons, we constantly strive to meet the needs of our clients and patients with the acquisition of new technology.”

The rehabilitation centre hopes that a similar training will be held in 2019.

For agonistic, not antagonistic politics

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A recipient of the prosthetic limb at the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre

TCV to embark on anti-suicide training next year

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uyanese from all regions will be benefiting from a year of suicide prevention training come July 2019, when The Caribbean Voice (TCV) commences its training exercise in this regard in various communities in Guyana.

Speaking at a TCV press conference, Education and Training Director Leslyn Rose Holder announced that TCV will be engaging members of the public in various communities in the training sessions, to enable them to become first respondents

and give additional knowledge in areas which involve incidents relating to violence.

The entire year’s programme will cost TCV US$32,000, but the organisation has already acquired US$8,000.

“Our Counsellor Programme is a training programme we decided to put in place to replace the Gatekeeper’s Programme and focus more on persons in the community becoming trainers themselves and first responders mainly. This programme starts in July next year. It would run for one year,” Ms Holder explained.

She noted that, in the past, the organisation had been spreading awareness on topics such as suicide; and this initiative would allow for trained persons to be present in the communities to address the concerns of those who may need help.

“We have been doing countrywide awareness training and capacity-building training. It has been running with the trainers programme for suicide prevention, and we are now embarking on more in-depth training for our anti-violence programme,” Holder said.

Sessions would be organised throughout Guyana, and in some densely populated regions, there will be multiple interactions with the participants. Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Four (Demerara Mahaica), Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) will be heavily focused on.

The organisers are encouraging public and private sector agencies to pledge financially towards the cause, in order that the programme can be successfully completed. Persons are also asked to attend the sessions whenever those are organised in their respective areas.

ome proponents of a new “third force” seem to be hinting this will deliver a mediated love fest into Guyanese politics. I, on the other hand, have always been wary of the implicitly liberal premise that lions and lambs can sit around a table and, through rational discussion, arrive at consensuses on which they can all act and live happily ever after. Maybe lions and lions, but never lions and lambs. Politics is always about lambs struggling to become lions, and the lions fending them off: in liberal polities, the opposition are the lambs with the party in power being the lions.

This proclivity to struggle is ineradicable because humans, pace the liberal view, do not only act out of cold, rational calculus.

There is always the messy business of predispositions -- feelings and emotions that coalesce in group solidarities, exclusions and antagonisms. All societies Ravi Dev are therefore “plural” to a lesser or greater degree.

In our plural society, where our divisions are not just around economic class issues, but include ethnicity and religion -going to the very heart of ascriptive identities -- the emotional effects are with us in spades because of incommensurable values. Consequently, the always latent tendency for our political struggles – and all the other struggles are ultimately over questions of power, and so are political – is to get out of hand.

This view of politics, which places conflict at the centre, goes beyond the old, familiar school of “conflict theorists” such as the Marxists. The latter, for instance, propose that while class conflict is immanent in the present capitalist conjuncture, once the working class assumes power, the conflict will disappear. Utopia would have arrived. I believe this to be a fairy tale. As I wrote over thirty years ago, humans will find one or other reason to divide themselves and deal with the “other” aggressively.

There is now a school of thought that accepts this tendency of humans to cleave into groups that manifest hostility towards each other: agonism. But rather than treating each other as enemies to be obliterated, the “other” is considered as adversaries with positions we cannot agree on, but yet respect. Rather that pretending, as liberalism does, that we can always rationally discuss away the immanent hostility between deeply divided groups, agonistic politics aims to challenge and channel it in non-destructive, institutionalised ways. If this is not done, then violence will erupt periodically, or large sections of some subaltern groups would have to be locked away, as in the US. The goal is not to find consensus at any cost, but to manage dissensus.

Each polity has its unique blend of incommensurable pluralism generating its own volatile melange of conflicts, and consequently there is no one silver bullet to confront them all. However, we can observe the trends in polities that have exposed the hollowness of both Marxist and liberal utopian thinking to deal with deep pluralism. Britain has devolved. India continues to do so. Sudan fissioned, as had Czechoslovakia earlier; not to mention Bosnia a tad more violently. Other conflict-ridden countries, such as Kenya, have furthered processes of extensive, deep, institutionalised devolution of power through federalism, which should facilitate agonistic politics at the grassroots level, and hopefully spare build-up of hostilities that can tear the country apart. We should extend this into our villages.

Thus, far from proposing love fests, I am suggesting the ever present simmering hostility ought not to be fanned, but given expression institutionally. Worse, it ought not to be moralised as a struggle between “good” and “evil”. This reinforces the feeling that the “other” is the “enemy” to be eliminated. No one gains when there are explosions. More pertinently, for peaceful political change, open hostilities scare away key constituencies that can secure an opposition victory. I am further saying that the present political arrangements would ensure that whichever side wins the election, unless a system is introduced that equitably distributes power among the various groups, we are ensuring that the inevitable resentment in the “remainders” will erupt sooner or later.

A distributed system, best exemplified by Federalism, also encourages some of the more mature present lions not to fight to the death. There will be “something” for everybody, without the need for the beneficence of future lions.

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SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

CGX names exploration well to honour Indigenous people

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GX Energy Incorporated announced its next exploration well with an Indigenous naming and blessing ceremony by the historic Aleluya Indigenous Group.

The ceremony, a collaboration between CGX and the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry, was held on Friday at the Umana Yana in the presence of Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge and Ministers of Government and other guests.

CGX Energy Incorporated’s latest exploration well, which was named “Utakwaaka”, is expected to be drilled in November 2019 in the company’s Corentyne Block offshore Guyana. Executive Chairman of CGX, Professor Suresh Narine noted that giving the well an Indigenous name is a departure from the norm in the oil industry. “[It is] to pay homage to and take strength sustenance and blessing from the wealth spring of spirituality and philosophy of our Indigenous peoples.” Traditionally, wells are named by the geologists who select the location.

Minister Greenidge noted that many Guyanese are proud of CGX for the work it has done in the country and its determination and resilience in exploration in the oil

Teen hospitalised after mistakenly drinking acid

A Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman and Executive Chairman of CGX Energy Inc, Professor Suresh Narine, after unveiling the name of the well

and gas industry.

“What we have achieved now… is in no small measure to the persistence of CGX itself in working with Guyanese, its technicians, investors to ensure that notwithstanding the disappointments … today we can celebrate.”

The naming of the well coincided with the company’s 20th anniversary. Professor Narine said it is important to CGX Energy Incorporated that the resource it is exploiting is used to enhance “that which we hold valuable rather than let it in itself define value to us”.

“Utakwaaka”, a Phillipai word means “the dawn of a new day, a ray of light a ray of hope,” Ovid Williams of the Aleluya Group explained.

The Aleluya Indigenous religion is considered one of the oldest known and only practising Indigenous religion in Guyana.

The group is made up of Indigenous people from the Phillipai and Amokokopai villages located in the Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock noted that the partnership is important and commended CGX for its collaboration. “This is a significant step for the oil sector and the Indigenous people of Guyana. It is in recognition of this intricate relationship shared with the Indigenous people of Guyana and the natural environment and resources.”

n 18-year-old is currently hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) after she reportedly drank acetic acid by mistake.

The incident occurred at about 11:00h in a stall at the Merriam Mall, Bourda, where Danielle Haley, a resident of the Joshua House, usually assist the owner with her craft business.

According to the stall

owner, Angela Robertson, she was at her business place with Haley, when the teenager asked her for some water as she was thirsty.

The young woman subsequently picked up a light blue plastic bottle that was on a counter top and drank some of its contents, which happened to be acetic acid.

Haley was immediately rushed to the GPHC, where she received medical atten-

tion and has been admitted a patient at the female medical ward.

The matter was reported to the Police by the businesswoman and investigators have since questioned several persons.

Moreover, the Police said the teenager was unable to give her statement.

Nevertheless, further investigations are in progress.

hree heavily armed bandits took off with a quantity of cash and valuables after robbing an Albouystown, Georgetown, family. The incident occurred at about 05:30h at the Lot 916 James Street, Albouystown, Georgetown house.

The victims have been identified as 67-year-old pensioner Noel Seepaul; housewife Neesha Seepaul, 59; Nandranie Persaud, 43; Sudourka Goodhand, 20; and 18-year-old Zoveena Khan.

According to reports, Khan, Goodhand and Neesha Seepaul were in the yard sitting when three identifiable males, all armed with handguns, entered the gate and held them at gun point.

The suspects then took the three females into the lower flat of the two-storey house and relieved them of their valuables. Khan

was relieved of a cellphone valued $16,000 and a gold chain valued $18,000; while Goodhand was relieved of her $22,000 cellphone; and Neesha Seepaul of $100,000.

Not satisfied, the bandits then escorted the victims to the upper flat, where they pounced on Noel Seepaul, who was robbed of $10,000; and Persaud, of $15,000 along

with two cellphones valued at $41,000.

The men then escaped on foot in the southern direction along James Street, Albouystown.

The matter was reported to the Police and investigators are expected to obtain CCTV footage from a nearby location to ascertain the identities of the three suspects as investigations continue.

Armed bandits rob Albouystown family T

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SUnDAY, august 12, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

Nobel Prize winner VS Naipaul dies

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rinidad-born author Sir VS Naipaul has died at his home in London, his family said in a statement on Saturday.

Mrs Nadira Naipaul said her 85-year-old husband, Sir Vidiadhar “Vidia” Surajprasad Naipaul, “… was a giant in all that he achieved, and he died surrounded by those he loved, having lived a life which was full of wonderful creativity and endeavour.”

The British laureate has had a decorated career, winning both the Nobel and Booker Prizes for his work, which ranged from comics earlier on to post-colonial life. He had published over 30 books, both of fiction and nonfiction, over the past 50plus years.

His most celebrated novel, “A House for Mr Biswas”, was based on the life of his late father, Seepersad, who wrote for the Trinidad Guardian newspaper. The late VS Naipaul was also well known for his work on Islamic fundamentalism and travel writings.

Sir Naipaul was born

Nobel Prize winner and renowned Caribbean writer, VS Naipaul

in Trinidad, which was the setting for most of his earlier work, and went to study in the United Kingdom after winning a Government scholarship to study at a university in any country of the British Commonwealth. He chose Oxford’s University College, where he suffered a nervous breakdown while studying. However, he had met his first wife, Patricia Hale, prior to this, and she helped him recover, also encouraging him to start writing.

The two then got married in 1955, one year after he moved to London and two years after they graduated. However, Hale died in 1996, and Naipaul, who was knighted in 1989, went on to marry Lady Nadira.

Among his earliest books are: The Mystic Masseur (1957); The Suffrage of Elvira (1958); Miguel Street (1959); In a Free State (1971), which won Britain’s Booker Prize; Guerrillas (1975); A Bend in the River (1979); A Way in the World (1994); The Mimic Men (1967); and The Enigma of Arrival (1987).

Sir Naipaul’s nonfiction works include: An Area of Darkness (1965); India: A Wounded Civilization (1977); India: A Million Mutinies Now (1990); The Five Societies—British, French, and Dutch—in the West Indies (1963); and Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey (1981).

Some of his most recent work were: Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions among the Converted Peoples (1998); Half a Life (2001); The Writer and the World (2002)

and Literary Occasions (2003); Magic Seeds (2004); and In The Masque of Africa (2010).

Naipaul won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 “for having united perceptive narrative and incor-

ruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories”.

After collapsing

$63M in contracts awarded for Indian Monument construction

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he Public Infrastructure Ministry has announced over $63 million in contracts have been awarded for the construction of a supporting structure for the Indian Arrival Monument at the Palmyra Village on the Corentyne, in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), after the base of the structure collapsed last year.

Information from the Public Infrastructure Ministry indicates that the works will commence on August 14 and are expected to be completed by October 31.

The construction is divided into eight lots and involves the creation of a base and podium for the monument, peripheral structures such as a perimeter walkway and parking area, internal and external landscaping, roadway and drainage, lighting and, a visitor’s gallery, fencing and a security hut.

From the eight lots, contracts were awarded for only two so far by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board. The first lot was awarded to Raffik and Sons General Building Contractors for a sum of $28.6 million while Lot Two has been awarded to A&A Engineering Services for a sum of $34.8 million.

The Ministry has also in-

dicated that the contracts for the other six remaining lots will be awarded by the third quarter of this year.

“This 12×12 monument is sculpted in bronze and is a visual representation of ordinary Indian people in routine everyday life with each bearing a significant artefact as an ode to

Government to request a report and it was later related that they offered to send skilled craftsmen to rebuild it.

At the time of the collapse, then Regional Chairman David Armogan had stated that the Administration would not be accepting accountabil-

The monument after it collapsed last year

the continued traditions brought by forefathers from India translated to current livelihood and practices by Guyanese today,” the Ministry stated.

The monument was gifted to Guyana by the Government of India to symbolise the country’s cultural celebration and it was built by MS Collin Mathis and Associates. However, in April 2017, the structure came crashing down which prompted the Indian

ity for the poor construction and whole the Public Infrastructure Ministry had said the project falls under the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport within the Education Ministry. A source at the Department told this publication that the Department was not responsible for the project.

They then referred the matter to the Ministry of the Presidency while noting that they should accept responsibility.

sunDAY, august 12, 2018

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CFU 2018 Boys’ U14 Challenge Series…

James’ hat-trick spurs Guyana to first win

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he National U14 Boys’ team registered their first win of the CFU Boys’ U14 Challenge when they defeated Bonaire by a 5 – 1 margin in their third match of the tournament at the Ergilio Hata Stadium, Curacao.

Among the goal scorers were Shoran James who scored a hat trick complemented by one goal each by Kevon Scott and Rajan Ramdeholl.

According to Head Coach, Bryan Joseph, while Guyana dominated possession during the match, conversion of those chances was a challenge: “The 5 – 1 result does not truly reflect the amount of possession we had and the number of chances we created. We created quite a number of chances but we just could not finish. It’s a good result for us; there are a lot of positives from the game.”

One such positive, according to Joseph, was the willingness of the team to execute the national playing philosophy: “The opposition was

not of the quality as the two previous games but I’m happy the team showed a willingness to put the ball down and played through the lines and try to be positive in possession without making rash decisions. That is a major part of the playing philosophy that we are trying to instill so it was good to see the players take it on board and bring a good result at the end of the game.”

Looking ahead to their final match against Aruba, Bryan said the team will seek to build on the positives: “Going forward to our final game on Sunday, we look to build on the positives and do things even better and improve on the weaker areas.”

The starting line u14 team led by Midfielder Ramdeholl was as follows: Gerald Whittington (GK), Kevin Mullin, Brandon Solomon, Oswin Archer, Tyquan Brumell, Shoran James, Rajan Ramdeholl, Samuel Garnett, Keishawn Smith, Daniel Lowe and Devon Padmore.

Guyana’s starting lineup against Bonaire

Woakes hits maiden century to put hosts in charge

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hris Woakes’ maiden Test century put England in total control on the third day of the second Test against India.

The all-rounder’s unbeaten 120, coupled with 93 from Jonny Bairstow, took the hosts to 357-6, a lead of 250.

England slipped to 89-4 before Bairstow and Woakes shared a sixth-wicket stand of 179 at Lord’s.

Heavy rain is expected for much of Sunday, but England have put themselves in an ideal position to win this Test and take a 2-0 lead in the series.

Although bad light ended play early and spared India further punishment, they will need a much-improved batting performance after their first-innings 107 if they are to save the match.

Woakes repays England’s faith

It was not certain that Woakes, recently recovered from injury, would play in this Test. England decided on the second morning to select him over off-spinner Moeen Ali, with Ben Stokes on trial for affray.

Woakes had already impressed with the ball, dismissing India captain Virat Kohli in taking 2-19 on Friday, but was arguably even more impressive with the bat from number seven.

He immediately looked composed and his assured play calmed down Bairstow, who frequently played and missed early in his innings.

Bairstow reached his half-century first, cover driving leftarm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav for four, before Woakes outpaced him.

He targeted Ravichandran Ashwin, scooping him over the wicketkeeper’s head and flogging him over cow corner for four as he neared three figures.

The shot that brought up his century - a pull over mid-wicket for three - was a rare mistimed stroke.

Bairstow looked set to fol- India 1st Innings – 107 low Woakes to his hundred be- England 1st Innings fore he edged a flat-footed drive AN Cook c †Karthik b Sharma 21 KK Jennings lbw b at Hardik Pandya behind.

Mohammed Shami - he wasted one of England’s reviews by challenging the decision - before Shami drew Alastair Cook forward with a wonderful leg-cutter to take the outside edge.

Ollie Pope made a breezy start on his Test debut, flicking Ishant Sharma off his pads to get under way with a boundary, before he too was lbw playing across the line to Pandya.

J o e Root looked scratchy and, when he was caught on the crease by Shami on the stroke of lunch, England appeared in trouble.

Jos Buttler made 24 before he became another Shami lbw victim, but Woakes and Bairstow’s partnership, which spanned 43 overs, ensured England ended the day well on top.

India might be left to rue their team selection for this match.

They dropped seamer Umesh Yadav for Kuldeep, but he was untidy and proved expensive, with his nine overs costing 44.

The three seamers had the most impact on a pitch that still offered some moveExtras 19 (b 7, lb 10, nb 1, w 1) ment and showed signs of TOTAL 357-6 (81 Overs, RR: 4.4) low bounce, with four of the Yet to bat: AU Rashid, SCJ Broad, England top six dismissed lbw.

JM Anderson As the day progressed, Fall of wickets: 1-28 (KK Jennings, India became flatter in the 7.3 ov), 2-32 (AN Cook, 8.2 ov), field, and they were worked 3-77 (OJ Pope, 21.2 ov), 4-89 (JE Root, 24.4 ov), 5-131 (JC Buttler, around with ease by Woakes 31.1 ov), 6-320 (JM Bairstow, 74.4 and Sam Curran, who finished ov) unbeaten on 22, in the eveBOWLING: I Sharma (19-3-88- ning.

1), Mohammed Shami (19-4-74It is a tough ask for them to 3), Kuldeep Yadav (9-1-44-0), HH get something out of this Test.

SCOREBOARD

England top-order problems continue

India, bowled out in 35.2 overs on the second day of a rain-affected game, began the third day strongly with the ball.

Keaton Jennings was lbw playing around a full ball from

Mohammed Shami JE Root (c) lbw b Mohammed Shami OJ Pope lbw b Pandya JM Bairstow † c †Karthik b Pandya JC Buttler lbw b Mohammed Shami CR Woakes not out SM Curran not out

11 19 28 93

24 120 22

Pandya (17-0-66-2), R Ashwin (171-68-0)

(BBC Sport)

European Championships 2018…

Asher-Smith achieves sprint double with 200m win

Dina Asher-Smith will now hope to add 4x100m relay gold at the European Championships

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reat Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith completed a European Championships sprint double with a stunning victory in the 200m final in Berlin.

The 22-year-old, who broke her own British record to win the 100m, did so once again in the 200m as she left world champion Dafne Schippers trailing to take gold in 21.89 seconds.

Fellow Briton Shara Proctor, 29, took bronze in the women’s long jump.

And GB’s men won 4x400m relay silver, before the women’s quartet took bronze.

Laviai Nielsen, 22, finished fourth in the women’s 400m final.

The London 2012 volunteer, who helped Great Britain win world 4x400m silver last year but was not part of the relay team on Saturday night, clocked 51.21 secs, with Poland’s Justyna Ersetic-Swiety winning gold in 50.41 secs.

Britons Marc Scott (fifth), Chris Thompson (ninth) and Ben Connor (11th) failed to challenge for medals in the 5,000m final, which was won by 17-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen, with his brother Henrik - 10 years Jakob’s senior - taking silver.

The Norwegian had become the youngest ever European champion when he won the 1500m on Friday.

(BBC Sport)

20

guyanatimesGY.com

SUnDAY, august 12, 2018

GSCL Inc/ Ink Plus, Crown Mining Supplies and Elegance Jewellery & Pawn Shop Tournament quarter finals commence at Everest

W

hen the inaugural edition of the Prime Minister’s T20 Softball Cup concluded on October 29 in 2017 at the Everest Cricket Club ground, the organizers the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc (GCSL) were convinced that a new dispensation of softball cricket was born and that it is here to stay.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, President of the GSCL, Ian John promised a bigger and better tournament in 2018 and today they are ready to unveil the second edition of the tournament that will run from October 19 to 21 this year.

The official ceremony is slated to begin at 11:30h with presentations from Minister of Public Security Khemraj Flash back! Regal Masters won the Over-45 Title in the inaugural edition in 2017 Ramjattan who will be representing Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of Social Cohesion with responsibility for Sport Dr George Norton, Director or Sport Christopher Jones, representatives of teams and the league and sponsors.

Regal Masters won the Masters Over-45 title while Speed Boat were crowned champions of the All-Star category.

Prior to the symbolic launching, the ongoing Ink Plus, Crown Mining Supplies and Elegance Jewellery and Pawn Shop tourna-

ment will enter the quarter final phase with two matches.

Success Masters will meet H.S Masters on Pitch Number One while Wellman Masters will tackle Fishermen Masters on Pitch Number Two. Both games begin at 09:30h.

There is also a feature exhibition match planned which will see reigning Masters Champions, Regal Masters being challenged by Corriverton Spartans also from 09:30h on Pitch Number Three.

Some of the players to look out for in the Corriverton Spartans side include; Krishon Sobhai, Chandrashekar Arjune, Vishal Phillips, Randy Baichan, Kishan Gangaram and former national off-spinner Eon Hooper among others.

While the Regal Masters fight will come from last year’s MVP Mahesh Chunilall, Eric Thomas, Mahendra Hardyal, Eoin Abel, Fazleen Mohamed and Gamal Seenjan.

While the quarter finalists battle for places in the final-four stage of the tournament, the exhibition match will have trophies for the winning team, best batsman, best bowler and Man of the Match at stake.

The day’s proceedings are expected to be hosted by international cricket commentator, Inderjeet Persaud.

Stag Beer Revival Cup kick-off rescheduled

T

he kickoff of the inaugural tournament of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) Stag Beer Revival Cup has been rescheduled for Sunday, August 19.

According to a release from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), the unforeseen situation is as a result of the unavailability of the Tucville Ground due to the inclement weather.

Next Sunday’s opener will feature a triple-header as GT Panthers take on Northern Rangers FC at 15:00hrs, Georgetown Football Club battles Pele at 17:00 and Campton goes head to head with Police FC at 18:00hrs.

The tournament’s opening ceremony is scheduled to get underway at 16:30hrs where official remarks will be made by GFF, GFA-IMC officials and sponsors.

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21

Permaul confident

of team’s ability despite non-selection

F

ollowing another thrillis often times crucial to the er at the Providence way the pitch plays. “During the day, the wicket will be a National Stadium, this little more favoured to spin time involving the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the St. bowling, but in the night the Lucia Stars, the local team dew get the ball to come on is looking to secure 3 in 3 for a little bit more to that bat. I their first segment of home think that was the reason why matches. we had par score this game, and hopefully next game we The hope of leaving for got more runs on the board,” their Caribbean tour with a clean slate resonated far the spinner disclosed. beyond the pitch, field and Speaking on his fellow countryman Keemo Paul’s boundaries, even to the dressstunning last over which ing room where Guyanese steered the team to a nail bitbowler Veerasammy Permaul ing victory, Permaul revealed has spent the first two home games. that he has been observant of Permaul who is wait- Veerasammy Permaul speaks with the media after the Guyana Paul’s ability. He noted that the young man id doing well ing on his chance to don the Amazon Warriors encounter with the St Lucia Stars and like most of the country he Warrior’s outfit on the field, them by a solid partnership between is looking forward to more exrelated to the media that he is confident in the current team’s ability Trinidadian natives Kieran Pollard hilarating bowling from him. “I think and Lendl Simmons. “I think that ev- he’s an exceptional talent. Looking at ahead of Sunday’s match up.

“I think the guys really played well erybody believed that we could’ve won, him from last year, I think he really for the past two nights and it’s very im- we know that Pollard and Simmons developed as a player.”

Guyana will play their third home portant to win the home games. If you are destructive players and we knew if can win all you home games, it makes we could get either one out, it would match today against the Barbados it easier going outside and ending in pull the game back in our favour,” he Tridents, after which they will destated. the top two,” Permaul said. part to the Caribbean and Lauderhill With the Providence pitch looking a Florida for their away games, before The left arm spinner described the atmosphere in the dressing room when bit slow in Saturday evening’s match- returning to their homeland for their the match was almost taken from up, Permaul noted that the time of play final two home matches.

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n Monday, August 6, Phoenix Karate and 3Ryu Karate Club came together to grade the students from their respective clubs under the parent organization of the International Karate Daigaku (IKD), which is headed

by Shuseki Shihan Frank WoonA-Tai. Shihan Woon-A-Tai, who is in Guyana to conduct examinations and training for all the Dojos that fall under the IKD, oversaw the exams along with Sensei Roland Fanfair of 3Ryu and Senpai Michael Hing of Phoenix. Twelve karateka from Phoenix Karate and 6 from 3Ryu Karate Club went through their paces of kata and sparring.

Only one karateka, Sadiah Bradford, successfully graded for her 1st Dan performing kata, kata bunkai and freestyle sparring, while 2 other karateka, Uthan Henry and Darrel James, skipped belts from 5th to 3rd kyu, and 4th to 2nd kyu respective-

The successful students and inset Sadiah Bradford-1st Dan with L-R Senpai Michael Hing, Shuseki Shihan Frank Woon-ATai and Sensei Roland Fanfair

ly. These were students of Phoenix Karate.

After congratulating all of the students and encouraging them to continue training, Master WoonA-Tai spoke of the upcoming 50th Anniversary in November. It has been almost 55 years that he has been training and 50 years teaching the martial art.

Phoenix Karate Grading Results:

Jared Smith, Daniel Singh and Mesach Keiler - 8th KYU to 7th KYU Jaden Bacchus - 7th KYU to 6th KYU

Aiden Lovell, Chad Lovell and Gabriel Lewis - 6th KYU to 5th KYU Jemacy Holder - 5th KYU to 4th KYU Uthan Henry - 5th KYU to 3rd KYU (SKIPPED) Darrel James -4th KYU to 2nd KYU (SKIPPED) Che Talbot - 2nd KYU TO 1st KYU Sadiah Bradford - 1st KYU to 1st DAN

3RYU Karate Club Grading Results:

Aiden Persaud – 8th Kyu - 7th Kyu Christian Chase – 8th Kyu - 7th Kyu Jaden David – 8th Kyu - 7th Kyu Nicholas Sukhu – 7th Kyu - 6th Kyu Timothy Sukhu – 7th Kyu - 6th Kyu Analisa Persaud – 7th Kyu - 6th Kyu

22 Digicel wraps up Youth Cricket series with a trip to games D guyanatimesgy.com

SUnDAY, august 12, 2018

igicel Youth Cricket Series kicked off in April several months ahead of the Hero CPL 2018 tournament.

The DYCS was taken to several CPL markets where young aspiring cricketers got a chance to meet and learn from their ‘heroes’ CPL brand ambassadors like Devindra Bishoo, Steven Jacobs, Johnson Charles and Anderson Phillip among others.

On Saturday Digicel Guyana and CPL gave twenty deserving youths from Royal Rangers cricket club in Enmore a chance of a lifetime to meet members of the Guyana Amazon Warriors team shortly before play on Saturday. After the meet and greet the youths got to stay and watch the Guyana Amazon Warriors take on the St. Lucia Stars, compliments of Digicel, something many of them never thought possible.

“We are very pleased to be a part of this activity today, simply because providing these young people with an ‘experience’ and the possibility of changing the course of their lives through cricket is what the DYCS is all about. We are

Warriors’ Shimron Hetmyer has a chat with the Digicel Youth Cricket Series players

a lot of offered opportunities. Pastor Mahendra Sharma and other members from his Church, Foulis Elim Pentecostal church have taken the boys under the wings and formed a cricket club. They are using the sport of cricket to impart a sense of family and discipline for the boys, which they hope will give the lads a feeling of purpose by keeping them off the streets and interested sports.

“This is a great opportunity given to us

by Digicel today, this means a great deal to these boys and us. Many of them feel that no one cares for them and for a big company like Digicel The youths of the Digicel Youth Cricket Series had an opportunity to meet the Guyana to reach out to a small Amazon Warriors captain, Shoaib Malik cricket club like ours is giving them opportunity to experience CPL really touching to us. We first hand and meet and learn from their he- will never forget this day, thank you Digicel, thank you” roes. This is the essence of cricket, to fos- noted Sharma. ter development and growth of tomorrow’s For its second year the Digicel CPL Youth Series congeneration. CPL exemplifies this not only tinues to foster youth engagement and development. It in Guyana but throughout the region and has been conducted in the six competing CPL countries – Digicel cannot be any prouder to be a part of Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts this, Vidya Sanichara of Digicel said. & Nevis, and St. Lucia and has provided more children the The youths ranging from ages 12 to 17 opportunity to hone their cricket skills and learn from the were given this opportunity by Digicel and best talent in the game. Don’t forget to watch 2018 CPL CPL are mostly from broken homes with not highlights LIVE on #PlayGO.

September games tickets on sale from tomorrow

C

ricket enthusiasts showed out in their numbers to secure their tickets for Guyana’s first batch of home matches, as such, nothing different is expected when ticket sales begin for the last two home matches, which are scheduled for September 8 and 9.

Tickets for the Guyana Amazon Warriors encounter with the Trinbago Knight Riders and the Jamaica Tallawahs will go on sale on Monday, August 13 at the CPL ticket offices in Georgetown, New Amsterdam and Essequibo.

The locations at 238 Camp and Quamina Street, Lot 19 Princess Elizabeth Road Queenstown, New Amsterdam and Imam Bacchus General Store at Affiance, Essequibo Coast will be opened from 08:00 hrs to 17:00hrs on weekdays and from 09:00hrs to 13:00hrs on Saturdays.

The ticket prices for the sec-

23-member team to attend World Karate C/ships

A ond batch of home games will remain the same, with the Red and Green stands carrying a price of $5000, Orange stand- $3000 and the Grass Mound $2500.

Given the rush that the ticket offices have seen for the first set of matches, patrons are being advised to pick up their tickets as early as possible in order to avoid a hassle.

The electrifying Guyana Amazon Warriors team will face off with the Jamaica Tallawahs

on Saturday September 8 at 20:00hrs. The following day, Sunday September 9, the home team will play their final group match against the Trinbago Knight Riders at 18:00hrs.

Ticket sales for the two playoff matches which are also being held at the Providence National Stadium on September 10 and 11, will be announced at a later date. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of the biggest party in sport!

team of 23 from the Association do Shotokan Karate – Guyana (ASK-Guyana) will look to seek glory at the 3rd International K a r a t e Daigaku (IKD) World Karate Championships which is sched- Members of the team to attend the World Karate Championships uled to be held in to gain a podium spot for their country Barbados. and association. The competition will The team, to be led by Roger be huge with over 350 competitors vyPeroune, the Kata captain and Keith ing for the top spots.

Beaton, the Kumite captain, with The team was able to compete Amir Khouri who will be judging, thanks to the sponsors, and more so leaves on August 13 and returns on the parents of the team’s participants, the August 20. and support from the ASK-G fund With hopes at a high, members are raising team. anxiously awaiting their events so as

guyanatimesgy.com

SUnDAY, august 12, 2018

23

Hero CPL Match 4 at Providence…

Guyana Amazon Warriors beat

St Lucia Stars in nail-biting game off the loose deliveries, some of which went over the rope and into the stands. Simmons looked like a half-century but that was cut short by Emrit

their 100 in 13.4 overs with tons of batting left in the tank but Ronchi failed to bring up his 50 and was bowled comprehensively attempting

SCOREBOARD

A

Imran Tahir celebrates the dismissal of Andre Fletcher

ll-rounder Keemo Paul held his nerve in a last over thriller as the Guyana Amazon Warriors soared to their second straight win at home, beating the St Lucia Stars by 3 runs in Saturday evenings nail-biter in front another jam-packed crowd at Providence National Stadium, Guyana.

In a low-scoring match, drama unfolded in the final over with the Stars needing 16 from the last over bowled

by Paul (1-42). The first ball knocked over Kavem Hodge for a duck before being going for a six the very next ball by Mitchell McClenaghan.

A few singles saw the requirement being 5 runs from one legal delivery; to which the Young Windies pacer held his nerves and produced a good last ball to help his team keeping their unbeaten streak alive. In the end, the

duced 21, but was left unbeaten to take the Amazon warriors to 141-4 from their 20 overs.

Afghan leggy Qais Ahmad bowled like a true “Star”, snaring magical figures of 3-15 with his wide array of Googlies; bagging the big wickets of Walton, Hetmyer and Shoaib Malik, with Mark Chapman being the other wicket taker with 1-8.

Seamer Rayad Emrit grabbed 3-26 and 2-32 from South African Imran Tahir played crucial roles for their team. It was a watchful start to the chase from Andre Fletcher (14) and David Warner (11) who were forced to deal with a nippy Sohail Tanvir and a crafty Chris Green, up front.

After 5 overs the Stars were 25-0 with just three boundaries; two to Fletcher and one to Warner. The in-

Luke Ronchi (left) of Guyana Amazon Warriors receives the Republic Bank gift card

Stars could only muster 1387 in 20 overs.

Lendl Simmons smashed five sixes in his 45 with skipper Kieron Pollard hitting 32 in their fifty partnership which seemed like spoiling the Warriors’ fun. After missing out in the first game, New Zealander opener Luke Ronchi punched a top-score of 42 from 41 with a pair of fours and a six while his opening partner Chadwick Walton spanked a 24-ball 31. Shimron Hetmyer made a brisk 21 and got out while Jason Mohamed also pro-

troduction of Tahir resulted in a double blow for the Stars as he removed both openers via LBW in the 7th over of the game and the first of his spell.

Pollard and his countryman Simmons, both new at the crease were tasked with rebuilding the damage done by the South African leg-spinner. With the team’s 50 up after roughly 10 overs, Pollard freed his arms against Emrit to send his countryman flying into the Orange Stand rails for six.

The duo continued to pick

Guyana Amazon Warriors Innings (20 overs maximum) CAK Walton st †Fletcher b Qais Ahmad 31 L Ronchi † lbw b Chapman 42 SO Hetmyer c †Fletcher b Qais Ahmad 21 Shoaib Malik (c) b Qais Ahmad 8 JN Mohammed not out 20 SE Rutherford not out 16 Extras (b 1, w 2) 3 TOTAL(20 Overs, RR: 7.05) 141-4 Did not bat: CJ Green, Sohail Tanvir, Imran Tahir, RR Emrit, KMA Paul Fall of wickets: 1-54 (CAK Walton, 7.1 ov), 2-86 (SO Hetmyer, 11.5 ov), 3-98 (Shoaib Malik, 13.3 ov), 4-113 (L Ronchi, 15.6 ov) BOWLING: Mohammad Sami (2-0-20-0), KAR Hodge (4-0-240), MJ McClenaghan (1-0-150), KA Pollard (2-0-14-0), Qais Ahmad (4-0-15-3), KOK Williams (3-0-28-0), RRS Cornwall (3-016-0), MS Chapman (1-0-8-1)

five runs away from his milestone. With pressure mounting, Pollard was caught by Mohamed in the deep while Emrit disturbed the timber of Rakeem Cornwall with a yorker for 3, as Paul finished off the innings nicely.

Batting first, Warriors openers Walton and Ronchi put on a speedy 54 for the first wicket in a little under 8 overs. Walton was highly aggressive, showing glimpses of a big score which might soon come in the future. He clobbered four fours and a solitary six with precision, before being stumped by Fletcher off Ahmad.

Ronchi found the ropes a few times while an ever-improving Hetmyer reminded the Stars bowlers of his current form at Providence by racing to 21 off 19 balls with three fours; two of which were smacked of back-to back balls from Pollard.

The Kiwi raced into the 30’s by smashing medium-pacer Kesrick Williams down the ground for a six before Ahmad struck again, this time bagging the prized wicket of Hetmyer, who edged a googly to Fletcher behind the stumps.

At 87-2 Shoaib Malik (08) made his entrance by dancing down the track to loft Kavem Hodge over the ropes to pick up his first boundary but Ahmad again served up another well-delivered Googly to rock the stumps of the Warriors Captain.

Guyana Warriors reached

St Lucia Stars Innings (target: 142 runs from 20 overs) ADS Fletcher † lbw b Imran Tahir 14 DA Warner lbw b Imran Tahir 11 LMP Simmons c †Ronchi b Emrit 45 KA Pollard (c) c Mohammed b Emrit 32 MS Chapman st †Ronchi b Green 2 RRS Cornwall b Emrit 3 KAR Hodge b Paul 0 Qais Ahmad not out 9 MJ McClenaghan not out 9 Extras (nb 1, w 12) 13 TOTAL (20 Overs, RR: 6.9) 138-7 Yet to bat: Mohammad Sami, KOK Williams Fall of wickets: 1-29 (DA Warner, 6.2 ov), 2-30 (ADS Fletcher, 6.5 ov), 3-113 (LMP Simmons, 16.3 ov), 4-116 (MS Chapman, 17.1 ov), 5-120 (KA Pollard, 18.3 ov), 6-120 (RRS Cornwall, 18.4 ov), 7-126 (KAR Hodge, 19.1 ov) BOWLING: Sohail Tanvir (4-0-190), CJ Green (4-0-28-1), RR Emrit (4-0-26-3), Imran Tahir (4-0-232), KMA Paul (4-0-42-1)

Lendl Simmons hits 6 as Luke Ronchi watch on during his innings

to pull off his countryman Chapman. The left-handed Sherfane Rutherford dispatched Cornwall into the stands for a massive six as Mohamed replicated to send Williams sailing into the Red Stands.

With two wins under

their belt, the Warriors will be seeking to wrap up their home games on a high note when they tackle former champs Barbados Tridents in Sunday’s final game at Providence for the first leg. The match bowls off at 18:00h.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2018

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Hero CPL Match 4 at Providence…

Pg 23

Guyana Amazon Warriors beat St Lucia Stars in nail-biting game Digicel wraps up Youth Cricket series with a trip to games

Pg 22

September games tickets Pg 22 on sale from tomorrow

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August 12, 2018

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Feature

Part of ASPIRE outreach

D

ennis Anthony Glasgow is a 20-yearold Caribbean Youth Advocate for the advancements of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) of young people. His advocacy career began at the Guyana Responsible Parenthood

Association (GRPA) some years ago. It was this foundation and involvement in youth development that led him to found ASPIRE Youth Network Guyana.

The Youth Network deals primarily with Adolescent and Women’s Health and Rights

while still preparing young people to take part in meaningful advocacy and political engagement. Glasgow also is a member of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Youth Advisory Group in Guyana.

Glasgow serves on a few

Regional Committees that deal with various SRHR issues. These include the Youth Advocacy Steering Committee for PANCAP, the Caribbean Right Here Right Now Platform, the PAHO Technical Working Group for the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV & Syphilis, Women Deliver Young Leaders Program, the Youth Coalition for Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, and Bold Leader.

He holds a Diploma in Communication Studies from the University of Guyana, where he is approaching his final year for a degree in the same field. When he pictures himself at the prime of his career, he sees himself as being a Caribbean Cultural and

Social Anthropologist working in the area of youth development through education and health.

Glasgow is also an actor and poet, and intends to continue channelling those talents to affect social change through “Art advocacy”. Apart from his obsession with Soca and Reggae music, he also enjoys reading, writing and socialising with other persons who share the same principle of human rights for all, regardless of their background.

He completed his early education at the West Ruimveldt Primary School and went on to the Bishops’ High School.

It is his intention to study cultural anthropology upon completion of his communications degree.

“I aspire to be a cultural anthropologist, dealing primarily in the area of health and education of young people across Guyana. Given Guyana’s rich cultural diversity and the fact that we share so many social issues – each with its own challenges; I strongly believe that we need trained professionals to address these issues in a culturally sensitive way.

The way you address something like education or even health in a country like this can never have a one-size-fitsall approach. The way I address it in Region Four, I cannot do the same in Region Six; and definitely not Region Nine where English is sometimes the third language. Cultural anthropology affords you to see these issues and solutions through cultural lenses and that I want to say I can help with.”

Anthony comes from a family of volunteers, and his mother is still actively involved with the Guyana Relief Council. It was the values instilled of helping those in need that led him to start ASPIRE Youth Network.

“ASPIRE stands for “Advocates for Safe Parenthood; Improving Reproductive Equity”.

ASPIRE is a regional organisation in a few other Caribbean countries, but Glasgow’s is the first “Youth Network” to be established, followed by one in Trinidad.

“We are a youth led, youth serving group and we think that this is important to stress, because Guyana has many ‘youth organisations’ and some of them are led/managed by adults who may not always have our interests at heart. Every decision is made by a team of young people who make up the board. The main areas of focus include: Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Advocacy, Women’s Rights are Human Rights, Gender Based Violence, Mental Health, Youth Leadership, Empowerment and Development, and, frankly, any issue that young peo-

ple deem necessary.

“It was a passion of mine to always do more; however, networks I’ve been associated with were often so adult-in-

Anthony at his UG graduation

fested and they muzzled and shut down young people with vision, so this network was to give young creatives and young advocates a voice to do as they like with other likeminded people working to ensure their vision is realised.

Fostering “initiative” and creating a space for young people to be critical in their thinking, but active and visionary in their lives and actions,” he notes.

ASPIRE does a lot of outreaches to educate people about family planning and gender-based violence. In addition, it also hosts public forums and dialogues with other groups to address the key issues that it represents.

“We fully support young people being able to reach their fullest potential by overcoming hurdles like unintentional pregnancies, contraction of STDs & STIs, violence, mental illnesses and other issues we face. We believe that through education, awareness, community service, capacity-building training and physical activities, we can create a positive social change that ensures that our young people are “fit and proper” and, of course, healthy to assume leader positions in the future. " Glasgow says he hopes that his passion and experiences could be the kick starter to something great in someone else’s life. He wants to change the world, but is not naïve to the fact that he cannot do it by himself.

“My favourite line I never fail to share with young people desirous of social changes, is it first starts with “building self-enough, so that self can afford to be selfless”. I also think that charity literally begins at home: if you can wake up tomorrow and challenge (respectfully) something like gender roles in your home, then you’ve made some impact....”

guyanatimesgy.com

AUGUST 12 , 2018

Sunday Times Magazine

3

Feature

O

ne of the things we keep hearing about is the gap between the hinterland and the coastland, and aiding to bridge that gap has resulted in Dr Narash Torres paying a hefty price. Dr Torres came into the limelight when reports surfaced in the media of him calling for help for the residents of Baramita, Region One (Barima-Waini).

Baramita is a small village located in the BarimaWaini region some 20 miles west of Matthews Ridge. It is one of the most populated Amerindian settlements in Guyana, but it is being plagued by a number of issues. Dr Torres was posted there a few weeks ago as part of his one-year hinterland stint and was quite surprised by the level of care afforded to his fellow Guyanese citizens.

Torres, a 26-year-old resident from Annai, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), says from a young age he was always taught to do his best to bridge the gap and show just what the hinterland was capable of. He started his education at the Annai Primary School and then went on to the Annai Secondary School, where he completed

his secondary education.

“I grew up in a humble home with my mother, stepfather and brothers and sisters. I was always taught to

do what is right and give respect to people. Watching my mother while growing up is what influenced me to give a voice and ensure that

everybody had access to the same things,” he said.

Dr Torres’s mother is the Head Teacher of the Annai Primary School and education was always at the forefront of their upbringing.

He said growing up in a remote village opened his eyes to the disparity between the coast and hinterland and when he entered the medical profession, he vowed to do his best to end that disparity.

Dr Torres would have gained his medical education through the Scholarship Agreement between the Cuba and Guyana. He describes the six years spent in Cuba as an eye-opening experience. He was exposed to different cultures as well as solutions to some of Guyana’s issues.

“Cuba was a great experience and when I returned here in 2016, I was already in helping mode.

I completed my internship and 18 months’ rotation at the Suddie Hospital and then was transferred to Baramita for my hinterland assignment.”

According to a study titled “Impact of Mining: Survival Strategies for Interior Communities in Guyana”, conducted by the Guyana Human

Rights Association, Baramita has many social ills, and very little is being done to address them. The study indicated that girls as young as 14 were being raped, forcing them to adopt measures to protect themselves.

Dr Torres said he met that exact situation when he was transferred to the Baramita Health Post.

He would have requested emergency assistance from the Regional Health

Authorities and according to him they are currently working collaboratively to tackle those issues.

“I never had any intention to leave the country and I wanted to help people.

I want to ensure that the

poor people get access to proper education and try to bridge that gap between the hinterland and the coastland. I know it is hard but that is what I want to do.

I want to give back to my people.”

When asked how he intends to give back and bridge the gap, Dr Torres says he plans to improve the primary health-care sector.

“Once the primary health-care sector is functioning then we will have a better system. The hospitals won’t be flooded with patients. For now I educate the residents on how to eat healthy and stay healthy so we won’t have disease outbreaks.”

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Sunday Times Magazine 5

Feature

T

he name Marva Langevine has been floating around for quite some time and most of Guyana is aware of who she is, since she was honoured with the Queen’s Young Leaders Award earlier this year. Langevine is a 25-year-old teacher from the small village of Den Amstel on the West Coast of Demerara and ever since

self as a woman who is passionate about fulfilling her purpose as well as a “teacher, storyteller and advocate for various human rights causes”. She also wants it to be known that she loves giving hugs. Sounds like a fun person, right? Well, she is!

“I found my purpose and I received the courage to give hope to those who needed it. What started as

“I found my purpose and I received the courage to give hope to those who needed it. What started as ice-cream dates and hugs for two toddlers after their mother died has grown into an organisation dedicated to supporting bereaved children as they cope, grow and succeed.”

her return to Guyana, she has been following her calling by tackling childhood bereavement.

Langevine describes her-

ice-cream dates and hugs for two toddlers after their mother died has grown into an organisation dedicated to supporting bereaved chil-

dren as they cope, grow, and succeed.”

Langevine founded the Guyana Golden Lives Organisation, which was formed to increase general awareness about grief and loss and its related problems with specific attention to children. The Organisation encourages bereaved children to grow, cope, and develop through support, consolation, and mentorship.

The Guyana Golden Lives Organisation conducts a number of awareness programmes about childhood bereavement, and provides specific and general support for the children and families it works with.

The Organisation provides financial and psychosocial support services for bereaved children, job opportunities for widows, and food hampers and building materials for low -families.

In the future, Langevine hopes to hold ‘grief in the classroom’ workshops for teachers and community outreach initiatives on bereavement.

Additionally, Langevine has created Camp Golden, a camp for bereaved young people, which provides

counselling, food, shelter and educational opportunities.

Looking back at her earlier days, Langevine said she first attended the Den Amstel Primary School and later transferred to the Wismar Hill Primary. She later completed her secondary education at the St Michael School on the island of Barbados. Langevine returned to Guyana in 2009 and almost immediately joined the Cyril Potter College of Education and gained an Associate Degree in Education.

It has always been her dream to work with youths and she recently gained her Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the University of Guyana.

As a child, Langevine said she had always been bold, and as she aged, her passion became stronger. She then directed that passion to causes that were near and dear to her.

“My desire to practically address issues or phenomena that are not talked about or are underestimated. My number one aim is to equip children with the life skills to cope with loss and a hope

Marva receives her Young Leader Award from Queen Elizabeth II

for the future. I also hope to develop empathetic communities who can provide specific and general support to bereaved families.”

On June 26, Langevine stood before Queen Elizabeth II and received a Queen’s Young Leaders Award for the work she is doing to transform the lives of bereaved, sick, and underprivileged children.

The Queen’s Young Leaders programme was established in 2014 by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership with Comic Relief, the Royal Commonwealth Society and the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education, in recognition of the Queen’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth.

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Feature

UN Secretary General, António Guterres “The hopes of the world rest on young people. Peace, economic dynamism, social justice, tolerance – all this and more, today and tomorrow, depends on tapping into the power of youth. Yet more than 400 million young women and men live amidst armed conflict or organized violence.

Millions face deprivation, harassment, bullying and other infringements of their rights. Young women and girls are particularly vulnerable. The world’s young people need safe spaces -- public, civic, physical and digital spaces where they can freely express their views and pursue their dreams. We must invest so that young people have access to education, training and decent jobs to achieve their full potential. The United Nations is strongly committed to listening to the voices of young people – and opening pathways for meaningful participation in decisions that affect them. This September, we will launch a new strategy to step up our work with and for young people. In making the world safe for young people, we make the world better for all. I wish all a happy International Youth Day!”

T

his year, International Youth Day is being observed under the theme “Safe Spaces for Youth”.

The UN defines the world’s youth as the age group between 15 and 24 years old, making up one-sixth of the human population. Many of these young men and women live in developing countries

and their numbers are expected to rise steeply.

The idea for International Youth Day was proposed in 1991 by young people who were gathered in Vienna, Austria, for the first session of the UN’s World Youth Forum. The Forum recommended that an International Youth Day be declared,

T

especially for fundraising and promotional purposes, to support the United Nations Youth Fund in partnership with youth organisations.

In 1998, a resolution proclaiming August 12 as International Youth Day was adopted during the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth. That

recommendation was later endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 1999.

International Youth Day was first observed in 2000. One of the year’s highlights was when eight Latin American and Caribbean youth and youth-related organisations received United Nations World Youth Awards in Panama City, Panama.

hree young Guyanese have been selected for the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Professional Fellows Program according to the United States of America’s Georgetown Embassy. The program takes place in September and October and will bring 250 young leaders from 36 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to the United States.

“This year we are pleased to announce that out

of over 2,500 applications from the region, three young leaders from Guyana have been accepted,” the Embassy said in a statement.

Sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, the YLAI Professional Fellows Program empowers entrepreneurs to strengthen their capacity to advance their entrepreneurial ventures and effectively contribute to economic and social development in their communities. Business and social

entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to expand their leadership and entrepreneurial experience through fellowships in small businesses, non-governmental organizations, and similar entities in 20 cities across the U.S. The program will begin in Detroit, Michigan.

The young entrepreneurs will then engage in fourweek fellowships in cities throughout the United States and conclude with a Closing Summit in Washington, D.C.

Jaianan Hirai, co-founder of the A+ Computer Training Center, located in West Coast Demerara, provides free and low-cost training courses for young people who cannot afford the fees of traditional IT schools. Jai is also an IT Trainer at the University of Guyana and a Certified Network Administrator.

Evie Kanhai-Gurchuran, co-founder and CEO of Java Coffee Bar, an artisanal coffee shop in Georgetown. Java Coffee Bar reduces unemployment and supports Guyanese farmers by using locally sourced ingredients and by making almost all of its products from scratch. Evie is also the CEO of EMTEC, a marketing and graphic design firm, and Sites Builders, a product development company.

Nigel Anthony Peters, founder of Arcadia Agri, a cultivator of organic fruits and vegetables in Guyana.

By providing locally grown produce and hiring a young workforce, Arcadia Agri aims to reduce both food imports and youth unemployment in the country.

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Sunday Times Magazine 7

Literary Corner

Preserving our literary heritage

by

Petamber Persaud

S

ugar in Guyana is writing another chapter in its history, another sordid chapter but hopefully not the final chapter nor a chapter in finality in its bitter sweet history. For almost all of its two hundred years history, sugar was a dominant factor in the social, economic and political arenas of this country. Now sugar is a grave concern for all, as per Martin Carter all are involved! all are consumed!

Historians, academics and commentators have adumbrated the basic facts. The creative writers are filling in the gaps. Here are some novels, dated from 1877 to present, speaking to the issue.

Lutchmee and Dilloo by John Edward Jenkins, 1877.

‘Begun in India, Dilloo and Hunoomaun’s rivalry over Dilloo’s wife, Lutchmee, is continued on a sugar estate in Guyana, where it leads to the planning of an armed rebellion among the indentured labourers and a tragic denouement.’

This novel published in 1877 sets a number of landmarks, chief among those landmarks was the fact that for the first time in English literature ‘coolies’ were made a subject for fiction.

Jenkins, in the preface, admitted ‘the field is a new one for fiction, but human nature still bears out the wisdom of the poet who declared that it does not change with clime’.

The Counting House by David Dabydeen, 2005

Set in the early nineteenth century The Counting House follows the lives of Rohini and Vidia, a young married couple struggling for survival in a small, caste-ridden Indian village who are seduced by the recruiter’s talk of easy work and plentiful land if they sign up as indentured labourers to go to British Guiana… There, however, they discover a harsh fate as ‘bound coolies’ in a country barely emerging from the savage brutalities of slavery. Having abandoned their families and a country that seems increasingly like a paradise, they must come to terms with their problematic encounters with an Afro-Guyanese population hostile to immigrant labour, with rebels such as Kampta who has made an early abandonment of Indian village culture, and confront the

truths of their uprooted condition. (PTP**)

an elite corps of Guyanese - people of European (chiefly British) descent who serve as government officials like his father, professionals, businessmen and administrative personnel on the sugar estates [this is] probably the most reliable fictional account that we have of the role of sugar in the history of European exploitation, in

Guyana and the Caribbean (Frank Birbalsingh).

Drums of my Flesh by Cyril Dabydeen, 2005

Boyo, a seven/eight boy, growing up in a sugar plantation setting in British Guiana, a country about to become an independent state, traumatised by racial friction and labour unrest... escapes into flights of imagination with frequent and swift changes in scene, tone and rhythm, in order to deal with trauma.

The Last English Plantation by Jan Lowe Shinebourne, 1988

June has to confront

her mixed Indian-Chinese background in a situation of heightened racial tensions, the loss of her former friends when she wins a scholarship to the local high school, the upheaval of the industrial struggle on the sugar estate where she lives, and the arrival of British troops as Guyana explodes into political turmoil. (PTP)

Guyana Boy by Peter Kempadoo, 1960

The 1940s British Guiana, sugar estate life is still 'too slavish'. Under the iron rule of the white manager and with work practices little changed

since the days of slavery and indenture, the workers' children are expected to follow their parents into a life of unremitting toil.

This, though, is not to be the fate of Lilboy. His access to education, limited though it is, takes him inexorably away from the world of his parent. (PTP) *Title borrowed from the novel of the same name

by Cynthia McLeod ** PTP – Peepal Tree Press Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@ yahoo.com

Those that be in Bondage

by ARF Webber, 1917

Set in Guyana, Tobago and Trinidad between 1890 and 1913, it traces two generations of the Walton family wherein the protagonist always seems to be on the run - he runs from Guyana to Tobago, from Tobago to Trinidad and back to Guyana. And the book ends with him contemplating running to London after it was suggested that he was responsible for the destruction by fire of the Brickdam Cathedral. The ‘run’ was designed to focus on the issue of various types of bondage.

The story opens on a sugar plantation in Guyana where the brotherin-law John James Walton, Edwin Hamilton, marries Bibi – ‘that smoothskinned, bare-toed East Indian young lady’. The union produces a daughter, Marjorie, ‘and the rest of the text is taken up with the romantic love that develops between Harold Walton and Marjorie on the idyllic island of Tobago’.

Harold eventually becomes a priest but had to free himself of that yoke when he becomes romantically involved with Marjorie.

The Mudheads by Jack Bayley, 1990

‘The main events in The Mudheads occur between 1936 and 1938, largely in Georgetown, in colonial Guyana, although some events spread further out to sugar estates as far away as Springlands, in the county of Berbice. At the beginning of the novel, the twenty-two-yearold narrator, Allan Miller returns home to his native Guyana after studies in England. As son of the Assistant Colonial Secretary, Miller belongs

Notice to Readers

If you have a poem and/or short story you would like to publish on our Literary Corner page, please email to timessundaymag@gmail.com. Kindly include your correct name and a contact number in your email. If you have any questions, please call 223-7230 or 223-7231.

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Sunday Times Magazine 11

Home & Cooking

• • • • • • • • • •

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef ½ tsp oil ½ onion ½ tsp salt ½ tsp black pepper ¼ tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp garlic powder ½ cup water 1 lb macaroni, cooked 16 oz sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Over medium heat, heat oil in a frying pan. When oil is hot add ground beef, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and garlic powder and cook until brown then add onion.

2. Cook onion until its softened, about 3-5 minutes then add water and cook for about 10 minutes or until the water has evaporated. Set meat mixture aside.

3. In a large pot over low heat, melt butter. When the butter has melted, add in flour while stirring to make it smooth. Cook for about 2-3 minutes then add milk and stir until smooth.

• • • •

¼ cup butter ¼ cup flour 3 cups milk ½ tsp Dijon mustard

4. Cook on low heat for about 5 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken then add all but 1 cup of cheese and Dijon mustard to the mixture. Add a pinch of salt to taste.

5. Stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth then add cooked macaroni pasta and ground beef.

6. Place into a greased 13x9 baking dish, top with remaining cheese and bake in oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the macaroni and cheese begins to bubble and the cheese has melted. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

• • • • • •

Ingredients

1/4 cup dried sorrel or hibiscus 1 cup granulated sugar 2 cups water 1 orange, cut into about 6 slices Sweetened ice tea Seltzer

Instructions

1. Place sorrel, sugar, water and oranges into a small pot a bring to a boil.

2. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes then remove from the heat.

3. Strain to remove the solids then allow to cool completely.

4. To make drink, about 6 oz Milo's Tea to a glass with ice. Top with 2 oz hibiscus syrup and a splash of seltzer. This can be adjusted to suit your taste buds.

Y

our bedroom is where you start and end your days. It’s your own personal haven—a place where you can retreat and be yourself. So why not make it as beautiful and as uplifting as possible?

When it comes to decorating the wall over the bed in your bedroom, think outside the box of standard artwork or mirror decor and get creative...

Canopy

A beautiful overhead bed canopy and matching drapes adds opulence to the room

Lighting

Window in the way? No problem when you opt instead for an elegant chandelier

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Puzzles

1 5

11

17

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27

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35 36

37 38

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ACROSS Malamute's load Diminished Cuban dance (hyph.)

Get an earful Comet -- -Bopp Process ore Bell-shaped flowers Winter festival "-- -- for All Seasons" Loving gesture Zoo building Carpet nail Power source Got nosy Takes temporarily Waits patiently Skyrockets Hawaiian island Unvarnished Martini base Leaves the dock Under the weather Flirtation Muse of astronomy Enough Veld grazer Discounted (2 wds.)

Rare viol.

Some earrings Nurtures Kiosk buy, slangily Chance to play Betel nut source Club soda Avenging Mrs. Peel Umbrage Desolate Cozier Trouser feature Marital Make a comment Windy City trains Rough-textured "-- -- no idea!"

Gourmandize Web addr.

Herr's refusal Trinket Sci-fi computer AMA members Winds around Ms. DeMille Glacial deposit Beauty's swain "Ben-Hur" author -- Wallace Sgt. Friday's outfit -- Kemal Ataturk San Diego pro Cement component Depot (abbr.)

Beats

95 Verdi numbers 96 Spunk

97 "Bless you" evoker

99 They, in Calais

100 What Circe cast

101 Old-timey

102 -- -- run for it

103 Journalist Nellie - 104 Holds one's own

105 Good times 106 Hwys.

107 Distribute

109 Flax fabric

110 Mad Hatter's guest

112 Highlands farmer

115 Tucker of "Delta Dawn"

116 Purple stones

120 Stash away 121 Plan

123 Frozen dessert

125 Big-ticket - 126 Mideast title

127 Enya's music (2 wds.)

128 Lure

129 Pact letters

130 Alphabet enders

131 Pencil end

132 Roll-call list

133 Actor -- Kinnear

DOWN

1 Catch a fly ball

2 Shiny gold fabric 3 Vitality

4 Cygnus' brightest

5 Peaceful locale

6 Off the -- path

7 Curly coifs

8 Wedding-cake part

9 USN officer 10 Ruins 11 Alleges

46

12 Honey factories 47

13 "Put -- -- on it!"

49

14 Undercover org.

50

15 Plant book

51

16 "-- -- Like It"

52

17 Most tomatoes

54

18 Malta money 55

19 What there oughta be (2

56 wds.)

59

20 Autumn colors

60

30 Very strict

61

32 Thespian's quest

63 34 Sprinkles

64

36 Moon Unit - 65

37 Clumsy sorts 67

38 No city slicker

68

39 Maestro Toscanini

70

40 Rabbit burrow 72

42 Painter's garb

73

43 Hammer home 45 Whine

KATHLEEN SAXE

WORD GAME TODAY'S WORD -- UNABASHED

(UNABASHED: un-uh-BASHT: Not disconcerted or embarrassed.)

Average mark 32 words Time limit 40 minutes Can you find 43 or

more

words in UNABASHED? used nausea nude abase abash abed abuse ahead ashen baaed bade band bandeau bane

base bash bead bean beau bend bund bused bush sand sane sauna sedan send

shad shade shed shun snub sued sundae hand head husband dash daub dean dues

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" are not allowed, but "bake" and "baking" are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

Camel kin

74 Envoy

75 A Bobbsey twin

76 It's been -- -- pleasure 77 Tee users

78 Bobby of hockey

79 Shrink from

80 Not masc.

81 Poet's "always" 82 One-celled plants

83 Sauce in a wok

85 Large antelope

86 Elaborate inlays

87 Tame carnivore

90

91 Indicate direction Agreed

92 Very low bows

94 Come to an end

95 Terrestrial

96 98 Suffix for "forfeit"

Moves toward

100 Walkman brand Fragrant fir 101 Dropout Hercule's creator

103 Stove part Empty out 104 Ember Unfriendly, plus

105 Jason's Golden -Spiral molecule

108 River through Paris Award for valor

109 "Tootsie" Oscar winner Potion 110 Scope Prompt 111 Ogling Dieter's taboo

112 Pierre's home Very, in Veracruz 113 Hoarfrost No --, ands or buts

114 Comic-strip dog Bucket handles

115 Drinks with scones Measure of conductance

116 Bonsai and ikebana Admire oneself

117 Marshal's badge Mauna - 118 Chapeau's place Cook in embers

119 Dirty air One who gives in easily 122 Bygone airline Chew noisily

124 Plastic -- Band Young cows

See Solution on Pg 14

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Sunday Times Magazine 13

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Bollywood/Hollywood

Karan Johar’s Takht will have Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Janhvi Kapoor warring over Mughal throne

K

aran Johar has announced his next, Takht, and with this film set during Mughal reign, he is all set to make a historical for the first time. The film is not only all set to be an epic, its star cast is phenomenal too.

Takht (meaning the throne and implies a seat of power), is a drama set in the Mughal times and will star Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Alia Bhatt in the lead. They will be ably supported by Anil Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar and hottest new star kid on the block, Janhvi Kapoor.

Taking to Twitter to make the big announcement, Karan wrote: “An incredible story embedded in history...

An epic battle for the majestic Mughal

throne... A story of a family, of ambition, of greed, of betrayal, of love & of succession... TAKHT is about WAR for LOVE....” While Karan has not revealed the story of the film, speculation says it will revolve around the war between siblings Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb.

What is special is also that Karan has chosen to give a long deserved respect to the writers. He mentions that Sumit Roy has written the screenplay and Hussain Haidry and Sumit Roy have jointly written the dialogues.

The film’s story itself seems to be magical going by Karan’s tweet. It is set in the Mughal era and will deal with myriad emotions -- love, betrayal, family, ambition, greed and succession.

Takht is the war for love. By choosing Ranveer and Kareena as his lead cast, Karan has bowled his first googly as there will be palpable excitement with regard to this casting.

Ranveer is among the most successful stars of this generation, with a chunk of successes under his belt, many being historical. Kareena, meanwhile, is a star like none other. Her marriage and motherhood, has done little to dent her appeal. In fact, if anything, the success of her last film, Veere Di Wedding ends the notion that married women with children can’t succeed in Bollywood.

Alia Bhatt, of course, is the safest bet for Karan, for not only is she a Dharma staple, she remains one of most talented actors among the young lot.

With Bhumi and Janhvi in tow, Karan proves he is not a godfather for nothing. Janhvi was recently launched in his production, Dhadak. Takht will release in 2020.

D

emi Lovato continues to put her recovery first.

Just days after the singer checked into a rehab facility, a rep confirms her remaining Tell Me You Love Me tour dates have been canceled.

Demi's upcoming shows next month in Mexico as well as November concerts in Chile, Argentina and Brazil have been axed. Live Nation and Lotus Productions "wish Demi Lovato the best now and in the future and we hope to see her soon in South America."

The news comes shortly after Demi broke her silence on Instagram nearly two weeks after an overdose.

"I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction," she wrote to her followers.

"What I've learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet."

The singer continued, "I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery. The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say I came out on the other side. I will keep fighting."

E! News would later confirm that Demi was discharged from the hospital and flew to an undisclosed rehab facility where she will stay for an extended period of time.

Back in April, Demi had to share the unfortunate news that she had to reschedule eight tour stops in South America.

"Demi's team was hopeful that she would complete the tour dates, but Demi's recovery comes first," a source shared with E! News.

"Everyone is trying to just be respectful by giving her team and her family space to figure things out. (E-News)

Crossword Solution

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Fun Times

Archie

ARIES (March 21April 19)

Motivation and mental and physical efforts will encourage you to overcome any disappointment or setback. If you take positive action, good things will come your way.

Live and learn. Ask an exTAURUS pert for help if you find your(April 20- self procrastinating. Don't act May 20) out of desperation when intelligence is what's required to turn a negative into a positive.

Plan to have some fun.

GEMINI Physical activity and time (MAY 28spent with children, a friend June 20) or loved one will brighten your day. Personal improvement and romance are favoured.

Don't let a physical limitation get you down. You'll feel (June 21better if you make a couple of July 22) changes to the way you present yourself. A new look will boost your ego.

CANCER

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Dilbert

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Peanuts

Physical improvements will make you feel good about your appearance and encourage your flirtatious charm to take the reins. Make plans with a loved one.

If you share your true feelings with someone close to you, progress will be made.

The changes you want to see happen will be doable, and help will be provided.

If you pitch in and help, you will feel good about your contribution and the relationships you build with the people you work alongside. A romantic opportunity looks promising.

Revisit your plans and map SCORPIO out how you intend to reach (Oct. 24- your objectives. An unorthoNov. 22) dox approach that utilises your skills will bring interesting results. Physical exercise is encouraged.

SAGITTARIUS Don't be fooled by an emo(Nov. 23- tional ploy to get you involved Dec. 21) in something sketchy. Choose to go it alone and to put all your energy into something that will benefit you and you alone.

Settle any differences to CAPRICORN bring about positive change.

(Dec. 22- Don't be fooled by a physical Jan. 19) gesture someone makes that is meant to manipulate you.

Calvin and Hobbes Look for stability in your AQUARIUS life. Someone older or more (Jan. 20- experienced will offer inFeb. 19) sight into a situation you face. Take better care of your health and finances.

You can clear up an emoPISCES (Feb. 20- tional situation by makMar. 20) ing the appropriate changes needed to turn things around. Life is simple if you don't complicate matters. Do what's right and best.